Sendak, who died this week, did not make books for children. He just made books. His linework was elegant, sometimes even cute, but always honest. He was wise, and he never patronised any readers, adult or child. I devoured interviews with Sendak: he was a grumpy, Jewish, brilliant, wise contrarian and he didn’t mellow as he aged. But then, he had never created mellow books. His coming out in 2008, age 80, was a final act of honesty.
Something Sendak once said is the epigraph of my next book. “I remember my own childhood vividly.” he explained. “I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn’t let adults know I knew. It would scare them.”
— I wrote a short piece about Maurice Sendak in today’s Guardian, for their “My Hero” column. (via neil-gaiman)
Say What Now of the Day: The city of Lincoln, Nebraska, is debating a proposal that would protect the LGBT community from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations, and one local resident just couldn’t miss the opportunity to rant. Jane Skrovota wins Worst in Show for her hate-filled testimony vitriol in public hearings this week.
The lowlights have been helpfully transcribed (but be sure to watch the video; the horrified guy behind crazy lady is a riot):
- “P- E- N- I- S goes into the anus to rupture intestines. The more a man does this the more he’ll be a fatality or a homicide…”
- “A huge percent of gay men in school grounds molest boys, partly because they don’t have AIDS yet…”
- “Hillary Clinton’s roommate four years in college was a gay woman. To avoid going gay like Clinton did, college students need single rooms and single gender dorms… A college woman is seduced with illegal Rohypnol to go gay.”
- “Candida fungus grows hugely on a corpse. AIDS is a candida fungus disease…”
- “Gays can transform to be celibate to live to be 80 years old.”
- “Jesus was kissed by Judas, a homo, who tried to sabotage Jesus’ kind ideas. Do you choose Jesus, a celibate, or Judas, a homo? You have to choose!”
— JON STEWART, on criticism by Republicans that President Obama announced his support for marriage equality simply because he wants another term in office, on The Daily Show (via inothernews)
