Well, time marches on. There were webpages...then message boards...then blogs...and now the internet is dominated by social networking sites. Facebook is one of the most traveled of those sites, and so our focus must migrate. Click Here to visit Void Pulp Press on Facebook. :-)

Once you get there, be sure to click on "Become a Fan," so that you'll see updates in your newsfeed. What? You don't have a Facebook Profile yet? Well, get on there! That's where everyone else is...

:-)

Mark Stinson

My best friend, Jamie King, is also known in some circles as the "Zombie Queen." She's been organizing Zombie Walks in the Kansas City area for a couple of years now...with the goal of gathering food for needy folks and having a lot of fun at the same time. To participate you need to bring 5 non-perishable items (canned food, etc.)

Basically, you come up with a Zombie look for yourself, by tearing up some old clothes from a thriftstore or your own closet. Then you use some make-up and blood (or someone will help you put on makeup at the event, if you're in a pinch), and then the participants walk around and act like zombies. Its a little embarrassing at first, but after a bit its a great deal of fun.

If you'd like to print off a high-resolution copy of the Zombie Walk poster...or you'd like to print off a 100 of them to hang up or hand out to friends, use the links below. The first one is a full-color version, and the second is a b&w version that's perfect for copy-machines.

http://www.ghostvigil.com/zombiewalk/poster3color.pdf

http://www.ghostvigil.com/zombiewalk/poster3bw.pdf

See you there!

Mark

So How Does My Last Heathen Blog Post Apply to Heathenry?

There is no Kindred in your area? Start one.

Can't find heathens in your area? Start a website. Start a meetup. Go to the Asatru Alliance, Asatru Folk Assembly, the Troth, or do some google searches. Search MySpace.

Still can't find any heathens? Make some. Teach Asatru 101 classes at the local bookstore. Talk to your friends and family about it.

There are Kindreds in your area, but you don't like how they do things? Start your own Kindred. Or speak with them openly and honestly about your differences, and see if they are as big as you think they are.

Don't have time to read the Lore? Make some time. What is more important than rejoining your ancestral stream and honoring your Folk, your Ancestors, and your Gods.

You're failing at one of your oaths? Then work harder. Or pay your shyld.

Your Kindred is small, and your wish it was bigger? Work at it. Hold open meet-and-greets. Promote them. Tell friends and family. Post them on e-lists, message boards, and hang flyers at coffee shops and bookstores.

There are no regional heathen gatherings in your area? Then plan and organize one. Reach out to other heathens and kindreds in your region and ask them what sort of gathering they would like. Ask if they would like to partner with you in making it happen. And then make it happen.

Your Kindred wishes it had a Hof. Then start planning one. Find out how much land costs. Find out how much a modest building will cost. Start raising money. Have everyone in your Kindred set aside $5 or $10 a month. The gods and this world will not just hand you a Hof. You must must make it happen, don't just wish for it.

Essentially, anything you can imagine...you can work towards. And if you work hard enough, long enough, you can attain it. I don't mean to sound like a Tony Robbin's personal-power video. I'm just saying, we make our own Luck. We shape our world though decisiveness and action. As heathens, we should know this better than anyone...

Mark

They get up in the morning. Check the weather news...eat a few bites...and head off for work. They work a job they don't love. Actually, they have come to hate it in a sense. Its not an art. Its not a passion. It pays the bills. They have work friends, but they aren't real friends. They are people they say good morning too, and forward stupid e-mail jokes to.

They drive home, plop down, turn on the television. They enjoy an evening of reality television, processed snacks, and a form of living death. They are so used to their spouse, that there is nothing new to say. A few work stories...perhaps they discuss the latest drama on one of their television shows. The kids have their own televisions, their own video games, their own phones. Oh, yes...there's the evening news...with its weather report and the sports highlights. Can't forget those. Then off-to-bed. Sleep. Wake up. Repeat steps above.

Politics? They barely pay attention to those. What attention they do pay is surface level. Perhaps they follow the politics they were taught by their parents. Perhaps they have a favorite commentator, blog site, or someone else that forms most of their political thought.

Religion? They are comfortable in their church. Its a big place. The people don't cause much trouble, and they have a few friends there they talk to on Sunday. Or perhaps they just stay home. Religion takes a little too much thought to really bother with. One thing is certain, they've never read the Bible...not even large chunks of it. They believe its the word of their god, but why read it? That's just pointless. The preacher tells them all about god, or they learned all they were going to learn as a kid.

Dreams? Bothersome things that interrupt their sleep. And if they don't get good sleep, they'll be nodding off at their boring-ass job. So, no time to bother with remember their dreams. Thinking about what their dreams might tell them. Dreams are something they had when they were a kid.

Hopes and goals? Oh, they had those once. But they found a spouse. Got into a house. They have a stable job that pays the bills...just barely. And reality television takes up a lot of time. Its sort of hard to find the energy or the time to work towards any real goals. Make anything real happen in this world. Plus, hopes and goals are a luxury of youth. They have a life now. And its not like the hopes and dreams could become reality anyway. So what's the point?

These are the living dead. The drones. They lead their small lives. They don't try to hard at work. They don't try to hard at home. And when they die, they are buried and burned, and within a decade or two...they are forgotten. They have left no mark. They have not lived.

We get one shot at this. Whatever religion you are...this is the here and now. This is the world we have, the life we lead. Make it count.

Don't like your job? Bored out of your mind with it? Move within your company. Work your ass off to advance and challenge yourself. If that's not going to work, actively seek a new job. Something you dream of doing. Maybe once you get it, it won't live up to those dreams...but at least you will have done it and tried it.

Television? Turn that shit off. Sure watch a movie. Learn something on the history channel. Or use television as background noise when you are doing something that actually counts. But don't sit there for four or five hours a night watching other people accomplish things. What does that do for you? It "occupies your time" and little else. Its mental masterbation that numbs your mind to have freakin' bored you really are with your life.

Spouse or family feel disconnected from you? Time to work your ass off again. Be honest. Communicate with your spouse or loved ones what you want. What you expect. What you want your life to be like. Include them in that plan, and ask for their help. Tell them you love them, and you don't want your life to pass you by without joy, and passion, and energy, and dynamic action.

Hopes and Dreams? Listen to your dreams. Work towards your hopes. You want to belong to a ghost hunting group? Start your own. You want to write a novel? It won't write itself. Buy a book on novel writing. Buy 4 of them. Read them, and start writing. Set time aside everyday to write. Want to be an artist? Then take classes. Work on your craft. Meet with other artists. Talk, watch, and learn. Involve yourself in artistic circles. Bored to death with religion, or haven't found one that sings to your soul? Then you haven't bothered looking around. Read. Read. Read. Explore all the varied approaches to the divine question, and find the one that sings to you. No followers of that religion around you? Then start a church, build a website, and start gathering like-minded people.

No one is going to live your life for you. Everyone around you will sit and watch you fritter away your life...without saying a word. No one is going to make you chase your dreams. As a matter of fact, most people will quietly, secretly discourage you. Break free. Make something happen. Live your life so that when you are buried or burned, you will have made something special in this world.

Mark Stinson

In a discussion string about a heathenry 101 booklet that made a lot of comparisons between heathenry and Christianity, the question was asked, "Isn't Heathenry rich enough and complete enough that we can describe it without having to compare and contrast it with Christianity?"

I answered that question strongly in the affimative. Heathenry is a full and rich religion, full of history, and Lore, and poetry, and meaning. Its way of viewing the physical world is full and life-embracing. Its way of viewing our relationship with the gods is positive and enriching. Its view of how we are connected with our ancestors is truly wonderful. And the concepts within heathenry give us plenty to chew on. Wyrd. Orlog. Oaths. Symbels. Fainings. The Folksoul. The Nine worlds. On and on.

So, should someone leaving Christianity for Heathenry need a lot of crutches and transitional mechanisms to make the transition easier? Should we coddle the Christian-baggage the new person brings with them, or should we guide them through the process of abandoning that baggage at the door? Is Christianity so "addictive" that the transition process to heathenry needs to be difficult or "helped along" with transitional devices that are aimed more at Christian-baggage than at actual heathen beliefs? Let's turn the question in the first paragraph on its head a little bit...

"Isn't Heathenry rich enough and complete enough that we can transition to it without having to borrow beliefs and practices from Christianity?"

To this question I answer strongly yes, as before.

I don't believe Christianity is an addiction. I think its something we are indoctrinated with from birth. As far as Christianity being an addiction, I view it this way...

Perhaps Christianity is Nicotine gum, and Heathenry is that big beautiful first cigarette when you haven't smoked one in a while. Perhaps Christianity is the aspirin for a caffine-headache, while Heathenry is that first ice-cold coca-cola or rich dark cup of coffee when you've been off the stuff for awhile. Perhaps Christianity is Splenda, and Heathenry is that big moist piece of chocolate cake you eat, and all the wonderful feelings that comes after that.

For me personally, transitioning from that mess that is Christianity, and all the dogmatic guilt-mongering. All the fear-based brain-washing. The abandonment of physical enjoyment and condemnation of life-affirming action. The hypocrits hiding in every church pew. Transitioning from that utter vacant soul-eating darkness to the vital power, and Tru rightness of Heathenry should not be that big a burden.

But that's my personal view. I'm not saying to think otherwise is "bad" or "evil." I just have my view of it, and I don't agree with other views on the matter. I won't taint my heathenry with Christian-baggage to aid others in transitioning from that sad foreign religion our Folk has been afflicted with for over a 1,000 years.

We should spend more time teaching newbies all the amazing things about heathenry, and less time coddling their Christian baggage. Leave the baggage at the door, and embrace your ancestral stream whole-heartedly. But that's my way of thinking.

Mark

How does one become heathen?

Seriously. How does that happen? Does a priest have to give you the nod? Must you go through a public "confirmation" or "profession of faith?" Must you be certified by a clergy board? Should you open your pocketbook and tithe 10% to some earthbound organization more concerned with power and politics than your spiritual strength and well-being? How does one become Heathen?

For me, I simply began talking to the gods. It felt like they were listening, and that's the first time I have experienced that feeling. I was reading the Lore...it just felt right. It felt like I was coming home to what I already was...or should be. So during one of my conversations with Thor, I promised to build a relationship with the gods...and I promised to find a Kindred, or if I had to...build a Kindred. I was in my car, driving home from work. All by my lonesome. Just me and Thor, talking it out. I remember the moment very well. That was my "profession," I suppose. Though for me, it was a personal oath between me and the gods.

Since then I've lived heathen. I've learned everything I could in the time I've had. I found other heathens, and I gather with them...and we worked together to start a Kindred. When the Kindred was eventually formed, we took an oath to the gods, to our ancestors, to the Vaettir, and to each other. I found heathenry. I personally committed to the gods to learn everything I could about them and the ways my ancestors honored them, and from there things naturally developed.

So what if a "newbie" transitioning to heathenry wants a big public ceremony? Perhaps they would feel more comfortable being tested, and confirmed some way as a heathen? Maybe membership in some organization would make them feel "more" heathen? For me, these actions are not heathen. They do not represent my view of Asatru. One is true to the Aesir...and no one stands between us and our Elder Kin. They are our gods, and they watch us and listen.

So, I think it is our obligation to explain to new heathens or the heathen-curious how we see heathenry. If they ask about something that we don't personally feel is heathen...or necessary, then we should be honest with them...and explain what heathenry is to them from our perspective. We don't have an obligation to share a perspective we don't follow. If due to Christian baggage they would feel more comfortable having a "Christian-style" confirmation ceremony...then we should explain to them why this is not heathen, and guide them in in the right direction. A personal relationship with the gods.

I don't believe in changing heathenry to fit the newly converted's baggage or Christian-based needs. They are coming to heathenry, not the other way around. I see it as slowing down their transition and development in the heathen-mindset to provide them with unnecessary crutches or bandaids to "ease the transition." When they ask a question that seems to reflect a mindset other than heathenry, guide them. Teach them. Explain to them how a heathen approaches that matter. And we should base those answers on the Lore, and solid reconstructed beliefs as we understand them.

Rod once advised someone...

So if you want to publicly profess, go out in your backyard and state what is in your heart, bones, and your balls. Put your hammer on, and start going about being heathen in all things.

That is how each of us in Jotun's Bane Kindred did it. I promised my loyalty to Thor and the Aesir in my car, driving home. I believe Craig received a rather startling sign from Odin in his house one day, and that took him down the path of being a heathen. Rod described his own process of becoming a heathen...

For me when I understood that I have "come home" to my folk way. I said to myself, "I am Asatru and now I will do my best to follow it's ways." Then I proceeded to do it. That was back in 1993

So, feeling this way. Believing that for us, this is what heathenry is...when someone asks us a question, the answer is going to reflect our view of heathenry. We are not going to alter or change our view of heathenry just to aid in someone's transition, due to baggage they are having trouble shedding. If we coddle that baggage, what good does that do.

Instead, we will spend hours and hours, days, and weeks giving them advice, guiding them when asked, and providing answers to questions. But that advice, that guidance, and those answers are going to reflect our views of heathenry. Others may see heathenry differently, and they can give different advice. That's personal to them. But my advice will be Tru as I see it.

Mark

Its a private matter, so I won't go into much detail here. This may sound like a bit of a puzzle, but so what? The situation itself is not the point.

I was facing a situation where I very much wanted two different things...two different paths. I spoke to Thor about it. I spoke to Freyja about it. I spoke to Frigg about it. I spoke to Odin about it. I spoke to my father about it. This went on for months, and months.

Eventually, I just let go of my preconceived notions of what the situation was...and stopped trying to force an answer...or a resolution. I trusted that as long as I was Tru...and as long as I honored the gods and my ancestors, things would turn out as they should.

The situation is resolved. Its resolved in the best possible way it could be resolved...in a completely positive and Tru way. And I thank our gods for how it has been resolved. I don't think they "fixed" anything for me, or "made" anything happen. But I have to think they gave me a nudge here...a nudge there. And I am more convinced than I ever have been that the gods watch us...and smile upon us when we are Tru.

Mark

In September I turn 40 years old. 40 years on this earth. 40 years of eating too many sweets. 40 years of mental wandering.

And my life is changing. Always changing. What will you do as you approach 40? What will you be thinking?

Mark

O.K. There is a stigma in mainstream culture to being any religion other than Christian (or to some degree Jewish). Even using the word "pagan" or "heathen" can send some people into fits. So someone new to Asatru would naturally worry about how their family, their friends, their neighbors, their bosses, or their co-workers might react to the fact they are Asatru.

But over time, as you get comfortable in your new skin...it feels more natural to be open about your religious beliefs.

My wife was the first to know of course. How could it be otherwise? :-)

Next came my friends. It was important to me that I be able to talk about my beliefs and my efforts to build a Kindred with them. So very early on I told my friends. Some of them have come to appreciate my beliefs a lot, and have even read books about them just to know more.

Being open about my religion in my workplace has been longer in coming. I work in law enforcement, and I was worried about what impact it might have on my job. And anything that impacts my job, impacts my family. So while I have not hidden or lied about my religious beliefs, I have kept them private.

The other day an officer saw me looking at an Asatru website, and asked if I was Asatru. I told him I was, and he asked what it was all about. I told him briefly, and he said he knew about Asatru from his time working in a prison...and interacting with Asatru prisoners. So we conversed about that for awhile.

Tonight I told my Captain at work that I am Asatru. He knew I was very interested in Norse Mythology, as he has seen my heathen books here at work...and he learned recently that I had attended the Heartland Pagan Festival. But I believe he thought I had attended that as part of my interest in the paranormal. But it was tonight that I told him about my religion.

He didn't even blink. He said something like, "I sort of guessed." We talked about it for a bit, and that was that. Not at all the problem I thought it would be.

So who in your life knows you are Asatru? And who in your life doesn't know?

Mark

In my e-mail communications with another heathen, we have been discussing past misdeeds, damaged Reputations, Wyrd, and the difference between a Guilt Culture and a Shame Culture. I've edited one of my e-mails to share here on my blog, because I thought it was interesting...

Christianity is Guilt Culture. A Christian can do horrible things, but once they ask forgiveness...other Christians are taught to forgive them and not to judge them. That sin is between them and their desert god. They have but to ask forgiveness and have good intentions, and they start with a clean slate in the eyes of their god. Their god sees all, and no matter what you do that is bad, whether you are caught or not...whether it really hurt anyone or not, you are to feel the guilt of those actions until you ask forgiveness.

Heathenry is Shame Culture. A man is his deeds. The past does matter. What a man does is woven into his Wyrd. His reputation is affected, and the reputation of those that associate with him. Right action is not a matter that is only between an individual and his gods. Right action is seen by his fellow heathens, and renown and reputation are built and earned. Asking forgiveness or having good intentions does not wipe away the past. So let's look at some examples...some metaphors.

If you had a best friend who you respected and liked. And you found out he had molested four little girls ten years before...a few years before you met him. the girls were all under the age of 10. That is a part of that man. That is a part of his Wyrd. And by your friendship, you have made him and his wrongs a part of your Wyrd as well. How you might ask? Your friendship will change forever, and if it was important to you...then that is a loss. It would affect whether you let him near your own children. It would make you worry about the time he has already spent with your children. Perhaps he has touched and harmed your children in ways you did not know about. If he were arrested for the crime it would impact your own reputation as well, depending on how well you were known to be his friend. What he had done would impact your marriage, if you wife felt that you brought this harmful man into your family's home. It would make you question your own ability to judge a person's character and worth. His past would damage your Luck.

If you had a wife who you found out was a hooker some years before, and she had not told you...her past would be a big deal...it would affect your Wyrd. You would worry about her attitudes about sex and loyalty within your marriage. The fact she had not told you would affect your trust of her. You would worry what diseases had been brought into your home and into your own body. If her past became public it would affect the reputation of your family and yourself. If your children come to know of it, it will undermine their respect for their mother...and perhaps affect their own ideas and attitudes about the dignity of their body. Her past would damage your Luck.

If you formed a Kindred, and four months into its existance...one of the members of your Kindred cheated on his wife, and their marriage disolved. this would affect your Wyrd, and the Wyrd of the collective group. The man's life would be chaos and turmoil, and the Kindred would be affected by his distraction. The man has broken a serious oath that he had taken to his wife. The man has destroyed his own family. The man has done something that will scar his own children's ability to form and maintain long-term relationships. The man will be turning to the Kindred for help...and depending on the strength of the Kindred, this could damage or destroy the Kindred. His inability to maintain his oath, his family, and his self-control would affect the Luck of the Kindred.

So, past actions matter. One can seek to change and improve. One can seek to be a better person. But escaping your past actions is not as easy as turning over a new leaf. Not in a Shame Culture...a Heathen Culture.

If a man or woman has great misdeeds in their past, there Wyrd and Luck are likely damaged. Their reputation is likely damaged as well, because others usually know of these misdeeds.

And I think it is important that people who are considering whether or not to mingle their Wyrd with that person...considering whether to share a horn with that person...whether to Fain with that person...should know of both that person's past misdeeds AND their commitment to do better. They should know the whole of a person (both positive and negative) prior to weaving that person into their Wyrd.

In the six months Jotun's Bane Kindred was forming, when we were getting to know each other, we explored both positive and negative things about each other. I learned of the flaws of the other members and they learned of mine. We were an open book. But none of those flaws were so serious that they made us apprehensive about mingling our Wyrd...and forming a collective Wyrd and a Kindred. Were we all perfect? No. Did we have great shame in our past. Definitely not.

Not everyone has a laundry list of bad bahavior that needs to be hidden or kept secret. Only some do. And part of getting a fresh start for someone with past misdeeds and a damaged reputation, would be not trying to hide those past mistakes from people you hope to build relationships with.

What do you think reputation is? What do you think it is made of? Basically, it is what people think of you. It is what people say about you. It is the tales that are told of you. Its the memories you leave with others. So, if among certain people, your reputation is not very positive...they will certainly talk. Don't apologize for your past misdeeds. Pay Shyld...correct your misdeed. Don't focus on people "talking crap about you." Of course they are talking crap about you...that is the bad reputation you have likely earned. Gossip is not gossip when it is true and is being passed onto to a friend, so that person can be cautious regarding someone with a bad reputation. Instead focus on rebuilding your reputation through right action.

That would be the Heathen approach to such matters, IMO.

Mark

Well...the May 4th Pubmoot at O'Dowds went well. There were 12 people there...and all 12 of them consider themselves to be heathen. The food was greasey and good, the Guinness was cold, and I had a lot of fun. CLICK HERE to see the photos from the Pubmoot...

Mark

On the night of May 2nd, 2008...an F-3 Tornado passed over our neighborhood, and more specifically right over our house. It took a bunch of our shingles and some tar-paper off our roof, broke windows, scuffed up the outside our home, bent our garage door, and shifted our house enough that the front door doesn't close quite right. We're going to need a whole new roof and the garage door replaced...plus a variety of other repairs. (Our satellite television isn't working, for goodness sakes!)

But, our next door neighbor's house is condemned, as in our neighbor's house across the street. Both of their houses had significant portions of their roofs torn off and the interiors/belongings soaked with rain. There is damage to hundreds of homes...two were completely destroyed (just gone), and several were knocked off of their foundations. There were shingles, insulation, pieces of siding and lawn furniture every where...tons of sight-seers for two day, and our power was out for a day and a half.

But, amazingly...no one was killed. There were no serious injures. Some folks were cut with flying glass, but everyone is going to be O.K. No one in my family was hurt. When my wife Jennifer heard the "Freight Train" sound, she gathered our three children up and they all ran to the basement. The sirens did not go off. I was at the police station at the time...and couldn't be home with them.

Its hard not to picture AsaThor battling the destructive forces of this Thurse as it descended on our community...strking it repeatedly with his hammer...rolling in conflict with it as it crashed from the sky to the ground...diverting its path to ensure that the only two homes completely destroyed were empty of people that night. And though the damage was done...the people remain, and we will rebuild. That next day I shared a beer with Thor...and congratulated him on his victory in battle.

CLICK FOR 42 PHOTOS OF THE DAMAGE AND CLEANUP EFFORTS

Mark

My dad, Glen Stinson told great stories...and great jokes. Dinner time was always filled with tales and laughter. When family friends would come over to the house when I was a child, I would sit quietly at the dinner table when dinner was over, and listen to the stories. Some were off-color...but as long as I sat quietly and listened, no one seemed to mind me being there.

When I got older, dad and I still shared stories and jokes. Except now I had stories to tell. So we would swap stories. Many of his stories I had heard over and over again, but I never really tired of them. I would even ask him to tell me certain stories over again that I was fond of.

So, you can imagine how happy I was when my dad began writing his stories down. He wrote one book...and then a few years later, another book of personal stories. I'm working on posting those stories on the internet. Its a long-term project. One I have neglected for a couple of years, but I'm back on it. Thanks to memories. And thanks to heathenry. Here's the link, and I'll let dad's forward to his book speak for itself...

Mark

http://www.glenstinson.com

Over the years I have related certain stories to my family that they tell of various events of my life. Several times I was asked to record those tales for the future families, so that they would know some of the highlights of my life.

Most of the tales that are contained herein, are of my experiences in the Navy as a young man. Others are memories of other fun things that have occurred. During those early years of my life, what I did and what I experienced were times of learning and remain important to me. Somewhere in each of these tales are lessons to be learned and enjoyed.

I do not profess to be a talented writer or even skilled at the art. Having attempted to record these events leaves me with great respect for those that do make writing their profession. It is not an easy task. The selection of what to write is even more difficult. In my years there have been many grand events, so the decision on which ones to record, with the limited time to do so, is also difficult.

Some of the stories were written in the first person and others in the third person. There was no reason for doing them that way. They recorded that way on their own.

I write this group of stories for a reason. I was a member of a broken home and at the age of eight there was little that I learned from my father's past life. I am sure that if he had remained with the family, he would have found the time to relate interesting experiences to me. I would then feel that I knew him better than I did. But such is the result of a family that did not survive the pressures of the Depression. That is a whole story in itself.

This book is not meant to be my autobiography, but a chance to share some of my experiences and emotions of the times. They relate to my youth through some of the later years and have no real connection to one another. For some resemblance of order, I have placed them in chronological order. No dates are necessary, as I am not trying to write history. Read and have fun.

-Glen Stinson

http://www.glenstinson.com

My dad, Glen Stinson, always said that our society does not listen to those that are old and have lived a long and experienced life. And that we are poorer for it. One bit of wisdom he shared with me, I will share with you.

My dad was a WWII veteran, and had served in the Submarine service. 1/3 of the men in the submarine service did not come home from the war. They rest in silent metal tombs at the bottom of our world's oceans. And my dad grew up during the depression, the youngest son of a single-mother household...with a total of six kids in the house. Their father had left them...and the whole family had to work to survive. I tell you this, just so you'll know the perspective from which he was coming.

Why are the bonds between family members so weak? Why do people give up on marriages so easily and divorce? Why do people cheat on each other so easily? Why to fathers and mothers abandon their children to pursue selfish lives? Why do people have no loyalty to friends? Why do people lead jobless, purposeless lives? Why do people pursue drugs, cheap sex, and other self-centered indulgences rather than live up to their responsibilities? Why is our Society losing its values? Why is our Society decaying?

Dad had decades to consider why these things were happening...and why their frequency is increasing. And he was the sort of man that tried to put meaning to the things he observed. His answer was simple. People are increasingly self-centered, selfish, hurtful, and irresponsible because they can afford to be so. We have built a Society with very little starvation or true hardship.

There was a time when people needed family to simply survive. You needed the support and the assistance of you mother, father, brother, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, and everyone in your family to survive. If your crops went bad, or your spouse died, you lost your job, or you struck down by illness you needed your extended family to help you survive until you could recover through hard work and struggle from these negative events.

There was a time when people needed a stable marriage and homelife to simply survive. Life was hard, people worked long hours, and the challenge of survival could easily be lost if you did not endure in your relationships. Divorce destroyed not only the marriage it ended, but it threatened the very survival of both spouses and the children involved.

There was a time when you needed loyal and trustworthy friends to simply survive. If something went wrong in your life, without friends to assist you...you might not be able to recover from the hardship you faced. Maintaining those friends, and helping them when they were in need, ensured that you would receive help if by a bad turn of luck you were in need.

There was a tim when you needed the cooperation of your neighbors to simply survive. Neighbors worked hand in hand to lessen or eliminate the hardships of existance. They lifted each other up, and looked out for each other because they had to in order to survive.

There was a time that without these support systems and mutual relationships, you might lose your home, starve, or die. Your children might starve or die. Your very existance was threatened if you lived irresponsibly of failed to maintain your bonds and relationships with these groups of people.

But in today's world, none of this is true. We live in an incredibly rich Society. Even some of the poorest people in our Society have a place to live, a stove, a refridgerator, cars, microwaves, televisions, cell phones, a home computer, clothing, food, etc. We talk about poverty and homelessness, but those problems are nothing like they were just 50 or 60 years ago. Our average standard of living is so incredibly high...that we take it for granted.

During the Depression, my dad's toys disappeared in November, and he was given those same toys back as Christmas as presents. A huge treat was when his mom would bring home a single candy bar, and cut it into six pieces for the six children to share. They grew food in an empty lot nearby, just to have food to eat. They neighborhood pooled what little money they had to have their street covered in gravel and oil. And they lived inside the city of Kansas City. After WWII, when dad got married, he moved with his wife into a one bedroom apartment with a bed and a hotplate. They had to put food outside their window in the winter to keep it fresh because they didn't have a refridgerator. Dad was a hard worker with a fairly good job, but they had to save up for a long time to buy a refridgerator, and eventually they bought an old broken down car.

I've worked as a police officer in the inner city. The people that we all refer to as "downtrodden," "disadvantagd," and "poor" have homes filled with modern appliances, at least one car...usually two, their refridgerators are filled with food, and they have home phones as well as cell phones. Some of them work. We live in a Society of excess. A Society where the government provides a safety-net that can provide for you for years, and years. Even after Welfare-Reform, there are 11 Counties in Missouri where you can exist indefinitely on Welfare due to the "economic depravity" in those counties. Everyone has credit cards, and other means of living beyond their means.

So gone are the days where you need your extended family to help you survive. People trade in their spouses, cheat on each other, and hurt each other in the most selfish ways. People change jobs, have few close friends, and live as individuals confident that no matter how badly they choose to act, no matter how irresponsible their behavior, no matter how self-destructive they become...its extremely rare to starve and die in our Society. In a sense, our societial stability, values, and meaning have suffered greatly due to our material success.

And there is more. People are so incredibly mobile, jobs are relatively easy to come by, and housing plentiful and affordable, that people do not face the destruction of their reputation. They do not face the shame of bad action in their lives. They do not risk being shunned by those that they need, for they do not need anyone. Piss off you family by some horribly selfish action. Who cares...you don't need them anyway. Piss off your neighbors...you simply move. Piss off your friends? What friends? People collect aquaintences...not friends in our age of plenty.

So his answer makes sense to me. As I view the world, and the degenerate nature of our Society, it is hard to not see the world through his eyes. And the lessons he taught me about the world he grew up in...as opposed to the world we live in today.

Mark

We're looking at a tentative date of Saturday, May 10th...at 6:00 PM...in Westport. We'll meet at a specific spot, walk through the streets of Westport, and have an informal pubcrawl afterwards. More definite plans posted soon. Even if you aren't a big horror fan...or a zombie-person...this is going to be a lot of fun.

Can you help us spread the word about this event and this website?

Kansas City Zombie Walk

Mark

Jeremiah Allan interviewed me for THIS ARTICLE in the Ottawa University Newspaper. It focuses on the comic books I've created and published over the years, and my history as a self-publisher.

I've archived the story here in case you'd like to read it.

Mark

An Independent on Independents
Interviewing Mark Stinson, Graphic Artist
by Jeremiah Allan

The Campus, Ottawa University's Newspaper

Mark Stinson is a Kansas City police sergeant, married with what he describes as "three wonderful kids" and has interests as varied and diverse as Asatru, the Ghost Vigil program he helps maintain for area youths and the dreaded, oft-maligned comic book.

Stinson has been in and out of the self-publishing arena for over two decades and has learned that the life of an independent graphic novelist takes a lot of time and dedication.

"I started drawing comics in high school, back in 1985," Stinson mused.

He was hanging pencil-drawn comics on bulletin boards, making fun of teachers and school rules, when his father made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

"He said that if I inked my comics and drew them on folded pieces of paper, he would pay to print up to 100 issues. I took him up on the offer, and sold my little photo-copied comic books for 75 cents," Stinson said.

These books became a signature of Stinson's high school years, so much so that his only photograph in the senior slideshow was at his drawing table.

"They became pretty popular. I was selling about 150 copies of each issue by the time graduation rolled around," Stinson said.

Stinson's self-publishing career became a little less prolific in college, where his artwork primarily appeared as cartoons in the school paper and four years' worth of party posters in and around campus.

"After college, I struggled to find what it was I wanted to do with my life," he continued, talking about his progression from the light-hearted stories of his adolescence to more mature stories, adventure-oriented books that were usually full of violence.

After nearly three years of balancing real world work and his creative passions, Stinson finally completed Void Pulp Comics #1 in 1995.

Stinson financed five hundred copies of the book at a professional printer, and found the entire process highly addictive.

"My dad had taught me that it took relatively little money to self-publish, and I was hooked. Through the rest of the 1990's, I turned to writing and illustrating horror fiction. I self-published thousands of copies of these stories and distributed them by hand, through the mail, and at comic book stores in the area," he stated.

In 2002, Stinson turned his attention back to comics and finished Void Pulp Comics #2, an artistic experience highly different than the previous incarnation thanks to advancing technology.

"VPC #1 had been hand-drawn and inked on paper, lettered by hand, and the gray-tones added with hand-cut printer's film," Stinson said. "VPC #2 was penciled on paper, but then inked [on] my computer. The gray-tones were Photoshopped in. The seven years that had passed between VPC #1 and VPC #2 had seen an entire revolution in how comic book artwork was done. Void Pulp Comics #2 was sold through a website, at local comic stores and at comic book conventions I traveled across the country. It was a great experience."

Around that time, Stinson also become a due-paying member of the Kansas City Comic Creators' Network, a new organization that boasted nearly 110 members at the height of its popularity. Stinson credits part of the group's success to the Show & Tell anthology series that allowed many of its members' work to see print. The first issue was 210 pages long and was a collection of five-page short stories, all graphic fiction, by individual creators."Nothing motivates artists and writers like a chance to be published," Stinson said. "We printed 500 copies of this book, sold-out, and had to order a second printing. The Show & Tell Anthology #1 was distributed nationally by Diamond Distributors. Show & Tell #2 and Show and Tell #3 followed eventually, but neither was quite as successful as that first issue."

With the death of his father in 2004, nineteen years after introducing him to the world of comic book self-publishing, Stinson turned once more to his inspired side to grieve. In honor of his father's life, Stinson printed Jack Skull #1.

"In the comic, Death (personified as a walking, talking skeleton) travels the earth taking people as they die," he said. "The book is about how we die - how we face death. Do we face it with fear, or do we face it with dignity? The last chapter of the book has Death sitting down next to an old man in a park. The old man is modeled after my father. Dad and Death have a little conversation. For me, Jack Skull #1 was a way to honor my father... but also to teach people about how my father looked at death. And I think Jack Skull #1, more than any other book I've published, shows the power of comic books to teach us and touch us about life."

Stinson hasn't published much since Jack Skull #1, a few short stories distributed solely on the web but nothing on paper or in print.

"But, if you look over the dates of my published works," he joked, "everything's a few years apart. I'd say I'm probably due to finish something new and self-published in the next year or two."

To read Jack Skull #1 or sample Stinson's other work, visit www.comixfree.com.

Hey...we're going to Elmwood Cemetery at Noon on March 8th. We're going to do some clean up, explore the cemetery a bit, and tour the beautiful old stone chapel at the center of the Cemetery. The Cemetery and the Chapel are an important part of Kansas City History...why don't you come out and help? It will be fun...

:-)

Bring limbcutters, rakes, and work gloves if you have them. If you don't, then just bring yourself! And make sure you bring a camera if you have one. You'll probably want to take some photos. Elmwood is at 4900 E Truman Rd in Kansas City, MO. Go HERE for more details:

A lot of great folks are already coming to this...I hope to see you there too!

Mark Stinson
http://www.ghostvigil.com

Someone sent this to me today...Mark

When I Was Your Age

When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up, what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year 'round blizzards carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death.

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But...

Now that I've reached the ripe old age of 40-something, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so damned easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in Utopia.

And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't even know how good you've got it. I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet -- we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves!

And there was no e-mail! We had to actually write somebody a letter with a pen. And then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in a mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

And there were no MP3s! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the record store and shoplift it yourself. Try sticking an LP album under your jacket, buddy. Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and screw it all up!

We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting. If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal. And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes, either. When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was -- it could be your boss, your mom, a collections agent -- you didn't know! You just had to pick it up and take your chances.

And we didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation videogames with high-resolution 3-D graphics, we had the Atari 2600. With games like Space Invaders and Asteroids, and the graphics sucked! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever. And you could never win the game, the game just kept getting harder and faster until you died. Just like life.

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on. And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning. D'ya hear what the hell I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for a cartoon, you spoiled little bastards.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy! You wouldn't last five minutes back in 1977.

Here is a painting from something I'm working on....

Shawn

Hello and welcome to the blog...let's see if I can make it worth your visit.

Shawn