How to Get People to Read the Terms & Conditions

How can you get people to actually read the 20,699-word iTunes terms & conditions? Turn them into a graphic novel, of course:

It is rare to find someone who has a favourite line in the iTunes terms and conditions, but Robert Sikoryak does. “Oh boy, where is it?” he says, scanning his book, before beaming and reciting: “You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture, or production of nuclear, missile, or chemical or biological weapons.” He chuckles. “It’s pretty startling, isn’t it?”

Sikoryak’s latest graphic novel, Terms and Conditions, is like a great piece of conceptual art: dazzling to behold, if more than a little perplexing. Its panels of text and dialogue are word-for-word true to the 20,669-word terms and conditions, published by iTunes in 2015 (Apple has since adopted a lighter 7,000-word version).

Sikoryak has been praised by some for making T&Cs more accessible, which he finds baffling. He just enjoys the challenge of making something dismissed as unreadable readable. In his eyes, convincing someone to read terms and conditions is just like getting someone to read “worthy” classics they feel guilty about skipping, from Camus to Beckett and beyond. “I like using texts that are perceived as important,” he says, “and that includes iTunes T&Cs. All my work is an attempt to bridge the gap between what we call high art and low art, what we think is important or serious, and what we see as frivolous and meaningless. Often, that boundary doesn’t exist.”

He’s now working on adapting the work of the ancient Roman poet Catullus into comics, as well as The Unquotable Trump, a series of comic book front pages, in the style of everything from horror comics to superheroes, designed around quotes by the US president.

Speaking of words, imagine playing Scrabble with this kid: 5-year-old Edith Fuller who won the Scripps Green Country Regional Spelling Bee and will be going to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She is the youngest person to ever advance to nationals.

30 Years of Joshua Tree

U2's Joshua Tree album is celebrating its 30th anniversary today - the album was released March 9, 1987. So tell me, Joshua Tree - after 30 years, have you found what you're looking for?

And to add to the celebration, here's 5 facts about Joshua Tree:

1. The album was almost called "The Two Americas" as their inspiration for the songs came from the real America, as well as the mythic "American dream"
2. The album cover was not shot in Joshua Tree National Park, but rather of a lone Joshua tree in the Mojave desert
3. That tree was blown over in 2000, but it's still there, surrounded by memorabilia from fans
4. Joshua Tree remains the band's best-selling album
5. The band has never performed at any venues near Joshua Tree National Park or the location of the lone Joshua tree

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day.

Many women are also striking today for "A Day Without Women" - women are encouraged to stay home from work, spend no money, and wear red. Here's some links about the day:

• Information about the day on the UN website
• Tiffanie Wen of The Daily Beast talks about the day's history 
• Laurel Pinson explains why a day without women matters
• 7 women explain why they're striking
• People react to Trump's tweets about the day and it's glorious

I'm working today, mainly because I have a week vacation coming up and really didn't want to miss another day of work this month. But I'm with everyone in spirit! Also going out with some girlfriends tonight and visiting a woman-owned restaurant.

The Problem With Horror

I've done a lot of talking recently about what is and is not good horror. This video that popped up in my recommended videos on YouTube perfectly sums it up:

The Verdict on Racism and Sexism

I'm currently in an online discussion about whether we should continue singing music that is outdated at best and misogynist at worst. The verdict is still out on that one, but it's generating some interesting perspectives.

So it's interesting timing that these two things came across my inbox today:

• The Supreme Court ruled that a Colorado man may get a new trial, due to racist comments by a juror during deliberations - it was a close to decision (5-3).
• New research published in Psychological Science finds evidence of prejudice transfer; finding out a person is sexist leads to the perception that the person may also be racist (and vice versa). This "transfer" was mostly driven by the degree of social dominance (showing a strong preference for their in-group and comfort with social inequalities) demonstrated by the perpetrator.

I'm Completely Insane

April, as I've mentioned before, is the month of the Blogging A to Z Challenge, where bloggers write one post for each letter of the alphabet on a topic or topics of their choosing. In fact, theme reveal day, for those writing with a theme, is coming up soon: March 20! I'll be participating again this year.

So why am I completely insane? Because April is also Camp NaNoWriMo, which is like NaNoWriMo, but with a twist: you can write whatever you want! It's the month for rebels. Set whatever word count goal you like, because the point is to complete a writing project - any kind of project - which could be anything from a novel to a picture book to a screenplay and so on. And you know what? I'm going to do it! That means two big writing commitments in the month of April, along with all of my other life commitments. Yeah, I'm completely crazy. But we already knew that.

A bit of good news: Camp NaNoWriMo will happen again in June, so if I decide I don't have time for all of it, I can just push my project off until then.

I highly encourage fellow writers to check out one or both of these great writing events. If you're near Chicago, ChiWriMo, the Chicago chapter of NaNoWriMo, will be hosting write-ins in April, where you can network with other Chicagoland writers, find beta readers, and just hang out while working on your project. I've made many wonderful friends through the ChiWriMo events.

Follow the Money and See Where It Goes

If you're still scratching your head about what exactly Trump was saying Tuesday night, you're not alone:

President Trump’s (technically not a) State of the Union address Tuesday night included lots of policy proposals but few details. He promised a new version of his controversial travel ban but didn’t explain how it would pass judicial scrutiny. He nodded to a tax overhaul favored by House Speaker Paul Ryan but didn’t quite endorse it. And he gave the rough outlines of a replacement for the Affordable Care Act but didn’t resolve any of the thorny questions that have made Republicans’ “repeal and replace” promise harder to keep than they expected. (“Nobody knew health care could be so complicated,” Trump told reporters Monday, drawing incredulous reactions from the approximately 100 percent of people who knew that health care could be so complicated.)

But if you really want to know what Trump is planning, just follow the money - specifically the preliminary outline that will be out this month in advance of the full formal budget Trump will be presenting to Congress later this year.

Various news outlets in recent weeks have reported that Trump’s budget will draw heavily on a plan released by the conservative Heritage Foundation last year. That document proposes slashing spending by $10.5 trillion over 10 years by eliminating dozens of federal programs and offices. But Trump appears to be departing from the Heritage plan in significant ways. The think tank’s plan calls for eliminating whole categories of tariffs, for example; Trump has suggested he might impose steep new ones. And Heritage wants to get rid of programs that provide support for entrepreneurs and small businesses, arguing that the free market would do a better job allocating resources to the best companies; Trump, in his address to Congress, proposed a new program to encourage women entrepreneurs.

Once again, today's blog post is a quote, this one from a Broadway musical. Recognize it?

I'll give you a hint: "The Emperor has no clothes"