“Fatgirl Goes to the Fugly Pride Parade” by C. S. Johnson is part of Appalling Stories 4 (an anthology to which I contributed). It’s the sole superhero story in the book. And Fatgirl is one unique superheroine.
Fatgirl has a superhuman menace to face down and stop in the tale, but is that her primary antagonist? Maybe, or maybe not. You see, Fatgirl’s alterego, Kallie Grande-White, is a high school student and so superhuman menaces are far from the only villains and challenges that she has on her mind. Indeed, they’re probably not even her primary ones. Like many a high school student, Kallie’s focus centers on her personal world and the drama that’s going on in it.
So how does a Fugly Pride Parade factor into all this. Well, you’ll have to read the story to find out. Suffice it to say that when the fat hits the fan and Fatgirl springs into action, the reader gets to experience a big fight with a big foe.
Pick up Appalling Stories 4 today and enjoy “Fatgirl Goes to the Fugly Pride Parade” and the rest of the tales.
American law bans troops from engaging in political activism while in uniform. But that hasn’t stopped the Department of Defense from openly promoting troops who are advocating for “black pride” while in uniform. A June 9 press release from the 113th Wing of the Washington, D.C. Air National Guard praised Spc. Khaled Abdelghany for doing so.
“D.C. National Guardsman goes viral, uses his platform to enact change” is the headline on the press release. Here are some excerpts from the PR, starting with the opening paragraph.
A video of a D.C. National Guardsman went viral online when he was seen on video chanting “I’m black and I’m proud,” while supporting the civil unrest mission in Washington, D.C.
A few paragraphs later:
Armed with only a shield and protective gear, and with orders to hold the line, he stood face to face with his community members during a painful moment in our nation’s history. He stood there with his shield low and ready, so that protesters could speak to him and express their pain.
Abdelghany interacted with the protesters and let them know about the role of the D.C. National Guard, and that the Guard was there to keep the protesters safe, so they could peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights.
“As a black African American member of the community, and also as a black African American member of the military, D.C. Guard, it has been like hard, heavy, especially with what’s been going on with George Floyd’s death on camera,” said Abdelghany. “It’s been hard for all of us. It’s not just me, there’s a lot of other of my peers that feel heavy, feel hurt, feel aching pain and they also want change. It’s just really hard to find a way to kind of deal with both given the fact that you’ve signed a contract with the military.”
In times of conflict, he reminds himself to “follow what you believe in, follow your heart, and just try to do the right thing as much as possible.”
During one of his shifts, he was captured on video chanting along with protesters, “I’m black and I’m proud,” which was soon shared online and, at the time of publishing, had received more than 15 million views on Twitter.
“I felt that my heart was speaking out emotionally and it really just happened that way,” said Abdelghany about his reaction to seeing the video online. “It was in the moment, and I saw truth in everybody that was standing out there. And I understood exactly what they were going through.”
Not only is the DOD openly promoting servicemen advocating for “black pride” while in uniform, but it is celebrating them connecting with people in foreign nations and building race-based alliances in the process of this political activism:
During the civil unrest mission, Abdelghany had many interactions with protesters, all of them positive. After the video went viral, he has connected online with people from D.C., as well as Germany, Dubai, Australia and Egypt.
One protester who locked eyes with him on the protest line and gave Abdelghany a bottle of water. The protester later found him on Facebook, where they had a back-and-forth discussion on ways they can come together to help the black community in D.C.
They connected over their love of basketball and are in the beginning stages to plan a community event, once COVID-19 regulations allow them to safely do so, that features a basketball game, black vendors and getting black youth groups involved.
With his newfound platform, he wants to use his voice for positive change. “It’s overwhelming but we have to find strength. We have to find unity together to bring change. Immediate change,” said Abdelghany.
“I’m in this uniform, on this side, to make a real change for my black community. I hold myself responsible to do the right thing by protecting the people of D.C., along with securing my part for real progress within the city,” he said. “For my black and brown people, know that I love you and that I am very humbled and honored for the love and support that you have given me and continue to give me. I’m black and I’m proud. Peace and love. Black lives matter.”
Top Photo: Spc. Khaled Abdelghany, 273rd Military Police Company, District of Columbia National Guard, stands in front of the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C June 9, 2020. Photo by Staff Sgt. Anthony Small, 113th Wing D.C. Air National Guard.
Note: The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
“Hockey Man” (by Virtual Pulp’s Henry Brown) is about a gentleman who attends an Antifa Peaceful Protest. But he doesn’t attend to help the communists. Instead, his plans are much different.
“Hockey Man” appears in Appalling Stories 4, which was published in December of 2019. So it preceded the current events we currently are witnessing. Also, as full disclosure if you don’t already know, I too contributed to AS4.
As the story draws the reader in, one of the things that stands out about the protagonist is that he clearly is not like so many people we see in the real world. Why’s that? Because he isn’t joining Antifa or meekly backing down from the terrorist group. He’s someone who has chosen a starkly different option. And from there the story explodes.
“Hockey Man” is a tale about a hero who’s driven into drastically acting because he no longer can put up with what is going on around him. It’s a story about an American who no longer can sit idly by when no one else will stand up to injustice.
Fans of men’s adventure magazines will enjoy it. And frankly, so should a lot of other people. Like action? “Hockey Man” has it. Like a tactically descriptive war tale? “Hockey Man” is it. Like a tale that unabashedly has good guys and bad guys? “Hockey Man” has that too.
Stories where fact meets fiction (or fiction meets fact) are often interesting. And “Hockey Man” definitely is fast-paced, thrilling fiction that preceded real-world events. Pick up Appalling Stories 4 today. Read it and the other great tales in the anthology.
Women’s History Month is here (or so people tell me). And in celebration of that, I’ve put together a few clips that feature a handful of some fine moments in Hollywood history that involve women.
So without further ado, here they are in chronological order based on the year of release of the films.
1939: Gone with the Wind
Rhett Butler picks up Scarlett O’Hara and carries her upstairs to spend the night with him . . . whether she wants to or not.
https://youtu.be/RTw6ZLYudPc
1942: The Black Swan
Tyrone Power’s character manhandles Maureen O’Hara’s character throughout this film. Here are three scenes where he shows her who’s boss.
1946: Duel in the Sun
Jennifer Jones’s character is on her hands and knees, scrubbing away and really putting her hips into it when in walks Gregory Peck’s character. . . .
1951: Anne of the Indies
It’s two leading ladies here. Jean Peters’s pirate character attempts to sell Debra Paget’s character at the slave market. I couldn’t find a video clip of that scene, but here’s a link to an image of it at IMDB.
And you can watch the theatrical trailer for Anne of the Indies to get a flavor of the movie too.
1952: The Quiet Man:
John Wayne’s character finally has enough of Maureen O’Hara’s character, and he takes her for a little walk, dragging her along (literally at points) while the good townsfolk cheer him on.
https://youtu.be/E4Y5GpnWt5k
1953: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Sure, everyone remembers Monroe’s famous “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” song and dance in that pink dress. But there are plenty of other memorable moments in this movie. For instance, when Monroe’s character measures her hips and finds they aren’t quite the right size to fit through the window.
1956: Anything Goes
So they made them change the lyrics to the song “Anything Goes” in the movie with the same name, and a lot of people don’t like it. But it’s still a fun number. Mitzi Gaynor is a triple threat: acting, singing, and dancing, with dancing being the strongest of the three.
1959: The Indian Tomb
Debra Paget dances while barely wearing anything. (Skip to the 1:15 mark to see the actual start of the dance.)
https://youtu.be/jtkMUsRZP1k
By the way, that dance was not a one-off. Paget was a great dancer (and she was gorgeous). Here she is in a scene from Stars and Stripes Forever (1952).
1960: The Millionairess
The nurse tells Sophia Loren’s character to undress. And so she does.
1963: Donovan’s Reef
John Wayne’s character administers some corporal punishment to Elizabeth Allen’s character.
1963: McLintock!
John Wayne’s character administers some corporal punishment to Maureen O’Hara’s character.
1963: Spencer’s Mountain
Henry Fonda’s character administers some corporal punishment to Maureen O’Hara’s character (occurs around the 1:19 mark).
1963: 4 for Texas
What do you get when you put Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Anita Ekberg, and The Three Stooges in one movie? 4 for Texas. And you get multiple good scenes. One such scene is where Andress’s character explains to Martin’s character that she’s seeking a master—not a partner.
1964: Goldfinger
The scene where Bond tames Pussy Galore is famous—or rather, infamous. Why? Because it’s no longer politically correct.
1966-1968: Matt Helm Series
The Silencers (1966), Murderer’s Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1968) are the four Matt Helm films that Dean Martin made. They all feature Martin and a lot of women. Here are two memorable scenes.
In The Silencers, Dean Martin’s character rip the clothes right off Stella Stevens’s character. (I couldn’t find a legit YouTube clip of it.)
And in The Wrecking Crew, Sharon Tate’s character runs up to Martin’s character and has a spectacular fall.
And for a little bit of trivia, in addition to Tate being in The Wrecking Crew, the film also featured Nancy Kwan, Elke Sommer, Tina Louise, and an uncredited Chuck Norris. Bruce Lee served as a “karate advisor.”
1998: The Mask of Zorro
Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character decides to get into a sword fight with Zorro. It doesn’t end well for her.
So enjoy and share these clips on social media. I’m sure everyone will agree with me that it’s a great way to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Top Image: Screen capture of scene from ‘McLintock!’
India and Pakistan are engaged in another skirmish, and this latest fighting is a good time to remind people of how a war between the two nuclear-armed nations would affect Russia and China (and their focus on the U.S.). The skirmish is also a good time to remind people of why I’ve largely stopped writing open-source intelligence assessments (and pretty much every other type of nonfiction writing).
Back in 2018, I wrote “How an India-Pakistan War Would Distract China and Russia from the U.S.” Fairly in-depth, highly insightful, and unlike anything you’d find anywhere else.
And no one cared about it.
Feel free to read it now. It’s still on-point. And it’s particularly worthwhile to read considering that the U.S. is no longer capable of winning wars.
![Great Movie Scenes to Celebrate Women’s History Month [VIDEOS]](http://www.virtualpulp.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/mclintock-672x372.jpg)
