Ep 284: Solomon J. Brager!  

We are over the moon to welcome graphic novelist Solomon Brager to the podcast to discuss their new book, Heavyweight, AND complain about ice cream, talk graphic memoir, history, confronting zi**ism, and give advice on friends, leaving academia, tortoise food and MORE.

 

Solomon J.  Brager is a writer, teacher, and artist. They are currently a Jerome Hill Artists Fellow, a member of the Pinko magazine editorial collective and the director of community engagement at Jewish Currents magazine.

Sol joined me from their home in New York to discuss their new book, Heavyweight- a family story of holocaust, empire, and memory.

 

Like the show? Become an Honorary Sagittarian at patreon.com/nicolejgeorges . 

Need advice? Call 971-361-9998 and leave a message! 

 

Time stamps:

Beginning: The bummers of avocado food politics

3:40 Talking Heavyweight: getting fired for being anti-zionist

7:10 Less-effective political strategies

9:35 "You need to train your body out of being afraid of people who disagree with you. That's not a feeling you can trust." 

9:50 The family history behind the book

13:05 Graphic Novel process: Hand-lettering, traditional vs. digital drawing & more

20 Choices between what parts of the story were visual vs text

28:24 The joy of filling in backgrounds with black paint

29- book cover talk

ADVICE:

34:16 - How do I talk to my zi**ist friends about what’s going on?

38:25- Should I leave academia? Is there life after academia? Is it even possible?

FOOD: 

43:35 Bemoaning the changes at Van Leeuwen ice cream

47:55 Advice: How do I differentiate the tortoise’s food from my own? 

Bonus cucumber recipe

 

 

Show less

 

We are over the moon to have MICHELLE TEA back in the Sagittarian Matters Social Distancing Studio in honor of her new anthology, SLUTS- the inaugural book of Dopamine Press. Michelle Tea joined us to give  listeners advice on writing, boundaries, people pleasing, tattoo remorse, and more! 

But first, in an Unsolicited Vegan Food Review, Katy Davidson tries Acai for the first time and is very surprised. 

 

Go learn more about Sluts and all upcoming books and events at dopaminepress.org. 

Go listen & buy Katy's new album, Human Futures, here. 

 

You can listen episodes early and support Sagittarian Matters by becoming an Honorary Sagittarius on Patreon. Patreon.com/nicolejgeorges

This week on Patreon, we have a bonus video episode with Michelle Tea, where Nicole recounts the Perfect Wife docu-series, we talk shrimping, prudishness, and more. 

 

Today's episode produced and hosted by Nicole J. Georges, with Executive Produced by Chris Sutton, with editor Shanna Polley, field producer Ponyo Georges, and intern Gigi Peloso. 

 

 

We are over the moon to welcome Capricorn CHRIS VARGAS back to the show to discuss his new book, Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects.

But first! We do some live reporting from a Golden Girls show in Hollywood, where Chris & I were treated to room-temperature coke, hateful theater patrons and top notch impersonations.

 

Bonus: Chris discusses a Florida snorkel boat trip

 

Chris Vargas is also a Guggenheim-award winning artist, filmmaker, professor, and the founder of MOTHA, the Museum of Transgender Hirstory and Art.

Chris and his collaborators  have just released a giant, beautiful book, Trans Hirstory in 99 objects. A compelling exploration of trans art, activism, and resistance.

 

In this episode we discuss Angela Douglas, Assunta Femia, Pippa Garner, Catholics regendering indigenous people of California, the Tootsie film genre, A Hormonal Fog AND MORE.

 

Get Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects by Chris Vargas, Christina Linden & David Evan Frantz now! Wherever you get your books.

 

Today on the podcast, we are remembering beloved friend to the show Trina Robbins, who passed away April 10th, 2024 at age 85.    We are rebroadcasting a solo interview from 2016 (before the rotting pumpkin took office), and a live interview Nicole did in 2017 with Trina, Lee Marrs and Mary Wings at Root Division in San Francisco.   Enjoy. 

We are over the moon to have known Sagittarius Cathy de la Cruz join us to discuss a CHICKEN RESCUE on the streets of Brooklyn.  PLUS! Dawn defends her honor, reviews something called Giggles,  Morgan & Dawn review CAROB MOLASSES together, Nicole tries it, and talks about getting NEW GLASSES, and MORE.    Tune in!

Today on Sagittarian matters! We’re over the moon to welcome Morgan back to the show to  talk about Cafix, CELERY, Trader Joes Vegan Fish, TJ's Bird Nest, signs of aging, the smell of trader joes, Alfred Coffee, Outstanding Cheeseballs, Lagusta's cheese powder, Lagusta's turtles, Molasses cookies, Moku mushroom jerky and SO MUCH MORE. 

 

PLUS! An unsolicited food review from Dawn Riddle, with special guest Megan DIneen. 

We are on a summer break & will come back at some point in the fall with an actual season of the show!\

But in the meantime, 

We are over the moon today to bring you Tortoise Drama, Diary Comics, Unsolicited Vegan Vacation Food Reviews, Big news, where to find AJLT recaps and MORE. 

You can find Nicole's new book here: https://www.phasesevencomics.com/phase8/dogs-breakfast/

Get her 2024 calendar here: nicolejgeorges.com/shop

Find an unlocked And Just Like That finale recap bonus episode with Bran Taylor at patreon.com/nicolejgeorges

And find Nicole live in person at SPX Small Press Expo, Cartoon Crossroads in Columbus, and Short Run Comics Fest in Seattle. 

Featured on today's show, 

Roving reporters Dawn, Luca, Morgan & Torrence bring us unsolicited vegan food reviews from Spain, Tucson, & Denver. 

Dawn Riddle is a multidisciplinary artist from Portland, Oregon. She is a brilliant painter, weaver, photographer, musician, playwright, videographer and so much more. 

Luca J. Davis is a writer, web designer and long distance hiker. You will notice their review is in two parts, because it was  originally sent to me as a video text, which you can see on our instagram page, but  after hearing just the names of BEAUTIFUL tahini drink & breakfast items from Houlden’s Rise Above, I demanded more details. Which Luca sent. Via memo. 

Morgan is a baker and seed lover, and Torrence is a cat lover who was once my  very excellent roommate. 

Alec Longstreth is an award winning cartoonist. He also works as a freelance illustrator, animator, digital colorist, and comics educator.

He works at the Center for Cartoon Studies, just did all the images and some animations for Weezer’s summer tour, and is the author of Basewood 

And the all ages comic Isle of Elsi. He runs Phase 8 publishing, and you can get my NEW BOOK by going to his website. 

Phasesevencomics.com. You’ll see the phase 8 logo in the top right, click on it, and be taken to a print AND digital download link that directly benefits me!

Find Alec's comics at phasesevencomics.com.

The audio portion of this episode with Alec was originally recorded and edited by Alec for his Patreon page! Find him here: 

https://www.patreon.com/longstreth/posts

BETH PICKENS: Live Advice on Dating, Revenge, Asking, Volunteering, New project announcements and MORE.    We are over the moon to welcome noted Capricorn BETH PICKENS back to the show to give  Advice on Revenge, Dating,  Asking for things,  Working for free, Having a life,  a new press, two new classes AND MORE.   

Beth Pickens is the author of the books Your Art Will Save Your Life and Make Your Art No Matter What.

 

Today's episode was guest edited & produced by our theme song composer, Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs. Thank you Carolyn! 

 

 

You can find Beth & join her homework club RIGHT NOW at bethpickens.com .

 

You can find Dopamine Press, Beth Pickens, and Nicole all on  on instagram RIGHT NOW! https://www.instagram.com/dopaminebooksla/

We are over the moon to welcome Capricorn dream LIL MISS HOT MESS to the podcast to discuss her book If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It, Drag Story Hour, queer drag pedagogy, standing up to fascists and MORE. 

AND

Aquarius friend to the show MICHELLE TEA joins us to talk about the recent anti-queer violence at the Glendale School Board meeting, and how to show up, resist, and keep your queer joy. 

Also- Nicole discusses the latest drama from her "friendly" tortoise Facebook group. 

Lil Miss Hot Mess is the author of the children's books If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It (Running Press Kids, 2022) and The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish (2020) and serves on the board of Drag Story Hour.  She has also appeared on world-class stages like SFMOMA, Stanford University, and Saturday Night Live, was a founding organizer of the #MyNameIs campaign that challenged Facebook’s “real names” policy, and has published essays in The Guardian, Wired, and Salon.  When not twirling, Lil Miss Hot Mess is a university professor.

Michelle Tea is the author of over a dozen books, including Knocking myself up, Valencia, Against Memoir, and Black Wave. 

She is also the co-creator of Sister Spit and Drag Queen Story Hour. 

Michelle joined me from a literary festival’s wellness center in Denver Colorado to discuss the recent attack on the Glendale school board by the proud boys, and how to be an ally and spark queer joy in the face of it. 

Please enjoy my talk with Michelle Tea 

 

Today on a Super Special Pride Edition Crossover Episode, noted Virgo  Karen Tongson of the Gaymazing Race & Waiting to X-hale joins me to talk about THE ULTIMATUM- QUEER LOVE. Stay tuned. 

Karen Tongson is the author of Normporn: Television and the Spectacle of Normalcy (forthcoming 2023), Why Karen Carpenter Matters (2019), and Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries (2011). Her current book-in-progress is titled, Empty Orchestra: Karaoke, Queer Performance, Queer Theory (Duke University Press). She received Lambda Literary’s Jeanne Córdova Award for Lesbian/Queer Nonfiction for her body of writing in 2019. Tongson currently chairs the department of gender and sexuality studies at USC, where she’s Professor of GSS, English and American studies & ethnicity.

Her writing and cultural commentary have recently appeared in Slate, NPR, The Los Angeles Review of Books, PBS NewsHour, The Los Angeles Times, The AV Club, Entertainment Weekly, and KCRW’s Good Food among other venues. Tongson is co-editor of the award-winning book series, Postmillennial Pop with Henry Jenkins at NYU Press, and co-hosts two podcasts: the GenX-themed Waiting to X-Hale with Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh, and The Gaymazing Race (a queer podcast about The Amazing Race) with Nicole J. Georges.

Today’s episode brought to you by  Jaime Raybin, Khale McHurst, and Zella Minor-House !

If you would like to support sagittarian matters, especially producer Chris sutton, please send $5 $40000 via paypal to [email protected] or Hellbooks on Venmo. 

Thank you for your support and we look forward to saying your name on the podcast. Producer Ponyo looks forward to it too. 

We are over the moon to welcome EILEEN MYLES back to the program. 

 

We talk about Meditation, the concept of home, Making money as an artist, films, tea bags, coparenting, girlfriends ex girlfriend, tolerating the intolerable, activist groups, self-care, ambition and creativity. 

 

Plus, Nicole gives an Unsolicited Whole Foods music review, hardcore music revisit & introduces HERMES THE TORTOISE! 

Eileen Myles  is a Sagittarius, a poet, a  novelist, a performer and an art journalist.

Their more than twenty books include Cool for You, I Must Be Living Twice, Chelsea Girls, afterglow, and MORE.  Eileen has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and was recently elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters. 

 

Eileen joined me from their home in Marfa, Texas to talk about their new book of poetry, A Working Life. 

“With intelligence, heart, and singular vision, a “Working Life” shows Eileen Myles working at a thrilling new pitch of their poetic and philosophical powers.”

 

They ALSO have a giant, beautiful, important new anthology, Pathetic Literature. 

Go get both!