
Contra Worlds of Power Part 3: Jungle
Bill breathed deeply through his cigar. The cherry glowed, and then he spun, jabbed the lit end into another bad guy’s eye, and then turned

Contra pt. 3
Before Billy even knew what was going on, he was flung through a dimensional portal and tossed around all over the place. Kind of like

Contra Worlds of Power pt. 2: Billy
Billy’s last concern was fighting monsters from the company Red Falcon(?) For right now, it was all Billy could do to get through high school.


Worlds of Power: Contra
After yesterday’s complaints about the Castlevania II World of Power book, I thought I’d try my hand at it. Maybe it’s not as easy as
Helpful Snowman Radio Castlevania! The Book!
The most spookiest book ever. To feature chocolate addiction as a major plot point.

I’ll Do Anything For A Hundo
I decided to try a first-ever Kickstarter project to see whether or not this kind of thing will fly. The project is pretty simple. How

Helpful Snowman Radio: The Road Home From Grand Junction
And now we drive home. And I do not know how to iron pants.

My First And Last Day At The Big Johnson T-Shirt Company
Guys, thanks for having me. I have some good proposals. Here we go. Okay, number one. Big Johnson Billiards: A Huge throbbing dick. Uh. Not

Electronic Wolverine “Talks”
Another shitty figure from my youth. Notice how on the packaging, the manufacturers chose to put quotes around “Talks.” Because when they heard this goddamn

Terrible Action Figures Of My Youth
First entry, IG-88. Who the fuck is IG-88? Well, he’s a robot bounty hunter who’s in Star Wars for about three seconds. I think George

Forgotten Game Genie Codes
XJKHKFLSL Find stupid goddamn missing Game Genie manual. JKFHDICHL Stop wondering what happened to Mega Man’s hand. KJGUUUSJF Brother leaves to bathroom and


The Library In Zelda’s Minish Cap
I was playing Zelda: Minish Cap when I came upon a little side quest involving returning library books to a library. Yeah. Pretty exciting. As


Helpful Snowman Radio: Now That Is Indeed Some Music
Pop music turns out to be, as TS Eliot titled his book, a ShitHole.

I Have A Very Particular Set of…
…allergies that prevent me from traveling on an airline. So I really hope you are close-by. …accounting credentials. So while I can’t come and

You Know You Grew Up In The 90’s…
If you remember this. Remember looking at the wires and shit inside and thinking, “Why? Why can’t it just ring? I don’t even care if

Helping Indiana Jones Pick The Grail
Whoa, whoa, whoa, are you sure? That shitty one? Listen, man. We’re talking about the holy grail here. I see where you’re going. Humble. I

Helpful Snowman Reading Challenge!
Oy, there’s a dorky title. If my junior high self saw me with a web site, he would think I was so rad. If he

Helpful Snowman Radio: The Continuing Saga Of Pete And His Balls
Sorry for the no content this week. But I think you might just forgive me?


Little Free Library Best Practices
-Little Free Libraries are small collections of books set out for public borrowing. -Little Free Libraries should be filled with relevant, current materials that will

My Balls Really Hurt
The problem when your balls really hurt, you have to tell your boss you’re going to the doctor tomorrow, but you don’t want to tell
TV Shows That Would Not Benefit From Episode-By-Episode Podcast Analysis
Roc. Because they would spend every episode re-explaining what that was. Normal, Ohio. Because the dream of gay John Goodman died with that show and


Reactions to My Speculation Of How Exactly Katy Perry Will Talk Shit About Taylor Swift At The Super Bowl
1. Katy Perry doesn’t talk with an English accent. 2. I don’t think she’ll say “cunt” on live TV. 3. No, I don’t think she’ll

American Pickers
Picker: Well, old timer. What do you have in that barn that might interest us? Farmer: I mean, horses. Horse stables. Hay. Horse manure. Picker:

Names Of The Nail Polish Varieties in The Helpful Snowman Collection
Lapsed Integrity Budding Trollopism Broom Closet Rendevous Hostile Twerk Environment Acid Butthole Cheeky Nonsense Gobbledigook II TAPthatASSTESTRY Perfect Dark The Novelization The Nail Polish Smoky


As James Bond’s New Supervisor…
James? Ah, James Bond, good to meet you. Have a seat, please. James, I don’t fuck around. Which is more than I can say for

Creating the 365 Sex Positions Daily Calendar
Alright. January 1st. Ring in the new year with a classic, guy on top thing. January 2nd. Let’s change it up. Lady on top. January

Can Your Dog Fly On Our Airline: A Questionairre
1. Tell us about your dog’s plans for his visit to the Los Angeles area. 2. Have you considered the rewards and simplicity of a

Things They Should Actually Tell You In A Winter Weather Advisory
Today is a level 1. That means you can expect a lot of old-timers to comment on the weather. Best responses include “Well, we need

The Re-Honk
It’s been snowy in Colorado, and I have something important to report beyond the weather. The other night I’m driving in some pretty crap conditions.



Xmas Snowdown: Day 17
Today I received a Christmas card. From my friends and their dogs. I didn’t really think it through before, but my friends’ dogs, their last

Xmas Snowdown: Day 16
Okay, today was pretty light. I briefly viewed a Santa. In preparation for playing Santa myself this Friday. Somehow I decided that my main problem

Xmas Snowdown Day 15
Today I subscribed to a winter wonderland twitter bot. It automatically generates a new winter scene a few times a day. I hate Christmas, but

Xmas Snowdown: Day 14
Yesterday I did this icebreaker thing. You know, one of those games where you have to answer a question about time travel or philosophy, or

Xmas Snowdown: Day 13
Today, I received an early gift. My girlfriend and I went shopping for stockings. To hang on the chimney with care. Which is a problem

Xmas Snowdown: Day 12
Drew this. And it’s an omen of things to come. Get ready.
Helpful Snowman Radio Ep 209
aka How Pete Stoled Christmas aka Xmas Snowdown day 11.

Xmas Snowdown: Day 10
‘Tis the season for giving. What’s with this ‘Tis business anyway? Is it that much harder to say than it’s? It’s more Shakespeare-y, but that’s

Xmas Snowdown: Day 9
I bought an ugly sweater. An ugly Christmas sweater. With a hood! I don’t know if the ugly sweater thing is done. It seems like

Xmas Snowdown: Day 8
Another video game? I thought yesterday was video game day! You though right, voice from the internet. And what you’re learning now is that EVERY

Xmas Snowdown: Day 7
This is a game that happened. And today, it happened for me. Well, it’s not great. It’s not super fun. And honestly, I have no

Xmas Snowdown: Day 6
A simple one today. Does anyone do winter better than Calvin & Hobbes? All I had to do was read a Christmas comic. And yes,

Xmas Snowdown: Day 5
Today was work decoration day. I had a boss in the past who made a lot of mistakes with this. Basically, here was her decoration

Helpful Snowman Radio EP 208
Bros. We get sexual. Not sexy. Just sexual. A key difference here.

Xmas Snowdown: Day 4
Popped open these bad boys. See what I did there? With the pop word? How would I rate Pop Rocks Candy Cane? Concept: Sure. Yes.

Xmas Snowdown: Day 3
In the continuing saga where I try not to be a Grinch, today I was a Secret Santa. Or a Reddit Secret Santa, anyway. Here’s

Xmas Snowdown Day 2
I put up a Christmas decoration. Which doesn’t sound like a big deal, which is why it kind of is. It’s on the outside of

Xmas Snowdown: Day 1
It’s December. And I hate December. It’s hard to hate Christmas because lots of people make it hard on you. If you hate St. Patrick’s

Sunday Rant Day: Audio Edition
A special audio edition of Sunday Rant Day. I read the Isla Vista shooter’s manifesto. Some thoughts.

Helpful Snowman Radio EP 207
Okay. Let us solve this racist debate. Once and for all.

Vandalism Update
It only takes a lone fire starter to burn down the world.

Pete’s Zelda Process
Step 1: Awe and wonder. Step 2: Familiarity and joy. Step 3: Frustration, re-treading. Step 4: Well, I guess I’ll just put a bomb next
30 Questions About Wolverine After Reading a 30-Issue Wolverine Omnibus
1. So Wolverine had a mysterious past, which always haunted him. Now he remembers the past. Aaaaand it haunts him. The confusing thing, to me,


My Hunky Calendar, Month-by-Month
January: New Year, New You. That phrase written in marker across my penis, which is photographed very close up. February: Me, topless, presenting a woman

Pete Tries To Keep A Caller On The Line So A Trace Can Be Completed
Oh, okay. Yes, money in bags. Gotcha. Um. What kind of bags? Well, you know. Some people are picky about bags and stuff. Like they

I’m A Triple Threat
Staple Loader, Stapler, Staple Remover. Singer, Songwriter, Actor, mostly in the role of myself pretending my singing/songwriting isn’t awful. Twix Buyer, Twix Eater, Twix Regretter.

Sunday Rant Day: The Borders of Body Shaming
This last week I had a new column up at LitReactor, but as I wrote it, another issue came to mind. The man above is


Required Reading
http://www.nailedmagazine.com/fiction/worry-warts-by-peter-derk/

Helpful Snowman Podoween 2014!
Our annual celebration of all things spooky. Or some things spooky.

True Activism
Howdy, Lately I’ve been really thinking about leaving the Facebooks. The reason isn’t anyone’s fault. No one specific, anyway. Here’s a weakness I’ll admit about

Every Contestant On Cooking Contest Shows
People see me and think I’m cute, and I think they underestimate me a lot. But beneath the surface, I’m like a [insert name of

The Three Books on Kindle
It’s been awhile, but I think Helpful Snowman is back on track. Things have been busy, and they’ll stay busy. What have we been up
Librarian Of The Year Diary: Day 13
The first ad was a failure. But then I thought maybe it’s because the economy is in the toilet. Which is the President’s fault, whoever

Librarian Of The Year Diary: Day 12
I haven’t gotten any requests for cutting open ribbons to make places open. So I decided to put myself out there, like with dating except
Librarian Of The Year Diary: Day 11
In preparation for some openings, here are some things I cut through with my Grand Opening Machetes: -1 watermelon -1 ladder -1 ladder that was
What Happens When You Search My Web Site’s Media Library For “Party”
Yeah. Picture of Lisa Loeb. That’s what happens. And it’s right.

Librarian of the Year Diary: Day 10
Day 10: There were some problems bolting the machetes together. Mostly I didn’t know how to make a hole in machetes. Usually if I want
Librarian of the Year Diary: Day 9
Did you know that you, YOU, can buy a machete at Wal-Mart for $9.84? And did you know that a giant scissors is just two
Librarian of the Year Diary: Day 8
I found some ceremonial ribbon cutting scissors online. They had cool gold handles and they are guaranteed to cut ribbon. They are also guaranteed to
Librarian of the Year: Day 7
I couldn’t find any giant scissors at the stores around here. They don’t carry those. When I asked if they had giant scissors, some dope

Librarian of the Year Diary: Day 6
I looked for a pair of giant scissors in case I have to do a ribbon cutting somewhere. I figured I should practice so I

Diary of Librarian of the Year
As many of you know, I’ve been presented with a prestigious honor. I’ll be keeping a diary of my exploits as one of the greatest

Pete, As A God-Fearing Father, Tries To Explain Oral Sex
Well. Okay. A blowjob is like… When a mommy and daddy love each other very much they do certain things. Or also, sometimes a mommy

Day 4: Keep a Food Diary
The plan is to improve myself by going through this book of 52 ways to improve myself. I’ll probably half-ass some of it and screw


Why It Actually IS Problematic That U2 Showed Up In iTunes
A bunch of people got pissed off because someone gave them free music. Yes, in a stunning turnaround, an industry that’s been fighting piracy for

Pete Attempts Bro Talk
I feel like bros are really good at coming up with different words to explain how they’re having a lot of sex. Like instead of

Pete Attempts To Write Speech For NFL Team Owner
Please, be seated. I don’t know if you’re usually seated. If usually you’re standing, then take a seat because hey, I think things are already

How Come Everyone Gives A Fuck About Golf?
I’m here to tell you a secret. Golf is pretty fucking fun. Now, before you get all uppity about how your idea and my idea

Helpful Snowman Radio Ep 198
Where we become an elephant and fight for politics.

Helpful Snowman Radio Ep 197
In which we expose the evils of advertisation.

Day 3: Get Off The Couch!
The plan is to improve myself by going through this book of 52 ways to improve myself. I’ll probably half-ass some of it and screw

Sunday Rant Day: Concert Wrist Bands
There’s a guy at every concert whose job it is to put a papery wristband around your wrist. Universally, these guys are really bad at

Helpful Snowman Radio Ep 196: SNOWBOWL!
The gauntlet is thrown down for Helpful Snowbowl 2013. And thrown down hard!

Day 2: Get Some ZZZZ’s
The plan is to improve myself by going through this book of 52 ways to improve myself. I’ll probably half-ass some of it and screw

Possible Reasons Nobody Laughs At My Under The Dome Jokes: An Exhaustive List
1. They are not funny jokes. 2. Nobody watches Under The Dome. 3. There is nothing funny about being stuck inside a mysterious dome.