While presenting at the 86th annual Academy Awards, actor Robert DeNiro had a spot-on observation about writers. He was joking — but not — when he said:
“The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing—isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy.”
While I suppose this analysis could be applied to almost anyone, it has a ring of truth to it that, as a writer, I can not deny. While I’m not “caffeine-addled,” I admit to having struggled with many of the traits on his list.
I believe that one of the reasons good writers struggle with feelings of self-loathing and inadequacy is because most of the time you must be your toughest critic in order to achieve excellence.
A good writer is constantly asking “How can this be better? How can I bring this character to life? How can I make this scene touch someone at the deepest of levels? Am I doing my characters justice?”
What exacerbates the problem for many good writers is that they often use financial success as a barometer of their self-worth. Some of them toil away on blogs or on books that might never see the light of day or make much money. It also takes hours — in isolation — to finish, which means the writer often finds himself alone when his mind wanders to unhelpful places.
If you’re a writer, I’d love to hear your thoughts on DeNiro’s awards presentation. Personally, I’m okay with having a “terrifying” mind. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Is it possible to have too many explosions in a superhero movie? DC’s latest, ‘Justice League: War’ is 79 minutes long, and almost the entire run time is filled with things going “boom.” In theory that sounds great, but there are only so many hordes of Parademons a guy can watch get sliced in half, bashed and vaporized before one asks: “Is this all there is to it?”
For those who are unfamiliar with the tale, Batman, Cyborg, Flash, Green Lantern, Shazam, Superman and Wonder Woman find themselves together for the very first time, fighting the forces of Darkseid in a battle that will determine the fate of the earth (of course). The movie was adapted from the 2011 reboot by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee (although the animated movie replaces Aquaman with Shazam).
In short, ‘Justice League: War’ is great if you like endless strings of carnage and destruction, but less so if you expect at least a few scenes with emotional depth. Only Cyborg gets dealt a decent hand in the characterization department, and even that is rushed though as quickly as possible to get back to the front lines. While the final battle with Darkseid is impressive, the ease with which Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest dispose of Darkseid’s minions becomes tiresome after 30 minutes.
Perhaps the worst aspect of ‘Justice League: War’ is writing that directly undercuts the heroes’ complains that they’re irrationally feared by the general population. For instance, Wonder Woman acts somewhat incredulous that a group of angry protesters outside the White House are wary of super-powered beings, and then later in the movie she forces a street vendor to feed her and a child ice cream, free of charge, at sword point.
Could it be, Wonder Woman (i.e., writers at DC), that people “fear” you because of your “might makes right” mentality? Just wondering. It’s hard to root for a hero when her idea of “justice” is whatever she decides from moment to moment.
‘Justice League: War’ also is diminished by gratuitous use of foul language. What could have easily been an animated movie for adults and kids to enjoy was squandered by the random interjection of “shit,” “ass,” “whore” and a joke about cross-dressing that seemed to serve no other purpose than to push the rating to PG-13. Does anyone ever watch a DC movie packed with action and say, “I would have given it an ‘A’ but Green Lantern didn’t swear enough for my taste,”? Of course not. Watch some old episodes of ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ to see how top notch DC entertainment is done.
Speaking of Batman, ‘War’ actually does get an ‘A’ for its treatment of him this time around. True, I was disappointed that Kevin Conroy wasn’t voicing the Dark Knight, but Jason O’Mara did a decent job. DC nailed Batman’s interactions with Green Lantern — they were quite humorous — and there is a scene between Batman and Superman that captures the dynamic between the two of them almost flawlessly.
How many mortal men can hold up their hand to Supes like a traffic cop and get him to come to comply? Not many, but Batman is one of them. DC deserves kudos for writing the scene so it all transpires believably.
While ‘Justice League: War’ does tend to drag on at times due to the never-ending stream of Darkseid’s minions populating the earth, the final battle is rather satisfying. It truly takes the team to take down Darkseid, and each hero has their moment to shine. Nobody’s power is underutilized and nobody is treated as if they don’t belong. While all of them essentially know deep down that Superman is in a “league” of his own, they also treat each other as equals on the battlefield. In fact, it is a collection of inferiority complexes — not pride — that often threatens to derail victory. It is only when the warriors begin to feel comfortable in their own skin — and trust the hero next to them — that victory is sealed.
Check out ‘Justice League: War’ if you get a chance, but don’t go in expecting some of the weightier issues tackled by, say, ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood.’ If you do that, you probably won’t go away disappointed.
Suey Park is a young liberal feminist who recently gained some notoriety within academic circles for starting the Twitter hashtag “#NotYourAsianSidekick.” She told the Washington Post she wanted to “create a space where Asian American feminism does not leave any group behind and where they’ll be anything but a sidekick.” Her story gives us a unique opportunity to identify what the next crop of liberal American feminists represent.
I come from a middle-class family. My father is a chemical engineer; my mom, a housewife. And I’ve thought hard about what is it [about America] that has made my life different […] and I would answer this way: If I had stayed in India, if I’d remained, I would have probably ended up living one mile from where I was born. I would probably have married a girl of my identical religious and socioeconomic background. I would probably be a doctor or a lawyer or a software programmer, and I would have a whole set of opinions that could be predicted in advance. By coming to America, my life has taken a totally different shape. I became interested in American politics. I […] went into writing and journalism, public speaking. I joined the government, the Reagan administration. So America, in a sense, gave me the chance to write the script of my own life. And I think that’s the intoxicating appeal of America to outsiders, it’s a country that’s sort of like a blank sheet of paper and you are the artist, and you get to create your own destiny instead of having it given to you.
America is a country where you write the script of your own life. It’s a country that is like a “blank sheet of paper” and you are “the artist” who creates his or her own destiny instead of having it given to you.
Remember that.
Suey Park is like most liberal feminists — they spend an inordinate amount of time trying to blame others for the obstacles to their advancement. They live in the past, looking for the elusive boogeyman who made them feel sad, angry, insecure, weak or confused. In those cases where there is a grain of truth to their complaints, they inflate it into a mountain that they can endlessly traverse.
When did Ms. Park find her excuse mountain? Childhood.
Suey Park: It was a long time ago — from when I was really young. Even from the start of kindergarten, I was quickly racialized and made to understand that I was different based on what my mom packed for me in my lunch bag. On the playground other kids would pull their eyelids to their side and run around and chase me. I always thought to myself that someone must have taught them that. What kid would know to put their hands on their eyelids and make their eyes slanted? It’s not like they would look at an Asian girl for the first time if they never heard of Asians and do that. So it really proved to me that racism is taught.
Things seem so much bigger than they really are when we’re young. Sadly, for Ms. Park, the childhood trials and tribulations all kids go through have been turned a weird affirmation of American racism. Is it more likely that some dumb mean kids saw someone who looked different and responded to it like dumb kids have for thousands of years — or that parents instilled Asian hate in their kids when they tucked them in at night?
Kids can be downright mean in their attempts to come across as smart, witty or popular. Sometimes, insecure kids become bullies to mask their pain. “Mom is an alcoholic. Dad is abusive. Might as well go pick on the scrawny kid to make myself feel like I’m in control…”
Jerks make fun of fat kids, skinny kids, birthmarks, overbites, glasses, the tall, the short, the shy, white kids, black kids, Hispanic kids and yes, Asian kids. Those who don’t go through life with race-goggles strapped tight around their head can see that.
Suey Park: As an Asian American woman you’re told that you have to be smart and pretty to be heard. And you have to be exceptional, and of course people want us to be exceptional, so it was hard for me because I did struggle with math and science and I couldn’t live up to the ideals of what my sister could. So then I internalized that I had to be the pretty one and that I had to be the thin one and that became extra hard for me as I hit puberty and I wanted to hold onto it.
We’re back to childhood again. Freud would have a field day with Ms. Park. Keep that in mind as she discusses her eating disorder and the big boogeyman reveal.
Suey Park: I also think there’s also a lot of silence around mental health issues and eating disorders in Asian American families whether it be because of a cultural barrier or a communication barrier. There’s a lot of pressure to not struggle. It was hard for me to tell my parents about my eating disorder because I didn’t want them to know I was struggling because I knew they had sacrificed so much to give me this good life and so-called American dream.
So Ms. Park has a competitive dynamic going on between she and her sister, her parents put pressure on her to succeed, and the household environment wasn’t conducive to talking about emotional and psychological challenges. Sounds like something that any American might deal with, right? Wrong.
Suey Park: I think what was most disappointing was that even some “progressive” white people or “progressive” Asian Americans were telling me that I was demanding too much and telling me that meritocracy exists and that I should stop complaining and try to overcome my circumstances — the typical spiel.
The boogeyman is real, and he is white. Those darn white people and their “spiels” about overcoming adversity. Apparently, Ms. Park hasn’t been hanging out with the progressive white kids from Minnesoata, because they scrawl all over their bodies with black ink in bizarre attempts to shame themselves for their whiteness.
Instead of seeing a blank sheet of paper, Ms. Park sees “white” and then wonders why there isn’t a “Korean” color in her box of Crayola crayons.
Ms. Park continues:
Suey Park: I think a lot of white people have a visceral reaction to the fact that they belong to a structural whiteness. But I think it shows us something really important, which is that fraction of discomfort is nothing compared to a lifetime of being racialized and put in a subordinate class of people in the U.S.
“Structural whiteness.” Feminists like Peggy McIntosh said that “white privilege” was invisible, and that we couldn’t see it. Now Ms. Park comes along to inform us that this invisible whiteness is of immense size and shape — and it’s subordinating Asians. America is a giant mad house that is so insidious that millions of immigrants come here thinking they can shape their own destiny. If Dinesh really understood he was in an oppressive white matrix, he’d realize that his many successes and the American dream he fondly speaks of are figments of his imagination — it’s really only a “so-called” American dream.
Side note: When I was in college I had a professor tell me the American dream didn’t exist. I told him that I was living proof that it did exist. I left home at 18 years old with $100 to my name. I joined the military, and only a few years later I was putting myself through college at the University of Southern California. It took a little longer than I expected after an honorable discharge, requiring some time as an overnight stock boy at Target (as the only white guy, for those obsessed with race), but I got there. I often get nostalgic for those 1:00 a.m. breaks, where I’d watch my coworkers play soccer in the parking lot while I cheered them on and ate tacos from the back of a food truck, but I digress.
Question for Suey Park: Would she prefer something more “structurally Korean”? The gulags in North Korea are filled with Koreans, and sometimes you get to watch your parents get executed. They put rocks in your mouth and then tape it shut before the firing squad gets to work. (We can’t risk the Dear Leader getting disparaged by someone with nothing left to lose, now can we?) I’d talk about South Korea, but the wealth and prosperity it has seen over the last several decades is largely due to its embrace of America’s “structural whiteness” and the safety and security provided by our marbled Armed Forces. Check out satellite imagery of North and South Korea if you’d like to see what “structural whiteness” can do for the nation state nearest you…
The problem with most feminists is that they spend the bulk of their time reading the ramblings of other feminists, and not enough time examining the authors of the greatest experiment in self-governance in the history of mankind. Their intellectual wells on Washington, Jefferson, Madison and John Jay are dry, but they run deep on Gloria Steinem wannabes.
A bunch of really white guys hundreds of years ago laid down a road map for achieving levels of freedom and individual liberty that, to this day, is an aberration in much of the world. The ideas embedded in the Declaration of Independence and codified into the law by the U.S. Constitution transcend race. America is not structured around “whiteness” — it is structured around freedom and liberty. That is what millions of immigrants get, and what Americans like Ms. Park either a.) fail to understand or b.) willfully downplay to concentrate on a level of racism that simply does not exist in modern America.
In the end, we all want to be happy. Even though I disagree with Ms. Park, I want her pursuit of happiness to end well. According to her Washington Post piece, she has achieved her own definition of success. That’s great, right? Wrong again, white America.
Immediately I’ve become the cool Asian friend and all of my Facebook friends who thought I was really annoying for talking about racism, my feelings and my eating disorder are somehow now tokenizing me as a successful Asian American woman. I mean, how token is that?
At one time Ms. Park was upset because her friends rightfully found her obsession with race annoying. Now that she has found a modicum of success, and they patted her on the back for it, she is perturbed that she has become a “token.” But is she really a token — or just a token in her own mind?
No matter what happens to Ms. Park, there is always something to complain about.
Congratulations, Ms. Park — you are the quintessential liberal feminist.
Since Thanksgiving is upon us, I thought I’d take some time to let some of my regular readers know that I am thankful — for you! I’ve decided to take a quick quote from many of you and then describe why it means so much to me that you take time out of your busy schedules to read my musings.
Editor’s note: I have all the quotes down, so if you see your name here…I will say a little something about you or your contributions. It might be short and sweet, or it might be extended. Regardless, I’ll knock it out before Thanksgiving is over. Since going through all your comments took longer than expected (it’s almost midnight), I’m going to turn it in for the night and complete this post while I await a Thanksgiving feast. Tomorrow I have work…and a long drive that doesn’t start until 8:00 p.m.
Andrew: I heard on the radio this morning that in the Church of England may not exist in 40-50 years as younger people have stopped attending church.
When I was younger I attended a Sunday school run by the local Salvation Army. My parents did not attend church. In both cases this was because they did not enjoy church as children. By attending the Sunday school I found comfort when my grandfather passed away when I was 7.
I think a lot of the problems in the world today are down to a LACK of religious contact. Religion is a positive influence on peoples lives.
Tactful, personal and on point. If the comments section of most blogs had guys like Andrew in it, I’d probably actually read more of them.
Aniwonder: Firstly I want to applaud you for having such faith and insight in the face of a heart breaking situation. I work in the Ob/Gyn field and have come across many women in your situation who do not demonstrate your level of introspection. I couldn’t help but feel for you and your family and I would like to contribute a Christian physician’s view here.
As I’m sure you know, the condition your baby has is the second most common chromosomal abnormality (next to Down’s syndrome). Together, the chromosomal abnormalities (trisomy 21, 18, and 13) make up a large percentage of birth defects. A lot of mothers ask a common question: Is it something I did? The answer is, of course, a resounding “No”. The Lord designed our bodies to have self-regulatory systems in instances like this. I think that’s one of the reasons the majority of miscarriages occur before the woman ever realizes she is pregnant and are due to these same chromosomal anomalies.
Other times women have babies who live until delivery but not long afterwards. These babies were not meant to walk very long on earth, but perhaps they still had a purpose while they were transiently here. Your spiritual mentor at Church, your renewed faith and prayer, and your introspection – were they not all positive things that you did in response to receiving this devastating news? We are not privy to God’s plan for us. This may simply be an obstacle in your life which will allow you to appreciate your family that much more in the future.
Having said all that, I want to encourage you (when you’re ready) not to be scared to try again. I’m sure your doctor has told you as well, but this disease occurs sporadically as the result of mis-divisions among cells. It’s not caused by food, exercise, or travel, etc…that the mother or father participated in. Again, thanks for sharing your story. I will be praying for the health of you and your family!
It never ceases to amaze me how kind some of my readers can be to complete strangers. I consider it a blessing to have such kind souls in my life.
Arachnobat: The Person Who is Person, I know we’ve had some disagreements on other threads but the things you’ve posted here are very interesting and I agree with you on the soul. Emmanuelle brought me to your post on Darwinism and I was hoping we could start an email correspondence. When I was younger I had the same righteous anger as you and I’m glad you’ve put your confidence in God as Judge and Vindicator for he assures us. “Vengeance is mine I shall repay.”
If this blog brings people together to talk through complex public policy issues, religion or just the latest comic book that makes me happy. Anyone who can conduct themselves on this blog in such a way as to strike up an email correspondence with another reader earns a salute in my book.
Carl: Hislop claimed- without evidence- that the Biblical king Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the LORD (he is believed to be an early Sumerian and/or Babylonian king by some) was the inspiration for Jesus. That doesn’t even begin to make sense, but then again, he was blinded by anti-Catholic bigotry.
If he were alive toay, he’d probably work for Salon.com or the Democratic Underground. That’s how insane his theories were.
Carl, you’re one cool dude. I really like you, buddy. It’s been great to see you grow as a writer over at Carl’s Comics, and I’m glad to have you as a regular contributor. You’re a stand-up guy and I wish the best for you, personally and professionally. If you ever need a hand, let me know and I’ll do whatever I can to help you out. I may not have met you in person yet, but I can tell that you are a good guy.
Dan Slott: “If someone, like you, who is in the habit of spreading gross falsehoods about me online, I am interested to see if any of them rise to the level of being liable and actionable.”
Dan, even though you’ve said that I am a “bad” person whose actions fill you with “sorrow,” I am still thankful that you took the time to tell the world what you think about me. Yes, you said the following: “If you follow my feed and wish to show support, please block @douglasernst. And please do not give his blog ANY hits. If you follow @douglasernst and are offended by this entry, please let me know so I can block you.” However, by doing that you forced me to really think about what I was doing. In my private moments I did contemplate what, exactly, I was putting out into the world. Was it negative? Was it positive? Was it something that I should be ashamed of? Was it something that Marvel lawyers could take me to court for?
In the end the real question is: Would I do it all over again? Answer: Yes. I would probably tweak some of the language here or there, but at the end of the day I’m happy with what I’ve written and I’m thankful for all the Peter Parker fans your creation has brought into my life.
Diana C: Someone gave me a weapon a couple of years ago, and while glad to have it, thought, “I’m sure I will never actually need this.” When a job 30 years ago required that I be certified in CPR, sometime during the instruction, I thought, “I’m sure I will never actually need this.”
Well, two years ago, a man installing flooring in my home fell over dead of a heart attack. Without hesitation, I used that CPR training and saved him. Also in the past two years since receiving the weapon, I have indeed felt the need to have it handy when feeling threatened. Thankfully, so far I have not needed it, but am certainly glad I have it just in case.
Funny thing is, the same person whose life I saved with a skill I thought I’d never use, is the same one who gave me the gun I hope I will never use… and I’m very happy to have both!
Thanks for reminding me that every moment presents us with a learning opportunity and that we shouldn’t take even one second for granted. It’s amazing how our bodies are so strong and durable, and yet very fragile at the same time. Thanks for sharing your stories with me, Diana.
Eve: Sick, but sadly, not surprising. Kids are stupid. Ever have one?.. total idiots. “I didn’t eat the cookie” he says, chocolate smeared all over his chubby face. They do not think through their actions or fear consequences if they’ve never had to face them. This is what you get with indulged, over-entertained children left to their own devices because their parents refused to parent. “Doing wrong is a like a joke to a fool..”
Call your mom or dad today and say “thank you” for giving and teaching you wisdom and responsibility.
I’m always glad when someone with a working moral compass visits this blog because although I try to keep mine calibrated, it sometimes swivels. Having people like you around, Eve, helps me remember to check it and make sure it’s pointing in the right direction at all times.
Georgia: Needed to read this today. it’s a philosophical view i share with you, but i sometimes forget. financially struggling, we are not the type who fill our lives with gadgets and gizmos. we just can’t. but we still find ourselves sometimes in a trap that money is the end all important thing… even if we don’t have it. one of my favorite quotes is “we are always getting ready to live, but never living.” {by emerson}. it hangs on my fridge to remind me to live, lest i wake up one day at 80 years old and find that i only got ready to live and missed the living part. lately, my mantras {for lack of a better word… not to sound new-agy either} have been “i’m convinced that the key to life is contentment.” and “the most important things in life… aren’t things.”
We are sort of at a crossroads in our lives as a family… trying to decide where we want to take things. it’s exciting, because there is so much room for potential. but i wholeheartedly agree that we need to focus our energies on what we want to see happen. with a toddler, we find ourselves so busy, rarely taking time to sit down and map out our goals and needs. this post inspired me to maybe get a big ol’ white board and just start writing things out in big bold letters for us to see so it’s sort of always in our face, even when we get caught up in raising a little one and all the other things that keep us busy. anyway, i know i’m kind of rambling in a not-very-cohesive manner. but those are just some of my thoughts. perhaps you have already read this article at one point, and though i know it’s not exactly the points you made here, the article reminds me of yours, so i thought i’d share it. it’s a good read… http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/
thanks for your inspiring post today!
It’s posts like this that make me smile, because I know that one day I’ll move from Washington, D.C. and have neighbors like Georgia. Good, honest and decent people are still out there! Georgia, you give me hope for future generations of Americans. 🙂
Hube: Make sure it’s the omnibus volume — “Tomorrow’s Avengers” I believe it is subtitled. The later stories get a little weak, but their first appearance, then the Two-In-One and Defenders arcs are sensational. FYI.
Hube! The Colossus of Rhodey is a great blog, but you’re also a colossus in your own right. Brains, wit and kindness. You’ve been called some pretty nasty things on Twitter for what you’ve written, and you’ve always handled it like a pro. I’ve learned a lot from reading your blog, and I’m not just talking about what I’ve gleaned from the content you provide. I’ve been writing here for a few years now, but I had a lot of growing up to do. I think it’s safe to say that the work you churn out on a regular basis has served as an inspiration for douglasernstblog.com. What I said to Carl applies to you, too: If you ever need something, just ask. If you’re in a jam and there’s any way I can be of assistance, I’ll do my best to come through for you.
Issaac Wolffe: If comic writers want to be edgy by tarnishing immortal heroes, don’t make them stop being heroes. Instead make them mortal. A revolutionary comic writer would swear to make their character age and eventually retire or die. They always talk about the characters’ possible futures, but they never let them happen. If this were to happen for every character in the Marvel universe (that could possibly become mortal), then the stories would instantly become epic. Because, what thrill is there in knowing that a hero will always survive or at least come back from the dead. Also, with a permanent death, authors like Dan Slott would be less tempted to have heroes die in such disgusting ways.
I like smart people. Issac, you seem like a pretty smart guy. Do you know what I like more than a smart person? A smart person … who is also nice. You seem to fit that criteria, so I’m glad to see you pop up in my Twitter feed and in the comments section of my blog.
Jim Zee: “wars should be fought in a giant stadium by world leaders armed with socks filled with horse manure” — W. C. Fields
Jim, you’ve always got a joke on standby. You’re a hard-working American man with a good head on his shoulders. You’re a rare breed these days… You know exactly who you are and you’re not afraid to put it all out there for the world to see. I think our delivery method for the conservative message sometimes differs, but make no mistake: I’m proud to have come across you and your blog. The country would be a much better place if we had more guys like you in the workforce.
joysy1015: “Learning should never stop, trying never end! Blame never made anyone a better person. I spent the last 27 years trying to learn how to be a better person, You’d think I’d have it down to a science.. But while I’m no where NEAR the person I want to be.. I’m a whole lot closer than I was 49 years ago, and 27 years ago.”
This is gets pretty close to the meaning of life, and if I have people who are bringing this sort of insight into my blog, then I truly am blessed. We all should be striving to become better people, and realizing just how far we have to go…is a good thing. Too many people think they’re already “good” people who don’t have much room for self-improvement. Wrong. No matter how “good” we think we are, we still are laughably far from perfect. It brings a smile to my face to know that kind souls such as yourself have graced me with presence, whether it’s for a few days, months or years.
Lightbringer: Your blog has taught me a lot and made me re-examine some beliefs that I held. Even change some of them. Your reply reminds me of the Lincoln quote from a few emails back. You have destroyed me as an enemy by making me a friend. No bare knuckles or duels at dawn required. I look forward to that post you mentioned, if you ever opt to write it. If not, that’s okay too.
In some sort of alternate reality, I probably wound up politically a lot like you, Lightbringer. I think if we grew up on the same block together as children we’d probably be pretty good friends. I think as people get older they cut themselves off from a lot of meaningful friendships due to politics, so I’m glad that I was able to let my guard down enough to trust you with some more personal anecdotes. If someone ever likened me to Rocky, I’d probably call you my Apollo (although we won’t be running on the beach together anytime soon). We’ve had some knock-down, drag-em-out fights, but at the end of the day we’ll still extend a hand to help the other guy up. One day, when my wife gets down with school, we’ll have a house with a boxing ring. I’ll invite you over for a few rounds. “Ding. Ding.”
Lizard19: One of my favorite visual artists is Jess, especially his collage work. Here’s some more context from his wiki: “Jess was born Burgess Franklin Collins in Long Beach, California. He was drafted into the military and worked on the production of plutonium for the Manhattan Project. After his discharge in 1946, Jess worked at the Hanford Atomic Energy Project in Richland, Washington, and painted in his spare time, but his dismay at the threat of atomic weapons led him to abandon his scientific career and focus on his art.”
Not everyone in life is going to like what we say and do. In fact, what we say and do might enrage those around us. I think it’s safe to say that to a large extend you do not like the messages coming from the blog, Lizard19. And that’s fine. I know that I do not have all the answer, and I know that I can learn something from everyone — including you. Thank you for exposing me to artists like Jess, and thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Even if I disagree with you (or ban you for extended periods of time) that doesn’t change the fact that you possess valuable information that I am thankful to receive.
Note: Although your ban extends until May 1, if you have something to say that is in the spirit of Thanksgiving it will be permitted in this post.
Magnetic Eye: SSM reads like a “Megamind” parody which is fine for a cartoon funny book, but not for a super-hero book. Speaking of which check out the link below. It’s interesting that someone at Marvel sees that parody that Marvel NOW has become and have published a book called “NOW What?” It’s funny, but also sad, since for me, this is the new reality as my enjoyment of Marvel characters has steadily diminished in recent years. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=18601
Not only has Magnetic Eye taught me a thing or two about Australian health care, but he’s also made some keen observations on Superior Spider-Man. When I see a reply by Magnetic Eye, I always know it will be a good read.
Mark: I’m not sure if this is merely pseudo-science or not, but many of the MMA fighters and trainers I’ve interviewed claim you’re much more likely to get knocked unconscious by blows you don’t see coming. It has to do with your body being unprepared for the moment before impact. Your advice of being alert and alive may be more accurate than you know!
Another recurring theme I’ve seen – in any fight, sanctioned or not, always expect to get hurt. By having that mindset, you’ll be prepared should that actually happen. It’ll also help convince you to do more damage to the aggressor. The theory is that by expecting pain, you’re prepared for it and don’t “turtle up,” as the jargon goes.
I know a few women – many tiny – who do Brazilian jiu-itsu, muay thai kickboxing, etc. and can easily take bigger, stronger men. I recommend anyone feeling unsafe look into these or similar arts as they maximize doing maximum damage to attackers with minimal energy, even in adverse circumstances. They’re also good for physical fitness, mental discipline and social networking too.
Mark is sort of like a ninja. Apparently he’s reading, but I never know when he’s going to pop up. When he does, he usually has something insightful to say. He picks and choose his words carefully, but when he speaks he makes it count.
Matt Robert McKenzie: This is where I will disagree with ya Doug, to a point. When it comes to registration and superheroes, all of them are still by and large vigilantes and operate outside the law to get the job done. To go places the cops can’t because of laws and structure. They break minor laws by comparison to those who commit murder and wanton destruction. And frankly, I wouldn’t trust politicians with agendas (they will always exist and we are fools to think otherwise) to have access to that kind of power because if you were to tag and register every single superpowered character, they would dissect you, kill you, violate your constitutional rights (regardless if you’re the good guy or the bad guy) and then replicate it onto themselves or keep it in cold storage. Can’t say I blame superheroes having secret identities.
Disagree with me? On my own blog? How dare you! 😉 I like someone who will give it to me straight, whether they agree with me or not. As long as the person is tactual (as you are), they’re okay in my book. Thanks for reading, Matt.
Mr. Billwulf: Nice analysis. As convoluted as Toure’s views are, I think there is a unifying theme at work: the desire to hold on to that which is politically correct, even in the face of contradictory evidence. Mary Beth Williams expressed similar convoluted views in her recent Slate piece. Toure and Williams want to believe that abortion is about a woman’s autonomy no matter what. I call this the Political Fallacy, the fallacy of letting one’s political ideology override non-political considerations.
Like Mark, Mr. Billwulf randomly turns up — and I’m always happy for it. I read their comments and think, “Welcome back, old friend!”
natewinchester: One wonders that in a world with mind control, time travel, robot duplicates, alternate universe duplicates, shapeshifters and so much more, if anyone would ever be convicted of anything. (what CAN’T be reasonably doubted in that universe?) Though it could lead to some interesting punishments. “You are guilty of murder. I sentence you to bringing the victim back to life.”
Another good-natured comic book guy commenting on my site? Yes, please. I’ll take all of them that I can get. I don’t collect as many comments as I used to due to time and money constraints, so it’s good to have people around who can keep me up to speed. You can check out Nate’s blog at http://natewinchester.wordpress.com/
Patrick: I think it’s like school, work, or working out; you get what you put in. Can’t speak for the Church of England as I’ve been Catholic all my life and I think we do a poor job of explaining our traditions; they just come across as rules in our Sunday School; I think this scares younger people away. As an adult I took it upon myself to learn the “why” behind our traditions and it strengthened my faith.
I did volunteer for to help out a mission in western Pennslyvania a couple times in my teens, we stayed a week at a time and helped out those that needed a hand; the area was reeling from steel/coal decline at that time. Seeing the good service side of religion made a lasting impression on me. I agree religious contact can be very positive; I hope the Anglicans can right their ship.
There aren’t many people who I trust to turn to in a jam — like an “oh my goodness, this is serious and I need advice” jam — but Patrick makes the list. If you could see all of his comments on this blog, you would begin to understand why. Let me take this a step further: Patrick is probably one of maybe three people on the planet who could say, “Doug, shut up now,” and I would do it without a protest. If Patrick tells me I’m in the wrong on something, then it’s time to sit back and reevaluate things. I might still end up disagreeing with him, but the reevaluation will happen.
Paul Johnson: Great stuff. I think certain dreams also allow you to make connections that you may have been on the cusp of making during your awake time. Be it new ideas, moral discoveries, lessons. And other times maybe for creative enjoyment.
I’ve had a couple experiences, where the dream was incredibly lucid, and memorable. In particular, I’ve had some that played out like some type of thriller or action “movie” which I only use to describe it that way since it had a storyline that I could follow, and recall everything that happened at any given moment during the dream.
Eventually the “story” of the dream came full circle, and when I woke up I couldn’t believe that my subconscious had conjured up what it had.
I think my first interaction with Paul came after one of my fitness posts. I still randomly hear form him on Twitter. Once again, through my blog and social media accounts I’ve been able to meet some pretty cool people. If I was holed away in my room writing a book I would have missed out on some quality conversation with guys like Paul.
Person Who Is Person: Second off, I’m glad to see you bring up this particular movie. Did you know that Superman Versus The Elite is based off an early 2000′s story arc in the mainstream DC comic-verse called, ‘What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?’ Did you know that it was also made in response to a group DC’s Wildstorm Imprint was making called ‘The Authority’ who sort of popularized the whole idea of ‘Superheroes should be jerks who should kill at the first sight of trouble and care more about publicity stunts and maintaining their own power that legitimately helping people’ that was later even more popularized in Marvel’s secondary ‘Ultimate’ Universe?
Person Who is Person (aka, Emmanuel), your knowledge of comics is quite extensive, and like I said earlier in this post, I appreciate hearing from guys like you. I don’t get to read as many comics these days as I would like, so it’s good to be able to talk with guys who have their fingers on the pulse of the industry.
I suppose up until this point I’d describe you as a little bit of a loose cannon, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You’ve got heart and a whole lot of energy, and if you channel it in the right direction I think you could go far. I think if you can focus like a laser on the things you really want, you’ll attain them.
randylewiskemp: I heard today that the program team only had 2 weeks to test the system. They did request several months. I have to agree with the programming representatives. Two weeks is not enough time to test a system that is used in several states and also the federal level.
I still insist that you can run a LAMP (i.e. Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) combination much lower that 400 million dollars. In fact, if you gave me a budget of 400 million, allowed me to build it upon LAMP and hire my own experts – it will cost far less and be much sounder and bug free. I understand that Yahoo runs on MySQL databases. How often has that crashed? And I would also be able to have support contracts in place, to resolve any open source issues.
But they hired a firm with the name “federal’ in it. I wonder if they farmed things out to India and 3rd world countries and kept the profits for themselves?
Through this blog I now get to interact with guys with programming skills. Sweet! There’s a whole lot that I don’t know, and the more guys like Randy that I can run into along the way, the better. These are the kinds of replies I absolutely love.
Rogue: So, Mr. Expert, if I don’t like the Superior Spider-Man, it’s because I’m too stupid to understand where the story is ultimately going? Wow. I didn’t realize my reading comprehension and ability to see foreshadowing were completely erased because I don’t see the value of killing Peter Parker in order to… well, first it was a desperate act of a dying man. Then it was revenge. Then it was to protect Pete’s family. Then it was to be “superior”.
Along the way, my lack of comprehension must have been completely in the basement when I missed the significance of the mind-rape of a major female character, the petulant, near-fatal beating of a non-powered woman, the second death of the primary character, actual premeditated murder of a wounded and unarmed criminal, invasion of privacy, attacking teammates who want to know what’s wrong, even more murder, blackmail, and an army of henchmen. I’m going back to Dr. Seuss, where I can understand where Green Eggs and Ham won’t blow my mind too badly.
Of course Slott isn’t going to show his face in public, but he knew this would happen beforehand, and entered into this situation gleefully. You can tell it by the way he crows about Peter staying dead, how he AND his Ed-McMahon-stooge Wacker acts (his support troll), the hamhanded way he insults the “whiners”, and of course, the sales numbers.
You can’t demand respect. It has to be earned. Slott has shown he can take Otto Octavius, turn him into an unbeatable force with absolutely no backstory to support how he is able to do this, make Peter Parker a pathetic sack with absolutely no backstory to support this either, and all his allies are either conveniently missing, or maybe they’re like me: too dumb to understand.
I will grant Slott his day in the sun; I believe these are his last, because once he fouls this story up to the point where nobody is buying the books, Marvel will absolutely put him out for the public to chunk rotten food at in the public square. I really am curious as to where he’s taking this, but I hate the road taken. It’s sloppy, unprofessional writing, and disrespectful to the fanbase and the canon.
Rogue: Smart. Smart. Smart. There have been at least three posts by this woman that almost made me jump up and down on my bed while cheering. If I could pay Rogue to just sit and talk about Superior Spider-Man for an hour straight, I would.
sasoc: To suggest that “Fantasy” is harmless is absurd. As the Buddha said, with our minds we make the world. Before we can act, we must imagine the action.
But I am making a more subtle point, which is that high ideals, such as those on which the USA was founded, get eroded bit by bit, in a slow-encroachment water torture, and such degradation occasionally accelerates when sacred objects (the memory of and reverence for George Washington) are blasphemed, such as is being done in this rotten video game.
The promotion of such ideas — Washington as evil fascist robot, the USA as evil fascist empire — should be exposed and ridiculed, and ultimately smothered to death. That’s right, to death.
Why, you ask? Because they are not true, and if you don’t see this then I ask you to keep educating yourself until you do see it.
George Washington is rightly revered as one of the greatest statesmen in history, not only because he was a great General in war, and a great first President of a young republic, but because he chose to abandon the office of the presidency after two terms when in fact he could have been elected for decades more. This turning away from power by someone astride a growing nation is the most rare of human acts. No one does it willingly — except George Washington. This makes him a God among men, and someone of such moral grandeur that any attempt to stain his legacy, either in reality or through fantasy, is an affront to the truth and should be annihilated.
I still randomly think about this comment. It really hit a nerve with me. Sasoc is one sharp dude, and his blog is worth checking out if you’ve never been there. Check out ‘Mastersen’s Musing: The Sword & Shield of Consciousness’ if you get a chance. One day he’s going to write a book and when it hits the store shelves I’ll buy it on the day of its release.
Tim: I’ve said before how if they wanted an anti hero to write about, marvel is chock full. Why ruin the character of Peter Parker who was created as an everyman superhero, that always did the right thing in the end. Stan Lee created him to show the power of getting knocked down and picking yourself back up because it was the right thing to do. My 4 year old nephew is obsessed over spider man and I will never let him touch a SSM comic, because that kind of ugliness does not belong in his life and should never be allowed in any child’s life. This disgusts me in a way I can’t describe. Shame on you Dan Slott, shame on you Marvel for perverting children’s innocence.
Another reader who has his moral compass in working condition. Score.
Tom: In the 1960′s, SHIELD seemed to be a US government agency. In Avengers Annual #1 (1967), Col. Fury said that it was “an American combo, not a blamed international police force.” (Which, I know, contradicts its name at the time: Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-enforcement Division. But then, that name didn’t really make a lot of sense, either.) By the 1980′s, political correctness had kicked in. There was a Daredevil issue sometime around 1982-83 where the Black Widow was working for SHIELD, and referred to it as a UN organization. I think there was a Nick Fury mini-series in the late 1980′s or early 1990′s where he wiped out SHIELD (it had become corrupt) and started a new organization from scratch. But with all the retcons and reboots since then, I don’t have a clue what SHIELD is supposed to be now.
Tom rocks. Period. This guy is an encyclopedia of awesome comic knowledge, but it seems to just flow naturally. It’s like he just “knows” it without having tried to memorize anything. I don’t know if that’s the case…but it’s cool. Some people who talk about comics come give off a vibe as though that’s all they really know, but Tom comes across as a guy you do not want to intellectually mess with. He’s got depth and breadth. He’s got experience. He’s been around the block a few times, and if you’re going to pick a fight with him you’re going to get bloody.
Truthwillwin1: I need a better wage..then work for it. Even McDonald’s has higher paying jobs if you earn them. The bottom job at fast food was not intended to support a family. People need to stop expecting things given to them and instead earn them. Why is the wage $7.40, it is because that is the market rate. How much would a burger be if they paid there labor $15 an hour! The prices would jump up but the average person making minimum wage does not understand the reality of that. They also do not understand that if the wage goes up all costs will go up and they will end up with even less spending power. On top of that all of the money everyone has saved will see a decline in value. The average person just does not understand how the world works. If they do not want a bare bottom market rate job they need marketable skills and that would mean they have to actually do something about their position and find a way to improve themselves. For example there is still a need for more plumbers why not take that job….it requires some training but I know plumbers that make $100K a year. The jobs are there if they are willing to earn them.
Any time I can meet someone with a firm understanding of economics, I’m happy. Any time I can meet someone who dislikes Superior Spider-Man as much as I do, I’m happy. Truthwillwin1 falls into both categories, so I consider myself lucky to have him around. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I hope you’ll stick around for the foreseeable future. Anyone who is interested in checking out his blog can simply go to http://truthwillwin1.wordpress.com/
xmenexpert: I’m about as liberal as it gets. I’m a Canadian liberal (but not Liberal) – that’s “far left pinko Commie” by US standards. But I actually agree that comics have a serious problem when it comes to depictions of conservatives. That seems to be something throughout the entertainment industry. It’s something I find a little odd, actually. But I’m a strong proponent of trying to understand those we disagree with, and trying to see them as good people who simply have a different view of the world.
Two guys who disagree on pretty much everything political, and yet we’re able to behave like adults. Yes folks, it can be done! I had a marathon bout with xmenexpert on Marvel’s new Muslim superhero, but it was well worth it. I’m hoping he comes back for future comic posts.
What would the world look like if more people realized that they were spiritual beings temporarily housed in human form — and then acted accordingly? To give you a clue, I present you with the story of “Thomas Coats,” as chronicled by Steve Hartman for CBS. Every year Mr. Hartman goes out with a businessman who poses as as “Secret Santa.” The anonymous good Samaritan gives out roughly $100,000 during the holiday season to people in bus stations and thrift stores. The effects are amazing.
Steve Hartman: You don’t really know what people are really going to do with this money. Do you care?
Secret Santa Businessman: No, because one of the things that I do is I do not judge.
It’s easy to look at a man and make all sorts of judgments about who he is and what he represents, but that is a dangerous game to play if those judgments fill us with pride while sapping our ability to empathize with those less fortunate. The Secret Santa Businessman does not fall victim to pride, and that is why the story gets better:
Thomas Coats: “I didn’t earn that.”
Secret Santa: “You did earn it, because I can tell you’re a good man.”
The Secret Santa Businessman says that Mr. Coats is a good man because he is. We all are. We all have the capacity for great good or great evil. Yin and Yang. The little devil on your shoulder vs. the little angel. However you describe it, that is the blessing and the curse of free will. We can be angels … or fallen angels, and those of us who realize that have an obligation to reach out a helping hand to those who have stumbled. It is our moral duty to remind others of the greatness inside them.
“When was the last time you heard that?” asks Steve Hartman to Thomas Coats. “Maybe … my mom?” he replies.
Steve Hartman: 30-year-old Thomas Coasts is a total deadbeat — at least by most accounts, including his own. Addicted to heroin, he recently hawked his own son’s toys for drug money. That’s how bad it is.
Thomas Coats: I haven’t worked in over a year. I’ve spent so much time in and out of treatment facilities.
Steve Hartman: Why his girlfriend hasn’t left him and taken their son is a mystery. Even to her. But she is now running out of patience, which is why the night before we met him, during another one of their many money fights, she suggested he try something radical.
Thomas Coats: “She said maybe you could shoot a prayer up to God real quick, you know? I know that you don’t really believe in Him, but maybe you could start.”
Steve Hartman: And so, he did pray — for the first time since childhood. Then, out of the blue this saint shows up, slipping hundreds into his hand. You could almost see the wheels turning. That kind of kindness from a total stranger the day after he prayed … it was too much of a coincidence for this atheist to bear.
Thomas Coats: It’s amazing. That to me was a miracle. That was God saying: “Have you had enough, now? I’m going to show you something.” So from here on out, it’s up to me.
Steve Hartman goes on to say that Thomas checked himself in to a treatment facility, although this time “he says this will be the first time with a higher power at the helm.”
The point of this story is not to say that this is definitive proof God exists. I’m not making that claim. What I am saying is that those of us who do believe in God have to think long and hard about how we go about reaching out to atheists, the poor and those who are just generally different than us.
This is why I support the Pope. By not being judgmental, “Secret Santa” found this guy. Maybe Thomas kicks addiction, maybe he doesn’t — but for the first time in years he has hope. Pope Francis has drawn criticism for not being “conservative.” That’s dumb. The guy is super conservative, but he’s not judgmental. He actually extends a “hand” to those different from him. Atheists, gays, juvenile delinquents … it’s amazing what a non judgmental hand can do. Catholic church attendance is even up around the globe.
We are told faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. In the story, it was the guy’s girlfriend that 1.) hasn’t left him, and 2.) told him to pray. That is faith. Kudos to her. I hope it works out for them.
This is why I think it is wrong to tell strangers they are going to hell. We (humans) don’t know that. It’s not our place to judge. I referenced St. Paul with that before. Second to Jesus, a huge chunk of the new testament is about/written by him. Before his conversion he made a living hunting down and killing Jews that converted to Christianity. He worked for the ruling priest class of Israel and possibly the Romans. Now, he’s a saint. He wrote of the tears when he felt Gods presence at his conversion, probably just like the “deadbeat” in the news story.
While I do not quite understand how individuals can walk through life and not realize that there are things at play beyond human comprehension, the fact remains: they’re here. As you move forward, try and figure out ways to reach out to those who are different from you politically, spiritually, and socially. Perhaps they’re just like Thomas, who went through his entire life with only his mother having told him he was a good man. Through your temperance, empathy, humility and random acts of kindness you too might become someone’s guardian angel — or the one who makes an atheist believe in God.
As regular readers know, I spent a few years in the late 90s as an infantryman in the U.S. Army. The experience in many ways molded me into the person I am today, and for that I will always be grateful.
To give you a better idea of what Basic Training was like in the 90’s, I’ve decided to post an excerpt from my memoirs. They were written when I was 21 years old. I am now 34. Basic Training has changed a lot since 1997, but hopefully you’ll find my experience educational and, perhaps, entertaining.
“Douglas Ernst” goes to Basic Training and becomes “Roster #144”:
The lights were turned off and Drill Sergeant Piper exited the room. A red hue poked out from underneath a few bunks. Writing letters was the last thing on my mind. My first official day of basic training, a dizzying blur of agitated authority figures armed with extremely durable vocal cords, had gone rather smoothly.
“Is this what my life will be like for the next three years?” I thought.
I sat and listened as an intricate symphony worked its way through the darkness and into my ears. Roster number 299 was already fast asleep and snoring in the exaggerated manner of a Saturday morning cartoon. If I listened hard enough I was able to make out young men crying into their pillow — probably some of them high-school football standouts. Long drawn-out sobs, short rhythmic sniffles, and a variety of other cries filled the air. There weren’t many, but they were definitely there. God only knows how many others were internally wrestling with their tear ducts. Somewhere shortly after thoughts of my older brother’s experience at West Point and how good a glass of Gatorade would have gone about then, I fell asleep.
“Will you shut the fuck up! Fucking crybabies! I don’t need to hear that shit now!” somebody yelled into the night, waking me up. The multiple “smoke sessions” we had during the night were pushing (literally) a few people to the breaking point. I laughed hard into my pillow. I wished I had the guts to say it first, but only for a fraction of a second — one of the Drill Sergeants had heard the noise.
“Damn it,” was my last thought before the onslaught began.
“What the fuck is going on in there? Oh, you wanna talk in my barracks? You must want some push-ups. I see. Just get down! Oh, you don’t want to say ‘at ease’? All right, I got a joke for that ass.”
The lights were flicked on and I didn’t have time for my eyes to adjust to the light before noticing everyone doing push-ups. I looked down at my watch. It was 4:00 a.m.
“Who gets up at 4:00 a.m.?” I thought. “And how the hell am I supposed to yell ‘at ease’ while I’m half asleep?” I didn’t understand, but I figured I better start doing push-ups like everyone else.
Drill Sergeant Piper paced the length of the room. When he wasn’t looking, some people decided to lie on their stomachs, a futile attempt to save energy. Whether or not one cheated mattered little. Before he was done with us, every ounce of energy would be converted into a puddle of sweat and left to evaporate on the barracks floor.
He slithered across the room like a king cobra set loose in a chicken coop. He darted between bunks and around corners, and before long the stomach-slackers were brought to justice. Their beds were torn apart and they were instructed to continue with their exercise in the middle of the aisle.
A flustered fat kid to my right lay sprawled out on the tile floor. He had given up on push-ups with the short-breathed exclamation, “Muscle … failure.” For a moment he caressed the cracks in the floor with his fingertips. A mantra of “Cold, cold floor. Cold, cold floor” dribbled off his lips. I briefly cracked a smile, and the muscle contractions I was experiencing weren’t due to oxygen starved muscles ready to burst at the seams, but laughter.
“You think this is funny, funny man?” said the Drill Sergeant. “That’s good, because I got a bag a jokes for that ass! Keep pushing!”
My smile returned to its original, more “drill-sergeant-friendly” grimace, and I resumed the exercise. At this time two more Drill Sergeants shot through the door and into the fray. Drill Sergeant Piper was free to turn his undivided attention toward the mysterious mantra-boy beneath him.
“What on God’s green Earth is going on here, Private? What’s your name?”
The heavy kid shook free of his altered state and looked up. A black strand of sewing thread and a piece of lint stuck to his moistened cheeks. Again, I turned my head and smiled. The lactic acid was stockpiling within the cell walls of my chest quickly, and the energy used to muster a smile was better suited someplace else. I bit my lip and focused on locking my arms. A full push-up was now definitely out of the question, but I’d be left alone as long as I gave the impression I was trying to hold myself up.
“Roster number 138. Private Duke,” said the soldier in a Southern draw.
“Where you from Private?” said the instructor. “You a Southern boy? Down with Dixie and shit?”
“North Carolina, Drill Sergeant.”
“Figures,” said drill Sergeant Piper. “All you Southerners are dumb as a box a rocks. I knew it.”
“Yes Drill Sergeant.”
“Shut the fuck up! You take the little yellow bus to school or something? I didn’t ask you to talk. Damn.”
I couldn’t take it. The “little yellow bus” remark sent me reeling. An insult on that level was completely unexpected. For four years I had waited for an outburst like that from one of my high school educators, but to no avail. There must be a finite number of times high school history teachers could deal with students still lacking our 16th president’s name from their memory bank before snapping. I had probably just missed the occasion.
Unfortunately, my sudden outburst of giggles soon had me gasping for breath at the hands of a disgruntled instructor. Drill Sergeant Piper left Private Duke and ordered him to commence with “the side straddle hop,” known to the rest of the civilized world as ‘jumping jacks,’ before directing his wrath in my direction.
“Funny man again?” hissed the Drill Sergeant. “Wrong answer, Private. That’s a ‘no-go.’ I gave you a chance and you blew it. And I never give second chances. Wrong motha-fucking answer. Now let’s see what I got in my bag of tricks. Roster number…”
“144, Drill Sergeant.”
“Roster number 144, when I say ‘front’ you will perform the push-up. When I say ‘back’ you will immediately flip over and begin knocking out sit-ups.”
“Yes Drill Sergeant.”
Drill sergeant Piper hurled my bed to the right, almost taking off roster number 145’s head in the process. I glanced at the nearly decapitated soldier for a brief second before experiencing what was, at the time, hell-on-earth.
“Front!”
I didn’t plant both my hands before a succession of orders spewed from Drill Sergeant Piper’s mouth.
“Back! Front! Back! Front! Back!”
I looked like an exotic insect performing a mating ritual for his camouflaged counter part—or a break-dancer on crack.
“Front! Back! Front! Back!”
I gasped for breath and caught a dizzying glance of my fellow soldiers. The scuff marks my combat boots were leaving behind as muscle failure set in were unavoidable. I should not have left them on after a previous smoke session. Within minutes I had somehow managed to trap myself within a circular shoe-polish enclosure. My comrades didn’t look happy. The amount of time we’d have to rid the floor of the black blemishes would be miniscule, and our inability to do so would more than likely end up in another feeding frenzy of Drill Sergeants.
Needless to say, I never laughed. I didn’t cry either. I was probably just too tired. Crying would’ve involved stomach muscles to contract and expand with my sobs, which meant feeling the after-effects of our pre-dawn smoke session. Crying involved wiping away tears, which meant raising my arms. I had a hard enough time wiping my butt after a bowel movement, let alone having to deal with tears. My muscles were just too sore. Any amount of quiet time I gained wasn’t going to be spent wallowing in misery. It was going to be spent sleeping.
Late that night I was finally “ordered” to sleep. I contemplated the effects my hair-trigger laughing attacks had spawned earlier that morning. I decided that I’d have to work on my self-control if I were to have any chance of making it out of basic training alive. If the Drill Sergeants didn’t kill me for the constant schoolgirl tittering, my fellow soldiers would.
For a moment the thought struck me that Private Duke might seek retribution for mocking his “Cold, cold floor” mantra, and I tensed. Instead of peering through the darkness for my would-be attacker I drifted off into deep sleep filled with nightmares. I woke up the next day with the realization I wasn’t going to have sexual dreams involving Sports Illustrated swimsuit models for at a long, long, time.
Sometimes I think back on this period of time and wish I could go back there, if only for a few days. If I ever met Drill Sergeant Piper again there’s really only one thing I’d want to say to him: “Thanks.”
Since Monday is my day off, my wife and I decided to take a trip down to Virginia Living Museum in Newport News Va., hoping to learn a few things. Mission complete.
After reading up on all sorts of wildlife that can be found in the beautiful “Old Dominion,” talking to sweet old ladies and the other kind staff who volunteer their time to care for the animals, I ran across the following placard:
“Since the end of the dinosaur age, eastern Virginia has been covered by ocean water many times. Beneath these seas, layers upon layers of shells, bones and teeth from abundant ocean life accumulated to form fossil-bearing sediments. Coastal river bluffs now display these ancient sediment layers, in particular, a 3.5-to-5 million-year-old fossil-rich band called Yorktown Formation,” (Virginia Living Museum).
You mean to tell me that long before the internal combustion engine was invented that the planet was in such constant flux that much of eastern Virginia was submerged underwater “many” times? Answer: Yes.
Here is me and my buddy the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. These guys are the only sea turtles that still nest in Virginia.
The next time someone warns you that unless we hand over more power to politicians in Washington, D.C., that the eastern seaboard will be underwater in a decade or two, ask them the following question: Did dinosaurs literally drive themselves to extinction in really big gas-guzzling trucks made for reptilians with tiny arms?
There is no doubt that the climate “changes.” The question is: How big of a role does man play? Is it big enough to warrant the redistribution of wealth — to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars — from the private sector to a bureaucratic Leviathan? Answer: No. Is shaving a few degrees off computer models that even the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change now admits are flawed worth the price in individual liberty? Of course not.
The IPCC is in full damage-control mode after it leaked advance copies of an upcoming Summary for Policymakers to what it assumed would be friendly journalists. The journalists, however, quickly realized the IPCC Summary for Policymakers contained several embarrassing walk-backs from alarmist statements in prior IPCC reports.
Two of the most embarrassing aspects of the Summary for Policymakers are (1) IPCC’s admission that global warming has occurred much slower than IPCC previously forecast and (2) IPCC is unable to explain the ongoing plateau in global temperatures. IPCC computer models have predicted twice as much warming as has occurred in the real world, and virtually none of the IPCC computer models can replicate or account for the recent lack of global warming.
These days, instead of admitting that they used fear mongering to try and consolidate power and enrich themselves, the Climate Change crusaders (formerly the Global Warming police) are doubling down: global warming is hiding … at the bottom of the ocean, but will return sometime in the future. How convenient.
If you’re swimming in Virginia, be careful you don’t get too close to the Stinging Sea Nettle Jellyfish. They’ve been around for 650 million years, and will likely be around long after humans abandon earth to explore the rest of the cosmos.
Want to increase the probability of causing a climate change disciple to go into a fit of rage? Visit museums. Talk to the staff. Read the literature. Learn some science and write about it on your blog.
Just over a year ago, my grandmother died at the age of 98. Less than 24 hours later — without having heard the news — my grandmother’s best friend passed away. While it might seem bizarre to find joy in death, I did. It was comforting to know that as my grandmother moved on to the next life her good friend was experiencing it all with her. In a similar sense, I believe many family members of Harold and Ruth Knapke are feeling the same sense of peace:
DAYTON, Ohio — Relatives of an Ohio couple who died at a nursing home 11 hours apart on the same day said their love story’s ending reflects their devotion over 65 years of marriage.
Harold and Ruth Knapke died in their shared room on Aug. 11, days before their 66th anniversary, The Dayton Daily News reported.
Their daughters said they believe their father willed himself to stay by his wife’s side despite failing health until they could take the next step in their journey together. He went first — his children saw it as his “final act of love” — and she followed.
“We believe he wanted to accompany her out of this life and into the next one, and he did,” daughter Margaret Knapke said.
The couple had known each other as children and began their courtship as pen pals while Harold, known as “Doc,” served in the Army during World War II. Ruth would later joke: “I let him chase me until I caught him!” …
“It is really just a love story,” said Carol Romie, another daughter. “They were so committed and loyal and dedicated, they weren’t going to go anywhere without the other one.”
The body often fails us, but the mind and the spirit are extremely powerful. A person with a reason to live can will the body to hold on to a quality of life others would find unacceptable.
There are many lessons we can take away from the Knapke story, but I find two in particular to be of utmost importance:
To make the most of life, finding your reason for being is paramount.
You not only have the power to forge deeply spiritual relationships with friends and family — the kind that you would want to carry over into the next life — but you deserve them.
For many people, mastering these two elements of life can seem like a 7-10 split in bowling, but it can be done. I suggest starting with introspection and regular acts of kindness, but there are many ways to accomplish the task.
One of the reasons many relationships end is because people fail to grow in concert with their partner. If you married your “perfect” mate tomorrow, they would soon not be perfect to you because you will change over time. People are like plants, and they can be like two strands of Ivy wrapping and winding around each other as they thrive and expand, or they could allow their desires to take them in different directions. The key takeaway is that every step along the way we have complete control over how it all unfolds.
If you have someone in your life that you care for so much that you’d will your dying body into a kind of loving life support, say a prayer of thanks for them every day. If you do not have someone in your life like that at the moment and have been wondering why, ask yourself if at the core of your being you believe you deserve such a relationship. If the answer is “no,” then I implore you to find a way to realize that you are worthy of love, abundance, healthy and happiness. When you make that mental shift, your life will begin to change.
Mr. and Mrs. Knapke had a connection many consider rare, but the truth is much more nuanced: all of our relationships have the potential to produce deeply spiritual love. We stand on fertile ground with pockets filled with seeds, but it’s up to each individual to sow them.
Is androgynous the new black? Take a look at the Wall Street Journal Fall Fashion issue and you’ll notice a trend — maybe sorta kinda women who are supposed to be models.
I’m assuming the photographer just didn’t apply eye makeup in order to de-emphasize her eyes? Or maybe the WSJ just hired women with more masculine features and accentuated them?
Am I wrong? Why does this woman have a cleft chin?
Am I supposed to attracted adolescent boys now?
Peter Pan in red lipstick?
Tilda Swinton is the key here; she played Archangel Gabriel in 2005’s Constantine. It’s hard not to think that the Wall Street Journal is trying to push fashion better suited for David Bowie’s gender-bending days with its fall fashion issue.
I love Bowie’s music, but I don’t enjoy looking at him. In short, the Wall Street Journal needs more women who look like … women. Kate Upton would be a good start.
Douglas Ernst Blog 