Quick personal update.

Life's in my way again.

My email and stuff is backed up right now, hopefully I can catch up on the weekend.  Nothing bad happened, I just had something huge fall into my lap last month and I am still catching up.  I've been too distracted to do much more Twitter some nights.  Potential major life change (for the better, so I'll have none of your sappy sympathy comments dammit!), so I'm a bit behind on most of my obligations.  Catching up, though.

Green Lantern #29

First off, I enjoyed it. I like to read an origin retelling every once in a while.

However, there were a few USAF fumbles. Not the least of which is that there is no way in hell he could steal a jet and go for a joyride. If a jet gets turned on, and it's not scheduled to fly, it's a hijacking. It's a pretty big fucking security violation. In order to do this, Hal would have to be a close enough friend to the ground maintainers, the air traffic controllers, the military police (and possibly a few more groups);to be able to convince them all to let him do this the morning after he decided to get discharged.

Yeah, good luck with that.

(And no, he hadn't pulled strings with a buddy in plans and scheduling because then he wouldn't have taken an unauthorized joyride, he'd have taken a normal scheduled flight.)

Not just that, I can fucking guarantee that if a pilot hijacked an experimental fighter jet and then punched his commanding officer in the face, he wouldn't be at his mother's hospital room without an armed escort. But I can ignore that one, since the writer wisely didn't let us know how much time had elapsed between the punch and the hospital scene.

Still, no fucking way on the "unauthorized joyride". You overplayed your hand there, Johns.

Otherwise, it was a fine issue. I'm especially fond of Jim Jordan. I hope that character stays in the supporting cast for a while.

Realization

I worry too much about what you guys think of me.

Every time I read a post saying they're not reading me, or notice that someone has unsubscribed form my feed it bothers me. It bothers me more than dropped stats (stats being something I don't always check anymore anyway) because those are the regular readers who are sick of me.

After the latest "I'm no longer reading Ragnell because she's a big meanie" sentiment that flowed into my sphere of attention, I realized just why it bothers me so much when even someone I despise stops reading my blog.

Because I've seen blogs that are consistently good, but that aren't always linked. I've seen people with absurd opinions, who are nevertheless always entertaining to read. I've seen people I disagree with who are always thoughtful about their opinions, and who communicate clearly. And I can never see myself dropping those feeds over a personal disagreement, or because the opinion was one I thought was foolish or stupid. These blogs may be challenging on a mental level or just plain entertaining or written by a person with a particularly unusual viewpoint.

I've also seen those blogs that aren't very good, where the writing is terrible and the logic is muddled and the humor is questionable. I've seen blogs like that get linked everywhere because they said something that affirmed the opinions of the linkers, but offered nothing truly insightful or original. Either they've brought up something first, or have some sort of status (experience/social background/occupation/history/ROAARS category) that they can put behind the opinion for extra oomph. I've seen blogs that popular even though the blogger is not a talented writer, and it's usually because of that.

Now, that's not to say there's something wrong with being linked when a number of people agree with you, or because you have a special trait that lends weight to the argument. But that can't be all there is to your writing. At least, there can't be for me. I'm not doing a good job unless I'm writing something someone who disagrees with is still willing to read.


I don't want you to read me because I said something you agreed with before you started reading.

I want you to read me because I'm entertaining. Because even though you think I'm wrong you enjoy watching me be wrong.

I want you to read me because I'm insightful. Because I just blindsided you with a thought that never would have occurred to you on your own.

I want you to read me because I'm a fucking genius. Because my flawless reasoning brought you around to my way of thinking.


That's why I flake a ltitle when I see someone swear off my blog after a disagreement with me. Not because I feel guilty, not because I was particularly fond of that person, and not because I'm not 100% certain I was right.

It's because when someone stops reading me over a conflicting opinion, what they tell me is they only thought I was worth reading when I was confirming their existing ideas.

Which is telling me I'm not writing anything worth reading.

Which irks me.

I'll get over it. I have a naturally cantankerous disposition that combines with an inflated ego that leads me to eventually disregard the opinions of others in favor of my own. It just takes a bit to kick in. Plus, I enjoy being mean. No amount of social anxiety will take that away.

American Gothic

I found the entire run of American Gothic on hulu.com.  I remember that show form when I was a kid.  I adored it.  Lucas Buck was the perfect kind of villain, a total bastard who was smart, calculating, seemed like a great guy on the outside, had vague power over reality and lost only because he expected certain people to be more cowardly or meanspirited than they actually were.  I never saw the entire season through, so I'm not sure if he was ever revealed to actually be the Devil, but there was a pretty good case for it in the episodes I remember.

I just spent a good part of the night the uploaded episodes.  I made it to #8, which was the "Strong Arm of the Law.  This is an episode I only ever saw once, but that I remember it more clearly than any other episode.  Because it was awesome. .  It showed that Sheriff Buck was even worse when he was the protagonist you had to root for than when he was the antagonist.  Four would-be crimelords set up shop in town and start extorting money from the shopkeepers as part of a protection racket.  They are clever enough to cover a murder, but otherwise they strike me as total fucking idiots.  No sense of subtlety.  They extort money for the "Sheriffs' Retirement Fund" and the "Policeman's Ball".  They beat up an off-duty Deputy in the middle of the street just to show that they freaking can.  When the Sheriff comes to confront them, they act like he can't do anything to them.  The only reason they manage to get away with anything is because the townspeople assume they are working for the Sheriff, and the entire town is scared shitless of him.  Buck spents the first part of the episode letting this crap go on, then starts to pick them off one by one.  And he doesn't arrest them (he must have an aversion to paperwork), and he doesn't just kill them.  He tortures them.  The entire point of the episode seems to be demonstrating just why the entire town is scared shitless of Sheriff Buck.

As villains go, this guy may still be one of my favorites.  I am so freaking happy this series was put on the internet

Dammit, Kalinara

I was feeling open-minded and relaxed this week, so I let Kalinara talk me into watching a show she recommended.  An old British show called Sapphire and Steel.  And now I'm freaking addicted.  I'll probably have to track down the radio recordings too.

Damn her!

(Steel is freaking awesome, though.)

Okay, I'll be the one to say it.

I've been reading a lot of griping about Wonder Woman #18, so I thoguht I'd chime in with my opinion: I liked it.

Not only that, I like Tom Tresser. Sure, he's no Steve, but he's cute. And he can be awesome when used properly. He's clever, funny, and skilled. I liked him under Heinebrg, I like him under Simone. I don't like him when he's written by Piccoult, but I don't like anyone as written by Piccoult. Fortunately, Piccoult's not writing him anymore. Simone is. I'm going to pretend Piccoult's run didn't happen, just like I do for Diana.

Also, does nobody realize what Simone just did? Amazon customs. She is fleshing out Amazon society in a way that's not just rehashed Athens customs. The Amazons had their own city-state in Ancient Greece, which means they had their own festivals and traditions and stories. Simone may be the first writer since Perez to start tossing this in there.

Plus, Wonder Woman has decided to court him. That's cool as shit, and pro-active. Just like Diana should be in a romantic situation. It's not like where she had a little-girl crush on Superman, or was the unwitting object of Ed, Micah or Mike's affections. She's an active participant. She's not dainty flower waiting to be picked. She's pursuing a relationship with a guy she thinks is hot.

It's okay that she made a joke about bowling. I drag my dates to the comic book store, but we also do stuff they like. That's part of dating. You try different things together, see if you can deal with the other person's world.

I like the joke about American courtship rituals, because that proves this is not the lifeless, humorless Diana entering a stiff, awkward romance like in Eric Luke or Phil Jiminez's runs. She's relaxed and playful and comfortable. The piece of personality that Perez took away when he removed Steve Trevor is coming back. The maturity and sensuality of the Pre-Crisis Wonder Woman, modernized to shed the "hard to get" social norms of those bygone decades whil still keeping her playful charm, is slowly returning. The icy distance between Wonder Woman and mortals is disappearing. We're getting Diana back.

Now, I love Steve. I still think we need a way to bring him back as her love interest. But announcing that she's courting Tom doesn't mean she's going to marry this character. Means she's exploring a little. Means she's opening as a person. Sure, not all female characters need romantic interests. But celibacy would make no sense for a follower of Aphrodite, after all. Remember, the warmth and caring in her heart? Not a gift from Demeter or Hestia. That's from Aphrodite, a sex goddess. Diana's connecting with a piece of herself here, and if things work out she'll get to connect with a piece of Tom.

And of course Tom's not good enough for her. She's friggin' Wonder Woman. No man in comics is good enough for her (which is probably why they got rid of Steve to begin with). That's no reason she shouldn't shop around. That's no reason a natural part of her life should be closed off except for a once-every-two-or-three-years short story about sexual tension with Superman, Batman or Aquaman.

Even if the objection is that he's not good enough for her because he's not an A-lister, that's silly. It's good that the most powerful woman in comics isn't spending all her time trying to find a match in status and power. Superman is married to a mortal woman. Diana's being like her male counterparts, and going for a guy she enjoys being around.

I'm sure we'll still have lots of action in the series. Gail Simone is writing her. A little romance does not a sappy love story make. Diana flirting with a guy does not mean she's not a kickass warrior.

And again, I like Nemesis. I enjoyed Wonder Woman #18. I think Gail Simone did a good job. I look forward to the rest of this story. And I am not ashamed!

And I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

Alzhiemer's Research Charity Drive

Terry Pratchett, recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, has given half a million pounds (about one million dollars) to Alzhiemer's research foundations. There's a charity drive on challenging his fans to collectively match his donation.

Match it For Pratchett

Look, it's kind of hard for me to come up with words to push this. There's a lot worthwhile places to put a spare couple bucks. This one, though, is pretty important to me. My Great-Grandmother had Alzheimer's, and I got to see just how devastating this illness is at a very young age. And honestly, it scares me more than anything else that happens when you grow up. I had relatives with Diabetes, heart problems, cancer, arthritis and a host of illnesses. I had one grandmother who constantly advised me never to get old. But none of that, even the stuff keeping people in their bed constantly seemed to me to be as horrible as Alzheimer's. Her daughter, a woman who had spent a good deal of time traveling the world before her mother got ill, stayed with her to take care of her. We went over her house regularly. It was where all the family gatherings were. She didn't usually seem to recognize us. There was one Halloween when she had no candy, and we came there to trick or treat. So she went to give us some of those chalky Canadian mints she kept around. I was young, and we'd just had a long lecture on safe trick-or-treating, and I said I wasn't supposed to take something unwrapped. I'll never forget her posture, I hadn't realized I'd said something wrong but it was clear I had. She seemed to not have caught up with the conversation. We were talking more around her than to her. It was how it always was there, though, but this was the first time she seemed self-conscious about it to me. I still feel guilty about that.

And I remember when I got older and snuck upstairs in my Great-Grandmother's house I once found a room full of paintings. Pretty nature scenes, mostly, in those ornate golden wood frames. A few of them weren't finished. It turned out she'd painted not only them, but a picture that had been hanging in our living room as long as I could remember. I'd always been a kid who loved drawing and writing and making up stories, and I had trouble with the art so I was very impressed with her talent. That was the saddest thing of all, I think. Having had so much talent before. And now not recognizing her grandkids.

Alzheimer's is scarier than death. Consider a donation, or at least spreading the word.

Awesome!

  Kate Spencer will be back in June!

Remnants of My Partially-Remembered Youth

There was a surprise at the comic book store when I went to get my copy of Green Lantern Corps. My local shop had four boxes of My Little Pony sets. This wasn't a complete surprise, given how much of this store is dedicated to Hello Kitty collectibles.

What was a surprise was that they were anniversary sets, remakes of 1984 Ponies.

I remember very few toys that were definitely mine growing up, and it's entirely possible that my favorites were hand-me-downs from my sister. But many of my cherished (thought cloudy) childhood memories are of me playing with a yellow winged pony. I cut her hair. I drew on her wings. I may have burned one of her legs. But she was my favorite toy for years.

And she was at the comic book store.



Yeah, I shelled out the money. I'd been having an exceptionally crummy day and just seeing these packs cheered me up.

I was so excited that rather than read my comics tonight (Yes, rather than read Green Lantern Corps and Wonder Woman), I instead sat down to fix the hair on each pony so that it would flop properly on the side of the head. (They pack it in the package so it will look windswept, but the tape and the little plastic piece make it end up very messy and vertical when it's time to play. You have to wet the hair and comb it in the proper style.)

Also, I've been reading word-books. Why did no one ever recommend The King in Yellow to me?

A Momentary Glimpse at my Magnificent Social Prowess

Yes, I am actually answering comments again! Or at least this one:

I've been thinking about this entry for a while now, off and on, and I've been wondering...

Have you ever thought about disabling comments? I don't mean to imply that you can't handle criticism, or anything, but it honestly does seem that they provide you with more stress than entertainment. You've posted on more than one occasion about frustrating or irritating commenters, and there's even a little "warning" in the sidebar of your blog about it.

I mean this as friendly advice, and I hope it doesn't upset you. I'm just saying that you can get rid of them if you think it'll make you happier. Comments aren't mandatory. If you don't enjoy reading them, disable them. Nobody's going to think any less of you. (And if they do, you'll never know! :) )

I have considered going to closed comments. I confess to a bit of jealousy about some of the nice, calm, commentless blogs out there. (Particularly when I do a Blog@Newsarama post.) It would be better for my, because when I read my comments I often have a compulsion to answer them or stew about them. Partially I want to be proven right, partially because I want the last word, but mostly because I enjoy seeing the conversation go on for a very long time at some points. I've been working on a "Let the commenters talk amongst themselves in the comment section and pipe in on a different post" policy for a number of reasons. It's less work and energy for me, it's less repeating myself and rephrasing myself which gets tedious, it takes the conversation in a more interesting direction when I can't predict either side, it's a way to get my opinion out there but not actually interact with people and the whole reason I'm on the Internet is because I'm a terribly unpleasant person trying to avoid interacting with people, and it prevents me from getting into arguments that escalate to the point that some dude deletes all his comments, and his blog, and proceeds to spend the next two years complaining about me and my friends in any comment section that seems even the slightest bit sympathetic to his situation.

But I digress (habitually). One of my motives for starting the blog (along with venting so as not to spend another dinner describing to a blind date why the Yellow Weakness in Green Lantern was the Best Arbitrary Silver Age Weakness Ever -- I'm still waiting on him to call me back) was to get used to writing regularly, so that someday I could pursue a career as a writer (It was also one of my Super-Secret Super-Silly Reasons for Joining the Military because hey, seeing the world worked for Hemingway! -- Don't judge, I was seventeen, there was no way I was getting a decent college but I had to get out of my hometown that year or I was destined to end up as a little old spinster lady working for the historical society who was saving her pennies to finally take that trip to Niagara Falls so she could see another country for the first time in her memory! and it seemed to please my parents. After all, my father was laughing when he signed the age waiver. He had to have been happy) and gain fame and legendary status as one of the luminaries of my generation! (Plus being a writer is a great excuse to act weird.) Closed comments would be a way to get used to writing and just leaving it rather than continuing a conversation forever. (I imagine editing would help with the run-on sentences and choppy writing, but I'm not going to edit the shit out of blog posts. Too much work for a hobby.)

Thing is, I like my comments. I like the instant gratification of praise from consistent readers. I like to see what holes were in my argument, and see if someone can use it as a piggyback for another idea. I like watching a conversation that I started form. Most of all, I like seeing that someone read what I wrote.

That's part of why I get frustrated at times. The reaction is often not what I was hoping for, and I was indeed hoping for a reaction. Sometimes I steam over a misinterpretation or respond rudely or politely or steer the subject to a different place. I lose my temper when the content of a comment indicates that someone didn't read what I wrote and they just want to use my comment section for their soapbox. There's not a problem with using one post to point out something about your own pet peeves/issues/ideas, but when I want to use someone else's post as a jumping off point for my own rant, I come back here to do it. If something's spam or overly rude or from someone I completely despise, I roll my eyes and delete it. If something grates on my nerves, I write a post ranting about my commenters. If I feel playful, I can wade in there and fight. If I'm bored I can watch you guys fight.

To summarize: I read comments when I want to talk to people. I want the comments there for the times I do.

So why don't I moderate, then?

Well, because of the times I don't want to read my comments.

I get email notifications, but I have a nifty little filter that sends comments to a little file that I check when I feel up to reading comments. When I don't, I simply don't bother with the file until I do. If a thread has gotten out of hand, I'll often just ignore all comments marked with that thread title. The conversation continues, people enjoy themselves, and I can look through it at my leisure. If the conversation has gotten to a very stupid track or I'm tired of arguing that point or I'm just not interested in the topic anymore? I never have to read those comments, so I just let the thread die on it's own. Hell, sometimes I'm overworked at my dayjob so I don't check the comments for long periods of time so the file has gotten intimidatingly full, so I just start a new thread and continue on from there.

See, if I moderated, I would have to read all of those comments in order for any conversation to take place. I don't want to do that. I don't have the time. I don't have the energy. I don't have the interest. I don't have the patience. There are more enjoyable uses for my time. (Such as fighting with the commenters that I do read.)

Also, the control. A lot of people like moderation because they get control over what's said on their blogs. I don't care that much. I'm not your Mama. (I'm your MAMA DENTATA! *Ahem*) I'll tell you off if you offended me and I feel like telling you off, but I'm not going to be responsible for what's written by someone else. And I enjoy watching the conversation weave in unexpected ways. It's fun and exciting! That's not going to happen if every leg of the conversation is waiting for me to come home and release it every night. People'll lose interest. I'll lose interest.

To summarize: Moderating would force me to confront frustrations that I can avoid. Moderating would take more work. Moderating would take the joy that I get from my comments out of my comments.

To summarize the entire post so far: Blogging is a fun hobby. I enjoy comments sometimes. They sometimes piss me off, but turning off the comments would make blogging less fun. And moderating the comments would make blogging more work. More work would make blogging less fun. Complaining about the comments is simply more blogging, and so it allows me to get a small amount of fun and writing practice out of being pissed off.

I ate'nt dead.

I'm just watching lots of rented horror movies.

I wish I could avoid subtitles.  I don't mind subtitles for a regular show, but for a horror movie it means you have to keep watching the screen even when there's a really gory part or a particularly startling image.  I'm too much of a wuss for one.

Still, some of these Korean and Japanese films don't come dubbed.  And they look really creepy.  (And are no doubt better than the Hollywood remakes).  After napping through four years of High School Spanish, I'm pretty sure I don't have the ability to learn Korean.  So my options are limited.

Plus I spent my damned money, and I'm going to see my movie.

For Future Reference

I like the Parallax retcon.  Not just the results, but I like the idea.  I think that Emerald Twilight was abrupt (though yes, there were some character moments prior to it that screamed "Not normal"), and that mind control explains it perfectly.  I have no problems with the cheesiness of a giant yellow grasshopper (fFROM OUTER SPAAAACE!!!) with the ability to control minds, possess bodies, and instill fear in the hearts of sentient beings.  We're talking about superhero comic books here, after all.

I think the retcon fits seamlessly into continuity.  I don't think it ruins the previous stories.  I even think that there are points where Ron Marz left the option out to explain Hal's behavior as the result of mind control/possession (Emerald Knights) so it fits very well in there.  I think it is awesome to have all the Lanterns active, and the GLC back.

I like that it was the Guardians fault this thing got out.

I don't mind the re-explanation of the yellow weakness.

I don't think that Hal needs to be responsible or punished for his actions during and after Emerald Twilight.  He's a comic book character.

I don't mind that he's angsty over the Parallax thing.  Or that he lost some face.  Or that he gained it back.

I think it was cool that Kyle got possessed, because that was always his big fear.

I like the Fear theme to the Green Lantern franchise.  I find it relevant to today's society.  I find it comforting to escape into a story where a hero literally has to wrestle with willpower and emotions.

I kind of like that the emotions are represented by colors and big psychic energy organisms.

I find it fun and appropriate that, when revealed, that the Personification of Fear is a fucking absurd concept that nevertheless would make you shit your pants were you to meet it.

I'm not saying Geoff Johns is a genius.  I'm not saying that we are wasting our time discussing comic books.  I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you if you disagree with me.

I'm just saying that I like it, and I would like the commenters who don't like it to avoid pissing in my cheerios when I'm happy over Green Lantern.  There is precious little that I get joyful about, and I would like these feelings of joy to be sustained as long as possible.

Yay!!!

Newsarama has a GL#28 preview up.

Check out the narration box in the upper left corner of the first page, telling you where the first scene is located. (It's kind of spoilery)

I've been waiting for them to bring this one up since Rebirth.

Carnival Notes

I know I've been slacking on the blogging lately. 2008 has been... interesting. And promises to get moreso.

But I am still alive, and I have a responsibility I need to catch up on.

See, while I was so caught up in my runaway February, the 20th Feminist SF/F Carnival was posted on the Podblack Blog. (Sorry Kylie!) And I've been neglecting to link it, or find a host for the 21st.

Well, enjoy the Carnival if you didn't find it on your own, and if you're interested in hosting #21 drop me an email.

And if you need more to read: POC in SF Carnival #8: Intra-Racial Dialogues - What Lies Between Us (Willow needs a host for March, too.)

Horror Heaven

So I got  Justice League: The New Frontier and really enjoyed it.  Particularly the first Flash sequence, that was fun.  Neil Patrick Harris as Barry Allen works.  Also, can't believe I didn't realize before watching that this release is perfectly timed politically..  Because of the Silver Age setting and the McCarthy era backdrop, there's a lot of dialogue that is custom-designed to comfort Americans who are feeling kind of shitty about how their government is behaving and hoping for an inspirational figure to usher in change.

I like my new toy, too.  He has a little lantern to go with him, and he's molded to the base so I can leave him out somewhere.

And while I was at the store I saw one of those cheap collections of old black and white movies.  50 black and white horror movies for 20 bucks.  I picked it up on a whim because it had the original The House on Haunted Hill.  On getting home I discovered it had silent movie classics Nosferatu and Fritz Lang's Metropolis.  One of the first Superman stories I ever read was the Superman: Metropolis elseworlds, which led me to checking out the movie out of curiosity.  It has a special place in my heart and now I own it.

I found a book of classic ghost stories (Not just Poe reprints, but it has Ambrose Bierce and Washington Irving stories).

I also got my hands on a copy of John Keel's Mothman Prophecies book.  I'm only 25 pages in and this book is Urban Legend Paradise.  There's UFOs, metaphysical speculation,  multiple counts of small-town weirdness, a giant fucking bird with hypnotic red eyes, the US government trying to act like they know what the hell is going on and that nothing is going on anyway, military red tape stupidity, historical ties to stories about faeries, The Devil, and encounters with the inhuman kind of Men in Black (not the run-of-the-mill government spooks, these are the MiBs who are like aliens or robots trying to cover their tracks).

I'm starting to come to terms with being a horror fan.  I started out with kid's ghost story anthologies (The Dark Thirty, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Are You Afraid of the Dark?), and I worked my way up to the hard stuff (Lovecraft, Internet and Radio tales of ghost encounters) from there.  and have been utterly hooked on these sorts of things ever since.  I hate the current trend of torture porn, and have no interest in mortal slasher flicks.  But I can't stay away from a good ghost tale (particularly one that purports to be true).  I can't help but research weird and frightening occurrances.  I absolutely adore horror movies made before 1970 (I love the camera tricks that cover for bad special effects).  I like modern supernatural thrillers provided they have a creepy air.  The only romance I read is paranormal horror romance.  I can't resist this stuff.

But there's a problem.  It's the same as the reason my favorite superhero is Green Lantern.  I'm a huge wuss, a neurotic person with a highly active imagination.  I am what is politely referred to as high strung.   Other people are amused by my nervousness.  In my first year in the USAF, the guys in the dorm used to knock on my door when they walked by.  They knew I was in there watching or reading something creepy and I would scream audibly.  I haven't calmed down.  Right now my boss greets me suddenly and boisterously every day because it never fails to make me jump, yelp, and drop whatever I'm carrying.

I never watched horror movies as a teenager because I always figured I'd have nightmares.   (Oddly enough, I rarely have nightmares from this stuff.  The problem is getting to sleep.)   Trailers and commercials for horror movies spook me out.  I have an irrational terror of witch stories (yes, I know just how wrong that is for me).  I don't have mirrors or televisions in my bedroom because reflected light (and my own ghastly snarl-haired pale visage) is too unsettling in the dark.  I stay up late reading ghost stories and then kick myself for it.  But I can''t stop.  I'm drawn to it.

It always seemed like I was being incredibly unwise by exposing myself to this stuff.  My brain clearly hates me, and I'm giving it ammunition.  Then I was completely flipping out at work on Friday over something my physician suggested I might have when I realized just why I adore urban legends, ghost stories, and creepy suspenseful horror.  I'm the kind of person who makes her own life 50 times more stressful than it needs to be.  I panic needlessly and worry endlessly about my lot in life.  No matter how secure my job, my financial health, my physical health, my safety and my future is I will always be convinced everything I love is about to dissolve and slip through my fingers like purple art project scenery sand.  Or worse, crash on the floor and spill out like brains and blood from a crushed skull.  Supernatural tales of terror give me something else to worry about.

Something fun to worry about.

It's time to stop calling myself stupid for this, and embrace it.

I'm off to go replace my worries with the Scariest Thing Ever Written (Dreams in the Witch House by HP Lovecraft -- Witches, ghosts and geometry, oh my!), then I'm going to bury myself in modern North American mythology.  Dig me out when the next issue of Green Lantern comes out.

Heroes don't HAVE to be stupid, do they?

I rented The Mothman Prophecies because I enjoy watching creepy supernatural stuff when there's no one around but my cat. (Mild Spoilers below.)

The main character (the one played by Richard Gere) is pretty dumb.  I mean, I thought he was smarter than the average horror protagonist when he got creeped out by the phone call where Cold knew everything, so he turned off the lights and closed the shutters (where a normal person would not want to sit in a dark hotel room and listen to that creepy voice).

But he thinks the chemical plant is going to blow up, so he accosts the Governor and asks him to close the place down.  He's ranting and raving like a complete madman, and gets escorted away  When if he really wanted to shut the place down he could have just called in a bomb threat (what's really amazing to me is that they assume he's heard a bomb threat, call one in, and he says "I didn't get a bomb threat!" and torpedoes the option they'd take him seriously).  Yes, he'd have gotten in trouble if he got caught phoning in a threat.  It's illegal, he'd have been arrested. But he wouldn't look completely fucking insane, and he'd have accomplished what he wanted.

(I haven't read the book, so I don't know if John Keel actually acted like this, but I know they changed a whole bunch of stuff so I'm going to assume that any character behavior is the fault of the writers.)

And it makes me worry about the heroes in these supernatural thrillers.  They're supposed to seem like rational people, so that we can be drawn into the story.  It's not supposed to be someone we can write off as a nut, but someone like us who is experiencing this stuff.  Makes it more believable.

But damned if every time we get to the point where the hero is trying to get the police or the government on their side to prevent a disaster, they go the route of looking like a complete lunatic and risk getting committed for their trouble.  And they know, going in, that there is no way in hell that the authorities will take them seriously.  But they try anyway, and that's supposed to be the heroic part.  Except they just seem stupid to me, because there are usually sneakier and more effective ways to accomplish that objective in today's society.

And don't give me "we don't want our hero to lie."  If he's really so fucking sure that a whole bunch of people are going to die, he should lie if he has a better chance of being believed and getting the place evacuated.  Even if he's wrong.

Yay!

Blog@Newsarama informs me that the Justice League: The New Frontier DVD (which comes out on February 26th) will come with a toy at Best Buy. And I've been collecting Green Lantern dolls. And there is a brand new Best Buy very close to where I work.



It's not the best Hal figure I've seen. But I still want it.

Preview Perceptions

So the May solicits are up.

First, I'm going to postulate that the "red-eyed invader" in Wonder Woman #16 is actually the Mothman disguised as a human!

Okay, probably not. But Wonder Woman fighting the Mothman in the streets of Washington, DC would be pretty cool. You have to admit that.

Also fun would be Green Lantern showing up at some of the UFO sightings to write out citations. By now I'm convinced that the Guardians and most of the other cosmic powers in the DCU are looking at Earth as a Wildlife Preserve (I mean, what with the Last Kryptonian, the Last Martian, and a few other extremely endangered species making their home there) so it's just a matter of time until they start acting like Park Rangers and charge fines for trashing the place.

And speaking of Green Lantern, check out the cover to May's Green Lantern Corps.



Now, I adore Pat Gleason and you all know this. But that cover seems wrong to me. And not just because Arisia's boobs can't be that big.

Notice there's Isamot, Vath, Arisia, Kyle, and Sodam Yat on that cover. Sodam Yat is a fucking Daxamite, who wears a ring that actively keeps his system from being poisoned by lead and hosts the GLC's godlike mascot, Ion the Willpower Whale!

Why the hell is he the one who is the least physically entangled by Black Mercy plants? I'd have buried him in them if I saw him coming.

I haven't posted in too long.

I'm feeling considerably better lately, but haven't been quite motivated to post on this blog or do a WFA roundup despite the horrendous backlog that's piled up. Oh, i'm still reading and loving my comics, it's just the current discourse is driving me crazy.

I mean, just today I saw one person compare attempts to draw attention to and protest the inappropriate sexualization of women in comic books to supporting segregation and anti-semitism.

And another person throwing a fit about how "you can't reason with these kinds of fans" because a few people poked fun at her in her comments for some continuity mistakes.

And the resurfacing of the most pathetic concern troll I've ever had the pleasure of chasing off my blog, once again talking about how everyone's against him.

And one of my favorite blogs dedicating itself to a week reviewing cheerleader movies (Yes. I mean you, Chris).

And I realized that my own actions have resulted in not one, but two different people deleting their blogs and starting over. Both because I've pointed out inconsistencies in their arguments and linked them. Perhaps I can be a bit harsh at times.

I hate to use the word "over-sensitive" because too often it's applied to someone engaging in legitimate social criticism. I'm a big believer in shades of grey. I'm in favor of examining intersection of race and gender discrimination, but often comparisons merely make your original argument look absurd and end up alienating allies. I'm in favor of continuity nitpicking and joking around to a point, because we're comic book nerds and that's how we do things--and I even think that a badly placed continuity/character mistake can invalidate someone's point if it's important to the argument (for example, complaining a character is out of place when you're mistaking him for another guy) but I don't think they invalidate all points. I also don't think everyone who points out a continuity error and jokes around in comment sections is even trying to invalidate the original post. We read comics, comics are supposed to be fun and continuity nitpicking is a pasttime all it's own. I do believe in the purpose of well-reasoned discourse, but I see a place for ranting and venting all the same.

I find misogyny and racism in things I enjoy sometimes. I don't think pointing that out means we're calling something a piece of trash. I've had moments where it's ruined an otherwise good story, though.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this.

I remember when I was a kid I read The Dark is Rising sequence. There was a scene in one of the books where someone asked why the agents of the Dark wore black and white. Another character said it was probably because the Dark could only reach people in extremes. That's a thought I've carried with me for a long, long time.

The phrase "Death to Extremists" makes me smile.

I'll try to get back on a regular blogging schedule again soon.

Blogged with Flock

Violence and Youth

I get really annoyed when people get overly nostalgic and talk about how dreadfully brutal and violent my generation is in comparison to "simpler times." So I was delighted when Ken emailed me this article from a couple years ago debunking the connection between violent video games and the "rise" in youth violence. The writer looks at FBI statistics and finds out that Generation Y is the least violent generation in recorded American history.

That first graph is the overall violent crime rate, and we're talking about youth violence here. So I found the data sorted by age, and it turns out that through 2002, youth homicide actually dropped across the board, the only increase being among adults. If I may quote directly from the D.O.J. report, "Recently, the offending rates for 14-17 year-olds reached the lowest levels ever recorded."

The lowest levels ever recorded. In other words, the Playstation era has, in fact, produced the most non-violent kids ever.

I remember when I was in High School they had a big fuss over kids who were supposedly carrying guns to school, and I remember seeing the Principal searching lockers and the dogs coming by periodically. And then when Columbine happened and the High School went on lockdown. And banning backpacks, and then taking back the ban, and then banning them again. I graduated the year before they instituted school uniforms in my public school district. (Which was funny to me, because I remember my class protesting the idea, and I remember my sister getting suspended for protesting the dress code before I ever got there.)

I'd figured back when I was in school the hysteria would fade, but every once in a while something like this idiocy (from last fall) comes up and we hear about how Congress is discussing the fucking video games and someone's crying "Think of the children!"

And we have the most violent mass media we've ever had. And the most accessible font of information ever available to young people. And we're a country that is constantly--constantly on the edge, panicking at the stupidest shit. And... the violent crime rate is dropping. (Check the Preliminary 2007 Stats, see all those minuses under "Total"?) The age trend shown in that 2005 article is that each new group of kids was more peaceful than the last.

And each new group of kids has less freedom than the last. The kids in my old High School right now probably wouldn't dream of the day those doors were left unlocked during class hours, of being able to arrive late and sneak in after the bell, or of no one buzzing past the secretary. I don't think by now any of them would have gone to school when we wore normal clothing. And the dogs and the Principal searching the locker isn't a weird thing. Security guards aren't a weird thing. If the trend continues, security guards asking girls about their menstrual cycles won't be a weird thing.

I know someone will attribute this as cause and effect, except the tightening of security and the loss of civil rights is caused by a false perception that these children are more violent than the generation that's making the rules. In reality, they're less violent and therefore deserve more freedom.

Anyway, do me a favor and pass these stats around. The last couple generations have been getting a pretty bad rap.