Skip to main content

Updates and Commentary

1. It's been almost a week since the same sex marriage law was shot down. I'm not totally pissed about it as I was as, you know, time heals all wounds or what not but I still am a bit irritated. There was a discussion about it at the seminary today on how for many opponents it was the word "marriage" that did it for them. The only openly gay student present responded she wanted the word. I can't say I blame her. I noticed this argument a long time ago, however. I was in Boston when thie issue was discussed there and in Connecticut when it was discussed there (Actually, it was just civil unions there at the time and then later became marriage...) and this was the first time I noticed the civil union option wasn't poo-pooed as well.

I love how Bishop Malone still claims his opposition wasn't about discrimination. Isn't denying a group the right to do something that everyone else is allowed to do the very definition of discrimination?

2. Wow. Carrie Underwood's version of the Pretender's classic "I'll Stand By You" rocks!

3. Speaking of music, my after-birthday gift was Sarah McLachlan's Rarities, B-Sides, and Other Stuff 2. I mention this simply because it includes stuff from as far back as her cover of "Blackbird" for the I Am Sam soundtrack; one of the better tracks there actually. Besides the obvious "I Will Remember You" what could possibly be on the first volume? Also, while Emmy Lou Harris' voice adds something to "Angel," the best track is "Pills" which she performs with the Perishers. Her version of "Unchained Melody" is either the best or worst version I have ever heard...

4. My second novella, Spring Thaw will be released on January 5th. The first draft of the cover was awesome as they went more with the design for Winter Storm than even I hoped. There was one problem as they included th outline of Armenia again. This was corrected. It still looks awesome but I realize now I may have to pay attention to country-shape for the next one. How weird is that?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thor Or Thunderstrike?

Marvel screwed the pooch with the Thor  franchise from the beginning. They took the more modern notion that the Asgardians are aliens not gods. In itself, that's fine but I can't help but think that just made it more complicated not less. (Wonder Woman  just killed them off which is better but that's still a big nitpick from me about THAT movie...)

 I stopped regularly reading comics  after I graduated college in the early part of the century so I don't know when secret identities became passé but I think this also hurt the franchise. Originally, instead of dropping Thor on his head and giving him amnesia, Odin put him the mortal body of Donald Blake and then Eric Masterson. (Was that a complaint about Ghost Rider? Same concept really...)

In Thor: Ragnarok, to me, this '90's era of the comic where Eric Masterson WAS Thor was the best run of the comic and there were many Easter eggs from that period from Thor's Earth garb (with Mjolnir disguised as an umbrell…
Post a Comment
Read more

Wasn't A Complete Punishment

Checking my Facebook Memories this morning, it is apparently the anniversary of my review of Jessica Jones.  In many reviews of  The Punisher,  Jessica Jones  is the pinnacle all other Marvel Netflix (or in some cases, Marvel shows on any network but that's a post for another time...) must be held to. I'll tell you straight out, I personally enjoyed both seasons of  Daredevil  more so... (Hell,  The Punisher  had a less annoying support cast...)

 For reasons I didn't consider back then and don't care about now, comic books in the '90's saw the creation of more violent  characters to presumably dispel the notion comics weren't just for kids. Ironman, Thor, Captain America and, perhaps ironically, Batman got more gritty counterparts and the Punisher (and Deadpool) was created. Like most superheroes, Frank Castle's origins begin with the death of a family member; in his case, ALL OF THEM. In comics, it was due to be caught in the crossfire of a mob shootout…
Post a Comment
Read more

Sunday Morning Movie Review

Black Panther was great. Just as  Wonder Woman  gave little girls a superhero to "look up to," little African boys (Yes, not just African American  boys) have their own hero. But what was even better about this movie is that it was so much more. It wasn't a stereotypical Eddie Murphy or Whitney Houston movie.  Even 5, 8 years ago, we wanted this to happen but this might have been just the right time. T'Challa is king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda that millennia ago became rich in a fictional mineral called vibranium that allowed them to  become the most technologically advanced country on Earth. They decided to keep this secret, however, and disguised themselves with a cloaking shield and the guise of a "shithole country." (See? Relevance!)

Wakanda has reached a crossroads. Xenophobia is really no longer working. The villain of the movie, Wakandan by blood but certainly not upbringing, Killmonger, takes the throne in an effort to take the Black…
Post a Comment
Read more