Friday, September 30, 2011

Gone Horribly Awry...

On the radio, a lead in for a news story:

"It was a blood infused Satanic orgy gone horribly awry..."

As for me, I'm thinking that by the time you are having a blood infused Satanic orgy, things have already gone awry.

Just saying.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

This Day in History

Lord Horatio Nelson is born. 

Little known trivia: it is believed that the wrestling hold "the full nelson," was named after the naval hero, who used a strategy of encircling enemy ships, holding them in position for bombardment. 

Even lesser known trivia: the wrestling term "half nelson" is named after Horatio's half-brother, Jimmy "Sticky Hands" Nelson, who used a strategy of hooking his arm around the neck while giving noogies to his brother. 

The famous Noogie Circle in East East London is so named in his honor of Jimmy's achievements.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

History Lesson

Today's glimmer of gloom:

Overheard on the news, an economic expert saying:

"This is the worse it has been in all of history. And those records go all the way back to the 1960's!"

All of history equals about fifty years. And this from the experts.

We are in for a long, long haul.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Today's Thought

Woke up this morning not knowing where I was. Ticked when I found out I wasn't in Oz. Darn Frank Baum making promises he can't keep!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Today in History


09/23/1952:Richard Nixon makes his "Checkers speech". Obama tried to one up by giving his “Chess speech.” Didn't work so well.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Black Panther


What I’m Watching:

I’ve been using my new Netflix streaming to catch up on things I missed. Like “The Black Panther” – the BET produced series based on one of my favorite Marvel superheroes.

Each episode runs ten minutes – feeling like television quality webisodes. But the perfect bite-size chunks for viewing while grabbing lunch or for a writing break.


What Worked

I really enjoyed this series, it hit the comic book geek in me just right. As I stated above, T’Challa – sorry, Black Panther, as I do not know the king well enough to refer to him by his first name – has been a fav of mine since I first found him successfully breaking into the Avengers mansion many, many years ago.

A king/superhero/warrior, the Panther has always been about integrity of character, of being the right kind of man, leader and hero. His struggles aren’t just about how to whomp the latest villain, although he does that quite well.

And the fact that he can go toe to toe with the Avengers assembled is pretty cool too.

With good action and a storyline that builds in intensity, the series is fun and satisfying.

The show also strikes the right tone for me – serious actions (invasion of a nation, no shortage of death from war) while keeping a light tongue (sibling banter and well placed gags).

What Didn’t Work

The bashing of a previous administration is so heavy handed, it take the viewer out of the story. The US National Security Advisor is named Dondi Reece – yes the topic is handled with that level of subtlety. 

Thankfully not enough time is spent here to sabotage the series.


The Skinny

A very fun, compelling adaptation of a graphic novel series. Well worth the time.

Just my thoughts,

Sean

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Perspective

Today’s gleam of hope:

In listening to a radio story about the aftermath of Irene, I was struck by a recurring theme that one doesn’t see played out often in our “me” society.

A woman whose travel was delayed, trapping her in an unknown city for two days, said that it was very inconvenient.

But compared to what others must have gone through, it wasn’t all that bad.

A man without power who had been informed that the outage will last up to a week told the interviewer that it was a terrible situation.

But then again, he and his family were stocked with candles and supplies, and there are others out there without that much who need the attention first, so it’s not all that terrible.

Everyone interviewed for the story who had something to complain about came around to saying that all in all, they were just fine.

Ah, perspective. The perfect condiment - it goes well with everything!

Just my thoughts,

Sean