So, The Dark Knight is out and I have seen it! And it was awesomely amazing. Heath Ledger portrayed a stunning Joker as his last role. He was really the highlight. Christian Bale again plays Batman the way he should be played. Maggie Gylenhaal plays a much better Rachel Dawes than whats her face Tom Cruise's gal pal. And there are two bad guys for Batman to fight this time around.
The question I want answered is will there be another? It didn't end on an obvious sequel note, like comic book movies often do, so if I had to guess I'd have to say no just from that. Certainly, Ledger's death put a damper on their plans for the Joker. It just doesn't seem right to end a renewed franchise after the 2nd movie though. But with the end being as it was (don't wanna give too much away!) it's nigh impossible to have a new Batman that follows The Dark Knight. The next installment will probably bring new actors and actresses, a new crew who may or may not know how to portray Batman correctly, as this time around they have done well. It's so refreshing to see a Batman that doesn't have Jim Carrey in it... not that he's altogether bad, but rather that he doesn't belong in a Batman movie.
18 July 2008
16 July 2008
Enough Politics for Awhile...
As the title suggests, I'm burnt out on politics. I've been reading and researching all sorts of people for one reason or another and it is all bad news. So on a lighter note, I'm going to write a bit about the story I'm writing, mostly for my own purposes, clearing my thoughts, building ideas, and so forth.
So, the main character is the infamous Merkol. Many know of him, few understand him. At the start of the story he is an assassin in the sinister city of Kanebridge. His brother, Pren, along with a friend, Nogan Beardfist, has come back from his travels to retrieve Merkol. He finds his brother deep in webs of deceit, more tangled than Pren would like. Eventually, a rebellious detective named Dwyt Daubers, hired to investigate Merkol's most recent assassination, releases more information than his benefactors (who happen to be the same party who paid Merkol to kill Eldivar, who was a goodly noble of some importance and sway) desired. Removed from the private investigation, Dwyt puts up with the Kanebridge magistrate and gets a warrant for Merkol's arrest, then proceeds to chase him down with the full force of the city's police, something never intended by his first benefactors, who covered the murder up as much as possible.
Now chased by Kanebridge's police, as well as his own original benefactors, Merkol is forced to flee the city alongside Pren and Nogan, and returns to Elendra with them. Meanwhile in Elendra, the self-proclaimed king of all elves (haven't decided on a name yet) continues to conquer and unite communities. He is a very mysterious figure, even to me mostly because he's relatively new to the story. I'm not sure what to do with him... is he a part of the resistance movement that Pren works for? or is he an underground bad-guy aligned with Kanebridge's elite? Hmm, Kanebridge's elite... I'm alienating them and I can't do that. I have to develop them in their evil genius just like any of the hero characters. So that's on the list of things to do.
Anyway, at this point I get stuck. The grand scheme of things isn't entirely there yet. I know I'm combining the idea of the "moon crystals" in, and tacking on that they're a main source of energy and are nearly depleted. They are harvested all over the world, but concentrated in a few regions. But where the plot goes from there I can't say... Things I know must happen are that during the struggle Pren and his wife-to-be, an elf named Coramara Xen'shei, who elopes to be with him, gives birth to their son, and the end of this early saga involves Pren sacrificing himself in some way to end the evil threat (if only temporarily -- it'll return when their son, Xiev, comes of age, as any good evil should). Another problem: I haven't clearly defined the "evil threat" yet. Is it going to be some conspiracy thing? Probably, a little. But it should be some deep, dark evil too, like wizards sacrificing infants to raise legions of demons. Or something.
So as you can see, I'm very far from completion, or even really a true beginning. But I'm working on it, slowly. For now, I'm going to publish this though. Enjoy.
So, the main character is the infamous Merkol. Many know of him, few understand him. At the start of the story he is an assassin in the sinister city of Kanebridge. His brother, Pren, along with a friend, Nogan Beardfist, has come back from his travels to retrieve Merkol. He finds his brother deep in webs of deceit, more tangled than Pren would like. Eventually, a rebellious detective named Dwyt Daubers, hired to investigate Merkol's most recent assassination, releases more information than his benefactors (who happen to be the same party who paid Merkol to kill Eldivar, who was a goodly noble of some importance and sway) desired. Removed from the private investigation, Dwyt puts up with the Kanebridge magistrate and gets a warrant for Merkol's arrest, then proceeds to chase him down with the full force of the city's police, something never intended by his first benefactors, who covered the murder up as much as possible.
Now chased by Kanebridge's police, as well as his own original benefactors, Merkol is forced to flee the city alongside Pren and Nogan, and returns to Elendra with them. Meanwhile in Elendra, the self-proclaimed king of all elves (haven't decided on a name yet) continues to conquer and unite communities. He is a very mysterious figure, even to me mostly because he's relatively new to the story. I'm not sure what to do with him... is he a part of the resistance movement that Pren works for? or is he an underground bad-guy aligned with Kanebridge's elite? Hmm, Kanebridge's elite... I'm alienating them and I can't do that. I have to develop them in their evil genius just like any of the hero characters. So that's on the list of things to do.
Anyway, at this point I get stuck. The grand scheme of things isn't entirely there yet. I know I'm combining the idea of the "moon crystals" in, and tacking on that they're a main source of energy and are nearly depleted. They are harvested all over the world, but concentrated in a few regions. But where the plot goes from there I can't say... Things I know must happen are that during the struggle Pren and his wife-to-be, an elf named Coramara Xen'shei, who elopes to be with him, gives birth to their son, and the end of this early saga involves Pren sacrificing himself in some way to end the evil threat (if only temporarily -- it'll return when their son, Xiev, comes of age, as any good evil should). Another problem: I haven't clearly defined the "evil threat" yet. Is it going to be some conspiracy thing? Probably, a little. But it should be some deep, dark evil too, like wizards sacrificing infants to raise legions of demons. Or something.
So as you can see, I'm very far from completion, or even really a true beginning. But I'm working on it, slowly. For now, I'm going to publish this though. Enjoy.
15 July 2008
Research on Franklin D. Roosevelt
Argh, I'm sick of everyone telling me how wonderful FDR was, so I aim to set this straight once and for all, because he was not. He pulled the nation together, I've been told, got us out of the Great Depression, and stopped Hitler. He was a hero, a visionary, a great man. All these I've been told, and I wonder if anyone remembers or ever knew the real man behind the propaganda that has made him into what his memory is today.
FDR pulled America together to stop Hitler and end our Great Depression, I've been told. He's given credit for these things, but nations often, in fact are almost required to, "pull together" during war times. It's kind of a given. Coming out of tough economic times, of course people are going to pool resources and work towards a common ground, when a reasonable one is given. And as reasons for going to war go, stopping a man like Hitler from conquering all Europe ranks pretty high on my list. To me the credit isn't FDR's so much as the social circumstances of the time he was President.
I won't get into the steps he took to get us out of the Great Depression, because I don't know enough to speak of it. What I do know seems mostly unremarkable, and a large portion of his policies are glorified more than they ought to be. All in all, if this was the only thing he did during his reign as President, I'd probably give it to people that he was an alright leader. But it's quite the opposite. I guess I'm not so much arguing against him as I am making a case for bringing him back down to the level of all our other so-so or worse Presidents.
I've heard people compare Pearl Harbor to 9/11 before, and it makes sense: they were both focal points of their time. However, much like with 9/11, Pearl Harbor's mysteries still lurk, an uncertainty even to this day. What I do know is that FDR provoked Japan. He developed a plan to discourage other nations from trading with Japan and called for a complete embargo on US trade with Japan. Most of the US Navy was also placed at the open, unprotected site of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to entice Japanese aggression further. In the report outlining the call for these actions, it is said, "If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better. At all events we must be fully prepared to accept the threat of war."
Also, much like 9/11, multiple intelligence reports of warning were received as early as 10 months before the attack. These were ignored or waylayed because FDR wanted Japan to strike first. That way the people would get pissed at Japan and allow him more freedom in his action, and also make him look like the good guy. Even though he had violated every law of war by embargoing Japan and also trading munitions with European countries, and even though he purposely placed our navy in a location vulnerable to Japanese attack, he's remembered as a WWII hero. It's a shame in my opinion.
Finally, not regarding FDR's war actions or economic policies, he was a straight-up, legitimate crook. With his Presidential Executive Order 6102 presented to Congress on April 5th, 1933, he effectively made it illegal to own gold. What once was currency was now claimed to be the scourge of our economy. Supposedly, money with real value ruins economies! And people believed it. The proposed reason for this was to prevent a devaluation of gold, which, by the way, can't happen because gold is a limited resource unlike paper which the Federal Reserve Bank can pump out in whatever quantity they desire to control most facets of the economy. Am I suggesting that the Stock Market Crash of 1929 was orchestrated as a means to steal America's precious gold? Not necessarily, but I will say that it was taken as a result, whatever the motivations.
I might add more later, as I find it, but I hope this little I've presented enlightens some to see that FDR was like most other Presidents: fully willing, capable, and active in serving the rich and wealthy and to manipulate, control, and steal from the poor.
FDR pulled America together to stop Hitler and end our Great Depression, I've been told. He's given credit for these things, but nations often, in fact are almost required to, "pull together" during war times. It's kind of a given. Coming out of tough economic times, of course people are going to pool resources and work towards a common ground, when a reasonable one is given. And as reasons for going to war go, stopping a man like Hitler from conquering all Europe ranks pretty high on my list. To me the credit isn't FDR's so much as the social circumstances of the time he was President.
I won't get into the steps he took to get us out of the Great Depression, because I don't know enough to speak of it. What I do know seems mostly unremarkable, and a large portion of his policies are glorified more than they ought to be. All in all, if this was the only thing he did during his reign as President, I'd probably give it to people that he was an alright leader. But it's quite the opposite. I guess I'm not so much arguing against him as I am making a case for bringing him back down to the level of all our other so-so or worse Presidents.
I've heard people compare Pearl Harbor to 9/11 before, and it makes sense: they were both focal points of their time. However, much like with 9/11, Pearl Harbor's mysteries still lurk, an uncertainty even to this day. What I do know is that FDR provoked Japan. He developed a plan to discourage other nations from trading with Japan and called for a complete embargo on US trade with Japan. Most of the US Navy was also placed at the open, unprotected site of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to entice Japanese aggression further. In the report outlining the call for these actions, it is said, "If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better. At all events we must be fully prepared to accept the threat of war."
Also, much like 9/11, multiple intelligence reports of warning were received as early as 10 months before the attack. These were ignored or waylayed because FDR wanted Japan to strike first. That way the people would get pissed at Japan and allow him more freedom in his action, and also make him look like the good guy. Even though he had violated every law of war by embargoing Japan and also trading munitions with European countries, and even though he purposely placed our navy in a location vulnerable to Japanese attack, he's remembered as a WWII hero. It's a shame in my opinion.
Finally, not regarding FDR's war actions or economic policies, he was a straight-up, legitimate crook. With his Presidential Executive Order 6102 presented to Congress on April 5th, 1933, he effectively made it illegal to own gold. What once was currency was now claimed to be the scourge of our economy. Supposedly, money with real value ruins economies! And people believed it. The proposed reason for this was to prevent a devaluation of gold, which, by the way, can't happen because gold is a limited resource unlike paper which the Federal Reserve Bank can pump out in whatever quantity they desire to control most facets of the economy. Am I suggesting that the Stock Market Crash of 1929 was orchestrated as a means to steal America's precious gold? Not necessarily, but I will say that it was taken as a result, whatever the motivations.
I might add more later, as I find it, but I hope this little I've presented enlightens some to see that FDR was like most other Presidents: fully willing, capable, and active in serving the rich and wealthy and to manipulate, control, and steal from the poor.
14 July 2008
Frustration, Instability, and Longing
Chaos surrounds me. Really, I suppose it surrounds most people, most of the time, and especially now in this tumultuous economy of ours. I just found out I'm laid off "indefinitely," whatever the hell that means. Dealing with the unemployment agency has been a summer picnic, let me tell you (can you see the sarcasm dripping off the letters there?) and now I also need to find something to do to make ends meet while I finish college, monetarily ready or not. There's just no such thing as job security for the non-skilled laborer in today's economy. As such, it's time for me to become skilled and finish my Bachelor's. Maybe I can still register for the classes I need to take? I hope? Who knows, though. What will I even major in, specifically? Just History? What job will I get with that? I need to find out specifically and start building a resume. Secondary Education in Social Studies and put up with brat high school kids til I can get a Master's and move on to the collegiate level? Maybe.
It boils down to longing for the right life. I found it, and I can't wait any longer to get to it. I have a calling, a hero's calling, as Joseph Campbell would say, and that call must be answered. Do I sound somewhat crazy now? Yes, I realize that, and I feel it as well, but that could just be the massive quantity of caffeine in my system (note to self: one cup of coffee is plenty). Also I believe in and respect Joseph Campbell's words and feel thankful and privileged to experience exactly what he said humans experience at key moments of their lives. It's like the perfect mixture of fate, or destiny, intertwining with personal responsibility, capability, and ambition. We'll just have to see where it takes me. I know it'll be somewhere good. Agh, major caffeine headache, must go tend to it. Farewell for now.
It boils down to longing for the right life. I found it, and I can't wait any longer to get to it. I have a calling, a hero's calling, as Joseph Campbell would say, and that call must be answered. Do I sound somewhat crazy now? Yes, I realize that, and I feel it as well, but that could just be the massive quantity of caffeine in my system (note to self: one cup of coffee is plenty). Also I believe in and respect Joseph Campbell's words and feel thankful and privileged to experience exactly what he said humans experience at key moments of their lives. It's like the perfect mixture of fate, or destiny, intertwining with personal responsibility, capability, and ambition. We'll just have to see where it takes me. I know it'll be somewhere good. Agh, major caffeine headache, must go tend to it. Farewell for now.
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