December 28, 2020

Name a Time When the Death of a Fictional Character Really Threw You [Assume Spoilers Ahead]

For me, the death of Wash in Joss Whedon's 2005 movie, Serenity was pretty upsetting.

This does not mean that I was unmoved by Shepherd Book's demise earlier in the film. But Book was no longer living with the group by the time of the movie's events, so I had an inkling of what might happen. His character was older, as well, but most significantly, I had watched enough of Whedon's work to come to expect that there would be some sort of sacrifice.

Whedon had a habit of killing off beloved characters and I accepted that as part of his story-telling repertoire. For the story to have impact, a price must be paid by the heroes. (I was totally expecting Pepper Potts to be killed off in the first Avengers movie.)*

When Wash was killed, the moment felt real and disturbing and traumatic. I had one work-friend who had only just discovered Whedon's Firefly " 'Verse" and he declared that he would never forgive Whedon for killing off Wash that way.

What about you guys? Any fictional character deaths that you did not see coming, or just couldn't accept?

* I may not dislike Gywnneth Paltrow as much as others do, but it sure wouldn't have broken my heart to see the last of her in that particular movie franchise.

December 19, 2020

Nomination to play Jon Ossoff when the movie is made.

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John Francis Daley!

November 6, 2020

Trump is the Anti-Mr. Rogers

This is my contribution to the memes and tropes and tags.

A friend and I were discussing the current state of things and I said something that amounted to wishing serious, significant ill upon Trump supporters. I lamented my own comment because it is out of character for me.

I am a person who has watched others lose themselves to anger, bitterness, and resentment and I have resolved to guard the purity of my heart and strive towards compassion and higher values.

But the Trump effect has worn me down and the ideal of the nobility of the human spirit seems out of reach for me.

But when I expressed regret for my nasty comment, it was my friend who stressed, "Trump brings out the worst in everybody."

That's when the thought formed. Yes, it isn't just his supporters who are made bolder and coarser by his example, even people opposed to him become soiled by association.

After the 2016 election, a friend told me that people in her church were seriously discussing whether Trump is the Anti-Christ. (Hers is not a White Evangelical church, by the way.)

But since I don't hold to the supernatural claims or prophecies of the Bible, I will stop short of calling him the Anti-Christ. He's the Anti-Mr. Rogers. And I don't know if I have the wherewithal to reclaim the expansive nature of my understanding of others and their complicated needs and motivations.

Forget the guy in the red cape. I need the guy in the red sweater back here in the world.

August 17, 2020

Just saw a clip with Trump claiming "America is a laughingstock" because of [somebody else]

My first thought was that we have gone long past being a laughingstock to the world. We are now an object of pity. . . . And it is solely due to Trump.

July 26, 2020

Republican Congressman Ted Yoho Bravely Admits

To loving sprinkles on ice cream, cold beer and the color blue.

"I know there will be those who decry sprinkles as dangerous shards of sugar that can get stuck between people's teeth, but I will not apologize for supporting Our American Birthright to add them to our ice cream desserts.

And while the Radical Left tries to foist warm beer on an unsuspecting citizenry, I do not apologize for preferring my beer cold --knowing that our Founding Fathers risked their lives and sacred honor to preserve their freedom to send slaves to fetch their beers cold from icy, clear mountain streams. I stand with those men in telling the King of England to take his warm beer and clean his buckled shoes with it. For I fear no reprisal from the King of England, knowing that I have God and the military/industrial complex on my side.

And while blue is considered the favorite color of the majority of people all across the world, nevertheless, I will not apologize for my passion in supporting it despite the great danger associated with liking things that most people like. That is because I, Ted Yoho, am not a fucking bitch.

I am actually a spineless cur who knows that having a thoughtful opinion regarding a complicated social issue is the quickest way to be shunned by a stupid electorate who squirm at being challenged in any way. I will always vote to protect the powerful and do whatever needs to be done to enhance my financial portfolio. Belittling women and minorities will remain my passion as I seek to honor my God and follow my hero, Donald J. Trump--or some interchangeable version of that last phrase."

July 26, 2020

Yoho Won't Apologize For 'Loving His God'

“I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, and my country,”


No one is asking you to apologize for loving God, Congressman Yoho.

As a person who claims the mantle of Christianity, you might want to apologize to Jesus.

Matthew 5:22

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.


Those are words from the founding document of Mr. Yoho's religion. Speaking as a cynic of religion, I reserve my judgement for the virtue signalling associated with Mr. Yoho's supposed courage in declaring his faith.

Unlike Stephen the Martyr, you won't suffer a barrage of rocky missiles for declaring your association with the Christian faith, Mr. Yoho. You don't deserve brownie points for loving your family or a Medal of Honor for loving your country.

The majority of the human race feels love for their individual families and every single person you despise in Congress is there because they love their country. They wouldn't be putting in the effort to work along side of you if they didn't.

And--not to take anything away from Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez--but George Floyd undoubtedly loved his family. He left behind a daughter and he called out for his mother with his last breath. Lt. Col Alexander Vindman loves his country. That's why he chose to serve in our military. And that's why he chose to risk his military career to speak Truth to Powder and honor our democracy.

You may have tried to position yourself as a brave stalwart of decency and righteousness when you chose to evoke God, Family and Country in your statement regarding your recent behavior, Mr. Yoho. But the truth is, when you were asked to do something difficult--namely, own up to your words and actions--you betrayed yourself for the hypocritical coward that you are.

July 17, 2020

Perhaps we need a "Fun Products" page.

And I shall start with this one.

https://www.teepublic.com/pin/3048150-protest-cat-cats-against-trump


Sorry, I cannot find a way to post the actual image. It is cute, though. And one can purchase the design on items such as buttons, t-shirts and mugs.


And, NO. I swear that I am not getting any money from shilling this website's products. If I could swing such a lucrative deal, I would have already made big bucks from Society6 and Spoonflower. I tell people about their products all the time. . . Seriously, those companies need to start paying me.

June 20, 2020

Black Father Gives Son The Talk About Holding Literally Any Object

An oldie re-featured by The Onion because it is so f^cking timely.
Years ago, reading about the unique "Talk" that black parents have to give their sons as they start driving really drove home some points for me.

My brothers got in trouble a lot. In a couple of instances, it could even be argued that the police had it out for them. But they were never brutalized and they made it through their "troubled teens" alive.

My parents did a pretty poor job in many ways, but serious, long-lasting consequences never derailed their sons' futures. I mention this not to knock my parents (They had their own issues and I now accept that they did the best that they could.) but to refute all those arm-chair sociologists who intone the platitude "If black parents just did their jobs. . ."

I remember reading coded versions of that in articles praising certain black people who had accomplished remarkable things. The idea is that if the parent of [insert name of famous black athlete, entertainer, professional] could keep their kid out of trouble and help them to achieve some special goal, why are there so many young black people doing poorly in school, stuck in poverty or in jail?

Nobody ever asks why more white parents' kids aren't excelling to a remarkable degree. Tolerance for mediocrity is one of the unchallenged realities of white privilege.

June 20, 2020

This is either an expensive toy or. . .

. . . a very cheap kitchen.






Thought that I would post it here for those who are into the trend of "Fairy Houses". This is a way to step up the game. Perhaps one could find an out of the way corner of one's own kitchen to hang this unit of the wall so that the fairies could enjoy modern conveniences.

From miniatures.com- 1/24 " scale.

June 13, 2020

"You can only be one of two things ― a credit to the race or a disgrace to the race.'"

This is a quote from an article posted over at Huff Post. I am including the link address here for those who wish to reference it.

Full disclosure: I haven't even read it yet. And here I am critiquing it based on that one quote. . .Actually, what I am critiquing is the reality behind the idea expressed in that one quote.

Definitions and explanations of white privilege abound these days and mine goes like this. How often are white people and their actions examined as to whether they are a credit or disgrace to "the race"?"

White people are treated like human beings and individuals--in most situations. I am not going to pretend that I don't believe that there are specific instances where other people of different backgrounds haven't done "a lump job" and ascribed an attitude or action to a white person just because they were white. People--and I do mean all people-- are often not very observant and quick to judge. There is a growing collection of studies on the diminishing value of "eyewitness accounts" in legal cases and other areas of life. (Thank goodness for cell phone cameras.)

It has been my experience that people in general--and some angry, narrow-minded white people that I know in particular--cannot take the broad or liberal view when it comes to anyone outside their core group.

A few years ago, the video clip of beheading by some extremists of the Muslim variety was the big news of the day. A family member who watched a lot of Fox news but never went to church and happened to be "living in sin" declared loudly to me that "Christianity is under attack in this country."

I sighed and told him that was not so. His comeback--after a few other heated statements on both sides--was that I wouldn't be saying that when some Muslim took my head off with a sword. (This comment was enriched with the addition of a broad swinging arm movement with an imaginary sword in hand.)

This family member has probably never had any real conversation with an actual Muslim. This family member was also ignoring the latest news stories about the recent mass shooting by a white guy at a random public location. I wanted to point out that I was more likely to be killed at the Walmart up the road than a robe-swathed Muslim carrying a scimitar, but this family member had stronger lungs and the ability to throw my virtually penniless self out on the streets at the time, so I didn't.

Whoops, this is beginning to be about me, but I can turn this thing around. This family member person is obviously a member of the same race and I am and yet we are very different people. Depending on whether you agree with my point of view or not, I could be either a credit or a disgrace to my race. But nobody talks about me like that.

Black people should be able to be as stupid and obstinate and uninformed and a host of other traits that I would attribute to TFM, (aka "This Family Member), without creating a major problem for the black people who are not stupid or obstinate or uninformed.

Nobody should have to go around feeling as though the moment they are anything less than perfect then they are letting down everyone else who looks like them. And they definitely shouldn't have to worry about the police being called on them and possibly being killed by those police when they are out and about doing ordinary things.

Years ago, I read a comment by some white news personality about a young black woman whose accomplishments were in the news. "She's a credit to her race", he said, "the Human Race."

That is how it should be, of course, but it is not. White privilege is about being an insufferable asshole and being called--at worse--an insufferable asshole. The list of consequences for a black person acting the same way varies considerably. The consequences for black people doing pretty much anything are always more serious.

I had enough stress living in a house where I had to keep my mouth shut and was judged intensely for the smallest slip-up or miscalculation in behavior. I cannot imagine what it is like to live in a world where the power structure at large is ready to pounce on anything that you do or say and make your life miserable--or take it away entirely.

"Black Live Matter"doesn't mean that your life doesn't matter, TFM. It means that you survived your encounters with the police when you did dumb stuff as a kid because the cops already knew that your life mattered. But apparently, they have to be reminded of that fact when they encounter an equally stupid black kid, or even an innocuous black person of any kind doing pretty much any kind of anything.

Shit. I'm getting mad just thinking about it--and I'm not black. And if a black person expresses their anger, they shouldn't have to worry about frightening "the white folk" and making their whole group look scary.