Will the Comic Book Survive?

Well, I was looking for what to post up on the last day of this wonderful month of August, and it was clear as soon as I logged on.

The headline on NPR was that Disney plans to purchase Marvel Comics and its nearly 5,000 characters pending an anti-trust authorization...

I want to be optimistic. I really do. I'm an optimistic guy. But I know that now it won't be the same reading my favorite Ghost Rider, Captain America, or even Iron Man. And you can be sure that Spiderman will be weinier than ever now. I am afraid that this new partnership will be part of the long trend of franchises gobbled up by mega media giants and then whored out to the point of irrelevance.

Now let me be clear. Marvel before this deal was certainly no bastion of independent artistic creation. Did you see the marketing and what not for Iron Man, Fantastic Four II and X 3? Shameless. And they were piss poor movies... Oh yeah, let's not forget Spiderman 3 as well. So clearly, Marvel was already a media monster in the comic book realm. But that is completely different from this new hypersphere of Disney. And Marvel may have been a media giant, but at least they were still a comic book company at heart. They understood what the real fans needed in the comic books and what we needed to see in the movies (although they had a hard time delivering there... anyone else vomit after Ghost Rider?). But now I'm afraid for the future of Marvel characters. Will they still be edgy? Will they still have character flaws, complex relationships, and the ability to wrestle with not just the best supervillans but also social/political problems. Would the "Civil War" series that Marvel just completed that had overt discussion of the rule of law, liberty vs. security, and the morality of vigilantism/the state have been as compelling under Disney ownership. Will Disney "clean up" the images of certain characters (i.e. Tony Stark no longer a recovering alcoholic)?

But at the end of the day, I'm not too worried about the comics because they know that if they change those, the fans will leave. What I am most saddened by is that you can count on a lot of crappy new Marvel movies to show up. Marvel will be plastered on more things now that it could have ever dreamed of.

The most interesting thing of all of this will be to see how DC acts. It seems to me like DC will be looking for a buyer if they aren't already part of a mega conglomerate, in order to keep up with the market value/recognition of Marvel. And in the end, this may produce a generation of kids who grow up thinking that lame comic book heroes and their movies aren't worth their time. I may have to write about what comic books mean to me sometime because I don't have the time to go into that, but I am trying to be optimistic about this deal...

Maybe Donald Duck and The Hulk will team-up for some hilarious... nope. Not working...

Ugh.

So being a journalist is tough work. I just got a small taste today. I have been working on three stories right now, all of which involve several sources and a fair amount of research. I tried to get building permit records, contact city officials, set-up interviews for stories, develop story angles, have meetings, track down company contact information, and develop interview questions... Needless to say it was exciting, but very confusing and stressful. I just want to get it all squared away before the week ends.

Anyway, I wanted to make a brief comment on the Michael Vick situation. I have heard lots of perspectives on the matter, and frankly, I think a lot of the hostility towards Vick is understandable. What Vick did was at least upsetting and at worse disgusting. However, we have established a system of justice that is based on the idea of second chances. He was given a sentence, he served that sentence, and now he is free. Was it adequete? Did he get off easier because he was famous? Maybe, but a jury of his peers determined along with the state what his sentence would be and that's done. So theoretically, he gets a clean slate, with some reservations (I think dog-fighting is a felony? Maybe)... I'm also a big fan of forgiveness. He made some mistakes. Everyone gets a chance to make mistakes. Granted, his mistake was a lot worse than lying about breaking your Mom's favorite vase, but he still deserves a second chance. So to be disgusted that the Eagles would sign a convicted dog-abuser is to deny that humans deserve compassion and forgiveness, and that people have the ability to repent and change their ways. Perhaps I'm being far too idealistic and sticking up for the wrong guy, but I feel like we all have a moral obligation to believe that anyone can become a better person.

I could write more about that, but I need to get back to working and calling my wonderful girlfriend, who I am missing very much :( But I realized how soon I will get to see her, and that makes me oh so very happy!

Anyway, tomorrow is FRIDAY! Yeah.

Hygiene Pet Peeve

I just wanted to throw this out there because I was thinking about it this morning. I hate cutting my finger nails, and here's why: the moment after I have done the deed, I need nails. I cut my finger nails this morning and, lo and behold, I needed to peel stickers off of my new binders for school. This is not a freak occurance of bad luck. It is consistently a problem. There's always a scratch, or a smudge of what-not, or a seal needing to be broken right after you cut you nails. That sucks. Hands down.

What I'm trying to say is that I hate cutting my nails. Hygiene is already low on my list. But this just another slap in the face. Thanks a lot, hygiene. What have you done for me lately, really?

The New Year Begins!!

And we are off to a great start! What a productive first two days at Drury.

Sunday started off great with a nice church service at home, successful packing of my car, and a solid drive down to Springfield. Moved in, got situated, had a great Target run, and I got to see lots of my friends. Couldn't be happier about all of that. The new house that I am living in this year has got some character to it, but man, it is really nice and fun to be here. There is so much space, and a lot of possibility for wild antics and shenanigans!

But anyway, today I had to give a bit of a testimonial to the freshman class before they entered into their service-learning activity for the day. I was calm, cool, collected, and I think I actually said most of the things that I really wanted to say. I think it's because I'm really excited about civic engagement and I really believed my message, so I could talk from the heart. It was empowering, no doubt. So that was successful, then I went to get my check from my civic engagement conference and that wasn't there, but I got a very helpful lady in the business office to help, so technically a strike but no one ever got out from just one strike. Then I took my transcript nightmare to the registrar and my new best friend in Bay Hall helped me hook it all up. Finally I will have my class from two summers ago credited to my account. Yes! And to top it off, we had a great lunch at South Avenue Pizza were the pizza buffet was only $8.00 (a competitive deal when you include drink and a full salad bar) followed by a short but helpful meeting with the Mirror staff for this year.

I am really excited for this year. I want to be active and engaged in student life, and I want to try to produce some really quality work that I am proud of. I have been doing that so far, but this year I want to take a lot of time and effort and make this my own personal capstone.

But anyway, nothing in the news has really struck my fancy lately. I'm sure it will. I have my access to free New York Times daily, so I will try to reflect on at least one news story every week. I also just finished a book about narcotics, the CIA, and Central America that I would like to talk about. I'll try and do that this week.


Well, awesomeness. I have to go get read for my Phi Alpha Theta activity for tomorrow. But yes, let's rock and roll.

Frustration

I really don't know where to start with this one. I sort of touched on this subjects in some previous posts about health care and the angry, derogatory, fact-less, conservative protesting. There are two articles on NPR that I read this evening before I went to bed that made me sit up and got my blood boiling...

One of them was about how the Obama Administration wants to take the "Public-Option" off the table, or in their words, they will be open to compromise.

And the second article was basically some analysis of the current political situation for the Obama Administration and why they have had so much traction in gaining public support for their initiatives

Now first of all, I have no problem with a compromise. Compromise is healthy and should be expected, especially with the American political context. And the compromise actually may have some kick to it: Consumer-owned cooperatives as health insurers. Non-profit health care, even if it is private sector, is better than the for-profit arena. Will it lower costs? Will it get more people insured? Will it facilitate the ultimate goal of having a healthier, more efficient society? Will it produce more moral outcomes? Maybe.

But the part that steams me up is the fact that these outlandish protests seem to be the cause of all of this vision-alteration. Again, I understand that people have legitimate qualms with the current health care reform, I have my own. And in a republican democracy, it is the people who are sovereign and ultimately it is their opinions that determine what policy is acceptable. But there are two problems with that. I feel like most of the debate has been focused on disproving the myths about what the ACTUAL legislation, plan, and current system looked like. Institutions, like NPR for example, ran several stories that corrected common dissatisfactions with "ObamaCare" (as it has been infamously dubbed). So this begs the questions: Has the protest been based on legitimate concern or based on lies or misconceptions?

This whole town hall show-down has been absurd. I just don't even know where to begin. Where I come from, it is polite to ask questions, firmly expect answers, and respectfully disagree. There is no need for name-calling or apocalyptic descriptions of an America that is chained to the dogma of socialistic nihilism that is breaded with carbon-neutral, Fair Trade coffee rinds and fascist flavored handouts. The point is is that most doomsayers have little to no interest in promoting the democratic dialouge; they wish to complain about how fascist Communists have infiltrated America and we should all shiver in our shoes. I feel like the McCarthy metaphor is a tired one, but perhaps this is an appropriate to an extent.

I could go on about poorly informed rants, but I won't. I want to touch on two other things that I had never really thought about until I was really mad about how people were talking, acting, and pretending to be Thomas Paine (I really don't like you, Mr. Beck).

One thing is that I never realized how ridiculous it is to claim that a President is fundamentally challenging the core of "American Values". Now, look, I will be the first to tell you that President Bush was absolutely morally indefensible with the warrentless wiretapping, illegal detentions, torture, and a whole host of other offenses (uhh did I forget WMD's and Iraq?). But the point is is that in the end, claiming to have a handle on the core of American values turns out to mostly be partisan rhetoric. American values are sometimes contradictory and very complex. So while it does feel nice to be on one's high horse when we see a moral transgression, it is important to remember in American politics there are sets of values that can contradict one's beliefs and still maintain their "Americanness". Again, not defending the likes of the Cheney/Rumsfeld. Just something to chew on.

And secondly, I find it very distrubing the large pharmacutical companies were fully supportive of President Obama's health care overhaul. They, in fact, were throwing PR money at this deal! Retail giants like Wal-Mart were also supportive. This makes me very skeptical. When big business is happy, there is reason to doubt to what extent the proposed legislation will actually benefit the broader society and not concentrate wealth in elite hands. I think faithful Obamaites and progressive Democrats should seriously look at who is behind this plan before defending it to the death. While the attacks from the neo-Tea Partyers may be harsh, it might not be such a bad idea to see why major pharmacuticals are behind the plan. What do they stand to gain?

OK, well I tried to keep this short but it wasn't. I apologize.

Let's Go Bowling

For those who don't know, bowling is a fantastic sport.

And for those who are in the know, my recent rummage sale acquisition of bowling shoes and ball complete with plastic carrying case is working out like a dream.

A few friends and I had planned on going out to shop second-hand. We were going to do Goodwills, Value Villages, and some rummage sales. At the Kirkwood United Methodists rummage sale, I hit pure gold. After discussing over bagels my true desire of finding a bowling ball and shoes, something divine happened. We found exactly what I was looking for, the shoes fit like freakin' Cinderella, and the going price for this lovely package: One US dollar. Can you believe that?


Well, anyway, last night I went bowling with my girlfriend and started off shaky with a with 136, but came back strong in the second game with a 158. Needless to say, I'm excited. I saved $3.75 on a shoe rental and at the end of the night, I had the satisfaction of packing up my gear and walking out a champion of the second-hand realm.

So in short, when we go bowling, you guys will definitely be getting the water.

Futbol, Soccer, Futbol, Soccer... Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

So I've been taking care of a dog recently for a neighbor and they have Direct TV. I do not have any form of cable, and I have never had any form of cable. I stick to the basics, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 30, and sometimes 46 when the mood strikes me. But at this house, they have literally every channel known to mankind. And last night, I may have discovered channels that no one else knew existed. The only problem is is that there is a lock on shows that are rated higher than TV-PG because they have a son in elementary school. So I have been forced to watch exclusively sports, which is fine, that is what I would prefer to watch anyway (I'm not bitter). But last night I got to watch a lot of different soccer matches. I watch Chicago take on Los Angeles in the Women's Professional Soccer league. I learned that St. Louis has a WPS team as well, and we are pretty darn good! I also watched the final seconds of the Peace Cup, and I got to watch Arsenal play a team called the Rangers (who are apparently from Glascow? I always thought they were from Texas...)

Anyway, the point of the tale is that I got a lot of soccer time. My friends at school are really into soccer so within the last calendar year my knowledge and appreciation of futbol has grown exponentially. I usually considered it dry and a novelty at best. But after watching it regularly with people who understand and are truly passionate about the sport, I see why so many people around the globe love it.

I hope that soccer takes some roots in the American sports marketplace. It would be nice to field a team that could compete with the world. After watching Brazil narrowly defeat the US in recent match, I am now hungry for US glory at the 2010 World Cup. So, let's keep our baseball, basketball, hockey, and football close, but how about we invite in those crazy soccer kids?