Fandom = Lack of Enjoyment

This week, "Justice League" comes out. I won't go and see it because I dont go to the movies in general, but many people will. And given reactions, many people will be disappointed and cry that WB/DC is finished and Marvel Studios rules all.

And it makes me depressed. But not for the reasons that you may think.

I grew up with DC Comics. I am generally a DC person. But I don't hate Marvel Comics or their heroes, or their movies for that matter. I think Chris Evans (Captain America) is the best casting for a superhero since Christopher Reeve was cast as Superman. But the problem is that now it seems that if I support one side or the other, I get blasted or have to defend it. Fandom should be about enjoyment of a product, not anger or debate. Oh sure, the classic debates on which hero could beat whom are common enough. But they should not be shaming.

DC and Marvel rely on each other to push each other and succeed. And both companies understand that. Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently called the DC-Marvel rivalry "ridiculous" and that he would go see Justice League himself.

Yet fans, partially because they like to feel superior over others and partially because we live in a culture where grey area doesn't really exist, will not stand by this and continue to cry conspiracies and throw hated at each other when they are all truly fans of the same medium.

There is no enjoyment in fandom anymore. It's partially the same with Doctor Who and infighting about where the show is going, who the Doctor should be, etc. And quite frankly, it has rankled my views on Doctor Who too.

Instead of enjoyment, it seems like you have volunteered for an army and you are going to war to defend your turf against those who deem to knock you down.  So instead of being happy, you are on the front lines all the time.

Why can't we just enjoy what we want to enjoy without other people telling us that we should or should not like it?

I feel like I have a ton more to say on this particular subject, but they all basically go back to that specific point.

So what to do you think?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changeeeeees

Apt. 15A Sayre Court, Madison, New Jersey.

I have lived at this address for about 25 years, first going back and forth between my mother and father and finally permanently with my father.

In 2 days, I will no longer be living there. Me and my father will be moving to another place in Madison. The place, to be honest, is nicer. It is bigger, so there will be more room for two grown men.

But will it be home? We will see. I am excited and nervous. I have never been one to fully embrace change on the outset of it. But you get used to it. I don't know how long it will take me to get used to this new place. But I hope it will be relatively quick. 

I apologize for the lack of blog posts but as you can guess, I have been pretty busy.

Why I Hate Politics

So I wake up this morning to the worst mass shooting in US History. A man opens fire on a concert below like its target practice. Sickening, indeed. But that is not what I want to talk about. Instead, what I want to talk about is the reaction to said shooting and why it illustrates why I hate politics.

So there are people on Twitter arguing this morning whether the government should call this quote "an act of terrorism". The same thing happened in the Obama administration when the nightclub shooting happened. My response to this and I'm sorry for swearing:

WHO FUCKING CARES WHAT IT'S CALLED?

The bottom line is that it happened and it has to be dealt with REGARDLESS of what it's called. I could care less what it's labeled as. And it illustrates why I hate politics in general. Politics to me is a bunch of people arguing over mostly trivial things, like wording and language, as opposed to more broader issues. The minutia of what is discussed in Congress is probably the reason why so little actually gets done, in my opinion. It is ridiculous at times. And it has showed its head today, when the larger issue of gun control (there's another thing, the NRA greasing the palms) should be discussed with compromise and with full attention, instead of worrying about language.

It's nonsense. And that is a reason why I hate politics. And I hate that over the last two years it has become the main topic that it has. Especially in the hands of some people who just spout. The Eckes family discusses politics a lot but we do it deftly and listen to each other. That's not what you get on Twitter. Which raises the ridiculousness factor beyond the boundaries of sense.

And speaking of sense, another story came out earlier this week which pissed me off.

This librarian who rejected the Dr. Seuss books because of them being "racist" should be let go because she lacks common sense. Talk about putting a big massive target on yourself and libraries in general by doing something so STUPID. If there was any logic behind it, then it may have some merit, but not letting in Dr. Seuss books? Ridiculous. And people wonder why people actually voted for Donald Trump. Partly because actions like this make no common sense.

Here's Bill Maher's rant on Democratic PC and how it led to President Trump. Try to have a good day.

Railin'

Ever since I was a little kid, I have had a fascination with steam engines. This, of course, goes back to my love of "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" (which is the proper title. Thomas & Friends is for the newer generation who can get off my lawn at any time). But it's interesting that my love of the series (which still exists, although as an adult I look at it from a humor and story point instead of gawking at steam engines who can talk) has grown further.

When my family went to London, my major goal was to ride a steam train. Unfortunately, I did not accomplish that, but I did ride on British rail through the countryside to Stonehenge so that was alright, I guess. I was still disappointed that I didn't get to do it, but maybe someday.

What is it about steam engines that fascinates me? The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote the stories that would lead to the Thomas series said that as a boy he used to hear the engines from his window and the sounds they made felt to him like they were talking saying "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it"etc. I think that's part of it and it ties into something else. Steam engines look alive as compared to other forms of transportation. They exhale smoke and steam, like breathing. They chuff in a rhythmic style, just like walking. They whistle, just like talking. Some to say hello and some to say goodbye.

Beyond that, riding the rails is very romantic, not in a lovey kind of way, but in a soulful kind of way. Think about it. In a plane, all you can see is the sky and the ground below you. That does give freedom, but the detail can't be seen. Driving a car or riding a bus? You can see some detail, but you also see the road and the blacktop. Same with sailing on a boat, you see sights but you also see the water and other boats.

Trains are different. You can see all the different sights and a lot of the time you are alone, in terms of side traffic. It's you, the engine and the views of the world. That's the romance of it.

I really like trains but there is one time that I love them and the Thomas series most of all. But, as they say, "that's another story".

Some Random Thoughts

I have not had an great idea for another full post (know I'm delaying my soap opera one). But I do have a couple of random thoughts I want to get out.

1. I just saw a Ford commercial which described how hard it was to get around in NJ and they mentioned "roundabouts". That's BS. I have traveled a lot in this state. There are next to no roundabouts to be found. The only true roundabout that I have seen in the state of NJ is by the shore in the Brick area. So shame on you Ford.

2. I read the plot of that Darren Aronofsky film "mother!" By the way, I don't go to the movies. They're too expensive and I usually have a hard time sitting still for 2 hours unless I'm lying down, although I have heard that movie theater seats have become better. Anyway, I read the plot for this movie and just went "Huh?" There seemed to be no stream of consciousness in the making of this movie. If you've seen it, I pity you because it just seems like a load of crap that somebody is trying to pass on as art. And given the crappy reviews and the low box office, a lot of people seem to agree.

3. I have an idea for an upcoming series that I want to do on the 90s Mentos commercials. They were shot apparently in South Africa and began airing in 1991 ( which is very very ironic for reasons that I will probably get to). I wanted to do it kind of like MST3K only I would give my general observations of it. What do you think?

4. Everybody stay safe. The world is rough right now but I hope it will get better.

Thanks

Where I was

I was in French class at Madison Junior School. Suddenly the principal, Florence Senyk I believe, came over the loudspeaker and said that they prided themselves on not shielding students from the outside and keeping them in the dark, ot to that effect. Then she proceeded to say that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The school was abuzz for the rest of the day. School continued, but there was that big shadow in the backdrop.

My sister picked me up from school that day as probably did a lot of parents and others out of fear and worry. Because I was young and didn't really have anybody close to me affected by it, I didn't get the full scope of what that event meant. All I was concerned about was that the TV signal was knocked out and I had to watch tapes for the next 2 days or so. Boy does that seem small in comparison.

For me, I dont want to dwell on the memory, but it does pop up on occasion. Even looking at a digital clock sometimes and seeing the time 9:11 triggers a little bit of memory. But I dont dwell on it. I pause for a moment and then move on. That, I think, is the best way to remember. What about you?

PS: I still have the soap opera post to finish, but I wanted to get this in. Thank you.

Those Wacky Soap Operas

When I was little, my sisters used to tape a ton of different things. And being the curious sort and wanting to tape over their stuff with mine, I got to look at a lot of it. One of the many different things that I saw was a certain soap opera. The plot was such that a group of people fell through a hole and found some long lost city underneath the ground populated by people (who knows how they got there). The plot was split between the underground city and the people above trying to rescue them. It was very weird.

Much later I would discover that this was not abnormal for soaps in the 80s, which did weird and wacky things in order to attract viewers. And I mean really wacky things; not just the "I slept with my relative who is secretly the father/mother of my baby" thing. I mean batshit insane.

For example, the soap opera which featured the wacky story I just mentioned was One Life to Live. I 1989 the story was called "The Underground City of Eterna" and here is a clip

And to think ABC's money was spent on that. The storyline was apparently polarizing (REALLY?!)

and it ended a few months later. I'm not going to go into the details about that because it would probably take a novel. 

By the time the 90s rolled around, wacky plots were out of date and tackling issues became the cause celebre for soaps.

In true soap opera fashion, I will leave a cliffhanger here. Why? Because tomorrow (or later tonight if I'm up for it" I will tell you about the ONE soap that really began the wacky trend. Until then.....