Monday, March 2, 2009

I learned from Jim Royal


In my time of knowing Jim Royal he was one of the most accepting individuals I've ever met. There was almost a childlike quality about the way he cared for people. It wasn't naiveté or innocence, but a lack of pretension and societal constraint. Jim didn't really care about the value others placed on people like that. He loved people because he loved them. He loved to his own personal "Jim Limit" and there aren't many of us who can say they do the same. He didn't need qualifiers to accept someone.

Growing up, my father often told me "you can learn something from everyone: you can learn how to do something or how not to something." Sadly, Jim's life taught me a little of both.

Jim was a free spirit. In his passing I've seen the profound effect he's had on his friends and family by just being himself. At his wake I saw old grudges being cast away, people who often never speak to each other finally opening up to one another and a lot of fun being had. That's Jim. That's what he would have wanted for us. That's what his “will.” He left us good will. But there's an irony to all that.

Jim loved everyone more than he loved himself. I don't know the man well enough to articulate his demons, but it was apparent there was something eating at him that he couldn't let go of. Watching the way he cared for others and the way he cared for himself was odd. If Jim were his own friend, he would have never allowed the things he did to be done to that friend. That's the other thing I've learned from Jim. You've got to be a friend to yourself. You’ve' got to love yourself as much as you love other people.

Jim, we always loved you man. We always will and I don't think you had a problem seeing that. I only hope that those you loved so much will begin to love themselves as much as you loved them too. In the end, that's all you ever wanted for any of us and really, that's all any of us ever wanted for you.

Jim's friends were protective of him and that can be attributed to the level of friendship he put out. If anyone finds my words offensive, I apologize in advance. I thought the world of Jim and don't think he would take offense to what I've written.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Why Canada is safer than your nation

No one ever has an accident in Canada. Why? They have horrific PSAs to remind them not to mess up. It's like Final Destination for TV:


http://www.prevent-it.ca/

Friday, February 13, 2009

Taking the Hulk apart

he Hulk is an examination of repression and expression.

Bruce Banner represents the timid, shy person we can all be at times who conflicts with the loud, uncaring industrialized modern world. The Hulk represents that breaking point where we've all had enough and we snap.

The Hulk's "child like mind" is a a metaphor for the shunning of social graces, because the action of losing one's temper isn't perceived as mature. When you lose you temper you don't think about societal convention and political correctness. You explode and say what you really feel and sometimes act without forethought. That's the Hulk to the nth degree. He's what happens when a man let's go fueled by a scientific radioactive phenomenon.

As for why he's so strong? It probably has less to do directly with the gamma radiation and more to do with the auspices under which he was created. Remember- Bruce Banner is a mixture of Dr. Jekyll (repressed Scientist/ mad beast-man), Einstein (quiet, timid scientist who wore the same clothes every day while working on the atom bomb- like Bruce used to with the tacky purple suits) and Robert Oppenheimer (built the hydrogen bomb in the dessert and it was tested there like Banner's Gamma Bomb).

When Oppenheimer's bomb went off people say there was a "crack" in the sky. Like reality itself had been broken open. Bombs of large magnitudes do crazy things. It's my thinking that the Hulk is so vastly powerful because of a mixture of three things that could have created three separate mutations in one person.

1. Exposure to vast amounts of gamma radiation. This mutated his cellular structure. He instinctively wanted to survive and therefore tapped into the energies unleashed by the explosion.

2. Said energies which do not normally exist on this plane were channeled through his body in the form of mass, strength, and healing properties. His body is able to withstand this change because of the mutative properties of the radiation.

3. The phenomenon or mutation also allows him to tap into the rest of his brain power. Not necessarily to make him smarter, but to channel the energies in the rift.

It's probably like a valve. The mutation is triggered, he taps a bit of this power and becomes bigger and stronger. As he gets angrier- he instinctively taps more and more thus making his strength go up. Kind of like how the body releases adrenalin when a person experiences extreme emotions. As his rage begins to subside, the valve closes and he mutates back to his original state.

Two halves of the same coin.

And just so we're all on the same page. It's been shown numerous times that Bruce Wayne is the mask Batman wears. "Bruce Wayne" actually died along with his parents and his innocence. Batman was born from that. He has no life outside of the Batman persona. He can't even maintain a network of friends together because he's never been socialized. He can diffuse a bomb but can't make a cheese sandwich. Bats would die w/o Alfred or Robin to keep him sane.

Batman has the mind of a god in the body of a man. He was raised away from regular people, isolated and allowed to fully indulge his obsession with vengeance.

Supes is a man in the body of a god. Raised by regular folks, socialized and later found out he wasn't normal.

If anything they would probably be jealous of one another and resent the each other because they each possess what the other wants. And ironically enough, they both Superman and Batman maintain certain moral codes that stop them from getting what the other has.

People commonly make the argumentSuperman should have five beautiful girlfriends and lots of money and rule the planet, etc, but by that same logic, why wouldn't Batman invest his vast fortune into more sci fi gadgetry or even super powers to make his job as Batman easier?

Batman's line he won't cross is using his money to augment himself to a place where his pursuits as a hero aren't "fair". Superman has the same line about using his powers to enhance his normal life.

Being Clark is the real challenge for Superman. That IS him. All the super powers are superficial and it makes life easy. As Clark he has to really make an effort because he's in the real world. Moving a mountain is great, but it doesn't speed up the line at the DMV. Sometimes working with an asshole boss can be just as strenuous as battling Metallo. Clark Ken illustrates that.

At the end of the day, Clark wishes he could have the life that Bruce has if Bruce were to retire. Bruce could be normal in a heartbeat and lead a great life as a family man. On the flip side, Bruce resents Clark for not shedding his Clark identity and not serving mankind full time. Bruce's only limit is his physical and Clark doesn't have that.

Clark's limitation is his need for emotional intimacy and Bruce doesn't have as much of a need.