:: Captain's Personal Blog ::

Stardate: Monday, September 30, 2002

R-E-S-P-E-C-T ---- A post I wrote to Ain't-It-Cool-News.com. It's about the new Superman Film.

You know what? I'm a pretty strange guy. I'm a Superman fan. I can take certain changes in the character, others I am not too fond of.

I am a BIG fan of John Byrne's revamped history of Superman. So much so, that in the recent RETURN TO KRYPTON II storyline, when that history was threatened, I was a bit upset.

My feelings on the "Pre-Crisis" Superman are this: It was a great springboard for the new stuff. Look at it as a whole. It was (at best) a convoluted mess that eventually created a character with outrageous villains, because they were the only ones good enough to beat him. How do you stop a guy who shugs off a nuclear blast and can juggle planets? Plus, if a man can move so fast as to break the time barrier, why can't he be everywhere at once? These are just some of the smaller examples of why Superman, circa 1985, was in a bad way.

Aside from making Superman weaker (a welcome change) Byrne emphasized the fact that Superman is, in essence, a living solar battery (thank goodness we no longer had to deal with "red sun guns.") Also, if he couldn't store the energy, how could he really travel the universe?

Past that, Byrne erased the one question that always plagued me. When did Superman decide to tell the world that he even had a secret identity? The glasses-as-a-disguise bit works much better when you consider that no one is trying to find him.

Finally, there was the all-important change of realizing that Superman was not disguised as Clark Kent, but that Clark Kent was disguised as Superman. Clark did not have to be a bumbling boob, he just had to be an ordinary guy, because that's who he really was and had always been. It was also these stories (which sometimes included the no-longer-dead Ma and Pa Kent) which truly set the new stories above the stories of old.

With little exception I also like Smallville. DESPITE THE FACT that Metropolis now appears to be in Kansas, right next to Smallville. This is probably THE BIGGEST sticking point with me. I have come to accept the fact that Lex and Clark were friends as teens. To me this could lay the groundwork for the most realistic representation of their adult relationship and why Superman really wants to get Luthor. Maybe it is also about a sense of betrayal.

What's the point of all of this? Simple. What the honchos at Warners and what any writer REALLY needs to do is pay the respect which is due to the character. This was something the Richard Donner did, and Richard Lester did not. VERSIMILITUDE was key. Why? Not because the audience wants to see the dark, nitty gritty world. It's because the fantasy and allure of characters like Superman is to wonder what if they existed in OUR WORLD. Not some imaginary world with multi-colored characters walking around. Superman in the real world is what the audience wants.

In a way, I think that is what makes the Businessman Lex Luthor so appealing. As a Mad Genius, Supervillain, there wasn't much to the character. Is losing one's hair really a reason to want to kill someone? No. A thirst and a quest for power are much heartier. I once took an acting class and was taught the term "Por Las Buenas." It's the sense that when you play a character you must realize that no one BELIEVES that they are bad. They are doing something to achieve some good, even if it is only for them. Any villain who says "I am Evil!! Evil will be supreme" is unrealistic or insane. And what's more frightening? A person who hurts and kills because he is insane, or one who does so despite his "sanity?"

The people at Warners need to make a good movie. Donner got it right because he knew this (although I'm still not OVERLY thrilled with Gene Hackman's Luthor because he fits the older mold -- No offense to Hackman who did a marvelous job.) Keep Superman who he is. The Last Son of Krypton, who is raised by Human parents with Human values, who merely strives to do the best he can.
:: J 9:55 AM [+] ::
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My impression, wrong as it may be:

From REUTERS: President Saddam Hussein said Wednesday Iraqis did not want a war with the United States but vowed his nation would defeat any U.S. military action to oust his government if it had to.
"Your brothers in Iraq wish that God would spare them evil and avoid fighting," Saddam told a group of Arab parliamentarians in Baghdad to show their opposition to a possible U.S. military strike.

Let me be clear on this one point. GOD does not want anything you bloody git! All he wants is for us to be nice to eachother. Now, granted the US is not in a position to do that either, but GOD is not going to step in and change things, or force people to do anything.

It's up to us, not Americans but Humans, to make these decisions for a better world. Anyone who does not live by this philosophy will be punished no more than they can be by the inevitable extermination of the entire race by zealots who feel that violence will solve everything.

Easy for me to say, since I'm not involved directly. But the fact of the matter is that that goes for everyone. Not just us. Everyone.
:: J 12:54 PM [+] ::
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After a whole month of not blogging, do I come back to blog out of some sense of commitment or obligation? Who knows? I am here, nonethless, so it's time to make the best of it.

Life has been a series of interesting curve balls. This is not to say that anything too terribly interesting has happened, just that life has been an interesting place to live lately, at least for a hermit.

Two weeks ago, I got together with my best girl friend, Lauren, who took me out to brunch at the Plaza. It was wonderful. They have excellent food there and it was great to see her again. She has a new beau and seems to be very happy with him. She actually taught me something about myself. Something that my friend Brian was telling me months ago. The reason why I don't have a significant other is because I don't do anything outside of work, in a social environment, that is an activity. Sure, I do things outside of work, but they are not communal things.

And therein lies the problem. Brian recommended that I feed my inner geek and attend some convention or somesuch occasion to find someone like myself. The problem with that (although it is probably my best bet) is the fact that I am not sure I would be able to find someone there who was close enough to be a lunatic without actually being one, for my tastes. I absolutely don't want an all out lunatic (someone TOO comitted to the genres, or someone who is just crazy -- done the latter before) and I don't want someone who isn't commited enough, who would look down at me or fail to appreciate the things that I do. My likes and interests are diverse and strange enough, though, that I do believe that the only place I would be able to find someone would be in one of these places. Either that, or pay for someone, which I not only couldn't afford, but wouldn't want anyway.

Amazing how that tangent just sort of came out of nowhere, huh?

On to other news. For those of you who are unaware, and I'm sure there are a few of you, a nice confection company has released EVERY FLAVORED JELLY BEANS, as in Harry Potter. In addition to wonderful mainstays like Blueberry and Cotton Candy, there are also Sardines, Dirt, Earwax, Grass, Booger and Vomit. The worst part is that they truly taste as advertised. How do I know? I had some. Accidentally, I partook of the Vomit flavor and couldn't take anymore. However, I plan on buying some more and unleashing them on an unsuspecting public. (insert evil laugh here)

Past that, not a great deal going on. At least that I can think of now. I have a feeling that I will be back later with more. Especially about my ex-girlfriend. *sigh*
:: J 9:22 AM [+] ::
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