Robin Williams

Death frightens me. It's a pretty safe bet that it frightens a lot of you, too. No matter what we believe, scientifically or religiously, we have no first-hand experience and no eyewitness accounts of exactly what happens after death. Anything we believe about what happens to us after this life is based on faith and hope. 

Now I have my set of beliefs, and you have yours, and it is not my place to tell what you should believe, or vice versa. But I will tell you some of what I believe, and you can take it or leave it as you choose. I believe that death is not, cannot be the end of our consciousness. We exist here in this life as men and women in a variety of states, always shifting and changing as we live our lives. At times life is great, and at times it is terrible. And we each have our struggles and hardships amid our triumphs and blessings. Sometimes we cannot be harmed by anything in our path, and other times we cannot accomplish even the simplest tasks.  But this life is singular, and we only get one.

In the film Dead Poet's Society, there is a speech by John Keating about living an extraordinary life. Carpe Diem, or Seize the Day. This role was brilliantly played by Robin Williams, who passed away yesterday by apparent suicide. It's haunting to be able to still see this speech and film even though he is gone, especially with the message it brings. I've included the link below if you want to see for yourself. 

Robin Williams is one of a few actors who was difficult for me to not watch. His manic persona while being comedic and the depth of emotion he could display dramatically were both so unique that his performances were always captivating. I've never met, spoken with, or interacted in any with him except as a viewer of his craft on a screen, and yet I feel as though I'm now missing something. I have access to see anything he has ever created as his death doesn't destroy his art, but knowing he is gone affects me more than I thought it would. All death is tragic, but we share a unique relationship with actors. Robin Willams has caused me to feel emotions through his craft: joy and sadness, anger, jealousy, laughter and triumph, and pain and hope. He has touched my life without ever meeting me. And now there is a void where he used to be.

I hope his family and those close to him, whether personally or through his craft, will be comforted in their grief. The difficulties and sadness of his life here are now passed, but so are the joys and happiness. Eventually the joyful memories will outweigh the sadness, and I do believe he made a difference. Let us all live extraordinary lives that touch those around us as well.

http://youtu.be/veYR3ZC9wMQ

New Ventures

Alright, so for anyone who is still reading this unfortunately abandoned blog, I have created a website a little more focused on something I truly enjoy, Magic cards. Yes, I realize I am outing myself as a bit of a nerd here, (a bit?) but if you are at all interested in seeing what I'm up to, come check it out.

www.pandemoniumtg.com

It's just getting started now, and if you've never played Magic: the Gathering it's probably all a little incomprehensible, but I'll be working out most of the bugs along the way. Feel free to follow me there, too. You know, if you can confidently admit that you're a little nerdy too. (A LITTLE?)

Dear Superman

Dear Zach Snyder, Director and Christopher Nolan, Producer,


Zach, I am going to preface this letter by saying that I have never seen one of your films. I am aware that you have some experience with adapting comic books to the movie screen, and I will admit that this is something I will never attempt to do myself. As an experienced filmmaker, you have been entrusted with the next chapter of the Superman legend and I am sure you will do your best work in bringing Clark Kent and Kal-El to the silver screen in The Man of Steel. Chris, I have seen many of your films, including the excellent adaptations of the Batman stories that you have told. You redefined the depth that a superhero film can bring, and the characters you crafted with your actors are more captivating than most Hollywood can boast of. Now that you understand I hold you both in respect for the positions that you are in, I come to my plea: DON”T SCREW UP SUPERMAN!!!!

I have many friends who say they are bored of the story of Superman. “He’s too perfect. He’s one-dimensional. He’s too powerful.” Many of the arguments I hear against Superman are especially loud in response to the darker, grittier tone that the Dark Knight films achieved, and people want to see Superman receive this treatment. And that frightens me.


Superman is not Batman. Bruce Wayne is a creature of his surroundings, a man with a dark past and a darker future, who uses fear and intimidation to bring his enemies to justice. Although he does not kill, and refuses to use guns, his nature is much darker that that of Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter. Batman allows himself to be painted a villain for the greater good. This could never happen to Superman.


Superman is an icon. He is a beacon of morality and light that stands out from the world he lives in. He is meant to be infallible, a shining example of what we should strive to be. Superman is a being with no obligations. He is not from Earth, he is not subject to our laws of nature, and he literally has the power to do anything he wishes. Yet he chooses to dedicate himself to helping the less fortunate. How many of us would choose to be completely selfless in that situation?


Superman is not, however, a one-sided character. He suffers from the knowledge that he is, for all intents and purposes, immortal. He will outlive everyone he knows, and there is nothing he can do about it. He can spend all of his time saving people, particularly those he cares about, and yet there are many things that even he cannot stop. Disease, age, and the simple fact that he cannot be everywhere at once force him to confront the fact that these mortals he protects will fall and fade and even die no matter how hard he fights for them. And yet he fights on anyway.


That is the Superman story that needs to be told. And I believe it is the Superman story our world needs to hear. Perseverance, in the face of impossible circumstances even though he can, at any point, stop fighting and still remain untouched, is a trait that we need to learn. He chooses to protect us, with no tangible benefit to himself, even though he will ultimately fail. The world he protects can be as dark and gritty as you want, but Superman must not fall. Even if he must die for his cause, he must fight for it with all that he has and never waver, or what he symbolizes will lose all of its power, and he will be nothing more than we are. Unlike Batman, who is still a man, Superman must be more. He must be a symbol for the qualities we all should strive for, not just a costumed powerhouse that cannot be defeated. He must be the dream we hold, and we hope to become by defending those we love. Please keep Superman above us, where he belongs.

How should I celebrate Ramadan?

According to the calendar hanging in my cubicle at work, Friday is the day that Ramadan begins. Also The Dark Knight Rises comes out in theaters, and I jokingly suggested to a friend that we use our Muslim neighbors’* holiday as an excuse to go to a midnight showing. Since he is a little more responsible than me and prefers to be conscious for work on Friday he declined, and after I realized that the showings are already sold out and confessed my plan to my wife I decided (she decided) that I had better things to do.


However, it did get me thinking. I have absolutely no idea what Ramadan is. I remember something on the news when I was in high school about us bombing Iraq during Ramadan, and that it requires fasting for a month. Pretty skimpy information, and the only reason I remember that much is that I thought it was dumb of us to bomb them when they were already punishing themselves by fasting. Starving and I have a poor history of getting along.

So I turned to the greatest source of unbiased and accurate information on other cultures, the Internet! (For those of you without internal sarcasm monitors, if I end a printed sentence with an exclamation point, that’s usually a good indication that sarcasm is creeping around that statement somewhere.) Apparently fasting during Ramadan is meant only during daytime, with two meals being eaten each day, one before dawn and one after dusk. The family also gathers and eats their evening meal together, as the purpose of the holiday is to achieve a closer family relationship.

Now I don’t have any intention of fully celebrating Ramadan, largely because with my limited, Wikipedia enforced understanding I probably wouldn’t do it justice, and also because I do not relish the fact of cutting out a meal everyday, particularly the one that makes my stomach stop rumbling halfway thought my work day. But I do want to understand better and maybe observe one or two parts of the holiday because I’m weird like that. Another friend of mine and I have observed Passover in the past, cooking a traditional dinner (to the best of our very limited abilities) and observing some traditions with the intention of learning more about the holiday. The end result probably looked nothing like a Jewish Passover, but it ended up being a lot of fun, and his family earned a new appreciation for the taste of lamb and horseradish.

I’m not sure what part of Ramadan I will observe, but the little I read indicated there is a celebration at the end of the month that involves food and family and giving thanks. I’m familiar with similar celebrations; since I do gravitate towards any celebration with food, and with a little more research I think I will probably see if my little is interested in a traditional Muslim meal and party. It probably would pass as a real Ramadan celebration for anyone, but I’ll learn something and have fun, which is about all I am striving to achieve in life anyway. Let me know if you are interested in learning a little and having some fun with me.




*to my knowledge, I do not actually have any Muslim neighbors. If you do, they can probably tell you more about what Batman and Ramadan have in common than I can. I’m sure there’s something.

Monday Update

I'm wrapped up in a couple of TV shows on Monday nights. I don't tend to watch a lot of live TV, since I prefer seeing a lot of episodes back-to-back, but there are two shows that have really captured my attention. If only there were something good to watch in between them, but no one puts a good show on at 8 o'clock on Mondays. (Darn you, Dancing with the Stars!)


First, at 7 pm on NBC, we have Chuck. This show is wrapping up it's 4th season, and it's amazingly hysterical. The nerd we all want to be with a super CIA computer in his brain, fighting crime in the most amazingly awesome geek way possible. High stakes UNO games over possession of a nuclear weapon, disarming said nuclear weapon with a juice box, and this week staging a break-in to a secured location using a plan concocted entirely from Star Wars. I've never laughed so hard watching any show as much as this one, and if you don't fall for the characters after 2 episodes, you may need professional help. If you've ever referenced a sci-fi movie, video game or comic book in regular conversation, this show is for you. Secret weapon: Adam Baldwin's love for guns..


Then, after pretending that I don't watch at least some of Dancing with the Stars, at 9 o'clock on ABC we have my other favorite show, Castle. Nathan Fillion (always watchable, even as Captain Hammer) stars as Richard Castle, a mystery novelist who follows around a female detective to base his book off her. The premise is no less reasonable than most crime procedural shows, and honestly the premise isn't what draws me to this show. The characters are some of the most fully-fleshed out that I've ever seen in a crime drama, and the relationships between them are the real reason to tune in to this show, after the antics of man-child Fillion of course. I'll be honest, I'd watch pretty much anything Fillion does just because I can't see him smirk without laughing. Secret weapon: Fillion's Castle one-liners and fancy toys.

So, now that I've spilt my guts about my TV favorites, let me know what your shows are. Because when the mainstream audience fails to adopt these show and they're canned, I'm going to need something else to watch. And if you are in the business of making TV shows, apparently all you need the please me is an impossible crime fighting premise and a cast-off actor from Firefly. (I'm seeing Alan Tudyk as a schoolteacher who fights crime with history lessons. Make it happen!)