I am Kyle's self-indulgence

A couple of weeks ago, I entered a contest at the Alan Moore Fansite. I'll occasionally enter contests like this, in which the winner is selected from a field of correct responders. I don't ever expect to win, but this time the odds fell in my favor! This is particularly nice, because the prize is three volumes of Moore's Promethea, a comic I've been interested in reading, but hesitant to spend money on.

If you want to see evidence of my astounding victory, scroll to the contest portion of the Alan Moore Fansite, at the bottom of the page.

Nominees for this year's Academy Awards have been announced, and there aren't many surprises.

The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Sideways, Million Dollar Baby, and Ray (none of which I've yet seen) are up for best picture, as well as a host of other awards.

Jamie Foxx is surprisingly nominated in both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories (I doubt there's much chance of his winning the latter).

As expected, the Academy steered safely clear of controversy this year, leaving Fahrenheit 9/11 out of its choices for best documentary (apparently, it's nowhere near as good as Tupac: Resurrection).

Interestingly, The Incredibles is nominated for best original screenplay--and by the way, the Academy should just go ahead and give Brad Bird his Oscar for best animated feature right now, because there is absolutely no way Shark Tale or Shrek 2 stands a chance.

According to this article, tsunami victims in India were denied aid because they would not convert to Christianity. Such behavior is absolutely shameful. Just think of the damage done to the message of Christ in that village and throughout the world.

Did I mention yet that Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean have collaborated on a new film, mixing live action and CG environments? I have? Well, here's an article about it, anyway.

The article actually takes an interesting look at the increasing prevalence of movies that depend almost entirely on computers for their look. After the last Star Wars movie, I was slightly concerned about the quality of what Gaiman and McKean set out to do. However, while George Lucas aspired to simply create realistic-looking environments, Dave McKean points out that he had something else entirely in mind: "It's down to tastes and what the script demands. I prefer to make images that are imagined. If we want something that looks like a forest, I would rather just go out to a forest."

I can sympathize with such an attitude. I don't believe technology should drive an artist to attempt something flashy and complicated just because he can. I believe an artistic vision should drive a work, and that technology should be used in whatever ways will best bring that vision to reality. I have read such comments from McKean from when he began to use computer manipulation in his comics artwork. The way he put it was that before he used computers, he could accomplish 40% of what was in his mind. With computers, he could actually do 80-90% of what he wanted.

It looks like Stan Lee has largely won his lawsuit against Marvel Comics for a portion of the earnings from movies based on characters he created. The issue of creator's rights in comics has been a problem for many years. Marvel and DC, in particular, have long retained total ownership of all created characters, refusing royalties to the actual creators. I remember hearing a story about one of Superman's creators being financially bankrupt even while the Superman movie was earning millions in theaters.


For several years, Stan Lee has been fighting for 10% of the profits from movies based on his characters. If you're not a comic book geek, you may not know that his creations include Spiderman, X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and Daredevil (just to name a few). 10% of the profits from these movies would be HUGE, and it looks like he'll get it. That's great for Stan Lee, whose name was once synonymous with Marvel Comics, but it's also good news for the cause of creator's rights in an industry that has been very reluctant to change.

Is Spongebob Squarepants gay?

Even worse, is he *gasp* promoting tolerance? Why, if our children see this video, they may begin thinking that all human beings should be valued equally for who they are! That would be a dark day for America, indeed.

Please forgive my sarcasm. I'm in a cynical mood today, and this nonsense isn't helping.

1:
something fundamental;

esp

: one of the basic
constituents
essential
to a thing
or system

2:
the part of a
complex wave
that has
the lowest
frequency

and
usually
the
greatest
amplitude

(found in Merriam-Webster’s School Dictionary)

I wrote this in school today. I had the students compose/assemble/discover either a found poem (such as the one above) or a headline poem (using words cut out from newspaper headlines). I rather like this definition.

I mentioned once already that I bought some Johnny Cash CDs while in St. Louis for Christmas. Today I shared some lyrics with my English class that I thought go well with Walt Whitman's I Sit and Look Out. These words from Johnny Cash's Man In Black become more powerful every time I hear them:

I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believin' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believin' that we all were on their side.

I've come to realize that when I write here about politics and International issues, I focus almost exclusively on the wrongs committed by my own country. This may lead others to believe that I am anti-American, and some have even accused me of excusing the actions of terrorists, or of blaming America for the attacks on our country (These are gross misinterpretations of my attitude. Nobody deserves to be murdered. Nobody).

If I believe that all killing is wrong, then why do I not spend as much time condemning the actions of America's enemies as I do those of my own country? I believe it has something to do with accountability. I am not responsible for the actions of people of other countries, nor can I do anything to change them. I do, however, have some responsibility for the actions of my own government, as I have the power to criticize it and try to change it.

Accountability still isn't the whole reason, though. Even if I had no power to change my government, I would still criticize its immoral actions. Yesterday I had a revelation that better articulates what I have long felt: Focus on the evils of others breeds hatred, violence, and war; the realization of one's own evils (or the evils of one's own government) leads to peace.

Is it any wonder, then, that Christ has commanded us to turn the other cheek, to remove the plank in our own eye? I've heard from people who are willing to do these things, provided the other guy does it first. But this misses the point. We are to be the example. We are to love our enemies, even while they hate us.

As A.J. Muste once said, "There is no way to peace; peace is the way."

I can't believe people can even think things like this. The author actually advocates an official US policy of retaliating against any future WMD-related terrorist attack by vaporizing the 100 most populous Muslim cities in the world! This is wrong in so many ways. I would list every one of my objections, but I really don't think I need to.

And what of people who are not in favor of the United States committing genocide? They are "hand wringers, peaceniks and leftist elites." Wow.

Remember those darn WMDs? You know, the reason it was absolutely imperative that we abandon diplomacy and invade Iraq in the interest of protecting America's security? Well, the U.S. has quit searching for them. So it's official now.

After Christmas, I decided to use some money I received from relatives to buy some new workout clothes. One would think that in an entire St. Louis mall, plus one very large San Diego mall, there would exist a pair of reasonably-priced, well-fitting size M running shorts for women. One would be wrong.

Upon inquiring about such shorts at the Lady Foot Locker stores in both St. Louis and San Diego, I was met with shocked, confused looks and the comment, "but it's winter...we don't sell shorts in the winter..." Apparently nobody belongs to an indoor gym. Correction, apparently no women belong to indoor gyms, because as Kyle pointed out there were plenty of shorts for sale at Foot Locker (not Men's Foot Locker, mind you, just Foot Locker).

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Will Eisner, a pioneer of comics art in America, died on Monday. His influence on comics simply cannot be stressed enough. Scott McCloud views him as a Don Quixote figure whose vision of comics as an art form came long before its time. In the 1940s to early 1950s, Eisner developed a rich, beautiful, and unique style of visual storytelling in The Spirit, a "superhero" comic (of a hero with no powers) which stood apart from all its contemporaries in terms not only of style, but of literary merit.


Eisner temporarily left the world of commercial comics to create instructional comics for the U.S. army, only to return in 1978 with A Contract with God, the first "graphic novel." In fact, it was Eisner himself who coined this phrase to show that his new work was different in form and content from all comics that had come before.


It is a testimony to Will Eisner's influence that the comics industry's most prestigious award was named after him while he continued to be active in creating some of comics' greatest works, even winning his own Eisner awards. He continued to grow as an artist even up to his death, and his passing is a sad occasion for the comics industry.


I hope my words have at least done some justice to the man who revolutionized an art form. If you want to read a more professional obituary, I recommend The Chicago Tribune.


Update as of January 5: In honor of the late Mr. Eisner, The Onion A.V. Club has re-run a recent interview, in which Eisner discusses his numerous innovations and his continuing vision of comics' future:

"I would like to see the comics industry reach a point where good comics material is reviewed in The New York Times and treated at a level equivalent to oil paintings and good literature. I'm hoping we'll see more of that. I believe it will happen, and I'm hoping to be around when it does."

I've finished my second day of teaching today. School was actually dismissed early because we have a big ice storm on the way, so I'm going to write this quickly before leaving (Internet's not working at home--long story).

The last two days have been crazy, hectic, exciting, chaotic, and wonderful. I feel completely overwhelmed with all the planning, grading, and documentation that I haven't even got to yet, which causes me to freak out when I'm at home. At school, though, I feel great. I've led a couple of discussion-based activities that have elicited amazing responses from students. They are very bright, but I don't think most of them know it yet. I'm excited about what we can accomplish this year, but I'm also a little freaked out about the work ahead of me. I can already see why some many people both love and hate teaching.

I'm going to head out now, so I don't get stuck in Edina. I'll try to write more later.