Batman and Superman

From my Idea Catcher in 2013. I'm happy to say that the 2025 Superman movie "gets it".

As I write this, yet another actor has been selected for a Superman movie sequel / reboot. But they get Superman wrong almost every time. 

I read once that that the same amount of pain hurts more when you know that a human being is inflicting it intentionally. For a long time, I thought that’s why Batman wears the suit. Sort of, “I really am going to hurt you. I’ve been looking forward to it. In fact, it’s such a big part of my day, I even dress up.” But I was wrong. He wants a thug to be in pain, and afraid, and above all, helpless. Batman never connects the dots, never points out that he's making the thug feel like the people the thug terrorizes. He knows there's no point. The criminal will either realize that himself, or he won't. He'll change, or he won't. Batman is just giving him a chance because he's trying to save the victim and the villain. In some messed up way, he's a missionary.

Batman knows that not every problem can be solved by beating the hell out of it and it kills him. And it WILL kill him. He’s going to keep doing this until someone puts a 45 through his forehead. He knows it, but he won’t stop because he can’t. He doesn’t want to die, but he can’t quit until the war is over. And that war will never be over. 

Superman wears the suit because his mom made it for him. The suit isn’t there to scare anyone. It’s for the people he loves, which is everybody. When Superman flies over the country, he likes to stop for a few minutes, maybe buzz a school or play a little baseball with the kids at recess. He likes to make their day. It’s the same reason he’ll let some thug shoot him a few times before wrapping him in a steel bar and giving him to the cops. The guy’s going to jail for the next twenty years. Give him a story to tell the other inmates. Let him keep his pride. 

Superman has millions of friends. Not just because they love him, but because he loves them back. He doesn’t even hate the criminals and villains he fights. Batman only has one real friend. No, not Robin – he's a joke. Not Alfred. Even if Alfred exists, he’s the employee, and Bruce Wayne is the employer, and that’s that. No, Batman’s only real friend is Superman. 

Superman likes being a hero. He likes the powers – they’re fun. He likes giving people hope, saving lives, seeing people at their best. But if Superman lost his powers and had to work bagging groceries, it wouldn’t really bother him. He would be the guy who always has a smile for you, who never gets upset about anything, who gets to know everyone who comes through the store, at least a little.

Hollywood gets Batman. But as far as I can see, they can’t quite get their heads around Superman. He isn’t a flawed hero. He isn’t carrying a secret pain. He isn’t being crushed by the burden of who he is. Superman is your big brother. Superman is your dad. 

What the next director of a Superman movie needs to understand is that when he fights a villain, of course it’s going to be for the fate of the world. That’s not why the audience cares. If Superman is alive, we know that somebody cares about us. 

We afraid that if Superman dies, we will be alone. 

Are You Angry And Afraid?

There are people out there who desperately want to keep you angry and afraid. Because it’s easy to manipulate angry people, and people who are afraid enough will repeat any stupid lie without stopping to think, even for a second.

Some Republican "pundits" do this. Pick the dumbest thing any Democrat has ever said (out of context if possible), and pretend it’s what every Democrat everywhere thinks. But MoveOn.org has to be the worst. They use the same tactics, but they’re organized like the Waffen SS and they’ve built an army of angry and afraid people to spread their lies. Take a look at this, just as an example.

Every penny that was collected for SS has been spent, or will be spent soon. You could get mad at the people who said they would put the money in a “lockbox” … but what’s the point? The bank’s done been robbed, and we ain’t gonna get any of that money back.

Is it wrong to tell someone who has paid for Social Security "insurance" their entire working life that we are going to have to cut benefits? Sure. But those people are adults, and the money was stolen right in front of everyone’s eyes. Anyone who paid attention knew what was happening, and if you DIDN’T pay any attention, then shame on you. Still, nobody wants to let old people be desperately poor – not even evil Republicans.

But most of that benefit money is going to come from people who are children now, or not even born yet. Is it wrong to force them to pay for a scam they had nothing to do with? You’re damn right it is. Saying that the money we take out of their pockets is an “insurance payment” doesn’t make it better – it makes it worse, because we all know that money has already been spent.

And it’s even worse because, one the average, tax payers in their 20s and 30s have far less wealth (and even less income) than people in their 50s, 60s, and beyond. So by taking social security “investments” from them, and giving the money to old folks, we are often taking from the poor and giving to the rich. (And blowing a staggering amount on fraud and waste in the process.) How is that right?

So we have two bad choices – cut benefits, or tax the innocent. And we will end up doing both. We’ll probably “means test” Social Security, so that people who worked hard and saved money will get less from their Social Security “investment” than everyone else. We’ll almost certainly raise the retirement age for people who are now in their 40s. (And people in their 20s and 30s will have to retire a LOT later.)

And generations of children will be born deep in debt to pay the bill – which will be gigantic.

The only difference of opinion is that some people lean towards bigger benefits for old people and a bigger bill for the innocent. Some people lean towards lower benefits and a lower bill. There are Democrats and Republicans on both sides of that argument. Honest people trying to find the least bad path when all the choices suck.

MoveOn.org and other "pundits" are in a third group – pretending that the entire problem is just an evil conspiracy by the tea baggers and lib’rals. If we listen to them, then we will continue to pay out huge benefits without taking in enough money. We’ll continue to spend the money that we claim is for old folks on gigantic and wasteful government programs. The only way to make up the difference will be to run the printing presses at the Treasury … until our money isn’t worth anything. That will hurt young and old alike, and far more than actually facing up to this problem.

$17 Music Collection

My favorite way to buy music is still on CD, particularly used CDs. CDs were the first essentially perfect way to distribute music. They may be the last way to really own it. As long as I own that disc, I can use the music on any device that exists now or in the future. I can make as many copies as I like. I can sell or give the disc away, and nobody can do a damn thing about it.

So three or four times a year I go over to SecondSpin.com and load up on cheap CDs. Some of the CDs I love the most sell for a few dollars each. Here are six of my favorites you can get for $4 or less:

• Dwight Yoakam, This Time $2 This is, without question, the perfect country music album. For just $5 more, you can add Gone, which is also the perfect country album.


• Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers $3 You're may be sick of the big hit from this album (Stacey's Mom), but every track is great.


• Kim Richey, Bitter Sweet $4 There usually aren't many used Kim Richey CDs out there. They are all fantastic - this is one of her most thoughtful and touching albums.


• Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road $4 Great southern rock / folk. The title song makes me feel like I'm about 5 years old, back in the South around 1970. But it's good.


• Joan Osborne, Relish $2 This is another album with one huge hit (I won't name it). It must have sold millions of copies, because used discs are cheap as dirt. Personally, I like all the songs here - each one tells a story.


• Sonia Dada, Day at the Beach $2 One reviewer calls this an "amalgamation of soul, pop, rock, blues, and gospel." That's about right. Call it what you will, it's great poetry set to great music. For less than $20, you could pick up all six Sonia Dada albums. An ex-girlfriend turned me onto this band ... so every cloud does have a silver lining.
  

Second Chance for Mint

I have been told that mint makes the perfect houseplant, because it is almost impossible to kill. In fact, mint is absurdly vigorous and invasive. Unless confined in a sturdy container, mint will take over your garden and subjugate your lawn. If you forget to lock your doors at night, mint will sneak into your house (or your apartment) and get your wife pregnant.

But a few years ago I murdered a pot that a friend gave to me. Apparently, not even mint could survive my towering neglect. Now I’m trying again. Looks pretty good so far, doesn’t it?

Well, so far anyway.

I Had A Dream

All of this healthcare stuff is getting to me … even in my sleep.

Last night, I dreamed that I was standing with Barack Obama outside the White House. He was telling me his plans to help the country. Though I can’t remember any of the details now, they made a lot of sense to me at the time. But as I listened, enraptured, I smelled something burning. Over the President’s broad shoulder I saw smoke coming from the White House.

“Uh, Mr. President …” I said. At that moment the great man put his hand on my shoulder. He said, “James, I need YOUR help. Together, we must do something about our great nation’s housing crisis.” I noticed for the first time that a flock of the President’s admirers were standing on the National Mall. They were all holding building materials – boards, shingles, windows, and more. The crowd stretched out of sight.

“Sure,” I said, “but there’s smoke …” The President didn’t seem to hear me. He gave me a hammer and a saw. “James, together, we will build a gigantic People’s House, for everyone in America.”

“Well,” I stammered, “A lot of people already have houses. And speaking of houses, there’s smoke coming out of …”

But the President wasn’t finished. “Some fortunate people, millionaires mostly, or at least couples making a combined $250,000 a year, have houses. We will recycle the pieces of those houses to make a People’s House that will bestow dignity and security …”

“Hey!” I yelled at a man in the crowd, “That’s my garage door! You give that back!”

The President just looked more determined, and I was ashamed for interrupting. He said, “The People’s House will reduce energy usage and increase the average enjoyment per square foot by …” The smell of smoke intensified, and one of the White House windows shattered from the heat. Flames gushed out.

“Mister President!” I was shouting again, but I felt I had no choice. “Just stop for a second, and look at YOUR house. Don’t you see anything wrong?” The crowd muttered. A few people called me a bully, and one woman even accused me of working for Fox News. I honestly feared for my life. But the President calmly raised a hand and the crowd backed off. He said, “Is there anything wrong?” For a moment the world held its breath. “Yes!” the President said at last, “I see what you mean.” I felt enormous pride, but then he continued: “It could use some guest bedrooms. Follow me!”

“Wait!” I said, “I meant you should put out the fire first!!” But it was too late. Millions of Americans followed the President, and began randomly nailing boards onto the burning White House. Fire spread everywhere.

It was just a dream, but I can still smell the smoke.

Broken Health Care System

Several years ago, my Grandma Ramey broke her hip. She was from the rural South, and by no stretch of the imagination was she “rich.” She had nothing but public programs to rely on. In the hospital, she went into a form of dementia. But within hours of her injury, she had a new hip. The horrible pain started to go away. She came out of the dementia. She lived for almost another decade – healthy, independent, and in her right mind.

Our broken healthcare system in action.

In Canada or the UK, Grandma could have waited for weeks or months for a new hip – if she ever got one at all. In her condition, what would weeks of severe pain (and worse, total helplessness) have done to her? I am convinced the dementia would not have ended. She would have died in that hospital – in horrible pain, terrified, and unable to even recognize her family.

I’ve listened to President Obama. I don’t think that people on his side of the argument are in any way bad or stupid. But the program he’s pushing will mean waiting lists for everyone. It will also cripple medical & pharmaceutical R&D. The hip that kept my Grandma alive, the cancer treatments that give some hope to my family & friends who are fighting that disease, and the vaccine that would have prevented the cancer that killed my sister in her 40s – none of these things were developed in countries that have socialized their medical systems.

We can’t be like Canada. Most Canadians can drive to the US for medical care, if they don’t want to wait in line – and millions do just that. Almost every medical treatment used by Canadians were developed in whole or in large part with research dollars from American companies. When our government crowds private enterprise out of heath care, we will be stuck.

The Man With Two Blogs

I now have two blogs: the one you are reading and this one.

Why?

I could say that I am a complex human being. Maybe a single blog just isn't enough to capture all of my facets

Maybe I've decided that I must produce more blog coverage in today's media-centric world.

Maybe I'm just typing relative nonsense in order to fill the space around the picture that I've attached to this entry.

But the truth is that I've created a second blog in order to double my advertising revenue.

Equate Sterile Saline Solution Aerosol

UPDATE: I finally ran out of the 2 cases I bought last July. The good news is that this is still commercially available. Rite Aid stores are carrying the 12 oz aerosol can, and you can buy this from Drugstore.com and others. The bad news is that the price ranges from $6.25-$7.99 per can, with shipping on top. The price at Rite Aid is $7.99 as I write this, so, for now, I plan to shop there.

Here is the Blairex web site - it has links to Drugstore.com:

http://www.blairex.com/BLBlairexSaline.php

Greenville

I'm in Greenville SC this week. The city has rebuilt its downtown -- I can honestly say I have never seen a more beautiful city.

I'm staying in a hotel within walking distance from the city's minor-league ballfield, an amazing park, and about 100 good restaurants. Seriously, it's heaven. For months, I've been hearing this voice in my head: "You could do your job from here ..."

I took several pictures from my hotel room and posted them on Flickr (link below). The one here is a night shot, a very long exposure. The streak of light on the right is a car driving into the frame.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10335838@N04/

Spring

Okay, it isn't Spring ... it really isn't even close. But it feels like Spring outside. Even weeds are beautiful today.

Mark My Words, Again

I ran across a story in the news today about cars that can drive themselves. As loyal reader of my blog will attest, I am obsessed with this idea:

Driverless Cars

A couple of interesting points: First, GM is trying to design a car that will be compatible with existing roads -- and existing, human-controlled traffic. Second, the time-frame is within the next eight years. Both of these assumptions are way, way beyond anything I would dare predict. I still think it will take 10 years before most people accept the fact that this will happen someday. It will be ten years after that before we see driverless cars on the roads.

Given that this is being researched by a leading innovator like GM, we can expect millions to be wasted on concept cars that never reach the roads. On the plus side, they might thrash around and get Honda or Toyota interested.

The picture above is of my Grandmother Cage, my Dad, and his younger brother and sister. The car in the background is, in my opinion, one of the best looking automobiles in human history.

The Late Late Show With Me

The only late-night talk show I watch these days is Craig Ferguson. Actually, watch is the wrong word -- I record the show, and listen as I'm eating breakfast the next day. Last Thursday, I almost choked on my Cheerios -- Ferguson read my e-mail on the air! It was Ferguson's first new show after two months off for the writers' strike. I thought the joke I sent him was kind of dumb, but it got a laugh.

It's an in-joke, so unless you watch the Late Late Show, it probably won't be funny at all. Here it is: "Dear Craig. You have a very busy show tonight. Do you even have time for this e-mail?" Ferguson read the email, said "No," and threw it back on the stack.

Like I said, kind of a dumb joke. But now "James from Duluth, GA" is a celebrity from coast-to-coast.

I'm so proud.

Seven Albums

Today, I received seven albums in the mail:

• Kim Richey, Chinese Boxes
• Fountains of Wayne, Traffic and Weather
• Ivy, In the Clear
• Shawn Colvin, These Four Walls
• Sarah Harmer, All of Our Names
• Joan Osborne, Pretty Little Stranger
• Dave Brubeck Quartet, Time Out

It's a good haul. I buy all of my CDs used (at SecondSpin.com), so finding a particular album is a combination of luck and patience. Maybe it's the holiday season, but a lot of good music became available all at once, so I jumped. According to iTunes, these albums represent Alternative, Country, Folk, Pop, and Jazz. My musical taste is growing in all directions at once.

I've listened to Brubeck and the new Fountains of Wayne, and I'm listing to In the Clear as I write this. All are excellent. When Fountains of Wayne is playing, I really listen. I want to hear every lyric, get every joke, see every image. Jazz is different. I tend to zone out, daydreaming, and only occasionally coming back to consciously hear the music. But the daydreams are pleasant.

I'm particularly happy that Kim Richey has come out with a new CD. Her album Rise is one of my favorites (Electric Green -- wow). I'll be happy if Chinese Boxes is half as good.

I used to eat here all the time ...

For years, after I moved back to Georgia, I would eat at this restaurant once or twice each week. It's just down the street from where I live. Today, almost all the businesses in that strip mall are gone. I can't remember any really great meals at Rio Bravo, just the chips and dark salsa (excellent). Here are some of my favorite restaurant meals today (in no particular order):

• Jambalaya and Corn Bread: Roaster's Chicken Rotisserie
• Asian Duck Breast Salad: Seasons 52
• Mediterranean Salad & Grilled Chicken (with Hummus Appetizer): Athens Pizza
• Sashimi Tuna Salad: Houston's
• Wild Mushroom Soup: Fresh to Order
• Salsa Trio & Three Tacos (Fried Chicken, Veggie, and Fish): Taqueria del Sol
• Salmon BLT: Murphy’s (Virginia Highlands)

For dessert: Strawberry Shortcake at the OK Cafe.

I have a feeling that I will be back to this entry, to add some others that I’ve forgotten.

Mark My Words

The third DARPA Challenge was this weekend. Three years ago, the Defence Department gave a $1 million prize, a challenge to anyone who could build a robotic car that could navigate 160 miles through the desert -- with no driver, no remote control, no "wires in the road" -- just on-board computing power and on-board sensors.

That year (2004), no vehicle made it more than five (5) miles.

The next year (2005), five vehicles made it through the complex course, at average speeds over 45 miles per hour.

Then DARPA offered about $2 million in prizes, but moved the contest to a simulated urban environment. Stop signs. Other vehicles. Simulated pedestrians.

This year (2007), three vehicles made it through under the time limit, and eight more made it through without incident. That's right -- almost no crashes or problems at all. The cars were so successful, that observers found it boring to watch. The cost of all of this research to the American taxpayer? About $3 million. And keep in mind that this was WITHOUT any supervisory computer control, which would make the system faster, more efficient, and safer.

I've been saying this for years, but let me get on the record again. No, we won't have fully robotic cars on our streets in 10 years. But in 10 years, most people will agree that robotic cars are coming. Ten years after that, automated vehicles will be on the roads somewhere in the world. Ten years after THAT, most vehicles in the developed world will be automated. If there are vehicles (outside of theme parks) that humans can drive, there will be so many computer-controlled safety features as to make the human's actions more like suggestions than actual commands.

And I can't wait. The idea of putting a 17-year-old in charge of 2000 lbs of metal, tearing down highways and back roads at 80 miles per hour, scares the crap out of me. But we will live to see a time when that's a thing of the past.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/robot_cars_dc;_ylt=Aj8cZ5Ud7EYxW1V37sDjRqIjtBAF

What Would Arnold Do?

Recently, Peggy Noonan and others on the Right were justifiably offended when some people in the Administration attributed their opposition to the immigration bill to racism or lack of patriotism. Even the Wall Street Journal editors have made blanket statements about opponents of the current immigration reform, like saying that "that crowd" is "foaming at the mouth."

I have a strong feeling that the people in Washington and the WSJ editors were reading web sites and blogs on the other side, which are also attacking them and their motives. We need to get away from that. I like the way Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about politics. When he talks about an issue, he starts by recapping his understanding of what the other side thinks and why, and he implicitly attributes only the best motives to them. Then he explains why he thinks the way he does. It's very persuasive, and it helps clear away some of the anger, so that debate can be more rational.

I don't know exactly where Schwarzenegger stands on immigration, but if I were to use his tactics, I might say something like this: People on the other side respect the law, and they don't want to reward people who have broken the law. They want to control the border ("bordah") with Mexico, because no country can be sovereign or secure unless it controls it's borders. They don't want to see illegals exploited, and they want to have one set of rules for everybody. To do this, they want to close the border first, and then either deport the illegals, force them to return to Mexico by cutting off jobs, or fine them.

I agree with everything here ("heeuh") except the tactics. If you build a wall without fixing the underlying problems, you will still have many enforcement problems because no wall is totally secure. Also, you will wall in all of the illegals who are here today. If you try to deport 12,000,000 workers, you will fail. But in the effort you will create deep animosities that will last for generations. If you try to punish the businesses that hire the labor, you will hurt our economy. Not destroy the economy, but hurt it and make it grow more slowly, which is bad for everybody and worst for the poorest people. And all of the walling and enforcing and rules and regulations will cost money, and hurt all businesses, even the completely legitimate businesses.

I say, make the border with Mexico strong and secure by opening it to people who want to work. Then the people they come into America through checkpoints, where you can check them for the criminal records and the drugs and so on and so on. Now the only people who are not crossing at the checkpoints are the real criminals, like drug dealers. They will stand out more, they will be easier to see and arrest and put in jail with the shanking and the homosexual shower raping.

I say, respect the law by not making new laws that can not be enforced. Respect the law by changing laws that are not enforced and can not be enforced today. Deporting 12,000,000 hard working people just can not be done. Expecting them to go back to Mexico for six months voluntarily, as the President does, won't work. Do with the immigration laws what we did with the speed limit on the highways -- raise the speed limit. If you are Mexican and you want to come to America to work and pay taxes to America, then come. The border is open to you, and when you want to leave, the border is open so you can leave without fear. The taxes you pay to Social Security today will be redirected to the schools and hospitals you use, instead of to the welfare programs that you will not have any access to. The wealth you create in America, and the jobs you create for the doctors and the engineers and the builders and the small business owners will be good for everybody.

Finally, I want to say one more thing. In America today, there is one industry that does not hire any illegal workers. That is the government industry. The Federal government and the state governments are the only places in America where the number of unionized workers has gone up over the last 20 years. In the rest of America, as the number of immigrant workers have increased sharply over the last few years, the number of union members has gone way down. Did unemployment go up? No, unemployment went way way down. Today we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in our history and in the world. If we close the border to people who want to work, then labor will become a scarce commodity. The unions, who want to control labor, would make a comeback. With active unions, American companies would hire fewer people, and move many of the jobs that remain outside the country. Every time Delta wants to hire a gate agent, or you want to paint your house, you would have to talk to Tony Soprano. I tell you that if you close the border, unemployment will go up, not down. That will be bad for everyone, but worst for Americans who just want to work.

Calls of Duty

I played Call of Duty 3 for a few minutes this month, before getting tired of the whole thing. I think I would play a good video game, but COD 3 is a good example of why I don’t enjoy the genre more. First of all, the screen jerks around constantly. Just loading the gun a few times is an exercise in nausea. Second, the game has a couple of “holes.” For example, if your Jeep gets stuck, you just sit there, forever. None of the characters (yourself or virtual) ever get out of the jeep to move it, no Germans show up to kill you. You just sit there forever.

COD 3 is also different from COD 2 in one more subtle way – it’s too zoomed-in. You have zero peripheral vision, and as you look around it’s too easy to miss details. Combine this with the jerky graphics, and it causes nausea much faster than the last version of the game.

This American Life

During the month, I listened to several episodes of the “This American Life” podcast. Very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing the TV show, which recently finished its first season on the Showtime network. Of course, I’ll wait until it comes out on DVD … I don’t like it enough to spend a lot of money on it. But the radio show podcast is free (one episode a week), and older episodes are only a buck on iTunes. Click the icon to go to the show's web site.

A Book Review

While in Phoenix, I bought a Christopher Moore novel. I thoughtI had read one book by him (God is My Broker -- but that was actually by Christopher Buckley). Practical Demonkeeping was entertaining throughout. It wasn’t killer funny (not in the way that Christopher Buckley can be), but it had a story that kept my interest. Back in Atlanta, I purchased and read Coyote Blue. Mid-way through, I thought it the better of the two books. But the author’s hatred of Christianity was jarring towards the end. Moore is firmly in the camp that everything that whites do, and everything that Christians do, is bad. I ended up tossing the book when I was done, and I have no plans to read another.

iPod Madness

During the month, I “won” an iPod Shuffle at work. Actually, this was part of an award from October of last year, but it only caught up with me this month. It’s a great device, with simple controls – perfect for using while driving. It charges directly from the USB port of a laptop, and it has twice the memory (512M) of my old iRiver. But there’s always a “but.” It intermittently loses connection to my laptop. I took it to the Apple store, and because Honeywell purchased the device in January of 2006, it’s out of warranty. So I bought a second-generation Shuffle, got it home, and had exactly the same problems.

When I went to the Apple store, my first iPod wouldn’t talk at all to my laptop. Later that day I synched it on Jim’s Mac, and sense the it will talk occasionally to my laptop. For now, I’m going to keep both, but if I continue to have these problems, I’ll take the other one back and give the first one away.

Someday, computers are going to work reliably. It will be a freaking revolution. Seriously – so many large software projects fail. We don’t have a good way to visualize very complex systems and projects – like large computer programs, genetic codes, etc. Some day we will find a way and it will revolutionize many seemingly unrelated fields.