Posts Tagged ‘evil

17
Aug
22

The Wong Place and Time for Me to Care

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
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****

So, I’m interested in the new (The) She-Hulk: Attorney at Law TV series. Suffice to say, the character is a bit of an obsession for me, even though certain artists have cast her as a rather…casually sexual explorer. But, I don’t expect much from what’s already a Disney disaster in the making.

[I mean…the lead actress had to alter her hair to match Mark’s (Bruce Banner/Hulk), when I just saw her with blonde hair, looking, actually, fit to play a blonde Jen Walters. She had the perfect ponytail to match the look of brown-haired Jen on some of the covers I’ve seen. Is it so wrong for a guy’s COUSIN to have different hair or even ethnicity? I have cousins with every color hair in the book; why can’t Jen have straight blonde hair even if Bruce has curly salt-and-pepper hair? The original “Savage” Jen had blonde hair (while Bruce had brown hair). That’s not a racial issue or even a question of family ties.]

[And, you know what Disney is likely to do to retain the interest of disenchanted fans? ‘Probably put out a ton of merchandising and ads for products like Tide detergent, featuring She-Hulk, just because they can afford to pump the masses and feed the landfills of the what’s-next, instant-gratification, never-satisfied-with-the-current-speed-only-because-advertising-says-so generation that’s taking control. And, if I crumble just to grab a She-Hulk T-shirt, coffee mug or figurine from the latest cattle trough, I deserve to die, not when I’m used up and a spotted prune but right here and now. Just get it over with, already. Hit me. If I see another “Funko Pop” with eerie, death-like button eyes, I’ll…well, I just won’t wasted my energy on a reaction. But, I’ll tear the place apart when I find them in the landfills…because that’s where all the “merch” is headed, until the planet can’t house or recycle anymore, and everyone who’s rich and privileged gets a one-way ticket to Mars.]

Let’s look at past “hits” from the latest Marvel-Disney releases.

Moon Knight? I watched a good chunk of it. It was more mad than good, overall. But, sure, good on Oscar Isaac for playing a crazy man so well. The villain role is well played, as well; actually the villain outshines the hero…or, heroes, considering we have to add an ethnic-representative and female hero (heroine) to the cast, these days. And, special effects?…spare no expense, par for the Disney Empire.

Wanda Vision? I enjoyed the timely TV settings and humorous touches. But, the story sort of turned into a bad cup of tea with a dark finish, supposedly prodding viewers to watch for a movie…which just happens to involve Dr. Strange and his persistent assistant, Wong. [Also, I am not a big fan of the casting for Wanda/the Scarlet Witch, nor the let’s-try-to-stay-original new costume design, when the 1980s comic-book version, which made an appearance in the mini-series as a “gag costume,” looked great.]

Loki? I liked the female Loki. I liked some of the other Loki variants, for as long as they lasted, just to appear as brief jokes or inspirations. The original Loki was…well, the same sort of guy he has been in all of his appearances, just handed a job and a shirt and too depressed to be wicked. I liked the suggestive secretiveness of the mini-series, the hints of things to come…yet, by the end of the first “season,” I felt more lost than entertained. I felt like I’d wasted my time.

I’m initially uneasy about casting for the new She-Hulk series. I heard one name I knew that I thought would be interesting to see…haven’t seen her in any of the ads run, so far. So, what happened there?

And, just recently, I see Wong, that ever-present sidekick of Dr. Strange, opening a portal to the series. Pardon my cursing (expletive…expletive…major, scorching, Mount-Olympus-sent expletive), but why does a show about Hulk’s cousin need to be linked to the “madness” of Dr. Strange? And, why do I get the feeling this is all building to some team-up movie with Dr. Sherlock Strange…or maybe just Wong…as the leading role? Heaven forbid Jen Walters/She-Hulk is reduced to a minor role in her first film appearance, like a Mantis or Nebula.

I know from recent comics (well, recent if we go back to 2008) that She-Hulk was doing more legal work than she’s ever done in her pre-2000 history (so many years being listed as a lawyer, rarely if ever appearing in a courtroom). I know she was handling cases for a wide variety of bizarre clients. But, there ARE other ways to get those clients than having some wizard-monk play special-delivery guy. Ya know, spaceships DO travel to Earth. Aliens DO open their own portals, as they did in the first Avengers film. And, gosh darn it, there are plenty of mad folks on She-Hulk’s home planet who provide clients from mad experiments gone wrong. She could use her powerful legs to get around, once in a while. Or, here’s a novel idea, hire a cab…board a plane.

Wong signed on with Tide detergent, and suddenly he’s a household name like Mr. Clean? I don’t wash my clothes with P and G. And, I don’t mix my laundry with Wong’s.

Clearly, I’m already tired of Wong. And, I haven’t even been bombarded with ads for his own feature movie/series, yet. I’m sure that’s on the way, along with more from the “Ten Rings” franchise (which didn’t impress me, much, either). [I can just see the writers clawing at their foreheads, right now, trying to develop a script that won’t be utter crap, pandering to the racial circus that’s still assembling.] It’s not a racial matter for me…though it’s clearly a racial matter for those who make movies in the Disney Empire. It’s a lacking interest in a particular character who’s being milked for his ethnic roots (meaning his physical appearance, not where he was born, necessarily). Heck, they turn the male mystical master into a pasty woman with an accent, and I’d rather watch more of her than Wong, and that’s just wrong.

So, if I see more of Wong, I’m going to tune out. I just am. Because I’m tired. I’m sure he’s a really nice guy and a loyal sidekick, for what that’s worth before some evil presence or broken promise turns another hero into a villain. But, I just don’t care about him that much; and you cannot make me.

Actually, you COULD have made me interested…if he had his own story/show WITHOUT invading the homes of every other character in the Marvel Universe. You might as well reboot Seinfeld and stick him and Cumberpatch in that. [You could do that, right, Disney? You have the resources. Just buy Jerry Seinfeld, like Baltic Avenue in Monopoly, and turn a DC/Superman fan into a Marvel-Disney minion. While you’re at it, buy Hulu; then you could bump off the second “U” to add or insert a “K” and call it the Hulk or Hulku channel, just to further promote your Hulk/She-Hulk programs. I mean, Hulu has a green logo; how perfect would that be for a Hulk channel?]

If you stuck She-Hulk in other Marvel series, I would complain less…much less if the appearance made sense and if I genuinely liked the actress playing her. But, she’s a character I’ve grown to like…like…a lot. It’s a fairly easy win (which I would not be surprised to see tossed in the dumpster by poor writing).

Instead, you slap Wong on everything as if he was (baby) Yoda or Harry Potter, and even they don’t cross over into anything else; they just gain popularity from their original, singular source. It reminds me of some old comic books in/on which ads would appear for other comics or toys I had little to no interest in owning. I sort of dismissed all of that as a kid, focusing on the pages that featured characters and artwork that meant something to me, as a budding artist. But, thinking back, it was just another phase of what’s happening now.

Comic books might have been magazines for kids, heaps of advertising injected with small stories about beloved (and some dreaded) characters, celebrities for those who don’t look at or care much about real, living people who somehow acquire fame and riches. All I cared about was the artwork, seeing characters I liked looking good and performing deeds I could respect, occasionally being witty. I didn’t need a cardboard airplane stamped with the face of Captain America, weight-lifting hoop dreams or a joy buzzer from some dial-up service offering novelty madness.

If I want to read a comic book about another character or group of characters, I’ll be drawn to its cover at the comic-book store. I’ll be seduced or excited by an artist’s creation and give it a try. I don’t need it thrown in my face while I’m currently interested in the story I just cradled in my delicate hands. That’s like pop-up ads on commonly viewed online “entertainment.” Except, the ads were on paper.

It’s one thing to insert an asterisk and a hint about a “crossover event” regarding another series (as the comics of my youth would often do to let me know the current story extends into another character’s series). It’s one thing to include something (new) of equal interest. But, when there is no relevant connection to the feature, or when the advertised content is stomach-turning, it’s just a senseless waste of space and my money…and time. You might gain a few new fans, but you might upset far more people who have no interest and don’t want that mess in their investments.

[Imagine picking up a Harry Potter book and finding three pages dedicated to cigarettes and/or a movie about a scary clown. Do you want that sitting on your library shelf? Do you want to pick up that old friend and revisit those horrors? Oh, it’s a wonderful story…and just ignore the dated ads in the middle.]

As soon as you tell me the story gets a mad, mind-bending twist and/or a “representing” character (or a “diverse” cast for the sake of being diverse, even when the original concept had no such diversity, not because the artist was racist but because those were the people they knew), I zone out like I did with Inception. Now and then, I just like a nice, straight-forward story to unfold; it begins, it ends…it sparks a sequel, a next chapter. It’s entertaining and makes me want to cherish the story (whether that is an original story or one that respectfully represents a previous work of art), not look online or at some salivating YouTube-er, who babbles on and on about what every little detail means and what I missed, for clarity.

My sister will likely sigh and say, “That’s just how things are, these days.” As if I’m supposed to just accept whatever is dumped on some “feed” for the masses to feed like mindless vegetables; get real (and not reality TV). Just suck it up, accept it and keep swallowing senseless crap. So what if every female character I grew up liking and every new one to spark my interest gets turned into a lesbian. Moo.

I will not be so naive or blind. Whether it’s a racial/LGBT drought or a racial/LGBT flood, it’s no good. And, not every ethnic actor needs to come with a damn British accent! Can’t you even get actors and actresses from the native lands you attempt to represent?…not southern California or South Africa or Wales or the British-dominated hunk of India.

‘You mess with the She-Hulk, you mess with me. But, then again, why bother getting upset? Maybe Sis is half-right. It’s just how things are going, after Stan Lee handed the keys of his bankrupted Porsche to Disney. He might as well have handed them to Google or Musk or Starbucks.

Fun-size everything and just about every glimmer of joy in the world is being downsized into oblivion and despair. You can’t even enjoy a popsicle from your youth, anymore, without being subject to shrinkage. It’s a depressing world, all around. Local news has boiled down to futile political disagreements over wealth and violent, death-dealing crimes. Reruns of shows long-ago departed quickly lose their charm…when you think about how much time you already spent watching them when they previously were reruns and before you invested in DVD collections.

So, why expect any genuine joy from a new TV series? Heck, when’s the last time I enjoyed a commercial break? I cannot even remember. Ads have gone to heck in a handbasket, too.

‘Sucks. Sorry, Jen. Maybe I just won’t look…then I won’t get disappointed. I’d rather forget you than watch you be mistreated. It was a good run, back in the Savage days, when your costume made itself iconic; though it made little sense, just like Bruce’s shorts…purple pants.

But, this…crisis…is bigger than Wong. And, he’s smaller than She-Hulk.

Whoever said all good things must come to an end is a jinx, a pox, a virus to us all, the ultimate Debbie Downer. There’s a prevailing evil force growing around the world, and there aren’t enough real heroes and heroines, it seems, to repel it. The evil isn’t racial/gender deprivation. It’s the twisting of truth (to get your own way) and what is sacred to artists, their original work and creativity. Books don’t translate into movies. Books get pushed to the publishers like cattle to the slaughter before they’re warped into movies that don’t match the text. And, I’ve already seen more books in the past decade than I’ve read in the rest of my lifetime; just about every single one contained some typo. How does that happen? How does a book that’s intended to be cherished and added to some bookworm’s favorites list permitted to slip by without proper editing and get stamped with that damn New-York-Times-bestseller label?

Joys of the past are being twisted and depleted. This affects everyone, not just a particular race or gender. That’s a major villain, people; though he doesn’t come with a particularly apparent costume.

We need more heroes and heroines, and I don’t mean costumed wanderers at some comic-book convention. Who’s with me? Avengers, assemble. [Why do I hear crickets?]

[I say that when I’m a total Tony Stark (minus the alcoholism, though I may have other budding addictions), who is not the best at joining/leading causes/teams, feeling more comfortable working solo though it sucks to be alone, after a while.]

17
Aug
22

Is the USA Truly Free of the UK, Free from Great Britain?

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
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****

A few centuries ago, there was an infamous revolution which supposedly finally cut ties between Great Britain…England…and the “American colonies.” But, I am starting to think the whole historical scandal was a big dust cloud of deception, like one elaborate magic trick, like the (British) Pilgrims and the Indi–er, Native Americans. As a kid, I was fed the story of some pleasant Thanksgiving union forming between two bands of foreigners…only to grow up and hear other stories of slaughter and deception.

Since that time, there have been a few “British invasions,” though only one is really ever talked about on a regular basis. If someone says “British invasion,” many quickly think of music in the 1960s, of a group I personally don’t treasure or dare to emulate. Sure, they had some good songs, real thought-provokers. But, they also had plenty that lead to suspicion of other things, and that’s enough to turn me away, to raise my defenses.

But, there are other British invasions that slip past the average eye.

PBS television is translated as the Public Broadcasting…what is the S, again? Service? System? I forget, and it’s not mentioned as often as it was in my youth. Whatever PBS is, I’m inclined to say it’s more likely the lavishly Paid British Sideswipe of television. How much of PBS programming includes a British voice, location and/or actor/actress? I’d say at least half. I’m sure, if I closely look at the credits of shows/features without a distinct British voice, I’d find other British elements woven into the fabric. So, it’s not really some American invention; it’s the USA’s shade of the BBC.

In general, within the acting world, how many American-character roles are filled by British actors (including MAAAANY Middle-Eastern folks with distinctly British accents) forced to adopt American accents? SO many. That, alone, is an invasion. It’s blinding.

The “British Empire” has its hands in so many countries, including Australia. So, even the lesser appearance of Australian goods–a certain wafer cookie covered in chocolate and other flavored frostings and the recently promoted “Kinder Bueno chocolate bar” (which is more hazelnut ooze than chocolate and, thus, an insult to chocolate bars from companies like Hershey)–in American stores suggests British infiltration.

Ever since the wedding of Prince William and his beloved Kate, Haribo gummy candies have been widely advertised and more frequently seen around the USA. Coincidence? Hardly. [I grew up knowing names like Brach’s, Mars, Hershey, Jolly Ranchers, Cadbury (which is distinctly British, as well) and Jelly Belly. I never heard of Haribo until it was mentioned during the wedding proceedings; suddenly commercials are popping up everywhere.]

And, why is it I’m watching soccer games with distinctly British commentators calling the plays for teams with places of origin which sound rather familiar, rather close to USA soil? How DID the USA get Seattle, Washington…while some region I don’t even know “across the pond” also has a Seattle team? Where is this other Seattle (soccer team’s homeland)? And, did it’s origin precede the one in the USA? [And, isn’t it interesting both Seattles get the status of hosting sports teams. They could have picked one of the many other Washington state cities to be the home of the Seahawks and Mariners…but went with Seattle.] If so…could Seattle of Washington be merely a photocopy or dust cast from across the ocean? What if Seattle of Washington is secretly a British outpost within the USA?

So…land of the free? Huh. I don’t think so. All that patriotism and Fourth-of-July crap. Hooey. It’s no wonder the USA gets into so much conflict and crumbles its own house of cards. It’s Shakespeare’s other stage! It’s a show piece. It’s a TV-show set. It’s drama. Americans are frequently having troubles Upstairs and Downstairs; you don’t have to live Downton to see that. It’s comedy. The USA IS Seinfeld, a “show about nothing.” It’s coffee with celebrities, though the classification of “celebrity” has drifted so low that anyone who is seen online is considered one, now. You could just be a blip on someone’s sweeping camera-phone and become a celebrity overnight. You didn’t want to be famous, but someone made you…someone captured and used you.

The British could have instigated the Boston Tea Party. They could arm the USA, give the Americans all the push they need to start or enter a war with Russia or whoever, step back and watch the fireworks. Do the British get involved in every war? Why bother when they can watch the action on TV?…when they can program the world?

There’s a character in the cartoon universe of the Teen Titans, known as Control Freak, who likes to change channels and alter reality to suit is ever-changing interests. I’m inclined to think that’s what’s really “across the pond” from the USA, a deceptively controlling entity using every other nation for their amusement, allowing their own kind to feed off the remains of past conflicts and fuel the empire like one huge colony of ants.

There’s an expression that says “two heads are better than one.” I, for one, have enough trouble just managing my own head. Why would I want two? Yet, having a worthy partner who can complete your faulty sentences and help balance the load, so to speak, is certainly a blessing. But, in political terms…and possibly historical, mythical terms…two heads…or FACES might suggest something more sinister, more crooked, more evil.

Another expression tries to persuade you to accept “the lesser of two evils.” Why stop at two? Who picked that number? Isn’t that a perfect example of a trickster stepping back to let some fool take the blame for his or her mischief? It wasn’t me; it was her/him! And, point away from yourself.

We only get two hands. So, I suppose it would be hard to point at more than one target…well, we COULD point at two; couldn’t we? [Yet, magicians widely use one hand to distract while the other snatches something away, making viewers think it vanished.] So, why not say “the least of three?” Too messy? Or, maybe, “Great Britain” doesn’t want to split the prize three ways. It’s easier to focus on one pawn than it would be to juggle two. A bully doesn’t target more than one prey in any situation, even if he/she has many prey to pester.

The British use a gesture of two fingers, the middle and index fingers, to insult someone who offends or otherwise irritates them; it’s some historical reference to archers preserving their fingers at a time when others were losing their digits to savage opponents. The American variation just uses the middle finger to “flip (someone) the bird.” Now, while some would think it’s better to be number one than number two, isn’t a number two, a poop, more widely known and discussed than a number one, a tinkle? [Pardon my vivid choice of words.] A number-two pencil is the most widely used, at least, by kids in school. And, wouldn’t that make number two more popular than number one? Why is it GREAT Britain while the United States are just loosely UNITED (barely unified on anything other than an a really old contract, like so many marriages that can barely hold together if they don’t shatter painfully)? What did THEY do to get so GREAT? And, if the USA is so proud to be American, why isn’t it the Grand United States or Amazing United States (considering how much the word “amazing” is thrown around without genuine feeling)?

On Star Trek: The Next Generation, who is “number two?” Picard, the BRITISH Captain (with a supposedly French name?) holds top rank, followed by Jonathan Frakes as “Number One,” William Riker. But, who is number two? I’d have to guess Data, who is technically not human but widely used in the series. He steals more scenes than Riker, who makes quite a name for himself, especially when Troi is around. I’d say Data is more popular than Riker; wouldn’t you? And, Data is not “Number One.”

If you so much as wave a red, white and blue flag that features fifty stars and think you’re something special, you’re not. I don’t need to tell you that. There are countless British intelligence agents waiting to make a fool out of you…or already have. You’re nothing but a Baboo waiting to be deported somewhere because of a mistake in paperwork. And, I’m right there with you, feeling like quite the little fool.

God bless America? Who came up with that unfulfilling bit of wishful thinking? A Brit, I bet. Humph.

Let this be a lesson to ye all. The greatest isn’t the one in the spotlight; that’s just the pawn, flashing gilded lies, false trophies. The true master (defined as controller, not a title of respect) lurks in the shadows, unseen, reaping the benefits.

I say, old chaps. I’m not the master of my domain, but I’m going to try and Thames my fury with a cup of tea. Jolly Good soda. Right?

Smoke me a kipper. I’ll be back for breakfast. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

22
Nov
19

Clothing an Ecological Hazard? As If!

By writingbolt 4 Comments
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

***

What’s this about eco-friendly clothing options, now? Clothing has become a landfill concern, like plastic bags and broken electronics? That’s crazy talk.

If clothing is an ecology concern, then the real root of the problem is our old frenemy, the economy. Long ago, someone wove an elegant spell which convinced countless souls to control the world through the demand of money in exchange for goods and services. Before long, people wouldn’t lift a finger without coin in hand. You see traces of that in rebellious children who don’t help their elders unless they are paid to do it; allowances, wages and such rubbish.

But, what puts such thoughts in someone’s head? Are adults to blame for passing it on to their children? Sure, parents tell their children they cannot have something unless/until they get a job and buy it themselves. That happens.

What is more common and suffocating, though, is the omnipresence of influencial media. Whether it’s the “old” way of jabbing your cranium with TV and radio commercials or the “new” mutation of pop-ups and the like on everything Windows-fed or Apple-based. I don’t own one myself, but I would not be surprised if someone had a watch-like device they wore on their wrist that could fire an image, a slogan, a salespitch a motivational message to do something financially-stimulating, simply because the technology we trust is powered by the economical machine.

There was a time when inventors invented things and struggled to make them last. Then, as their talents improved, inventions became durable marvels. But, some dark soul with financial aspirations, some golden-touch entity said, “Make it breakable so they will buy more.” And, if that’s not enough, the sales pitches have been non-stop efforts trying to convince you that new is better than old (even if a place called OLD Navy continues to thrive in its own way), that today is better than yesterday. Rubbish.

Back to the topic at hand.

Ecological concern over clothing? Try less impulse shopping. You might have to turn down the pop-culture, song-of-the-season commercialism and focus on necessity, on sustainable comfort versus temporary pleasure. Try lowering prices on cheaply made crap and charging price for genuine quality that you can guarantee to endure or replace, at least, until your value is proven. Because, these days, the brands that boast reputation have fallen so far from their old standards. I used to count on Jansport backpacks for lasting an eternity. I haven’t owned or bought one, in a while. Do they still hold up to their good name? I wonder.

Renting clothing? Can you believe there is such a thing? I can understand celebrities renting dresses or suits for some award show/party. But, everyday folks renting what they wear more…regularly? No way. No thanks. If I am renting clothes, I might as well consider myself a prisoner working in a laundry room for hundreds of other lost souls. I just can’t do it. I will not wear used clothing, mainly because it is my strange belief that used comes with history. And, I don’t want a stranger’s history attached to my body. It would be like wearing the suit of a man buried just last week. Sick. I can’t and won’t do it. And, I seriously doubt my decision will have any ecological impact worse than 98 percent of the human population.

If you want the honest truth, I wear my clothes until they pretty much bust. As of right now, I am due for a new wardrobe because most of my clothes…at least, the clothes I wear regularly, casually, are showing signs of decay. They’ve become senior attirizens and cannot be kept alive on deceptive drugs and poor caregiving. I am going to miss these clothes when I finally have to dismiss them from active use. I don’t know what will become of them, either. But, I really don’t care to think of some less fortunate soul wearing my rags.

So, really, is this an issue? Clothes in landfills, swallowing up Earth-space that we just cannot spare? Has the world gotten so lazy and careless that we have to be so concerned about every thing we do and use? Water, land, air… Have we gone so far to misuse our precious resources? Are we worse off than the days of excess hairspray and fossil-fuel emissions? Oh, wait, that’s still going on; isn’t it? This is just a new phase of pitching the same cry for help.

And, if clothes in landfills are a concern, then maybe we all need to stop wearing clothes and just start living in the nude in the woods and wherever we feel fit. Clothing has been around a very long time. I have never read of a past stage in human civilization that had a problem with such rubbish. If it is our present-day concern, then I put full blame on the economy and all of the excessive push for impulse shopping. That, dear fellow humans, is the enemy. Not the shirts on your backs.

I’ll give what I heard on TV one point. They said maybe people need to stop looking at shopping (for clothes) as a pasttime. Indeed. Well said.

[But, you want to know what’s a bigger landfill concern than clothing? Try about a million new toys people are trying to put up for sale, toys that often sound and look alike and are made of the smallest plastic parts, which are sure to become a hazard before they get famous. And, the ads just keep coming and vanishing; letting me know the toy didn’t last and is probably being added to a landfill as another takes its place. Yeah; let’s talk about the excessive use of plastic for merchandising. And, let’s knock on Disney’s doors and tell them to keep the noise down, because they’re motivating others to get their 15 seconds of fame and 100 years of landfill space. How can any kid truly love any of these toys that seem lacking in inspiration, lacking in repeat use/fun and lacking in quality to last? These are not beloved characters from historical stories like Archie and Marvel comics. Although, now that Disney has taken the reins of Marvel merchandising, that’s gotten out of hand, too.]

Yet, I know some older folks who seem to have nothing else to fill their days. I dealt with them as customers. I deal with them as family. They are lost for what to do with their less able selves. So, they turn to “bumming” just to “get out of the house for a while.” It’s kinda sick; ya know? It’s a sickness, and it’s sad.

Buy clothes that will endure and satisfy you for a long time, not just one day. Wear those clothes and care for them like children. Get the most out of your clothes, and your dollar, and you won’t likely have to worry about them harming your environment.

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