Let Live the Dreams and Dreamers

I started my new job this week. And just in time. Yet again our current position in this country found me on the verge of losing my home and any means of a normal life. These last 6 years of my life have been a perpetual battle against homelessness and poverty. It is a struggle I've learned to kick around in well and somehow I always end up making it out just in time. So here I am...and I'm ecstatic.

I'm still poor. I still don't have anything in my life that the world would say makes me a success. I'm not married. Don't have a girlfriend and not really sure if I want one. As I've said before I'm not rolling in cash. Don't own a home, land, car, jet, or have anything named after me. My faith is still strong but in some weird ways that I'm sure most devote believers would look upon as not really having any faith at all. Hell. I've foregone the entire set of rules and marching in line for so long that I don't think I'll ever go back. The squares can have their pablum. I'm searching for real meat in my life finally. And it is in that that I'm writing...finding growth and peace in the ability to grow are my only missions now. Everyone and everything else just gets in my way.

Certainly there are those out there reading this (and there can't be much because I never hear from any of you) that are thinking this is the exact thinking that leads a person down a path of human secularism. But the truth is I know God. In my own personal way I mean. I know that I'm blessed and happy and wanting to share that joy and the experience of life with everyone. Maybe there are those of you out there that live these finite lives defined by a normal set of standards and you can't help but choke on the envy. Tell me one thing you have that I don't and perhaps we'll talk...what do you really "have"? Right now I see the world as mine and daily I'm learning to shirk off the burdens that make me male, American, human, etc.

My new job is just another one of these things that proves daily my life is good. I could have settled for more hours making about the same money at one of a 1000 mind-numbing jobs but I've decided at this point that the message of our fathers is wrong. It is time to embrace the dream. A lot of people went out of their way in my life to kill my dreams. Whether it was simple words that caused self-doubt or the actions of venomous man, I found that I was surfing around in this limbo for the last few years where dreams were only for the privileged. In the end this led me to search for all those things as filler to help me cope. And I'm seeing this thing for what it is now. We are all this coping machine. It is coping that has become our mantra for who should ever succeed. That would throw off the natural balance of things.

Be it a fuck, snort, smoke, view, read, or whatever; it is all a means to cope in life and when man sees someone do it differently that just can't be. Well I'm here to say it can and is happening. While I love many of you and am indifferent to some I can honestly say I don't need any of you. I value you but I need other humans in my life for vindication about as much as I need gills to breathe under water. Don't hear me wrong. Love, value...relationship is about the best thing you can have in life. I just know relationship as a function now...a means to an end which sounds selfish but really isn't. Growth...being the best we can be...is really in everyone's best interest. I just know that it is in my dreams, my aspirations, my failings, winnings, stumbles, and accolades nothing else really matters in a person's life. The rest is just peripheral...fluff.

So I'm chasing my dreams despite appearances and those things that would poison my mind from running after this with all I've got. My dream won't look like yours but I ask you to really ask...who is happier? In the end my plans are within reach...I'm growing and experiencing the human condition like never before. Best of all I don't fret the bullshit. And it all trickles down...my health has improved, I'm making better choices, and I don't feel like there is any lack in my life that will make it better. It is all just adding to this place we all search for our full lives: fulfillment. Good night...

Jack

Short Sighted Ambitions

Haven't heard from Jello Biafra in a while so I thought I would pass on some words of wisdom:

"Some day, even the experts will figure out, that crime is not caused by rap music...or even my music, but by a power structure of self-absorbed property owners so brain dead and stupid they won't even see that if you're too goddamn greedy to pay taxes for schools and services, they're not going to be any good any more! And that uneducated time bombs are a very poor investment as a future work force. And if you go on teaching people that life is cheap, and leave them to rot in ghettos and jails, they may one day feel justified in coming back to rob and kill you. Duh!"

• "Rob Now, Pay Later", Home Alive: The Art of Self Defense (1996)

I've decided that I've let my brain atrophy after talking with so many great friends today. And it is time to do something about it. It was a thing of pride one time in my life how well read I was, the understanding I had of the workings of the world around us because I paid attention, and the active move I made to really embrace a value that my opinion counted over most people's because I actually tried to understand enough of what I'm talking about instead of allowing sound bytes and propaganda to rule my leanings.

So this is a plea for those friends of mine out there that actually read what I write. I know most of it tends to be movie reviews and geek material. This is instead something I want to change into a means of giving you, my friends and peers, a better grasp on my life and hopefully while doing it impart some knowledge that can help us grow together. The plea: if you have a book, video, blog, or other bit of information you feel I should be reading please send it on. I can't guarantee I will always agree with the opinions posted but I can tell you I'll at least give the stuff shared a try. If it is a book or video you may have to be patient with me as my life now includes work, music research, reading comics/graphic novels, keeping up on Hollywood news, and the other millions of things I do in my day to day.

With that let me say that if anyone out there has a copy of The Value of Nothing or any similar titles I have been dying to read the book. I'm currently on the verge of starting a quick read and am looking some reading that has a little more meat than most of what I've been reading. Raj Patel seems like someone that I can really grasp his values in regards to the world around him. If you are wondering my leanings tend to be liberal independent with and affinity for anything from Noam Chomsky to Eric Schlooser. Thanks and this is a little less formal than what I usually write but I can tell you I'll be back. My goal is one blog a week. We'll see how long that lasts.

OUT...

Jack

DC Editorial Reshuffling

http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24897

I've linked to a story that I'm a little uneasy about. DC Entertainment named Jim Lee and Dan DiDio co-publishers and Geoff Johns CCO. I can live with the Lee and Johns decisions...well really I can't because I feel that Lee is an artist with very little talent outside that and Johns is a writer who's talent is on the wane...but DiDio. For me this just leaves me scratching my head.

DiDio has been the editor-in-chief for DC Comics (now DC Entertainment) for a while now and though there have been a fairly steady flow of great material coming from his camp I can't say that any of it has to do with his work. He is just another carbon copy of Bill Jemas. He has always had a heavy hand in editorial that usually ends up in changes to titles that ruin what would have been a perfectly linear storyline. His continuous changes to titles like Countdown, Final Crisis, Infinite Crisis and others take moments that were building to a plateau and ended up leaving the readers flat. Now he has thrown his hat in the writing ring...like Jemas...and like Jemas his work is horrible.

Okay...enough picking on Dan DiDio. It is easy to target the retarded. What about Jim Lee? The man is probably one of the greatest artists ever in the industry. He gave up a career in medicine to draw "funny books". He is that good. Lee was also one of the founders of Image Comics but jumped ship which set the standard for what seems to be his career: always running after the almighty buck. That is why he has created countless throw away titles that never were finished (Wildcats relaunch anyone?). That and he is an artist. Too many artists in the industry try to dabble in other areas of the field and I'm a firm believer is sticking to what you know. Now they put him in some amount of charge of one of the big two comic publishers. Huh? Sure this could turn out like a Joe Quesada move for DC but that is rather doubtful. Quesada has proven again and again he is a force to be reckoned with and someone that is committed to comics. Lee seems to be just along for the ride and whatever catches his fancy.

Lastly, Geoff Johns. This guy really came along when DC needed something to jumpstart the company. In my opinion, he should be in the position of the previous two. Why would I say that with all the titles he has been involved with? Where there lies the problem. He just doesn't have it anymore. Blackest Night has been a sound disappointment from page one. With such huge runs on The Flash, Green Lantern, and countless event comics it just seems like while he still understands what the company needs he just doesn't have the ability to write it in ways I care about. Him taking over Flash again and rebooting Superman's origin leave me with more concern than excitement. Johns is just spread to thin much like Brian Micheal Bendis has been.

These words are just mine and probably mean little but I feel after devoting my life since I was 6 to the industry that I've picked up on enough to know that some things are just speeding up a run away train that is about to tumble into a precipice. I still feel that the biggest issue that DC has is being owned by Time Warner. Of course I'm excited for the Disney/Marvel merger so who knows. Maybe this will all mean nothing. I just know I'm very protective of my memories whether they be movies, music, or comics. These kinds of shifts should scare everyone from the collector to the owner of your LCS. Good luck DC...I think you are going to need it.

Reitman Does It Again

It's that time of year again. That time where I blow off my friends for a cold computer glow and the joy of sharing in the awards season. It is about this time every year that I round up all the Oscar nods I can and see what all the fuss is about. Last night I had the pleasure of enjoying Jason Reitman's Up in the Air. And what a joy it was.

Like most of what Reitman has done before this work is filled with witty, quick-thinking characters. Despite your leanings politically it can't be denied that George Clooney is a strong actor that makes good movies. His turn as Ryan Bingham is no different. I seriously didn't stop laughing for the first 15 minutes of this film. And this does deserve to be called a film.

Every shot is done with purpose. From the bookending of the movie with the true premise of the film to Clooney standing in front of the flight board and declaring that this is his home you can feel that Reitman is very selective in the movies he chooses, and thank god because each has been more memorable then the last. There is a lot more I can say here but I'm going to just leave it with my usual...GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It is well worth the cost of admission.

Precious or Just Kinda Nice

Push was a novel that was given to me by a good friend I trust. She warned me. Set me up for what was to come. It never came close the real experience.

So then came the movie Precious. Based on the work of Sapphire this was a must view for me. The novel captured me so much emotionally that I could only imagine transformed to my favorite medium. Sadly, I'm left a little deflated though I know what I saw was good.

Precious is ambitious like other films based on literary works are. It doesn't try to capture its own vision but sticks HARD to the truth that the novel told. It is here that I felt this movie didn't live up to what it could have. The novel gave us a view from the mind of Precious Jones through heavy use to narration and snippets of her class work as she works towards her GED. In fairytale style it performed a function that was tragic and very human. You felt every hurt Precious felt but you didn't want it to stop because the story was so compelling.

In the movie instead we are led along with these mask facsimiles of the characters from the book. I never once felt as real or pulled in as I did with the book. The acting was strong, the writing superb, but it felt like a scrapbook of some else's reading experience. I wanted to be immersed but instead felt like I was watching the movie through a Viewmaster.

Usually I'll be the first to try to beg for a pulling back of emotion in movies. Sometimes too much emotion can make the experience contrived. This one I felt just didn't have enough. Only one time did I feel different. A very tragic scene near the end which I'll leave un-detailed for those who haven't seen the movie yet.

Gabourey Sidibe is a star and I certainly hope her size doesn't kill her in the eyes of Hollywood. She is a big girl...with a big presence and the way to sell a part. Mariah Carey was surprising. She can act. She was the real surprise for me in the movie. Paula Patton and all the girls in the class also were real strong performances.

I think where the movie loses it is the directors vision. Lee Daniels tries but just never quite gets what it is he is meant to put on the screen. It might have just been the work of his DP but in the end I felt this movie lived up to the trappings of the hype movie. It saddens me because I loved the novel so much. To see anything less than perfection is just unacceptable. There is hope in some moments in Daniels' work but his star doesn't rise for me with this one.

Wolfman: When Nostalgia Just Isn't Enough

I wanted to like this movie so much more. It is perhaps a good thing that what set me up for my viewing were a series of lukewarm reviews that told me not to expect much. At that point, believe it or not, I was allowed to view this unimpeaded to really put my flavor and emotion in the experience. Tendency has been for me to build these movies up and slash and burn once I'm done with them. Wolfman was far from perfect but what good there was in the movie was enough to appreciate even when it amounted to little more than nostalgia.

Joe Johnston is a real hit and miss director. The sad thing is most of it has very little to do with his movies being good or bad. Sometimes, like with October Sky, he just comes off as too sugary and some subject matter just can't be coated in sweetner. Hence a big portion of my trepidation. I was pleasantly surprised to see him take some chances with this movie. This is neither safe nor light fare. It at times can be tongue in check but also visceral. The moors, the little village atmosphere, and the gypsy caravan are all examples of a man that loved what Lon Chaney Jr did before. You get a very nice love letter to what came before.

That is perhaps where the movie also fails. Quick cutting set to a script meant to grab you emotionally really killed the pacing and left me feeling like I never really had time to invest in any of the characters enough. Instead of these long established moments of ingestion of the material the script writer clearly meant to happen you are left with something that feels akin to a Fast and the Furious movie. Just too quick for the material presented.

Benicio Del Toro still steals this film. I had to look several times has he evoked Chaney again and again. It was also little touches like the silver wolf's head cane carried by a stupendous Anthony Hopkins that really did it as well. There were moments that despite everything I felt I should feel I couldn't help but smile at how much this reminded me of all the fun I have had watching the original in the past.

Lastly, in agreement with Roger Ebert, CG did a lot to hurt the werewolf. He just felt like a video game character laid into these beautiful landscapes which detracted from the audiences ability to really be dragged into the story Johnston was trying to tell. Rick Baker did excellent in every other aspect of effects but just couldn't quite get the physics of the character correct. In the end, despite its flaws I did have fun with this movie and will say if you have a day to kill and some extra money this is well worth the view for any fan of the original Universal Monster movies.

Digital Comics: Epic Fail!

A recent post to CBR forums on digital comics that I sent on to Marvel's digital division:

"Hey Joe...

First time writing in. It seems to me that this digital initiative isn't doing so well and I think it has a lot to do with you being so short-sighted that you missed the point of digital comics. If you look at the trend of illegal comic downloads you will see that one reason it is so appealing beyond the obvious...it is free...is that you actually get to OWN the content. The only way you and every other comic company is ever going to find success in this endeavor is to fore go the antiquated "subscription for reading in a framed ad filled environment" for a more reader friendly iTunes like model. I gladly buy my comics at my LCS but if you made them available at a cheaper price point with a full screen, no buttons, ad free browser then I would be all over them. As is I only buy graphic novels now because your price for pamphlets is ridiculous and to me makes no sense in a waning economy. Get in the now and stop living in the computer world of about 10 years ago. CrossGen did the same thing and we all see how that turned out...their digital initiative...which actually was ground-breaking...failed because navigation was piss poor. I know you guys can do better. So why don't you? I know the argument deals with market research (which I would love to know who you are canvassing) and a lot of legal stuff like property rights, cost effectiveness, etc. but you can't tell me this is the best idea out there. As a IT guy and being involved in the business since the web really hit in the early '90's I've followed the trends and seen you guys miss it every time. I love your comics but to see the level of creativity in your comics and the fact that it can't match your marketing or web structure is just sad. We deserve better and I know you can do it.

Thanks

Jack Goodman"

Nuff Said!!!

Apathy and Ignorance

Copyright Marvel Comics

It was recently brought to my attention that there is some uproar over an image depicting the "Tea Party" as being racist in a Captain America comic. I have my own views about this but for the sake of the blog I'll keep those to myself. I've posted the image above. A common practice for many artists in the industry is to use photographs to provide photo real images in the moment. It brings a sense of realism to the work and grounds the reader in the world they're reading. This process works with varying effectiveness. But to have such an innocent act being attributed to the politics of a company is just ignorant. I posted to a column on comicbookresources.com and thought I would share my post. It really says it all. Enjoy:

"And the whole art fiasco is ridiculous. I really wish you would have stood your ground on this one and told people to grow up and get some b****. People take things way too seriously. I'm Jewish and I have friends that tell rather off color Jew jokes all the time...and honestly...I could care less. They are just words. THIS is one of the many reasons I hate America. You can't say anything without offending of p***ing off someone. This country is in a sad state when a comic can't even use a photo as source material for an image without it being construed as some personal agenda. Keep crying wolf Republicans and Democrats. It is falling more and more of deaf ears as the American public tires of your posturing. This isn't about you and while you argue for FBI facilities in your state, aircraft contracts, and other frivolous things this country is falling apart at the seems. That has nothing to do with comic books and everything to do with a bunch of worthless children holding political office in this country. I say we do what my Grandma would do and take all these men and women out to the tool shed...the pundits and lobbyists as well...with a hickory switch.

Wow that turned rather political. LOL

Jack Goodman"

I'm tired of living here. I'm tired of people being in power that have no accountability for their actions. But what I'm mostly tired of is a nation that has lost its drive. It seems we Americans have just given up to the apathetic idea that someone else will take care of it. We embrace political correct-ness over giving a person the freedom to speak their mind which the last time I checked is one of the rights this country was founded on. I'm so angry at our people and our government right now that I just have visions of punching and punching until all is left is a large pile of corpses. Is it really so far off...we are a nation of mindless zombies as is. I have to stop...I can feel my blood pressure shooting up and I've said my piece. More to come...

Jack