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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years

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The Weekend Warrior 5/7/21: WRATH OF MAN, HERE TODAY, THE UNTHINKABLE, MONSTER, THE WATER MAN and More

It’s a new month, and I guess going by previous years pre-COVID, this weekend would normally be the start of summer. This year, we’re instead getting a summer with a lot of movies that would normally be dumped into April or February or some other uneventful month. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t or won’t be any good movies, but really, there’s nothing that feels like a summer movie until A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella open on Memorial Day weekend.

There’s been lots of great developments, though, including the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn reopening this Friday and then in a few short weeks, theaters may be allowed to be open with no capacity rules although social distancing and masks will probably still be in place. Believe me, it’s been a confusing week as the city that got used to being on the backburner when it comes to reopenings, especially with movie theaters, is now dealing with arguing politicians competing to see who could throw open the then most doors fastest. It’s actually pretty embarrassing.

That aside, this week’s The Weekend Warrior column is brought to you by the new album “Coral Island” from Liverpool band The Coral, which I’ve decided to listen to on loop until I finish this column, because it’s taking me so long to get through it. (Eventually, I switched to Teenage Fanclub’s “Endless Arcade,” since I hadn’t had a chance to listen to it yet…. And to an old standby, Royal Blood, with their own excellent new album, “Typhoons.” At least the record business seems to know it’s the summer!)

Before we get to this week’s new movies, a couple tidbits. First of all, I’m thrilled that my friends Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu’s documentary FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH can finally be seen by the entire world, or at least the United States. It debuted on PBS World Channel on Tuesday night as part of the “America ReFramed” series, but for the entire month of May until June 3, you can watch it On Demand HERE, and that is huge! (There will be other ways to see it that you can read about here.)

This is an amazing MUST-SEE doc that looks into the little-known Chinese communities that took root in Mississippi in the early 20th Century and how they became such a huge part of that area with their markets, also bonding with the African-American communities that were similarly dealing with racism from the typically white post-Civil War South. It’s not just a history lesson, and it’s an incredibly moving story about a family trying to find its roots in the most unexpected places. There was a good reason why the couple’s short “Finding Cleveland” won the Oxford Film Festival while I was on the jury that year, and Far East Deep South similarly won an award there last year after its World Premiere at Cinequest was almost scuppered by COVID. It’s amazing how much more relevant and important this film has become since I first saw it last year, since both Asians and African-Americans are dealing with serious racial issues, and this movie shows that more than anything, they should be working to boost each other rather than fighting. Do check it out On Demand this month if you get a chance!

Another musician making movies is Mr. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. I mentioned his documentary WHAT DRIVES US last week, but I actually only got to watch it on Thursday, and like his previous film Studio City and HBO mini-series, Sonic Highways, it’s a fantastic look at the music biz, this time through a variety of artists who began their careers by piling into vans and driving around the country. That is, except Lars Ulrich from Metallica, who mentions that the band was never so small or indie that they didn’t have a bus. But Grohl has used his vast connections to bring in a lot of great musicians including The Edge from U2, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more, making this a very entertaining movie both for fans of the various bands but also live music fans in general. I gotta admit that as much as I loved What Drives Us, it did bring me down a bit since it’s been almost 14 months since I’ve seen any live music, and I really miss it. This is now streaming on The Coda Collection, which you can subscribe to through Amazon Prime Video.

Guy Ritchie is back with his latest movie, WRATH OF MAN (Miramax/MGM), which reunites him with Jason Statham for the first time since 2007’s Revolver, I believe. Statham plays the enigmatic Paul “H” Hill who works at cash truck company Fortico, responsible for moving hundreds of million dollars around Los Angeles each week. Fortico has recently been hit by a lethal robbery, and H’s team soon learn that there’s a lot more to their new coworker, who happens to be looking for revenge against the man who murdered his son.

(Unfortunately, reviews for the movie are embargoed until Thursday at 6pm, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not. Until Thursday night. Sorry!)

But I will talk about the movie’s box office prospects, because why not? Ritchie’s last movie, The Gentlemen, opened in January 2020, during the “before times,” with $10.6 million, but that was more of a classic Ritchie ensemble crime-comedy. Wrath of Man is more of the type of movie Statham has been making over the past few years, a cross between a revenge thriller and a heist flick. In fact, Statham has done a pretty good job creating his own brand through a variety of action-thrillers as well as a number of franchises including “The Transporter” movies, “The Expendables,” and eventually joining the “Fast and the Furious” franchise as Deckard Shaw with Furious 7 in 2017. Statham then went off to make Hobbs and Shaw with Dwayne Johnson, which didn’t do bad with $174 million. Before that, Statham starred in The Meg, a summer shark attack movie that grossed $145 million. Statham going back to help his old mate i.e. the director that gave Statham his start is pretty huge.

But as I said earlier, those were all in the “before times” and with the box office the way it is, it’s hard to imagine that the exciting reunion of Statham and Ritchie can open with more than $10 million but maybe closer to $8 million, because MGM/UA just doesn’t have the marketing clout of a Warner Bros. or Universal. Even so, that should be enough to be #1 this weekend as both Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer continue to fall away. Unfortunately, if the movie *is* any good -- and I can’t tell you one way or another -- then by the time reviews hit, people will already have other plans for the weekend than to go see the movie. So yeah, that’s pretty dumb on the part of MGM, huh?

UPDATE: MGM is putting the movie into 2,876 theaters and maybe I'm being overly optimistic, because, as you'll read below, the movie IS pretty good and reviews have remained positive with the American reviews rolling in last night, still at 70% Fresh at this writing. Maybe that'll help the movie do a little better, maybe as much as $9 million, although I'll probably owe MGM an apology if it cracks $10 million, and I don't think it will.

Mini-Review: If you’ve seen the trailer for Wrath of Man, you might go into Guy Ritchie’s latest thinking you know what to expect, because it’s sure being sold as another typical Jason Statham revenge thriller. Don’t be fooled by the marketing, the movie really is Ritchie’s chance to make his own version of Heat, an L.A. heist movie that owes as much to Rashomon as another movie being released this week.

Wrath of Man begins with the heist of an armored truck that turns deadly with the wanton murder of a couple guards. From there, you might think we know where things are going when Statham’s “H” company whose truck was hit, and on his first day, he stops a similar heist by killing the truck’s attackers. H is immediately the hero of the company, although he still has quite a few suspicious coworkers and the feeling is quite mutual. Ritchie’s film then slips into the second episodic chapter which goes back five months to that initial heist where we learn that Statham’s son was killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t want to go too much deeper into how the movie and story play out, because like The Gentlemen and some of Ritchie’s more intricate films, there’s a lot that purposefully isn’t made very apparent at the beginning. To many, this movie will be seen as even more macho than most of Ritchie's films, to the point where even the only woman guard, Dana, being just as macho as the men. As the movie begins, there’s a lot of joke-cracking and crotch-grabbing, all while Statham’s character silently observes and only acts when necessary.

The film’s shift to more of a classic Ritchie ensemble does slowly take place, but by the third chapter, it shifts to the group perpetrating the cash truck heists with an “inside person,” taking the movie to yet another place that makes it more obvious that this is Ritchie’s attempt at delving into the L.A. heist genre that other filmmakers have done so well.

Oddly, Statham doesn’t have too many lines, acting almost like a Terminator in his determination to right wrongs, but as always, Ritchie puts together a fantastic ensemble cast including a number of great American character actors who we rarely get to see in such great roles. I was particularly impressed with Jeffrey Donovan, who has appeared in a number of otherwise forgettable crime films this past year. The same can be said for Holt McCallany as H’s truck driver “Bullet,” but Ritchie also cast the likes of Josh Hartnett and Scott Eastwood in smaller yet still significant supporting roles, all of whom become more interesting as you start figuring out who all the players are.

Like I said, the movie is fairly macho and the few women play very small roles, but it’s how things are set-up in the first few acts to then change course and build to an absolutely amazing third act that will undoubtedly bear comparisons to Heat. And yet Wrath of Man (which is actually based on a little-seen French crime-thriller) does branch away from some of Ritchie’s standards, first of all by being far darker and even more violent with any of the wisecracking humor that pervades a lot of Ritchie’s work to counterbalance such violence disappearing once the flashbacks begin. It’s all punctuated by a fantastically tense score by Christopher Benstead, which seems a bit much at first but eventually settles into the perfect pace and tone for the action.

Despite disappearing for a good chunk of the movie, Statham is still great, basically killing everyone as his characters are wont to do, but watching how all of the different ideas come together leads to such a satisfying conclusion that one hopes those who might be put off, thinking they know where it's going due to the somewhat pathetic and obvious marketing will give it a chance to see how Ritchie has changed gears as effortlessly as he did with Aladdin a few years back.

Rating: 7.5/10

After even a longer time since he directed a movie, Billy Crystal once again takes the helm for HERE TODAY (Sony/Stage6), a movie in which he plays comedy writer Charlie Burns, whose chance encounter with Tiffany Haddish’s lounge singer, Emma Payge, leads to an unlikely friendship, as he struggles with early stage dementia.

I’ve known about this movie for over a year now, and I was pretty excited to finally get to see it, since I was such a fan of the other movies Crystal has directed, 1992’s Mr. Saturday Night and 1995’s Forget Paris, and it’s just amazing to me that he hasn’t directed a movie since.

At first, it seems like it’s the type of meet-cute we’ve seen so much in Crystal’s past filmography, but his pairing with Haddish isn’t something that might work on paper, but in fact, their comic styles mesh so perfectly together that it’s amazing that no one thought of putting them together before.

Crystal wrote the film with comic Alan Zweibel, who adapted it from his own short story “The Prize,” which refers to Haddish’s character winning Charlie in an auction for a lunch. Actually, her ex won the lunch, and she decided to use it because… free lunch! It’s a pretty simple set-up but one that allows the filmmakers to explore some of the odder things that happen in life.

Much of the movie’s humor plays upon the differences between the two characters, and how unexpected their friendship is. I can totally relate, because I have a lot of good long-time friends who most people might never expect us to be friends, but Crystal, Zweibel and Haddish pick up on that and create a movie that’s very funny but has enough other characters around the duo toa allow their characters to show how they’re just really nice people. We see that with how Charlie takes a young writer at his late night show under his wing or how Emma livens up the bat mitzvah of Charlie’s granddaughter. Oh yeah, and Haddish sings. She actually has a number of great performances in the movie, and seriously, anyone who watches this movie is gonna wanna see a smart filmmaker put Haddish in a musical immediately.

The film also acts as a truly touching tribute to Crystal’s friend, the late Robin WIlliams, who was diagnosed with the exact same type of dementia after his suicide death, and knowing that fact, makes the film even more poignant. More importantly, it doesn’t use Charlie’s condition for laughs, and for that alone, I feel like this is ten times better than that overrated Oscar winner The Father.

Here Today’s biggest problems come in the third act when it feels like the movie is starting to over-extend its welcome, even going into somewhat expected places, but it recovers from that rough third act to land a really nice ending. Crystal has always proven himself to be a really strong mainstream filmmaker (ala Rob Reiner and others) who makes crowd-pleasing movies, and it’s so nice seeing him going behind the camera for a movie that’s obviously very personal but also highly relatable.

As far as box office, I certainly have high hopes that Crystal still has an older audience of fans who might want to see him on the big screen again. I’m just not sure if this will be in more than 1,000 theaters, and though I’ve seen quite a bit of marketing, I just haven’t seen Crystal or Haddish do nearly as much in terms of getting out there that would be necessary to reach an audience that might want to venture out into movie theaters to see the movie vs. waiting until it’s on cable/streaming. There’s also Tiffany Haddish’ fanbase, and there could be some benefit for the movie coming out the same week as her new CBS show “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

I’d love to be optimistic with this making $4 to 5 million but it’s probably more likely to be closer to $3 million especially with capacity limits still in place for most theaters and the audience generally being older.

UPDATE: Maybe I was a little too optimistic, because I enjoyed the movie so much and it will probably be closer to $1 or 1.5 million since other reviews aren't as great.

Next, we have two movies finally being released many years after their festival premieres…

The Swedish apocalyptic thriller THE UNTHINKABLE (Magnet), directed by Victor Danell, is finally being released after playing genre fests in 2018 and 2019. It stars Christoffer Nordenrot as Alex, a young piano virtuoso who ran away from home due to his abusive father Bjorn (Jesper Barkselius). Years later, he returns home for his mother’s funeral after she’s killed in a terrorist attack on Sweden. At the same, there’s a virus that’s erasing people’s memories, but Alex is still in love with Anna (Lisa Henni), the girl he had a crush on when he left, and the three of them will have to help each other face all the horrible things hitting their home at the same time.

As I was watching this movie, a lot of it felt eerily familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I actually HAD seen the movie before. Sure enough, I saw this movie over two years ago at the “What the Fest?!” in New York two years ago, and I honestly don’t remember loving it. Still, I decided to give it a fresh look, hoping to get more out of it on second viewing.

Some of the same things bothered me on this second viewing, because it’s really hard to figure out exactly what is going on and whether the horrific events are natural, man-made or a combination of both. For some time, we get so mired into Alex’s lame relationship with Anna, and when he returns home, his conspiracy theory-driven father is busy protecting a bunker that’s being invaded by foreign military troops he thinks are Russians. We cut between these two disparate scenarios while sometimes returning to the capital of Sweden and throwing in a few big set pieces. It’s so disjointed that you feel like you’re watching a lot of random unrelated events, maybe a bit like last week’s About Endlessness -- maybe it’s a Swedish thing?

There are aspects of The Unthinkable that are quite commendable, particularly those action moments and how the mystery about what is happening develops as the film goes along. Eventually, the film does find a more consistent pace, and things start becoming a little clearer, which makes the final act better than much of what we’ve watched earlier. Even so, it’s still quite annoying how long it takes to figure out what’s going on, even on a second viewing, and for most people, that may already be far too frustrating to get through it.

Hitting Netflix on Friday over THREE years after it premiered at Sundance is music video director Anthony Mandler’s directorial debut, MONSTER (Netflix), based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers. It stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) as Steve Harmon, a 17-year-old film student put in jail, accused of murder in a bodega robbery. His defense lawyer (Jennifer Ehle) is trying to help him be released, but he’s fighting against the odds of a judicial system that sees him as a “monster” because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have to be honest that I did go to see this at Sundance the week it premiered, and for whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it, so I only really caught about twenty minutes of it. Watching it now with more time and a little less weary than I usually am towards the end of Sundance, I was able to appreciate Monster more for what it is. On the surface, it’s just about Steve’s case and how what really happened unfolds before our eyes and we learn more about those around Steve and how their influence may have pulled a smart and studious young man into the criminal world that now has him in prison with much more violent life-long criminals.

We already knew that Harrison was a great actor, but Monster shows us that he was already on his way to greatness with this movie that for whatever reason got buried even as it dealt with issues that have been in the headlines almost every day since this debuted.

Mandler takes an interesting approach, both non-linear and also with blatant nods to Kurosawa’s Rashomon, which is even cited by Steve’s teacher, played by Tim Blake Nelson. Jeffrey Wright and Jennifer Hudson are decent as Steve’s parents, but they’re generally smaller and non-showy roles compared to the moments between Harrison and Ehle. Much of the film takes place in the courtroom with flashbacks showing what happened through the viewpoint of whomever is on the stand, which eventually includes Steve himself.

The way Mandler handles the material may lean more on the artiness rather than something more mainstream -- Michael B. Jordan’s Just Mercy comes to mind -- but it’s just as powerful in showing how someone like Steve can be othered by society into being a criminal. Sure, there have been other handlings of this sort of material that I thought were better films, but if you know anyone who has ever had dealings with the “justice” system and know how unfair and horrible it can be even to the innocent, then Monster will certainly strike a chord.

Also hitting Netflix this week is the new series based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely‘s comic books, JUPITER’S LEGACY (Netflix), another kind of twist on the superhero genre ala Amazon Prime Video’s series based on Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. I love the comics, and I can’t wait to finally get around to seeing Netflix’s first adaptation of a Millarworld property.

David Oyelowo makes his directorial debut with THE WATER MAN (RLJEfilms), a movie about a young boy named Gunner Boon (Lonnie Chavis), whose mother (Rosario Dawson) is battling leukemia. In an effort to cure her, Guner goes off on a journey along with a teenage girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) to find the mythical Water Man, who can provide them with a magic token that might save Gunner’s mother’s life.

I’ve interviewed Oyelowo a few times before, and I really like him a lot, so I had really high hopes for him as a director since I feel he’s just a terrific actor. Unfortunately, the material here is just not strong enough that I think even a far more experienced filmmaker could make something out of it.

Set in PIne Hills, we meet Gunner, a bright kid who loves drawing comic books, but he has trouble connecting with his father (Oyelowo), so when he has an idea that might help his sick mother, he goes off with a head-strong teen named Jo, in search of the Water Man, a summertime adventure permeated by a lot of very bad low-budget visual effects.

Honestly, I’m not even sure where to begin with where The Water Man falters, because Oyelowo has such a great cast, including Alfred Molina and Maria Bello in tiny parts. The story is a problem, as is the writing, which is just so bland and dull, that there’s really nothing in Oyelowo’s direction or any of the performances that really can salvage it. Neither of the child actors have much charisma or personality, and even Dawson’s performance, which would normally be a showstopper is repeatedly lessened by the constant cutting back to the kids. (And as someone who beat leukemia myself, I’m never a fan when cancer is depicted in movies as a death sentence rather than just another hurdle in life that needs to be overcome.)

Oyelowo himself may be one of his generation’s best actors, but he brings so little to the role of Gunner’s father, maybe to not take away from his younger star, but it hurts that he doesn’t do more to create a stronger conflict by making the character more horrible to drive Gunner away. The actual Water Man doesn’t improve things when he finally shows up, essentially talking like a pirate but not even remotely paying off.

Honestly, The Water Man seems like such a misguided venture -- Exec. Produced by Oprah, no less -- and it might have been totally forgettable if the characters didn’t keep saying the title of the movie every five minutes.

Hitting theaters Friday after a festival run is Tran Quoc Bao’s action-comedy THE PAPER TIGERS (WELL GO USA), starring ALain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mikel Shannon Jenkins as martial artists once known as “the three tigers but now middle-aged men must set aside old grudges and dad duties to avenge the murder of their teacher. I’ve had a screener of this since last summer when it played at Fantasia Festival in Montreal, and I just never got around to watching it, but if I’m able to squeeze it in before the weekend, check back here for my review.

Streaming on Shudder this Friday is Ryan Kruger's South African comedy-thriller FRIED BARRY (Shudder), starring Gary Green as Barry, a violent street junkie who is abducted by aliens who take over his body in order to… well, actually… they do a lot of drugs, have a lot of sex and other craziness. It’s a pretty strange and bizarre movie that reminds me a little of movies like a lower-fi Under the Skin or Beyond the Black Rainbow, and much of it is driven by the insane and unique performance by Green and the odd characters he encounters that I think will find its fans for sure, but it will definitely be for a very select audience of genre festival fans, as this is by no means a mainstream genre film.

Speaking of which, another movie out this week which I wasn’t allowed to see in advance is Gia Coppola’s MAINSTREAM (IFC Films), starring Maya Hawke as a young woman seeking internet stardom by making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Andrew Garfield, until “the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.” Yup, it’s one of THOSE movies. It also stars Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman and Johnny Knoxville, but I haven’t heard anything good about it, and I’m not sure my curiosity is piqued enough to spend any of my own personal money to check it out.

Hitting Amazon on Friday is the doc THE BOY FROM MEDELLIN (Amazon) from Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts, Cartel Land), a portrait of musical superstar J. Balvin, as he prepares for a massive sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, which is hindered by the growing civil unrest in the area.

Lots of other movies this week, but a few that i just wasn’t able to get to this week, including:

ABOVE SUSPICION (Lionsgate) INITIATION (Saban Films) ENFANT TERRIBLE (Dark Star Pictures) QUEEN MARIE (Samuel Goldwyn Films) SILO (Oscilloscope) CITIZEN PENN (Discovery+)

That’s it for this week. Next week, Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (Lionsgate) and Angelina Jolie returns for the thriller THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD (New Line) and Timur Bekmambetov’s thriller, PROFILE (Focus Features). That’s right. This will be the first weekend in over a year where we’ll have three or maybe even four new wide releases.

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #WrathOfMan #HereToday #Monster #The Unthinkable #TheWaterMan

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feather-dancer · 3 years

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4 and 20 for the writing meta asks?

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

This is from Ghost!AU Chapter 3 so it’s not even out yet BUT it’s at the start of the chapter so I think it’s acceptable as a psuedo spoiler:

Breathe in, hold it there and feel the earth between your fingers and use it to ground yourself in the moment, breathe out slowly letting your worries carry away with it. Open your eyes again, remind yourself of your surroundings and that you are safe here. Listen to the gentle lapping of water, the faint rustles of trees around you and how there is life here. This is the surface, this is real, this is where you are right now.

It takes a few more attempts before Jim's heartbeat is coaxed into something that doesn't feel like it will explode and foreign jaw unclench. Unfortunately anxiety's claws are sunk far too deeply to be completely rid of it but at least this one won't turn into another full blown panic attack, he's had enough of them for one night. Can't say he's particularly fond of how this weird enhanced night sight he's gained keeps making him freak out at the colour green even though it's not even remotely the same shade, not even close, but his mind latches onto all the wrong things to the point it's hard to tell if he's trapped in a dream or truly awake at times.

The less that's said about being stuck in the very same black and red armour the better.

The blues are helping though, the water nearby and the ... skin ... thing and it's a small comfort that he can touch both and really feel the different textures of what is around him to be sure they're really there and not something conjured by disassociation's grip. The blues that were in the Darklands positively glowed in comparison and screamed of danger, they're much harder to muddle.

CBD did absolutely bugger all for my generalised anxiety BUT I’m putting it to use for Jim staving off a panic attack instead! I’ll likely get altered a little bit come edit time but for something I originally wrote months ago it still holds up exceptionally well.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

A few people might have noticed I’ve been sneaking in a lot of lore tidbits particularly in the drabbles or Douxie related things be they Teny headcanons which I tend to run off with at the best of times or other things! Heart of Glass has the blatant mention of spell trauma (Claire’s hair), one drabble has a mention of Tight-Jeans Hank being a magic user while another references a joke as to why AARRRGGHH was at Benoit’s in 3Below in a roundabout way, the complicated tangle of Douxie’s family in Savouring Memories, the roughness of Latin studying into the late hours and knowing a teeny bit of Trollish in Stars not to mention the amount of stuff I figure out for myself to chuck in my meta posts too. It can honestly be hard to tell which is 100% me and what is something I’ve gotten wind of and incorporated somewhere but I guess that means it works because it’s trickier to tell? The slang is all on me tho it’s nice having a character I don’t have to hold it back for a change.

ALSO DO YOU KNOW HOW GREAT IT IS STARS LETS ME GO INTO TROLL LORE I’m going hog wild with it because there’s nothing to stop me plus trolls I like are alive for once!

Ghost!AU Chapter 3 is riddled with something very specific that’s Jim related and written so far are two references to it with at least another one to come so I’m gonna be VERY curious if anybody catches what it is because it won’t ever be outright said. There’s also a little magic tangent for chapter 4 which has only been adjusted ever so slightly with Wizards release because lore didn’t break it completely which is always fantastic.

#writing #Stars #Ghost!AU #Heart of Glass #dreamsarelikedragonflies

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years

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ASM vol 5 #25/826 Story 1 Thoughts

Wow!

Now THIS is how you do a milestone issue...even though the milestone was last issue but whatever!

In some ways this issue reminded me of a lot of DC’s recent milestone issues for the Trinity. Wonder Woman’s 75th Anniversary special, Action Comics #1000, Detective Comics #1000.

By this I mean you have multiple artists contributing and the story feels like vignettes.

The difference though is that most of these vignettes are in fact part of the same story.

The downside of that is that it does make the main story ‘Opening Night’ feel somewhat disjointed because there are 3 or 4 endings. It could’ve been easily fixed by simply presenting the Syndicate pages and the Gleason pencilled pages as their own stories (which functionally they are) or at least as clearly labelled epilogues.

That’s a nitpick though because the main story over all was fantastic, no pu....actually pun very much intended. Why not Spencer likes his puns and meta jokes and there was plenty of the latter in this issue. Case in point Kindred’s jabs about continuity.

Let me get some minor negatives out of the way.

The changing artists really, really didn’t complement one another exempting Kev Walker and Ottley’s work. Ramos’ artwork wasn’t well integrated with the rest of the art at all, as was the case with his work in the Heist arc back in the earlier issues. Gleason’s work I will give a little more of a pass too because as presented it feels so much like it’s own separate story and has consistent art within those pages it’s not really a problem. But with Ramos and Ottley it’s very jarring.

Now it is the lesser evil because I’d rather have Ramos draw some pages and panels rather than the whole issue. Reserving him for, let’s face it, the less important B-plot of the main story whilst Ottley does the heavy lifting on the main story is a great compromise.

Other small complaints I have involve Mary Jane herself and her storyline.

For starters...Carlie Cooper is back. Now she isn’t used badly, it’s just...I hate that character. I don’t think many people have many positives to say about her and there is baggage associated with her. So if she is destined to become MJ’s go to buddy then that’s going to grind my gears (especially when we consider she let MJ risk her life by dating Otto in Superior, what a jerk!) and I’d infinitely prefer a wholesale new character or an old established character (Liz, Glory, Jill Stacy even?).

Buuuuuuuut on the flipside Carlie was better suited to being MJ’s sidekick in this story given she got involved in some of the action. Possibly even seeing her get zapped was Spencer putting in a piece of catharsis for the many fans he knows honestly hate this character.

Secondly we got MJ’s acting career. Now there are three little problems I have with it that might not even be problems. Let me explain.

a) MJ claims she lost her Secret Hospital job because of the nature of her life. I took that very much as an implication associated with her connection to Spider-Man. Problem is...she didn’t lose her job because of Spider-Man. Her role just happened to be cut back and eventually if I remember correctly she either quit following a deranged fan assaulting her or she was outright fired. Now in defence of her comment and of Spencer, the line doesn’t explicitly mention Peter or anything like that so it could easily be taken as her life being in general crazy regardless. Bear this in mind for something else I’m going to bring up

b) MJ claims she never liked being famous. That really struck me because of course MJ wanted to be famous from day 1. Now you could easily argue that when we first met MJ she was younger and had yet to experience fame, so now she feels differently. Buuuuuuut she was a model in her adulthood. She pursued acting as a soap star, and as a movie star and as a stage star and took a job at Stark industries and at various points was modelling during those jobs. Soooooooooo what gives? I mean....maybe you could say she hated aspects of being famous but the speech seems weird and inconsistent in and of itself even. I’m hoping I’m just missing something

c) MJ says she had trouble fitting in and then over did it in social situations. I dunno if that’s really true. It could be bad phrasing on Spencer’s part but really MJ always did fit in, her facade helped her to fit in, it was partially engineered to help her to do that. Is that what he means though?

d) MJ becoming a famous actress again gives me mixed feelings. Spider-Man is the everyman and whilst temporary fame that comes crashing down is one thing, if she is long term famous it kind of meddles with the everyman aspect of Spider-Man. An aspiring actress, even a low key soap star is different a more if you will ‘domestic’ form of fame. But that’s more a criticism of where this might lead so it could wind up being fine.

One final, final little problem I had was another example of worried where this MIGHT lead. In Kindred’s lair we see a wall depicting different Spider-Heroes and so now I’m facepalming that the climax to his storyline will be a huge crossover event affair that demands I read Miles and Gwen’s and Jessica Drew’s titles.

Again a nitpick at best, at worst something to worry about in the future not the present.

Everything else in the main story was beautiful.

MJ’s connection to acting is restored. Wonderful. It’s my preferred profession for her because it taps into Peter’s double life and her own history with her party girl facade.

The speech was well written and delivered and I liked the meta aspect of her giving it whilst disguised as a famous super hero wife!

Spencer continued to find a way to handle the old criticism lobbied against MJ/the marriage that it Mary Jane simply waited by a window (even though I think that’s fine sometimes) or just got stood up on dates all the time by having MJ have friends she can hang out with. This is one aspect where Carlie, because she is in on the secret, helps a lot I must admit.

Spencer also renders Mary Jane very well rounded.

Look I LOVE seeing instances where Mary Jane shines as cool, as bad ass and the like, but sometimes if handled poorly it can come off as idolizing her.

Spencer avoids this by giving MJ flaws.

She’s jealous of Melanie’s success which she sees as something that could have been her’s.* She has tiny doubts about Peter’s sincerity. She admits she struggles to fit in and feels uncomfortably exposed in the limelight.

But she’s also, brave, self-sacrificing, resourceful and, most importantly in this story, a good actress (apparently being able to impersonate Melanie’s voice...or maybe that’s something no one thought about because this is a non-audio medium).

The effect is to make Mary Jane truly the hero of the story, not just because she is ‘taking point’ in the main story but because she feels complex and nuanced, just as Peter is.

My quibbles above aside, Spencer really is a good Mary Jane writer and for Spider-Man that’s an important consideration for a writer (just as being a good Lois Lane writer or good Alfred writer is for Superman and Batman). He’s done her justice 99% of the time he’s written her and it says an awful lot about him and his priorities for this title that he’d give the lion’s share of a milestone issue over to her.

It also says a lot of his abilities to make good stories out of well...clean up duty.

Let’s be brutally honest here the majority of Spencer’s issues have revolved around stories really designed to fix things after BND and Slott’s run.

Back to Basics fixed Peter and MJ’s relationship and mostly reconstructed Peter’s character by having him own up to the diploma debacle and zero in on who the man was and who the spider was by literally separating the two.

The Heist reconstructed Peter and Felicia’s relationship and fleshed out why MJ and Peter were getting back together as quickly as they did.

Those poorly drawn Bachalo issues fixed Ned Leeds not being dead.

Hunted fixed Kraven not being dead and Shed and more stuff with Felicia

Now this issue has fixed MJ and Peter’s future’s to some extent. Peter is back at ESU and MJ is back to acting. Not only does she now have a Stark free job situation but it’s a job that’s her home away from home as I discussed a bit above.

The issue also does some clean up with Curt Connors, restoring the pre-Hunted status quo and by extension facilitating something else comfortingly familiar by having Connors teach Peter.**

Speaking of Connors, I can’t recall off the top of my head (having not eaten breakfast yet) if Connors had safehouses before now to keep him safe from his family. I know that has been the case in other stories, such as the Forever Young novel from a couple of years ago, but in the comics I can’t recall. If not then it’s a great thing for Spencer to integrate. If so it’s a great thing for Spencer to have remembered and gives Spider-Man a meaningful subplot to work with whilst Mary Jane takes the limelight in the main plot.

Now let’s move onto Mysterio. As I predicted last issue the doctor was Rinehart but I was mistaken in believing it was the real Rinehart. Spencer, and Mysterio, were so good at their jobs that I was successfully fooled into thinking Mysterio really had died last issue. The idea that Rinehart was really Mysterio and Mysterio was really someone else never occurred to me and was an ingenious twist.

But like all good mysteries it had clues right there for us to see as last issue signposted the disappearance of Mysterio’s former doctor, who we now know was tricked into becoming Mysterio so beck could escape. What sold it was the inner monologue of Rinehart talking about Beck as a separate person. This would’ve been a cheap trick under a lesser writer but Spencer justifies it by claiming Mysterio was method. Just brilliant. As was tying in MJ’s agent and new found fame to Mysterio and his film script.

We also get some more tantalizing tidbits about Kindred. He doesn’t like killing innocent people if he doesn’t have to. The idea of him being an established villain now looks much less likely. And did you notice that when we first see him in the issue...he’s sticking to the wall...surrounded by spiders...and later has them crawling out of his bandages...and is targeting other Spider people...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm????????????????

That about does it for what I call the ‘main main story’, we move now onto what should’ve been epilogues.

There isn’t much to say about the Syndicate pages beyond they were good for what they were, they eloquently tie into the main story and set up the next arc.

Much more interesting are the Gleason pages, and not just because the art looks so nice and so much better than Ramos.

On the one hand I am wary of Spider-Man comics bringing in too much of the shared universe because it messes up a lot of the drama and stakes. But as a little side story meant to set up something else that’s fine and what a set up.

Spider-Man 2099 is back!

Now I feel like I should really catch up on his solo book. I kept buying it but stopped reading it around Civil War II!

I honestly have NO IDEA where this is going beyond thinking it might have something to do with Kindred’s interest in all the other spider people??????

Beyond all that...not much to say.

I’m not going to tell you that I recommend you pick this issue up because....c’mon...you know you already did...and loved it!

*Importantly, if Spencer intended it this way, MJ missed out on Melanie’s success because of something not connected to Spider-Man. I was worried the story was going in for this idea that being with Peter has cost Mary Jane a successful career, but in this issue, through Melaine we see that wasn’t the case.

MJ’s life led her to quit a role that was already being reduced but it wasn’t because of Spider-Man stuff at all.

This is not just refreshing and healthy for their relationship, it’s also realistic. Take that every bullshit AU about MJ being famous by not dating Spidey!

**By the way I was going to criticise Connors having both arms in human form but then I double checked issue #2 and that was the case there too. I keep forgetting that he has both arms now it’s just so weird to see.

#Spider-Man #mjwatsonedit #mj watson #Mary Jane Watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #Peter Parker #Nick Spencer #Lizard #the Lizard #Curt Connors #patrick gleason #Ryan Ottley #Humberto Ramos #Spider-Man 2099 #Mysterio #quinten beck #Kindred

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dccomicsbookshelf · 6 years

Text

Bat-Sized

at the request of @midnightrooftops here are my headcanons/canon takes on the Bat Clan and their overall height and shape and miscellaneous tidbits related thereto.

Long Post is (Very) Long. I am sorry. I’ve been sitting on this one for awhile.

Bruce: People joke about Brucie all the time but I don’t think they realize just how good of an act Brucie is. Because Bruce Wayne is built like a prize-fighter. 6′2″ (188 cm) broad-shouldered, and just pure muscle. And yet he is widely believed to be the least physically dangerous person in all of Gotham city short of…I’m actually trying to come up with someone the Gotham public believes to be less of a physical threat and drawing a blank. Your average gothamite great-grandmother is more dangerous than Brucie. No one knows how he does it.

Kate: Apparently the tall genes are a Kane thing to go along with the vampire complexions. Kate is 5′11″ (180 cm). She walks around in mini-dresses showing off her arms and thighs. She is ripped, why anyone would ever look at her, even drunk, and think “lets mug this chick” I have no idea. She has a fondness for heels that boost her up into the 6′3″ range. She enjoys intimidating creepy old men.

Barbara: Babs’ adult height, stood on her feet, is 5′7″ (170 cm). She seems fairly unintimidating physique wise until you get a look at her arms. Babs has all the upper-body strength. She can outlast Jason at pull-ups. (And guys have a physical advantage at pull-ups because testosterone builds those muscles. The female body has to work for it.) It is acknowledged that Babs has the best arms in the whole family. She is able to still take to the sky even without having any use of her legs. She was fairly average growing up. Not tall but not short either, no shortage of muscle, as a competitive gymnast and later vigilante, but overall, fairly average for an Olympic level athlete!

Dick: I’m not going to talk about Dick’s butt because there are literally entire blogs devoted to it and I am part of Team Can We Please Stop Objectifying Dick Grayson So Much Thank You. Here’s the thing though, as an adult, Dick stands at 5′10″ (177.5 cm), definitely not short. But for some reason people tend to think of him as short? Which is actually a mix of several things. 1) Dick hangs out with a lot of really tall people. His first girlfriend was 6′5″ (195.6 cm) not counting any added height from her hair. 2) He was frickin’ tiny. Dick Grayson, up until he (finally) got his first major growth spurt at the age of 17 was generally guessed to be at least two years younger than he actually was. It was at its worst in his mid-teens, when most of his friends were at least 6″ taller than him. So a lot of people are just used to thinking of him as short, even though he isn’t anymore. As far as build goes, he’s fairly lean. He bulked up a bit while he was Batman, and hasn’t shed all of it. His current build is between Batman and Pre-Batman. He also has no spine. It’s the only explanation for why he’s still able to do some of the contortions he does. By all rights they should have become impossible for him by the time he was out of his teens. (It’s probably trace electrum from the tooth the Court marked.)

Cassandra: Is petite, though entirely made up of scar tissue and muscle. There was about a year where she, Tim, and Steph were all 5′5″ and they had fun with it, though unlike the other two she never got any taller. Literally every inch of her is muscle. She’s compact and tough as nails. Despite that, she’s on the slender side. Pound for pound she is easily the strongest member of the family. Is the only one who has biceps that could honestly give Babs a run for her money. What she’s really built for is speed and her reaction times are off the charts. Partly because she knows what you are going to do before you do.

Jason: See, here is the thing. Jason was always going to be tall and strongly built, that was never in doubt. He was predicted to grow up to be around Dick’s height and a little bulkier back when he first lived with Bruce. And then he got dunked in a Lazarus Pit which had the effect of removing the damage done by a childhood’s worth of malnutrition, trauma, and poor health. All of which is to say, by the time Jason is done growing he is a freaking tank. He will forever resent Bruce for the one inch the man has on him (Jason is 6′1″/185.5 cm) but he easily comes to match Bruce in sheer size. He enjoys taking advantage of his height and weight…well, advantage to torment his brothers. Dick doesn’t really care, its actually just about the only topic he can’t get Dick riled up on, and Tim just gives him a wearily resigned look whenever he starts looming. Damian stabs him when he picks him up to walk off with but it was totally worth it. Jason is a bruiser and a brawler and is built like the last guy you would want to run into in a dark alley. (Thighs and pecs are what get whistled at for Jason.)

Stephanie: Despite Damian’s insults and insinuations, Steph isn’t fat. She has a sturdy build and isn’t necessarily what you would call thin, but given that she grew up in Crime Alley, that is a point of pride as much as anything. She’s a bit top-heavy, the struggle to find clothes that fit both the boobs and the hips is so very real. So real. She stops growing when she’s still in her mid-teens, ending at 5′6″. She has fantastic core strength. Post-pregnancy, her hips have a tendency to go a little wonky on her, but it isn’t usually an issue. She’s very proud of her abs.

Tim: Tim somehow manages to give off the air of being either a scrawny little dweeb or a slim, trim, aristocrat, depending on the circumstances. It is a lie. Beneath the baggy hoodies and tailored jackets he’s lightly built, yes, but the boy’s got some muscle on him. He’s self-conscious because, comparatively speaking, his physique isn’t that impressive. He only thinks that because he’s comparing himself to Bruce, Cass, Jason, and Dick. By normal, not-obsessive-vigilante human standards he’s very impressive. Height-wise…He was always just slightly on the small side but he maintained a pretty steady growth rate up until he just…stopped growing. No growth spurts to save him, he reached 5′8″ (172.5 cm) a couple of months after his nineteenth birthday and just stayed there. That leaves him, once he’s done growing, two inches shorter than Dick.

Duke: Matches up to Kate’s 5′11″ with a build not dissimilar to Dick’s, though slightly stockier. Has fantastic shoulders. He likes his height, he’s safely in the middle of the Family, so he doesn’t get dragged into most of the “shorty/giant” hi-jinks. He was also tall and broad enough by the time he joined the Family that he has been able to (mostly) avoid Cross-dressing For Justice™. Was somewhat disappointed to find that his size is not enough to always protect him from being picked up/tossed around. Dick and Jason have both done so at least once.

Damian: Dami is a midget okay. He’s almost as small as Dick was at his age, just a slight bit stockier. (Dick was scrawny on top of being a shrimp) Damian weighs a lot though. He’s a solid little bundle of rage and muscle. The thing is, he won’t stay small for long. He’s going to hit fifteen in a couple of years and then shoot up like a rocket. By the time all is said and done Damian Wayne will stand 6′4″ (193 cm) and he will love it. He won’t ever be as bulky as his father or Jason, taking more after his mother in that respect. He is the tallest member of the family and never lets Tim or Jason forget it. Everyone still calls him things like “Baby Bat” and “Lil’ D”.

Alfred: Stands an even 6′ (183 cm) and, like most of the family, is deceptively muscled underneath his suit jackets.

To close out, a list from shortest to tallest, final adult height.

Cass - Stephanie - Tim - Barbara - Dick - Kate & Duke - Alfred - Jason - Bruce - Damian

Has been edited to correct my mix-up between Cass and Steph. Never try and transcribe your notes into coherent headcanon posts when sleep-deprived, kids.

#BatCanons #BatFam #Bat Brats #Bruce Wayne #Kate Kane #Alfred Pennyworth #Barbara Gordon #Damian Wayne #Dick Grayson #Duke Thomas #Cassandra Cain #Tim Drake #Stephanie Brown #Jason Todd #Longpost is Long #Sorry not Sorry #My Posts #Rain Rambles #A lot

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soap-brain · 7 years

Note

HAPPY PROMPT as requested! (logicallythyla here again XD) TOS Spirk no 65 please!!

ayyy finally! idk whether there’s enough fluff though? :o i might have to make do with no extra points.

TOS Spirk - I love coming home to you

It can definitely be said that nobody has a more stressful job aboard a ship than her captain. But it can also be said that nobody gets invited to as many parties, inaugurations, celebrations, festivals, grand openings and birthdays as a ship’s captain. Specifically, a flagship’s captain. Specifically Jim Kirk.

Now, don’t get him wrong - he loves socializing, he loves parties, he loves mingling with people so far away from what he does. It’s great for finding or exploring new perspectives, gain some interesting tidbits of knowledge, or to just relax a little.

Jim is on his third cocktail of the evening, drinking a bit faster than he really wants to, but he’s been on a celebratory cruise for the better part of the fortnight, beamed here, there, everywhere for all the wave of parties sweeping the quadrant for the Federation’s so-and-so-many-th anniversary, and what better to adorn yourself with than inviting Captain Kirk himself. Captain Kirk had agreed - or been agreed and then informed of his luck, and then he’d been given the honor of toasting here, christening a ship or a parliament building there, of making speeches and attending that one really spectacular performance of The Merchant of Venice (a pity Spock wasn’t there. He would’ve enjoyed it immensely), had dutifully had the governor of Mars snuggled up to him for an entire evening, and now he’s laughing and smiling at every joke the princess of Abagundi Leta makes. It’s not that she isn’t pretty, or intelligent, or witty, but he knows her mother is intent on marrying her off. Seventeen years isn’t an early age for her people to marry at all, but it is for Jim. Also, he has other arrangements. One other arrangement, to be precise.

“So tell me about you. What’s it like living on a starship?” She’s got a nice, lilting voice, probably makes for a great singer.

Jim chuckles and takes another sip of his cocktail. “Ah, you know, it has its perks. Space is very beautiful and we see a lot of exotic planets and fantastic nebulae and stars. It’s very scientific, of course, but that’s why I like it. Of course there are certain things you start to miss - trees, wind in your hair, the sun, fresh food, but, well…”

“So the benefits outweigh the costs?”

“Oh, for me, yes, definitely.” He chuckles again. “That sounds almost like you’re considering to go to Starfleet.” He’s overstepping a little. Blame the alcohol, or blame his long absence from his better half.

“Well. Mother does want me to marry someone influential, maybe off-planet, but I really do like the idea of traveling the galaxy. Is the academy hard?”

“Oh dear, am I putting mutinous thoughts in your head?”

She giggles. “I won’t tell if you won’t!”

“Alright then. The academy isn’t too hard if you study faithfully and choose something that suits you.”

“And is it lonely? Going to space. Because I do want to find someone to love me, I think.”

Jim thinks of chocolate brown eyes, pink lips and heartwarming hugs in the morning.

“No. No, it’s not lonely at all.”

“You have a wife!” She exclaims with obvious glee. “Oh, is she your officer?”

“Not a wife, but … we’re very close. And yes, he is my officer, science officer and first officer.”

“Ohh, a husband then! Forgive me, I didn’t want to offend you.”

“Oh, no, not at all. Well, Spock and I aren’t exactly married, but we are certainly … very close.”

“That is lovely though!”

Yes. Yes, it’s lovely indeed.

The party drags on until almost the early morning. Jim is kind of used to it - the Enterprise, as beautiful as she is, is a very demanding lover, and he didn’t stay on absolute top in all his classes in the Academy because he was a slump. Also he had too many classes, but it’s not his fault for everything being so interesting.

He is tired though. His schedule has been non-stop socializing, and as much as he is a social creature in part, he’s also very much a recluse, often preferring to read or go to the theatre instead of attending a party. It’s also an anniversary for him, of sorts, and not the pleasant kind, and as usual, he sleeps far more restlessly. And generally he does prefer to sleep in Spock’s arms, so there’s that, too.

His room on Abagundi Leta is nice though, with a huge balcony opening on the marvelous Royal Botanical Garden. The planet barely experiences seasons, since they have only a very small moon and an almost perfectly circular orbit around their sun. It’s always pleasantly warm, so Jim’s room doesn’t need windows, since the architecture also protects it from rain or heavy winds. He adds Abagundi Leta to the growing list of places he’d love to explore during a shore leave one day. Hopefully the next one will leave them somewhere with a longliner transporter, so he and Spock can beam to one of the locations on their list.

Spock.

Jim strips off his suit and hangs it up more or less haphazardly, letting himself fall backwards onto the large bed. There’s lunch tomorrow at … oh, somewhere. He’s had too much to drink to properly remember his schedule, but he knows there’s only that lunch tomorrow and then he’ll be back home with his lover. Probably. Maybe? He’s relatively sure, but that might be the alcohol talking.

Jim rolls himself up in the blankets like a burrito, head already beginning to pound. Spock.

Spock. Spoooooock.

He has to white-knuckle his way through the lunch because … man, that was far too much alcohol last night to happily chat about the mining industry in some asteroid field or whatever. Also he had some five hours of sleep, max. Probably less.

He finally gets a hold on a hypo against hangover, but the dosage is miniscule and the President of the Federation themself invited him to the opera. It’s classic Wagner. Of course it’s Wagner. Look, don’t get Jim wrong - he loves Wagner. Dude made some fantastic pieces, but they’re also very loud. As though he was personally advocating against alcohol.

The Enterprise greets him with the soft hum of her transporter room, the little blips and pings of the console, a warm blanket of familiarity.

There’s no welcoming committee - Jim hadn’t been too sure when exactly he’d be back, and really, there was no need for anyone to wait up for him

He makes his way to his quarters alone, greeting the odd crewmember he encounters.

He had expected his quarters to be dark. Instead, they’re warmly lit by electronic scented candles that come so incomparably close to the real thing that they can only belong to one person on the ship - Spock.

The Vulcan is curled up on the window seat, one of Jim’s paperbacks in hand, wearing a comfortable robe and with the quilt Jim’s mom made for him around his shoulders.

He looks up at the door swishing and smiles.

“Jim. You’re back,” he says, getting up and placing the paperback on the table before crossing over to Jim.

“Spock.”

“Ashayam,” Spock whispers, taking the bag out of Jim’s hands and stripping off his jacket before enveloping him in the quilt. “I have missed you. The Enterprise is not the same without you.”

Jim curls into Spock’s embrace. He’s finally home, where he belongs. In Spock’s arms. Is there anything better in the whole galaxy?

Spirk tag list: @jim-kirk-grab-n-kiss @toosouthernforspace @igottrekked @burnhamofvulcan

Everything tag list: @bottomkirk @gumballgladiator @logicheartsoul @kagenightray @jimothyandspocko @needles-and-ink @headcanonsilove

Prompts are open!

#spirk #tos spirk #jim kirk #spock #star trek #star trek tos #fanfic #my writing #my post #seekingcomfortinthestars #ask #answered

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ronaldmrashid · 5 years

Text

The Definition Of American Prosperity Needs An Adjustment

There’s a common joke here in the SF Bay Area.

How do you know someone went to Stanford? They’ll tell you within the first couple of sentences.

We Americans have a tremendous desire for status and prestige. When we work hard for something, it’s our second nature to tell everybody about our achievement.

You do it. I do it. We all do it. No big deal if we aren’t incessant about it.

But at a certain point, it becomes concerning when we start complaining about our struggles despite being in an extremely fortunate situation.

Let me share one public example and then my own as case studies to illustrate how unaware we truly are about our good fortune.

Being Unable To Recognize American Prosperity

Charlotte from Time magazine sent out this tweet she wrote about everybody’s favorite politician, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It’s a good in-depth piece about how and why AOC came to power.

What is strange about her tweet is that she claims people her age (20s and 30s) have never experienced American prosperity in their adult lifetimes.

How could this be when the parents of people her age have been able to save and invest in the biggest bull market in history! If only we were able to rewind time and invest as Biff did in Back To The Future III.

Before rushing to judgment, I did what any rational person would do and tried to understand why Charlotte has had such a difficult time in her life so far.

Maybe she grew up in a poor single-parent household in a difficult neighborhood. Maybe she didn’t even go to public college because her parents couldn’t afford the tuition. Or maybe she has a disability.

Lo and behold, it was easy to understand her background because her parents have their own Wikipedia pages! I thought only rich and/or famous people have their own Wiki page? Silly me.

Here are some tidbits.

Jonathan Alter (father): A graduate of Phillips Academy (private prep school) and Harvard University. American journalist, best-selling author, documentary filmmaker and television producer who was a columnist and senior editor for Newsweek magazine from 1983 until 2011, and has written three New York Times best-selling books about American presidents

Emily Jane Lazar (mother): A graduate of Hotchkiss School (private prep school) and Harvard University. Co-executive producer of the former Comedy Central show The Colbert Report;three children: Charlotte (b. 1990), a writer for TIME Magazine, Tommy (b. 1991), a producer for HBO Sports, and Molly (b. 1993), who works in venture capital.

Then, of course, there’s Charlotte, who also went to Harvard University and is a staff writer for Time Magazine. I don’t know whether she went to an elite private prep school or not. But I assume so based on her parents’ backgrounds.

Most would agree that if you went to private grade school, private university, and have rich and accomplished parents, you’ve probably experienced some American prosperity in your life. Some might even conclude that all you’ve ever experienced is American prosperity.

Yet, I believe Charlotte and other wealthy people like her truly do not feel they have experienced American prosperity because their life is all they know. I’m sure Charlotte is a fine and nice person. She’s just a little unaware about how good folks like her truly have it.

As a parent, this lack of appreciation for prosperity is one of my worries of raising myself in a comfortable environment. He’ll have a warm home, food whenever he wants, and mostly prosperous friends. When life is so easy, you don’t end up pushing yourself to make something of your own.

The lack of struggle is one of the reasons why we considered moving back to Virginia instead of to Hawaii. Just look at how UVA turned it around in the NCAA tournament by losing in the first round last year to winning it all in 2019. Hardship creates hunger and growth! In Virginia, we could send him to a public school and let him experience more racial altercations.

Whereas in Hawaii, we would send him to likely a private school where more classmates looked like him. We’d also probably buy a nice house on or near the beach and finally start living it up in retirement.

But if you start with a Ferrari, how can you ever appreciate any other car when it’s finally time for you to buy one on your own?

If you’ve spent your entire life in a luxurious home, good luck feeling good about renting or buying a place with your own salary.

Financial Samurai Case Study

Now let’s look at my own lack of recognizing American prosperity. In the post, The Wide Implications Of The College Admissions Scandal, one of the points I write about is:

The middle class may become wealthier and happier. As college becomes less important in finding a job, there will be fewer people spending four years and borrowing tens of thousands in student loans. With more time and less financial baggage, more people will be able to aggressively save to buy a house, start a family, and save for retirement.

I thought this was a good thing. However, what I didn’t realize was that by writing the words “middle class,” based on my current position as a financially independent person, it could be construed as insulting to the “true middle-class” American.

Here is a response from a regular Financial Samurai reader,

Let me start by stating that I love your blog and your views on general and I salute you for your consistent approach. However, one area I repeatedly roll my eyes as is when you describe your upbringing as “middle class”.

Based on your posts, your parents had jobs as foreign service officers for the US Government. That is about as secure a job and lifestyle as one could expect (all living expenses comped by taxpayers). I’m not saying it is a cushy job or easy, as I respect those who do it, but it is an elite job.

Your views are warped and you seem to want to cast yourself as middle class struggle when in reality you had a huge advantage over most of the country.

Maybe not compared to your Wall Street buddies, but compared to most you had a silver spoon. This doesn’t discount any of your success, or the impact of racism that you said you faced which I agree is a challenge, but you need to get real on your upbringing and your parents jobs – not middle class.

This is fantastic feedback that shines a huge blind spot on my lack of awareness that I didn’t grow up middle class, even though I wasn’t writing about my own upbringing to begin with.

All this time, I thought I grew up in an average American household. Here are some data points from my upbringing that made me believe so. My dad verified the numbers.

Went to public high school (free) and college ($2,800/year in tuition at The College of William & Mary)

Dad went to the University of Hawaii (public), Mom went to National Taiwan University (public)

Parents drove an 8-year-old Toyota Camry (bought for $5,000)

Worked at McDonald’s, worked as a mover, and did random jobs as a temp during the summers

Lived in a ~1,700 sqft townhouse that was purchased for $190,000

Parents worked at the US State Department and my mom made between $25,000 – $55,000 and my dad made between $15,000 – $119,000 after a 30+ year career after serving in Vietnam

Here is the actual townhouse I lived in from Google street view. Ah, the fond high school memories. I had the room with the balcony.

It’s now becoming clear that I didn’t grow up middle class, but upper middle class or some would say rich. For example, while some classmates had to walk a couple miles to school, I got to ride a bike. As a result, I could get more sleep and do better in class.

During my time growing up in the Philippines, Zambia, Taiwan, and Malaysia before high school I witnessed a lot of poverty. In comparison, my family was definitely rich. Who gets to live abroad as a child while his parents get to honorably serve their country building foreign relationships? Not many.

Further, being born Asian seems to have given me a leg up in America because how could it not when elite private schools require a higher hurdle rate for admission? Surely these universities must have scientific data behind their decision. Otherwise, that would be discrimination.

For those who have been offended by my belief that the middle class will benefit from the college admissions scandal by helping level the playing field, I apologize. I really didn’t mean any harm and will try to only write about wealthy people stuff going forward.

Why We Can’t Recognize American Prosperity

Here are four reasons why I think some of us don’t recognize our prosperity.

1) Our government and think tanks arbitrarily define middle-class income and status for us nationally instead of locally. Pew Research, for example, believes that a middle-class income ranges between 67% to 200% of the median household income. While some in government, in order to raise the income tax rate at lower income levels, believe rich means earning income over $200,000, regardless of location.

2) Life’s struggles. No matter how rich and powerful you are, you will always experience some sort of hardship growing up. Common hardships include divorce, fights, bullying, rejections, mental illness, loneliness and deaths. These negatives are very real and make us feel less prosperous than we really are.

3) Our desire to always compare and want more. Even though my family drove a perfectly fine 8-year-old Toyota Camry during my upper class upbringing, I was envious of my rich friend whose family drove a new Honda Accord. I still remember that new car smell.

Even though AOC attended Boston University for $70,000 a year in today’s dollars, she might be envious of Charlotte Alter who attended higher ranked Harvard University for only $65,000 a year.

Conversely, Charlotte might be envious of AOC because AOC, with a less prestigious degree, is the second most popular politician in America. The comparisons go on and on and can make us miserable.

4) We’re simply ignorant about how the rest of the country and the world live. We need to travel more. We also should strive to learn another language to immerse ourselves in another culture. If we do, we will better appreciate how good we have things and get along with more people.

Let’s recognize our prosperity while trying to remain humble. If we can help others become more prosperous, all the better.

Always attribute most of your success to luck rather than to hard work. You can still secretly work hard behind the scenes, but never let anybody know. Saying you worked hard in today’s environment is gradually becoming an insult.

Finally, recognize the growing anger in America towards those who have more and adapt. When in doubt, be respectful towards those who denigrate your efforts. And if you feel that a respectful dialogue cannot ensue, then move on. There are so many better things to do with your time.

Remember, “talent is universal, but opportunity is not.” It is up to those of us with opportunity to help those who do not.

Spoiled Or Clueless? Try Working A Minimum Wage Job As An Adult For Goodness Sake

Your First Million Might Be The Easiest: How To Become A Millionaire By 30

Readers, anybody out there think they grew up middle class, but who actually grew up upper middle class or rich? Why do some people who grow up wealthy not recognize their prosperity? What is your definition of American prosperity? How can we get people to recognize and appreciate their prosperity more?

The post The Definition Of American Prosperity Needs An Adjustment appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from https://www.financialsamurai.com/the-definition-of-american-prosperity/

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loud-snoring-os · 6 years

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If you must get a book on the subject... start here. I have read a few books on the subject and as far as overall scope, this book is it. Very easy to read, has a few jokes here and there, and interesting little tidbits that i found spot on. Example: Go to Amazon

Interesting The authors made a lot of interesting points in this book and gave lots of helpful hints for how to apply it. There were so many black and white sweeping statements,moo ever (such as all men.... and all women....) that I often questioned the validity of the statements, and though there are a lot of references at the back, it didn't feel very scientific or backed by quality research. The illustrations are horrible and would it would have been much better had the authors taken some modeled poses to illustrate their points. For a book on body language I don't want to look at simple line drawings. It was interesting to read a body language book from the point of a salesperson and they did cover many topics that a lot of other books that don't cover, such as office layouts etc. Go to Amazon

Useful for Anyone This extremely well illustrated and easy to read book will take you through the major tells that we all give off in our body language that will betray our true feelings and emotions. The book's illustrations are somewhat humorous, and, perhaps more importantly, show the examples of the body language and body language clusters that are given off by the subjects. Useful for anyone in negotiations, hiring, managing or courting. The information contained in the book is spot on, and the author brings this interesting and probably under-studied line of study to life. A good read. Go to Amazon

This was a recommended book, and it's fantastic This was a recommended book, and it's fantastic. The humor makes the tips memorable, too. As someone who does public speaking on occasion, I found the suggestions for responses to audience members very helpful. And if you're in sales, this would be such a helpful tool on how to read customers and work toward closing a deal. Go to Amazon

Great for beginners but not for experienced people This is an OK book for beginners. Go to Amazon

It was good, but definitely not great Decent, but too many outdated, black and white pictures, and silly little comic book drawings. Body language is too nuanced to portray the subtle details through a sketch from a 7th grade art class. Still, you will probably gain a little insight if you are interested in the subject. It was good, but definitely not great. Go to Amazon

You can find the same information online for free I gave it a 3 star because other authors had me on the hype train by using a great quote from the book. The rest of the book was predictable and I did not learn anything new (you can find the same information for free online). Go to Amazon

Couldn't get to the end I love to "read" people, but couldn't get to the end of this book. After reading enough pages you realize those "readings" can be so contradictory that it makes no sense to try to do it in the first place. I can't say I didn't like it, but I can't give it more than three stars.. Go to Amazon

Great book Five Stars Unfortunately for this author, I had already read "What ... The truth. Body language give it when you can read it! A Must Read Great Info Five Stars Good Read. Perfect For Business and Sales People. Five Stars Fascinating and Insightful

#Allan Pease: Books

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stuckinherway · 7 years

Text

I Feel Like Exploding

“I did say I was going to haunt you if I died.”

The words were met with silence. Not that Kaden had expected anything more from the man sitting at the desk, face illuminated by the computer in front of him as he shuffled through the papers.

His sentiment wasn’t cruel in its nature. He had always joked about it before, that he would continue to make Patrick’s life hell in the afterlife. Not that he ever knew it existed. Oh, sure, he had believed it, but it was still another thing entirely to find out it was true. But now that he was here, floating in this not-quite-existence, he really didn’t want to make his husband’s life hell. Perhaps he would if he had all of eternity left here in limbo (on that subject, he wasn’t really sure), but not now. Not when it was so fresh.

Out of impulse, he rested a hand on Patrick’s shoulder, intended to comfort the other who, to him, was obviously very hurt, though he seemed to be trying to mask it by burying himself in work. That always was his way of avoiding problems. Kaden didn’t really expect anything to happen. Of course it didn’t. Patrick didn’t feel him, his hand just went through the man. Though there was a little shiver. But he always was the cold type.

“You know. I didn’t think it would end up this way. As much as I sort of disliked the idea of growing old, I did want to grow old with you.”

It was 3:23 AM. Patrick should have been asleep by now. He had to wake up early to be at the university and teach those snot-nosed kids while simultaneously working on his doctorate degree. It had always seemed crazy to him, but he still had always been proud of his husband. A studious busy bee, the complete opposite of him, who tended to prefer to goof off. But Patrick was Kaden’s, and he wouldn’t ask for anyone else. And he assumed the same could be said of Patrick, that he didn’t want anyone else. The brunette teased it, sure, but at the end of the day, they did always share the same bed, share sweet kisses and passionate embraces. As black and white they may be, they were perfect for each other.

“I don’t even know what this is. Am I just here into whatever ties me to this world is resolved, or is this forever?”

It wasn’t much surprise to him that Patrick ended up passing out in front of the computer, despite the mug of coffee sitting nearby. A small, sad smile crossed his ghostly lips. If he’d been alive, he would’ve coaxed him to bed long ago. But now he couldn’t. All he could do is watch.

“Look at me, being philosophical. You’d probably just shake your head if you could hear me.”

His last minutes were terrifying. He’d been driving back from the airport, fully intending to surprise his husband. He’d been on tour until a week ago, but they were scheduled to go straight into the studio. Kaden still wasn’t sure how such a fantastic band as his got the short straw with that, but the label wanted what they wanted, and they wanted a new album and wanted them recording. But Kaden missed his handsome husband, and the band decided to take a couple of days, get some new ideas, write down tunes and lyrics, and come back to continue. So he arranged a flight home to surprise the number one in his life.

“I hope you’re not blaming yourself. Please don’t blame yourself. You have a new chance at life, at love. To find someone less infuriating.”

Drunk drivers were the worst. He’d always believed it. Not that it had stopped him when he’d had a couple drinks when he was younger and thought he was invincible. But he’d never hurt anybody then. The same couldn’t be same of the other person.

He’d never seen a face. Never saw anything. A little bit of the life flashing before the eyes, but then it was darkness. Darkness and suddenly “waking up” and several days had passed. Just in time for the funeral. It was an odd experience to be an audience member at your own funeral, especially when nobody could see you. He wanted to stand up and scream “LOOK AT ME!” or wave his hands in front of everyone, letting them know he was there. But after the first eyes glazing past his, he knew. He wasn’t truly there.

“I was going to surprise you, you know. It was the anniversary of when we first met. Well, the anniversary was the day before I landed, but does that really matter? I don’t know if you even remember it all that well. But I do.”

It’d taken a while to get used to. Especially moving. It was definitely not the same as when one was alive. Ghosts didn’t really walk. Nor did they just float. It was weird, but once he got the hang of it, he paid it no mind. Though it was a little bit of a shock when he fell through the second floor and found himself on the first. Not intentional whatsoever.

“I do have the flair for the overdramatic, don’t I? Even in death. I would be surprising you with a lame anniversary thing that isn’t really important when I died. And hit by a drunk driver. My life is such a cliché. Hating my rich parents, rebel punk rocker, falling in love with someone the total opposite of me. I’m a walking soap opera. No wonder you hated me. I kind of hate me.”

Kaden watched Patrick sleep, looking much more peaceful in sleep than he had the past several days. The hours passed. The time Patrick was supposed to get up for class came and went with barely a stir. He watched on sadly, but also a little glad that at least the sleepless nights were catching up to him. Maybe he’d get a little better. Getting the sleep he needed was one step to normalcy. Not that staying awake until 4 in the morning was really normal, but his body was attempting a force restart. Kaden could only hope it’d work; he hated seeing his husband like this.

“I hope the band is doing alright. Well, I really wish I had some way of knowing besides walking all the way to either their houses or their studios or whatever. Or some way to access the internet besides looking over your shoulder. God, I can’t even imagine the fans reaction. I’ve only seen little tidbits here and there.”

Finally, Patrick did wake up. Much too late compared to when Kaden assumed he wanted to get up, but not too late given what time he’d fallen asleep. A grimace appeared on his face when he noticed what time it was, but made no attempt to act like he was going to go to his other classes. He eventually pulled himself together enough to start another cup of coffee. Food did not seem to be a part of his plans. Kaden had forgotten that nasty habit of Patrick’s. It had been years, it seemed, since the man skipped meals. At least around him. Perhaps while Kaden was on tour, he’d foregone food, but if he had, he hadn’t known. And would be very upset. It seemed to pop up most often when he was stressed. And Kaden was pretty sure the sudden death of one’s husband counted as a time of stress. Honestly, he couldn’t say he’d be any better if he were in the other’s shoes. He’d probably be worse, really. Close himself off, eat ice cream all day, stare at the wall while cuddled up in his blankets. Probably crying at all hours, as well. That sounded more like him. Patrick, however, was a bit more like stone. Or maybe a robot. He offered little in the way of emotions, his replies were terse and with little inflection, and seemed to be on autopilot.

“I’m glad I got to marry you though. I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to, not while we were young. Though even if we’d been 100 when the world was accepting enough to allow it, I still would have immediately gone and get a marriage license. I know it’s stupid and just a formality, but finally calling you my husband was probably one of the best moments of my life. Besides when you said you’d date me. That probably was the best moment of my life. I had no reason to think you would say you would. It was all just on a whim. And you were terrified, I could tell. But…you did. Despite every anxiety about it all running through my head on repeat, telling me you were totally straight or would never like a guy like me, you agreed to be my boyfriend.”

The rest of the day, though comparatively little of it remained, went by slowly, Patrick still staring at his computer screen and working through the stacks of papers. The last few weeks hadn’t been easy on him. He’d tried to continue with his life as normal, but was then forced to take a week’s leave. But the man couldn’t just stay at home, reminders of Kaden everywhere, and do nothing. So instead he still communicated with his students on assignments due, which were to be delivered to his office by 5PM every day, and he collected them a little bit later than that, and ended up working on grading them throughout the night. Every night, same routine. And they weren’t simple, one page assignments. Either in an attempt to make his students hate him, or the more likely attempt to keep himself as busy as possible, they were rather ridiculous assignments that took a good chunk of time for each one.

“I miss being able to touch you. This isn’t the same, not when I can’t feel the heat, or chill, of your body, the way your hand fits perfectly in mine. I can’t kiss you, I can’t hold you, I can’t do fucking anything. All I can do is watch. Well, obviously I can talk, but like touch, you can’t respond. God, I miss you so much. The way your mouth quirked up slightly when you were amused but didn’t want to show it because either I was being stupid or you were mad at me. The redness of your blush when I complimented you or was being way inappropriate, especially in a place someone could hear.”

Eventually Patrick tired of grading the papers. Despite wanting to keep busy, Kaden supposed there was only so much of that a person could take. And he wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of what was in those assignments was made up bullshit. He’d taken a peek at a few over his husband’s shoulders and he was pretty sure that even he could come up with better sounding fake shit than these kids. Slowly, the brunette meandered into the bedroom. He paused in the doorway, eyes, as usual, stopping on the suitcase in the corner. He couldn’t bring himself to throw it away, or even just shove it under the bed. It was Kaden’s from the planned days he was going to spend at home. Granted, it was a little dinged up from the crash, but Patrick had wanted to keep it. Or at least that’s what he assumed. It wasn’t like he was there then. Or here. Or whatever this was. But if Patrick hadn’t wanted it, it wouldn’t be here. Finally, the man wrenched his eyes from the suitcase and crawled into the bed.

“You really should have been in here more. Actually sleeping instead of working. This is only the fourth time in two weeks. God, has it been two weeks? Or more….or less? I don’t know. All of this is really blurring together. Point is, you’re spending way too much time not in here. Much like I’ve been spending way too much time talking to nobody about all this shit. Really, one would think that since nobody responds to me that I would get tired of talking, but apparently not. I guess it just makes me feel sort of normal.

I miss the nights in here. All of them. Even the nights that we just lay in each other’s arms, content in just being with one another. Of course, I miss the sex like hell, too. But I just miss being with you.”

Eventually, Patrick leaned over and opened the nightstand drawer. Kaden looked on with interest as he pulled out a photo book. Funny, he didn’t remember that being there, or Patrick ever putting one there. Then again, it could’ve happened at some point since he’d been hanging around his husband that he wasn’t following his every move. Sometimes, that did get boring. Then again, this whole “life” was pretty boring. He really hoped this wasn’t forever. Patrick curled up against the backboard, knees drawn close to his chest, as he opened the book and flipped his way through it.

“Ah yes. My present for our fifth anniversary. Some of my favorite pictures from our life together are in that. Some from before we ever dated, just when I was hopelessly in love with you and flirted nonstop. It’s a wonder you could even stand me. And also be so dense. Oh look, there’s a picture from our first date, when I insisted we go to a zoo. You weren’t very amused at first, but I managed to get a few smiles from you, especially with how excited I was for the otters. There’s our first reunion after going on tour. I kind of accidentally pushed you to the ground of the airport. Still not sorry about that, by the way. I missed you. Here’s some from the engagement. Oh, and there’s our wedding pictures. That’s my favorite. I told you we wouldn’t smash the cake in each other’s faces, just eat the small piece we gave each other, but I kind of lied. You weren’t amused, but I could see the small hint of a smile on your lips, even before I kissed and licked the icing off.”

Kaden watched for a few more moments as Patrick flipped through the book, unhappiness written all over his body. With a ghostly sigh, he moved towards the door. Pausing at the doorway, he looked back at his husband, who had finally put the book down and had moved under the covers, staring at the wall with the lamp still on.

“I love you, Patrick. So so much. I wish….I wish I could still be here for you. You mean so much to me. I hope you realized that. I mean, I’m sure you did somewhat. After all, you married me. But…yeah. I love you. Te amo, querido”

Kaden moved out of the room, not liking to face a husband that he couldn’t comfort. He almost didn’t hear the softly whispered “I love you too.”

#character: kaden #pairing: kadick #drabble

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