I live... again!

After over a month of struggling, I have finally gotten this site back up and running! I'm so happy. Over the next few days, I'll be updating the site, and re-posting the old materials, again. I don't know if anyone actually accessed the site, but if you did, this information should be nice to see again.

Back From the Black!

Oh, my landish, Miles Standish! I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I posted on my blog. I guess this has become what some people call a "ghost blog". Well, hopefully, this blog will rise from the dead!

I know that no one else is really going to read this, I don't think, but, hey, I have it, so I may as well use it, right?

First, let me encourage anyone who is reading this, to go and check out my glorious little website in process norcastleabbey.com . It's got a forum section, and I'm hoping in the near future to actually do something with it, once I finish negotiations with my Wife on the matter. Hehehe... Man, for as much time as I spend on the internet, you'd think I'd put more effort into this sort of thing.

This blog may be a hodge-podge of things, here and there. I want to give a quick update, and then my two cents on a few things. My Wife and I are still working at the webhosting company that I've been working at for over two years. Sometimes, it stuns me that I can work right next to my wife all day long, go home, and still be with her, and not explode. I know it's not something that everyone can do. I'm just fortunate that my wife is also my best friend.

Next up, my littlest brother isn't so little. Right now he's in Minnesota serving on a two year mission for the Church. Yes, I wrote "the Church". If you're not LDS (ie. Mormon), "the Church" is kind of ambiguous. For us Mormons, if you don't know, "the Church" is a lot easier than saying "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints". That little side bar aside, I'm no longer young. The little kid that I learned to change channels and blank out the screen to avoid the abomination that is Barney is now a man. I'm proud of him. I'm amazed by him. And I know that I don't know how to say it accurately. LDS, Catholic, Buddist, Muslim, no matter the faith, anyone willing to give up time to server their God is an amazing person. It's hard being a missionary. I know, I've done it. Spent 2 years in Northern Ohio; Toledo, Lima, Cleveland, Youngstown; and I remember both how hard it was, and how rewarding. Two years of Service to God and my fellow man. I've seen some of the best that humanity has to offer, and some of the worst.

Well, now that the good Shepherd has waxed religious, it's time to bring things back from the Holy to the mundane. I'm bonkers. If that's not obvious, I don't know what is. That being said, I kind of miss just posting, expressing my self through writing, and rambling. Sometimes, what else ya got, right?

So, here's a quick run down of things of late:

1. Star Trek - The new movie, not the series. I loved this movie. It was amazingly well done. I can't say anything more than what's already been said, and not become a spoiler whore. :-)
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Le sigh. It was a cool movie, but it wasn't an AWESOME movie. Deadpool wasn't the Merc with the Mouth. Wolvie was kinda more Angsty than Primal. Silver Fox (the Native American) is the sister to Emma Frost (The Old Money member of the Hellfire Club, blond)? Why is that the Video Game rocks more than the movie?
3. Dungeons & Dragons 4e - After much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, I was cajoled into playing a game of this table-top World of Warcraft clone. The fact that D&D has been compelled to become more like a video game, based more on Powers than on story and character makes me feel more than a little sad inside. Is the game fun? Yes, it is fun, but I don't think I could actually play a long term game of it. Maybe I just haven't seen the right gaming group in action with it. Until then, I'm not giving up my 3.5 books.
   
4. The Forgotten Realms - The Realms are dead as a setting. What sits in their place is some bastardized child of greed, expedience, and homogamy. It's sadder than 4e. I may be convinced to play a D&D 4e game, but all my Forgotten Realms games are staying firmly in 3.5.
5. Star Wars Saga Edition - Best... Star Wars... game... In a LONG TIME. I won't say ever. I can't say ever. The d6 game will always hold a special place in my heart. That being said, the quality that I used to expect from the Forgotten Realms developers at WOTC are now transfered to Star Wars Saga Edition. I didn't think I would fall in love with it, but I have. There's so many things about it that are right. It's got some of the best balance, and wonderful flexibility. It's not perfect, no game is, but this one is better than D&D 4e.

That's the trivial but interesting stuff as of late. I'm also currently working on trying to change my eating habits. I need to lose weight, for a lot of reasons. I'm hoping that I can change how I think about food. Now, if I can actually get into a shrink to deal with my other stuff, I should be pretty darn good to go.

Well, that's about the size, where ya put yer eyes, that's about the size of it. Let's see if the next post is a lot shorter amount of time. ;-)

The Death of Icons

Captain America is dead.
I know, I know... he's just a comic book character. But he's kind of more than that. He's an Icon. There are certain Icons out there that embody more than the sum of their parts, be it words, ink, color, computer programing, or what ever medium was used to create them. Killing, altering, or removing them symbolizes more than "good business decisions".
Captain America stood, to me, for all that was good about our country. While Superman (even though he's an alien) has stood what is best in mankind as a whole, Cap stood for those things that made up what it meant to be an American. Bravery and courage in the face of overwhelming odds, honesty, justice tempered with mercy, equality with individuality, and most importantly, he stood for Freedom. He was the ORIGINAL American Hero. He stood for those things that you really don't see much anymore. We are now a nation of fear, encouraged into our collective paranoia by the very Government that is supposed to protect us. We say we're proud to be Americans... but I wonder. The fact that Cap is dead (most likely because he is "no longer relevant") concerns me.
I can understand if Cap wasn't profitable for them. I can understand bumping him back to the Avengers, or what not. Killing him off though... it seems to bring with it a toll of something more.
When in the movie "Superman Returns" Perry White wants to know if Superman still stands for "... truth, justice, and all that stuff", there's a reason it's in the script.
When the idea of a son enters the storyline of a movie, there's no mention that they were married in the second movie (at least for a little while), and no one remembers that Lois and Clark are married in the comic books, it seems more than an oversight.
When just a few years ago there was a huge stink about the fact that Godzilla destroyed an U.S. Army base in one of the movies, now it would seem that no one would bat an eye if it was to happen again.
When children look to heroes, it's hard to find ones you really want them idolizing. (I can find more than a few though with DD chests and bikinis as their fashion sense, though.)
When there seems to be a push to "humanize Jesus Christ", taking the Son of God to, just another man with some really good ideas that went all over the place, it seems convenient that this push happens in this time where we (the general populace) needs faith so much.
Now, is the spring of my discontent. I see Icons being destroyed. I see symbols becoming hollow. I see a downward turn towards a long dark night, where the World of Warcraft is more real to some than the real world, our children don't look towards heroes with the Stars and Stripes protecting those around him; but chains and blades, carving through Titans, drenching all around in blood and gore.
I won't lie to you and claim not to be part of the problem. I may not play W.o.W., but I play D.O.A.. I'm not innocent, not by a long shot. But I want my children to be, my niece to be, and my godchildren to be.
Our government spends more time bickering, playing head games with each other and the public, and looking for spin to forward their agendas, than actually GOVERNING. I love our nation. I love the people that are in our nation. Why do I need to fear though, that because my wife has Muslim friends that we're on a terrorist watch list? Why do we have men and women returning from war to decrepit conditions? Why are our candidates for President not running on what "will" be done, as opposed to what "should" be done? And despite how they all look, act, my personal opinions aside, they ALL seem to me to be politicians first and Americans second?
Captain America is dead... maybe the death of the icon of the American Way is just another sign of the world we're living in.
Truth, Justice, and the American Way may be dead, but like in comic books... maybe death just means it's gone for a little bit, and then comes back in a cooler looking outfit.