Issue 734 Andrew Garfield and Spider Man January 5, 2016

Welcome to first issue of 2016 (well real issue article).  In this article we will discuss Andrew Garfield and his opinion on the leak from Sony about Spiderman remaining a heterosexual white male.  Let us start.

Spiderman and Garfield:  Firstly for those who do not know, Garfield is the actor who played the role of Spiderman/Peter Parker in the second set of Spiderman movies.  Sure, some of you are saying, why do we care about an actor's opinion on a comic book character?  Well this is because he is right in his opinion (in my opinion).  Garfield did not like the fact that Sony wanted Spider Man to remain a heterosexual white male (Sony wants to keep spider man in this formula because it is seen as a money maker especially as Spider Man is the number one most popular superhero in America).  You see, it is not about money or the fact that Spider man is white that Garfield has a problem with (at least this is how I see it based on what I read).  His problem is that Spider Man is an opportunity.  Spiderman can be pansexual, any gender, sex or gender identity.  Under the mask, Spiderman can be any skin color.  Basically, Garfield wants people to see skin color as just skin, love as love etc.  As such, anyone can then picture themselves as the character.  Andrew Garfield wants Spiderman to be the everyman's/women's hero as they can picture themselves as that hero saving the day.  To a certain extent, Marvel comics has done this with their art, comics and I believe their TV shows at times with their multiverse.  Marvel has a Black/hispanic Spiderman, a few women Spiderman's and a couple of other variations.  In truth, many of Marvel's characters are just like Spiderman, nearly all of them wear a mask so that anyone can take up the mantel of that hero (Did you know there was at least two Black Captain America's and now a female Thor).  DC has done this somewhat with Green Lantern as well.  So at least with books, comics and art, what Garfield hopes for is coming true.

Conclusion:  So we now have to wait a little bit for what Garfield hopes to happen to happen in the movies with respect to a major character (FYI, Nick Fury was originally a white guy with an eyepatch, but was changed to black and this was eventually written into the comics as to how we went from one Nick Fury to the current Nick Fury portrayed by Samuel L Jackson).  We may just have to give it time as companies like Marvel, DC, and even Disney fear losing large chunks of their fan base (or at least losing their money as they are a for profit companies after all).  Time will tell, but I do support Garfield's vision (if I am interpreting it right), and there's no reason we cannot have a movie featuring all the Spiderman's meet (girls and non-white Spiderman's included) which is an already published comic.  What do you think?  Want to see a chick in a Spiderman suit, or a cool punk rocker spider man?  I think I am ready for the potential possibilities and the fun.

Iran and Saudi Arabia

Apparently, Saudi Arabia executed a non-violent Shiite Muslim cleric recently and it has created a serious situation between them and Iran.

Backstory:  The cleric in question, Nimr Al-Nimr, had called for the peaceful dissolution of the Saudi royal family back during the Arab Spring.  Additionally, he was a Shiite cleric in a minority Shiite neighborhood (Shiites are generally repressed by the Sunni Muslim majority). He had influence among the Shiite members of the Saudi Arabia community however and thus in 2012 Al-Nimr was arrested and imprisoned.  Al-Nimrs brother called for peaceful protests to have him set free.  These protests were not all peaceful and then after Al-Nimrs execution tensions heightened including attacks on embassies.   The results is that both countries banished each others dignitaries and they have cut all relations.  What is more serious is the resulting saber rattling going on between the two including Iran promising divine retribution.  If this should erupt in violence there is no doubt that ISIS/ISIL will side with Saudi Arabia.  Additionally, the Shiite communities will likely side with Iran and thus cause the middle east to erupt in greater violence with Iraq potentially crushed between the two warring countries.

Final Thought:  This is a serious situation and needs to be paid attention to.  We already have what amounts to a proxy war between the United States and Russia with respect to ISIS/ISIL and the Syrian conflict.  World War III is well in hand in my view and its escalation bodes ill for the world at large.

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2016.  A year that I hope bodes well as opposed to the mistakes and mishaps of last year.  We got terrorists to rout, a society that needs to stop its groupthink and think independently, and an election at the end of the year that will determine the direction the United States will go in for years to come.  I do not know what will become of us, or my country, the United States, but sue me for I keep wishing for a fairy tale ending.  May your start of the new year be bright and productive.

Happy New Year

New Years Eve

Welcome to New Year's Eve.  The day we count down and celebrate the ushering in of a brand new year (yes I know I am pointing out the obvious).  No, I am not going to lecture you about New Year's resolutions or any of that stuff.  Reason being is that if you make a resolution to do something, then it is up to you to decide what to do with that commitment.  Not my place to judge your decision or is it anyone's but your own (I personally do not have a resolution at all for I just try to make myself a better person each and every day, so I do not really require a resolution).  Well enough about that, what I really wanted to say was that the New Year is something to look forward to.  We humbled ourselves on Thanksgiving, learned to give and express love on Christmas, and now New Years is us taking what we learned and running with it.  Progressing personally forward to make ourselves superior to who we were the year before.  It is us the individual celebrating our future selves and who we want to become.  Stay safe and enjoy the fun tonight as we celebrate our New Years.

A quote from Einstein.

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will get you everywhere." By Albert Einstein.  This quote can have a multitude of meanings. But we are going to talk about it in respect to the future and the coming new year.  In this case, there are things we still want to do. Things we have yet to accomplish, but we have no idea how to get there.  We see the rules that logic provides for us to try and get from A to B, and yet we struggle.  Sometimes our path seems blocked.  That is where imagination comes in.  Imagination is our ability to see other methods to getting where we want to go.  It is the ability to imagine things that aids us to creating new ideas and inventions.  As such, without imagination, we would not have cars, skyscrapers or any advanced tech if someone had not stopped using logic and tried to figure out a new way to do something.  With imagination we gained books like "Harry Potter" and "The Hunger Games", and movies like "Up" or "Minions".  Entertainment for our selves, conveniences and more have all been thought up with someone's imagination and then they found a way to bring the imagined into reality.

Final Thought:  If you think your idea is dumb, think again.  It could potentially turn into something that can make life a little easier for people, or to entertain them.  Imagination is a part of our ability to dream, and it aids in making said dreams a reality.  So do not give up on your ideas.  Put the work in and you can potentially go anywhere and be anything you want.

News Cut off

Every once in awhile I have to shut myself away from the news.  For let us face it, it's really depressing.  So I generally choose the holidays to do so, for the holidays are meant to be fun and enjoyed by all.  And that is exactly what I did.  I deprived my brain of everything having to do with what was going on in the news.  Yes, I know I require the news to gather some info and ideas for issues and articles, but watching all that depressing stuff all the time is very unhealthy.  In fact your brain is very powerful and depression or anxiety can harm your body in a multitude of ways.  Needless to say it is a very bad thing.  As such, to remain healthy for you my readers (and in my own self interest) I abstained from the news and anything really relating to it.

Final Thought:  Anything that depresses you or causes you anxiety is potentially bad for your health.  Immune systems can weaken, you can become physically weak, or you can lash out in anger toward those you care about.  So try to take a break from life's stresses or take a vacation if you can.  Trust me, it will help you in the long run.

Countdown to New Years

So, did everyone have a good Christmas?  I know I sure did.  Got to see all my family and a few friends and spend quality time with everyone.  Now (as I am a nerd) I have a whole lot of books to read (ones that I got for Christmas, and others I bought throughout the year).  Do you know what that means?  I probably will have better articles, issues and even mini-posts once I get around to reading and analyzing all the information I'll be cramming into my tiny little brain. Good times right? (well for me atleast).  But this is how I constantly try to make myself better, to know more, to maintain power and authority over myself.  I will never forget the lessons I learn from others and especially those I have learned from my mistakes, but I have to ensure that I do not repeat mine or others mistakes in the process.  Needless to say, it is never easy to overcome your own anxieties, inhibitions, hangups, and whatever other descriptive word you want to use to describe what holds yourself back.  But it is us overcoming these things that makes us as humans great.  We are built to overcome our own failings and to cooperate to achieve greatness.  It is within our ability to make dreams possible.

Final Thought:  What dreams may come? a quote that I have heard but never really understood.  But I think what I wrote about above comes close to a part of what this quote means.  It is about personal and societal progress.  If we as individuals progress, society can progress and it kind of escalates into something great if you think about it.  What could we do if we all just focused on fixing ourselves first?  Making ourselves the model for others to follow?  Maybe we could achieve that city shining on a hill that President Ronald Reagan once spoke of.  Of course that means self improvement.  I know I can do it and so can you.  So good luck, make mistakes and most of all, know you have the power to overcome anything.