One Hundred Fifty Years Ago, Today

This letter was written. A man also wrote this letter to his wife.

And this blog gives me a day by day account: http://www.civilwarinteractive.com

The National Cold

Everyone is sick. My roommate was sick first, as were some other people at work. Then I got something, and my boss was on sudafed. When I was in Minnesota, the cold finally hit me hard. Now everyone on facebook is sick, with the same thing. Coughing, headache, and mucous in the chest.

I guess now that the big national event is finally over, everyone's bodies are finally giving in to the seasonal change. Welcome to the National Cold.

Gotta Love Manos

Actually, no, I don't. When the topic of my fandoms comes up, sometimes, someone else knows about MST3k, and if the other person happens to know about the show, Manos comes up. Its a classic episode, and I've seen it more than a few times, I just don't like it.

But years ago, one of the fans from the LJ community had the brilliance to put a classic Eagles song (that also isn't a favorite) to clips from the movie, shortening it to the length it should have been. With no further ado, I present to you, Hotel Manos.

Every Day

Today, I realized that it is the farmer's daughter in me that constantly wants to tell my managers what I get to see, what life is really like, and why Tuesday wasn't surprising. But it is the part of me that descended from a servant that holds me back. Every moment, this struggle plays out in my head. Every day.

I am "that person" who talks to you on the street corner. I shout things in the street, and lead the chants at rallies. But I also hold back, and really hate the spotlight. I'll design the posters, but my name won't be on them. I'll plan the rally, but only speak briefly. I ask hard questions at the meeting, demand answers, but hesitate to make the ultimate decision.

Every moment, every day, every second, I feel it. Sometimes I wonder about destiny, and damn serendipity. Because the truth is that I had no plan, other than getting things done, from day to day. Finish that homework assignment, read the book, answer the questions on the test, get an A in that teacher's class, have a good time with friends, make sure that I had enough clubs for my resume, get into a college, get to class, build a resume, and get a job. Do well, earn my keep, and make hay while the sun shines.

We'll see where this goes.

Forgiveness is Earned

I want an apology. I want to hear "we're sorry for those things we said, we don't know what we were thinking." I want to see someone shaking his or her head, crying, and begging for us to not think of them as horrible people. I want people to stand up, and accept responsibility for the people they have hurt, the lies they have told, and the inappropriate behavior they have displayed.

Think of it like a permission slip - a formality. Something that you have to do in order to be accepted back into the fold and trusted again. I'm tired of brushing bad behavior under the rug, because it only piles up, and sometimes begins to stink.

Now, when so many of us are reaching out, trying to mend the broken ties, some people really need to grow up. A lot of people are content to forgive, unconditionally. I'm different, and I want all of those racist, reactionary, angry Tea Partiers to say that they are sorry.

The Eternal Question: Mike or Joel

I'll admit, I started with Joel. Channel 7 decided to show the syndicated hourly show hosted by that old guy. When that friend in Spanish class loaned me the tapes of the new episodes, I was shocked to see that some new guy had replaced the "cute guy". I remember seeing guys (don't remember seeing any girls) with MST3k shirts in school and thinking that they were lame because they only started watching in the Mike years, whereas I knew about Joel. I assumed Joel had left when the show went to the SciFi network.

When I went to college, I taped and watched the show as often as possible. I also started buying tapes. When I got Red Zone Cuba and the movie, I learned that the switch between Joel and Mike had happened earlier. In graduate school, I borrowed tapes and DVDs, then I began converting my tapes to digital. In 2005, I began to torrent the episodes, and then people began putting them up on YouTube. Somewhere in there, I realized I preferred Mike to Joel

Sure, Joel was the first and the originator of the concept, but as with many things, the first is not always the best. A former friend once commented that he missed Joel at first too but soon realized that "Mike was the genius behind the scenes" as he was the head writer from early on. It is easy to see that Mike is a better actor, and I really prefer his egalitarian relationship with Servo and Crow to Joel's paternalistic one. What's more, the tone in the theater is much more biting and funny with Mike. Joel spent too much time complaining about the painful parts of the movies. In Hercules vs. the Moon Men, Joel & The Bots (J&TB) just whine and cry during the sandstorm scenes. In a similarly boring scene, in The Starfighters, Mike & The Bots (M&TB) make the constant re-fueling scenes funny. They even point out how much of a stretch it is, but even that is fun.

You asked for more refuling, and we're giving it to you
Yes
Mike: I'm at a loss, now, we've done promiscuity entendre
Servo: Check
Crow: Uh, cuddling in the after glow
Servo: Check
Mike: Multiple partner allusions
Servo: Got it
Crow: Premature ejaculation innuendo
Servo: Yup
Mike: Gas station jokes
Servo: Been there
Crow: Impotence!
Servo: Oh yeah
Mike: One night stand stuff
Servo: All covered
Mike: Ok, lets just watch then
Servo: Refuling is a beautiful natural thing that's nothing to mock

Later, they come in with a junkie joke. And even when they complain, its subtle, with no yelling. They make bad movies funny instead of just bad movies.

In the end, I think that the controversy over Mike and Joel is an apt analogy for a lot of things in popular culture and US Politics. The early internet was a representation of people who had money, and were in the right place at the right time, not a representation of the most intelligent or wise in the population. The members of the early internet tribe, having a lot of money, did have a lot of people who were very resistant to change, and got incredibly butthurt when someone indicated that the first wasn't the best. The resulting flame-war had ripple effects into the MST3k fandom long after the internet became a better representation of the population.

On the MST3k LiveJournal page, I respected the old internet, and declared that Mike vs. Joel posts were verboten. Joel-lovers should be respected, at least in the posts. Of course, the community does not need heavy moderation anymore - at least, not to my knowledge - and it never really did. But I think it is past time to stop paying attention to the whiners who can't see talent for what it is. Joel was funny, and I do like a lot of Joel episodes, but MST3k got better in the Mike years. Mike is better than Joel, deal with it.

Wouldn't it be Lovely...

...if enough other states voted for Obama that Ohio didn't even matter? Then, maybe, we can realize the folly of assuming that a bellwether* is a stand-in for the rest of the country.

Though, honestly, since the people most focused on winning Ohio (by cheating) aren't terribly bright (hence, the cheating), I have a hard time caring that much. Still, the people of Cincinnati deserve better. Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Bowling Green, Sandusky, Akron, Youngstown, and Dayton too.

* - Nevada is a better one anyway, it just has fewer electoral votes.

Soaring

I felt this incredible sensation when I came home from my vacation in August, like our society is on a great precipice. We could go crashing down, or take off, and soar. There are so many people out there, creating amazing art, and doing wonderful things. So many more people are seeing through the lies, through the bullsh*t than ever before.

There is a lot of talk about the generations, and it seems as if we have been preparing for the boomers to retire for a long time now. Only a few of them are retiring, right now, since it was their idiotic economic policies that drove the stock market up, then left it in the ditch. They also seem content on dismantling the social safety net that their parents toiled for, but only for part of their generation, and those that came afterwards.

This generation, my generation, once dubbed Generation Y, and now lumped in with millenials, grew up after all the generational fervor that the boomers went though. We noticed how they spit on their parents' traditions, and how their parents blamed them for everything wrong in their world, then sent them off to war.

We heard about how the greatest minds of their generation were destroyed by madness, only to be held down, ourselves, by the minds that were left over. We endured the same criticisms about our music that they endured about theirs, yet we didn't turn around and spurn the Rolling Stones or Motown. In fact, many of us own more vinyl now than they maybe ever did.

The boomers taught us, provided for us, gave us everything they never had, and when we grew up, we actually were grateful. Sad, however, that so few of them are noticing. The people my age seem to be respectful of their elders, and excited to hear all of the stories. I may roll my eyes when a man in his 60's speaks wistfully of the old Haight-Ashbury days, but that is only because I've heard it all before. The 20-somethings listening to him are indeed interested, and really do want to know more.

The Class of 2000 have families now, and I see them when I go for walks. They are outside, at the playground, with their kids. They are walking through the grocery store, picking out vegetables for dinner. But I also see them in other places, struggling in low-paying jobs, and using drugs to escape their turmoil. They are shying away from jobs with large organizations, because they don't want to give up their freedoms, and don't like the idea of stifling their creativity.

They may take a low-level job for the health insurance, but they will only do the minimum, because their heart isn't in it. Meanwhile, the person that wants that job is stuck in another job, for that same health insurance. Give them health insurance that isn't related to a job - ensure their guaranteed health care, no matter what they do - and the qualified but uninterested will quit, making way for the questionably qualified, but eager people, who are actually interested in doing that job. Then watch as the newly freed people fill up those abandoned storefronts. Imagine a downtown district that gets cleaned every day, creative shops, bustling eateries, and friendly neighbors.

We are on a great precipice this year. We can either go down the deep end, spurring anger, and riots, or we can stop this fighting, stop resisting reality, talk to our neighbors, jump off this cliff, and soar.