Captain America (semi-review)

A touch later than the rest of the world, but I just finished watching the Chris Evans' vehicle, Captain America, and, as far as 2011 superhero films go, it was far better than The Green Lantern.  However, I still feel a bit unsure about Chris Evans taking on two separate superheroes in film (see Fantastic Four).

I did have a few objections.  I was pleased to see that they had not modernized Captain America's era for this first installment, or his objective of fighting the axis powers during WWII.  I did, however, find that they did everything but change the year.  Despite setting the film where it belongs - the 1940's - they really made a leap where technology is concerned (which took me out of the film, if just momentarily, at times), and I'm not even talking about the ability to create, as the story may be, super-humans.  All but Hayley Atwell's costumes seemed fairly out of place.  This objection, mind you, had nothing to do with the ending (Samuel L. Jackson?  Really?).  I assumed, should this franchise wish to succeed, they would have to bring Captain America to the modern world eventually or run out of WWII storylines and lose audience.  After all, timetravel is nothing new in the Marvel world.  It happened with Wonder Woman on television.  One day, she was fighting Nazis.  The next, Communists (who were, despite some confusion, allies during WWII).   Like Wonder Woman, Captain America got himself an updated Nazi-fighting uniform, too.  Sorry ladies and gents, no more lycra!

(After all, Captain America is an Episcopalian!  We don't wear lycra....in public!)

The film's ending, however, did leave an open storyline with the Atwell character, Peggy Carter, leading one to believe - given Evans' last line - the love affair will be further explored in sequels, set to appear, if one is to believe Evans, in 2014.

All and all, not bad.  And I always thought I preferred Captain Britain!

Submit Your Hero

I'm being prompted to write about a hero - local, community, personal - and that hero would stand an opportunity to win $100,000.  I have someone in mind, but wondered who you'd write about.  Be honest.  There's no judgement here.

The Long and the Short of It

Okay, so a few things are going on in the month of November.  One, which I admit to being fascinated by is this "No Shave November."  Anyone observing that one?  I am not.  I must admit, I'd be on the verge of an asylum after a while.  Within the first week, most likely.  Though I'm not sure I know one person who enjoys having to shave, I still not sure I understand, but I'm looking forward to all the pictures.  Who said Americans can't look a touch like bums?

(In searching for an image to go along with this blog, I have to say, lots of beards, but a lot of women observing, too - not pertty, folks!)

The second, which I do want to start doing - if even a bit late - is this:  everyday in November, post something that you're thankful for, which I think is a good reminder to all.  It's a bit like a gratitude journal, isn't it?  Anyone do those?  I think they're a good thing, and while I don't keep a gratitude journal, I think it's nice to remind one's self of all those things that are far too often taken for granted.

Lastly, I'm thinking about changing the header of this blog.  Any suggestions?

The Information Age, PLUS

Do you remember when they used to call this the "information age?"  All this information at our fingertips, and that was nice when that came about, right?  But the info age didn't stop there, it continued to grow and grow.  We've moved well past email, google, and wikipedia.  Now, we find ourselves on youtube and twitter, facebook, myspace, BLOGGER, linkedin, tumblr, jumo, the hotlist, google+, and that's just scratching the surface.  Did we ever think that we'd move beyond googling "the great barrier reef" and be searching for John Doe on facebook?  Or, perhaps, even beyond that, that we, ourselves, might be the name typed into the search engine?

What this makes me wonder, particularly, is - as a relatively private person, myself - do we share too much?   I'm amazed at some of the personal information that some post to these sites, and, oftentimes, it's to complete and utter strangers.  Forget the obvious dangers that we've all been warned of, isn't it a touch embarrassing? 

I'm not totally being a prude.  I do understand that there are millions of people in this world without a soul with whom to share one's personal life and yearnings, and I'm sure there's some bit of release in doing so, even if so publicly, but I must confess, there's a time when it's too much, and the fear must arise of it coming back to bite at some point. 

Is this just me?

We Are Here to Trick-o-Treat!

If this is you without the masks, you probably
shouldn't be begging for candy!

"We are here to trick or treat, trick or treat, trick or treat!"
If you're old enough to remember Pearl Harbor, fought in Vietnam, or were alive when the Challenger exploded, you really shouldn't be out trick or treating!  I call that stealing from children...and you ought to be ashamed, yet somehow, I'm pretty sure you're not, or else you wouldn't be out there, dressed up in your Halloween finest, begging for candy from door-to-door.  Let me assure you, I would have been humiliated if I were you (and thank God, I have the decency not to be), which is not to say that I won't get slammed in the head this year and end up knocking 7 year olds down to beat them to a door handing out lollipops and Reese's Cups.

Also, may I also publicly disagree (okay, so I've already done so on facebook) with the practice of standing on street corners, condemning people over Halloween!  If you think that it's okay to hand out literature to children about Satan and demons and evil spirits, may I guide you to an article I wrote HERE.

Hoping everyone's safe and warm.  Happy Halloween, everyone!

Politicos at the Museum

Yesterday, I spent the day at the local museum, and I learned that the old adage is true, every single time you walk through, you really do find something new.  Sometimes, I suppose, it's something you may have seen, but not paid attention to - just saw it in passing.  Maybe even have taken note of, but it didn't impact you as it does on the second go-round.  Yesterday, for me, it was a photograph of Army nurses during WWI.  My mother would have liked to have seen it.  In truth, she may have wanted to own it, since she likes war nursing memorabilia.

Additionally, the museum was a stop on the gubernatorial campaign of Senator David Williams.  So, it was an interesting - albeit, in some way, very bizarre - day.  Quite a few candidates on the GOP ticket spoke, but none, to me, more impressive than K.C. Crosbie, who's a candidate for state treasurer.  She seemed to be able to combine charisma with commonsensical approach to governance, which should carry her a long way in Kentucky, regardless of the outcome of this year's campaign.

Long Live the Queen

Queen Elizabeth II visits The Royal
Shakespeare Theatre

As most of you know by now, I'm pretty staunchly traditional, so it would come as no surprise that there's a part of me at odds with Britain's new proposal - which looks, today, like it is supported by the commonwealth states  and sure to become law - to change not only male precedence in the line of succession to the throne, but also remove the ban on monarchs marrying Roman Catholics.  With this change, female children can ascend Britain's throne even if she has a younger brother (and even if she marries a Catholic).  This is, in no way, based on misogyny or some hidden anti-Catholic sentiment.  It's based solely on tradition, history - something, I thought, Britain used to be famous for upholding.

Few could say that Queen Elizabeth II has been anything but an exemplar monarch.  "One of the greatest it has ever had," says Sylvia Syms, playing Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, in the 2006 film, The Queen.  One can hardly disagree with that statement, save for the most republican among us.  Many - if not most - of Britain's great monarchs have, after all, been female.  At least, the memorable ones!  But a thousand years of history and precedence is hard to overlook, even in this very modern - albeit changing - age.

While similar changes have taken place in other countries, one has to wonder what The Queen herself thinks of this change. Surely Her Majesty believes a female equally capable as her male counterpart, but there have been suggestions that she, as a girl, used to pray for a brother, saving her from the burdens of monarchy.  While in Northern Europe, it is said, that Carl XVI Gustaf was against such successional changes for Sweden, hoping to save his daughter the stress and responsibilities of head-of-state.  Alas, the king's wishes were not met and Sweden's law was changed.

The world is changing, but it does seems peculiar to me, however, that these changes have been proposed by a Conservative government in Britain.  When Labour under Tony Blair changed so much, and so pushed progressive policy and changes in successional government (and made changes in the House of Lords), it was David Cameron who seems to have pushed this through - even in commonwealth countries that, a decade ago, surely would have rejected this idea.