Conspiracy Theorist... Covid-19? Maybe.

I am conspiracy theorist. At least I used to be. My library is filled with books on secret societies, government intelligence, etc. Books like Behold a Pale Horse and The World Order have been bought more than once in my lifetime. These kinds of books are informative but they can wear you out. I remember when I got my hands on some copied documents on the FBI's cointelpro program. I was shook at the seeming audacity of the government plotting to destroy Black people who were only trying to save their community from the likes of rogue law enforcement and jim crow laws. Those writings led to me reading about King Alfred, population control and the like. I listened to Steve Cokely tapes for hours talking about Sigma Pi Phi and the book None Dare Call it Conspiracy. As I gotten older, its no secret that I have mellowed. I was someone who spent a lot of time in a state of paranoia. However, I found myself in a number of circles that made my paranoia seem relatively harmless. The truth of the matter is this. People are scared. There is a lot of information about who really controls the world. Its kind of like what Blade says in the movie. "You better wake up. The world we know is just sugar topping, underneath there is another world, the real world..." While I do not roll in those circles any longer, I am not foolish to believe that it was all hogwash. I understand that what I am seeing is only a crust of what is really to be seen. Which brings me to Covid-19 Governments all employ some form of population control. Whether it is abortion, birth control pills, or the prison industrial complex. There is only so much earth and only so much resources. Many people do not understand or want to understand that poor people are often attacked in any number of sordid ways. Poor dieting, drug addiction, social disease, police brutality, or the prison system are some of the ways population is put under surveillance. It is hard to imagine that Covid 19 is something that is the result of natural progression and not something manufactured. Pandemics are apart of history and this post modern society is now experiencing this destructive virus. Technology is such that one may think that pandemics are or should be a thing of the past. Yet, scientists in particular knew that we were headed for a pandemic. That prediction went from speculation to life changes for everyone. Social distancing and shutting down marketplace or worship centers were employed to slow the spread. Yet, people became restless. People yearned to go back to life as normal. Yet, there is a new normal and people are constantly fighting against it. If the disease spreading does not slow, then more people will be sick and many of those sick will die. Its that simple. Yet on this memorial weekend, the beaches and parks are crowded. I am digusted and left wondering if the government and business are in cahoots together for nothing more than greed. I listen to sports commentators talk with excitement about sports returning. As if progress, real progress has been made. The truth is, real progress has not been made. Are they trying to kill people? I do not know. Yet the conspiracy theorist in me says they are. :(

Technical Difficulties

So last night I was trying to do a live stream on Facebook only to be hammered by issues with camera permissions, freezing video etc. Clearly it was not my night. So I decided to have a conversation with my wife about our lives in this strange new normal. While the conversation was productive and honestly was probably God's way of telling me that there are more important things to talk about than talking about nerdy type things. U get it. When we use technology, there is always a chance that there will be glitch in the process. You troubleshoot and power through. However, there are those times when you just unplugged and go back to the drawing board and try again. I once went to the movies and for whatever reason the projector was not working well. People did not get frustrated, the energy was powerful, people sung songs we all laughed and stayed in our seats. Eventually the management staff informed us that it was not going to be able to show the film and kindly gave us tickets to another showing the film at a later date. Were we disappointed? Absolutely, but the people were given a blessing that they would not be able to receive otherwise under different circumstances. Life happens, when you go to church. Life happens when you go to the movies. Life happens when you play video games. Life happens when you geek. Sometimes the theater of life is best show on earth, even when you are experiencing technical difficulties.

Snyder Cut Shenanigans

Well so the Snyder cut exists... Now all we have to do now is prove that water is wet and NASA actually went to the moon. Color me interested.

Never Pay Attention to Critics, Instead Be Your Own Critic... (when it makes sense)

So, I was minding my business today and decided I wanted to hear some content on comics from YouTube. I came across a video on a guy's page and decided to give it a listen. I had listened to content on his page before; so I had no reason to doubt anything I heard. Yet, you know what they say, there is always a first time. So the guy's is reviewing a new comic book. I wont name the book or the fella except to say that its a brand new book and somebody suggested or hired him to review the book. He didn't trash the book but he didn't exactly review the book either. You can tell when a guy is more personality than substance just by listening to them. The kind of guy who probably swoons hearing his own voice. Yet, this cat is an artist in the comic book community. Go figure and these days that is not saying a whole lot. Suffice to say that, I went and bought the book on the strength of his not so glaring review of the book. Dude, thought the guy was boring in a nutshell. That is subjective at best. Needless to say, I read the book and I enjoyed it. Sure its not going to be everyone's cup of tea but let the guy tell it wasn't tea at all. It was a dope book which is why wrote in the title, NEVER PAY ATTENTION TO CRITICS< INSTEAD BE YOUR OWN CRITIC... (when it makes sense)

Everything, Something or Nothing

Comics, comics and more comics. Last night, I was able to hang with a couple of great guys and talk about Black Superheroes. It is not something that I get to do. In fact, it is very much so out of the norm for me personally. The pandemic has honestly changed up a whole lot things. There is not a rush to go anywhere or do anything outside of the confines of your home. It is honestly one of the silver linings in this current state of affairs. So anyhoo... I was talking comics and it was pretty cool. You do not always get to chop it up with people who share this particular hobby with this subject matter. Black superheroes are an interesting dynamic in comic lore. Too often the characters are surface characterizations of people who clearly have depth in them but they are not always explored. While people scream lack of diversity in comics. I am not one of those voices for this reason. People do not consider origin source material or when people flip ethnic or racial personas. Its smells bad of lazing writing. I do not want to be appeased. I want to be pleased. There is a difference. That difference is the reason why hardly no one in mainstream comics is trying to create new characters. When I search the internet to listen to people talk comics. I run into this talking point too doggone much. Its just wack. Here is why. Often these guys are white and lets be honest here... middle age and old. There are a few brothers who talk shop on this subject matter. However, either way. The premise that Marvel and DC in particular are damaging their beloved characters. Its not something trivial to them. There is hundred of hours of content on this perceived reality. I do not thing they are doing anything ultimately harmful. Yet then again who I am to say they are not. Which brings me to this point as I ramble along. This hobby has 3 types of specialists. It is EVERYTHING. It is SOMETHING. It is NOTHING. The EVERYTHING GUY is completely invested. Its his or hers world. There is nothing else. You gotta respect it. People have managed to not only put together massive collections and followings, but are able to monetize and create capital. However, as Jesus says life does not consist in the abundance of things. What am I saying? You do not have to have a massive collection to be this person. One of things I love about this hobby is that there is no right or wrong way to enjoy it. You are at the center of the hobby universe. The SOMETHING GUY is invested but there is other things going on with them. They spend money and time in the hobby but can easily put it down without blinking because something else has their attention. People have other hobbies and interests. Nobody should be made to just do one thing. Variety as they say is the spice of life. The NOTHING guy isnt attached to the hobby beyond casual consumption. They might read a comic or two. They may go to a movie and see superheroes onscreen but that is about it. They couldn't care less about the mythos about characters and story lines. For them its a cool thing but just not the 'thing'. I am this guy. EVERYTHING. SOMETHING. NOTHING. Life is sweet, no doubt. However, the complexity of life has afforded me the luxury of enjoying geek culture and at points walk away from it because there's something else to do or has my attention. It is not a struggle for me for one reason. Life happens. Some people do not know what life is outside of their hobby. However, everyday. There are people selling off their collections and there are people buying them to flip them or enjoy them. People walk away for any number of reasons. People lose marriages over this hobby. People lose focus over this hobby. People lose passion over this hobby. When you are young, priorities do not always ascend to the top of the mountain for you. Which is okay until it isn't. We all have to live and learn. In this hobby of comics collecting. It is about the stories. Tell me a story. Take me somewhere. Show me something. Certain elements today in the marketplace for comics do not even care. Its about money. Would you continue to collect comics if your collection is worthless? That is a hard pill to swallow because its a reality in 95 percent of collectors lives. When you attach yourself to something, remember it can mean EVERYTHING, SOMETHING or Meh...NOTHING. YOU DECIDE. THE POWER IS YOURS>

Why I Decided to Rededicate to this Blog

Comics and geek culture have always been apart of my life in one shape or another. I have been hardcore and then at times I have been not interested. Since I last did this blog. A number of things have happened. I got married, again. I relocated to North Texas. I was diagnosed with cancer. I have since been healed. Yeah, a lot of interesting things needless to say. Suffice to say that a lot comic books and a lot of movies came out. I read a lot of them and I saw a lot of them too. A week or so ago, Darth Asylum came into my mind again for whatever reason. Perhaps it helps to give my hobbies some focal points. I listen to a lot of podcasts and watch videos with the intent of learning and developing a deep appreciation for the interests I have. Plus, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. Some things just become smaller and some things do become larger. I do believe there is a purpose in all we as a society are going through. Clearly, its a big basket of lemons. So while we are here, lets read a comic book, watch a movie, watch a documentary, tell a story. In short, let us make lemonade.

Back from the virtual dead

Well... its time to ressurrect this blog. See you soon!