Fear. Intense. Powerful. Motivating.

One of my favorite new Doctor Who episodes is one called "Listen." There's an incredible speech about fear. The Doctor is helping out a young boy and he says fear is a superpower, because it gives you strength and speed and the will to survive. His point is that if we don't allow fear to control us, we discover it is actually a strength. Sure. Of course, we are afraid because of something awful and it's pretty hard to simply ignore that fact.

 

Look, it's Superman!

Phobias are a kind of fear, but are apparently irrational. I'm not totally in agreement ... I mean, pickles are the work of the Devil himself! And, don't get me started on evil elevators--hint: they know where you are at all times and actively hate you. Maybe fear of heights isn't bad, but isn't everyone afraid of spiders? Eight legs is too many for any creature. Millipedes? I refuse to believe they exist.

 

It's been said that courage is facing up to your fears. That's very true. Battlefields are filled with courage, as are any large stressful environments. Courage also appears when threat of humiliation and dire consequences is possible. My personal heroes are firefighters. I can hardly imagine another group of people so willing to jump into burning buildings to save someone they don't know. It's amazing to watch them work.

 

So, yes, fear is powerful, but so is courage. May your will be strong and your feet fleet.

 

- M

Good intentions gone awry

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Many times we do things with the very best intentions, but then it all goes wrong. Many things can happen, and usually do, even though we do everything we can to prevent it. However, it's interesting how we never give up trying. Despite our failures, we keep doing what we can to put things right, to fix it all, and to make it better in the future. Even with all our flaws, we humans are an optimistic bunch and we don't give up.

 

Being in the medical field myself, it's always amazed me how great the human spirit to survive becomes. When we are living easily and without stress, that quality isn't seen much. But, when things are tough and we are facing the end of it all, we find an inner reserve of strength that's truly astonishing. Yes, there are many horrible things in our world, but we'd rather remain a part of the good things than step away. It's been said that true character is revealed by the fires of life, and I've seen it happen time and again.

 

My wife frequently tells me I stress about things that don't matter. She's right. Maybe it matters that our intentions are good, maybe it doesn't. Whatever happens, we move on or get trapped by regret. I hate regret. It's one of the few things that can drag me into the pits of despair before I even know what's happened. We can't redo the past, so why dwell on it? Kick the dust off your feet and try again. Maybe this time your good intentions will win out. Whatever happens, just do your very best.

 

- M

Happy Easter

 

The tomb is empty.

Superhero duels. Line them up and knock them down!

With the highly anticipated movie "Batman v Superman" coming this week, I thought it'd be fun to talk about superheroes duking it out. One thing we nerds love to talk about is: who'd win a fight? Comic fans have pitted Superman against Hulk for ages, or Batman against basically anyone, what about Sherlock Holmes versus Columbo (eh, maybe too obscure), or Star Wars versus Star Trek? It's fun to talk about the strengths and weaknesses, compare it all, and argue your point. Mostly its just for fun, but wow do some people get upset about it (sorry, but the Flash will always beat Quicksilver...)

 

Part of the fun is you get to see how good guys compare against each other, especially since normally they would never fight. Superheroes have such crazy abilities, it's all ridiculous anyway. What you really need are two viewpoints that have nothing to do with each other, and then slam them together so you can watch the fireworks. Debate is good for you, just stop short of punching each other. Then, you can swap to bad guys fighting, because they do that all the time and it's easy.

 

See how many mixups you can come up with. You can easily spend an entire evening in these mind games, and it's all good sport. It's better than playing board games, because you're coming up with new material and hopefully engaging your brain a bit. Sure, it helps if you know lots about the subject, but don't let that stop you. Some of the best debaters I know have only basic knowledge to work with and it sure doesn't stop them.

 

Just have a good time with it. Do it for the kids.

 

- M

Movie Review: In the Heart of the Sea

 

It's probably safe to say most everyone knows the story of "Moby Dick," about the crazy captain chasing after a white whale. You may not know this story is based on the true account of what actually happened to the whaling ship, Essex. The movie, "In the Heart of the Sea" is not about the white whale--that has been told well many times--it is rather the story of the crew and what happened to them. But, it's also an impressive story of desperate forgiveness. Ignore the movie hype, because they only show the white whale attacking and all the expected excitement. This movie is much deeper than that.

 

First of all, the framing of the movie takes place long years after the events. The cabin boy is now a man past his prime, drinking himself to death due to the specters haunting his memory. Herman Melville (the author of "Moby Dick") shows up at the man's house and pays the man for his story. The man's wife helps get it started, and then we are into the story. There is palpable heartache as the man talks of the voyage: preparations, leaving for sea, the trials on board, squabbles, and squalls. Life at sea wasn't pleasant, and this movie does a good job of showing just enough to make it sink in and then turning away.

 

Yes, there is whale hunting, and it is brutally quick. But, you'll feel it. There's no judgment made, either for or against, and that's clearly intentional. Because, the men go through just as brutal a set of circumstances later on. Again, there's no judgment made about what the sailors do to survive once their ship, the Essex, is sunk. They are starving, emaciated, skeletons by the time it's all over. The man telling the story breaks down a number of times. I don't dare spoil the incredible cathartic moment at the close, though I will say that Herman Melville didn't use the whole story of the Essex for "Moby Dick;" just the part about the whale.

 

This is one of the best movies I've seen for a very long time.

 

- M

Choreographed fighting, the art of combat

I love stories with good fighting scenes. Many fantasy and science fiction stories feature large scale battles, and then of course military history. There's a chance you'll find action scenes in any story, even romance stories, oddly. Wherever you find them, fights heighten the tension while driving the story forward. Hopefully it's all exciting and thrilling, while providing a sense of genuine danger.

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 The odd thing about story fighting is that the result is basically known from the start--the good guys win and the bad guys lose. Now, there are times when that doesn't happen, but it's so reliable I doubt many audiences are even worried about it. Even so, I can't believe I'm the only one thrilled with the large battles in the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy? Probably the most suspenseful fights are the ones between evenly matched combatants and in the middle of a story. There's no telling how such fights will end, because there's still lots of time left to fix any loss.

 

Another great aspect of such choreographed fighting is that it isn't all that realistic. After all, does anyone seriously expect lightsaber duels to be so balletic? Nah, but who cares? It's entertaining, and that's the goal. Such warfare can be totally insane, breaking reality without regard, and still be useful to the story. In a way, reality is boring and far too quick. Dropping a bomb on something isn't nearly as interesting story wise as sending in an army (which is probably why most fantasy tends toward less modernized military).

 

However it's done, the art of combat is secondary to the art of the story itself.

 

- M

Travelling would be so much better with teleporters...

Do you enjoy travelling? Or, do you enjoy being in other places? For me, it's the second part. If I could teleport to where I want to go, then I'd travel a lot. But, ugh, the regular travel time is so painful to me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being with my family and especially with my wife. We can talk for hours and not notice. But, if you're stuck in a car, not able to move around or go to the bathroom, it gets tiring really fast. I'm probably in the minority on this. Driving is considered very relaxing, many people love it (including my youngest), and there are many industries built around it.

 

Still, wouldn't it be neat to just press a button and poof you're there? Take breakfast in Paris, lunch in Vancouver, and supper in Hawaii. Rather hard currently. And, eating is just a simple thing to imagine. Teleportation would make space travel easy, and same for underwater explorations. Heh, I could even teleport my car keys to my hand--where'd I leave those again?

 

 

Before you call me crazy, just think about the insane technology we carry around with us every day. Twenty years ago, cell phones of today would have been unthinkable. I still can't believe the new watches that are very nearly the Tricorders of Star Trek fame. And how about something simple like transition lenses for sunglasses? I bet if you take those simple glasses back a hundred years you'd make a zillion dollars (well, or be set on fire at the stake--people are goofy about stuff they don't understand).

 

So, get going on that teleporter will ya?

 

- M

Last minute craziness!

Have you ever waited until the very last moment to get something done?

Yup, I sure have. I probably drove my parents crazy with all my last minute homework and projects. Hey, I can't be the only kid who slapped together their science project the night before, right? Right? Yeah, well, I'm not perfect. I have gotten better though. Most importantly, I kind of have a schedule for things that I do. Especially writing duties--although sometimes it feels like I'm strangling my Muse rather than being inspired. If I put things off these days I feel broken ... ok, no, I can't really say that with a straight face. I do try though.

 

The strange thing is I never meant to delay, and I sure didn't like the pressure of last minute projects. The worst part was knowing there was no time to spare, and I would be forced to pull an all nighter just to get it done. Yuck. It's a good sign of maturity when someone gets a task done ahead of schedule, rather than procrastinating. The wise plan ahead, while the fool falls behind. My parents tried to teach me that throughout my childhood, but only now do I really understand how important that lesson was. Thanks mom and dad, I get it now!

 

And now the cycle has turned to me as parent instructing my own children. Yup, I've been cursed with carbon copies of myself. Augh! How many times have I pulled my hair out trying to get them to do something this century? Oh how cruel the wheel of fate is ... or, maybe I've just been run over by recycled history. Either way, I'm still trying to get my kids to do things in a timely fashion. Well, hopefully they get it before their boss smacks some sense into them. Life is cruel when it teaches lessons. If I could go back in time, I'd give myself a stern talking to and maybe then I'd pay more attention to the wisdom of my parents.

 

- M

Rewritting the perfect lines. Augh, the horror! Wait, something seems wrong with that bit ... where's the editor?

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Part of a writer's life is going back and ripping apart their own work. It's a necessary part of editing. Personally, I love tearing apart my own work--because it makes things better! Sure, it's easy to believe what you've slaved over to create is perfect at inception, but that usually isn't the case. It does take a lot of grit to delete whole lines, paragraphs, pages, or chapters, because it's no good and can be made better. Still, this process is essential if you want anything beyond a first draft. There are legends about many classic authors, where the writers spent countless days perfecting their work (often starting over entirely).

One thing authors must decide on is when to stop and call it done. I'm not sure anything is really finished, but you have to end at some point. George Lucas has become a popular whipping post for doing this wrong (as the Special Editions of Star Wars--any of them--are being constantly fiddled with), yet I think every author is never fully satisfied with their own art. I look back at things I wrote many years ago and cringe. Oh well, I was happy with it then so I suppose I've just gotten better.

 

Maybe it's more impressive that artists allow any of their work to be seen at all. To them, their work is like family, or specifically like children. That's why so many are unable to bear criticism, or even healthy critiques. Well, the world is a cruel place, but there's nothing wrong with feedback--even unkind ones. Accept the good and discard the rest. Cheer up. Great art comes from adversity, as they say.

 

- M

 

ps. Yes, I know I misspelled the title, but that was the point wasn't it?

Quilts for days!

My wife love quilts. She has made many of them, and is always working on one or two or a dozen. There are cross-stich quilts, rag quilts, pieces quilts, and many pattern quilts. She's fond of giving them away to friends and family too. I'm amazed by her generosity, especially considering all the time and money invested in the quilts. I bet everyone who gets them treasures them as heirlooms. They really are that good.

 

In a way, quilts are like stories. There's a beginning, middle, and end. There's certainly lots of personality in them. Some are heroes of the club, while a few are tragic figures stuck together with duct tape and safety pins. But, they're all a journey of discovery and a portal to another world. Archaeologists can determine much about a culture based on quilts and needlework. Some cultures are defined by the story of their quilts, such as the Amish or the fabled flaw in Persian rugs.

 

Because of my wife, I have a greater appreciation for the effort in making quilts. I'd never understood just how much work they are. Honestly, I don't know how anyone can make money selling quilts unless they're machine made. A fair price for handmade quilts should be in the thousands. But, that's not likely. Well, I think people who make quilts are doing it because they love it and not for potential profit (maybe I'm wrong, but quilters seem very generous in what they do).

 

I can hardly wait to try out the next one my wife makes!

A marvelous "House" quilt. Isn't Beth wonderful!

 

- M

Learning never stops, and really is good for you. Honest.

Something I try very hard to do is learn. There is a world out there of things I don't know. But, even stuff I do know, I can always learn more. I admit, it's very easy to sit back and eat jelly while I watch television. Simply switch off your brain and let someone else drive for a while. Why should I take the time and effort to stuff more and more information (much of it trivial, I agree) into my already full noggin? Because when you stop learning you drift aimlessly in a sea of other people's opinions.

 

I'm fond of telling my children that they should never flatly accept what someone tells them is true. Get to the source (often, happily, in a book) and find out themselves. Educate yourself and make up your own mind about it. I want to have solid debates with knowledgeable people, who can back up their arguments and hopefully help me see another point of view. It's no fun always having the answer, so I make it a point to help others find it themselves.

 

My point is you don't have to be in school to continue learning. Discovery is a primal urge of we crazy humans. Indulge yourself now and then. Find something new and learn about it. Pick a hobby and practice. Get your brain working and you'll be happy to discover the old gray matter works pretty well. Flex those mental muscles and become a new titan of philosophy, or science, or art, or whatever you wish. Learn!

 

- M

Heroes -- what makes them so special?

My son, Peter, doing his best superhero stance

Heroes come in all sorts and kinds. Some are strong and dynamic, others are weak yet courageous. One begins a hero and the next becomes one. Despite all these differences, heroes have many common qualities. I'd put the highest quality as courage, and then a strong ethic. Heroes strive to improve life and circumstances, whereas villains break it all down. Plus, heroes have a strong conviction of the rightness of their cause (well, so do villains, but that's another story).

 

Typically, heroes are a response to bad circumstances. They're revealed by stress and terror and become greater because of it. That's why heroes are always in terrible circumstances. In the newest Star Wars film "The Force Awakens" we are shown two heroes: Finn and Rey. Both begin as unknowns to those around them, but quickly demonstrate heroics far beyond everyone else. They drive the story forward by fighting against the villain--not that others aren't doing the same thing, but heroes actually succeed (they are heroes after all).

 

You see, heroes are meant to inspire. They are tools storytellers use to examine ideas. Heroes show who we can be if we aspire to greatness; if we don't give in or give up, if we pluck up the courage to fight. Heroes teach life lessons. We cheer and applaud heroes because we hope to find the same qualities in ourselves. They're the ultimate role models in all aspects of life. Heroes define our culture, our beliefs, our standards, and our hopes. They are paragons.

 

- M

Batman vs Superman! Who wins this epic fight?

Ok, this is the big question right now as the feature movie is nearly upon us. If you've read the comics (especially the "Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller) then you know there have been fights between these two that are hotly debated. To start, you have an alien being--Superman--who is essentially a limitless god-like character, and on the other is a regular human--Batman--without any powers (unless you count huge resources and a brilliant mind). So, what happens when they come to blows?

 

Well, you have a pair of heroes who absolutely will not kill. That rather limits the argument, since it's just a game of knock out now. Otherwise, Superman could instantly vaporize Batman with his heat vision from miles away, though Batman could prepare defenses against it. You could be very clever about it. But, it comes down to what the characters believe. In the end, they both want justice and peace (they just go about getting it in different ways). A fight between them is to prove their personal way is better than the other. Motivation can only go so far.

 

That's why the movie needs more (which brings in Lex Luthor and eventually Doomsday). When it comes to crunch time, Batman and Superman are on the side of the angels. The big fight is a reason to bring the true conflict into the open--good against evil. Don't worry, we'll still get a fancy fight, but we won't get a fanboy finish. Neither will win, because the war is about to begin and you don't fight your friends to the death.

 

- M