On X-Men

Here's an interesting article on the X-Men arguing that:

... the comic book series on which they're based has abandoned its early idealism in favor of crude racialist appeals. What we've seen in recent years is nothing less than the Sharptonization of the X-Men.

Not being an X-Men reader, I don't know if this true, but I do know that the first X-Men movie (I haven't seen the second one) irked me with its ham-fisted civil rights allegory. Viewed from Professor Xavier's perspective, mutants are to non-mutant society what minorities are to white society, and mutants and non-mutants have the same rights. Viewed from Magneto's perspective, mutants are the next step in human evolution and should dominant non-mutants. Either way, the Senator who wants to register mutants is an evil quasi-Nazi who is opening the door to a mutant holocaust.

This allegory is not only clumsy--it's a load of rubbish.

Some facts about the theory of evolution:

• Individuals do not evolve; only species evolve. One might object that mutants are a species, but they cannot be; a collection of randomly mutated individuals is not a species. Moreover, humans in the X-Men universe give birth to mutants; the implication is that mutants are humans.

• Macromutation is not evolution. Even the most liberal theories of evolution through macromutation would not account for the radical mutation found in the X-Men universe.

So mutants are not some next step in the human evolutionary rung; they are macromutated humans. In reality, if people starting mutating in such ways, we would have cause to be deeply disturbed.

We would also have cause to register or lock up mutants, whether they are good or evil. Take Cyclops for example. He merely had his glasses knocked off, and he took out the roof of Grand Central Station. Why shouldn't he be locked up? Or even Wolverine, who nearly kills Rogue out of sheer reflex?

Before you write in calling me a racist fascist puppy-killer, my point is that the civil rights allegory does not work in X-Men. Mutants simply cannot be compared to holocaust victims. Magneto as a Jew certainly was a victim of Nazi racism; but Magneto as a mutant is not. As a mutant, he is more sinning than sinned against, a new tyrant who uses past injustice to justify his own brand of injustice and intolerance towards non-mutants and mutants who do not share his warped vision. Now there's an allegory for our times.

The Unofficial Story

It seems that the story about the missing artifacts has been badly overblown. CNN.com - Thousands of Iraqi artifacts found - May. 7, 2003

I'm certain that the idiotarian mewlers who got their shorts in a bunch over the exaggerated initial reports will be breaking out in joyous hosannas over the news...

when the Ice Capades performs for Lucifer in the Ninth Circle of Hell. None of those punks gave two centimes for the cultural values embodied in those artifacts in the first place, it was just something to grab onto to flog the U.S. with. The logic of their non-argument would justify the U.S. doing an "Elgin Marbles" with the contents of the Iraqi National Museum if, in fact, preserving such objects trumps the saving of human life. The "Lefties" ironically wound up arguing that the "evil West" should have had more concern for the artifacts in and of themselves than the "natives" were alleged to possess. Fortunately, this "soft bigotry of low expectations" has proved to be false.

Home is where the heat is

Well, well, well, remember how evil we were to not ratify Kyoto? Here's how those oh so superior and immensely moral Europeans are doing: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Europe slips on greenhouse targets-via Rantburg

Next, we'll talk about the 220+ EU code violations by France...

Jonathan Todd, the Commission's spokesman, said the policy of "naming and shaming" offenders had not worked, and so tough new measures would be unveiled this week. "Some member states tend to be more thick-skinned than others. The French performance is lamentable," he said.

Someone needs to inform Mr. Todd that shame, by definition, doesn't come from the shameless. The French government has no honor, and is proud of that fact.

French under fire for shunning EU law By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels

This puts the Bennett non-event in its proper perspective.

A Plaster Saint of Peace?

Those who are critical of ANSWER and the rest of the leadership of the (objectively anti-)"peace" movement often hold up Gandhi and MLK as being moral exemplars against the moral turpitude and outrageous vomit n' fecal antics of our current "warnicks." King's personal flaws notwithstanding, MLK was generally consistent in his desire for peaceful solutions and felt solidarity with other oppressed peoples. The same was not true for Gandi (citation courtesy of the Former Belgian at Entre Nous):

BUT it is not widely realized (nor will this film {GANDHI-E.B.} tell you) how much violence was associated with Gandhi's so-called "nonviolent" movement from the very beginning. India's Nobel Prize-winning poet, Rabindranath Tagore, had sensed a strong current of nihilism in Gandhi almost from his first days, and as early as 1920 wrote of Gandhi's "fierce joy of annihilation," which Tagore feared would lead India into hideous orgies of devastation--which ultimately proved to be the case. Robert Payne has said that there was unquestionably an "unhealthy atmosphere" among many of Gandhi's fanatic followers, and that Gandhi's habit of going to the edge of violence and then suddenly retreating was fraught with danger. "In matters of conscience I am uncompromising," proclaimed Gandhi proudly. "Nobody can make me yield." The judgment of Tagore was categorical. Much as he might revere Gandhi as a holy man, he quite detested him as a politician and considered that his campaigns were almost always so close to violence that it was utterly disingenuous to call them nonviolent.

The Gandhi Nobody Knows, by Richard Grenier

Grenier is also the author of the hilarious novel, The Marrakesh One-Two, which is based on the real-life efforts of Moustapha Akkad to film the ultimate in reverential Islamic religious epics THE MESSAGE (a.k.a. Muhammed, Messenger of God), only to be brutally betrayed and stabbed in the back by his own fanatical and treacherous co-religionists. If you can track the book down in a used-book store, it will both amuse and enlighten you about certain timely matters. Akkad went on to satiate his thirst for jihad against the West by proxy, fake-slaying numerous Hollywood bit players as executive producer of the HALLOWEEN movie series.

Rose Falcon: The Un-Britney

Recently I bought my first pop/rock album (or should I say CD?) in over a decade--to be sure, a dull event in times of either war or peace; but it has prompted me to make my first record (or should I say CD?) recommendation in two decades, when I wrote reviews for my high school newspaper.

The CD in question is Rose Falcon, the self-titled debut of an 18-year old musician from New Jersey. You might have seen snippets of her video "Up Up Up" on the Disney Channel, but don't be fooled by the bubble gum veneer of the video--she's no Hillary Duff; Rose has pipes, and she writes her own songs along with her father Billy Falcon (who has written songs for the likes of Bon Jovi, Stevie Nicks, and Cher.)

What's remarkable about the album is its tone. The songs are either upbeat or balladic, and yet most of them have serious themes: the untimely death of her mother, loss of friendship, ambivalent love, and the pressure on young women to look a certain way. The best example of the dual nature of the Falcons' songwriting is "Breathe," which begins--

It's a sunny happy day and the sky
is crystal clear oh yeah
Surprise surprise I'm okay the
best I've been in years oh yeah

--and eventually segues to a wry chorus:

Cause I hardly think about
it anymore
Oh it's just a distant memory
And I hardly think about it
anymore what happened to the
dream
And it only hurts when I breathe

Although Rose has been likened to Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette, she is never snotty or vulgar (as is fitting for an artist who thanks "my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" in the credits). A good example is the angry "Looks Are Everything":

See it on my TV
In my magazines
See it everywhere I look
Even in my dreams
I can't sleep for dreaming

. . . .

Isn't she a pretty thing
So lucky looks are everything

Equally remarkable is that parents and children can both like the album, which isn't surprising given that it's a daughter-father effort.

I'm looking forward to future releases from Rose--I may just buy my second pop-rock album (or should I say CD?) in a decade.

To listen to the album, go here.

On Pens

Long have I quested for the perfect stationery--the perfect pen, the perfect pencil, the perfect paper. And Long have I gazed upon pens and pencils and notebooks in Wal-Mart, Target, Office Depot, and Dairy Queen (OK, I was really gazing at hot fudge brownie sundaes, but you get the idea). And many is the time I thought that my quest had ended, but alas, I was merely fooled by the mirage of stationery oasis, that abode of writing bliss that is ephemeral, all too ephemeral. A few examples will suffice.

There was the time that I discovered a disposable fountain pen from Pentel, called, strangely enough, the Fountain Pentel. What was exquisite about this pen was the flexible nib that conformed to my writing style in a way that no other pen has. So what went wrong? Even though Pentel lists the FP on its web site as a current model (and now there is even a refillable FP), I have yet to see it offered anywhere--online or in stores.

Many years later, I noticed the Phd line of pens and pencils from Sanford/Papermate. The Phds are big, chunky, handsome writing tools, and I was intrigued at first. Then I tried one. Didn't like the feel. However, I gave them a second chance when I developed tendonitis in my thumb, making writing painful. The advantage of the Phds is that you don't have to grip them hard, and being a heavy-handed writer, this helped ease my thumb pain. So I bought a Phd pen and mechanical pencil.

After I bought a PDA, I found a new version of the Phd, the Phd Multi-Function pen--a ball-point pen, mechanical pencil, and PDA stylus all-in-one. Although ball-point is not my favorite type of pen, the ink lasts a lot longer than gel ink. Gels produce a beautiful, bold line, but I can feel the ink disappearing, as if invisible gel vampires were sucking the ink out as I write. Fortunately, my Phd Multi writes a smooth line--or did produce a smooth line. The ink cartridge is now low enough that it glops rather than glides. So why not saunter over to Office Depot and gleefully buy some new refills?

Oh no, my friends, that's not how it works. Not anymore. For I have discovered a diabolical secret: pen companies would rather that you buy a new pen than refill an old one.

Yes, I know that most of you probably knew that already, but I only recently found that out when trying to refill my Phd Multi. None of the stores in my city carry such a refill, and they barely carry pen refills at all (the worst is Target). I went online, blithely expecting to be able to order my refills, but found out that even sites that list Phd Multi refills do not have them in stock and can't get them. One place has them, but wants a minimum order of $50. My mother dryly noted that I would die before using that many refills. Thanks mom.

It's no wonder that one of the most frequently asked questions on Papermate's web site has to do with refill availability. Papermate blames the problem on retailers, a lame excuse considering that Papermate has just as much vested interest in selling you a new pen as the retailer does. But more to the point, Papermate describes the Phd Multi as a refillable pen, a selling point considering that I don't want to shell out $8 for a new pen every time one runs out of ink. So why not make them as readily available as refills for mechanical pencils?

. . . .

This story has a happy ending. While browsing through my university bookstore, I came across a multi-function pen from Bic, called the Bic e3. Having given up the search for a refill for the Phd Multi, I decided to try one. The e3's plastic body isn't as solid as the Phd Multi, but it is much lighter. More importantly, the pen writes very smoothly, as does the pencil. Here's the kicker: the e3's pen cartridge fits the Phd Multi. Nonetheless, I've become so acclimated to the e3's lightweight body that I don't use my Phd Multi anymore.

Just another 'maudit juif' as far as ChIraq & De Vilepig are concerned

The last surviving commader of the Warsaw Uprising shares his thoughts about the conflict in Iraq: Marek Edelman speaks out on the war

Return of the Comics-Blogger

Anime Anima fisks the Chomper but good in the latest installment of Ernie's Situationist Comics.

Chomsky Strikes Again

New Blog Link

We've added a link to Paul at Smell the Blog. He's got nude pictures of the Justice League! Well, no he doesn't. But somebody recently found his site by Google searching on the words "justice league naked." (I think it was Ernie trying to get a peek at Hawk Girl.) Some highlights of Smell the Blog:

• Justice League joins Alliance to Stop Iraq

• Iraqi Foreign Minister Dismisses Claims that Syracuse Won NCAA Title

• Sgt. Akbar, Accused in Grenade Attack, Falls Back on Race and Religion as Excuses

The last one is especially hysterical.

Protests in Los Angeles

I don't know why, but I watched some of C-SPAN's coverage of the LA protests. Some highlights:

• A sign in the audience read: "Bush: Anti-Christ in the Making." So let's tally up what our peace activist friends have discovered about our president so far: he's a rogue cowboy; he's dumber than a ten-gallon hat; he's in league with Big Oil; he's Hitler; he's a messianic fundamentalist; and he's the Anti-Christ (or is he just a anti-Christ?). You think at a certain point our friends would see how oxymoronic this all is--not to mention how just plain silly--and abandon the "Bush is X" line of "reasoning."

• A Zen Buddhist, who looked like a Jedi Knight, revealed the answer to all of the world's problems: for ten minutes each day, we should just be silent and listen. That will make us more pure, more peaceful; and a peaceful people leads to a peaceful country; and a peaceful country leads to a peaceful world. The ghosts of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Lenin could be seen doubled over in laughter.

• A nurse, upset over budget cuts to a LA hospital, naturally blamed Bush for killing people both in Iraq and in LA. She also said that the US is buring hospitals in Iraq. She punctuated her rant with occassional outbursts of "health care, not warfare." At one point, it sounded like she said "health care, not welfare."

• A young Muslim woman led a ecumenical prayer. I wonder if she knows that some Muslims in Iraq weren't allowed to pray or attend mosque under Saddam's rule.

• The overall theme now is that the US is going to occupy Iraq and force Iraqi citizens to eat at McDonald's and KFC, thus killing them slowly. The horror, the horror.