The Recent Realization That Completely Took Me By Surprise

TIME OUT! I called time out!

Put perfectly.

After a year of watching CR, the cast’s panels and the Between the Sheets interviews… I think I can safely say that the most important lesson I’ve learned from them is how life-changing it can be to surround yourself with good people.

Surround yourself with people who are open and vocal about how much they love and admire you, who call themselves your biggest fan and who are there to support you through your path to greatness.

Surround yourself with people who enjoy their own interests unapologetically, who genuinely seek for the things that will make them happy and who are not restrained by what people will think of them. 

Surround yourself with people who aren’t afraid to show affection through words or physical gestures, who are shamelessly in love with their special other and who see that their love is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Surround yourself with people with healing energy, people who will listen to you attentively, who will offer a helping hand when the world is falling down around you, who will try their best to understand your struggles.

Surround yourself with people that are loud, who aren’t afraid to exist brightly and colorfully, who laugh and cry and have fun and feel with every fiber of their being. 

Most importantly, though, be that kind of person. Put positive energy into the world and you will find it coming back to you. This group of nerds is just a taste of what unapologetic genuine shameless love can accomplish. And I feel grateful every day for the reminder that there’s someone out there who, when you least expect it, will show up and love you and make life a thousand times better.

Not enough hearts to give.

Hello, your package has arrived

Pup interrupts soccer match, gives interview.

So much truth.

As a bigger guy, my greatest fear walking down a street at night is that women around me will think I’m following them and freak out

"The best thing we can do with power is give it away" - On the leftist critique of superhero narratives as authoritarian power fantasies:

The ongoing "Jason Todd is a cop" debate has reminded me of a brilliant brief image essay by Joey deVilla. So here it is, images first and the full essay text below:

"A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power. I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large. But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe in fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read. The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact… The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return. Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story. But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive. We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies. But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you). The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take. So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it. That’s not why children read it. We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson… The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY." - Joey deVilla, 2021 https://www.joeydevilla.com/2021/07/04/happy-independence-day-superhero-style/

Catching up on the reading pile

Since I'm stuck at home right now, I've made an effort to try to catch up on my reading pile.

Jack Reacher Book 1: The Killing Floor Being a big fan of the show, I decided to give the books a read. I have to say, I was disappointed. No Neagley and how stereo-typical "damsel in distress" Roscoe was were the two biggest disappointments. Also, the ending had a very "Super easy, barely an inconvenience" feel to it. I didn't hate it, mind you. And in fact I'll give the 2nd one a try. I'm chalking it up to it being a first/early work. Penguin Random House - $9.99

Mad's Greatest Artist: Seigio Aragones - Five Decades of his Finest Works One of my favorite artists & writers. His view on the world (especially in the "A Mad Look At..." series) often make me laugh. I'm sorry to hear that his health is not great these days and that his output has suffered because of it. This book is great and you should pick it up (if you can afford to). Running Press - Cover Price $29.95 (Out Of Print)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes (The Graphic Album) Various writers and/or artists present stories based on songs from Tori's first album "Little Earthquakes", as well as songs that only appeared as "B-Sides" on singles. The book is beautiful and most of the stories are very good. There is a modern day problem though as her long time friend Neil Gaiman has one story and the epilogue, where he talks about his 30 year friendship with the artist. Still worth picking up though. Z2 Comics - $39.99

Reading Pile Pt. 5

Astro City Volume 09: Through Open Doors One of my favorite series! I've loved it since it began in the '90s. This volume collects the 1st six issues from when the series moved from Image to DC/Vertigo. Contains what is probably my favorite Astro City story ("On The Sidelines"). Highly recommend. DC/Vertigo - Hardcover $24.99, Softcover $16.99

Booster Gold Volume 01: The Big Fall Collects the first 12 issues of the 1980s series. This was one of the first DC books I got into when I started collecting (mainly because it had just started) and I loved it then. Rereading it now... it's not that good. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. There a lot of great ideas in this series. It was one of the first comics to tackle the "super-hero as superstar" idea (in modern parlance, he'd probably be considered an influencer). But this is clearly a first effort by Dan Jurgans. There are hints of the writer he'll become though. Plus the art is good. DC Comics - Hardcover $39.99 (Out Of Print), Kindle $9.99

Jessica Jones: Pulse, The Complete* Collection When Alias (the comic) came to an end, Brian Bendis pretty much stated that he had told all of the stories he could under the Max label, mainly because there were characters Marvel wouldn't let him use in an "adult" book. The concept is, after having helped him find his adoptive daughter (during the Alias series), J. Jonah Jameson hires Jessica to be a consultant for a weekly supplement on super-heroes (called "The Pulse"). Since she's pregnant and needs the health insurance, she takes the job. * - While called "The Complete Collection", it is actually missing issue #10 which was a House Of M crossover issue and focused on Hawkeye and didn't have Jessica in it at all. It does include New Avengers (2005) Annual #1, the issue where Jessica & Luke get married. Marvel - Softcover $34.99 (Out of print), Kindle $8.99

My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies: A Criminal Novelette I love the Brubaker/Phillips line of books ("Kill Or Be Killed" being my favorite), but this one didn't hit for me. Not bad, it just didn't grab me as their stories usually do. The story takes place in a rehab center. That is until Elle decides she's had enough of the place and convinces Skip to join her in escaping. The story then follows the two teens as they rob stores & fall in love. There is a nice twist ending though. Image - Hardcover $16.99, Softcover $12.99 (both out of print), Kindle $10.99

If my dad was the invisible man, but transitioned to the invisible woman, would she be my transparent trans-parent?

Weight loss update

Weight loss total: >75 pounds.  I don’t have an exact number because I was too big for my scale when I started.

Shirt size: down 2 sizes

Pants size: down 8 sizes

I’ve had to buy new underpants twice now because my old ones wouldn’t stay up anymore.  As problems go, this is not a bad one to have.

I would be lying if I said I’m not posting this to brag.  I am.  But I also post this in the hopes that someone will look at it and go, “If he can do it then so can I.”  I needed inspiration to get to this point, and I want to pass it on to someone else.