Two Statements Than Improv in Book Five: Working Through the Maze 2018

Statement 1:
Oh, my wife. This is one of those wonderful experiences where I become a little bit of both of my parents and my Wife becomes the other bit of both my parents. You see, Wife and I have some similarities to my parents. Now, while my parents attended the same High School and have been in each other’s lives for the last 50 years… they didn’t exactly grow up as neighbors. My mom grew up with parents who often struggled to make ends meet whereas my dad spent his summers competing at his father’s Country Club Swim Meets. In other words… Mom was Hippies and Scraping to Get By while Dad was WASPS and Money to Spare. It put Dad in the position where (1) money wasn’t as much of a concern but (2) since he couldn’t match his father, there was never enough money for him. Mom, on the other hand (1) grew up with money being somewhat of a concern but (2) that meant she knew when to spend, when to save, and how money wasn’t the metric by which a man is judged.

We received our Home Theater Assessment last night. Before we even opened it Wife was hyperventilating, freaking out, could barely sit still. She was absolutely overwhelmed and freaked out about her expectations of cost. The Home Theater Assessment, with all high end came to $11k. But here’s the deal: I would never pay that much for a Home Theater System (unless we had already established that our house would be a Weekly Destination for Movie Nights). I had already decided on 75 inch TV instead of 82 inch. $700 speakers as opposed to $1400 speakers. Like… there are “cost cutting” measures we can do to still get what we want without breaking the bank. Wife is still freaking out in a panic about spending money. I’m silently excited about the prospect of having a place to watch Movies, Anime, and play video games. But therein lies the disconnect. Wife doesn’t seem to have a “North Star” for her interests. This is mine. Back when I would host parties in Des Moines? They would be Video Game parties or Movie Parties or Anime parties. Occasionally, it would be board games… but we’ve already built a place in our house for that. After we set up the Home Theater Area, get a Sectional for the Basement, and set up a corner table for snacks and drinks… the house will be the perfect place for “Come One Come All”… an opportunity to meet neighbors, host Meet and Greets with Police, encourage friends and family to stop by. Not to mention… certainly I can go over to MBFITWW’s house. But if we want to include Wife, which we kind of do, it makes more sense for him to visit us. And while he did that already before the Home Theater was set up… doing so afterwards will be an event for both Wife and him. He’s only ever watched Anime on his basement set up that isn’t specialized. Wife watches Anime reluctantly but then quickly gets sucked in after between 1 and 5 episodes. But on a screen with fully mapped darks and colors added by a surround sound feature in a space specifically built for Optimal Viewing Experience? Well… lets just say… I’m excited to watch her re-watch Attack on Titan with that set up!

Statement 2:
I have been at work for approximately 46 minutes and my morning work, which was scheduled to take 3 hours, is already finished. How? Why?
Procrastination!

Ah, yes. I understand why that answer might confuse you. You see… there is ONE thing I am supposed to be doing that I really don’t want to do. Which has inspired me to be THAT MUCH MORE productive everywhere else. Hell, I already know everything that is scheduled for next week and have drafted pleas, motions, and plans to deal with it all. So yes… one thing I don’t want to do has made me super productive on everything else for the month. lol.



More on Mortal Kombat:
People have been requesting that Spawn (the Todd Macfarlane comic book character from Hell) be in Mortal Kombat for the last decade. Spawn was an official Guest Character for Soul Calibur 2 in the X Box release (I had a PS2, so received Heihachi instead). He has also appeared as a Create-a-Character on many profiles in Soul Calibur 6. However, Mortal Kombat fans have wanted him for a decade. He would fit the cannon well. You already have a Hell Realm and characters from Comic Books and Movies make appearances in the Mortal Kombat universe in various “multi-verse” ways. Thus… a separate universe’s version of Scorpion would arguably be Spawn.

That being said… we’ve seen Spawn rumors for a decade as well. It seems that every new game, the rumor mill stars back up saying “Spawn is going to be in Mortal Kombat!” And it has yet to happen. The rumors have started and been proven false so many times that even before they BEGIN… I simply… anticipate the process. As soon as an MK game is announced I think, “At least a week before Spawn Rumors, and those rumors will continue for months and months and months until the last DLC Fighter Pack for the game is released months after Game Launch and, to no surprise, no Spawn in the game!”

And during Mortal Kombat X, Todd Macfarlane was saying “There is definitely a way we can work Spawn into the game. Even if just as a DLC Fighter Pack.” And the MKX fighter packs came, giving us Jason Voorhees, Tanya, Tremor, Triborg, Leatherface, Alien, Bo’Rai Cho, and Goro. But no Spawn.

So with the announcement trailer of Mortal Kombat X promising an April Game release… Macfarlane has again stated “Spawn is coming”. As much as I’d like to believe it? It is like I said in a previous entry. We see so much trolling, whether purposefully or not, in Mortal Kombat that almost nothing can be believed until Game Launch. So while it would be nice… I’m not holding my breath!

I am an attorney that reads a lot. A lot. From multiple sources. Anything that hasn’t been 100% debunked as propaganda, lies, or intentional misdirection. I read the laws, I read cases, I read the news. And I am very worried about the combination of two things.
(1) It seems more and more clear every day that Donald Trump’s crimes are going to be exposed publicly. Whether he faces any consequences for them remains to be seen. But it is beginning to seem like a certainty that Donald Trump’s Crimes will become public knowledge.
(2) Donald Trump has already taken to telling his base to “revolt, riot in the streets” if he is held accountable. He has even stated that there is an 87 page memo (and growing) that will counter all of the Mueller Findings. Pro Tip: You don’t release a novel refuting a Prosecutor’s evidence if you’re not guilty of criminal wrong doing. But all of it, the encouraging of violence, the promising of counter documents, is all designed exclusively and intentionally to give Trump Supporters a way to continue to support Trump, even when it makes no rational or legal sense.

Therein lies my biggest concern. Here’s the Worst Case scenario I’m envisioning. I won’t go into full detail so as not to give anyone ideas but… my concern?
I am afraid that Mueller’s investigation, when made public, will demonstrate that Trump and his Children engaged in activity that would legally be considered Treason. That by working with, communicating with, and doing business with a hostile foreign power; Trump et al committed crimes and misdemeanors tantamount to Treason Against the United States. And Trump supporters don’t waiver. That is what terrifies me. If the United States Government can legally prove that Donald J. Trump has committed treason against the United States; but his supporters actively don’t care, continue to rush to his defense, and fight tooth and nail to make sure no consequences befall Trump. That worries me to the point of feeling sick to my stomach. Because at that point? We have absolute, unabashed, unapologetic proof that America is in transition to a Dictatorship. Because that demonstrates loyalty to The Man, not The Country. It demonstrates devotion to Person, not Values. And it means that the entire Adult Population of the United States could be controlled for the negative by the Adult-in-Name-Only Population willing to do whatever it takes to back Trump in spite of evidence of Treason. I truly, truly worry about that. Because if Mueller presents evidence of treason? I truly, truly think we’ll see that.

I’m still spottily and inconsistently reading folks on here. Out of order, random, trying to stay at least a little connected.

It seems strange.

Here’s another random Geek Comment. And when I make these comments, I’m not trying to “reclaim Geekdom” or “take ownership of geekiness” or anything like that. But there was a lot of support for a statement I saw that.
The topic was “What geeky things does your significant other do that secretly get you going?” The response was:
“I’m a typical jock, workout don’t express yourself kind of guy. I recently started getting into D&D and I find it so hot that my girlfriend will help me with my stats sheet wearing nothing but a smile.”
And… everyone was praising and upvoting this statement and I’m sitting here thinking, “Wait… lots of reasons to call this out!”
First of all… the topic was about geeky things your SO does. “Helping you do something while naked” isn’t so much a “geeky thing your SO does” as it is “your girlfriend is naked”. Second, the whole thing reads like a humble brag from someone who distances himself from “Geeky”. So, I’m a jock and willfully part of Toxic Masculinity, but I started doing something Nerdy. Give me credit. By the way, did I mention I have a hot girlfriend who puts up with my nerdy thing?

It’s like… dude… why is this getting so much praise? Y’know what I think should be the pinnacle of “geeky thing your SO does?” Something like “After my girlfriend discovers a new Tabletop Module, she’ll spend the whole next week doing nothing but talking about it and writing scenarios for her Tabletop group to run the next time they meet up. Her passion, story telling, and attention to detail are amazing.” or “After my girlfriend comes home from work, she’s tired. But if it is New Comics Wednesday, she always stays up to talk to me about the story arcs we were most excited to read.” or “My girlfriend just discovered an anime. I’d seen it decades ago and wasn’t taken with it. But seeing it through her eyes, as she experiences it and gets wrapped up into it, has made me appreciate the anime and her so much more.”

That kind of stuff. Not “I’m a jock who plays DnD and my hot girlfriend helps me math in the nude.” I don’t know. Maybe I’m being a judgmental prick. Maybe I’m just tired of it feeling like people are “coming into our space” and trying to make it theirs. And to that criticism, I say… “There is room enough to enter the space and share. Don’t try to take it. Don’t try to fundamentally change things to make it ‘more acceptable.’ Enjoy the space or don’t.”

Which is actually my biggest issue with turning Comic Book Properties into Movies. I’ve mentioned here before that I see the Movie Universe and Comic Book Universe as separate… but the painful part is that not all the Comic Book Creators agree.

Take The Avengers. The movie was good. The movie took the story of Avengers 1 and put it on screen… for the most part. But they got it “so close” that Avengers 1 likely can’t be re-adapted for film any time soon. But here’s the issue: Avengers 1 defeated Loki by Ant-Man and his Ant Army. The Movie defeated Loki by Hulk. The movie was trying to play for a popcorn, humorous, quotable moment that could be used in marketing material. The Comic Book was trying to say something. Because “Hulk Smash Tiny God” plays to the masses. But Ant-Man using Ants to take out a God has a message to it… to spell it out for those who need it… the message is “A god came to crush who he thought tiny; and who the humans think tiny worked together to defeat him. A force (even a tiny one), working together, can overcome!” AKA: The whole point of The Avengers. An example of MOVIE PEOPLE barging into the Comic Book Space, taking it, and then fundamentally changing things to make it more acceptable or marketable.

I know I shouldn’t bitch and all but it’s a thing that stems from The Past which can be hard to get over. PRIOR TO Comic Book Movies being the go-to film… a lot of Comic Book Lovers and Dungeon and Dragons players and Video Game Enthusiasts were in hiding. Whenever one of us identified as ourselves, there would be persecution. “I love Star Wars” was enough to get me mercilessly ridiculed in Junior High. Meanwhile, “I love Nirvana” was enough to make a boy popular. Being seen reading a Comic Book in public as a teenager, I was told I should be “embarrassed” and told not to “be such a baby.” Meanwhile, a boy shares his dad’s playboy with his friends and he’s a hero. I loved video games… would have rather played them than done almost anything else during the summer… and I was constantly told that it was anti-social and weird… despite the fact that I was playing with extremely good friends and forming good memories. Meanwhile, the most popular boy on the Swim Team was an actual anti-social prick who wouldn’t hang out with anyone unless they brought him alcohol. So which activity was healthiest and most social? So… yeah. Not speaking for everyone but… I think that is where some of the Nerd Judgmentalness comes from. This concept that you can’t go from giving us wedgies to redefining our hobby.

With that, I think I’ll hit SAVE ENTRY. Because there are 100 minutes left of my work day. My evening?
I hope to update my Continued Learning Report, if I can.
I hope to discuss the Home Theater Proposal with Wife.
I hope to do the Stillness Exercise with Wife.
I hope to do the Questions Exercise with Wife.
I hope to coordinate a bit of our Christmas Weekend.
After that? Maybe play video games. Wife is shocked that I won’t go play video games if it is much later than 8 p.m. Well, dear… Between going downstairs, powering the system on, potential system updates, starting the game, getting in to the game, finding a stopping place, exiting the game, powering everything off, and coming up stairs… that is a 2 hour minimum endeavor. And I’m not going to stay up late playing video games when I have to be an Attorney at 8 a.m. every day.

Last updated December 13, 2018