This Will be Out of Order in Book Seven: Reconstruction 2020

So… this is going to be out of order. I’ll talk about the weekend, about Sunday, about all sorts of stuff. But I’m going to be even more “free form” then usual. So just sit back, enjoy the ride (my ass has blisters from the slide!)

On my way to work this morning, they were talking about my County’s recent moratorium on Wind Farms. There was a big offer to a bunch of farmers, many of whom accepted, to make a wind farm in the area. Economically, that would be a massive shot in the arm to this community. I’m not willing to say it would entirely halt the decay and slow death… but it would slow that significantly. SO… of course… Trump Country gets in the way. At the County Meeting, there was a large contingent of angry citizens saying that the health risks of a wind farm outweigh any possible positives! The long list of studies conducted that determine there are no direct health risks to humans regarding wind farms was presented. The mob demanded that “both sides of the issue be equally considered.” Moratorium.

This is… frustrating as hell. Because the question would be WHAT HEALTH RISKS? “Well, the President said Wind Turbines cause cancer.” Yeah. He also said the Kansas City Chiefs played in Kansas. What’s your fucking point?! “Well, we just don’t think we should allow wind turbines if they’re going to cause cancer.” Show me ONE peer-reviewed study that even SUGGESTS that they cause cancer! “No, you have to give both sides credit.”
Fuck. Allow me to use my forehead as a wrecking ball as I repeatedly slam it against this brick wall!!

PEOPLE… it’s like this… if we’re having a government conversation on Wolf Safety, I’m not going to stop the discussion so that someone can recite “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” I appreciate that you think your story is connected and important… but fairy tails have no place in this adult discussion. I’m not going to entertain the contingent that claims wolves are good for thrift stores because they wear Grannie’s clothing, either! Just because Fox News said it, doesn’t make it worthwhile!

I was about to ask, “How can these people believe everything Fox News and Trump says and yet doubt things like science and every other news network?!” But I stopped myself because I realized a similar situation where I asked a similar question. In retail, the older people were always the quickest to accuse me of trying to steal their social security number. “Ma’am, I simply need to key in your zip code since you’re paying by credit card.” “NO! You’re trying to get my social security number and I won’t allow it. Type in the zip code of this store!” “That won’t be a problem, ma’am, but your credit card company may attempt to contact you if they believe the charge is fraudulent.” BUT these are the same people you see on the news: “Ma’am, why did you give your social security number and bank account data over the phone?” “Well, the nice man on the other line said he was going to wire me three thousand dollars and that’s money I could use.” To which I said, “How can these people be aggressively protective in situations where they don’t need to be; and then painfully naive in situations where they should protect themselves?!”

Apparently… same demographic… same tactic.
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Today for work should be… an okay day. I only have two hearings but one of them is definitely going to be “like pulling teeth.”

Poor kid has been in the system for a long time. Parents are drug fiends. Kid learned to get attention only by doing the wrong things. Now he’s in middle school and thinks violence and threats are the way to get any kind of attention. So he builds a gun out of legos… and tells the teacher that someday, he’ll bring in a gun for real. This is one of those PRIME cases that the news can spin either way. Imagine the headlines.
Anti-Government Headline: SCHOOL CHILD CHARGED WITH CRIME FOR MAKING A “GUN SHAPE” OUT OF LEGOS. HAS ZERO TOLERANCE GONE TOO FAR?
Pro-Government Headline: STUDENT THREATENS TO BRING GUN TO SCHOOL. OFFICIALS ACT QUICKLY TO PREVENT SCHOOL SHOOTING.

So… that hearing is going to be… tough… and last a long time. But all things considered, this won’t be a super difficult day. Unless, of course, something goes horribly wrong.

Cracked.com did an entry today about why it is “hard for people to shrug off bad movies”. They used a picture of Justice League and then discussed how people are comparing finished movies with spec scripts; how alternate versions (Snyder Cut) are treated as messianic prophecies crushed by the dogmatic Studios attempting to prevent quality from challenging their rile; and how people get so hung up on the imaginary movie their mind created that a real movie will never be acceptable to them at all.

Honestly, though? If we’re going to talk about this… let’s talk about this. Yeah, what was written works for properties like “Jurassic World” and “Quentin Tarantino’s Next Racially Problematic Foot Fetish Film”… but it doesn’t for things like “Book to Film Adaptation”.... and (frankly)… I don’t care how highbrow or snooty you are.... Comic Books deserve to have the same approach. You can’t be upset about Tom Bombadil being completely cut from Lord of the Rings and then mock others for thinking that Darkseid should have been the big bad for Justice League. If you were upset with Michael Gambon’s portrayal of Dumbledore, you’ve got to let people be upset with Ray Fisher’s portrayal of Cyborg.

And here’s the deal. I still think Lord of the Rings Extended Edition was an excellent adaptation of the Lord of the Rings books. Obviously, it isn’t perfect. But that is what separates adaptations. A GOOD Adaptation says, “We aren’t going to get it perfect. But we owe the story the best version we can do. So we’re going to make sure to get as much as we can as close to the book as we can and not invent or remove things that would ultimately be massively important. We can’t change everything, after all.” A BAD Adaptation says, “You can’t make everyone happy. So we’re going to do what we want. I want to hire a whole bunch of writers to create a new story using the characters or themes.”

Now… here’s the interesting thing about this. Comic Books are a visual medium more than “literature”. And this can’t exactly be ignored either. You see… movies are a storyboard business. Good directors and writing rooms still use storyboards to express the vision of the film they’re working with.
Comic books are already in storyboard format.

So… while working a storyboard for something like… Percy Jackson involves specific choices being made about what scenes look like, where actors are going to be, and how the shots are going to be framed… arguably a lot of those choices are made for you when using the comic book source material as a story board.

Why isn’t this used more often? A number of reasons. Perhaps the biggest is legal. As an example… Robert Rodriguez wanted to use the Sin City Books as his storyboards and script. He would adapt it to the screen; but in such a way as to try to literally bring the books themselves to the screen. In order to make and release the film? Mr. Rodriguez was required to quit the Directors Guild of America in order to “properly credit Frank Miller”… Mr. Miller being the graphic novel creator. So there are restrictions as to “Who gets credit for what; and what outside interests can force their own influence and decision making onto the process?” Another one isn’t that different because… the creative people that make movies want to be creative! Why take someone else’s work and just do that? Let’s do something different! Which is another reason why I think a “Peter Jackson Presents ‘The X Men” or even a “David Yates Presents ‘The Avengers” would be better than a “Michael Bay Presents” or even a “J.J. Abrams Presents.”

SHIT… I went to a hearing and totally lost my train of thought. Crap-baskets.

So… I’ll admit. My hearings kind of sapped my energy. I mean, that isn’t shouldn’t be terribly surprising. The law is improvised debate in a lot of ways. Imagine walking into a room and being required to give three speeches about topics you’ll be given before you speak. Your turn comes to speak and you’re given a card that just says, “Gun Crime”. Then you give your speech and sit down. Next turn to speak, you’re given a card that says, “Netflix”.... this is a fairly good representation of Court Room Law some days. That’s what I just went through. 4 hours of that. So… yeah. I guess I shouldn’t be too terribly concerned that I’m a bit tired after all of that. Though… it provides a backwards segue:

I slept really well last night! And I’d guess it was likely to do with my weekend.

So after the whole “second date and sleep over” bullshit… I left for Ames with Nala. We played games, drank, had a good time. Martha texted me that her parents were going to come over just to let me know because she felt like she had to tell me. Nala and I enjoyed a great deal of social interaction with humans and other dogs and had many walks. A big weekend for both dog and human. Came home… Martha is boxing things up. No apartment yet (might get approved Monday) but she said that I was 100% correct to be upset and that she is just now realizing exactly how thoughtless she is. She mentioned that she only hopes I know it is unintentional because I shouldn’t ever think I deserve the kind of treatment she’s given me. And frankly, she added, “if you had told me someone was treating you like I have been? I’d be pissed off for you and told you to pack her shit!” So… I mean… from her own mouth… so that’s good. But still… she and everyone else can tell me “thoughtlessness” and I’ll still worry why “thoughtless” has been the best I’ve gotten.

But how’s this… she moved out of the master bedroom. She washed the sheets, changed the sheets, and set up the master bedroom for me… then moved all of her stuff into her study. Because she said that it really wasn’t right for her to stay in the master especially after being so thoughtless and careless lately.

So last night… for the first time in a long time… I slept in the master bedroom, by myself, without being upset about Martha’s not being home. So… between the long walks and social interactions and the whole bed to myself… maybe that is why I slept so well.

Plan for this evening?

Drive home.
Change Clothes.
Walk the dog.
Do Laundry.
Clean the bathroom.
Food for Nala and I.
Review banking.
Watch TV.
Go to bed.

It is funny. When I first “fall for someone” there are two songs that jump into my head like a compulsion. But during a breakup? A different two songs.

Last updated February 24, 2020