I keep getting really annoyed at myself for not blogging more often, even if nobody bothers reading this it's nice to come back to every once and a while, scroll through what I've written and see how things have changed. This post isn't about how slack-jawed I've been towards this blog in the past couple of months, it's about the future.
Tales of a Dungeon Master:
This series of blogs is fucking difficult to write. Trying to find something interesting enough to write down, then trying to remember all of the details is just frustrating sometimes but I'll do my best to get my act together and get a couple of these things up.
Character Hall of Fame:
This is a series of posts I've thought about doing for a while now. As a hopeful future author I wanted to look back at the characters that already exist, the ones that have inspired me to write or just fill me with awe at how interesting, unique or plain badass they are. So I'll be listing all of my favourite characters in posts sometime soon.
The Archive:
I've already posted once about the archive but I plan to continue if just for my own little time capsule. It's like that folder on your computer that's just labelled "Stuff" you've got no idea what's in there after a couple of months of randomly sticking things in there but when you look back, you get a new perspective on old things or another little chuckle out of the memes or vaguely funny pictures floating around.
Rose Tinted Glasses:
I'm thinking that once a week I'll take something from my childhood (probably a TV series) and stick it up here to keep a log of how my interests and hobbies have progressed (or just not in some cases) over the years. I might even tear the show a new one if I realise that as a kid I was really quite thick.
I hope that this'll keep things more lively around my blog and stop it from going into a dry spell once again.
Thursday 30 August 2012
The Superhero Ethos
What makes a super-hero? Super Strength? Super Speed? Flight? Wikipedia describes a Superhero as "A type of stock character dedicated to protecting the public." Well to understand what a superhero is let's take a look at heroes in general.
The word hero is thrown around a lot these days. A hero can be anything from a person who saves lives to one that shows courage and bravery in battle. However, if you've ever watched a TV show that shows a young girl swooning at the sight of her favourite pop idol after mumbling, "My hero...." you'll understand where I'm coming from.
I think perhaps that the word hero is being diluted more and more and may some day mean nothing more than someone famous enough to roll around in a pile of money because of some auto tuned piece of crap spat out by the music industry. I think this realisation has started to make me quite mournful as when I think of heroes I think of men and women that risk their lives to protect people in their day to day working life. I mean, soldiers, fire-fighters, ambulance workers and hospital staff are all incredible people. (The latter I've run into lately far too many times for my own good.) So why is it that we should let this word slip into the hands of those that don't deserve it?
Now, super-heroes usually take on the roles of the aforementioned professions but have some sort of mystical, magical or technological power that helps them to save people on a nightly basis whilst keeping their secret identity in tact. (Or in Bruce Wayne's case, not so much.) Super-heroes are entirely fictitious in the comic-book sense.
Do they have to be?
I really hope I live to see the day when military technology is no longer at the forefront of science, when trying to kill people takes a step back out of the long queue of priorities this world has. Technologically advanced fire-fighters? I'll have me some of those please. I'm all about the betterment of humanity and bettering ourselves as a nation, or even as a people. Giant robotic defence and security units? Well, might put a few people out of a job, but someone's gotta maintain that sort of thing. All of this is very well and good to speculate about but really are we ready to be super at all?
I mean, every couple of months, probably less, we hear of a policeman that abuse their power or authority and even some medical professionals that manage to harm the people they're trying to help through laziness or malpractice. Imagine the same things but super. That's a pretty terrifying notion, a dirty cop with a giant mech...Jesus christ, I think I might have changed my mind.
I know that there will always be someone using their power for their own gain, in every profession, just trying to get whatever they can for themselves which for the most part is something I believe in but when it treads on others or is so badly mis-used that it becomes a way of venting hatred towards others such as racial attacks it makes me sick to my stomach. It's all well and good trying to get the best you can out of life, squeezing everything out until nothing but the peel remains but when it comes to sheer abuse of power, I bow out.
Maybe we're not meant to be super.
I really don't know if I'm making a point, rambling on about nothing or even making myself out to be an idiot. At some stage though, I saved some of this as a draft and I might as well post it, I've been umming and awwing about my blog-writing abilities for months now, so I might as well stick up what I've been working on, even if it's crap.
The word hero is thrown around a lot these days. A hero can be anything from a person who saves lives to one that shows courage and bravery in battle. However, if you've ever watched a TV show that shows a young girl swooning at the sight of her favourite pop idol after mumbling, "My hero...." you'll understand where I'm coming from.
I think perhaps that the word hero is being diluted more and more and may some day mean nothing more than someone famous enough to roll around in a pile of money because of some auto tuned piece of crap spat out by the music industry. I think this realisation has started to make me quite mournful as when I think of heroes I think of men and women that risk their lives to protect people in their day to day working life. I mean, soldiers, fire-fighters, ambulance workers and hospital staff are all incredible people. (The latter I've run into lately far too many times for my own good.) So why is it that we should let this word slip into the hands of those that don't deserve it?
Now, super-heroes usually take on the roles of the aforementioned professions but have some sort of mystical, magical or technological power that helps them to save people on a nightly basis whilst keeping their secret identity in tact. (Or in Bruce Wayne's case, not so much.) Super-heroes are entirely fictitious in the comic-book sense.
Do they have to be?
I really hope I live to see the day when military technology is no longer at the forefront of science, when trying to kill people takes a step back out of the long queue of priorities this world has. Technologically advanced fire-fighters? I'll have me some of those please. I'm all about the betterment of humanity and bettering ourselves as a nation, or even as a people. Giant robotic defence and security units? Well, might put a few people out of a job, but someone's gotta maintain that sort of thing. All of this is very well and good to speculate about but really are we ready to be super at all?
I mean, every couple of months, probably less, we hear of a policeman that abuse their power or authority and even some medical professionals that manage to harm the people they're trying to help through laziness or malpractice. Imagine the same things but super. That's a pretty terrifying notion, a dirty cop with a giant mech...Jesus christ, I think I might have changed my mind.
I know that there will always be someone using their power for their own gain, in every profession, just trying to get whatever they can for themselves which for the most part is something I believe in but when it treads on others or is so badly mis-used that it becomes a way of venting hatred towards others such as racial attacks it makes me sick to my stomach. It's all well and good trying to get the best you can out of life, squeezing everything out until nothing but the peel remains but when it comes to sheer abuse of power, I bow out.
Maybe we're not meant to be super.
I really don't know if I'm making a point, rambling on about nothing or even making myself out to be an idiot. At some stage though, I saved some of this as a draft and I might as well post it, I've been umming and awwing about my blog-writing abilities for months now, so I might as well stick up what I've been working on, even if it's crap.
The Archive: First Entry
Now, I know that I'm definitely not the only person that browses 9gag and a plethora of other websites from time to time looking for random amusing things to keep my tired or bored brain active. Sometimes you just need a good pick-me-up on a bad day and or you're just checking these sites out of habit. Myself, my facebook page is bombarded from all the pages I've liked with funny images or videos that are trending across the net and I've decided that I'm sick of having a little chuckle then forgetting the image or video ever existed seconds later. If I find anything interesting or amusing I'll be sticking it under archive entries to keep myself amused in intellectual dry spells and perhaps even liven up this blog with a few laughs. Depending on the link I'll give a little anecdotal to go along with each, if I can be bothered. I'll also add songs that I've been addicted to so that I never lose track of them. For some reason it's only letting me post things as links at the moment so I guess I'll have to come back and fix things a bit at a later date.
First up is Gangnam style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0&noredirect=1
When I was sent this by a Norwegian friend of mine she thought I'd have a good laugh at it and leave it alone but I literally listened to this song constantly, about a hundred times before realising it reminded me of a friend, once I sent it to him it basically became a running joke between us and won't be forgotten for a long while.
Immediately Point at Face.
http://imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/handed-most-dangerous-weapon-in-galaxy2.png
After a couple of games of Star Wars themed dungeons and dragons this little image cropped up and made me laugh out loud.
The Sanctuary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC2KnVg8zSA
This song is a favourite for when I'm taking a few hours to just sit and write. I don't know why but it always makes me feel a little sad. Even still, it's from one of my favourite game series of all time and it's just a great piece of music.
Who doesn't like Batman memes?
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/294600_10151040611523386_1424500617_n.jpg
A nice take on the villains of Gotham.
http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/funny-celebrity-pictures-set-phasers-to-lol-this-isnt-a-car1.jpg
Worth a giggle.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6797424/batman-meets-two-face
A pretty sweet College Humour parody of Batman and Two-face.
Pretty Powerful Stuff. Agnes Obel, Riverside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTalpzCDSLs
This is a song that will never lose its edge for me. There's just something about the way the piano and the vocalist's tone that gets me every time.
The Slender Man
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/419944_2821718138890_112117519_n.jpg
About a year ago, maybe more, I started watching the Marble Hornets series and it's truly awesome. No budget horror series that will never stop scaring me.
I'm hoping that these archive entries will serve as a sort of time capsule so that some day far from now I can come back and have a good laugh at all the memories that these images bring back and hopefully the archive section will see to it that I never forget some of my favourite music that's sent to me by friends.
Until next time.
First up is Gangnam style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0&noredirect=1
When I was sent this by a Norwegian friend of mine she thought I'd have a good laugh at it and leave it alone but I literally listened to this song constantly, about a hundred times before realising it reminded me of a friend, once I sent it to him it basically became a running joke between us and won't be forgotten for a long while.
Immediately Point at Face.
http://imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/handed-most-dangerous-weapon-in-galaxy2.png
After a couple of games of Star Wars themed dungeons and dragons this little image cropped up and made me laugh out loud.
The Sanctuary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC2KnVg8zSA
This song is a favourite for when I'm taking a few hours to just sit and write. I don't know why but it always makes me feel a little sad. Even still, it's from one of my favourite game series of all time and it's just a great piece of music.
Who doesn't like Batman memes?
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/294600_10151040611523386_1424500617_n.jpg
A nice take on the villains of Gotham.
http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/funny-celebrity-pictures-set-phasers-to-lol-this-isnt-a-car1.jpg
Worth a giggle.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6797424/batman-meets-two-face
A pretty sweet College Humour parody of Batman and Two-face.
Pretty Powerful Stuff. Agnes Obel, Riverside.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTalpzCDSLs
This is a song that will never lose its edge for me. There's just something about the way the piano and the vocalist's tone that gets me every time.
The Slender Man
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/419944_2821718138890_112117519_n.jpg
About a year ago, maybe more, I started watching the Marble Hornets series and it's truly awesome. No budget horror series that will never stop scaring me.
I'm hoping that these archive entries will serve as a sort of time capsule so that some day far from now I can come back and have a good laugh at all the memories that these images bring back and hopefully the archive section will see to it that I never forget some of my favourite music that's sent to me by friends.
Until next time.
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