The Number of the Beast (Borders Edition)

Back in the 1990s, the number of the beast when it came to Borders was 10. That was the designation of the Rockville, Maryland store, especially after it moved to White Flint Mall. The store was the top-selling in the entire company for some years and even when it had been surpassed by others was still an amazingly busy and in many ways simply amazing place to shop for many years to come. It's where my wife was working when I first met her, and she's just the most obvious example of the many good friends I made through Borders who worked at "the beast".

All of that made it a little sad to see the doors closed and the sign absent when I walked through White Flint earlier today. As with most Borders, the store had ceased to be an amazing place to shop for books and music (let alone video) some time ago. The closing just made it official.

Thankfully, the closing doesn't mean anything in terms of the friends I've made. I get to keep them and to be honest I think I've gotten the better part of the deal. Sure I miss the employee discount, but the now-routine 40% coupons I get e-mailed from Borders Rewards offset that, and the benefit of Beth, Sean, Michael and all the great people I've come to know through them is beyond measure. Still, it's a shame the management of Borders had to screw things up so badly. Someone should write a book about it.

I'll Trade You

Though I'm typically more of a DC Comics fans, every so often I get the urge to make mine Marvel. Maybe it's the combination of two Marvel-based movies coming out soon, plus Joss Whedon's Avengers film getting underway. Whatever the reason, that's been the case for me the past couple weeks as a couple new Marvel trades have been added to my bookshelves.

The Legacy of Captain America was an interesting idea, summarizing the history of the many men who've taken the role in the Marvel Universe over the past 70 years, but the execution was ultimately flawed. This wasn't a question of the quality of the material, which was quite good, but rather the quantity. Marvel seemed intent on keeping the book's page count (and by extension its price) relatively low, but the net effect was that some intriguing story-lines were presented in a very disjointed way. In particular, Steve Englehart's mid-70s storyline that culminated in Steve Rogers giving up his Nomad identity to resume his role as Captain America was condensed into about 20 pages of excerpts from various issues. It would have been nice to have at least the final issue presented in its entirety. On the flip side, the section dealing one-time Captain America (and future U.S. Agent John Walker) would have benefited from some excerpts giving the background leading up to Steve Rogers' temporary resignation to go with the full issue where Walker got the job. Ultimately, it ended up being a decent sampler rather than a good collection in its own right.

In contrast, the Thor compilation Ragnarok by Roy Thomas with art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer was much more satisfying.While I wouldn't call this particular story-line ground-breaking, it's a strong example of the classic Marvel style before overly complicated cross-overs and pointless revamps became the norm. That's not to say that the collection isn't suitably epic, befitting its title, just that it works well within its own regular cast of characters without gratuitously dragging in half the Marvel universe. Credit here goes to Roy Thomas who was Marvel's ultimate utility player for many years. As with his long runs writing for the Justice Society and DC's other Golden Age characters, Thomas always understood what makes these characters appealing and found ways to add dimension to the original Lee/Kirby templates without having to trash/reboot everything that came before. If that idea sounds a bit quaint, don't let it dissuade you. If more current Marvel titles took this approach, they'd be a lot more enjoyable to read.

On a similar note, I'm looking forward to reading the 2005 Avengers collection Kang: Time & Time Again. In addition to reprinting some classic Avengers issues by Roy Thomas and some related one-offs with Thor and the Hulk, it contains a three-part storyline from Roger Stern's mid-80s tenure as the Avengers' writer, which ranks up there with those of Thomas, Englehart and Kurt Busiek. Again, I wish more current Marvel titles were this enjoyable. At least they've finally gotten the movie thing figured out.

A Blessed Event?

Were he alive today, Mark Twain might say of our media culture that it consists of "lies, damn lies and Fox News". With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what Fox News and similar "news" outlets will be saying in the weeks ahead about the release of President Obama's birth certificate from Hawaii earlier today (link to story on yahoo.com). Personally, I don't believe for a second that this will convince hard-core "birthers", including Donald Trump, that the issue is settled. The best we can hope for is that this release of records will move the issue to the furthest fringes of the debate and banish whatever little vestige of credibility their argument ever had. Sadly, we live in a world where the oft-discredited Jerome Corsi's yet-to-be-released book on the subject Where's the Birth Certificate is still among the top selling items on Amazon, so maybe even that modest hope is a bit too much. Even being a pragmatic idealist is hard work these days.

Old Testament Justice

While the liberal in me knows I'm supposed to respond to the compassionate, social-justice orientation that pervades the New Testament, I have an abiding fondness for the vengeful deity whose handiwork is all over the Old Testament. This was brought home to me by a combination of one of the readings at tonight's vigil mass for Easter and the annual showing of The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act precludes me from posting the movie here, but I'm pretty sure the passage in question from Exodus is fair game.


"And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses."


After a scene like that, I don't think anyone doubted that the god of the Israelites was a badass, especially the Israelites who seem to have been wavering a bit. For those who keep track of such things, I believe the above passage is from Chapter 14, Verses 26 to 31. As for the movie, it's out on Blu-ray. I should get it so I can ponder Old Testament justice when I read about mean spirited politicians like Michigan State Senator Bruce Caswell. Caswell has recently unveiled a budget proposal dictating that children in the state's foster care system will be required to buy clothing in thrift stores or other second-hand outlets.

In a sense Caswell threads the needles between the two strands of Christian philosophy that duel within me. Because he lacks compassion for the least of us, I want to see righteous wrath unleashed upon him. Admittedly that's not the most Christian attitude, but I remain a work in progress in that department. For believers, I wish you a Happy Easter. For all others, I hope Sunday proves to be a nice day spent with friends and loved ones.

Rest in Geek Part 3: The Doctor's Best Friend

To a generation of Doctor Who fans, myself included, the character of Sarah-Jane Smith was our companion. Even (some would say especially) in the show's 21st century incarnation, the companion role is still an audience identification figure. In that regard, Sarah-Jane was a highly aspirational character, not just because she was a respected professional but more so because by the end of her time in the TARDIS she was very much the Doctor's equal. As one of the few companions to make return appearances to the Doctor Who since their initial departure, let alone get their own spin-off series, Sarah-Jane was almost as much an icon of the show as the Daleks. When she appeared opposite David Tennant in the 2006 episode School Reunion, it conveyed even more powerfully than the Daleks did the previous year that the 21st century version was spiritually the same show I'd loved for so long. In short, her character was an indelible part of my childhood that somehow sidestepped the ravages of time (not to mention the forces that make things you loved as a kid suck as a grown-up).

That's what makes the news that the actress who played her, Elisabeth Sladen died of cancer today even sadder. Sladen was 63 but really she seemed ageless. Unlike her fellow 1970s Doctor Who alumnus Nicholas Courtney, who died a couple months ago, very little of the almost 40 years between her first and last episodes as Sarah-Jane showed in her appearance. In addition to being another reason she remained an aspirational figure to fans, that's probably one of the things that makes her death feel so surprising.

The 2008 episode Turn Left depicted an alternate time-line where the Doctor had died and his friends tried to pick up the slack. Not surprisingly, Sarah-Jane was one of those friends, dying heroically in the process. I remember being surprised how affecting I found that off-screen death, which was relayed in a news report watched by a character who sadly had no sense of its significance. Having learned about Sladen's death in much the same way feels similarly sad.

Thankfully, the antidote is readily available in DVD form. Genesis of the Daleks and School Reunion sounds like a nice double-bill. It's as close to time travel as we can get these days.

Shortcuts to Thinking

Since my day job involves acting as a critic of sorts, I certainly appreciate that everyone has biases. What bothers me, though, are uninformed biases on the part of professionals who have not just the time but also an obligation to get their information right. A case in point is the recent article in the Hollywood Reporter about the costume drama Borgia, featuring Brideshead Revisited’s Jeremy Irons.

After describing the shooting of a scene involving both incest and rape, writer Scott Roxborough goes on to comment, “If you were expecting I, Claudius, you should have stayed home. Because Borgia is not your father’s costume drama.“

While I’m sure Mr. Roxborough is a fine writer, who normally does their homework, that comment may be among the least informed to appear in a reputable publication, suggesting that the writer has never actually watched I, Claudius and probably knows little about the boundary pushing traditions of British costume drama. While some British period pieces definitely lean toward the safe side, some of the most renowned were the ones that pushed the envelope in their subject matter. Even the quintessential Masterpiece Theatre drama Upstairs Downstairs dealt with some fairly heavy subjects like suicide shell-shock during its five-year run.

Nothing tackled quite as many taboos, though, as I, Claudius. Putting aside questions about its historical accuracy, the series is probably the most prevalent pop-culture source for the idea that the emperors of Rome’s Julio-Claudian dynasty presided over an era of unrivaled debauchery. As far as content, the assassinations, many the work of the Empress Livia, are as close to safe as things get. Over the course of a dozen or so hours, we see the worst of human nature on full display. Whether it’s incest, rape, infanticide (sometimes more than one at a time), it’s almost impossible to look away, because it’s fantastic drama and the program is so well made on every level.

Derek Jacobi’s performance in the title role and Sian Phillips as the aforementioned Livia are just two of the fantastic performances at work here. Brian Blessed as Augustus, George Baker as Tiberius and especially John Hurt as Caligula all did some of the best work of their long careers here, often taking characters that border on monstrous and making them compelling. And though, it was shot all in studios it rarely feels stagy. In fact, the camera work is nearly as fluid as anything you’ll see in contemporary drama productions.

Of course, to appreciate this you have to watch the show, something Scott Roxburgh apparently couldn't be bothered to do before dismissing it. I suspect that anyone watching I, Claudius for the first time would be taken aback not just by the content but also the fact that it was ever able to be shown on regular broadcast television in America. However, that's not the sort of thing you notice if your path to judgment is a shortcut to thinking.

Trumped Up Nonsense

When even Karl Rove has decided the GOP should drop something as a method of attacking President Obama, that seems a pretty good barometer that something has run its course. The latest case in point is the infamous (and ridiculous) "birther" accusations implying that Barack Obama's presidency is illegitimate based on him allegedly having been born in Kenya (or heaven knows where else). Of course, potential 2012 candidate Donald Trump won't be told anything by anyone and so he continues to pander to the extreme right by demanding that the President produce his birth certificate.

What's so striking about Trump's approach is not that he's chosen an issue that is so clearly played out politically, it's that he actually seems to think it will endear him to the far right and by extension help him with primary voters. Those voters have seen this movie before, when it was called Rudolph Giuliani, and decided they didn't care for it enough to want to see it for four years. Like Trump, Giuliani offered a combination of strong name recognition and mixed record on conservative social issues. He couldn't even manage a second-place finish in any of the GOP primaries, let alone win one of them.

To that stew, Trump adds the special ingredient of having donated to numerous Democratic candidates over the years (http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/02/donald-trumps-donations-to-democrats.html). Were this limited to New York politicians, like Senator Charles Rangel and Charles Schumer, that might be somewhat excusable. When that list includes current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, then-Senator Joe Biden and the late Senator Edward Kennedy, it's hard to imagine the same kind of partisan voters who traditionally vote in primaries forgiving that sort of aisle-crossing and embracing "The Donald".

Some writers have suggested that Trump's behavior may be some sort of publicity stunt related to the current season of Celebrity Apprentice. Even if that's true, though, it really doesn't make it any better. He's still poisoning the political dialogue with a non-issue that's beyond irrelevant. He should be ashamed, but if there's one thing his public life has demonstrated Trump has none.

Yeats Is Different Than Yeast, But His Poetry Rises to the Occasion

April is National Poetry Month. Admittedly, I don't take the time to enjoy poetry like I probably should but as an effort to get in the spirit here's one of my favorites.

When You Are Old by William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Yes, it's a bit earnest with its heart on its sleeve, but that's the sort of thing I liked when I first read it. I suppose I still do.

A More Perfect Union

Watching the news this morning, I heard Meet the Press moderator David Gregory comment that the "Tea Party Caucus" in congress is "not interested in legislating." Two things struck me about that comment. The first was how pointed it was, despite the moderator's very moderate delivery. The second is how damning it really is, because it shows a fundamental misunderstanding on the part of the "Tea Party Caucus" about their job.

As members of the legislature, their job in most general terms is to govern. In particular, their job is to craft and pass legislation that keeps the government working. Because the process of governing is messy, that legislation probably won't be perfect and will out of necessity require compromise.

Frankly, anyone who doesn't understand that doesn't belong in congress, because it means they lack a proper understanding of the US Constitution. The intended goal, as stated in the preamble, is to foster "a more perfect union." It's very telling that the writers of the document used that language, because it shows that they understood that the process of democracy was inherently imperfect. The fact that they're more interested in ideological stands than taking the steps needed to govern shows how deeply the current breed of constitutional zealots misunderstands the document and the architects they claim to venerate.

Gregory referred to this state of affairs within the ranks of GOP congressmen as House Speaker John Boehner's problem, but he's only partly correct on this. It's the whole country's problem.

Not My Kind of Tea Party

There are many reasons why I think Sarah Palin probably won't run for president in 2012. The obvious ones involve a combination of her love of celebrity (and the largely uncritical adoration that comes with it) and the growing groundswell of opinion that she can't be elected. A less obvious reason, for the moment at least, is the increasingly strident Michelle Bachmann.

The three-term GOP Representative is clearly a rising star in "tea party" circles, with all the worry that inspires in non-extremists, and she seems to have at least the superficial appearance of being more knowledgeable and having a little bit of gravitas (at least relative to Palin). However, when that veneer cracks, she reveals herself to be more divider than uniter. A case in point was her recent mix-up between New Hampshire and Massachusetts as the location of the Revolutionary War battles of Concord and Lexington.

Every political figure of note has made or will make a mistake like that, but it's the response to those mistakes that tends to show their real character. Not one to do things by half-measures, Bachmann showed plenty of her character here. Posting on her Facebook page she wrote, "It was my mistake, Massachusetts is where they happened. New Hampshire is where they are still proud of it!"

Putting aside the fact that comments like that would be disgraceful for any politician, they're especially inappropriate for someone with apparent presidential ambitions. Comments like that may win you votes in a Republican primary (such as New Hampshire's), but they ignore the fact that people don't become the President only of the states that voted for them. If that was the case, California probably would have seceded By now.

Beyond that, though, what bothers me about this is not Bachmann's pandering to the GOP base. It's that she seems OK with the idea that the basic facts of US history are there simply to be used for partisan attacks, especially not on an entire state. She can take issue all she wants with "the Obama doctrine" or whatever other divisive things she wants, but some things have to be above this kind of pettiness on both sides. If not, then what kind of foundation do we have?

Living in the Future

As the saying goes, nothing dates like the future. A number of commentators have observed how much science-fiction, especially pre-Apollo landings, imagined people living on the moon but for the most part didn't envision the evolutions in information technology we've seen in the past decade or so. Even the relatively forward-looking original Star Trek tended to focus more on macro developments like faster-than-light travel, though its nifty personal tech remains influential.

What brings this to mind for me is the iPad. Having gotten the chance to play around a bit with my wife's 2nd generation version, I feel qualified to say that the detractors are right when they say it's basically an overgrown iPod Touch. I feel similarly qualified to say that, however right their point may be, it's equally irrelevant. The iPad truly seems to be the virtually ideal computer for people who don't like computers.

Not only can it do nearly everything that non-techies like to do (e-mail, music, web browsing, etc.), using it is every bit as intuitive as the iPod Touch or iPhone if not more so because of the larger screen. For those who want more office functionality, there also seem to be applications for word processing and spreadsheets. I'm sure they're not quite as effective as desktop items like Word or Excel, but I suspect they do a more than adequate job. The only caveat I have is primarily a corporate rather than technical issue, namely Steve Jobs' refusal to integrate Flash into it. In short, this is the kind of computer space-age science-fiction implied we'd have, even if it never discussed it in detail. Because it's important that nothing date like the future, we also can rest assured that a new model will be here before we know it. After all, even the future isn't perfect.