The Planets: Mercury

As a mid/late summer project, I've decided to write a series of nine line poems about each planets and their "qualities". Even Pluto made the cut. I hope you return my return to blog poetry:)

Mercury

Gazing upon the frozen plain,

I pray to the fickle Deity for winter rain.

Winged feet occupied elsewhere, in comings and goings

Over stark, bare craters and mole hill mountains.

I drink from barren fountains

That don't satisfy my wandering winged feet

They tread endlessly, aimlessly

Over the broken landscape of garish Walmarts and petrol stained                                                                            service stations. 

The god only sheds one tear.

Capsule Book Reviews (William Blake, Fray, All Quiet on the Western Front)

Goodreads.com is a website that should be on every bibliophile's bookmarks. You can keep track of what books you're reading, have read, and want to read. Other features including seeing what your friends (or favorite authors) are reading, trivia, and forums. But my favorite feature is the review function where you can give a book a star rating (1-5) and write a little blurb about it. These capsule reviews come from my Goodreads page.

Blake: Poems by William Blake (Everyman's Library, 1994)

William Blake was a mystic poet who was not afraid to challenge the religious and political views of his day. Like the other Romantic poets, he creates beautiful images of nature especially in Songs of Innocence); but he is not naive and understands the natural and moral evil that haunts the universe and provides haunting imagery of evil and demonic power. Blake also brings up some interesting philosophical questions in his longer poems The Everlasting Gospel and Marriage of Heaven and Hell where he ponders if there is really a dichotomy between reason and desire and attempts to solve the ancient Dionysian/Apollonian problem. Blake's prophetic poems are slightly denser than his other works and derivative of other sources like the Bible and Paradise Lost, but they are a valiant attempt at world-building. 4/5 Stars


Fray by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline (Dark Horse Comics, 2003)

Not Whedon's best work, but it is interesting seeing a concept to see a "Slayer" who is even more amoral than Faith. The plot was a bit of a rehash of season 1 of Buffy and the art was shaky in spots. However, this cyberpunk world was extremely interesting and may have even influenced Firefly... The latter issues especially shine along with the relationship between Melaka and her siblings Harth and Erin. 3/5 Stars


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (Vintage Books, 2009)


I read this book in 11th grade, and it has had a great impact on my thinking as a pacifist. Through reading this book, I realized that soldiers are pawns of their government and neither hurt nor hindered by the outcome. The humorous conversation among the soldiers about the war leaders fighting in a ring for each other's country especially proved this point. All Quiet also contains uncanny juxtapositions between peaceful nature images and brutal, grotesque battle scenes. It also reveals the vulnerable nature of humans because no character is spared from fickle death, not even the protagonist. In conclusion, All Quiet on the Western Front is an excellent, balanced look at the mind and actions of the "lost generation" of 1918. You will not look at war or good and evil the same way after reading this novel.


So what do you think of these books? Any books you would like me to review? Please comment below.

True Confession: I Am A Type I Anti-Hero

So I'm currently addicted to the Internet (what's new), especially this fun little site TV Tropes. I love going on this site and seeing all the little connections between all the books, movies, TV shows, and video games that I've watched/played. (And some that I haven't) After perusing the Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes page, I realized that I am Type I Anti-hero.

Type I anti-heroes lack the edge that make "stereotypical" anti-heroes such badasses. So don't expect me to shoot first or wear a tight skull t-shirt any time soon... They just don't want to be heroes and have deep, noticeable flaws. For example, Superman can fly, has super strength, heat vision, and still gets the big scoop for the Daily Planet. In contrast, Spider-Man still has cool powers like the proportional strength of a spider but can still get his butt handed to him by baddies like Doc Ock and Kingpin, struggles balancing "real life"with superhero-ing, and can never "settle down" with his lady friends. (*cough* One More Day *cough*). If I was a superhero, I would fall in the Spider-Man category.

Type I anti-heroes fall in the morally "good" category. Some quick examples are Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit, Napoleon Dynamite (who I've been compared to), all those lovable and not so lovable from Kevin Smith movies, and the main cast of The Guild. Overall, I am a moral person, don't do big "bad" things like cheat on tests/significant others, do my homework/chores, and abstain from violence. Yeah, what an interesting life. However, I lack the "hero" factor.

So I've done some "selfless" things in my life, like making study guides for my entire philosophy class in high school and helping feed homeless people my first semester in college. I quit that second gig for less than noble reasons because some overzealous folks called me a "socialist" and "liberal scum". If I truly cared about helping people, I would persist and not fall prey to simple words. But did I even care any more.

Caring is an interesting concept. The past few days I have come to realize that I truly "care" about few people. This is a major personal weakness. Honestly, I would rather see The Dark Knight Rises opening night that spend a week with my (extended) family in the Virgin Islands. This is madness. However, I know that the proven formula of Batman+ Christopher Nolan (along with possible Bat-breakage and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Azrael/Nightwing) will provide a solid two and a half hours of cinematic magic and conclusion to one of my favorite film trilogies. This is in contrast to time spent with my extended family who I have very little in common with and are way too "competitive" for me. They also didn't get the point of Hunger Games and maybe even Fight Club...

In conclusion, I have made two very long term personal goals. First, I want to upgrade from an anti-hero to a "real" hero while not losing the quirks that make me me. Do something to benefit society (not for a paycheck or "therapy") while keeping the sarcasm and pop culture reference overdose. I might maybe even rekindle my old "bleeding heart" nature and former faith. Second, I need to find some kind of "project". Existentialist philosopher Jean-Sartre described a good project as "acting on a concrete situation and modifying it in some way"in his essay "A New Authentic Way of Being". Despite how hard one tries, life has no overarching purpose and is a daily struggle. However, I can still find some meaningful to do with my time, like writing fiction or poetry, updating this blog, or something physical like running and feel like my life has some direction despite the chaos and nothingness. If hardened criminals can find redemption so can self-centered anti-heroes like me.

"If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do."-Angel in "Epiphany" from Angel