Musing of the Moment: Stop the Idiotic Parental Overreach

Leonard Pitts Jr., the renowned columnist for The Miami Herald, has a great opinion piece that everyone who cares about K-12 education should read: "Let's Respect Teachers as the Trained Professionals That They Are, Shall We?" 

As he states, "So here’s my modest proposal: How about we respect educators as the trained professionals they are? How about we trust their judgment? How about we stop requiring them to reach consensus with those who have not the first clue? If a parent feels their child can’t handle some challenging material, fine: empower that parent to opt the child out of the lesson — not to deny the lesson to everyone else."

I am so tired for ignoramus parents and dumb-ass school boards trying to dictate what is and what is not being taught in schools because of their snowflake sensibilities or idiocies. 

The extreme example of parental and politically motivated overreach is the idiotic proposal in Iowa that proposes to put video cameras in every public classroom. 

Big Brother wants to watch. 

If you think there's a teacher shortage now, if more of this nonsense about banning books and doing surveillance on teachers continues, the problem is only going to get worse. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I found a typeface I will now be using more of: Charter. It's easier on my eyes when I look at documents on a screen. 

For this blog I've been using Trebuchet for years. It's a sans serif font that has some serif-like style with its pointedness. 

And this all reminds me of the character Brick from The Middle who is also fascinated with typefaces. 

I started watching that show a few months ago. It's hilarious. Of course, with my timing, I didn't actually watch the sit-com when it was off the air. 

HBO has a new series I'm interested in: Watchmen. I enjoyed the graphic novel and its adaptation to the big screen. On the latter opus, I guess I"m a minority if one goes by all the vitriol on the InterWebs. I don't know what the series will be like, but I was surprised by Don Johnson being in the show. I haven't seen him in years. 

His Dark Materials looks very interesting too. I'm intrigued. I'm considering reading the novel trilogy that is the series' basis. 

Who are the morons who started the idiotic trend of wearing socks with Birkenstocks?

Stay Positive: Favorite Comic Book Characters

As I was watching Avengers Infinity War on Netflix the other day, I started thinking about my favorite comic book characters and why I liked them so much. So here goes. 

Daredevil

I started reading comic books because of an initial attraction to Spider-Man. If Spider-Man was my gateway comic book, then Daredevil comic books were my main source of pleasure after I moved on from Spidey. 

For me, the reason I liked Daredevil so much was that, as comic book heroes go, he had/has a dark, brooding personality that I identified with. As much as any character in the Marvel universe, he's flawed but strongly principled, so there was always that interesting dynamism going on with Matt Murdock. 

Having grown up fairly religious, Daredevil searching for meaning connected to me even though I did not grow up with the Catholic guilt and ceremony that the books portrayed. The Catholicism angle is something the Netflix series played with some in season 1 and then returned to it in season 3, which was a welcome return. 

One of the greatest periods of the Daredevil comic book series was when I was in my youth: the Frank Miller & Klaus Janson years. 

In Tim Leong's Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Comic Book Universe, Daredevil is shown to be statistically one of the weaker superheroes in terms of battles won, tied, and lost. In the book's "Battle Breakdown" graphical element, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen is in the lower 25 percentile. 

Like I said, he's flawed, but he's interesting. 

Scarlet Witch

Gosh, I love Wanda Maximoff. From as far back as I can remember, I've been fascinated by/attracted to red-headed women. I blame on it Daphne from Scooby-Doo. She started it all. 

As a minor unrelated tangent, when The Office was in its last seasons, didn't anyone else find it a bit implausible Dunder Miflin had three red-headed women in the office? Or maybe it's just me... 

But I digress. Besides being beautiful to my teenaged eyes when I would regularly read Avengers comic books, she has really interesting powers with her initial "hex powers" and later with her ability to wield "chaos magic." 

I never understood her attraction to Vision, but I get the storyline and why it was put into the Avengers comic book. 

Within her character's arc, initially she and Quicksilver were Magneto's kids, but I guess later on in other variations, she was not Magneto's daughter. I like her best as Magneto's daughter. 

As a member of the Avengers, I think her power was always under-appreciated.    


Hawkeye

The first image is the first issue of a four-part series, during the 80s I believe, that I still have. I have the four issues that is a short story involving Hawkeye as the main character, not the supporting character he usually is with the Avengers, 

A year or so ago, I reread the four-part series of comic books, and it's a decent story. Much to my surprise, the series ends with Cliff Burton and Mockingbird both naked and in a hot tub together. I don't remember being titillated by that image back when I read it as a kid, but I'm sure I was. 

Much like Daredevil, Hawkeye relies on his excellent fighting abilities, specifically of course the bow and arrow, which is notably old fashioned. 

You don't see a lot of purple-clad superheroes, but in a number of variations Hawkeye is often purple as can been seen in the Matt Fraction's fine run on Hawkeye, which brings us to the newest Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, pictured above. As Wikepedia relates, Kate's outfit is drawn to resemble a combo of the first Hawkeye and Mockingbird's outfits. 

Unfortunately, the recent Kate Bishop Hawkeye series was cancelled, but I hope to find her in another series soon. 


Iron Fist

It's a little strange that Danny Rand's story is quite similar to Bruce Wayne's: dead parents but rich as hell. However, the narrative of him getting the special Iron Fist power as a Westerner is appealing to white boys like me who have a fascination with Eastern philosophy, martial arts, and so on.  

I didn't buy a lot of Power Man & Iron Fist comic books when I was a kid because the drugstore where I bought comic books usually didn't stock them on a regular basis for whatever reason. From time to time, they'd be available though. 

But often those comic books provided a bit of comic relief to my reading because sometimes they would just be downright hilarious. In some respects, the recent run by Walker on Power Man & Iron Fist has taken that mantle. 

My favorite superhero comic book of recent vintage is Fraction's The Immortal Iron Fist. It's a more serious narrative arch with beautiful artwork. 


Wolverine

Going by "Battle Breakdown" again, Logan is hell of fighter. He ranks in the top third of battles won, tied, and lost, which is right below Sub-Mariner and She-Hulk and above Kingpin and Thor. That's good company to be in. 

It's not hard to see why Wolverine is so beloved by Marvel fans. He's a major character in one of the most powerful and influential superhero groups in history, the X-Men, and the whole love triangle among he, Jean Grey, and Scott Summers made plot lines interestingly uncomfortable. 

But to get to the real gist, his character's backstory and abilities are just so interesting and compelling. How great would it be to be able to live that long and be able to heal oneself? The character is basically indestructible until the adamantium covering his bones eventually poisons him. 

His personality also calls out to some of our wish-fulfillments though with his ability to unleash havoc similar to how people talked about how Vikings would go berserk in battle.


Beast

As you can tell, I was an Avengers reader, and I prefer what some readers might consider the "supporting" superheroes of the team, whereas I don't find Captain America and Iron Man all that interesting. Thor has his moments, and I like the whole Asgardian pantheon that the comic books portray, but I never read Thor on a regular basis. 

Beast, on the other hand, was a comic and literary foil to the seriousness of other characters. When I read The Avengers, he often quoted British literature, especially Shakespeare. 

He was a biochemist though with a genius-level intellect, so that is one characteristic that drew me to him. His abilities are awesome. He's basically a superhuman atavistic well-read genius. 

Hank McCoy also has the distinction of being both a member of the X-Men and the Avengers. 

Black Widow

Here we go again with a red-headed lady superhero. 

Looking at her history, I didn't know she originated as a menace to the typically boring Iron Man. I was introduced to her as a member of the Avengers, a former Soviet spy, who wed and divorced Hawkeye, and was at times the girlfriend of Daredevil. Natasha is one of the few girlfriends of Daredevil who doesn't get killed. 

She's quick, agile, and very good at combat, but much to my chagrin, I never knew she was somewhat similar to Logan in anti-aging and healing characteristics. What I remember most is that's she's awfully good with weapons with an intellect adept at manipulation and tactical strategies. 

The somewhat recent run of Black Widow by Edmondson and Noto was quite good.


Power Man aka Luke Cage

The first image is the character that I grew up with, an almost Blacksploitation version of Luke Cage. As African-American superheroes go, Power Man was a distinct contrast to the somewhat stuffy Black Panther and the helpmatey Falcon.

The guy needs cash, so he teams up with Iron Fist to create Heroes for Hire, one of the better ideas in the Marvel universe in my opinion. Instead of being a jingoistic, Captain American syle superhero, Power Man needs to get paid.  

Even though the premise of Heroes for Hire was a bit sketchy (after all, Danny Rand is rich), I liked the whole counterpoint of superheroes needing money and doing their work as a job, not for some altruistic endeavor. 

In some ways, Luke Cage is a non-flying, fallible Superman. He's indestructible and has superhuman strength ~ but not superhuman strength that is outlandish. As supermen go, he's a realistic one.


Spider-Man

Besides Wolverine and the next guy featured, who is a magnificent villain or antihero depending on one's perspective, Spider-Man is one of the major players in the Marvel comic book universe. He's beloved. 

What's been tiresome the past couple of decades though is that the Marvel cinematic universe keeps churning out Spider-Man movies to the extent that I'm getting tired of Spider-Man, which is unfortunate. But I have heard good things about the animated movie that came out recently. 

He's a great character who captured the imaginations of many young readers because Peter Parker represents the insecurities and issues teens were having. And it's an iconic story.


Magneto

If Professor X is the MLK of mutant-human conflict, Magneto is Malcolm X. 

Considering how the Marvel universe depicts how humans try to destroy mutants, it's hard for me to see him as an extreme villain. Sure, in some comic books, he's pretty evil, but to a degree he's fighting for his "race." 

There is good in him I believe, and the recent series done by Bunn, Walta, et al. presents a more sympathetic portrait of this powerful mutant. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Here's something to look forward to. 

I"m reading ahead of the season in the comic books, so I'm interested in how they adapt the show to the plot lines of the Whisperer War. 

In not a surprising fashion, Moscow Don is back to his racist bullshit: "...You're Straight-Up Racist." 

Random Notes from a Crank

I've been a college professor for a good while now, and I will be happy to see this semester end. I want to plunge a wooden stake in the semester's soul-sucking heart. I had some good students who did very fine work. But I had a number of students who still think they're in high school, are unmotivated, and are unwilling to put in the work necessary, or a combo of all three. It's not like I'm doing anything significantly different in my classes. It was just bad luck of the scheduling draw. 

I've been watching the AMC series Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics. It's a worthwhile series for fans of comic books and graphic novels. The episode about Wonder Woman was really good, the one on the start of Marvel was interesting, and the recent episode about Image Comics was excellent. 

Next year AMC will feature another series in a similar vein: James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction. I hope there is an episode about Phillip K. Dick. I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I'm interested to learn more about it. 

With all the men getting canned or stepping aside from elected office, it's not surprising this is the first sentence of the article "Three Women Reassert Allegations of Sexual Harassment against President Trump": "The #MeToo sexual harassment movement roiling the nation reached the doors of the White House on Monday, when three women who last year accused President Trump of sexual misconduct began a renewed public push to gain attention for their allegations." 

The Mueller investigation is likely to continue to unearth more dirt on MoscowDon and his associates, but I like that he's getting hit on these charges again. 

Random Notes from a Crank

On Father's Day Mrs. Nasty, the kids, and I went to the Wonder Woman movie. I enjoyed it. I'm not a DC Comics kind of guy, but it was an entertaining movie. Of the DC comics characters, Wonder Woman is one of my favorites. 

And the actress who plays Wonder Woman is hotter than the hinges hanging off the gates of Hell. 

Unfortunately for her, "Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman Salary Was Shockingly Low." 

This past weekend I took my son to the local comic book store, and he picked up a copy of Black Panther Vol. 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I read it that afternoon. I really enjoy Coates' work, but the narrative was a little too fragmented for me. 

One of my excellent discoveries was that Bendis created a new stand-alone Jessica Jones narrative. Good stuff people. 

Stay Positive: Iron Fist

Of the Marvel Netflix series, Iron Fist is the one that has not gotten a lot of positive critical acclaim. 

In fact, it has received its fair share of negative reviews. For example, check these out: 

• "6 Problems That Make Iron Fist So Frustrating"
• "Marvel's Iron Fist Is Desperately Seeking a Hero"
• "Iron Fist Is a Terrible Show - And It's Not Donald Trump's Fault"

I'm here to tell you that it's a decent show. 

There is some just (but minor) criticism in those reviews, but I enjoyed the series. 

One issue out there is that there was a campaign to make the main character Asian-American. I don't get that. 

Danny Rand has always been a rich white dude. Sweet Christmas. 

In comparison to the comic books, the TV Danny Rand is a bit of a darker character. Thinking back to the old Power Man and Iron Fist comics and even comparing the TV series to the current run of Power Man and Iron Fist by Walker, the comic book versions of Danny Rand are sometimes more light-hearted. 

And to think more positively, the Iron Fist series moves us toward the new series, The Defenders. 

And here are possible explanations to the end of season 1. 

Random Notes from a Crank

CVS enjoys giving me coupons, but what's the point if I can't use them on booze and milk? 

Speaking of booze, I watched the initial episodes of Brockmire, and that character really enjoys his Sazerac Rye. 

Can't say that I blame him. 

Great show so far by the way. 

I finally got around to reading Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta, a dystopian graphic novel about Britain under fascist rule. Page 2 of the first issue features radio news/propaganda playing, and one panel says this: "Mr. Karel went on to say that it is the duty of every man in this country to seize the initiative and make Britain great again." 

Let that sink in. 

If I were at this dude's college, I'd take his class for sure: "Professor Caveman." 

Another interesting article from The Atlantic is "Welcome to Pleistocene Park." Scientists in Siberia are combating climate change by bringing back grasslands. The really sexy part of the whole project is that they want to genetically resurrect wooly mammoths. 

Stay Positive: Scarlet Witch

As far as comic book superhero characters go, one of my absolute favorites is the Scarlet Witch. When I began reading comic books in the late 70s and then the 80s, Wanda and Vision were part of The Avengers. 

The new Scarlet Witch series out now is outstanding. I'm loving the artwork, and it's a solid story so far. If you too are a fan of Wanda Maximoff, check it out. Volume 3 is not out yet, but you can nab volumes 1 and 2. 

Check out the covers. 

Stay Positive: Power Man and Iron Fist

I finally finished Luke Cage last night. It was a good series, but I think I enjoyed Jessica Jones more. One plot line I had a hard time buying was that Diamondback was Cage's half brother and that he somehow became this major crime kingpin. So I had to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the show. The first season did provide some surprising plot twists, and I guess I didn't really know Cage's origin story. At least I didn't remember it.   

I got this comic book in the mail this week. 

I read all of it, the collected issues (1-5), in one sitting. Issue 5 is hilarious. I mean laugh-out-loud hilarious to me. 

As you can imagine, I'm geeked up about this upcoming series. 

Random Notes from a Crank

If you're an educator, a parent, or a coach, you should check out Angela Duckworth's Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. I finished it last week. 

I wonder about the word origins of people using "salty" as an adjective for language as in "That guy was using some salty language." I wonder if it comes from the stereotype of sailors being people that swear often. 

I got sucked into another graphic novel series: Brian Wood's DMZ. 

I need to get back to reading The Walking Dead Compendium One. 

The Crimson Tide has a challenging opening game against the USC Trojans. If I remember right, it's going to be played at JerryWorld. 

One of our friends uses mayonnaise to take off ring marks off of woodwork. I'm fascinated by this. I want to understand the science behind it. It didn't work on my dining room table, however. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As someone who works at a university, I'm often astounded and frustrated how some people with PhDs and impressive credentials can be really @#$%ing stupid.

I would like to watch a sporting event on television without having to listen to commercials about boner medicine. Please stop the incessant marketing of pecker pills. 

I need to start a campaign. 

Because I've become a fan of the TV series Manhattan, which is about the making of the atomic bomb, I recently purchased and have started reading the 25th anniversary edition of The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. When I got it in the mail I was a bit surprised. I didn't realize it was 747 pages long. I'll be reading about this history for a good while. 

Another TV series I've been watching is Jessica Jones on Netflix. I was not familiar with that character until I started doing some online sleuthing. I remember her being teamed up with Luke Cage toward the end of Matt Fraction's Iron Fist series, but she's quite the character. I've had experience with the villain of the series, Killgrave, in a Daredevil comic recently. So it seems like the TV series is piecing together parts of old story lines to create a clean narrative. Though a major discrepancy is that Killgrave, aka The Purple Man, looks normal in the Jessica Jones series. 

Regardless, I've enjoyed the series so far (I'm about six or seven episodes in). In fact, I think I like it better than the Daredevil Netflix series because I have little prior knowledge about Jessica Jones. With Daredevil, I've been reading those comic books since I was a kid. 

Like Wolverine was, Jessica Jones is a drinker, in particular bourbon. As a bourbon aficionado, I've noticed the brands of bourbon she drinks. So far it's been Jim Beam White, Wild Turkey 101, Four Rose Yellow Label, and Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond, which she wouldn't be able to get in New York City because it's only sold in Kentucky and Indiana. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Chile is investing in alternative energy, building a smarter grid, and using a carbon tax, all to be sustainable but also to have an economy that grows in a smart way. Check out "Solar Power Lights the Way to a Cleaner Economy in Chile" if you're intrigued. 

Over at The Atlantic, Sarah Boxer published a detailed and interesting article about Peanuts: "The Exemplary Narcissism of Snoopy." I'm not a hater of Snoopy like some critics, but for me Charlie Brown was the best character of that strip even though I started reading the comic during the heyday of Snoopy. I also always checked out Peanuts books from the library that had the older strips from the 50s and 60s. 

I'm surprised about Coach Spurrier's immediate retirement. I agree with Ryan Nanni's sentiment from the EDSBS thread that "if he's leaving, I'm gonna miss the gel out of Steve Spurrier. Were not getting another one, and I suspect he knows that." The search of South Carolina head coach job will be a high-profile one, and it'll be a search that will probably make some current coaches get pay raises. 

After watching a bunch of MLB games over the past couple of weeks, I'm really tired of all of these pecker-pill commercials. 

Random Notes from a Crank

How depressing. I found out the other day that Marvel killed off one of the best comic book characters of all time, Wolverine. If you're guessing that I bought the Death of Wolverine, you would be right. 

Sad to see that badass go. 

The other day I danced in front of the dog when I was listening to Weezer's blue album. She stared at me with a weird look. Bitch...

Oh Oklahoma, you've got to be one the top five states that has the craziest legislators ~  and craziest residents because they vote for those morons. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I picked up the well received Sex Criminals the other day. It's an interesting, freaky story so far. The problem is this: Where do you store a R-rated comic book volume (vol. 1 collects issues 1-5) when you have kids? I just can't put it in the stack of comic volumes I have downstairs, which include various old and new versions of Daredevil, Fraction's Hawkeye, Gaiman's The Sandman, Fraction's The Immortal Iron Fist, Neurocomic, and Wood's Star Wars series. I found a hiding spot for the volume though, so it's all good. For a sound review of the series, check out Laura Hudson's "The Man Behind the Comic Book That Finally Got Sex Right" on WIRED. 

And now I'm thinking of checking out The Wicked + The Divine. 12 mythological gods come back every 90 years to inhabit the bodies of humans and then die in 2 years? I might be in. 

The Heisman ceremony is this Saturday. I hope Cooper wins and ends the tyranny of QBs winning the award, but I'm sure Mariota will take home the trophy. 

In the Monday Night Football game, here are the stats from Julio Jones's night: 11 receptions for 259 yards. Roll Tide. 

The MLB winter meetings are being held right now, and a great deal of attention is on which team Jon Lester will sign with. Apparently it's down to the Red Sox and the Cubs. Regardless of whether they sign Lester, the Cubs made some good moves by resigning Jason Hammel and trading for Miguel Montero, a much-need left-handed bat in the lineup. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Maybe it's just me, but often when I sit and watch my son do taekwondo, I want to yell out, "Sweep the leg." 

The other week I got a new book: Zen Pencils. If you like comics and inspirational quotations, you should check it out. 

I think we all should try to dance like the kids in A Charlie Brown Christmas. 



Of all of the fictional characters out there, Snoopy has to be in the top twenty. 

As college newspaper editorials go, this is one I enjoyed reading even though Inhofe and a like-minded cohort of idiots make me angry and frustrated: "It's Time We Call the Science Deniers What They Are." 

Random Notes from a Crank

In the November election in Illinois, there are a number of ballot initiatives. The Millionaire Tax Increase for Education has a certain degree of appeal. You could argue that it's a flat-out voter turnout generator in response to Rauner running for Governor (and probably winning since Quinn and the Democratic Party of IL are so inept). Then again, maybe there's something more to it if you've read "Right vs. Left in the Midwest" from political science professor Lawrence R. Jacobs. 

Here's how US Uncut described the situation on its FB page:

Today The Onion provided a fine article from its archives. Check out "18-Year-Old Miraculously Finds Soulmate in Hometown." 

I'm thinking about buying some dark brown, old-school wingtips. I've always liked wingtips.They look good with dress slacks, and they look good with jeans. Yes, I just used the word "slacks." If you like wingtips, that old-fashioned term is appropriate. 

If you're not watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, you should. Grist has a short intro to his report about sugar. Here's "John Oliver's Takedown of the Sugar Industry is Pretty Sweet."  

I don't know if I buy the pseudo-Rogerian argument that leads to a delayed thesis in this article, but "Why Comics Are More Important Than Ever" made me think about my reading practices and some of the reasons I like comics/graphic novels. 

Speaking of comics, in the mail today I got Brian Wood's final installment of his four-volume storyline of Star Wars after the Rebels destroyed the first Death Star and are looking for a base of operations. 

May the Force be with you.

Random Notes from a Crank

I just have to vent this question. When the @#$% are The Bottle Rockets going to put out a new album? 

This weekend we're headed up to Iowa to visit my dad. We haven't visited since my mom's funeral in early February. We'll visit her grave on Saturday and take my old man out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. He's moving to a smaller apartment in the old folks home. And yes, you just read "old folks home." I prefer that term to "assisted-living facility," which sounds way too technical and sterile. He's going to give my daughter a Norwegian doll of my mom's, which will make Hannah cry. And apparently he wants to give my son a bunch of old coins. He's been more upbeat when I have talked to him lately, so I think he's gotten somewhat used to being solo. I think the move to different apartment will also help.

I wish I could still read Latin like I used to. Right now one of the books I'm reading is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor. Back when I was in Latin classes, I have the privilege of reading Julius Caesar, Cicero, and others in their native tongue. Cicero's speech about the Catalinarian conspiracy is a serious work of art. And I enjoyed Julius Ceasar's style of writing: direct and concise. 

I started reading Brian Wood's comic books about Star Wars. His series informs readers about what was happening between Episode IV: Star Wars and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. I do believe I'm hooked. I dig the depiction of Leia as a warrior princess. It's a fun narrative. 

Lately the only fiction I read is sequential art. 

For Father's Day I bought my dad The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shales. Virg was born in '27, so he was a little kid during the Depression. I'm thinking about buying the graphic version of the book that came out a while back. 

Random Notes from a Crank

One of the liquor stores in my town is called Gate Way Liquors. I wonder whether this name is because the owner of the place doesn't know how to spell "gateway" correctly or it's some term only a drunk person can figure out. 

I'm looking for a new TV series to get into. The Americans season is over, and I suspect Fargo is getting close to finishing its first season (and I hope there are more).

This spring I finished the full run of Gaiman's Sandman series. I really enjoyed it because of the ways he plays with mythology and religion while telling a heck of a tale. Of the Endless, Dream is obviously a great character, but I'm fond of his siblings Death and Destruction. And the issue "15 Portraits of Despair" is exceptional. Some other of my favorite characters are Matthew the Raven, Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Bast, the Three, Lucifer, Cluracan, and Hob Gadling. 

I'm now in the midst of American Gods. Good stuff so far. 

I bought a copy of the collected first volume of The Saga of the Swamp Thing that Alan Moore did. It was okay, but it didn't knock the edges off like Sandman and Mind MGMT. 

Speaking of which, I also had the pleasure of gobbling up volume 3 of that fine work. That graphic novel just keeps getting better and better. 

Random Notes from a Crank

As I was surfing channels Sunday night, I discovered that Tiffani Thiessen now has a cooking show. Now, I'm an agnostic, but if there is any proof that there is some divine entity and that being likes me for some reason, a show that combines Tiffani Thiessen and cooking might be it. I'm willing to thank the gods or whomever for this show.

Speaking of the alleged Food Network, here's a thought. Why don't you have shows that are cooking shows rather than cooking competitions? I'd much rather see Alton Brown, Tyler Florence, and other chefs doing now old-fashioned cooking shows. In the meantime, I'll be watching the Cook's Illustrated cooking shows on PBS. 

While I'm skeptical of how rational humans really are, Paul Bloom's "The War on Reason" in The Atlantic gives me hope. As he says, "… such scattered and selected instances of irrationality [based on research studies] shouldn't cloud our view of the rational foundations of our everyday life." In the closing paragraph, he really brings it on home: "Yes, we are physical beings, and yes, we are continually swayed by factors beyond our control. But as Aristotle recognized long ago, what's so interesting about us is our capacity for reason, which reigns over all. If you miss this, you miss almost everything that matters."

I started reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, a graphic novel that I finally got around to checking out. I'm enjoying it so far.