"Who Watches the Watchmen?"

Just so you know, there will be SPOILERS! :p

In between work, sleep, and my social life, I have found enough time to read all twelve chapters of Alan Moore's famous Watchmen comic. Set in the mid-80's in an alternate timeline (for example, the US wins the Vietnam War, the Arms Race escalates much more rapidly with the existence of Dr. Manhattan, and even Richard Nixon is President of the United States for a third term!), the main plot of the comic revolves around defunct superheroes investigating a murder of one their own brethren.

After spending the past several days reading the comic, I almost immediately watched the movie adaptation of the comic afterward (I say almost since I debated going to sleep for a minute, but then I realized that I didn't have any serious engagements the following day - so I could afford to have a late Sunday night :p). I've got to say that I was thoroughly impressed with the movie, although in all fairness, the movie was an already an immediate favorite of mine when it was first released years ago. The movie pretty much offers a stripped-down version of the comic book (for example, Rorschach's interactions with Dr. Malcolm Young in the maximum security prison are brief in the movie, as opposed to the exploration of Young's increasing instability with his life, both private and public. Another example is the removal of Tales of the Black Freighter in the film (which I'll get to later), but still (obviously) taking much from the movie such as the dialogue in the comic and even elaborating on some scenes (like The Comedian's final moments alive, the attempted assassination of Ozmandias, and rescuing Rorschach at the prison). Of course an adaptation is an adaptation, so certain things here and there would be altered or even removed. This is really apparent with the lack of back story in the movie, in which the comic series has fleshed out through documents, excerpts from books, and even newspaper clippings. The back story in the comics was necessary to understand the machinations of the mind of our costumed heroes. Instead, the film removes these elements and hopes to create a movie with as little confusion/plot holes as possible. The elaborate back story elements do appear in the movie, but more of a nod to the fans of the comic. However, at this point, I'm digressing.

Tales of the Black Freighter...where to begin with that? A pirate comic that Bernie was reading since the third chapter of the comic series, Tales revolves around the story of a shipwrecked mariner desperately trying go to his home town of Davidstown before the Black Freighter (the ship that shipwrecked the same mariner) can devastate the unsuspecting town. At first, I didn't know that this was a story-within-a-story ordeal because it had happened so suddenly, since some scenes in Watchmen don't involve any of the main characters. Though Tales would often coincide with much of the character development of certain people. For example, the mariner's exile and separation from humanity and his crew reflected Dr. Manhattan's exile and emotion attachment to the human condition. As the mariner became more savage on his journey home, whether it was eating live gulls or murdering sharks, Rorschach was becoming the vicious, uncompromising vigilante that he is now known for. Finally, when the mariner became the scourge he tried to hard to fight against for his beloved town, Ozmandias' loss of humanity by tricking the world of a false alien invasion seemed to reflect that. So perhaps that's the main purpose of Tales, to highlight key moments of the story, though sometimes I wonder if there is more to this story that just that.

Finally, I was quite surprised just how radically different the story ends in Watchmen. I had first seen the movie, before I ever touched the comic, so I presumed that the comic would follow in the same steps, more or less. Instead, I was shocked to realize that it wasn't a reactor that Dr. Manhattan designed that brought the world together, but in fact an alien invasion upon New York City. Or at least, it was made to look like one. In my humble opinion, the whole alien bit seemed a bit of stretch to me. I will admit that it was an interesting way to bring two conflicting countries to work together, but the way the film adaptation attacked this conundrum seemed more realistic, or least plausible, especially considering the fact that Dr. Manhattan was becoming more and more disconnected with humanity as a whole. "Sacrificing millions!..To save billions!" 

At the end of the day, I just enjoy a good comic that is thoroughly engaging, unique, and thought-provoking. I'm off to read more books now! :P

"You Gay or Somethin'?"

I had a brief conversation with somebody who works for the Metro highway patrol gig (sorry, can’t really properly explain it). It started with him telling me if I saw "the onion" on the lady that just left the station. Confused, I asked him to elaborate on what exactly he means by " the onion." He was, unsurprisingly, referring to her booty. I joked if there were other names, like radishes, a cabbage, and so on (apparently, women can have cabbages, though it isn’t pretty). Because I didn’t hound over this woman like he was, Rick was attacking my sexuality. It had caught me off guard, so I was at a loss for words to explain that I wasn’t that kind of person anymore. All I could immediately say was that I was more of a romantic kind of guy, and hope he would understand. He didn’t and just like that, walked out of the store, as though it was just another conversation between the guys. 

Reflecting on this, I am starting to realize just how much my perspective on women has changed over the these past few years. When I was younger, I was just like the Metro guy: checking out girls left and right, objectifying really, and looking for the next hook-up. Now, I’m starting to be a person who sees women as women, instead of a piece of meat. Working at the station has helped and also wanting/looking for a serious relationship has helped me grow. Unfortunately, I do fall back on that visual stimulation from time to time, but I don’t regress to my former self too much.

Now that I think about it, perhaps this song can put how I feel much more coherently than I can at the moment.

Regular Show (It's Anything But)

Recently, I came across this children's television show called Regular Show on Netflix. I think it's one of the more "modern" programs on Cartoon Network's programming, since I grew up with some of the more classic shows that can now be found in Boomerang (an associated network, I think), such as Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and others as well. I had seen an episode or two when I had once visited my cousin's house months ago, but I really didn't find the show to be compelling, maybe because I had felt that CN's modern programs couldn't be compared to cartoons I grew up (but that's my opinion). I thought Mordecai and Rigby (the main characters) were annoying and childish, and my first impression of them wasn't quite nice, to put it gently. So yeah, I wasn't really open to the show when I first saw a while back.

For some unknown reason, maybe due to boredom, I thought, "Why not? Just an episode. There's nothing else to watch at the moment." So I streamed the first episode of it, and I actually quite liked it. A lot of humor was quite bizarre and strange, but in a good way, like Adventure Time. It always starts of pretty normal, but usually Rigby and Mordecai manage to make that normality disappear, in funny and clever ways. It's too bad there's only one season of this show on Netflix (or any Cartoon Network/Adult Swim shows for that matter), since this is one of those shows I'd definitely watch up to the latest episodes.

Here's a small clip from the TV show - I was going to embed a full episode that I saw, but I couldn't really find one :/

 

 

New Look!

Today and yesterday were spent redecorating my room in my apartment. I had removed an old, worn down speaker system that was still functioning, but (unfortunately) at a fraction of its full potential. In its place, I had placed a much needed bookshelf that will now house all my current books, with enough space for upcoming books I'll be buying in the future. Also, I had to rearrange all the wall posters and collectibles, as well as some cabinets, too. So far, I'm quite pleased with the outcome of the room - it's starting to have a personality of its own, instead of being a collage of random things juxtaposed together. It's still needs some more work, so as much as I'd like to show some pictures of this new look, you'll have to wait just a bit longer. Though I can show this picture of how the bookshelf looks like with all the books!

Beautiful, isn't it?

Slight Improvements

I have started reading again! Though, in honesty, I was reluctant to begin again. Perhaps it's because I was in the 9th Canto of Dante's Purgatorio. I haven't touched The Divine Comedy since late February. Considering my recent funk, I'm still not eager to pick it up again just yet. But I will! I've to keep reading and finish my Comprehensive Reading List! I haven't forgotten about that just yet. I still have quite a bit to go (I believe approximately 16 more books or so?). So instead of hesitantly reading Dante's work, I've been reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and reading this "classic" has been helping get into the groove of reading actively again. It's starting to feel effortless, despite trying to read a set amount daily (for the this book, about 2 chapters a day - or one if it's a looooonnnnggg chapter :p). Now that reading's becoming a part of my life again, let's see if the gym can part of it, too.

The Monotony of Life...

Life has been, in short, strangely repetitive these past few weeks. I think I'm in a rut, but I don't think it's a big one. At least, I hope not. The atmosphere of work is quickly losing its attraction. I haven't been seeing my regular customers come in for a small visit (it helps pass the time and kill some boredom!) at all, so it feels like time just drags on and on. Also, my boss got tough on us reading and playing with our phones when business got slow, so I'm out of entertaining things to do. I'm hoping I can meet new people to talk to over at my little station soon. I befriended a Forensic Psychologist, for goodness' sake! I'm hoping to meet more interesting people like that - where I can discuss books, politics, and even religion (even if we don't see eye - what matters most is what we can learn from each other).

Outside of work, things haven't been on the upside either. Perhaps I'm lacking that "spark" - that makes a person work hard, become more active (or intelligent and so on), that can help me improve myself. For many (especially guys), it tends to be a woman, but I don't have a lucky lady in my life. Hmm, what could my "spark" be? Again, like work, I hope this is all temporary.

Finally, perhaps this song can best describe how I feel at the moment :P

New Vlog (Again)!

Hmm, it feels like every other post has to do with the latest vlog...either I'm not writing enough or I'm more productive than I thought! Either way, here is the latest vlog - it's nothing special: just me trying to talk my way through a video (like always!). Though I took the plunge and signed up for the YouTube Partner program! It makes somethings easier (like thumbnails) and not so easy (like the AdSense thing), but hopefully this can help me skyrocket my way to the top! Well, not really. The truth is I don't know how far I can take this on my own, but the hope is that this can take me far enough. Like I said at the beginning, I'm doing all of this for me, but if I can meet new people, learn new things, and make a dollar on the side, why not? Perhaps this is a perk of being a "YouTube Partner." Only time will tell. Until then, enjoy!