Looks Like We Finally Have Banthas here On Earth

It seemed as if Disney was keeping all the Bantha milk limited to only being on sale at their theme parks. Now my guess is they have imported enough Banthas to Earth so they can produce enough Blue Milk that it can be found in the corner grocery store.

It is amazing to me that it took over forty years for someone to see the value in marketing Blue Milk. As with anything seen in Star Wars, there is money to be made off us fans with putting that kind of stuff on store shelves. We got a half-gallon here and it we all like it. 

A few years ago, during a trip to Disney World we got to try both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions, and my guess is you can find a few other mixed drink ideas using Blue Milk as the base on-line.

There is an appeal to me for fun, novelty foods and I know I'm not the only one.

So now Disney needs to keep it going and get enough thala-sirens here on Earth so we can also get the Green Milk in the stores as well.

Delusions of Godhood

The following is the introduction to the first collection of fiction I self-published, 'My Delusions of Godhood'. This is a collection of my older fiction, if you are interested in seeing my style from about 20 years ago, the collection is still available here: Amazon.com: My Delusions of Godhood

 Introduction,

The title of this collection (My Delusions of Godhood) is based off my general belief that all writers suffer from of a basic need to play god. We create worlds and universes, give them our own rules of physics and logic, then we create life in those worlds and manipulate that life as we see fit for entertainment purposes. Our creations laugh and cry or live and die by our whims.  We play god with every story we write. I am also fairly sure we enjoy it, otherwise we wouldn’t keep doing it.

I openly embrace my god complex.

After creating the title for this collection, as I gathered up the pieces of fiction I wanted to include, I noticed about half of the stories I had picked dealt with various ideas of gods. We have a story set in Norse Mythology, one that is my take on the one God concept, a story about prophecies and a set of stories based in my own fantasy world with my own concepts of gods. It is a common theme for many other writers as well. There is clearly an attraction for writers to explore the various god concepts. With that we see those with god complexes controlling gods, even creating their own. Us mere mortals manipulating the lives, actions and even the fate of gods.

Is there really any doubt that writers have god complexes?

I figure some psychiatrist out there could make a whole new area of psychology by exploring this condition and seeing if there is some link between being creative and having a god complex.

In the following pages are my stories and poems and a blog post that is actually the compilation of three separate blogs I wrote on the idea of the importance of fiction in our society. The stories for the most part are in no particular order, outside of those that have been previously published are in order of when they were sold and the Akoon section being in chronological order.

I hope anyone picking up this collection will find something entertaining in it. Having come from my mind, I figure there must be some glimpse into the workings of my brain in the following pages.  Admittedly that might scare some people and leaves those who know me with a better understanding of the insanity that drives me.

So enjoy.

Everyone Deserves a Super-Hero They Can Relate To

I have been a huge Spider-Man fan ever since watching 'Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends' Saturday mornings in my youth. There was something there that drew me in more than any of the other super-heroes out there. I wanted to watch anything connected to Spidey, so it was no surprise that when I started to get into super-hero comics books, Spider-Man was the first one I started collecting and the only one I kept collecting when times were tough, and I had to budget things. When I have money, buying Spidey back issues in my main indulgence.

As I look back it is easy for me to see why Spidey became my hero and why he is one of the most popular super-heroes ever, right from his first appearance. Spider-Man truly is the greatest every-man super-hero, created as a character you can relates to. From the get-go he was a person first and foremost, with human problems, human doubts and feelings. He was not the perfect clean cut super-hero with all the answers. He openly delt with insecurities that we all suffer from at one time or another.

The older I have gotten and now doing therapy, I can see so very clearly just why I have always related to Peter Parker even if I didn't realize it in my youth. I see much of myself in the character on so many levels. The key to the character's popularity is undeniably the relatability that has been there from the start.

Now Peter Parker/Spider-Man was created at a time when all such heroes were white heterosexual males. That character has strongly crossed over to appeal to people of all ethnicities and orientations which fuels my claim that Spider-Man is the most significant super-hero out there with Marvel doing so much to keep that true.

When the Spider-Man from Ultimate Universe (An off branch from the mainstream Marvel Comic universe where they had more freedom with the characters) died he was replaced by Miles Morales, a half black, half Puerto Rican kid. This was such a brilliant move, as it showed that the spirit of Spider-Man was universal.

Some years later we got The Spider-Verse and that idea was brought to a whole new level.

The Spider-People from the Spider-Verse have been the most inclusive set of characters out there, coming from every race, ethnicity, lifestyle, social standings and sexuality. There is no limit to who can be Spider-Man/Woman, even to the point of one Spider-Woman confined to a wheelchair because her super flexible bone structure is not able to support her weight, but she is still a superhero and is able to fight the villains with use of her special crutches.

As white straight male who has never had to look far to find heroes and strong characters that resemble myself, I think this has to be one of the greatest possible concepts to open that door and make it so that people of all varieties are able to find a Spider-Person who matches up with them. Despite what some may claim, there is great power in diversity and the popularity of the Spider-Verse concept shows that the majority of our society embraces the idea.

It is inspiring that our entertainment is reflecting those values. Everyone should be able to have heroic characters that they can feel connected to and inspired by. The more inclusion that is out there, the healthier our society will be.

The concept of the strength of diversity ended up being the central theme to my book 'A Day at Georgie and Armand's Place' and is a key element to that universe. I will continue to explore that concept in my creative endeavors as those are truly worthy ideas that we need to see more of.

Going forward society can only benefit by continuing with such ideas. There is room for everyone to be represented in entertainment.

I Don't Remember Vader Being That Petite

Recently I got to enjoy the parody burlesque show known as The Empire Strips Back.

It was a memorable and enjoyable experience.

I do applaud our Host for the show, Eric Calrissian, Lando's nephew, who did a great job of keeping us entertained between acts and engaging the audience in energized exchanges.

The shows started off with an individual dressed in a costume much like Luke's Hoth outfit, but very much NOT Luke, climbing off her Tauntaun and then dancing with it. The poor girl ends up removing articles of clothing that leaves her cold and needing to reenact a well-known scene from the movies.  At one point the outer casing is removed from C-3PO, but the inner structure doesn't match up with what we saw in Episode 1. We get an extended scene from the opening of Episode 4 where Leia is recording her message with R2. A batch of Storm Troopers wearing what did not look like screen accurate armor, with a Darth Vader who was not as imposing as what we saw in the films.

We also get a rapping Jabba the Hutt.

It was a fun, crazy, erotic show with decent production values.

The crowd itself was something to take note of. A very diverse crowd with what looked to be an equal male/female ratio, with a fair number of couples, as well as a wide range of ages. It was a geeky crowd and despite the stereotypes, the geek crowd is very sexual group as showed by many in the audience wearing highly suggestive outfits in competition with what was on stage.

I left with a T-shirt that most likely will be worn only in certain company.

If you get the chance and it is your type of entertainment, I can highly recommend it as an enjoyable way to spend an evening.

Just Let Them Like What They Like

I have been a major fanboy of so many things over my life. Just looking around my office you can see at least a dozen different geeky franchises represented on my shelves. There are so many geeky things that I am passionate about and enjoy being part of.

I have also at times been laughed at or told that I should not have such 'childish' interests or been told I am liking the wrong things. The reasons for this are varied, but at all times there do seem to be individuals out there who dislike my interests and wish to put me down in some manner for having them.

While I will admit there have been times where I myself have been critical of someone else's interests that I disliked and might not have been at my best regarding my comments, I have very much become a person who understands that everyone is going to have their passions and should be allowed to embrace those passions if it gives them joy. I do not need to like a franchise or interest for other to find value in them. A prime example of this is sports, which I really have no interest at all in and find boring. Yet there is no doubt how huge sporting events are and how passionate the fans can be of them. People enjoying going to a baseball game does no harm at all to me, even if I do not get any pleasure from such events.

It surprises me at how many people are unable to comprehend that.

I have never been one to jump on the bandwagon. While the crowd yells out what bands you are supposed to hate, I've listened to what I like. I will defend that Nickelback has some great songs, no matter how much some wish to tell us they suck. I think 'Howard the Duck' is a great, fun film, despite all the hate it gets. I kept collecting action figures even after I was told I needed to grow up.

I know I have the right to enjoy what I enjoy, as long as it does not harm anyone, no matter what anyone or everyone else thinks. I also know that is the right for everyone else out there.

Now I will admit I have not always been the best regarding this in the past, but I go out of my way to respect the passions of others, even if I do not share or understanding them. There are many popular and unpopular franchises that I just do not connect with. And it is fine if others enjoy them, no matter how little I may think of some of them. Unless I am being forced to against my will, which would be a whole different issue, I don't have to watch of take part in them.

Yet there too often seems to be those out there who wish to put down others because they do not share in the same passions. There does seem to be an element of human nature in doing this, but that does not justify such actions. We are beings capable to growing beyond such needs after all.

We are all individuals with unique aspects that make us who we are, and a big part of that is what we get passionate over. Only someone with a disrespectful ego would believe that everyone should find enjoyment in all of their passions and nothing else.

There is room for all of our passions in this world and we as a whole are best served by being respectful of that.

APPRECIATE A DRAGON DAY

Just learned that today is Appreciate a Dragon Day. Sounds like my kind of holiday.

Sounds like the perfect day to explore an interdimensional hotel run by two shape-shifting, master mage dragons, connected to a thousand-thousand worlds with some of the most unique beings you have ever encountered, and read a Georgie and Armand's Place story.

And there are a lot to choose from.

The novels -

A Day at Georgie and Armand’s Place

Georgie and Armand’s Place Under Siege

Georgie and Armand on Vacation Short Stories -

A Visit to Cripple Creek - A Weird Western

You Call This Scary - A zombie story

An Education in Steam and Gears - Steampunk

A Very Georgie and Armand Christmas - A Christmas story

How to Survive The End of the World - Post-apocalyptic

A Spirited Locale - A ghost story

What to Wish For - Genie tale

Dragons in Space - Sci-fi

Lemon-Man vs. The Flannel Darkness - Superhero

Awakening The Deadly Horror - Lovecraftian story

Daughter of Ash and Nightmares - Dark horror

The Bigger They Are - A Kaiju story

Special release-

The Courtship of Georgie and Armand (Reprint of the flashback story from A Day at Georgie and Armand’s Place)

https://www.amazon.com/Georgie-and-Armands-Place-2-book-series/dp/B08P3SCB1Y

We Are Only Custodians of Our Collections

Sorry for the huge gaps between blog posts here.

2023 ended up being a rough year for me. So here is the first post for 2024, which I hope will be a much better year.

I am going to talk about a concept that Chuck, owner of Mile High Comics, mentioned during one of his regular auctions. He talked about how in the end we are only custodians of our collections and that at some point, in some manner, everything we have collected will end up no longer being ours.

I know that when I am at a thrift store and I see what was clearly once someone’s collection, broken apart and separated into random groupings, I feel sad, knowing that for some reason that collection was given up. I have felt the same when I see such a thing at collector stores like Mile High Comics. I know how much effort can go into a collection and finding prized pieces that have meaning to you. I also know what it is like to make the choice to sell off part of your collection.

I started collecting Magic The Gathering Cards way back when they were a new thing. I had completed most of the original expansion sets. Then there was a time when money was tight, and I noticed that Magic cards were one collection of mine that had real value. Since taking care of my family was more important to me than my Magic cards, I decided I should sell them off. I made some good money that greatly helped out with the bills. It was not a pleasant experience. I had put a lot of time and effort into completing those sets. It was great to have pieces in my collection that were sought after. But I needed the money. I hope they went to people who took on the role of custodian of them and have appreciated and enjoyed them.

For the opposite view of that, I did recently trade off my Garbage Pail Kids collection to a local shop, The Gnarly Toybox, for trade credit after I saw they were in demand. When I was younger, I had a passion for them and found them amusing. As an adult I looked at them and had no real attachment to them, showing that I was not the best custodian for them. And my boys had shown no interest in them, so there was little reason to keep them when we could exchange them for collection pieces that were desired by us. I kept ‘Alien Ian’ (My favorite because it was the first one with my name and it was a cool looking alien similar to the Mars Attack aliens), and traded the rest of them away, giving each of my boys some of the credit for them to find new pieces for their collections. Hopefully they are now in the hands of custodians who value and enjoy them.

And in the end that is the best fate we custodians can hope for, a good home for our collections.

It is something fully out of our hands in the long run. So while those collections are in our care, we need to take as good care of them as possible.

I know there are parts of my collections that my boys value and are looking forward to becoming the custodians of. I am also aware that there will be pieces that have no meaning to them and chances are they will part with. As there is a chance I will end up with grandchildren, I very much enjoy the idea of them becoming custodians of what I hand down to them.

Knowing you are only a temporary custodian of your collection should not take away from the enjoyment of making those collection. If anything it should help one find more joy in finding those rare pieces and feeling excitement when showing off and talking about those pieces.