Two Things...

1.  I think am more excited to see this than I was to see The Force Awakens.  I mean, Wow! This looks amazing.  I hope it lives up to the hype because the Episode VII gave me reason to be hopeful again for Star Wars movies.  Don't burn me, Disney.

2.  To millennials distraught over Donald Trump's election, please, please, PLEASE, in the name of Jesus, do not make Rogue One political.  As I watched this trailer in light of Tuesday and the aftermath, it almost immediately occurred to me the film's theme - the struggle of the rebellion against impossible odds against the overwhelming might of the evil Galactic Empire - could easily be co-opted as a metaphor for the heroic opposition to the sinister Donald Trump.  Given the highly diverse cast of heroes that appears absent of white men (which I'm not criticizing), pitted against the new villain, an old white guy, it's not a stretch to see how this could seized upon and embraced on social media, and become a thing.  That would suck.

Star Wars is for everybody.  It's not political.  And it would be a crime to make it a source of division, so please don't make it one.  Star Wars was my first love, and I am genuinely gratified that Rogue One (like Ep. VII) by virtue of its international cast, has the potential to allow more different kinds of people, especially children, to feel what I felt for Star Wars as a child, which was magical.

Maybe I'm being ridiculous.  Maybe I'm too cynical.  I hope so.  Perhaps the apparent themes of unity in Rogue One will have the opposite effect and bring people together in these uncertain times. That would be cool.  Here's to me being wrong.  There's been a lot of that lately.

Comedy That Heals (maybe?)

I caught this Saturday Night Live skit over the weekend and I must say, I found it cathartic.  In an election season where the polarization and rhetoric are toxic, SNL manages to remind us in that we all have much more in common than what we are led to believe on TV or social media (while making us laugh).  I was pleasantly surprised Monday to discover the skit has been making the rounds on the internet with an overwhelmingly positive reception.  The way I see it, the only way you can be offended by this skit is if you are looking to be offended.

Increasingly, it seems we categorize ourselves and one another, and with those categories come simple assumptions about what the other group thinks, behaves and even whether they are all good or bad.  In my life, I find people are much more complicated.  And looking a certain way or thinking a certain way doesn't entirely define an individual or a group, much less determine a minimum threshold for basic decency and respect.

Anyway, it's not much.  But right now with our politics and culture so broken and divided, I'll take it.

Happy Canada Day!

Great Odin's Raven!

In case you were wondering what to get me for Christmas.

Ron Burgundy is finally getting his own scotch (click for story).

Superman 75th Anniversary Animated Tribute

Neat little tribute.  Watching this got me thinking maybe DC could help itself out my making a new Superman cartoon based on The New 52, or perhaps some kind of Justice League project.  Seems to me that if they're serious about this new DC universe, they should introduce the character/s to some (gasp!) actual kids.  But if the comics themselves are any indication, kids are the last thing on DC's mind right now.

What we need more of...

At the end of a debate in the race for New Jersey governor, Chris Christie responds to a cheap shot from his opponent with UTTER CLASS. Americans are craving this kind of civility in Washington.

President Obama? Congress?

Take notes.

Happy Birthday Bill Clinton!

I suspect President Clinton commissioned this painting himself.