Monday Musings...

Welcome to the end of the month of March, and the beginning of the week of Spring Break (don't ever recall having a WHOLE week of when we were in school), and that means the kids will be loose upon our streets, when we COULD have made up the snow days by taking away some of this week as a make-up.
But, the parents make plans seemingly YEARS in advance to take kids with them, so school gets the sh*t end of THAT stick...and then they bitch about a poor education FOR their kids...can't see ANY problem THERE, can we?

God help motel owners in Florida.

Anyway, today's weather will be NICE...as in VERY nice, with temps reaching the mid-60s. That's baseball weather, folks!
(around here, it's sagging satin shorts weather for the aborigine males, rather than the saggy denim pants...yes, spring IS here)
I would hope that long-lasting snow pile by the garage at our place will FINALLY be gone, too.
So, let's not worry about how much sunshine we'll have today here in the Hoosierland, and set about seeing what has been going on since least we met.
Grab a cup of whatever is your pleasure, and follow me into this day.
*** First out of the back door today is the fact that Wifey will be home this week, so that means she only has to deal with ONE unruly "student" instead of around 30+ (hey, I'm still young-at-heart).

She is certainly NOBODY'S doormat...!!!

Naturally, she has to utilize the time doing things she can't normally do unless she takes time off, like take the Wifeymobile into the shop, visit the dentist, get the taxes prepared, get the hair done...the usual fare.

When your brain turns to sludge!

The down side to that is when she IS home, the family room TV will be "locked" onto the BRAVO channel.
It's "the real housewives" (of wherever) to watch, and when that's not on, it'll be QVC or HSN.
Oh, and her smart phone will be helping to ruin her eyes further as she plays some farm game on it.
And THAT'S why, while I like video games, I refuse to let them "play" me.
I have my routine, and the (living room) TV doesn't come on until around 4PM (lasting until 10PM).
I have a feeling this week will fly by for Wifey...as for me, it'll just be another week in "ghettoland", dealing with the increased throng of boomcar drivers, as well as ALL the idiots who drive around with loud (as in damaged or not properly functioning) mufflers.

Yep, that's the SOUTHEAST SIDE of Ft. Wayne!

We should also add in any motorcyclists and THEIR 2-wheeled noisemakers.
Funny, I thought all such contrivances used to COME with WORKING mufflers...silly me.
Moving on...
*** Here is a perfect case of WHY law-abiding people should have access to police scanners.
Around 2300 hrs last night, a FWPD cruiser flew up our street, heading north, with lights and sirens. It was quickly followed by another cruiser, running silent, but still going fast.

What's up, Doc?

I told Wifey that "something" was going on nearby, but since we were purposely placed "in the dark" by new encryption technology with the police radios, were unable to ascertain WHAT that something was.
It wasn't that much later that we noticed more FWPD cars orbiting our area, going E/W as well as N/S. Definitely looking for someone or something connected with that initial run.
I would say we had around TEN vehicles drive past the "Fortress" over the span of 45 minutes, all going very slow.
I even saw one officer WALKING along the street outside our place with a flashlight (tossed weapon?)
The funny thing was that preceding all of this, I did NOT hear any gunshots (and believe me, you DO hear them and can get a decent track as to WHERE they seem to come from).
This all quieted down around half-past midnight, and no further officers were in our area, but it's pretty damn odd to see SO many around.
Naturally, nothing on ANY media source, but you usually don't roll THAT many vehicles unless something other than trivial is going down, right?
Now, this can't be connected with the bar shooting and subsequent car accident that killed that teen this weekend, as they caught the perp involved in that fracas. And that was much farther north...way out of our sector.
We have had a rash of burglaries down around here, along with the vandalism, domestics, fights and such, but none of THAT ever reaches the eyes and ears of the public, because they want you to think that crime is going DOWN. I will say that in nice neighborhoods, it probably IS, but not down here...we carry the weight of the overall crime stats in this city, but when you "average" it all out, it seems less than it really is in specific areas.
Perhaps time will tell...or I can find out something by nosing the hell around.
*** Yesterday (all day) on the FX channel, it was a superhero-fest, and I was so there (well,most of the day anyway).
It wasn't a bad way to spend the day (and most of the evening), such as it was, but they could have done it better.
They did show Spiderman-3, Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer, Iron Man 2, Thor, and finally Captain America - The First Avenger.
No doubt this is all a run-up for this Friday's premiere (in theaters) of the new Captain America movie - The Winter Soldier.

Gettin' my OWN "band" together...!

What bugged me, was that they did not show The Incredible Hulk (the Edward Norton version), which figures into  The Avengers movie and eventually the new C/A flick that takes place two years AFTER the events in NYC (Avengers).
And with IM2, they still have not run the "teaser" at the end of that movie...which ties in directly with the THOR movie.
They get SO close to doing this the right way, but always come up a tad short...damn shame.
-- Anyway, they DID show some excellent trailers for the new "Cap" movie, and it looks to be a definite KEEPER (for my collection), and it would not surprise me if the first day box-office receipts reflect a VERY nice payday for those involved with the movie.
May not be AS huge as The Avengers was, but I will predict it will do damn well...perhaps being in the top ten all time openings.
The plot is solid, the acting very good, the effects are fantastic, and even after reading about the entire plot synopsis (and knowing the spoilers), I STILL want to see it...a lot.
-- I also HAD to see the season finale of The Walking Dead, and I had a sneaking feeling that the destination called TERMINUS was not going to be the "haven" we hoped it would be.
A good ending, nonetheless, with Rick saying (while locked with friends in a railroad car).."They screwed with the wrong people".

Rick is back, and don't screw with him.

That should set a great tone for the new season (premiering in the fall), and the way this show takes twists and turns with characters and plot-lines, who's to say what will happen, other than the fact that the zombie/walkers are NOT the only enemies in this post-apocalyptic world.
*** Lastly today, I was thinking about some things while watching my all-day "hero-a-thon".

If any of you have ever read anything by the late Joseph Campbell or studied any ancient or modern mythology to ANY degree, you can't help but view movies and books in a slightly different light.
Sure, much of it us pure entertainment and wonderful escapism, but you also begin to view all the characters in the way they are portrayed with a lot more detail. I say that because our modern culture is replete with such fictional people.
Some argue that the violence our society has emanates from such fiction, and I do believe that to a certain degree, but there is so much MORE contained in these shows, books, and movies.
There is always an overwhelming theme - good versus evil, and it's the method that good seeks to oust evil, as well as the depths that evil will stoop to that creates the antagonism in such things.
Can a good person remain good without losing themselves and becoming evil to FIGHT evil?
Can evil falsely portray itself to BE good to achieve it's goals?
WHO eventually wins out...and why?
Since antiquity, mankind has created the scenario whereby good fights evil, and triumphs. That set the stage for mythology.

We ALL pass this intersection in life.

These days, the same values are at stake, but the archetypal hero is perhaps not as "squeaky-clean" as in times past.
I think we have the chance to perhaps downplay the "anti-hero" and raise up the REAL hero, in the likes of Captain America.
We've seen that Thor had to learn the hard way what power and responsibility are, as did Tony Stark and Peter Parker.
Today's mythologies are little different from those of our distant past, whether it be Star Trek, Star Wars, superheroes like Superman, Iron Man, Green Lantern...whoever.
Only the manner in which we present them changes, but the core of the person (and their part in mythology) remains unchanged.
We still need GOOD to fight and eventually overcome evil, no matter what "realm" we find ourselves, real or imagined.
And I think that's as good a lesson to end the month on as any.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.