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The Hobbit & The Expanse

During the COVID lockdown, and the long wait for my trade training, there has been little for me to do other than watch TV, and try to find the discipline to either workout or clean the house….. So naturally I’ve been watching more TV than I really should be. The long hours of streaming have reminded me of an old problem I have with writing, and a new problem with writing discovered due to streaming.

The Old Problem

My wife and I had a huge Lord of the Rings marathon over the holidays. We watched ALL the movies in timeline order; so The Hobbit movies first, then the original LoTR movies. The Hobbit movies have their issues, but I think my biggest issue was with the character of Alfrid: the character has no redeeming qualities at all!! Think back to your favourite shows, I’d bet that most of them had pretty decent bad guys in them. Their motivations might be weird, but I’m sure they had an actual reason for being evil. Alfrid is just a despicable character. If he had just been greedy, I would have been ok with that, but at one point he tries to associate himself with Bard, raising Bard’s hand after it comes out that he killed Smaug. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for him to do that. Is he trying to get wealthy; is he trying to get power? Good villains I enjoy hating, a decent one I can at least understand, but that character I just plain hated.

And that is my “old” problem with writing: villains with no clear cut motivations, and no redeeming factors at all.

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Overthinking It: Rescue Armour

One of the things my wife and I like to do when we’re looking for something to put on for noise is head to the Marvel section of Disney+, pick a number, scroll over that many, and hit play. Yesterday that landed us on Iron Man 3.

I had forgotten the scene when Tony’s house gets attacked and Pepper gets to wear the armour. It got me thinking about her finally get her own armour in Avengers: Endgame…..

…..and I started Overthinking It.

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Creation is a Force of Will.

One of my absolute favourite super heroes is Green Lantern.

For those that don’t know Green Lantern is basically a space cop. The Green Lantern Corps is an organization that patrols the 3600 sectors of space (2 GL’s per sector) and keeps the peace. The fact that there are 7200 Green Lanterns is one of the many things about it that I like, there are a HUGE variety of beings that are Lanterns, including a sentient planet (Mogo) and an intelligent fly (Bzzd). A major part of their appeal is that anyone can be a Green Lantern. (Including me!!)

Green is the colour of Will, and Will is the source of their powers. There are nine different rings, in different colours, each representing a different aspect of emotion or state. A green power ring grants anyone with sufficient will power the ability to manifest anything they can imagine. A red ring will give power to anyone with enough rage/anger, a blue ring pairs with hope, etc. Traditionally in the comics “physically manifesting power” meant giant fists to punch things, and cages to imprison bad guys, but in modern comics the ideas are pretty much….well… anything you can imagine.

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My Top 5 “Hero Shots”

Anticipation, by itself, it neither a good or bad thing.

Anticipation for a dentist appointment isn’t likely to be enjoyed, but anticipation for something you’ve been looking forward to can be a great feeling. Like a great movie reveal, or “hero shot”.

“Hero Shot”: an establishing scene in a movie, often (but not always) done early in the movie, showcasing the hero in full costume, at full ability, or both; using dramatic cinematography and music.

As I’ve mentioned many times, I love movies. Especially superhero movies. I’ve seen just about every super hero movie made since Superman (1978), the first movie I ever saw in a movie theatre. Unsurprisingly, superhero movies have some of the best “hero shots” out there. After watching Avengers the other day I decided to put together a collection of my favourites.

The whole third act of Avengers: Endgame is filled with hero shots, but the “Thunder-Cap” reveal is definitely my favourite. When you see that first close up of Thor’s hammer rising, there is just a split second of confusion as you try to figure out what is going on, and then we all collectively lose our shit when we realize that Cap could lift the hammer in the “Age of Ultron” the drinking game all those movies ago. Unlike the rest of my favourite hero shots, this one we have been building to for years! I’ve seen the movie over a dozen times, and I still get the giggles!

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A Good Year is not JUST a Good Year….

Recently we watched Soul on Disney+, which was a fantastic movie. It’s a really deep movie too. For a guy like me, that is searching desperately for something in his life, but is unsure what it is, the movie hits pretty hard. Without spoiling anything, the main plot is about a guy looking for meaning, and purpose in life. It was a gut punch for me, but it also taught me something that I can hopefully remember in 2021: Purpose and legacy are important; but so is just living.

This has been a really big problem for me lately. Its easy to get so focused on the big things, that we forget about the little ones. We’ve all heard the saying “big problems are made up of a bunch of little problems”, but it goes for other things as well. A good year isn’t just a good year, its 365 good days. A good day isn’t just a good day, its 24 good hours. A good hour is 60 good minutes, and so on. I (We) generally get so wrapped up in trying to live a good life, that we forget about the small things, and the small things are key. Thinking smaller scale helps you get over the bad as well; a bad year is more challenging to move on from than a bad hour, or bad minute.

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My Struggle and My Legacy.

It feels like ages that end in zero are landmark ages. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that they want to achieve certain goals before they hit 27, or 33; its always 30, or 40, or in my case: 50.

The setting of goals requires a certain amount of self reflection and as I approach my 50th birthday I’ve been looking back a great deal, perhaps more than is really prudent. I’m an over-thinker by nature, and lately (coupled with current events) my self reflection is turning more and more into doubt, fear, and depression……. again.

2020 has been a rough year.

Maybe its the additional stress and disruption that comes with COVID; maybe I’m in the middle of my mid-life crisis. Maybe I’m just a “glass half empty” person, or maybe its a seasonal thing; probably it’s all of the above. I’ve been writing a lot less, exercising a lot less, and watching a lot more Netflix. There has been a lot on my mind, but one of the patterns I’ve been noticing in my thinking is concern over my legacy.

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Overthinking It: Robin’s Suit in BvS

My wife and I had a big Batman movie marathon recently. I didn’t think to start with the original Batman movie from 1989, I actually forgot I owned it to be honest. I don’t own any of the other Batman movies until we get to Batman Begins, which made me feel a bit old when I realized it was released 15yrs ago.

So we watched all the “Bale” Batman movies and moved through the “Batfleck” movies, ending with Justice League. It wasn’t until watching “The Dark Knight Rises” followed by “Batman v Superman” that I remembered a theory I had.

At the end of “The Dark Knight Rises” we see John Blake (first name Robin) discover the Batcave, and in “Batman v Superman” we see a case with the Robin suit that has obviously been spray painted by The Joker. We can assume Robin was not in any condition to stop it from happening, and we further can assume it was for painful, if not fatal, reasons.

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5️⃣3️⃣1️⃣ Days until 50 . . Been struggling lately. Super unmotivated, a bad case of “COVID Blahs”. Had a great workout yesterday, though. 35min on the stationary bike, and finished strong with my favourite cardio song. . . Had a bit of an epiphany half way through that inspired today’s post, then found a post by @markmanson that felt like it was written specifically to confirm my idea. (at Ottawa, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHvBMUbH3c-/?igshid=1cwgoh8dba9ti

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We’ve Forgotten How to Think

The Internet is amazing.

The entirety of human knowledge in your pocket is an advantage that few people can comprehend, and one that most people take for granted! It does however come with drawbacks.

I am not a fan of peanut butter. I will eat it if required, but if given a choice I will avoid it. Not because of the taste, but because it causes cancer! I also avoid drinking water, because drinking water can kill you! And Elon Musk’s Space X program is only a vehicle to allow the worlds billionaires to evacuate the earth in the face of global warming!

These all sound ridiculous, but believe it or not, there are websites out there talking about them! Did you notice the links? Did you click on them? The fact that there are links at all makes them seem more legitimate, but that doesn’t actually make them legitimate.

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Animal Flow 2.0 DVDs: First Impression.

TLDR:

Information seems solid.

DVDs have VERY low production quality.

The other day I got my Animal Flow DVDs, and today I tried them.

Animal Flow Yoga, or just “Animal Flow”, is a form of yoga I stumbled across on Instagram. I follow quite a few people in the fitness industry and a shockingly large number of them do it, or incorporate it into their workouts. As part of my “50 Year Plan” I’ve been trying to increase my fitness and improve my fitness habits, and this caught my eye. Not sure if it was the “primal” feel of it, or just the coolness factor in the movements.

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5️⃣6️⃣0️⃣ Days until 50 . . As a cabinetmaker I’m in love with this project I found online. (@buzzfeed I think.) I even dreamt about how I would make it last night. 😄😄 . . #cabinetmaker #journeyman #woodworking #woodworker #coolproject #iwannabuildit #forwardtofifty #forwardto50 (at Ottawa, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGkmJRfHZ7P/?igshid=1c7aui4e0xugp

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5️⃣6️⃣9️⃣ Days until 50 . . My wife is my hero. Today we ran to the grocery store, and when she was leaving she saw a man asking for food. She was shaken, and as we were leaving asked if we could go back and pick something up for him. She asked him if he wanted anything specific, and he asked for milk, so she went in and picked some up. . . We both are in the military and have been weathering COVID rather easily compared to many, and I was extremely pleased my wife suggested this very simple act of charity. My empathy takes longer to kick in, and I would’ve regretted not doing something, but we’d’ve been half way home at that point. . . Lots of love at @kaylee_norton_ ❤️❤️ (at Ottawa, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGOUFGUHFpV/?igshid=b3tkazoylb2

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Is Life Supposed to Suck?

Every life has challenges. We often look at them as the low points in our lives, things to avoid, but should we? There is an argument that the challenges we face in our lives give our lives meaning.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I tend to look back at my life and remember the challenging parts. (And, perhaps, focus on them a bit too much!) During conversations I’ve noticed that people love to tell stories about their problems, and often try to out do each other. Maybe it’s human nature to focus on the bad, but maybe there is another reason we focus on the negative; not because we are negative creatures, but because the negative gives our lives meaning. Not in a “build our lives around negativity” way, but in a “build our lives around challenges” way.

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Why Exercise Helps Stress

Fight or Flight; it’s built into our bodies. Its instinctual, and unless you are really self aware its impossible to control it.

Your mind perceives a threat and it sends messages down your sympathetic nervous system to get ready for a massive physical exertion. Your body floods with adrenaline, you heart rate and breathing accelerate, and you get ready to run or do combat!

Once you’re done, your parasympathetic nervous system lets your body know you are done, and you begin to come down off your combat high.

…but what if you don’t actually fight or flee?

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5️⃣7️⃣4️⃣ Days until 50 . . First run for about a month. Took some time off to rest my ankle, which is sore but feeling solid. . . Looking a little wasted (wasted but good in my @thenavaslab shirt) because I am. 😄😄 Getting out of shape, I guess. Gonna have up my cardio!! (at Ottawa, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGA1kNOHx0-/?igshid=5kqscw8mfdmo

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Over-Sized Movie Construction

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love movies. I have no problem suspending my disbelief, overlooking problems, and just enjoying myself, but every now and then while watching something an idea will pop into my head, and I just gotta write it down. Which leads to this episode of “Over-Thinking It”.

I watched Star Wars the other day, and I noticed something I’ve always known: those Imperials make things big! Too Big! I have a similar issue with the Jaegers of Pacific Rim; sure they were super cool, but were they cost effective?

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The Fitness Industry is Crap

Before joining the military, my wife was a personal trainer, for years before that she was interested in fitness and health. All told, she’s been self educating and “proper” educating about fitness for almost 25 years. I’ve absorbed a lot just through association, and I can say with confidence there is really only one absolute truth I’ve learned:

The fitness industry is 90% crap.

There are so many diets out there that claim to produce certain results that most people misconstrue: The Keto Diet, Atkins Diet, Paleo Diet, Vegetarian, Vegan, Super-Low Carb, Super-Low Fat. Under the right circumstance, with the right knowledge going in, and with discipline, these diets will likely work for you; but only if you are expecting the correct results. If you are following any of these diets and expecting to lose weight, there is no guarantee you will, because there is only one, 100% guaranteed, way to lose weight:

Basic Truth #1: Calories burned must exceed calories consumed. Period! Full Stop! Fat is your body storing excess calories “just in case”. Your body will dip into those stored calories if you are burning more than you are consuming. The above diets may help you feel better, or help clear up your skin, or give you more energy. Many people feel better while following diets because they end up cleaning a lot of garbage from their diets, but that doesn’t guarantee that they will lose weight. You could eat nothing but raw veggies and still gain weight if your calories consumed is greater than your calories burned. Conversely, in 2010, a Professor lost 27lbs eating nothing but Twinkies and junk food because he burned more calories than he ate!

Now, that doesn’t mean he felt better while doing it. What you consume will determine how you feel. How much you consume will determine if you lose weight or not. Many in the fitness industry deliberately allow us to confuse healthy for skinny, and they are not always the same thing.

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