Timezoning

I think my parents (who move to North Carolina [about 20 minutes from you Reva!] in about a month) will agree with The Reva's position on the Eastern Time Zone. Thank God I'm not out there, watching Lakers games would be a bitch!

NBA Season, or "Is it November Yet?"

I keep going to ESPN.com hoping that some cool new news about the NBA will be posted. And then I have to remember that the preseason doesn't start for another six weeks. *Sigh*. At least there's the schedule for me to mull over. Another Christmas with Shaq vs. Kobe. Wow. Isn't it starting to get boring? The result of that game should be obvious: Kobe's a better player; Miami's a better team. Ah well. I dont' even think that LA has made significant changes to their roster! How are they supposed to get better if their managment won't spend any money? Is this what if feels like to be a Clippers fan? Sucky.

I'm excited because for the first time in years I'll be in SoCal for the season, so I can actually watch most of the games! Halloween can't come soon enough.

I wish I could vote in Penn.

Here's Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum commenting on President Bush's speech last night:

The president is right. This is our hour. We can play politics with the hour, we can seek political advantage and to win the next election with this hour. We can confront the reality of this hour and do something about it. On my watch, even though i'm ing what many consider to be face a difficult time back in pennsylvania — on my watch, i'm going to confront the reality of the threat to me, to this country and to our children and grandchildren. It is just too important to walk away and play politics to get re reelected. It is too important to the future of this country to minimize the threat that we are engage ed in and play politics with it. It may win and lose elections. Matters not to me. Matters not to me. What matters is, defending our country when it needs to be defended. Not putting personal politics above what's the best interests of the national security of this country. I believe the president, given all the mistakes that this administration has made in the conduct of this war — and they certainly are numerous — the president has it right. This is the greatest threat for our generation, and i pray we have the courage to confront it.

There's more. I wish I could help him out in Penn, where's he trailing Democrat challenger Bob Casey.

So Much to Say...

Well, Labor Day has come and gone, and I am still not in school. A little distressing, but I'll manage. There are so many wierd things going on I dont' even know where to begin!

We'll start with Pluto. Despite Reva's objections to Pluto no longer being a planet, I'm with Phil here. Pluto's "planet status" - a god-awful PC phrase if I've ever heard one - should be decided by those most knowledgeable: ASTRONOMERS. Scientists shouldn't be afraid to do something just because it might offend/disturb/upset some people; even if those people are The Reva. Then, to complicate matters the Californaia State Legislature has decided that stripping Pluto of its planet status will cause "tremendous impact on the people of California and the state’s long term fiscal health" and so are condemning the International Astronomical Union. I've always disliked my state assembly, but this is really embarrassing. I shake my head in disgust.

I heard that Kim Jong Il, crazy-ass leader of North Korea, has a fetish for collecting Mazda RX-7's. I heard this on the Bill Handle Show though, so I'm not saying it's true.

But apparently US Marines in Iraq have begun forcing Saddam Hussein to watch South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut while in prison as a form of punishment. For those who haven't seen the movie (and I suggest you do) Sadaam is protrayed as a gay lover of Satan. I think this is great. Simply hilarious. I don't see what Saddam could complain about either. I mean, Satan's his BITCH. How much cooler do you get to be?

Iran seems determined to get nukes while the West seems determined to see just how far in the sand they can stick their collective heads. *Sigh* I hope Israel comes through for us again because if I die because some liberal PC wacko (*cough*TedKennedy*cough*) kept my government from bitch-slapping Iran I will be pissed. I mean, there would definitely be some serious haunting going on after that.

Oh, and I might be buying a house.

Joss Whedon is my Master Now.

The More Things Change...

My mom returned today (at least I hope she did, I haven't spoken to her yet) from her third trip to North Carolina in two months to look at houses. Sounds possible that she will be moving out there sometime relatively soon. What does that mean for me? Nothing cheap, I'll tell you that much. I'll be moving, too. Most likely NOT to NC (sorry, Reva), but possible to Corona, or, if I'm very lucky, to a house in Temecula. But SHH! No definite word on anything yet. More to come in the next week or so...

Looking for Excitement

Man I wish exciting things were going on in my life. Here's a review of a sample week for me:

Monday: Work
Tuesday: Work
Wednesday: Work (a lot)
Thursday: Work
Friday: Work
Saturday: See Candace, and usually Eric
Sunday: Sleep

Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Which isn't to say that I don't enjoy my life right now. On the contrary, I'm having a great time. I enjoy work (usually); I'm able to hang out with friends I haven't been able to for years; my expenses are minimal; I really like my life right now.

Yet I have nothing to talk about. *Sigh* The most exciting thought I had over the weekend was: "This year I'll be able to watch nearly every single Lakers game!" While that is cool, sometimes I just wish that it wasn't the highlight of my weekend.

Also, I'm freaking out a little. The end of August is fast approaching; every fiber of my being screams that I should be preparing for another semester of school - but I'm not! I have no more school to prepare for, so I'm a little unsure of how to act. What does September feel like when you're not doing homework? What's October without midterms or December sans Finals? I guess I'll find out.

I'm scared...

My name is John Romano....

...and I support the Superhuman Registration Act.

This is the first of a few posts I will be writing in regards to Marvel Comics' newest event: Civil War. Here I will explain what Civil War - and the Superhuman Registration Act - are, and why I support them from the point of view of someone in the Marvel Universe. In later posts I will discuss my opinions as a reader and Marvel's conclusion of the story (once they finish in a few months).

So what is the Superhuman Registration Act? Well, it begins long ago: in the comic book industry there's a formula: Every summer (or every few summers) have a BIG event, that CHANGES EVERYTHING FOREVER. Naturally, these events rarely make lasting changes, and are almost always undone by the next writer/artist team. This formula though has lasted for a long time, since around the early 80's, at least. This year Marvel came up with a very interesting idea for their event. They called it CIVIL WAR. The idea is that something happens which changes the status quo for the world, dividing the superhero community in two (ideologically).

So the short story of Civil War is: A group of relatively untrained heroes battled a group of superior villains, one of whom caused the destruction of an elementary school in Stamford, CT, leaving hundreds of children dead. In response, the US Congress passed a law, the Superhuman Registration Act, which makes it a criminal offense for any person to use superhuman abilities of any sort to fight crime without first registering with the government and working as an authorized agent. The precise wording of the bill has not been revealed.

This has caused the superhero community to become divided. Some, led by Iron Man and an unmasked Spider-Man (that's right, Spidey revelaed his secret identity) strongly support the Registration; others, led by Captain America and Daredevil, strongly oppose it and see it as a violation of civil liberties.

So why do I support it if even Captain America doesn't? There are several reasons: Safety, Accountability, and Equality.

The Stamford Incident revealed a key weakness in the status quo that has existed with regards to superheroes: they didn't oversee each other. While many groups, like the Avengers and X-Men, trained themselves so as they were not a threat to themselves or others, they did little to stop other groups which were less trained. Thus, inexperienced fighters took on villains too strong for them. If they were only risking their own lives that would be acceptable; but also at risk are the innocent civillian lives endangered during the fight. The government has an obligation to protect all its citizens, and training those with extraordinary powers ensures the safety of themselves and other citizens.

There used to be a saying regarding the X-Men: "From the destruction across the city, you can generally tell where they've been." For a long time superheroes were exempt from the extensive property damage they had caused because they were "fighting supervillains." Often, this is understandable. But when a police officer shoots someone, regardless of who, an investigation occurs to ensure that it was the right thing to do. Thus accountability is ensured; so that if mistakes are made the correct people are held responsible. Property damage and loss of life are so percious that the government must guarantee that when either occur it is for a proper cause, and that it is minimized. With no oversight of any kind, superhumans have been able to not be held responsible, either criminally or financially, for the extensive damage they have cuased.

Ordinary citizens cannot enforce our interpretation of the law. No matter how "right" we believe we are, we cannot infringe on someone else's property or use force to stop them - unless acting in self defense. Yet this is exactly what superheroes have done for decades; enforcing a "might makes right" style law where they avoid encounters with athority simply because they are more powerful and no one can stop them. Criminals and terrorists are allowed onto their teams because they claim they have "reformed," regardless of whether they have actually repaid society for their crimes. This is contradictory to the law that all should be treated equally. In western soceity only the State has the athority to use force to enforce the law.

Some (many named Candace) argue that by being agents of the State, heroes could no longer do what is "right," only what is "lawful," or what they are told. But this not true. If a military soldier is ordered to do something he feels "wrong," or "unjust" in his society, he has the right to refuse to do it. He may be courtmartialed for it, during which he can defend himself and his peers can determine if he was right in disobeying an order, but he still can refuse it. Additionally, the heroes are offered a choice: use your powers to serve the state, or don't. This is the same choice every recruit to the military or police force has. There is no "draft." Since the Registration Act became law many heroes have become former heroes because they choose not to reveal their identities and/or work for the government. They have not been prosecuted, naturally.

Which leads into the next argument against Registration: it is a violation of Civil Liberties. I am unsure of what civil liberties it violates precisely, and no one has specified, despite numerous people, like the Invisible Woman, Wolverine and Captain America, claiming it is a violation, but the only thing I can think of is privcy. Specifically, forcing heroes to reveal their "secret identity" is a violation of privacy. Arguments about the constitutionality of that right itself notwithstanding I showed there is nothing forcing anyone to reveal anything. They only have to register IF they want to fight crime, the same way a police officer must register before he has the athroity to enforce the law.

Finally, this is not, as some have claimed, a reprisal of the Mutant Registration Act, which was pushed during the 80's. That Act wanted to Register all mutants for nothing more than being a mutant, which is wrong. Persons should not have to register simply for being who they are. As I would scoff at the idea that gays, blacks or Jews should register, so do I scoff at the idea that mutants should register. But the Superhuman Registration Act is different: it forces people to register for making a choice. If you choose to fight crime, you must register. Simply having a power does not require you to register. That is a subtle, yet dramatic difference in the law.

Does the Registration Act have problems? Probably. Would I change things? Almost certainly. It is difficult to say with any certainty because the law is not written anywhere, so no one knows EXACTLY what it says. But it is a reform measure that is a step in the right direction. Some fear of abuse; while I agree that this law could be abused, I don't think that that is itself a reason to abandon the law, merely place safeguards in to protect against such abuse.

My name is John Romano, and I stand with Iron Man and support the Superhuman Registration Act.

(Very) Short Reviews of things this Summer

X3: So awesomely fantastic I dare to even call it Uncanny.

Superman: Is there anything that beats 90 minutes of character development? Oh yeah, a plot that goes somewhere. This was quite a disapointment from Brian Synger; and James Marsden gets more screentime here (as Lois's boyfriend) then he did in all three X-Men movies (as Cyclops) combined.

Pirates 2: I really wanted this to be great; instead it was only decent. It dragged on for quite a ways; not as long as King Kong did, but that movie went on forever. Way to much plot exposisiton, not enough one-liners. *sigh* Here's hoping the third movie makes up for it.

You, Me and Dupree: Damn I can't believe I saw this movie. Ah, well, it was at a drive-in so who cares. It was a pretty good movie; though I admit I had low expectations for it.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC): Here's another thing I never expected to watch, yet now do ALL THE FREAKING TIME. My step-dad loves watching it, so records tons of them (damn you TiVo) and shows them to me. He's so excited by it, how can I say no?

South Carolina: I spent a week working there and all I can see is: It sucks. I've lived in a desert a large portion of my life and I'll take 110 degree heat over 93 degrees plus 90% humidity. Humidity sucks ass.

Working full time: While not something that I necessarily love to do (getting up at 6am everyday sucks) whenever I get bummed about it I just think: "I'll never have homework again."

SoCal: To my northern Cal bretheren: Yes, the Bay Area sucks. Berkeley is evil. I know this is our mantra. But I have learned that there are in fact certain things that are better in NorCal than SoCal. God I feel dirty just saying that. For example: bars that are in walking distance. I miss them so very much...

Commutes: They suck. Always and everywhere. Someone better invent a teleporter, and soon.

Updated...At Last!

For all the complaining I heard about not updating, it hasn't even been two months yet! Sheesh! Well, I'm updating now; hopefuly regularly, but I've said that before and it hasn't worked out quite that way, but I'll try. I promise.

So what's new? Well, a lot and nothing all at once. I have a job at Geovision Geophysical Services as a Staff Geophysicist. It's exciting. It's about half travel and half office work (data processing) so it keeps things interesting, but not too exhausting. I would explain what I do, precisely, but not many of my two readers would understand.

Oh, and I bought a car. A nice, new (well, it was when I bought it) Mazda 3. It's not quite the muscle-car I was planning on getting, but it serves me well enough. Truth be told, I wish I had waited a little while; the '07 model has a turbocharger on it. *Sigh* Oh well.

But that's about it currently. I went to Comic-con with Candace, and Disneyland, but nothing much changes.

Work calls; I'll write again soon; I have much to say that will interest no one.

Back at Home

Well, after a four year journey to the crazy hippy-infested Bay Area, I've returned home to southern California. Specifically, I'm back in Nuevo, CA. Where is that? Well, according to Google maps, it's right here. Anyway, the job hunt is going well, and I'll have an important update on my employment status very soon. Car hunt is onlynow just getting underway, but hopefully I will find a car I want soon.

Life trucks along quitely from here. I've been spending my days sending out resumes, playing video games and sleeping. Oh, and playing with the dogs. Can't forget about the puppies.