Sandy Hook Elementary: "Where was God?"

The Sandy Hook Elementary mass murders shocked and saddened me like nearly everyone else in the country.  It also exposed once again some of the ugly sides of our society.

For one, it bared the media's obsessive-compulsive need to report first, rather than report accurately.  There's simply no excuse for this failure; especially the colossal failures in those first few hours.  Is it no wonder that many Americans distrust the media nowadays?

For another, the predictable bunch of ideological opportunists seized  upon this tragedy to once again harp on their beliefs about gun control.  I will say here that yes, I do agree that there should be discussions about gun control and how easy or difficult it should be to obtain firearms.  However, there is the matter that the ones who speak loudest about the need for more gun control are curiously silent when it comes to our own government's failure of its own "gun control".  In order for these gun control supporters to have a decent level of credibility, they should be as outspoken about the failure of Fast and Furious as they are about the need for gun control in the private sector.

Then there's the matter of the NRA's silence once the shooting began.  The NRA often paints themselves as victims of aggressive propagandizing from their opponents, but then go silent during news events that involve mass killings.  The NRA could be adding to the discussion on gun control and how to keep firearms out of the hands of mass murderers such as what we saw last week, or at the Aurora, Colorado movie theater earlier in the year.  Their silence, as the saying goes, is deafening.  I'm not on either "side" of the gun control debate, and I won't get into my personal views on the issue right now.

Another ugly side that was exposed last week was our country's failure to locate, contain, and aid the mentally ill.  While there are different reasons as to why this occurs, there are at least two main ones: a lack of funding, and because certain people on the left are more concerned about the "rights" of the mentally ill than the safety of the society that must accommodate them if they're not institutionalized.  I know people on the left that are influenced by the reports of very real abuses inflicted upon the patients in mental institutions, but the solution isn't to set these people free, it's to reform the kind of aid and assistance that they're given.  Leftists must understand that the mental institution portrayed in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is not representative of how all mental institutions are run.

But the main thing that I think is exposed in tragedies like this is when people bring up questions such as "Where was God?"  Both believers and deniers of God ask this question, but they're asking the wrong question.  First, let's ask why these people ask this question in the first place.

For believers of God, they'll ask "Where was God?" because their faith has been shaken by these kinds of tragedies.  This indicates a lack of understanding of the nature of God, and what he can and can't do.  God is not a genie, granting wishes left and right.  I use the example of a parent giving a child every single thing he or she wants to explain why God sometimes doesn't answer our prayers (or as it is sometimes said, "God answers all our prayers, but sometimes, the answer is 'no'").  If a parent gives their child everything they want, and when they want it, will that child grow up to be a mature and well-adjusted adult?  I hope you said "no". 

So if a human parent telling their child "no" once in awhile helps in their growth and maturity down the road, how much more does that apply to God, the "ultimate" parent? The point here is that a mature understanding of God will be that believing in God isn't going to shield us from the ugliness and evil that exists in our world.

If anything, believing in God will make you more aware of just how much ugliness and evil there is in the world.  But a mature understanding of the nature of God will help you to recognize the ugliness and evil in yourself, and from that, gain a strength in fighting our dark sides, because you can't fix what's broken in your soul if you aren't aware in the first place that it's broken.  So believers in God who ask "Where was God?" during such times demonstrate their lack of strength and faith.

For those who don't believe in God, when they ask "Where was God?", they aren't looking for an answer, because in their minds, they know the answer: He wasn't anywhere, because he doesn't exist.  So why then, would they ask "Where was God?"  In their case, it's a rhetorical question; they ask because it's a validation that he doesn't exist, for if God did exist and he's supposed to be kindly and wish us well, then why didn't he save those children from that murderer last week?  In a sense, it's a form of mockery - why otherwise bring up a deity that they don't believe exists?  It's basically an opportunistic seizing of the moment to promote their own views - which doesn't reflect very nicely of them.

Accepting that a loving God would allow tragedies like Sandy Hook Elementary was probably the toughest part of believing in God that I had to overcome. Why does God allow such evils to happen?  Indeed, why does he allow wars, such as WW1 and WW2?  Why does he allow pestilences such as the Black Plague, or the smallpox epidemic that decimated a great majority of the Native American population when the Spaniards came to the Western Hemisphere?  Those other questions will be for another discussion; for now, let's stick to Sandy Hook Elementary.

The murderer was able to take advantage of a perfect storm of failures on the part of 1.) how he obtained the guns, 2.) that he wasn't institutionalized much, much sooner, 3.) that the school's system of defense was insufficient, and so on.  Before I go on, let me say here that the blame for this mass murder belongs solely to the murderer himself.  You will notice that I haven't said his name yet - and I won't do so now.  He wanted his name out there, I will deny him that.

Getting back to my discussion, the question of "Where was God?" is not the right question.  The correct question is, "Where were we?"  Where were we, when we had the chance to spot him, and then to stop him?  Granted, even with better methods of spotting and stopping mass murderers, some will still slip through the cracks.  No system of stopping mass murderers is ever going to be perfect, but that should not stop us from trying, and we as sure as heck can do a lot better than we're doing now.  But first, we have to come to accept the following:

When we ask "Where was God?", it's to keep from asking, "Where were we?".  It's blame transference, in other words; God is a scapegoat for our failures.

But if we really, truly, want to do a much better job of stopping mass murderers, then we need to put the focus on where it belongs:  On us.  We owe it to future generations to have the courage to ask the right questions so that we put ourselves on the road to find the right answers.

Time for Madonna to rebel again - by aging gracefully

I came across this Before and After pic of Madonna yesterday, and to me, it demonstrates that it's time for a change for Madonna.

Ignore the piss-poor Photoshop disaster on the right, because it's very fake, and you can see how fake it is by comparing it to the pic to the left.  Had you dudes not seen the unretouched pic to the right, you wouldn't know that you were lusting after a woman who looks old enough to be your grandmother (and for some of you, she probably is old enough to be your grandmother!).

No, instead I'm going to concentrate on the picture on the left; of Madonna in all her wrinkled glory.  Now, when I say "wrinkled glory", I don't mean that in an insulting way, regardless of how I make that sound.  Instead, it's a compliment, as I'm about to explain below.

First, let me say that Madonna is said to take excellent care of herself.  Eats right and exercises intensely to keep herself in the shape that she is for her performances.  Mega kudos to her, and I mean that sincerely.  As women age, it gets harder and harder to maintain their body's shape and tone, and Madonna is one of the better examples of celebrities who don't let their "party" lifestyles consume them.

However, even the best lifestyle habits can't prevent the onset of aging, and it shows on the pic above.  While Madonna does what she can to help maintain herself in top physical form, the kind of lifestyle she leads takes its toll.  In other words, partying wears on a body!

On top of that, consider over the years, all the chemicals that she's put in her hair to changes its color back and forth.  There is also all the chemicals from the make-up she's put on over that same time span, and other chemicals that are used to take the make-up off.  Add to this the exposure to sun, smoke, and other unhealthy pollutants in the air that's she's been exposed to all these decades during her concerts, and you have the skin to reflect 3+ decades of wear and tear.

During her long career, Madonna has sought to be a trend-setter, a risk taker, and to challenge the ideas and impressions of womanhood in our society.  In that, she deserves credit for the kinds of good changes in beliefs and attitudes about women that she's helped bring about.

However, there's an annoying personality flaw of hers that she hasn't been able to shake in all this time: she knows of no other way to be "daring" than to dress provocatively.  Dressing provocatively and striking poses that would make little old ladies faint is one thing when she did this while in her 20's; still doing these same things while in her 50's - and looking all of her 50+ years - is another matter entirely.  There is such a thing as aging gracefully!

Take the picture above.  In one respect, I can admire the picture because it shows how her skin reflects the years.  I've discussed before on my blog about women and body image issues, and how they can often be paralyzing for some women.  Guys don't understand how much body image is tied to a woman's sense of self-worth.  Yes, to you guys, it sounds like women are too vain for their own good, and I could go on and on about the origins of these body image issues, but that would take another blog post just to cover some of the basics! 

Instead, I want to bring up body image issues as it applies to Madonna, and the potential good that she could do for society.  As I said, Madonna has made a career out of challenging the norm and dressing provocatively.  Now, however, the dressing provocatively needs to stop, because the woman is in her mid-50's!

Look again at the pic above, and you see that the shot is with her legs spread apart!  You can bet that the pic was heavily Photoshopped because otherwise, men weren't going to be turned on by a wrinkled woman spreading her legs.  They even Photoshopped out the wrinkles in her legs!  And while older women of the past might have been shocked by the young Madonna because she was posing in "unladylike" poses, now older women are shocked because she's an old woman herself carrying on like she's still in her 20s.

While I think the dressing provocatively needs to stop, there is something else Madonna could do to still be the trend-setter and risk-taker that she so desperately wants to recapture:  She could challenge the norm, but in a different way.  Like my post title says above, she needs to age gracefully.  She wants to be daring?  Then go with a new look that will challenge the way women look at themselves.

For instance, let her hair get back to its natural color.  If it's going gray, then let it.  And ease up a lot on the make-up.  Or even better, stop using it altogether.  Right there that will be a challenge and a risk.  The real challenge here, though, will be for her to learn how to dress in such a way that will be flattering for her new look.  She could help society - and women in particular - by accepting aging as a natural process that we all will eventually go through.

But the main thing is, she can dress in a style that flattering for her new look, but who said that it still can't be sexy?  Can one be middle-aged and still sexy?  That's my challenge to Madonna to find out.

Madonna, stop spreading your legs like you're 20 years old.  Stop looking like you still need to "put out" to get people's attention.  You already have it!  Instead, show the wear and tear that your body has gone through, and be proud of them as your battle scars of life.  Wear those wrinkles with pride.  Show that you no longer have to justify your existence by looking hot - you've done all that. 

Show that you're now at a stage in your life that you've fought life's battles, and have come out having not just survived, but thrived.  Women already put themselves through enough misery over their looks while they're young - why extend that into their middle age?

Be old and proud, Madonna.  Show the world that it's okay to age, as only you can.

Who would win? Sylvanas vs. Elf on the Shelf

Unlike the previous time in which I just could not come up with an answer to the question of who would win in a fight between the Star Trek red shirts vs Star Wars stormtroopers, this "Who would win?" is easy!

In a fight between Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, the leader of the Forsaken and the Banshee Queen, versus Elf on the Shelf, who is Mr Dandy Fancypants, this would be a short fight - if it could be called that!

I mean, technically they're both elves, but that's the only similarity between them.  Look at them!  Sylvanas is ready for war, while EOTS is ready for - sitting!

Easy fight, fellas!  LOL 

The Question that stumped The Mighty Andromeda!

You all know me and how I like to dig into researching to find out the answers to all kinds of questions.  I take pride in doing the digging into the books and cyberspace to find answers to the greatest questions of our age.

Now, however, I have come across a question that has me stumped in a way that I've never been stumped before.  And that question is:

Friends, I have no idea!  Theoretically, there wouldn't be a winner, because we all know that the Star Trek red shirts always die - but the Star Wars stormtroopers can't shoot worth shit!  They're shooting and shooting and shooting...

...and shooting,

...and shooting,

...and shooting,

...but miss nearly every damn time!

So what would happen?  You'd have a bunch of red shirts running around not getting hit!  My guess - and it's completely a guess - is that the red shirts will eventually take a laser blast to the head from a random ricochet; either from the stormtroopers' guns, or more fittingly, they'd take an accidental shot to the head from a random ricochet of their own phasers.  Either way would fit entirely within their tendency to die without compromising the stormtroopers' lack of ability to aim their guns.  Or the red shirts could die of exhaustion or starvation waiting to be shot by the stormtroopers!

But again, this is entirely guesswork.  This is a reverse of the classical irresistible force meeting the immovable object.  What we have here is a completely resistible force not at all meeting up with a very movable object.

I'm stumped, guys!    :-\

Help me figure this poser out! 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I was going to post something this week, but I figured that you guys right now are too busy getting ready for Thanksgiving, and then after Turkey Day, you'll be busy shopping (like me!). 

So I'll refrain from posting anything this week - other than this post, of course! - and just wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!  

See you all next week!

God, "God's will", and the "problem of evil" Part 1

"Andromeda Perseus: I'll have to blog about this in more detail, but my thinking is this: God didn't vote for Obama, we did. Some may pray for Romney to win (and honestly, I did), *but others are also prays for Obama to win. So who is God going to please? Some of the people, anyway. However, I think these things happen for a reason. Let's say it was indeed God's will that Obama won. However, it could be said that it's not for the reason that Obama supporters think. It could be that God is saying "You think society's messed up? Then fix it. You learn nothing if I did everything for you. Look, you want motivation? Obama is president again, and if you think the damage he's done so far is bad, what do you think will happen now, now that he no longer has to worry about re-election? There's your motivation. Now go do something about it."

Again, I'll discuss this more on my blog, but the writer of the meme above does not understand God the way believers do. He's not our genie, granting wishes left and right. If the God-genie is his idea of God, then it's no wonder he doesn't believe in him. I wouldn't either."

*  This sentence should read: "but others prayed for Obama to win".  That's what I get for typing in a hurry!  LOL

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The meme above was posted on one of my FB friend's wall.  I had to respond to it, because I think I'm in a position to discuss the topic of God, "God's will", and the question of evil.  I say this because I'm a believer in God that was born to and raised by Marxist baby boomer parents, so as you can see, I've run the gamut on this issue. 

The important thing to mention here though, is that my parents didn't go out of their way to make sure that I didn't even know about God.  It was not at all their intent to indoctrinate me into their way of thinking, but to expose me to all points of view so that I would arrive at their thinking on my own.  They really believed that, after I examined all the facts (as they knew them) for myself, I would arrive at no other conclusion but what they themselves concluded: That a belief in God is for weak-minded people who need a crutch to get along in life, and that society is too stupid and corrupt to allow control to be dictated by "the people" (via democracy), so the masses have to be controlled by the government by specialized government workers via socialism.  

No, of course they didn't phrase it that way, but that's essentially what socialists believe.  Socialists (which includes Communists and Marxists) ultimately believe in totalitarianism, whether overt (such as in the old Soviet Russia) or benign (as it is being tried to be implemented in our country).  The reason I am setting this all up is to give you an idea of what I started out with, which is basically that I wasn't brought up to believe in God.  So to go from that starting point to being a God-believing Christian, I had to start from scratch.  My point here is that those who call themselves atheists probably started out much further ahead in their own upbringing about the belief in God than I ever did. 

What follows is my own take about the issue of God, his will, and the question of evil.  This is the result of many discussions with lots of people of various levels of a belief in God, from outright denial to total unquestioned belief in his existence.  I make no claims to being a theologian or expert on this topic, these are all my own musings and observations.  I also must be a bit insane to try to tackle in a few blog posts a topic that has vexed greater minds than mine for centuries.  But hey, I admit to being a bit insane, so ride with me the rest of the way at your own risk.  You have been warned.  ;-)

First, yes I do believe in God.  I do believe that there's a higher form of intelligence "out there" that most people refer to as God.  While I do believe in evolution, I don't think evolution explains how self-aware creatures like us came into existence.  What trips most people up is thinking of God existing only in physical space like we do.  That's why atheists often talk derisively of "the magic man in the sky." 

Here I had to mentally work this over as well.  If God is not someone physical, then what is he? Describing God as this being you can't see, touch, smell, etc but is somehow "out there" could also fit describing unicorns - as the more snide detractors of God that I've come across have said to me more than once.  But the vast majority of us don't go looking for unicorns for the bigger questions in life; questions such as "Why are we here?", and "What's it all about?", and the classic "What's the meaning of life?"

On top of that is the question of evil.  There are many ways to define evil, but its most basic definition is that of selfishness.  It's not just coincidence that those who are evil are also very, very selfish people.  I know some of you are thinking, "Is she saying that babies are evil?"  :-)
There is a difference between a baby and someone like Adolf Hitler.  A baby is not intentionally selfish - that's just a survival mechanism.  "Selfish" in the way I'm describing it is the willful act of satisfying one's own needs at the expense of others, and by that I mean that one of the intents of the evil act IS to take from someone else (for selfish reasons) in such a way as to deprive them in a harmful and even fatal way. 

Having set the stage, here goes. 

As I just said, I believe God is a being; a higher intelligence that is the creator of all.  I believe this because the order of the universe suggests a beginning.  That is, everything came from something else (which is pretty much what evolution is about) - but there had to be a starting point.  The "Big Bang" would be what most people would call the starting point of it all, and the continued expansion of the universe is evidence of a cosmic-sized explosion indeed having occurred.  But why did this "big bang" occur?  Science has no answer for that; nor does evolution, for that matter. 

Back in my college days, I remember something called the "God-sized hole", which has two interpretations, depending on who is bringing up this phrase.  For atheists, this means basically that whenever there's gaps in knowledge or information, then "God" fills that gap.  It's meant to be a derisive term (atheists have no lack of ways to define and describe God and his believers in derisive ways, it seems) to suggest that those who believe in God use him as a substitute for actually learning the truth. 

For believers in God, the "God-sized hole" refers to the inner longing for something beyond ourselves - an undefined absence that ultimately only God can fill.  Being raised in an atheist Marxist family, I got to know both interpretations, and in all honesty, I can see both sides on this.  That is, I can see some people using God as an excuse to not learn more about the world, and I can see God as the final answer to the larger questions in life.

Scientists try to answer the "how" of existence.  That's their job.  They look at the evidence, make speculations (aka theories, but ultimately all theories are speculation, since there's no way we can totally know everything about anything), and adjust accordingly when facts seem to conflict with the current speculations.  What scientists don't do is to ask the "why" of existence.

That is, scientists can create their speculations as to how the universe came into existence (currently that would be the big bang) - but they can't answer "why".  To ask "why" would imply that there was an intelligence behind the sparking of the big bang, and such thinking belongs to the realm of philosophers and theologians.

Now, there's all kinds of thoughts and ideas that can be entertained out, but that would take much more space on this blog post than I think would be helpful for my discussion.  So for the sake of brevity, I'll take on only the issue of our existence as to how it relates to my discussion next time.

End Part 1

"Chins up. Stand tall. We'll fight again tomorrow"

My thanks to Michelle Malkin for her blog post about yesterday's election results.  She sums up my feelings quite well, and I posted the last line of that post as the header for my own post, because it's an important reminder to not give up. 

Yes, I'm disappointed that Romney lost, but it's one election.  There will be others.  And as Michelle noted at the end of that particular post:

"We'll fight again tomorrow".

Those of you who are regular readers to my blog know that I'm a passionate conservative.  I love this country.  I love its history and traditions.  Now this is not to say that liberals don't love this country, but what I think they love is not the kind of America that I love.  I won't go into the details about that now, because there will be plenty of time to get into that later.  And those of you who know my writing style know that I will get back to it. 

But not now. 

Now we need to work on picking ourselves up and dusting ourselves off, and start planning for next time.  Most importantly, we need to learn what went wrong and make adaptations to fix it.  But I hope that my fellow conservatives learned this:  We can't afford any more "moderates" along the lines of a John McCain.  Or Mitt Romney.  We need a conservative candidate that's capable of defending the conservative way. 

Starting today, I will go back to blogging, and go back to posting on Facebook.  I will not give up, nor will I go away.  The contest for 2016 begins as of this moment, and I will participate in it with all the strength, talent, and intellect that the Good Lord blesses me with.  So no, friends - it's not over.  It's only just begun.

See you all out there. 

We briefly interrupt this blog for a very imporant message: Go vote!

I briefly interrupt my blog for a very important message:  Go vote or I'll kick your ass!

I want everyone wearing one of these stickers by the end of the day! 

This blog will resume its normal programming by this time tomorrow.

Thanks!  ^.^

Challenge to the artists: Slave Leia Disney Princesses!

With the announcement of Disney buying out the Star Wars franchises, this leads to the possibilities of inspiration for new artworks.  Therefore, I am issuing a challenge to you artists out there.  Here's your mission:

I challenge you to draw artwork of one or more of the Disney princesses in the Slave Leia costume!  I was searching for some images of cosplayers in the Slave Leia look, but they all had the wrong shoes!  Dammit ladies, Slave Leia did not wear high heels!  I decided to just go to the source and look up Carrie Fisher in that outfit, and voila, there is the outfit with the right boots!  Use that link as your reference, artists!

If I get any responses, then I'll post them to my blog! 

Go, artists, go!  Make those nerds out there drool!

And now my "Marvel Universe" bio page! (text below)

And now I present to you my "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe"-style bio page!  Pretty cool, huh?  Let me know what you think!

This is going to be bookmarked on my sidebar for future reference.  ----------------------->

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UPDATE:  More than one person mentioned that they had trouble reading the text, so I've enclosed the text of the bio below:
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ANDROMEDA

Real Name: Unknown
Occupation: Publicly: Superhero.  Officially: Agent for the Federal Department of Superhuman Affairs
Identity: Secret
Aliases: (Facebook): Andromeda Perseus
(blog): The Mighty Andromeda is: Busty Superhero Chick
( http://bustysuperherochick.blogspot.com/ )
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: Unnamed parents and grandparents
Group Affiliation: Federal Department of Superhuman Affairs
Base of Operations: Washington, D.C.
First Appearance: Busty Superhero Chick blog entry for November 18, 2008

History: Superhumans were rumored to exist since prehistoric times, but it wasn’t until 1947 that actual proof of their existence emerged. That first contact took place near the small town of Roswell, New Mexico.  The rumors of an extraterrestrial spacecraft crashing near Roswell were not started by the government, but it was convenient, so they secretly encouraged the UFO crash rumors so as to distract from the truth: The first positive proof of the existence of superhumans. 

The identity of that first known superhuman has been classified, along with his or her powers, but arising out of that first contact came the Federal Department of Superhuman Studies (now a part of Homeland Security since 2007).  The DSS operated in secret for decades, studying every superhuman that they caught, and in the process, the scientists learned the nature of their powers and most importantly, how to counter nearly all of them.  The DSS was forced out of hiding after an uprising of superhumans in 2005.  This very public uprising was how the rest of the country became aware of the existence of superhumans. 

After months of battling at a standstill with the leaders of the superhumans’ uprising (including the takeover of some towns and cities), control was finally being regained by the government; due mostly to the five decades of knowledge on superhuman powers that was acquired by the DSS, but also because some superhumans came to the aid of the authorities.  One of those superhumans was a young woman later code-named Andromeda.  Those superhumans who weren’t killed or captured went back into hiding. After control was re-established, the DSS decided to enlist superhumans into the department so as to give the DSS a public face by way of utilizing the “superhero” mythos that comes from comic books.  Very few superhumans – even among those that aided in the quelling of the superhuman uprisings – took up the DSS’ offer.  This was largely in response to the outcome of the court case, Burgenstein vs. United States, which gave official government acknowledgement to the existence of superhumans, but without extending any rights to them. 

With the superhuman uprisings and takeovers and the chaos that arose from it still fresh in everyone’s minds, even the courts weren’t ready to immediately hand over to superhumans the rights enjoyed by regular citizens.  However, to prevent a second uprising of the superhumans, the court did rule that when reliable methods were devised to help keep the order, then rights granted to superhumans would gradually “evolve”. 

The young woman code-named Andromeda took up the DSS’ offer in order to serve as a go-between between the government and the superhuman community.  As a major in American History with an eye to history, Andromeda felt that one of her kind needed to step into the role of being that first superhuman who reached out to the government to start the process of healing in the relations between humans and superhumans.  It is her hope that this will lead to those first few critical steps in which superhumans are granted full citizenship rights, and that humans and superhumans will one day live together in peace. 

Height: 6’ 1”
Weight: Unknown
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Light Brown

Strength Level: Andromeda possesses a strength level beyond normal human strength.  She bench-pressed 20 tons during her last test.
Known Superhuman Powers:  Andromeda possesses enhanced senses, about 3 times the normal human average.  She is also capable of unaided flight and can fly at subsonic speeds.  She has an enhanced level of healing; making her capable of healing from even severe injuries in a matter of hours. 
Abilities: Andromeda is knowledgeable in several martial arts, but not a master of any of them.  She possesses a near genuis level of intellect that, along with her years of experience in dealing with superhumans, makes her among the most knowledgeable tacticians on the planet in regards to battles with superhumans.

Andromeda created by John P. Araujo.
Artwork by Chris Butler - http://bigchrisgallery.tumblr.com/

New artwork of me, "Marvel" style!

And now, TADAAAAH!

Here is the latest stunning artwork by the very creative and talented Chris Butler!  In this artwork, I am posing a la Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe style!  Yeah, baby!  I am so striking the pose! 

This is going to be my official artwork for times in which I need a ready reference for my costume's appearance.  Like I mentioned before, we've officially made the cleavage hole the flat oval that Power Girl used to have before DC Comics went all politically correct on her and covered it up.  I would think that the real Power Girl would have kept it anyway despite any rule changes about the women's costumes, so thanks for taking PG out of character, DC!  Pbbbbtthhh!!!!

So artists, pay attention.  My costume consists of:

* 1 white hairband
* 1 long-sleeved white crop top with a flat oval cleavage hole
* 1 brown leather chest band at the base of the top, with a gold-toned buckle at the front that has the letters BSC on it.
* 1 yellow smiley face temporary tattoo on the right breast
* 1 white pleated skirt that reaches down to mid-thigh
* 1 pair white Spandex shorts worn under the skirt 
* 1 brown leather belt with a gold-toned buckle shaped in a stylized letter "A" 
* 1 pair brown leather gloves that reach over the elbow
* 1 pair brown leather upper arm bands that go over the biceps
* 1 pair brown leather boots that go over the knees, with padding over the knee
* 1 pair gold-toned earrings in a stylized letter "A"

Also to note:  I'm 6 foot 1, my eyes are blue, and my hair is a light brown and is very long, reaching down to my butt.  Since my costume doesn't have a cape, it's my hair that artists often draw in an artsy way as a kind of substitute cape.

Got all that?  Good!  

Oh, wait!

Wait!

What was that about this being my OHOTMU pose?  Oh no, I'm not joining Marvel Comcis!  LOL  No, instead what this is indicating is that we are in the works of making a page of me with this pose (along with the previous artwork by Chris) and whip it all together with a bio so that I have my own OHOTMU-style page! 

How cool is that???  ^.^

So stay tuned, true believers, because that will be coming your way very soon!

w00t!

Thanks Chris, on yet another awesome and excellent artwork!  I love it!  :-D
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UPDATE:  Here is a link to the OHOTMU-style page.  

Review of the graphic novel, Pearl of Pandaria

WoW week continues through this week, and today I review the latest graphic novel from Blizzard, Pearl of Pandaria (PoP).  Before I continue however, time for the usual

*****WARNING!*****

Spoilers ahead!  If you haven't read Pearl of Pandaria and don't want what's in it spoiled for you, then STOP READING NOW!   You have been warned!

******************************************************

PoP is about a young pandaren girl named Li Li, who by my best guess, is roughly the equivalent of 12 in human years.  Pandaren are panda-like creatures who in WoW have a culture and architecture that is very much like the Oriental culture of our Earth.  Pandaren originally came from a continent called Pandaria, but in PoP, the story actually takes place atop a very, very large turtle named Shen-zin Su, or The Wandering Isle.  Yes, this turtle is so large that he is literally an island to himself!  He's also immensely old, over 10,000 years.  As you might imagine, a little back story is needed here.

Shen-zin Su started out as a regular-sized turtle and the beast of burden for Liu Lang, an ancient pandaren that left Pandaria for the lands across the ocean - namely, the rest of Azeroth.  Over the years, Shen-zin Su grew and grew and grew.  Liu Lang returned to Pandaria from time to time, but one day, he left with his wife Shinizi and assorted other pandaren and never came back.  Over the centuries, Shen-zin Su grew to enormous size - so large that the descendents of Liu Lang and the others grew on his back, and have lived there for generations as he grew to island size.  He had been gone from Pandaria for so long that the continent was little more than a myth to these pandaren inhabitants.

The Wandering Isle has a famous son named Chen Stormstout.  He's so famous that he's even known in the rest of Azeorth (except in Pandaria, of course).  Chen is known as an explorer and adventurer who left the Wandering Isle in search of adventure and new booze.  Yeah, he's a bit of a lush....  While he wandered Azeroth, he wrote letters to his niece Li Li who read each letter as Chen described his adventures in the lands across the sea. These letters inspired Li Li to want to go out to explore the world as well, but her father forbade it, because the rest of the world is dangerous; especially to a young girl like her.

But her desire to explore the world and to find her famous uncle Chen is so strong that she sneaked away by flying on a large crane and trying to find her way around the rest of Azeroth by following the letters from her Uncle Chen.  Her father finds out and asked Strongbo, one of the pandaren trainers, to go find her and bring her back.  As it turns out, she's a sneaky and clever little creature, and she managed to talk her way into staying on the continent longer and longer.

Long story short, the unlikely pair wander to different parts of the Eastern Kingdoms; the whole time with Strongbo trying to get Li Li to return home.  Unknown to them, they are followed by a naga, a goblin, an ogre, and a fel orc with a burning desire to defeat the one opponent who has managed to defeat him in combat.  Yep, you guessed it - it was the famous Chen Stormstout!  The fel orc is hoping that these pandaren will lead him to Chen, while the other three are out for a very large magic pearl, the Pearl of Pandaria.  Li Li and Strongbo have no knowledge of this pearl, but the naga thinks otherwise, and they follow Li Li and Strongbo wherever they go. 

After some adventuring in Stormwind and Ironforge, the tale ends in a final confrontation between Strongbo and the fel orc.  The orc manages to fatally wound Strongbo by cheating, but Chen finally shows up to save the day.  It is Strongbo, however, who deals the killing blow to the orc before he himself expires.  Chen then takes his niece back to the Wandering Isle, and the book ends there, but is continued on WoW's website.  Here is a link to the first part (of four) if you want to follow the continuation of the story. 

Overall, I enjoyed the story, and the artwork is beautiful.  This book is printed in a horizontal format instead of the usual vertical format, which is a nice little change to the standard comic book.  If you are already into WoW lore as I am, then you'll really enjoy this book.  My only complaint is that Li Li is a bit disrespectful and insensitive towards the feelings of others - but then she is about 12 years old, and who among us wasn't that way around that age?  In this story, you have basically a rebel story in which one person wants to do things differently than what is usually done in X culture.  

Like the citizens of Gilneas, the citizens of Shen-zin su (and later, the citizens of Pandaria) are very insular; that is, they very much keep to themselves.  While the Gilneans built a wall around themselves, the citizens of Shen-zin su were isolated by the fact that the giant turtle they lived on basically just wandered the oceans of Azeroth - and apparently, never made landfall with any continents in that whole time!  Pandaria was surrounded by an impenetrable mist for 10,000 years, which explains their insularity.  The mist was broken up by the events of the Cataclysm, but I'll get more into that when I discuss my adventures in WoW (I'm waiting until my pandaren toon has to make the choice between Horde and Alliance before I discuss my adventures on my blog.  She'll go Horde, of course!).

In summary, I enjoyed the story mainly for its depictions of some of the cities of Azeroth, and for showing the festival Brewfest while it was going on!  Whoohoo!!!  (Actually, Hallow's End is my favorite WoW holiday).  It was nicely done, and I wish Blizz would get on the stick and put out more comics and graphic novels.  On a scale of 1 to 10 in which 1 is a bomb and 10 is THE bomb, I give PoP an 8.5, but I fully admit that it's getting that score because I love WoW lore already.

Coming soon, as soon as I get my little pandaren to level 10 where she can decide which faction to join, I'll post about her adventures on the Wandering Isle.  So far I'm enjoying it; especially the fact that it's free!  LOL

Warcraft Week continues next week

This week ended up being one of those weeks in which I got unexpectedly busy!  Because of that, WoW week here on my blog will continue next week in which I review the graphic novel Pearl of Pandaria, followed by my experiences in the new expansion via the "free WoW" that you can get up to level 20. 

For the Horde!

Review: Jaina Proudmoore Tides of War

WoW week continues on my blog with a review of Jaina Proudmoore Tides of War (JP ToW), a novel that came out about a month ago.  Before I continue, time for my usual

*****WARNING!*****

Spoilers ahead!

If you haven't read Jaina Proudmoore Tides of War 

and don't want what's in it spoiled for you , then STOP READING NOW!   

You have been warned!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

First, this novel will be more appreciated by those who are familiar with WoW lore, and the more familiar and appreciative you are of WoW lore, the more you'll like the novel.  Basically, it's like the Harry Potter series.  If you enjoyed one HP book, then you likely enjoyed them all.

Jaina Proudmoore is a human mage and the leader of the city of Theramore, the only human settlement in Azeroth's continent of Kalimdor.  While Jaina and her city are officially part of the Alliance faction, she more prides herself on her neutrality.  Jaina in our world would be known as a liberal peacenik, as she tends to favor peace and diplomacy over war.  In fact, her preference for peace and neutrality are so well known that even members of the Horde (the opposing faction of the Alliance) know of her reputation for pacifism.  The Horde's leaders have even gone to her first before approaching the Alliance's leader, King Varian Wrynn.  Wrynn is a bit of a hothead and also has a major hatred for the Horde, so it is easier for them to go through Jaina first before approaching him. 

Jaina's openness to relations to the Horde are largely because of her friendship with its former leader, Thrall (who is now going by his birth name, Go'el), Jaina's friendship with Thrall was very warm, and there had even been questions as to whether they were more than "just friends".  That particular question was settled, however, with Thrall's marriage to Aggra.  Jaina's friendship with the Horde, however, does not extend to its new warchief, Garrosh Hellscream.  In truth, Garrosh pretty much hates everybody, so it's no surprise that he is not friends with Jaina.  Garrosh actually looked upon Thrall's friendship with Jaina as a weakness, as he views all members of the Alliance as weaklings and cowards.  While Garrosh does not like Jaina, Jaina did not in turn hate Garrosh.  Not at that time, anyway. 

This changes in the novel, JP ToW.  Garrosh was always ambitious, and he also felt like the Horde should be conquerors rather than "the other faction" of Azeroth.  When Thrall left the leadership of the Horde to him, it was to give him something to do.  A little WoW lore is necessary here:  Garrosh has always been a little too fond of warfare, and the Horde's battle with the Lich King gave Garrosh an outlet for his warring ways.  After the Lich King was defeated, Thrall and other Horde leaders were concerned that Garrosh would chafe with no more war to be fought, and who knows what peacetime might push him into doing.  Thrall felt that if Garrosh was made warchief, then the responsibilities of the position would keep him busy - and out of trouble.

Unfortunately, he couldn't have been more wrong.  Instead of taking up leadership of the Horde as Thrall had made it, Garrosh used his new authority to become a dictator, and went about honing the Horde's armies into a war machine.  Here now is where it affects Jaina.  One of Garrosh's targets was Theramore, because he felt that a human settlement has no business being in Kalimdor - especially with a peacenik leader like Jaina Proudmoore.  After arranging a feint attack, Garrosh's army retreated and seemingly handed a victory to the Alliance.  However, this feint turned out to be a set-up to attract many of the Alliance's military leaders and persons of influence to be concentrated into one location - so that a massive bomb could be dropped on them. 

Theramore was destroyed by a giant mana bomb, with very few survivors.  Jaina, however, was one of the survivors.  Now, I have to say here that this novel seems to have been written to answer a question:  What would drive a long-time and well-known pacifist into a murderous rage?  The nuking of Theramore, apparently, was it.  Jaina was driven insane with anger over the destruction of her city.  So insanely angry was she that she crafted a spell of a gigantic tidal wave with the intent to flood the capital city of the Horde: Orgrimmar. Because Thrall is a shaman, he is in contact with the elements, and the elements gave him a vision warning him of what Jaina was planning to do. 

He rushed over to where Jaina was building up the tidal wave and tried to persuade her to stop, and used his shamanistic skills to keep the tidal wave in check while he talked to Jaina.  However, she was beyond reasoning, even from someone she once considered a good friend.  It took the persuasion of someone who now appears to be a love interest to talk her down, and that is the dragon aspect (in human form) Kalecgos.

Now here is where the book gets problematic for me.  In order to create this tidal wave, Jaina made off with a magic artifact known as a focusing iris and a spellbook from the mage city of Dalaran.  After Jaina came to her senses, she was invited to become the leader of Dalaran.  Quite a bit of forgiveness for someone who stole these items with the intent to commit mass murder!  Granted, she was driven by grief and rage over losing Theramore, but still....  

It seems to me that the more logical course of action was for her to make amends in some form or fashion first before bestowing upon her this title.  For all we know, she might try to use the many magical artifacts that she now has access to in order to try another attempt to destroy Orgrimmar.  Other than this part of the book, I enjoyed the book; especially the exploration of Jaina's psyche as she confronts her beliefs in pacifism after her city is destroyed in a horrifying act of war.  But again, I think forgiveness and such a large reward came too quickly, and I think further exploration of her psyche could have proven to be just as insightful and thought-provoking as she walks herself back to her pacifist belief system. 

On a scale of 1 to 10 in which 1 is a bomb and 10 is THE bomb (gee, it seems highly inappropriate to be using a bomb metaphor, given this story!), I give JP ToW an 8 - mainly due to the exploration of her descent into madness, and because I love WoW lore that much.  :-)

World of Warcraft Week on my blog!

Over the weekend, I got immersed into World of Warcraft in a way that I haven't been since I played the game regularly.  I stopped a couple of years ago simply because I didn't have the time to play anymore (writing this blog and posting in Facebook are only two of the things that have taken up my time in the past couple of years), but if I had the time, I certainly would still be playing. 

For those who haven't played WoW - gee, how to explain this?  Basically, it's an interactive online game (technically called a MMORPG) set in an environment that will remind you of the Lord of the Rings movie.  In fact, there are elves, dwarves, and orcs in WoW, but they're not like the ones in the LOTR movies.  Very briefly, on WoW you play a character (also called an avatar, but usually called a toon) of a given race for one of two factions:  The Alliance or the Horde.  The game takes place on an Earth-like medieval world named Azeroth (one WoW expansion, called The Burning Crusade, takes place on another world named Draenor, but the original game plus three other expansions all take place on Azeroth).

I've said before here and on FB that those of my generation (those born in the 1980s) will need to have played this game sometime in their lives, because it is a cultural definer for my generation of nerds and geeks.  I've made this point once before in a previous blog entry.  WoW allowed us to interconnect socially in a way that was unprecedented in human history: A means of social interaction and communication that was exclusively through technology.  Along with communicating through the game itself by way of real time texting, WoW users also sometimes used a vocal means of communication to better increase interaction with other players.  Usually that was through software called Ventrilo or Skype, but there are others.

WoW then, basically created an interconnected nerd culture that had never existed before, because the technology wasn't available to this extent before. Like any culture, WoW culture developed its own slang, standards, and expectations.  And like any culture, there were good guys and bad guys.  However, this was the first time in human history that the majority of this culture was taking place in a real-time virtual environment rather than in person.  In other words, we were all part of something that was uniquely ours! 

You too, can play WoW, and for free for up to 20 levels if you want to try it out to discover a taste of this experience for yourself.  I did that for old times' sake over the weekend just so that I can try out the new pandaran race.  I'll be describing my experiences in the new expansion later in the week. 

Before that, however, I'll be reviewing the novel Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War  as well as the graphic novel Pearl of Pandaria.  Along with all that came with WoW, the one thing that really appeals to me the most is the lore.  I'll get more into that later as well.  Quite a bit about the game has changed, but one thing that remained the same is the culture online.  Different players to be sure, but still playing the same roles. I don't know how much longer WoW will go on, but I hope it holds out long enough to me to get back onto it when free time opens up for me again!  LOL  Ah, good times.

Action-packed new artwork by Chris Butler! BAM! BOOM! POW!

And now coming at you in glorious Technicolor is - me!  Bam!  Boom!  POW! 

Ain't it awesome?  This is brought to you by the wonderfully talented Chris Butler!  Chris, of course, has brought you many other wonderful artworks of me, but this time I look like I'm really about to unload on the bad guy!  Or maybe it's just someone who forgot to text me back!  >.<

Thank you so much, Chris! 

Oh, by the way - as of this artwork, my costume's cleavage hole is now officially the flat oval a la Power Girl, who lost hers in the reboot of last year.  I know you fanboys were really missing the legendary cleavage hole from PG's costume, so now I've adopted it for myself as a tribute to her iconic costume.  So rest easy, my little nerdlings!  PG's cleavage hole is gone, but not forgotten, thanks to me!  :-)

By the way, there is another Chris Butler artwork coming to you real soon!  Wait until you see it!  It's gonna be a real treat!  :-)

Now available in California: Doctorless surgeries!

Yes my friends, the state that is at the forefront of forward-thinking medical practices, now brings you - doctorless surgeries!  Well, that's if you're getting an abortion....

That's right! The "right to choose" is so holy, so sacrosanct, so vitally important to women's rights that now her medical safety during abortions has been cast aside and compromised so that the pool of abortionists can be expanded!  Whoohoo!

Imagine that, folks.  Strangers who are not doctors can now perform surgeries on women.  These women are still exposed to all the possible dangers and complications that come with any surgery, but now they have the added assurance that a non-doctor will be there to manage it all.  Comforting, isn't it? 

Boy, this is a blast from the past, isn't it?  The dreaded back alley abortions have now moved indoors and have been given the imprimatur of the State to back them up!  Damn, if this isn't chilling you down to your bones in fear, then you just aren't paying attention!  But maybe what I'm about to say will put this into better focus.

What we have here at the state level is most likely going to be what happens everywhere else.  These doctorless abortions will most likely move on to other states, and the compromised medical safety of women everywhere will soon likely expand to the rest of the country!  It's good to see that feminists are looking out for women, isn't it?

However, if this idea catches on, be prepared for this to get even worse; especially if President Obama wins reelection and Obamacare is fully implemented.  There's no way to financially carry out fully all the aspects of Obamacare - and it's just "socialized medicine-lite".  What happens when tax revenues to fund Obamacare run out - and they WILL run out - and hospital budget directors need to find "creative" ways to cut costs?

You got it - thanks to California setting the precedent with their doctorless abortions, other forms of medical procedures will also have the doctor requirement to perform these surgeries suspended or eliminated, because it's cheaper that way!

This is not alarmist talk, my friends; this is just carrying out this line of thinking to its logical conclusions.  Welcome to the Brave New World!  We are no longer just reading about it, we are living it! 

Awesome comic page! Me vs. Hazelel!

WHOOHOOOO!!!!

This vintage-styled comic page is brought to you by the very talented Rick Celis!  Rick has made other artworks of me and Megan, but this one is the first to include his own character, Hazelel!  I seem to be pretty ticked off, but Hazelel looks like she's having fun! Maybe she doesn't have too many opponents that she can duke it out with and can give it right back!   LOL

If I ever were to battle the fiery red-head, it would certainly be a tough battle.  Oddly enough, battling super strength women is harder for me than battling super strength men, because while men are much stronger, they also move very slow compared to how fast I can move.  This is because of all that muscle mass getting in the way.  Super strength women, however, move as fast or almost as fast as I do, so they can dodge more of my punches - and they can land more!  So really, I take more punishment from the ladies than I do the men. 

But I digress.  What an awesome piece of work!  Man, I gotta get a t-shirt made of this!  And a poster!  So what era would you say this is?  40s?  50s?  When were comics 10 cents?  Certainly before my time! X-D

Thanks so much, Rick, on a stunning comic cover!  I love it!   

Be. Here. Monday. Srsly, just be here.

Awesomeness coming Monday.  :-D

Opining is what I do, folks...

Okay, I just got a note from someone who took offense over my comment about Sandra Fluke; specifically when I said, 

"it's still part of the maturation process (especially by age 30!), learning how to say "no" once in a while, instead of diving into your carnal lusts like wild howler monkeys in heat."

Folks, I opine here, and on FB.  And I make no secret about being conservative while doing it.  It's what I do.  I won't apologize to this person for being offended about my comment above, because this person should know plainly and clearly that I am a conservative.  Not only do mature people learn to control their sexual appetites by age 30, then also learn how to agree to disagree about the issues of the day.  

As an opinion writer, I expect to get disagreement over my views.  If I didn't, then I wouldn't be a good opinion writer! Not only do I expect it, I enjoy disagreements, because I view it as an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer.  Am I perfect?  Hell no!  I'll learn from whatever mistakes I made, and then I move on.  But it won't stop me from taking other chances in the future, because if I become fearful of offending someone, then I lose my effectiveness and my "edge" as a writer.  And I wouldn't keep doing this if I didn't love it.  

So I won't say "I apologize if you're offended."  Instead, I'll say "I'm disappointed that you're offended."  Instead of taking me to task about how offended you are, why not just take me to task over the issue itself?  And I am truly disappointed in this person.  Because this person is a progressive, I expected tolerance and open-mindedness with views that are different from their own views. 

By the way, I stand by what I said.  Fluke went to Georgetown in order to ask for birth control from a Catholic university in order to put them in the position to either violate their views on artificial birth control, or to deny her so that she can cry "Foul!".  She intentionally put Georgetown in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" position; this despite the fact that she could have gotten her birth control from the local Planned Parenthood, DC's women's health office, or at a public university where they're offered without conflicts.

So Fluke could have gotten her birth control from other sources, or she could have said "Not tonight, honey". more often.  In fact, developing a more mature attitude towards your sexuality means learning how to say no once in awhile.  Don't we have way more than enough of alleged adults in our society with their sexual attitudes stuck in adolescence?  And wouldn't a more mature attitude towards sexuality help prevent the spread of STDs and of unintended pregnancies (and thus, cut down on the number of abortions)?  Isn't that what we all want?

All of the above is what could have come out of this conversation had this person chosen to debate me on this issue rather than take offense over what I said.  "Taking offense" is a coward's tactic to avoid discussing an issue, and it has no place in the arena of free and open debate and discussion.  

I'll keep believing and practicing the art of debate and discussion even if I'm the last person doing so. 

You in college in your late 20s or early 30s? Good for you!

I had posted this meme on my FB wall, saying "Srsly, Dems - this woman is your hero; the spokeswoman for your cause?  Sandra Fluke is srsly the best you could do?" 

Anyway, I'd like to make a little clarification, because I know people who are in their late 20s and early 30s and are still in college.  I didn't intend to sound dismissive of those still in college while past the traditional age for college - early 20s, in other words.

I'm just rather puzzled that Sandra Fluke is seen as some sort of hero for demanding that a CATHOLIC college pay for her birth control; a woman who, if she has the financial means of going to a very not-inexpensive university, then she should be able to finance her own birth control rather than demand it from a religious faith whose tenets forbid its usage (going to Georgetown to demand birth control was actually one of the reasons that she went there).  At the very least, she could exercise a little more sexual restraint. I mean, that's what adults do - it's still part of the maturation process (especially by age 30!), learning how to say "no" once in a while, instead of diving into your carnal lusts like wild howler monkeys in heat.

Having said all that, let me say again that if you're in your late 20s or early 30s and are still in college, then I am very happy for you.  And I hope you pursue your desire all the way to graduation day, whether it's your Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate.  You are living the American dream, my friends, and it's a grand, grand thing, and I couldn't be happier and prouder of you for your persistence.  You are the reason why the US will find its footing again and restore itself back to its grandeur, so Godspeed to you! 

I found the dress to wear to the museum!

This is going out to two groups of people.  One, this is going out to the ladies to help me accessorize this dress.  And two, this is for the artist who will eventually draw me wearing this dress while I am around and about in an art museum. 

I love this dress because it's so retro, and yet it can be dressed up to be a kind of nerdy chic - the very look that I want for my art museum artwork.  And this is where I would like my lady friends to help me out.  So what to wear with this, to give this a nerdy chic look?

No high heels, for sure.  At 6 foot 1, I'm tall enough as it is, and plus, high heels aren't good for walking around a museum for 2+ hours.  So flats of some sort.

Certainly boho jewelry.  Also, a small purse - nothing big or clunky, but something to go with the nerd chic look.  Ah, the possibilities are making me drool.  >.<

I'll keep working on this, and then I'll find an artist to do this.  A proactive thanks to any of the ladies who help me out!

World of Warcraft movie - or rather the lack of one.

For years, rumors of a World of Warcraft movie was always on the horizon.  It was always going to be "next year".  Well, 4 expansions of WoW are about to happen, and still no movie.  You know what bugs me?  The WoW movie could have taken up the slack left by the end of the Lord of the Rings movies.  Heck, there could have been a WoW movie as each expansion came out.  Instead, we have no movie, and the next LOTR movie is about to come out - almost 10 years after the last one was released.

I don't know what the hold-up is, but it's probably related to why the WoW comic was cancelled after it was just getting warmed up (It had Walt Simonson as the writer - you know, the guy who wrote the classic Thor series!) with the promise that not one, but two ongoing series were going to replace it.  But then that didn't happen.  Well, no problem, there's the manga WoW novels that were running at the time, and a couple of graphic novels were on the way.  Except that the manga WoW novels likewise got cancelled, and the promised graphic novels never materialized.  Sigh.

There is allegedly another graphic novel on the way, this one based on the new Mists of Panderia - but I'm not holding my breath.  My friends, I love WoW and its lore.  I love the fact that WoW belongs to my generation - those of us born in the 1980s.  But I wish Blizzard, the company behind WoW, would do a much better job of getting behind its product.  It's really disappointing to the fans that the movie and the comics keep being promised but not delivered.

What I don't get is why they can't make a WoW movie as a CGI like in the cinematic below.  What's wrong with a whole movie in this style?  Wouldn't this be much faster than trying to put together a cast and scenery?  At least we have the game, but there is so much more that could have been done by now.  WoW is to my generation of nerds is like the lover who is indeed loving, but lazy.  High - and even eloquent - on promises, but short on following through.  There will eventually be an end to WoW, but I can't help but feel that the end of it will come sooner than expected, because Blizzard failed to deliver on too many promises.