I watched 'The Dark Knight' today.  It's a fantastic film.  I recommend it.

Batman has always been my favorite superhero.  Even the travesty of 'Batman and Robin' gets a pass from me.  Put Batman in the title of a film and I'll watch it, no questions asked.

I've had the Batman vs. Superman argument a time or two.  Superman would win the battle, of course.  But he's not that compelling.  Superman can only be killed by some chemical, the likes of which doesn't occur on Earth.  There's no suspense or question of his success.  Superman is effectively a god among insects.

Batman is a human.  Bullets and knives are deadly to him.  He gets hurt and knows that a bus could run him over at any moment.  His utility belt doesn't protect him from RPGs.

The big point people like to make is that Superman wears Clark Kent as a costume.  He's actually Superman.  Clark Kent is the alter ego.  Superman's mythology makes him a secret hero among men as we all wish we were.

I think it's fair to argue that Batman does the same.  Only he's actually human.  Batman rides the wave of depravity and insanity.  Bruce Wayne is a facade.  Bruce only exists for Batman's sake.  More importantly, Bruce exists for the trust fund's sake.

I think of Batman as the John Wayne of the modern age.  He's a slave to the human condition as we all are.  The purely altruistic hero doesn't exist.  The guy that does the right thing in spite of his desire to drink and smash and shoot is extremely human.  Batman would load up his M16 and blast dirty fuckers into oblivion if he thought it would be right, but he doesn't.  Batman knows restraint.  Batman does separate himself from the beasts.

I guess, the short version of this post is that Batman understands that people need a rough man to do violence on their behalf so they can sleep easy in their beds.  (Yeah, I'm paraphrasing.)  He's just the man to do it.

Posted by: roggowj at 09:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've thought of compiling a list of the five most important people in history.  It's not an easy task.  I mostly consider architects and engineers as being the drivers of human development, but one can't discount political and cultural forces either.

I think I might expand on this later, but my list so far would be as follows:

1.  Plato and Aristotle.  I count them as one because they both contributed significantly to modern thought.  Even if Plato was mostly wrong.

2.  Constantine.  I can't count Jesus because I don't necessarily believe he existed.  Regardless, Constantine did embrace the philosophy of Christianity which is enormously important to the history of the world.  One could argue that we have him to thank for our modern world.

3.  St. Thomas Aquinas.  His conclusion was wrong, but appropriately so.  Look at Al'Ghazali by comparison.

4. Faraday.  He pretty much gave us the modern world of electrical convenience.  To this date we haven't completed our understanding of his equations (see the memristor), but I think he may have rivaled Einstein as a creative genius.

5.  Not Einstein (yet).  I think this spot belongs to Vannevar Bush.  He developed the modern practice of commercialized R&D.  The military/industrial complex is thanks to him.  Xerox, IBM, Raytheon; the largest and most innovative companies in the world develop the technology we use in our daily lives and it's thanks to this visionary.

Posted by: roggowj at 04:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I bought a gold fish plant this spring.  There's a lot of conflicting information regarding these plants.  They can be picky or not.   Depends on the plant I guess.

Mine is doing quite well.  I did have bud blast after bringing it home.  That's not unexpected.  Most plants are grown in greenhouses with lots of humidity and CO2.  My house doesn't have those things, so the buds died.  However, it's doing pretty well and seems to be growing new blossoms.

I keep it with the Swedish Ivy (also called a charlie).  These are supposed to be tricky to grow, but mine are going great guns.  They've both doubled in size since this spring.

Posted by: roggowj at 03:18 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I rode my bike downtown on Saturday.  It's about 8 miles from my house to downtown Boise, so it's a fair ride.  Anyhow, I spent the day wandering around the farmer's market and watching people from the bar.  On my way home it was really fucking hot, so I stopped at the bar for a couple of beers and ran into some friends when I was walking out the door.  My afternoon out turned into a two-day bender and I'm not sure the pants I wore home are mine.

Anyhow, I had a curious conversation with a friend during the coffee and vodka stage of sobering up.  The guy is a flaming liberal.  You know, the sort that believes if another Republican takes office, we'll see a third-world police state with rioters being gunned down in the street.  Nonetheless, we had a civil conversation and even agreed on a few things.

Actually, we agreed on two things.  During a four hour conversation.

Immigration policy was the only area where we found commonality.  I think amnesty is reasonable.  The expense and logistics of hunting down and deporting some 12 million illegals is staggering.  Especially when most of these people have friends, family and compatriots willing to help them hide.

But, it needs to stop.  The borders need secured, even if it means turning the border into a no-man's land rivaling that between the Koreas.

The conversation demonstrated something I've understood since living in San Francisco, but never experienced quite so directly.   After discussing issues for a time we always arrived at the same point.  I argued for individual responsibility, while he wanted communal responsibility.

He's an articulate fellow, and pretty well informed.  But his position came from one of empathy.  Mine from analysis.  He accused me of being cold and selfish, I accused him of being a bleeding heart socialist.

I've never had such a candid and civil political conversation with a liberal.  I may have to sleep with him now.

Posted by: roggowj at 12:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My brain spent part of this morning thinking about Independence Day and doing some small reflection on America.  I found that a line from 'America the Beautiful' touches me deeply and represents what I think of our nation.

Thine alabaster cities gleam, Undimmed by human tears.

For all the poverty, crime, and assorted ugliness in America, we remain a beacon of hope.  We are a people of ingenuity, generosity, and ambition.

Now it's time to celebrate.  Here's to another 200 years of wealth, health, and happiness.

Posted by: roggowj at 12:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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