First and foremost, happy Veteran's Day to all my fellow Veteran's and their families. It's today that we reflect upon the great sacrifices many of our veterans have made for our country. We may not always believe in the politics behind any war or military action, but you must ALWAYS believe in the men and women who serve in our military. They are the true backbone of this country. One of my favorite quotes is by General Macarthur. I came across it while I was serving in Germany and it says, "The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is he who must suffer and bare the greatest wounds and scars of war." Thank you to all veterans and all the men and women who serve in our military.
Please take a minute to visit The Aquaman Shrine today. Rob, the man behind the site, has featured my Aquaman Tattoo on there. I sent it to him a few weeks ago and when he was trying to pick a day to feature it and decided on Veteran's Day as a tribute to my service. See? Even the smallest gesture makes a world of difference. He also sent me my official membership certificate in the F.O.A.M club (Friens of Aqua Man). It's a lifetime membership. Also, my page on MySpace as it's a homage to Paul Norris the creator of Aquaman who passed recently (see the very last blog before this one). Yeah, I get it, this all makes me kind of a dork. So, who isn't a dork?
Not to change the subject......
I read on Pop Candy on USA Today.com that they had released a new box set of the series "My So-Called Life" on DVD. The show only lasted one season, but has gone on to become one of the best reviewed shows of the 90's. I think it is by far the best show about families and blows any movie by John Hughes out of the water. The show centers around Angela, a teenage girl who definitely feels as if she's on the outside looking in. Her and mother do not get along at all, her little sister drives her batty and she loves her dad, but thinks he's kinda goofy. She has a precocious rebel of a friend in Rayanne and the misfit boy Ricky. I didn't catch on to this show when it aired. I don't think I even owned a television at that point in my life. I caught it a few years later on syndication. I was blown away by the sheer realness of this show. Everything from the writing, the acting, to the stories. This could have been written about me. Angela's relationship with her mother Patty, was very much mine with mother...to this day. Patty was often made the show's "bad guy" so to speak. She very a very strict mother who showed little affection and knew her strong personality often made her the tough one, but didn't know how to change it. In reality, she was a good mother who loved her family fiercely and would do anything to protect them. Angela, on the other hand, needed a mother who would be her buddy and cater to her mood swings and "get her." Or at least that's what she thought. As a teenager, she would have probably alienated any mother she had, but Patty proved episode after episode that she was, indeed, a good mother. There is a line from the show that just really cracked me up. Angela says in her narrative, "There's just something about Sunday night that makes you want to kill yourself." Ah, the days of my teens where Sunday nights were harbingers of doom! The Christmas episode of the show still resonates with me and I can't watch it with other people in the room. Angela and Patty get into a monumental fight, a life/relationship changing fight about Angela's friend Ricky who is now living in the streets. Angela, being the good kid that she is, takes it upon herself to go into the streets and save Ricky. It's not a very bright move, obviously, but a very impassioned one. As Patty describes the fight to her husband she says, "God -- I just had -- the most upsetting fight with Angela. You know is was one of those fights where -- it doesn't seem real, it seems like the fight is having you." I've had a lot of those fights with my mother over the years. It's been a few years since we had one, but it does hit a point where the fight itself seems to embroil you. While out in the streets, Angela comes across a homeless girl who had runaway from her mother because they had a big fight. Later, Angela gives the girl her brand new warm boots. The whole episode convenes at the church on Christmas Eve where Ricky, Angela and her family come together. It's very touching and heart breaking and it makes me cry EVERYTIME. At the end, Patty comes in contact with the homeless girl who tells Patty the story of why she ran away and uses Patty's exact quote about "the fight having you." You then find out the homeless girl is an angel. I know, I know, sappy, and YES it's sappy but in the most sincere and genuine way. Trust me, I'm not one for sappy pop songs or the average chick flick, but this one just seems so real to me. You should check out the My So-Called Life tribute site. It's pretty amazing!
Flask finally opens today. Here are the details. I put this together to help promote the bar on myspace, it's not the official release. It is their official logo though. Cool, huh? I was at the dry run on Saturday. The food is fan-f*cking-tastic. No joke. And it's made from scratch. Check it Out!
