Okay, first off, it’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. It’s a classic that lives and breathes even in today’s environment. The original film, made in 1951, was about our exploration into Atomic Energy and how it could someday tear us apart if we kept acting like complete asses to each other. A brilliant story that begs us to look at one another not as enemies, but as one race. I like to think in my small little brain that this reverberation of warning went on to pull us out of the dark cold-war status we were in for so long. Probably not true, but it’s my fantasy so back off.

Secondly, it’s important to note that this is a remake of a classic. And while I detest remakes, this is the lowest form of that flattery. Inspiration, sure, I can buy that. But a remake it is not. The original film is so far off the basis of the story it was based on as to be shocking. This follow-up remake is so far off…well it’s just damned sad is what it is.

See, in the original story “Farewell to the Master” by Harry Bates it explores what kind of strangeness can happen when our limited understanding of sentience is dwarfed by the revelation that not everything from a strange-far-off world would fit into our little paradigm. You see, Gnut (the robot they call Gort in the film) is not the servant, but the master. It’s a very revealing story about how we try to place our limits onto others.

In the original film from 1951 Klaatu is a visitor who is shot, but then heals miraculously and calls a summit of all earth’s greatest thinkers. There, he tells them that our tinkering with forces outside our understanding could be the potential downfall of our planet or make us a threat to our other galactic neighbors. Therefore, we either learn to get along, or our neighbors will put a stop to the bickering. It’s a great warning about the cold war, and how we could so easily destroy ourselves playing with nuclear weapons. It was a warning that was so far outside its time I think the entire country was a bit shaken by it.

The changes made to the story between the written short story and the film where drastic, to say the least. I understand this new telling is supposed to be about environmentalism. Gee, didn’t see that coming, did you? Let’s hope no one goes, it flops and maybe we can stem this tide of remakes and poor excuses for film making. Seriously. Enough.

Why am I so fixated on my dislike for Scientology? I mean, aside from it not actually BEING a religion and all. At least the Mormons used to let you marry more than one woman! But Scientology doesn’t even deserve the respect of having been…anything. They aren’t a persecuted minority, they do that themselves. They aren’t an empire spanning, cultural changing state church. They are dogmatic about…insofar as I can tell…nothing. In fact, emptying your head seems to be their biggest draw.

Just wait, someday we may yet see this:

So Captain America defies his government. I was blown away by that, only because he never put down the shield and uniform. He never stopped being Captain America. I mean, I can believe he’d defy a government…heck he’s done that before. But he removed his uniform, stopped being “Captain America”. Not this time though. And the whole event has had me wondering “why?”. Better yet, HOW.

Then I read Amazing Spider Man #537.

Pete says: C’mon granpa Steve. Tell us a story. When the whole country is against you…when it’s all bearing down on you like some kind of ten-ton weight, and you don’t know your own heart anymore sometimes…how does someone like YOU deal with it? I mean, you practically ARE the country.
How does the man who is the country react when the country goes a different way?

You know what he said?

Cap turns away and says, “I remember the first time I really understood what it was to be an American…What it was to be a patriot.”

“I was just a kid…A million years ago, it seems sometimes. Maybe twelve. I was reading Mark Twain.

And he wrote something that struck me right down to my core…something so powerful, so true, that it changed my life. I memorized it so I could repeat it to myself, over and over across the years.

He wrote –

‘In a republic, who is the country?

Is it the government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the government is merely a temporary servant: it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. It’s function is to obey orders, not originate them.

Who, then is the country? Is it the newspaper? Is it the pulpit? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it, they have not command, they have only their little share in the command.

In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country: In a republic it is the common voice of the people each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak.

It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catchphrases of politicians.

Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man.

To decide it against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.

If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have your duty by yourself and by your country. Hold up your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of’.”

Cap continues, “Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right.

This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.

When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree besides the river of truth, and tell the whole world–

–No you move.”

Read it. Seriously. That one scene is frickin incredible. And this is what proves that comics are more than funny pictures. It shows the depths these writers look to when writing this stuff. Anyway, for those of you who want to read Samuel Clemens’ original quote in its entirety, it goes like:

Papers of the Adams Family

* Against our traditions we are now entering upon an unjust and trivial war, a war against a helpless people, and for a base object — robbery. At first our citizens spoke out against this thing, by an impulse natural to their training. Today they have turned, and their voice is the other way. What caused the change? Merely a politician’s trick — a high-sounding phrase, a blood-stirring phrase which turned their uncritical heads: Our Country, right or wrong! An empty phrase, a silly phrase. It was shouted by every newspaper, it was thundered from the pulpit, the Superintendent of Public Instruction placarded it in every schoolhouse in the land, the War Department inscribed it upon the flag. And every man who failed to shout it or who was silent, was proclaimed a traitor — none but those others were patriots. To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, “Our Country, right or wrong,” and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that that phrase is an insult to the nation?
For in a republic, who is “the Country”? Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant — merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them. Who, then, is “the country?” Is it the newspaper? Is it the pulpit? Is it the school-superintendent? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it; they have not command, they have only their little share in the command. They are but one in the thousand; it is in the thousand that command is lodged; they must determine what is right and what is wrong; they must decide who is a patriot and who isn’t.

* In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catch-phrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide it against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country — hold up your head! You have nothing to be ashamed of.
Only when a republic’s life is in danger should a man uphold his government when it is in the wrong. There is no other time.
This Republic’s life is not in peril. The nation has sold its honor for a phrase. It has swung itself loose from its safe anchorage and is drifting, its helm is in pirate hands.

It’s important. We’re not Democrats, or Republicans or Libertarians. We’re a country. WE the people. And I think we’ve completely lost sight of that fact. And I hope we someday find our way back before it’s too late.

And because of this, I just wanted you all to know I talk to people like this all the time. And if you don’t, come do what I do!

“What you just said, is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling ,incoherent response, were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul. ”

And for the record, I love this as well:

Even MORE stupid!

Okay, here’s the thing. The kid was illegal. The kid now going to be legal. But still underage. The outrage…is it because he’s a kid, but could POTENTIALLY be 16? Or because he’s an alien? Or because…ARRRRG! *head splode*

Maybe I am just tired. But it struck me as somewhat funny. This woman took advantage of a youth, no doubt. But she ran to MEXICO. A place I would never never wanna be in prison.

Wow. Yeah I am tired, my head hurts.

Then some asshat came along and says to me “you may not get it, but Ewoks were the same way.” I despaired. Ewoks, those cute fuzzy little guys…OH MY GOD I WAS SETUP! I was a kid, and because of that I was out of focus on the whole issue. They were cool man! Little primitive pygmies living in tree huts are cool to this day! Everyone says they were made to appeal to children, well I have news for ya brother, they STILL appeal to me, and JarJar is still an idiotic caricature of a simple island folk! So take that, Mr. Ewok hater. I may hate Lucas and Star Wars now, but I will defend an ewok to my death bed.

Anyway, watch this…there is a surprise toward the end. Amen!

Possibly one of the greatest minds of “classic” television was Ernie Kovacs, a man who was imbued with both great intelligence, good taste (the man smoked Havanas!), and incredible comic timing. He died far far too young. And before you get started on cigar smoking ya nazi, it was from a car crash. He had just finished working on some stuff for the show, headed home and had an accident. A tragic loss for the entire world I fear. But he left behind some fantastic moments. This is my particular favorite, and I cannot stop myself from laughing everytime I see it. In point of fact, it probably influenced my choice in online handles more than any other. So here’s Ernie, his wife, and a guest star (this might have even been Frank Sinatra, though I am not sure) with Nairobi Trio:

Then I discovered possibly one of the worlds greatest and most underrated actors giving a fantastic performance. And it scared me, how close it came to how I feel about my own issues. 1939, Germany. And even then they understood psychology as well as (and possibly better than) we do today. There was a more honest approach to the situation. I wonder sometimes if putting down the mentally unstable still wouldn’t be our best solution, as the man in this film says “you’ll escape or get a pardon. Then there you are, free on the law” a law, I might add that is there to protect you. Anyway, it’s ten minutes of Lorre at his best. Never hurts to watch the man put a bit of his soul on display.

Peter Lorre

You go through life wondering what it is that will test your mettle. A carjacking? A terrorist bombing? An accidental shooting by your own sibling? Try to imagine what you think would push you to the limits of your inner strength. What could make you need that cold, hard piece of yourself you keep locked away for emergencies. Somewhere, that’s the small reptilian side of humanity that has kept us going since our beginnings. We fight within ourselves over who we feel we are with what is expected from the outside. And that war can tear a person down faster than any drill sergeant in the world ever could. Because no matter what another person tells you, that little voice inside is really you.

You are a failure. You didn’t hold up. You didn’t make it in time. That is you. It’s not some guy standing on a pedestal looking down and judging you. It’s your own mind telling you exactly what you already know about yourself. Because it knows things no drill instructor could ever know about you. It’s knows your worst fears, your greatest weaknesses, your triumphs and your failures.

And I want to kill that guy. Because he never shuts up. No matter what I do right, he’s there. No matter what I do wrong, he’s there. Always reminding me. Always taunting me to do more. This is what depression is. This is what neurosis feels like. There is someone else in control, and no amount of strength, no amount of the right thing will shut it up, because it’s you. And it’s right. You did screw up. You did drop the ball. You are a failure.

There is no amount of love that can fix it. No amount of medication that can cover it up. There is not enough support, money, or time to take care of it. And it just keeps going. That voice. Knowing it is right. Knowing it’s just you that is loathing you.

Some will tell you “just buck up” or “hang in there”. Sometimes there is no bucking up. Sometimes you run out of things to hold onto. And you slip. And it’s a long way down.

It is weakness to take your own life. It is brave to jump in front of a bullet. What an odd juxtaposition. Suicide is the single greatest self centered activity one can partake in. Thankfully, it is usually the last as well.

People will say things set off a depressive episode. But I say that’s not the case. Sometimes your life will be churning along as it’s usual pace, and that little voice is just not as loud. And the sun shines, and the colors are bright and vibrant. Then something comes along and reminds that little voice that you are, in fact, the world’s worst anything. That you have screwed up, it’s all your fault, and look what a failure you are. And within minutes, your body has betrayed you. Your eyes get heavy and watery, your legs buckle, and you find yourself wondering just how thick the skin on the arms is. How deep is 1mm?

The clouds roll in and the colors mute a little. Like a television where the color rods are going out, your life begins to eddy back and forth from color to black and white. Any contribution you have ever made, anywhere and effort to do anything is now gone. And you stand there, answering to yourself in the most private of all settings, your own mind. A desolate wasteland of loneliness. And the only thought to cheer you up is “if I had multiple personalities, this might not be so bad”, and that doesn’t help you much.

Many people don’t understand how you can come to thoughts on hurting yourself. It’s simple really. You start with “what have I done?” which leads you down a path of ritualized self-torture and self-doubt. Note, this is all about you. Once you have properly dissected your life for any and all fruitless endeavors, you begin to come to the realization that life is just pointless. We run and run, and in the end where are we running to? Better yet, where are we running from?

At this point your brain hurts and you don’t want to even think. Which is fine, because coherent thought it pretty damned hard anyway. By now your brain is alive with the ravings of your own mind. Like there is a version of yourself in a tattered coat, messed up hair and broken glasses pulling out files of your life from a filing cabinet. He forces you to look a the contents of the folder, laughs maniacally mocking anything that could possibly have gone wrong in that part of your life. And he just spawns another version of himself doing the same thing, over and over again. Until your mind is filled not with creativity, or progressive thoughts, but with the one unifying thought between all of those little twisted versions of you…you fail.

That isn’t enough is it? That’s not enough to want to hurt yourself. It’s in your mind, and it’s loud. It’s the loudest thing you could ever imagine. That laughing, maniacal version of yourself just keeps going. God, I hear people say, God will set you free.

No, God won’t. God is in your heart. God is a creator and architect of the universe. God is not in control of my mind. And anyone who says otherwise is probably selling something or asking for donations.

No amount of knowing the right thing to do ever makes us do the right thing.

For those who care, I am not going to hurt myself. Not yet. There have been two things I have found to help out immediately. One, is to sleep. Sleep good and hard and hope that by tomorrow the clouds have passed over. The others are chocolate, a sun tan, and weed. And since weed is illegal, and I hate cancer, looks like being fat is my only option.

It’s either this, or go on anti-depressants, which pretty much make you not be miserable enough to kill yourself, and leave you with enough personality to beat out a carrot for a new standup act.

Heck I forgot to put down who this was! It’s from www.runawaybox.com