Flight of Fancy

It's amazing how much work and study going into maintaining the illusion of a mild-mannered alter ego. One must make time, for example, for "hobbies," if only to have something to chat about around the water cooler with "the guys." It's hard to mingle when your genuine interests have nothing to do with sports and the latest episode of "American Idol," but I've found something which both holds my interest and provides for good conversation at the office: Fantasy literature. Now, people may question why a superhero would have an interest in fantasy - aren't we living a fantastic life already? But heroes can learn from good fantasy novels. Chivalry, honor, love of one's fellow man and an endless dedication to fight for that which is right, to the death and beyond - these are all things for which a hero must strive. Alternatively, darker fantasy can provide useful insights into the villainous mind.
Recently, I've stumbled across an author who truly fires the imagination - Brandon Sanderson. Virtue, adventure and humor abound in his works, and I only wish he had more books already written. I was first introduced to his work with Elantris, a novel which simply can't be put down. Among my supergroup, we now refer to "pulling an Elantris," indicating staying up until the wee small hours of the morning finishing something. It's THAT good. The rest of his works are great, too. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians is a wonderfully humorous book which shows us that evil and secret combinations can be literally anywhere.
He's now working on the final book of the famous "Wheel of Time" series, which is sufficient incentive for me to want to pick up all 10,000+ pages of the series. I'd read the first 7, but found that I didn't like what the characters had become - they no longer represented any sort of heroic ideal for me. Knowing what the conclusion is likely to be like, though, I'll plow through it all again.

Liberty and Justice for all!

Ah, the 4th of July. As you can see from the liberty bell on my costume, the freedom which America represents is very dear to me. July 4th is rich in tradition for me, the most important of which is the musical, 1776. While the historical accuracy is, at times, questionable, a great deal of it is deeply rooted in fact and history. For anyone who has ever had an ounce of pride in America, in its founding and in those who founded it, it is a marvelous play/film.
As good as Alba is with fire, fireworks are somthing else entirely, and we went to the show at Thanksgiving Point, a good half hour long program with a nice variety of fireworks. I'm a big fan of color changing and shaped fireworks, as well as screamers. Alba really likes the "wiggly ones" - the ones that look like swarms of fireflies or ants and take off in random directions in midair.
We knew we'd have to leave before traffic arrived in our area for the Stadium of Fire, so we also saw Wall-E at the Thanksgiving Point megaplex. Another Pixar winner - HIGHLY recommended to everyone. The trouble with Pixar is that their advertisements, while cute, never do the show justice. Half of Pixars trailers leave me scratching my head, then the films are fantastic. I think they need a new P.R. department or something.
In Wall-E's case, the trailers give you no idea of the plot - they just tell you there's a robot love story. It speaks nothing of the social issues addressed, nor of the eventual triumph of man over machine and, in the end, over himself as well. A truly heartwarming tale of sacrifice, friendship, devotion and the evils of sloth.

Birthday wishes

Alba's birthday was a great day. She received numerous games, assorted music, much beloved classic Mickey Mouse cartoons and a small, plush monkey. Yes, superheroes like Mickey Mouse - clean entertainment for today's youth will make for a better tomorrow. We had a lovley dinner at the Olive Garden and we received a surprise visit from her sister and her sister's husband. We couldn't make it to the theatre that day (fortunately, plans were flexible), but we went to the dollar theatre the next day and watched Nim's Island, a film which hasn't received much media attention here in Paragon City, but is a great family film. An agoraphobic/germaphobic writer who has an Indiana Jones clone as an imaginary friend sets out to save a little girl on a volcanic island - quite funny, but also touching. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good, clean laugh.