Matt March’s Blog

I feel that what I’m about to write in my blog may be considered immature, extremely geeky and somewhat inconsequential, but I guess I’m going to type it anyway.

Superheroes have always been a part of the human imagination since our great-great-great-etc. ancestors thought up a bunch of gods and idols that would have the power to control the things on earth. In a more modern context, the action/comic heroes have become a lore and cult of their own, fascinating hundreds of thousands with the bizzare and irrational, but always the “super.” Everything from super-strength to invisiblity have been morphed and adapted to film, comic, television, lunchbox, etc. It has fueled imaginations and broken many an arm and leg with attempts to “fly” from trees and roofs. The presence of the supernatural in a natural world may be wishful thinking or nonsense or whatever, but it is what it is and its apparently here to stay.

With the endless subtopics involved with superheroes, I only want to talk about the few that have either intrigued me or bothered me the most.

One thing that has always bothered me is just how unfair Superman is as a superhero. He has super-strength, superspeed, flight, X-ray vision, invincibilty, Louis Lane, and so much more going for him. And his weakness is…. what? A substance not found naturally on this Earth (and women, as always, but what are you going to do, eh? )? How fair is that? Spiderman may have web-power and super-human strength, but he at least exerts some effort when, say, stopping a runaway train full of screaming passengers. I picture Superman as that annoying kid on recess who never gets “shot” when playing Cops n’ Robbers because he miraculously spawns body armor and forcefields. Lame if you ask me.

And what conversation about superheroes can go on without the classic question, “What one superpower would you have, and why?” Feel free to post your thoughts and feelings unashamed. Personally, I would have the power of flight because it would be awesome to go from Bursley to Central without riding the bus, and it trumps super-speed because you could throw water balloons at people from ANYWHERE. Invisibility would be a close second. Its not like I’ve ever thought about this before or anything….

-Matt March

Chris Chaisson’s Blog

What do Hell’s Kitchen, The Apprentice, and Trading Spouses all have in common? They’re all extremely bad reality shows that should have never been produced. I honestly hope that none of you all enjoy these shows, and if you do, then I guess I apologize for ridiculing your TV selections. Whatever happened to scripted television shows and original storylines? I refuse to consider a chef yelling at and berating his staff, a businessman saying “You’re fired” over and over, and families switching wives, entertainment. The general purpose of most reality shows seems to be just filling empty space in a network’s program schedule. I knew that the bombardment of reality shows had gone too far when I saw a preview for a show called The Academy, in which former TV stars were trained to be policemen. The show flopped as it should have, but I came to the conclusion after seeing the preview that people seem to be losing respect for each other and themselves. I racked my brain trying to figure out why anyone would find the swapping of wives more entertaining than offensive, or why anyone would want to mock the intense training that policemen go through so that they are ready to risk their lives. Don’t get me wrong. Not all reality shows are as bad as the aforementioned ones. However, I appreciate the hours or even days of thought that go into scripted television shows, i.e. The West Wing or 24, much more than the five or ten minutes that it takes to make up an idea such as “What if we trick a bunch of women into thinking that a guy is rich, then have them compete for his love?” Occasionally, I find myself watching shows like Rock of Love with Bret Michaels (a house full of women stabbing each other in the back to get Bret Michaels, singer of the rock group Poison) not because they are good, but because they are so ridiculous that I get a laugh out of watching them. From watching these shows in which people do or say anything about anyone to win whatever challenge is being presented to them, I am personally of the opinion that reality shows can sometimes bring out the worst qualities of people. Maybe I am just picky, but I prefer fictional storylines from the minds of creative writers over the shows that pit people against each other in order to see how low they will stoop.