TIME OUT! I Called Time Out!

Music & Memories

I’m always amazed at how songs become attached to moments or people in your life.

I hear Born To Be Wild, and I remember a road trip with a friend so she can check out a job possibility in Massachusetts.  When that song came on we cranked the radio and belted out the chorus at the top of our lungs.

Gimme Three Steps makes me think of the boss who was always amazed that the song was based on a real story.  He would mention it every time the song would come on and excitedly go on and on about it.

I hear Charlie Daniels, or Run DMC, or Mary J Blige and I think of the special women who have been in my life.  If it wasn’t for them I never would’ve given these styles of music a fair chance.

Whenever Dream On plays, I remember trips to Hampton Beach with friends.  We would always end the trips standing on the beach singing that song.

I could go on and on and bore you with songs and the memories associated with them, but I won’t.  But if ever a song comes on, and I get a little smile on my face and maybe even give a snicker, you know why.

Until I saw this post, I had no idea it was happening. Please share.

So what is going on in Iran right now?

I am pretty sure most of you who are either on TikTok or keep up with international news have heard about the massive protests happening in Iran right now. Its a pretty big deal. But what exactly are these protests for and why are they so important?

Hopefully, for those who dont know whats going on I can explain it all here.

Who is Mahsa Amini and what happened to her

Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old woman traveling from Kurdistan to Tehran (the capital of Iran) to visit family and was stopped once she entered the city by something called “the morality police” (yes this is a real thing). They claimed Mahsa Amini was wearing her Hijab incorrectly and that she would be arrested to undergo “reeducation” at the police station (which would result in her being released after an hour or so). Mahsa’s brother was with her when she was arrested and waited at the station for her to be released.

It is unclear what exactly happened between when Mahsa was arrested and the events of her death (mostly because we do not have any video of these events), but the women detained along with Mahsa reported for similar offenses reported Mahsa was violently beaten by said “morality officers”. This was supposedly for resisting their insults directed toward her. This story is corroborated by her brother’s report of Mahsa having bruises all over her body and the hospital where Mahsa was staying reporting she was brain dead upon arrival along with reporting signs of skull fracture and bleeding in her brain both on social media and in leaked medical reports.

Mahsa died of her injuries 2 days after she was admitted to the hospital on September 16th of 2022. 

The official cause of death as reported by both the morality police and Iranian government has been extremely suspicious since the ‘official’ story claims she died as a result of a random heart attack/seizure combo. However, as stated before, there is plenty of evidence that Mahsa was violently attacked which includes (but is not limited to): the skull fractures found, the bruising around her body and face, the bleeding found in her brain and ears, and the fact several other witnesses have either said they witnessed the assault or have seen the previous things. Mahsa’s father also reported she was in perfect health and did not have a history of heart or seizure issues.

Why are people protesting?

For the people of Iran, instances of violence like this are not an unheard-of occurrence. Since the revolution of 1979 and the creation of this “morality police force” women were forced to wear the Hijab regardless of personal choice and had to adhere to a strict modest dress code lest they face similar treatment to Mahsa. To quote an actual penal code enacted in Iran post-revolution:

“women who appear in public without religious hijab will be sentenced to whipping up to 74 lashes”

Violence against women for this reason was now, in a way, much more normalized. Some of these dresscodes did apply to men, sure, but they were primiarly created expressly to control women with the use of fear and force by way of the Hijab. To also directly quote Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (who has been in power since 1989):  

“improperly veiled women should be made to feel unsafe”

Is this an anti-Islam protest?

The protests surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini have definitely gained international attention by what many people are doing in them. Many women are burning their hijabs in the streets, cutting off/shaving their hair, and otherwise just doing a lot of things that, traditionally, would be considered taboo under this system that’s currently in place. However, this does not seem to be a direct rejection of Islam and rather a direct rejection of control over women by the use of the Hijab as an avenue for that control.

As stated before, this is not a new issue. There have been anti-hijab protests going on since the revolution in Iran back in the 70s. There were even protests pre-revolution FOR veiling since the leader at the time wanted to strictly stick to western norms. Iran shifted from one major extreme to the other. And in both these extremes choice on the part of the woman in question is completely taken out of the equation. It has been men making these choices for women in a broad universal way without giving women the ability to decide what they want for themselves. There is more than 1 way to veil in Islam. There are also many women who do not veil at all but are still active participants in their faith. There is not one specific way to do this correctly within Islam because modesty as a whole is a subjective topic. So the fact this police force exists in the first place is less about keeping morals ‘secure’ and more about exerting control through these rules via more extreme interpretations. 

It would however be unfair to say that these protests and the cultural revolution happening because of these protests do not diametrically oppose some parts of Islam and the culture surrounding it. These beliefs are incompatible by virtue of them being polar opposites of each other. These protests, like it or not, have western influence on them and this influence threatens certain parts of Islam because over time certain aspects of culture have become rooted in these controlling methods. Its pretty unclear how this will all play out. However, it is safe to say this will be shaking up things both within Iran and in the world of Islam as a whole. 

Why are Non-Iranian women also cutting their hair?

Ever since the protests have gained international attention many women outside of Iran (both ethnically Iranian and not) have also been cutting their hair to various degrees to stand in solidarity with protestors. 

This is significant symbolically for a few reasons. In many cultures, long hair is directly tied to one’s femininity, attractiveness, and even in some cases where one comes from. Like it or not hair is culturally and socially important and the loss off it can be a very big deal for those living under these cultural expectations. In Iran doing something like this subjects you to harassment from the morality police. It breaks the morality code and challenges the idea of what a woman should be and look like. Outside of this context, the removal of hair can be a sign of mourning, fear, anger, and a rejection of femininity (or in this case, the control brought on by strict gendered dress codes). 

There has been a lot of controversy around this act since many people currently participating in these protests feel this act is performative activism on the part of western allies. Cutting one’s hair is not really on the same level as donating money to a cause or protesting yourself. But others believe this is an important act of international solidarity. If you reading this decide to do this: do it at your own discretion and be sure your act of solidarity does not outshine the actual protests going on.

Why are people asking to blur/delete protest footage posted online?

It should go without saying that the people protesting right now are putting themselves in very real danger. What happened to Mahsa Amini is now happening to protesters who are speaking out about Iran’s harsh morality laws. Many people have died already as a result of participating in these protests and many more have gone missing. When you are dealing with an oppressive system like this they are not going to take too kindly to opposition. And if they are not afraid to beat women simply for wearing their Hijab ‘incorrectly’, they are not afraid to do much worse to political rivals. 

Out of respect for the protesters and their safety: please blur out any faces, names, and remove all metadata from any protest photos/footage you decide to share online. Because if I can find one of the protestors on Instagram simply by looking at their face and general location so can the morality police. For those around during the Black Lives Matter protests, the Russian anti-war protests, or any other media-sensitive protest use those same rules when posting footage/reporting on them

One for sorrow Two for joy Three for a girl Four for a boy Five for silver Six for gold Seven for a secret never to be told

Eight for a wish Nine for a kiss Ten for a chance you must not miss Eleven for a wasp Twelve for a bee Thirteen for a coffee Fourteen for tea

Fifteen for a pencil Sixteen for a pen Seventeen to hear these options once again

Eighteen for pepper Nineteen for salt Twenty for an accident in which you were not at fault

Twenty one for Jerry Twenty two for Tom Twenty three - where are all these magpies coming from?

Twenty five no seriously Thirty this is weird Forty eight from where have all these magpies suddenly appeared?

Sixty two stop counting Seventy just run Ninety nine the revolution of the magpies has begun

Two hundred no more sorrow Five hundred no more fears One thousand for how long the empire of the magpies will last in years

(John Finnemore)

"The best thing we can do with power is give it away" - On the leftist critique of superhero narratives as authoritarian power fantasies:

The ongoing "Jason Todd is a cop" debate has reminded me of a brilliant brief image essay by Joey deVilla. So here it is, images first and the full essay text below:

"A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power. I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large. But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe in fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read. The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact… The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return. Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story. But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive. We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies. But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you). The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take. So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it. That’s not why children read it. We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson… The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY." - Joey deVilla, 2021 https://www.joeydevilla.com/2021/07/04/happy-independence-day-superhero-style/

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY.

HERES SOME LOVE TO A GOOD BOY. Best boy

Tales from comic book retail

*Dad & small child (SC) come in*

Dad: "Do you have Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. King Kong?" (yes, this is an actual comic out right now)

Me: "Sure do" *get up to show them where it is*

*As we''re walking over*

SC: "I love Godzilla! ROOOAAARR!"

Me: "I like him too. He's pretty cool."

SC: "I've got a Godzilla toy!"

Me: "Awesome! I don't have one."

SC: "Did you ask Santa for one?"

Me: "Aw man, I forgot to put that on my list."

SC: "Well, it's too late now. You'll have to wait until next year."

TIME OUT! I called time out!

Me, looking at Tumblr.

The Reading Pile Pt. 3

I'm now working exclusively on the graphic novels, as that pile has gotten waaaaaay too big.

Quantum & Woody: The Complete Series Omnibus I absolutely loved this series when it originally came out. There really wasn't anything like it out there, certainly not from a major publisher (and yes, at that time, Valiant/Acclaim was a major publisher). The book features an Odd Couple-style duo of "super-heroes", forced to be together. Each wears a control band that must be clanked together every 24 hours or they will die. Hilarity ensues. While there is a ton of humor, mainly in the different dynamic of the two characters and a bunch of fourth-wall breaking (the best being the 3 pages in the beginning of issue #4 where Quantum & Woody complain about all the graphic violence the book can get away with, but can't use naughty words), it can not be classified as a humor book, as there is many serious and dramatic situations throughout. The book stars Quantum as the Felix Unger of the group. He takes super-heroing earnestly. He's orderly and meticulous and serious. Woody, the Oscar Madison type, is his complete opposite. He doesn't take the super-hero lifestyle very seriously (the best being his insistence on taking elevators rather that climbing up & down the outside of buildings), is a slob and does everything chaotically. One of dynamics of the team is that Quantum & Woody are childhood friends who both grew up in rich, suburban Connecticut. Which is an issue for Quantum, who is African-American. The series, written and drawn by Christopher Priest and Mark "M.D." Bright (both of whom are also African-American) doesn't shy away from this. The biggest problem with the series is that there is a lot of "jokes" based on Quantum & Woody not being a gay couple. While this was okay-ish in the '90s, in the 2020s, it's just uncomfortable. It worse when at one point Woody goes on a 2 page rant about how all villains are secretly "in the closet" (though Woody doesn't use any terms that would be considered PC). Despite this, the series is still worth the read and I highly recommend it. Just... be prepared for the cringe. Valiant - HC cover price, $99.99 (Out of print) - Kindle, free with a Kindle Unlimited membership.

I predicted that, but then gave up on it.

A month ago, this was exactly how I thought the Punk/Reigns/Rollins match would end. But then the whole "You owe me a favor" stuff started. And they were pushing this possiblility on the pre-show so hard, I thought for sure there was no way it would happen. And then Punk got a vdeo package AND a band playing him to the ring and I was sure his victory was a given.

Umm... Gotta take my first answer?