LOVE FOR THE UNDERDOG

Yesterday really should have been a snow day. This morning I woke up feeling just horrible and had to call in sick to work. So far I’ve drank Orange Juice for some good old fashioned vitamin C and eaten ice cream for my sore throat. It helped a little but I still am not doing all that well. There have been a few people in the office so sick they missed weeks of work. I missed a few days a while ago due to my asthma. I’m not having that ultra-sick thing happening anymore and I hope that staying home early on to rest will help get me on the mend.

I had a chance to watch Leaves From Satan’s Book, a silent film made in 1919 that I DVRed months ago but never got around to watching. The premise was very interesting and since it is based on a book I may have something to add to my reading list. After being cast down from heaven, Satan is told that he must wander the earth enticing people to commit evil deeds. For every one who submits to his will another hundred years will be added to his penance. For every one who resists him, one thousand years will be taken away from his time on earth. He wanders through time telling people to do evil while secretly hoping that they will do the right thing. What an existence. Unfortunately the DVR didn’t record the whole movie and I missed a little of the last vignette. I really hope that they resisted his temptation and knocked a little off his sentence. I don’t know why but I have always rooted for the anti-hero, particularly one who doesn’t truly want to be evil. There is something so pathetic about them that it stirs something in me. The true heroes are so together that they don’t seem to need your support. It’s the anti-hero who truly needs a friend and to find redemption.

Last night I watched Phantom of the Opera. It is one of those things that I thought I should see. It has become a part of the culture and I didn’t really know the story. I knew the music. People skated to it enough times that I was far too familiar with the primary songs. The words, however, were mostly unknown to me because you aren’t really allowed to skate to things with words. Or rather you weren’t allowed to, the times have changed. As horrible and manipulative as the Phantom was, I really wanted Christine to stay with him and keep him company. Even the woman who saved him as a child and brought him to the opera house wasn’t a true friend. She was still afraid of him. Just because he had a grossly disfigured face doesn’t mean that he didn’t need someone to care for him. I did wonder how that little mask he wore covered up the extent of his disfigurement for most of the movie but I guess that’s just one of those artistic license things. At least they didn’t kill him.

My affection for the anti-hero is somewhat manifested in my work. I want to work whit the people that the majority of our society doesn’t see much hope for. I want to contribute something to their lives that will take them off that path and lead them to be able to walk in the footsteps of a hero. Sometimes I feel I have accomplished that, other times not as much. When I was working with the GED students I really had affection for the ones with severe obstacles, not that any of them didn’t have obstacles, but obviously some needed more help than others. One student in particular was so far gone that I was essentially instructed to abandon him and he was kicked off the premises permanently. I still talk to him occasionally. He is doing really well. He attributes some of that to what happened to him in the few months he attended our school. It’s one of those things where when you look at someone head-on you don’t think you have the resources to help but when you get a chance to know them and understand what happened to put them into a bad situation you can do something to change course and see where they go. I guess that’s why I love the anti-hero. With a hero there is no chance for redemption and there is nothing you can really do to affect them. An anti-hero needs you. Without them, there would be no need for heroes at all. What kind of a world would that be?

Omega Supreme DM Remix, Dangermouse and Jemini- This is easily one of my favorite songs. Actually the entire 26inch EP is fantastic. As a pair these guys have beats and rhymes that you can’t criticize. I don’t think I have ever heard anything Dangermouse has done that I don’t like though. I feel cool listening to it. Obviously, this means that I am not cool at all.

Call My Name, Prince- The iPod is working magic today. Best slow jam EVER. I tend not to be a huge fan of the slow jam because it is so silly. This song, however, puts it down. Prince is obviously the coolest, unlike myself.

Don’t Let Me Be, The Animals- Hell yeah, I am very proud of my shuffle today. Sometimes I am a little ashamed of what comes on but today is certainly not one of those days. I need to figure out how to attach these song files to my posts so everyone else can enjoy the wondrous goodness (an occasional wondrous badness) of my music. This song also fits fairly well into the whole anti-hero theme. Nice way to wrap things up.