Super Spark and Sparked

Another half day at school. 

No gator updates. 

Orders and reads are up the last few days. No idea why. We ain't doin' nuthin.

We search for a reading project. At night right now we can just do some research...there's just an inkling of an idea...Russia? Must be the SAS raid on REDACTED in World War 1990: The Final Storm. The girls need to the bookstore this weekend, maybe we'll get the spark during the trip. 

What Will's Watching: Superman, the original with Christopher Reeve. In 1980, our dad brought home a VCR. He had with him three movies, a copy of Star Wars, a copy of The Empire Strikes Back (he worked at NBC and new a guy) and Superman. We used to wonder how and why old men could look back at movies they saw as a child with awe and reverence. We wonder no more. Watching Superman in 2023 we felt everything we felt watching Superman in 1980. Until last night we hadn't seen Superman in, like, forever.

Superman takes half an hour to set the plot. We see Krypton, its destruction, Superman's journey through space, his crash to earth, subsequent young life, and finally his trip to the arctic and the fortress of solitude. It's a lot of set up, but not a minute is wasted. By the time we get to 30-year-old Clark Kent in NYC, the character is perfectly and beautifully drawn. We found each scene to be profoundly moving. 

It's Superman week here at Stroock's Books. 

Powerline says: 'I yearn for the days when people cared about the national debt, and when spending and taxes were the principal issues that divided Left from Right. Those issues haven’t receded because our fiscal situation has grown less dire; on the contrary. Currently, the federal government is forecasting $2 trillion a year deficits. With the fiscal year ending on September 30, a budget showdown is in the offing.' 

We laugh in the most ironic way possible. Then we laugh manically. We've watched these budget battles for nigh on 30 years. Republicans always cave in and lose. Always. Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Failure (CA), go ahead and click that link, is fighting to bring spending down to pre-covid levels. As if that will fix the nation's terrible finances. As if anyone cares. Loser. Meanwhile the case against Joe and his degenerate family gets stronger and stronger. Where's the impeachment, bro?

NFL Preview. The season begins tonight. We've no insights. Each year we like the game a bit less, especially in the beginning of the season. We can't stand the strutting, the preening, instant replay, the constant graphics, the gambling ads, blabbermouth announcers who won't shut the fuck up. Never doubt that Roger Goodell is bad for the NFL. But by the end of the year, we watch as much as anybody. To be honest, we're not very interested in the Giants anymore. 

We were having an interesting discussion about all time defenses on FB. Someone said that the top three defenses of all time were the '85 Bears, the '00 Ravens and the '86 Giants. The '86 Giants were overshadowed by the '85 Bears for a long time, but over time LT and the rest of Big Blue really has come to be respected. How good was the '86 Giants defense? You take out Lawrence Taylor and it's still the best defense in the league. A friend points out that the '86 Bears actually set the NFL defensive record for fewest points allowed. Which is fair comment. But na, in '86 the Giants defense was at it's absolute best with a bunch of players peaking. Taylor of course, but also Banks, Marshall....

We are....in the zone with World War 1990: Norway. We are breaking one of our rules, which is fine. Writers who have unbreakable rules are uninteresting. The character is about to lose, or die, or whatever, when suddenly an airplane, or jet, or chopper in this case, arrives and blows up that tank. Tropes and cliches exist for a reason. We're using one here. We're probably not going to meet our 1 October deadline. 

In other news, we just put a chapter back in World War 1990: The Final Storm. We got a hunch we'll do the same today. Not the Roki Tunnel chapter. That stays out, right? Right?