Review – Rust: Visitor in the Field

At the recommendation of my writing mentor, Jim Bricker, I picked up a copy of Rust: Visitor in the Field by Royden Lepp. Mr. Bricker rarely steers me wrong – and Rust continues his long running winning streak of excellent recommendations.

Reading this graphic novel requires a detail-oriented eye.

I approached Rust carefully. It’s a beautifully bound hardcover and its pages are thick and weighty. But its strongest impression comes from it heavy reliance on illustration and its sparse use of words. As a writer (and I hesitate to call myself that these days) I rely on the written word to convey my story, but Mr. Lepp tells most of his story through illustration. Thus I had to do something I don’t normally do when I read comics – I had to pay very close attention to the art. Ironic? Heretical? Yes and yes.

Despite my best efforts, I somehow managed to miss a key plot point regarding a young child, Oz. But, at the end, when I realized what I’d missed, I had to go back to the start and reread it again as it gave the story another level of complexity.

Rust: Visitor in the Field deals with the existence and use of mechanical warriors and workers in society, which is something I explore in my Dieselverse take on San Francisco. How these mechanations (and I am not sure I am using the right word / spelling here) are viewed and used by humans is interesting. There’s a play between a sense of convenience and fear among the human characters coupled with undertones of slavery and abuse.

Visitor in the Field is the first in a multi-part story by Mr. Lepp – who was kind enough to give a preview the next part of the Rust story at the end of the graphic novel.

Rust: Visitor in the Field is a fantastic read and I highly recommend picking up a copy.

God Does Not Care About Sporting Events

It’s been a long past two weeks. I’ve been battling some sort of allergy or sinus infection (possibly both) which has sapped a lot of my energy. Also, I had session seven of my tattoo removal treatment – which is never pleasant. But, foolish decisions breed foolish outcomes – and thankfully there are only five sessions left. By the way, if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and need tattoos removed, Dr. Saal is your man.

On to the topic at hand:

I read this article today, and it scares me to no end.

People, god does not care about sporting events. If he did (and I only use ‘he’ because there’s no widely accepted gender neutral pronoun), the outcome of every competition would have *nothing* to do with the skill and prowess of the players – it would merely be about which teams (and their fans) prayed harder. This, of course, assumes that god is humanoid, has human like desires and has a vested interest in who wins a sports match-up.

I personally don’t believe that god can or does interfere in the lives of men. If that were the case, then he would:

1. Have more important things to influence than the outcome of a sporting event.

2. Would have to take full responsibility for atrocities like The Holocaust, slavery and Jersey Shore.

By assigning blame / praise to god for all that is evil / good in the world, we absolve mankind (that is ourselves) of all responsibility for what happens. It makes god responsible for every last evil act and every last human triumph. And when we do that, we hamstring our ability to learn from history and to grow as a society. It allows us to shrug off responsibility and write off human suffering as “part of god’s plan” instead of acknowledging that it is something for which we’re not just responsible, but that it is something which we can alleviate.

We can’t turn a blind eye to society’s problems and give those same problems over to god. He isn’t there to fix them; and we can’t keep allowing ourselves to buy into the misconception that “all things work together for the glory of god” (which itself is a misquote / misunderstanding of Romans 8:28).

Mankind is solely responsible for its actions. No one else. And we need to work together for the betterment of society.

Unintentionally, I am writing this on Friday the 13th – a day that is ripe with superstitious belief. This day should instead be used to challenge superstitious thought – including the insanity of thinking that god is directly influencing the lives of sports celebrities. Instead of being afraid to leave the house, or cross the path of a black cat, we should use the day to eradicate superstitious and fallacious thinking.

Happy Solstice

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it is Winter Solstice – longest night of the year. I hope all my friends, family, loved ones and readers are in the company of those they hold dear and love most. It may be the longest night of the year, but from here on out, the days just keep getting longer.

And for my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, I hope you enjoy your Summer Solstice. Go soak up the sun for me.

Be strong and healthy my friends.

- Daniel

No Shave November – Put Your Money Where Your Beard Is

I quite enjoyed NSN – though I admit to ending it early as I had a presentation to give and I felt that looking like a lumberjack was not going to win over my audience.

In January I am going to start a cancer fundraiser centered around achieving a healthier lifestyle. Look for details on this in 2012.

Until then, be strong and be healthy my friends.

No Shave November – Breast Cancer in Men

No Shave November:

Breast cancer isn’t limited just to women. Though rare, men can get breast cancer too: 1 | 2

The leading form of prevention for men: maintaining a healthy weight and a having a healthy diet.

I encourage everyone reading this blog to look into leading a healthier lifestyle. And, if you can afford it, make a donation to the American Cancer Society.

Be strong and be healthy my friends.

As a P.S. to those who have asked – I am five days into NSN and I’m beginning to look like a lumberjack… a Pillsbury Dough-boy kind of lumberjack.

No Shave November – The Importance of a Healthy Lifestyle

Did you know:

Evidence suggests that about a third of the 571,950 cancer deaths expected to occur will be related to obesity, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and thus could be prevented.

Health problems are not restricted by gender. Everyone benefits from increased exercise and a healthy diet.

Admittedly, I am the last person to lecture on this. I’ve met dead sloths that are more active than I am. But that’s no excuse for inactivity on anyone’s part. One hour of walking every day is generally enough exercise to greatly reduce health risks for most people. Go out. Get active and get healthy.

Make a donation today to help fight cancer and other men’s health issues.

Be strong and be healthy my friends.

No Shave November

Throughout October and into November I saw a number of articles and mentions in other media about No Shave November. No Shave November comes from Movember – when men grow a moustache. It started in Australia (thus the ‘ou’). The tradition started in 1999 and in 2004 the Movember Foundation began using the event to raise awareness for men’s health issues.

An offshoot of this tradition is No Shave November where men and women go w/o shaving to raise awareness for men’s health issues.

So this month I will not shave. I encourage everyone reading my blog to make a donation to a men’s health related charity.

Be strong and be healthy my friends.