“To a New Yorker like you, a Hero is some type of weird sandwich, not some nut who takes on three Tigers.” – Kelly’s Heroes
And the phasers won’t be set on “hug”.
I was surrounded. There were four of them. They were younger than me, and one of them looked faster. Maybe. But I still had the upper hand.
I knew their weaknesses.
The reason I knew my foes so well? They were my kids: The Boy, Pugsley, and Alia S., and backing them up was Wee, my grandson.
I’ll have to admit, it was fun. There was lighthearted bantering all around, like when Alia mentioned to Pugsley that he should beware of stray currents, since he was grounded all the time. Half of the comments were digs at me and my parenting style over the years – tales of early mornings, tales of me saying “it’s not good enough” and tales of me, in general, giving them a task and letting them figure out how to do it despite them building up Chernobyl-like levels of frustration. Yup. I’ve seen each of them melt down.
I enjoyed every second. I enjoyed even more looking at them, and seeing that each one of them was highly competent in their own way. I felt proud.
Much later, Alia S. went off to bed while several of us were still up. Most notably, Wee was up. Wee, being small, wanted to watch Spiderman©: Into The Spider-Verse™. I haven’t seen it, though I’ve heard it’s good. In the way of the grade school set, Wee wanted to watch it for the second or third time…that day.
The great thing about being Grandpa is that they’re not your kids. I gave him a bowl of ice cream and looked for a movie that I wanted him remember watching with Grandpa Wilder for the first time. Star Trek®: Wrath of Khan showed up on the suggestion list. It had been years since I saw that movie. My bet was that it was perfect for a “Saturday night at Grandpa’s” movie.
And at Christmas? Why not the Wreath of Khan?
It was a perfect movie for Saturday night. It was also stunningly free of the Leftist social messages that every movie seems to be pushing in 2019. The Wrath of Khan was simply an attempt to make a good movie that engages the audience, where characters learn and grow, and where the good guy (Kirk™) is really a good guy. The bad guy? Yeah, he’s really bad, and it’s established quickly. Khan® puts tiny mind-control armadillos into Chekov® and Captain Redshirt™ and laughs at their agony.
Khan™ really is a bad guy.
And the good guy displays virtue, and wins in the end. Is the victory at a cost? Certainly, but Kirk© knows that, and his character changes as a result of that cost. I was stunned at how much better that movie was than most movies being put out today.
After finishing Wrath of Khan©, Netflix™ suggested Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers®. The Two Towers™ was always my favorite book in the Lord of the Rings® trilogy. When I was a kid growing up, the middle school library didn’t have The Fellowship of the Ring™, so I picked up the worn paperback copy of The Two Towers®. It was amazing.
It started in the middle of the action – no preamble, no explanation, and slowly I pieced together what the characters were and what their relationship was to each other. When I finally got a copy of The Fellowship of the Ring©, I was a little bit disappointed. It was good, but not really necessary for the story.
Wee was sleepy, and I hadn’t seen a three hour movie in a while, so I clicked on The Two Towers®. I had watched it when it first came out, and I was wondering if I’d enjoy it. I wasn’t disappointed.
I won’t get into the plot deeply, because Tolkien wrote backstories for his characters running for thousands of years. But there is one sequence that I wanted to mention. The king of Gondor had been slowly seduced (partially by magic) by his advisor, who was named Gríma Wormtongue. With a name like that, how did the king not see betrayal coming? Rule 2: Never take a resume from a person named Wormtongue. What’s Rule 1? Never trust anyone who likes the band Flock of Sméagols.
Remember, Rohan is really a nation of immigrants.
Anyhow, due to his condition, the king wasn’t cognizant of his son dying, and that his kingdom was being overrun. Who was overrunning the kingdom? Orcs, under control of the bad guy, and humans that had been convinced that Rohan really belonged to them.
At the last minute, Gandalf the Just-In-Time shows up and wakes up the king from the magical spell possession (edit by JW, see comments), and kicks Wormtongue out of Rohan. As the king prepares to defend his people, surrounded by an army of ten thousand, he says:
Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountains, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the west, behind the hills, into shadow.
How did it come to this?
The Mrs. keeps muttering words like, “Hobbits”, and “Gandalf” and “Mordor” while she’s dreaming. She keeps Tolkien in her sleep.
The line, “How did it come to this?” was the kicker. A realization that he and his entire nation, their culture, their way of life, were in danger of being destroyed and this single battle was all that was between them and all they had ever known being snuffed out forever.
Not an original – found at “Know Your Meme”.
The Two Towers is certainly not a movie that could be made today. It’s not the violence – there are many movies that are more violent that have been made. It’s simple: the subject matter is far too controversial. Groups of good men fighting against evil, standing fast, holding the line. Tolkien warned against using his stories as allegory for the modern world, but it’s difficult not to see parallels.
The Mrs. wasn’t there to watch the movies, but she had seen them before. When I mentioned they were good in a way that today’s movies aren’t, she said, “Good guys are good guys because of what they do, not the color of their skin, their gender identity, or who they choose to sleep with. They are good guys because of their actions, not the boxes they check.”
The Mrs. and I had discussed Friday’s post (How One Texas Court Case Defines The Future For A Seven Year Old . . . and The United States), and she had picked one line that I had discussed prior to writing it, “11 out of 12 jurors in the Lone Star state voted that a seven year old boy should be allowed to become a girl, is a sign not that society is collapsing, it’s a sign that society has collapsed.”
“That was the part I was wanting to hear about,” The Mrs. said. “Why has society collapsed? Why did the jury vote that way? Were they afraid? Or, worse yet, did they actually believe that was an appropriate way to treat a seven-year-old boy?”
Collapse Cat is never wrong. If only I would have sold that Sears® stock like he told me to . . .
I think it’s both. In my county, Trump received nearly 90% of the vote. But I noticed something strange – there were few signs supporting him in front lawns. I had nine signs, as I recall. Why nine? Because I didn’t have ten. Even in a deeply Right part of the country, there is some hesitation to show that allegiance in public. Showing Leftist views? Not a problem, even here in Modern Mayberry – in pride day everything is as rainbow as Lucky Charms®.
I think people are afraid to push back against a society where the media does everything it can to make people on the Right think they are alone, that they are a small number, weak, divided. That’s not by accident. Again, 90% of the county voted for Trump, but I saw only a few dozen Trump signs. I did see one Obama/Biden sign even though they weren’t running, but I think those people just wanted to advertise they were gun free because they wanted Allstate® to buy them a new couch.
Sort of like this. H/T Kenny
The deeper rot is the change in public opinion. How many jurors really felt that it was a good idea to let a seven-year-old make choices like that? I cannot think of a fact that would make me agree to that disposition. We live in a country where, too often, parents leave teaching to the schools, especially on the crucial issue of values.
Today we are taught in our schools and in popular culture to value everything and everyone. There are no bad guys, just misunderstood people. 9/11 wasn’t the fault of the people who brought the towers down, it was the fault of the United States.
That’s clearly wrong. There are bad guys. There is evil in this world.
And there is good. I’ve seen it in the eyes of my children this weekend, when they roasted me in the basement. Perhaps that really is the answer – have children, raise them well, and watch as your children come back to see you.
And make fun of you. But that’s okay. I loved every second of it.
I agree with you in regards to the notion that we have rejected good deeds for the sake of good intentions. There is an underlying theme that has been running through our society since the late W Bush years.
Much of the rot in society is due to the rejection of the moral values of Christianity and their replacement with ‘inclusive’ memes that are designed to make people feel good instead of do good. Christian values are heritage based values and have been a constant for 2000 years. The best example of this is a society that resembles the America of the mid 1900’s where people worked and took care of family and when the need arose stood up to confront evil at great peril. You can also add that last idea to the list of things the liberals wish to eliminate. Peril.
It is more than ironic that as we move away from these unifying values we see violence on the rise and that the world is a far less safe place than it was 30 years ago. Our enemies of all kinds see us as weak and easily swayed by threats and accusations of discrimination where in the past we would have told them to pound sand.
The evolution of politically correct speech was the first volley of a series of imposed values all designed to weaken the USA and lead us into the globalist socialist world society that our liberal friends seem to love so much. Whether this current state of affairs in our nation is by design or by coincidence it is still a step backwards from a unified and moral society.
It took heroes in the Tale of Two Towers to finally overcome the evil that had spread through the lands. Heroes respond to evil in order to save their fellow citizens and preserve their homes and nation. Today as you said, this is out of fashion with the left and their media servants.
Reality says that evil exists for its own purposes and they are never for the good of man. Morals and laws protect people from the influences of evil. God help us as we move forward with the deep state cabal trying to turn us in the the North American equivalent of the EU where national pride has been replaced with moral relativism.
Amazing and perfect comment, Glenda.
The first, and surprisingly very difficult step, is understanding that evil really exists. Many people deny this fact.
Sorry, but I’m pulling the “Dude” card:
Dude…Théoden wasn’t “under a magic spell”.
He was possessed.
In the biblical sense.
I’m pretty sure you’ll catch my drift when I mention that a little William Peter Blatty and Billy Friedkin could catch you up on this.
Tolkien was a devout Catholic, and like his best friend, C.S. Lewis, didn’t hesitate for an instant to use possession of a character to illustrate a point. (cf. Professor Weston in Perelandra)
Théoden King was a vivid illustration of the lesson that if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything, and it will capture your soul and carry you to your ruin.
Agreed – 100%, plus it makes the point better. Will fix that when I get to a keyboard.
Well said.
Fixed. Dangit, that makes my point better than I did. (sigh)
If it makes it feel better, I’ve been doing this longer.
But I don’t put as much time and effort into it.
It’s adding the humor. Base post? Pretty quick. Fitting the jokes and memes?
80% of the time spent.
Your grandson wanted to watch a cartoon rated PG and instead you show him THIS????
https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/star-trek/257470/star-trek-ii-the-wrath-of-khan-the-history-of-the-horrifying-ear-scene
I am impressed, John Wilder. You aim to raise one tough family.
Go with him here for Halloween. It’s local to me, let me know you’re coming and I’ll clap for you when you two emerge after nine hours and 55 minutes.
https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts-culture/cover-story/article/20993198/tennessees-mckamey-manor-torture-on-demand
https://www.mckameymanor.com/
As an aside, if you’re looking for a good Halloween movie and haven’t already seen this (and haven’t had the ending spoiled for you), I recommend the original Saw (2004). The ending is a complete surprise – for a horror film, this one is quite intellectual. 84% audience approval rating at RT for those who recognize it as the classic it is in its genre.
I’m not a horror buff and so never saw the sequels. You’re on your own if you keep going.
Yup, I’ve seen Saw, but it might be a bit much for Wee. I’m totes a horror buff – The Mrs. objects to the later movies because she says it’s just torture. Me? They’re just not as interesting.
To be fair, “Into the Spider-Verse” is also PG. And it has 100% less Kirk.
I read about that (thanks to you!). Sounds like they’re not going to lose any money soon.
What do you expect of a nation where over 75% of the people believe the president is being impeached? BTW : He is not. There is no impeachment taking place. In order for there to be an Impeachment: The speaker of the house must read the articles of impeachment into the congressional record.(she has not) The House must hold PUBLIC hearings to gather evidence of the Presidents alleged crimes.(they have not) They must VOTE on that evidence, and 2/3 must agree that there is enough evidence to convict: AT THAT POINT: They must send everything to the US Senate. The SENATE must then hold a PUBLIC trial with the Chief Justus presiding. Then; IF 2/3 of the senate find him guilty he is “Impeached”, BUT NOT REMOVED FROM OFFICE! Then THE SENATE AND ONLY THE SENATE: MUST Hold a second trail to decide if the president is to be removed from office. The trial(s) (ALL OF THEM) must be PUBLIC and OPEN as must the vote to convict or remove the president. 2/3 of the senate must agree for any action to be taken. So far NONE of this has happened. The house plays no part in any of this after they hold hearings…… EVERYTHING being said about “impeachment” is 100% propaganda until ALL of the above happens. So far NONE of it has. So Far. No impeachment is taking place.
Agree that what is happening now is only a very chaotic “Investigation”. But….not sure about that “MUST Hold a second trail” (sic) part. Senate.gov says (paragraph 3): “The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office.”
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Senate_Impeachment_Role.htm
Pretty straightforward. But silly, in this case. Whatever. Get the popcorn out . . .
Yeah, it’s a circus. It’s not really about “high crimes,” – it’s really about people being sad after the 2016 election.
In our contemporary setting, Jared Kushner is filling the role of Grima Wormtongue (from June: https://imgur.com/a/9UpKpjp ). That weasel has been whispering in Trump’s ear along with his wife and has done more to thwart Trump than the whole Deep State combined. If Trump had made Javanka the joint ambassador to Bangladesh and sent them out of the country on day one, his entire Presidency would have been different.
What LOTR has that modern cinema and literature doesn’t is a very clear demarcation between good and evil. Today we get conflicted, deeply flawed heroes and sympathetic villains. George R.R. Martin’s books are a perfect example. Ned Stark was the most noble and honorable man around but his virtues led to his death and a lot of terrible stuff happening and we find out he was lying about his bastard son the whole time. Jamie Lannister is engaged in incest and murder, heck he tosses a little kid from a tower, but he becomes a sympathetic character. In LOTR there is no redemption arc for Sauron. Tolkien doesn’t do flashbacks to his childhood to explain why he went wrong, maybe Morgoth was mean to him or something. He was evil. The orcs are evil. Killing them is an unqualified good. Defending your home from invaders is noble. You can see where this is going and why it would never be made today and why the orc memes are so apt.
I don’t mind complex characters but at some point a character is good or he is not.
As an aside, not looking for an argument, but Théoden seems more to be under the influence of poisoning and mystical mind control rather than a spell or possession. As he is physically weakened and deteriorated he becomes more and more susceptible to the suggestions of Jared Kushner, er, Wormtongue.
Well said. Javanka is not who we voted for. Kushner has clearly advocated positions that are the opposite of what Trump voters were looking for. Great observation.
Do we know what t he judge ‘s instructions to the jury were? Sometimes the judge will fudge the truth and tell the jury “you aren’t allowed to rule on the bogosity of the entire.defense claim but only on whether the prosecution has proven that the defendant did NOT wear a racist shirt whilst tie-dying her cat.”
Do most Texans get jury nullification?
I think so? Maybe? But keep in mind that 11/12 jurors voted for this. 11/12. That means one was sane. One. (shakes head)
In our contemporary setting, Jared Kushner is filling the role of Grima Wormtongue (from June: https://imgur.com/a/9UpKpjp ). That weasel has been whispering in Trump’s ear along with his wife and has done more to thwart Trump than the whole Deep State combined. If Trump had made Javanka the joint ambassador to Bangladesh and sent them out of the country on day one, his entire Presidency would have been different.
What LOTR has that modern cinema and literature doesn’t is a very clear demarcation between good and evil. Today we get conflicted, deeply flawed heroes and sympathetic villains. George R.R. Martin’s books are a perfect example. Ned Stark was the most noble and honorable man around but his virtues led to his death and a lot of terrible stuff happening and we find out he was lying about his bastard son the whole time. Jamie Lannister is engaged in incest and murder, heck he tosses a little kid from a tower, but he becomes a sympathetic character. In LOTR there is no redemption arc for Sauron. Tolkien doesn’t do flashbacks to his childhood to explain why he went wrong, maybe Morgoth was mean to him or something. He was evil. The orcs are evil. Killing them is an unqualified good. Defending your home from invaders is noble. You can see where this is going and why it would never be made today and why the orc memes are so apt.
I don’t mind complex characters but at some point a character is good or he is not.
As an aside, not looking for an argument, but Théoden seems more to be under the influence of poisoning and mystical mind control rather than a spell or possession. As he is physically weakened and deteriorated he becomes more and more susceptible to the suggestions of Jared Kushner, er, Wormtongue.
Oops, sorry. Duplicate comment.
It was stored in the spammanator. Why? Too much truth detected.
Let me know if you want me to nuke it.
Please do, I think have a link in the comment triggered the moderation.
I don’t think Grima’s actual name was Wormtongue. I think that was a nickname (sort of like Wilder the Wealthy) and was probably added after he had cemented his hold on Theoden.
If you had showed me Wrath of Khan at a young age I would have run screaming every time I saw an earwig. And since they are plentiful in the Pacific NW, my new nickname would have been Heresolong the Runs Screaming.
I’m sure that’s right (name). But did he use it on his resume???
I had never seen one until one crawled out of a banana bunch one day. It was pre-internet, so I thought it might have been an alien invader.
Ha!