Check out my new post about the meanings and lessons of Spider-Man to welcome the release of The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) on DVD and Blu-Ray.  At PopMythology.com. 

Real Super Powers

This is a short excerpt from a new post on my new blog, Pop Mythology.

People are always looking for shortcuts in life.  We want the cheat codes in which wealth, status, health and love will all magically fall into our laps.  Things like Get Rich Quick programs, Speed Seduction programs and 30-Day Body Transformation programs all fall under this rubric.

With no intention to offend anyone’s belief system, I believe that the whole “Create Your Own Reality” New Age movement, for instance (as exemplified by the bestselling book “The Secret,” which, to be fair, I’ve read), is a good example of this tendency.

READ THE REST HERE

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My new blog, PopMythology.com

Dear readers:

In a desire to collect accumulate a body of writings with a more focused theme, and to explore that theme deeper, I have started a new blog, popmythology.com.

PopMythology.com will explore and discuss the perennial themes and ilfe lessons from works of contemporary pop culture via movies, graphic novels and even video games that recycle and repackage the great myths and legends from across time and space.  Moreover, it will suggest ways to implement these lessons in our own daily lives for that was always the true, hidden purpose of ancient myth.

You can read a little more on the “About” page.

The newest post for this new blog discusses some of the meanings and lessons behind the comic book character Captain America. 

The Dancing Paladin will still be my place for writing of a broader nature, with a greater variety of topics and themes.

Many thanks to all for the continued interest and support.

http://www.popmythology.com

If you love comic books & pop culture, PopMythology.com may interest you. (image: Marvel Studios)

To Eden With Grace

There is a great disconnect that exists between people of modern societies, particularly city-dwellers, and their food.  We are a supermarket generation.  We know little of where our food comes from or how it’s grown, made, raised or killed nor what is involved in any of these processes.

This disconnect isn’t just a minor, unfortunate consequence of modern life and its many conveniences.  It’s one of the genuinely tragic prices we’ve paid for those conveniences because a natural result of not knowing where our food comes from is a lack of appreciation for it – for the food itself and the earth that produces it as well as the industries and the people who cultivate it.

Why Lance Armstrong Is Still a Winner (Just Not in Sports)

Photo:  JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images

Well, as we all know by now, seven-time Tour De France champion Lance Armstrong has suddenly and unexpectedly fallen from grace.

Or has he, really?  It all depends on the angle from which you view the issue.

For my part, I choose to adopt a perspective that I fear will be overlooked and underappreciated as legions of commentators, critics and disappointed fans skewer the once-celebrated athlete and celebrity.

An Open Letter to Garbage

Dear members of Garbage,

On one level, this will simply be yet another one of countless fan letters you must get.  But what I hope you can appreciate is that, through your work, you touch millions but no single one of them in exactly the same way such that each expression of gratitude is, in its own way, fresh and unique.  This is the true beauty and majesty of art in that it affects each individual in a profoundly personal way according to the experience and circumstances of that individual at that particular point in space/time.

For the sake of brevity, I cannot even begin to go into detail of all the different ways in which I feel gratitude towards you right now and why.  For what it’s worth, however, as an unknown writer whose sole talent is the written word I have only this letter at my disposal.  And in the off-chance that one of you might actually see it, I will make this as mercifully brief and to-the-point as possible.

The Hero Within You (Pt. III): BATMAN

Even superheroes get the blues.

BATMAN:  Your Magnificent Obsession

Syllabus:  Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008)

Extra credit: Batman (1989),  Batman Returns (1992)

As a mythical archetype, Batman has always tread closer to the world of shadows and darkness than most other superheroes, and for this reason he has always been my favorite.  For although on the surface I look very respectable and conservative, I am and always have been, at heart, an uber-goth. Because I try to live by the principles of compassion, love and unconditional contentment, people might think I’m the happy-go-lucky type when nothing could be further from the truth.  Inside my heart swirls a cloud of gloom, doom and rage.  I swear I would walk around with a black cloak fluttering about me were it not for the fact that it kind of makes it harder to find a job (and dates).  My positivity, therefore, is simply how I consciously choose to express my darker emotions.

You Were Born a Star

For quite some time now, I’ve had this certain belief that may come across as slightly loony to some.  You see, I believe that everyone is, deep down, a star.  (As in a celebrity).  Yes, that’s right.  I believe everyone’s a celebrity in divine disguise.  The vast majority don’t realize it, but it’s true.

I had always wanted to write an essay about this, but I was finally galvanized into doing so while recently listening to Lady GaGa’s newest single, “Born This Way.”  I tell you, this is no pop song.  It’s a channeled transcription from Divinity.  It is the sound of a soul claiming the destiny it was born into a human body to fulfill:  that of inspiring people to claim their birthright as stars in their own right.

“My Mama told me when I was young / We are all born superstars,” the song begins.  The moment I heard those lines I already knew this song was going to send my heart soaring into the stratosphere and beyond.  And I was right.

The Hero Within You (Pt. II): Superman

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird... it's a plane... It's YOU.

SUPERMAN: Your Angst Is Your Gift

Required Texts: Superman (1978), Superman II (1980)

Extra Credit: Superman Returns (2006),  Smallville, the TV series

Many gifted and talented people often find themselves struggling with intense feelings of alienation at one time or another.  For some, those feelings never really go away (like me, for instance:  I shall be a freak to my dying day).  Often, at the root of this is having a certain kind of talent, interest area, temperament or sensibility that tends to set them apart from their peers.  Let’s say a certain young man has an inordinate passion for Dungeons & Dragons or whatever.  He would, of course, be treated as a geek and a loser by many of his peers and schoolmates.  But maybe that young man will grow up to be a designer of highly imaginative games that provide much joy and entertainment to people.  Or consider a woman who is so hypersensitive that she can discern divine beauty in things that most people don’t even notice, and yet she can barely even go outside due to the sensory overload of urban life, so she stays inside and paints all day.  And her paintings go on to inspire many.

Need a real life example?  Just look at Lady GaGa.  In high school she was an insecure and self-proclaimed “eccentric freak” whom people used to tease.  Now look at her.  She’s only, like, the biggest pop star in the world.  And the sweet irony is that it’s not her “normalcy” that makes her so huge; it’s her eccentricity. Everywhere she goes she tells other young and insecure kids to love themselves and is their shining beacon of hope.  It doesn’t matter that they don’t all grow up to be mega-celebrities like her.  What matters is that they are inspired to search for their own unique beauty and gifts.

The Hero Within You (Pt. I)

One of my favorite sources to draw from when discussing my ideas is pop culture:  movies, TV, music, bestselling books, you name it.  Popular culture is my ultimate “textbook.”  The reason for this, first and foremost, is that people can readily identify with pop culture much more than obscure books or stale, ancient texts.  They are not bored by it as they often can be by musty old tomes.

Sometimes, with certain works of pop culture, if you dig deeply enough, you can find many of humanity’s  most cardinal themes buried within them, everything that you need to work with all the issues that arise in your life.  Eventually, the line between “high” and “low” culture thins and sometimes even disappears. G.I. Joe becomes as deep as Spinoza.  Well, okay, not quite.  But kind of.

Pop! goes the culture.