Every Hero A Sidekick

Elisabeth Sladen - 1948-2011

muddlewait — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:57:33 GMT

You know what I loved about Sarah Jane?

She was vulnerable -- in a more genuine way than most “vulnerable” literary or media characters -- but she didn’t let that stop her. When she went exploring in dangerous areas, or made jokes in life-threatening situations, or refused to turn back or hide, she wasn’t doing those things because she wasn’t actually afraid, or because she had some special confidence in her own ability to win. She was doing it because she wasn’t going to let her fear or confusion control her actions.

And her fear was eminently reasonable. When I take a couple steps back and imagine what it would actually be like to be a regular person riding around in the TARDIS, I think I’d usually be some combination of terrified and confused, while still recognizing it all as an exhilarating opportunity not to be missed. I can only hope I’d be as determined as she was to get as much out of it as possible, no matter how worried I might be.

Sarah wasn’t Tegan, who rarely seemed to enjoy where she was or what she was doing, and who should have been dropped back home as soon as possible. She wasn’t Nyssa, whose preferred means of dealing with stress seemed to be to become even more determinedly rational, and whose advanced knowledge and personal processing power made her situation different, I think, from your average person’s. She definitely wasn’t Ace. :) But we can’t all be Ace, nor should most of us be, I think.

Too often, I think people hear “don’t be afraid” or “conquer your fear” and somehow expect that acting on those words will turn them into the hero of the story. No, not always. Not usually, I suspect. Probably not often. But whether you fail or not, if you actually do what you know you should, even when it’s hard, at least you can be the kind of person you want to be. And that alone can lead to some pretty cool stuff happening.

I never met Elisabeth Sladen, but I did love her work. I hope she was happy with her life.

Lyrics: Every Man

muddlewait — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:00:29 GMT

When I first heard seanan_mcguire's "Wicked Girls" in a filk circle at OVFF last year, it completely blew me away. Still can't get it out of my head.

I know the song isn't for, or about, boys, but I felt like there was something rooted in similar emotions, and the same melody, that could've been. Below is the best I've been able to do with that.

(To the tune of "Wicked Girls", by Seanan McGuire)

Every Man

Clark was a farm boy who carried whatever they gave him;
They taught him some truth and some justice and told him to save them.
He lived all alone, he was quiet and kind,
But he kept every word of his fathers in mind.
We said he was more of a man than there ever could be
'Cause he saved every day, and the bad guys'd never stay free.

James was an orphan, alone since the age of eleven,
But he always did fine on his own: he was lucky as seven.
He fought a cold war with a license to kill
And won with his charm and his wits and his will,
But he learned he could never let anyone else on his side
When the day that he married his love was the day that she died.

Man of tomorrow or man with no name,
Kings on the mountain, you all are the same,
Holding the power to cheat at the game
And keep the rest playing along.
But up and away is alone in the sky.
Heroes should help us to learn how to fly,
Building foundations to hold the world high
With every man making us strong.

He didn't care much for the law, but he followed a code.
In money or blood, he made wicked men pay what they owed.
He killed off the danger, but never did say
Just what we should call him as he rode away
From the street where the townspeople hide, and the deputies run,
And the price of the peace is the life of a man with a gun.

Callahan hated the system, but trusted his aim.
The people he shot were all punks who we knew we could blame.
His partners were brave, but they didn't last long,
Blown up or gunned down so that he could go on,
‘Cause the job was to kill, or to die, or get out of the way,
And if you couldn't get justice, revenge'd still make a man's day.

Chris teaches games that show the kids how to change rules.
Tony makes settings to show off a gemcutter’s jewels.
Grafton and Tom build our allies and trust,
And none of us minds wicked girls saving us.
Our powers aren't super, just human, but real,
And standing together, we're stronger than steel.

So we will play hard, but we will play fair,
And know we’re not weak for deciding to care.
Assembled away from the chains of command,
We'll share and we'll follow our visions and plans.
And when there’s a threat to the friends we have made
A thousand defenders will come to their aid
And stay to help fix what went wrong,
with no one the savior, but every one brave,
And every man making us strong.

Poached meme from Nico

muddlewait — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:04:00 GMT

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?
My daughter. If not her, the person from whom I'm expecting a call, or a wrong number.

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?
Yes.

3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener?
Listener. I talk more the more sleep-deprived I am.

4. Do you take compliments well?
http://baptism.co.nz/95theses95.html. Number 34. Although I think I've gotten better over the years. :)

5. Do you play Sudoku?
Huwhuma? No thanks.

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive?
At my size I ought to be able to subsist on my own body fat for a good month or two. :) I might not last long, but I might. I'm pretty stubborn about deciding to come thorugh.

7. Do you like to ride horses?
Never have. Strongly doubt I would.

8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid?
Once. I also went canoeing for two weeks with my church. I enjoyed all those experiences. If I survive in the wilderness, it'd be because of those canoe trips.

9. What was your favorite game as a kid?
I would set up toys all around the laundry room at our house, in the basement, and tell epic tales of battles between the forces of the High King of Dryer Pleateau and the demonic domain of the Folding Table. The mysterious oracle lived on top of the washing machine, and the carpets were desert. I made special effects with tinkertoys I'd hold at funny angles and spin. In fact, now that I try, I find It's kind of impossible to communicate exactly what I did.

10. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he/she was married, what would you do ??
I'd feel flattered and happy, but otherwise change nothing. Talk to my wife about it and then do something fun with her.

12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you?
I married a witch when I was a Lutheran. Now we're both liberal Episcopalians. Ten years from now we might both worship the sun. Truth is, I could only date someone who thinks about the nature of right and wrong as much as my wife does.

13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued?
Depends on the situation. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both.

14. Use three words to describe yourself?
Attention Deficit Disorder.

15. Do any songs make you cry?
Yes.

16. Are you continuing your education?
I take training classes, but I gleefully ran from graduate school once I made up my mind.

17. Do you know how to shoot a gun?
I can fire one without killing myself or quaking with terror now. Getting what little experience I have has been good for me.

18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed?
The other people.

19. How often do you read books?
Rarely. For years after grad school, only two or three times a year, I'd pull out the Lord of the Rings or the Princess Bride, and that was it. Still trying to recover.

20. Do you think more about the past, present or future?
Present.

21. What is your favorite children's book?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or Taran Wanderer. I would say Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but I don't think that's a children's book.

22. What color are your eyes?
Green.

23. How tall are you?
5'6"

24. Where is your dream house located?
Closer to more of my friends.

27. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth?
No.

28. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden?
A few months ago.

30. Where was the furthest place you traveled today?
Downtown Cincinnati from West Chester.

Oh yeah

muddlewait — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:13:30 GMT

When I take these tests, I always forget that the droids are options, and have an "oh yeah" moment when, as I always do, I come out as this little fella.

Your results:
You are R2-D2

R2-D2		72%
Yoda		67%
Obi-Wan Kenobi		65%
Chewbacca		64%
An Ewok		64%
Luke Skywalker		63%
Princess Leia		58%
C-3PO		58%
Padme		55%
Qui-Gon Jinn		54%

What you lack in height
and communication skills,
you make up for in industriousness,
technical know-how and being there
when others need you most.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)

Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Quiz

Pecking at the keyboard

muddlewait — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:55:57 GMT

I was in the Walgreens just now, and I heard "Patience". Yeah, ol' Guns & Roses, back from the days of high school and college.

Is there anything more hackneyed than mulling over memories after hearing a song? Maybe not. But making excuses for it is as bad, or worse. Such memories happen, and if musing over them is nothing new, it's at least not a lie. Each memory or thought like this has a short enough life in the mind of the person who carries it; and communicating such thoughts won't prolong them longer than they deserve to survive.

An old friend of mine sang this song at his wedding, to his wife. It was a simple little private ceremony, in his parents' house. Everyone there talked about how beautiful it was. He did have a fine voice. The song itself now makes me sad in a way that few do. After washing out of the Marines in what I think was his last real attempt to teach himself some discipline, he'd gotten married for the wrong reasons, and too young, and was younger emotionally -- and by that I mean less mature -- even than in age. He got divorced fairly soon, nastily, and came to ridicule his ex-wife, the mother of their son. She was far from blameless, but the fault was shared. His parents ended up adopting his son, and he moved on and more or less disappeared. His parents were even in the local paper years later, as an example of grandparents raising their children's children, in a story in which the kid's father, my friend, was barely mentioned -- not even by name -- as an example of irresponsibility, which I guess he was, and maybe is.

When I was around him, he made that old group of us laugh. He lofted 10-pound bowling balls down the lane at high velocity with little accuracy and lots of volume when they hit the boards, and his strikes were both rare and spectacular. They were pretty representative of his all-around behavior, now that I think of it. He laughed constantly, and so did everyone around him. He was in my closest group of friends for years. I don't know where he is now, but I remember him.

The strangest thing, though, is that I can hear him singing that song. I can see him dressed up, build like a bald dwarven weightlifter at 19, with his wife, and her short blond hair and glasses in her wedding dress, pregnant, and our other friends in suits around him. And I can't even remember for sure whether or not I was actually there, at the wedding.

So I guess maybe this kind of exercise doesn't even have honesty going for it. Or at least not accuracy. Ah well.