The Political Desk: US House of Representatives

I really wish I was in the 8th, Dave Reichart's district, so I could recommend Santiago Ramos for the position. But they pulled back the borders of Mr. Reichert's district so exclude more people of blue  persuasion (as well as other shades), and so I am in the 9th, the Seattle Arcology which runs from the Tacoma Dome up to Cap Hill, with a spur picking up Bellevue and Mercer Island. In this domain we have Adam Smith.

Adam Smith is pretty darn good. He's the head Dem on the Armed Services Committee, places himself as a progressive and though the House is as woefully unimpressive as the Senate these days, he's been one of the good ones. He's going on to the fall election through sheer inertia, and that's a good thing.

Other than that? Doug Basler ran as the Republican against him last time, and is running against him again. He pushes a lot of moderate positions, and his web site still has this creepy burning US Great Seal of the US. He also has really cool yard signs, which are narrow and thin. Sort of like the guy who gives you the business card that is half the size of the normal ones you collect.

Though Adam Smith pitches himself as a Progressive, there are two guys running to the left of him. Both Jesse Wineberry and Daniel Smith are supporters of Bernie Sanders, so if you're a Dem that can't bear to vote to Mr. Smith because he wasn't a Bernie Sanders supporter, take a look at these two. Daniel Smith would get the edge in the not-Adam-Smith department only because he offers Edward Snowden a job at the NSA if elected. That sounds like a fun job interview.

If everyone is a progressive, what about the rest of us? We have a centrist Republican, a progressive incumbant, and two even more progressive Democratic challengers. Fortunately, to pick up the spare we have Jeary Flener, of No Party Preference, who claims ideas from the Constutionalists, Libertarians, Democrats, Socialists, and Republicans, but believes that the federal government should be the least of our governing bodies. He is apparently legion, for he contains multitudes.

OK, on to the really grisley stuff. More later.

The Political Desk: US Senate

Let me not bury the lede: Patty Murray for US Senate.

She was here when we moved out, and she has done nothing to convince me that she's hasn't been effective and positive in her job. Her successes are notable, and this "mom in tennis shoes" has proven to be an effective Senator both for the county and the small chunk she represents. She plays well with others (even those across the aisle) and throws elbows when she has to. Good call.

So this goes against all your griping, right? Well, no.

Right now Ms. Murray, as a Dem, has been in the minority in the Senate. For most of the past eight years, Washington has been divided government, initially between the GOP-held house and the Democratic Senate. And so nothing was really accomplished. Yet with the last Senatorial election, the GOP seized the Senate as well. AHAH! Faced with a lame duck presidency, they will get some things moving, even if it may be in the wrong direction. Activity!

No such luck. If anything, this most recent Congress has been MORE inert than previous ones. There are bright spots, and Ms. Murray is one of them, but for the bulk of her GOP Brethren, they could be Disney Automatronics in desperate need of a upgrade.

So I'll say upgrade. Chase the Dastards out, but keep Ms. Murray.

But who else is running?

On the Republican side, the leading candidate is Chris Vance, who comes out of the State Legislature, another hotbed of stoic inertness in the face of the common good. Odd that his writeup in the Voter's Pamphlet does not mention his work as Chair of the Washington State Republican party. Back during the Dino Rossi for Governor campaign, he was all over the media and remained for years as the go-to guy for a good GOP establishment quote. It is not a question of leaving it off, as he has been one of the high-level Republicans to denounce the current GOP presidential candidate, Mr. Trump. There's a lot of bi-partisanship rolling around in his write-up, and I expect him to be the "other" candidate in the fall.

And over on the Libertarian side, we have one candidate there, and if you're willing to consider the Liberts for the top spot, you should check them all the way down. The candidate is Mike Luke, and to his credit, he actually has positions on his writeup in the Voter's Pamphlet. He is against the TPP, against war, and for marijuana. I'd swear he was a Democrat, but like many Libertarians, he is a former Republican.

And the rest (of which their are many) have write-ups that range from impassioned pleas to personal statements to tone poems. All have a "Preferred Party" (Washington State doesn't officially recognize the part system in the primaries, but there is a wink and a nod at who the establishments want), and some of these parties have their own strange spirit.

Phillip L. Cornell (Prefers Democratic Party) is rocking on economic justice, and also dislikes the TPP.

Sam Wright (Prefers The Human Rights Party) likes universal health care and taxing capital gains.

Uncle Mover (Prefers Republican Party) is perennial candidate Mike the Mover, who uses his space to speak of the importance of marriage and how Congress can't fix divorce, only we can. Sort of a Prairie Home Companion moment, there.

Zach Haller (Prefers Independent Party) provided no information or headshot. Therefore I will provide the information that he is the Lost Prince of Gemworld, and seeking to garner support to return to his homeland and take the throne.

Donna Rae Lands (Prefers Conservative Party) wants you to know that she successfully fought against a government that wanted to put a Sewage Treatment Facility uphill from her home.

Moahammad Said (Prefers Democratic Party) supported Bernie Sanders, has a long list of other things he supports, including traditional marriage, expanded states' rights, and the U.S. Congress to meet in states by rotation. Which are core Sanders values, I guess.

Eric John Makus (Prefers Republican Party) lists being an author in his work history, so naturally I had to scout that down. His own site declares he wrote two reference works, and a check on Amazon indicates two books by Eric J. Markus - The Los Angeles Town Compass and the Seattle and Puget Sound  Town Compass, both of which are phone numbers conveniently arranged. Mr. Makus also has the best second-best campaign slogan this year - Makus Great Again.

Alex Tsimerman (Prefers Standupamerica Party) endorses Donald Trump, which is more than the chosen Republican candidate wants to do. He also wants to "Stop fascism with idiotic face". I never noticed this before, but the header of the Voter's Pamphlet says that "King County Elections is not authorized to edit statements, nor is it responsible for the contents within."

Dr. Pano Churchill (Prefers Lincoln Caucus Party) will take on a slew of "Big" opponents who have been doing bad things to the country, and promises to Reboot Washington. Probably by turning it off and waiting a few seconds, then turning it back on.

Ted Cummings (Prefers Independent Party) also will take on the Big Banks and Wall Street. It is almost like everyone wants to take on the Big Banks these days. It is like playing Pokemon Go.

Thor Amundson (Prefers Democratic Party) says nice things about Washington State (one of the best states of the union) and will not take PAC money. He will "stir the very dredges of the old guard in Washington." I'd buy a ticket to see that.

Scott Nazarino (Prefers Republican Party) has stood up for numerous issues, and understands our economy through his work in the Financial Services Industry.

Chuck Jackson (Prefers Independent Party) declares that we are under a Tyranny of Debt. He also lists his Education as School of Hard Knocks with a major in U of L (I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's the University of Life).

Jeremy Teuton (Prefers System Reboot Party) also wants to reboot the system. It is the name of the tin. But I've already used by reboot joke for Dr. Churchill.

Most of these candidates are at the highpoint of their electoral arc - they have their 15 minutes of fame and 300 words to get their message out, and maybe sway a couple votes. They are in general against big government and big business, but have a faith that the system is not broken, merely sprained, and needs only bed rest, not walking on it, and chicken soup for the soup to get it up on its feet again.

And people wonder why I'm so grumpy.

More later,

The Political Desk: Public Service Announcement

The big thing about the upcoming primary are candidates who are not even on the ballot. The presidential candidates cast a long shadow over the proceedings. What's going on with them affects what is going to happen downballot. So let's talk about the elephant (and the donkey) in the room, and also warn all as to my political leanings.

First off, I have to come clean and tell you how much I admire the current guy in charge. The past eight years, while a challenge, have been SO much better than the previous eight. Mr. Obama has done a fantastic job. ACA is still alive, Bin Laden is still dead. Economy has recovered well enough to make people worry about the next recession, Armed forces out of the mideast (yet, hang on,going back again), and the administration has been relatively scandal free (though insufficiently transparent). Voted for him. Would vote for him again. Seriously.

Unfortunately, that's not an option. The Democrat choice for president is former Senator, former Secretary of State, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who is OK. When push came to shove I voted for Mr. Sanders, but I would be happy with Ms. Clinton in the position. I've watched her in debates and listened to her, and while I don't agree with her on all things, I agree with her on more than enough, and think she'd be a fine choice.

And this is not a hold-your-nose vote. This is, however, a hold-their-feet-to-the-fire vote. I'm voting her in, then I'm going to agitate for her to deliver. Even when someone you LIKE gets into office, there's this doubt that they will make good on their promises. I'm willing to push it. This is OK, because if elected, she will be the most watch-dogged presidency ever.

Ms. Clinton comes in with thirty some years of people trying to send her up the river. There is an entire industry dedicated to showing that she is evil, hates America, and rips the tags off mattresses. Yet every one of these scandals always seems to peter out into a fragrant cloud of "Well, she must be up to SOMETHING". But nothing ever sticks, which either means that she's generally OK, or that those who are chasing her are complete incompetents who should never be left near the mechanisms of political power. And I'm good with her administration being the most tightly scrutinized in history - during the debates she literally could not go to the bathroom with it becoming part of the next day's news cycle. Vote for her and keep an eye on the silverware.

OK, she looks good in this one. And yes, this photo has kicked
off another investigation.

Downside? Most of the time she can't take a good picture. Seriously, I watched the debates and she came across as a serious candidate who is knowledgable and interacts well with an audience, and then someone prints a still photo from the same event and it looks like she's about to unleash the flying monkeys. OK, that's going to make things going tough as well.

But, if you cannot stand Ms. Clinton (And I can grok that, though you're wrong), may I recommend presumptive candidate Jill Stein of the Green Party? Strong progressive chops, not as much experience as the Senator from Vermont had, and some wonky views (she's anti-vaxx). Unfortunately, she belongs to a minor party, which means that when the media shows up, it is to interview the guy with a boot on his head, and when the candidate is covered, it is because she's said something outrageous. Take a look beneath the surface, and see if Ms. Stein works for you. Do not operate heavy machinery after considering Ms. Stein. If Ms. Stein causes side effects, sit down until the dizziness passes. Do not taunt Ms. Stein.

Over on the Republican side, it is not so much holding your nose as it's donning a full radiation suit and warming up the decontamination chamber. Mr. Trump is woefully incompetent candidate who would be a woefully incompetent president. I've been listening to the reason people give for his candidacy, and they both hilarious and frightening. "He's getting better." "He's going to learn on the job." "He'll have good people to explain things." and the all-time favorite "How bad could it be?" Sounds like he's getting an employee review after six months working the fryalator at Burger King.

I AM pretty chuffed by the fact that I'm not one of those bloggers who feel obligated to report EVERY stupid thing Mr. Trump says, because I already have a full-time job. It seems that his strategy is to "Flood the Zone." Say SO many stupid things that you can't clear one up before he's five more ahead of you.

I think the biggest thing worrying progressives in all this is that Americans may actually get the leadership they deserve. That would keep me up nights.

OK, let's say you're not a die-hard progressive, Ms Clinton feels more centrist but you don't trust her, and Mr. Trump makes you break out in hives. May I strongly recommend you check out the Libertarians?

Like the Greens, the Libertarians are a minor party that normally shows up on the evening news because one of the delegates performed a strip tease instead of giving a speech at the convention. But they, without much fuss and bother, picked a couple good candidates for President and Veep - Gary Johnson of New Mexico and William Webb of Massachusetts. Both are former Republican Governors, but they are ones that actually fall into the "Sane" category, and failed to completely bankrupt their states when they were in office. Both of them also look like Sam Waterston from Law & Order.

Seriously, this may be the moment to be a Libertarian. I'm not voting for them, because I don't like them on issues, and  "Not as crazy as the GOP" is praising with faint damns, but you should take a look.

And I'll be frank, the other option is none-of-the-above. Usually I'm of the "If you don't vote, you can't complain" school, but this year, I'll give dispensation in this race. Go ahead, DON'T vote for president if you feel the need, but vote from everything else. You can even still complain. I'll still mock you, but you can complain.

OK, I've gotten all THAT off my chest. Let's get down to brass tacks. More later.

The Political Desk: Summer of Sixteen

Now is the summer of my discontent, for I fear I face this year's (real) primary and fall election with a inherent grumpiness that rarely extends into the political sphere on this page (hah!). Yet the ballots for the 2 August Primary (the one where your vote actually means something) have gone out, and I am just not feeling it.

The Political Desk's Mascot

Part of this is because the presidential primaries here in Washington State were such a bust. The Democrats chose their candidate in caucuses which ignored the primary, while the Republicans chose their candidate in a primary which their caucus-chosen delegates hated. Also there is the regular low-level irritants of watching politicians in office, which, though not as horrible in Washington State as elsewhere, is often grating enough to make determining rulership with trial by combat an increasingly sound option

But yet I persist. Blame my dogged determination that is my goo-goo nature (That's Chicago shorthand for "good government"). Blame the cynicism that affirms that  Democracy was the worst form of government, second only to all the others (Churchill said it, but claimed he was requoting). Blame it on force of habit. But be warned, this year, you are dealing with a grumpy cat (well, grumpier than normal).

So, then. We have a primary in early August, though that doesn't bother me because here in Washington State it is a mail vote thing. I mean, yeah, expecting people to take off one of the few nice days in Seattle in order to vote in a traditional go-to-the-polls sense will reduce the results. But asking them to take the time one evening to fill out the ballot? Please. I'm not a fan of the earlier vote (because the political parties have more time to irritate us), but it is not a big thing.

And the primary is top-two, which is to say the top two vote-getters go onto the election. And I do miss seeing Mike the Mover and Goodspaceguy and anyone from the Libertarians get on the fall ballot, but I'm willing to go with the flow on this. The online Voter's Pamphlet is here, and I will admit, that for a lot of these guys, that's all I really know about them. [UPDATE: The link I provided only sends you to the King County list, which then just sends you to the various candidates' websites. It's pretty useless. And you wonder why I'm grumpy. Try this one instead, which is more old school, but actually functions.]

But with all that in mind, let me start out by pointing people in the direction of OTHER groups that are making endorsements. These guys have their own bag of stuff, but they are worth paying attention to:

The Seattle Times has decided that the one thing they are going to concentrate on this year is education funding. The legislature has been screwing around with this for a couple years now, such that State Supreme Court has found them in contempt (because, paying for K-12 is, like, in our constitution). Every candidate gets graded on their education policy, and their willingness to work towards a solution. I bag on the Times regularly, but am impressed with their focus this year.

The Stranger Election Board loads up on cocaine and energy drinks and pulls an all-nighter, seeking snarky humor as well as progressive positions. They're always readable, that's the good news, but their concerns seem to end a block south of Safeco Field, and they've really needed to get out to the 'burbs more.

Voting for Judges concentrates on one thing, and does one thing well - that's the elected judges of Washington State. They do a good job.

The Municipal League of King County rates the candidates on their experience and responses to the a survey. They don't do judges, and that makes them a nice complement.

Others will weight in over time - Crosscut and Publicola often show up for the dance, and I'll add them if they have something to say.

So, after a paticularly churlish public service message, we'll get to it. More later,

Yo, Yeoman

Poster from 1897, re-used for the program here.

The Yeomen of the Guard or The Merryman and His Maid, by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Bagley Wright Theater, through July30.

The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society is a local organization dedicated to the light opera works of Gilbert & Sullivan. They are enthusiasts and amateurs, and produce but one production a year, in the heart of the summer, usually overlapping with the Bite of Seattle (which was also this weekend - I overheard several in the audience complain about the traffic, but I found that a Food festival running at the same day was a perk, not a bug).

The society makes bank on the big three G&S Productions known to all with a passing knowledge of the oeuvre - Pinafore, Penzance, and Mikado. But they also feature works that are not as common or well known. Yeoman of the Guard floats to the top of the general knowledge list in general, particularly those who remember Peter, Paul, and Mary and their cover of "I have a song to sing-o" which appears here.

Very quickly, the production is excellent - the voices range from fair to fantastic, with a heavier number at the upper end of that register. Morgan Duterte as Elise Maynard, a strolling singer, is in particular strong, and Mark Rabe as her jester boyfriend is bright and sarcastic.

The opera itself is a bit odd, though, and it may just be modern sensibilities trying to be applied to older forms. Forgive me if I go on about this, but it leaves me puzzled. Here's the plot (Do spoilers apply to an opera from 1888? Fine, I've giving it all away here):

The initial setup is that brave, handsome Lord Fairfax is in the Tower of London, about to be beheaded on trumped-up charges, guarded by the yeomen. Most of the yeomen think its a darn shame Fairfax will lose his head, including Sergeant Meryll, whose daughter is sweet on Fairfax. Father and daughter conspire to free Fairfax by breaking him out but then passing him off as Meryll's son, Leonard, who had just been appointed to the guard but who no one has seen. Fairfax, though, to keep his money out of the hands of his evil cousin, arranged to get married before his death. A traveling jester and his girlfriend/singer are recruited into the scheme, and the singer, Elsie, is married, blindfolded, to a man who will be dead in an hour.

But Meryll's plot works. Phoebe gets the keys from the love-besotted head jailer/assistant tormentor, and Fairfax escapes, but had to maintain his role as a guardsman looking for himself and pretending to be Pheobe's brother.

Now here's where it goes off the rails a bit for me. The plot suddenly switches from Phoebe's romance with Fairfax to Elsie's. Elsie cannot marry her jester boyfriend, because she is already married to Fairfax, who failed to die. The jester and head jailer cook up a scheme where they claim to have shot Fairfax in the river, which frees up Elsie to marry the jester and removes the jailer's competition for Pheobe. But, Fairfax, having figured out that Elsie is his wife, proceeds to woo her under the jester's nose as Leonard. Elsie must refuse, of course, which endears her to the lord.

And the Meryll's plan starts to fall apart. Pheobe, jealous of Elsie, inadvertently reveals to the jailer that Fairfax still lives, and must agree to marry the jailer to keep his silence. The Sergeant is similarly trapped and forced into agreeing to marry the Tower's housekeeper, the formidable Dame Carruthers. Word comes that Fairfax is pardoned, and Fairfax comes to claim his bride, who is heartbroken because she now loves Leonard. She is delighted to see that Fairfax is her Leonard, and after a reprise of "I have a song to sing - o", takes her place with her husband, and the jester collapses in grief.

And what the hey? I feel like I'm missing something - not in the performance, not in the songs, not in the opera's internal logic (of which, we are informed, we should take the immortal advice " Repeat to yourself its just a show, you really should relax"), but in how it is framed as a story. We're set out with the idea that this is the story of Meryll's family springs the lord who Pheobe is sweet on. But by the end, the play is really about the jester and Elsie, who are parted as Elsie ascends to a new social station, while Meryll and Pheobe are trapped in engagements they do not want.

What happened here? Only Elsie gets a happy ending, but that's a bit wobbly given that her noble husband is more than a bit shallow and a cad - Happy to dally with Phoebe while still officially married to Elsie, and only brought back into the fold by Elsie's loyalty to him. And even then he plays her, wooing her as Leonard and causing her further heartbreak. And the original conspirators, who are not presented as horrible people, are lashed into their own unwanted marriages. The jester falls insensible. None seem to have done anything to deserve their fates.

All this may be in the nature of stage roles for singers. As far as I can tell (in G&S, at least), tenors tend to be the romantic leads, but their characters are rather cloth-headed, vain, and unempathic. Soprano parts also skew to the brainless end of the category. Mezzo's are usually the sidekick/best friend of the Soprano, until they become women of a certain age, where they become a formidable contraltos - marriage hungry and dominating. And the baritones get all the good characters and all the good laughs.

And this is a "serious" Gilbert & Sullivan - lacking the mocking of British customs and politics, much of the normal topsy-turvey legalisms, and, despite the arrival of the pardon at the end, does not feel like a god has been cranked out of a machine. And the music is extremely strong, a step above most. But the framework of the plot, even ignoring the internal logic, leaves me puzzled.

So, excellence performance, which makes me extremely happy to be in a part of the country that has such things. I think I just need to figure out how this comic opera thing is supposed to work.

More later,

Gaming: Excellent. Most Excellent

The Excellent Traveling Volume  A Fanzine of M.A.R.Barker's World of Tekumel

It should not be a surprise to readers of this blog that I am a big fan of M.A.R. Barker's Tekumel and its first public incarnation, the Empire of the Petal Throne boxed set from TSR. I wrote about it way back here, discussing all its updates new rulesets, and probably have to update it further since new and exciting material, like Jeff Dee's Bethorm has shown up on the scene, and Brett Slocum's Heroic Age of Tekumel is in the offing.

But what I really want to talk about right now is fanzines. I'm a fan of fanzines, in particular since they drill right down to a specific, almost obsessive, level. On the creator's side, they are a labor of love, rarely money-makers, closer to hobbies, and contain only that which the the creators themselves wish to see. On the consumer side, they are for a very, very small group who have a deep interest in the particular subject. One without the other, and the fanzine ceases to be by or for fans.

Enter The Excellent Traveling Volume by James Maliszewski, who formerly ran the late, lamented Grognardia blog. It is a Tekumel fanzine, and even further concentrates on the original TSR (later reprinted by Different Worlds) versions of the game.

TETV is a hand-crafted music box of a 'zine, each issue laying out expanded content for the game. The original set concentrated on Tsolyanu, but the booklets increase character creation for the Red Hats of Mu'ugalavyani, the Salarvya, and the descendants of the dragon-riders of N'luss (No, I'm not putting in the accent marks. Live with it.). This expanded section gives both personal names and clans of the nations, and bits about their culture and religions, and how they compare back to the Tsolyanu that most fans are comfortable with.

Maliszewski also delivers in each issue patrons who can be the foundation of overland adventures. One of the challenges of Tekumel in its various incarnation has been a lack of what you do when you get there, though there have been definite attempts to rectify this. The patrons provide that vibe, very much in an old Traveller-style mode, where you get the background on the character, the job that is being offered, and then several options on what is really going on. It is both a good read and provides good hooks for the game.

Also in the issues to date have been small adventures, originally part of a larger dungeons for more traditional adventuring, but now expanding to a full tomb or abandoned spaceship (why yes, they have spaceships in Tekumel - didn't you know?) Again, this hits up the old canard for GMs unsure about what to do with their characters. Lastly, there are articles about new monsters, or races such as the Mihalli, or various Underpeople. All within 32 pages of nicely dense text.

And the art. It is charming in its own right, and evokes earlier zines like the early Unspeakable Oaths and old-school games like Arduin Grimoire. The cover shown above is by Zhu Bajie (A pseudonym from Journey to the West?), and interiors range from OK to excellent.

I am actually of two minds in recommending this 'zine. On one hand, it is very, very good, and if you are a fan of Tekumel, and the original EPT,  then it is worth the cost (ten bucks a pop, Paypal only). But one of the greatest dangers of a fanzine it is its own popularity. Success often drives improvements to the work, but often robs it of its charm. I loved the original digest-sized, color-paper cover versions of the Unspeakable Oath, for Call of Cthulhu. It felt like from fans, for fans. That 'zine still exists in a glossy, irregularly-published version with more ads from the increasing Cthulhu market, but it's not the same.

TETV is produced at Mr. Maliszewski's own speed, which produces excellent work but not a strict schedule (Call it Quarterly-ISH). There is no subscription (and with that no pressure to produce on a treadmill, allowing the work to grow), but he has a mailing list for announcing when the next volume is out. He has been making older issues available, and it is worth checking them out.

The Excellent Traveling Volume succeeds in its greatest form - it makes me want to play in Tekumel again. And that is high praise.

More later,

DOW Breaks 18000!

I don't know if this is the weakest recovery from a recession, but it sure is the grumpiest. When confronted with good economic news of any stripe, we tend to view it in the worst possible way. It's too small. It's too weak. It's good but its temporary. Reminds me of an old joke.

Grandmother and her grandson were at the beach. Big wave comes in and sweeps the child out to sea. Grandmother falls to her knees and prays "Lord, please bring back my beautiful grandson. I will honor your name. I will pray daily. I will volunteer weekly. I dedicate my life to your service. Just bring back my grandchild!"

Another big wave comes in, and when it recedes there is her grandson, unscathed, with his sandpail and little plastic shovel. The grandmother looks up to sky and says. "Lord,  when he LEFT, he had a HAT, you know."

That's sort of the way we look at economic news. He had a HAT.

More later,

Comics: Uncivil

Civil War II #1, written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by David Marquez, Marvel Comics.

OK, Jeff. You're intrigued by DC's Rebirth and impressed with the new Captain America. Is there anything that gets your dander up in the current universes?

Well, this.

Civil War II is the latest of the big Marvel cross-overs. They are coming so fast and furious these days that they don't even bother to clean up the mess left from the previous cross-over. The old order keeps changing at a rate that most of the supporting books are continually derailed into the current crisis, not allowing them to build up much of a head of steam. No sooner than the universe get remade, than suddenly SHIELD was locking up supercriminals using a newborn Cosmic Cube, and the dust hasn't really settled from that before we're looking at another big epic and mores super-hero punchery.

OK, here's the Spoiler Upon Spoiler Summary for Civil War II #1:

A  young Inhuman is discovered who can see the future. He warns everyone about a big attack. All the superheroes get together and save the day. Then they have a party. Tony (Iron Man) Stark freaks out about an Inhuman who can see the future, leaves in a huff. Later, the Young Inhuman has another vision, about Thanos coming back. The Ultimates, headed up by Captain Marvel go up against him. In the battle, Tony's best friend Rhodey (War Machine) is messily and permanently killed. She-Hulk is last seen going into cardiac arrest. Tony freaks and flies off, intending to "do something" about all this.

First thing you'll note is that the summary is a lot shorter than the ones I did for Captain America and Rebirth. That's because, while there is a lot of action and explosions and banter, there isn't a lot happening here. It's a first issue, but it doesn't really lay a lot of ground work. The assumption is that you already know these guys (Labeling is a big thing these days, just in case you don't). I could probably shorten that previous paragraph down to: "Tony Stark freaks out about something, intends to do something about it."

Dream Girl - Freaking out
Tony Stark since 1964

Is Tony Stark freaking out his new super-power? It seems that this and making poor personal choices are more his power than repulsor rays. In the original Civil War, he freaked out and ushered in Super Human Registration Act, which pretty much trashed Reed Richards as a heroic character. I'll grant that in the most recent Captain America movie, Tony's freaking out is pretty much justified, and there he actually generates sympathy and shows some character growth. And now here he is, freaking out about a new Inhuman with a new power.

And it's not that amazing a power. Dream Girl from the Legion of Super Heroes has this power, and you don't see her team freaking out. She's never wrong, but she's often mistaken. And we know from the front end of the book that the Young Inhuman's predictions are not foolproof, and can be avoided.  Yes, people died when they tried to be pro-active about it, but that's not exactly the Young Inhuman's fault.

And let's talk about the deaths, because that is what ultimately grinds my gears - permadeath for established characters as cheap rationalizations of actions. James "Rhodey" Rhodes was introduced back in the seventies, and took on the Iron Man suit when Stark was unavailable/ unwilling/ drunk. He got his own suit, and actually had a personality and some character development (with bonus points for dating Captain Marvel). He even earned a place in the movie universe. In a genre where the "fill-in guy" usually has a lifespan measured in mere issues (often dying just to have justification for the hero to take up the mantle again), he was a success story.

And She-Hulk? Sheesh, she was an excellent character in her own right. Like Rhodey, she was a character existing in the shadow of a more marketable hero (she was Bruce Banner's cousin, injected with his blood), and to be honest, she did better. Her original run wasn't particularly sharp (Her big enemy was Man-Elephant), but as a member of the FF and in her later book, she really took on her own nature and blossomed. She was comfortable in her green skin, was a professional woman, and looked like someone who could actually fight. And when she didn't have her own book, she was part of team or a great supporting character, currently in A-Force and Hellcat. And she was often the grown-up in the room, neither cosmic nor grim.

And yes, killing War Machine and potentially bumping off She-Hulk (simply to move forward a weak plot) bothers me more than Captain America saying "Hail Hydra".

Good things about the book? Well. I like the banter. Bendis banters with the best of them, and I can read his banter all day. But when he gets to people saying things that are important, defending their actions, yeah, we break down fast. Tony's arguments are weak and, in a universe where things get remade on a regular basis, just plain weird.

But for the most part, I'm going to drift through this one. Pick up the books I normally pick up, avoid the other tie-ins. This too will pass, as all things do.

More later,

PS: Oh yeah, and now we're keeping an eye on Captain America. What does he say? What does he do? Is he manipulating people? Handing out Hydra's business cards? That's part of the fallout of messing around with your major characters.

[UPDATE: Well, Issue 2 is out, War Machine is still dead, She-Hulk is just comatose, which it turns out is just a plot necessity since the next big dream is that the Hulk is going to kill everyone, something which, oddly enough, they mentioned as a possibility in issue one. Foreshadowing. Maybe this will turn out to be a Red Skull plot as well.

But I will say something nice about all this - They have committed to the bit. The tie-ins have been direct tie-ins to the events in the main book, in that we get the big horrible fight seen from a number of different angles, and the characters are debating about the pros and cons of having serious knowledge of the future, Sooo yeah. Still feel the death of War Machine is there as the needless death of a close friend in order to drive the hero forward (or, in Tony Stark's case, drive the hero nuts).]

Comics: Yaheydere, Hydra!

Steve Rogers Captain America #1 written by Nick Spencer. Art by Jesus Saiz, Marvel Comics.

This is the one that has kicked up all sorts of dust. In an industry where bumping off Superman is a semi-regular feature, the reveal at the end of this one has caused massive internet rage. Which is a pity, because it is a very well-written book.

I've been a Marvel fan for many years, though I will freely admit that there are entire wings of the company I don't pay much attention to. I fell out with Peter Parker when they diabolically annulled his marriage to Mary Jane, and lost touch with the X-Men when it seemed like there were just too many of them. But Cap's pretty much been along for the entire ride since college, even including some of the stranger eras. Captain America is a favorite character, but I recognize that one of the reasons is that he is continually challenged, and rise up against those challenges. 

Here's the spoilerful summary. If you don't want spoilers, look away!

We start in a flashback - 1926, where Steve Roger's mom is being slapped around by her abusive husband. Mom and Steve are rescued by a woman with a kind heart and impressive martial arts skills. In the present Captain America fights a bunch of Hydra thugs on a runaway train. Driving the train is a young man who, like Steve, comes from an abusive home, but he ended up in crime, and eventually was recruited by the Red Skull. Cap stops the train, but the young man says "Hail Hydra" and blows himself up anyway. Then, along with two small-time patriotic heroes, Jack Flag and Free Spirit, Cap goes after Baron Zemo to rescue a scientist. Baron Zemo is defeated by Cap and Jack Flag, but Cap is unhappy Jack is there to help. We bounce back to 1926 one more time, where the mysterious guardian angel reveals she works for Hydra, and recruits young Steve Rogers into their ranks. Back in the present, Cap pushes Jack Flag out of the aircraft to his supposed death, then utters in the final panel "Hail Hydra."

Duh-duh-DUH!

So, has Captain America, symbol of liberty, always been a bad guy! Hydra has been taking it on the chin for years, solely to put Captain America in the deepest of deep cover! It is amazing! Exasperating!  Maddening!

And what really is maddening is that this is a very well-written and well-presented book. It moves smoothly, has a lot of character moments, and feels firmly grounded in the Marvel Universe. Parts of the subplot involve a recent pan-company team-up involving the Cosmic Cube (which, um, changes reality, so that may be a hint to what's going on) and also drenches itself deeply with Captain America lore (including the fact that minor hero Jack Flag had been a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy). Also, comparing the situation of young Steve Rogers and the Hydra suicide train driver strengthens the main character, so the final reveal doesn't drop totally out of the blue.

The book is extremely texturally dense. We get a full-page rally speech by the Red Skull that you could actually see someone buying into. A two-page Maria Hill/Sharon Carter debate that frames the challenge of SHIELD in the modern world while passing the Bechtel test. Breakroom camaraderie between Flagg, Spirit, and Rick (Everyone's sidekick) Jones. Even a flippant, almost comic, Baron Zemo, who comes across as playing by an outdated rulebook.

The art is excellent as well. The flashbacks are duotintes in shadows and bright red. There are a huge number of characters in book, and they all have their own feel and personalities. The moment-frozen combat with the Hydra thugs is impressive. Great art here. 

And I think that's one reason that people are upset by all this. Spencer and Saiz sells the idea that Cap is a traitor perfectly. They set it up how someone can go over to the dark side, show the moral qualms with dealing with superheroes, and they deliver that final punch. If it was less well-done, there would not have been so much anger and so many pixels spilled on Facebook.

Hydra have become Nazi-analogs for our fictional world. And while they first showed up inspired more by Dr. No than the Third Reich, they were founded/controlled by a bunch of former Nazis like Baron Strucker, so, yeah, close enough to army work.  But what Hydra hasn't had previously has been much of a pre-WWII heritage. Yet here they are in 1926 running the equivalent of the German American Bund. And from some the guardian angel's comments about how Steve will someday be remarkable, I smell time travel. For a story that really did its homework, the timeshifted Hydra is odd.

I was so upset I made a meme about it

The other weirdness is the Red Skull in the basement. The Red Skull is currently one of the most powerful telepaths on earth, having had the brain of Professor X surgically implanted in his skull (don't ask. just ... don't). Yet he's running a rally in some basement? OK, that's weird, but so was Kingpin running a Las Vegas gang for the Red Skull, and that's canon as well.

Now, this may all go away next issue, comics being what they are. But Marvel has been resisting that particular reset button trope of late. They brought the original young X-Men into the present, and everyone assumed they would send them back. They haven't. By the same token, they did an entire universe reset recently where some things changed (Tony Stark was a bad guy, Kitty Pryde became a cosmic became being. Everyone knows that Matt Murdock was Daredevil - none of those things are true anymore). but others did not (Sabertooth is a good guy, Iceman is gay). What this gets as a result is a sense of uncertainty among the fans - How long is this Hydracap going to go on?

Its a good book in that it raises the stakes to an incredible degree. and does it effectively, hitting readers so emotionally that they have have had an amazing reaction, even if that reaction is anger. Now, comic book universes (and Marvel in particular) have been good at setting things like this up, but lousy at resolving them. So I really want to see how they (and Cap) work their way out of this one.

More later,

[UPDATE: So, issue #2 showed up, and the winner is ... Cosmic Cube Mind Control! Cap hasn't been a Hydra agent all these years - he just THINKS he's been a Hydra Agent all these years (and given the damage he's done to Hydra, that must mean he's the WORST HYDRA AGENT EVER). The title of the second issue should be "How I Did It by R. Skull" and consists of an involved tale of how Mr. Skull befriended a small child who was really a cosmic cube and convinced her the right thing to do to help people was to make them Hydra agents ('cause Hydra is cool!). The issue also declares the recent SHIELD attempt to mind control bad guys and turn them into the road cast of the Music Man (Another horrible idea) was also part of the plot.

OK, it's not time travel, and it is a pity when fandom's ideas of what happened are cooler than what turned out. Still doesn't explain fully why the Red S, who has the mental powers of Professor X, is mucking about with such a convoluted plot against Captain America when he has, well, the brain of Professor X at his disposal. They sort of put a lampshade on this in the text, with a couple characters asking, a la Scott Evil, Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? So, like the Red Skull in the basement, it is still weird.

As mind control, I wonder if they are going to get into the cognitive dissonence that Cap will face where his past actions don't line up with his current mindset (Punch Hitler? Why would I ever punch Hitler?). On the other hand, if Cap remains a pillar of virtue, wouldn't there be a threat that he would turn Hydra into a voter registration and daycare center? That he would not take over the organization and use its resources to help the flood-ravaged counties of West Virginia? I don't know if he would do either, but if he does, you read it here first.]

Comics: Relaunching

DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1 by Geoff Johns, Art by Gary Franks and others, DC Comics

It's been a long time since I've talked about comics in this space. I've still been a regular reader for decades, of course, and my tastes fluctuate over time. At the moment, I've been reading practically NO DC books, an unhealthy amount of Marvel, and a lot of Indies. So when DC launched a new "reboot"/"relaunch"/"retry" I decided to take a look.


[Digression the First: This article is going to be filled with spoilers. Up to the brim and overflowing with spoilers. Spoiley-spoiley spoilers. Because I want to get into some of the nitty gritty and analyze the bloody thing, both from a standpoint of the meta-universes and the writing itself. I waited a week, but if you want to NOT get your stuff spoiled, banish this article from your computer. I won't mind.]

 I had been drifting away from DC for years, but things really pitched off a cliff with two recent initiatives - Flashpoint and the New 52. Their brilliant idea was to end the current universe and then rebuild it.  New stories! New challenges! New customers! The truth of the matter is that this trick rarely works. Inevitably the inertia of both creatives and fans brings things back to a supposed "normal". For me, this New 52 approach resulted in a lot of characters that were suddenly strangers, and I moved on. That's OK. I have way too many longboxes of the old stories downstairs.

That's where I stand walking into this. Here's the spoilerific summary:

Wally West (once Kid Flash, once Flash) has been in exile outside the current universe, in the speed force (the source of the Flash's superhuman speed). He manifests back in the current universe, re-appearing to Batman, who doesn't recognize him. Wally bounces through the universe, trying to find someone who remembers him in this strange new universe. He despairs. Finally Wally appears to Barry Allen, the once and current Flash, who  recognizes Wally and keeps him from being fully absorbed by the speed force. Wally explains that someone else is responsible for the strangeness of the New 52. Meanwhile, back in the batcave, Batman finds the iconic, blood-smeared smile button from the Watchman series. In an epilogue, we get quoted lines from Watchman indicating that Dr. Manhattan, a godlike being, may be responsible.

[Digression the Second: Back in the eighties, the local paper out of Chicago posted "This Week in Soaps, which tells everyone what happened in the various soap operas ("Monica reveals to Brad her relationship with Candice, while Summer continues to stalk Montgomery"). We really need this for comic books.]

Anyway, that's pretty heavy stuff - the universe is, if not broken, definitely sprained. And the one responsible is from a popular comic series from another DC property that is now part of the DC Universe (maybe).

This is a launch book, so it poses more questions that it answers. As Wally bounces through time, we get teases for all sorts of stuff that will hopefully be paid off in future parts of the universe. The JSA may come back. Maybe the Legion of the Superheroes. The current Superman is dead (talk about burying your lede) but there is a secret Superman from another universe running around. There are three Jokers running around. The current Robin turns 13. Some guy stares at a fish tank (OK, you got me on that one. No idea what that means).

In researching all this, I discovered
that the WATCHMAN comics button
and the WATCHMAN movie button
were different. Go figure.

Normally such scattershot vignettes are frustrating and smack of plugs for other books, but by grounding it in Wally's story, they pull them all together under the general category of "something is amiss". And Wally's story is what's important here - returning him to the universe, challenging him, bringing him to brink of failure, forcing acceptance of his fate, then bringing him back with hope. Yeah, that's the sort of spirit I miss. Wally's Flash was a favorite of mine, much more so than the Barry Allen Flash I grew up with. It is good to have him back.

One thing of interest in all this. We get a LOT of backstory on Wally here, which makes sense given that he may be a forgotten figure for a lot of fans who have shown up in the past few years. His entire backstory (and that of the DC Universe from the Silver Age to introduction of the New 52) is laid out. But the final tease, laying the responsibility on the doorstep of Dr. Manhattan, relies on not only knowing the unseen Dr. Manhattan character (telekinetic, fascination with watches,lives on Mars), but in knowing lines from the final issue of that book.

Two other small things that I haven't noticed being mentioned elsewhere that happen in this book.

1. Hands. DC has a thing with the hand as a symbol of creation. The origin story of the universe for many incarnations involved a hand (that of god) coming out of nothing, creating the universe. The DC Universe's big bang. Check the cover (above) to see a hand coming out of the lightning. we see another hand, reaching out as a threat, with the assumption that it's Dr. Manhattan.

2. Watches. The story opens with a broken watch (Wally's), and closes with the watch being repaired (telekinetically) on Mars. The thing is, after the watch is repaired, it runs backwards. Don't know if that's a thing, but it seems pretty major, and not a lot of people have noticed.

So now this "soft reboot" and so far doesn't change what has happened in the most recent, "New 52" universe, but it does try to re-steer the tone and conversation of the universe, and bring it back towards a more comfortable, positive edition. The story is solid, even if it has more hooks that a fisherman's tackle-box. It writes a lot of checks, and now challenges the rest of the line to see it they cover them.

And I'm willing to give them a chance. More later,

Political Desk: Primaries Matter, or Do They?

So, those of you in Washington State have received (yet another) ballot by mail. This one is for the presidential primary, due next Tuesday, May 24. You should review it, carefully consider the candidates, fill out the ballot, burn it, and bury the ashes in your backyard.

Wait, what?

I know, I know, I'm the goo-goo (good government) type who exhorts everyone to vote on everything. Off-year elections. Hospital Boards. Local taxes. Initiatives. Leader of the Legion of Super Heroes. How can I come before you with a straight face and tell you that you don't have to vote?

Well, to be honest, this really IS a case where your vote doesn't matter. Unless it does. Look, just follow along with me down the rabbit hole and decide for yourself.

Washington State doesn't always have a presidential primary. It didn't have one in 2008, because neither party wanted to spend the state funds on this. And that is one of the problems with primaries in this state - we the people are paying for them, but we the people don't really control them. I suppose it depends on your opinion of how deeply engaged the political parties should be with the actual running of government.

The de jure (by the rules) idea is that the parties are not officially part of the government, but are rather a good or service provided, and as such can choose their candidates any way they see fit, and should pay for the process themselves. That's a good idea.

The de facto (in reality) idea is that parties are an engrained part of the government, and the people support their internal processes with their taxes, and as such EVERYONE should be able to vote in everything. That's a good idea as well.

However, the process we have is that the parties choose how they're going to select the candidates, can exclude or ignore people, and we foot the bill. Sort of the worst of two worlds.

Add to that the frustration the fact that these elections are so far back in the nomination calendar that any choice we have is usually negated by what has gone before. Mind you, the Secretary of State has tried to change this, but the political parties would not budge from the late date. 

So, if all this doesn't convince you to ignore this situation, let's look at the process and how the parties treat the primary.

First off, you have to declare a party on the envelope. And your vote within should conform with your declared party. Really a Democrat but don't like to admit it? Really a Republican but want to vote for the Democratic Party? Kind of Independent? Fine. They've already said they aren't checking. You can be an Independent voter and decide you want to be part of the process, and if they ever check, merely say "Yes sir, I was a Republican when I voted in that primary. It was the worst five minutes of my life."

On the DEMOCRATIC Party side, they have said at the outset that this vote doesn't count - it is effectively a beauty contest, a state-paid poll. All the action has already happened in the caucus system. Under this system, people get together on a Saturday at the local level and chose, by mildly arcane processes, who they will support. It is democracy on the down-low, right in your face, and that's a good thing. It is also a marathon. The first caucus that everyone can attend chooses delegates, who then go to a second caucus, where the process occurs again, and then a third, winnowing the choices down to those who will go to the convention in New York and vote for their candidate.

This makes caucusing an activity for the hard-core - those who believe passionately for a candidate or have been deeply invested in the party for years. Because it happens over series of long, brain-numbing meetings, it tends to self-select even further to the most devoted and dedicated of the group. For the initial caucuses, a number of Facebook friends made the first hurdle, and then a few weeks later regretted the fact a few weeks later when they were trapped in six hours of meetings without break and had not even voted as minutia are being debated. As a result, the winner of a caucus can over time see their support erode or strengthen as the weak fall behind and are devoured by wolves.

The Democrats made an infographic.

At this year's Democratic caucuses, with the non-establishment candidate, Mr. Sanders, took the field, with 74% of the vote. So he'll get 74% of the 118 national delegates, right? Not quite. If everything holds, he get 74% of the 67 delegates that are chosen by this method. Another 34 delegates are chosen by the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, which in turn is made up of representatives chosen by the precincts (which again, are those who are invested in the system). Supposedly these 34 members are supposed to reflect the will of the caucus results as well. THEN there are the super-delegates, which you may have heard of.

These super-delegates of Washington State are 13 in number, and represent high muckities within the party at the state level - congresspeople, the governor, etc.  These folk are overwhelming declared supporters of Ms. Clinton, but there is an off-chance that the primary will have an effect on these votes, because, you know, will of the people and all that.. So your vote may have an influence on their ultimate decision. Or not.

Let me hit the candidates real quick:

Bernie Sanders is an excellent choice, and I respect delegates who are supporting him. I like a lot of what he says, and ultimately he would get my vote in November. Hillary Clinton is an excellent choice, and respect the delegates who are supporting her. I like her experience, directness and tenacity and ultimately she would get my vote in November. And since I WILL be voting for the Democrat this year, that makes the current huggamugga even less of a matter.

You may disagree with my conclusions. This is fine. I encourage you to engage your franchise.

On the REPUBLICAN side, they DO believe in the Primary. Kinda. But they have already had precinct caucuses back in February, and district caucuses more recently, and right after the Tuesday election with have the state convention which will decide who goes to Cleveland for the national convention. What they've done at each caucus is select delegates who who will then vote, supposedly, according to the results of the Primary.

But this applies to just the first ballot at the national convention. After that the delegates are free to vote their consciences, and there was a move afoot to stock the delegation with supporters of one candidate in the hopes that, should the election go more than one ballot, they would be free to change their votes. But that is not happening, in that Donald Trump has an apparent majority and will be the nominee on the first ballot. So right now a good chunk of the GOP is resigning themselves to voting for Mr. Trump, justifying it in name of party unity, of saving the Republic from Democrats, or in the forlorn hope that Mr. Trump might have better advisors to keep him from embarrassing them completely.

So, if you're a Republican, you don't need to vote because things are apparently already settled. Unless you feel the need to register a complaint about the process or the presumptive nominee. This is the political equivalent of a stern letter to the Times, but there are a number of candidates who have officially dropped out of the race, but who are still available to be voted on. Go engage your franchise.

I know what you're thinking - you don't like ANYBODY that is left in this demo derby of a political season. This would be the moment to go elsewhere, like the Libertarians. They have their OWN national convention, not being large enough to rate a place on the taxpayer-paid ballot, and have a slew of candidates, most of whom are still officially in the running. The main ones at the moment are a former GOP Governor of New Mexico, a guy who plays a Libertarian on Fox Business, and the founder of McAfee software, who has just returned from his adventures in Central America. Needless to say, they are all angry at each other. Because that's the type of year we're looking at.

So, there we have it. It is convoluted, messy, and in many ways patently unfair. Yet it is the system we have. I wouldn't blame you if you passed on this one - indeed, I will probably vote, out of habit if nothing else. Even though that I am fully aware that this will just encourage them.

More later,

The (Truly Amazing) Return of No Quarter (Part VII)

Before I start in on the quarters from the America The Beautiful series for this year (also called the National Parks Quarters, though most of them are not about National Parks), there's another matter I want to address.

Are quarters getting lighter?

I'm starting to wonder if it is simply nostagia, but it feels like the new quarters really weighing less than their earlier non-state-oriented kindred. Are the old quarters heavier? Is it just an illusion with the new ones being shinier? Or is it that the old quarters have all sorts of patina and junk built up on them over the years?

I don't have an accurate scale, but someone out there does. So really, is the reason we don't feel a comfortable jingle in our pockets because there is less metal in our change?

Anyway, on to this year's crop of collectible quarters. For those new to this (and shame on you, it starts way back here and here ), here's the rating system:

Way Cool =A
Not Bad = B
Kinda Lame (also known as Meh) = C
Very Lame = D
Not even vending machines will accept these = E

Let us begin:

Shawnee National Forest - Illinois

It's a pile of rocks. It's a very nice pile of rocks, as piles of rocks go, but still, it's a pile of rocks. Actually this particular pile of rocks is actually Camel Rock, one of the, um, attractions in Shawnee National Forest on the Ohio River, so far away from the REST of Illinois that it is almost Kentucky.

As a coin, its ,... just all right. I mean, not horrible. The use of white space to frame Camel Rock (which doesn't look MUCH like a camel - on the coin more like an AT-AT, really) is good. And the addition of a hawk soaring on the updrafts gives a badly-needed sense of animation and life.

But, you know, its still a pile of rocks, and the Western states have a lot bigger piles. 

Rating:  C (Just ... meh)

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park - Kentucky

Kentucky returns the favor of Illinois by choosing a location that's almost out of state as well, on the border with Virginia and North Carolina. But at least they have an excuse here - most the early settlers in Kentucky (those that did not come down the Ohio) came through this gap. This is the path that early pioneers like Daniel Boone (not shown) and Father Guido Sarducci (shown w/o mustache) and their ilk took to get through the Appalachians - looking for a bathroom, hence the inscription "The first doorway to the left, after the den."

And before we go any further - yes, he is holding that gun correctly. The whole over-the-shoulder-revolutionary-soldier look worked well enough for parade grounds, but if you're going over rough terrain, having your hand on the lock is a pretty safe move. So yeah, that part's not going to get any flack from me. 

The layout is pretty nice, with the open white space forming a nice background for the lettering, One gripe would be that the hills behind Guido tend to blend in with jacket, making the pioneer look a little chunkier than he really is. But that's a minor thing, and may play out in the final carving.

Rating: B (Not Bad)

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park - West Virginia

Well, you have to give West Virginia its props. Not only are they commemorating an event that predated West Virginia's founding, but one that was one of the kick-off points for the Civil War.

Here's the story for those of you who did not binge-watch the Ken Burns series and have been wondering why John Brown's body has been moldering in that grave. In 1859, Abolitionist John Brown launched an attack on the US Armory at Harpers Ferry, planning to steal the weapons there and use them to arm a slave revolt. He had invited Harriet Tubman along for the raid (she cancelled because of sickness), and Frederick Douglass (who turned Brown down, telling him it was very, very, very stupid thing to attack the US Government). 

The raid went pretty much as you'd think it would - early success capturing the armory, followed by the raiders being surrounded and their escape cut off by townsfolk and militia. Brown's raiders pulled back to a more easily defended fire engine house (which is what is shown on the coin as "John Brown's Fort"). President Buchanan dispatched a marine detachment under (then) Colonel Robert E. Lee (on leave from his unit in Texas) . Lee arrived on the scene and sent his volunteer aide-de-camp, "Jeb" Stuart to meet with Brown and secure a peaceful surrender. Brown refused, and the military stormed the "fort". Ten raiders were killed, and seven more (including Brown) were captured and later hanged. The trial and unrepentant nature made Brown a cause celeb and ratcheted up the tension between north and slaveholding south.

The coin itself is a shot of that firehouse (now on that site in reproduction) from its brief time as a "fort". Three-quarters view, it fits the coin nicely, and lacks the animation of other coins, but is still a solide presentation of an important part of American History. Probably the best coin of this year's group.

Rating: B (Not Bad)

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - North Dakota

North Dakota has it rough - all the cool stuff (such as it is) is in South Dakota. They could have shown one of the local hoodoos (a local word for "pile of rocks") but instead managed to put together a nice coin that celebrates Teddy Roosevelt. Which, given the fact that he got this whole National Park thing going as a major franchise, makes a modicum of sense. It makes even more sense when you realize that Roosevelt, though a New Yorker, came out here a lot, and the state is littered with statues, parks, and monuments to the man.

Teddy spent some time in his 20s out in this neck of the woods, in his early, pre-Rough Rider era, post-mustache but pre-spectacles. The coin shows him on horseback because, you know, what else are they going to show? A pile of rocks? The river (That's the Little Missouri, FYI)? Bison from the state quarter that accidentally got all shot up? All the drilling sites that now surround the park, coupled with whiny notes from the companies griping that can't have THAT land too?

The coin itself is not bad at all. The Little Missouri snakes through the landscape, providing a band of white space and allows us to look down from a vista with Teddy. And and putting him on a high point, on horseback, captures the relative flatness of the land, which actually is a sell point for North Dakota, as it disappears in the badland hills far beyond.

Rating B (Not Bad)

Fort Moultrie (Fort Sumter National Monument) - South Carolina

OK, this weird, in that it commemorates something that happened at Fort Sumter, but not the BIG thing that happened at Fort Sumter. There is no Fort Moultrie National ANYTHING, but rather it is wrapped up as a part of Fort Sumter National Monument, and calling the Moultrie piece out as a monument for a coin is kind of like praising Dennis Rodman's basketball career with the Chicago Bulls while Michael Jordan standing RIGHT THERE next to him.

What the coin commemorates is this plucky little fort standing up to a naval bombardment by the Brits, protecting Charleston from invasion (for a whole four years before more Brits showed up and took the city anyway). It portrays not a shriner with a Turkish flag but rather a Sergeant WIlliam Jasper returning a home-made flag to the ramparts at the start of the American Revolution. The fort was known as Fort Sullivan  back then, but commanded by William Moultrie, who repelled a British Naval force and had time to create the "Moutrie flag" which is shown on the quarter - a blue field with a white moon in the upper left. Actually, cool flag.  In any event, the Brits came back and captured the Fort four years later, and renamed it Fort Arbuthnot, and held it until the end of the war.

It's not a bad story, but kind of overshadowed by what happened just next door, where less than a hundred years later separatist forces fired on the United States garrison at Fort Sumter, kicking off the most bitter struggle on American soil (Because, as we know, attacking the US Government was a very, very, very bad idea). Moultrie is very nice and all, but given a choice, which would YOU name the National Monument after? If West Virginia can fess up to a heist film gone horribly wrong, then SoCare can at least say - yeah, this was important to history, even if it was not a particularly shining moment.

The coin itself is ... weird. Look at Jasper's feet, and how the rest of his body is twisted in the opposite direction. If he was using the flag as a bat and trying for a pop fly, maybe that pose would work, but rather it is replacing a flag while under assault by the Brits ... who are  ... behind him. It looks like he's leading the attack on the fort, which is not the case.

This is probably the strangest coin I've seen, part for carving, and part for subject matter.  There were other design candidates with a lot more promise (Here's a link to a picture of all the prospective candidates - most cases they have chosen the best of their group, though Shawnee coins are resolutely always a pile of rocks),

Rating D (Even subject matter aside, that pose is just weird)

That wraps this year. Next year is four states and the District of Columbia, where Fredrick Douglass gets the moment he missed when he decided to not go hang out with John Brown at Harpers Ferry.

More later, 

Play: Holmes Away From Holmes

Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem by R. Hamilton Wright, Inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Directed by Allison Narver

I went to a play on Sunday, and it was OK. It wasn't great, but it was OK, a nice comfy slice of product delivered by a theatrical vector. And I find that frustrating, given the strength of the rest of the season. It's a bit disappointing. And the whys and wherefores take me deeply down the rabbit hole.

So, naturally, spoilers follow.

Sherlock Holmes and The American Problem (SHatAP - no, I think I'll find another short-form to call it) is a local production. The playwright is an incredibly talented actor who I have tagged before. The cast have all showed up at the Rep and other local theaters before, with not a "previous worked all in New York and California and an episode of Law & Order and is happy to be making their Seattle debut" in the lot. So I'm expecting a lot from the local team.

In addition, this is a sequel, in that two years ago the same playwright co-wrote The Hound of the Baskervilles a few seasons back, with the same actors returning as Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson. But Watson is more of a supporting dullard this time out, and Mrs. Hudson lacking her sharp replies to Holmes boorishness and Holmes ...

Well, there are lot of different Holmses (Holmesi?) out in the popular media. Robert Downey Jr's action hero, Cumberbatch's though-palace Gallifreyan, the CBS's irritating detective in rehab. They share common traits and are all fair game in Holmisana.  The Holmes of the American Problem charts his own course. He is a much more emotional, a childlike and childish Holmes, often hoisted by his own petard, outwitted and outfoxed and frustrated.

The trouble is that American's Holmes is different than the Baskerville's Holmes. The Baskerville Holmes delighted in masked deception and could not accurate quote the classics to save his life. The American's Holmes suddenly likes anagrams, and has synesthesia - that is, he smells numbers and hears colors. That last one is a pretty interesting trait to build a play around, but instead, it comes across as Holmes entering a drug-fugue state, as the SFX swells and the color changes onstage to bring us in Holmes mind. OK, I can roll with it - not really the same Holmes, but it is one of several re-adjustments I make as I go through the play.

Our same-but-different Holmes is cast into a whirlpool of clues and happenstance. Plates from the Royal Mint have been stolen. A mystery woman wants Holmes to find her brother. A mechanical digging device is stolen from the docks. Several criminal leaders have been killed. Holmes' brother Mycroft shows up to demand Holmes attend a reception. Earthquakes in the East End. And all this during the Queen's jubilee, which for Homes means that London is awash with foriegners - sorry, with Americans like Buffalo Bill and Mark Twain.

That's a lot of balls to keep in the air, such that the final scene has to sum up and tell the audience what is truly happening. But I'm never sure when Holmes figures out things and why - more often he tumbles into his revelations, searching for one thing and finding another. For a man who hates coincidences, he is confronted them at every turn.

And, all the deductions made or sudden twists don't leave a lot of room for character development. Baskerville had a thematic spine to it, revolving around the Holmes/Watson relationship, and resolves with Holmes trying to be less of an A-hole about things. Here Watson is relegated more to supporting character, faithful aid and person Holmes gets to show off his brilliance to. Pity, that.

And, since it involves Americans, there are a LOT of gunshots in the play, sufficient to carve the queen's initials in the back wall. We've had explosives in Holmes presentations before, but this was a excess.

The actors are fine - Darragh Kennan as Holmes is a more passionate, random sort of Great Detective. Andrew McGinn is a dutiful Watson, and Marianne Owen is a frustrated Mrs. Hudson. Christine Marie Brown is good as the mystery woman, Phoebe Anne Moses, who tries to hire Holmes, and Alex Matthews as a Pinkerton (because, you know, American). Cheyenne Casebier takes on a dual roles as a female engineer (because why not) and a criminal gang leader. Chalres Leggett is an dour undertaker of a Mycroft, one of those flock of Mycrofts released from the Diogenes Club to pester Holmes. And Rob Burgess is a dotty brit pigeon fancier who is more than he seems.

But they all seems like they're struggling with the script, trying to deteremine the levels of mystery, tragedy, and humor in the play. As a result it all feels very thin, almost episodic - indeed, the final reveal almost promises another installment. One of my fellow attendees made the comment "As soon as I decided it was fan-fic, I was good with it."

Indeed. This has the trappings and tropes of Holmes, compacted is a nice, attractive package that will full the seats at the end of a championship season. Yet when all said and done it is aperitif, a pleasant little custard, workmanlike (god, how writers hate that term) but in need of a bit more time in the oven.

More later, but probably not about plays until we kick in the next season, which features a pop opera by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim about Imelda Marcos and set in a disco. May the Lord have mercy on us all.

Play: Memorial

brownsville song (b-side for tray) by Kimber Lee, Directed by Juliette Carrillo, Seattle Repertory Theatre through April 24 (so, yeah, its already too late).

This is one we pushed back from our original date because of deadlines and other things, which is a pity, because it continues this year's exceptional run at the Rep. Were this play in other years, it would be a highpoint, but here it just continues this year's winning track.

brownsville song is a tragedy with a positive ending. Tray Thompson (Chinaza Uche) is a young man full of promise cut down in a gang shooting. And it is about both the boy and the hole he left behind, the play flips him like Schodinger's Cat, from alive to dead, from real to memory. Tray is an incredibly well-rounded, well-presented, well-acted character that caries the weight of the play. Uche carries him well as a talented young man, messing up, gifted in boxing, and struggling with a college application essay. Extremely human, made more so by playwright Lee's poetic text, which leaves nothing of the street behind but weaves its patterns throughout.

The survivors are his Grandmother Lena (Denise Burse), his sister from another mother Devine (two young actresses play this role - we got Leah DeLynn Dual for this matinee), and Devine's long-absent mom Merrell (Vanessa Kai). The three work through their own grief in different ways, and it is clear how Tray's shooting ripped through them as well and challenged them to go on.  Burse is the strongest as the grandmother who refuses to take any backtalk from her grandson or the rest of the world. Merrell slides back into Tray's life a little too neatly, but Kai carries her forward with both passion and a sense of desperation.

The plot slides back and forth in time like the settings, similar to the flying props and scenery of Luna Gale.  The actors spin and turn just as easily. And there comes a moment (and this is a bit of a spoiler, but show does close tonight) when Tray's message of hope for the future comes through. And he is dressed in his red boxing trunks, and a white t-shirt with stars and stripes.

And he's Captain America. Right at the moment. Everything that is right about a person, distilled down to that moment.

This was the last show, and the three rows ahead of us were pretty sparse, which is a pity. This has been one amazing season at the Rep, and it closes next with a gimme - a Sherlock Holmes play. Pity, because this one deserves a lot more attention.

More later,

Political Desk: Local Funding

Some very, very few of you who read this in King County received ballots a few weeks back, which, like solicitations for public radio, you promptly put aside to be addressed/considered/recycled. Like the charity solicitations, they are asking for money. Unlike them, they are not offering a stylish tote bag. But dig it out anyway.

In our case, up on Grubbstreet, we have two things on the agenda. Oen is for approving bonds for Kent School District #415. The other is for re-authorizing an existing benefit charge to help pay for fire services for the Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority, which covers Kent and Covington.

And here's the regular complaint I have about such measures - we don't get to vote on tax breaks on large aerospace firms or legislator pay, but on things that you or I would consider basic services, the purpose of taxes in the first place, THAT we get to vote on.

But you've heard those complaints before. Let's get to the meat of the situation.

Kent School District No. 415 Proposition No. 1 Capital Improvement and School Construction General Obligations Bonds - $252,000,000 puts about everything in the title. This replaces retiring bond issues, and won't result in an increase in tax rate - you're voting for status quo. Its got a big list of improvements - two new schools, 20 additional rooms, new facilities and parking. A full list can be found here and here.

The problem is that this measure requires not just a majority, but a super-majority to pass. Thanks to the weirdness of our current casters-up tax law, this measure must pass with 60% of the vote. Let the court note that if a CANDIDATE gets 53%, people talk about a landslide victory. I think I can get 40% of the voting population to vote against anything, particularly if it involves taxes.

In any event, I will recommend voting Approved on this sucker, even though it doesn't talk about replacing the temporary school rooms at Glenridge, which have been there since I moved into the neighborhood over 15 years ago.

The other matter is Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority Proposition No. 1 Continuation of Benefit Charge, which continues an existing tax (so yes, keeping the status quo). This is not a bond but a benefit charge, supplementing the normal budget (but not exceeding 60% of the total budget (currently it is at 46%, down from the previous year)), and assigned based upon building use, floor space, hazardous materials, and the like (pretty much how much an effort it is going to be to put out a fire at that location).

It is, according to the Kent Reporter, ANOTHER one of those super-majority situations, where it doesn't just have to win, you have to win with 60% of the vote. And yeah, it is to keep doing what it's been doing. So YES on this authorization.

And finally, while I was writing this, the Voter's Pamphlet for the May primary showed up in my mailbox. So even when I get ahead, I get sucked back in.

In meantime, vote by this Tuesday. Here are the details.

More later,

DOW breaks 1700, I mean 1800!

Don't you just hate it when someone quits blogging for a month, and then come back with some lame excuse and a promise it won't happen again, and you're thinking "Yeah, right" and it will be another month before we hear from them again.

Well, in my case it is simply a matter of a new job (going very well, thank you) and a horrible commute (and no, I won't subject you to the details- bad enough my friends have to hear about it) and a couple outside projects that I was wrapping up, but the simple fact is I haven't had time or inclination to write. Which is a bit of a prob, since there are things I ALWAYS write about, like politics, and plays and collectible quarters. And the economy, as measured by the completely inaccurate Dow Jones industrials. (Yes, they're an inaccurate representation of the health of the economy in general, or even in your personal well-being, but still, they are reported daily on the news, so go figure). 

But even given my sabbatical, this was a fast turnaround. Only a few months back we were in the grip of the Dire Tremblies (which are like the regular tremblies, but a size class larger and equipped with horns that inflict double fire damage). Since then things have apparently righted themselves and everything is back to moving in a positive direction, which is weird. I mean, The Chinese economy is still a overheated as it was before. Greece is still broken. The oil market is flooded and may become worse. Heck, add to that the fact that the Panama Papers went live, telling everyone how the rich are hiding their money from the rest of us, and that Brazil is mired in economic hardships so bad that they are impeaching their president. Yet, the Stock Market prevails. Howcum?

Well, one theory, and this is a theory, is that the US Market is a safe haven for foreign funds. Relatively stable government, notwithstanding some of the actions of the GOP. Corporate-friendly leaders. Infrastructure hasn't quite fallen in on itself yet. All of that indicates a place where people want to put the cash. And the fact that it is separated from Main Street, which DOES have crummy infrastructure and old pipes, makes it even more accomodating. 

Just a thought.

More later