Death... Death, Everywhere

In all of media and around the world - that is! And it shouldn't be surprising to anyone; for it is the only certainty in this life. And yet... And yet... It is trivialized. It is rendered meaningless, in a myriad of ways: atheists claim there is NOTHING beyond, after all. And in mass, popular entertainment -such as the immensely profitable Marvel films- it is truly devoid of meaning. Because each and every dead character *of significance* will cheat death and come back, oftentimes even better off for it, rendering death as a mere time off in limbo... and not the Transition with a capital ''T'' that it truly is. And imagine this: Marvel will even do this when one of their most significant of all contributors -Stan Lee- has passed on - their most brainless fans were found making fun of the demise by suggesting that he, too, will return in the same fashion each and every single one of those super-heroes did before and will do again in the very near-future (in that pestiferous ''Infinity War'' of theirs; nincompoops of little importance, *that* is *not* the war that could be deemed as such - the only one of that magnitude has got Angels, Demons and the Son of God Himself as the main protagonists. No idiots in spandex need apply there! But that is another story...) 

MARVEL, you see, suffers from a serious lack of IMAGINATION. Albert Einstein said it best: IMAGINATION -true, luminous imagination- IS GREATER THAN KNOWLEDGE. And, poor Marvel Zombies - they have got none of that. They are dum-dums, at best. Their idea of an ''imaginative, fun ride'' is very formulaic, redundant, hackneyed recycled ideas rephrased again and again - ad nauseam. It made sense - in Stan Lee's days, especially, since his basic job description was the same as any other guy in print back then - it was to sell copy. But in his latter days, Stan had moved from New York to Hollywood - he saw himself as movie mogul, at the ripe old age of 95. And neither he nor anyone else at Marvel or Disney have ever learned otherwise... 

Instead of selling copy, they are selling movie tickets. 

DEATH is even presented poorly, extremely poorly: a most illogical entity that is, on top of being inept and irrelevant, not consistent one iota. That wretched hull of an empty shell of a ''villain'' called ''THANOS'' (not even the true name it should have: ''THANATOS'' means death in Greek - and guess what, it is DC that has it. They misused it, too - but that is another story... too!) has obtained unlimited power in their latest waste of celluloid they call ''a good movie'' - and what does the moron do with that? He can snap his fingers and have anyone he wants blink out of existence - yet he leaves several of the most powerful foes he has alive, thriving (though shaking in their booties) and plotting revenge! (Well, of course they are: they didn't steal the name ''Avengers'' from Emma Peel, John Steed, Cathy Gale, Tara King and ITC for nothing, you know!)  

R.I.P. Patrick MacNee a.k.a. John Steed... 

Dame Diana Rigg is still with us, in the land of the Living... 

But for how much longer...?

Everyone knows, in addition to this, that most everyone who ''died'' in the last installment will be back - hell, no one in their right mind would leave a billion dollar franchise player simply vanish into nothingness! Billion-dollar franchise for all the wrong, purely circumstantial reasons, of course... You know who you are: Black Panther! The Black Panther movement may have really died - but the character sucking out tons of money from an delusional community will never die - he won't be allowed to. If Chadwick Boseman kicks the bucket anytime soon, recasting will keep the whole thing afloat; you can be damn sure of it. 

But back to DEATH here... 

If its devoted champion - that would be the big dud; ''Thanos'' - was any tiny bit good at what he strives to do and be, he would have gone about it logically: as the Grim Reaper(-ess?) itself would have or should have! At one snap of the fingers, wiped off the face of the Earth would all the improbable, illogical, all-around impossible behemoths conjured up by Stan and his many cohorts through the years - while invoking all manners of source materials that they merrily pilfered for their own potential gain, advantage and alleged "creative venture" that begat the abomination called "Marvel" now... In other words, that "Thanos" troglodyte would take out all the Hulks, Thors, Iron Men around - leaving only a Black Widow, a malinger Hawkeye and, perhaps, an American Captain out there; all of which can put up some kind of a fight (out of desperation) but, obviously, none are a real threat to any alleged "cosmic" threat...!  (Especially one backed up by DEATH ITSELF - but then again, one has got to be logical about it! And it is not sure that Marvel ever will be - ever!) 

This is what an accurate, cunning, calculating DEATH entity would have done - or any of its most, ah, intimate associates would have vied to accomplish, too, in order to impress the supposed DEATH MISTRESS...! Taking out 50% of them, but not just any 50% - the top 50%... duh! But that is not what we saw in that wretched piece of cinematography crap - is it now? Ultimately, it does not even matter here, as none of them stay dead in the blasted "Marvel Universe" - they won't risk skipping the chance to milk it as long and as much as it can possibly be milked - in any case!

In the real world, just this past year, there were so many big names that bit the dust - it wasn't just Stan Lee! 2018 was a real massacre --- but then, so was 2017... and 2016... and 2015...

Marvel doesn't have the accurate version of DEATH, of course - DC does! For this intent and purpose (a hot/goth girrrlfriend that a big goof is bent on impressing - big time!) it is definitely DC's version that needs to be employed: DC's or Vertigo's, whichever you prefer. (Vertigo is a mere imprint used, once upon a time, to section the "DC Universe" in pre-Multiverse daze... er, days. Don't ask.) This... odd twist on a Death entity that suddenly becomes quite... shapely and seductive -on a permanent basis- rather than boney and outright creepy is not (never) to be confused with Lady Death from the appropriately defunct Chaos/Coffin Comics (L.D who was the object of a cinematic treatment too - in 2004 - albeit a piece of animation only but one that featured James Faulkner VI in a supporting voiceover role; not to be confused with the James Faulkner who was Paul, Apostle of Christ most recently...! Furthermore, L.D -seen in all her deathly splendor, below- is also not to be confused with Lady Deathstrike - a Marvel - just like The Terminator is never to be confused with Deathstroke The Terminator... a DC - duh.) 

...this, factually, throwaway character born in the fiery pits of hell 

as much as in the feverish imagination of its supposed creator- was ranked 

39th on the Comics Buyer's Guide's 100 Sexiest Women In Comics list. 

That was... a number of years ago! 

And yet - this is still not the best DEATH around! 

(Believe it or not - I know; with all that curvaceous glitz, it is hard to believe... I know, I know! Have you checked out the Marvel Deathstrike, though? That'll will have the effect of the cold shower you need... dweebs! And then you can resume reading on...!) 

Because the only accurate representation of DEATH to be found anywhere is that of the Angel of Death... and that of the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse... and that is to be found in the pages of only one book - The Good Book... The Holy Bible.

This DEATH doesn't mess around - if you're gone, you are out of there --- which is here, this realm, this plane of existence... for good!!! No coming back - no fancy return: you get to MOVE ON instead... depart this dimension, ascend or descend (to each his own) until Kingdom Come - in all likelihood. Hence the terms "goner" and "departed" and "dead" dammit --- !!! Why is it such a hard, difficult concept to grasp by the idiots penning those garbage throwaway-stories-that-make-no-sense for this sub-genre that has taken over completely in creatively-bankrupt Tinseltown... huh?!? 

And as we stand on the cusp of a new year once again - as those Marvel Zombies watch on, bewildered, as the very DC Aquaman rules the box-office like no Black Panther, none of their Avengers and certainly no mutie of theirs has ever done...  BEHOLD, BRAIN DEAD: DEATH IS EVER NEARER TO YOUR DWELLING! 
Your days are ever more so numbered - and you know it! TIME IS SHORT; make the most of what little time there is left! DEATH stands ready, with its scythe - it is flanked by Pestilence... War... Famine, its fellow Horsemen (in most, classic interpretations, anyway!) --- not by any "Thanoses" or "Evil Ernies" or mutant rebels without much of a cause really...

MAY YOU MAKE THE MOST 

OF THIS NEW YEAR --- 

AND AVOID GETTING 

RUN OVER BY A CAR!

You want to be a 

Luminous Pedestrian 

--- don't you? 

Massachusetts Wins - And Loses A Favorite Son

Aye, it is time, once again, for yet another one of those infamous lukewarm-&-lugubrious simultaneous posts of mine... Buckle up, grin and bear it - for it is going to be another bumpy ride folks; hell yeah!

As much as I enjoyed seeing the Boston Red Sox win it all just now - as I also had enjoyed it back in 2004 - I got outraged at the sight of this headline:

(AP) Police in riot gear prepare to withdraw after finding themselves between two groups of celebrating Boston Red Sox fans... Full Image

"Boston Ready to Paint the Town Red for World Series Champion Sox"

Now, I know that it wasn't meant as "red as..." anything other than the red in "Red Sox" (then again - there was the famous bloodied -heck, bloodsoaked- red sock worn by Curt Schilling in 2004 - as much as anyone can hope for genuine modern-day stuff of legend nowadays, that one - even if I am sort-of lukewarm about it and all... THAT sure is IT!) - but just in the light of world events happening currently (as the Sox won the "World Series", bloodshed sure was prevalent across the globe - as they scored runs, HUNDREDS met violent demises in Iraq, Pakistan, all over the REAL world...!) and in the light of what happened, also, the last time that the Red Sox won it all, I have to say that THEY REALLY SHOULD NOT HAVE GONE WITH "PAINTING THE TOWN RED" AS A STYLISH, tongue-in-cheek PHRASE THERE... Really.

Victoria Snelgrove died in 2004 - not due to a car-bomber in the Middle-East or even a terrorist attack in the USofA, but because the festivities surrounding the Boston Red Sox victory and, more specifically, the measures taken to subdue the rowdy crowds back then were found to be quite INADEQUATE. Personally, even if I had been in town that day, I would not have gone on a rampage just because my team won - come on people! Did you bet money on it or something?!? Even so, you'd have to bet on an underdog who somehow DID prevail for the payoff to be worth making a violent ruckus about...! And, likewise, the riot squad was a bit overzealous with their new toy - a certain pepper-pellet gun...

To be fair, let's mention that the author of the above so-tastelessly titled article did mention the 2004 death - but left it a NAMELESS VICTIM. That, coupled with the mere choice of a title, is quite distasteful indeed I think and inadmissible.

We at the lugubrious and lukewarm blogs HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN at least.

Victoria Snelgrove died an unnecessary death.
She had a future ahead of her - snatched away by pure folly, momentary euphoria over what is, ultimately, no big deal at all... (Not diminishing the Boston Red Sox feat here; all the championships won by all the franchises in our modern society - since the inception of pro-sports leagues and associations - NONE of those means SQUAT in the Grand Scheme of Things; is that clearer now?)

Was this demise the price to pay to lift the alleged Curse of the Bambino, as I remember asking back in 2004? (As it did occur between the Red Sox historical comeback against the Yankees and the first World Series win in 86 years for the Sox, if you'll recall...)

Once again, the answer is a resounding NO, as no sports result could ever possibly equate a life, with all its dreams, hopes and aspirations that dwarf any championship, any title, any crown that any competition can offer.

At least this year, they did not kill anyone because the good guys in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse did come out on top in October...

Good.


Still, there was a death shortly after the Sox won it all and partied hardy too -
Massachusetts lost one of its favorite sons, Robert Goulet.

Goulet had performed the national anthem at the Red Sox season opener at Fenway Park back in April, in what was to be their most dominant year ever and his final performance on a major platform...
One wonders if the cool Boston air in April was not good to him...

Singer Robert Goulet performs prior to the Boston Red Sox home opener in Boston in this April file photo. Goulet is in a Los Angeles hospital in critical condition awaiting a lung transplant, according to a notice put on his Web site. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

He was diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis and had been awaiting a lung transplant in Los Angeles - where the Red Sox began their post-season dominance by sweeping the local Angels.
Goulet's famous baritone voice was stiffled in the end by the presence of a breathing tube - and time ran out on him as no lung donor was found within a reasonable delay.
He was 73 - the age my dear father would be.

Why is there always to be some tragedy attached to a Boston triumph?

Shades of the Curse...