Earth Day? Again?

Today, April 21, 2013, is Earth Day.

Once again, we celebrate this world we live on, a haven of life and sustenance as it spins in the dark and lifeless void of space. The Earth: it is powerful, it gives us life. But it is also fragile; we are altering the course of this world and not always for the better.

So we take this time, this day, to truly appreciate what a special gift the Earth is and our great and wonderful responsibility for it, for ourselves and our children.

Just look at the Earth. Look at it!

As this precious planet holds us safe in the cradle of it's life giving essence of land, water and air, let's take a moment to consider a most surprising truth:

Mother Earth is a selfish BITCH!

I mean, really! She pours down rain on me no matter what my plans are. My garden party has been ruined! Thanks for nothing, you planetary hussy!

And we put down a few million miles of paved highways that criss-cross all over her so we can travel faster to better see her wonders preserved in national parks and amusement parks on the way to my beach house. But is she grateful? Oh hell no! She makes the weather hot. Then hotter! And HOTTER! What the hell? What did I do to deserve that? Great! Now we have to put down even more millions of miles of paved highways so I can speed up my trip to my mountain chateau.

And don't get me started about earthquakes! Mother Earth gets a bit of indigestion and the next thing you know, parts of her start to shake and shimmy. (Maybe Mother Earth should lose a few pounds.) The ground opens up and poor people start falling in. Poor people! What a terrible thing to do, Mother Earth, making me think about poor people. I don't like thinking about poor people! But do you care? NO! You and your little earthquakes. They can really mess up my day!

Now we have to have a whole DAY dedicated to the Earth? A WHOLE DAY?! Egotistical much? Look around you, missy; you're not the only planet in the solar system. Oh, yeah! What, too insecure to let another planet have a turn?

People, we need to show the Earth who's the boss!*

*No, not the classic series starting Tony Danza & Judith Light

And that means we can't let this world run all over us and expect this to be Earth Day every year. Another of our planetary neighbors deserves a shot.

How about Uranus? How come we can't show a little love for Uranus?

 

Hey, there are rings around Uranus! I did not know that; I must of overlooked them before.

 

And there's so much we don't know about Uranus but could if Earth wasn't always hogging our attention. Why, we could send a probe to Uranus. Perhaps even visit the surface around Uranus and examine what lies beneath. We could probe down deep in the dark areas of Uranus until we've wiped away all the mysteries that surround Uranus.

 

So let's take a moment away from that self-center Earth insisting on everyone's attention and remember to show some love for Uranus. Tonight, look into the dark night sky and tell Uranus how much it means to you. Uranus should mean a lot to us all.

 

So while you remember the Earth today, also remember Uranus.

 

Thank you.

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No, I was not rocketed away from Uranus. Why do you ask? Anyway, I can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DayWayLo, telling truth to the Earth and all our solar system neighbors (including Uranus).

 

 

Doctor Who is NEW: "Hide"

A mournful howl echoes thru the dark trees standing as sentinel shadows in the rolling fog which curls its misty tentacles into the stone work of a very old house.

BOO!

Ha! Gotcha! Hello, kids! It's me, Count Dave-El welcoming you to Monster Chiller Horror Blog....OK, it's the oddly named blog I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You. 
(Hey, I'm trying' to create a mood here, know what I'm sayin'?)

This week's episode of Doctor Who was called "Hide". It's 1974 as the Doctor and Clara arrive to BUST some GHOSTS, if you know what I mean.
(Was that too subtle? It's hard to tell sometimes.)

WARNING: As always, this is NOT an episode recap, at least not in any detailed sense. Rather, just comments on what interested me, what I thought was cool and what made me go "Wha...?" 

 

Stil, something kinda-sorta specific-ish may slip out. So just in case....
____________________________
SPOILERS, Sweetie!

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So let's see where the spirit takes us!

(The ability to create puns is a gift, dammit! A GIFT, I tell you!)

 

 

 

We open up in one of those big old drafty house that litter the English countryside. The year is 1974; we know this* because Professor Alec Palmer helpfully tells us the date while making a recording of his research.

 

*We also know it's 1974 because his lovely assistant Emma Grayling is wearing a brown plaid sweater vest over a brown blouse with a brown skirt.

 

Alec and Emma are looking for ghosts, he with his Radio Shack-era equipment while she has an inate ability to communicate with ghosts. And lookee-look, one shows up and it's pretty darn creepy.

 

Then Alec and Emma get unexpected visitors. Well, unexpected to them. We at home know we are watching Doctor Who and figured the Doctor and Clara would show up eventually.

 

A flash of psychic paper tells Alec that the Doctor is from "health and safety" (but probably from "the ministry") as the Doctor begins poking and prodding Alec's spook finding equipment and asking all sorts of questions (as the Doctor is want to do). Soon the Doctor and Clara are chasing a ghost and they ain't afraid of it!

 

(Well, Clara's a bit frighened.)

 

It's probably not too much of a spoiler to say the ghost isn't what you think it is. Ditto for that people eating monster in the woods.

 

What? People eating monster?!?! (Oh, perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that.)

 

"Hide" is the second Doctor Who script from Luther creator Neil Cross; his first story was "The Rings of Akhaten" which has generally not been well received.  As I noted in my review of that episode, there was a distinct lack of empathy for what was going on. The big bad was too big and too bad and those threatened by his bigness and badness were not developed, leaving us to not even care what happened. This is a bad thing to happen in any story but particularly for Doctor Who where the driving force of the best stories is how characters react to and are impacted by the fantastic events they face.

 

"Hide" was a big step up from "Akhaten".  First of all, we had two very well realized characters in Alec and Emma, wonderfully portrayed by Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine. We know who they are, why they are uniquely suited to their supernatural quest and what they mean to each other. We care what happens to them. 

 

Then we have the Doctor and Clara who were perfect counterpoints to Alec and Emma. While the professor and his assistant (okay, companion) awkwardly but genuinely try to connect with each other, the Doctor is still keeping his secrets from Clara as he still ponders the mystery of "The Impossible Girl". Clara, on the other hand, is still not sure why she's on this journey with this madman and his box. Can she trust him? Emma has a few choice words for Clara on that point.

 

A point of contention for me:

• The time travel solution that the Doctor employs to determine the true origin of the ghost seems a bit discordant from the rest of the episode. Granted it gives us a chance for Clara to surmise how the Doctor must see us. But beyond that point, it is a jarring sci-fi break from the mood established by the mysterious goings on at the manor.

 

All in all, it looks like a greatly improved 2nd effort from Neil Cross. "Hide" is a thrilling episode with lots of scares, mysteries and twists supported by excellent performances all around.

 

Next week: "Journey to the Center of the TARDIS".

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Secret Origin of Captain Yellowjacket

Earlier today, I was mowing the lawn when I was bitten by a yellowjacket. But not just an ordinary yellowjacket but a genetically altered AND radioactive yellowjacket. For its confounded bite is starting to...

Change me!

Mutate me!

Empower me!

Look upon me, mere mortals, and tremble for I have become...

A HUMAN YELLOWJACKET!!!!!

I can move with INCREDIBLE SPEED!

(I'm here! No, I'm there! A-Ha! Whoa, getting dizzy. Slow it down a bit.)

 

I can FLY!

(Well, it's mostly a sort of hovering kind of a...thing. I'm working on it!)

 

I have the proportionate SUPER STRENGTH of a yellowjacket!

(I assume. I haven't really tested that yet. Just figured it goes with the territory. Not really sure how strong yellowjackets are supposed to be. I bet it's freaky strong, though.)

I can strike with a POWERFUL STING!

(Since FEMALE yellowjackets sting, my mutation leaves a LOT to be explained!)

I am SUPER CRANKY!

(No, wait! That may not be the mutation, that could just be me. Besides, I don't think "super crankiness" can be a super power.)

Having read a lot of comic books (ahem!) as a child, I have decided to use my new found powers and abilities for good, not evil. I will use my strange new gifts in service to the cause of justice and the protection of the innocent as.....

CAPTAIN YELLOWJACKET!!!!!

So hear me world! And beware!

Wherever criminals lurk....by an open trash can...

I WILL BE THERE!

Whenever injustice happens...at a picnic table....

I WILL BE THERE!

When chaos strikes...near a small hole in the ground.....

I WILL BE THERE!

So whenever you hear that tell-tale humming...Wait a minute...do yellowjackets hum? Well, I'm humming! Shut up with the blasted humming! Uh oh! Super crankiness.

 

Ahem! Let me start over.

So whenever you see a black and gold figure descending from the sky.....well, eventually...I don't have the outfit yet. C'mon, the mutation just hit. I'm still assessing powers and abilities here! I can't find yellow tights in my size! Let's not rush this! QUIT PRESSURING ME! Sorry...super crankiness again.

 

Er, let's try this one more time.

So whenever......

....whenever.....

You know, I got nothing. Being a human yellowjacket sucks! I'll let you know if I get bitten by a genetically altered, radioactive....well, something useful.

 

Perhaps a platypus?

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When I'm not coping with the effects of radiation altered genetics, I can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DayWayLo

 

(A Very Different) The Huff Post Hop for Friday, April 19, 2013

Hello and welcome to Friday.

It’s about damn time! It’s been a hell of a week!

Starting with the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday…a horrible tragedy with 3 lives lost and under 200 people injured, some quite severely. But in the heart of this unspeakable horror unleashed by the worst of humanity, we saw the best of humanity as people rushed towards the chaos to help those in need. The citizens of Boston pulled together in a unity of strength and determination to stand up to the evil forces of terror; indeed all of America joined together in a common spirit of support and prayer for  Boston. Yes, in the face of the worst, humanity at its best.

Then humanity had to show its ass when on Wednesday as the US Senate voted down expanding background checks for gun purchases, something that 93% of Americans (including gun owners) were in favor of. The senators voted against this measure in total disregard for the voice of the people but in a blatant and shameless fealty to the NRA and the next primary election. Common sense and compassion were once again trumped by greed and naked political ambition.

And someone, somewhere must have said, “Well, things can’t get worse” because they did: an explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas that has left 14 (so far) dead, over 200 injured and an entire community devastated in every sense.

But before we could process that tragic event, the pendulum swings back to Boston as we learn evil has a face. Two faces, in fact, two brothers identified as the suspected bombers. One was sent on a express route to Hell this morning; the other one may be about to punch his travel ticket there any minute now as I write this.

So much death, destruction, pain, stupidity, greed…it’s hard to think about being funny.*

*See my uncharacteristically serious pieces posted Monday ("River of Sorrow") and Thursday ("Vox Populi").

Every Friday, I do my little “mock the news” thing I called the #HuffPostHop, my allegedly funny take on #Headlines from the #HuffingtonPost. Now, no one out there is demanding I do this; in fact, my precious few followers on Twitter probably wish I would stop. But it’s a good creative exercise and I’d like to think that occassionally I come up with a particularly good quip that I could hear Jon Stewart or Seth Meyers say on television. 

As I say, this is a creative exercise; that means I don’t do this when I think I have something funny. I do this because it’s Friday and it’s what I do. The best kind of writing practice is writing something when you’re not really sure where it’s going to go.

So I jumped into the deep of end of Twitter and posted my latest round of the #HuffPostHop. I never promise it will be good; I just commit that on Friday, it will be there.

Maybe I should’ve given this a pass today...

...but I'm not going to let the terrorists win. So here we go...in 5...4...3...2...

 

#HuffPostHop "New Details On Boston Bombing Suspects" OK, not doing a joke about this. Let's see what else is out there...

Bombing...Boston...Here's something not in Boston #HuffPostHop "60 People Still Missing After Texas Explosion" Nope, not funny...moving on…

Explosion in Texas…people dead...OK, leaving Texas. What have you got #HuffPostHop? "Chicago Gun Violence Epidemic Continues" Damn it! Next?

Something good outside the USA, #HuffPostHop? Try this: "Dozens Killed In Suicide Attack At Baghdad Cafe" WTF? (sigh) Don't give up, Dave-El!

Bombs! Shootings! Explosions! Ack! I can't do a #HuffPostHop this week! How does @TheOnion do it?I'm going to @CBR to make fun of their news

OK, no #HuffPostHop this week! Instead we do #TheCBRRoam. No bad stuff there! "Boston Comic Con Postponed Due To Lockdown" Son of a bitch!

Back to the #HuffPostHop! Please, give me something! "Smell That Attracts Women Most" Boys think its tons of Axe body spray! (Psst! It's not.)*

*OK, pretty lame, I know, but I gotta start somewhere.

#HuffPostHop "7 Mistakes You're Making With Bacon" There's only two I can think of: 1) not eating it 2) eating it with the wrong orifice.

#HuffPostHop "Is He Cheating? Answer Depends On One Thing..." Does he say stuff to the wife like, "I wish you were more like my girlfriend"?

#HuffPostHop "Nicki Stuns 'Idol' Audience With Mariah Remark" Meanwhile Keith Urban stuns no one by wishing he wasn't there.

#HuffPostHop "10 Ways To Hold It Together When You Feel Like You Can't" Surprised that NONE of these involved duct tape.

#HuffPostHop "Kim Kardashian's Bump Plays Peekaboo" Unborn child embarrassed to be seen with a Kardashian.

And finally #HuffPostHop "In Wake Of Tragedy, Anger, Fear And Tears Are Normal Response, Say Experts" Also farting, right?

Well, that was a mess of a #HuffPostHop this week..but it's been a mess of a week! Continue to pray for Boston, for justice & for healing.
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UPDATE: Just as I was publishing this blog, breaking news: The 2nd bombing suspect has been captured alive. So score one for the good guys! And good news for the rest of America: no more continuous manhunt coverage from CNN and FOX News.
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For the real stories behind these headlines and more, got to The Huffington Post at  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Special thanks to Comic Book Resources at http://www.comicbookresources.com/ for the Special Guest Headline.

See if I continue to test the boundaries between courage and lame humor on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DayWayLo

 

Vox Populi: What It Is and How to Avoid It

Vox populi is Latin for "Voice of the People".

Like most things I know, I learned it in a comic book. (An issue of Batman, if I remember correctly).

Vox populi is an important element of a representational democratic government. We elect our leaders to represent our best interests while conducting the business of governing. Determining what our best interests are cannot be done in isolation; leaders need to listen to the voice of the people to inform their decisions and act accordingly.

This does not mean that an elected official must do exactly what the people say. The people, for example, may demand lower taxes AND also demand more police officers.  These are both legitimate expectations: no one wants to pay too much in taxes AND we want our cities and communities to be safe.

However, a political leader, looking at the budget, realizes what connects these two very understandable requests is not the word AND; it's the word OR. He or she cuts taxes and there's less money for more police officers or some officers may need to be let go. On the other hand, for more police officers to be hired, taxes cannot be cut or may even have to be raised. So vox populi declares less taxes AND more safety. The elected leader knows the reality is less taxes OR more safety.

What to do? What to do?

Being a leader in government is not easy. There are important points to consider.

• Being a leader means working to maintain or increase the success and viability of a community, city, state or nation.
• Being a leader means making the tough choices to do what is best for that area of responsibility.
• Being a leader means taking your case to the people so they will know what the choices were and why a particular course of action was taken.

So in a democracy, the people elect leaders, the leaders take care of the business of government to the best benefit possible for those who elected him or her and if there is a reason why something demanded by the voice of the people cannot be done, there should be a clear and reasonable accounting of why and what can be done next.

All perfectly fair. All perfectly civilized. All perfectly democratic.

On Wednesday, April 17th, 2013, I saw the most willful disregard for vox populi by an elected body as I have ever seen.  The US Senate failed to pass a gun control measure that would have expanded background checks for gun buyers. 

What were we hearing from the voice of the people before that vote? Polls showed 93% of Americans supported an expansion of background checks for those who buy guns. That number is too large to just be "peace loving left leaning gun haters". No, this number involved a broad spectrum of support from a variety of groups including gun owners. 

I believe with all my heart that the average American is a good, honest, law abiding citizen and if they want to buy a gun, well, they have nothing to hide. And if it means having to wait a few days for someone to confirm that someone is, in fact, a good, honest law abiding citizen, that's a small price to pay to help put up one more barrier that may keep some homicidal nut case from getting his gun and doing something bad, I don't know, just to pick an outlandish example off the top of my head, maybe shoot a bunch of kids and teachers at a elementary school.

There are so many things we have to do to prove ourselves trustworthy to be hired for a job, to be approved for a loan, to keep an automobile on the road. But we're talking about a gun, literally a metal device capable of propelling a smaller piece of metal at an incredible speed with the express purpose of doing either serious damage or causing death. Should not the procurement of such a thing be subject to scrutiny? Isn't in the best interests of the people to strengthen whatever safeguards we can devise to protect an average American from being shot to death while, I don't know, let me draw another crazy example out of thin air, watching a movie in a theater?

93% of Americans think maybe it would be a good idea to ask a few more questions, probe a bit deeper to make sure the person buying that gun is not setting out to shed innocent blood in the next Aurora. Or Newtown. We need to protect innocents, proclaims vox populi; we need to protect children. Do something.

The US Senate made a different choice: do nothing.

What happened? The US Senate chose to reject something that the voice of the people was making most clear was wanted..no, needed! How? Why?

Well, it's easy to blame the NRA and by all means, let's blame them because they damn well deserve it. The NRA has a LOT of cash to burn and baby, did they let it burn. Money talks louder than vox populi and money feeds the kitty, not the voice of the people. And the NRA never met a gun regulation that it wasn't ready to proclaim was an affront to decency and freedom and the American way. 

It helps to realize that the NRA is supposed to represent gun owners but the real clients, the ones with the money to give to the NRA, are the gun manufacturers. It is their goal to make sure there are no impediments to any market for the wares they make and sell. There should be no obstacles for a man to buy a rifle and take his son hunting. There should be no restrictions on an housewife to purchase a hand gun to defend herself against an intruder. And if somebody misuses guns and takes the life of innocents, that's just the price we pay to live in a free society. The answer is to arm more people so we can protect ourselves from the evil people with guns. How convenient that it is also a perfect solution to boost the manufacturing and the selling of guns.

But another culprit in Wednesday's shameful debacle is the political process that has been shaped over the last decade or more. Yes, 93% of Americans supported an expansion of background checks for gun purchases. But each Senator who cast their "no" vote against the measure was unconcerned with that number. Their eyes were on their next primary in their home state. Not the statewide election but the primary. Because it's in the primary where the true danger lies for a politician seeking re-election, from within their own party.

Particularly for the Republicans where groups like the Tea Party movement have demanded ever more strict adherence to the most extreme of right wing conservative thought. The most damaging litmus test for conservative purity is, "Did you ever vote for anything Barack Obama wanted?" If Obama said the sky was blue and you agreed, yes, the sky is blue, you are immediately in the crosshairs of so-called "conservative purists" who are looking to unseat you in the next primary. These candidates are strongly backed by very strong willed stupid people who have been determined that Obama is coming to get their guns. Gun sales shot up dramatically after Obama was first elected in 2008. If a hard right candidate throws enough anti-Obama red meat to the crowd, he can trump a more pragmatic candidate. The trick then is to tone down the crazy enough to win a general election and you're in, another Tea Party favorite whose sole marching order is to not give anything to Obama. Obama wants gun control. See, told ya he was after our guns. So there's one more elected "leader" putting up a road block.

The truth is the Obama administration has done distressingly little to further any agenda for gun control, even in the aftermath of the Aurora movie theater shootings last summer. It took the slaughter of children at Sandy Hook Elementary to get the Obama White House seriously engaged in a effort to curb gun violence. 

The voice of the people in the aftermath of that most terrible Friday in December was deafening and choked with the tears of sorrow and rage: No more! How many more times to do we need to see on the news that another maniac has decided to drown his madness in the blood of the innocent? The blood of children? No more! Do something, vox populi demanded, do something real and lasting and effective and do it NOW!

The wheels of the Washington political machinery grind slowly but they turned they did and it looked like the voice of the people had been heard and something would, at last, be done.

A week after the Newtown tragedy, Wayne LaPierre of the NRA gave a statement to the press that was ludicrous in the degree it was tone deaf to the shock and grieving of the nation. The answer to gun violence, LaPierre said, was more guns. It could have been almost laughable, LaPierre  still clinging to his misguided and outdated arguments. No, vox populi would carry the day, not Wayne LaPierre or the NRA, not the Tea Party and the Obama-Haters. This was not an issue about Obama, it was not an issue of right wing versus left. It was about protecting innocents, protecting children.

Somewhere on April 17th, I'm sure Wayne LaPierre was working the troops, congragulating them on a job well done.

And mothers and fathers could only weep once more for their lost sons and daughters.

Make no mistake: the history of American politics, from cities to states to the nation's capital, is littered with deals made in the name of something other than the voice of the people. Back room deals have bought a lot of votes over the years. But these deals were in the back room and sometimes served to grease the wheels of the work actually done in the name of the people. Things got done.

Yesterday, politics trumped the voice of the people and there was no pretense of a back room. Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he objected to the background check measure on the grounds it could lead to a national gun registry. The bi-partisan creators of the measure had explicitly included language in the measure to prohibit the creation of such a registry and included penalties if anyone tried to do that. But Ted Cruz wouldn't back down, insisting this background check proposal would lead to the Federal government watching over ALL gun owners. Ted Cruz is looking to his next primary; they'll eat this stuff up then. It will drive the party faithful into a frenzy to send Cruz back to Washington.

And to hell with vox populi.

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Follow Dave-El on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DayWayLo

Happy Anniversary, Superman!

 

 

It was 75 years ago when this appeared:

 

 

 

Inside was the first adventure of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and it changed the face of comic books...forever! And that is not just hype. It really did! What we know of modern comic book super heroes today, it all started right here. Action Comics#1 is the wellspring that begat Batman, Capt. America, The Flash, Capt. Marvel, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and so on, ad infinitum.

 

 

 

Also debuting in this same story was Lois Lane, a strong and capable reporter who was more than a match for poor old Clark Kent. Her reputation took a bad hit in the 50's and 60's that tended to portray her as a Superman stalking shrew. Thankfully, interpretations of Lois matured and she proved herself to be a formiable and caring partner to Clark Kent/Superman in work, adventure and marriage.

 

 I know in the current (Brr!) New 52 (don't get me started!), Superman and Lois are not a couple but on this day of celebration of the debut of those two crazy kids trying to make it in this world, one as a tights and cape wearing super hero, the other a go-getter investigative reporter, I want to take this moment to say to Lois and to Clark, "Here's to a happy..."

 

 

"...anniversary."

 

Uh, Lois?

 

Clark?

 

Oh, boy. Ah, why don't we just let those two be.

 

Happy 75th, Superman and Lois Lane!

 

And to Jerry and Joe: you done good.

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Pics are from a variety of sources including The Grand Comics Database (http://www.comics.org/) and Comic Book Resources (http://www.comicbookresources.com/).

 

Dave-El, Superman's long lost kid brother*, can also be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DayWayLo.

 

*"We must remind you that it was agreed in court that you would stop making that claim." Superman's legal team, the firm of Stern, Ordway, Jurgens & Simonson, Attorneys at Law,  Swan Tower, 100 Weisenger Ave, Metropolis USA 

Refrigerator Blues

 
There are times when it's good to be hungry because you know without a doubt what you want to eat.  Whether it's steak or pizza or pasta or casserole or soft, warm freshly baked bread (with butter) or anything chocolate, you're glad to be hungry. You've been waiting for that special meal or snack or dessert ALL DAY! Your need can be satisfied by something you want.
 
But there are other times when those hunger pangs strike and you have no damn idea what you want to eat. 
 
Beef? No. Chicken? No.

Soup? Salad? No. No.

A sandwich? No.

Yogurt? Fruit Cup? Pie? Cookies? Brownies?
No. No. No. No. No.
 
You really wish someone would invent The Food Pill! Yes, The Food Pill! That remarkable breakthrough of modern science that curbs hunger and satisfies the body's need for nutrients without the hassle of actually figuring out what you want to eat! The Food Pill: It's FOOD...in a PILL!
 
But alas, there is no Food Pill. Your stomach rumbles. It's complaining about your brain's indecision. "C'mon, it's not rocket science. Send something down here. Anything! I don't care!"
 
So you drag yourself unwillingly to the refrigerator and open the door.
 

 
 
And you stare.
 
And you stare.
 
And you stare.
 
There's nothing in there. Well, actually, yes, there is. But nothing trips the old dining imagination, nothing sets off any culinary desires. So you close the door.
 
You look around the kitchen, half heartedly opening various doors to various cabinets, some of which actually contain some kind of food-like substance. But nothing you want. You don't want anything.
 
Your stomach protests. "Ah, c'mon! You're killing me here! Literally, I'm starving. Send something down here, dammit!"
 
What to do? What to do? Lacking any kind of answer to that question, you go back to the refrigerator and open the door.
 

 
And you stare.
 
And you stare.
 
And you stare.
 
It's been, what, 2 or 3 minutes since you last looked in there. To your frustration, nothing has changed.
 
You close the door and you just stand there.
 
What to do? What to do?
 
Your stomach rumbles.
 
You open the refrigerator door again.
 

 
And you stare.
 
And you stare.
 
And you stare.
 
No, still no changes. Nothing's moved.
 
And this cycle continues a few more times.
 
Open.
 

 
Stare.
 
Close.
 
Repeat.
 
But know this: even in your despair and your frustration, each time you close and re-open that refrigerator door, knowing full well nothing's going to change, you are experiencing something positive, some reaffirming.

This, my friends, is hope. 

Hope that even though each time that door is opened you will experience the exact same result, there is a tiny spark that something may be different THIS time. This time, something will appear that will inspire your appetite.

Yes, this....



...this is hope.

Or insanity.

The End
______________________

No, wait! You're still hungry. Hey, there's leftover Chinese food in the fridge. I'm sure it's still fine. 

OK, now....The End.
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Postscript: Er, really, really sorry about the food poisoning.
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Follow Dave-El on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DayWayLo.