Conversations With a Soldier

When I first started talking to my brother, Kris, about his experiences as a soldier in Afghanistan I promised him that I would not blog about it. He said that I could blog if I wished, but I could not make the blog political. So here I am, blogging about Afghanistan in a non-political way, trying to be as objective as possible and probably failing because Kris, my brother, is at war.

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Initially, I felt timid and very hesitant to broach any of the many serious subjects one can inquire about when talking to a soldier, so I started simple. I asked him if it is hot or cold over in Afghanistan. Now, this is a stupid question, but I give him credit for answering it without being too much of a smart ass. Kris responded as wryly as he could muster using text by saying "It's hot during the summer and cold in the winter... but always cold at night." 

Seeing that I would have to step up my game to keep us both engaged in this conversation, I  decided to pick it up and ask some real questions. With a slight bit more confidence I followed up by asking what the atmosphere around camp was like when they are not on a mission. This was only the second time Kristofer and I had spoken since he shipped to Afghanistan so I didn't really expect much from him in this conversation, but he gave a more detailed response than I had bargained for. "You have to constantly be on your toes... even if you are in a 'safe' place there's always the chance that they will try to overrun you... or mortar you. But you are able to joke around a little during that time, too. You have to have a pretty morbid sense of humor."

My next question was about the atmosphere when on a mission, and whether or not they run day and night, because I only think of things happening during the day. I informed him that every time I imagine him in a fight out there I always see it as a movie. "We run missions day and night," he wrote. "It doesn't matter. Sometimes we step light and sometimes we don't (mission depending). I suppose it would be like a movie if you were on the outside looking in, but when you're in a firefight there is nothing Hollywood about it."

Kristofer Wedekind

 Really feeling my oats now I asked him how often shots are fired. This is a question that I only partly wanted to hear the answer to, and being ever so intuitive I think he got a sense of that, telling me all I need to know in his answer by responding "Often...once a week maybe, give or take. Wanting only to cautiously prod this topic, I asked if every firefight has a fatality, or if there are more surrenders than I imagine. "It ends when one side is dead, they surrender, or they run away. Someone always gets fucked up in a firefight, them or us."

A few moments later Kris asked, "Do you know what its like to be in a firefight?"

Feeling I may have hit a nerve, I wrote that I had no idea what it is like. In an attempt to relate to me the unrelatable, Kristofer wrote "Its Hell... Imagine the most terrified you have ever been and times that by a million. Imagine watching your friend die. Then imagine digging deep, pushing forward, and killing ones that would harm you and others you love."

Sensing that it would probably be a good idea to switch to a more pedestrian question, I asked how often he gets to sleep, and if he has ever hallucinated due to sleep deprivation. He responded, "I've been up for days at a time...no hallucinations here. There is a saying in the army 'Stay alert, stay alive'. You have to live by it! The second you let your guard down you die. My brother next to me depends on me staying alert and not being complacent. If I let him down he could die."

My last question was how often he got to partake in any type of entertainment. Television, movies, boardgames, sports, music, etc. "Lol," he wrote, "every chance I get... not often...I watched a little bit of tombstone on my buddies laptop earlier...with no sound. no games really... uh ping pong sometimes...cards blackjack poker dominoes spades...that's about it."

After answering this question Kris informed me that he had to go get some sleep before his next day, and presumably, mission. Disappointed that our talk was over for now, I accepted that he had to go to sleep so that he would be better prepared for the next day, and we said our goodbyes for the evening.

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Depending on reader response, I hope that Conversations With a Soldier becomes part of a series. Given the nature of Kris' and I's correspondence the chances of that happening are very hit or miss, so we will see. If any of you guys have a question for my brother, feel free to post it in the comments and I would love to ask him for you the next time I get a chance, and it may be used in a post like this one.

I hope you had a happy Memorial Day, and God bless our troops, past and present.

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share my blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side!

Tiki Barber Compares Himself to Anne Frank

Tiki Barber

Tiki Barber, the former New York Giants running back and future Hall of Famer had this to say about a recent situation he was in. "Lep's Jewish. And it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing." "Lep" is his agent who's full name is Mark Lepselter. 

So what horrific situation could Barber have been in to feel like he could compare himself to Anne Frank?

Lepselter allowed Barber to stay in his attic after he broke up with his pregnant wife and ran away with his girlfriend, Tracy Lynn Johnson.

Anne Frank

Now, I am not typically oversensitive to this type of thing, and I would normally come to the defense of someone saying something like this, but I know a joke when I see one, and this was not a joke. At least, if it was a joke, it wasn't really funny at all, it was simply him comparing his experience of living in an attic to that of Anne Frank's.

I am not going to read any sort of antisemitism into his statements. He clearly does not not have anything against the Jewish people given his past history in which Tiki was a guest of President Shimon Peres in Israel five years ago, but his statement does have a sting of insensitivity. 

I simply cannot buy that a man who runs away from his commitment and responsibility to his wife and child is comparable to Anne Frank's struggle and her family's escape from an army of brainwashed murderers. 

While I am sure his pregnant wife may have seemed like a Nazi when he left her high and dry, I can assure him that no such comparison need be made.

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share my blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side!

An Apology and While I Was Away

First off, allow me to apologize for my absence the last seventeen days. I had intended to make a post letting everyone know I would be gone for a while to attend my two best friend's wedding in Dallas, but I had computer problems before I departed, and never got a chance to let everyone know in advance, I hope you all will forgive this. I plan on picking up the once a week movie reflection next week, but for now let's go over something that really caught my attention while I was on vacation.

Deyan Valentinov Deyanov

One of the most shocking things to come out in the last couple weeks, and probably in my life, was the stabbing and beheading that took place in the Canary Islands. This is of course relatively old news at this point, but a Bulgarian man by the name of Deyan Valentinov Deyanov beheaded a woman in the Canary Islands. Homeless, and reportedly having gone through a recent break-up, Deyanov followed Jennifer Mills-Westley, a grandmother of five, into a supermarket, stabbed her fourteen times, and then proceeded to cut her head off as he proclaimed he was a "prophet of God." He then took the head with him and was walking along the sidewalk with it before being detained. He is currently being held in a psychiatric unit, and no motive has been identified for the killing. More information can be found here.

Jennifer Mills-Westley

 Hearing this news story blew my mind. I can't believe we live in a world where a 60 year old grandmother can be beheaded in the middle of a supermarket with screaming onlookers. Jennifer Mills-Westley had told security guards that this man was stalking and threatening her life, and all they did was shoo him away and send Jennifer off. Also, he managed to steal the knife he used in the assault from the supermarket in which he killed her.

But what blows my mind the most is the weapon with which he managed to behead this poor woman. He had a knife. Now, I have not cut off many heads in my life (that tally is currently at zero) but, having a basic knowledge of anatomy, I believe I can safely claim that it is not an easy feat. There is a lot of stuff in the neck to cut through, not the least of which is bone. The fact that he used a simple knife to cut this woman's head off causes another case of deep disappointment in the human race within me. This tells me that he managed to stab this woman fourteen times with a knife, AND saw her head off, with people looking on. I understand that the witnesses may have not been able to stop the stabbing, I imagine that could have very well happened in the blink of an eye, but cutting off this woman's head with a knife had to take a little bit of time in which people were simply watching him. 

I know the shock of seeing something like that must have been extreme, just reading about it was quite shocking, but I don't want to believe that people were not able to stop the severe mutilation of Jennifer's body, the prospect of doing so is just too sad to me. 

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share my blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side!

Movie Reflection: Thor

Ok, so a couple disclaimers right off the bat. One, I am not a comic book guy, so this movie will be reflected upon merely as a movie guy, as it should be considering that if a movie wants to make any money, it needs to appeal to more than just comic book people.

And two, if you are a comic book person, don't hate me.

***SPOILERS

The Good

We will start with the couple things that Thor did well. One of the best parts of this movie for me was the music. The music in this movie was composed by Patrick Doyle, who is an internationally respected film composer, and I have to say, he was a great pick-up for this film given his experience with epics such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Eragon, and Henry V. His experience shone through in this film. The music fit the movie excellently and was perfectly crafted.

The other thing Thor did well was the casting. Chris Hemsworth just looks like Thor, and he is a decent actor. Also, the pick-up of Anthony Hopkins to play Odin was just wonderful, and Tom Hiddleston played a great Loki. He really is that pale, and Kat Dennings is a babe. The acting was excellent through and through, I was impressed.

The short scene in which he walks into a pet store looking for an animal to ride was gold. 

The Bad

And oh boy, was there a lot of it. Steel yourselves. The first thing I noticed was that I hated the main character. Thor was an obnoxious brat, and obviously arrogant to the point of stupidity. I understand this was a story telling point in that he would be punished and be changed, but he was such an ass in the beginning of the movie that I doubted King Odin's wisdom in passing the kingdom on to Thor in the first place.  It's as if the movie expects me to forget that everything that happened wasn't Thor's fault to begin with when he acted arrogantly in his invasion of Jotunheim (the Frost Giant world), disobeying his father's orders. So immediately I had a serious problem liking the main character, which very much got in the way of enjoying the film.

Also, Thor's little band of warriors seemed greatly out of place. In the movie they never really did anything at all. They went with Thor to Jotunheim and they kicked some butt there, but anymore than that they were really just characters to make sure the audience had a stake in Asgard while Thor was on Earth. They were simply disappointing in their attempt to help Thor save Earth from the Frost Giant fire breathing metal golem that Loki sent (seriously, what was that thing).

As far as Thor's "changed man" (overdone) storyline, it was not executed very well. Almost all of the events in this film take place in a span of 48 hours, which is a ridiculous notion. I mean, they built an entire army compound around Mjöllnir (Thor's hammer) in less than a day. Clearly not possible. Also, exactly when he changed was unclear to me. I understood the traumatic experience of not being able to retrieve Mjöllnir from the rock (which by the way, also overdone, hello King Arthur) but even after that, he was still a bit of an ass. Or maybe I am projecting.

The Ugly

In Asgard, everyone has British accents

Random Asian character in Asgard (who also has a British accent)

Stupid one liners. "Next." "At least give me a challenge."

Banishing someone to Earth so they will become a better person is...laughable

Kat Dennings' character, Darcy, comedic relief to the point of annoyance

If in same Universe as other superheroes, where are they to save town

Summary

For me, Thor could only go as far as the special effects and music could take it, and they did a good job with that stuff. But the story was thin and overdone, and the characters were too uninteresting to make me care about what was happening to them in the film.

--Kameron

On a more personal note I think I will be doing these movie reflections at once a week. It will vary, depending on funds, whether or not the movie I do will be a new release or more of a classic, but we will see. In fact, YOU guys tell me what movie to see. I will be doing one regardless, but if someone wants to recommend something, or you want something reviewed, let me know and I will take a look at it!

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share my blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side! 

Success

 

In High School and for a time after, my success was to get any full-time job and live out the rest of my life. I was the guy who had no aspirations. Anyone that knew me then would claim, and correctly so, that I truly did not give a damn about anything as far as life after High School, even my family would have told you that my plans were to "chill" and go to college. But even as far as college went at the time, I was unmotivated and directionless. 

Two days after High School graduation, I left Michigan to visit some friends in Dallas. Long story short, I fell in love with being in the busy atmosphere and all of the friends I had went to visit were amazing. One of them needed a roommate. I volunteered. But of course to do this, I would need money to pay rent for the apartment I would be moving into. And to do this, I would need a job. But this would be no problem because I had no self respect or ambitions, so as long as whatever job I could get could pay the bills, I would be fine with it.

Enter Wal-Mart

I had put out over 100 applications at one point. Two interviews and a few phone calls later, I was now a Wal-Mart employee, and I was living the dream.  Making $9.40 an hour working overnight. Spend my nights working my ass off (working there was NOT easy) and spend my days just chilling with my best friends. It was the life. However, somewhere between getting yelled at for having overtime and getting yelled at for cutting my overtime, I became disenfranchised with my working conditions. The dream had started to fade, and it was time for me to say goodbye to my friends (knowing I would be back some day) and head back to Michigan where I would begin the next step on my way to self-actualization.

Success at this point had taken a dramatic turn for me, for the better, but not by much. I knew at the time I entered college that I no longer wished to work for any sort of large corporation. I will be damned if I am ever just a number to some random big business ever again. It was the most dehumanizing and degrading thing I've ever been a part of, and I made a vow to myself at the time when I left Wal-Mart that I would not repeat it. 

So I had that. I knew that whatever I did, I would enjoy that, and enjoy chilling in my free time. During my first semester in college, I went through a few renditions of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The first was some type of auto mechanic, my uncle owns a shop in Beaumont, Texas and I would be guaranteed a job there. So this choice was practical, but after hearing a few people around me talk cars, I realized that I could not care less about cars or how they work, much less how to fix them, so that was out. The next plan was to be a medical marijuana dispensary owner. I was completely serious about this one, but after looking into it and assessing the risks involved as far as legality, combined with the fact that I would be stuck in this Godforsaken state, I decided that this would not be the life for me.

Me

And that is where we are at now. One week removed from my first semester at college in which I got a 4.0 (see, I'm not dumb, just not motivated), and I have a real dream of success, but this one is much more serious than any previous ideas. I've decided I want to write. This fulfills two of my needs in a career; mobility, and self management. I do not know if this is realistic, but what dreams are? This is the first dream I have ever really had, and I plan to run with it. This will be my success. 

So if you are one of my returning readers, please, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride with me. And if you are new, and this is the first post you have read of mine, welcome, I am ecstatic to have you.

--Kameron

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share my blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side!

Osama's Body

First off, allow me to wish everyone a happy Star Wars day. May the fourth be with you :)

Today, I want to address the outcry for pictures of Osama Bin Laden's dead body to be released into the public domain. Many people are demanding the release of these photos, ranging from conspiracy theorists to families of victims of 9/11. 

First off, I want to call out the conspiracy theorists on this one. I will be the first to admit that I entertain conspiracy theories from time to time, but in this case why would the Obama administration claim to have photos knowing it would incense everyone into wanting to see them, and then refuse to release the pictures when they could have just as easily claimed to never have any photos. It does not make sense for them to lie just so they would have to lie again to prevent the public from seeing non-existent photos. Furthermore, even if pictures were released, most conspiracy theorists would simply claim that they were altered. Conspiracy theorists are relentless, and generally will not accept any proof contrary to their initial opinion.

Moving on from that, I feel like the Obama administration is making the right call on this one. Osama's dead body is not a trophy, and it should not be released to the public as such. Doing so would cause international unrest, and lead to more danger for our soldiers overseas. Imagine if the terrorists killed one of our leaders, and then released a gruesome photo of his dead body. I, for one, would be infuriated, as would the general public. If a photo of Bin Laden's dead body was to be released, it would be seen as a slap in the face to the terrorists, and other countries would also view it as distasteful. One thing we do not need is for other countries to hate us more.

And, finally, it is good to remember the circumstances of Osama's death. He was shot in the head, right above his left eye, and in the chest. Both at close range. These pictures would not be a pretty sight, and I imagine that, with the exception of his beard, he would be unrecognizable to the general public. I believe that if there is something our society doesn't need, it is to be further desensitized. Slathering the news with photos of this gruesome spectacle would surely do that, if nothing else.

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share the blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side!

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead

I debated actually posting on this subject last night and decided to sleep on it. This morning I did the normal routine. Got up, handled the dental hygiene, and got on Facebook to see what everyone is talking about as I always do. I expected everyone to be discussing Osama to an extent, but it appeared that all those discussions ended at about 3 am last night (showing that us as a society has quite an ADD problem, but that is besides the point of this post). However, in the time that it was the topic of the moment for U.S citizens, some interesting questions were raised that I feel need to be explored.

Does his death actually mean anything? Are we celebrating revenge? Is it just bringing us together? And what does that mean for us as a society?

Does his death actually mean a damn thing in the "War on Terror"? No it does not. The "War on Terror" is a war against an ideology. Osama is nothing but a personification of that ideology. Someone will take his place. Al-Qaeda is a criminal organization, Osama had a right hand man, and his right hand man has a right hand man. It does not end, and it never will. So as far as that goes, we really do not have anything to celebrate, but we are.

Are we celebrating revenge? To an extent, I believe so. If you look at the core of the situation, everyone is simply celebrating the death of a human being. Now expand it a bit, bring in some roles, and we are victims of a terrorist celebrating said terrorist's death. In this capacity, I do understand the celebratory nature of the occasion by those families that were directly effected by any deaths that may have been caused by his attacks. But that is not an argument for justification that anyone else should attempt to invoke.

There are a ton of people that say "Its bringing us together!" and this statement would be supported by the flood of Facebook pages dedicated to the liking of "Osama is dead!" and "The guy who killed Osama" I personally found the sudden flood of fair weather patriots to be rather nauseating especially since all of those pages were probably started by people who just want to get a lot of likes on a page they started and care much less about any meaning, symbolic or otherwise, that his death may carry. But I desperately hope for all of us that we do not need death to bring us together as a Nation. In these times when not even our own government can get anything done, where we entered the 11th hour of a complete government shut down, and I did not see even a quarter of the togetherness as citizens that I saw in Osama's death. I simply cannot accept, because it truly would bring me great sadness, that only in death can this great country be brought together, even for a night on Facebook.

What does it mean to me? When I got the news, my honest to goodness first thoughts were "Maybe this means my brother can come home now." Him being a soldier in Afghanistan, I know this is a false hope, but it was my reaction to the news, and I thought I would share it.

I want to leave you with something my best friend said that I feels sums up my feelings, and I hope it touches you like it did me. Regardless of religious affiliation, it carries all the meaning in the world.

"Stop rejoicing over another human's death. He's only a symbol. Pray for peace."

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share the blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side!

Movie Reflection: A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange is a film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the Anthony Burgess novel by the same name. And it is safe to say that it blew my mind.

A Clockwork Orange did not screw with me in a classical sense. The ideas presented in the movie are not hard to wrap one's mind around, but the cinematography gave it a strange voyeuristic effect that made it seem like I was watching something I was not supposed to be. That, combined with the intentional association of typically happy compositions with scenes of "ultra-violence" left me with a disturbed feeling of disassociation with my own life for a couple hours after viewing the movie. 

The first thing I noticed in this movie was the play-like feel I received from the actors. All of the lines were delivered very much as if it was meant to be an on-stage performance. This could have been a sign of the times, being filmed in the early 70's, but I also got the impression that a lot of the actors were classically trained, leading to a very play-like atmosphere on screen, and I quite enjoyed that.

In the beginning of the movie the word "ultra-violence" was used frequently. I have a bit of a problem with this in that none of the actions portrayed in the film constituted, in my mind, "ultra-violence". Now, maybe this can also be attributed to the film's age, as there is no doubt a bunch of these scenes were very edgy in the early 70's. I had always heard about the infamous rape scene(s). Not that I looked forward to viewing rape, as I find it quite disturbing, but none of the scenes really came across to me as being particularly gruesome or over the top. 

Another thing I noticed early on in the film was all of the eroticism in random places throughout, such as in the abandoned lobby where the "droogs" hung out. On the wall there were pictures of naked guys with their genitalia crossed out and a few dirty and disturbing phrases written, such as "If it moves, kiss it" and "Suck it and see". Also, a little later on, our main character, Alex DeLarge, broke into a house where all the walls were covered with erotic paintings, and even a sculpture of a penis becomes heavily involved in the story. Now, maybe this is my notoriously dirty mind at work noticing all these things (and anyone who knows me may claim this) but I think that this is Stanley Kubrick simply doing a good job of setting up a disturbing atmosphere.

*Spoilers From Here On*

 There were a few things I noticed from Alex's time in prison. The first was his admittance of enjoying the Bible, followed by all of his sociopathic reasons why, ranging from his desire to be one of the Romans torturing Jesus, to his love of the Bible's frequent sexual depictions. He did note that he had to skip the boring parts to find the interesting bits. Then there was the clever foreshadowing of the rest of the story by the priest, explaining how one cannot simply be made good, but has to choose goodness for oneself (this is also the overarching message of the movie). Another thing I loved was Chief Guard Barnes. 

 (explicit warning) 

Barnes was a light-weight version of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman as seen in one of Kubrick's later films, Full Metal Jacket.

 (explicit warning)

Alex's "rehabilitation" toward non-violence easily made up the most frightening scenes in the movie for me. Almost everyone has at least seen a still frame of this before. Alex in a straight jacket, tied to a chair, with eyes clamped open. A frightening sight, no doubt.

I found the music in A Clockwork Orange absolutely wonderful. Pieces like Beethoven's 9th  and The Funeral of Queen Mary are obviously great examples of music, but it was the way music was used in this film that blew me away. The title music from A Clockwork Orange is an electronic transcription of Henry Purcell's Funeral of Queen Mary by Wendy Carlos, and it created an effect of disturbance throughout the movie.

                                                        (Funeral of Queen Mary by Wendy Carlos)

Overall, I found A Clockwork Orange to be pretty enjoyable. I appreciated the use of Alex DeLarge as both the main character and the narrator. It made for an interesting connection with him and led to a relationship that I found riddling at times. Near the end of the movie I became slightly annoyed by Kubrick's constant spoon-feeding of the movie's message. However, I caught onto another message that I do not think they meant to imply. At the end of the movie where everyone is getting payback on Alex for being the ass he was in the beginning, they stumbled upon the overall hypocrisy of society. People responded to his presence with "ultra-violence" even after his complete reformation, thus causing him to resort back to his old, violent, ways. If they had allowed bygones to be bygones, he would have remained a reformed and non-violent person.

On a more personal note, the first edition of me and my father's podcast, Convince Me, is going up tomorrow Sunday, May 1st. It will be going live at 10:45 PM EST, and the recording will also be available for listening at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/9791
We will be talking about Body Modification. So please, listen in, and call in live if you get the chance! To clarify, both the live and listenable versions of the podcast will be available at the above link.
 

As always I fully encourage any criticism, advice, suggestions, or general discussion in the comment area.
If you wish you can contact me at thecynicalreport@gmail.com, and please like/share the blog on Facebook and Twitter using the links on the side!