Movie Reviews: Deadpool

Deadpool
directed by Tim Miller

There are a few things which are apparent from virtually the beginning of this R rated comic book movie. (1) The titular hero is a snarky sarcastic jerk who is as adept at verbal combat as he is at the physical version. Deadpool's verbal energy is like that of someone who drank three cups of coffee, chased that with some Red Bull and then took some speed. (2) The film is going to "objectify" the male body just as much as other films do with female ones. So if you have been waiting to see plenty of shots of Ryan Reynolds' gluteus maximus then you are in luck as this movie has you covered. Or uncovered. (3) This film is going to live up to its R rating for violence and sex. There is male and female full frontal nudity, a fair amount of toplessness and a virtually limitless number of bad guys who get shot in the head, skewered, beaten to a pulp or otherwise disposed of in rather unpleasant ways. This is a comic book movie but it's not for kiddies by any means. (4) The film and actor are in on the joke as Deadpool routinely breaks the Fourth Wall to express his amusement, irritation, surprise or shock at what's going on. He's in on the joke you see. This is an origin story. I'd have to check with a few relatives to see how closely it stuck to the comic book on which it's based but I didn't care enough to go find out. This was a fun movie with only a few flat notes here or there. Reynolds carries the movie virtually single handedly not because of bad acting by other people but rather because his Deadpool is gleeful, profane, anarchic and energetic in every scene. He's like a more violent Bugs Bunny. With one or two exceptions, Reynolds blows away just about every other person who shares screen time with him. But he's not chewing the scenery. The other actors are not underwritten. Well maybe some of them are. It's just that Reynolds appears to be having a blast. Sometimes certain actors and certain roles just really fit well together. And that is the case with Reynolds here. He shouldn't do any other comic book roles besides Deadpool.

The plot is really not all that important. It's the same plot that is found in a number of different stories. Boy meets girl. Boy must confront crisis. As a result of crisis boy loses girl. Boy must overcome external and internal issues to regain girl. It's funny how many stories can be reduced to that very simple outline. I guess bottom line is that we all respond to pretty much the same things. That is both enlightening and maybe kind of depressing when you think about it. Do we all have buttons that are pushed that easily? As Deadpool says, this is all a love story at its core. Deadpool (Reynolds) is Wade Wilson, a mercenary for hire. Wilson is former Special Forces. He probably knows all sorts of ways to kill you with paper clips and slide rules if need be. Although he's not normally going out of his way to kill people he's not opposed to it by any means. Basically don't do bad stuff and don't end up on the bad people list. Because crossing names off that bad person's list is how Wilson makes his money. Happily living a life of paid brutality, random violence and hanging out in bars Wilson is motivated to add extremely kinky sex to his menu of night time activities once he meets the attractive escort Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). Because he's got it like that Wilson doesn't even have to pay and before long the two are in love. Well nothing good lasts forever does it. Wilson discovers that he has terminal cancer. A hooker and a merc don't exactly have hundreds of thousands of dollars just lying around. So Wade decides to trust the blandishments of some dodgy people led by the constantly smirking Ajax (Ed Skrein) who promise that they can cure his cancer with an experimental treatment. And wouldn't you know it but this treatment is free. And that is enough plot description.
Visually the film is crisp. The sound is good. You can always see and hear what's going on. There are a number of sight gags about Reynolds' former status as the sexiest man in the world. There's a fair number of slowed down and sped up action scenes but the special effects are not groundbreaking. It's just that as previously mentioned there is a LOT of action. This is like an adult cartoon. Despite Deadpool's cheerful violence he still manages to keep your sympathy and interest because he's funny. He's also not mean. He may shoot you in the head multiple times but he's not mean. He is obnoxious though. He won't stop talking. He won't stop joking. And even though you've seen this story before Reynolds' energy pulls you along for the ride yet again.
TRAILER 

Transgenders, Bathrooms and the Obama Administation

You may have heard that the Obama Administration, using a letter sent to every public school in the country has insisted, under the fig leaf of "Title IX guidance" that schools must allow children who identify as transgender access to the bathrooms, changing areas and activities which correspond to their self-reported identity. If the schools refuse to obey this diktat well then the Administration would sure hate to see those schools lose any of their federal funding. Capisce? Some school districts, for ideological reasons of their own, had started to move in this direction even before the letter was sent. In Chester, Vermont a girl who insists that she is a boy has started to use the boys' bathroom, backed up by the new school policy and now by the new Administration order.
CHESTER, Vt. — The way A J Jackson tells it, he kept his head ducked down and pretended to fiddle with his cellphone as he walked into the boys’ bathroom and headed for a stall at Green Mountain Union High School here.
But the way some of his classmates see it, A J was still Autumn Jackson, a girl in boys’ clothing, who had violated an intimate sanctum, while two boys were standing at a urinal, their private parts exposed.
“It’s like me going into a girls’ bathroom wearing a wig,” Tanner Bischofberger, 15, a classmate of A J Jackson’s, who was not one of those in the bathroom, said this week. “It’s just weird.”
A complaint about Mr. Jackson’s using the boys’ bathroom set off a protest by students advocating the right of their transgender classmate to use the bathroom of his choice. Mr. Jackson has gradually been making the transition from a vivacious girl with a big smile and long wavy locks to a husky boy with chopped hair dyed several shades of green, snakebite piercings in his lips and gauges embedded in his earlobes. His chest is visibly bound, and because he has not yet started taking male hormones — he plans to do that, and also to have “top surgery,” he says — his face is smooth and still has feminine contours. He once thought he was lesbian, and is still attracted to girls.There were practical issues. When he had his period, he wondered if he should revert to the girls’ bathroom, because there was no place to throw away his used tampons. LINK
This is beyond silly.

• A square does not have five sides.
• A woman does not have a penis or produce sperm.
• A man does not have a vagina or experience menstruation.

"Rights" do not revoke reality. If you wish to pretend that you are a woman when you are really a man or pretend that you are a man when you are really a woman, knock yourself out. I couldn't care less. Live and let live I say. I have my own problems. But when you try to dragoon me into going along with your nonsense I will suggest that you commit an anatomically impossible though hypothetically pleasurable act. Tolerance is one thing. Active endorsement/encouragement is something else. If someone informs me that he's a dog I don't put a leash on him and order him to roll over for a belly rub. I tell him to get help.

Some people have compared transgender rights and the US Civil Rights movement, which among other things, ended racially segregated bathrooms. I think this is a bad comparison. Just because two actions are identical doesn't mean they are morally the same. You must know the reasons for the action. A police officer who shoots someone because he doesn't like that person's attitude is different than a police officer who shoots someone who is holding a knife to a hostage's throat. Exact same action. Entirely different moral calculus. Bathrooms were segregated by race because white racists wanted to enforce white supremacy. US racism defined Blacks as an untouchable class. Racially segregated bathrooms were just one example of a panoply of customs and laws across the US which defined black people as inferior. Black people and like minded allies fought against this not by claiming that black people were really white but by saying that the state and private entities were constitutionally or morally forbidden from segregating by race. We separate bathrooms and locker rooms by biological sex not to enforce male or female supremacy but rather to uphold the privacy and dignity of both sexes. Most people have a preference for single sex privacy when changing clothes or eliminating. There are also some minor safety concerns. But the primary reason is privacy. Does a desire for privacy automatically translate into unlawful discrimination? I don't think that it does. If you are a (wo)man it's not discrimination for you to be expected to use the (wo)men's room. This is an important point. Everyone knows what the other sex looks like. Everyone has seen the other sex nude or partially unclothed. And even so, absent an emergency, it is still generally considered a violation of dignity and privacy for someone of the opposite sex who is not your intimate partner to look upon you when you are partially clothed or nude without your consent. Sex is a more rooted biological category than race is. Race can differ considerably across time, culture and countries. But sex, with incredibly rare exceptions, doesn't vary that much within or among cultures. In the overwhelming majority of cases you are either male or female. And most disparate cultures (exceptions noted) will agree. Noting a difference based on biological sex is not a horrible societal imposition based on hatred. It's a key part of human reproduction. It is perhaps theoretically possible or desirable to be indifferent about race. Not so about sex.

It's true that some good people do not care one iota about what I consider to be essential standards of privacy and decorum. That is their right. I don't tell them how to live their lives. But in a time where college students compete to have fainting parties over invited speakers they dislike and people parse each other's communication for microaggressions it seems disingenuous to ignore that some people will be uncomfortable in sharing intimate facilities with people, who, despite their delusions, are of the opposite sex. When I go to the bathroom I don't wish to run the risk of exposing myself to a woman. And there are many women who would like to change or do other things without a man looking at them. If there is a right to privacy, as the Supreme Court has found, surely it must include the ability to eliminate or change clothes without being viewed by a member of the opposite sex? This controversy is so silly. If you have one of these use this changing area/bathroom. If you have one of those use that changing area/bathroom. Subjective feelings shouldn't enter the equation.

There is a procedural issue here as well. There isn't any federal civil rights law which adds transgender status or sexual identity to protected classes. People have tried and fortunately failed to create such a law. There hasn't been any Supreme Court decision which finds that either federal law or the Constitution requires that people who identify as transgender must be allowed to use the bathroom or locker room of their choice. The Title IX law which the Administration cites for its decree is about sexual equality between men and women's sports teams and educational opportunities. Congress could have placed gender identity in the text of the law but did not. Gender identity and sex are not synonymous. The law does not list gender identity. Until it does I think the Administration is overstepping. This is an example of the tension in our political system between the rights of states, individuals and the federal government. It's designed that way. Unfortunately in the modern era there has been a bipartisan tendency for more and more power to be concentrated in the executive branch, more specifically in agencies and regulatory bodies. This is a metastasizing threat both to separation of powers and to representative government. If the President and his executive branch are just going to tell us what laws mean and enforce laws that were never even passed then why do we need Congress or the Courts? The fact that the Administration refuses to consider the obvious solution of a single occupancy gender neutral bathroom for those who identify as transgender shows me that the concern here is not so much about the rights of the transgender population as it is trying to stifle dissent. Lynch, Gupta and President Obama appear to be operating under the assumption that they get to micromanage policy in public schools across the nation. Absent a change in the law they do not. I hope that school administrators remember that and treat this guidance letter with the rich contempt that it deserves. I don't see the point of the Adminstration's actions. The Administration wants a fight. Well they are certainly going to get one.

Can Donald Trump Win? Well Yes He Can

There has been a lot of discussion online and elsewhere about whether or not Donald Trump can win the general election in the fall and why he was able to become the presumptive Republican nominee. At this time I still think that the advantage that Democrats have in the electoral college will be a bit too much for Mr. Trump to overcome. But things are changing. There were some recent polls that showed Trump tightening the race or actually beating Clinton in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Imagine that.  
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the likely general election presidential nominees, are running neck-and-neck in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, results driven by wide gender and racial gaps among voters, a new general election poll shows.
Clinton edges Trump in Florida and Pennsylvania, while Trump leads in Ohio, according to the Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday.
In both Florida and Pennsylvania the poll shows Clinton narrowly over Trump, 43% to 42%. In Ohio, Trump leads Clinton 43% to 39%.
"At this juncture, Trump is doing better in Pennsylvania than the GOP nominees in 2008 and 2012. And the two candidates are about where their party predecessors were at this point in Ohio and Florida," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll, in a memo accompanying the poll results. And despite comments about Mexican illegal immigrants that have inspired a fierce reaction from across the political spectrum Trump is currently polling slightly better among Hispanics than Romney did.  Now it's still very early. Some of these polls are outliers. It's not time to panic if you are a Clinton supporter and/or a Democrat. After all there are a few Republicans who would rather vote for Clinton than Trump. 

That's not saying much but it does show that Clinton is a weak candidate who has so far not provided an explanation of why she's running or what vision she has for the country. There is a reason why, despite Clinton's presumptive nominee status, that she has still been unable to put down a feisty socialist from Vermont who is getting nastier as time passes.
Clinton is not an inspirational candidate. She's the candidate of "Eat your spinach because it's good for you dammit!" or "I'm running because it's my turn." She doesn't seem to offer much more than that. And whatever advantage she has among women may be offset by the advantage that Trump holds among men. If Trump can continue to nibble away at the advantage that Clinton has over women while maintaining or extending his lead among men, then we could be looking at President Trump in January of 2017. On the other hand Clinton is only trailing Trump in Georgia by four points. The Republican solid South may be starting to crack thanks to migration of non-Southerners to the region, a presumptive Republican nominee with extremely high negatives and a growing Hispanic electorate which tends to vote Democratic. No one knows what will happen. I do know though that people who are broadly speaking on the left need to stop assuming that Trump will lead the Republican ticket to electoral disaster of Biblical proportions. That still may be the most likely outcome. But if Trump can translate those record breaking primary voters and rallies to general election voters he can win. All Trump needs to do is to hold on to the South (absent North Carolina and Florida) and "steal" two or three states which normally vote Democratic in national elections. 

The most likely areas for Trump to do this are in the "Rust Belt" Midwest and western Pennsylvania. Trump is targeting Michigan. Look for future Trump emphasis on down market white voters in places like Ohio, Indiana, Colorado, Florida and elsewhere. Again, right now, I still don't think this will be enough to put him over the top. But it's the only thing that could. You could argue that we've seen some of the Trump voters come out before to support Sarah Palin when she was on the ticket. And their support wasn't enough then. But President and VP are different. Either way this is going to be an exciting campaign. Historically it would be something else if the Democrats held on to the White House for three successive elections. That hasn't happened since the Republicans did it starting in 1980. The Democratic electoral debacles of the eighties led to a rebranding and reworking of the Democratic party. If the Republicans lose again then they will need to undergo a similar process. The Republican leadership may no longer be able to hold together a fractious group of nationalists, free market purists, evangelicals, big business supporters, and people who don't like them. On the other hand should the Democrats lose then perhaps they will have to rethink the emphasis on some "social justice" issues. We shall see. 

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: Book of the Stranger

Well that was fun. This was both a transitional episode that set up later events and one which also moved the story forward in some very pleasing ways. I liked the balance displayed in this episode between talking and action. I hope that it continues. We open with Jon Snow packing up his belongings and preparing to leave Castle Black. Dolorous Edd is not super happy about Jon's decision, especially as Jon knows the dangers behind the wall. Jon is of the opinion that all of that is someone else's problem now especially since he has technically lived up to his vows. He gave his life to the Night's Watch. Jon still hasn't gotten over that whole my so-called brothers killed me thing. The quarrel between Edd and Jon has to be put on hold because FINALLY there is a Stark reunion. Brienne, Podrick and Sansa Stark arrive at Castle Black. Jon is shocked and happy to see Sansa. Later on they reminisce together about all the silly stupid things they did in those days before their parents were murdered, their family was scattered and war broke out. Sansa apologizes for looking down on Jon for his illegitimate status though Jon says no apology is needed. They both regret leaving Winterfell. But speaking of Winterfell Sansa tells Jon that they must take it back and eject Ramsay for otherwise they'll never be safe. Jon says he's tired of fighting and killing. Sansa says that Winterfell belongs to the Starks not Ramsay. She wants Jon to help her but she'll do it by herself if need be. In the courtyard Davos catches up with an atypically tired looking Melisandre to ask her what her plans are. She doesn't know. She says she will do whatever Jon (The Prince Who Was Promised) wants her to do. Davos says wasn't that what you called Stannis?  Now that the excitement has temporarily died down Davos finally (he's loyal but maybe not the quickest thinking fellow) asks Melisandre what happened to Stannis and by the way where is Shireen? Brienne is lurking about and interrupts, fixing both Davos and Melisandre with a cold glare. She says she was there when Renly was murdered by Melisandre's magic. She also says that she killed Stannis. She waits a moment to see if there's going to be any static from Davos or Melisandre over this. She also says she doesn't forgive or forget before stomping off. Ok then.

Littlefinger has returned to the Vale with a gift of a gyrfalcon for Lord Robin. Robin is ineptly practicing archery. Lord Royce wants to know how is it that Sansa wound up married to Ramsay Bolton when she was supposed to be under Littlefinger's protection. Littlefinger makes up the obvious lie that they were attacked by Bolton forces. He also insinuates that Royce was the only one who knew the itinerary. When Royce tells him to step into the Octagon and say that, Littlefinger adroitly hides behind Robin's "authority" and makes it look like Royce is challenging Robin, which of course would mean execution via the sky door. The previously bored Robin would have no problem executing Royce. Royce must back down. Littlefinger has apparently heard of Sansa's escape, and is easily able to manipulate Robin into agreeing to send some undetermined number of Vale soldiers to the North. In what I thought was a reference to difference of experience between politicians and the communities which they claim to serve or represent Tyrion has decided to negotiate with the representatives of the slaver cities. Tyrion claims to have experience being enslaved. Missandei scornfully notes that Tyrion was enslaved for all of five minutes. Tyrion proposes that the slavers can gradually wean themselves from slavery over a seven year period. They will also receive compensation for their economic loss. In return the slavers will withdraw support for the Sons of the Harpy in Meereen. To seal the deal Tyrion offers the slavers prostitutes. Grey Worm and Missandei especially hate this. Later when incredulous citizens (and former slaves) hear of the deal which Tyrion has made they are upset. From loyalty to Daenerys Missandei and Grey Worm offer razor thin support in public but they each make it clear to Tyrion that they don't think he knows what he's doing. Slavery is not just an economic process. The slavers can not be trusted, no matter how smart Tyrion thinks he is. More on this below in a moment.

Essos' famous Odd Couple Jorah and Daario have tracked their queen to Vaes Dothrak. Daario is apparently feeling either threatened or triumphant because he won't stop needling Jorah about the fact that Daenerys and Daario do this a lot, while Jorah doesn't. But Daario thinks that as old as Jorah is he likely couldn't keep up or keep it up with Daenerys for that matter. This finally seems to bring Jorah out of his Zen state. He says that after they find Daenerys that he and Daario can settle accounts but for now they need to prepare to infiltrate Vaes Dothrak. There are no weapons allowed in the city so Jorah starts removing his arms and demanding those of Daario. Daario notices that Jorah has greyscale and says he'll remove his own weapons thank you very much. During the night the two unarmed men are moving through the Dothraki city when they are accosted by two soldiers who see thru Jorah's flimsy story of being a wine merchant. A fight breaks out. Daario quickly kills his opponent. But apparently age and greyscale have caught up with Jorah. Jorah's getting a mudhole stomped in his behind, Dothraki style, when Daario stabs Jorah's opponent from behind. Daario never leaves his knives behind. They hide the bodies and attempt to cover up the knife wound. Daenerys claims to find the lecturing and the body odor of the older widows offensive. She says she needs to use the bathroom. She's accompanied by a younger widow who was abused by her khal. This younger widow wants to hear about the dragons and how Daenerys did things. And surprise, surprise, surprise up pop Jorah and Daario. They want to leave right now before the bodies are discovered and alarms are raised. But Daenerys has a plan.

In King's Landing a septa takes Margaery Tyrell to see the High Sparrow. He dismisses her desire to see her family saying that her family only represents sin. He details his own origin story to her. The point is that he's a very self-righteous man who may still feel guilt. He definitely feels disgust towards the wealthy. He claims that the poor and the beggars are closer to the truth than anyone else. The High Sparrow allows Margaery to see her brother Loras. Loras has been beaten and tortured. He's in a pretty sorry state of affairs. Margaery correctly intuits that the High Sparrow's only purpose in allowing the two siblings to briefly see each other is to rush their confessions. Loras says he can't hold out much longer, despite Margaery's admonitions to be strong. Pycelle is talking to King Tommen urging him to be cautious in dealing with the High Sparrow. Cersei arrives and is po'd to find Pycelle talking to her son without her knowledge or presence. She orders him out but a gloating Pycelle won't leave until Tommen tells him to do so. And even then he takes his sweet time about it, rolling his eyes at Cersei every step of the way. Alone, Cersei admits to Tommen that no she doesn't really like Margaery but that's not the point. The point is that the High Sparrow represents a much greater threat to the established order. It's a point that she and Jaime make again to their Uncle Kevan and Olenna Tyrell. It's time for the nobles to stop their bickering and come together against this religious, even revolutionary threat to their class interests. Olenna is non-committal initially but changes her mind when Cersei informs her of the High Sparrow's plans to have Margaery make a walk of atonement. The plan is to have the Tyrell armies take out the Faith Militant while Kevan and company pretend neutrality. Olenna is outraged at anyone doing to Margaery what was done to Cersei.

Theon has arrived at the Iron Islands but his sister Yara is not happy to see him. She is embarrassed by his weakness, angry that she lost men trying to save him and suspicious that he's going to try to make a play for leadership. He was dead to her. She's surprised to hear that he escaped. Theon semi-apologizes. He says that Ramsay broke him. At this point he just wants to assist Yara to sit on the Salt Throne. Osha is brought in to see Ramsay who is peeling apples. Osha claims to be unimpressed with Ramsay and to have no special love for the Starks. Ramsay wants to know why he should keep her around. Osha says don't you want what all men want. She jumps on top of Ramsay. She's reaching for Ramsay's dagger which is tantalizingly out of reach. While she's trying to wake up Ramsay's little Bolton, Ramsay tells Osha that she's not as talkative as Theon, who for example told Ramsay all about who seduced him and helped Bran and Rickon Stark to escape. Osha lunges for the knife but Ramsay is quicker. He stabs Osha in the neck with his paring knife. While Osha bleeds out on the floor, Ramsay wipes off the blade and goes back to eating his apple. At Castle Black Jon and company are eating in silence. In a bit of silent humor Tormund is sizing up Brienne. Whether he is thinking about fighting her or doing something else is anyone's guess. The food isn't very good. They receive a letter from Ramsay. In typical Ramsay fashion he insults everyone. He says give Sansa back to him or he will kill Rickon. And then he'll rape Sansa and pass her along to his soldiers. He calls himself Lord of Winterfell. This gets Jon's goat. Sansa says they must fight this monster. Jon silently agrees. But Tormund only has maybe 2000 fighting men, not enough to win against Ramsay's 5000.

In the episode's last and most powerful scene the assembled Khals are discussing what to do with Daenerys. She is brought before them. Some men think she should stay with the widows. Some men want to sell her to Yunkai. Others think that since she is a foreigner and left the Dothraki she deserves no widow's protection. But all of the men are shocked and offended when Daenerys dares to speak for herself, a big no no. Khal Moro says that ok that's it then. Daenerys will be gang-raped to show her her proper place. Daenerys says that this is the place where Khal Drogo promised to conquer the world on her behalf. The other Khals say she was a dummy to believe it. Daenerys says that the current Khals are small men with no imagination and have no right to lead the Dothraki. So she will lead the Dothraki. When they laugh at this and say they will never serve her, Daenerys replies "You're not going to serve. You're going to die." She overturns the lit braziers. The whole place goes up in flames. Just so it's quite clear to everyone that Daenerys is special there are closeups of her grasping the hot metal of the brazier for relatively long periods of time. No one escapes because Jorah and Daario have barred the doors. Eventually the whole place crashes down in flames. Daenerys walks out nude and unburnt. Everyone kneels.

What I liked

• No Arya storyline or Dorne storyline. Until Arya gets back to Westeros somehow I'm not all that interested in what she's doing. And I was never interested in Dorrne.
• The "Pink Letter" from the last book (Ramsay's letter to Jon) was nicely done.
• Davos, if somewhat belatedly, trying to discover Shireen's fate. If he does that has to fracture the seeming alliance between Jon, Davos, Melisandre and the wildlings.
• Tyrion's assumptions that slavery is not that different from feudalism, he can negotiate with anyone, and that he knows slavery better than people who were born into it or suffered it for years. I think he's going to learn that he's made mistakes with all of those premises. It's hard being unyiedlingly righteous as Daenerys is and perhaps Ned Stark was, but there are some compromises which can't be made. I'm looking forward to seeing  what happens next in this storyline.
• Daenerys' showing why they call her "Unburnt". It's maybe a repeat of previous storylines but I liked it. It also moves the narrative forward. Let's get her out of Essos now.
• Missandei stepping in to translate for Tyrion. I thought it a foreshadowing and callback to the idea that Tyrion doesn't understand the culture he's dealing with.
• A more forceful Sansa. I'm not sure it made sense this quickly when we looked at the frightened woman who couldn't cross a river an episode or two ago but I'm glad to see it.

What I didn't like

• Not much. I thought maybe Royce backed down too quickly but Robin is unstable while Littlefinger is dangerous.
• The whole idea of Jon going south by himself is sort of silly. No one outside of the The Wall knew he was dead so wouldn't he have been seen as a deserter subject to execution?

Book Reviews: Traitor's Blade

Traitor's Blade
by Sebastien De Castell

I buy a lot of books and other items from Amazon. It's quick and convenient. Often the prices are better because Amazon doesn't have the well paid labor force, tax liabilities or property, plants and equipment that your local big box or independent bookstore has to carry. However the issue with Amazon or other online retailers is that it's not really easy to just browse books online. Usually when I go online to purchase something I already know exactly what I want. So there's not a big reason to spend a lot of time online. With a physical bookstore it's easier for me to drop in and browse. I can spend hours in a bookstore. And as a result I can find and enjoy books which otherwise I would never ever have read. Traitor's Blade is such a book. It really was as simple as wandering through the fantasy section of my local bookstore and just happening to have my eye fall on this 2014 fantasy novel. That was good luck. This is a solid read. Yes it does initially heavily rely on some tropes and cliches which are well known to any reader of heroic fantasy. It's a crowded field with a long history. But I thought that the author was strong enough to find his own voice. So this book simultaneously feels very comfortable and familiar while being just different enough to justify reading. This book is the first in a trilogy, but I thought it stood on its own. I want to know what happens next. However De Castell ended his story in such a way that I would be content even if I weren't soon going to purchase the next two books. I hope that the remaining books live up to the first one. There are a tremendous number of heroic stories in which the protagonists have been cast out from their promised land, been betrayed in some cruel fashion, or simply have to grow up quickly in a cold cruel world. In Traitor's Blade, the three heroes, Falcio, Kest and Brasti, (the story is told in first person from Falcio's point of view) are Greatcoats. A Greatcoat is effectively a superhero in the low magic Italian Renaissance world which De Castell has created. A Greatcoat is something of a paladin. He, or more rarely she, is a person responsible only to King Paelis. A Greatcoat's job is to travel the land, settle disputes, dispense justice, provide/share education and ensure that everyone understands that the King's Law applies equally to everyone, rich or poor, noble or commoner. Everyone deserves dignity and protection of the law. Fighting is a Greatcoat's last option though they are incredibly skilled at combat. The Greatcoat is so called because of his titular clothing, which serves as a signifier of status, insulation and protection during bad weather, armor, and storage space for all sorts of hidden weapons, papers, devices, potions, etc.

However as you might imagine the powerful nobles of the land really don't like the idea of being subject to the King's law. They are big believers in ducal rights. They think King Paelis is getting too big for his britches. They scorn the concept of protecting the poor. They deny that law is or should be greater than a noble's desire. As one duke says "The law is what I say it is." The dukes firmly believe in the divine rights of nobility to be unfettered by moral or legal concerns. They think that might makes right, at least as long as they have the might. To make this point clear to King Paelis they overthrow him and chop his head off. The Greatcoats have since been disbanded and fallen into disrepute. People think they behaved dishonorably since for some reason they didn't die with their king. Shamefully allegedly some Greatcoats have even gone over to serve the Dukes or turned bandit against the people they were sworn to protect. Falcio, Kest and Brasti may be the last remaining Greatcoats who attempt to live with some modicum of honor. Falcio is the Greatcoat former leader. Normally quite levelheaded and fair minded, Falcio can go berserk if anyone mentions his deceased wife. Kest has been Falcio's best friend since childhood. Kest is also the world's best swordsman. The over serious Kest does not joke and tends to take things literally. Brasti is a good looking ladies man, a humorist and the world's best archer. He does not miss. Ever. Neither Kest nor especially Brasti are shy about letting enemies know how good they are. Brasti brags and boasts. Kest just flatly lets people know. These three men all have secret instructions from the deceased Paelis. They need to find a hidden treasure. But for now they work as bodyguards for merchants. With the death of the king, the realm has fallen into crime and chaos. When a mysterious woman murders their client via apparently magical means and sets them up as patsies, the trio must find other work while staying one step ahead of the authorities. This kicks off a swashbuckling adventure featuring intrigue, wicked femme fatales, wise but irascible old women advisers, political manipulation, magic, incredible duel scenes, and maybe a little love.

The obvious comparison is to Dumas' work like The Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte Cristo but the narrative is not as complex and the description is not as dense. I think there's also a shout out to The Princess Bride. Kest and Brasti are not fleshed out as much as Falcio. De Castell details the essentially arbitrary nature of authority based on hereditary inheritance and/or violence. There are plenty of bad guys and bad girls in this story but there's also good as well. To Brasti's annoyance, Falcio usually insists on doing the right thing even when it doesn't make sense, no one else is watching or it's downright suicidal. This is not uber dark reading. At about 400 pages it's not super long either. I enjoyed this story.

HBO Game of Thrones Recap: Oathbreaker

Jon Snow is back! And that is exactly the reaction that Davos and Melisandre (attired again in her normal revealing dress) have upon seeing him. Davos is the first to see Jon alive again. Both Davos and Melisandre are interested in knowing what Jon saw or remembers during his time in the afterlife but Jon remembers nothing. All he knows is that his fellow Night's Watch members murdered him and that Olly stabbed him in the heart. Jon is shocked and disoriented. He thinks he shouldn't be here. Melisandre thinks that if Jon is back he must be part of the Lord of Light's plan. Melisandre thinks that Jon is the Prince Who Was Promised. Jon doesn't know anything about that. Jon says he tried to do the right thing and got murdered for it so it must mean that he failed. Davos says that Jon must continue to do the right thing even he thinks he's failed. The Night's Watch members and Free Folk are suitably shocked and impressed to see Jon up and walking. Some of them think that Jon is a god. Sam and Gilly are on a ship to Oldtown. Sam is seasick. A lot. Gilly is watching him with big goo goo eyes. She is proud of being able to read. She explains to Sam her previous confusion about homophones like sea and see. Between upchucks Sam explains to Gilly that as women aren't actually allowed to be maesters he intends to take her to his former home, Horn Hill, where hopefully his kind mother will take her in. His mother doesn't actually make the decisions though. Sam's martinet father, Randyll Tarly does. So that plan is sorta iffy. Gilly doesn't care about Sam's well intentioned deception or his changing of plans without consulting her. She's like whatever Sam, just as long as I am around you. Gilly has absolute trust in Sam. Cute. Given this show's history though you wonder how long that is going to last. I must say Sam, if someone looks at you with love while you're puking your guts up then that woman is probably a keeper. Even if her son is her brother. Gilly has told Sam that she considers him to be the father of her child. And if's that not love then I don't know what is.

Bran and the Three Eyed Raven (TER) are time traveling again. They are watching as Ned Stark and six of his bannermen go to fight three Kingsguard members, including Arthur Dayne, at the Tower of Joy. After some boasting from both sides about what they're going to do to each other and some leading questions about why the Kingsguard weren't at the battle with Rhaegar and why Rhaegar instead ordered them to be at the Tower of Joy, the fight begins. It's not anywhere near as epic as I imagined it but nonetheless it's soon evident that the Kingsguard are more skilled than Ned and his men. But numbers tell. Eventually it's Ned, Howland Reed and two others against the last standing Kingsguard, Arthur Dayne. Just because he apparently wants to signal to viewers that he's a bada$$, Dayne fights with two swords. Dayne takes out Reed, kills two others and then turns his considerable talent against Ned. Bran, like most young children would be, is a little discomfited to learn that dear old Dad is not actually the best in the world at everything. There is a significant skills gap between Ned Stark and Arthur Dayne when it comes to swordsmanship. Ned's no punk but he's just not on Dayne's level. Dayne has disarmed Ned and is about to go in for the kill, when just like a WWE wrestling match here comes the wounded but not dead Howland Reed back from the mat! He stabs Dayne in the neck from behind; Ned finishes him off. The whole thing gets Bran upset since that's not how he heard the story. Ned hears a woman screaming from the tower. He runs into the tower but temporarily stops as he seems to hear Bran yelling his name. The TER intervenes and pulls Bran back to the present. He again reiterates that the past is the past and can't (or is that shouldn't) be changed. Ned only heard Bran's voice as wind. The TER also says that if you stay too long in the past you will get lost there. To Bran's objections the TER says that Bran is there to learn. He doesn't have to like it or like TER. He just has to learn. The TER says that he's been there for a 1000 years which is a pretty interesting statement as it would seem to rule out someone I thought the TER was.

Daenerys reaches Vaes Dothrak. She is stripped of her clothes by the other widows (as with the opening scene with Jon Snow this is done with no frontal shots) and informed that if she's lucky she will get to live out her days with them. There is a Khal council about to start. No doubt Daenerys' status will be on the agenda. And no the other widows do not care one bit that she is Daenerys Stormborn, Breaker of Chains, First of Her Name, blah, blah, blah. Here's a quarter. Call someone who cares, honey. They all used to be bigshots. In Meereen Varys is showing his worth. He has identified the woman who set up the Unsullied and Second Sons for their massacre last season. It's a prostitute named Vala. In what seems like a shout out to any number of Western wars in the Third World, most obviously Iraq and Afghanistan, Vala and Varys go back and forth about Daenerys and her foreign (colonial) intervention. But Varys mentions Vala's son and offers her money and safe passage to Pentos for information. Meanwhile Tyrion, Grey Worm and Missandei wait. Tyrion learns that Grey Worm and Missandei are not big on small talk with him, don't drink or appreciate his wit, take everything literally and don't completely trust him. Well that's awkward. Finally Varys arrives and informs the group that the slaveowners of Yunkai, Astapor and Volantis are funding the reactionary Sons of the Harpy. Thank you Captain Obvious. It's questionable as to whether Meereen has the muscle to go back and conquer all three cities. But Missandei says the slaveowners understand only one thing. Tyrion says that we will send a message.

In King's Landing Qyburn has taken over Varys' network of child spies or little birds. Cersei approves. Cersei wants to know anything and everything that happens in King's Landing. Anyone who speaks against her needs to get got. In fact she wants this intelligence program expanded throughout Westeros by yesterday. With that made clear, Cersei and Jaime and FrankenGregor crash the Small Council meeting. Pycelle has transferred his loyalty from Cersei to her uncle Kevan. Pycelle is talking greasy about Qyburn. No one is happy to see the Lannister siblings or their pet monster. Kevan just stares while Olenna Tyrell makes incest jokes and reminds Cersei that the Queen Mother is not the Queen. Mace Tyrell is his usual blustery ineffective self. But the incest doublemint twins aren't leaving. They cite precedent for each of them to be on the Small Council. They also want to know what Kevan and the group intend to do about Dorne where as we saw not only have Ellaria and the Sand Snakes murdered the Martells but apparently now rule. Since he can't make his niece and nephew go away Kevan decides to leave the room. Everyone else departs with him. Tommen, accompanied by Kingsguard and soldiers, goes to see the High Sparrow. He wants to know why his mother and wife must still be tried and why his mother can't see Myrcella's resting place. King Tommen is very angry. Fortunately for the High Sparrow King Tommen is of an age and personality type such that the last person to talk to him gets to change his mind. The High Sparrow plays humble, claims that none of this is personal and that true wisdom comes from the gods. He's on Tommen's side you see. He says he appreciates Cersei's love for Tommen. Once again Tommen doesn't use the force that he has at his disposal. The overall experience was exactly like someone walking into their boss's office angry about being underpaid or disrespected and walking out 30 minutes later feeling happy at getting a 10% pay cut. The High Sparrow is quite the game player.

In a montage that will be familiar to anyone who's seen a kung fu movie in the past half-century Arya is finally learning to fight blind, despite some horrific beatings from the waif. In fact, to the waif's evident surprise Arya not only holds her own but gives it back a few times. She's also learning how to identify and mix potions by smell alone. After being tested again over the whole no name thing and telling the truth Jaqen H'ghar gives her a drink. This drink restores Arya's vision. The Umbers, led by their new lord, have come to see Ramsay at Winterfell. Presumably this new lord is SmallJon Umber? In any event Lord Umber refuses to kneel or pledge to Ramsay. He reminds Ramsay of Roose's oaths to the Starks and his treachery at the Red Wedding. He plainly states that Ramsay murdered Roose. He insults Lord Karstark as a homosexual pedophile. All the same though Lord Umber apparently intends to support Ramsay as he has brought Asha and Rickon Stark to give to Ramsay. As proof of Rickon's identity Lord Umber provides the head of Rickon's wolf, Shaggydog. It seems that Lord Umber is very upset with Jon Snow's decision to let the wildlings through the Wall. As one of the families closest to the Wall the Umbers expect to bear the brunt of any problems that arise. Speaking of Jon Snow, at Castle Black Jon Snow is about to execute the four ringleaders of his murder. Obviously this includes Alliser Thorne and Olly. Jon is not really looking forward to this. Jon gives all of them a chance for last words. One man says it wasn't fair because Jon was dead. Why didn't he stay dead. Another says get word to my family that I died fighting wildlings. Alliser says you won I lost but if I had it to do over again I'd do the same thing. Do what you gotta do. Alliser is at peace with his decisions. Olly doesn't say anything. As Melisandre watches from the balcony like Stannis before her in a similar situation, Jon cuts the rope. The drop is not long enough to cleanly break the neck. All four men dangle, choke and kick. It's nothing less than they deserve. After the four die and we see their blue bulging faces Dolorous Edd reminds Jon Snow that he needs to burn the bodies. But Jon has had enough. He tells Edd that Edd can burn the bodies. Jon gives the Lord Commander's cloak to Edd. He's quitting. As he says his watch has ended. Jon leaves. Technically this is not desertion as death ends all commitments.

What I liked

• I liked the High Sparrow's ability to gauge whether a rival needs to be threatened or cajoled. He very quickly sized up Tommen and correctly chose the later approach. He's not afraid of Tommen. He just recognizes what will work.
• Cool competent Kevan. He's no Tywin but neither is he Cersei. I'm looking forward to seeing how he interacts with a rejuvenated Cersei.
• Jon leaving the Night's Watch.
• Sam and Gilly as a reminder, albeit a queasy one, that not everything is horrible in Westeros.

What I didn't like

• Forget about the books. Just in the show we've have both Roose and Ramsay worried about the possibility of a Stark showing up and having the other Northern Houses rally around a Stark. A unnamed Northern Lord was willing to be flayed and burned rather than deny a Stark King in the North. We had the peasant woman muttering that the North Remembers. She was also willing to die to help Sansa Stark. The Umbers have been one of the Houses most loyal to the Starks and most in support of Northern Secession. And now we're supposed to believe that the Umbers, who have just about as many men as the Boltons and had a Stark whom no one knew about, just hand over Rickon Stark to Ramsay Bolton? It doesn't make any sense. Even if the Umbers have some self-interest to play out wouldn't it seem that they would keep Rickon's identity and location a secret from Ramsay. I hated this. I think it's a result of bad writing and bad decisions from earlier seasons to not name and detail the other Northern Lords who were murdered at the Red Wedding. It wasn't just Robb Stark and his personal retainers and soldiers. The entire North is supposed to hate and despise the Boltons. And once again another wolf dies. My only hope is that I didn't see what I just saw and the dead wolf is not Shaggydog. But that seems unlikely. Seriously though why does Ramsay keep going from success to success or Stark to Stark. I don't want to see a season of Ramsay "playing" with Rickon Stark or Osha. What happened to all this fierce Northern loyalty to the Starks? Maybe we're supposed to be like Bran watching his father lose a fight, shocked and upset to learn that the truth never was the story we were told.  
• The whole point of sending Mace Tyrell to Braavos was to try to make a deal with the Iron Bank. Well what happened? Also per Tywin, Casterly Rock was broke? So how are the Crown and the Lannisters paying troops? Are the Tyrells still helping? The Iron Bank is supposed to be relentless about recouping debts.
• Again, doesn't it seem that Davos would want to know exactly what happened at the battle with the Boltons and where Shireen is and hey why is Melisandre still alive?
• No Littlefinger
• I thought the Arya stuff all could have been done in one episode.
• Another short episode.

Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Tow Trucks and The Right to Refuse Service

This story below caught my eye because (a) it occurred near a city where I used to spend summer vacations as a child and (b) there is so much in the news these days about this or that group trying to financially harm another group with whom they disagree. It has almost become a tenet of faith among some on both the left and the right that you should not do business with people who do not see the world as you do. Obviously boycotts and the associated right to refuse service are important tools which citizens and businesses can use to bring about change in the world. I agree with some boycotts. But sometimes these tools can be used in the wrong way. I was always taught not to spend my money with people who make it clear by word or deed that they do not respect me. It is a simple thing to take your business elsewhere or if you are so inclined to start your own business to fill an unmet market niche. But what seems to be more in the news these days is that people are very angry about the very possibility of spending money with people who do not see the world as they do on every little issue. That's a completely different kettle of fish. It's one thing to decide that you're going to boycott a business because they are doing something you find objectionable or which actually harms someone or something in the world. But boycotting them because their CEO said something with which you disagree or has revealed himself to be politically aligned with THEM is not something I automatically support. Similarly a business has the right to refuse service to a customer for any number of reasons. The usual exclusions to this right are the things a customer can't do anything about-race, sex, age, ethnicity, nationality, religion etc (although even in those instances there are occasionally valid reasons for refusing service along those lines). But most businesses are trying to make money and usually don't go out of their way to refuse service for arbitrary reasons. But North Carolina tower Kenneth Shupe had what he thought were very good reasons for refusing to assist a woman whose car had broken down.
A North Carolina tow-truck driver is defending his decision to abandon a woman on the highway after noticing she was a Bernie Sanders supporter when he arrived to help her with her car.
Cassandra McWade experienced a minor car accident outside of Asheville on Monday, and local tower Kenneth Shupe was dispatched to the scene after she called for assistance. Shupe was about to load up the car, but then he noticed that McWade’s car had Sanders bumper stickers on it, and told her that he wasn’t going to help her after all.
“Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave,” Shupe said. “And when I got in my truck, you know, I was so proud, because I felt like I finally drew a line in the sand and stood up for what I believed.”

I didn't know the Lord was speaking through damaged vehicles to tow truck drivers. I guess burning bushes are just out of style. Shupe is a Trump supporter and claims he's had bad experiences with "socialist minded people". So he told McWade to "call the government for a tow" and departed. As it turns out McWade was disabled but Shupe says that wouldn't have made any difference in his actions.


FOX Carolina 21

There are a few takeaways from this. It is not illegal to refuse service for political beliefs. And I don't think it should be. I think it is stupid though. I work every day with people who have worldviews and political beliefs which to put it mildly, I think are cretinous. But I'm not at work to debate or discuss politics or punish people with different beliefs than I. I'm there to make money. Why, absent being backed into a corner somehow, would I let politics get in the way of that? The other thing is, and there may be more written about this later, is that people who enjoy hearing about travel bans or boycotts launched at states who do not adhere to the latest NYT approved socio-sexual customs should remember that boycotts and service refusals can go both ways. The bad publicity that Shupe's business is receiving may cause him to rethink his policy of not helping self-identified Sanders supporters. Or it may not. He may get more business from Trump supporters. I don't know. What I do know is that as a culture and country we need to step back from the idea that we should only do business with people who think like we do. Or we're going to need to split up.

What's your take?