Howdy, folks! Welcome once again to the Omnium Gatherum. Or, if you’re new here, welcome to the Omnium Gatherum. This time around I thought I would take you folks on a different kind of journey with a different kind of outsider viewpoint. Right up until the time When Corona-Chan Came To Town, I had been attending classes at one of my local community colleges in English and Journalism, mostly to stretch those formal learning and realization muscles again. Along the way, naturally, I had to write papers on various topics, depending on the class. All of this is to preface this column which will take on a quasi-academic tone as it explores the topic of Ozymandias from Watchmen and whether his actions were or could be justified as good and/or heroic and by what standard. Let us begin. One of the most classic yet modern time travel story plots is a traveler or travelers going back in time to kill Hitler before he gets going. Many people would easily say yes to taking such an action—in t...
Howdy, folks! Welcome once again to the Omnium Gatherum. Or, if you’re new here, welcome to the Omnium Gatherum. This will definitely be a quick and dirty one. Today is my birthday. Not only am I past the half century mark, I can be assured that I have fewer days ahead of me than behind me. Barring any significant technological advances or any other miracle that extends human life beyond its current limits, that is. Perhaps that explains why I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately. Not so much about the getting older. That’s built into the human condition. But how am I spending my days, is the real question. For the most part, I am caring for elders during most of my days, and trying to squeeze writing in between and around the events of a typical day. Someone not necessarily really concerned recently asked me how my writing was going and I gave a noncommittal answer. Mostly because it was the typical question I do get asked. Also because it was being asked out of faux courtesy. But the qu...