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Superman, Batman and Spider-Man: How Murdering Loss Creates Comic Book Character

Over the holiday break, I decided to watch the newest Superman movie and I was certainly disappointed in the silly story, the rebooting of the franchise, and the awful acting of the lead character.  Superman should be wily, and funny, and tough.  He never preens.

It’s always boring when movie production houses feel they have to re-start a story that’s been never-endingly told for generations.  We pretty much know the backstory of Superman and we don’t need to re-live, over and over again, every 10 years or so, just how the star child becomes the Superman on earth.

In my short life, I think I’ve lived through at least a dozen iterations of Superman in film and on television and I would be perfectly fine to have a new Superman just appear in media res.  We get it he’s special and Superhuman, so just drop him in and let the story start with no explanation necessary!

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The World You Are Left with is Not the World I Wanted for You

One of the joys of my day is when I am able to speak to my friend and mentor, Howard Stein, who always has prescient and lively advice for me on a daily basis — even if we don’t speak every day!

In less than a year, Howard will turn 90 years old.  He just renewed his Stamford Library card until 2014 — making, as he joyously told me, a “bold statement about the fluidity of my future!”

During our latest conversation, as we reflected on our lives — as we are often wont to do — the tone turned serious and Howard said in a sad and somber voice, “David, the world you are left with is not the world I wanted for you.”

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We, Who Did Not Heed Eisenhower, are Now Slaves to the Military-Industrial Complex

We’re in the height of tax season and, as you prepare to pay your fair share, be sure you know you’re giving $260.00USD to Lockheed Martin, a single armaments manufacturer.  Do you feel safer at night knowing you’re faithfully paying your “Lockheed Martin” Slave Tax?

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Magnifying the Human Condition

The universal human condition is one of suffering and it is the Playwright’s moral duty to bring that condition to light on the live stage.

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Colored in Black and The Blues

The history of the African-American experience in America is one of a human rage colored in Black and The Blues. 

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Recoiling from The Cove

There are few movie trailers that are so stunningly effective that you actually recoil from the screen in your seat.  Meet “The Cove” and start your recoil:

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Saartjie Baartman: The Hottentot Venus

Saartjie Baartman was considered a South African sexual freak by Caucasian culture.  In 1810, when she was 20, she was convinced to leave her homeland for fame in England.  Her traditional Khoikhoi body type was considered freakish in Western Culture and she was put on sexual display.  Her bare breasts and genitals were open for the gaping.  She was given the nickname “Hottentot Venus” for her presumptive beauty, though in Khoikhoi, “hottentot” means “stutterer.”  Saartjie was dead at 25 and her genitals and brain were pickled for continued, public, display.

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