Weighing in on the issue of the Confederate Flag

               Every meme I have looked at in the past two weeks has been about the confederate flag.   I’ve heard so many arguments on both sides of the issue that my mind feels convoluted and overwhelmed.   Some of the arguments I’ve heard have been well thought out, articulated and intellectual.   They’re strong arguments because they make good, solid points.   Other arguments I’ve heard have been utterly ridiculous and weak.   They make no sense and it’s alarming that someone is using them, thinking that they have a solid point.
               I’ve been trying to figure out how I feel on the issue and while I do have some thoughts, I am mostly left with a lot of questions.   I do not think that this issue is as black and white as many people are making it out to be.   I think this issue is very gray, much grayer than many would like to imagine.    Then again, I think racism in general is much grayer than many would like to imagine.
               The meme that I saw earlier today that really got me thinking was a meme that I felt fell into the weak category field of arguments.   It was a meme that suggested that a bakery who would be forced to bake a cake for a homosexual wedding should also in turn be forced to bake a cake of a confederate flag.   I put that idea into serious question and thought out some plausible scenarios.

               Customer: I would like a cake for my son and his husband’s wedding please
               Bakery owner:  I’m sorry, I cannot do that for I believe homosexuality is wrong based on my belief system.

               I would only hope that if a bakery owner based his/her reaction to a customer wanting a cake for a homosexual wedding on his/her beliefs as a Christian that a similar reaction would be in place for the person wanting the confederate flag cake.

               Customer:  I would like a cake for my black neighbor that recently moved into what used to be a perfectly fine all white neighborhood, to give him the incentive that we don’t appreciate his kind round here.
               Bakery Owner:  I’m sorry, I cannot do that for that goes against what I believe as a Christian.

               Yet, as I picture this scenario in my mind, I realize that while there is truth to what I imagine, it is not 100% truth.    There are people in the world that would want a confederate flag cake for that very reason, but not everyone who would want a confederate flag cake would want it for that reason.

               Customer:  I would like a confederate flag cake please.  I’m not racist by the way.  I just want the confederate flag to celebrate with all of my friends, who happen to be all white and for the record Non-Jewish.
              
               At one time I would have considered such a statement to have been an outright lie of an individual who was clearly a racist but did not want to be labeled as one.   I would have thought this because again there are a lot of examples of people in the world who are just like that.     Yet, not everyone is.

               The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there truly are people out there in the world, who are not racist and who are not white supremacist who keep and bear the Confederate flag.   They truly display the confederate flag for its historical reference and heritage.  Some may even display it simply because they like the look of it.     Those types of people do exist and when weighing my thoughts on the issue, I must consider them.

               In some ways it all reminds me of the issue with Pit bulls.  There are many people that are against the ownership of Pit bulls and believe that no person should be allowed to own the animal.  They vote for Pit Bull bans in communities.    I have to ask myself, why do these people feel this way?  Well the answer is unfortunately very simple.  It’s because while there are people out there in this world that raise Pit bulls to be kind, loving, loyal dogs, there are unfortunately still many people out there in the world that raise them to be vicious, incredibly mean, killing machines.   The Pit Bulls greatest enemy is not the mom with three little kids that thinks of the dog as a killer and votes for a ban, it is the wanna be bad boy/bad girl who buys a Pit Bull puppy and trains it to be a merciless killer. 

               That is where the history/heritage waivers of the Confederate flag have failed.   If you are someone who is not a white supremacist or a racist that waves the confederate flag in honor of its historical and heritage reference, may I point out the obvious: You are in the minority of those who wave the flag.    The Dylann Roof’s of the world who wave the flag as a symbolism of white supremacy and hatred for minorities, outnumber you.  They outnumber you by a lot.   Your frustration and anger with this issue shouldn’t be with the liberals and the blacks who look at the Confederate flag as a symbolism of hatred and evil,  your frustration and anger should be with the white supremacist and racist who perverted the flag by proudly waiving it as a symbolism of white supremacy and hatred.

               More questions remain.   How do I feel about the Confederate flag being removed from government ran institutions.    I feel good about that and agree with it.  I agree with it because of what that flag has came to represent whether that is the true intention of the flag or not.   To me and others taking down the flag is a representation for a movement of equality.   It is a step in the right direction for the, “With Liberty and Justice For All” statement in the Pledge of Allegiance to finally feel like a true statement.   

               Yet, how do I feel about telling American citizens that they can’t waive the flag on their own property?   Not as good, matter of fact not good at all.   Is it because I believe strongly in the first amendment?  Yes, in partial it is.   Is it because I know that not all Confederate flag bearers are white supremacist and/or racist?  Yes, that is also part of the reason.  Yet the real reason is because I have to ask myself, what really does this accomplish?    Does it truly help to eliminate racism?    Does it suddenly make the man who hates all minorities and feels that America is HIS country because he’s white; have a sudden change of heart?   I don’t think so.    I personally feel that all it really does is create even more of a problem by not eliminating racism, but instead simply changes direct racism into indirect racism.    From what I’ve seen and studied, indirect racism in many ways is a much more dangerous and complicated issue than direct racism.    

               Some people then ask me, if by continuing to allow someone to waive the Confederate flag, for whatever reasons, am I not therefore supporting or in the least at least tolerating racism?    I can see that argument and think it’s a good, fair question.   It’s one that I have thought about, slept on and still find myself wrestling with today.    I don’t have the answer.   I wish it were as simple as, “Ok, stop the stupid hatred for stupid reasons.   We all bleed red people, let’s love one another” but it’s not. 

               Why do racist exist?  I don’t know if we as a society ask this question enough.   I think instead we ask ourselves, “Do racist people exist?” but we don’t examine the why enough.  I think instead we dismiss the question with, “because they’re stupid” or something of the sort.    Racism isn’t nearly as black and white as we seem to treat it.

               A young man raised in a mostly white community grows up and is amongst whites nearly all of his young life.  Then one day his father takes him to the store and he has an unfortunate incident with a person of color, who is very rude and mean to him.    After the incident, the boy ask his father why was the man rude and mean to him and his father replies, “That’s just the way those people are.”  

               The man grows up to think that all people of color are like that mean, rude man in the store that day and holds that prejudice against all people of color he meets in person and views on television and radio.   He gets a job at a place and has to work with a few people of color.   He doesn’t like most of them, but as he begins to work with Jimmy, he finds out that Jimmy isn’t like the rest of them.   Jimmy’s a good guy, smart, funny and friendly.   He likes Jimmy.  

               Yet when he’s around his other racist buddies, who see a group of black people and make unfair racist statements about them, saying, “yeah, they’re all like that!” his response is, “Well, yeah, but not Jimmy.  Jimmy isn’t like that.  He’s a good one.”

               The hope would be that the man’s experience with Jimmy would lead him to realize that all people of color are just like the white people he knows in his life.   Some people of color are going to be like the mean, rude man in the store that day.  Some people of color are going to be like Jimmy.     Just like the white people the man knows in his life, some are really cool, nice, friendly people and others are complete jerks.   

               Yet that’s not how the man looks at it.  The man looks at it as if almost all people of color are like the man in the store that day and that Jimmy just happens to be the one rare exception.   I have to ask myself, where are we as a society failing this man?   Where are we as a society failing to make this man make the realization that how people act and treat others is based on their content of character and not on the color of their skin?   That is a question I think needs to be addressed.   A question that needs to be addressed much more than the question of the Confederate flag.   The Confederate Flag is a result of this issue and not a causation of it.  

            Questions need to keep being asked and issues need to continue being discussed.   Feel free to agree with me or disagree with me but please do me a favor.  If you disagree with anything that I’ve said, let’s discuss it.  Tell me why you feel how you do and why.   It does no good for you to just be angry with me for having an opposing opinion to yours.   It does no good for you to just have your opinion and close mine off either.   We can only grow by learning about one another and listening to each other.   There are answers out there to these problems, and while disagreements will always exist, I do believe that we can come closer to moderation.   Then again, maybe I’m wrong about that too.  

4/5 Reasons I'm sick of amateur wrestlers praising MMA/UFC and bashing professional wrestling.

               “You’re a disgrace to real wrestling.”

               “You have no business calling yourself an amateur wrestling fan, being involved in that crap.”

                “Traitor!”  

                I used to let comments and accusations like these go in one ear and out the other.   The way I saw it (and still see it) I love both amateur wrestling and professional wrestling and I’ve done more than enough to prove my passion and love for amateur wrestling over the years.   I don’t need to justify my love and involvement in professional wrestling.    Yet, when I started hearing praise for MMA and UFC fighters out of the same mouths that bashed professional wrestling and me for being in it, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.    If people felt the need to make the statement, then I guess I feel the need to question them and why they say what they say.    Thus far I’ve been given five reasons why MMA/UFC is a respectable profession and why professional wrestling is not.   Let’s see how much truth there is to these statements.

               MMA/UFC takes talent and Professional Wrestling does not

               No doubt about it, MMA/UFC takes a tremendous amount of talent.   Many of the competitors know a variety of different skills and techniques, from a variety of different disciplines including wrestling, boxing, kick boxing, karate, jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, Kung Fu, and a multitude of others.    Training and mastering these techniques takes an ample amount of talent and not just anyone can do it.   If you are going to be a top MMA or UFC superstar, you need to be far above average.   It takes an incredible amount of ability.

               Guess what?  Same goes for professional wrestling.   In order to perform at a top level, learn maneuvers, master timing and other skills, it takes a tremendous amount of talent.  Not to mention, few wrestlers will ever consider themselves Shakespearean but a certain level of theatrical talent is needed as well.    It takes a lot of knowledge, skill and talent to know how to take someone down and snap their elbow in a MMA fight.    It also takes a lot of knowledge, skill and talent to know how to make it look like you took your opponent down and snapped his elbow.   Think what you will, but when you convince an audience of millions of people that you are legitimately hurt and your elbow really looks snapped when it is not, that is the mark of talent. 

         VERDICT OF STATEMENT:  FALSE

               MMA/UFC participants are legitimate athletes and professional wrestlers are not


           MMA/UFC participants often have legitimate backgrounds in a variety of sports and activities.  Many were successful in boxing, such as Marcus Davis, Jens Pulver and Art Jimmerson.    If I were to list all of those with successful amateur wrestling backgrounds, it'd take you an hour to read all of the names.  Just to give you an idea,  Ben Askren, Johny Hendricks, Josh Kosheck, Mark Munoz, Phil Davis and Jake Rosholt were all Division I NCAA champions.    It's actually harder to think of successful MMA/UFC fighters who do not have wrestling backgrounds than it is to think of those who do.   No doubt about it, MMA/UFC participants are legitimate athletes with legitimate athletic backgrounds.

         Guess what?

         So are many professional wrestlers.     Want to talk football?  How about Big E Langston, the Rock, Bo Dallas, Darren Young, JBL  and Titus O'Neil who all have collegiate football backgrounds?  Roman Reigns played professional football.    Basketball players are represented as well with The Big Show, and The Undertaker having both played college hoops.    Baseball even gets a mention with Ryback who played in college.   Want to talk about professional wrestling superstars with legitimate amateur wrestling backgrounds?  How about Brock Lesnar, Dolph Ziggler or Jack Swagger?   All were Division I wrestlers. Not enough?  Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas were also successful wrestlers in high school.    Still not enough?  Kurt Angle?  Bobby Lashley?  If you need more names, I can provide them.    The fact of the matter is, MMA/UFC fighters are legitimate athletes and so are a majority of professional wrestlers.


       VERDICT OF STATEMENT:  FALSE    


     Professional Wrestling is full of profanity, trash talking, sexual and perverted information and other inappropriate things and MMA/UFC is not.


      Professional wrestling has most certainly had its fair share of trash talking, profanity, sexual, perverted and raunchy material.    During the WWE Attitude Era, it was little else.   However, MMA/UFC have certainly been no strangers to the profanity and trash talking.  Matter of fact,  if you want to get to the logistics of it, the trash talking in professional wrestling is usually 9/10 times simply a work.  Two guys playing characters, who work out a promo to help draw money.    When pro wrestler A tells pro wrestler B he hates him and is gonna kick his butt, it's all part of an angle to draw in an audience.  The two will laugh over a few beers later on that night.    In MMA/UFC,  fighter A calls fighter B a piece of trash, who he hopes contracts terminal cancer, he means every word of it.

   Is that to say that most MMA/UFC fighters are like that?   No, of course it isn't.  The majority of them are high class individuals who routinely show phenomenal sportsmanship.   A lot of them are role models that your kids can look up to and admire.    Some of them aren't though.    Some of them are outright jerks.    Professional wrestling is no different.  You want a list of guys who are genuine, sincere individuals who are honest heroes for your kids to look up to?  Pro wrestling has plenty of them.  You want guys that absolute pieces of garbage?  Pro wrestling has them too.

     The point is, on this factor MMA/UFC and Professional wrestling match up damn near nose to nose.  




          VERDICT OF STATEMENT:  FALSE  


      MMA/UFC Fans are respectable, sophisticated and intelligent people, whereas professional wrestling fans are a bunch of morons and idiots.


      It baffles my mind to think that I even need to bring this up, but it has been brought to my attention. Well, I certainly can't deny that there are fans of professional wrestling who are morons and idiots.   I know there are.  I was around many of them.   I'm still around some of them from time to time.     The obese, overweight high school dropout, who lives in his mother's basement playing video games all day, pro rasslin' fan does exist.   I know, I've met him.  I've met a lot of him's.     However, some of those guys are watching MMA/UFC too.     I know very intelligent people, people with bachelor's, master's and even doctorate degrees who are professional wrestling fans.   I know some who are MMA/UFC fans too.     The fact of the matter is,  both MMA/UFC and professional wrestling are extremely popular and when you are extremely popular you are going to have fans from all walks of life.   No one is excluded.

       VERDICT OF STATEMENT:  FALSE

    MMA/UFC is a legitimate athletic contest between two people who are honestly trying to beat one another and professional wrestling is a work.

     Ok, you got me here.   If this is your reasoning for loving MMA/UFC and hating Professional wrestling, then unlike the other reasons, this one is justified.   This one has merit.    When two UFC/MMA fighters go head to head,  they are legitimately trying to beat each other's brains in, knock each other out or make each other submit.   When two professional wrestlers go head to head (unless it's a rare time when they really do go at it for real) it is a rehearsed or improvisational performance.   I find it absolutely astounding that it offends people the way it does and that they have the audacity to call it a "disgrace" to amateur wrestling but it is beyond comprehension that they could say that while at the same time calling MMA/UFC a "God-send" to amateur wrestling.    Nevertheless, if one's reasoning for why MMA/UFC is awesome for an amateur wrestler to do or be a fan of and why Professional wrestling is disgraceful for an amateur wrestler to do or be a fan of,  is because of this reason....then I have to at least say that it has some merit.

 
          VERDICT OF STATEMENT:  TRUE 


So there you have it.   Five reasons I often hear from amateur wrestling fans of why they are MMA/UFC fans, supporters or in the least tolerant and why they are not of professional wrestling.   Amazingly enough, only 1/5 has any legitimacy whatsoever.  The other four are absolute balderdash and extraordinarily hypocritical.    They are outright lies.

In the end I really don't care whether someone is an MMA/UFC fan or not.  I really don't care if someone is a professional wrestling fan or not.   I do however care when guys like Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger are referred to as, "sell outs" or "traitors" while guys like Ben Askren and Rashad Evans are put on a pedestal.    I want Askren and Evans on a pedestal.  They deserve to be there, but so do Ziggler and Swagger and it's about time that we as a community acknowledged that.

MMA/UFC and professional wrestling are very similar in many, many ways and slightly different only in a few ways.    Fan of both, fan of one but not the other, fan of neither...doesn't matter.   The guys who were former amateur wrestlers who participate in them deserve our respect and admiration, if they are good guys.   The only reason why we should ever be saying anything negative about them or what they do, is if and only if what they are doing is truly disgraceful.   Call a guy like Rob Rebmann who's been in and out of jail multiple times disgraceful.   Call a guy like David Tyner, who murdered two pregnant women in a mafia hit disgraceful.   Those guys are disgraceful.   Former amateur wrestlers who are in professional wrestling are not.

Fantasy Tag Teams I Would Have Put Together

Wrestlers: Earthquake and Dino Bravo
Team Name: Jimmy's Boys

Not much imagination going into this one, I'm just simply taking two guys that already worked very well together in tag team situations such as the Survivor Series and making them an official tag team.  Earthquake and Dino got along in the ring and outside of the ring, which I think would have made great chemistry for a tag team.   With Jimmy Hart as their manager, they could have feuded with Demolition, the Hart Foundation and other WWE face teams.   I also think that there are a multitude of angles that could have came out of this tag team as well.  Many people are unaware, but right before Dino was murdered he was in the transition of a face turn.   Perhaps Earthquake could have turned on Dino, and they could have had a great feud. Maybe Dino and Earthquake could have turned face together and added Typhoon as a three man stable.   All sorts of ideas that may have or may not have worked.

Wrestlers: Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect
Team name: Impeccable

When Mr. Perfect became Ric Flair's executive consultant, I always thought that sooner or later the two would form a team and contend for the WWE tag team titles.   When Mr. Perfect finally came back to wrestling from his managing status, I was quite shocked when instead, he turned face and teamed with Randy Savage at the Survivor Series.   How I came up with the name impeccable, is hearing the word on television once and asking my teacher at school what the word meant.  She said that it meant to be without flaw.  Someone that did something perfectly.    I thought to myself, well you have Mr. Perfect and you have Ric Flair, two guys who consider themselves impeccable.  What better name?   Would the tag team have worked?   Maybe, for a short while.   Flair is a spotlight hog and I don't know if he would have wanted to have shared it with Mr. Perfect.   As shown during his Four Horsemen years, as long as he's the Quarterback, the lead singer, then he's alright but if his status isn't superior to the other members of the group then he isn't much interested.  As talented and charismatic as Mr. Perfect is, he'd have had to have worked his ass off in the ring and on the mic to have outdone him night after night.   If "Impeccable" would have came to fruition,  I simply think that they would have gotten together shortly after Flair's title loss to Bret Hart, determined that they were going to be the next WWE tag team champions,  and then lost the match to the champions or the top face team to determine #1 contender status.  Flair would have blamed Mr. Perfect for the loss, Pearl Harbored him and helped propel his face run as he himself walked out the door back to WCW.

Wrestlers: Rick Rude and Rick Martel
Team Name:  Quite Charming

Two guys with very similar gimmicks, who were two of the best built guys in the wrestling business as the time.  Matter of fact, when it comes to physiques I don't know if anyone can match up to the Ravishing one.   In life sometimes you beg, borrow and steal and how I came up for this idea was when Paul Roma and Paul Orndorff teamed together in WCW as "Pretty Wonderful."  I thought I was "pretty clever" myself when I came up with the idea of teaming two Rick's together, the way that WCW had teamed two Paul's together.   Would this tag team have worked?  I think as arrogant and cocky as the two were, that they could have drawn some serious heat.   I think the female fans would have loved them and the male fans would have hated them.   My biggest concern is that I don't know if Rude would have worked well in a tag team or not.  From what I hear of him, he was a great guy in many ways, but he was also very much a do things his way kind of guy.    Knowing that Martel was more of a go with the flow, as long as he gets paid kind of guy, it still may have worked.   It'd have been fun to see.

Wrestlers: Yokozuna and Ko Ko B Ware
Team Name: Yoko-Koko

Yeah, ok this is an absolutely ridiculous team name, but you have to remember I was 11 years old when I first came up with this concept.   As you'll read later in this blog, I had an idea for a feud between Marcus Bagwell and Owen Hart, where the two went through a series of tag team partners trying to out do the other as "the greatest tag team partner ever."    During the feud, Owen would fire both Yokozuna and Ko Ko B Ware.    After Owen and Bagwell decide that the best thing to do would be to join one another than feud one another, Ko Ko and Yoko would decide to extract revenge on Owen by teaming together to challenge "The Greatest Tag Team Ever."

Wrestlers: Owen Hart and Marcus Bagwell
Team name: The Greatest Tag Team of All Time

When I was little I had a ton of action figures and I used to run my own fantasy shows all the time.   One of the angles that I had was that Owen Hart with a series of different partners would feud against Marcus Bagwell with a series of different partners for the tag team championship.   Both Owen and Bagwell would feud with one another over which one of them was the greatest tag team partner of all time.  Owen and Brian Pillman would win the belts, and then be beaten by Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio.   Owen would fire Pillman as his partner, and then take Jeff Jarrett as his tag partner to win the belts back.  Bagwell would fire Scorpio as his partner and hire Scotty Riggs.    This process of hiring and firing partners to win the belts would go back and forth between the two until one night one comes to the other and says that he knows what the problem is.   They both are the greatest tag team of all time and if they put there heads together they'll be unbeatable. 


 

Sometimes the sequels are better.....at least in MY opinion.

Most of the time, you cannot touch the original.  A film comes out, captures the imagination and interest of millions, makes millions of dollars and no matter how hard they try film makers are unable to capture the allurement that the first film had through a multitude of sequels.    Every once in a while though, a sequel will come along that not only does it's predecessor justice, but simply outdoes it.   These are of course my opinion and in some cases my opinion only, but let's take a look at sequels I feel are better than the original.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Might as well start with one that most people agree with huh?  1984's "Terminator" was a fantastic film, full of action and suspense.  The idea that a sequel could compare, let alone do better seven years later in 1991 was preposterous.   Yet when the sequel hit theaters, fans all over the world were calling it, "better than the original" because it was.   It had all of the action and the suspense that the original had, plus more.   Technology and knowledge allowed for greater stunts and more realistic action scenes.  Schwarzenegger's acting had immensely improved and the storyline had introduced a new idea, that to my knowledge had never been done before.  The main antagonist of the first film, is now the main protagonist of the second film.  Talk about a million dollar idea, literally.  Fans, including myself ate it up.   12 years later, "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" would make its debut and like "Terminator" it too is a very good film.  Yet also like, "Terminator" it pails in comparison to what many affectionately refer to today as simply "T2".  

Army of Darkness

Honestly I don't even like "The Evil Dead" at all and I think the "The Evil Dead 2" is tolerable at best.   I'm just not a fan of either movie, but for some odd reason I like the third installment of series, "Army of Darkness."    It's just as ridiculous as the first two films, but it is a fun and compelling ridiculous.   The character of Ash Williams is more interesting and intriguing than he was in the two previous films and the storyline, while simple, is much more entertaining.  I think the first two films tried to take themselves too seriously and I appreciated the film looking back on itself in a humorous manner.  This doesn't always work, as I enjoy "Child's Play" a Hell of a lot more than I do, "Seed of Chucky" but in this particular case, it works.

Beverly Hills Cop 2

"Beverly Hills Cop" was a pretty damn good movie in itself and you'll never hear me say anything different, but "Beverly Hills Cop 2" not only captured the charm and charisma of the original, it plain upped the ante.   I was hoping for another great sequel in "Beverly Hills Cop 3" but the film all but sucked.  Eddie Murphy seemed disinterested and his character seemed to be written by someone who hadn't watched or paid attention to the two previous films.  Whereas Axel Foley was a cool, collected, intelligent, smartass individual in the first two films, he was out of control and absent minded in the third film.   Rumor has it that a fourth film may be coming out in the future. If so I hope it reflects the first film, I wish that it'll be as good as the second and I pray that it won't be anything like the third.

Ghostbuster II

I'm liable to get shot for this one, but I honestly enjoy "Ghostbusters II" more than I do the original "Ghostbusters".     It's funny to me to hear Bill Murray as well as others say that they don't feel that the sequel was as much about them as the first one was.  I feel that it is more about them than the original.  Perhaps Murray means them as a collaborative, because as individuals, I think part II gives them much more attention.    I found Lord Vigo to be a more interesting character than Gozer, I enjoyed getting to know Louis and Janine better and Peter McNeil's Janosz was a lot of fun.

Halloween II

John Carpenter's "Halloween" is a master piece and in my opinion one of the best horror films ever made.   To be perfectly honest, I don't even think of "Halloween" and "Halloween II" as two separate movies.   I always watch them back to back and look at them as one entity.   Considering that there is three years between the two films, technically I shouldn't do that.   When taking the time to think out why I love "Halloween" as much as I do, I realize it is because its sequel "Halloween II" does such a great job of complimenting it, tying up loose ends and linking all of the films together.  It is what every sequel ought to be. 

Superman II

"Superman: the Movie" is a fantastic film, with tons of great things to say about it but it has a lot of not so great things about it as well.   It's too long in some parts, suffers from corny writing in others, needs serious revision and editing that it never got and needed to have as Stephen King would say, "more of its darlings killed."   "Superman II" learned from the mistakes of "Superman: the Movie" and thus gave us all of the greatness of the original, without any of the non-great parts.   I also really like "Superman III" although I'll admit, it doesn't even come close to "Superman II".     "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace" was pretty bad, even though it wanted to be good. 

Scream 4

I love all the "Scream" movies but the fourth, ironic as it is, is by far the best of the series.   "Scream" was fun and thrilling, but it was also predictable.  "Scream 2" was even more fun than the original and much more clever.  "Scream 3" was too unrealistic and the characters seem disenfranchised. When it was announced that a fourth sequel was coming out, my initial thoughts were,  "please at least be better than part 3".   Not only was it better than part 3, it was better than all of them.   A clever storyline, a non-predictable yet believable twist and still fun and thrilling with fresh ideas, yet keeping continuity and REMEMBERING that it is a sequel.  Extremely well made film.

Toy Story 3

"Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" were both great, but the third was just impeccable.  I really enjoyed it a lot.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

I enjoyed "An American Tail" quite a bit as a kid, but I enjoyed its sequel "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" much more.   It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, but I think it's because the sequel is much more character driven than the original.   It's also not as depressing of a film, and a lot more seems to happen at a faster pace, than the slower paced original.   In comparison to critics and audiences, I'm very much alone in this as the film was not anywhere near the success of the first film and critics panned it as bland compared to the first film.   Two more, easily forgettable sequels would follow after this film, but no one knew about them when they came out and no one knows about them now.








 

 

Iowa: More than Cornfields - Famous People who attended college in Iowa Part II - Central, Clarke, Coe and DMACC

Central

Harry Smith of "Good Morning America"


Steve Bell of ABC


George R.R. Martin famous Author "Game of Thrones"

CLARKE


Author Adam Rapp of "Little Chicago"

COE
Michael Boddicker who wrote the musical score for the film "Milo and Otis"


Chris Funk guitarist of "The Decemberist"


Curt Menefee host of NFL Sunday


Gregory Alan Williams of "Baywatch"

DMACC
Dennis Albaugh, Iowa's first Billionaire


Ivan Raimi screenwriter of "Darkman" "Army of Darkness" and "Spiderman 3"