Not my Fandom, again

The Weekend, the month-end and payday, internet people and am so glad to be out of there for the week.

A couple of things of note is that last weekend, I went swimming. The MightyRosie, SuperSam and I went to a pool. I haven’t been in a pool in over 2 years and it felt damn good to get into one then. Just under a hour of widths, lengths and relaxing and I found myself really smiling, really enjoying. The next day, all three of us went to brunch. It was like it was before lock-down. I wore a mask going in, but was able to use a buffet and it all felt really normal. I loved the weekend because of that. As a result, this week in work has felt harder than it needed to feel. But now we have adapted to the change in staff, things are running a little smoother and I feel better about the future here.

This week did see the launch of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, a Netflixed reboot/continuance of the 1980’s cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. When I was a kid, all those years ago, Masters of the Universe was something I loved. It had action, cool designs, great toys and I have a great fondness for it. So I shared this reboot with my son. Because it took us all week to watch all 5 episodes (full-time job for me and sleepovers for him) I have avoided a lot of spoilers, but have seen that there’s been backlash and negative feedback and I expected to not like it.

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But I did like it and so did my son. It had a great voice cast from old school talent like Alan Oppenheimer, famous voices like Lena Headey and Dennis Haysbert and both in the voice of Skeletor, Mark Hamill. It was well written dealing in themes of loss, betrayal and the aftermath of tragedy. The animation is slick and the action sequences are all kinds of fun. Sitting next to me, cheers came more than once. I wondered what the problem was and as always it came down to the usual refrain of “This isn’t my ……” I keep seeing this and I do understand this, but here’s the cool part, that does not matter! So my response to that is….”No, it isn’t. So what?”

Nostalgia is comforting, watching films and TV, listening to music, playing games that came from your childhood/youth is very comforting in an ever-changing and seemingly worsening world. I have been guilty of this and seeing so many reboots, relaunches and reimagining attempts of things I used to watch being made and announced, I often feel that these things aren’t for me. They are not. But that’s okay. I have aged. A Masters of the Universe cartoon, shouldn’t be for me, it should be for my son, or kids younger. The world has seen so many changes in the last 40 years, so making TV for the sensibilities of 40 years ago seems at best problematic at worst, stupid. Now in particular to this show, there is the fact that only half of the season has been shown, just half. There is no reason at all that what you wanted to see is on its way.  But the other half of this is that this isn’t for you, it can include you, but it’s not for you and that again is okay.

I watched and enjoyed the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe show back in the 80s and loved it. But in the cold light of day, it was not a perfect show. It reused animation so many times, the characterisation was at best slight and the moralising got on my nerves at the time. I have watched it again recently and whilst I wanted it to hold up, it didn’t hold up to a re-watch, nor a more modern audience. There’s nothing wrong with the core concept, or most of the characters, so a reboot isn’t a bad idea and this delivered on some of the deficiencies of the older show.  I hated the comic relief character of Orko, Teela was a cardboard cut out character and the villains lacked a hook beyond the tour de force that was Skeletor. Five episodes of this show and Teela was a new and vital character and when they got rid of Orko, I was genuinely upset, as was my son. This was a better show. Does this mean that you should like this better than the old one? Not really, but despite this show being a bit of a nostalgia-fest, it is being used to pull in new viewers. I am not the target audience, or at least not the whole target. Is it more inclusive than the old show? Yes, is that a bad thing? Again your mileage may vary. But again, this isn’t your Masters of the Universe. That is still there, they even did a reboot nearly 20 years ago. If this isn’t for you, that’s okay go and watch the other stuff, but you are not affected and someone else has their He-Man series, which has just happened to focus on Teela and not just He-Man. This show is also not perfect and perhaps in 20 years or so, someone will make a new one and the fans of this will be complaining.

You are right, this is not your He-Man, but this one existing, does not, and let me repeat this part of the show, does not do anything to you. Stuff is remade all of the time and you are just going to have to either accept that or make your own stuff.  I like this show and encourage anyone who wants to, to give it a try. It may not be your He-Man, but it will be someone’s and I am glad that for a week I got to visit Eternia again and this time, bring my son. When part 2 shows up, we will go back and whatever happens, I am glad to be able to do so.

These things do mean something to us. I am not complaining that you care about a 40year-old kids cartoon. But honestly recognise that it doesn’t just belong to you. You do not own it, you own your love of it and that’s good, but you don’t own it. Someone else can change it, someone else can love it and if you don’t like the changes, then go watch something else or watch the original if you can and let whoever likes this like it.

Went on a bit of a rant there, but read a couple of articles and watched a youtube video and it all got a bit too much.

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Feelings on a Friday 39 – Am on the positivity train, well am hanging on to the caboose

2020 was a year that wreaked havoc on the world at large. No one can deny that. No one was spared from being affected by the dumpster fire that year became very quickly. I do have to admit though, personally 2021 seems to be carrying that theme forward.

Just in the last couple of months, there have been two things on the in-law side that have been upsetting for all involved and that is all I can and will say about that. There have been house issues at my parents place, which are mostly resolved. There’s been upheaval in work (which I mentioned here in Stuff in my head – Or goodbye chief ) and I have been ill more than usual for this time of year. Without CoVid, that would be enough. But the Corona virus hasn’t left us yet. 

On the positive side, I have had both vaccination jabs, for those of you who are anti-vaxxers I respect that you have concerns over vaccines, but I made the right choice in that regard. It’s all done now. But there have been three CoVid scares at my work. One or two at the MIGHTY Rosie’s work and one at the extended family. Which is why I can be writing this post at 10:20am. SuperSam has to self-isolate and that means no work for me. I should be happy about this, three day weekend and all that. But it’s one more thing that CoVid has taken aware from this family. The weather in July so far has been spotty, but when it’s nice, it’’s very nice and we’re stuck in. I know that’s a little first world problems and all, but it’s what’s in my head today. 

It’s an ongoing feeling that this year hasn’t stopped. 2020 was the year of WTF? 2021 seems to the year of Dammit, now what? I feel, not broken exactly, but beaten down and the hits keep on coming.

So what can I do? Well I am doing it, am getting it out of my head and onto the printed page and that helps. I am going to spend the day with my boy and that also helps and whilst I don’t like letting work down, I am not in work today, so that is a hat trick of positive steps to make this day my own.

As a further attempt to get onto the positivity train (trademark MrsFilthy my ex-work wife) I am going to find my 5. 5 Positives to keep all the negatives away.

So here goes

1: Not in work, which means a sleep in and comfier shoes.

2: The sun is shining and we have a back yard.

3: There is food and drink in the house and there’s plenty to do.

4: The weekend has started early.

5: I heard this week that comic marts will be coming back to Liverpool in August. One of the first things that CoVid took is coming back.

I didn’t really have any thing to say here, but to be honest, I just need to get back into the habit of writing stuff here. I need this, more than I realised I need this.

Thank you for being here internet people. Look after yourselves and each other.

Its all going to be alright, but we need to be reason that it will.

Stuff in my head – Or goodbye chief

The only constant in the universe is change.

When I started this blog, nearly seven years ago now, I worked as part of a two man team with my manager who I have always referred to here as Gisele. The workload was hard and the deadline pressures constant and we lobbied for help as often as we would be listened to.

Now I am aware that I have not always been kind to Gisele when I have mentioned her on here, some of it is fair, but I can’t say all of it is.  But that’s not the point.

Things changed, we got a new person to work alongside me, lets call him Mr Coffee for the ridiculous amounts of caffeine that man took in. I won’t air out someone’s personal issues in public, but in three weeks, he put in 4 days work and I was glad it was only 4. He left shortly afterwards and the new partner’s sister was looking to get out of her industry and was given a week’s trial. I think it was more seeing if the job was right for her and not her right for the job, nepotism eh? Enter Disney Princess.

In Disney Princess’ defence she is a hard worker and whilst she took a while to teach, she got it and is a great member of the team to this day. Still workload increased, client base increased and the pressure started getting to us all. It was near this time when I had my relapse and had to take some time off. After raising the needs of the department again we lobbied for another member of staff and in came Mrs Filthy. A parent like myself and someone who shared both a history of mental health problems and a wholly inappropriate sense of humour we got on like a house on fire. It’s been rare that I can get along with someone at work so quickly. (I am somewhat of an acquired taste) So we had a four man team and I had someone I could have a laugh with at work. The problem  was that Mrs Filthy and Gisele didn’t gel in the same manner. Gisele’s often curt manner causing a lot of friction and in less than 5 months Mrs Filthy left to go manage an optician’s. I wish her well and we keep in touch, mostly through dirty jokes and inappropriate memes and she is happier.

She was succeeded by Big G. He came in to replace Mrs Filthy, but asked for more money so a more supervisory position was created to help Gisele’s part of the job and we were back to a four man group. Then after the bank holiday at the end of May, Gisele gave in her resignation. I was stunned, I had worked with that woman for years and years, ups and downs, arguments and tension and finally over the last few years we were getting along and working as a team, even sharing some confidences and having long conversations. I wasn’t shocked that she wanted to go, far from it, she’d been unhappy for many years there and she wanted out, but it seemed so sudden. Still work needed doing and we got on with it. Thing is as she was training Big G in all of the things that she hadn’t got to yet and with a deadline looming, me and Disney Princess were left with the bulk of the job, which while no one’s fault, was very hard and has left the last couple of weeks being the worst in recent memory.

After a brief and awkward hug on Friday 2nd Gisele left for the last time and I am emotional about the whole thing. Whilst we have been each other’s worst enemies for much of our time together, I grew to understand her and as she saw me suffer, she became more understanding. Now at the time when we are closer to being work friends than manager and subordinate, she has left.

I am a northern englishman over 40, so as you can imagine I don’t handle change very well and the loss of this constant is a massive shake up in my life. But that’s not what I want to be thinking about here. Not how it effects me, I am sure that there’ll be more on that story later. The part of this story is, she has made a decision to make herself happy. She’s going to do a different job at the business her husband’s family own and run. She genuinely feels that it’s the best move to make and is sad to go, rather than anxious to start a new job. I am happy for her, sad for me, but mostly happy for her.

On 1st July, we left work at the same time and she told me that I should be writing again, that she enjoyed what I wrote. I then had to wonder, what I had said about her on here. I still haven’t dared to look. But she is right, I should be doing this. I should be sharing what’s in my head. So Chief, thank you. I am sorry to see you go, but you know what, I’m glad that you are going to go somewhere better for you. Take care of yourself.

 As for me, with a new person to work alongside Big G, I am expected another rough few weeks, but I jump off that bridge when I get to it. I just wanted all this out of my head to I could enjoy my weekend.

Take care of yourselves internet people, thank you for sticking with my rambling and I will see you soon.