Comic Books

"You know what this has to do with? The man in the cape--I bet you he is mixed up in this! I don't trust men in capes."
"You can't cast aspersions on someone just because they're wearin' a cape. Superman wore a cape. An' I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand here an' let you say something bad about him."
"All right Superman's the exception."
- Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza in The Chinese Woman

So I think I was a pretty typical little boy. I played sports, loved video games and cartoons. Also, my friends got me into comic books. Comic books are pretty amazing. I mean you collect them, they have value, and they're fun to read and look at. The funny thing about it too, you could talk about comics and superheros for hours. I mean come on, everybody has imagined having super powers. And then there's also all the speculating on exactly how super powers work and such.

So the other day I was talking about Matty Cakes because C. had commented on my previous blog post. C. is one of my most faithful readers and I love her for it (and I will give her blog a shameless promotion right now. Seriously, go check it out it's fabulous and will totally brighten your day). Now C. does some very interesting things in her writing. If she ever quotes herself at the beginning of her posts, it's always as C. However, she quite often refers to herself as Smalldog, being both the name of her post and her chosen pen name. This interesting contradiction struck me as being a bit odd. So I wondered why the disparity exactly. Are C. and Smalldog different personae? C. is a darling, intelligent girl. Smalldog often has a fierce bite and describes her circumstances as "Ever been bigger on the inside than you were on the outside? Happened to me…" suggesting some ferocity on the inside of that small frame (yes, C. is small in stature). Is C. Bruce Banner and Smalldog The Hulk?

This is just a simple example of how comic books really can be applied to everything. Even in the beginning, comic books often had their own lessons to teach society. Clearly the classic characters were not typically as jaded and conflicted of characters, but rather they stood for things like "Truth, justice, and the American way!" The X-Men, which is definitely my favorite comic book series, was all about teaching the idea of accepting others that are different than you. The movies took this to another level by having some major anti-homophobic overtones undoubtedly due to the influence of openly gay director Brian Singer. Many of the comic book movies have taken up the charge of teaching moral lessons. I even had a Sunday School class in which the teacher referenced Spiderman 3 because he saw the major theme as being the idea of forgiveness. Really it is amazing what can be found in these comic books.

Because of all of this, it really is possible to apply comic books to pretty much everything in life. There is almost always some sort of connection that can be drawn from comic books and it makes me happy. I thoroughly enjoy looking at the parallels and realizing that one of my best friend's has The Hulk for a wife. Also, Matty Cakes is kind of like Professor Xavier because he's severely confined by his current physical limitations but capable of great things with his mind. Psycho T is kind of like Beast, the physical feats he's able to accomplish are just unreal. And Nancy Drew is like the the one wimpy superhero that everybody is always having to bail out and always whines all the time. There's also that guy in my fantasy sports leagues that is always my Lex Luthor. Thankfully I know I can take a stand against him for the sake of "Truth, justice and the American way!"

Myers-Briggs Tells Me That I Like Kicking Nuns

So I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Test (Hat Tip to my dear friend C. wrote a blog post about it [and yes, I do mean Hat Tip, Caitlin since I'm sure you'll end up reading this]) and no, it didn't tell me I'm a violent person. Actually I guess I am at least somewhat of a sensitive guy. I know I was pretty shocked too. I guess I'm something called an ENFJ, whatever that means. I know this isn't the first time I've taken this test, but for the life of me I can't remember how I've done before. Here's my scores:

Extroverted: 89%

iNtuitive: 25%

Feeling: 12%

Judging: 89%

And for the life of me, I can't tell you what on earth that all means. Luckily, they had some articles that do (click on the earlier link for one and here's the other). Here's some highlight quotes with some of my thoughts about it interspersed:

ENFJs are the benevolent 'pedagogues' of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturant tutelage and/or grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it's usually not meant as manipulation -- ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are.

ENFJs are global learners. They see the big picture. The ENFJs focus is expansive. Some can juggle an amazing number of responsibilities or projects simultaneously. Many ENFJs have tremendous entrepreneurial ability.

ENFJs are, by definition, Js, with whom we associate organization and decisiveness. But they don't resemble the SJs or even the NTJs in organization of the environment nor occasional recalcitrance. ENFJs are organized in the arena of interpersonal affairs. Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.

ENFJs know and appreciate people. Like most NFs, (and Feelers in general), they are apt to neglect themselves and their own needs for the needs of others. They have thinner psychological boundaries than most, and are at risk for being hurt or even abused by less sensitive people. ENFJs often take on more of the burdens of others than they can bear.

So I love the first line. That really is one of the biggest things I could aspire to be. I love to teach and I would love to be seen as a benevolent teacher. And I realize enumerating that sounds like I'm vain and a bit narcissistic, but I guess that's how it goes. I can very much affiliate with the manipulation thing. I know I can be a rather persuasive person, but I hate the feeling of being manipulative so I often defer from my persuasiveness so as to not be manipulative. I definitely am a "global learner". I look to learn from all elements of life and feel like I can learn from any of my circumstances and anybody I come in contact with. I think it's interesting that it mentions potentially having "thinner psychological boundaries than most" because I'm pretty thick skinned. But we never match up to these kinds of things entirely. I do often put aside my own needs for the needs of others. I can't tell you how many times I've put off homework or studying to go help a friend with their homework, papers, and studying.

Even more than the other Idealists, Teachers have a natural talent for leading students or trainees toward learning, or as Idealists like to think of it, they are capable of calling forth each learner's potentials. Teachers (around two percent of the population) are able - effortlessly, it seems, and almost endlessly-to dream up fascinating learning activities for their students to engage in. In some Teachers, this ability to fire the imagination can amount to a kind of genius which other types find hard to emulate. But perhaps their greatest strength lies in their belief in their students. Teachers look for the best in their students, and communicate clearly that each one has untold potential, and this confidence can inspire their students to grow and develop more than they ever thought possible.

In whatever field they choose, Teachers consider people their highest priority, and they instinctively communicate personal concern and a willingness to become involved. Warmly outgoing, and perhaps the most expressive of all the types, Teachers are remarkably good with language, especially when communicating in speech, face to face. And they do not hesitate to speak out and let their feelings be known. Bubbling with enthusiasm, Teachers will voice their passions with dramatic flourish, and can, with practice, become charismatic public speakers. This verbal ability gives Teachers a good deal of influence in groups, and they are often asked to take a leadership role.

Teachers are highly sensitive to others, which is to say their intuition tends to be well developed. Certainly their insight into themselves and others is unparalleled. Without a doubt, they know what is going on inside themselves, and they can read other people with uncanny accuracy. Teachers also identify with others quite easily, and will actually find themselves picking up the characteristics, emotions, and beliefs of those around them. Because they slip almost unconsciously into other people's skin in this way, Teachers feel closely connected with those around them, and thus show a sincere interest in the joys and problems of their employees, colleagues, students, clients, and loved ones.

The second article relates the ENFJ to the role of a teacher. I don't know necessarily about how good I am at learning activities, but I do know I am good at simplifying things so most others can understand. Also, I always do believe in the ability of others to learn. I think anybody that knows me, knows I'm reasonably articulate and I can (and do) speak my mind quickly and easily. I'm opinionated, there's no real surprise there. Finally, I  do have a good ability to read others. I think that is one of the gifts of the Spirit I am most thankful that my Heavenly Father has bestowed upon me. I understand people well and so because of that I am easy to talk to and it's easy for me to help others.

Here's some famous ENFJ's:

David, King of Israel

Abraham Lincoln
Ronald Reagan
Barack Obama
Abraham Maslow, psychologist and proponent of self-actualization
Ross Perot
Sean Connery
Elizabeth Dole
Francois Mitterand
Dick Van Dyke
Andy Griffith
James Garner
William Aramony, former president of United Way
Gene Hackman (I had to include Gene Hackman if you know anything about my long standing joke with James)
Michael Jordan, NBA basketball player
Oprah Winfrey
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts quarterback

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with this evaluation.

Walking on the Wrong Side of the Pond

"Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow."

-Henry David Thoreau

So I was walking down the stairs in the JFSB the other day and a really random thought hit me. I was observing the manner in which we as a society walk around. It's pretty much an accepted cultural norm here in the U.S. that you stay to the right. I mean we do that on the roads obviously, but it typically occurs in the same manner with running and walking as well. You walk on the sidewalk, you stay to the right. You go up or down the stairs, you stay to the right. So the thought crossed my mind, is this a norm specific to America? I know in Great Britain they drive on the wrong side of the road, do they also walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk? So anybody that can answer my question (I imagine you can C. and probably will) I'd love to hear. Also, if there are any other mannerisms that you've noticed in general that are funny between cultures that aren't glaringly obvious or you've just been curious about feel free to post.

Not Quite Chemical Heart

"If life is so fair, why do roses have thorns?"

-Tickle Me Emo

So love it or hate it, the emo movement is very real. I'm sure you've heard some of the music and seen some of the emo kids. I think we can all relate to our emo moments even. Pain is a very real part of life. I know I had a status up on Facebook recently that stated "Scott is wallowing in his sorrows." My friend sent me a message stating she hated my status. I guess she thought it was me being all emo, which I guess you could say I was, I was definitely in mourning over a recent funeral. Of course frankly, I think most of us look at the emo stuff as mostly something to laugh at, which brings me to the real reason for this post: The Emo Band Name Generator. I thought this beauty was pretty wonderful. I played around with it a bit and it does seem like it uses a regular pattern to create names. When I ran my name multiple times it came up with the same answer and only a slight variation when I ran it with my first name instead or my full name.

My emo band's name is Not Quite Chemical Heart.

My emo band's name with my first name instead is Some Kind Of Chemical Heart.

My emo band's name with my full name is Some Kind Of Helicopter Heart.

They aren't the most thrilling ever and I think I like the original the best. I ran my roommates and those were pretty good I'll just quickly list them:

James - Somebody's Shimmering Application

Terry - Everybody's Lack of Application

Jeff - Projected Resplendent Cola

Jordan - Some Kind of Shimmering Significance

Matty Cakes - Metal Head Helicopter Valentine

I definitely like Matt's the best. It doesn't seem like the list is exhaustive as far as the possibilities, but it's definitely a lot of fun. But have fun with it and post your own in the comments section. I'd love to see any other good one's.

P.S. Yes, C. (I'll refer to you as C. since that's what you refer to yourself in your blog as) I did steal the opening quote idea from you. I think I'm going to employ that regularly because I really like the lead in that it gives yours. Of course I'll probably be more likely to quote things such as songs or ridiculous Youtube videos.