Out on Highway 61

There is a trend coming out of Hollywood that I've noticed.
These days, it's fashionable to talk about how killing leaves soldiers emotionally scarred and killing a man is such an awful thing. Several movies from Clint Eastwood, badass extraordinaire, for example, exhibit this behavior.
"But JT!," you exclaim, "Surely you are not about to contradict Clint Eastwood, the Lord of Men, the Banner of the Good and Light, the Man Who Played Dirty Harry?!"
I assure you, dear reader, that I will not, nor will I ever.
However, some people get the idea watching these movies, I'm sure, that all killing is some awful thing.
This is wrong.
Killing in war messes up a lot of people (in more ways than one). The problem with killing somebody in a war is that they're not necessarily an evil, rotten, shit person - they're just like you, only on the other side. They're just someone who happened to be born in a certain time and place that called for them to pick up a gun and join their nation in an armed conflict against some other nation, just like you. Killing in war is like looking into the mirror and pulling the trigger at what you see.

But this is not the only kind of killing there is, nor does this describe the only sort of opponent.
Take your average junkie or crackhead. This is a person that will break into a car for pocket change or pawn their relative's goods while they're at the hospital getting treated for a life-threatening disease. These are the people that look for your friends and family as they walk the street at night, knowing they don't know any better, and exchanging violence for hard-earned goods. And for what? Not for an ideal or to protect their country or because they were forced to - because they need a hit.
Take your average mob tough - Italian, Irish, Hispanic, doesn't matter. This is a person who could be making an honest living, but instead decided they'd rather become filthy rich by pretending to be a friend to their community but bleeding it instead.
Take your average rapist. And destroy them completely, utterly, and slowly.
Your average drug dealer.
Gang member.

The list of scum goes on and on, but they are all, ultimately, better off not being around. This isn't some little girl in another country made to carry a grenade into your camp - these are people who have made choices that involve harming good people for their own selfish benefit. Do people change? Sure - maybe 1 in 10,000 becomes a genuine good guy. Are those odds you want to play? And what happens in the meantime? For every one of these bad guys, many, many good people must be wronged. A druggie doesn't need cash for just one hit, they need a stream of income for a stream of hits. If you only stop the actions of one repeat offender - just one - you don't just prevent one crime, you prevent probably years or even decades of violence, thefts, killings, or worse.
"Is it wrong to take a life?" That's a poorly framed question. It ignores the nuances of reality. How about, "If you have the ability to save a multitude of the good by destroying a handful of corrupt individuals, is it conscionable to do otherwise?"
I've seen hard questions before. That isn't one of them.

Tomorrow's the last day to apply!

Stay Super.

Putting it all together

Things have really come together with the school. I'll probably be posting a lot less in the next few weeks up until school starts, and then maybe not at all after it does. We'll see.
Once accepted, you can register for classes using the information provided in your acceptance packet. Classes do not run on a traditional schedule - we fit a lot of classes into one year, so they are all very short, very intense courses that last much less than a usual semester. Also, don't worry about one class conflicting with another - there is no overlap (there can't be, since I'm the only professor).
All of the courses I teach are important, so most of them are required, but there are some electives to choose from to suit and shape your particular style. You'll find more information in your packet.
One last thing - during class, everyone is required to wear a mask. These will be provided for you - you may not bring your own mask (until you have taken our class in which you make your own).

Stay Super.

Walking the Gauntlet

A good way to get an idea of what you're going to be working with as a Superhero is to ignore some of your mother's perfectly sound advice.
Go for a walk late at night. In a bad neighborhood. And talk to strangers.
You should have learned a little about the "mind" of criminals before you do this, the anatomy of how a crime happens, and be confident in self-defense and the use of that knife you'll be carrying. These are just precautionary measures, though, to help you make it through unscathed and be confident enough and smart enough to get the most out of the experience.
It's important to see real bad guys in their natural habitat, so you know it's not all just fiction.

• The older guy smoking crack who asks if you've ever been with a man and says he really likes your hair, then insists he knows a shortcut to where you're going, even though you were walking in a straight line perpendicular to where he'd like you to go (This is the first time I knew why my Kindergarten teachers told me shortcuts were dangerous).
• The dirty, unattractive prostitute who asks you a few throw-away questions before coming right out and asking "So you wanna have sex?", and then the burly pimp who approaches you after you decline to ask if "You cool?".
• The group of guys who shake your hand and ask if you want some drug or other (why do drug dealers and the like so often mumble? What kind of salesmanship is that?). They're friendly enough, until a van pulls up housing a wiry man with intense, murderous eyes that stare at them from the passenger side.

You'll be surprised what you can come across in just one night.

Stay Super.

Herowood, here I come

Heard something groovy yesterday - seems a friend of a friend is in the movies business and interested in doing a documentary on the school. Nothing official or solid yet, but I can't see how anyone wouldn't want to make a movie about what I'm doing.
Man, I love New York.

Just a few days left to get in your application! There's still a few more slots open, so get'em while there're there!

Stay Super.

It's not me, it's you

Why do so many girls/women expect a one- or two-time (though twice is dangerous territory) wham session to turn into a "relationship"? This is one of the many perils of being a Superhero - becoming tied down by females.
As a saver of lives and livelihoods, you will be doing a lot of intercoursing - it's one of the more notable perks of the profession. Every so often, you may come across a specimen of femality that is especially ripe and tasty and you think, "Hey - that was pretty good - maybe I should keep her around a little while."
This is a common newbie mistake.
Superheroes live on the edge and go where and when they are needed. They can't be dragged down by someone who makes nonsensical complaints about you not being around, about your "insensitivity" (which is a bad thing to some people? I guess?), about your refusal to take off the mask, etc. Also, they soak up your time, these females. They latch on like a barnacle, cutting in to your training, patrolling, and wham time with new females.
Having a "relationship" as a Superhero (or as most anyone, I imagine) is like having a knife stuck in you - it slows you down, it's a real pain to try to do anything you like when it's there, and it threatens to bleed you dry if you want to get rid of it.

Stay Super.
And single.

The Ticking Clock

Only two more weeks before the application deadline!

Stay Super.

Ok - quick amendment to something i said earlier.
police radios can be sueful for finding out if there are police coming to where you are or are near you. having a scanner in your ear could give you a heads up to know if you're about to be in, say, a nasty crossfire between some gangbangers and the boys in blue.
also - diy gsw fixer upper? not fun.

Stay Super.