Journey Through Music

I love music.  Don’t you?  I think it’s the one medium that could really unite so many different people.  It can be used to tell a story or share a message.  Songs are sung to relay history and the passage of time or they are sung to elicit an emotion; perhaps prove a point.

Would you like to journey with me through some of the songs on my mind and how they relate to me?  I hope so.

1) Let’s start this journey with the band called Journey and their song “Faithfully”.

Highway run
Into the midnight sun
Wheels go round and round
You’re on my mind…
Restless hearts
Sleep alone tonight
Sending all my love
Along the wire

Oh, girl, you stand by me
I’m forever yours
Faithfully…

I have always enjoyed Journey, but never did I really let these words speak to me.  That is until I was on the road during the early stages of my relationship with the woman who would become my wife.  We were just starting to fall in love, and yet the road was calling me one last time in my career.  My future bride had to take a risk by letting me go fearing that I would gallivant around instead of being faithful to her.  Driving that long road to Topeka, KS, from Bartlesville, OK, this song took flight.  On that highway run, Steve Perry’s silk smooth voice sung out a vow that struck my heart like a harp string.  Anytime this song pops up on my iPhone Music player, I remember those long drives thinking about my beautiful, Amazonian goddess.

2) “Against the Wind” by Bob Seger:

I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was livin’ to run and runnin’ to live
Never worryin’ about payin’ or how much I owed…

All those drifter’s days are past me now
I’ve got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out…

By the time I graduated high school, I was ready to run from the small town of Bristow, OK.  It took me three years to finally run away when I joined the Army.  I left that town, Oklahoma, and found myself in Washington for four years; then Missouri for another four years before returning back to Oklahoma.  Even after leaving the Army, I kept running for a few more years.  Pained by the failure of my first marriage (not the one mentioned above), and not ready to settle down yet, lost by my failures, I started travelling on the road in my civilian job.  I bounced from one town to another in Oklahoma, then Missouri, and finally Kansas before settling in my current town.  Money was no object and I burned bridges where I landed.  I really did not care.

Then I met the woman I am married to; the one whom I would have to grow up to keep.  Sometimes those drifter days come up in my mind; I think I might want to hit the road again.  Yet I have so many commitments to fulfill where I am.  I find this song to be about the struggle of growing from youth to adulthood.  No matter what stage one finds themselves in life, we are always running against the wind.

3) “Ain’t No Reason” by Brett Dennen:

There ain’t no reason things are this way.
It’s how they always been and they intend to stay.
I can’t explain why we live this way.
We do it every day…

This song pretty much assured me that no matter what comes in this world, no matter what changes there are, there are two things that are constant: 1) Us, and 2) Love.  Life can’t be explained.  I don’t have the answers as to why we exist on this planet.  I don’t have the answers why we do the things we do to one another.  I have no idea if there is a God or not; and if so why He allows certain things to happen in this lifetime.  What I do know, and what this song affirms for me, is I am here and:

[L]ove will come set me free.
Love will come set me free, I do believe.
Love will come set me free, I know it will.
Love come set me free, yes.

4) “The Walk” by Sawyer Brown:

Down a long dusty driveway
I didn’t want to go
But I set out with tears in my eyes wondering
Daddy took me by the hand
Looked out at the school bus and his little man and said
“Don’t worry boy it will be all right…”

I cannot imagine the relationship between a little boy and his father because when I was a little boy, I never got the opportunity to meet my father; to know him.  He was an obscurity to me; blocked out of my life by a hurt mother.  As a kid, I had heard this song but never understood it; the message was foreign to me.  When I left Oklahoma while stationed in the Army, I came across this song again.  I was married to my first wife, we were getting ready to start a family.  I was about to become a father.  When I heard this song for the first time as an adult, tears flooded my face.  The hurt and resentment I had towards my father was gone; turned into curiosity about the man I would never get to meet in this lifetime.  He passed away in 2005.

I started thinking about my role as a father and what it would mean to teach my kids all the things that I was never able to learn from a father.  I never got to take that walk down a long dusty driveway with my father, but I am getting to take that walk with my kids.  Then one day:

Down a long dusty driveway
This time we both would go
He had grown old and gray
And his mind was wandering
Daddy took me by the hand
Said, “I know where we’re going and I understand
Don’t worry boy it will be all right…”

My eyes water as I type those verses…

5) “Pancho and Lefty” by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard

Livin on the road my friend, is gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron
Your breathe as hard as kerosene…

Sometimes songs don’t have to convey emotion; they can just tell a good story.  “Pancho and Lefty” makes me think of westerns every time I hear it.  I picture it my head of this hardened outlaw riding into town wearing “his gun outside his pants for all the honest world to feel”.  That’s storytelling at its finest.  Perhaps one of the major components lacking from music of today is the ability to just tell a story.

6) “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

And, darling, I will be loving you ‘til we’re 70
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23
And I’m thinking ‘bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Well, me – I fall in love with you every single day
And I just wanna tell you I am

Imagine this: I had just fallen out of a hurtful relationship.  I had resided myself to never date again; forsake all women and just enjoy being single.  God laughed.

Instead, I found myself in the house of a beautiful woman with these gorgeous cherry-brown eyes and a face that belonged on a China doll.  I had no intention of dating her; falling in love.  I just thought it would be nice to have a friend here in Bartlesville, OK.  My heart was like steel.  So there we sat on her couch watching Star Trek: First Contact (we were nerds destined to fall in love).  After the movie, we sat there awkwardly talking; we were caught in that moment between the uncertainty of whether to take the plunge or not.  Both hurting from past relationships; hesitating. 

In the moment before I was going to leave her house, I found her hand next to mine.  We grabbed hold and “maybe just the touch of a hand” was how we fell in love.  I married that cherry-brown eyed woman, and though we have had our rocky starts, I have no doubt if I make it to the age of 70 I will be loving her still.

Those were just some of the songs that came across my iTunes player today.  There are so many songs I listen to that elicits thoughts or imageries that I’ll share another time.  In the meantime, what are some of the songs you listen to, and what do they convey to you? 

Until next time, keep singing…

The Other Side: A Truthful Tuesday Post

I expect too much of myself.  

I beat myself up when life does not go the way I want it to.

I want to be better than what I grew up in.

I sometimes feel like I will meet the same failures my family has.

I am easily angered; tethered to past bitterness and anger and hurt by those who said they loved me.

I sometimes wonder if I love really exists.  I have to tell myself to look at my wife and my children.  There I find love.  There I find a reminder that it exists. 

I probably suffer from depression.  I am not license to diagnose myself with it.

I probably have had it for years, but I was distracted by my time in the Army and then traveling as a civilian contractor in the rehab field to really notice it.  Now that I am settled, and real life exists around me, there are some things I cannot ignore anymore.

Where I live is inside city limits.  Ultimately, I want to live outside city limits, somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  I am willing to compromise a little for my wife and live somewhere in a small amount of somewhere.  Mainly, I want to be able to walk outside, walk into the woods with a book and/or journal in hand (with a pen of course), settle underneath a tree, and either read or write.

My mind is constantly racing with thoughts.  I want somewhere quiet to silence them.

Sometimes I feel like God is a cruel father, and I should walk away from this abusive relationship, but sometimes it is hard to walk away from the oppressor.  So I stay, trying to understand Him.  I hope my belief is not in vain.

This blog was morbid.  This week has started off not so well.  It has made me question my past decisions in the career I am in.

I think ultimately I really wish I did not have to work.  I would rather enjoy each day without worrying about how to pay this bill or how to pay that bill.

And there is the truth on this Tuesday.

Until next time…

The Comic Book Guru Presents: The B-Level Superhero Review of the Man Known as Bishop

I wrote this blog entry on Facebook before I started The Howling Glen.  In an effort to centralize all of my blogs, I am re-posting this one on this blog site.

Today's review will highlight the mutant known as Bishop.  Honestly, I am more than happy to review this character because he tends to be one of my favorite X-Men characters due to his story, his tactics, and his overall character arc.  As mentioned in the previous review, I will detail the characters first appearance, origins, powers, favorite storylines, and if the character can be translated to film features.  However, in all technicality, Bishop has been featured in both animated and live-action film.  However, I feel like the animated X-Men series of the 1990's and X-Men: Days of Future Past did not reveal enough about Bishop to my liking.  Plus, there are so many more complexities to Bishop that I think need to be reviewed to really appreciate this character.  So without further ado:

Bishop looking bad ass with his guns.

Lucas Bishop first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #292, 1991.  Bishop was born to an Aborigine woman incarcerated in a mutant concentration camp in a dystopian future where mutants are severely persecuted.  The concentration camp marks all mutants with the letter "M" for mutant branded over their right eye.  Bishop, along with his younger sister Shard, grew up in the concentration camp before being assigned to the Xavier Security Enforcers, or X.S.E. serving as law enforcement agents protecting the ideals of Professor X. 

After discovering a message from X-Man Jean Grey in the past revealing the X-Men were killed by a traitor within their own ranks, Bishop is sent back in time to prevent the traitor from destroying the X-Men.  This would lead to Bishop eventually joining the X-Men.

Bishop comes across as very intense and paranoid as he searches for the traitor within the X-Men ranks.  This has led to many conflicts between himself and various members of the X-teams.  Bishop's primary focus would be directed toward the mutant thief Gambit causing fights to break out between the two.  It was only during the Onslaught Saga that the traitor was revealed as the evil psyche of X-Men Headmaster and founder, Professor Charles Xavier.

After the traitor was revealed, Bishop remained with the X-Men serving on various teams and missions.  Eventually, Bishop would find himself at odds with his teammates for various reasons with one of them being Bishop siding with Iron Man during the Civil War.  Bishop believed every superhero should be registered for the safety of the public.  Further conflict between Bishop and his former allies would occur during the Messiah Complex storyline in which a single mutant was born.  While the X-Men believed this birth would signify a reemergence of the mutant race (see House of M storyline for details), Bishop feared this child would lead to the dystopian future he had grown up in.  Bishop would try to kidnap the infant only to be thwarted by another time traveling and gun-toting mutant Cable.  Cable would rescue the child and hop into the future with Bishop trailing close behind.  This would lead to eventually Bishop tracking a now grown Hope and older Cable back to the present and with the X-Men.  When Bishop attempted to kill Cable, Professor X would instead be shot in the head.  Ironically, Bishop became the person he was sent back in time to stop thus making true the statement: you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Bishop's powers are energy absorption and redirect.  This allows Bishop to absorb any kinetic energy directed towards him and then redirect it in powerful energy blasts from his hands at his target.  However, Bishop does not rely on his mutant powers only.  Having a background in law enforcement, Bishop utilizes various hand guns and rifles to dole out his style of justice.  The bigger the guns the better for Bishop.  

Bishop was created in the 1990's which carried a philosophy in the comic book publishing of the bigger the better.  This was evident with Bishop as he would be drawn with larger than life rifles and handguns that realistically could never be welded.  Some of his weapons looked like they should have been mounted on a tank.  However, this was done to show just how much of a badass Bishop was and it worked to perfection.

If you really want to see Bishop in action then here are some stories I have read to get you started:

1. The X-Cutioner's Song: Cable is framed by his clone Stryfe for the attempted assassination of Charles Xavier.  This causes the X-Men and X-Factor teams to band together to track down Cable and his X-Force team.  Bishop, believing this to be the reason why he was sent to the past, becomes obsessed with tracking down Cable himself and putting a bullet in his head.  Accompanied by Wolverine, Bishop tracks Cable down only for the largest guns in the world to be drawn by both Cable and Bishop.  This prompts Wolverine to intervene and advise Bishop to drink some decaf.

2. The Age of Apocalypse: When Professor X's psychologically damaged son Legion travels back in time to murder Magneto, he instead accidentally murders his own father Xavier.  Bearing witness is Bishop who followed Legion through the time stream.  With Xavier assassinated, Magneto forms the X-Men and leads them in battle in a dystopian alternate reality against the forces of Apocalypse.  However, Bishop knows this timeline is wrong and convinces this different X-Men teams to work on restoring the timeline.

3. The Onslaught Saga: After Professor X wiped out Magneto's psyche, it manifests itself within him and breaks out in the form of an evil entity called Onslaught.  Jean Grey sends out a message that Bishop would find in the future.  It is then Bishop realizes it was Professor X that he came back in time to stop from destroying the X-Men.

4. The Messiah Complex: After most of the mutant race is wiped out from the end events of The House of M, a new mutant is born which brings hope to most of the X-Men.  However, Bishop feels differently as he attempts to kidnap the new mutant only to be thwarted by Cable.  This causes Bishop to be the villain as he pursues Cable and Hope across the time stream.

As previously mentioned, Bishop has been featured in animated series and film.  However, Bishop mainly served as "eye-candy" in X-Men: Days of Future Past with no storyline given for the character.  Bishop has a complicated story and if a solo outing was to be attempted, I doubt it could hold up on the silver screen.  Simply, there is not enough popularity or awareness for Bishop to translate into box office money.  An animated series on TV may work but it would be limited by age rating restrictions.  Live-action TV show would not be good either as the cost of special effects for Bishop and time traveling would be limited.  I think the best way to showcase Bishop would be in a series of direct-to-video animated movies influenced by Time Trax and Continuum TV shows.

If I were to plan it here is how I would break it down:

1. X.S.E. (Xavier Security Enforcers): The first DVD would show Bishop's origins in the concentration camp, his release and enlistment into the X.S.E., his early missions, and finally ending in finding the message from Jean Grey in the past.  The X.S.E. could serve as time cops hopping back and forth through time to stop time traveling villains from altering the timeline.  None of the popular X-Men would be shown in this first film with the exception of the brief appearance of Jean Grey in recorded video form.

2. Traitor Within: Picks up right where the first one left off with Bishop and the X.S.E. viewing the recorded message.  Bishop is then sent back in time to prevent the traitor from carrying out the destruction of the X-Men.  Bishop also becomes obsessed with preventing the dystopian future he grew up in.  This would plant seeds for the later episodes.  I would not reveal the traitor in this video but instead highlight the initial conflicts between Bishop and the X-Men as he hunts for the traitor and then eventually joins the X-Men.  This episode would end with Bishop tracking Legion as he travels back in time.

3. The Age of Apocalypse: Bishop follows Legion back into the past and witnesses the accidental killing of Charles Xavier.  Bishop is then trapped in the alternate timeline with Apocalypse ruling the world and Magneto leading the X-Men against him.  When they find Bishop and he reveals the truth about the alternate timeline, the X-Men put all their effort into battling Apocalypse and trying to restore the timeline.

4. Traitor Revealed: With Bishop returned to the correct timeline, the traitor is then revealed.  This causes an all-out war to break out within the X-Men as they track down the traitor. Eventually, through a series of events, Bishop would inadvertently become the traitor he was sent back in time to track down as he accidentally kills Charles Xavier.

5. Bishop Hunted: Bishop becomes the villain as the X-teams try to track down and avenge the death of their mentor.  This would be a great chance to feature Cable and Deadpool as they conduct their own mission to track and kill Bishop.

Bishop is one of my favorite B-list X-Men superhero characters because of his personality, his militaristic bearing, and the use of ridiculously large weaponry.  He also becomes a tragic character by becoming perhaps the villain he was trying to stop in the first place.

What do you think?  Are you interested in Bishop now?  Leave your comments below and give me some recommendations for future installments.  Next up will be another time-traveling, big gun welding soldier from another dystopian future, the mutant known as Cable.