President Joe Biden Speaks Well

 On March 11, 2020, the Coronavirus was declared a pandemic.

“A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked. Denials for days, weeks, then months that led to more deaths and more infections.” President Joe Biden said.   

The total deaths of American people from the Coronavirus is 527,726 people. More deaths than World War I and II, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined.  

President Biden talked about the division of states and the American people because of this pandemic. Too often we’ve turned against one another Biden said. Asian Americans have been harassed, attacked and scapegoated, and this behavior toward them is wrong and unamerican Biden said, and I completely agree with him.

Biden made it clear, all U.S. citizens, 18-years-old, and older will be eligible to receive the Coronavirus vaccine by May 1, of this year.

The American Rescue Plan, Biden signed into law not only gets many American’s $1,400.00, but also aids many unemployed people, helps small businesses, lowers health care premiums for many, and will cut child poverty in half according to experts Biden said.

Biden again expressed sympathy for Coronavirus victims and those close to the virus victims, something Trump never did.  

Mark Izzy Schurr

The Colosal and Chaotic Allure of Cosmic Mind Adventures

Two empires, each with different obsessions, but their obsessions were all consuming and they attempted once again to achieve total dominance.

From out of the magellanic cloud came the death ships of dread, the Skrull Empire. 

Now obliterator, you will tell us the secrets of the elders, the most important secrets in all the universe. The elder who lives only to destroy was stripped of his weapons by the Sliver Surfer.

“Everything here (Earth) consists of two opposing forces, death and eternity,” the Silver Said

Englehart’s writing style stimulated intrigue into the subconscious thoughts of knowledge and wonder. Before this universe was born, another one vanished into sub-atomic probability, then bursts fourth again, and its energy spiraled its forces into the cooling darkness of a new beginning. (Englehart / Izzy Schurr)  

In “Seeds of War,” the Silver Surfer has a chance to love and his love is reciprocated by an alluring woman. Is it no surprise that a long and serious romance is suddenly halted by the threat of an intergalactic war?

“Seeds of War” triggered mind journeys into the emotions of harmony and bloodshed.      

The next two issues have nothing to do with the continuing saga of “Seeds of War,” for reasons unknown, even to myself, yet the three issue’s gel well together when read in unison.

My future seems uncharted, there are no foes to fight, no quests to complete. I should be glad for the respite, but I feel strangely useless. Where goes the warrior when there are no more battles to be fought? Where goes one who has no home? (“Conflicting Emotions,” 1992)

The passions of love and hate thrust themselves into the atoms of eternity. The cosmic creature of chaos has once again released his powers into the dusts of desire, zeal and truth in 1992s saga of love and hate. 

Princess Alaisa from the Kharta’een empire sets her sites on Chrome Dome. The Mistress of Love is summoned from the magical mayhem, existing in the realms of fantasy, bestowed upon readers of the Silver Surfer comic books.

Where love goes, hate follows. Master Hate attempts to acquire the formidable powers of love and use this ultimate power to full fill his demented passions.

Steve Carr, Deryl Skelton, Tom Christopher and Tom Vincent’s artwork is crafted brilliantly with the writing of Ron Marz in "Conflicting Emotions."

Perhaps our entire subterranean journey was an elaborate exercise pointing us in her direction. (Ron Marz, October, 1994)

“Temptation: Greed,” showcases the love between Nova and the Silver Surfer. Does the planet Tultac harbor the vast streams of gold which too often poisons the hearts of lovers?

Terrax, unlike the Silver Surfer is not cursed with mortality, or so he says, and thus, the seeds of violent conflict begin to grow in the immortal wind’s of creation and destruction.

Mark Izzy Schurr

Hulu’s original Into the Dark production of “My Valentine” is a mixture of retro pop music and a post teen relationship gone criminally askew. 

Britt Baron portrays the leading lady, Valentine Fawkes who has recently moved on from an abusive relationship with her boyfriend and music manager, Royal. Valentine and her guitar player and best friend Julie (Anna Akana) have just begun to revive their music career when Royal shows up at their music gig with a very sharp knife, and an insane prospective on dating and music production.

Things really get creepy, when Royal manages to block off all the exists from the club when all the patrons have left and destroys Valentines and Julie's cell phones. 

Royal brings his new girlfriend to the gig, Trezzure (Anna Lore) who he wants to be the new Valentine in his wacked quest for show business success. Trezzure has her own bizarre views and on stealing Valentine's music and she soon develops Royals taste for blood. 

 

Things swirl into excessive violence and murder when Valentine refuses to write music for Trezzure.

This movie is geared for teenagers and perhaps even teenyboppers, but I really liked it, even the music. A solid two thumbs up for “My Valentine.”

Mark Izzy Schurr  

Love Warriors, Two Lovers thrust Into Combat

Nothing could be dearer to me then to soar the skies of my world again, save for my beloved Shalla-bal. (Ron Marz, 1994)

“The Princess of Zenn—La,” the April, 1994 issue of the Silver Surfer displays the cerebral allure of being in love when it’s reciprocated. The sweet passions of love are quickly halted by the threat of another civil war on the planet Zenn-La.

Norrin Radd, aka, Chrome Dome, the Silver Surfer and the sentinel of space ways is back on his home planet after a prolonged leave. Zenn-La’s Warlord and her army of trained barbarians are back and yearning for another civil war.

Zenn-La, is a planet which has evolved from the follies of alcohol and drug abuse. Zenn-La sans crime and is a world dominated by love and laughter. Will Zenn-La fall again into the dark ages of another blood-soaked civil war? I was impressed by Marz’s writing wit.  

Thrust into combat, the Silver Surfer and his lover Shalla-Bal fight side by side in battles where lives are slain in the throngs of war. The Surf Man tries to forbid his lover from harnessing her fighting skills amid the front lines of combat.

“I’m trained, I’m armed, I can fight just as well as your men, probably better,” she said.

 

Even in dreams, the threat of political poison threatens the passion of true loves caress. Yet again, a Silver Surfer comic book has embedded itself into the deepest caverns of my infinite imagination. 

Mark Izzy Schurr

 

"People of the Lie" Reviewed

 

Mental heath is an ongoing dedication to reality at all costs, and we need to be open to people, and not at war with them, M. Scott Peck M.D. said. 

“People of the Lie” was a mind adventure into truth and understanding. The mystical marvel of words on the printed pages of time from Peck's 1983 book is a true testament toward individuality, intelligence, integrity and understanding. Truth is not something we possess, it’s a goal we hopefully strive for, Peck said.

Beware who guides you through intellectual labyrinths. The poorly informed employ scientific findings and concepts for dubious purposes, Peck said.

We have the A-bomb because of science, it was politicians who made the decision to build it, and the military who dropped it on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Approximately a 129,000-226,000 people were killed instantly on Aug., 6th and 9th, 1945. One definition of evil is the exercise of political power Peck said.

Evil is a vicious cycle, particularly in wars. “People of the Lie” focus’s primarily on the human brain, and Peck suggests psychiatrist, and other mental health experts should explore the nature of evil and try to understand its reasoning. Peck wants to make evil a scientific study. If the reasoning of evil could be fully understood, perhaps there would be none, or a a lot less of it.

Peck briefly mentions the heinous acts of war in “People of the Lie,” but when he does, it really illustrates the vital need to end all wars. Politicians were responsible for the deaths of more than 55,000 American soldiers in Vietnam. The average age of American troops killed in the Vietnam war were 19-years old. More than 2 million Vietnamese, many of which were unarmed, women and children were killed in the Vietnam war.

President Lyndon B. Johnson and other politicians with a sadistic conscience took pleasure in sending other people’s children to die in a meaningless war.

On March 16, 1968, American soldiers slaughtered between 500 and 600 unarmed women, children and old men in My Lai. Vietcong soldiers were the real enemy of American troops, but they were just defending their county which we invaded for no sane reason. 

Some American soldiers were killed by Vietnamese civilians, including children, posing as friends, then planting bombs amidst the unsuspecting American troops, thus trigging the murderous events in My Lai. When you’re in someone else’s country strutting around in full battle gear, you better be ready for some action, George Carlin said.

Triggers are pulled by individuals, orders are given by individuals and executed by individuals. No one is blameless in the brutal slaughter of the harmless civilians in My Lai, and perhaps if our educational system encouraged more distinctive thinking, the soldiers of C Company would have told their superiors to go fuck themselves and not have killed a single person in My Lai. The troops of C Company were criminals of ignorance. We constantly need to learn and grow, Peck said.

“People of the Lie” is a very solid two thumbs ups. I have a healthy fascination with death since, I’ve read this book, and it’s not problematic to think about death, if you think right! Read the book if you want more information on this subject.  

Adults who are mentally healthy submit themselves to a higher power, one way or another, whether this power is God, truth, love or some other ideal, Peck said.

Mark Izzy Schurr

Little Library's Book Review

 

A very brief glimpse of the life of Shirley Temple is neatly explained in this 29-page book by John Bankston, which is geared for both young and old readers.

This Blue Banner Biography book highlights the beginning and end to Temple’s movie career. Shirley Temple was born in April of 1928, and from 1935-1938 she was the biggest box office attraction at the movies.

When Temple was 3-years-old, her mother enrolled her in The Ethel Meglin Dance Studio. Temple advanced quickly, and with less then 10 months of dance lessons, she harnessed her lessons with her natural skill and rhythm as a dancer.

The 1930s Baby Burlesk short comedies showcased children mimicking adults with a combination of innocence and secularism. The Baby Burlesk movies paid the preschool aged Temple $50.00 a week and her mother, Gertrude an additional $5.00 a week.

When Temple was 4 years in 1933, she was in feature films earning a $150.00 a week while her mother was making $25.00 per week.  

   

Temple made several movies with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson who became a famous dancer when he was 8-years-old in the 1880s. Bojangles and Temple were the first interracial dance duo in American movies. I highly recommend watching the stair dance Temple and Bojangles did in the 1935 movie, “The Little Colonel.”  

By the time Temple was 21-years-old, she was done making movies.  In 1998, she told Jet magazine, Bojangles was her favorite star, and she called him Uncle Billy in the Jet magazine interview, as she did when she acted, danced, and sung with him in the 1930s.

An easy four star read.

Mark Izzy Schurr

"Face It," Blondie's Book Reviewed

 

Sexual exploits of Blondie were filmed once in the 1960s, and what happened to that footage is perhaps absorbed in the cosmic ether of the 60s, Blondie said.

Debbie Harry, aka Blondie was 15-years-old in 1960, and her October, 2019 book “Face It” is a morose memoir of her life, she said.

“Face It” was marvelously morose to me, and very seldom, was it morose. Debbie Harry candidly talks about her sexuality and drug use in “Face It” and eloquently details living and working with all male bandmates in New York during the decade of the 1960s and mid-70s.  

Blondie showcases a lot of artwork, all from her fans in “Face It.” People have been sending her artwork since the infancy of her musical career, which she saves, and she pays tribute to many of these artists in this book. She was given a “Vultures” T-shirt in the 1970s, pictured below, and she still has the same shirt.  

Debbie Harry has a fascinating way of explaining the general facts about herself, her parents and her upbringing. Debbie Harry’s life is more than book worthy, and she seized my attention with her poetry and unique writing style.

Debbie Harry referenced childbirth from the baby’s perspective, as forcing your way into the world. Harry was born in 1945 and adopted by Richard and Cathy Harry when she was six months old. They changed her name to Deborah, which prior was Angela Trimble. The way Harry describes herself as a being a Love Child is incredibly positive and inspiring. Read “Face It” if you want to experience the full fragrance of fascination, generated from the chapter, “Love Child.”  

“The Blondie Loft,” 2,000 square feet was where she and the band lived, rehearsed and even did a show. The bands 1970s and 80s hits, Call Me,” Heart of Glass” and One Way or Another,” have definitively withstood the test of time, along with numerous other songs.

Psychedelic events were merely induced delusions, Blondie was a fractured psyche in the midst of heightened states, guitarist Chris Stein said.

It’s no surprise a young band in the 60s was in a musical culture of getting high. Despite the occasional abuses of heroin, LSD and cocaine, Debbie Harry not only survived the 60s, she thrived through it.

Even if your unfamiliar with Blondie’s music, writing, or acting, “Face It” is a mind adventure in the life of the musical icon, we call Blondie.

The fervent details of her own intrigues and obsessions omitted passion to the reader. Blondie’s natural beauty catered to the camera’s eye and her penchant detail to music spawned a musical revolution, or at least provided the world with timelessly fun music.

In “Face It,” Blondie talked about the sexuality of women in pictures, and even the dark side of mainstreaming actual girls as sex objects. When Brooke Shields was 10-years-old, her mother signed a permission document allowing Shields to pose nude and oiled in a bathtub for a Playboy press publication, “Sugar and Spice.”

Does a picture reveal the darker secrets of our souls? Blondie is clear and concise when she details the beliefs of the Aboriginal people, who claim a photograph is part of some mystical image bank, a type of Akashic record.

Blondie reveals some extremely personal secrets about Phil Spector and what David Bowie enjoyed showing off to men and women when his senses were heightened by cocaine.  

“How do we edit our life into a decent story? What to embellish, what to downplay? What’s going to compel, what might bore?” Blondie said in “Face It.”

Five stars for “Face It.”     

Mark Izzy Schurr