Watchman and Blackbird at the basketball courts we use as a meet up spot
On Saturday I briefly met up with Milwaukee RLSHs Watchman and Blackbird as they again patrolled the Center Street area of Riverwest. I was only able to stay out for about a half hour, but I brought my longboard and got to try the new "headlights" on it. I attached two small but powerful LED flashlights to the bottom of the board with metal brackets to illuminate potential pitfalls on the mean streets of Riverwest- famous for potholes, rocks, and jagged cracks due to Wisconsin's extreme climate changes.
As it turned out, this was perfect timing- a recent severe rainstorm had knocked out ALL of the street lights on the side streets- only Center Street itself had working lights. I couldn't even see the guys less than a block away, so the lights came in handy as flashlights. They worked well at street level- the only adjustment is that they need to be insulated with foam to prevent rattling against the brackets. Now I just need to wait for my small portable radio to arrive in the mail- I'm going to attach it to the bottom of the deck so I can listen to the oldies while boarding around.
I took off into the pitch black and the two RLSH carried on.
Watchman reported about the rest of the night. He said it was quiet over all. The only thing they encountered, he says-
At one point, we went to check out a nearby siren. It was a fire truck that someone called on a perfectly legal fire someone was burning in a covered fire-pit in their yard. The folks there were told it was fine, but if they received further calls on it they would be asked to put it out so as not to waste valuable fire department time and resources. One of the guys there spent a lot of time talking to Blackbird and I, and even joined the patrol for a while. After bar closing time, we cruised around by car and had a good discussion.
I bet you that was on Pierce Street. There is a famous cranky old lady who lives there and calls the police on all of her neighbors every chance she gets- backyard bonfires, cars parked in the wrong place, stray cats, loud music at 7PM- no reveler is safe from her itchy dialing fingers.
In other news, it is the last Monday of the month, which means another column for our friends at Forces of Geek. This one features a hand drawn chart by yours truly, in an effort to visualize what the RLSH community looks like. I write about the varied approaches to the concept here: Many Heroes, Many Missions
After drawing the chart I realized I had kind of subconsciously drawn the Pepsi logo. And speaking of Pepsi- DC's Guardian was recently featured on the Pepsi Refresh Challenge blog HERE. It also features the eye popping Peter Tangen poster of the star spangled spandex crusader. And speaking of Peter Tangen, he has updated his site with profiles and posters of not only DC's Guardian, but also Nyx, Life, Superhero, Citizen Prime, and Crimson Fist.
That picture has a much deeper philosophical meaning than that of which you might or might not have already known from looking at the picture, but when you look deeper, you will see.
ReplyDeleteWell, I did look deeper (like one of those magic eye pictures?) but you'll have to enlighten me- all I see is a simple three ring chart.
ReplyDeleteIs there a reason a flashlight was Photoshopped into that photo?
ReplyDeleteActually, the flashlight really is in the photo and was used but was not turned on when the photo was taken. That part was Photoshopped in and the outer edges were darkened to get rid of extra light from the flash of the camera. It's just an artistic way of better representing what the night was like with all of the street lights out.
ReplyDeleteTea Krulos,
ReplyDeleteI think my mind works a bit differently than everyone else's. That's not to say it's better or worse than everyone else's, for what others lack, I have, and for what I lack, other's have. It's not an inbalance as much as a weird balance, for example = the glass is half full, as opposed to being half empty.
I often think in weird shapes and colors, and many things I can't even remotely explain nor express in such a manner of which can be translated into a such a way that no one could while alive in this world understand it's meaning and it's depth (except my great friend Master Legend, who has died twice and came back to life, living to tell about it).
So, to answer your question, I'll give a fictional example of Superman and Batman. The 1st circle in the picture, Batman, the Crimefighters. The 3rd circle, Superman, the Saviors and Good Samaritans. The 2nd circle in the middle, would represent Spider-Man, who is a mixed balance of the two. Granted, circles #'s 1 and 3 would be a little closer together, but that exact distance has more of a realistic meaning than what could be explained in fiction. The circles you drew were not too close, not too far.
It's like a Yin/Yang, only which one is which varies indivdual to indivdual, not category to category. But in this case, let's assume (I hate to assume, but this is just an example) that the Crimefighters are Yin, the Yang are the Good Samaritans/Saviors. The Ying/Yang Theory suggests that "In all evil, there is good. And in all good, there is evil." But without the other, each is incomplete. Like the advantages with any team. Each team member balances out their own individual weaknesses with the strengths of the others.
So, when you take the red circle, and the blue circle, and you mix it into the middle circle, which in this case we'll assume is clear, then when you mix red and blue, what do you get?
Purple. (You did draw black, though - BUT that's only HUMAN perception of the outside layers, not what necessarily truly is, within - which by understanding that further brings you closer to understanding the secret answers of the universe)
When you mix a Warrior with a Savior, what do you get?
Protector. (But can you really say "Hero" when perhaps the bad guy that was fought may not consider the supposed-Hero a "Hero" if they don't view themselves as a "Villain"? If they do consider themselves evil and/or a Villain, then perhaps they might. Which leads to the question of; "Power of Individual Perception VS. Power of Societal Perception" integrated with Broken Windows Theory and the Butterfly Effect (Butterfly Effect can also be referred to as the "Ripple Effect").
So in order to apply it in a complete visual picture to how I see it, an incomplete red ball, connected to the incomplete blue piece - almost like a 3D puzzle piece.
It always requires all 4 elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) to do anything, anywhere, ever. And then each of those 4 elements connected by several other elements (Lava, Smoke, Steam, Dirt Cloud, Mud, Ice, etc.) which each fall into those categories. I'll save that explanation for another time, and in the mean time giving you those points and allowing your mind to fill in the blanks, like playing connect the dots.
The true question which one should ponder about, based on that picture, is:
"Balance of world; balance of self; if and how?"
-Tothian
Also, not to mention that that accidental blue blur on the bottom right corner of the picture (that philosophical pepsi pic, I refer to) might suggest your perception of this community as a whole, as well as what your perception was of the part it was closer to.
ReplyDeleteThe other picture of Watchman and Blackbird and the circles there, while actually unintentional due to having more to do with the camera flash, also might have a similar type of meaning, which again, one must fill in the blanks for themselves.
As ridiculous as that sounds saying it, everything has a meaning, because everything always has everything to do with everything.
Watchman, you're walking around at night in a costume; there's no reason to try to "badass" the picture up.
ReplyDeleteYou're already there, dude.
Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteMoonDragon! We're going out Friday night for the Riverwest 24- it would be great to have you along!
ReplyDeleteDon't think I can make it, but if I can I'll let you know.
ReplyDeleteI've actually been retired -again- for a little while due to time constraints and personal health issues. Whether or not it will be as MoonDragon or otherwise, I'm not sure, but I will be back...
Hoping I can make it Friday.