The Journal of Frankenstein's Brother Part 1

A couple of nights ago I had a dream. This dream affected me so much that not only did I feel inclined to write it down (as I have several other dreams in this blog), but to write a short story based on it. This story expands some of the experiences of the dream and builds upon it. I will be posting it in two parts. Here is part one:

EXCERPT FROM THE JOURNAL OF DR. NICHOLAS FRANKENSTEIN

as transcribed by Zorikh Lequidre

I was determined not to repeat the mistakes of my brother.

I and my learned colleagues ventured into the North American wilds to find a secluded spot where we could educate my creature while gradually acclimating him to human contact. I told him that we were going to investigate the local flora, a project that seemed to interest him. With this in mind we built two cabins in the woods a reasonable distance apart. I wanted him to have his own space, to which he could retreat and have the benefit of privacy and the dignity of possession. His cabin was large, and he took to filling it with plant specimens, until it was nearly as foliated on the inside as the outside. I took this as a sign that he liked our choice of environment, and congratulated myself on what I thought was my correct instincts.

After some days a local tribe paid us a visit. They had a curious command of the language, which I attributed to their isolation and limited contact with the civilized world. They were bundled in unfamiliar skins with decorations of long hair and fur, which I took to be of the local fauna. Being as this region was so remote, I attributed my unfamiliarity with them to an assumption that the wildlife of these woods must be uniquely adapted to the environment and had not yet been collected in sufficient quantities to fill the zoologial gardens and natural history museums of my acquaintance.

I informed the natives that I had a friend who wished to met them. Using the broadest of gestures and the simplest of words, I brought forth my creature from his cabin and introduced him to the natives. They smiled at each other, touched hands, and made eye contact with genuine delight. They were quite welcoming to the creature, a far cry from the ironically uncivilized treatment given to my brother's tragic creature by civilized man. I felt this was a very good sign, and again felt confirmed in my belief that I was doing the right thing.

I kept the meeting brief, as I did not want to push my luck, and escorted my creature back to his cabin. His face revealed an amazement, as if he had not expected such an encounter. He seemed almost a little confused as to what to make of it all. I attributed this to the differences between the natives and my colleagues and myself. I expected that he had not realized that humans came in such varieties.

Again I congratulated myself. The species of man comes in a wonderful variety of shapes, sizes and colors, and we must learn to recognize and appreciate the unique values of each of them, or we are doomed to destroy ourselves. The xenophobia of the unenlightened masses comes from lack of contact with the varieties of the world, and plays to the fear of what is different. This is a logical fear, as our simian ancestors justifiably feared the unknown. Therefore we must raise our children in an environment of diversity and understanding. That is the hope of mankind.

With this revelation warming my heart, I settled in for the night's sleep. This confirmation of my natural inclination was an unexpected result of this experiment. I drifted off to sleep wondering what other discoveries I would make, to what new visions into the human psyche the creature would introduce me.

I failed to sleep through the night, however. Some sensation, like a premonition, or perhaps an intuition, awoke me. There was something present, not quite stirring but definitely present, outside our cabin. I rose from my bed and cautiously peered out the window. The night was brightly lit by the nearly-full moon, and in the clearing I saw about eight or nine creatures, each one a height that rivaled that of my creature, standing perfectly still.

Had I never seen the clearing before I would have assumed they were some sort of stunted trees, or other natural formation, standing, loosely grouped at the edge of the ground, their stillness being so perfect. But there was a sensation emanating from them. It was not quite a sound, but more of a wave, a vibration, that affected me in a most curious manner. One might think that this was merely the natural feelings of fear, uncertainty, and trepidation, but no, I was quite familiar with those feelings already. This was rather more a feeling of comfort, as if I was drawn to them. I approached them and found myself before them faster than I thought I could traverse the distance. I wondered if they were capable of moving without my noticing, or if perhaps my perception of time and distance were being somehow affected.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO PART 2!

Here are some versions of the original story to enjoy:



...and just for fun...

What should I do about my knee?

OK, here is the story with my right knee, and I will need some pros and cons: The ACL is completely torn, disconnected. There is a little tear in the rear meniscus, and some arthritis beginning to kick in. I am a perfect candidate for ACL repair, which would take one day, outpatient, have me on crutches for a couple of weeks, and then therapy, and I would be back to full strength in about 9-12 months. I have insurance that will cover it, with Dr. David Pereira, one of the best-reviewed doctors specializing in ACL repair at NYU-Langone, doing the work.


Here is the video that shows the original injury:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsmiZiwwNgc
If I don't get this work done, I could spend the rest of my life simply doing things that do not require any twisting or pivoting at the knee, like elliptical machines and bicycles, and I could wear a knee brace at any time that I feel risk. So no more swing dancing, basketball, soccer, BJJ, sword fighting, armored combat, and even stage combat would be limited.

I am currently unemployed, and will start receiving benefits this week. I have some part-time work opportunities that will help me extend the benefits (performing at birthday parties, working for a comic convention, etc). I have a plan to use my unemployment period to train for work in film production that (if all goes will) will start early next year. If that falls through, my back-up plan is to go back to work in an office job in the insurance industry when the open enrollment season begins.

Of course no surgery is without risk, so I have to consider these risks before jumping into the surgery.

Some options being presented to me are:
1. Get the surgery done right away. This would limit my birthday party work for a few months, so I would be living mostly on Unemployment, but the work would be done sooner.
2. Wait until I get a "real" job, so I can take sick leave to get the surgery and recover (at one hour of sick leave earned for 30 hours of work, it would take me 1200 hours of work to earn one week off. That's 30 weeks of full time work).
3. Never get the surgery and live a careful life, using a knee brace for anything risky, and changing my physical activity to those that don't twist or pivot at the knee.

So what do you think I should do? My Facebook friends have never been shy about sharing opinions and I have found a wealth of new information that I would never have found on my own without you. So now I need to hear some pros and cons so I can make the best decision.

Occasionally I find things and I have no idea when I got them, what they mean, or why I kept them. Let's take, for example, bits of paper with people's names and phone numbers on them. Obviously I wanted to keep in tough with the person whose name is on the paper, but if I can;t remember the person, then obviously I did not successfully keep in touch with them.

For years there was a bit of paper knocking around whatever room I was living in with the name "Jennifer Gill" and a phone number. I have no memory of who that person was. I have tried calling the number, searching on the internet, but no luck. The number no longer belonged to her and there are far, far too many Jennifer Gills out there. I even once saw an off-off-B'way performance that had a Jennifer Gill in the cast, but it wasn't her.

Tonight I was cleaning out some boxes and I found two more curious bits of paper. The two names were Cheryl Korn and Branwynne Burns. The annoying thing is that these names do not sound completely unfamiliar to me. I suspect they were from a period of my life between my first and second attempts at college, when I was very active in the SCA, and the social circle I ran with in the SCA crossed over into the Downtown NYC scene in the pre-gentrification Lower East Side.

I did a little quick searching and found a few Cheryl Korns, but none that seemed to be anyone I should have known, and there seems to be a Branwynne Burns in the real estate field, but no pictures of her anywhere.

So there we go, another part of my past, detached and gone. I threw away the bits of paper, wrote this blog post, and moved on.

Great movie shoots today! Samurai, boxers, kung fu, and wrestlers, oh my!

One of the most challenging film shoot days today just ended. We were working on "The Duel," a short film organized through the United Filmmaker's and Actors' Meetup Group.

In the morning we shot a scene on a beach with the two lead characters in homemade samurai armor. then in the evening we were in a boxing gym with the leads, a boxing match, a king fu fight, and a pro wrestling routine.

It was bitchin' cold outside, a big snowstorm on its way. We had to make sure to allow a ballance of the cast to sit in a car to warm up. This was annoying because this was to be a very mannered, stylistic scene, in which stillness and long takes were important.

But we soldiered on...

I started writing the blog post a few years ago and jsut noticed I had not published it. So I just typed up these few words today and hit "publish." Stay tuned, pix and video from the day will be coming soon.

The Comic Book Reader's Protection Act

An explanation of health insurance, in terms a comic book fan would understand.

by Zorikh Lequidre

A father and his son are in a comic book shop.

SON: Dad, my doctor says I have to read that comic book on the shelf.

DAD: Son, that is a deluxe hardcover edition of "Watchmen" with extra features and leather slipcover. It costs $125. Do you have $125?

SON: No. But the doctor says I have to read that story.

DAD: Well, here is a trade paperback reprint of the story. It doesn’t have all the extra features, but if your doctor says you can do just as well without them, it may work for you. It's only $24.95. Can you afford that?

SON: Barely. He says I may need to read comics every month for the rest of my life. What will I do?

DAD: Tell you what: If you give me $20 each month, I will buy whatever comics your doctor says you need.

SON: I can't afford $20 every month!

DAD: Then here's another idea. Give me $10 every month and just give me a little bit extra when you need a comic book.

SON: How much extra?

DAD: Well, if it's a regular newsstand comic, you don't have to give me anything. If it's a trade paperback reprint or paperback graphic novel, give me one dollar. If it's a hardcover reprint edition or hardcover graphic novel, give me three dollars, and if it's one of those big deluxe editions, give me one quarter of the cost.

SON: What if I don't need any at all?

DAD: Then I get to keep the money.

SON: That's not fair!

DAD: Consider this: I'm going to be shelling out a bunch of money for these comics when you need them, and you'll be paying close to squat. I'm taking a pretty big risk here; I'm gambling that you won't need another comic book this year. But if you do need one, I am going to have to get the money from somewhere, right?

SON: Well, if I need a lot of comics right away, where do you get the money?

DAD: There's a bunch of other kids in the neighborhood with whom I run this deal. I also make a deal with the comic book store.

SON: Then why don't I just save the money until I need it?

DAD: Sure you can, but what if you need a comic before you have the money saved for it, and by the time you do it'll be too late?

SON: Hmmm...well, why don't I just wait until I need a comic and start paying you then?

DAD: This offer is only good one month a year. If you turn it down, you will have to wait until this month next year for me to make the offer again.

SON: Well, how about if I only pay you on the months that I need comics?

DAD: It doesn’t work that way. If you miss a month, you will have to catch up the months you owe before I will pay for your comics. Basically, when you start paying me, you will owe me for a whole year.

SON: So how do I get out of this if I change my mind?

DAD: Just wait until the 12 months end. Or you can move out of the area.

SON: Then who is going to buy my comics for me if I do move out?

DAD: I have friends all over the country. One of them can offer a similar deal.

SON: OK, let me see if I understand: I and other kids give you money every month and you get deals from the store. You shell out the cash when we need comics, and depending on how much I pay you, and the cost of the comics, I may have to pay a little bit as well. What happens if so many kids need so many comics that you run out of money?

DAD: Well, if the total cost of your comics adds up to a certain amount, you will have to pay a bigger share of the cost.

SON: But then I might go bankrupt!

DAD: Don't worry, after what you pay adds up to another, higher amount, I'll cover most of it, you'll wind up paying even less than you did to start. I figured out the likelihood of this happening to minimize my risk.

SON: Wait, is this legal?

DAD: Actually, by law it’s mandatory.

SON: What!?!

DAD: That’s right. In 2005 they passed a law called the “Comic Book Reader’s Protection Act.” It went into effect in 2006.

SON: What does that law mean?

DAD: It means that from the time you become eligible to read comic books you have to join a plan like mine or pay a penalty.

SON: A penalty!?! How does that work?

DAD: It’s real simple. All children become eligible to read comic books when they turn 5, or if they have been able to read for at least two years, whichever comes first. When you first became eligible you had a few months in which to join. If you don't join, the government is going to count up all the months you should have had have coverage but didn’t. They will figure what 1% of the average monthly cost of the plans like mine all over the country is for each month you didn’t have coverage, then add the total to the monthly amount you pay me when you do join.

SON: Wow! That doesn’t sound fair!

DAD: It pays to pay attention, kid. The government doesn’t want you dying for lack of comics, and some people need a stick more than a carrot.

SON: Well, what if I never need any comics? What’s the cheapest plan you got?

DAD: Just give me five bucks a month, but you gotta pay for the first $35 worth of comics yourself, then you gotta pay for additional comics at the rate I told you earlier for the $10-month plan.

SON: What if I decide to shop at a different comic store in the area?

DAD: Sorry, I only work with this comic store here. You’d be on your own if you went to another comic shop in this town.

SON: And what about in other towns?

DAD: You remember those guys in other towns I talked about earlier? If they work with me, you are covered at the shops they work with. If the shops don’t want to work with us, we can’t help you.

SON: But what if the comic I absolutely need is at a shop you don’t cover?

DAD: Tell you what, my friends and I will start a new kind of plan. In this plan we would prefer that you go to a store that works with us, but we will still cover you if you want to go to a different shop. Your contribution when you buy a comic will just have to be a little bigger.

SON: Well, that’s better than nothing, I guess.

DAD: So there you have it. Pay a lot up front and don’t worry about the cost when you need a comic. Pay less on the front end and you pay a little on the back end. Pay a little more if you want to go where you want to go.

SON: Thanks for explaining it all to me. I think I’m going to go get a job so I can afford all this!

DAD: Hmmm…the boy has learned a valuable lesson and has taken his first step into a larger world. I guess my job here is done!

Study questions:

1. Can you identify the points in the conversation that represent:
   1. Premiums
   2. Annual election period
   3. Co-pays
   4. HMO
   5. Brand-name drugs
   6. Co-insurance
   7. Special election period
   8. PPO
   9. Generic drugs
   10. Coverage gap
   11. In-network and out-of-network
   12. Late enrollment penalty
   13. Tiers
   14. Specialty drugs
   15. Catastrophic coverage
   16. Shared risk
   17. Individual mandate
2. Which plan would you be best for you?
3. Which plan would be best for someone who has very little need to read comics?
4. Which plan would be best for someone who had to read a lot of deluxe-edition comics?
5. Which plan would be best for someone who expects to read just one or two newsstand comics per month?
6. Why would someone get a deluxe edition instead of a paperback reprint?
7. How would someone avoid falling into the “coverage gap?”
8. Why would the government pass a law making comic book insurance mandatory?
9. Who would benefit most from having insurance?
10. Who has the least need for insurance?
    
    For those who need more details, here are some weighty tomes for you to peruse:
    
     
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

What does this dream mean?

I normally don;t put much stock in "dream interpretation" with regards to fortune telling, and personality profiles, but just for fun, I thought I would throw out the question here, because this dream as relatively brief, and realistic, containing an unusual amount of coherent logic.

Dream, morning of 10/3/2013

I found a sort of folder in which there were 6 horizontal slots in the front cover, arranged in vertical rows of three. In five of those slots (the bottom right one being empty) there were small cards from Christmas of the years 1958 – 1962. My mom said this was a thing her brother Carl did, which was to send an update of his family every year, and wondered what year this was from. For some reason it seemed to be connected to when I was born. We were also wondering when he stopped doing this.

On the upper right-hand corner of the cover was a date, 1968. Also, it seemed that somewhere there was a date that indicated the last time he sent one, that was 1998. This seemed to me that he sent them every year until he died. However, upon reflection, in the dream, I recalled that he died before that.

I looked several times at the small cards slotted into the front cover, wondering why they were from only as late as 1962 when the folder was from 1968. My mom kept wondering when it was from and I kept on trying to show her the date in the corner.

What do you think this means?

Uniforms and Patriotism

News item: Mississippi Students Upset After 'Patriotic Day' Apparel Flagged
Mississippi Students Upset After 'Patriotic Day' Apparel Flagged

Apparently a school in Mississippi declared Sept. 11, 2013 "Patriotic Day" and said that students could "either wear a white shirt containing an image of the American flag, or their regular school uniform," according to the Huffington Post.

Two students violated that policy by wearing regular T-shirts that said “America, land of the free, home of the brave” and "U.S. Pride." They were told to change their clothes because he shirts did not follow the school dress code, and now the article reports that the school is considering not having a "Patriotic day" next year.

I seldom get inspired to take time out of my day to comment on news articles and such, and most often other people say what I would have said anyway or a simply idiots. I was feeling inspired,this morning, however. Here is my take on the matter (which I also posted in the "comments" section of the article):

Patriotism is fun and all, but WHY are we patriots? "Guess what everybody? You can wear a DIFFERENT SHIRT than you always have to today, so long as it is THIS PARTICULAR SHIRT that we say you can wear!" I really don't get how that helps me understand why I am supposed to feel patriotic about this country. How is this serving the educational message of the school? If discipline is one of the primary educational missions of this particular school, sure, but I don't see anything empirically or intrinsically worthy of patriotism about being allowed to wear a US flag image on your shirt one day out of the year, and the rest of the year you may only wear your school uniform.

If the point of the uniform is to create an atmosphere of...well...uniformity among the student body, then are we to assume that patriots are allowed to express their individuality once a year now? Are those the only individuals that are allowed to express their individuality? Are those who do not wear the flag not patriots? Is no one else allowed to express their individuality on any other day of the year? Is there something special, better, greater about being a patriot as opposed to not being a patriot? Suppose someone wants to keep their patriotism in their hearts (as many do about their religions, for instance), would they be singled out by the "expressive" patriots for ridicule?

I am going to go out on a limb here and say if you want to maintain uniformity and discipline, you can do it: the same uniform, all year long. If you want to allow free expression, you can do that too: no dress code, all year long. I can even accept a "free expression day" in a uniformed school in which everyone is allowed to wear whatever the heck they want (all right, you can add "within acceptable community standards" if you are afraid of someone showing up with "swear words" on their shirt or in non-gender-appropriate underwear). But "Patriotic Day," in which you are "allowed" to wear one specific alternate uniform, especially one that is as loaded with subtext and meaning as the American flag, and nothing else, strikes me as facetious and against both the spirit of the principles behind school uniforms and the First Amendment's guarantee of the freedom of expression.

Thank you.