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Heroes, Villains, and Computers

I've begun taking a course called, "The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact on Pop Culture." It's a free course put on by edX and Stan Lee often makes appearances. The first assignment has us taking three of our favourite superheroes and linking them to their mythological roots. As an example the teacher gave, Superman is basically a retelling of the story of Moses. As writers we know every story has been told before and that we need to put our own spin on whatever story we're telling. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It was hard to choose my heroes as I didn't know many of them and I wanted to do female characters as they are more often overlooked. I spent the weekend watching superhero movies to help me choose. I've chosen Wonder Woman, Rogue, and Storm. After my X-Men marathon, I feel like Magneto is arguably one of the more reasonable villains. He acts in a way that makes sense considering the atrocities he has seen. I'm not saying his behaviour is wholly acceptable, but I understand him better now.

There was a scene with Charles and Magneto where Charles is telling him that he needs to be able to use his power without anger in order to properly control it. I feel that way about Iaido. I find it hard to pretend like I'm in a fight without getting tense and aggressive. Too much tension makes for bad sword technique. I'm not sure how to overcome this, but I suppose recognizing it is the first step.

I took most of July off from my martial art with the goal of finishing my novel. I'm close, but not quite there. The weekend class made me regret taking the time off to a degree as I've had several days of difficulty walking following it. Also, my technique has gotten rather sloppy. I did enjoy the time spent on summery things, but if I intend to get my next rank in December, I better get in the dojo and work hard.

I'm about a chapter and a half away from finishing my book, I think. I rebuilt my desk recently with a proper keyboard tray. I need a long network cable as it seems my Wi-Fi doesn't work in the corner my desk is in. This may be because it's behind a book shelf? The drywall is thicker than average and the wall studs are metal, so perhaps I'm getting interference? It's really odd that my Wi-Fi won't go to my bedroom/office as my place is tiny. It's about 15 feet from the router, so I really shouldn't need a repeater. At this point though, I just want to write at my desk, have it sync to DropBox, and get my book finished.

I missed the last check-in. Oops. I've been late this whole round. I'll try to be better.

I have an essay to finish tonight and then I can get to my writing.

Ciao,
R~
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