nikki griffin

12th May 2012

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Flawed Heroes

http://youtu.be/cgAvWZklf8U

Just watched this great little video, w/ 2 people I really admire. They talk about flawed heroes and redeeming villains- a subject which has long been of interest to me. If you are Geeky and you know me, we may have had this convo, as well. In my opinion, Flawed Heroes are what make Marvel SO freaking great. I think the audience has to be able to relate to a Superheroes, to see a little of themselves in them, to really love the character. People are not infallible. There is something beautiful, and honest, about the way Marvel presents these heros that are tortured, and that struggle with their own issues. These heros have conflicting desires, and inner turmoil, that either leads them to do the right thing, or make a mistake. Take The Avengers, for example; even the most seemingly virtuous of this terrorism-fighting superhero team, Captain America, has his own demons. He can be arrogant, and self-righteous, and at times he wonders how he can fit into this modern world. It makes him far-more relatable to all of us that suffer from occasional self-doubt. 

Joss Whedon is also incredibly adept at creating flawed heroes, in fact, ALL of his heroes are fantastically flawed, Buffy, Angel, Mal, to name a few. His run writing for Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men was awesome, and a great blending of voices. Like Jane Espenson mentions in the video, Joss also frequently redeems his villains. Marvel does this occasionally, too, but it sometimes is hard to remember if the bad or good came first, because the stories have gone on for so long, but Black Widow and Emma Frost come to mind. 

11th May 2012

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Dear Bristol Palin,

Your recent blog post, entitled “Hail to the Chiefs- Malia and Sasha Obama,” has caused quite a stir on the internet. Although I am certainly not the first to say it, you of all people, should not be publicly judging the lifestyle choices of others. In your rebuttal to this argument, you likened speaking about abstinence before marriage, to a former drug addict speaking about the dangers of drug use. You are implying that you have learned your lesson, and changed your ways. Yet, if “we know that in general kids do better growing up in a mother/father home,” why did you not marry the father of your child? Why is he not even a part of the child’s life? Is that not part of the ‘lesson’ you learned? I understand that life is not always as we have planned it, that sometimes, a child is better off with one parent, and that relationships don’t always work out, but it seems you have forgotten. You have made the choice to raise your child as a single mother knowing the ‘odds.’ Yes, people make mistakes, and yes, people learn from those mistakes, but your efforts to toe the ‘Sanctity of Marriage’ line, are comical for the most obvious of reasons.

As for criticizing President Obama for being influenced by his family, at no point in the statement you included in your post, does he say he asked for their opinion. In your blog post you stated the following:

 When Christian women run for high office, people inevitably bring up the question of submission.  Once, Michele Bachmann, for example, was asked during a debate, “As president, would you be submissive to your husband?”People automatically assume that a Christian female President isn’t capable of making decisions without her spouse’s stamp of approval.  (I should add femaleRepublican candidates –liberal women don’t get the same kind of questions.)

The reason people bring up this question to female Republican candidates is because it is an issue of religion. Conservatives love to use God as a reason things should or shouldn’t be done. If a person says they believe in the bible, and lives by the teachings of the bible, then we must take them at their word, at God’s Word. In the Bible, it says that women must submit to theirhusbands (Ephesians 5:22-24). Therefore, a female candidate who says she lives by God’s Word, freely admits to submitting to her husband. A leader seeks the counsel of others, but does not submit to the will of their family, only to the great majority. There is a HUGE difference between submission and seeking counsel. The issue here is that if you claim to be a true believer, you cannot pick and choose what teachings you subscribe to, according to your political aspirations. That makes you a hypocrite. So, either women submit to their husbands, polygamy is acceptable, children make wonderful spouses, and homosexuality is wrong…OR the Bible is open to interpretation because it is super old, and times have changed (or maybe God is dead, OR God never existed and the Bible is a work of fiction, but that is another whole discussion). 

Incidentally, nowhere in the quote you included by President Obama does it say that he submitted to the will of his wife and children. In fact, it does not even say he sought their advice. It only says, that through his children, he has personal experience with families with same-sex parents, and that experience influenced his decision to support Gay Marriage. 

Finally, on the issue of Gay Marriage: People of every religion, ethnicity, shape, and size, have the right to celebrate their love through marriage. Which brings me to my favorite quote from your blog:

“In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage.”

What an alarmingly condescending, and ignorant, thing to say! If society did not change thousands of years of thinking about marriage, you would have been stoned to death in the street for pre-marital sex. It would be legal for children, sometimes as young as 6, to be married, men would have multiple wives, and maybe even the murder rate would be higher, because divorce would not be an option. Times change. The world changes. If marriage is a Religious issue, then that issue should be taken up with your God, not the Government. But it is not. It is a civil rights issue. Freedom to marry the one you love is covered in the Constitution under ‘the pursuit of Happiness.’ Who are these people hurting? No one. They are our family, our friends, our neighbors, and our equals. 

Live and Let Love,

Nikki 

26th April 2012

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Deserted Island (Slightly Related to #TVwithNikki)

So I was watching The Good Wife, and in the latest episode, they are interviewing new lawyers. The old, slightly senile, lawyer asks the cliche question, “If you were stuck on a deserted Island, who would you want to be with?”

Here’s my answer:

Joss Whedon- so he could tell me endless stories

Ryan Adams w/ his Guitar- so he could sing me endless songs

Ryan Gosling w/ out his Shirt- obvious reasons

Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi w/ his Knives- obvious reasons

I’m pretty sure I’d be all set. And if I can only take 1 person, I listed them in order.

Also, a friend recently asked me what 10 albums I would take (if there was a magical electricity source on the island).

Here’s that answer:

1. Heartbreaker, Ryan Adams

2. The Suicide Handbook, Ryan Adams

3. Closing Time, Tom Waits

4. 21, Adele

5. The Hits/B-Sides, Prince

6. Plans, Death Cab for Cutie

7. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles

8. Recovery, Eminem

9. Greatest Hits, Guns ‘n’ Roses

10. The Legend of Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash

And if I could bring 5 more:

11. Rent, Original Broadway Cast Recording

12. Films About Ghosts, Counting Crows

13. Elephants, Rachael Yamagata

14. Country Strong, Soundtrack

15. Avenged Sevenfold, Avenged Sevenfold

And, no, I am not embarrassed by any of my choices. There are some albums that have 1 or 2 better songs than others, but the above listed I could listen to the whole way through. But I’m pretty sure I’d just take my ipod, since it takes up less space than a record player and vinyl, and has way more albums.

Huh, I guess that really didn’t have much to do w/ #TVwithNikki, sorry ‘bout that.

3rd January 2012

Question with 1 note

jamesfeltner asked: I'm sure you don't remember me from high school.... I'm happy for your success! I'm wondering why you didn't list the Walking Dead in your Fall TV blogs... It is easily the best show on television. Do you watch premium cable channels too?

Thank you! Love hearing from people from NHHS. I do watch The Walking Dead! I am such a slacker, that I never got around to posting a blog on the 2nd round of shows! Ugh. My bad. I didn’t even know anyone was actually reading! Thanks for paying attention. I will try to do better for my spring reviews!