Reggie Blogged

Image by Rob Rogers We all knew it was coming thanks to the leak. Nonetheless, the impact from such a blow is still hard hitting. On Friday, June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade , killing the consitutional right to abortion.  The GOP is not now, nor has it ever been a pro-life party. "Yes, they are!" I can hear some of you saying. Shut up. SHUT. UP. Repulicans go on and on about the preciousness of unborn life. All the while they cannot give a crap about the millions of American lives that already exist, doing zilch to show they are a true pro-life party. The GOP is pro-birth. They will fight tooth and nail for the unborn. They've been doing it for decades. But the second that child is born, the ferocity to fight for that child that was unborn is gone, scattered like cockroaches when the lights come on. Nine months. That is the extent the GOP can be bothered to care about life. Once they are out of the womb, babies get the same care from the GOP that t...

Image: Sean Krajacic via Getty Images On Friday, November 19th, Kyle Rittenhouse, who stood accused of shooting three people, killing two at a BLM protest last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was found not guilty on every charge against him. I would say I'm shocked but then I'd be lying. I was a kid when I first saw The Empire Strikes Back. Even in the days of the 1980s, the big revelation that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father was no secret to me. I had a friend who blabbed much of the details of the trilogy. But the revelation was so wide spread that even at the time, it was so embedded in pop culture that it was more likely that far more people knew of the reveal than those that didn't. Still, hearing Darth Vader say "Luke, I am your father," was more of an eye raising moment for me than finding out that Rittenhouse would walk free after he murdered two people. Somehow, fiction manged, even in a spoiled form, to get more of a reaction out of me than reali...

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic has often been compared to the 1918 flu pandemic. Despite the fact that more than one hundred years have passed between the two pandemics, they share frightening similarities. For both of these pandemics, misinformation has run as rampant as the virus of each respective era and stupidity of citizens runs just as much. On August 9th, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota kicked off. This 10 day annual event has been going on since 1938 and if you thought a deadly viral disease was gonna stop a swarm of people from attending en mass, buddy, you have not met human beings. In 2020, the rally went on as planned with thousands gathering, maskless in close proximity. To the surprise of no one, this ended up being a super spreader event because viruses love crowds.  I'd like to think we've come a long way in over one hundred years, but the sad reality of it is, people are gonna be people and this was the exact same case in 1918....

Getty Images. Over 633,000. That is the number of people in the United States of America that have died to COVID-19.  The quick vaccine roll out has provided Americans with hope and security. But the pandemic that has gone on for more than a year now is far from over. The new Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus has become the dominate strain and is far more infectious than the previous ones.  "What's in the vaccine?" "I guess the vaccine isn't working if people are still getting sick." As for what's in it, maaaaaan, I really don't care. If you're feeling sick and your doctor prescribes you with some meds, do you play twenty questions? I'm betting that's a no. But if you're still vaccine hesitant or don't want to get the jab at all, the least you can do is wear a mask. Masks not only protect others, they protect you as well. You probably don't think twice about half the stuff you put in your body. Vaccines are not a cure. Yes,...

Image from Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. The January 6th Committee hearings began this week on Tuesday. We heard testimonies from two Capitol Hill police officers, Officer Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, and two of D.C.'s police: Officers Daniel Hodge and Michael Fanone. These were but four of the many officers that put their lives on the line when white domestic terrorists stormed the United States Capitol building in a failed coup attempt incited by loser, former President orange face, Donald Chump Trump. Sgt. Gonell and Officers Dunn and Fanone have been making the rounds over the past several months, speaking on CNN multiple times.  In Officer Fanone's latest conversation with CNN's, the officer gave his remarks on the very vulgar, profane laced voicemail that was sent to him while he was testifying on Tuesday.  Because officer Fanone is a white person that is telling the truth about what happened on Jan 6, his fellow white people view him as a traitor. Sure he ...

Image via Getty Images. White folks love Martin Luther King Jr. Or rather, they love the white washed version of him. His iconic  I Have a Dream speech has a line that is a big favorite among white conservatives, a line that I'm sure you are all too familiar with, time and time again. I'm am of course referring to people being judged not by the color of their skin, but by the contents of their character. That line is often used by white conservatives to deny the systemic racism that has contaminated America from day one. It makes white people breathe a sigh of relief, keeps them from any type of self examination and lets them go back to their lovely white privileged world. That line is also often used out of context, which is exactly what House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) did in another GOP bash against Critical Race Theory. McCarthy took to Twitter to reiterate part of an interview he did. On the social media platform he wrote "Critical Race Theory goes agains...

Image from Getty Images. Republicans have found a new target to make their supporters fear: Critical Race Theory or CRT for short.  Despite the nonsense you may have heard, it is  not being taught in schools grades K-12, but the mere thought  of it being taught to the youth of America has white folks up in arms. Gonna go out on a limb and say that the reason they don't feel so good is because a certain word is in CRT. Can you guess what word I'm talking abo--RACE. The word is race.  People fear what they don't understand. And you can bet the farm white folks and those that don't want CRT to be taught in schools don't understand a lick of it. To a lot of republicans and republican supporters, CRT is something new and as we all know, the GOP is totally against anything and everything new. In reality, CRT has been making the rounds for years now. What's also old is the republican's battle strategy. Fear mongering has long been a tool of the GOP. For years they...

Image from the Boston Globe Opposing the President Joe Biden nomination Kiran Ahuja for director of Office of Personnel Management, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) took to the floor of congress and like most members of his party does, proceeded to say some really stupid ish. Hawley said that the America he sees and knows is not systemically racist. I don't think I can find a single GIF that would properly convey the flat, blinking expression I have on my face as I look at the plate of nonsense he just served up.  Hawley is a white man. Of course he sees a different a America. He lives in an American that black people and other people of color do not. Because he is white, he gets to move through life and the country without experiencing the systemic racism that non-whites encounter on a regular basis. He doesn't have to fear that police are going to harm him over some trivial garbage like vaping on the sidewalk, or fear that his life may be in danger during a routine jog. He doesn...

Image by MP&F Juneteenth, or June 19th. I'd never heard of it until the civil unrest that swept the country last year (and is still going on). There's been push for years to make it a federal holiday. On June 17th, 2021, Juneteenth was at long last made a federal holiday when President Joe Biden signed it into law. "So what is Juneteeth?" I hear those of you not in the know asking. Why, it commemorates the end of America's original sin, chattel slavery. Slavery was abolished in 1863 but despite the Emancipation Proclamation, word that slavery was over was withheld from those in confederate states, meaning many were not aware of the newfound freedom others were granted. On June 19th, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Major General Gordon Granger came through on horseback to inform the remaining slaves in the state that they were free.  I'd like to say it was all sunshine and roses after that but that was not the case. And yeah, we still got a long ways to go becau...

Photo by Ted Eytan via flickr 2020. A year to remember if ever there was one. Though the COVID virus that would sweep across the world and turn our lives upside down was discovered in late 2019, in early 2020 the pandemic ball really got rolling and in many ways, it shaped the course for what turned out to be an incredibly difficult year. Even during a global pandemic, life, under very unusual circumstances, went on. People worked remotely, kids did school from home, restaurants only did take out or door dash. As positive COVID cases grew, hospitals were overrun, taxing staff to their limits. Due to how gravely the pandemic had (has) affected the world and our very way of life, people turned to the news to stay updated. Naturally, COVID dominated the news hours but a once in a century pandemic was not gonna stop white people from killing black people.  Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog while he was shot and killed by delusional, white supremacist clowns. Breonna Taylor had her life t...

Watching DVDs on the computer is nice but sometimes it's better to watch them on TV. So after some thinking, I decided to get myself a new DVD player. This one is by Sony and it only set me back $40. Why didn't I get a Blu-Ray player? Because I'm not 100% sold on them. Besides, I hear the PS3 is a good Blu-Ray player as opposed to the PS2's DVD playback functionality, which was crap. When I get a PS3, I'll have Blu-Ray, so I can wait. And yet, when I bought my new DVD player, I picked up my first Blu-Ray movie. Well it came with Blu-Ray and DVD. Justice League: Doom is the latest DC Universe animated film. How prepared is Batman? Prepared to take down his own teammates, if it becomes necessary. Based off the Justice League of America: Tower of Babel story written by Mark Waid, JL: Doom explores Batman's paranoid nature. Batman has taken measures to stop each member of the Justice League should they ever go rouge or sub-come to mind control from ...

Christmas 2011 was awesome and the new year is upon us. So what did I resolve to do for 2012? The same thing I've resolved to do every year: not a single thing. A long time ago, I asked a co-worker what her new year's resolution's were for the new year. She told me she had none. She said if people wish to make changes, they can start them right away rather than wait for a new year. Her advice has stuck with me ever since as I have not made a single new year's resolution since 2002. There's nothing really wrong with new year's resolutions. It's just that, 9 out of 10 times, they always get broken. I've never  kept a single year year's resolution that I've made and I can't even remember what half of what them were. Most of them were probably broken in a week or less anyway. Just what is it about a new year that makes us so eager to change ourselves or strive towards new goals? Does a new year bring a fresh start? A chance at a new begin...

When I heard everyone was going to open a gift on Christmas Eve, I thought that only extended to my nieces and nephew. Turns out everyone meant everyone. My sister has been crocheting for a while now she's she's good at it. She's so good that she made everyone in the family a scarf. It's ironic because I was thinking about buying a scarf but now I don't need to. Like a store bought scarf, this baby keeps my neck nice and warm and it has a sweet pattern to boot. I can't wait to try this thing out.

On December 20, 2011, after a long road trip, I arrived in my new home, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Hard to believe it's been one year. It's a been an interesting year at that. I got to know my two nieces and nephew, growing more as an uncle as a result. After a lot of searching, I landed a nice job, making more money than what I did in Ohio and I work with some excellent people. I lived through my first hurricane and experienced a very low level earth quake. I saw the beach for the first time in my life and it was AWESOME. Virginia Beach is a fantastic city. Town Center, the area where I spend a lot of my time, is a great place to shop. The Ocean Front, where the main Virginia Beach is located is absolutely beautiful and is a wonderful place to walk up and down. Despite the fact that many of the people in this city have no business being behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, I really do like living here. A year may not seem like a lot of time but when I stop and t...

Well I made it through my very first Thanks Giving in my new home of Virginia Beach. (Is it still considered "new" if you've lived somewhere for almost a year?) Thanks Giving is one of my favorite holidays. You get to good food (REALLY good food) and be with the family. I got to thinking back to when I was living on my own in Ohio. Two of the five years that I had my own place I celebrated Thanks Giving by myself. It certainly wasn't bad. I ate well and enjoyed the day off but it was still a bit lonely with my immediate family being so far away. I never really felt like imposing on anyone else so I declined any extended offers to have dinner with anyone else. This year, for the first time in years, I got to see all of them for the holiday. Speaking of family, I got a call from my good friend Justin Moses back home in Ohio. I've known Justin since we were kids, so he's practically family to me. We talked about gaming related stuff but it was just great to h...

One of the first things I did when I moved to Virginia Beach was go for walks around the neighborhood. Almost a year later, walking around town is still one of my favorite things to do here. It's so peaceful to just walk around the area, listening to music, looking at my surroundings. Despite the fact that I'm still getting used to life here and that I still feel like an outsider, VA Beach is a very comfortable to walk about. Going out walking does a great deal to help me think, relieve stress, and it's just plain relaxing. Oh, and it's good exercise, too. Can't forget that. I've decided that the best way to adjust to my life here is to take one day at a time. I'll deal with the uneasiness when it comes and just keep pressing onward. Nearly a year ago, I knew that moving here would be a big chance to take, but ultimately, I'm glad I took it. Well, it's a beautiful day outside and I've got the day off work, so I think I'll do some walkin...

It's been nearly a year since I moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia. My father asked me some time ago, if it really sank in that I lived in VA Beach. At the time, I told him no and he responded by telling me that it could take a while before I fully adjust to living here. Even after being here for almost a year, I'm a little surprised that I'm still not 100% used to where I live. The first time I moved I was too young to really remember. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio and my family moved to Dayton, Ohio a year or so after I was born. So despite being born in Cleveland, Dayton has always felt like my true home. I really like VA Beach, but since this was my second out of state move and with me now being much older for it to impact me, I'm not completely sure how to deal with some of these feelings. When I'm not busy working, I get plenty of time to stop and think and it often hits me "Wow, I'm really living my life somewhere other than Dayton." I've...

It's been nearly 3 months since I made a post on this blog. Part of the reason for not writing anything here is that I've been busy writing on my gaming blog. The other reason is that I've been struggling with what I should write here. When I started this blog back in March of 2008, it was primarily a comic-based blog, but since my interest in the medium had decreased so much, there hasn't been a great deal for me to talk about on that front. For a while, the blog did see a lot of activity regarding non-comic based posts before I made my move to Virginia Beach. But  now, well, as I said, it's been a sizable gap since the last post. I'm not entirely sure what I should dedicate this blog to.  I think my father and sister have far more interesting things to blog about in their lives than I do. That's not to say I think my life is dull. Far from it. I guess it's just easier to write about gaming because I'm so passionate about it. I do still keep ...

I don't usually like to make a big deal of my birthday but people tend to make some birthdays more special than others. 13 is a magic number but 16 is seemingly even more important, but not as much as 18, which marks you as an adult while 21 let's (legally) you drink and partake of the wonderful joys of hangovers (never been one to do that). So what does 30 get you? Well I really don't know, but lots of folks view it as a sign of  that you're really getting old. But from everything I've seen and heard, 30 is the new 16. I mean, I don't particularly look or even feel that much older. Most people are surprised when I tell them my age. While I don't mind getting older (too much) it does serve as a reminder that our time on this Earth is limited. That makes me stop and think about what I've done with my life. I don't have any major, grand scale achievements to my resume, but when I think back on my 20s, I did do two pretty important things. One was m...

Like most people, I've always been a fan of Mickey Mouse. He's one of the few cartoon characters that's achieved the same iconic status as Bugs Bunny. I'm most familiar with Mickey's animated exploits, having never read any of the Mickey Mouse comics. When I saw Mickey Mouse: Race to Death Valley, I just knew it would be something I'd want to pick up.  Despite the title, Race to Death Valley packs numerous Mickey Mouse comic strip stories from the early 1930s. There's also some nifty bonus content including some very kind, lengthy words from Mickey fanatic Warren Spector of Epic Mickey fame. I've only thumbed through it so far, but this is looking like one very impressive book. This book marks the first time Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse strips have ever really been collected. With nearly 300 pages it may take me a while to read through this hardcover. The side of this one actually says "Volume 1." If that's an indication that there...