The Ethics of Amnesia Kisses

-Today's PvP actually raises an interesting point or two. In my opinion, there was nothing unethical about the sex. She was willing and informed, so no worries there. Erasing her memories without her consent, however, is extremely unethical. Unfortunately, in comics, zapping other people's memories of one's civilian identity is also very common.

(We're just going to gloss over the question of, "Since when can Supes erase memories with a kiss, huh?" The moviemakers invented new powers whenever they got bored. As if super-strength, invulnerability, flight, x-ray vision, telescopic vision, microscopic vision, super-speed, super-cold breath, super breath-holding, and immunity to poison and disease weren't enough to write compelling stories.)

-The conceit, in comics, seems to be that other people's memories of you are your property, and can be preserved or erased as you choose. Professor X used to do it all the time. Iron Man used a mind-controlling satellite to get back "in the closet" once. Apparently the Spectre used his awesome mystic powers to give the third Flash back his secret ID a few years ago. The Justice League used a gadget to similar effect on the whole world on at least two occasions.

-Honestly, I find all this ethically dubious. Wearing a mask is fine. Projecting an illusion around yourself, no worries. Altering the light before it reaches a person's eyes, I'm cool with. I might even grant that altering the imnpulses in someone's optic nerve, before it reaches their brain, to protect your ID, is okay. But a person's memories should be sacrosanct.

-This could be the basis for a very dramatic story, I think. Marvel's current Civil War hinges on forced superhuman registration, which is too black and white for real drama. (The pro-registration heroes are acting way out of character.) I've often felt a good way to drive a wedge into the Marvel superhuman community would be for Congress to pass a law saying, "The use of invasive telepathic powers, or other abilities simulating telepathic powers, is illegal, except with the subject's consent, or in self-defense against similar telepathic powers." It's terribly close to reasonable, and a lot of heroes would find it incredibly onerous.

Morrison's Seven Soldiers

-Anybody got a non-spoilery opinion of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers "megaseries"? I've been thinking about picking up the trades. I've been a fan of Morrison since Animal Man, but some of his recent stuff has struck me as, eh, indulgently obscure and trippy.

(Of course, we're talking about the author who wrote himself into an issue of Animal Man, so it's not like he's newly indulgent . . . )

Tuxes, Tibetan, and a Jug Band Christmas

-Monday night, Bey/buxom_bey and I took Zeph/cathijosephine (my best man) over to Men's Wearhouse so she could get measured for her tux. This was kinda amusing, especially when they tried to discuss how the coat would lie on her without actually being so gauche as to mention her breasts.

-Tuesday, I started the evening by having Tibetan with my sweetie mizarchivist, her husband quiet_elegance, and her girlfriend lifecollage. (Eek, I think I got some poly on me . . . ) I reeeally like Tibetan. The conversation involved the best way to spit babies, Xmas presents and plotting, and how to be disowned by one's family.

-After that, I headed over to my brother and sister-in-law's to watch Christmas TV specials. I arrived partway through Charlie Brown Xmas, which somehow draws strength from its flaws, like very cheap animation, ungraceful edits (mostly to remove Coca-Cola logos), a bunch of really vicious female characters, and especially the fact that they used actual children for the voices, so they sound like children.

-At that point Bey arrived, and when I opened the door I was once again flabbergasted by how beautiful she is. I'm a lucky man.

-Second up was the Grinch, which me bro has on laserdisc. LD has its flaws (too big, you have to flip the disc every half hour, and most LD players can't do still-frame with most LDs), but picture quality isn't one of them. DVDs use lossy compression, and LDs are uncompressed, so the Grinch looked utterly crisp and beautiful. And yes, I got misty at the end. I'm a sucker for roast beast.

-And third was Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas, which I had no memory of until about halfway through. I think I saw it when it first came out back in the 70s, but not since. It's basically The Gift of the Magi in anthropomorphic furry Muppet hillbilly form. My brother got cranky with my tendency to speculate about how some of the Muppet effects were done. (E.g., the leads spend a lot of time in a moving boat.) It would have helped if the effects were better. But still, fun.