I'm told that I'm a fascist

I believe in being honest and direct in giving my opinions. People should never ask me what I think about something because they will find out. For some reason, in the online world of fan discussion, that translates into being cruel and close minded, especially when it comes to expressing an opinion that deviates from what the herd feels is acceptable.

Now, I'm not talking about opinions regarding the war in Iraq, racism, homophobia, religion, or anything else that normal people might be expected to feel passionate about. I'm talking about people who freak out when they find out that I don't like their favorite movie, TV show, or comic book.

A few months ago, on Peter David's blog, I mentioned that I don't like American Idol. In fact, I hate the whole concept of reality to TV. I don't see the entertainment value in public humiliation or in watching shallow yuppies debase themselves for a chance to work for Donald Trump. Personally, I'd go through 15 weeks of public humiliation to not work for Trump. But for some reason, saying you don't like American Idol is more offensive to some people than a picture of Mohammad with a bomb for a turbin. One individual even compared me to the people who tried to get movies like the Last Temptation of Christ or Dogma banned.

But at least that guy apologized when I pointed out that I've never done anything to try and keep other people from watching American Idol if they choose to. All I had said was that I had no desire to watch it. I personally don't care what other people watch, with the lone exception of Tom Cruise movies, but that's because, as I noted before, he's tried to censor what other people can watch.

But when it comes to insanity, apparently, no one can top comics fans. And here is where I have committed the ultimate blasphemy:

I don't like Wolverine.

There I said it. It's out in the open. Among comics fans, it seems like the one thing you can't admit to is not liking the star of every frickin' X-book ever made. But I find nothing heroic about a character that guts anyone who looks at him funny. And it's not just the villains, over the years, he has sliced up people who are supposed to be his friends (Rachel Summers, The Thing, Spider-man), for no other apparent reason than one creator or another thought it was the badass thing to do.

I was especially offended by last month's Astonishing X-men #13, where Wolverine, after beating up a bunch of children in the dark, ends the fight with an attempt to stab a 13-year old girl in the eys. I have a niece about the same age as that girl, and the thought that Joss Whedon included that scene because he thought it looked badass or "kewl" sickens me.

But expressing a negative opinion about Wolverine is apparently forbidden in the world of fan message boards and email discussion groups. Once, I had simply stated that I had no interest in reading any of the X-books, I was immediately assailed by people who insisted that Astonishing X-men was the greatest work of literature in the history of the written word and that if I didn't read it, I was a nazi and a fascist who wants to burn books and rip comics out of the hands of children. I'm not exaggerating. That is exactly how some people presented it: I don't read Astonishing X-men, therefore, I'm a nazi.

After about a month of getting hit with this barraged and not wanting to continue making baby Jesus cry, I took them up on their challenge to read Astonishing X-men, promising to give it a fair review. And the result was: a comic about a Canadian hairball trying to stab a small Japanese girl in eyes.

In the dark.

And he's the hero of the book. The character than every comic fan (except me, apparently) loves. Marvel's cash cow whom Bryan Michael Bendis brought into the Avengers in order to boost sales of that book.

And I'm the one whose opinions are offensive.

I just don't get it.

Dirty Zacarius?

I can't believe that Zacarius Mousaoui actually used the words "make my day" during his testimony yesterday. He also expressed glee over the deaths on 9/11 and mocked those who lost loved ones.

You know what? For a guy who hasn't actually managed to kill any infidels, he talks pretty tough. On the one hand, he's practically begging the jury to give him the death penalty. But then again, he also claims that Bush is going to swap him for hostages in the Middle East. It's easy to talk tough in the courtroom, but so far, his talk about wanting to kill as many Americans has been just talk. He said he wanted to pilot a fifth plane, but didn't. He said he'd participate in another attack "today" if given the chance. But the evidence that he was actually an active part of the planning for 9/11 is pretty thin. In fact, it appears he's likely getting the death penalty simply for lying about what he knew.

This is purely speculation on my part, but reading between the lines, it looks like Zac is nothing but a poser. A man with big talk and big dreams; a hanger-on that the real terrorists knew couldn't be counted on. Reading his testimony, it seems like he's trying hard to puff himself up and make himself look bigger and more important than he is.

Zacarius Mousaoui is a despicable man, but he's clearly a small fish in the world of terrorism. The idea that he was the fabled 20th hijacker has long been forgotten. The shame is, this trial has given him the validation this little man had been praying for. Whether he's ultimately executed or not, we've already made him a martyr in his own mind.

With Bush having given up on catching bin Laden, it's a shame that we're reduced to getting our pound of flesh from this little man.

Boycott Mission Impossible: 3

Tom Cruise is the single most overrated actor on the planet and in the history of acting going all the way back to the time of Sophocles. To top it if off, he is an arrogant, egotistical twit who thinks he's the most brilliant human being alive. Now, most actors are pretty stupid people. Five seconds of listening to them say anything that someone else didn't write for them will confirm that, but Cruise is in a league of stupidity all his own.

First of all, he's a scientologist, which is proof enough that he is so stupid that he shouldn't be allowed to handle sharp objects unsupervised. Scientology is a religion that was invented as a bar bet between L. Ron Hubbard and Robert Heinlein as to who could make the most money off of religion. (Heinlein lost because he didn't think big enough - all he could come up with was to retell the story of Jesus as a cannablistic hippy raised on Mars) Anyone who buys into that crap about Xenu and the frozen alien souls being tossed into a volcanoe is a freaking moron. Newsflash: Hubbard was a science FICTION writer! And he wasn't even a good one. Is there any surprise that the theology he came up with looks like a bad science fiction plot?

Second there is the case of Cruise's raging ego. What kind of an arrogant asshole takes an ensemble TV show and makes it in a movie and then in the first ten minutes, kills off the entire ensemble except his own character? Anyone doubt that when he was producing this film, his instructions to the writers were: "I want every scene to feature me! It's all about me! Me! Me! Me!"? I remember watching the trailer for that movie and noticing that every scene in it feature Cruise. It was like he was the only actor in the movie.

Third, there is the simple fact that he cannot act. I am so sick of his wooden, fake sensitive routine that he plays in every movie. "You complete me. blah blah blah" F--K you, Cruise! You play the same damn character in every movie. There isn't an Imax theater big enough to contain your ego.

Fourth, how can anyone buy his "crazy in love" routine. That he's gay is just about worst kept secret in Hollyweird. (Note to John Travolta and Mathew Broderick: You guys aren't fooling anyone either). Now, I personally couldn't care less who is gay and who isn't, but I detest hypocrisy and every time I see him that clip of him jumping up and down on Oprah's couch I want to vomit.

Fifth, there's his idiotic interview with Matt Lauer last year where he attacked Brooke Shields. "I know the history of psychiatry." Really, Cruise? How about you give us a detailed comparison of Freudian vs. Jungian theory? Can you explain the difference between an anxiety disorder and a psychosis? How about defining cognitive therapy for us? The only thing you know about psychiatry is what you read in a scientology pamphlet. Hell, you probable get confused reading the instructions on a stop sign.

Finally, there's the report of him using behind the scenes manipulation to get an episode of South Park pulled from the schedule at Comedy Central because it made fun of him. That's the last straw for me. Anyone who forces a network to censor its programming is scum to me. I will never again watch a Tom Cruise movie. In fact, I will actively encourage others to boycott MI:3. Since he seems to feel that he has the right to tell others what they can watch, I think it's only fair that I at least try to persuade others not to watch his garbage. Spending money on one of his movies is the same as giving it to scientology anyway. F--k him. F--k scientology. And F--k Katie Holmes while we're at it for agreeing to get knocked up just to lend credibility to the myth that they're dating.