Why the World Needs More Than One Superman

Having read the latest world news from different sources, my poignant mind were challenged to conclude a thought linking to an idea of a movie about a superhero. A seemingly imaginative idea that the world needs more than one superman. Why?

You probably live in a secluded different world if you don’t know Superman. Regarded as the most famous fictional character, Superman is the first comic book superhero. Superman is portrayed as a powerful human from another planet. Typically, as a superhero, he uses whatever power he possesses to help others and to fight against cruelties, mostly caused by his enemies. His most malicious enemy is Lex Luthor.From comic to radio serials, from television programs to films, the Superhero appears everywhere. The latest one is the ‘Superman Returns’ that was just released this summer.

Yet, Superman is not real. He doesn’t live in our world. But you know what? Having a Superman would probably be a bit helpful for the world. However, I won’t discuss much further about the superhero himself as I’m not really that knowledgeable about Superman. Yet, inspired by the last movie, I would like to examine about what happens in our world today by comparing it with the story of Superman. The world where we're living in have been undergoing too many cruelties and problems, regardless many existing great things that seems too few compared the bad ones. And, although being different with the ones in the Superman stories, I reckon that we need a kind of superman to deal with problems in the world.

Why is it? Perhaps, a review of the current world affairs is significant to show what's been going on. Hence we can see the link between the story of Superman and our world.

- "Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicholas Maduro said on Thursday the United States distinguished between "good" and "bad" terrorists, depending on their political leanings. "(Reuters AlertNet, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28310204.htm)

- "The Bush administration is concealing the level of violence against U.S. troops in Iraq and the situation there is growing worse despite White House and Pentagon claims of progress, journalist Bob Woodward said in advance of a new book." (Reuters AlertNet, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N28210876.htm).

- "Taliban attacks along Afghanistan's southeastern border have more than doubled in the three weeks since a controversial deal between Pakistan and pro-Taliban militants..." (Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,1883738,00.html).

- "Pakistan rapped over detentions: Pakistan is accused of detaining hundreds of alleged terror suspects without legal process by human rights organisation Amnesty International..." (BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5390824.stm).

- surrounding the recent terrorism threat to UK: "A major shake-up in the security services and the police was signalled yesterday as John Reid announced a fundamental review of Britain's capacity to tackle the terrorist threat." (Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1883765,00.html); "The victims of the July bombings in London last year were let down by the authorities, with many left feeling forgotten or unimportant on the day and in the weeks that followed the attacks..." (Guardian, http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1879316,00.html); "The home secretary clashed with two Islamist radicals when he met the east London Muslim community to urge it to tackle extremism. (Guardian,http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1877308,00.html).

- "Two teenagers have been shot in front of families with young children in a McDonald's restaurant...the incident which happened in Brixton, south London." (BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/5390652.stm).

- "Military coups, like wars, are easy to start but hard to end. They mostly begin rather as Thailand's did this week: at night, with tanks on the streets of the capital, television stations surrounded, programming suddenly replaced with martial music and, in the light of morning, a promise from a grim-faced general that power has been seized only temporarily and that democracy will soon be restored, once the constitution has been suitably adjusted. " (The Economist, http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7942244). A stormy start for Thailand following the recent circumstances within the country: "The storms that lashed Thailand this week were a fitting Shakespearean metaphor for the kingdom's troubles. A week after a coup by six top military men overthrew the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, the streets remained calm." (The economist, http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7971085).

- Abouth the Bird flu in Indonesia: "A 21-year-old Indonesian woman, the sister of a boy who died of bird flu earlier this month, is suffering from the same disease, the health ministry said on Friday." (Reuters AlertNet, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK21450.htm).

I need not to mention every news. Those above are adequate for us to perceiving the look of our world today. It should beckon us, at least, to think on these things. An individual is incapable of solving the heart-rending problems. But i reckon, every attempt would be appreciated as a Superman deed. Thus, at this point, what we need is not a Superman, but more than one of him. So, why we need more than one Superman? Bear in mind that, in the story of Superman, the superhero wasn't capable to cope more than one frictions that happens at the same time although he only had to face one Lex Luthor. But in our world? We've got too many Lex Luthors. Too many devilish characters of Lex Luthor, they are. That's why, the more "Supermen" we've got the better it is.

the indelible one

"When you first fall in love, everything is perfect. Until the day you want to forget you've ever met. When it comes to love, some things can't be erased: Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. You can erase someone from your mind. Getting them out of your heart is another story."
(cited from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - the movie)

There was a perfect crush with the complete perfect features that was utterly fascinating that they brought massive impact to your inner world. Until one day, they were physically gone to the other side of the world. Out of reach. You might be coping very well when the feature was nowhere to be seen. Again, physically. And you were fine for a while. Having a breathing space, free from that heart-jittering sensation that always appear both at the surface of your heart, and even the interior part, whenever they were around. However, the feeling remained intact. Although you didnt know the lucid picture of it until one day a tiny little thing poking you right in your heart. A short line of unexpected message from the very person that put a smile on your face all day. Your face glowing brightly.

Eventually you've figured it out. Conceiving that that human being is actually the one that has left an irreplaceable (with or without cognition) a peculiar mark. The indelible one...

One Art

One Art

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day.  Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel.  None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch.  And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones.  And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

---Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied.  It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

 -Elizabeth Bishop-

a tribute to the legend: Michael Schumacher

I was quite taken aback yesterday when i heard the news of Michael Schumacher's retirement at the end of this championship's season. And i still am. He delivered the statement on the yesterday's after race-interview right after successfully finishing first. Obviously, i'm upset. I always enjoy watching him racin on the track, and after having watched the race @ Silverstone last june, i fancy him more. No matter what people say about him, i fancy him still. Retiring or not, i would love to see him in person one day.

The thought of not being able to watch the 7th time world champion anymore is completely a disappointment for me. It's mainly because of him that i always feel excited to follow the Formula One, and can't wait the season to begin.

Hence, as a personal tribute to the legend himself, here's the article published by the official website of Formula One regarding the great racer of all time (at least until today).


Michael Schumacher - the end of an era

(http://www.formula1.com/news/4932.html) After 90 wins, 1354 points and seven world championship titles, Michael Schumacher has announced he will retire at the end of this season. Statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen, Schumacher has, over the past 16 years, set a new standard to which younger drivers can only aspire. He may have courted controversy at times, but with his departure, the sport will lose one of its leading lights.

Born on January 3, 1969, Schumacher’s beginnings were surprisingly unremarkable. The son of a bricklayer who also ran the local kart circuit, the young Michael took to his father’s track like a fish to water. He won his first championship at the age of six - an early demonstration the natural talent and raw speed which have since defined his career. Successive teenage triumphs in Formula Ford and Formula 3 followed and established his reputation as a driver to watch. By his early twenties, the Formula One fraternity had finally taken notice and in 1991 the Jordan team took a gamble, asking him to stand in for a jailed Bertrand Gachot at Spa. Schumacher seized the opportunity with characteristic confidence. He qualified seventh on the grid, impressing rival team Benetton so much they offered him a permanent race seat for the rest of the season. The talent which had carried him this far now blossomed with Benetton’s backing. At the 1991 Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher finished fifth, claiming the first of four points he earned that year. The next season, he enjoyed a maiden win in Belgium, racked up 53 points and beat his more experienced team mate Martin Brundle to take third in the championship. A year later he was fourth in the championship and reigning supreme within the team. The rest has become the stuff of history. Motivating Benetton to greatness, Schumacher became the lynch pin of a group of immensely capable people. His dedicated work ethic and passion for winning paid off with back-to-back drivers’ titles in 1994 and 1995. Just three years into his Formula One career and Schumacher was well on his way to becoming a legend. In 1996, the world champion made a brave move. After four seasons with Benetton, he signed to Ferrari - a team which hadn’t won a championship in almost 20 years. Arriving in Maranello, Schumacher set about rejuvenating the Italian squad, attracting two of the founder members of his title-winning outfit at Benetton to join him later that year. Ross Brawn became technical director and Rory Byrne chief designer. Schumacher’s first season at Ferrari was a trying one. Nevertheless, relying for the most part on his natural talent, he took three victories out of an under-performing car. By ‘98, things were looking more promising and he finished second overall in the title race to Mika Hakkinen. Then in 1999, Schumacher was forced to show his mettle once more after a heavy crash in Silverstone broke his leg and put paid to his title chances for another year. It was during these early days at Ferrari, when his stakes were down, that Schumacher’s determination and obsessive dedication shone through. As a result, in 2000, everything finally slotted into place and Schumacher, after winning nine races, became the Italian team’s first world champion in 21 years. The German legend would continue winning for the next four seasons, racking up 39 victories and four further championships. He dominated the sport in a way never seen before and firmly ensconced himself in the record books. Only in 2005, with the rise of Fernando Alonso and Renault, did that dominance begin to wane. Then, as in ’96, Schumacher’s strength of mind came to the fore, as he pushed an uncompetitive car to go faster. The result was third in the championship - five places above a team mate in identical machinery. And in 2006 Ferrari are back and fighting, revived in small part by Schumacher’s resolute ambition and refusal to lie down. Even now, at the age of 37 and heading into retirement, he is still fighting for every win. Of course, such success rarely comes without controversy, and Schumacher has courted his fair share over the years. His first title in 1994 was tainted (and clinched) with a timely collision with the Williams of rival Damon Hill. Then in 1997, he was stripped of second place in the championship after crashing into Jacques Villeneuve - another title challenger - in Jerez. And more recently the German’s ethics have been called into question following his qualifying accident in Monaco this year. Schumacher’s insistence on number-one status at Ferrari also drew criticism from some quarters. Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, and Felipe Massa were all compliant number twos and doubtless played a role in his success. But that cannot diminish the great on-track rivalries Schumacher enjoyed - and won - with the greats from other teams. The likes of Hill, Villeneuve, Hakkinen were all champions themselves, but in the long term none could match his all-round ability. Be it speed, natural talent, ruthlessness or hard work, Schumacher had it all. He rarely made mistakes, his prowess in the rain has been well documented, and he has become so attuned to the development of the cars he drives that he can continually adapt their set-up mid race to his advantage. The other world champion to leave the sport this year, Jacques Villeneuve, questioned whether Schumacher’s legacy will be as long-lasting as that of Fangio, Senna or Prost. But with 90 wins, 68 pole positions, 75 fastest laps, 1354 points and those seven world titles, most would say Michael Schumacher will never be forgotten - or beaten!

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**the pics are those i took at the June's British GP at Silverstone