It's been a long time coming, but it's finally being done! The Rush is back!
So, at this point next to NO ONE remembers The Rush, so let me reintroduce you to it. Long ago, in the era of Myspace, I started a blog called "Moon = Blog". It's something I would say in establishing an association between myself (The Moon) and ... well, whatever was on the other side of the equals sign. I got to the seventh edition, I believe, and named it "Moon = Blog: The Rush", after the song I was listening to "Into the Rush" by Aly & AJ (don't judge me!).
The Rush was fun to write. It was just lines of random ass factoids I'd come across or things that were brought up in conversation and piqued my interest so I looked deeper into it. Either way, it was the closest to my magazine dreams I've ever gotten and I've really wanted to bring it back regularly. The issue is, with the "MoonBlog" (which, by the way, is a default name being I don't actually have a name for it), I don't immediately have a separate place for The Rush to keep it separate. I'm looking into that so if anyone has any ideas, let me know! (email is BlackRider266@yahoo.com Send it to me!)
So now, on this Sunday *checks time* afternoon, I welcome you all back to the renewal of The Rush. Let's get into it!
1 - The Power Rangers: Like most kids my age were, I loved the Power Rangers! I'm not sure I really had a main five favorite. I think I connected to Billy because he was the smart one, or Zack because he was the one that most looked like me, or Jason because I always felt like a leader in my group. I dug Kimberly and Trini because, well, girls that can fight are badass and Kim was sexy, but Trini was the girl you wanted to chill and hang with.
Either way, the Power Rangers was a vital part of my childhood and I'd be lying if I said I didn't still love them still to this day. What's painful, though, is hearing behind-the-scenes stuff as an adult that makes me look at the show a bit differently. I've just learned about why Zack, Trini, and Jason were replaced - over money.
The Power Rangers wasn't a SAG Union job and they weren't paid enough. I mean, it would have been enough in general, but once the Power Rangers exploded in popularity, you would think the actors would be paid more accordingly. Sadly, they were not. When they spoke up, they were replaced as I sign to the others. Without a union, they were kinda at the mercy of the producers.
Even worse, Billy (David Yost) was harassed backstage because of his sexual orientation. Man, I know it was the 90s, and homosexuality was viewed a LOT differently then than it is now, but it just hurts, you know? "Billy" was someone who we always loved and respected. He was so smart and we got to watch him grow from the nerdy kid who barely wanted to face the monster head-on to the badass with swag. He lost the glasses, flipped his style, and graduated early?! I didn't know that was even a thing before Billy did it! Homophobia is never okay! That's the message - Love is Love! Speaking of Billy -
2 - Blue Ranger Swag: Why is it JUST NOW that I'm learning that David Yost, along with Cris and Mason Andrade, started a clothing line?! Seriously!?!? Do you know how much of Blue Ranger Swag I'd have today if I had known? The line is called Affirmative Clothing Company (www.affirmativecc.com) There are a lot of Blue Ranger-influenced shirts and hats and such. Should look it up! Why? It's the fuckin' Blue Power Ranger! What other reason do you need? Blue! Ranger! Clothes!
3 - "Personal Happiness should be one's highest priority. Whether it's a personal relationship, a situation, a job, or whatever - if it doesn't give you happiness, leave it. No, this isn't always easy, but it's better to pursue happiness than to accept misery." - The Moon
4 - Unofficial October: Today is August 15th (Happy Birthday, Amanda!!). Next month is the month of "September". Anyone who knows me knows that a few years ago, I decided that the month of "September" was pointless and was just in the way from the People celebrating all the darkness that comes with the month of October.
For this reason, I declared that the month of "September" will forever now be known as Unofficial October. This declaration made many of my friends very happy because we now could put up Halloween decorations many weeks earlier. One friend that didn't exactly enjoy this declaration was my best friend Katherine, whose birthday is in Unofficial October. For her, I declared her birthday, on the 9th, as a holiday. She named said holiday "Nine's Day" and the holiday, of course, needed a celebratory drink. The drink was called "The Ninth Phase of the Moon" and was quite delicious. Sadly, I've lost the recipe, but I'm sure it exists somewhere. I just have to find it. When I do, I'll tweet it from @DLHearnWrites on Twitter. If you're not following that, you should be! GO DO IT!
5 - Poll Question: I was listening to the podcast "Back of the Cereal Box" (Official Website: cerealboxpodcast.com) as they were interviewing my good friend, RG Westerman. She's the author of the book "Rising Ash" and the newly released sequel "Falling Embers" (check her out at rgwesterman.com ). During this conversation, the statement "Zombies are better than Vampires" came up and I was curious: Which do you think is better? There is a poll on the homepage of DwanLHearn.com . Go do the things!
6 - "Sometimes, people want to play games with our feelings. Our natural instinct is to take our turn and play the game back as to not appear weak. True strength is knowing when it's time to just step away from the game board altogether." - The Moon
7 - The Downfall of Society: Some time around the year 2000, I think, I remember talking with some friends about how stupid some warning labels were. Off the top of my head I can remember some lights or something that had the warning label "For Indoor or Outdoor use only". Quick question: Where the hell else am I going to use the lights?! Why is this a warning!?! I said then that "The moment that we start accommodating for stupid people, this will be the downfall of society." Although I could have said this years ago, I can say it today as well. I was right.
Now, I know that some might get up in arms over my use of the word "stupid people" so let me just get this out of the way. I know there are people with learning disabilities and some people who have difficulties understanding certain ideas or concepts that others might find simple. These are not the people I'm referring to. I completely agree that accomendations should be made, whenever possible, for the sake of inclusion and equity. But then there are people who will watch a video where someone says, "Hey you! I challenge you to take off your clothes, stand in the shower, pour a flammable liquid over yourself, and light yourself on fire." and then they fucking do it! They actually do it.
I remember about 3 years ago, I was working with a younger girl, about 21 years old, and she was the one to tell me that the Tide Pod challenge wasn't a joke and that people were REALLY doing this. They were really challenging their friends to eat soap. Seriously?! Why would teenagers eat soap? Did we have to specifically tell our children to not eat soap?! To make sure, I had a conversation with my 7 year old daughter to ensure that no one would try and convince her to eat soap. Now they come with a warning label "Harmful if put in mouth or swallowed" - No shit! It's laundry soap! Who would think that was safe?!!
While these things might seem minor, there are many other examples in everyday adult life where society at large has started accommodating for people who are just uneducated and misinformed. They have places to spill misinformation and exist in their own personal dunce canoe, riding a River of Idiocracy, into the Sea of Comfirmation Bias. I've written a blog post on The Misguided Middle Ground (https://www.dwanlhearn.com/post/beware-the-misinformed-middle-ground ) where people sit comfortably in a space where just don't know the truth and refuse to acknowledge that they may be wrong, even when confronted with verifiable proof. For the last twenty years or so, we've allowed this. We've allowed this to happen with the fear of "hurting people's feeling" despite knowing that allowing people to just go out here and make decisions based on inaccurate data is dangerous to us all.
And this has NOTHING to do with political party, race, economic status, sexual orientation, or anything else like that. This is a full blown Societal issue. Hell, I can't even say it's an American problem. Talking to people from Europe, it's just as bad there. We have to normalize the idea that sometimes you are wrong. Normalize the idea that sometimes, a person you don't like knows more than you or knows better than you. We need to acknowledge that we don't all know everything, or even enough to make a "personal choice" safely and sensibly. Facts Over Feelings does have a place and while we love to say it, we seem to hate applying the practice.
8 - The Closing?: This is normally where my Wrestling Section would be or my "Things I Can't Stand" section would be, but wrestling is just kinda sad nowadays and there is so much going on that I can't stand. Also, I feel like the last section was something I can't stand and I don't wanna hit you with double negativity. So, in closing, I hope that you all enjoyed The Rush's return. To those that remember it, I hope I've done it justice. To the new friends, I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time, Moon Out!
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