O. M. G.

[squirrelhaven]

I had lunch with a friend last month who, in the course of a wide-ranging conversation, mentioned his amazement at having discovered some sort of underground movement in which real people dress up as costumed heroes and take to the streets, seriously trying to fight crime. And that police don't always know whether to see this as a good thing or a bad thing. I'd forgotten about it, until I stumbled across a link today.

You really need to see it to believe it.

http://worldsuperheroregistry.com/world_superhero_registry_gallery.htm

I just. I don't even know. Is this funny? Is it awesome? Is it kind of scary and sad?

Well, okay, it's definitely funny. I've been reading for a while and so far am most amused by the one who claims Osama Bin Laden as his arch nemesis. Somehow I imagine Bin Laden would be surprised to hear about that. (ETA: No, my favorite has to be Polar Man, in Canada. Who models himself after an Inuit legend, and shovels for the elderly. I couldn't make this up if I tried, folks.)

Also, they almost all have myspace pages.

THERE IS A COSTUMED SUPERHERO ROAMING THE STREETS OF LONDON WITH AN ANGLE-GRINDER. His mission is to free the motorists of England from the tyranny of clamps, such as police use on the wheels of illegally parked cars.

The world is such a bizarre and fascinating place, it truly is.

Comments

[winterborne.livejournal.com]

They were reporting on some of these guys on cnn.com the other day, which must mean we can't even consider them to be underground anymore.

I love the angle-grinder guy, but fear for the folks who might possibly get involved in fighting violent crime.

[squirrelhaven.livejournal.com]

I worry about these people in a whole lot of ways.

[the-star-fish.livejournal.com]

That's really, um.

Yeah.

I don't even know.

(The saddest thing, IMO, is the "Notoriety" thing. I don't know why, but ... sad.)

[squirrelhaven.livejournal.com]

Try reading their submission guidelines. Srsly.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

O.O

Wow.

[squirrelhaven.livejournal.com]

Indeed. And I know it's troubling in a host of ways, and yet I can't stop giggling about it. The tutorials on costumes, for example, with such priceless wisdom as: Work out any potentially fatal flaws before taking a new suit into action. Pinching and chafing can be very distracting. That's just so humble and practical. I kind of love it.

[osirusbrisbane.livejournal.com]

I remember reading about Angle Grinder Man years ago! He's totally awesome.

[squirrelhaven.livejournal.com]

If you ever do a follow-up to your first book, you really need to include these people. I quote: The JUSTICE SOCIETY OF JUSTICE ™...offering twice the JUSTICE as the leading competitors!

There's nothing I don't love about that.

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

Somebody really needs to write the story where Fraser comes into contact with Polar Man.

[squirrelhaven.livejournal.com]

Yes, somebody really does. Because you know that, upon investigation, it would turn out that Fraser knows the guy. They probably had some Mountie training together, only this guy didn't pass the psychological screening or whatever (leading Ray to wonder what kind of screening they do, if Fraser and Turnbull and Buck Frobisher got by but Polar Man didn't).

funny & awesome & scary & sad

[littlernemo.livejournal.com]

We used to play this game in college, identifying actual or theoretically attainable powers and heroizing them--e.g. Perfect Pitch Man. Never really got into wardrobe, though.

Tangentially, this reminds me of another favorite game (which may be culturally insensitive): Indian-Naming. Eats-with-his-fingers, etc. Even more tangentially, and sub-culturally, this reminds me of my big meditation retreat during my Official Buddhist days--at then end a bunch of us took refuge vows, wherein each was given a dharma name. Prior to the ceremony, there was some suspense about the naming--spectacular entertainment, after four weeks of sitting meditation. Everyone sort of deep down hopes they get an extra-special snowflake name and feels really sheepish for hoping this, after all that meditation. (It can't be helped--at the ceremony itself there was quite a bit of actual oohing and aahing when each name was read.) Anyway, it became a running gag to think up the worst-case scenarios: Endless Dharma Perverter, Ocean of Attachment, etc.

Re: funny & awesome & scary & sad

[squirrelhaven.livejournal.com]

I remember that game from college. As I recall, it was more about potential powers than any kind of heroism. These kooks are, at least, trying to make the world a better place, in their bizarre way, which is certainly more than we could have claimed. (My super power was the ability to survive without sleep, I believe. I don't have that power anymore.)

I really like "Ocean of Attachment." It sounds like a poetic and positive thing, until you think about what it means in Buddhist terms.