And looking up I noticed I was late...

Following along with the news today … A familiar chorus of the same meaningless phrases, worn and tired words spilled out everywhere. Words which allow us all to have some comfort in the lies we tell ourselves. You know the ones, like we are good people, and we really do care about our fellow man. Thoughts and prayers… Heroic people in (insert public servant job) … Senseless tragedy … Can’t understand how this can happen… Et al, ad nauseum … I am honestly hard pressed to pick which is worse; the horrific act of the gunman in yet another in an increasing series of unspeakable acts or the lies we tell ourselves after each new horror which is all too soon forgotten and replaced with the next trivial thing to be pissed off about. We are stuck in this demented and psychotic mind set of, “us versus them thinking” and that every issue is some dichotomy of ideas. Everything is either this way or that way and if you aren’t the winner well then you are the loser. One mistake and you are finished there is no forgiving our transgressions. Despite the phrase so many like to mutter on their holy day, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. How does anyone say it with a straight face? How can anyone honestly say they are living a moral life when most everything we do and say is a lie. So much hypocrisy. The question which just simply baffles me is; How do these things keep happening? We allow them to happen, that is how. We do nothing every time something like this happens and we expect that things will get better. Someone else will do something to change things. Then the hate comes back bubbling in this issue or that one and seething up little by little then there is the next event. More sadness and mutterings about something should be done. Then the bickering we can’t fix the problem now because if we do it while party X is in power then party Y will never get elected again and vice versa. The babbling non- sense that fills the airwaves, internet and printed word all pandering to their side about how bad the other side is at this or that. How bad the plans that the other side make are for this group or that issue. No one in power really wants things to get better because there is no money in it. What the fuck people make your public officials be something more than a rubber stamp for special interest groups and lobbyist. If we bicker and fight and never do anything to really solve problems these things will continue to happen. People will die in the streets, be set on fire on back roads in Mississippi, drug behind pickup trucks in Texas, be left for dead tied to a barbed wire fence in Wyoming, have their eyes torn out and then stabbed, or be gunned down in a movie theater, kindergarten class, open air concert…. When will we finally say … ENOUGH … ENOUGH … ENOUGH … And truly work together. Sadly, I don’t think it will be tomorrow or the next day. Our current leadership represents the very worst of our society all parties not just one, not just at the federal level but all levels. Our media feeds on the hate because it makes them money. Ask yourself, have you had enough of nothing being done. Now ask yourself what have you done to make your street or block just a little better, your schools, your neighborhood, or your town. You don’t even have to get bigger than that. If one person in five hundred of us did something it would make an unbelievable difference. Imagine if 20 percent of us really tried to make a change … what a wonder it would be. Any more than that we would not even recognize our own country anymore it would be that amazing. I have no faith that anyone will do anything because it is too easy to just turn off the noise and forget that tragic stuff and then lie to ourselves the next time it happens Maybe someday we will really be tired of all it… maybe. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

panem at circenses

Here is a thought if you don’t like the NFL or more specifically how some players are acting in the NFL. Don’t watch the NFL. I don’t really care much for the spectacle of professional sport or even for what we call “amateur” sport on TV. So, I don’t watch it not because of the protest because I think it is pointless. It isn’t any more a waste of time than any other TV, so I won’t point fingers. However, I do have to ask why does anyone expect to find great role models or morality or social guidance from an organization whose one and only function is to play a game to make money. Why are you so pissed off that some over paid ball players are protesting? Why? If you don’t like it turn off the TV. I get that we are in “Rome” and that professional sport is a large part of the “arena” there are other things you can be doing rather than getting pissed off at football players. Why are you angry though? They aren’t disrespecting anything by not standing. The flag of the United States is the flag of the nation. It is not the banner for our dead. It isn’t just for our men and women in military uniform past and present. It isn’t a banner for any one party over another. It is for all people who live here in this nation. If standing for our national anthem is the only time you acknowledge those who serve in our military, perhaps that effort might be better spent on a call to your representatives and say something about how poorly we treat our service men and women after they serve in combat. The flag is the banner which represents the collective ideas of a nation. One of the most important is the right to protest and speak out against the country and the government when it is failing some of the citizens, without fear of persecution for speaking out. You need not be in the oppressed group to say, “that thing there, happening to those people is not right, it is not just and it should not be that way”. If you are upset because some football players protest social ills in this country, you are missing the point of why this is a great nation or at least was once better than it is now. You are also free to say that you don’t like what they are doing. However, take a minute and ask why are they doing this? Is there a reason behind there action? Don’t see if the person protesting is impacted by why they are protesting really look at why they are protesting. We don’t have to look that far back in our history to see mobs of people screaming, kicking, punching people of color for sitting at lunch counters asking only to be served food as paying customers or students walking into school houses amid jeers, taunts and threats only for asking to obtain a fair education. We have come a long way since the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, however we are not finished, there are many social wrongs going on in our nation many inspired by hate, racism and intolerance. Yes, there are people of all walks of life who commit crimes, squander the advantages they are afforded by living in this country. Yet there are many who are still locked out of legitimate opportunity because of social injustice, racism, bigotry, sexism, hate and intolerance. The oppressed need champions, people who will stand up (or not stand) and say, what is going on is not right and it needs to change. Peaceful protest need not be performed by those who are most directly impacted by injustice, in many cases those who are the most impacted are not able to protest because it will be worse for them if they do speak up, stand up, or otherwise make themselves more visible to those who hate them. If you are pissed off because someone says, things in this nation are not right for many here, you are really missing the point. However, if you aren’t going to be sitting on your sofa watching football maybe help make your community a better place. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Everyone's a critic

There are a lot of things I would like to be, proverbially when I grow up, however I never really knew I wanted to be them until recently. There are many reasons for that some I can put my finger on and other’s that are more uncertain. The list is far too long to put down and this issue of invisible don would only be a list of things I want to be, there may be something to be learned there as well. Perhaps another time. Onward. The title should lead you to where this rambling verbal path is going but if it has not, I would like to be a tester of things and then talk(write) about my experience with said thing, in other words a critic. This would be the ultimate job. Hell, I would even go to the producers in my own house on wheels. I don’t currently have a house on wheels but in theory if this were my job, I would have my very own traveling yurt. The problem is that everyone seems to be a critic these days and the art of the critic seems to be lost. Mostly people think of being a critic this is spouting on and on about what I did not like about this or that and the open forum of the internet has produced a tsunami of bad vibes and ugly words for everything. There are trolls enough for every bridge no matter how small. The art of being the critic is not just to say oh this sucked and here is why. It is to explain how a product, did or did not meet it’s intended purpose. A film has a purpose to tell a story and to entertain. For example, the film “Star Wars The Force Awakens”, it is certainly entertaining and it tells a story, unfortunately it tells a story we already know. I’m not going to fully review the film here in this issue. The job of the critic is to offer commentary concerning facts about that the film, such as it borrows heavily from episodes four and six for the story and plot lines and how this does or does not impacts the overall entertainment value of the film. The argument can be made that purely from an entertainment standpoint that it is a good film especially for the genre or Fantasy Action Adventure; there is a lot of action and likable / unlikeable characters. But as a film in an ongoing series of stories it does falter in establishing/explaining the world the characters are in, moving the series forward and leaves more questions than answers. The more questions thing can be and is really a good thing in that it paves the way for the next film in the series. Ultimately it is not a horrible film but it is one that is not a great film either, but it does entertain and is a must see if you are going to continue watching the series because it does establish new characters and story arcs. Being the critic means balancing the good and the bad and coming up with a useful analysis of the product to inform the next consumer if they want to invest their money / time with the product. The “This thing sucks and I am unhappy” critical review is all that seems to be out there. Which is less than helpful, because for all I know you are always unhappy and your idea of a good dinner and movie combo is Micky D’s drive through and the director’s cut of “Joe Dirt”. Having useful critical reviews is necessary, especially when you do not have unlimited funds for whatever budget area you are spending your time and money be it housewares, food, or entertainment. If you are going to be a critic about something put some effort in to it. If you are not going to put in the effort go be unhappy elsewhere and stop using up the bandwidth. My adventure as a beer reviewer or critic has really meet this dream job desire thing on some small level but as you may have noticed I have not really been reviewing any lately. I hope to change that soon many things have stood in the way of that but fear not they will be returning. I do not have the time funding to be much of a critic of other things but in the interest of reaching for my dreams and to some degree informing the readership I will review things as I can in a somewhat regular or irregular part of the reemerging of the invisible don writing series. Sponsorships are welcome and encouraged. So, if you would like to fund Invisible Don get in touch with me at the PO Box listed below and I will review your product or just send a post card from your patch of the mudball. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it is your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it is not your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, follow, and or like, depending on where you read this issue. Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Michael Finnegan

Most of my life I have kept a haphazard journal. Journal is a bit misleading in that you might expect to gain some insight into my life by reading the thoughts put to word, both in paper and digital form, however your expectations would be incorrect. Likely you would arrive at the conclusion that some ordinary guy, living a rather ordinary life put down a lot of random stuff for no distinguishable or meaningful reason. How is that for some inspirational self-affirming internal dialogue. I know and that is the PG version of things. My own debasement is not why I decided to write down my musings though. Too much I have become the consumer of entertainment and relied on the external to stimulate my mind and I have put off diving into my own mind for motivation, inspiration, and entertainment. Too often the dark thoughts spoke too loudly or I just allowed them to push back any desire to produce anything that wasn’t vapid or mindless. Passivity and repetitive things filled the little free time I have in the evenings following work. Phobos and Deimos have stood prominently in the way of my doing anything remotely creative. Plans fell undeveloped and even the encouragement from friends with similar interests lost their weight to move me toward producing anything and easy mindless things came up as alternatives to being creative. I could sense their frustration and my own at this growing apathy. Once before I had let “life” crowd out those things I enjoyed. I say “life” in quotes because it isn’t really the truth it is work which is not what I want my life to be. Life shouldn’t be work, especially my work. It is draining and spirit crushing and there are very few shiny bits in all the dust and grit. I’ve seen the toll it takes on people, those who consumed by their work and have nothing really to look forward to at the end of the day. Sadly, putting work before life is seen as a virtue by much of our society. Being alone hasn’t ever really bothered me because I usually would fill my time with art, stories, poetry, and a few other activities. I’ve shared more (but very little) of my art than my poetry (which is to say hardly at all) and rarely (once maybe twice) have I let anyone read any of my stories and no one has ever read a word of my journals. However, my online writing has been read by a few people. Most of that is censored and veiled so that there is a barrier to knowing me from the words I post. I am not completely an introvert but I share very little in common with extroverts, hence the censoring of the things I write. Language has been a kind of magic to me in that, I believe that words can change the world. The trick is knowing which words and who to speak them too. Unfortunately, too many people use words for the wrong reasons. The abuses of words by others has stifled a lot of the things I would write about. I don’t care to debate things with people in my online writing so I avoid many topics because people don’t care to see another perspective and the art of debate or informative argument is largely lost. The exercise of writing and reading for that matter are dying and I was one of the killers because I had stopped putting words into the world. What I write may not mean much but it is something I enjoy doing and who knows perhaps one day I will let someone read a story, but that means they must be somewhere other than in my mind. When I started my online writing over 15 years ago I mused on how does one begin this journey… with one entry and then another. So now to begin again. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it is your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it is not your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, follow, or give a like. Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

You can't kill an idea

This is something that I wrote about a few years ago, but cannot seem to locate. It is possible I wrote it and did not post it or if I did I just cannot find it. However, it is important and I feel worth repeating. I also mention this as a preface, that this is not wholly an indictment against the bad policies of our current federal executive administration, but rather something that many people believe and have for a long time. The world is a shrinking place, no longer can we pretend to live isolated from the world or pretend that the things which are said and done in one place will not have significant impact in other places and cause many other reactions. Guns and bombs will not kill ideas, people must be persuaded to change their mind through discussion or shown that there are better ways. Violence only begets violence and hate more hate. Before moving on, I will say I support our military and I even served in USAF and believe it is necessary to have a military. The radical and conservative elements in the Muslim world and in the religion of Islam want the West and the rest of the world to be fearful of and to hate Muslims. I’ll repeat that so it is clear. Radicals and conservatives in the Muslim countries and Islamic faith want everyone to hate them. They want all the countries of the world who are not Muslim and do not practice Islam to hate them. They want sanctions, they want violence directed toward them, they want the people and the masses of the Muslim world to be feared and persecuted everywhere on earth that is not the Muslim world. The radicals and conservatives want control in their countries, they want to be seen by their people as the only ones who will fight back against the West and the non-Muslim world. They want to be viewed as the defenders of Islam. They want their people to fear leaving and living outside of Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries. Giving rise to the radicals and conservatives. Using the argument that we are only safe together. Once the average Muslims and followers of Islam fear the rest of the world, the radicals and conservatives can institute strict adherence to very conservative and radical practices of their faith. And say we cannot protect you if you don’t follow these standards or live a certain way. We will throw you out to the outsiders, and to the infidels. So, the people stay and they live conservatively. The new policies of the current administration are playing the game the way the terrorists want it to be played. The continued aggression by non-Muslim forces only pushes more people toward the extremists. Turing our backs on the moderates and liberal people of the Muslim world who are fleeing war and persecution by others in their faith and nations serves only to harden those who would be normalizers and moderates in their own countries if they were safer. The forces fighting the Islamic Terrorist will run missions and bomb civilian areas where the terrorists are hiding with no regard for the non-combatants in the area. The city of Aleppo and many others are examples of this and they are used by the radicals to say, “the West hates us all, because we are Muslim.” From the outside, it is easy to say, if the terrorists didn’t hide in schools, or near hospitals or in neighborhoods we would not kill non-combatants. It is cowardly for the terrorists to act this way. I agree but is only one point of view. However, if you are fighting against the most powerful nation in the world and their allies who have planes, tanks, laser guided bombs, and highly trained and equipped ground forces and you are a person with a gun, not a lot of training or ammo, you maybe even have a car. Not a military vehicle, just a regular Toyota or Volvo or some other car. Do you fight in the open or do you fight using guerilla warfare tactics? A terrorist to one nation is a patriot to another. The policies of hate and the constant warfare that we in the West wage against the Muslim world does not makes us any safer. It gives the Radicals power over the people in their nations. It turns moderate people into radicals. Should we and our allies be strict about who we allow to seek refuge, certainly. Our efforts should be diplomatic ones and missions of humanitarian aid and equipping the moderate citizens of those nations to stabilize their countries. Working as peace keepers not invaders and occupiers. Seeking out and establishing safe zones in those nations. If we show them we are not killers and we are not hateful towards them and are compassionate and will protect them, we take away power from the radicals and conservative elements. Our current policies instead give the radicals and conservatives all the proof they need to convince their people who are suffering that it is the fault of the greedy West and the infidels who are the cause of their suffering. We should respond with force when necessary, but it should absolutely be the last thing we do. We should not be doing the things that give the radicals and extremist more power and influence but that is exactly what we are doing now. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Is it safe?

Is it safe? A recent executive order banning people from specific countries from entering the US was released. My question is does this make the US a safer place. This is not an easy yes or no question but the answer is yes and it is no. Being that of the more than 40 incidents listed as terror attacks in the US following 9/11/2001. Most of those were committed by US born citizens. Those not born in the US entered either; from countries not on the banned list, and/or were children at the time of their entry in the US. Those entering as children did not commit their acts until a decade or more following their entry in the US. Most of those children were under that age of 10 upon entry. Based on history this ban is not going to make the US safer. Most likely it will further radicalize individuals who are already at odds with and disagree with the US and are currently in the US. Making us less safe. It does seem to make the US safer in terms of increasing the time and changing the vetting process for those entering the US. Which may actually keep the US safer. However, being that it targets specific countries and not many others it can still make the US less safe by adding more rhetoric to those who are against the US and are likely already in the US. Most of whom are citizens and not subject to revocation of visas or green cards. If it were a universal change to the vetting process of non-citizens entering the US. It would be fair and treat all people the same, and would do more to make the US safer Terrorism is a real problem, whether it is from an Islamic State or Non-Islamic State. We need to do things which will do more to reduce further harm rather than increase future risk. Over all I do not think that this ban does make the US safer. Here is a proposal. The US lead/join a multi-national collaborative to set up refugee centers in Islamic nations. Provide aid in running those refugee centers; health care, food, security. Provide military assistance to those Islamic Nations fighting against radical Jihadists and Islamic terrorists. Not necessarily combat troops but advisors, equipment and training. This would allow people to remain near their homes, in culturally familiar areas, to be safe, provide them the opportunity to fight back against their oppressors and overall is supportive rather than combative and dividing. My concern is that the trend of things being passed/proposed by the current administration are written and proposed in a manner which creates turmoil and discontent, leading to the question why? The true fear is the current administration wants the US to be attacked to justify a war. War is, in the short term good for the economy, and tends to unify the people. However, in the long term what do we give up as to our freedoms and liberties and do we once again further the cycle of war and killing. Some last thoughts related to all of this are: “An eye for eye makes the whole world blind.” M. Gandhi And “The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war." Gen. D. MacArthur My hope is that one day, we can prove in the 2 thousand plus years since Plato we have grown and changed somewhat as a species, sadly it is not this day. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Stop lying to us

Why the wall on the Mexican border is not the answer, it is a distraction. Most people who are in the US as undocumented people entered the US legally as tourist, students, visa holders and other legal ways of entering the US. They just have not left yet, hell many of them go and come back through checkpoints frequently to visit relatives in the countries of their birth and return to the US again, legally crossing the border. I say undocumented because the question of their legal / illegal status is something for legal experts to determine but just because they are here does not mean they came here by illegal means. The point is that most of them didn’t walk across the southern border of the US into California, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas and if they did walk across the border more often than not, it was through a border checkpoint. Now, I’m not saying that there is not a certain number of citizens walking across the border because that happens but spending billions of dollars to build something that will be, and where it already exists, monumentally unsuccessful in doing the very thing it is supposed to do. Unless of course that thing is to drain billions of dollars out of the government and put it into the hands of construction companies, well then it will be a huge success. The irony is that these same construction companies who get the money will bid out to subcontractors to do the actual work. Subcontractors, they know, will everyday go to a parking lot, building supply store, or corner lot and pick up undocumented workers to work on the construction sites. Beyond that irony is that most of those contractors and subcontractors voted for the current administration. The current administration does not care about controlling the influx of undocumented workers that is why they are pushing a plan that does not address the issue. What they do want is to be able to use them for labor; cheap, untaxed labor that is better for their bottom lines and if the workers gripe or complain, the bosses can threaten them with deportation. Undocumented worker keep quiet, they do the work and take the little bit of money they get and put their lives at risk because they aren’t always given appropriate safety equipment for the jobs they are doing. Because buying that stuff also reflects poorly on the profit margins. If they were really concerned about the influx of undocumented people they would hire US workers and if they couldn’t find qualified US workers they would reach out to technically schools and say we need qualified people, how can we help get people trained. But they don’t do that. They hire undocumented people. It isn’t just the construction industry either, it is so many businesses. Many owned by people who voted for the current administration. If they really wanted to stop the influx of undocumented people, they would just not hire them if they were not citizens but they don’t do that. The current administration wants to bully Mexico and other countries into agreements with the US which will take advantage of those countries and are beneficial to the US. Sure, root for the home team this is fine, but be upfront about it. 45 certainly has been honest about that point, he is for trade agreements which are beneficial for the US, okay that is great. Hell, most US citizens can get behind that idea. There are better ways to get there than the dog and pony show that is the “WALL”. Because the WALL is a giant lie, it is a waste of time, it is a waste of money and doesn’t do anything to address the real issue of controlling our borders. Want to make the US great again, stop lying to the citizens and wasting our tax dollars. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

What is the US

What is America? For starters it is most of the land mass on one hemisphere of the planet. The United States is one country out of 35 countries in North and South America. We are not the only Americans What is the US? We are not just our government, we are not just our symbols, and we are not just our laws. The United States is not just a place, it is an idea. It isn’t a thing you can hold on to in your hands. You have to have it in you; in your actions, thoughts, and words. People came together and said it is not right that men (humans) should be subject to the whim and fancy of a few or a single person. We should come together for the common good of all people. All People! Those who lead, are chosen to protect all of us not just those with whom they agree. It is not an easy job to lead, it is troubling and hard. However that is not the US either. The US is still this idea we strive to achieve. A dream we hold, to be better than we were before, not for glory or fame but for liberty, freedom, justice, and happiness. Too many people in power, and those who put those people there, seem to have forgotten these ideals of liberty, freedom, justice, and happiness and only strive for power, fame, and glory. Too many people in power, and those how put them there, feel that it is right to divide the people and say some people do not have the same rights to liberty, freedom, justice and happiness as others. We, the people, All People! We keep our hopes and dreams alive not by debate and political discourse. Our dreams are born from deeper stuff. When we are inspired by those of us who see the world as it could be and arguably how it should be. Our hearts are not stirred by a new piece of law but by song, and art, and poems. Our minds are not broadened by lectures alone, but also by paintings, and stories, and understanding of other cultures. Our flaws and short comings are made into lessons through comedy and satire, so we learn and grow from them. We are not free or liberated if we are unable to celebrate who we are as people. Celebration means our art, our songs, our films, our paintings, and our poems, our dreams made of stuff so others might see how the world could be and really how it probably should be. When you think about the United States, you do not think of laws, or Presidents, or other things. Our flag is only cloth, our laws are only words, and our monuments are only stone and metal. It is the ideas these things represent that make them mean something. Those ideas are built up by the arts. Without the arts, we are stagnant and foul, and our Nation is not long for this earth without them. Taking away funding from the arts is probably the least productive thing any leader can do to help their country grow. Imagine how the world could be and really how it should be and create that world, inspire others with your art, your songs, your paintings, your music, your dance, your stories funny to tragic, Do what you can to make the world a better place for ALL PEOPLE.

What's in the box

What’s in the box? Even if you have not seen the movie Se7en, you probably know the line from the movie uttered, muttered, and screamed by Brad Pitt’s character Det. Mills, “what’s in the box” Spoilers ahead, I know 1995, was over 20 years ago, but some people with an interest in seeing it may not have seen the movie. For example, my son and his girlfriend had not seen the movie. We watched it the other day, their first time seeing the movie, my, I don’t know, 30th time seeing the movie? I’ve seen it more than once and less than 100 times. Not the point. What is in the box. The movie is about a killer, acting out crimes based around the seven deadly sins. Quickly they are Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Wrath and Envy. Each sin has a crime associated with it or so we are lead to believe. There is some debate about the end of the movie, because what is in the box is never shown. Again, spoilers read no more if you want to watch this movie untainted. Most people seem to think that Det. Mills’ wife’s head is in the box, which pushes him to commit the sin/crime of Wrath/Murder. However, I’m not convinced that Tracy Mills’ (Gwyneth Paltrow) head is in the box. Det. Somerset (Morgan Freeman) does see the content of the box. Somerset knows things that only Tracy Mills knows and no one else. She is pregnant. She confides this to Somerset away from her husband. John Doe, the killer (Kevin Spacy) shows up a few times in the film before you know he is the killer. John Doe knows who the investigating detectives are and taunts them. The question mark for me comes with the sin/crime John Doe says he has committed, which is the sin of Envy, in that he longs for the life that Det. Mills and his wife have. However, the sin of envy does not require a physical action, only a mental one, to want what others have. After several crimes are shown, John Doe turns himself in and then promises he will confess and plead guilty to all the crimes if they go with him to find the last two bodies. Prior to turning himself in, John Doe arranges for a package to be delivered to Det. Mills at this remote location at a specific time on a specific date. Yeah, this is the box. Somerset cuts off the delivery driver, opens the box and then runs back to Mills 100 yards or more away. During the time in which Mills and Somerset are apart, John Doe says to Mills, he cut off Tracy’s head. However, because you never see the head, is she dead or not? Envy does not require an action. John Doe wants to die, but suicide is a sin so he cannot kill himself and he technically does not kill any of the other people, he puts them in positions to decide to live or die, kill or not kill, each placed in a test of their will. Each person could have refused to do what they were doing and may or may not have died. I don’t think John Doe would have killed any of the others and been frustrated by their determination not to commit the crimes. The “victims” were all weaker in their will to resist their sins and committed them. John Doe even lets Mills live when he could have killed him multiple times. John Doe will not commit the crime of murder an unforgivable sin, and is avoiding suicide also an unforgivable sin. There is no scenario where John Doe would not have died, he wants to die. How do you accomplish this without sinning and going to hell? Make someone believe you are committing crimes and have them kill you. Which comes back to the test of will, Does Mills resist what he does not know to be true or does he act on his emotion and commit murder. If the murder was unjustified it is likely to have a bigger impact, in that an innocent person was killed. Tracy contemplates an abortion because the world is no place to raise a child. Somerset knows this, John Doe may have known this. Mills does not know about Tracy’s pregnancy until the set up. My conclusion is that John Doe followed Tracy, after she had an abortion took the fetus and packaged it, maybe with a card that says Happy Father’s Day or something, and has it delivered to the remote location. Maybe is it her head in the box, but I have my doubts because John Doe really has only committed a few assaults, the other deaths were all suicides or murders by other people. Assaults are not hell worthy trespasses. David Mills rots in prison a murderer, Tracy Mills mourns him and the life they could have had, John Somerset must live with the reality, as much as he hates the world around him, he does nothing to change it, even when he can. What do you think was in the box? Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Today’s title: Line from the movie Se7en Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015, Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards