Came across an interesting musician, Panjabi M.C., an Indian musician. He works with a lot of western rap artists, and the over-all effect is–surprisingly good. The blend and, in some songs’ cases, flip-flopping back and forth between the styles works surprisingly well. He has quite a few interesting songs out there. Seriously. Go see for yourself.

So I’ve been asked about why I like the Phantom and why I built what I did on CaveMUSH. I know I’ve written about it before, but let me nerd-gush a little on the Phantom himself, as a character.

If you saw the live-action film starring Billy Zane, or the Syfy mini-series, or the futuristic cartoon, you have an idea about the over-all character. The mantle gets passed from father to son, much like Zorro. In fact, Lee Falk has said often that he was fascinated by the Hispanic crusader. And I, for one, could see why. I was fascinated when I was first introduced to the character via the cartoon, and when I researched more about him, the more involved I became.

I think something about the character is innately compelling–a man raises his son, from birth, trained to use his wits before fists, his fists if he must, to defend the defenseless. He wears no special armor (well, by the year 2040, that changes…), has no special weapons, doesn’t have a ton of money to throw at a problem–he has the image of the Phantom and his own brain. That’s it. All to help the helpless. There’s something there, I think, that more people could get into. Though Zorro also inspired DC’s Batman, and in his way the Phantom inspired Marvel’s Daredevil–there’s a special, unique place for Christopher “Kit” Walker.

For a young boy who, like most people, had a harsh life–I really gravitated to that. And on CaveMUSH, where RedWolf made clear that (within certain ethical constraints) one has free reign to create anything their heart desires–I almost couldn’t help but build an homage, of sorts, to a franchise that says we can, each of us, be more than who we are. We don’t need to have a near-infinite amount of money, nor be able to build a nuclear reactor in a cave with a box of scraps–we just have to give a damn. That’s it. We just have to give enough of a damn to get off our tuchus and do something. Anything. Give a guy the time of day. Hand him some change, or better yet an actual meal–and ask how he’s doing. Even better, after doing that, get involved. Help people you’ve never known. Some things you might have to risk your own safety–but isn’t it worth it to help others? A lot of people, of any age, need help but don’t get it. Each of us can help. We just have to care.

Yeah, I’ve been pretty bad about this. The whole “updating daily” thing. Ah, well. Currently I’m strolling through random web cams around the world. It’s pretty interesting, I think, how one can sit at home, and see what’s going on around the world at that exact instant. It’s a reminder that as you live your life, all around the world, other lives are being lived, too.

Reminds me of CaveMUSH, in a way. Reminds me of on-line text-based “social structures” in general, but CaveMUSH is a good example. Not only are the people from all over the globe (though mostly in the United States), you can see the different influences everywhere on the grid, if you know where to look. More than just spelling differences–word choices themselves, or what one chooses to build in detail over here as opposed to glossing over there. CaveMUSH is, in its smaller fashion, a good example of how the world is just awesome.