How do deal with an 'unpleasant' person

Read this on Facebook earlier and it made me smile, so I thought I'd share. Whether it's 'true' or not...it is a great feel-good tale of overcoming persecution and adversity and remembering right from wrong:

A 50- something year old white woman arrived at her seat on a crowded flight and immediately didn't want the seat. The seat was next to a black man. Disgusted, the woman immediately summoned the flight attendant and demanded a new seat. The woman said "I cannot sit here next to this black man." The fight attendant said "Let me see if I can find another seat." 

After checking, the flight attendant returned and stated "Ma'am, there are no more seats in economy, but I will check with the captain and see if there is something in first class." About 10 minutes went by and the flight attendant returned and stated "The captain has confirmed that there are no more seats in economy, but there is one in first class. It is our company policy to never move a person from economy to first class, but being that it would be some sort of scandal to force a person to sit next to an UNPLEASANT person, the captain agreed to make the switch to first class."

Before the woman could say anything, the attendant gestured to the black man and said, "Therefore sir, if you would so kindly retrieve your personal items, we would like to move you to the comfort of first class as the captain doesn't want you to sit next to an unpleasant person." Passengers in the seats nearby began to applause while some gave a standing ovation.

 Pretty good eh? Let me know here or on Twitter - @markabraham89

RAW 1000 thoughts

Apologies (for those who do bother to read this) for my absence and lack of blog. Haven't been well at all and was struck down with a short virus (not man-flu I assure all the doubters). I am however, back and ready to share some more crap with y'all.

So, I go to one of the more obvious subjects I could cover this week. The 1000th episode of WWE's flagship TV programme Monday Night Raw. This won't be a comprehensive, detailed entry by any means, rather a few points and some thoughts and feelings. If you're looking for a review or breakdown, I ain't the guy to do it sorry.

WHAT WORKED:

• Vince McMahon NEEDED to open the show...simple as that. No-one else would have done the job.
• D-Generation X's opening segment was a nostalgia fest. Gave me goosebumps to see such a huge part of pro-wrestling's history re-assembled. The New Age Outlaws looked like they could at least have one more run.
• Jim Ross being a part of the broadcast team and having his contribution recognised. Should have called the main event though (if not the entire show).
• Mick Foley resurrecting the Dude Love character...if only for a brief dance segment.
• Mae Young's 'son' appearing. Such a ridiculous yet memorable Raw moment brought back to life.

DX were in the house, albeit with Chyna noticeably absent and X-Pac kept pretty stum

• The IC Championship match. WWE remembered that although it was about celebration and commemoration, there's still a job to be done and The Miz/Christian match was a corker.
• Slick being the reverend for Daniel Bryan and AJ's wedding. How they made it through the segment is, in itself, a miracle.
• The Rock being given free reign on Punk and Bryan in yet another fantastic promo from The Great One.
• The reformation of the APA in the Heath Slater vs Legends segment. Meanest Clothesline From Hell I have ever seen in my life.
• Sean Mooney appearing back on Raw.
• Triple H, Stephanie and Paul Heyman blurring some reality lines and delivering a stormingly powerful segment. Lesnar vs Helmsley should be off the hook if it all pulls off. Intensity personified at SummerSlam.
• The Undertaker's return. I may be extremely biased, but it was so important to have the Deadman there on the show (and compete), making him the ONLY man to have wrestled on the first and 1000th episode. 
• The hectic finish to a solid WWE Championship match, the inclusion of The Rock in the outcome and the begging for more.

Undertaker can lay claim to being the only WWE Superstar to have competed on both the first episode of Raw and the 1000th.

WHAT DIDN'T:

• The Brodus Clay squash match against Jack Swagger. Now the undefeated streak has ended, they could have spent some time here.
• The Daniel Bryan/AJ wedding was one of the more stale WWE marital madness segments.
• AJ being announced as the new permanent Raw GM was a HUGE deflating moment in the show. Really expected the return of a legend or authority figure to set the wheels of excitement going. Think they've dropped the ball here.
• Could have done with some more Legends being used overall. There must be a ton who still have good relationships with WWE that can be brought back. Not that there was anything wrong with those ones who were used, they just seem to always pull the same ones out of the hat.
• The social media plugging was insane and I understand we live in a social media-frenzied world but really? Non-stop.
• Bret Hart should have been utilised more as a referee maybe than as a ring announcer. Just a thought.
• Really hoped WWE would have had a new championship belt for their major title. The spinner was crap in 2005 and it's just got the tacky, worthless, childish feel to it that it always has...just with seven years of history attached.

So as you can see. The good outweighed the bad. Maybe the bad wasn't too bad at all and was me being pernickety. I don't know. Overall, I really enjoyed Raw 1000. It'll be interesting to see how WWE tackles and maintains momentum on a three-hour Raw every Monday now that the landmark episode is out of the way. Time alone will tell if it all works out.

What did you think of Raw 1000? Leave me a comment or follow me on Twitter @markabraham89 and tweet me your thoughts.

The greatest question of them all

Over time, and since I've been someone who enjoys 'philosophical thought', I've often said that of all of the questions that can ever be asked, there is only one real true winner at the top of the mountain: why?

The why is the motive, the reasoning, the justification for the event, the action, the state of being. Sure, it's integral to know the how, the when, the where, the who and the what. They all play their part in contstructing any scenario and help to give us depth and understanding to the given situation. But the why is the icing on the cake. It is the foundation of what is really going on.

For a Saturday afternoon, this may seem a bit deep, maybe a bit much, but it was something that I just had to get out of my head and down in this blog.

After the tradegy of yesterday's shootings by a lone gunman, James Holmes, at a cinema complex in Aurora, Colorado, why is even more of a prominent entity. As of right now, all the above questions have been answered. The world knows how the shootings were carried out, when they took place, where they were located, who fired the weapon and who the victims were and what the consequences have been. But that vital question of why still remains unanswered. This is just an example of what I'm talking about. By finding out the reason behind apparent senseless violence and madness, it could potentially unlock all manner of other things.

In part, this post is supposed to be a thought-provoking piece, to get those who are reading it to start thinking outside the box. I would also like to take this small chunk of Internet (as I did on Twitter) to express condolences to everybody affected by the horrific attacks in America yesterday. Whether anybody reads it or not, the thoughts are still being put out there.

Hopefully the next blog will be something a little more cheery...but I can't guarantee anything.

The Dark Knight Ends - Thoughts on the newest Batman movie

There are next to zero spoilers at all in this blog post...so don't be alarmed if you haven't seen the film.

So, it's all over. In a film trilogy that sought to re-invent, re-establish and re-define the on-screen legacy of one of the most prolific superheroes of all time, Christopher Nolan did a damn good job in his third outing: The Dark Knight Rises.

For the casual fan, it's all here: action, drama, excitement, romance, subtle comedy. It will be hard to walk away from the cinema and not acknowledge that it's a bit of a great film all round, regardless of your allegiance to the Caped Crusader.

For the hardcore, more experienced fan (especially of Nolan's other two forays in Gotham City), this should have you salivating. Bane is as fantastic an interpretation as there will be of the character (played, as expected, to near-perfection by the "on-fire" Tom Hardy). Selina Kyle has the cheeky, comic book/cartoonish edge to her character that was sorely-needed (whilst retaining the other, more serious and conflicted character). John Blake is a great addition, with Joseph Gordon Levitt really stepping it up a notch to introduce the audience to a character full of depth and potential, with a worldly awareness and unrivalled optimism. Bruce Wayne and Batman are toyed with throughout and the dichotemy of who 'rules' who and their roles within the film are one of the more interesting points of the film. The show of inner strength, belief and human spirit is an age-old favourite to exploit, especially for a character like this...but guess what? It works. And why fix something that works? If anything, it's been further explored and tweaked.

All the little moments and plot-teasers/twists/turns that are exclusive to the bigger Batman mythology are great for your average film fan but for a Batman fan (like myself), I have to say, I was very, very happy with them. There was a subtlety and finesse incorporated by Christopher Nolan to the maximum effect, paying off when it needed to. The final half-hour of the film for example is literally just one thing after another. Talk about a geek-out.

You'll notice that though this is quite a lengthy blog, it's not necessarily a review or full of spoilers. I've purposefully done this so that in the event that there is a film fan or a Batman fan reading this before seeing the movie, it serves only to hopefully excite and ignite the imagination, rather than to reveal and potentially spoil the film-going experience. I know that I benefitted from not knowing any of the major reveals or plot points and I'd hope that you fare likewise.

So I guess the question now is simple: where to from here?
Well you'll have to see the film, judge for yourself and come up with numerous scenarios of what could be done. Will there be a continuation in this particular universe? Will there be an ever-recurring series reboot? Will the next incarnation of Batman being more 'traditional' or will the modern, realistic and gritty Batman be what an audience likes from their films about the Dark Knight? Will Christopher Nolan resurrect the series or will another director take on the workload of delivering Batman to millions of hungry, adoring fans?

That will all get answered in time. For now...just go and get a ticket (food and drink is optional), and go to a cinema to watch The Dark Knight Rises.

Putting it down...again

Just like the blog description says:
'Sometimes...you just have to put it down in words'

That's the only real point to this blog. It isn't the first time I've entered the world of blogging either, so this isn't my first rodeo. But hopefully, I'll last longer than last time in a cyberspace of my own where you can feel very much heard and very much alone.

It's going to be a place where I share thoughts, feelings, moments, events, memories and all manner of other things that to some people will be interesting, thought-provoking, funny, sad, right, wrong, worthwhile and worthless. To others...well, you know where you can go right? Nobody's making you read any of it.

To all of you...to any of you...enjoy what you read or at least feel passionate about what you read to go and do something about it.

Mark