Jack of Harts Commentaries

by on August 13, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The Republic of California did not include Los Angeles when it was originally formed. That city suffered much when the Second Great Depression hit. Honestly, it had been suffering for decades, and the depression simply accelerated the city’s downturn. The Cybernetic Wars and the Islamic Jihad brought more chaos to the city, and the Los Angeles Blackout is still considered a seminal event of the time period. It brought the city all the way down and shattered her governmental structure. Riots rules the streets and there wasn’t enough of a government left to join anybody or asking anyone for help. Los Angeles was the largest city that utterly failed during those years, and it has proven a cautionary tale in the centuries since.

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Good Omens

by on August 12, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Good Omens is a fun, joyful romp through the birth of the Anti-Christ, the rise of the Four Bikers of the Apocalypse, and the coming Battle of Armageddon. Add in a dollop of temptation in the Garden of Eden, and a few thousand years of an angel and a demon working together to counter each others’ work so their higher authorities think they are doing their jobs on Earth, and you have a delightfully satirical look at the End Times on Earth.

I’ve read the book, and now I’ve seen the show on Amazon, and I have to say that it is a good rendition of the story. And the actors nailed the characters dead on. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see the characters any other way again. And the music is delightfully jolly for a hop, skip, and a jump through the decidedly crazy trip that is Revelations. Not that Good Omens is a faithful reproduction of that book. Oh no. Good Omens takes what it likes and tosses the rest on its delightful path. Yes…that is the third time I’ve said delightful. Four now.

I mean it. It really is a de….enjoyable story. De…liberately irreverent and enjoyed most if you go in with a sense of humor and an expectation that sacred cows will be slaughtered with great del…glee. It is a story of friendship in the end, and how it can change the world. For angels and demons who learn to see the good in the world around them. For children forced to see the evils of the world too soon.

Good Omens tells a del…oh the heck with it…a delightfully humorous and surprisingly serious story about the coming of age of people of all ages.

I give it to two angels dancing merrily on the head of a pin. Because they can.

P.S. – That doesn’t mean I forgive the demon for inventing the evil that is tie-dye. He is a sick and twisted individual, and I hope he receives the punishment he deserves for that. 😉

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Jack of Harts Commentaries

by on August 11, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

By the time the San Ysidro Peacekeepers and Judges restored order in San Diego, Tijuana, and the other nearby cities, they had informally become the southern edge of the new Republic of California. They official joined as San Ysidro, San Diego, Tijuana, and all of several other cities. It’s a long name. Never used except in the most painfully formal of situations. Most people simply call it San Ysidro, after the council that represents them to California and the United States. Each city elects representatives to that council, and agrees to work together towards the common good in public, all while trying to tip the balance towards their own good behind the scenes. It is a seemingly chaotic mix of cooperation, competition, and cheating as each city tries to pull one over on all of the others. But the San Ysidrans have mostly kept the peace. And there are always Judges and Peacekeepers ready to step in if that peace is broken.

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Jack of Harts Commentaries

by on August 10, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

The San Ysidro Judges helped restore order in San Diego, Tijuana, and their closest neighboring cities during the Second Great Depression. They accompanied the San Ysidro Peacekeepers on their patrols, and judged and sentenced Drug Lord smugglers and fighters to instant punishments in their quest to restore order. They succeeded in time, martial law was lifted, and their emergency powers were greatly curtailed. They did not disappear, though. They had found a niche and the cities agreed to maintain their jurisdiction throughout the entire megacity. They continued to investigate, judge, and sentence on the spot, though if one or more citizens disagreed with the judgment, they could demand a bench trial. That has actually helped keep them from becoming too corrupt on their power. Most bench judges dislike presiding over San Ysidran cases, and tend towards swift punishments against those who did wrong, whether they be judge or common citizen.

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Jack of Harts Commentaries

by on August 9, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

When San Diego, Tijuana, and the other major cities fell into chaos during the Second Great Depression, their surviving leaders declared martial law in hopes of restoring order. The local police were simply not enough, though. Their ranks had been too harried, and they lacked the firepower to deal with the Drug Lords. So the cities looked to the Old Border Patrol agents hunkered down in San Ysidro. It had been the largest port of entry in America before the depression hit, with sufficient infrastructure to support the small army it took to man the Old Border. They became the San Ysidro Peacekeepers, and sent heavily armed squads through all the neighboring cities to deal with the Drug Lords. Local judges accompanied them in person or via digital presence to pronounce sentences on the spot. No trial. No jury. Just the judge. It wasn’t pretty, but they were living under martial law. They managed to restore law and order in time, and martial law was ended, but not before the San Ysidro Judges became a permanent part of the local culture.

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