Spoilers (1 of 2)

So, what exactly am I spoiling when I tell you (presuming you were, until recently, a mountain dwelling hermit or one of the other 7 billion people who might not be familiar with movies made in North America 37 years ago) that Darth Vader is Luke's father? The surprise, obviously. Like letting slip that we didn't forget your birthday, and everyone is waiting at your mom's house to leap out and shout, "Surprise!" when you walk through the door, I have short-circuited the shock of revelation. Rather than being confronted, suddenly, with something that radically alters your view of the situation, kicking your mind into high gear as it scrambles to integrate this new thing you’ve learned into a coherent view of what’s happening right now, I’ve prepared you beforehand. So, when you hear Darth Vader say, “I am your father,” (or everyone shout “Surprise!”) you’re ready for it. You’ve already adjusted to the situation before it happened.

Noooo! I haven't seen that one yet!

In many an area of life, this is rightly considered a good thing, this preparation beforehand.

Nostalgia

When I was a little kid I had an awesome sweater. It was mainly black yarn, but knit onto the front were the faces of the four Ninja Turtles in neon green (with blue, red, orange, and purple for the masks, of course). I still have all three of the live-action Ninja Turtle movies on VHS. I had some of the toys and the NES games. I watched the cartoon. I liked the Ninja Turtles, and I still do.

I’m certainly not alone in liking the Ninja Turtles. They are a pop-cultural phenomenon, and perfectly within the scope of this blog to write about. But, when I began thinking about

Ah... childhood.