Just 51 years ago, the head of a profoundly gifted young man was blown apart.

A few months earlier he’d given a speech that promised a new dawn.

He reached out to our enemies. He talked of going to the moon, of technological breakthrough and human promise. And he stopped the radioactive madness of atmospheric Bomb testing, a reason many of us are alive today.

It’s easy to idealize John Kennedy.

We still debate what he might have done in Vietnam.

But since the war did escalate, and we know the horrible costs to us all, then the possibility that he might have gotten us out gnaws at our soul.

So does not being sure about who actually killed him.

And then there’s the horror of the moment itself. A fellow human, blown apart before our eyes.

It hurts to think about it. To write about it. How can sorrow not reign in our hearts over this terrible human image that so deeply defines us?

As the grand jury’s decision on whether nor not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson loomed, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon told a TV reporter “he’s preparing for peace and war.”

What the governor did, in the tense uncertainty preceding the decision, was pre-declare a state of emergency and activate the Missouri National Guard to help contain the possibility of violent, anti-police protests. He also appointed 16 people, including several of the protesters, to a newly created “Ferguson Commission” to recommend solutions to the racial problems plaguing that community, which the killing of Michael Brown last August made unavoidably apparent.

Meanwhile, gun sales at local shops are through the roof and the local Klan is stirring, distributing fliers warning protesters that they’ve awakened a sleeping giant.

America, America . . .

Before we proceed further, let’s stir in a little Einstein: “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”

On November 7, 2014, while visiting Kabul, The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, noted that NATO will soon launch a new chapter, a new non-combat mission in Afghanistan. But it’s difficult to spot new methods as NATO commits itself to sustaining combat on the part of Afghan forces.

Stoltenberg commended NATO Allies and partner nations from across the world, in an October 29th speech, in Brussels, declaring that for over a decade, they “stood shoulder to shoulder with Afghanistan.” According to Stoltenberg, “this international effort has contributed to a better future for Afghan men, women and children.” Rhetoric from NATO and the Pentagon regularly claims that Afghans have benefited from the past 13 years of U.S./NATO warfare, but reports from other agencies complicatethese claims.

“Let’s hear you cheer! We’re gonna be in Tulsa next week but we wanna still be thinking about Columbus!” Kicking off the Saturday night costume contest, those words made something very clear: The 2014 Wizard Entertainment Brand Wizard World Ohio Comic Con was the arena rock show of comic conventions. It was overpriced, impersonal and utterly out of touch with its roots.

Held Oct. 31st through Nov. 2nd at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Wizard World Ohio Comic Con (and let’s just call it Wizard World from here on out, because that’s much more accurate than anything with the words “Ohio” or “Comic”) was just another stop on the Wizard Entertainment Road Show. Despite calling itself a comic convention, Wizard World really existed to trot out people still trying to make a living off that one role they had in Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers 20 years ago so they could shill for paid autographs and expensive meet-and-greets. For a con that’s technically the descendant of Mid-Ohio Con it was shamefully devoid of featured guests who had anything to do with comics, much less the sort of exciting up-and-comers and foundational creators the old show used to host.