Archives July 2010

Originally posted: http://www.tesh.com/ittrium/visit/A1x97x1y1xa5x1x76y1x2455x1x9by1x245ax1y5x1bf69x5x1
By John Tesh
Who’s slower than a speeding bullet, less powerful than a locomotive, unable to leap tall buildings in a single bound, yet still doing whatever they can to save the world? According to CNN, a growing number of regular citizens are volunteering their time these days to become real-life superheroes. Some dress up in elaborate costumes, while others work anonymously. Some have fancy names – like Mr. Xtreme, Civitron or the Dark Guardian! Most real-life superheroes go by less colorful names – like Direction Man, Camera Man, and The Cleanser. While none of these people have any real super powers, they’re all finding small ways to help make their community better.
For example: Direction Man walks around the streets of New York, offering help to complete strangers who look lost. Meanwhile, The Cleanser scours city sidewalks and parks, picking up trash. Others use their superhero alter egos to help raise money for the homeless, to feed needy children, or to hand out fliers in high-crime neighborhoods. This new superhero movement began several years ago, when a handful of comic book fans bonded with each other on MySpace. Today, there are nearly 300 real-life superheroes working around the world, and the worse the economy gets, the more people want to help.
That’s the word from Ben Goldman, a self-proclaimed “superhero historian” who keeps track of all these crusaders through his website: SuperheroesAnonymous.com. He says there’s been a growing interest in becoming a real-life superhero during the economic downturn, as people start to put more value in what they can do for others, rather than in how many possessions they have. That’s very good news to Stan Lee. He’s the comic book legend who created many fictional superheroes – like Spider-Man and the X-Men. Lee says the urge to do good deeds has always been the #1 calling card for superheroes. So when all is said and done, you don’t need to fly through the air, bend steel, or have x-ray vision to make a difference. Anyone who volunteers their time to help others in their own unique way deserves to be called a super-hero.
 

Originally posted: http://arklatexhomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=114315
In a town where they’ve engraved “justice” and “honor” on the public square, a new word, a new name is the talk of Columbia.
Bike shop owner A.C. Howell says “the Viper, I believe. Isn’t he the Masked Viper?”
Yes, the Viper. He’s a man police found patrolling the public square with an arsenal of equipment, including plastic sticks and ninja throwing stars. His goal? Find crime and report it to police. Officers spotted him outside the wheel last week.
The bike shop’s owner couldn’t help but chuckle.
Mr. Howell says “I don’t know. He needs something to do. Probably needs a job. I hope he’s looking out for my benefit. I hope he’s guarding my store.”
For what it’s worth, Columbia police didn’t want to talk about The Viper today. But a lieutenant once told the
paper in town they’re doing just fine without any caped crusading.
Columbia resident Laura Truelove says “I wasn’t sure how to take it at first.”
As word of the viper spreads, plenty of people want to know what would possess the 20-year-old to pick up an alter ego.
Ms. Truelove says “I hope it’s just coming from an aspect that he’s just wanting to do something fun and maybe entertaining to grab some attention.”
By phone, the Viper said it’s a matter of pride. He told the Columbia Daily Herald, quote, “I am just a guy trying to do what’s right in tights”. The Viper is a college student and a fan of comic books.
And only he knows when his pursuit of peace will continue.
Mr. Howell says “I welcome him to Columbia. I hope he does some good.”
 

By Captain Black
I don’t wear a special ” Capt. Black ” costume  while in public but like other members of the real life superhero ( RLSH ) Movement I help out where I can.
Wearing one of my Kufi skull caps means I’m on duty. That and the optional Capt. Black t-shirt.
The following is based on the last two days activities:
Yesterday saw me give a young mother struggling with her baby carriage a dollar for the little one ( Recession-era spontaneous donation rate, lol. ) and tell her, ” Capt. Black is always here for you! ” while walking away. In good Lone Ranger style I often don’t stick around.
Shortly thereafter I held the door open for an apparent stroke survivor after he’d struggled to his feet from a wheel chair to enter a gas station.
Inside, I won $4.00 on a scratch off ticket.
Rationalists will call this coincidence while the more metaphysical say the Universe down loaded a little gift as reward for my efforts.
Today I assisted a senior citizen friend across a busy highway to a nearby store on a rough side of East New Orleans. I secured him and carried purchases back to his apartment. He insisted I take what he gave me ( hard to argue with him when he’s loaded, if you know what I mean ).
I resolved to pass this gift along to others while making rounds in the near future.
All this could be coincidence so I leave interpretation to the reader.
Years ago, I used most of an inheritance by donating to charity and investing in struggling businesses. The idea of using it for scarce joy never entered my mind. Resources are the grease allowing the wheels of philanthropy and industry to roll faster. The spiritual heights and connections made from this period of my life remain unsurpassed.
RLSH and other concerned citizens give from the heart and wallet… often until it hurts.
We specialize in what I call ” micro-good: ” acts that aren’t headline making like curing cancer or million dollar giveaways but nonetheless impact quality of life where were live. These small acts take on a synergistic life of their own as our creative approach makes people reflect.
From reflection comes increased incentive to help others at a time when it’s hard enough helping oneself.
As this examination of the past two days shows, the ebb and flow of micro-good touches those offering outreach and recipients alike.
Karma; coincidence; Divine Intervention on a very small scale, I leave the final judgement to each of you.
I close with this observation: micro-good works! Share your instances of unexpected rewards from doing micro-good.
NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT. BLACK promotes wellness; crime prevention and self-development. http://www.captblack.info
 

Originally posted: http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/07/09/meet-the-viper-hes-a-real-life-superhero-video/
By Tim Reeves
Any self-respecting comic book superhero fan has, at some point, dreamt of donning a costume (preferably spandex), pulling on a mask and hitting the streets to deliver some some real life vigilantism (complete with wisecracks, obviously). The recent movie Kick-Ass addressed this scenario and worked on the assumption that once someone started a crime-fighting career, others would surely follow.
Well, in a case of life imitating art, a 20-year-old student in the US (where else?) has decided that enough is enough and he’s taking on the criminals of Columbia… in a green and black suit.
Chemistry and Art major, Christian Tyler Hardee, has been apprehended by the local police force prowling the streets, looking for crime to bash up. Sounds pretty exciting. To top it all off he’s also changed his name – not to Super Chris or anything rubbish like that. No, at night Chris becomes… The Viper. Brilliant.
According to the Columbia Daily Herald, The Viper was stopped around 12.30am the other night in his costume. He was wearing a utility belt (containing a screwdriver and mobile phone) and two plastic sticks. Upon searching his car, officers found ninja throwing stars – can this guy be any better prepared?
Thankfully for the citizens of Columbia, the police didn’t arrest him but left him off with a warning (even though, apparently, it’s illegal to wear a mask in that city). As The Viper later told the paper: “I’m just a guy trying to do what’s right in tights.” Well done, that man.
Watch the news report about The Viper below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

At www.RealLifeSuperheroes.org we do everything we can to help and promote real life superheroes. We are looking to spotlight different real life superheroes. We would like the public to get a chance to learn about different real life superheroes. We would like to give you a chance to reach the public with your presence and your message. You may even find people interested in helping you in your endeavors.
If you are interested in taking part in this. Please e-mail a picture of yourself in your uniform/costume, your real life superhero name, general location, a brief description of what you do as a real life superhero, your personal message to the public, and a way for the public to get in touch with you. Please e-mail your information to [email protected]
Not all submissions will be featured on the site.
 

Orignially posted: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/features/view/feature/Amateur-Superhero-The-Viper-Protects-Tennessee-Town-1565/
By Max Fisher
Tennessee’s unemployed–10.3 percent of the workforce–are coming up with new and clever ways to fill their days. One man in the small town of Columbia who is almost certainly jobless has even become a superhero. Dubbing himself The Viper and donning a green suit and mask, he has so far only succeeded in annoying the local police, who say he violates an ordinance against wearing masks in public places.
The Viper has plenty of crime to fight. Columbia’s violent crime rate in 2008 was 1,235 incidents per 100,000 residents, less than nearby Nashville and Memphis but still high for a town of Columbia’s size. So even Columbia’s skeptical residents are willing to embrace the hope of a new, Viper-led era of peace. Columbia bike shop owner A.C. Howell told the local NBC affiliate, “I don’t know. He needs something to do. Probably needs a job.” But Howell added, “I hope he’s looking out for my benefit. I hope he’s guarding my store.”
Who is the caped crusader? Skyler Swisher of the Columbia Daily Herald secured a phone interview with the Viper, who one assumes was calling from his Viper Cave 100 feet beneath the Earth. Or maybe from his dorm room.

By day, he’s a mild-mannered college student studying chemistry. But at night, he becomes the Viper, a superhero looking to stamp out crime in Columbia.
Christian Tyler Hardee, 20, caught the attention of Columbia police officers when they spotted him wearing a mask and green-and-black tights about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday near the Bicycle Shop on the Square.
… Hardee, a self-professed comic book nerd, said he knows he’s just a regular college student without super-human powers, and his behavior might be viewed as strange by some. But for Hardee, dressing as a superhero is a way to inspire the community to stand against wrongdoing and perform acts of charity.
“I am just a guy trying to do what is right, in tights,” he said.

 

Originally posted: http://www.aolnews.com/article/superheroes-need-super-support-groups/19544385
By David Moye
July 8) — Being a superhero used to be a specialized field. You either had to be the victim of a bizarre accident, like being bit by a radioactive spider, or suffer a tragic incident, i.e. being the sole survivor, blasted into outer space, from a distant planet as it was being destroyed.
But now things are different. Despite the contention of films like “The Incredibles” that some people are born super compared with the rest of us, being a superhero is a more egalitarian prospect than ever.
Yes, whereas folks used to dress up like Superman or Thor on Halloween, these days, people want to be superheroes all year long. Also, rather than piggybacking on some comic book hero, folks would rather become their own superheroes, with powers of their own choosing.

Superhero groups are popping up in cities like San Francisco; Portland, Ore.; and New York City, which is the headquarters of Superheroes Anonymous (SA), a support group of caped crusaders who run around the city doing small acts of good, like dispensing toiletries to the homeless while dressed in superhero costumes.
SA is modeled after 12-step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, but rather than meet to help one another recover from being super, this offbeat organization tries to inspire people to become their own superheroes.
The organization has been around four years, and co-founder Ben Goldman — whose superhero identity is “Camera Man,” a documentarian to all the organization’s good works — says self-empowerment is the key to understanding the group’s mission.
“People become superheroes because they want to engage a certain degree of control in making the world a better place,” Goldman said.
Goldman’s group has been around four years and now has chapters in Portland and New Bedford, Mass.
In addition, two event organizers in San Francisco have created an annual festival designed to honor “heroes” who are doing things in their communities and to inspire people to become the heroes they’ve always been inside.
The second annual Superhero Street Fair takes place Saturday in the Bayview neighborhood and will have a few hundred folks dressed up as superheroes.
According to FlashNews, regular Joes and Janes are encouraged to wear their very own made-up superhero outfits and show off their unique superpowers, which organizer Joegh Bullock says could include singing, dancing, painting or even kissing, if that’s their forte.
Bullock says that by embracing their own special powers and looking deep inside themselves, people will realize how super they really are and “hopefully feel those powers in them throughout the year.”
He and his fellow organizer came up with the idea awhile back when they realized they wanted an event where everyone would wear the same type of costume.
“We wanted something where you wouldn’t have one person be a clown and another be a fairy,” Bullock said. “We also wanted to take the superpowers out of ‘Hollywood’ and make them things ordinary people can do.”
Bullock expects as many as 3,000 people will attend, and many of those will be coming out of the superhero closet for the first time. For those people, he offers this advice: Believe in your power. A costume isn’t just a costume, it’s an attitude.”
As Bullock sees it, everyone has an alter ego that should be embraced.
“Superman had his secret identity, but we all have a superpower we can call on at anytime. For instance, I call myself ‘Tape Man.’ It came up recently when I was putting up posters for the event at the same time other people were posting things around town. I had strips of tape all over my body and people were grabbing it off me.”
One woman who is embracing her super side Saturday is professional costume designer Sarah Boll.
Last year, she wore a magenta wig and purple bodysuit and revealed herself as Ultra Violet, whose “super sparkling powers can dazzle any enemy away.”
This year, Boll is transitioning into a “punk robot” hero but admits she is still working on the powers (“But I do like color,” she adds).
It’s fun for her, but Boll also is inspired to use her costume to help the community. She also believes that dressing up as a hero helps her connect with her inner hero.
“I do feel more like myself when I’m in costume,” she said. “Plus, it’s great whenever people embrace what they’re enthusiastic about and share it.”
Compared with Superheroes Anonymous, the Superhero Street Fair emphasizes fun and whimsy. However, Bullock sees the homemade hero trend as a very powerful one.
“People want something to believe in and empower themselves,” he said. “I know I want to live this way all the time.”

The group has maybe 30 to 40 members, and each one agrees to adopt a 12-point code that includes the following steps:

• Choosing to be better people and becoming a force of good.
• Discovering the source of one’s inner superhero.
• Opening one’s eyes to the environment without shying away from injustice and despair.
• Giving the inner superhero a name.

Because the laws of physics prevent a person from having heat-ray vision like Superman or the ability to run around Earth in a second like the Flash, SA members have to define superpowers more loosely than their comic-book counterparts.
“We believe that you should take something you love to do and transform that into an identity,” Goldman said. “For instance, I love to make documentaries, so I am the group’s historian. That comes in handy when you have a hero like Dark Guardian, who approaches drug dealers in parks and gets them to leave.”
Superheroes Anonymous – Dark Guardian confronts a drug dealer from Ben Goldman on Vimeo.
As far as the costumes are concerned, Goldman says there are two schools of thought.

“Batman created his costume to invoke fear, whereas Superman assumed his in order to be a symbol,” Goldman said. “That’s what we aspire to. It’s one thing to hand out toiletries to the homeless, but when you’re doing it wearing a costume, people are more likely to stop and ask what you’re doing and maybe get involved themselves.”
Comic books like “The Dark Knight” and “Watchmen” suggest that the negative side of being a superhero is the vigilante aspect, and that is something Goldman stresses is not allowed in his group,
“We don’t endorse vigilantism,” he said. “We don’t live in Gotham City where there is a bank robbery every weekend or supervillains trying to destroy the city. We leave those matters in the hands of the police. There are enough things to do such as dropping off toys at Children’s Hospital.”
Goldman’s group has been around four years and now has chapters in Portland and New Bedford, Mass.
In addition, two event organizers in San Francisco have created an annual festival designed to honor “heroes” who are doing things in their communities and to inspire people to become the heroes they’ve always been inside.
The second annual Superhero Street Fair takes place Saturday in the Bayview neighborhood and will have a few hundred folks dressed up as superheroes.
According to FlashNews, regular Joes and Janes are encouraged to wear their very own made-up superhero outfits and show off their unique superpowers, which organizer Joegh Bullock says could include singing, dancing, painting or even kissing, if that’s their forte.
Bullock says that by embracing their own special powers and looking deep inside themselves, people will realize how super they really are and “hopefully feel those powers in them throughout the year.”
He and his fellow organizer came up with the idea awhile back when they realized they wanted an event where everyone would wear the same type of costume.
“We wanted something where you wouldn’t have one person be a clown and another be a fairy,” Bullock said. “We also wanted to take the superpowers out of ‘Hollywood’ and make them things ordinary people can do.”
Bullock expects as many as 3,000 people will attend, and many of those will be coming out of the superhero closet for the first time. For those people, he offers this advice: Believe in your power. A costume isn’t just a costume, it’s an attitude.”
As Bullock sees it, everyone has an alter ego that should be embraced.
“Superman had his secret identity, but we all have a superpower we can call on at anytime. For instance, I call myself ‘Tape Man.’ It came up recently when I was putting up posters for the event at the same time other people were posting things around town. I had strips of tape all over my body and people were grabbing it off me.”
One woman who is embracing her super side Saturday is professional costume designer Sarah Boll.
Last year, she wore a magenta wig and purple bodysuit and revealed herself as Ultra Violet, whose “super sparkling powers can dazzle any enemy away.”
This year, Boll is transitioning into a “punk robot” hero but admits she is still working on the powers (“But I do like color,” she adds).
It’s fun for her, but Boll also is inspired to use her costume to help the community. She also believes that dressing up as a hero helps her connect with her inner hero.
“I do feel more like myself when I’m in costume,” she said. “Plus, it’s great whenever people embrace what they’re enthusiastic about and share it.”
Compared with Superheroes Anonymous, the Superhero Street Fair emphasizes fun and whimsy. However, Bullock sees the homemade hero trend as a very powerful one.
“People want something to believe in and empower themselves,” he said. “I know I want to live this way all the time.”
Filed under: Weird News, Entertainment, Crime

Originally posted:http://www.wavy.com/dpps/news/strange_news/real-life-superhero-patrols-streets-ob10-jgr_3468713 
‘Viper’ causing quite a stir in Tennessee
Updated: Tuesday, 06 Jul 2010, 7:38 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 06 Jul 2010, 7:38 AM EDT
COLUMBIA, Tenn. (CNN/WSMV) – He may not have any super powers, but a college student donning a tight costume and patrolling the streets of Columbia, Tenn. is causing quite a stir.
The man, who calls himself Viper, says he’s out to stop crime by reporting to police when he sees it happening. But last week, the Viper found himself at the center of authorities’ attention because he was breaking a city ordinance banning people from wearing masks in public.
Authorities say he was carrying a utility belt that was holding a screwdriver and wrenches. They say they also found ninja stars in his car.
Now, the Viper’s becoming a household name around town.
“He’s just wanting to do something fun and maybe entertaining to grab some attention,” said one area resident.
Police let the college student turned superhero go, but they did urge the green-clad man to leave crime fighting to the men and women in blue.

Originally posted: http://www.columbiadailyherald.com/articles/2010/07/04/top_stories/0viper.txt
By SKYLER SWISHER
By day, he’s a mild-mannered college student studying chemistry. But at night, he becomes the Viper, a superhero looking to stamp out crime in Columbia.
Christian Tyler Hardee, 20, caught the attention of Columbia police officers when they spotted him wearing a mask and green-and-black tights about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday near the Bicycle Shop on the Square.
But the aspiring superhero assured police he was working for good not evil. He told officers he was on the prowl in search of crime to report.
Hardee, a self-professed comic book nerd, said he knows he’s just a regular college student without super-human powers, and his behavior might be viewed as strange by some. But for Hardee, dressing as a superhero is a way to inspire the community to stand against wrongdoing and perform acts of charity.
“I am just a guy trying to do what is right, in tights,” he said.
During his patrol of Columbia, he donned under armor, carried two plastic sticks and wore a utility belt. On the belt, he stowed a screw driver, wrenches and a cell phone to quickly call police if he stumbled across crime. Officers also found ninja throwing stars inside his car parked near the Bicycle Shop, according to a police report.
Columbia Police Lt. Michelle Jones said the department does not need the assistance of a superhero to keep the city’s streets safe. She discouraged the public from patrolling the streets while dressed in costumes.
“We always encourage the public to be good witnesses but not actively get out and look for crime,” she said.
Police determined Hardee was not breaking any laws, other than a city ordinance that prohibits wearing a mask that obscures the face in public. He was advised of the ordinance and was not cited.
Jones said detectives interviewed Hardee and encouraged him to stop his patrols. Investigators are worried he could frighten the public or hurt himself or others.
Hardee said he will continue to look for crime but without the full costume. To date, he has not stumbled upon criminal activity.
The 20-year-old studies chemistry and art at Union University in Jackson. He hopes to land a job with his chemistry degree, make some money and then embark upon a career as a comic-book artist once he is financially secure.
“I am not out of touch with reality. … I am just a normal guy,” he said. “I know what happens in the movies doesn’t happen in real life.”
He also wants everyone to know he is not trying to inspire children to follow in his footsteps, and he did not don the costume in search of publicity.
“If I wanted attention, I would go streaking or something,” Hardee said.
 

I have known about RLSHs for years, but never gave them much though until about march of this year. After finding www.therlsh.net and reading everything i found, i realized this is something i have always wanted to do, i just didnt know how to express it.
My idea for this blog is to simply keep track of my own journey as an RLSH. What i do and what i learn, and hopefully someday i can look back on this and see my own evolution.
I guess i’ll start with this; I never planned on being an RLSH. Well to be honest i was steadfast against calling myself an RLSH. Some of my very first posts on therlsh.net are me stating that i would never call myself that as i dont believe there can be “real superheroes”. Over time, getting to know the members of the community, what they do, and why they do what they do, i have changed my mind on the RLSH title. I still believe there are no real “superheroes” by the comic book definition, but i realized that the word superhero does not just mean those guys in the comic books. “Superhero” in and of it’s self, has come to mean more then characters. It is an ideal that we have in society. it stands for something. For some that puts “Good” above all else. For someone who can be counted on when needed. For the type of person that most people in our world dont believe exists.
Those type of people do exist and it is my hope that over time the world will start to believe it the way we used to when we were children. Back when superman and batman and wonder woman really DID exist. No there were not super powerful beings running around out planet but they did exist. They existed because we believed that that was how things were. We believed that good would always triumph over evil. That if we were ever in trouble that there would be someone there to help us. That no one in our world would ever stand there and watch as bad things happened, without doing something about it.
Unfortunately, the fact is we live in a world  where, be it a purse being snatched, a store being robbed,someone drowning, or a man dying on the sidewalk, our society tends to stand there and think “i’m sure somebody else will help.” “i’m sure somebody else has already called 911 so i wont bother.” It’s called “the bystander effect”. The tendency for everyone to think “somebody else will do it” and when everyone thinks that, it doesn’t get done.
I have though long and hard over the past 4 months about why i want to do this. why i want to put myself in danger to help others. The fact is it is something i have always done, and even as a child i never understood why anyone would feel any other way. now i realize why i felt that way…
..I guess I’m somebody else.