Happy Birthday To Us IV

We rarely, if ever, post on Saturdays, but today is a special occasion.  It’s our fourth birthday!

Four years ago today, way back on January 4, 2010, we published our very first post here at Abnormal Use. It was a mission statement, and you can revisit it here. We didn’t have this fancy design back then; rather, we had put together a basic Blogger template. It’s funny to look back at those initial posts and realize that we had no idea that this enterprise would be in any way successful. But here we are, 48 months later, still posting each business day for you, our dear readers.

By the way, above, you’ll find the cover of Superman #207, published way, way back in 1998. As you can see, the comic celebrates Superman’s 30th birthday. Our favorite part, of course, is the super villains yelling at Superman in unison the following: “Unhappy birthday from your worst enemies Mr. Mxyzptlk, Luthor, Braniac . . . .” That seems rather hurtful, don’t you think? I mean, they go to all the trouble to go to Superman’s birthday just to yell insults? And by the way, aren’t they wanted criminals? Why aren’t Superman and Supergirl apprehending them? Are they so distracted by Superman’s birthday that they can’t be bothered to bring those villains to justice? Something doesn’t make sense there. That’s the Silver Age for you.

Thanks again to our tireless contributors: Nick Farr, Rob Green, Kyle White, and Frances Zacher! We’ll have some new writers joining us soon, and we can’t wait to introduce them to you!

To see our past birthday posts, please click here, here, and here.

Friday Links

Welcome to our first edition of Friday Links of 2014. Above, you’ll find the cover of More Fun Comics #17, published way, way back in the 1930’s. Happy New Year!

Three years ago this month, we published our interview with Jeff Richardson, the author of the iPhone J.D. blog. Let nostalgia take the wheels and revisit that post here.

Speaking of anniversaries, it’s now been three years since we here at Abnormal Use received a voicemail message from Wilford Brimley. To learn that fateful story, please click here.

In case you missed it, the North Carolina Court of Appeals cited Nathaniel Hawthorne in a recent commericial litigation case. Here’s the relevant excerpt:

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter 197 (Bantam Books 1986) (1850). Indeed, the wearing of multiple “faces” may bewilder not only men, but also corporations.

Bank of America, N.A. v. Rice, 750 S.E. 2d 205, 206 (N.C. Ct. App. 2013) (Hat Tip: North Carolina Bar Association Bankruptcy Listserv).

The musician Beck is being sued by an actor from a Quentin Tarantino film! It’s a landlord/tenant case. We tried really, really hard to come up with a “Loser” prevailing party joke, but we just couldn’t do it. Alas.

From Mental Floss: “11 Obscure References in Classic Songs—Explained!” Our favorite: “You’re So Vain.” Yes, of course that would be our favorite.

North Carolina Shooting Death Leads To Lawsuit Against Gun Manufacturer

Even though talk of gun control has lessened on the political front, firearms litigation continues.  Last month, the estate of Jasmine Thar filed suit against Remington in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, arising out of the December 23, 2011 shooting death of the North Carolina teenager.  Thar was shot when 23-year old James Blackwell’s Remington .308 Model 700 rifle allegedly misfired while he was cleaning the gun across the street.   The stray bullet also struck two other persons; however, those persons were not killed.  Blackwell claims he never touched the gun’s trigger.  He was investigated for the incident but cleared of any wrongdoing.  The estate sued the gun manufacturer, claiming the rifle malfunctions and misfires, a problem for which Remington allegedly has received thousands of complaints. Before diving into the merits of this suit, we here at Abnormal Use must admit that something about this incident doesn’t seem right.  In the days after the incident, Thar’s family refused to believe the shooting was accidental, believing it to be racially motivated after a Nazi magazine and Confederate flag were found in Blackwell’s bedroom.  The family went as far as to plan boycotts and rallies in the event the district attorney did not charge Blackwell.  Thar’s mother, Claretta McNeil, claimed:

That’s sending out a really negative message out to America.  That we can shoot people and say it’s an accident and get away with it and it’s okay.

Apparently, the message has now changed. At this point, we know little about the validity of the allegations against Remington.  On its website, Remington claims that the rifle is safe when proper precautions are followed.  The company’s own scientific testing of rifles that supposedly misfired has apparently never recreated the problem.  According to Remington,  malfunctions often involve improper maintenance or alterations to the original mechanisms and settings. Clearly, the key issue is the conduct of Blackwell.  Regardless of any defects with the gun or his own alleged racial motivations, he was clearly negligent in cleaning a weapon while it was loaded.  If this incident was accidental, then it could have been prevented with proper gun safety.  The family, however, no longer holds Blackwell responsible.   According to Bernie Coaxum, Thar’s grandfather, “Mr. Blackwell is the conduit of this tragedy, not the cause.”  Nonetheless, without Blackwell’s intervening act of negligence, the accident clearly could have been prevented.

At the end of the day, we must remember that a young girl was killed through no fault of her own.  Determining the responsible party, however, has been relegated to pointing the finger at the party with the ability to pay.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from the Abnormal Use law blog and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A.! We hope you an eventful and safe New Year’s Eve, and we welcome you now to 2014.

Above, you’ll find the cover of New Adventure Comics #12, published at the very end of 1936 and dedicated to the arrival of the new year: 1937. Wow. That is one old comic book. Check out the summary from Comicvine:

New Comics received a makeover with issue #12, becoming New Adventure Comics, its symbolic cover featuring a fresh faced baby 1937 ushering out Father Time’s past relics. While still stuffed with short humor strips, including, “Hard luck Harry,” New Adventure Comics increasingly emphasised action in far away lands through such features as “Castaway Island” and “The Vikings.” Rounding out issue 12 was another installment of “Federal Men” though readers could have been forgiven for puzzling over its bizzare sci-fi twist. Unapologetic Sci-fi fans Siegel and Shuster had shoehorned in a professor who explained the “future of scientific crime detection.” This framing device gave the two a licence to delve deep into their favourite obsession, telling a tale set in the year 3000 that involved ray guns, rocket ships and star pirates. It also starred an “ace sleuth” named Jor-L (a name later to be re-cycled as that of Superman’s father).

As that summary suggests, there’s an interesting bit of Superman history/trivia in this 76 year old comic book. Superman, of course, would not appear until 1938 in Action Comics #1.

Check out our past New Year’s Days posts (featuring new year themed comic book and album covers) here, here, and here.

In fact, a year ago today, we published a list of our favorite songs about the New Year.  To revisit that post, please see here. (Of course, it features references to U2.).