:: Captain's Personal Blog ::

Stardate: Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Saddam Insanity

Well, so we caught him. Fine. Good. Right?

In times like this I find myself increasingly unnerved by the questions that this has raised at work. Specifically the question of whether or not we should kill him. More importantly phrased "We would have been better off if the soldiers had just thrown a grenade down the whole and gotten it over with."

Why? Because it is felt that as long as he is alive he is a threat. The most immediate example of this being that Iraqis can use him as a bargaining chip in hostage situations, terrorist situations and the like.

The worst part to all this is that I can't decide what to think in the scenario. I know what I believe. We shouldn't kill him. That would be wrong. No matter what he's done, if we kill him he doesn't learn anything.

We can't torture him either, I suppose. It would make us no better than he is.

But if we let him live, there is a possibility that he could be a part of something even more terrible in the future.

The worst part about that is that it leads to some of the worst aspects of human nature. Specifically the belief that killing is an acceptable solution.

Let me also point out that killing can be a final solution, but not an acceptable solution. Meaning, if it is literally down to kill or be killed, you would probably have to kill. And people would not necessarily take you to task for it. But you shouldn't just accept that that was the best thing to do. There should always be another way out of a situation, and in an idyllic world you should be able to talk your way out of anything.

Ultimately, this post is sounding a bit whiny. Some would say I sound like a "bleeding-heart." I'm not. In war, you generally have to kill people. I understand that when you go to war, people die. It's the going to war in the first place that I have a problem with. Again, not taking sides on the war in Iraq, just my general feeling on war. I am glad that I did not have to make the decision to go to war, because I don't think I could have. Despite the fact that it very well have been the right choice. Again, I can't make that decision.

It just makes me bristle terribly when I hear someone coldly talking about pulling the trigger on someone else. When someone can freely talk about pulling the trigger on someone else (without any prior training), I get worried. Especially when they say it easily and without even the tug of conscience.

Even firing squads would fire simultaneously to absolve any singular marksman of blame for the death. No one should be THAT eager to pull the trigger.
:: J 9:04 AM [+] ::
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PhoenixAsh Productions


If you check over to the RECOMMENDED are, you will see that I've added a link to PhoenixAsh Productions. PhoenixAsh is a joint venture between myself and my friend Mike. Through PhoenixAsh we are currently finishing post-production on THE LAST OF THE MANDALORES, a STAR WARS FAN FILM about Boba Fett.

Check the website for more information.

We also hope to release a STAR TREK fan film, and possibly even a DOCTOR WHO fan film. Those are all long-term goals, but we are on track to have THE LAST OF THE MANDALORES ready for a CHRISTMAS 2003 web release.

Well, enough hawking myself for now. Next time, no more personal endorsements.

I promise :)
:: J 6:56 PM [+] ::
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The Many Steps of the Snoopy Dance

What a treat I got from my dad this weekend. A CD called "THE CHARLIE BROWN SUITE & OTHER FAVORITES" by Vince Guaraldi. At first, it looked like it had the same tracks as another CD that I had of Mr. Guaraldi; "Good Grief." However, when I played the first track, boy was I in for a surprise.

I have always liked the works of Mr. Guaraldi. More than because some of his music serves as the underscore for the Peanuts cartoons. They were always well composed. They were always instantly evocative, whether it be of the Peanuts cartoons that they accompanied, or just the simple innocence of childhood. They are very much mood pieces, with a complexity and life all their own.

As in the first track, "LINUS AND LUCY WITH THE BAND". At first it sounds like the version of "LINUS AND LUCY" featured on "GOOD GRIEF". I was never as fond of this version as I was the TV version, as that the piano rhythm, heard in the back, had an extra note in it. No doubt, if I had heard it that way first, I would have liked it better, but alas, I had not, so I like it less. Again, this is not to say that I don't like it, it is just not my favorite.

"LINUS AND LUCY WITH THE BAND" is a revisit of the popular Peanuts theme, but with so much added life that it sounds fresh and new. It's a grown up version of the theme, much hipper than than the David Benoit version (also a great version), truer to the sound of Guaraldi (d'uh, because he did it) and just an incredible listen.

Another track, "INTRO WITH LINUS AND LUCY" is just another incredible aural experience, akin to PETER AND THE WOLF. All sorts of musical themes are played, from light and airy, to ominous and foreboding. Then we hear the popular LINUS AND LUCY theme again, making everything OK. But it's not only played on the familiar piano, but also on horns and strings. It is given flourish, and becomes a rock in a tumultuous storm of character. Another gem.

"HAPPINESS IS" was also featured on "GOOD GRIEF", but in a much smaller version. Whereas most of the tracks on "GOOD GRIEF" are performed primarily on piano. Here, the version is lush with strings and bells and is symphonic in its scope. It too is an incredible upgrade on an old favorite.

I could go into each track individually, but I would spend most of the time repeating myself. For any lover of those CHARLIE BROWN cartoons, lover of Vince Guaraldi, or even a lover of fine music, I recommend this CD wholeheartedly. It is a beauty to withhold.
:: J 1:57 PM [+] ::
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Through The Ages, We May Be Blind

I don't know what it is. Really. I've been racking my brain, and still I come up with nothing. The simple fact of the matter is that I don't understand the attraction of the new MARK WAID mini-series, SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT. Now, before I continue, I have to warn all readers that I am about to go HARDCORE into some comic speak, so if SUPERMAN isn't your cup of tea, tune out now.

First, a brief history of SUPERMAN:

1938: ACTION COMICS #1 is published, featuring the first appearance of SUPERMAN, created by two men by the names of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

1939: SUPERMAN #1 is published. It is the first issue of a comic devoted entirely to the Man of Steel. A word about Superman at this time. Superman's powers were terribly less evolved than they are today. Included was that he could leap 1/4 of a mile; hardly flying distance. Nothing short of a bursting shell could penetrate his skin; hardly invulnerability. The rest of his powers were mere abstracts. Superman was sent to Earth by his parents, Jor-L and Lara. His name was Kal-L. He worked for the Daily Star under Editor Tyler.


It wasn't until the 40's and 50's that many aspects of Superman began to take the shape that they are today. His origin was amended slightly. His family name was now EL and not just the letter "L". He enjoyed a life on Krypton as a child, prior to being sent away. He was a Superboy before he was Superman. His powers also began to develop. The now-familiar powers of Flight, Invulnerability, Super Speed, Heat, Telescopic & X-Ray visions, Super Hearing, and Super Breath were later joined by such fantastic powers as Super Ventriloquism, Super Memory and Super Kissing (I'm serious.) The Superman family was extended to include Supergirl, Krypto (the Superdog), Comet (the Superhorse), Streaky (The Supercat), and Beppo (the Supermonkey).

1986: After a failed attempt to pare down Superman's ever expanding abilities, DC COMICS hires John Byrne to re-write the history of Superman. To re-envision his origin story and make it a bit more modern. Also, to make him a little less god-like. Byrne changed many of the tenants of Superman including the following:
Superman was conceived in a birthing matrix on Krypton. The matrix was sent to Earth, with Superman being born here.
Ma and Pa Kent survived Superman's childhood, and are still alive today.
There is only one form of Kryptonite -- Green
Superman can NOT travel through time, is not impervious to ALL pain and weaponry. He can not juggle planets.
Clark Kent is not the uber geek/clutz. He's just a regular guy.
Lex Luthor is not a criminal genius, he is a billionaire industrialist who owns 75% of Metropolis. He just happens to not be a nice guy :)
Superman's costume is NOT from Krypton. It is made from Earth cloth and is kept invulnerable from an aura exuded from Superman's body.
Superman designed the "S" symbol with his parents. Period.
Krypton was a cold and sterile place. Byrne felt this was necessary to ensure that Superman didn't feel nostalgia for the planet. Earth was his home, and that was that.
Superman no longer spouted any of the following: "Great Rao!" "Great Moons of Krypton" etc. See the last point as to why.

With all that said, let me say that I was extremely happy with the way Byrne's Superman was presented. He seemed to me to be the most plausable of all incarnations that I had seen. He was a man, before he was a Superman, and that was where his humanity lie. He used his powers for the greater good but was uncomfortable with being the legend that he became. He was the most human representation of the character to date. He had a moral code against killing that was born into him, but was reinforced by a fatal confrontation with three supervillains. Now there are detractors of this version out there. At another website that is devoted to the Man of Steel "through the ages". They are not fans of Byrne's Superman or the ones that followed. On that notion, I only half disagree. Byrne's Superman was wonderful. When Dan Jurgens took over, he continued to steer Superman in a direction that was true to Byrne's vision. For me, the beginning of the end for Superman came just before the Electric Blue Superman made his appearance. Slowly, it seemed as though the team forgot the human cornerstones that made the stories so lovable. Instead, we were treated with what I can only describe as creator nostalgia for a bygone era. Superman began to become the more alien character of the 70's, the Kirby Fourth World characters became a stronger influence, colorful aliens and incredible situations (again, much like those created in the late sixties, early seventies) were brought forth. It was a distinct move away from what we had been given. Even the old time Bizarro was making a reemergence.

Finally, in the 21st Superman, the Man of Steel suffered the ultimate indignities. Superman's origin was left ambiguous as it was "discovered" that everything we knew of Superman's origin from 1986 was a lie. Krypto was back, the Phantom Zone was back, Krypton began to resemble the planet from the 1978 movie more than it did the 1986 version. Superman was getting even stronger (recently he heated up the entire Earth from somewhere near the Sun using his heat vision.) He began to embrace his alien side and was a master of anything he put his mind to. How is this the new and improved Superman? How can we relate to him? How can we even aspire to be him?

Now that we've gotten past the "history" of Superman, it's time for me to set my sights on the true point of this rant. These watchdogs who watch Superman "through the ages" are in support of MARK WAID'S new BIRTHRIGHT series. After lambasting Byrne's retooling of the mythos, they support WAID's just because it bears a slight resemblance to their own history. I say that's just wrong.

Waid has decided to put his own spin on the mythos, which is fine. I would be a hypocrite if I said I liked Byrne's without allowing for the possibility of someone else leaving their mark. What I can say is that while there are a few good touches, Waid has pretty much missed the boat as badly as he did with THE KINGDOM (don't get me started on that spectacular misfire. Glad to see that we're not just limiting ourselves to making people like John Byrne obsolete, but legends like George Perez as well. Hell, maybe I'll hit that in another post.)

Again, we are back to Superman being born on Krypton. Fine. No big (although it blows out an interesting story from the 90's where Superman is elected President -- because he technically was BORN in the United States.) Now, we've taken the SUPERMAN; THE MOVIE mythos one step further. In the film, the "S" symbol was the crest of the house of El (Superman's family.) Now it has become this worldwide symbol of Krypton, synonymous with such a notion as hope. In my mind, this detracts from the uniqueness of the symbol and just makes Superman little more than a religious person who wears a cross. It is no longer his symbol (a symbol of justice) but a symbol of his alien nature. Also, the idea of having Superman travel the planet before he reached Metropolis never really appealed to me much. That is what Batman did. He traveled the world, learning all that he could. Superman did not need to do this. It is unnecessary and also opens up the wide possibility that a thousand and one people can figure out his identity. This was hinted at in Byrne's version, but was more palatable by the fact that he didn't travel to learn, he traveled to help. He also tried to keep a low profile. It wasn't until he was forced into the spotlight that the traveling had to end.

Talk of destiny has always left me in the cold. In my mind it takes away from what makes a character special. Is it more special that he makes the decision to help people because he wants to, or because it was his destiny? While this wasn't exactly stated in the comics, I do realize that they are taking some "pages" from SMALLVILLE. Smallville has made it clear that Superman has a destiny. If they choose to adapt that aspect for the comics, I may have a problem. Waid has already adopted the Clark/Lex history dynamic for his comic, and that's got me upset. I like SMALLVILLE as entertainment goes. I'm not TOO offended by it, because it has always (to me) stood outside of continuity. It's a nice "what if?" However, when these concepts are brought into continuity, we have a problem. Lex knew Clark before he was Superman, and before he wore glasses. WHY CAN'T HE RECOGNIZE THAT CLARK IS SUPERMAN!!!! Anyone who knew Clark before he wore glasses (up into his late teens-early twenties, anyway) should be able to figure it out. People don't change that much! Recognizing Superman as Clark isn't the issue. The issue is recognizing Clark as Superman. (Figure that out, if you can.)

Essentially, I don't like the way we're going here. And just as I didn't get it when so-called STAR TREK watchdog Robert Altman was a fan of ENTERPRISE, I don't understand how these "through the ages" people could possibly be a fan of BIRTHRIGHT. It's not what I want, and it doesn't appear to be what they want. Ah well. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I just don't understand theirs.

THUS ENDETH THE COMIC BOOK RANT----------------FOR NOW.................
:: J 1:50 PM [+] ::
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With apologies

All right. I'm sorry that I actually put up a post (see below) before actually explaining where I've been. After my birthday (long, long ago) work got a little busy. When I was able to finally get out from beneath that, we had that marvelous NYC blackout which wore on me enough that I couldn't get to a computer for a while. To give that sufficient weight, let me say that I spent two nights sleeping in a ball under my desk. The good news is that I at least had a change of clothes, since I keep a packed suitcase here with a few days worth of clothes here (ah what I learned from September 11th.)

So, after that, again it seemed as though my "docket" was full with work related stuff. Also, my brother went away to college (ah, these are the times that try men's souls. When a younger brother goes to college.) After that, my mother had to have some surgery and so I really haven't been in much of a frame of mind to post lately.

On the plus side I am working on three separate video projects. One is active (and is actually almost done with production, closing in on post-production for a web-release of Christmas 2003), and the other two are stuck in development heck. The good news is that one of those two projects is going to be written and produced by me, so I can get it out of D.H. as soon as I get the motivation to get it off the ground (and also cast the bloody thing!)

Anyway, that is the lump sum of what I have been up to in the two months since I last posted. Seemed a lot weightier when I was going through it, but I guess that's what hindsight will do to you.
:: J 11:22 AM [+] ::
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Here comes the soapbox

OK, so I haven't written in awhile. I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I've found a soapbox to stand on for my return. I read an article this morning on the AP wires about complaints over what are known as "embedded ads" on television. This was known (in my day) as "product placement." People are upset that these ads are disguising themselves as entertainment.

Personally, I can't see what the problem is. It would be one thing if, for example, Angel (from the WB's Angel) was beating on a demon and, after dispatching the monster, he stepped over to a bar, asked for a cold Coors, drank it and turned to Lorne and said "Boy, that's refreshing. Nothing cools like a Coors!"

The number of things wrong with that scenario are enormous. First, Angel doesn't drink......beer. Second, the whole bloody thing is uncharacteristic on many levels. Third, it breaks the flow of the show.

However, if, on Smallville, Clark goes into the pantry and grabs a bag of Lay's potato chips, that shouldn't be a problem.

For the most part, my belief is this. If the audience doesn't recognize that there is an advertisement, the advertisement is probably not that effective. One could make the arguement that there is a subliminal message being given here, but I find this terribly ineffective. After all, what is the alternative? In the past, for example, a bag of chips would have a yellow bag with the word "CHIPS" on it in a stylized red logo. This is IMMEDIATELY evokotive of Lay's chips, but is generic enough so that no royalties would have to be paid. Is that not product placement as well? Also, I am really not a fan of McDonald's. I like Burger King better. For this reason, if I see someone on Big Brother eating a McDonald's hamburger, I'm NOT going to want to go to McDonald's. Just a thought.

My point is that I just think that these watchdog groups are making mountains out of mole hills.
:: J 9:39 AM [+] ::
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Ruminations on a birthday

Isn't a vocabulary nice? It took me 26 years to get the one that I have today, for better or for worse, and that number is accurate, as of two days ago.

You know, all things considered, it was the best birthday that I have had in a long time. While I didn't get time to spend with my friends, I believe that their thoughts and wishes are with me. Besides, I didn't exactly make it public knowledge, so there!! :)

As it turned out, though, everyone at work treated me stupendously. One colleague baked me a cake which, I later found out, was before she even knew it was my birthday. It feels good to know that you are liked. And, yesterday, the rest of the staff celebrated my birthday by treating me to the biggest Hershey's candy bar I have ever seen. It will take at least a week and a half to finish.

The weekend was nice. My uncle and his girlfriend came to visit for the weekend, with my mom's cousin and his girlfriend coming for a visit on Sunday. Both sets live out of state, so I don't get to see them often. All that with an unusual amount of reflection and nostalgia made the weekend one of the best birthdays I have ever had. It felt good, for some intangible reason. But I am starting to feel the ways in which I am getting older. For some reason today, for example, I realized that I was sitting in a meeting, and it occurred to me just how incredible that would seem to the me of 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago.

I am, as always, thankful for the life that I live, and the people that I know. This past birthday, more than others before, has brought the myriad of feelings to the surface. I have come through it with a continued deep appreciation of my life and everything and everyone in it.

Sap aside, I can't thank everyone enough for being in my life in their many capacities. Happy birthday to me.
:: J 5:00 PM [+] ::
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Profanity

I suppose this is a subject that I haven't broached at all. I sometimes wonder if it's even worth it. My stance on it is rather bland. However, having read a news item this morning which spoke of the possibility that profanity devastates communication skills, I feel I must say my piece.

1) I do not use profanity. For the most part, anyway. The F-Word, S-Word, B-Word, A-Word, etc., I don't use them. Why? I don't really know. Do I find them offensive? No. Do I dislike when others use them? Not really (see 2). So what's the deal? Well, to be perfectly honest, I just can't think of why I would want to use terms like that. Growing up, I always believed that profanity was to be used in instances when you wanted to emphasize something, or say something with great conviction. To that end, I suppose that I don't hold strong enough convictions in most of what I say to use these words. I feel that, if anything, I'll save them for when I truly want to emphasize a point, rather than everyday speech. Even casual speech.

2) The one time I can't stand the use of profanity is when every other word is a profane word. I once heard someone say that profanity was for people who can't think of anything else to say. I don't necessarily believe that this is the case, but in this instance, I can't think of a better explanation. Some people just use profanity for when they can't think of the word that they want to use. F*@% has become the new "like."

3) Despite #2, I do not believe that profanity is contributing to the devastation of communication skills. A devastation of communication skills comes from (get this) a lack of proper communication. End of story. People should just communicate more, and that would be the end of it. Speech patterns have changed over the course of centuries, this is just another one. Let it go.

:: J 2:09 PM [+] ::
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Examples of people who may have too much time on their hands, but who create cool stuff nonetheless
Story from AP NEWS WIRE
ON THE WEB: THE SEARCH FOR W-M-D -- ONLINE
(Cyberspace-AP) -- You might say it's the only place inspectors or the U-S military haven't looked in their search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq -- the Internet. Well, now, that's been done, too -- sort of. When you type "weapons of mass destruction" into the Google search engine, and hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button -- you get a real-looking error message. The message says "These Weapons of Mass Destruction cannot be displayed. The country might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to adjust your weapons inspectors mandate." The site was created by Anthony Cox back in February. He passed it along to friends, and they started linking to it -- which helped it get "noticed" by the Google search engine.
By the way the search for W-M-D's isn't the only serious topic that gets picked on on the Google site. For example, if you type in: "French military victories," followed by the "lucky" button -- a page set up to look like one from Google asks: "Did you mean: French military defeats."
------
On the Net:
Cox's site: http://www.coxar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
Google site:http://www.google.com
:: J 11:21 AM [+] ::
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Sense and sensibility

What does it mean if you are "a peculiar treasure unto me above all people." Does this mean that I love you more than everyone else? Is this the sort of thing that I would say to a lover? Or to a son/daughter? Would I say this to one of my progeny with regards to them all? Is that the kind of parent I should be? If so, would that be right?

If I were a moral absolute, would I be right in making this claim? Don't, for one minute, think about what this child does versus what any other child had done before it. This is a newborn. An innocent. And before he/she has a chance to do anything, I say that he/she is "a peculiar treasure unto me above all people." Is that fair? Is that right?

Some people may have gotten the point to this little rant, right off the bat. Others may have already guessed the point. For those who have not, I shouldn't say, because you are probably the innocents. I have no desire to bash one person's beliefs or anothers, but I will say this. Exclusionary clubs are utterly ridiculous sounding when they are trying to preach solidarity.

As many wise people have said in the past, it's not about the stories itself. It's what you take from them. It's what you decide to do with them that counts. The lessons that you learn from life experiences. I'm not perfect. Anything but (despite what people may think I think about myself.) But I don't tell people that I am right and they are wrong. The moment you have the arrogance to say that you aren't wrong about anything, is the moment you had best be prepared to back it up.

As to being "a peculiar treasure unto me above all people," let me say that that phrase is so out of place from its source that I can't believe for one moment that anyone would believe it. That's like me deciding to build a mansion, for a family, and telling them that it's a great house, and that they should take care of it, but that this one little closet in the upper guest room is the prime real estate in the whole house. If they want to really live it up, it's in that one closet that they should live, and then leave the family to fight for that one little room which, upon any and all inspection, contains no differences from the rest of the house, other than the fact that it is small, uncomfortable and rather spartan.

Analogy much?
:: J 2:29 PM [+] ::
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Dependability......Ugh!

Now it appears that the COMMENTS link keeps appearing, and disappearing. When will the woes be over?
:: J 3:32 PM [+] ::
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Comments

FYI... COMMENTS are now available on all my posts. Feel free to leave messages and other miscellany of your own!
:: J 5:22 PM [+] ::
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Truth More Entertaining Than Fiction
The above statement is evidenced by the following cartoon, sent to me by Brian:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-07-04


and the writer commentary found here:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php3?date=2003-07-04


As for my own feelings about STAR TREK, well this wouldn't be the first time that I mentioned it on this site......

To recap, Activision filed suit against Star Trek's cororate heads at Viacom (which owns Paramount, and subsequently Star Trek,) accusing the company of running the franchise into the ground and killing any fan interest in its videogame tie-ins.

Is this a terrible mistake? An inacuracy to say the least? Not on your life. I have been saying for many years that the good folks at Paramount are killing the franchise, beyond any hope for recovery. As for what the witty comic strip writer above wrote.......I agree -- sort of.

He had me going for a while, until he spoke of getting the show's writers to possibly write for the video games. What this one point lacks in sense is evidenced by the following statement. The writers are number three on the list of persons responsible for the demise of STAR TREK. Check this out:

1) Why number three?
Simple. Number one is the high muckety mucks at Star Trek (not to be confused with the head honchos at Paramount.) I am referring here to the so-called "keepers of the flame." They have gotten so out of touch with what the fans want that it has become tragic. If they were parents and the fans were their children, they would have been brought up on charges for child negligence. What Tycho says in his article is true. The expectations of the fans have been lowered to such a degree that any glimmer of quality is treated as an astounding feat. For further evidence see 2). Number two on the list are the head honchos at Paramount who are guilty of nothing more than allowing the high muckety mucks at Star Trek to continue.

2) Creative Hey-Day is over
Does anyone remember the calibre of writers who were writing for STAR TREK in the 60's? Harlan Ellison, David Gerrold, DC Fontana, to name a few. These were the cream of the Science Fiction crop at the time. Granted, Asimov and Bradbury weren't writing, and neither was Philip K. Dick, but for crying out loud, these guys weren't second stringers. You generally don't hear STAR TREK touting its writing/directing staff anymore unless it happens to be a former/present cast member. I get the novelty of that, but is it really necessary? Is STAR TREK really nothing more than a proving ground for inexperienced talent? I can appreciate the need to further the experience of the talent who work the show, in fact some of the best episodes of recent years have come from former/present day actors. However, I would gladly sacrifice those episodes for better CONSISTENT writing.

3)Eugene Roddenberry
It's funny that I should be writing this after their website went on summer hiatus, but what I am about to say is no less true. Maybe certain things SHOULD be kept in the family. Of all the sites that I have seen and all the companies that I have dealt with, none have been more consistent at offering fans what they have wanted in the way of merchandise than Roddenberry.com, run by the son of the late, Great Bird of the Galaxy. Granted, I don't think I wanted to buy Rod's old car (offered on the website) but past that, the offers are good. Quality prop replicas, uniform patterns, scripts, guides, apparrel, toys, it's all there. This is the kind of attention to fan desires that I haven't seen in a long time. Art Asylum is another company that is turning its attention to what fans have been clamoring for for years, but I fear that fan backlash may put their plans on hold prematurely.

As for STAR TREK video games, for the most part I have been pleased. Unfortunately, my favorite STAR TREK programs no longer function on newer computers, and I fear that they are lost to me forever:

1) STAR TREK: CAPTAIN'S CHAIR
This was the coolest program I have ever seen. Not only are you given a real-time Quick-Time VR view of the bridges of five different Starships (Enterprise - TOS, Enterprise - D, Defiant, Voyager, Enterprise-E), but you can interact with the consoles, firing phasers, activating the viewscreen, going to warp, even setting the ship to auto-destruct. Every fanboys dream, just short of an interactive tour of the whole ship, which leads me to:

2) STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - INTERACTIVE TECHNICAL MANUAL
Before Captain's Chair, this was fantastic. Not only could you walk around the bridge of the Enterprise-D, but you could go into Sickbay, the Captain's Quarters, The Ready Room, Transporter Room, Engineering, an much more. You could get technical rundowns on every aspect of the ship, and even a tour from Commander Riker. It was nice.

Other games were good as well, although I haven't played any of the more recent ones (the most recent being STARFLEET ACADEMY, which I had a great time with.)

When I started this post, I thought I would get around to expressing my serious distaste for modern STAR TREK, but this has just taken way too much out of me. Perhaps I'll get around to it another day. But, then again, how often can you beat a dead horse? Or a dead franchise?
:: J 11:31 AM [+] ::
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And tongues all over the world cringed.....

Courtesy of Excite.com

"Jul 01, 1847, The U.S. Post Office issued its first adhesive stamps."

:: J 1:45 PM [+] ::
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Bad Corporate Ineptitude

One of these days, I am going to reveal to the world where I work. For now, though, I will have to be vague when I describe this terrible wrong which has been done.

I have been working at my present place of employment for just over two years. Back on the day in late March 2001, I met a man named Tyrone. He was sitting at the reception desk on the floor which I (at the time I didn't know this) would be working on. I was there to interview with the man who would be my boss. I was very nervous, having just worked a full 9 hour day before coming for the interview (one of the hazards of working the early morning shift) and also because it was a job interview. Who wouldn't be nervous? (don't answer that.)

Anyway, Tyrone talked to me. He seemed like a nice guy. He calmed me down a bit, and most importantly, he knew when to talk (and what to say) and when to leave me to my thoughts. When I walked out of the interview, he said he would see me soon. I don't think it was in any sort of knowing way, but it made me feel better.

Two weeks later, I came in to start work. He remembered me right away. We spent the next two years talking, on and off. He was a great guy. He was a hard worker who knew his stuff. He knew when to follow the rules to the letter and when to bend them, ever-so-slightly.

This morning, I found out that just moments after his shift ended on Friday, he was let go. There were possible reasons, but no one left seems to know what the real reason could have been. To my mind, no matter how big a company is, when someone is fired, the news gets out as to why, if not for any other reason than to just serve as a warning for those left behind not to conduct the same sort of behavior. This isn't the case here. No one really seems to know.

I find this sad. Especially in a setting such as ours where security is key, to just fire someone for no apparent reason, especially someone who was as well-liked and who was as hard a worker as he. He will be missed terribly.
:: J 12:03 PM [+] ::
...

Yay for James T. West and Artemis Gordon!

Courtesy: Excite.com
On this day in history: Jun 23, 1860 - The U.S. Secret Service was created to arrest counterfeiters.

:: J 2:56 PM [+] ::
...

John Williams is the best

You know, some may think of me as mildly handicapped. Not necessarily in the physical sense. I just don't listen to the radio. I also don't watch music television. Reason being that I can't find anything that I want to listen to. Instead of listening to most popular music (I pretty much listen to some forms of modern jazz and oldies rock, ala EARLY Beatles) I listen to film and television scores.

More than any form of music that I have been exposed to, these pieces of music are the ultimate in mood music. You can take from them their original meaning (their usage in the films/shows that they are from) or use them to score moments in your life. Either way, it works for me.

Now, the other day, for no reason whatsoever, I started humming a piece of music from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Before you leap to conclusions, it was not THE STAR WARS THEME or THE IMPERIAL MARCH. Instead of those more popular pieces of music, I began humming the piece of music called THE ASTEROID FIELD. This is a piece that I have heard in my life more times than I can count, and is probably my favorite whole piece of music from the film.

It begins with variations on THE IMPERIAL MARCH which signify the Star Destroyers chasing the Millennium Falcon. Then, John Williams uses the orchestra to narrate the humor/tension of the situation. The scrambling to find out what is wrong with the ship and why it won't go to lightspeed. Then, an ominous rhythm to signify the entrance to the Asteroid Field. Williams' clever use of the orchestra almost gives voice to the colliding asteroids. Then, a hero motif of the Millennium Falcon flying through the field, dodging asteroids with Tie Fighters crashing behind it. Some more humor/tension in the cockpit, followed by a crescendo to the final fly through the final, large asteroid, ending in the explosions of the final fighters. Then, musically, we follow the Falcon as it loops through the air, and into its hidey-hole.

Now, my explanation of the piece certainly doesn't do it justice, but I defy you to watch the film, at that point, and say that it isn't one exceptional piece of scoring. Of course, the actors and the wizards at Industrial Light and Magic helped, but Williams adds dimension that is remarkable. Of course the score to the rest of the film is phenomenal as well. THE BATTLE OF HOTH is a wonderful suite (it is about 15 minutes in length) which is comprised of most, if not all, of the major themes from the film. It too, tells the narrative. If you are familiar with the movie, and only hear the score you should be able to divine almost exactly what is happening. This is the sign of a truly exceptional score.

John Williams has a wide range, and has worked on more an extensive list of films and television shows. He is a frequent collaborator with Steve Spielberg, which accounts for his scores being associated with some of the most famous films ever made. Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones Trilogy, Harry Potter Films, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, The Poseidon Adventure, and dozens more. His iMDB entry alone has 199 unique entries. He's everywhere and he is amazing at what he does.

BTW, the end to the story about humming THE ASTEROID FIELD? I wound up wanting to watch the movie REALLY BADLY. And so I did. Go figure.
:: J 1:18 PM [+] ::
...

Today is Friday the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"

You know what? I can't stand today. I refuse to acknowledge it for what it is. It is just another Friday to me.......Well, I suppose I can't say that and yet still be able to explain it. So here is my explanation:

Statistically speaking, Friday the 13ths have always been bad for me. I always get bad news on them, or something bad happens or the day just goes wrong. Now, let me qualify this, because I think most people just don't get it. Friday the 13th doesn't have to be the worst day of the year, or categorically worse than every other day. It just has to not be good. Now this trend of mine happened long before I entered the workplace, so I believe that this is not the function of some self-fulfilling prophecy. This is merely the result of the fact that FRIDAY THE 13THS SUCK!!!!!

Now, on that note, today was bad. I've had worse, of course, but I was definitely NOT on my game. I was a bit off, and the only thing I can think or is that it was because today is what it is. Now if you'd like to argue that that IS self-fulfilling prophecy, then go ahead. That doesn't make me wrong, it just means that today still affects how it is going to turn out, whether through me or not. At least I don't blame every other day for some reason. Only this one. And believe me, being in the workplace is reason enough to try to make sure that the day ISN'T bad, don't you think?

Anyway, moving on, I miss people. Certain ones in particular, of course, and not the generic people as a whole. Some, because they are far away, others because they aren't, but I haven't had the time to see them. I am grateful to have friends that understand me. They are probably the only ones I have left. They understand and (at least pretend that they) are OK with my shortcomings (i.e. my less than stellar communication record.) I love them all, and am thankful each day for their being in my life.

--END OF THE MUSHY STUFF--

Actually, this should be the end of this entry. It is getting late, and I haven't even left work yet. Goodnight, dear reader. May you have a pleasant weekend, and (for those to whom this pertains) have a Happy Father's Day.
:: J 9:02 PM [+] ::
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AP Quote of the Day:
"The neighbourhood was always safe when he was here. You didn't have to lock your doors."
-- Unidentified woman present at the funeral of John Gotti, the boss of one of the most ruthless and richest of America's organised crime families, who died in jail on June 10, 2002. Gotti's life of luxury and brutal crime ended in 1990 after he was caught on tape discussing crimes
:: J 12:56 PM [+] ::
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My Excite.com Quote of the Day:
"To love what you do and feel that it matters -- how could anything be more fun?"
- Katherine Graham

:: J 10:12 AM [+] ::
...

At long last, an update!!!!

For those who've been waiting (and I'm sure you just might be out there, somewhere,) I have finally updated My Online DVD Collection.

For those who don't know, there is a link available to my collection, in the links section located on the left.
:: J 3:27 PM [+] ::
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TIME FOR THE UNVEILING

After getting the introduction out of the way, and my first post, it's now time to unveil my new blog:
Jason's Junk

I'd tell you what it's about, but that would just spoil things, now wouldn't it? Get your butt on over there!!!! :)
:: J 8:24 PM [+] ::
...

Probably the weirdest title for an article I have ever seen in my life.
And probably one of the weirdest articles, to boot!

The Trouble with Shatner's Semen
:: J 10:06 AM [+] ::
...

WOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
William Shatner's "Lucy in the Sky" voted worst Beatles cover
From the AP Wires
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

(London-AP) -- Former "Star Trek" star William Shatner's version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has been voted the worst Beatles cover of all time.
The British digital T-V channel Music Choice asked viewers to vote for the worst Beatles covers, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' first number-one hit "From Me To You."
Jim Carrey's version of "I Am the Walrus" came in fourth. Carrey sings the song on the Beatles tribute C-D "George Martin: In My Life."
Damon Hill's version of "Drive My Car" is second, followed by a cover of "Help" by Bananarama with French and Saunders. Wet, Wet, Wet's cover of "With a Little Help from My Friends" came in fifth.
:: J 12:12 PM [+] ::
...

Details on UNOBTAINIUM LTD. Case:

First, for those who are unfamiliar with Unobtainium Ltd., here are the facts:

-Unobtainium Ltd. was a company owned by Rick Cigel, that specialized in movie prop reproductions
- Among the items offered by Unobtainium were Spider-Man props (Pumpkin Bombs, Newspaper reproductions, Goblin Staff), Men In Black 2 props (Noisy Cricket, J's Gun and Neuralyser) and a clone of the 33" filming model of the Starship Enterprise from STAR TREK
- The 33" Enterprise came in three versions-- Standard, Deluxe (with functioning lights) and Ultimate (lights, sound and signed by William Shatner.)
- Each of these models cost in excess of $1,000 (with the possible exception of the Standard model)
- These models were first advertised around October of 2001
- As of this posting, I know of only a few people who ordered these models who actually received them, or, if they did, they were either broken, in the process of braking or in some other way defective.

Now, the bad news. After my posting on May 1st, I received formal notice in the mail of Unobtainium's filing for bankruptcy. Here is what the document states regarding Chapter 7 bankruptcy: (excertped from for B9B - 07/02)

- A bankruptcy case under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code (title 11, United States Code) has been filed in this court by or against the debtor(s) listed, and an order for relief has been entered.
- Prohibited collection actions are listed in Bankruptcy Code 362. Common examples of prohibited actions inlude contacting the debtor by telephone, mail or otherwise to demand repayment; taking actions to collect money or obtain property from the debtor; repossessing the debtor's property; starting or continuing lawsuits or foreclosures.
- There does not appear to be any property available to the trustee to pay creditors. You therefore should not file a proof of claim at this time. If it later appears that assets are available to pay creditors, you will be sent another notice telling you that you may file a proof of claim, and telling you the deadline for filing your proof of claim.

Now, as that Rick A. Cigel was a former California attorney, it should come as no surprise to anyone involved that he has taken legal action to avoid repaying those who have given him their faith on the matter of this transaction.

Anyone who has had dealings with Unobtainium Ltd or Rick Cigel, and has not received satisfaction on their purchase -- The above probably pertains to you. According to the form, "any questions or information relating to bankruptcy fraud or abuse should be addressed to the United States Trustee, 725 South Figueroa St, 26th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017."
:: J 10:54 AM [+] ::
...

Unobtainium Ltd. is a SHAM

Here is a mini-timeline of my recent dealings with UNOBTAINIUM LTD.

On MARCH 3, 2003, I e-mailed Rick Cigel, owner of Unobtainium Ltd, and faxed him a copy of a letter requesting a refund on my order. As that it had been about a year and a half since I had placed my order, my request was simple. I had not received a complete and intact ship and was asking for a return on my money until such time as they were ready to ship. My feeling was that I could do other things with that money (including collecting interest and paying bills) and that I would be more than happy to reinvest with them when they were ready to ship.

After not hearing from them for a few days, I called their office in California. I spoke to a gentleman named BARRY who took down my information and said that he would set up a refund for me. One week later, no refund appeared on my credit card. I called my credit card company and was told that I should wait until the end of the month to get the refund, but that they could do nothing since it had been more than three months since my purchase.

At the end of the month, still no refund, and calls to Unobtainium went unanswered. Finally, midway through the month of April, Unobtainium Ltd.'s website went down, and was replaced with an announcement that they had gone out of business. Then, last week, the website returned with the following message:

"Dear Customers:
It is with great regret that we must inform you that Unobtainium Ltd., a California corporation, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 7, 2003. There were several factors that the company simply was unable to overcome.
Many of you will receive formal notice in the mail shortly. Any issues regarding purchases and products must be handled in accordance with the federal bankruptcy laws. Some of the Enterprise customers will be receiving refunds and that process has been initiated.
We thank you for your business and your interest in our products. We planned to bring you the finest replicas of movie and television props, and we regret that the circumstances thwarted our plans.
Sincerely,
Unobtainium Ltd. "

Now I can't say that I believe that I am one of the people to whom they will be sending the refund, although I do feel worthy. The best advice I can think of, if you are in this position, is to find an attorney and get advice from them.

:: J 9:12 AM [+] ::
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STAR TREK and RELIGION

First off, I'm back -- however fleeting this may be. Second, I would like to put forth an idea that I have been mulling in my head for some time now.

But first, a proviso: I am not a religion student. The things that I don't know about religion could fill a vast hall. What I do know, is being poured into the following rant. The overall purpose of the rant is merely to stimulate thought, and not meant to insult any one person or group of people. Unfortunately, I saw what this sort of disclaimer did for Kevin Smith, but I'm going to try it anyway.

Proviso #2 - This rant is for more people than just STAR TREK fans. This rant is for anyone who wants to think a little....

Proviso #3 - For sake of ease, the following abbreviations will be used:
TOS - STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES
TNG - STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
DS9 - STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
VOY - STAR TREK: VOYAGER
ENT - ENTERPRISE
When I speak of STAR TREK, I refer to the franchise as a whole, otherwise I will use the abbreviations above.

STAR TREK and RELIGION
in the Judeo-Christian Sense:

I was thinking a few weeks back about how STAR TREK in it's history reflects (in an off-beat sort of way) the Judeo-Christian religions. First came TOS, as conceptualized by Gene Roddenberry. In this case, Gene reflects (and I REALLY hate to say this,) God. He created the STAR TREK universe, and it is his ideas from which all future ideas (in this field) come from. He put forth his message, titled THE CAGE. It failed. Roddenberry (unlike God) was asked to re-write it, and with the help of others, crafted a wonderful television program. This is a slight analogy to the HUMAN scholars who wrote the Bible, based on God's ideas, and who changed it to a more popularized form. They, like the writers of STAR TREK, interpreted the ideas in such a way that they became accepted widely. Some would argue that in the case of the Bible, it included future unpopular ideas such as sexism and racism, but that is another debate. Again, I am speaking on truly simplistic terms.

After a good portion of time on top, Gene decided to take another crack at it with TNG. Let's set this up as the birth of Christ. Jesus on Earth can be interpreted (and I know I may catch heat for saying this) as God's second attempt at bringing his ideals to the people. A stretch? Maybe, but possibly accurate. In the same way TNG was Gene's way of trying to bring his ideals back to the people in a fresh way. What he wound up with is the equivalent to the New Testament. Why? As before, Gene's ideas needed to be tweaked. He was removed from the show, and replaced by writers and producers who breathed life into the franchise. That would signify the death of Christ (without the crucifixion, I might add.)

The analogy of TNG to the New Testament is the most valid analogy in my rant. Why? Simple. All future series will pay homage to TOS at some point, but for the most part they look to TNG as the wellspring from which they all come from. More on that later. When TNG came out, you had your usual set of sects: 1) Those who felt that TNG was "sacrilege," and that TOS was the only "STAR TREK"; 2) Those who felt that TNG was MUCH BETTER than TOS; and 3) Those who wanted to know why we couldn't all just get along. Sound familiar?

Later down the line, DS9 came along. Let's set aside, for now, the notion that DS9 actually introduced religion to STAR TREK. That is not germain to this rant. DS9 was another incarnation of STAR TREK which took us further from TOS but tried to preach the same message. Fascinatingly, during TNG's time on air, and lasting to this day, it was decided that the overall message of STAR TREK was to preach peace and understanding for a better future. Well, yes that may be true. And it also sounds REALLY familiar too, doesn't it? But more importantly the message of TOS was always to just tell good stories. And sometimes those stories were culturally relevant, and sometimes they weren't. However, Gene felt that putting it in idyllic human setting was icing on the cake. It was the core message, but not the point. It was just one less thing he had to be bogged down by. Again, more on that in another rant.

VOY was a back to basics approach to STAR TREK, which never quite fulfilled it's promise, and instead, took us nowhere. As such, it make a substantial contribution to the STAR TREK mythos, but for my purposes acted as yet another sect of STAR TREKism. Much like the various subdivisions of Christianity.

ENT is an entirely new concept on this point. I'm not entirely sure that there has been a religion that has gone back to the beginning and said that the whole thing was wrong. My only possible analogy here is that it's analogous to Jews for Jesus. It tries to bridge the gap between the TOS fans and TNG, DS9, VOY fans by trying to meet them both half way. Much like Jews for Jesus. Lord only knows how successful either of those really are, although I certainly hope the Jews for Jesus are more successful than ENT seems to be.

Ultimately, it's the way that people are behaving towards each that I find the most comparable. I'm just as guilty as anyone else. I like TOS more than any other STAR TREK series. But l can be tolerant of the others. Other fans aren't quite as forgiving. And as for people..........?
:: J 1:55 PM [+] ::
...

Apologies All Around
Currently I am suffering MAJOR computer issues at home and at work, which have left me unable to make major updates of late. Hopefully, these will be resolved soon, and I will be able to bring everyone up to speed.

J
:: J 12:56 PM [+] ::
...

Courtesy of the New York Post's WEIRD BUT TRUE - March 25, 2003

"An Army National Guardsman, who was called to serve in the Persian Gulf, has legally changed his name to Optimus Prime, the robotic good-guy warrior from the popular 1980s cartoon series "The Transformers."
"I got a letter from a general at the Pentagon when the name-change went through, and he says it was great to have the employ of the commander of the Autobots in the National Guard," said Prime, an Ohio native who switched his name on his 30th birthday.

Even though Prime has faced some teasing from friends, his new name is on his driver's license, military ID and uniform."
NYPOST.COM World News: WEIRD BUT TRUE
:: J 10:21 AM [+] ::
...

Sniff

Well, I've had a few people ask me lately, why my blog was left with the simple one word entry Tears.

First, and foremost, let me say RIGHT OUT, that they had nothing to do with the war. To be honest, I am too disgusted with the whole mess to shed a tear for that. My heart goes out to the many soldiers currently stationed in the Middle East. I hope for their safe return. All because I am a humanist, more than anything else.

With that out of my system, I will try to shed some light on why I had my tears:

Sometimes, in life, you just need to shed your tears. Be they tears of joy, tears of sorrow, or tears of fatigue, you just need to let them go. Or, I suppose, to paraphrase Brendon Frasier in Bedazzled you can wear them as salty badges of your humanity. I would never be too macho to admit that from time to time I shed a tear. I have emotions like any HUMAN BEING. Be they man or woman, we all have feelings and must express them at some point.

Maybe they were because I was under too much stress at work, maybe I had received some bad news. Maybe I had received some good news, maybe I was just tired. To be honest, at the time, it was the only reaction I had to offer. 'To what,' you may ask?

Life in general. I am a happy person by nature, but from time to time, like any pressure cooker, I need to hit the release valve. Some things just need to come out in their own way. This blog, the "Captain's Personal Blog" has gone a long way to helping me to vent some of my emotions over the last year. Sometimes, however, you just feel something that you can't put into words.

I would like to take this opportunity, once again, to thank my friends for always being there for me. It's good to know that they are out there, and that I am lucky enough to have met so many wonderful people.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On that note, *HUGE SIGH* Having re-read what I just wrote, I realize that it seemed a bit morose. I had not intention of making so, but tears are delicate things, and precious to behold. This is, by no means, the end of this blog in any way shape or form. I'm going to leave my inner wet-blanket at home for awhile and emote on less heavy topics. Next up-- My review of the Season (read SERIES) finale of FARSCAPE.
:: J 8:31 AM [+] ::
...

Tears
:: J 10:13 AM [+] ::
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The Incredible Shrinking Blog

Well, that was weird. For some reason, my last post disappeared for a little while, making it seem like it's been longer since I last posted than it really was!!! Now I wonder if there will be a malfunction to make that last sentence seem longer than IT was.......

Anyhoo, hows about an update, hm?

Last week was an absolute killer week for me at work. I had two extra projects in addition to what I usually work on, and was completely swamped. I didn't have much room to breathe, although those are sometimes the best days at work. Luckily, the week ended, and the weekend began.

This was the coolest part of lately. For the second weekend in a row I went out and had fun. I realize that I haven't posted the fun stuff I did the weekend before, so let me derail for a moment and talk about that.

LAST weekend I came into NYC to see Brian (co-author of JOSSOLALIA and MANGAMANIACS.COM) and his fiancee Marilyn. We went to see Daredevil. Unfortunately for 20th Century Fox, this wasn't the highlight of my day. The highlight was being able to hang out with these two wonderful people. We spent the rest of our time doing fun stuff (which, incidentally mostly involved food) and just talking. It's nice to talk to people (outside the office building) that I am not related to :)

As for Daredevil itself, I think I'll save that review for another entry as that I am straying too far from the point of this one as it is.

This past weekend I spent with my great friend Cheryl. We went to this stupendous burger place in midtown Manhattan. I will have to ask her for the name and address again, because this place was awesome. I had a burger with jack cheese, bacon and guacamole. For once, I actually finished the whole thing. I felt like a stuffed pig, but BOY was I satisfied. After that, we went to the Museum of Radio & TV. That was just the coolest place I have been to in a long time. $10 covered admission and once we were in we scheduled (at no extra cost) two hours of screening time for whatever we wanted to see. In the meantime (while we waited for our time to show up) we watched the Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, as well as an episode of the Burns and Allen Show. The commercials in the Ed Sullivan show were really cool because they were terribly outdated. It was very funny. So much so, that when our screening time came around, Cheryl and I decided to watch a montage of Coca-Cola commercials from 1950's to 1980's. They too were very funny, but primarily quite effective. Cheryl and I concluded that we NEEDED to have cokes right after we were finished :)

We also used our screen time to watch a 1977 Tonight Show episode where Kermit the Frog guest hosted for Johnny Carson. Special guests were Vincent Price, Bernadette Peters, a musical guest (whose name escapes me) and Dr. Michael Fox (a veterinarian.) Guest appearances were made by Fozzie, Ms. Piggy, Gonzo, Scooter and a few others. It was, at least to me, VERY funny throughout. I laughed more at this than I have at any recent late night talk show in a LONG time.

After we had finished there, not feeling quite satisfied because we could have spent a whole day, nay, a whole WEEK there, we continued on to the Olive Garden where we had an excellent feast (aren't they always) and met up with a very nice friend of Cheryl's. They were going to the Tori Amos concert at Radio City @ 8pm, so at around then we parted company.

Again, I ended the day with a TREMENDOUS feeling of elation, having had a great day, beginning to end. I really should do this more often. It was great fun.
:: J 8:57 AM [+] ::
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The Birds Of Prey Have Been Grounded

Well, I saw the finale for Birds of Prey. (Insert long silence here.)

(Deep breath.) The two-hour finale summed up the spirit of the whole series in it's sub-season run. Full of promise and potential that it didn't really live up to until the end.

This final episode drew from the Batman mythos by pulling in second stringer villain Clayface, and remolding him to be a serious bad guy. Too little, too late. Also, a bit contrived. In this outing, Clayface played the part of Hannibal Lecter, telling Huntress about a "copycat" who is turning his victims into clay. The weak-ish plot held promise when we found out that Clayface was the one that killed Huntress' mother. Unfortunately, this was all overshadowed by the fact that the writers had fallen asleep at the wheel. In my mind, the series had set up that no one, save Helena (Huntress) and the other Birds, knew that Bruce Wayne was really her father. Even if that was common knowledge, though, it certainly was NOT common knowledge that Bruce Wayne was Batman. So, my question is why does Clayface, his son (oh, did I mention that he was the 'copycat?') AND Harley know that Batman was her father?

Everyone mentioning this fact detracted from the storylines greatly. So, all in all the first hour's storyline was weakish, but full of potential. The second hour, however, was much better, if just a little convenient. At the end of the first hour, Harley learned of Helena's secret identity. All season long, she has posed as Helena's psychiatrist, and now she uses this knowledge as leverage to keep Helena in therapy so that she can "help her to find out who she really is." In a truly classic comic book moment, Harley uses a power-transferrence machine to get the power to hypnotize people from another meta-human.

Using this power, she tells most of the citizens of New Gotham to lose their mind. This, is a truly frightening concept, when you think about it, and is one of the best devices used in a series such as this. She not only makes Huntress a little giddy, but forces her to turn on the other Birds. They comandeer the Clocktower.

To sum up, a fight ensues and the good guys win. My only REAL problem with any of that is that Barbara pulls out the old exoskeleton so that she can walk again. I just can't stand that as a plot contrivance. It's stupid and should have been abandoned. It detracts from the seriousness of Barbara's condition.

Anyway, the show ended on a reasonable upnote and would have been a good finale, had they not messed up the last scene.

The last scene, as described, sounds really touching. GothamClockTower.com, summed it up in their spoilers by saying that the episode ends with Alfred communicating with some unseen other person from Wayne Manor, who is asking about how her daughter is. Now, while the very nature of spoilers is inaccurate to begin with, what we actually saw was a bit less thrilling. What it turned out to be was Alfred, apparently calling from Wayne Manor on a telephone. We do not see or hear the person on the other side. It is Alfred who volunteers the information about Helena, which amounts to little more than him saying that she is doing fine.

To me, the scene would have played much better like so:

INT. CAVE
CLOSEUP OF COMPUTER BANK
Lots of flashing lights and a few monitors with various diagrams on them. On the center monitor, is the face of Alfred. In the foregroud, we see the back of a man shrouded in shadow. He is Bruce Wayne.

ALFRED
(On Screen)
You would be so proud of her, sir. She has handled herself admirably.

BRUCE
(Unseen)
Thank you for keeping an eye on her Alfred. I am proud of her. Selina would be too.

ALFRED
(On Screen)
Of course, sir. (pause) Sir, why don't you come for a visit. I'm sure that--

BRUCE
(Interrupting)
No, Alfred. She's just rediscovered who she is. She needs to live her own life, without me. If she ever wants to see me, she'll find me.

ALFRED
(sighing)
Very well, sir. Take care of yourself.

BRUCE
Take care of THEM, Alfred.

ALFRED
Always, Master Bruce. Always.


But, that's just me. The Birds had a good run, but I do think they deserved better. This past television season has been a disappointment to me, for how the networks are treating their shows. BIRDS OF PREY, FIREFLY, FARSCAPE....... While I won't say that BIRDS OF PREY was as good as FIREFLY or FARSCAPE, I think that it again had potential. It could have been great. If only they had had more time.
:: J 9:50 AM [+] ::
...

Oh the weather outside is frightful.....

Well, yesterday is a milestone for me. I now feel like a grandparent. I will explain that shortly. Here is my timeline for yesterday:

5:45am: Woke up to check condition of the snow (same time as every morning.) Saw that it was really coming down. Decided to wait to see if the plows would come and get me out

7:15am: After seeing a plow come by once and seeing that the road was covered again in 2 minutes, as well as noticing that the plow was building thick walls around our house, preventing me from digging us out, I decide to call out of work. Unfortunately, given the nature of my work, my boss was less than thrilled about that fact and told me that I had to come in. I understood, but my dad was less than thrilled.

7:25am: Having called the local taxi company and finding out that they are all closed due to the weather, and realizing that there was no other way to get to the train station, I decided to walk the two miles to the station.

8:35am: Finally arrive at the train station, and have to wait for the train.

8:55am: Train arrives. Had to wait on the platform for 20 minutes. Starting to not feel my toes.

9:55am: Train arrives at Penn Station, NYC. Decided to swallow my pride and take the subway to work from there.

10:15am: Arrive at work. Realize that at 9:20-ish, I got a voicemail on my cellphone from my boss telling me that I no longer had to come to work, because enough people had shown up. The only thing preventing me from pulling my hair out was realizing that at that point, I couldn't have turned around if I had wanted to.

Well, I got a lot of work accomplished yesterday, and they even put me up in a hotel. That was nice. Now, I have to spend the rest of today figuring out if I will be able to go home today or not. Hopefully, I will because I really missed my bed last night. Besides, I want to watch Buffy and Smallville from home, and be able to set up my VCR for the BIRDS OF PREY series finale that airs tomorrow night. Oooh, and stay tuned. After I watch the series finale, I will give my final review of the program, and anyone who has actually read this blog over time knows that I had a lot to say about it.......

Now, on to work.
:: J 9:29 AM [+] ::
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The Party's Over

Well, to me, that was the overriding theme of last night's shindig. It was great fun, full of nice comedic moments, and probably the last we're going to see of all that until the First is dispatched.

First Date was the final straw for me. I am now totally convinced that these episodes are the writers talking to us directly. Giles' situation was immediately wrapped up in the first 2 minutes of the episode, as was Spike's condition. Over and done with. Giles killed his attacker and Buffy decided to have Spike's chip removed. Final. Yes, there was a little discussion of both items later in the show, but it really didn't amount to nearly as much as I would have thought it would be. In my mind I heard Joss saying "It's not important. Let it go. Here are your answers, now let's move on, shall we?"

And so we did. We finally find out who Principal Wood is. And let me just say right off that bat that the moment he told us why he was doing what he did, I knew the truth. We all knew the truth. This was probably one of the most lackluster revelations that we've had on the show, but it worked just fine. Besides, it was made up for by the very last line of the episode which makes one wonder if Wood will instantly revert to his bad boy days. And if he does, does this mean that The First wants Spike dead? Or does he want Wood dead, killed at Spike's hands, forcing Buffy to take him out (not on a date) and flipping Spike back to the dark side. It's a nice riddle.

Meanwhile, the subterfuge on this show has reached a fevered pitch! Last week it was Amy giving Willow the business (and totally fooling me.) This week it was Andrew and The First. He also had me totally fooled. It was GREAT!

As for Xander's sub-story, I wasn't sure that this was the one that they should have promoted. All in all, I didn't feel too much of a sense of urgency on that one. I like Xander and all, but since he didn't seem to feel like he was in any danger, I didn't as well. Oh well. Better luck next time Alex.

Overall, the episode was OK. Not one of my favorites, but a last hurrah nonetheless for us fun-loving Scoobies everywhere.

Two minor observations:

1) Buffy watches FOX. I really don't know how to feel about that. In some ways I think to myself "that figures." In other ways, I think I may have lost a little respect for the Slayer. Then again, she hangs with dead people and supernatural stuff all the time. I guess she's just looking for the most braindead television around.

2) I can say that last part because FIREFLY is no longer part of the line up, so she can't be watching that. To that end, I would like to address another reference in the program. The JONATHAN ARCHER reference regarding Xander wanting to be gay (one of the cooler Xander moments I've seen in a while.) While I understand a certain loyalty to UPN, being the network that they air on, I personally would have appreciated a more inside remark. One that would have provoked thoughts around the globe, and would not have been overtly gratuitous.

Why couldn't he say he was thinking of...................wait for it.......................................Nathan Fillion. Then there could be this whole little discussion:

Willow: Nathan who?
Buffy (off-handedly): Malcolm Reynolds.

Everyone turns to look at her. Andrew's and Xander's mouths drop. Buffy looks around, suddenly feeling all eyes on her.

Buffy: What? It's a good show!!!
Dawn: What show?
Andrew: Firefly
Anya: That's the one with the cowboys in space? Hasn't that been done a million times before?
Andrew: That's the funny thing, you see there's this debate going on around the internet about how it is really a rip-off of this anime called "Outlaw Star" because there's this...
Xander: NOW THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE!!!
Buffy: ENOUGH!!!
Andrew (trailing off): but those people are just stupid anyway.


Anyway, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
:: J 12:42 PM [+] ::
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I would like to thank Brian (co-founder of our blog Jossolalia) for bringing this article to my attention.

The First Amendment, Texas-style: Comic books remain dangerous into the 21st century

I think that Brian's reaction describes it best:

I hesitate to forward this anywhere, because I fear it could perpetutate the *inaccurate* stereotype of Japanese comics and animation as nothing but pornography (a stereotype I have experienced first-hand on more than one occasion). Still, the situation this article describes is a shocking injustice, and I feel obliged to spread word of it as widely as I can. (I'm also making a donation to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The kind of persecution described in the article has no place in the 21st century.)

Brian Z.
MangaManiacs.org EiC
http://www.mangamaniacs.org

I have decided to follow Brian's example and will be placing a donation immediately to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. I urge anyone who is reading this to do the same. This was not only a slap in the face of the comic book industry, but a blatant attack on the First Amendment rights of all citizens of the United States.
:: J 10:50 AM [+] ::
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Here We Go Again:

Here I am, once again, writing about my disappointment in the newest entry to the STAR TREK franchise, ENTERPRISE. This is a very delicate issue, because it is hard to discuss without coming across as insensitive. Tonight's episode, entitled "Stigma," has been touted publicly of late as being an episode that will deal with the AIDS virus and how we perceive it today. Let me say that I am disappointed in the powers that be in the STAR TREK camp.

This is my issue, you see. I have no problem with the franchise tackling modern issues. However, let's do it right, shall we? How could it possibly make sense to set the backdrop of this story with Vulcans? The show has been consistently placing characteristics on Vulcans that do not belong there. Of course, that started with VOYAGER, but who's counting?

I have always had problems with the initial concept of ENTERPRISE, that the Vulcans got there first and refused to share, but let's move on, shall we? Here is my issue to date. Now, on top of all that, Vulcans are bigots. Come on! Having watched this episode, along with last week's re-run (who's name escapes me, but which also dealt with T'Pol and the Vulcans) I am questioning just who the Vulcans are supposed to be. T'Pol does not present herself as the clear-cut member of the central Triad that Spock was. Spock, while having quite a few emotional outbursts on the original series, was a) half human, and b) usually under the influence of an outside force. T'Pol has shown flagrant moments of emotionalism and deceit throughout the show.

The problem that I have is that I do not believe that an entire society could change as drastically as we are expected to believe in the next 80 years. Look at the human race. Yes, over the last 80 years we have gotten a bit more tolerant (in some areas) but overall the human race is instantly recognizable as the way they were then. It would be very easy to believe that T'Pol and Spock, even T'Pol and Sarek (who should be contemporaries) are from different societies.

This is all my point. The subject matter is apropos, but it should have been done in a way that was intelligent. For the most part, characters in the original series were not totally re-written to suit the needs of an episode. Yes there were inconsistencies, but not enough for there to be blatant. I guess I am just an old dog who can not be taught to appreciate this new series.

If I continue to watch, it will just be to watch the last, dying throes of a franchise that could have been great, but will wind up being the ultimate embarrassment to Science Fiction everywhere.
:: J 8:39 PM [+] ::
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My bad

With all the procrastination that I did, I let a very important date pass by. Two Thursday's ago, 1/23, was the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my blog. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Blog, Happy Birthday to you!

So much has changed in me since this blog started all those months ago. Times have changed. It's easy to focus on the recent things, but let's get to the large picture. What has happened in the last year, as told by my blog:

(in no particular order)

1) JOSSOLALIA - Brian and I started Jossolalia, a blog devoted to the genius that is Joss Whedon,
1a) Joss gave us a great new show, Firefly which was subsequently cancelled following it's poor treatment by FOX
2) UNOBTAINABLE ENTERPRISE - During the span of this blog, I informed of the purchase of a 33" clone of the shooting model of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the original Star Trek. It came with lights and sound. Having waited many moths for it, I finally received it, only to have to return it due to damage. Unobtainium has subsequently refurbished it's manufacturing line, expects a prototype in March-ish, but can not guarantee shipping by August
3) NEW COMPUTER - I finally went all out and bought a new computer. After posting the stats on my blog, I got more hits from people looking for the speakers that I got (Altec Lansing ADA745 Surround Sound Speakers w/ Subwoofer), than any other single keyword. For those interested, they're great. I highly recommend them.
4) THE SHUTTLE DISASTER - I've expounded enough on it lately. Suffice to say, I'm pissed.
5) EX-GIRLFRIEND STUFF - Now she's into berating me for not going to visit her. I may one day have to drop her like a sack of potatoes. I just wish I had had the money back guarantee (I loaned her $500.)
6) ENGAGED FRIENDS - Two pairs of friends of mine are now engaged. I am so happy for them. I just never realized how old I am.
7) O' BROTHER - My brother has (semi) recently both gotten his license and got accepted to Penn State (his number 2 school, and my old Alma Mater.) Did I mention that I never realized how old I am?
8) STILL SINGLE - What did you expect, really? After all my rants regarding my lack of ability in relationships, did we really think I would be in one, one year later? Come on!! Besides, I like Star Trek, Comic Books, I still like toys and I still live with my parents. Dating material, I ain't.
9) NO ESCAPE FOR FARSCAPE - Probably one of the best Sci-Fi shows on television, Farscape was nonetheless cancelled by the Sci-Fi Channel. What does it mean when good Sci-Fi can't survive on a channel which only shows Sci-Fi?
10) COMICS REVOLUTION - Spider-Man hit it big in theaters. Hulk, Daredevil and X-Men 2 all slated for this year. Spider-Man 2 in the works. Smallville hitting home runs on TV. Now, if only Birds of Prey had been faster to hit their stride. (See earlier rants re: Birds of Prey.)

Well, that's all I can really think of for now. Should probably get going now. Start getting stuff done for the next year........EXCELSIOR!!!!
:: J 10:44 AM [+] ::
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Final Thoughts

You know, having done some more thinking, I really have to talk about one thing in particular that upsets me. Why isn't there someone aboard the ISS whose job it is to inspect the shuttle while it's in space? I mean, isn't that a great job for the ISS? The shuttle pulls in, they rotate the tires, fill 'em with air, wash the windshield and CHECK THE DAMNED THING FOR STRUCTURAL DEFECTS THAT COULD HAVE OCCURRED DURING TAKE OFF!!!

It's easy to say this sort of thing in hindsight, I know. But this is something that I would have thought they would have prepared for and had in place. Stupid me, I thought that every shuttle that goes up there is inspected in space while they're docked. I figured that was part of the whole preparation for return. Looks like I was wrong. I mean, if we have pictures of this thing before they even left the atmosphere, one would have to believe that this sort of thing would have shown up in an inspection done in space.

No one can take blame for this, if it truly is an accident. And, by the way, given time I can't really give credence to my original feelings that this could have been terrorism. Obviously it wasn't. It was a simple accident. An accident that just shouldn't have happened. I hope that the powers that be at NASA and the Government take proper steps to insure that this doesn't happen again.
:: J 8:53 AM [+] ::
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Procrastination Can End In Tragedy

I'm a bit numb, really. You see, last week my computer showed up. I was really excited. I just needed some time to get it together before I started blogging on it. As such, I wanted my next blog entry to be on my new computer. Well, here it is. My first blog on the new computer. Unfortunately, it took a tragedy to shake me from my complacency.

For those who have been living under a rock, this morning the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentry in the Earth's atmosphere. All seven astronauts were lost in the tragedy. Of note, the first Israeli Astronaut was on board. Also of note, seven intrepid human beings who, with little public attention, risk their lives for the future of mankind.

It actually hurts me that the space shuttle launches have become so routine that no one bothers to watch them anymore. They have become postscripts to the media day. Among the latest choices on The Bachelor or Joe Millionaire, you would find a tiny little blurb about the shuttle launching, or the crew's progress on the station. I remember when hearing from the crew, while they were in space, was an event. "We're going to talk live with the astronauts in space, stay tuned." Now, we hardly ever see them anymore.

Now, with this latest tragedy, the public has been shaken to the core. But I fear that it may be in the wrong direction. It was brought to my attention during the day that after the Challenger explosion in 1986, NASA was forced (for good reason) to discontinue shuttle launches for two years. It was also brought to my attention that with the changing times, this is no longer acceptable. A pause of that magnitude would be catastrophic for the International Space Station. The ISS can not go two years without supply runs or transfer of personal. While it is possible that other countries would still send missions to space, it would not be acceptable to the world that the US would bow out for two years. We have to get righth back into the game.

Unfortunately (and that word seems to be permeating this post) that may be easier said than done. There has been talk that terrorism has been ruled out of this explosion. I do not agree. Any amount of sabotage could have brought down that shuttle. Especially given the Zipper Effect (a term that was explained to me today as being when one little crack can grow and expand to take out a portion of the shuttle.)

But let's not deal with minutae. Here is the deal. The space station is a boon for mankind. It is the first step in our exploration of space. And according to recent articles there is a move towards atomic powered propulsion that could get us to Mars even faster than before. Unfortunately, this is the sort of talk that has been around for many years. 1950's B-Movie Science Fiction films talked constantly about Atomic Power used in propulsion.

I just feel a bit optimistic that we are almost there. Looking at the new computer before me fills me with hope that technology has reached a plateau where things like that are possible.

Then I am brought back to reality by events such as those that occurred today. Somehow, this is why I feel we need to investigate a possible act of sabotage. According to reports, Columbia was recently overhauled. Before that she had flown on approximately 26 missions. With all that in mind, how could a simple accident like this happen. The engineers gave her a clean bill of health before she took off. Again, I want to know what went wrong.

As to the crew of the shuttle, they were, as are everyone who dares to launch themselves into space, a brave group of men and women who knew the risks and did it anyway. They went with the future of mankind in their hands, did their jobs and expected to secure the hopes for the future.

It is, however, with this in mind that we have to think back to people like Mr. Lance Bass. I would be very interested to know how this has affected him. And what of the future of space tourism? Will it be hindered by this recent event? I don't mean will it no longer be offered. Just because we had an accident, does not mean that the Russians would stop allowing tourists on their flights. What I want to know is if this will have the psychological effect on the public at large that the missions are just too dangerous.

The thing to remember is that the last shuttle disaster happened close to 20 years ago. Recently one would think that we have gotten so good at this that there wouldn't be any more disasters. Now that belief has been proven wrong.

Let me say this. As of right now, I would go on a shuttle launch tomorrow, if I were allowed (of course, I couldn't afford it anyway, but that's not the point.) It's something to be done. We can not let this recent tragedy deter us from moving forward to becoming citizens of the universe (romantic, perhaps, but true nonetheless.) We must hold in our hearts the memories of those who have come before. Those who laid down their lives to advance the cause of humanity, and those who continue to do so.

Finally, let me explain why I put so much emphasis on the importance of these missions to the future of mankind. Unlike Skylab and Mir, the ISS is a global project which has been the first TRUE act of humanity since the start of the U.N. Many countries coming together as one to bring humanity to the universe. To take us from this planet to establish new colonies in space which have the potential to solve some of our problems here on Earth. It has been said in the past that zero-gravity medicine can lead to new breakthroughs in how we treat the ill. Much like stem cell research in some ways.

In addition, there are resources in space which can offset the losses that we are experiencing here on Earth.

I may be an uninformed fool, but our future in space means a lot to me. May those seven brave souls rest in peace. Your sacrifices will not have been made in vain, and you will not be forgotten.

:: J 9:16 PM [+] ::
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Murphy's Law in Effect:
Well, not quite, but it did sound good.

For those who don't remember my post from a few months ago, I had purchased (over a year ago - waiting for it to arrive) an 33" Clone of the Original Star Trek - U.S.S. Enterprise filming model, complete with working lights from Unobtainium Ltd.

Here is a picture of said model:

Now, I am faced with the following from Playing Mantis' model division, Polar Lights:

2002 International Model & Hobby Expo: Playing Mantis

Now granted, these versions don't have really great lights and they are not 33" long (which may actually be a good thing) but they do feed into my inner model-maker that wanted desperately to build this model. Years ago when AMT ERTL (the long-time copyright holder for Star Trek models) released their U.S.S. Enterprise model, I had to buy the Enterprise Model Rocket (which was the only one to have exacting decals and a few extra pieces) as well as do some SERIOUS sanding to make my model as exacting as possible. Now, after all these years, Playing Mantis is serving this up on a silver platter in THREE DIFFERENT VERSIONS!!!

Now, to make matters worse, AMT ERTL had also released a passable version of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the STAR TREK film series. I took great pains (especially in my hands) to hand draw and paint that model to the exacting specifications seen in the film.

Living with that mildly inferior version for many years, and eagerly praying that
Unobtainium Ltd. would produce a version of my favorite ship, I now am confronted with this:

Bandai Licenses Star Trek!

Now, I know what you are thinking. This should all be good news right? I suppose so, and you do know who will be first in line to purchase them both. I just feel a little dejected by the fact that after all the hard work I have put into these models, someone snaps their fingers and something better comes along. KUDOS! to both Playing Mantis and Bandai, for making my little wishes come true. Now, I just have to work through my issues.
:: J 10:38 AM [+] ::
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Drool, Drool
OK, I've known about this place for a long time, but it still manages to take my breath away. This is one of the biggest reasons I have for wishing I had mucho money to burn (aside from "lap of luxury," "not having to work," yadda, yadda, yadda.)

Marks Custom Kits

*SIGH*
:: J 3:06 PM [+] ::
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Details of my New Computer (when it comes):

Pentium(r) 4 Processor at 2.80GHz w/533MHz front side bus/ 512K L2 Cache

Floppy Drive: 3.5 in Floppy Drive
Secondary CD or DVD Drive: 4x DVD+RW/+R Drive w/CD-RW
Sound Card: SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Digital Sound Card
Detto IntelliMover with USB Cable
Canon ZR50MC Digital Video Camcorder
Microsoft(r) Office Small Business w/ Money 2002 and EducateU
Operating System: Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP Home Edition
Memory: 1GB PC1066 RDRAM
Monitors: New 15 in 1504FP Dell UltrasharpTM Digital Flat Panel Display
Keyboard: Logitech(r) Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse Desktop Solution
Speakers: FREE Upgrade! Altec Lansing ADA745 Surround Sound Speakers w/ Subwoofer
Hard Drives: 200GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive
Network Interface: Integrated Intel(r) PRO 10/100 Ethernet
CD or DVD Drive: 48x Max Variable CD-ROM
Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio,Image Expert
56K Telephony Modem for Windows
Video Cards: New 128mb DDR ATI RadeonTM 9700 TX Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI

I/O Ports
Externally accessible
1 front headphone jack
8 USB 2.0 ports - 2 front/6 back
1 serial port
1 parallel port with ECP
1 PS/2-style keyboard: 6-pin mini-DIN
1 PS/2-compatible mouse: 6-pin mini-DIN

Slots
4 PCI slots
1 4X-AGP slot

:: J 11:04 AM [+] ::
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