- So Star Trek...was awesome. And (warning, spoilers) while I'm upset that they killed Vulcan, I'm kinda happy for Spock, finally gets a girl. The ship was gorgeous, having Leonard Nimoy in it was awesome. The whole alternate, parallel, reality thing might appease some diehards I think, and be interesting for those of us who like the time episodes (as in, I'm one of them). I really, really enjoyed it. And have listened to the soundtrack on repeat since I got home from the movie yesterday.
- This will likely be the space post, surprise surprise, I know. Anyway, last Hubble mission lifts off today. That is one thing I miss about home (Florida), being able to see the shuttle launches. Special Tools Required For Last Call to Hubble. Space Shuttle Blasts Off on Hubble Telescope Mission, on schedule and with no problems. Yay!
- And of course, various articles with spoilers for the film and about the box office numbers. NY Times: Starship Franchise Zooms to Top of Box Office, The Two Sides of 'Star Trek'. Washington Post: Star Trek: The Early Days of Kirk, Spock, Bones, Star-crossed lovers: 'Trek' ship mates lock lips, Hank Stuever Essay: The Trouble With Quibbles and Niche Fandom. And for real science in Star Trek, PRI: Warp Speed Ahead!. Oh, and dropping by SNL: Update Feature: Star Trek. Too bad none of them got to host.
- Joss Whedon on commentary...singing! This American Life: Return to the Scene of the Crime, his section starts at 27:52. I really need to get this DVD now...
- So, I'm one of those people who like languages from sci-fi and fantasy works. From the computer series starting with Myst I have a thing on the D'Ni language and I use the numbering system. From Tolkien I have the Languages of Middle Earth book (see name of blog for an example) and yes, I use the words all over the place from my email address to my AIM screenname. So articles like this? Kind of up my alley: There's No Klingon Word for Hello.
Showing posts with label Star Trek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Star Trek. Show all posts
11 May 2009
08 May 2009
Musings, Part T
- For this one, I think...well, it speaks for itself: The Fat-Alien Sings: A Klingon Language Opera. Best part of it is, they're serious opera people.
- Continuing with the Star Trek news articles: A Mind Meld Q&A With Leonard Nimoy. Aww: 'Star Trek's' Familiar Face. Newsweek's Pop culture blog Pop Vox: But...What If I'm Not a Trekkie? You become one. Duh. And of course from the BBC, the one guy no one in the US is talking about: Talking Shop: Simon Pegg. He's the Master (a la Doctor Who, the reincarnated version).
- You know, I go back and forth on whether I like Sylar on Heroes. I liked him during the whole duality arc when they explored how he could not be a psychopath, or you know, a homicidal egomanic with plans for dominiation or at least a fun blood bath, but now he's back to regular Sylar (only [to spoil the finale] now he's been forced into being Nathan so who knows how that'll play out, probably more duality which is always fun and may circle back to the Five Years future episode in Season 1) and I don't like him as much. Or tolerate him really. A lot of times you go back and forth on an actor depending on the roles they take, you love them or hate them based on who they play. Spock could redeem Quinto for me. Because Spock's awesome factor totally makes up for the whole serial killer thing. New 'Trek' Star is a Chip Off the Old Spock. The thing is, I can totally see the correlation or at least how you could understand the casting. As Sylar he's rather restrained and collected for a serial killer, methodical one might say. And as Spock he has to be logical and collected while dealing with that whole mother was a human thing. The speech patterns can be the same just Spock doesn't use as much menace or the creepy smiles that Sylar would. And a nerve pinch is a lot less bloody than splicing their foreheads open when it comes to subduing enemies. Knock on wood but I hope all my postings about this movie mean my next, likely including my reactions to it, will be as positive and gleeful.
- On a rather more personal note, I now have a job. A real, permanent job as compared to the full time temp position I've had since late March. And just inside a full year after I graduated from college (just just inside since this weekend is graduation weekend at my university). In June I shall join the ranks of those employed by the federal government in DC. It may not have been where I originally thought I'd end up, or wanted to end up, in education policy, but it fits what I did throughout college (I only really physically got into the education part in my last year through an education class even though I'd been mulling it for a while) but it fits my goal when from after high school: it's in a department of the federal government. Yeah, public service wasn't as attractive when I was in high school, not like it is becoming now, but I was inspired by the West Wing, believe it or not. So I won't be changing the world by feeding hunger or stopping a disease but I'll be doing my part in the mechanism and making sure things work when and how they're supposed to. And I'm happy. A real job, a pretty good starting salary, and it fits what I wanted. How can you ask for more? And happy Mother's Day.
- Continuing with the Star Trek news articles: A Mind Meld Q&A With Leonard Nimoy. Aww: 'Star Trek's' Familiar Face. Newsweek's Pop culture blog Pop Vox: But...What If I'm Not a Trekkie? You become one. Duh. And of course from the BBC, the one guy no one in the US is talking about: Talking Shop: Simon Pegg. He's the Master (a la Doctor Who, the reincarnated version).
- You know, I go back and forth on whether I like Sylar on Heroes. I liked him during the whole duality arc when they explored how he could not be a psychopath, or you know, a homicidal egomanic with plans for dominiation or at least a fun blood bath, but now he's back to regular Sylar (only [to spoil the finale] now he's been forced into being Nathan so who knows how that'll play out, probably more duality which is always fun and may circle back to the Five Years future episode in Season 1) and I don't like him as much. Or tolerate him really. A lot of times you go back and forth on an actor depending on the roles they take, you love them or hate them based on who they play. Spock could redeem Quinto for me. Because Spock's awesome factor totally makes up for the whole serial killer thing. New 'Trek' Star is a Chip Off the Old Spock. The thing is, I can totally see the correlation or at least how you could understand the casting. As Sylar he's rather restrained and collected for a serial killer, methodical one might say. And as Spock he has to be logical and collected while dealing with that whole mother was a human thing. The speech patterns can be the same just Spock doesn't use as much menace or the creepy smiles that Sylar would. And a nerve pinch is a lot less bloody than splicing their foreheads open when it comes to subduing enemies. Knock on wood but I hope all my postings about this movie mean my next, likely including my reactions to it, will be as positive and gleeful.
- On a rather more personal note, I now have a job. A real, permanent job as compared to the full time temp position I've had since late March. And just inside a full year after I graduated from college (just just inside since this weekend is graduation weekend at my university). In June I shall join the ranks of those employed by the federal government in DC. It may not have been where I originally thought I'd end up, or wanted to end up, in education policy, but it fits what I did throughout college (I only really physically got into the education part in my last year through an education class even though I'd been mulling it for a while) but it fits my goal when from after high school: it's in a department of the federal government. Yeah, public service wasn't as attractive when I was in high school, not like it is becoming now, but I was inspired by the West Wing, believe it or not. So I won't be changing the world by feeding hunger or stopping a disease but I'll be doing my part in the mechanism and making sure things work when and how they're supposed to. And I'm happy. A real job, a pretty good starting salary, and it fits what I wanted. How can you ask for more? And happy Mother's Day.
07 May 2009
Musings, Part S
- Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings made me want to be an architect. Then I realized that no, drawing and all that math probably weren't for me. Doodling buildings is one thing, large scale is quite another. Still, kudos to your professional achievements (because you were a jerk in your personal life): The Goodbye Swirl.
- Congrats Maine: Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage. So, we now have the first state to do so without any hassle. Vermont had to overcome a veto, and the other states who've allowed it have done so because their courts ordered it. And DC just passed a bill through the Council to recognize marriages performed in other states. I think the main interest in this for me, beyond it being something I support as a matter of social policy, is that I've learned about the civil rights movement in classes and how that swept through states and studied Supreme Court cases whose decisions altered the social policy fabric of the country that started out as test cases, notably Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This is a fascinating look at how social policy happens simultaneously at the state and national level, though not the federal. Now all we have to do is wait for the interactive color coded map, based on who did it by a the legislature, vote or by court order to show up somewhere. Then you know it's got real momentum. The map is key.
- Oh, Fringe. I was wondering when you'd mention Star Trek. Alternate universes and a crazy guy who thinks he's Spock in one episode, of course placed in the week of the premiere? Awesome tie in Abrams, awesome.
- I am even more ridiculously excited now. A positive review! A Heavenly Enterprise. I can still understand my mom's reticence about it but I was never much of a fan of the original series. Except for Spock. Because he, quite frankly, is freaking awesome. Oh, here's another from the NY Times: Star Trek- A Franchise Goes Boldly Backward. And NPR's: 'Star Trek': That Final Frontier, Boldly Reapproached. Be sure to read the comment by Angelica Czekalski to compares, rather convincingly, President Obama to Spock.
- Thank you! Finally someone getting at the crux of the issue. If we're still going to back the no sex before marriage thing, shouldn't we fix that rather than all the stuff that comes out of breaking that? Under God: Palin, Prejean, and Pre-Marital Ambivalence.
- Congrats Maine: Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage. So, we now have the first state to do so without any hassle. Vermont had to overcome a veto, and the other states who've allowed it have done so because their courts ordered it. And DC just passed a bill through the Council to recognize marriages performed in other states. I think the main interest in this for me, beyond it being something I support as a matter of social policy, is that I've learned about the civil rights movement in classes and how that swept through states and studied Supreme Court cases whose decisions altered the social policy fabric of the country that started out as test cases, notably Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This is a fascinating look at how social policy happens simultaneously at the state and national level, though not the federal. Now all we have to do is wait for the interactive color coded map, based on who did it by a the legislature, vote or by court order to show up somewhere. Then you know it's got real momentum. The map is key.
- Oh, Fringe. I was wondering when you'd mention Star Trek. Alternate universes and a crazy guy who thinks he's Spock in one episode, of course placed in the week of the premiere? Awesome tie in Abrams, awesome.
- I am even more ridiculously excited now. A positive review! A Heavenly Enterprise. I can still understand my mom's reticence about it but I was never much of a fan of the original series. Except for Spock. Because he, quite frankly, is freaking awesome. Oh, here's another from the NY Times: Star Trek- A Franchise Goes Boldly Backward. And NPR's: 'Star Trek': That Final Frontier, Boldly Reapproached. Be sure to read the comment by Angelica Czekalski to compares, rather convincingly, President Obama to Spock.
- Thank you! Finally someone getting at the crux of the issue. If we're still going to back the no sex before marriage thing, shouldn't we fix that rather than all the stuff that comes out of breaking that? Under God: Palin, Prejean, and Pre-Marital Ambivalence.
28 April 2009
Musings, Part Q
- Again with the cyclical nature of history, though I suppose we could have seen this one coming, what with the infinite wisdom and tolerance so often displayed by our lovely citizenry: Rebranding Hate in the Age of Obama.
- Say, maybe we can stick the supremacists with these guys: Don't Mess With Texas...Get Rid of It.
- I was heartbroken when ABC canceled Pushing Daisies but if NBC dumps Chuck I might be again. It's quirky, it's fun, it references pop culture. Besides, who else can do a kind of Matrix (the first movie, the best one of the three) homage to end a season and have it be completely believable for the character? How can you not love a show where the main character's Halloween costume is one of the worms from Dune?
- Yet another pre opening day Star Trek article, this one focused on J.J. Abrams: New Team Retrofits Old Starship. I have to say I am a fan of his stuff, mostly Alias I guess. I was loyal to that series to the end and watched Lost for the first couple seasons before college distracted me and now...well, it's a bit daunting of a prospect to try to wade back in. Alias though, that was awesome. Oh, May 8th...coming ever closer but not quite close enough yet.
- So we Democrats get Specter now? Oh...okay...sure...welcome...back?
- Say, maybe we can stick the supremacists with these guys: Don't Mess With Texas...Get Rid of It.
- I was heartbroken when ABC canceled Pushing Daisies but if NBC dumps Chuck I might be again. It's quirky, it's fun, it references pop culture. Besides, who else can do a kind of Matrix (the first movie, the best one of the three) homage to end a season and have it be completely believable for the character? How can you not love a show where the main character's Halloween costume is one of the worms from Dune?
- Yet another pre opening day Star Trek article, this one focused on J.J. Abrams: New Team Retrofits Old Starship. I have to say I am a fan of his stuff, mostly Alias I guess. I was loyal to that series to the end and watched Lost for the first couple seasons before college distracted me and now...well, it's a bit daunting of a prospect to try to wade back in. Alias though, that was awesome. Oh, May 8th...coming ever closer but not quite close enough yet.
- So we Democrats get Specter now? Oh...okay...sure...welcome...back?
27 April 2009
Musings, Part P
- I missed Shakespeare Day? Oh, Chicago. You have art museums, pizza, hot dogs, you had a pretty bad fire back in the 1870s, you're not too pure politics-wise and now Shakespeare Day. Awesome.
- With Kindle, Can You Tell It's Proust?. I have a Kindle, one of the first generation ones. I got it using birthday money from my grandparents that they gave me early so I could enter the queue for it on Amazon. I still remember the thrill when I got the email that I'd moved to the front (or really, that production had moved to my spot) and my Kindle would be arriving soon. My new toy was shiny (well, bright white) and awesome. I carried it everywhere, still do. For me, an unapologetic bookworm, the Kindle doesn't replace books. I still buy them and request them in lists that most people would wince at (the length, not the titles I hope). I take a book with me everywhere and now I take my Kindle. It's like the transition from having a cd player to having an iPod, you still buy music (I now mostly download, legally, from the iTunes store and keep my shopping cart on there full, waiting the day when I either have more money or just need new music) it's just easier to carry around and change at a whim. I still buy books and I'll never, ever stop. Now, I can just get electronic versions as well so when I travel I don't have to pack three or four books (depending on the length of the trip it may be more or less) I can just pack the Kindle and it's power cord. I can change computer Word documents to text files and load them up and read them away from the computer without having to print things out (which kills trees and I'm so used to reading off the computer I wouldn't bother anyway), I can even make notes on the document while I go and with the smaller screen, be able to focus on a couple paragraphs at a time without being distracted by something else on the page. And yeah, so people don't know what I'm reading, but if it's a guilty pleasure, I don't mind being mysterious. Let them think its Dickens or Tolstoy, I'll just be happy with my Alex Archer or JD Robb. Terry Pratchett though...that I wouldn't mind advertising. And with my Kindle, I can always stop in the middle of whatever I'm reading and indulge in some Pride and Prejudice.
- Oh, Star Trek. You're awesome. Until this article (Vulcans Never, Ever Smile), I didn't realize a series had been on pretty much consistently from the year after I was born until the end of my freshman year of college (if it really has been only 4 years since Enterprise went off the air). I think one of the things that sets it apart from other sci-fi series is that it's a very hopeful vision of the future. Earth is a utopia, there's basically a United States of the universe in the United Federation of Planets. The military arm of the UFP has a mainly scientific mission, to discover new stuff and boldly go. There's even a rule (the Prime Directive) about not mucking about in cultures which aren't at the same technology level you are, a kind of anti-imperialism which is awesome. Yeah, they fight bad guys, but to protect freedom and all that (We're All Trekkies Now). Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of apocalyptic/utopian/dystopian sci-fi but I'm an equal opportunity sci-fi reader, I'll read anything that looks like it has an interesting plot. And Star Trek is no stranger to the darker stuff, Section 31, fleshed out in Deep Space Nine (my personal favorite series), acts as an intelligence bureau with seemingly no real oversight or accountability for their machinations, they just claim to "defend" the Federation. There's parallels to the Holocaust with the Cardassian's subjugation of the Bajorans, fears about keeping one's individuality and resisting oppression with the Borg, fears about being able to tailor your child to be better and stronger through Dr. Bashir's illegal genetic engineering (that his parents did to him when he was a child, fearing he would always be slower than the others). But it's still hopeful and a universe where diversity is accepted without question, no matter whether it is skin color, religious background, number of forehead ridges, or whether a person has red blood or green, everyone is alien so no one is excluded. What a wonderful world.
- Mexico City is not having a good day. First, the swine flu thing so people are staying indoors and now, a 6.0 earthquake meaning that not even indoors is safe (Strong Earthquake Felt in Mexico City). Welcome to the beginning of the end of April, Mexico. Happy Monday.
- Cue girlish aww: Suppers at Midnight.
- With Kindle, Can You Tell It's Proust?. I have a Kindle, one of the first generation ones. I got it using birthday money from my grandparents that they gave me early so I could enter the queue for it on Amazon. I still remember the thrill when I got the email that I'd moved to the front (or really, that production had moved to my spot) and my Kindle would be arriving soon. My new toy was shiny (well, bright white) and awesome. I carried it everywhere, still do. For me, an unapologetic bookworm, the Kindle doesn't replace books. I still buy them and request them in lists that most people would wince at (the length, not the titles I hope). I take a book with me everywhere and now I take my Kindle. It's like the transition from having a cd player to having an iPod, you still buy music (I now mostly download, legally, from the iTunes store and keep my shopping cart on there full, waiting the day when I either have more money or just need new music) it's just easier to carry around and change at a whim. I still buy books and I'll never, ever stop. Now, I can just get electronic versions as well so when I travel I don't have to pack three or four books (depending on the length of the trip it may be more or less) I can just pack the Kindle and it's power cord. I can change computer Word documents to text files and load them up and read them away from the computer without having to print things out (which kills trees and I'm so used to reading off the computer I wouldn't bother anyway), I can even make notes on the document while I go and with the smaller screen, be able to focus on a couple paragraphs at a time without being distracted by something else on the page. And yeah, so people don't know what I'm reading, but if it's a guilty pleasure, I don't mind being mysterious. Let them think its Dickens or Tolstoy, I'll just be happy with my Alex Archer or JD Robb. Terry Pratchett though...that I wouldn't mind advertising. And with my Kindle, I can always stop in the middle of whatever I'm reading and indulge in some Pride and Prejudice.
- Oh, Star Trek. You're awesome. Until this article (Vulcans Never, Ever Smile), I didn't realize a series had been on pretty much consistently from the year after I was born until the end of my freshman year of college (if it really has been only 4 years since Enterprise went off the air). I think one of the things that sets it apart from other sci-fi series is that it's a very hopeful vision of the future. Earth is a utopia, there's basically a United States of the universe in the United Federation of Planets. The military arm of the UFP has a mainly scientific mission, to discover new stuff and boldly go. There's even a rule (the Prime Directive) about not mucking about in cultures which aren't at the same technology level you are, a kind of anti-imperialism which is awesome. Yeah, they fight bad guys, but to protect freedom and all that (We're All Trekkies Now). Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of apocalyptic/utopian/dystopian sci-fi but I'm an equal opportunity sci-fi reader, I'll read anything that looks like it has an interesting plot. And Star Trek is no stranger to the darker stuff, Section 31, fleshed out in Deep Space Nine (my personal favorite series), acts as an intelligence bureau with seemingly no real oversight or accountability for their machinations, they just claim to "defend" the Federation. There's parallels to the Holocaust with the Cardassian's subjugation of the Bajorans, fears about keeping one's individuality and resisting oppression with the Borg, fears about being able to tailor your child to be better and stronger through Dr. Bashir's illegal genetic engineering (that his parents did to him when he was a child, fearing he would always be slower than the others). But it's still hopeful and a universe where diversity is accepted without question, no matter whether it is skin color, religious background, number of forehead ridges, or whether a person has red blood or green, everyone is alien so no one is excluded. What a wonderful world.
- Mexico City is not having a good day. First, the swine flu thing so people are staying indoors and now, a 6.0 earthquake meaning that not even indoors is safe (Strong Earthquake Felt in Mexico City). Welcome to the beginning of the end of April, Mexico. Happy Monday.
- Cue girlish aww: Suppers at Midnight.
23 April 2009
Musings, Part O
- This sounds pretty cool and very unlike the stately Albert Hall: Graffiti makeover for Albert Hall. Too bad I can't be there to see it.
- When in doubt, there is an association for it. Case in point: the US Pea and Lentil Trade Association, affliated, of course, with the US Dry Pea, Lentil, and Chickpea Council.
- How fun: Ask Not For Whom the Cliche Tolls. Happy birthday, Shakespeare. The big 445...I think that can be considered over the hill. And the story's a scavenger hunt!
- Interesting question: Does Music Define You?. As I said in a comment on the site (my first...Ooooo), I think we define ourselves by it, just like social or political issues, but perhaps we aren't define by it. We are more than the box a social or political issue places us in and we can like more than one type of music. Sure, there can be a similar color palate but at the end of the day it becomes a painting that's more than monochromatic.
- Why can't it be May 8th yet? Star Trek's stellar return.
- I don't get it: TV plan to find Jade musical star. I wouldn't care about Jade Goody or her life (and recent death due to cervical cancer) except I was in London when the whole Big Brother thing happened with her. Her racist comments were all over the London free papers (which, yeah, little better than tabloids sometimes but a couple were like the Express, one of DC's free Metro papers that's more like a condensed, admittedly ad heavy Washington Post) that semester. She seemed...crass and just unappealing in every way. And yet, in the past two years (has it been that long already?) she seems to have reinvented herself...by putting her whole life on camera it seems. I just don't get the appeal. Any of it.
- Monkey See has become one of my favorite blogs (and just over a month ago, I barely wrote in my own and didn't frequent, well, any...just goes to show, times change...and quickly) and a daily source of pop culture amusement, particularly today: Caution Signs Endangered Movie Characters Really Need. I really want to plot contrivance one...think a company will pick it up and market it?
- Curse you BBC iPlayer and ITV player...why do you only have to work in the UK? This is why Americans love nice Brits who post British shows on YouTube that would take us months, if ever, to get if we're lucky enough to get BBC America.
- When in doubt, there is an association for it. Case in point: the US Pea and Lentil Trade Association, affliated, of course, with the US Dry Pea, Lentil, and Chickpea Council.
- How fun: Ask Not For Whom the Cliche Tolls. Happy birthday, Shakespeare. The big 445...I think that can be considered over the hill. And the story's a scavenger hunt!
- Interesting question: Does Music Define You?. As I said in a comment on the site (my first...Ooooo), I think we define ourselves by it, just like social or political issues, but perhaps we aren't define by it. We are more than the box a social or political issue places us in and we can like more than one type of music. Sure, there can be a similar color palate but at the end of the day it becomes a painting that's more than monochromatic.
- Why can't it be May 8th yet? Star Trek's stellar return.
- I don't get it: TV plan to find Jade musical star. I wouldn't care about Jade Goody or her life (and recent death due to cervical cancer) except I was in London when the whole Big Brother thing happened with her. Her racist comments were all over the London free papers (which, yeah, little better than tabloids sometimes but a couple were like the Express, one of DC's free Metro papers that's more like a condensed, admittedly ad heavy Washington Post) that semester. She seemed...crass and just unappealing in every way. And yet, in the past two years (has it been that long already?) she seems to have reinvented herself...by putting her whole life on camera it seems. I just don't get the appeal. Any of it.
- Monkey See has become one of my favorite blogs (and just over a month ago, I barely wrote in my own and didn't frequent, well, any...just goes to show, times change...and quickly) and a daily source of pop culture amusement, particularly today: Caution Signs Endangered Movie Characters Really Need. I really want to plot contrivance one...think a company will pick it up and market it?
- Curse you BBC iPlayer and ITV player...why do you only have to work in the UK? This is why Americans love nice Brits who post British shows on YouTube that would take us months, if ever, to get if we're lucky enough to get BBC America.
03 April 2009
Musings, Part F
- I rambled on a couple entries back about Pride and Prejudice and how I feel about re-imaginings. I think for this ramble I’ll turn to Star Trek, mostly because of the article ‘Star Trek’ Sequel Is Coming (Wrath to Be Determined). A) Pretty gutsy of Paramount to already greenlight a sequel when they were so wishy-washy with the actual series and the later TNG (The Next Generation) movies. That being said, kudos to holding onto the franchise. B) I am not an Original Series (TOS) fan. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the every series’ canon and Spock is awesome but I like the movies more than the series itself for Kirk and the gang. Granted, I haven’t watched much but I’m going with the gut reaction on this one. Since I’m not a fan of TOS I’m not dreading what they do to the characters. By going back to the beginning with Enterprise they already mucked about with ST canon so no, I don’t care if Spock and Kirk never met in the Academy. Like with Watchmen (which I watched for the story and revisionist history as opposed to the violence and sex, which didn’t throw me like it did some but only because I have the graphic novel and I know Moore’s style) I’m watching for the world created and because well, it’s Star Trek and the trailers look awesome. Though I’m still perplexed about the whole classic car over the cliff thing but I was also upset with Casino Royale for destroying part of Venice (and the wrecking of JB in the most recent movies shall come later in this entry) so…it’ll just be a small mark against it. Besides the movie looking cool I think we could use some hopeful visions of the future right about now. Because that’s what Star Trek does well, it is a hopeful future. Yes, I imagine this movie will make things a little darker, as is the style of re-imaginings of late (see Batman and Battlestar Galactica [2003] for reference) but they can’t muck with the core of the franchise: different beings and backgrounds coming together for a common goal, and Earth becomes a paradise. Just look at what they did from TOS to TNG, they turned the Klingons, the enemies and Big Bad of TOS and most of its movies (perhaps all, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them, and Voyage Home with the whales? Totally the best one) into allies and part of the Federation, mostly through Worf but once DS9 came around the head of the Klingon Empire was best buds with most of the series’ regulars. I suppose there’s also an argument to be made about the changing nature of diplomacy and politics in there too but that’s cool with Star Trek, there’s plenty to grab from and it’ll probably be relevant to today’s world no matter where you stick it.
- So, James Bond. I’ve seen every one of your films (except that random Sean Connery one that isn’t in the official canon of films). I even watched them, up until the last 3 or so, in chronological order the summer after high school. While I dislike how women are treated in the first several films I understand they are a product of their time and of the novels themselves (and yes, I have read Casino Royale and will be reading the others as they come available/I get my hands on them). I even like the two Timothy Dalton contributions because I see that as the major turning point in how the women are treated. However, I can’t really bring myself to completely get behind the latest two Daniel Craig offerings. It’s not the violence (I don’t think I needed that torture scene in Casino Royale) and it’s not that he’s blond, which is a whatever thing, it’s the lack of quintessential Bond elements. The lines, mainly. “Bond. James Bond” and “Shaken, not stirred.” And of course the lack of Q. How can you not have Q? If you have Brosnan’s M, which I think they intimated was the first female M of the agency, then how can you dump Q? Yeah, yeah, going back to the beginning, blah blah blah. Q is Bond. What happened to the spy gear that made the other movies so awesome? So it’s over the top, all of Bond is over the top. Villains giving long monologues detailing their plans while setting up an elaborate method of killing Bond that of course he’ll get out of…this doesn’t happen in the real world. Real world is more like Indiana Jones facing the whip guy and just shooting him. Bond is cool gadgets, whacko villains, and quips. I miss Q. I want him back. Bring back some levity. Bond also, though it’s not a trait that should be copied by others nonetheless defines his character, doesn’t hold on to women. This whole still ticked off about a betrayal in the next movie thing? So not Bond. Get over it already. Yeah yeah, just starting out, whatever. And you don’t repeat a stunt like they did in Quantum of Solace with the girl covered in oil. Seriously? That was an iconic image from Goldfinger and probably the one thing most people remember and has certainly hammered home the idea that you leave space for the skin to breathe if you’re going to go for the whole body paint thing. You don’t repeat methods of killing people in Bond. Creativity, people, creativity. And with that creativity, get better opening credits. There’s another hallmark of Bond films, great credits. Casino Royale’s were okay, with the card suits and such but the dunes in Quantum? Lame. And it was a bad theme song. Okay, ish, on it’s own but tied into the credits just bad. There’s another missing element, truly great theme songs. My favorite will always be Goldeneye from Tina Turner (which is also my favorite Bond film) but those that came before were also quite good. So, to sum: put back in the classic lines (they’re classic for a reason, put Q back in, make Bond himself again, fix the opening credits, and get a good theme song(s). We’ll have to see what they do (if they do one) to the next one. Better fix stuff though. And don’t destroy part of Venice again.
- So, Jesuits. Pretty cool people usually. Within the myriad Catholic religious orders, they’re the most famously academic. If you see ‘Jesuit’ attached to the name of a college, you know it’s going to be a good one. Most are more than just a priest, they’re encouraged to be in the world and keep going in whatever profession they came into the order with, which was usually something academic. Here’s another reason they’re cool, a sense of humor: God to Man: Get Over Yourself.
- So, James Bond. I’ve seen every one of your films (except that random Sean Connery one that isn’t in the official canon of films). I even watched them, up until the last 3 or so, in chronological order the summer after high school. While I dislike how women are treated in the first several films I understand they are a product of their time and of the novels themselves (and yes, I have read Casino Royale and will be reading the others as they come available/I get my hands on them). I even like the two Timothy Dalton contributions because I see that as the major turning point in how the women are treated. However, I can’t really bring myself to completely get behind the latest two Daniel Craig offerings. It’s not the violence (I don’t think I needed that torture scene in Casino Royale) and it’s not that he’s blond, which is a whatever thing, it’s the lack of quintessential Bond elements. The lines, mainly. “Bond. James Bond” and “Shaken, not stirred.” And of course the lack of Q. How can you not have Q? If you have Brosnan’s M, which I think they intimated was the first female M of the agency, then how can you dump Q? Yeah, yeah, going back to the beginning, blah blah blah. Q is Bond. What happened to the spy gear that made the other movies so awesome? So it’s over the top, all of Bond is over the top. Villains giving long monologues detailing their plans while setting up an elaborate method of killing Bond that of course he’ll get out of…this doesn’t happen in the real world. Real world is more like Indiana Jones facing the whip guy and just shooting him. Bond is cool gadgets, whacko villains, and quips. I miss Q. I want him back. Bring back some levity. Bond also, though it’s not a trait that should be copied by others nonetheless defines his character, doesn’t hold on to women. This whole still ticked off about a betrayal in the next movie thing? So not Bond. Get over it already. Yeah yeah, just starting out, whatever. And you don’t repeat a stunt like they did in Quantum of Solace with the girl covered in oil. Seriously? That was an iconic image from Goldfinger and probably the one thing most people remember and has certainly hammered home the idea that you leave space for the skin to breathe if you’re going to go for the whole body paint thing. You don’t repeat methods of killing people in Bond. Creativity, people, creativity. And with that creativity, get better opening credits. There’s another hallmark of Bond films, great credits. Casino Royale’s were okay, with the card suits and such but the dunes in Quantum? Lame. And it was a bad theme song. Okay, ish, on it’s own but tied into the credits just bad. There’s another missing element, truly great theme songs. My favorite will always be Goldeneye from Tina Turner (which is also my favorite Bond film) but those that came before were also quite good. So, to sum: put back in the classic lines (they’re classic for a reason, put Q back in, make Bond himself again, fix the opening credits, and get a good theme song(s). We’ll have to see what they do (if they do one) to the next one. Better fix stuff though. And don’t destroy part of Venice again.
- So, Jesuits. Pretty cool people usually. Within the myriad Catholic religious orders, they’re the most famously academic. If you see ‘Jesuit’ attached to the name of a college, you know it’s going to be a good one. Most are more than just a priest, they’re encouraged to be in the world and keep going in whatever profession they came into the order with, which was usually something academic. Here’s another reason they’re cool, a sense of humor: God to Man: Get Over Yourself.
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