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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 How to Win Friends and Influence Fans  Here's a thought for Sci-Fi: gain geek approval quickly by bringing back MST3K. And here's the genius part: use your own ever-growing staple of poorly made films as the fodder for the show. They're ripe for tearing apart, you make one a week, and you get to show it twice, to two totally different audiences, and gain advertising revenue both times. It's a win-win.------------------------------------------------
The Shatner Roast is Crispy The Shatner Roast might have been a little raw for my tastes (though Takei was hilarious), but these YouTube Shatner clips I think really encapsulate the man and the legend: ------------------------------------------------
Monday, August 28, 2006 A Bridge Too Far  First it was to be named after the Texas Ranger. Now it is to be named after the Lincolnish truth-sayer of late-night. What happened to all those Hungarian heroes? ------------------------------------------------
Saturday, August 26, 2006 SciFi - How Typical  Kudos to the Sci-Fi channel executives who continue to stay the course by making ham-fisted, unintelligent programming choices. Showing the tact and grace one normally attributes to the eponymonous bull in the china shop, the cable network announced the cancellation of its once-proud flagship series, Stargate SG-1, on the very eve the channel celbrated its 200th episode, cementing its place as the longest-running American science fiction television series.Am I disappointed? You bet. SG-1 had run out of steam by the end of the eighth season, and had reached a satisfying conclusion with the final defeat of Anubis. The ninth season took a long time to find itself and its new characters. However, by the end of the ninth season, I felt the series had found a bold new direction, a new formidable enemy, and a storyline that was as compelling as it was topical. So what now? MGM has an incredible amount of capital invested in the series, which is its golden franchise for television. Producing both SG-1 and Atlantis in the same locations allowed the show to produce two shows relatively cheaply, and new episodes of SG-1 bolstered the sales of the series dvds. A MMORGP is due to be released soon, and buzz for the show has been ever increasing. New spin-offs and movies have been discussed. At first MGM discussed finding a new network for SG-1, and found some initial interest. Jumping to a new network would be problematic from a story perspective, especially given the increasingly in building continuity between its spin-off Atlantis. Such concerns are moot, however, as Sci-Fi decided to shoot the dead horse by stating MGM’s contract with them forbids SG-1 to air on any other network than Sci-Fi. Essentially, so they don’t want it, but no one else can have it either. MGM has a few options. They can rename the show, which they have discussed doing for several years, to Stargate Command, and take it to another network. Or they could do something truly innovative. MGM signed a deal with Apple last month to put SG-1 on Itunes. Should they choose to do so, they could offer the entire eleventh season of the show exclusively as an online download. It would not violate their contracts with Sci-Fi, and would create an instant buzz with the hard-core geek community as a true novelty. It’d be a bold experiment in the future viability of delivering content via the web, and one that is practically risk free, as the costs of producing the season would be absorbed through producing Atlantis at the same time and by sales of the DVD set of the season afterwards. Stargate will find a way to go forward from this, in some incarnation. The ultimate loser in this decision is the Sci-Fi channel. SG-1’s ratings had cooled, but this was also inpart to the programming decision to run the new seasons of the Stargates in the summer, and hold Galactica until late fall. Having all three shows on one night created a programming block that was irresistable to science fiction fans. Each shows audience bolstered the audience of the next. Losing Stargate will affect the ratings of Atlantis, as the show will lose the carryover from its sister show. In turn, that will affect Galactica’s ratings. I give Atlantis one more season. It already is starting to feel like a retread of storylines already explored in SG-1 (I for one am sick of “It was all-in-your-head” stories). Galactica will have one or more seasons after that, not from a lack of quality, but from a dearth of audience follow-through from whatever replaces the gates. Probably wrestling. ------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, August 22, 2006 Saying Goodbye  Lockheed died on Wednesday. She was entering end-stage renal failure and the neighborhood cats were beginning to take bites out of her. After a particularly nasty bite that was showing her fascia, we took her in, and the vet did some blood work and showed it was only a matter of time.Parker is taking it better than I thought, though he really brought me to tears several times by saying things along the lines of "But I want her to live forever." He does understand the concept though, and has been correcting Kira ever since Wednesday. Kira currently calls all of the cats Lockheed. Parker gently reminds her that Lockheed is gone, and that she died. It still is very hard. I'd come accustomed to seeing Lockheed wake up in the tall grass andcome to meet me as I came home from work. If the kids were with me, they'd run to her and she'd rub against their legs, walking with them to the front door. I'm slightly ashamed to say there was some good from that day. Wednesday was the first time in a long time I can remember sleeping throughout the night - no scratching at the door. ------------------------------------------------
Friday, August 18, 2006 Remembering Scott Love  IÂ?ve been avoiding writing this post for quite sometime. Scott Love, a classmate of mine from high school, died in Iraq.I didnÂ?t know he had joined the army. I also didnÂ?t know he had a child. I'm sad to say that in many ways I didn't know Scott at all. And it wasn't for lack of opportunity. After high school, Scott and I both attended Florida State. I could have made the opportunity to know him better as a person. I could have called him a true friend, rather than as a friend-by-proxy. Too many of the friends in my life have been the later, where the loose bonds that created a relationshunraveledled with just enough distance. Scott was a stranger to me, and the opportunity to change that has been lost. I'll remember him through my nostalgic memories of high school - a talented artist, a dedicated actor. But most of all, I'll remember the conviction he gave me with his passing to strengthen the lasting friendships I have formed and to make the most of them. ------------------------------------------------
Worst. SciFi. Ever.  The movie studio at Sci-Fi doesn't even try anymore.Submitted for your approval - Savage Planet. A group of expolorerstravelto a genetically engineered planet designed to be the new home for refugees from Earth, which istoo polluted for people to remain upon. Despite being the future, everyone dresses just as they would for a camping trip this weekend. One by one, the explorers are picked off by cunning predators of the new world (more on them in a minute). So, in the span of a few minutes, we went from a promising science fiction concept, the challenges of adapting to a new ecosystem, to the normal staple of the Sci-Fi Channel - murderous monster of the week on a rampage. I tuned in halfway through, to this choice dialogue: "The planet is evolving exponentially. It will soon implode. Even worse, the genetically enhanced bears are more stronger or cunning than anything encountered on Earth."So it turns out Colbert was right. They are godless killing machines. My schadenfreude bade me to continue to watching, but the next lapse of judgment led me to abandon this tripe. The antagonist reveals that the planet produces an ooze that regenerates destroyed or dying tissue. In a flashback we see hoiw it will grow backa missing hand, and that it is in a cave just a few miles from our intrepid group. Just after the flashback, the wounded guy is carried and mauled by bears, quite severely. Missing an arm and a leg,m and eviscerated, he bades the lead character to kill him quickly, which hedoes with no hesitation. I would think that in this situation, rather than ask someone to kill me, I'd ask to be dropped into the liquid goo where I'll be restored to good health. And, if I'm in too much pain to think of it, I'd hope my firends would think of it before deciding to off me. Just saying. ------------------------------------------------
Party Hearty  Last week's political shenanigans have had an amazing effect of polarizing my political will. Unfortunately, they show me also that there is no group that caters fully to my political ideology. Lieberman's defeat by Lamont is seen by many to be a clear-cur message to the direction of the Democratic Party, and a victory against the Neocon agenda. To me, it's a message that there is no middle ground to be found between the parties. For either party to be truly effective, they have to include individuals willing to reach out and meet the other side halfway. If that means there are some Democrats that act like Republicans, and some Republicans who act like Democrats, so be it. It's necessary to find common ground. Without those individuals, policy will always wildly vacillate from one extreme to the other whenever there is a power turnover in the Congress. Lieberman was defeated for being too close to the president, and for his support of the Iraq War. Similarly, the number of Democratic supporters that lament McKinney's ousting indicate to me that there is an undercurrent that any member of the party is worth protecting as long as they are champions of the party line. McKinney championed the ideals of the Democratic platform, but her continuous coverage in the press for both what she said and what she was alleged to have said made her too controversial to be an effective leader. Nevertheless, there were Democrats who supported her to the bitter end. Such blind loyalty, whether for her or for the presidential administration on the Republican side, shows a definite backslide in the ability of either to engage in intelligent discourse to reach any type of reasoned approach to an issue. I'm tired of the polarization. I'm tired of the need to be for one extreme or for the other. Do I think this is symptomatic of all politicians? No. Both parties have their share of logical, rationale people. But I do think it is symptomatic of the leadership of the parties and the direction they dictate the group as a whole must adhere to. I want an end to the two-party system. Either-or is not a valid choice, especially when it too often feels like damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'd like to go to a multiple party system, with a true dynamic choice of equally qualified pool of candidates that truly cover the spectrum of political discourse. ------------------------------------------------
Thursday, August 17, 2006 Who Wants to be a Super-hypocrite?  My biggest problem with Who Wants to be a Super-Hero is the hypocritical dialogue Stan Lee gives. In this week's episode, Stan determines who to boot by making judgments of players' dark secrets and their actions while on patrol on the mean streets of Los Angeles. Stan in particular singles our Major Victory (a horrible name, which is just as bad as when Vance Astro took it in the 1990s), who once worked as an exotic dancer, and Lemuria (is she really a Deviant?) who used to do table dances in bars. Stan states this is not conduct becoming a superhero.In the classic sense, yes. But if one moves past Stan's steely gaze to the wall behind him, what does one see? Could it be Stan Lee's Stripperella, the exotic club dancer turned superhero voiced by Pamela Anderson, rubbing against a pole? I do believe it is. In his analysis of the Major's street patrol, Stan takes points away for taking his cape off to allow women not to step in a puddle, a chivalrous act long romanticized for generations. But Stan states its an unthinkable act for a superhero: Well, Spider-Man did just take off his mask, to millions of people on television. And I'm sure that if the situation warranted it Superman would take off his cape - his black suit after his return didn't have one, and neither did his electric blue variation. I'd imagine if he needed to keep someone warm the cape would be a better option than heat vision. 'Nuff said. ------------------------------------------------
Friday, August 11, 2006 Ustler's Font After finishing the Logo, Font and Lettering Bible, I've thought it would be neat to try and develop a font, but didn't have an inspiration. Then, touring the newly remodeled Ustler Hall on campus, I found my muse. The dedication plaque of the original gym has some of the funkiest uncials I have ever seen. I'm fascinated by the double tail serifs each letter has. If a student from eons past hadn't defaced the engraving with ink I might never has noticed.  I plan to go back and do a rubbing from the plaque, and then scrounge up a used copy of Fontographer. Now, just to find the time... ------------------------------------------------
Thursday, August 10, 2006 Dancing to Architecture Here's an interesting article about the scholarly study of comic books. Since my thesis was on this subject (an analysis of the portrayal of race in comics of the 1990s), I can relate to the themes they are exploring, but I do agree that some feel forced, given most of these papers are based on qualitative and subjective analysis rather than the quantifiable.  I find myself vehemently disagreeing with Peter Lloyd's assertion that Superman moved away from "good and evil as absolutes" following 9/11. It completely ignores Superman's moral dilemmas in killing Zod and pursuing Doomsday following his resurrection. Superman has been struggling with morals and ethics since day one. I do find it astonishing how many people still see the Big Two's most pure characters -Superman and Captain America, as being totally myopic in their world-views and having an underdeveloped sense of what the real world is like. They know - they just aspire to something better. ------------------------------------------------
The Small Little Place Geraldo Rivera says that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert "make a living putting on video of old ladies slipping on ice and people laughing" and that they "exist in a small little place where they count for nothing." It's amazing how with two little sentences one person can show themselves as being completely out of touch with the current television audience. ------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, August 09, 2006 Save the Last Dance  They've danced their last - now it's time for America to vote on Who They Think Can Dance.Maybe in a few months we can be bothered to vote on Who We Think Can Lead. Anyway, I'm putting my money on Benji. He's just so fun to watch. ------------------------------------------------
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Tuesday, August 15, 2006 Yesterday was My Birthday Just a normal day. Nothing special. A little drama at the end (my parents are planning a weekend birthday celebration for me, my sister (who's birthday is tomorrow), my cousin (who's birthday is Thursday), and lots of family, and they originally told me in two weekends, and then on the phone last night they said it was THIS weekend.), but it all got resolved. Oh, and Kira is now sick. None of my local friends wished me a happy birthday, even though we were together yesterday. Oh well. Guess this is aging. Labels: Kristin ------------------------------------------------
Friday, August 11, 2006 No AC in Florida in the Summer We lost our AC for 5 days a little while back and ended up getting a window unit and everyone just camped out in the Living Room. It was horrible. Apparently our house was struck by lightning, and our AC caught fire (which is how we knew something was wrong -- we smelled the electrical fire!!). No AC sucks, and the cost of fixing these things is even worse. I will say that it was economical to get the window unit instead of staying in a hotel, though I think the hotel would have been more fun. Labels: Florida heat, stress ------------------------------------------------
Thursday, August 10, 2006 Since When Did Skinny Kids Become Underweight? Parker is skinny-skinny! He doesn't look too thin, I don't think, but he's quite slender (he can even still wear some 3T clothes). I think he's about 37.5 lbs and about 44.5"?? According to this BMI site, though: A 5 year old (male) child who is 37.5 pounds and 3 feet and 8.5 inches tall, has a body mass index of 13.3, which is below the 5th percentile and is considered to be underweight. WTF?? Here he is back in June (he is sick, so he looks a little off in color ...) -- does he look underweight??!??:  ------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, August 08, 2006 What I LIKE About Summers Jeff working 4-days/week instead of 5. Swimming That's it. The rest of the summer-related things, we seem to get year-round anyways here. Labels: community, Florida heat ------------------------------------------------
Monday, August 07, 2006 How Parker's Fall Will Look Parker isn't going to VPK this year, even though he is eligible. I am getting the voucher in case I change my mind though. He'll be really busy anyways, with Karate 2ce a week, and Ballet, Tap, Gymnastics, and Science weekly, and we're on the waiting list for Creative Crafts (he needs more scissor/paste exposure than we do at home!!), and playgroups and events besides all of that!! At least all of these things either allow Kira to participate, or are at a place where there is something for her too. This is important to us, since everything is at least a 30-min drive one-way. Labels: homeschooling, Parker, PE, science ------------------------------------------------
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