tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177481692024-03-07T15:18:15.433-08:00Jennerosity LandA little crazy goes a long, long way!Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.comBlogger432125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-49182108824555266642009-05-13T15:58:00.001-07:002009-05-13T15:58:56.035-07:00Battlestar Gallactica<p>I think I have discovered another excellent geek series.  Yes, I know my discovery is about 5 years behind the times, but for someone who doesn’t have cable, I think I’m doing pretty well!</p> <p>We borrowed the first season from a friend and finally got around to watching the pilot last night and I think it’s safe to say that we are totally hooked!  Now I can’t wait to start slowly watching the rest of the series.</p> <p>To read more of my thoughts on it, go check out my <a href="http://jennerosity.org">new blog</a> where the <a href="http://jennerosity.org/2009/05/13/battlestar-gallactica/">full article</a> is posted.</p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-52978837944701334012009-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:002009-05-12T10:03:00.536-07:00Star Trek Movie Rankings and Other Thoughts<p>Since I am way too busy this weekend to actually see the Star Trek movie reboot, I decided I’d still do up an article summarizing some of my thoughts on the Star Trek movie franchise as a bonus <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/search/label/Trek%20Tuesdays">Trek Tuesday</a> post. I also thought it would be a good time to re-rank the movies and compare my ranking now to my pre-<a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/search/label/Countdown%20to%20Trek">Countdown</a> ranking. I had completely forgotten about the movie ranking that I put together way back when the <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/search/label/Countdown%20to%20Trek">Countdown to Trek</a> was just beginning. It wasn’t until I was recently sorting out the mess on my desk that I came across the envelope and remembered making the list and sealing it all up. </p> <h3>Rankings</h3> <p>So, here is how they all stack up . . .</p> <h4>#10 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/01/star-trek-motion-picture.html">Star Trek: The Motion Picture</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 8th fell 2 spots</p> <p>I ended up liking this movie more than I thought I would, but I also ended up liking a couple of other movies more than I thought I would, and this one, just doesn’t fit with the excitement of the other Star Trek movies. I almost think that the plot is such that it could be any Sci-Fi movie, instead of feeling like a Star Trek movie.</p> <h4>#9 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/02/star-trek-iii-search-for-spock.html">Star Trek III: The Search for Spock</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 9th no change</p> <p>This movie was pretty much how I remembered it. It felt like an extended epilogue for Star Trek II and is one of the movies that I don’t feel like I’d ever watch all on its own.</p> <h4>#8 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/03/star-trek-v-final-frontier.html">Star Trek V: The Final Frontier</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 10th rose 2 spots</p> <p>This was definitely one of the big surprise moves amongst my ranks. I think my pre-countdown ranking was based more on the opinions of others than on the movie itself. I thought the movie got back to Star Trek’s exploration roots and also had some interesting choices with the direction. Then there was just the right amount of cheesiness that reminded me of some of the original series episodes.</p> <h4>#7 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/01/star-trek-ii-wrath-of-khan.html">Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 7th no change</p> <p>I think everyone should watch this movie at least a few times during their lives just to appreciate Kirk’s classic “KHAAAAAAAN!!!” moment, not to mention to appreciate the wonderful acting of Ricardo Montalban. </p> <h4>#6 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/04/star-trek-insurrection.html">Star Trek IX: Insurrection</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 3rd fell 3 spots</p> <p>Another rather surprising outcome. I think it’s probably I enjoyed so many of the movies that came before this one, and watching them in order was reminded of that. It felt a lot like a Star Trek episode, except I felt that they moved away from the grand feel of the Star Trek universe a bit too much for me.</p> <h4>#5 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/03/star-trek-vii-generations.html">Star Trek VII: Generations</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 5th no change</p> <p>I think the movie was pretty good but could have been more about The Next Generation crew instead of the Original Series crew. A few cringe moments as they enjoyed the freedoms of a movie vs.. a tv episode, but they were stretching their wings a bit with this one.</p> <h4>#4 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/05/star-trek-nemesis.html">Star Trek X: Nemesis</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 2nd fell 2 spots</p> <p>Don’t get me wrong, I still like this movie. I was just reminded of how much more I like some of the other movies. This movie was darker too. While I do like it when they give the Star Trek universe depth, I think <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/2009/05/star-trek-nemesis.html">Shannon</a> was ultimately right when she said that this one didn’t have the same hopeful Star Trek feel.</p> <h4>#3 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/02/star-trek-iv-voyage-home.html">Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 4th rose 1 spot</p> <p>Part of the ranking for this one is pure nostalgia. Watched it a lot when I was younger. There are so many moments that still make me laugh, it gets a lot of points for re-watchability. Plus, I also find it a ‘feel good’ kind of movie.</p> <h4>#2 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/04/star-trek-first-contact.html">Star Trek XIII: First Contact</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 1st fell 1 spot</p> <p>This is my favourite movie with The Next Generation crew. It does so many things right and I felt like all the plot lines really meshed together well. It has enough plot material from the series that the hard core Star Trek fan can really appreciate the issues that they deal with, but is also its own complete story so that a newcomer could also jump in without feeling as though they are missing out.</p> <h4>#1 – <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/03/star-trek-vi-undiscovered-country.html">Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country</a></h4> <p>Pre-Countdown rank: 6th rose 5 spots</p> <p>Biggest mover on the list was this one. I think it has the best supporting cast of all the films and definitely has a grand feel to it. Despite the relative smoothness of their heads, the Klingons are given a great deal of the depth in how they are portrayed in this movie.</p> <h3>Other Thoughts</h3> <p>One of the things that I kept noticing as I watched the movies was how they were continually changing to reflect the movie era that they were being filmed in. The movie franchise starts out at a time when Sci Fi movies were much more philosophical than action packed which sharply contrasts with the way the more recent Star Trek movies have to pack in the explosions and fight scenes in order to keep up with their competition.</p> <p>In terms of the crew, their is a huge difference between The Original Series and The Next Generation. In movies that feature The Original Series, the crew really doesn’t show much progress in terms of their skills and development. We see that they are getting promoted and are definitely wiser in comparison to the tv show, but they all fall back to the same traditional roles that they had in the tv show<span style="font-size:78%;">*1</span>. In the movies that feature The Next Generation crew, by the end of their run of movies, I felt as though most of crew members were ready to move on to roles that were more challenging. They were really ready to all be more independent from one another. The movies even catered to that since the course of action in The Next Generation movies often required the crew members to be demonstrating their skills instead of being interdependent on one another. The only crew member who really gets that kind of attention in the first six movies is Kirk, but that’s the way it’s always traditionally been.</p> <p>If there were one thing I would change about the movies . . . without a doubt . . . I would stop the Enterprise from getting beat up all the time! I know it was kind of necessary for the plots, and I know they needed new ship designs (and I wouldn’t want them to take those parts out), but I felt almost as though they were beating up one of the crew members every time the ship got beat up.</p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:78%;">*1 The only exception to that might be Sulu’s character, who seems to be comfortable stepping up and being a fellow Captain to Kirk in Star Trek VI.</span></p> WordPress Tags: <a href="http://wordpress.com/tag/Trek" rel="Tag">Trek</a>, <a href="http://wordpress.com/tag/Movie" rel="Tag">Movie</a>, <a href="http://wordpress.com/tag/Countdown" rel="Tag">Countdown</a>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-80459324424507555762009-05-09T14:41:00.001-07:002009-05-09T14:41:05.099-07:00Launching<p>Today is the launch of my new blogging home at <a href="http://jennerosity.org">jennerosity.org</a>.  I’ve got most things up and running and will continue blogging from that site from now on.  I will be posting to both for the first little while, but don’t wait too long to update your .rss feeds (here’s hoping the new ones are actually working!) and your bookmarks so you can keep up with all my Geekness comings and goings.  I’m too tired for much more fanfare than that.  There’ll be a blog post later about the journey to the new site and the things I’m learning along the way.</p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-3964970671373757442009-05-04T19:22:00.000-07:002009-05-05T20:52:02.814-07:00Star Trek: NemesisI think that this movie is the darkest of all the Star Trek movies that we've seen to date. It deals with ruthless and grim circumstances even more so than Insurrection did. Also, in Insurrection's favour, it offered a counterbalance to the darkness of the film. Nemesis has very little light to offset the grim circumstances.<br /><br />I liked that this film was more overtly symbolic than some of the previous ones were. We see lots of examples of <span style="font-weight: bold;">mirror images </span>throughout the movie. Though the mirror image is always distorted in some way. We can see it on a very grand scale of entire species and civilizations, looking at the Romulans and the Remans, right down to the individual comparison of Picard and Shinzon as well as Data and B-4. Mirror images is something that Star Trek has always liked to play with in all the alternate reality episodes that they did. Though that wasn't used so much in the Next Generation, it was in the Original Series and in Deep Space Nine too.<br /><br />As usual, some of the best commentary about the <span style="font-weight: bold;">nature of humanity</span> surrounds Data. Though in this film he somehow seems to finally understand some of the nature of humanity even more than Picard does. I felt the discussion between these two actors about these issues could have been explored more fully than it was.<br /><br />I love the fact that this movie gets back to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Romulan culture</span>. Throughout Star Trek the Romulans have been shrouded in mystery. The Next Generation began some cultural exploration during the series and it felt good to get back to some of their idiosyncracies, politics, and history. I also thought that Dina Meyer did a fantastic job playing the Romulan Commander (though her skill commanding a war bird left something to be desired.) I love how all the portrayals of Romulan women show that they are highly intelligent, brave, and just as capable as their male counterparts in leadership roles.<br /><br />There were a few discrepancies in the film that made me cringe a bit. Like, why aren't all tactical officers Betazoids? I thought that Picard had hair in his youth when they mentioned it during the series. And, why didn't they make any effort whatsoever to blend in when they went down to the planet on their new dune buggy? But the casual fan probably wouldn't notice most of these little details.<br /><br />They did stick to what seems to have become the formula for The Next Generation movies:<br /><ul><li>Shinzon is a pretty damn good villain. He even gets more scary-looking as the move progresses. Also, he's a villain with the potential to unnerve Picard. Though, I gotta say, when they are on screen together, Patrick Stewart's acting presence is much stronger than Tom Hardy's.</li><li>The Earth is facing a very grave threat. It's the heart of the Federation and home to most of the crew (not to mention the audience) so it makes the crisis very personal.</li><li>The Enterprise gets seriously beat up, if not destroyed.</li></ul>Now, on to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cool Science/Tech! </span>(The tech-geek side of me really loved the movie for all the nifty new shiny stuff!)<br /><br /><ul><li>A modern dune buggy - The Argo! I know a lot of people found it rather gimicky, but after seeing Firefly I think it actually does make sense that they have a vehicle capable of land travel on board a space ship.</li><li>We finally get to see another Android that is similar to, but not quite the same as Data.</li><li>The Reman warship - highly armed and capable of cloaking. Very cool ship design (though we'll ignore how it was built in secret by what was essentially a race of slaves) that reflects the war that they had just been through.</li><li>Successful cloning.</li><li>Holographic communication device. I believe it first arrives in Deep Space Nine, but it still deserves a mention here.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fun Stuff:</span><br /><ul><li>A cameo appearance by Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Janeway. She's a Star Trek Captain who actually seems to have been happy to accept a promotion. Now she outranks Picard, which is also kind of cool.</li><li>Geordie's implants are back. Too bad that the effects of the last movie weren't lasting!</li></ul>Next week I'm going to do a post reflecting back on the Star Trek movies that I've watched and give some general observations about the differences between original Trek and The Next Generation. I'm also going to rank the movies in order of how much I like them, and see how that compares to the original ranking I did way back at the beginning of the Countdown to Trek. I won't be seeing the new movie next weekend when it comes out because my schedule is just too full. However, I should be seeing it the week after that, and I'll try to put together one final Trek Tuesday post about that too (I'll really try to keep it spoiler free!)Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-33969528008946787092009-04-30T21:39:00.000-07:002009-04-30T22:35:39.209-07:00May Marathon!Despite what the title might lead you to believe, I am not actually taking part in a marathon during May. However, a new writing challenge is afoot! All it took was Wiffer <a href="http://karenpinco.com/2009/05/may-writing-goals/">Karen</a><span style="font-size:78%;">*1</span> to throw out the suggestion of a writing challenge, and a bunch of us jumped on board with the idea (so far <a href="http://melinakantor.com/?p=159">Melina</a>, <a href="http://www.a2millers.com/2009/04/30/its-may-got-goals/">Jen</a>, <a href="http://davina-m.blogspot.com/2009/04/may-goals.html">Davina</a>, and <a href="http://kimberlyfoley.wordpress.com/2009/05/01/hmmm-now-where-was-i/">Kim</a> have blogged about it and a bunch more writers have put up theirs in the forums).<br /><br />The timing for me is pretty darn good, since I decided to do <a href="http://kiwiwriters.org/my/challenge/site/socnoc-2008.html">SocNoc</a><span style="font-size:78%;">*2</span> this year, but haven't yet had a chance to figure out what I was going to do. Thinking about the writing challenge today (during the brief snippets of time that I had during work) I've decided that before embarking on a new project, I really should move at least one of my two 'works in progress'<span style="font-size:78%;">*3</span> forward a step. Ever since getting a copy of my 2007 NaNoWriMo manuscript printed out, I've been thinking more and more about that story, so I've decided to revisit it, and then potentially revise and/or add to it during SocNoc. I'm looking forward to applying the things I've learned about the writing process and add things like goals, motivation, conflict, and a plot to my first serious novel attempt.<br /><br />So, without further ado, my writing goals for May:<br /><ul><li>First, before re-reading, I'm going to work up a basic plot outline. No scene details just yet, but the basic outline of events/turning points.</li><li>Second, I know that my characters all had goals, motivations, and conflicts, but I like things concretely written out. If I leave them in my head I'll be constantly considering other ideas and lose track of what is actually going on.</li><li>Third, *grimmace* I'm going to re-read my manuscript and work on outlining the scenes. I know I'll be adding new scenes in what I've already written, and changing a bunch of the stuff that's already there. The big callenge is that he initial re-read is NOT to edit, just to figure out what plot parts stay, where the new stuff will happen, and what will go. I'm hoping the gratuitous use of post-it notes will help get me past the pain of re-reading what I've written. This will be the framework for the beginning of revisions and new writing that will begin in June.</li><li>Fourth, and totally unrelated to creative writing, I need to actually go through the <a href="http://www.problogger.net/">ProBlogger</a> <a href="http://www.problogger.net/31-days-to-build-a-better-blog-join-9100-other-bloggers-today/">31 Days to Build a Better Blog</a> exercises. I signed up but haven't gotten through more than the first few exercises yet and I'd like to.</li></ul>So, there you have it. Writing goals for May. I'm really hoping that now that the main tax rush is over, work will be slightly less stressful and I'll have a bit more time and mental fortitude to work on writing stuff. I'd like to be working on these writing goals daily, though I'm not sure how often I will be blogging updates about it (though I'm going to try to check in daily with the Wiffer forums).<br /><br />Edit: I went and put the footnote things in the top and then forgot to actually make the footnotes. Silly Jennerosity! Anyway, here are the footnotes:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*1 - For those who aren't in the loop, the Wiffers are a fabulous group of writers who share a passion for writing and wine :)<br />*2 - SocNoc stands for the Southern Cross Novel Challenge and is very similar to NaNoWriMo.<br />*3 - I say works in progress with quotes because it is a bit of a misnomer in this case. I haven't actually been doing much work or progressing either of them lately. But it sounded better than "those stale partial stories I wrote". They were written during NaNoWriMo 2007 and 2008 so they are both about 50,000 words long. Since they are both in the fantasy genre, I still have a long way to go until they are done!</span><a class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble" style="opacity: 0.0000616838;" target="_blank" href="http://wikiatic.com/wikisearch/search?q=*1%20-%20For%20those%20who%20aren%27t%20in%20the%20loop%2C%20the%20Wiffers%20are%20a%20fabulous%20group%20of%20writers%20who%20share%20a%20passion%20for%20writing%20and%20wine%20%3A%29%0D%0A*2%20-%20SocNoc%20stands%20for%20the%20Southern%20Cross%20Novel%20Challenge%20and%20is%20very%20similar%20to%20NaNoWriMo.%0D%0A*3%20-%20I%20say%20works%20in%20progress%20with%20quotes%20because%20it%20is%20a%20bit%20of%20a%20misnomer%20in%20this%20case.%20%20I%20haven%27t%20actually%20been%20doing%20much%20work%20or%20progressing%20either%20of%20them%20lately.%20%20But%20it%20sounded%20better%20than%20%22those%20stale%20partial%20stories%20I%20wrote%22.%20%20They%20were%20written%20during%20NaNoWriMo%202007%20and%202008%20so%20they%20are%20both%20about%2050%2C000%20words%20long.%20%20Since%20they%20are%20both%20in%20the%20fantasy%20genre%2C%20I%20still%20have%20a%20long%20way%20to%20go%20until%20they%20are%20done%21"></a>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-22577820185644797682009-04-26T16:04:00.000-07:002009-04-28T20:38:01.451-07:00Star Trek: InsurrectionThis was the first Trek movie where my first impression of it was fonder than upon revisiting it. I'm not sure why, but I just didn't click with this movie like I thought I would. The really confusing part, is that I can only come up with reasons why I <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">should</span></span> like it more than I do. Not that it's bad, but it just isn't as great as I initially thought it would be. When I think about what the movie was about and everything it had in it, I really should have loved it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What I think was detracting me:</span><br /><br />First difference that I noticed with this movie is that they don't start out in the Star Trek universe. They start out on the alien planet. They even have serene and pastoral music at this point to match the pastoral setting. I guess it's done to help establish some pathos (or ethos? it's some kind of *thos) for the people and their plight and to juxtapose with the action sequence that they jump into. But I think this is the only Trek movie that didn't have a grand Trek intro. <br /><br />The movie is full of a nostalgic feeling. We get lots of glimpses into Picard's, Riker's, and Troi's past. Not just with the crew, but with the entire situation that they face, it feels a bit like we're looking behind us at the past instead of traveling forward to something new and exciting.<br /><br />They did look a bit at the differet cultural values of the other races but I would have liked a more in depth look at how their society runs. The Baku (sp?) seem to be a very highly evolved, peaceful, spiritual people but we don't get much of a sense of their political organization and how decisions are made.<br /><br />There were a number of bits that felt contrived or hokey: Worf reuniting with the crew for this mission, the kid and his animated pet, it seemed to take too long to wrap things up at the end, and some of the dialogue was just too cheesey for me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Things that make me want to love it:</span><br /><br />I thought they did a very good job portraying a realistic <span style="font-weight: bold;">post-war</span> role for the Enterprise and her crew. They waste no time reminding us of where we are in the Trek universe and all the upheaval that has been going on through the galaxy. The crew seems to be in a bit of a state of shock after all the high adventure to return to diplomacy, talks, paperwork, etc.<br /><br />The theme of the movie deals with a lot of ethics and the <span style="font-weight: bold;">spirit of the Prime Directive</span>. Thematically, I should have loved the movie, but it wasn't quite enough for me to get past the other points. They are dealing with <span style="font-weight: bold;">forced relocation </span>and trying to define <span style="font-weight: bold;">the balance between the needs of the many and the needs of the few</span>. <br /><br />There's also a bit of a political message going on that is applicable to any day and age as they explore the consequences of making an alliance with a political entity that has quite different values than they do. In a sense they are making a <span style="font-weight: bold;">deal with a devil</span> 'for the greater good' but gambling on whether they will be able to control the devil further down the road.<br /><br />The entire way that the villains were handled here was also great. The decisions about how they look lends a certain poetry to it all. Their exterior physical state really mirrored their inner moral decay.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cool Science/Tech:</span><br /><ul><li>genetic manipulations to preserve youth</li><li>metaphasic energy</li><li>they actually used the ramscoop!<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fun Stuff:<br /></span><ul><li>Picard kind of gets a girlfriend but Beverly doesn't really seem to care. Perhaps the invigorating experience has her considering aiming her sights at someone younger than the Captain?</li><li>Geordie's eyes heal! And I can't remember if it's permanent or not. Guess I'll find out next week when I watch the next movie.</li><li>They had a good villain with a clear goal, motivation, and conflict (appealed to the writer in me) and he has a really awesome scream when he realizes his plans get foiled!</li><li>Riker really gets a chance to display that he is very ready for the Captain's chair now.</li><li>It's kind of nice to know that futuristic military organizations still let people bank their vacation/shore-leave days.<br /></li><li>The crew literally gets re-invigorated for one last movie after this one *sniff, sniff*</li></ul><div id="qlauncher"> <div id="qlauncher-overlay" style="display: none;"> <div id="qlauncher-floater"> <div id="qlauncher-panel"> <ul id="qlauncher-shortcut-list" class="qlauncher-clear"> <!-- <li class="qlauncher-shortcut"> </li> --> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="qlauncher"> <div id="qlauncher-overlay" style="display: none;"> <div id="qlauncher-floater"> <div id="qlauncher-panel"> <ul id="qlauncher-shortcut-list" class="qlauncher-clear"> <!-- <li class="qlauncher-shortcut"> </li> --> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-64306668664079506592009-04-22T12:30:00.000-07:002009-04-22T12:30:00.302-07:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 - The Neutral Zone<a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68358.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a><br /><br />This episode sets up a potential future adversary for the Federation and re-introduces the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Romulan</span> race (and does it so they are somewhat politically and psychologically complex species, as opposed to the treatment of the aliens in the Conspiracy episode.) The set up is a bit weak. We get some background and hear that they had dropped off the radar for a lot of years, but now they are back!<br /><br />At the same time as this is going on, the episode throws in some issues about <span style="font-weight: bold;">medical ethics</span>. They take a look at the bigger picture of cryogenic technology and the long-tail effects of this. There is also the very mundane issue of whose job it is to maintain all the cryogenically frozen people and what happens if they run out of funding before a cure is found for whatever killed them? Who should decide when/if they get re-animated? How do they manage to re-integrate into society when/if they are re-animated? Would any of us really be prepared to re-start our lives at some point?<br /><br />One of the frustrating things about this episode is that is just kind of wraps up without answering the mystery that it started with - the destruction of outposts in the Neutral Zone! The Enterprise shows up, a Romulan ship shows up. They talk. Neither claims responsibility. Then they both turn around and leave the area shrugging their shoulders. I can't remember if this simply sets up something for next season or not. Unfortunately, my fellow Trek fans, I am going to have to wait a while before finding out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cool Science/Tech:</span><br /><ul><li>While we don't see it, they refer to the Captain's shuttle.</li><li>The Romulan ship is very cool too!<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Announcements:</span><br /><br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This will be my last Star Trek: The Next Generation post for a while. </span>I will continue to do my Trek Tuesday movie posts. But, for a while anyways, the TV show posts will be on hiatus. Mostly, this is becuase we are finally catching up with some other shows. We've borrowed season 1 of Battlestar Gallactica, and feel we should watch that and return it before we continue on with the Star Trek stuff.</li><li>When they resume, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">the posts will be moving to a new blog home</span>. I'll be announcing my new blog home soon. Most things are set up already, but I still have a few more tweaks and things to finish off before officially opening the doors. Don't worry, I'll be letting you know when things are ready to go there.<br /></li></ol>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-67881606665982138732009-04-20T22:55:00.000-07:002009-04-20T23:26:19.095-07:00Before and After - My Creative SpaceWay back, a long time ago I posted about a decision to turn a corner of my kitchen into my own craft and creativity space. I sorted and organized and moved things around. In the process I made a wish list of Ikea items to get the space truly organized the way I like it. My husband L had originally wanted to pick everything up while I was away in New York and install everything while I was gone, but he didn't get a chance to. Which was just as well, since I always enjoy a trip to Ikea!<br /><br />Here is my before picture:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3368/3195315109_65afd8f023_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3368/3195315109_65afd8f023_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And here are some after pictures:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3304/3407478504_d79e9160f1_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3304/3407478504_d79e9160f1_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3407478234_8aca2bc9b9_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3407478234_8aca2bc9b9_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It looks a little messier now, but I still love it! Now I've got my sewing machine in a spot that it's usable from (though I still haven't used it to do any of the mending that's piling up). I also hung up the family picture calendar that my step-mother makes each year. The shelves look a little bare for now, but I like to think that they are just waiting to be filled with whatever strikes my fancy. It's also a fortunate thing since the shelves can't bear much weight. We are also using part of the shelving space for kitchen storage. Our cookbooks are now much more accessible and visible and our pasta is out from the dark corner, where it often got ignored.<br /><br />It is much easier to sit down and get to work on a creative project since I know I've got a dedicated space for it. The challenge that is going to remain is keeping this space for my things and keeping it neat and clutter free. But, I think I have a few ideas on how best to do that.<br /><div id="qlauncher"> <div id="qlauncher-overlay" style="display: none;"> <div id="qlauncher-floater"> <div id="qlauncher-panel"> <ul id="qlauncher-shortcut-list" class="qlauncher-clear"> <!-- <li class="qlauncher-shortcut"> </li> --> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-9652255208305485032009-04-20T22:29:00.000-07:002009-04-21T19:29:20.127-07:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 - ConspiracyLink to StarTrek.com <a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68356.html">episode guide</a><br /><br />As we progressed through season 1, we realized that a couple of our least favourite episodes come at the very end. So, it's been a bit difficult motivating ourselves to watch them again. However, martinis and a new laptop lightened my mood enough so that I could sit through them again.<br /><br />This episode is mostly somber in tone as it deals with a subtle and wide-spread conspiracy within the ranks of Star Fleet. Thankfully, it starts with a bit of humour to help give a little bit of levity to the situation. We do get a glimpse of the background of Picard and Dr. Crusher, which helps give each of those characters a bit of depth. <br /><br />I've had a really hard time figuring out what it is about this episode that embodies the Star Trek universe that I love so much. I guess it really just shows how even an insidious force like the one unleashed in this episode can't manage to take down Star Fleet. Even though they manage to infiltrate the highest ranks of the organization, they can't outsmart or over manipulate the crew of the Enterprise.<br /><br />However, on the flip side, I didn't think they treated the subject in the balanced way that they come to in future episodes. The symbiotic aliens are completely flat with almost no other motivations aside from taking over. Then the episode just kind of ends with the only lasting message being that the aliens managed to send out some sort of homing beacon message. Since I've seen the rest of the series, at least I know that the message seems to have gotten lost along the way or the rest of them changed their minds about invading.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cool Science/Tech:<br /></span><ul><li>There were a few potential areas that they could have thrown in some shiny tech goodness, but nothing really stood out.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fun Stuff:<br /></span><ul><li>Riker getting his ass kicked by an old man was kind of amusing. When the old guy takes on Worf, we begin to know that something is REALLY amiss here. I mean, Worf is absolutely awesome and this is an old man. It was a good thing Dr. Crusher knows how to fire a phaser!</li></ul><div id="qlauncher"> <div id="qlauncher-overlay" style="display: none;"> <div id="qlauncher-floater"> <div id="qlauncher-panel"> <ul id="qlauncher-shortcut-list" class="qlauncher-clear"> <!-- <li class="qlauncher-shortcut"> </li> --> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div><div id="qlauncher"> <div id="qlauncher-overlay" style="display: none;"> <div id="qlauncher-floater"> <div id="qlauncher-panel"> <ul id="qlauncher-shortcut-list" class="qlauncher-clear"> <!-- <li class="qlauncher-shortcut"> </li> --> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-36843091407380357382009-04-14T22:25:00.001-07:002009-04-14T22:25:18.445-07:00Star Trek: First Contact<p>Another Trek Tuesday post.  I’m a bit late, but I’ve been wrapping up the final assignment for a course I’ve been taking.  I’m very happy to have finished the course.  Now, on to Trek!</p> <p>I think the movie did a great job juggling all the different things that were going on in the episode.  You had the race against time going on with the planet and the ship, Picard working out his inner demons, and then the conflict between Data and the Borg queen.  I don’t think there was any one part that got too much or too little screen time, they were all pretty evenly balanced and satisfying.</p> <p>I got to thinking of the even-numbered-Trek-movie continuum of awesomeness* as I was watching this one, since it is technically Star Trek VIII, and started drawing some parallels between this one and the other even numbered films that come before it.  Here’s what I came up with.  As in <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/01/star-trek-ii-wrath-of-khan.html">Star Trek II</a>, you have the return of a <strong>formidable villain</strong>.  The new twist is the villain is an entire race that is now given a figurehead.  As in <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/02/star-trek-iv-voyage-home.html">Star Trek IV</a>, we had to deal with <strong>time travel</strong> in order to save humanity from an alien species wiping out Earth.  They still worry about polluting the time line and have all the hilarity that ensues when the crew from the future have to interact and get by in the past (Deanna’s introduction to tequila).  However, in this one, they don’t actually make any changes to history and they just restore what has already happened.  And, as in <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/2009/03/star-trek-vi-undiscovered-country.html">Star Trek VI</a>, the movie commemorates the <strong>beginning of a new relationship between humanity and an alien culture</strong> and the <strong>end of war and conflict</strong>.  But, in this movie, it’s humanity that has brought itself to its knees and is just ready to begin rebuilding a bright new future for itself.</p> <p>The other major reflection that I had was how incredibly Westernized the Star Trek philosophy is.  The Star Trek universe is sort of based on the continued betterment of the individual.  The needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many.  So it stands to reason that the great menace is the Borg, who espouse the extreme opposite of that philosophy and embrace the complete erasure of the individuality in favour of the collective.  However, I wonder if other cultures that emphasize the group over the individual would characterize the two philosophies as ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ the same way as Star Trek did?</p> <p>The movie had some very solid supporting cast that fit very nicely within the established chemistry of the Next Generation crew.  I liked the smooth reintroduction of Commander Worf, as he was technically reassigned to Deep Space Nine at this point in the Star Trek timeline.</p> <p>The spacesuit scene I thought was a bit gimmicky and overdone.  Though I suppose it kind of replaces the gratuitous ship scenes that many of the earlier movies had.  Another interesting tidbit, I think this might have been the first time that the starship Enterprise makes use of escape pods.  Before I guess they would just have the option of separating the saucer section if they were going to self-destruct.</p> <p>Ok, enough ramblings . . . </p> <p><strong>Cool Tech:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Geordie’s new eyes!  I could have done with fewer of the close-ups, since they had the cool factor right from the very beginning.  But, I guess they had to play it up.</li> <li>The entire ship!  Another new Enterprise.  Much more warlike to match the galactic tension between the Federation and the Gamma Quadrant.</li> <li>Emergency Medical Holographic program</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Stuff:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Another really great intro theme.  I thought the opening credits were really well done too!</li> <li>The EMH program is a guest star from Star Trek: Voyager, of course.  His few lines were characteristic of his dry wit.</li> <li>Another Voyager guest star – unnamed host at the holodeck restaurant was played by Neelix!</li> </ul> <p>For more Trek Tuesday awesomeness, go visit <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/">Shannon the Movie Moxie</a>.</p> <p><em><font size="1">*Yeah, I like making up words and phrases like that.</font></em></p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-77158816482858043172009-04-11T16:08:00.001-07:002009-04-11T16:08:43.131-07:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – We’ll Always Have Paris<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68354.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a></p> <p>The pacing of this episode felt rather slow to me and the crisis didn’t feel very urgent.  This is what happens when time experiments go terribly wrong!  But that doesn’t feel like the main story for this episode.  It’s actually all about Picard and his old flame resolving things.  Tangentially, it’s also about Dr. Crusher dealing with her feelings for Picard and helps establish some of the sexual tension there.  I wish they’d had more of that aspect and less of the old flame.*</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Tech</strong>: </p> <ul> <li>non-linear time experiments</li> <li>Anti-matter patching the time rift**</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Stuff</strong>:</p> <ul> <li>We get to see more of Picard’s hobbies – fencing!  Unfortunately, my husband reports that they had terrible fencing form.</li> </ul> <p><font size="1">*The outfit his old flame was wearing made me cringe every time she was on screen.  Silver shiny baggy jumpsuit – yuck!</font></p> <p><font size="1">**You know you’ve watched too much Star Trek when you start to remember inconsistencies in the science of Trek . . . “But didn’t Wesley say in that other episode that there is only one correct matter/anti-matter ratio?”</font></p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-37153434569210414822009-04-10T12:00:00.000-07:002009-04-10T12:00:00.140-07:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – Skin of Evil<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68350.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a></p> <p>There are many people who rejoice at this episode as it marks the end of a character that they didn’t particularly like and is the beginning of the reconfiguration to the bridge crew that we all came to know and love.  </p> <p>The episode really speaks to the <strong>value of life </strong>as well as being a comment on how your <strong>environment and experiences can shape you</strong>.  For all the advancements of the Star Trek universe, this episode also demonstrates that there are some things that even they cannot overcome, such as death.</p> <p>One of the things in this episode that I had totally forgotten about, but liked this time around was Deanna’s role in her own rescue.  Even though she was trapped in the shuttle, she was still using her knowledge of psychology to do what she could to help her own situation.  Her resolve, intuition, and wisdom are really what makes her character excel in her position.  It’s refreshing to see a woman character who succeeds at being awesome without supreme athletic skills or a niche specialty.</p> <p>I found the ending sad this time through.  They just left the skin of evil there and couldn’t help at all.  He wasn’t saved or destroyed, he was left there for an eternity of rage, sadness, and loneliness.  I guess it was one more problem that they didn’t have the resources to tackle and had to just accept it as is.</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Tech</strong>:</p> <ul> <li>A holo-recorded speech</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Stuff</strong></p> <ul> <li>A reference to Data as ‘tin man’ by the creature.  Maybe one day I’ll do a blog post highlighting all the literary aspects of the Trek universe . . . if I’ve got the time.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Quote</strong></p> <ul> <li>No goodbyes just good memories ~ Tasha Yar</li> </ul> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-16444708446696236382009-04-09T21:57:00.001-07:002009-04-09T21:57:17.869-07:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – Symbiosis<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68352.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a></p> <p>This episode is all about drug addiction and the ethics of imposing our values onto another culture.  It’s really just a big message episode.  Not that it’s bad or anything, it just isn’t the most gripping or interesting episode they ever did.  I find these types of messages interesting as it gives the writers a chance to make a comment about current issues, but it’s really all there is to the show.</p> <p><strong>Cool Tech/Science:</strong></p> <ul> <li>People that can control an electrical surge through their body.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Stuff:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Geordie gets to pick his own heading and chooses a system they’ve never been to before – heart of an adventurer!</li> </ul> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-12494747848399888492009-04-09T09:36:00.001-07:002009-04-09T09:36:50.929-07:00Full Pink Moon Dreamboard<p><a title="2009AprilPinkFullMoonDreamBoard.jpg" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/76614238@N00/3426183379/"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" height="339" alt="2009AprilPinkFullMoonDreamBoard.jpg" src="http://static.flickr.com/3600/3426183379_8f2cbf158c.jpg" width="263" border="0" /></a></p> <p>Tonight we celebrate the Full Pink Moon along with Jamie Riddler at <a href="http://starshyneproductions.blogspot.com/2009/04/full-pink-moon-dreamboard-april-9-2009.html">Starshyne Productions</a>.</p> <p>I’ve only participated once before, but I’ve been feeling particularly creative lately and wanting to try out a few new supplies and different techniques lately and this was a god opportunity.</p> <p>What I want to be blossoming in my life right now has to do with this blog actually.  I’m in the process of setting up a new blog that will be hosted on my own domain.  It isn’t ready for a formal introduction just yet, but once it is I’ll be putting up links and sending everyone over to have a look around.  When it is fully set up, I don’t intend to come back to update this space anymore.  It was fun while it lasted, but I’d like a fresh start.  The new site will be a spot where I intend to live, share, and enjoy my geek flag.</p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-53230906961368251702009-04-07T18:06:00.001-07:002009-04-07T20:04:27.996-07:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – The Arsenal of Freedom<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68348.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a></p> <p>I never realize just how busy I get when I’m traveling. I thought that I had already posted about a couple of episodes but I guess not, so here goes . . .</p> <p>This was always one of my favourite episodes. It definitely is a lesson against extremes of all sorts along with one on <strong>ethics and responsible science/tech</strong>. </p> <p>One of the other themes that I also find fascinating is humanities inherent <strong>mistrust of machines</strong> and robots. You can see it come up again and again in sci-fi and fantasy that the machines will one day wipe out humanity if we make the machines smart enough. I wonder if it’s just paranoia or if it has something to do with a species-wide feeling that we deserve to be wiped out; that any purely logical beings will take one look at us and decide that we are definitely inferior.</p> <p>We also get to see a bit of internal politics on the Enterprise when Geordie’s command is questioned by another officer. I’m glad that we didn’t see more of that in the show, but it did give Geordie’s a chance to show his leadership ability. I’m glad that he eventually switches to a different career stream in engineering as I think it really helps to show all the different aspects of running a star ship when we have a main character represented in each of the areas.</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Tech</strong>:</p> <ul> <li>Evolving weaponry</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Stuff</strong>:</p> <ul> <li>The USS Drake is one of the ships that was offered to Will, but that he passed up to be commander of the Enterprise. The Drake is just one of the many ships that Riker could have captained, but that gets destroyed during the series.</li> </ul>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-43617253350441766892009-03-31T09:30:00.000-07:002009-03-31T09:30:00.894-07:00Star Trek VII: Generations<p><em>This is the seventh in a series of <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/search/label/Trek%20Tuesdays">Trek Tuesday</a> posts counting down to the next Star Trek movie set to be released this May. Be sure to check out <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/">Shannon, the Movie Moxie</a>, for <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/search/label/Trek%20Tuesdays">her posts</a> (she started <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/2009/01/countdown-to-star-trek-movie-marathon.html">the countdown</a>) and feel free to jump in and play along or leave some comments.</em></p> <p>This was the first Star Trek movie that I ever saw in theatres. It’s the first Star Trek movie with the cast and crew of The Next Generation and I really enjoyed re-watching it.</p> <p>I think the movie does an excellent job of passing the torch to the new generation of Star Trek actors, while still following the premise set up by the previous Star Trek movies. The sentimentality surrounding the ship itself is there. The movie is framed with an Enterprise being launched and an Enterprise being destroyed. There is a nice mix of humour and the camaraderie and sense of family among the crew is definitely there as well.</p> <p>This particular movie appropriately focuses on time. Not only are they dealing with a temporal anomaly, but Picard is having to deal with the passage of time and its affects on his family line.* A familiar theme for Kirk in all of the movies is dealing with the march of time leading to his own obsolescence. When each of them is given the chance to create their own perfect world, regardless of time, each of them chooses reality over the fiction.</p> <p>The villain is pretty decent as far as Star Trek villains go. Though, you don’t really get a sense that he is battling the Star Trek crew, so I found that the conflict was a bit indirect. Dr. Soran uses the metaphor of time as a predator, stalking you until it’s too late. He makes a good foil for Picard’s character, who characterizes time as a companion, reminding you to cherish each moment.</p> <p>I also took from it that you need to let go of the past, or you will simply get stuck in it. It’s an appropriate theme for a movie that is saying goodbye to so many things, and transitioning to the new. I thought the sub-plot with Commander Data highlighted the fact that true growth often comes with some element of risk. Progress may come at the price of never being able to return to the past.</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Tech:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Trilithium is mentioned and briefly explained.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Facts:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Tim Russ is one of the crew on Enterprise B. He later plays Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager.</li> <li>We get to see Picard and Kirk show off their equestrian skills.</li> </ul> <p><strong>Side Notes:</strong></p> <ul> <li>I love the theme song that goes with this movie. It ranks right up with Deep Space Nine’s second theme song, for the best Star Trek theme music. I played a segment of it in a Star Trek medley back in high school band. Boy that flute part was a bitch!</li> <li>The end of the movie got me feeling kind of sad and mushy and now I’m really looking forward to re-watching the next movie.</li><li>When I was in New York, I went to <a href="http://www.pylones-usa.com/pylones/indexpylones.php">Pylones</a>, which is a store that carries a very brightly coloured and funky array of merchandise. I managed to buy the most banal coloured object in the entire store: a silver book-light. I used it for the first time tonight watching the movie and I LOVE it! I'm hoping it'll make it easier to watch Star Trek movies and episodes and take notes at the same time. You see, our main tv set up is a projector. It projects the images directly on our wall and functions best in the dark, making note-taking a bit difficult. The book-light solves that little issue wonderfully!<br /></li> </ul> <p><em><span style="font-size:78%;">*I find it a bit ironic that Picard gets this way since the beginning of The Next Generation clearly establishes that he isn’t comfortable with children. Guess it just goes to show how much his character really progressed over the years.**</span></em></p> <p><em><span style="font-size:78%;">**In case you’re wondering, these are <strong>end</strong> notes, which are distinctly different than the above <strong>side</strong> notes.</span></em></p>Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-19193605349619900002009-03-17T09:24:00.000-07:002009-03-17T09:24:00.826-07:00Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country<p><em>This is the sixth in a series of <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/search/label/Trek%20Tuesdays">Trek Tuesday</a> posts counting down to the next Star Trek movie set to be released this May.  Be sure to check out <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/">Shannon, the Movie Moxie</a>, for <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/search/label/Trek%20Tuesdays">her posts</a> (she started <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/2009/01/countdown-to-star-trek-movie-marathon.html">the countdown</a>) and feel free to jump in and play along or leave some comments.</em></p> <p>This was the first Star Trek movie that I can distinctly remember being released in theatres.  We didn’t go to see it, but I can remember watching an episode of an entertainment show (like Entertainment Tonight perhaps?) that had a feature on Iman starring in the movie and the makeup, costume, etc.  It’s one of the movies that I’ve watched the most, so I don’t feel quite so guilty about falling asleep when my husband and I tried to watch this (in my defense, we started the movie after 11pm).</p> <p>To me, this film is reminiscent of a Shakespearean history play.  Though, I’m not sure if that’s because of several of the prominent Shakespearean quotes.  It also is very political in its themes.  It deals briefly with sustainability and, luckily for me, has some brief hints of Spock’s vulcan mysticism.  More importantly, this is a pivotal movie that deals with the fundamental transition of the Federation and Star Fleet from a militaristic tradition, to more of a diplomatic and scientific role.  This is a very important distinction for any fan of both Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation, because the flavour of Star Fleet is quite different between the two series.</p> <p>The movie is a defining moment in history for the Star Trek universe because the Federation is faced with a situation in which one of their greatest enemies is brought to its knees by an outside crisis.  Now they have to decide what the correct response is . . . compassion or ruthlessness?</p> <p>Upon re-watching (the first bit of) the movie, I also really appreciated the cultural blending and borrowing that occurs.  Spock comments on a Vulcan proverb that only Nixon could go to China and the Klingons in the movie like to quote Shakespeare and claims that it is best enjoyed in its ‘original Klingon.’  It’s quite noticeable in the movie but it reminded me of how much it happens in our world as well.  </p> <p>I think one of the best quotes that wraps up the fundamental choices facing the characters of the movie is the line from Hamlet quoted in the movie “to be or not to be.”  They are dealing with the future of two races/cultures.  One race, their very continued existence hangs in the balance.  For both, they also need to consider the manner in which they are going to move forward and their culture integrity.</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Tech:</strong></p> <p>This movie didn’t really feature much cool science/technology.  The closest is an honourable mention for the tracking device Spock plants on Kirk that the Klingons don’t pick up on, but that allows Spock to track Kirk down wherever he may be.</p> <p><strong>Fun Facts:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Let’s just take a moment and review some of the cast in this movie: Iman, Christian Slater*, Brock Peters*2 (the actor who will eventually play Ben Sisko’s father on Deep Space Nine), Kim Cattrall (Sex in the City), Michael Dorn*3, Christopher Plummer, Rene Auberjonois*4</li> <li>I’m not sure where or when I heard this, but the original Klingon language that was invented didn’t have the ‘be’ verb, because Klingons are all about action.  So, they had to invent a new word so that they could translate the line “to be or not to be” into Klingon.</li> </ul> <p><font size="1">*He doesn’t get an actual name for this movie, he’s just Excelsior’s Communication Officer.</font></p> <p><font size="1">*2 Here he’s reprising his role as Admiral Cartwright, but he also plays Ben Sisko’s father in Deep Space Nine.</font></p> <p><font size="1">*3 The Klingon defense lawyer, whom they named ‘Colonel Worf’</font></p> <p><font size="1">*4 One of the Star Fleet brass who will later play Deep Space Nine’s Odo <br />P.S. I love the ability to schedule posts.  At the time that you’re reading this, I’m actually vacationing with my lovely sister in New York!  We’re probably watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade wrap up right now.</font></p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-42992654692959681132009-03-12T22:21:00.001-07:002009-03-12T22:21:02.357-07:00New York City!<p>As you’ve noticed, I’m behind on some of my regular blogging duties.  I haven’t done last week’s book group blog post and I don’t think I’ll get to this week’s or next week’s book group blog post.  (I do have my Trek Tuesday post ready and loaded though.)  I’m going to go ahead and blame it on me being super busy preparing to go to New York with my sister next week.  So, don’t expect much action here next week at all.  </p> <p>However, if you just can’t get enough of me and want to read about our trip, you can always check out <a href="http://saunter-on-sunflower.blogspot.com/">Sauntering Sunflower</a>,* where I’ll be attempting to blog about it as it happens.  It’s the blog my husband and I started for our trip to Japan.</p> <p>Also, if you want a New York postcard sent to you, send me an email with your mailing address and I’ll do my best to send away a postcard to you while we’re there.</p> <p><font size="1"><em>*Just for the record, my husband’s the sunflower and I’m the daisy.</em></font></p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-89039269493154012192009-03-03T23:02:00.001-08:002009-03-03T23:02:22.245-08:00Star Trek V: The Final Frontier<p><em>This is the fifth in a series of <a href="http://jennerosity.blogspot.com/search/label/Trek%20Tuesdays">Trek Tuesday</a> posts counting down to the next Star Trek movie set to be released this May.  Be sure to check out <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/">Shannon, the Movie Moxie</a>, for <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/search/label/Trek%20Tuesdays">her posts</a> (she started <a href="http://moviemoxie.blogspot.com/2009/01/countdown-to-star-trek-movie-marathon.html">the countdown</a>) and feel free to jump in and play along or leave some comments.</em></p> <p>Like my last Trek Tuesday post, this one is also a bit late in coming.  Not for any particularly good reason, though I did just spend an hour reading some more of The Watchmen, getting ready for its release this weekend.</p> <p>I’m so surprised that I couldn’t remember the main plot of this movie.  I was fairly certain I had seen it at some point in the past, but when I tried to recall it, the only scene that I could conjure into my imagination was Kirk mountain climbing, which is hardly pivotal to the plot.  However, as I began watching, the memories of the plot started flooding back to me.</p> <p>I have to say, I enjoyed this movie much more than I expected to.  I think it’s one of the Star Trek movies that often gets overlooked.  Part of the familiarity that I felt from watching it may have been from the fact that it was filmed at the same time as Star Trek: The Next Generation.  The plot was more action-oriented and had a more 1980’s vibe to it all.  </p> <p>The movie does its best to remind us of the sea-faring exploration roots that are at the heart of the Star Trek universe.  We are also reminded that exploration is all about pushing past boundaries to try to find out what is beyond everything that we already know.  It’s stretched beyond physical exploration to the exploration of our minds, psychological boundaries of pain and fear.  Using our minds to create psychological peace and also to create the reality around us.</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Tech:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Rocket boots</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Facts:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Cameo by producer Harve Bennet</li> <li>I think that the character of J’onn looked A LOT like the movie portrayal of Voldemort.  But, that’s just my opinion.</li> <li>The atmosphere of Nimbus III reminded me of the feel that Joss Whedon created in Serenity/Firefly.</li> </ul> <p><font size="1">Ok, so 2 of the 3 fun facts are really just my own opinion/thoughts, but they fit better here than in the discussion of the larger film.</font></p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-368054010484152962009-03-01T11:32:00.001-08:002009-03-01T11:32:43.995-08:00Hairstyles through my ages . . .<p>I’ve been feeling like it’s time for a change of hairstyle lately, but am lacking inspiration.  I picked up a magazine to look through the styles, but realized what looked good in the magazine, might not look good on me.  Then I thought I’d dig through my old photos to see what hairstyles I’ve had in the past, just in case anything popped out at me.</p> <p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3315057049_1afaf9bfd9_m.jpg" align="left" /> Here I am with my thin wispy hair as a baby.  I don’t think I’d go back to a hairstyle this short!</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3466/3315884454_5a41010099_m.jpg" align="right" /> </p> <p>I don’t think we ever actually used a bowl for this particular hair cut, but you almost could have.  See how much more easily my sister’s hair held that curl around her face?  My fine hair still doesn’t hold a hair style very easily.</p> <p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3378/3315057461_cc22093c19_m.jpg" align="left" /> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>See my cowlick?  They were traumatic for me.  I’m still scared to have bangs in case it’s still there.  Does anyone know if you grow out of them?  (Oh yeah, and I know I have a weird expression in this picture.  Makes me giggle whenever I see it.)</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/3315057781_3af0a9fb39_m.jpg" align="right" /> </p> <p>At times I’m grateful that my hair is so thin.  For instance, it means that this is the best I could ever manage at the feathered bangs look that was so popular then.  This is probably one of my most cringe-worthy 80’s hair-do’s and it was the last time that I had bangs.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><Use your imagination to insert embarrassing perm picture here.  Because my hair was so thin, it thankfully only lasted about a year.></p> <p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3466/3315057919_675f1b1370_m.jpg" align="left" /> </p> <p>Before re-discovering this picture, I’d been thinking about getting an almost identical length bob.  Then I found this picture and have changed my mind about going back to all one length.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I let my hair grow and grow and grow, and then my adventures in layers began.</p> <p><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3604/3315885696_bc1700e987_t.jpg" /> Layers &<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/3315058629_0592231ef0_t.jpg" />more layers <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3480/3315885902_3eb0815f2b_t.jpg" /> </p> <p> </p> <p>My hair is still currently layered, though it’s so long that the layers don’t really frame my face at all.</p> <p>So there you have it.  If you want to check out more of my pictures, you can look at my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennerosity/">Flickr account</a>.  I’m still not sure what I’ll do with my hair.  If you have some inspiration for a great haircut for me, let me know in the comments!  </p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-57609733399680308202009-02-27T09:30:00.000-08:002009-02-27T09:30:00.177-08:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – Heart of Glory<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68346.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a>.</p> <p>So, I think it’s safe to say that the episodes that focus on the Klingons, their mythology, philosophy, and beliefs, are among my very favourite.  There is something in them that calls to my own warrior within.  I like Klingon quotes and like to throw some of them out there once in a while.  This episode gets into a bit of Worf’s past and Klingon politics as well.  </p> <p>Some of my favourite Klingon spiritual beliefs in this episode are surrounding death.  <strong>The Klingon death yell</strong> I think has a very Norse appeal to it.  The yell is a warning cry so that the dead know that a Klingon warrior is about to arrive.  They also have the belief that <strong>the body is just a shell for the soul</strong>.  </p> <p><strong>Race Study:</strong> Klingons</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Gadgets:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Visual Acuity Transmitter – a technology that never takes off</li> <li>The Klingons assembling a disrupter and force field breaker from shoes and such</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Stuff:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Klingon death yell – ok, maybe not everyone finds this fun/cool</li> </ul> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-38622609243667484792009-02-26T22:37:00.001-08:002009-02-26T22:37:51.128-08:00The Next Chapter – Secret #8 Selecting Empowering Partnerships and Alliances<p><em>I’m taking part in an online book blogging club called </em><a href="http://tnc-12secrets.blogspot.com/"><em>The Next Chapter</em></a><em>. This post is part of our discussion about </em><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1573241415?tag=jamiridlstud-20&camp=8641&creative=330649&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1573241415&adid=1KQ6EJN76CXXGVYZBFF2&"><em>The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women</em></a><em>. Feel free to jump in to the conversation here or with some of the <a href="http://tnc-12secrets.blogspot.com/2009/02/secret-8-selecting-empowering.html">other posts about secret #8</a>.</em></p> <p>My first thoughts about this chapter were about creative collaboration.  I’ve had a few thoughts about some different creative projects that I think would be fun to embark on.  Usually with a particularly talented visual artist, whose style I find intriguing and powerful.  But, this chapter is about more than just a creative collaboration, it’s also about business partners and support groups.  And after Jamie’s prompt, I’m trying to think about the characteristics of my ‘dream team.’</p> <p>I enjoy working mostly on my own.  Collaborative brainstorming for ideas is great in groups.  But the actual meat and bones of the work, I like to do it all myself.*  However, I never think that my creation is all my own, because there are so many other people involved who make it possible.  Did that make any sense?  I hope I made that clear enough.</p> <p>I tried to think of one giant list of characteristics for my ‘dream team’ but then realized it was silly of me because the characteristics will be different depending on what role they are fulfilling.  So, I broke it down into smaller ‘dream teams.’</p> <p><strong>Inspiration Team</strong></p> <p>These are the sources of ideas, new projects, etc.  These are the types of people who I would be willing to talk an idea out with when an idea is in its raw form.</p> <ul> <li>optimism</li> <li>diversity of background, interests, opinions, etc.**</li> <li>faith</li> <li>energy</li> <li>engagement</li> <li>dialogue</li> <li>kindness</li> </ul> <p><strong>Guidance Team</strong></p> <p>These are the people I turn to when I’m looking for specific advice.  I’ve usually identified a problem and know it needs to be fixed, but can’t (or don’t want to spend the time to) fix it.  So, I turn to the experts for the ‘how’ questions.</p> <ul> <li>patience</li> <li>intelligence</li> <li>expertise</li> <li>expressive</li> </ul> <p><strong>Feedback Team</strong></p> <p>These people are a source of complete honesty.  Finding people who do a good job of critiquing is difficult and I always worry that they are being overly kind.  I don’t need (much) kindness here, I just need brutal honesty.</p> <ul> <li>honesty</li> <li>high standards</li> <li>expertise</li> <li>assertive</li> <li>dialogue</li> <li>expressive</li> </ul> <p><strong>Cheerleading Team</strong></p> <p>I do also need a group of people who will be out there for me cheering me on.  In a business sense, I’m thinking specifically of an agent.</p> <ul> <li>energy</li> <li>optimism</li> <li>faith</li> <li>extrovert</li> <li>assertive</li> <li>kindness</li> <li>intelligence</li> <li>expertise</li> </ul> <p>*Because I’m a stubborn, proud, perfectionist type of person.  It isn’t that other people aren’t good enough, but I need to know that I can do it well enough for my own standards.</p> <p>**I LOVE learning about different cultures, religions, beliefs, traditions, jobs, topics, etc.  Even just diversity of appearance or hearing different languages is fodder for my imagination.  This is why I love living in an area where we have such high diversity!</p> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-76206300744347314312009-02-26T09:30:00.000-08:002009-02-26T09:30:01.402-08:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – Coming of Age<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68344.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a>.</p> <p>This episode is really all about <strong>tests</strong> of all different kinds . . .</p> <ul> <li>aptitude </li> <li>qualification </li> <li>character </li> <li>loyalty </li> <li>interpersonal skills </li> </ul> <p>As Wesley gets tested along with some other youths, the adult crew members of the Enterprise are being tested in more ways than one.  <strong>Picard</strong> gets to show off some of his <strong>piloting skills</strong>.  The episode sets up some things for a later episode as well.  </p> <p>I found a couple of good quotes/truisms too.  First from Worf: “Thinking about what you can’t control only wastes energy.”  I find this is a very Klingon attitude and one of the first times that Worf really gets to share some of his personal philosophy.  Second from Picard: “You have to measure your successes and failures from within.”  Very captain-like if you ask me.</p> <p>This was also one of my least favourite episodes.  I think it’s due to the choice of the guest starring star fleet officers, perhaps related to the bad costuming of the early episodes.</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Gadgets:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Shuttlecraft</li> </ul> <p><strong>Fun Stuff:</strong></p> <ul> <li>We get to see the dress uniforms</li> </ul> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-32969434173557838052009-02-25T09:30:00.000-08:002009-02-25T09:30:00.325-08:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – Home Soil<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68340.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a>.</p> <p>This is actually one of my favourite episodes.  It involves a scientific mystery and digs into the <strong>nature of life and sentience</strong>.  </p> <p>The other really cool thing this episode deals with is terraforming science.  It’s something I find really interesting because the planets that are closest to us are also ones that aren’t really suited to human life.  But what if we could change that and change the planets so we could live there?  It opens up limitless possibilities for the expansion of humanity across the galaxy.  But, with a science that grand in scope, there will be all sorts of other issues as well.  How do you determine if there are no other life forms on the planet?  Are some life forms acceptable?  Where do you draw that line?  Who gets to decide how to design a planet?  You can just imagine all the different interest groups trying to influence things one way or another!  And then there’s also the thought that our planet got it right by some cosmic miracle.  Who are we to be ‘playing God’ on another planet and trying to shape it to our needs?  It’s one of those issues that I can’t really get onto one side or another about, I just continually debate and consider issues in my head.</p> <p><strong>Cool Science/Gadgets:</strong></p> <ul> <li>terraforming</li> </ul> <p><strong>Favourite quote:</strong></p> <blockquote> <p><font color="#000000">I am a gardener of Edens.</font></p></blockquote> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17748169.post-24729846685395663872009-02-24T09:30:00.000-08:002009-02-24T09:30:01.462-08:00Star Trek: TNG Season 1 – When the Bough Breaks<p><a href="http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TNG/episode/68342.html">Link to StarTrek.com episode guide</a>.</p> <p>One of the biggest differences between the original series Star Trek values and the Next Generation of Star Trek values, is the introduction of family.  In the original series, the crew was a family.  In The Next Generation, while the crew is very much a family to each other, they also have families on board the ship and this adds another array of issues to explore.  </p> <p>This episode is a chance to demonstrate the <strong>importance of family connections</strong> to humanity.  Whenever children and families come into play in an episode it was always a good opportunity to show one of the weaknesses of Captain Picard, who is extremely uncomfortable around children.</p> <p>The show also has a few cautionary messages about <strong>global warming</strong>, <strong>taking technology for granted</strong>, and that a <strong>great blessing/advantage can also be a great weakness/disadvantage as well</strong>.</p> <p><strong>Cool Gadgets/Science:</strong></p> <ul> <li>medical tricorder</li> <li>planetary shield and cloak</li> </ul> Jennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01872998741543435056noreply@blogger.com1