tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57286978929793239992024-03-13T19:14:24.886-07:00Dave's Buttoned-Up Mind<b>The World According to Dave -
"Twisted in all the right ways." (The Smiling Widow)</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.comBlogger897125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-33666460082821933692013-09-20T17:00:00.000-07:002013-09-20T17:00:03.333-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 37 - Profit & Loss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE7sLMdjYc0mJfwCRCnviFDAA7LRfuyI6dz5GvSO9_mNqLG7clZJkwOPY1BPAegslT9ZLa7q2cTWWQivlEJGbyBARa6XeQa-Azi96IK18Zj0KVvfCVSRiGKg8QJz1zKLL7zdD6gRbOBI/s1600/Profit+and+Loss+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdE7sLMdjYc0mJfwCRCnviFDAA7LRfuyI6dz5GvSO9_mNqLG7clZJkwOPY1BPAegslT9ZLa7q2cTWWQivlEJGbyBARa6XeQa-Azi96IK18Zj0KVvfCVSRiGKg8QJz1zKLL7zdD6gRbOBI/s320/Profit+and+Loss+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>Star Trek</b> has done homages to many different stories before, but I don't think they've ever done <b>Casablanca</b>. That is, until now. "Profit and Loss" is that episode, and Quark (Armin Shimmerman) is Rick, even down to owning a bar. Thankfully, there was no "Play it again, Rom" or "Arrest the usual Ferengi," but the similarities are still there, and glaring. Somebody more familiar with the movie would probably notice even more homages (I haven't seen the movie in ages), but that doesn't stop the comparisons. Does it hold up? Despite a few good performances and a couple of nice scenes, I'd have to say "not really." <br />
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Quark is tending bar as usual when Odo (Rene Auberjonois) comes in asking questions about an illegal cloaking device, warning Quark that if he tries to sell it, Odo will be waiting for him. Gee, do you think that might become important? Meanwhile, a Cardassian ship, heavily damaged, is detected running to the station, and is brought in. On it are a teacher, Natima (Mary Crosby) and her two students, Rekelen (Heidi Swedberg) and Hogue (Michael Reilly Burke). They claim to have been hit by a meteor storm, but the damage on the ship doesn't add up. <br />
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Natima is a former lover of Quark's, and Quark is stopping at nothing to try and get her to stay with him, which becomes even harder when it's revealed that the two young Cardassians are dissidents, wanted by the Cardassian government for treason. Garak (Andrew Robinson), the only Cardassian left on the station, reports it to them, and it becomes all the more imperative that Natima and her students get off the station. Will Natima stay on the station with Quark? Or will Garak's machinations prevent even that happy ending? And just which side is he on anyway? <br />
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As with many Quark episodes, the negatives far outweigh the positives, which is too bad. He really deserves to have a good one, but hasn't for a while. In fact, Shimmerman gives a good performance in most of the scenes. The problem is, he's the romantic lead in this one, and I just didn't buy it. I don't know whether it's because Shimmerman can't play that role, or if it's the fact that he has no chemistry with Mary Crosby (who didn't help matters by sounding wooden in almost every scene), but it just didn't fit. Part of the problem may have been the Casablanca overtones, trying to bring Quark up to Rick's level, which just made it worse. Whatever it was, every scene with Natima just died a horrible, yet silent, death. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAEpESqFaUyqVhBP_7ZNzM4sXeyTN6-l7NH181utqWrskaqUY31wMGsbi49HIWClfLHgEC3PqALhjjKA5DpnowycZjsgZlTc0-SG1MyayRCdPoHRmxRq6dM5ky7HRs_s5AWyR1rcZeoM/s1600/Profit+and+Loss+-+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPAEpESqFaUyqVhBP_7ZNzM4sXeyTN6-l7NH181utqWrskaqUY31wMGsbi49HIWClfLHgEC3PqALhjjKA5DpnowycZjsgZlTc0-SG1MyayRCdPoHRmxRq6dM5ky7HRs_s5AWyR1rcZeoM/s320/Profit+and+Loss+-+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>The scenes where he was magnificent, however, were with Odo as usual. The wonderful scene where Quark tries to convince Odo to let the dissidents go is priceless. Odo's "Come back later. I'm busy" when he's then discovered to be reading a Mickey Spillane novel was great, and Auberjonois captured all of Odo's facial expressions perfectly. The banter between them sparkled. While this scene was great, the others between them (including the opening scene, which produced the line at the bottom of this review) also were marvelous. These two *do* have a chemistry that I'm glad the producers used many times. <br />
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I would be remiss if I didn't mention Andrew Robinson as Garak. He was part of the other great scene for Quark, in the tailor's shop where Garak is hinting to Quark not to get involved with Natima. The subtleties of this scene were remarkable, talking about Cardassian fashion with Garak conveying his underlying meaning with hints and eye movements. The menace was definitely there, though. ("If anybody hurts her, I'll…" "You'll do what? Shortchange them at the dabo table?") Garak's opening scene with Bashir (Siddig El Fadil, in his only scene) was also great. These two just go together, with Garak always leading Bashir around by the nose, leaving him confused about what was just said. <br />
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So that's a lot of positives. Why grade so harshly? Quark's inability to be the leading man is definitely one reason, and Crosby's acting has also been mentioned. Believe it or not, Crosby was actually the best of the guest actors. While she was fairly wooden, she at least tried to have an expression or two on her face when she talked. You could tell that she was trying to convey emotions, even if she wasn't quite succeeding. The others, however, weren't even able to do that. Their lines were given almost in monotone, and they never looked excited or fearful. Sure, their *lines* told me they were fearful, but not their actions. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFq87Hd-HfBbCLzauQURhXkrWH5X-0IT0oMhO7wxv8qIsO4yfcgALb3qiHhtUgrpMWJCjwWDlmI3t4Z3zYi0NS7jOePk1TZ7Bp23DtIqt0PBGzTcq17DYWoWRK3XZ7RBAZBXyWHF2FGgw/s1600/Profit+and+Loss+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFq87Hd-HfBbCLzauQURhXkrWH5X-0IT0oMhO7wxv8qIsO4yfcgALb3qiHhtUgrpMWJCjwWDlmI3t4Z3zYi0NS7jOePk1TZ7Bp23DtIqt0PBGzTcq17DYWoWRK3XZ7RBAZBXyWHF2FGgw/s320/Profit+and+Loss+-+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Cardassian Gul Toran (Edward Wiley) didn't have as much difficulty, because he's just supposed to play contemptuous and harsh, so he did a reasonable job. That being said, only Garak's reactions to him made him even remotely interesting, and anybody who didn't see the ending coming a mile away wasn't paying attention. We won't talk about how Toran has the run of the station with nobody watching him, or how what happens to him will be explained to his superiors. If the production team doesn't care, why should we? <br />
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Another nit: What was Odo going to do with the dissidents if Quark hadn't intervened? Odo's stated reasons for finally letting them go are very in character, but I find it hard to believe that Quark's begging brought those reasons to the fore. Was he just going to sit there reading Spillane until the Cardassians came, and then think about it afterward? That doesn't sound like the Odo I know. <br />
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Finally, we get to the main reason this story fails. Not only is Quark not a good romantic lead. The fact is, the entire episode has Quark *completely out of character*. Quark's doing all this for love? Please. He's never done anything like this before without a profit being made somewhere. That's the Ferengi way. Yes, Quark is not a normal Ferengi, but there's not even an acknowledgment that he's doing something weird. Whenever anybody points it out, he just denies it, but he never admits it to himself. I just didn't buy the story and nothing in it convinced me otherwise. <br />
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"Profit and Loss" has some wonderful scenes in it. Put those scenes in a different episode, and you'd have some real profit. As it is, this one is a near-total loss.<br />
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<b>Memorable Quote:</b><br />
"So, how well does this woman know you? Just enough to dislike you, or well enough to really hate you?" Odo to Quark <br />
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<b>2 STARS</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-71567700976991189052013-09-18T17:00:00.000-07:002013-09-18T17:00:00.936-07:00Book Review - Four Queens by Nancy Goldstone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmSCKN20145pi-SaulKl_Eu6hYaZIRnwiDNpakaiq_pJsVUrFPnytnTr0qGPbZool0lzumsFpbabywgERJuyl03XWzGPqzB4gkkraYrEc2UKUqauQmkahin9ARyUalxsVNPx4cDWohNk/s1600/Four+Queens.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmSCKN20145pi-SaulKl_Eu6hYaZIRnwiDNpakaiq_pJsVUrFPnytnTr0qGPbZool0lzumsFpbabywgERJuyl03XWzGPqzB4gkkraYrEc2UKUqauQmkahin9ARyUalxsVNPx4cDWohNk/s320/Four+Queens.JPG" width="237" /></a></div>I'm a huge history fan, as you know. The only thing better than a good SF book in my hand is a really fascinating history book or historical biography.<br />
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Nancy Goldstone is an interesting author because she covers some aspects of history that many people don't really think about much, at least not in the general public. I'm sure there have been scholarly articles about them, but I haven't seen any major publications about them.<br />
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<b>Four Queens</b> is a great example of that.<br />
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Yes, books have been written about the French and English kings in the 13th century, both Louis IX and his disastrous crusade from France as well as the cowardly Henry III. But we haven't seen anything about their wives, and the family that married its daughters very well. The kings of England and France, Sicily and Germany, all had wives from this family that ruled Provence, a family that was vassal to the Holy Roman Empire.<br />
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Goldstone writes a very readable history, a narrative form of history that does not use footnotes (though she does provide an extensive bibliography at the end). Thus, some historians may dismiss the book. I don't know for a fact, but I get the feeling that there is probably some tension between those who approve of narrative histories and those who want something heavily documented. I like them both, though it would depend what I'm using it for on whether I found the book useful or not. As a general primer to learn something? I think narrative history is fine for that. I would not use it if I were writing my own history book, though.<br />
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Anyway, that's beside the point of this post, which is that <b>Four Queens</b> is a great book.<br />
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A full review of the book can be found on Curled Up With a Good Book.<br />
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From the review:<br />
<blockquote><i>"Goldstone does a great job laying out the book, with chapters alternating between the four sisters as circumstances warrant. We travel from England to France, down through Italy and into the Holy Land, where King Louis IX is determined to lead a Crusade against the Moslems and almost meets his death. We see the details of all the royal courts, such as the relationship between Marguerite and her mother-in-law, who had ruled France well while Louis was coming of age and who was reluctant to give up her son once he got married. Goldstone brings these historical characters to life through primary source writings of bards and other historians of the day, as well as letters exchanged between the sisters, many of which still exist. Goldstone’s writing style brings you into the book and will make you want to read more when you really should be putting it down."</i></blockquote>And how can you go wrong with a book like that?Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-6749693163259527412013-09-13T17:00:00.000-07:002013-09-13T17:00:02.429-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 36 - Playing God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EPk6jB__GlWjUmNMHHGLZc4zmIhYXQsaE_Flk7ji-D8Vwa3GHnEzXRAx-lhUiA7Fh-fq_WDiIMle-ZI7Ywrr7-icsDX41FKeA89KYREx-DKo35Hp7MlwBQaH8ITlEWjYN56sto5OnZQ/s1600/Playing+God+-+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3EPk6jB__GlWjUmNMHHGLZc4zmIhYXQsaE_Flk7ji-D8Vwa3GHnEzXRAx-lhUiA7Fh-fq_WDiIMle-ZI7Ywrr7-icsDX41FKeA89KYREx-DKo35Hp7MlwBQaH8ITlEWjYN56sto5OnZQ/s320/Playing+God+-+4.png" width="320" /></a></div>One thing that <b>Deep Space Nine</b> has avoided, that many of the other Star Treks haven't been able to, is technobabble. Oh, how the wormhole works is pretty much technobabble, but most of the time the viewer doesn't get an in-depth dissertation on how it works. There have certainly been instances here or there where an episode has had some. But "Playing God" is the first one that has struck me as a lot of gobbledygook. That's not to say the episode is that bad, as it really isn't. But when the scientific problem of the episode is front and center, the episode stalls a bit. Thankfully, there is some fairly good stuff going on outside the science, and thus the episode is definitely watchable. <br />
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Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), who received her Trill symbiont a relatively short time ago, has been sent an initiate in the Joining program on Trill, someone who she has to examine and make a recommendation on whether or not he might be suitable for the program. Jadzia had to go through the same thing when she was an initiate, and the person she was sent to was Curzon Dax, a harsh taskmaster who eventually recommended that she be expelled from the program. The new initiate, Arjin (Geoffrey Blake), has heard of Dax's reputation and is understandably fearful, but Jadzia is fighting hard to separate her identity from Curzon's. <br />
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Jadzia takes Arjin on a trip to the other side of the wormhole, where they encounter something that damages their ship. Upon getting back to the station, they discover that what was attached to their ship is a lot more than it appeared to be. It's growing, and could cover the entire Bajoran sector and beyond if they don't stop it first. Meanwhile, Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) is hunting a bunch of Cardassian Voles (basically, pests like mice only about three times as large) who are wreaking havoc all over the station. <br />
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Thankfully, "Playing God" has a "human" plot to go along with the science one, as the science one doesn't make a lot of sense. However, the interaction between Jadzia and Arjin is wonderful, only let down by Blake's acting at certain points. I know Arjin is supposed to be young and at times whiny, but there were occasions in this episode where Blake's voice just went a little too far and became grating. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAppzV9A2HiSojjjiGMWmRF2DsiwtyhxGZSs3GxGnquXfpT57rwvrZZDUqQIbX5xKa3RUBjIu_DvzBsKzR3HHhSMoOD_3g1ck4YjUUcC9J5_IZ1scd5kmOaeBy93poFeaACMhDmZJwmQ/s1600/Playing+God+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpAppzV9A2HiSojjjiGMWmRF2DsiwtyhxGZSs3GxGnquXfpT57rwvrZZDUqQIbX5xKa3RUBjIu_DvzBsKzR3HHhSMoOD_3g1ck4YjUUcC9J5_IZ1scd5kmOaeBy93poFeaACMhDmZJwmQ/s1600/Playing+God+-+2.jpg" /></a></div>That being said, Farrell does a wonderful job playing both sides of the fence; she knows what Arjin is feeling, because she felt exactly the same way when she was an initiate under Curzon. She hated what Curzon did to her, and she refuses to be that confrontational with Arjin. However, as Sisko (Avery Brooks) points out in a well-played scene in his ready room, it was Curzon's confrontational attitude that spurred Jadzia on, forcing her to re-enroll in the Joining program when she was expelled. She's going so easy on him, trying not to be like Curzon, that she's not preparing him for the harsh tests that he will have to overcome later. <br />
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That is the only big scene between Dax and Sisko, but it's wonderful on many levels. They look very comfortable together, and you can see that they've been friends for a long time, the affection that Sisko has for the slug that used to be Curzon and is still Dax within Jadzia's body. He can still read Dax's expression in Jadzia's eyes, and I think this episode did more to tell us about the Trill than any other episode, even "Dax". Kudos all around on this one. Farrell did a great job showing how unorthodox Jadzia is, blindsiding Arjin at every turn until, goaded on by Jadzia's harsh tone after her talk with Sisko, he finally explodes, berating her for being the most unusual Trill he's ever heard of. It was a very strong performance. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEU5cIDz3JBcyZhgEcCE7VaUI1l0gAw7PIdoPlK1qXMuyTxpIFhheOWWbq0JdiNKx617k6DN0w0RWGwTPx7WGCXNBPEvt3fUDlKW5YC9DUsZtbQmuI2LE6eSUoEW7IUnOYYAXRVnAdEw/s1600/Playing+God+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEU5cIDz3JBcyZhgEcCE7VaUI1l0gAw7PIdoPlK1qXMuyTxpIFhheOWWbq0JdiNKx617k6DN0w0RWGwTPx7WGCXNBPEvt3fUDlKW5YC9DUsZtbQmuI2LE6eSUoEW7IUnOYYAXRVnAdEw/s1600/Playing+God+-+3.jpg" /></a></div>I'll briefly touch on the Vole plot, as there isn't much to it. It serves its purpose as being there to spark the main scientific problem, but that's about it. The models they used for the Voles looked horrendous (thankfully, they didn't try to give us a moving one, just a stunned example, so they didn't have to try and manipulate it). What's even worse, is that it's not even resolved! Sure, we assume that O'Brien will figure something out, but given the fact that it takes up a few scenes, you'd think they'd want to finish it. It doesn't seem important enough to carry over a couple of episodes, but maybe it will be a background story. <br />
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Which brings us to the strange energy plotline. While the technobabble was quite heavy (both in regards to the problem, and with the wormhole itself), I did like how it created a bit of a moral dilemma for all involved, and that the characters strongly disagreed on what to do about it. Kira (Nana Visitor) was her typical strident self, her non-Starfleet training coming to the fore as she looks out for Bajor and its star system before anything else. It's nice to see, as her viewpoint in this case would never have existed in previous Trek shows. It's not a bad plotline, and does give us some good acting, but there is one problem with it. Technobabble is inherently dull, and that hurt. <br />
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<b>BIG HONKING SPOILERS FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ENERGY - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED</b> <br />
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So the energy cloud is really a protouniverse, expanding at a similar rate as our universe is expanding (I guess). The nice moral dilemma is that, just when a solution to destroy it has been figured out, Dax discovers that there is life in this universe. Since time may be passing at a vastly different rate within this universe than in ours, it's very possible that civilizations exist, have lived and died, and are otherwise just trying to get by in it. Kira's opinion is that they should destroy it anyway, because it's us or them. Odo (Rene Auberjonois) surprised me when he didn't side with her, as he seems even more ruthlessly practical than she is. However, it was nice to see Sisko have to agonize over his decision. <br />
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This brings us to a completely superfluous scene with Jake (Cirroc Lofton) and the wanting his dad to meet this Dabo girl that he's been tutoring, because he's in love with her. It's nice that the serialized nature of the series makes these little scenes worthwhile somewhere down the road, but this one threw me a curveball because I figured that it would spark something in Sisko that would help him make his decision on whether or not to destroy the universe (how many people can say they can do that!). <br />
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Unfortunately, the trip through the wormhole, while supposedly fraught with tension, really didn't do anything for me. Arjin had to pilot around some technobabble bubbles within the wormhole, because if he hit one, they'd all blow up and the protouniverse would take over the entire area. Ho hum. Our heroes do stuff like that for breakfast. <br />
<b>END OF SPOILERS</b> <br />
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A couple of short notes: <br />
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Quark (Armin Shimmerman) has some wonderful scenes in this one. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvigG5NCLWbxNPSlViErMFGo4A_D_o5A6QeUquuGI3Bf0REV4wy42YibX-sLj8BfT4paY-_YWjWthLblw0ReNsN5X6dNO9WhSeHmRMioDeQgZJb8U2AiwlEkH10g38c-R2ZVuztQP4_M/s1600/Playing+God+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEvigG5NCLWbxNPSlViErMFGo4A_D_o5A6QeUquuGI3Bf0REV4wy42YibX-sLj8BfT4paY-_YWjWthLblw0ReNsN5X6dNO9WhSeHmRMioDeQgZJb8U2AiwlEkH10g38c-R2ZVuztQP4_M/s1600/Playing+God+-+1.jpg" /></a>Ron Taylor returns as the Klingon chef on the Promenade, and again gives a wonderful one-scene performance, singing Klingon opera with Dax and threatening Arjin good-naturedly that she's his and that Arjin should leave her alone. He always brings a chuckle when he appears (and he was the only good thing in "Melora") so it was nice to see him again. <br />
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"Playing God" is a decent episode, with some nice interaction between Dax and Arjin, as well as Dax and Sisko. Blake doesn't embarrass himself, holding his own (for the most part) with Farrell and turning in a decent performance. Don't let the technobabble put you to sleep, and you've got yourself a winner of an episode.<br />
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<b>Memorable Quote:</b><br />
"Phasers on stun, Mr. O'Brien. I want those Voles taken <i>alive</i>." - Sisko<br />
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<b>4 Stars</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-28165428727630381822013-09-11T17:00:00.000-07:002013-09-11T17:00:04.777-07:00Book Reviews - CSI novelsI do really like the original <b>CSI</b> TV show, but I haven't had the chance to watch them in quite a while. So long, in fact, that I still had episodes with Laurence Fishburn on them from 2011 on my DVR.<br />
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What's a guy to do when he's <a href="http://davebuttoned.blogspot.ca/2013/09/annoying-teeth.html#.Ui5-3cb0B8E">stuck at hom</a>e with his tooth killing him and an excessively swollen cheek? How about catch up on some CSI episodes!<br />
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So I've watched the show for years (*ahem*) but hadn't really read any of the tie-in novels until a few years ago. So, in honour of my enforced layabout last week, how about making this week's book reviews about those novels? There are some good ones in there.<br />
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Overall, I've read four of the novels over the years, and they've ranged from decent to outstanding. None of them will be considered great literature, of course. But they are fun books, interesting reads with a good take on the television characters.<br />
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One problem with TV tie-in novels is that the TV show holds all the character cards. If they want to introduce some previously unmentioned sister or love child of one of the major characters, they can. The books can't do that. I've seen one <b>Star Trek</b> author talk about how the writers get to play with somebody else's toys, but they have to make sure they're all back in the toybox afterward, unharmed.<br />
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Thus, you're not going to get a deep character study of Gil Grissom or Catherine Willows in a <b>CSI</b> novel.<br />
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That being said, good tie-in writers can skirt the edges and do interesting things with them despite not being able to make fundamental changes to the character.<br />
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Following are mini-reviews of the four novels I've read, with links to Curled Up With a Good Book reviews.<br />
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<b>In Extremis</b> - by <a href="http://www.curledup.com/csiextre.htm">Ken Goddard</a><br />
<blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYskBO-dp1PpkSz6D8e7iCEnRyXolDQUwc4pceacJRWPPjBzOO5SyM6-m-idAbrdONvFbUh_83j1obtc-_LDhJLcQuApa_WVjoPlCgOkWi5m6uPy05Uv0iKKW71GfVJfSw6nYhZt8QTfM/s1600/In+Extremis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYskBO-dp1PpkSz6D8e7iCEnRyXolDQUwc4pceacJRWPPjBzOO5SyM6-m-idAbrdONvFbUh_83j1obtc-_LDhJLcQuApa_WVjoPlCgOkWi5m6uPy05Uv0iKKW71GfVJfSw6nYhZt8QTfM/s1600/In+Extremis.jpg" /></a><i>"A contract killer has a hit going down in a nature preserve outside of Las Vegas, which unfortunately is interrupted by a DEA drug sting operation. The killer, Viktor Mialkovsky, expertly does his job anyway, but his evacuation of the scene is prevented by the Las Vegas police department showing up at the sting site, where the assembled agents end up firing at a truck that appears to be trying to run them down. As the CSI team tries to reassemble the shooting scene to discover whether it was justified or not, another body appearing further up the mountain may bring the team too close to Viktor’s location. A game of cat and mouse develops, pitting CSI head Gil Grissom against an expert killer who just may be familiar with him."</i></blockquote>This is a decent novel, but the characterization of the regulars is what ultimately make the book mediocre.<br />
<br />
The villain is extremely well-done, but Goddard fails in what I mentioned above: doing anything interesting with the regulars. It's a rather paint-by-numbers crime story, where Hodgest is an annoying kiss-ass, there's one brief tender scene between Grissom and Sara, and they do a lot of scientific investigation. This last part slows the pace of the novel considerably when he goes into way too much detail.<br />
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<b>Brass in Pocket</b> - by <a href="http://www.curledup.com/csibrass.htm">Jeff Mariotte</a><br />
<blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9S7dvQq-KTdn5eAc_ZJ3Cs1-cPOAg3zdqWnXpnlyGb1VDzP2sWFyjuwL5eDGrtGc1B0r-GJb5NjMH63A2Q7PmDob5EQZssjyE6zIdADMT1QSShrGG2HMmJ5IlIOFX11gtnwqBOk3OYg/s1600/Brass+in+Pocket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9S7dvQq-KTdn5eAc_ZJ3Cs1-cPOAg3zdqWnXpnlyGb1VDzP2sWFyjuwL5eDGrtGc1B0r-GJb5NjMH63A2Q7PmDob5EQZssjyE6zIdADMT1QSShrGG2HMmJ5IlIOFX11gtnwqBOk3OYg/s1600/Brass+in+Pocket.jpg" /></a><i>"It's a busy night in the crime lab. Gil Grissom is off in Washington at a conference and then a Congressional testimony, and the lab is shorthanded (this novel takes place during the 10 episodes before William Petersen left the show, so after Warrick Brown's death). But murder doesn't wait until it's convenient, and three crime scenes occupy their attention: a brutal shooting at a cheap motel that may involve police Captain Jim Brass, who's not answering Catherine Willows' phone calls; a "locked room" mystery where a pilot lands a plane at a small airport and is discovered dead in the pilot seat; and a gruesome find of some animal bones as well as a recently slain sheep that may be the lead up to a serial killer. And then Catherine's daughter calls with her problems!"</i></blockquote>This is a much better novel, because Mariotte is an experienced tie-in writer. That being said, I've never cared for his <b>Star Trek</b> books, so it's surprising that I loved this one so much.<br />
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He does a great job with the characters, and while Catherine's angst over how she's neglected her daughter is well-worn on the show, he ties it into the Brass case and actually makes it interesting. He brings something previously unknown from Brass' past, but it's not so huge that you can complain "this wasn't in the show!" Also, the character of Riley disappeared from the show fairly shortly (maybe one season?), so he's able to give her a lot more depth as well.<br />
<br />
It's an interesting set of cases and very well-written. As a <b>CSI</b> fan, I enjoyed it.<br />
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<b>The Killing Jar</b> - by <a href="http://www.curledup.com/csikillj.htm">Donn Cortez</a><br />
<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHv_02lYkYaqxl3SLtnU4C80LwX-RB3MKtAS03MrDuaEqh9BkAcluZZJw0_YYP4O7O71lvZp4lAr7WM9EjUw8N0hPqAmoph1HOUarmrzranxTh1W0b1OQtNBYkM_r0xLmuNxpSIYg-Inw/s1600/Killing+Jar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHv_02lYkYaqxl3SLtnU4C80LwX-RB3MKtAS03MrDuaEqh9BkAcluZZJw0_YYP4O7O71lvZp4lAr7WM9EjUw8N0hPqAmoph1HOUarmrzranxTh1W0b1OQtNBYkM_r0xLmuNxpSIYg-Inw/s1600/Killing+Jar.jpg" /></a></div><i>"A teenager is found dead in a hotel room, killed by millipede poison. Gil Grissom, Nick Stokes and Riley Adams are forced to face off with a deranged killer whose knowledge of entomology rivals Grissom's own, and who uses that knowledge to not only kill but also to explore the effects of his murders. He may be Grissom's toughest opponent yet. Meanwhile, Catherine Willows and Greg Sanders are investigating the death of a Hawaiian man engulfed in hardened wax after having his fingers cut off. He's the overlap between the world of crystal meth and the art world, and these two crossing is never a good thing."</i></blockquote>I had the honour of meeting Mr. Cortez (not his real name) at V-Con last year, and it was interesting to hear him talk about tie-ins like this. I complimented him on this book, which is the best <b>CSI</b> book I've read (admittedly, that's not a huge number).<br />
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This book takes place during the 10-episode arc that opened the season where Grissom left, so it was an interesting character study of the man. Granted, Cortez couldn't make any huge revelations or anything. But he could have the case really affect him and make it credible that events in the novel added to his decision to leave the crime lab.<br />
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It's a fun book, and it feels the most like the TV show compared to the other novels. I could really hear the actors spouting the lines that Cortez was giving him.<br />
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The cases were really interesting (though the artist one not quite so much) and Cortez' prose gets out of the way and lets you enjoy the novel.<br />
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A great read.<br />
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<b>The Burning Season</b> - by <a href="http://www.curledup.com/csi_the_burning_season.htm">Jeff Mariotte</a><br />
<blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJ3eCZpqoZ761gdEoemXwSADJ7256YRIaM_H93qNplXyAI4Hphx4VliqtJOAoc9OXOv1GdVvQ6Zv51swLDqnLUt4BFfrAj4YpO-kWWwbWXwIOfcSPzygfZxL2RJbn9xLhVw5pPi1PIU4/s1600/Burning+Season.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJ3eCZpqoZ761gdEoemXwSADJ7256YRIaM_H93qNplXyAI4Hphx4VliqtJOAoc9OXOv1GdVvQ6Zv51swLDqnLUt4BFfrAj4YpO-kWWwbWXwIOfcSPzygfZxL2RJbn9xLhVw5pPi1PIU4/s320/Burning+Season.jpg" width="199" /></a><i>"Three separate crimes need to be solved by the intrepid Las Vegas nightshift CSIs. A fire in a small resort town of Mount Charleston, near Las Vegas, results in almost the entire subdivision being burned to the ground, as well as the deaths of six firefighters. There is the attempted roadside bombing of the head of a major cable news network, a network beset by large protests outside of the building and numerous death threats against the owner. Finally, a dog has taken a severed hand underneath the front porch of a suburban home. Retrieving the hand will lead Ray Langston into the dark underbelly of the illegal immigrant community."</i></blockquote>The first of the novels with Ray Langston that I had read (sadly, I haven't read any novels with the latest new characters). Mariotte uses him to good effect, with a rather interesting case.<br />
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That being said, the politics of the novel is what really brings it down. Mariotte tries so hard not to offend anybody that he makes it very unrealistic. The head of the network who is pissing everybody off is supposed to be so middle of the road that I have no idea why anybody would be protesting him, especially violently. "I strongly advocate that we....don't do anything!" Yeah, that will get people riled up.<br />
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Mariotte also gets a bit too technical in the crime scene investigation scenes, even having Sara and Greg explain to each other for a whole page why they can now use digital photographs in their processing.<br />
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The characters are interesting, but the novel just kind of lies there at times. Probably the worst of the four novels.<br />
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I will have to check out some of the newer ones, if they are even being written anymore. Now that I'm catching up on the show again.<br />
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Hope you enjoyed this run-through of the <b>CSI</b> novel universe!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-23317999232304891002013-09-10T17:00:00.000-07:002013-09-10T17:00:04.415-07:00Check Out Dave's Buttoned-Up Tumblr!Those of you who are connected with me through various other social media outlets (Twitter and Facebook, mostly) already may be aware of this, but I forgot to actually announce it here!<br />
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You know how sometimes you have a thought, or see an image or a video that you want to pass along, but you don't want to do a whole blog post about it? You have something to say about it, but it's more than 140 characters?<br />
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I'm pleased to announce <a href="http://whovian223.tumblr.com/">Dave's Buttoned-Up Tumblr</a>, the micro-blog that is the companion to this one.<br />
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Tumblr is what's known as a microblogging platform. It's quirky, it can be fun, and it's designed for quick little snippets of posts that are still too big for Twitter. It uses some of the same things as Twitter, such as hashtags and the like (but then again, isn't Facebook starting to incorporate those too?).<br />
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Whenever I blog on here, I feel like I should do something fairly long. Not huge, mind you. But more than just a picture and a couple of sentences. Plus I don't want to inundate you with these types of longs posts. Not to mention that I found myself unable to keep up the pace I wanted.<br />
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This Tumblr blog will be even more eclectic than what you're currently reading. It will have games, it will have video games. I don't like to blog over at Game Informer unless it's something fairly meaty (or at least with some meat to it, even if it's fluffy meat). So those video game posts will go to my Tumblr blog instead.<br />
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It will have commentary on society stuff. It will have history. I follow (and re-blog) some ancient history Tumblr posts on there, so certain segments of my readers who know who they are might be interested in checking out those posts just for that.<br />
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Basically, it will have everything. Just whatever I feel like passing along.<br />
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If we're friends on Facebook, then you will get most (but not all) there by checking out my profile. Some will be sent to Twitter as well.<br />
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But as the person who does the blog and likes his stats, it would be great if you actually followed the blog itself. I even set up comments! So you can leave your thoughts there.<br />
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And we all know the urge to leave comments!<br />
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<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-8911515836949535792013-09-08T13:30:00.000-07:002013-09-08T13:30:01.347-07:00Annoying TeethIt's been one of those weeks, unfortunately.<br />
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It's turned into a short work week, which is one good thing.<br />
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The bad thing is the reason it was short.<br />
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Sure, we had a holiday on Monday. Happy belated Labour Day, everybody!<br />
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But Wednesday morning, I woke up to some pain in the top-right part of my mouth. Let's just say it was throbbing for most of the day on Wednesday. I was able to get through work and get home, but it was very hard to get any work done with that constant distraction.<br />
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So why didn't I call the dentist immediately?<br />
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There was some question of whether I would be going to our current dentist or find somebody new. I figured it wasn't <b>that</b> bad, that I could get through the day, talk it over with the wife, and go the next day. If I had to leave work early on Thursday for an appointment, I would.<br />
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Unfortunately, Wednesday night, the pain just got worse. I was beginning to think that I should just stay home on Thursday and immediately call the dentist.<br />
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This plan was confirmed when I woke up at 1:30 am and found that my cheek had swelled to gargantuan proportions.<br />
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I had a lot of trouble sleeping that night, and when I finally got up around 7:15, I called in sick and prepared myself for a day of pain. I was going to stick with my current dentist, which is around a 15-minute walk from home, but who knew if they could get me in? I called right at 8am when they opened, and they said they had an 11:00 appointment for me. That's better than nothing, and would save me calling around, so I took it.<br />
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With all of that swelling, the pain had actually lessened, so I wasn't in too much discomfort. I watched some TV before heading out around 10:30. I wasn't sure how long the walk would be and whether I could find their new location easily, but I ended up having no problems and got there 20 minutes early. I no sooner had sat down to wait until 11:00 when the dentist's assistant came out and called my name. I was getting in early!<br />
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The dentist felt around my puffed-up cheek, leaned me back and asked which tooth I thought it might be, and tapped the three around it (the one I knew it was hurt like hell and the other two had nothing), then took an x-ray to confirm that, yes, I had an infected tooth. It's going to need a root canal, but we have to get rid of the infection first.<br />
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So he bundled me off across the street to Shopper's to get my prescription filled. Ten days' worth of antibiotics and some pain pills. The antibiotics needed to be taken with food, so I had to be able to get something down before taking them, no matter how much it might hurt.<br />
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I spent the rest of the afternoon watching old recorded <b>CSI</b> episodes and wishing the antibiotics would kick in <b>RIGHT NOW</b>. (So if you called me at work and was wondering why I wasn't there, that's why).<br />
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Funnily enough, my face bloomed up even more Thursday night, sort of as a precursor to having the infection taken care of, I guess? I honestly looked like I had been in a fight. My right eye could barely open (the dentist had said that if I couldn't <b>close</b> my eye or if I had problems swallowing, I should go to the hospital...closing was not a problem. Opening it was).<br />
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Needless to say, I was not going to work like that on Friday. So a 2-day work week and a 4-day weekend. Yay?<br />
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I'm gradually getting better. The swelling is still slightly there, but it's not really noticeable unless you feel my face. There's a small portion of it right underneath my eye that's still a bit hard. The gum still feels a little swollen too. I'll be fine to go to work tomorrow, I think (barring any sudden relapse). Have to complete the meds even if it appears the infection's gone. My tenth day will be next Sunday, which is also the day of my root canal.<br />
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It was weird being legitimately outside walking downtown on Thursday, but also weird wondering what people were thinking as they saw this guy walking around with one side of his face swollen. If it had been as bad then as it was Thursday night, I might have been too embarrassed to do it (though I would have had to suck it up).<br />
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So I'm doing fine. I'm happy that it's almost over. The infection's on its way out, the tooth will be taken care of next week.<br />
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And folks? If you are experiencing any tooth pain, you might want to get it looked at as soon as you can.<br />
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To prevent something like this from happening to you.<br />
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You would think a 2-day work week would be wonderful.<br />
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But not when it's like this.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-76961324418143618302013-09-06T17:00:00.000-07:002013-09-06T17:00:02.371-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 35 - Shadowplay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQF0orh4aQlZBy6e71evVYo8FLhVW8xJ4ULo73sUVGE7ikt3zThSx8RcbmOLWU6ag5u659l9HEvxMry2BTTXSuLWdYeXCVcqpzMGDJ_sF6VLrSMoVXCbVr-jkY1pp_lOpxc0vLmuh4Fw/s1600/Shadowplay+-+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQF0orh4aQlZBy6e71evVYo8FLhVW8xJ4ULo73sUVGE7ikt3zThSx8RcbmOLWU6ag5u659l9HEvxMry2BTTXSuLWdYeXCVcqpzMGDJ_sF6VLrSMoVXCbVr-jkY1pp_lOpxc0vLmuh4Fw/s320/Shadowplay+-+1.png" width="320" /></a></div>What is the definition of life? Of sentience? <b>Star Trek</b> has asked that question many times in its time, and "Shadowplay" kind of asks it again. This question isn't the main point of the episode (or maybe it is, but it's not highlighted very much), but it does sit within the episode and is at the heart of the climax. I'm of two minds about the episode, and those two minds are a bit at war with each other. <br />
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The side of my mind that loved it found the Odo (Rene Auberjonois) story incredibly touching and well-performed, the Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) and Ben (Avery Brooks) story very good too, and the Kira (Nana Visitor) one not so much. The side of my mind that didn't like it points to the fact that there are three stories in this one, and none of them are given a lot of time to work. The fact that two of them *do* work despite that problem speaks well of Robert Hewitt Wolfe's writing, and the acting involved. <br />
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Thus, I have to say that ultimately, I loved the thing to pieces. <br />
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Dax (Terry Farrell) and Odo are on a mission to chart an unknown particle field on the Gamma Quadrant side of the wormhole. They discover that the field is made of omicron particles, some of the rarest particles around, and the field seems centered on a planet, so they go down to investigate. There, the natives initially think that our heroes are involved with the multiple disappearances taking place within the village. Soon, though, Odo is helping them with their investigation, while becoming very attached to a young child, Taya (Noley Thornton, who became much more prominent on the Voyager series). Her mother has disappeared, and she hopes that Odo can help find her. <br />
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Meanwhile, back on the station, Ben insists that Jake get a job, and has already arranged for Jake to be an apprentice to Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney). This storyline actually began in "Paradise". Unfortunately, Jake doesn't want to join Starfleet, but is reluctant to tell his father. Finally, with Odo gone from the station, Quark (Armin Shimmerman) seems to think he can get his cousin on board to smuggle some stolen artifacts, but Kira's on the case. That is, until Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim) arrives on the station to distract her. Convenient, eh? <br />
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Wow, that's a lot to pack into an episode. Not only does it not all work, but even the two good storylines (Odo and the Siskos) feel like they've been given short shrift. I'll start with the lesser of those plots, first. <br />
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Jake's story could be quite poignant, with him reluctantly taking the apprenticeship job, trying and failing at it for a while, all the while secretly bemoaning what he's doing. Instead, it's all wrapped up in a few scenes with none of the tension that would have made it an even better story. Only the fact that Brooks and Lofton (not to mention Meaney, as the mentor figure) are so good in these scenes even comes close to saving it. I still say that Ben and Jake are the best father/son pair on television, and certainly the best family unit on any Star Trek series. Those two actors just play off of each other so well. <br />
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Then there is the Odo story. This is incredibly moving, mostly through the acting of Auberjonois and Thornton. It's about time that Trek got a child actor who could actually act. Thornton was a godsend, and it's no wonder that she was a multiple returnee (she was also in the Next Generation episode "Imaginary Friend" as well as a recurring role on Voyager). These two make a wonderful duo as we see a softer side of Odo. We even see a little smile at the end! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2qETL_n3cjKil7JFpkMk7gCC1mhFMFycbHpFpGxkWhk25bc8CDv3FxQ9aGpWP5u9QyOj3IEJMdzFlUSkr3t34Vc_mGmbYFCJvNiQUgkJhkTqTPeKELSRMfFpJme-HMsBra2mI8Kgy_k/s1600/Shadowplay+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2qETL_n3cjKil7JFpkMk7gCC1mhFMFycbHpFpGxkWhk25bc8CDv3FxQ9aGpWP5u9QyOj3IEJMdzFlUSkr3t34Vc_mGmbYFCJvNiQUgkJhkTqTPeKELSRMfFpJme-HMsBra2mI8Kgy_k/s320/Shadowplay+-+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's a wonderful story, and Farrell does a great job of just hanging back, doing what she needs to do, and letting these two go for it. She has some technobabble, and the opening scene was amusing (especially Odo's reaction to Dax's gossip about the romantic problems of various crewmembers). Especially well done is Odo's strident speech to the head of the village, Rurigan (Kenneth Tobey), which unfortunately I can't detail because of spoilers. However, it does reflect back to the "what is life" question, so maybe you can guess. <br />
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Dax's gossip brings me to the third plot, which was not as stellar. It's funny that Dax's opening scene was about romance, which made me think this was another episode entirely, where Dax falls in love. Instead, it's Kira's turn. This is also a continuing storyline from earlier in the season, where Kira and Bareil first demonstrated a mutual attraction. The existence of those early episodes to set this up is the *only* thing that makes this even remotely believable, and if this is your first episode, then their romance would really come out of left field. <br />
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Yes, there is sexual tension during every one of their conversations, but the uninformed viewer would have to be wondering who this guy is and why he comes onto the station already having the hots for Kira. Thus, we have the same problem as the other two stories of it being way too short. Unfortunately, Visitor and Anglim can't save this one. It's trite, and the involvement of Quark in it just makes it worse. <br />
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We even have a wasted scene where Kira asks Dr. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) to spy on Quark for her (which he enthusiastically agrees to, since Garak has been giving him pointers). This scene is wasted because we never see or hear Bashir again and Kira ends up solving the problem anyway. What was the point? At least El Fadil doesn't have heavy makeup to sit through for this. This whole plotline went nowhere, other than to set up Kira and Bareil's relationship, and thus it seemed wasted in this episode. <br />
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This episode has continuity running through it, from the Sisko and Kira plots (all of which will continue through subsequent episodes) as well as it being the third mention of the horrible Dominion that has inflicted horror on various Gamma Quadrant planets. Even at the time, the viewer had to know that something was up, but having seen the whole series already, it's interesting to see all the little hints that came up beforehand. Rurigan mentions that they're the reason he left his home planet, after what the Dominion did to it. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOGvZq6f2cT_AFudcBMz-dKf2yTYD0lHBpdJgUkqjkPlnCBwj3YB2E6QdTldE4i9gKDhkbsCYScUcN255qWXGupsvEOnEJ97SHyFaPEIDk_ZHQDLGDfU1IefJrBBg9hG0W7u2YWinTiE/s1600/Shadowplay+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOGvZq6f2cT_AFudcBMz-dKf2yTYD0lHBpdJgUkqjkPlnCBwj3YB2E6QdTldE4i9gKDhkbsCYScUcN255qWXGupsvEOnEJ97SHyFaPEIDk_ZHQDLGDfU1IefJrBBg9hG0W7u2YWinTiE/s1600/Shadowplay+-+2.jpg" /></a></div>I did love this episode, despite my complaining about the shortness of each plot. I would have liked to have seen more scenes between Odo and Taya, but what can you do? The acting in the episode is very good all around, with even the guest stars doing quite well (though what was with the beads in the hair of all the males on that planet?). Thornton was a treasure, bringing out the best in Auberjonois, and Meaney was great in his couple of scenes with Jake. The ending brought a tear to my eye, and the final scene is just priceless, showing Odo has been really touched by Taya. It was nice to see a bit more "human" Odo. "Shadowplay" pushed all of the right buttons for me, and it should for you too.<br />
<br />
<b>Memorable Quote:</b> <br />
"Find something you love, then do it the best you can." Ben Sisko, with some good advice for all kids<br />
<br />
<b>4 STARS</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-77599300326928177652013-09-04T17:00:00.000-07:002013-09-04T17:00:00.829-07:00Book Review - How Rome Fell by Adrian Goldsworthy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9AO_f-j2O86Jb4R3V3D8QagumCIl_a2GVyTHRFj_LNEF_3e_d96SvQw0nTFnpNFMJVM3KseOGjKEFHEkD91yabmvvihoIE-0_3k8WLV6moQCW-og-eRrhtcoigzlNtM0KU9j10PDrBY/s1600/How+Rome+Fell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9AO_f-j2O86Jb4R3V3D8QagumCIl_a2GVyTHRFj_LNEF_3e_d96SvQw0nTFnpNFMJVM3KseOGjKEFHEkD91yabmvvihoIE-0_3k8WLV6moQCW-og-eRrhtcoigzlNtM0KU9j10PDrBY/s1600/How+Rome+Fell.jpg" /></a></div>Over the last few years, I've really developed a healthy interest in the history of the western Roman Empire and that era. I loved the "History of Rome" podcast (and am currently enjoying the "History of Byzantium" podcast that was started when the original ended). There's just something about that era that is inherently interesting.<br />
<br />
Yet I had never really read a completely comprehensive history of the empire.<br />
<br />
That is, until 2009 when I picked up <b>How Rome Fell</b> by Adrian Goldsworthy. It's not a definitive history of the empire, but it is quite the extensive history from around the time of Marcus Aurelius died in 180 AD until it finally fell in 476 AD (though the date of the ending is still debated, and depends on what you consider the Roman Empire to begin with, I think).<br />
<br />
The book is a very detailed history of all the ups and downs in the empire, the sixty years in the 3rd century where 65 men were claimed as emperor, the rise of the military as a king-maker (or emperor-maker, I guess) and all of that.<br />
<br />
If you like your Roman history, or just ancient history in general, you can't go wrong with this thick tome. It's extensively researched and it's also very readable. It's not super-dry like some history books out there.<br />
<br />
I still find myself picking this book up and thumbing through it when I'm trying to figure out something. For example, I saw this really odd movie, <b>The Last Legion</b> that supposedly begins with the last Roman emperor being spirited away from Rome from exile, taken to England and eventually (<b>MAJOR SPOILER</b> becoming King Arthur <b>MAJOR SPOILER DONE</b>).<br />
<br />
While I knew it was a fantasy, the beginning of the movie did seem based in fact. The name of the emperor was correct, for example. So I picked up Goldsworthy's book and re-read the last part to see what actually happened. Needless to say, liberties had been taken, though it was closer than some movies are.<br />
<br />
Goldsworthy has a wonderful writing style that I really enjoyed.<br />
<br />
The review's on Curled Up With a Good Book.<br />
<br />
Here's a snippet for you:<br />
<blockquote>"Goldsworthy begins with the most important question: just how did Rome fall? Was it barbarian invasions? Societal decay and corruption? Opinions are divided on this issue, but Goldsworthy seems to see it as a combination of these things. Ostensibly, the Empire fell in 476 A.D., when the last Roman emperor who ruled from Italy was deposed by a Germanic invader. However, some see the Empire as having already fallen even before this date, with pretenders to the throne ruling before this. The Roman emperors since Marcus Aurelius died in 180 were much weaker for the most part than those who had preceded him. Throughout a period of 60 years or so in the third century, there were 65 claimants to the Roman throne, some lasting only days. Some say this internal strife is essentially what eventually killed the Empire, with the barbarians just being the executioners, and Goldsworthy seems to agree with that viewpoint."</blockquote>I encourage you to check it out. It really is a great book!<br />
<br />
Goldsworthy is also author of the excellent <b><a href="http://davebuttoned.blogspot.ca/2010/12/book-review-antony-cleopatra-by-adrian.html#.UiEHIpJwp8E" target="_blank">Antony & Cleopatra</a></b> history.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-3917488218551664342013-08-30T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-30T17:00:03.127-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 34 - Paradise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Technology can be a double-edged sword, and from the beginning of time, there have been those who see the rise of technology as work of the devil (or whatever evil being who happens to be around at the time). I'm sure Oog the Caveman thought that civilization had gone to hell when Katu made this new-fangled "club" thing. What's wrong with good old fashioned hands to wrestle down your supper with? <br />
<br />
"Going back to nature" is a common plot in any SF series, and sometimes even straight dramas. Would life be better without all of its contraptions? And how would people in the modern age deal with life if it suddenly became completely technology-free? Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) stumble upon this dilemma in "Paradise," a decent episode that's let down by numerous issues. <br />
<br />
Charting some star systems around the wormhole for potential colonies, Sisko and O'Brien stumble across a world that appears to have a human settlement already on it, despite no colony being on the charts. They decide to beam down to investigate, only to discover that once they do so, none of their gear works. They are found by residents of the village, who tell them of their crash landing ten years ago. Alixus (Gail Strickland), the leader of the group, has forged them into a community that embraces nature, working the fields, making their own clothing, using herbs to heal the sick, etc. <br />
<br />
They tell Sisko that he might as well get used to being on this planet because they will never be able to leave. While willing to contribute to the community while they stay there, Sisko and O'Brien are unwilling to stop trying to leave. They discover that Alixus rules the colony with an iron fist, even going so far as to put people who do as little as stealing a candle into a metal box out in the harsh sun. But the colony has a darker side as well. Will O'Brien be able to get them off of the planet before Alixus breaks Sisko's will? <br />
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The concept of this episode is actually a good, though clichéd, one. Unfortunately, it's very hard to show a community like this without it getting inherently silly. "Paradise" takes these usual silly things and adds a couple more (which I will talk about in the spoiler section below). For some reason, rather than having a rational debate about technology, these stories always turn the "luddite" side into a bunch of zealots. In this case, there's only one, but the point still stands. <br />
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As for the cast, I'll speak to the regulars first. Surprisingly, only four of them are included: Sisko and O'Brien on the planet and Kira (Nana Visitor) and Dax (Terry Farrell) on the runabout looking for them. It was nice that they didn't try to shoehorn anybody else in, especially for those who have to sit in the makeup chair for hours. Brooks does a remarkably understated job (probably because he doesn't have to really do "intense" this time around) as he resists Alixus at every turn. His stoic walk back to the punishment box is extremely well done, the slight shake of the head to O'Brien when he wants to go to help being especially good. Visitor slightly overacts when she's talking to Dax about snagging the runaway runabout, but overall she's not bad either. Meaney is his usual stellar self, making it look easy. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this brings us to the guest acting, which ranges from "eh" to "ugh." It actually turns out that all of the male guest actors fall into the "eh" category, with nobody every really excelling or even managing to make their characters interesting. The scene between O'Brien and Joseph (Steve Vinovich) just lies there as Meaney tries his best. <br />
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The female guest stars, however, really drag this episode down. Strickland is the main force in the episode, and I just found her actively annoying almost every time she talked. It was especially bad when she tried to put intensity into the role, as when she's trying to convince Sisko to give in to her views after the first time he's in the box. I just didn't buy the force of her personality forging this community. <br />
<br />
Even worse is Julia Nickson as Cassandra, however. She's extremely wooden, massacring the tense moments and making me laugh during the attempted seduction of Sisko. Alixus tries to tell Sisko "Cassandra really likes you," when they've been there all of one day. She must have got a peek of Sisko's bulging muscles as he worked the fields. Nobody ever goes after O'Brien, though, poor guy. <br />
<br />
Then, we get to the twist and the ending: <br />
<br />
<b>BIG HONKING SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING AND WHAT HAPPENS</b> <br />
<br />
<b>YOU'VE BEEN WARNED</b> <br />
<br />
So it turns out that Alixus planned the crash from the very start, having designed the technology dampening field and intentionally brought the ship to this planet. "Many scientists share my philosophy." I guess she's never heard of trying to convert people to her cause, trapping people instead. If so many scientists already agree with her, surely it would be fairly easy to convince others? The amazing thing, however, is that *none* of the colonists volunteer to go back with Sisko and O'Brien when the secret is out. I can see people forming a community and not wanting to leave the life they're now used to, but surely *somebody* must feel differently? Joseph doesn't even offer the choice to anybody, instead making it for everybody. <br />
<br />
Secondly, Alixus somehow managed to not only keep the dampening field working for ten years with very little maintenance (she and her son being the only ones who even know of its existence, and her son doesn't strike me as the sharpest tack in the drawer), *and* she can somehow get onto a Starfleet runabout, wipe its logs, set it for a course into a star, and beam off again? How, exactly? I find it hard to believe that she'd be able to hide that kind of technology from her followers for the last ten years without somebody stumbling on it. "Gee, I notice Alixus goes out into the woods every month by herself and is gone all day. I wonder what she's up to?" I just don't buy it. <br />
<br />
This really brought the story down for me. Not to mention the fact that, as I said above, I hate the fact that she becomes even more of a zealot than she already was at the beginning of the episode. There's no second side to this debate because of that. Sure, the colonists staying there when she's taken away sort of makes a point that people might legitimately feel this way, but I don't see that colony surviving without the one person who truly feels like she does. <br />
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<b>END OF SPOILER SECTION</b> <br />
<br />
Thus, "Paradise" has a nugget of good stuff surrounded by a lot of annoyances. It's not a horrible episode, and it certainly won't feel like a waste of your time. But it could have been so much better. Even a stronger cast may have brought this up to a four-star episode. <br />
<br />
Ok, maybe not.<br />
<br />
<b>Memorable Quote:</b><br />
<br />
"I'm the science officer. It's my job to have a better idea." Dax (interesting line, given the plot of this episode)<br />
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<b>3 Stars</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-9832643982013417332013-08-28T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-30T13:45:33.243-07:00Book Review - The Mirror Effect by Dr. Drew Pinsky & S. Mark Young<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn5QuozI4MTeMHyhH_pY4HDEhNXUtVFPy6zfuhz8h9b_WclBM0kzKcxHmt49drl4YajoMe0SwP6d6KbZEvxi0M3S9FQTJvAkaTumV8f6A7dtdTT2CbLXGbuuA4cg5M-VsWf-_cu5TqrE/s1600/Mirror+Effect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn5QuozI4MTeMHyhH_pY4HDEhNXUtVFPy6zfuhz8h9b_WclBM0kzKcxHmt49drl4YajoMe0SwP6d6KbZEvxi0M3S9FQTJvAkaTumV8f6A7dtdTT2CbLXGbuuA4cg5M-VsWf-_cu5TqrE/s1600/Mirror+Effect.jpg" /></a>We are living in an increasingly narcissistic society as teenagers and young adults are increasingly asking people to "look at me," be it on Facebook or other kinds of social media.<br />
<br />
I reviewed Dr. Pinsky's book, <b>The Mirror Effect</b>, back in 2009, but I think it's even more relevant today as we slide into the oblivion of self-centered narcissism where people commit self-destructive acts because they want to be noticed or they want to be like their favourite stars. Why shouldn't they? It's not like Lindsay Lohan has lost much of her career despite the public train wreck that is (or maybe was, if current reports are true) her personal life.<br />
<br />
In the book, Pinsky examines the almost poisonous effect that celebrity culture is having on the youth today. He has counseled many celebrities in his day, and he talks in the book about both how the culture is affecting today's youth as well as the celebrities themselves.<br />
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One of the best quotes from the book is on page 41-42:<br />
<blockquote>"The interdependence between celebrities and the media is a dangerous bargain. The more a celebrity attracts the attention of the media, the more famous he or she becomes. The more dysfunctionally the celebrity behaves, the more interest he or she generates from the tabloids. The more the audience finds out, the more we want to know. And the cost of it all – to the vulnerable celebrities on one side of the mirror, and the impressionable viewers on the other – is impossible to estimate."</blockquote>How often do we read the revel in the gossip that these celebrities are involved in? It's pretty normal that we build these celebrities up and put them on this pedestal and then laugh when their own self-destructive tendencies knock them off of it.<br />
<br />
It's a matter of degree, of course. We don't want them to actually hit rock bottom and die. But how many people laughed at Amy Winehouse before she finally died from her horrible addictions?<br />
<br />
So what is celebrity narcissism?<br />
<br />
As I state <a href="http://www.curledup.com/drewmirr.htm">in the review</a> on Curled Up With a Good Book:<br />
<blockquote>"One of the major points Dr. Drew wants to make is to define narcissism. It doesn't generally mean what we believe it to mean. To quote the back cover (as well as somewhere in the book): "What is narcissism? It's not what you think it is: It's not ego. It's not self-love. It's self-loathing. Envy. Insecurity. Self-destruction." Narcissistic people create images of themselves to broadcast to the world, trying desperately to have those images be loved by the general populace or by their peers. Deep down, they are insecure and don't think much of themselves. Narcissistic celebrities inflict these psychoses onto society at large, and many times it brings them to (or even over) the brink of disaster."</blockquote>It's a really powerful book. I think it warrants a read even now, almost five years after publication. Celebrity gossip culture has not gone away. Many celebrities still inhabit the headlines like a Summer home that they can't leave.<br />
<br />
I strongly recommend that you check this out.<br />
<br />
I don't know if I've seen something that so gets this as Evanescence's "Everybody's Fool" video.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jhC1pI76Rqo" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
Just watching it, you see the hidden depths of despair that can hide behind the positive outward view of a celebrity.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-45974828604545606532013-08-25T09:00:00.000-07:002013-08-25T09:00:02.576-07:00RIP - Lee Thompson Young (Rizzoli & Isles)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg990Cbz1dZNOrxD_9Q0bGDvS9IbUGgfDI-HJTMkfyWQxUEhaqA6V9W4Lc6g8tojMHETcdH2hoYp_igbPb6kFXUXzTaRlsnL-BP05qKE37GRaS-qH5XH94XegKtHUkdDqrx_jl9Qyigoys/s1600/Lee+Thompson+Young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg990Cbz1dZNOrxD_9Q0bGDvS9IbUGgfDI-HJTMkfyWQxUEhaqA6V9W4Lc6g8tojMHETcdH2hoYp_igbPb6kFXUXzTaRlsnL-BP05qKE37GRaS-qH5XH94XegKtHUkdDqrx_jl9Qyigoys/s1600/Lee+Thompson+Young.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Detective Frost at the computer, where he was so often</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>It's a real tragedy when somebody as young as 29 years old dies, and even more of one when it's self-inflicted. When it's somebody you welcome into your home on a weekly basis for thirteen weeks or so a year, it hits even a little bit harder.<br />
<br />
I was watching a recording of the latest Rizzoli & Isles episode this morning. After enjoying yet another well-made episode, I was looking around the Net and stumbled upon <a href="http://ca.eonline.com/news/451660/memorial-for-lee-thompson-young-to-be-held-friday-to-honor-rizzoli-isles-actor">an article</a> noting that the funeral for Lee Thompson Young (who played Detective Frost so brilliantly) had died a number of days ago of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.<br />
<br />
To say this made me sad is an understatement.<br />
<br />
It just seems so senseless from the outside looking in like we all are. It seems that these people have a very good life, with a great job and wonderful co-workers (it sounds like it's a very close cast, with Angie Harmon breaking down in tears as she was speaking at his service). How could somebody so young who apparently had it made do something like this to himself?<br />
<br />
But we can't know what demons are haunting these people on our television screens, lurking in the background. I read somewhere that he had been suffering from depression. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, it's certainly one explanation.<br />
<br />
Whatever the case may be, a great show has been robbed of one of its great actors, and fans of the show will miss the gentle humour and warmth that Young brought to the Frost character. His grin was infectious, and one of my favourite parts of a recent episode was when Frost and Frankie Rizzoli (Jane's brother and another detective) were looking through an eccentric old man's stuff looking for why somebody would try and kill him. They were finding a lot of neat memorabilia and happened upon an EMP gun. And then when they set it off, they blew out all of the circuits on the police cars that were around the crime scene.<br />
<br />
Their giddiness as they went through all of this stuff was hilarious but also quite touching.<br />
<br />
It was that gentle soul, the man who would get sick at the sight of blood yet soldier on in the Homicide unit, the guy who kept a robot action figure on his desk, that Young brought so much heart to.<br />
<br />
I didn't know Young as a "real" person; I only saw him on my screen. But my heart still goes out to him and those who actually did know him.<br />
<br />
My condolences go to Young's family and colleagues, as well as to the fans who will miss him as the series goes on without him.<br />
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May you be in a happier place, Mr. Young.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-88726393391954032612013-08-23T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-23T17:00:01.706-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 33 - Whispers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyvnYF81pVz_f1Xw7d7e7A9pYJi4ymfmlT_T1BPJa5DCnesngldmyd-cIsaYSJXfRpSeD9BBaULv-nhczQnpSZiptodSfX6jb9__inYksiRIMO0Mzd0g4iofQfl2HPdqYvqoYDqYP43g/s1600/Whispers+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyvnYF81pVz_f1Xw7d7e7A9pYJi4ymfmlT_T1BPJa5DCnesngldmyd-cIsaYSJXfRpSeD9BBaULv-nhczQnpSZiptodSfX6jb9__inYksiRIMO0Mzd0g4iofQfl2HPdqYvqoYDqYP43g/s320/Whispers+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>What would you do if everybody else around you seemed like different people all of a sudden? Would you think you were paranoid, or would you think that everybody was out to get you? Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) has that problem in "Whispers," one of the best episodes of <b>Deep Space Nine</b> I've seen in a while. The plotting is wonderful, the atmosphere is tense (and brilliantly directed by Les Landau), and Meaney's acting is great, making this a powerful episode after the slight missteps of the last few episodes (barring <a href="http://davebuttoned.blogspot.ca/2013/08/star-trek-ds9-ep-32-armageddon-game.html#.UhD64ZLvt8E">Armageddon Game</a>). This is easily one of the best of the year, in a different way than the excellent episodes at the beginning of the season. <br />
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Chief O'Brien is returning from the Paradas system in the Gamma Quadrant, after consulting with the government on security protocols for the upcoming peace conference to end the planet's 12-year civil war (one of the only problems with this episode is that there's really no explanation for why Odo (Rene Auberjonois) wasn't involved in this, when he clearly should have been). Actually, the episode opens with O'Brien in a runabout, on the run, opening a personal log and explaining when things first seemed wrong. His wife, Keiko (Rosalind Chao), is acting strangely around him, waking up at 5:30 and taking their young child into school with her. Then, he's removed from setting up the security procedures on the station, because the upper pylons of the station aren't working, despite him having fixed them last week. <br />
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As time goes on, stranger and stranger things start happening, and everybody seems like they're hiding something from him. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) calls him in for a very thorough physical (producing the wonderful line at the bottom of this review) and he finds himself locked out of security files that he should have access to. When things start to really go wrong, he manages to steal a runabout and the episode reaches the point where it began. Will O'Brien be able to figure out what is going on before it's too late for the peace talks? <br />
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"Whispers" is an excellent episode that really rewards a repeated viewing. In fact, even having seen it numerous times, I still feel the palpable tension throughout the episode, despite knowing what's really happening (some of which I'll discuss in the spoiler section below). Between the camerawork and Meaney's acting, every scene is laced with menace as things start to get claustrophobic for O'Brien. Weird looks between the other characters, alternating extreme close-ups, and tension-inducing music all add together to make this an extremely watchable episode. In fact, this is a Meaney tour-de-force, with all of the other actors being sidelined for the most part, though all play an intricate role in ratcheting up the feeling of unease that the episode produces. But this is Meaney's episode, and he runs with it. In fact, this is one of the first "put O'Brien through hell" episodes that litter the series until the very end, and I'm sure they became quite common because Meaney is so good. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlWtxmR0_XFxIjjVNwKe1aU35rY2TF27-c-81Eg_CJAjbSIrK4T2ZKBYi5BUC8BSsNjmtt9Ma8HEpH35PTHA7ID2MrKNXyf3xmDDtr8xaxMniRQW-L2SaGr-oZmB60J97DyaEC3VEtCo/s1600/Whispers+-+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlWtxmR0_XFxIjjVNwKe1aU35rY2TF27-c-81Eg_CJAjbSIrK4T2ZKBYi5BUC8BSsNjmtt9Ma8HEpH35PTHA7ID2MrKNXyf3xmDDtr8xaxMniRQW-L2SaGr-oZmB60J97DyaEC3VEtCo/s320/Whispers+-+3.png" width="320" /></a>Especially nice were some of the little touches. When O'Brien is going through the personal logs on the station, he does this by listening to them, so we hear little snippets of them. When we get to one of Kira's, she's extremely angry at something the provisional government asked her to do, which is very close to her character. I had to laugh at it. Also great were touches like the difference between Odo before and after he talks to O'Brien about what is going on. Even the guest acting wasn't too bad, which was probably helped by the fact that there wasn't much of it. Probably the worst, for me anyway, was Chao, but the way she acted can partially be explained (and will be in the spoiler section). <br />
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<b>*HUGE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING AND WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON* </b><br />
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I especially liked the twist at the end, and it holds together even upon re-watching the episode. The fact that O'Brien was the one that was "wrong" and the others were trying to keep the replicant who thought he was O'Brien from sabotaging the peace talks (via a trigger once the peace talks began, most likely, that would set him into "assassin mode") was a great twist, turning the "everybody's out to get me" motif on its ear. Everybody *was* trying to get him, but that was because he was the problem. The other actors deserve kudos for their limited scenes, when they were obviously acting "off" but that was because they didn't want the replicant to succeed in his mission. The only minor problem with this was Chao, who was *way* too obvious in her "playing it cagey" mode, but that can be partially explained by the fact that 1) She's not a military officer and certainly doesn't have any experience in trying to hide something like this, especially from her husband, and 2) it's her husband who's involved, which I'm sure would have been emotionally taxing on her, especially when fear for her child is present too. <br />
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This is why the episode really should be watched twice. When you finally know what's going on, it's really nice to watch it again and see how everything is playing out from the other officers' points of view. It's still tense, despite knowing what's going on, and it really holds together under scrutiny. <br />
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<b>*END OF SPOILER SECTION*</b> <br />
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Some last small items that I really liked: <br />
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I found it hilarious how often O'Brien was ordering coffee, considering last week's coffee-centric plot. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1H8ks6HfEXrXy8curO3_KsyoBqMmmg1pVWon7Or6QQV0w3cRciJdj80Gug5k9e580GhWGB5LtdXOTAhBcHPoZTrm0q7CXJEasaPHPGH58HgwdSW1i2OiUXSh0_ACeD-BO1rcVqRh68zE/s1600/Whispers+-+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1H8ks6HfEXrXy8curO3_KsyoBqMmmg1pVWon7Or6QQV0w3cRciJdj80Gug5k9e580GhWGB5LtdXOTAhBcHPoZTrm0q7CXJEasaPHPGH58HgwdSW1i2OiUXSh0_ACeD-BO1rcVqRh68zE/s320/Whispers+-+2.png" width="320" /></a>It was nice to see that, while Starfleet Security still can't stop a fugitive from doing what he wants to do, it was mainly because O'Brien is so good, rather than the fact that they are incompetent. <br />
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There may have been some minor problems in this episode (why Odo wasn't at the conference is the main one), but none of them do anything to detract from the quality of it. This is a standout, and deserves to be watched again and again. Outstanding episode.<br />
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<b>Memorable Quotes</b><br />
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"Are you nearly finished? I believe you've poked into every orifice in my body. *And* created a few new ones." Chief O'Brien undergoes one of the most thorough medical exams in human history.<br />
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<b>5 Stars</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-37908379312124873572013-08-21T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-21T17:00:04.360-07:00Book Reviews - Detective Inspector Chen series by Liz Williams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAT_chDK33z9ERAJNImhjHKIEKPzOfwfmjHm8B18opoqDAeohVq7VDZa2CgUpZunjINF_xbDbFc0Y3qQ_l-X0zYOJ9QCHx8vJxcCSFpDjTWdTTt2rva4a-i2IVrgZV8LvXrDtGFWGCC8g/s1600/Snake+Agent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAT_chDK33z9ERAJNImhjHKIEKPzOfwfmjHm8B18opoqDAeohVq7VDZa2CgUpZunjINF_xbDbFc0Y3qQ_l-X0zYOJ9QCHx8vJxcCSFpDjTWdTTt2rva4a-i2IVrgZV8LvXrDtGFWGCC8g/s320/Snake+Agent.jpg" width="211" /></a>A couple of weeks ago, in my review of Tad Williams' <b><a href="http://davebuttoned.blogspot.ca/2013/08/book-review-dirty-streets-of-heaven-by.html#.UhD-bpLvt8E" target="_blank">The Dirty Streets of Heaven</a></b>, I mentioned Liz Williams (no relation) and her Detective Inspector Chen series of books. Like Williams' novel, these books are unique takes on the whole Heaven/Hell concept.<br />
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I've only read two of the five novels in the series so far, but I will be rectifying that in the near future.<br />
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The first book in the series, <b>Snake Agent</b>, introduces us to Inspector Chen and lays out the entire concept that the series is based on.<br />
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Since I summed it up in my review of the book, I'll just quote from <a href="http://www.curledup.com/snakeage.htm">Curled Up With a Good Book</a>:<br />
<blockquote><i>"Chen lives in Singapore Three sometime in the relatively near future (it’s never said, but I’m thinking the late 2000s). The barriers between Heaven, Hell, and the “real” world are thin, and they all have to deal with each other. Chen is one of the only cops in Singapore Three who deals regularly with the celestial beings, and his colleagues tend to avoid him because he’s had to deal with Hell too often. This time, the ghost of a murdered girl doesn’t arrive in Heaven as it’s supposed to, and the grieving mother comes to Chen to investigate why. Seneschal Zhu Irzh is a demon on Hell’s Vice Squad, and he’s tasked with tracking down an escaped dead prostitute from one of Hell’s brothels. With both of them pulling at the same dead soul, conflict is inevitable, but they might end up working together to stop an even bigger conspiracy from one of Hell’s highest, and most sinister, ministries - one that will combine demonic power and modern technology to wipe out millions."</i></blockquote>It's this intriguing aspect of "Heaven & Hell as bureaucracy" that I have always found interesting. Anybody who's dealt with a bureaucracy knows that it is particularly hellish.<br />
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Williams' brilliant imagination comes up with things like the Night Harbor, a place where souls go when the people die, a processing area where it's determined where they go. There are no advocates like in Tad Williams' series, but instead it's, yes, more bureaucracy.<br />
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In fact, Williams' imaginative descriptions is one thing that makes the series stand out. You really feel like you're in the heat of Singapore (whether it's due to the proximity to Hell, global warming, or just its regular climate, I don't know). You feel the oppressive atmosphere even as you're enjoying the wonderful characterization she provides.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJ4cDfm-3wtTB8nIOdDO6ctB6Wy6DYKbSJDbmFMZzlLkcpz4RuAdnqD7hM6SOf2DVJA8xUYm0gUQnx-3DATwh6GRGkLyyV1WlqgeV4au4w2Thgkiei5cd4uPjQpwr9LjBOH5M7Tv6SjM/s1600/Demon+and+City.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJ4cDfm-3wtTB8nIOdDO6ctB6Wy6DYKbSJDbmFMZzlLkcpz4RuAdnqD7hM6SOf2DVJA8xUYm0gUQnx-3DATwh6GRGkLyyV1WlqgeV4au4w2Thgkiei5cd4uPjQpwr9LjBOH5M7Tv6SjM/s320/Demon+and+City.JPG" width="197" /></a></div>Chen and Zhu Irzh have a great relationship that begins in <b>Snake Agent</b> and continues to develop in the second novel, <b>The Demon and the City</b>. Zhu Irzh is not your typical demon, though he can at times be <b>very</b> typical. He has the usual lusts and other demonic aspects, but he does have a few "morals" that move beyond the typical Hellish character traits. He's frustrated by Hell's bureaucracy, and (at least in the first novel) he keeps getting his extremely stylish coat all messed up. And he hates that. The combination of drama and humour in the novels is very well-done.<br />
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The humour can sometimes bleed over into the narrative too. Passages can make you literally stop and laugh for a moment, and they aren't even moments of character by-play.<br />
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In <b>The Demon in the City</b>, for example, there's this gem, where a minor character's mother's spirit has joined him. She's a woman who could almost literally talk your ear off when she was alive, and things haven't really changed.<br />
<blockquote><i>"Paravang thought that it was a good thing that his mother was already dead, because otherwise he would surely have slain her. She had now been a resident at his little apartment for a day and the fact that she no longer needed to draw breath was severely evident."</i></blockquote>Yes, both books had the occasional slow spots that brought them down from full 5-star reviews, but both books were tremendously enjoyable. I have really fallen behind by not reading more of the series to see how they develop.<br />
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The basic plot for <b>Snake Agent</b> is above, but here's my summary of <b>The Demon and the City</b> from <a href="http://www.curledup.com/demncity.htm">Curled Up With a Good Book</a>:<br />
<blockquote><i>"The demon Zhu Irzh, recently re-assigned from Hell to be Chen’s partner on the Singapore Three police force, is having a difficult time of it. He’s bored, he’s lonely, and Chen has gone off to Hawaii with his demon wife for a much-needed vacation. Thus, he’s has to deal with the police bureaucracy and anti-demon prejudice without Chen’s interference. When a murdered renegade heiress turns up, he’s chomping at the bit to begin the investigation that leads to the beautiful head of an extremely powerful drug manufacturing company, Jhai Teserai, a woman who holds many secrets of her own. Intrigued, Zhu Irzh finds her irresistible despite the fact that she might be implicated in the whole thing. Is this part of some sinister plan from Hell to further influence the “real” world, or is something more Heavenly involved? What will Teserai’s questionable experiments unleash - and will Chen return in time to save Zhu Irzh from himself?"</i></blockquote>I think it's this mixture of science fiction and fantasy that makes the whole series attractive.<br />
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Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments! And check out the two reviews as well.<br />
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Also, it appears that now's your chance to pick them up. According to Amazon, both books are being republished in September!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-8766332732385653442013-08-18T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-18T17:00:05.260-07:00Catching Up on a Book Series<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMRDD-wFCnE-HlJ7J2Y5-pCwozXTjHXcLg2VNbjcV927GAoeKWtdCDJKKEAwoXiKULSPJbsbmPivTy9YXDrbcN3xwNHLiu_l03hyS887HM_cauRVsSi51r3CRBjWIfYoE-09tmRgP5PU/s1600/Requiem.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVMRDD-wFCnE-HlJ7J2Y5-pCwozXTjHXcLg2VNbjcV927GAoeKWtdCDJKKEAwoXiKULSPJbsbmPivTy9YXDrbcN3xwNHLiu_l03hyS887HM_cauRVsSi51r3CRBjWIfYoE-09tmRgP5PU/s320/Requiem.jpeg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thanks to <a href="http://aidanmoher.com/blog/2012/12/art/cover-art/cover-art-for-requiem-by-ken-scholes/" target="_blank">Aiden Moher</a>, and check out his great book site!</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Those of you who follow me on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2563042-david">Goodreads</a> know that I've recently started reading a book called <b>Requiem</b>, by Ken Scholes. It's the fourth book in the "Psalms of Isaak" series, a fantasy series that has wowed me since the beginning, though the third book didn't quite so much.<br />
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Most book series have editions that come out once a year at most, and sometimes longer (or much, much longer, I'm looking at you, George R.R. Martin). It's been two or three years since book 3, and I found myself having trouble remembering exactly what was going on in the previous books. In fact, for a while there, I felt totally lost.<br />
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This is unusual for me, because I don't usually have this kind of problem. Most series that I read, I've picked up and remembered the main narrative after the first 50 or so pages. Who the good guys are. Who the bad guys are. What the bad guy's trying to do. What the good guy's trying to stop. I usually master it quite quickly and thus can get into the groove of reading the current book.<br />
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The only time this generally doesn't happen is when the books take a drastically different tone from one to the next. For example, Beth Bernobich's "River of Souls" series. I read <b>Passion Play</b> back in December, and then just recently read the second book, <b>Queen's Hunt</b>. That's not even a year! However, in my memory of the first book, it's told completely from the main character's viewpoint and, while it does go into the politics of the world and begin the search for the magical McGuffins, it's a very personal story about that character. <br />
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The second book opens with a totally different character and after the first chapter, I had to go back and make sure that this was actually part of the series. The second book is much broader in scale, incorporating many different viewpoint characters. It was almost a slap upside the head. That doesn't mean it was a bad book, of course. It was pretty good, once I had adjusted my brain to accommodate the change. I can only imagine what it would have been like if I had read it a year or two later.<br />
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So we've established that I generally don't need much time to have the previous books in my head while I'm reading the current one. Do I catch some of the nuances that go from book to book in the series? Many web sites have ripped apart Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, poring over the minute details of the plot and character and charting how they've changed. Predicting what will happen in the upcoming two books.<br />
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That may be going overboard, but it does bring to mind the question: Just how good of a memory do you have to have in order to take little details from previous books and apply them to the current one? When there's a major plot revelation at the end of Book 3 that's been building since only the beginning, how much impact does it have when you only remember the basic storyline from the first two? There may not be that "a-ha! That's why Agent Smith was sneaking into that warehouse on page 253 of Book 1! He was the villain all the time!" moment that the author was going for.<br />
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So what's the solution? Most people would probably suggest re-reading the series before getting the next book.<br />
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This is not a bad solution, except for the fact that I have been taking longer and longer to get through books these days. So many other distractions in every day life, my gaming (both video and board games) and other things going on. What used to take me 3-4 days to read is now taking me two weeks or more. There are so many other great books out there waiting to be read, I don't want to going back and re-read books again and again. Especially when they're as long as Martin's books.<br />
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Another option is to wait until the entire series is out and just plow through them all then.<br />
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This is not a bad option, and it's great when you have a series recommended to you that you have never tried out before. Cool! All four books are out there. I can just do them in one fell swoop. That's how I was introduced to Jennifer Fallon and the "Second Sons" trilogy.<br />
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There are downfalls to that, though. Martin is a great example, as it's been over a decade and he's not done yet! Also, if everybody waited until the entire series was out, then the books wouldn't sell. If the books don't sell, the sequels don't get published, and then there's no series to catch up on.<br />
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It's a Catch-22.<br />
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I will continue to do things the way I'm doing them now. It's the way that works best for me, and I usually don't have the problem I had with <b>Requiem</b>. In fact, as I got into the book and it has been coming back to me, I'm starting to really enjoy it. I think it says something about the broad nature of Scholes' plot that it took me longer than usual. It's much more ephemeral and spiritual than I'm used to.<br />
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How do you read book series? Do you read them all at once? Re-read them? Just play it by ear?Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-51220613390822817532013-08-16T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-16T17:00:05.514-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 32 - Armageddon Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCC85wSFSKfuIBlREvohIvJciiXX2KctL_UCYgaPj8U2gsuKNAGRkyvcIEOJ2-77Nqy-Qc46nNIFMU5cwsXlKzEfp3ID56Hmn9p943SGc8VvQ4oKgXDtn2itDiOGWzYRix-bPY4BKxC8/s1600/Armageddon+Game+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCC85wSFSKfuIBlREvohIvJciiXX2KctL_UCYgaPj8U2gsuKNAGRkyvcIEOJ2-77Nqy-Qc46nNIFMU5cwsXlKzEfp3ID56Hmn9p943SGc8VvQ4oKgXDtn2itDiOGWzYRix-bPY4BKxC8/s320/Armageddon+Game+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The "genie in a bottle" analogy for dangerous knowledge is often used, because it's so true. Once that genie is released, there is no going back. When the ultimate weapon is created, it doesn't matter how much each side promises to not use it; the chance is always there that somebody won't keep that promise. Knowledge once discovered can never truly be forgotten again. Or can it? "Armageddon Game" doesn't really solve this issue (and it's not really solvable, except with methods that are equally horrific). However, it does address it, and in quite an effective way. Add to that the wonderful interplay between Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) and Dr. Bashir (Siddig El Fadil), and you have a great episode that is just this side of wonderful. <br />
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The war between the T'Lani and the Kellerun, which involved the use of a mutagenic weapon capable of wiping out the populations of whole planets (Harvesters), is over. Both sides have agreed to have the Harvesters wiped out, and have called in the Federation for help. Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien are the two Federation representatives helping in the process, and they are finally successful. Once all of the Harvesters are wiped out, their job should be done, right? <br />
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That would be the case, but the Kellerun and the T'Lani can't allow any of the Harvester knowledge to survive either. Kellerun troops attack the lab, killing all the scientists, and they would have killed O'Brien and Bashir too, if not for some quick thinking and some hand to hand combat. They manage to escape down to the desolate surface of T'Lani III, a planet wiped out by Harvesters. Unfortunately, O'Brien has been exposed to the Harvesters during the battle, and starts slowly succumbing to the disease. <br />
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Ambassadors from both planets come to Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks) with a recording of a radiation pulse unexpectedly tripped by O'Brien, supposedly killing them all. The station goes into mourning, until Keiko O'Brien (Rosalind Chao) comes to Sisko insisting that the recording was altered, because Miles doesn't drink coffee in the afternoon and the recording clearly shows that he is. Will O'Brien survive long enough to be rescued? Will the rescuers themselves be destroyed? It's a race against time. <br />
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"Armageddon Game" is a very good episode, with entertaining dialogue and wonderful character moments. We have only seen the O'Brien-Bashir pairing occasionally, but it sowed the seeds for this episode. The two of them are wonderful together, and a large part of that is because of the chemistry between Meaney and El Fadil. I loved their discussion about marriage, especially Bashir's reasons for not wanting to get married, how it was unfair for them to have to not only worry about their jobs, but also worrying about their family members worrying about them. <br />
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They had a great beginning when O'Brien discovers the T'Lani communication device and tries to fix it. Bashir, wanting to feel useful, offers to help, and when O'Brien scoffs, he says that he took the "engineering extension courses" at the Academy. The look in O'Brien's eyes was priceless. It's not a surprise that there were many more episodes featuring these two. <br />
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Also good, though less so, was the mourning back on the station for the two of them. Chao is surprisingly effective (surprising because I don't really care much for her as an actress) in the scene where Sisko informs her of her husband's death. Also quite touching was the scene between Dax (Terry Farrell), Kira (Nana Visitor) and Quark (Armin Shimmerman) honouring the fallen. Even knowing that they weren't dead, it still brought a small tear to my eye, and was effectively played by all concerned. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHGnqw9rjX_gIza94CsnQrxiNJ92GVDxLjjVUp5GbYP5LgKFrmdEu1nJCX09YhzapfCQr07N_FIxOr-d6USavum1og-KjHnHVVEASfZ8pssUKf8zHvMX2co5LU2p9BhVcAUCMb_do7as/s1600/Armageddon+Game+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHGnqw9rjX_gIza94CsnQrxiNJ92GVDxLjjVUp5GbYP5LgKFrmdEu1nJCX09YhzapfCQr07N_FIxOr-d6USavum1og-KjHnHVVEASfZ8pssUKf8zHvMX2co5LU2p9BhVcAUCMb_do7as/s320/Armageddon+Game+-+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The episode does have a couple of missteps, though. First is the rest of the guest acting, which is hit and miss. Darleen Carr as the T'Lani ambassador is decent throughout most of the episode but really falls down in the final confrontation with Sisko, and Peter White as the Kellerun ambassador never moves above adequate. He never puts much emotion behind what he says, even when it's clear that he's supposed to be doing that. Also, the hair styling on both races just makes them look extremely silly. I feel sorry for the actors when they're forced to wear this stuff. Trek alien hair styles have never been wonderful, but these were especially weird. <br />
<br />
Still, with a stellar story and acting from the regulars, bad guest acting can be overcome. The story is great, but it hinges on something else that just strained my credulity. Keiko storms into Sisko's office saying that the recording has clearly been altered because Miles doesn't drink coffee in the afternoon because it keeps him up at night. Never mind the fact that I find it strange that a security recording would have a spectrographical analysis built into it that would show that it was clearly coffee (Kira's objection is that it might have been tea). I find it odd that Sisko would go off like he does on just the say-so of one of the deceased men's wives, a wife who could just be distraught and grasping at straws for a way that her husband might still be alive. He's convinced *very* quickly. <br />
<br />
That brings it down some, but what really makes this extraordinarily silly is this: <br />
<br />
<b>*SPOILERS FOR THE LAST SCENE*</b> <br />
<br />
At the end, Keiko finds out that Miles *does* drink coffee in the afternoon! I know this is just supposed to be a cutesy ending to a tense episode, but it just adds to the inherent silliness of the plot. This is something a wife would know, if it supposedly has that kind of effect on him (keeping him up all night). How could she be wrong about that? The reason that I think Sisko gives in too fast is not because I think Keiko would have been wrong about this. I think he gave in too fast because clearly there could have been extenuating circumstances for why he would be drinking coffee at that particular time. <br />
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<b>END SPOILERS</b> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMiby4lEbp3wynquSUmRu_-eYbjd1oyaCihhJF_Qn6f1jybUInnny01Blbmjcpkfj1Z_aYfqGUpR9s5UwkuFnv0IeS_7Nrr3jmhCe5aVvalqOE7Y4VnA1Z7EOd_m7XcO9MD0NSN4_lvy4/s1600/Armageddon+Game+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMiby4lEbp3wynquSUmRu_-eYbjd1oyaCihhJF_Qn6f1jybUInnny01Blbmjcpkfj1Z_aYfqGUpR9s5UwkuFnv0IeS_7Nrr3jmhCe5aVvalqOE7Y4VnA1Z7EOd_m7XcO9MD0NSN4_lvy4/s320/Armageddon+Game+-+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Unfortunately, this all works against what I think is a terrific premise, with some tight tension (even though, O'Brien being a regular, we know he's not going to die, it's still tense as he lay dying, trying to verbally help Bashir fix the communication device). The episode rises above the problems, and is still a great character piece for Bashir and O'Brien. We find out a lot about the two of them, and we get to see two very good actors play off each other. If it wasn't for this strangeness, "Armageddon Game" would easily be a 5-star episode. As it is, it's still a very high 4-star one. Definitely worth checking out. <br />
<br />
<b>Memorable Quotes</b><br />
"I'm not giving up, Julian. I'm dying." O'Brien<br />
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<b>4 Stars</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-35507672253022621972013-08-14T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-14T17:00:07.624-07:00Book Review - Cold City by F. Paul Wilson<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cSpK5RY8-GzLDOhHU5_SNUxv5_xZqBlXAil-OYzr8wmwQdxnAJJ_spUlwf1wYEXkzufw8M0_Vr4zelniwqLsmVwjt1yGsT-OdI_FmL7NlTHN9I5Nfo-oK68Hvrnl6sa_J1iA-ZPwmJE/s1600/Cold+City.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3cSpK5RY8-GzLDOhHU5_SNUxv5_xZqBlXAil-OYzr8wmwQdxnAJJ_spUlwf1wYEXkzufw8M0_Vr4zelniwqLsmVwjt1yGsT-OdI_FmL7NlTHN9I5Nfo-oK68Hvrnl6sa_J1iA-ZPwmJE/s1600/Cold+City.jpg" /></a>I came to the Repairman Jack books, brilliantly written by F. Paul Wilson, late in the series. My wife was a big fan and had read all of his books, but I just never had taken the time to do so. However, a later book in the series showed up on the list of books available to review for Curled Up With a Good Book. Since I wanted to get a copy of it for her to read, I requested it. Of course, if you request it, you have to review it, so I read it first.<br />
<br />
I found myself blown away, and while the details of the mythos were all new to me, it was written well enough for a beginner that I had no problem figuring out what was going on.<br />
<br />
This was <b><a href="http://www.curledup.com/fpwsword.htm" target="_blank">By the Sword</a></b>, and I was hooked.<br />
<br />
Jack's story ended last year, but Wilson is now writing three prequel books that tell us how Jack became who he is. He's a man who's lived his life off the grid, untraceable because he refuses to do things like use credit cards or things like that. He pays cash, he works for cash, and when he needs weapons, he has friends who will sell them to him.<br />
<br />
<b>Cold City</b> is the first book in this prequel series, and it is a very good book, though I think it may be better ready if you're at least somewhat familiar with the Adversary Cycle of books. It is understandable if this is your first one, and it's still an excellent story, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you have read some of the other books first.<br />
<br />
My review of it is up on <a href="http://www.curledup.com/cold_city.htm">Curled Up With a Good Book</a>.<br />
<br />
From the review:<br />
<blockquote>
"It's 1990, and a man named Jack (we never will find out his last name, I don't believe) has dropped out of college and headed to New York to make his way. Strange things have been happening to him, dark urges that he must fight before they overwhelm him. He's gone off the grid, living on cash and the odd jobs that will pay him that, which almost necessitates some jobs that are a bit on the shady side. After he suffers one dark attack and almost kills a co-worker who has been bullying him, he's not sure what to do. Getting hired as a driver to smuggle cigarettes is quite lucrative and will definitely keep him able to live well—and buy the weaponry he might need for the days ahead. Especially when he encounters a preteen smuggling ring, some jihadists, and the mob trying to deal with his good friend, the bartender Julio. With all of that, he may be wishing for a monster from the dawn of time to deal with."</blockquote>
Wilson's writing is great, drawing you into the story and not letting you go. I highly recommend this novel, no matter whether you're familiar with the series or not.<br />
<br />
Read the review and let me know what you think!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-29087941844754574542013-08-12T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-12T17:00:02.611-07:00The 3-D ExperienceI enjoy a well-done 3-D movie. The animated movie <b>Up</b> brilliantly uses 3-D to immerse viewers in the world the filmmakers have created. Even though it's animated, it feels much more real than some other movies. There are very few "flying eyeballs" (our affectionate term for when 3-D movies concentrate their 3-D effects on having things come out of the screen at you). After a while, you don't even notice the 3-D, other than just realizing that you feel a part of the world.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7toqUgAIjuSXn05eTyuCQzZmhwQmpBhxrla0ABDpVBF38_cEQ9ucQGCdFF2W0-qEOhMW4puopPXQBom6KHp7k2BLLwQ_KFZaWz9GW0Q80XRV5-8rAIgpbE1zG37Mj94M0AuVGoQ2LiOI/s1600/3-D+Movie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7toqUgAIjuSXn05eTyuCQzZmhwQmpBhxrla0ABDpVBF38_cEQ9ucQGCdFF2W0-qEOhMW4puopPXQBom6KHp7k2BLLwQ_KFZaWz9GW0Q80XRV5-8rAIgpbE1zG37Mj94M0AuVGoQ2LiOI/s400/3-D+Movie.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>How many of these people are really asleep? Thanks to Michal Husak on <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AniFest_3D_movie.JPG" target="_blank">WikiCommons</a></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Most 3-D experiences are not like this. Sometimes they are tacked on, converted from a traditional print just because the movie companies think that everybody wants 3-D. It looks fake and takes you out of the movie.<br />
<br />
So studios think that people want 3-D so much that they are making "regular" movies into 3-D as well? Seriously, does <b>The Great Gatsby</b> need to be in 3-D?<br />
<br />
Movie sales would seem to differ.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
According to Entertainment Weekly, ticket sales for 3-D movies <a href="http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/07/10/despicable-me-2-3d-low/">have been going down recently</a>, as people seem to be avoiding it (or at least not making an effort to go to the 3-D version)<br />
<blockquote>
"According to Universal, only 27 percent of Despicable Me 2‘s opening-weekend gross came from 3-D tickets, the lowest 3-D share in modern box office history. Notably, the record low comes just two weeks after Monsters University notched a 31 percent 3-D share on its opening weekend, which at the time was the worst 3-D performance ever."</blockquote>
3-D televisions haven't taken off like everybody (where "everybody" means TV companies) thought they would. They are becoming more and more of a fad than the future of television.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/145168-3d-tv-is-dead">Extreme Tech</a>, the difference between last year and this year at tech conventions has been stark.<br />
<blockquote>
"At CES 2012, you couldn't move for 3D TVs, ugly polarizing spectacles, and — because the viewer at home can’t take part in the awesomeness that is 3D — those awful, it’s-so-real-it’s-bursting-out-of-the-screen posters (below). At IFA — the big, mid-year consumer electronics event in Berlin — it was clear that 3D TV was on its way out. Today, at CES 2013, 3D TV is dead."</blockquote>
We never bought into the 3-D TV craze, partially because of the expense, though also a big part of it was that it just didn't feel necessary. Expense, I'm sure, played a big part in a lot of people avoiding it, though. For some reason, TV companies didn't seem to realize that most people aren't living by themselves. Why these 3-D televisions only came with one pair of glasses, I will never know. Especially when the glasses could cost upwards of $100.<br />
<br />
For me, I don't make a point of seeing a movie in 3-D at all. We look at the movie show times, see which ones work for us (we usually do a double-header, so want to minimize the wait in between movies), and if one of those happens to be 3-D, then so be it.<br />
<br />
Also, Cineplex has the new UltraAVX experience, where you get to choose your seats when you buy the tickets, the seats are much more comfortable and the screen is bigger and better. Most of the movies in there are 3-D, so you don't have any choice. We saw Wolverine last week in this theater, so we were stuck with the 3-D version of it.<br />
<br />
Frankly, if it wasn't for the AVX experience and great seats, we wouldn't have bothered. I thought the 3-D was really unnecessary and didn't really do much to enhance the movie.<br />
<br />
I wonder how many people buy the AVX tickets just for the seats and not for the 3-D?<br />
<br />
I don't know what the next advance in movie-making will be, but I think 3-D is quickly hitting a dead-end. If the percentage of 3-D sales to regular sales continues to go down, I can't imagine studios will continue with it. At least not to the extent it is now.<br />
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What do you think? Do you like 3-D movies? What are some of your favourites? And which ones have been completely pointless?<br />
<br />
Did you buy a 3-D TV?<br />
<br />
Let me know in the comments!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-22957778121321453962013-08-10T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-10T17:00:03.986-07:00Podcast Stuff - Episode 64 of Down the HallWe're heading into August, and this week's episode is a sort of mini-episode where we talk about the marketing of educational programs. Fiona's away, so our Marketing Manager, Heather McGregor steps in to talk about the challenges and joys of marketing our programs, getting the word out to teachers hungry for professional development programs.<br />
<br />
How has social media made this kind of promotion easier, but also harder in some sense? You know I'm a social media junkie, so this one is right up my alley.<br />
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We still have time for some fun and there are plenty of laughs as well as some good information.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blogs.ubc.ca/epltonline/2013/08/down-the-hall-episode-64-target-practice/">Take a listen here</a> and let us know what you think!<br />
<br />
Note: There will be no episode on the week of August 23, but we will be returning in September.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-70536179850447007392013-08-09T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-09T17:00:06.659-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 31 - The Alternate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBewU97kUO8IJwoCRWf0xLERl46Cp0m2yufriQLJ_avT-8HYdzOBh5dn0WLb5Ex8gjzwTmWLqcwW5RgpK_0G_H8x5Gq9bS5M3E7VZ2lPPpoZEubniC181upPPwiehbOvpBnheaNsp99lI/s1600/Alternate+-+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBewU97kUO8IJwoCRWf0xLERl46Cp0m2yufriQLJ_avT-8HYdzOBh5dn0WLb5Ex8gjzwTmWLqcwW5RgpK_0G_H8x5Gq9bS5M3E7VZ2lPPpoZEubniC181upPPwiehbOvpBnheaNsp99lI/s320/Alternate+-+1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
For children who have fled a bad childhood, it is always awkward when a parent shows up out of the blue, wanting to be a part of their lives again. We find ourselves acting differently around them, differently then the way we react around everybody else. Sometimes, if the problems between parent and child are not resolved, the child lashes out, even unconsciously. We get a bit of this in the <b>Deep Space Nine</b> episode "The Alternate," which is ostensibly about another step in the quest to find out Odo's (Rene Auberjonois) past. While it's an interesting look, little bits of the episode keep it from being outstanding. <br />
<br />
Dr. Mora (James Sloyan), the scientist who was assigned to Odo when he was found all those years ago, has returned to Odo's life, year's after Odo left him. It seems that a Bajoran scan of a planet in the Gamma Quadrant has found traces of DNA that are similar in structure to Odo, and Dr. Mora would like to explore them. Sisko (Avery Brooks) send Dax (Terry Farrell) along with them, as well as another Bajoran scientist (Matt McKenzie). They find a pillar with strange writing on it, as well as what looks like a small silicon-based life-form, both of which they decide to take back to the station for analysis (both of which sound dangerous to me, but I'm not a Starfleet officer, so what do I know?). <br />
<br />
As the pillar is beamed aboard the runabout, the planet (described as volcanic in nature) picks this opportune moment to start erupting, making all of the actors try their hardest to look like they're on shaking ground (can you tell I thought this was a silly scene)? When they get back to the station, all hell breaks loose, as the creature somehow gets away (or is freed?) and the crew have to figure out how to stop it. What is its purpose? And why does it seem to want to kill Dr. Mora? <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
"The Alternate" is yet another "Odo-tease" in the first two seasons, where we think we're going to find out more about him, but ultimately don't really know anything as the episode decides to be about something else. The father-son dynamic between Odo and Mora is good (Auberjonois is always good, and Sloyan is one of the most dependable Trek guest actors), though I found their final confrontation in the security office to be a bit over-played and ultimately leading nowhere. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uV78WV2Mmz1uuQKwtghlpASUzXCqrBXBfpkhKieNP6S-PfnO1grI0dCOQ4Z6MLjnChT7KfMDGE7X8dd9JcVzWKhyphenhyphenkwTuHWrK_DRKZkf6CF-xJQcryqpLLu8zRH4GoWBQU_EgQVRwtUQ/s1600/Alternate+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uV78WV2Mmz1uuQKwtghlpASUzXCqrBXBfpkhKieNP6S-PfnO1grI0dCOQ4Z6MLjnChT7KfMDGE7X8dd9JcVzWKhyphenhyphenkwTuHWrK_DRKZkf6CF-xJQcryqpLLu8zRH4GoWBQU_EgQVRwtUQ/s320/Alternate+-+2.jpg" width="320" /></a>Probably my favourite scene was the first one, where Mora first shows up as Odo and Quark are having one of their better scenes. Quark is all over Mora, as he knows it will irritate Odo, but Mora doesn't know Quark and thinks that Odo's reaction is because he still hasn't succeeded in social integration. It's the perfect way of setting up the "parent who hasn't seen the child in a long time and thinks they still know best" idea. <br />
<br />
The rest of the characters are ok, but they don't have a lot to do. O'Brien (Colm Meaney) gets to give a lot of technobabble (including reversing the polarity of something, for you <b>Dr. Who</b> fans), but he does have a wonderful scene in a conduit as he's searching for the creature ("If you see my wife, don't tell her I did this"). Sisko and his son (Cirroc Lofton) have a good scene too, highlighting the father/son dynamic of the show. <br />
<br />
Farrell, however doesn't do as good of a job. She's very uneven in this one, with some good and some really off scenes. And then there's Matt McKenzie as the Bajoran scientist, who is along for the ride with no reason given other than to make it look like a legitimate scientific party, is injured in the eruption, and then disappears (though at least he's acknowledged). Given the few lines he has, it would be hard to do anything with them, and he doesn't. <br />
<br />
In addition to the more familial elements of the story, it occasionally has some horror elements too, some of which are quite effective (O'Brien's conduit scene being one of them). However, there were too many plot elements dropped. What was the purpose of the pillar? They worked so hard to bring it home, and it's dismissed with a "the computer hasn't had any luck with that either?" <br />
<br />
The episode makes it look like the transporting of the pillar away from the planet caused the eruptions, since they begin as soon as it transports away. But there's no indication that they ever considered if there might be a connection. And why have the scene where Odo ominously says "wasn't the pillar over here before?" when it all boils down to Dax saying "It was in my way"? Basically, way too much time was spent on the stupid pillar for it to be a sly misdirection on the part of the writer. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCHb4bJg8tRwNmYBRind9uzTAp2b2yXzrwKt_Wf6Y1ZL56CvWjMG0FzsVnI5nUlgIX1sbQAdX-1FjxtQPRyg34Oam3a0_DRjqizRmMmQ812JDcSUGNCWvQgjD-YW2p8RR9EwGa4sAfRw/s1600/Alternate+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCHb4bJg8tRwNmYBRind9uzTAp2b2yXzrwKt_Wf6Y1ZL56CvWjMG0FzsVnI5nUlgIX1sbQAdX-1FjxtQPRyg34Oam3a0_DRjqizRmMmQ812JDcSUGNCWvQgjD-YW2p8RR9EwGa4sAfRw/s320/Alternate+-+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
All in all, "The Alternate" wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was pretty good. I'm getting tired of the Odo's origin head-fakes, and the pillar made me shake my head (and don't get me started again on the planet scene, or I'll start dancing, I mean shaking, very badly), but it was an effective episode overall. It helps that the two main characters of the episode were played quite well by the actors. Considering the whole episode was about them, that's a plus. It's a shame that the scene in security was poorly done, or it would have even been superlative. Unfortunately, that scene was quite important, so instead it was just a very good episode. <br />
<br />
<b>Memorable Quotes:</b><br />
"Humanoid death rituals are an interest of mine." Odo <br />
"Death rituals?" Quark <br />
"Everybody needs a hobby." Odo <br />
<br />
<b>4 Stars</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-62427966464093896232013-08-07T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-07T17:00:03.364-07:00Book Review - The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0dBnPImsk11AiLdqDJ7y3o_R2-kaGtG3mPnjGaejeZFrd1xtDdP2lJLe0vHsO17yO0KNX8YIYwCg6WT3sI4Vb61PBkN8ZfvYWuR1PXPdvgxulXP3yfq4445CssnSl6zWfccSxvePHdI/s1600/Dirty+Streets+of+Heaven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0dBnPImsk11AiLdqDJ7y3o_R2-kaGtG3mPnjGaejeZFrd1xtDdP2lJLe0vHsO17yO0KNX8YIYwCg6WT3sI4Vb61PBkN8ZfvYWuR1PXPdvgxulXP3yfq4445CssnSl6zWfccSxvePHdI/s320/Dirty+Streets+of+Heaven.jpg" width="211" /></a>I love me a good fantasy that takes the whole religion thing and kind of turns things on their heads. An imaginative view of just how heaven and hell works can really be fun to read if done well. Sometimes they're satirical (like Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's wonderful <b>Good Omens)</b>, and sometimes it makes a good setting for a more serious (but not *too* serious) story (like Liz Williams' "Inspector Chen" series of fantasy novels, which I may have to include on a future entry, as they're really good).<br />
<br />
Tad Williams' latest novel, <b>The Dirty Streets of Heaven</b> is another take on the whole idea, and it's wonderfully written. The sequel comes out in September, and I'm really looking forward to it. The novel's protagonist, Bobby Dollar, is a really fun narrator, even more so because he just seems like a regular guy (other than this being dead thing, of course). There's lots of action, but some good humour too, and the setting is quite interesting.<br />
<br />
In Williams' world, when a person dies, there is immediately an accounting. A heavenly advocate shows up (like Bobby) to extol that person's virtue and a demon advocate shows up to talk about the bad things the person did in life. A "judge" also shows up to make the final decision.<br />
<br />
One of the problems Bobby is having, as seen in the description below, is that some things aren't going through the right process.<br />
<br />
My review is up on Curled Up With a Good Book.<br />
<br />
From the review:<br />
<blockquote>
"Bobby Dollar's afterlife is turning out to be much more hectic than he ever would have believed. Bobby and his friends are advocates for souls when individuals die, but that's not the main source of all his problems right now. He's dealing with his own sins, including anger and lust, as well as souls disappearing before they can go through the testing process. A couple of demons are after him, he can't necessarily trust his heavenly superiors, and he's not sure about his friends, either. Add to this a new kid that he's supposed to train in the advocacy field, a kid fresh out of the Records department in Heaven, and it's understandable that he's a little on edge. Just what is happening with these souls, and is somebody from Heaven in on it? Is it enough to get Bobby killed (again)?"</blockquote>
It's a wonderful book, with a few slow spots.<br />
<br />
It's well worth checking out. So why don't you?<br />
<br />
Let me know what you think of the review as well.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-43272126382066262022013-08-05T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-05T17:00:04.051-07:00If I Ruled the World<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j1Q3ylchWrXwOZScMkDk73h3pCi_aT74Zt9EftCXkplzhHFY7FQqMYBghwH3quGCYjjM9kzOgCaIe_ZYEyVmj15sBNZ-F-rtI6gvzS5uC7kE7uK5BSKPy3QxHgjOvdY5j2DI4buRmXg/s1600/slurpee.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j1Q3ylchWrXwOZScMkDk73h3pCi_aT74Zt9EftCXkplzhHFY7FQqMYBghwH3quGCYjjM9kzOgCaIe_ZYEyVmj15sBNZ-F-rtI6gvzS5uC7kE7uK5BSKPy3QxHgjOvdY5j2DI4buRmXg/s320/slurpee.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thanks to <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7-11-slurpee.JPG" target="_blank">Alexsh </a>on Wikimedia Commons</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was at the 7-11 the other day, doing a slurpee run (that means a run to get a slurpee, not actually running with a slurpee, or running for a free one, or anything like that). I've been to this 7-11 many times, and there usually may be a couple of people in line but that's about it.<br />
<br />
For some reason, this time was different. There was a line at the cash register that reached almost to the back of the store. What was going on? Was the circus in town? It wasn't particularly hot, but there was a big mess of paper (the straw wrappers) around the slurpee machine, so maybe there was some sort of promotion?<br />
<br />
I don't know. All I know was that I was waiting in line while these slow people in front of me picked through their cash and tried to find the proper amount of money to pay for their stuff. I was being assaulted by the smells of the hot dogs, sausages, and other questionable materials cycling through on that rotating warmer, looking like they'd been there all day (and probably tasting like it too). Usually that's not bad because I'm not there long. Today? It was getting annoying.<br />
<br />
Why was I waiting in line like this? I had exact change. Almost every time I'm there, I have my coins all ready. I just hand them to the cashier and am on my way. No change necessary.<br />
<br />
But no. Instead, I'm stuck waiting behind these slowpokes.<br />
<br />
So, as <a href="http://davebuttoned.blogspot.ca/2013/01/free-association-thursday-pleasantly.html#.Uf1FxZLvt8E" target="_blank">it is wont to do</a>, my mind started wandering.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
They should invent something so that people who actually do have their money ready, and have exact change, should be able to just glide on through without waiting. Some kind of automatic "deposit exact change here" thing were you can walk by those teaming hordes standing in line, smile at them as you put your money in, and be on your way.<br />
<br />
I've thought about this too when I'm in a similar situation but with only one person. I'm behind a person who doesn't seem to realize that, "oh, I'm at the cash register. I might actually have to provide money!" And then (if it's a woman) she starts digging through her purse trying to find it all. Or she starts counting out the pennies to get to two dollars. Meanwhile, I'm standing behind her with places to be, holding the exact change for my item, ready to just hand it to the cashier and be on my way.<br />
<br />
Wouldn't that make life a lot easier for those of us who are efficient?<br />
<br />
Ok, I'm not an efficient person. I often find the hard way to do things, and am flabbergasted when the easy way is pointed out to me. "Why didn't I think of that?" If there's a round hole, I'm sure I have the square peg that will fit in there. I mentally go three miles out of my way to accomplish something that would only take about 500 feet. I miss things that are sitting right in front of me. If there's an easy way to do it, I will probably not be able to find it.<br />
<br />
So in one of those rare cases where I'm actually ready to be efficient, shouldn't I be rewarded?<br />
<br />
Evidently not. <br />
<br />
It's like that a lot in life, I think. Things that, if I ran the world, these things would be happening.<br />
<br />
Like getting off an airplane.<br />
<br />
Isn't that one of the most annoying things out there? You have one carry-on bag, and it's underneath your seat. You could literally be up and out of there in 5 seconds, getting out of everybody's way. You're all ready to go, but you have to sit there for what seems like hours (ok, it's probably just five minutes max, but it feels like hours).<br />
<br />
But no. You have to wait for all of the people in front of you who are having trouble getting their bags out of the overhead bins. A family of six who are trying to get everything together. Meanwhile, you're sitting there, bag in hand, ready to go, wishing you could just wave your fingers and "zap!" you're at baggage claim or at your connecting gate.<br />
<br />
You could be out of their hair in seconds, so that the people behind you aren't waiting for you.<br />
<br />
If I ruled the world, the flight attendants would be at the front of the plane, and they would announce "those of you who are all ready to leave may disembark first. Thank you for flying with us. Those of you who are slow, please wait your turn."<br />
<br />
It would make things a lot easier.<br />
<br />
If you ran the world, what things would you implement to make your life easier? Or to make it more efficient?<br />
<br />
And if you're the person in front of me, have your damned money ready!Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-25109284822971789522013-08-03T17:30:00.000-07:002013-08-03T17:30:01.757-07:00Get That Song Out of My Head!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UTE3vhYuEGZ6sGXkgEwfeyIHbCOyTV2EH7biS139iybX5n-a0fT0TEQ5P2wKB2BqkOMt3l5K5M4uQsudvi4qmcZd0af4Hmzg5lLVnf8LwWbem4f1S0XJP1vRbnzMVnZvhKcVkvHM6u0/s1600/Les+Miz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UTE3vhYuEGZ6sGXkgEwfeyIHbCOyTV2EH7biS139iybX5n-a0fT0TEQ5P2wKB2BqkOMt3l5K5M4uQsudvi4qmcZd0af4Hmzg5lLVnf8LwWbem4f1S0XJP1vRbnzMVnZvhKcVkvHM6u0/s320/Les+Miz.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Thanks to <a href="http://gabisakura.deviantart.com/art/Les-Miserables-Ed-Edition-337352858" target="_blank">GabiSakura</a> on DeviantArt</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for a long time, the chorus of it repeating over and over and over inside your brain, almost driving you crazy?<br />
<br />
Of course you have. Everybody has. Some have it more than others, though. I'm one of those people.<br />
<br />
The technical term for this is earworms (for some reason, I kept thinking "earwigs," which are things you do *not* want). According to <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/songs-stuck-in-head.htm">How Stuff Works</a>, earworms are actually a function of the brain.<br />
<blockquote>"When we listen to a song, it triggers a part of the brain called the auditory cortex. Researchers at Dartmouth University found that when they played part of a familiar song to research subjects, the participants' auditory cortex automatically filled in the rest -- in other words, their brains kept "singing" long after the song had ended. The only way to "scratch" brain itch is to repeat the song over and over in your mind. Unfortunately, like with mosquito bites, the more you scratch the more you itch, and so on until you're stuck in an unending song cycle."</blockquote>Yes, they can be annoying. They are truly annoying when the brain feels like there's nothing but earworms in it.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The song in my head keeps changing, sometimes quickly and sometimes after days, and only if I've listened to something else for a long period of time to "scrub" the old one out of my brain.<br />
<br />
I love <b>Les Miserables</b>, but it is dangerous to me. I bought the 25th anniversary stage celebration and watched it. For days, and maybe even a couple of weeks, I had snippets of songs from the musical stuck in my head, verses going over and over and over and over in my thoughts, sometimes stepping on each other like excited puppies when their owner comes home. The movie last Christmas? I loved it. But it happened again. Weeks of Les Miz segments almost driving me insane.<br />
<br />
Recently, I've listened to a lot of Matchbox 20's latest album (what do we call these things nowadays when everybody gets their music individually on iTunes and such? Can't really even say "CD" anymore), and now some of those songs are rolling over and over inside there.<br />
<br />
For me, and I don't know how unique I am in this, it doesn't even have to be something I've listened to recently. Sometimes there's a logical impetus. Some mornings when I see our cat getting in my way as I'm trying to get ready for work, Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat" will start buzzing in my head. Just the chorus line "the year of the cat...[music]". I don't know the song well enough for the rest of it to go through there.<br />
<br />
But sometimes, it's completely out of the blue and I'll have no idea where it came from. One day, Debbie Gibson's "Staying Together" just popped in there. No reason whatsoever. I hadn't heard it in years. I was a big fan of her back in the day, and I still follow her on Twitter. But I haven't listened to anything by her in a long time.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, there it was, worming it's way into my brain functions and not letting me go. It was there for at least half a day.<br />
<br />
Is it simply the case of our brains "idling?" And if that's the case, why does our brain go to music? Why can't it go to, say, creating ways to make ourselves millions?<br />
<br />
So everybody has this to some degree. What are some songs that you've had stuck in your head for long periods of time? Or how do you prevent it or get rid of them?<br />
<br />
I'm sure there's some kind of mind training out there so that you can prod your brain into thinking of better things when it doesn't have anything else to do.<br />
<br />
I'll go research that after I finish internally singing "She's So Mean."Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-36283493714095356052013-08-02T17:00:00.000-07:002013-08-02T17:00:01.248-07:00Star Trek: DS9 - Ep 30 - Rivals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHNFDwA2UTIJXDC3XUuJlERYrYgoOzgYI1duEMSPwfdDYDD5GVHX_e2dmRg5hrXYfWLpm-8ub4xtqV3nkL7aLB57WVbhaFEXlTADY-3T4fd0VZzCQ_9eiBuV9_ebMQC1UbjsK295xlQ4/s1600/Rivals+-+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHNFDwA2UTIJXDC3XUuJlERYrYgoOzgYI1duEMSPwfdDYDD5GVHX_e2dmRg5hrXYfWLpm-8ub4xtqV3nkL7aLB57WVbhaFEXlTADY-3T4fd0VZzCQ_9eiBuV9_ebMQC1UbjsK295xlQ4/s320/Rivals+-+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This third in a string of lackluster second-season <b>Deep Space Nine</b> episodes, "Rivals" is quite uninspiring, though at times amusing. Yet again, we get a Quark-centered episode that just falls a little bit flat. When you add a surprisingly wooden performance from Chris Sarandon (most notably from <b>The Princess Bride</b>), and you get a rather blah episode. Average, but that's about it. <br />
<br />
Over a drink at Quark's, Martus (Chris Sarandon) is listening to Alsia (K Callan) tell her life story, especially about the mining expedition that she wants to fund with the money she put back over the years. Just as Martus is about to offer to co-fund it, Odo (Rene Auberjonois) swoops in and arrests him for an earlier con. Martus ends up sharing a prison cell with an old alien named Cos (Albert Henderson, giving a very bland performance) who lost everything gambling on an electronic gambling machine that has always brought him bad luck. He activates it again, wins, and promptly dies (which is something that he had said he really wanted to do). <br />
<br />
This gives Martus an idea, especially after tangling with Quark (Armin Shimmerman) trying to sell the machine, and he sets up his own gambling establishment, taking most of Quark's customers. Meanwhile, O'Brien (Colm Meaney) has installed a racquetball court and discovers that Bashir (Siddig El Fadil) used to play all the time. He gets his dander up when Bashir keeps beating him, and keeps demanding a rematch. Is Bashir really that good? Why are so many people having minor accidents all over the station? Something's affecting the entire station, and Sisko (Avery Brooks) is determined to find out what it is. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Much like "Sanctuary," "Rivals" has a lot going for it, and a lot going against it. It was a lot more fun than I remember it being, though it's just as silly. Thankfully, the stronger scenes were enough to partially overshadow the weaker ones, as well as the guest acting, at least for the most part. One scene I loved was Bashir's lunch with Dax (Terry Farrell) as he's telling her about the racquetball game with O'Brien, and how O'Brien almost had a coronary trying to beat him. The conversation itself isn't what's funny (though hearing the description of the competitive O'Brien was good), but Bashir's ongoing search for a sauce bottle that actually worked was priceless. Bashir never let his search stop him from talking, and I was busting a gut with that scene. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4RML7sn-QFv4r1KDUH0_CH1PtaKB-u2l3PiyJBY51OSOY42LvOVSeQ2GqOzPK2aEX3fRGyG9MHz1M6TIdWAsuTW-8m7uGSOK0ewxxiUH0rmJG6CqDnVkhYPt8aIwqx2p-HuaRpAWq0E/s1600/Rivals+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA4RML7sn-QFv4r1KDUH0_CH1PtaKB-u2l3PiyJBY51OSOY42LvOVSeQ2GqOzPK2aEX3fRGyG9MHz1M6TIdWAsuTW-8m7uGSOK0ewxxiUH0rmJG6CqDnVkhYPt8aIwqx2p-HuaRpAWq0E/s320/Rivals+-+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In fact, most of the best scenes were between O'Brien & Bashir, which is often the case with <b>Deep Space Nine</b>. The opening scene when Bashir discovers O'Brien in the racquetball court and says how his Academy team won the championship when he was there as well as Bashir's unconscious arrogance that just rubs O'Brien the wrong way ("old style rules" indeed!). Meaney plays it beautifully, especially the scene where Bashir tries to let O'Brien win. "Do you think I'm stupid too?" he seethes, before storming off the court. <br />
<br />
These two were so wonderful, it's sad that the acting in the other side of the story was so lackluster. I haven't seen Shimmerman give a performance this weak in a long time. He forces a laugh a couple of times (the actor does, I think Quark was actually *supposed* to be laughing) that just grated on me, and much of the rest of it is a bit over the top too. He does have a great scene with O'Brien at the bar where he begins trying to be as good a listener as Martus is (Martus' race is a race of listeners), but ends up going on to his own tangent when an idea occurs to him. But mostly, he's pretty weak. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5n1U83OZbeYx1cgYLNUlUpKqzQHIRhWngT_jnTULeFr4sxnJiE9YSR5r1vFgMVxJQIS259qN7v5uUlEZXCML3tchSC2rUfBDJWi6emMm2_XSlymZ3JqmF0G1rmyIt-XE9mz_LHkxMk4/s1600/Rivals+-+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5n1U83OZbeYx1cgYLNUlUpKqzQHIRhWngT_jnTULeFr4sxnJiE9YSR5r1vFgMVxJQIS259qN7v5uUlEZXCML3tchSC2rUfBDJWi6emMm2_XSlymZ3JqmF0G1rmyIt-XE9mz_LHkxMk4/s320/Rivals+-+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The other side of that story is even more surprising. Chris Sarandon almost seems to sleepwalk through his performance. I don't know what was going on, whether the script bored him or what, but he doesn't give any energy to the role. There were times that I saw a spark of the old <b>Princess Bride</b> Sarandon (especially the "I’m not listening!" that he shouts out in the jail cell, which has a nice double meaning, with the Bride reference along with the fact that his character is supposed to be a Listener). But overall, he was exceedingly dull. The rest of the guest cast was fairly unremarkable as well, though none of them were actively bad. <br />
<br />
As for the rest of the episode, the plot definitely had its moments, though it didn't really seem to flow logically that well. The explanation for the changes in luck doesn't really add up (and that's as far as I can go without spoiling the episode). <br />
<br />
Plus, the thing that sets off the entire plot wouldn't even happen normally. There is no way that Odo would allow a prisoner to hide a possession on his person, so how did Cos still have his machine to show to Martus? There had to have been some better way for Martus to get a hold of the thing, some way that wouldn't make Odo look uncharacteristically incompetent. <br />
<br />
One good thing (though others might consider it bad) is that the episode does not attempt to give us a technobabble reason for what's going on when it's finally discovered. There is a part of me that wanted an explanation (even as I was writing this review, I was thinking about it), but I then realized that the explanation would probably sound horrible and I should just go with the flow. <br />
<br />
So, ultimately, we have a bit of a snoozer of an episode with some hilariously funny moments. Not enough funny moments to bring this above "average," but enough to keep it above "dire." At least it's not <a href="http://davebuttoned.blogspot.ca/2013/02/star-trek-ds9-ep-28-second-sight.html#.UeyEu430ByI">Second Sight</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Memorable Quotes</b><br />
<br />
"I’m not listening!" Martus <br />
<br />
<b>3 Stars</b>Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-14139471288133517012013-07-31T17:00:00.000-07:002013-07-31T17:00:00.626-07:00Book Review - Last Man Standing by Dick Camp<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyEldYieuOhXi9lk2srcc5lPtMz6ePqBDb-udiF3EwiYLyTMJrVIwoib-peHuBPjloiI0rfI4mBjgNlfg2coAjX-0I4fnczn5fudL7qnls27gjcGH9SREBBJnvcoGE44SJJOPcG0EF6k/s1600/Last+Man+Standing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyEldYieuOhXi9lk2srcc5lPtMz6ePqBDb-udiF3EwiYLyTMJrVIwoib-peHuBPjloiI0rfI4mBjgNlfg2coAjX-0I4fnczn5fudL7qnls27gjcGH9SREBBJnvcoGE44SJJOPcG0EF6k/s320/Last+Man+Standing.jpg" width="209" /></a>Many are the horrors that soldiers went through during World War II. Most of the time, this can be mitigated by the fact that they were fighting the evil forces of Nazism or Totalitarianism.<br />
<br />
But what if lives were wasted on a meaningless battle that really didn't have any effect on the outcome of the war?<br />
<br />
One such instance would be the US invasion of Peleliu island in the Pacific Ocean. This battle was a meat-grinder for all involved, but especially for the 1st Marine Regiment which suffered catastrophic losses. Ultimately, while the battle would be won, the tactics involved have long been questioned. The necessity for the invasion has been as well.<br />
<br />
Dick Camp (author of the wonderful book about the Najaf battle in 2004 in Iraq called <b><a href="http://davebuttoned.blogspot.ca/2011/11/book-review-battle-for-city-of-dead.html#.UfQBYo3vt8E" target="_blank">City of the Dead</a></b>) has written the story of the 1st Regiment's demise in <b>Last Man Standing</b>, a riveting account of the battle from these soldiers' perspectives. It's not a history of the battle itself, as Camp ends the book once the regiment has been withdrawn. But it is a testament to the courage of these Marines in a hopeless situation.<br />
<br />
The book is extremely well-written, but be warned. Some of the pictures are a little graphic. Not bloody-graphic, but there are pictures of burned-out bodies of Japanese soldiers or dead Marines who had not been collected yet.<br />
<br />
The rest of my review of the book is on <a href="http://www.curledup.com/last_man_standing.htm" target="_blank">Curled Up With a Good Book</a>, and I encourage you to check it out for more information.<br />
<br />
And if you like reading history books on World War II as much as I do, it's a must-read as well.<br />
<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728697892979323999.post-54472201118071754232013-07-27T17:00:00.000-07:002013-07-27T17:00:02.744-07:00Podcast Stuff - Episode 63 of Down the Hall<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRg0h5hQ8s4UUQoSGPDVpf2OCJJo-EGNhc7zh4DjOiWbM55-PrziZQWCfgcLpcspdge-voUdixCYgZeHfTqypjP_xHwRACBHHV4WhsnqKk4m2iF8GnTLjtKj5kQrZH-es34gOs7OgH0sI/s1600/Richard+III.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRg0h5hQ8s4UUQoSGPDVpf2OCJJo-EGNhc7zh4DjOiWbM55-PrziZQWCfgcLpcspdge-voUdixCYgZeHfTqypjP_xHwRACBHHV4WhsnqKk4m2iF8GnTLjtKj5kQrZH-es34gOs7OgH0sI/s320/Richard+III.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Richard sure is handsome, isn't he? Thanks to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/archaeology/10031896/King-Richard-IIIs-teeth-and-jaw-reveal-monarchs-anxious-life-and-violent-death.html" target="_blank">the Telegraph</a></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We've been podcasting away while I've been gone, and yesterday episode 63 went live.<br />
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In it, I talk to David Vogt about mobile learning (education via mobile platforms) as well as the mobile learning course that he's creating for the MET program.<br />
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Also, your hosts welcome Prince George! Though he didn't have a name yet when we recorded, so hilarity ensued. The remains of Richard III that were found last year in a Leicester carpark are going to be getting a beautiful new home as well, and we talk about that.<br />
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Basically, it's a summer episode, light and breezy with some great conversation.<br />
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Check it out <a href="http://blogs.ubc.ca/epltonline/2013/07/down-the-hall-episode-63-my-kingdom-for-a-smartphone/">here</a>!<br />
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And to check out episodes you may have missed since the last time I posted, you can <a href="http://blogs.ubc.ca/epltonline/">find them all here</a>.<br />
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<br />Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00722667383694168074noreply@blogger.com0