No such thing as too much Bacon

Bacon Elemental (yikes!)

Canned Bacon

Bacon Salt

1978 Mark Hamill Press Conference

A bit dated, but interesting and providing several worthwhile insights for the Star Wars Fan.

Luke speaks....

The First Appearance of Boba Fett

I had no idea, but this was 1978...

Bobba Fett in a Cartoon from the 'Star Wars Holiday Special'.

Interesting.... clearly he talked more as an animated figure than he ever did as a live figure in the movies.

Some good moments from Doctor Who

Two few with Tom Baker, Leela, K-9 and Lethbridge-Stewart, but that's just my opinion.

45 Coolest Moments (allegedly) in Doctor Who

My Name Is Bruce

Bruce Campbell, playing a B grade actor asked to take on the real job of fighting evil... goodness cannot fail to be the product!

They Call Me Bruce

And if you've never seen it, I recommend you acquire a copy of Bubba Ho-Tep. Bruce gets to play an aging Elvis and take on an Egyptian Mummy... perhaps with the help of JFK...

For those who may not know, Bruce played Ash in Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness. If you don't know those movies, what are you doing here? Go and rent them.

Also, a Bruce Campbell Sound Library!

Book: The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian

Published in 2003, but if it isn't already in my queue, I'm going to have to hunt it down and acquire a copy.

The Coming of Conan The Cimmerian

Some thoughts on Conan from tor.com.

Movie: Outlander - Vikings take on Alien Monster!

Vikings. Aliens. Combat. What more is required?

Outlander

Nerf Gun Mod - Chain Gun!

Because you can never have enough firepower....

Nerf Chain Gun Mod

Who made you wait the longest for a SciFi Sequel?

This is an interesting list.

Now, if it was fantasy, I'd have added Robert Jordan finishing the Wheel of Infinite Books, but that's not waiting for a sequel, just an endgame to a plotline or setting.

I think I'm still waiting for a CJ Cherryh sequel (have to go find the name with a trip through my bookshelf).

Awesome - So Say We All!

Lego....

Vipers....

Awesome buckets of Win!

Some good pix.

The Evolution of Dance

From YouTube, hence a video, but safe content

I thought this might bring a chuckle to you if you have any familiarity with the music world in the last few decades...

10 more spaceships!

A better list from someone with more of a clue...

I have to admit the ID4 ships did nothing for me.

I think the USS Sulaco should up there too - the Aliens Marine Cruiser. It looked b-a-d BAD. And it dropped the cool little Arapaho dropship and the M577 APC full of life-takers and heart-breakers.

I also think the ships from 2001 and 2010 are good candidates. As is the ship Valley Forge from the incredible movie Silent Running.

The mining ship Red Dwarf deserves an honourable mention as do most of the ships in Battle Beyond The Stars.

Another missed entry is The Liberator from Blake 7, one of the most under-rated sci-fi series ever.

Top 10 Spaceships

According to someone who fails to understand spaceships must go to space - it's in the name!

My top 10 spaceships of all time..

• USS Enterprise NCC 1701 (the original)
  
• Millenium Falcon
  
• Space 1999 Eagle
  
• TARDIS (it travelled in space)
  
• Battlestar Galactica (new Pegasus gets honourable mention)
  
• Star Fury (Star Sabre gets honourable mention)
  
• USS Daedelus
  
• Death Star (honourable mention to Star Destroyers)
  
• Klingon D-7 Battlecruiser (honourable mention to the Bird of Prey)
  
• Space Shuttle (honourable mention to Apollo mission vessels)
  

What would your top 10 include?

Idle Question #2

What's you favourite Battlestar Galactica character, old or new, and why?

My own is Karl Agathon (aka Helo) played by Tahmoh Penikett (now that's a name!), a Canadian actor born (woohoo!) in Whitehorse in the Yukon, and his parents were a former Premier and a lady from the White Horse first nation.

I like him both because his portrayal of the character was solid and because the character itself was a real archetype - the most ethical, idealistic guy trying to do the right thing in a variety of really, really hard situations. And more often than not, picking the best of a range of bad options, often without due credit.

And of course, getting to make happy with Grace Park... well.... that's a win.

And additional trivia: He played (on one episode) a little known human form replicator called 'Third' in Stargate SG-1.

Battlestar Galactica, Season 4.0

The first half of BSG Season 4 is named 'Season 4.0'. The writers strike gave them an excuse to bifurcate the season similar to what they did (sans excuse) in season 2. That's moderately annoying, but at least in this case understandable.

Even after 3.5 seasons, the writing on this show is still gripping, some of the plot twists unexpected, and the acting and cinematography top notch. As reprises go, this one beats the living frak out of the original.

I loved the original BSG and I sort of lament that they didn't find a role for Dirk Benedict, but the new one is a whole different feel. Where the original had the sci fi setting, the desparate battle, the protracted quest, and romance, humour and character development, it is eclipsed in many ways by the new one.

The new BSG has a far less caricature alien foe (who, unlike ST klingons, don't forget their original roots with a retcon) that is fascinating, complex, and multidimensional. The characters themselves are deep, rich, and either flawed by nature of brought to points of failure by circumstance and by testing one can only barely imagine.

And the new show is shot with a lot more intensity and tension. There were many episodes where 'edge of the seat' was no exaggeration.

I'm looking forward immensely to the last half of the 4th and final season. I'm sure I'll probably regret some of the directions they take and who knows what I'll think of the ending, but I think they've already given me so much enjoyment (and proven that SciFi need not be one dimensional characters with laser swords) that I'm willing to give them a chance to blow my socks off again.

I'm not just in it for the hot models either. I have always liked Lucy Lawless (moderate +1 for Australian accent and +1 for being Xena and +1 for looking good as a blonde). I have decided I also quite liked Katie Sackhoff (Starbuck) and Grace Park (oh-my-lord Boomer!). Most people find Tricia Helfer the compelling female femme fatale of this show, but I think Grace Park and Katie Sackhoff have both had very complicated roles to play with a lot of range required and both have proven they have the acting chops as well as phenomenal good looks.

Of course, credit where credit is due: The show needed a lot of less pretty people - James Olmos as Commander Adama was inspired and is the perfect 'old man' for a ship that has to fly through hell and survive. Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh has been amazing. And the actors playing Helo, Apollo and Chief Tyrol were strong. About the only one I wasn't crazy about was the actor playing Mr. Gaeta. I wasn't fond of Gaius Baltar, but I don't blame that on the actor. I'm just strongly anti-weasel and anti-pretty-boy.

I hope others follow on in the footsteps of this show by making other sorts of SciFi that has depth of character and meaningful character arcs. I give Richard Hatch a big nod for getting this project back into the land of the living after its demise so many years ago.

I look forward to the last half of season 4.... So say we all!

Top 10 Westerns of All Time

Spike TV's top 10

My top 10 would be:

• Open Range
  
• Unforgiven
  
• The Magnificent Seven
  
• The Shootist
  
• Rio Bravo
  
• Open Range
  
• High Plains Drifter
  
• True Grit
  
• Quigley Down Under
  
• Two Mules For Sister Sarah
  

What are your favourite Westerns?

Stargate Atlantis Season 5

Well, I'm not working right now, so I've been watching the Stargate Atlantis 5th Season downloaded from iTunes. I've made it through 16 episodes and I can't believe the SciFi channel canceled this series.

It is an excellent series, the characters have developed strong personalities, interrelationships, and have grown and changed over the series.

Some of the bad guys have been persistent and worthwhile too. They've had some recurrent menaces and new ones here and there as well as a good mix of exploration, diplomacy and space and ground battles. Saving small and large groups of people and doing things that have later consequences has been a theme of the show.

It has also, to me, much like the original stargate, had very strong messages about friendship, about the teamwork, about what matters ethically and morally and why it matters, and about how real life decisions have consequences.

And most importantly, it has been about hope. The hope that things will get better, that evil can be overcome, and that the darkest night is followed by the dawn. I know that this is a somewhat formulaic route, but ultimately it is a movie about the triumph of the human spirit and human ingenuity and hard work over adverse situations. That's a message that should never get old. Hope is something I don't think we can have overmuch of right about now. We've had enough of the negative... we're drowning in it, in fact.

A little hope never hurt anyone. I do hope they proceed with their plans to make a two hour movie. The humanity of the writing, the way characters evolve, and the familiarity of the cast is something I will really miss. Heaven forfend I'm left with only reality TV shows, soap operas, American sitcoms, or CSI: Some Other Place With Dead People.

And on a personal note, I'm very happy to see Dr. Rodney Mackay (actor David Hewlett), a Canadian actually playing a Canadian, score the girl, Dr. Jennifer Keller (actress Jewel Staite), another Canadian who is playing an American. It's nice to show a happy ending for the geek in the show rather than just the musclebound and handsome tall-dark-and-deadly character (Jason Momoa) or the charismatic leader (Joe Flanigan). My sympathies are probably showing. (Or maybe it is my wistful side?)

At any rate, I'm looking forward to obtaining these on DVD.

Superheros and SciFi Heros of the 1970s

http://www.chrisroberson.net/2009/01/tvs-sci-fi-and-superhero-characters-now.html

Click on the banner image for the big version. The test is to see how many you can name before going to read the comments for some answers. I got about 85-90%.

Getting Old or just Waking Up?

I've noticed as I get older - unlike most of the older folks I know - I become less sure of myself and of the things I know. I find this a little odd, given that most people become more set in their convictions and gain more confidence as time goes by.

It seems to me, conversely, that as I have aged, I have seen a great number of strongly held convictions rendered questionable. Not broken upon the altar of fundamental flaw, but instead withered away at the edges by the growing awareness of additional information.

For most of the black-and-white scenarios, such as the issues of land and political power all over the world, I've come to appreciate their are two sides to every story. This isn't a morally relativistic stance - murder of innocents is still wrong - but ultimately from a pragmatic point of view, there is the question of whether collateral damage negates a nation's moral high ground. And if there is no moral high ground, then the justification for differentiating between the sides is often significantly fuzzier.

In interpersonal things, I've noticed that people always perceive reality differently. There really are at least three sides to any story: First person, second person, and maybe an ineffable objective truth. Or maybe the objective truth doesn't exist and we only have subjective truths. Or maybe the objective truth is really a consensus reality we share that is influenced by our subjective truths.

In complex scientific areas, such as global warming, alternative fuels, nuclear power, recycling, and so on, I've noticed that both sides seem to have some good science. I've followed both sides of these debates far enough to know both also have bad science, apologists, lobbyists, and evangelists. But there is enough reasonable science on both sides of most issues to make me realize I don't see one clear answer. And there is enough complex science for which I don't have the skills or raw data to analyze the results meaningfully, so I probably just don't know enough to have a very definite opinion.

I'm finding navigating the world is both more complex and easier as a consequence of these discoveries.

It is more complex in that I realize conclusions or beliefs are almost always suspect, so making life-directing decisions (small or large) becomes more challenging. And of course, life often does not allow you the luxury of no decision - indecision or procrastination IS a decision with consequences as well. So you end up making a fair few more decisions in a fashion to hedge your bets or in a fashion to try to put off making the final choice. And if you make a decision, it often seems like you should worry about it and revisit the decision to make sure you made the best choice.

At the same time, it has made some aspects of decision making easier. Given the complexity and shades of grey, you ARE going to get it wrong fairly regularly. So you have to learn to live with that and forgive yourself and that's a powerful aspect of personal growth. You also know that you often can't unravel the truth, so sometimes you have to decide with your gut instinct, with faith in yourself, and with acceptance that the best you can do is the best you can do, given finite time and energy.

In the net, I find myself being more cautious, more tentative in making big commitments. But I also find myself not stressing as much if I get a decision wrong because I've come to know that I will make mistakes and they are unavoidable.

I've also learned once I've recognized one of these sorts of issues as such (Global Warming as one example), to stop worrying about it much. If I can't sort out the true from the untrue or the valid from the invalid after all of my years of life and education, then I should really stop breaking my brain trying. There are areas of my life that need that attention far more and where the return on invested time is far more sure and significant. So you just let these things go and move on to focusing on the things that you can affect in a useful and more definitive fashion. I suppose that ends up working out to some form of 'think locally, act locally' in most cases.

I don't know what other folks that are aging are finding, but this has been my experience. I'd be interested to hear from others.

Idle Question of The Day #1

So, if you were some sort of terrain feature, what would you be? Would you be a small one or a big one? Would you be impressive and challenging or welcoming and inviting? Would you be impassable or frequently visited? Describe yourself.

A good meal and good company

Dan and Jennifer came over for dinner tonight. I served a cranberry-apricot-apple pork roast, roast potatoes, and steamed asparagus. Desert was some fancy tarts. The appetizer was blue organic corn nacho chips and a medium salsa. The wine was a nice Pinot Grigio and the Scotch was a double casked Islay single malt of 12 years of age.

The company was lovely - Dan and Jennifer are some of the nicest folks I know. I've known Dan since 1991 and I consider him one of my close friends. The world needs more folks like this - Jen for her optimism and smiley demeanor and Dan for his cynicism-tinged realism. They make a good couple with a ridiculously brightly coloured tropical bird as their surrogate child (if Dan's whale-tale turbo Porsche doesn't count in that role as well).

Good food, good company. Must do again soon.

It is the new year and I'm out of work!

Well, 2009 is here. And I'm finally completed the project I was on that seemed to stagger on in fits and starts. That's a bit of a relief actually, although I hope to go back to work soon somewhere.

I'm going to take a bit of time to build a table I had planned to construct in December, finish getting my mom a workable computer for her use, finish setting up my apartment and hanging art, do some gaming of various forms, read some books, catch up on some sleep, do some work on my car, catch up on some DVD watching, etc. And of course, put out some resumes, get financials sorted out, and go to interviews if and when.

I talked to my friend Robert via video conference from Kandahar while I was attending an engagement celebration for Kevin and Myriam in Kingston. Erica and little Jack showed up and so Rob got to see his wife and newborn via the vid link. Everyone at the party got to say hi to Rob and he got to wish Myriam and Kevin all the best. Operation successful. I wish I had the same feeling about our ops in Afghanistan.

I see Apple has taken DRM off the iTunes music. About time! It might (I read two seemingly contradictory sets of info on this) be a bit more expensive, but I'll pay that for DRM-free music tracks. I don't want them dictating where and how I can listen to my music. I'll still support artists worth supporting. I was on a buy-nothing-from-iTunes moratorium, but I have relaxed a bit. I wish they'd take the DRM off audio books next.

I hope all my friends are managing well this cold January and that 2009 has entered without too much chaos or disruption for everyone. I'm looking forward to starting to dig our countries out from under the mess that greed and stupidity created. It might take a while, but that means there is no time like now to get to work. And maybe we can avoid this sort of disaster again for another 80 years.

Anyway, my resolution for New Year is simple: To get in shape (in several respects) and to try to find Ms. Right wherever she is busily searching for me at present. Just like a female of the species to be lost and need some directions, but I make allowances. It is time to get out there and find her. Maybe this time, when I'm getting close, the vehicle won't explode in fiery rain... so much for using aluminum paint on the dirigible! (Historical reference: Hindenburg)

We'll see how it goes! Optimism is better than pessimism because you feel better about it, so that's the approach I'm sticking with!

The 5 year long 3 month mission...

Spirit and Opportunity, NASA's little Mars rovers that could, have strung out their 3 month planned mission to the five year mark. For every screw up we've seen in space exploration, there's a big win to go along with it. This little pair of well-designed wee machines has proven the point by operating 20 times their expected lifespan and they may yet accomplish more before entropy finally claims them.

I give NASA a big thumbs up and hope more remote exploration can be done using this model.

Spirit and Opportunity at the 5 year mark

Beer from the kitchen counter!

Beer brewing kitchen counter.

I think this would be the most awesome kitchen counter I can imagine. Except maybe if it contained a single malt distillery.