pls excuse the gushing

First, many thanx to those who pseudo-tagged themselves with that movie meme: had a lot of fun seeing how you responded, and, even cooler, I've added a few movies my Netflix queue based on y'all's recommendations! Tho it might take some time before I actually get to them: I have, after all, over 200 items in the queue, LoL!

And now for the gushing.

So there I was on Netflix adding Angela's Ashes to the queue, and it popped into my head to see if they had anything with Michael Praed in their system: that's me, ever the optimist... nothing. Then, for some reason I decided to follow my thoughts, and searched for him in imdb, of course seeing "pilot tv movie" Robin Hood and the Sorcerer as well as the series itself Robin of Sherwood. For some reason my tangan was gatal ["my hand itched"] to check out the specific DVD info pages for each of these: usually there's nothing there apart from confusing info on UK-released stuff.. but this time, I almost got a heart attack from the *thrill* that surged through me...

omg omg omg omg omg Robin of Sherwood is FINALLY available in Region 1 DVDs! Just released, like just about a month ago??!!! omg omg omg omg omg!!! Michael Praed is the yummiest Robin EVAH! And the sarcastic Will Scarlett! And the oh so yummy Nasser the Assassin! *swwwwwwoooooooon!*

[yes, *lynne* has regressed to a mental age of 15 or so]

*ahem!*

okay it's not *just* hormones talking here...

... one thing that struck me about RoS was how it retold the well-known tale by adding a layer, a foundation even, of British myth and lore, thus providing a deeper meaning to Robin's actions: he wasn't "just" righting wrongs, but also discharging a holy duty bestowed upon him by Herne the Hunter, to bring things into balance, to stop the corruption of the administration which was in turn causing the corruption of the very land itself... Looking back, I think that my fascination with the importance of "perspective"/"context" [without my knowing those terms/concepts yet] was really born here: seeing how a tale I thought I already knew could take on such powerful meaning when viewed within a different framework.

*sigh!*

Good times.

Now to figure out how to convince Kosh to get it, even though we've not made much of a dent in the Babylon 5 Season 5 DVDs that we've had since December, LoL!

UPDATE @ Sunday ~3pm: Told Kosh about this discovery, looked it up on Netflix, and guess what? It's now available there?!! Guess what's been bumped up to the top of the queue? LoL! Should be getting my hands on Disc 1 by Tuesday, whoo hooooo!

great Quotes & Catch Phrases?

So, it seems TV Land has compiled a list of 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catch Phrases which it will reveal over 5 days beginning December 10th. Of course, the list is already available for our perusal. Go fig.

Anyways.

First, I gotta say that at least "they" are not myopically calling it the World's Greatest etc etc etc... and precisely because this reflects USA pop culture there are many on that list I totally do not know, or do not relate to. In fact, some that I do know are recent additions since getting to know Kosh - he and his deep well of tv "knowledge", LoL! Have I mentioned that if you're playing Trivial Pursuit or Scene It, you want him on your team??

Aaaanyways... here are some noteworthy ones from this so-called 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catch Phrases, to me:

• "Don't make me angry ..." (David Banner, "The Incredible Hulk")
  Heh, it goes on "You won't like me when I'm angry" ... I totally enjoyed that show when younger, although I bet it's sooooo dated I probably couldn't sit through one episode if it was on air right now. I'd forgotten all about the haunting music at the end [when David? Bruce? Banner is walking along the highway, trying to hitch a ride] until it was "reproduced" by Stewie in Family Guy. It sent shivers up my spine!


• "Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!" (Stan and Kyle, "South Park")
  LoL, I feel a weird sense of pride for Matt&Trey for this to be in the list! Yes, that's despite that Jared episode I caught last night that had an utterly disturbing liposuction scene that actually had me turning away from the screen. And it's a cartoon. Yup, it was that sick. Gotta admire their twisted genius :-)


• "Whassup?" (Budweiser ad)
  Ah, the power of the internet. When I left the U.S. in 1995, Budweiser was just using the frogs in their ads. I heard about, and got to watch, the whassup ads thanks to vids posted online. And all those spoofs! There's one Jewish one with everyone saying "Shalommmmmm!" that is as irritating and as funny as the original Bud ads. What a hoot!

When I started this post, I was going to point out other great catch phrases of mine that I supposed hadn't made the cut,,, when I realised TV Land's list was based on TV, duh! So here are a few other noteworthy quotes and catch phrases, not limited to TV:

MOVIES:
Rain Man : definitely, definitely, yeah...
LOTR: myyyy preciousssssssssssssssssss
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: he chose [pause] poorly


BOOKS:
From "A Stranger in a Strange Land" : thou art God and groc


TV - CARTOONS
From Family Guy's Chris Griffin: I'm turning you into poo!
From Family Guy's Stewie Griffin: Victory is mine! and, my absolute fave uttered by him: click click bloody click pancakes!

TV - BABYLON 5
Delenn: abso-fraggin-lutely, damn it

Plenty more, but my brain isn't cooperating.

What are *your* fave quotes / catch phrases from TV/movie/ads?

short answer / long answer

So Kosh and I are slowly making our way through Babylon 5 Season 4 DVDs... ever since we got to the "get the hell out of my galaxy" episode, the pull of the show has waned tremendously. Getting things sorted out on Mars/Earth certainly does not hold the same fascination as getting the Shadows and Vorlons sorted out :p

Anyways.

So we were watching Bab 5 the other day, and one episode referred to the Helsinki Syndrome. Kosh and I looked puzzledly at each other: "Eh? I thought that's the Stockholm Syndrome?" Turns out that the former is a common mistake which, if not originating from then definitely perpetuated by an error in Die Hard the movie.

Chalk THAT up as your useless bit of trivial information for the day, courtesy of Lynne.

Oh, and in case you were wanting an explanation for this post's title?

It's from today's Dilbert comic strip [click here, click date of 10/09].

It caused me to LOL at 6am - what an EXCELLENT day to start my day! :-)

... i was hoping I'd be Willow ...

Courtesy of Ms. Q @ Whirled Peas, yesterday I was pointed to where I could find the answer to this burning question:
Am I a Nerd, a Geek, or a Dork?

And it turns out... I am...

Pure Nerd
52 % Nerd, 26% Geek, 30% Dork
For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.
The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

Congratulations!

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Heh.

*then* I noticed another quiz!! something to do with Buffy characters ... i *was* hoping I'd be Willow ... but I got her lover instead:

Tara Maclay
45% amorality, 45% passion, 81% spirituality, 63% selflessness

What a woman! (Or man, as it may be...)

Tara is a moral, centered, spiritual and selfless person... rather, I suspect, like you. People like this make those around them love them.

Congratulations! (and stay away from windows, just in case)

Link: The 4-Variable Buffy Personality Test written by donathos on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

[LYNNE's NOTE: stay away from windows? You mean stay away from stray bullets that come through windows, right? Not the Bill Gates-type windows, right? LOL!]

Anyways... so this reminded me of a meme I'd seen recently over at Dave2's. Joss Whedon has even been a participant, people! Wow! :-)


25 Favorite Television Characters
The rules:
* Does not have to be a show currently airing
* No puppets or cartoons [awww maaaaan! no Wakko??!!]
* No reality show people
* All characters must be regulars on the show
* No mini-series

Lynne's lame attempt, in no particular order [i.e. numbered just so I know if/when I reach 25]:

1. Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Alyson Hannigan)

A quirky, sweet person - I like how she talks, how she chooses to say things [sure, that's actually Joss Whedon's writing, but still...], and the fact that she's a witch! And that she turns to the dark side at the death of Tara - even cooler!!


2. Phoebe Buffay (F.R.I.E.N.D.S.; Lisa Kudrow)

She was the quirky one, with the Smelly Cat song, and just so confident of herself, oblivious that she was one frikkin strange lady to others. I *so* relate to her!


3. Delenn (Babylon5; Mira Furlan)
Deeply spiritual, with an excellent perspective on life, the universe and everything. I'd certainly like to study under her if only the Minbari were for real.


4. G'Kar (Babylon 5; the late Andreas Katsulas)
Sure, the knee-jerk spats with Mollari early in the series were irritating... but he went through so much pain and suffering and yet was able to emerge a better, more centered Narn in touch with the universe. What an inspiration!


5. Lt Cmdr / Cmdr / Gen Susan Ivanova (Babylon 5; Claudia Christian)

I liked her tough stoic character - it more than balanced the all-too-often over-the-top hot air and actions by Capt John Sheridan!


6. Spike (Buffy/Angel; James Marsters)

What is it about "bad boys" and British accents? But more than that - it's that tough guy persona housing a sensitive soul. He pulls off the "brooding vampire in black" *so* much better than Angel!


7. Dr Gregory House (House, MD; Hugh Laurie)

A doctor who cuts through the crap, doesn't mince his words, and says things I could only *dream* about ever uttering myself! My hero!


8. "Jo" (The Facts of Life; Nancy McKeon)

Ah, the tomboy character I *so* related to!!


9. MacGyver (MacGyver; Richard Dean Anderson)

How could he *not* be a favourite? A handyman good guy, who proved episode after episode that you do *not* have to resolve to guns and violence to overcome "evil". And boy what a handyman!!


10. Nasir the assassin (Robin of Sherwood; Mark Ryan)

While everyone else [especially Will Scarlet!] was yelling and screaming in a fight, Nasir would calmly go about his business, dispatching enemies calmly with his twin scimitars. He was just so different from the rest of the Merry Men!


11. Will Scarlet (Robin of Sherwood; Ray Winstone)
He was the tough guy who provided the comic relief. My 2nd fave after Nasir.


12. Alex P. Keaton (Family Ties; Michael J. Fox)

One of my first major crushes - it was eye-opening to see a family that was relatively normal/laid-back have a son who's so unlike the rest of the family!


13. Dominic DaVinci (DaVinci's Inquest; Nicholas Campbell)

A flawed character - gruff, abrasive, yet he has his heart in the right place. Fighting a seemingly losing battle against his boss, the cops, the mayor and the system to bring about radical but much needed changes to Vancouver.


14. "Howling Mad" Murdock (The A-Team; Dwight Schultz)

Sure, I liked Dirk Benedict / Faceman for no real reason other than he was cute. But Murdock?! He was howling mad [duh!] and so different!


15. Bodie (The Professionals; Lewis Collins)

He was the dark and broody one, with *so* much better hair than Doyle! Don't remember much else about him tho.


16. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (ST:TNG; Patrick Stewart)

A supposedly French dude with a British accent and shiny head - but that smile.... and how he says "Engage!" and "Make it so." : there is something about his voice... wait, the character itself? Heh. Well there must be *something* about him that had Q coming back to taunt him oh so often, eh?


17. Ham Tyler (V; Michael Ironside);

I know I had started rebelling against the typical blond hair/blue eyes hero, and related more to anti-heroes - like this character in V.


18. David Banner (The Incredible Hulk; Bill Bixby)

Gotta admire a man who keeps on going, keeps on hoping he'll be able to master the monster within, even tho episode after episode he's proven wrong. The ending of the show - the haunting music playing while he walks down the road, attempting to hitch a ride - gave me the shivers when Stewie mimicked this in a Family Guy episode.


19. Heath Barkley (The Big Valley; Lee Majors)

Not only does the bastard son succeed in gaining his place among the legitimate children of Mr Barkley over at the Barkley Ranch, but he holds his own too.


20. Denise Huxtable (The Cosby Show; Lisa Bonet)

The rebel of the family; the different one; she went her own way, made her own mistakes, made her own life - my kind of gal!


21. Mrs King (Scarecrow & Mrs King; Kate Jackson)

A little bit zany, with that distinctive husky voice, and holding her own paired with Scarecrow the *real* secret agent.


22. K.I.T.T. (Knight Rider; William Daniels [voice])

I liked the cylon-like moving red light; I liked that he didn't put up with much nonsense from Michael Knight!


23. Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess; Lucy Lawless)

Hey, a sistah more than holding her own against brawn and magic? Rock on!


24. Caine (Kung Fu; David Carradine)

The young grasshopper, all growed up and helping out people in trouble, reluctant to put his deadly skills to use unless absolutely necessary. A man I so admire.


25. Kevin Arnold (The Wonder Years; Fred Savage)
I really liked following the details of his life - and that whole narration / "hearing his thoughts" was really endearing to me


26. Vincent (Beauty and the Beast; Ron Perlman)

What can I say? A beautiful soul stuck in the body of a monster who has to hide in the undergroud pipes/sewer system of New York. Wish he wasn't so enthralled by Linda Hamilton tho.

NOTES:

Yes, I did 26 cos didn't know if anyone would cry fowl foul at K.I.T.T.'s inclusion :-) And yes, I was starting to scrape the barrel by the time I hit #16! btw, I tried hard not to list my childhood crushes - not unless there was more to the crush than just "omg he's so cute!". So that eliminated AT LEAST:
- Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica; Dirk Benedict)
- Robin of Loxley/Robin Hood (RObin of Sherwood; Michael Praed)
- Officer Bruce Nelson (CHiPs; Bruce Penhall)

Sorry about the messiness of the pix - oh, pix taken from either imdb or tv.com.

.. and on that note... have a good weekend y'all!

it's all Kosh's fault :p

so we're chatting (Yahoo!messengering lah) today, and he says he noticed my amazon wishlist is kinda out of date... i assumed it was Bab5 related stuff... kinda... then he mentions the Bab5:Lost Rangers movie i'd not heard of... i kinda follow the link... again get sucked into looking at stuff about the recently late G'Kar... find out he was the one-armed man in The Fugitive... and that he was in an episode of Enterprise (I'd been all excited before, when finding out he was on ST:TNG as a Romulan)... stumbled across a Bab5 links site - okay so many links were expired, but among those still active, I found Claudia Christian's site (really weird to see her as a girl-girl, as opposed to the more "macho"/tough (!) Ivanova); Shadows In The Dark - a Bab5 parody about changing a lightbulb .. omg i almost spit water all over the screen at some of the lines [Garibaldi) I said he smuggled light bulbs, I didn't say he was bright.]; and something i'll just have to explore when i'm not on friggin dialup: Babylon Park: A mix between Babylon 5 and South Park spoofing various Sci-Fi shows. And I found out that Jeffrey Willerth, who played Ambassador Kosh in B5 is married to Patricia Tallman who played the rogue telepath Lyta Alexander. And yes, (my)Kosh, they met on the Bab5 set. Oh oh oh and there was (link dead) a Bab5 drinking game, whose introduction went "Thirsty, I come. In Bacchus' name, I take the drink which has been prepared for me. I am drunk. I stand between the pitcher and the toilet. We are drunk. We stand between the table and the floor." LMAO would be cool to know more about it!! Oh, and for those who didn't know by now, yes, "my" Kosh's nickname is (mainly) based on Ambassador Kosh from Bab5. Okay that's enough blabber for the moment. In 12hrs time i'll be getting yet another torture/massage session, whoohooo! G'nite! G'Kar! G'Quan! G'Lan! lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

(note: blogger didn't let me post this at 30mins past midnight. glad I managed to salvage it all into a Word file. so I can still subject you share it with y'all, teeheeheee! massage pick-up in 15mins!! yikes!)

friendly compatibility?

Inspired / prompted by Omni's "fascinating tidbit posted @ 3/20/2006 06:37:00 AM"

"How can you tell if someone's compatible as a friend?"

I have a feeling if Omni & I were to meet, we might find our tastes quite similar...

For example Omni had liking, or at least appreciating, something like THIS as a criteria of sorts.... pssssssst, guess who has about 30 similar mp3 punk covers of a variety of oldies/pop songs... and i think these versions are just awesome!! So different than the original, and yet, sooooooo listenable :-) And I don't expect most people to appreciate these versions, at least not in this part of the world... :-(

Rocky Horror Picture Show? omg yessssssssssssssssssss! *grin!* My ravings about it in the link.

Appreciating Dilbert? Yuuuupppppp!! I'm not a *huge* fan, but I certainly appreciate and can relate to the whole life in a cubicle with idiot (pointy-haired) bosses and senseless work... I subscribe to the Daily Dilbert, and have quite a few of them strips saved away on the 'puter, to review on a rainy day when I need some laughs :-)

Weird Al?? LMAO!!! Y-O-D-A is one of my all-time fave songs... plus the original "One More Minute" (... i'd rather clean all the bathrooms in grand central station with my tongue...)??!! I can sing almost all the lyrics to "Like A Surgeon" even tho I haven't heard the song in like YEARS... I've belted out "The Saga Begins" karaoke-ing in public, in a bar full of strangers except for Kosh & his folks... and later attempted to memorise the song so that I could sing it "over" the original American Pie (didn't quite work, drew a blank halfway, bummer!)

But anyways...

I don't actually have "compatibility criteria" per se, but I suppose someone would certainly need to fulfill some of the following to move from "acquaintance" or "colleague" to FRIEND. In no particular order, and kinda just winging it here... sorry for any incoherence...

• Firstly, no matter what, "potential friends" should have characteristics like open-mindedness; be non-judgmental; be aware of own biases, and acknowledge them where appropriate. Have the conviction to have and state their opinion, but in addition, being able to discuss these opinions rationally! Be able to see, or at least appreciate, other peoples' perspectives: not be so quick to judge & dismiss others. Very relevant to, but not limited to, how one handles matters pertaining to differences in religion, religious beliefs.
  
  
• Has a healthy respect for music in general; rock / heavy / classic rock more specifically. Hey, *i* think some of the stuff in that category is noise too... but if *all* someone listens to is the Light&Easy or Top40 stations, well, chances are you're a bit of a wimp in my eyes *grin!* Bonus points if you are a pre-Bat2 Meat Loaf fan :-) If someone introduces me to a new band/sound that i proceed to totally enjoy (like "joe" who got me into Placebo, and those punk rock covers), they get bonus points :-)
  
  
• Reads. Pref not Romance nor Chick Lit lah, I shudder just at the sight of those kinds of books :p Bonus points for reading fantasy (e.g. George R R Martin, Robert Jordan). Additional points for having opinions on Robert Jordan & whether he is just milking his fans by dragging out a tale that should have been finished 3 books ago *grin!* Majorly additional points for having read, having an opinion on, and able to discuss, Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Again, introducing me to an author that I then proceed to voraciously consume everything he/she has ever written - a load of points earned! And a note on the Da Vinci Code: major points for questioning basis of beliefs after reading the book, but lose loads points if you swallow all that is written hook line & sinker :p
  
  
• is a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. fan. And I mean fan enough to be quoting obscure lines from the series. Recognising my obscure references is of course a plus; and stumping me with your own obscure references is good too (up to a point lah, I'm no expert & don't make me feel inadequate, k?) Here's a quote: "seven!" ;) need more? It's Monica, both hands up, with 7 fingers up. Kinda whispering it, kinda in ecstasy. Got it? Heeheheheheeee :-)
  
  
• Has a quirky sense of humor that, while probably doesn't match mine, it can at least be pretty compatible... puns are fun... word play too... total off-tangent perspectives... knows Weird Al songs... knows of the existence of the secret diary of aragorn... ... ...
  
  
• Babylon 5!! Nuff said.

Okay, brainfreeze... can't think of anything else right now. I bet Kosh is reading this, slapping his flowhead wondering why I didn't mention x, y or z that are *so* obvious to him :p Beb, if you are, drop me a line in the comments lah, k?

And guess what?

Not many people can "pass" the above: one of the reasons i find it extremely rare to find someone of my wavelength (especially in Malaysia!! especially for the 1st point!); why I treasure the few people who have somehow "gotten to me"; why I am loathe to drop out of touch with anyone who's made it to the "inner circle" ... and why, when it comes to friends, I choose quality over quantity.

Thanx again to Omni for this blog topic for the day (night! morning?!! took me over 1.5 hrs and it's already "tomorrow"!) :-)

g'nite!

G'bye G'Kar..

Just found out that Andreas Katsulas has passed away.

I only really know him as G'Kar from Babylon 5,,, but man oh man what a character it was that he played... A warrior philosopher... one of my fave characters of the show...

My condolences to those he's left behind.

(Thanx to the ranting raven for the sad news)

again: I *am* a geek, LOL!

Watching one of those ST:TNG episodes earlier today (well, yesterday, I guess, it's past midnight!!)... it had just started, and the guest star names were appearing onscreen... wasn't paying that much attention, but all of a sudden I noticed a familiar name:

"Omg! Andreas Katsulas??!! That's G'Kar!! That's G'Kar!!!"

It was a tale of a Romulan defector, and I kept looking at the actor closely, listening to the voice, wondering if it was G'Kar, but it just didn't quite fit the face/voice from Babylon 5.... was this Andreas Katsulas or not??!! ... then right at the end, this Commander Tomalak comes into the picture.

It's G'Kar!!
Funny how there are these Star Trek / Babylon 5 links.... the only one I knew of was of course Walter Koenig (Chekov / Bester); it was Kosh who was quite happy to recognise the "voice of the Enterprise computer" (Gene Roddenberry's wife Majel Barett) as the Lady Morella, widow of the Centauri Emperor. Then now there's the discovery of Andres Katsulas having had this recurring Romulan role (I count 5 appearances).

Kinda cool :-)

... moans & groans: trekking after stars, & related matters

I know I keep saying that I don’t consider myself a Trekker (the term preferred by the group of people usually referred to as “Trekkies”), but I certainly am a sci-fi fan.

And unless I get into Stargate SG-1, or Stargate Atlantis, or Farscape, there really isn’t much on regular tv to go on. Unless we subscribe to the extended package, we are not going to get the Sci-Fi Channel, or Spike TV (which seems to have lots of ST:TNG at certain times). This helps “justify” the purchase and watchage of my Babylon 5 DVDs, btw.

But I was all excited late last year when I thought Star Trek: Enterprise was going to be rerun starting from the absolute beginning … and was deeply disappointed when it turned out they just played the pilot episodes, then kept playing the more “critically-acclaimed” episodes, mostly from the final season, which I’ve seen numerous times. Bah.

THEN, about two weeks ago, Kosh was channel surfing while I was in the other room, when he called out excitedly “Hey!! Star Trek!!!!”

Turns out this video game channel (g4tv) musta recently started playing pretty early ST:TNG: two episodes 7pm – 9pm, and another at midnight. THREE HOURS OF TNG!! A DAY!!

Of course, these are not shown in order – you have Dr Pulaski in one episode, and the next one has Dr Crusher. In one Wesley is just visiting, in another he’s acting ensign. In some Tasha Yar is still alive and head of security. Riker has a beard, sometimes not.

… But it’s *so good* to see Picard again!! I really like his voice: maybe it’s the Shakespearean training he had prior to landing the role of Picard, but my oh my does it sound good! My fave phrase of his: “make it so”.

Anyways… very quickly Kosh and I had to agree NOT to tape these shows – if we caught them while they were airing, that was good, but if we made it a point to tape/catch all of them, that would be 3 hours a day spent just on Star Trek! And as much as we’d like that,,, well,,, those three hours would really eat into our “real life” time…

… tho right now I’m wondering if we (I??) should just go ahead and tape ‘em anyway for my sci-fi fix… cos that ^#%*(@# cheapo free DVD player is just refusing to accept Bab 5 Season 3 Disc 6! Only two more episodes for that season… yes, I’ve already seem them, but I’m in the process of re-watching them in order to get back to where we left-off (exactly when the Vorlons & Shadows were politely asked to leave the galaxy alone: Season 4 Ep 7?), and continuing from there… preferably finishing Season 4 before I head back to KL.

… and if we *do* get the friggin thing to work, we are going to have to give priority to the borrowed DVDs from the library: Kosh wanted to see the origins of Smallville, and the start of all that cave & stones mumbo-jumbo, so we’ve got Smallville Season One (two discs watched, four to go…); Then I’ve got Buffy Season 4 which I should be able to pick up from the library within the next day or two. We may even squeeze Buffy Season 5 since we also have that from the library. Plus the four Christopher Reeve Superman movies we want to re-watch – partly because of Smallville, partly because of the new movie coming out this year….

Of course, we could just watch via puter/TV hookup.

But that would be too easy. We’ve got a DVD player, so we should be able to use it, dammit! ;p

…but time *is* kinda running out… so much to watch, so little time…!!

Aaarrrgggghhhh!

Oooh, wait – it’s almost midnight!
Maybe I’ll post this then go switch the tv to G4TV and catch another ST:TNG!??

Muuaaahaaahahahahaaaaahahah!

P/s: is it just me, or is it really great to see Chekov (Walter Koenig) in Bab 5 as the Psi Cop baddie Bester?

(pps: I *hate* dialup!! Or is it blogger too??? It took me over 20 mins to get hooked up, load and login to blogger, and post this friggin thing!! it's already "tomorrow"!! ST:TNG already started! Grrrrrrrrrrr!)

*pausing for breath*

*gasp!* I churned out five posts yesterday?!!

yeah, I had lots of time on my hands AND wireless DSL internet access... heaven! :-)

With the 5 posts of yesterday, I got to reduce the number of drafts in my dashboard slightly: tackled some of the long-outstanding topics so that they were finally publishable (and hopefully before they were too stale!)

*still* have 24 drafts, however... cos often I'll stumble on some other stuff I wanna write on but not immediately so into the draft it goes. it's a dynamic number. teehehehee!

~~
... right now me & Kosh need to start heading outta here, seeing as once we get back to Urbana, he pretty much needs to hop right back into the car and continue heading south for Springfield, for another interview-related thing, Then he drives back for the night, but drives there again early Monday morning for the actual interview.

After Monday, he's done with all the interviews. And we'll find out in mid-March whether/where he's been matched to for residency that starts July 2006. More on that once we actually get there....

~~
... discovery of the week: kumquat
a native to China, this weird orange/lemon wanna-be is slightly larger than a baby carrot; eaten all at once (no need to peel off the rind). One bite into it and there is no doubt it's a citrus fruit! .. and yet it's not!

~~
am having kinda weird dreams recently - I only have fleeting impressions when I wake up, but I could *swear* they are scenes from Babylon 5! :-)

did they find what they were looking for?

Of the past 100 visitors to this blog, a few got here via searches @ yahoo / MSN with the following keywords (I tried to categorise them a bit...):

SEX:
- narcissist toilet sex

HISTORY
- sivil war bullet (huh?? how is that even remotely related to this blog??)

GAMES:
- learn to play scabble with puter
- mtg kamigawa rat's nest

SAFETY
- baggage theft
- fire engine

FOOD
- McDiet

PEOPLE
- jobless bum
- work at home and lovin it
- kosh

MY DARKER SIDE:
- planet x 2053 collision earth
- dark mythological quizzes
- culdian trust

MALAYSIANA
- LHDN (I suppose not may people have blogs about their visits to the Malaysian Internal Revenue Board?)

CAREER ADVICE:
- Petrol and Gas Company in Ghana (no thanx to that latest mutation of the Nigerian scam!)
- book writing
- "sphere of concern vs sphere of influence"

Okay, so apart from the "narcissist toilet sex' (what WERE you looking for, I wonder...), the others are kinda lame..

But i *did* discover another Babylon5 fan: see koshnaranek.blogspot.com. And from there, I found this amusing ASK KOSH site (text only version HERE). Yes, in certain cases, I *am* a geek and a freak :-)

do u think it's hard or soft?

Recently Dawn published an article about the idosyncracies of the English Language which in turn had been found at Vicki's Here and Now. While the contents are not new, it was certainly a welcome re-read, and reminder of how tough it is to keep English straight, even for native English speakers.

I never have a straight answer when people ask what *my* "native language / mother-tongue" is. Here's why:

• Official politically-correct mother-tongue: Malay
  
• Mother's mother-tongue: French
  
• Language I think in, and am most at ease with: English

And while my grasp of English language and vocabulary was much greater than even my teachers'...

• I remember it was English with Ms Babs, so I probably was in Std 5 (11 y.o.). She was asking for "opposites of friend" - apart from the usual "enemy", she was also accepting answers like "thief". So I raised my hand and provided one of my fave words: "FIEND". Why was it my fave? Cos it's "friend" without an "r" .. because it already struck me, at an early age, that it was kinda cool to have almost-opposite words looking almost the same. Unfortunately, Ms Babs was like "Huh?", had never heard of the word, and told me I was mistaken, there was no such word in English. Oh yeah - She didn't even have a dictionary on hand to check it out. So the basis of her "What word is that? You made it up, izzit? No such thing lah!" was just her (poor) range of vocabulary.
  
• And how about Ms Pill who insisted that use of the word "pout" was ONLY in conjunction with "a kiss", as in "she pouted for a kiss", or to paraphrase, "she pursed her lips for the kiss". No other use/definition of pout existed. Errr... the rest of the class knew that when a kid gets upset, he could pout - which could mean "pursing" the bottom lip, or just to plain sulk! But we couldn't really do anything,,, after all, the teacher has spoken! Looking back, I wonder why none of us thought to challenge her by looking up the word in the dictionary. Then again - "the teacher has spoken" :p

... and people wonder why I have no respect for most of the teachers I've had in school...

... a lot of my vast English vocabulary was actually very passively- / theoretically-acquired; developed by reading, not hearing:

• I knew in Std 4 (~ 10 y.o.) what a hypocrite was. I'm not sure how many 10 y.o. Malaysians would know of that word at that age. Yay for me. But I thought it was pronounced hi-poe-cryt (as opposed to hippo-crit). Ugh.
  
• I remember my mother coming back from one of her Speakers Club meets where it had been her turn to give a speech, all excited, asking me "How do you spell A-W-R-Y?" I chose to overlook the error (unlike my [smartass] bro who answered "A-W-R-Y" LOL! Good for him!!) and replied the way we all were pronouncing it at the time: "awe-ree". Turns out she'd used it in her speech, and had been corrected and informed of the proper "uh-rye" pronunciation.
  
• Ms Pill again. Insisting that "milk" be pronounced something like "muhhlk". And "syrup" as "srrp" (uh-huh, didn't sound likere there were ANY vowels in there!). Fine, so we shouldn't pronounce it in its corrupted Malay form "see-rahp" when speaking in English, but "srrp"??? Puhleeeeze!

Of course, for those who were wondering, most of us Malaysians have no idea that most good dictionaries not only help provide a guide for spelling and definition and usage, but also pronunciation! Even for me, it was only much later (maybe after the awe-ree/uh-rye incident?) that I started to turn to the dictionary when in doubt of a word's pronunciation.

Nowadays I'm pretty confident with most of my words... but I *still* have problem areas:

hard vs soft g's

• Babylon 5's chief security officer is Michael Garibaldi (hard g). Played by Jerry Doyle (sounds like a soft g). No thanx to Kosh, I now have a tendency to call his character "jerry-baldi" (doesn't help that he *is* kinda short on hair, LOL!!)
  
• okay, seriously: the things that fish have, to help them breathe? To this day I still can't remember if it's hard "GILLS" or soft "jills"
  
• and for some reason, even "GESTURE" has me struggling... for some reason I think a hard g is right, but I prefer the sound of the soft g, and guess what, it *is* a soft g! But I still struggle every time I use this word...
  
• maybe it's a name thing... you know the actor Gil Gerard who starred in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century? so, how to say his name, ah? Jil Jerard (both soft), or both hard, or hard then soft, or soft then hard??
  
• then did you know of the existence of the horrid horrid "GAOL" which is pronounced the same as "jail"?????? But i think that is a British thing.

... and to a lesser extent, hard vs soft ch's

• ... speaking about British things - whether you say "sheh-jule" or "sked-yule" for "SCHEDULE" helps indicate whether you were British- or American-bred.
  
• what's CHIANTI, hard or soft? It's an Italian word, I *think* it's hard, but I never know....

Darn. There were more. Plenty more. But now they don't want to be shared. Bleah. You'll just have to make do with this.

star stuff

'We are all star stuff; the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out"
- Delenn, to Capt Sheridan (Babylon 5)

I've always liked that "star stuff" statement :-)

And star stuff in human form are trying to help figure out the universe in numerous ways:

• From Mensa Barbie's articles HERE and HERE, I found out about the Stardust mission which retrieved the first samples from a comet named Wild 2, which was about 500 million miles from Earth when Stardust launched in 1999. After its historic return to Earth earlier this month, scientists believe this Stardust's cargo will help provide answers to fundamental questions about the origins of the solar system. NASA Stardust page HERE. Christian Science Monitor "What scientists hope to learn from a wisp of comet dust: Star dust from NASA's mission is expected to shed light on the genesis of the Earth's solar system" article HERE
  
  
• sometimes it's not so rosy a picture: today marks the 20th anniversary of the Challenger shuttle disaster. Articles HERE and HERE. NASA's history page with lots of links HERE.
  
  
• NASA was also in the news recently for postponing a mission (Dawn) to visit asteroids (Yahoo!News article HERE) due to cost overruns and technical issues. Powered by an ion engine fueled by the xenon gas, Dawn was to make a nine-year journey to Ceres and Vesta, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and spend months orbiting these two large asteroids to study them in depth. Dawn Mission Overview page.
  
  
• Then there's the New Horizons mission to Pluto: the first of the New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. "As the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its moon Charon, New Horizons looks to unlock one of the solar system's last, great planetary secrets. The New Horizons spacecraft will cross the entire span of the solar system and conduct flyby studies of Pluto and Charon in 2015. The seven science instruments on the piano-sized probe will shed light on the bodies' surface properties, geology, interior makeup and atmospheres." That's in July 2015. Then from 2016 - 2020 it's going to enounter the mysterious Kuiper Belt, an area of space that harbors over 800 Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) or planetoids, some of them being as large as Pluto itself!
  
  I first heard about this from Randy Cassingham, who used to work for JPL/NASA and was involved in some very early Pluto-related work; His little write-up HERE. NASA New Horizons page HERE.

~~
And of course there are so many other missions by not only NASA but also Russia, and to some extent China, Japan...

Will all this help us understand ourselves, and our place/role in the universe? After all... 'We are all star stuff; the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out"

And maybe,,, just maybe,,,, with all that activity out there... we may make first contact one day....

Kosh is President for the day!

Remember Marilyn Monroe's scandalous rendition of the Happy Birthday song sung for JFK?

In homage to that, Kosh is President for the day - today is/was his birthday!

Happy Birthday, babes!
Muuuuuaaaaaaahhh!!
Smooooooooches!
Hugggggzzzzzzz!

Can't really mark it with anything special today or tomorrow, seeing as he is being kept busy with his work...

... so we had our "bbq beef ribs & Babylon 5" for dinner as our "treat" instead.

he'll probably only be in shape/mood to mark the occasion on Sunday,

poor baby!

Why a fire engine is red...

I'd like to share a very convoluted reason as to why fire engines (fire trucks to you Americans) are red in colour.

But first, here are some cool links I came across today worth sharing (thanx to Linky & Dinky):

• Play 20 questions. Topic = TV Shows. I tried Star Trek: Enterprise, and it got it on the 2nd try. Very simple set-up, and mildly entertaining...
  
  
• This I am afraid to check out too deeply: fanfiction.net, a place where fans create their own episodes of their favourite shows.... As I type this, Babylon 5 has 616 entries... I tried to look for which had the most submissions: i saw a few at 2000+, one at 4000+, but guess who's way out in front? Buffy the Vampire Slayer at 28,082! Oh my....!

And now for the feature presentation: Why is a fire engine red?

A fire engine has four firemen and eight wheels
Four and eight is twelve
Twelve inches make a foot
A foot is a ruler
A ruler was Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I knighted Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake sailed the seven seas
In the sea there are fish
Fish have fins
Finns live in Finland
Finland is next to Russia
And the Russian flag is red

so THAT's why a fire engine is red.

In case you were wondering, this is something I memorised / remembered ever since primary school, maybe ~1983 or so. Yes, even then I was already intrigued by unusual connections and plays on words... :-)

A feast indeed!

From GRRM News page, 27 November 2005: The American hardcover of A FEAST FOR CROWS was released on November 8, and immediately shot to the top of all the lists, making its debut at #1 on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list for hardcover fiction. ... also hit #1 on the WALL STREET JOURNAL and PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY bestseller lists, and #2 on the USA LIST (which combines fiction and non-fiction). Amazon, Border's, and Barnes & Noble also had FEAST ranked as #1 in hardcover fiction.

Hey, if you haven't already picked up this series, please do!

Yes, it's fantasy, but don't let that cloud your judgement if you're a non-fantasy-reading person...

• it's an excellent tale so far, and doesn't follow the usual "black vs white good vs evil" structure.
• Sometimes you don't know who you should be cheering for!
• Then there are lots of people to remember, but somehow keeping them all straight is MUCH easier than the characters in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time tale.
• And best (or worst!) of all - THE WRONG PEOPLE DIE!!

So yeah, it's fantasy, but it's realistic within that fantasy setting, y'know?

Am looking for information on when A Dance with Dragons is coming out, but can't seem to find anything yet. I guess everyone's focussed on the fact that Crows is finally out! And yes, it is a big deal - the previous book in this series was released five years ago! It's been a long wait, but totally worth it. I believe Dragons will be out if not end 2006 then early 2007.

While it's relatively fresh on my mind, I wannat jot down stuff relating to what I just read:

Warning! Spoiler Alert!
Warning! Spoiler Alert!
Warning! Spoiler Alert!
I saw two references to Cercei’s dresses getting tight around the waist… granted there were reasons provided for it (the one I remember is that the dress in question was an old one…)… but still… maybe Cercei is unknowingly pregnant? If so, who on earth would the father be? Not Lancel, since we know he never “spilled his seed into her womb”… so one of the Kettleblacks? If she’s even pregnant lah! Damn, gotta wait till at least Book 6 to find out…

The author seems to want us to think that the queen that will topple Cercei in that foretelling is little Margery. I think it’s Daenerys. We’ll see how things pan out. In the meantime, that showdown with the main ladies being held by the High Septon pending investigation and trial on their virtue and honor was an excellent twist. Cercei’s plan backfired on itself, and I can’t wait to see how she gets out of it…. after all, if it’s Dany who topples her, then she needs to survive this situation first, eh? Oh, and with the powers she had granted the religious order, I expect to see in Book 6 a new twist: a Holy War.

Brienne can’t be dead! No way! The last we read of her, she’s being hung from a tree but “…she shouts out a word.” What word does she shout out? I fervently hope it’s something that somehow gets her and Pod cut down from their hanging trees…. After all, what with part of one cheek chewed off an already unattractive face, the author will have excellent opportunity to explore more of her problems: will people shun her cos this freakishly big woman is now uglier than ever, or will this “battle scar” somehow turn people around to grudgingly accept her chosen path?

Arya blind? No worries, I bet it’s the start of her training as an assassin.

I didn’t get the reference to Arianne of Dorne’s betrothed having been victim of a pot of molten gold until I read the sneak peek of Book 5 at the end of the book, and was reminded that that was how Daenerys’ brother, Viserys, had met his end. And this totally floored me, that beneath the superficial loyalties pledged to the current “king”, there were Houses that were in reality deeply loyal to the true rulers of House Targaryen. It had somehow never occurred to me before. So then I wonder, apart from Dorne, who else will rally to Dany’s side once she does make it to Westeros?

Add to that what was revealed about the Maesters in the Citadel: that somehow they refuse to acknowledge the truth of Dany and the dragons’ existence, and therefore their mandate is perhaps not just to be counselors to the rulers? I imagine we’ll find out more about the inner workings of the Citadel in Book 6 when we follow Sam as he learns what is needed for the forging of his own Maester’s chain, as we will about the hidden few who are loyal & true to the Targaryen line…

And what about Jaime? This series may well be, in the end, a tale of his redemption. He starts out as an arrogant cad, but by the time A Feast for Crows comes to an end, he seems to actually be turning into an honorable person. I have a feeling that in the end, he will go willingly to face Queen Daenerys to be punished for his crime of being the Kingslayer. We’ll see….

Will it be in Book 5 or 6 where at least two emissaries from Westeros seek an audience with Dany? One to seek her hand in marriage on behalf of the Ironborn. One to act as counselor from the Citadel. The clash of Dany and the land of Westeros has to happen soon…

End of Spoiler Alert!
End of Spoiler Alert!
End of Spoiler Alert!

All I can do now is wait for Book 5, which is actually Book 4 Part 2. Crows only dealt with characters centered around King’s Landing. A big part of Dragons will of course be about Dany: that I’m not looking forward to that much. Her dilemma with her freed slaves and the cities that regressed back to slavery as soon as she left is getting irritating and boring, and that’s just from the one sneak peek chapter! I hope this part of the tale gets resolved fast. I’m more interested in the other characters: since there was no direct story about Tyrion in Book 4, this means the Imp is not there at King’s Landing: so where is he? And how goes Jon up north, juggling Stannis’ presence and the threat of the Others? More importantly, will we hear ANYTHING about Bran???

Sigh.

On a lighter, less agonising note: I'm amused by fans who name their kids after their fave characters (or maybe just their fave unusual names) in books / tv / movies, but I can't make fun of them too much, chances are I'm gonna try and do the same if ever I have kids.

From B5, for example: Delenn would be too obvious; Adira more subtle. From GRRM's series, I certainly like the sound of Arya. Funny how they are all girls' names, LOL!

But you know what, no matter what, I would NEVER do THIS to my kid! You can check out more of GRR's fans' stuff HERE.

Look, *I* have trouble fitting my full name into spaces provided when filling out forms and such, I would never subject my kid to the same problem. NYMERIA DAENERYS CERSEI SMIGRODZKI indeed!

Poor kid!

Mmmmmmmmmmm, ribs!

So I trekked thru the snow to get to my bbq beef ribs… and what a trek it was!

On the positive side, I didn’t feel it was as cold as I thought it was gonna be when the weathermen kept saying “And Friday will be COLD,” you could hear the capital letters and underline when they said it!

But… all effort so far has concentrated on getting the roads cleared & salted. To my dismay, the pedestrian walkways were untouched! I had to trudge through in about 4 inches of snow, such that often I’d have the snow up to my mid-shin. Which by itself wasn’t so bad, if only I had higher boots – mine are ankle high. So I was getting lots of snow in my boots despite my best efforts not to. My toes were quite frozen by the time I made it to the bbq place.

For the walk back, took a different route that thankfully was not as snowy.

Had the ribs while re-watching Season 1 Disc 1 of Babylon 5.

I immediately recognised (again) David McCallum, who was a guest on the last episode on Disc 1 (Ep 1.04). He was in this very old, short-lived, tv series called Sapphire & Steel. I only vaguely remember it, I was kinda too young to really understand it, but somehow it left a great impression on me. Maybe i can invest in the series DVD....

But anyway... the whole recognising someone in another tv show thing reminds me of some recent events relating to Kosh…

Recently I’ve become quite hooked on this Canadian tv series Da Vinci’s Inquest. Yes, it’s another cop-type show, but the title character is a very committed coroner who “speaks for the dead” so it’s a slightly different take on things. Plus, it’s got lots of story arcs, i.e. while there are some episodes with stand-alone deaths that are solved/resolved, there are lots of other things going on, that take a while to resolve, or are actually little pieces of a much greater whole! And that greater whole is something you’ll find out much much later… Another reason I like it is that it’s not slick. You don’t get me? Okay, think CSI and its derivatives: those are so slick, after a while every episode looks the same.

Anyways.. so a while ago I watching DVI, where this guy was arrested, suspected to be responsible for the disappearance of prostitutes over the past few years. Kosh glances at the screen and goes “Hey, that’s Max Headroom!” I’m like, “Matt Frewer? Hmmm… I dunno… I can see why you would say that, but I don’t think that’s him.” A while later, we catch another episode, also involving this guy. Kosh then gets online and starts searching for information. To make a long story short: he was right. I’m kinda pissed that I didn’t recognize ol’ Max Headroom myself, I really liked him/it despite his short career (killed off because of its association with the failed New Coke).

Another example of Kosh’s vast knowledge and quick recognition of the trivial: A recent episode of Smallville featured Jonathan Kent’s brother, some senator or something, visiting the Kent farm. In a car that is the same make as The Dukes of Hazzard’s General Lee. Already Kosh starts speculating out loud about a possible “internal reference” to the Dukes of Hazzard; after all, isn’t the guy who plays Jonathan Kent one of the brothers from the series? (Me, I wouldn’t know, I’ve only heard about the series, seen some spoofs of it on Family Guy, and refused to see the new movie.) Back to that Smallville episode: there was a scene where Jonathan Kent drives the car rather showily/recklessly, then invites his brother to hop on in. At this point Kosh goes “Go in thru the window! Go in thru the window!” and yes, he hops in thru the window. Kosh gives out a whoop and declares that there MUST be some sort of connection with the original Dukes of Hazzard, maybe the senator guy played the other brother… Again, he goes online to check (again needing my help to point him to tv.com – imdb.com is too unwieldy for a specific search like that), and yes indeedy, turns out that Jonathan Kent’s brother is played Tom Wopat, the “other” Duke of Hazzard. Someone was SO proud of himself that day, LOL!

Moral of the story?
If ever you play Trivial Pursuit, you wanna have Kosh on your team. His brain is overflowing with all these trivial facts. Don’t ask about all that doctor stuff he’s supposed to know, though, LMAO!

btw, Kosh is driving to Cleveland OH right now, another interview tomorrow, this time for Case Western. He called to vent about MapQuest's screwy directions that had him driving around Indianapolis wasting lots of time. Poor baby! Hope he arrives safe and that the interview goes well.

Of course, the psycho kitty thinks he's coming back tonight, and is hanging out by the front window waiting for daddy to get back. Sorry kitty, no daddy till probably Sunday!

In the meantime, I'm kicking back dividing my time between sudoku, DVI, Bab5, miscellaneous tv shows and reading George R R Martin's A Feast for Crows. Tomorrow I *will* brave the cold and make the trek to the gym. It's been waaaaaay too long since my last workout, no thanks to the nasty weather followed by thanksgiving and poor health. I'll do cardio but also will soak in the spa pool. Mmmmm, can't wait!! Gotta get back on-track!

See y'all later!

... a medieval future

Robert Jordan, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, Isobelle Carmody; Stephen King (to a lesser extent). These are just a few writers whose work I enjoy, specifically when their work involves tales of a ‘medieval future’ of sorts.

Take Isobelle Carmody’s Obernwtyn series, which is set in post-apocalyptic Earth. After the devastation of a nuclear holocaust, survivors slowly repopulated the non-poisonous areas; it is eerie how the gaps and tension between rich & poor, or administrators & religious & military, can be so easily recreated (and mistakes repeated). While I very keenly follow the thread of the author’s tale in this excellently imagined future of telepathic birds and ‘misfits’ with paranormal abilities who unravel a mystery from before the apocalypse, it amuses me to no end to ‘hear’ tales of the ‘ancients’ who flew across the skies in silver birds get lumped together with other tales about creatures that are half-fish and half-human. “Historical” records seem so improbable to the population at that time, that these tales are considered as fabulous our own fables and fairy tales of today. Ironic, eh?

In Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series (as yet UNFINISHED despite book 11 coming out at the end of this year, you fan-milker!!) * ahem * errr yeah… moving on… yeah… this series * may * be set in a far far distant future here on planet Earth, but I can’t be 100% sure on that, no thanx to the author dragging the tale out unnecessarily! But again, glimpses into the ancient past indicate technology comparable to what we currently see, although how much of that was ‘magic’ vs ‘technology’ is not very clear. I like the idea of random males & females being born with the ability to touch the ‘One Source’, and the various things that can be done with this ability.

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman’s 7-book Death Gate Cycle tells a tale of a post-Sundered Earth, tho as we move forward in the story, pieces of the past get filled in: humans almost wiping out life on the planet, reemergence of dwarves and elves, emergence of ‘mutant’ humans who become demi-gods due to their innate magic abilities, war among two ‘branches’ of these demi-gods, and how even such ‘intelligent’ creatures can fall into the trap of thinking they can and should and must control the lives of the lesser creatures (humans, elves, dwarves). I found references to "the Mangers" who built a mysterious machine in the "Factree" really amusing :D

Stephen King’s Dark Tower series also includes many references of the remnants of the Old Ones, from the time before the world ‘moved on.’ In a decidedly cowboy / western setting, you have the improbable existence of robots (Andy, Messenger Robot (Many Other Functions!)), and onshore oil rigs and oil tankers with ‘meaningless’ brands such as CITGO and MOBIL! This is not so much ‘our’ Earth in the future, but rather one of an infinite number of parallel worlds with the Dark Tower as its nexus.

Why do these types of tales appeal to me so much?

I suppose it’s all too easy for me to imagine the world as we know it to slide downhill into oblivion… and that whatever we leave behind will be totally meaningless to those who come after us. Despite our technological advancement, our superiority,,, in the end, will we just be a puzzle for future archeologists, trying to put together a picture of our society based on a McDonald’s logo, a piece of an X-box circuit, a jawbone with titanium implants and a ‘selipar Jepun’ for example?

I like the idea that society of the future ‘regresses’ in a way, where we are no longer ‘slaves’ to technology or machines… so while we may be back to hard and difficult times, the pleasures in life are also simple. In other words; all the technological advances we have today have not actually improved our quality of life. Yes, our lives are easier, but at the same time, less meaningful, don’t you think?

I think it’s because I long for the insanity to end…. The world as we live in it today is in a horrible state… so many things that are happening are caused by age-old hatred and fear, so much so that so many people don’t even know what they are fighting for, or why anymore, except that “that’s how it’s always been”. And this willful stubborn blindness is not only seen in the literal fighting of let’s say the Middle East… How about people who just can’t accept change; who can’t accept that the only thing constant IS change??

I wouldn’t be surprised if this world does actually get destroyed by a nuclear disaster precipitated by U.S. vs “Muslim” vs North Korean vs whoever else’s forces. I really don’t forsee any resolution to the unrest in the world today… unless a miracle happens where everyone decides at the exact same moment to give peace a chance…

So to escape beyond this immediate world… to one where this disaster has already happened… plunging the world into a totally different environment… seeing humans (tho not limited to this species) learning to survive again in a totally different but brave new world… ah, THAT is what I like…

Of course, the same old mistakes, the same old behaviours still get repeated… after all, who am I kidding…. A world of total good would be totally boring!

I like the analogy of life as a pendulum which swings to and fro, to and fro, with the peak on one side being ‘good’ and the other ‘evil’ : such oscillation is natural, and is reflected in the rise and fall of both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dynasties, for example. But what if during one of these ‘good’ dynasties, the well-meaning people attempt to arrest the pendulum there at the ‘peak of good’? An unnatural event, right? And while those living at that age would enjoy the unnatural extended good/peace, what happens when nature exerts its laws, and starts the pendulum swinging again? Balance must be kept… so the world would be plunged into a deep and black turmoil, would it not? Balance!!

Reminds me of something I read about the difference between was it Chinese/Asian philosophy and that of the druids… Both strove for this ‘balance’, but went about it in totally different ways… one ( I don’t remember which, but would guess it was the Chinese/Asian) would strive for a state of stillness in order to maintain this balance (my guess is meditation as one of the paths to this), while the other sought movement and understanding of ‘extremes’ for without knowing the two sides / limits how are you going to recognize the balance/middle?

Ah yes, my rambling again… do bear with me, dear readers… back to why this particular type of tale appeals to me so much… it is my ardent hope that humankind one day realizes that so much of what they are looking for actually resides inside themselves.

To quote from Babylon5: the exiled G’Kar, serving an eight-week prison sentence for assaulting his sworn enemy, when being informed that he seemed “happier in here than you were out there” he replied,

“In here, Mr Garibaldi, you cannot hide from yourself.
Everything out there has only one purpose:
to distract us from ourselves; from what is truly important.
There are no distractions in here.
You can learn much from silence.”

Wow.

Meditate on that, why don’t you?

Battlestar Galactica : a "re-imagining"?

Sci-fi RULES!!

"Wait a minute," I hear some of you say. "I thought she stays away from Sci-Fi, and reads mostly fantasy books?" Well, you are kinda right. I can't quite explain why I'm so NOT a fan of sci-fi books when they are "fantasy" in a way... but that is a digression... this blog is about Sci-Fi tv series. I'm going to highlight two specific shows, tho there are plenty more to say about many others...

1. Battlestar Galactica (BSG):

How many of you, like me, had this HUGE crush on Starbuck, played by Dirk Benedict? He and his buddy Apollo would be fighting the Cylons while Commander Adama led the rag-tag fleet to a distant planet known as earth.

How many of you remember "Galactica 80", a very lame continuation of the series, where the Galactica actually does arrive at earth, only to find it technologically inferior, and totally unequipped to deal with the revelation of "brethren" from the stars let alone the existence of Cylons that want to wipe humans off the face of the universe?

How many of you caught the tribute to Dirk Benedict's role in BSG when, in one episode of the A-Team, Dirk Benedict's Faceman is at one of those theme parks, and a Cylon passes by, and we see Faceman doing a double-take, as if the Cylon was familiar to him but he didn't know why? I certainly loved that scene :-)

And a few months ago, I found a VCD on Battlestar Galactica (thanx "Joe") which turned out to be either the 1978 movie, or the pilot episode of the series. Aaaaah, it was so nice to see the actual beginning - how the 12 colonies were attacked by the Cylons, how Baltar was entangled with the Cylons, how Apollo got saddled with thet irritating kid and his pet "dog"...

So.... when I heard recently that the Sci-Fi channel was "re-imagining" the series, I did wonder what it was all about. Caught an interview with the director/producer/whoever who actually said "If you are a fan of the original series, do NOT watch this new series." Hmmmmm, that doesn't sound too good...

Somehow managed to catch what looked like the pilot episode of this re-imagined series ... and O M G it S U C K S!!
Firstly, it seems to take place about 40 years AFTER the original series started, and again takes place at the "12 Colonies of Kobol."
It's essentially the same "pilot episode", except that Starbuck, Apollo, Boomer, etc are "call-signs" for the current pilots?? huh?? and "starbuck" is female??? so is "boomer"???
According to the story, the Cylons had "disappeared" for about 40 years, and suddenly return out of the blue (looking much cooler, i have to admit,,, even their spacecraft have the "roving red line"... but then again they HAVE to add that in since cylons don't look like the cylons we know anymore... they look like regular humans (well, 12 of them do, anyway)), knocking out most of not all of the colonies' defense because the cylons have some sort of virus that, well, knocks em out.
The Battlestar Galactica is practically the only thing that is immune to them, because Commander William Adama (grooooaaaaan... yes, Adama...) didn't trust technology, or has foresight maybe?, and refused to upgrade the network on the ship.
Immune also would be the obsolete Vipers from 40 years ago, that just so happened to be onboard the Galactica during the time of the Cylon attack. If nothing else, are they trying to tell people NOT to upgrade to the newer version of Windows?
Oh, and the theme about "trust no-one, the enemy is among us" (i.e. the American's paranoia about terrorism) is greatly played upon, what with a cylon known to be among the humans on the Galactica...

I sat through that show, cringing at almost every other scene, wondering why people couldn't just leave the show as it was,,, I think I'll just go out and get myself a copy of BSG:TOS (Battlestar Galactica: The Original Series), all 24 episodes, and watch them to wash the bad taste i my mouth left by my exposure to BSG:TNS!


2. Babylon 5 (B5):

I believe this is the best Sci-Fi series ever.. although I have only seen perhaps half of the total series. Didn't help that I only started watching it during my last year in college (Season 2)... and while it was a miracle that B5 actually made it to Malaysian tv (Season 3), it didnt stay on very long (what to do... so few Malaysians actually like sci-fi maaaaah)...

Because this series came out around the same time as ST:Deep Space 9, many people assumed it was essentially the same story told on a different channel acted by diferent actors. WRONG! B5 had a definite start and end, unlike all ST series, that just kept going and going and going until writers ran out of ideas, or ratings dropped too low, or whatever :-)

This is a unique story, designed to be told over the span of 5 years. It mixes in angles on spirituality with classic good vs evil situations plus of course providing a view of earth, politics, and how all things are linked... cross-reincarnation of souls... age-old evil... politics... economics... social order... telepaths... inter-species love & marriage...

In a way, you could look at it as an allegory of what's been happening on earth, where the League of Nations, and later the United Nations were set up to broker peace after major wars. In this case, Babylon 5 is a space station, built by Earth but considered neutral territory. "Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace."

Part of the beauty of this story is that its arc is over 5 years, not everything gets neatly tied up at the end of each episode. For example, for things that happen in one episode, the implications may only rear its head a season later. For example, i had an epiphany of sorts today watching Ep1.05: it showed the first appearance of the Shadows!! In fact, I am slowly making my way though the entire Season One (thanx again for the gift, Kosh!), and am sure I'll see much of the foundation being laid for the bits of the story that I do know from Seasons 2 & 3.

Can't wait to get my hands on the remaining Seasons 2 - 5!!!

Breaking news: B5: The Memory of Shadows is either a full-blown movie, or tv-movie, that's due to be out in 2006. It seems that Warner Brothers is in the process of getting things together for it... and it seems they are totally re-casting every character, which has the B5 fans up in arms... my concern would be story itself: I do hope they don't go off on a tangent, or create something inconsistent with the main storyline...

Please please please let this NOT go the same way as the "re-imagined" BSG!!

… the idiot box rules o.k. !

Am getting back in touch with some long-forgotten TV programs, as well as getting acquainted with other shows I never really got into before, plus discovering shows that probably never got to Malaysian TV. Yep, if I wanted to be glued to the idiot-box all day, I could! Here's just a small sample of my daily fare:

Re-run heaven:
Happy Days: The Fonz doesn’t look THAT sexy no more. Sooooo outdated! This was before my time even when eye was growing up!
Magnum P.I.: Talking about outdated - hilarious to see Tom Selleck in those shorts and curly-wurly hair!
Friends: so what if I have Season 1-9 on VCD? Always good to catch any episode! :-D Just wish I could catch Season 10!! No sign of those when I left KL L

Getting to know you again:
The Simpsons: an adult-oriented cartoon, featuring Bart the irreverent kid, and Homer the d’oh nucler plant operator. Famous for the phrases “Cowabunga, dude” “Eat my shorts” :-D
Everybody loves Raymond: so-so series, good to pass the time away while waiting for evening to fall :p
Seinfeld: A major hit when I was studying here, but I never bothered to get into it because it seemed to be enjoyed by the same people who loved MTV’s Beavis and Butthead. I can appreciate the humor a bit more now :p
Matlock: I must have caught this back in my college days… or was it actually on Malaysian TV? A very aged Andy Griffith stars as a lawyer who gets in deep with cases he defends. Simplistic, yet refined.

What’s new (to me):
Will & Grace: a so-so gay-related comedy
Joey: a very disappointing Friends spin-off
Family Guy: another adult cartoon, featuring a super-intelligent baby out for world dominance
Angel: Spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; right now he’s got a son and it’s in danger. Good stuff!
Enterprise: The latest incarnation of the Star Trek series. I had downloaded and watched mostly Season 2 episodes, tho I think what I’m catching on TV is now the 4th season.

Wish List:
Babylon 5: I think this is better than the Star Trek family of series. Got hooked during my Senior year in college here, then it was shown (short-lived) on Malaysian TV in 1995. Random videos found at Desa Pondan’s Speedy Video helped fill in some blanks. Would love to be able to watch the story in its entirety! L
South Park: used to get my fix of South Park thru my “supplier”, (wink@ “joe”) while over here I don’t get access to the Cartoon Network! Sob sob!!
Animaniacs: Ah yes, the Warner Brothers Wakko & Yakko, and the Warner Sister Dot. I liked their quirky sense of humor! Always felt this was more an adult-oriented cartoon too. It stopped playing on the air a loooong time ago... bummer!

Have a bone to pick about these ridiculous “reality tv” shows ... but that’s another blog all by itself! Tunggguuuuuuu!