I could be angrier. I could be. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens. A game that they could have won. But, in all honesty, I was expecting a much worse showing than the Steelers gave. Early in the week they had made it abundantly clear that Ben Roethlisberger was going to play despite the concussion he suffered the previous game. At the proverbial last minute, Ben was not cleared to play and this opened the door to 3^rd string quarterback Dennis Dixon to make his first NFL start.

Basically a rookie quarterback, no Troy Polamalu, at Baltimore, against the vaunted Ravens defense!?!

I was expecting to lose. The Baltimore Ravens opening drive didn’t help my confidence any as they took the ball the length of the field for a touchdown fairly easily. If you watched the game, you would have seen all the depressing statistics the Ravens have on their usually lackluster opening drives. Now they are up 7-0, gggrrreeeaaattt. So how did the rook do?

Pretty great, actually. Dennis Dixon scored two touchdowns, led a drive for a field goal and, finally, threw an interception that cost them the game. It was better than people expected and, in the end, ended the way one would think a rookie start versus one of the best defenses in the league and your team’s number 1 bitter rival would end. So, he played well. Rashard Mendenhall ran like a beast and our defense played pretty well. The Steelers are playing well enough to keep these games competitive and make you believe only to have your heart ripped out of your chest and peed on at the end of the game, but I guess that is better than getting woodshedded like some other teams have been around the league.

Oh, but it would have been so nice if they won. Why?

Dennis Dixon = “Steamin’” Willie Beamen

Just saying. If Dixon won last night’s game then the Steelers would officially be Any Given Sunday and my life would be complete.

Also I was going to title this post “the six inches in front of your face” as a reference to Al Pacino’s speech in Any Given Sunday, but I’m going to take a wild guess and say that the comments section would be flooded with a lot different interpretation of that sentence. You people. You dirty people.

As far as the rest of the NFL, I watched all three games on Thanksgiving, the Jets/Panthers game on Sunday, and the Vikings/Bears game on Sunday. I’m not sure if anyone has ever said this, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say this guy named Brett Favre knows how to play football. Call me crazy, but I think this guy has a future in the league. At the age of 112, Brett Favre is having arguably the best season of his long long long long long illustrious career; through 11 games Brett has thrown 2874 yards, 24 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. Even if “The Old Man”, as I call him or “The Silver Fox” as Jared Allen calls him, has the breakdown game that everyone has been expecting from the start where he throws 4 interceptions he would still be having an unreal season.

Thanksgiving and the subsequent break from work I received for it went pretty well. I ate a shit ton of turkey which does not sound at all appetizing. How much turkey? A shit ton? Fair enough. I followed that up with a fuck ton of biscuits, which sounds more appetizing the more you repeat it in your head. What is the difference between a shit ton and a fuck ton? It is relativity. A lot of people eat a lot of turkey. Turkey is the main dish and you are expected to eat anywhere from at least a little to eating a whole damn turkey and pissing off your relatives because turkeys take forever to cook and they will have to fill up on cranberry sauce and string beans instead of emeffin’ turkey.

A shit ton indicates that I indeed ate a lot of turkey. More turkey than what an average human being should or likely would eat. At some point, the majority of human beings would feel their stomach seizing in agony from all the turkey they had previously shoved into themselves and stopped shoving more turkey down their throat. But I am not most people. I write a blog about Kristen Stewart for fuck’s sake. So I pressed on and despite any injuries like the throbbing pain in my gut that I may have ate so much turkey it was now invading other organs in my body and mutating them into half human/half turkey organs I still ate more turkey. But again, it was Thanksgiving and I feel comfortable in my belief I was not the only one doing such things. If this was on a typical Tuesday then I would have upgraded from “shit ton” to “fuck ton” or been committed to a hospital for such high volume turkey eating without a holiday to justify it.

The fuck ton of biscuits is purposefully categorized as such because I do not believe as large of a group of the population gorges on biscuits in the same fashion I was. I ate a lot of mashed potatoes et cetera, but the biscuits were a sight. If the concept, the idea, the ethereal form of a biscuit ceased to exist today and there would be no biscuits or anything of the like from today onward until Kristen Stewart unmakes the world with her want during her inevitable young Hollywood starlet nervous breakdown – I would have had my fill this past Thursday. I ate enough biscuits on Thanksgiving that I satisfied any other sane person’s biscuit eating tally for the rest of their life. But I will eat more biscuits. There will always be more biscuits in my future. Unless everyone wants an apocalyptic scenario like in the movie 2012 where Earth is splitting in two and crumbling, there should be more biscuits in my future. You wouldn’t like me when I don’t have my biscuits.

Shit ton and fuck ton aside, I also saw The Fantastic Mr. Fox which you should all see. I also also saw a very sophisticated film that is/was much more enlightening and intelligent than that Twilight mess: Ninja Assassin. I am an adult and as an adult I would like to watch movies that are of an adult matter that I can relate to like ninjas. Seriously, high school vampire romance? I think you’re all a little too old to be watching such childish material. I, on the other hand, will sit at the adult table and discuss ninjas like the well educated man I play on TV. The movie was ok. Away We Go was also watched and was good and people should see it with their eyes.

There were 4 tweens standing inline in front of myself and my friend at the movies on our intellectual field trip to see said ninja movie. They, on the other hand, were going to see New Moon and they were all wearing “Team Jacob” t-shirts. I was going to write “they looked like screamers”, but that easily could be construed in a sexual manner and they looked anywhere between the ages of 13 and 14. Instead, I will rewrite what my publicist has written for me: “These young women below the legal age of consent appeared to be the type to exclaim loudly with joy and merriment when Taylor Lautner’s shirtless image is presented to them.”

I wonder if there is one truly clueless high school or junior high school principal in America who has no idea what Twilight is. Their school’s halls overrun by girl students in “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” t-shirts. Struggling to understand this predicament, he makes a formal conclusion on the matter believing that the females have chosen sides over two male students at the school. Scared there will be a turf war cat fight that will tear the foundation of his school apart, he calls a meeting of the teachers. He addresses the teachers in the teachers’ lounge. Coffee mugs and donuts for everyone. Dark bags under his eyes from many restless sleepless nights agonizing over what to do.

“I’m sure you are all wondering why I called this emergency action meeting. I have a great deal of concern for our school and maybe out town’s future. I believe we are standing at the edge of the precipice. I believe there is something brewing in these halls. I hear the screams. I see their wild eyes. They are wearing uniforms. They have laid down the battle lines. They have chosen their sides. And I don’t know what will happen next, but I think it will be bad. Catastrophic even. In short, I am terrified for all of our safety.”

He loosens his tie and wipes sweat from his brow.

“We need to think of something. We need to think of something fast before this madness consumes all of us. At the very least, we need to think of a solution that will save us from losing the lives of this next generation of women. Who will be the mothers of this town tomorrow if we do not save these girls today? I beg you. I implore you. We need to stop this war between the factions of Team Jacob and Team Edward!”

The teachers are stunned into silence by this imbecile’s words. He takes this shock as his desired response. The horror that is Team Jacob vs. Team Edward has stolen their very words.

“I believe I have deduced correctly that Jacob is resident 10^th grade Jacob Razynski. He is the starting right middie of our varsity lacrosse team. Jacob was quite popular last year when he won the starting duties on our 6-4 lacrosse team during his freshman year. That was an unprecedented jump. No freshman in our school’s history had ever started on our varsity lacrosse team. I believe that the frenzy for his sophomore year effort on the team is what has caused these young women to choose him. As for Team Edward, I think we all know that can only be alluding to senior Edward Page.”

The stunned silence has now turned to an amusing calm at this stupidity or a tight lipped fury that this idiot is their boss. He is high on the attention and is pleased with his detective abilities.

“Edward Page Jr., better known as Teddy P, has successfully campaigned and been elected for class President every year while attending this high school. He vaulted into stardom when in his sophomore year he revolutionized the cafeteria by introducing a “make your own snow cone” machine. Between a record breaking Valentine’s Day heart shaped cookie bake sale and a generous donation from his father, Edward Page I Esquire, he single handedly changed this school forever. I, myself, eat at least one snow cone everyday. If I am having a particularly troubling morning I may indulge in a snow cone to lift my spirits, but on an average day I eat one in the afternoon. Generally around 2pm, I will make a blueberry, lemon, and cherry snow cone. It is two parts-

The principal notices a hand is raised: Andrew Starkey, 35, algebra teacher.

“Yes, Andrew. Do you have a quest-

“You’re a moron.”

“What? What did y-

“I said ‘you are a moron’. Teachers? Is he or is he not a moron?”

Some nod, some grumble yes, some emphatically repeat “he is a moron”.

“Jacob Razynski? Teddy P? Who the hell calls him Teddy P besides you? Jacob and Ed Page are not what those t-shirts are referring to you jackass. They are for Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. It is because of those stupid books and those stupid movies. My 12 year old and my 9 year old are absolutely obsessed with those dumb books. I think I’m going to snap if one of my daughters asks me again about my “immortal love” for their mother. I absolutely hate my wife right now because she brought those books and that movie into my home. I thin-

“I’m sorry to cut you off, but what movie and what books?”

“Twilight!?! There are commercials for the movie on TV all the time. New Moon? The kids in those movies are all over everything. Robert Pattinson? Taylor Lautner? And then there is the main girl Kristen Stewart.”

“Oh I know her. She wants it.”

All the teachers nod, grumble yes, and emphatically repeat “Kristen Stewart wants it”.

“Kristen Stewart does want it. You know, you’re not such a bad guy. I was wrong for calling you a moron. She does want it.”

“Well then now that we are all on the same side, why don’t we go get some snow cones? To Kristen Stewart! And her wanting it!”

– End Scene –

Outside of that, I went to a party on Saturday night. I did not know the majority of the people at the party nor did the friends I was there with. About half way through the party I am standing there talking to someone I did know when a friend of mine rushes up to me. He is red faced and his eyes are watering from laughing. He is almost out of “breadth”. He takes a moment and then begins an amazing set of rhetorical questions.

Do you remember the movie Independence Day?

Do you remember the part of the movie when they go to Area 51 to dissect the alien Will Smith caught?

Do you remember the main scientist?

The one who had the long hair, beard, glasses and was all cracked out?

He was the one who got thrown up against the glass and the alien used his tentacle wrapped around that guy’s throat to communicate with the Secret Service and the President played by Bill Pullman?

OF-FUCKING-COURSE I REMEMBER!

Look to your right.

BAM!

The guy standing 6 feet from me looked exactly like him! He didn’t look like Brent Spiner, but he looked like the fucking doctor character in Independence Day. As if that character had came to life and 13 years later was at a keg party in a basement standing 6 feet from me. That’s what that guy looked like. I immediately started laughing. After a minute I calmed down and went back to my original conversation. A couple minutes later, I was taking a sip of beer and turned to my right and the guy was standing right next to me.

I almost spit all the beer right in his face.

At the last second, my muscles caught my involuntary reaction of spitting the beer in his face and now I am choking on the beer. Choking on the beer leads me to almost throwing up on him or the wall next to him. But I stopped myself. And then I spent the rest of the night with acid reflux from the violent spit/choke/throw up/coughing fit. DAMN YOU OBSCURE MOVIE REFERENCES THAT COME TO LIFE!

Anyway, that was my Thanksgiving.

Super Megafest 2009 – Framingham, MA

If you found yourself at the Sheraton Tara Hotel in Framingham, MA last weekend (November 21-22), chances are you were at Super Megafest. Super Megafest touts itself as New England’s largest Multimedia Fanfest. The convention indulges fans of all varieties and includes celebrity Q & A sessions, photo and autograph opportunities, and concerts.

The biggest draw of this year’s convention was, without a doubt, the celebrity guests. Among this year’s celebrities were:

Photo courtesy of JamesMarsters.com

James Marsters (Spike from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel, Brainiac of the television series Smallville, Captain John Hart of the television series Torchwood, John in the movie P.S. I Love You). Visit the official James Marsters website.

Photo courtesy of Myspace.com/RealBrentSpiner

Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation the television series and movies, Dr. Brackish Okun in the movie Independence Day, Dr. Nigel Fenway of the television series Threshold). Visit the official Brent Spiner website.

Photo courtesy of RayPark.com

Ray Park (Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Edgar of the television series Heroes, Toad in the X-men movie, Snake Eyes in the movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra). Visit the official Ray Park website.

Photos courtesy of LindsayWagner.com, Bionik.com & JaniceWhitby.com

Lindsay Wagner, Richard Anderson & Janice Whitby from the classic television series The Bionic Woman

Photos courtesy of Myspace.com/theofficialmickydolenzpage & PeterTork.com

Micky Dolenz & Peter Tork from The Monkees

Still not interested? Perhaps comics, collectibles or movies are more your thing. You can visit the dealers hall, boasting approximately 100 vendors, to pick up vintage comics, autographed photos, weaponry, custom fangs, collectibles for every fandom, and movies to round out your collection.

But wait, there’s more! Celebrity events like this year’s James Marsters & Peter Tork concerts, or the special dinner with Peter Tork made this year’s convention a fan highlight of 2009. Let’s not forget about the costumes, this is a fan convention after all. Super Megafest may be a small regional convention, but the fans are hardcore. Turn the corner and you will find yourself face to face with Batman from the television series, alongside Slave Lea and Saber Tooth.

Vader’s 501st New England Garrison was also in full force with a photo booth, accepting donations on behalf of Toys for Tots & The Jimmy Fund.

Vader's 501st New England Garrison

For this fan, Super Megafest 2009 was a great experience. I got a chance to make great new friends, meet some of my favorite celebrities, listen to good music and purchase some DVDs to add to my own collection. I am glad I stumbled upon this convention. Which brings up a point. I spoke to many attendees and did not find a single one that had been to the event before. We all happened upon Super Megafest by accident, or because we knew someone who was already aware of it. Though the event is in my backyard, this was the first I heard of the convention. Even friends who attend many fan events each year had no idea this convention existed. Why? A lack of marketing, guerilla or otherwise. In this sense, Super Megafest is their own worst enemy and that truly is a shame.

I applaud the effort to bring suburban fans together with the celebrities and artists they love. I sincerely hope more of these fan conventions pop up in smaller cities around the country. Admission tickets for the Super Megafest weekend range in price from $20 to $100. For more information on Super Megafest, visit the event website.

Former Star Trek star, Brent Spiner who played Data the android in, “Star Trek: the Next Generation” seems pretty annoyed at the question if he is ever going to play Data again. Brent took to his twitter page hoping this will help people stop asking him this question. I’m sure he gets asked this all the time if he will ever reprise his iconic role.

Here’s what he said from his official twitter page:

“I think we should all get over me playing Data again. Not logical. Too old. Don’t want to see Micky Rooney as Andy Hardy, Grandad. New Data!”

http://twitter.com/BrentSpiner

So there you have it, Star Trek fans. He will never go back to his Data role ever. He tells you to, “get over it”. LOL!

Sounds like he is willing to pass the torch to someone else to play Data though, does that what he means by, “new Data”?

If Data comes back in the upcoming JJ Abrams sequels, Brent Spiner could be replaced. It wouldn’t look right though, only he could play that character.

Kev

This Halloween (Saturday, October 31) from 10 pm – midnight on 89.3 KPCC, L.A. Theatre Works will air a sci-fi double bill:

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells was adapted by Howard Koch and stars John de Lancie, Meagan Fay, Jerry Hardin, Gates McFadden, Leonard Nimoy, Daryl Schultz, Armin Shimerman, Brent Spiner, Tom Virtue and Wil Wheaton. Originally performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, War of the Worlds is truly the mother of all space invasions, offering a rare combination of chills, thrills and great literature. Join actors from Star Trek and Star Trek:The Next Generation as they recreate this classic radio thriller. The breathless pace and convincing details make it clear why the 1938 broadcast of an “eyewitness report” of an invasion from Mars caused a nationwide panic. Stay tuned after the show for a post-performance interview with Leonard Nimoy.
 
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by John DeLancie, stars Josh Clark, Kyle Colerider-Krugh, Peter Paige, Kirsten Potter, Kate Steele, Tom Virtue and Kenneth Alan Williams.  The Lost World is a rollicking adventure that follows a scientific expedition deep into the Amazon jungle – right back into the time of dinosaurs and cavemen. Before Jurassic Park, before Indiana Jones – there was Sir Arhur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World!  Also: Learn about L.A.’s very own prehistoric explorers with a sound-rich tour of the Dinosaur Lab at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

The broadcast can be heard locally in Southern California on Saturday from 10 pm to midnight on KPCC 89.3 FM, and can also be streamed on demand at http://www.latw.org/.  Both productions are directed by Star Trek: The Next Generation’s John de Lancie.

# 30 #

1. Obama Administration slams U.N. anti-blasphemy position -

The Obama administration on Monday came out strongly against efforts by Islamic nations to bar the defamation of religions, saying the moves would restrict free speech.

“Some claim that the best way to protect the freedom of religion is to implement so-called anti-defamation policies that would restrict freedom of expression and the freedom of religion,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters. “I strongly disagree.”

2. Did the anti-vaccinationists convert Star Trek’s Data? – Oh, please tell me it isn’t true. Apparently, actor Brent Spiner tweeted that he was a fan of Jay Gordon and when asked if he was an anti-vaccinationist, here was his tweeted response:

RT @SusietheGeek @BrentSpiner Are you an antivaxxer–Not completely. But it’s worth investigating before letting drug cos. bamboozle us.

No, don’t do it, Data!! Don’t be assimilated! Resistence is not futile!

3. Help the Center For Inquiry educate our legislators – CFI is fighting to keep religion and quackery out of health care reform and they need your help.

I’m always disappointed to find out that one of my favourite celebrities is promoting wacky ideas.

I love Bill Maher’s harsh criticisms of religion, but then I find out that he’s into astrology and has some paranoid conspiracy theories.

Yesterday I was watching Ellen, one of my favourite shows, and unfortunately had to witness her fawning over Deepak Chopra.

And now today I find out via Twitter that Brent Spiner is anti-vaccine.

*sigh*

EMOTION CHIP
Now, Data can laugh at your stupidity

(LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner)

Picture by: dunno source. Caption by: robmeister via Poster Builder

» Recaption This

» See All Captions

OVER the past year or so, Twitter has risen like a new religion – to grip the masses and the media. Embraced by geeks, celebs, and seemingly, everyone else.

It requires daily worship from the faithful and only devoted followers seem to reap the full spiritual rewards this new movement promises.

It’s a great leveler, requiring no temples, no uniforms, no 14 step plan, no live sacrifices, just a few words amounting to no more than the 140 sacred characters. (141 thou shalt not write).

Like any other religion it has its priests and its prophets,  it acolytes and its heretics, but unlike some religions, there is no clear leader, no guiding hand, no messenger of God.

What it does have, is Stephen Fry, who, especially as far as the Brits are concerned, seems to have become the High Priest of Twitter. Sure there are other Brits with a larger following, but they rarely impart any level of mystic revelation or spiritual advice.

How many priests have had the fact that they were stuck in a lift for a few hours reported by national newspapers? Or whose word instantly crashes websites? Just a tweet from Fry’s fingers can make or break a product or service.

So how did he reach this appointment and develop this level of power? Well, in common with so many other endeavors, it’s been through sheer hard work – although like so many things that this man does, he never makes it look like hard work.

He tweets regularly, and with a passion. And although many of his tweets are simply about his life, that life is not the one that the rest of us lead – it’s the life of a celeb, an intellectual genius and a traveler. And he imparts those tweets with a character – his own. This character of his being sufficiently elevated above you or I, to be interesting – it’s a bit like reading the diary of a friendly alien.

Across the sea, the American branch of the Twitter Church has it’s fundamentalists, its lay preachers, and its own high priests – the likes of Oprah, Martha Stewart, and Wil Wheaton, – all of whom update regularly and offer us their philosophical insights on life. (But then they also have The Onion, Weird Al and Brent Spiner – I’ll just mention these to balance things out).

The thing about Twitter is that its a terribly democratic religion – anyone can join and start preaching – just be sure to be entertaining, hold mass regularly and don’t overdo the fire and brimstone (or tweet too often).

And one day my son, you may rise up the blessed twitterholic rankings, be the head of an huge and influential flock of followers and achieve high priesthood.

(There – wrote the whole post without mentioning Ashton Kutcher once – oh, rats!)

Jonathan Frakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor, author and director, best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Moving on to directing in recent years, Frakes directed and also starred in Star Trek: First Contact as well as Star Trek: Insurrection, which earned him the nickname Two-Takes Frakes for his speed.

He is also the author of a book called The Abductors: Conspiracy.

For a time in the 1970s, Frakes worked for Marvel Comics, appearing at conventions in costume as Captain America.

Frakes moved to New York City and became a member of “The Impossible Ragtime Theater”. In that company, Frakes did his first off-Broadway acting in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape. His first Broadway appearance was in Shenandoah. At the same time, he landed a role in the NBC soap opera The Doctors. When his character was dismissed from the soap, Frakes moved to Los Angeles, California and played guest spots in many of the top television shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard, Matlock, and Steven Bochco’s Hill Street Blues. He played the part of Charles Lindbergh in a 1983 episode of Voyagers! titled “An Arrow Pointing East”. In 1983, he had a role in the short-lived NBC prime time soap opera Bare Essence (which also starred his future wife Genie Francis). He also had recurring roles in Falcon Crest and North & South before signing for the role of Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Jonathan & Genie

He has done animation voice acting, most notably voicing the recurring role of David Xanatos in the animated series Gargoyles, and he provided the voice of his own head in a jar in the Futurama episode “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”. He had a small, uncredited role in the 1994 movie Camp Nowhere. He also reprised his role of Riker for a Next Generation cutaway on an episode of Family Guy that also featured his co-stars Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn as their respective roles of Picard and Worf.

Frakes is one of only two Star Trek regulars to appear on four different Star Trek series (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise). (The only other regular to match or exceed that number is Majel Barrett-Roddenberry who appeared in all six television series.) He has also directed episodes in three of them (TNG, DS9 and VOY) and was a popular and innovative director on the Star Trek set, often finding completely new ways to shoot the show’s familiar sets. His directing career has included the films Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. Additionally, Frakes was an executive producer for the WB show Roswell, directed several episodes and guest-starred in three episodes. His relationship with Star Trek is made light of in the episode “Secrets and Lies”, in which the alien character Max ironically auditions for a guest role as an alien for Star Trek: Enterprise.

Outside of acting, Frakes appeared on the Phish album Hoist, playing trombone on the track titled “Riker’s Mailbox”. Frakes would occasionally perform on the trombone during his tenure as Commander Riker, drawing on his college marching band experience.

Frakes hosted the television series Paranormal Borderline, which dealt with the paranormal and mysterious happenings and creatures. In one episode Frakes presented an interview of reporter Yolanda Gaskins with veteran astronaut Gordon Cooper, where they discussed the possibility of aliens having visited the Earth in the past.  Overall, the show was criticized and pulled off the air after it was found out that footage showing a yeti from the Himalayas was purposely faked by the show and its producers-Fox television. The “Snowwalker” footage, as it is known, purportedly shows a yeti as it is crossing through a valley in the Himalayas, walking in front of a Belgian couple who are traversing the area on skis. The network finally admitted the hoax, and Frakes distanced himself from the show. Similarly, he is also popular in hosting the hit TV series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction which also dealt in the paranormal world. Frakes would allude to stories based on true events or fictional stories and only reveal the truth at the ending of each episode.

Frakes also appeared in Lois & Clark in the episode “Don’t Tug on Superman’s Cape” as Tim Lake, a rich collector who tries to add Superman to his and his wife Amber’s collection.

Frakes is also currently narrating the History Channel television show “That’s Impossible” which is on tuesdays at 10-11 eastern time.

Frakes has had a relationship with the production of TNT’s Leverage as a guest director. Jonathan Frakes is listed as the primary director in some episodes of both season 1 and season 2. It is unclear but likely that he will be directing episodes of Leverage regularly in the future, as Voyager Alumni Jeri Ryan is scheduled to have a recurring role on the show.

Jonathan works with The Workshops, The Waterfall Arts Center and The Saltwater Film Society, all located in Maine, where he teaches classes on film direction. He co-owns a home furnishings store with his wife in Belfast, Maine called The Cherished Home. Frakes is one of the best known tall actors at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm).

Trivia:

Daughter, Elizabeth Francis, born. [30 May 1997]

Marched trombone in Blue Band at Penn State University.

Son, Jameson Ivor, born 20 August 1994.

Educated at Penn State University and Harvard University.

Nickname: “Two-Takes Frakes,” for his efficient filming style on the set of Star Trek: First Contact (1996).

Has a cow-shaped mailbox, and retrieving the mail involves inserting one’s hand into the cow’s hindquarters. Frakes recorded trombone tracks for Phish’s “Hoist” album. Unforunately, his horn parts didn’t come out all that well – certainly not as well as the horn parts recorded by the Tower of Power horn section. As sort of a consolation prize, a brief interlude on the album is called Riker’s Mailbox.

Is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.

Ellen J. Hornstein is his personal assistant/story editor for his production company, Goepp Circle Productions.

Shares a birthday with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

Son-in-law of actor Ivor Francis.

He and Leonard Nimoy have both directed two Star Trek movies. In both cases, one of the films was a time travel story. In addition, both he and Nimoy were best known as the first officer of the USS Enterprise from their respective Star Trek series/movies.

In some of the first season episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), his character, 1st officer William Riker, was called “Bill”. In the seasons that followed, he was generally referred to as either Will or “Number One”.

His trademark beard was acquired during the filming of “North and South, Book II” (1986). It was patterned after a style popular during the American Civil War. He liked it so much, he continued to wear it after he returned to “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) for its second season.

Has appeared in episodes of four different series with Marina Sirtis: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Gargoyles” (1994), “Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles” (1996) and “Enterprise” (2001).

Is the only ‘Star Trek’ regular to appear in four different ‘Star Trek’ series: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and “Enterprise” (2001). As well as narrate the 1996 “Star Trek: TNG” audio-book “Crossover”, featuring Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Captain Scott (James Doohan), and Admiral McCoy (DeForest Kelley).

Along with Marina Sirtis, Armin Shimerman, John de Lancie, Michael Ansara and Richard Poe, he is one of six actors to play the same character on three different ‘Star Trek’ series. He played Commander William T. Riker in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and “Enterprise” (2001). He also played the transporter double of this character, Lieutenant W. Thomas Riker, in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993).

Along with Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Colm Meaney and Jeffrey Combs, he is one of only six actors to appear in the finales of two different “Star Trek” series (“Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) and “Enterprise” (2001)).

Has appeared with Kate Mulgrew in four different productions: Camp Nowhere (1994), “Gargoyles” (1994), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Godmother of his son Jameson is Elizabeth Berman (wife of Rick Berman-Star Trek producer/writer/creator)

Is the only actor who has appeared on “Star Trek” to share scenes with regulars from all five series (“Star Trek” (1966), “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and “Enterprise” (2001)): James Doohan in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) episode “Relics”, the entire cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) in every episode of the series, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Terry Farrell and Colm Meaney in the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) episode “Defiant”, Armin Shimerman in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) episodes “Haven”, “The Last Outpost” and “Firstborn”, Kate Mulgrew and Tim Russ in the “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) episode “Death Wish” and the entire cast of “Enterprise” (2001) in the series finale “These Are the Voyages…”.

Along with Tim Russ, he is one of only two actors who have appeared in “Star Trek” to share scenes with four of the five captains: Patrick Stewart in every episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), Avery Brooks in the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) episode “Defiant”, Kate Mulgrew in the “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) episode “Death Wish” and Scott Bakula in the “Enterprise” (2001) finale “These Are the Voyages…”.

He has played the same character, Commander William T. Riker, in four different series: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995), “Enterprise” (2001) and “Family Guy” (1999).

When preparing for his audition for the role of Commander William T. Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he had to watch videotapes from the original episodes because he knew nothing about the original Star Trek series.

Was interviewed and cast for Cdr. Riker personally by Gene Roddenberry. He told Frakes that he saw a certain, authoritative “glint” in his eye for that part which reminded him of his self, years ago, while in the LAPD and Air Force.

Shares first and last name with mid-20th Century aviator and stunt man Jonathan Frakes.

Along with Marc Alaimo, Rosalind Chao, Jeffrey Combs, John de Lancie, Michael Dorn and Tim Russ, he is one of only seven actors to appear in ten different seasons of “Star Trek”: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) Seasons One through Seven, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) Season Three, “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) Season Two and “Enterprise” (2001) Season Four.

Has written the sci-fi-book “The Abductors: Conspiracy” along with Dean Wesley Smith.

Calls Alfre Woodard his “godmother”. The two became friends as young actors in the 1970’s.

And here we go!

On Day Two of our trip to ComicCon, we were joined by The Papa. He’s not always up for such craziness, so Friday was spent mostly in the Exhibit Hall, walking back and forth (and back and forth), looking at all there is to look at. And let me tell you, there is a lot to look at. Next year I need to attempt to get pictures of the exhibit hall, but from above.

Saw John Barrowman, signing autographs, as well as Leonard Nimoy and Kevin Sorbo. Also spotted the guy who played Harry Kim on Star Trek Voyager—Garrett Wang—wandering about the hall.

John Barrowman

Kevin Sorbo

Day Three started out well, with a trip to the Exhibit Hall that resulted in a much sought-after (by me) Dark Horse comics bag, another glimpse of John Barrowman and Leonard Nimoy, a new glimpse of Brent Spiner, and some sketches and merch from some neat webcomic writers. (Which I will scan in and post, hopefully, at a later date.)

Brent Spiner and Leonard Nimoy

We headed to Ballroom 20 to stake our claim on seats for the afternoon’s Fringe and True Blood panels, which narrowly won over standing in line once again for Hall H for the chance to see the Iron Man 2 panel, since the line was shorter.

We got into the ballroom and found seats, with the help of a really nice usher/volunteer, in the middle of the Family Guy panel. We got to see some clips from the upcoming special spoof of the Empire Strikes Back, which looks hilarious.

The cast members talked about what it was like to work together; pretty good it seems, since at one point Seth Green had a “makeout session” with Mila Kunis and Alex Borstein behind the table. They also answered some questions from the crowd. Many of the questioners tried to impress Seth McFarlane with their impressions of his voices and he was having none of it. It was awkward to watch.

Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Alex Borstein, ? and Seth McFarlane

(More Family Guy pics.)

Following that was the panel for the new FG spin-off, The Cleveland Show.

I wasn’t impressed.

The Futurama panel was about to start when The Boyf realized he no longer had the keys to the car.

Fast forward a few hours and two very burnt individuals went and got some food, and headed back to the Con to salvage the night.

And boy, are we glad we did.

We went and stood in line (notice a theme?) for the Torchwood/Dr. Who screening (Day Five of Children of Earth and The Planet of the Dead). The line happened to be right outside a sort of greenroom, so while we were standing there, we got glimpses of the new cast of The CW’s Vampire Diaries, including Ian Somerhalder; the gang from MythBusters; the guy who plays Henry on Eureka—Joe Morton; and the Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness themselves.

I hadn’t know that David Tennant and Barrowman were going to be at the screening, so even though we’d planned to go to it, I was kind of bummed that I’d miss out on the good stuff by not attending their panels on Sunday. But no, they were there.

And it was gooooood.

(Via, via since I didn’t get my own pic. *sobs*)

Yes, it really happened. I was there. I saw it with my own two eyes.

Oh and Russell Davies was there too.

(I shake my fist at the blur!)

Russell Davies, John Barrowman, David Tennant

The two actors spoke a little, and gave intros for the shows were were about to watch. Tennant kept talking about how he was going to take the word “awesome” back to Scotland with him. And how funny it was how we Americans say the word “premiere.” He was adorable.

Barrowman was as loud and wonderful as I expected him to be. After Tennant kissed him, he made a dramatic swoon that lasted minutes.

Watching the last episode of the third series of Torchwood was heart-breaking. (The Boyf and I’d watched the first two days before leaving on vacation, and hadn’t yet caught up, but we watched the last day anyway, just because the opportunity presented itself. We have yet to watch Day Three or Four. I am working up to it.) And the Doctor was great, as usual. But it was a bit bittersweet; Tennant is only the Doctor for two more “specials” and then it’s goodbye. At the very end of the show, a character turns to the Doctor and says, “They will knock four times.” Right after, someone in the audience yelled out “Don’t answer it!” and the rest of the audience cheered.

Watching these shows in a room full of fans as big as we were was quite the experience. People were laughing and shouting and clapping and gasping. It was awesome.

(More Dr. Who/Torchwood pics)

In all, our second year at SDCC was a success. And we can’t wait to go back next year. With our four day passes, new camera, and keys sewn into our underwears.

<3

Yes, I do admit when growing up I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation after school at 5:00pm. Most definitely I had and still have a great deal of respect for the actor Brent Spiner (@BrentSpiner), who played the role of Commander Data (the ingenious android with no emotions) .

As I was scanning through TweetDeck scanning for potential story ideas, there was something quite different about Spiner’s way of tweeting, that I thought warranted further investigation. To be honest, I thought that Brent Spiner was losing it a bit from his strange tweets (I’ll post underneath), but than I came to realize he was writing short 140 character bursts of prose from tweet to tweet. So naturally I scanned at all his recent tweets in succession and found that he had done something very similar to the news reel serials of the early 20th century newspaper press. The only difference is that his “serials” are real-time and have the benefit of immediate feedback from the fans. I liked the fact that when Brent Spiner was done his story/soliloquy, he proceeded to address some of his fans @reply comments.

Brent has created a fictional twitter world which he calls “Spinerworld” where he basically tells stories of a place filled with millions of Spiners (Yes, I know). The cool thing is that his followers can cut in, and respond to story bits, and Brent might make changes to the stories based on what fans say! That is a very interesting development for the writer/reader interaction dynamic (very 21st century).

I think this is an ingenious way of storytelling, and very difficult too. Think about it this way, “Brent Spiner is telling a bedtime story not to his kids, but to over 600,000 people and it’s all real-time with the opportunity to question him/cut him off!” To tell a story in 140 character chapters is extremely difficult, as anyone who’s done English papers know that it’s always easier to write more, than be short and  concise. The one thing that is very apparent is Brent’s intelligence, odd atmosphere/dialogue, and strangely funny tweets. He’s definitely earned his large Twitter following for more than just his “name”.

Sample of Brent’s Spiner’s Fictional Tweets:

1. (Phone rings) “Hello?” ” Mr. Spiner?” “Yes, it is.” “Mr. Spiner, this is Mr. Spiner with Visa. I’m afraid you’ve gone over your limit.”12:20 PM Jul 8th from web
2. “What?…” “We have 25 large charges on your account from yesterday. We’re going to have to freeze your account until we receive payment.12:23 PM Jul 8th from web
3. Damn that @therealbrent. I’m so stressed. Think I’ll watch “ID4″. I love when I give that big speech, “This is our Independence Day!”12:33 PM Jul 8th from web
4. RT @goldbedr@BrentSpiner I am so terribly, terribly confused at what you are doing–How do you think I feel!!12:44 PM Jul 8th from web
5. RT @ paradoxphoenix If everyone you physically encounter is a Spiner, how come everyone who tweets you is not a Spiner? –WE ARE!!!!!12:53 PM Jul 8th from web
6. RT @therealbrent@Brentspiner>Don’t you understand? It’s time to change your ways. Be kinder.–Stop this! But, pay my credit card bill first.2:04 PM Jul 8th from web
7. I’ve got to break this mirror! (Throws chair) OMG! It bounced off!! (Pounding mirror with fists) Break, damn you!!…ow, I hurt my hands.2:25 PM Jul 8th from web
8. Spiner (that’s me) lies on the floor of his room sobbing. A broken shell of a man. Wait…I’m not finished yet! I’ll get you, Spinerrrr!!!!!2:38 PM Jul 8th from web
9. One last thing before I go out again. I must block him. I cannot have him knowing what I’m doing. Goodbye poser. Suck on this!about 21 hours ago from web
10. RT @smellsorange You are weird.–Well, how would you feel if you were stuck in a mirror world!!!?? Sorry, I’d best go before I cry again.about 21 hours ago from web
11. Spent the night walking. Very lonely. Nothing but Spiners everywhere I looked. Some were nice, others didn’t seem to recognize me.about 2 hours ago from web
12. Went to Spiner Hardware and picked up a few sledge hammers. Got some really big Spiners to come over here. ST fans. Promised them autographsabout 2 hours ago from web
13. They smashed the sledgehammers against the mirror but nothing happened. Tried same with their heads. Nothing. Hopeless.about 1 hour ago from web
14. Before they left I made good on my promise. Gave them all autographs. They were disappointed. Said it looked just like theirs.about 1 hour ago from web
15. He’s back. Prowling around. “What do you want? Just let me out of here and it’s you’re’s.” “That’s should be yours. And it’s already mine.”about 1 hour ago from web
16. I’m losing my grip. Even my grammar is suffering. Now he’s rifling thorough my medicine chest. “No, take what you want, but please, leav …about 1 hour ago from web
17. I’m finished. Stuck in a world with millions of Spiners. Could be worse. I could be here with millions of that awful couple from “The Hills”about 1 hour ago from web
18. RT @naienko: in that case, I recommend suicide.-Yes, perhaps your…you’re right. Maybe he would cease to be as well. Goodbye…Wait!!43 minutes ago from web
19. One last chance. I’m going to try something. Those of you who announce unfollowing me, if this doesn’t work, I’ll save you the trouble.22 minutes ago from web
20. Need help for this one. I’ll be back. Most of the Spiners in Spinerworld are friendly. Oh and @trentvenegas, homey, you’re blocked. Im off.7 minutes ago from web

P.S. I did say this was a sample, so if you back check his tweets, there’s a lot more “serial tweets” on Spinerworld.

~ Jason

http://www.twitter.com/Chodidees

http://www.myspace.com/chodidee

http://www.youtube.com/Chodidee

One of my favorite internet cartoons is Garfield Minus Garfield, which you had to have heard of by now. If you somehow havent’, and if the title doesn’t explain itself, then…

“Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quite American suburb.” That’s how the site describes him, and it’s a brilliant study, or alternate take on a beloved classic.

I’m not against the idea of remixes or mash ups or anything like that in theory. Sometimes they’re good. Sometimes they’re brilliant. Sometimes they’re smelly fountains of crap. But I feel that sometimes – and the keyword here is obviously sometimes – they can be an amazingly interesting new form of exploring art. A new art of their own.

Recently I discovered the works of two guys named Jan Van den Hemel and Andrew Hussie who’ve done some work re-editing and creating something new out of old episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. By basically taking bits of pieces from throughout the show and remixing them into something new, they’ve created a kind of hilarious and filthy new thing. It’s the Sealab 2021 or The Grey Album treatment and it’s… just perfect. The episodes are short, most just over a minute but none longer than four minutes, and there’s about 25 or so of them now. If you watch them all, there’s kind of a contuing story, when the edit series cares about it, but usually, it doesn’t. Here’s just a few of my favorites to brighten your day, starting with episode 9, “A Fistful Of Explosions.”

And then episode 10, “It’s Not Lupus.”

And episode 12, “Bridge Buffoonery.”

And last, but not least, of what I’d like to share with you, episode 15, “That Jean-Luc Picard.” I hope you enjoy and if you need more of a chuckle, I’d check the edits’ creator’s websites or their youtube page for more of the videos.

StLouis_Jobs on Twitter

Most of those whom I “Follow” on Twitter include far-flung friends, whom I don’t get to see or talk to as often as I’d like. Twitter is the most quick and casual of social media, and for me this is a great way to use it. It’s fun to reconnect a few times a day reading their “Tweets” to all their followers. Sometimes I read & laugh & wish I had more time to spend with them in person; sometimes I respond (using @theirTwittername in my reply, which sends a message to all my followers, including that person); sometimes I even forward their Tweet to others (using RT, i.e., Re-Tweet in my reply.)

Twitter-press bird

Generally just “being out there” on any social media doesn’t get you noticed. You have to work it, be active in some strategic way to be visible to the readers you want to attract (and of course different audiences respond to different bait.) Once you’re active, though, and have started attracting the attention of some of your hoped-for audience, you will also begin to get Followers you hadn’t known were out there. That was the case today when I got a Follow from StLouis_Jobs.

I got the notice in my Yahoo! e-mail, went to my Twitter account and clicked on StLouis_Jobs to check out that account’s Tweet Stream. In the first 10 or so jobs listed there, I found both entry level and high level listings. So I returned the Follow. I can always Unfollow at any time.

If you’re not on Twitter, you may not know this, but you can return the Follow (so now you both see each other’s Tweets), you can Block that Follow (sometimes you will get adult sites with live cams, etc., sent out by Spam bots, and I just block those), or you can do nothing, which lets the other follow you and keeps you free from their Tweets. The follows you accept, block or ignore will depend on what you want to get from your Twitter account, and you can define that (and refine that) on a daily basis.

So, I hope this helps get some of you on Twitter if you’re not yet on it, if only to be knowledgeable when it comes up in conversation. Nothing makes someone look more like a workforce dinosaur or a workforce newbie who’s missing the train than saying, “Duh, I don’t know a thing ’bout Twitter … .”  Techno-savvy is a job requirement today. Being able to talk knowledgeably about these things is also good for your self-esteem, which is critical when you’re in job search mode. Every contact, every conversation is a potential link to the next job lead. Don’t waste a single one of them telling anyone, even a good friend, how dumb and out of it you are when it comes to technology!

See you on Twitter!

PS  In addition to following far-flung friends, I also follow a few local people I have never met, but whose lifestyles inspire or intrigue me. They have become pen-pals of a new age technology over the past several months.

Senator Claire McCaskill

I also follow my Senator, Claire McCaskill, and a few others who are important to my world. It is definitely Senator McCaskill, personally, sending the Tweets from her account. No doubt about it. Some public figures don’t send their own, but she does, including pix from the Senate floor, etc. I sent her a picture taken of her speaking at UMSL last week (shown here), and it went out from me about an hour after she finished over Twitter using TwitPic, a mini-application for sending photos over Twitter. My tweet said, “Senator Claire McCaskill at UMSL today; taken w/ Blackberry by the Marketing Manager at Lawrence Group.” Talk about news traveling fast, plus I got our company name in front of the Senator, whose vote on certain issues affects our company, directly!

Brent Spiner, 2008

I also follow Brent Spiner, aka Commander Data from Star Trek: TNG. He tweets infrequently, but you can tweet him directly with an @BrentSpiner message.

Most recently he was tweeting about American Idol. Apparently he is a fan.

His “update” is usually turned off, meaning he won’t be sending you a message back, but regardless: HOW COOL IS THAT????

Click here for season one.
Space – the final frontier. These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise. It’s continuing mission: to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilization; to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Episode 01: The Child
Hm, for a season opener lame, but for a simple, alone standing episode it was good in some kind. I didn’t find it very believable that Deanna (Marina Sirtis) was so lovely to her son, despite she had the knowledge, that something bad can happen. It seems like she was brainwashed by her son. But the scene where she decided to have the baby and the interactions with Riker (Jonathan Frakes) were strong. On the other hand the sub story with the viruses was dumb. It wasn’t interesting, it wasn’t thrilling, it was nothing. Just the jokes at the end due to Wesley’s (Wil Wheaton) staying on the ship were hilarious (“And who will tuck him in at night?”). 6,5/10

Episode 02: Where Silence Has Lease
I don’t know… an Episode without a real plot, but with an interesting setup. Didn’t we have an alien who wants to understand human life in the last episode? Now another alien with the same intention? That was really boring. Really bad (special effects) was the face in the universe, in front of the Enterprise. I was about to laugh.
And then Worf (Michael Dorn): He behaves like a hungry dog, ready to fight and kill – where are his manners? Can’t he control himself? For one season we have the Klingon who stands there, does what the captain says and otherwise nothing. Now he wants to hit Riker in an exercise? Oh, come on, what characteristics are that? Same with Pulaski (Diana Muldaur): She is familiar with working with computers, but she has difficulties to see Data (Brent Spiner) as a living thing? What the hell??? And then the finale: WTF was that? Seriously, this was a load of shit. It was absurd. Well, at least a red shirt died. 3/10

Episode 03: Elementary, Dear Data
Another holodeck episode and i quite liked it. But it was interesting seeing the computer generating a fictional character which has the ability to learn and grow. And the authors did the mistake to show Moriarty (Daniel Davis) so not dangerous, because he just wasn’t. So, I was missing a real and worthy villain. The final dialog between Moriarty and Picard (Patrick Stewart) was very nice, but Data as Holmes was tedious after a while. 7/10

Episode 04: The Outrageous Okona
A somehow boring, but amusing episode. I liked Billy Campbell’s character (still waiting for the first season of Once & Again) and who did I see in the transporter room……. Teri Hatcher I didn’t expect her to be in the show. Okay, the main story was boring as hell and didn’t give any dangerous moments for the crew, but the conclusion was funny… somehow. The side plot with Data trying to be a comedian was okay, it didn’t blow me away. 6/10

Episode 05: Loud As A Whisper
Naah, boring; wasn’t interesting at all. A peace conference between two races – could be interesting, but wasn’t, because I didn’t see nothing of it. A deaf peace delegate, communicating with a chorus – could be interesting, but why so complicated? And there is so much story behind that concept, but nothing was used. It was just boring. And what is with the end? Even the warriors were not seen anymore after Riva (Howie Seago, he actually is deaf) was sent down.
Blah, just boring. 4/10

Episode 06: The Schizoid Man
Interesting episode. It gives Data another chance to escape the Pinocchio life and the series another episode without a real threat. The beginning is boring, but when the story of Data being “possessed” begins, it becomes more interesting. But there still is the problem of not using everything the story has to offer. And the authors seem to like Data very much; it feels like they use him for the main plot in every fourth episode. It becomes boring :/ 6/10

Episode 07: Unnatural Selection
Another disease for the main plot. Give me more diseases which kills crews of Federation ships, because they all are interesting. NOT. This episode is just plain boring, tells me nothing about the characters, except Doctor Pulaski, who is in the center of all this. But the rest… meh. But I am happy about Chief O’Brien (Colm Meaney) actually speaking in this episode. 3/10

Episode 08: A Matter of Honor
OMG, this was a hell of a funny episode. “If Klingon food is too strong for you, perhaps we could get one of the females to breast-feed you.” – Riker commanding as Captain of a Klingon vessel and then his “Lower your shields. Surrender.” Haha, that was really funny. The officer exchange program was a nice plot to get us Riker closer in a different way; I liked how he acted with the Klingons. Though the story on the Enterprise was boring. 7/10

Episode 09: The Measure of a Man
I don’t know about this episode. It was an interesting story about proving that Data is not just an android. But why Data again? It is the third episode in this season with him in the center. It gets boring. And maybe it would be better to tell such stories in a period of more than one episode. In here it begins and it ends. And I don’t like the Federation officers. They seem so cruel and bossy, and I don’t like such people – source for lame characters. 6/10

Episode 10: The Dauphin
Well well well, what was that…? Wesley’s own little love story – with a little help from his friends. Now I can understand why his character is so much hated by the fans, but actually he story was unintentionally funny. I just could not believe that an alien life form and Wesley, two total different persons, find each other’s love in a matter of minutes – muhaha. At least the episode was not completely crap (I think with this one I will stand against all the other TNG fans, who hate all Wesley episodes), just totally useless. 4/10

Episode 11: Contagion
What? The Romulans can’t fire, when they are cloaked? Didn’t we learn nothing from the sixth movie? Okay, The Undiscovered Land was produced after this episode, so, what the hell with this little plot hole (lol). By the way: I don’t know why the series has such ups and downs. There we have total crap episodes, one episode later we have a good one. This is one of them. Interesting story, interesting conflict (just the Romulan bride was a bit laughable – she seemed so nice, but she wanted to destroy the Enterprise) and the interesting fact that the Enterprise can shut down and function again in a matter of seconds (when my laptop would start so fast…), which was funny.
Finally an episode I liked again. 7,5/10

Episode 12: The Royale
Oh my god, what was that? Completely boring, not a bit of a threat for the crew, not a bit of a conclusion and a story, which had much in it, but used nothing. And I hate, that nobody knows something about the past of the 20th or 21st century. Why don’t they know, that elevators are NOT turbo lifts? To bring humor into the story? Meh, what the hell. And why don’t they know anything about the NASA and its history?
This episode is total bullshit, because it brings absolutely nothing. Obviously we have to blame that to the writers strike. I am waiting for more dumb episodes. 2/10

Episode 13: Time Squared
An interesting episode with an interesting story and a shitty ending. Well, the authors of TNG have the problem to find a proper end for their stories. This is another one with no conclusion in it. I love time travel stories (and I knew from the beginning the shuttle came from the future, so it was not really a shocker, when the crew learned it) ad the first half was really interesting, but the second one just sucked. Such a shame, because maybe this was the interesting episode so far this season – until minute 25 or so. Picard’s actions against himself put the lid on the shitty second half, because I didn’t like his ways. 6,5/10

Episode 14: The Icarus Factor
Well, another boring episode. No danger for the crew, just the arrival of Riker’s father, which wasn’t interesting at all and him being offered a position as captain. It was clear that he will stay on the Enterprise, so nothing was surprising.
The rest was boring, nothing more to say, episode already forgotten. 3/10

Episode 15: Pen Pals
One boring episode after another, though this one was more interesting than the last one. I think, Data’s storyline with the little child on the troubled planet should bring some emotionality into his character and into the actions of Picard, but it didn’t work for me. And Wesley commanding a science team? I don’t know why nobody like his character (he isn’t that bad), but he was boring here. The ending was shitty again, because it went too fast again. 4/10

Episode 16: Q Who
So, this is probably the most important episode so far: the introduction of the Borg, the return of Q (John de Lancie) and the first sign of an on-going story in The Next Generation. But the episode wasn’t really good. There are too much secrets about the Borg and Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) being a counselor for Picard on this one was… I don’t know, kind of lame. Guinan knew a lot, but still Picard knows almost nothing about the Borg. Maybe it would be better when nobody knew about them in the first place.
The new ensign looks sexy, while I write this I am watching the next episode and I see her again, so let’s hope she is more often in the story. The Enterprise needs some sexy women. 7,5/10

Episode 17: Samaritan Snare
Hm, I don’t know about this one. Two totally separate storylines (I don’t remember if this was the case in one of the earlier episodes), one boring than the other. I don’t care about Wesley getting into the academy, I don’t care about Picard’s heart failure (or whatever). And the story of the dumb, but strong, but totally dumb aliens was just… boring.
At least we learned something about Picard’s past, other than that you can forget that episode. 4,5/10

Episode 18: Up The Long Ladder
The episode started so great and ended really boring. The farmers with their animals, especially the one guy with his bossy daughter, were really funny and had a lot of potential to bring some real funny moments into the series, but in the second half, some moral filled shit story about cloning had to come. And the conclusion wasn’t better.
So: first half was great, second half was shit (like always), I give 6/10.

Episode 19: Manhunt
Hm, let’s see: Lwaxana (Majel Barrett) back on the ship, in a sexual life stage, wants to “have” Picard. Always a funny storyline, because Deanna’s mother is a source for humorous scenes, and the first half was really good, but the second half not so. Again an episode without any danger for the Enterprise and the crew and that is always boring. So, we have an interesting character in a boring suit – forgettable after a short while. 4,5/10

Episode 20: The Emissary
“You’re not even looking at me.” – “I am familiar with your appearance.” The funniest line in this episode. So, Worf had a relationship once, very interesting and finally a character story for him. The story about the Klingons frozen for one century and thinking they are still at war wasn’t really new to me, but interesting. It would be a great plot, when the authors didn’t use it for just one single episode in just one short scene. Well, at least we saw Worf command for a few minutes.
It was a good episode, which is rare in this season. By the way: Women, who are half Klingon and half human can be really sexy… 7/10

Episode 21: Peak Performance
Yeah, the writers strike is a total pain in the ass. This was another lame episode, this time with an interesting story. A battle simulation (the first one in Federation history? I can’t believe it) and the stupid Ferengi had to stop it in their own ways. By the way: The Ferengi were in the neighborhood coincidentally? Worf could manipulate their computers? Why didn’t he do that more often in the past? And why is Riker always smiling, when Wesley has an idea or did something “good”?
Well, at least the episode was not completely crap. 4,5/10

Episode 22: Shades of Gray
So, what do we learn from this episode? Riker had the hottest women in the galaxy, he is a real charmer, almost a sexist of some sort. And the Trek fans are somehow… wrong. This was the baddest episode in TNG history? Well, in two season, I saw at least one episode, which was more worst. Nevertheless, this episode was just boring. Even the micro infection (or whatever) was boring and the little clip show brought nothing except old pictures. Damn writers strike.
For a season finale absolutely shitty (I am waiting for next season’s cliffhanger), lame story, but not the worst TNG episode ever. Because it actually had a story and the “flashbacks” were not fully random. 3/10

The season average is 5,11 and fell down in compare to the first season. Wouldn’t I be in a middle of a long-year Star Trek marathon (watching them all in chronological order), I would have stopped after this season. But I know it is getting better, so I hope the third season smashes it. I already am watching the third season, so I hope it doesn’t take too much time to get it in here.

Having just watched this movie, the reasons for why I like it are still fresh in my memory. Just so you know, if I had to scale my Star Trek nerdiness between 1 (not at all a fan) and 10 (hyper-fan (i.e. Brent Spiner stalker level)) I would have to say I’m about a 7. I watched mostly Next Generation and Voyager and the newer movies. However, I’ve never watched the older movies and only some of the original show. Knowing all that, Star Trek deserves an F+ because:

• The action that is there is pretty satisfying to watch. The action is not crazy overcomplicated (unlike Transformers, which should be its own post) and is something very different than normal.
• Its pretty funny. For those that can recognize some of the main sayings of the original cast, the movie will be even funnier. Karl Urban and Simon Pegg are awesome.
• It brought Star Trek back to the mainstream. Honestly the last Star Trek movie was probably an F- and the last show Star Trek Enterprise I watched 1 episode and was completely apathetic towards. To completely revive the Star Trek name is a pretty big feat. Good work Mr. Abrams, good work.

All in all, Star Trek is a pretty great summer-ish popcorn action flick. It’s not going to win any Academy Awards but who cares. I watched in IMAX and while I don’t know if the experience was significantly better I can say I had a very good time watching it that way. Also, I don’t think this movie should just be for the guys out there, so ladies give this movie a shot, it only looks nerdy. Please forgive my live-out-loud nerd moment: Live long and prosper!

Though I’m certainly a huge nerd for being a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I feel like I should offer, as a way of mitigating the damage to my non-existent/already poor reputation, that I’ve never been much of a fan of the other shows in the Trek universe. I do not care at all for the original series (though I did like the recent JJ Abrams reboot) and I am only peripherally aware of the plots and characters of Deep Space Nine and Voyager. A recent attempt to plow through DS9 on DVD was ended after the first season, but I might try out season two sometime in the future when my queue isn’t so clogged.

‘Next Gen’ however really connected to me. Though it has more than its fair share of all the things nonfans don’t like about Star Trek (silly looking sets, almost all aliens are humanoid, constant saving of the day by spouting a bunch of technobabble usually relating to the main deflector dish) it also has a lot to recommend it. There’s stately Patrick Stewart bringing gravitas to the role of captain, there’s a continuity to the storytelling which allows for long story arcs (who is the next rightful leader of the Klingons is a story that stretches over multiple seasons), and the later seasons feature good production values that make the first three seasons look like crap by comparison.

But the best thing about TNG is Brent Spiner’s Data. Data is the most memorable character on a show filled with memorable characters. His original purpose seems to be as a sort of replacement Spock; Spock’s Vulcan logic taken to the extreme, a being capable only of logic. However what makes Data infinitely fascinating is his desire to be something more than he is. He wants to understand what it is to be human in a way that’s nearly spiritual. Spock always seemed embarrassed over things that made him appear human; Data always thirsted for more. In the first of the films featuring the cast of TNG Data finally implants a chip that gives him emotions. He goes to Ten Forward (the ship’s bar) and drinks some alien brew. He struggles to explain how the drink makes him feel before Guinan says it sounds like he hates it. He enthusiastically agrees that he does hate it and that it’s terrible and then immediately accepts a refill.

Of course it wasn’t groundbreaking for TNG to introduce a non-human character marveling over what an interesting and complex organism is man, science fiction has been doing it for years. Really that is the point of all good science fiction, using elaborate and fantastical metaphors to explore the human condition. Data was a device the show could use to talk about issues like slavery, parentage, attraction, and grief.

Spiner’s portrayal of the character is perfect. He’s unemotional but engaged and curious. He’s a master at the little things that make Data seem almost human. The way he tilts his head jerkily for example, or the way he doesn’t use contractions. The show frequently found ways for him to show his range such as having him play Data’s “brother” Lore, who was programmed with emotions, as well as Data’s human designer Dr. Soong. The films introduced the aforementioned emotions chip which overwhelmed Data temporarily in “Generations” but over which he asserted more control beginning in “First Contact.”

The films didn’t really bring a satisfying conclusion to Data’s story, but then the TNG films didn’t satisfy a lot of things with the exception of “First Contact.” So my fondest memories are of him on the series. The time that Data dyed a grey streak into his hair to counteract the fact that he doesn’t age or the time he downloaded the memories of an entire civilization into his brain, causing him to act out what was basically a very weird one man play, complete with weird masks. Data had a million great moments, and for that he earns entry into the 500 Greatest Things Ever.

Lataa Ohjelma (MP3)

KinoSilmä vaihtaa vaihdetta parin jakson verran ja elokuvasta poiketaan taas vähän television puolelle. Herr KinoSilmä ja Henrik listaavat kymmenen itselleen merkittävää televisiosarjaa. Koska asiaa piisasi kuitenkin kovin paljon, jaettiin listat kahtia ja tässä ensimmäisessä osassa kumpikin kävivät läpi viisi suosikkisarjaansa ja listan toinen puolisko tarjoillaan seuraavassa jaksossa.

Juhan ensimmäiset suosikkisarjat:
Twin Peaks
Riket
Coupling
X-Files
Friends

Henrikin ensimmäiset suosikkisarjat:
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Becker
ER
Stargate: SG-1
Inspector Morse

If so, how do you use it?  To keep up with your spouse, your kid, George Clooney, the stock market?

Commander Data

I set up my account a year ago and never used it till last week, actually. I could have “followed” any number of business writers or entertainers also on Twitter (e.g., I could have been following Brent Spiner all this time—you know, the actor who is best known for playing Commander Data on StarTrek: The Next Generation); also, a feature on Twitter is that if you don’t want to get the tweets (updates), you can turn the “follow” on/off at any time. It’s totally in your control.

Right now I’m following Lewis Howes (Bio: Author of LinkedWorking : LinkedIn Consultant and World Record Holder: Most Receiving Yds in a single football game. Founder of the Sports Industry Network), Biz Stone (Bio: Follow the wacky adventures of a Twitter co-founder!), and Kevin Rose (Bio: Founder of social media site digg.com. Random ideas, entrepreneur, climber of rocks, video blogger, & tea drinker.)

I don’t get the updates on my cell phone as many people do (that would drive me NUTS.) I get them on-line and check them once a day while I decompress after work.

There are all KINDS of people and publications for EVERY interest that you can “follow,” and then change when you’ve had enough of the type of tweets from a particular account. There are some pretty mundane tweets sent out, but everyone has to start somewhere. I think the value is to figure out how to use the various media to “build” your brand or your message on multiple communications platforms.

If you are having some “down time” right now with your employment situation, it’s a great time to expand on your technical skills. The home page for an account on Twitter is really, really, REALLY simple.

If you don’t want to use Twitter, or don’t have any idea how you would use it, it’s still FREE to set up an account.

The experience of doing that works your brain and gives you techno-cred, too, which is helpful in any career.

After you get the hang of it, put your Twitter username in your e-mail signature.

Image of Brent Spiner/Commander Data from zdnet.com
Image of T-shirt from lushshirts.co.uk