Happy Birthday Rembrant van Rijn!

Today is St. Swithins Day (don't ask).

And in 1997, that pathetic little psycho Andrew Cunanan shot Versace.

Tonight is Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which Tom Shales didn't like much in the Washington Post today. I'll have to say, the fashion one is already on my nerves.

Bravo did finally put Boy Meets Boy on the schedule: 9:00 PM eastern on July 29th. Now that one looks more fun.

Another Do not gloat... Do not gloat... Do not gloat... Well, maybe a little gloating.

Last week's Amazing Race was a real nail-biter, but Reichen and Chip managed to squeak ahead of the screeching women. I like Reichen, but Chip seems kinda anal and a bit of a bitch. I was nevertheless saddened to hear that they broke up sometime after the Race. Their hug when they managed to stay in the race was sweet. I've noticed that they haven't once kissed on screen and wondered if CBS was squeamish about that. Certainly the producers like to plaster "MARRIED" under their names on screen every chance they get, even though of course in the US they can't really be married. The gay couple from the first race ("Team Guido") were on my last cruise and gave an entertaining talk about what the Race was like. They said that at the beginning the producers told them not to display any affection, but as the show went on they loosened up.

(Though I must say that the byline "VIRGINS" under Millie and Chuck, the 12-year date-a-thoners always elicts a snicker. What is she thinking?)

And though they are (supposedly) not gay, I still like the Riker Twins the best.

Call me a geek (if you read this blog with any regularity, I'm sure you have already) but this kinda stuff just fascinates me. I just hope both the Mars Rovers make it to the Red Planet okay.

Ahh, the fingerpointing. And up till about a year ago, I still had some respect for Colin Powell, but now he just mouths the party line.

Though his fascist sellout FCC Commissioner son really scares me.

Though not a fan of pirate movies, I am a big fan of Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp since the days of 21 Jump Street. So I guess I'm gonna have to see this... But only after I go see this.

Yeah, Britney, whatever. Get over it. She neglects to mention the nature of the 'betrayal' that led Justin to make SUCH an angry video! Maybe they were fighting over Wade? There have been rumors. Hell, he's hotter than either of them.

Another Friday Five:

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it?

The first one that comes to mind is Ryan Schmidt. That was like 3rd or 4th grade

2. Are you still in touch with this person?

My goodness no.

3. Do you have a current close friend?

Not really a close friend. I guess Vince.

4. How did you become friends with this person?

Oh, I don't think I can say.

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why?

Dave Dixon. We were pretty much best friends, though it was sort of an odd relationship. And we had an unfortunate drift apart when he got a possessive girlfriend.

My daily trip to work. (Why I decided to do this I have no idea).

Current ipod listening (all downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store...)

Buggles: Video Killed the Radio Star (The first video played on MTV)
Bangles: Walk Like an Egyptian
Berlin: Sex, I'm A�
Big Country: In a Big Country
Alphaville: Forever Young
Billy Joel: We Didn't Start the Fire
Culture Club: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? Every time I see their videos I think about Boy George and Jon Moss... you know. Giggle.

Lego� and Social Theory. Hmm.

Another Friday Five:

1. What were your favorite childhood stories?

Maybe it's my poor memory of my younger childhood, but I don't really remember much about childhood stories. I don't remember my parents ever reading to me or anything like that. I do remember The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back... I also vaguely remember some stories from watching Captain Kangaroo (I know I'm dating myself). There was the steamshovel one, and there was one about a duck on a boat with eyes in the Yangtze River that for some reason I found very sad and moving... even thinking of it now triggers some weird emotional response... OMG, I found it with Google. It's called The Story About Ping!

I do remember when I was older (like 10-11) my mother subscribed to a sort of youth book club for me and every month I'd get a new book. Most were pretty fun. I distinctly remember one called The Snowstorm. Another 'young adult' book I loved was Wrinkle in Time.

2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children?

No children!

3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?

Hmm, not really.

4. How old were you when you first learned to read?

Don't know; pretty young I think.

5. Do you remember the first 'grown-up' book you read? How old were you?

Not really. I do remember being home sick from school one day when I was maybe twelve, and my mother brought home a book called The Zero Stone, by Andre Norton. I think she picked it pretty much at random from the young adult section, but I loved that book (I've probably read it a dozen times; I even bought the old hardcover library version on Ebay just to have it), and it opened me up to the wonderful world of sci-fi.

Sad sigh. The scrumptious Andy Roddick lost today at Wimbledon.

Ewwww! (but in a cool way)

Ahh, cool. A solar system like our own...

Oooh! More giant squid news

Goodbye Kate Hepburn. and thank you. And thank providence for Kate Mulgrew, who brought us "Captain Kathryn Janeway" (just typing it makes me smile!) and the reincarnation of Miss Hepburn on a starship!

Hmmmmm.... gymnasts....

"I don't think he's heard about second breakfast, Pippin."

I think of this great line from Lord of the Rings every time I go out to get my little protein-booster "second breakfast" (eggs and some bacon, yum) around 9 on weekdays, since now they say that 5 small meals are better than three bigger ones, and carbs can make you fat. And of course there is 'good fat' and 'bad fat' Sheesh, what next?

Friday Five:

1. How are you planning to spend the summer [winter]?

Same as the rest of the year, really. Though of course trying to stay cool in the sweatbox that is D.C.

2. What was your first summer job?

This wasn't my first, but it was my first real summer job, right after I graduated from H.S. and went to college. Because I was too timid/depressed/introverted/whatever to go looking for jobs, my mother talked to a neighbor and found me one. It was working at a machine shop in downtown Pittsburgh. This was not the nice clean Pittsburgh of today but the dirty steel-mill 1970's Pittsburgh. I rode the (un-air-conditioned) streetcar every day to this little dive of a place next to a bridge right across the river from the Triangle. And I didn't work in the machine shop, I was one of three guys hired to re-tar the roof of the machine-shop. It was--as you can imagine--hot. I prayed for rain, but then we just did manual labor inside, like shovelling out the metal scrap pits. I think they got a laugh out of the skinny kid (I was 17 and like 140 lbs) struggling down there. I remember taking The Lord of the Rings (in a black paper cover) on the trolley and reading it every day.

3. If you could go anywhere this summer [winter], where would you go?

SAN FRANCISCO. And never come back.

4. What was your worst vacation ever?

Probably when my mother and sister and I (I was still in H.S.) were supposed to go to this tennis camp in Miami hosted by two tennis stars. At the last minute the stars cancelled, but we went anyway. It was pretty much a fiasco. Lesson learned: it is ok to change our plans when circumstances change.

5. What was your best vacation ever?

I've had a few great vacations, Though probably Italy is still #1. Greece was great, and the first time ever I went to San Francisco was pretty wonderful--even though it was actually going to a convention.

Well, if I can't have Orlando Bloom, I'll settle for this for my birthday. ;-)

The word today is... Metrosexual

Oooohhh! Steve Jobs talks to Al Gore! The new G5! New OS X upgrade! I feel... tingly... all over....

Just one more reason I love Jonno. (the post about the Segway, silly). He's the one on the left. He had some other pictures of himself on it earlier but unfortunately took them down.

Seems like Finding Nemo is at least getting people talking about the precarious state of our oceans. This link was a headline at AOL today, right under a story about the movie.

More info can be had at the Ocean Conservancy website.

This kind of thing just boggles my mind. Dark matter, dark energy... we can only detect 1% of the mass in the universe? Obviously we have a ways to go.

Haven't had enough twins? How about the #1 doubles tennis playing twins, the Bryan Twins Mike and Bob.

For those who are interested, I've updated my main webpage (mainly the Journeys section). Ciao.

I'm apparently one of the few people who is actually enjoying the unseasonably cool and wet spring here in the D.C. area. I'm just delighted that the hideous 90�+ temps with high humidity are being put off for awhile. I don't mind a little rain as long as the temp stays in the low 70's... and I've never been a big sun freak.

In lieu of this week's Friday Five (I have a buzz-cut, ok?) I present my results from the Quizilla personality disorder test: (I took it twice, just because...)


avoidant


Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla



borderline


Which Personality Disorder Do You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hmm. It all makes sense now... in a vast, right-wing conspiracy sort of way...

Heh heh.


You're a dragon. You're smart and cunning, and
enjoy taking risks. Your need for independence
is an advantage, but sometimes it alienates you
from others. As far as *good* and *evil*,
you're pretty neutral--but you may have
something of a wicked streak.


What mythical beast are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm such a good little legal music buyer these days. I've spent almost a hundred dollars at the Apple iTunes store. Mostly I'm filling in those 80's video songs I still like hearing (just bought 3 Cyndi Lauper, some U2, the very first song played on MTV, and other stuff), but also filling in random areas. And I've even bought a song off of CD's I already own just to get the album cover scan.

Pretty soon I'm going to need a bigger Apple iPod.

Go ahead, say it. "Kevin, this 'Atherton Twins' thing is out of control."
(But admit it, they are cute...)

You're lucky you missed the whole boyband thing. Justin is just a minor leftover.

So now it's Segway, Segway, Segway!

Forgive me for beating the proverbial dead horse. Anyone who reads this blog knows how I feel about Bush, and that I'm probably a bit less than completely objective about Justin Timberlake. But let's compare how these two approached using this machine. First some comments from the Segway spokesperson, c/o the Washington Post:

Speaking of that infernal scooter, hasn't the Segway Human Transporter been billed as a device from which it is virtually impossible to fall? Well, yes -- but that assumes it is being operating properly. And, as sharp-eyed viewers have noted, Bush was holding a tennis racket in one hand while riding. "You should have both hands on the grips," explains Segway spokeswoman Carla Vallone.

Vallone also suggests that Bush may have had worse transgressions. Based on the gyroscopic device's toppling, Vallone concluded that the Segway "was not in balance mode, which is the mode the user needs to put it in when he steps on it." That means either the Segway was in "power assist mode" (which means that turning the grips make it go up and down, as when climbing a curb, instead of the usual left and right) or, worse, "it could have been turned off."

Now how I postulate these parallel events transpired:

Justin: May be a Tennessee redneck but got straight "A"s in high school, obviously diligent and hard-worker (just getting that bod takes some discipline). Before getting on the thing he no doubt got instructions on how to use it. I've seen him take direction and he seems attentive and respects other people's expertise. Though, being the smart kid I think he is, he may have figured it out on his own, though cautiously.

Bush: Lazy, entitled, arrogant faux cowboy who gets everything handed to him on a platter and is totally out of touch, (so like daddy in that infamous bar code scanner incident) jumps on th thing holdng a tennis racquet, unprepared and ill-equipped to handle anything unexpected. So like he does everything. Including the war.

Hmm. Apple Competitors Rushing Digital Services to Market. It would be great if Apple could get iTunes out before anybody else and just crush them.

Oooh. Kevin and Andrew's thoughts about the filming of Fire Within.

And somewhere on the site it says they are 'practically' identical. Uh, either you are or you aren't. Fraternal and identical twins are totally different animals.

Interesting about their other endeavors and their gymnastics career--and that they actually spent a long time apart and suddenly being together like that was difficult at first.

So, who else watched Varekai on Saturday? Thanks to the magic of TiVo, I watched the aerial straps sequence *ahem* several times. Wow, I almost didn't recognize Kevin and Andrew. They are more cut than before, more muscular... and it's obvious they are shaving or waxing just about everywhere. Anyway, what a great performance! I can't imagine what it's like flying like that on that strap. The way they zoom right for each other then spin away, and the strength they must need to do some of the maneuvers... one basically standing on his hands on top of the other one, suspended in the air with the straps on their wrists...

A few camera shots from the scaffold gives you an idea of what the view from up there must be like, and they swing way out above the audience. I'd like to have a 'twin-cam' view--that would really be breathtaking.

It's almost a pity they wear so much face makeup, you can barely tell they are twins. In case you missed it, it's repeating on Bravo later this month, I think on weekdays. And you can catch repeats of Fire Within too.

All of which brings me back to the whole twin thing. It must just be a little weird. Even in the credits of Fire Within everyone gets their own billing and then it's "Kevin and Andrew." Like they are interchangeable, one unit. In a sense they are, being essentially clones of each other, but they are also two individuals. I have wondered what it must be like, having another 'you.' No one knows for sure which one of you is which, except you and him. Just think how many times that parents have named their twins, then gotten them mixed up as infants.

But anyway, as you get older, I think that inevitably there would be some sort of bond, because you are genetically identical and the fact that no one knows you like your twin. I wonder how I would have dealt with it...

Hahahahaha! Bush manages to fall off the 'foolproof' Segway. Especially amusing since Justin Timberlake was zooming around on one with apparent ease just last week on the MTV Movie Awards. Snicker.

Another Friday Five: (And a good one, IMHO)

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?

I've been lucky in that I've been able to do a lot of things: travel (to Italy, Greece, England, San Francisco, and on cruises are my favorites) to skydive, ride a motorcycle... there are still some places I would like to see though.

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?

Just yesterday my friend Ryan asked me "Can you tell that I have put on as much weight as I have?" Damn, that's right up there with "Do these jeans make my butt look fat?" I hesitated and he said "Be honest." So, I said "You look like you have put on some weight." Truth be told, he wears these really tight shirts and cinches his pants too tight so he has this wiggly roll around the middle and really accentuates it. I said that (more diplomatically, I hope) and added that I wear looser shirts to hide my little handles. Was I wrong?

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?

I'm sure I have, but nothing comes to mind. Oh, sometimes Vince tries to tell me about his sexual exploits and that makes me uncomfortable. Does that count?

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?

I wouldn't mind being an Elf in my own Shadow World. Either that or Star Trek. Put me on DS9 or Voyager with Janeway and Harry Kim!

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?

So many. I wish I could play the piano, to be able to paint/draw, and I wish I could speak several other languages besides English. I'm terrible with languages.

Hah hah hah! D.C. Judge Rejects Suit On Traffic Cameras.

I have had arguments with friends over this. They say that the traffic cameras inject a 'presumption of guilt' and violate the Constitution. I think this judge has it right: it's no different than a parking ticket: you get no points and there is no danger of jail. The defense is that--get this--they were not driving the car at the time of the offense. Well, who was driving the car, a giant rabbit? It is not a Constitutional right to own a car, much less run red lights. I think that owning a car is a responsibility, and you should be responsible for who you let drive it. I say, MORE cameras! I can think of a few places in Arlington I'd like to see them (where I have almost been run down by aggressive commuters blasting through a light, yakking on their cell phones.... grrrrr.)

No comments:

Queer Eye Could either be really funny or just... awful. I'm so much more looking forward to the gay Bachelor.

Last weekend I went to see Finding Nemo wth Vince. It was quite excellent! Ellen Degeneres was great.

Incidentally, I remember buying 'Renderman' software from Pixar back in the 80's that was some of the first 3D rendering software. How far the technology has come, and how nice that there are some cool dudes at Pixar who know how to to work it. Now if they only had somehow managed to work in how few sea turtles there were left in the world because of mankind's hunting and carelessness...

For all you fans of Kevin and Andrew, the Atherton Twins out there (you know who you are), don't forget that Bravo is having a big Cirque week, culminating in the TV premiere of Varekai on June 14th. You know my TiVo is already programmed on 'best' quality!

Hmm. A cleaning battle over Michelangelo's David Seing David is still the closest thing I've ever had to a religious experience.

Another Friday Five:
(how we went from "What kind of TP do you use" to these questions in just a couple weeks, I'll never understand) This one is a toughie.

1. How many times have you truly been in love?

I'm not sure, maybe never. Given that 'love' is just a complicated chemical reaction to various stimuli... I think there were a few times that I thought I was, no time recently. Probably the most intense feelings have been crushes on straight friends, unfortunately.

2. What was/is so great about the person you love(d) the most?

Nothing I could really spell out.

3. What qualities should a significant other have?

Never having had a real significant other, I'm not the right person to ask. I've had an insignificant other...

4. Have you ever broken someone's heart?

I know I've hurt my share of people along the way. Never really out of malice, more out of fear.

5. If there was one thing you could teach people about love, what would it be?

Again, I'm the wrong person to ask. I can write about it pretty well (as my former shrink once pointed out), but when it involves real people, I seem to be lost. As Savage Garden said in To the Moon and Back:

She can't remember a time when she felt needed
If love was red then she was color blind
All her friends they've been tried for treason
And crimes that were never defined
She's saying, "Love is like a barren place,
And reaching out for human faith
Is like a journey I just don't have a map for"

Well I watched the MTV Movie Awards... or, thanks to TiVo, i watched the parts I wanted to. I saw Seann William Scott's gorgeous body in a variety of outfits, Justin looking quite fetching (including when he was trying to master a Segway), and all of the really cute animated vignettes of Seann and Justin as cartoon superheros. And I enjoyed Yoda's and espe-precious-ially Gollum's acceptance speeches (to quote Elijah Wood's easily lip-read reaction: "That was fucking awesome!"). Keanu looked hot, elderly-looking but still cool Harrison Ford was mildly amusing. That was about it. I think I got through it in about 20 minutes.

Yum yum! Justin in Rolling Stone. It would be really tough to beat this picture though...

You are Persephone, from "The Matrix."
Tough cookie, you are, yet there are strains of
sadness and desire that lie beneath you- of
course, you wouldn't want anyone to know.
You're too busy putting up a facade.


What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hmmm...

Well.

Guess I'm not the only one feeling a teeny bit sorry for Martha, and wondering WTH with these other guys.

I feel like I have to say something here about Martha Stewart. Of course I don't know all the facts, but I wouldn't be one bit surprised if she was guilty.

What gets me is that I am sure there are hundreds or even thousands of very wealthy men out there who have done what she did and much more in the arena of insider trading (among other things) and will never be caught or prosecuted. But I think she is being unfairly targeted by a bunch of men, who, consciously or not, resent a woman being as wildy successful as she is, and want to 'bring the bitch down.'

I never much liked Martha Stewart, but today I feel just a little bit sorry for her.

Be sure to watch the MTV Movie Awards Thursday night!
Where else can you see Seann William Scott wearing custom made Justin Timberlake underwear... and Justin contemplating Seann's crotch?

Well, better late than never. Richard Chamberlain finally came out of the closet. Go him! I seem to remember my mother having the hots for him.

Daniel Dae Kim is such a cutie. he was great at Lt. Matheson on the short-lived sci-fi series Crusade and hilarious as Gavin on Angel. Maybe he'll come back as an undead?

This week's Friday Five:

1. What do you most want to be remembered for?

I guess my Shadow World books.

2. What quotation best fits your outlook on life?

Live and let live.

3. What single achievement are you most proud of in the past year?

I dunno about year, but I'm pretty proud of doing that 35 mile bike ride last weekend.

4. What about the past ten years?

I guess we're back to the Shadow World books.

5. If you were asked to give a child a single piece of advice to guide them through life, what would you say?

For some reason, again I think of the Pet Shop Boys song, Being Boring

Oooooo! First Picture of Earth From Mars

I Vow to Thee, My Country

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love:
the love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
that lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
the love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
the love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there�s another country, I�ve heard of long ago,
most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
we may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
and soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
and her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.

(Lyrics by Cecil Spring-Rice)
(Music by Gustav Holst)

How do I love the iTunes Store? Let me count the ways.

I just bought the Carpenters (go ahead, snicker) The Singles 1969-1981. 21 tracks! All hits! (We've Only Just Begun, Top of the World, Rainy Days and Mondays, Close to You, For All We Know) for $9.99, plus a couple of old favorite Carly Simon, U2, Shania, Seal, Sting, and the Moody Blues singles, all for 99� each. They are all downloading to my Mac as I speak (via DSL, natch), and will soon be copied to my iPod via speedy easy firewire. I can also burn CDs of them if I wish. All guilt free.

I really also wanted Dionne Warwick singing Do You Know the way to San Jose, but couldn't get that for some reason. And Apple needs to get that Jive label on board.

But otherwise, wintel users, eat your rotten Kazaaa criminal downloading hearts out!

Why does this come as no shock to me? CNN.com - Poll: Most believe drivers, not roads or cars, are biggest danger

And this Bravo show looks, well, fun. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Hmm, go BRAVO! Must-see TV indeed!

It's funny but I keep thinking about the bike ride Sunday. Maybe I have post-ride depression...

It was weeks ago that Bush, in his shameful grandstanding maneuver, donned a military uniform he had no business wearing (having dodged military service) flew a jet onto the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln (so full of ironies I can't count them) and declared the war over. However, members of the U.S. and British armed forces continue to die.

Today I will remember them, thinking of This Hymn which was a favorite of Diana, Princess of Wales (I wonder what she would have said about this war?), and was also sung at the opening of my favorite movie.

There's a lovely version sung by Charlotte Church at the iTunes store, but I have to say I prefer it sung by all those British Schoolboys in Another Country.

So got up my nerve and did the bike ride today and I'll have to say it was pretty fun. Yes I only did the 35-mile one (Mitch, Vicki and the other serious people did the long one of course) but I thought I did pretty good for a beginner. I hadn't even been on that bike in probably 6 years. The cycling classes definitely helped�in my head I could hear Vicki barking "Posture!" "Breathing!" "Don't lean on the handlebars!" The first third was the best, just cool and misty and lots of the lush rolling green hills of Virginia horse-country... but then it started to rain... blech. The worst was just a .7 mile bit on route 50. There was a lot of traffic, it started to rain hard, and some 'Rolling Thunder' guys (veterans on hogs in town for Memorial Day) roared past me in seemingly endless parade of roaring monster motorcycles. And I almost missed my turn. After that it was just some painful little hills. I definitely liked having 21 speeds.

By the end I was pretty pooped, and my quads were burning pretty good. And now I want a nap.

Well this is interesting... Gay animals come out of the closet

Hahah! I'd love to see them do this in DC. 'Homeless' police give traffic tickets.

This week's, uhhh... Friday Five:

1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?

Um, some Crest kind that is supposed to whiten my teeth,

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?

Err, a premium brand because with the cheap stuff you end up using more anyway. I wish I had a bidet!

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?

Dr Maartens, Timberlands, various athletic shoe brands

4. What brand of soda do you drink?

Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, though not much of either.

5. What brand of gum do you chew?

Don't chew gum much!


And my own personal Friday Five:

1. Do you think George Bush is/should be our duly elected President, despite the fact that Al Gore got the majority of the popular vote? (because of the Electoral College, Bush won more states; states vote in blocks)

2. Does it bother you that the US and Britain apparently haven't found ANY weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

3. Do you think there is really a 'vast, right-wing conspiracy,' as Hillary Rodham Clinton claims?

4. If a presidential election were held today and it was between Hillary Rodham Clinton and George Bush, who would you vote for and why?

5. If Bill Clinton could run again, who would you vote for: him or George Bush, and why?

My answers later.

Just happened to go back and re-read this bio of the Kevin and Andrew, the Atherton twins currently performing the aerial straps in Cirque du Soleil's Varekai. I'm sure it's just my imagination, but the bio seems a little... suggestive.

Religious Studies: How to Create a Golem From the Comfort of Home
Ohh kay.

Last night was the season finale of Enterprise and it sucked only slightly less than normal. Why does it suck? Let me count the ways: (here comes the rant)

1) Captain Archer/Scott Bakula: I know Scott Bakula is a great actor, and from everything I hear he's a nice guy too. But Archer sucks. He's this lip-chewing, agonizing softie. (And Andrew from Buffy may think he's hot but he does nothing for me.) Where's Janeway!?

2) The Vulcans. Why, why, WHY did they decide that the Vulcans have to be these sanctimonious assholes!? The Vulcans supposedly helped the humans get into space, but here the producers have decided that they have to be these jerks who try to thwart us at every turn. Not only that, they are deceitful and hypocritical. All except rebellious little T'pol of course.

3) The rest of the (human) crew. I know they wanted to have more 'human' (i.e., 'flawed') characters because it always drove Rick ("I am not a homophobe, really") Berman crazy that Roddenberry insisted that the humans all be socially and emotionally advanced to the point where no one was really screwed up. But these guys all come off as a bunch of whiners and head cases. Hoshi acts like she is about to cry every 5 mins, Mayweather looks terrified, the weapons dude is some kind of an antisocial bomb freak. Trip is the only cool one, and it looks like he may be about to snap.

4) The whole stupid "Temporal War" thing. WTF!?! Why did they even bring this ridiculous convoluted idea into this? Enough said.

5) This isn't even a major thing with me, except for the way Berman comes off as SO against the idea: still no gay (or even bi) regular (or even semi-regular) character.

The few good things:
1) Doctor Phlox is actually an interesting character.

2) Trip in his underwear, Mayweather with his shirt off. I don't know who greenlighted it, but some equal opportunity gratuitous flesh is ok with me!

3) T'pol. It's pretty bad when the vixen in the catsuit is the gay guy's favorite character (and I liked Seven of Nine too).


And some pet peeves:
1) They got so desperate they had to haul out the Borg. And would someone explain how Phlox managed to cure himself? Is his race able to tolerate some radiation no other race can?

2) Using the same actors over and over again in radically different roles. Did they think no one would notice the actor who played Wayoun in DS9 was the lead Andorian? His voice is so distinctive that I was completely unable to suspend disbelief.

I have a feeling there will be more...

Ugh. I am SO against a baseball stadium in Arlington! So I happily signed the petiton by these people: No Baseball Stadium in Arlington

Of all the Pet Shop Boys songs, I think Being Boring is the most beautiful and poignant, as this guy seems to agree. The video (by Bruce Weber) is gorgeous too, though for me it doesn't convey enough of the melancholy and loss the song really elicits: the hope and fun of the 70's to the sadness of the 90's. For me it is so much a song of my move from the timeless college town of Charlottesville to the big city of DC in 1992. And it still is true for me becaue there is a sense of sadness and loss (though of course PSB meant something bigger: AIDS). Now I'm pretty much over DC. San Francisco is beautiful, and the people friendly, but is it any better than a refuge like Charlottesville? As Picard said in Star Trek: Generations "You know, Counselor... I'm not getting any younger. For some time now, I've been aware that there are fewer days ahead than there are behind..."

Lately I've been listening to a lot of old synth music that I loved back in college in the late 70's, especially Rick Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII (but maybe I liked it then also because of the Masterpiece Theatre series) and Synergy: Sequencer for no good reason except it just seemed cool. I remember cherishing my weekends having the dorm room to meyself (132 Lile; Joe my roomate went home to Culpeper) to use his little stereo to play my vinyls of those and a bunch of classical stuff I got on sale at a store on the Corner. Sigh, I miss those years. I had this great red slipcase of three records of six Haydn symphonies. They were pretty worn out by the end of the year, but I remember when I bought them it was a big investment. I didn't have a lot of cash. I guess I should feel fortunate now, having money to just blow on frivolous stuff on Amazon.

Ah, here we go! How to Report Atheists to the FBI Did you know that Buffy creator Joss Whedon is an atheist!?

Sigh. Tonight is the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I remember watching the pilot... seeing that handsome black-clad guy (David Boreanaz, aka Angel, silly!) step out of the shadows and give Buffy a gift (a cross necklace) and ask her "Are you afraid? I am." I called Vince right then and there and said "This show is GREAT!"

Just experimenting with tables in the blog. Fun, huh? Been awhile since I coded tables.

A fascinating article: Justin Timberlake is a Big Queer. Seriously. It's about how the effeminate, ambiguous boy-bands actually encourage homophobia and stereotyping. And the author references some of the best interviews.

Happy Birthday, Walter Gropius. From the guy they nicknamed Mies in Architecture School.

These statistics give me the chills. How can so many people be so ignorant? But then, apparently Dubyah doesn't even believe in evolution... ironic considering how much he resembles the missing link.

I think I'll go watch Jurassic Park again. Though that begs a question: Where do all the people who saw the movie think dinosaurs came from? They probably think men and T. Rex existed at the same time -- about 6,000 years ago -- despite careful exposition to the contrary in the movie.

Argh.

I read this disturbing (though, sadly not surprising) article in the Washington Post last week.

In case the link no longer works, here's the first couple paragraphs:

Key Ocean Fish Species Ravaged, Study Finds

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 15, 2003; Page A01

Industrial fishing practices have decimated every one of the world's biggest and most economically important species of fish, according to a new and detailed global analysis that challenges current fisheries protection policies.

Fully 90 percent of each of the world's large ocean species, including cod, halibut, tuna, swordfish and marlin, has disappeared from the world's oceans in recent decades, according to the Canadian analysis -- the first to use historical data dating to the beginning of large-scale fishing, in the 1950s... Much of the decline can be attributed to the advent of "longline fishing," perfected by the Japanese, in which fishing lines as long as 60 miles, bearing thousands of hooks, are trailed behind a single boat. On the open ocean, the study found, those catches typically declined tenfold -- from about 10 fish per hundred hooks to just one -- in the first decade of fishing.

Many countries are not even as careful as the US about not trapping other sea life such as dolphins and sea-turtles in nets. Japan is one of the worst offenders for that... and whaling.

Those abuses aside, there is one base cause for most of this planets environmental and food supply problems: there are about 5 billion too many people here. And most of the human race is far too arrogant, short-sighted and egocentric to do anything about it. And don't get me started on the catholic church.

Yet another Friday Five:

1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?

Brita

2. What are your favourite flavor of chips?

Fritos Scoops and onion dip.

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?

Steak (medium rare) and baked potato with butter or sour cream. Yum! Though I only have it about once a month--I know, bad carnivore!

4. How do you have your eggs?

Poached, scrambled, over medium or in an omelette! The incredible, edible egg!

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?

Armando (a friend), pasta, pretty good!

It's always interesting (and a little humbling) to see what people searched to bring them to this blog. Lately the winner has been Charlie Clay from the PBS Manor House series. Well, I guess I can't blame them; he is pretty hot. But so are Kenny and Tristan.

And still popping up are those Riker Twins of Herb Ritts and Amazing Race fame.

Id' LOVE to see this X-men blooper reel! I knew Sir Ian was gay of course, and had heard Alan Cummings was, but a friend just told me that Bryan Singer the director was gay as well. Now, tell me about that guy who played Iceman...

I want a Sony Aibo Dog.

And I thought I was the only one at the post office ask for "Anything but flags!" I have to say, the comic strip Rhymes With Orange has really started to grow on me. It's become a must-read every day, along with Non-sequitur, Boondocks, and Doonesbury.

Recently purchased from the iTunes Store: (sorry PC people, it's for Mac users only, at least for now):

Boston: More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Rock and Roll Band;
New Kids on the Block: Step By Step, Call it What You Want (C+C Music Factory remixes);
The Corrs: Breathless, Dreams;
A-Teens: Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, Lay All Your Love On Me;
Cirque du Soleil: Allegria;
Joe Jackson: Steppin' Out, Real Men.

How's that for eclectic?

This week's Friday Five:

1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?

More-or-less. I try to keep things neat, but I organize in 'piles.' I generally know where things are, but god help anyone else who might want to find something on my desk or at home. You would think that I would be more organized after working in a library so many years (and I found shelving books to be relaxing).

2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?

I have an older Handspring Visor (similar to a palm pilot) but I almost never use it. I have iCal on my Mac, and now it puts a calendar on my iPod which is kind of handy ( since I do take my iPod with me just about everywhere).

3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?

More-or-less ;-)

4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?

My CDs on the big rack are alphabetized (one section for classical and one for popular), a necessity because I have hundreds. I have several piles lying around though because the rack is full and I don't have a central place to put them. My DVD's and videos are all over the place--though just the other day I pulled out 30 videos that I now have DVDs of that I am going to give to my local library. Go me!

5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?

I hate going back and sorting through my bills, and getting everything together for tax time is a drag because I have a small business.

My sister brought up another little X-Men X2 plot oddity that I had actually thought of (and mentioned to Vince) but forgot by the time I was blogging (spoiler warning; sorry I didn't before).

When the plane can't take off and the dam is about to burst, why can't Iceman (boy) freeze the water before it breaks? I thought this, then figured maybe he was still young, had limited range and couldn't completely control his power. (He seemed to be working very hard just to create the ice wall to protect Wolverine earlier on.) What I wondered more about was why did Jean Grey have to leave the plane, and why couldn't she just levitate the darn thing out of harm's way!? That seems WAY easier than parting a huge wall of water. Maybe she was having control issues too, not to mention the whole torn between two lovers thing. Personally, between the two I'd take James Marsden in a flash if he didn't have to wear sunglasses all the time. But of all of them, I'm still saying that Iceman is the cutest. I guess as Datalounge put it, he's my 'twink fantasy' ;-)

Naturally, The Data Lounge agrees with me about X-men.

Oooh! Cute Kenny the Hallboy and Manor House Producer/Director Caroline Ross Pirie in an online discussion about the show, on Washingtom Post online. Kenny is hilarious!

Now I feel a little foolish haven given money to the Nature Conservancy. Here's a quote from the Washington Post expos� if the link no longer works:

"Yet the Conservancy has logged forests, engineered a $64 million deal paving the way for opulent houses on fragile grasslands and drilled for natural gas under the last breeding ground of an endangered bird species..."

Glad I didn't give them much.

Over the weekend I saw X-men: X2, and even though I'm not a big comics fan I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit on several levels (and Vince filled me in on tidbits like Colossus and Phoenix):

1. Ian McKellan was clearly having a great time in his campy role, and I loved his performance.
2. The mutant-gay parallel is played up in an interesting way (see the preview in the link above) "We still love you;" "Have you tried not being a mutant?" (Even Entertainment Weekly picked up on that one).
3. That kid playing Iceman is awfully cute.

But a few things nagged at me:

1. When the evil military dude went to visit Magneto, the earpieces of his glasses looked like they were METAL. Why didn't Ian take him out?
2. Why didn't the X-plane have any defensive capabilities? If it had stealth technology, it sucked.
3. Mystique injected an awful lot of iron into that porker guard; I would think enough to kill him... unless it was concentrated in one area and not in the blood, but then it would have been detected.
Minor points I guess in the world of mutants...

Sigh. I just finished watching (for the umpteenth time) Endgame Pt 1, the first half of the two-part Star Trek: Voyager finale. In some ways I found it flawed (the old time-travel trick; the sudden Chakotay/7 of 9 romance) but in other ways it was a wonderful ending to a show that I enjoyed mainly for the characters. In many ways Janeway (as only Kate Mulgrew could have portrayed her) is my favorite captain. Harry Kim I'll always love, and Tom Paris, Tuvok, even 7 of 9. And in this finale Mulgrew is SO good as the older Janeway; it really is a great showcase for her. And bringing back Alice Krige, the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact was a wonderful bonus.

Deep Space 9 I enjoy for the long plot arcs, the intrigue, the Dominion, and the cool battle scenes, Next Gen I appreciate because it was the first new show (and I still like Wesley Crusher/Wil Wheaton) and the old show because of some really brilliant sci-fi writing.This is one of my faves, some great quotes!

You go, Steve! Apple sells over 1 million songs in the first week

You go, Jonno. At the Whole Foods market Saturday, I made a point of buying a bottle of French wine. (It was also on sale). The whole 'freedom fries' thing makes me sick.

Last night, inspired by Manor House, I watched Maurice for the first time in awhile. (It's set in the same time as M.H.). Still one of my favorite movies. And Rupert Graves was adorable.

Belatedly, this Week's Friday Five:

1. Name one song you hate to admit you like.

- "Stan" by Eminem

2. Name two songs that always make you cry.

- One of the main themes from "The Fellowship of the Ring"
- The third movement of Haydn's Emperor string quartet, the one with the melody that became the German national anthem.

3. Name three songs that turn you on.

- 'N Sync Tearin' Up My Heart And it's really the video... Justin rolling around on a bed in a tight wifebeater...
- Billy Idol Dancin' With Myse-elf (we know what that is really about)
- Marky-Mark Good Vibrations Again it's really the video... Mark's pecs to die for...

4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.

There are tons more, but some I just downloaded from the new Apple iTunes Music Store:

- Boston More Than a Feeling (ah, first year at UVa!)
- The Go-Go's We Got the Beat
- New Kids on the Block (STOP SNICKERING!) Step By Step
- SoulDecision Oh It's Kinda Crazy

5. Name five songs you couldn't ever do without.

I'll have to give this more thought.

Today I took off work to go up to Baltimore to see the Cirque du Soleil show Dralion. Wow was it cool. Of course I really want to see Varekai with the Atherton twins, but this one was excellent. The guy in the Aerial Pas de Deux is gorgeous. And -- bonus -- most of the cast were asians! The acrobat girls had an off day but the tumbling boys were amazing, and the aerial show is breathtaking.

Wow this is depressing. Manor House: You in 1905. Basically, if you're a man, you die in the war.