The Ministry of Truth

Musical Prodigy or Complete Nerd?

2010-09-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-02-2010

Bellow is Owen's first music recital, played on a kazzooksaphone from a McDonald's Happy Meal.

The Sword of Truth Series

2009-12-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-14-2009

After dedicating 295 hours and 15 minutes of my life to listening to The Sword of Truth series on my iPod, it is finally done. The Sword of Truth series is one of the more commercially successful Epic Fantasy Book series out right now.

Written by the extremely handsome Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Truth series follows the story of common wood guides-man, Richard Sypher, as he is pulled out of his non-magical world, and is forced into a world where magic exists. Richard is soon named the Seeker of Truth and is entrusted with the Sword of Truth, an ever powerful sword which draws its power from its wielders wrath.

This is an 11 book series. Except for the last three novels in the series, each novel is a stand alone novel and each comes to a conclusion. Though each novel does stand alone, there are themes and elements that carry over from book to book. Books 1 and 2 in the series really are awesome and then books 3-8 are just such a huge let down. Goodkind redeems himself a bit in books 9-11, but its just nowhere compared to where he started. I listened to 10 of these 11 books on mp3 and though I'm glad I was able to finish the series, I am definitely not recommending the series to my literally thousands of readers and here is why:

1. The characters have no depth and are one dimensional. They are completely black and white and good or evil. There is no in between. The views and actions of the good guys are always correct or justified, whereas, the bad guys are always wrong.

2. Though I have to give him credit for his creativity, I don't believe that Terry Goodkind is a talented author. Except for the last three books, Goodkind is never able to weave multiple story lines together. The following is literally the plot outline for the first 8 books in the series: Richard gets separated from the other main characters. Because of his love of life and living, Richard will do everything humanly possible to make it back to those he loves. After listening to nothing but this for 20-30+ hours, we finally make it to the end of the novel where Richard slays the bad guy and is reunited with those he loves. What killed me in every novel was how incredibly long it took to get to the end and then once they do get to the end, the problem is resolved literally in seconds. The ending of every novel is more anticlimactic than anything I have experienced in my life.

3. Goodkind floods books 3-11 with Ayn Randian philosophies/opinions about life and individualism. I've heard Uncle Chris say, "Ayn Rand is a bitch," and now I understand why he feels the way he does.

4. In every novel, Goodkind helps the story move along by reviewing events that took place in the previous novels. A little back-story and a reminder of key details is helpful now and again, but what Goodkind does is overkill. For example, the customer reviews of book 7 in the series are so terrible that I decided to skip it completely. I was hesitant to do this at first because I was worried that I would be lost when I started book 8, but because of the amount of reviewing that Goodkind did in book 8, I was able to listen to book 8 without any problems or confusion.

What I did like about the book:
1. I have to give Terry Goodkind credit for the other worldly monsters that he creates. They are imaginative and creative and always extremely violent.

2. The overall level of violence and gore in the books is top notch. I most definitely grew to love the phrase, "..his warm viscera bathed the ground," which can be found in just about all the books. Perhaps one of the better endings was in book three when Richard is found without his sword, and has to improvise. In a flash, he uses his speed and strength to jab his hand into the bad guys stomach, rip threw skin and organs, grab on to the base of the bad guys spine, and in Mortal Combat fashion, rip his spine out of his stomach.

3. Sitting down at the Dogfather for lunch and discussing the series with Papa Suite, who recommended this book series to me. Even though it didn't turn out to be my favorite series, it was still fun to listen to and discuss the story with the man who has read more Epic Fantasy and Science Fiction than anyone else that I know.

Fall TV Show Reviews

2009-12-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-03-2009
My literally thousands of readers have been screaming for months now, desperately wanting to know what I think about the 2009 TV Fall Line up. After some reflection I realized that I have been quite neglectful and cruel to my literally thousands of readers. I know how badly you all want me to tell you what you should be watching. To be honest, I've been a little disappointed with 2009's Fall TV Schedule. There seems to be a serious lack of scifi shows out there right now. I've even resorted to watching some non-sci fi shows. Its been a bit of a sacrifice, but necessary in order to keep a strong relationship with TV.

Mondays:
What happened to Mondays? They used to be such an amazing night for sci fi TV. Now it just blows.

Heroes:
The show started out amazing. It continued to amaze me until the Season 1 Season Finale, which blew. I suffered through 2.5 more seasons before I quit watching it. Though my by T-Bag from Prison Break is getting rave reviews this season, I still haven't bothered and either should you. Drop it if you already haven't.

Castle:
OK, so I am a little embarrassed to admit that I watch this show. The only reason I watch it is that Captain Malcolm Reynolds, aka, Nathan Fillion is the lead. My hopes are that this show is a hit, Fillion becomes a commercial success, and returns to making awesome sci fi TV shows and movies.

Tuesdays:
Sons of Anarchy:
This spot on portrayal of life within a Motorcycle Club makes me wonder what I'm doing sitting behind a desk. I should be out on the road, running guns on my Harley, avoiding the ATF, conspiring with the IRA, and beating the piss out of anyone who deals drugs in my town--especially the White Supremacists. The Season 2 Finale was amazing. They set up so many great and twisted story lines for next year. Go and rent or buy season one and watch it with your kids. Your family will love it.

So You Think You Can Dance:
This is the reality dance show that people under 50 watch, which makes it very cool. Though it can't boast of Donny, this show has some pretty amazing dancers. Don't believe me? Check out Ryan rip this solo to some very appropriate music. I'm sure the Scorpions couldn't be prouder.

90210:
My female and I barely made it through the first season. We couldn't believe how bad it was. They made some serious changes both behind and on the screen for season 2 and I couldn't be more pleased. If you loved the original, Dawson's Creek, or The OC, then you need to start watching this show.

Wednesday:
Flash Forward:
I'm still up in the air about Flash Forward. In fact, I'm a few episodes behind on my DVR which means that its definitely a tier 2 show for me. Good news is that ABC has dropped showrunner Marc Guggenheim (one of the producers for ABC's "Brothers & Sisters") and is giving full reins to David Goyer. Basically, what everyone is hoping is that the light and fluffy Guggenheim is gone, Goyer will have free rein on the show and will give it a dark and gritty edge. I say keep watching and see where it goes. By the end of the season we should make it to the actual date of the flash forward. I'm willing to watch up until that point just so that I can see what direction they take the show after that.

Modern Family:
This is my favorite new show of the season. My favorite characters are Manny, the passionate 11 year old Colombiano, and Phil, the cool dad. I really feel like they could do without the cheesy, heartfelt moment at the end of every episode, but I guess its not so bad.

V:
I thought the Pilot was a bit choppy, but that it really caught its stride about 3/4s of the way through. I am intrigued and excited for the rest of the season. I'm a bit surprised that one of the 29 V ships that landed around the many cities around the world did not land in Orem/Provo, UT. If the Vs were smarter, they would realize what a great business opportunity they would have to sell and market their life saving health supplements in that city.

Thursday:
This is by far the best night of the week. There are so many wonderful shows on Thursday nights that there are times that I have 3 shows recording at once. Thank you DVR.

Parks & Recreation:
This one had a slow start its first season, but I felt it ended strong. Season two has improved even more. The cast and characters seemed to have found their stride. I think I love this show because my job deals a bit with government bureaucracies and I love how this show makes fun of local government. By far my favorite character is the boss, Ron Swanson, who despises big government and his ex-wife. My favorite line from this season was when Ron was describing his ex, he said that, "Every time she laughs, an angel dies."

Community:
I told myself that even if the first few episodes were crap that I needed to stick with it and give it a real chance. I really wanted this show to be good. After 3 episodes I couldn't handle it anymore. My brother told me to give it another shot and watch one of the more recent episodes. I did and I still felt the same way. Its just not funny at all to me.

The Office and 30 Rock:
If you don't think these two shows are funny then I honestly don't know how we can be friends.

Fringe:
This is by far my favorite sci fi show of this year. I look forward for Fringe more than any other genre show right now. Though it seemed to lag in episodes 5-7 this season, everything else has been great. I loved the bible references to the beast and the multiple dimensions that we saw in the season 2 premier. I hope they expand on that later in the season. I've also loved the communication between the agents in our dimension to their dimension. Moving forward, my biggest hope is that they start to lace more episodes together and have less stand alone episodes. I can't wait to see what happens with Pacey and Pacey's mom.

Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia:
This is my favorite comedy show right now. Though I feel that this season hasn't been as funny as their previous seasons, I'm still loving it and pleased to see that both their DVD sales and viewership is steadily increasing each week. The highlights for me this season have been the milk steak, Rowdy Roddy Piper on the Wrestling for the Troops episode, and the D.E.N.N.I.S., system for dating.

Friday:
Dollhouse:
I was loving this show by the end of season 1. I'm not sure what the dealy yo yo is, but season 2 just blows. I had to force myself to watch the first two episodes and it just seems like its going nowhere but to the chopping block. I had high hopes for this season, seeing as how Fox gave Joss a bit more creative control. I really wish they would have ditched this and kept Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles.

Stargate SGU:
This is my first foray into a Stargate TV series and I'm pleased so far. I'm a few episodes behind, but I'm really enjoying this new TV series.

Saturday:
Legend of the Seeker:
Season 1 came out when I was really into the Sword of Truth series. Because of this, I was really mad that they changed the story so much from the books. I ended up ditching the show after about 8 episodes. Now that I have had a chance read the entire series and have realized how crappy it is, I'm not so upset. So far, I have been able to watch season 2 without freaking out that it is so different from the books and its allowed me to enjoy it a bit more. Don't get me wrong, this show is still crap, but its the kind of crap that's fun to watch. I watch it on Hulu when my boys wake me up early.

There you have it. That's all I've got for the Fall season. I'll have to do a little research and let you all know what you should be watching for the Spring 2010 season.

New Blog for Darth Spencer

2009-11-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-26-2009

I've started a new blog. Don't freak out. Though I know I've been quite the slacker lately, the SciFiNerdBlog isn't going anywhere. I've created a new blog for the Ronin Jiu-Jitsu Center, the school where I have been training in Jiu-Jitsu for over the last year or so. Jump over and check it out. Here is the LINK

We are trying to get our name out there and also trying to get more people to come and sign up. So make sure to add a link to the blog from your blog or web page.

And if you want, come and try out some classes for free. There is info on the blog about where we train and when. There is also a link to our actual web page. Simply put, its one of the funnest things you'll ever do. Its great exercise (I've lost a bunch of weight), excellent stress relief, you learn new stuff every week which keeps your mind and body sharp and quick, our teacher is extremely talented and there really is a great group of guys who are already going.

I was pretty hesitant to sign up because I was worried that I would be training with a bunch of meatheads who would try to hurt me. I found that I was completely wrong. Everyone tries to create a safe environment where everyone can learn and progress.

You can become a fan of Ronin Jiu-Jitsu Center on Facebook HERE
Or, follow us on Twitter, HERE

Here are some pictures to prove that I really do Jiu-Jitsu

This is me and Jake after Jake advanced me to my blue belt. I of course elected to do a prom picture. I felt it was appropriate.

Students are given the ceremonial uki goshi (floating hip throw) upon awarding of a new belt. Here I am being thrown by Jared

Embrace the Klingon Empire

2009-10-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Stardate 10-27-2009

Check out this viral propaganda video from the Klingon Empire that portrays the eventual takeover of earth. Is this the first glimpse at a viral marketing campaign for the new Trek movie or is someone just really creative and having fun? Here you go:

The video and additional content can be found here. You can find a letter from a fellow Terran who has already joined the Klingon Empire at the site. Here is a taste of what its says,

"Hello fellow Terrans! My name is Tanas T'var and I'm a warrior in the Klingon Empire, or Tlhingan Wo' in the mother tongue. I'm here to tell you about a wonderful culture I've become a proud member of and and how soon you will be a part of as well. The Klingons are coming. Its time we all got ready."

I love the propaganda theme.

Things Just Got a Whole Lot Easeir for the Muslims

2009-09-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-21-2009

It seems that throughout time, America and the world picks an ethnic group, or a race of people, a religion, or a life style to discriminate against. After September 11th, 2001 things got a whole lot harder for Muslims. Thanks to shows like 24 and nut jobs like Glen Beck, the majority of people started to believe that Muslim = Terrorist. Well, the school yard bully has a new punching bag.

Daniel Jones of the International Church of Jediism was thrown out of a department store in North Wales because of his religion. He was thrown out after he was determined to be a security threat because he refused to remove his hood.

"I told them it was a requirement of my religion, but they just sniggered and ordered me to leave," said Jones, also known by his Jedi name Morda Hehol. "I walked past a Muslim lady in a veil. Surely the same rules should apply to everyone."

The handbook of the U.K. Jedi Church, which was founded last year by Jones states that "Jedis must wear a hood up in any public place of a large audience."

"It was discrimination," said Jones. "I was really upset. Nobody should be treated like that."

A spokesperson for the department store said, "Jedi are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all went hoodless without going to the Dark Side. If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."

Not enough to convince you of the discrimination against Jedis? Well, as I've done some research about the church, I've found that they are currently fighting another battle to even be recocnized as a true religion. Apparently, not even Acorn (who recognizes Satanism, Wicca and Yoga as approved religions) will recognize them as a true religion. If someone were to mark Jedi as their religion on the census, Acorn would classify them as "Outside Scope." I'm starting to understand why everyone hates Acorn.

Readership, this post is full of harsh and sad realities. I prefer to end things on a positive note. Below is the the mantra of the Jedi Church. Learn it, repeat it, and may the force be with you.

There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no death; there is the Force.

Harry Potter Land!!!

2009-09-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-17-2009

I just read some most excellent news and I thought you all should know. Universal Studios Islands of Adventure is adding a new section to their park. Those of you who have been there will know that the park is broken up into a few different sections that all have a theme. Currently there's a section for Marvel Comics, Dr. Seuss, Old Universal Cartoons like Popeye, Jurasic Park and some other ones. Well, they are adding a new section which will be Harry Potter land. I can't wait to sit down in the Three Broomsticks and sip a butter beer. Here is a list of the attractions:

From the front archway of Hogsmeade to the immensity of Hogwarts castle, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will feature the locations listed below:

* At the entrance of Hogsmeade, billowing steam and an iconic whistle signal the arrival of the Hogwarts Express into Hogsmeade station
* Across the way is Zonko's, a joke shop with a collection of tricks and jokes, including Extendable Ears, Boxing Telescopes and Sneakoscopes
* Honeydukes is next door and full of treats like Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans
* The Three Broomsticks and adjacent Hog's Head pub will feature traditional British fare and drinks including Butterbeer and pumpkin juice
* Across from the Three Broomsticks is The Owlery, where owls roost and await their next delivery
* The Owl Post sends letters with a certified Hogsmeade postmark and sells official stamps from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
* Ollivanders wand shop is an incredible interactive experience where the wand chooses the wizard
* Completing Hogsmeade is Dervish and Banges, the magical instruments and equipment shop featuring Quidditch equipment, Triwizard apparel, Spectrespecs and Remembralls
* The first attraction, Dragon Challenge, features a twin high-speed roller coaster with many iconic elements from the Triwizard Tournament
* Next is Flight of the Hippogriff, a family coaster simulating a Hippogriff training flight over the grounds of Hogwarts castle
* Located in Hogwarts castle, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a thrilling new state-of-the-art attraction that uses entirely new technology to bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life in ways never before experienced
* Before exiting back into Hogsmeade, Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods is full of Ministry of Magic and magical creatures merchandise, Omnioculars, and even remote control Golden Snitches

Here is an interactive video which shows depictions of the park

I think the ride in Hogwarts Castle sounds really cool. I invision it to be an updated and more advanced Harry Potter version of the Spider-man Ride at the same park. If so it should be amazing. I know where we are going on vacation in spring 2010.

Why I Hated the New Harry Potter Movie

2009-07-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-27-2008

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was probably my second favorite book from the series. I spent more time reading, listening and thinking about this book than any of the others, because after reading it, I was bursting with desire to understand how everything was going to turn out for Harry. Of course, Half Blood Prince teaches us about Voldemort's life and the Horcruxes. Its where Harry learns how to destroy a Horcrux. And of course, it sets up what Harry must do in order to defeat the Dark Lord. Not only that, but it furthered the Snape, good v evil debate.

I hated the Half Blood Prince movie because it cut out everything that was great about the book, and went into too much detail about the less important plot points. I was infuriated that they added two completely original scenes that were not in the book. This made me really mad because they waste our time with two extra pointless scenes, but take out about 80% of the Harry/Dumbledore/Voldemort flashbacks.

I was trying to think back at the important information that we learned from the flash backs in the book that were not in the movie and that technically, movie Harry would not know. Most important would be that Dumbledore never even taught him how to destroy a Horcrux. He would not know about the other possible Horcruxes such as the cup. He would not know that Voldemort used a valuable object from each of the 4 great houses for his horcruxes. I also didn't like that Dumbledore seemed completely caught off guard when they finally saw the true flashback memory from Professor Slughorn. He acted like he had never even considered this a possibility. Why would they dumb down Dumbledore?

And though not a crucial part of the story, I was most pissed off that there was no fighting after Dumbledore was killed. In the book, there is fighting between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters both before and after Dumbledore dies. The movie was just so boring and slow, and I kept telling myself, "Don't worry it will be worth it when we see the huge wizard duel at the end after Dumbledore dies." I about blew up when they killed Dumbledore, and then peacefully walked out. Such garbage.

Now I'm really worried about the The Deathly Hallows because the same moron who did the screen adaptation and who directed Half Blood Prince, are also the idiots behind Deathly Hallows.

And what I can't figure out is that everyone I talk to tells me that they like the movie. Its almost as if people are afraid to say anything negative about a Harry Potter movie. Please share your thoughts about the movie here.

The Greatness Continues

2009-07-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-15-2009

The enhancements of Jane Austen's novels just keep getting better and better. Thanks to the smashing success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the publisher is back for round two. Coming out in September will be Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Even better news is that they have taken even more liberties. Zombies featured 85% of Austen's text and 15% new story. Sea Monsters will have 60% of Austen's text and 40% new story.

Check out this excellent book trailer:

I still have not read Zombies, but it will most likely be the next book I buy. I thought we were going to read it for book club.

Are Transformers Made of Adamantium?

2009-07-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-09-2009

I've been living like a bachelor this week. My female and the children are staying up at my parents house. Bachelor life is great. The house stays clean and I get to read and go to as many movies as I want. This week I hit both Transformers 2 and Wolverine. I enjoyed Transformers and was disappointed with Wolverine.

Here is my beef with Wolverine. First off was the bad guy Zero. He was obviously supposed to be the first super soldier in the secret Weapons program. This not accurate. Everyone knows that Captain America was Weapon I. Next, I was not happy that the Adamantium came from outer space. Everyone knows that Adamantium is the second most indestructible metal on earth. The most industructible metal on earth is Captain America's shield. What really happened is that the Weapons program was attempting to re-create the sheild and could not. The best they could do was create Adamantium.

The movie felt choppy and didn't seem to flow very well. I also didn't like that they turned Deadpool into Weapon XI. They are planning a spin off the Deadpool story and I'm not quite sure how interesting its going to be since we already know his fate. The one thing that I really did like about the movie was the end fight scene when Deadpool was using multiple mutant powers while attacking Wolverine. That was very cool.

I actually really enjoyed Transformers. I don't know why everyone is hacking on it so much. Its an action movie that was full of action. What more do you expect? There was one thing that bugged me and that was the Cylon "Skin Job" Decepticon. What was with that Michael Bay? What bugs me even more is that Michael Bay went on a huge rant about McG (who I hate) for making some of the Terminators in Terminator Salvation look too much like the Transformers, but apperently, he has no problem ripping off Battlestar Galactica.

"Pop It, Pop It Tommy, POP IT!"

2009-06-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-07-2009

The other night I was blessed to see Best of the Best 2, the follow up to one of my all time favorite martial arts films, Best of the Best. For me, Best of the Best ranks right up there with (if not better than) The Last Dragon. I'm not sure how many of you out there in the blogsphere have seen Best of the Best, but I remember watching it numerous times on HBO with my brother when we were young lads. Here is the basic plot out line for Best of the Best. A rag tag group of martial artists from across the United States are assembled in order to represent the United States in world wide Karate Tournament. There are some fabulous sub plots and as I recall, the movie has an excellent Rocky feel. I was able to find a couple of clips to some of my favorite parts.

In this clip, Alex, played by Eric Roberts, gets his shoulder dislocated. In an excellent, cut me Mick, type moment, Alex calls on Tommy Lee to POP IT!!!

By far the best scene of the movie, and most likely one of the best endings of all time, Tommy Lee faces Dae Han, the man who killed his brother. Watch the first 6 mintues. I dare you to hold back your tears.

As far as Best of the Best 2 goes, it had its moments, but had none of the emotional back bone of the original. Though I must admit it was awesome to see Alex Grady and Tommy Lee back in action once again.

Please note that as Father's Day approaches, that Best of the Best is now on the top of my Amazon Wish List.

The Strain

2009-05-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-15-2009

I just read that Guillermo del Torro, the brilliant writer and film maker behind Pan's Labyrinth and the Hell Boy movies, is releasing book 1 in a new vampire trilogy. The book is called, The Strain. Here is a little tag line from the book...

They have always been here.
Vampires.
In secret and in darkness.
Waiting.
Now their time has come.
In one week, Manhattan will be gone.
In one month, the country.
In two months—the world.

After Stephanie Myers completely ruined the vampire myth with her garbage Twilight series, I'm excited for this to come out. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. Check out this excellent clip from the very very funny show, Free Radio. In the clip, Lance is interviewing one of the actors from the movie.

Twilight's Rachelle Lefevre on Free Radio - watch more funny videos

Now, I already know what all off you lame Twilight fans are thinking..."Yeah, the movie wasn't great, but the books are amazing." And if you are thinking that, then you are wrong. The books are also horrible.

I Have Been, and Always Shall Be, Your Friend

2009-05-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-12-09

When I first heard that JJ Abrams was going to be behind a Star Trek reboot, I was ecstatic. Then when I heard that they were going to be doing a prequel and that the story would be about how Kirk and Spock met each other at Starfleet, I was deeply disappointed. I was not disappointed about hearing the story of how Kirk met Spock, but rather, I was disappointed in what would come after that. How would they move the series forward and keep it interesting when we already have a clear time line of most all the major events that take place in the characters lives.

***Major Spoilers Ahead***

Now that I have seen the movie, my disappointment and fears of how they will move the series forward have been washed away. Here is what I understood from the movie. When Nero was sucked into the black hole, he and his ship were transported through time and space. They arrived 153 years into the past and proceed to attack a nearby Federation ship, the USS Kelvin. This act changes the continuity of time, thereby creating an alternate reality/dimension. Now the series can move forward with a clean and unknown time line of future events. They have paved the way for original stories that don't necessarily have to be consistent with Star Trek cannon. It will be crazy to see what happens in this new Trek dimension. Lets just hope that Nero didn't bring a Sports Almanac from the year 2387 with him.

There were some things that I really liked about the new Trek movie, and some things that I didn't like. My biggest disappointment was Nero. He was a pretty lousy bad guy. Not much to him.

For sure my favorite part of the movie was when young Kirk met future Spock and asks him who he is. Spock responds by saying, "I have been, and always shall be, your friend." I totally got goose bumps at this point. These are of course the famous last words from Spock to Kirk before he dies at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Another thing that many of the original fans are torn about is non appearance of The Shat in the new movie. Here is a link to a very interesting interview with the writers of the new movie. They talk about an alternate ending that they were planning where The Shat would have made his way into the movie. The article goes into more detail, but in case you don't want to read it, here is a video of the writers talking about how they would have worked him in. I think they had an excellent idea and that their alternate ending would have really added to the film.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Swine Flu: The End of the World

2009-04-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

Stardate 04-28-2009

Swine Flu Facts:
-There are 190 confirmed cases of the swine flu in the US. Of those confirmed cases, 38 of them are already confirmed dead.

-The first symptoms of swine flu feel like mild allergies, then it moves on to feel like a cold. The virus then jumps to a heavy fever and strong flu like symptoms. The fever is actually so strong that it boils your brain. Of those who have already died, many reported in their last moments being able to smell burnt bacon.

-Officials are urging all to rush to the hospital at the first signs of allergies or cold like symptoms. Swine flu can only be stopped if you catch it in these mild allergy or cold symptoms stages. If it gets to a fever, you're dead.

-You can catch the swine flu from eating bacon or talking to Mexicans.

-Just like the CIA created the AIDS virus to kill off all the gays in the Unites States, the swine flu was also developed by the CIA to kill off all the illegal Mexican Immigrants in the United States. Many, including Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, deny that swine flu is a government conspiracy and are claiming rather that swine flu came about from "Illegal Mexican Immigrants having sex with pigs." (They said it, not me.)

I hope you have all grasped the seriousness of this PANDEMIC. Mark my words. In a matter of weeks, people are going to be dropping like flies. All industry will shut down. We are going to run out of food and water. Now is the time to go out and buy guns and ammo. We must protect our families and food storage. Bar your doors and board up your windows. Kill anyone who comes to your door because they will obviously be trying to steal food from you and your own.

The worst thing about this whole mess is that the liberal left wing media elite are doing all in their power to down play this in order to shield the Obama Administration from looking bad. We must get the truth out to everyone. I would suggest copying this post and emailing it to everyone in your address book. Keep hope alive.

WatchMen With Large Blue Members

2009-04-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Stardate 04-01-2009

For weeks now my readership has been screaming at me, demanding to hear what the second smartest man in the world thought of Watchmen.

The answer should be obvious. Who wouldn't love a movie that has point blank murder of a pregnant woman, German Shepards who eat little girls, a man who gets his face burnt off by boiling french fry oil, hatchet chopping to the head and a giant blue penis. Of course I loved it.

I guess some might say that it was too graphic. My response to those people is that if you removed a couple of the F words, this thing probably would have gotten a PG-13 rating. In fact, Watchmen is rated PG-13 in Canada.

I really do think that Zac Snyder did an excellent job of bringing Watchmen to the big screen. The cutting back and forth from present day story to past back story was pretty seamless and the back stories added a ton to the film. I thought the acting was excellent, especially from Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach) and Denny Duquette (The Comedian). It broke my heart to see the Denny Duquette that both I and Izzie Stevens love being such a terrible person in this movie.

Two thumbs up. I can't wait for the sequel.

The Next Van Damme

2009-03-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

Stardate 03-18-09

The 80s and early 90s had no shortage of awesome action stars. I'd say that Arnold, Sly, and Van Damme for sure topped the list. Unfortunately, it seems like these days, Hollywood just isn't making any awesome action movies such as Cobra, Eraser, or Time Cop. I've thought about it and I just can't really see who could step in, fill in the void and become the next big action star. For a while, I thought that maybe The Rock would be the man for the job. The Scorpion King was pretty awesome, but now it seems like he's trying to diversify.

Well, I have some good news. I think I've at least found the next Van Damme. Young, up and coming British Actor, Scott Adkins has slowly started to be recognized by Hollywood. He started out making some obscure martial arts films in Hong Kong. He broke into the American scene with his role in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing. In the future, we will see Scott face off against Wolverine in Wolverine Origins. He will play Weapon XI and will fight Wolverine in the final fight scene of the movie. Also, Scott is currently finishing up production on his first lead role in Ninja.

Check out this awesome video tribute to Scott and his martial arts action greatness

What? Do I hear you all screaming for more? You got it. Here are some fight scenes from Undisputed II: Last Man Standing. BTW, the amazing plot of this movie is that prisoners have a chance to fight for their freedom. How awesome is that. I bet the tag line for this movie was something like, "Prison Rules DO Apply," or something amazing like that. Enjoy.

The Today Show Ruins Star Wars

2009-02-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-26-2009

I have hated the Today Show for years now. I just can't stand how annoying and fake they all are. Here they are ruining Star Wars.

I must say that this group of people look awesome. I love that character development is part of the work out.

Dollhouse

2009-02-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-25-2009

Joss Whedon, the man behind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity, etc. has a new show on Fox called Dollhouse. Its about a secret organization which has the ability to program their agents to fulfill any task you need them to accomplish. This aspect of the show is sort of like that part of The Matrix where they program Neo to learn Kung Fu, except on Dollhouse, after the agent accomplishes their task, their memory and abilities that they received for that particular mission, are completely wiped out. So far, for me, the most interesting thing about this procedure is that the abilities that they give their agents are abilities that they have somehow been taken from someone else. I'm very curious to learn more about the history of this company and also to explore the ethical aspects of this.

The first episode was so so, but I kept with it and I'm glad that I did. The second episode was awesome and I can't wait for this week's episode.

Everyone should give this show a chance. There are some pretty interesting characters so far and the story that they are setting up seems like it will be awesome.

Go watch the first two episodes on HULU and then start watching Dollhouse, Friday nights on Fox.

Bodly Going Nowhere

2009-02-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-09-2009

I've got some excellent news about a new show that I hope will get picked up this fall. The creators and writers of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton, have developed a science fiction comedy for Fox called Boldly Going Nowhere. Here is the tag line for the show:

"Centering on the crew of a spaceship, which is led by a rogue captain. The stories explore what happens between the adventures and how the crew members take care of daily routine things on the spaceship. Single Cam."

I was most excited to see that Tony Hale, who played Buster on Arrested Development, is attached to the project. He will play the ships Android. There are also a couple of familiar faces from Sunny who will start in Boldly Going Nowhere. David Hornsby, who plays Rickety Cricket, will be one of the main officers and Atremis Pebdani, who plays Artemis on Sunny will play a character named Startemis.

(Those of you who don't watch It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia need to start. You can catch almost all the episodes on Hulu or you can buy the DVDs. I noticed that the full seasons are on sale at Costco for only $19.99)

Here is a YouTube clip from last summer's ComicCon of the guys from Sunny talking about the new show.

I also read that Ben Stiller is developing a comedy for Fox called, The Station. The show will take place in South America and is about a covert CIA group who is secretly working to bring a new dictator into power. I can't wait.

Why I Should Never Say Never

2009-01-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-29-2009

As many of you know, I have ban on anything Jane Austen. Especially her crappy books. I've sworn solemn vows that I would never read any of them. Well, I am seriously thinking of temporarily lifting this ban so that I can read this

This book is a posthumous collaboration between Jane Austen, author of Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, and other English literature classics, and Seth Grahame-Smith, author of How to Survive a Horror Movie and The Big Book of Porn. I can't think of a better team to bring us this updated masterpiece.

Here is how the book is described:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Complete with 20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice), this insanely funny expanded edition will introduce Jane Austen's classic novel to new legions of fans.

I'm very curious to hear what all the Jane Austen fans have to say about this. I think its awesome and I can't wait to read it.

Black Medicine: Finger Attacks

2009-01-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-20-2009

Well, Readership, the count down to the end (2012) has begun. Today, Obama was sworn in as President; so starts the moral and economic downfall of our currently thriving nation. I'm proud to say that I saw this coming and blogged about it back in February of 2008. Computer Data tells me that others are concerned about this subject as well. According to Google Analytics, since October 27, 2008, 704 different people have looked at my post titled, "2012: The End of the World." Here is some other data that I am proud of. In the days leading up to the election, Oct 27th- Nov 4th, 143 different people read this post and spent an average time of nearly 7 minutes on the page. I'm sure my impact on the election was huge, but not big enough. Since Nov 5th, the day after the election, 564 different people have logged on to my blog to try and understand how the world will soon end.

My friends, the end is inevitable. At this point we need to stop complaining and start acting. All that matters now is how we spend our time preparing for the end. That is what I would like to speak to you all about. Here is a list of what my female and I are doing to prepare for the end:

1. Build underground bunker (I started digging last Saturday)

2. Put together our food storage (My female has taken charge of this task)

3. Buy lots of guns and ammo (Bought my first gun last week before Obama makes it impossible to do so)

4. Learn self defense (I'm almost a master)

5. Pray that in 2012, Mitt will run again, win, ride into the white house on his white horse to save the constitution and the world from total destruction

As a third degree white belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, I have decided that it is my job to teach you all how to defend yourselves. Over the next few months I have planned a series of posts that will teach you about a few of the self defense techniques that I have mastered. I've used many of these moves while growing up on the tough streets of the upper east side of Salt Lake City and I attest that they do work.

These techniques were taught to me by Master Mashiro and can all be found in his book, one of the greatest books of all time, Black Medicine: Volume II, Weapons At Hand. For each of my posts in this self defense series, I plan to share a few self defense techniques explained by Master Mahsiro. In addition, for those who don't have a concealed weapons permit or may not have your gun with you during the time of an attack, I will share some of Master Mashiro's ideas on everyday household items that you can turn into makeshift weapons in a matter of seconds.

Now, for the first series of techniques. Please pay attention and take very seriously the words of Master Mashiro. The following was taken from the chapter titled, "Striking Points of the Arms and Hand."

"Fingernails: We are all familiar with the fact that fingernails can be used for scratching, an ineffective technique at best. They can also be used for clawing, however, which I more practical. In this context the nails can be used to achieve deep penetration into the eyes, throat and especially the nerve pressure points on the back of the hand. Some dedicated karate and kung-fu artists allow their nails to grow 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, and strengthen them with nail hardener. Naturally they also sandpaper the tips to a sharp edge. The wound produced by four of these nails slashed across a person's throat (like saw teeth) is difficult to believe even when seen." (I am already growing out my fingernails, as should you. I wonder how many throats Master Mashiro has seen slashed by fingernails)

"Tip of Thumb: The tip of the distal phalanx of the thumb, together with the sharp edge of the nail. The tip of the thumb is used for gouging, usually at the opponent's eyes but frequently involving the throat and other nerve pressure points. The trapezius muscle is especially vulnerable to a thumb gouge." Enjoy the picture.

"Thumb and Forefinger: Which of us does not know how to pinch with thumb and forefinger? This pinch can be very painful when applied in the lip or nose region, and can crush a testicle like a soft-boiled egg. When the pinch catches the thyroid cartilage in its grip it can actually be fatal." Enjoy the picture.

The following is taken from the chapter titled, "Makeshift Weapons"

"Bar of Soap: Sooner or later your captors will give you a bar of soap, if only to be relieved of the smell of you. Slip the soap inside your sock (or wrap it in a towel) and use it as a blackjack. Strike for the temple, for the mastoid process behind the ear, or for the collarbone."

"Shit: There is an old story about an oriental warrior who made a mess in his pants, let it slide down his pant leg, and then kicked it into the face of his enemy as a diversion. Just keep in mind the fact that if your place of confinement doesn't contain any dirt to throw in your kidnapper's face, you can always make some!"

Darth Spencer's Tip of the Week: If your shit attack doesn't work, your captors will most likely give you some soap to clean your hands and legs. If they do give you some soap, now you know what to do with it.

Stay tuned for more excellent self-defense techniques.

Jack Attack

2009-01-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-09-2009

I haven't been this excited for a new season of 24 for a long time. I loved the fill in the blank movie that they did back in November. It was full of great action, emotion, and a good story line, and excellent African stereotypes.

I found this great article written by Fred Topel about why 24 is Science Fiction. Some are good arguments, others however, are a bit of a stretch. Either way, it got me excited for the upcoming Jack Attack. My favorite was #3. Enjoy--

Like you, we have long thought of Fox's hit action show 24 as something outside our wheelhouse: Jack Bauer chases terrorists in real time, hour by hour, in the real world. No spaceships, no ghosts, no hobbits, no magic.

After six seasons, though, we are starting to change our minds. After careful consideration, we have come to a stark realization: 24 is SCIENCE FICTION!

We talked with star Kiefer Sutherland and some of the show's creators in Los Angeles earlier this week about our startling revelation. And we have to say they couldn't really dispute THE TRUTH.

With season seven starting this Sunday, Jan 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, it's becoming abundantly clear we can no longer ignore 24. You can decide for yourself, but here's our eight reasons why 24 is sci-fi.

1. It's in the future! If you add up all the years that have passed since season one, which took place in the present, the show's events are now taking place around the year 2017. They've always said that two years or so pass between each season's "day," and there have been several presidential administrations (whomever David Palmer ran against, David Palmer, Logan, Wayne Palmer and now Taylor). Producer Brannon Braga doesn't deny it! "Yes, technically 24 should have flying holographic cars right now,"

2. There's a fountain of youth. See above regarding how much time has actually passed. But everyone still looks about the same as when it all started! At the very least, the characters have miraculously slowed the aging process significantly. "I'm actually probably now finally my [real] age," Sutherland says. "I think I started out a little younger."

3. Teleportation. Anyone who lives in Los Angeles knows Jack Bauer breaks several laws of physics to get from point A to point B in the time it takes for a commercial break. They must be using some teleportation device or time-travel wormholes to do it. Gridskipper has helpfully calculated the speeds of some of Bauer's movements across Los Angeles: For example, Jack and Derek go from Wayne Palmer's Westwood condo to Ontario (California) International Airport via stolen car, covering 56 miles over 17 minutes, meaning they traveled at 195 mph. The Jacktracker helps you pinpoint how Bauer beams in and out of locations.

Season seven takes place in Washington, where things are closer together and there is mass transit. That gives Sutherland a whole new sense of power: "One thing that kind of struck me when I was there is you could feel the power emanating from the buildings," Sutherland added about his time on location. "It changes the way you walk, and it changes the way you talk. There is a different sense of urgency in that city, and so for me it was great to be there, to get a sense of that." That and the wormholes.

4. The dead rise In 24, it used to be that once you're killed, you don't come back. But this season will see the return of Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida, who we saw die in Jack's arms from a hyoscine-pentathol injection. And our eagle eye spotted Reiko Aylesworth, who played Tony's deceased wife Michelle Dessler, at the 24 premiere party this week in Hollywood. And we know we saw her blow up!

5. We're in an alternate dimension. 24 is set in a reality similar to our Earth but significantly different in key ways: a world in which there was a black president before Barack Obama, where several presidential administrations had nothing to do with W., and where there is a female president whose first name is not Hillary or Sarah. Also, in this dimension, the federal government and agencies such as CTU are extremely effective and efficient, billionaires still have credibility, and torture actually works. "How wonderful in the light of a television show, if you take a look at all of the interrogation from season one down the line, he always interrogated the right people," Sutherland says of Bauer's taste for unpleasantness.

6. Cyborgs. No one eats, sleeps or pees. The characters must be cybernetic organisms, or humans with cyberpunk-like artificial enhancements implanted in their nerve cores. All they need for fuel is coffee. "I think we get so much grief over staying up for 24 hours, which I've always made fun of," Sutherland says. "There's always at least one day a season where we will stay up 24 hours trying to complete an episode. Generally it's the 23rd or the 24th episode, and we've stayed up for 24 hours. Imagine the adrenaline rush with the stakes that are involved for people that are dealing with counterterrorism." In all seriousness, if you like the continuing rush of Chuck, Sanctuary, Fringe and Lost, you'll also like 24.

7. Advanced technology. Jack Bauer's technological toys would make Captain Kirk weep with envy. Whenever Jack needs something, he just calls Chloe on her headset. She types in a few codes, and he magically has it instantly. "OK, Chloe, send that video imaging and infrared targeting info to my handheld." Five seconds later ... "OK, got it!" No dead spots. No rebooting. No crashed laptops. Cell reception underground. It's a miracle!

8. Because Brannon Braga says so. He should know: He produced Star Trek. Braga knows what's real and what's not. Even he admits that 24 stretches the boundaries of pure action. "24 is an action fantasy," Braga says. "I mean, it is. It's not sci-fi, but it is a fantasy for sure."

The reason is particularly stupid. The whole article is dedicated to proving that 24 is science fiction. Then on the last reason, the post a quote from one of the shows creators in which he specifically states that it is not sci-fi.

My Intro Music

2008-12-17T15:20:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-17-2008

Have you ever wondered what your intro music would be if you were the one walking out through the bleachers on your way to fight in the WWE, UFC, or a Boxing Match? I always think about this. For me, I would need something that in addition to pumping me up, would also strike fear into the heart of my opponent. I have finally found the perfect song for my into music; Warriors of the World United, by Manowar.

Manowar has to be one of the greatest American Metal bands. In 1984 they were included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest concert. They have since broken their record twice and hold the current loudest concert record. The also have the longest Heavy Metal concert record after playing for 5 hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria in 2008.

Here are my favorite lines from the song:

"Now swear the blood upon your steel, will never dry"

"If I should fall in battle
My brothers who fight by my side
Gather my horse and weapons
Tell my family how I died
Until then I will be strong
I will fight for all that is real
All who stand in my way will die!!!
BY STEEL!!!"

Enjoy

What would be your intro music?

X-Men: First Class

2008-12-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-15-2008

Readership, I have excellent news. Josh Schwartz, the creator of The OC, Gossip Girl and Chuck has been selected to write the script and possible direct the next X-Men spin off, X-Men: First Class, which will be an X-Men movie about teen mutants. I think that Chuck Bass would make an excellent young Magneto...so diabolical.

Special

2008-11-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-25-2008

Check out this trailer for a movie called Special, starring Michael Rappaport. It was an indie film that came out couple of years ago. Its finally found some footing and will receive a nation wide release. Its about a timid nice guy who loves comic books. After trying out an experimental antidepressant, he discovers that has developed super powers. He amazingly has telepathy and the ability to levitate and run through walls. As any good superhero lover would do, he decides to use his powers to fight crime.

The twist is what makes this movie look incredibly funny. Are his powers real or just a psychological side effect to the experimental drug?

Enjoy

Thrawn Trilogy

2008-11-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-13-2008

I recently finished reading the Thrawn Trilogy. The trilogy takes place in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and was written by Hugo Award winning author Timothy Zahn. The first book in the series was the first book written for the Star Wars Expanded Universe and many still claim that these are the very best Star Wars books out there. The first book takes place 5 years after the evens of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi.

I really enjoyed these books. My favorite part about the books was the author's ability to bring Han Solo's personality to life. He was able to capture the voices of all the characters, but Han stood out the most for me.

In addition to the regular cast of characters, Zahn introduces us to some great new characters. They are: Talon Karde, a smuggler whose operations have filled the void left by the death of Jabba the Hutt. Mara Jade, the former Hand of the Emperor who after finding herself unemployed after the Emperor's death, has found a job working for the smuggler Karde. Master Jorus C'baoth, a once master Jedi turned mad clone by the emperor. All of these characters are great, but the best by far is Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is neither Jedi nor Sith. He is the last living Grand Admiral and commander of the Imperial Fleet. He is dead set on finishing the Emperor's work and destroying the New Republic. His character brings so much fun to these books. He is incredibly brilliant and a master strategist. The book is full of incredible, creative and well thought out war strategies. As a reader, you never know what Thrawn is going to do next, but after a while you become convinced that the New Republic doesn't stand a chance.

The three books in the series are: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. Check them out. You will be happy you did.

Legend of the Seeker

2008-10-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

Stardate 10-28-2008

Let me ask you a question. While watching Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Lost, re-runs of Star Trek TNG, or Chuck, have you ever said to yourself, "This show is pretty awesome, but I wish it was just a little bit nerdier."? For all of you who answered YES, have I got great news for you.

The creators of Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess are back to the small screen and they have brought with them something that fans of fantasy have been waiting for for years. The Legend of the Seeker. The Legend of the Seeker is a new TV series based off of The Sword of Truth book series from Terry Goodkind. There are 11 books in this series. I am about to start book 5. I love the series. Its full of excellent story telling, creative original creatures, original uses of magic, fun characters, brutal violence, and for those of us with a softer side, heart pounding romance. The books are each pretty long; around 900 pages each. The producers of Legend of the Seeker plan to cover each book over the span of a 22 episode TV season. They have stated that they are going to stray from the books at certain parts and expand upon the series mythology. I hope they get it right.

The new show starts this weekend on the CW. I think they are going to show one hour on Saturday and then the second hour on Sunday. From then on, the show will be on every Saturday night.

Please enjoy a Youtube clip of the first 10 minutes of the show.

"Someone Saw a Cockroach Up On Twelve"

2008-10-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Stardate 10-01-2008

Harold Ramis, Egon, of Ghostbusters recently wrote in to the Chicago Tribune to confirm that a script for Ghostbusters 3 is in the works. Ramis confirmed that the writing team for Ghostbusters 3 will be himself, Gene Stupintsky, and Lee Eisenberg. The three of them recently finished up Ramis's most recent film, Year One, which was co-produced by Judd Apatow. Ramis also stated that he is hoping to tap into Apatow's talents and the young talent of actors that Apatow works with.

Ramis also stated that Dan Aykroyd and original director Ivan Reitman are currently involved on a consulting level and that Bill Murray will also be involved in certain aspects of the script.

Ramis explained that the original Ghostbusters would appear in the film in some mentor capacity.

I'm pretty excited about this news. I really wish that we could get another Ghostbusters movie with the original guys still in the prime of their lives and comedy careers, but I think that has past. I'm content with just having them be in the movie at all.

So, if the original Ghostbusters will be in the film as mentors, what cast of actors would you like to see as the apprentices? If Apatow is attached and Ramis likes those who tend to be attached to Apatow films, then chances are, it could be any of the following:
Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Adam Sandler, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, James Franco, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Jason Segel, Michael Cera, Martin Starr, or Jack Black. Thats all I can think of right now.

Who would you like to see as the new Ghostbusters?
How do you feel about new Ghostbusters?
Who do you think would ruin the Ghostbusters franchise if attached as a new Ghostbuster?

My dream team would be Steve Carell, Jason Segal, Seth Rogan, and Ben Stiller
My kill list would be Jack Black and Adam Sandler

Darth Spencer's Fall TV Preview

2008-09-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-10-2008

My literally thousands of readers have been screaming for me to come out with my fall TV preview. It is very clear that my readership respects my amazing ability to watch TV. Here are my thoughts at the shows that I will or won't be watching this fall.

Monday Nights-
7:00 PM on Fox-Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, started off its second season the other night. I'm going to continue to watch, but the episodes have gone progressively down hill since its amazing pilot. I am going to watch this show for one reason, Terminator Salvation, the next Terminator movie staring Christean Bale as John Conner. The guys behind the movie are also tied into the TV series. The problem with the TV series is that we already know whats going to happen in the future. There is no real suspense. We all know that Sarah Connors is going to die, Skynet is going to launch the bombs, John Connor is going to become the leader of the Resistance and figure out a way to defeat Skynet. So, my hope is that the guys that are involved in the TV show and movie will create a new idea to expand the mythology of the story. Something that is just amazing which takes place in the TV series that is a key plot element in the new movie. That would be very cool.

7:00 PM on NBC- Chuck, this is a fun show with excellent lead and supporting characters. On top of that, Buster from Arrested Development joins the cast as the new Buy More Assistant Manager.

7:00 PM on CW- Gossip Girl, Spotted, DS and A with a TIVO overload. Three shows to record Mondays at 7:00. What are two St. George westsiders to do? Simple. Record Gossip Girl with the TIVO in their bedroom. There's no better way to set the mood than by sitting down and sharing an hour with S, B, C, Lonely Boy & N. I know you love me, XOXO, Gossip Girl. If you have a void in your life that was left by Dawson's Creek or The OC, then this is the show to fill it.

8:00 PM on Fox- Prison Break, I've watched Prison Break from day one. The first season was amazing. The second and third, not so much. But I've stuck with it and I'm glad that I have. We've already seen the first two episodes of season 4 and both have been excellent. They've finally figured out a logical and somewhat realistic way of keeping all of the characters involved. The magic of the first season was Michael and his pre-meditated plans to escape from prison. They've been able to capture this magic again now that Michael has resources available to him. Plus, we are learning all sorts of fascinating things about civil engineering.

8:00 PM on NBC- Heroes, I've blogged more about Heroes than any other show on TV, most of which have been complaints. I rag on Heroes so much because up until the season 1 finale, it was my favorite show. The writing and story lines have gone down hill in a big way. I've seen the ads, read the articles and drunk the purple koolaid. I'm convinced that season 3 is going to be awesome. They better kill some heroes off for real this season. That would really up the drama.

9:00 PM on NBC- My Own Worst Enemy, This is a new show starring Christian Slater. The easiest way to describe it is Bourne Identity meets Jekyll and Hyde. I'm excited for this new action drama with a sci fi twist. And for all of you nay sayers who are wondering why in the world they cast Christean Slater in an action role, I've got something to say-- Gleaming the Cube. Action and drama at its best my friends.

Tuesday Nights
7:00 PM on NBC- Biggest Losers Family Edition, I'm not going to watch it this year. I hate when they stray from the norm and do couples or families or friends or crap like that. Its never as good. Plus I'm super skinny and hot right now so I don't need the extra motivation to exercise.

7:00 PM on CW- 90210, Holy crap I was excited for the relaunch of one of the greatest shows of all time, and man have I been disappointed. Two episodes into the season and West Beverly High just isn't the same. No side burns, no cool school dj's, and no one has accidentally shot themselves in the head with their dad's gun. The cast is annoying and everyone is too nice and fake. I'll keep watching to see if they can up the drama.

8:00 PM on CBS- The Mentalist, This is a new show about a cop that is visited by dead people who help him solve murder mysteries. How many crap shows like this are the networks going to try and put out. I will not be watching. CBS is on the shit list for cancelling Jericho and replacing it with crap like this.

8:00 PM on Fox- Fringe, This new show is a must watch for all fans of the Sci Fi Nerd Blog. Its the latest incarnation from JJ Abrams and the writing team behind Transformers and the new Star Trek movie. We've already seen the pilot and it was awesome. The show deals with fringe science which covers such topics as reanimation, teleportaition, telekenetics, and other cool stuff. There was quite a bit of science talk, but I actually really liked that. Did I mention that Pacey is one of the leads? Yes he is and he will be awesome once again.

Wednesday Nights
7:00 PM on NBC- Nightrider, NBC tried to kick start this new series with a Nightrider movie that aired last Spring. It came with mixed reviews. I never watched it even though I really wanted to. Apparently they've made some changes and are excited about the show. I'll give it a try but am hesitant. Some of the writers who worked on Bionic Woman last year are giving it another go with the new Nightrider. Lets hope its better than Bionic Woman. I have a feeling that Wednesday nights will be a night to catch up on shows that I have recorded from previous nights.

8:00 PM on FX- Sons of Anarchy, This is a new and original series from FX. Its about a motorcycle club. I've already watched two episodes and I'm very pleased. This isn't one for the kids. So far there has been plenty of excellent violence. On this weeks episode, a guy to an axe to the back of the head. He actually walked around for a second with a dizzy look in his eyes before collapsing dead to the ground. It was a great scene. I was most surprised by how many cast member I recognized.

Thursday Nights
7:30 PM on NBC- Kath and Kim, Molly Shannon and Selma Blair take on over the top roles in this remake from a popular Australian show. I'm really excited for this one. My Name is Earl has lost its magic for me so I'm hoping that this can become a regular comedy for me.

8:00 PM on NBC- The Office, Nothing really needs to be said about this amazing show which is easiest one of the funniest shows on TV if not the funniest.

8:00 PM on ABC- Grey's Anatomy, Code Black, Code Black!!!! Grey's is easily the most dramatic show on TV, which is why I love it, even though I often find myself wanting to slit my wrists rather than deal with the drama.

8:00 PM on FX- Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, this great comedy starts its 4th season this fall. This show was started by a few friends who just couldn't land the roles that they wanted in Hollywood, so, they decided to create their own. They filmed a pilot for super cheap. I think the only thing they paid for was the digital tape for the camera, and then sold it to Fox. Because of its gritty content, the show landed on FX. If you've never watched it, then now is the time to start. It is so incredibly funny. In my opinion, Charlie, is one of the funniest characters on TV. Here is a classic clip from the show. Charlie is the one singing the song.

8:30 on NBC- 30 Rock, This is another comedy must watch. Its going to be great to see how they incorporate the presidential race into the show.

9:00 on ABC- Life on Mars, This is a new show about a contemporary cop who gets hit by a car and somehow gets teleported back to 1973 where he continues to be a cop and fight crime. Though this will be a cop drama, there is some buzz about the pre-politically correct era comedy in the show. Should be funny. I'll give this a try. They are describing it as a cop show without the fake forensics crap that is found in CSI. More focus will be put on the bad guys. I'm going to give it a try though it could get lost in the shuffle on a night that is full of great TV.

Friday Nights
8:00 PM on NBC- Crusoe, I'm going to TIVO it and see if I like it. Its never a good sign if a new show starts out on Friday nights.

We are still feeling the effects of the writers strike. They really had to rush to get the new shows for this season into production. Luckily for the networks there are a number of returning shows that have been pretty popular in the past and they didn't have to try to come up with replacement shows. The good thing is that a lot of the new shows that were not filmed in time for fall will come out mid season. There are some great new shows to look forward to such as, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Virtuality, and The Legend of the Seeker. I'll keep you posted on these new shows.

Have a wonderful Fall TV Season.

Dragon Rock Opera

2008-09-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-06-2008

Have I got a treat for you. As some of my readership may know, I am totally into heavy metal right now. Some of my favorite bands include Iron Maiden, Dragonforce, Dark Moor, Nightwish, Hammerfall, and of course, Rhapsody of Fire. Not only is Rhapsody of Fire an Italian Symphonic Power Metal band, they pretty much invented the genre. These guys are big time fantasy nerds, and I love it. So what is symphonic power metal you ask? Well, its power metal that combines elements of baroque and classical music. On top of that awesomeness, their lyrics are focused on epic fantasy themes. It only gets better from here.

Every album that Rhapsody of Fire has released has been a rock opera. Their first five albums told a story called, "The Emerald Sword Saga." Each album released was a new chapter in the saga. The booklet included in each album started the chapter, but the lyrics and musical content of each song would further the story. The Emerald Sword Saga is an epic fantasy story filled with heroes, evil lords, dragons, monsters and wizards. The story is about the Warrior of Ice, a brave and fierce warrior who sets out on a magical quest to find the Emerald Sword. The only sword with the power to slay the evil dark lord.

In 2004, they came out with the album, Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret. This is the album that I have. This album starts The Dark Secret Saga. It is the same idea as The Emerald Sword Saga except for that this saga holds an extra super special surprise. This time around, the narrator of the tale is none other than Count Duku himself, Christopher Lee. When I heard the first song, I said to myself, "that sounds like Saruman." I was of course correct. I have no idea how he got involved in this project. I am forced to assume that he also recognized the greatness in Rhapsody of Fire. In fact, he loved being part of the project so much that not only did he agree to be a part of the their latest album, the second album in the Dark Secret Saga, he also insisted that they allow him to sing back up lyrics on some of the tracks. I can't wait to hear it.

Just to give you a taste of their awesomeness, I've included a YouTube video of one of my favorite songs from Rhapsody, Unholy Warcry. The first part of the video features Christopher Lee as he begins the narration of the The Dark Secret Saga. It then transitions into the song. The clip is pretty long so you may want to FF through some of it. There is a sweet power metal guitar solo at about 7.5 minutes into it. Enjoy.

In case you need further proof of how awesome they are, check out the cover art from a few of their CDs.

Devil's Cape

2008-08-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

Stardate 08-31-2008

A book review by Darth Spencer

Devil's Cape is the name of a fictional city in Louisiana that was founded back in the 1800s by the pirate, St. Diable. Having been founded by pirates, you can guess that the city has a vast history of corruption, greed, crime, and murder. Actually, its very similar to Gothem City. In all honesty, a lot of the stuff in this book is similar to the Batman comics, so if you love that stuff, you will most definitely love this. To the authors credit, though it does share some similarities with Batman and other various comics, it is jam packed with tons and tons of fresh and creative, dark and sinister, good guys, bad guys, and narrative. Devil's Cape is a wonderful setting for one of the funnest books that I have read in a long time.

The novel is pretty much a comic book that was written in novel form. My favorite thing about this book was the Cirque de Obscurite (The Circus of Darkness). This group of bad guys were once a traveling circus freak show made up of a strong man, fire eater, contortionist, bearded boy and other great circus freak characters. In a great flash back sequence, we learn how the circus freaks get their power. Basically, they blow up a superhero who was genetically engineered by the US government. Whatever the Government used to give this super hero his powers, splatters all over the freaks. Somehow, this enhances their already freak like human abilities in amazing ways and they morph into super villains.

Read this book. You will not be disappointed.

Harvey Two-Face

2008-08-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

Stardate 08-06-2008

Spoiler Alert!!! Don't read this post unless you don't mind having one of the exciting conclusions of The Dark Knight ruined for you. I've seen The Dark Knight twice already and I really loved it both times. Instead of doing another review of the movie, I wanted to blog about the secondary villain, Harvey Two-Face. Though I enjoyed Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey Dent, I wasn't that amazed with what he did with Two-Face. I've come to realize that I can't really blame Eckhart because it was pretty hard not to compare him with the other bad guy in the film, and just about any bad guy would seem weak compared to Heith Ledger's portrayal of The Joker. In fact, for me, the coolest thing about Two-Face was the way that The Joker pushes him over the edge from sanity to insanity, and how The Joker used Two-Face as his puppet in an attempt tear down the morale of the people of Gothem City. After thinking on it for a bit, I've decided that even though I wasn't blown away by Two-Face, I would like to see more of him in a future Batman movie. I think that given the chance to be the mastermind behind his own schemes, that Eckhart/Two-Face would be extremely entertaining. Which brings me to my big question. Do you think that Two-Face is dead?

I don't. I believe that they will bring Two-Face back in the next film. There is an ongoing theme in the comics between Batman and Two-Face. Batman never stops seeing the good in Two-Face. Every time Two-Face gets out of Arkham Asylum, he returns to a life of crime. Soon, Batman captures him and sends him back to Arkham, hoping that this time, Two-Face will return to how he once was. I believe that Batman and Gordon secretly sent Two-Face to Arkham to rehabilitate.

I did a little bit of searching about the subject of bringing Two-Face back and this is what I found. Producer Emma Thomas said that "Two-Face's fall at the hands of Batman was ambiguous enough to suggest that he may still be alive." Also, Eckhart has stated that given the chance, he "absolutely" would return to the role in a possible sequel. Of all the other stuff that I've read, the only real interesting thing that people have noticed is that after he falls, there is a shot of his coin which shows that the unmarked side us up, suggesting that chance says he lives.

So, is Two-Face dead or alive? What did you think of Eckhart's performance? Which bad guys would you like to see in the next Batman movie?

Guillermo del Toro

2008-07-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-15-2008

I have a man crush and Guillermo del Toro.

And its not just because I like el sabor latino; he is also a genius and is one of the most talented directors out there right now. My crush on Guillermo started about a year ago after I saw Pan's Labyrinth, which is now one of my all time favorite movies. The other night I saw Hellboy 2 with the Rumbler and we were both blown away. After watching both these movies for the first time, I was deeply motivated to go out and do something creative. I was left with a longing desire to create something as original and fun as the story that I had just seen. Its rare that a movie or a book can do this and I love when it happens.

The original Hellboy didn't do that much for me when I saw it a few years ago. I watched it again in preparation for Hellboy 2 and I must admit that I enjoyed it much more the second time, but I still wasn't blow away. Hellboy 2 was amazing. Guillermo did such an amazing job of writing a fun and original story. I'm amazed at how well he is able to make up a fairy tale. Though I've come to really like Hellboy as a character, I think that I loved the second movie much more than the first because the focus seemed to be not on Hellboy himself, but on the world that surrounds him, and this world was increadibly entertaining. The movie reminded me a lot of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman in the sense that we share our world with magical unseen beings. They surround us, yet we are blind to their existence.

So whats up next for Guillermo? According to IMDB, Guillermo is set to direct Doctor Strange, which is a comic book movie. Dr. Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe, responsible for defending it from mystic threats. He is a master of the mystic arts, using his abilities to battle evil magicians and other supernatural villains. He is also often consulted by other superheroes on supernatural matters. Neil Gaiman has been approached to write the screen play. This should be awesome.

After that, Guillermo heads off to New Zealand where he will direct The Hobbit and The Hobbit 2. After Peter Jackson decided that he did not want to direct, but instead decided to stay on as the executive producer, his first task was to find a director. He decided on Guillermo. I'm extremely excited about his decision. I hope that they work very well together. The interesting thing is that the first Hobbit movie will be based on the book. The second will be an original story written by Jackson, Guillermo and their creative team. The story will bridge the gap between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Some may have mixed feelings about this, but I am extremely excited to see what they come up with. I have a ton of faith in Guillermo's creative mind and writing ability.

Here are some of the monsters that Guillermo helped to create:

DragonForce

2008-07-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-10-2008

Holy crap!!! I have a new favorite band. I was playing Guitar Hero III tonight and was able to unlock the bonus song, Through the Fire and the Flames by DragonForce. It was pretty much the coolest song I had ever heard. DragonForce is a power metal band from England whose signature sound is duel guitar solos. I'm totally running over to East Millcreek Library tomorrow to see if they have any of their CDs. Here is a music video of the song that I got to play on Guitar Hero III. My favorite parts of the video? The incredible hair of every member of the band, the keyboard player head banging, the duel guitar solo at the end. You'll love the picture picture effect that allows you to see an up close look at the intricate guitar work and an up close of the guy's face at the same time.

Angelina Jolie's Twins

2008-07-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-01-2008

I thought I would try to increase my readership by posting these pictures of Angelina's new twin babies. I'm pretty confident that those who want to see my exclusive pics (my aunt is a nurse at the hospital in France) are the same demographic that love science fiction blogs. So to bridge the gap between Angelina Jolie lovers and scifi, I'm going to do a movie review of Wanted.

Today was Duane's bday, so for our hot date, I let Duane pick the movie. He must be a huge Angelina Jolie fan because this was his first choice. Wanted is about a secret creed of assassins called the Brotherhood whose members are assigned a person to kill. This assignment comes by the powers of fate and a weaving loom. The main character is a loser, a nobody, a blank wall, until he finds out that he is a member of this secret assassin group. It only takes him a day and some money in his pocket for him to magically transform into a total bad A. I must say that there are some excellent action sequences and some very clever and fun special effects. There his a huge level of violence, always a plus in my book.

On the downside, the characters are extremely unlikable. This movie was adapted from a graphic novel. I usually love comic book movies because I am a nerd and its easy for me to relate to the main characters. Peter Parker is the best example of this. Well, its a bit different in the movie Wanted. I would say that the kind of person who would really like the characters and would relate most to their personalties would be someone who played high school football. I'm going to go ahead and say that this is the Varsity Blues of comic book movies.

Don't waste your time.

Epic Fantasy

2008-06-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Stardate 06-24-2008

Even for a nerd, I have hit rock bottom. I am currently reading or listening to 3 different epic fantasy series. For those who don't know, epic fantasy is a genre of fantasy where the stories are epic in scope and deal with themes of grand struggles against supernatural, evil forces. Typically, these stories are full of fantastical elements such as elves, dwarfs, magic, wizards, invented languages and are usually multi-volume stories. The best example and the one that just about every fantasy author lists as being a major influence on their work would be The Lord of the Rings. I've done some research and there currently about 4 very popular epic fantasy series that were either finished recently or are currently being written. The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, and The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

In all honesty, I've turned to epic fantasy to fill the void in my life that came as a result of finishing all the Harry Potter books. I'm sure that many fans of epic fantasy would turn their noses up at me for saying that. In fact, my good buddy who was the first to tell me about The Wheel of Time series told me that he refused to read Harry Potter and that he doesn't consider a book to be true fantasy unless its full of chics in iron clad bikinis. With that in mind, here is a little bit about each of these epic fantasy series in case you would like to start reading one. At the end of each brief review, I will give a ranking of Wizard's Wands on a scale from 1-10, one being the least and ten being the greatest for numerous categories which could help you decide which you would or wouldn't like to read.

The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I just finished listening to the first book, Wizards First Rule. It is the only book that I have read or listened to in this series. I really enjoyed it. The narrator wasn't the best, but it was a good listen. This book examines themes such as truth and the powers of love and hate and how they can be used by both good and evil people. Though a bit cheesy at times, the violence and creative wizard magic made up for it. I am excited to read the next book in this series. There are 11 books in this series and it has been completed. The first book is currently being made into a TV series for ABC. Sam Raimi the director of the Evil Dead series and Spiderman 1, 2, & 3 will produce and oversee the show.

Wizard's Wands:

Use of Magic: 8

Was it written well?: 5

Violence: 6- My favorite violent act was when one of the characters uses magic to force a pedophile to cut off his own testicles and eat each them before she kills him.

Sex: 1- This book is very clean and has no sex.

Language: 1- There are only a couple of swear words

A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin. I've read the first book and I'm about a 1/4 of the way through the second. So far, this is my favorite series. I really enjoy it because it tells the story from the good guys and the bad guys perspectives and gives almost equal time to both. Also, you never know who is safe and who is going to die because the author does not shy away from killing main characters off. So far, the use of magic in this series has been very limited but I can see that it is being set up future books. The characters in this are excellent. Its full of both very likable and hateable characters. My favorite character is a midget who has a sharp tongue and who adds great intelligence and humor to the books. So far, there are only 4 books in the series. The fifth comes out in a couple of months and then the author has plans for 2 more. HBO is currently working on turning the books into one of its TV series.
Wizard's Wands:
Use of Magic: 3
Was it well written?: 8
Violence: 9- Lots of Braveheart type violence. The description of the overall battle strategies and individual violent acts are incredibly detailed and very bloody.
Sex: 6- Unfortunately there is a lot of sex and even some incest in this book.
Language: 8- Lots of swear words. Even the really bad ones.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I've read the first two books and really enjoyed both of them. The twist or the difference between this and the others is that The Dark Tower series takes place in a time that is similar or the same as ours. So far, it ranges from what feels like the old west to modern day 1980s. Its interesting how King blends fantasy and magic in a modern day setting. It took King over 30 years to create this story and put it to paper. He considers it his greatest work.
Wizard's Wands:
Use of Magic: 4
Was it well written: 7
Violence: 6- Lots of shoot 'em up old west type violence
Sex: 3- Some sex. Not too bad.
Language: 10- Lots and lots of swear words. Even the really really bad ones.

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Perhaps the most popular epic fantasy series out there right now. I've heard so many people tell me how much they love this series, but I am hesitant to read it. I've also heard that the author died before he finished the last couple of books. His son took up the task of finishing the story based off of his father's notes and journals. I've heard that the last couple of books fall way short of the others and it leads to a disappointing end. I will probably read them but its quite a commitment to read a 10,000+ page series all for a measly end.

Grand Opening

2008-05-28T14:07:00.001-07:00

Stardate 05-28-2008

Last night was the grand opening of Barnes and Noble here in St. George. I am very proud to say that I was there for this great moment and that I was the first person to go into the Science Fiction/Fantasy section. This truly will be a moment that I can share with my grandkids some day. Here is what I picked up.

The second book in the Song of Fire and Ice Series. The only thing cooler than reading a 1000 page epic fantasy novel is reading a bright purple 1000 page epic fantasy novel.

After listening to Neverwhere, I couldn't resist trying something else out by Neil Gaiman. This book is a blend of Americana, mythology, and fantasy. This book won the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards for best novel.

I'm sure you will all wait in suspense to hear what I think about them.

Lieutenant Dan Runs In the Olympics

2008-05-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-20-2008

A lot of you have heard about the protesters, gathering in droves, writing catchy phrases on their picket signs, and shouting at the top of their lungs at the human rights violations that are going on at the Beijing, China Olympics. I would like to speak about one of these atrocities today. Apparently, a frakking cylon/human hybrid has been cleared to run in the Olympics.

The bionic man in question, South African Oscar Pistorious, and his cybernetic magic legs are once again training for the Olympic qualifiers. Just four days ago, he was unsure if he was going to be able to compete or not. For some time, the Olympic committee had rightly said that he could not compete because the cyborg legs created an unfair advantage. Luckily for Oscar, there must be a fellow cylon skin job on the European Court of Arbitration for Sports, the group that gave him the go ahead. For the last couple of months leading up to the decision, Oscar was busy at work with MIT, running tests (no pun intended) to determine if his robot legs that he wears when he runs gives him a biochemical or a metabolic advantage over regular humans. MIT says that the legs do not give him an unfair advantage. What do a bunch of nerds know about running anyway?

Here is further proof that Oscar is a Cyborg. Check out this YouTube clip. The music that plays during the clip is perfect robot like music.

Please voice your opinion and fears about robots competing against humans.

Iron Man

2008-05-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-08-2008

Mr. Rumble and I went and saw Iron Man last Saturday night and we both really enjoyed it. The evening started off on the right foot when we were able to buy excellent assigned seats for the movie at the Gateway. This meant that we were able to go see a movie on opening weekend and enjoy the comfy feeling of not being rushed or worried about sitting on the front row. We showed up right as the Prince Caspian trailer was ending and went right to our empty seats. Amazing. Mr. Miller, you may hate gay people (Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist), but you sure do know how to run a movie theatre.

Things just got better from there. I was curious to see Downy Jr. as a superhero. I had some mixed feelings about him playing Tony Stark, but soon, all worries were put to rest. I instantly fell in love with the character. Downey does an excellent job. I can't wait to see him in Tropic Thunder this summer.

Mad props to Jon Favreau on his directorial skills. Iron Man was an excellent blend of story telling, special effects, acting, and some really cool shots. I must say that that this is probably the first movie I have ever seen where the special effects looked 100% real. They were amazing.

Another cool thing was that after the credits, there was a cameo by Samuel L. Jackson playing the part of Nick Fury (Mr. Rumble and I didn't see this, but it can now be seen on YouTube). He showed up to tell Tony Stark about The Avengers. The Avengers is an elite team of superheroes fighting for the good of the world. The team is made up mainly by Iron Man, The Hulk, Ant Man, Thor and Captain America. It is rumored that a similar cameo will be made by both Iron Man and Nick Fury in the upcoming Incredible Hulk movie, obviously to build momentum for a future Avengers franchise. Very cool.

Winter is Coming

2008-04-30T11:00:00.001-07:00

Stardate 04-30-2008

Nerds of the world!!! Pay close attention. I just finished the first book in the Epic Fantasy Series, A Song of Ice and Fire. It is a seven book series. There are currently four books published, number 5 comes out this Fall, and the last two will be out probably in the next three or four years. There are three main story lines throughout the series which are: a vast Civil War between several feuding families, fighting for control of the Kingdom of Westeros, the rising threat of the Others, a race of towering Giants and demon like creatures who live beyond the great Wall of Ice which is at the end of the Northern Border of Westeros, and the journeys of Daeneryes Targaryen, the exiled daughter of the rightful king who was killed in another Civil War 15 years previously and now plans to return to Westeros and claim her rightful throne. The Series was written by George R.R. Martin. Martin has stated that he and the series were greatly influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the biggest difference between Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire is that Rings was influenced greatly by Mythology, whereas, Ice and Fire was influenced by Medieval History.

Book One, A Game of Thrones, takes place on the fictional continent of Westeros. There is also another unnamed continent to the East. The seasons on the continent of Westeros last for thousands of years. Summer is ending, and the freezing Winter is about to begin. This book was definitely not what I expected when I bought it. I was really excited to read a book full of dark magic, mythical creatures, and creative made up races of people. These items are found in book one, but I would say that it only makes up about 10% of the 700+ page book. At first I was disappointed and frustrated, but once I realized that these things were not going to be a major part of book one, I accepted the story for what it was and really began to enjoy it. Rather than a Fantasy feel, the book has more of a medieval feel. The story is full of knights, castles, sword and axe fighting, feuding, betrayal, and a touch of incest.

There are a lot of things that I really loved about this book. The fight scenes, whether they involve a couple of knights or entire armies, are told in vivid detail, are full of blood and gore, and plenty of creative strategy. The good guys don't always win. There are plenty of deaths in book one, including those of major characters. The diabolical and ruthless plotting of individuals to gain control of the Throne of Westeros is full of twists and surprises.

I'm not comparing this series to Harry Potter, but ever since that series ended, I've been craving another long fantasy book series. I'm happy that I decided to start the Song of Fire and Ice. If you are really looking to improve your Nerd Cred, I would recommend that you stop reading crap like Pride and Prejudice, and

start this series ASAP.

This Series has a huge following. Enjoy some of the Ice and Fire culture.

Fan Art

These handsome young men are engaging in the Game of Thrones Board Game/RPG

Neverwhere

2008-04-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Stardate 04-15-2008

I have a new love in my life and his name is Neil Gaiman. Gaiman is a pretty famous Brit who is probably most well known as a Comic Book author. He is also an author of novels, and a TV and movie producer. Most of you will know Gaiman from the movie Stardust. That movie was based off of a novel that he wrote of the same title. Though there was cruelty to magical beasts in that movie (both PETA and I were outraged), I decided that I wanted more Gaiman, so I used last month's Audible Credit and chose to listen to another of his novels, Neverwhere. Gaiman is also the narrator and does an excellent job with the various voices. I would defiantly recommend this listen to those of you out there who use Audible.

I loved Neverwhere because it is probably one of the most imaginative books I have ever read. The descriptions, metaphors, analogies, and the authors attention to detail amazed me and had me smiling throughout the entire book.

Neverwhere is about Richard Mayhew, a Scot living in London who one day finds an injured girl on the street. He decides to help her and as a result, Richard starts down a path that leads him to an alternate realm or reality called "London Below." The story follows Richard as he joins the injured girl (named Door) on her quest through London Below in her attempt to discover who killed her family and figure out why they are also trying to kill her. Their journey through London Below is full of mystery, danger, and treachery.

Throughout the book, Richard, Door and the rest of their caravan are pursued by Messrs. Croup and Vandemar who are the most diabolical, evil, and powerful of all cutthroats and assassins. They are excellent characters who add both humor and evil to the plot.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes well written fantasy full of imagination.

Happy Birthday, Female

2008-04-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Stardate 04-14-2008

BE' NAL, quSlIj DatIvjaj

For those of you who don't speak tlhIngan (Klingon), please allow me to translate.

Woman, Happy Birthday.

If any of you forgot to get Allison a present, here are a list of things that she really wants:
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS
2. 311 concert tickets for June 30th at USANA
3. Capt'n Eli's Root Beer Soda 12 Pack

Allison, you complete me.

Techmology: Hulu

2008-04-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

Stardate 04-04-2008

Do you feel like your not wasting quite enough time on the internets? If so, I have the solution that will allow you to not spend minutes, but hours with our BFF, the Interweb. Hulu.com allows you to watch full length TV shows and Movies online for free. The majority of Hulu's content comes from deals that they have with Fox, NBC, and Universal. Hulu is yet to reach deals with ABC and CBS, but that is obviously one of their future goals. Another plus is that the picture quality is excellent and the shows stream without any d/l time.

Though awesome, if I had to categorize Hulu, I'd say it awesomeness is in likeness to the glory of the moon. It receives my glory of the moon award because you the viewer can choose what you want to watch, whenever you want to watch it- with very little commercial interruption (there are a few 15 second commercials here and there). In order for this technology to receive my highest level of excellence, the glory of the sun award, I would need to be able to take this same techmology, and use it on my TV. That way I can watch my shows and movies in the comfort of my living room, on my couch, with my woman massaging my feet (and taking care of the babies at the same time) and a root beer in hand.

Here are some of the shows that I'm excited for:

Kitchen Nightmares- I currently have a huge man crush and Brit chef Gordon Ramsey. I love when he talks dirty to the camera. The British version of this show is incredibly entertaining. We'll see if Fox screwed up the American version.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer- I never watched it and never really wanted to. Since watching the short lived season of Firefly a few times (Firefly can also bee seen on Hulu), I'm craving more Joss Whedon. We'll see if Buffy can deliver.

Total Recall 2070- Good news for the Cain family. They are about the biggest Total Recall fans I know. Now we can enjoy all 22 episodes of this amazing series.

Another thing I didn't like is that some of the shows and movies (mostly movies) are not full length. They are only clips. It works well for SNL, but not for everything. I was pretty pissed when I figured out that I could only watch a few clips from Day Watch, the follow up to the biggest Russian Sci-Fi epic ever, Night Watch, rather than the whole thing.

I hope that through Hulu, you can all strengthen your relationships with the Interweb.

The Blue Eyed Child

2008-03-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

Stardate 03-25-2008

I've never met a prophesy I didn't like. That is until I saw 10,000 B.C., and then I met about 6 prophesies that really annoyed me. Prophesies have to be one of my favorite forms of story telling. They bring so much mystery with them, and its this mystery that keeps me into the story. Who made the prophesy? Where did it come from? Who will fulfill it? What happens when they do?

10,000 B.C. is about a small group of Cavemen (Cavemen, so hot right now) who hunt the mighty Mantec (Mammoth). Thanks to Global Warming and the White Man's greed, the mighty Mantec are almost extinct, leaving this group of Cavemen very hungry. However, the group really isn't too worried because one prophesy has already been fulfilled. The first is the prophesy of a blue eyed child. The coming of the blue eyed child prompts the crazy, old, voodoo, witchdoctor to make a second prophesy, that "four legged demons" (horses) would come and with them a great destruction. Not to fear because the prophesy also says that though they will bring destruction, they will also bring an abundance of food. The rest of the story is about the Cavemen and the chain of events brought on by the "four legged demons."

The rest of the movie is an anthropologists dream come true. As the Cavemen journey into the strange lands prophesied by the ancient ones, they meet all types of different tribes and peoples who also have their own prophesies. They all team up and decide to attack those who ride the "four legged demons" because they have enslaved their peoples and forced them to build pyramids.

Not to be outdone, we find out that those who ride the "four legged demons" also have a prophesy warning them of the good guys.

If my calculations are correct, there are about 5 different prophesies all foretold by the ancient and wise ones, and you guessed it, all come to pass.

Now don't get me wrong, Mr. Rumble and I enjoyed this movie in the way that we always enjoy crappy scifi/fantasy/action movies. We were fully entertained not only by the crappiness of the movie, but by our own whit and negative comments throughout.

On a side note, we snuck into Never Back Down and enjoyed its awesomeness for about 20 minutes before our movie started. I can't wait to go back and watch the whole thing.

I'll Put You in a Body Bag

2008-03-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Stardate 03-14-2008

It is with great sadness and dismay that I announce my official retirement from Karate. Though shorter than my time working at Kyoto, I must admit that I had a good run with Master Jeff Openshaw at the Bobby Lawrence Dojo. I loved my time in the Dojo. Nevertheless, due to my commitment to family, lack of funds, and a nagging groin injury brought on by trying to do the splits, I've decided its time to step down. A word to the wise. If you don't want your face to be smashed in by my double hand palm and a little move I call Prancing Hoof, don't throw a round house kick my way. If you don't want your balls crushed by a double hammer fist courtesy of Wild Crushing Hammer, don't try to grab me from behind. And if you really don't want a mouth full of teeth, I would suggest that you don't charge at me from the front, because I won't hesitate to put my knees to your face with a little move called Halting Ram.

In honor of Darth Spencer's month long stint in the Octagon, I will be offering, for a very limited time, this commemorative Darth Spencer Karate Poster. Darth Spencer will only print 10 of these so act fast. $20.00 shipping and handling not includ.

Since my retirement, I've been looking for alternative ways to fill in the Karate void in my life. I've found that watching endless episodes of UFC Unleashed and reruns of The Ultimate Fighter just won't cut it. Here are some gems that I've come across:

Bas Rutten's "Lethal Street Fighting" Self Defence System DVD. Bas is the winner of over 200 deadly street fights. All of the knowledge, nay, WISDOM, that Bas has earned from these deadly brawls is taught in this DVD. I can't wait to buy it. Here are some of the gems that you can learn (I've added EMPHASIS to my favorites):
*Strikes including the straight right punch, uppercut, the deadly palm heel strike, elbow strikes, nasty eye gouges and nose breaking head butts.
*Kicks including front kicks to the groin and solar plexus, knee smashes to the face and body, stomping kicks for when your opponent is down, roundhouse kicks to the head and body plus deadly low kicks to the legs.
*How to use everyday instruments as deadly weapons against your attacker such as beer bottles and chairs, street fighting strategy and much, much more!

Here is a portion of my favorite Amazon review for this DVD

"Bas explains the difference between a fight with rules and the no rules world of street fighting. The street calls for pure savagery when your life is on the line and there are no judges around to stop the bout. You will get an eye opener as to what street fighting is all about from spraying Tabasco in your attackers eyes to breaking his leg with one sharp turn of your body. Good stuff and great quality from Bas all the way. Bas is "THE MAN"! "

Probably the thing that both I and my woman are most excited for is the soon to be released movie, "Never Back Down," which opens in theatres today. Here is a brief synopsis. Jake is the new kid in town. After getting invited to a party, Jake is introduced into the underworld of MMA fighting in Orlando, FL the hard way. Jake better watch out. The guy who beats him up is the same guy who killed Marissa Cooper in the 3rd season of The OC. Not to be shown up, Jake takes lessons in MMA from a sagely trainer. Here is a trailer so you can see the awesomeness.

Is it just me or does this story seem awfully familiar?

I wonder how Jake will do in the All Valley Tournament? He better pray he doesn't face me.

The Return of Pacey

2008-03-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

Stardate 03-10-2008

The two main reasons that I love JJ Abrams are:
1. His amazing ability to tell a good SciFi yarn.
2. His love for coming of age romances.

The man created Felicity, cast Matthew Fox from Party of Five in Lost, and now he's bringing Pacey back to TV. Pacey was just cast as Peter Bishop, the lead in Abrams' next Pilot called, Fringe. The $10 million Pilot is currently being shot for Fox. Fringe is about an FBI agent who teams up with Pacey and Pacey's father, an institutionalized scientist, to investigate unexplained phenomena. Pacey's character is a high school drop-out with a 190 IQ and a gambling problem. I'm willing to bet that he can also throw a mean right hook. He may also be good at hockey.

The Chiasm of Lost and Somewhere In Time

2008-02-28T23:20:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-29-2008

Last nights episode of lost was about the best hour of TV that I can remember watching in a very long time. It connected with my woman and I on multiple levels. Here is a very cool connection that Allison and I picked up from tonights episode. Tonights episode seemed to be based off of Richard Matheson's sci-fi/romance novel called Bid Time Returns. The book was later turned into the movie Somewhere In Time. Here are the connections:

1. At the start of Somewhere In Time, Richard is approached by a mysterious old woman. She gives him a watch and says, "Come back to me."

2. Richard visits his old physics professor and asks him about time travel. The professor explains to him that time travel is in the mind. That it is possible for oneself to hypnotize the mind. If accomplished, the body stays in the same place, but the consciousness goes somewhere else.

3. It is further explained that this can only work if everything remains constant. Specifically for Richard, his consciousness of 1912 cannot remember anything from 1979 or the hypnosis will break. The professor warned that the breaking of the constant greatly weakens the body.

4. Richard finally does make it back to 1912. He finds Elise McKenna, the mysterious old woman who asked him to come back to her. As you all know, the two eventually fall in love and after a beautiful afternoon of love making and fried chicken, Richard pulls a 1979 PENNY out of his pocket. The constant is broken and Richard's consciousness returns to 1979.

4. Desmond's constant is his girlfriend, PENNY. She exists in both 1996 and 2004. He has made contact with her in both times, therefore anchoring his consciousness to both places.

3. When Eloise, the rat dies, Daniel explains to Desmond that she had no constant. Nothing to anchor herself to. Her jumping from present to future confused her. She could not tell which was which and eventually, her brain exploded.

2. When 1996 Desmond meets 1996 Daniel the physicist at Oxford University, Daniel explains to Desmond that Eloise the rat did not travel into the future, rather it was her consciousness that was sent into the future.

1. At the end of the episode, when Desmond makes his 2004 connection with Penny, the two share a very tender moment together over the phone. One of the last things that Desmond says to Penny is, "I promise, I'll come back to you."

Allison was a bit skeptical when I first pointed out the connection and thought it was a bit of a stretch, but when she heard Desmond promise that he would "come back" to Penny, she was sold. In fact, Allison is who I should thank for making this amazing connection. She was after all the one who introduced me to Somewhere In Time.

Another interesting tidbit is that the author of Somewhere In Time is Richard Matheson. He's the guy who also wrote I Am Legend.

What do you think of the connection? Am I off my rocker? Where do you think Lost goes from here? Are you happy with the strong sci-fi tones of time travel and paradoxes that this season has introduced?

Oscar Wao

2008-02-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-28-2008

A couple of months ago I noticed that the book, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," by Junot Diaz was on numerous "Best of '07" book lists. I checked it out and decided to use my Audible credit for January on this book. I was pretty happy that I did. The book is a blend of Dominican History, Dominican Culture, and Science Fiction. The story centers around Oscar and his family. He is a Dominican, born in New Jersey, who is obsessed, he says, "with the more speculative genres."

As I said above, the book is a blend of Dominican history, Dominican culture, and Science Fiction. It sort of seems like a funny combination but it really works. Here is a breakdown of the three:

1. Dominican History- the book goes into great and vivid detail about Trujillo and his dictatorship. It talks about his government, his high ranking officials, his murderous and sexual exploits and what a crazy psycho he was.

2. Dominican Culture- FUKU. Fuku is the name of a curse put upon anyone who dared defy Trujillo. It passes from generation to generation. Oscar's grandfather was the one who first brought the curse upon their family. Almost half of the book is dedicated to Oscar's mother and her life in the D.R., her exploits and connections to Trujillo. While this is interesting and entertaining, it is also my only complaint about the book. I wish that more of the story had been dedicated to Oscar.

3. Science Fiction. Oscar is posibly the best nerd that has ever existed in the world of literature. Growing up in the 80s, Oscar loves role playing games, anime, comic books, science fiction and fantasy presented through movies and through books. He writes and wants to one day be known as the J.R.R. Tolkien of the Dominican Republic. He is fat, has an afro, and can't score any ladies, though he desperately, desperately wants to. One of my favorite parts of the book is one that greatly demonstrates Oscar's love for women and his nerdiness at the same time. The narrator is speaking of Oscar's obsession with anything post-apocalyptic and shares a high school fantasy of Oscar's. The fantasy involves a post-apocalyptic scenario such as a super virus or a nuclear attack. Only Oscar and a beautiful girl from high school have survived. Oscar has survived because of his incredible knowledge of all things post-apocalyptic and is able to save and protect this beautiful young vixen. She of course falls in love with him. I laughed way hard at this part and thought that only a true nerd would contemplate a scenario like this in his dirty high school fantasies.

My favorite part of the book is all the sci-fi and fantasy references, analogies, and metaphors. The D.R. is often referred to as Mordor and Trujillo is ofter called, The All Seeing Eye or Sauron. I was amazed at how many references I didn't know, but became ecstatic when I did recognize one.

Here is my verdict-

Read this book if: you love sci-fi, are interested in the D.R., love memorable characters, enjoy slang in the Spanish language (there are numerous. My favorite- when someone calls someone else a "come guevo").

Don't read this book if: you are offended by the F-word, N-word, sex and violence. It is full of all of them.

The Dark Knight Returns

2008-02-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-22-2008

I love the darkness of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. I can't wait for his follow up, The Dark Knight. Though Christopher Nolan is am amazing director and story teller, he can't take all the credit. I don't know for a fact, but I'm pretty sure that Nolan was greatly influenced by Frank Miller. Back in the mid-80s, Miller wrote a couple of graphic novels about Batman. The most famous is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In fact, along with Alan Moore's Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns is named as the most influential comic book of all time. Both are famous for adding and edge of evil to the genre which made them appeal more to adults than to children.

I've had The Dark Knight Returns on my Amazon Wish List for two years now, waiting for a fellow nerd or loved one to graciously buy it for me. I got sick of waiting and decided to check out the Washington County Library system. Seeing that they actually had it filled me with shock and joy, and I must say that after reading it, I was not dissapointed.

The Dark Knight Returns takes place 10 years after Batman has retired. Rising crime in Gotham and the release of Two-Face from Arkham is finally enough for Bruce Wayne decide its time to come out of retirement. Batman's return is controversial. Part of the reason that Batman retired is that US Government has declared that all superheroes, except Superman, are terrorists. Batman's return to crime fighting is strongly debated throughout the book by news casters, political pundits, and psychologists. The debate focuses on Batman as a vigilante. Some say that what he does is justified. Others say he has no authority and is breaking the law.

Batman faces some great foes throughout the book. Some are original and some are classic villians like Two-Face and the Joker. The best however, is Batmans final showdown against Superman. Because the State is unable to control Batman, President Regan sends Superman in to clean up and take Batman out. The technology that Batman uses as the two go toe to toe is amazing and very innovative. The ending is believable and memorable.

I was very entertained by the writing, darkness, and tone of The Dark Knight Returns. These themes are recreated well in Batman Begins. If you loved Batman Begins, you would also love The Dark Knight Returns.

A Fistful of Quarters

2008-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-11-2008

My woman and I watched and both really enjoyed the documentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. The documentary follows underdog and out of luck Steve Wiebe as he attempts to break the 20 year uncontested Donkey Kong record held by "The Gamer of the Century", Billy Mitchell. Here is what I loved about the movie: Classic Good vs. Evil story, an amazing cast of side characters who are the epitome of nerd, and a deep and insightful look at Donkey Kong.

Enjoy some Youtube about the King of Kong

Here is a group of clips featuring my favorite side character

If you still want to know more, here is a clip explaining why Donkey Kong is the most difficult game of all time

Another thing that I loved about this movie was seeing the underdog try to break into and earn the respect of the existing gaming community. Its amazing to see how terrible they treat him and the lengths they go to discredit him.

Enjoy.

2012: The End of the World

2008-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-07-08

I ran over to the mall today to try and buy a new pair of running shoes. On my way out, I overheard a couple of security guards talking politics. One of them said to the other, "Don't you think its wierd that our next President will end their first term in the year 2012; the same year that the Mayans predicted the world would end?" I really wanted to stop and ask her who she thought the next President would be. Instead I decided to blog about 2012.

Here is the low down. The Mayans were a bunch of science nerds who came up with mulitple calandar systems, which are actually more acturate than the calandar that we use today. Two of these calanders were called the "short" and "long" calanders. The amount of time in the "long" calander is was called "The Great Cycle" by the Myans. The amount of time in The Great Cycle converted to our time would equal 5,125 years. It was also calculated that the start of this cycle began in the year 3114 B.C.

The last day of the cycle in on our calandar is December 21, 2012. The crazy thing is that this happens to be the day of the Winter Solstice, but not any ordinary Winter Solstice-The Winter Solstice of all Winter Solticeses. On this day the there will be a conjuction of the Winter Solstice Sun with the crossing point of the Galactic Equator (equator of the Milky Way) and the path of the sun.

What does this mean? No one really knows, but everyone agrees that its probably going to be bad. Similar predictions for 2012 have been made by Merlin, the Chinese Oracle of the I Ching, the Book of Revelations, and The Web-Bot (The Web-Bot is a computer program used to predict the future. Guess what? It also predicted the end of the world would be in 2012. Does the interweb lie?).

Everything that I've said can be summed up much better in this 4 minute YouTube Video. Not even the soothing sounds of Enya will calm you as the end of the world unfolds before your eyes in this video. My favorite part of the video is when it shows the Anti-Christ.

So, who do you think will be the President in 2008? You better think twice about who you vote for. I know I will.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

2008-01-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-25-2008

I believe in Bigfoot. In fact, I know he exists. How do I know? Well, in truth, I've never seen him, spotted his tracks, heard him howl, stepped in his feces or spoken with anyone whose had a Bigfoot encounter. So, how do I know? My belief in Bigfoot comes from what can most easily be described as my "Spider Sense." A tingling or bubbling in my Native American blood tells me he is out there. Up until today, this has been enough to quench my thirst of having a Bigfoot encounter. It is no longer enough. Today marks the day that I start my quest to discover Bigfoot.

Today, I begin my research with The Bigfoot Field Researches Organization. This is an amazing website which documents everything Bigfoot. Here you will find scientific research, pictures, recorded Bigfoot sounds (which are haunting), and discussion boards. One of my favorite features is the Sightings Database. This a vast and detailed database of Bigfoot sightings. Where is the best place to go and track a Bigfoot you may ask? Thanks to the database, I know that I would be wasting my time if I started right here in St. George, UT. There has never been a sighting in Washington County. In fact, there have only been 43 documented Bigfoot sightings in Utah. I would be better off starting in Weber County, which has had nine sightings.

The very best thing about the BFRO is that they invite Bigfoot enthusiasts from all over the world to join them in there Bigfoot expeditions. The BFRO has identified many potential habitat zones after collecting thousands of sighting reports for more than 10 years. The expeditions target these habitat zones. Of the 700 people who have attended these expeditions, more than half of them consider themselves class B witnesses and 35 have had a class A sighting.

Class B sightings are those that happen in poor lighting conditions, at a distance or are very brief. Class B sightings are usually auditory.

A class A sighting is a clear sighting which happens in daylight, with artificial illumination, bright moonlight or with night vision goggles. It must be clear enough and close enough to be unmistakable.

Unfortunately there are no expeditions in Utah, but luckily there are some in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming and California. For a mere $300, one can go along on one of these 3 day expeditions. Here are some things that you may see along the way:

Bigfoot Hair

Bigfoot Feces. No one drops a deuce like Antrhopithicus.

A Female Bigfoot. I wouldn't mind getting a Class A look at her.

Do you believe in Bigfoot? Are you brave enough to join me on a Bigfoot expedition. I'm not joking when I say that I really want to go on one. Does anyone have any Bigfoot experiences that they would like to share with me and my readership?

Here Be Monsters

2008-01-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-16-2008

I just finished a great and extremely nerdy fantasy novel. It was the first book in the Fantasy Series, The Age of Discovery. The first book is called, A Secret Atlas and it takes place in a time that would be very similar to our the 15th and 16th century--except for that magic exists and is a very important element of society. It is a time of exploration when the most important key to success is the accuracy of the explorer's maps. The story centers around a family of Royal Cartographers. The grandfather of this family is the foremost map maker in the known world and his two grandsons are his apprentice map makers. The main characters in the story are these two grandsons and we follow them as each sets out on a new quest to explore and create new maps for the region. One goes out by boat and the other is to explore a far off land.

As the book progresses we learn more and more about the history of this land. The land is basically one huge continent that used to ruled by two peoples; humans and viruk. The humans were ruled by a queen. Many years ago, this queen gathered her most powerful magicians and warriors and set out on a quest to destroy the viruk. This viruk are basically a group of magical 10-12' giants. The two groups did battle in the North. Their battles were so great and their use of magic became so out of control that there was a great magical cataclysm which changed the face of the land and killed just about everyone who was involved in the battle. The result is that there is wild and uncontrolled magic that has infested the land. It continuously creates magical storms that are deadly to those around it and the face of the land constantly changes, which makes it almost impossible to chart routes through the land. One of the brothers is sent to try and map out this region of the land.

The use of magic is very cool in this book. Swordsman, map makers, archers, even whores who become so good at what they do can reach what is most easily described as a zen state, which allows them to call upon the power of magic. This magic allows them to do great and unbelievable things. Only a select group of people are able to do this and as the novel progresses, we find that people are learning to harness this magical power in different ways. For example, there are a group of grave robbers who are digging up graves of those who died in the great magical war. By just using the weapons of the dead, they are able reach this state of magic for a time. Another thing that ordinary people do who wish to attain this power is grind up the bones of the dead and sniff up the powder like a drug. Again, this allows them to use the magic for short periods of time. The common man figures out many more and interesting ways to use this wild magic to their advantage.

The other brother sets sail with a great armada in an attempt to chart a path around the world. Along the way they discover unknown lands with different races of people. They also discover and are attacked by different kinds of sea monsters. His story line is entertaining, but its more of a set up for great things to come in the next two books.

I would reccomend this book to any of the cousins except for Amber. She would hate it. In fact, if she started to read this review, I'd be really suprised if she even gets this far.

Decision 2008- Obama

2008-01-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-03-2008

Readership, lets examine our second candidate. Today is the big day in Iowa. There is tons of buzz surrounding Hillary, Obama, Mitt, Edwards and Huck. The race is wide open and no one has the balls (bollox, to my English and Australian readership) to make a prediction. Its only proper that we take a close look at one of these front runners. In fact, lets take a look at who I, Darth Spencer, Dark Lord of the Sith, predict will win the Dem Caucus today. Obama.

Obama talks a lot about his past and different events in his life that have shaped who he is as a person and as a politician. After college he took time off from his studies to move to Chicago. It was here that he got involved with a church based organization that worked to improve the living conditions of those who lived in poor neighborhoods with high levels of crime and low levels of employment. Next came law school. After graduating from law school, Obama moved back to Chicago and became a Civil Rights Lawyer. Since then, Obama has been hard at work, never forgetting the common man. No longer will the bourgeoisie elite be able to tread over the proletariat with The Iron Heel. His appeal to the masses of Iowa is one of the reasons that he will win the Caucus.

Another reason that he will win is that Obama appeals to a very select minority. A group that is often looked down upon, laughed at, and mocked for their beliefs, dreams, and culture. No more will we be forgotten. Now you may be asking yourself, "Which minority group is this?" You and I both know the answer...The Science Fiction fan.

I'm proud to say that Obama has not forgotten us. Take a look below at a page from the official Barack Obama web site. Here is the link if you would also like to join.

After years of being spit upon for my belief in Science Fiction by the Bush Administration, I'm excited to look towards the future and what it may be with Obama.

On top of that, check out this smoking hot platter of truth that Obama serves to Big Brother Hillary.

For his plight and effort to reach out to the Nerd Demographic, Obama officially stays on my list of possible Presidents. May he Live Long and Prosper.

Terminator

2007-12-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-19-2007

I've got lots of exciting Terminator news. On Sunday, January 13, Fox will air the first half of the two hour pilot for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The second half will be shown the next night. For those who have not heard, the TV Series takes place between the the events of T2 and T3 and is about Sarah Connor and her son John Connor. From watching T3, we know that Sarah will eventually die of cancer, but before she dies, she prepares John to become a brilliant soldier and leader. It will be interesting to see how she does this. I'm also hoping that we learn more about the company Cyberdine Systems and its creation--Skynet. If you will recall, it was Cyberdine Systems who found parts of the smashed up Terminator from the first film. After much study, Cyberdine used this new technology to create Skynet, which is the super computer that eventually becomes self aware and sentient. In T2, Sarah Connor successfully destroys the Cyberdine Systems building and research. It is unclear what happened to Cyberdine after this happened. I'm also not sure how Cyberdine eventually dissapears. Somehow the US Air Force takes over and creates Skynet as a global defence network. They eventually give Skynet control over all military computerized hardware and systems, including the nuclear defence network. This is how Skynet is able to nuke everyone. Why it does so is a blog post for another day.

I am hopeful that some of these subjects will be examined in the new TV Series. I am also hopeful that they will have a good balance of action and science fiction. I'm doubtful that they will do so and am worried that it will be a bunch of fighting and explosions. The sci fi aspect is what makes the story so interesting and mind bodeling. I've attached a YouTube clip of a trailer for the series and some of the promo posters. Some of you may notice that the Terminator sent to protect young John Connor is played by the girl who was in Firefly and Serenity.

There is also an update in the upcoming Terminator Movie. Its called Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. It takes place in the future and is about John Connor. Its the story of the human resistance against the machines. John Connor will be the center and main character. I'm excited about this movie, but again, there are some things that I am worried about. First the good. The story sounds cool and Batman himself, Christian Bale is in final negotiations with the studios to play the lead role. I think that Bale would be perfect for this role. Now the bad. This film is written by a duo who also wrote T3: Rise of the Machines. I liked T3, but it wasn't amazing. These guys were also the geniuses behind Catwoman. This worries me. On top of this, McG will be the director. McG directed both Charlie's Angels movies. Even worse he calls himself, McG. This is scary news for me. The only shred of hope that I'm holding onto is the fact that McG has been involved in the production of Chuck. He even directed the pilot. I've really enjoyed Chuck and I think its a great show. They are planning a new franchise behind this new story line. It should be interesting to see the future aspect of the Terminator story.

Decision 2008- Rudy

2007-12-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-08-2007

Its time for Darth Spencer to weight in on the 2008 Presidential race. I know my literally thousands of readers have been waiting for this type of post for a long time. As you know, my influence will be great. Look what people have been saying about me.

"Darth Spencer has a world wide audience. He has been a major influence in Germany, Singapore, Hungary, England, Canada, and other major nations. He has readers in key red and blue states. Obama should have thought twice before asking Oprah to join him on the campaign trail. Darth Spencer would have reached a much broader audience. Plus, Oprah may be powerful, but she is not a Dark Lord of the Sith."
-- Spencer Davis, Statistics courtesy of Google Analytics, et. all

I'm also a major influence with the Christian Right. As you can see below, I've made the list of Most Influential Christian Ministry Blogs.

The first candidate to be examined will be Rudy Guliliani. He claims to be tough on national security and also claims that he will solve the alien problem. I'm not sure sure. Take a look at how he handles, or should I say fumbles, this question about aliens.

Rudy seemed completely caught off guard while trying to answer this question. Its almost as if he'd never even thought what he really would do if aliens attacked. I've got news for you Gules, if you were President and aliens attacked, we'd all be dead. Your response to this child's question lacked creativity and I'm pretty sure your alien defense plan would also lack creativity and brains. I like living so you simply won't due. You've officially been taken off of Darth Spencer's list of possible Presidents.

I hope you are excited a I am to study and learn about all of the candidates over the next year or so leading up to the Race in '08.

Heroes Volume 2 Finale

2007-12-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-04-2007

I'll just jump straight to the point. Last nights finale was crappy. I'm a huge Heroes fan. It used to be one of my favorite shows on TV. It really still is, but I'm just sort of disappointed with this whole Volume. I know that a lot of people are going to try to blame the finale on the writers strike, and I'll agree with that to a very small degree, but the truth is that this season has just been full of garbage writing, characters and story lines.

Here is my first of many complaints. What was the deal with all of the new characters this season? None of them were interesting. None of them played a crucial role in any of the main story lines, except for maybe Midas and Veronica Mars. This season was called "Heroes: Generations." I thought we were going to learn about the company and its founders; the early Generation of Heroes. The company was of course involved in the main story line, but we hardly learned anything new about them. We still don't even know what Mr. Nakamura and Angela Patreli's powers are. The most interesting and exciting episodes from Volume 1 were the ones that flashed back to Mr. Bennet and his early days at the company. I'm bothered that they brought in so many new character when they already had a whole bunch of interesting side characters built in. The exploration of the company and its founders could have been amazing.

Back to the finale. The whole safe thing was really disappointing. First, it was way too easy for Adam and Peter to get to it. If the company is as powerful as we think it is, and this safe holds their most precious relics, then why was it not guarded by their own people? I was also let down by how easy it was for Peter to break into the safe. Angela Patreli told her son and Parkman that only a Hero with powers like Peters could get in. So Adam and Peter get there and all Peter has to do is use Telekinesis? All he has to do is bend bars with his mind? The most creative thing that the Company can use to protect their most precious and dangerous assets is an expensive safe? This alone shows how one dimensional these writers are.

So then we get into the safe and there is all this cool and mysterious stuff all around like floating brains, a deck of cards and a deadly super virus. And the Patreli boys and Parkman start talking about how creepy and messed up the company is and how they need to bring them down. At this point, I started to get excited. I started to think that they were going to steel a bunch of this stuff and through these items, we were going to start to piece together and learn who the company is, how they got started, and what the company has found out about past Heroes and how this all started. Things were looking up, but instead, all they can do is come up with the same idea that annoying Clair came up with. They decide to go public with their powers.

I was disappointed with this decision, but was willing to see where it was going to take the show. As we all know, Nathan is assassinated right as he is about to say that he can fly. Though the assassination was cool, I couldn't help but wonder why Peter or Parkman didn't get shot? I guess if they had shot Peter, everyone would have seen him heal and then the jig would have been up. This makes me wonder why Peter didn't fly, or use his new electric powers, or one of his many other powers to not only show everyone what Nathan was trying to tell them, but also go after the guy who just killed is brother.

Though the finale was pretty crumby, there were some things that I did enjoy. The fight sequence between Peter and Hiro was pretty good. Hiro used his ability disappear and appear and to attack from different angles. Peter also used multiple abilities to defend himself and eventually overpower Hiro.

I also enjoyed where Hiro left Adam, though it would have been cooler to see him laying next to a Hiro's decaying father.

The finale ends with Sylar getting his powers back. Hopefully Molly is his first victim. In the preview for the next Volume, we see that we are going to focus on the villains. Who knows, maybe we will get to see more about the history of the company and how bad they are. I'm a little worried though. Volume 1 ended with the writers giving us the idea that we were going to be introduced to a new villain who was even worse than Sylar. They dropped the ball big time with this. Hopefully the do a better job this time around.

What did you think of the finale?

Thank the Gods of Kobol

2007-11-22T05:46:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-22-2007

Today, being Thanksgiving and all, has given me a chance to sit back and think about what I'm most grateful for. Many things came to mind, but the one thing that I am most grateful for is the fact that robots have not yet become self-aware.

After watching T3: Rise of the Machines, it was TJ who most intuitively pointed out that robots and machines becoming self-aware is the most obvious reason that we will have to walk to Adam-ondi-Ahmen one day.

That day may not be so far off. Sarcos, a Utah based company, received a military contract from the US Government to continue production of robot exoskeleton that when worn by a soldier will enhance the soldier's strength, agility, jumping distance and running speed. The Military should start testing the exoskeleton as early as 2008. Sounds like Cyberdine to me. Take a look at the T100 below.

Whether you are excited or terrified of the robot vs. human war, you should tune in this Saturday night for the Sci-Fi Channel movie, Battlestar Galactica: Razor. This two hour movie flashes back in time. We get a look at the first Human/Cylon war. We get to see a young William Adama in action. We also get to see more details of the second Human/Cylon war. We will get to see how the Pegasus, the only other Battlestar that survived that second attack, survived. This would be a good opportunity for those who have never watched Battlestar Galactica to tune in and watch what Mr. Rumble and I agree is one of the best shows on TV.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Wednesday Night Jericho

2007-11-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-11-2007

Ever since Allison and I watched and absolutely loved the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie The Magic of Ordinary Days, I have been craving more magic from Skeet Ulrich. I most definitely satisfied that craving as I have just finished watching the first season of Jericho. Jericho started its run in the fall 2006 line-up for CBS. I never gave it a chance because I was put off by the name. I knew that it was a post-apocalyptic drama and that combined with the name Jericho made me think that it was full of weird religious undertones. I was very wrong.

While reviewing the updates from Comic Con I came across an article about Jericho. I found out that Jericho was actually canceled by CBS after it finished its full season back in the spring of 2007. The article went on to say that a large group of fans banned together and created a campaign to save the show. The campaign worked and CBS officially announced in June of 2007 that they were going to give the green light for 7 more episodes. These episodes are set to start some time in January of 2008. Depending on the ratings, the show will get either more episodes to finish out the second season, it will get canceled, or they may give it a green light for a full 3rd season. I was impressed that so many people would fight for a shows survival, so I decided to check it out. I'm really glad that I did. The show is awesome. I would never put it in the same category as Lost, Freaks and Geeks, Heroes, or Battlestar Galactica, but I would for sure put it next to Prison Break or The OC.

Jericho is about a small town in Kansas and how it deals with the aftermath of an attack on the United States. In the show, 23 major US cities get nuked. The show works well because there is sufficient mystery to keep the viewer coming back from week to week. Some of the characters have shady and messed up pasts. Was one of them involved in the bombings? What has happened to the United States now that almost all of its major cities have been destroyed? And most importantly, who was behind the bombings? Was it foreign or internal? Is the United States being invaded? Who can you trust?

Some of these answers are revealed and some are not. Some are hinted upon and could be future story lines. For example. In one of the episodes, a few of the residents of Jericho go a trading post called Black Jack. While there they find out that six different surviving Senators have all claimed the Presidency and that the United States has essentially been divided into six separate nations.

Its not too late to save Jericho. It is a show that deserves to be saved. Rent the series and watch it. The first episode is great and then it gets slow for a few of the episodes. By the 6th or 7th you'll be hooked. The rest of the season is amazing and action packed. Watch season one so that you can tune in and watch Season 2.

Heroes Gets Good Again, Or Does It?

2007-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-08-2007

Darth Spencer must start out this post by declaring that Darth Spencer is brilliant. Back in May of 2006 I made a prediction on my blog that a future storyline for Heroes would involve the disease that Molly was suffering from and that Mohinder's little sister died from. In this weeks episode, we found out that in the future, this disease kills 94% of the population and though it is not as effective as Captain Trips, 94% is pretty deadly. I also predicted that we would find out that Claire also suffered from this disease but was able to fight it off because of her ability to heal. It turns out that the company has told Mohinder to bring Claire in to poke her with needles and do experiments on her in order to use her body to cure the mutating disease. That said...

This volume didn't exactly start out with a bang. We've had to deal with new story lines and uninteresting new characters, minus Takezo Kensei. Finally things appear to be moving again. Claire's dad, HRG, is evil and scary again. There is some new and exciting mystery surrounding Peter, Takezo Kensei, and Hiro, and we know what evils the Heroes are facing and what will happen if it isn't stopped.

I am really excited about these things, but there are a few things that I am not happy about. Heroes has been too inconsistent in their story line. Here is what I'm bugged about-- Molly. At the end of last season we go to know the most annoying little girl in the world a little better. It was stated that she was the only one who could defeat Sylar. Did the writers forget that both the Haitian and Eve, the chick with the power of persuasion, were able to capture Sylar without any problem? At that point, the company could have killed Sylar, but for some reason, decided not to. That aside, we are supposed to believe that Molly can somehow bring Sylar down just because she can point to where is he is on a map? I don't buy it.

Then, while she is searching for Sylar, they ask her if she can find anyone. She replies that she can find anyone, except for "him." "Who is he Molly?" "The Boogieman." So the writers make us believe that there is someone out there who is much scarier and more dangerous than Sylar. This season we found out that the boogieman was Parkman's dad and that his ability was the same as Parkman's, but more refined and dangerous. Then we found out this week that the boogieman was not the scariest bad guy after all, but just the hit man for the scariest bad guy.

So who is this scary bad guy? There was very little said about him. We know that it was he who formed the Company and that Linderman was his protege. It sounds like he is the Magneto of the Heroes. He wants to wipe out the world and its inhabitants, but spare those with special abilities? Come on writers. Lets stop stealing ideas from the X-Men.

I still love Heroes and believe that it is one of the best shows on TV. I'm excited to see where this season goes. Hopefully the writers can keep it original.

The Stand

2007-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Stardate 10-27-2007

I've wanted to read The Stand for years. I remember that they filmed some of the mini series off of Evergreen Ave and then watching some of it on TV. I was amazed. I couldn't wait to read it some day.

Well, I just finished Stephen King's epic post apocalyptic novel, The Stand, and I must say that I was not dissapointed. The Stand is about a military produced super flu virus that gets out into the public and kills 99.5% of the population. Those that survive begin to have mysterious and similar dreams. The dreams for the most part are about a cloaked man who is always chasing those that dream about him. This man's face is indistinguishable except for his bright red weasel like eyes. Other dreams are about a kind old black woman. Both the old woman and the dark man draw people to them; the good to the old woman, the bad to the dark man. Two sides eventually form and the stage is set for an epic battle of good vs. evil.

My favorite part of this book was the story of how the disease got out and spread across the United States. It was very detailed and pretty freaky. I had dreams that I was trying to outrun the super flu every night after I read this book for the first hundred pages or so. The book really is not that action packed but it does somehow keep you very entertained and interested through the whole thing.

King's interpretation of good vs. evil, heaven vs. hell is interesting and thought provoking. One of the coolest things is that the bad guy is Legion, the group of 1000 evil spirits from the Bible that Jesus casts out of a man. Because he is Legion, he is able to enter the bodies of crows, wolves and other wild animals. This is how he spies on people. It also how he is able to transport from place to place with ease.

This book is a nice blend of reality and science fiction. This is mostly because it takes place in the United States. Its a real world, not a fantastical one, with refrences to real places and real things. Some of the major events at the end of the book take place in Southern and Central Utah.

Fall TV Shows

2007-10-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Stardate 10-02-2007

I'm so excited about TV. Please share in the excitement with me. Here is a rundown on the new fall line ups. Don't worry, I won't waste your time reviewing the crap shows like CSI or SVU or Law and Order or other crap crime solving crap.

Monday:
Fox 7:00 MST- Prison Break. How do you make this hot show hotter? I'll tell you. Make Michael Schofield break out of an unairconditioned prison that is in the heart of hot Panama. Caliente! Here is the run down. Michael got thrown into the worst prison in Panama. I knew the company would get him somehow. Now he needs to break out some dude who is also in there so that they don't kill the oh so hot Sara Tancredy and LJ. I'm still going to watch, but they should have ended this after season 2. Where does the show go from here?

NBC 7:00 MST- Chuck . Another lovable loser show. So hot right now. This is the second new show out this season from Jason Schwartz, the creator of the OC. He has again teamed up with McG (the moron who produced/directed Charlie's Angels. Girl Power!!!). Here's the LD on the DL. Chuck is emailed the files from an NSA/CIA supercomputer. The images and their codes are now stored in his brain. Seeing people and hearing sounds will trigger memories and bring these super secrets to the front of his mind. I was able to look past the fact that I hate McG and enjoy the first two episodes of this show. Chuck's character is sort of like Seth Cohen, but not as funny. Chuck's friend, whose supposed to be the comic relief, isn't funny. I'll keep watching to see where it goes.

NBC 8:00 MST- Heroes. I'm so happy that Heroes is back. I'm excited about the outlook of Volume 2. The mind of Darth Spencer was correct last spring when he successfully predicted that the illness suffered by little Molly would become a plague and a future story line. I'm looking forward to understanding how the company was formed and how its brought down to its knees. Lots of mysteries to be solved. Good thing they brought Veronica Mars in to investigate.

NBC 9:00 MST- Journeyman . Don't waste your time on this time travel drama. I had to fight just to get through the Pilot. Here is the deal. Some guy mysteriously travels back in time to help people. Sound familiar? They've totally ripped off Quantum Leap and then butchered the idea. QL was much funnier and much more creative.

Tuesday:
ABC 7:00 MST- Cavemen. I'm excited for the premier which is tonight. I love the commercials. I hope that ABC doesn't screw it up.

NBC 7:30 MST- The Biggest Loser. Another season of the Biggest Loser is upon us. I'll admit that I really used to enjoy this show and used to watch it all the time. It really did motivate me to get fit. Now I've become too lazy to even watch it. Sammy from Days is the new host. I hope that Stefano kidnaps her. Lucas would be so pissed. Jillian is back and bad as ever this season. Anyone else think she looks like a man version of Amanda Peet?

Wednesday:
NBC 8:00 MST- The Bionic Woman. Bill Haverchuck would be very pleased. His favorite show is back. David Eich is the remake creator and producer. David is also behind the most excellent remake of Battlestar Galactica and will also be behind the Battlestar spin off, Caprica. Starbuck and Cheif Tyroll both showed up in the Pilot. I wonder how long it will take the Bionic Woman to figure out that they are Cylons. Though there were some cheesy one liners, I really enjoyed the show and think that it has some serious staying power. Highly suggested by Darth Spencer.

Spike 8:00 MSt- The Ultimate Fighter. Do you like violence and the martial arts? Then the new season of TUF is for you. This is the realty series behind the UFC. Think of the Contender. Its pretty much the same, but much better.

Thursday:
NBC 7:00 MST- My Name Is Earl. I'm impressed with the writing on this show. The very nature of the story requires that the same thing happens each episode. Earl has to right one of his wrongs in order to please Karma. Not only have the writers been able to do this every episode and keep it interesting, they also been able to weave in a continuing story line which flows along nicely. There are great supporting characters. If you gave it up or never gave it a chance, repent.

NBC 7:30 MST- 30 Rock. I'm still pissed that Ugly Bettie beat out Tina Fey for the Emmy. At least 30 Rock took best comedy (though I do believe that The Office is even funnier). Every character on this show is hilarious. I never thought that I would say that about Alec Baldwin, but he really is so funny on it. If your not watching, then you should start. You will be very pleased.

NBC 8:00 MST- The Office. The best comedy on TV and if anyone dare deny it, I will strike them down like Obi Wan was struck down by Darth Vader.

ABC 8:00 MST- Grey's Anatomy. Way too much drama but it still sucks me in. I tend to skip an episode or two here and there, but I still enjoy the show. I can't figure out why the main character is so unlikable.

Friday:
Sci Fi Channel 7:00 MST- Flash Gordon I've heard many celebs talk about Flash Gordon and how it was such an influence on them as children. I was really excited for this show but in all honesty its not too great. Its sort of cheesy and I guess its supposed to be like that. Flash is called Flash because he can run fast. He's also charming and intuitive. Those are pretty much all his skills. No wonder he's the protector of the universe.

Saturday:
CW 7:00 MST- Saturday Night Live. Same cast as last year. Though I miss Tina Fey, I really like this cast. The majority of the skits are pretty funny. La Bron James was excellent last week in the High School Musical sketch.

What are your favorite shows for the fall season?

Anything you think I missed?

The Unethical Treatment of Magical Beasts & Creatures

2007-09-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-23-2007

I was finally able to see Stardust a week or so ago and I must admit that I enjoyed the movie very much. This isn't a review, but more of a comment on one aspect the movie. To see an excellent review of the movie, visit this link to send you to TJ's blog.

Though I loved the movie, I along with PeTA, was very upset at seeing the unethical treatment of the magical creatures that were featured in this movie. My heart sank to the deepest pits of the deepest abyss when I saw that Unicorn go up in flames. At least this Unicorn died, doing what Unicorns do, using magic to save others. I'm just happy that it wasn't sent to the Kentucky Fried Unicorn slaughter house. They probably would have ripped off its magical horn and made it suffer while it was still alive before sending it through the meat grinder.

This blatant disregard for the life of Unicorns makes it easy for me to understand why Unicorns are almost extinct.

What do you think of the unethical treatment of magical beasts?

Should PeTA get involved in protecting the rights of magical creatures?

Any suggestions on how to take a stand against such treatment?

I Bet Spielberg and Lucas Are Pissed

2007-09-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-10-2007

I guess you take the good with the bad.

The Good:
He's handsome. He's funny. He's been called the young Tom Hanks. And Shia LaBeouf is so hot right now.

The Bad:
He is an uncontrollable rebel.

Last night at the MTV VMAs, Shia presented some award, but before he did so, he broke all agreements of secrecy, and revealed the name of the 4th Indiana Jones installment. Check it out in his own words,

"I've been sworn to secrecy by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to not tell you the title of the next Indiana Jones movie, but I'm 21 now and this is Vegas baby. It’s a big deal. Nobody’s ever heard it before. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

I bet Lucas and Speilberg were so pissed that Shia let this slip during a huge event with a huge 12-49 year old advertising demographic.

Nonetheless, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sounds awesome.

What do you think of the title?
Have you heard any leaked secrets about the 4th installment?

The History of Hiro's Sword

2007-09-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

Stardate 09-04-2007

Us here at the Ministry of Truth are getting pretty pumped up for the upcoming Heroes: Season 2. As many of you may or may not know, the second season of Heroes will focus quite a bit on the origins of the Heroes. In anticipation of the new season the team behind Heroes have taken a page out of JJ Abrams' Lost book and have created a mock website dedicated to giving its viewers some additional back story. Here is the gist of the website and a link to the website.

Kaito Nakamura, Hiro's father, founded a fellowship to honor various heroes throughout history. One of the heroes that is honored is Takezo Kensei. Throughout the first season, Hiro and Ando made many references to Kensei and Kensei's sword. It was Kensei's sword that Hiro had to find in order to bring back his power and eventually kill Syler. The Yamagato Fellowship provides historical information about Kensei and his sword and also has videos that one can watch to find out more detailed information. The videos are set up like a documentary that you would watch on the History Channel and are pretty cool. The stories told here are supposed to be the same stories about Kensei that Hiro's father told to him when he was a little boy.

I would recommend going to the link above to watch the videos. They are going to release a new one each week. The videos are only about 4 min. long. There is already one that you can watch and there is supposed to be another one that comes available today. I've found a small 1 min. clip of the first video on YouTube. You can watch it to get a taste, but the real thing is better.

Another note of interest is that in Heroes: Season 2, Takezo Kensei will be played by David Anders. Most of us will recognize him as Sark from Alias. Strange but interesting.

If You Frequent SciFiNerdBlog and Are Single, Do Not Skip Over This Post

2007-08-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Stardate 08-31-2007

My female and I have enjoyed some incredible Realty Shows over the years. It seems like the ones that we like the most have been about nerdy guys interacting with beautiful but somewhat stupid women, i.e. Average Joe, Beauty and the Geek. If you're not already aware, there is a new gem that fits this mold on VH1 called The Pick Up Artist. The Pick Up Artist follows the journey of 8 socially inept males who not only want to know how to talk to a woman, but also want to know how to pick up on a woman. They've done a really good job of casting the show and each of the 8 guys have different problems when trying to pick up on women. Here are some of their problems: stuttering, too energetic, freezes up, condescending, women always think of one as a "brother" or "best friend," and my favorite, there is one guy who gets involved with women and a couple of weeks later when he tries to put the moves on him, they always seem to say, "Oh, I thought you were gay."

This show is great because its easy to relate to these guys and to see them trying to pick up on women. Their awkwardness and lack of social skills make the show hard to watch at times, but at the same time incredibly entertaining. The other reason that this show is great is that they are learning how to pick up on women from the the ultimate Pick Up Artist, Mystery and his two wingmen, Matador and J Dog. Mystery created what is called, "The Mystery Method" of picking up on women.

Here is a short clip advertising the show:

Mystery is what makes the show. Part of the episode is dedicated to a boot camp where Mystery teaches the guys how to attract and pick up on women. Mystery has even developed his own language and lingo to describe all of his strategies.

Here are some of my favorites:
Peacocking- You want to wear clothes or items that make you stand out or flash like a peacock. So far, I've seen Mystery wear a furry top hat, binoculars, goggles, or large head phones.
2 Set- Two women standing together at a bar.
Gauntlet- A random story or observation that enables a PUA(Pick Up Artist) to open or engage a set.
IOI- Indicator of Interest, which is verbal or nonverbal communication between two people which conveys sexual interest.
Neg- Negs are intended to be false disqualifiers and are intended to lower the target's comparative value to the seducer. Specifically, they are not insults; instead, they resemble the comments of a person who does not view the target as being sexually interesting. Here is a common example given my Mystery, "Nice nails, are they real? No? Oh, well they're nice anyway."

Just a further comment on Peacocking. Last week Mr. Rumble made us T-Shirts to wear to the Celine Dion concert. These T-Shirts were bright white and had some funny sayings on them about Celine. There were two different times when a 3 Set and a 2 Set of girls were throwing all kinds of IOIs at TJ and Mr. Rumble. Why is that? Because they were peacocking.

The Pick Up Artist airs Mondays on VH1. You can also watch past episodes on VH1's website.

Join Me as I Pour Out a Little Fire Water to Our Ancestors Departed

2007-08-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Stardate 08-22-2007

I saw a gem of a movie the other week and I just know that ya'll would love it as much as I did. Though it was difficult to watch the slaughter of our people, Pathfinder tells the true story of the persecution of our ancestors. You see, 600 years before the "discovery" of America, the Vikings would come to our land and kill our people for sport. The movie tells the story of a small Viking boy who was left behind by his family. He was taken in and raised by our people as one of their own. Years later, the Vikings would return for more blood, but they would receive an unexpected suprise.

Though I must applaude the production of this movie for keeping the story's historical integrity in place, I think that they could have made a much better movie had they embelished a bit. For example, the Indians faught with sticks. Of course they're going to get slaughtered by the Vikings who have armor and swords. The action sequences would have been much more entertaining if the Indians at least had some tomahawks. At least the Viking boy who has become and Indian warrior can fight. Check out this great YouTube clip to see how one can slaughter many. Enjoy the blood bath.

The only reason that I am able to look past this and still recommend this movie is because towards the end of the story, the Viking boy who has become and Indian warrior is able to defeat the Vikings not by using his Viking skills, but by using his knowlege of nature and the land. How does a young Viking/Indian Warrior kill hundreds of ravenous, blood-lusted Viking men with his knowlege of nature you might ask? You'll have to see it to find out.

2007 Washington County Fair: Is Out Of This World

2007-08-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

Stardate 08-12-2007

My female and I decided to go to the Fair last Saturday night. You can imagine my excitement when on the way there, my female started reading a review from the paper and we found out that the fair had a Sci-Fi theme. Here are some highlights from this years fair:

1. Lasertainment Laser Light Show. Spectacular high-impact laser and lighting displays.
2. NASA Exhibits
3. Portable Planetarium. Visitors were given the chance to sit in a portable laser dome show and learned the exciting news of the new SouthWest Science Center. A new planetarium that will be built right here in St. George.
4. Space and Science Fiction Themed Art.
5. Science and Physics demonstrations from a University of Utah professor. Owen learned all about inertia.
6. The crown jewel of them all: A tribute to the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. An open air movie presentation of Return of the Jedi and a chance to meet the characters.

Can you believe how awesome this was? I was so excited to go and learn about space. Here are some of our family's favorite moments.

1. Met Darth Vader, Owen did. Like him, he did not.
2. Owen loved the animals. He pet a bunny, a baby chic, goats, horses, a donkey and a baby cow.
3. My female and I ate our first funnel cake. It was delish, but we both thought it would have been better if it had been a cooler day. Hot funnel cake and a hot day does not a perfect treat make.
4. We saw Chewbacca from a distance and I kept screaming for him to come over and see us. I them screamed, "Chewbacca, bless my baby." I got a good laugh and a nod from a white trash guy who was walking by.
5. Owen went on the Merry-Go-Round and loved it.
6. Allison and I bought Italian styled sunglasses from Carnies.

Help me Obi-Wan Kanobi. You're my only hope.

The Stormtrooper was not as scary.

I thought Owen was going to go "Lenny" on this baby chic, but he was actually very gentle.

You can see my female sporting the hot European Sunglasses that we bought from some nice Asian Carnies.

Darth Spencer and Owen on the Merry-Go-Round. Owen loved it and you can see my smooth sunglasses that were bought from the Asian Carnies.

Cblakes Just Turned 29. Will He Run?

2007-07-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-31-2007

Sometime in the 23rd century...
the survivors of war, overpopulation and pollution
are living in a great domed city, sealed away from the
forgotten world outside. Here, in an ecologically balanced world,
mankind lives only for pleasure,
free by the servo-mechanisms which provide everything.
There's just one catch:
Life must end at thirty unless reborn in the fiery ritual of Carousel.

I just finished watching a Sci-Fi gem; Logan's Run. I'd seen and heard references to it for a while now and I saw that Bryan Singer of X-Men and Superman Returns is planning a remake so I thought I had better check it out. I must say that I loved it. Here is a synopsis:

Its the 23rd Century and the world is in a state of decay and ruin. In order to avoid its perils, a civilization has created a huge dome that keeps them safe from the outside world. They live in this Utopia with only one purpose; pleasure. In order to maintain this Utopia and prevent overpopulation, the inhabitants must obey one rule. When they turn 30, they must take their chances and enter Arcade. It is in Arcade that they will either die or renew. Those who choose to Run, rather than take their chances in Arcade, are pursued by the Sandmen. A Sandman's job is to chase the runners and kill.

Logan 5 is a Sandman. He is 25 and has five years of pleasure left in his life. He is confident that when he turns 30, he will go to Arcade and will not die, but will renew. However, when he receives a special mission from the computer, things change. Logan 5 is told of an under ground railroad type group that helps runners escape to a place called Sanctuary. The computer assigns Logan 5 the task of infiltrating Sanctuary and killing all those who ran. In order to do this, he must run himself. The computer makes changes to the internal system that monitors age and these changes show that Logan 5 is of age. After Logan accepts the assignment, he asks if he will get his five years back after completing the mission. When the computer does not answer, Logan has a change of heart and decides that he needs to find Sanctuary, not to kill them, but to hide with them.

Not only is this movie great because of its story, but you will enjoy the amazing special effects. They will actually make you laugh pretty hard. The view of the city scape under the dome is the best. It couldn't be more obvious that it is a model and at times it looks like they made the city out of old shoe boxes and toilet paper roles. If you enjoy old Sci Fi stuff, you'll really enjoy Logan's Run.

Be warned. The same guy who gave Sixteen Candles a PG rating probably was assigned Logan's Run as well. There is even more nudity and has the same rating.

So, Cblakes, will you run or will you try for renewal?
What would you do?

Project: Cloverfield

2007-07-12T14:28:00.001-07:00

Stardate 07-12-2007

Captain's Log:
Those who have been blessed enough to have seen Transformers caught a glimpse of a mysterious untitled monster movie. All you could really tell from the trailer was that it looked pretty cool and that it was produced by JJ Abrams.

Take a look if you haven't already seen it. The best is seeing the Statue of Liberty's head go flying by at the end.

I've looked into things a little bit and found that the project name and story line is top secret. Not even the studios behind it will give out any information. I've decided that not only is JJ Abrams a sci fi genious, he is also a marketing genious. Two offical web sites have already hit the interweb. One is called Ethan Haas Was Right and the other is Ethan Haas Was Wrong People are already going crazy about this stuff and its creating quite a buzz on the interweb. The movie is supposed to be out 1/18/08 which is about a half year away. It will be interesting to see if this type of marketing strategy will work better than the traditional approach. Both sites include puzzles that people are already working on and trying to figure out what they say or mean. Looks like most people think that they crazy writing is Sanscrit. Some of the more interesting things that I am guessing about from what has been said on these web sites is that Ethan Haas is some type of prophet who prophisied that a war between the Gods would take place for a brief time on earth.

Ever Feel Like You Were an Alien in High School?

2007-07-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Stardate 07-05-2007

Captain's Log:
Its taken me a few years, but thanks to my sister-in-law and blockbuster online, I've finally been able to finish all three seasons of Roswell. For those who don't know about the TV series Roswell, just think about this formula: Coming of age teen drama + Roswell aliens = an amazing viewing experience. Here is a brief run down and my thoughts on each of the seasons.

Season 1
This season starts off at the Crash Down, which is basically the sci-fi themed version of the Peach Pit. Beautiful Liz Parker works as a waitress in her families cafe. She witnesses an argument between two bozos and is caught in the middle of a gun fight. With guns a'blazin', Liz gets shot and goes down for the count. Max Evans, a seemingly ordinary teen, rushes over to her and places his hand on the wound and magically heals her. After coming back to life, Liz has questions and turns to biology, her forte, to get the answers. She secretly takes a saliva sample from Max during science class and finds that his cells look nothing like Human Cells. She confronts him about this and Max comes clean. He tells her that he, his sister and best friend are all aliens who survived in the Roswell incident of 1957. The rest of the season deals not only with the blossoming romance of Max and Liz but with the aliens struggle to fit in with humans, gain control of their powers, and learn who they are and where they come from. By the end of the season we have learned that the aliens are Royalty and have been sent from planet Antar, which has been overthrown by bad aliens. After being killed, the good aliens melded the DNA of the deceased aliens with the DNA of earth humans and sent them here to protect them so that one day they could rise up and return home and free them from the evil aliens. However, this plan was never able to come to fruition because of the unexpected crash of their ship.

Season 1 is excellent. Its a pretty good balance, about 60/40, of romance vs. sci-fi. Its fun to meet the characters and be along side of them as they discover who they are and what their purpose is. There is also plenty of evading local and federal law enforcement as they strive to keep their alien identities a secret.

Season 2
In the second season we find out about The Skins. The Skins are the group of bad aliens who overthrew the aliens when they were still on their home planet. They have since found out about the hybrids and the plan to have them return to Antar and take the planet back. Because they didn't have the time, these aliens have a lesser technology that allows them to walk among humans and blend in. They are basically required to shed their human skin and then regenerate in a pod. This season also focuses on Max and his new love Tess. Tess is the fourth alien sent down from Antar. She was once Max's wife and still in love with him. Eventually Max's alien desire becomes too strong and he makes sweet alien love with Tess and impregnates her. By the end of Season 2, Tess has betrayed Max and takes his baby with her as she returns to Antar where she will give his son to Max's alien enemy.

The first 8 or 10 episodes of the second season are by far the most creative as far as science fiction goes and were by far my favorite. This is largely due to the new executive producer that they brought on board, Ronald D. Moore. Moore is well known as a writer and executive producer of Star Trek: TNG, Deep Space Nine, and is the creator and Exec. Producer of the new Battlestar Galactica.

Season 3
The main story line of the third season deals with Max trying to figure out a way to get back to Antar and save his planet and child. He is also trying to rekindle his relationship with his true love, Liz Parker, which is a very hard task because of the fact that he got another alien pregnant. This season also deals with how the lives of the aliens are changed after their parents and the rest of the public find out that they are aliens.

The other two seasons are much better. This season jumps back to the romance aspect of the story and it drags a bit. Even though I didn't like how things ended up, watching this third and final season was worth it. Its still good and entertaining.

A Fond Farewell to the Canadian Crippler

2007-06-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Stardate 06-26-2007

Captains Log:

If there was a sport that captured the essence of Science Fiction, I would have to say that that sport was Pro Wrestling. My earliest memory of wrestling is sitting on a blue couch with Ian and my Dad, watching Andre the Giant fight Hulk Hogan. I'm glad that my dad let me watch wrestling and I plan to pass on this torch to my children.

Pro Wrestling lost a legend this week and though I haven't followed wrestling in a while, I was sad to see him gone. Chris Benoit aka The Canadian Crippler hung himself after he murdered his wife and seven year old son. Steroids were found on the scene and though autopsy results won't be available for weeks, many are pointing their fingers to "Roid Rage."

Though these events are extremely tragic, I would like to focus on the Chris that I remember. In my opinion, the high light of The Crippler's career was being asked by Ric Flair and Arn Andersen to join the 4 Horsemen.

Just before the computer melt down of Y2K, me, Juddy, Nate, Clay, and Christopher went to WCW at the ECenter. We were privileged to see such athletes as Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, Mean Gean Okerlund, Chris Jerico, Ray Mysterio Jr., Rick Stiener, Bam Bam Bigalo, and Goldberg. We were also graced with the presence of The Crippler. He was featured in a tag-team cage match against the NWO. The Rumbler captured the magic with his camera. Enjoy.

The Crippler getting ready for some serious cage action.

The Crippler laid a serious suplex on his opponent, leaving him immobilized. This opened the door for Chris to climb to the top of the cage.

I remember seeing him at least 20' up in the air and wondering what he was going to do next.

The next thing I knew, he was flying. The Crippler sprawled out completely and as he landed flat on his belly, his head landed right in the mid-section of his opponent. The final crushing blow was enough...

For Victory.

Follow this LINK to see pictures of Pro Wrestlers who have died. Its crazy to see how many have died from heart attacks (steroids) or cocaine or other drug OD.

After looking at the link, Mr. Rumble and I would like you to do the following:
1) Share any memory or story that you have of the greats who have fallen
2) Create your own list of 5-10 Pro Wrestlers that you believe will die from steroids or other drug OD

KVP: First Mission

2007-06-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Stardate 06-15-2007

I've checked things out over at Fanlib.com and its actually pretty cool. The idea of the site is that fans of all types of sci fi and fantasy can write their own short stories and have others read them and comment on them. It appears that they often do writing contests and have prizes for the winnners.

The first mission for KVP got kicked off this last Wed. The directors have given 4 story lines for fans to contemplate, discuss and vote for. (If you want to participate in this then you must sign up by the 16th. I have already done so and will include a link below so that you can go and sign up if you want.) The favorite will be used as the premise for the story. HERE is the link to watch the four videos. I've also copied and pasted the stories below so that fans of The Ministry of Truth can read and discuss them here if the so desire.

From Fanlib.com-
I'm your Mission Director, Andre Bormanis, and to kick things off, I've outlined four potential directions for exploring the "Kirk versus Picard" argument.

Please discuss and debate each one here in the forum, and then vote for your favorite. Whichever direction you choose, I'll guide you with weekly "Missions" and helpful suggestions. Working together, we'll create the ultimate "Kirk vs. Picard" adventure.

1) THE RETURN OF KHAN
Enterprise-D returns from a three-month, long-range recon mission beyond our galaxy and makes a shocking discovery: the Federation has been all but obliterated.

Picard learns that a renegade human colony, established nearly a century ago by James T. Kirk on Ceti-Alpha V, waged a surprise attack against Earth, and won. Picard quickly realizes the time-line has somehow been altered. The notorious Khan was not killed in an epic battle with Kirk fifteen years after he was exiled on that remote planet...

Picard orders Enterprise-D to go back in time to confront both Kirk and Khan in a desperate gambit to restore the time-line -- and the future of the Federation.

2) HISTORY LESSON
James T. Kirk is on a top-secret historical mission to present-day Earth. Someone from the future is trying to alter Earth's past, and Kirk has been ordered to find and stop him. But Kirk isn't the only agent visiting our era from the future: Jean-Luc Picard is also here, and his mission is to track down Kirk!

A game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Picard befriends Kirk and gains his confidence, all the while concealing his identity as a fellow starship Captain from the future. Picard has been told by Starfleet Command that Kirk is going to tamper with history by preventing one of the defining events of the 21st century. Picard has orders to stop Kirk, even if it means killing him.

3) PRISONER OF TIME
Enterprise-D discovers an escape pod floating in the void. Sensors show one human lifesign, in cryonic suspension. They beam the pod aboard and discover the occupant is James T. Kirk.

Picard orders Crusher to revive him. Kirk is amazed to find himself alive, so many years into the future -- he didn't expect there to be a future! That means there's still time... Kirk warns of an impending threat to the galaxy. But his behavior is paranoid, almost delusional. Crusher warns Picard that brain damage is often a consequence of long-term hibernation, but Kirk insists that he's completely sane, and unless Picard takes him deep into the heart of Romulan territory on what may well be a suicide mission, the entire galaxy - and every living being in it -- will be destroyed.

When Picard refuses to cross the neutral zone, Kirk steals into the Battle Bridge, separates from the saucer section, and heads into Romulan territory. Picard has no choice but to pursue...

4) THE GUARDIAN OF FOREVER
The Guardian of Forever is malfunctioning -- or possibly going insane. Time-quakes are erupting from it, throwing an entire sector of space into chaos. Kirk is ordered to investigate, but the Enterprise becomes trapped in a temporal eddy.

A tractor beam from another Federation ship pulls Enterprise to safety. Kirk is shocked to discover that the other ship is Enterprise-D! From the perspective of Kirk and his crew, only a few hours have passed since they entered the Guardian's system, but the temporal eddy has thrown them nearly a century into the future.

The time-quakes are becoming more violent, and could eventually spread throughout the galaxy. Kirk wants to destroy the Guardian immediately, but Picard argues that would be immoral - the Guardian is a unique, sentient being.

As the two Captains clash, the surprising source of the Guardian's malfunction is discovered... but is it too late to save this mysterious gateway to the past?

OK--Which one do you like the most? My favorite is the Khan story line. I sort of had a similar idea so I have voted for this one out of sheer pride. I love the idea of Khan getting tangled up with Kirk and Picard. This would make for quite the triangle.

Star Trek: Kirk vs. Picard

2007-06-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Stardate 06-08-2007

From Sci Fi Wire- A News Service of the Sci Fi Channel

Fans Invited To Write Trek Story. Click HERE to see an introductory video with Wesley Crusher and Sulu.

Star Trek actors George Takei and Wil Wheaton and writer Andre Bormanis have teamed up with FanLib.com and CBS Interactive for Kirk vs. Picard, an event in which fans will be invited to write pieces of a new online Trek narrative.

The event, which kicks off June 13, marks the first time that CBS has ever allowed the use of Star Trek characters for an official online fan-writing event, organizers said.

The storyline will require that Capt. James T. Kirk be pitted somehow against Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.

Takei (Sulu) and Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) will act as online "hosts" for the endeavor. Bormanis will moderate and help fans navigate the site.

Writers of winning scenes and several other winners will be featured prominently online during the event and will win prizes, including a trip to Las Vegas with a VIP tour of Star Trek: The Experience, Apple MacBook computers, an Apple iPhone and Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia.

Readers of the Ministry of Truth--How awesome is this? This sounds like so much fun to me. We have some talented writers and some creative minds in the family. We should get together and come up with a story to submit. Basically how it works is that they will have an online forum where people can discuss ideas and issues. Then the moderators will give direction and a basic story outline to those who want to participate. Each week a new scene gets written for the virtual experience and fans get to vote on which one they think is the best.

Lets get started with some basics. Kirk or Picard? Who would win in a fist fight? a mind battle? a space battle? who has the better crew? who gets more ladies? which one do you like more and why?

Why would they fight against each other? how and where would they meet up in time?

Any and all ideas are welcome. I'll even allow females to post, even though their ideas probably wont be worth much.

Heroes Finale

2007-06-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Stardate 06-03-2007

For me, the first 22 episodes of Heroes was like this kid getting his Nintendo 64, and then the finale was like getting the remote control car. The video says it all. A special thanks to Kyle for first posting the video on his blog. I've watched it about 5 times already.

Here is a list of things that would have made the finale better.

1. Mr. Bennet should have killed that annoying little girl, Molly. I realize that's brutal to kill a little kid, but she is so dang annoying, and we wouldn't have had to put up with crap like this, "You're my hero officer Parkman." "Please don't die officer Parkman. You're my hero." Killing a little girl would have given that darkness back to Mr. Bennet that made him such a great and creepy character for the first half of the season. Also, they keep saying that she is the only one who can stop Sylar. This makes no sense. The Haitian and Eden were both able to put Sylar down earlier in the season. Molly is expendable and would have made for good collateral damage in the finale.

2. The finale wasted some serious time with the story line of Ando and Parkman going after Sylar on their own. Why would either of them think that they could kill Sylar on their own when both of them have seen what he can do. These events were not even important to the lack luster ending.

3. Instead of the time they wasted with Ando and Parkman, they should have focused on Hiro and his back story. In one of the online comics, we find out that Hiro is short for Hiroshima. He was named Hiroshima because his grandfather died in the nuclear blast. They should have tied this idea to the bomb going off in NYC and Hiro's desire to stop it.

4. The showdown at Kirby Plaza between Peter and the rest of the Heroes against Sylar was totally boring. We have a whole group of people with super powers and all they did was punch each other? I've given it some thought and this is how things should have gone down. The first thing we see is Peter, staring at Sylar in the plaza from afar. Peter goes invisible and starts running towards Sylar. Though Sylar can't see him, he can hear him and with the quickest of reactions he uses his telekinesis to cut down a light post and sends it hurdling at Peter. But Peter is one step ahead of Sylar. He knows what his thoughts are because he can hear them, so right before the pole hits him, he becomes uninvisible and flies straight up into the air and then straight down and plows him into the cement. After they both get up, Peter and Sylar commence to sling different items from around the plaza at each other. It is clear that Sylar is more powerful or at least has more control over the telekinesis and Peter is wearing down. Its at this moment that Sylar lifts up the water from the fountain at the middle of the plaza and sends it flying at Peter. At the last second, Sylar freezes the water and huge icicles impale Peter's body, the largest of which goes right through his head. Sylar belts out a scream of excitement and rage. Excitement because he has killed Peter and rage because he has damaged Peter's brain. He knows that he will be unable to collect Peter's brain and steal his powers.

Right away, Sylar knows that this emotional breakdown is a mistake. He has left himself temporarily vulnerable right at the wrong moment. He looks up and sees Hiro appear out of thin air. Hiro runs at Sylar and starts slashing his samurai sword at him. Right before the blade is about to slice of his head he stops it with his telekinesis. He pushes Hiro back and faces him and realizes that he can stop the force of the sword with his mind. With one hand behind his back, Sylar signals with his other hand for Hiro to attack him once again. Again, Hiro runs at Sylar and a battle begins; Hiro using his sword, Sylar using his hand and mind (think Luke and Vader in a light saber duel mixed with the moment in the Matrix when Neo discovers that he is the One and he fights Agent Smith with one hand behind his back). After a while, Hiro steps things up a notch and begins to teleport. One second he's in front of Syler, the next he's behind him. Everytime he reappears, he slashes at Sylar. If not for his ability to hear everything, Sylar would surly die. Eventually Hiro wears him down and appears directly behind Sylar in a crouching position and Sylar isn't quick enough to stop Hiro from slashing both of his Achilles heels. Hiro slashes, and we see blood splatter everywhere and hear the flesh cut. Sylar drops to his knees. Hiro teleports so that he is standing right in front of Sylar, looking him directly in the eye, and plunges the sword right into his gut. Hiro withdraws his sword and Sylar topples over.

Hiro sees Peter lying on the ground dead and runs over to help him. By now however, the icicles that impaled Peter's body have melted and his brain and other parts of his body have regenerated. He sits up right in time to see Sylar grab Hiro with his mind and send him flying at the wall. Peter sees Hiro teleport at the last moment. Syler struggles but gets to his knees. Peter sees his hands light up like a torch and realizes that Sylar is going to set off the bomb. At the last possible moment, Peter decides to sacrifice himself and flys away with Sylar in hand. The rest of the Heroes look up into the sky and see the nuclear explosion go off.

These things would have made for a very interesting and exciting finale. I think the biggest problem was that people who watched the show, including myself, really like Sylar as the bad guy, and I think that they felt that they should try to keep him around for a little longer. I don't think it was worth it to have the finale end like it did, with Sylar getting away.

There were one thing that I really liked about the finale and it will be interesting to see if it really means anything. The last thing we see as we pan out of Kirby Plaza is a trail of blood leading to an open sewer hole. If you look closely, you can see a cockroach climbing down into the hole. This is only cool when you think back to the first time we meet Mohinder while he is teaching a class back in India. Speaking of evolution, he says this, "We are not the pinnacle of so called evolution. That honor belongs to the lowly cockroach. Capable of living for months without food, remaining alive headless for weeks at a time. Resistant to radiation. If God has indeed created himself in his own image, then I submit to you that God is a cockroach."

What did you think about the finale? What do you want to see in Volume 2? Are you at all worried that Heroes will go down hill from here? How would you have made the fight between the Heroes and Sylar better?

Spiderman: The Prideful Nephite

2007-05-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-23-2007

Its happened to the best of them: The Backstreet Boys, Corey Feldman, Brittany Spears, Marie Osmond, Enron. Their start is humble, eagre and full of ambition. They are willing to work hard, put forth the effort and do whatever it takes to reach their goals. Soon their hard work pays off; they are rewarded for all of their time and effort that they have put forth. For these people, their rewards could have been self satisfaction, recognition, promotions, gigs, record contracts, acting roles, money and fame. They continue to live right and work hard, but soon, living right and working hard are forgotten and replaced with what is making them happy in that moment, which are of course, the fruits of their hard work. They soon forget what got them to the top and they start to care more about the fruits than the labors. Before they know it, Litte Nicky of BSB aint so little anymore; he's a fat drunk and his best friend AJ is checking into rehab. Corey can't act anymore because he's got too much coke up his nose. Brittany's shaving her head and becoming the laughing stock of the media. Marie decides not to love her kids anymore, and Enron's top exectutives are stealing the pensions of their hard working employees. Their pride and wickedness have lead to destruction and suffering. Not only for themselves, but for those around them. They have fallen and they are no more.

The scriptures teach us that this can happen to all of us. It can in fact, happen to an entire civilization. Those who have read the Book of Mormon know that the Nephites constantly fell into this vicious pride cycle. Their humility would lead to righteousness and prosperity, which would lead to pride and wickedness, which would lead to destruction and suffering, which comes full circle with humility and repentance. Over and over again. The following is a scripture from the Book of Mormon that illustrates this point-

"Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind of art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yeah, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yeah, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One--yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity." -- Helaman 12:2

We can now add one more to the luandry list of those who have fallen into the Pride Cycle. I recently went to see Spiderman 3 and was suprised to see how closely this movie followed this cycle. The first thing that we see in Spiderman 3 is that Spidy has risen to the top. Everyone loves him and crime is at an all time low. Peter Parker is also on top. It appears that he has finally figured out how to balance his personal life, MJ and school, with his life of fighting crime. Pretty soon Peter starts to love how famous he has become. He even has advice on what its like to be famous for his broadway star girlfriend, MJ.

The time comes for Spidey to take on the Sandman. Spiderman basically gets worked and can do little or nothing against this new villain. Luckily for Spidey, a strange alien has fallen from the sky. It looks like stringy strands of gooey black tar that can attach and mold itself to whatever it wants. We eventually find out that it can also take over whoever it molds itself to. Well, this black goo molds itself to Spiderman's suit and when Peter tries it on, he finds that he is faster, stronger, more powerful. Powerful enough to take out the Sandman. This new power doesn't come without its consequences. It makes Peter mean and hutful. He cares about no one but himself. For me, this black goo is an obvious metaphor for pride and both Peter and Spidey have fallen victim to it.

It takes while, but Peter is able to see how terrible he has been treating those whom he loves. He realizes the evil of the suit and tears it off of his body. At the end of the fim, Spiderman has to humble himself, swallow his pride and ask the help of one who used to be his enemy in order to save MJ from both Sandman and Venom.

Hopefully my literally thousands of readers can learn from Spiderman, the Nephites, and others who have come before them and not fall victim to the pride cycle. Unless of course you want to become a Dark Lord of the Sith. In that case you should use pride to make you more powerful.

Heroes

2007-05-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-14-2007

I keep going back and forth, trying to decide which is my favorite drama on TV: Heroes, Battlestar Galactica or Lost. All three are amazing and in my opinion, there isn't another drama out there that even comes close. I don't know why people waste their time watching garbage like CSI, CSI New York, CSI Las Vegas, CSI Miami, or SVU (I can sort of understand why people watch SVU--who doesn't love Ice-T?) etc.

Anyway, I've been really excited and getting into Heroes as of late. They are leading up to the end of Volume (season) 1 and things are lookin hot!!! The following are a list of observations and things that I've read about the show. First my observations and questions.

1. If Peter has absorbed Claire's power to heal, why does he have a scar on his face in the episode that jumps five years into the future? I believe that there is sometihng significant about the scar. I believe this because 10 or so episodes before the future episode, when future Hiro stops time in the subway to tell him to save the cheerleader, the first thing that he says to Peter is, "You look different without your scar." Any ideas as to the significance of the scar?

2. The little girl Molly will be very important in the next episodes. We actually met Molly the second episode of the season. She is the little girl that Parkman finds when he first discovers that he can hear other's thoughts. Linderman's company now has Molly in their care, but she is suffering from some sort of disease. They have enlisted the help of Mohinder in order to cure her. It appears that there is a disease that affects young girls who are developing their special powers. I believe that this disease that she has may be a future story line. Mohinder's little sister had special abilities and suffered and died from this disease. Molly, a special young girl also is suffering from the disease, but hopefully from the help of Mohinder, will not die. There was also an episode where Claire's mother told her that they had tried once before to find Claire's real parents. They did this because she was suffering from an unknown disease and wanted to find out about her family history. My guess is that because of her powers, Claire was able to heal on her own. What do you think?

3. When Nathan Patrelli meets Linderman, Linderman reveals to Nathan that he also has special powers. He tells Nathan that when he first found out about what he could do, himself and others with powers got together to form a group that would help those who needed it. He then says that the others in this group ruined things because of their desire to use their powers for personal gain and they broke up, though to me, it seems as if this is exactly what Linderman has done. In the future I hope to learn the back stories of these people and to find out where they are now. Are they the future evil ones that the Heroes will fight against? Or will they join them in their attempts to bring down Linderman?

The following comes from what I have read:

1. From an interview with Sulu- In the season finale, Hiro will travel back in time to learn how to use his sword. (On a few occasions, Hiro has told Ando about the history of the sword and who wielded it. It is Darth Spencer's belief that we may see that this is an ancestor of Hiro or possibly even his father. Perhaps Sulu has a similar ability to travel through time and space and it is he, who is the Bushido sword master)

2. From an interview with Tim Kring, creator of the show- Season 1 will end with a clear idea of what is in store for season 2. Season 2 will deal with the history of what is happening. The older characters, Sulu, Mother Patrelli, Linderman, will play a larger role in helping us to understand how these special powers are passed from person to person.

3. From an article in Newsweek- Season two will include a spin-off series. There will be 8 filler episodes that have nothing to do with the main Heroes storyline. These episodes will introduce new heroes and give a back story on them and their abilities. At the end of the season, the audience will be able to vote for one of these people to become a regular cast member. These episodes will appear during weeks when the show would usually be on a break. This way we get a maximum amount of Heroes. Pretty creative. Though it won't progress the story, I'd rather see this than another episode of Deal or No Deal.

4. Each week, a couple of small comics come out on NBC.com that give back story and filler between the TV episodes. I've finished them all and recommend them for those who really like Heroes. Some are great, some are pointless. The coolest thing that I found out is that Linderman served on a special ops mission during the Vietnam war with Nathan and Peter Patrelli's father. The father does not have special powers, but was actually healed by Linderman after being shot in the gut. Upon return to the States, Patrelli tries desperately to tell others in the army about Linderman's powers. Linderman denies everything and tells them that Patrelli is mad. This puts a serious scar on Patrelli for the rest of his life. Years later, Patrelli is married and has a little boy. He is contacted by Linderman and Linderman begs his forgiveness for not telling the truth. The comic ends with what looks to be the start of Linderman starting his company.

What do you think is the best drama on TV?
What ideas do you have about Heroes?
What do you think or hope is in store for season 2?

And the World Moved On...

2007-05-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-10-2007

"The greatest mystery that the universe offers is not life, but size...The child that is most at home with wonder says, 'Daddy, what is above the sky?' and the father says, 'The darkness of space.' The child, 'What is beyond space?' The father, 'The galaxy.' The child, 'Beyond the galaxy?' The father, 'Another galaxy.' The child, 'Beyond the other galaxies?' The father, 'No one knows.'"

"You see, size defeats us. For the fish, the lake in which he lives is the universe. What does the fish think when he is jerked up by the mouth through the silver limits of existence and into a new universe where the air drowns him and the light is blue madness? Where huge bipeds with no gills stuff it into a suffocating box and cover it with wet weeds to die?"

"If you fell outward to the limit of the universe, would you find a board fence and signs reading, 'Dead End?' No. You may find something hard and rounded, as the chick must see the egg from the inside. And if you should peck through that shell or find a door-- what great and torrential light might shine through your opening at the end of space? Might you look through and discover that our entire universe is part of one atom on a blade of grass?

"Imagine the sand of the desert. And imagine a trillion universes, not worlds, but universes, encapsulated in each grain of that desert, and within each universe, an infinity of others. We tower over these universes from our pitiful grass vantage point. With one swing of your boot, you may knock a billion, billion worlds flying off into darkness; in a chain, never to be completed. Size. Size."

"Yet suppose further. Suppose that all worlds, all universes, meet in a single nexus. A single pylon. A tower."--Thoughts by The Man In Black

These were a few excerpts from book one of Stephen King's seven book series-- The Dark Tower. Book one of The Dark Tower series is The Gunslinger. Many have said that The Dark Tower series is King's greatest achievement. Book one was written in 1982 and the series wasn't complete until books six and seven were released in 2004. King has said that during this time period, the number one question that his fans asked him was, "When are you going to finish book seven?" Though there is violence and some gore, this series is not horror, like most of King's other works, but a fantasy. I listened to The Gunslinger on CD and really enjoyed the story and the narration. The narrator sounds like an old cowboy with a raspy voice and a bit of a drawl. The voice of the narrator reminded me of the voice of the old guy from Young Guns II who claimed he was Billy the Kid.

In book one we meet Roland of Gilead, the last of the Gunslingers. He is on a quest to find the mysterious Man In Black, who will start him on the path to find The Dark Tower.

The book is set in a world that feels like the old west, where light and dark magic exist, and its people are strewn out over a vast desert plain. From the start the reader knows that there is something strange about time in this land and that things don't fully make sense. For example, there is a part where Roland walks into town and coming from the local saloon, he can hear Hey Jude being played ragtime style on the piano. Stranger things occur when Roland finds Jake, a young boy from New York who explains that he died in a car crash and then woke up in this strange land. There is also talk of In-World, Mid-World, and End-World, though it is unclear which they are in and how they get back and forth from one world to another.

A lot of people have said that book one can be slow at parts, but that the rest of the series is just amazing. I personally didn't find it slow at all. I really enjoyed the whole thing and I'm very excited to read or listen to the rest of the series and find out what awaits Roland in The Dark Tower.

Ender's Shadow

2007-05-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Stardate 05-01-2007

Whenever I was assigned to write a book report on the book of my choice from grades 5-12 I did that report on Ender's Game. The funny thing is is that it wasn't until my 6th or 7th go at the book that I actually finished it. In fact, it may be possible that I have attempted to start Ender's Game, but never finished it, more times than I have done so with The Book of Mormon. Now, the last thing I want to do is turn my literally thousands of readers off of Ender's Game. Since high school I have both read it and listened to it on CD from start to finish and it is by far one of my favorite sci-fi novels.

Years later, Orson Scott Card decided to look at possibly expanding upon the "Enderverse," and looked at the option of letting other authors write the stories of Ender's friends from Battle School. After lots of thought and contemplation, Card decided that he didn't want to let others write about the characters, but that he wanted to do so himself. He decided to try out an interesting experiment and write the same novel, but from a second characters perspective. Those who have read Ender's Game know that Bean becomes Ender's right hand man and only confidant. Card decided that Bean would be the logical person to write about and so he wrote Ender's Shadow.

Though I did like Ender's Game more, Ender's Shadow was also excellent. Card does an excellent job of expanding upon the original story and even the parts that overlap are not dull and seem entertaining and original. Just like in Ender's Game, this story progresses and is mostly told through the inner dialogue of the main character. There are of course some differences with the largest being that Ender is always thinking about the buggers and Bean is more focused on politics. This of course translates into the rest of the books in the "Shadow" series where we find Bean back on Earth where he is now in Ender's older brother Peter's shadow. I have not read these books but look forward to doing so.

Another item of interest to note is that at the end of the Ender's Shadow, there is an original afterward from Orson Scott Card where he talks about Ender's Game the movie. Here are the highlights from what he said.

He has run into numerous problems trying to get this movie made. At first, the most common problem was that they wanted to make Ender 16 years old, rather then 6 years old. This means that they would most likely cast a 24 year old who looks young to play a 16 year old. They also wanted to give Ender a love interest. This infuriated Card so much that he stalled production. The production company then lost the rights to the movie and Card took control of them. For the next few years he ran into the same problem, but has finally found a production company that will work with young children.

This creates another problem. Children are only allowed to work half days which translates into a longer shooting time and more money. Another problem is that for the most part, children are bad actors and he is very worried about finding someone to play Ender, let alone the rest of his friends from Battle School. Card mentions that after seeing Finding Neverland he feels more confident that he will be able to find children who can actually act.

The largest problem has been the fact that the story of Ender's Game is driven by Ender's inner voice. It has been extremely difficult for Card to come up with a screen play that progresses the story at a good pace, but that does not use Ender's inner voice let the audience know what is going on. After years or toying with different solutions, Card's production team came up with the idea of molding both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow into one story. The interaction between Ender and Bean will drive the story rather than relying on inner dialuge.

At the time that this afterward was written, Card mentioned that he had chosen Wolfgang Peterson as his director. He did not give any reasons why except for that he has enjoyed his work. I checked IMDB and Wolfgang is still slated to direct. Some of his past movies have been Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, Das Boot, Air Force One, Troy and Poseidon. I enjoyed Outbreak and In the Line of Fire, but some of his other movies seem like cheesy action films. I hope he does a good job with Ender.

Tears of Sadness-Tears of Joy

2007-04-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Stardate 04-17-2007

Its not often, but every once in a while a movie gets made that trandsends greatness and in my opinion, reaches a level of immortality--living in our hearts forever, never to be forgotten. This week I would like to focus my thoughts on two movies which have no doubt reached this level of immortality. Somewhere In Time and The Lake House.

How can two movies be so beautiful? I'll tell you how. All you do is combine two of my most favorite genres: Time Travel and Romance. LOL, I guess I shouldn't say, "All you do," as if its that simple to make such a great movie. Here is a brief synopsis of both movies.

Somewhere In Time- A mysterious old woman walks up to dreamy, young, and fully mobile Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) and gives him a watch and tells him to remeber her, but here is the catch, he's never met her before in his life. How mysterious, neh? So Richard visits an old college professor to ask him what he knows about bending time and space. The wise old professor tells Richard that it is all in the power of the mind, and that if your will is strong enough, your brian will send you back or forward in time. However, there is one pitfall. If the mind has any remeberance of the time that it is truely from, it will be too much to handle and the mind will revert back to its true time. So Richard actually does it, he returns back in time and finds the beautiful actress Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), who turns out to be the very same mysterious old woman who gave him the watch at the begining of the movie. Through test and trial, Richard is able to win the heart of Elise and they fall in love. What takes place next is truely tragic. After Richard and Elise pleasure in the delights of the flesh, they sit down to enjoy a warm bucket of fried chicken. Its at this moment that they are the happiest. Elise looks beautiful and Richard is in true form. He's joking and making Elise laugh, and then tragedy rears its ugly head. Richard pulls a modern day penny out of his vingage 1940s suit and his mind is reminded of its true place in time, and Richard is hurdled back into his true time. Though I loved this movie, it brought me Tears of Sadness.

The Lake House- The year is 2006 and the lovely doctor Kate Forester (Sandra Bullock) is moving out of her rented lake house. She drops a letter in the mailbox asking the future resident to please forward all her mail to her future address. The year is 2004 and frustrated architect Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) is just moving into his famalies lake house, and right away notices that there is a letter waiting for him. He opens it up to find that someone is asking him to forward all future mail to her new address. How strange? Young Alex knows that no one has lived in his famalies home since he was a child. This cannot be, so he decides to investigate and the impossilbe happens. He finds that somehow the mailbox sends letters from the past to the future and from the future to the past. How can this be? Is the mailbox equiped with a flux copaciter? Is Hiro Nokimora saving the world by somehow bringing Alex and Kate together for some strange future reason? Well we never find out the magic or science behind the mailbox, but we do find out about the staying power of love and the written word. For two years Alex and Kate write back and forth until one day Kate finds out that Alex is to die. In a mad dash she races to the lake house to send him a letter begging him not to try to meet her on that fateful day. At the end we find that Alex got the letter and did not try to meet her and by doing so, was not hit by that car, in turn also avoiding laying in his own pool of carnige and dismemberment. In the end, future Alex and future Kate embrace and stay together forever. I loved this movie and it brougt me Tears of Joy.

I'm pretty sure that casting is what made these movies what they are today; amazing. So this post is dedicated to Keanu and Christopher. Champions of acting.

Children of Men

2007-04-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Stardate 04-04-2007

Last night I sat down and watched Alfonso Cauron's Children of Men, which was so gripping and intense that at times I lost all sense of self. All of a sudden I would find myself gasping for air, and then realize that for the last 30 seconds or so, I had forgotten to even breath.

This is the best movie that I have seen in a long time. The story is set in the year 2027. Britain and the world are in a state of turmoil and shock because for some strange and unknown reason, women have become infertile. On top of this, the Argentines "bajaron la media cana" and killed the youngest boy in the world, 18 year old Diego, for refusing to sign autographs while vacationing in Buenos Aires.

A rouge group of rebels, pinned as "terrorists" by the British Government, has found a refugee girl who has miraculously become pregnant. The movie follows this group as they try to get her to a group called "The Human Project, " that will protect her and her child. Deceit, betrayal, and murder ensue.

Besides the great story, this movie is amazing for many reasons. First, the camera work is brilliant. The whole movie is filmed by a camera that is carried by hand. This gives the viewer an amazing sense that they are moving around with the characters. Something similar was done in The Bourne Supremacy, but at times, I felt almost too close to the action and could not tell what was going on. These pitfalls do not exist in Children of Men. The second thing that blew me away was the direction. Just about every scene is one long take, and each scene usually involves multiple people doing various different things. Because they are all part of one long scene, the timing and acting would have to be spot on, and it is. Third, the special effects were done so well and seem so realistic that at times I didn't even realize or think that they were using special effects.

I've never been more impressed with the forethought and planning that goes into making movies as I was with Children of Men.

Extremists, Part 1

2007-03-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Stardate 03-28-07

I've been reading a great book lately called Them: Adventures With Extremists. Them was written by Jon Ronson, the same guy who wrote the book The Men Who Stare at Goats which I wrote about in an earlier post. Ronson is hilarious and I really think that most of those who read my posts would get a kick out of his books. They are also incredibly interesting.

This book is also a full length piece of journalism where Ronson follows around and interviews those who the media has pinned as "Extremists." Ronson interviews a wide variety of extremists which include Islamic Terrorists, a Grand Wizard of the KKK, Militia men, and many others. Surprisingly, Ronson finds that though these extremists have very different views, they all share a common belief about the world.

Over the next couple of weeks I plan to showcase each of these extremists and then finish of with an examination of their common belief in The New World Order.

Omar Bakri Muhammed was once called "the most dangerous man in Britain." Bakri formed Al-Muhajiroun, an Islamist organization which was based in the United Kingdom. Bakri has claimed to be Osama Bin Laden's right hand man in Britain and has released statements that he claimed were prepared by Laden. Bakri has also said that he will not rest until the black flag of Islam is flying over Britain. He also claimed that he who practiced homosexuality, adultery, fornication, or bestiality would be stoned to death (or thrown from the highest mountain).

Here are some interesting moments from the book. At one part, Bakri has asked Ronson to drive him to a store called Cash and Carey so that he could purchase collection boxes that he would use to fund raise money for Hamas and Hizbullah, but all the store had left were large plastic novelty Coca-Cola bottles. After placing a half dozen of these bottles in his cart, Ronson commented to Bakri that he found it strange that he would collect donations for Hamas and Hizbullah in novelty Coke bottles. Bakri replied that he is not against the "imperialist baggage," just the corruption of "Western capitalism." Ronson then commented that nevertheless, "Coca-Cola is a powerful symbol of Western capitalism." After saying that he agreed, Ronson then asked Bakri, "So you are utilizing our symbols in your attempt to destroy them?" Bakri then replied, "Oh yes."

In a similar instance, Ronson drove Bakri to Office World so that Bakri could get some photocopies made of a pamphlet that was titled, "Crush the Pirate State of Israel." On the way, Bakri explained to Ronson that Office World is the best place to go for these services because, "if you find a photocopying service that's cheaper, Office World will give you a discount." "Capitalism," replied Ronson. "Capitalism," said Bakri, "Oh yes, I benefit from your capitalism to convey the message. I benefit from your freedom of speech."

It was around Bakri and his followers that Ronson first heard of the Bilderberg Group, The New World Order, who were the secret rulers of the world. Supposedly, this tiny group of men and a few women meet in a secret room and determine the course of world events.

Since this book was written, Omar Bakri has left Britain and is now living in Lebanon. He left of his own free will, but when he tried to return when the skirmish between Hizbullah and Israel broke out, he was denied entrance back into the country.

Stay tuned for my next post where we will examine what really happened at Ruby Ridge. We'll also unmask more secrets about Bildeberg. Hopefully they don't shut me down.

300

2007-03-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

Stardate 03-09-2007

I couldn't help but thinking while watching 300 that the people at the rating system are getting so touchy. I could not believe that this got an R rating. I'm pretty sure this one will be rated PG-13 up in Canada. There are really only a couple of people who get killed.

That said, here are some more thoughts on 300.

-I'm glad that it was historically acurate.

-Zerkzies I, the Persian ruler and bad guy was 9 feet tall.

-Spartans can kill anyone. Even the best that Asia has to offer. This includes: Immortal Persian Samuri, Bomb throwing China Men, and Giant deformed beasts (whose ethnicity I could not quite pin down).

-Beautiful 17 year old virgin Oracles don't always get thier predictions right.

-At age 7, Spartan boys are taken from their parents to be trained as warriors. They are also baptized in the blood of their foes.

Snape: Good or Evil?

2007-03-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

Stardate 03-02-07

SPOILER ALERT!!!!
If you have not read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, do not procede.

Though I know that it will bring utter destruction and an end to the world, I cannot not help but be extemely excited for the 7th and final installment of Harry Potter. My excitement caused me to give HPY7 another listen. I listened to HBP with one thing on my mind; Is Snape good or evil. In this post I will try to present evidence pointing towards both sides of the spectrum. I'm excited for all of your insights as well.

Background- As most of us know, Snape has always been enticed by the Dark Arts. He was terrorized as a student at Hogwarts by James Potter, Serious Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Petigrew and because of this, has a serious hate for all of them, especially James and Serious. After leaving Hogwarts, Snape became a Death Eater and was in the service of The Dark Lord. After time, Snape returned to Hogwarts and took up the post of Potions Master, though it was always his desire to teach Dark Arts. Dumbledore allowed him to come back for reasons that are still unknown to us. Though his loyalties have always been in question, Dumbledore claims that he is sure that Snape is remorseful for his past and has chosen the side of good. We know that Snape is double agent; a Death Eater and member of the Order of the Pheonix, but we don't know to which side he is truely loyal.

None of the following is hard solid evidence. Just my interpretations and observations.

Is Snape Evil?
1. HPY6-Snape swore an Unbreakable Vow and killed Dumbledore after Draco Malfoy failed to do so. The unbeakable vow is key here. If Snape did not kill Dumbledore, he himself would have to die. The text reads, Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revultion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. Dumbledore then says, "Severus...please..." Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly and Dumpledore. "Avada Dedarva!" Snape had revultion and hatred etched on his face and acted withouth hesitation.

2. Both Snape and Voldemort have muggle fathers and magic mothers. Because of this they play up their hate for wizzards and witches who are muggle born. Voldemort calls himself the Dark Lord and Snape calls himself the Half Blood Prince. Emphasis on Lord and Prince.

3. In HPY4, Harry and Cedric get transported to the cemetary. The Dark Lord's soul has been returned to its body and he has called the Death Eaters to aid him. If you will recall, the Death Eaters have encircled Harry and Lord Voldemort and Voldemort is going around the circle, one by one and pointing out each one for what they have done wrong during his absense. Its at this point that he says that his most loyal and trusted servant is at Hogwarts. Later in the book we find out that one of his Death Eaters, Barty Crouch Jr has taken pollyjuice potion and has taken on the form of Mad-Eye Moody. At first, I thought for sure he was speaking about Bartdy Crouch Jr. It later occured to me while reading HPY6 that he could have been refering to Snape.

4. What made me think that he could have been referring to Snape was at the begining of HPY6 when Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange visit Snape at his home and Narcissa asks Snape to make an unbreakable vow. Its at this point that Narcissa says, "You are the Dark Lord's favorite, his most trusted advisor."

5. Though at times it can be on the brink of annoying, Harry tends to get things right. In HPY5, Harry knew that Voldemort was back and was after something at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. Most everyone doubted him, but Harry was right. Voldemort was after the prophesy. In HPY6, Harry suspects that Draco is a Death Eater and is up to no good. Not even Ron or Hermionie believed this. In both instances, Harry was correct. Harry belives that Snape is still in the service of the Dark Lord.

6. Snape is a very accomplished Oclumence, meaning that he is a master at the magical defence of the mind and can protect himself from those with the talent of Legilimency, which is the ability to extract feelings and memories from other's minds. In HPY6, Snape tells Bellatrix that the Dark Lord is the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen.

7. In HPY6, Dumbledore tells Harry that most of the time, he gets things right, but he does seldom make mistakes, and when he does make mistkes, the consequences are monumental. In HPY5, Dumbledore tells Harry that he made a mistake about not telling him things sooner and that if he had done so, Serious may have survived. It is possible that the mistake that he could have made about Snape cost him his own life.

Is Snape Good?
1. Dumbledore knew the whole time that Snape had made the Unbreakable Vow and knew that it was part of the overall plan to bring down Lord Voldermort. In HPY6, Hagrid overhears Dumbledore telling Snape that he must go forward with the something. Snape says that he can no longer bare to do it. Hagrid never heard what that something was.

2. The hate and revulsion that was etched on Snape's face was directed to the act that he was about to commit, not at Dumbledore.

3. Snape protected Harry in HPY1 during the Quiddich match when Professor Squirel was trying to make him fall off his broom.

4. After Snape has killed Dumbledore and he and the other Death Eaters are fleeing from Hogwarts, Snape blocks a Cruciartus curse that is fired at Harry. When Harry attacks him directly, Snape simply parrys his attacks and tells him what he is doing wrong, all the while emphasizing that he needs to learn to block his mind. Snape hardly fights back and activly prevents other Death Eaters from attacking Harry.

5. During his converstation with Bellatrix in HPY6, Snape tells Bellatrix and Narcissa that he has done his upmost to get Harry Potter kicked out of Hogwarts, yet when Harry performs the Sectumsempra curse on Draco Malfoy and almost kills him, Snape only gives Harry detention.

6. Probably the most important thing is that which we do not know. For some reason, Dumbledore is possitive that Snape is good.

So now you have some things to think about. Here are some more questions that come to mind:
What bennefit does Snape have for being either good or evil?
What does he stand to gain?
What does he stand to lose?
Is it important for Harry to believe that Snape is evil?
If Snape is good, the he and Dumbledore had to decide who's life was more important. The unbreakable vow would only allow for one of them to live. With all that Harry still has left to do, why would Snape's life be more imporant then Dumbledore's?

I look forward to your questions, comments, and arguments.

The Road

2007-02-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-21-07

Katie, of Katie's Cafe, gave me The Road by Cormac McCarthy for Christmas this year. Ian alwyas seems to be going off about Cormac McCarthy and how great he is. I've decided that if Cormac is good enough for Ian and Matt Damon, then he's good enough for me.

The Road is a post apocalyptic tale about a father and his son and their journey to the South. The scene that McCarthy paints is a chilling wasteland of death and decay. The world has been destroyed and polluted and seems to be in a state of perpetual winter. Everything is black; either scorched or covered in black ash and nothing lives except for the few remaining humans who roam the earth, scavenging for food, supplies, or anything that will keep them alive.

I really loved this book. It is both beautiful and terrifying. The little boy and his Papa share a very tender relationship. I've never found myself so concerned for characters in a book before. But I must warn, that this book is not for the light of heart. Father and son are put through some shocking and awful ordeals that are both violent and disgusting. There are parts that will leave you sick to your stomach.

I've decided that the reason that this book is so freaky is not only because of what McCarthy says but also because of what he doesn't say. We never find out the characters names, the time frame for when these events are taking place, or where they are. It gives the reader nothing to hold on to or to orient themselves to. You find yourself almost as lost as the young boy and his Papa. For me, the best example of this, and the one that freaked me out the most, was not knowing why the little boy and his Papa were so afraid to meet other people while traveling on the road.

To find out, you'll have to go down The Road yourself.

Night Watch

2007-02-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

Stardate 02-09-2007

Darth Spencer's post has been approved for distribution as conductive to the cause of Light.

-The Night Watch

Darth Spencer's post has been approved for distribution as conductive to the cause of Darkness.

-The Day Watch

They walk among us, and we have no idea who they are. They are the guardians of Light and Dark. They are vampires, warewolves, wizzards, witches, shape shifters, and those with other supernatural powers. They are called, "The Others," and they are at war.

In order to maintain a balance of power, the choice is given to all Others as to which side they will join. Each Other must choose his or her own path; the rules of war dictate that before they choose, they cannot be negativly or positivly influenced by either side. Both sides lay in wait for the prophisied chosen one of unthinkable power to come forth, join one side, tip the balance and destroy the other side.

This book, Night Watch, by Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko, is about the agents of Light, the Night Watch, who are the guardians of Light. They police the night and make sure the Dark Others obey the rules. It is also about the Day Watch, the agents of Darkness who patrol the day to make sure that the Light Others also obey the rules.

This fantasy novel takes place in modern Moscow and is the first in a four book series. The others in the series are Day Watch, Dusk Watch, and Final Watch. Night Watch centers around Anton, and mid-level Night Watch agent. There are three parts to the book and each is set up as some sort of mystery where Anton needs to figure out what is going on. Along the way, the reader learns more about the history of the Others and the rules that help maintane the balance. I personaly would have enjoyed a bit more about the history, but I guess there are still three more books in the series.

I first heard about Night Watch from a movie trailer that I saw on Quick Time about 8 months ago. I looked into it and found out that the movie was based off of this first book. As it turns out, this series is just huge in Russia. The Night Watch movie has been Russias highest grossing non-foreign film. The movie is now out on DVD, but I do not highly recommend it. I rented it with my Blockbuster Online account and it is wierd. They've turned the movie into a horror/thriller rather then sticking to what the book truely is, which is fantasy. I've read that Miramax is planning to follow up the Russian release with an American version. Lets hope its better. If your interested, you can follow this link which will lead to the movies web page and you can watch the trailer.

I do however, recommend this book. Its a good story and a fun read. It has original ideas and unexpected twists. I'll be honest that its not the best writing in the world, but its not bad eitehr. The translation and language can be a little awkward at times. According to Amazon.com, the next two books in the series are slated for American release in March and then again in July. I think that my fellow nerds will enjoy this book.

Harry Potter Year 7

2007-02-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

The end is near. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows hits the streets July 21, 2007 and it shall usher in the end of a new era. I don't know what a world without anymore Harry Potter books will be like, but this is not the "era" that I am referring to. You see, when I saw that date, 07/21/2007, a strange feeling came over me. I couldn't stop staring at it. I knew that there was something deeper that I could not yet understand. So I started playing with the numbers.

7+21+2007=2,035 (nothing)
7-21-2007=-2,021 (still nothing)
7x21-2007=-1,860 (no meaning)
7-21x2007=-28,098 (still no meaning)

I soon realized that I had to dig deeper. Using the cryptography skills I picked up from reading The Da Vinci Code, I made a terrible, but at the same time, amazing discovery. 07/21/2007 was an anagram, and this is what I found.

707-21-20=666

Harry Potter is the Beast. Not only will Year 7 bring us to the end of the Harry Potter series, it will bring the END OF THE WORLD.

Suddenly, the name of the book, "The Deathly Hallows" doesn't sound so strange and ambiguous. It clrearly refers to the killing fields of Armageadon.

I guess this is a good time for me to tell my literally thousands of readers that I love you all and I will cherish your comments all the way up until the end.

Our Chosen One

2007-01-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-26-07

Anakin Skywalker restored the balance to the Force, Neo saved us from the Matrix, and Paul Maud Dib became the Kwisatz Haderach on Arrakis, Dune, Desert Planet. These characters are commonly referred to in fiction as "Messiah figures," meaning that they are special or chosen to save those around them just as Christ saved humanity.

In case you haven't already heard, I have a very exciting announcement to make. Tom Cruise has been declared by the leaders of Scientology as Divine and a Chosen One of our times. According to an unnamed source in Britain's Sun, "Tom has been told he is Scientology's Christ-like figure. Like Christ, he has been criticized for his views. But future generations will realize he was right."

I am sure the question on all of our minds is this, "What will he save us from?"

Do not fear for I, Darth Spencer, have found the answer. However, at this point, I must please ask those of you who have not yet attained a Scientology Operating Level of III or more to please stop reading, because your Thetans will not be ready to hear, "The secrets of a disaster which resulted in the decay of life as we know it in this sector of the galaxy."

You see, about 75 million years ago, Earth, which back then was called Teegeeack, was part of the Galactic Confederacy which consisted of 26 stars and 76 planets. The Galactic Confederacy had a huge problem of overpopulation, averaging 178 billion people per planet. Xenu, an evil dictator of the Galactic Confederacy was about to be disposed of his power, so he devised a plot to eliminate the excess population from his dominions. Xenu, along with a group of renegades fought and overcame the "Loyal Officers," a force for good which opposed Xenu. Then, with the assistance of psychiatrists, he summoned billions of people to paralyze them with alcohol and glycol injections, under the pretence that they were being called for "income tax" inspections. He then kidnapped them and loaded them into space planes and brought them to planet Teegeeack(Earth) for extermination.

When the space planes reached Teegeeack, the paralyzed people were unloaded and stacked around the bases of volcanoes across the planet. Hydrogen bombs were then lowered into the volcanoes and were detonated simultaneously. Not only were those who were brought to earth viscously slaughtered, but many of the local inhabitants of Teegeeack died in the explosions. Only a few peoples physical bodies survived. Listen to how L. Ron Hubbard describes these sad, terrible events:

"Simultaneously, the planted charges erupted. Atomic blats ballooned from the craters of Loa, Vesuvius, Shasta, Washington, Fujiyama, Etna, and many, many others. Arching higher and higher, up and outwards, towering clouds mushroomed, shot through with flashes of flame, waste and fission. Great winds raced tumultuously across the face of the Earth, spreading tales of destruction. Debris-studded, and sickly yellow, the atomic clouds followed close on the heels of the winds. Their bow-shaped fronts encroached inexorably upon forest, city and mankind, they delivered their gifts of death and radiation. A skyscraper, tall and arrow-straight, bent over to form a question mark to the very idea of humanity before crumbling into the screaming city below..."

The now-disembodied victims' souls, which Hubbard called "Thetans," were blown into the air by the blast. They were captured by Xenu's forces using an "electronic ribbon" and sucked into "vacuum zones" around the world. The hundreds of billions of captured thetans were taken to a type of movie theatre, where they were forced to watch a "3-D super colossal motion picture" for 36 days. This movie implanted what Hubbard termed, "various misleading data" into the memories of the hapless thetans, "which had to do with God, the Devil, [world religions, Roman Catholicism and even the image of the Crucifixion]." This implementation of new beliefs into the thetans is called the "R6 Implant."

The R6 Implants deprived all thetans of their personal identity. When the thetans left the theatres, they started to cluster together in groups of a few thousand, having lost the ability to differentiate between eachother. Each cluster of thetans gathered into one of the few remaining bodies that survived the explosion. These became known as "body thetans," which are said to be still clinging to and adversely affecting everyone except those Scientologists who have performed the necessary steps to remove them.

From my reseach, I have determined that there is one of two ways that Tom Cruise will be able to save us.

First, as Tom Cruise spreads the good word of Scientology, we will all learn what we need to do in order to cleanse ourselves of all of our thetans, which will in turn help us to achieve our highest level of spirituality.

or

Second, the Loyal Officers of the Galactic Confederacy were finally able to overthrow the evil Xenu and locked him away in a mountain, where he was imprisoned forever by a force field powered by an eternal battery. Some have suggested that Xenu is imprisoned here on Earth in the Pyrenees. Teegeeack/Earth was subsequently abandoned by the Galactic Confederacy and remains a "prison planet" to this day. It is my opinion that Xenu will find a way to escape, and it will be up to Tom Cruise to fight and save us from his deadly grasp.

Either way, we are in good hands. Thank you Tom Cruise.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

2007-01-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-17-07

If you're at all interested in psychic spies, real life Jedi Knights, or men who can stare goats to death, then this book is for you. The author, Jon Ronson, a columnist for the Guardian, swears that everything in this book although secret, is true. In a nutshell, this book is about an army Lieutenant Colonel who became disillusioned with war and killing during Nam'. He felt that there had to be a better and more humane way to fight. So, he set off on a journey, which was fully paid for by the US Military, to figure it out. His journey led him to California where he studied with the new age Gurus and Monks. He learned about auras and alternative forms of healing and fighting. At the end of his journey, he compiled all that he had learned and created the First Earth Batallion Manual.

The book also talks about the various influences that this manual has had on individuals and events such as the tracking of General Manuel Noriega, The Branch Dividians and Waco Texas standoff, events surrounding Hale Bopp Comet, Guantanamo Bay, and even Abu'Graib.

But perhaps my favorite part of this book are Ronson's interviews, especially the ones with the psychic spies. In one interview with a psychic spy named Glenn Wheaton, Ronson is following a lead, trying to find a mysterious person named Ron, who supposedly has started to re-activate the psychic spies after the events of 9/11. Here is part of that interview:

Glenn was a big man with a tight crop of red hair and a Vietnam vet-style handlebar mustache. My plan was to ask Glenn about his psychic spying days and then try to broach the subject of Ron, but from the moment I sat down, our conversation veered off in a wholly unexpected direction.
Glenn leaned forward in his chair. "You've gone from the front door to the back door. How many chairs are in my house?:
There was a silence.
"Your probably can't tell me how many chairs are in my house," said Glenn
I started to look around.
"A supersoldier wouldn't need to look," he said. "He would just know."
"A supersoldier?" I asked.
"A supersoldier," said Glenn. "A Jedi Warrior. He would know where all the lights are. Most people are poor observers. They haven't got a clue about what's really happening around them."
"Whats a Jedi Warrior?" I asked.
"You're looking at one," said Glenn.
In the mid-1980s, he told me, Special Forces undertook a secret initiative, codenamed Project Jedi, to create supersoldiers--soldiers with superpowers. One such power was the ability to walk into a room and instantly be aware of every detail; that was level one.
"What was the level above that?" I asked.
"Level two," he said. "Intuition. Is there some way we can develop you so you make correct decisions? Somebody runs up and says, 'There's a fork in the road. Do we turn left or do we turn right?' And you go"--Glenn snapped his fingers--"'We go right!'"
"What was the level above that?" I asked.
"Invisibility," said Glenn.
"Actual invisibility?" I asked.
"At first," said Glenn. "But after a while we adapted it to just finding a way of not being seen."
"In what way?" I asked.
"By understanding the linkage between observation and reality, you learn to dance with invisibility," said Glenn. "If you're not observed, you are invisible. You only exist if someone sees you."
"So, like camouflage?" I asked.
"No," sighed Glenn.
"How good are you at invisibility?" I asked.
"Well," said Glenn, "I've got red hair and blue eyes, so people tend to remember me. But I get by. I'm alive today."
"What was the level above invisibilty?" I asked.
"Uh," said Glenn. He paused a moment. Then he said, "We had a master sergeant who could stop the heart of a goat."
There was silence. Glenn raised an eyebrow.
"Just by..." I said.
"Just by wanting the goat's heart to stop." Said Glenn.
"That's quite a leap," I said.
Right," said Glenn.
"And did he make the goat's heart stop?" I asked.
"He did it at least once," he said.

After this interview, Ronson goes on to learn about Goat Lab, which is a secret lab out at Fort Bragg where they actually tried to train soldgiers to stare goats to death.

Enjoy.

2007: The Future Is Now

2007-01-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-04-07

Ever since I was a wee young Sith growing up on my home planet of Korriban, I have had many dreams. One of those dreams was to play a video game against someone on the other side of the world. My young Sith aprenti, the future is now. For Christmas I recieved a shiny, white, Nintendo DS, which is Nintendos latest and greatest gameboy. Here is the skinny on the DS. The DS has two screens, one of which is a touch screen that allows you to use a stylus, adding a whole new level of gameplay to the mix. The DS has pretty impressive graphics for handheld. They are basically the equivelent to a Nintendo 64, making for bright and beautiful colors and 3D world gameplay. Perhaps the greatest thing about the DS is its built in wireless capabilites. All you need is wireless interweb and the right game, and you can play for free on a worldwide DS gamers network.

My first time was amazing. I've been addicted to Tetris DS since I bought it. The only downside is that I dont have wireless at my house on Korriban. The second we got up to SLC and got the car unpacked, I sat down to take advantage of the wi-fi, and logged on to two player battle mode. As I sat in the queue and waited for my oponent, I was honestly shaking like a madman. I knew my Tetris skillllzzz were amazing, but I had no idea how I would compare to Boris in Russia, Liam in England, Mao Lee in China, or Stan in America. I drew some chick named Gloria. Our first game was a fierce battle, but I lost. Devistated, I realized that I was too nervous, and reached down deep to harnous the power of the force. It flowed freely through me and I felt true power as I wished for her blood. The next three games were a slaughter; RIP Gloria.

It is honestly so much fun. It keeps track of all of your wins and it gives you a point ranking based on your performance. The coolest thing is that if any of my readers decide to get a DS, we can play against eachother in Find a Friend mode.

I also got the New Super Mario Bros and Star Trek: Tactical Assault. I will purchase Mario Cart DS with my remaining Target Gift Card money. I have heard that it is a blast online. The game works well with a DS. As you recall, an important part of the game is shooting stuff at those in front and behind you. The second screen acts as a rear view mirror, making it all the easier.

Darth Spencers Year In Nerdness 2006

2006-12-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Stardate 01-01-07

So I sat down and tried to think of all the nerdy things that I did over the last year. Though I know that I can't possibly think of everything, I did come up with a fairly good sized list. I must say that I am a little dissapointed in myself. It seems like there is a lot more that that I can do in order to more fully engulf myelf in all things nerd. It will be my new years resolution to try to be even more nerdy in 2007. I know that Allison will be pleased. The following is a list of items and a thought or two about each of them. They were not necessarily released in '06.

Movies:
X3- better then the first, not even close to the second.
Superman Returns- boring. how many times do we have to see something falling and him swooping down to save the day.
V for Vendetta- Remember remember the 5th of November. I learned that terrorism is ok, as long as its against a Totalitarian Govt. Totally awesome.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galexy- Very funny. Can't wait to read the book.
Lady in the Water- about the importance in believing in stories. Excellent.
Original Star Wars on DVD- finally. All looks amazing except for when they replaced old Anakin with new Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi.
The Prestige- Visually amazing. Great story and great movie.

Audio Book
Eragon- narration is a little cheesy, but the story is awesome. I want to be a Dragon Rider.
Eldest- narration is still cheesy and it starts a little slow for those of us who are not completely interested in Elf etiquite. The ending will blow you away.
Across the Nightengale Floor- This is one that most of you probably have never heard of so I will take a little more time on it. This is a four book series about and ancient tribe of Samuri Assasins who have mystical powers. The nightengale floor refers to a specail floor constructed of wood that creeks at the slightest touch. Its purpose is to let those who are sleeping know that an assasin is sneaking in to kill them in their sleep. I enjoyed this download very much and plan on reading the other three.
Snow Crash- my first venture into the Cyber Punk genre. It totally sucked and I could not even come close to finishing it. I will give cyber punk one more chance when I read Neuromancer.
The Prestige- a good listen, but much different from the movie. For me the movie was so much better because you actually get to see the magic.

Books
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire- My first ventrue into the Star Wars expanded Universe. I loved it. I can't wait to read the other two in the series.
Boys Life- a murder mystery about a boy and his father who witnesses a murder. the book is full of mystical happenings. Pretty good, but not great.
The Handmaid's Tale- Precious free time wasted that could have been spent reading a book written by a male. I wont make that mistake again.
The Third Policeman- a book referenced by the TV series Lost. This book is pretty funny, but very wierd. After commiting a murder, the main character gets lost in land where people become bicycles.
Watchmen- probably my favorite thing that I read all year. This is a comic book written by Alan Moore. This thing has influenced just about everyone, including Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams, Paul Greengrass, and the list goes on. Its a comic book about what super heros do after they retire. They are forced into retirement by the goverment. Some of the events take place around a secret lost island. There are many influences from the comic book in the TV show Lost.

TV and TV on DVD
Heros- my favorite new show this season. Mutations in DNA causes changes in the body that bring on super powers. Its pretty much the same as X-Men, but the cool thing about this show is seeing how the charaters have first gained their powers and are learning to use them.
Lost- the end of season two was great. The start of season three has been crappy. I still have hope.
Battlestar Galactica- the best show on TV. Hot cylon babes, great special effects, fast paced action, drama, religion, great story telling and violence. Can't beat that combo.
Firefly- not as good as I had hoped, but very original and entertaining. Great characters and music.
Roswell Season 2- How do you make shows like the OC and Dawsons Creek even better? you set them up in Roswel, New Mexico and add aliens to the mix.
Freaks and Geeks- my favorite new old show. I want to own this one on DVD. Too bad it only lasted one season.

Please let me know if there is anything nerdy that I missed in '06 so I can add it to my list of items to partiake of in '07.

Firefly on DVD

2006-12-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-20-06

I recently finished watching Firefly, the complete series on DVD and I must say that I have mixed feelings about the widely acclaimed series. There were so many things about it that I just loved that were very original and clever, but at the same time, I can sort of see why Fox cancelled it. Here is a little back story.

The story takes place in a post apocalyptic era where the United State and China were the only two remaining super powers. The two societies and cultures combined to form one super power called, The Alliance. Because of this, everyone speaks both English and Mandarin Chinese. The Alliance's territory expands from the Core, which is the center of the galaxy, all the way to the Outer Rim. Because of the wide spread corruption of the Alliance, there has been a Civil War. The independents fought against the Alliance and lost; most survivors have scattered to the Outer Rim. The captain of the Firefly and his first mate both fought in the Civil War against the evil Alliance.

One of the interesting things about Firefly is that the Vulcans have not yet made First Contact with the Humans. There are no alien bad guys or good guys in the show. In fact, there is zero focus on the discovery of alien life. Instead, the idea of exploration is more like the idea of a western and the taming of the wild wild west. This is what makes Firefly so unique and original. It is a clever mix of the Science Fiction and Western genres. They dress like cowboys, they carry guns in holsters that still shoot bullets, they drive cattle from one planet to another, and every once in a while, the visit whores.

For those of you who don't know, the Fox Oligarchy cancelled Firefly after airing just 11 of the 14 episodes. They didn't even make it a full season. The People of the Abyss raised their fist to resist. Their outcry of love for the show was enough to bring the story to the big screen and finish the story. Like so many others, I have come to the conclusion that the network screwed this show. But I cannot put the full blame on the network. What we saw on TV just moved too slow.

After watching the series, movie and some special features on the DVD's, it is clear to see that from the start, the creators of the show and the network wanted two different things. The creators wanted a character driven epic, the network wanted action. The result is an uncomfortable blend of both parties trying to please each other. While watching, I kept thinking to myself, "this is so slow" or "nothing is happening here" I soon realized that the creators were thinking long term. They were setting up a story line that would carry the show for four or five seasons and all we got, were 14 episodes; three or four of which were totally awesome, the others however, seemed like slow filler episodes.

I would recommend Firefly and Serentity to all interested in both sci-fi and westerns. The music track for the show is excellent, and the special effects are amazing. One cool thing that I read about the special effects is that the CGI team who created them decided to make shots of seem as if they were being shot by hand, and not a stabilized camera. The result looks really cool. Another cool thing is that the special effects team for Firefly got hired for Battlestar Galactica after Firefly was cancelled. There is a brief homage to Firefly during the Cylon invasion of Caprica. Supposedly you can see a shot of Firefly flying away just before the Cylons attack.

I cannot however say that Firefly is one of the best sci-fi/fantasy TV shows of all time. It wasn't around long enough to make that statement. Its great...but not amazing.

The Son of the Suns

2006-12-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

Stardate 12-03-06

Some insightful comments from my last post, plus my own curiosity has caused me to research the Jedi Chosen One and Sith'ari prophecies a bit further. I found that there isn't much out there on the subject, but what is out there is pretty interesting, and I wish that Lucas would have expounded a bit further on some of these ideas.

It seems pretty clear that the first mention of a chosen one or a prophesy of some type came from Lucas' original script for Episode IV, where it references The Son of the Suns. Here is the reference,

"...And in the time of greatest
despair there shall come a savior,
and he shall be known as: THE SON
OF THE SUNS."
Journal of the Whills, 3:127

There is no explanation given about this prophecy, but it appears to be from some sort of scripture from Yoda's people, the Whills. Some ideas that I have read from blogs that others have written is that it refers to either Anakin or Luke Skywalker. Some think that Son of Suns could be a reference to Tatooine because it is a planet that has two suns. My initial thought was of Anakin and his miraculous conception. He, being the "Son," and those who helped create him being the "Suns." I think that the sun could be a metaphor for the Jedi and the light side of the force. My idea does not seem to mesh well with what we know from Episode III, where Anakin learns of Darth Plagueis the Wise and his abilities to create life from manipulation of the midichlorians. I thought for sure when I saw Episode III that Anakin would connect the dots and realize that perhaps he was created by a Dark Sith. Maybe he didn't know where or how he came into existence? Here is what Lucas has to say on the subject,

"Now there's a hint in the movie that there was a Sith Lord who had the power to create life. But it's left unsaid: Is Anakin a product of a super-Sith who influenced the midi-chlorians to create him, or is he simply created by the midi-chlorians to bring forth a prophecy, or was he created by the Force through the midi-chlorians? It's left up to the audience to decide." -George Lucas, Rolling Stone, June 2005

Hopefully, Lucas will answer this question in the future.

Another question that we need to ask is; Are the prophecies of the Jedi Chosen One and the Sith'ari the same, or do they refer to two seperate people?

Here is what I have found about the Sith'ari:
Sith'ari was a title that, in the ancient Sith language, meant "Lord" or "Overlord." Sometime during the early history of the First Sith Empire, the coming of the Sith'ari, an exemplar of the Sith ideal, was foretold. Inspired by the legend of Adas, the Sith'ari was prophesied a perfect being—the ultimate Sith—free of all restrictions who would rise to power to lead the Sith and, according to the legend, destroy them—yet, through their destruction, make them stronger than ever. Here is the exact quote, "One who has freed themselves from all restrictions has reached perfection, their potential fulfilled. Perfect strength, perfect power, perfect destiny. Imagine it." --Yathura Ban

So, in order for the prophesy to come true, the Sith'ari must be: 1) Perfect, the ultimate Sith, 2) free of all restrictions so that they may rise and lead the Sith, 3) then destroy the Sith, 4) through their destruction, make them stronger.

Now lets look at what is said about the Jedi Chosen One, which is even less:
In Episode I, reference is made to the Chosen One, a prophecy of a person who is "to bring balance to the Force". Despite fan confusion over the definition of "balance", Lucas affirms that the Dark Side represents imbalance. So, Cblakes was correct when he said that he always believed that the phrase "balance to the force" meant that good would prevail over evil. Meaning that I was incorrect in my last blog to state that Darth Vader brought balance to the Force after he killed all the Jedi, leaving just himself, Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan, and Yoda alive. One last thing that we can intuit from Episode I about the Chosen One is that he must be conceived by the midichlorians. We learn this when Qui-Gon first speaks of Anakin to the Council of the Jedi, he states that he has found a boy who has, "the cells of the highest midichlorian I have ever seen in a life form. It is possible he was conceived by the midichlorians." Mace Windu quickly replies, "You refer to the prophesy of the One who will bring balance to the force. You believe its this--boy?

Because of this we know that if the Chosen One and the Sith'ari are the same, that it cannot be Luke Skywalker because Luke was not conceived by the midichlorians, he never rose to lead the Sith, and he did not destroy them. He helped, but it was Vader who ultimately destroyed Darth Sidious. Anakin comes much closer to fulfilling both prophecies. He was born of a virgin mother, possibly being created by the midichlorians, he has the highest ever midichlorian count-making him the most perfect, he rose to lead the Sith, and then destroyed them. After Vader killed Darth Sidious and returned to the light side of the Force, he successfully brought balance to the force.

It appears that Anakin is the Sith'ari and the Chosen One, but I still have some questions. The Sith'ari is supposed to rise and lead the Sith. According to the rule of two, there can only be two Sith, master and apprentice. Vader was the apprentice and Sidious was the master. Also, the Sith'ari is supposed to bring more power to the Sith through their destruction. I cannot see how Vader brought more power to the Sith by destroying them. Perhaps that is something that we will understand if Lucas ever does Episodes VII-IX.

Even though some of my questions have not been answered, I believe that the Sith'ari and Chosen One are one in the same. I believe that Anakin is the Chosen One and the Sith'ari.

What do you think?

The History of the Sith, part 2

2006-11-16T15:16:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-19-06

Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hatred leads to power.
Power leads to victory.
Let your anger flow through you.
Your hate will make you strong.
True power is only achieved through
testing the limits of one's anger,
passing through unscathed.
Rage channeled through anger is unstoppable.
The dark side of the Force
offers unimaginable power.
The dark side is stronger then the light.
The weak deserve their fate.
-tenets of Sith philosophy

At the end of my first, and most excellent post on the Sith, we learned that Darth Bane and the Sith had evolved into a new enemy for the Jedi. Darth Bane took his apprentice, Darth Seer, to Coruscant where they used special Sith powers to hide themselves from the Jedi Council. Darth Bane died of old age and his apprentice, Darth Seer took up the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. He formalized and established the Code for the Sith Order, which required that every new Sith apprentice had to construct his own red-bladed light saber, every Sith would now take on the title of "Darth," which means, "Shadow Warrior," and the Sith Rule of Two would strictly be enforced. Darth Seer continued to train his apprentice, Darth Mongerer, on Coruscant until he died of old age. Darth Mongerer faithfully continued the Order of the Sith, but was discovered by a Jedi. He was beheaded by the Jedi in a duel, but hid from him the fact that he was a Sith. His apprentice succeded him as Sith Master.

Darth Plagueis the Wise
Some of you may recall a conversation from Episode III that Grand Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious had with the young Jedi, Anakin Skywalker about a Sith Master who could control the midi-chlorians themselves, and through that, create and preserve life itself. Plagueis was a Jedi who discovered the Sith on Coruscant, and tracked them down. He found Darth Imperious and forced him to teach him the ways of the Sith. Plagueis was able to force Imperious to take him on as an apprentice because Plagueis had discovered a kyber crystal. A kyber crystal is a crystal that is forged with, and contains the dark powers of the Force. It is said that a kyber crystal will greatly boost the dark powers of those who wield it. Imperious accepted him as an apprentice, but had planned in his mind that he would slay him while they were training. Plagueis was too powerful and after they finished training, Darth Plagueis sliced of Imperious' arms and then sliced him in half from head to hip.

Soon afterwards, Darth Plagueis apprenticed a young boy from Naboo named Dantius Palpatine. Plagueis payed Palpatine's patents a large sum of money to not allow Palpatine to be taken by the Jedi for training. Palpatine was soon named, Darth Sidious. By means of his kyber crystal, his knowledge of dark Sith magic, and his Jedi training, Darth Plagueis did indeed discover a way to tranfer the spirit of an old body into a clone by manipulating the midichlorians. Before he could do so, Plagueis was murdered in his sleep by young Darth Sidious. Plagueis never even saw it coming.

Palpatine continued to use the dark side of the force to block the Jedi Council of his true identity. He soon became a powerful senator and used his genious to slowy plot the demise of the Jedi. As Darth Sidious, he took on Darth Maul as his next apprentice, and as Palpatine, he took the first step to gain complete dominance of the Galactic Senate. To do this, Darth Sidious approached the Trade Federation and persuaded them to blockade the planet of Naboo. Outraged, the Galactic Sentate sent two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negociate with the Trade Federation. The Jedi were ambushed by droids, but easily escaped. Around the same time, the Trade Federation's droid army attacked and captured Queen Amidala. The two Jedi rescued her, escaped, but soon had to land on the planet Tatooine. While there they stumbled upon the Sith'ari, Anakin Skywalker, a child with an off the chart midichlorian levels, and who was born of a virgin mother. Qui-Gon believed him to be the Jedi Chosen One, and took him with them back to Coruscant. Back at Coruscant, Queen Amidala appeared before the Galactic Senate to plead her case. Palpatine represented Naboo in the Senate and assisted Amidala in the Senate proceedings. Outraged that no army had been sent to protect her people on Naboo, Amidala called for a Senate no-confidence vote for Supreme Chancellor Valorum. Amidala and the Jedi retuned to Naboo and with the Gungans, fought and defeated the Trade Federation's droid army. Their victory, however, came with a crushing blow. Before being sliced in half by young Kenobi, Darth Maul killed Qui-Gon Gin in a brutal light saber duel. Moments before his death, Qui-Gon pleaded with Kenobi to take Anakin on as his padawan. Palpatine's devious plans has worked; with defeat of the Trade Federation, Senator Palpatine was named the new Supreme Chancellor.

Soon after Palpatine became the Supreme Chancellor, he secretly sent Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to the planet Kamino and commanded him to create a clone army. Sifo-Dyas was a friend of Jedi Master Count Dooku who shared the same discontent with what they believed to be a corrupt Senate. Dooku, who was chosen by Sidious to be his new Sith apprentice was told by Sidious that he had secretly sent Dyas to create this clone army. Sidious commanded Dooku, now Darth Tyranus, to kill Dyas and erase Kamino from the Jedi archives before he left the Jedi Council.

10 years later, Dooku/Tyranus emerged as the leader of the Seperatist Movement. Dooku traveled from system to system in search of those who also felt that they were serving a corrupt Senate. As a the number of systems to suceed from the Republic began to rise, concern grew in the Republic of a possible civil war. Because of their fear of a civil war, the Senate created the Military Creation Act, giving its authority to create a huge army. Up until this moment, it had been the job of the Jedi to police and protect the Republic.

Senator Amidala strongly apposed the Military Creation Act. Because of this, there had been many assaination attempts on her life. The Jedi Council commanded Obi-Wan and Anakin to protect her. After one such attempt, Obi-Wan followed the bounty hunter, Jango Fett to Kamino, where he discovered the secret clone army. At the same time, Anakin was sent on his first solo mission with Amidala back to Naboo. On Naboo, Anakins' forbiden love for Amidala continued to grow.

Although Dooku/Tyranus was his Sith apprentice, Tyranus was simply a pawn in Sidious' plan to destroy the Jedi. Sidious used him to create the clone army and to lead the Seperatist movement. Because of their fear in the movement, the Senate voted and gave Supreme Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers, which gave him total dictorial control over the Senate. Palpatines first act was to activate the clone army and crush the rebellion. This started the Clone Wars, which raged on for months; both sides won and lost battles and sustained heavy casualties.

Towards the end of the war, the Seperatist army, now lead by the cyborg General Grevious attacked the capital of the Republic, Coruscant and kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine staged his own kidnapping to draw out Anakin Skywalker, who in the process fought a bitter light saber duel with Count Dooku. Torn between his Jedi value of life and eliminating a very dangerous foe, Anakin sliced off the head of the disarmed Dooku.

Upon return to Coruscant with the Chancellor, Anakin meets his now wife, Padme Amidala and finds out that she is pregnant. Anakin's joy is mixed with fear because of recent dreams that he was having about Padme dying during childbirth.

The Jedi Council started to suspect that there was something wrong with Chancellor Palpatine, but only believed that a very powerful Sith had taken control of him. When Palpatine requested that the Anakin become his personal representative on the council, they readily accepted, but only because they believed that they could influence Anakin to spy on the Chancellor. Reluctantly, Anakin agreed to do so and soon found out that Palpatine was actually a Dark Lord of the Sith. Anakin rushed to Mace Windu to inform him of what he had found out. Windu and three others fromt he Jedi Council confronted Darth Sidious and engaged in a costly battle. Windu was about to kill Sidious when Anakin came to his aid and cut off Windu's hand. Unarmed, Darth Sidious attacked with a force bolt that led Windu to his demise. After this, Sidous was able to convice Anakin that the Jedi were power hungary and should be destroyed, and that the dark side of the Force was the only thing that could save his wife from death.

Anakin became Sidous' new apprentice and took on the name of Darth Vader. With the Jedi attempt on his life, the Chancellor transmitted Order 66, in which the clone army was commanded to kill all Jedi. Across the galaxy, Jedi were slaughtered by Clone troopers that turned on them. Vader went strait to the Jedi Temple and killed all younglings and Jedi that were there. Sidous then sent Vader to kill the remaining leaders of the Seperatists. He was met there by Obi-Wan. Vader and Obi-Wan dueled on the molten planet of Mustafar, but Vader was young and unlearned in the ways of the dark side, and Obi-Wan was able to overtake him. Vader was chopped up and then slipped into the lava. He lost most of his limbs and was burnt to a crisp. Not long after Obi-Wan's departure, Vader was found by Sidous and was repaired with numerous mechanical replacement parts and the infamous black Darth Vader suit was created.

Over the years, Vader and Sidious continued to hunt down and slaughter the remaining Jedi, but was the prophesy of the Sith'ari fufilled? Anakin had faught to bring down the dark side, but then turned and became a Dark Lord of the Sith. After that he wiped out almost all the Jedi; all except for Obi-Wan and Yoda who survived in hiding. With Yoda and Obi-Wan on the light side, and Sidious and Vader on the dark side, a balance was brought to the force, and the prophesy of the Sith'ari was indeed fufilled.

My Solution For Getting the Troops Out of Iraq

2006-11-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11/08/06

As we all know, the Dems won the house last night and may possibly take the senate. It is a dark day indeed for our nation. I don't know about the rest of you, but I was terrified to wake up this morning and leave my house. Even with the Dems in power for less then 12 hours, I fully expected to see terrorists and suicide bombers roaming the streets of St. George, looking for their next target. Gays and lesbians freely frolicking; painting the town in various shades of rainbow. Globs of stem cells that resemble humans selling their body parts on the black market, or should I now say "rainbow market." In fact, I dont know why I even decided to leave my house and go to work, because I knew fully well that when I got there, I would find that some Mexican had stolen my job.

Then, in flash of inspiration, it came to me. LET THE DEMOCRATS CREATE A CLONE ARMY. This brilliance came to me while I was watching Star Wars Episode II, Attack of the Clones, and thinking about the dems satanic desire to do more stem cell research. Now a lot of you may be thinking, "Wouldn't it be sinful to create a clone army?" Well we wouldn't be sinning, the dems would, and they are going to hell anyway. Its the same thing as when you ask your inactive brother to go buy you pizza on sunday. He's the one who is actully breaking the sabbath and sinning, but we all get to enjoy the delicous outcome.

Think about it...we would be able to bring all of our troops home, we could keep the clones there for as long as it takes to successfully inforce democrocy, and if they were captured by the insurgents and tortured, no one would really care. Well, I can't guarantee that no one would care, there would probably be some stupid liberal group out there crying for the rights of American Clones. Maybe we could look into creating Mexican Clones...well, mabye not, who would be affraid of a short skinny Mexican Clone? Unless, they looked like a gang member...well, we can work out the details later.

We can only pray that the Clones dont become self aware, such as the Cylons, SkyNet, or the Artificial Intelligence from the Matrix Movies.

ALL FEAR THE DEMOCRAT CLONE ARMY

The History of the Sith, part 1

2006-11-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

Stardate 11-04-06

Peace is a lie, there is only passion
Through passion, I gain strength
Through strength, I gain power
Through power, I gain victory
Through victory, my chains are broken
The Force shall set me free

Jedi have always been lured to the amazing powers of the dark side. About seven thousand years before the events of Star Wars IV, a New Hope, a group of Jedi came to believe that true power was achieved not through meditation, as taught by their Jedi Masters, but through emotion. The tension between the Jedi and these Dark Jedi grew until conflict erupted. These Dark Jedi were rounded up and exiled. They were given a spacecraft and were sent into the unknown. The idea was that these Dark Jedi would be sent out into such vast and undiscovered space, that they would have no home, and would eventually just die out.

This however, did not happen. These Dark Jedi emerged into an unknown region of the galaxy and found a planet, Korriban, that was inhabited by a race called the Sith; aliens with red skin, cranial horns, bony chins, and insectile features. The Force flowed strongly with the Sith, allowing them to create their own form of black magic. The Sith were a feudal, violent society, whose nobles were always fighting in order to gain power. The Dark Jedi saw this as an opportunity to gain power. Using their training with the Force, the Dark Jedi amazed the Sith, elevating their status on Korriban to be equal with their gods, and soon became their rulers. It was at this point that the Dark Jedi began to interbreed with the most powerful Sith rulers, forming a new breed of magicians, both strong in the Sith arts and in the dark side of the Force. From this point on, the term "Sith" came to mean not only the original near-human inhabitants of Korriban, but their Dark Jedi Masters as well. Out of this new breed of Sith came the Dark Lords of the Sith, the ones who rule over all Dark Jedi and Sith. This title was bestowed upon their leader by a group of lesser Siths.

For the next 2000 years, the Sith prepared to return and slay the Jedi. They built up their forces, grew in number and in strength, but could never reach of point of pure power because power, was what all desired. Feuds and civil war raged on Korriban with all desiring to be called the Dark Lord of the Sith. Soon Naga Shadow became the Dark Lord of the Sith and put his plans in motion to return to war with the Jedi. Before they could launch their surpise attack, the Jedi discovered them and war broke out. The war lasted 10 years as the Jedi slowly killed each and every Sith, including Naga Shadow. Believing that all had been destroyed, the Jedi returend to the Old Republic.

The following 4000 years in Sith history is very much the same thing over and over. One Jedi or groups of Jedi begin to study the dark side of the Force. Their desire to learn everything about the force leads them to find the spirit of a dead Sith or a Sith Holocron. A holocron is a cube like object invented by the Jedi that stores their history and every thing that they have learned. Pretty soon, a new Dark Lord of the Sith arises and is either killed by a Jedi or killed by a lesser Sith.

Two important things then took place about 1000 years before the events of Star Wars IV. Kaan, a Sith Lord formed the Brotherhood of Darkness and eliminated the title of Dark Lord of the Sith. The Brotherhood was similar to the Jedi Council; a group of lords ruled all, they formed a school where younger Sith could train under them and in turn, create a new Sith army. At the same time that this was happening, a civil war broke out in the Old Republic among light and dark Jedi. The light Jedi prevailed, but there were severe casualties, which left only about 100 Jedi to protect the Old Republic. It was around the time of this Jedi civil war that the prophesy of the Sith'ari became well known. The Sith'ari was said to be a perfect being who would rise to power and bring balance to the Force. According to prophesy, the Sith'ari would rise up and destroy the Sith, but in the process would return to lead the Sith and make them stonger then ever before. It is believed that the prophecy of the Sith, Sith'ari and the prophesies of the Jedi Chosen One refer to the same individual; namely Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, who made the Sith stronger then ever by destoying the Jedi Knights.

One of the most important persons in all history of the Sith was Darth Bane. Bane was an average student with the Brotherhood. Because he had no special abilities, he was soon shunned by the other students. He became a loner and dedicated all of his time to ancient Sith studies. As he learned more and more about the ancient secrets of the Sith, his power in the dark side of the force began to grow. His prowess as a swordsman also secretly grew. He soon challenged the most powerful student to a duel and brutally slaughtered him. After the duel he insulted the Brotherhood and declared that they were a tainted pretender of true Sith power. He was banned from Korriban and traveled to a forgotten planet where he came across a Sith Holocron. Through this Holocron, Bane completed his training, learning new and devastating Sith techniques, including the "thought bomb," which destroys all Force sensitive beings within a certain radius. It should be noted that the term bomb may be misleading-it is a force attack, rather then a physical item.

He also realizes from his studies with the Holocron that any Sith order with multiple lords is doomed to failure and so he creates the Sith Rule of Two: "Only two there shall be. One to embody the power and one to crave it." In order to start his rule of two, Bane realizes that he must destroy all remaining Sith. Its at this time that the Brotherhood is at war with the Jedi. Though it was a small group of Jedi, as a result of the many casualties in the Jedi civil war, the Brotherhood is spread thin and is losing. In desperation they call on Bane to save them. Bane teaches them of the true power of the dark side and convinces them to use the thought bomb. The Sith join together in meditation, and Bane unleashes a wave of power upon the unsuspecting Jedi. Sensing the darkness and ambition in Bane's heart, the other Sith Lords break the circle and send Bane away. Kaan, the Sith Lord who formed the Brotherhood is driven mad by the glimpse that Bane showed him of the true power of the force, later, unleashes the thought bomb, destroying not only all the Jedi involved in the battle, but also all the Sith.

Bane's plan to kill all Sith was a success. Bane forever changed the mantle of the Sith. He took for himself the name Darth Bane. From now on, there would only be two: a master and an apprentice. The master would teach the apprentice and when the master died, the apprentice would become master and seek out a new apprentice. Both would take the title of Dark Lord of the Sith. The new Sith would be cunning, stealth, subterfuge, and in a virtue learned from their greatest enemy, patient. Darth Bane took his apprentice to Coruscant, the center of the Old Republic and the great Jedi Council, and there the Sith would remain, shadowy and unseen, but ever-present.

Stay posted for History of the Sith, part 2, where we will learn about the events leading up to the Revenge of the Sith.

Please Ms. Atwood, No More

2006-10-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Stardate 10-26-2006

Ah yes, Dystopian Fiction, my favorite genre within the realm of Science Fiction. If you are unfamiliar with the genre, I refer you to my favorite Dystopian novels, 1984 and Brave New World. Basically, a dystopia is the opposite of a utopia, and common thread shared by most of these novels is a Totalitarian Government that is constantly watching, listening, controling or punishing its population.

Another popular title in the genre is a novel by Margaret Atwood, called The Handmaid's Tale, the book which I have chosen to review for this post. This novel takes place in the future United States, where there is a serious decline in the population. The Govt. has decided that they need to take action to get the population levels back up, but the options that they have thought of, fertility clinics and artificial insemination, seem to be too sinful in their minds. They decide to turn to the Bible, and while studying the Old Testement they come to accounts of prophets whose wives could not have children. If the wife could not give her husband a child, they would give him their handmaid, and he would have a child with the her. And that is exactly what the Govt. decides to do. They asign handmaids to a "Commander" and his household.

In this dystopian future, the role of the handmaid has been severly limited. They are no longer allowed to read, they are allowed to leave the Commander and his wife only to go shopping at the market, and they are required to sleep with the Commander once a month in the attempt to get pregnant and help increase the population.

The premise sounds great and freaky, but Margaret just doesn't deliver. I wasn't at all freaked out by her version of the future, and I was never really truly worried what would happen to the main character if she got caught breaking the rules. And yes, you've probably already predicted that she does indeed read a magazine, and sleep with someone that she is not supposed to sleep with. Rebel!

After reading this book, I've realized that women just can't hack it when it comes to science fiction. Don't get me wrong ladies, women do have their place in the genre; as long as the're wearing gold bikinis, they're OK with me.

Lets be honest. I get that Margaret Atwood is a femanist and that her point here is how aweful things will get if we allow the Govt. to control a woman's body, but in all honesty, I'm pretty sure that a man would have done a much better job at writing this story. Maybe Ms. Atwood should try writing a spooky mystery novel or a hot and steamy romance, but I'm pretty sure I speak for us all when I say please, stay away from Science Fiction.

This post has been dedicated to Andy Kaufman, the Intergender Wrestling Champion of the World

Before Romeo & Juliet, there was Tristan & Isolde, but before Tistan & Isolde, there was Freaks & Geeks

2006-10-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

Stardate 10-20-2006

Welcome all to my sci-fi nerd blog. I hope you will all find my posts to be even more precious then gold-pressed latnum.

For my first post, I've decided to write about the excellent, but short lived TV series, Freaks and Geeks. The show aired in the '99 fall season on NBC, but soon received the axe. Thanks to Blockbuster Online, my female and I recently viewed the whole series. The shows creators/directors/writers were Paul Feig (Arrested Development, The Office ) and Judd Apatow (Anchorman, Talladega Nights).

The show takes place in a small town of Michigan in the early '80s and is about two different groups of kids, the Freaks and the Geeks. The shows focus is on the Wier family whose daughter is a Freak and whose son, is a Geek. The Freaks are a bunch of burnouts who ditch class and listen to Pink Floyd and The Who. The geeks, of course are the nerds who love D&D, Star Wars, and shoot off model rockets. Some of my favorite episodes were about showering after gym class, forming a band, and playing Dungeons and Dragons, but perhaps one of the funniest episodes involved Ken, one of the freaks, and his girlfriend. In this episode, the girlfriend tells Ken that she was born with both male and female parts, but that her parents and the doctor quickly made a decision to "take care" of this situation, leaving her 100% female. Ken quickly and honestly lets her know that he doesn't care. In fact, he is so surprised about not caring that she used to be a "dude," that later in the episode, he starts to question is own sexuality and acutely goes to the guidance councilor to let him know that he might be gay.

All of the characters are funny, but my favorite is Bill Havechuck, seen on the left. Bill loves TV; his favorite shows are Dallas, Charlie's Angels, and Dukes of Hazard. His D&D characher is Gorthank the Destroyer.

The most recognizable face on the show is Daniel Desario, played by James Franco who has since gone on to star in all three Spider-Man movies and of course, Tristan and Isolde. His character is 18 and this is his third year as a senior. He is sort of the leader of the Freaks.

Freaks and Geeks has definitely found a place in my heart, right in between Dawson's Creek season 3 and The OC season 1.