The best decision I ever made

Today is the anniversary of the best decision I ever made in my life. That decision was to join the Army. I was out of college, working at a pizza joint, and not getting a lot of encouraging responses on my job hunt. I had applied to officer candidate school several weeks before, and March 16th was the date I received news I was accepted. The recruiter told me that I pretty much had to make the decision that day. I did, and signed my name. The reason it was such a good decision is hard to explain. First off, I never became an officer. I finished basic training as an honor graduate, and thought that I was well on my way to my career as an Army officer. After two weeks of OCS, I knew that this was not what a wanted. When I dropped out, I served the rest of my hitch as an enlisted.

What made it such a valuable experience for me was the whole package. In basic training, you learn lots of common sense, practical stuff. Because I was stationed in Germany, I got to see and live in Europe for three years. I met several of my dearest friends in my life in the Army. The experience is really something that has to be lived, and can't really be described. I guess, maybe, what made it such a good thing is that I really felt like I did my duty for my country. It helped me get into law school, the G.I. Bill helped me through law school and helped me get my job after law school. Lots of things, if given the chance to do over, I'd do different. Not this. I'd serve again, and am proud and thankful for all of my fellow citizens that serve as well.

March 11

March 11 is a memorable date. The reason why I remember the date and the event that goes with it, well, let's say it is probably one of the big mysteries of the human psyche. The great film, Citizen Kane has a timeless line in it that, when I heard it, made me understand why I do remember this date. During the film, one of characters, Mr. Bernstein, when being interviewed about remembering past events, said this memorable line:

"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since, that I haven't thought of that girl."

My first crush was in sixth grade, on a girl named Anne. I can't remember how, but I discovered that her birthday was on March 11. Sixth grade boys being sixth grade boys, I was, of course, too scared to give her a present or card to her face. So, after much espionage/tradecraft worthy of John leCarre, I made sure a neatly wrapped paperbook of "The Island of the Blue Dolphins" found its way to a place where she, and only she, saw it. She picked it up and, before I could see if she opened it, I determined that it was too dangerous for me to stay around. Later on, in the days that followed, I heard titters and snatches of conversation that gave me reason to believe that she had, in fact, opened it, liked the book, and did not have a clue who gave it too her. It is possible that her phantom gifter remained a secret all of these years.

Anne and I were good friends and I still crushed on her throughout junior high and high school, but not as bad as sixth grade. I don't have a clue where she is now, or if she is even still around. I'd like to think that I'll see her sometime soon, and, if I do, will admit to what I did. March 11 will always be to me the day that is Anne's birthday, and every year on that day, I think fondly of her and hope she is doing well.

2012 and silly pleasures

I finally saw 2012. Have to agree totally with Roger Ebert, who said:

"The bottom line is: The movie gives you your money's worth. Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it one of the year's best? No. Does Emmerich hammer it together with his elbows from parts obtained from the Used Disaster Movie Store? Yes. But is it about as good as a movie in this genre can be? Yes."

I see this movie like chili over rice. Not the most healthful thing, but gosh, it's good.

One of my weird things is when I see stuff on TV or in the movies is watching for familiar actors/actresses and recognizing them from crossover roles, especially in the Star Trek and Buffy/Angel universe.

2012 was cool because it had two: There was a scientist in 2012 that played the exact same role, same look, just a different name, in an Angel ep, "Unleashed".

Also, there's a captain of a ship guy in 2012 that is one of my favorite guys, Stephen McHattie. I first knew him as Jake Pasquinnel, the character Pasquinnel's (Robert Conrad) son. But my favorite role, albeit a small one, was in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ep, "In the Pale Moonlight" where he plays a Romulan, Vreenak, who gives us the unforgettable line "It's a faaaaake!"

All in all, 2012 was a pretty good diversion.

Lazy Summer Nights

Many times this summer, my mind wandered to those lazy summer nights at my house in Bossier City.

I remember fondly the times when I was "all growed up" as they say, and can appreciate the wonderful times I spent with my mother and father on those summer nights. Mother would make the most wonderful meals. Simple, but I don't think I'd trade one of them for Ruth's Chris. A good example of what she would make would be: round steak, boiled potatoes, green beans, salad with cucumber, sliced tomatoes and cantaloupe. The cucumber, tomatoes and cucumber were from my father's garden. I'd bet my last dollar that there wasn't any tastier vegetables and fruit anywhere. After supper, I'd wash the dishes, then join my father on the back patio in lawn chairs. We'd drink diet coke or iced tea and listen to the Astros. Lokai the cat had back yard privileges when someone was out to watch her, so she busied herself stalking bugs or just flopping on the cement patio. As the game went on, night fell and the cicadas started their buzz. Finally, it would get too dark, or the mosquitos would get too active, and father, son and cat would go inside. Most of the time the game wouldn't be over, so we'd listen in the den, or watch ESPN baseball. I treasure those memories. Now that my father has been gone for many years, I am so glad of the time I spent with him, on the patio with the cat on those lazy summer nights.

Firefly

For someone who likes television and televison shows, I am way behind the curve so many times. By that I mean the show has been on for several years, or had its run and passed, then I figure out this was a great show and I should watch it. This is the cast picture of this latest, and greatest behind-the-curve incident, Joss Whedon's Firefly. Firefly only ran for 14 episodes, plus a movie, Serenity, then it was gone. In that short run, Firefly has entered to the pantheon of shows that I hold revered above all else. Folks apparently agree with me, because Firefly regularly appears in, if not at the top of, lists of shows that should have never been canceled.

Ok, so much with the yapping. What makes it great? To call it a western set in space is like saying a Bruce Springsteen show is some guy playing the guitar and singing. What sets Firefly apart, from the very beginning, is that we care about these characters. Deeply. When I realized the show had come to an end, I immediately started thinking of more stories, more plots and wished for hours and hours of time to write more stories about this grand crew and noble ship. Perhaps, as some other commentator opined, it is best that Firefly ended when it did, otherwise it would suffer the fate of mediocre seasons, and perhaps a downward spiral into indifference that marks the last few years of so many shows. We'll never know. Firefly does live on, and thanks to the almighty DVD, other folks can discover what they missed, just as I had.

Facebook ex Machina

Don't know if that is the correct use, but it looks cool. I've been registered on Facebook for a couple of years, but not very active. It started for us Buffyverse folks to have a place to exchange stuff and keep up. Then my cousin Laurie found me plus one of my dearest Army buddies. However, earlier this summer, one of my high school friends that I keep in touch with mentioned that he's on Facebook. I looked him up and discovered that tons of folks I went to high school with are on. So, in this case, Facebook does exactly what it is supposed to . . . allows old friends to find each other and keep up. Good for you, facebook!

J.J. Abrams is a freakin' genius

I am a big Star Trek fan.  Ever since I first saw the series, in syndication, when I was eleven or twelve, I was hooked.  My friend Mitch Markow and I would make starship intercoms out of colored paper and tape them up around my house.  My Aunt Noppie almost had me in tears when, during a visit to her in west Texas, she told me that William Shatner was old and fat and doing commercials selling margarine.  

Undaunted, I watched the original series time and time again until I literally had most of the scripts memorized.  When Star Trek - The Next Generation first came out, I was uncertain, but gave it a try.  Yep.  They nailed it again.  I haven't seen all of Deep Space Nine, but I'm working my way through the series (as soon as I finish Angel, though).  I've heard mixed reviews from my serious trekkie friends about Voyager and Enterprise, but I'm sure I'll give them a try as well.

With the new Star Trek movie, taking place prior to the events in TOS, I was looking forward to it.  It didn't hurt that they cast Sylar (Zachary Quinto), Eomer (Karl Urban), and Simon Pegg from Shaun of the Dead.  

So, being the total geek/nerd/dork, I went with my fellow sci-fi dorks to see the film.  In Klingon uniform?  You betcha. That's me on the left.

(SPOILERS FOLLOW SPOILERS FOLLOW)

As the film drew to a close, I came to the shocking conclusion that the Star Trek as I knew it had been altered forever!  Vulcan, the planet, and 99% of its people, were gone.  Spock's mother was dead.  This means that the TOS ep "Journey to Babel" never existed . . . Spock never went back to Vulcan during "Amok Time".  

Wait, I thought.  This isn't the end of Star Trek as I knew it . . . rather, it is the beginning of new journeys, unencumbered by the events of the original series.  See, if the Star Trek movie hadn't changed the timeline, then subsequent movies (of which I am sure there will be at least a few) would have to honor the events of the original series.  This would have meant that every scene, every shot of the subsequent films would fall under the intense scrutiny of trekkies who make me look like a lightweight.  Now, J.J. Abrams doesn't have to worry at all about who originally beamed down to Cestus 3 in "Arena", or who the tribunal was in "The Menagerie", for fear of getting something wrong which, no doubt, would have been pointed out by the aforementioned trekkies.  

J.J. Abrams is a freakin' genius.  He made a spectacular film, and at the same time, secured his ability to make future films without having to make sure everything is one hundred percent in sync with the original series.  

An Adventure for the Ages

Today, St. Patrick's Day, marks the anniversary of an adventure for the ages. A quest, as it were, not for gold or treasure or to secure the defeat of an evil despot, but rather for new friends, beer and fun.

While I was in law school, I met and hung out with a girl from Cleveland, named Abby. She was somewhat of a sponge, knowing that I was a guy who found her attractive, and in exchange for letting me hang out with her, I ferried her around, helped her move, etc. My mindset was, well, it was possible for her to be my girlfriend, if only she would come around. Well, it never happened. Some of my friends thought she was playing me for a fool, which I probably was, but, still, she was fun to hang out with and she was pretty.

I digress. As I said, she was from Cleveland and loved it. That city doesn't conjure up pleasant images for most folks, what with the "mistake by the Lake" and whatnot. Having spent time in two midwestern cities, Indianapolis and Chicago, and loved them, I really didn't have an opinion one way or another.

She spoke with reverence about the St. Patrick's day celebration in her hometown, mostly of the 87th? street pub crawl. At that time I was in my last semester of law school. I had zero chance of graduating in the top ten percent, had busted my ass for two and one-half years, and figured, I'd do something impulsive and adventurous. So, I mentioned the idea of us driving up to Cleveland for St. Patrick's day. Abby was one hundred percent for it.

We left on Friday, March 12 from New Orleans (where she lived). I had taken the ethics portion of the bar exam earlier that day, and due to excitement, plus information that this was an easy test, caused me to fail it miserably. I retook it that summer and passed.

The route was to take us I-59 north to Chattanooga, then I-75 north to Cincinnati, then I-71 to Cleveland. We left early Friday afternoon.

Sometime before we left Mississippi for Alabama, it began to snow. Hard. I had driven through many snows in Germany and thought if I just took it slow, it would be okay. As the snow piled up, I realized this was a snow for the ages in the South. It got colder and colder, and somewhere around the Brookwood exit just after Tuscaloosa, my Nissan Sentra slid off the road. We were stuck. It was snowing hard and cold. This was the days before cell phones, mind you, so we were SOL. The Brookwood exit was less than a mile ahead, and we decided that Abby would stay with the car while I went to the exit to get help. Before I set out, I pulled the boner of the trip. A couple of guys passed by in a 4-wheel-drive pickup. The driver yelled to me "need us to pull you out?" and I said "yes". He then said, we'll do it for $20. A voice I did not recognize, and if I did recognize it today, I would surely gut it like a deer someone shot, said "That's okay." The driver shrugged and moved on. Yay for me. The world is not without balance, however. In a stroke of genius, I threw my heavy duty, insulated, waterproof U.S. Army issue combat boots in the trunk. Had I not, my feet might have seriously been frostbitten. Instead, my feet stayed warm and dry.

I made it to the Shell station a the Brookwood exit, and after small talk, called a tow truck, which, by some miracle, was still running. Back at the car, I discovered that Abby was missing. Whether she struck out on her own, or was kidnapped, or dead, I didn't know. The truck came, and took my car back to a motel in Tuscaloosa. The people there were kind enough to give me a place to lay down, while I made phone calls to Abby's parents to see if she checked in. She did, and I found out she was at a rest stop down the interstate. Oh, and I locked my keys inside my car. Not thinking about locksmiths, I broke the window to get the keys. Well, we couldn't make the rest of the trip in a car with a broken window, so a quick side trip to the airport to rent a car was in order. I rented the largest car they had, a Buick Regal, and parked my car there. There remained one final problem. The police closed the interstate. I couldn't get to Abby. Looking at the map, I figured the police couldn't be present at every on ramp, and a quick check verified that. All that remained was for me to move the barracades, and I was on my way to Cleveland. I picked up Abby and we slowly made our way north.

It snowed hard the rest of the way. Other than fighting sleep, we made the rest of the trip without incident. We arrived at Abby's parent's house Sunday morning. We both slept until Monday morning.

I met Abby's friends, William Bell (not related) and his little brother (whose name I cannot remember) and Matt, her friend who she had a tremendous crush on. They must have found me somewhat cool, because we hung out every night that week. We went downtown to The Flats, they took me to a private rave-type party, and some club later in the week to see a band. There was, of course, the reason for the trip - the pub crawl on Wednesday (St. Patrick's) night. I don't remember much, but the snippits I remember were fun. One other amusing thing was that Abby wasn't pleased with me, because Matt hung out with me most of the time, and told me in pretty clear language that he likes Abby as a friend, but doesn't want to be a couple. He was also a big Doors and Jim Morrisson fan.

These were really nice guys, and for having only met them that week, I owe them one. The night we went to see the band, I was pretty drunk. So drunk, in fact, that I needed to lie down, and it appeared the only place for that was the back seat of the Regal. Here they are, three people I just met, and got me settled in - one of them found a blanket and covered me with it. Oh, did I mention it was about zero degrees? Well, I got back to Abby's parents house and slept it off.

Of course, during this week that I was gone from Baton Rouge, we had classes at law school. Like I said, this was my last semester, and I really didn't care. I did call my professors and claimed car trouble when I went out of town the last weekend. Car in the garage and all that. I had no misconceptions. This pretty much shot any chance I had of making good grades. I just wanted to pass. To my credit, I did bring my books and outlines and most every afternoon that week, I went to the library and studied.

We left on Saturday for Baton Rouge, The return trip was without incident. My car was still at Tuscaloosa. We turned in the rental, patched up the broken window, and I dropped Abby of at New Orleans. It was Sunday morning, and I went back to Baton Rouge and slept.

I don't know if I will ever have a spur-of-the-moment adventure like that ever again, but I'm glad I did it. I did pass, with pretty much straight Cs across the board. It was worth it, and although I haven't heard from Abby in a while, I do thank her for a good time and a good road trip friend.

Tough Guys

A lot of the more recent films lack something that the older films made twenty years ago or more have: tough guys. A tough guy is someone who isn't physically imposing (that's why Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean Claude Van Damme aren't tough guys) and who isn't afraid to get in a fight and get bloodied. My favorite tough guy is George Kennedy. Some of my other favorite tough guys are Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Yul Brenner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Sean Connery and Robert Mitchum. I should include John Wayne as a tough guy, but he, at six feet four, may be too physically imposing to be a tough guy. Nah, he's the Duke. He's included. One actor that is frequently mentioned as a tough guy that I don't know should be included is Humphrey Bogart. He talked tough in his films, and may have been in a scrap or two, but I don't know if he got in a down and dirty fight, would he be believable as the winner? Something about him says he's a good actor, but not a tough guy.

This leads me to the inevitable questions. Are there tough guys today? You betcha. There may not be as many and they may take some roles that aren't "tough guy" roles, but I feel they could definitely hold their own with the tough guys from yesteryear. Some of the tough guys of today are Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Samuel L. Jackson, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, and Matthew McConaghey (see Reign of Fire).

Coffee Nerd

My new toy. A coffee roaster. My brother turned me on to roasting your own coffee beans. The roaster is a basic model, well under a hundred dollars. The green coffee beans keep forever in the freezer and cost about the same as regular ground coffee. Why do it? The smell of fresh roasted beans, the sound of the grinder and it just seems cool.

Spanish Town parade

I had a chance to ride on a float for the Baton Rouge Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade. This is probably the biggest parade in Baton Rouge. I was riding with the local sci-fi crew, BabelCon. I figured this was a good time to represent the Klingon Empire, so I went in Klingon uniform. Here I am:



Yep, I am a total geek.
Friday night, the riders met at the float to load up our throws.  The float was to leave where it was parked (at the Celtic Society building) at 6:00 a.m.
Saturday for the Parade.  

The temperature was just above freezing. The ride over there was most fun.

One problem was that unless you were very careful with your throws, the beads tangled worse than a hyperactive 6-year-old trying to roll up a dozen strings of barbed wire.  I spent a good deal of my time untangling throws.

The crowd had to have been around a hundred thousand!  Wow!  Lots of them yelled out "Klingon!" or "Qa'Pla!"  They got the best throws.  We finished in about an hour and the float took us back to our cars.

Second verse . . .

Today at work we had a "rush" project. The insurance code was re-numbered by our esteemed legislature. Our project was to proofread to see that the "new" numbers for the statute matched the "old" numbered referenced in the bill. Also, we had to check other statute references for accuracy. Never mind the fact that we did THE SAME EXACT JOB about six weeks ago. Oh, well, I can think of worse ways to waste a day at work.

Saw the trailer for the new ST film . . . young kid, reckless, add a vintage Corvette, it all adds up to James Tiberius Kirk.

The local Wal-Mart installed a coinstar machine that counts your change. I thought those were a ripoff, because they took almost ten percent as a fee - but then discovered that if you get an Amazon gift card, you get 100%. Of course, I'm always getting stuff there, so that is a good deal. So, I take my big-ass jug to Wal-Mart and find out that machine doesn't offer Amazon . . . only cash voucher with the ten percent penalty. So, I guess I'm going to go back to the usual Albertsons, unless they quit offering the gift card. In that case, I may just bite the bullet to get rid of my change.

Got a new all in one printer. It is an Epson 600. So far I love it! Did my taxes last weekend and printed out the return and stuff.

High expectations for LSU baseball. Ranked 1st preseason in one poll. 2nd in two others. Keeping fingers crossed for national signing day.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I can say, without hesitation, that this show has become one of my favorite television shows. When this show first came on, I had heard of the movie (which I dismissed) and figured the TV show was sort of like the movie. By that I mean I thought it to be harmless, somewhat vapid and cheesy. Nothing could be further from the truth. I watch the current show "How I Met Your Mother" occasionally, and on that show, I was drawn to Alyson Hannigan, who is cute as a button. Of course, I IMDB'd her, and found she was also on BTVS. I did a little bit of reading, and found articles about Buffy that said this was an intelligent, well-written show with a wicked sense of humor. That was enough to catch a couple of the episodes when they were on TNT or whatever. Well. Even though I knew nothing of the story arc, this brief exposure was enough to lead me to invest in the DVD series, called "The Chosen Collection". As an aside, I throw my change every day in a big jar. When it is full, I take it to Coinstar. This is an automated coin-counting and redemption machine at grocery stores like Albertson's. At first, I thought it was a ripoff because if you redeem your coins for cash, they take about nine cents for every dollar. But, further research revealed that if you get an Amazon gift card, or other gift cards they offer, then you get 100% of your money. As Amazon is one of my favorite sites, I can always use their gift card, so Coinstar works well for me. Anyway, my full jar of coins generally gets me around $200 - $220. This was enough to get the Buffy DVD collection. What a wonderful set. I started from the beginning, and now am just into the last season, Season 7. This show, created and nursed by Joss Whedon is amazing. Never has a series roped me in and tapped my emotions for the characters and storyline like this one. The sad thing is, when I'm finished with it, I'm going to turn around and start from the beginning, this time making use of the commentary and other features on the discs. The show is that good.

In that months have passed . . .

and I have not written. It's not like the months have been filled with event after event. Well, we did have this little hurricane. It blew through here and caused a great deal of damage. I got off lucky. I had an awning torn off and my back screen porch kinda got wrecked, but nothing too bad. A lot of people had it worse. I fully expected the power to be off for days, but it was on two days after the storm. Later, I heard that I am on the same "grid" as the sewer plant, so that is a priority and I get to catch the wave of good fortune here. It took a couple of months to get really back to normal. Hopefully we won't have one for, well, forever.

My LSU Tigers are out of the SEC race. Young quarterback, mistakes, underachieving defense. Mercy.

A couple of weeks ago we had a bat'leth tournament in east Texas - hosted by the Melota. I didn't fight, but it was very cool. The highlight was me getting drunk as shit on bloodwine and, later, throwing my guts up. God, why did I do that? Well, I should be the talk of the tournament for next year.

Doing things a little bit different for Christmas. My brother is coming down the week before, so I'm going up to Bossier City to see my mom then - an early Christmas. That's great, though, because now I'll have the long weekend here to do whatever.

Hopefully, I'll be a little more diligent here.

BabelCon '08

Myself and my Klingon crewmates eagerly awaited BabelCon '08. Sometime in the spring, the BabelCon folks told us that if we were able to pay the $1,000 appearance fee, we would be able to have none other than J.G. Hertzler, General Martok of Deep Space 9, at our con. If we could swing this, then not only would we have General Martok, but us Klingons would be his escorts, runners, etc., for the times other than his required con appearances. BabelCon kept their word.

I rented a minivan to pick up the General. The other passengers were Commander Ri'par, Alan Chafin of BabelCon and Amie, Commander Ri'par's friend from Monroe. We left in plenty of time to meet him when he arrived around 2:30. The best laid plans . . . a wreck on the Bonne Carre stopped us dead for around an hour. We were able to reach J.G. and let him know we were going to be late. He said that was okay, he'd find the airport bar. We finally got to him and what a nice guy. Not just the trip back, but all through the con, he couldn't have been better. We had a wonderful time chatting as we drove back to B.R. J.G. asked about the area, the hurricane, etc. We reached the hotel and got him checked in. After giving him a while to get settled in, Ri'par brought him a bottle of home-brewed bloodwine. He liked that a bunch. We broke out glasses and had a drink in his room. We escorted him to Ninfa's for dinner. Again, couldn't have been nicer. He asked about us, what we did, etc., patiently answered our questions, and told us a bunch of Star Trek and related stories.

After dinner, the con had a "meet and greet" with the guests. We met Suzie Plakson, who played K'helyr, Bob May, the Lost in Space robot, who was a third time returning guest and honarary emcee. Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica was there as well. Everyone was nice and we all had a good time.

The next day was the con. They had over 700 people, many in costume. Star Wars and feddies abounded. There were folks from Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, midieval characters and Lord of The Rings, plus many more. I went to hear the guests speak, sat in on a couple of panels, and intimidated the feddies. The main beef is that there was too much scheduled.

After the General's appearances, but before the Orion slave girls, we went to get food at Chilis. This was sort of a "Good Day to Dine", where we went in Klingon uniform. I think the staff and patrons got a kick out of that. Then, back to the con for the slave girls and costume contest. Ri'par entered and he is the best Klingon I have ever seen.

Yet, he lost to two girls and a guy dressed in sort of buckskin stuff from Firefly. I have to confess, I have a major crush on one of those girls. In the hall, she took my picture and I wish I had taken hers. Hopefully, i can find out who she is so I can do nothing. I put up a notice in Craigslist, but I guess she doesn't read it. Hell, she's probably married for all I know. There was an auction for the McMains Childrens Center at Baton Rouge General Hospital. I bid for a signed bottle of bloodwine, but dropped out when it got too expensive. I did, however, win a signed picture of one of my favorite actors, Malcom McDowell.

Anyway, as the con winded down on Saturday, Shane and me found J.G. and we all adjourned to the bar. We were joined by George, Alan and some other guy. A few beers were downed, stories told, and a wonderful time was had by all. J.G. wanted to sit in on a continuation of a lecture on global warming. I was too tired and went home.

Sunday, we were not in uniform. I listed to the WAFB weatherman, Jay Grimes, give a very interesting talk on Louisiana climate and hurricanes. Richard Hatch and J.G. talked about their upcoming projects. J.G. left, having to be at the airport at 3. Bar'tok drove him in his 'vette. Shane, George and Amie also left. It was sad to say goodbye, but nice to see my friends. Richard Hatch had an acting class, but only FOUR people signed up for it. I felt so bad, but he went on with it anyway. He told us about characters, and concentration and feeling the part. We did some improv exercises, which were fun. He was really a good guy.

In short, BabelCon was a great, great con. I look forward to going next year.

Summer Update

Dead time if you are a college sports fan. CWS is over and done. LSU breezed through the regional, beating Texas Southern and So. Mississippi twice. Super regional had University of California-Irvine coming to town. They were a pretty consistent top 20 team, and I was not surprised when they won their regional at Lincoln, Nebraska. LSU lost the first game to a first-round MLB pick. They made a super comeback in the second game after being down 7-3 in the 8th inning. LSU win 9-7. The third game wasn't even close, as UC-Irvine obviously left everything on the field in the second game. LSU won 21-7. This put them in the CWS, where they had a first round game with #2 seed North Carolina. LSU lost, which put them in the elimination bracket with Rice. After being down 5-0, LSU once again came back to win 6-5. Most importantly, this broke the "0-for-Smoke" record, or the 0-4 record we had in the CWS under Smoke. Well, that put us playing against UNC again, who lost to Fresno State, who, incidentally, was the first #4 seed in their regional to make it to the CWS. The equivalent would be a #16 seed in basketball making it to the final four. Anyway, LSU lost again to UNC, who lost eventually to Fresno. Fresno played Georgia in the final round, and after dropping the first game, beat Georgia two straight to win it all. Who woulda thunk it?

Roger Ebert and Superbad

I value the opinion of Roger Ebert. I have read his columns for a long time. He is a good writer and, most of the time, when he puts a film on his great movies list, I tend to go see it.

Now, when Superbad came out, I was of the opinion that this was another teenage sex comedy. However, review after review, including Roger Ebert, praised it for its intelligence and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" view into the inner workings of high school angst. Well, I was impressed as well. One reviewer commented on the intelligent use of profanity, such that it would make David Mamet stand up and salute. I agree. The whole film works.

I did observe, though, that if, in the movie, the fat guy gets the girl, Roger Ebert tends to like it. I can only prove this theory with two films, Angus and Superbad, but that link is there.

CWS time again. LSU, top eight seed. Tough regional, what with UNO and So. Mississippi. Early favorite: Florida State.

Venom Wars 5

On March 28-30, the IKV Bayou Serpent, a proud Klingon warship of which I am a member, held Venom Wars 5, a paintball weekend at K'Allen's house/land in North Louisiana. This was the first time I ever did paintball, and hoo-boy it is a blast! I got there late afternoon Friday and after pitching camp and getting a few supplies, it was time for beer and fellowship and bed. Saturday morning was cool, almost jacket weather. We started the first game, with two pails with items of different value points at each base. The idea was to capture as many of the opposing team's pails while defending yours. The dense brush required stealth and guile to get as close as possible to the enemy before tagging them. Yes, paintballs do hurt when you get hit. The team I was not on successfully captured a pail and won the contest. The next competition was called "speedball". Two persons start at a base about fifty yards apart. Between them are various drums, boxes and cover. The players start out with no ammo. Various pods containing ten paintballs each were placed on the drums and boxes. The idea is to advance, using cover to get to the paintballs. First player that gets shot in the torso loses. I didn't play because of bracket logistics, but it was a blast to watch. The afternoon got hot, hot, hot! Some of us went to play in semi-formal games of predator and ambush. I went for a little bit, but the heat just took it out of me. K'Allen's wife, Torsha, made a wonderful chili for dinner and everyone ate a bunch. As night fell, we held ceremonies involving opening and consuming bloodwine, recognition of the five ships represented (IKV Bayou Serpent, IKV Melota, IKV Qin Vagh, IKV Deliverance, and the IKV K'Vette), plus the paintball group from Dallas/Fort Worth known as the Ghostwalkers. There was a death howl for those that departed us and pins for participants and ten-year anniversary of the Bayou Serpent. The next morning we broke camp, packed our gear and said goodbyes, until next time. What a blast!

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze has one of the most evil types of cancer, pancreatic cancer, for which the survival time is usually measured in months. Soon, very likely, he will be gone. The familiar memories of the various things he did - the classic SNL Chippendales skit, the movie roles (Red Dawn - wolverine!), the MST3K incorporation. My prayers are there, brave one.

Politics are different this year

I've noticed this difference between Democrats and Republicans, at least this year. In 1980, it was thought among the Dems that it was Walter Mondale's "turn" to run for president. In 1996 it was Bob Dole's "turn". In 2000 it was Gore's "turn". By this I mean that when there seems a generally accepted party consensus that the senior or otherwise perceived most experienced party member's turn to run for President, there seemed to be little opposition. Not so this year. By all accounts it was Hillary's "turn". If this race followed the pattern of previous races, then she should have coasted. Instead, Obama is stealing all of the thunder. What an interesting change in public politics and political race perception among the public.