Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
I returned to work this morning to this lovely creation in the elevator lobby. Is it just me, or does this creations seem to celebrate autumn, rather than a traditional holiday occurring within a few days of the winter solstice?
Happy unHolidays?!?!
November 30, 2010
How many different ways can you dish up revenge? Stargate Universe explored several possibilities in last night’s episode ‘Malice‘.
The Lucien Alliance loose canon, Simeon, not only escapes and kills his tag-along guard while free roaming Destiny, he continues his killing spree, taking down two civilians at once and multiple marines, raids the armory, takes a hostage and flees with her to one of the three planets in range of Destiny’s stargate. Rush, oddly enough, is first through the gate before it closes while Colonel Young et al. are still scrambling to catch up.
The IOA back on Earth wants Simeon alive, believing he and only he holds information regarding a Lucian Alliance attack on the home planet. Those chasing after the resourceful cunning Simeon are not convinced he will impart the information even if captured alive or that the information is reliable.
The rest of the episode consists of a cat and mouse game with Simeon playing the cat to deadly and explosive effect. Colonel Young didn’t heed the warning of the leader of the Lucian Alliance prisoners on Destiny, not believing that one man could prove so fatally dangerous. The surprise, to everyone but me perhaps, is who finally outwits Simeon.
Many characters who are normally optimistic, forgiving and peace-loving, reveal their weaknesses during this crises, but forge ahead and prove their mettle. Small steps with big results.
Next week’s episode trailer left me with a bad feeling. Do we really need to ‘magically’ meet up with the stranded survivors who chase to leave Destiny last season? And they ‘magically’ bring back a shuttle to Destiny? Pshaw!
Postscript on the location … eerie and alien … can you say ‘New Mexico’? Here’s an excerpt from the link in the first paragraph above:
“We went back to New Mexico. To the Bisti Badlands. Not the same desert as we went to in the pilot, but another desert that is incredibly alien-looking. I went to the location for some of the shoot, and it was … I’d never seen anything like it on earth. It was a bizarre formation created by melting glaciers, and it is just … there’s these things called hoodoos, which rise up out of the ground, and there’s mineral deposits all through them. And so it looks truly alien. It looks incredibly remote, ’cause it is. We were in the middle of nowhere. Fifty miles south of a place called Farmington, N.M.”
(Executive producer Brad Wright, in an interview with Blastr.com)
Tonight’s SGU episode, ‘The Greater Good’ provided greater plot and character development than I’ve seen this entire season. I couldn’t help but cheer when Young finally got a choke hold on Rush … too bad he stopped so soon. Young is more naive than I thought if he believes Rush has had a change of heart and ‘given his word’ (Ha! … if he believes that, I’ve got a bridge I could sell him) to work with Young and not against him. So far Rush’s track record does not support this affirmation. At least the other scientists now have access to the bridge and all of Destiny’s systems. Rush no longer holds all the cards … thank goodness!
Next week’s episode looks even better … more action and more tension, this time with the Lucian Alliance leftovers.
My feeble attempt to muse upon Mr. Modesitt’s questions posed in his blog post today entitled ‘The Failure of Imagination.’
Specifically, in his closing paragraph, the question:
“The immediate question is to what degree the proliferation of graphic everything minimizes the development of imagination. And what are the ramifications for the future of both society and culture?”
Is our obsession with gadgets and glitz impeding or ability to excel in the hard sciences? Where are the young up and coming visionary innovative scientists and inventors? Lost in a maze of mindless virtual mayhem? Distracted and disillusioned from the implacable mountain of hard work and study they must climb before great achievements are realized.
I too lament the decline of perception and a sharp increase in instant gratification; easy answers, quick fixes. And at least half of my offspring may eventually contribute to the ‘problem’ of faster, flashier graphic violence as an aspiring artist hurtling toward the gaming industry galaxy.
I’ve thus far avoided the allure of today’s graphically bloated games. I’m an old school drop-out of D&D who prefers a text based MMORPG exactly because my own mind is my first and best cinematic director.
I pose a ‘what if’ scenario, which most likely has been done before in science fiction. What if all of us became blind? How, doesn’t matter — could be disease or radiation or some other catastrophe. Would your imagination musculature be up to the challenge? Would we then strive towards ideals that benefit all since we would need to depend on and trust each other for survival?
Turn off the tube. Put down that game controller. Take a walk. Walk the dog (you both need exercise). Close your eyes. Or read a book.
Try a proactive response rather than a reactive reflection.
The summer spouted science fiction shows but the autumn left me with but one lonely final frontier … Stargate Universe. Just a few weeks ago I couldn’t keep up with recorded episodes of Doctor Who (via BBC America), Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Haven (all via SyFy). I gave up on Sanctuary within a half dozen episodes in the first season and managed to make it to the end of the first half of the first season of Caprica and was actually overjoyed to hear of its recent imminent demise.
So my Tuesday nights are my only venture into SF viewing territory. Each week I join the stranded inhabitants aboard the Destiny via Stargate Universe.
I subscribe to, but don’t necessarily read routinely, the RSS feed for Stargate Universe at Gateworld. I recently stopped by the forums and read some of the reviews for these season’s episodes, many of which I sympathized with.
I admit to being disappointed with the season opener, Intervention, which wrapped up the cliff hanger in record time and introduced a supernatural subplot that made me cringe. Aftermath seemed pointless, except to further demonstrate how dangerous Rush has become. I actually enjoyed Awakening for the same reasons Scott and Grear got excited. The fate of Telford, unlike Riley, may still come back to haunt us. I liked half of Pathogen, the half where Eli rushes back to Earth (psuedospiritually, not physically) because his mother has stopped taking her meds and is dying. Some great acting by David Blue and Ming-Na. We see more evidence of Rush’s continue fall from grace (and/or sanity). Cloverdale (actually filmed in the town of the same name) confused me at first and then just left me angry.
Last week’s episode, Trial and Error, left me wondering if Destiny can discern the difference between Rush and Young and choose wisely.
I really need a distraction from the dwindling mesmerization of Destiny’s stowaways. Maybe I’ll request BSG from Netflix and try to convince myself I haven’t seen them all before.
I succumbed to a health screening and health risk assessment at work today. Voluntary coercion also known as an incentive to reduce, by a pittance, my health insurance premiums for the first six months of 2011. I think I may have participated in a health screening a few years ago, but not recently.
My numbers, while not ideal, were not terribly out of whack. The scariest one was an unexpected uptick in my blood pressure. I really shouldn’t be surprised since I’ve had a forty year love affair with salt, which I’ve now resolved to resist as best I can. I see more whole wheat bagels, oatmeal and bananas in my future, as well as a return to my evening Rottweiler constitutionals. The nurse also suggested that I double-check my blood pressure in a day or so to see if it was a fluke. If not, then I might also be visiting my doctor soon.
While waiting for my ride after work, I experienced first hand several leaf-filled dust devils swirling around the circle drive of the Plaza Library Building. I enjoyed the stress relief and photographic opportunity, even if I all I had at hand was my cell phone.
For the rest of the photos, visit my photo album here.
The polls closed a few minutes ago here in the Heart of America (aka Kansas). Twelve hours ago I took a few minutes to cast my votes and submit my ballot. Something unheard of or scoffed at a thousand years ago, or even just a couple or three hundred years in the past; a privilege I have invoked every election year since 1982. A non-violent non-fatal process for expressing and affirming a society’s will or vision and any changes thereto.
I stumbled across, via my WordPress subscriptions, a blog post by an author I admire, L.E. Modesitt, Jr. entitled ‘Election Day … and the Polarization of Everything?‘ His observations struck a chord with me, especially with the heightened awareness the Internet brings to the radical (left or right … take your pick) and the Tea Party movement. Extreme viewpoints and adherence to a very strict code of ethics is laudable, but can lead to stalemates at best and a fall into violence at worst.
Without some hope of compromise, I envision a return to a Cold War-type era, where an ‘arms race’ of values and platforms trumps any Common Sense measures which when properly discussed and debated might actually benefit a majority of people.
I admit I’m often a centrist, attempting to accurately see both sides or all sides of an issue before making a suggestion or a decision. No matter how uncomfortable it might make me feel, I want to ‘walk a mile’ in someone else’s shoes before putting on my own and breaking trail on my own path.
And to think I was praising the beautiful fall weather yesterday. Nothing lasts forever though.
I had hoped to take a few photos of the full Hunter’s Moon tonight via the telescope and digital camera. But the clouds and a wicked cold have conspired to render me blind and chilled. Perhaps if I wake up in the middle of the night (when the cold medicine wears off) the clouds would have rolled away to reveal a smiling dazzling moon.
Or not.
Either way, I’ll be back in a cold medicine induced coma within a half hour or so.
I did not dodge the virus bullet. I guess I should have slept in the spare bedroom starting over a week ago. I did everything like I was supposed to … extra hand washing, avoiding contact with hubby, more veggies and fruits.
The question becomes can I survive one more day at work? Huddling in my cube, posting bio hazard signs at the entrance so everyone has fair warning. If I can make it to the weekend, I’ll have three days to knock myself out with cold medicine, since I’m taking Monday off.
Such a shame to waste this phenomenal fall weather these past few weeks. I can’t remember an autumn that has been so nearly perfect for clear skies, light winds, mild temperatures (day and night).
Here’s praying for a swift recovery for the common cold.
I’m saying farewell and good riddens to my old MySpace blog. Recent account privacy and security settings have proved inadequate to my blogging needs. So, if you used to follow my blog on MySpace, please resubscribe and visit me here at WordPress.
If your an avid reader, like myself, please stop by GoodReads.com and read some of my reviews. I also salvage, rescue and swap many books via BookMooch so check out my inventory if you’re looking for some great reads.
In my limited spare time, and depending on whether the moon is out or not, I could be looking up (i.e. star gazing) during these cool autumn evenings or relaxing online as Kerowyn at Aardwolf.
I’m going to transfer a few of my most recent MySpace blogs to WordPress this morning. My most recent focus has been on astronomy, so many of my upcoming posts will deal with my discovers in our solar system and hopefully in deep space.
Jon