Countdown To: "Revenge of the Sith".......

24 DAYS UNTIL "REVENGE OF THE SITH"!!!!!

Countdown To: "Unemployment".....

37 DAYS UNTIL I AM UNEMPLOYED!!!!

DVD Review: "Baa Baa Black Sheep"......

I remember watching Baa Baa Black Sheep when I was a kid and then rediscovering it on the History Channel. I LOVED IT!

It is the stories of the famed WWII Marine Corp fighter squadron VFM-214 better know as the "Black Sheep". The series follows the exploits of this unit in the air and on the ground. The acting is quite good, as is the chemistry among the actors. The combat scenes combine new footage and some actual combat footage from the war. This does look a bit awkward at times but I never found it to be that big of an issue. It is very fun viewing and quite family friendly.

Robert Conrad is perfect in his depiction of the hard living, hard drinking commander of the outfit Greg "Pappy" Boyington. Among the series regulars were a young John Larroquette and Red West who used to be a bodyguard for Elvis Presley. You will doubtless recognize other faces in the cast as many became staples in 80's TV and some can still be seen today. Watch for the actual Greg Boyington making a cameo as he pins a medal on Conrad in one of the episodes.

Good to see this come back!

Buy it here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007YMWGY/qid=1114204716/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5405449-3438448?v=glance&s=dvd

TV Review: "The Apprentice - Season 3"......

I have been a fan of the television show "The Apprentice" since it debuted last year. Despite the fact that it is a tribute to Donald Trump’s ego and a vehicle for shameless product placement. Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing a bunch of Type-A go-getters tear each other to shreds after failed tasks.

In this third season the producers decided to cast a team full of college educated players and pits them against a team of those with only a high school education. The result has been the worst incarnation of the show to date. I feel like I have been watching this season, which debuted on January 20, 2005, FOREVER. It is a train wreck. An occasionally entertaining train wreck but a train wreck nonetheless. The bickering and back-stabbing has been childish and non-stop. While these conflicts have always been part of the fun it has become excessive this season. The quality of the work product, while occasionally good, has been overall exceedingly poor. For the first time in three seasons BOTH teams lost at a task and both teams were forced to attend the board room session. Out of all the tens of thousands that auditioned for this show this was the best they could do? I would not hire most of these people to pour my morning shot at Starbucks. Yet one these contestants is going to get a one-year contract within the Trump Organization and a $250,000 salary.

I must not be the only one who feels this way. I just saw a quote on the Internet where Trump himself of privately heard to remark that this was the worst group of contestants from the first three seasons. I am glad he agrees and hopefully makes wiser selections as a result.

Opinion: "Another European Pope?".....

In the days leading up to the recently conclude Papal Conclave many Vatican observers speculated that the College of Cardinal might select an African or Latin American as Pope. They felt that the strength of Church in those regions combined with the social and economic challenges there made a compelling case for selecting a Pope from one of these regions. We all now know that they choose not to do this. Instead they turned to Europe, Germany specifically, and choose Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to be the next Pope.

This move makes sense to me for a primary reason. The church is flourishing in Latin America and Africa. Despite all the problems the church remains strong. By contrast, the church is Europe is dying. The aging of the European population combined with the increasingly secular nature of European life as caused Church attendance to wane at an alarming rate. At the same time the Muslim population continues to increase and attendance at Mosques far out places that at Churches. The trend is so alarming that it caused one commentator of observe that if current trends continue unabated Europe will become an outpost of Islam.

My assumption is that the Vatican hopes that by selecting a Pope from the very heart of Europe that they may stem this very distressing tide. I pray that is the case. In an age where the threats posed by Islamo-fascism could not possibly be higher I can think of no greater tragedy than allowing Europe to fall.

Opinion: "Long Live Pope Benedict XVI"

I am not a Catholic but I would like to congratulate them on the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope. A close confidant of the late Pope John Paul II, Ratzinger is uniquely qualified to take on the role of Pope. His adherence to church doctrine and tradition along with his rejection of liberation theology also make him well suited for the job.

Here is a portion of his homily offered at the beginning of the Papal Conclave:


"Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labelled today as a fundamentalism, whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching, looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards. We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires."

Amen.

Opinion: "The Information Age" - Part 2 of 2........

What we are witnessing is not an entirely new phenomenon. In the late the late 19th century there was a similar information explosion and as today it was driven by technology. The Second Industrial Revolution was nearing it peak in the late 19th century. One of the by-products was the ability to mass-produce newspapers. As more and more newspapers were published the need increased to draw more and more readers. The publishers did so by focusing on sensationalized news and often misleading stories. This trend became known as "Yellow Journalism". It reached its zenith in the late 1890’s during the crisis with Cuba over the sinking of the battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor. Though cause of the Maine’s demise was not clearly know, many used it as opportunity to blame Spain. One of the most influential newspapermen, at the time, William Randolph Hurst said "You provide the pictures and I’ll provide the war." Other papers at the time took up the battle cry "Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!" The result of all of this was the Spanish-American War.

Can anyone argue that we not living in a similar age now? Sensationalized news, celebrity gossip, human-interest stories and trivial events being blown out of proportion dominate our news. The obsession with the Michael Jackson trial, the Scott Peterson trial, the OJ Trial are all examples as is non-stop coverage of JoLo, Britney Spears and the all the rest. All this leads to a distorted sense of reality.

Crime in this country is much less of a problem then it was 25 years ago. During the late 70’s and 80’s people actually questioned the very future of the country. However, with every abduction and murder leading every news broadcast and with the associated commentary and analysis the public comes to believe that the world is going straight to hell. This is not necessarily true.

The recent death of Pope John Paul II is another example of gross media overkill. The day the Pope took most gravely ill the cable news channels began a non-stop death vigil. They did this to the exclusion of all other news. This obsession with ratings and the bottom line has lead the major media in this country to become myopic.

One could even argue that the media’s treatment of events since 9/11 and the government’s response have born a striking resemblance to those of the late 1890’s and the event surrounding the sinking of the Maine.

"Amusing Ourselves to Death" was a book written in the mid-1980’s by Neil Postman. It was a warning about the negative effects of television on society. In a recent issue of the "Weekly Standard" columnist Andrew Ferguson referred to Postman’s work in his column on effects of television. He notes that Postman’s dystopian vision of modern life was less Orwell’s "1984" but more Aldous Huxley’s "Brave New World". Postman writes:

"no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy,
maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to
adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books.
What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to
ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read
one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information.
Huxley feared those who would give us so much that
we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell
feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley
feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.
Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley
feared we would become a trivial culture."

Can any serious observer of modern American society deny that part of this analysis is not correct? Have we not in large part become a "trivial culture"? I would argue that to deny this truth is equivalent to burying ones head in the sand.

Another negative side effect of the information explosion is what I call the cherry picking of information. In the past individuals engaging in political debate had more the less the same sources and a common frame of reference. Today news and information runs the entire length of the political spectrum from far left to far right. As a result people are able to get their news from sources that match their own political opinions and biases. Be it newspapers, talk radio or websites. Consequently, when there are political disagreements there is no longer agreement on a common set of facts. Each persons "facts" are suited to their own positions. What used to be an honest intellectual debate has degenerated into little more than professional wrestling. It is a glorified shouting match where each party regurgitates their "facts" until the next commercial break. When it comes to politics we no longer talk to each other we talk at each other. Both sides thinking they have the "facts" on their side. Jeff Greenfield on CNN asked some time ago whether their was any source of information that both sides in a political debate would regard as credible. Sadly, for at least the time being I think the answer to that question is a resounding NO.

The Information Age is upon us and there is no turning back. Quite frankly, with all its faults, I would not have it any other way. Despite all, the proliferation of information has been a good thing. In the end, we all need to be wiser consumers of information. We need to learn to read between the lines. We need to use this abundance to our advantage and expose ourselves to as many different points of view as possible. We need to think for ourselves. We need to learn that more is not always better. We need to realize you can’t believe everything you see and read. Most importantly, we need to tune it out once is awhile and concentrate on what really matters in our lives. This will take some effort but if we can do these things we will be just fine.

Sources:

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/spanamer/yellow.htm

Andrew Ferguson, "Turn Them Off. Turn Them All Off." The Weekly Standard, March 28, 2004

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_American_War

Countdown To: "Revenge of the Sith".......

33 DAYS AND COUNTING UNTIL "REVENGE OF THE SITH"!!!!

Opinion: "The Information Age" - Part 1 of 2........

Americans today have ready access to more sources of information than at any time in human history. Just consider all the options available to today’s information consumer. There are the large numbers of newspapers, newsmagazines, opinion journals, 24-hour TV news channels, talk radio and news oriented websites by the hundreds. On top of all that is the explosion of phenomenon known as the blogo-sphere. If that were not enough audio pod casting is now starting to take off.

What is the impact of this proliferation of information? I would argue it a mixed blessing, at best. On one hand, information has truly been democratized. Especially the Internet, that has allowed information to spread unfiltered to all corners of the globe. It has become increasingly difficult for governments or others to control the types or nature of information to which they allow their citizens access. Today anyone with access to the Internet can get another point of view. Yet much like the Biblical Tower of Babel this explosion of information has lead to an intellectual confusion on par with the confusion of language resulting from the Biblical story. In addition, I would argue that this ready access to information has contributed greatly to the political polarization of this country. Finally, as the saying goes, more is not necessarily better.

There was a time when state controlled news agencies were the only sources of information available to people living in totalitarian societies. What people knew about the world was what they were told by their government. This allowed corrupt dictatorships to control the lives of their citizens through propaganda. While this is still an all too common phenomenon in parts of the world the Information Revolution has made this much more difficult. As the last bastion of true freedom the Internet does not answer to governments, or shareholders, or editors. Those that access the Internet are able to avail themselves of truly unfiltered information.

The mainstream media used to have a virtual stranglehold on the news. In years past the news was what they said it was. The Walter Cronkite’s of the world were powerful. To point a fact, Cronkite’s reporting of the War in Vietnam is credited by many with turning America’s attitude against the war. Yet as Lord Acton observed "power corrupts". Over the years the mainstream media became increasingly arrogant. The culmination of this was the attempt by CBS News to use falsified documents in an attempt to discredit President Bush during the last election cycle. At one point in time they might have gotten away with it. However, they were not counting on the Internet to act as fact checker. As a result the story was debunked, many CBS employee lost their job and Dan Rather was forced to retire.

Countdown To: "Revenge of the Sith".......

36 DAYS AND COUNTING TO "REVENGE OF THE SITH"!!!

Countdown To: Unemployment.....

47 DAYS AND COUNTING UNTIL I AM UNEMPLOYED!!!

Chapter 4: Starship Lexington

The last thing he heard was the whine of the transporter beam as it began to disassemble the molecules in his body and transmit, or "beam", those particles from the East Coast, of what had been the Unites States of America, to it’s West Coast. A trip of many hour or even days duration in centuries past was completed in a matter of seconds. Another whine and he was in the transporter room at Starfleet HQ. He was hit with a momentary wave of nausea and disorientation has his body was reconstituted. By the time he stepped off the pad it had passed.

"Good morning, Captain. I am Admiral Jackson’s aide Lt. Michael Evans. The Admiral is expecting you. Right this way sir."

"Thank you. Lead the way Lieutenant."

They strode through the halls of Starfleet HQ. The richly paneled walls were decorated with paintings, murals and models of starships past interspersed with portraits of Starfleet’s finest. Among many Masters saw were several renderings representing the various incarnations of the USS Enterprise, the "Great Experiment" the original USS Excelsior and the Phoenix, earth’s first warp capable space ship; which lead to humanities first contact with an alien race. Among the portraits were James T. Kirk, Christopher Pike, Jonathan Archer, Robert April and Zefram Cochrane. Further down he came across a bronze plaque bearing the names of the starships lost to the Borg at the Battle of Wolf 359 and then upon the portraits of Will Decker and Benjamin Sisko; each bearing the somber yet hopeful inscription of Missing in Action. Starfleet HQ was part operations center, part museum and part shrine.

Chapter 3: Starship Lexington

The Eastern Seaboard of North America – Stardate: 57079.23

The hours with his family passed all too quickly. Even still it was good to spend even a little time at home. Before reporting back to Starfleet HQ he decided to stop at his favorite café for a last cup of real coffee before having to once again endure how many months, or perhaps years, worth of replicated sludge. A smile crept onto his face as he reminded himself that might not be entirely true. He sat outside the coffee shop at a comfortable bistro-style table and savored the hot, rich, slightly bitter liquid. This was his favorite café. It was a casual and friendly environment where you could just sit and relax. He used to while away hours outside this store in years past. Either just sitting watching the world go by or losing himself completely in the pages of good old fashion book. When he meant a book that is exactly what he meant. The Personal Access Display Devices, or PADDs, were fine for many things, even running a starship. However, when it came to books there was no substitute for the real thing.

He sat, eyes closed, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his face. He breathed deep the fresh, clean unrecycled air of home. It was another perfect day, as were almost all days. Since First Contact with the Vulcans earth had become a paradise of sorts. It was a founding member and one of the crown jewels of the United Federation of Planets. Still perfection had its drawback too. He often wondered what it might been like to live in a time before First Contact. Maybe life was more interesting back then, he often thought. Then again the old days had their problems; war, famine, disease. So what if things were all too predictable. It was a small price to pay. Enough day dreaming! He had caught his mind wandering on more than a few occasions over the past couple of days since returning to earth. It was a dangerous habit for a Starfleet Captain. Time to get back to work. He needed to check in with Admiral Jackson one more time then report to the Lexington.

He reluctantly left the coffee house and walked to the nearest public transporter. He stepped on the transporter pad and instructed the operator "Starfleet HQ in San Francisco, please".

Countdown To: "Revenge of the Sith".......

38 DAYS AND COUNTING UNTIL "REVENGE OF THE SITH"!!!!

Countdown To: Unemployment.....

51 DAYS AND COUNTING UNTIL I AM UNEMPLOYED!

Chapter 2: Starship Lexington

Leaving the auditorium the two Starfleet officers made their way through the immaculately manicured grounds of Starfleet headquarters to Admiral Jackson’s office. It was a beautiful summer day in San Francisco. Masters’ breathed deep the fresh non-recycled air and felt the warmth of the sun on his face. His eyes drank in the lush foliage. Though he loved outer space, nothing could replace the beauty of earth. Holodecks were a marvelous invention and essential to crew morale and they came close to approximating the real thing but something always seemed to be missing or just slightly off. The greens were never green enough; the blue of the sky just not quite right. And replicated food! It may have been nutritionally complete but there was an unmistakable blandness to it. No matter how many engineers and scientists told him he was wrong he remained unconvinced. He was looking forward to enjoying as much of the real thing as possible before taking command of the Lexington. The Admiral jolted him from his reverie.

"Captain! Are you with me?"

"Sorry, sir! It’s been so long since I’ve been back home that I got a bit distracted while taking it all in. My apologies!"

"No need, Captain. You’re entitled. After five years out there as First Officer of the Morimoto and three years since your last trip to earth I can hardly blame you. "

"Alex I know you were looking for some time with your family before taking command but I am afraid that is not possible. The Lexington’s retrofit is nearly complete. The yardmaster estimates you should be able to launch within the next 96 hours. You will have an almost all-new crew save for the Senior Chief. I want you on-board ASAP. Then set course for Starbase 86. It’s a long trip and you can use that time to get things in shape. Have you selected a First Officer yet?"

"No sir, I have narrowed my choices down to two but I need to have a final interview with each before making a selection."

"Better make it quick Alex. Like I said you launch in less than 4 days. Any questions?"

"Yes, sir. About my crew, sir. I was going over the roster and I noticed that the Chief Medical Officer is a Cardassian. I did not realize there were any in Starfleet. Is that wise sir?""Yes, Dr. Tedan Malar. He is the first Cardassian to serve in Starfleet. He is very young. A symbol of the new Cardassia. He was a member of the underground during the war. He is also a pacifist. I know what you are thinking Captain but it’s all true. You might feel better when you see who sponsored his application to Starfleet Academy."

"Kira Nerys?! Commander of Deep Space Nine?!" exclaimed Masters incredulously.

"Yes they met while she was on Cardassia during the war aiding Damar in the resistance. If she can get past it I expected you to do so as well, understood?"

"Aye, sir. I will do my best….."; before he could finish Masters was cut off.

"I expect better than that, Captain. You will treat him with the courtesy and respect you would extend to any other officer. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir! Will there be anything else, sir?" Masters was clearly uneasy and responded as a first year cadet addressing his drill instructor.

"Alex I know you lost a lot of friends and classmates during the Dominion War. Hell, there is hardly anyone in Starfleet who was unaffected but you have to make this work. Cardassia has made remarkable progress since the war. Malar is proof positive of that."

"I understand sir. You have my word Admiral."

What Master’s was really thinking was, now I know how Kirk felt when he was ordered to meet with the Klingon Chancellor before the signing of the Khitomer Accords.

"Excellent! You have thirty-six hours R&R before reporting to the Lexington. Go spend it with your family."

"Aye, sire. Thank you sir"

"You’re welcome. Good luck Captain Masters. Dismissed."

Countdown To: "Revenge of the Sith".......

41 DAYS AND COUNTING TO "REVENGE OF THE SITH"

Chapter 1: Starship Lexington

Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth -

“….therefore effective StarDate 57076.5 you are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain with the all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of that rank.”

Admiral Jackson then pinned the fourth pip on the collar of the former Starfleet Commander , First Officer and veteran of many conflicts including the Dominion War.

“Further, you are requested and required to report to the Starship Lexington and take your place as her commanding officer. Congratulations Captain Masters!”

“Thank you, Admiral. I am honored by this and by the trust you and Starfleet have placed in my abilities. I will not let you down. “, promised Captain Alex Master accepting his promotion.

The promotion ceremony now concluded the assembled guests broke into applause. Among those in attendance were Captain Masters’ mother and father and little sister. They were anxious to catch up with Starfleet’s newest Captain as this was his first time back to earth in several years.

“Admiral Jackson, I’d like to introduce you to my family. Admiral John Jackson these are my parents William and Erica Masters and this is my sister Pamela.”

“Nice to meet you all. You should be very proud of Alex. He may be too modest to say so but he is one of the best. I have no doubt that he will make a great Captain.”

“Thank you Admiral” Erica Masters said. “We have always been proud of him.”

“As well you should be. But now if you will excuse us the Captain and I need to speak, privately.”

“Not a problem. Son, we’ll see you later?” asked William Masters.

“Sure dad. I’ll see you later.”

Misc: "Sci-Fi Geek".......

Hi, my name is Glenn and I am a sci-fi geek. I admit it. You name it Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica (new and old) I am into it. I also like to write (if having my own blog did not prove that!). I occasionally like to mess around with a Star Trek story that I contribute to on and off. So for your reading pleasure (IF there are any of you out there!) I present Chapter One of the Starship Lexington.

Countdown To: "Revenge of the Sith".......

45 Days and counting to "Revenge of the Sith"!