The Epic Saga Continues!

8:47am: From Frances Wright's "Fourth of July Oration" (1828), my favorite 4th of July speech ever:

Patriotism, in the exclusive meaning, is surely not made for America...it is for [Americans] especially to know WHY they love their country; and to feel that they love it, not because it is their country, but because it is the palladium of human liberty—the favored scene of human improvement. It is for them, more especially, to examine their institutions; and to feel that they honor them because they are based on just principles...to examine their institutions, because they have the means of improving them; to examine their laws, because at will they can alter them. It is for them to lay aside luxury whose wealth is in industry; idle parade whose strength is in knowledge; ambitious distinctions whose principle is equality. It is for them not to rest, satisfied with words, who can seize upon things; and to remember that equality means, not the mere equality of political rights, however valuable, but equality of instruction and equality in virtue; and that liberty means, not the mere voting at elections, but the free and fearless exercise of the mental faculties and that self-possession which springs out of well-reasoned opinions and consistent practice. It is for them to honor principles rather than men—to commemorate events rather than days; when they rejoice, to know for what they rejoice, and to rejoice only for what has brought and what brings peace and happiness to men. "

Full text here.

10:47pm: I met JMS!!!!
Squee time. And yes, boys can squee, too.

JMS himself, creator of Babylon 5, told me "f*ck you!" tonight. Something I shall carry with me till the day I die. :)

Background: MIT somehow got JMS to come speak, and I found out via those damnedly Orwellian (yet damnedly useful) Facebook snoop-ads. So roboknee and I paid $10 to go see him. Packed auditorium, and all of the hallways leading there in MIT Building#10 had been peppered with very authentic, at-home looking Psi-Corps signs that said "Obey" and "The Corps is Father, The Corps is Mother." When we asked where the room was, we were told, "go down that hall and turn left at the `Remember Byron' graffiti." Priceless.

JMS was hysterical. Angry nerdy working class Jewish geek who tore down everyone but didn't spare himself, witty and surprisingly kind at key moments. He was somehow simultaneously a gentleman and an ass, but the good kind of ass (or the bad kind of gentleman!) The man stayed an extra HOUR to accommodate all questioners and dealt with the few trolls admirably (including this one freakazoid who, after 6 straight minutes of preamble, flying in the face of everyone telling him to get to the point, asked, "What's your favorite food?" When JMS, after his incredulity at that being the question, said, "burgers", the followup question was, "if I were a hamburger, would you eat me?" Uuuuggh. As he was booed off the mike, I realized that this is how most Muslims must feel when they see Al Qaida. As in, "this man does not represent geekdom! Or at least, not mainstream geekdom!"

JMS proudly identified as a geek, dropped references with the best of us, told wonderful stories about him and Harlan Ellison, gave us the behind-the-scenes-on-B5 dirt we were craving,and managed to be both admirable and pathetic at the same time - the former because of all he'd achieved in spite of everyone who tried to block him or screw him over, how he managed to do it "his way" and keep to his values at all times - and the latter because although he's a legend now he's divorced and alone and considers himself a writer because he's good for nothing else. It's that combination of pride and insecurity that all geeks know so well.

Some people, myself included, really credited his work with shaping parts of their lives. He was kind to the people who really opened up their hearts with moving stories, and ribbed the hell out of people (including me!) whom he sensed could "take it." I didn't even realize until tonight that he wrote for He Man, The Real Ghostbusters, Wheeled Warriors, Captain Power...these were the shows that taught me all about "heroism" and "morality"...of course, when I told him that I grew up on those shows, that's when he said "f*ck you" for making him feel old. :) He also teased me about my "GM's don't kill characters" tee-shirt: "You're a liar," he said. "I used to play in a Cthulu game and my GM killed me all the time!" After I asked him my writing question (and got a decent and respectful answer), I promised him if he ever played with my group, I wouldn't kill his character. :)

In short, the best $10 I've spent in years. Even if the guy sitting next to me (not roboknee was busy noisily biting his nails, farting, coughing on me and invading my personal space the whole time. With geekdom, one takes the good with the bad.

- SW

11:34pm: I came, I saw, I trekked!


You have to understand, Star Trek shaped me. It shaped so much of who I am as a person, my values, my outlook on life and what is and isn't possible...Trek's utopianism, its sense of adventure, the relationships between the characters, the cliches and the trivia...Treknobabble and obsessively specific show-references were the currency of my high school and even college mental/cultural mindset. Now, perhaps, you might understand what was at stake for me in seeing the new JJ Abrams Star Trek film. I mean, heck, VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE bothered (yes, bothered, as in, not just annoyed, but *bothered* on a deep level) me with their departures from what I understood Star Trek to be, with the lack of care I felt the producers and writers showed for what Trek should be. So JJ Abrams? With the explosion-laden, testosterone-soaked previews? I was terrified.

But of course I couldn't NOT see it, either.

At least I brought along some support - no less than 19 students, members of the scifi club, some hardcore Trekkers (including a pair of sisters who recited Data's "Ode to Spot" from memory on the bus ride, in eerie synchronicity) and some utter newcomers who had never seen an episode. None of these kids, of course, were even ALIVE when NextGen was airing. But all were inheritors of Trek's legacy, whether they knew it or not. Even the shittiest random youtube scifi short is not guaranteed to be free of Trek reference.

So we all clustered into the sold-out sneak preview tonight, and as the lights went down my stomach was wobbling madly...
...
...and...

It...kicked...ass.

Hugely spoiler-laden review to follow, which you really shouldn't read until you see the film, because so much of the film's strength relies on the surprises and "easter eggs" for diehard fans. In fact, the film was a hell of a lot more loyal than I ever expected. With one or two glaring exceptions, it really COULD fit right into continuity flawlessly.

( Dammit, Jim, the sensors are reading spoilers if you click on this link! But you know you want to! )

...

In the end, I was cheering and clapping throughout, and felt like Abrams, despite all I'd been led to believe in his interviews, really took efforts to respect the franchise and its mythology, and in doing that, respect the fans. I feel, well, respected. Not to mention entertained.

At the same time, the film was very accessible to newcomers as well. The students universally loved it. And I went home happy, despite staying up way later than my bedtime on a school night. It has my vote for a new series, although alas, no TV show could afford this cast. Still, my extremely cautious optimism was rewarded...and that, above all else, marked this movie as an Obama-era film. :)

See it!

- SW

11:25pm: Wow. Have been away from LJ for a long time. Does that mean I have a life?


...
...


Naw.


- SW

10:47am: I remember back in 2000, when I started teaching, we were being encouraged to phase out actual "letters" home to students because the kids were all using email, and letters were becoming increasingly unreliable as a means to reach students. Now almost ten years have passed, and we're being told that EMAIL is becoming increasingly unrealiable as a means to reach students, because the kids don't check it regularly anymore - they communicate primarily through texting with their friends. So what does this mean - that we have to get every kid's phone #, and then text them on our own bill?

Maybe we should just use carrier pigeons...cheaper in the long run....?

-SW

2:05pm: BSG finale review
( Frakkin' Spoilers! )

-SW

2:12pm: Reflections on today, the 6th anniversary of the Iraq War's onset
March 19th. The sixth anniversary of the Iraq War.

As of today, 4259 US soldiers have lost their lives, and 45,583 injuries have been reported (to be accurate, this is injury count, not people count - some are multiple injuries to same soldier).

Between 91,000 and 99,000 Iraqis have been killed.

656.1 billion dollars of our tax money have been spent already, and President Obama has just requested $75.5 billion more.

And for what? A shaky, barely-stable Iraqi "democracy" that most experts say will fall apart the second we leave. A country that was never meant to be one country and which already is in essence two countries (Kurdistan and the rest), and which may well become three countries after the US withdraws. Worldwide condemnation and loss of moral authority. Thousands of new recruits to Al Qaeda.

Yes, we got rid of Saddam Hussein, which no one argues is a bad thing in and of itself, except this isn't a movie, and the credits don't just roll once the "bad guy" dies - if you kill the bad guy and in doing so set the conditions which lead to over 100,000 more deaths and no end in sight - maybe it just wasn't freaking worth it? And come on, isn't Saddam II just going to replace him once we leave?

In the wake of the financial crisis, you would never know there are in fact TWO wars going on right now, or even that one, in Iraq, is continuing. As usual, the media cycle obscures as much as it reveals.

But I remember.

( More follows )

- SW

1:39pm: Thanks a lot, alma mater. Brandeis sends out an e-survey seeking alums to host a "shadow" student who is interested in your career. They make a big deal of mentioning in their letter, however, that

"All alumni are welcome to volunteer, but we are particularly looking for those working in finance and banking, scientific research (especially if related to health care), and clinical psychology, as student demand for these fields remain high."

Well, yet another voice out there that says teaching as a field doesn't matter. I've got to say, Brandeis, that "finance and banking" isn't exactly the growth field it used to be. And, um, didn't you lose like a gajillion dollars of your endowment to Bernard Madoff? Maybe you should re-assess your priorities, and remember that traditional Jewish value of education, instead of that stereotyped Jewish value of money...

Grr.

- SW

7:21pm: OMG - this is the funniest thing I've seen all week. One of my students shared it with me: "Watchmen" as envisioned as a "Superfriends"-style cartoon!

-SW

7:50pm: Scifi channel! Post the last Battlestar Galactica episode already! I need to see "DayBreak Part I" before you air the series finale on Friday!

-SW

4:33pm: Good Press! Yipee!
Sweet! The section of the Scion Companion that I wrote, "Secrets of the World," got a great review on flamesrising.com!

jesshartley, if you know any developers looking for writers, you can now say, "this guy produces AND he gets good reviews." ;)

- SW

6:53pm: I have to admit, although my initial review of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse was not so favorable, two episodes later I have become rather intrigued and impressed by this show.

( Some spoilers involved )
- SW

9:36am: Saw the premiere of Our Lord and Master Joss Whedon's new series, Dollhouse. I don't think I have any real spoilers here, but if you're afraid, read no further.

My general impression: Eeeehhh.

It's got an interesting premise. I like how the episode provided a meta-commentary on the art of writing and creating characters; the whole "running to/running from" thing, how every strength you give a character probably stems from overcompensation for a flaw (as a GM, I'm going to use this advice again and again whenever I get munchkin players who want to create munchkin characters, thank you Joss m'man!)...and I see potential in the "character" that is the whole Dollhouse organization, how you've got Hannah Arendt's "banality of evil" playing out where there are a bunch of very potentially sympathetic people just doing their jobs, some going to some lengths to rationalize it one way or another, some just doing their small cog-work...but the sum total is something disturbing and ethically awful. I am curious, but only mildly, as to what "Echo" did in her pre-wipe life to end up here. But I expect I will be dragged through hill and dale for several seasons before I get that info, and I'm not sure I care enough to go on that ride.

I surprised and disappointed to not see a Whedon show's characteristic humor. Yeah, "tech guy" cracked a few borderline self-referential jokes, but this show seems played entirely straight, which is not what I've come to expect from JW.

If this show is going to succeed, it needs to not get trapped in "formula." We have evolved beyond the "self contained episode, everything gets set back to square one except a few dangling plot threads" model. This is the age of Battlestar Galactica and Lost, where we expect there to be a million subplots and almost too much to keep track of...yet Dollhouse seems disappointingly contained. The characters don't thrill me, not even Echo. As for the others? "Moral voice black guy" seems too one-dimensional, "nerdy tech guy" is just a stock character, as is "bitch ceo with a heart of gold" and "thuggish military buzz cut major domo." And don't even start me on "Helo the FBI agent." He's basically just Helo here, too, and I can't stand Helo on BSG because he's such a vanilla non-character.

Finally, I'm not a big fan of Eliza Dushku (and no I'm not even going to TRY and look up how to accurately spell her name). Her character of Faith on Buffy was amusing, but I don't particularly like the actress. That said, she does do the "vacant" thing very well.

My hope for this show is after a few episodes of establishing the "formula", it breaks and all kinds of wild crazy shit happens. Otherwise, we'll have to suffer through week after week of "does Helo expose the Dollhouse? Oh, he got so close, but no!" and "Do we find out anything significant about Echo? Oh, a tidbit, but not much!" And no one has the patience for shows like that anymore, or at least, I don't.

We shall see.

- SW

7:25pm: Saw Coraline. In 3D no less. For all my apprehension, they did manage to capture the spirit of Gaiman's book (UNLIKE that ridiculous mutilation of Stardust that even Claire Danes' cuteness couldn't save).

Ok, so I was irked that they added a male sidekick character, and that they glossed over some of the Beldam's nuances (what made her so scary and disturbing in the book was that she really, really wanted to love and be loved, but due to her nature didn't quite "get" what love was about...it was that pitiable, incompetent perversion of motherhood that was so freaky, far moreso than the movie's somewhat more two-dimensional "monster" version of her). But they got Coraline herself to a T, ditto the cat, and Tim Burton was the perfect man for the job of the visuals. Worth seeing, although I think a lot of parents are going to be severely surprised when they bring their kids to what the previews make out to be a fun fluffy family movie...

- SW

7:10pm: Some countries are not safe for tofu
File this one in the WTF folder:

Sagasorceress and I are returning, yet again, to Bogota, Colombia, to visit her sister. SagaSorceress reminds me to call American Airlines and remind them to make sure we're outfitted with vegetarian meals.

The AA rep puts me on hold for a good six minutes, then returns and tells me this won't be possible.

What?

First she thinks it's because we're in coach, but no, we've gotten veggie meals in coach on plenty of AA flights, thank you very much. So she goes back and checks again. Ten minutes this time.

"It's because you're flying to Colombia. We don't do special meals on flights that go there."

I remind her that we've flown American to Brazil and to Argentina, and had veggie meals, so South America shouldn't be the magic factor. "Maybe it's the economy?" she says. "Maybe we're cutting back?"

I ask to speak to her supervisor. She puts me on another lengthy hold. Then she returns.

"Ok, my supervisor says it's because Colombia is designated as a trouble zone," the woman says, and to her credit she sounds as puzzled as I am. "She showed me a chart. We offer special meals on flights going everywhere in South America except for Venezuela and Colombia."

"Because...it's a trouble zone?" At this point, I can't help bursting out laughing. "So American Airlines feels it's safe enough to fly PEOPLE there, but not to fly VEGETABLES????"

Apparently so.

When did my life become a Zippy comic?

- SW

2:14pm: Slouching. Towards. Bethlehem.

At least BSG is kicking ass right now.

Even if I feel a little bit like everyone's favorite beaten-within-an-inch-of-it's-life Battlestar myself...

Ever forward, I s'pose....

- SW

1:49pm: Procrastinating whilst I should be grading...
When LOLcats just aren't cute enough, thank the gods that there are always LOLpandas.



Or, for those who prefer the less-than-cute approach...



- SW

9:22pm: Thoughts on BSG's new season
Musings on the beginning of the final episodes of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA...

( Spoilers! )

-SW

6:31pm: I am undah attack...by zombie nazis!
Oh. My. Gawd.

I have found the next film the MRC absolutely has to see. Dead Snow, a Norwegian film where a bunch of snowboard punks fight zombie nazi soldiers in on a ski slope. Who's with me?

- SW

1:37pm: Saga returns from the Inauguration in DC
Wow. Back from the Inauguration and I'm not sure I have the words to really sum it up. I'll just try and relate a travelogue and see what emerges.

( Read on )

- SW

7:06pm: I can has convention?
At Arisia, RM 943 and/or RM 941. If you're at the con, stop on by and say hi!

(or attend one of the gazillion panels I'm apparently on)


-SW

8:43pm: My hero today is our soon-to-be-Attorney General Eric Holder, who said at his confirmation hearing, unequivocally, waterboarding is torture and that no one, not even a president, can authorize it.

I am actually starting to think that this country could be turning around.

Meanwhile,USA Today poll reports that a majority of Americans seem to believe Obama will improve things. So far the signs have been encouraging.

- SW

5:46pm: Obama to close Gitmo
Well, this is certainly a good start to the Obama Administration - he just confirmed that he will sign an executive order to close Guanatanamo Bay within 100 days of his inauguration.

Less clear is what he plans to do with the prisoners themselves. If he just has them shipped to other Gitmo-like facilities in other countries, that's hardly an improvement. But he's been consulting with legal experts and it does seem like he's finally planning to give these people trials. Indeed, some of these prisoners really could be nutjobs who pose a real threat to Americans (and honestly, even if they were innocent, 7 years of being waterboarded and having menstrual blood smeared on you will hardly leave you with good feelings about the US, so they might well DECIDE to do terrorist acts even if they never intended to at first). It's a thorny problem and I don't envy Obama's challenge in dealing with it...but at least he IS dealing with it.

And if nothing else, it appears that within 107 days or less, no one will ever be sent to Guantanamo to be tortured on your tax dollar again, and I'll be a little prouder to be an American.

- SW

3:59pm: Warning: Livejournal may go kaput
tonysalieri seems to have it on good information that livejournal may be going under, so just in case, y'all might want to consider downloading the free lj archive app and backing up your lj...

- SW

12:29pm: Sigh. Gotta love it. Interest rates are at record lows all over the country, except student loans. Sallie Mae cheerily tells me that they have "indefinitely suspended all loan consolidation" and I'm stuck at 6.8%.

I'm no economist, but gee, wouldn't it stimulate the economy more to give the educated middle class a little break on their loans so that they can spend more, rather than just dumping tens of billions into auto-companies that freely admit they're just going to fire lots and lots of people? Or into banks that baldly tell you they're not going to reveal how they're using the money?

I'm just oh so happy to be giving corporate welfare to CEOs while my loans pile up...

- SW