This is video of John Hodgman (from the "Daily Show" and the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" Apple commercials) speaking at the press correspondents dinner. In it he challenges President Obama's credibility as a geek/nerd. Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I've FINALLY found my new radio station.
I have to wonder how many people actually push the "seek" button on their radio? Radio "presets" have been a staple - especially in car radios - forever. Once you dial in your station(s), there's really no NEED to seek anymore. Which is why, and forgive me if you might think I'm woefully behind the times on this, I didn't know about 89.3 "The Current." It's the closest thing to the old "REV 105" you're likely to find on a Twin Cities radio today.
Back in the 1990's my favorite radio station was "REV 105" - a low-power station at three places on the dial playing eclectic/free-form music, live in-studio sets, and a big supporter of the local music and charitable causes. Then Disney/ABC/Capitol Cities came in, bought the station, changed it's format, and destroyed the best radio station I - or many other loyal listeners - had ever heard.
Hard to believe that was March 11th, 1997 - over 12 years ago. I've been searching for another favorite radio station ever since.
Under the new ownership the station's name was changed to X-105 and the format to hard rock. Oh, and all the REV-105 people were fired. Then some of them were hired back that September when it became ZONE 105 playing "Adult Album Alternative." Until 1999 when they switched to "Classic Alternative," and then 2000 when they just played "Alternative." In 2001 there was yet another name and format change to V105 playing "Rhythmic Oldies." A year later yet ANOTHER name and format change to "Drive 105" once again playing "Adult Album Alternative" until 2004 when it was back to "Alternative." A decade after the initial shot, 2007 put the final nail in the coffin - a name change to "Love 105" and format change to "Soft Adult Contemporary/Oldies."
I tried listening to 93.7 "The Edge" (Disney's "alternative" station, and the reason they wanted to kill REV 105), which I'd best describe as having been "corporate alternative rock." And like most commercial stations they had an official playlist - created no doubt from marketing research data - from which the DJs apparently dared not waver lest they be flogged or something. When 105 went back to Alternative it was only because Disney decided 93.7 needed to be the hard rock station instead. So the swapped formats. But the playlist at the newly minted "Drive 105" gradually got more and more lame as any song even approaching an "edge" was deemed in competition with their other "rock" station.
But for a lot of the time since REV 105 was killed I simply stopped listening to radio and listened to my rather eclectic music collection. Then recently my brother suggested I give JACK FM a listen, saying they at least play a mix of music old and new. I had to admit, most of the time it isn't that bad. But it's certainly no REV 105. Why? Because REV 105 wasn't just about the playlist, a lot of it had to do with the on-air talent, the dedication to the local music scene, and the station's mission to support local charities.
I was trying to recall the exact date "the music died" (that would be when REV 105 was sold) and looked it up online. Which was when I learned that three of the people who made REV 105 what it was are reunited at KCMP 89.3 "The Current" and they would be Mary Lucia, Steve Nelson, and Thorn. Also, some of you may know Mark Wheat from KUOM "Radio K." Yep, he's there too. What made me even less likely to have stumbled upon this station is that it is a part of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). I don't know about you, but when I think of Public Radio I think of boring talk shows and classical music. In fact, a lot of critics of publicly funded radio (coincidentally many of whom are owners of commercial stations) believe MPR should restrict itself to boring programming and not act like a commercial station at all. So about the last thing I'd have expected on an MPR station was "eclectic/free-form" - which is, wow, the same format that REV 105 used to play!
The first time I tuned my home stereo into "The Current" it was like I'd just stepped in a time machine and was transported back to 1996 - there was Mary Lucia as DJ, songs by the Jayhawks, Wilco, Dinosaur Jr., and mixed in some experimental jazz and songs I could neither identify the artist nor (in some cases) pin down the genre. But that was one of the coolest things about REV 105 - the DJ's were free to slip in some really obscure, off-beat - totally NON commercial music. Radio is where you're SUPPOSED to be exposed to new stuff, right? Oh, and another way it's like having REV 105 back from the dead - "The Current" is also on more than one frequency on the dial, depending on where you live:
Back in the 1990's my favorite radio station was "REV 105" - a low-power station at three places on the dial playing eclectic/free-form music, live in-studio sets, and a big supporter of the local music and charitable causes. Then Disney/ABC/Capitol Cities came in, bought the station, changed it's format, and destroyed the best radio station I - or many other loyal listeners - had ever heard.Hard to believe that was March 11th, 1997 - over 12 years ago. I've been searching for another favorite radio station ever since.
Under the new ownership the station's name was changed to X-105 and the format to hard rock. Oh, and all the REV-105 people were fired. Then some of them were hired back that September when it became ZONE 105 playing "Adult Album Alternative." Until 1999 when they switched to "Classic Alternative," and then 2000 when they just played "Alternative." In 2001 there was yet another name and format change to V105 playing "Rhythmic Oldies." A year later yet ANOTHER name and format change to "Drive 105" once again playing "Adult Album Alternative" until 2004 when it was back to "Alternative." A decade after the initial shot, 2007 put the final nail in the coffin - a name change to "Love 105" and format change to "Soft Adult Contemporary/Oldies."
I tried listening to 93.7 "The Edge" (Disney's "alternative" station, and the reason they wanted to kill REV 105), which I'd best describe as having been "corporate alternative rock." And like most commercial stations they had an official playlist - created no doubt from marketing research data - from which the DJs apparently dared not waver lest they be flogged or something. When 105 went back to Alternative it was only because Disney decided 93.7 needed to be the hard rock station instead. So the swapped formats. But the playlist at the newly minted "Drive 105" gradually got more and more lame as any song even approaching an "edge" was deemed in competition with their other "rock" station.
But for a lot of the time since REV 105 was killed I simply stopped listening to radio and listened to my rather eclectic music collection. Then recently my brother suggested I give JACK FM a listen, saying they at least play a mix of music old and new. I had to admit, most of the time it isn't that bad. But it's certainly no REV 105. Why? Because REV 105 wasn't just about the playlist, a lot of it had to do with the on-air talent, the dedication to the local music scene, and the station's mission to support local charities.
I was trying to recall the exact date "the music died" (that would be when REV 105 was sold) and looked it up online. Which was when I learned that three of the people who made REV 105 what it was are reunited at KCMP 89.3 "The Current" and they would be Mary Lucia, Steve Nelson, and Thorn. Also, some of you may know Mark Wheat from KUOM "Radio K." Yep, he's there too. What made me even less likely to have stumbled upon this station is that it is a part of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). I don't know about you, but when I think of Public Radio I think of boring talk shows and classical music. In fact, a lot of critics of publicly funded radio (coincidentally many of whom are owners of commercial stations) believe MPR should restrict itself to boring programming and not act like a commercial station at all. So about the last thing I'd have expected on an MPR station was "eclectic/free-form" - which is, wow, the same format that REV 105 used to play!
The first time I tuned my home stereo into "The Current" it was like I'd just stepped in a time machine and was transported back to 1996 - there was Mary Lucia as DJ, songs by the Jayhawks, Wilco, Dinosaur Jr., and mixed in some experimental jazz and songs I could neither identify the artist nor (in some cases) pin down the genre. But that was one of the coolest things about REV 105 - the DJ's were free to slip in some really obscure, off-beat - totally NON commercial music. Radio is where you're SUPPOSED to be exposed to new stuff, right? Oh, and another way it's like having REV 105 back from the dead - "The Current" is also on more than one frequency on the dial, depending on where you live:- 88.7 in Rochester, MN (plays classical in the morning & switches to "The Current")
- 89.3 in the Twin Cities
- 95.3 in Mankato, MN
- 97.5 in Hinkley, MN
- Stream It from the web if you can't get it over the air.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Terminator: Salvation (as in Save Your Money)
Seriously, save your money for one of the as-yet-unreleased blockbusters due out later this summer. "Terminator: Salvation" was a major disappointment. If you thought this was the movie about how John Connor saves humanity from the dreaded SkyNet and it's army of Terminators - which is what the movies was SUPPOSED to be about right? The big victory over the machines? NOPE! Sorry, it's not that movie. The last scene in the film was so obviously added by a studio executive who realized "Hey, wait! If we show how SkyNet is defeated that will be the end of the franchise!" That's right, folks, they "win the battle, but the war continues."
Update 6/8/09: Just read some background info on the film, and apparently that open-ended finale was the work of the film's director, MCG, who is some guy better known for directing music videos (like anyone watches those anymore).
Of course I didn't know about the total bait-and-switch unsatisfying ending until, well, the end. But that's far from the only thing wrong with this movie - or at least not as advertised. Did you think Christian Bale was the star? WRONG! Terminator/Cyborg Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) is the actual star of this movie. He gets all the really good action scenes, and he's actually the hero who saves people (including John Connor). Where's Christian Bale? At home, washing his tights! Oh, no, wait this isn't a Batman movie is it? Well, you'd never know it by watching Bale - he delivers us a John Conn0r a-la-Batman. Seriously, his performance for both characters is the SAME. As for where he is? Back in the bunker, talkin' on his radio - while "Marcus" is saving Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who if you've followed Terminator at all is actually John Connor's father - but in 2018 he's only a punk-ass kid who fashions himself as the Los Angeles resistance.
Which brings me to some of the glaring WTF's in this film. Some of this would be the SPOILER fodder, so if you still plan on seeing this turkey stop reading now.
Correct me if I'm wrong, and I know I'm not because it says so in the opening titles, SkyNet tried to wipe out humanity in a nuclear holocaust. But there doesn't appear to be ANY radiation. None. What isn't in short supply in this post-apocalyptic future, though, are hair products and teeth whiteners. These people should be glowing green in the dark, they should have radiation sores, tufts of hair falling out, teeth falling out - but from the looks of a lot of the ruins and cars SkyNet must have used "Lite" nukes - so weak they couldn't even burn the paint off of most cars near ground zero. But it was those bright white smiles that particularly cheesed me off. Then there's the big question of why on Earth the T-600 Terminators are so often wearing rags of clothing? These are the big, chrome guys. Ok, maybe they put the clothing on to cover up the chrome. But, wait, why is SkyNet chrome plating them in the first place?
Since the story takes place in 2018, SkyNet is still doing R&D on the T-800 "Arnold" Terminators. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to appear in it, so I initially thought that's why they were fighting T-600's through most of the movie. But near the end a T-800 does show up to kick John Connor's ass. They texture mapped Arnold's face onto somebody else - at least up to the point where it get's all the skin blown off. Actually this installment of the Terminator franchise relies heavily on CGI for the terminators, which makes them a little less convincing on screen than in the previous movies - where the limitations of CGI at the time forced them to use a lot more animatronics and props, which interact with the actors far more convincingly. Lastly, back in a Resistance medical tent, John Connor's injuries from the fight with the T-800 send him into heart failure - he needs a heart transplant to survive. The cyborg Marcus says "Take mine." Gee, that's convenient isn't it? Marcus just happens to be a match for the transplant? Yeah, don't worry about tissue rejection or anything! Plus, are we to seriously believe that the Resistance doctor can do a transplant in an open tent in the desert? Where is Connor going to get the anti-rejection drugs if, as was mentioned earlier in the movie, regular anti-biotics are in short supply? Hollywood seriously needs to learn the difference between "suspension of disbelief" and "unbelievable."
This is the only Terminator movie rated "PG-13" instead of "R" which means they intentionally toned the violence down from previous installments to reach a larger (younger) audience. This is also the only Terminator story in which there is NO time travel. That's right, no electric spheres that leave round cut-outs in whatever the touch dropping naked Terminators into Los Angeles. It is unclear whether or not this movie takes place BEFORE SkyNet develops time travel or not. But somehow it just doesn't feel like a Terminator movie without that plot element. Actually that would be my overall complaint about this movie - it simply doesn't feel like a Terminator movie, and it isn't delivered as advertised. But I'm sure they'll probably make another one - they certainly left the door open to it at the end.
Update 6/8/09: Just read some background info on the film, and apparently that open-ended finale was the work of the film's director, MCG, who is some guy better known for directing music videos (like anyone watches those anymore).
Of course I didn't know about the total bait-and-switch unsatisfying ending until, well, the end. But that's far from the only thing wrong with this movie - or at least not as advertised. Did you think Christian Bale was the star? WRONG! Terminator/Cyborg Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) is the actual star of this movie. He gets all the really good action scenes, and he's actually the hero who saves people (including John Connor). Where's Christian Bale? At home, washing his tights! Oh, no, wait this isn't a Batman movie is it? Well, you'd never know it by watching Bale - he delivers us a John Conn0r a-la-Batman. Seriously, his performance for both characters is the SAME. As for where he is? Back in the bunker, talkin' on his radio - while "Marcus" is saving Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who if you've followed Terminator at all is actually John Connor's father - but in 2018 he's only a punk-ass kid who fashions himself as the Los Angeles resistance.
Which brings me to some of the glaring WTF's in this film. Some of this would be the SPOILER fodder, so if you still plan on seeing this turkey stop reading now.
Correct me if I'm wrong, and I know I'm not because it says so in the opening titles, SkyNet tried to wipe out humanity in a nuclear holocaust. But there doesn't appear to be ANY radiation. None. What isn't in short supply in this post-apocalyptic future, though, are hair products and teeth whiteners. These people should be glowing green in the dark, they should have radiation sores, tufts of hair falling out, teeth falling out - but from the looks of a lot of the ruins and cars SkyNet must have used "Lite" nukes - so weak they couldn't even burn the paint off of most cars near ground zero. But it was those bright white smiles that particularly cheesed me off. Then there's the big question of why on Earth the T-600 Terminators are so often wearing rags of clothing? These are the big, chrome guys. Ok, maybe they put the clothing on to cover up the chrome. But, wait, why is SkyNet chrome plating them in the first place?
Since the story takes place in 2018, SkyNet is still doing R&D on the T-800 "Arnold" Terminators. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to appear in it, so I initially thought that's why they were fighting T-600's through most of the movie. But near the end a T-800 does show up to kick John Connor's ass. They texture mapped Arnold's face onto somebody else - at least up to the point where it get's all the skin blown off. Actually this installment of the Terminator franchise relies heavily on CGI for the terminators, which makes them a little less convincing on screen than in the previous movies - where the limitations of CGI at the time forced them to use a lot more animatronics and props, which interact with the actors far more convincingly. Lastly, back in a Resistance medical tent, John Connor's injuries from the fight with the T-800 send him into heart failure - he needs a heart transplant to survive. The cyborg Marcus says "Take mine." Gee, that's convenient isn't it? Marcus just happens to be a match for the transplant? Yeah, don't worry about tissue rejection or anything! Plus, are we to seriously believe that the Resistance doctor can do a transplant in an open tent in the desert? Where is Connor going to get the anti-rejection drugs if, as was mentioned earlier in the movie, regular anti-biotics are in short supply? Hollywood seriously needs to learn the difference between "suspension of disbelief" and "unbelievable."
This is the only Terminator movie rated "PG-13" instead of "R" which means they intentionally toned the violence down from previous installments to reach a larger (younger) audience. This is also the only Terminator story in which there is NO time travel. That's right, no electric spheres that leave round cut-outs in whatever the touch dropping naked Terminators into Los Angeles. It is unclear whether or not this movie takes place BEFORE SkyNet develops time travel or not. But somehow it just doesn't feel like a Terminator movie without that plot element. Actually that would be my overall complaint about this movie - it simply doesn't feel like a Terminator movie, and it isn't delivered as advertised. But I'm sure they'll probably make another one - they certainly left the door open to it at the end.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
"Star Trek" ROCKS!
Let me preface this by saying this is coming from someone who has seen every Trek movie and series, is looking at action figures of the TOS crew on her desk right now, has scratch-built Star Trek movie prop-replicas, and - yes - I have a Starfleet Uniform in my closet.
I am exactly the audience this movie wanted to convince, and presumably the most resistant to the new movie's departure from all that came before it. J.J. Abrams - and pretty much everyone involved with the movie - assured fans like me I'd like it, and to just give it a chance. Many fans like me initially bristled at the thought of a Star Trek "reboot" with a CW network-style "pretty kids with problems" cast. To put it bluntly, fandom practically demanded I hate this movie on principle.
You know what? Anyone who refused to see this, that's their loss. I thoroughly enjoyed the new "Star Trek" movie. I went into it skeptical of what sort of bastardization I'd see up on that big screen, and walked away feeling good about it and anticipating the next chapter of a whole NEW Star Trek universe full of possibilities - unbound by the canon which came before it, yet still somehow so familiar.
Ok, for starters I'm going to address one of the biggest things about this movie Trek fans blasted even before the movie was out (because it was in the trailer) - Building the Enterprise on the ground. No, they don't waste any time on screen explaining it but for those who can't accept that it just "is" I've got a potential explanation. That giant canyon in Iowa into which young Kirk sends a classic car isn't explained either, though it looks like some kind of quarry given the straight cuts to the cliff walls.
So, here is as good an explanation as any for building the Enterprise on the ground (courtesy of my brother, who has an Engineering degree and has worked in manufacturing for many years): the materials to build the ship are on Earth - whether we're talking natural resources or manufactured goods and materials used in the construction, that stuff is on Earth. It doesn't make any sense to ship all that materiel into space and construct the ship in orbit. We don't do that today because of the expense in doing so, but you'd also either have to have all the construction workers in space, or be taking construction crews there and back. It makes logistical sense to locate the project on the ground - where the supplies, material, and workers are already available, and what better place to locate such a big project but in the middle of nowhere? Or what we can assume is a central location to the supply lines (which is apparently somewhere in Iowa). What we see is likely a "test fit," and once it's done they'll disassemble it, shuttle all the parts into space, and reassemble it there at an orbiting dock during the portion of the film glossed over with the word "Three Years Later."
As for actual stuff in the movie that matters?
Before seeing the movie I wasn't so sure about Simon Pegg's comic-relief portrayal of Scottie, but now that I've seen the movie I have to say it makes a perverse sort of sense. Scottie is supposed to be a brilliant, and often unorthodox, engineer. He'd argue with his teachers, he'd make enemies of more closed-minded superiors, he'd join Starfleet to get his hands on the inner workings of a starship, but (like a lot of people with an Engineer's or inventor's mindset) he's probably not as good with people. So, in context, the comical, quirky, yet brilliant Scottie worked for me. Zach Quinto was BORN to play Spock, what else can you say? Chris Pine has every ounce of William Shatner's swagger in the role of James T. Kirk. The surprising gem of a performance, though, comes from Karl Ubran as Doctor "Bones" McCoy. He gets to utter at least a couple of DeForest Kelly's classic lines, but he's not mimicing him - somehow he makes Bones his own. Also, the explanation for how Kirk and McCoy end up friends from the academy even though McCoy is obviously older than Kirk now makes sense, as does McCoy's reason or joining Starfleet - even though he doesn't care for space travel or transporters. I know some people expressed disbelief that John Cho (a Korean-American) was cast as Sulu (a Japanese-American), but he does an ok job in the role and gets one good sword fight scene - furthermore George Takei said HE didn't have a problem with Cho playing Sulu because the character represents ALL Asians on the bridge of the Enterprise.
As for misfires with the cast? Only minor things really. I was a bit disappointed with Zoe Saldana as Uhuru, but not through any fault of hers. Her performance was fine, and despite more than one scene extolling her capabilities as an officer, she came off as little more than a sexy woman sleeping her way to the top. I mean, really, what are we to think of her relationship with Spock - especially when she clearly leverages it for favors? Yes, the relationship is supposed to remind us (and Spock) that he's half human, but it just felt out of place. Anton Yelchin as Chekov is the biggest disappointment of this new crew. He's trying to do Walter Koenig's pseudo-Russian accent and it's so labored it's almost painful to listen to it. He'd either best fix his performance before a next movie, recast the character, or they should take a cue from the "Star Trek Phase II" fan-film "To Serve All My Days" and kill him off.
In supporting roles, obviously Leonard Nimoy as the "Spock Prime" was everything you could expect him to be. You actually get quite a ways into the film before you actually get to see him "in person" on screen, but it's a good entrance. As is his exit - the only scene in which he performs with Zach Quinto, also a very satisfying fan moment. Bruce Greenwood makes a great Captain Pike, and though he DOES end up in a wheelchair it isn't that lame one with the light and beeps for "yes" or "no." Assuming they do more movies with this cast I'd look forward to his return as a father-figure/mentor for the young Kirk. Speaking of father-figures, Ben Cross is quite good as Sarek, Spock's father. Cross also had big shoes to fill in a role so very much defined by Mark Lenard. Eric Bana also has to be given props for his job playing the villian, Nero. Unlike a lot of Trek films, where the bad guy gets all the best lines, Nero speaks with his actions more than his words. But when he does speak it's either with a tsunami of anger or a casual and familiar flippancy that betrays the Romulan's non-military background as the Captain of the commercial mining-ship-turned-weapon.
This is a fast-paced, action-packed movie. Those are some things that have been missing from Trek films on the big screen, which more often have opted for pacing similar to (or even slower) than the various television series. All too often in the past we were treated to descriptions of the action in a battle, rather than seeing it on screen. You know, stuff like "sensors show he's turning with us and closing rapidly, Captain." Which is a LOT cheaper to film than actually SHOWING us. Well, if anything this new Star Trek film has the noisy, chaotic CGI battles we've come to expect in any blockbuster sci-fi film. Finally, after all these years of hearing Science Officers and Helmsman narrate the battle while the camera shakes, we get a view from the gallery OUTSIDE the ship.
I walked away from this film anxious for them to make a sequel, convinced the "curse" on odd-numbered Trek films has been countermanded, and with a serious contender which - given time and more viewings - may yet unseat "Wrath of Khan" as my all-time favorite Trek film.
I am exactly the audience this movie wanted to convince, and presumably the most resistant to the new movie's departure from all that came before it. J.J. Abrams - and pretty much everyone involved with the movie - assured fans like me I'd like it, and to just give it a chance. Many fans like me initially bristled at the thought of a Star Trek "reboot" with a CW network-style "pretty kids with problems" cast. To put it bluntly, fandom practically demanded I hate this movie on principle.
You know what? Anyone who refused to see this, that's their loss. I thoroughly enjoyed the new "Star Trek" movie. I went into it skeptical of what sort of bastardization I'd see up on that big screen, and walked away feeling good about it and anticipating the next chapter of a whole NEW Star Trek universe full of possibilities - unbound by the canon which came before it, yet still somehow so familiar.
Ok, for starters I'm going to address one of the biggest things about this movie Trek fans blasted even before the movie was out (because it was in the trailer) - Building the Enterprise on the ground. No, they don't waste any time on screen explaining it but for those who can't accept that it just "is" I've got a potential explanation. That giant canyon in Iowa into which young Kirk sends a classic car isn't explained either, though it looks like some kind of quarry given the straight cuts to the cliff walls.
So, here is as good an explanation as any for building the Enterprise on the ground (courtesy of my brother, who has an Engineering degree and has worked in manufacturing for many years): the materials to build the ship are on Earth - whether we're talking natural resources or manufactured goods and materials used in the construction, that stuff is on Earth. It doesn't make any sense to ship all that materiel into space and construct the ship in orbit. We don't do that today because of the expense in doing so, but you'd also either have to have all the construction workers in space, or be taking construction crews there and back. It makes logistical sense to locate the project on the ground - where the supplies, material, and workers are already available, and what better place to locate such a big project but in the middle of nowhere? Or what we can assume is a central location to the supply lines (which is apparently somewhere in Iowa). What we see is likely a "test fit," and once it's done they'll disassemble it, shuttle all the parts into space, and reassemble it there at an orbiting dock during the portion of the film glossed over with the word "Three Years Later."
As for actual stuff in the movie that matters?
Before seeing the movie I wasn't so sure about Simon Pegg's comic-relief portrayal of Scottie, but now that I've seen the movie I have to say it makes a perverse sort of sense. Scottie is supposed to be a brilliant, and often unorthodox, engineer. He'd argue with his teachers, he'd make enemies of more closed-minded superiors, he'd join Starfleet to get his hands on the inner workings of a starship, but (like a lot of people with an Engineer's or inventor's mindset) he's probably not as good with people. So, in context, the comical, quirky, yet brilliant Scottie worked for me. Zach Quinto was BORN to play Spock, what else can you say? Chris Pine has every ounce of William Shatner's swagger in the role of James T. Kirk. The surprising gem of a performance, though, comes from Karl Ubran as Doctor "Bones" McCoy. He gets to utter at least a couple of DeForest Kelly's classic lines, but he's not mimicing him - somehow he makes Bones his own. Also, the explanation for how Kirk and McCoy end up friends from the academy even though McCoy is obviously older than Kirk now makes sense, as does McCoy's reason or joining Starfleet - even though he doesn't care for space travel or transporters. I know some people expressed disbelief that John Cho (a Korean-American) was cast as Sulu (a Japanese-American), but he does an ok job in the role and gets one good sword fight scene - furthermore George Takei said HE didn't have a problem with Cho playing Sulu because the character represents ALL Asians on the bridge of the Enterprise.
As for misfires with the cast? Only minor things really. I was a bit disappointed with Zoe Saldana as Uhuru, but not through any fault of hers. Her performance was fine, and despite more than one scene extolling her capabilities as an officer, she came off as little more than a sexy woman sleeping her way to the top. I mean, really, what are we to think of her relationship with Spock - especially when she clearly leverages it for favors? Yes, the relationship is supposed to remind us (and Spock) that he's half human, but it just felt out of place. Anton Yelchin as Chekov is the biggest disappointment of this new crew. He's trying to do Walter Koenig's pseudo-Russian accent and it's so labored it's almost painful to listen to it. He'd either best fix his performance before a next movie, recast the character, or they should take a cue from the "Star Trek Phase II" fan-film "To Serve All My Days" and kill him off.
In supporting roles, obviously Leonard Nimoy as the "Spock Prime" was everything you could expect him to be. You actually get quite a ways into the film before you actually get to see him "in person" on screen, but it's a good entrance. As is his exit - the only scene in which he performs with Zach Quinto, also a very satisfying fan moment. Bruce Greenwood makes a great Captain Pike, and though he DOES end up in a wheelchair it isn't that lame one with the light and beeps for "yes" or "no." Assuming they do more movies with this cast I'd look forward to his return as a father-figure/mentor for the young Kirk. Speaking of father-figures, Ben Cross is quite good as Sarek, Spock's father. Cross also had big shoes to fill in a role so very much defined by Mark Lenard. Eric Bana also has to be given props for his job playing the villian, Nero. Unlike a lot of Trek films, where the bad guy gets all the best lines, Nero speaks with his actions more than his words. But when he does speak it's either with a tsunami of anger or a casual and familiar flippancy that betrays the Romulan's non-military background as the Captain of the commercial mining-ship-turned-weapon.
This is a fast-paced, action-packed movie. Those are some things that have been missing from Trek films on the big screen, which more often have opted for pacing similar to (or even slower) than the various television series. All too often in the past we were treated to descriptions of the action in a battle, rather than seeing it on screen. You know, stuff like "sensors show he's turning with us and closing rapidly, Captain." Which is a LOT cheaper to film than actually SHOWING us. Well, if anything this new Star Trek film has the noisy, chaotic CGI battles we've come to expect in any blockbuster sci-fi film. Finally, after all these years of hearing Science Officers and Helmsman narrate the battle while the camera shakes, we get a view from the gallery OUTSIDE the ship.
I walked away from this film anxious for them to make a sequel, convinced the "curse" on odd-numbered Trek films has been countermanded, and with a serious contender which - given time and more viewings - may yet unseat "Wrath of Khan" as my all-time favorite Trek film.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Shows on Life Support
A while ago I did a list on this blog of 20 shows I thought had been canceled before their time. I may need to add three more to that list if the networks have their way.
Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles
At the end of LAST season the rumors where flying the show had been canceled. Thankfully it hadn't and we got some of the best episodes yet. I had low expectations for this series before it aired, but it quickly became one of my "must see" shows each week. So, of course, this show is once again rumored to be on FOX's chopping block. I was a bit reluctant to get too into the show simply BECAUSE it airs on FOX, given their piss-poor track record when it comes to science-fiction shows. I seriously wonder why anyone even pitches sci-fi to that network anymore, it's equivalent to putting a target on a show. I'm also starting to think that anyone who was involved with "Firefly" and gets a subsequent show also airing on FOX shouldn't get too comfortable. Why, oh why, couldn't all those asshat FOX Broadcasting executives get Swine Flu and be replaced by people who have an f---ing clue what good television is?
Chuck
Ok, this show wasn't "must see TV" for me, I really didn't care if I missed an episode - but that was mostly because the title character's "geek cred" was unconvincing. Putting sideburns and a short sleeve button shirt with a pen protector in the front pocket does not a geek nor nerd make. But the series had it's moments and was better than they usual network offerings. But it has spent this entire season with a sword dangling over its head and may not get renewed. I have mixed feelings about that given the way the last episode went - Chuck "downloads" the ability to go Kung Fu on the bad guys. If he has "super powers" (something even alluded to earlier in the episode) they don't really have much of a show anymore. The whole point was that he wasn't a spy, he was supposed to be a nerd who couldn't fight or fire a gun. If they turn him into a competent spy the show would suck anyway. Which is why I'd have to think if the show DOES get renewed the new abilities would have to have some major downside (like they'll make his brain hemmorage or something) or he was only able to do it that once because he'd JUST downloaded it.
Dollhouse
I also have to wonder why Joss Whedon pitches shows to FOX anymore. I don't think the executives there like him very much given how eagerly they'll cancel his shows. Consider what Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote: "that [Joss Whedon's] most devoted fans will debate and embrace [Dollhouse], and a mass audience just won't get." That, right there, is the problem. The "mass audience." Those guys SUCK! The network execs want shows that more people will watch so they can sell more expensive advertising time slots. As was said in "Men in Black," a person can be smart, people are stupid. The networks WANT those stupid viewers, especially the ones so easily manipulated by advertisers they'll actually be convinced to by the sponsor's products. That doesn't bode well for ANY show that is intelligent. Actually it probably doesn't bode well for our nation that the stupidest among us apparently have the most valued opinion about what shows should be renewed. Though I'm torn between deciding if the stupidest are WATCHING the shows or sitting in the executive offices of the networks? Either way, I've resisted the urge to get too into "Dollhouse" simply because I was fairly certain (right from episode 1) that FOX was going to cancel it without even showing all the episodes. Last I heard episode 13 isn't going to air. Sayonara, Echo.
EDIT: May 18th, 2009
Just heard today that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been canceled. Dollhouse got a stay of execution, mostly because of fan support.
Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles
At the end of LAST season the rumors where flying the show had been canceled. Thankfully it hadn't and we got some of the best episodes yet. I had low expectations for this series before it aired, but it quickly became one of my "must see" shows each week. So, of course, this show is once again rumored to be on FOX's chopping block. I was a bit reluctant to get too into the show simply BECAUSE it airs on FOX, given their piss-poor track record when it comes to science-fiction shows. I seriously wonder why anyone even pitches sci-fi to that network anymore, it's equivalent to putting a target on a show. I'm also starting to think that anyone who was involved with "Firefly" and gets a subsequent show also airing on FOX shouldn't get too comfortable. Why, oh why, couldn't all those asshat FOX Broadcasting executives get Swine Flu and be replaced by people who have an f---ing clue what good television is?
Chuck
Ok, this show wasn't "must see TV" for me, I really didn't care if I missed an episode - but that was mostly because the title character's "geek cred" was unconvincing. Putting sideburns and a short sleeve button shirt with a pen protector in the front pocket does not a geek nor nerd make. But the series had it's moments and was better than they usual network offerings. But it has spent this entire season with a sword dangling over its head and may not get renewed. I have mixed feelings about that given the way the last episode went - Chuck "downloads" the ability to go Kung Fu on the bad guys. If he has "super powers" (something even alluded to earlier in the episode) they don't really have much of a show anymore. The whole point was that he wasn't a spy, he was supposed to be a nerd who couldn't fight or fire a gun. If they turn him into a competent spy the show would suck anyway. Which is why I'd have to think if the show DOES get renewed the new abilities would have to have some major downside (like they'll make his brain hemmorage or something) or he was only able to do it that once because he'd JUST downloaded it.
Dollhouse
I also have to wonder why Joss Whedon pitches shows to FOX anymore. I don't think the executives there like him very much given how eagerly they'll cancel his shows. Consider what Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote: "that [Joss Whedon's] most devoted fans will debate and embrace [Dollhouse], and a mass audience just won't get." That, right there, is the problem. The "mass audience." Those guys SUCK! The network execs want shows that more people will watch so they can sell more expensive advertising time slots. As was said in "Men in Black," a person can be smart, people are stupid. The networks WANT those stupid viewers, especially the ones so easily manipulated by advertisers they'll actually be convinced to by the sponsor's products. That doesn't bode well for ANY show that is intelligent. Actually it probably doesn't bode well for our nation that the stupidest among us apparently have the most valued opinion about what shows should be renewed. Though I'm torn between deciding if the stupidest are WATCHING the shows or sitting in the executive offices of the networks? Either way, I've resisted the urge to get too into "Dollhouse" simply because I was fairly certain (right from episode 1) that FOX was going to cancel it without even showing all the episodes. Last I heard episode 13 isn't going to air. Sayonara, Echo.
EDIT: May 18th, 2009
Just heard today that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been canceled. Dollhouse got a stay of execution, mostly because of fan support.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Commodore: The Undead Computer Company
My first computer was a Commodore64. Well, it wasn't exactly mine - it was the "family computer" and we got it at Christmas (after months of begging) in the early 1980s. As it belonged to everyone it lived in a corner of the living room where the noisy dot-matrix printer was sometimes printing out a term paper or the 13" portable color television used as a monitor would be emitting MIDI music from some arcade game or another. Dad never seemed to really understand what it was or how to use it, Mom would occasionally join in for a game of M.U.L.E or Wizard of Wor.
By high school it had moved into my bedroom and had a better dot-matrix printer attached, and a word processor that supported 80 columns (without any special add-ons and I can't for the life of me remember what it was called or who published it). The sound chip started going bad by early 1988 and the computer died entirely that summer. I was headed off to college in the Fall and bought a Commodore64C to replace it, so I could continue using all my software and peripherals. It came bundled with GEOS, and so I was introduced to a new world known as the Graphic User Interface. Obviously I was aware that the Apple MacIntosh and Amiga had a GUI, but nobody I knew could afford either of them, so imagine my joy to receive a GUI bundled with my 64C! I recall that I had an old joystick that had the "stick" part broken off, but the base - with the bottom chunk of the stick - still worked. It may not have been a mouse or a trackball, but with a couple of fingers on the "stub" to tilt it and my thumb on the "fire" button it wasn't the worst pointing device in the world.
One day, while I was buying some art supplies for class at a local hobby shop I noticed a C64 sitting on top of a box behind the counter with a repair tag on it. I inquired about it and the owner of the store said he had a sideline business repairing Commodore computers. I brought my old, dead C64 to him and after a week and $30 it worked like new. I kept it on hand just in case I needed it some night when I was printing a term paper and my 64C died or something (which, thankfully, it never did). There was this pawn shop near campus I would sometimes check out, just to see if they had anything cool for not much money, and one day I saw an Plus/4. The shop only wanted $5 for it, and even though I knew it wasn't compatible with the C64 my curiosity could afford to be satisfied - additionally it was in brand new condition in the original box with everything that came with it, and I doubt it was ever actually used and possibly never even plugged in. The thought crossed my mind that such an obscure flop might someday be of interest to collectors or curiosity seekers, and for five bucks I could forgo pizza for one night. I only ever hooked it up once, just to see if it actually did work. As I suspected the built-in software was crap, but in some ways it felt like finding a C64 from a parallel universe. It was familiar, but just. . .wrong.
I kept trying to get my hands on an Amiga while I was in college. Being the typical poor college student I couldn't buy a new one, so I kept an eye on the bulletin boards around campus for the occasional posting for an Amiga 500, 1200, or 1000 - only to find out my "best offer" wasn't enough or that it had already been sold. I lusted after an Amiga 2000, 3000, or 4000 with a NewTek "Video Toaster." I eventually did get enough money together by the time I was finished with college, but just one month before I graduated Commodore went bankrupt, so that was the end for Amiga. . .or so I thought. It was about another two years before I bought my first Mac. It wasn't the one I wanted, but various expenses in the interim again tied my hands regarding what system I could afford to buy.
The original C64, 64C, and Plus/4 all ended up in boxes in my parents' attic, where I basically forgot about them until the winter of 1998. Someone at the company I was working for expressed interest in buying vintage computers and I volunteered that I had three fully functional Commodore computers. The three computers, 1541 and 1541-II disk drives, two sets of joysticks, a 1530 Datasette Drive, 1650 Modem (300 baud - ack!), an MPS-802 dot-matrix printer, a third-party dot-matrix printer (don't recall the brand), a bunch of cartridges, and 100+ 5.25" floppy disks with all sorts of software were all loaded into the trunk of my '87 Mustang and I took them to work anticipating a quick sale. The guy, though, had spent his money on something else and was no longer interested. I didn't feel like lugging it all up to my apartment again when I got home so I left it all in the trunk and forgot about it. The car started giving me a lot of problems shortly thereafter, and it wasn't a nice car - it was pretty beat up (it was rusty and dented before I got it). I bought another used vehicle and, because the apartment complex would only let me have one car, I had to get rid of the Mustang. Nobody would buy it because it was beat up and didn't run by that point. I ended up calling a scrap dealer who hauled it away to be crushed. Unfortunately I remembered too late that a veritable treasure trove of Commodore Computer equipment was in the trunk. Maybe someone at the junk yard found it, but most likely it all got crushed with the car. The ending for my C64's was just as unhappy as the company that had made them.
But for Commodore the company, 1994 was NOT where their story ended! In fact, what happened after almost reads like a cyber soap opera. When then company went into bankruptcy its assets - including trademarks and technology - were liquidated and ended up in the hands of various other companies. Little did they know they were also purchasing the "curse" as well.
The Commodore Semiconductor Group (a.k.a. MOS Technologies) produced the chips at the heart of the Commodore computers up to the Amiga 1000. In 1995, after Commodore International collapsed, the management bought the semiconductor company and continued to produce chips under the name GMT in a plant Commodore had closed in 1992. By 1999 the company was actually quite profitable, but in 2001 the EPA shut the plant down for pollution violations. GMT was forced into liquidation.
The UK branch of Commodore wasn't part of the bankruptcy, but was unsuccessful in its bid to buy the failed parent company's assets. They limped along selling back-stock until they also found themselves in financial distress. A company called Escom bought the Commodore brand name and Amiga trademark but didn't fare much better, declaring bankruptcy itself in 1996. The next year Tulip Computers NV acquired the Commodore brand name. A pre-existing licensing deal Escom made with Web Computers International allowed the release of the Web.it Commodore 64 computer in 1998. The Web.it wasn't a bad looking internet-enabled device, but it wasn't based on Commodore hardware at all, it was standard PC components and came with Windows CE and some other rather uninspiring software plus a C64 emulator built in. It was basically a flop.
Meanwhile the Amiga brand was sold off separately, passing to Escom in 1995 and then to Gateway (yes, THAT Gateway) in 1997. Gateway had plans to release a Linux multimedia system under the name, but it never came to fruition - probably because Linux's multimedia support at the time sucked. Amiga, Inc. was formed in 2000 by two former Gateway employees who obtained an exclusive license from Gateway. In 2003 Amiga, Inc. transferred its rights to the AmigaOS (but not anything else Amiga-related) to a company called Itec, which was itself acquired by another company called KMOS.In 2003 the Commodore name appeared on some MP3 players made in China, though it's unclear if those were licensed products or not. Tulip Computers relaunched Commodore International as a subsidiary and threatened legal action against those using the trademark without permission. In 2004 Tulip released the DTV - a Commodore 64 built into a joystick, preloaded with popular classic games, which you could connect to your TV. Later in 2004, Tulip sold the Commodore brand name, assets, and patents to Yeahronimo Media Ventures. In 2005 YMV changed its name to Commodore International Corporation and with that Commodore, as a company, was raised from the dead.
In 2005 "Commodore Gaming" was formed as a partnership between CIC and Amsterdam's "The Content Factory" to produce custom gaming computers. In 2007 they introduced their first line at CeBIT in Germany. The systems are high-end off the shelf components in custom tower cases featuring customized graphics. But the computers themselves have nothing to do with the old Commodore systems.
On the Amiga side of things KMOS changed its name to Amiga, Inc. in 2005 and continued development of AmigaOS with another company called Hyperion Entertainment. Amiga, Inc. licensed a manufacturer called Eyetech to produce the AmigaOne - the first new Amiga hardware since the death of Commodore. Eyetech had been working on the project since 2001, but didn't release an ATX format board until 2004, but the full version of the new OS wasn't ready until 2007 so the earlier models were bundled with Linux distributions. AmigaOS 4.1 was released in 2008, however AmigaOne production had already stopped by 2006. Another hardware manufacturer, ACube Systems, has since been licensed to produce Amiga boards and currently offers three different models, including the "Minimig" - a full hardware emulation of an Amiga 500. The other two boards (the Sam440's) offer more modern PowerPC hardware. ACube's boards are currently the only Amiga-compatible boards in production.
While Commodore was dead and the vultures were picking over the remains in the late 1990's a company named Genesi was formed to develop "power architectures" (PPC-based hardware) and also began developing the Amiga-compatible MorphOS operating system in 1999. Genesi produced the Pegasos I & II desktops to run MorphOS. However, AmigaOS was not supported on Pegasos computers because of some sort of disagreement between Genesi and Amiga, Inc./Hyperion. Hyperion announced support for Pegasos in January 2009 - too bad Genesi discontinued the systems in 2006. There was also a rift between Genesi and the MorphOS development community, which I gather led some developers to create the open source AROS operating system.
But despite all the legal wrangling and financial problems that means, quite literally, the Amiga is STILL being developed - both as hardware and as an operating system.
The resurrected Commodore company announced in 2009 a line of four new Commodore branded netbook computers based on the Intel Atom processor and running Windows XP. However, at the time of this writing, they don't appear to actually be for sale yet but - if they are in the price range of other netbooks on the market - these new Commodore computers will probably be in about the same price range that the C64 and Amiga 500 were in the early 1990s ($300 - $500), which would nicely continue the Commodore tradition of affordable computers.
If Commodore hadn't spent over a decade dead while its tomb was being robbed I have a suspicion the company would be in about the same place anyway. Taking a look at the reasons Apple abandoned the PowerPC chips I have to think Commodore (had they stayed in business and continued producing Amigas) would have made the same decision - though maybe they would have gone with AMD processors instead, hard to say. It also would have been nice to see Commodore port the AmigaOS to an x86-architecture, though if Amiga, Inc. continues trying to develop an operating system for virtually non-existent hardware they'll probably find themselves in a financially vulnerable position where Commodore could buy them - which would nicely bring the family back together under one roof, wouldn't it? But I'd also have to say "why bother" when Commodore could just throw development money at the AROS project, which is an open-source implementation of AmigaOS 3.1 already ported to both the 32-bit and 64-bit x-86 platforms. Meaning you could buy one of those Commodore-branded computers and run AROS as your operating system and pretend like all those tumultuous years in between never happened.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Life On Mars Finale
In some ways it is a shame that the US adaptation of the BBC series "Life on Mars" has come to an end. On the other hand, it would have been more annoying had it gone on for season after season, only to ultimately be canceled without resolution. As it is I'm still a bit unclear as to whether it was conceived of as a 13 episode run or if they simply got word in time of its cancellation to tie it up.
I generally found the US version more satisfying than the British one. I picked up the BBC version when I had on-demand cable and frankly had a hard time sticking with it. While I applaud the Beeb for NOT doing a "Hollywood ending" (Sam Tyler commits suicide by jumping off of a building), they also leave it ambiguous as to what, exactly, his status was (crazy? coma? dead? time traveler? We never really find out).
The US version ends on quite a different note, though I suppose some people will find it a bit too "literal" an ending for a series titled "Life on Mars." Sam turns out to be part of a manned mission in 2035 to the Red Planet (the mysterious "Project Aries" referenced during the series) to search for life, or a "gene hunt" (which is the name of Sam's boss in 1973). "Gene" turns out to actually be Sam's father in the 2035 reality, his neighbor "Windy" is the ship's computer, "Annie" is a mission Colonel. They also threw in a tidbit that President Obama wanted to be there at Mission Control to communicate with them (making you ask "Obama?! But. . .but, it's 2035! How can he still be President?) then Mission Control tells them that President Obama couldn't be there because SHE had to visit her father, who is very ill.
I guess I liked it because it was completely outside anything I was guessing throughout the series - it had been set up at the beginning of every episode that Sam was a cop in 2008, hit by a car, woke up in 1973 that the scenarios the character had presented (crazy? coma? dead? time travel?) seemed like the only solutions. Who could have guessed, especially given the ending of the BBC series, that Sam was not only NOT a cop, but that his present was 2035, and BOTH his realities (2008 and 1973) were just computer simulations/entertainment while he was in suspended animation for transport?
As you may have guessed, given my previous post about TV shows that were killed before their prime, one of my pet peeves with TV networks is canceling shows without at least giving them a chance to resolve the mysteries they present, so it was a nice change of pace to FINALLY get a short-lived series all wrapped up with a tidy bow.
I generally found the US version more satisfying than the British one. I picked up the BBC version when I had on-demand cable and frankly had a hard time sticking with it. While I applaud the Beeb for NOT doing a "Hollywood ending" (Sam Tyler commits suicide by jumping off of a building), they also leave it ambiguous as to what, exactly, his status was (crazy? coma? dead? time traveler? We never really find out).
The US version ends on quite a different note, though I suppose some people will find it a bit too "literal" an ending for a series titled "Life on Mars." Sam turns out to be part of a manned mission in 2035 to the Red Planet (the mysterious "Project Aries" referenced during the series) to search for life, or a "gene hunt" (which is the name of Sam's boss in 1973). "Gene" turns out to actually be Sam's father in the 2035 reality, his neighbor "Windy" is the ship's computer, "Annie" is a mission Colonel. They also threw in a tidbit that President Obama wanted to be there at Mission Control to communicate with them (making you ask "Obama?! But. . .but, it's 2035! How can he still be President?) then Mission Control tells them that President Obama couldn't be there because SHE had to visit her father, who is very ill.
I guess I liked it because it was completely outside anything I was guessing throughout the series - it had been set up at the beginning of every episode that Sam was a cop in 2008, hit by a car, woke up in 1973 that the scenarios the character had presented (crazy? coma? dead? time travel?) seemed like the only solutions. Who could have guessed, especially given the ending of the BBC series, that Sam was not only NOT a cop, but that his present was 2035, and BOTH his realities (2008 and 1973) were just computer simulations/entertainment while he was in suspended animation for transport?
As you may have guessed, given my previous post about TV shows that were killed before their prime, one of my pet peeves with TV networks is canceling shows without at least giving them a chance to resolve the mysteries they present, so it was a nice change of pace to FINALLY get a short-lived series all wrapped up with a tidy bow.
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