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Thursday, February 24, 2005
Borrowed from Alan David Doane, who borrowed it from someone else... and no, I don't know what number five is supposed to be...
1. Copy this whole list into your journal.
2. Bold the things that are true about you.
3. Add something that is true about you.
01. I miss somebody right now.
02. I don't watch much TV these days.
03. I love olives
04. I own lots of books.
06. I wear glasses or contact lenses.
07. I love to play video games.
08. I've tried marijuana
09. I've watched porn movies.
10. I have been in a threesome.
11. I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.
12. I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
13. I love ice cream.
14. I like and respect Al Sharpton
15. I curse sometimes.
16. I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.
17. I have a hobby. I just go to school for it.
18. I've been told I have a nice smile.
19. I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.
20. I'm partially TOTALLY smart.
21. I've never broken someone's bones.
22. I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.
23. I hate the rain.
24. I'm paranoid at times.
25. I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
26. I need money right now.
27. I love sushi.
28. I talk really, really fast.
29. I have fresh breath in the morning.
30. I have long hair.
31. I have lost money in Las Vegas.
32. I have at least one brother and/or one sister.
33. I was born in a country outside of the U.S.
34. I shave my legs (females) or face (males) on a regular basis.
35. I have a twin (or a triplet, or somesuch).
36. I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.
37. I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
38. I like the way that I look sometimes.
39. I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months.
40. I know how to cornrow.
41. I am usually pessimistic.
42. I have a lot of mood swings.
43. I think prostitution should be legalized.
44. I think Britney Spears is pretty.
45. Slept with a Suitemate.
46. I have a hidden talent.
47. I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.
48. I have a lot of friends.
49. I am currently single.
50. I have pecked someone of the same sex.
51. I enjoy talking on the phone.
52. I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
53. I love to shop.
54. I would rather shop than eat.
55. I would classify myself as ghetto.
56. I'm bourgie and have worn a sweater tied around my shoulders.
57. I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.
58. I don't hate anyone. I dislike them.
59. I'm a pretty good dancer.
60. I don't think Mike Tyson raped Desiree Washington.
61. I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
62. I have a cell phone.
63. I believe in God.
64. I watch MTV on a daily basis.
65. I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months.
66. I love drama.
67. I have never been in a real relationship before.
68. I've rejected someone before.
69. I currently have a crush/like someone.
70. I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.
71. I want to have children in the future.
72. I have changed a diaper before.
73. I've called the cops on a friend before.
74. I bite my nails.
75. I am a member of the Tom Green fan club.
76. I'm not allergic to anything.
77. I have a lot to learn.
78. I have been with someone at least 10 years older or younger.
79. I plan on seeing Ice Cube's newest "Friday" movie.
80. I am shy around the opposite sex.
81. I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
82. I have at least 5 away messages saved.
83. I have tried alcohol or drugs before.
84. I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
85. I own the "South Park" movie.
86. I have avoided assignments at work school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.
87. When I was a kid I played "the birds and the bees" with a neighbor or chum.
88. I enjoy some country music.
89. I would die for my best friends.
90. I think that Pizza Hut has the best pizza.
91. I watch soap operas whenever I can.
92. I'm obsessive, anal retentive, and often a perfectionist.
93. I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
94. I love Michael Jackson, scandals and all.
95. I know all the words to Slick Rick's "Children's Story".
96. Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.
97. I watch Spongebob Squarepants and I like it.
98. I have dated a close friend's ex.
99. I like surveys.
100. I am happy at this moment.
101. I'm obsessed with guys.
102. I am bisexual.
103. Democrat.
104. Conservative Republican.
105. I am punk rockish.
106. I am preppy.
107. I go for older guys/girls, not younger
108. I study for tests most of the time.
109. I tie my shoelaces differently to anyone I've ever met.
110. I can work on a car.
111. I love my job.
112. I am comfortable with who I am right now.
113. I have more than just my ears pierced.
114. I walk barefoot wherever I can.
115. I have jumped off a bridge.
116. I love sea turtles.
117. I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.
118. I believe in prophetic dreams.
119. I plan on achieving a major goal/dream.
120. I am proficient on a musical instrument.
121. I worked at McDonald's restaurant.
122. I hate office jobs.
123. I love sci-fi movies.
124. I've never been in love.
125. I think water rules.
126. I am going to college out of state.
127. I am adopted.
128. I like sausage.
129. I am a pyro.
130. I love the Red Sox.
131. I have thrown up from crying too much.
132. I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
133. I love kisses.
134. I fall for the worst people and have been hurt every time.
135. I adore bright colors.
136. I love Dear Abby.
137. I can't live without black eyeliner.
138. I think school is awesome.
139. I think pigtails serve a purpose.
140. I don't know why the hell I just did this stupid thing.
141. I usually like covers better than originals.
142. I don’t like multi-textured ice cream (ex. Chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallows)
143. I think John Cusack is adorable.
144. I fucking hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays.
145. I need to blog more.
2:14 PM
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Sunday, February 20, 2005
THE BEST SHOW ON TV?
As a child, I was enamored of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Like many boys my age, I dreamed of being Dirk Benedict: pilot, swashbuckler, lover… Starbuck. He was the epitome of cool. The show was exciting, even when it became obvious to even my young eyes that the show was frequently re-using special effects shots, and the episodes became less FX heavy as the season wore on. But I loved it, and I still rather do. It has a place in my heart, a well-deserved one, and I can still enjoy it for the relic that it is.
Like many fans, I perked up with interest whenever someone spoke up in an interview somewhere to discuss reviving the show. Hell, I even bought a hideously unnecessary amount of comics produced by Rob Liefeld’s publishing company because they acquired the license. But it wasn’t until production got rolling on Ron Moore’s “re-imagining” of GALACTICA that I finally believed that the property would ever gain new life. And oh, what life, it has.
Wisely jettisoning the campy barnacles of the original show, Moore and company have turned GALACTICA into a bleak, dark drama. The near-extinction of humanity that sets the story in motion becomes an overriding force that moves the characters on the board. We are suddenly reminded of not only the massive number of deaths occurring through war and terror in our own world, but that we are sitting on a similar method of extinction that the Cylons used to wipe out humanity in GALACTICA. To drive the point home, the Cylons are no longer merely “walking toasters” as the characters describe them; they have evolved and look as human as anyone else. They feel, they fight, they fuck, they bleed, and they believe in God.
And in Moore’s complex worldview, they might just be the good guys. The Cylons don’t see themselves as evil; they see themselves as true representatives of God’s will and plan. If you can find a difference between that point of view and that of a suicide bomber (and last week’s episode delivered a Cylon suicide bomber), it’s a subtle one.
Moore was, in good part, responsible for the best and most complex STAR TREK of all as well, DEEP SPACE NINE. DS9, still one of the only television shows in history to focus on a man of color who was completely devoted to being a good father to his son, was also a complex tale of war, religion, and the struggle to define human nature. In GALACTICA, Moore has taken those concepts much further, as he is free of the heavy TREK continuity and has room to play, having started the show’s mythos from scratch. Moore draws from many of the ideas of the original show, but at each turn, they feel fresh.
Some might tune into the show and find it far too bleak for their tastes, and I can understand that a bit. Looking for a light-hearted moment in the mini-series or the first seven episodes aired in the U.S. is a needle in a haystack proposition. Even the sex, of which there is a surprising amount, lacks a sense of joy or rapture; instead, it is frantic, clawing… a desperate search for connection at the end of the world. There is humor in traitor Baltar’s relationship with his Cylon lover Number 6, but it’s humor derived from the fact that Baltar might just be screaming mad, and you can never quite put away that Baltar’s vanity and carelessness is what allowed the Cylons to begin their attacks and kill billions.
What drives the series at its heart are the women. Mary McDonnell as the reluctant Secretary Of Education turned President Laura Roslin, fighting her terminal cancer and her nature as a pacifist. Tricia Helfer as the seductive and frightening Number 6, manipulating Baltar sexually, yet working to cure him of his atheism as he scoffs at her faith in God. Grace Park as the deeply conflicted pilot Sharon, who comes closer every day to discovering that she has a terrible secret. And, most of all, the amazing Katee Sackhoff, who took an enormous amount of shit from the fanbase when she was cast as Starbuck.
When it was announced that Dirk Benedict’s character was going to be a woman in the Moore version, people got downright rude. But Moore’s instincts were brilliant. Any man cast in that role was going to have a horrendous time with fans comparing him to Benedict’s classic character. By making Starbuck a woman, it sent Sackhoff apart from having to compete with Benedict, and it gave her the opportunity to take the role as her own. She’s done an amazing job, creating a character who’s flawed, self-destructive, and yet heroic. GALACTICA’S writing staff has gifted Sackhoff with one of TV’s best and most complex characters, and the others are right behind her.
The center gravity of the show, however, is the great Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama. Olmos’ intensity is startling, as he anchors every scene he’s in with authority and power, elevating each of the actors surrounding him. Olmos is the indicator that GALACTICA is first and foremost a drama, not a random spaceship show. Each week, even when he’s not the full focus of the story, Olmos finds a way to exhilarate the viewer with Emmy quality work.
GALACTICA has been renewed for a second season already, which is a good sign for fans of quality television. If Moore and his writers can maintain the quality level we’ve seen so far, they’ll be well on their way to making what could well be the finest science fiction show to ever air. I can’t wait to see.
12:14 PM
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