The girl tried to weird me out with a video of the Latvian “blblblblbl ah ah” guy. I retaliated with Devo’s “Whip It” and Max Headroom, then finished her off with “Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance.” Similar:The Falling Man — 9/11 Suicide PhotographPowerful, painful essay. Worth revisitin…CultureFast-paced, articulate cast shines in…
In “Datalore,” an encounter with Data’s more human-like “brother” showcases Brent Spiner’s acting talents and the optical FX crew’s mad split-screen skillz. While I enjoyed the plot twists and character bits as they happened, as a work of science fiction this episode offers little beyond popcorn “evil twin” fare.
The opening captain’s log lampshades an unprompted, random visit to Data’s home planet. The “Data practice sneezing” scene is silly, but the character development subtly allies Data’s desire to be human with Wesley’s desire to be respected by adults. The scene also accustoms us to the idea that Picard uses Wesley to deliver in-person messages, which kinda sorta helps explain why in this episode Wesley ends up where he needs to be to witness just enough to suspect Lore, but not enough to prove anything to the dumb-as-a-fencepost adults.
Similar:My laptop hard drive is full & my comfort-food shelf is emptyMy laptop drive is full & my comfort…CultureLiz Fosslien's insightful comic on unhealthy conflict vs. healthy conflict.PersonalHappy Easter 2022Personal'Little Mermaid' brings new music to the Andersen fairy tale – Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewThe story line is similar to the Disney-…Current_EventsDid you see that guy’s license plate?Did…
My 20yo son, who plays a lot of Star Wars battle simulations, was very taken with the music and story. I had read about this game when it came out, so some plot points were spoiled for me, but I still teared up at the end. You can find it for a very reasonable price…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The first of (far too) many “trapped on the holodeck” episodes. Exhausted while preparing for a high-stakes diplomatic ritual, Picard takes a break in a virtual-reality simulation of a 1940s detective novel. I remembered enjoying Brent Spiner’s portrayal of Data adapting to the noir setting,…
Sometimes people get the name of my school wrong. On a whim, I searched Google for “dennis jerz seton hall” and found a recent letter to the editor that referenced one of my handouts: Verify or Duck: Good Journalists Confirm Details They Didn’t Witness Dennis Jerz of Seton Hall University writes “Good journalists confirm details they…
Similar:Building a ridiculous amount of detail as I create tiles for distant sections of a #blende…AestheticsMaking progress.PersonalHi, I’m the St Joe’s basement doorstop. Let me start your three-day weekend by wrapping my…PersonalToday's 10 sq cm of #blender3d #steampunk control panel. #aesthetics #design #blender3dartAestheticsThe Duolingo owl is proud of me.PersonalOn the spiral staircase that leads from…
Similar:Out & About: Cabaret Theatre presents its 'Cabbie Awards'You can just make out Carolyn, Leigh, an…CultureShe was nervous about the dog misbehaving during "Tomorrow," so I told her she could pract… https://youtu.be/718e4XsNvGY Leap…AmusingThose shoggoths hacked from lungs unspeakable1) Last night, I’m fairly certain some …AmusingGrandpa Joe's Candy Store.Sugar rush at Grandpa Joe’s Candy Store….AestheticsIn between…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. This low-stakes, character-driven rom-com pulled off everything it set out to do — fill out the romantic backstory between Riker and Troi, showcase Patrick Stewart’s comic timing, and set up an apparently unrelated B plot as the surprise resolution to the A plot. In her…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The powerful, unpredictable Q conjures a Napoleonic scenario from Picard’s mind and takes the rest of the bridge crew there, leaving Picard on the Enterprise. Memorable not for the fuzzy-faced toy soldiers that get way too much screen time, but for a Shakespeare quote battle…
Similar:We love us some Sherlock any way we can get it.PersonalThis long-nelected CD-ROM case tucked away behind my monitor holds almost as many portable…PersonalCollege student makes masks for the deaf & hard of hearing Other than one trip to the grocery sto…Current_EventsThis weekend… Would YOU trade a Hank Aaron rookie card for Roberto Clemente… for…
Similar:In the Hands of the Prophets (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 19) Keiko's scienc…Rewatching ST:DS9 A candidate for Baj…CultureMore #steampunk control panel bits for a #neovictorian #blender3D project. I have a master…AestheticsAnother #steampunk interior. High tech garden gazebo or away team dropship? Why not both? … AestheticsThe captain will shortly address the officers and…
Similar:The Miller of the Dee; by James Baldwin; read by Dennis JerzI showed up at the recording studio for …AestheticsGil Gerard (1943-2025) I built a model of the two-pronged Sta…CultureLearning How to Love My Daughter Image description: A teen girl in a …CultureUnmarked assignments. As more keeps coming in, can I reduce that number each…
A Ferengi set on revenge tricks Picard into lowering the Enterprise’s shields and unceremoniously beams him into space.
Uh, no, actually the Ferengi plan involves finding a derelict starship Picard abandoned nine years ago and slipping a beach-ball sized “thought maker” into his personal effects, so that when he stops by his old cabin and gets a headache he can’t finish packing, so his uninspected trunk is brought to his quarters on the Enterprise, where opening the lid tips over a bucket, causing a marble to flip a little man into a tub, in which Picard re-enacts the Battle of Maxia and triggers the jittery vengeful descent of a little plastic cage.
She ended up waiting out the light cycle directly in front of me. When I looked straight ahead I was looking at her profile. With an innocent expression she continued to pretend not to notice she had cut me off, but I guess guilt or curiosity got the better of her, and she glanced to her left. I was ready.
In which Wesley commits a crime on the Legalistic Planet of Blond Joggers. (Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break.) We get right into the story by having an away team return to the bridge and briefly report on their first contact with the Edo, a peaceful people who seem to spend…
Similar:Visiting Ft Ligonier #sevenyearswar #history #localhistoryPersonal10 years later it’s so much worse.PersonalMostly German, sometimes refreshing my high school Latin.PersonalIt not only went VROOM, it carried chunky plastic letters that could *spell* VROOM.Tonight, when I got home after all the e…AestheticsMany things in the world are awful right now but my latest section of a #neovictorian…
I had a complex model that I created in Blender 2.79, and imported (with some tweaking) successfully to Unity 2018 a few months ago. When I switched to Blender 2.8 and Unity 2018.2, I found big problems with my model. Blender 2.8b tells me that all the normals are exactly what I expect — the…
Do you have a regular news-consumption routine? Facebook doesn’t want you to leave Facebook, so it’s algorithm favors posts that will keep you on Facebook, rather than links that will send you elsewhere. I listen to a 5-minute podcast from NPR News Now about once a day, usually while I am doing my morning exercises.…
Conflict between two species who petition for membership in the Federation turns out to be the B-plot. On its way past a mysterious optical special effect, the Enterprise picks up a strange glowing spark via the sensor array, and as such entities tend to do in Star Trek, it starts wreaking havoc. We get a lot of exterior shots of the ship, some alien character designs that would have worked better in background shots, a glimpse at a sensor relay room we’ve never seen before (though it’s pretty obviously a redress of Engineering), and some glimpses of the Crushers at home.