Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The Enterprise visits a sexist planet run by women, where… well, that’s about it. There’s nothing particularly science-fictional about the plot, except that the Enterprise is tracking a space-freighter and looking for space-survivors who disappeared years ago near this space-planet. There’s nothing strategic about the…
From Buzzfeed: Sitting before the Stars and Stripes, another flag pinned to his lapel, former president Barack Obama appears to be delivering an important message about fake news — but something seems slightly…off. Similar:Narnia board game — enjoyable family activity (but it's weird that the Pevensies compete …It’s weird that in the Narnia board…
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:After the haircut. The girl seems to like it.PersonalCandyland is a masterpiece of game design…
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:They both reached for the gun.PersonalGetting in the Christmas spirit.PersonalSiblings gotta sib.PersonalI came of age playing too many CD-ROM point-and-click adventure games to ignore these stee…I came of age playing too many CD-ROM po…AestheticsSeeing Lyle Kessler's "Orphans" with the girl.PersonalAfter the haircut. The girl seems to like it.Personal
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:Finished the female officers for my neovictorian steampunk personal project. #blender3d, #… Female officers, from the le…AestheticsWhat's wrong with the way I talk?Wife & daughter competing w each oth…AestheticsWhy Were Old Video Games So Pixelated?I get all my news online now, but I grew…AestheticsA little board-gaming for Labor Day.PersonalYour first test layout of medieval…
Similar:Touch Me Now: York Plays 2025A cast of hundreds participated in a pub…AcademiaA support sloop on deck and in the landing bay. #steampunk #neovictorian #aesthetics #desi…AestheticsNarnia board game — enjoyable family activity (but it's weird that the Pevensies compete …It’s weird that in the Narnia board game…BooksThe boy approved of the WWII historical fiction Dunkirk. CultureTips…
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:Support the arts in your community! #augustwilson #radiogolfSupport the arts in your community! #aug…CultureDance of "the awkward nerd trying to act really cool" Carolyn (doing a really cool dance m…AestheticsA rare win for Dad. CultureBlender 2.8 Released. Please leave us alone together for a few days.I’ve been using the beta for months, but…CybercultureCreated a new graphic…
Similar:Carolyn's performance as Ariel #bardinbloom @ThePublicPGHSo good to see her preforming live on st…CultureLooking forward in the back room of the officers' pub, in the #steampunk cruiser from…AestheticsToday I didn't save the world, but I did help a student while power-walking at the mall.I’m far from perfect, and injustice and …AcademiaBreakfast Battle from "The Miracle…
Similar:Between static hand-coded HTML pages and modern content-management systems, there used to …When I started my blog in 1999 (by addin…CybercultureAttending the Texture Contemporary Ballet.PersonalThe Icarus Factor (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 14)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…PersonalOpens Wednesday.PersonalAnother section of a #neovictorian control panel for a #steampunk #blender3d project. I h…AestheticsIn April, 2001 I…
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:Lighting really makes a difference! A glimpse into the captain's ready room, off the offic… AestheticsBryan A. Louiselle, 1966-2022 (musician, composer, orchestrator, musical director)I was Mayor Shinn to Bryan’s Harold Hill…CultureI Love Books: A Campus Library EvolvesI love books. I love smelling them, t…AcademiaLecturing is So Much Easier than Leading a DiscussionLecturing is So Much…
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…