Cylons: Can't live with them, can't live without them

Some interesting musings from another fan about the nature of the Cylons here.

Quote:

Lingering behind all this is the entire issue of how the "toaster" Cylons went away for 40 years and returned with their humanoid masters. Who -- or what -- is in charge? Did the Cylons truly evolve or just encounter something which gave them human form. Why are there only 12 master types of humanoid Cylon? (One for each colony? Or one for each of the 12 entities buried in Athena's tomb?)

Rome. Booty.

Why is it so hard to make an entertaining movie about ancient Rome? Isn’t that an intriguing setting rife with possibilities for good stories?

[Don’t mention Gladiator to me. You know and I know that movie was bullshit.]

I watched HBO’s Rome on TiVo today and I was underwhelmed. Two minutes into the program I had already lost any hope of understanding who was who and connecting to any of the characters. I tried to watch ABC’s Empire earlier this summer and found that boring too. Worse yet, the viewer was put in the position of being expected to root for the heir of a dictator as the heir runs around in hiding plotting to regain a throne that was stolen in the first place.

One last question:

How come they always use British actors to play Romans instead of Italians? If I was Italian, that would really piss me off.

The best thing about...

The best thing about the Curacao kids that I mentioned in the previous post were their names. Because of the mixed Spanish, Dutch, English and African history of the island, the kids' names are all over the place.

Check these out:

• Denjerick Virginie
• Dienston Manuela
• Ingemar Haime
• Jurickson Profar
• Naeem Laurens
• Rayshelon Carolina
• Rudmichael Brandao
• Sherman La Crus
• Sorick Liberia

Cool!

These are like the results you'd get if you used a random name generator.

Kudos to Curacao

Hat's off to the defending Little League World Champions from Curacao who, though they lost in dramatic fashion to Hawaii yesterday, were an exciting bunch of kids to root for.

Quiet as it's kept, the tiny Caribbean nation of Curacao is a Little League superpower. They have made it to the International finals in five of the last six years, beating out well-established Japanese and Chinese teams to do so.

The Curacao team took an early 3-0 lead in the championship game, let Hawaii tie it late, then pulled ahead with two homers to make it 6-3. But they just couldn't hold the lead. In the bottom of the sixth with two outs to go they failed to turn a double play that would've ended the game and Hawaii tied them 6-6. Into extra innings they went.

Trash-talking Hawaiian pitcher Vonn Fe'au mowed down the big men (LOL, I'm talking about 11 and 12-year-olds, you know) in the Curacao lineup in the top of the 7th for a 1-2-3 inning. Throwing at 46 feet from the plate at 78mph, this man-child was hurling fastballs at the equivalent of 101mph on a Major League level.

In the bottom of the 7th, leadoff batter Michael Memea ended it with a walk-off homerun. The Curacao kids showed class, though. Instead of whining, they saluted the winners and the fans before joining their parents. There were a few tears, of course.

Only four of the Caribbean team's fourteen members will be too old to enter the tournament next year, so hopefully Curacao will get a chance to avenge their loss next year.

BSG: Home, Part 2

This is the second episode in a row that I haven't liked too much.

Things I Liked:

• Although I'm bored with the Baltar/Number Six relationship, part of the mystery of what's going on with him is solved in this episode. Six flips the script on Baltar and tells him there isn't any chip in his head -- he's just crazy. Baltar goes to Doc Cottle for a CAT scan that proves not only that there's no chip in his head, there's no tumor either. So his craziness isn't the result of some physical thing.
• Adama tells Laura that she saved his life and that of everyone else in the fleet by having them flee the colonies. An interesting admission.
• Kara tries to talk to Laura on the trek to the tomb and tells her that there's a resistance going on on Caprica that they should support. But Laura blows her off and says she can't think beyond getting to the tomb. Kara says nothing, but is sullen about Laura's dismissal of her. A lost opportunity for bonding, but a good scene.

Things I Didn't Like:

• The Tomb of Athena thing was anti-climactic, although I did like that they have a reference, of sorts, for determining if any given planet they land on is Earth. They now know that the other twelve constellations can be seen in a specific pattern only from Earth.
• But what was the deal with the Arrow of Apollo transporting them somewhere? Was that magic? If so, why weren't they more freaked out or more profoundly moved? And how did they get back?
• Sharon saves Adama from an assassination plot by Zarek's boy Meier and then she swears she doesn't have any deep level programming to turn against them. Why should anyone believe that?
• How can everyone let Zarek off the hook for his guy trying to kill Adama? Ironically, he really isn't responsible, but why isn't he held responsible anyway? Nobody trusted him before, so why give him a pass now?
• Adama and Laura are acting like friends now. I'm sorry, it's just too abrupt, too pat, too Star Trek. He put her in jail. He suspended the rule of law. Civilians got shot opposing the Marines (okay, that was under Tigh's watch). That's beef that takes time to resolve. How can the civilians trust the military not to impose martial law the next time there's a disagreement with the President?

Fears:

• There will probably be tension between Helo and Tyrol over Sharon. How tired is that?
• Where does the fleet (physically) go from here?

Vile Brother

Too bad we can't get some U.S. politicians to sign on for something like this.

From Reuters.com:

Four Mexican politicians completed a three-night stay in a spider- and scorpion-infested shack on Wednesday as part of a campaign to raise awareness about poverty dubbed "Vile Brother."

In contrast to the typical house on the reality television show "Big Brother," the shack was made of sticks, tin and plastic sacks, lacked a sewage system and had a dirt floor.

The group tore down the shack as they left, after buying a new concrete house for the seven-member family that had lived there, Mexican television news reported.

I'm Bored

I have nothing to say today, so I'm posting a picture from the pond at the butterfly farm in St. Maarten.

BSG and the "Pegasus" Storyline

I think we can stomach one teeny spoiler about Galactica, right?

We all know by now that Cain and the Pegasus are going to show up near the end of this season.

Ron Moore has the following to say (from Trekweb.com):

With Cain I wanted to maintain that kind of superior warrior attitude of someone who wants to concentrate on the battle against the Cylons as opposed to the survival of the human race.' Moore told the magazine 'There's a twist, through, in that we've made Cain an Admiral, and that throws a wrench into everything. Adama is no longer the senior military officer, and therefore not in command of the fleet any more.

Read more:

Venezuela: The Next War?

Brace yourself -- the next country our soldiers may get the opportunity to die in may be Venezuela.

Why?

Well, they've got oil. They're America's forth largest oil-supplier. Venezuela own Citgo. You've heard of them, right?

Of course, we can't just march in there and take the oil. I mean, even we have a little subtlety.

No, what we do is the usual thing. We say their leader is evil and he's trying to destabilize the region. Ho hum. Haven't we seen this before? At what point are we going to stop needlessly making new enemies and creating the next generation of young people with beef against us?

President Hugo Chavez doesn't like the U.S., okay? He runs his mouth. SO WHAT? Fuck that guy. Ignore his ass. Take the high road, for God's sake.

The only new thing about this current pre-aggression dance is that Pat Robertson is in on the demonizing too. Why this particular dictator irks him I don't know, but Pat recently suggested that we avoid a messy war and just assassinate Chavez.

I guess this is what Jesus wants.

From TIME.com: Why Pat Robertson's Statements Help Hugo Chavez

Being Bobby Brown

I'm surprised at myself, but I have to admit I like Being Bobby Brown, the reality show on Bravo about the ex-New Edition star and recurring jailbird.

Bobby is surprisingly likeable in a pathetic loser sort of way. We watch him as he gets out of jail, gorges himself on lobster like he has no home training and goofs around with his three illegitimate kids and one legitimate one. The theme of the show, if there is one, is that Bobby is trying to make yet another comeback. He's working on an album of mediocre R&B songs and showing up at photo shoots with swelling under his eyes that he vainly tries to get rid of by applying Preparation H to his face.

In one touching episode he showed up at the Jimmy Kimmel show, unsure of what he was supposed to do, but managed to summon up a performance of Roni that made you remember that this man was once the shit. Watching from back stage, Landon, Bobby's eldest bastard son (I swear this kid looks twenty. Bobby fathered him at 15??) was practically in tears as he cast adoring looks at his dad on the monitor.

But you KNOW what the real reason to watch this show is.

Mrs. Brown.

Whitney. Houston.

OHMYGODWHATTHEFUCKHAPPENEDTOYOU??

As you stare into her junkie eyes and wince as every other word out of her filthy mouth has to be censored, you remind yourself that this woman was once the black "girl next door."

This was once America's sweetheart.

And the more I watch this show, the more I have to say to myself, Bobby didn't do this to her. The "good girl" image had to have been a sham from the get go. No human being can bring another to this level unless they were already there.

Are You Ready to Tanqueray?

The other day I mused over the curious choice of Snoop Dogg as a spokesman for Chrysler. Ironically, the spokesman job he should've been tapped for was for Tanqueray gin. One of Snoop's greatest hits is the immortal Gin & Juice in which he mentions Tanqueray by name!

DUH!

Instead of Snoop, Tanqueray is using someone named "Tony Sinclair" in their new commercials. According to their website, Tony is a "socialite" and a DJ from London's East End. In the commercials, Tony, who unfortunately has bad teeth and looks like total skeezer when he smiles, is at upscale parties commenting on other people's "lack of moderation" or having his ice cubes perfectly shaped by a jeweler.

Again, here's the question:

Will black Americans buy more Tanqueray because of a black Briton, who's gotta be a fake?

Will old white guys (the primary purchasers of gin) be grossed out by this guy?

BSG: Home, Part 1

I didn't like this episode too much. It didn't suck, but I felt a lot of characters were acting, well, out of character.

Things I Liked:

• Laura was pretty slick in dealing with Sharon (at first). She told everyone to put their guns down, then told her peeps to put Sharon out the airlock. LOL! Of course they didn't go through with it, but I thought that was a strong move.
  
• Zarek comes clean in private with his second-in-command, Meier. Neither believes in the religious thing going on, but they'll use others' beliefs to further their ends. I liked Zarek's quote: "I believe in the power of myth."
  
• Birch, the guy Adama picks to replace Lee as the "CAG," is a total fuck up. He takes too long to do a routine refueling mission and later he nearly gets two "nuggets" killed when his orders on a training run are unclear. Tigh speaks up, of course, but even Gaeda says to Adama that the guy is too green to handle the job.
  
• Baltar in his brief scene, was introspective about what happened with Sharon. He regrets not having asked Sharon for more detail about the eight remaining Cylons when he had a chance, and it seems that he regrets this because he could've helped others with this knowledge.

Things I Didn't Like:

• Do I have to say this again? Sharon can't be trusted. It's insane to listen to her, no matter how you slice it. Whatever.
  
• Adama's scene where he has Dualla in his quarters just rubbed me the wrong way. Not that there was anything sexual going on, but he's a basically by-the-book guy and it's inappropriate for the Commander to have a young female petty officer in his quarters. More importantly, it didn't seem like she'd be the person he would confide in about his fears.
  
• I never cared for Elosha (AKA "Miss Cleo"), but I think the character was killed off prematurely. She did have an important function with regards to Laura. Laura is going to be totally winging it now on the religious front.
  
• Lee runs up to Starbuck and kisses her when she returns. Fuck that guy. I just don't like him. His emotions are all over the place. One of the last things he did last season was punch her in the face. Then he tells her in this episode that she should confide in him and he loves her (you know, platonically). What a prick. Sorry, that just wasn't believable.

Fears:

• Adama seems realistically different after his shooting, but I'm concerned about a permanent change because, frankly, I liked his mature machismo. Maybe the personality change is necessary because the Olmos Adama is a lot more like the Lloyd Bridges Caine in the original show. And since Caine is coming (sorry for the mild spoiler), the personalities of the two commanders need to be sharply defined and very different.

Snoop Dogg and Chrysler. For Shizzle?

I wonder how the staff meeting in which it was proposed that making a commercial with Lee Iacocca and Snoop Dogg was a good idea went down?

Don't get me wrong -- the commercial is cute. Snoop and Lee are depicted as golf buddies and Snoop is wearing some goofy pastel argyle stuff. And I've heard that Snoop really does like Chrysler cars. Supposedly he personally called Chrysler company president and CEO Dieter Zetsche last year asking for a 300C sedan. I'm not sure why he couldn't just go to a dealership to get one though.

But...

Isn't Snoop a convicted felon? Wasn't he busted on cocaine charges in 1990? At what point did he become wholesome enough to push cars for an institution like Chrysler?

The real question on my mind is, who is the commercial supposed to attract? White (adult) consumers would be turned off by Snoop, I would think. And will (young) black consumers consider Chrysler cars fly because of Snoop? He's getting kinda old for that market, isn't he?

BTK Bitch

They sentenced Dennis Rader, the "BTK" killer today in Kansas to life imprisonment for the ten murders he committed from 1974 to 1991.

Can you believe this guy had the nerve to cry in court and also draw parallels between his life and the lives of the people he murdered?

Life imprisonment is a travesty for guys like this. Kansas didn't have a death penalty at the time of the murders, so he gets a pass.

Huh?

Hopefully the men in whatever prison Rader is sent to will take care of business and avenge the Otero family.

Walken 2008

Why?

Who knows?

BSG: The Farm

Another good episode, but a little weak on the Caprica side.




Stuff I liked:

• Apollo couldn't make the tape denouncing his father and Laura and Zarek were pissed at him. LOL!


• No Baltar in this episode. He's best used sparingly.


• Adama does look like a man that has had a brush with death. His movements are slower and more deliberate. Good!


• Callie earned 30 days in the brig for shooting Boomer. Good! Discipline must be maintained.


• Laura makes a religious appeal to the people of the fleet to follow her back to Kobol. And a third of the ships join her, much to Adama's irritation.


• Tyrol comes to Adama to speak on Callie's behalf, but Adama is more interested in quizzing Tyrol about Boomer -- "Did you love her?" Later, Adama cries when he looks at her body in the morgue. He has been shaken to the core because, evidently, he loved her as a daughter.

Stuff I didn't like:

• Starbuck, why did you sleep with that jerk from the Caprica Buccaneers? Jeez, what a ho.


• We learn that Starbuck had all of her fingers broken in childhood. So, a woman can't be strong unless there's abuse in her past.


• Starbuck gets a pelvic exam from a Cylon. Disgusting.


• How did Starbuck get shot and captured? She was standing right next to Helo.

Fears:

I think the filthy Cylons may have taken some of Starbuck's eggs to use in breeding experiments. Vile!

Dawn Over Miami

Nice, huh?

Back Home

I'm too tired to post the last vacation picture. I'll do it tomorrow.

Good news! Beren isn't depressed. Usually he's very sad when we pick him up from the kennel, but he was playing in the car on the way home and he seems happy. I guess he learned how to handle himself in the joint.

Cruise: Day 7 - Nassau

Weather: Stank

Mood: Exhausted

We went on the "Ghosts of Nassau" walking tour today. Boy, what a mistake that was! The sun had no mercy and there was little shade. I quickly got dehydrated. I have such a raging headache now.

The tour was light on the ghosts and the obiah aspect. We saw one small dungeon under a library and we walked up to an old fort. The guide described some man who fell victim to a spell imbued in coo coo soup and she described how it felt to be "hagged," or attacked by spirits. That was it.

By the time we made it back to the shopping area, I was too tired to shop. I bought two shirts because I had run out of clothes (!), but that was it.

Even though this trip was a bust as far as buying jewelry, I got some nice pictures taken by me and of me. The portrait photographer took two nice shots of me on Thursday. My skin looks gorgeous.

Oh, the midnight buffet sucked! :(

I'm not taking this cruise line again. I require good meals.

Cruise: Day 6 - At Sea

Weather: Low 80's

Mood: Bored

Nothing to do today. I could've gone to a seminar to learn how to make towel animals like the bunny they left on our bed last night, but I passed on that exciting proposition.

The food sucked again last night. I had an uninspired rack of teeny lamb. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?? Tonight there is a lobster and crab dish. It better be good.

We're on our way to Nassau, the last stop on our trip. I haven't bought anything worthwhile. My money was spent on this Internet connection and some photos.

Tonight there is a comedy show, the third parade of the trip, and a late buffet. I hate to turn in early, because the night is so long, but, wow. I really don't want to fight people for food at midnight.

I hope to find a nice piece of jewelry in Nassau. I haven't seen shit that says, "buy me," to me. Very disappointing. I came with money to be spent, yo. Looks like I'm going to leave with money too.