Hope For A New Trek

Today I happened upon the second half of an interview in the LA Times with J.J. Abrams about the newest Star Trek Movie.  Now I have been a critical skeptic of this project because of how easy it is to ruin a good franchise, and the appreciation of the Star Trek universe is almost like a family heirloom on my mother's side.  I hold Star Trek very dear to me.  I would be heartbroken if the universe was needlessly torn apart just in the hope of making huge money.  But this interview gave me hope.

Abrams talks about how he's trying to keep the balance of staying true to the universe while at the same time appealing to a general audience.  I think this is a good idea, but a tricky on at the same time.  But I think it will work, and it's because of how he's addressing the movie in relation to the original tv show:

"... it was one of the things that was incredibly important for me that was this film--in addition to being character-centric and having the classic "Trek" debates and rapport between the characters--that it also be a movie that actually realized the promise of the adventure that "Trek" often had but didn't always have the resources to pull off."

This was the clincher for me.  Abrams is trying to preserve everything that I  know I loved about Star Trek: great characters, intense ideas and fantastic adventures.  These are qualities that lead to good stories in any genre.  Science fiction is no different.  The only thing that Abrams is hoping to take out is the outdated technology that made the original series. (And in some people's opinion, the bad acting of a certain captain.)  I feel that those are great goals to achieve for this new movie.

How true will the movie stay to the original series in those regards is the only question I hold now.  There are some nit-picky things that I have turned a blind eye to because in the whole scheme of things, they don't ruin the Trek universe.  The constant debate of where Kirk can drive stick shift is one of those petty things I don't bother with.  However, when I found out that Romulans were fighting Starfleet that early on, I was afraid that Abrams was trying to fit in whatever potential action sequence he could for serious money.  Thinking about that made my heart break.  One of my favorite episodes is Balance of Terror, which is supposed to the be first time Humans ever sees the Romulans.  This is important to the entire history of the Star Trek universe and to The Original Series.  It was a great discussion on the fear factor that happened in the Cold War (and you could relate it now to the fear of terrorists in America).  I could also relate to Spock, who looked like the enemy.  Officers suddenly couldn't trust him just because he shared physical features with the Romulans, despite the fact he was a dependable commander.  I didn't want to lose all of that depth in the entire universe just so a movie could have a legit fight sequence in space.

I've taken a somewhat closer look at the way Abrams is manipulating the timeline and I am ready to give it another shot.  Come May I'm going to go out of my way to see this movie.  I'm still somewhat apprehensive, and if things get too ridiculous I have told people I will walk out of the theatre.  Sure, this makes me one of those whiny purist.  So shoot me with a phaser set to kill.  Star Trek is ingrained in my family history.  I feel I have every right to be protective about it.

Hollywood, Let's Be Original

Today I found out something sad.  The film industry has shown once again that it doesn't have a original bone in its body.  Friends and fellow readers, Robert Rodriguez is doing a rehash of Predator. 

Think about this for a second.  Can you really do anything better than this classic?

First of all, I don't think we have an actor that really achieves the beefy manliness that is Arnold Schwarzenegger circa 1987.  The close I can think of is Vin Diesel, or possibly Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock).  But still Ahhhrnald personified beefy warrior with big guns and an instinct to kill.  There aren't a lot of actors that fill that quota anymore.

The climate today is very different too.  In 1987 we still had a lot of people who remembered the hostile jungles of Vietnam.  That was the most recent war we had participated in.  But now we're in 2009 where most war is about sand dunes and secret bombers.  Is that really the kind of setting that is beneficial to a villain like Predator?  And could an audience enjoy the jungle setting as much in relation to the wars we see on television now?  I think the latter question can be answered a yes, but I don't know how big of a yes that is to the audience.  Also, why do we want to focus on freaky aliens hunting us when we have a bunch of popular horror movies about humans hunting humans.

Despite these logistics, why can't Hollywood think of something ORIGINAL?  I can forgive them for some of the cool comic book movies, and possibly TV movies, but what the hell is up with these reloads of movies that weren't worth remaking?  Why can't we have some more original content on the silver screen?  

It makes me sad to think that Hollywood can think of anything to captivate my nerdy interests.  They used to be a lot of sci-fi/fantasy things that were new out there, but now I don't feel that way anymore.  I feel like people have been tired of exploring the final frontier, and instead are visiting the same alpha/delta/gamma quadrant in hopes of getting me in a theatre seat.  And no, rehashing a show from the 60s does not make the movie original.  Even if I plan on watching it anyway.

I understand there is money to be made from fandom, but please, screenwriters EVERYWHERE, please give me something new to love, because soon you'll run out of old stuff to work every last penny out of, and then we both lose.

Readers, how do you feel about this situation?

So done with 2012

Alright, let's stop talking about 2012.  Well, not until I've finished this blog post but still.  I was reminded about the end of the world prophecy this morning as I rolled out of bed to get ready for a pretty busy day and was ticked off to be reminded again that supposedly the world will end in December 2012.  I am a skeptic on this whole thing. Really?  End of the world?  Sure some people may get blown up considering the political situation at hand, but I don't think the world is going to end.  

You know who's partially responsible for this?  This guy right here: 

That's right, I'm pinning it all on you Nostradamus, with your vague predictions of the world.  I really don't even think he could predict when he next passed gas, let alone the end of the world.  I doubt there really is a man that can predict when the world ends, especially if they write as vaguely as this guy did.  Look at these interpretations that are supposed to point to the many bad things that are supposed to happen by 2012.   Here is the "prophecy" that is supposed to predict World War Three:

By River Danube and Rhine shall come to drink The great camel which shall not repent Trembling is River Rhone and most violent for for those near River Loire And near Alps the Cock shall ruin them.

Really?  Maybe he was just saying the circus came to Europe for a tour and the elephant tripped near Rhone while the lions got out in Loire.  Alps, I'm sorry guys but I think that means bird flu.  Seriously guys, that is vaguer than my horoscope on yahoo when I check that email every morning. 

"But d20 Sapphire, the Mayans predicted the end of the world too!"  No, they didn't, you're just being silly now.  First of all, December 21-23 (I hear multiple versions of the actual end date) is the end of the calendar cycle that lasts 5,126 years.  Think about how long that is.  Now if you were in a society that didn't have the luxury of carbon dating or didn't have the capacity to figure out how old the universe is (which is pretty damn old) you would probably think that nothing could last that long when the average life span barely goes past 50 years.  Think about it, if you knew of nothing that you could prove was older than the oldest person in your village or city, would you think anything could get any older?  So thinking the world couldn't last that long is actually very logical if you don't have any science to prove otherwise.

Also, the mayan calendar still doesn't suggest an armageddon scenario.  It suggests the end of an era and the birth of a new one.  Here you can find some articles agreeing with that assessment, with varying degrees of legitimacy.  However, all the statement to this new era are a lot more legit than the people saying that in 2012 the end is coming.  The Mayans celebrated the end of a cycle, and didn't fear it.  Also, they were wiser than they realized considering that the date that ends their cycle also is the same time the center of the Milk Way Galaxy aligns with our sun and Earth.  As awesome as that is, I don't think it means the world will end.

I think that the Mayan calendar is getting the same bad reputation that the death card in a tarot deck does.  Not that I believe in tarot... okay I did when I was in high school, give me a break.  But there was one thing I learned that was super important: do not fear the death card.  The death card in tarot is more like Shiva in the hindu faith, in that it represents a transformation.  It's about a life reborn, the coming of a new age.  For those people who are just fearful of change, this could be a scary card.  However there are a lot of people who think that the death card means that they will die.  That's a common misconception, and I can understand why a card that says death on it would make someone think that.  But alas, it really is about change.  It's about a radical difference that will be felt.

When you start thinking about it, I wouldn't be surprised if 2012 is the beginning of a new era.  We have politicians who aren't all slimey in high positions, we have hope being the theme in one of the most powerful countries of the world, and technology is so pervasive there is no way a country will be able to escape it in the long run.  Oh, and an economic crisis that will change the way we think about money.  Don't forget that.  

2012 is not the end, but the beginning of a time we should be eager to see.

Sabotage From Within: When PCs attack PCs

I take any chance I get to make my title sound like a Fox TV special.

As a DM I'm very grateful to have a group that seems to have a lot of initiative these days.  I've been playing this campaign for 2 and a half years, and since I have given them a lot to work with they have, in return, given me a lot to work with.  From there you get great combinations of strategy, creativity and humor to make a great game.  Sometimes, though, it can possibly put everything at risk.

For about a week or so, one of my players had thought of a great plan to sabotage at least one fellow PC, if not the entire party.  Now I'm not the kind of DM to say you can't sabotage your fellow players.  However, the consequences are something I don't hide either.  So when this player brought up the idea to me, I let him know it would at least result in an alignment shift for him, and probably a ton of other not so nice things if his fellow players discovered what he was doing.  After a week of going over the plan and making sure every angle was covered, the prospective traitor decided to wait a little longer.  Unfortunately the turns of events prevented the plan from ever being acted, but it got me thinking... is sabotage ever good?

I'm not talking about DM inserted sabotage character that helps the plot.  I'm talking about PCs deciding on their own to sabotage a fellow PC, if not the entire party.  When you think about it, following an act like that through is a big risk.  As a player character you are expected to be part of a team that works toward a mutual goal.  In a campaign you hop towards mission to mission hoping to save the NPC, get the gold, and kill the bad guys.  If you do that with the same people over a long period of time, there's a lot of trust that the party will stick up for one another.  What happens if you ruin that trust and consistency?

My biggest fear, as a player and as a game master, is making a character unplayable.  I've experienced it too.  Let's just say if you're under the employ of a queen, you shouldn't be stealing from within that kingdom so blatantly.  Making a character unplayable is heartbreaking, especially when you've invested so much time and energy in them.  And if that character was the only connection to something important for the rest of the party, a lot more is lost than just "the tank" or "the spellcaster".  

There is also the sense of trust in a group.  We all know how relationships between people can deteriorate over time if trust is lost.  Things are never the same and it takes a lot to get trust back.  Imagine doing that with you and four of your closest associates.  While on the battlefield.  If you're not sure the cleric is going to heal you if you get hit by a fireball, how much are you going to help your party out?  As interesting this is in a story setting, it's more tenuous when playing an RPG, and even more so if you're playing that RPG with friends.  

I don't want this to discourage the idea of sabotage amongst PCs.  In certain campaigns this can work quite well.  Or if a player hates his character and wants a creative way to get rid of him.  Or when it's a one shot where the PCs are strangers to each other.  In the right situation sabotage is a great story device to play with.

My morbid curiosity wonders what would've happened if my player went through with this very original back stabbing plan of his.  In the end, though, it's probably better for my campaign that he didn't.  Kind of bittersweet, don't you think?

Games making fun of Blagojevich

Admist all the joy of Chicago's Obama becoming President of the United States, we can't forget the horrible politicians that have almost tarnished his image.  I'm thinking of Illinois' own Rod Blagojevich (pronounced blah-GOY-AH-vitch) who proved that although the mob is gone, corruption unfortunately still exists in Chicago.  The man is a total dick and we shouldn't forget it.

To commemorate the douchiest douche that ever douched in Illinois politics, Headline Games made two casual games that I suggest you check out when you're bored on the job or just in the mood for something simple to play.  Both of them poke fun at the scandal.  First there is Red Tape Breakout, a version of breakout where you are Attorney General Lisa Madigan trying to serve Blagojevich his papers admist a ton of red tape.  Fun, but I found it kind of possible.  It may be because I didn't use a mouse and instead I used a touchpad, but the papers come at you fast and I'm not a very coordinated individual. 

I prefer Blago Run, which is a frogger type game where you are vying for a senate seat.  To get it, you first have to get a dimplomat application or 5 money bags to get the seat open.  Then you go over to the now opened senate seat, which you literally steal from Burris.  Sweet!  You start off as Jessie Jackson Jr. and go through all the named senate seat seekers, with 3 being unknown and looking like they jumped out of an iPod commercial.  It's still fun, once you actually read the directions unlike I did the first time.  I would suggest this one more.

I may be ashamed that I com from a state where a governor thinks he could get away with selling a senate seat, but you got to laugh at how absurd the situation is, and these games are great for that.

Congrats to Obama: President and Confirmed Trekkie

I really do want to congratulate Barack Obama for becoming the 44th president of the white house, and the first African American President of the United States.

Some of you may know that Barack is also a confirmed Trekkie, and believes in the final frontier.  I can see why too--Star Trek has forever been talking about people like him and I.  People who are from two extreme distinct backgrounds that may not always get along.  I think this is one of the many reasons Gene Roddenberry is a genius.  He was talking about interracial people and their identities  before there were a lot of us in America to talk about in the first place.  It's a big deal for me.  Today, in honor of our President's many backgrounds (and hopefully a finer appreciation of mine)  I want to discuss how being interracial was dealt with on Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation, two shows from my childhood that in some ways taught me how to accept who I am.

Gene Roddenberry dealt with a lot of issues dealing with different alien races because the censors back in the day didn't like dealing with real race issues.  For example, when he first thought of doing Star Trek, he wanted the first commander to be a black human.  This would be a great way to talk about race relations.  However, he knew it wouldn't fly with the censors.  So instead he tried to make Majel Barrett first in command as a woman and put Spock on the bridge in the pilot.  The censors didn't like a woman first in command, stating that is wasn't believable to the audience.  When the first season aired, there was Spock as first in command, a half human half Vulcan.

Spock was the archetype of "the other" on the ship.  He constantly was representing his Vulcan heritage, choosing  suppress his emotions as is standard custom.  He was logical in thought and hardly ever let his feelings dictate who he was or his actions.   This played well against the over emotional McCoy, who says some nasty things to Spock.  If I were part Vulcan I wouldn't want someone just going around calling me Green-Blood, even if it is true.  I have a name, thankyouverymuch.  But Spock looked past his ignorance and merely carried on his customs.  He even had to defend his heritage in the great episode Balance of Terror, having to aid his ship being attacked by Romulans while at the same time suffering prejudice because he looked just like them.  

What I think allowed me to relate to Spock the most was the episode where his parents were on the Enterprise.  Sarek, his father, was a Vulcan Ambassador known for his many achievements.  It seemed his mother, Amanda, was being the dutiful politician's wife but also a caring, loving mother.  The tension between Sarek and Spock at the beginning of the episode was thicker than butter.  Sarek was disappointed that his son went to Starfleet instead of becoming a scientist on Vulcan.  It seemed that Spock could never be Vulcan enough.  Here we have the classic struggle for interracial people seen time and time again: Never could Spock be human enough to Starfleet peers, nor Vulcan enough even to his own father.  Spock chose to be more Vulcan than anything else, and was embarrassed to let his human emotions out.  Yet he could never satisfying either side of his heritage.

Would I say Barack can relate most to being Spock?  Actually, no.  Although a lot of interracial people can understand what's happened to Spock by finally picking a background to stick to, I don't think Barack has done that.  He isn't just black, and he isn't just white.  He's both.  He accepts both sides and how each of them have affected him as a person.  I can relate to that 100%, because that's how I feel about the issue too.  Unfortunately Spock never gets to that point in the series, unless of course you're awesome and you see the director's cut of the first Star Trek movie.  But that's a rant for another day.

Who has accepted both side of their heritage in the Star Trek universe?  Deanna Troi, that's who.  She's half betazoid and half human, and accepts both of those cultures as part of her own.  She even helps Worf's ex-wife(who's half Klingon and half human) with the question of how to deal with one's heritage.  Deanna's character is all about acceptance, and because of that she accepts herself, every part of it.  Of course there is the episode where she loses her empathy powers and doesn't know how to relate to people, but that's something she's always had so it's almost like if I had lost my left eye or something like that.  

Barack is more like Deanna.  I'm more like Deanna.  I didn't choose to be more black or more white.  I'm both.  My history is from both of those culture in America.  And I'm glad I have the opportunity to appreciate both to the fullest.  Barack does the same.  I think with that idea of acceptance, he has become one of the most relatable and open presidents that America has had in a good time.  

Also he's a trekkie, so I trust the next four years of America are in good hands.

Gm Writer's Block

As I mentioned before I am running a D&D 3.5 campaign that will end this May.  My PCs are psyched about finishing the game and so am I.  There's only one problem: I'm suffering from writer's block.

It's not the same as regular writer's block but it's just as annoying, especially this one has a deadline (every Friday at 7pm) that I can't avoid.  So what to do?  

I went to RPG.net and asked for some advice on the forums there.  There was a lot of good stuff, and a lot of stuff that applies better to pure newbies.   (I'm not a noob, I've been doing this for about 9 years now off and on.)  One of the better tools is more like a writing exercise, which is why I think it's so useful.  Its called the Adventure Funnel.  If you run a pen and paper RPG check it out.  It's pretty handy and I think I'll be using it to figure out how to get from point A to point B in the game.  It's also good if you know one component for the plot line, but nothing else.  

Strange Sky Mall Sightings

I fly a lot to and from school.  I'll be very happy to not do it as frequently as I do now someday.  Occasionally I'll notice the Sky Mall catalogue, and then ignore to look at the safety placard since I find that more necessary and, quite honestly, more interesting.  I'm not one who believes in shopping as a past time, so shopping while I'm flying home or to school thousands of miles in the air isn't appealing to me.  But this time I thought "Well, maybe there's some undiscovered  find that I can share with my readers!"  

There is a reason why this stuff has been undiscovered.  

Don't believe me?  Okay either the stuff is overpriced, gimmicky, explicity nouveau-riche, or no one would want to buy them in the first place so the only place the retailer can find refuge for their god forsaken product is in Sky Mall.   Okay that is a little harsh.  Some of the stuff is useful.  But here is a list of things--mostly gadgets since I don't think you guys care about trouser racks--that is just bizarre and in Sky Mall.  I also want to note that some links are missing due to the fact that Sky Mall's site didn't like me tonight.  With that, we're just going to leap right into the strange and start with the

Big Foot Garden Sculpture. Yes, the Big Foot Garden Sculpture.  I don't think I could say Big Foot Garden Sculpture enough times for me to believe that it exists.  Let me try that one more time.  Big Foot Garden Sculpture.  Nope, I still don't believe it exists.

This thing is creepy.  Think about how that will look late at night.  Your neighbors will think you're constantly getting robbed.  Passersby will have heart attacks because they will seen a monster hiding behind your foliage.  And imagine all the ignorant yeti hunters that will ruin your lawn!

I don't see this being in a garden that looks that nice in the picture.  It is in some lawn in a trailer park where some guy saved up to get it, and occasionally decorates the structure with a beer can and a trucker hat so people can mistake it for his Uncle Harry late at night.  You know who you are, ugly lawn dude!  Hope the local teenagers steal it and take pictures of them humping it to teach you some sense of landscaping taste!

What do you think this next item is?  A bluetooth headset?  It certainly looks like one.  If it were, I would have no immediate problem with it.  Alas, it is a ruse!  This is the Stealth Secret Sound Amplifier.  It's actually a cheap ass hearing aid in the clever disguise of a cell phone headset.  Apparently this is supposed to make you look young  and hip while helping you hear without looking like a geezer.  Young and hip?

This, my friends, does not look young or hip.

In fact, that guy is using the amplifier thing to trick that young woman in the picture.  "Hey honey, I'm really only 35.  I swear that smell is not depends and bengay."  

I'm already annoyed by jerks who feel the need to show how important they are by having me listen to their calls on the train back from a long day's commute.  I'm even more disgusted by a product that allows the hearing impaired to pretend to be one of those jerks for a mere forty bucks.

And this isn't geezer stealth.  This, dear readers, is geezer stealth.

Okay, so if the stealth sound amplifier wasn't bad enough, how about the Electronic Listening Device?  This can hear sounds up to 300 feet away.  This is okay if you're a private investigator. This is not okay if you're the nosy housewife from church who lives down the street from me.  This is exactly what the town needs, a tool for the local snoop to use.  At least it's obvious when someone is using this thing, with it's highly sophisticated dish that is big enoug to serve a tv dinner on.  

The Listening Device also looks like it's from an old spy movie, which of course validates its high quality.  However, if that is from an old spy movie, 
the Head Spa Massager is from a british sci-fi series from the 70s.  I swear the costumes crew from Doctor Who made this out of a bike helmet for some alien race, but realized it would work when Tom Baker couldn't stop laughing at it.  

I'm all for a good head massage, but thinking practically, this thing looks like it weighs about 10 pounds at least.  That's a lot to put on top of your already heavy head. (Because it's so full of knowledge, right?)  This doesn't look comfortable, and you could only get me to use this if I needed it to crash land on an alien planet and I could take it off before I got out of the ship.  

Look at this guy.  He's ready to boldly go where no idiotic headgear has gone before!

Stop for a moment and think about what this product is before you scroll down.  Examine it, analyze every detail you can in this picture.  After you've given it a good, long, hard look, I would like you to speculate what this device might be?

An alarm clock?

A night light?

A hamster heater?

...?

None of the above, would you believe me if I told it it was...
a hair restoration device?

That's right, using lasers, you can make your hair grow back thicker and fuller!  The HairLaser (such a creative name) uses "15 distinct points of laser light" to help you obtain the luscious locks that you desire!

Okay, this is probably some of the worst pseudo science I've seen to date.  Aren't lasers used for hair removal, along with getting rid of wrinkles and tattoos?  How is that suppose to help hair grow?

If I think about it too much my brain may crash.

Finally, there is the Electric Food Steamer and Rice Cooker.  This is probably the most practical thing on the list.  I just have three qualms with it. One, that meal looks pretty bland.  Two, it looks kind of funny.  It's a food skyscraper in your kitchen!  Three, this is a perfectly fine device if you're someone who's a good cook.  However, if you're a bad cook this is a great way to mess up every component of the meal you hope to eat.  So if you can't cook, do NOT think this will save your dinner party!

Alright, that's all for now, but there's so much more I may have to do this again.