Which is better? Trek or Gate?

As you know, I am a huge Sci Fi fan. I am not a stay in my basement dressing up like Spock kind of fan, but I must admit that Sci Fi is my favorite genre of movie and TV show. BSG is my favorite sci fi show, but I also watched all of the Star Trek series and am currently watching Star Gate shows. I started backwards, with Star Gate Atlantis, but lately have been watching SG1. The other night, I started to wonder which series I liked more: Trek or Gate. I think I am actually leaning towards Gate. I guess they are different 'verses, with different qualities, but Star Gate Atlantis and SG1 are both well written and exciting shows.

Of all of the Star Trek shows, I guess Voyager was my favorite. Lots of space battles and a good story line. It is really rather similar to SG Atlantis in that, both shows take place in distant galaxies. Both deal with exploring the galaxies and dealing with aggressive aliens in those galaxies. Probably these similarities are why I like Atlantis so much.

One thing I thought interesting was how the different series used sexuality. Star Trek did little to hide the flaunting of women. The original series had half nude green girls and skirts cut REALLLY high. TNG had Troi in tight outfits all the time, but decreased number of the sexy aliens. DS9 had little in the line of sexy women beyond Dax and of course, when Voyager started to loose ratings, they added 7 of 9 to the cast. Hot Borg in skin tight outfits. Even Enterprise followed the sexy girl formula with T'pal, a Vulcan in skin tight outfits. I guess Star Trek people thought that a scantily clad woman was essential to a good show.

Star Gate is a bit different. The women are treated in the show more as equals since the story is based in our society present day. The 'sexy' women are dressed in military garb and the actresses are 'typical' women. None of them are oozing sexuality, but when put in certain situations and outfits, they pull off the hot girl role very well. Of course, the very first SG1 episode has a full frontal nude scene, but it went with the story line and wasn't in there just to seel a sex image. It sounds strange, but I actually like Star Gate's approach to women better that Star Trek's in-your-face flaunting of women. Don't get me wrong, when 7 of 9 walked around in her unitard, it was nice. However, there is something to be said for subtle sexuality. Like, when a lady puts on a nice dress instead of her daily work clothes.

Wow. Did I ramble on about nothing forever? Sorry.

Grumpy much?

I don't know why, but I have been in an awful mood over the last day or so. It started last night and continued this morning when I got a parking ticket on my van. I moved into the street so that the kids could shoot hoops. I just pulled out and parked facing the wrong way. Did you know you can get a ticket for that? I now owe the city of Columbus $20 for parking next to my house in the street so that the kids could play. How stupid is that?!?!?

Excited about movies

I saw some new movie trailers this weekend. OK, I had seen them before, but I am still excited about some films coming up. I saw the Transformers preview online and it looks pretty exciting. Some of the new Transformers introduced look a little strange, but the movie still looks pretty good. Putting Megan Fox in hot little shorty shorts always makes for good entertainment.

GI Joe looks interesting. It could end up being too cheesey to be good, but I still want to see it. Seeing Snake Eyes in the trailer is pretty cool though. By far a fan favorite from the cartoon. Well, my favorite at least. The only thing I may not like is the exo-suit thing. Not part of the original Joe show, but it could add for some cool special effects. We'll see.

I can't tell you how much I want to see the next Harry Potter movie. Half Blood Prince is probably my favorite book in the series. Very dark, very exciting. Is there anyone left in the world that hasn't read and loved these books?

I also saw the first trailer for New Moon, which is the next movie in the Twilight series of books. I know. It is a series intended for teen girls, but you put werewolves and vampires in the same story line and you get something pretty exciting. There are some parts in the books that make you want to put it down for being too girly, but then the good parts make up for that. It looks like another good film.

Anything else I need to see?

Another Facebook Victem

My blog is being neglected lately. It is a good blog. It never bites or pees on the carpet. I just don't seem too interested in keeping up with it these days. I am not going to take it into the woods and shoot it, but I don't see myself posting too often in the future. Maybe a weekly update now and then. Mainly the reason for this is bercause of Facebook. I don't post on that as much either, but it seems like more people check my Facebook page than my blog. Poor blog. So, for frequest updates, I am on Facebook, or you can just check here from time to time for bigger posts of bigger events.

New Toy

So, my PC went ka-put last week. It's had an OK run, since I bought it several years ago. I would like to say it ran perfectly, but I would be lying. It was oober slow and multi-tasking was impossible. I took it to Geek Squad to see if it would be an easy fix, but I was told the error message usually meant my hard drive was failing. Minimum repair cost, $300. So, I said forget it and bought a lap top. I am a total impulse buyer. I knew I wanted HP, which is what I have been using lately, but I was torn between screen size and battery life. I went with the better battery life, in case I wanted to travel with it. I figure that I can hook up my HD monitor when I am using this at home. I still have another PC for Jessica and the kids to use, but I wanted a lap top so that I can do stuff upstairs when watching TV with the family. This one is pretty nice, I guess. It has 4 USB ports, a webcam, mic, HDMI input, plenty of memory and is pretty quick. The biggest downer is that I couldn't save my music that is on ITunes on my old computer. This means that I have to upload all of my CDs again. After about an hour or so, I am up to the letter C. I have a hundred or so more to do still. UNGH!!! Luckily, I had the forethought to save all of out family photos onto a removable flash drive. I can't imagine losing all of the family pictures. Anyway, I might be posting more often, now that I have computer access in places other than my basement.

A Week In the Life......

Time for a weekly recap:

-Ally turned 4 Monday. She had fun at her party. We got her a new bicycle, which she seems to like alot. It was basically just a few family members and friends, but I think fun was had by all.

-I am having a hard time watching the Cavs series in the NBA play offs. It is frustrating knowing that they have the best record in the NBA, have swept their first two series, but now are barely hanging on to life, being down 3-2 to the Magic. They have had big leads in two of the games they've lost. Each game has been close though, so I guess anything can happen still.

- Does anyone think it is possible that a network will realize how great Firefly is and let Joss make a few more seasons? I am hoping that Dollhouse keeps going too, but I am watching Firefly today (again) and I am amazed at how great this show is. How it only lasted one season on the air makes no sense to me what-so-ever.

- Poker game tonight. I have not been doing too well lately. I have played well, but my luck has been crappy. Hopefully things will change for me tonight.

Does Anyone Esle Find This disturbing?

Has anyone seen the White Castle commercial for their pulled pork sandwiches? You know. The one with the person in the pig costume dancing on stage like a stripper only to end up doused in barbeque sauce. That commercial creeps me the fuck out! I think it is because they are painting pigs in a sexual light. OK, maybe they are painting people in pig costumes in a sexual light. Still, doesn't this creep anyone else out? At least, it fills me with even more desire to avoid White Castle.

Ouch

This weekend my parets came for a visit. Partially because Ally's birthday is next weekend and they wanted to bring her a gift and celebrate a little, but mostly they came to give me my annual infusion of plants for my garden. So, I was super busy planting things in my garden. I also planted a whole bunch of plants and flowers in my fron flower bed. I tried to put in a lot of perennials so that I don't need to re-plant every spring. Still, I put in a bunch of annuals too. It looks pretty good, if I say so myself. My dad helped alot. He is crazy about getting things planted just right. He is very meticulous about his gardening. That is fine by me. It means that it is done right. So basically, I dug the holes and he planted. It worked out pretty well. I did all of the annuals myself though. That was a chore! I love spring time. Fresh tomatoes in the summer....YUM!!!

FINALLY!!!

As mentioned, Jessica and I went to see the new Star Trek movie last night. This took some doing since Jessica lothes the old Star Trek show and movies. Actually, she just doesn't like William Shatner and Leonard Nemoy freaks her out. A fun fact: As a baby, William Shatner was on the same plane as Jessica and her mom. He (the Shat) commented on how cute Jessica was. Anyway, back to the movie. I mentioned that Jessica had dragged me to see Twilight, which I had resisted, and I liked it. Anyway, she agreed and we went. The first ten minutes of Star Trek were the most intense ten minutes of possibly any movie I have ever seen. It was AWESOME. The rest of the movie slowed down here and there, but the first ten minutes alone made the movie worth the $16 we paid. The rest of the movie was very VERY good. It gives some history of Spock and kirk, and also goes into how the crew met and came aboard the Enterprise. I won't go into the plot too much, but it was similar in some aspects to Generations, when Picard met Kirk. (Spock meets Spock) I can understand how some people (die hard Trekkies) might not like some aspects of the movie. It basically changes some of the aspects of the Star Trek verse that are present in the entire history of the movies and shows. I will say that I liked the casting. It was a little hard to see Sylar as Spock, and I kept expecting zombies to attack and Scottie chuck records at their heads, but beyond that, the casting was spot on. The story was good and the effects we stellar. It is definately worth paying to see Star Trek in the theaters. It is a visually stunning film. A- (the minus is because Smock and Uhura were hooking up. That was one thing I didn't like much.)

Going Boldly Where No One Has Gone Before

To an exciting Star Trek movie. Hopefully. My report tomorrow.

A few thing

1. Manny Ramirez is a dumb ass. I don't follow baseball much, but when one of the "top" players gets suspended for using illegal drugs, after all of the press and attention that has been on drugs in baseball, you HAVE to be a fucking idiot. COME ON!!! You have a list of what you can and can't use, so get your perscription, read the lable, read the banned drug list, and then decide if you should take the drug. I have always disliked Manny. "Manny being Manny" is a phrase that makes me throw up a little in my mouth. Translated it means that he is an idiot and a dumb ass, but hey, he can hit the ball well, so who cares? Well guess what, Dit Shit. You got caught cheating and you are out.

2. Can someone please do something that will keep Brett Favre from coming back to the NBA? "I retire." "I'm back!" I retire" "Maybe I'm back!......for my old team's rival!!" Enough is enough already! Retiring means you are done. There should be a rule in the NFL stating that, if you retire, you are allowed ONE comeback. Not two, not three. Who the hell does he think he is? Rocky Balboa? I am SO sick of Sports Center being filled with stories of Favres comebacks to the NFL.

Sorry, I just hate when two stories monopolize my sporting news.

Big Tournament tonight

Sorry that I am lacking in posts lately. Not too much to post about lately, I guess. Plus, I feel like a broken record sometimes. Anyway, I am planning on playing in a poker tournament tonight. It is way out in BFE (Baltimore, about 40 minuted from me) but it is a big game. There should be 70 players, or so. I usually play in cash games, so a tournament will be a bit of a change of pace. I played in this game last year, and there are a few rules that I am not a fan of. First, if your chip stack is below the big blind (if you have 100 in chips and the BB is 125) you are out of the game. That happened to me last time. Second, if someone goes all in, their chip count is the maximum bet. So, if they have 200 and go all in, you can only call the 200. This is done to iliminate side pots, which I don't get. I guess it gets confusing with side pots, but it limits what you can do in the hand. If I have pocket aces and 4000 in chips, and someone goes all in for 200, I can't raise to get other players out of the hand. This leaves good starting hands, like the aces, vunerable to drawing hands (straights, flushes, etc.) I was dealt a good hand last year, someone went all in, I couldn't raise, and I lost the pot to a weaker starting hand. Still, these rules are a small price to pay to have the chance to play a big tourney for a big prize pool. I think first place gets over a grand. Anyway, I am looking forward to the game and a chance to text my poker skills.

Better Off Ted - Give It a Try

If you have not watched Better Off Ted, I highly recommend it. It is HI-larious! It is about a product development company. I know that sounds dull, but the products are outrageously, silly and the characters are equally silly. I really can't go into the details of the stories. Really, it is something that you have to see for yourself. One of the funniest episodes involved the motion sensors in the labs that turned on and off the lights in rooms. New sensors were installed that were cheaper and worked by detecting the light reflecting off of the skin of the workers, but it had one glitch: the sensor did not recognize black people. It was hilarious. Rather than fixing the system, they hired white people to follow the black people around so that they, the black people, could do their work. This cause issues in the legal department, who claimed that they needed to open the position to black people, which in turn would require the hiring of more white people. Portia DeRosi is one of the characters and she had a great line in the show. It went something like, "We should not be focusing on the fact that the system can't see black people. We should be proud that we have a system that can see Asians, Hispanics, and Jews." I laughed my ass off. Every episode I have seen has made me laugh out loud. Everyone that likes to laugh should watch Better Off Ted.

Making Memories

I guess "Saving Memories" would be a more appropriate title. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I have started my 10th year working for Nationwide. It is definately the longest I have ever been at a job. I am not sure if I will be doing this for the rest of my life, but for not, it works. Anyway, for my 10th year anniversary, Nationwide let me choose a gift. I got to choose from items like a golf club (driver), a DVD player, poker chips, and other items. I chose a LCD picture frame. It probably wasn't the most expensive of flashy item, but I have wanted one for a while. If you are unfamiliar with them, you can load digital photos on a memory card and display them on the LCD screen as a slide show. The only card I has was 4MB, so I could only unload a few pictures. So, I checked the best buy ad and they had 8 GB memory cards for $20 off. Now I have a good five minute slide show going on. Another think I saw was 8 GB flash drives $20 off. Now, I have all of my digital pictures saved on my computer and a flash drive. I tried putting them on CDs, which I have done for most of them, but it was getting tiresome.