[scifinoir2] Coming: Computer-Generated Actors

[Tracey de Morsella]

1 January 2009 1:30 AM, PST

Silicon Valley is on the verge of producing sophisticated software that will
allow motion picture companies to create actors on a computer who are
visually indistinguishable from real people, San Jose's Mercury News
reported today (Thursday). In the words of the newspaper, which closely
follows the sofware industry, when software engineers finally achieve what
it calls the holy grail of animation, stars would be able to keep playing
iconic roles even as they aged past the point of believability like Angelina
Jolie http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001401/  as Lara Croft or Daniel
Radcliffe http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0705356/  as Harry Potter. Rick
Bergman, general manager of AMD's graphics products group, told the Mercury
News that his company is getting real close to producing
computer-generated actors that will look identical to real human beings.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0639199/

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

Yep.

When Spike began airing the series, I tried to sit down and watch them. 
*Really*, I did. But the urge to run was just too strong...





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:05:57 +

 From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


I agree. I thought Jennifer Lien as Kes was great. Kes had a calmness, a 
solidity to her, that I found appealing. I only hated the way she was paired 
with Neelix, but fortunately the were broken up. Kes's relationship with Tuvok 
was good, especially as it allowed us to learn more about both Kes's burgeoning 
powers, as well as Tuvok's own Vulcan mental powers and disciplines. It was a 
great potential storyline: a master teaching a student who was basically 
already surpassing him, but with none of his control and discipline. 

I read that Lien herself wanted to leave Voyager, not that she was fired. Too 
bad, cause the way they wrote her out was horrible,and then when they brought 
her back in another time travel story, the fact that she was murderous just 
didn't work.

So, Martin, does that mean there are whole seasons of Voyager you still haven't 
seen?
 -- Original message --
From: Martin Baxter 
 Dax, I have to disagree about Shark-of-Nine being better than Kes. Both 
 characters had potential to be strong female role models, but the Killer Bees 
 underused Kes and made Shark-of-Nine Eye Candy First Class. The show lost me 
 because of her final introduction. They could've put her in a neo-Starfleet 
 uni 
 and left some of her implants intact, to demonstrate that she was 
 symbolically 
 beginning the journey from dronedom to humanity. Instead, they do a lingering 
 shot of her in a catsuit and three-inch heels. That told me that they weren't 
 after my brain, but the head I keep in my boxers. I stopped watching the show 
 that night, picked it up only at the final episode (that *only* because I'd 
 had 
 an Internet rumor that Paramount was planning to shift their big-screen 
 franchise from TNG to V_r).
 
 
 
 
 
 -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
 
 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 16:44:55 -0500
 
 From : Dax 
 
 To : 
 
 
 I always thought that they focused too much on Seven. However you have to 
 admit she was better then Kess. Which to me caused many of the stores to 
 drag. Another good episode was The Year of Hell. It was the only one that 
 made the point very clear that they were really alone, no Starfleet, no help 
 at all. The only one that would or you could say that Janeway was Rambo to 
 the bitter end.
 
 As far as Captain Janeway knowing about the crewmen that were just getting 
 by--I don't recall any shows in Star Trek that had the captain spending time 
 with crewmen that were not part of the Senior Staff. I have always thought 
 it was up to the First Officer or the respective department heads that then 
 would tell the First Officer. Which then like Barkley would just simply been 
 traded out or go to Troi for a quick fix. Well if you want you can count 
 Kirk who was with a different female every week.
 
 My only regret or the only thing that bothered me was the fact that the Borg 
 was not really a threat to them as it was to the TNG series. In the TNG 
 series you mention the Borg and you have the whole Alpha Quadrant up in arms 
 trying to figure out what to do. I mean if you compare the two ships Voyager 
 does not have any special weapons. Even though it is stated as being a 
 powerful ship in the fleet. Lets not forget the folding nacelle. Also to 
 make matters worse, they did not have a full complement of photon torpedoes. 
 However somehow with the help of Seven, they always managed to outwit the 
 Queen. Either she is getting too old or really don't want them as bad as she 
 always claim she does.
 --Lavender
 If you don't like vanilla, try some chocolate.
 
 --
 From: 
 Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 2:32 AM
 To: 
 Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, 
 dies
 
  Good point on the women behind Trek. And there are the creative forces 
  behind the scenes that shepherded the franchise, such as D.C. Fontana, 
  Melinda Snodgrass (the story runner for a while on TNG), and of course, 
  Majel Roddenberry herself. I only threw in Star Wars to be polite, because 
  I know it does have a massive following. But personally I never put it in 
  the same category of serious scif as Trek, B5, and Farscape. Some of the 
  books and fan fiction deal with it in mature, intelligent ways, but the 
  movies--with the exception of The Empire Strikes Back--are just too 
  Saturday morning for me to discuss much in the same breath with Trek.
 
  As for Troi's character, Mirina Sirtis herself was constantly 

[RE][scifinoir2] Re: Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

[Martin Baxter]

(begins humming Werewolves of LaCrosse)





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : [scifinoir2] Re: Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

 Date : Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:58:29 -

 From : ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


I don't know how I missed this thread the first time - as I hail from 
the great state of Wisconsin - but I found this on IMDB:

Based on actual accounts of werewolf sightings in Walworth County, 
Wisconsin, the film follows a local sheriff who is finally forced to 
accept that a string of horrifying deaths is linked to a predator 
which possesses DNA of both man and wolf. 

I also direct you to the Beast of Bray Road Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Bray_Road

Man, I tell ya, makes ya proud to be a Wisconsinite!

~rave!


--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, keithbjohn...@... wrote:

 So, I'm sitting here on a cold, wet day in the ATL, a little down in 
the dumps: bemoaning my fate in life, ranting about the evils of Palin 
and McCain, concerned about the economy. Devastated that the Cowboys-
-America's Team--suck (as I'm sure we all are). While trying to take 
a nap, I do some channel surfing and decide to see what's on the SciFi 
Channel, and what do I find? Some Z-grade movie called The Beast of 
Bray Street. The plot, as it were, appears to deal with a couple 
of dudes who are werewolf hunters, who end up fighting a nubile lass 
who is herself a nasty lycanthrope. The plot doesn't matter, of 
course, nor does it matter who starred in the film. (Probably unknown 
actors who'll end up in adult films later on). What got my attention 
was how incredibly, badly cheesy this film was! I mean, the blood 
splattering all over the place was fake, the werewolf effect (glowing 
green eyes) to start reminded me of Michael Jackson's glowing eyes in 
Thriller, and the final we
 rewolf form was horrible. It was obviously somoene in a bad werewolf 
costume!! Remember those old Three Stooges or Albert and Costello 
shows where there'd be a fierce gorilla and it was painfully apparent 
that it was actually a man in a moldy suit? That's how bad the 
werewolf lady was done here. It was so bad I laughed my butt off. And 
of course, in the true tradition of all crappy horror movies, there 
are contrived moments to draw out the suspense: the gun that works 
perfectly until the critical moment, the character so incredibly dumb 
that they can't tell the good guy form the bad, the monster 
inexplicably taking her time doing the final killing of the final hero 
so he can scramble for a gun. It was horribly, badly cheesy, and I 
have to say I loved it! 
 
 And the funniest thing? The end credits of the movie stated This 
film is dedicated to the great state of Wisconsin. Huh? So it was 
shot there, but why dedicate a werewolf flick to the state? Does 
America's Dairyland possess a deep dark secret amidst all those cows 
and cheese? Wow--werewolf dairy farmers, there's a scary concept!
 
 Martin, I guess some days skiffy is good for something after all.







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Adrianne Brennan]

Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
Between her and Delenn, I was set :D

~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.comwrote:

 The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam
 Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's legendary
 speech in B5.

 Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am
 the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry
 a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living
 thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.

 As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...





 -[ Received Mail Content ]--

  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies

  Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +

  From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net

  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


 And the other two times?

  -- Original message --
 From: Martin Baxter
  A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science
 fiction.
 
  Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
 
  Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
 
  From : Tracey de Morsella
 
  To :
 
 
  Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew it
 to
  hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.
 Sigh…
  .. I know. Sex sells
 
 
 
  From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On
 Behalf
  Of Martin Baxter
  Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
  To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
 
 
 
 
  IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
  Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
  From : Meta
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
  --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella
  wrote:
  
   I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on
  Next Gen
   with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.
  Too bad
   they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much
   unexplored potential
  Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for
  the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of
  their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do
  women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few
  glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a
  female following they have.
 
  Meta
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
 
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds




 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

Oh, yeah, Adrianne. To give you Delenn's best line, as she was facing down an 
EarthAlliance commander, The only man ever to destroy a Minbari ship is behind 
me. *You* are in *front* of me.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 08:57:26 -0500

 From : Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
Between her and Delenn, I was set :D

~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

 The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam
 Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's legendary
 speech in B5.

 Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am
 the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry
 a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living
 thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.

 As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...





 -[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies

 Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +

 From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


 And the other two times?

 -- Original message --
 From: Martin Baxter
  A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science
 fiction.
 
  Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
 
  Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
 
  From : Tracey de Morsella
 
  To :
 
 
  Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew it
 to
  hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.
 Sigh…
  .. I know. Sex sells
 
 
 
  From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On
 Behalf
  Of Martin Baxter
  Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
  To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
 
 
 
 
  IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
  Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
  From : Meta
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
  --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella
  wrote:
  
   I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on
  Next Gen
   with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.
  Too bad
   they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much
   unexplored potential
  Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for
  the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of
  their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do
  women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few
  glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a
  female following they have.
 
  Meta
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
 
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds




 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

Dax, I have to disagree about Shark-of-Nine being better than Kes. Both 
characters had potential to be strong female role models, but the Killer Bees 
underused Kes and made Shark-of-Nine Eye Candy First Class. The show lost me 
because of her final introduction. They could've put her in a neo-Starfleet uni 
and left some of her implants intact, to demonstrate that she was symbolically 
beginning the journey from dronedom to humanity. Instead, they do a lingering 
shot of her in a catsuit and three-inch heels. That told me that they weren't 
after my brain, but the head I keep in my boxers. I stopped watching the show 
that night, picked it up only at the final episode (that *only* because I'd had 
an Internet rumor that Paramount was planning to shift their big-screen 
franchise from TNG to V_r).





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 16:44:55 -0500

 From : Dax nx_31...@yahoo.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


I always thought that they focused too much on Seven. However you have to 
admit she was better then Kess. Which to me caused many of the stores to 
drag. Another good episode was The Year of Hell. It was the only one that 
made the point very clear that they were really alone, no Starfleet, no help 
at all. The only one that would or you could say that Janeway was Rambo to 
the bitter end.

As far as Captain Janeway knowing about the crewmen that were just getting 
by--I don't recall any shows in Star Trek that had the captain spending time 
with crewmen that were not part of the Senior Staff. I have always thought 
it was up to the First Officer or the respective department heads that then 
would tell the First Officer. Which then like Barkley would just simply been 
traded out or go to Troi for a quick fix. Well if you want you can count 
Kirk who was with a different female every week.

My only regret or the only thing that bothered me was the fact that the Borg 
was not really a threat to them as it was to the TNG series. In the TNG 
series you mention the Borg and you have the whole Alpha Quadrant up in arms 
trying to figure out what to do. I mean if you compare the two ships Voyager 
does not have any special weapons. Even though it is stated as being a 
powerful ship in the fleet. Lets not forget the folding nacelle. Also to 
make matters worse, they did not have a full complement of photon torpedoes. 
However somehow with the help of Seven, they always managed to outwit the 
Queen. Either she is getting too old or really don't want them as bad as she 
always claim she does.
--Lavender
If you don't like vanilla, try some chocolate.

--
From: 
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 2:32 AM
To: 
Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, 
dies

 Good point on the women behind Trek. And there are the creative forces 
 behind the scenes that shepherded the franchise, such as D.C. Fontana, 
 Melinda Snodgrass (the story runner for a while on TNG), and of course, 
 Majel Roddenberry herself. I only threw in Star Wars to be polite, because 
 I know it does have a massive following. But personally I never put it in 
 the same category of serious scif as Trek, B5, and Farscape. Some of the 
 books and fan fiction deal with it in mature, intelligent ways, but the 
 movies--with the exception of The Empire Strikes Back--are just too 
 Saturday morning for me to discuss much in the same breath with Trek.

 As for Troi's character, Mirina Sirtis herself was constantly frustrated 
 at Troi's rather vacuous portrayal, especially, the much joked about 
 Someone is planning something Captain, but I can't say who or what usage 
 of her empathic powers. Usually, Troi's empathy was no more helpful than 
 the common sense and ability to read others we humans possess. It became a 
 joke that even my casual fan wife was in on. As for that show where Troi 
 was an undercover Romulan, Sirtis herself talked about that. Remember the 
 later ep when the Enterprise and a Romulan ship were locked together in a 
 temporal bubble? While exploring the cause of the problem, Troi's 
 character tells Picard about how Romulan ships use a micro singularity as 
 the power source for their engines. Sirtis was thrilled to get that line, 
 because it showed she'd gained knowledge about Romulans from that 
 undercover ep, and it finally allowed her character to show some 
 intelligence and utility aside from distracting--er, helping--cr
 ew members as Ship's Counselor.

 Seven of Nine always bothered me. Jeri Ryan did okay, but she was no 
 better an actor than other characters on the show that ultimately got 
 short shrift, such as Garrett Wang (Kim), Tim Russ (Tuvok), and Robert 
 Beltran (Chakotay). All suffered in the ridiculous focus on Seven. And 
 while I'm a straight guy who doesn't mind seeing the female form, i hate 
 being 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

You *would* think that, especially inside the Beltway.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 05:42:26 -0800 (PST)

 From : Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


actually, i liked both SG-1 and SG-A, but what was funny 2 me was that, every 
planet they went 2 on either show were kool with seeing them.  SG-1 all the 
people knew about the G'ould and in almost every ep of SG-A they knew about the 
Wraith.  the only people who did not know about aliens were the people of 
EARTH!  with the  DoD and the IOA both runnig stuff, someone had 2 know and 
leak SOMETHING!  

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, Martin Baxter  wrote:
From: Martin Baxter 
Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 7:45 AM

LMNAO

Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug of
root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top
that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip,
you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down
immediately afterward, frowning, saying, That the worst-tasting stuff
I've ever had! I'm never trying that again! 

And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the same
result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just
can't get enough of it...




-[ Received Mail Content ]--
 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
creator, dies
 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500
 From : Justin Mohareb 
 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com

I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek. The US
goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
told it's for the best.

Justin

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM, wrote:
 I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on
the
 Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak
scifi
 where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
 around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
 the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going
while
 better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
 watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
 Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That
pulled
 me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
 watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate
for
 a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
 but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.



-- 
Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds


 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Adrianne Brennan]

YES! I was thinking of that EXACT line when I mentioned her, lol.
~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 12:26 PM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.comwrote:

 Oh, yeah, Adrianne. To give you Delenn's best line, as she was facing down
 an EarthAlliance commander, The only man ever to destroy a Minbari ship is
 behind me. *You* are in *front* of me.





 -[ Received Mail Content ]--

  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies

  Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 08:57:26 -0500

  From : Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com

  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


 Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
 Between her and Delenn, I was set :D

 ~ Where love and magic meet ~
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com
 Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
 Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
 Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

  The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam
  Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's
 legendary
  speech in B5.
 
  Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am
  the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your
 sorry
  a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living
  thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.
 
  As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
 
  Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +
 
  From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net
 
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 
  And the other two times?
 
  -- Original message --
  From: Martin Baxter
   A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science
  fiction.
  
   Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  
   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
  
   Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
  
   From : Tracey de Morsella
  
   To :
  
  
   Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew
 it
  to
   hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.
  Sigh…
   .. I know. Sex sells
  
  
  
   From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com]
 On
  Behalf
   Of Martin Baxter
   Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
   To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
   Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
  
  
  
  
   IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
   Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
   Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
   From : Meta
   To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  
   --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella
   wrote:
   
I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on
   Next Gen
with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.
   Too bad
they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much
unexplored potential
   Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for
   the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of
   their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do
   women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few
   glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a
   female following they have.
  
   Meta
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
  
  
  
  
  
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

Had the feeling that I had the quote wrong, so I looked it up. This is it, 
precisely. With the prompt, Negative. We have authority here. Do not force us 
to engage your ship., Delenn replies, Why not? Only one Human captain has 
ever survived battle with a
Minbari fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value
your lives, be somewhere else!

Much better effect, eh?





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 08:57:26 -0500

 From : Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
Between her and Delenn, I was set :D

~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

 The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam
 Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's legendary
 speech in B5.

 Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am
 the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry
 a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living
 thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.

 As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...





 -[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies

 Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +

 From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


 And the other two times?

 -- Original message --
 From: Martin Baxter
  A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science
 fiction.
 
  Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
 
  Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
 
  From : Tracey de Morsella
 
  To :
 
 
  Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew it
 to
  hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.
 Sigh…
  .. I know. Sex sells
 
 
 
  From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On
 Behalf
  Of Martin Baxter
  Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
  To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
 
 
 
 
  IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies
  Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
  From : Meta
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
  --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella
  wrote:
  
   I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on
  Next Gen
   with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.
  Too bad
   they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much
   unexplored potential
  Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for
  the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of
  their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do
  women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few
  glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a
  female following they have.
 
  Meta
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
 
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds




 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

Glad to make you laugh. Apologies for mucking it, though.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 12:34:54 -0500

 From : Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


YES! I was thinking of that EXACT line when I mentioned her, lol.
~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 12:26 PM, Martin Baxter wrote:

 Oh, yeah, Adrianne. To give you Delenn's best line, as she was facing down
 an EarthAlliance commander, The only man ever to destroy a Minbari ship is
 behind me. *You* are in *front* of me.





 -[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
 dies

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 08:57:26 -0500

 From : Adrianne Brennan 

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


 Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
 Between her and Delenn, I was set :D

 ~ Where love and magic meet ~
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com
 Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
 Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
 Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

  The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam
  Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's
 legendary
  speech in B5.
 
  Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am
  the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your
 sorry
  a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living
  thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.
 
  As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
 
  Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +
 
  From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net
 
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 
  And the other two times?
 
  -- Original message --
  From: Martin Baxter
   A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science
  fiction.
  
   Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  
   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
  
   Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
  
   From : Tracey de Morsella
  
   To :
  
  
   Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew
 it
  to
   hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.
  Sigh…
   .. I know. Sex sells
  
  
  
   From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com]
 On
  Behalf
   Of Martin Baxter
   Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
   To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
   Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
  
  
  
  
   IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
   Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
   Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
   From : Meta
   To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  
   --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella
   wrote:
   
I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on
   Next Gen
with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.
   Too bad
they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much
unexplored potential
   Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for
   the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of
   their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do
   women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few
   glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a
   female following they have.
  
   Meta
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
  
  
  
  
  
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.

[Martin Baxter]

Very true.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 05:35:46 -0800 (PST)

 From : Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


Martin,

Geordi was a whole lot cooler once he became Chief Engineer.  you are so right, 
but i really enjoyed the way the expanded on Worf's role once he got 2 DS9.  
the brooding conflict between living with humans, and being a Klingon was in my 
opinion great.  then the dynamic of him and Dax (whom i thought was perfect 4 
him because she understood the Klingon way from her Curzon days), and his 
commanding the Defiant (a warrior with a bladeand the Defiant was one hell 
of a blade too).  it worked because DS9 was by far the darkest of the Trek 
series (and that put it on par with EP5: TESB) and the story lines were so much 
better than the V crap.

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, Martin Baxter  wrote:
From: Martin Baxter 
Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 8:03 AM

Adrianne, Geordi I loved as well, especially when they pulled him away from
being the navigator and made him chief engineer. Worf, I did not and may never
like, because he's Klingon, and I never did like Klingons in the series.
Always wanted to see more of the Romulans, personally, especially when Next Gen
came out.




-[ Received Mail Content ]--
 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 22:59:39 -0500
 From : Adrianne Brennan 
 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com

Why do people always forget poor Worf and Geordi? Not original series, but
still--in the Star Trek universe! I think they were great!
~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 10:57 PM, wrote:

 I'll count it more progress when we can get someone other than Will
Smith
 to lead all the scifi movies! :)

 You're right on about the original Trek, which showed some blacks in a
 positive light. I mean, even though the guy nutted up, they gave us
Richard
 Daystrom, and towering genius whose earlier work was the basis for all
 Federation computer tech. And then there was the commodore in Court
 Martial who was Kirk's superiour, and who was a former starship
captain
 himself. That's a big deal back in the '60s. There was also Mr.
Boma, the
 brother who defied Spock in Galileo Seven, but his
insubordinate character
 irritated me.

 Women of course got short shrift in the OS: Uhura really only got to say
 Hailing frequencies open, Yeoman Rand was used as eye candy,
then
 summarily dumped, and Majel Roddenberry got busted all the way from bridge
 officer to a nurse assisting McCoy. And there's that insulting show
 Turnabout Intruder, where Janice Lester goes bonkers to take
over Kirk's
 body because Starfleet doesn't promote women to be starship captains.
Kirk's
 last line Her life could have been as full as any
woman's... is wild.


 -- Original message --
 From: Augustus Augustus 
  GTW,
 
  u r so right, but u know, i was hoping that since America did elect
 Barack, that
  they (the SciFi world) would at least say, o.k., let's at
least make an
 attempt
  2 recognize that there are Black SciFi fans. look at the big
 blockbuster's of
  late. ID4 with Will Smith. Hancock, with Will Smith. The Matrix
 Trilogy with
  Laurence Fishburn. while i know that in the last
  examplewas a supporting character, still,
there
 are
  Black people who like SciFi. DTESS sucked, except 4 little Mr. Smith.
 Even
  The Spirit has Sam Jackson (love the guy). i think that is one of the
 original
  reasons that i enjoyed the OS of Trek. Uhura. then u had a few
ep's
 with Black
  actors who DID NOT DIE. plus, OS was really one of the first 2
actually
 say
  that Blacks were even alive in the future! but i guess that that is y
u
 say,
  being a Black SciFi fan is not easy.
 
  Fate.
 
  --- On Sun, 1/4/09, gwashin...@aol.com wrote:
  From: gwashin...@aol.com 
  Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
  To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 2:58 PM
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Fate, I feel the same. And it's the reason why I now have a
  love/hate relationship with the whole sci-fi/fantasy/ comic book
gendre.
  Everytime I get into something that makes me feel good about sci-fi
 (namely the
  Coyote, Honor Harrition series) something comes along (like the Dr
Who
 thing) to
  spoil it.
 
 
 
  But no one said being a black sci-fi fan was easy. :)
 
 
 
 
 
  -GTW
 
 
 
  In a message dated 1/4/09 1:50:02 PM, jazzynupe_007@ 

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

[Martin Baxter]

LMNAO!!





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

 Date : Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:45:42 +

 From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


Well slap me silly and call me Susan! I had no clue about this. A werewolf? In 
Wisconsin?? Who knew?
I don't know what'd be worse: if it were an actual werewolf, or a Wendigo. 
Which would eviscerate and consume your innards with the least amount of pain?

Hell, now that I think of it, even if it is only a wolf, or even a wolf-dog, 
if the damn thing can stand on its hind legs and reach up to seven feet doing 
so, I ain't eager to meet it on a country road! 

A werewolf in America's Dairyland. Don't that beat all. Astro mentioned a 
werecow? You sure it's not some kind of mutated milk cow, chewing its cud 
contentedly by day, then morphing into a were beast at night, stalking the 
roads and feeding on human flesh?

 -- Original message --
From: ravenadal 
 I don't know how I missed this thread the first time - as I hail from 
 the great state of Wisconsin - but I found this on IMDB:
 
 Based on actual accounts of werewolf sightings in Walworth County, 
 Wisconsin, the film follows a local sheriff who is finally forced to 
 accept that a string of horrifying deaths is linked to a predator 
 which possesses DNA of both man and wolf. 
 
 I also direct you to the Beast of Bray Road Wikipedia page:
 
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Bray_Road
 
 Man, I tell ya, makes ya proud to be a Wisconsinite!
 
 ~rave!
 
 
 --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, keithbjohn...@... wrote:
 
  So, I'm sitting here on a cold, wet day in the ATL, a little down in 
 the dumps: bemoaning my fate in life, ranting about the evils of Palin 
 and McCain, concerned about the economy. Devastated that the Cowboys-
 -America's Team--suck (as I'm sure we all are). While trying to take 
 a nap, I do some channel surfing and decide to see what's on the SciFi 
 Channel, and what do I find? Some Z-grade movie called The Beast of 
 Bray Street. The plot, as it were, appears to deal with a couple 
 of dudes who are werewolf hunters, who end up fighting a nubile lass 
 who is herself a nasty lycanthrope. The plot doesn't matter, of 
 course, nor does it matter who starred in the film. (Probably unknown 
 actors who'll end up in adult films later on). What got my attention 
 was how incredibly, badly cheesy this film was! I mean, the blood 
 splattering all over the place was fake, the werewolf effect (glowing 
 green eyes) to start reminded me of Michael Jackson's glowing eyes in 
 Thriller, and the final we
  rewolf form was horrible. It was obviously somoene in a bad werewolf 
 costume!! Remember those old Three Stooges or Albert and Costello 
 shows where there'd be a fierce gorilla and it was painfully apparent 
 that it was actually a man in a moldy suit? That's how bad the 
 werewolf lady was done here. It was so bad I laughed my butt off. And 
 of course, in the true tradition of all crappy horror movies, there 
 are contrived moments to draw out the suspense: the gun that works 
 perfectly until the critical moment, the character so incredibly dumb 
 that they can't tell the good guy form the bad, the monster 
 inexplicably taking her time doing the final killing of the final hero 
 so he can scramble for a gun. It was horribly, badly cheesy, and I 
 have to say I loved it! 
  
  And the funniest thing? The end credits of the movie stated This 
 film is dedicated to the great state of Wisconsin. Huh? So it was 
 shot there, but why dedicate a werewolf flick to the state? Does 
 America's Dairyland possess a deep dark secret amidst all those cows 
 and cheese? Wow--werewolf dairy farmers, there's a scary concept!
  
  Martin, I guess some days skiffy is good for something after all.
 
 
 
 
 





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

I'm choking up just thinking about that moment...





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:13:23 +

 From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


Great characters on that show. I really liked Lando, G'Kar, Garibaldi, and the 
Ranger Marcus. Marcus was one of my favs, with his blend of seriousness that 
was overlaying a fundamentally humorous view of the world. Remember the ep when 
he fought a Minbari guy to protect D'lenn and the guy beat him up badly? Later 
the dude realizes that Marcus was actually adhering to the mores of Minbari 
culture more than he was, and visits Marcus in the hospital, thanking him for 
teaching him a lesson. Marcus gasps, The next time you feel the need to learn 
a lesson, could you try to make it not so painful? at which point dude burst 
into laughter. Classic Marcus. Or there's the time when Marcus needs 
information from a roomful of guys, and starts telling them how many of them 
will be conscious after so many minutes if they don't cooperate. Later, he's 
taken out the *whole* room, then exclaims Oh bollocks! Now I have to wait for 
someone to wake up!

His sacrifice for Ivanova was one of the best scenes in the series...


 -- Original message --
From: Adrianne Brennan 
 Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
 Between her and Delenn, I was set :D
 
 ~ Where love and magic meet ~
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com
 Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
 Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
 Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html
 
 
 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:
 
  The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam
  Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's legendary
  speech in B5.
 
  Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am
  the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry
  a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living
  thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.
 
  As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
 
  Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +
 
  From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net
 
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 
  And the other two times?
 
  -- Original message --
  From: Martin Baxter
   A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science
  fiction.
  
   Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  
   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
  
   Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
  
   From : Tracey de Morsella
  
   To :
  
  
   Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew it
  to
   hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.
  Sigh�
   .. I know. Sex sells
  
  
  
   From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On
  Behalf
   Of Martin Baxter
   Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
   To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
   Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
  
  
  
  
   IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
   Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
   Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
   From : Meta
   To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  
   --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella
   wrote:
   
I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on
   Next Gen
with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.
   Too bad
they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much
unexplored potential
   Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for
   the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of
   their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do
   women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few
   glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a
   female following they have.
  
   Meta
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
  
  
  
  
  
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[KeithBJohnson]

That's great! That was another reason I didn't watch SG-1 all that much. The 
need for self-contained stories each week meant they went to planet after 
planet, blundering into all kinds of situations. They'd handle it as they saw 
fit, and often I was thinking WTF? They just gave that planet advance weapons 
tech, now what will they do if they blow themselves up? They would make 
treaties with whomever was convenient, fell governments when needed, radically 
shake up a culture as required, and often seemed oblivious to the potential 
consequences to a whole civilization. I guess that given Earth's own history of 
colonialism and imperialism in places like Africa, I can see how they'd start 
out being cluelessly self-serving. But after time they should have matured more 
to take the long view of their actions.
Atlantis tried to address it with a show recently in which Mitchell was put on 
trial for his peoples' actions in the Pegasus galaxy. I hear the show was in 
response to years' worth of fan complaint about this very lack of 
responsibility by the SG teams. But of course the one show is too little too 
late, and it was a clip show, which I despise, so lost opportunity there


 -- Original message --
From: Justin Mohareb justinmoha...@gmail.com
 I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek.  The US
 goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
 and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
 told it's for the best.
 
 Justin
 
 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote:
  I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on the
  Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi
  where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
  around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
  the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going while
  better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
  watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
  Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That pulled
  me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
  watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate for
  a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
  but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.
 
 
 
 -- 
 Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
 http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com


---BeginMessage---













I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek.  The US
goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
told it's for the best.

Justin

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  KeithBJohnson@comcast.net wrote:
 I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on the
 Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi
 where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
 around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
 the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going while
 better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
 watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
 Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That pulled
 me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
 watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate for
 a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
 but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.


-- 
Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com

  


	
	
	

---End Message---

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[KeithBJohnson]

My problem was the sameness of everything. Since the SG shows are all shot in 
the same place (British Columbia?) all the planets looked exactly the same. 
They all had trees that came straight from the Pacific Northwest, all had the 
same terrain. The aliens on all the planets were the same too: mostly West and 
Northern European, always living in the same cliched villages, with Central 
Casting elders, and primitive costumes right off the racks.  They tried to 
explain this by saying the G'ould had seeded the galaxy with humans, but the 
sameness was just irritating.
 -- Original message --
From: Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com
 actually, i liked both SG-1 and SG-A, but what was funny 2 me was that, every 
 planet they went 2 on either show were kool with seeing them.  SG-1 all the 
 people knew about the G'ould and in almost every ep of SG-A they knew about 
 the 
 Wraith.  the only people who did not know about aliens were the people of 
 EARTH!  
 with the  DoD and the IOA both runnig stuff, someone had 2 know and leak 
 SOMETHING!  
 
 --- On Mon, 1/5/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com wrote:
 From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com
 Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 7:45 AM
 
 LMNAO
 
 Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug of
 root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top
 that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip,
 you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down
 immediately afterward, frowning, saying, That the worst-tasting stuff
 I've ever had! I'm never trying that again! 
 
 And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the 
 same
 result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just
 can't get enough of it...
 
 
 
 
 -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
 creator, dies
  Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500
  From : Justin Mohareb justinmoha...@gmail.com
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek. The US
 goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
 and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
 told it's for the best.
 
 Justin
 
 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  wrote:
  I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on
 the
  Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak
 scifi
  where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
  around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
  the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going
 while
  better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
  watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
  Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That
 pulled
  me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
  watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate
 for
  a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
  but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.
 
 
 
 -- 
 Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
 http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com
 
 
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
   


---BeginMessage---













actually, i liked both SG-1 and SG-A, but what was funny 2 me was that, every planet they went 2 on either show were kool with seeing them. SG-1 all the people knew about the G'ould and in almost every ep of SG-A they knew about the Wraith. the only people who did not know about aliens were the people of EARTH! with the DoD and the IOA both runnig stuff, someone had 2 know and leak SOMETHING! --- On Mon, 1/5/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker013@lycos.com wrote:From: Martin Baxter truthseeker013@lycos.comSubject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, diesTo: scifino...@yahoogroups.comDate: Monday, January 5, 2009, 7:45
 AMLMNAOReminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug ofroot beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy topthat sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip,you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it downimmediately afterward, frowning, saying, "That the worst-tasting stuffI've ever had! I'm never trying that again!" And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the sameresult. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you justcan't get enough of it...-[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[KeithBJohnson]

I hear you!
 -- Original message --
From: Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com
 Keith,
 
 that's why my DVR records them all!  2AM
 
 --- On Mon, 1/5/09, keithbjohn...@comcast.net keithbjohn...@comcast.net 
 wrote:
 From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net keithbjohn...@comcast.net
 Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 11:02 AM
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Great one. I believe he was talking to Garak, the tailor. That 
 ep 
 just aired a few days ago. Since Spike TV unfortunately sees fit to rerun DS9 
 at 
 2 am, I was half asleep, but I clearly remember that scene.
 
 
 
  -- Original message  - -
 
 From: Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ lycos.com
 
  LMNAO!!! !
 
  
 
  Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug 
  of 
 
  root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy 
  top 
 
  that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first 
  sip, 
 
  you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down 
 
  immediately afterward, frowning, saying, That the worst-tasting stuff I've 
 ever 
 
  had! I'm never trying that again! 
 
  
 
  And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the 
 same 
 
  result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you 
  just 
 
  can't get enough of it...
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  
 
   Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, 
 dies
 
  
 
   Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500
 
  
 
   From : Justin Mohareb justinmohareb@ gmail.com
 
  
 
   To : scifino...@yahoogro ups.com
 
  
 
  
 
  I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek. The US
 
  goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
 
  and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
 
  told it's for the best.
 
  
 
  Justin
 
  
 
  On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  wrote:
 
   I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on the
 
   Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi
 
   where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
 
   around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
 
   the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going 
   while
 
   better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
 
   watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
 
   Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That 
   pulled
 
   me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
 
   watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate 
   for
 
   a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
 
   but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  -- 
 
  Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
 
  http://thebitterguy .livejournal. com
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
   

   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
   
   
 
 
   


---BeginMessage---













Keith,that's why my DVR records them all! 2AM--- On Mon, 1/5/09, KeithBJohnson@comcast.net KeithBJohnson@comcast.net wrote:From: KeithBJohnson@comcast.net KeithBJohnson@comcast.netSubject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, diesTo: scifino...@yahoogroups.comDate: Monday, January 5, 2009, 11:02 AM






Great one. I believe he was talking to Garak, the "tailor". That ep just aired a few days ago. Since Spike TV unfortunately sees fit to rerun DS9 at 2 am, I was half asleep, but I clearly remember that scene.

 -- Original message  - -
From: "Martin Baxter" truthseeker013@ lycos.com
 LMNAO!!! !
 
 Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug of 
 root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top 
 that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip, 
 you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down 
 immediately afterward, frowning, saying, "That the worst-tasting stuff I've ever 
 had! I'm never trying that again!" 
 
 And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the same 
 result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just 
 can't get enough of it...
 
 
 
 
 
 -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
 
  Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500
 
  From : "Justin Mohareb" justinmohareb@ gmail.com
 
  To : 

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.

[Augustus Augustus]

Martin,

Geordi was a whole lot cooler once he became Chief Engineer.  you are so right, 
but i really enjoyed the way the expanded on Worf's role once he got 2 DS9.  
the brooding conflict between living with humans, and being a Klingon was in my 
opinion great.  then the dynamic of him and Dax (whom i thought was perfect 4 
him because she understood the Klingon way from her Curzon days), and his 
commanding the Defiant (a warrior with a bladeand the Defiant was one hell 
of a blade too).  it worked because DS9 was by far the darkest of the Trek 
series (and that put it on par with EP5: TESB) and the story lines were so much 
better than the V crap.

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com wrote:
From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com
Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 8:03 AM

Adrianne, Geordi I loved as well, especially when they pulled him away from
being the navigator and made him chief engineer. Worf, I did not and may never
like, because he's Klingon, and I never did like Klingons in the series.
Always wanted to see more of the Romulans, personally, especially when Next Gen
came out.




-[ Received Mail Content ]--
 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 22:59:39 -0500
 From : Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com
 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com

Why do people always forget poor Worf and Geordi? Not original series, but
still--in the Star Trek universe! I think they were great!
~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 10:57 PM,  wrote:

 I'll count it more progress when we can get someone other than Will
Smith
 to lead all the scifi movies! :)

 You're right on about the original Trek, which showed some blacks in a
 positive light. I mean, even though the guy nutted up, they gave us
Richard
 Daystrom, and towering genius whose earlier work was the basis for all
 Federation computer tech. And then there was the commodore in Court
 Martial who was Kirk's superiour, and who was a former starship
captain
 himself. That's a big deal back in the '60s. There was also Mr.
Boma, the
 brother who defied Spock in Galileo Seven, but his
insubordinate character
 irritated me.

 Women of course got short shrift in the OS: Uhura really only got to say
 Hailing frequencies open, Yeoman Rand was used as eye candy,
then
 summarily dumped, and Majel Roddenberry got busted all the way from bridge
 officer to a nurse assisting McCoy. And there's that insulting show
 Turnabout Intruder, where Janice Lester goes bonkers to take
over Kirk's
 body because Starfleet doesn't promote women to be starship captains.
Kirk's
 last line Her life could have been as full as any
woman's... is wild.


 -- Original message --
 From: Augustus Augustus 
  GTW,
 
  u r so right, but u know, i was hoping that since America did elect
 Barack, that
  they (the SciFi world) would at least say, o.k., let's at
least make an
 attempt
  2 recognize that there are Black SciFi fans. look at the big
 blockbuster's of
  late. ID4 with Will Smith. Hancock, with Will Smith. The Matrix
 Trilogy with
  Laurence Fishburn. while i know that in the last
  examplewas a supporting character, still,
there
 are
  Black people who like SciFi. DTESS sucked, except 4 little Mr. Smith.
 Even
  The Spirit has Sam Jackson (love the guy). i think that is one of the
 original
  reasons that i enjoyed the OS of Trek. Uhura. then u had a few
ep's
 with Black
  actors who DID NOT DIE. plus, OS was really one of the first 2
actually
 say
  that Blacks were even alive in the future! but i guess that that is y
u
 say,
  being a Black SciFi fan is not easy.
 
  Fate.
 
  --- On Sun, 1/4/09, gwashin...@aol.com  wrote:
  From: gwashin...@aol.com 
  Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
  To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 2:58 PM
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Fate, I feel the same. And it's the reason why I now have a
  love/hate relationship with the whole sci-fi/fantasy/ comic book
gendre.
  Everytime I get into something that makes me feel good about sci-fi
 (namely the
  Coyote, Honor Harrition series) something comes along (like the Dr
Who
 thing) to
  spoil it.
 
 
 
  But no one said being a black sci-fi fan was easy. :)
 
 
 
 
 
  -GTW
 
 
 
  In a message dated 1/4/09 1:50:02 PM, jazzynupe_007@ yahoo.com
writes:
 
 
 
 
 
  GTW,
 
 
 
  if that is indeed the case, then i will have 2 find other shows then
2
 watch.
  sorry, but being Black, i kind of look 4 shows that at least 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Augustus Augustus]

actually, i liked both SG-1 and SG-A, but what was funny 2 me was that, every 
planet they went 2 on either show were kool with seeing them.  SG-1 all the 
people knew about the G'ould and in almost every ep of SG-A they knew about the 
Wraith.  the only people who did not know about aliens were the people of 
EARTH!  with the  DoD and the IOA both runnig stuff, someone had 2 know and 
leak SOMETHING!  

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com wrote:
From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com
Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 7:45 AM

LMNAO

Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug of
root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top
that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip,
you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down
immediately afterward, frowning, saying, That the worst-tasting stuff
I've ever had! I'm never trying that again! 

And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the same
result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just
can't get enough of it...




-[ Received Mail Content ]--
 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
creator, dies
 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500
 From : Justin Mohareb justinmoha...@gmail.com
 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com

I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek. The US
goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
told it's for the best.

Justin

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  wrote:
 I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on
the
 Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak
scifi
 where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
 around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
 the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going
while
 better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
 watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
 Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That
pulled
 me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
 watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate
for
 a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
 but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.



-- 
Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds


  

Re: [scifinoir2] Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

[Martin Baxter]

LMNAO!





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 14:27:49 -0800 (PST)

 From : Astromancer astromancer2...@yahoo.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


I know this is an old thread, but as I read it, the old spoof song I'm a 
Werecow flashed through my mind...

-See that guy who looks like a cross between Elvis and George Clinton? He is 
Johnny Ross.- From THE SIDE STREET CHRONICLES by C.W. Badie

--- On Fri, 10/24/08, keithbjohn...@comcast.net  wrote:


From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net 
Subject: [scifinoir2] Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, October 24, 2008, 5:32 PM







So, I'm sitting here on a cold, wet day in the ATL, a little down in the dumps: 
bemoaning my fate in life, ranting about the evils of Palin and McCain, 
concerned about the economy.  Devastated that the Cowboys--America' s 
Team--suck (as I'm sure we all are).  While trying to take a nap, I do some 
channel surfing and decide to see what's on the SciFi Channel, and what do I 
find? Some Z-grade movie called The Beast of Bray Street.  The plot, as it 
were, appears to deal with a couple of dudes who are werewolf hunters, who end 
up fighting a nubile lass who is herself a nasty lycanthrope.  The plot doesn't 
matter, of course, nor does it matter who starred in the film. (Probably 
unknown actors who'll end up in adult films later on). What got my attention 
was how incredibly, badly cheesy this film was! I mean, the blood splattering 
all over the place was fake, the werewolf effect (glowing green eyes) to start 
reminded me of Michael Jackson's glowing
 eyes in Th riller, and the final werewolf form was horrible. It was 
obviously somoene in a bad werewolf costume!! Remember those old Three Stooges 
or Albert and Costello shows where there'd be a fierce gorilla and it was 
painfully apparent that it was actually a man in a moldy suit? That's how bad 
the werewolf lady was done here. It was so bad I laughed my butt off. And of 
course, in the true tradition of all crappy horror movies, there are contrived 
moments to draw out the suspense: the gun that works perfectly until the 
critical moment, the character so incredibly dumb that they can't tell the good 
guy form the bad, the monster inexplicably taking her time doing the final 
killing of the final hero so he can scramble for a gun. It was horribly, badly 
cheesy, and I have to say I loved it! 
 
 And the funniest thing? The end credits of the movie stated This film is 
dedicated to the great state of Wisconsin. Huh? So it was shot there, but why 
dedicate a werewolf flick to the state? Does America's Dairyland possess a deep 
dark secret amidst all those cows and cheese?  Wow--werewolf dairy farmers, 
there's a scary concept!
 
Martin, I guess some days skiffy is good for something after all. 














 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

[RE][scifinoir2] Coming: Computer-Generated Actors

[Martin Baxter]

Am I cheering too loudly?





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : [scifinoir2] Coming: Computer-Generated Actors

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 01:05:32 -0800

 From : Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


1 January 2009 1:30 AM, PST

Silicon Valley is on the verge of producing sophisticated software that will
allow motion picture companies to create actors on a computer who are
visually indistinguishable from real people, San Jose's Mercury News
reported today (Thursday). In the words of the newspaper, which closely
follows the sofware industry, when software engineers finally achieve what
it calls the holy grail of animation, stars would be able to keep playing
iconic roles even as they aged past the point of believability like Angelina
Jolie  as Lara Croft or Daniel
Radcliffe  as Harry Potter. Rick
Bergman, general manager of AMD's graphics products group, told the Mercury
News that his company is getting real close to producing
computer-generated actors that will look identical to real human beings.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0639199/




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[KeithBJohnson]

Great characters on that show. I really liked Lando, G'Kar, Garibaldi, and the 
Ranger Marcus. Marcus was one of my favs, with his blend of seriousness that 
was overlaying a fundamentally humorous view of the world. Remember the ep when 
he fought a Minbari guy to protect D'lenn and the guy beat him up badly? Later 
the dude realizes that Marcus was actually adhering to the mores of Minbari 
culture more than he was, and visits Marcus in the hospital, thanking him for 
teaching him a lesson. Marcus gasps, The next time you feel the need to learn 
a lesson, could you try to make it not so painful? at which point dude burst 
into laughter. Classic Marcus. Or there's the time when Marcus needs 
information from a roomful of guys, and starts telling them how many of them 
will be conscious after so many minutes if they don't cooperate. Later, he's 
taken out the *whole* room, then exclaims Oh bollocks! Now I have to wait for 
someone to wake up!

His sacrifice for Ivanova was one of the best scenes in the series...


 -- Original message --
From: Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com
 Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
 Between her and Delenn, I was set :D
 
 ~ Where love and magic meet ~
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com
 Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
 Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
 Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html
 
 
 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.comwrote:
 
  The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam
  Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's legendary
  speech in B5.
 
  Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am
  the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry
  a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living
  thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.
 
  As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
 
   Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +
 
   From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net
 
   To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 
  And the other two times?
 
   -- Original message --
  From: Martin Baxter
   A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science
  fiction.
  
   Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  
   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
  
   Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
  
   From : Tracey de Morsella
  
   To :
  
  
   Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew it
  to
   hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.
  Sigh…
   .. I know. Sex sells
  
  
  
   From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On
  Behalf
   Of Martin Baxter
   Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
   To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
   Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
  
  
  
  
   IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
   Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,
  dies
   Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
   From : Meta
   To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  
   --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de Morsella
   wrote:
   
I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on
   Next Gen
with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.
   Too bad
they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much
unexplored potential
   Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for
   the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of
   their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do
   women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few
   glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a
   female following they have.
  
   Meta
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
  
  
  
  
  
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 
 
 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
 
 


---BeginMessage---













Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.Between her and Delenn, I was set :D~ Where love and magic meet ~http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.htmlTake a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Martin Baxter]

LMNAO

Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug of 
root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top 
that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip, 
you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down 
immediately afterward, frowning, saying, That the worst-tasting stuff I've 
ever had! I'm never trying that again! 

And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the same 
result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just 
can't get enough of it...





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500

 From : Justin Mohareb justinmoha...@gmail.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek. The US
goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
told it's for the best.

Justin

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  wrote:
 I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on the
 Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi
 where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
 around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
 the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going while
 better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
 watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
 Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That pulled
 me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
 watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate for
 a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
 but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.



-- 
Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA

[Martin Baxter]

Thank you!

And yes to your own network.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA

 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 13:47:30 -0800 (PST)

 From : Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


Martin,

u r hilarious my brother, but i did email SciFi about that and i was shocked 
that they REPLIED.  seems a lot of people are rather pissed at them about the 
ending of Atlantis. so i am not as mad at SciFi because it was not their idea 2 
end the series, but it was really MGM's idea (because of the money 
crunchgo figure). but now they treat us (viewers) like we will 
watch anythign that they want 2 put on and just grin and bare what they cancel. 
 need my own network!

--- On Sun, 1/4/09, Martin Baxter  wrote:
From: Martin Baxter 
Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 4:18 PM

Fate, I believe that Keith once posted a statement that R__k Bn had it in
for Avery Brooks in the worst way, even tried to run him off the show by trying
to convince Jonathon Frakes to join the DS9 cast as Tom Riker, but Frakes and
Brooks hit it off big time, and Frakes was too much of a man to blindside him.
Barring that, I figure that Bn crafted the ending of the show to stick it to
Brooks one last time, to say nothing of Paramount's seeming unwillingness to
commit to a DS9 movie to at least sum up that plot line (Sisko's exit
without saying goodbye to Jake, which would've been my fourth time cursing
at my TV, had I not been ill when I finally saw the finale in '05. (The
station that ran DS9 in syndication *really* screwed the pooch, airing the wrong
show three times in a row, if memory serves.))

I doff my hat to you as well, for your inability to subject your computer to
such filth as typing That Word.

As for the Atlantis ending, six words.

This is Skiffy we're talking about.




-[ Received Mail Content ]--
 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA
 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 10:46:05 -0800 (PST)
 From : Augustus Augustus 
 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com

U know Keith, the problem that I have always had with Trek was the awful way
they ended DS9. first in the time travel vain, i really enjoyed the ep with
Tony Todd playing an aged and dying Jake Sisko trying 2 reunite his old friends
and save his father from an incident with the wrap core. it was a really GREAT
ep. but then 2 end the series with Ben being lostno one else ended
like that! Enterpirse ended (and i think too soon) with them signing a pack
with other planets that would morph into the UFP - but in that last season when
they were teasing us with the empire and we got a chance 2 see the Constellation
Class Defiant. i wished they would have followed that a little more. they
could have did the Xindi in the previous season in a half season instead of the
whole season. TNG ends with Picard and crew stopping the rift in 'All Good
Things' and the senior crew sitting around a table playing poker. V (cannot
bring my fingers 2
 type the whole word) ended with them getting back 2 the Alpha Quadrant. But
DS9 is ended with the Emissary lost! that is just so wrong. if i were a
conspiracy theorist i would say that because Ben was black they left him out 2
dry, but i am not going 2 go there. i had looked 4 a DS0 either TV movie,
theatrical release, or a straight 2 DVD movie (much like what they did with
Stargate SG-1) about DS9 to wrap up the series. 
getting off on a tanget right quick if u all do not mind. how can they kill
Stargate Atlantis next week with only a one hour episode as a series finale? 
the preview looks good, but a one hour show?

Dr. Fate.

--- On Sun, 1/4/09, keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote:
From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net 
Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 2:44 AM










 
 Yeah, Wil Wheaton said he had some spoken lines in Nemesis, but
they were cut. I thought it was odd too: how did they reach him in whatever
spacetime he was exploring to say Come to a wedding?



Do you remember the DS9 ep when Worf gets caught up in time travel? It had
something to do with his son Alexander speaking of a future in which Worf is
assassinated, I believe. Doesn't the adult Alexander come back in time to
warn Worf? Whatever, remember there as a comment about Alexander meeting a man
in a bar or something, who said he wanted to help by initiating the time travel.
They never did explain *who* that man was or why he cared. I always assumed it
had to be an adult Wesley Crusher, fully in charge of his spacetime abilities.
But now I wonder if it was Sisko, seeing as his Prophet inheritance gives him
spacetime powers as well...



 -- Original message  - -

From: Augustus Augustus 

 i totally agree with the 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[KeithBJohnson]

Great one. I believe he was talking to Garak, the tailor. That ep just aired 
a few days ago. Since Spike TV unfortunately sees fit to rerun DS9 at 2 am, I 
was half asleep, but I clearly remember that scene.

 -- Original message --
From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com
 LMNAO
 
 Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug 
 of 
 root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top 
 that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip, 
 you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down 
 immediately afterward, frowning, saying, That the worst-tasting stuff I've 
 ever 
 had! I'm never trying that again! 
 
 And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the 
 same 
 result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just 
 can't get enough of it...
 
 
 
 
 
 -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, 
 dies
 
  Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500
 
  From : Justin Mohareb justinmoha...@gmail.com
 
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 
 I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek. The US
 goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
 and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
 told it's for the best.
 
 Justin
 
 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  wrote:
  I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on the
  Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi
  where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
  around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
  the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going while
  better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
  watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
  Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That pulled
  me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
  watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate for
  a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
  but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.
 
 
 
 -- 
 Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
 http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com
 
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds

---BeginMessage---













   LMNAOReminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug of root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip, you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down immediately afterward, frowning, saying, "That the worst-tasting stuff I've ever had! I'm never trying that again!" And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the same result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just can't get enough of it...
-[ Received Mail Content ]--
 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500
 From : "Justin Mohareb" justinmohareb@gmail.com
 To : scifino...@yahoogroups.com

I knew a guy who described Stargate as "Red State Star Trek".  The US
goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
told it's for the best.

Justin

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,   wrote:
 I used to periodically drop a post titled "How does Stargate Stay on the
 Air?" , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi
 where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
 around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
 the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going while
 better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
 watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
 Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That pulled
 me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
 watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate for
 a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
 but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.



-- 
Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds



  


	
	
	

---End Message---

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Justin Mohareb]

I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek.  The US
goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,
and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're
told it's for the best.

Justin

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote:
 I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on the
 Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi
 where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped
 around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like
 the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going while
 better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me
 watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the
 Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That pulled
 me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me
 watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate for
 a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,
 but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.



-- 
Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.
http://thebitterguy.livejournal.com

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[KeithBJohnson]

I agree. I thought Jennifer Lien as Kes was great. Kes had a calmness, a 
solidity to her, that I found appealing. I only hated the way she was paired 
with Neelix, but fortunately the were broken up. Kes's relationship with Tuvok 
was good, especially as it allowed us to learn more about both Kes's burgeoning 
powers, as well as Tuvok's own Vulcan mental powers and disciplines. It was a 
great potential storyline: a master teaching a student who was basically 
already surpassing him, but with none of his control and discipline. 

I read that Lien herself wanted to leave Voyager, not that she was fired. Too 
bad, cause the way they wrote her out was horrible,and then when they brought 
her back in another time travel story, the fact that she was murderous just 
didn't work.

So, Martin, does that mean there are whole seasons of Voyager you still haven't 
seen?
 -- Original message --
From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com
 Dax, I have to disagree about Shark-of-Nine being better than Kes. Both 
 characters had potential to be strong female role models, but the Killer Bees 
 underused Kes and made Shark-of-Nine Eye Candy First Class. The show lost me 
 because of her final introduction. They could've put her in a neo-Starfleet 
 uni 
 and left some of her implants intact, to demonstrate that she was 
 symbolically 
 beginning the journey from dronedom to humanity. Instead, they do a lingering 
 shot of her in a catsuit and three-inch heels. That told me that they weren't 
 after my brain, but the head I keep in my boxers. I stopped watching the show 
 that night, picked it up only at the final episode (that *only* because I'd 
 had 
 an Internet rumor that Paramount was planning to shift their big-screen 
 franchise from TNG to V_r).
 
 
 
 
 
 -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, 
 dies
 
  Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 16:44:55 -0500
 
  From : Dax nx_31...@yahoo.com
 
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 
 I always thought that they focused too much on Seven. However you have to 
 admit she was better then Kess. Which to me caused many of the stores to 
 drag. Another good episode was The Year of Hell. It was the only one that 
 made the point very clear that they were really alone, no Starfleet, no help 
 at all. The only one that would or you could say that Janeway was Rambo to 
 the bitter end.
 
 As far as Captain Janeway knowing about the crewmen that were just getting 
 by--I don't recall any shows in Star Trek that had the captain spending time 
 with crewmen that were not part of the Senior Staff. I have always thought 
 it was up to the First Officer or the respective department heads that then 
 would tell the First Officer. Which then like Barkley would just simply been 
 traded out or go to Troi for a quick fix. Well if you want you can count 
 Kirk who was with a different female every week.
 
 My only regret or the only thing that bothered me was the fact that the Borg 
 was not really a threat to them as it was to the TNG series. In the TNG 
 series you mention the Borg and you have the whole Alpha Quadrant up in arms 
 trying to figure out what to do. I mean if you compare the two ships Voyager 
 does not have any special weapons. Even though it is stated as being a 
 powerful ship in the fleet. Lets not forget the folding nacelle. Also to 
 make matters worse, they did not have a full complement of photon torpedoes. 
 However somehow with the help of Seven, they always managed to outwit the 
 Queen. Either she is getting too old or really don't want them as bad as she 
 always claim she does.
 --Lavender
 If you don't like vanilla, try some chocolate.
 
 --
 From: 
 Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 2:32 AM
 To: 
 Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, 
 dies
 
  Good point on the women behind Trek. And there are the creative forces 
  behind the scenes that shepherded the franchise, such as D.C. Fontana, 
  Melinda Snodgrass (the story runner for a while on TNG), and of course, 
  Majel Roddenberry herself. I only threw in Star Wars to be polite, because 
  I know it does have a massive following. But personally I never put it in 
  the same category of serious scif as Trek, B5, and Farscape. Some of the 
  books and fan fiction deal with it in mature, intelligent ways, but the 
  movies--with the exception of The Empire Strikes Back--are just too 
  Saturday morning for me to discuss much in the same breath with Trek.
 
  As for Troi's character, Mirina Sirtis herself was constantly frustrated 
  at Troi's rather vacuous portrayal, especially, the much joked about 
  Someone is planning something Captain, but I can't say who or what usage 
  of her empathic powers. Usually, Troi's empathy was no more helpful than 
  the common sense and ability to read others we humans possess. It became 

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

[KeithBJohnson]

Well slap me silly and call me Susan!  I had no clue about this. A werewolf? In 
Wisconsin?? Who knew?
I don't know what'd be worse: if it were an actual werewolf, or a Wendigo. 
Which would eviscerate and consume your innards with the least amount of pain?

Hell, now that I think of it, even if it is only a wolf, or even a wolf-dog, 
if the damn thing can stand on its hind legs and reach up to seven feet doing 
so, I ain't eager to meet it on a country road! 

A werewolf in America's Dairyland. Don't that beat all. Astro mentioned a 
werecow? You sure it's not some kind of mutated milk cow, chewing its cud 
contentedly by day, then morphing into a were beast at night, stalking the 
roads and feeding on human flesh?

 -- Original message --
From: ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com
 I don't know how I missed this thread the first time - as I hail from 
 the great state of Wisconsin - but I found this on IMDB:
 
 Based on actual accounts of werewolf sightings in Walworth County, 
 Wisconsin, the film follows a local sheriff who is finally forced to 
 accept that a string of horrifying deaths is linked to a predator 
 which possesses DNA of both man and wolf. 
 
 I also direct you to the Beast of Bray Road Wikipedia page:
 
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Bray_Road
 
 Man, I tell ya, makes ya proud to be a Wisconsinite!
 
 ~rave!
 
 
 --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, keithbjohn...@... wrote:
 
  So, I'm sitting here on a cold, wet day in the ATL, a little down in 
 the dumps: bemoaning my fate in life, ranting about the evils of Palin 
 and McCain, concerned about the economy.  Devastated that the Cowboys-
 -America's Team--suck (as I'm sure we all are).  While trying to take 
 a nap, I do some channel surfing and decide to see what's on the SciFi 
 Channel, and what do I find? Some Z-grade movie called The Beast of 
 Bray Street.  The plot, as it were, appears to deal with a couple 
 of dudes who are werewolf hunters, who end up fighting a nubile lass 
 who is herself a nasty lycanthrope.  The plot doesn't matter, of 
 course, nor does it matter who starred in the film. (Probably unknown 
 actors who'll end up in adult films later on). What got my attention 
 was how incredibly, badly cheesy this film was! I mean, the blood 
 splattering all over the place was fake, the werewolf effect (glowing 
 green eyes) to start reminded me of Michael Jackson's glowing eyes in 
 Thriller, and the final we
  rewolf form was horrible. It was obviously somoene in a bad werewolf 
 costume!! Remember those old Three Stooges or Albert and Costello 
 shows where there'd be a fierce gorilla and it was painfully apparent 
 that it was actually a man in a moldy suit? That's how bad the 
 werewolf lady was done here. It was so bad I laughed my butt off. And 
 of course, in the true tradition of all crappy horror movies, there 
 are contrived moments to draw out the suspense: the gun that works 
 perfectly until the critical moment, the character so incredibly dumb 
 that they can't tell the good guy form the bad, the monster 
 inexplicably taking her time doing the final killing of the final hero 
 so he can scramble for a gun. It was horribly, badly cheesy, and I 
 have to say I loved it! 
  
   And the funniest thing? The end credits of the movie stated This 
 film is dedicated to the great state of Wisconsin. Huh? So it was 
 shot there, but why dedicate a werewolf flick to the state? Does 
 America's Dairyland possess a deep dark secret amidst all those cows 
 and cheese?  Wow--werewolf dairy farmers, there's a scary concept!
  
  Martin, I guess some days skiffy is good for something after all.
 
 
 
 
 


---BeginMessage---













I don't know how I missed this thread the first time - as I hail from 
the great state of Wisconsin - but I found this on IMDB:

Based on actual accounts of werewolf sightings in Walworth County, 
Wisconsin, the film follows a local sheriff who is finally forced to 
accept that a string of horrifying deaths is linked to a predator 
which possesses DNA of both man and wolf. 

I also direct you to the Beast of Bray Road Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Bray_Road

Man, I tell ya, makes ya proud to be a Wisconsinite!

~rave!

--- In scifino...@yahoogroups.com, KeithBJohnson@... wrote:

 So, I'm sitting here on a cold, wet day in the ATL, a little down in 
the dumps: bemoaning my fate in life, ranting about the evils of Palin 
and McCain, concerned about the economy.  Devastated that the Cowboys-
-America's Team--suck (as I'm sure we all are).  While trying to take 
a nap, I do some channel surfing and decide to see what's on the SciFi 
Channel, and what do I find? Some Z-grade movie called The Beast of 
Bray Street.  The plot, as it were, appears to deal with a couple 
of dudes who are werewolf hunters, who end up fighting a nubile lass 
who is herself a nasty lycanthrope.  The plot doesn't matter, of 
course, nor does it 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Augustus Augustus]

Keith,

that's why my DVR records them all!  2AM

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, keithbjohn...@comcast.net keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote:
From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net keithbjohn...@comcast.net
Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 11:02 AM











Great one. I believe he was talking to Garak, the tailor. That ep 
just aired a few days ago. Since Spike TV unfortunately sees fit to rerun DS9 
at 2 am, I was half asleep, but I clearly remember that scene.



 -- Original message  - -

From: Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ lycos.com

 LMNAO!!! !

 

 Reminds me of DS9, the ep in which Quark analogizes the Federation to a mug 
 of 

 root beer, being this tall, cold glass of dark stuff with a white, fuzzy top 

 that sprays bubbles up your nose when you move to drink it. At the first sip, 

 you realize how cloyingly, sickeningly sweet it is, and you put it down 

 immediately afterward, frowning, saying, That the worst-tasting stuff I've 
 ever 

 had! I'm never trying that again! 

 

 And, a minute or so later, you find yourself sipping at it again, with the 
 same 

 result. You realize that those it is cloying and sickeningly sweet, you just 

 can't get enough of it...

 

 

 

 

 

 -[ Received Mail Content ]--

 

  Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, 
 dies

 

  Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 06:34:23 -0500

 

  From : Justin Mohareb justinmohareb@ gmail.com

 

  To : scifino...@yahoogro ups.com

 

 

 I knew a guy who described Stargate as Red State Star Trek. The US

 goes into various planets and overthrows the local governing bodies,

 and leaves, and we never see what happens in their wake, but we're

 told it's for the best.

 

 Justin

 

 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:58 PM,  wrote:

  I used to periodically drop a post titled How does Stargate Stay on the

  Air? , so I get your feelings. For years I thought SG-1 was weak scifi

  where all the planets and villages looked alike, and the SG-1 team stomped

  around the galaxy wrecking havoc with nothing approaching a framework like

  the Prime Directive to guide them. I used to lament how it keep going while

  better scifi and spec fiction shows were canceled. I think what got me

  watching SG-1 was the introduction of Ben Browder and Claudia Black, the

  Farscape vets, and the final resolution of the G'ould storyline. That pulled

  me in, and the interplay among the new members of the team kept me

  watching--that, and the demise of so many scifi shows made me desperate for

  a fix on Friday nights! :) The last couple of seasons are worth watching,

  but honestly most of what came before is not must-see TV.

 

 

 

 -- 

 Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy.

 http://thebitterguy .livejournal. com

 

 

 

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=JQdwk8Yntds




  




 

















  

Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA

[Martin Baxter]

Keith, Atlantis is supposed to have a couple of movies in the pipe.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA

 Date : Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:46:44 +

 From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


A lot of DS9 were extremely displeased with how the series ended. Especially 
troubling was having this black man basically run out on his newly pregnant 
wife with some flip line about I may be back tomorrow or yesterday (or 
something like that). I thought Sisko was way too sanguine about leaving Jake 
and Cassidy behind. He showed no great sadness that I'd expect. Okay, so like 
Wesley Crusher he's off to get time-travel training, but damn! That ending 
*demands* a later followup, with Sisko coming back and being with his family!

The Enterprise ending just plain sucked. It was weak and a waste of writing. 
It was so obvious that Bamp;B were sick of everything and thumbing their noses 
at Paramount. One problem I believe in that ending was that Bamp;B once again 
went to the time travel well. I've never seen anyone in scifi so tied to a 
theme: they made time travel an integral part of the beginning or finale of 
every one of the Trek series. They used time travel over and over again in the 
series, which in my opinion weakened the concept in the main.

As for Stargate Atlantis, I'm not sure why SciFi decided to end it so 
precipitously, without even a good story arc to take it out. They also ended 
SG-1 in a crappy fashion, with a really awful final show. But SG-1 wrapped up 
the Ori storyline on DVD. I wonder if Atlantis will get a couple of followup 
treatments to tie up some things?


 -- Original message --
From: Augustus Augustus 
 U know Keith, the problem that I have always had with Trek was the awful way 
 they ended DS9.� first in the time travel vain, i really enjoyed the ep with 
 Tony Todd playing an aged and dying Jake Sisko trying 2 reunite his old 
 friends 
 and save his father from an incident with the wrap core.� it was a really 
 GREAT 
 ep.� but then 2 end the series with Ben being lostno one else 
 ended 
 like that!� Enterpirse ended (and i think too soon) with them signing a pack 
 with other planets that would morph into the UFP - but in that last season 
 when 
 they were teasing us with the empire and we got a chance 2 see the 
 Constellation 
 Class Defiant.� i wished they would have followed that a little more.� they 
 could have did the Xindi in the previous season in a half season instead of 
 the 
 whole season.� TNG ends with Picard and crew stopping the rift in 'All Good 
 Things' and the senior crew sitting around a table playing poker.� V (cannot 
 bring my fingers 2
 type the whole word) ended with them getting back 2 the Alpha Quadrant.� But 
 DS9 is ended with the Emissary lost!� that is just so wrong.� if i were a 
 conspiracy theorist i would say that because Ben was black they left him out 
 2 
 dry, but i am not going 2 go there.� i had looked 4 a DS0 either TV movie, 
 theatrical release, or a straight 2 DVD movie (much like what they did with 
 Stargate SG-1) about DS9 to wrap up the series.� 
 getting off on a tanget right quick if u all do not mind.� how can they kill 
 Stargate Atlantis next week with only a one hour episode as a series finale?� 
 the preview looks good, but a one hour show?
 
 Dr. Fate.
 
 --- On Sun, 1/4/09, keithbjohn...@comcast.net  wrote:
 From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net 
 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: Intro Lavender, Milledgeville, GA
 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 2:44 AM
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Yeah, Wil Wheaton said he had some spoken lines in Nemesis, but 
 they were cut. I thought it was odd too: how did they reach him in whatever 
 spacetime he was exploring to say Come to a wedding?
 
 
 
 Do you remember the DS9 ep when Worf gets caught up in time travel? It had 
 something to do with his son Alexander speaking of a future in which Worf is 
 assassinated, I believe. Doesn't the adult Alexander come back in time to 
 warn 
 Worf? Whatever, remember there as a comment about Alexander meeting a man in 
 a 
 bar or something, who said he wanted to help by initiating the time travel. 
 They 
 never did explain *who* that man was or why he cared. I always assumed it had 
 to 
 be an adult Wesley Crusher, fully in charge of his spacetime abilities. But 
 now 
 I wonder if it was Sisko, seeing as his Prophet inheritance gives him 
 spacetime 
 powers as well...
 
 
 
  -- Original message  - -
 
 From: Augustus Augustus 
 
  i totally agree with the assessment of young mr. crusher.� genius he may 
  be, 
 but 
 
  even being a genius has 2 give away sometimes with experience and 
  training.� 
 the 
 
  ep where he got his field promotion 2 ensign?� riker and troi's mom (the 
  late 
 
  great majel) are kidnapped by the ferengi and it 

[scifinoir2] Re: Sometimes SciFi Movies Do Serve a Purpose

[ravenadal]

I don't know how I missed this thread the first time - as I hail from 
the great state of Wisconsin - but I found this on IMDB:

Based on actual accounts of werewolf sightings in Walworth County, 
Wisconsin, the film follows a local sheriff who is finally forced to 
accept that a string of horrifying deaths is linked to a predator 
which possesses DNA of both man and wolf. 

I also direct you to the Beast of Bray Road Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Bray_Road

Man, I tell ya, makes ya proud to be a Wisconsinite!

~rave!


--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, keithbjohn...@... wrote:

 So, I'm sitting here on a cold, wet day in the ATL, a little down in 
the dumps: bemoaning my fate in life, ranting about the evils of Palin 
and McCain, concerned about the economy.  Devastated that the Cowboys-
-America's Team--suck (as I'm sure we all are).  While trying to take 
a nap, I do some channel surfing and decide to see what's on the SciFi 
Channel, and what do I find? Some Z-grade movie called The Beast of 
Bray Street.  The plot, as it were, appears to deal with a couple 
of dudes who are werewolf hunters, who end up fighting a nubile lass 
who is herself a nasty lycanthrope.  The plot doesn't matter, of 
course, nor does it matter who starred in the film. (Probably unknown 
actors who'll end up in adult films later on). What got my attention 
was how incredibly, badly cheesy this film was! I mean, the blood 
splattering all over the place was fake, the werewolf effect (glowing 
green eyes) to start reminded me of Michael Jackson's glowing eyes in 
Thriller, and the final we
 rewolf form was horrible. It was obviously somoene in a bad werewolf 
costume!! Remember those old Three Stooges or Albert and Costello 
shows where there'd be a fierce gorilla and it was painfully apparent 
that it was actually a man in a moldy suit? That's how bad the 
werewolf lady was done here. It was so bad I laughed my butt off. And 
of course, in the true tradition of all crappy horror movies, there 
are contrived moments to draw out the suspense: the gun that works 
perfectly until the critical moment, the character so incredibly dumb 
that they can't tell the good guy form the bad, the monster 
inexplicably taking her time doing the final killing of the final hero 
so he can scramble for a gun. It was horribly, badly cheesy, and I 
have to say I loved it! 
 
  And the funniest thing? The end credits of the movie stated This 
film is dedicated to the great state of Wisconsin. Huh? So it was 
shot there, but why dedicate a werewolf flick to the state? Does 
America's Dairyland possess a deep dark secret amidst all those cows 
and cheese?  Wow--werewolf dairy farmers, there's a scary concept!
 
 Martin, I guess some days skiffy is good for something after all.

Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.

[Martin Baxter]

Adrianne, Geordi I loved as well, especially when they pulled him away from 
being the navigator and made him chief engineer. Worf, I did not and may never 
like, because he's Klingon, and I never did like Klingons in the series. Always 
wanted to see more of the Romulans, personally, especially when Next Gen came 
out.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.

 Date : Sun, 4 Jan 2009 22:59:39 -0500

 From : Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


Why do people always forget poor Worf and Geordi? Not original series, but
still--in the Star Trek universe! I think they were great!
~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 10:57 PM,  wrote:

 I'll count it more progress when we can get someone other than Will Smith
 to lead all the scifi movies! :)

 You're right on about the original Trek, which showed some blacks in a
 positive light. I mean, even though the guy nutted up, they gave us Richard
 Daystrom, and towering genius whose earlier work was the basis for all
 Federation computer tech. And then there was the commodore in Court
 Martial who was Kirk's superiour, and who was a former starship captain
 himself. That's a big deal back in the '60s. There was also Mr. Boma, the
 brother who defied Spock in Galileo Seven, but his insubordinate character
 irritated me.

 Women of course got short shrift in the OS: Uhura really only got to say
 Hailing frequencies open, Yeoman Rand was used as eye candy, then
 summarily dumped, and Majel Roddenberry got busted all the way from bridge
 officer to a nurse assisting McCoy. And there's that insulting show
 Turnabout Intruder, where Janice Lester goes bonkers to take over Kirk's
 body because Starfleet doesn't promote women to be starship captains. Kirk's
 last line Her life could have been as full as any woman's... is wild.


 -- Original message --
 From: Augustus Augustus 
  GTW,
 
  u r so right, but u know, i was hoping that since America did elect
 Barack, that
  they (the SciFi world) would at least say, o.k., let's at least make an
 attempt
  2 recognize that there are Black SciFi fans. look at the big
 blockbuster's of
  late. ID4 with Will Smith. Hancock, with Will Smith. The Matrix
 Trilogy with
  Laurence Fishburn. while i know that in the last
  examplewas a supporting character, still, there
 are
  Black people who like SciFi. DTESS sucked, except 4 little Mr. Smith.
 Even
  The Spirit has Sam Jackson (love the guy). i think that is one of the
 original
  reasons that i enjoyed the OS of Trek. Uhura. then u had a few ep's
 with Black
  actors who DID NOT DIE. plus, OS was really one of the first 2 actually
 say
  that Blacks were even alive in the future! but i guess that that is y u
 say,
  being a Black SciFi fan is not easy.
 
  Fate.
 
  --- On Sun, 1/4/09, gwashin...@aol.com  wrote:
  From: gwashin...@aol.com 
  Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
  To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 2:58 PM
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Fate, I feel the same. And it's the reason why I now have a
  love/hate relationship with the whole sci-fi/fantasy/ comic book gendre.
  Everytime I get into something that makes me feel good about sci-fi
 (namely the
  Coyote, Honor Harrition series) something comes along (like the Dr Who
 thing) to
  spoil it.
 
 
 
  But no one said being a black sci-fi fan was easy. :)
 
 
 
 
 
  -GTW
 
 
 
  In a message dated 1/4/09 1:50:02 PM, jazzynupe_007@ yahoo.com writes:
 
 
 
 
 
  GTW,
 
 
 
  if that is indeed the case, then i will have 2 find other shows then 2
 watch.
  sorry, but being Black, i kind of look 4 shows that at least have someone
 who
  resembles me some kind of way.
 
 
 
  Fate.
 
 
 
  --- On Sun, 1/4/09, gwashin...@aol. com  wrote:
 
 
 
  From: gwashin...@aol. com 
 
  Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: New Doctor has been announced.
 
  To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com
 
  Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 12:28 AM
 
 
 
 
 
  Actually. From what I've heard they all but edited her out of the new
 season of
  Torchwood. And you won't see her again soon in any new episodes of Dr
 Who (past
  those now shown on BBC america) either. Sorry
 
 
 
 
 
  -GTW
 
 
 
  In a message dated 1/3/09 9:57:00 PM, jazzynupe_007@ yahoo.com writes:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  AB,
 
 
 
  come on now, lay off my guy Capt. Jack! waiting on the new season with
 Martha
  Jones.
 
 
 
  Fate.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   **
  Stay up-to-date on the latest news - from fashion trends to celebrity
 break-ups
  and 

[scifinoir2] Fasten Your Seatbelts: We could be headed for a great adventure. Or apocalypse.

[brent wodehouse]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/02/AR2009010202211.html

Fasten Your Seatbelts

We could be headed for a great adventure. Or apocalypse. Either way, we're
in for a wild ride.

By Annalee Newitz

Sunday, January 4, 2009; Page B01


When the present promises only economic hardship and political upheaval,
what does the future look like?

In 2009, it looks like a world of gleaming spaceships filled with
enlightened people who have emerged with their humanity intact after a
terrible war. They have entered the 23rd century, shed racism, no longer
use money, possess seemingly magical technologies and are devoted to
peaceful exploration. I refer of course to Star Trek
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Star+Trek?tid=informline
] and its powerful story of a better tomorrow, which has been mesmerizing
audiences for almost half a century and returns to movie theaters this
coming May with an eagerly anticipated 11th full-length feature.

But wait. The future also looks like this: a dark, violent world where a
horrific war between humans and cyborgs leads to the near-extermination of
humanity. This vision, in the latest Terminator movie, is also arriving
at your nearest mutiplex in May.

We imagine the future in places other than the movie theater, of course.
Still, these two familiar franchises underscore the conflicting stories we
tell ourselves in uncertain times about what lies ahead: Either we're
bound for a techno-utopia of adventure, or a grim, Orwellian dystopia
where humanity is on the brink of implosion.

We've seen this dichotomy before. Nearly a century ago, Europe was headed
toward war on an unprecedented scale. Traditional alliances evaporated,
shocking new weapons ripped apart bodies and countries, and a generation
of artists such as Picasso
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Pablo+Picasso?tid=informline
] responded with paintings that showed reality reduced to unsettling,
jagged abstraction.

Meanwhile, a pulp writer from Chicago named Edgar Rice Burroughs was
concocting stories about a soldier who wakes up one morning in a
miraculous, futuristic world full of lost cities, advanced technologies
and little green men.

A Princess of Mars, serialized in 1912, was the first in a long line of
swashbuckling adventure tales Burroughs wrote about his hero, John Carter
[http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/c001051],
sword-fighting and ray-gunning his way across Barsoom -- the natives' name
for Mars. Carter and his new Barsoomian companions fought wars like the
one the United States itself would soon be fighting. But they were
winnable wars, against comprehensible, easy-to-vanquish alien enemies.

Burroughs, who also went on to publish the Tarzan novels, supplied
escapist fantasies of the future to a public weary of the grim, terrifying
present. It's clear that hard times make audiences yearn for fantastical
tales of a better tomorrow. During the paranoid heights of the Cold War,
they thronged movie theaters to see Leslie Nielsen
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Leslie+Nielsen?tid=informline]
conquer the alien technology of Forbidden Planet. But in between the
escapist fantasies of tomorrow, audiences also tuned in to grim tales of
techno-fascist futures such as Brave New World and 1984.

The best example of our polarized dreams of tomorrow came during the Great
Depression. During this period, Americans couldn't get enough of Buck
Rogers, a 20th-century soldier who falls into a coma and miraculously
awakes in the 25th century. The story of his adventures, originally
published as two novellas, became a long-running radio and movie serial
and a newspaper comic strip that ran through most of the 1930s.

Like John Carter on Barsoom, Buck and his comrades are fighting a war --
in this case, against the Mongols. But war isn't hell; it's a backdrop for
awesome adventures and astonishing inventions. Later, the Flash Gordon
comics and radio show competed with Buck Rogers for audiences craving
escapism. Flash found himself on the Barsoom-esque planet Mongo, fighting
the Han and swashbuckling his way through weird places filled with
strange natives and sexy queens.

But while Buck and Flash crossed swords on the radio, a very different
idea of the future was being prophesied by British writer Aldous Huxley,
who published Brave New World in 1932. The novel takes place in a 26th
century where strife has been eliminated by means of state-controlled
eugenics, mental conditioning, drugs and various technological niceties.
Like a Buck Rogers in reverse, our hero Bernard finds himself alienated
from the urban world of perfect plenty and promiscuity and repulsed by the
savage reservations where unmodified humans live. In Brave New World,
Buck's shiny future is revealed as an insidious, high-tech fascism.

The basic question raised by Buck Rogers and Brave New World is whether
humans would be more prosperous in the far future than in the 1930s. 

[RE][scifinoir2] Fasten Your Seatbelts: We could be headed for a great adventure. Or apocalypse.

[Martin Baxter]

H...

Bright, silver spaceships allowing us to zip across the Cosmos, seekign fun and 
adventure, or endless mayhem and devastation...

I'm torn. Is that wrong?

Seriously, Brent, another great article posted. Thanks.





-[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : [scifinoir2] Fasten Your Seatbelts: We could be headed for a great 
adventure. Or apocalypse.

 Date : Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:57:20 -0500

 From : brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/02/AR2009010202211.html

Fasten Your Seatbelts

We could be headed for a great adventure. Or apocalypse. Either way, we're
in for a wild ride.

By Annalee Newitz

Sunday, January 4, 2009; Page B01


When the present promises only economic hardship and political upheaval,
what does the future look like?

In 2009, it looks like a world of gleaming spaceships filled with
enlightened people who have emerged with their humanity intact after a
terrible war. They have entered the 23rd century, shed racism, no longer
use money, possess seemingly magical technologies and are devoted to
peaceful exploration. I refer of course to Star Trek
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Star+Trek?tid=informline
] and its powerful story of a better tomorrow, which has been mesmerizing
audiences for almost half a century and returns to movie theaters this
coming May with an eagerly anticipated 11th full-length feature.

But wait. The future also looks like this: a dark, violent world where a
horrific war between humans and cyborgs leads to the near-extermination of
humanity. This vision, in the latest Terminator movie, is also arriving
at your nearest mutiplex in May.

We imagine the future in places other than the movie theater, of course.
Still, these two familiar franchises underscore the conflicting stories we
tell ourselves in uncertain times about what lies ahead: Either we're
bound for a techno-utopia of adventure, or a grim, Orwellian dystopia
where humanity is on the brink of implosion.

We've seen this dichotomy before. Nearly a century ago, Europe was headed
toward war on an unprecedented scale. Traditional alliances evaporated,
shocking new weapons ripped apart bodies and countries, and a generation
of artists such as Picasso
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Pablo+Picasso?tid=informline
] responded with paintings that showed reality reduced to unsettling,
jagged abstraction.

Meanwhile, a pulp writer from Chicago named Edgar Rice Burroughs was
concocting stories about a soldier who wakes up one morning in a
miraculous, futuristic world full of lost cities, advanced technologies
and little green men.

A Princess of Mars, serialized in 1912, was the first in a long line of
swashbuckling adventure tales Burroughs wrote about his hero, John Carter
[http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/c001051],
sword-fighting and ray-gunning his way across Barsoom -- the natives' name
for Mars. Carter and his new Barsoomian companions fought wars like the
one the United States itself would soon be fighting. But they were
winnable wars, against comprehensible, easy-to-vanquish alien enemies.

Burroughs, who also went on to publish the Tarzan novels, supplied
escapist fantasies of the future to a public weary of the grim, terrifying
present. It's clear that hard times make audiences yearn for fantastical
tales of a better tomorrow. During the paranoid heights of the Cold War,
they thronged movie theaters to see Leslie Nielsen
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Leslie+Nielsen?tid=informline]
conquer the alien technology of Forbidden Planet. But in between the
escapist fantasies of tomorrow, audiences also tuned in to grim tales of
techno-fascist futures such as Brave New World and 1984.

The best example of our polarized dreams of tomorrow came during the Great
Depression. During this period, Americans couldn't get enough of Buck
Rogers, a 20th-century soldier who falls into a coma and miraculously
awakes in the 25th century. The story of his adventures, originally
published as two novellas, became a long-running radio and movie serial
and a newspaper comic strip that ran through most of the 1930s.

Like John Carter on Barsoom, Buck and his comrades are fighting a war --
in this case, against the Mongols. But war isn't hell; it's a backdrop for
awesome adventures and astonishing inventions. Later, the Flash Gordon
comics and radio show competed with Buck Rogers for audiences craving
escapism. Flash found himself on the Barsoom-esque planet Mongo, fighting
the Han and swashbuckling his way through weird places filled with
strange natives and sexy queens.

But while Buck and Flash crossed swords on the radio, a very different
idea of the future was being prophesied by British writer Aldous Huxley,
who published Brave New World in 1932. The novel takes place in a 26th
century where strife has been eliminated by means of 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Augustus Augustus]

AMEN

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, keithbjohn...@comcast.net keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote:
From: keithbjohn...@comcast.net keithbjohn...@comcast.net
Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 11:13 AM











Great characters on that show. I really liked Lando, G'Kar, 
Garibaldi, and the Ranger Marcus. Marcus was one of my favs, with his blend of 
seriousness that was overlaying a fundamentally humorous view of the world. 
Remember the ep when he fought a Minbari guy to protect D'lenn and the guy beat 
him up badly? Later the dude realizes that Marcus was actually adhering to the 
mores of Minbari culture more than he was, and visits Marcus in the hospital, 
thanking him for teaching him a lesson. Marcus gasps, The next time you feel 
the need to learn a lesson, could you try to make it not so painful? at which 
point dude burst into laughter. Classic Marcus. Or there's the time when Marcus 
needs information from a roomful of guys, and starts telling them how many of 
them will be conscious after so many minutes if they don't cooperate. Later, 
he's taken out the *whole* room, then exclaims Oh bollocks! Now I have to wait 
for someone to wake up!



His sacrifice for Ivanova was one of the best scenes in the series...



 -- Original message  - -

From: Adrianne Brennan adrianne.brennan@ gmail.com

 Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.

 Between her and Delenn, I was set :D

 

 ~ Where love and magic meet ~

 http://www.adrianne brennan.com

 Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:

 http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ botdm.html

 Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:

 http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ bamc.html

 Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:

 http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ theoath_bound. html

 

 

 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ 
 lycos.comwrote:

 

  The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot said, Dr Sam

  Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan Ivanova's legendary

  speech in B5.

 

  Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am

  the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry

  a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living

  thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.

 

  As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...

 

 

 

 

 

  -[ Received Mail Content ]--

 

   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,

  dies

 

   Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +

 

   From : KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net

 

   To : scifino...@yahoogro ups.com

 

 

  And the other two times?

 

    -- Original message  - -

  From: Martin Baxter

   A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of science

  fiction.

  

   Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my television.

  

  

  

  

  

   -[ Received Mail Content ]--

  

   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,

  dies

  

   Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800

  

   From : Tracey de Morsella

  

   To :

  

  

   Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway, but blew it

  to

   hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on the show.

  Sigh…

   .. I know. Sex sells

  

  

  

   From: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogro ups.com] On

  Behalf

   Of Martin Baxter

   Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM

   To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com

   Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,

  dies

  

  

  

  

   IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.

  

  

  

  

  

   -[ Received Mail Content ]--

   Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator,

  dies

   Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -

   From : Meta

   To : scifino...@yahoogro ups.com

  

   --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Tracey de Morsella

   wrote:

   

I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9 and on

   Next Gen

with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized elders.

   Too bad

they always used her for comic relief. That character had so much

unexplored potential

   Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed for

   the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any of

   their other potential was left to the imagination. Trek does not do

   women well. Its either ultra butch or ultra fem, with very few

   glimpses of anything in between. They always forget just how strong a

   female following they have.

  

   Meta

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

   http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=JQdwk8Yntds

  

  

  

  

  

  

  http://www.youtube. 

Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies

[Augustus Augustus]

Martin,

i remember that ep.  earth force ships came out of hyperspace by B5 and the 
Minbari cruisers were there.  the earth force commander told her 2 leave and 
she said no.
  
This is Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari.  Babylon 5 is under our protection.  
Withdraw or be destroyed.

Negative.  We have authority here.  Do not force us to engage your ship.

Why not? Only one Human captain has ever survived battle with the Minbari 
fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value
your lives, be somewhere else!

Fate.

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com wrote:
From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com
Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek' creator, dies
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 12:39 PM

Glad to make you laugh. Apologies for mucking it, though.




-[ Received Mail Content ]--
 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
creator, dies
 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 12:34:54 -0500
 From : Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com
 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com

YES! I was thinking of that EXACT line when I mentioned her, lol.
~ Where love and magic meet ~
http://www.adriannebrennan.com
Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 12:26 PM, Martin Baxter wrote:

 Oh, yeah, Adrianne. To give you Delenn's best line, as she was facing
down
 an EarthAlliance commander, The only man ever to destroy a Minbari
ship is
 behind me. *You* are in *front* of me.





 -[ Received Mail Content ]--

 Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of 'Trek'
creator,
 dies

 Date : Mon, 5 Jan 2009 08:57:26 -0500

 From : Adrianne Brennan 

 To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com


 Oh gods, one of my fav B5 characters, hands down.
 Between her and Delenn, I was set :D

 ~ Where love and magic meet ~
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com
 Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html
 Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html
 Dare to undertake The Oath in Book 1 Bound:
 http://www.adriannebrennan.com/theoath_bound.html


 On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

  The last ep of Quantum Leap, when the final screen shot
said, Dr Sam
  Beckett never made it home. and, in a good way, Susan
Ivanova's
 legendary
  speech in B5.
 
  Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Sophie
Ivanov. I am
  the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your
 sorry
  a$$ all the way back to Earth. I am Death Incarnate, and the last
living
  thing you are ever going to see. God sent me.
 
  As I whispered Damn, I fell in love with that woman...
 
 
 
 
 
  -[ Received Mail Content ]--
 
  Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of
'Trek' creator,
  dies
 
  Date : Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:10:20 +
 
  From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net
 
  To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
 
 
  And the other two times?
 
  -- Original message --
  From: Martin Baxter
   A... I fondly remember Seven's debut into the world of
science
  fiction.
  
   Marked the second of only three times I ever cursed at my
television.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
  
   Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of
'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
  
   Date : Fri, 2 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0800
  
   From : Tracey de Morsella
  
   To :
  
  
   Me too. I thought they took a few steps forward with Janeway,
but blew
 it
  to
   hell with the way they handled Seven's overbearing story on
the show.
  Sigh…
   .. I know. Sex sells
  
  
  
   From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com]
 On
  Behalf
   Of Martin Baxter
   Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 1:41 PM
   To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
   Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of
'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
  
  
  
  
   IMO, Jadzia Dax was in the ballpark.
  
  
  
  
  
   -[ Received Mail Content ]--
   Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Majel Roddenberry, wife of
'Trek'
 creator,
  dies
   Date : Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:47:33 -
   From : Meta
   To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
  
   --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Tracey de
Morsella
   wrote:
   
I liked her when she did a serious episode with Odo on DS9
and on
   Next Gen
with the guy she fell in love with whose society euthanized
elders.
   Too bad
they always used her for comic relief. That character had
so much
unexplored potential
   Most of the women of Trek had unexplored potential but it seemed
for
   the most part that unless they could be paired with a male any
of
   their other 

[scifinoir2] Question

[Augustus Augustus]

whatever happened 2 Blade the Series?   and b4 someone gets mad at me, i 
thought it was pretty kool.  fingers as blade was an o.k. cast.  but that was 
just me.





  

[scifinoir2] Fw: World Science: Materials for 'Earths' may be common in universe

[Amy Harlib]

ahar...@earthlink.net

Interesting science stuff.

* Materials for Earths may be common in 
universe:
New findings suggest rocky planets are a normal
occurrence, astronomers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090105_planets


* Using light beams to grab molecules:
Researchers say they've created a trap that can
capture DNA molecules and other tiny objects.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090101_nanoscale


* Competition, not climate, killed Neanderthals: 
study
The stocky breed of early humans couldn't hold its
own against more modern populations, scientists claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/081228_neanderthal


* Life grew in two, millionfold leaps, researchers 
report:
Earth's creatures come in all sizes, yet scientists
believe they all descend from the same single-celled
organisms.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/081226_leaps


* Ancient African exodus mostly involved men, 
geneticists find
An ancient migration out of Africa is thought to
have led to most human populations outside the
continent.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/081221_exodus


* Still today, most will torture if ordered: study
Scientists say they have replicated an experiment in
which people would obediently give painful shocks to
others when prompted.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/081219_milgram






World Science homepage
Don't forget to visit our homepage for Science In
Images; links to top science news from other publi-
cations; and other recent World Science stories!

http://www.world-science.net


World Science archives
To new readers especially: you need not miss our ex-
citing past stories, though they won't appear in future
newsletters. See archives for any year by typing that 
year after the homepage address: for example, 

http://www.world-science.net/2007 


Invite friends to join World Science!
Click here to open an invitation email you can send 
friends and colleagues so they can join you in sub-
scribing to World Science at no charge. Feel free to 
change the email text (although you might want to 
leave the subscription instructions unchanged.)


More information 
This is the World Science newsletter. To cancel your 
subscription, please reply to this email address with
cancel in the subject line. To subscribe, write to 
this email address with subscribe in the subject 
line. To change the address where you receive the 
newsletter, simply subscribe the new address and 
cancel the old one.
Any World Science article may be reproduced on 
another website, on condition that it is reproduced 
along with a link to the World Science homepage, 
http://www.world-science.net. Linking to the page of 
the original article is optional.








No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com 
Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.10.2/1876 - Release Date: 1/5/2009 9:44 
AM

[scifinoir2] You Are Being Lied to About Pirates

[Tracey de Morsella]

Johann Hari http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari 


Columnist, London Independent

Posted January 4, 2009 | 08:53 PM (EST) 

Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new
War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy - backed by the
ships of more than two dozen nations, from the US to China - is sailing into
Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder
pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even
chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on
earth. But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an
untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as one of the great
menace of our times have an extraordinary story to tell -- and some justice
on their side.

Pirates have never been quite who we think they are. In the golden age of
piracy - from 1650 to 1730 - the idea of the pirate as the senseless,
savage thief that lingers today was created by the British government in a
great propaganda-heave. Many ordinary people believed it was false: pirates
were often rescued from the gallows by supportive crowds. Why? What did they
see that we can't? In his book Villains of All nations, the historian Marcus
Rediker pores through the evidence to find out. If you became a merchant or
navy sailor then - plucked from the docks of London's East End, young and
hungry - you ended up in a floating wooden Hell. You worked all hours on a
cramped, half-starved ship, and if you slacked off for a second, the
all-powerful captain would whip you with the Cat O' Nine Tails. If you
slacked consistently, you could be thrown overboard. And at the end of
months or years of this, you were often cheated of your wages. 

Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world. They mutinied
against their tyrannical captains - and created a different way of working
on the seas. Once they had a ship, the pirates elected their captains, and
made all their decisions collectively. They shared their bounty out in what
Rediker calls one of the most egalitarian plans for the disposition of
resources to be found anywhere in the eighteenth century. They even took in
escaped African slaves and lived with them as equals. The pirates showed
quite clearly - and subversively - that ships did not have to be run in the
brutal and oppressive ways of the merchant service and the Royal navy. This
is why they were popular, despite being unproductive thieves.

The words of one pirate from that lost age - a young British man called
William Scott - should echo into this new age of piracy. Just before he was
hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, he said: What I did was to keep me
from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirating to live. In 1991, the
government of Somalia - in the Horn of Africa - collapsed. Its nine million
people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the
ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to
steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European
ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into
the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered
strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami,
hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began
to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died. Ahmedou
Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: Somebody is dumping
nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium
and mercury - you name it. Much of it can be traced back to European
hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia
to dispose of cheaply. When I asked Ould-Abdallah what European
governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: Nothing. There has
been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention.

At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of
their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish-stocks by
over-exploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m
worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea-life is being stolen every year
by vast trawlers illegally sailing into Somalia's unprotected seas. The
local fishermen have suddenly lost their livelihoods, and they are starving.
Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu,
told Reuters: If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our
coastal waters.

This is the context in which the men we are calling pirates have emerged.
Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took
speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a
'tax' on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia -
and it's not hard to see why. In a surreal telephone interview, one of 

[scifinoir2] Blu-ray's Fuzzy Future - get ready for TV downloads

[Tracey de Morsella]

January 5, 2009


Blu-ray's Fuzzy Future 


By MATT RICHTEL
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/matt_richtel/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-per  and BRAD STONE
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/brad_stone/ind
ex.html?inline=nyt-per 

The biggest news at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January
was not the birth of a new product but the death of one.

A decision by Warner Brothers
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/warner_bros_entertain
ment_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org  to withdraw support for the HD DVD
video disc format sent shock waves through the electronics industry and
appeared to hand the future of home entertainment to Blu-ray, a rival
format.

The move set the stage for this year's Consumer Electronics Show, which
starts Wednesday under the dark cloud of a recession and a sharp downturn in
consumer spending. Nearly two million square feet of convention hall will be
stocked with the latest mobile phones, portable music players, digital
cameras and expensive flat-screen televisions.

But many eyes will be on Blu-ray, which for the first time has the floor
largely to itself as the heir apparent to the DVD. Over the last decade, DVD
players and discs have generated tens of billions of dollars for Hollywood
and the consumer electronics industry, so the pressure for a blockbuster
sequel is high.

This year will be crucial for the new format. Heavy holiday discounting and
the natural decline in electronics prices over time have pushed prices for
some Blu-ray players under $200, a drop of well more than half in the last
few years - and into the realm of affordability for many. At the same time,
Blu-ray's backers, including Sony
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/sony_corporation/inde
x.html?inline=nyt-org  and the Walt Disney Company
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/disney_walt_company/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-org , face a growing chorus of skeptics that says the
window for a high-definition disc format may be closing fast. 

One reason is that discs of all kinds may become obsolete as a new wave of
digital media services starts to flow into the living room. On Monday, for
example, the Korean television maker LG Electronics plans to announce a new
line of high-definition televisions that connect directly to the Internet
with no set-top box required. The televisions will be able to play movies
and television shows from online video-on-demand services, including Netflix
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/netflix-inc/index.htm
l?inline=nyt-org . 

The Blu-ray format is in jeopardy simply because the advent of downloadable
HD movies is so close, said Roger L. Kay, president of Endpoint
Technologies Associates. a research and consulting company. Streaming video
from the Internet and other means of direct digital delivery are going to
put optical formats out of business entirely over the next few years.

Blu-ray's supporters have another view. They say the technology had a
breakout year, crowned by the holiday success of The Dark Knight, which
sold 600,000 Blu-ray copies in one day. They also say that Blu-ray players
are selling faster than DVD players did at a comparable time in their
emergence. 

What we saw in 2008 was increasing adoption of Blu-ray along with
decreasing hardware prices, said Reed Hastings, the chief executive of
Netflix, which has persuaded more than half a million members to pay an
extra dollar a month to rent Blu-ray discs. The window of opportunity for
DVD and Blu-ray discs is longer than most people think. But it's not going
to last forever.

The Consumer Electronics Association predicts that North American consumers
will spend $1.3 billion on Blu-ray players in 2009, outpacing the projected
$1.2 billion that will be spent on regular DVD players, although Blu-ray
players are two to three times more expensive. 

Last year was a launching pad, and 2009 is going to be our growth year,
said Andy Parsons, the chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, a
consortium of the format's backers. We think this year we'll start to see
the format really take off into the mass market.

But evidence exists that many people either do not know enough about Blu-ray
to buy or do not think the more expensive players and discs are worth the
extra investment.

Going from the whirring VCRs of yore to a DVD player was a big leap in
picture quality and convenience, while the jump from DVD to Blu-ray is
subtler, at least for those who do not have the latest and largest
high-definition televisions. 

Americans are still expected to buy more standard DVD players next year than
Blu-ray players, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. People
like Erik Swenson, a 37-year-old interior designer in San Francisco,
represent one reason. I've heard of Blu-ray, but I don't know much about
it, he said, shopping last week at a Best Buy

[scifinoir2] Trade Yourself Free of Your Wireless Contract

[Tracey de Morsella]

Celltradeusa.com and Cellswapper.com

 

January 1, 2009

Phone Smart


With a Little Help, You Can Trade Yourself Free of Your Wireless Contract 


By BOB TEDESCHI
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/t/bob_tedeschi/i
ndex.html?inline=nyt-per 

The last of the major wireless carriers recently made it cheaper to escape
your contract by pro-rating early termination fees. But if you bought that
new BlackBerry Storm last month, only to find you would rather have
something else, you still face contract cancellation fees of up to $175.

Unless, that is, you can find someone to take over that contract for you.

It's a little-known fact that cellphone carriers will let you swap contracts
with another person, no matter whether you have one month or two years
remaining on your commitment. They just will not help you do the hard work
of finding someone who actually wants your contract and the vintage flip
phone that came with it.

That's the sort of dirty work best left to the Web, where sites like
Celltradeusa.com and Cellswapper.com act as matchmakers for those who want
to swap spots in the cellular realm. It costs $20 to use Celltradeusa and
$25 for Cellswapper, but for those who feel trapped in a contract, that is a
small price to pay for freedom.

First things first: why exactly would you want someone else's cellphone
contract? Simple: you can get fairly new devices and accessories, often
free, without having to swallow a two-year commitment or pay an activation
fee of $35. This is especially useful to those who are waiting for a new
device to hit the market but do not want to spring for a new phone in the
meantime.

This week on Cellswapper, for instance, users were offering free year-old
BlackBerrys on all four of the major carriers, as well as Motorola
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/motorola_inc/index.ht
ml?inline=nyt-org  KRZR phones on Verizon
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/verizon_communication
s_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org  Wireless. Similar deals were available on
Celltradeusa.

The services are easy to use, although they can sometimes cause users a bit
of anxiety. Let's take, for example, the hypothetical Storm owner who has
buyer's remorse after a few weeks with his new toy. On Cellswapper, he would
submit details about his carrier (in this case, Verizon), the length of time
remaining on the contract and any incentives he can offer. 

Sometimes the incentive is just the phone, but since many people on these
sites own run-of-the-mill devices, they often need to kick in another $50 or
more to attract takers. The Storm obviously does not fit this mold because
it is still in demand. And among customers of the four major carriers,
subscribers to Verizon have a slightly easier time finding takers than the
others, according to the cell-swapping sites.

Cellswapper would then match the hypothetical Storm owner with Storm seekers
in an online chat session. Seekers of new contracts type in their preferred
carrier and device, and Cellswapper does the connecting. Buyers can click on
a seller's contract offer and start a one-on-one chat, or they can receive
an offer to connect with a particular seller. Cellswapper makes such offers
based on buyers' browsing patterns on the site.

If you want to trade your half-used contract for someone else's half-used
contract, Cellswapper lets you specify this preference, then find others who
seek the same.

Once users confirm that a match has been made, the person who is unloading
the contract pays Cellswapper $25.

The parties also need to do a little work on their own. The departing
customer calls the carrier and informs it that he has found a match. The
other party then calls the carrier to confirm, and to give the carrier a
chance to review its prospective new customer's credit record.

Sometimes complications arise: customer service representatives for AT
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/at_and_t/index.html?i
nline=nyt-org T, for instance, may not make the switch unless you explain
that you are executing a transfer of service, while Verizon reps prefer to
hear that you are seeking a change of financial responsibility. 

Sprint
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/sprint_nextel_corpora
tion/index.html?inline=nyt-org  and Helio require a conference call with
both parties - a step that can actually make the process easier. Other
carriers will sometimes set up a conference call if you request it,
Cellswapper's chief executive, Adam Korbl, said.

The new subscriber can, at this point, have the phone number on the device
changed. This is an important moment, since the device now has less value to
the old subscriber. The seller of the device then typically sends it and the
incentive payment to the buyer.

Executives of both Cellswapper and Celltradeusa said sellers almost never
try to cheat the buyer by keeping the device or selling it elsewhere. Still,
the transaction 

[scifinoir2] Best Comics of 2008

[ravenadal]

http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/view/212221

Re: [scifinoir2] Question

[KeithBJohnson]

Gag!!! Don't make me search my archives for all my Blade sucks e-mails! I 
thought it was a poor show, with Fingers used some infrequently he was like a 
guest in his own series. Too much focus on his female sidekick, who wasn't a 
good actress and should have stuck with those Mercury commercials. It was too 
self-conscious in trying to be cool, sexy, dangerous all at once. Within a 
couple of eps they were playing up the semi-lesbian angles but hadn't 
established much else to keep me interested. Only when the ep where Blade's 
childhood was detailed did I start to gain a modicum of interest, but by then 
it was canceled. Sorry but I was glad to see it go.

 -- Original message --
From: Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com
 whatever happened 2 Blade the Series?   and b4 someone gets mad at me, i 
 thought 
 it was pretty kool.  fingers as blade was an o.k. cast.  but that was just me.
 
 
 
 
 
   


---BeginMessage---













whatever happened 2 Blade the Series? and b4 someone gets mad at me, i thought it was pretty kool. fingers as blade was an o.k. cast. but that was just me.

  
  


	
	
	

---End Message---

Re: [scifinoir2] Coming: Computer-Generated Actors

[Dax]

The question I suppose comes to mind is what happens to the actors that are 
alive? What about actors such as Elvis that is dead? Will the estate get the 
rights to the image or the studio that they once worked for? A lot of legal 
questions but a very fascinating idea.
--Lavender
If you don't like vanilla, try some chocolate.


From: Tracey de Morsella 
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 4:05 AM
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com 
Subject: [scifinoir2] Coming: Computer-Generated Actors


1 January 2009 1:30 AM, PST

Silicon Valley is on the verge of producing sophisticated software that will 
allow motion picture companies to create actors on a computer who are visually 
indistinguishable from real people, San Jose's Mercury News reported today 
(Thursday). In the words of the newspaper, which closely follows the sofware 
industry, when software engineers finally achieve what it calls the holy grail 
of animation, stars would be able to keep playing iconic roles even as they 
aged past the point of believability like Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft or 
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. Rick Bergman, general manager of AMD's 
graphics products group, told the Mercury News that his company is getting 
real close to producing computer-generated actors that will look identical to 
real human beings.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0639199/

 

[scifinoir2] Happy New Year! Here's How 'Battlestar Galactica' Ends

[Tracey de Morsella]

I have not read it beyond the first paragraph.  Some of you may want to
know.  So below is the link.  It is said to have major spoilers

http://syfyportal.com/news425696.html