Month: March 2009

Beam Me…Disappointed

~ lobablanca

So since I’ve outted myself as a big frackin‘ geek, I figured that I would follow up with a glimpse at how deep the vein of geekery flows within me. This past weekend marked the airing of a “very special episode” of Family Guy that I have been waiting for since I first heard about it 3 months ago. I originally heard about it through following Wil Wheaton’s Twitter.

Wait. It gets even geekier than this.

The episode in question was being hyped as a “reunion” show for all the actors from TNG (that’s a geekcronym for Star Trek: The Next Generation). Even the goddess herself, Gates McFadden.

Tangent time. Significant survival note for readers: Do not ever say anything negative about Ms. McFadden or I will have to strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger. And I assure you, you will know my name is Loba when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Right. So I fire up Hulu.com (because that’s how geeks watch their television) to watch this episode. What I saw, instead of the spectacular “reunion” show I had been promised, was a typically lame Family Guy episode, with smatterings of funny moments deeply embedded in the heart of unfunny, offensive drivel. Oh, and maybe a total of slightly more than 5 minutes dedicated to the TNG subplot.

As Otto yells in A Fish Called Wanda, “DISAPPOINTED!” I will grant that some of the TNG stuff was pretty funny, such as the interaction between Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn when Stewie first beams them into his room. But all in all, it was a big letdown, especially since their scenes were interspersed through a thoroughly lame main plot about Meg finding God through Kirk Cameron. I think the only scene from that plot at which I laughed involved the opening riff from New Kids on the Block’s “The Right Stuff.”

McFarlane, you really let us down in this one, man. You unduly hyped your show with the promise of a TNG reunion. Yeah, you delivered, but in that half-assed way that Columbia Records used to “give” you 12 CDs for a penny. And both times, in the end the final price just wasn’t worth it.

Something Geeky This Way Comes

~ lobablanca

I’m a big geek. I think I somewhat established that throughout the nearly 5 years of my previous blog. However, I don’t think I really hit that truth home Babe Ruth style. So, here I am, pointing to left field and winding up for the grand slam.

I’m a GEEK. I’ve been a Trekkie for more than half my life. I’ve attended Star Trek conventions (notice the “s” that indicates multiple trips to said geek gatherings). My fan fiction has been published and sold at said conventions (I can pretty much stop this right now, can’t I?). I know that IDIC, PADD, and VISOR are all acronyms (and I know their corresponding definitions). I have almost the entire crew of the NCC-1701-E on my desk at work (in action figure form, of course). I also have Battlestar Galactica wallpaper on my work computer desktop. My mirror universe self is an even bigger geek (perhaps I’ll say more on that later; I’m still determining if the blog herd has been sufficiently culled of creepier readers [if you’re still out there and reading this, you know who you are, and the sooner you admit it to yourself, the sooner the treatments can begin]).

All that being said, no, I don’t live in my parents’ basement. Yes, I have a regular job. No, it’s not at The Android’s Dungeon. Yes, I have IRL relationships. No, I’m not defining IRL for you. I am a functioning member of society who just happens to really love the geekiest flavors of life.

Not tonight, dear...I'm a geek.
Not tonight, dear...I'm a geek.

What sparked all this confession today? The image to the right. I stumbled across it during one of my Internet perambulations. I own this shirt. I used to wear it out in public. I was snickered at by a troop of Boy Scouts while wearing it in a hotel that was hosting a Trek convention (because their little gold ascots made them so much cooler than us Trek geeks). I love this shirt. It’s now stored away with many of my other geek chic shirts (think the T-Shirt rack at your mall’s local Suncoast and you pretty much have an idea of my high school/college wardrobe). I should dig it out and snap a shot of me wearing it again, just for gits and shiggles.

Oh, and because I know you’re dying to know what all the excuses are, here you go:

  1. Troi senses danger.
  2. Trying to avoid Lwaxana Troi.
  3. Q’s visiting again.
  4. Playing Poker with Commander Riker.
  5. Helping Geordi in Engineering.
  6. Romulans crossed the Neutral Zone.
  7. My communicator’s not working.
  8. Attending Worf’s Klingon Rite of Passage.
  9. Conference in the Captain’s lounge.
  10. Solving crimes with Dixon Hill.
  11. Helping Wes with an experiment.
  12. Can’t violate the Prime Directive.
  13. Playing Strategema.
  14. Fencing with Picard.
  15. Vacationing on Pacifica.
  16. Trapped on the Holodeck.
  17. Having tea with the Captain.
  18. Explaining a joke to Data.

Damn, it feels good to be a geekster.

Slow on the Uptake…

~ lobablanca

I’m still trying to get back into the swing of regular blogging. I do believe I’m a bit rusty, though. Quick, where’s my oil can, woodsman? Plus, it doesn’t help that I’ve currently got several irons in the fire right now that all need equal tending. I’ll get back into the game, though. No worries.

I suppose I should touch on something that played a significant role in my former blog: politics. Seems my attitude toward the political game has changed a bit since we last hung out. I don’t necessarily think I’m a full-blown Democrat anymore.

Wait. No, I am not now nor will I ever be a member of the Republican party. I just don’t feel particularly enthusiastic toward my own party. Independent has begun to trip off my lips with greater frequency. I was just so utterly disappointed by this last presidential election and the wholesale pandering of Barack Obama as almost messianic, both by the Democratic party and the media.

He’s not the Messiah. He’s not even all that different from most politicians. Yes, he is an intellectual and linguistic improvement over the last guy. But really, that’s not much of a feat, is it? I guess I have become so jaded by politics in general that I don’t place much faith in any of them, least of all the option with the least amount of political experience. So I failed to drink my portion of the Obama Kool-Aid sent to me by the DNC.

Does that mean that I’m looking for him to fail? No. In fact, I hope that he does become all that he promised to be. But I’ve never been good at holding my breath for extended periods of time, so I won’t be holding it now either. However, we’re in such a disgusting mess in this country right now on numerous levels that the last thing I want is for him to fail. We need someone with a plan to help pull us out of the muck into which we’ve been steadily sinking for the last 8 years. Bush definitely got one wish: He’s quite possibly had the most impact on this country of any president in recent history. Too bad it was impact comparable in scope and damage to an atomic bomb.

Anyway, so I don’t really know what kind of a role politics will play in this new blog. I’m not quite as angry as I used to be, but I think that stems more from the fact that I’ve become increasingly more apathetic to the entire process. I do have to say, though, that I have been noticing small silver linings, such as President Obama’s recent reversal of Bush’s ban on embryonic stem cell research.

I know there is endless debate going on right now regarding the morality of this research. I can’t help but question the opposition from many Republicans regarding the “destroying of a potential life” through this form of research when they seem to lack the same concern in regard to our military. But I digress.

All I know is that within this form of stem cell research lies the key to unlock the cure for so many diseases, including Alzheimer’s. My grandmother passed away last year, due in part to Alzheimer’s. No one should ever have to be condemned to such a slow and awful death, and no family should ever have to watch a loved one leave them in such a horrible way. So if this is the key, I say it’s time to blow this locked door right off its hinges.

Green Around the Gills

~ lobablanca
Come on in! The water's slime!
Come on in! The water's slime!

One of the perks of my current job is that I have an office with windows. Of course, with a view like this, sometimes that can be quite the deterrent. Yes, that is a photo of a swimming pool. No, I did not do anything to the photo to make it that color. That’s au naturale, baby!

I’m not really sure why the apartment building across the street has decided to remove the cover from their pool so early in the season. It is, after all, only the 10th of March (never mind the wildly fluctuating temperatures that left us with snow one Sunday and 70 degrees the next). I just hope that they do something about that color. Looks like the Muppet Mafia did a Kermit body dump that’s now gone into full decomp. 😮

And, yes, I am still watching CSI, thank you very much.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

~ lobablanca
Chia Mohawk Scooby
Ch-ch-ch-chia!

I received a Chia Scooby for Christmas. It’s a bit of a paradox gift for me actually, because it combines one of my biggest childhood loves (Rooby Roo!) with something that I simply cannot do (make anything grow). But I decided to give it the old college try, and I’m actually succeeding. True, Scooby does look a bit like he’s growing a mohawk rather than a full head of Chia hair, but I like him looking a bit punk anyway.

Of course, this started me thinking about other speciality Chia heads I would love to see, like Chia Tribbles, Chia Roseanne Roseannadanna, Chia Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder version only, please), Chia Mr. T…it’s quite an endless game, really.

Now, if I could just grow a Chia Bed here in my office, maybe I can start working on reclaiming that hour that was stolen from me this weekend…

Technological Devolution

~ lobablanca

I’m starting to feel my age. Actually, I’m starting to feel double my age. At a time when technological advances are blooming all around me, I find myself embracing with growing fervor the Luddite inside me. I’m still using the cell phone that I received free for re-upping my contract approximately four years ago. It has no camera, QWERTY keyboard, magic genie, etc. It rings when someone calls me and every now and again indulges my rare need to text. I’m satisfied with that level of service.

I don’t want a CrackBerry or an iPhone. I’m still thrilled enough with my iPod that I don’t really need or want more at this point. In fact, I recently discovered that I can sync my Outlook contacts list with my iPod and I beamed over this fact for days. It’s the second most exciting thing I learned about my iPod, the first being my discovery of podcasts (but we can talk more about that later…).

Don’t ask me for my FaceBook or MySpace accounts or if I Twitter. No on all fronts. I’ve got enough attention-stealing stuff crammed into the space of my day as it is.Why on earth would I want to add more? Besides, I currently have two professional and three personal e-mail accounts. If you’re not receiving communications from me from any of those accounts, it more than likely means that I don’t really want to talk with you, let alone tweet you as to whether or not I ate oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast this morning.

It just seems so antithetical for a geek like me to be saying these things. I am, after all, the mistress of all things sci-fi. Show me the first 30 seconds of any episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and I can give you the title and a description of what occurs during the episode. Shouldn’t I be embracing full-on the advances in technology, waiting with tingly antici…pation for the day that I can queue up for my very own Data?

Absolutely! Unless, of course, the version of Data that we design has Twitter functions and direct access to e-mail. Then I just can’t be bothered…

No Comment

~ lobablanca

So I thought about this for quite a while, and I’ve decided (for now at least) not to activate the comments section on this new blog. I know, I know. I’ve defeated the purpose of the blog: open interaction among Internet users. But a lot of times, comment sections can just turn into hot messes. I’ve dealt with them on professional sites I manage as well as on other personal sites. I just don’t have the energy or inclination to police this site as well.

Besides, I sort of enjoy the intimacy of a nicely crafted e-mail from a reader who wishes to tell me that I’m obviously typing with my ass because no one’s brain could come up with such utter stupidity. Ah, those are wonderful moments, I tell you.

Perhaps this will change in the future. But for now – just for now – I’d like to have a place where I can come and blow off steam and ramble or state something completely ludicrous and know that no one is going to call me on it. At least not in public… 😉