The DVD Diva

Star Trek: Into Darkness - Haven't We Been Here Before

2013-05-20T20:46:00.000-04:00

When Star Trek went into “re-boot” mode a few years ago, I was immediately skeptical. After all, this was *my* Star Trek that I’d grown up with; that I’d wait to come on in re-runs every night at 6PM and spend months anxiously counting down to the next movie release. My fears were mostly allayed as I liked the first film quite a bit. Sure, it wasn’t *my* Trek, but it was good as re-imagined series go.

With the second film in the works, I was pleased that the series was being brought forward for a new generation of fans. After viewing Star Trek: Into Darkness in IMAX 3D with my son yesterday, I have more of a feeling that this is a film for his generation of fans rather than mine. I did enjoy the film, and there was much more that I liked over what made me tweak a bit, but those moments are enough for this long-time hardcore fan to take away a star.

The plot is simple enough. Off of the victories in the first film, Captain James Kirk (portrayed by Chris Pine) is sure he’s about to be sent on the five year mission that’s dangling out there like a carrot. What prevents that is the honest report of his first officer, Spock (portrayed by Zachary Quinto) that casts his actions in their most recent escapade in an unfavorable light. The crew is about to be broken up among various ships of Starfleet when a new threat emerges in John Harrison (portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch). He’s from sort of the CIA of Starfleet and now engaging in terrorist attacks on his former employer. The rest of the film involves political intrigue and plenty of action as Kirk and crew try to figure out exactly what’s going on and who their enemy really is, in more ways than one.

The acting here is good. Pine and Quinto do a fine job as Kirk and Spock and really capture enough of the essence of who the characters have been through the years to please long-time fans. Zoe Saldana as Uhura is a gem, and a much stronger character than she was originally although she was an important and iconic figure for women and minorities in her time. She gets a few action sequences here and handles them as good as any of the male characters. I felt Karl Urban as McCoy was a little under-used in this film, although Anton Yelchin (Chekov), John Cho (Sulu) and Simon Pegg (Scotty) do get to have good roles as supporting characters. I suppose when you’re not catering to the egos that were involved with some of the actors in the original films, it really gives the cast a bit more of an ensemble feel and this is one of the reasons the film works so well.

The special effects are great, and the action sequences are awesome, but here’s where I have a bit less appreciation for the film. In previous film and series, the action and fight scenes had a realistic feel to them. Even in the last film he appeared in, Kirk fighting Soran in Star Trek: Generations had a realistic feel to it. It may have been a stunt double, but the fights were believable. Here in the name of action, there are many instances where it seemed to lose me. I think that was part of the problem with the more recent Star Wars films as well. Sure, it makes for great eye-candy at times, but it also leads to many moments of “no way.” In IMAX 3D, though, it’s very enjoyable eye-candy. The 3D aspect isn’t overdone and does add to the experience, even if I could count the pores on Chris Pine’s face at times.

The appeal of Star Trek: Into Darkness for me is that it does do a great job tying together the old universe and this new one. It’s a film my son enjoyed with me, even though he groaned at first at the prospect of having to see it with me. When I asked him what his favorite part was, he centered not on the action, but on several moments lifted from the plot of another Star Trek story that will be very familiar to those of us who grew up with it. Yes, there are a lot of parts of the plot that are familiar, but that’s the way it should be in a universe that’s just a bit removed from another one. I was skeptical of the explanations they would find for some things, but it worked for the most part. It still successfully captures what endeared Star Trek to fans for so many years, although at times I still felt something was missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it, and it’s definitely not enough for me to dislike the film.

If you’ve never thought yourself a fan of Star Trek, I do urge you to give this a try. My other boy who’s in the Army saw it Saturday night and couldn’t wait to text me about it, and he’s another one I would have had to drag to a film. It appeals quite well to a new generation while having enough going for it that those of us who did attend the conventions and kept the franchise going all these years will enjoy it as well.

Hampton Inn Columbia SC/Fort Jackson - Great Graduation Stay

2013-05-18T19:00:00.001-04:00

When my one kid was scheduled to graduate Basic Training at Fort Jackson in February of 2013, I immediately made a reservation at the Hampton Inn Columbia SC/Fort Jackson. It was nearly a brand-new hotel at the time, having just opened within the last six months.

LOCATION & CHECK IN

The Hampton Inn Columbia SC/Fort Jackson is conveniently located to the base. It is just off of Exit 9 of I-77. Getting to the hotel was easy. Getting off of the street it was on and back on to I-77 was a bit more difficult. I hope they put a traffic light in at the end of the street soon. It is convenient to many restaurants in the area as well.

The night we arrived was just after “Family Day” at the base. I had a problem with my debit card I had reserved this on earlier in the month. They tried to authorize the card and when it was declined, they called my workplace and got an authorization from them. However, we just switched it to my new card once I arrived there. Be warned that on busy nights such as events like this at Fort Jackson they will likely try to authorize your credit card and if it’s declined you could find yourself without a room when you arrive.

ROOM

Our room had 2 queen beds in it. There was plenty of room for the 3 of us for 2 nights. Even with our luggage. The beds had the Hampton Cloud 9 bedding on them which I love. It feels like there is no bedding on you while you sleep, yet I am snuggled in comfort. The television was a flat-panel with enough stations to keep us entertained while we were in the room, including cartoon and family stations. There were drawers beneath it for clothing although we lived out of our luggage. The refrigerator in the room did come in handy as we ordered in both evenings after coming back from the base and had a place to keep leftovers. Our room overlooked the interstate, although this isn’t a place you go to for the views.

The bathroom was comfortable and spacious. Hair dryer that worked fine, coffee maker on the counter with a selection of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, etc. The shower pressure was good even in the morning when there were likely so many people getting ready at the same time to head out to graduation.

AMENITIES

Hampton offers a complimentary breakfast with their rooms and this is pretty uniform throughout the chain. I was kind of disappointed they didn’t have grits instead of oatmeal, this being the south, but otherwise this was fine. The selection of hot items is decent – you are getting food that comes frozen in bags and is reheated so it’s pretty much the quality you expect. Other than the hot items there was bagels, muffins, pastry, cereal, yogurt, fruit, and a waffle station. Even on the morning of graduation there was plenty of food out and plenty of seating.

The indoor pool was nice if a little cool in February. I couldn’t bring myself to get in above my waist although my son enjoyed it just fine. The biggest disappointment was no Jacuzzi. I was so looking forward to soaking in it, as was our soldier the afternoon after graduation when he came back to the hotel with us.

Wifi internet access was complimentary and the speed was also fine. There was a shop near the desk to grab snacks and drinks as well.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This being a brand-new hotel it was in fine shape. All of the staff we encountered was courteous, despite it being a time when events such as graduation put a strain on them. They had recommendations for food for us both nights. The place was comfortable and inviting, with a good location. The only issues we had were really minor, being getting back to the interstate from the street (something they can’t control) and the lack of Jacuzzi.

Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran by Andy Taylor - Somewhat Revealing Look Behind the Scenes

2013-05-18T16:57:00.000-04:00

After reading John Taylor’s recently released biography, I was motivated to seek out the older autobiography by Andy Talyor. People I talked to said Andy was more forthcoming about some of the conflict within the group where John seemed to be a bit more gracious, shying away from any true ”gossip”.

Andy tells his story of a childhood that wasn’t conventional. He dealt with abandonment issues by his mother and grew very close to his father in an English fishing village dominated by members of his family. Answering an advertisement, he met up with the other members of Duran Duran and they embarked on superstardom.

Where John Taylor’s story was mostly about him and his honesty about his own problems and issues that caused fractures within the band when they were at the height of their popularity, Andy is more willing to call out other members and their spouses on the issues that arose. This is perhaps because he isn’t part of the band right now where John Taylor is still touring with Duran Duran.

One of the prime examples of this is Andy Taylor’s attitude towards Nick Rhodes and his ex-wife Julie Anne. Where girlfriends and wives usually did not accompany the band on the road, Julie Anne immediately insinuated herself in almost every part of Rhodes’ life according to Andy and caused fractures in the band. There are other tidbits like this, not just about the members of Duran Duran but about other artists Andy Taylor worked with as well. These include Power Station with Robert Palmer and Rod Stewart.

Andy is honest about many of his own failings as well. Both he and John Taylor had issues with drugs and alcohol during their time with the band as well as after. At the same time, he seems reticent to talk about other hedonism that surrounded the band, intimating that only the crew ever had anything to do with groupies and none of the band members themselves. This is a trend I’ve noticed in a number of recent 1980’s musician biographies, where they seem to downplay the interaction with groupies. Whether it’s a source of conflict still at home (Andy Taylor is still married to his wife Tracey whom he met before Duran Duran exploded onto the scene) or something else, I can only speculate. I don’t believe any of these new autobiographies are forthcoming in this area for whatever reason, though.

That aside, Wild Boy does make for a good read, especially to anyone who does remember those days. It is a bit more “gossipy” than John Taylor’s book and I think that’s the reason I enjoyed it so much. It is well-written and easy to read. If you were a fan of Duran Duran in the 1980’s, I suggest you grab this one for a bit more insight into what went on behind the scenes.

Boston Market Beef Pot Roast – Reclaimed Meat with Wallpaper Paste and Vegetables

2013-04-02T18:33:00.000-04:00

Back when I had a Boston Market restaurant near me, I used to enjoy their food quite a bit. It was an alternative to typical fast food for lunch. When I had the opportunity to try some of their frozen dinners, I looked forward to it. Usually they are a bit on the expensive side, but one of the local supermarkets had them on sale 4 for $10.

The Boston Market Beef Pot Roast looked really good when looking at the box. Gravy and Beef Pot Roast with Carrots, Celery, Green Beans, and Grilled Onions and a Side of Home-Style Mashed Potatoes.

Preparation was easy. It’s just a matter of heating it in the microwave. Since there is more food in a Boston Market frozen dinner than a typical frozen dinner, it takes a bit longer.

I can say of all the frozen dinners I tried from Boston Market, this one disappointed me the most. The beef was in cubes, and didn’t look like chunks of beef, but something formed in a mold. I’m told this is because it is “reclaimed meat” rather than being actual beef like I make. Reading the ingredients list, it’s easy to grasp that as there is cornstarch, soy and other ingredients which seem like fillers or ingredients used to bind something together. It tasted pretty good, though. It was tender and only had a few spots where it felt chewy. It wasn’t like when I make pot roast in a slow-cooker and it gets fall-apart tender, but it was still pretty good.

The vegetables are mixed right in with the beef and gravy. It’s celery, carrots, and green beans. The vegetables are tender without being mushy and tasted good. The gravy had a good taste, not too strong that it tasted artificial and not too salty.

The potatoes are a disappointment, especially from Boston Market. When I would buy food from their stores, I was always impressed by how good their mashed potatoes were. These taste like typical mashed potatoes found in frozen dinners, possibly worse. I took a taste of them plain just to verify that they tasted the same as the other Boston Market frozen dinners I tried. Yup, still the same wallpaper paste. I stirred the remaining gravy into it and that was a big improvement.

Nutritionally, this isn’t too bad, especially for a 15 ounce dinner. There are 390 calories in the entire dinner, with 150 of those calories coming from fat. That works out to 17g of fat or 26% of the recommended daily value. Of that, 5g are saturated fat or 27% of the recommended daily value. Like most frozen dinners, when it comes to sodium this is bad. There is 1110mg of sodium in the entire meal or 46% of the recommended daily value. For those of us with high blood pressure, this is not a good choice on a regular basis at all.

While I didn’t find Boston Market Beef Pot Roast particularly bad tasting (with the exception of the potatoes), I really was disappointed. The Boston Market I remember stood for quality and wouldn’t have marketed something that seems like it’s a step up from dog food. I can’t say I would ever eat this again.

A Review of the Book Roller Coaster by David Bennett

2013-04-02T04:28:00.000-04:00

One look at the beautiful cover photograph of Mantis, a stand-up roller coaster located at Cedar Point Park in Sandusky, Ohio, and I knew I had to have this book. I was so not disappointed.

This is a coffee-table type book, but it is actually a whole lot more. Coaster enthusiasts should have this book for the great information as well as the amazing pictures. I cannot say enough about the photographs in this book. Each one made me want to drive to wherever that coaster is and ride it. I could be planning road trips well into the next century.

There is so much more to this book than just pictures. Roller Coaster provides a tremendous amount of information not just about contemporary coasters, but it goes back through the history of the ride. It is believed they originated with ice slides in Russia as early as the 17th century. However, no one is certain exactly what spawned the enthusiasm for this ride. There were also wooden toboggan rides in Paris in the 18th century, as well as a gravity railroad in Pennsylvania in the 19th century.

The first chapter touches on this origins debate. It contains a wide variety of sketches and drawings depicting these early coasters. I found that they aided greatly in imagining what these early "rides" were like.

I found the depictions of the gravity railroad (used for hauling coal down from the mountain) to be very interesting as well. Could you imagine covering 18 miles of countryside after just a nudge to get started? The coal cars were hauled up the mountain first by mules and later on by steam engines, then controlled by a brakeman for 18 miles where they were offloaded.

As they move into the latter half of the 19th century, photographs begin to come into play rather than drawings. The photographs of the early switchbacks are interesting, as well as the paintings and sketches from early advertisements or postcards. Looping coasters were in amusement parks as early as 1908!

There is a lot of information about the development of Coney Island and its various amusement parks. This was part of the growth of amusement parks now that they were accessible to city-dwellers due to the trolley bus. All of the early photographs appear to have been perfectly restores and are absolutely incredible to see the contrast from almost 100 years ago.

Chapter two talks about the roller coaster designers. In modern times, enthusiasts are used to hearing names like B & M, Vekoma, Schwarzkopf, Arrow Dynamics, and The Philadelphia Toboggan Company. They owe their heritage to men like John Miller, Frederick Church, Harry G. Traver, and Herbert P. Schmeck There are design specs of roller coasters in this chapter. Some of the coasters from this era still exist today. Most notably is the Cyclone at Coney Island, and Thunderboltat Kennywood Park which was originally called The Pippin.

So much is made of safety concerns today, but fatalities were common on the coasters of years ago. Sometimes this drew more people to them - go figure.

The second golden age of roller coasters has come around thanks to Walt Disney, according to the book. It credits him with being the savior of the amusement park industry. The book then takes us into modern times and the modern design of coasters; wood, steel, inverted, suspended, and hyper coasters are all talked about and shown with the same incredible photographs. Each one makes me want to ride that coaster!

I also liked seeing the photographs of some of the coasters from overseas. Since the chance of my getting to ride all of them is slim to none, I enjoy flipping through the book trying to imagine what it would be like to ride on these.

Chapter three talks about how a roller coaster works. This is a great chapter for people who can't bring themselves to ride coasters for fear of it flying off the track. There are drawings and specs showing the various safety devices, as well as the physics of coasters. It even talks about where to sit on the ride; the various pros and cons of both the front and back of a roller coaster train.

The difference of wood and steel coasters is also discussed in this chapter, as well as the different terms used to describe the type of coaster. Out and back, twister, and racer are terms usually applied to wooden coasters while corkscrew, vertical looping, shuttle looping, boomerang shuttle looping, suspended, stand up, hyper, mine train, and wild mouse are all varieties of steel coasters.

Chapter four goes into the greatest rides of today. Since this book was published in 1998, it is a bit dated since so many new coasters have been added at amusement parks since then. However, all of the coasters which are talked about are accompanied by the same incredible pictures which entice the reader/enthusiast. (We prefer not to be called "Coaster nuts" or "Coaster Freaks", thank you!)

In particular, as I look at the photographs of a coaster called Nemesis at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England, I know I have to go there someday. Quite a few of the coasters here I have already ridden. There is a certain beauty to these structures which this book manages to capture. Many of them seem to be works of art - especially the wooden structures.

Chapter five talks about the amusement park industry. In it the author takes a look at a typical day in the life of three parks: Kennywood in West Mifflin, PA, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England, and Alton Towers in England. This part does not deal specifically with coasters, but with the actual park operation. The author then turns to other prominent amusement parks: the Six Flags Theme Parks, Cedar Point, Buffalo Bill's Resort Casino, Elitch Gardens, King's Island, and Disney Theme Parks. He also devotes some discussion to theme parks in japan and the far East.

Finally, we are given some statistics on theme parks showing attendance figures for parks in the U.S. and the world from 1989 and 1995.

One of the last items in the book is a listing of roller coasters by state, followed by country. There is a key to ride symbols, so the reader is given a general overview of each coaster listed. This is followed by a compilation of roller coaster records as of 1998, a page-long dateline of the roller coaster, and the picture credits. A bibliography including picture credits, source material and useful reading precedes the index.

If you like roller coasters and want a book with great photographs as well as a veritable treasure-trove of information, this book is for you!

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Arsenal of Freedom

2013-04-02T04:25:00.002-04:00

Yes, that is an actual conversation from this first season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. As the season is winding down, the episodes seem to be getting better. This is definitely one of the better ones.

The Enterprise travels to the planet Minos in the Lorenz Cluster to find out what happened to the U.S.S. Drake. Captain Rodriguez was in command of that ship, and he happened to know Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) back in Starfleet Academy.

What they discover is a planet devoid of intelligent life which was once habited by a race of arms merchants. An away team led by Riker beams down to the planet surface. Quickly they are assaulted by an unknown enemy. After having the conversation above with what is apparently a holographic image of the dead Captain Rodriguez, Riker is encased in a sort of force field presumably for transport to an interrogation center at a later time.

With only Data (Brent Spiner) and Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) on the planet, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) beams down along with the Doctor Crusher (Gates McFadden) to try to free Riker and see if he is injured. Just as Data and Yar manage to free Riker, they are once again attacked. Trying to fool the attacker, the crew separates. It is at this point that Picard and Dr. Crusher fall down a hole into some sort of cave.

Meanwhile, Geordi LaForge (Levar Burton), the blind helmsman of the Enterprisehas been left in command of the ship. They are also being attacked by an unknown enemy. There is a sub-plot here where the Chief Engineer feels he outranks Geordi and wants command to be turned over to him.

This episode has good character development for Geordi, Picard and Crusher. While trapped in the unknown hole, Crusher begins to go into shock. To keep her conscious, Picard engages her in a series of conversations which subtly shows there is a deeper attachment between the two of them.

With Geordi, we get to see that at times he is unsure of himself, and the confrontations with Chief Engineer Logan aren't helping. What isn't explored, however, is exactly what Logan's problem with Geordi is. Does he feel that because he is blind he should not be in command? Does he feel that he has more practical experience than Geordi? Does he outrank him? The source of the conflict between the two of them is never established and makes this part of the plot feel forced. It probably doesn't help at all that the actor portraying Logan is terrible in the role.

The writing is better than some episodes, but not great, so I feel the actors deserve the credit for making this episode work. They seem to be finding their footing in regards to their characters. Jonathan Frakes especially seems to be defining Riker in more human terms rather than as a cartoonish Captain Kirk knock-off. There is also more action here than we have seen previously this season - and not the space-battle type either. Though it is not too suspenseful, it does fit well with the story and manages to entertain.

In the end, the crew surmises what killed off life on the planet and what happened to the Drake: all of what they experience here is an elaborate demonstration of the newest armament system developed by the merchants. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off until Picard finds what seems to be an obvious solution. It's the sort of thing that leaves you feeling "Why didn't anyone else think of that?"

Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer: You Can Find Better Options for the Money

2013-04-02T04:22:00.002-04:00

Since I have worked for a non-profit, the biggest factor when figuring out what to purchase is cost. So when one of our two laser printers quit about 18 months ago (the other went shortly thereafter), I browsed our office machine catalogs and found an inexpensive laser printer.

The Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer came in at just shy of $300. This was a good price, but what would it cost me per page? A toner cartridge retails for $28 and lasts for around 2,000 pages. The drum retails for about $175 and lasts about 20,000 pages. This means the average cost per page is about 2¢ - a great value!

The problem comes when the toner or drum doesn't last quite as long as you'd planned.

In the case of the Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer, the problem is with the drum and paper jams. We ended up having frequent paper jams in the machine. After we'd had the printer about two months, we had one jam so bad that it scratched the drum. This meant we were getting lines and marks across all of our pages.

It's a fluke - it can happen to anyone once, right? Well after about six months with a new drum, another bad paper jam caused that one to scratch. The drum that is currently in the machine has lasted without scratches, but the printer has been giving me the change drum message for quite some time now. I have basically ignored it, since I knew I was nowhere near the 20,000 pages that is promised and the printer is working well. Every now and then I get black blobs of toner in different spots on a page, but white-out is a lot cheaper than another new drum.

The printer will also take what I consider to be a long time to generate a page. I have this problem with graphics as well as spreadsheets. It seems like I am waiting a very long time for the output after I have sent the document to the queue. It's not a memory issue - often I bring up the printer folder and watch the progress as the document loads. It just seems to take a great deal of time. It claims 10 pages per minute, but I believe that is counting the time after it has warmed up again.

The printer boasts a 250-sheet paper tray, however I have found that if the tray is filled more than 3/4 full, the paper jams more frequently. The bypass tray works wonderfully and I have used this a lot for envelopes as well as feeding in pages for 2-sided printing or booklet printing. The largest size the paper tray can handle is 81/2x11 or 81/2x14 in the bypass tray.

There is a small screen to indicate problems or other issues, as well as for using the various menu functions. I have not had to use this that much, but have found it relatively easy to follow the on-screen instructions. This is a great way to know exactly what is going on and is the difference between the 10ex model and the10e. The software provided allows you to choose to install on-screen instructions for step-by-step fault clearance and other problems as well. If you don't want that, you can also choose not to install it.

The quality of print is crisp at 600x1200 DPI. The printer comes with a standard 2 meg of memory and is upgradeable to 36 meg. I have had no problems using it with Windows 95 & 98. Like most printers, you will have to download support software and drivers from the Okidata site - www.okidata.com - if you are using this printer with Windows XP.

The printer is also very compact and easily fits on a desktop. Since the paper tray is located underneath the machine, that means that every time you have to add paper the tray slides out. I finally turned the printer so that the tray opening faced off the edge of my workstation. Too often, I would have to clean up my whole workstation just to add paper to the printer.

The printer is not the worst I have ever seen. However, its problems make it a lesser value for its cost. There are many better quality laser printers out there for the $299 price tag.

DVDPlanet.com is a Great Place to Buy blu-ray and DVDs!

2013-04-02T04:19:00.002-04:00

I used to get the majority of my DVDs through Buy.com. Now, I have nothing against that site at all and am very pleased with it. But thanks to Ebates, I found a smaller site that has better prices!

The website at DVDPlanet.com is very easy to navigate. This is probably because - unlike other big DVD stores - they only focus on DVDs. There is no electronics, books, computers or anything else to distract from the DVD selection. I found the search feature to work wonderfully. New Releases and Coming Soon are featured on the main menu, with a selection of genres on the left. There are links at the bottom of the main page to articles on www.thedigitalbits.com which contains a variety of movie reviews, rumors, art, and other interesting tidbits.

Under DVD Deals there is a large selection of DVDs under $6. Also available are DVDs between $6 - $10, $10 - $15, and $15 - $20. This is a great way to build your DVD collection fairly inexpensively.

What I like best about DVDPlanet.com is that their prices are at least 30% off of the retail price of DVDs. While I have come across other sites that are discounted from retail, I haven't come across any as cheap as here. For instance, my recent acquisition of Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Two costs $94.49 at DVDPlanet.com. At Buy.com it costs $97.99 and at Amazon.com it costs $104.99. The DVD Marilyn Monroe Diamond Collection #2 is $59.99 at DVDPlanet.com and Amazon.com and $62.49 at Buy.com. The DVD of Gone With the Wind is $18.74 atDVDPlanet.com, $19.49 at Buy.com and $19.99 at Amazon.com.

The shipping costs at DVDPlanet.com are competitive as well. Standard shipping of 1-2 discs is $2.50 plus .50 for each disc. Priority mail of 3 or more discs is the same. 2-day shipping by UPS is $6.00 plus $2.50 each disc. Next day is $10.00 plus $2.50 each disc. Amazon.com has cheaper shipping charges for the 2-day and Next-day, but I have never had a reason to have my DVDs shipped to me this way, so I always choose standard. I have always had my discs shipped standard and have noticed they seem to arrive a day or two later than the other popular DVD sites. I don't mind waiting the extra day or two for the money I save! Even if it's only $10, that's $10 more that's mine.

There is an email list to subscribe to. Ever week I get a notice of what's being released. You can also get early notice of upcoming Criterion Collection titles, an Anime notice, as well as a notice about the adult selections. Also, for those in California, there is a DVD Planet Superstore in Westminster.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Heart of Glory

2013-03-31T19:01:00.000-04:00

This episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation finally gives some character development to crewmembers other than Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), the teenaged son of the ship's doctor, and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart). In fact, we don't even see Wesley during this entire episode. Therefore, I am not going to bring up his name again in this review!

After detecting a battle inside The Neutral Zone - a zone which serves as a buffer between the Federation and the Romulan and Klingon Empires - The Enterpriserushes in and rescues three Klingons form a badly damaged Talarian freighter.

This turn of events provides the writers with a reason to draw Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) more into the forefront. Up until now all we know about him is that he is a Klingon serving on a Starfleet vessel. His part seems to have been standing there in the background looking menacing. The writers apparently figured out that the novelty of "look, we have a Klingon on the bridge of theEnterprise" was going to start wearing thin pretty soon if they didn't do something. This is the first time we hear the background of a raid by the Romulans on Khitomer and his survival and subsequent adoption by a Starfleet officer.

We soon see Worf begin to sympathize with the rescued Klingons, especially after finding out they were rebelling against the "traitors of Kling" when they stole the freighter.

This part smacks of bad writing. Worf has graduated Starfleet Academy and been around humans for most of his life, yet as soon as some of "his own kind" come on board the Enterprise, his loyalties seem to waver. He sympathizes with these Klingons who are rebelling against the Klingon authorities who have embraced peace, yet he has no sympathy for all of the Klingons who were killed when they destroyed the pursuit vessel in The Neutral Zone. Captain Picard also seems to not entirely trust Worf during this time.

However, to me these plot holes are secondary to some of great information and insight we are given into the Klingon culture. The Klingon Death Ritual is first seen here. Worf also shows near the end how the Klingons focus more on honor than on anything else.

Another character who gets some development here is Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton). When he is sent to the Talarian vessel as part of the away team, we get some insight into what his world is like. Geordi is the helmsman of the Enterprise, and he is also blind. To compensate, he wears a VISOR (which is actually a spray-painted girl's banana hair-clip) to let him "see" the world. This functions in such a way that he sees much more than we do as human beings.

The android Data (Brent Spiner) has been working with Geordi testing out rigging a Visual Acuity transmitter to his VISOR. This will allow the Enterprise to pick up what he is seeing. It was fascinating to see the interpretation of how Geordi sees the world and very well done. Instead of seeing clean images, he is seeing light energy and its reflection as well as a variety of energy fields.

Unfortunately, this is not only dropped in the beginning of the episode, but for the remainder of the series. The idea of using Geordi's VISOR to see things does not come up again until Star Trek: Generations. At that time, the images transmitted back to a scientist named Soran are very different from the images we see here, so there is no consistency.

Some of my favorite Star Trek episodes are those which feature the Klingons. Though this is far from some of the best ones, it is a decent beginning. It is good to see Michael Dorn and Levar Burton finally get some decent air time. Despite the problems with the writing, the character development comes along nicely. Both of these actors are very good and deserve more attention from the Star Trek writers.

A Review of the film MAS*H

2013-03-31T18:57:00.000-04:00

I have to wonder just how many people actually think of the movie first when they hear the word M*A*S*H spoken. How many people even know that it was originally a movie? The television series was a hit for eleven years, but it all started with a wonderful film directed by Robert Altman.

If you have never seen the movie, only the television show, do yourself a favor and rent the movie. I had seen the movie a few times on television, but there were scenes which were cut. The new DVD release is completely restored and uncut; a real treat to watch.

How do you sum up a story when there really is none? M*A*S*H is a series of vignettes based on a five to six month period in the life of a Mobile Army SurgicalHospital during the Korean War. It begins with the arrival of two new surgeons, Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt). It ends with their tour of duty over.

In contrast to most war movies, there is no mission; no objective that needs to be completed for the movie to be over. The audience is just shown what life is like during this time period. Unlike the television show which had a fairly stable cast, the players go in and out of this setting at various times. We are introduced to Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) in the beginning, but he is soon carted off in a straight-jacket after being provoked by Hawkeye. Trapper John McIntyre (Elliot Gould) does not come into play till around one-third of the way through the film. Around this same time, Major Margaret O'Houlihan enters the picture as well. Lieutenant Dish (Jo Ann Pflug), one of the nurses, also ships out part of the way through the film, and in one of the later segments we are introduced to neurosurgeon and former football star Spearchucker Jones (Fred Williamson).

I believe this makes the movie more realistic than the television show. We don't have a guest du jour popping in to make the point of the episode. These people are stuck in a situation that none of them want to be in and they are just making the best of it. To deflect from having to sew up bodies blown apart by bombs, they drink, play cards, and let loose in many different ways.

Altman manages to convey that very well, transitioning at various interludes from the bloody gore of the operating rooms to the various diversions that go on both inside the camp and outside.

If you go into this movie expecting to see the Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John we know from Alan Alda and Wayne Rodgers, you'll probably be disappointed. Sutherland and Gould portray these characters very differently than the television actors. It doesn't mean that one is necessarily better than the other, only different.

This is also a much wider canvas than I was used to from the television series. Spearchucker Jones disappeared after the first few episodes. We never got to meet Duke Forrest, Lieutenant Dish, "Painless Pole" Waldowski, or "Me Lay" Marston. These actors all participate in the various stories which take place: Major O'Houlihan and Frank Burns try to put a stop to Pierce and McIntyre's behavior and end up having sex with it broadcast over the camp loudspeakers (this is where the Hot Lips nickname comes in), Waldowski (the camp dentist) at one point decides he must be gay since he couldn't perform and wants to commit suicide, the 4077th M*A*S*H competes against another outfit in football and we get to watch both team try to unscrupulously rig the game, Pierce and McIntyre travel to Tokyo to perform an operation on a Congressman's son, the camp tries to find out if Major O'Houlihan is really a blonde.

The DVD has a whole bunch of extras. There is a Still Gallery, the option to watch the film with a commentary by Robert Altman, the original theatrical trailer, and a whole bunch of documentaries. It wasn't until I began watching these documentaries that I realized just how different M*A*S*H was for its time. To begin with, most of the war movies being put out during this time were decidedly rah-rah, go-get-‘em type films with our country's involvement in Vietnam. Altman was trying to make an anti-war film and yet have it not appear so. To do this, he set it in Korea and had the subversiveness on the part of the doctors be very subtle.

The movie presents its case that war is hell. It does not glamorize it or glorify it. We see all the blood and bodies; the result of so many of those other war films. Fox tried to get many of the operating room scenes deleted, but the feedback it received told them to leave it in.

M*A*S*H only won one Academy Award for Original Screenplay. This is ironic since Ring Lardner Jr. wanted to distance himself from this film after he felt the actors and Altman took way too many liberties with his script. In fact, most of the dialogue is ad-libbed, a credit to the entire cast, their chemistry, and Altman for being able to reap this wonderful talent.

Sutherland and Gould also at one point tried to get Altman fired as they were convinced this movie would be the end of their careers. This ended up being good for the movie, however, as Altman was able to use that friction to his benefit.

Many of the techniques Altman use in this film were groundbreaking, such as the zoom lens. The actors would be in scenes and they would not know if he was focusing on them or not. He fitted the actors with microphones so their conversations would be going on over each other, creating a general tone for the movie. He then used the camp loudspeakers, and announcements almost word-for-word out of a Korean War manual to wrap the film together.

The three documentaries AMC Backstory Behind-the-Scenes Documentary,Enlisted: The Story of M*A*S*H, and M*A*S*H: History Through the Lens all seem very similar. I would watch these at different times since I think they would be better appreciated instead of watched one on top of the other. However, the30th Anniversary M*A*S*H Cast Reunion was an excellent piece I will watch again and again. The Film Restoration Featurette was also good.

M*A*S*H is a don't miss. It's a true classic that deserves to be on any best film list. Do yourself a favor and get this DVD in your collection.

A Review of the novel Blood & Iron by Harry Turtledove

2013-03-31T18:55:00.000-04:00

This is the first novel in Turtledove's American Empire series, which picks up where his last series, The Great War leaves off.

Turtledove writes a genre known as alternate history. These series of novels were crafted on the presumption that the Confederacy won the Civil War and achieved independence from the United States. They fought again twenty years later in the Second Mexican War (How Few Remain) and again in the World War I period. The U.S. aligned itself with Germany while the Confederacy aligned itself with England and France. The U.S. was finally able to defeat the Confederacy this go-round.

Blood & Iron picks up following the end of the war. In the Confederate States, they are plagued by having to pay reparations to the U.S. causing tremendous inflation. Enter Jake Featherston, who we know from the previous series of novels. Convinced that the aristocracy present in the Confederate War Department is largely to blame for losing the war as well as his own inability to advance in the military despite a great record, he forms the Freedom Party. The tactics of the Freedom Party, as well as Featherston's own speeches are eerily reminiscent of the Nazi Party. At one point he even talks about "giving the gas" to blacks on whom he also lays a great deal of the blame for the lost war. Their Socialist uprising in the middle of the fighting hurt the Confederacy a great deal.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., winning the war is not enough to secure a third term as President for Teddy Roosevelt. He is unseated by the Socialist Upton Sinclair as former soldiers react to coming home and finding themselves at the mercy of capitalist factory owners.

The main characters are people known from the previous series. If you haven't read it, chances are you will be lost if you pick up this book and try to read it. As always, he has a great deal of them. However, he does not promise that all of them will survive and I believe that he has started out with so many because of this. It can be confusing at times because he jumps around so much. Each chapter contains some vignettes about certain characters and it can be hard to follow. I also found it hard figuring out how much time had passed in certain instances.

Some of the characters we've known seem to have nothing to do here. They are just living their lives and not doing anything spectacular. People who seemed interesting during the war seem somewhat dull now. However, my general feeling is that Turtledove is building up towards the Second World War. Most of his characters talk about the Confederacy and the U.S. fighting once again.

The novel didn't really grab me until about the last one hundred pages. Before that, I found it hard to plow through. In this last bit, Turtledove seems to get his groove and many characters become interesting again. In particular, I liked how he contrasted two Canadian farmers. Lucien Galtier is in the new Republic of Quebec. The war benefitted him and he is living a good life now. Arthur McGregor lives out in Manitoba and is embittered at the U.S. for the execution of his son who may or may not have been involved in a bombing back during the war. His bitterness is focused on punishing the U.S. and the soldiers who are occupying Canada. His bitterness allows him to justify the killing of innocents to "punish" the U.S. for its wrongdoings. Lucien reading about McGregor and lamenting about how his life could have been so different is a really profound part of this story.

If you are already reading the series, this novel is good because of what it is building up to. However, if you haven't read the series, you will be confused. I thinkThe Great War novels were much better, but I am excited as to what this novel is leading up to.

Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer: A Workhorse Well Worth The Money

2013-03-31T18:52:00.003-04:00

Working for a non-profit means everything revolves around cost. When the time came to purchase a new printer for one of our workstations, that was the main factor in my purchasing decision.

I am a big fan of laser printers and have owned one since they first became popular about ten years ago. We don't print or copy in color at the office due to the cost. Our output consists mostly of letters as well as educational matter and reports.

As I browsed through various catalogs, the printer which seemed to be the best value for the money is the Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer. At $299 it came in on the low end of laser printers. I factored in the cost of the toner ($55 for a 3,000 sheet yield cartridge; $80 for a 6,000 sheet yield cartridge) as well as the drum ($170 and should last through 20,000 sheets) and came out with a figure of about 2¢ per copy. This is on par with the cost of copies in our copy machine as well, making this printer a good value.

Setting up the printer was easy. Our systems are still currently running Windows 98, and there were no problems installing the software. Recently, I upgraded my home computer to Windows XP and had problems with the Brother software for my home workcenter. Knowing that, I'd advise that installing the Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer on a machine with Windows XP may require downloading the software from the Brother website.

The software also installs a HL-1440 Interactive Help right on the desktop. For anyone without a good knowledge of computers - specifically printers - this can be a blessing as it takes you through the steps to clear any problems which may occur.

Features of the Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer:

Up to 15 ppm print speed
1200 x 600 dpi resolution
2MB standard memory, upgradeable to 34MB
Optimized drivers for Windows® 95/98/98SE/Me/2000 Professional, NT® 4.0, XP and iMac™/iBook™/G3/G4
Parallel and USB ports standard PCL4 emulation
Universal 250-sheet adjustable paper cassette
Single sheet manual bypass with straight paper path for envelopes and thick media
Shockwave-based animated help system
Brother Solutions Center (requires Internet access)
Manual duplex, watermark, poster and N-up print modes
Energy Star Compliant
Optional external Ethernet interface

The Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer comes with a 1 year warranty.

We don't generally do anything with heavy graphics, so the amount of memory that the printer was shipped with is adequate for our use. The print comes out very crisp and clean. We haven't had any problems with mysterious in spots on the printouts where they shouldn't be. There also have not been any paper jams - even with envelopes which were my nemesis on my old printer for many years. The tray holds an impressive 250 sheets of paper which means long periods of time without having to fumble around to fill the tray.

We have been using the Brother HL-1440 Laser Printer for 8 months and haven't had to replace either the drum or the toner cartridge as of yet. I am very happy with the performance and quality of this low-cost printer and would recommend it to anyone. If you will be doing printing which consists of a lot of graphics, I would recommend upgrading the memory.

A Review of the Movie Bull Durham

2013-03-30T18:55:00.000-04:00

I don't know of anyone who has a true love of baseball that doesn't love this movie. In my opinion, it's the best movie ever made about the sport. Ron Shelton is the writer and director of this romantic comedy centering around the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team. He does not romanticize the sport as was done inThe Natural or Pride of the Yankees, two other baseball films I love, but has shown us all sides of the game. It can be fun, brutal, glorious, unfair, challenging, and tormenting.

The film opens with a collection of classic baseball pictures. A wave of nostalgia came over me as I watched it. In 1988, when this movie was filmed, Fernando Valenzuela was still in his glory. There is an incredible shot of him looking to the heavens as he pitches. I wonder how many kids growing up with the superstars today even know about him? The shot of Pete Rose also tore at me, as all he is doing his famous head-first slide. How many kids know about his great accomplishments in baseball, not just the controversy surrounding his (lack of) induction into the Hall of Fame? There are also pictures from before my time, including that of the Women's Baseball League and Babe Ruth looking out towards right field. If these pictures don't move you, then the baseball side of this film might not be for you.

The good news on that front is that Ron Shelton managed to weave a wonderful romantic comedy around the subject of baseball. Susan Sarandon portrays Annie Savoy, a baseball "groupie" who each year chooses a player off of the Bulls team to hook-up with and impart her wisdom on. A triangle forms as Ebby Calvin LaLoosh - also known as "Nuke" - and "Crash" Davis square off for her affection.

Nuke - portrayed by Tim Robbins - is a bonus-baby; an up-and-coming hot-shot with a million-dollar arm and a five-cent brain. He throws a fastball 95 miles an hour but has control trouble. In his first appearance, he hits the announcers, the mascot, and a whole bunch of players. However, he also strikes out eighteen players. He is so full of himself at the beginning of this film, I don't know how his head fit into that cap. Robbins nails the part with a perfect balance of goofiness and seriousness that Nuke is believable and not a caricature.

Enter Crash - portrayed by Kevin Costner. Crash was in the majors for "21 of the best days of my life". He is a veteran who has been around the minors for a long time. So long, in fact, that he is about to break the record for the most home runs in the minors. That record is a double-edged sword. While it speaks to his abilities as a player, it also tells just how long he has been rattling around the minors. In a great piece near the end of the film, Crash tells how what separates a .250 (minor-league) hitter from a .300 (major-league) hitter is just one hit a week - a blooper, or a fantastic play by the outfielder. It all boils down to luck and Crash seems to have been on the wrong side of that. Costner also has the perfect balance in this character. I found myself rooting for him, but not pitying him.

Crash was brought in specifically to cultivate the new potential superstar. Hit catching abilities are needed to help the kid settle down and teach him control of not just the baseball, but himself as well. Both of these men also begin vying for Annie's affection, although she hooks up with Nuke after Crash makes one of the best speeches ever in a film. The famous I believe ... speech has been parodied many times, but Costner delivers it with such feeling that watching it again now has the same impact it did all those years ago. And I happen to agree with him about the Constitutional amendment banning Astroturf and the designated hitter.

It's easy to believe the chemistry in this film. Robbins and Sarandon first met here and it was a movie romance that is still continuing this day. It's Annie's and Crash's chemistry throughout the film that have us rooting for them to be together, though. They seem perfect for each other as each year she is finding the rookies getting younger and younger and he knows the time is coming when the game will no longer be his to play. Their banter is slick, friendly and filled with affection. Both of them are facing "retirement" and fighting to get in their last bit of playing time.

There are lovely bits of comedy in the background of this movie as well. Robert Wuhl is terrific as the assistant manager, Larry Hockett, and brings in a lot of comic relief. I will never look at conferences on the mound the same way again after watching all of the players gather in discussion, and seeing Larry's lack of surprise at the conversation taking place and his response to it. The superstitions that baseball players have is also played here for some comedy, and any fan knows how seriously superstitious most players are!

The DVD of this movie contains extras such as Between the Lines, a documentary about the making of the movie, a profile of Kevin Costner, andSports Wrap, another short documentary. There are also the usual theatrical trailers. A big surprise, however, was the ability to run this movie with two different commentaries. One was by the director and writer, Ron Shelton, and the other was with Tim Robbins and Kevin Costner. After discovering the Robbins/Costner commentary, I watched the DVD a second time - it was that good! It felt like I was listening to two old buddies sitting in my living room commenting and laughing. At one point they make the comment that they are having such fun watching, they have to remember to comment. They are having fun and it shows!

By the way, Tim Robbins is a Mets fan!

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Coming of Age

2013-03-30T18:52:00.000-04:00

At this point as I go through the first season episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I am thinking I have seen just about enough of Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) and it's about time they give this character a break.

Unfortunately, the Star Trek writers do not agree with me.

The sad thing is, if I hadn't already been hit with Wesley-Crusher-overkill, this would have been a pretty good episode.

As the Enterprise orbits Relva III, two different stories are taking place. On one hand, teenager Wesley Crusher beams down to the planet to take Starfleet Academy entrance exams. He is pitted against three other youths from different species.

At the same time, the crew of the Enterprise is being thoroughly interrogated by Commander Remmick (Robert Schenkkan), the adjunct to Admiral Quinn (Ward Costello). The object of their suspicion seems to be Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart).

This is a well-balanced episode with very few holes in the plot. We get to see the crew talk about the episodes of the last season as they are interrogated about each event. Each crewmember conveys their frustration as Remmick seems to twist every answer of theirs to his own purpose. At times it seems as if he is almost trying to set Picard up to take a fall for some imagined indiscretion.

During the investigation, one of the youths aboard the Enterprise, Jake, hijacks a shuttlecraft after a fight with his father. His intention is to sign-on with a freighter after having failed to qualify for the exam that Wesley is taking. Picard has to deal with what is essentially heckling and harassment on the part of Remmick as he attempts to talk Jake through a major malfunction. Why they did not just beam him out of the shuttlecraft when it is first launched seems to be the only plothole in this episode. Beaming him out of the shuttlecraft is not brought up until he is - of course - out of range.

Watching Wesley deal with the demons of his past as well as trying to focus on what he has to do to pass the test is also very interesting. He must stay true to his own self and at the same time is being put through draining mental and physical exercises. The tests do not just measure his intelligence, but other factors as well.

What is nice here is the way the Picard/Quinn storyline is actually the first part of a two-parter. This is one of the first storyline arcs we see in Star Trek, as the conclusion comes at the end of season one. All of the actors involved in the interrogation give strong performances, from Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Worf (Michael Dorn) to Remmick on the other side. As Quinn begins talking about a vast conspiracy in Starfleet, we have to wonder if he managed to find a collection of old X-Files episodes (note: Star Trek's first season was well before X-Files.)

This is a fairly good episode, especially as the first part of the two-parter. The acting is strong, the plot does not feel contrived, and the characters seem to be acting with reason.

The Americans by John Jakes

2013-03-30T18:48:00.000-04:00

The last and final installment in the Kent Family Chronicles was released in 1980 - four years beyond the original target date of ending the family's adventures. It is also far short of the original goal of following the descendants of Philip Kent all the way through to the Bicentennial.

I have to believe, after having read all of the books in such a short span of time, that Jakes himself had grown tired of the characters. Too often, the same storylines were carried through from book to book; from character to character. It almost seemed at times as if he were just transplanting the same scenarios to different times in history.

The Americans, unfortunately, is no different. Although I found the book to be a great read, I was frustrated at way too many times feeling like I'd read it all before. A trademark of Jakes' books seems to be a person who holds a grudge against the protagonist for little or no reason and spends a good deal of time and trouble trying to avenge himself. In this novel we see that not once, but twice - with two different characters.

The novel takes place in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Gideon Kent is leading the rich man's life in Boston along with his wife Julia (his cousin's ex-wife). Throughout the story, Gideon is continually troubled by what he sees as the indifference of his and Julia's children to the legacy left to the family by Philip Kent.

Gideon's daughter Eleanor is an actress at a time when that was synonymous with being a prostitute. She is married to Leo Goldman and suffers a great deal of turmoil, culminating in a fantastic tale of survival during the infamous Johnstown Flood. Some of the demons are in her own mind, put there by the atrocities she suffered in the previous novel and has never confessed to anyone. Others are there as a result of the anti-semitism that she and her husband experience.

Will Kent's journey was probably the most in-depth in this novel. I don't know if the fact that it is given the most attention is what makes it the most interesting, but the historical background of how people lived in tenements while the rich partied on the backs of people who were sick and dying really gripped me. Will has decided to become a doctor, which was not a revered profession at the time. Society doctors spent most of their time treating women's fainting spells and making a fortune doing it. However, they practiced little real medicine.

The time he spends in the tenements begins to open his eyes, and he is torn between working with people who will benefit the most from his knowledge, and becoming successful the way his step-brother defines success: lots and lots of money.

Carter Kent leaves behind a Harvard education to try to find his own way out west. For a long time, he simply wanders aimlessly until his charming personality managed to get him ingratiated with the Democratic Party Boss in San Francisco.

I found the historical background here interesting - especially in light of the 2000 Presidential election. It seems like a hundred years ago, these bosses consistently manipulated election to the desired - and paid for - outcome. The novel hints at Carter's own rise in the party to Washington politics.

In fact, most of the history presented in The Americans made me think that many of the problems we face now in this country have plagued us for almost as long as the country has existed. In some ways, that made me sad. When I thought of it a bit more, I felt reassured that if we'd survived these conditions for the last hundred years, we'd survive it a while longer.

Where the novel ends is at Gideon's death. We have no idea of what becomes of the Kent family in the 20th Century. We don't know what happens with Carter's political career; who will run the family newspaper and publishing business, or a whole host of other loose ends.

One thing I disliked in the last novel was how certain things we had read were changed to suit the story Jakes developed, and he did the same here. Once again, the abuse Will was subjected to at the hands of his mentally ill mother seemed to become worse when written about now, over what was written during the time this was happening.

Still, reading about Will's adventures out in Montana with Theodore Roosevelt, and the historical background of the New York City tenements made up for the shortcomings I felt were in the characters. This is a good ending to the series, and if the novels are not read so close together, there is a deeper appreciation for the story.

GardensAlive.com Keeps My Garden Alive!

2013-03-30T18:46:00.000-04:00

I love my garden. I love the feeling of the dirt in my hands. I love planting things and watching them grow. I love watching trees I planted as nothing more that twigs grow and bloom. For me, gardening is both rewarding and fun.

I have always been sensitive to environmental issues. I was first introduced toGardens Alive through its catalog. Now I spend a great deal of time at the website.

What's different about Gardens Alive?

Gardens Alive doesn't just sell me products. It teaches me about caring for the plants in my garden. I used to just put my plants in the ground and watch them grow. If they died, I was upset, but I didn't think about learning how to prevent this from happening. The main reason was that I didn't want to load down the soil - and the vegetables - with a lot of chemicals.

With Gardens Alive I have learned how to better care for the plants in my garden in an environmentally responsible way. For instance, with my lawn I used to use a popular dandelion killer that carried all sorts of warning about avoiding contact with skin and keeping people and animals away from the area sprayed. Gardens Alive has a great product called Wow! Plus which controls dandelions, crabgrass, creeping bentgrass, foxtail, lamb's-quarters, purslane, redroot pigweed and many others while delivering nutrients to the lawn.

I have learned a better way for caring for other problems such as fungus and blights that affect my vegetable plants. Gardens Alive also taught me about composting. I use their Tomatoes Alive products on my vegetables now instead of Miracle Grow. I purchase live ladybugs from here as well to control the aphids in my backyard.

Pet owners, take note: there is also an area for natural, organic ways to take car of your pets as well. Flea control, food and treats which don't contain corn, vitamins, and bathing products are available for your pet.

The website is very easy to use. On the first page is a search box. Just type in your problem and it will bring up articles about it. For instance, if I type in dandelions, I am directed to an article on organic lawn care which encompasses getting rid of dandelions.

There are also categories to choose from: Backyard Birds, Beneficial Insects, Composting, Cover Crops, Disease Control, Fertilizers, Flower Gardening, Home Orchards, Household, Lawn Care, Pest Controls, Pet Care, Reference, Row Covers, Tools and Accessories, Vegetable Gardening, and Weed Control.

It is so easy to just go online and find a safe solution here when I see a problem developing with the plants in my garden. The products are displayed nicely and there is good information given. I can look for specific products or browse through disease control, pest control, or weed control to find a solution to my gardening problems. I have also subscribed to the newsletter and receive notices about sales and gardening tips via email.

Prices are a little bit higher when compared to comparable products found at the nursery (such as the Miracle Grow versus Tomatoes Alive!), but the products are safer for the environment, your vegetables, and you. Only you can decide if the extra expense is justified.

Another thing I like is that I can order a product or an insect from them and it is only shipped when it's the right time to use it - when the weather has warmed up sufficiently. The people at Gardens Alive watch the weather reports for the country and only bill and ship the weather-sensitive products when the time is right. This is very important in regards to the insects which could die off in the cold, or also be adversely affected if it's already very hot when they arrive at their destination. I love doing ladybug releases with my kids and a package which covers 1,000 square feet is fairly inexpensive.Gardens Alive also uses a special type of ladybug designed to be free of parasites and stay close to where they are released, rather than flying off quickly.

A Review of the novel Love and War by John Jakes

2013-03-28T17:29:00.000-04:00

This novel is the second in Jakes' Civil War trilogy. Love and War picks up the lives of the Main and Hazard families right where North and South left off.

The Mains are rice planters in South Carolina. The Hazards are steel manufacturers in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The Civil War is just beginning. Brett Main has just married Billy Hazard.

The families are linked not just by their marriage, but by the strong friendship forged between Orry Main and George Hazard while attending West Point. This bond transcends even the worst moments of the War as the families reach out and help one another on numerous occasions.

In the Afterword, Jakes compares his writing of this novel to Gone With the Wind. He admits to loving the story, but laments the fact that the slaves are depicted as content to be slaves, and also with comic relief - social values which really don't hold up any longer. Even the war is depicted without too much blood and guts, mostly referred to on cue cards. The only true impact of suffering is the depot scene showing a seemingly endless sea of wounded men.

This novel shows that war is pure hell. Particularly notable is the change in Charles Main through the book as what he witnesses and experiences changes him. The evolution is not swift or abrupt, but very gradual. It make it totally believable. The battlefields are described in great detail giving the reader the feeling that they are experiencing it right along with the characters. Everything in Jakes' writing rings so true that I felt as if I were reading a biography of these two families.

Instead of focusing on the notable parts of the War, such as the battle at Gettysburg, Jakes takes us to Carolina and Liverpool shipyards, Libby Prison, Confederate encampments, and the politicking in both Washington D.C. and Richmond, VA. This gives the novel more depth than focusing just on the more infamous parts of the War.

Neither side is exempt from special interests or those who seek to profit on the blood of others. Both families have people who are up to no good. In the case of Ashton Main - Brett and Orry's sister - she is inherently evil here. While trying to help her husband rise politically in Confederate circles, she joins with a group at first attempting to take control of the government. In the process she almost destroys Orry's marriage and his good name, is responsible for the drowning of her nephew, and still carries a great deal of anger at being rejected by Billy Hazard in favor of her sister.

Of course no Jakes novel would be complete without the evil man harboring a grudge due to some slight years ago. In here it is Elkanah Bent. Bent seems to spend the majority of the novel scheming at how to get back at the two families, all the while managing to mess up every chance he has in his own life. Much is made of his parentage here, but though it is hinted at, it is never revealed. It is one bit of frustration I really would have like to have been resolved.

In this novel, slavery is not depicted as a happy existence. As the war presses on, many of the slaves at the Mains' plantation run off. Orry's wife Madeline goes to great lengths to try and make it better for them, even beginning a school. Her belief is that they will be freed and need their education. This is a believable way to show the feelings of loyalty some of the slaves - and freedmen who live at the plantation - have for the family.

In the North, Brett works with black children at an orphanage started by George's wife, Constance. Having the opportunity to interact outside of the plantation with the black children and adults causes Brett to rethink her own beliefs she has had all her life. It also gives her a good direction and sense of purpose, rather than sitting in a house through the whole novel worried about her husband.

The families are not exempt from tragedy. Several lives are lost. There is nothing pretty about the four and a half years contained in the novel. Jakes has gone to great lengths to write a well-researched and non-glamorous view of this terrible war. If you've never read it, it's definitely worth a look.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - When The Bough Breaks

2013-03-28T17:26:00.000-04:00

The Enterprise follows a trail to a legendary planet that no one has yet been able to prove exists. When the planet Aldea is actually found by them, initially no one seems to question why, after all these years when no one else could find it, theEnterprise and its crew manage to. Eventually, Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes), the ship's First Officer, does comment that it did seem like they were being led right to the planet.

Unfortunately, this does not seem to deter Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) in the least as he immediately seeks to establish relations with the Aldeans. Their technology seems to be much more advances than that which the Federation currently possesses. The half-Betazed ship's counselor, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), also cautions that all is not what it seems after her empathic abilities kick in during a conversation with the Aldean leaders.

For a very long time the Aldeans managed to conceal their planet using a shield similar to a cloaking device. Why have they suddenly allowed themselves to be seen?

The answer comes when all of the children mysteriously disappear from theEnterprise. It seems that the Aldean race is dying off and they wish to take the children to replenish it. They offer technological and logistical information in return for these children. Captain Picard must now find a way to get the children back through the powerful Aldean planetary shield before they decide to enact the cloaking device and disappear.

This part of the plot is very well done. Watching Captain Picard deal with the Aldeans on one hand and the irate parents on the other was very interesting. Patrick Stewart has done a wonderful job, especially conveying the fact that Picard does not like children and feels quite uncomfortable around them. This does not prevent him from having empathy for the parents who do not know what has happened to their children.

The biggest part that doesn't work, however, is the Aldean culture itself. This is a supposed advanced race with technology the likes of which the Federation can only dream. However, not one of the surviving Aldeans seems to have any clue as to how it operates. Doctor Crusher (Gates McFadden) eventually figures out that the power source for the great shield is depleting the ozone and allowing dangerous radiation to the planet which has caused the sterility. If this is so easy for her to discover, why weren't one of the early scientists aware of this?

Here on Earth, we have noticed ozone problems with technology that is far behind that of the Aldeans, so it does not make sense that the people who created all of this technology would have no idea of the damage it could be doing. Even if it were believable that the remainder of the Aldean population has no mathematical or scientific education, the people who originally conceived of this technology should have been more adept. The Aldeans we see now seem to be totally clueless as parents as well when they have to deal with mild rebelliousness on the part of the children when they stage a "sit-in" demanding to be returned to theEnterprise.

If I had to guess, I would say that this episode was written by someone who hasn't had children. They are entirely too well-behaved and seem to feel at home on Aldea entirely too fast. There are no signs that they miss their parents or act out until Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) organizes the "sit-in". The one boy, who we are shown being scolded by his father for not wanting to learn calculus in the beginning of the episode, seems to prefer being on Aldea. When they are eventually reunited with the parents, it seems as if the parents are being played as the "bad guys" for telling the boy he has to go to school, rather than letting him do whatever he wants.

This is not bad for one of the episodes for the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, if a more plausible scenario was found for the source of the sterility of the Aldeans rather than the ozone depletion, it would have been much better.

A Review of the movie In The Line of Fire

2013-03-27T17:55:00.000-04:00

In The Line of Fire is a suspense-filled thriller about the Secret Service. In contrast to the film Murder at 1600, which I also recently viewed, the Secret Service here is portrayed in a much better light; having a responsibility beyond covering up for the President and his family.

Clint Eastwood portrays aging Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan. In the beginning of the movie we see him at work undercover in Counterfeiting Investigations. Dylan McDermott is his new partner, Al D'Andrea.

A tip leads them to the apartment of a man we will later know as Mitch Leary. In that apartment, Frank finds a haunting reminder of his failure to protect the President as a young agent: clippings of the Kennedy assassination. There are many other clippings as well, all leading them to believe that another kook is on the loose with designs on trying to assassinate the current President. Unaware that this is no kook, but a psychotic killer who is watching them, Frank and Al leave the apartment to come back later with a warrant. When they do, it has been cleared of everything except a clipping showing a young Agent Horrigan with his head circled in red pen.

John Malkovich portrays Leary, and this is one of his best roles as he leads Agent Horrigan in a game of cat and mouse. Leary is a former CIA assassin who wants to make one last strike against the government he is angry with. His intention is to kill the President, knowing he will die as well. This means nothing since he knows his own agency has tried to kill him already.

But the game is the thing for Leary and he enjoys taunting Frank with his past failures. The fact that Agent Horrigan has to sit there and listen to it as other Secret Service agents attempt to trace the taunting calls is very believable, so we are not wondering why he doesn't just hang up. The telephone conversations between the two men build the suspense throughout the film. Both Eastwood and Malkovich manage to convey the building tension between the characters when these conversations take place. At times Horrigan seems to be cracking under the relentless emotional abuse by Leary, while at others, we see Frank managing to break through the emotionally cool exterior of Leary. It is a thrilling game of cat and mouse as each side in this battle seems to have the upper-hand at different times.

Agent Horrigan also has a reputation as a bit of a renegade, which is what made his new partner so uncomfortable in the first place. Other agents in the field do not want to work with him, and through a series of set-ups by Leary, his reputation is further eroded. Only the Director, portrayed by John Mahoney, best known right now as Frasier's father, seems to really believe in him, and yet he keeps trying to do his job. Horrigan is moved from the President's Detail after repeated requests by the Agent in charge (Gary Cole as Bill Watts), the White House Chief of Staff (Fred Thompson as Harry Sargent) and, finally, the President himself (Jim Curley).

Rene Russo portrays Agent Lilly Raines who is part of the President's Detail and also ends up being a romantic interest for Agent Horrigan. Their romance is believable, even as they move through the clichés of his sexism of dismissing her as a secretary at their first meeting, as well as his arrogant attitude and reputation. Lilly seems to know what is going on inside Frank. Having been burned romantically by another Agent, she has sworn off romance on the job. When she sympathizes with him at various times it does not have the feeling of pity, but pure compassion. Lilly believes in him, but can see both sides of the argument.

Wolfgang Petersen has done an amazing job directing this film. Where it could have easily fallen into the usual predictability and clichés, he has managed to instead craft an exciting thriller. Credit also must go to write Jeff Maguire, especially for the dialogue while Leary and Horrigan are on the telephone. Eastwood and Malkovich are fantastic in these roles - it is as if it were written specifically for these two men.

The only drawback I would have to say is the predictability of the movie. As soon as Al talked about his wife and taking his kid to school in the first scene, I knew he was going to bite the dust at some point in this movie. There are some parts that are that terribly predictable. However, the movie works despite these parts - a great credit to the cast and crew.

The visual imagery especially around Washington D.C. was stunning as well. It almost felt like a travel documentary and made me want to visit! The monuments and parks looked absolutely pristine and perfect.

On the DVD there are a host of Special Features. Included are the usual Cast and Crew bios, and trailer, as well as the ability to view the film with a running commentary by the Director. The Deleted Scenes are:
-- a scene of a woman trying to pick-up Agent Horrigan in the Piano Bar
-- a conversation about a practical joke Frank played on a supervisor
-- a conversation between Frank and Lilly prior to his being assigned to her team before the President's trip to Los Angeles
-- Agent Horrigan watching news coverage of him roughing up a bellman in the hotel lobby
-- another conversation in the Piano Bar, this one with Lilly about being assigned to protect Fidel Castro.

There is a nice piece called The Ultimate Sacrifice where Wolfgang Petersen and Executive Producer Gail Katz discuss getting the cooperation of the Secret Service. They tell how former Director Robert Snow became their Technical Advisor. He then discusses the Secret Service and its duties. Another short piece talks about the Secret Service's Counterfeit Investigation division.

There is another short piece about the special effects which mostly consist of digitally inserting images into different places. In some spots, actual clippings of John F. Kennedy had a young Clint Eastwood digitally inserted into them. At other times we see how campaign rallies were created to appear larger than they were.

Finally, there is a great documentary Behind the Scenes with the Secret Service. It was very interesting to see how much goes into being an agent and what training takes place.

The Great War: Breakthroughs by Harry Turtledove

2013-03-27T17:51:00.000-04:00

In this novel, Harry Turtledove wraps up his alternate-history saga of the first World War. My one piece of advice here is to use the map at the front of the novel, and use it often. I did, if for nothing else than to keep track of where everyone was.

The premise of the series is that the Confederacy won its bid for freedom during the Civil War, and for the third time in fifty years, they go head-to-head with the United States. This time is different: the United States has as its ally the powerful German and Austrian armies. The Confederacy is aligned with Canada, Great Britain, France and Russia (with the Japanese thrown in for a good skirmish every now and again).

After finishing the previous novel, The Great War: Walk in Hell, which felt like I was sitting through extra innings at a zero-zero baseball game, it was refreshing to finally see some movement in the war effort. Just who begins making the breakthroughs? Well, I won't spoil it for you.

Throughout the three novels in this series, Turtledove has woven a great selection of characters from all sides of the war. To really know them, a reader should start with the first novel of the series, or it will seem like they are not given depth here; the depth comes from the history we have of their involvement in the war over the last three years. Turtledove is not above sacrificing his characters - not everyone he began following in the first novel The Great War: American Front will survive. It would be unrealistic in many ways to expect this, yet I had become so attached to certain ones that I teared up at the news of their death - and was flooded with relief when one such interesting character manages to cheat death.

Turtledove describes with great detail the advent of the modern war machines. Tanks, or "barrels" as they are called here come to be a real deciding factor in who is victorious. Yet my favorite part was the description of the flying aces in their machines. The war evolves greatly during the novels - the flying aces remark on it often. And it is interesting to see how fast it has all changed and who has managed to capitalize on it the best.

The Canadians were starkly contrasted with each other as well. Though none were happy at the beginning of the war with the United States' invasion, the citizens of the eastern province of Quebec have a much different reaction than the residents of centrally-located Manitoba. Hate has also come full circle here as we see what happens when a very intelligent man loses a child and lashes out at the occupiers.

We also see the hate coming full circle in other places. Though the United States was very happy to help arm the Socialist Negroes for their uprising in the Confederacy and create havoc, they are not welcoming to the black population at all. Factory workers who went off to fight in the South watched their jobs be taken over by former field hands and eventually see these same men who were shooting at them in the Red uprising handed a gun and a commission by their own Confederate government. How will the aristocracy who once flourished on the backs of the Negroes react? How will the disenfranchised white soldier returning from war react?

If there's one fault to the novels it's just how much they do jump around. For a casual reader, it's easy to get lost and not be able to follow all of the stories and remember who is doing what and where. On the other hand, I enjoyed seeing so many different angles of the conflict. More than once, characters we have gotten to know in totally separate instances come together in The Great War: Breakthroughs on opposite sides. Who do I root for? I have come to like both people for different reasons.

We also don't know what's happening in the rest of the world during this time. I felt at times as isolated from the European continent as the soldiers did; they did not seem to have much of an idea of what was going on over there at various times. We are given quick snippets of information at times when it seems crucial to the story. I suppose with as many fronts as Turtledove is following, anything more would've made it a lot more confusing.

For the most part, Turtledove has kept his novels showing the war through the eyes of the common man, rather than pivotal historical figures. We have watched the Socialist Flora Hamburger rise from virtual obscurity to her own seat in the House of Representatives, but who has ever heard of this woman? With the notable exception of General Custer and President Theodore Roosevelt, we see just how much the war affect the average citizen; the average soldier.

The novel ends with many of the stories not wrapped up. Yet this is the end of the series... Turtledove, I believe, has become as enamored of the characters he developed as we have. There is another series about to begin: American Empire.

I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Ghirardelli Makes the Best Brownie Mix on the Planet!

2013-03-27T17:47:00.002-04:00

The best brownie mix I've ever found is Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix. It's even better than some home-made brownie recipes I've tried.

What makes Ghirardelli brownies so special? They have a very rich chocolate flavor that tastes like you're eating a candy bar rather than a piece of cake.Ghirardelli puts real chocolate chips in the mix which melt during the baking process and give it the rich taste. The texture is chewy. Though it is rather difficult to eat when hot since the brownie falls apart, waiting for them to cool is the ultimate anticipation.

These brownies are exactly like the ones served at the Ghirardelli stores. Those usually come with frosting, but I haven't found the need to put frosting on the brownies I bake at home. They are rich enough and delicious enough without the frosting.

Each package of Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix will make approximately 16 brownies in a square pan. There are four batches of mix in the box I purchase at BJs Wholesale Club. The cost is $8.99 for that box, or about $2 more than other brownie mixes.

The mix is easy enough that my two older girls get together and make it themselves.

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly spray baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Blend 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup vegetable oil and 1 egg in a medium bowl. Add brownie mix and stir until moistened (about 40 strokes). Spoon batter into prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Bake 40-45 minutes. Do not overbake. Fresh-baked brownies appear underbaked but cool to doneness. Cool completely in pan before cutting.

Because the mix contains real chocolate chips, you have to be careful where you store the box of mix. Above 85 degrees, the chocolate can melt.

Ingredients: sugar, enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folate), chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, natural cocoa, wheat starch, cocoa (processed with alkali), salt, artificial flavor, sodium bicarbonate, natural butter flavor.

Nutritional Information: (prepared)
Serving Size: 1 2-inch brownie

Calories: 200
Calories from Fat: 80
Total Fat: 4.5 g 14% daily value
Saturated Fat: 1.5 g 13% daily value
Cholesterol: 0 mg. 7% daily value
Sodium: 130 mg 5% daily value
Total Carbohydrates: 27 g 9% daily value
Dietary Fiber: less than 1 g 3% daily value
Sugars: 21 g
Protein: 1 g
Vitamin A: 0 %
Vitamin C: 0 %
Calcium: 0 %
Iron: 6 %

Lake Lure, NC is a Great Vacation Location for Families and Golfers

2013-03-27T17:44:00.002-04:00

Having not seen some people we know in quite a few years, we decided to use our timeshare week to trade into the area where they lived, Lake Lure, NC.

We stayed at the Foxrun Townhouses at the Lake Lure Golf & Beach Resort. They are nice two bedroom houses on the side of a mountain. The houses have one bedroom (twin beds), a bathroom, the full kitchen, and a living/dining area on the top floor with a deck off of the living/dining area. There are three huge windows which let a tremendous amount of light in, as well as a skylight. There is also a fireplace for burning duraflame logs during the cooler months.

The bottom floor consisted of a bedroom with a huge king bed, and a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. There is another deck off of the bedroom. I found this room to be much darker than the upstairs.

The Lake Lure Golf & Beach Resort is tremendous - and that is it's one drawback. Just to get from our townhouse to the lake or pool we had to get into our minivan and drive. The outdoor pool was fairly large and went from 3 feet deep to 9 feet 6 inches deep. There is a smaller pool and jacuzzi indoors at the recreation center, as well as a game room. At the recreation center, you can also rent equipment for the mini-golf and tennis that is in the same area. The lake has a sandy beach and a decent bottom for a good portion of the way out. There is no sudden drop-offs so it is safe for kids.

Living up to it's name, the Lake Lure Golf & Beach Resort has two golf courses. One is right at the resort itself and the other is a short distance away at the Apple Valley Country Club. There is also a driving range at the resort. Nearby is a third golf course - a public one run by the town of Lake Lure itself. The time of year we went, many of the local children are already headed back to school. There was an abundance of senior golfers enjoying the resort. Some of the villas are right on the course. Though there are paths winding through the fairway, they are strictly for the golfers and golf carts. Bicycles are allowed on the roads and on some of the other paths.

There are two restaurants, Legends Restaurant (grill with burgers and sandwiches for lunch and entrees in the evening) and The Lakeview Restaurant(more formal dining) in the Lake Lure Golf & Beach Resort. Azalea's is nearby at the Apple Valley Country Club and Paul's (Italian dining) is nearby as well.

We ventured into the actual town of Lake Lure a few times. One was to eat atLarkin's on the Lake. It was packed that night and we ended up being served downstairs in the Bayfront Bar and Grill. Service was slow and the food was just okay. There are three other restaurants we saw locally. The Cajun Pig is dedicated to barbecue and cajun fare. Margaritaville is right across from the beach in the town of Lake Lure and is casual dining. Point of View is a more upscale restaurant not too far from the resort.

Despite having a beach right by us, we decided to check out the beach in the town of Lake Lure as well. This beach costs $4 to get on, but there is also aWater Works Play Area available at additional charge. The Water Worksconsists of a water play area, a water balloon launching area (one bucket comes with admission, additional buckets of balloons are $1), and two water slides.

Other attractrions in the area include horseback riding and gemstone mining.Chimney Rock Park is also nearby with spectacular views as well as hiking trails.

What is not in the area is a grocery store. The nearest one was over 20 miles away. The little market was super expensive, so I'd advise either purchasing groceries before you arrive or plan to take a morning out of your vacation for grocery shopping.

We spent most of our vacation swimming, but my kids are looking forward to visiting the area again. I am looking forward to putting their golf courses to the test once my kids are a bit older. There is a children's program at the resort, as well as a Kid's Night Out several nights each week during the season.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Home Soil

2013-03-27T17:42:00.000-04:00

The Enterprise journeys to the planet Velara III to witness the terraforming of a planet. Terrafoming is when a scientific team takes a desolate planet which is seemingly incapable of supporting life and creates a liveable habitat out of it.

Immediately upon arrival they are greeted with hostility by the Project Leader of the four-person team. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) is immediately suspicious. Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), the part-Betazed Ship's Counselor, uses her empathic abilities and announces that he is afraid of them and concealing something.

The crew beam down to the planet to investigate the facility. Soon after, the Hydraulics Engineer is mortally wounded by a malfunctioning laser drill. While attempting to investigate the malfunction, the android Data (Brent Spiner) is also attacked, but his android reflexes allow him to survive.

Now a Federation matter, Picard launches an investigation of the remaining three terraforming crew. He is convinced that one of them murdered the Hydraulics Engineer in an attempt to conceal something. They soon discover that there is inorganic, intelligent life on the planet living in a thin layer of water beneath the surface.

This life is brought back to the medical lab and soon begins to reproduce as it feeds off of the lights in the medical lab. It eventually manages to communicate with the crew using the universal translator, and declares war on the humans for the great loss of life its kind has experienced at the hands of the terraformers.

After manually shutting down the lights, they force the life form to listen to them and agree to beam it back to Velara III and abandon the terraforming project.

There are so many contradictions in this episode that it isn't even funny. The build-up in the beginning seems to be that the terraformers know about the life-form but try to hide it in an attempt to carry-on their project. However, as the investigation wears on, it is apparent that none of the terraformers had any clue that this life form was on the planet. What is with all of the deception and concealment then? After all the sinister build-up throughout the episode, there is no payoff.

This team is supposed to be a highly knowledgeable scientific team, and yet Deanna Troi talks about the one member, Louisa Kim, almost as if she is an empty-headed ditz. When she can't get anywhere with figuring out what she knows, she suggests that Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) talk to her instead as he might "have more success". What is she insinuating here? That the young woman will swoon for the man and spill her guts to him?

It also becomes apparent that there was some signs that were missed by this scientific team, and again I have to question how they can be educated and knowledgeable in something like this and still be able to miss all the signs.

The episode could have been written with out all of the defensiveness on the part of the terraformers and I believe it would have worked better. An error in writing was made to build this up as if they are covering up something and then have them all to be clueless about what is going on around them.

The only salvage to some of the episode is the acting. Patrick Stewart does a great job as Captain Picard, having to play off of a dot of light for the last part of the episode. I thought Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi also came into her own a great deal more during the episode, although I wanted to gag when she said "We think all life is beautiful!" Eaten any meat or vegetables lately? You've eaten a living thing then. The writing is more at fault there, though, than her acting ability.

This episode wanted to show how highly evolved the human species had become and how much we value life, but it doesn't get to that point. Instead it comes of as far too pretentious and self-congratulatory. It is just another example of a first-season episode with a good premise, yet it completely falls apart in the execution.

Atkins Crustless Chicken Pot Pie – Low-Carb Comfort Food Done Right

2013-03-27T03:33:00.000-04:00

Chicken Pot Pie is a favorite of my family. When I go low-carb, I can still get it for my kids, but up until now that’s been a no-no for me. With the new line of frozen dinners from Atkins that are low-carb, the one I looked forward to the most after I first saw it was the Crustless Chicken Pot Pie.

Premium white meat chicken breast, broccoli & cauliflower florets, spinach and julienne carrots in a sherry & herb cream sauce.

Preparation is easy. I slit the film then popped it in the microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH. It then got stirred and went back in the microwave for an additional 2 minutes on HIGH. After that, it sat for a minute before being taken out. It looked nothing like the cover of the box when it did.

The idea seems to be this is like the filling of a chicken pot pie without the crust. Honestly, it does pretty good. I wasn’t crazy about the little bits of chicken. These were small pieces that didn’t seem to have much substance to them. The chicken pot pies I get have chunks of chicken and vegetables in them, so there it sort of missed the mark. However, the chicken was quite tender and good. After being stirred, the broccoli pretty much fell apart. The broccoli and the sauce dominated the flavor of the dish. I liked the sauce and the flavor, so overall my experience with this was a positive one.

Nutritionally, this fares pretty well. There’s 330 calories in the entire 9-ounce bowl. Of that, 200 calories are from fat. That works out to 22g of fat or 34% of the recommended daily value. Of that, 10g are saturated fat or 50% of the recommended daily value. There’s also 880mg of sodium which represents 37% of the recommended daily value. If you’re following a low-carb diet, there’s just 5g of net carbs in the dinner.

I’ll definitely get Atkins Crustless Chicken Pot Pie again. It had a good taste, although I didn’t think it was terribly similar to the filling I have in chicken pot pie. The chicken chunks could be a little bigger, but other than that I was pretty happy with it.

Paragraph 175 - Homosexuals and the Holocaust

2013-03-26T19:44:00.000-04:00

When people talk about the Holocaust, one of the most common statistics is that six million Jews were killed by the Nazis. What isn’t discussed as often is the other half of that equation. It’s estimated that twelve million were killed in concentration camps. The other six million were comprised of a smattering of other groups, including dissenters, gypsies, those with physical and learning disabilities, and homosexuals.

Rupert Everett narrates the documentary Paragraph 175. The title comes from the 1871 German statute making sodomy illegal, upon which the Nazis prosecuted male homosexuals during their time in power in Germany. While the Holocaust was going on, gay men in particular were prosecuted even worse than the Jews. Close to 100,000 men were arrested under this statute. It's estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. There were only ten men known to be alive who had been incarcerated in the camps due to homosexuality at the time the film was made.

Prior to the Nazis rising to power, it almost seemed as if a new era was dawning for homosexuals in Germany, and there was even a push to get Paragraph 175 repealed. However, the champion of this movement, the leader of a Hirschfeld Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin was also a homosexual and a Jew.

Klaus Muller, the historian who is featured in the film, talks about living in Germany and growing up not hearing about the persecution of homosexuals. The men he tracks down are reluctant to talk. Some of it is just the horrible memories, but it's also due to fifty years of no one wanting to hear their stories and having to shut down and not talk about it while others did. What's even more tragic is that these men weren't seen as victims of the Nazis. They were treated as criminals following the war and many were arrested even after surviving the camps under the Paragraph 175 statute.

The film is in German, and is available with English or French translation soundtrack. I preferred to view it in the original German while reading the English subtitles. The stories are gut-wrenching. There are some humorous moments as the interviewees talk about the clubs in Berlin, but the gravity of the topic is not lost in these moments. The most open seems to be a man by the name of Gad Beck, while the others are more reticent and seem to have to have the story drawn out of them. For me, there were quite a few moments when there were tears in my eyes.

Special features for Paragraph 175 are sparse, but good. The commentary is excellent, and really augments the film well. The Directors and Producer talk about how reluctant and even hostile these men were to talking about their experiences. Several outright refused to talk to them initially, or agreed only if they would be shown in such a way that their identities were concealed. The additional interviews included on the disc but not in the film are Phillippe Swaan & Kitty Fisher from the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.

I highly recommend Paragraph 175. It’s a bit of history that isn’t talked about when discussing the Holocaust and one that should be. I’m glad they managed to get these peoples’ experiences on video before it was too late.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Audio Commentary with Directors Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman and Producer Michael Ehrenzweig
• Additional Interviews