To help me focus, I simplified the story into a short teaser blurb summarizing the latest (and hopefully final) version of the story for the 10-minute film.

Now I need your input. After you read the following description, I’d love to hear what’s on your mind. Is it compelling? What do you want to know more about? Did you fall asleep halfway through the first paragraph? Here’s the blurb.

It doesn’t take long to notice there’s something very different about Polaris Dance. At first glance you’ll notice the authentic, emotional portrayal of the human condition that makes each performance surprisingly accessible — leaving you longing for more.

Upon closer look, you’ll notice their dedication to something much more than the opportunity to perform.

The hard work is especially astounding, when you realize the dancers aren’t paid to dance yet — despite their impressive level of skill.

This short film takes a closer look at this tight-knit group of artists to find out why, after years of hard work and dedication, they persevere in not only creating art, but in building something far more meaningful than beautiful dance.

So give it to me. Thoughts? Please share in the comments below.

The finale of the finest sci-fi (and even one of the finest dramas) that TV has ever seen has finally come and gone. It’s a bitter sweet experience that I’m still processing, but the show gives us a lot to think about. I feel compelled to gather my thoughts on the finale here (which is probably a good thing in of itself that a TV show would get me to write a post like this).

(Warning: there are spoilers in this post, obviously, so stop reading if you don’t want to see them.)

For the first half of the finale I was thinking to myself that this is the most brilliant show and finale ever. They ratcheted things into a fever pitch. The moment where they jump withing point blank of the colony and start taking a pounding was intense. It was awesome to have one final epic space battle in classic BSG style with the crazy camera work and all.

Then we hit the CIC (Opera House) scene and the the disappointment began. There are two things that disappointed me most.

1. They used poor characterization to resolve the battle with the colony Cylons (specifically with the way that Cavil backed down and then killed himself…more below).
2. They guided us too much into what they thought rather than giving us a framework and letting us think.

Here are my bullet-point thoughts.

Awesome

• One last epic space firefight (it’s just too bad we didn’t get to see Lee and Kara in the cockpit again).
• BSG slamming itself into the colony.
• “Let’s not tell her the plan.” Athena blowing away Boomer (it was sad, but it made sense). It gave us a tragic character ending.
• The finale was about the characters as much as it was about tying up plot twists.
• The redemption of Baltar. They could have gone a lot of directions with him, but they choose a really good way to tie up his  character with this awesome juxtaposition of the flashback with the two people (him and Caprica Six) that allowed the destruction of humankind. And his going back to farming (his father’s occupation) was brilliant.

Would have been cooler

• If Starbuck was Daniel’s daughter. I was “OK” with her dissappearing and essentially being some sort of “angel,” but they had a really cool opportunity there that they missed out on. If she had been the daughter of Daniel (due to procreation) it would have been more interesting, we could have seen her and Lee have their end together and it would be yet another jealous reason why Cavil would have hated his “brother” (he was able to create offspring). UPDATE: I *really* like the idea Leesa shares in the comments about this.
• They should have given us more with Daniel. The revelation of Danial being the seventh Cylon was very cool. The “Cain and Abel” allegory was interesting, but I wish they had played with that more, though.

Fine

• Use of divine intervention. I like that they leave the nature of the higher power as ambiguous. This theme has been there since the beggining. I don’t see it as Deus Ex Machina as many seem to be complaining. It was clearly there was some sort of “guiding force” throughout the whole series. There is just one example of Deus Ex Machina that I didn’t like that is listed below.
• We are descended from them. This is a pretty cool idea actually. I like the cyclical nature of all of this. Of course, this has been touched on before in fiction. It definitely rings of The Matrix with a cycle that repeats itself waiting for an anomoly to happen. The different, though, is that The Matrix seems to point to growth and change as the inevitablity and BSG seemed to say that it was destruction.

Not Fine

• Baltar’s speech in the CIC. Yes, this is totally in character for him. But the fact that it talked Cavil down was just a complete eye-roller and out of character for this previously very cool character.
• Cavil killing himself. There is no way. He would have stuck to self-preservation until the end. In fact, I don’t think he would have ever boarded the Battlestar to begin with. He sudden act of suicide was just lame. I heard that at first they wanted it to be a duke out with Tigh. That would have been at least a little more interesting to watch.
• Heavy-handed ‘the robots are coming” moment in NYC Time Square. We didn’t need to be hit over the head with this.
• Pointless flashbacks that I kept searching for meaning in. Really just slowed things up and filled time. There were only two that had any meaning for me — Boomer’s and Baltar’s.
• When all is said and done, a lot of the main characters just want to wander off in solitude (e.g. Adama, Lee, Tyrol). Doesn’t make sense to me? Not for all three of them. It leaves this sense of loneliness.
• There is no way that everyone would just go along with Lee’s idea to just ditch all their technology. If there is one thing we have seen over and over again it is that the fleet is made up of varied factions with varied thinking. In fact, this give and take and need to compromise has been a theme throughout. So all of a sudden we are to beleive that out of 39,000+ colonists there wasn’t a faction that stood up and said, “No way! I like my FTL drive and coffe maker thank you very much!”The meaning of Lee’s proposition was an interesting one. Yes, it was part of trying to break the cycle. But the meaning was significantly diminished with this oversight of convenience.

Still confused

• Why was Starbuck the harbinger of death?

Alternate Ending

On another note, here is a great quote from a Ron Moore interview about the ending.

Eddie kept pitching me that they come to Earth in contemporary times, and everyone’s cheering and happy, and cut to the White House and the President goes, “Nuke ‘em!” And they destroy Galactica — cut to credits. And people say I’m dark!

What Do You Think?

• Where you satisfied with the finale?
• What did you like?
• What didn’t you like?

I thought after a top 5 music post I ought to do a top 5 movies of 2008 as well. You’ll soon notice that I like top 5 lists. You’ll also notice that along with listening to music, I love to watch movies.

Melanie and I don’t have a TV and we haven’t for over four years now. This means we rent and watch a lot of movies when we want to unwind and, when a movie warrants it, we go to the cinema. So, here they are. My favorite movies of 2008 along with a bit of commentary for each.

1. Gran Torino

It’s not often that a movie impacts my life and thinking in addition to entertaining me. This is one of those movies that you sit, think and feel while the credits roll. This film touches on many profound themes including: sacrifice, redemption, racism, human connection and humility to name a few.

The good news is that it’s not all heaviness. The movie, to my surprise, was quite funny as well.

The bottom line is that Gran Torino gave me the strong desire to have a powerful positive effect on someone’s life (if I can be so presumptuous to think that it is within my ability to do so).

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2. Dark Knight

I am so bummed that Heath Ledger is gone and will never take the roll of the Joker again! His performance is everything that people say it was. The way he portrayed pure chaos was genius.

When I put the call out to my Twitter and Facebook friends to name their top 5 movies of 2008, this one was mentioned by the most people.

I have one criticism about Dark Knight, though, from a point made by my wife that I tend to agree with. Allowing Batman to take the fall for stuff he didn’t do was a cop out. Sometimes we (humans) need to face our dark side. Protecting people from that just postpones growth.

That said, this is one of those movies that raises the bar.

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3. Quarantine

I love me some horror — not lame hacker/slasher horror, but the stuff that really gets your adrenaline going. I’m also a sucker for a good zombie flick.

I enjoyed this one beginning to end. It’s filmed in the “real life” style of Cloverfield, but manages to better accomplish what that film was trying to do.

The main actress portrays terror in such a way that you are right there with her, breathing fast and praying for your life.

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4. Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist

This movie hit me with a double sucker punch to the face by incorporating two of my favorite things — music and New York City. I was powerless in its grip.

I loved seeing shots of the Lower East Side where we’ve gone numerous times to watch live music. The movie is nothing too deep, but it is a load o’ fun.

Michael Cera always plays the same character, but so far it always works and in this film it definitely works. So ride that wave, Michael, as long as you can.

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5. Stranded

At first I had no desire to see this movie. I thought it would be totally depressing. Fortunately, my sister-in-law and her husband wanted to see it, because it turned out it to be totally inspiring.

Stranded recounts the harrowing true story from 1972 of the Uruguayans whose plane crashed in the Andes leaving them stranded for 72 days.

For the first time ever their story is told through exclusive interviews with the actual survivors. Several of the survivors return to the valley where they were stranded, taking with them some of their posterity. The clips are incredibly powerful.

Their story is absolutely amazing. It will give you a new perspective on life. All I can say is…go and see it.

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Honorable Mentions

• Tell No One – Another magic combination: french film + thriller.
• Iron Man – Needed more action sequences, but still a thoroughly entertaining blockbuster.
• The Duchess – I love period movies…especially this period.

Let’s Hear It

What was your favorite film of 2008?

At the end of each year I like to take a look back at my collection to find the best gems. I look for albums that changed things up, brought me back over and over and contained a solid collection of songs throughout.

After careful consideration, here are my top five albums for 2008.

1. School of Seven Bells – Alpinisms

Ethereal. Quirky. Beautifully musical dissonance and head bobbing beats make this dream pop refreshing. I discovered this one listening to KCRW.

I find their sound totally refreshing. It’s amazing the soundscapes that they pull off with just three of them in the group.

Listen

2. Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue

Jenny Lewis is the singer for Rilo Kiley, one of my all-time favorite bands (their Under the Blacklight record was in my top 5 of 2007).

This album had to grow on me, but that’s usually a good sign of music that will have real staying power in my collection.

The harmonies in the title track, Acid Tongue, are chilling live.

Listen

3. Brazilian Girls – New York City

How can I not choose an album named after my favorite place in the world. The Brazilian Girls are fantastic live.

On this record the Brazilian Girls expand their sound into new territory (which is saying something considering they already combine all kinds of world music and more languages than you can count on one hand).

You have everything from the contemplative to get-up-and-groove tracks. If you ever have a chance to see them live, definitely go.

Listen

4. Crooked Fingers – Forfeit/Fortune

I was fortunate to discover this band at Musicfest NW in Portland. I saw them at the Doug Fir, which is a perfect venue for them.

The music is earthy and heartfelt. The album may not seem like a coherent collection of songs, but it’s still a lot of fun to listen to.

Listen

5. Coldplay – Viva La Vida

I’ve long been a Coldplay fan, but this is the first album from them that I love from beginning to end. Bringing Brian Eno on to produce this record was a brilliant move. He definitely took them to a new level.

Instead of the usual piano formulas, they pulled out some brilliant instrumentations that are catchy to no end.

Listen

Honorable Mentions

1. Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us – Listen
   
   
2. Sia – Some People Have Real Problems – Listen
   
3. Filter – Anthems for the Damned – Listen
   

What is your favorite album of 2008?

I’ve decided it’s time to start a personal blog. I’ve contemplated this for awhile and a new year seemed like a great time to get started.

I want a place that is differentiated from my professional blog where I can talk about whatever else I want. And sometimes 140 characters is just not enough.

I’m not sure how often I’ll post. Since I’m determined for this to be a “no pressure” pursuit that is nothing but fun for me, it will just be whenever I feel like it.I’m also determined not to overthink posts to much like I tend to do on my business blog.

We’ll see how it goes.