Primary Fandoms

When I was seven or eight years old cable television either didn't exist or wasn't widely available. To watch television we needed an antenna and with that we could receive four channels: NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS. There were two times when television went straight to ultra boring - when the president was giving a speech and Sunday morning. It was Sunday mornings that got me interested in SciFi.

While Saturday morning was cartoon time for the kids, Sunday morning was for the religious. All three of the big networks played church programs. Now, this was before mega churches and video sermons. The programming that was on was the service from a local church. If you were lucky, there was more than just one camera sitting in the back of the sanctuary with a wide shot of the altar/pulpit. Considering we often left the television off on Sundays until after church, the last thing my eight-year-old self wanted to see was more church. As George Carlin said, "Church was a weekly reminder that there was something worse than school."

With church on the big three we usually turned to PBS. This is the only reason I know what Nova is and it is what introduced me to Star Trek. It wasn't just that it was often the only thing to watch on Sunday mornings that wasn't church, I really enjoyed it. I loved Star Trek so much over the years that there was a time that I could literally identify the episode, by name, and give you a full plot synopsis by watching no more than ten seconds of any part of any original series episode. Even if it was just a closeup of Mr. Spock raising an eyebrow. Yes, seriously.

Star Trek, in its many forms, has always held a special place in my heart, like a first love. If you asked me what my fandom was, my unhesitating response, for many, many years would have been, "I'm a Trekkie!" [side note: fandom is a recent expression. It's sort-of like cosplay. It's always been there, we just didn't always call it that.] I will forever refer to myself as a Trekkie (or Trekker, depending on my mood) but I've recently been taking notice of which fandom I gravitate toward most strongly and, to my surprise, it's changed.

Way back in 1977 there was this little box office sleeper that was quietly released to theaters called Star Wars. You may have heard of it. I think it was the first movie I absolutely had to see. There were so many incredible things about the movie theater experience back then but seeing the lines wrapped around the building (we mostly had single-screen theaters back then) had to be the most spectacular to my young self. If that many people wanted to see this movie at any particular time it had to be good.

I love the original Star Wars and will forever raise it up as an example of great film making. From the story to the characters to the then ground-breaking special effects (up to that point no one had left the model stationary and moved the camera around it to create motion) it's absolutely amazing. I watch it now and can see its rough edges but still marvel that George Lucas and his team put so many firsts in that production. They literally had to invent new ways of producing special effects, some of which are still used today.

As great as it is and as great as it was I still identified myself as a Trekkie. Maybe because the fandom never got saddled with a catchy name, I don't know. What would you call a Star Wars fan, anyway? Star Warrior? Star Warian? Skywalkerer? At any rate, my placement of Star Wars as my number one favorite lasted maybe a year or two after its release if it ever was on top. I eventually settled back into my old, comfortable, Starfleet mindset.

In the early '80s PBS, yet again, introduced me to this odd little show from England called Doctor Who. I know it wasn't another Sunday morning find. I think it may have aired on Saturday afternoons. Anyway, Here was this show about this quirky guy with bushy hair and a looooong scarf around his neck traveling through space and time in... a British police box... that was bigger on the inside. This show was not some highly-polished, big-budget production. On the contrary, it looked quite cheap. But that was part of its charm. Being interested at the time in television/video production it was fascinating to see how they used ordinary objects and materials in unusual and unexpected ways.

I lost touch with the show when the local PBS stations started shuffling the schedule. It was also around that time that I really started to take an interest in girls. The latter was likely the reason I didn't fly my geek flag quite so high anymore. I lost track of The Doctor and eventually heard that the show had ended in 1989. It wasn't such a hard blow for me because I'd missed out on something like four doctors by that time and I'd settled comfortably back into my Trekkie seat in 1987 with the introduction of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

With a steady diet of Star Trek movies and television and Star Wars sequels I'd put The Doctor on a shelf to gather dust. I kept him around, to be sure, and when people asked I would politely tell them, "Yes, I know of The Doctor and enjoyed the show very much." I really didn't give him much thought until 2005 when BBC America, a channel that didn't even launch until 1998, announced that they were bringing it back.

By this time I'd done away with my self-consciousness and flew my geek flag as high as I could. I was uneasy about this rebirth (or should that be regeneration?). Would they maintain the spirit of The Doctor? Would the stories be any good? Would The Doctor be any good? I watched the first episode with trepidation. I didn't want to hate it but so many rebirths of so many shows had failed miserably. I needn't have worried. When I heard Christopher Eccleston utter the phrase, "Hello, Rose. I'm The Doctor. Run for your life." in that Doctor-esque calm and whimsy I was hooked again. This time, I don't think I've missed a single episode (thank God for DVRs).

As I look around my desk I see four Star Wars figurines, some The Walking Dead Funko pocket pop!s that I got in a grab bag, a Captain America Funko mug I won at work, a Darth Vader Mr. Potato Head, and a space marine action figure from Starcraft. Scattered about amidst all of that is a six-inch vinyl TARDIS, three postcard-sized pictures of the TARDIS (one looking in to the control room, one with the doors closed, and one with a cat peering inside), a photo of me stepping out of the Tulsa TARDIS, and a Funko pocket Pop! of the fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). But it doesn't end there. My current vehicle is a 2014 Jazz (darker) Blue Dodge Charger with a vanity plate that reads TMTRVLR (TARDIS was already taken). I think it's safe to say that I've changed my primary fandom from Trekkie to Whovian.

Live long and prosper, may The Force be with you, always know where your towel is, and Allons-y!

Things That Go Bump In The Night

I used to love horror movies but had to stop watching them after a couple of really gory ones made me physically ill (not sure why that started all of a sudden) and one actually kept me awake after watching it (I was just being a wuss on that one). I am still fascinated by the paranormal and have started watching the real thing. At first it was just Ghost Hunters but I have recently expanded to Ghost Adventures and Paranormal State. (While the psychic paranormal shows are entertaining they don't provide any hard evidence.) I present to you my take on all three shows.

Ghost Hunters

This is my first and favorite for a reason. The approach they take and the evidence they present are scientific and straightforward. Their primary focus is not on finding spirits it is on finding a normal explanation for the seemingly paranormal. As such they mention personal experiences but not as evidence. When in doubt, they throw it out. If they don't know what it is or can't say for sure if it's paranormal, they say so. And sometimes, they don't find anything. It seems pretty real to me and every once in a while they catch something pretty awesome.

Ghost Adventures

These guys take a completely different approach. They go looking for the paranormal and they usually find it - a lot of it - which I find hard to believe. I also find it hard to believe that on almost every outing they catch at least one EVP where a spirit calls one of them by name (i.e. "gonna get Zak" or "I don't like Aaron"). But, for some reason, I can't stop watching. They sometimes catch some cool stuff but it's mostly about the entertainment for them... and I find myself entertained.

Paranormal State

I actually started watching this yesterday. I caught a marathon and watched about 5 episodes. It was enough to spark my interest. These people purport to be "researchers" but they take a completely different approach. It's more spiritual than scientific (i.e. they attempt communication at 3:00am every time). I felt like I was watching a scripted and acted event a couple of times, which was a bit of a put off. Like I said, it sparked my interest so I will see if I can catch it again.

Home Theater

I love movies. There have been times in my life, for several months at a time, you could find me at the movie theater every weekend. There are very few movies I regret having seen (Joe vs. The Volcano tops that very short list). I just really enjoy spending a couple of hours immersed in a world where the good guys (almost) always win, the right guy always gets the girl, and the protagonist delivers the perfect verbal riposte at the perfect moment and says something that we've always wanted to say to someone. I like television almost as much as I like movies. Like many Americans, the television is usually on whenever I am awake.

In broadcasting, there are two terms that explain how things often operate in my house, especially on the weekends. One is Least Objectionable Program. When you're channel flipping and your significant other and you find a program that neither of you is particularly enamored with but you both say, "yeah, that'll work," because there's nothing better on, that's Least Objectionable Program.

The second term is Tuning Inertia. Tuning Inertia is just what it sounds like. Whether you're watching a LOP or your favorite show, you leave it on that station to watch whatever comes on next - whatever that may be - because you have no objection to it and you don't want to make the effort to lean forward to pick up the remote.

Lately, I have seriously tired of these two concepts. I have easily over 100 DVDs and Blu-Ray discs and several of them are still in their shrink wrap. I know that if I landed on one of these movies playing on one of the OTA networks or TBS or some other cable network I would sit there and watch it... commercials and all. What's the sense in doing that? I have the movie right there and can watch it unedited, uncensored and without commercial interruption. I'm just too lazy to get up off my fat ass and slide the disc into the player.

No more! I have decided that if there is nothing I really want to watch on TV and I have the time, I am going to watch one of those movies that I own. I just pick one. Sometimes it's a specific movie, sometimes it's one of a particular genre. It doesn't matter. If I'm going to go for a personal LOP, it might as well be something I, at least once, fooled myself into believing was something I wanted to watch more than once.

F*@# You, NBC

There has been a lot of buzz around the late-night lineup on NBC. In case you've been under a rock, Jay Leno's prime time show hasn't done well in the ratings (did they REALLY think it would? A prime time variety show on five nights a week?), although they said it performed as well as expected. At the same time, viewership of the Tonight Show has also fallen off. I don't know if NBC expected it not to but for those of us old enough to remember when Johnny Carson left and Jay Leno took over, ratings dipped then, too.

I never really cared for Jay Leno and I don't particularly like Conan. But my opinion doesn't matter since I don't think I'm the demographic Conan O'Brien panders to. What matters is that it's only been 7 or 8 months since Jay Leno voluntarily left the Tonight Show. Conan has not had sufficient opportunity to find his stride and build his audience.

The talk was that NBC would move Leno back to 11:35 Eastern and the Tonight Show to 12:05. This would have killed The Tonight Show, a permanent fixture of television in the 11:35 time slot since before there was color TV . So, rather than commit sacrilege, I get a news alert this evening that Leno will be returning to the Tonight Show.

My take on it? NBC is bowing to the will of a single narcissistic star upon whom they are hanging their entire late-night structure. Jay Leno was bored with The Tonight Show and said he was leaving. NBC panicked and offered him a deal he couldn't refuse to stick around and do a new show. The new show didn't do so well and he was ready to hang that up so NBC said they'd put him back on the Tonight Show and completely screwed (that's not the word I wanted to use) Conan O'Brien, not taking him into account at all.

It's a mistake. Even if Leno returns, The Tonight Show will never be the same, he'll retire (again) in relatively short order and NBC won't have an established talent to replace him. They're screwed. They should really just drop Jay (or, better yet, just put him on one or two nights so he stays on the air), let him lie in the bed he made and allow Conan to fill those all-too-big shoes left for him by Carson and Leno.

The Passing Of A Legend (in his own mind at the very least)

I heard today that Oral Roberts passed away yesterday at the age of 91. I mention this not because I was a follower or a fan but because I grew up in Tulsa, OK where Roberts' ministry is based. Tulsa is also the home of Oral Roberts University.

When I was growing up, Oral Roberts had an evangelical broadcast every Sunday. I don't know if it was syndicated* or not but I never watched. The reason I remember the man is that he had a way of extending his reach beyond the Sunday Broadcast.

Roberts was one of the first televised evangelical preachers. Most of what I remember about his broadcasts was that he often talked about faith healing, which I believe is possible but not to the extent he claims - especially not what he claimed personal responsibility for, and appeals for money. I think it was him that I once heard say, with closed eyes and face toward heaven, "I feel
someone's arm healing. Someone who is listening tonight. Someone in the audience has an arm that is feeling better. I want you to reach that arm deep into your pocket..." In all honesty, I cannot tell you if the part about reaching deep into the pocket was real or not (the first part was and similar proclamations were common) or if it was inserted into my memory by my opinion of him.

Four things about his ministry stand out in my mind. One of them relates to his son, Richard, but we'll get to that in a moment.

First is Oral Roberts University. The university in and of itself is not terribly remarkable but the campus has one interesting feature: The Prayer Tower. The Prayer Tower stands prominently in the center of campus like a miniature space needle. It is visually interesting (click the link for a picture) but I once had the opportunity to see beyond its decorative purpose.

During a church retreat, presumably in an effort to learn more about other religions, we took a tour of the prayer tower. We went up into it and saw that the outer edge is lined with rooms (prayer rooms) into which Pilgrims (for lack of a better word) can go to pray. The unusual part was that there were phones outside each room that visitors could pick up to listen to the pilgrim praying and, I would think, join in. I guess for the faithful it is something important but it has always stuck in my mind as weird.

Second is the City of Faith hospital. The hospital was wrought with controversy before ground was ever broken. The hospital was built adjacent to the university campus. The city council noted that, at the time, there was not a need for a medical facility in that area of town and made requests that it be relocated to a more appropriate section. Roberts apparently needed to have his creation close to home base. (check the link, it has some information on the events that Tulsans got to poke fun at while the CoF was being built - including the infamous 900-foot Jesus)

The hospital tower itself is beautiful. Its golden facade stands tall and shines in the sun. It can easily be seen from several miles away when traveling NE on interstate 44 from Oklahoma City. I once had an opportunity to go inside (I think on the same church retreat) the lobby while it was still operating as a hospital and it was a monument to true opulence and excess. At the time, the 60-story center tower was only complete up to the 32nd floor or so and the 60th story was complete but everything in between was still under construction. If memory serves, those floors never were completed while it was a hospital.

Now, the CityPlex Towers are mostly office space but they once housed the Tulsa office of Cancer Treatment Centers of America which, in my opinion, did more good overall than the hospital ever did.

Within six years, the City of Faith was bleeding money and Roberts told his television audience that he had had a vision that if he did not raise $8 million by a certain date, God was going to "call him home," meaning he was going to die (this was event #3). The fundraising was down to the wire but an anonymous donor pledged the remaining amount. I don't remember the actual amount but it was significant. And, yes, he had that kind of power over people. Some Tulsans wanted his efforts to fail just to see whether or not his vision was true. Being as he reached the age of 91, I guess God wasn't near as ready to call Oral home as he had thought.

Finally Oral's son, Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University at the time, was accused of misuse of university assets (money). I recall seeing a television interview with him regarding his expenditures (which may not have been related to the ORU scandal). The reporter asked Richard why, if the ministry was in need of money (which they were constantly asking for), was he building a multi-million dollar mansion? Richard's response was that a member of the congregation had donated the funds to build the house. The reporter countered by asking why Roberts had not requested that the money be put into the ministry rather than a house that he did not need. Roberts just insisted that the money was specifically for the house. This went back and forth a bit but the gist of it that I came away with was Roberts saying, "But it's MY money."

There are many other stories and jokes and incidents I could relate but let's just say it was interesting growing up in the midst of all of this.

To all of Roberts' followers: I do not belittle the man's passing. He was somebody's husband, father, friend, leader and inspiration. He will be missed. It is not my intention to shed a negative light on him but to share my memories of him and his ministry which tend, unfortunately, to be largely cynical. I am certain that he did good works and there are people in this world today that wouldn't be where they are without him. That just isn't the side of him to which I was exposed.

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* I accidentally misspelled that sindicated - I found it somewhat Freudian.

Heroes In The House

Had two great premiers to choose from last night - House and Heroes. The living room DVR was getting Heroes and House was recording in the bedroom. Opted to watch House live but ended up watching most of H before going to bed.

House: LOVED IT! The battle of wills between he and Andre Brauer was great, esp. since Brauer didn't get flustered by House one bit. The season could turn out to be very good or very contrived. The writers are going to have to do something to keep House's edge. And the whole Forman/13 thing - never really cared. Wish her character could just disappear. Amber was more interesting.

Heroes: I never liked where they took Sylar last season except for finding his roots. The meetup with his dad was great. Now they've turned him into Nathan. Why do they keep making him too powerful to be defeated then bust him down? And why do people's powers keep changing (Sylar/Peter)? This could easily be another lackluster season and it wouldn't surprise me if it was the last. We got a glimpse into the future of all of the characters in seasons 1 & 2 but they have deviated so far that it's not even visible. I mean, when does Hiro don the black suit and wield the sword. "Save the cheerleader, save the world."

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p.s. Travel info coming, I promise. There's a draft in the works.

Ed, Farrah, and Michael

It's been a rough week in the celebrity world. First, on Tuesday, Ed McMahon passed away. This wasn't much of a surprise. After all, he was 86, Johnny Carson, the person to whom he was most closely associated, died a couple of years ago, and he'd disappeared from the public eye a long time ago. I figure Dick Clark isn't too far behind.

Yeasterday, we lost two of my generation's icons. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Just last month, NBC ran a documentary Farrah had put together about her long battle with cancer. I didn't see the actual show but I did see some pre-show interviews with Ryan O'Neil, her long time partner (I don't believe they ever married). Ryan had said that they set out to film a survivor's story but that it wasn't looking like it was going to end that way.

I never had the Farrah Fawcett poster. Frankly, she just didn't do it for me for some reason. But it weas that poster that made her famous (oh, and that Charlie's Angels thing). I can't say that I'm torn up about her passing.

I'm not torn up about Michael Jackson, either, but that one did surprise me. I remember my first thought was, "Finally, that poor, tortured soul is at rest." Jackson was, without a doubt, a superstar. He rode a gigantic wave in the 80's (Thriller is still the best selling album of all time) but in his race to outdo himself his life kept taking major turns toward the weird. I get the nose job he had some time in the late 70's or early 80's that appeared on his album "The Wall" but in his mind, in his struggle for aesthetic perfection, he ceased to be black (I kinda get that one too), his nose became razor thin, his jaw line was a characature... in essesne, he ceased to look like himself... completely.

My prediction is that we'll start getting information that Jackson's death was more than the result of an illness or some congenital heart defect. The rumors have already started that it was linked to anorexia, Anna Nicole Smith had nothing on Michael Jackson, and I bet we hear news similar to when Elvis died.

Unlike some, I probably won't remember where I was, exactly, when I heard he died. In my world the children won't scream, the lovers won't cry and the poets won't dream. I'm just not that affected by it. I do, however, understand the significance.

Urgo Is Dead

Dom DeLuise died Monday evening at the age of 75. There was no disclosure of the cause of death, but DeLuise had been battling cancer for more than a year and had been hospitalized due to kidney failure and respiratory problems.

DeLuise had a long career in both television and films. He was most famous for his supporting roles in a number of Mel Brooks films, including 1974's "Blazing Saddles" and 1976's "Silent Movie." He was also in the Brooks-directed "The Twelve Chairs" (1970), "Spaceballs" (1987) and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993). Other credits include "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980), "Cannonball Run" (1981) and "Cannonball Run II" (1984), "The End" (1978), "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982) and "Johnny Dangerously" (1984). His voice was featured in such films as "An American Tail" (1986) and its sequels, "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (1989) and its 1996 sequel, and "Oliver & Company" (1988). [Source: CNN.com]

Whether behind the camera or in front of it, members of the DeLuise family have consistently been a part of the Stargate family. Stargate SG-1 fans will remember DeLuise as the title character in Season Three’s “Urgo,” where he played the fun-loving physical manifestation of an alien probe (and its creator) who wanted to experience life. After being implanted into the brains of the SG-1 team, he subliminally gets the team to show him new experiences while they struggle to get him out of their heads.

But beside this memorable episode, Dom left his greatest mark on the Stargate franchise through his sons. Peter DeLuise served as a director, writer, and producer on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis for most of those series’ runs. Son Michael played Nick Marlowe/Colonel Danning in the episode “Wormhole X-Treme!” and son David played Pete Shanahan in several episodes of SG-1. [Source: GateWorld]

In the immortal words of Allan Sherman, "Hail to thee, fat person!"

Pants On Fire

As I do every Thursday night, I was watching Survivor tonight. This season, one of the contestants is 'Coach'. Something has bothered me about Coach since the beginning but I haven't been able to put my finger on it. I thought it was just his arrogance but tonight I finally figured it out. Coach is a pathological liar. I don't mean in the John Lovits on SNL way, I mean in the clinical sense.

I have had the opportunity to know two pathological liars in my life. Both of them had several things in common. They were both very self-assured and arrogant. They had a bravado that they were better than everyone else and nobody could possibly argue that. If you did something well, they always did it better - whether or not they actually could. There was always something not quite right about their stories that was usually just far enough outside the realm of possibility. Not physical possibility but you just couldn't see them in that particular situation. They also told the stories as if they didn't quite believe it themselves.

Sometimes, the lies were outright transparent (like the one who had said he was a highly accomplished martial artist who had been trained by Jackie Chan). If they were called on one of their lies, they always had some excuse or another lie to explain why they couldn't provide any proof (like a severe back injury on another job they probably didn't have that now prevents them from practicing their craft). The thing about their lies, however, was there was often a kernel of truth.

Coach outed himself three times in tonight's episode. The first was the campfire story. The kernel of truth: he probably does kayak and white water rafting. The lies: He was kayaking down the Amazon having been dropped off by a military helicopter (that literally dropped him). He didn't pay anything to hitch a ride on a military transport because he 'pulled a few strings'. He was captured by "indigenous" tribesmen who were "four, four and a half feet tall" with their "bows and arrows drawn." The tribesmen tied him up and beat him severely several times but he managed to slip the bonds, escape and paddle his kayak "like hell" until his hands bled to escape.

Story number two: His morning exercises are an ancient form of martial arts that is only passed down by oral teachings and must be learned directly from the monks in their far Eastern monastery. The kernel of truth: That form of martial arts probably does exist and is probably only taught by monks in a secluded monastery. The lie: That what he was doing was that form of martial arts and that he ipso facto learned it from said monks. It just looked like some form of Tai Chi to me... and not a good one at that (but I didn't see the raw footage of it, just the edited version).

Story number three: The embelishment of the campfire story at Tribal Council. The kernel of truth: There was none. He had to add something for the new audience member (Jeff Probst). The lie: That the event was actually much more horrific than he originally told it and that the tribesment were "staring at [his] ass talking about eating [his] ass."

Do you see what I mean? I believe it is possible that someone could be captured and tortured by a jungle tribe but Coach was not one of them. He's too healthy and well adjusted (if you can call him well adjusted) for something like that to have happened.

And, by the way, Coach, if you just happen to read this, I challenge you to prove me wrong. Send me an email (the link is in the right sidebar), I'll email you my phone number, and you can give me all the sordid details. If you convince me, I'll happily and publicly retract every statement I've made about you in this post.

Addendum: A comment someone left reminded me of one point about pathological liars that I forgot to mention. They believe that what they are telling you is the God's honest truth. I couldn't say for sure but I'd be willing to bet it would pass a polygraph. Oh, yeah, and who wants to bet he's not actually a symphony conductor? (that's one's believable but in light of the other stuff, it is now thrown into serious doubt)

My Email To David Howe, Executive President, NBC Universal | Scifi Channel

I read on web that you're changing the name of the network from SciFi to SyFy. The only thing I have to ask is, "What the hell are you thinking?"

People identify SciFi with science fiction. You see "SciFi" in the channel lineup and you know exactlywhat that channel is about. SyFy just looks stupid. What is that? Is that a movie network? Another cooking channel? It sounds to me more like what G4 ended up being. I stopped watching that network before they dropped TechTV from their name.

You say the name change is to broaden the scope of programming. Why do you need to change the name to do that? If the network is still going to be related to science fiction, leave the name alone. Change your tag line. Advertise and market differently. Don't change just so you can trademark. Let's not get cutesy with the name of the network. Please.

Thank you,
Joe Fusco

Just Say No... NO NO NO NO NO!!

The SciFi Channel is changing its name. Starting in July, apparently, they will be known as SyFy.

The move is designed to "open up to a broader range of content." That's just dumb. The name change is cutesy and silly and we MUST put a stop to it. It's the "Web 2.0" invation is what it is. NBC just wants to be able to trademark the name instead of using a widely-accepted general term.

I encourage... no, I IMPLORE you to send an email to feedback@scifi.com and lodge your protest. I've sent mine. Let's crash their mail server with all the protests.

UPDATE: Apparently, you can also send email to Dave.Howe@nbcuni.com
Also check out www.nosyfy.com

Disturbing Commercials

I'm sure you've probably seen the newest ikea ommercials with the old lady who isn't really there? Yeah, as disturbing as all of them are, the creepiest has to be the bed comercil where she starts moaning in mock whale song at the end. Gives me the heebie jeebies.

But the single most annoying commercial is the newest Peperidge Farm deli meats commercial. It gets a lot of airplay on USA Network. While I kinda like the whole "Go Meat" concept, I've never really liked any of the commercials - mostly because they're stupid - but the one in the plane sckens me. I can't hit the mute button fast enough when it comes on. And I have to revert to my happy place when the long versio ith the whole choo-cho train chant comes on. GAAAAHHHHHH!!

What commercials do you hate?

Superbowl Sunday Is Coming!!

I couldn't be more apathetic. Seriously. I don't get into sports. Sure, drag me to a game of anything (with the exception of baseball) and I'll have a blast! I'll root for whomever you tell me to (if I don't already have a pick) and will go home lacking a voice. Tune in a game on TV and I'll find something else to do. I just can't get into it.

Which brings me to my point. The game on Sunday is between the Steelers (who won several years back if I'm not mistaken) and the Cardinals. To give you an idea of how much I am (not) into sports... Aren't the Cardinals a baseball team? (and, no, I have no idea what city they're affiliated with)

This post is being filed under "Stuff" (misc.) because I don't have a sports label and I'm not going to create on for a single post.

Insert Prophetic Title Here (AKA - Kirk Wins)

Odd that I should have chosen that particular title yesterday. Kahn is dead. Ricardo Montalban, the man who played Kahn Noonien Singh in both Star Trek The Original Series (Space Seed) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, passed away yesterday at the age of 88 reportedly of natural causes.

I Like To Push The Buttons

When I bought my Sony (the significance of that will become clear) home theater amp six or eight years ago, it came with this really fancy-schmancy remote control. It had a little LCD screen and actually received data from the amplifier. It could be programmed to control many different devices, although I only did that once (it was kind-of a pain). Then, three or four years ago, I suddenly lost track of it. When I finally decided to hunt it down, I found it entangled in the jaws (it had actually been chewing on it) of the recliner mechanism.

This was not the death of my nifty remote, oh no. I put fresh batteries in it and she seemed to be just fine except for some wonkiness with an up/down scroll/select button which was relatively easy to overcome. I was happy... until the next time I picked it up and it indicated the batteries needed to be replaced. I replaced them, got a couple of commands sent, and it told me my brand new batteries needed to be replaced. Meh.

My original remote has been declining ever since. About a year ago, I checked into getting a replacement. They are available on eBay for $30-$50 (or more) depending on how the auctions run. Things were still running okay so I tabled the idea.

Fast forward to my new Blu-Ray player that, in order to get Dolby Digital or DTS surround sound, has to be muted on the TV via the setup on the player. My new gadget also required me to extract three remotes - in addition to the DVR remote we use every day - just to watch a movie. Combine that with the amplifier remote's most recent malady of not being able to reliably alter the volume of the receiver and it was time to start trolling eBay.

As I was looking at exact-match replacements, I stumbled upon some even fancier Sony universal remotes. They come pre-set to operate Sony components, can be coded to run other brands of devices (like any universal remote), are fully programable (you can train every single button from a dedicated remote in a matter of a couple of minutes if necessary), and can even run macros (multi-step commands). All this for a similar price to the exact-match replacement. Let's see, full control of Sony devices and programmable remote consolidation... I'm sold.

At the end of last week, I purchased a Son RM-AV3000 Remote Commander from eBay for just over $30. It came in yesterday.

The remote is quite large. It's about the size of an oversized paperback. I spent a couple of hours with it last night then completely re-programmed the DVR controls this evening (I wanted to reprogram a single button but it wouldn't clear the learned command for some reason). It was a breeze to program. With visual feedback on the LCD, getting to and using the programming mode is a snap. Half the reason I spent so long with it last night was deciding on which button to place which command that had to be learned as well as relabeling some of the user command buttons and device labels. I even added a macro to set up for DVD play (turn on amp, turn on DVD, switch TV input, switch amp input), then one to switch back when you're done (amp & DVD off, TV back to original input). I can now hear my sister's voice inside my head saying, "Geek."

Even in this short time, I have decided that it will be great for watching movies and not having to juggle three remotes but for day-to-day use, the DVR remote is much easier to handle. Want to see what it looks like? (click for larger image)

Heh heh heh... shiny.

(Yeah, that fancy new phone takes great pics, don't it?)

Sorry, I Missed You

I was watching the Stargate: Atlantis finale last night and they made mention to General Hammond, played by Don. S. Davis, passing away. I thought it might be because he just wasn't able to make it to production for some reason. They didn't have Richard Dean Anderson on, either.

After it was done, I checked IMDB and, sure enough, Don passed away June 29 of 2008. I knew he had originally left Stargate: SG-1 for health reasons but I completely missed that he'd died this year.

I met him once, as you can probably tell by the photograph (we're leaning over a table). Unfortunately that's about all of the interaction I got with him. Shortly after that shot was taken I had to leave for Kansas City to help celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

We'll miss you, Don.

Simply Blu-tiful

I inaugurated the new blu-ray player last night. I rented Iron Man. The wife kept suggesting all these chick flicks but why would I want to waste my inaugural playback on a chick flick? It's not that I won't watch chick flicks, I wanted ACTION!

I built myself up. I really wanted to be blown away by the picture quality. I wasn't. I also wasn't disappointed. The picture was crisp and clear, the colors were vivid, it was a wonderful experience. It was a beautiful thing!

When I first connected it on Monday night I also played back a couple of standard DVDs to make sure the audio setup was correct and those looked pretty good, too (the blu-ray upconverts standard dvd's). Given the price difference between standard DVDs and Blu-Ray discs (around $10 or more), I will be thinking hard whether or not I want a movie on blu-ray. That is, until standard DVDs go the way of the dodo - which may take a while. Movies like Iron Man with lots of action or those with epic scale like Lord of the Rings will get the blu-ray treatment... they deserve it. Movies that aren't visually special like Bruce Almighty or Wild Hogs don't really gain much on blu-ray so standard DVD is sufficient for me.

I had heard that one of the reasons adoption of blu-ray was not as rapid as hoped was that the difference in picture quality between standard DVD and blu-ray was not as distinct as that between VHS and DVD. Having now seen the difference on my own equipment (and especially seeing what upconversion can do), I agree. I sat watching Iron Man thinking "This looks really great. It's very much like seeing it in the theater." all the while knowing my wife was sitting next to me saying to herself, "I don't see what the big deal is." Of course, I see the differences between composite, s-video and component video connections and she doesn't. Side-by-side she might see it but she just looks at the movie. As long as the faces aren't indistinguishable blobs, she's happy. It took me the longest time to get her to stop buying VHS.

Verdict: I'm in love. For movies where picture quality makes a difference to me, I will be buying blu-ray from now on. For movies where picture quality is not so much a factor, I'll save my money and stick with standard DVD.

UPDATE: The next morning, the wife finished watching the end of the movie (she'd given up for sleep toward the end of the movie). I was retrieving the disc from the player when I switched the input back to the DVR... WOW!! Ginormous difference! The faces on the screen looked almost blurry. Now I'm impressed (but I'm still going to have to think before buying blu-ray - it's not THAT great.)

In addition, the M-I-L bought me the first two Pirates movies and the last Die Hard movie on blu-ray. Woohoo!

Thoughts On Survivor

The first episode of Survivor is in the books and we've already lost two. Michelle went first because, basically, she was an outsider and an easy target and made the fatal mistake of complaining a little too much. Then, Gillian got ousted for being, well, old and slow. I think G should have gone first.

In true Survivor fashion, one tribe gelled immediately and is kicking butt while the other continues to flounder and lose because, as Randy put it during the second Tribal Council, "We have 8 individuals." There is hope, though. On day 4, the Fang tribe pulled together and actually fabricated some fishing equipment and had fish for dinner.

Here's my take on the remaining survivors:

Ace: He looks like a strong player. As long as he can keep his mouth shut and let his actions do the talking, he should go far.

Bob: Bob looks and acts like Bill Nigh The Science Guy, especially with that bow tie. Plus, he's holding his own in the physical challenges. Brains and ability, a fantastic combination in this game. He has emerged as a natural leader of the Kota tribe - not surprising since he's a teacher. If Bob can keep up his stamina for the physical challenges and continues playing the role of provider, he'll be a force to recon with. Not bad for 57 years old!

Charlie: Charlie is about as far out of the closet as I think he can get, having revealed a crush on Dan both to the audience and to Dan. As long as he doesn't flaunt it too much, it shouldn't get in his way. If he's not careful, he'll make even some moderately open-minded players uncomfortable, which could hurt him. Otherwise, he seems to have strategy well in hand by quickly formulating bonds and an alliance with Dan, and two of the girls.

Corinne: Haven't heard much out of her yet.

Crystal: Crystal revealed herself (to the audience) as an olympic athlete and medalist. She looks strong and talks strong but her strength has yet to show itself.

Dan: I peg Dan as a sleeper. He's obviously got some physical strength but something tells me we're going to see some surprises from this guy.

GC: This guy thinks he's something but I predict he will end up being manipulated or will be taking the walk of shame very quickly. The latter will probably happen if he doesn't learn when to keep his comments to himself.

Jacquie: Not much to go on yet.

Jessica (Sugar): The pin-up model could be another surprise competitor. She's got looks and what some would think of as a "fluffy" job but she looks to have a strong will and a strong personality. Watch out for this one as she is likely to sneak up form behind.

Kelly: I vaguely remember a Kelly in there somewhere. Nothing yet.

Ken: The professional video game player thinks he's got strategic skills. Sorry, but video game strategy doesn't always translate into the real world. I predict he'll hang on for a bit but will be one of the earlier casualties.

Marcus: Haven't heard much out of him.

Matty: Dude... he's been quiet too.

Poloma: She's needed help during the challenges. It could go either way with her.

Randy: He's one of the ones I think Charlie is going to rub the wrong way. Randy seems quite opinionated but is laying low. Once the shields go down, I think he'll be scrapping it up. This could help him hang on or lead to his departure. I don't think he's a contender for the big prize but he may have a few surprises.

Susie: Another "weak link" who's needed help in the challenges. Her willingness to try and her tenacity may be her savior but I think she's next to go.

That's it for now. If it stays one-sided, I hope they mix it up early on. If Fang can pull it together, it should be a fun few weeks.

Quick Update

• Aware that I haven't been around much
• Settling in at the new job
• Still not exactly sure about the extent of my responsibilities
• Have written several blog posts recently
• They leaked out of my head before I could get to the keyboard
• Eager to see the debate on Friday
• Will be pissed if it gets canceled/postponed
• Freaked about the economic situation
• Heard something this morning about each household having to shoulder $10K of extra debt?
• I'm having enough difficulties, thank you, I don't need any help in that area from the entire country/government
• Gonna have to check out that $10K thing
  
• McCain is making too many bold statements that he's having to backpedal on
• He doesn't backpedal well
• Obama is being too quiet
• But what do I know from politics?
• SURVIVOR STARTS TONIGHT!!!
• Glad to see some of my favorites of the new shows that got sidelined due to the writers strike will be back this fall (among them, Life)
  
• The jury is out on Fringe
• Only saw the one episode so far but that's what they get for programming it opposite Eureka
• Too many shows to watch - I need one of those DVRs that will record 4 programs @ once
  

Ready to Drop Kick DirecTV

I have had cable, Dish Network and most recently DirecTV. Of the three, I have been least impressed with the service from DirecTV. They go offline due to weather or other conditions more often than Dish ever did and their customer service is mediocre at best. The only reason I'm still with them is they have the lowest priced package that includes the channels we most often watch.

That may change soon.

I have two ReplayTV DVR units. I have had them for about four years and never had a lick of trouble with them until recently.

Problem #1 - Somehow the channel guide data coming from DirecTV causes the ReplayTV units to reset (reboot) when you hit the right key combinations (like, the up key) while browsing the channel guide. This started about 3 months ago. I've managed to change my browsing habits to avoid this... but it doesn't always work.

Problem #2, which may be the proverbial 2-ton lead weight that broke the camel's back (yeah, it's that big of a deal), my ReplayTV may turn into a boat anchor on August 2nd.

What does that have to do with DirecTV? Well, if you go to replaytv.com, you're presented with a page saying ReplayTV is now part of DirecTV. The problem is that even though a recent payment has been made (7/25 in my case), the activation only reads good until 8/2. When the RTV unit tries to connect to the mother ship to update the activation, the mother ship doesn't answer - it has apparently left orbit.

Positive speculation is that it's a DNS issue or some delay related to the transfer of assets.

Negative speculation: "We're Boned!"

I'm gonna be REAL PISSED if my DVRs go belly up with no notice - especially since they just took my money.

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UPDATE 7-29-2008 3:33pm - It appears that ReplayTV is answering the phone, is aware of the problem, and is working to fix it.