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At this point, I would go and see anything that Pixar has done. They are by far the most advanced animation studio in the country if not the world. Their movies may be animation but the humor and subject material is very much adult orientated. There are so many jokes that go over the heads of anyone under ten that it reminds me of the great Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons of the 60's. How many of us here have watched the re-runs of this great series and finally get some of the jokes that were in it? It was funnier to me as an adult then it ever was when I was a kid. Pixar movies falls into this catagory. The kids watching them now will appreciate them more when they are older and understand the underlying references that are peppered throughout the film. By all means, go see "Finding Nemo", and just enjoy the incredible amount of creativity and expertise that went into this film. Hanna/Barbara this ain't..

By the way, I hear they might let a new team in the NFL this year. A team from Green Bay called the Packers, that is if they can beat the High School champions from down the street.   

 

Click for Spoiler:

Sorry Amy, couldn't resist! E*A*G*L*E*S....  EAGLES!

Hey, hey, hey, careful here. You are talking about the TWELVE TIME WORLD CHAMPIONS HERE. In case you haven't noticed there are a number of Packer castoffs presently on the Eagles roster. And wouldn't you rather have Brett Favre as your quarterback? As for the sports topic, I'm afraid that there is more money and interest in sports, especially considering the current world situation, then there are trek fans. (sorry to say this but it is true). Advertisers would rather spend their money on sportts programming then scripted shows because that draws in the most wanted demographic, males 18-49. Diversions, such as sports, is more lucrative then any other type of broadcast.

Here's a question that I haven't been able to find an answer to yet or maybe I'm just looking in all the wrong places, but now that TNN is changing to become Spike tv, what is going to happen to the TNG re-runs? Is the network still planning on running them at the usual time or are they planning on pulling the series? I'm guessing that it's going to stay but I haven't seen any mention on whether or not this going to happen. I haven't really looked into this deeply at all but if anyone here knows the answer, it would be good to know one way or the other.

I've been an audio production engineer (i.e. recording engineer) for over 25 years now. I specialize now in broadcast production but I've done just about everything the field has to offer. When I was 17, I started out as a radio personality as well (DJ), but I can add to that, music engineer, studio manager, foley artist, video sweetener etc. It sure beats working in a factory but I have to say that sometimes the hours stink. There have been times when I've started a project at 7 a.m. and then walked out at 4 a.m. the following day. It may be cool, but is sure cuts down on social life.

Also - I would expect martian sounds to be very boring - probably just a light wind sound.

Boring to you or not. The point is having an opportunity to hear what could be there. I work with sound and even what you would consider boring, to me is valuable. Wind on Mars, if you could call it that, has already been documented at over three hundred miles per hour. This has been done by tracking the dust storms through radar and observation. Thats over twice as fast as the strongest hurricane on Earth. What would that sound like? Perhaps it could have picked up the sound of the small rocks being blown by the wind or the sound of uneven heating of the surface. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that these would sounds would be from another world. To get a better understanding, I suggest blindfolding yourself and then sit in each room of your home or outside in the evening. Each enviroment has its own unique acoustical signature. You would be surprised at how different and strange our everyday world is if your only sensory input to your brain is your hearing. To me, pictures from Mars are not enough.

Another sad day for Chicago sports. The Bulls have faded, the Bears still and will always suck, and now the Cubs star may have been cheating. This is certainly going to call into question any of his previous home runs and creats a dark shadow on Sammy that he will never outrun. How sad indeed for all of baseball.

I love British humor and try to watch British comedy on BBC america when I can. I think it's telling that almost all of the hit US comedies were originally British long before they were americanized. We've been stealing ideas for well over thirty years now. So much for American originality. My favorite though is still M*A*S*H. There will never be anything like it ever again. I would love to sample "Yes Minister/Prime Minister" but until it shows up on BBC America, I'm afraid I'm left out in the cold. Hopefully we won't steal that idea as well.

When I lived in Wisconsin, I did the same thing only I called it driving through an ion storm. Now that I'm older (physically, not mentally), I created a cd that plays the internal sound of a starship. The engines rumble along with the occassional warp jump and various other sfx and voices and every now and then a battle. Almost as if you are hearing the internal workings of the starship. Needless to say I can only play the cd when I'm alone in the car since no one else I ride with appreciates being inside a Federation ship. But when I'm alone and driving to work or home, it's off to Omicron Beta III or where ever my imagination wants to take me. At times it beats the cookie cutter station on the FM dial but I can't convince my kids of that. Oh well.

When I lived in Wisconsin, I did the same thing only I called it driving through an ion storm. Now that I'm older (physically, not mentally), I created a cd that plays the internal sound of a starship. The engines rumble along with the occassional warp jump and various other sfx and voices and every now and then a battle. Almost as if you are hearing the internal workings of the starship. Needless to say I can only play the cd when I'm alone in the car since no one else I ride with appreciates being inside a Federation ship. But when I'm alone and driving to work or home, it's off to Omicron Beta III or where ever my imagination wants to take me. At times it beats the cookie cutter station on the FM dial but I can't convince my kids of that. Oh well.

And now since I am in a band(and sometimes sit in with the high school band at alumni games), I would be a Band nerd as well.

Does this mean that you also attented band camp? B)

My first recollection is from the premier episode, "Man Trap". I clearly remember seeing the transporter in action as the crew beamed to the surface instead of landing in a space ship like every other science fiction did. I knew then, even at the tender age of nine, that this show was something special. I was hooked right then and there. I even remember that during the opening credits i would always try and place my finger on the screen where the Enterprise would come out of space to flash across the screen. It took half the season to finally get it right. To top it off, I was the first kid in my fourth grade class to be able to do the vulcan salute. Geez, I was nerdier than I thought.

This is all a moot point. The Star Trek franchise is owned by Paramount. UPN stands for United Paramount Network. Until the suits at UPN decide to fold up the tent, Enterprise isn't going anywhere. In the overall standings of ratings on all networks and cable combined, Enterprise in languishing near the bottom. But take just the UPN shows by themselves and it's doing as well as can be expected. Most UPN stations are either old,former low power UHF stations or newly licensed, low power UHF stations. There's not alot of wiggle room here. The network was at a major disadvantage the minute they decided to compete against the established networks. Remember, we're not living in the 1950's anymore. Even so they are not about to give another network any opportunity to cash in on their property when they can still have their cake and eat it too. Star Trek is still a money maker for Paramount and they're going to squeeze every last bit of profit they can get out of it. With all the money that the other branches of Star Trek are bringing in, Theme attractions, merchandise, books, toys, etc., there is no problem underwriting the full seven years. They know there is still a sizable Trek Nation out here and until that shows signs of waning (i.e. we all get old and die with no replacements), they are going to keep on trekking even if the ratings are lower than what any of the big four networks would allow. Yes, Enterprise will never attact the common masses that we would like to see but that is not entirely Paramount's concern. Enterprise will remain right where it is.

I still have a book you might be interested in. Its been out of print for years but a piece of history nonetheless. Its title is "We Seven". It's the personal account of the original seven Mercury astronauts written by each one of them. Parts of it were used as reference by Tom Wolfe for his novel "The Right Stuff". Sometimes it's a little boring because well, lets face it, these guys were not writers. From a historical standpoint, it's invaluable to glimpse inside the head of each of them as they prepare to embark on the great adventure of being launched into space atop former ICBM's. Perhaps the Norfolk library or one of the other city branches still has a copy. If you're really interested in the history of the space program I recommend that you give this book a try.

Well, another mission to Mars is underway. In seven months the European Space AGency will have two landers on the surface and one in orbit and NASA will have one on the surface as well. This is all well and good provided the Martians don't shoot them down again before it gets there. From my perspective, there is one device missing from all three. It was suppossed to be on the polar lander that disapeared (shot down?) just as it reached the outer atmosphere. The device is a simple microphone. It wouldn't have cost all that much to equip any of the landers with even a Radio Shack mic, for crying out loud. The opportunity to hear another planet would have been the chance of a lifetime for someone like myself. Perhaps sometime in the future, since I don't see myself actually standing on the Red planet, there will come the chance to at least "hear" Mars once before I die. C'mon NASA, radio transmitters for audio waves are cheap. They could have stuck one on.

Even though I haven't been active about it the past few years, I still have a sizeable collection of chess sets. I sold my comic collection a couple of years ago for a decent profit but held onto a number of Jack Kirby DC books from the early 70's and the DC Star Trek comic books from about 10 or so years ago. The Star Trek books are for sale if anyone would be interested.

On this day in 1942, the Battle of Midway began effectively ending the Japanese Navy's ability to wage offensive war. This battle was also part revenge for Pearl Harbor since the four Japanese carriers that were sunk took part in the attack of Dec. 7th. From this day forward, the Japanese were forced into a defensive war since along with the carriers that were sunk, a great many veteran pilots were killed and there were almost no replacements for them. In the history of American Naval warfare, these two days (June 3rd and 4th) should rank right up there with the fourth of July as a day of remembrance and celebration. This battle also opened the way for CINCPAC to begin the island hopping plan to take the war to the Japanese home islands. As we give thanks for todays armed services, let us not forget those that fought for the same ideals in the past.

I agree. The New Frontier as any sort of series would be great especially if they adapt one of the books for it. Capt. Calhoun would be a worthy addition to the list of great Star Trek captains and to have Commander Shelby back would add a necessary conection to the TNG universe.

I've uploaded the Inner Light music score for anyone to download. Due to ftp site problems this morning I could only put the mp3 file up. Once the problem gets fixed (I hope), I'll place wave and aiff files up as well. The link to download is:

ftp://0603music:4479n@209.197.250.109

This will grant you direct access to the file without having to stop and pay the bridge troll. I can only keep it up there for one week so if anyone who doesn't have it wants it, it's here. This is a web protected file so the only way you can access it is by clicking the link. Have fun.

I haven't been here for awhile due to some commercial projects I've been working on but last week during some downtime while a client re-wrote a spot, I came across a 6 minute orchestral version of the flute piece Picard played on the Inner Light episode. It's actually quite well done. If anyone else is interested in having this piece as part of your Star Trek collection I can make it available for download in either wave, aiff (recommended) or mp3 format. I can store it on my studio's ftp site for one week for anyone who wishes to download it. Tomorrow I'll open a folder and post the ftp link here for anyone to access. This can only be a limited time offer so if the interest is there I'll make it available. If you ever wondered what a full orchestral rendition, with the flute playing the principle part of course, would sound like, now could be your chance.

I agree for the most part. Damar went from being a drunken lackey to an actual leader who saw the wrongs of occupation. His turnaround was almost a forebearance of the Cardassia to come. Guilt combined with a longing for freedom and self-determination, turned him from being a self-centered, prejudiced bastard to someone who recoginzed the need for co-operation among his former enemies. His recognition that without Kira, the rebellion would have died before it was even born. As Garek said, how ironic that the Cardassians owe a great debt to their former enemies and slaves in learning how to fight occupiers and become resistance fighter in their own rights. It was nice to see Damar grow up and have a more intregal part in the last two years of the series.

I've always believed that "What you Leave Behind", was a great episode and ending. With Sisko now a part of the Prophets or wormhole aliens, if you prefer, it brought the whole Bajoran story arc to it's end while leaving open the very real possibility of him returning. We know he's not dead, just non-corporeal and he fulfilled his destiny. If a mixed cast movie is ever made, something that at this point no one here can say for sure will happen, Sisko should be a part of it simply because he is now more then he and starfleet ever thought he was. As he said in the finale, he may be back tomorrow or even yesterday. Time has no meaning for him anymore. There are so many things that can be continued from where DS9 ended. The Founders are still there, being cured by Odo, The Jem Hadar are there also, still under control of the Founders. A new alliance can possibly be built now between the gamma and alpha quadrants, provided that Odo can teach the great link not to fear the solids of the alpha quadrant. Bajor still has yet to join the Federation and may never, prefering to keep their independance. These are just a few ideas. Yes, it was a sad ending but most endings are supposed to be sad and this one did the trick. As it was said in TNG, all good things must eventually come to an end. This one was bittersweet but satisfying none the less.

I first wrote this thought at the end of one of my posts as an afterthought but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if a coverup by starfleet wasn't performed. Here's some of my reasoning. We now know that the actual first contact with the Borg took place in the 22nd century. By what we knew previously, Q forced the first meeting in deep space between humankind and the Borg in the 24th century. Did the Borg receive the sub-space signal sent 200 years prior? Possibly but we'll leave that for another time. Up to that time, there was never any mention by starfleet of the possible existance of a race of very hostile cybernetic organisms. In the Early part of the 24th century, the Hansons, with possibly starfleet's blessing, begin a series of covert explorations in response to the rumor of the existance of the Borg and possibly in an attempt to determine whether or not this is the same species that was uncovered in the Arctic circle. If you take into consideration any official reports filed by Archer about the tenacity and hostility of aforementioned species, it would seem to make sense that Starfleet did not want any mention of this anywhere for fear of alarming the entire alpha quadrant and most importantly, the rank and file of starfleet itself. Seeing as we know the existance of section 31 all the way back to the beginings of starfleet itself, it would also make sense that this undertaking of secrecy would also fall under section 31's umbrella. It's possible that the Hansens were working for section 31 which would account for the fact that there is no official record of their mission that would be accessible by anyone in starfleet or the earth government. I'm sure that only specific, high ranking individuals in starfleet, and this would be an extremely small number, would have any knowledge of this covert mission. When the Hansens disappeared, and since they seemed to have the most knowledge about the Borg when they disappeared, all that information was lost. Since any organization doesn't like to admit or list their failures, it's possible that the entire operation was deemed top secret classified with almost no one outside of section 31 knowing anything about it. Until Picard made his report after "Q who", the whole Arctic encounter was forgotten or in this case purposely lost for security's sake. To my thinking, and maybe I'm just being paranoid, this smell like a coverup. Now granted I haven't had too much opportunity today to present more concrete circumstances but it bears pointing out that something of this magnitude would immediately be brought under control and protected at all costs.. Am I being too paranoid? Help and other thoughts are welcome. I have to go back to work now and attempt to be productive.

Even though it's no longer celebrated or in some cases even remembered, today is the 58th anniversary of the official end to the war in Europe. I wish to remind all that on this day we remember the sacrifices made by those grandfathers, fathers, uncles and brothers of our families who lived through this horrendous episode of humankind's history. May we never forget.

with data on the 1701-d im sure that he would have found some reference in some database on the "mysterious" cybernetic organisms that were found in the artic circle....

Not if it became classified starfleet information. Not even Data would be permitted to access sensitive information regarding this dangerous species. Even during the first and second encounter with the Borg on TNG, no mention is ever made of the Hansens and their fact finding secret mission. Starflleet never bothered to tell Picard and crew, "oh, by the way, we have some interesting information for you thats about 200 years old that might interest you". Now that I think more about it, it's beginning to smell more and more like a coverup by Starfleet and was probably made so by the Hansens disappearance.

Yes, you're absolutely right, that old Borg feeling is definetly back. I even embarrassed myself by screaming at the tv, as if they could hear me. In spite of some minor errors, I thought the writers did a great job on tying in everything necessary from all previous Borg episodes and FC, to have this one make sense. Like in "Times Arrow", time and history were fulfilling themselves and everything is as it should be. This was a landmark episode. The look on Archers face towards the end as he began to realize that this species presented far more then they could possibly handle was a perfect puncuation to this actual first meeting with the Borg. It's the first time that I actually saw fear register on all their faces.