Coming of Age (Season 1 - Ep. 19)

I LOVE THIS EPISODE!!  For some reason, all episodes involving star fleet academy get me really excited.  Maybe it's because it reminds me of all the hard work that I did to fight my way into the college of my dreams and then to survive all the way through to my bachelor's degree was finished!




Now that a year has passed from the new Star Trek reboot movie I definately have a frustration with the fact that, in STNG, Wesley Crusher works sooooo hard to get into the academy (and he's an engineering prodigy at worst!) where as James Kirk gets to waltz onto the ship for starfleet academy without even taking an entry exam!  Does anyone else have an issue with this?  Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed the new movie and I'm excited about the re-invigoration of the franchise - it's certainly more effective than "Enterprise" (the show) ever was!

Finally, I love the sequence where Wesley gets all pissed off and rough with that guy in the hall way!  We rarely get to see Wesley excersise having some balls! :)

Links
Wikipedia Episode Summary
Star Trek reboot, wiki entry
My Beard Blog

Home Soil (Season 1 - Ep. 18)

Home soil is a pretty entertaining episode! I love episodes where it appears that technology is alive!  The episode is about a group of scientists that are working on Terraforming a planet, but they're behind schedule. So since the Enterprise is passing by, they thought they'd check in.  During their visit some things go TERRIBLY WRONG!  Press play to view the original trailer for the episode to jog your memory if you haven't watched the episode recently.




In many ways I'm attracted to the idea of Terraforming!  It's really exciting to think about creating an entire ecosystem on a barren planet; bringing life to a place that has has none!  I do believe that that would create amazing opportunities for people to live in a more healthy way, instead of destroying all rural land and replacing it with Sub-Urban Sparawl.  There could be pockets of urban environments amidst tons of rural land that has yet to be poluted. But alas, I'm talking about a utopian situation that is not likely to happen.

Terraforming station on Velara III

All that being said, just as we see in the episode there would always be a possibility that there's some kind of sentient life form that actually can survive on a "barren" planet and in fact IS suriving/flourshing.  Life that's made of energy, or that's microscopic.  If we cannot communicate with them, then we may be performing genicide all in hope of colonizing a planet that we wish to claim as ouur own; "New Worlds".

And we've seen what the human desire to conquer new worlds has done to our worldwide history.  We've fought with our own kind, we've damaged ecosystems, we've pilaged natural resources, and taken advantage of everything in our path - all so that we can claim something as our own.

As much as my heart wants humans to explore this solar system, and eventually the rest of the universe.  I feel as if we're not mature enough as a world community to do anything of the sort, even if we had the technological and financial means.  The construction and utilization of the international space station is a step in the right direction - but I have a feeling that it will take some several generations before we can think about colonizing on another space rock, or begining to truly conceptualize the science behind terraforming.

As far as the episode goes, I'm noticing some very interesting cinemotographic decision, such as the low light on the bridge. It's as if Picard is preparing for a candle light dinner with everyone on the bridge.  I am also interested in the fact that this episode is far more reliant on foly/sound fx than it is music - which is in complete contrast to the last episode! It's as if there's far more orchestral sound track on episodes "of the heart" than there is with episodes that are techonlogy or diplomacy heavey! Iwonder if this is an ongoing creative tactic on the producers' parts.  What do you guys think? Feel free to send me your thoughts at themojdeh@gmail.com, subject "SPACE CAMP RESPONSE" please refer to the title of the blog post in the body of your email.


Links
Wikipedia Synopsis of "Home Soil"

More from WHERE STNG AND BEARDS COLLIDE!

http://fortheloveofbeards.blogspot.com/2010/09/mans-best-affectation-doctor-from.html

I recently indulged in some season 6 action! Now, I know what you're thinking "What's she doing watching season 6 episodes when she's left us hanging with season one on the tng blog!?" - SHAME ON ME! But sometimes you just gotta dig into later seasons to get your feet wet before diving back in in cronological order right? RIGHT!  SO ANYWAYZ, I have also been sucked into another form of geek-o-blogging and have been getting some crazy hits on my beard blog!  So click here or click on the image above to read the great Beard-Trek blog post that I put up last week!

This post has been written for your delight by, Commander Mojdeh.

Links
My beard blog

Bluff your way through any Star Trek related conversation, as dictated by Dinosaurs!

I know it's been quite a while since I've last updated! BUT! And even longer since I've actually blogged about STNG episodes. But never fear my blog fans, I haven't forgotten you! Nor have I forgotten my love for all things completely Trek!  But clearly, since I haven't been watching as much trek, my facts are becoming a little fuzzy.  A dear friend of mine, Sarah Herrmann, wanted to help me with this problem so she shared this "guide" for holding my own in trekkie conversations, lest I loose my esteem amongst my peers! Thanks for lookin out Sarah, thanks, I mean it!

Go to http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1783
to see this comic in it's original context! WITH LARGE TEXT, YAY!

LINKS
My Beard Blog
My Business
My Band
My Facebook
My Myspace

STNG Meets Reading Rainbow

So I haven't had any time to watch my favorite show! BUT, I recently stumbled upon this little gem on youtube! It's actually pretty fun to watch, even as an adult - depsite it's hockieness. It's quite a trip to see how much of a serious endeavor it was to shoot and edit television before digital editing! Can you imagine and ENTIRE ROOM that's built as a "remote control" of sorts to control a WHOLE ROOM of tape decks in another room. I hope this episode of Reading Rainbow reminds you of your childhood as much as it reminds me of my own! Anywayz enjoy the episode! :)

Celebrating the Ladies of Space Pt1

Lately I've been thinking about how women have impacted business and science. And I'm noticing a trend, most successful women in these two fields go on to educate other women/girls. My current favorite Lady -o- Space did exactly that!

Sally Ride (first American Woman in Space)

"Sally Ride, America’s first woman astronaut, has emerged as one of the nation’s leading proponents of science education – particularly for middle-school girls. Dr. Ride’s journey from a high school tennis player to NASA celebrity involved a lot of math. After earning much deserved fame and relative fortune from her space endeavors, Ride directed her attention to what she sees as a national crisis: a dearth of female students pursuing science and engineering careers." - as read in Inventor's Digest (click here to see in original context)


Bravo Sally!

Though it's a somewhat frustrating idea, thinking about how a lot of women put the growth of their careers on hold for the sake of educating a younger generation. In many ways I wish all people would approach their careers this way - not just ladies and minorities. But all people should set aside time to be an example for youth! I wish there was more integration of professionals spending time with youth! What better way to make kids empowered and pumped up about following through with their education!

FOR THE LOVE OF BEARDS! (cough) Oh and Star Trek!

Okay, so generally, it is understood that I overwork myself. And one way to know how overworked I am, is by how many ridiculous searches I make in passing because my mind is wondering due to exhaustion.

SO...I typed 'foxy beard' into my google search bar AND the first image I see is Evil Spock. Of course . . . beard+trek=joyful moj . . . SO, this hyperlink takes me to a magical blog called "Beard Blog: For the love of beards". I was certainly delighted that this person was not only collecting fine images of Trek-beards, but also photos of strangers he meets and chooses to photograph and interview, simply because they're bearded and seem friendly.

Unfortunately, the next thing that I notice is that he was discontinuing said blog. And alas it seem he has.

So...I suppose this post is really more of a "R.I.P. beard blog" update! Because who wouldn't want to celebrate all of the finest beards! In honor of the "Late" beard blog. I am going to share some of the greatest Trek-beards to date!

Kling-Beard!

Visor-Beard

Droid-Beard

Sexy-Beard!

AND THE NEW TREK BEARDING EXTRAVAGANZA! JJ'S KIRK & SPOCK!

LINKS
my business
my band
my facebook
my weird Picard song
my whatever page

R.I.P. Atlantis!

Atlantis, we will miss you! You are so cute and cuddly looking. And you like to piggy back on Boeing 747 rides home when you land in California! OH WOA IS THIS MOJ FOR ATLANTIS WILL NOT RIDE AGAIN! May we let this cute little shuttle rest in peace!

This is my favorite shuttle! I know that it doesn't go on long distance missions. Atlantis has never been to the moon. But it appeals to the eco-geek in me! At least it's reusable!

[click here to read article in it's original context on nasa.gov]

Homecoming for Atlantis

Space shuttle Atlantis' main gear touched down on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:48 a.m. EDT, completing a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. On board were Commander Ken Ham, pilot Tony Antonelli, Garrett Reisman, Michael Good, Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the International Space Station. STS-132 is the last planned flight for Atlantis.

Hellas Yeah!

Okay friends, I know I haven't posted in a little while, but I saw NASA's photo/article of the day and I just had to share it with everyone! EVERYONE, meet Hellas Planitia...


[click here to see this article in it's original context]

Hellas Planitia

This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter covers a small portion of the northwest quadrant of Hellas Planitia on Mars. With a diameter of about 1,400 miles and a depth reaching the lowest elevations on Mars, Hellas is one of the largest impact craters in the solar system.

The area has a number of unusual features, which are thought to be quite old because of the high crater density. The crater inside Hellas has been filled with material, which may be related to volcanic activity on the basin's northwestern rim. It also might be related to the presence water and water ice. However, there is evidence elsewhere that the ground here is rich with ice.

HiRISE will be used to investigate this in more detail when the basin is free from atmospheric dust.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/International Research School of Planetary Sciences

When the Bough Breaks (Season 1 - Episode 17) Star Trek TNG

When The Bough Breaks, is a very entertaining extravaganza of intergalactic baby stealing! Haha...okay maybe not baby stealing but, that sounds funnier than child stealing! Personally I think the purpose of this episode was to serve as foreshadow for the second season episode, Up The Long Ladder (if they steal babies in this season, then the audience will be that much more sympathetic when they're stealing DNA in the next season! I'm just saying). [for those unaware - a friend and I produced a very entertaining song about Up The Long Latter, listen to it here.] Refresh your memories for a second with this ridiculously-tacky but absolutely official trailer for, When The Bough Breaks!
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So anyways, I appreciate this episode because of it's attempt to display the imperfections of future technology again! That's something that I always appreciate about STNG, unlike other si-fi shows (or Voyager - don't get me started), the future's technologies are just as problematic as our technologies today!

Nevertheless, Aldea, the planet that they have been hailed by (which is has been drown in myth in the TNG universe because they've managed to cloak the whole planet so that they don't have to worry about war/invasion/visitors/etc and can focus on community/art/etc) has several very interesting characters. I think that it's interesting that the people on this planet have lost the ability to have intelectual growth because thier "custodian" (aka: computer) controls EVERYTHING! It controls thier way of living, thier execution of technical things, etc. Thier ancestors built this computer so that the people could stop worrying about training scientists, politicians, etc and instead focus on the quality of life & art making!

I'm not sure how I feel about this - is this episode trying to make a statement about the artist's idea of utopia specifically, or is it simply providing a comentary on what happens to culture when there is that kind of imbalance (all artists, no scholars). Maybe I should be thankful that in order to graduate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago I had to take more art history courses than any other school, and I had to have a full academic roster! Who knows!?

Maybe there is no real critique upon the "artist" so much as in a society who never has to work for anything, they don't understand the value of anything - even another sentient being! Stealing children for a society that cannot bare children anymore is right there with stealing bread for the hungry! Neither is correct, but both seem justifiable!

A STAR TREK DRINKING GAME!? YEP!

So apparently not even Trekkies have exalted themselves above silly drinking games. Now despite my lack of ever having drunken alcohol for any reason, nor do I plan to. I can still appreciate the humor built into this game. I suggest for those of you Baha'is, Muslims, former alcholics, and friends that just think beer smells like rubber bands + urine (like I do - sorry drinkers, it's true)...maybe choose to play this game with an energy drink or play it in a group for points, whomever calls it first and racks up the most points gets something special from the group (say a group hug...or thier dinners covered by the group, whatever).

SPECIAL THANKS to Mackenzie (mysterious commenter) for sharing the game with me! Keep reading the blog Mackenzie! I'm so glad you actually commented directly on the blog...most people email me (PUNKS!). Keep it public friends! It's all love here!

STAR TREK DRINKING GAME!
click here to see this article in it's original context

Hey Folks,
        It has long been said that college students will take any and every
opportunity to drink, regardless of the circumstances. It's true... we will.
And we also manage to make it fun... So the next time you're watching Star
Trek, pull this out and drink per each successfully met condition. Guaranteed
to get you LOADED. Have a good week.
                                                        Greg Williams
                                                        38williams(at)cua.edu
 
 STAR TREK:  THE NEXT GENERATION
                         DRINKING GAME
 
                         RULES
 
                (To be played while watching the show.)
 
Have one sip of beer per successfully met condition
 
 
Anybody:
     'Open hailing frequencies'
     'Medical emergency'
     'Belay that order'
     'Energise'
     'Hell','Damn' and other swearing.  See Rikers special swearing
          rules.
 
Picard:
     'Make it so'
     'Engage'
     'Come' - two if said in personal quarters
     'Captain's log' - two if supplemental
     'Proceed'
     'Number One'
 
Worf:
     'Impressive'
     'Admirable'
     'Grrrrr' ( A simple sneer qualifies)
 
Data:
     'Fascinating'
     'Accessing'
 
DRINK WHENEVER:
-Riker swears - two drinks; three if it's 'hell'; whole beer if he asks 'what the hell is going on'
-Riker walks forward as if he's trying to knock an imaginary door down with his forehead.
-A female character has flawless makeup after she's been through the ringer.
-Picard straightens his uniform
-Data's innards are revealed
-Data uses his strength
-Data is cut off mid sentence - two drinks if it's a list of synonyms.
-Data gripes about his inability to perceive human emotion
-Geordie's visor is taken or knocked off
-Georgie gets bitched out for faulty engine, warp drive, etc.
-Beverly can't figure out  some bizarre medical problem
-Deanna senses something really shocking
-Deanna gives us Betazoid insight into something really obvious
-O'Brien has a line (this gets brutal after the third season - weak drinkers may pass)
-A crew member drinks -  two if it's Picard; three if it's Picard drinking tea; four if the tea is identified as Earl Grey.
-A bridge officer is shown in casual clothes (one drink per scene, per officer) = two drinks if it's Beverly in a sweater; two drinks if it's Picard in his chest revealing bedwear.
-A bridge officer appears in dress uniform (one drink per scene, per officer)
-Every time somebody is addressed by his or her first name - two if there's some kind of sexual tension going on.
-Every time they use transporter room three.
 -A shuttle craft seems like an unsafe place to be.
-Somebody reads a book.
-Somebody preaches the Prime Directive - two if it's NOT Picard
-Somebody preaches about Humanity's Unique Potential
-Picard has an accident or is attacked - two drink; three if it draws blood
-Picard is possessed - four drinks
-An 'old earth saying' is brought up - two if Data has to have it explained to him.
-Patrick Stewart tries to speak French
-Wesley talks back to his Mom.
-Somebody implies that Ten Forward is a Happening Place
-They fade for an advertisement playing the 'ominous horns'
-Klingon is spoken - two drinks per scene in which Klingons are alone and have no obvious reason to speak English but do anyway.
-Each scene in which a nifty new Romulan ship is shown
-There's a token alien in the background with no lines - two if it's a Vulcan.
-Yellow Alert - one drink
-Red Alert - two drinks
-Intruder Alert - three drinks
-Another Captain or Star Fleet Command officer is on screen.
-There's a countdown
-Every time a bridge command is handed over
-The Enterprise crew avoids a confrontation instead of blasting away.
-Each scene in which the Enterprise actually fights (shots must be fired) - two drinks.
-Whole beer whenever the saucer section separates.
-They contact somebody on the communicator/intercom without going to a panel or touching anything.
-A communicator isn't working or is blocked - two if it's out of range.
-New Trek contradicts a fact from Old Trek (Unfortunately, players may be too drunk to adjudicate this rule)
 
 
 
                 Enjoy!
                   G.D.W.
                      (38williams(at)cua.edu)

Too Short A Season (Season 1 - Episode 16) Star Trek TNG

For those of you who are sending me worried facebook inquiries; wondering if I'm growing old, whilst living in my mother's basement, watching STNG all day and blogging! No worries. Such is not the case. IN FACT, my mom lives in MY basement & I'm getting plenty of sunlight right now!!! Just kidding...Or am I?

Regardless, this is the 3rd time I've watched Next Gen in order from 1st episode to last. I decided to revitalize this blog again because it forces me to take 20min breaks from work every 4 or 5 hours! If you knew me well...you would applaud that choice! NOW..back to the 16th episode of the 1st season of STNG! Go-ahead, you know you want to watch this cheasy trailer before I continue rambling!
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You know, I'm not gonna lie...there are definately a handful of first and second season episodes of STNG that I'm just not wild about. This is one of them. I get the fact that in 1987 that awesome make up job on the old guy was something to be noted...but it's 2010, 23 years have passed, and I'm just not feelin it!

However conceptually I am very interested in this episode, because of what's happening in our world's never ending political climate! How many times do countries with power have to send countries at war weapons!? For some reason this always seems like a "good idea" and yet...NEVER is! I wonder how many conflicts would have fizzled out by now if it weren't for UK, Russia, USA, & a handful of Asian countries offering weapons at the drop of a hat!

Now, I inherently don't believe in violence...except to avenge sex crimes

(then the punt-junk punishment should be implemented...often!)

And additionally, I think my faith & almost every other world religion (fact) also doesn't really endorse violence...so when are all of us human's gonna catch up and stop encouraging it!? Sigh...I understand that this is abroad overarching question that cannot be answered...but really...when?

ON A MUCH LIGHTER NOTE! I seem to be having difficulty NOT frolicking about the NASA website today! And I found this image...which made me smile and then made me sad! So I am posting this image in memory of the 9 planet solar system, as it was when I was a youth!

RIP Pluto!
Also...I'm kind of tickled that the universe is labeled!

LINKS
wikipedia synopis of this episode
see this blog in it's original context
my business
my band
my weird Picard song
my whatever page

11001001 (Season 1 - Episode 15) Star Trek TNG and NASA/CHICAGO FUN!

See trailer below
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So basically...blah blah blah...little aliens try to steal the Enterprise...
blah blah blah...Riker is distracted and duped by said little aliens, when they program the holodek to create an invented woman that is SO adaptable and "real" that Riker actually falls in love with her! (OH RIKER!).

blah blah blah, they retrieve the Enterprise, and all is well! YAY!!!!!!


NOW IN MORE EXCITING NEWS!!! Today NASA posted this story that made me happy! As a Chicagoan and as a NASA/Space Geek!!!! (and as a former basketball enthusiast)

[If you look closely, you'll see that Chicago won that game 18 to 12, yeah baby!]

Playing Forward

Edwin P. Hubble--famed astronomer--and basketball star? In fact, Dr. Hubble was both. The University of Chicago alumnus was a member the UC Maroons team that in 1909 won the college championship over Indiana University. It's only fitting that the man, the astronomer, the basketball star be honored for all of his accomplishments as the college championships are being played again in Indianapolis in 2010.

In this image from May 2009 during the Hubble servicing mission, NASA astronaut and fellow University of Chicago alumnus John Grunsfeld paid homage to Dr. Hubble, after whom the telescope was named, by photographing the team’s vintage basketball aboard space shuttle Atlantis. The Hubble Space Telescope is visible through the portholes.

click here to read this article in it's original context.
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CAN I GET A "WHAT-WHAT" FOR CHICAGO NATIVE?! YEAH BABY! Now who's going to start a "Sending Mojie-Moj To Space Camp Fund" aready! Seriously!!! I promise it's for a good cause! The "Getting more Chicagoans to NASA" cause, and also the "MOJ REAAAAAAALLY WANTS TO GO TO NASA" cause!

Angel 1 (Season1 - Episode 14) Star Trek TNG

So it is absolutely clear that the universe Start Trek TNG takes place within is not perfect. However amongst the humans several social ills have already been cured. This is precisely what makes some of these episodes when the Enterprise comes into contact with races that very specific social dynamics interesting, because that direct contrast makes those conflicts or cultural practices obviously problematic. All that being said, enjoy the trailer for a moment so that you can refresh your memory, about what "Angel One" was about!
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Now, I'm not gonna lie, I love a good story about Women prevailing...because I'm biased! My ovaries are warriors, as they should be ;-) But inherently I was raised to believe that men and women are equal and realistically this makes far more sense than either men or women having a higher place in society, regardless of being raised a Baha'i!

In other stories that utilize the manifestation of a male power I often notice that the female characters are either forced to be "beautiful," "meek," "servants," or whatever and those female characters are either non-the-wiser, resentful, or just complacent. However in this episode where all of the men are the second class citizens, the men seem beyond complacent - they seem joyful! Especially excited to be used as sex-objects. --->surprised? hmmm....an interesting observation if nothing less.


Meanwhile, I love how that does not go un-noted by Deanna & Tasha, in fact I am mighty entertained by the hard time that these ladies give Riker when he puts on that sexy number to impress/appease the local "Elected One" (aka: woman in power).

I also think that this is the first episode that Geordi gets to hold a real position of power, as "Acting Captain" while the captain is ill, and the Riker is on Angel One. This episode is a double whammy for the two most oppressed minorities in Western culture. Yay!


I also love that even within the secondary story, ultimately it is a leading Woman who saves the day! If it weren't for our favorite Dr Beverly Crusher - the crew of the Enterprise would be SCREWED! She found the cure for the mysterious virus that was floating around the ship!



Finest quote of the episode!
"It, kinda...just...happened!" Wesley Crusher
Context: it's more fun to make you wonder!


LINKS
this blog in it's original context
my business
my band
my solo project

Now all that being said....WOMEN RULE AND BOYS DRULE!!! Just kidding! Equal! We're all equal :)

-----AFTER THOUGHTS----

I accidentally found the episode dubbed in German! I am so entertained that I thought I'd share this with the world! THE BEST PART is about 2min 30sec in, the German voice for Wesley is AMAZING!!!!
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Datalore (Season 1 - Episode 13) Star Trek TNG

Ahh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! This episode starts with Data trying to emulate a human sneeze! Which is almost as good as this video of a baby panda scaring the b-jesus out of mamma panda!
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But without further a due...here is the trailer for this episode! If you're reading on facebook instead of right off of my blog -> it has been requested that I interlink the youtube page for these videos because they will not embed into fb. So make sure you're clicking on those friendly hyperlinks! :)
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It's true, just like most Trekkies Data's one of my most adored characters! I've heard mixed things about Brent Spiner, the actor that played Data - but I've never met the guy so I couldn't say! All I know is that Brent seems to have an entertaining twitter feed!

The music in this episode is very very well composed. Possibly the most dynamic of the entire season! This is the MOST emotional the music has been so far, ironically, for a story that's about an emotionless android! All that being said there's a hilarious mixture between amazing orchestral arrangments and rediculous 80's synthetic sounds! ha ha ha ha! Quite odd once you really pay attention! But it is as if this episode is 95% has a musical bed, which is far more music than the average episode of TNG.

Finest quotes of the episode!
Will Riker: "Does it have all of your...parts?"
Geordi: "Will we know how to turn it on?"
Context: The crew visited the planet Data was assembled on. They found another android that looks like Data that was disassembled and brought it on board to be put together!

It is too bad that they were all so eager to put the mysterious android together - because Lore (Data's brother) is such a hateful creature! But I guess that's what good writing is - the more conflict...the better!!! Lore & Q are quite possibly the most entertaining evildoers on TNG.





LINKS
this blog in it's original context
my business
my band
my whatever site

----AFTER THOUGHTS----

So my friend Seamus, sent me a link to a humorous synopsis of this episode and in the coments of that synopsis this was aptly written by interwebie, Betty Lou, "I was 10 when this episode aired, and mostly I remember how very creeped out I was by Lore. Brent Spiner infused that whole performance with something sinister, and I remember just sitting there boggling that Data and Picard were arguing over whether Lore was an "it" or a "he" and totally ignoring the fact that he was over in the corner radiating evil."

...BRILLIANT!!...

The Big Goodbye? Or the BIG HELLO?

The Big Goodbye (Season 1 - Episode 12) Star Trek TNG

It's true friends. I know that I totally lied way back in September when I said I was going to start blogging about TNG again! I lied, but I didn't intend on being dishonest - I just got distracted by a soul sucking job, an amazing trip to kansas, shiny things at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, releasing 2 full length debut CDs with my band, and A Night of Sight & sound with Saul Williams...could you blame me?

So here I am friends, back at the grind and I hope you LOVE EVERY MOMENT OF IT! Because I know I will! I have been looking forward to this post for a while! So as tradition goes, I've included the original trailer for "The Big Goodbye" below. And as always, feel free to click on any words/phrases that I have hyperlinked (like this word) to learn more about whatever the hell I happen to be babbling about!

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FIRST OF ALL...OH MY! I forgot how fit the whole cast is and how tight the first season's uniforms are! But more importantly, I think this is the first episode that really explores 20th century literature and culture as a means of exploring the neuance of several of the TNG characters. This episode, of course, is all about Picard's love Dixon Hill. This may not be the first holodeck episode but I do think this is the first time that they explore the imperfections of the replicated/materialized realities/objects that can be created in this universe. This is something that I appreciate. I think that it would be very difficult to suspend my belief if it weren't for the fact that the "future" is imperfect! Ultimately I appreciate the overarching "We Mean Well" mentality!

I do believe that this is the first episode, since 'The Naked Now' that we get to see Picard's sass! "What's your fee?" she says. He replies "20 dollars a day..." "Agreed" she says & reaches into her purse, "I haven't said yes yet!" he says. So sassy!

There's also a really lovely attention to detail in this episode. If you look closely Dixon Hill's business cards are in a short alcohol glass, a testiment to Dixon's 'less-than-classy' style!

Now outside of the holodeck there are some interesting things going on too. It's totally weird to see Geordi as a mere pilot! Little does he know that he'll soon be the Chief of Engineering. Even more entertaining are those terrible-terrible sweaters they make Wesley wear in the early seasons!

Finest moment of dialog! So punny!
[in holodeck] Cop friend says "When are you coming over for dinner? The kids would love to see you and I know how much you love Sharon's cooking" Picard/Dixon says "I would love to but I've got duties to attend to" Friend asks, "Oh yeah, blonde or brunette" Picard/Dixon proclaims "She's a lady alright, and her name is Enterprise!" friend replies, "Sounds like a working girl to me!"

LINKS
this blog in it's original context
my company
my band
my whatever site