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Well, I got royally pasted in Week 1--mostly because my running backs hardly came up with anything and because Drew Brees threw six touchdown passes for my opponent. My wide-receivers and tight-end did better than I expected, which may bode well for future games. The good news is that, although I lost, my team scored more points than many other teams in the division.
Team Sun Runners (76 Total Points)
Peyton Manning, Ind QB 14
Steve Slaton, Hou RB 2
LenDale White, Ten RB 2
Lance Moore, NO WR 3
Chad Ochocinco, Cin WR 8
Josh Cribbs, Cle WR 7
John Carlson, Sea TE 21
Steelers D/ST, Pit D/ST 11
David Akers, Phi K 8
Team Sanderbeck (102 Total Points)
Drew Brees, NO QB 36
Ryan Grant, GB RB 12
Ray Rice, Bal RB 11
Dwayne Bowe, KC WR 10
Andre Johnson, Hou WR 3
Anquan Boldin, Ari WR 1
Jason Witten, Dal TE 7
Titans D/ST, Ten D/ST 14
Mason Crosby, GB K 8
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Torchwood: Cyberwoman (S1, E4)
"You need to figure out whose side you're on here--'cause if you don't know, you won't make it out of here alive."
Cyberwoman (Season One, Episode Four) ("Beneath the Torchwood building, Ianto Jones hides a terrible secret: a half-converted cyberwoman.")
What I Liked
* The very collegial opening scene--Hub basketball, banter, and going out for beers.
* The acting of Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto--he brings it, showing some real acting chops in portraying a character who has reached real desperation.
* The scene where the team goes to battle stations--very exciting.
* Pterodactyl vs. Cyberwoman--come on, that's pretty good stuff!
* Ianto's inability to kill Lisa at the end--usually in fiction, heroes are always able to make the tough decision when it counts.
What I Didn't
* A single cyber-being doesn't seem all that scary because it doesn't have much in the way of offensive power--it just slowly walks forward and tries to smash people.
* Jack's effective dialogue about Ianto having betrayed the team and Torchwood is nicely done, but Ianto seems to be forgiven fairly quickly.
What I'm Not Sure About
* Why did Torchwood build such a massive facility in Cardiff for a team that's never seemed to have more than a handful of operatives at any one time? (we've seen a couple of members during the late 1800s, a couple of members during WWII, and four or five members in Jack's flashback during Fragments).
Commentary
By: James Strong (director), Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto), Chris Chibnall (writer)
Tone: Everything in the episode is "absolutely magnificent", but there's some nice humor.
Interesting Bits:
* The episode was going to open with Ianto meeting the scientist at the airport.
* It was intended to run much later in the season, but the showrunners wanted to establish a clear tie to the Dr. Who mythos.
* A funny anecdote about John Barrowman's ass smashing an antique door.
* The device that Tosh uses to unlock doors is the same prop she used in the first episode to scan books.
Deleted Scenes
* An extended scene of the group leaving the Hub for drinks, with more banter.
* Tosh brings Ianto coffee at the very end of the episode as a goodwill gesture, but he snubs her.
Torchwood Declassified: "Girl Trouble"
* Interviews with people about the character of Ianto
* Costume designers on how they made the Cyberwoman both sexy and scary
* Interviews about how much people loved the idea of having the pterodactyl fight Lisa.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Clone Wars Campaign: Recap # 26
This was the first session in a story arc directed by one of the players and worked really well. I quite liked the adventure hook (it had a nice, mysterious Star Trek like feel) and the atmospheric details of Dramos V. I played Sian Suan, a spunky, impulsive Jedi (a character salvaged from several years ago when I first encounted the Star Wars RPG as a player in a KOTOR campaign). One thing that worked especially well in this session is that, because people kept having dreams and hallucinations, it created a real feeling that nobody could be completely trusted--which led my character and and her Master almost coming to blows.
EPISODE 2.7: JOURNEY TO DRAMOS V
SESSION 26
[AG 262]
Deep in the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Padawans Sian Suan (a Sullustan) and Kasa (a Gungan) are sparring when they receive a message to report to the Council chambers. Inside, they see the human Jedi Knight Lee and the Thisspiasian Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis. Master Rancisis tells the Padawans that they will be travelling to the Outer Rim planet Dramos V (under the direction of Lee) in order to investigate reports that the population is having strange dreams and engaging in chaotic behavior. In addition, they are to discover why Republic Agent Menich Fenchler has ceased communications.
Suan inspects the freighter they've been assigned for the voyage, while Lee and Kasa research the history of Dramos V. They learn that the planet was settled almost a thousand years prior, and was notable for a great purge of all droids five centuries after its founding. After loading supplies aboard the ship, the two Padawans meet two additional individuals that will accompany them on the mission: Sgt. Jett, a Clone trooper; and Lumzoz, a Republic Data Analyst. During the ensuing hyperspace voyage, the group formulate a plan: the two Padawans will investigate Fenchler's disappearance while Lee meets with Karpok Mirmark, head of the ruling council of Dramos V.
[AG 274]
The freighter arrives at Dramos V, but sensors indicate that a Separatist cruiser is orbiting on the far side of the planet. Suan hastily pilots the ship down through the atmosphere to reveal a dark, storm-swept world. Landing beacons signal the ship to descend through wide caverns on the planet's surface and into an underground city named Pentanossus. Seconds after landing, the unwitting Jedi are beset by strange hallucinations: Lee thinks she is dueling with Count Dooku, whilst Sian thinks she's wandering through a dark forest and Kasa believes he's gone deaf. Eventually the hallucinations fade, but the experience puts everyone on edge.
Lee is contacted by a messenger from Karpok Mirmark and invited to a gala reception later in the evening. With several hours to pass, the Jedi and Sgt. Jett decide to travel together to the last known address for the missing Agent Fenchler. After travelling through several poorly-lit tunnels, they emerge at a decrepit apartment block. With Jett guarding the outer door, the Jedi make their way to Fenchler's quarters, only to find it deserted. Lee and Kasa take up a careful search, while Suan talks to Fenchler's neighbors.
Suan gets a tip that Fenchler often shops at a nearby market. The impulsive Padawan decides to investigate, but finds herself ambushed by a trio of mercenaries. When a dramatic backflip and flourishing of her lightsaber fails to scare them off, she's forced to escape a hail of blaster bolts and hide in a darkened alley, with no sign of Fenchler.
Meanwhile, Lee suffers another hallucination but shakes it off seconds after Kasa reports finding a hidden data crystal. After discussing their find in a back room, the pair of Jedi hear sounds from the main room--a group of intruders have stunned Sgt. Jett and are loudly ransacking the place, looking for something. Lee and Kasa peek out and see a group of thugs wearing matching body armor and carrying blasters. Kasa calls upon the Force to hurl a couch at their leader, while Lee springs across the room and ignites her lightsaber. A furious battle ensues. Kasa holds off several of the attackers with his expert martial arts ability, but is badly hurt by a flurry of grenades hurled his way. Seconds later, Lee finishes the fight with a resounding gesture by slamming her opponents to the ground with the Force. The leader of the group is taken prisoner and proves vulnerable to suggestion: he confesses to being a member of the Solar Krakens, a mercenary group hired by the Separatists to find Fenchler. Lee decides to bring the prisoner with them in the hopes of perhaps infiltrating the mercenary group.
Suan manages to sneak her way back to the apartment block and rejoin her companions and the prisoner. In their room at a local hotel, Suan and Lee argue about what to do with the prisoner: Suan insists he be turned over to the local judicials, while Lee wants him kept nearby as a valuable resource. The pair of Jedi almost come to blows when they realize that Sgt. Jett is not immune to the strange hallucinations of Dramos V: he's drawn his blaster and is about to murder the prisoner. Lee grabs the clone trooper's arm while Suan quickly ignites her lightsaber and cuts the pistol in half. More shouting breaks out between Lee and Suan until Kasa manages to broker an agreement: the prisoner will be turned over to local authorities but Suan will attempt to refrain from questioning her master's orders. Kasa transmits the data crystal to Lumzoz in the freighter for analysis. The three Jedi then share a strange vision that almost seems a cry for help: somewhere in an underground chamber, two old men have fallen prostrate before a huge, pulsing, egg-shaped object. The vision seems to be more than an hallucination, but the Jedi are unsure how to respond.
While Lee contacts the local constabulary to take control of their prisoner, Kasa and Suan travel to the city's market area in search of clues to Fenchler's disappearance. A grocer remembers Fenchler as a Gran who often frequents the cantina in the spacer's quarter, but says he hasn't been seen in weeks. While inside the store, the three mercenaries who earlier attacked Suan return. The impending firefight is interrupted by a rumbling in the ground underneath them, seconds before a huge snake-like creature emerges from a fissure in the earth. The mercenaries flee at the sight of the giant snake, which wraps itself around Kasa and spews acid in every direction. Kasa manages to free himself long enough to summon the Force to slam the serpent into the ground, but his strength reserves quickly give out. Suan makes sure the customers have escaped and then fires her ascension gun into the ceiling in order to swing high into the air and slash at the serpent's head with her lightsaber. The battle is difficult and bloody, but eventually the two Jedi prevail when Suan plunges her blade down through the creature's skull.
Lee arrives outside the store, only to find herself ambushed by the three waiting mercenaries and shot in the back with a blaster bolt. She survives, however, and, joined by the two Padawans, engages the mercenaries in battle. The leader tries to flee but Lee slams him to the ground using the Force and the Jedi take another prisoner to turn over to the judicials, while letting the other two mercenaries escape.
After quickly cleaning themselves up, the Jedi make their way to Karpok Mirmak's gala reception. Soon after they're seated, a surprising group enters the assembly hall: a Separatist delegation, led by a lightsaber-wielding Kel-Dor.
Return to Clone Wars Campaign Main Page
EPISODE 2.7: JOURNEY TO DRAMOS V
SESSION 26
[AG 262]
Deep in the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Padawans Sian Suan (a Sullustan) and Kasa (a Gungan) are sparring when they receive a message to report to the Council chambers. Inside, they see the human Jedi Knight Lee and the Thisspiasian Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis. Master Rancisis tells the Padawans that they will be travelling to the Outer Rim planet Dramos V (under the direction of Lee) in order to investigate reports that the population is having strange dreams and engaging in chaotic behavior. In addition, they are to discover why Republic Agent Menich Fenchler has ceased communications.
Suan inspects the freighter they've been assigned for the voyage, while Lee and Kasa research the history of Dramos V. They learn that the planet was settled almost a thousand years prior, and was notable for a great purge of all droids five centuries after its founding. After loading supplies aboard the ship, the two Padawans meet two additional individuals that will accompany them on the mission: Sgt. Jett, a Clone trooper; and Lumzoz, a Republic Data Analyst. During the ensuing hyperspace voyage, the group formulate a plan: the two Padawans will investigate Fenchler's disappearance while Lee meets with Karpok Mirmark, head of the ruling council of Dramos V.
[AG 274]
The freighter arrives at Dramos V, but sensors indicate that a Separatist cruiser is orbiting on the far side of the planet. Suan hastily pilots the ship down through the atmosphere to reveal a dark, storm-swept world. Landing beacons signal the ship to descend through wide caverns on the planet's surface and into an underground city named Pentanossus. Seconds after landing, the unwitting Jedi are beset by strange hallucinations: Lee thinks she is dueling with Count Dooku, whilst Sian thinks she's wandering through a dark forest and Kasa believes he's gone deaf. Eventually the hallucinations fade, but the experience puts everyone on edge.
Lee is contacted by a messenger from Karpok Mirmark and invited to a gala reception later in the evening. With several hours to pass, the Jedi and Sgt. Jett decide to travel together to the last known address for the missing Agent Fenchler. After travelling through several poorly-lit tunnels, they emerge at a decrepit apartment block. With Jett guarding the outer door, the Jedi make their way to Fenchler's quarters, only to find it deserted. Lee and Kasa take up a careful search, while Suan talks to Fenchler's neighbors.
Suan gets a tip that Fenchler often shops at a nearby market. The impulsive Padawan decides to investigate, but finds herself ambushed by a trio of mercenaries. When a dramatic backflip and flourishing of her lightsaber fails to scare them off, she's forced to escape a hail of blaster bolts and hide in a darkened alley, with no sign of Fenchler.
Meanwhile, Lee suffers another hallucination but shakes it off seconds after Kasa reports finding a hidden data crystal. After discussing their find in a back room, the pair of Jedi hear sounds from the main room--a group of intruders have stunned Sgt. Jett and are loudly ransacking the place, looking for something. Lee and Kasa peek out and see a group of thugs wearing matching body armor and carrying blasters. Kasa calls upon the Force to hurl a couch at their leader, while Lee springs across the room and ignites her lightsaber. A furious battle ensues. Kasa holds off several of the attackers with his expert martial arts ability, but is badly hurt by a flurry of grenades hurled his way. Seconds later, Lee finishes the fight with a resounding gesture by slamming her opponents to the ground with the Force. The leader of the group is taken prisoner and proves vulnerable to suggestion: he confesses to being a member of the Solar Krakens, a mercenary group hired by the Separatists to find Fenchler. Lee decides to bring the prisoner with them in the hopes of perhaps infiltrating the mercenary group.
Suan manages to sneak her way back to the apartment block and rejoin her companions and the prisoner. In their room at a local hotel, Suan and Lee argue about what to do with the prisoner: Suan insists he be turned over to the local judicials, while Lee wants him kept nearby as a valuable resource. The pair of Jedi almost come to blows when they realize that Sgt. Jett is not immune to the strange hallucinations of Dramos V: he's drawn his blaster and is about to murder the prisoner. Lee grabs the clone trooper's arm while Suan quickly ignites her lightsaber and cuts the pistol in half. More shouting breaks out between Lee and Suan until Kasa manages to broker an agreement: the prisoner will be turned over to local authorities but Suan will attempt to refrain from questioning her master's orders. Kasa transmits the data crystal to Lumzoz in the freighter for analysis. The three Jedi then share a strange vision that almost seems a cry for help: somewhere in an underground chamber, two old men have fallen prostrate before a huge, pulsing, egg-shaped object. The vision seems to be more than an hallucination, but the Jedi are unsure how to respond.
While Lee contacts the local constabulary to take control of their prisoner, Kasa and Suan travel to the city's market area in search of clues to Fenchler's disappearance. A grocer remembers Fenchler as a Gran who often frequents the cantina in the spacer's quarter, but says he hasn't been seen in weeks. While inside the store, the three mercenaries who earlier attacked Suan return. The impending firefight is interrupted by a rumbling in the ground underneath them, seconds before a huge snake-like creature emerges from a fissure in the earth. The mercenaries flee at the sight of the giant snake, which wraps itself around Kasa and spews acid in every direction. Kasa manages to free himself long enough to summon the Force to slam the serpent into the ground, but his strength reserves quickly give out. Suan makes sure the customers have escaped and then fires her ascension gun into the ceiling in order to swing high into the air and slash at the serpent's head with her lightsaber. The battle is difficult and bloody, but eventually the two Jedi prevail when Suan plunges her blade down through the creature's skull.
Lee arrives outside the store, only to find herself ambushed by the three waiting mercenaries and shot in the back with a blaster bolt. She survives, however, and, joined by the two Padawans, engages the mercenaries in battle. The leader tries to flee but Lee slams him to the ground using the Force and the Jedi take another prisoner to turn over to the judicials, while letting the other two mercenaries escape.
After quickly cleaning themselves up, the Jedi make their way to Karpok Mirmak's gala reception. Soon after they're seated, a surprising group enters the assembly hall: a Separatist delegation, led by a lightsaber-wielding Kel-Dor.
Return to Clone Wars Campaign Main Page
Political Hypocrisy Draws Fire
FROM THE ARCHIVES (Daily Nebraskan columns)
Political Hypocrisy Draws Fire
Jeremy Patrick (jhaeman@hotmail.com)
September 18, 2000
Hypocrite, n. One who, professing virtues that he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises.
--Ambrose Bierce, "The Devils Dictionary"
With Dennis Miller off doing "Monday Night Football," I feel justified in stealing his shtick. So I don't want to get off on a rant here, but ...
My pet peeve is ignorance and hypocrisy in politics. I am frequently peeved.
Recent events have not eased my discomfort. I was planning to write about the problems with Attorney General Don Stenberg, but my editors insist I have only 750 words, not 750 pages.
Instead, I'll begin with his assistant, J. Kirk Brown. Recently, Brown applied to the judicial nominating commission for an opening on the Lancaster County District Court.
The commission is charged by state law with the task of selecting qualified applicants and forwarding their names to the governor, who makes the final decision. After the commission found Brown unqualified, he wrote a scathing column attacking it for operating in secrecy and for being biased against him for his work on capital punishment cases. (Interestingly, a secretary in the Attorney General's office wrote a similar piece on the same day for the same newspaper.)
The commission operates in secrecy because the whole point of a merit-based system is to avoid political pressures; this is why we no longer elect judges.
Brown's attack on the commission for being biased against him for his death penalty work holds delicious irony. Stenberg and Brown have done everything in their power to keep judicial and legislative branches from acting on clear and nearly-unanimous research that demonstrates the use of capital punishment as biased against poor and minority defendants.
Brown only loses a job opportunity because of the commission's bias. The men and women he kills have lost their lives because of society's prejudice.
Stenberg and Brown are not alone in the hypocrisy department.
I first met Mike Johanns as he came to Chadron to campaign for governor. I remember asking him, after he gave the usual stump-speech, if he had any rational, secular justifications for being opposed to same-sex marriage.
He mumbled and stumbled and finally admitted that it was for religious reasons. I could at least respect his sincerity; Johanns has often spoken of the importance of his Catholic faith.
But Johanns likes it both ways. He condemns abortion supposedly based on his sincere religious beliefs, but enthusiastically supports the death penalty (a position clearly at odds with the doctrines of Catholicism). Johanns refused to allow a clemency hearing for Randy Reeves, a clear break with tradition.
I guess life is sacred only when in accord with the Republican platform.
Similarly, after signing a state proclamation for a March for Jesus, Johanns responded to criticism that it violated the separation of church and state by promising he would not limit the proclamations to a single faith.
But soon afterward, he refused to sign a similar proclamation for Wiccans because he personally disagreed with it (Omaha World-Herald May 6, 1999). Apparently its OK for government to sponsor religion, if its the kind of religion Johanns agrees with.
Inconsistency I can forgive; blatant hypocrisy I cannot.
Even when some politicians have been clearly proven wrong, they won't admit it. Once, while I was a Chadron State undergrad, Sen. Chuck Hagel spoke to our political science class. When I asked him why he and other senators were blocking the confirmation of openly-gay James Hormel as Ambassador to Luxembourg, Hagel gave a long spiel about how having a gay ambassador would tarnish our country's great reputation and harm sensitive diplomatic efforts.
No surprise to hear that most Republicans are homophobic; but it's not what they'd want you to believe. The Republican Party's 2000 campaign platform states that gay people shouldn't get special rights but that equal access should "guarantee every person a fair shot based on their potential and merit."
Hagel said the same thing when he spoke. He said he didn't care what sexual preference a person had, so long as they could do their job well.
Yet, when blocking Hormel's confirmation, Hagel and the Republicans didn't speak of his qualifications or lack thereof; they spoke of his being openly gay. This is not a "fair shot based on . . . potential and merit."
It's been slightly over a year now since Hormel first assumed the post. By all accounts, he has been well-received by government officials, fellow diplomats and Luxembourgers in general (Dallas Morning News, Aug. 9, 2000). I'm sure Hagel is surprised to hear that the ever-so-important nation of Luxembourg is pleased, and if our foreign reputation has been tarnished, it cannot be traced to our having a gay ambassador.
Even the best of us make mistakes; only the worst of us will not admit them.
Mr. Brown, please take a few minutes and watch "The Hurricane." And keep your chin up about that whole judgeship thing; I hear Judge Wapner on "Animal Court" might be retiring soon.
Mr. Johanns, when you decide to stop talking out of both sides of your mouth, please let me know - I'm curious to see what you really believe.
And Mr. Hagel, when you have a moment, stop by.
I bake a great humble pie.
(c) 2000 Jeremy Patrick
Political Hypocrisy Draws Fire
Jeremy Patrick (jhaeman@hotmail.com)
September 18, 2000
Hypocrite, n. One who, professing virtues that he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises.
--Ambrose Bierce, "The Devils Dictionary"
With Dennis Miller off doing "Monday Night Football," I feel justified in stealing his shtick. So I don't want to get off on a rant here, but ...
My pet peeve is ignorance and hypocrisy in politics. I am frequently peeved.
Recent events have not eased my discomfort. I was planning to write about the problems with Attorney General Don Stenberg, but my editors insist I have only 750 words, not 750 pages.
Instead, I'll begin with his assistant, J. Kirk Brown. Recently, Brown applied to the judicial nominating commission for an opening on the Lancaster County District Court.
The commission is charged by state law with the task of selecting qualified applicants and forwarding their names to the governor, who makes the final decision. After the commission found Brown unqualified, he wrote a scathing column attacking it for operating in secrecy and for being biased against him for his work on capital punishment cases. (Interestingly, a secretary in the Attorney General's office wrote a similar piece on the same day for the same newspaper.)
The commission operates in secrecy because the whole point of a merit-based system is to avoid political pressures; this is why we no longer elect judges.
Brown's attack on the commission for being biased against him for his death penalty work holds delicious irony. Stenberg and Brown have done everything in their power to keep judicial and legislative branches from acting on clear and nearly-unanimous research that demonstrates the use of capital punishment as biased against poor and minority defendants.
Brown only loses a job opportunity because of the commission's bias. The men and women he kills have lost their lives because of society's prejudice.
Stenberg and Brown are not alone in the hypocrisy department.
I first met Mike Johanns as he came to Chadron to campaign for governor. I remember asking him, after he gave the usual stump-speech, if he had any rational, secular justifications for being opposed to same-sex marriage.
He mumbled and stumbled and finally admitted that it was for religious reasons. I could at least respect his sincerity; Johanns has often spoken of the importance of his Catholic faith.
But Johanns likes it both ways. He condemns abortion supposedly based on his sincere religious beliefs, but enthusiastically supports the death penalty (a position clearly at odds with the doctrines of Catholicism). Johanns refused to allow a clemency hearing for Randy Reeves, a clear break with tradition.
I guess life is sacred only when in accord with the Republican platform.
Similarly, after signing a state proclamation for a March for Jesus, Johanns responded to criticism that it violated the separation of church and state by promising he would not limit the proclamations to a single faith.
But soon afterward, he refused to sign a similar proclamation for Wiccans because he personally disagreed with it (Omaha World-Herald May 6, 1999). Apparently its OK for government to sponsor religion, if its the kind of religion Johanns agrees with.
Inconsistency I can forgive; blatant hypocrisy I cannot.
Even when some politicians have been clearly proven wrong, they won't admit it. Once, while I was a Chadron State undergrad, Sen. Chuck Hagel spoke to our political science class. When I asked him why he and other senators were blocking the confirmation of openly-gay James Hormel as Ambassador to Luxembourg, Hagel gave a long spiel about how having a gay ambassador would tarnish our country's great reputation and harm sensitive diplomatic efforts.
No surprise to hear that most Republicans are homophobic; but it's not what they'd want you to believe. The Republican Party's 2000 campaign platform states that gay people shouldn't get special rights but that equal access should "guarantee every person a fair shot based on their potential and merit."
Hagel said the same thing when he spoke. He said he didn't care what sexual preference a person had, so long as they could do their job well.
Yet, when blocking Hormel's confirmation, Hagel and the Republicans didn't speak of his qualifications or lack thereof; they spoke of his being openly gay. This is not a "fair shot based on . . . potential and merit."
It's been slightly over a year now since Hormel first assumed the post. By all accounts, he has been well-received by government officials, fellow diplomats and Luxembourgers in general (Dallas Morning News, Aug. 9, 2000). I'm sure Hagel is surprised to hear that the ever-so-important nation of Luxembourg is pleased, and if our foreign reputation has been tarnished, it cannot be traced to our having a gay ambassador.
Even the best of us make mistakes; only the worst of us will not admit them.
Mr. Brown, please take a few minutes and watch "The Hurricane." And keep your chin up about that whole judgeship thing; I hear Judge Wapner on "Animal Court" might be retiring soon.
Mr. Johanns, when you decide to stop talking out of both sides of your mouth, please let me know - I'm curious to see what you really believe.
And Mr. Hagel, when you have a moment, stop by.
I bake a great humble pie.
(c) 2000 Jeremy Patrick
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Journals of Rupert Giles Volume 1
THE JOURNALS OF RUPERT GILES, VOL. 1
By Nancy Holder, based upon teleplays “Helpless” by David Fury, “A New Man” by Jane Espenson, and “Blood Ties” by Steven S. DeKnight (2002)
RATING: 4/5 Stakes
SETTING: Seasons Three, Four, and Five
CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Angel, Oz, Joyce, Cordelia, Anya, Spike, Tara, Dawn, Riley, Ethan Rayne, Quentin Travers, Blair, Hobson, Kralik, Professor Walsh, Glory, Ben, Jinx
MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Krathalal (demon)
BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: “Buffy Summers is hip, modern, and pop culture savvy. Rupert Giles, her Watcher, is a stuffy Brit whose idea of bliss is a good book and a strong cup of tea. Odd as the duo may be, though, they have managed to avert their fair share of apocalypses. Plural. One thing they can’t seem to conquer, however, is Buffy’s bad birthday luck. At eighteen, Buffy is subjected to a Watcher’s Council Cruciamentum, a test of her own non-physical wiles--and of Giles’s attitude toward both his charge and his calling, as well. And when the Slayerettes throw a surprise party for Buffy’s big 1-9, Giles finds himself feeling useless and out-of-the-loop-y. But it is at the Slayer’s twentieth birthday gathering that both Buffy and Giles are forced to re-examine the nature of blood ties and the definition of family--or risk losing a mutual loved one more important to them--and the fate of the word--than either ever imagined. . . .”
REVIEWVolume One of the Journals of Rupert Giles contains perhaps the cleverest framing sequence of any Buffy novelization to date. On the day of Buffy’s twentieth birthday, after Dawn has discovered that she is the Key that Glory is looking for, Giles is heartsick to think about how much pain and suffering his Slayer has endured over the past years. He decides to make a deal with the devil (or at least a demon named Krathalal): in exchange for his own blood, he wants Krathalal to protect Buffy from harm. After limiting the bargain to last only until Buffy’s next birthday, the demon decides to test how far Giles is willing to go to protect his ward. Krathalal forces Giles to read to him, from his Watcher’s Diary, the events that took place on Buffy’s eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth birthdays. In other words, Giles is forced to re-live the pain he has, to some degree, caused his own Slayer.
The first episode adapted in the novelization fits the framing sequence perfectly. In “Helpless”, Giles reluctantly agrees to take part in an ancient Watcher’s Council tradition: he must secretly drug Buffy to render her “normal” and then lock her in a house with a frenzied, insane vampire named Kralik. Of course, things never go as planned: Kralik escapes early and kidnaps Joyce, and Buffy discovers Giles complicity in the whole affair. The episode is one of the best portrayals of Buffy and Giles’ relationship, and seeing Buffy glare at Giles for betraying her, the same way she did at Jenny Calendar in Season Two, is both shocking and believable.
“A New Man” was one of the show’s periodic light episodes. The irascible Ethan Rayne comes to Sunnydale and manages to turn his friend and rival into a seven-foot tall horned demon. Although played mostly for laughs once the transformation starts, there are some poignant moments at the beginning of the episode where Giles suddenly starts to feel his age at Buffy’s birthday party, and later when he and Ethan reflect back upon their lives and what they’ve done with them.
Season Five episode “Blood Ties” is really more a story about Dawn than it is about Giles. After breaking into the Magick Box and stealing Giles’ journal, Dawn discovers that she is the cosmic Key that Glory has been hunting for all of this time. What does it mean to find out you’ve only really existed for six months? That you’re a bundle of energy shaped by monks into the form of a teenage girl? Dawn, not surprisingly, does not deal with the revelation well. One scene in particular from the episode has always stuck in my mind as one of the most stunning (and creepy) moments in Buffy history: Dawn appears in the hallway, holding a knife, blood dripping down from her arms and wrists where she has cut herself. “Is this blood?” she chokes out, “Am I real? Am I anything?” A very strong episode, even if Giles is not central to the plot.
Although it’s hard to separate out the actual episodes and the novelizations in my mind, Nancy Holder sticks to the scripts closely and uses good interior thoughts to flesh out the characters’ actions; apart from annoying spelling and punctuation errors (though far less noticeable than in the Chosen novelization), this is a strong adaptation of two excellent episodes and one good episode. The birthday theme and the framing sequence combine to make this one of the better Buffy novelizations out there.
Torchwood Magazine # 6
Not much excitement in this issue:
* An interview with John Barrowman. Major highlight: the revelation that he often takes his cock out between scenes to keep the crew entertained. Also, his nickname is "Jinny"--not sure why.
* An interview with Tom Price, who plays PC Andy. Price seems like a cool guy and spends most of his time doing stand-up comedy.
* Part three of the Rift War! strip. Still crap. Rhys spends six weeks babysitting a giant (two-story tall) alien infant which has adopted the form of a giant (two-story tall) human infant? Rinse your eyes out with bleach after reading.
* An interview with Paul Kasey, who plays the Weevil, the Blowfish, etc. Pretty standard stuff if you've seen any behind-the-scenes stuff on sci-fi shows before.
And that's more or less it.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Purpose Behind the Pen
FROM THE ARCHIVES (Daily Nebraskan columns)
The Purpose Behind the Pen
Words Hold Immortal Power
Jeremy Patrick (jhaeman@hotmail.com)
Daily Nebraskan (www.dailyneb.com)
September 11, 2000
"It is part of the social mission of every great newspaper to provide a refuge and a home for the largest possible number of salaried eccentrics."
---Lord Thomson of Fleet
I like to think of myself as a writer, but I'm not.
Although I do a lot of writing - columns, book reviews, essays, articles, and more - I hate every minute of it. Perhaps that's not true: Revising is fine, and I always get a little thrill out of seeing myself in print.
But the actual act of sitting down and writing is plain torture; trying to think of something worth saying, making the proverbial order out of the chaos of thoughts in my head and expressing them in a way worth reading is not something I enjoy.
I envy writers like Dickens or Vonnegut who were constantly overflowing with ideas and could sit down and write for hours on end. I've resolved that if I ever write a book, I'm going to be like Jack London; supposedly, he wrote exactly 500 words a day and often stopped in the middle of a sentence when he reached that number.
I write solely nonfiction, mostly about "current issues." I haven't written fiction since I won the "Budding Young Author" award back in eighth grade for some cheesy sword-and-sorcery story. I realized, recently, that I write nonfiction because it allows me to avoid risks.
The risks aren't contained in what you write about, they are contained in the way you write it. I pick on religion, political groups and college administrators all the time, and it never worries me. I know that I can make the arguments and defend them well. But fiction, on the other hand, troubles me because I have no wall of rationality to stand behind. The ability to make dialogue sound "real," to make plots interesting and to write something truly original are not talents many people have.
Perhaps I'm simply afraid to find out if I have them or not.
I'm not exactly sure why I write. I think part of it is the aforementioned little thrill that it's a little dent in my solipsistic armor to know that others are actually going to read something that I wrote while lying on my little dorm-room bed listening to The Dave Matthews Band.
Part of it, I must admit, is a missionary's zeal for spreading The Truth. Of course, my Truth is not the Word of God, but the Word of Liberalism or Rationalism or what have you; the effect, however, is the same. I sincerely believe that I'm right on most things and therefore, am all too happy to share it with everyone else.
What I really am is a Reader. I read voraciously. All kinds of stuff - comic books, fiction, nonfiction, magazines - are prey for my carnivorous appetite. I think, to at least some degree, my desire to write exists to justify my desire to read. I know that one day I'll be dead and everything I'll have read will not matter a shred; but at least by writing I feel like I'm using that information for a higher purpose.
Giving back, if you'll allow a cliché, to the writers who gave to me. Creating instead of just devouring. In my vainer moments, there is even a tiny hope that some of what I write will live after me - my own little grasp of immortality in a godless universe. Of course, this is the most futile of desires.
Only a tiny percentage of writers achieve fame, and their importance usually dwindles with time. Admittedly, there are some who have lasted centuries, such as Shakespeare or Aristotle, but even the few who have survived are usually not remembered in the way they would have wished: We read Plato's "Republic," but few seriously entertain the notion of philosopher-kings; some students are forced to slog through Dickens' "David Copperfield," but hardly anyone reads it for the purpose it was intended: pleasure. As Twain said, "Classics are the books everyone talks about but nobody reads."
We have returned to the beginning: If I hate writing so much, why do I do it? Unfortunately, the answer still eludes me. Regardless, in the words of Isabel Colegate, "It's not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing down one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone with them."
The Purpose Behind the Pen
Words Hold Immortal Power
Jeremy Patrick (jhaeman@hotmail.com)
Daily Nebraskan (www.dailyneb.com)
September 11, 2000
"It is part of the social mission of every great newspaper to provide a refuge and a home for the largest possible number of salaried eccentrics."
---Lord Thomson of Fleet
I like to think of myself as a writer, but I'm not.
Although I do a lot of writing - columns, book reviews, essays, articles, and more - I hate every minute of it. Perhaps that's not true: Revising is fine, and I always get a little thrill out of seeing myself in print.
But the actual act of sitting down and writing is plain torture; trying to think of something worth saying, making the proverbial order out of the chaos of thoughts in my head and expressing them in a way worth reading is not something I enjoy.
I envy writers like Dickens or Vonnegut who were constantly overflowing with ideas and could sit down and write for hours on end. I've resolved that if I ever write a book, I'm going to be like Jack London; supposedly, he wrote exactly 500 words a day and often stopped in the middle of a sentence when he reached that number.
I write solely nonfiction, mostly about "current issues." I haven't written fiction since I won the "Budding Young Author" award back in eighth grade for some cheesy sword-and-sorcery story. I realized, recently, that I write nonfiction because it allows me to avoid risks.
The risks aren't contained in what you write about, they are contained in the way you write it. I pick on religion, political groups and college administrators all the time, and it never worries me. I know that I can make the arguments and defend them well. But fiction, on the other hand, troubles me because I have no wall of rationality to stand behind. The ability to make dialogue sound "real," to make plots interesting and to write something truly original are not talents many people have.
Perhaps I'm simply afraid to find out if I have them or not.
I'm not exactly sure why I write. I think part of it is the aforementioned little thrill that it's a little dent in my solipsistic armor to know that others are actually going to read something that I wrote while lying on my little dorm-room bed listening to The Dave Matthews Band.
Part of it, I must admit, is a missionary's zeal for spreading The Truth. Of course, my Truth is not the Word of God, but the Word of Liberalism or Rationalism or what have you; the effect, however, is the same. I sincerely believe that I'm right on most things and therefore, am all too happy to share it with everyone else.
What I really am is a Reader. I read voraciously. All kinds of stuff - comic books, fiction, nonfiction, magazines - are prey for my carnivorous appetite. I think, to at least some degree, my desire to write exists to justify my desire to read. I know that one day I'll be dead and everything I'll have read will not matter a shred; but at least by writing I feel like I'm using that information for a higher purpose.
Giving back, if you'll allow a cliché, to the writers who gave to me. Creating instead of just devouring. In my vainer moments, there is even a tiny hope that some of what I write will live after me - my own little grasp of immortality in a godless universe. Of course, this is the most futile of desires.
Only a tiny percentage of writers achieve fame, and their importance usually dwindles with time. Admittedly, there are some who have lasted centuries, such as Shakespeare or Aristotle, but even the few who have survived are usually not remembered in the way they would have wished: We read Plato's "Republic," but few seriously entertain the notion of philosopher-kings; some students are forced to slog through Dickens' "David Copperfield," but hardly anyone reads it for the purpose it was intended: pleasure. As Twain said, "Classics are the books everyone talks about but nobody reads."
We have returned to the beginning: If I hate writing so much, why do I do it? Unfortunately, the answer still eludes me. Regardless, in the words of Isabel Colegate, "It's not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing down one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone with them."
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