A Second Revival, a Hurricane and a Surprising Statistic

   It has been three and a half years (almost to the day) since my last post here and a lot has happened in that time--globally, nationally and personally. So much so that I've neglected the blog. It was never my intention to do this, it just happened. I'm going to try to update more often but life can and does interfere with one's plans.  

   Speaking of plans, many people in  the U.S. states of North and South Carolina had their plans disrupted by Mother Nature via a hurricane named Florence. At its' strongest, this hurricane reached Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale but lost strength and was a Category 1 hurricane when it made landfall in the morning of September 14 in southern North Carolina. As of this posting, the storm is no longer a hurricane, but a tropical storm, moving very slowly through South Carolina and is expected to turn north by Monday the 17th. I hope everyone that is being impacted is safe.

   On a completely unrelated subject, blogger.com, like many websites owned by google, provides its users statistics on how their blog(s) is performing. I never paid attention to these until tonight when I discovered where in the world my blog was being viewed/read and I was surprised. Under the 'Audience' page of the 'Stats' section shows that besides the United States, views of the blog came from nine other countries. I was really surprised. Of course I know of the the global reach of the Internet but for my microscopic, non-monetized, and sometimes abandoned, blog to have an international audience just perplexes and surprises me but I'm also feel happy about it.

   As I said earlier, I'm going to try to update more often but it definitely will not be on a regular schedule due to my half-empty mind. :) Until next time, "Live Long and Prosper".

Teaser Poster for the next 'James Bond' film

First and foremost, I like the 'James Bond' films, except for maybe "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with George Lazenby. One of the first Bond films I saw as a kid was "Moonraker" so for a long time Roger Moore was my favorite Bond. Now that I've seen all of the films at least once, I feel that each actor that portrayed Bond brought something unique to the character yet still 'sticking to' the heart of James Bond. With that said, earlier today I discovered through Huffington Post that the James Bond twitter account has a teaser poster for the upcoming film 'Spectre'. Since I don't have a twitter account I thought I'd share it here.

Image is copyrighted by EON Productions, INC and MGM Studios
'James Bond' and '007' are trademarks of EON Productions, INC
No copyright or trademark infringement intended by this blog or its author

Personally I think the poster is awesome! I can't wait for the movie to come out, according to IMDB, November 6, 2015. It should be exciting.

Live Long and Prosper.

Leonard Nimoy, 1931-2015

Today, February 27, 2015 is a sad and solemn day. A science fiction icon, whose acting career spanned six decades, known globally for one character he played for more than forty-five (45) years, has "left the stage" at 83 years of age and leaves a legacy that almost no one can fill. He leaves behind many memories for those who worked with him throughout his career, for those that watched his performances on the big and small screens or seen his work in photography, and for those he met and didn't meet.

Leonard Nimoy didn't just play the character Spock from the original Star Trek series; he was Spock.

He now joins Gene Roddenberry, DeForest Kelly, James Doohan and so many more that made Star Trek possible and helped it endure for nearly fifty years.

Rest In Peace, Leonard Nimoy.

Live Long and Prosper.

"Two Captains. One Destiny." Twenty Years.

Twenty years ago, November 18, 1994 was a Friday. Four films were released in theaters that day as part of the holiday movie season. One of the films was a remake of the Christmas classic, “Miracle on 34^th Street”, the second film was the animated movie “The Swan Princess” with the third film being called “The Professional”. These three films, along with the fourth, were in the top ten of films in release the weekend of November 18-20 that year however; the three aforementioned films grossed just over $10.5 million combined for their first weekend of release. The fourth film released on that Friday earned $23,116,394 during that weekend in the United States, more than twice the other new films released and was the Number 1 film that weekend. By the end of its run in theaters the film would earn $75,671,125, domestically and an additional $42.4 million worldwide for a total gross of $118.1 million. That film was Star Trek: Generations, the seventh film of the Star Trek franchise.

[The above image is copyrighted and/or trademarked by Paramount Pictures. No copyright infringement intended by this blogger.]

Generations was released by Paramount Pictures as “A Rick Berman Production” with its’ story by Rick Berman, Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga and its’ screenplay by Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga. The cast of the film included Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, James Doohan and Walter Koenig. The film served as a bridge between the original Star Trek television cast, who starred in the first six films, and the cast of its successor, Star Trek: The Next Generation which had ended six months earlier. At the time of the film’s release, it received mixed reviews from critics. On the positive side, Michael Marriott of Newsweek said that the film was “A super nova of unpredictable sci-fi thrills! …and big-bang special effects.”  Avis Meyer of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reviewed the film as being “the big kahuna” for Star Trek fans and “…’astronomically’ ambitious: a star-crossed cauldron’s brew of old and new…” Unfortunately, there were some critics who were not as kind such as Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today, who wrote “Generations feels like a flimsy device to ensure Trek’s earnings continue to live long and prosper.” The famous/infamous movie critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the film was “undone by its narcissism”.

 

Personally, I enjoyed the film, then and now. Twenty years ago I watched the film on opening day (I still have the ticket stub) at a theater that no longer exists but the movie theater company it belonged to still does. Back then it cost $3.25 for an Adult Matinee, today it costs over $7.00 for the same ticket. A few days ago I watched the film again for the umpteenth time but for the first time in a number of years and still enjoyed it. But being the lifelong Star Trek fan that I am, I’m biased. In her review at the time, critic Susan Wloszczyna also wrote that Generations was an “overblown TV episode”. I disagree. On a budget of $35 million, the second highest budget for a Star Trek film at that time, this motion picture was well-produced and well-acted; deserving praise, not reticule, then or now. As part of the Star Trek franchise and as motion picture, I think that it has held up well over the past twenty years. We will see how well it holds up over the next twenty years.

Happy Anniversary, Star Trek: Generations. Continue to “Live Long and Prosper.”

P.S. “Life forms. You tiny little life forms, you precious little life forms… where are you?”  :)

Sources:  Box Office Mojo [Link 1, Link 2], Movie Web, rogerebert.com, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, USA Today, 

                 Wikipedia [Link 1, Link 2]

Title of Star Wars Episode VII (7) Revealed and My Reaction.

Earlier today Disney, owner of LucasFilm, LTD, revealed the title of Star Wars: Episode VII which is scheduled for release on December 18, 2015, in a tweet from their Twitter account. The seventh installment to the Star Wars film franchise is...

 

 ... "The Force Awakens" {NOTE: This image belongs to Disney/LucasFilm, NO copyright or trademark infringement intended by this blogger}

I read the story about the title's reveal from cbsnews.com and chuckled at the title because I wasn't sure what to make of it. And I still don't know what to make of it. Don't get me wrong; I like Star Wars but, I am a Star Trek fan, have been for nearly 30 years. I will most likely see this film when it comes out. I've also done my best to avoid spoilers with this film, just like I did for Star Trek Into Darkness. I think once I see the first teaser ('cause there will be more than one) which I suspect will be attached to Marvel's The Avengers: The Age of Ultron, I'll get a feel for this movie. But until then, I'll reserve judgement and try to stay as clueless, or I should say, as spoiler-free as possible.

"May the Force be with You" and of course, "Live Long and Prosper".

Update - Additional Thoughts: I have no doubt that this film will be a success. Not only because it is a Star Wars film but it is under the direction of J. J. Abrams, the director of 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness. Those two films revitalized the Star Trek franchise. No one knows the future, there can only be speculation, particularly on how much money "The Force Awakens" will gross. Having looked at information on boxofficemojo.com for the Star Wars franchise I suspect that "The Force Awakens" will gross domestically at least $500 million and worldwide, at least $1 billion but we won't know for certain until after the film is out of the theaters in early 2016. One can only hope.

Live Long and Prosper.

Ten Ways to Tell a Redneck Has Been Using a Computer

Earlier today I found a printed email that I received 15 years ago, founded somewhat amusing and thought I'd share it. My apologies to anyone that may feel that they are wronged by this post.

"Top 10 ways to tell if a Redneck has been working on a computer"

"10.  The monitor is up on blocks.

 9.    Outgoing faxes have tobacco stains on them.

 8.    The six front keys have rotted out.

 7.    The extra RAM slots have Doge truck parts stored in them. 

 6.    The numeric keypad only goes up to six.

 5.    The password is 'Bubba'.

 4.    There's a gun rack mounted on the CPU.

 3.    There's a Skoal can in the CD-ROM drive.

 2.    The keyboard is camouflaged.

AND the number 1 way to tell if a Redneck

has been working on a computer is...

 1.    The mouse is referred to as a 'critter'."

Live Long and Prosper.

Thirty Years Ago, a Search Began…

On this day in 1984, Paramount Pictures released in theaters in the United States the third film in the Star Trek franchise. This film, entitled Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was a continuation of the previous film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. In ST3 the lead character, James T. Kirk, would learn that his dear friend, Spock, may not be dead after all. Spock’s katra, or soul, was in the mind of Dr. Leonard McCoy. Kirk and his crew; Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov risk their careers and lives to save Spock and McCoy, ultimately succeeding but at great cost.

The film was written and produced by Harve Bennett and marked the directorial debut of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who portrayed the titular character of this film in the 1960’s television series and the first two films. ST3 was produced on a budget of $16 million and filmed in a mere two months. Once in theaters, the film grossed $16.7 million its first week of release and ultimately a total of $76.5 million in the States.

More can be read about the film at the film’s Wikipedia and Memory Alpha webpages.

Happy 30^th Anniversary to Star Trek III, and of course, Live Long and Prosper.

7.1 Million and 0

In the news yesterday, the President of the United States announced that 7.1 Million Americans, including this blogger, signed up for health insurance through Healthcare.gov. That number actually exceeded the original projection made last year the CBO (the Congressional Budget Office). For myself, I did receive the tax credit for my monthly premium which reduced it by a whopping 92.7% for the plan I selected and I am grateful for having health insurance for the first time in nearly 11 years.

It was also reported yesterday that for only the third time during the past 12 years of war in Afghanistan there were 0 (zero) American combat deaths last month. My hope is that there are none for the rest of the war and every single soldier returns home.

Last but not least, Major League Baseball began its 2014 season on Monday (March 31) and the St. Louis Cardinals won their first game of the season beating the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati 1-0 on a solo home run hit by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

Live Long and Prosper

A New Year...

Eight days into 2014 and nine months since the last post. Ouch! I'm not going to review any of those last nine months; too much has happened. As for the last eight days that's other story.

For most of the last eight days, most of the country has been in a huge deep freeze including Southwest Missouri. Records lows were shattered across the country. Three days ago on Jan. 6 Springfield, MO reached -10 F. Not a record for the day but pretty close. On the same day, Rolla, MO reached -12 F, breaking a 46 year old record. But the deep freeze, at least for SW MO, has come to an end. Tomorrow, rain then upper 40's and 50's for the weekend. YAY!

The University of Missouri football team did very well this year ultimately winning the Cotton Bowl. That university's men's basketball team has been doing well so far this season as well. As for Missouri State's men's basketball. I think they are 2-1 in conference play but I don't know where the team is at overall. I haven't been paying attention to much. Nor have I been paying to much attention to MO State's women's basketball team either. Oh well.

I could switch to commenting about political things going on but I'm not. With that said I'm going to end this post with "Live Long and Prosper". :)

The nightmare is over

For the citizens of the Boston suburb of Watertown and the entire Boston area the nightmare is over. The living Boston Marathon bomber is in custody after a small standoff this evening in Watertown.  Not only are my thoughts and prayers still with the victims of the Marathon bombing but to the family of the MIT police officer who lost his life in the line of duty last night.

Live Long and Prosper.

A Super Anniversary

  Despite all of the heartache that has been suffered in the last few days in Boston, MA and West, TX there is a significant anniversary today. In the world of the comic book, one of the greatest heroes debuted on this day 75 years ago. Superman and Lois Lane were "born" on this date, April 18th, 1938 in the pages of Action Comics #1. Bleeding Cool.com has a story about the diamond anniversary. And in a few months from now on June 14th, the newest Superman movie, "Man of Steel" will premiere in theaters. So, Happy Birthday Superman and Lois Lane and many, many more!!!

Live Long and Prosper.

A Rambling Anniversary

I realize that virtually no one reads this but I feel the need to keep it going and also acknowledge the passage of time. It's been nearly six months since my last post and tomorrow marks the Seventh (7th) Anniversary of "The Chaotic Ramblings of a Half-Mind". Happy Birthday, "Chaotic Ramblings"!

In the past six months SW MO has had a mild winter for the most part and recently it seemed we would skip Spring and go right into Summer with temperatures reaching the low 80s last week.

The race for the Republican Presidential Nomination began in January at the Iowa Caucus which Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, won initially but Iowa's state GOP changed that decision; awarding the caucus to former U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum and it has been crazy ever since. Even here in Missouri it's been a little nuts. There was a non-binding primary in early February which didn't count and having begun on March 15th until the 24th are the official Missouri Republican county caucuses at least according to the Wikipedia article regarding Missouri's Primary and Caucuses.

On Saturday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day) the largest (supposedly) number of delegates in the state were to be selected at the caucus in St. Charles County. However, the caucus got out of control relatively quickly with local law enforcement being called to re-establish order. Law enforcement officers shut down the caucus with absolutely no delegates being selected. That is where the stands right now for St. Charles County; no delegates and no one has any idea if, when or how delegates for that county will be selected. It's crazy but, the world rolls on.

There is still more to mention but I'm going to leave it there for now. Live Long and Prosper.