John Sez: For years I had seen an episode here or there of the TV show, Stargate SG1. While I liked what I saw (as well as having enjoyed the original movie), I always resisted getting into the show because it seemed to me that I was a little in the dark about where the show was in its story arc, as well as having some of the impact of what I was seeing lessened or missed entirely due to not knowing the back-story. Thanks to Netflix (a GREAT service which I highly recommend – and no, they didn’t pay me to say that) the entire show became available to me on DVD. So I watched…every…single…friken….episode over the last year or so. And I’m not at all sorry at all that I did.

For those of you who may not have tuned into the show thus far, let me offer a very brief and basic plot synopsis:  Stargate SG1 follows the exploits of a secret Air Force program called “Stargate Command”, which has the control of an portal (the Stargate, of course) which allows them to travel millions of light years instantly to any other Stargate in the universe. While the gate is used for exploration to set up cultural and economic trade, it also opens up a conflict between Earth and the Go’a’ould (I’m not sure if that is spelled correctly, but it looks right), a race of powerful and advanced ancient beings who proclaim themselves as gods.

Along with a superb cast, which gelled perfectly and had great chemistry (even through some personnel changes), there was some excellent writing and an amazing eye for detail and continuity. Like any good high adventure, I found that I cared about the characters, despised the villains, and enjoyed the exotic as well as the familiar viewed through the lens of the universe created for the show. It was a very well done show; if you like science fiction or adventure with some humor and a detailed world, I would suggest checking it out – but you have GOT to watch it in order or you miss out on a lot.

I am also planning on watching the first spin off, Stargate: Atlantis. Like the original, I’ve seen a few episodes, but realized that I had no idea what was going on. Hopefully it lives up to the quality of its parent show.

Now  a quick word about the third spin-off, Stargate Universe, now in its first season on SYFY.

I really, really wanted to like this show. The previews made it look like a darker take on the Stargate franchise, one filled with mystery and tension. Unfortunately my expectations were apparently way too high, and I found myself profoundly disappointed in the program. After watching the pilot plus three episodes, I simply gave up watching.

The show centered around a large group of people who used the Stargate to jump to an unknown ‘address’ in order to escape destruction. They find themselves on an ancient space ship which is falling apart. Unable to control the ship or to gate back home and finding themselves short on supplies, the ‘crew’ endeavors to do what they can to survive and maybe find a way back to Earth.

What might have started out as a good idea with a great deal of potential quickly deteriorated into a complete train wreck of a show. First off, within the first half an hour of the pilot the audience was treated to a graphic and gratuitous sex scene – considering I was watching this with my young daughters (who enjoyed SG1) and that the scene had no purpose as a plot device or character development (other than to be shocking, apparently), I felt that not only was it out of place but also inappropriate.

Also, the behavior of some of the characters was not believable. The supposed Air Force cream of the crop which one would expect in such a secret program like Stargate (established in the first series) were nowhere to be found, which really hurt the suspension of disbelief that one needs to get into this kind of show. Most of the uniformed folks behaved childishly or stupidly, and in one case one of the officers has severe anger management problems which I would think would keep him from being in such a specialized program in the first place…but apparently looked like a good plot device to the writers of the show.

Problems with the characters don’t end there, unfortunately. Although the cast is very large, I couldn’t find one character I was either sympathetic with or even cared about. After five hours of viewing, some kind of connection needs to be made with the audience through the characters, but no attachment could be had. It wasn’t that I particularly disliked any of the characters, I just really didn’t care either way.

Also, the plots have been really thin. There’s no sense of excitement, adventure or exploration. Instead the scripting seems to be character driven, trying to bring out angst, drama, and emotion (more in the way of a soap opera than a space opera) in the viewer. Unfortunately, when you have no connection to the characters,  it’s nearly impossible to grow a series that way.

In the end, Universe seems to be a poor use of a great franchise, and will do much to tarnish the reputation of the Stargate world. I think the show will be lucky to make it past two seasons, and I can only hope that it does not leave a bad taste in the mouths of viewers and industry executives which would ruin another foray into the world of Stargate.
 
 
John Sez: A couple of months ago I posted about a French law that was up for vote which contained a similar measure. Now, it seems, that France isn’t the only place that is trying to institute such draconian measures…it’s now the world – or at least some cockamamie group of unelected officials who are trying to impose their ‘order’ on the rest of us.

According to the leaked report, it works like this: if you are accused (note: not convicted, not brought before the courts, not arrested, simply ACCUSED) of illegally downloading material from the internet three times, you will lose your access to the internet. Even on its face, such a law or treaty obligation is complete and utter rubbish, and rife with the possibility of massive abuse by whatever ‘council’ is in charge of filing and enforcing on these accusations.

What if a teenager is DL’ing in his home and hits the three strikes and you’re out rule? Will the rest of his family be forced to suffer the penalty of the loss of the internet?

What about erroneous accusations? I have personally heard of many stories of people being accused of illegal uploads of THEIR OWN music, which they owned all rights and copyrights on. Will people loose thier access due to a faulty charge?

How about people who leech bandwidth, or net cafes and libraries with WIFI access? Will they lose their internet service due to criminal activities beyond their control?

I would also think that it would be all too easy for governments to target political opponents or dissidents in their country and force a loss of internet access, thus promoting censorship and a loss if individual rights and liberties.

Also noted in the report is that ISP’s need to proactively police copyright violations. Considering the cost to carry out such a mandate in man hours and legal costs this will, in effect, mean the end of Youtube, playlist.com, online file storage companies, and millions of personal web sites.

The way that a great many governments have been clamping down on freedom of expression of their citizens (notable are  the US, France, China, Iran, and England) I wonder if this is not so much a play to protect copyright owners (of which I am one and I HEARTILY DISSAGREE with this proposal) and more of an outright attempt to wrest control of the internet from the hands of the people and have it regulated, seized and sterilized by the governments involved in the treaty.

Story from Raw Story:

Global treaty could throw file-sharers off Internet after ‘three strikes’

File-sharers could be jailed under proposed ACTA provisions

Leaked details of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated in secret by most of the world's largest economies suggest Internet file-sharers could be blocked from accessing the Internet if they are repeatedly accused of sharing copyrighted material, say media and digital-rights watchdogs.

And the worst-case scenario could see popular Web sites like YouTube and Flickr shut down because of a provision in the treaty that would force them to monitor everything uploaded to the site for copyright violations.

Internet law professor Michael Geist published details of "leaked" portions of the discussions on ACTA on his blog Tuesday, as a new round of ACTA negotiations began in Seoul, South Korea. The US, along with all the countries of the European Union as well as Japan, Canada, Australia and a handful of other countries, are involved in the negotiations.

"The provisions would pave the way for a globalized three-strikes and you're out system," Geist blogged Wednesday, referring to a proposal from copyright holders to have Internet service providers cut off service to anyone accused at least three times of illegally sharing copyrighted material.

READ MORE

 
YANKEES WIN!!! 11/05/2009
 
John Sez: The bums from the Bronx have brought home championship number 27! Congrats on yet another World Series win to the boys in pinstripes. To quote team president Randy Levine, “The Yankees won. The world is right again.”

 
Picture
Go Yankees!
 
 
John Sez: I was REALLY into WWF wrestling in my youth.  Dusty Rhodes and the Iron Sheik bled all over each other, Andre the Giant fighting a platoon of dwarfs, Jimmy “Superfly” Snooka jumping off the top rope, George ‘The Animal’ Steel ate turnbuckles, and Bob Backlund held the champion chip belt. And Captain Lou was there through it all. Wide eyed, pot bellied, with the ever present rubber-bands tied up in his scraggly beard and pierced through his cheek, Captain Lou provided many a smile and ‘oh crap’ moments to my youthful brain. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.

 
Rest Easy, Captain Lou.

Story from the Dayton Daily News:

Pro wrestler, music video icon Albano dies at 76

By CRISTIAN SALAZAR
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — "Captain" Lou Albano, who became one of the most recognized professional wrestlers of the 1980s after appearing in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video, died Wednesday. He was 76.

Albano, whose real name was Louis Vincent Albano, died in Westchester County in suburban New York, said Dawn Marie, founder of Wrestlers Rescue, an organization that helps raise money for the health care of retired wrestlers. He died of natural causes, Marie said.

World Wrestling Entertainment called him one of the company's "most popular and charismatic legends."

With his trademark Hawaiian shirts, wiry goatee and rubber bands hung like piercings from his cheek, Albano was an outsize personality who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, was known as much for his showmanship as for his talent in the ring.

READ MORE
 
 
John Sez: Sure, one can decry this as a pubicity stunt. But, to me, this affirms that there is still a bit of magic in the world. We just have to find it...or in the case of these folks, cast the spell for ourselves.

Hit Play and have a smile.

 
 
John Sez: Apparently that poor excuse for afterbirth, Glen Beck, was praising the new CD by the band Muse(a band I’ve been diggin’ for years, since I first heard the track 'Muscle Museum' on a CMJ compelation CD) on his show. It seems that someone associated with the band heard his faux fawning, and it wasn’t long before Beck received an e-mail from a representative of the band telling him to cease his praise.

Beck (and I spell that with a capitol MORON) has been trying so very, very hard to co-opt as many grass roots movements as he possibly can over the last couple of years. He has tried to stamp his ‘brand’ on tea parties, ‘end the fed’, the Ron Paul Revolution, and just about every other topic covered by radio host Alex Jones. And speaking of Jones, he’s a fan of Muse (and they are fans of his, apparently) and has even had them on his show a couple of times.

Not to be insulting, but anyone who follows this mewling simpleton Beck need s to take a step back and re-evaluate their gullibility quotient. He’s nothing more than a modern day snake-oil salesmen. Like Limbaugh…and Hannity….and O’rieley…and Cooper….and Blitzer…and Zakaria….and Olbermann ( I had really high hopes for him)…and Scarborough…and Sanchez…and Tony Harris of CNN – in my opinion, the award winner for the most simple-minded TV news presenter.

Story from the London telegraph:

Muse tell Glenn Beck to retract endorsement

Glenn Beck, the Fox News commentator, was forced to withdraw an endorsement for the British rock band Muse after they complained that he misrepresented their political beliefs

Beck, an outspoken conservative known for his caustic attacks on Barack Obama, praised a song on the band's new album The Resistance for warning against the dangers of "one world government".

Describing their music as "absolutely fantastic", Beck implied that the band members shared his concern about the centralisation of power by liberal politicians.

He repeatedly compared the lyrics of United States of Eurasia to George Orwell's anti-totalitarian novel 1984, in which the world is divided into three superstates including Eurasia.

"These guys are brilliant, they know the time that we live in. They are libertarians from England," he said on his nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Glenn Beck Program.

"All of the lyrics are... dead on, on what's coming our way."

But Beck withdrew his recommendation after being emailed during the show by a representative of the band.

"They would like me to retract my endorsement," Beck told listeners. "My apologies to Muse for saying that I like them. I didn't mean to destroy all their credibility and all their coolness.

READ MORE

And here’s one of my favorites from Muse:
 
 
John Sez: This is the most draconian proposal (apparently, soon to be a law) I have ever seen concerning people who download copyrighted material illegally. It seems that the recording and movie industry has gone way, overboard (and, just a hunch, I wonder how much political ‘seed’ money they have spent in French political circles).

As an owner of copyrighted material, I fully understand the need to protect one’s work, but this is simply not the way to go about it. More so, when you think about how easy it would be to abuse (or legally ‘extend’ the internet loss to) free speech rights and start to target those who speak out against their government or it’s allies (like other governments and large corporations).

I wonder if we will see this happen here too?

Story from BBC:

French 'pass' piracy legislation
 
The French National Assembly has passed a draft law that would allow illegal downloaders to be thrown off the net. The law was narrowly passed by 285 votes to 225.

The French hard-line policy on piracy has drawn worldwide attention as nations around the globe grapple with the issue of piracy.

The ruling majority UMP voted in favour but the Socialist Party has already announced that they will appeal to the Constitutional Court once again.

An earlier version of the bill was ruled unconstitutional and a compromise version was hammered out.

READ MORE


 
 
John Sez: Me and the kiddes might just be the first on line to get in!

Story from AP:

 Universal reveals details of new Harry Potter park

By Travis Reed, Associated Press Writer

MIAMI — It sounds like a new book in the Harry Potter series, but "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" will be a high-tech ride and the marquee attraction at the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter," a new theme park area opening in spring 2010 at Universal Orlando Resort.


The "Forbidden Journey" ride was named by author J.K. Rowling and described Tuesday by Universal officials in a Web cast revealing details of what the Potter park will look like.


The ride will takes guests through scenes and rooms from the blockbuster movies inside a richly detailed remake of Hogwarts Castle made to look 700 feet tall. Hogwarts is where Harry attends a boarding school for witches and wizards.

READ MORE
 
 
John Sez: Note to the mainstream recording industry – The fact that a 92 year old woman’s 'best of' collection is kicking the crap out of your carefully groomed, MTV friendly, pre-packaged ‘mega-stars’ whom you have millions on to promote, shows very clearly that you have absolutely no idea what the music consuming public really wants. It’s not the downloads that are cutting into your profits, Mr. Suit in a tower, it’s the public letting you know that there is more to music than a pretty face and slick packaging.

Kudos Vera! Good for you!

Story from AP:

At 92, Dame Vera Lynn has Britain's No. 1 record

By JENNIFER QUINN, Associated Press Writer LONDON – At age 92, Dame Vera Lynn has beaten the Arctic Monkeys and even the Beatles to capture the No. 1 record in Britain.

The singer who 70 years ago recorded an evocative reminder of home for British soldiers fighting far away on Monday became the oldest living artist to have a No. 1 record in Britain when her album "We'll Meet Again — The Very Best of Vera Lynn" took the top spot.

READ MORE
 
 
John Sez: Ellie Greenwich was responsible for writing  some of the greatest hits of early rock music. Be My Baby, Da Doo Ron Ron, Leader of the Pack, Then He Kissed Me, Doo Wha Diddy (diddy dum diddy doo), and many more. Her legacy continued, and she also had credits as a singer and producer and even had a Broadway show based on her music (Leader of the Pack). She was 68. Rest easy, Ellie, you brought smiles to a lot of folks.

John E. Carter was a member of two seminal doo-wop groups, The Flamingos and the Dells. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once each for the aforementioned groups. As a member of the Flamingos (who are now all deceased) he was one of the people who put together one of the most chillingly perfect tracks (in my humble opinion), I Only Have Eyes For You. He was 75. Sleep well, Mr. Carter, and thank you for the music.