Category: Musings

The Spock Actor’s Reference

Contrary to an earlier blog post, you didn’t need SIX actors to portray Spock back in the 1980s. Instead, you needed NINE.

1. Leonard Nimoy – the original Spock

2. Launched Photon Torpedo – dead Spock

3. Photon Torpedo Tube – rotting Spock’s casket

4. Carl Steven – Spock at age 7

5. Vardia Potenza – Preteen Sexmate Spock at age 13

6. Stephen Manley – Teenage Spock at age 17

7. Joe W. Davis – Vulcan-Rage Spock at age 25

8. Director Nimoy – Nimoy-Spock hybrid

9. Baby – Baby Spock in Star Trek V flashback

(2019 Update: I guess you can add Ethan Peck to the list, who plays Spock in Star Trek: Discovery.)

So yeah, that’s a lot of people/things/stupidities to play one Vulcan. Wonder how many actors Tuvok has:

1. Tim Russ – Tuvok

2. A shitload of stunt doubles.

Okay, so what about the Vulcan chick on Enterprise? Well, see Tuvok but swap Tim Russ for that other chick. What was her name again? Jolene something or other… forgive me, I’m terrible with names.

(2025 Update: It’s Jolene Blalock… or just Jolene nowadays.)

So yeah, Vulcans are hard for one person to handle…

Or maybe it’s just me.

Good night.

Goodbye, Smokeranger. We Hardly Knew Ye.

Smokeranger’s Domain was the second Geocities/Yahoo account I made and yet it was the most used. The domain never got as much treatment as the WS and for a good while the account was dormant.

Why shut down the account? So that Calvin’s buddies can take a hint.

I rarely check Smokeranger’s mail but decided to do so anyway. I end up with mail from guys I hardly know concerning a marching band I’ve never heard of. Apparently a lot of people believe Smokeranger is this Calvin fellow, but I can assure that’s not the case.

I don’t know Calvin. I don’t know these people.

So rather than let people know that I’m not Calvin (because people are too stupid to let that sink in), I decided to cut my loss and kill the account.

So what becomes of the Domain? Plans are being done to integrate it as a subsite for the Webstation (I already added a quick link in case it comes to fruition). Hopefully, content won’t be too bad.

So to Calvin’s friends, Smokeranger won’t be subject to your poor judgment. And to Calvin, you can have the account in 90 days for all I care. I no longer have claim to the account, but I’ll be damned if I let you keep the site.

Enough already. I’m off to bed.

Later.

(2011 Update: Turns out Geocities is no more… site would have gone either way.)

Nimoy’s In. Shatner’s Out. Who Gives A Shat(ner)?

A recent posting on Trekweb has revealed from the mouth of William Shatner that Leonard Nimoy might be in the next Trek movie, but not the Shat. Fanboys are protesting because Shatner might not be in it and they’ll boycott the movie unless Shatner’s in it.

To all the fanboys who want them to bring back Shatner and are having a pissy fit over it, here is some sage advice once given by your hero:

GET A LIFE, will you people?!! I mean, for crying out loud, it’s just a freakin’ movie! I mean, look at you, look at the way you’re dressed! You’ve turned an enjoyable little job, that I did as a lark for a few years, into a COLOSSAL WASTE OF TIME! HEY, YOU GUYS ARE… THE LAMEST BUNCH… I’VE NEVER SEEN…

Some people will never know better.

Random Thoughts On Dragon Warrior

Pulled this one out of mothballs recently and popped it in my NES, which has a tendency of working when it feels like it. Man, this brings back so many memories. The Middle-English dialogue, the simplistic quest to save the damsel and slay the dragon, the one-on-one random encounters, and the dreaded STAIRS command.

The original Dragon Warrior (now Dragon Quest) was one of the first RPGs on the NES and it managed to be a fairly satisfying game even to a 12-year-old kid at the time who couldn’t be bothered with them long, complicated game. The menu system was fairly simple to navigate and the battle system is even simpler. There’s no worries about getting poisoned or determining which elemental power does more damage; you either attack, cast a spell, use an item, or run away. That’s all you do and that’s all you really need.

Yeah, leveling-up is a bitch because each battle nets so little experience points and the need to go back to the castle to save your game is a nuissance, but on the other hand, it’s not a bad game. It’s a test of patience, but in a good way. If you can find a copy of this game, go ahead and give it a try.

JDF Gets Into MMA

Former Power Ranger actor Jason Frank has taken up fighting in a cage. Actually, he’s had a couple fights already and has won them both, so he has a chance… then again, that’s what we all say when there’s a new fighter out to prove himself.

Click here to read random article about JDF.

Good luck, dude. You’ll need it since you have no Dragonzord to help you now. HA! HA! HA!

Er… forget it.

Later.

Getting Up To Speed

So I got back my PC (now with a gig of RAM, thanks guys) last Monday. Took longer than I would have cared for, but at least it runs a little smoother now.

I’m probably going to do something particular uncharacteristic of me and unusual of this blog; I have a couple thoughts on some political landscapes. Unfortunately, this is mostly happenings in Quebec and whatnot. Yeah, I usually avoid the political talk when I can, but this is kinda irking me (and to be fair, it’s not really political – just that the subjects mostly link to the politics).

So it seems that the latest Quebec budget has caused some dissention among the National Assembly members. The Liberal minority government and the Parti Quebecois are currently negotiating amendments to the budget (the Action Democratique – the main opposing party – has already voted against the budget) in order to make it passable. If the budget is fully rejected, another election could be looming in July. That means more taxpayers money thrown into the Wasteful Spending department. It seems that the Libbies should just swallow their pride and make the damn changes needed to let the budget pass. It’s bad enough I have to go to an election once this year; I don’t feel like contributing to the bullshit voting again for quite some time, much less three-four months later.

Recent reports are revealed illegal money spent by Option Canada during the 1995 referendum. Apparently, one official has already been fired as a result. It’s really unfortunate that people need to resort to illegal spending to get their way. It’s a sad state of affairs, but on the bright side, the right side won… hey, that rhymes.

Boris, a tiger that had spent the majority of his life in a Quebec zoo, was moved to an Albertan zoo and is mostly bored unless someone speaks French. Not sure what this has to do with politics, but the idea of a francophone tiger is funny.

That’s about it. I’m going to end this “big return” now before I get too carried away. Nothing big.

I probably have a few “announcements” and “declarations” to make this weekend. But that’s this weekend. For now… I’m off to the showers and then to work.

Later.

24 and Quebec Terrorists

I found an interview online with one of the writers of the hit show 24. Of particular interest is this quote:

“We are absolutely evenly employing all the bad guys of all nations,” Cassar says. “Some told me, because I’m Canadian, they said, ‘Hey, why are you leaving us out? Why can’t we be the bad guys?’ I’m like, ‘Good idea. Quebec separatists could be the terrorists.’

Actually, if they went along with that, 24 would be my new favorite show.

If you want to read the whole thing, click here.

DVD Review – Star Wars Limited Edition DVD Release (2006)

2004 saw the release of the “original” Star Wars Trilogy onto DVD for the first time ever… and with a new format comes further changes and “updates” to the films, such as minor graphical edits and the swapping of Force ghosts. While people were thrilled with having these films on DVD, there were those who would rather have the original, unaltered versions of these classic films on DVD instead; a point of contention that still exists to this very day.

Fortunately, Lucasfilm threw the fans a bone with this 2006 Limited Edition DVD release and the results were… well, it’s something.

THE GOOD: Each movie includes 2 discs; the first disc being the then-latest 2004 DVD release with further changes added to the film (in fact, these are exactly the same discs you’d get from that initial release.) And the second disc includes the original theatrical version of the film; which means Star Wars is just Star Wars and not Episode IV, Ewok music ends the Trilogy, and the Emperor is depicted by an old lady in monkey make-up in Empire. Doing it this way provides a nice compare-and-contrast for those into details and minutae while making two camps (updates vs. original) mildly satisfied for the short term.

THE BAD: While the original theatrical releases are indeed included as a bonus feature, the same care that went into the DVD restorations of the “updated” versions obviously didn’t apply to the original versions, which are apparently ripped from the Laserdisc releases. Now if you don’t care about the visual quality, then this is no biggie since it’s not completely terrible… but it’s also not on par with the restored version. Also, since the movies were released separately, you don’t get the bonus DVD of bonus material that came with the original DVD release.

IS IT WORTH IT? I got the 2004 DVD release, but then eventually got the 2006 re-releases because I wanted the original versions of these films on DVD, even if the transfer quality isn’t fantastic. I don’t know if it’d be worth it today since Blu-Ray is a thing, these things are harder to come by, and most would prefer the Unspecial Special Edition that’s been on the bootleg circuit for years on end, but if you find one in the wild for cheap, sure why not?

Trekkies Hated Wesley So Wesley Gets His Revenge and Trashes Old Treks

Here’s a really cool thing I came across (and don’t remember if I had mentioned this before, but won’t be bothered to check): former Trek wonderboy Wil Wheaton reviews classic episodes of his old show, Star Trek: The Next Generation. They’re pretty good reads and offer decent insights into the shows from a guy who’s been there.

(2019 Update: The link to the site is long dead. However, Wil Wheaton did compiled the few reviews from that old site and turned it into a book called Memories Of The Future. Check it out; it’s a pretty good read.)