I Broke My Pledge

Yeah, sorry. I let it go another two weeks and didn't do my Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger. I've decided not to make any more promises about posting until student teaching is over, because as much as I'd like to keep them, I'm not sure I can. And now for some brief random thoughts that should have been on our podcast, The Good, The Bad, & The Geeky, but wasn't.
Did anyone watch Saturday Night Live this past weekend? Chevy Chase on freakin' Weekend Update! How cool was that!!!!
When did Heroes become Star Trek? I mean, yes, shows have had lots of ST people before, from the tv movie Roots: The Gift which featured many ST actors before they were ST actors, and Boston Legal, which starred two major ST alumni, but Heroes got crazy! First they had George Takei (Sulu), whom they recently killed off. And then the villain, Sylar, was cast to play Spock in the new movie. Then last night, Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) showed up, and she will surely be seen again, and Dominic Keeting (Reed from Enterprise) was there, too! It's getting crazy up in here!

Qop!
"I'm still...and you're still not." ~ Chevy Chase, SNL

I've Been Busy

Yeah, yeah, I know I haven't posted. I've been busy! So sue me. So what have I been doing? Grad school, teaching, working at Champps, my social life, writing, and working on some new projects. BTW, the first five hours of 24 this season are 5 of the greatest hours of television so far.
I did watch the President's State of the Union speech. At first, it was ok, then it went downhill and only got worse. We are in a sorry state, but its no wonder that Bush's approval rating had dropped to an all time low of 28% before the speech. I haven't what it was after, but I can't imagine it was high. His education, immigration, and insurance plans are woefully inadequate. He said he wanted to cut back on our oil consumption, then vowed to increase our supply. Make up your mind! He promised to balance the budget, but plans to balloon the military. It was ugly. The only great part was the beginning, when he praised Nancy Pelosi for before the first woman Speaker. I think McCain and Guiliani can kiss their presidential aspirations away for jumping on board Bush's war plans. I'm sad to see Kerry drop out already, but there are better qualified cantidates running, so that wasn't so bad. I really think that if Bush can, he will reinstitute the draft and invade Iran. Thank goodness for the Democrat congress or we'd all be screwed.

Qop! (from Boston Legal)
(referring to imagining New Orleans)
Alan Shore (James Spader): Nobody could I suppose. Unless they were there.
Denny Crane (William Shatner): I was there. Well, I flew over it in my Gulfstream. Doesn't that count?
Alan: To some.

Denny: I like diversity. I date midgets.
Alan: And their moms.

DJ

In my last post, I vowed a weekly WOTF, TOTH. By weekly, I of course meant monthly, because sometimes I don't even post weekly. So look for the next installment in about 2-3 weeks. :) On books, though, I have gotten so much work done for the second installment of An Actor's Nightmare, due out in roughly six weeks. Thank you Nick from the bottom of my shoes for his work on the cover design. It is awesome! I can't wait for everyone to see it! Also, the first bimonthly short story is on schedule for a November 1st release, if I can contain my enthusiasm until then. Unlike my blog, the book is always ahead of schedule and up on time. I am also finding some time, albeit a little, to keep up on some of my shows. I have to say The Nine and Six Degrees are two fantastic new shows. Anyway, time to go once more, so until next time, I bid you adieu.

Qop! (from Boston Legal)
You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

TV Reviews #1 2006-2007

So once again the new tv season is underway, and though I promised myself I wouldn't, I am watching too many shows. Here are my reviews of the season premieres so far, broken down by category. I plan on dropping about half of these in the next couple of weeks. Sorry.

NOT SO GOOD (Probably won't watch): Smith - great premise that doesn't work so well with the cast it has.
Shark - James Woods and Jeri Ryan are great, but the script didn't hook me, nor did the supporting characters, except maybe the daughter.
Til Death - Not a bad show, pretty funny, but it is competing against Earl and Smallville

GOOD: Bones - Dr. Brennan still hasn't found her father. Angela and Hobbes? Really?
Justice - Kerr Smith and Victor Garber shine, but will their clients always be innocent?
My Name is Earl - Back to the same old, same old of last year, but funny.
Ghost Whisperer - So is Aisha Tyler off the cast or not? I mean, she's dead. Weird episode.
Family Guy / American Dad - They just aren't as funny as they used to be.

GREAT: The Class - from David Crane, co-creator of Friends. I smell another hit.
The Office - Great episode, but I need Jim & Pam together!
Boston Legal - Aww, bring back Parker Posy. I love Shirley Schmidtho
Prison Break - Run, Michael, Run! And go pick up Sarah!!!!!
How I Met Your Mother - How could Lily & Marshall break up? NOOOOO!
Men In Trees - The show I didn't expect to like, but it's like Sex and the City without the annoying Sarah Jessica Parker, and it doesn't pigeonhole the men.

PHENOMENAL: Grey's Anatomy - Grey's stpped it up last year, and so far, they are still delivering. But what will happen to Izzy? And will Meredith choose Derek?
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Aaron Sorkin is back, and with a cast like Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, Nate Corrdry, Donna Murphy, etc, how can he lose?

Anticipated Upcoming Shows: Saturday Night Live (down five cast members with Seth Meyers as head writer and Weekend Update cohost), Six Degrees (I know it premiered already, but I'm busy!), Everybody Hates Chris, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Smallville, The Nine, Lost, Twenty Good Years, 30 Rock, Help Me Help You, What About Brian? Veronica Mars

Qop!
"Thank god for digital recording technology and not needing sleep!" ~ Me

Book Signing

So my book signing last night went fantastic! There were lots of people there. We did a Q&A for about 45 minutes or so, and all the questions were great. The audience ranged from people who had read the book and eagerly awaited the sequel to people who had heard absolutely nothing about the book, which gave me plenty to talk about. Some of my elementary school teacchers were there, which was really cool. There was also a reporter there that is doing an article on me and took pictures and stuff. How exciting is that? I am uber hyped right now, but it's off to school. Have a good day.

Qop!
"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane." ~ William Shatner "Denny Crane", Boston Legal

1st Week of 2006

Ok, so I don't have anything exciting to post this week. Except Michael J. Fox has been doing better. Yay! The star of Family Ties, Back to the Future series, Teen Wolf, and Spin City has been pretty much out of the public eye since he quit the latter show in 2000 (the show ran until 2002 without him). He's lent his voice to the Stuart Little movies and Disney's forgettable Atlantis, but who doesn't miss seeing him? Damn Parkinson's. Fox will return to the screen this week on the new episode of Boston Legal and will return to movie theatres soon in Back to the Future Part IV. The Future movie was suspended a long time ago because Fox wasn't up for it, but buzz is he will make it. This time we wants to basically take Christopher Lloyd's role. What that means exactly, I don't know. Will he play a character similiar to Doc Brown? Will he still be the same character? We'll find out soon enough. Good news!

Also, in the Strange But True category, I just found out that the guy who perfected the flush mechanism on our toilets was named Thomas Crapper. He died in 1910. I'm serious. His name was Crapper. How awesome is that?

Qop! (from Back to the Future)
Doc Brown: Tell me future boy, who's President of the United States in 1985?
Marty: Ronald Reagan.
Doc Brown: Ronald Regan? The actor? Then who's Vice President? Jerry Lewis?

Gay Trek

So George Takei, a.k.a. Star Trek's Mr. Sulu came out of the closet. I try to be surprised. After all, I read his autobiography and it never even hinted at that side of his lifestyle. Then again, it really didn't talk about any women he was in love with either. Apparently he has been with one partner for eighteen years. Well, I say good for him. I wonder which other Star Trek actors may be gay and just afraid to admit it. I guess time will tell. I'm pretty sure the only two main characters that have passed away are straight (James Doohan and DeForrest Kelley), but that leaves many others. Patrick Stewart has been rumored for years, despite a marriage that broke up. Speaking of Stewart and Star Trek, Michael and I were talking about one of our favorite shows, Boston Legal. That law firm in that show is Crane, Pool, and Schmidt, and only Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Shirley Schmidt (Candence Bergen) have appeared. What about Pool? We decided that Patrick Stewart should play Pool, especially if the character was outageous, possibly flamboyantly gay. I mean Bergen and Shatner play their parts pretty out there, so Pool would have to be as well. How much fun would that be if Stewart did that? Anyway, I am very sad Betty White left Boston Legal already this season. I hope her replacement is just as good, but they will be hard shoes to fill.

Qop!
Ok, I admit, this was much funnier to watch and hard to convey in my blog, plus I have to tell a story rather than just write the quote, but it was hilarious! On the Colbert Report (both T's silent) Monday night, Colbert unleashed a new skit where he plays God and decides whether to LEAVE THEM DEAD or BRING THEM BACK where Colbert made a case for whether to clone a dead guy or not and the audience answered en masse. When he suggested the leader of the Spanish Inquistion so he could work the Tom Delay trial, they all yelled BRING HIM BACK. Then he suggested Darwin, and he would make Darwin admit evolution was wrong and God was real, probably using the Spanish guy to do so. Again the crowd yelled BRING HIM BACK. His last selection was Dave Thomas, Wendy's Founder because his double cheeseburgers were so good. The crowd yelled LEAVE HIM DEAD. Colbert reminded them that he was the person that invented the delicious Frosty dessert. The crowd then, in unison, yelled "Mmmm. Ok, BRING HIM BACK" Ok, again, it was funnier to watch in person

Season Opener Awards

These awards are for just the first few weeks of the season. Pleas let me know your pics, through e-mail (vote@actorsnightmare.com) perferably, and then I'll choose winners, mostly by what you go by if you vote, and post them in a few days.
BEST GUEST STAR
Cha Chi on Arrested Development
Rupert Evert on Boston Legal
Janeine Garafolo on The West Wing
Christine Baranski on Ghost Whisperer
NEW SERIES MOST LIKELY TO GET CANCELLED FIRST (Not Worst)
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Invasion (which I already gave up on)
Out of Practice
Command in Chief
Freddie
Night Stalker
How I Met Your Mother
OLD SERIES MAY NOT MAKE IT THROUGH THE SEASON
Joey
Will & Grace
Alias
Two And A Half Men
BEST NEW SHOW
My Name Is Earl
Everybody Hates Chris
Ghost Whisperer
Prison Break
Reunion
WORST NEW SHOW
Invasion
Everybody Hates Chris
Bones
Out of Practice
BEST ACTOR (New Cast Members Only)
Alan Alda The West Wing
David Borenanaz Bones
Brent Spiner Threshold
Rob Benedict Threshold
Neil Patrick Harris How I Met Your Mother
BEST ACTRESS (New Cast Members Only)
Emily Deschanel Bones
Charismas Carpenter Veronica Mars
Alfre Woodard Desperate Housewives
Michelle Rodriguez Lost
Stockard Channing Out of Practice
BEST NEW THEME SONG
Reunion
Prison Break
Bones
Ghost Whisperer
Commander in Chief
BEST ANIMATED / VARIETY SHOW
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Family Guy
American Dad
Is there really another nominee?
SHOW THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MENTIONED ABOVE BUT WASN'T
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Kitchen Confidential
King of Queens
Hot Properties

Qop!
"Dear Buddha, I would like a pony and a plastic rocket." ~ Captain Mal, Serenity, Again, Go See!

Premiere Season Part Two of Two

FOR VERY IMPORTANT AND GREAT WEST WING NEWS, READ IMMEDIATELY!
I have to take a quick break and talk about The West Wing (Sunday, 8pm, NBC) before anything else. I miss Joshua Malina, I miss Stockard Channing, and I especially miss Janel Maloney as Donna, who has to come back before the end! This season will kind of be like a series finale for the cast we know and love, as evidenced by the great opening. I think they've already given away the new president, but I'll live. What's really cool and exciting is that November 6th's epsiode will be LIVE!!! Not only that, it will only feature two cast members: Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits. Why, you may ask? They are actually going to do a full out debate in character! It will be great fun. Don't miss it. No word on who the moderator will be yet, but we should only see the 3 of them.

And now the long awaited finale of my premiere season 2005 (minus 24 and The Cobert Report, which won't premiere for awhile)... DISCLAIMER: I did not yet watch tonight's shows so all shows are current through yesterday. From here on out through the rest of the season I will only mention spectacular things about shows.
Commander in Chief (Tuesday, 9pm, ABC)~ Gena Davis stars in this great concept of a woman thrust into presidentcy when the president dies, although it has a weak script. She looks a bit too plastic, still it is enjoyable, and has some great moment. I think I'll give it a fair chance this year. Donald Sutherland also stars as next in line after Davis, and wanting the job.
Boston Legal (Tuesday, 10pm, ABC)~ The opening two parter was enough to satisfy anyone missing the amazing series. Heather Locklear added some fun, the new interns were great (well, the guy was), and Rupert Everett completed the fantastic shows. He even translater 'cello' in court and brought a band to perform for another judge. He will be stealing Rhona Mitra away, who has dropped from the ending credits. And ending with Betty White killing the short guy (a.k.a. Beverly Leslie from Will & Grace) was a nice touch.
Close to Home (Tuesday, 10pm, CBS) ~ I like it. Nice, warm, friendly, and still mysterious. The main character, formerly star of Committed, was great, and I enjoy Christian Kane (Lindsay from Angel) as her husband. Not break out hit, but good.
Night Stalker (Thursday, 9pm, ABC) ~ Bad special affects, bad writing. Stuart Townsend and Gabrielle Union will keep me coming back until it sucks even worse, but it's not great.
Veronice Mars (Wednesday, 9pm, UPN) ~ Great strong start with more murder! Veronica should have died, but I'm glad she didn't! Kevin Smith's guest apperance as a clerk in Week Two was fun, and I look forward to Joss Whedon's car dealership in Week Six. Steve Guttenberg is fun, and Charisma Carpenter is out and out sexy. "Can Beaver and Dick come out and play?" Can't wait for Alyson Hannigan and Charisma to do a scene together.
Alias (Thursday, 8pm, ABC) ~ Strong start. I will miss Michael Vartan, but his death was very emotional. Lisa swears he's not dead, but I don't believe her. I think she's grasping straws. We'll see. I'll also miss Nadia and Weiss, but I look forward to Amy Acker's new role. Now they need Lena Olin and Amanda Foreman back and the show may survive. Here's hoping it doesn't jump the shark.
Will & Grace (Thursday, 8:30, NBC) ~ We all knew the live opening would result in goofs, but it was still cool. I look forward to Harry Connick's return. This final season will probably be all right, although don't look for the best episodes of the series.
Ghost Whisperer (Friday, 8pm, CBS) ~ The surprise breakout hit of the season! It's great! I love it! Only watched it for the eye candy of Jennifer Love Hewitt, but oh so glad I did. I highly recomment to everyone. Every episode will make you cry!
Desperate Housewives (Sunday, 8pm, ABC) ~ In the words of Michael my roommate, we returned to an old friend. Still edgy, still fabulous, still amazing. Bree is definitely shining for me this season, and so if Alfre. Go DW!
Grey's Anatomy (Sunday, 9pm, ABC) ~ Entering it's sophomore year, I can finally enjoy this show. The first season was rough and hard to get into, but it's finding it's groove. I like.
Saturday Night Live (Saturday, 11:30pm, NBC) ~ Steve Carrel hosted, and was not breakout amazing. The best bit was the animation of the plane crashing and everyone running, although second place goes to the impression off between the new guys, and third goes to Mike Myer's appearance. I miss Tina Fey. Horatio was funny despite his best efforts to screw up his lines. We need Tina back! She's had the baby like almost two weeks ago! Get back to work! Sadly, Maya will be joining her soon.
America's Next Top Model ~ Nothing to report. Not great. Not good. I'll watch it cause others are and I'm in the room. Plus reality television, despite sucking, is addicting.
Apprentice: Martha Stewart ~ I didn't watch last night because they moved it to compete with Lost (and Veronica Mars), which is it's death wish. The show is pretty much canelled, which is too bad because for once reality tv was good.

Qop!
"Been more'n a year since I had anything twixt my nethers didn't run on batteries!" ~ Kaylee, Serenity, Awesome Movie! GO SEE!

Top 100 Actors of Star Trek - Part One

As part of my ongoing attempt to memoralize Star Trek (there will be other ways before the finale in May), I was thinking about the actors involved. I plan on doing a series of entries that briefly discuss the Top 100 Actors - as judged by me. Not necessarily the big names, but those actors that appeared many times throughout the shows or who played characters essential to Star Trek lore in some way. This first entry will look at the 10 most famous captains of the Enterprise (and crewmen who served on the Enterprise and became captains).

The Enterprise Captains
Jeffrey Hunter (Captain Christopher Pike - TOS "The Cage"). Jeffrey Hunter was originally cast as the lead for the original show. He filmed the pilot "The Cage" and his character (but not the actor) returned badly mutilated in the two part episode "The Menagerie" which featured many clips from "The Cage". Hunter's real name was Henry Herman McKinnies Jr. Hunter was a movie actor, appearing in about 50 films, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in the movie King of Kings. He also guested on numerous television series including The Green Hornet, Bob Hope Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Disneyland, and This is Your Life. Hunter died on May 27, 1969 at the age of 42.
William Shatner (Captain / Admiral James T. Kirk in all 3 seasons of Star Trek, The Animated Series, Phase II and the first seven movies). Shatner was brought into replace Hunter when the cast was revamped. He portrayed Kirk in all 3 seasons for the first five year mission, was promoted to admiral for the first four movies, then demoted to captain for the next three. His character died in Star Trek: Generations and hasn't been seen on screen since. Shatner writes a series of books where his character lives on. When Shatner was first cast he was trying to be a rock star although he had several screen credits including starring roles in Howdy Doody, The Brothers Karamazov, and Marc Anthony in Julius Caesar. He went on to star in the television series TJ Hooker, Tekwar, and is currently on Boston Legal. He has been in numerous movies including Miss Congeniality, Dodgeball, Free Enterprise, Osmosis Jones and National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon. He is also the author of numerous books including The Ashes of Eden, Star Trek: Memories, and Get a Life! He will be 74 next month.
Leonard Nimoy (Lieutenant / Commander / Captain / Amabassador Spock in all 3 seasons of Star Trek, the animated series, the first six movies, and the TNG two parter Unification). Nimoy's Spock was the only character not cut after the original pilot "The Cage". In the 1970's Nimoy seeked to distance himself from that role by writing a book called I Am Not Spock and refusing to do the animated series and initially the first movie. He later did do the first six movies, although he turned down a role in Generations. He tried to leave the franchise again by insisting that he be killed in Star Trek II, the movie in which it was revealed that he was now captain of the Enterprise, but due to his popularity, his character was resurrected. He directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, TJ Hooker, and Three Men and a Little Baby. He was a producer for Star Trek VI. He later wrote a second book in the 90's called I Am Spock and came to terms with his character. Other than a stint on General Hospital his career is unspectacular before Star Trek but immediately after it he starred in the series Mission Impossible and went on to appear in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and lent his voice to Transformers: The Movie and Atlantis. He has guest starred in Becker, Futurama, Duckman, The Simpsons, TJ Hooker, Gunsmoke, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Outer Limits, and Bonanza. He currently runs an audio book company with John deLancie called "Alien Voice" in which actors renact classic sci-fi and fantasy books. He will be 74 next month on my birthday.
DeForrest Kelley (Dr. / Admiral Leonard "Bones" McCoy in Star Trek, the animated series, Phase II, the first six movies, and the pilot of TNG) - Kelley was a classic western star, but brought on to play the cranky doctor. He was added to the theme song in the second and third seasons, the only one in the theme song besides Shatner and Nimoy. His early credits include Taxi and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He turned down a role in Generations. He didn't have much of a career post-Star Trek, although his voice did appear in The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. His guest apperances include Bonanza, The Donna Reed Show, The Fugitive, Have Gun - Will Travel, Zane Grey Theatre, Gunsmoke, and The Lone Ranger. Kelley was so excited when the Star Trek actors cemented their names on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that he misspelled his! He kept in touch with his fellow ST actors and always wanted to bring Kirk, Spock, and McCoy back to the screen. He died in 1999 at the age of 79.
James Doohan (Lieutenant / Commander / Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in The Original Series, the animated series, Phase II, the first seven movies and the TNG epsidoes "Relics"). Doohan was the king of accents and asked to do Scottish for Star Trek. Pre-Star Trek he did a few guest star roles including on Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, Bewitched, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Post Star Trek he appeared in Fantasy Island, Magnum PI, MacGyer, Knightrider, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Ben Stiller Show, and Duckman. Doohan was also in National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon. His character currently heads Starfleet's Corps of Engineers. He recently retired from showbuiness and turned 85 today.
Alan Ruck (Captain John Harriman in Star Trek: Generations). Ruck played the captain of the Enterprise-B. His film credits include Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Bad Boys, Speed, Twister, and Cheaper By The Dozen. He also starred in the television series Spin City. He also guest starred in Scrubs, Mad About You, The Outer Limits, Tales From the Crypt, and Picket Fences. Ruck is 48.
Tricia O'Neil (Captain Rachel Garret on the TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise"). O'Neil was the captain of the Enterprise-C. Her other film credits include Titanic, Brave New World, Police Story and guest appearances on JAG, Beverly Hills 90210, Babylon 5, Matlock, Murder She Wrote, Dallas, LA Law, Dynasty, MacGyver, The A Team, Charlie's Angels, Barney Miller, and Hawaii 5-O. She will be 60 next week.
Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard on TNG and the last four films, as well as in the pilot of DS9). Stewart has had a very busy career. Before doing Star Trek, his credits included North and South, Hamlet Prince of Denmark, and Excalibur. His credits since then include X-Men, X2, X3, A Christmas Carol, Moby Dick, LA Story, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, The Pagemaster, Jeffrey, Jimmy Neurtron: Boy Genius, and Animal Farm. Stewart sang for the film The Prince of Egypt. Stewart has also guest starred on Ellen, Fraiser, The Simpsons, Reading Rainbow, and Saturday Night Live. Stewart is 64.
Jonathan Frakes (Commander / Captain William Riker on TNG and the last four movies, as well as guest starring on DS9, and Voyager and an upcoming apperance on Enterprise). Frakes's character served as first office for the Enterprises-D and E and is now captain of the USS Trident. His other credits include Camp Nowhere, Gargoyles, Clockstoppers, North and South, Futurama, Roswell, Third Rock From The Sun, Lois & Clark, Wings, Cybill, The Twilight Zone, Hill Street Blues, The Waltons, Dukes of Hazard, Fantasy Island, Charlie's Angels and a recurring role on Falcon Crest. He has directed several films including The Thunderbirds, Clockstoppers, First Contant, Insurrection, and episodes of Deep Space 9, Voyager, Roswell, and Diagnosis Murder. He is 52.
Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathan Archer on Enterprise). Bakula was best known for his starring role on Quantam Leap. Other film credits include Life As a House, American Beauty, Major League III, and guest apperances on Murphey Brown, Matlock, Designing Women, and Dream On. Bakula is 50.

Qop!
"Don't let them promote you...don't let them transfer you...don't let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship...Because while you're there...you can make a difference."
~William Shatner to Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: Generations

Randomness

First, let me start out by saying that while I did not hit my magic 15 posts this month, I did more than my minimum 10 from last month, so I'm proud of myself. Hopefully it'll stay up.

As I was walking back from class I saw a slip of paper on the ground that said 'Wear White On Monday to Support Academic Intergrity at Otterbein College'. What if I don't support Academic Integrity? What if I like cheating? Ok, so it's a strategy I don't run arond employing, but if the oppurtunity presented itself, I would memorize multiple choice answers. I am a busy man! If it saves me time and doesn't seem too big a deal, I may do it! I wouldn't put effort into cheating or try to sneak answers into a test or anything the least bit risky, but still... Cheating has been around since the beginning of time. I submit it isn't always bad.

My job and my bosses at this moment suck my ass. Does anyone have a job I can work at close to my present salary and will be flexible with me until school lets out and then let me have my week off in July for vacation? If you know a job, please let me know!

I was watching Yesterday's Enterprise last night and it occured to me that the ulta-military version of the Enterprise-D reminded me of the bridge of the Enterprise-E especially in color scheme and station positions (especially Riker's), which was built during the Dominion War. The first two shows and seven movies always threatened war, the last three shows and three movies carried on with it. What does that say about our culture today versus the sixties or even the eighties and early nineties?

I watched the first ever episode of SNL today (Jonathan - I put it on your tape). Some trivia: It was hosted by George Carlin. He did numerous monologues throughout, but acted in no skits. He sounds totally different today. It had two musical guests, both of whom performed twice. It had 'commercials', a Weekend Update with Chevy Chase, and a film by Albert Brooks. In the opening instead of saying "The Not Ready For Prime Time Players", the announced said "The Not For Ready Prime Time Players". The first skit was the famous John Belushi wolverine skit. It also featured some Bees. They liked those bee costumes in the early days.

My name is Jim and I am an alcoholic (not really).

I have not had a girlfriend since I got addicted to tv. As much as I love tv, and as much as I know I would never let tv interfere with a girlfriend, I'm beginning to think I can't wait until I'm with someone to ditch the tv addiction. I am contemplating doing it soon. If I go through with it, it will be painful.

I also watched a great episode of The Practice where Alan Shore hired Denny Crane to represent him against the firm. Yay!

Qop!
"God isn't perfect... Everything he has created so far has died!"
~George Carlin, SNL

Miscellaneous

I really don't have anything to write about, but it's been five days, and this is only my fifth post this month. I have to do five more in the next two weeks. I guess I could give you a few television updates. For instance, Armin Shimmerman (Quark on Deep Space 9 and Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) made an appearance on Committed last week as the building's super. Sadly, he died in the episode. Oh, and William Shatner, because of the popularity and success he has had on Boston Legal, will not be appearing on Enterprise this season as previosuly announced by Paramount. Instead, they have signed Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes (Troi and Riker fomThe Next Generation) to reprise their roles for the series finale. Brent Spiner is also expected to be back before the end of the season as the villian. So they are bringing half the cast of TNG in to finish off the show. I guess that gives it it's big send off, but it's a bit disappointing.

Also, Howard Dean was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. I heard this news with mixed feelings. I am excited for him that he is in such a high profle job for the Democrats. Although as SNL said, if he's the head, who's going to be the neck? But this also means he cannot run for president in 2008, which saddens me. I wanted him to win in 2004 and am still unhappy about that scream taken totally out of context and ruining his chances. With Dean out of commission, I don't see any other choice for the Democrats but to run their leading candidate, Hilary Clinton. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a huge Hilary fan, and as SNL said, it's a nice, fresh new way for them o get their asses handed to them on a platter. However, who else stands a chance of winning? I mean, if they put Hilary out I think they only chance the Republicans have of beating her is to get the law changed and run Arnold. Those debates could be on Pay-Per-View! Talk about a circus! Anyway, the Clintons did ok for 8 years and other than my man Dean (and admittedly Arnold), I don't know who else might be a good president, so we'll just wait and see.

Qop!
"Laughter really is the best medicine and that story just cleared up my hepatitus." ~ Bobbie, Joey's agent on Joey played by Jennifer Coolidge (Stifler's mom) in last week's episode.

Wow, The Connections Are Endless

Hmm, I read a lot of interesting things while browsing through this month's Star Trek Communicator, the Official Fan Club magazine. For instance, Rene Auberjonis (Odo from Deep Space 9) joins William Shatner on Boston Legal in a recurring role. Then I read about Judith & Garfield Reeves-Steevies, the authors who help Shatner write the continuing adventures of Kirk after his death in Generations (he was brought back to life in book form) as well as other fine novels. They've joined the writing staff of Enterprise, hence why William Shatner is in negotiations to start appearing in the show as Kirk. Hmm. Wonder how that will work. Also, while scanning through the numerous awards in that past couple of months that anyone who even guest starred on Star Trek in the last forty years has won, I am reminded of how many famous people were in Star Trek. The magazine includes updates of Jason Alexander (Kurros, Voyager), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan, Next Gen), Kirstie Allie (Saavik, Star Trek II), Christopher Lloyd (Kruge, Star Trek III), Kelsey Grammer (Captain Bateson, Next Gen), John Rhys-Davis (Leonardo DaVinci, Voyager), and others. Then I started to read about the Emmys that Enterprise won this year (Yes, it wins awards!) and I read about the Sci-Fi awards it won too. There is a Gene Roddenberry Lifetime Achievement award, named after the creator of Star Trek who died in 1991, and this year it went to Joss Whedon. Angel also beat Enterprise for best theme song and best episode (A Hole in the World). Then I started reading about William Shatner's new CD. Ben Folds arranged a bunch of his music, and Brad Paisley (there is a big interview with him in the magazine) sung with him. This stuff is cool. Ok, I'm a geek.