HouseTV Review: "V" (2009) Episode 1 "Pilot"

I'd be hard pressed to think that there's anyone unfamiliar with the concept of "V". You've either heard of it loosely, or no doubt checked out all/part of the original mini-series (and series) as they were aired over the start of the weekend.

But just for the sake of argument, here's the loose rundown: the world is thrown into turmoil as a group of seemingly friendly aliens visit the planet under a flag of peace. Of course, the true nature of the aliens, and their actual agenda for being here, would seem to be much more sinister.

First, let's talk about what's different and good. The effects are obviously better than the original series. Twenty-five years would give you a little time to update things. So yes, all of the ships views (inside and out) are very well put together.

The Visitors themselves are also a plus thus far. The show forgoes the "pull away skin" effect from its predecessor and replaces it with a layer of human clone flesh. So revealing an alien is no longer as simple as getting a good grab of face and pulling. You need something that can cut past a layer of pseudo-tissue to get to the reptile on the inside.

And this show gives us a more novel (and some would say more relevant) twist on the alien invasion. Instead of just appearing out of the sky and having won over most of the planet in short order (which does still happen, by the way; more on that later...), the Visitors have also infiltrated society prior to their official arrival with sleeper agents. Which means that anyone on the planet could possibly be an alien agent with an agenda to cause chaos and cover their true agenda. It makes for a slightly more paranoid resistance movement.

Now for what's different and not necessarily better. It's only a minor detail, but I don't particularly like the Visitors being referred to as "Vs". If nothing else, the letter V and the tagging and such that went along with it became a sign of the Resistance in the original series, and it just feels weird for it to be used by the aliens in this particular incarnation.

Also, I find it a little unbelievable that the people of earth would be so easily accepting of an alien incursion in this day and age. It was a stretch back then to believe that it would go over so well, but at least they had the metaphor of German occupation to help mask it. Now, in an age where people still question the veracity of the duly elected President ... well, I'm not getting into all of that here, but my point is where is the Glenn Beck of this world to break into tears and love his planet... sniff... so very much?

Maybe that's supposed to be the role that Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) plays in the whole equation, but he seems very much like a second string fluff reporter. Still, his moral dilemma over reporting it straight versus "playing nice" and becoming famous does come over well.

And going back to what works, Anna (Morena Baccarin) works well as the Visitor's leader. Having spent the latter half of the weekend balking at how alternately vicious and bullheadedly ignorant Diana could be way back when, it's nice to see a new take on the alien leadership. Who's to know where this calm, reserved demeanor that the Visitors currently portray will take them? It's uncertain, but Anna definitely shows a lot early on (and I don't just mean those Amazon legs of hers... hello! Ahem...). The way she deftly manipulates Decker and his interview, initially feigning a naive misunderstanding of Earth journalism, then showing that she has a full grasp of just what it's all about, makes it clear that the cool alien exterior still has some teeth.

All in all, I have my reservations about the show. The first half follows the script (somewhat literally) that its predecessor did. What little twists and nuances that were there only serve to agitate an already unsteady foundation. It's not until the latter half of the pilot, with the introduction of the sleeper elements and a few other decent twists, that the show really starts to show itself off. Hopefully it picks up from there, and continues its momentum into the next few episodes. The show certainly has the potential and the early buzz to be a stand out series.

Rating: 7/10 (A solid start that hopefully builds better on its foundation.)

HouseTV: Review: Stargate Universe Episode 6 "Water"

Remember how I've said that the only person on the ship I like at all is Eli? Well, guess what happens this episode?

Okay, so I still like Eli. But goodness knows they are trying their hardest to make him just as annoying as the rest of the crew.

The problem du jour for the Destiny and her this week? A shortage in the water supply for the ship. Making this even odder is the fact that the ship's recycling systems make the water supply a closed system. I found it amusing that more than half the crew didn't seem to understand that "closed system" means that there's no way the water supply should be dropping off like it was. Still, they had nothing better to do than search for possible hoarding among the crew.

Or most of them had nothing better to do. After the Destiny stops in range of an ice planet with a hostile environment (presumably sensing that the crew needs more water), Young and Scott go on an expedition to attempt to procure some usable ice. Of course, the ice breaks, Scott gets trapped, and hilarity ensues.

But if that wasn't bad enough, the Destiny crew figure out the source of the water thieving: an alien life form (seen in episode 3) that's beyond thirsty. The crew, of course, eventually finds a way to overcome all of the adversity, although it's unclear whether or not the crew's water supply is back to normal when it's all said and done.

But of course, the crew continues to be an irritant. What does it say about the crew that there are only two people I really care about? Eli is irritating as he complains about how the others are all engaged in lies and double talk, but he's still the most sensible person on board the ship (and the only one that seems capable of thinking outside the box, as his floating pallet idea showed). And while everything seems designed to make you hate Greer, his consistency in the a-hole department has to be respected. Who else besides Greer could seem genuinely impressed when T.J. admitted that she didn't trust him?

The rest of the crew tends to flop as usual. I'd assume that we were supposed to be impressed with Young's stubbornness over not abandoning Scott. But Scott manages to remind us how dense he is when he blindly accuses Rush of only caring about the water and not the people (which is the second time in as many weeks that he's made an accusation against Rush not backed up by any evidence.

Chloe is useless as always, only showing up to play cheerleader to Scott's quarterback and to complain on cue. And while Rush still has the best sense of perspective of anyone on the Destiny, he still tends to lose his temper and come off as condescending at the worst possible times. Although he did seem to be willing to mentor T.J. through her temporary command.

Oddly enough, the show still works for me, though. Although I am still waiting for a bit of a ramp up. Next week's preview seems to show that the game may be changing. And at least I'm pretty sure that I know who I'll hate most of all then: Telford's back in the saddle. God help them all.

Rating: 6/10 (This rating will start to drop if I don't see some progress made soon).

As Time Goes By...

Okay, color me stupid here.

I don't think that a month has gone by when I haven't actually thought to myself in idle passing, "What are you going to do for the one year anniversary of House Rules?" I was probably thinking about it after the first few weeks, the first few months... heck. Two months ago I was trying to figure out if I was going to make a compilation book of some sort.

So it comes as a shock to me as I pondered what I was going to post this month and how to squeeze it in between bouts of mad writing sessions, that I would stumble across fellow blogger Ivan celebrating his six year anniversary (and congrats to you again on making it this far... your site rocks). And as it reminded me of what I should do when I achieve my meager but still impressive goal of one year in, it also reminded me of yet another thing...

That happened two weeks ago.

October 19, 2008. The first post at Casa de House (albeit a repost of a previous post from another page. Still, it was the start of this whole thing, and even if it wasn't, the first post after that would still have been in October. So I missed my 1 year anniversary this year. I'm sorry, baby. Do you forgive me?

Anywho, I'd be a lot more formal about this (and maybe I will later), but the truth is I just don't have the time to spare on it right now. But thanks to the many people, here and there, near and far, gone and yet to come, that have made the creation of my little corner of cyberspace worth the effort by checking it out from time to time.

Once More Into the NaNo...

It's my (pretty much) last chance attempt to talk anyone into getting on board the NaNo train. And because they can tell it much better than I can, here's the penultimate promotional mail from the organizers of NaNoWriMo, including a useful (but probably slightly exaggerated timeline):

Dear National Novel Writing Month Author,

Hi there! NaNoWriMo Program Director Chris Baty here. It's so great to have you writing with us! Before we get rolling, I wanted to send you a quick guide to our upcoming month of literary abandon.

Here's the plan:

Today: If you haven't already, please make a tax-deductible donation to help us pay for National Novel Writing Month and NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program. NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit, and we've spent nearly half a million dollars getting this swashbuckling adventure ready for 150,000 adults and 35,000 kids and teens around the world. Our goal is to pay off this year's expenses and set aside enough to expand and improve both programs next year. With your help, we'll do it! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far!

Tomorrow: Make sure you've set your time zone correctly (it's under User Settings). Some word-count features appear and disappear at midnight on November 1 and November 30, so dialing those in now will save you stress later. Join a local region, and find out when and where the first novel-writing get-togethers (called "write-ins") for your city or town will be held.

October 31: Get your first pep talk email. You'll receive about three of these a week; one from NaNo staff and two from our panel of esteemed celebrity pep talkers. Spam filters love to eat pep talks, so if you don't get yours, just drop by the pep talk page (under Fun Stuff) where they'll be posted as soon as they go out. Our first guest pep talker will be Jasper Fforde; he'll be parachuting into your inbox next Wednesday.

November 1: At midnight, local time, start writing your book. You need to log 1,667 words per day to stay on par. The website will be very slow for the first few days of the event, but with patience you can update your soaring word count in that box at the top of our site. Watch your stats graph fill. Send a link to your author profile to your friends so they can follow your progress. Revel in the majesty of your unfolding story. It's November 1! You are an unstoppable novel-writing machine!

November 2: Stop writing. Wonder if you should start over. Keep going. Feel better.

November 8: As the first full week of writing comes to a close, you will be at 11,666 words. This is more fiction than most people write in their lifetimes, and you did it in a week. Go, you! This is also Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day, a raucous international holiday that celebrates NaNoWriMo's volunteer chapter-heads (the folks who organized the write-in you went to last week). Chocolate, flowers, and gifts of expensive electronics are appreciated.

November 13: Nothing really happens on November 13.

November 15: After the second week of writing, you will be at 25,000 words. This is the approximate length of such legendary works of fiction as The Metamorphosis, Of Mice and Men, and Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion. You're halfway to winning! Attend a Midway Party in your town.

November 16: The second half of NaNoWriMo dawns. Writerly confidence builds. Your book comes to life, and characters start doing interesting, unexpected things. Nice. Weird.

November 22: After the third full week of writing, you stand at 35,000 words, the NaNoWriMo milestone universally recognized as The Place Where Everything Gets Much Easier. This is also when you fly out to San Francisco and join us for the Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon, where you'll help us set records for group noveling and candy consumption.

November 25: Novel validation and winning begins, and Word-Count Progress Bars turn from blue (under 50K) to green (over 50K) to purple (over 50k and a verified winner!). Check our FAQs for details on uploading your manuscript and winning. A limited number of 2009 Winner T-shirts will appear in the store. These will make you smile, and will feature a squirrel.

November 26: American Wrimos celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by gathering together with friends and family, wolfing down a huge meal as quickly as possible, and then ditching those friends and family to hide in the bathroom with a laptop.

November 30: By midnight, local time, we will all be the proud owners of 50,000-word novels that we barely could have imagined on October 31. Plan to attend your local NaNoWriMo Thank God It's Over Party, where grins will abound, champagne will flow, fives will be highed, and wrists will be iced.

You did it. We all did it.

December 1: Sleep will fall heavily across NaNoLand, as 150,000 writers close the book on a crazy, oversized dream.

December 2: The "I Wrote A Novel, Now What?" page goes up on the NaNoWriMo site, containing some special items for our winners from sponsors CreateSpace and Scrivener, along with advice on revision and next steps from published NaNoWriMo authors.

December 3: Rewrites begin.

It all starts very soon, brave writer! Here's to a great month together!

Chris
NaNoWriMo

HouseTV Review: Stargate: Universe Episode 5 "Light"

Kobayashi Maru. For fans of sci-fi (Star Trek, in particular), it is generally a reference to a no-win scenario. In particular, it refers to the notion that how one faces death is just as important as how they face life.

Such is the nature of this episode. With the now powerless ship drifting towards a star, the crew of the Destiny face the prospect of certain destruction. Or most of them do, as a conveniently placed planet and a working shuttle offers the chance of life for a small fraction of them. The events leading up to the selection of that few and the aftermath of the result are what we bear witness to.

There are many minor moments here and there that give us more insight into each character. Col. Young attempts to be fair about how to select the shuttle occupants with his lottery, but at the same time shows he can be coldblooded as he threatens to remove people from consideration in said lottery for various infractions. Greer continues to be rough around the edges with pretty much everyone, but manages to show a "softer" side while talking to Young. Greer even goes so far as to wax poetic at the notion of their impending death, even if "what a way to go" isn't necessarily a calm, positive outlook.

But it's not all positive points. One of the biggest issues I have with this episode is the forced pairing of Lt. Scott and Chloe. Not only do they "hook up" in this episode, but there is little to no explanation about why they are so close. In fact, they don't even try. It's like they start holding hands after a meeting, and we have to just assume that there's more back story there. Or, as is more likely, they're just two poorly put together people.

Let's really look at this for a minute. We have Chloe, who has arguably spent more time hanging out with Eli at this point. She even seems to genuinely like him, even though we know they aren't going to let him get anywhere with her. And despite having a conversation or two with Scott, they have no chemistry whatsoever.

But part of that is because Scott is a virtual loser anyway. Lest we forget, our first view of him is with his pants around his ankles banging what we have to assume was the nearest piece of tail he could find (we note this since he later treats said officer with complete indifference). And now, we are to believe that he not only has feelings for Chloe, but that they are such very deep feelings that we are supposed to care about them, too. I don't generally consider love scenes to be all that wonderful an addition to a TV show (especially a basic cable one that's going to rob you of any naughty bits... ahem...), but I can't recall the last time I saw one and was bordering on repulsed by it. It only served to make both characters that much less appealing, so much so that I can only compliment Eli's restraint in only jabbing at them briefly.

And since I still count it as a character, let's put the ship on my gripe list now, too. It shouldn't come as any surprise that after teasing the ship's destruction at the hands of an angry sun, not only does Destiny not get destroyed, but it actually recharges. It would seem the ship is solar powered. In fact, it is so solar powered that it can actually fly through the sun. Mind you, I spent a few days last week arguing that I could accept that the Ancient communications stones could transfer consciousnesses across the universe seemingly instantaneously. But having said that, I have a hard time accepting that the ship that has been damaged to the level it has can just swoop on through the sun like it was no big thing.

Furthermore, the ship has shown that it's brilliant several times during these opening episodes, stopping at points that would allow itself and its occupants opportunities to save themselves. But alternatively, Destiny's autopilot will up and attempt to screw said crew over. It had to be forced to stay longer than it wanted during the opening mission, and now it couldn't even be bothered to slow down to let a shuttle catch up to it and land. Hopefully, there is a solid explanation for why it has these conflicts. I'd accept "system damage" as flawed as it would be, but I'm still hoping we find out that the ship is actually in a hurry to get somewhere that it needs to be. Otherwise, I'd think it could take an extra second or two to make sure it had all of its passengers before zooming off.

All in all, though, I did like the episode. They took what was an obvious false lead in the end of everything and managed to make a decent character driven story out of it. You genuinely feel the desperation of many of the characters during the lottery sequence, and it was nice to see the leads all having a fun, peaceful moment at the end of the episode.

If only Young hadn't derailed it with his intriguing but completely unnecessary accusation. It's a novel concept that Rush might be that manipulative, but after all but bending over backwards to try to get Rush in better with the rest of the crew, why would Young make a claim like that in public? Right now, it's like the show is trying its best to make sure you don't accidentally like anyone too much. Sooner or later, that's going to start wearing thin.

Rating: 6/10 (Better than the average formulaic episode, but still pretty by the numbers.)

Minor (But Important) HouseKeeping

Some may have noticed a few... minor changes to the layout of Casa de House (and also to our sister site Planet Houston!). After railing about how indifferent and/or insensitive I thought Cris Collinsworth was being last weekend over many players, coaches and officials wearing pink trimmed accessories, it occurred to me that I hadn't done anything about it myself.

And while I'm sure I would look just dashing in a pink piece of clothing, I'm much more active (and visible) online. So for the remainder of the month (and possibly some time after it since I started so late) both sites will sport pink layouts in support of breast cancer awareness.

Because frankly, I have a mother and sisters, friends and acquaintances, and many have gone through a scare or two in their lives (several of which they probably never even shared with me). A little color change is the very least I could do.

HouseTV Review: Stargate: Universe Episode 4: Darkness

The new crew of the Destiny can't seem to get a break. They've only just resolved their issues with the air supply when they run into a new problem: power issues. While the rest of the crew pokes around various ship areas, Dr. Rush's obsession with the ship's dwindling power supply results in him blacking out shortly after the ship does. But even as the crew faces an uncertain future, the ship itself prepares to make a last ditch attempt to salvage their existence. But you know what they say about good intentions...

The good news is that I do enjoy watching this show. The overall theme and the dynamics provided are things that I want to see on television. I'll say again that I don't know how much of it is a clone of BSG (I still haven't seen much of that show; yeah, I realize that damages my sci-fi cred...), but I think it stands out on its own merits.

That said, one of the major things that is bothering me right now is pacing. Oddly enough, the episodes don't seem to move that slow in and of themselves. In fact, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed watching the two hour premiere a second time after thinking that its pacing was slow. But for some reason, when an episode concludes with an open ending, it just feels like they could have made more progress with the story.

Should there be plots and themes stretched out over multiple episodes? Certainly yes. But at the same time, you should feel some sense of resolution as the show moves on. This is the second time in four episodes where you get the feeling that the best part of a story has yet to be told. And while it's nice to have build-up, it feels more like the writers are saving the best parts for the second half, making me wonder just why I wasted my time with the first half.

Which makes it seem like I hated this episode, when the opposite is true. In honesty, it's the characters that drive the story, and they do the job well for the most part. Eli continues to be lovable as the everyman that will eventually be screwed (but not in the way that he'd like to be). Dr. Rush continues to be a pain in many peoples backsides, but at least we do continue to see that he has his reasons for acting the way he does and that he does actually care about them all surviving.

The other leadership continues to be shades of 'meh'. Col. Young is who you think you'd want in charge, but he seems to mishandle Rush just as often as he uses him as an asset. Col. Telford is such a huge A-hole that you can't find one redeeming thing about the way he acts (which means I should probably give a nod to Lou Diamond Phillips for managing to make him that grating). Lt. Scott is supposed to be the heroic action lead, but is far too needy for my liking at the moment.

And everyone else is still drifting aimlessly in the background, with only a brief moment of splendor to speak of. Or possibly two, if I count that one SGC chick with the huge bazooms. And big ups to Lt. Chesty for using her sex appeal to lure Eli into a trap, then acting irritated later while being ogled. Way to raise the standard there, lady...

But let us not forget the most dynamic character of them all: Destiny herself. As intelligent vehicles go, this ship scores right up there with KITT and other transports that are probably smarter than their occupants. The ship has already shown that it's more capable than its occupants by thinking ahead and attempting to provide them with what they need before they even realize they need it. Although as smart as it is, it makes you wonder how it got into the condition it's in, or why it's not just a little better at trying to provide needs.

And I know, as the show progresses, everyone should get fleshed out more. Which is good, because as much as I like this show, I feel like I should like it more. Now if only they don't go full sappy before my gag reflex is properly prepared for it... what happens this week? Aw, crap.

HouseTV: Believe it or Not...

Many people (presumably my age or older, but perhaps a few retro fans besides that) will remember this show, but I felt the need to revisit it for a few reasons. I speak, of course, of The Greatest American Hero.

See, back before it was en vogue to do projects related to superheros and people were just getting used to believing that a man could fly, there was a man that was trying to embrace the idea himself.

I speak of Ralph Hinkley (played by William Katt), high school teacher and all around nice guy who is visited one night by strange aliens in the desert. No lie, this is how it all starts. It seems that because of his good nature and heart, he has been chosen to be a champion for justice. The aliens provide Ralph with a costume that grants him a wide variety of powers and abilities along with an instruction manual to guide him in the use of the suit. Ralph, as is the case in situations like this, promptly loses the manual, and with it, any chances of ever gaining full control of the super-suit.

And that's the main premise of the show. Ralph would often come to the aid of FBI agent Bill Maxwell (played by Robert Culp) and many times come into conflict in his relationship with girlfriend Pam Davidson (played by the disturbingly pretty Connie Sellecca). And of course, at various points in time, he would help any number of other assorted people and students, all while trying to figure out how to make his suit work.

As you'd imagine, the show is more of a comedy than a true superhero action show. Most of the time is spent showing the antics of Ralph and Bill getting into and out of trouble, with the occasional super feat tossed in at random points. There were two highly notable things about this show:

1) The super suit that Ralph had was awesome. And I don't just mean the design here (which in reality was pretty spiffy). Ralph was granted any number of powers by it, most notably flight, super strength and invulnerability (although since the costume granted the invulnerability, Ralph would end up covering his face anytime someone shot at him. Which makes no sense when you realize the number of times Ralph ran into/through stuff with no facial damage.) But on top of this, the suit also granted Ralph other abilities. He had psychometry, or psychic reading, which allowed him to see images of people by making contact with an object that they had touched. He could turn invisible. And there are no doubt any number of other things that I'm forgetting. If he had actually kept up with the manual for it, he would have been quite the force to be reckoned with. And he wasn't exactly chump change without the manual.

2) The show has perhaps one of the better and catchiest theme songs ever made. The DVD boxset for the show had a button on the front you could press to play the theme at will. And why not? Check this out.



And the show still has many fans floating around out there. There was recently work done on a comic book (which included as part of its writing team none other than William Katt). I stumbled across an interesting (if not disturbingly retro) web series based on the show on YouTube, and Nathan Fillon (you guys know him, right?) mentioned in an interview that he would be interested in playing the role in a feature film (even if he has a few weird ideas about it). So despite being dated as all get out and cheesier than Wisconsin cheddar factory, this show still remains a fond favorite of many, including yours truly.

A Primer on Stargate: Universe

So you missed the premiere of Stargate: Universe last week. Maybe you slept through it. Maybe you weren't all that interested in a new sci-fi show. Maybe you just didn't have the two hours to check it out any of the 200 times that SyFy will show it this week.

Well, fear not. In this (not so) small article, I will attempt to cover every major point that went down during the premiere episodes and go through the major players this far. With any luck, it will be just enough info to let you dive into the next episode of Universe without the hassle of having to watch the whole thing (although if you have the time, check it out; it's not a bad show, by any means).

It goes without saying that this primer contains MAJOR SPOILERS. If you'd rather watch the pilot, or if you don't want to be spoiled on some of its plot points, please stop reading now.

General Info:

SGC: Short for Stargate Command. The (mostly) military organization that oversees the Stargate Project on Earth. You should know this, but just in case you don’t here it is again. If anything, note that ‘SGC’ gets used as an abbreviation quite a bit of the time, both on the show and here.

Stargate: A device in the form of a big metal ring, the Stargate transports matter over long distances by generating a wormhole that connects it to another Stargate elsewhere in the galaxy. Gates are normally connected by “dialing” in an address that consists of seven coded symbols or chevrons that represent coordinates in space and the gate’s point of origin. In rare cases, gates have been able to dial addresses longer than seven chevrons.

Ancients: Name given to the race of people who originally designed and built the Stargate system. The Ancients are a race that precede most of the known history of most races in the SG universe. In fact, the reason that most of the races that the SGC encounters appear mostly or entirely human is that they are all descendants of the Ancients.

While the SGC tends to use some Ancient technology they have found or scavenged, much of that technology and how it functions remains a mystery to them.

Ascension: The process by which a corporeal being transforms their consciousness into energy and reaches a new plain of existence. Some time ago, virtually all of the Ancients ascended, leaving behind their technology, ships and bases to be discovered by others over the course of time.


SG: Universe-specific Info:

Eli Wallace: Eli is your average joe introduced in the form of a gamer geek. Eli solves a puzzle in one of his favorite video games and finds himself literally whisked away to SGC's offworld Icarus base. He is recruited because the puzzle he solved is actually part of an Ancient equation that will allow the SGC to dial a nine chevron address.

Icarus Base: An offworld base that has been specially built on a planet that has what's required to power a gate that will dial up a nine chevron code found in an Ancient archive. As has been discovered, dialing an eighth chevron sends them to a different section of the galaxy, so where this new gate goes is anyone's guess.

Dr. Nicholas Rush: The lead scientist overseeing the project at Icarus Base. When the base comes under a crippling enemy attack, Dr. Rush dials the nine chevron address instead of dialing back to Earth, sending the survivors of the attack to a mysterious ship in the outer reaches of space.

As evidenced by his first actions, Dr. Rush is driven just as much by his desire for discovery as he is for survival. This puts him continually at odds with the other survivors and the SGC crew in particular.

Lt. Matthew Scott: When their commanding officer is incapacitated during their escape to the Ancient ship, Lt. Scott is left in command of their operation. A seemingly capable leader, Lt. Scott ends up bumping heads with Dr. Rush on several occasions, in particular once Dr. Rush begins to claim that he is in command of the exploration/rescue effort.

Destiny: An Ancient vessel sent out on auto-pilot to explore the universe. The Ancients apparently planned to transport to it via its Stargate once it had gotten far enough out into the universe, but must have ascended prior to getting around to it. The ship is barreling along at Faster That Light (FTL) speed and has been damaged, with many of its systems currently offline or operating in diminished capacity. Of major import is that the air filtration systems are completely trashed and will only provide at best another day's worth of air.

There were several other ships deployed prior to the Destiny, also unmanned and tasked with the purpose of scanning ahead for planets with suitable atmospheres and creating Stargates for them. The Ancients, it would seem, planned their exploration out quite extensively.

Senator Alan Armstrong: A senator and supporter of the Icarus project, Sen. Armstrong and his daughter Chloe have the misfortune of visiting Icarus Base at the exact time that it gets attacked. Dragged with the rest of the survivors to the Ancient ship and suffering from a medical condition on top of a new injury, Sen. Armstrong chooses to sacrifice himself in an effort to seal off a damaged section of the ship. His efforts extend the amount of viable air left in the ship, but only provides a limited reprieve from the current crisis.

Col. Everett Young: The commander of Icarus Base, Col. Young is injured during the escape effort and rendered unconscious. Although still suffering ill effects after regaining consciousness, he reassumes command and attempts to use the Stargate on the ship to dial back to Earth, an effort that even he admits may not work.

When the ship drops out of FTL and the gate dials out to an address on its own, Col. Young forms a team tasked with going through the gate and exploring the world for items that might be able to fix the ship’s defective air systems.

And that’s about the gist of things for now. Check back later for more info and characters as they become more prevalent.

This Job Is Easy...

A breakdown of the advice given to people with "problems" by "sex experts"

80%: Talk to spouse/lover about this issue.

15%: I wouldn't worry about it unless [name serious medical condition, usually pain or discomfort] is involved.

5%: You should see a doctor about that.

Which means even with my limited experience, I could be a sex expert and still make 4 out of 5 people happy with my answer. Yes. I'm sure that it's that simple. Take that, Anna David.

Random HouseKeeping

Jeez, even the HouseKeeping isn't on schedule. Anyways...

Just to let you know what's up, I've been busy, but not necessarily with things here. Okay, obviously I haven't been spending time here. Mea culpa and junk like that.

First, Planet Houston Podcast is still running strong. Yes, I've gotten a little... zanier, shall we say? But the fact remains that the show's still being produced. I at least have it worked down to the point where the show can be produced in around an hour. So it should stick around for the time being.

Also, I'm still sort of collecting essays and posts together for a compilation. No, I still don't have a timeline for that. No, I haven't worked on my other book like I was supposed to. I've been busy, and I hate to admit that confidence took a brief nosedive for a second or two. But talking someone else up managed to pick me back up, too, so back to work on that, also.

Also, as a testament to just how behind schedule I've been, this update on how far behind I've been has sat around as an unfinished draft for the better part of two weeks. That makes no sense, whatsoever.

But hang in there. We're still doing what we do, even if it takes us a little while to do it.

Abstract Thought of the Day

Friend: But if it bothers you to see that person's face pop up in your friend's list, then why don't you just drop them as a friend?

Me: ... see, you just don't understand Facebook.

House Rant: RE: Dear {Facebook User}

So late last week, I made a rant wherein I pretty much went nuts. And while I titled said rant Dear {Facebook User}, which I thought gave it some degree of ambiguity, I've heard enough feedback from various sources that I feel the need to clarify just who the target of said rant was. Or more specifically, who the target wasn't.

So just for the sake of clarity, if you read said rant, or if by chance you are reading this one, you can be relatively assured that you weren't being referenced. If you're one of a handful of people that have spoken to me about said rant, or any rant I've made recently, or any comments I've made at all, you can be pretty sure that you weren't being referenced.

In fact, odds are pretty good that, in general, you weren't being referenced. Especially since I wasn't singling anyone out. I thought I had been clear about that, but before I start worrying or antagonizing people I had intention of doing that to, I want to be clear. This was never about one specific person, several people, or a group or groups. It was, in fact, a generic style rant targeted at several items and issues that tend to annoy me in life, specifically my electronic one.

I guess you could say that this was more of a "me" thing. See, I have this awful tendency of feeling like I'm intruding in other people's lives. And I know, you're probably thinking, "What? No. You? Who wouldn't want you around? You're great and blah blah blah..." but if you are, then that's your perception. Mine is that most people's lives roll along just fine without me, so why would they particularly want or need me pushing into their happy flow? Mind you, this is a perception issue that I fight with on a regular basis, so I do sometimes put myself out there.

Then of course there is the issue of electronic familiarity. It's very easy to let the electronic age we live in temper our view of others, especially those we've had a link to in the past. It's far too easy to run into someone you haven't seen or spoken to in years and feel like they're still the old familiar friend that you knew way back when. And while that may well be the case, the truth is also that they may have drastically changed since then, for better or worse, and that they may not hold the same memories (fond or otherwise) that you do.

So putting the two items together, you have a timid, somewhat reluctant personality trying to reach out to people they feel like they should be familiar with while not necessarily sure if said familiarity still exists or if said people even want to have them around. It's a personal recipe for disaster if ever there was one.

So you can forgive me, if, instead of playing the old classic game of mail/phone tag that I am prone to, a game that can become depressingly one-sided at times, I instead decided to empower myself. Not necessarily Oprah-level, "You go, girl!" empowerment, but I wanted to make sure that I told myself not to get caught up in that sick, sad web where I wonder if I'm good enough to have someone spare time for. I thought about it, decided I was, and then maybe got just a little too, ahem, "vocal" about my feelings on it.

Rest assured, though, that edge aside, I'm not particularly looking to grind an axe with anyone specific here. If anything, I would hope that in reading it you would feel empowered by my position and take your own self-dependent attitude into your life. Although, if you were to see it and feel a little bad about not keeping in touch with anyone (not just me), then just drop whoever a line and be done with it. Or accept that you really don't want to be part of that person's life, and be done with that, too. But enough of that. I don't want to get all edgy again. That's what started this in the first place...

HouseKeeping: The Path of the Writer

So I mentioned a week or so ago that I would get around to publishing at least one item within the next year. I'm still not sure what exactly will come out, but I have had a few ideas for things that I think might work well.

The first idea would theoretically be the easiest, and that would be to just do a compilation of some of my better rants and essays here. In my head, that would be simpler than any of the editing and rewriting I'd have to do to get my previous work together, even though I would probably end up editing a lot of crap... er, gems of gold before I put them in book form. The con side would be that all (or most) of the material would be available for free on the site. But the pro side (and what I would probably aim for) is that I could include any of a number of items that I may have worked on but never gotten around to posting. A bit of a bonus incentive for all both of you that stop by regular enough to have read all of the stuff I've posted.

That's assuming that I really care about that as an action, anyway. Honestly, I'll probably buy a copy, and then that'll be the end of it. I've thought about doing something wacky like offering up the proceeds to charity. But then I'd have to find a charity, and then I'd have to pretend that someone would buy it. Still, stranger things have happened.

The other option is to throw one or more of my independent projects together and put it out there. That's a much bigger kettle of fish for me to fry, though. If nothing else, it puts me into the position of exposing some of my work to the public (even if the public, in this case, would be a limited capacity). That, and I'm not really in love with my first major effort. And I told myself I was saving my next major effort for my NaNoWriMo project this year. Still, I might just say screw it and put it out there, anyway. It's probably better than I think it is, and if nothing else, it sets up the lead characters for the other stuff I have planned for them.

So that's that. I'll figure out which of either path I'll be taking over the next month and change, and presumably something should be out there by the end of the year (or early next year... I make no huge promise on the timeline).

Adventures in Baking Part 3: Even More Music

(to the tune of Peanut Butter Jelly Time)

It's Peanut Butter-Chocolate Time! Peanut Butter-Chocolate Time!

o/~Where he at, where he at, where he at, where he at?
Now there he go, there he go, there he go, there he go!
Peanut Butter-Chocolate, Peanut Butter-Chocolate!
Peanut Butter-Chocolate, Peanut Butter-Chocolate!

If you all alone, then quit *itchin'
Just work it out in the kitchen.
If you mull on it, you'll get madder.
So just work it out with some batter.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate, Peanut Butter-Chocolate,
Peanut Butter-Chocolate, Peanut Butter-Chocolate...

Do the Peanut Butter-Chocolate, Peanut Butter-Chocolate,
Peanut Butter-Chocolate, with a mixing spoon!
Peanut Butter-Chocolate, Peanut Butter-Chocolate,
Peanut Butter-Chocolate, they'll be all baked soon!o/~

Abstract Thought of the Day

Twitter is a strange beast. It is odd to see DJ AM become a trending topic as reports that he has died start to circulate. But it is even odder to see Travis Barker trend as well based on the sheer volume of people commenting something like, "That guy that was in a crash with Travis Barker?"

House Rant: Dear {Facebook User}

(And for once, this is a true rant about something wherein I tend to go off a bit. Be warned that I don't pull punches here, and please, please consider this was more about me than about any specific person in my life. Do not take the sentiment presented here personally. Although, if you can glean some kind of insight from it, more power to you...)

Dear {Facebook User}:

I've been pondering this for a while now. And now that I really think about it, no one has a really good excuse for not keeping in touch with me. Sure, life, blah blah, lost track of etc., etc. Whatever. I spend way too much time and waste way too much brain power trying to generate valid reasons for people not to contact me. You know what? I'm sick of it.

I get it. Your life is full of other stuff, and it is a little tricky getting back into a flow where you can bring people into (or back into) your life. I completely understand. I'm there, too. Which is why I can say this with absolute clarity and sincerity. I don't care what your excuse is.

This is not me blaming you or chastising you or even calling you out (and I know, it seems like that's what I'm doing, but I'm not). This is me clearing a vent in the old pipes of self-regret, and you are, unfortunately, just a little too close to the exhaust. Just close your eyes and straighten your hair up afterwards.

This is less about trying to dig into you as a person (which frankly, I wouldn't do; that would be shortsighted and just a smidge mean) and more about me getting myself out of the funk that is feeling like someone, anyone, or maybe even everyone should want to interact with me. Mind you, I'm not a lonely hermit, living in the shell that is his house who barely sees the light of day. I have activities. I have outings. I have friends and family and all of that stuff, too.

Which is why, again, I can say with a somewhat clear conscience that if you wanted to dig a few minutes out of your day to drop a line or a buzz or a poke or a tweet or a zonk or whatever the trendy thing is to do these days, you could do it. I know it's possible, because many people manage to do it. I manage to do it. And considering how anti-social I can be at times, that's saying a lot.

But I understand. You can't really be everyone's pal, after all. I just got done saying that earlier this week. And while this is a bit heavy handed, it's pretty much the same sentiment.

So know this. I have no problem with occasionally chasing someone down to touch base or whatever, but I will not do it indefinitely. As much as I might like to see you, I will not beg to spend time with you. As much as I like talking to and hearing from you, it will not kill me if that does not occur. And as much as I might like to keep you somewhere in the web that is my life, after a set period of time I will cut you off. I have no choice. I have neither the time, patience, or emotional fortitude necessary to maintain a one-sided relationship of any sort at this point in my life. I'd wager that I never could. And to be perfectly blunt, I'm not sure that I'd ever like to be.

You deserve better than to be pestered by me when you could be spending time on something more relevant to you, and I deserve better than to lower myself to hounding you like some... well, hound dog when I could be spending time on people and things that might appreciate it more.

Sincerely,
Thomas Houston

P.S. Please accept my apologies if, by some odd turn of fate, one of any of a handful of things has occurred that might take precedence over keeping in touch (you or a family member in a coma or something like that). I'd feel like a pretty big ***hole if I tore into you over your priorities and then found out that you really had the weight of the world on your shoulders. Although... talking to a friend can help shoulder burdens. Hey, I'm just saying...

Abstract Thought of the Day

I don't know who to be more pissed off at: the idiot in the truck going 20 MPH that decided to cut in front of me, or the jerk behind me in the SUV with his freaking high beams on.

Words of Impact: The L-Word

(Part of an ongoing essay series involving the impact certain words have on our life. Although really, it's not all that serious...)

I've reached a point in my life where I've decided to openly embrace the L-word.

... No, not that L-word. I'm referring, of course, to "like". Much like I feel that friendship is an overused and underappreciated term, I think that the concept of liking someone or something is underrated, too.

Let's face facts here. The other L-word, "love" gets a lot of the spotlight in life. It's the glowy, sparkly beacon of all things great in the world, and the experience that makes it worth rolling out of bed in the morning (or into it, if you are one so inclined... but that's a whole other discussion).

It's pretty easy to get so sidetracked with the love issue that you end up oblivious to other factors. I've fallen victim to it many times. It's very, very easy to become wrapped up in a new love, the potential for love, a lack of love, or even the wistful memories of a love from the past (requited or that kind that I tend to end up with...).

But what tends to get lost in the shuffle is the simple notion of like. Generally, most people have someone that likes them. Quite a few people, in fact. Friends, family, coworkers, even random and assorted associates and strangers can like you as a person, whether they say so or not. And while we tend to take that for granted, it is no small thing. Having people that prefer you and enjoy your company far exceeds having people that couldn't be bothered to care or that outright hate you.

And most people in the world simply aren't going to love you. It's a fact that you might as well learn to deal with. Even if they say the words, even if you achieve sainthood, even if they write a song about you... you will not be universally loved. Which isn't to say that you'll be universally liked, but you have a better shot at that than the other thing.

And while it sucks to love someone and not have that love returned, the fact remains that more often than not, the person in question does still like you, just not necessarily the same way that you like them. In some cases, that may not even be true. They just may choose not to want to alter the state of your relationship the same way that you do. And while it can be very hard (and sometimes impossible) to get past your own sense of being scorned, you can always take consolation in the fact that they do have some measure of affection for you.

And if, in fact, someone does love you, you better darn well hope that they like you. Because despite what people might believe, it is possible to love someone but not necessarily like them. At best, it's some fringe relative that you feel obligated to because they're family. At worst... well, it's the stuff of Dateline specials and Lifetime movies.

So I'm choosing to embrace the "like" in the world. Which isn't to say that I don't want more love in my life. Quite the opposite. But while I don't have a small army of women chomping at the bit to love me (unless they're just really, really quiet chompers...), I have quite a few people in this world that like me. And that can be just as much, if not more fun and way more important in the long run than having the ever glorious love.

(... Except of course when you're missing that one thing, but like I said, that's a different discussion altogether...)

Words of Impact: The F-Word

(Part of an ongoing essay series involving the impact certain words have on our life. Although really, it's not all that serious...)

Life's a strange thing. We have all of these words that define who and what we are, but when it's said and done, we really can't define certain things.

Take the word "friend" for instance. We toss it around all the time to describe people we know and meet in life. But really, don't we toss it around a little too much? Or at the very least, a little too freely?

How many times have you ever called someone a friend not because you really felt that way about them but because you didn't want to imply that they weren't a friend while they were standing there? Or maybe you were talking to someone abut that person, and you felt like it would be more awkward to say anything other than "my friend' when referring to the person. We've all been there at some point or another.

One of the main problems we have with defining our relationships with others is that we tend to oversimplify the nature of those relationships. When it's all said and done, we only have the three categories of relationships to refer to people normally: strangers, friends, and "more than friends" (using whichever word we feel comfortable with to describe that type of relationship).

Yes, there are acquaintances and associates and coworkers and all those other words you can toss around. But we all know the truth about those, which is they essentially mean nothing. If you aren't at least a friend to someone, you're just a different class of stranger. Not that being unfamiliar with someone is such a huge crime. You can't be pals with everyone.

Really, we shouldn't take it so personally. It's only society's impression that everyone should love everyone that perpetuates the notion that every person in the world should be friends with everyone else (Barney the Dinosaur might have played some small part as well...). There's nothing inherently wrong with someone not being your friend and vice versa, but it does make one ponder the nature of friendship.

Granted, calling someone you aren't that close with a friend isn't a terrible thing, but it does set a bad precedent. Calling any random person you spend more than a few hours with a friend devalues the word for the people you really care about. Not to mention the fact that it subconsciously sets you up with the notion that the person is more important or trustworthy than they may be.

I've seen tons of cases where people claim that someone they've known for a few years from school or wherever are their best friends. This is generally followed by some event wherein the person then feels utterly betrayed or deceived by said best friend. This inevitably leads to someone shouting the phrase, "You're supposed to be my best friend!" or somesuch, when the truth is that the offended party really doesn't know the person well enough to be shocked by their behavior. And no, this doesn't just happen on Jerry Springer or Maury Povich.

I guess my point here is to say that friendship is in fact a pretty important gift to give and to receive. Try not to trivialize or underestimate the power of true friendship. And also, remember that only a small handful of people you meet in life will ever truly meet the standard of being called one.