STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS

          

          I have been a fan of Star Trek since “the time of the beginning” as an ancient Vulcan matriarch once said.  I was there when Kirk, Spock and the crew of NCC-1701 first set out, boldly.  To this day there are episodes that I love to watch, mostly because I like the characters so much.  My favorites are Spock and McCoy.  The six films based on the original series are a mixed bag.  The only three I like are what I call the Spock Trilogy – WRATH OF KHAN, SEARCH FOR SPOCK, VOYAGE HOME - the last two directed by Leonard Nimoy.  In 2009 J. J. Abrams gave us back Kirk, Spock and the crew of the Enterprise and he did a terrific job.  Now, in the long awaited sequel, he has given us not just the crew and the ship but one of the two best villains in Star Trek Lore – Khan.  Note: imho the other great Star Trek villain is the Borg Queen.

          After the release of the 2009 film many fans, old and young, posted on the net that they wanted to see a remake of the Khan story.  I was not one of them because I would like to see new stories of the beginning of the five year mission, new insights into the characters I have loved for so long, not a rehash of a story that was very well done thirty years ago.  The identity of the big bad for the second film was rumored for two years and finally in a literal blizzard of spoilers – the film was released in the UK and other countries a week before the U. S. release – we all found out that the superb Benedict Cumberbatch was indeed a reboot of Khan.  And what a reboot he is.

          There are a lot of things wrong with this film – some minor things only a long time fan would notice and some pretty big.  There is the totally gratuitous and illogical strip scene involving Carol Marcus and Jim Kirk in a shuttle, there is the illogic of a huge ship being built in a massive facility behind a moon of Jupiter which even in the 21^st century someone would surely notice, and there is the truly upsetting engineering mistake of placing the Enterprise at the bottom of an ocean.  Constitution class starships do NOT land and certainly do NOT submerge.  Happily, Scotty is there to voice the complaints of the chief engineer and the seasoned fans. 

          There are many critics and fans who are trying to compare the story with the original and find the new film wanting.  I am not one of them.  In fact, I am very impressed with what screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof have done with the old story.  WOK was the story of a villain for the 80s.  Khan was larger than life, played to the hilt by Ricardo Montalban, one of the few Trek actors who could over act more than William Shatner.  The film looked good, the crew was superb and the “death” of Spock hit fans where it hurt the most – one of our heroes had died. 

            Khan in this film is far more intriguing.  He is driven, deeply motivated, and a force that cannot be stopped without a great deal of collateral damage.  Not just a mean bad guy from the past who has a grudge against a single star ship captain, this Khan is a victim as much as a perpetrator and there are moments when one can almost feel sorry for him.  He is portrayed by one of the most amazing actors currently on film and TV, the superbly talented Benedict Cumberbatch who has thrilled fans with his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on the BBC mini series.  With his deep voice and penetrating blue eyes this Khan is more disturbing than the original and the story is both darker and has deeper implications about what might be wrong in Star Fleet.

            The writers have used a lot of old Star Trek lore in the telling of this film – giving us long time fans little “Easter eggs” that make the experience just a tad more enjoyable.  They have reworked the story to leave out some of the dated bits and twist it in a way that will suit today’s audiences and, most important, focus on what is important: Kirk, Spock, the crew and the Enterprise.  The Khan story – interesting as it is – is just a platform for two young officers to get to know each other better through danger, adventure and death. 

            For me Star Trek has always been about the characters.  From the original series to Next Generation – and my beloved Jean Luc Picard! – to Deep Space Nine and beyond, even when the stories were less than stellar the interaction of the characters was enough to keep me coming back.  This cast is superb, and each one of them brings life to the franchise that might have died a long time ago.

            Zoe Saldana is beautiful and she kicks ass as only a Star Fleet officer can.  And she kicks the boyfriend with as much intensity as she kicks the bad guys.  Anton Yelchin is simply adorable, especially when he takes responsibility for “breaking” the ship.  And John Cho gives his all in one of the best short moments in the film.  Karl Urban is the comic relief – just as DeForest Kelly once was – and the voice of conscious for the captain and others on the crew.  He has this role down beautifully.

            What can one say about Simon Pegg?  He is simply terrific.  As in the first film he too provides comic relief – and acts as the voice of the audience on a couple of occasions.  But in this film he is also the voice of reason in a series of events that are running out of control so rapidly even the Vulcan doesn’t see the warnings.  If it weren’t for the two principals, he would have dominated this film.  Personally, I hope he dominates the next one.

            Then there are the supporting actors – well Peter Weller can do bad while pretending to be good better than anyone and his Admiral Marcus deserves just what he gets.  I’m not familiar with Alice Eve but the whole Carol Marcus story line could have been left on the cutting room floor and she would not have been missed.

As for Admiral Christopher Pike - so wonderfully portrayed by Bruce Greenwood – well there is a moment in a bar when he tells his protégé Jim Kirk “they gave her back to me” and he is again the commander of the Enterprise.  He never gets the chance to beam up, sadly, and I for one am sorry he didn’t get to command her just one more time.  His relationship with the headstrong and slightly arrogant Jim Kirk is one of the best in the Star Trek Universe. Takes a very good actor to make a very big impression in just a few scenes, as he did in the first film.  He will be sorely missed.  (HINT to JJ – maybe a flashback or two in the next film?)

In what was a bigger secret than the identity of Cumberbatch’s character, there is Leonard Nimoy as Spock Prime.  His appearance alone is worth seeing this film again and again.   

            Finally, this film is about Kirk and Spock and there simply are no actors alive who can portray these young, seemingly mismatched officers as well as Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.  Pine is a better actor, and thus a better Kirk, than the original.  Quinto has taken the role immortalized by Leonard Nimoy – and with that great actor’s blessing – and made it his own.  These two bring new life to old characters and make Kirk and Spock more interesting, more believable, and more compelling than even Gene Roddenberry could have imagined all those many years ago.

            There is fun in this film, there are wonderful battle scenes, interesting characters, and a lot of heartbreak.  There is friendship, love, family and questions that have disturbing answers.  

            And there is the ship, our ship, NCC-1701, larger than life, beautiful as only she can be.  Abrams nearly kills her in this film and I hope he gets over that in the next one.  There are some truly wonderful moments – none quite as awesome as the view of her emerging from behind Titan in the first film – and some scary moments.  When Scotty tells Kirk that she is done, finished, lost, dead – well, you have to see it to know how much of a kick in the gut that is.       

            Abrams is going on to direct Star Wars.  I wonder if he can reboot that as successfully as he did Star Trek.  Doubt it.  How often can one director find the perfect cast, get the perfect legendary actor to return twice to a role he gave up many years ago, and make films that satisfy new fans and those of us who have been here since the time of the beginning?

            I just hope he will direct the next Star Trek cause he is the reason we have these two wonderful films and he is the one who can take us, boldly, into space to discover all those strange new worlds.

            LLAP.

           

In Praise of Social Media

         Let’s be honest.  Those of us who are seniors are not the target customers for all of the popular social media applications, programs, websites, etc.  Social Media was started – I believe – by Facebook which was designed to help college students link up.  It is far more than that today as anyone with a Facebook account can see.  Just look to the right of the screen.  Ads, offers, etc.  Facebook also changes the format, the rules, the security so often that it is nearly a full time job to keep up.  And then there is Twitter.  I have to say that until recently I saw no good use for Twitter at all.

          I opened a Facebook account just to see what the fuss was all about.  Within the first month a friend I hadn’t heard from in a long time contacted me.  Right there it was worth it.  Then, literally out of the blue, a college classmate whom I had been out of touch with for about four decades messaged me.  Well, I was SOLD on Facebook right there.  Over the past few years I’ve hooked up with a woman who was my favorite boss, my first Tarot teacher, and several local friends I don’t get to see as much as I would like.  I’ve found that I do enjoy seeing what everyone is doing, looking at vacation photos, fun things like that.

          Facebook’s second appeal for me is that all the things I “like” show up on one page so I get updates on the news, weather, TV updates, daily Astrology – Western and Eastern – the tarot card of the day, music news and updates from the Metropolitan Opera and some of my favorite singers, daily Red Sox news – MY TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! – and well you get the point.  Sort of one stop if you will. Saves time, saves keeping a load of links in my “favorites” file. 

          What I do not like about Facebook are the ads.  Supposedly they use what you tell them in your profile and what you “like” to offer things that fit you.  As I type I have had exactly one offer that was something I was truly interested in that resulted in one purchase of a recording by my current favorite tenor.  As for the rest – well I get a load of weight loss ads and I am not overweight, I get a lot of real estate ads that I have no interest in looking at especially since the places advertised are no where near Lake Tahoe, and many other things that just do not make sense.

          Most of all I do not like the FIND FRIENDS ads, the “people you may know” thing.  Many are based on the friends of my friends but so many are simply people who live in my general area or who like some of the things I like.  The thing I most dislike is the “friend finder” which needs my email and my password.  Why would I give an internet site that is know to have security issues and serious privacy violations the password to my private email?

          Then there is Twitter.  When I first opened a Twitter account I was curious about the program and wanted to see what the fuss was all about.  I still don’t get most of it and my Dummy book doesn’t seem to help.  I started by “following” HH The Dalai Lama who leaves inspirational messages.  Then added some book sites, my favorite TV News & Updates person, Michael Ausiello.  Tried a few well known people and ended up dropping most of them.  Kept the truly wonderful Leonard Nimoy.  Gradually I am getting the hang of this.

          But then something happened that truly impressed me.  During Egypt’s “Arab Spring” demonstrations I added my tweet of encouragement to the thousands of others being posted, thinking that if the Egyptians saw how many of us were supporting them in spirit maybe it would be a good thing.  A few months later a person in Egypt tweeted me a thank you.  With all that has gone on in that country, most of which the average American does not know, this man took time to say thank you.  Twitter proved itself that day.

          And then a series of events occurred that sold me totally on the value of Social Media and the need to find an affordable cell phone plan so I can get a smart phone.  First there was a message on Facebook from my Goddaughter, Jenney in Boston.  Over the many years I’ve lived in the West I’d fallen out of touch with my former friend and college classmate, her mother, but Jenney is very internet savvy and found my profile on Facebook.  We reconnected!!!

          Then Boston was bombed.  Because my Goddaughter is a really big fan of Twitter – that sounds better than “twitterer”, doesn’t it? – I knew that she was at the Red Sox game which had just ended when the media reported the bombings.  I quickly reached her by cell phone – thank all that is Holy – she was fine and safe.  All that day and the week that followed I knew where she was, how she was, and how safe she was.  Thanks to Twitter.

          There are a lot of abuses with Social Media and a lot of people, companies, whatever that misuse it.  But I remember a time when we did not have the internet, when phone land lines were down during a crisis and when it took days to find out if someone was ok after a hurricane, tornado or – in my case – major earthquake.  When Jenney was 12 her mother could not reach me after the Loma Prieta earthquake in San Francisco, not for over a day, and I lived two blocks from the Marina fire. 

          It was while watching a documentary on that quake that the now grown up Jenney remembered that, and looked me up on Facebook. 

BOSTON STRONG

The events of the past week in Boston have dominated my life and the lives of many people close to me, though some of us are far away – in miles, in time zones, in years.  I have always said that you can take the person out of Boston but you can never take Boston out of the person.  At no time since I left Boston has that been more true.

          Watching the events unfold, watching the explosions, the first responders, the lockdown, the manhunt and the capture was the worst single thing I have had to endure since I almost died in the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco.  But watching from afar is far different than being there, in more ways than may be obvious.

          It is hard to explain what Boston means to those of us who come from there, who have lived there, who still live there.  Boston is not just a city, Boston is a state of mind and there is no where else on earth that can quite capture the uniqueness of this amazing city where the American Revolution started – and is celebrated around almost every corner – where sports is so important that fans are called “the faithful”, where politics is the only topic that can supersede the latest game results, where one can walk anywhere, any time of year, easily.  Boston is a beautiful historical artistic academic athletic Heaven on Earth.

          And Boston was attacked on Monday, April 15, 2013.

          Patriots Day is a Massachusetts holiday.  Every year the citizens of the Bay State celebrate the battles of Lexington and Concord.  The “one if by land, two if by sea” and “there the embattled farmers stood” events in American History.  Boston celebrates by the running of the Boston Marathon, a grueling race that starts in the suburbs and ends almost right in the middle of the city nicknamed the Hub of the Universe.  Hundreds of thousands of people line the 26 plus miles from Hopkinton to Boston, celebrating the runners, celebrating the American Revolution and, most of all, celebrating everything it means to be in and from Boston. 

          As the marathon runners begin their awesome trip, the best baseball team in the history of the game begins the day’s celebration early.  The Red Sox start early cause after the game many of the thousands of fans will walk the very short, less than a mile, distance to the end of the race to cheer those who have the stamina to finish. 

          And that is when the attack happened.  Not some other time in some other crowd.  It was planned for that day, that place, that time.  The timing of the attack was deliberate; they wanted to hit Boston, all that we love, all that visitors come to love, to celebrate, to experience.  That attack was PERSONAL.  It was an attack on so many things that mean so very much to all of us who love Boston.  As I said, Boston is a state of mind.

          But, defying everything that the terrorists tried to do, defying everything that any terrorist may think of doing to us, Boston showed to the world something that all of us know but don’t often talk about – Boston is one of the strongest cities on the planet.  We do not have to celebrate it cause it is just us.  It is just who we are and what we are.  We have always been this way, from the moment Paul Revere took off on the horse, we have been STRONG.

          The response was overwhelming.  The First Responders, the onlookers, the runners, all headed to the blast sites to tear down the barricades, to help the injured.  So rapid was the response from so many that one has to slow down the images to see it all.  And that response just kept growing and growing over that day and the days to follow and ended in the best way possible - crowds of residents in Watertown cheering the police who had captured one of the terrorists alive. 

          It will take a long time to deal with the horror of the attack on Boston.  It will be a long time for the families of the four young people who were killed – the little boy, the young woman from Medford, the young MIT security officer, the young woman from China who was studying at BU for her Masters.  It will be a long time for the injured, many of whom are badly scarred for life.  It will be a long time for the people of Boston.  It will be a long time for all of us who love it.

          Slowly the strength of this city will grow to be even more amazing than it was this week.  Living through any disaster is life changing, but living through a terrorist attack is a life changing thing that has no equal.  Hard as it is, shattering as it is, the strength that got Boston through this past week will sustain not just the city but this country and any in this world who will not allow the monsters to gain ground.

          President Obama gave a fine speech at the memorial service; in it he said two things that will ring out from the Hub of the Universe.  “You picked the wrong city to do this” is the first.  Damn straight.  Pay attention out there. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION STARTED IN BOSTON.  Got it?  The second comment was even more true. “What happened on Monday was personal.”

          When Boston was attacked my friends were at risk, my family was at risk, my Goddaughter who was at the Red Sox game was at risk, and the city I come from was at risk.  And that is PERSONAL for all of us who love it.  So, pay attention who ever you are out there, BOSTON STRONG is EVERYWHERE.

Gun Control, North Korea and the Tinges of Insanity

         Though the two hot topics in the news may appear to be unrelated, I am having a hard time separating the debate on background checks for prospective gun sales from the threats, rants, raves aimed at the United States and our allies from North Korea.  Not that I think either topic is simple, or properly covered in a sound bite, but looking at both topics makes me very uncomfortable because just the thought of someone with serious psychiatric problems is scary and the current leader of North Korea seems to fit that description very well.

          Taking the gun control debate first, how can any one, any senator, congressperson, NRA member truly believe that we do not need to limit access to firearms by people who have serious mental and/or emotional problems?  I watch the news, I read a very good on line newspaper (Christian Science Monitor) and I am very well informed about gun laws across the country – especially my two states California and Nevada – and the Constitution.  I do not see anyone who is proposing restrictions and background checks as advocating a change in the rights we all have as Americans to “keep and bear arms.”  I do see the call for protections from those who are mentally ill or unstable. 

          Most of us who own firearms are responsible, sensible citizens who take safety precautions, keep firearms out of the reach of children, know how to safely use our guns.  Many of us train for this, take classes, join clubs that offer us training and safety tips.  We know how to handle guns just as we know how to handle cars safely.  Actually, we probably handle the guns better since there have been, to my knowledge, no fatalities due to texting while shooting – but I will accept corrections if that is a misunderstanding on my part.

          I digress.  The point is that people who have a history of mental illness should not be able to legally buy a gun and that in order for any kind of gun control to be affective we must have an up to date data bank of those who have such problems.  A mentally ill person in Nevada should not be able to buy a gun in Texas, etc.  Anyone who does not approve of this is, simply stated, nuts.

          Have you ever had to work with someone who is bi-polar or have such a person in your family?  Have you ever seen that person off their meds?  Suddenly lose control?  And were you afraid that s/he would harm you or your co-workers or family members?  Imagine that incident, that person going off their rocker, with a gun in the equation.  That, is fear.  Now think of all those people out there that you do not know, who don’t take their meds, who are just like the crazy person at work or the nutty relative.  Add guns.  Scary. 

          And that brings me to the current crisis in North Korea which, as I said, doesn’t seem that far removed from the scary person off their meds buying a gun at the next gun show.  Who is in charge of that country?  Are we really expected to believe that an inexperienced young man is telling highly experienced military men what to do?  And they are, as a group, just doing whatever he says even though it makes no sense what so ever, does not help the people of the country and has effectively eliminated any respect they might have had?  I just don’t get it.

          The ranting and the raving and the threats remind me of the Cold War – but during that time there were adults in charge of the weapons.  Most of these rants are just words and not very intelligent words either.  Do the people of North Korea believe this drivel?  For surely Kim Jong Un isn’t expecting the people of the United States of America to cower in fear.  Or is he?  See that is the thing about North Korea and it’s leader.  It’s like a bi-polar person off the meds.  And that is very dangerous.

          Surely something else is going on here.  Are they so far off from the world at large – and Asia in particular – that the generals believe that North Korea will get respect?  Even China has criticized the current rants and raves and they never criticize the problem country they helped to create. 

          Tinges of insanity can become lethal very quickly.  Let us hope that the Congress of the U. S. of A. passes a background check bill and then puts tools in place to build a useful database.  And let us hope that the adults come to their senses in North Korea.

FENWAY PARK – Opening Day

         

          Every April there is an event that is celebrated all over the U. S. of A. and other parts of the globe.  We may be far away by distance and time zones, but all fans of the BOSTON RED SOX live for Opening Day at Fenway.  Fenway Park is a National Treasure, an “Historic Site” and possibly the best loved baseball park in the history of baseball. 

          Fenway hasn’t changed much over the years.  There were some innovative improvements a while back to add seats and make the comings and goings of the fans a bit easier.  And the menu has changed to meet the times.  But the score board is still changed by hand, the hot dogs are still the best in the world and the Green Monster is there dominating the field and giving Fenway it’s unique edge.

          Fenway is not out in the boonies or the suburbs or tucked away on the outskirts of Boston.  It is literally right there, a really good home run hit from the Massachusetts Turnpike – hence the saying “that one is on the pike” – walking distance from downtown on a good day, in the same neighborhood as the Museum of Fine Arts.

          I am about as far from Fenway as one can get and still be in the U. S. of A.  And I miss it.  I miss going to games whether the Red Sox win or lose.  I miss the intimacy, the camaraderie, the shared moments of joy and sorrow.  I miss driving by in the evening and seeing it all lit up.  In a recent film directed by Ben Affleck, THE TOWN, there is a truly beautiful aerial night shot of Fenway all lit up.  Brings tears to my eyes every time I see that.

          Red Sox games aren’t broadcast out West that often so I don’t see it “live” very often.  But, thanks to the internet I do get to see it quite a bit more than in pre-internet days – photos, live shots on the MLB GameDay site mostly.  And my beautify God(dess) Daughter Jenney Griffin sends photos and Tweets and keeps my Fenway fever raging.   

          There really is no way for a Red Sox fan to explain the life long devotion to this team to the rest of you.  We the Faithful understand – what else is needed?

          Opening day is the beginning of the new season, new hope, new excitement.  The disappointments of the past season(s) do not matter – all is fresh and new as the grass in the outfield.

          GO RED SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


EDITED to add - Red Sox won 3-1!!!!!!!!!!

  

         

         

Milestone

          If you live as long as I have you encounter many milestones.  Some of them are universal – we all hit them – and some are personal.  The big universals are things like attaining voting age – 21 back in the day and 18 now – attaining drinking age – varies by state in the U. S. of A – and eventually becoming a legal member of the Senior Citizen club.  I will be 65 in a few hours and I find my reaction to this major milestone to be rather curious.

          It used to be “retirement” age.  Unhappily the current economic crisis made me a retiree long before I could afford it and as soon as I can find a job in this horrible job market I’ll be working again.  It also used to be the age to start collecting Social Security but more and more of us are opting to begin early payments because our pensions were mishandled – or lost completely – or some other financial disaster hit, usually medical.  Speaking of medical, this is the age of Medicare but that is only if you can afford it and it isn’t cheap.

          So, just what does this mean, this milestone?  Well for one it means that I can legally claim to be a senior citizen and all of those discounts I didn’t start to get when I turned 62 will kick in.  I don’t mind telling anyone my age if I get a discount for it.  And, it means that every time the media or politicians say “senior” they mean me, whether I want them to or not.

          Unhappily it means that a lot of younger people will consider me to be over the hill, so to speak, out of it, old fashioned, archaic and not worth much. Happily I’ve only run into that a few times.

          More and more the meaning of “senior citizen” is changing.  Even the media says “older Americans.”  And we are that, older, but not really that senior.  For one thing, there are a lot of people living to their 90s and I have a full generation before I get there.

          But the big thing is that we just are not “old” anymore.  We are in our 60s but we use computers, learn to Twitter, work and work very well cause our work ethics have never changed, enjoy a lot more physical activity than our grandparents and parents did.  I hike in the High Sierra.  I have friends who ski, bike, swim.  We watch current tv, we read current books, we get on line and have a lot of fun with it – well, most of us do – and if we are truly lucky we have children, grandchildren or younger persons who appreciate us and our life experiences. 

          Once old age meant glasses with lines, short permed hair for the women and baldness for the men, old age clothing – let’s face it, we all wear jeans and tank tops now and we shop at the Gap just as much as the kids do – dentures and canes.  Now, that might describe the really really “senior” group.  But not us.

          I used to wonder what old age would mean but what I have surely does not meet any expectations I had back when I was 30 - or 40.  I blog – even if no one is reading it – and I look forward to GAME OF THRONES and TRUE BLOOD and I freely admit that I have the hots for a whole slew of really great younger (fantasy) men.  "Cougar." :) 

          The world has changed a lot in the 65 years that I’ve been alive.  Happily for me and my friends and other who are my age that includes good medicine, even better knowledge of what is good for us, a world that does accept that old people do bike and hike etc.  It’s good to be here, at 65.  And what really is "old" anyway?

         

More China and all that Stuff – Suggested Reading

          I highly recommend CHINA GOES GLOBAL: THE PARTIAL POWER by David Shambaugh.  Oxford University Press, USA (February 18, 2013).  ISBN 978-0199860142. 

          The author has lived in China for decades, understands the country, the culture and the Chinese Communist Party as well as any American, or “Westerner”, can and presents a detailed and well documented overview of how China’s history, culture and traditional business practices are both helping and hurting China around the world.  Very readable for the average reader; thoroughly absorbing for China watchers and students of Chinese history.

          The many incidents of hacking, around the world, are discussed in detail as are the areas of shoddy manufacturing practices, corrupt business practices and the many issues internal to China that affect how they have failed to impress many in the rest of the world.