Notes and Stuff

A couple of comments from newsletters past:

Sarah, I enjoyed your article last week on Star Trek. Although I am a fan of all three series, I hope you’ll never find me at a ST convention wearing my Spock ears. I do disagree with some of your observations however.

First, I don’t see Star Trek as science fiction, and I know that isn’t exactly an original assessment. The show has been compared to westerns although I tend to think it’s more like a high school humanities class.

While ST:TNG is an improvement over the original series, its Utopian optimism about a peaceful universe, and the celebration of "all" life, can be a bit silly at times. Your criticism of all the characters of ST:DS9 being the same as ST:TNG may be true but then again all the characters of ST:TNG are just retreads of the original series. (I for one like Beverly better than Pulaski if only to keep track of all the different hair styles and color changes. Nephew Nathan informed me via his Star Trek Fanzine that Gates McFadden does indeed wear a wig on the show. At least hers is better than William Shatner’s…)

Also I think we have to keep in mind the pilot for ST:TNG sucked; the premise being Q putting the members of the Enterprise on trial for all the crimes of humanity. Yuck. ST:DS9’s pilot was much better. What time and where do most of us really live? The show argued in the past and I wouldn’t disagree with that.

The technical question I have about the show is about communication in space. We all know the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound. Thus wouldn’t it be quicker for the Enterprise to deliver its communications by warping to the location rather than sending it via some sort of radio?

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I’m not much into this dream thing much. It’s probably more accurate to describe my nightly thought processes as "nightmarish". But since a new regular feature is sharing our dreams with one and other (something not to be done lightly), could someone please explain the doozy I had last week?

I was holding a large press conference. I was George McGovern. The press was hounding me, bedlam was all around. Everyone wanted me to declare my intentions for the 1996 Presidential race. Nostalgia of ’72 hung heavy everywhere. The questions turned to begging, people pleading me to run. I finally had enough and said, "I’m too old." At that point I woke up. George McGovern?

I caught my first episode of "Beverly Hills 90210" last week. Now I know what the kids are talking about. I’m hooked. Great looking cast, complex social commentary, and effective music add up to a collage that’s a feast for the senses!

As we go to press, the big Ella Fitzgerald gala is being held at our St. Paul Applause. Wish I was there. I’m not a huge Ella fan; her arrangements over the years don’t appeal to me. But the lady can sing. My favorite performance? Her interpretation of the Gershwin’s "Soon". "When I’m with you this whole world will be in tune, let’s make that day come soon." The way her voice caresses the word "soon" is sublime. Happy Birthday Ella.