I was feeling a bit under the weather, and for once it was raining all weekend so I was stuck inside. When this occurs, a rather grumpy monster forms inside my brain that craves new media. Be it movie, anime, or game, I must consume something. I happened to have some Microsoft points gifted to me (as I tend to hoard all gift cards and points for explosive spending binges like this) so this seemed like a good time to spend them. After seeing an ad for Crysis on the Xbox 360′s feature link for instant download, I decided to take the plunge and see if it could amuse me for a while. There are no words for what I’ve been missing since 2007.

Most of you have prolly seen this hotness already. If so, please just shake your head at my slowness and move on. For the rest of you — check it, you’re gonna want to see this if you dig first-person shooter games with a story — you know, at all.

Crysis takes place in a near future/nowish timeline where an ancient alien ship has been discovered buried inside a mountain on an island somewhere in southeast Asia. You are a Marine called Nomad that, along with your spec-ops team, go in to check out what’s up on the island. Along with sweet weapons, you are fitted with a powered nano suit that among other things heals you, cloaks, has a shield function, allows you to jump 15 feet in the air and sprint at around 40 mph, and is equipped with night vision. In short, it’s the hotness.

The weapons in Crysis are a mix of real worldish weapons and the hyper-cool future tech of FPS nirvana. Each — and there are many — can be modded out from several nodes that are easy to switch in combat depending on your style of play and need at the moment. Whenever you pick up a new tech like an assault scope or silencer, you get both to keep it and affix or remove it as you see fit.

For me, dual wielding a pair of laser-dot pistols was the go-to weapon of choice. I loved them and conserved the hard stuff for when I really needed it, which was often.

When you take into consideration that this is a 4-year-old game originally meant to be a PC game and then ported to a console, the graphics are stellar. All the environments are crisp and interesting as well as diverse in nature. There are jungles and very sweet icy winter landscapes that make the game move so you don’t feel like you’re just treading water in the same map over and over.

Then there are places completely alien in nature. It was here that I really started to understand the level of sweetness I had been missing. Coupled with the storyline, characters, and pacing, the entire experience really feels more like a good action movie you happen to be participating in. It stands in stark contrast to other FPS games that often replace plot and storytelling with a disjointed series of events which happen to have the same rendering engine.

There’s this one other thing that’s hardly worth mentioning, really — there’s a tank. Not an armored vehicle with big wheels. Not a nerfed out APC thing that looks like a tank — an honest-to-Crom tank. A tank that during the entire level mows down all before you. A tank that, if operated with a heavy trigger finger, will turn every enemy vehicle and standing building into a fireball. It is a thing of pure beauty. Also, it doesn’t fire a shell; that, my friends, is a Gauss cannon hanging from the turret. A no-trajectory, no-lag-time, no-reload-time Gauss cannon. Life is good.

I know I’m late to the party. My coworkers, brother, and friends all seem to have gotten the word when it was going around the first time. I suck. All I can say is the next time something this sweet hits and no one ties me to a chair and shoves a controller in my hand, I will consider it a personal insult.

Adding to my gleeful find this weekend was the news that Crysis 2 was released in March of of this year. After a 16-hour marathon of destruction I was watching the end game credits for the first game, turned in my chair, hit Best Buy online and popped some gift card cash to have Crysis 2 delivered on the bounce. Yeah, it was that good.

Crysis Series [Wikipedia]

We mentioned in the cast a while back that I had an original Tron movie bit for the arc but it never went anywhere for two reasons, the audio I recorded for it sucked horribly and it wasn’t that funny anyway. So instead, I give you a quick overview of – Ten things I learned from Tron.

10. When planning a major felony chicks in high heeled running shoes always up the ante.

9. Further proof that writing chess programs leads to AI with massive megalomania issues.

8. No matter what the circumstance, anything that happens after the sentence “Bring in the logic probe!” isn’t going to end well.

7. When a computer states “I can run things 900 to 1200 times better than any human.” be afraid.

6. One can lead a rich and happy life only speaking the words yes and no.

5. That is a big door.

4. Never write a bunch of tank programs. In the long run it won’t be good for you.

3. Stealing from someone smarter than you can go south in a hurry if they decide to descend to your level to get even.

2. Lightcycles ya’ll, lightcycles. Nuff’ said.

1. The MCP did have a heart. It actually invented the amber alert system way before its time. Don’t believe me? Check this out, “30-56-99 are correct. Limited 4 and 8 are missing.” What we see here is the MCP’s plan to empower at least 99 operatives to locate bits that are missing. May the users bless little limited 4 and 8 and I hope they found their parent programs.

It’s interesting that after seeing Tron Legacy some of the characters going forward learned the same things I did. Kind’ve makes me proud really.

Normally action games aren’t really my style but in this case Bayonetta has more style in general than you can shake a really sexy stick at. In this world, Heaven and Hell had the out and out battle of the ages throwing hell into the loser’s bracket – which put the world out of balance. Fresh from a nap under a lake for 500 years Bayonetta, the last true Umber Witch, intends to fix that. How do you put the world back in balance you ask? Why by killing angels of course – this is the awesome!

This is Bayonetta, as you can see she is quite plain and homely as most video game chicks tend to be; small chest, short stumpy legs and frizzy hair. I mean seriously, it’s a game about a dark witch – could she be anything but unbelievable? Of course she hot and with a sexy voice to boot. She also wields magic, has a bit of a masochistic streak and wears guns on her ankles so she can shoot you when she kicks you in the rocks.

The visuals are striking as well, there doesn’t seem to be a bad screenshot of this game. The demo I played was beyond beautiful and the controls are smooth as silk and easy to understand. To pull off combos even a schlub with no skills like me can stroll up and start playing.

I’m pretty stoked to get my hands on it soon. Coming from the same guys brought Devil May Cry to the center stage a while back this looks like a sweet way to kill some recreational time.

Bayonetta [Platinum Games]
Full Trailer [Game Trailers.com]

Part of the Xmas loot this year was Dragon Age Origins for XBox 360. Both my brother and I got a copy and spent the day after playing it up. After spending about 8 hours with the title I can say without fear of contradiction that Bioware is becoming my favorite developer. Oh, and did I mention the chick in the above image is voiced by Claudia Black? Yeah, hotness.

Not only are the controls like the much-beloved Mass Effect, complete with a time-stopping action wheel, but the game play is smooth and engaging. It’s solid in combat and in adventure mode with enough of an inventory and leveling system that you can trick your character out just about any way you choose.

After a few hours with my brother playing a mage I wasn’t really feeling it. So I started fishing around for another character type. The Mrs. was riding the other end of the couch when she asked – after I was flipping through character types — if you could make the avatar look like other people. I answered that you could, within reason. So her challenge to me was to make a Beverly Crusher — her favorite TNG character.

After about 20 minutes of futzing with it I settled on an elf warrior — which had the most Crusher-like bone structure — and started building her to look like Beverly. I think I came pretty close. It’s not perfect, of course, but the stunt worked well enough that now my wife was into what would happen to Beverly the elf who, it turns out, we decided to make into a shield maiden. I know, giant surprise.

It’s this kind of customization that makes Bioware games great titles to spend some time with. They just suck you in.

Dragon Age Origins [Bioware]

Warehouse 13 premieres tonight and I’m kind’ve stoked about it. Every time I see it I’m absolutely positive somebody had the same thought many of us had when watching Indiana Jones when we were a kid; “What the hell is in all those other crates and what do they do with them?” Now – we’ll know!

Here’s SciFi’s synopsis on the subject:

After saving the life of the President, two Secret Service agents find themselves abruptly transferred to Warehouse 12 — a massive, top-secret storage facility in windswept South Dakota that houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government. The Warehouse’s caretaker Artie (Saul Rubinek) charges Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joeanne Kelly) with chasing down reports of supernatural and paranormal activity in search of new objects to cache at the Warehouse, as well as helping him to control the warehouse, itself.

I’ve been looking for a show like this for quite a while so I’m hoping they don’t disappoint but I have the feeling it will be a good time for all involved. Speaking of which, there’s a Frakparty hosted by BadgerSpoon on the forum if you’d like to watch through it with like minded viewers or just check out what they thought in case you happened to miss it.

Warehouse 13 [SyFy]
BadgerSpoon’s Warehouse 13 Frak Party [GWC Forum]

I think Vampires and Vampire stories suffer from a bit of an image problem. Yeah I know, that sounds funny, but it’s true. I often hear people say Vampires are disgusting or that the stories are limited in their scope because all vamp tales are the same. In my most humble of opinions these are folks who must not have much imagination. There’s tons of badass stuff out there if you care to look, so I wanted to post up a quick slam course in Vampire and why they’re cool. Don’t worry, this won’t be too painful.

So the whole thing started with this dude named Vlad the Impaler. Vlad here was the prince of what is now Romania back in the mid 1400’s and he had a bit of a border problem – as in, the Ottomans and Germans were constantly trying to expand their borders and lessen his.

So Vlad started some of the most effective psychological warfare in recorded history – he impaled captured solders on spikes in areas he was about to do battle. In short, it worked. Enemies were so messed up by the tactic morale went through the floor and some opposing commanders reportedly turned away from him. It worked so well he did it a lot more and it became a kind of trademark for him and his reign.

After his death, there was a certain “Elvis effect” going on. His people saw him everywhere. Possibly to try and keep out armies that thought there was nothing stopping them anymore and the idea of a terrible wraith you can’t kill is pretty damn scary. Scholars still debate how he died, what happened right after and whether Vlad was a quality human being or not. To me, that isn’t really important to the story. What is important is that Vlad and his legend helped inspire a guy to write a bit of fiction about 400 years after his death.

In 1897 a dude named Bram Stoker wrote a book called Dracula that used some of the myth and legend associated with Vlad the Impaler, grouped it with Vlad’s fathers sir name of Dracul and formed them into what can only be called a masterpiece. It’s here that the first roots of Vampire lore get cemented into the modern culture; vampires drink blood, the fascination with wooden stakes, bats, bottomless lust and the whole undead thing. The bookish types love to go into the Christian symbolism here but I’m gonna blow right past that for two reasons: One, I don’t care and Two, we don’t have that much time and I can already feel this getting long.

1931 rolled around and there was an interest for vampirism (after the silent movie Nosferatu) in the movie industry so Universal released Dracula. The film propelled the already well known Hungarian accented Bela Lugosi to a mainline horror film actor. He did so well in the role as the famous, fang-bearing count there were very few people who could see him as anything else.

In fact, his face, accent and mannerisms became a large part of what a vampire is supposed to be for close to 50 years after. Bela had managed to make such a deep mark on the role that many people today, if forced to call up in their minds what a vampire should look like, will describe Bela’s version without hesitation.

Then…a funny thing happened – the sub-culture that supported the vampire mythos started to become more established and crave more stories. It started to generate its own content. Not just a rehash of the old but new and different material that stood on its own merit. In a saga almost as old as some of the celebrated immortals in it, the rules started to change.

Writers and creators learned that much like the Matrix, some rules can be bent, others, broken. With this knowledge an explosion of content ensued.

Read on to Page 2…

I’m a huge fan of MMORPG’s (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) and have been for years. A few years ago I saw an ad for Eve Online and decided to see what it’s all about – and I’ve been playing on and off for a few years now. Eve isn’t just a flight game or a techno shooter or even an MMORPG, it’s a mirror of life with the restrictions removed and set 20,000 years in the future.

In early March of this year, somewhere between planning for the meet-up and the afterglow that followed it, CCP released their latest expansion to the Eve online universe called Apocrypha. As it often happens, when either Chuck or I get stoked about something we’ll get the other into it as well. I’m not sure how it happens but it does. So when Apocrypha launched we both rejoined the space-faring masses once again with renewed interest.

I won’t tell you about all the vast changes that have come to pass in the game since I first logged onto the Red Moon Rising release in 2003 to the current iteration because many folks have already done that and there are so many changes I doubt one person could hope to keep track of them anyway.

I could tell you about the mind bending graphics that can be just as good as feature films (or better) should you have the right video card. However, you could simply look at the sweetass videos on the site for that.

No, the most interesting thing about Eve is that many don’t understand the true depth of the universe. Because of that, Eve seems to get it a bad rap from the standard online gaming community. Here are some of the typical Eve myths that make the rounds on the interwebs.

Myth 1 – All MMO’s are time vampires, this can’t be any different.

While this is true of most MMO’s the Eve experience is unique in that it’s both more intense and more laid back at the same time. You won’t find yourself becoming a hermit and rejecting the outside world in favor of logging on. One of the more ingenious things about the game is that it’s setup so that you can train up and better a character even when you’re not online. Thus you don’t always have to be logged on to be doing something productive like a D&D leveling based gaming model. There are no defined levels.

Myth 2 – Eve is boring. There’s no action.

I find that particular statement almost ludicrous. True enough, the action is certainly different but Eve is one of the few games that can actually make me sweat when in the heat of battle or give me the nervous butterflies in my stomach like I used to get before a big game in junior high.

There are battles that take place in Eve that can involve more people in one place at one time than other games have on their entire server – they’re called fleet battles, and they are wicked – a far cry from boring to be sure.

Myth 3 – There’s no real sense of community playing Eve.

If you’re just starting out this can feel true sometimes, it’s really just that the universe is so large that you may find it takes a little time to get settled in and find folks you want to hang with. There are close to 300,000 active Eve accounts and they are all playing in the same server. Normally 25k – 50k folks are logged on at one time and they all have things they like doing and places to go. If you don’t get out and meet them they won’t know you’re there.

Myth 4 – Eve is so confusing. You can’t figure it out.

This is one of my favorites. The problem is really not one of flawed design its one of depth and scale. Walk with me on this: imagine for a minute that you stroll into the library of congress cold - without ever having been to a library before. You look around for a few weeks and come back out to tell people that even after trying really hard to know all there is to know in the library, you still haven’t learned it all yet. This is not unlike the criticism Eve receives.

There are aren’t 5, 10 or even 50 tracks and career paths a character can be on, it is only limited to the imagination of the person playing. The entire universe is player run and operated. The stores, the items, the space stations even entire sectors can be run, destroyed or prosper at the hands of players.

The reason you can’t find a manual to walk you through it all is simply because there isn’t one – there are as many ways to play as there are people playing it. No two players are alike so you can come at the game from any direction you’d like. There is not one manual, there are hundreds, written not by one company or developer but by dozens of authors about different parts of the world each with its own view and position.

It’s this very freedom that allows players to alter the universe of Eve by the hour. The game changes from day to day because the players do. They plan, they scheme, they murder and they even use in game business to affect the lives of others.

There is no more perfect example of two different players than Chuck and I. Chuck likes to plan things out and prepare a well thought out strategy backed up by plenty of data and research. I could care less about that. The more I plan the more it feels like work. So I adopt a “make a guess, take a stab then figure it out after you’re dead” philosophy. It may sound funny but in an online game structure either method works out just fine. Both of us get the job done and have a good time no matter how we come at it.

What I’m trying to say is: this gaming system is vast. Vast beyond manuals and strategy guides, past any other game you’ve ever played. That’s not to say you can’t just log on and have fun, that’s the whole point. Enter at any point or level you wish. Play to that level and seek amusement wherever you might find it, be it piracy or defender of the empires.

The difference, the real difference between Eve and any other game you’ve ever played is that there is always more. No matter what you’ve done or what you plan to do, no matter how much you think you know, there is still more.

In the end, some people stare into the unending abyss and see confusion or lack of purpose. Others, like the players of Eve, see something to be molded in their own image; crafted like an enchanted blade or tamed like the volcanic fire of a Dragon. It is these people that see Eve for what it truly is – us.

We control it. We bend it to our will. We break it against the hulls of our ships. We are Eve.

Eve Online [Website]

This is Dug. Dug is the impossibly lovable dog in Pixar’s new movie UP which opens 05.29.09. If you haven’t seen the trailer it might be easy to miss Dug’s sweet collar. Of all the Sci-Fi devices I’ve ever seen or even heard about - this dog to human/human to dog translator collar is, by far, the first one I’d have if I could. More than a cloaking devise or even a light saber, I’d want my bestest friend in the whole world to be able to talk to me.

I saw the trailer for UP in the theater while waiting for the awesomeness that is the new Star Trek movie to unfold but still, Dug stayed with me. I’m a complete and total sucker for dogs. Dug here is no exception. I know they have the “dog translator” now but it’s kinda lame and wouldn’t do justice to my homie.

Nope, this would be the way to go. I nearly fell out of my seat when I saw the trailer for this the first time. It’s perfect. Complete down the way dogs are distracted and how they deal with it.

All I can say is I must have watched the trailer about 50 times to see Dug speak and it never gets old. Someday, someone is going to come up with a real one of these things and should I be alive to see it I’ll sell everything I own just to slip one on my pups neck and chat with him. I’d start by explaining about why he should not run through mud if he hates baths so much. Then I’d ask him why he turns around 20 times before he can lay down to go to sleep. You know - the basics.

[Sigh] If only.

Until then, we have Dug.

Up The Movie [Disney/Pixar]

It’s a strange thing, this aging. I was watching the Futurama movie Bender’s Game the other day when I started thinking about my first D&D experience (now twenty years ago) SSI’s Curse of the Azure Bonds. Admittedly, the cover of the box is what caught my eye. “Chick’s in low cut chainmail? I must know more.” Of course the box was the only thing with low cut anything on it but it didn’t matter. Ten minutes into the game my life had changed forever, I knew it then as I know it now – I was into Dungeons & Dragons.

Twenty years of dragons, role playing and nerdly pontifications later I felt a need to play Curse again. There was some difficulty finding a 5.25” drive and a fun discovery that my machine now is lightning on a leash compared to the turbo 286 I explored the world with back in the day. However, a little time and a little help from Mo’Slo and I was back in business, old school style.

My first giggle was that not only did I still have my codewheel (that’s analog DRM for those of you too young to know) but I had also saved the logbook and journal. Mostly because half the story was something written there, “You hear Tavern Tale# 23” and so on. The second chuckle was remembering Curse is TRUE turn based combat with… wait for it… no mouse! Cower before its keyboard laden interface knaves!

I had another giggle when I saw the class names. For instance, do you know what a magic user is called? Magic User. Here’s another good one: Magic Users can’t wear armor… period. And a Fighter is a Fighter. No matter how badass or high a level your Fighter is, they can’t do magic unless you split their class and that’s gonna cost you.

Oh, and rare items are rare. Yeah, that plus 3 sword (Frostbrand) you have there is just about as good as it gets. If you can’t kill whatever it is with that, you need to rethink your attack strategy.

Which leads me to encumbrance, learn it, love it. You can actually carry so much loot around in Curse that when in battle, you can’t move. Choose your loot carefully.

A dragon attacking you is actually cause for panic. None of those heroic Paladin standoffs where a single guy holds 10 dragons at bay while the party gets set up. You’ve got 3 turns my friend before that one, single, dragon turns your frontline tank to goo – think faster. (Or slower really, this is turn based combat take all day if you need to) You’re not going to wear him down with the front line and finish up with the ranged guys in back. If it comes down to your Thief and a spent Magic User facing down the dragon – you’re boned.

I know, I know, I’m some old curmudgeon spouting off about how the world should go back to walking like decent folk and forget all this new fangled horseless carriage business. The fact is, I love modern RPG’s with a passion. I’ll play almost anything and love it. It’s just, even in all their EGA 16 color glory these games managed to capture the imagination and bridge the gap between table game and video game – and that’s worth something at least.

To my delight as old bridges go, Curse remains as solid an experience as it was back in the day. Of course you’re gonna have to lean heavy on the ole’ imagination – but then I believe that’s the point.

I don’t have a big ass projection system at home. I do have some good sized TV’s here and there but my siblings and I are getting older now and our eyesight doesn’t work out as well as it did when we were all eighteen. To combat this minor factor we strung my 360 up to a set of 2.1 computer speakers, grabbed my sister’s projector and cleared a spot on the dinning room wall for a little game time.

Well, to be exact we cleared a spot big enough for a 154 inch picture – my bro and I busted out the tape measure cuz we just HAD to know. [sniff] Bragging rights being what they are and all. Yeah, it was huge. No crazy screens, theater style seating or surround sound but we did have the biggest picture any of us had ever played Halo on and that’s what counts. We are hoping to do the same thing again tomorrow for some serious game time now that we know the setup works and how to rig it up.

Ahhh, a zero dollar solution to a non-existent problem… life is good.

I hate my smile. It always looks to me like I should be onstage with my brothers Simon and Theodore – singing at double speed. So I normally scowl, it accomplishes several things, people leave you alone and no chipmunk-cheeks. How I feel about my appearance didn’t stop me from grinning like an idiot the entire weekend of the meetup though. Why? Because for the first time in as long as I can remember I was in crowded rooms I felt completely comfortable in.

I didn’t notice it at first but about three quarters of the way through the final BSG episode my wife Shannon (Mrs. Sean) leans over to me and says, “You’re so relaxed considering the crowd you’re in. I figured you’d be a wreck by now.” It was then I knew that for the very first time I was in a room packed completely full of good friends and family. Sounds sappy I know but it’s totally true. I stood up and went to the side of the room where I was sitting and took a picture right at the moment so I could remember it. The whole rest of the weekend I kept looking around trying to burn the scene and faces permanently into my brain.

Everyone lived the meetup from a slightly different angle but I thought I would tell you what it looked like from my perspective. And the best way I can think to do that is not to spew play by plays but to tell you about the people that made it special for me. I will almost certainly leave a few folks out but understand that if I do it’s not a slight on anybody just the simple lack of information my head can hold at one time.

So in no particular order here are a few things I found to be true…

Bkitty and The Hub – These two are a matched set. Where ever they are is brighter for having them there. Bkitty’s smile can literally light a room up. I’m of the opinion that anyone still in a bad mood after talking to Barb isn’t a human. As you might imagine The Hub – after years of prolonged Bkitty exposure – is also a jolly addition to the mix and the aura of happiness that surrounds the pair is visible at a distance of twenty feet.

Topgun – Exudes quiet calm. Every time I (or anyone else) turned around you could find Topgun helping someone out. Whether it was helping us load and setup gear or giving rides to those who might need it, Topgun was right there all weekend with an easy smile.

Lady D – Could often be found somewhere near the Bkitty aura of happy. Thus she was always friendly and would engage anyone who came close in cheerful banter.

Rachel  – Rachel and I didn’t talk a great deal but she always wore a smile and at the after/after party Sat. night at Chuck’s place she and Lady D would burst out in spontaneous song. It’s difficult for even a professional scowler like me not to laugh along at such merriment.

Beef – For those who have never met him Beef has a deep voice that can cut across a loud crowded room. Luckily he also has a laugh that does the same thing. I share many interests with Beef and we spent a bunch of time talking about techno music and anime the entire weekend. We also learned Beefs Kung Fu is strong when it comes to crane games at Dave and Buster’s.

Xero1 –  Was both super friendly and a welcome companion for me this weekend during the meetup. He also endeared himself to my other half almost instantly after it was discovered they work in the same industry.

DawnAZ/EZ – Dawn is one of those rare people that are beautiful on both the in and outside. She had a smile and hug for everyone and managed – in true GWC style – to make everyone she met feel at ease and welcome at once.

Stroogie/GlimFeather – The Stroogman doesn’t say a whole lot at first but he was just as cool as his activity in the forum led us to believe he might be. I never saw the grin leave his face the entire weekend.

David the Canadian – David made our meetup an international one and if all Canadians could be judged by David’s standard, I’d say that we’re a lucky bunch indeed to be neighbored by such nice people.

David – David from Salt Lake – as I came to remember him -  was a member of the David “contingent.” If you didn’t know someone’s name just call them David, you had a good shot of being right. He was also of good humor about it and could often be found laughing with the other David’s in the “David Corner” of the after/after party.

French Toast – I recognize a kindred spirit in French Toast in that large groups of new people have the potential to make us a little nervous – however to the GWC folks credit, it seemed we both to settled right into the crowd and enjoyed ourselves. She seemed a very sharp lady.

Wavilyem – Em is the sweetest person you’re likely to meet. Even a glance will tell you she has a gentle soul and silent grace that make the world about her a nicer place to be in. I didn’t talk a great deal with her however the moments she did manage to silently edge up to me were filled with warm conversation and sincerity.

Steve –  Ah Steve, my homie. Steve and I camped out at the Trivia game at D&B’s Sat. night with Konrad. After missing several questions about Germany and German leaders Steve shouted out, “Zee Germans!” with white Russian in hand (The Dude style) in answer to the next few questions. I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my stool several times. It was one of my favorite moments of the weekend.

Nika – Ok, I’ll admit that I’m not sure how to spell her name and throughout the weekend I heard her called both Meeka and Neeka (spelling it the way it’s pronounced here) but I will always remember her. I will also remember that she was kind to my wife and made a point of telling me how lovely she was upon meeting me. After the weekend was nearly complete she called me “The Nice One.” I hugged her fiercely at the Sunday brunch when it was time for her to go.

Konrad – I came to appreciate Sean’s wry sense of humor. (notice he spells his name correctly BTW) He has a wit as sharp as the sword he skewered me with time and time again playing Halo 3 at the Saturday lunch. Also, after the umpteenth time he stuck me with a plasma grenade I silently started calling him “Sticky.”  You had to listen for his comebacks and jokes because they are quick and quiet but he is quite possibly the funniest guy I’ve ever met in person.

Furpey – Is just as I had imagined her, a bright, shiny, ball of creative energy. She is also one hell of a natural artist. I feel honored that she deemed us worthy enough to spend her time and talent on the new meetup logo. Whenever I saw her I screamed “Yay, it’s Furpey!!” …of course not wanting to freak her out I didn’t do it aloud. Seeing another artist just makes me happy.

Raemani –  As many of you may already know Raemani is much like gravity, fun is just drawn to her. Spend an hour with Raemani and I don’t believe it’s possible to have a bad time. She has a knack for making everyone in earshot feel special.

Smarx – Led the rousing games of Werewolves Sat night. She is as organized as she is entertaining. She also had an uncanny talent of taking a bunch of boozed up GWCers and focusing us just enough to have fun and play a game at the same time. I bow to your worthyness!

Leah W – Reminded me a bit of my Mom. Both she and my mom are patient and have never met a stranger. I find it difficult not to smile when around either one of them.

And last but in no way least is FrakkinTalos – Talos brings a fun time with him wherever he goes. He unpacks it when he arrives and lets the rest of us join in with him. He is as enclusive as anyone I’ve met and enchances any get together with his charm. In short he is a fun hearted dude, we are lucky to count him as a friend.

Like I said, I’m sure I forgot some folks but each of us lived the meetup from our own perspective and this was just a tiny bit of what’s rolling around in my head. I don’t express myself well most of the time however in this case I can say, much love to you all and a hardy thank you to all of you who made me and Shannon feel at home in a crowd full of folks we had just met.

Always your homie,

~Sean

My homie David0207 sent me a link to a trailer. I viewed it. A bloodlust roar started in my gut and worked its way to my throat. My arms were pumping in the air before I knew what was happening. My head tilted up and the fury of sound escaped. Viewed from outside my body you might surmise a Klingon is passing into the next world.

Terminator Salvation is coming.

View the new trailer. Then look me in the eye and tell me this wasn’t worth the wait. Tell me this isn’t what the world needed to be whole.

I leave it to you.

Terminator Salvation [Yahoo Movies]

In an attempt to wind down a few days ago I happened to catch an episode of Star Trek TNG. It was the season 7 episode “Parallels” where Worf returns from a bat’leth tournament to find that he’s jumping through different realities. Data helps him figure out what’s up and how to fix it when everyone else on the ship thinks Worf’s been smoking syntha-crack. It was there that I began to realize something I knew all along but never quite put my finger on. Everyone needs a homie like Lt. Commander Data.

We often see him struggle with humanity, emotions and love but without fail, time and time again he demonstrates his overwhelming ability to be a solid dude.

“Hey Data, I’ve got this problem that no one else thinks exists can you help me?”

Data fixes your problem.

“Hey Data, we need a volunteer to go to some hell hole of a planet where angels fear to tread. Are you down?”

Data is down.

“Data, here’s a hypothetical time/space problem that no one in the galaxy has experienced. Can you decipher the mysteries of the universe for us before the ship ‘sploads?”

Data solves for Y.

Without comprehending much about the human condition he understands the Homie-System completely. He doesn’t leave you hanging and forever has your back. This is what’s called a solid dude. What does he ask in return? Very simple. Feed his cat when he’s away, check out his art, listen to his music (sometimes sporting 45 minute pauses here and there) and work on some jokes with him. That’s it. That’s the price he demands for being the best friend latinum couldn’t buy.

Everyone needs a Data.

It takes me a while to plow through books. Mostly because I have roughly 12 active hobbies at any one time and have to steal time form the others to pursue one. Back in May I started reading the first book in a twelve novel series about a space fairing star captain named Honor Harrington for no other reason than I needed a book to read on a plane. Since then I have devoured every one of the 12 books in David Weber’s “Honorverse.” Coming out the other end I can honestly say it was the most fun of any series I’ve read as an adult – by far.

Not being a gifted wordsmith myself and I’ve never been good with book reports. I can’t push out an eloquent summary about the balance of pace and narrative like Audra and couldn’t speak to the validity of the political constructs within the universe like Chuck could. I can tell you this stuff whoops ass ya’ll.

Honor, the main character, is a space captain in what turns out to be an intergalactic war, a big one. She’s got a telepathic cat named Nimitz who’s smarter than most people and a badass sense of duty. Later she also has a husband… and a wife. Sounds funny but it works out for all concerned.  The way I normally explain it to folks is, “Think Horatio Hornblower but in space – and a chick.”

There’s way too much for me to explain all of it but really there’s all manner of space battles, death, betrayal, politics, sex and plain old fashioned beat down’s. In short it’s a fun time. If you find yourself needing a new series to check out and you dig big-ass ships blowing the hell out of each other, this is your ride.

Last night I witnessed an event that held me in a state of curious awe: William Shatner’s new show on Biography, Shatner’s Raw Nerve. It’s not as if I’ve never seen that type of show before, but honestly I was expecting Zap Branigan to saunter out and ham it up — and what I got was Shatner doing his best to interview Leonard Nimoy. It was spellbinding.

Before you scoff too much, let me explain: It wasn’t spellbinding in the way that, say, the Frost/Nixon interview was, but more like the moment in Mr. Holland’s Opus when everyone learned that the football players could actually dance. You know, when everyone would have put good money that they’d fall on their collective rumps.

Of course it didn’t hurt that “The Shat” was interviewing his friend Leonard Nimoy. But I have the strange impression that the “I’m gonna find something that hits a nerve with you” is going to work for him. It suits his style.

Laugh if you want to but I’m setting the TiVo to record the next one. At the very least it’s entertaining — and you can’t really ask for more than that.

Shatner’s Raw Nerve [Biography]

Fable II, after the fateful day in the spire and the defeat of Lucien, is quite entertaining. I really didn’t think it was going to be. After all what can one actually accomplish after saving the world and defeating the most evil man in the land? As it turns out there’s some badass left to the game yet. There’s even one item that makes playing without a dog at your side almost worth it. I’m not kidding.

What to do? What to do? After the climax of Lucien’s fall I had a blast with Fable II. How, you ask? Well, first I made castle Fairfax my bitch — which takes more than a smile and a deed just in case you’re wondering — and became not just Albion’s hero but its monarch for starters. Not enough? No problem.

I then journeyed to Knothole Island (the Fable II downloadable expansion pack) to see about a problem they seemed to be having. There were many adventures on the island, but I happened upon a few artifacts after a bit of kicking around — not to mention a sa-weeet new outfit I managed to piece together while in town.

This is the Axe of Disharmony. It is awesome. For roughly 30 minutes I sang “I’m a cowboy (insert Bill and Ted air guitar motion here) on a six string I riiiiiiddde. I’m wanted – waaaaaanteeeeed- dead or alive…” while slaughtering my foes with it. Cheesy? Yeah, maybe. Unnecessary? I think so. Cool? Oh yes. Yes, it’s cool.

You still want more? Yeah, we got more.

Behold this, muthafrakkers: Hal’s Rifle. Doest my eyes deceive me? Is this a head nod to the Master Chief? Hell yeah it is. Bow down and worship the worthiness of the folks at Lionhead. This 23-shot, semi auto assault rifle is the embodiment of sweetness. It’s not the most powerful in the game — the Blunderbuss class still has that honor — but come on! Dig the sweet filigree of the barrel, the smell of sweet semi-auto, the fleeting cries of dying hollow men that fill the air. There’s more, too — a bunch more actually. Hats (or Helms) off to Lionhead for the extra bit of fun they’ve put into this title.

So next time someone asks if there is life after Lucien I can honestly say that yes, yes there is. My character for instance went from Lionheart the Hero to The Queen of Albion, Knight of Knothole and Mistress of the Weather. Also, she’s fabulously wealthy.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to clear a dungeon of undead spirits with Hal’s Rifle.

Anime can be a tough nut to crack. Tightly clung to favorites are defended to a degree that can make newcomers both confused and more than a little turned off by the level of zest fanatics of a particular series will engage newbie’s with. Harsh criticism is also abundant and quick to be heaped upon anything not resembling a particular person’s cadre of favorite works. Keeping that in mind I can say that Appleseed Ex Machina will change the way modern anime is done and turn traditionalists off at the same time. No joke.

Traditional Japanese cell animation is what many anime fans have come to expect in a serious film style piece. However the newest Appleseed blows right by it with some of the most stunning and inventive uses for 3D I’ve witnessed yet. The heavy use of Toon Shading – which is just a form of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make CGI look like hand drawings – gives the universe and characters a great deal of life they wouldn’t normally have. Coupled with the superior textures and beautiful movement it’s hard to fathom other producers not opting for the style in the coming years.

Shinji Aramaki who is responsible for the look of top line anime like Wolf’s Rain, and Robotech and John Woo who has some of the best slow-mo and fight style in the movie business make an odd but very potent team. You can see Woo’s influence in some of the “stunts” and camera angles and the very Woo signature-like bullet casings hitting the ground. And of course Aramaki is largely considered the father of modern mecha so the giant robots are nothing short of spectacularly detailed.

Ex Machina also sports a first rate story and the entire film (yes I’m calling it that) has a flavor and vibe all its own that will grab you from the word go. It takes a second or two to adjust to how much is really going down on the screen but what you see when looking at this work is the future of anime. Even if you don’t like it – one day the pages of artistic history will mark it as significant.

Oh yeah I almost forgot, check it out if you get the chance.

I was leafing through the latest gossip and rags at lunch and came across some good news – Harold Ramis is working on Ghost Busters 3. It’s hard to believe that after close to twenty years since we’ve seen the last installment that we would get another chance to visit the very odd and supernatural world of the Ghost Buster’s New York but it seems Ramis is trying to put the project together.

There exists a special fondness in my heart for Dr. Peter Venkman and the rest of his merry band of nether-world crusaders. To paraphrase Joe Fox from You’ve Got Mail – Ghost Busters is the I Ching, the sum of all wisdom. For example, we observe that backing geeks into a financial corner is a recipe for creative thinking and might lead to the first paranormal containment agency. We learn when someone asks you if you’re a god the correct answer is – YES. Of course we also learn the most important lesson of all – if the customer doesn’t pay then simply put the ghost back in the room.

I will also admit that Bill Murray’s portrayal of the smart-assed Venkman and the way he delivered his cracks in a quick, unassuming manner still follows me to this day. It’s also the archetype for how I react to the world in my everyday existence – which incidentally is met with about the same level of tolerance he receives in the series.

Laugh at the hokey songs and catch phrases all you want. They are a bit on the corny side even then much less now. However, the truth is if you’ve never wanted to slide down a fire pole into a tricked out, 1959 Cadillac Hearse right before you scream around town with sirens blearing – you just wouldn’t understand where I’m coming from.

Ramis Plans ‘Ghostbusters 3’ [Hollywood.com]

It’s often difficult to be a Science Fiction fan. We must endure much. The disdain of our fellow man for our geekness and the outright fury of our own geekly kind for holding contrary views to their contrary views – oh yes it is quite a complicated existence. As rabid fans of all things sci-fi we tend to become instant critic and often executioner to any questionable media set in our path. I’ll admit to doing it myself a time or two. However being a true sci-fi geek means you must try to hold yourself to a different standard – or perhaps a more tolerant one.

I spied a movie poster for a remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still recently which happens to be one of my favorite classic sci-fi flicks of all time. I was immediately excited to see the idea getting some play again because let’s face it, Gort is frakken cool. My joy was sort lived. No sooner had I called my gaggle of geeks over to converse about this latest hotness than they started much whining and pot-shotting about how crappy it was going to be.

Respected members of the media also caved to the allure of negativity about the upcoming release. I value the right of sci-fi enthusiasts to blow raspberries at the finest of flicks in protest but I felt certain judging it after having seen ninety seconds of the film four months in advance is a trifle premature. They are of course entitled to their learned opinions but I must shake my head in shame at the collective reactions of my geeky brethren.

I agree that the 1950′s version of this movie is a timeless classic that everyone should witness. Its stern warning of bleak futures and what we might aspire to should we answer the call to greatness was imprinted into my brain at an early age. The six year old version of me, a very young (very annoying) blond-headed boy who walked about with limbs frozen, answered only to Gort and repeated the words “Klaatu barada nikto” in response to every question anyone asked him loved this movie. Nothing has changed that love for it since then.

Oh yes, I feel the very real danger of Klaatu and Gort falling into the same level of despair that Tom Cruise brought to War of The Worlds. I know Keanu Reeves and Jaden Smith will most definitely give the movie a different vibe than the Michael Rennie and Billy Gray did fifty years ago. There will be more action scenes and most likely some of the suspense created by black and white mood lighting will be replaced by special effects.

However, the one thing that upsets me more than any of that could ever hope to is the knowledge that many young people couldn’t tell me who Gort is if I stuck a gun to their head and denied them access to google. The message is lost in time – and that’s a fate worse than anything modern Hollywood could do to it.

I find I don’t always share the vehement contempt for remakes that many pros and geeks alike have voiced so eloquently. Remakes can often be good things that add to the depth and understanding of the viewer as well as being works of art onto themselves such as the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica or Batman to name a few recent ones.

Just because a story was told before doesn’t make it the final and only possible word on the subject. Humans tell stories – it’s what we do and how we learn. It’s been this way for thousands of years. Countless stories have been told, changed, retold and changed again with each generation making their stab at telling their vision of it. Undeniably, some retellings are superior to others and it’s not always better the next time around.

Somewhere along the way the sci-fi geek arose to stand amongst the bleating herd and crave something different and new. Though no two geeks will agree on which ‘Trek is best or how light speed might actually be achieved there is one constant that remains true – we can see past what is real and imagine what could be. This is the beating heart of sci-fi and what we must remember to channel when a new piece of media is presented to us.

There is an excellent scene in the Pixar movie Ratatouille where the longtime cynic Anton Ego explains the nature of being a critic.

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

To sum that up, the view is good from the cheap seats.

Simply being a naysayer and habitually blasting any piece of creative work takes little effort or thought. Value and enjoyment can be found in many works both great and shameful and it begins with our own imagination and openness to the ideas and concepts put forward. Still, sometimes after careful viewing loathing is indeed warranted but reserving that wrath until after you’ve seen the film is to be recommended.

I heard a great deal about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog in the last few weeks and it came heavily recommended from people I respect so I decided to check it out. After about 10 minutes in I couldn’t watch anymore, I turned it off it was - horrible. I wondered why folks had been making a fuss over it but went about my merry way.

A few days later I tried again figuring I was perhaps in a bad mood and I needed to give it a second shot. Nope, it was still bad. I moved on again.

Fast forward a few days later to earlier this week. I was whistling a tune I realized to my horror was the Bad Horse theme… uh oh. I tried to think of something else. I tried to flood my head with other music, no good. My brain had disobeyed a direct order to stop singing the song. I was powerless. I surrendered. I logged on that night and decided to let my doom overtake me.

The funny thing is the more I watched the better it got. I was totally bought in when the chorus rang out, “we do the weird stuff.” I couldn’t stop watching. After the third or forth time through and what must have been the 15th time around on Neil Patrick Harris singing the Shown Me the Light song I must admit to digging it. I had now despite my own hang-ups been converted to a Dr. Horrible fan.

This happens a lot for me but in truth the ones I hate at the beginning become some of my favorites down the road. It’s strange but true. Anyway I would like to extend a thank you to all the GWC folks who turned me onto it. I should have known you guys wouldn’t lead me astray! Bad Horse might but not you guys.

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog [Website]

Recently I found myself defending Titan A.E. to someone in casual conversation. Why? It seems many are stuck with the notion that this movie single-handedly killed traditional (i.e. cell-type) animation. Yeah, the movie didn’t gross a ton compared to its truly massive cost, and that probably didn’t help the already-beleaguered Fox Animation studios. But A.E. was neither an embarrassment nor a badly-made film.

Titan didn’t kill cell animation, it advanced beyond it, laying a path which many films have since tread. Titan A.E. was released at the epoch marking the end of traditional animation methods and the arrival of the new studio computer-animated giants. Because of that timing, Titan brought a unique feel — a great blend of cell animation and computer graphics. The overall effect was odd at the time, which made for strong love it/hate it reactions among movie goers. Sadly, many were not fans.

The story wasn’t as original as it could’ve been, either, but it certainly entertained. I loved Titan’s characters, and the dialog was catchy — especially the guard scene with Preed: “An intelligent guard, I never would have seen that coming.” A look at A.E.’s voice talent shows that Fox didn’t skimp in that department, either. Of course, that also accounted for a good chunk of the film’s expense.

Titan had all the makings of a great movie: character, talent, art, and screenplay. So what went wrong? In short: not a damn thing. It was a fun movie with great art that you can watch with the kids — or appreciate on your own.

Titan A.E. was a victim of its own style. It was different. It was hard to categorize, and it didn’t fit easily into an obvious niche.

Still, I love this movie. I’ve loved it since the first time I saw it — and still do. Before you write something off because it looks strange — and especially before you assume the “bash” position — try to look a little further. Make your open mind the niche the art seeks. You might be surprised at what you find — like yourself enjoying the experience a lot more than you thought you would.

The new Transformers series seems to be taking a lot of guff for being either too stylized and Flash-based or too “kiddie” for its own good. I am — and shall continue to be — a staunch supporter of the show because, well, I just have a lot of love for those of the Cybertronian persuasion.

But I did notice something alarming in last week’s episode: Sari’s little robot dog was named “Sparkplug” and looks just like the the dog pictured above — only animated, of course. I had to back it up twice to make sure, but it’s true! Anyone who watched the original series knows that this is a head nod to Sparkplug Witwicky, who was a super-skilled human mechanic.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. I always loved the original character, mostly because he would often pull the Autobots’ lugnuts from the fire at great personal risk to himself. All this little dog does is bark and wobble around a little.

Why would they take a character as noble as Sparkplug and turn him into Aibo? I don’t mind the head nod. But reducing a pillar of coolness to “Bark, bark (wag tail)?” Maybe if Sparkplug was some kind of robotic Lassie and saved Bumblebee from falling down a well or something it’d make this pill a little easier to swallow. But that’s not the case.

Hopefully they’ll make up for it later. In any case, I still dig the series and will keep watching.

Yes my GWC friends the time is here. You can now certify that you are in fact – a Sci-Fi geek. Amaze your friends with your ninja-like geek knowledge, save whales (specifically to avoid crazy alien probes that might show up and not leave before they speak to them) or generally prove without a shadow of a doubt your janky geek skills.

You will each receive a geek card. Everything you do or learn will be imprinted on this card. If you lose your card or fail to obey commands, you will be subject to immediate de-resolution. That will be all.

Seroiusly though. Download the jpg from here or hit me up via email sean@galacticawatercooler.com for a larger one. Enjoy.

~ Also mad props to my homie Darthweef who remembered the entire Sark speech without cheating.

As to who was CAG where, Apollo was never CAG for Pegasus. The order went, if memory serves based on all currently aired episodes: Stinger, Starbuck, back to Stinger some time around the events of Scar, Captain Marcia “Showboat” Case temporarily during the brief tenure of Commander Garner as Garner threw Stinger in the brig, back to Stinger presumably, and then who knows who was CAG from that point until Apollo crashed the Pegasus into a Basestar.

Many thanks to The Alpaca Herder for keeping us straight!

Phil and Lisa proved without a shadow of a doubt that they are hardcore GWC fans by manhandling the long drive and arriving to a city they had never been to armed only with a slightly worn google map and awesome BSG theories.

They of course recognized Chuck straight away because he is six foot one and commands attention wherever he goes with his silver hair and huge smile. Luckily for us, he also looks exactly like his pic on the site so Lisa picked him out of the tiny, crowded bar instantly.

I thoroughly enjoyed rapping with friendly people whose sci-fi cravings were aligned with ours and hashing out a few opinions over a beer or two. This is the reason we started GWC and it seems that no matter where you are there are awesome people who like to get together and discuss our favorite show.

Also, thanks to Phil and Lisa for making us feel welcome so far away from home! You guys are frakking awesome!

~Sean

Now that Sam is good and messed up I think the general consensus is that he can stay awhile. I am hoping that Lampkin does the same; he comes prepackaged with issues and problems so he could have staying power if they wanted to write him in on a more regular basis. Even if we just see him once in a while it would welcome.

His regular day job has got to be quite interesting. What I want to know is where has he been hiding himself and why have we not heard or been forced to hear about this guy before? I’m really hoping he’s not a Keyser Söze type figure that just disappears after the trial never to be heard from again.

Romo gets my vote for coolest character this season. I really want to know more about the dude. At least explain the stealing or the real reason for the cat.

I think my feeling on this issue stems from a very interesting character duality. The short of it is that I like Laura Roslin but distrust President Roslin intensely. What I mean to say is that Laura, as a person, is probably a delight to all around her while “the president” would turn on anyone within her reach (except for Bill) with no warning or as the mood suits her.

I care about Laura and I think she tries to and believes she is doing the right thing while serving her term. We want to overlook the crimes she commits and the actions she takes because of our affection for her as a person. What we often rush to her defense with (and I am just as guilty of this as others here) are arguments that ring with phases such as “she’s only human” or “well had she not done it things might be worse now.”

These defenses might be true; they may even dismiss one or two little issues here and there. However the sheer volume of crimes and questionable actions that the President has been racking up lately is getting quite extensive. Things such as:

She ordered and participated in the torture of a prisoner of the colonial fleet. – Baltar

She kidnapped and held in “secret protective custody” a child born to a colonial citizen. – Baby Hera

She attempted to censor free speech. – Baltar’s book

She arrested and held men without charge. – In “Dirty Hands”

She falsified official documents. – Hera’s death certificate

She abolished a woman’s rights to choose. – Abortion

She participated in a conspiracy to have the leader of the military assassinated. – Adm. Cain (even though Bill called it off, it still counts)

She participated in and helped plan election fraud then influenced the military to bring pressure to bear to absolve her of accountability. – The election between her and Baltar

She ordered what she believed was an attack whose intent was genocide.

Last but not least (and my personal favorite) she returned to the big chair on Colonial One by taking part in a military coup that let her assume power as an elected official without being elected or having anything remotely resembling a legal claim to office.

She continues to amaze us with her easy smile and ruthless, if a bit schizophrenic, nature. The completely inappropriate relationship between her and Bill propels the pair of them to exert an absolute stranglehold on life in the fleet, each supporting the other’s power with a swift and increasingly corrupted heavy hand. You’d think an educator (of history of all things) would see the signposts of danger, but she blows by them with such regularity that she has become quite numb to their passing.

Some (I am guilty here as well) might again rush to her defense with arguments such as: “Well, Baltar surrendered the human race to the Cylons” or “The last president they had issued executive orders legalizing death squads.” These things are quite true; they don’t, however, make what she is doing right. Being the lesser of evils doesn’t make you the best choice - it just means there are people worse than you. “At least I’m not that guy” is not the rallying cry of a great leader.

She might be a good person at heart and may even be trying to help; however it doesn’t negate her actions or the fact she is corrupt and impersonating an elected official.

After listening to his sorrow and whatnot I am still unconvinced of Starbuck’s non-return. It’s true that no one in TV or Sci-Fi for that matter is above being written off the show for whatever reason but Kara is pretty close. She is almost untouchable and a valuable part of the whole BSG gig… perhaps not quite as valuable as the ship Ed smashed to bits (Didn’t I tell you about breaking things? It never does you any good.), but she is valuable none the less.

This line of thinking leads me to pondering the good Captain’s role in the universe – post fireball. Let’s say for a moment that Starbuck died and she does find her way back to life, be it Cylon or human. Let’s say she may even have the road to earth mapped out in the back of her head or have insight to a great truth of our existence that has yet to be discovered written on the back of a cocktail napkin she stole from heavens restroom. These are possibilities yet to unfold, but let’s say for a moment that she comes back with it.

If that is indeed the case, everyone is boned.

Walk with me on this one – they didn’t know what to do with her when she was a messed up viper pilot; can you imagine what happens if Starbuck comes back as some sort of messiah, cosmic messenger or holy figure? That might be an interesting little switch for the powers that be. Not only can she mess your face up in a ring or a cockpit she is guided and touched by the gods themselves with a divine destiny. Try giving that orders and expecting them to stick.

Perhaps Kara would only half embrace her role as the leader of man or Cylon kind. Perhaps you can put the destiny of the gods in the girl but can’t get the girl out of the cockpit.

Will nuggets be reading from the book of Starbuck?

“…and yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of algae I fear no Cylon for I am half lit and lo do I have a viper. So say we *Hiccup*, eh whatever.”
                                                         ~ The Book of Starbuck 3:05

When I started thinking on the subject, Brother Cavil has wanted to kill Gaius for quite some time. Back on the planet he could be heard saying “we should execute Baltar… publicly.” Now he wants to give him back to the fleet which he surely believes will kill him at any given opportunity (especially if Tigh got his hands on him). Does Brother Cavil feel threatened by Mr. Baltar?

We see Gaius floating barefoot in a daze around the base star in his little terrycloth Jesus number. They obviously want us to make the connection. Well, we have, but what does that mean? Whose world would be the most messed up if Gaius became some sort of messiah?

No one ever seems to benefit for long from anything that Gaius has had a hand in; even his torrid love affair with Caprica was tossed off in less than 10 seconds for a better position with D’anna. Good things don’t happen to anyone when Gaius goes into action and makes decisions; how he could lead anybody to anything remotely resembling a better way of life I’ll never know. Both Cylon and Human should have figured this out by now.

If they were smart they would let Cavil, Tigh or perhaps Laura “The Airlock” Roslin decide his fate. The galaxy might be better off.

“Hybrids to me seem like they are religious tools. They might be explaining the scriptures in current time.  When the skinjobs were created, they changed the toasters. The knowledge of the true meaning of the hybrids was lost with them.”

I have often wondered about the whole chicken-and-egg of the Cylon org-chart myself. We know that the humans created the Cylon and that they would most likely have started with centurions — but after that things get a bit fuzzy.  There are twelve models but did the Cylon themselves only create 7?

Boxytheboxed also talks about the hybrid spewing out scripture in real time.  That’s a most fascinating comment.  What if they can not only decode the scripture but understand where and who they are in relation to the story?  Then a step further would be: What if they are manipulating everyone they come in contact with to push that story one way or the other?