DUDES, seriously.

DUDES! I just got a parking ticket from UNLV! Sure, that doesn’t sound like a big deal, until you consider that I haven’t been at UNLV since early 2007. WEIRD. The license plate they list on the ticket is correct, but considering the fact that I have one of those license plates in my room here in Los Angeles and the other is at my friend’s house in Claremont, I’m pretty sure there is no way it was my car they were trying to ticket. And another thing that is weird, I had a “specialty” plate, which means I had a weird short number (it was 4 digits!). So like, how would they possibly make that mistake? Well either way, now I have to deal with this bullshit! I’m curious if they will even believe me, since this isn’t the “real” police, but rather campus parking services. So they really don’t have any way to check that, you know, this car hasn’t been registered in Nevada since 2007, and that it is currently registered in California. *sigh* It’s only $30, so I suppose even if I had to pay it that’s not the end of the world. But dudes, I’ve never had a ticket for anything in my life. Does this like, break that record? There is no way it should count, considering it’s obviously a mistake.

Well on to more exciting topics: I’m almost done with season 5 of my Star Trek TNG marathon. I must say, I’m not really all that sick of it yet. I really dig seasons 5-7 though, so I suppose it’s not a coincidence.

Isn't it funny how when "human" issues of race and discrimination are portrayed with aliens the issues seem to be so silly and clear?

In case you’re wondering: No, I’m not sitting down and intently watching every episode of TNG. Yes, I have been watching them all in order, but I’ve been watching them pretty passively (well, some of my favorite episodes I watch more attentively). I have two monitors for my computer, so basically I put on an episode on monitor two, and do other stuff on monitor one. I played a fair amount of Shadow Complex while watching TNG, and let me tell you, it’s not the easiest thing to watch TV and play a video game at the same time. But that’s how I roll, bitches.

I decided to watch Terminator Salvation last night. And you guys, it was pretty alright. Maybe because it got so trashed by everyone my expectations were low, but it really wasn’t that bad. I mean, have you seen Terminator 3? It’s way better than that steaming pile of shit. It’s funny though, the thing I liked least about the movie was Christian Bale. And he’s like, the star or whatever. I don’t know, I really like him in some movies, and really don’t like him in others. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t his fault in this case, the movie just didn’t really do much with him. The dude that plays Marcus and the other dude who plays Kyle were pretty awesome though, and I think they kind of stole the movie from the bigger star.

The terminators with rubber skin look pretty rad. Did anybody notice that all the terminators look HUGE in this movie? I found that weird.

I just got the most ridiculous email from the damn union I have the misfortune of being in. Apparently there were some elections recently for some bullshit, and of course like 20 people voted in them. The funny thing is, they sent out an email assuring us that the ballots were counted three times, and that the counts were always identical. Like, dudes, I don’t doubt you can count to 20. If you were under 3 years old, then maybe I’d be concerned. But even then, I’m not sweating it that much. So congrats to whomever won that bullshit. Now I get to receive a million emails from some other ass clown instead of the previous ass clown. Yay.

Star Trek TNG marathon UPDATE

Well duders, I finished the third season last night. For me, season 3 is where the show really starts “feeling” like TNG, or at least where it starts to really find it’s rhythm.

A little Tin Man for all you season 3 Trekkers out there.

Here are a few of my thoughts about the marathon so far, in bullet form.

• I’ve never really liked Dr. Pulaski, but was always just under the impression that it’s because I do like Dr. Crusher. After seeing all of season 2′s episodes in a rather short amount of time, I’ve come to the conclusion that I just don’t care for the character. She doesn’t gel very well with the cast, and feels a little too much like they were trying to bring in a “Bones”-like person onto the cast (i.e. she is prejudice against Data, similar to how Bones was prejudice against Spock, and she’s a little older and stubborn compared to the rest of the cast).
• Picard was not nearly as cool in season 1 as he is in the rest of the series. He’s much too uptight, and just doesn’t seem as thoughtful as in later seasons.
• Data remains one of the most interesting and compelling characters on the show, or any Star Trek show for that matter. I found him a tad annoying the first season, but then again a lot of that first season was a little rough around the edges.
• I just cannot stand the Lwaxana Troi episodes. I’m sorry, I just can’t. Sure they are usually humorous, but I feel like they slow the show down too much. I’d much rather have all of her episodes replaced with holodeck ones.
• I still want to have Patrick Stewart’s baby. I don’t know how exactly that would work, but I’d be game.

Well, I was thinking about taking a day off from TNG to recharge a little. So season 4 viewing starts tomorrow!

I’ve made a big decision, you guys. And yes, it involves Star Trek TNG.

I’ve decided to watch Star Trek The Next Generation from beginning to end. It wasn’t even a conscience decision, really. I started watching season 1 a few weeks ago, and before I knew it I was done! So, now I’m into season 2, and I’ve decided to just give into temptation and watch them all.

The pinnacle of television.

Yes, that’s right. All 7 seasons. Even the lame ones about Counselor Troy and her mom. EVEN THOSE.

Alright, I’m off to watch the third episode of season 2, “Elementary, Dear Data”.

I may have found the perfect cologne

So here I was, browsing my daily rss feeds, and I come across someone mentioning Star Trek cologne. No, really. And not only that, but it turns out there are two types!

Behold: Star Trek “Red Shirt” and “Tiberius” cologne!

As you may know, I’m something of a geek. Despite my love of Star Trek, it has never occurred to me to even search for something like a Star Trek cologne. It’s just a whole new level of awesome that I really really want to be part of.

That being said, I’m a bit picky when it comes to my Star Trek love. I’m a huge fan of The Next Generation, as it is the pinnacle of all things Star Trek in my opinion. So where the hell is my Captain Picard cologne? Dude, can you imagine not buying a bottle of smells called “Jean-Luc”? It just screams class, elegance, and respect.

It would of course have a hint of Earl Grey Tea aroma.

Seriously, charge any amount of money for it. I will pay it.

Alright, I’m off to order me some Red Shirt. Let’s hope I don’t get killed during my away trips while wearing it.

Star Trek is hella good, duders.

Duders, I saw Star Trek. I’ve got good news and bad news about it: Good news is, this is one of the best Trek films ever, and it’s likely going to spawn some equally good sequels. Bad news is, the probable sequels aren’t coming out immediately, so we’ll have to wait a few years to get more awesome Star Trek action.

Go ahead, just try to tell me that new Enterprise isn't totally awesome.

Being a bonefied Trekkie, I had mixed feeling about a series reboot. And let there be no mistake, this is in fact a hard reboot. This movie sets up an alternate timeline that basically nullifies the entire course of events setup in the other movies. Without giving away any major spoilers not already contained in the movie description, one thing I can say about Mr. Abrams is that he is not afraid to f around with the concept of time travel. After seeing and letting everything in the movie kick around in my head for awhile, I must say I’m super excited about this new take on ST.  

There were a lot of things I liked about this movie, but one of the things that stuck with me most is that it finally feels like ST takes places, well, in space. The original series is infamous for introducing only a few types of aliens to the series, and all of these aliens are decidely human. Ever seen Klingons from the TV show? They are basically Puerto Rican guys with goatees. This kind of thing was slowly rectified with the laters series, but overall they just never really felt alien to me (ST TNG attempted to answer the reason why all the races were so similar, in that they are all the progeny of a single alien race that basically “seeded” worlds in the very distant past). Well, this movie goes out of it’s way to show that the universe is not just a bunch of strickly humanoids, with plenty of random aliens throughout. And even the human-ish ones (like the alien doctor woman thingy in the beginning with the rad eyes) look believably other-wordly.

I totally dug the new cast. See George Lucas, this is how you cast parts.

Now to be honest, I’m not the biggest original series ST fan. I think maybe I’m too young to really appreciate it, and I grew up with The Next Generation, which I consider to be the peak of ST. The characters were great, the adventures were fun and interesting, and the show just felt fresh. All those newer ones (DS9, Voyager, Enterprise) just didn’t have the same pizazz for me. I definitely consider the OS to be better than those later ones, but my heart has always belonged to TNG. Well, this new movie really makes me like the OS more, for some reason that I can’t quite explain. Maybe it just feels fresh again, with the new cast (whom were perfectly chosen – and I mean perfectly) and new adventures.

I know this might be a weird thought to have, but I really wish the newer Star Wars movies had been treated like this new ST. Seriously. I can respect Episode I-III as movies that “complete” the saga, but…I just really can’t go back and continue to watch them over and over like I can the older movies (or the ST movies, for that manner). At the time they came out I was so excited just to be getting new SW that I couldn’t get enough, the inner fanboy came out and was very very forgiving. *Sigh*, sadly, that is no longer the case.

Since this post is turning into a book, here’s a short list of things I really dug in the new Star Trek movie:

• The new warp drive sound/visual. It’s so badass! It’s just got this crazy PUNCH to it that seems so appropriate, and looks awesome during.
• The new ship is by far my favorite, visually. (though TNG Enterprise from the movies is a close second)
• Every cast member seems to fit perfectly. I had my doubts about some of them, but they were just awesome.
• Humor! There was just enough humor to make the movie funny without being annoying and taking away from the story and action.
• There were plenty of references to old ST stuff, for both casual/non-fans and die hard Trekkies. Some of it was a bit over the top for my tastes, but seemed appropriate.
• The new transporter effects are awesome! 

Some stuff I didn’t care for:

• The weird business with boy Kirk driving a Mustang (I think?) in the beginning was just..weird. I understand the point of it, but just seemed a little out of place.
• Winona Ryder as Spock’s mom just didn’t really do it for me for some reason, and I can’t really explain why. But the character was put to good use in the film overall.
• Red matter I think it’s a reference to “red mercury“, but I think they could have done without showing any of that and the story would have been fine. I guess thinking about it was somewhat important to show something that made various things possible in the movie (trying to be vague on purpose, since it’s a spoiler).
• Nero’s intentions seem questionable, and if I understood the story correctly, seemed to happen just too quickly. 

Seriously, go see the movie! It’s great, you’ll probably like it, yada yada.

P.S. Does anybody else thing this dude/dudette was awesome?