And then there was one…
To those who read this blog, as of January 4th, 2009, after posting for years on multiple sites, I have moved all of my blogging to my own site.
To me, it is always about controlling the words and the medium, both I can do on my own site. Will still be using WordPress.
My new site is Bill’s Little Corner of the World. See you on the other side of the internet. 
The Secret Saturdays
I confess that the cartoon, The Secret Saturdays, is a show that I am really beginning to love a lot. Why? Because it reminds me of what the fate of my favorite Justice League couple, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, could have been if the writing staff hadn’t gotten so caught up in the “let’s not give them what they want” crap. (Yes, I’m still angry. Thank you for asking.)
The Secret Saturdays
Solomon (Doc) and Drew Saturday are no superheroes, but they remind me a great deal of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern in their approach to their relationship and their values. Let me get the big thing out of the way first: Doc and Drew are a married interracial couple and probably the first in a network cartoon. Now, some will say but what about Hawkgirl and Green Lantern on Justice League? To be clear, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern are an inter-species couple, not interracial. Green Lantern is a black man, but Hawkgirl, who certainly appears to be a white woman, is an alien (the wings coming out of her back are a dead giveaway that she’s not human). So, Doc and Drew are probably a first. (But feel free to tell me if you know of another.)
As I stated earlier, neither Doc nor Drew have superpowers, but both carry weapons which again amazingly remind me of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern. Drew Saturday carries a sword and handles the device with as much talent as Hawkgirl does with her mace. Doc Saturday wears a power glove which glows green in use and the way he uses it can’t help, but bring to mind the picture of the Green Lantern using his power ring. The banter between the two when they fight the bad guys is really funny and so reminiscent of the good HG/GL stuff. For example, when their home is invaded by bad guys, Drew, who had been fighting with her sword, puts the weapon away and rips her flat screen TV off the wall and throws it at the villain (who ducks as it smashes against the wall after nearly hitting Doc). Doc, who is fighting off the other bad guy, glances at his smashed TV and chastises his wife with a, “Why would you throw the TV?” Drew shrugs sheepishly and says, “I’m sorry. I get in a zone.” At that moment, I fell in love with this couple and this show.
Doc and Drew have an eleven year old son, Zak, who they care for and love and try to protect. The way they encourage Zak is exactly the way that I had envisioned that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl would love and encourage their son, Warhawk, had the writers saw fit to let that relationship flourish. I acknowledge that perhaps I’m drawn to this show more than I really should be because I was so disappointed with the Justice League finale.
The Secret Saturdays is far from being a perfect show. To be honest, the writing for the first couple of episodes was a little stiff, and after watching successive episodes, I do get a little tired of Drew being, what I perceive to be, overly protective (almost to the point of nagging) of Zak. But I thought the writings and characterizations really improved in the episode, Twelve Hundred Degrees Fahrenheit. And the voice actors, Phil Morris as Doc and Nicole Sullivan as Drew, are really talented and make the most out of what is sometimes stilted writing. Maybe this is an indicator of good things to come.
The Secret Saturdays is a good show worthy of continued viewing. I don’t know how long it will be on, but I intend to watch for as long as it has air time. It has my attention.
A Holiday Wish
To all:
I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a joyous Kwanzaa and a festive holiday. May 2009 bring you a Happy New Year and more peace and prosperity than you can stand.
My warmest regards,
Bill
Computer – Analyze This
Recently I have started using Microsoft Vista. I initially came to Vista kicking and screaming. I, like many others, swore by Windows XP and I admit I somewhat bought into the hype of the Apple computers commercials.
Honestly? I have been very pleased with this operating system. One of the things that I really like in Vista is the speech recognition function. With a microphone headset I was able to dictate and edit this entry. Now, I will not kid you. It takes time to set up the speech recognition and sometimes it can be very, very frustrating. But I liked the ability to be able to dictate to the computer and have it respond.
One of the great master storytellers was Erle Stanley Gardner. On the 50th anniversary DVD edition of Perry Mason, there is a small clip of Gardner writing a scene to one of his stories. “Writing” is not exactly the correct term, because Gardner dictated all of his stories. When I saw him dictating his story I said, “Wow!” What I have since discovered, however, playing with this program, is that it is harder to dictate a story than to type one. The drabble that I did late last week was dictated using speech recognition. Honestly? It was slower than if I had typed it, but dictation has its high points and provides a certain amount of satisfaction when you see what you dictated formatted on the screen.
I like the speech recognition in Vista, but I can’t wait for that day when I can say to the computer, “Tea! Earl grey! Hot!” And actually get it.
As God is My Witness…
Not posting the rest of this week, so for my friends in the United States, submitted with lots of personal gratitude…
Happy Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps
For 233 years, the U. S. Marine Corps has answered the call of this nation whenever it had a wrong it needed made right. It is easier now than ever to forget that liberty and freedom are not free. Its price has been paid for by the blood and sacrifice of those who have gone before us. Since 1775, the Marines have boldly marched to the sounds of the guns and have fought fiercely and honorably to defeat the enemies of this nation. They are Marines – and that is what they do.
It was President Reagan who once said: “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem.” From the wheat fields of Belleau Wood, to the snows of the Chosin, to the streets of Hue City, to the alleys of Fallujah, the Marines have proudly made a difference.
On this day, everywhere in the world, wherever there are two or more Marines, the oldest and the youngest will share a slice of birthday cake. This sharing of food, this breaking of bread together, represents the passing of history and traditions from one generation to the next. It is a reminder of a heritage written in sacrifice by those who came before and a challenge to be met by those who carry the Corps’ battle colors now and in the future.
To the few, the proud, the Marines I say: Happy Birthday and Semper Fidelis.
That Was The Week That Was
As far as weeks go, this one has been pretty good, both personally and professionally.
- After some considerable thought, I have decided to make the story I wrote in June, The Demons Inside, the last JLU story I will write. I have a couple of unfinished stories on my computer and they will remain on the machine until the end of the year when I will delete them. I simply don’t have the time to write anymore the way I want to and I am not motivated by anything on TV or elsewhere to drop everything I’m doing and pen something. However, I reserve the right to exercise the Brett Favre clause and come out of retirement to write a drabble or two should the urge hits me as it might do on October 22.
- A home in my neighborhood was recently foreclosed and resold for $150K under current market value. The noise you hear is the screams of hundreds of home owners in the area who suddenly find themselves upside down in their mortgages because of this. Fortunately, I am not one of them, but a couple more sales like that and I could find myself joining that chorus.
- Added 2GB of ram and 500 GB of hard drive storage to my Mediasmart Server on Tuesday. The upgrades were easily done (I was a nervous wreck while doing them) and now the darn machine just zips effortlessly through everything. Have gutted the machine the Mediasmart replaced and took it to the recycling center.
- Hope the economy (and the stock market in particular) has a good week. I have vowed not to look at my 401K until after Thanksgiving. And on that note, I’ll done for the day.
King of the I.T Department (Part I)
I am one of those guys who knows just enough about computers to get himself into serious trouble every time he is around one. You can search this journal and you will find essays on my love/hate relationship with Michael Dell and his company (at the moment it’s love), but I digress.
Somehow, I assumed the mantle of computer expert for my household. This was not any honor that I sought and in hindsight, in my house, it’s no honor. I think I was appointed the expert so that my Most Significant Other would have someone to yell at when she can’t connect to the internet because she selected File /Work Offline instead of File /Exit the last time she use Internet Explorer. There is nothing in the world like being awaken at mid-night with a “Wake up. I can’t get on the internet to get my grades posted.”
Not wanting to respond with a “Why is this my problem?” because I know that it would then be my problem if it didn’t get fixed, I asked, “Did you pull up Internet Explorer and make sure it’s not set to work offline. Because every time you couldn’t get on-line the last one hundred times, that’s been the problem, remember?”
Then this woman, who is the mother of my children, who has two masters and is working on a PhD looks at me like I just stole her underwear while she was still in it, said, “What? Get up and show me.”
Get up? That’s what I was trying to avoid. With as much grousing as I can muster, and at mid-night I can muster quite a bit, I go to her computer remove the check mark from “work offline” (I knew it) and grumble something about how she can be so smart and be so dumb. She sits down at her machine and says, “I’ve asked myself that same question every day since I married you.” She then smiles and says “Thanks.” I smile back and say “You’re welcome.” I now go to bed knowing that my extremely limited IT skills are supreme in her eyes. I just wish I could prove it at a more decent hour of the day.
Happy Birthday to the U. S. Navy
This week, 233 years ago, the Continental Congress authorized the procurement, fitting out, manning, and dispatching of two armed vessels to cruise the seas in search of munitions ships supplying the British Army in America. Thus, on October 13, 1775 the Continental Navy was born.
From these humble beginnings arose the most powerful sea force the world has ever seen. To my U.S. Navy friends and colleagues serving wherever they are required, on shore and at sea, I say: Happy Birthday. Bravo Zulu.
