Has it been that long?!?

Sheesh! I'd forgotten about this blog! I started at LJ a couple of months after starting this blog and over at LJ I ended up with a huge circle of friends and an active blogging life. This place? Not so much.

Kitty Haiku

Your slashing claws are
An arsenal of razors.
Get them off my leg.

I have the corner.
Kitty spraaaawls across the bed.
Who is master here?

Mighty hunter stalks,
Howls in triumph over.....toy?
Hel-lo three a.m.

Sleepy rumpled ball,
Paws clamped firmly over eyes.
Napping is an art.

Whiskers tickle and
Soft wet nose touches my face.
Kitty says hello.

Book Review: Approaching the Possible

Title: Approaching the Possible – The World of Stargate SG-1
Author: Jo Storm
Publisher: ECW Press
Oversized paperback, 523 pages
List price $19.95, but available from Amazon.com for $12.97

My overall impression of this book is that it is well researched, informative, and entertaining. The first one hundred or so pages of the book exam the origins and history of Stargate SG-1. Next up is a comprehensive episode guide through the end of Season eight (I really like the layout of the episode guide). Lastly, there are 10 pages of resources and bibliography. At this point I have read the first section in its entirety and flipped through the episode guide and resources. I’ve enjoyed the book enough that I plan to purchase a copy for myself. Right now I’m reading Sue’s book sent by way of aizjanika.

From what I have seen so far, the author is fairly even-handed and unbiased in her discussion of the various characters. Mind you, that doesn’t mean that I agree wholeheartedly with everything she says. I think any book that discusses a TV show (or a movie or a play or anything similar) is going to be subjective to some degree since every person who watches that show will have their own unique view of it.

However, Ms. Storm isn’t afraid to say negative things about the show when warranted. She is just as likely to point out episodes that missed the mark as she is episodes that went beautifully – what worked, what didn’t quite work, and what failed abysmally. This is a look at the show as it really is. I think many of the folks reading this review are most concerned with how Ms. Storm handled the characters of Daniel and Sam - afraid there will be Belittling for Daniel and Exultation for Shippy Sam. Truly, I didn’t see that. I thought that Ms. Storm had good things to say about Daniel and wasn’t afraid to say negative things about Carter. Ms. Storm discussed the plusses and minuses about each character, each episode, and each season. Here I’ll just concentrate on the good things about Daniel and the bad things about Carter for the benefit of those worried that the opposite would happen.

Ms. Storm comments throughout the book on how very popular the character of Daniel Jackson is, as well as how talented the actor is. She seems respectful of Shanks’ talent and abilities as an actor and the fan reactions that Daniel and Michael engender. Storm doesn’t go into such detail on those subjects for either Richard Dean Anderson or Christopher Judge. For example, in the bio section on Michael Shanks she gives much information regarding his various theater roles and how that experience helped him “to hone his acting talent and develop a working method, as well as an ability to analyze and work with narrative structure and character motivations.” (pg. 31) On the next page she notes that Shanks’ portrayal of Daniel “quickly shot him to fan fame” and “endeared him to a large contingent of fans, who from the start, were extremely vocal about their love of the character, and of the actor himself.” She begins a discussion of Shanks’ acting awards with “It is not only the fans who have recognized Michael’s talent: critics and award organizers have been consistently supportive of his performances. Since the year 2000, Michael has proven to be one of the most popular stars on television.” (pg. 35)

When it comes to discussing Shanks leaving the show at the end of season five, the author quotes Michael Shanks himself, using his own words to explain his reasons for leaving. She doesn’t try to gloss over the uproar it caused, either. His leaving is discussed in detail both in his bio section and the section “Through The Stargate Season by Season”. In the latter, she notes the fan reaction and campaigns to save the character as well as how Daniel’s absence affected the next season.

As for the character of Samantha Carter, Ms. Storm quotes Amanda Tapping on page 45 of her bio section: “I hated [Carter] in the beginning…she was very linear, one-dimensional, standing on her feminist soapbox, with this raging diatribe about equality…”. In the Season by Season section, Ms Storm notes “Other characters had a tougher time getting off the ground, especially Samantha Carter and Teal’c…Carter was written as both a scientist and a soldier, but neither aspect was well-developed enough for viewers to be able to grasp the character’s personality or potential.” (pg. 52) The author spends half a page here discussing the flaws in the Carter character as initially written. The flaws in the character of Teal’c needed only a few sentences.

Later in that same section, Ms. Storm tackles the Jack/Sam Ship head on and makes it very clear that this is a sore subject with fans. “…the controversial episode ‘Divide and Conquer’ aired (and was there ever an episode more aptly named, given its divisive effects on the fans?)…..Season four is still referred to by some as the ‘shipper’ (relationship) season….It’s also one of the most controversial seasons, because many of those not interested in a potential relationship between Sam and Jack were annoyed by the constant return to the question.”

Hopefully, the examples above will give you a feel for how the author handles Daniel and Sam. I found the book very interesting.

The front sections are:
The World of Stargate SG-1 (a brief history of speculative fiction, specifically in regards to science fiction and fantasy)
Making Myth: The Story of Stargate SG-1 (the history of the movie and the very beginning of the television show)
The Cast of Stargate SG-1 (cast bios in alphabetical order)
Behind Stargate SG-1 (brief overview of the main themes, narrative and dynamics of the show)
Through the Stargate, Season by Season (a look at the overall story arcs and direction of the show for each season as a whole)
Everybody CanCon: Stargate SG-1 In the Great White North (explaining some reasons for filming in Canada)
Coding the Wormhole: An Interview with GateWorld’s Darren Sumner
Out of the Blue: The Franchise of SG-1 (a look at what ‘official’ merchandise is, or isn’t, available)
No Red Shirts: The “Fanchise” of SG-1 (a look at the highly active and involved on-line fan community)

Stargate SG-1 Episode Guide - The episode guide fills 400 pages, covers eight whole seasons, and is a lot of fun to flip through. Each episode is laid out in the same format beginning with the episode number and title, original air date, writer, director, and a one-line synopsis of the plot followed by a discussion of the episode in terms of theme, character development, symbolism and such. This isn’t just a restatement of what happened scene by scene in the story. This looks at what the author calls “deep story structure”. What are the issues in this episode? How are the characters affected? What worked well in this episode? What didn’t? Next we have Gods & Scientists which gives details on either a bit of science or a myth seen in the episode, Interesting Fact which gives a tidbit of info about making the episode, Why We’re Space Monkeys which highlights the things in the episode that set Stargate apart from other science fiction shows, and Parlez-Vous Gate? which has fun snippets of dialogue from the episode.

Resources (non-fiction books on Stargate, online magazines, and websites devoted to the show or its stars)

Bibliography (Seven pages of sources used in the book)

There are two things that would improve this book for me: an index, and a listing of the guest stars in each episode. Other than that, I quite like it and am looking forward to getting my own copy.

Things To Look Forward To

Kathy is one of the very first people I met online. She lives many states away and is very unlike me in many ways but despite this we are best friends.

She exercises cheerfully. She eats in moderation and sometimes forgets to eat at all. She not only starts home improvement projects, she finishes them! I exercise grudgingly and rarely. I eat tasty treats I could do without and sometimes forget to stop. I pulled all the wallpaper off the bathroom walls and still haven't finished getting the wallpaper paste off, much less painted the bathroom - and it's been almost three years. (Don't want to be hasty, right?)

Good thing Kathy and I have the same dry sarcastic sense of humour and taste in books and music. We've been good friends for years now and that's without the benefit of proximity. I can see us being friends well into the future - though I think her future looks a bit different than mine.

Kathy will be the wiry nonagenarian that outlives us all. She'll race 4 or 5 laps around the nursing home every day. And every three or four days (if she remembers) she'll eat a crust of bread or maybe an apple. She'll be snarky to the nurses and a big hit with the visitors. Packages will arrive for her from all over the globe as she trades music and stuff with her online friends who range in age from late teens to mid-70's. She'll refer to all of them as 'kids'. The day she finally passes on, the local government will declare a Day of Mourning (though some of the Leaders will secretly rejoice because they've been scared of her for years.)

It's a lot better than where I'll end up.

I picture myself living in a refrigerator box under a bridge near the woods somewhere. I'll spend my days scavenging through trash bins in the nearby town and dodging meddling social workers. When I talk about "my kitties" I'm referring to the feral cat colony that I share my underpass with, and which I wish would in return share some of the their pigeons with me, the selfish beggars. In the winter in place of a coat, I'll wear umpteen layers of shabby clothing, consisting mostly of holey sweaters, but also including the occasional discarded tablecloth or throw rug, topped off by a crocheted purse that I'll wear as a hat. (The handles on the purse will come in handy for tugging it down on my head and holding on to it when the wind picks up.) The day I die, the cats will look at each other with one little thought in their sweet fuzzy little hearts, "Tonight, we feast like Kings."

Owie!

Every now and then, my cats try to kill me.

I don't know why they want me dead because I'm the only one that remembers to feed them, water them, pet them and change their box. Apparently, they're after me just for the fun of it. The last time they came close to succeeding was a year and a half ago when one of them left a toy for me to trip on. I sprained my ankle very badly and it has never been the same since. They didn't try anything else until today.

Every time I do laundry or cook or do anything that might be remotely interesting, Willie has to come check it out. One of his nicknames is The Supervisor. Today I was doing laundry. His usual spot is the top of the washer which is a front loader. He watches me while I fill and empty the washer and dryer and hang clothes.

I was just getting started this morning. I had dumped a load of dirty clothes on the floor in front of the washer then went off and rounded up more clothes to go in that pile. I bent down to pick up the clothes and toss them in the washer. At the very same time, Willie appeared at a run from around the corner and tried to jump up on top of the washer.

As I bent down, 16 lbs of fast moving cat hit me smack in the face. The impact was centered on my chin and shoved my jaw up into my ears. It hurt like heck and made my face all numb made my nose hurt, too. I said many many words I don't normally say. Willie got knocked back onto the floor, but ran and hid in the clothes dryer. He seemed okay when I checked him, but I think he was hiding partly because it had to have hurt him too, partly because my loud cursing scared him, and partly because I think he knew he hurt me and felt bad about it.

I was fine most of the day, but in the last couple of hours both of my tempormandibular joints have started to hurt again especially the left one. (Willie was moving from right to left when we collided.)

Whose idea was it to have cats again? Oh, right. That'd be me.

*sigh*

Firstest Ever Blog Post

Okay. I've finally done it. Finally joined the ranks of the bloggers. Not because of any great need to share my inner musings with the rest of the entire world, but because I wanted to post a comment elsewhere and didn't want to be anonymous about it.

You can watch this space for future posts if you like, but, um...... don't hold your breath. :D