Anyways, fantastic show if you’re in the market for some great entertainment. Completely character driven and very rated R.

On a side note, I truly believe that HBO is what Hollywood should be. On to The Wire.

If this series is even half as good as the book, it will be fantastic. HBO tends to go all out too, so my hopes are high. More @ Inside Game of Thrones

Battlestar Galactica Razor was great, although, I was under the impression that it was the season premier. It wasn’t. Needless to say, I was a little bummed saddened annoyed when I found out I have to wait until March for the next episode. Boo! A year and a half between seasons? This better be the best season EVER!

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Tin Man sucked. I hate giving negative reviews, but I just couldn’t sit through it. In all fairness though, I’m a pretty harsh critic. I hated Firefly when I first watched it too, now it’s one of my favorite television shows ever. I’ll probably give it another shot, someday.

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Facebook. Facebook. Facebook. I just don’t understand the hype, I really never have. I get that it’s a great social network, but isn’t that all it is? How can it possibly be compared to Google? How can it possibly be valued at 15 billion dollars? What’s going to happen to it when the next great social network comes along and people leave Facebook in droves in favor of the latest and greatest social phenomenon. 15 billion? Don’t get me wrong, I think Facebook is great and they’re really coming out with some innovative stuff, but it’s just a social network. Internet platform you say? I seriously doubt it, it’s far too proprietary for an internet platform. Open it up and we’ll see, but until then, let’s ease up on the hype a little. This is the kind of crap that makes bubbles burst.

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I recently finished David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done. I really enjoyed it. I’ve been GTDing now for about 3 weeks and I can already see the benefits. Granted, I didn’t really have a productivity philosophy before this, so I guess it had no choice but to help me. Regardless, the community is great and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to tighten up their organizational habits.

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I just found out that the author of one of my favorite blogs, healthbolt.net, will no longer be writing for said blog. Nooo! I’ve recommended this blog to oodles and oodles of people. Sara Ost, said author of said blog, is moving on to bigger and better things. What kind of things? I have no idea, but I’ve already subscribed to her new blog and await her witty remarks with bated breathe. Seriously though, I read a ton of blogs, and Sara’s writing style is among my favorites. I’m curious to see what she’s got up her sleeve. >>>> saraost.com.

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Cam is getting Mario Galaxy for Christmas. Sweeet. I can’t wait to try it for her to try it out. I also bought her another controller so I can kick her ass in Tennis. I don’t care if she’s nine, she’s going down!

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Okay, that should do it for now. Oh yeah, I’m going to see “I am Legend” Friday with MLL. I’ll let you know what I think. I’ve been dying for a good movie lately so cross your fingers.

It’s a must read for Internet enthusiasts.

Photograph: Murdo Macleod

On a related note, “Transformers the Movie” still holds the title of most incredible animated movie ever made, followed ever so closely by Titan A.E. and the Secret of Nimh. Oh, and all of Hayao Miyazaki movies. That guy’s pretty impressive.

Seven of Nine

“We are the Borg.” – My personal favorite. She is also what prompted me to create this illustrious list. I’ve been on a Star Trek Voyager kick for the last month or two and have decided to re-watch all the old episodes in chronological order. I never realized how utterly boring the show was until they added Seven of Nine to the cast of characters in the fourth season. This buxom Borg made the pain of enduring the previous seasons well worth it. Seven is a by far one of the more interesting characters I have come across in realm of science fiction.

Star Trek: Voyager

Kara Thrace

“Frak.” – Battlestar Galactica is, without a doubt, my favorite television show ever to be aired. When I first heard that they were remaking the original series, I was ecstatic. When I heard that the part of “Starbuck” was going to be played by a women, I was worried. Maybe even a little offended. But all my fears and doubts were laid to rest the moment I actually watched the show. Kara Thrace is a more complex version of the former Starbuck. She is also far better looking and much tougher than her male counterpart ever was. Sorry Dirk, Kara for the win.

Battlestar Galactica

Princess Leia Organa

“I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.” – For all of you younglings out there still daydreaming about Padme, stop it. She couldn’t hold a candle to Princess Leia Organa (Skywalker) (Solo). At age 20, this young spitfire was the leader of the Rebel Alliance against the well established and all powerful Galactic Empire. She even told Grand Moff Tarkin that he stank, right to his face. Let’s see Padme do that! Oh, and this is all while she was being escorted by the Dark Lord of the Sith, the most feared being in the universe. Don’t be fooled by her cute little buns people. By that I mean hair buns naturally. This princess is the kick ass mother of all sci-fi women to follow. Except for Padme of course, who actually is her mother…

Star Wars: A New Hope – Empire Strikes Back – Return of the Jedi

Leeloo

“Multipass.” – Every geek, male or female, has had a crush on Leeloo at some point in their life. Perhaps it’s her flowing orange hair or the fact that her whole outfit looks like one big distorted belt. Maybe it’s her cute incoherent babble or her innocent blue eyes. No, it’s more likely the fact that she could kill you without even breaking a sweat. Sweet and deadly, sort of like a twinkie.

The Fifth Element

Trinity

“Dodge this.” – Finally, this brings us to one of the most celebrated female characters in the realm of science fiction, Trinity. The Matrix spawned a slew of iconic figures and Trinity is at the top of that list. Clad in latex, this cyber-goth-goddess is one hacker that isn’t to be trifled with.

The Matrix – The Matrix Reloaded – The Matrix Revolutions

And there you have it, my top five greatest women in sci-fi list is complete. This list was not an easy one to make mind you. Quite a few of my favorite sci-fi vixens didn’t make the cut for various reasons. Take the women of Firefly for instance. After BSG, Firefly could be my favorite TV series, and a lot of that had to do with the great cast, both male and female. Alas, I didn’t feel that as individuals they could bump anyone off this list. Sorry girls. Below are some of the other gals that almost broke into the top 5, but were snubbed out at the last minute.

The Runners-Up

	Sarah Connor – Terminator 1 & 2
	Max Guevera – Dark Angel
	Mystique – X-Men 1, 2, & 3
	Ripley – Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, & Alien Resurrection
	Lara Croft – Tomb Raider 1 & 2

Discuss or post your own list here…

That’s it. Do you dare disagree with my sci-fi expertise? Post your own list here.

There are two specific things on this weekend’s agenda that Cameron and I are particularly excited about. By the way, it’s a beautiful thing when you and your 8 year old daughter start getting excited about the same things. She’s turning out to be quite a geek. But I digress.

Friday night is the season premier of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and boy do we love Avatar. Cam and I watched seasons 1 & 2 religiously. I know what you’re thinking, it’s a cartoon, but trust me, it’s great. I don’t watch many cartoons, let alone look forward to them, but this show is close to perfect. It has an ongoing plot that really keeps you on the edge of your seat, but it never gets too serious. There’s action, lore, humor, a surprisingly deep storyline, and best of all, it’s great for all ages. So to recap; season premiere, great show, don’t call us Friday night between 8:00 and 9:00.

Next on the agenda at Geekfest 2006 is Lego Star Wars II for the Nintendo Gamecube. Oh yeah! Cam may have turned me on to Avatar, but I introduced her to the ever so exciting and titillating world of Star Wars. What do you get when you combine Star Wars with Legos and the Gamecube? Hours of brainless stimulating fun. Needless to say, we blew through the first game in no time. Like Avatar, Lego Star Wars is great entertainment for all ages. It really is. We can’t wait.

So this is our lazy rainy weekend. Not too shabby, huh? After this it’s back to business, so we better enjoy it while we can. Oh, and we will.

This won’t happen over night. In fact, we are years away from services like this taking hold at all. There are still plenty of obstacles to overcome. You see, when you download a video from Unbox, you are limited to watching it on your computer or portable video player. That’s great for a small niche group of people, but it won’t impress the majority of consumers out there. Especially the ones with 50″ plasma TVs. Pricing is also an issue. Why would I buy Braveheart as a digital download for $13.17 when I can buy the physical DVD for the same price? Is this service targeted at the spontaneous buyer who wants to watch the movie immediately? Perhaps. That’s still a pretty small niche though.

Digital rentals, however, have more of an appeal to me. I can justify spending $1.99 or $2.99 on a rental. Once you download the movie, you have a set amount of time to watch it until it becomes inactive. I believe that number is 30 days right now. Perfect. I have Windows XP Media Center with a very large monitor and digital 6.1 speakers, however. I’m in the minority. Most people have small monitors and crappy speakers. Who would want to watch The Matrix on that set up?

It will be interesting to see how Apple competes with this. To tell the truth, I’m a bit surprised Amazon beat Apple to this at all. I’ve been hearing rumors of Apple’s movie service for weeks now.

One thing is for sure, the world of media is changing at an increasingly rapid rate. I often think of how we will tell our children and grandchildren about things like network television and the TV Guide. How we had to sit in front of the TV at the exact time a show started or you would miss it, perhaps never to see it again. Or how you had to sit through an entire network news program while they spoon fed you stories you didn’t want to hear, all because of the fear of missing the story you did want to hear.

Thank god we live in the age of the Internet!

Mmmm, Scarlett…………………. sorry, what? I drifted off there for a second.

Another important note, this very well could be the last time I’m allowed to write on my blog once my girl friend reads this entry. It’s been real nice knowing all of you…

Umm, I’m not sure how Ralph Fiennes made it on this list. That’s just plain weird.

See what a great liar I am? The reality is I usually never admit to my mistakes and I bury the truth deep within the bowels of my soul, hoping that no one ever discovers my dark little secret. Alas, I made an error in judgment that I feel I need to address. Back in October I reviewed a movie called Serenity. I stick by my review for the most part. It’s my thoughts about the T.V. show Firefly that I wanted to amend.

As I said in my review, Firefly is the T.V. show leading up to the movie Serenity. I also mentioned that I watched it and hated it. However, I never really gave the show a fair shake. I only watched the first episode, which I read recently was never intended to be the first episode. Fox, in their infinite wisdom, decided to shuffle the order in which the series would be aired. After Serenity came out I decided to make good on my promise and give the show another chance. I am so glad I did. I rented all the discs from my local video store and watched the entire season in a week. I loved the show so much that I bought the DVD set and watched the entire season again. GEEK! I know, but it could possibly be one of the best sci-fi shows ever. As a matter of fact, I don’t think the term sci-fi best describes this show.

My initial reason for not liking the show was due to its western motif. I’m still not a huge fan of that per se, but the characters Joss Whedon created are so much greater than the environment they are in. The characters in Firefly are so entertaining and interesting (and completely original) that I quickly forgot what it was that turned me off about the show in the first place.

There, I’m glad I got that off my chest. Now I can sleep at night. I’m also half way through season 2 of BSG and I’m loving every second of it. For those of you have not yet seen it, I would highly recommend it. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m afraid I’ve already said too much.

So why did I go see this movie if I didn’t particularly like the TV show? Because I’m a sucker for space operas. I can’t not see them. While where at it I should admit to a couple of other soft spots I have. I love movies with women that kick ass, martial arts, and that showcase camaraderie. I tend to let my guard down a bit when when reviewing movies that have one or more of those characteristics. I’m ashamed to admit that there are more than a handful of movies that slipped into my DVD collection that otherwise would not be there considering my strict and often ruthless guideline to what I consider to be a great movie.

Serenity, to my pleasant surprise, had a bit of all four of those characteristics. Now that you know that, you must have deduced that I may be a bit wishy washy with this review and that you should take it with a grain of salt. I would agree with you. The movie had average special effects, sub-par acting, and a mediocre plot, but I still enjoyed it very much. It will definitely end up in my DVD collection. If you can get by the many flaws of the movie and strip away the layers of blah, what you have at the core is a fun shoot’m up space saga that does a good job of keeping you guessing. I would love to be able to rave about how great the special effects were and how deep the plot is, but I can’t. They were simply okay. But okay seemed to work just fine. Let’s get real for a second here. My grandmother isn’t coming to see this movie. As a matter of fact I can’t think of one member of my rather gigantic family that would come to see this movie. This movie isn’t for them. It’s for me and space geeks like me. And for us, it was a pretty fulfilling ride.

The cast of Serenity consists of the original cast of Firefly. You won’t see any Oscar nominations here, but the chemistry and the diversity of the actors seemed to work extremely well. As a rule I try not to get too deep about the plot or the characters in my movie reviews, but I feel I must mention Summer Glau. The movie is worth seeing just for her. Not necessarily her performance, but for the character she played. (Although her performance was hands down the best in the film.) She plays a character called River Tam. Let’s just say that she is what Jessica Alba’s character should have been in that other failure of a TV show, Dark Angel. Minus the psychic ability of course. I honestly got goose bumps watching some of her scenes. That’s all I’ll say though. You’ll have to see the movie for yourself to see what I mean.

I’m glad I saw Serenity and I would definitely go see the sequel. If I had to give it a tag line I would say it was a “fun-filled, adventurous space saga that is caught somewhere between cheesy and epic”. Kind of a broad statement I now, but I’m a bit out of practice. All in all I think Joss Wedon got it right. It makes me wonder if I was to harsh on the original Firefly series. I think it’s time to revisit the old show and give it a second chance. What the hell, it’s only $3.00 to rent at my local video store. Why not?

// Update: My new thoughts on Firefly //