Just finished episode 13 of 13 so far produced. Good stuff all the way through. It's not all that often that you'll see television programming taking risks, going at all outside the box, but when it does it can be quite good. I highly recommend this bit of sci fi.

I lik be because it does very well with the form, managing to explore all the great classic metaphysical topics -- what does it mean to be human? a staple of the genre -- as well as political theory and mythology to boot, and all this with highly engaging characters and admirable style. I'm watching online (not like I'd help their neilsons anyway) so the lack of commercials is a boon, but the bottom line is it's good viewing. If they get the pick up for a second season, (which is looking likely as the show is a relative hit here and across the pond), Edward James Olmos has a meal ticket that could take him to mainstream notoriety ala Patrick Stewart. Providing he wants it of course.

Speaking of Stewart, I think this series can do a lot more for the players involved than Star Trek: The Next Generation. On the whole the characters are vastle less "gimmicky." This is good. It means the show is less otaku-centric (more broadly appealing and free to roam), and it also means the actors can avoid typecasting. There's a lot less pseudo-science -- though a lot more pseudo mythology/politics -- and a lot more simple drama. The style is much more gritty/lowbrow, and the action revolves more around the course of human events than what strange planet crop ups next.

I think it's a good setup. In all it probably makes for a shorter shelf life (it's hard to see this thing going 7 seasons without some serious cheese) but there are at least 20 or 30 good episodes in it if they keep everyone on board and enthusiastic. My guess is that this is the first big break for a number of the cast and crew, and the producers aren't old hands either. It's a start-up show. The whole thing has the touch of the auteur, of vision, of people who have been looking for their chance to make a mark.

I'll say again, it's a step up for science fiction, let alone on TV. If you're savvy you can watch it on your computron like it did. If you've got cable, you can catch it on sci fi. If you're looking to be entertained, I suggest you give it a whirl either way.

Daily Kos :: An Outsiders' Reaction to His First DFA Meetup

I honestly can say now that I understand why people are the way they are for Dean and what he wants to do. His organization, and the people involved in it, are making a difference in their own communities, and by doing that they are making it better for all of us. I saw three future state Congressmen, at the least, and a couple that could possibly make it to national level. Two of them would not have even tried, if not for DFA.

That's nice to read. I'm burnt lately, calling myself "a technician" or "a plumber" in the world of poltrix online. Truth is, I need to get away from it in order to replentish whatever it is that keeps my inner fires burning. That's why I'm planning on living on east coast couches for three months. That's why I'm planning to be On The Road for the summer.

The good news is that stories like these are going to keep happening, and with Howard Dean likely to take the chair of the party -- this is looking more likely than Iowa ever did, largely because it's such a non-public proceeding -- I have reasonable hope that his common-sense facts-first reality-based and other-hyphenated approach will build these nodes of activity into a thriving network. There are 100s of bright young things burning to work for him. They'll do good.

For my part, all this gives me moral cover to duck out for a bit, to think about my own trajectory knowing that if I got hit by a bus the world would be in as good hands as could be reasonably expected. I'm needing a long dip in the deep metaphysical, been thinking about stuff on the other end of the divine membrane; impractical but stirring lines of inquiry.

I'll keep writing and reading and dropping opinions from time to time of course. If you ever want my take on something, feel free to drop a line. Gouts of fiery rhetoric will come, and I'll never cease to poke and pry at the puzzles of language, ethics and political theory. But I realize that politicking -- horseracing, hackery, jockeying for position -- isn't really my game, though I'm glad I know some damn good players. Campaigning is something I'll take up again down the line, and maybe in a decade I'll end up governing a household or something larger, but for now I'm happy to tie my soul to other things, and let the job be a job again.

I'm contemplating bringing my stereo back into my room to play loud music.

It's February 2nd and in San Francisco's Mission District that means 60 degrees and blue skies. I remember this from my first visit here; jetting down alone at the age of 17 to try out for acting schools. What a trip that was. I sat in Union Square for a couple hours between auditions and just soaked it up.

Today I impose order on my posessions, deal with the IRS, and decide how to prepare myself for the first leg (New York) of my ramblin' time. The widows are all wide open: out with the old, in with the new. Kick out the Jams indeed.

It's Heating Up

The 2020 Democrats' Principles Project is picking up steam. It's a gradual build (as you'd expect it to be), but the web team has been creating shaolin-style java widgets, and the outreach people logging long hours in the clinches to get the word out on the wire. I zipped in to make some comments on the 2nd draft, and day later going back I'm one of 17 comments in most cases. That's heartening to see.

If you've got a stake in progressive politics going forward, I suggest you log on in and drop a comment. Who knows; maybe you'll underwrite the next great slogan of the Left. Lord knows it can't hurt to take a few more shots at it.

Online gamers engage in virtual civil disobedience in the realm of Worlds of Warcraft. I don't play, but i find the phenomena fascinating. Also, check the warning text from the admins:

Attention: Gathering on a realm with intent to hinder gameplay is considered griefing and will not be tolerated. If you are here for the Warrior protest, please log off and return to playing on your usual realm.

Minus the game-speak, this sounds exactly like what you hear cops say when people lie down in traffic to protest a war.

Online gamers engage in virtual civil disobedience in the realm of Worlds of Warcraft. I don't play, but i find the phenomena fascinating. Also, check the warning text from the admins:

Attention: Gathering on a realm with intent to hinder gameplay is considered griefing and will not be tolerated. If you are here for the Warrior protest, please log off and return to playing on your usual realm.

Minus the game-speak, this sounds exactly like what you hear cops say when people lie down in traffic to protest a war.

The buzz around the water cooler is that Howard Dean has basically locked up the Chair of the Democratic Party. That's cool. I would have preferred him to be president, but given how things went down this is a good thing. It means, at the very least, that the Ass party is going to re-orient itself, hopefully significantly. My hope with Dean is that he's got the wherewithal to restructure the party, and to not make doing so an occasion to consolidate his own power. That's not a faint hope either; I actually believe he will do it, but I don't know any more than you about what he actually plans on doing.

One thing that occurs to me now is that the kids from Gen Dean might be ripe to drive a revitalization of the Young Dems. We need some action for the youth. The kids voted well, but there are ominous winds blowing in many parts of the country.

You know what's good? The new BattleStar Galactica. I snagged some of it online (no cable or TV for the Koenig) as I've been looking for entertainment and Zephyr mentioned she liked it. It's pretty decent. I have a giant soft spot for good sci-fi but most everything I've seen coming out lately has been dreck. This is the best stuff since Star Trek w/Patrick Stewart (which is the current high water mark for televised sci-fi content).

I also have the benefit of no commercials, watching a rip off SkyOne (UK TV), but I think the cutting may have removed a few scenes. Either that, or the producers are playing with the form of a serial television series by inserting information into the "previously on BattleStar Galactica" bits that wasn't actually in the previous episode. I actually kind of hope it's that, because it works as long as you roll with it, and it would be a novel use of the form, which I'm all about.

UPDATE: Mike comments in from the offices of the Hearst corporation with this resource for anyone looking to catch up, a television without pity recap. It does appear they pull some content from the miniseries into (which I'm also downloading now), but it's also clear after watching four episodes that they're also playing with the dimension of time in telling the story. In particular, the opening introduction always features a fast-cut montage of images from the episode to come, and there are also other elements of foreshadowing that let the viewer in on certain plot elements the characters themselves are ignorant of. Quite interesting.

It's my kind of show; heavy on character, psychology, metaphysical and philosphical themes -- the true value of science fiction -- and the production and acting are mostly above average. Edward James Olmos is approching old master status, and it's nice to see him get a chance to play a leading role that doesn't revolve around him being Latino. The rest are up-and-comers. This Katee Sackhoff (from Oregon) stands out w/sass and unconventional good looks, but the whole ensemble seems to know what they're doing.

I never saw the old shows or movie, just a memory of the faded '70s video box at the rental place from when I was a kid, but this seems to be a worthy ressurection.

Asshole bastard motherfucker net-vandals have decyphered how to spam trackbacks, wanting to advertize poker. Or maybe that's a front; seems an awful lot of trouble to get people to play your version of Texas Hold'em online. Well, it is the new American obsession. On the other hand, it could be an identity theft scam.

Other than that, people are milling about El Rio after dollar drink night, so I won't get to sleep yet. It's a weekly ritual to overhear 10 to 50 boozy conversations on Mondays.

For my part, I'm feeling pretty good. Joe's giving me a little padding time in the apartment so I can pack and plan in a more leisurely fashion.

I'm starting to think things might work out yet. I'm starting to feel my cultural sense returning; the tingling tickle of creativity on the rise. I've got plenty of stabs to make. Hunter didn't get on the trail of the Hells Angels until he was 27 -- and then it was another year before anything Really Big was published. There's time.

You see, in this country we creative types are conditioned a bit to expect (or shoot for) some kind of great success pretty early on. It can feel like a dissapointment when you're 25 and you feel you haven't "made it." Of course, that's just our great cult of youth at work. In reality, very few people amount to much at a tender age, and many of those who do are warped by their success. My own ambition is far to weak and diffused to give me anything more than the occasional throb of worry over missing some kind of boat. Truth is, I don't see anyone doing something Big that I feel I could have done, so I'm not really worried about it. My day will come, or else I'll just be happy and productive. Either way, I'm on a decient trajectory.

I've been following this story with some interest, and this worries me:

An Arabic television channel aired a videotape Monday purporting to show insurgents firing a missile that downed a British transport plane in Iraq, and London said 10 people were missing, believed dead.

My closest personal attachment to the war at the moment is my friend JD from high school. He flys as a Loadmaster on a C-130. He's supposedly on his last tour in the Middle East (number 7 if you can believe it) before being re-stationed stateside to do training. I hope those orders hold up. If the latest scuttlebutt about how they're dealing with troop shortages holds any water it looks like my man might get a reprieve from the front lines -- someone will need to train those desk-jockeys -- and by the looks of it not a minute too soon.

So this doesn't bode well for my friend, and it doesn't bode well for the rest of our people over there either. Whatever else you might call them, the Insurgents aren't stupid. They've been attacking suplly lines since day one, and from what I can gather, the air link -- largely supplied by C-130s -- has grown in importance as there are no truly safe truck routes in many areas. If the Insurgents have found access to a steady supply of SAMs, things are going to get much tighter over there. Here's hoping it doesn't.