Star Trek Movie News!

I am not getting too excited about this yet, as filming has not even started but.... here is some news taken directly from E! News online.. Something to look forward to in 2008! (especially since the HALO movie is in financial limbo)


Four Vulcan ears are always better than two.
J.J. Abrams, creator of Lost and Alias and the auteur who will be reviving the Star Trek franchise next year, said Thursday that his take on the sci-fi classic will feature dual Mr. Spocks, the younger of the two to be played by Heroes villain Zachary Quinto, as reported earlier this week by E! Online's TV blog.
And serving as young Spock's older and wiser incarnation will be none other than Leonard Nimoy, who was on hand when the good news was announced during Paramount Pictures' panel at Comic-Con, aka fanboy heaven, in San Diego.
"People have been asking me why I'm doing this movie, and I think the answer is obvious—we have a great director, a wonderful script, and a wonderful young actor playing Spock, so…it was logical," said the 76-year-old Nimoy, to everybody's proudly dorky delight.
Per the closely guarded script penned by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, Quinto will star as Spock in his pre-Wrath of Khan days. Nimoy, meanwhile, will have a meaty cameo.
When asked how much of his take on the half-Vulcan Enterprise veteran will be inspired by Nimoy, Quinto, was last seen opening skulls and getting skewered as the power-hungry Sylar on Heroes, said: "Well, as much as he'd like it to be, since he's working on the film, which is an honor."
But, "I certainly intend to bring my own spin to it, and working with these guys, I'm sure I'll find it," he added.
Abrams' addition to the canon, which is slated for a Christmas Day 2008 release, couldn't be coming at a better time, at least for Trekkers, considering there hasn't been a new addition to the cinematic series in more than five years, and because, for the first time in what seems like forever, there is no first-run Star Trek spinoff series on the air right now.
While the last cinematic permutation of the series was 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, Nimoy hasn't played big-screen Spock since 1991's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Shooting on the new film—which, taking a cue from Casino Royale and Batman Begins, will bring us back to where it all began for Spock and pal James T. Kirk—is expected to kick off in November.
Abrams, who promised that he'd return to Comic-Con next year with more scoop, said that the role of young Kirk has not yet been cast and that they're trying to find a way to get William Shatner involved.


Check the full story at http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=3a6f8f14-fb89-4eeebc462598412ea62a&entry=index&sid=rss_topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories


LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

A list for parents...

I am skimming a book that a friend loaned me, called, "Shut up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life." by Larry Winget. Winget is a motivational speaker and for the most part is a pretty practical and reasonable person and most of what he says in the book is pretty straight forward and most of us would call it common sense advise, but most of us would rather whine about our problems, rather than do something about them. One of the best chapters is on Marriage and Relationships. It really is actually pretty good and I advise reading it. But in another chapter, called "Kids are a Pain in the Butt." he has a list of advise for raising good kids. It too is common sense, but sometimes we need to be reminded of them. I am going to put them in the blog to help those who read this and are parents, to help you remember some of the stuff that we sometimes forget of think that they already know, or worse, think that it is someone else's job to teach them.

Short list for raising good kids:

• If you have little bitty kids, sit on the floor a lot. Communicate at their level.
• Teach them about money. How to earn it, save it, invest it, spend it, and give it away.
• Listen to them.
• Ask more, tell less.
• Hug more, nag less.
• Show your kids affection even after they think they are too big for it.
• Teach them the really important things: Kindness, charity, love, forgiveness, compassion, respect, honest, responsibility, and how to have fun.
• Never lie to them. Never tolerate any lie from them.
• Encourage your children to develop their own uniqueness. Do not try to mold their personalities. Let them be who they are and let them become what they want to become, not what you want them to be.
• Do not make a jackass out of yourself at their sporting events.
• Do not protect them too much. Let them make their own mistakes and suffer the consequences. The lesson is in the consequences.
• They need love more than stuff.

That's it. Pretty sensible stuff and something I think every parent should take to heart. Especially the 3rd, 4th, 5th and last one. No one is a perfect parent, even if we think we are. If we try to be, then we are not being good parents. Spoiling your kids, letting them get off easy, or giving them too much freedom is not being a good parent. If your kids get pissed at you because of a decision that you have made, then most likely, you have made the right decision, and hopefully in time, they will understand.

Okay... off my soapbox.

Pick up the book I mentioned and got this from. Not a bad read. Certainly is easy to read. You just might find something useful!

later!

Name five books...

I was just reading something that I thought would be fun to try... Apparently 43.6 percent of all Americans read at below the seventh grade level. And if that is true, then many, many more are not reading books. So here is what I am going to ask you to try and do. Ask someone, anyone, what are the names of the last five books you have read. Hopefully they will be able to answer, but more likely, they probably not be able to. And then if they do, ask them how long ago was the last time they read those books.

For those who are wondering, these are the last five books I have read:
1. Killing Time ( a Star Trek Novel)
2. 3 issues of Miltary History or Military Heritage magazine (that's something like over 100 pages)
3. Conan of Cimmeria by Robert E. Howard
4. Conan by Robert E. Howard
5. Knights of the Air (biographies of WWI pilots)
...and I am currently reading Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated methods and techniques. by John Clements

All of these have been read in at least the last three months or so.

Go ahead and ask someone, or even ask yourself! You might be really surprised at what answers you get! And if you can't remember the last time you have read a book, shame on you! Go out and get a book and read it! Sheesh....


Later!

Along came a spider.... my near miss experience with a Brown Recluse

Hey, an update on my leg wound... Wow! If only my leg looked like that picture that was posted previously. Since then, the bruising (or more accurately, poisoning) of the skin has increase to 3 times the size seen on the picture. The center of the wound has turned necroptic (dying off) and the redness has turned a deep deep shade of purple! A blood culture came back and found no bacteria, thereby ruling out an infection, and pretty much determining it is the result of a bite, most likely spider and a Brown Recluse at that! I am pretty lucky actually. I did not need IV antibotics, the necropsis has not spread widely and I am actually feeling much better. (No more nausea, muscle pain, severe headaches, and swollen foot.) I can actually walk for the most part of the day without too much pain, although I try to limit what I do. The redness, a result of the poison has spread up to the bottom of my calf muscle, almost all around the bottom of my leg, (front and back) and moved down now to encompass my ankles, but I think I am getting better. I also believe that I am only going to lose a little bit of tissue on my Achilles heel area and not a big divit as seen in worse cases of spider bites. I hope that the redness will start to dissipate soon. I have avoided going to the gym all last week, for obvious reasons, but I think I will try a light day tomorrow. Hopefully, all will be well and I can get back to normal! If anything changes, I hope it is for the better!

Later!

Lookie at what I have!

Apparently, sometime on Saturday, the 30th of June, I did something or got bit by something that caused a huge infection on my lower left leg! I did not notice much until late Sunday when it felt alot like a localized sunburn. But after a walk on Monday, my leg and foot were swollen and sore and hurt enough to make me think something out of the ordinary was afoot.. no pun intended.

Late that night, I had my wife do a quick internet search for spider bites and lo and behold, this wound was starting to look like a Brown Recluse Spider bite... so, off to the emergency room we went at 10:30 at night! One Educated Opinion said it was a sub derman infection called cellulitus and I began taking antibiotics for it. The other Educated Opinion did not rule out a spider bite but thought it was most likely te cellulitus. Either way it hurt like hell.

Then, on Tuesday I went and did something stupid and stood on my feet for about 6 hours at a outdoor concert. Needless to say, Wednesday morning, you could find me crawling on all fours in order to simply get to the bathroom shower. I was a real invalid and felt like crap. However, a ton of ibuprofen and a little rest made it feel better and I think I am on the mend. It still hurts, and I can'r really even walk right yet, but I feel far better than I did yesterday!

Hope I didn't gross you out, but thought it worth sharing!

Later!

One more trophy!

The annual "Old Fashioned 4th of July" in my hometown went off with a bang! Good weather, (a bit humid), lots of activities and entertainment, and the usually car and motorcycle show at the park. Last year I entered in the show and got first place. It was on a whim, but it still felt good to win, especially against another bike that had a ton of custom work done to it! And just earlier this year, I entered my bike in the show for the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby car and bike show. And I won best of show! There were only 4 bikes maybe, but I did beat out a Harley with big ape hanger bars and lots of chrome and noise. That was a really good feeling! This year I entered the bike again. I was a bit concerned at first, not because the competition was stiff, but because there was no competition! (that would have been a rather hollow victory) I had the only bike there until about 1:45 or so. Then two other bikes entered into my category (Import Street) and gave me legitimate competition. After all was said and done it came in with a first place trophy.

Some people say that their bike is merely a tool, and I can accept that. But for me, my bike is an extension of my personality and style and so I keep it in the best shape and look as I can. I ride it maybe not as much as I would like, but my situation is much different from most bike owners. My wife and I carpool and our jobs and other responsibilities sometimes require us to cart along more than can fit on my bike. Some might say, add more carrying space or a luggage rack. But that is not what I bought a bike for. If I wanted to carry all the stuff I would need to do what is required on certain days, I might as well take my truck or car! I really enjoy riding, but I want to do it without a lot of "baggage".

Anyway, I just wanted to update the blog, show off my trophy, my bike and my motorcycle cutie!

Later!

While kids are away....

Last week, while both my kids were away, (my son to the UK and my daughter to Girl Scout Camp) my wife and I took advantage and went to one of our favorite get away from it all places. Oddly enough it is located only about 1.5 hours from home and is near Covington, Indiana. It is a bed and breakfast log cabin call Cabins and Candlelights. It is probably the best bed and breakfast we have ever stayed in! It is a complete place to stay with full kitchen, stocked with goodies, dining area, sitting area, large bed and hottub all contained in the same room. Outside you have a fire pit and wooded area, a creek nearby and lots of wild critters to come visit you while there. As you can see from the photos, it is a very elegant place and truly is a place to relax and get away from it all. I really like it there and highly recommend it for anyone who needs a bit of time to themselves. The owners have thought of everything and all that remains is for you to visit. We have been twice and will definately be back...

Some of things we don't normally get to do while we were there...

sleep in

pick wild raspberries for pancakes

talk a walk in the woods

have a quiet campfire

read for hours

relax in the hottub

watch a movie without interuption

go antiquing

go eat somewhere we have never been

and other things I won't go into detail about....

Check it out on the web. Just search for Cabins & Candlelights! You will not be disappointed!

Later!

Update from the UK and Ireland!

Well, after nearly 8 days of not hearing a thing from our son, who is traveling in England, Wales and Ireland, we finally got a phone call telling us that all is well and that he actually does not miss us or is not homesick because it "is the most amazing experience." That makes all the hard work and time to get him over there worth it all. We have heard that they have been having experiences that your normal tourist coudl never have and much of what he talks about is making me jealous! (like complete free run of Warwick Castle and stuff like that....)

He will be there until the 9th of July and returns on the 10th. So far he has taken over 1GB of photos on the digital camera. I think that is something like more than 300 images! Wow!

I am so glad he is having a great time, but I can't wait to see him and hear all about it!

later!