Another Message from Your GM

EWHey guys, after working with my WordPress blog and comparing things, I've decided to move completely over to WordPress. I'll keep this one here until fall semester starts but it won't be updated. This one doesn't even have my most recent post which is why I'm posting this message so you know where to go. Wow, I'm the last of my friends to move sites. Anyway, goodbye Blogger and hello WordPress. I'll post the link to my WordPress site below. See you on the other side, Sanders Out.

https://justmesanders.wordpress.com/

The Magnificent Man

I started writing this a while back. I'm probably going to add to it, but for now it's a good stopping point. Let me know what you think.

“The stage is set. The curtain rises. The story has ended.”

“What,” I said bewildered, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

That magnificent man spun around to face me. “Precisely,” he said pointing the top of his cane towards me, “It doesn’t make any sense, to you.” He spun his cane around and pointed to himself, “But it does to me.” He turned around, his cape billowed out behind him as he strode to his bookshelf. His hand flourished as he explained, “The stage is set, that’s obvious. The curtain rises, so the audience can see the stage. But the story has ended, yes, it's possible. Now, I’ll add another detail. The actors take their bow.”

The Writer's Room

*Looking at heading* Not so much a room, more like my head... Anyway, hey guys! I'm doing some writing at the moment and a touch (read: a lot) of character development (Bryan Caplan is being annoying again so we are taking him to back to the drawing board; acronym obsession will be staying though, just turned down a few notches). I'm working on this little short piece that I might post here eventually as well as looking at ways to flesh out my characters. I feel like I've hit a slight wall with them and while I do have them all in my head and they do say things lately they have been mostly silent with the odd "I own the CIA! I own the FBI! I am Bryan Caplan!" (Bryan this is why we are taking you back to the drawing board). It concerns me when they haven't said anything to me in a while, then again I've been too busy to check on them (fandom characters on the other hand, they are popping their heads out and saying random crap). So, I'm taking a quick break from my short piece and went poking around the interwebs for some character development things and I found some stuff. I decided to post a few links to the sites I found in case anyone else might be looking for some character development things. Creating characters is one of my favorite things to do, but sometimes I start feeling like I'm creating the same person over and over again but only changing a few things. I figured I might try answering the questions on some of these and see what happens. Maybe then Bryan will say something other than another acronym. ("What you need is a nice drink. On the house, now tell your bar tender what's up." Go away, Russell, I have my Gatorade.) Anyway, before they all decide to start saying random crap, here are some links...

http://theathleticnerd.com/screenwriting/getting-to-know-your-characters (multiple links to other places)

http://thesebeautifulscars.tripod.com/interview.html (link that is one of the links on the first link, but I liked it so there)

http://thewritepractice.com/proust-questionnaire/

http://www.springhole.net/writing/index.html (neat little site that I'll probably spend a nice chunk of time on)

http://www.errantdreams.com/files/365charques.pdf

Anyway, that's all for now. I've got characters to rework and a short piece to work. So for now, Sanders out.

Tag: R.I.P It or Ship It: Anime

R.I.P It or Ship It is back! This time I'm using characters from anime shows. I tried to have a nice mix of people and not only guys this time (used some pretty awesome female characters). Like last time, I used a random group creator.

The rules are pretty simple:
1. Write down the names of characters from different books on scraps of paper.
2. Put them in a container of your choosing.
3. Pull out two names at the time and show them to your audience in whatever way you like.
4. Decision time! Do you ship them or do you want their relationship to die a peaceful/painful death? Tell the world!

No questions? Splendid! Let’s get this party started!

Characters Used:

Arthur Kirkland (Otherwise known as England; Hetalia)
Alfred Jones (Otherwise known as America; Hetalia)
Kyoya Otori (Ouran High School Host Club)
Tomoe (Kamisama Kiss)
Rei Ogami (Code;Breaker)
Lelouch Vi Britannia (Code Geass)
Rintaru Okabe (Steins;Gate)
Silvia De Alisia (Aquarion)
Shrade Elan (Aquarion EVOL)
Mix (Aquarion EVOL)
Haruka Nanase (Free!)
Rin Matsuoka (Free!)

I think the guys out number the girls this time... Yeah, have fun with that. Now here are the ships!

Alfred Jones and Mix

Okay, first of all, I'm not sure why I stuck Mix in here because she's so anti-male. Either way, I don't think this would work at all. Alfred is a bit... Eccentric and excited just about all the time. He's the embodiment of America for heaven's sake! Alfred would drive Mix up the wall! So I'm going to... R.I.P it.

Arthur Kirkland and Shrade Elan

Oh my gosh, the ship you never thought of, but now that it's in front of you, yes! Arthur is a British gentleman with a few little quirks. Shrade is cool, calm, and collected with a tendency to tease. I think he'll be able to quickly calm Arthur with a few notes on the piano. I see them as a peaceful couple in a nice flat in London. So yeah, I'm going to... Ship it!

Rintaru Okabe and Kyoya Otori

Oh my Tatum... This is what happens when I stick more than one character that J Michael Tatum has voiced (the other one on here is Tomoe). Dear god, and the think is their voices are so similar and so distinctly Tatum. Personalities aside, it would be, "Okabe, we're out of coffee." "Kyoya, you do realize we sound so much alike, right? The organization must be behind it. Come on Kyoya, we'll get your voice back, OW! A newspaper really?! Of all things you swat me with a newspaper? Where's your creativity, OW! Again?!" "You idiot." Okabe and Kyoya though, I see it working. Okabe is similar to Tamaki but not as idiotic. He's just a guy with so much in his head and Kyoya would act as an anchor and voice of reason to help him navigate through life. So I'm going to... Ship it.

Lelouch Vi Britannia and Rei Ogami

Oh boy. Revenge driven Lelouch and Code Breaker Ogami... This could be interesting. On one hand they both have a front they put up while at school and a separate personality for when they are doing whatever it is they do. I think they would work out alright. Both sharing details of their day and what they were doing on their free time. Sharing a smirk and a nod... Yes! Ship it!

Silvia De Alisia and Tomoe

Silvia and Tomoe... The royal and the fox demon. Silvia is head strong and sure of herself. Tomoe is a bit snarky and of course lazy, but I think Silvia would put him in his place. However, I don't really see them working as couple, close friends yes but not together. So... R.I.P it.

Rin Matsuoka and Haruka Nanase

HAHAHA!!! Gold! That's gold! HAHA!!! I already ship them. Rin and Haru are from the same show. I've already seen them interact and know how well they mesh. Both swimmers and childhood friends, Haru is reserved, a bit weird, and loves water. Rin just wants to be an Olympic swimmer but loses sight of what's really important after facing reality in Australia. Haru is one of the greatest swimmers and is truly beautiful in the water, but he just want's to be normal (something that grates Rin's nerves). Over time they both come to realize things and everything works out in the end. Anyway, their dynamic is great and anyone who watches Free! generally ends up shipping them together. That or Haru and Makoto. Even though I've said it already... Ship it!

That's it for this R.I.P It or Ship It. I might do one that is just Hetalia (sooo many ships) or maybe I'll go back to TV shows and movies. Maybe I'll do a book edition. Who knows. All I know is that I really like doing these and I hope you enjoy reading them, even if you don't know the shows and characters. So for now, Sanders out.

A Message from Your GM

*Looking at title and pondering* Not sure why I'm calling myself your GM, might be because I'm on a Sword Art Online kick. Great show by the way. No, don't tell me it sucks. I like it a lot so let me think that it's awesome. Thank you. Anyway, on to buisness. I reopened a Wordpress blog. I had one and then I got rid of it but I could only use that URL once so I had to adjust it so I could have the URL I wanted. But I'm finally ready to post what my URL is over at Wordpress. I'm still going to be here but I might post different things depending on my mood. I might one day switch to only using my word press but for now I'm going to post and update both. Right now there are a few posts that are here but not on Wordpress, and one that's over on Wordpress but not here. I moved most of my old posts over to Wordpress but there are only a few new ones and I need to check the format on the old ones. 

Here's my WordPress URL, https://justmesanders.wordpress.com/

That's my message, until next time, Sanders out.

The Ship

You've probably heard these phrases before...

"Ship it."

"Ship it like Fedex"

"If it fits it ships."

If you haven't, you are one of the lucky few who haven't been thrust into this crazy world (or you have and you just don't know the terms yet). Today is about shipping and my obsession with it (yes, I'm obsessed. No, I don't have a problem, I just ship anything and everything). BTW, Pinterest is a lovely little thing where you can find old Tumblr posts that are just brilliant.



Let's start with the basics...

What is shipping?

Shipping [Verb] : support or have a particular interest in a romantic pairing between two characters in a fictional series, often when this relationship is one portrayed by fans rather than depicted in the series itself.

I have many ships. I used to have one or two then they evolved into a small pier and then a nice fleet and now it's just an armada.

Now that you know what a ship is, or at least have a basic definition, let's get to the fun part.

The Beginning

Picture this. You're watching something, reading something, doing whatever and you see two characters interact for a while and think, "They should be together." You might not realize it but you've just shipped something. You start rooting for them and either a) get excited when it becomes canon (apart of the story) or b) wonder why they ended up not together or with other people (sorry, but that ship has been sunk by the writers). But worry not, in your own head and probably a lot of other people, you can deny the actual reality and ship it anyway (Sherlock... Johnlock, ship it.) But this is only one thing. If you're anything like me you start seeing pairings and ships in other things you are a fan of.

From Ship to Armada

This is where things vary from person to person. I have an armada of ships. So many that I forget that I ship something and don't remember until I circle back to that fandom. I've tried to keep a list but I forget to update it. Shipping can take over your life if you aren't careful. My friends can vouch for me, I have been known to look up from the book we are reading in AP Lit and say, " (name of character) and (name of other character), ship it." and go back to reading. (BTW, Newt and that other Irish guy, ship it.) But what turns a few ships into an armada, to me it takes a mix of things. My armada involves multiple ships within a fandom, ships from various fandoms, crossover ships, submarines, and ships from my everyday life (that bagger and the check out person at Publix, ship it.) Ships come in all shapes and sizes...

The arrow is as straight as my otp.

Submarines... This is a concept that I'm trying to help take off, so I'm including it.

Now comes the fun part before the final crazy part...

The OTP

OTP stands for One True Pairing. This is the ship that you ship the most. The ship you think of when anyone says ship, pairing, or otp. This is the ship to end all ships for you. This is the ship you hold on to till the end of time. The OTP is yours, love it forever. But you can have other otps. The difference is, at least to me, that an otp and the OTP is that an otp is a main pairing you support in a fandom while the OTP is the pairing that you will stand by for forever and a day. 

My OTP is Janto, the one otp of mine that became canon and was taken from me all to quickly... Damn you Davies!!! *Takes a moment because it's all so painful*

Love your OTP and love your otps. Treasure the ones that make it to canon and hold the ones that have been sunk close to you. 

Now for the final part(s) that is a bit [read: a lot] nuts...

Shipping IRL

I do ship in real life. I ship real people. I don't usually advertise my ships. But I do. I've been known to ship random people at Publix. Random things in my front yard... TOPBOGIMFL Fandom!!!



Yeah, fangirls, fanboys (though I haven't met many), and shippers are nuts.

My shipping motto: If it fits, it ships. (Take that however you like). {Side note: Thank you USPS flat rate shipping, you just handed me my shipping motto}

What this means is whatever you want it to mean, lol. Seriously, so many ways you can take that. The general answer as to what it means is that if I feel that it would work and produce shenanigans and something amazing and adorable and "OMG, I can't live without this ship" feelings, then I ship it.

Sometimes it takes me a while to ship something (Hamlet and Horatio, two reads and five years) and sometime it takes me a second to ship something (Johnlock and Janto). Ship it, ship everything, ship all the pairings. It's okay to have multiple pairings for one character (Stony, Frostiron, Hawkiron, once Fury/Tony... yeah that was weird but it worked for that one moment). As long as it makes you happy, go for it. Ship what you want (McNozzo, Percy/Oliver, Hotch/Reid, Google/Yahoo, Tumblr itself). Now for some tumblr things to make sense of those last two ships...

Personally, I ship Link/Quote, Chat/Video, and Text/Photo with Audio being the guiding force that gets everyone together!

BTW.... Sorry this next one is looooong... http://pin.it/weObDS3



And then after all that THIS still happens...



And this...



So anyway, that's shipping and a few of my many ships. I ship anything and everything, nothing is safe. Until next time, Sanders out.

Tech Support

Ok, so you have a tech issue and for the life of you, you can't figure out what's wrong or how to fix it. Who do you call? Tech support. You wait three to six hours on the phone to get patched to a human and then you hear the phone click as the annoying music stops playing and suddenly you remember that the company you're calling outsources and you think, "I hate this. Why did I call these people." 

Tech support has a bad rep. Customer service in general has a bad rep. But the one customer service "desk" that doesn't have a bad rep in my book is Electronic Arts support. I love EA's support team. They are awesome and if you take the time to be nice and not call them while your plumbob is red (lol, Sims reference), they'll help you. I've heard of people not liking EA's support but the majority of people that I've read comments from in forums, YouTube comments and tweets, like EA's support. I've had to contact them at least three times and each time I came out victorious with my problem solved. From what I can tell, EA doesn't outsource, or if they do they managed to get the good people. However, EA's support (and the company in general) hasn't always been sunshine and daisies. Three years ago, EA was named the worst company in America (apparently they got that infamous title two years in a row). After a turnover in CEOs and maybe a few executives, the company has been working hard to redeem itself. Looking into it, it's actually a great story to read about how it went from loved to hated to regaining the trust of the gamer community. Here's a CNet article from 2015: How Electronic Arts Stopped Being the Worst Company in America

Anyway, I love EA games. I love how the company is working to make the customers happy and can't wait to see what happens with the company in the future. Now I have sims to mess with, so for now, Sanders out.

Review: 2016-17 Phantom of the Opera Tour

He's here! The phantom of the opera!

Phantom of the Opera is touring the US right now. I went and saw it in South Carolina over spring break and it was awesome! The set was amazing and I'm still trying to figure out how it all worked (trust me that's a good thing). The cast was phenomenal. Last time I saw Phantom, in 2014, I felt that the Christine they had was straining too much to hit those high notes and was doing strange, strange things. The Phantom was great, but Christine wasn't. But that was 2014. For the 2016-2017 tour, the Phantom and Christine are simply amazing. They sung and I wanted to applaud them right then and there. I love most of the little tweaks they did to highlight certain details. Like the fact that everything happening is a memory and Raoul has to clear the stage for the show to truly start. However, in order to make it a bit more child friendly (come on people, don't bring your tiny children to phantom and then get upset when he kills everyone; do your research!), they adjusted one of my favorite parts. The Phantom kills the keeper of the flies (scene changer, set person) towards the end of the first act. When I first saw it, I wasn't expecting him to kill the guy. We got flashed of shadows in the background and then all of a sudden a dummy fell from the rafters and looked like a body was hung. Yes, that's one of my favorite parts. Not because I like seeing people be killed, but because it really drives home the point that the Phantom is real and dangerous, that the Phantom will kill if he has to. But this time, and last time in 2014, they changed it to where they turned the set diagonally so you could see what was happening backstage. You see the guy messing with some ropes and another guy comes up behind him and puts a noose around his neck. The noose lifts up and so does the fuy. He struggles a little then goes limp and two seconds later everyone screams and freaks out. While this makes it better for families with young children (again, it's Phantom; do your research!), to me it takes the drama out of a key point in the show. Of course to make up for it, there's emphasis in other parts of the show to grab your attention, I noticed things I've never noticed before. The Phantom's love for Christine is played up more in this show, which is something I love. It shows that he's human, he's capable of feeling and loving. Does he know how to properly show these feelings? No. But does he still have them? Yes.

Overall, the show is great and I hope to see it again when it comes to Atlanta, but that won't be until February 2017 (that's why we went to South Carolina). I hoghly recommend seeing Phantom if you've never seen a Broadway show before. It's dark, it's got some humor, it's amazing when done right, which it is at the moment. That's it for my review. Not doing star things because I think they're annoying to mess with. Sanders out. (Cue Phantom of the Opera overture)

Update

So I do plan to post something, but probably not until Friday or the weekend. This is a big week at school so I've been scrambling around and everything but this one thing has been placed on the back burner until the end of Thursday. I do have plans though. I've been able to take note of any ideas for posts and I have a couple written down. Might do a Shakespeare post at some point in honor of Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary. I also have Star Trek updates to give and praises of Enterprise to sing, DS9 as well. And then the Sherwin-Williams logo is a fun topic. So that's that. Long week, stressful week, scrambling week. Until the end of this week, Sanders out.

Review: Ace Attorney Anime

Hey guys! I got wind that the Ace Attorney anime was out yesterday, so after watching all that I could, I'm now reviewing what there is so far. There will be spoilers in this post mostly because I've played the games and you can find the story lines pretty much anywhere, from what I can see they are sticking true to the games as far as basic plot. So sorry if you hate spoilers, I'm not holding back so I can convey my own reactions to the anime as genuinely as they come (I'm actually started this post before finishing the first episode, got through the title sequence before stopping to wait for a better moment to watch it). However, if you still want my overall reaction, I marked the point where there won't be anymore spoilers (bottom of the post, bold type and asterisks, can't miss it) so there is that. Right now, since it just came out, it's only in Japanese so being able to deal with subs is a must if you want to watch it right now (I prefer dubs but I'm warming up to subs recently). So on with my review. *Insert really cool opening sequence that is for a review here*

Episode 1

So right off the bat we are greeted with the traditional "oh look the killer" opening scene for the first episode of Ace Attorney. It was pretty basic and such. Right after it cut to the other opening scene that introduces Phoenix. We see his apartment, a few things that people who have played the game might recognize and then we see Phoenix, a young looking Phoenix. I've gotten used to the older looking Phoenix Wright from the current game, Dual Destinies, so seeing a young Phoenix was bitter sweet. I loved the original trilogy and Phoenix's story and how he went from rookie to well an ace attorney and beating every odd out there. However, it did throw me off to see the old art style and not the new suit I got used to, as well as remind me that this Phoenix, anime Phoenix, has a long, sometimes painful, journey to get to where he is now. But I do like the art style, I think it's reminiscent of the old games which I like, although the current game, and the new one coming out, has anime cut scenes and I was hoping that they would bring that art style to the new show. Instead it's more like a blend of the old with the new.

Phoenix through the Ages

(Yes he's pointing in all of them, it's a classic Phoenix Wright move, that and slamming hands on the courtroom desktop)

Anime Phoenix

Dual Destinies Phoenix

Original Original Phoenix from GBA Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

DS Phoenix from when they re-released the original trilogy

3DS Trilogy Version Phoenix
AKA The one I'm more or less  used to.

Do you realize how long it took to get these photos to work right? A long time.

So we meet Phoenix and watch him get ready for his first court appearance and as he rushes out it cuts to the opening sequence. I like the title song, it's nice even though I have no idea what is being said. As for the actual animation, I wish they did something besides the classic running opening. I wanted to see more animation like the part with Phoenix and Edgeworth on the beach with the golden chain and they represent the scales of justice (or of the law, the scale thingy). But the running worked to a degree, I've just seen running openings for a long time (Code Geass to a degree, most any Pokemon opening, various others I think) and wanted something new. After the opening sequence we get the area outside the courtroom and the typing thing that tells us where and when. We see Mia (again, bitter sweet) and then go into the courtroom. They made a point to show us all the areas in the courtroom. The open space, the desk areas, the gavel. And then we get to the case and see Larry Butz get brought it. Of course the prosecutor is none other than Winston Payne. Naturally the first episode is the tutorial case from the game. Larry is up to a few shenanigans that we don't see in the game so there's something new there. The judge comes in, sits down, and the trial begins. The first part of the trial starts with some traditional Phoenix things, the "Uh... Not sure what to say or why I yelled objection" but, the actual objection, and the testimony. The second part of the trial happened and the usual turnabout occured. Payne didn't get to do his rookie breaker speach thing but he did make the face of defeat which was interesting. The classic Phoenix Wright theme played to signal the turnabout. The confetti happened and some little effects. The bit at the end with Phoenix and Mia walking back from the courthouse was nice and bitter sweet because reasons that will be revealed soon. Overall, the dialogue for the first episode was lifted straight from the game. I'm hoping it's just for this one episode and the rest of the season has some form of creativeness. The one thing I really hope they don't screw up is the banter between Phoenix and Miles in and out of the courtroom. Now on to episode two.

Episode 2

After watching episode 2 there isn't much else for me to say. Miles Edgeworth is introduced and we see more of why Phoenix became a lawyer. Mishaps been murdered and Maya, her little sister, has been accused of murder. Phoenix can't find a lawyer to take the case and takes the case to defend Maya. The scene is actually really cute and introduces the dynamic they will later have beautifully. We see the differences between Phoenix and Edgeworth and finally when they meet we see the beginning of a stand off. It's great seeing their court origin story without having to go through tedious button clicking like in the game (while I love the game, it gets tiresome to go through the story but get held up by button pressing). The final scene between them got me excited to see what the writers in Japan have done to convey the relationship between Miles and Phoenix. I loved the quick exchange between them at the end. I feel like it's prefacing something far greater and I hope that the anime dynamic is just as amazing as their dynamic in the games. Over all, I definitely enjoyed this episode more than the first. I didn't feel like the whole episode was lifted from the game which gives me hope that over time, they might take a few more liberties while staying true to the game. I've also decided that if the US gets it to dub that I want Briena Palencia to voice Maya. Not sure where J Michael Tatum would fit  into Ace Attorney though (maybe Edgeworth). But if I got to chose I would want Travis Willingham as Gumshoe. 

*No spoilers from this point on*

Overall, I have high hopes for this show. I think it will turn into something amazing and I can't wait to see more. To top it all of it's the 15th anniversary of when Phoenix Wright was first released so things are happening this year. There's going to be a limited edition version of the new game with two extra cases. The new game gets released in Japan sometime in July; I'm not sure when it comes to the US. As for the anime, there's a new episode released every Saturday at some time on Crunchyroll. The season is not free so other sources  are needed to actually watch the episodes, so Sunday or Monday is generally a good time to look for a new episode online. To clarify, I like the new anime. I like where it's going and I have hopes for it to be all it could be. My biggest worry is them screwing up Phoenix and Edgeworth's dynamic and how they interact with each other. I'll be really made if they skimp on the banter and interactions. Next episode will be sort of the moment of truth of whether they screw this one key component of Phoenix's story up. For now, it's off to a good start and should pick up within the next few episodes. Sorry if you read all this and are still mad at any spoilers, I warned you up top. I might do a follow up once a few more episodes get released and I've watched them. I have one more review to do this week and that will be on the most recent tour of Phantom of the Opera. I was going to do that one but it got pushed back because I found out that the Ace Attorney anime is out now. That's all from me tonight. Go watch the show if you want to, or play the games  and then watch it, or vice versa, I don't care, live your life the way you want to. I'm going to shift through my phone files and see what exactly is on my phone. Until next time, Sanders out.

Peacocks and Cat Calls

Female Peafowl - Peahen

Peafowl. Peacock. Peahen. Peachick. Peawhatever. Where was I going with this? Right. Male peafowl are gorgeous. With their long tails and iridescent feathers, peacocks strut their stuff and show off to attract a peahen. They vocalize and show of their tails to court a female which results in a loud beautiful display that tends to attract humans as well. Recently, I was able to get some amazing shots of a male peacock showing off. But what made the shoot special was that the peacock wasn't showing off for a peahen (at least I didn't see any around at the time) instead he seemed to be showing off for me. A peahen is plain compared to a peacock. She has a brown head, some color on her neck, and a brown body. That day, I was wearing my new Phantom of the Opera t-shirt, which is tan, and had my camera taking pictures of the peafowl (mostly peacocks). My camera's lens is black and the body of my camera is red. I was crouched down and I guess I looked like a peahen. A male peacock strutted over and the peahen he was focusing on ran off somewhere and he put his tail down. I took a few shots of this head and after a minute or so he started putting his tail back up. I rolled with it and got some great shots. I started to look around for the peahen and didn't see one that would actually see him. I realized that he was turning around and facing me with his tail fanned like his life depended on it. I started wondering if I was took close and shifted a little. He looked square at me and then did a strange thing towards me. He vibrated his tail at me and kept doing it. He would turn around a few times and then vibrate this tail again. After he did this a few times, he opened his mouth and let out that classic peacock sound, the cawing that sounds like a cat after a while; I call the sound a cat call).  The peacock showing off for me got closer to me and each time he stepped closer he would vibrate his tail. I wondered a few times if what he was doing was a warning to me to stay away or something. I wondered if I was about to be killed by a peacock and if I should move away as I kept taking pictures like the idiot I am with no sense of self preservation. I decided that he was showing off for me as there weren't any peahen's nearby. So I decided to work it to my advantage. I turned to show the tan shirt off more and kept snapping away. Eventually, the peacock decided that he wasn't going to get anywhere with me and lowered his tail before stalking off to find a peahen, an actual peahen. I got up and decided that what just happened was strange and the poor thing must be really desperate if he's decided that a human is a peahen. Seriously, I don't know much about peafowl but I'm pretty sure they know the difference between a human and one of their own species, at least I hope they do. I decided it was fluke or something, but then it happened again. I'm still not sure if it was the same peacock or two different ones. Either way, I think I accidentally attracted two peacocks to me or managed to wound the pride of one enough to try to court me twice. Still, I got some great photos out of it.

He started out trying to court this peahen.

After she walked off, he did his thing towards me.

 

At this point, I can't help but wonder if maybe he knows what a camera is and is therefore posing.

Peacocks aside. I also got the chance to shoot with a 600mm lens. But on my camera it registers as 810mm. Here's one of the photos I took with the short time I had with the lens. Side note: None )of these photos have been edited yet, so yeah. I have a new anime show to watch that I've been waiting a long time for now. So, Sanders out! (Runs off yelling, "PHOENIX WRIGHT IS AN ANIME NOW!!! WHOOO!!!")

Plot Lines and Crossed Lines

For the past two weeks, my AP lit class has been working with Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. One of the things my lit teacher said before we started was that Arcadia had six different plot lines but he only wanted us to pay attention to two. He also told us that Arcadia takes place in two different time periods, but everything happens in the same room. So as we are reading the two things we are supposed to keep track of gets pointed out to us and so goes the keeping track of things and such. Now, I love plot lines. Plot lines are the reason to watch or read anything (duh), but multiple plot lines, oh it's Christmas!

In Brave New World, chapter 3 had three different scenes going on at once and the way it was written was that it would have a clump from one thing and then jump to another and then jump to another and continue that way in no particular order. The clumps got progressively smaller until it was just a sentence or two from one thing before jumping. Reading chapter 3 of Brave New World was the most fun I've had with a book in a long time. Until Arcadia that is.

With Arcadia, I had fun figuring things out and keeping track of the events happening in the past and present. For whatever reason, keeping track of multiple plot lines comes somewhat easy to me. Do I get things mixed up, turned around, and crossed? Yes, I do sometimes more on that later. But the fact that my mind is able to keep up with things and switch to something else at the drop of a hat amazes me (Probably how I'm able to adjust the settings on my camera without much thought). Normally, my mental things like this stay in realm of lit and my entertainment, but recently a concept in econ put my plot line thing to use.

In econ, we recently (I say recently but it was two weeks ago) did game theory and worked with the matrix table thingy. The thing about game theory and such is that you have to pay attention to the details given and which things go with which player and what happens if one player does one thing. Multiple factors, multiple outcomes. Plot lines, that's all it is.

Now, the lines crossed thing. Sometimes I do get things mixed up or smush things together. I call it getting my lines crossed. When I'm actively working multiple things and I'm dealing with various casts of characters and their own plots, I sometimes have to stop and remember what I'm working on and what has already happened. Sometimes I have to reread something and refresh what I had happen. There have been moments when I've stopped and gone, "Wait, this happened? I thought it was this that and the other." Sometimes I'll smash two characters together and think they are one. I get lines crossed. It's inevitable. But sometimes my line crossing flows into other things. Today, I smushed two different types of graphs together into one in econ. Right type of market, but with the product and factor market graphs smushed together. *Shrugs* Meh, stranger things have happened.

So yeah, plot lines. Plot lines, plot lines, plot lines. Not sure if anything I just said made any sense, but if it did yay, winning at life. I might do a brain dump or another "Broadway and lit" thing (the last one I did like that was in October with The Tempest). For now, Sanders out.

Really Brain, We're Going To Do THIS Now

It's been a while since I've done a total brain dump so I'm going to do one now. What's a brain dump? A term I just came up with to describe the random stream of consciousness inner musing thing I do every now and then because I think my brain is so strange and my life so random. Anyway, brain dump... [cue theme music and title sequence].

Random Sticky Note
I have a random sticky note on my desktop. On it, it says, "Flash drive is a representation of my life." I wrote that about a week ago or something, I really don't know. Anyway, now I'm trying to remember why the flash drive represents my life. It was probably because things get added to it, taken out, and, when I don't keep track of how often I've used it, probably has a lot of random stuff on it that I forgot existed. Yeah that sums everything up. It gets used and guarded and for a while, the only goal is to not lose it. I live and try to not die (I'll get to that at some point) and for a moment, everything is more or less in order and I try not to loose my marbles or something. I lose it, or leave it somewhere and look at it everyday but still forget that it exists. My life falls apart (happens semi-often), or I loose my hold on reality and the plane of existence and only go through the motions of life. It's small and easy to forget about (old memory from my past that I don't like to dredge up). It's contents change but the outside stays the same. Okay, so I don't look the same but the basic concept is there, I grow, I change, I have character traits that are very different from the ones I had when I was younger. The flash drive is a representation of my life... I like it.

Seriously Brain, Why?!?!
In my Lit class, we are reading Arcadia. So after day one of reading about carnal embrace and the running gag that followed, I walked into class with my inner self really wanting to make a "That's what she said" joke. Skip to the end of the day, I'm in 7th period and my teacher has a couple of the guys go get some butcher paper.

Guy 1: What color paper do you want?
Teacher: I would prefer white, but really something I can write on.
My Brain: That's what she said.
Me: Why brain, why?

Stop It Brain, You KNOW This
Another thing my brain has been doing is registering things strangely. Like I know, my teacher was wearing a navy shirt, but my brain was registering it as purple. Like legit, I say to myself, "That shirt is navy" and in my mind would say "That shirt is purple." And then a friend of mind takes Spanish and I know she takes Spanish. That's all she's taken since freshman year. And my brain was like, "She just came from Chinese class." My brain is strange and I'm pretty sure I'm going mad. It's irritating to look at something and have to process for a moment what the heck it is. I just looked at my camera, my partner in crime, my one true love (too far? Too bad *sticks out tounge*) and was like, "You are red... You're a Nikon... I gave you a name... Ooo pineapple juice, wait that can is empty... Oh! You're name is RoA... Wait, that's right but wrong... Ages, Rock of Ages." And then I turned to my beautiful film camera and was like, "I think you're Ted. No Ted is my favorite chart. You're Colonel. Not that's not right. General? No... Major, like Major General Sir. Right..." I'm loosing myself right? Maybe not... Who knows. I don't, and my brain sure doesn't. I would say stranger things have happened, but I can't think of any examples.

Lines Of Dialogue, But No Plot
I'm a creator. I create things. Whether or not those things come to physical form in the real world is another mater. I see a blank room and I think about the different ways I could paint and design it. I visualize photo shoots that I would run if I had the money or contacts. I come up with creatures and beings that I would love to be able to draw and give life to. I write to share what's in my head. The characters I create and take time to give a past to mean so much to me. In my head, there is a section dedicated to them, like a large room really (like the room of requirement in Harry Potter) where I can mentally check on them and see what they are doing at the moment and can listen to them and converse with them sometime (I usually keep my original characters separated from the characters I'm attached too from various fandoms- Bryan Caplan and Tony Stark must never meet... Same with Conrad Heist and Anthony DiNozzo... Don't get me started on the disaster that would be Loki and Ryan Colbert [daddy issues to the max and Ryan is impressionable right now]). Anyway, lately I've had only a few ideas on how to move my plot lines forward. What I have in surplus are various dialogues that don't really fit with anything, and it's not dialogues that are feel good fluff pieces either. I'm getting snippets of pure sarcasm and internal monologues that aren't mine. I'm getting words that mean nothing to me (it's my brain's way of trying to speak Latin, that much I know). I'm getting supernatural beings that I'm slowly creating. I'm getting images of groups in cloaks paired with gothic instrumentals. It's strange. My brain gets like this every so often when I get stressed with the world and such. It's been a while. The last time it happened I created my own "universe" (our world, my terms) and two casts of characters with a connection between two, one from each cast (Neil Heist and Conrad Heist, brothers). I really don't want to end up with another acronym obsessed character Bryan Caplan is hard enough to deal with (once I've taken the time to give them a personality I don't have control over what they do). So for now, I'll probably just jot down ideas, write lines of random dialogue, and maybe even do some character creation. I'll probably also take a few back to the drawing board and either rework them (if they go willingly that's a sign I'm doing the right thing) or add to their pasts and personality (that can be fun, but sometimes painful because reasons).

So that's my brain dump. I'm probably slowly loosing myself or something but that's okay I always find myself again in the end. So for now, Sanders out.

Di Immortales!

I've just finished rereading Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief. I couldn't remember why I liked the series in first place and after finding out about Riordan's new book that's due to come out later this March, I decided that now was a good time to take on the task of rereading all the Percy Jackson books, Kane Chronicles, finish reading Heroes of Olympus, and read Riordan's other new book, Magnus Chase. In addition to that, I splurged on ebooks, because that's the medium I'm using lately, and I got the three short stories Riordan has written that is a crossover between Percy Jackson and the Kane Chronicles. I'm excited to be doing this and I'll probably post periodically about where I'm at and my own reactions to the books I've read before and to the books I'm reading fresh. Now... The Lightning Thief... where do I start... Sarcasm is usually something that doesn't get conveyed that well and gets lost when reading the work. One of the things that I love, and I'm remembering that I loved, about the Percy Jackson series was the dialogue that added to the character's personalities. Here are some of my favorite things said by characters in The Lightning Thief.

"I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, and sending you back to your father." - Dionysus

"I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me." - Echidna after Percy mentions the creature.

"I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning. Your father believes in you, she had said. She'd also called me brave... unless she was talking to the catfish." - Percy

"A hundred yards away, at the entrance pool, the Cupids were still filming. The statues had swiveled so that their cameras were trained straight on us, the spotlights in our faces. "Show's over" I yelled. "Thank you! Good night!" The Cupids turned back to their original positions. The lights shut off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the gentle trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love's exit pool. I wondered if Olympus had gone to a commercial break, or if our ratings had been any good." - Percy

Moments of light when the dark is upon, that's what I like. Anyway, that's all, Sanders out.

Creative Competitions

Reality TV seems to be a staple in pop culture. Whether it's watching the Kardashians (did I spell that right? no? yes? yeah I don't care) or American Pickers or some random singing show, reality TV has something for everyone (just have to look for it). For me, my favorites are competition shows (yeah I have other favorites but this isn't about them). Trade competitions are the best competitions in my mind. I can relate to people and their craft, be it bladesmithing, interior design, creature design, food. I can relate to the heart and pride people put into their craft and trade (pretty sure most people can relate), but what I love about these competitions that highlight the skill and difficulties of a trade is that the contestants are given an overall concept and parameters to work with. So while they [the contestants] are working on their designs, I'm also thinking about what they could do or what I would do. I get to pick up on some of the lingo of their trade, like quenching and various cooking terms that I still can't remember. I get to see if any of my ideas would actually work on the off chance that some one on the show goes down the same line of thought. It's fun and I get to see people working their craft and produce something amazing. Here are some of my favorite trade competitions.

Face Off

You've seen movies where the actors are creatures or unworldly beings, or at least have seen the pictures. But have you ever considered how that movie magic happens. Yes there is CGI but there are still make up artists and creature designers who work their butts off to make things happen. Face off is the search for the next great special effects make up artist. Each week contestants are given a topic and parameters to create a creature to wow the judges and the guest judge for that week (once Josh Hutcherson from Hunger Games came on and was like, "I would gladly run from that creature."). Each season is a batch of new contestants and one gets eliminated every week while another gets high praise and invulnerability in the next challenge. SyFy's Face Off is great and amazing and full of whimsy (depending on the week that is).

Ellen's Design Challenge

I love interior design, but you need furniture to design with, Ellen's Design Challenge is a furniture design competition. Like Face Off, each season a new batch of contestants come on the show and one gets eliminated each week while another gains an advantage in the next week. Contestants have to design a unique piece of furniture that fits the area it will go in. I love seeing the different styles and how each contestant comes up with their idea (one used a flow chart mind map thing), and sometimes Ellen DeGeneres makes an appearance (hey it's her show). It's great and it's on HGTV. 

Chopped

Food Network's Chopped has a slightly different format than shows like Face Off and Design Challenge. Each week four chefs are brought in and face off against one another to prepare a three-course meal consisting of an appetizer, entree and dessert. The catch is that in each round, they have to use all the ingredients the show provides them with, however unlikely they might be (once they had to use chocolate in every dish). At the end of each course, a panel of three guest judges "chops" one chef who fails to measure up in terms of taste, presentation and creativity. The last chef standing takes home bragging rights and $10,000. Chopped takes a whole season of these other long competitions shows and wraps it all into one hour episodes. 

Forged in Fire

Now for my latest obsession, History Channel's Forged in Fire. Like Chopped, each week four bladesmiths are brought on to compete against each other. The set is referred to as "The Forge," and is stocked with a wide range of metalworking equipment, including furnaces, grinders, and shaping presses. At the end of each round, the smith whose weapon is judged to be the least satisfactory must surrender it and leave the competition. In the first round, the four smiths are presented with a starting material that they must use to forge a blade. In some episodes, they all begin with the same material; in others, they may choose from an assortment of metal objects. They are given a range for blade length and one feature that must be incorporated. Once the design and working period is over, the judges inspect their workmanship, quality, and design, the one who does make the cut gets eliminated and told to "surrender their weapon." For the second round, the three remaining smiths are given an additional three hours to turn their blades into fully operational weapons. They must attach a handle, grind, sharpen, and polish the blades as well as address any flaws or issues pointed out by the judges in the first round. The judges put each weapon through a series of tests to gauge properties such as sharpness, durability, and ease of use. For these tests, the weapons are used to chop/slash/stab objects that include coconuts, sandbags, and car doors. The one who doesn't make the cut gets eliminated. In the third round, the two remaining smiths are shown a historically significant bladed weapon and are given five days to create a version of it, traveling to their home forges to do the work. Once this time is up, they return to the Forge and submit their weapons for testing similar to that in the second round. Based on the test results, the judges select one smith to receive the $10,000 prize. Forged in Fire is becoming one of my favorite shows, in fact I'm binge watching Season 1 as I'm typing this post up, and I found my current favorite blade because of the show (it's a khopesh if you wanted to know). Forged in Fire is great and I love the historical aspect, and kill tests are the best tests. And I know what to look for if I ever get a blade myself.

Overall, I just love the creation and imagination as well as the heart and soul that goes into the work the contestants produce. I love seeing the passion people have for their trade and craft and I love knowing the passion behind what they do (my passion is photography, I get it). I also use shows like this as a way to make my writing a little more accurate if I decide to use something, like a weapon, in my writing. That's it for this post. Hope you decide to check these shows out, I'm going back to my blades, so for now... Sanders out.

I've Got A Theory

In freshman year, I became interested in society and social order. At the time, I was also fascinated with wolves and their social interactions. Meanwhile in school, I was taking Debate and was constantly looking at the news and googling various ideas and concepts. I came up with my own "theory" (for lack of a better word) on how our society worked. It seemed to hold true in some areas, but since it's something I came up with in 9th grade, as well as being exactly that, a theory, it obviously has a few weak spots and holes and doesn't apply to the whole of society. That being said, the theory I came up with in 9th grade is called Pack Theory (hey, I wanted to be legit, so I named it, if I remember right, I actually googled to see if it existed or if something like it existed).

What is it?
Pack Theory is the idea that our social structure within groups is similar to that of a wolf pack. You have the big bosses on top which are the alphas. The subordinates that still have power (probably your boss that you answer to) which are the betas. And then all the underlings after that are the omegas. This concept can apply almost anywhere; a big corporation, a small start up, school, family, even within your own group of friends (although my particular group of friends doesn't really roll this way, at least I don't think we do). Does it apply to our government? In some ways it does, but overall, not really. But let's not dwell on what may or may not be, instead let's look at some breakdowns. Please note when I say omega, I don't mean it in a bad way, it's just a way of saying not major power and not management, also the way I may rank things might be different from how you might view things, it's just my opinion.

Businesses
This is probably the easiest to imagine, explain, wrap your mind around. In a business, whether it's a small start up or a huge corporation, there are higher ups and underlings. In a small start up, the pack is small and most likely depends on one another more, so the line between alpha and omegas are not quite there yet. Most likely everyone is operating on a beta level with the owner or whatever being the alpha. Are there omegas? Yes, but since a small start up is trying to be more, the lines are blurred. They are there, but blurred. However, if you look at a mega corporation, there are various packs within one huge pack (remember similar to a wolf pack; never said only one pack per group). The large pack being the whole company. The CEO and probably the CFO (one more I just can't remember the last one) are the alphas (ignore the board of directors in my brain they don't exist even though they are above the CEO). Under the alphas are a string of betas that have varied amounts of power. The betas are your department heads, managers, team leaders, etc. Then the omegas are everyone else. Within a corporation, there might be various offices in various cities which have their own structures. This is where the packs within a large pack comes from.

School
This is more of a faux pack. No one usually holds any real power but there are those who might have a higher social standing. In this sense, the "popular" kids are the alphas. The not "lame" kids are the betas. There's the kids who are just there and aren't really anything. And then there's the kids at the bottom of the pack who are the omegas. Basic stuff, you didn't really need me to spell it out for you, but I did anyway. There's also the rank of grade level. Generally the freshmen are the omegas. Sophomores are kind of just there. Juniors could be seen as betas (personally I see them as just there). And then seniors are a mix of alphas and betas. Cliques, teams, clubs, (groups really) all have their own order of things as well.

Family
There's an order to things in most families. There is usually a matriarchal or patriarchal figure, their favorites/those who try to take control, and then the rest of the family. Pretty straight forward. Probably a hierarchy among genders and age groups, as well as among various sides of the family.

Friends
Most likely, a group of friends is going to be made up of a few alphas and the rest betas, no one is really an omega. When I say alpha, I mean those who are primary decision makers, the ones that usually have final say, or at least seem to have all the "power." I'm not saying that alphas in a group of friends are like dictators. That's not at all what I'm saying. The line between alpha and beta are barely there; it all just blends together. (I'm trying to convey what's in my brain, but it might be getting lost in translation) To me there aren't really an omegas in a group of friends, everyone is more or less on equal ground.

Anyway, that's more or less Pack Theory. It's a still a work in progress. I'm still trying to figure out lone wolves and coyotes, as well as other ways this might apply. I'm not saying that this is exactly how everything works, just that this is the general trend that I've interpreted. Humans are strange, unique and generally unpredictable creatures. Pack Theory is meant to be a basic framework of how social order might stand. I hope you enjoyed it. Later this week I might post something about the various generations (generation Y, millennials, generation Z, etc.) For now though, Sanders out.

Hail Mary's and Staying Grounded

(Looks at post title) Other wise known as "Why Three Day Weekends and Four Day Weeks Are The Bane of My Existence." Too long? Oh well, my life, my blog, I do what I want. Anyway, let's get this post started.

I HATE three day weekends and, by extension, four day weeks. I know what you might be thinking, What? Hate three day weekends? Sanders you're nuts. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. The point is that I hate them so much for a valid reason, they mess with my head so much and it takes me about a week to two weeks to get back to normal. And on top of that, I get back to school and I'm trying to remember everything we were doing before the three day weekend, while praying that I didn't forget to do anything. Time during the long weekend just sort of goes by and I don't really know what's going on or what day it is. Usually, I'll think Monday is Sunday or something. It's almost like time ceases to exist for me. We just came back from a three day weekend this week so we only have four days of school this week. I'm annoyed because I was just getting a grip on time again from the last three day weekend (which was a month ago but feels like it was three weeks), only to have this one sprung on me and now I'm just trying to regain my footing. Yesterday, for the first hour I was up and conscious enough to process things, I literally kept telling myself, "Today is Monday not Sunday." Then of course today, I was trying to remind myself that it was Tuesday, but for whatever reason, first period felt like freaking Saturday, then at one point during transition it felt like Friday. So yeah, days of the week on shuffle. The goal of this week is to stay grounded and in this reality, not sure how well it will work out though.

So that's my vendetta against three day weekends and four day weeks, the Hail Mary's are another story. Whenever I come back from a long weekend, I always spend that first day freaking out and hoping I didn't forget to do anything or get called on to answer a question (because I can't remember what the heck we were doing before the end of last week). Most of the time, everything goes by without much of a hitch. While I don't follow football or know anything about football, I've managed to pick up a football term, Hail Mary. A Hail Mary is a very long, typically unsuccessful pass made in a desperate attempt to score late in the game, an attempt with a small chance of success. For me, a Hail Mary can be that attempt against all odds or something that will save my butt for the time being. Today was just a bunch of Hail Mary's. First period, we were discussing Life of Pi and I was sitting there going "please don't call on me, please don't call on me" because I still have yet to finish the damn book (doing that tonight, I'm dead set on doing that tonight). Anyway, I manage to get through class without much falter, so saving face. Of course I also had a quiz in Econ that I was racking my brain trying to remember what we were doing, I managed to get a 90 something after clicking through questions and debating on whether I should turn the thing in or not. I managed to finish a Lit assignment before the dropbox closed. And the big one, I forgot about the math quiz I have to make up, so I ask my teacher if I'm taking it today, she told me I'll take it tomorrow. I went to my seat, telling myself, "Thank the lord." So yeah, a Hail Mary, something that goes in your favor when it's as least expected as it could get. That's my story, and now to go do work. Sanders out. 

The Borg and The Q

First of all, I want to start out by saying that I totally meant to post this last week, but my brain got distracted by something, I don’t really know what… Yeah, that’s kind of how my brain works, focusing, focusing, Ooo shiny! Distraction, wait what moment, refocus, what the heck just happened moment. Anyway, this post is about the two races (civilizations, societies, whatever you want to classify them as) I mentioned in my last post, Civilizations of Star Trek. So forget your apathy towards the universe because resistance is futile. This post is about the Q and the Borg.

The Borg

Lower your shields and surrender your ships indeed. The Borg are a technologically advanced race. Essentially cyborgs, the Borg are a collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms. Their minds are linked together in a hive mind and each Borg member is a drone to serve the Collective. The Borg use a process called assimilation to force other species into the Collective through injection of microscopic nanoprobes. The Borg Collective’s ultimate goal is the attainment of “perfection” through the forcible assimilation of diverse sentient species, technologies, and knowledge. Because of this the Borg are among the most powerful and feared entities in the galaxy. Borg drones don’t engage in any activities except their duties and regeneration (their way of recharging themselves). Drones are identified by designations instead of names and their designation generally described their position within a group. The Borg believe themselves to be superior in their way of life and don’t understand why other species would resist assimilation. The Borg ignores other alien species until they begin to pose a potential threat or become a suitable candidate for assimilation. Drones would begin to assimilate small groups of individuals without warning, while larger populations, like starships or an entire culture, would receive an announcement of their purpose.

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

The Borg generally didn’t open communications with others, but if they did they chose a single drone to speak for the Collective (hive mind and all so it worked for them). The Borg have a queen, the Borg Queen, but the nature of her role is a bit murky. As far as religion, the closet thing they have to one is a near-reverence for particle 010 (Omega molecule that is highly unstable and is believed to be the most powerful substance known to exist; the explosion of one molecule could destroy all of subspace within several light years). The Borg consider the particle to be an expression of perfection (even though one molecule destroyed 29 Borg vessels and 600,000 drones).

What makes the Borg so strong and near impossible to defeat, is their technology. The Borg’s technology is a combination of technologies assimilated from other cultures and technology developed within the Collective in order to overcome obstacles to its goals. If there is a problem it couldn’t solve, the entire Collective would work in concert to consider all possible solutions and use the one determined to be most efficient. By using the unique skills of each drone for a task, the Collective could engineer new technologies at an astounding pace. Their speed is so quick when adapting that they could modulate their shields and weapons to be effective against most ships and energy weapons in seconds. Borg ships are usually common geometric shapes, the most common being the Borg cube and Borg sphere. The ships were highly decentralized and without a clear bridge, engineering, or living areas. Their ships could analyze opponent’s weapons systems and adapt defenses within seconds. If the ship was hit, the ship would begin repairing itself.

The Q Continuum

The Q Continuum is an extra-dimensional plane of existence inhabited by the Q, however you could use the Q Continuum as a way to refer to the Q society itself. The Q is an immortal race that isn’t absolutely omniscient or omnipotent. The Q possess the ability of instantaneous matter-energy transformation and teleportation, as well as time travel. They can move entire asteroid belts and stars, creating alternate timelines, and can affect universal states of nature such as the gravitational constant (gravity). The only time a Q is ever seen to be unable to do something was when their powers were reduced or revoked by the Continuum. The Q claim they have always existed and have no explanation as to how they first came into existence. The Q Continuum is a highly ordered society and the result of eons of evolutionary stagnation. In their “new era,” the Q engaged in constant dialogues of discovery and other universal issues. Since that era, the Q never faced the unknown again. To them, everything possible has been done, and their omniscience had become boring. Members of the Q no longer felt the need to even speak to each other because everything has been said. The Q became apathetic towards the universe.

The death of a Q was said to cause chaos in the Continuum. When one of the Q killed himself to end the stagnation in the Continuum, the Continuum entered a massively destructive civil war. The two factions constructed weapons that could compromise the immortality of a Q. When the weapons were fired in the Continuum, massive damage to subspace occurred and some stars in normal space went supernova. Subspace eventually became so damaged that the Q outside of the Continuum lost their powers and immortality. Eventually a new Q was born and a cease fire was called. The damage was restored and the Q went back to being near omnipotent and invincible.

Q

Q is a member of the Q (confusing I know). He is considered to be obnoxious, interfering, and a pest. While he demonstrates superior capabilities, his mindset is unlike what Federation scientists expected for a powerful being. But under all his irritating personality, Q seems to have a hidden agenda that generally have the best interests of humanity at their core. The Federation first encountered Q when he appeared on the USS Enterprise-D. He warned the crew that Humanity should return to their home star system or be destroyed. When the crew resisted, he put Humanity on trial with Captain Picard and his command crew as representatives. Q accused Humanity of being a “dangerous, savage child-race.” Eventually, Picard was able to convince Q that Humanity had evolved beyond its old savagery. Q continued to appear to the crew of the Enterprise-D, usually with some new adventure that the crew would rather find themselves and not brought to them, or thrust upon them. Q is an interesting reoccurring character and I can always count on something interesting to happen when he’s around. Q is one of only four characters to appear in all three Star Trek series based in the 24th century; Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.

The Borg and Q are two of my favorite adversaries in the Star Trek universe. The Borg because they are near impossible to beat. Q because shenanigans and I can usually count on a few one liners when he is around. What's next for me in regards to Star Trek? I don't know. At some point I'll give my opinion on Deep Space Nine and Voyager, and eventually the films. I have a whole year to recognize the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. So for now, Sanders out.