Rules of Acquisition

The Golden Globes are on as I am watching this and I am loving pretty much every minute of it! The hosts are incredible, the winners are being gracious and the show is moving along very nicely. Watching these shows it does make me think about what people in other countries think of the decadence of the American society. When you think of it there is a ton of money in that room from the gowns, to the jewels to the statues themselves.

A pleasant surprise was Jodie Foster’s acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMile award for lifetime achievement. A star who has been known to be gay finally came out publicly. The best part of the speech was that she acknowledged that it shouldn’t be anyone’s business and who really cares what someone does in their own private life. I could not agree more! It seems so often that we try to figure out people and we want to categorize them into different boxes and we are not happy until we have fully classified that person. Why? I don’t get this at all and I am sure that I do it though I try not to these days. I will say that I feel this pressure though. As a man who is single and in now in his 30’s people want to figure out why I am single and they seem to need to have me paired up with someone or at least know what the gender of that person may potentially be. Is it not just enough that we know a person and share friendship or do we have to compartmentalize people? This all being said though I think Jodie Foster is a bit crazy based up on her delivery of the speech! But You Go Girl!!

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 500, Miles- 2.85

Rules of Acquisition

The Nagus shows up once again to present a deal to Quark for an expansion into the Gamma quadrant. Quark is to make a connection to a race called the Dosi, who have Tulaberry Wine that the Ferengi want. The Ferengi wish to distribute the wine in the Gamma quadrant to make their business presence know. Meanwhile Quark has made quite a good partnership with a new bartender named Pel. The two work together to set up and negotiate the deal with the Dosi. During a Tongo game Dax figures out that Pel is in love with Quark but then Pel reveals that he is actually a she who has disguised herself as a man so that she can make something of her life. On the Ferengi homeworld women are not allowed outside of the house, to wear clothing or to gain profit. While on a mission in the Gamma quadrant she kisses Quark but the real truth is not told quite yet. Back on the station Rom is suspicious and does some sneaking around and finds out about Pel’s secret. Meanwhile Quark finds out that all the Nagus wants is more information on an organization known as the dominion. In the end Pel confronts Quark and the Nagus with the truth and she is told to go away quietly and she will not be taken into custody. The ending is bittersweet as it is evident that Quark really loves Pel.

This is essentially the movie Yentl but with Star Trek elements thrown into the mix and the result is a very touching episode dealing with gender roles in the 24^th century. This is also the first time we hear about the Dominion, a theme that will impact the rest of the show’s run. 

Melora

I would like to take a ride in the Tardis to maybe a few hours ago so that I can redo this evening that I wasted just hanging around doing nothing. What I should have done was write this blog about two hours ago and gone to bed but I didn't do that so I really can’t complain can I? Oh and for those of you who noticed my Dr. Who reference well done! I have really fallen in love with this TV show and so I tried the other day to watch one of the older episodes from the 60’s and they were painful to get through so I gave up after a few minutes of one episode. I then tried to watch an episode from the 80’s and that wasn't bad but it still wasn't that good either so I have decided to stick to the new episodes from the rebooted series.

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 644, Miles- 3.94

Melora
The station is about to play host to Ensign Melora Pazlar, a woman from a low gravity planet and there for she needs special accommodations on the station. Melora needs a chair to help her get around and when she is not in a chair she is in a rigged apparatus to help her move in the extreme gravity of the station. Everyone is very helpful and willing to work with her but the only problem is that she is a total bitch to everyone in sight. Bashir sees right through it and confronts her about her attitude and how she uses is to keep people away. Bashir begins to form a relationship with this woman and the pair start to discuss helping her remap her brain so that she can function normally outside of her world. The two find some level of success with the program though it is short lived. Meanwhile an old friend of Quark’s returns to kill him after Quark landed him in jail. Instead of killing him Quark offers him a business deal so he takes it but in the process he kidnaps Quark, Melora, and Dax in a runabout. The criminal is outsmarted by Melora who uses her low gravity roots to overcome the criminal. In the end Melora decides not to go through the procedure and remains chair bound. 

The Individuals With Disabilities Act Meets Star Trek Deep Space Nine and it is a touching and well done episode. Bravo!! The actress playing Melora is the only person to have leading appearances in both Dr. Who and Star Trek so well done!

Cardassians

I slept for ten hours last night and it was incredible to say the least! I don’t see why I don’t force myself to sleep like that more often? I would totally feel better about everything if I did if I were to get ten or more hours of sleep. I would also like to report that I did not snack or nibble on anything other than the food I intended to eat today and I am happy to report that I ended the day at a lower weight than I began so whoop whoop! I am also very sad to report that there is nothing of interest happening in my life at the moment which leads to a quite boring blog. Sorry Folks!

Elliptical Machine: Miles- 3.96, Calories- 646

Cardassians
While having lunch on the promenade with Bashir, Garak is attacked by an adolescent Cardassian boy in the care of a Bajoran man. Garak is fine but the boy becomes the center of a political nightmare between the Cardassians and Bajorans. It appears that after the Cardassians left Bajor several hundred children were left behind and the Bajorans had no choice but to take care of these children. The young man in question Rugal was adopted by a Bajoran family but has been raised to hate Cardassians and who he is, a note that gets back to the Cardassian home world quite quickly. This leads to an unpleasant conversation between Gul Dukat, Sisko and Bashir in which Bashir accuses Dukat of political maneuvering. Bashir begins investigating and hears of abuse on the part of Bajoran parents of Cardassian children and thus Rugal is taken into custody and a hearing is set up on the station. Low and behold Dukat finds the father of Rugal, still alive on Cardassia and he just happens to be a high ranking political official. Garak enlists Bashir’s help once more and the pair travel to Bajor to visit an orphanage. They discover a list of names and Rugals is mysteriously missing from the list. Further research shows that Rugal was brought to the orphanage by a Cardassian woman who worked on Terok Nor (DS9’s former name). Meanwhile Rugals father Kotan Pa’Dar arrives to take Rugal home to Cardassia but he doesn’t want to. During the hearing between Rugal’s Bajoran parent and Pa’Dar Bashir enters with the evidence of Rugals adoption and Dukat is exposed for his political meddling and leaves the station behind. It seems that Pa’Dar and Dukat are political rivals and this was done as a way to humiliate Pa’Dar in the future if needs be. In the end Rugal is returned to his Cardassian father and taken home to Cardassia. The question of the remaining orphans on Bajors seems to be left unanswered. 

Invasive Procedures

Cross Country skiing was a total success yesterday and I honestly can’t wait to go again. My ass and legs are a little sore but it is totally worth the pain. I am also very proud of myself because I only fell down once on sketchy terrain so I am much better suited to Cross Country Skiing than I am to Downhill Skiing. I finally have an excuse to call winter my favorite season other than enjoying large bulky sweaters.

Elliptical Machine: Miles- 3.75, Calories: 608

Invasive Procedures

The station has been evacuated due to an electrical storm in space that has engulfed that station. The only people left on board are Bashir, Odo, Sisko, Kira, O’Brien and Quark. The only reason Quark is still on board is because he couldn’t take all of his latinum with him, or so he wants everyone to believe. Odo and O’Brien find him in an airlock but what goes unnoticed is the device he has planted in the security systems. Soon a ship has come claiming that they need help but once on board the crew of a female, two klingons and a trill take over the station. Once they make it to Ops their intention is made clear, the trill wishes to steal the Dax symbiont. Verad, the trill, explains that he was denied a shot at the joining and feels this is his only way to get what he wants. The plan is to steal the symbiont, make Bashir implant it and then Verad and company are going to be off to the Gamma Quadrant to hide. Dax agrees to the surgery to save everyone else’s lives and soon Verad is back in Ops as Verad Dax and his dear female friend/lover Mareel begins to see some unwelcome changes in his behavior. In the infirmary Bashir is trying to keep Dax alive so that they can get the symbiont back into the right place. In Ops Quark attacks one of the klingons and gets himself sent to the Infirmary there he and Bashir work to overthrow the other klingon and then free Odo from the lockbox he was put into. Sisko is now trying to convince Mareel that Verad has changed and she eventually realizes it and gives Sisko permission to go get him. In the end the symbiont is put back in the correct place and Dax lives to see another day.

The episode features a guest appearance by Tim Russ who went on to play Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager. It seems that there is always at least one guest actor form a series that goes onto the next show in some form or another. Also it features a strong performance from John Glover as the pitiful Verad, he is most famous for a few guest starring roles as a villain in several shows and for playing Lex Luthor’s father on Smallville. 

The Siege

So here is the second episode that I did today. I worked out for a total of 90 minutes straight and went at a pretty good clip the entire time. I am really pretty proud of myself.

The Siege

This story has two major stories so I will go through them as such. One note is that in the last post I failed to mention that Kira had an orb visit in which she and Dax were wearing the costumes of a Bajoran Nun, Kira was speaking in the minister of chambers and she was naked with Vedek Bariel.

Deep Space Nine
The station is being evacuated but Li, Sisko, Bashir, O’Brien, Quark, Odo, and a few others have remained on board to slow the progress of the takeover. They are hoping to delay the take over long enough to get the evidence of Cardassian involvement to the chamber of ministers on Bajor. The remaining Starfleet officers use sabotage, trickery, and even a few phaser fights to take over the station. In the end Sisko uses Li Nalas to persuade General Krim to stop the attack and support the provisional government. As the General is giving up the station an hot headed Colonel decides to shoot Li Nalas and he dies.

Dax and Kira
Kira and Dax are dropped off on a Bajoran moon to use an old stunt fighter to get information to the chamber of ministers. The ship is extremely old but it is able to fly, kind of, and they are on their way to Bajor. The two are attacked and crash land on Bajor but Kira is badly hurt, but luckily they are picked up by Bariel’s monks and brought to the monastery. Kira and Dax sneak in as Nuns and present the information to the ministers and Jaro is stopped partially because Winn betrays him to save her position as Vedek and the possible next Kai. 

The Circle

Today was the first day back to school and it zoomed by at a million miles per hour! I think part of what helped is that I was busy making sure that my new student intern was getting enough information and felt prepared for the next ten weeks. I am so looking forward to having an intern but it is also a little nerve wracking to be in charge of someone else who is a student in your profession. It is a lot of responsibility. Oh well I am confident it will be a wonderful experience for both of us. In other news there really isn’t any new news in my world and 2013 has really gotten off to a very grand start so I’m happy. A fun note is that tomorrow is the 20^th anniversary of Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Incredibly enough I can remember when the show premiered and I was a giddy little 10 year-old. I am very glad that I am re-watching it now because well the themes and ideas of this show in particular are well beyond the grasp of a 10 year old boy.

Elliptical Machine: Miles-7.95, Calories- well over 1,200

Today I elected to finish the three-part story arch of The Homecoming, The Circle and The Siege, so I worked out for two whole episodes.

The Circle
With Kira on the outs everyone has stopped by to wish the Major well as she moves on to a new position on Bajor. During an impromptu party Vedek Bariel stops by to invite her to relax and study at his monastery on Bajor. Li Nalas has now taken his place as the first officer on board Deep Space Nine and he begins to help Sisko investigate the Circle organization. It has come into focus that the Cardassians are behind the weapons suppliers for the Circle though the Bajorans don’t know this fact. Minister Jaro and Vedek Winn have made a deal for her public support of him in exchange for him decreeing her to be the next Kai. Quark informs Odo that the Kressari are transporting weapons for the Cardassians and so Odo sneaks on board the ship to get hard proof. At the same time Sisko goes to Bajor to get a read on the situation and he is convinced that the military does not support the provisional government and so Sisko visits Kira to update her on the situation. Kira is soon abducted by the Circle where it is the officially revealed that Jaro is the Circle and he intends to throw over the government in a gigantic military coup. A group leaves to rescue Kira and they are of course successful. The Circle sends a message to Deep Space Nine that they have 7 hours to empty the station or else. Starfleet sends a verdict to evacuate the station. Sisko reluctantly orders the evacuation but decides that he and a select group of Starfleet officers will remain behind. 

The Homecoming

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I had an absolute blast last night with my friends in St. Cloud Minnesota bringing in the New Year. Part of the night was spent at my friend’s house and the rest of the evening spent at the local drinking establishments in downtown St. Cloud. There is a gay bar in St. Cloud so naturally we stopped there and did the whole countdown business there before leaving. Not to sound judgmental but the gay bar in St. Cloud is a bit lame and there was a really nasty smell in the place. After that a trip to The Red Carpet brought dancing and drinking in the “Red Room” my absolute favorite bar room ever! The room is dark and done in all red colors and the music is anything from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s; country music to classic rock, pop, dance, and hair band metal. The drink of the evening was a Vodka Cranberry and it was flowing freely but thank god I woke up this morning hangover free. After getting home I worked out to get rid of those extra holiday pounds that have accumulated.  As I said I am making only one resolution this year and that is ‘To be open to whatever the universe brings my way’ but of course I may have to help the universe bring some things my way too!

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 654, Miles- 4.01

The Homecoming
Kira is given a special earring from Quark who received it from sexy purple-haired freighter captain. The earring belongs to a Bajoran hero named Li Nalas who was believed to be dead for the last ten years. It turns out he is living in a Cardassian labor camp on Cardassia IV. After a long and drawn out period of thinking Sisko agrees to let Kira take a runabout to rescue Li Nalas but demands that O’Brien go with her to help out in the recovery. Kira and O’Brien mount a successful rescue and they return safely to DS9 but are short a few men short as some had to stay behind. Sisko and Kira are hopeful that Li Nalas’ presence will help to calm the tensions on Bajor, most importantly they hope he will calm the actions of a terrorist group known as the Circle. The Circle have been making threats all over Bajor and have made their way to the station where they are vandalizing and even attack Quark. The Circle’s motto is Bajor for Bajorans and they intend to cleanse the planet of everyone who is not a Bajoran. Li Nalas is torn by what is happening but is pressed by visiting Minster Jaro to come to Bajor to help ease the tensions. Upon his return he informs Sisko that Li Nalas is his new liason officer and that Kira has been recalled to the planet for service. This is where the episode ends with a “To Be Continued” screen.

This episode is the first part of a three story miniseries, a first for the Star Trek franchise. The three part arch is the story of an attempted coup on Bajor from the terrorist group known as the Circle. The three part miniseries features some really good cameo performances including, Frank Langella, Richard Beymer, Louise Fletcher, Stephen Weber, Philip Anglim, and Marc Alaimo. Richard Beymer is most famous for playing Tony in the film version of West Side Story! Tony, Tony, Tony!