Last week’s episode of The Mandalorian included a cameo from Christopher Lloyd. Everyone online made a reference to Doc Brown from Back to the Future being in Star Wars. I didn’t go there. I went to Jim Ignatowski from Taxi.
Then today while driving to Dad’s and back to give him his morning dose of meds I saw five, count ’em, five taxies on the highway.
Five taxies? In the age of Uber and Lyft?
There has to be a connection, right?
This show is gonna be awesome… I hope. I read the Heir to the Empire books decades ago and while they were okay at the time, I don’t think they hold up against both the prequels and the sequels. I mean, the prequels showed us that the Jedi weren’t cloned in the clone wars, and that there can only be two Sith at any given time. That sort of removes the plot line of a cloned Sith surviving the Clone War to be Thrawn’s helper, right? I absolutely do not want to see Heir to the Empire brought into cannon. Lets just have a brand spanking new story where Thrawn is a bad ass bad guy and a bad ass ex-Jedi takes him down. I could go for that.
The immediate impact of this trailer is that I have to put my X-Files and Deep Space Nine rewatches on hold while I rewatch Star Wars Rebels. Ezra, Sabine, Hera, Thrawn, and that annoying friggin droid are all making the jump from the animated series to live action. This new show is starting to look like a live action Rebels Season Five. There are 75, 22 minute episodes. I should be through them all in a few days, right?
It’s Friday morning at 8:00am. 9.5 hours from now I should be on the weekend. It can’t get here fast enough. This week has just been… ugh.
First thought, does this work:
Star Wars Celebration is starting today in the UK somewhere and this youtube link should be their live feed. I don’t know if that sort of thing works through an embed, but let’s give it a try, shall we? I have no idea what the agenda is but they are hopefully going to announce plans for future movies and Disney+ TV shows and I want the news, babie. We were supposed to be getting a Damon Lindelof movie (he made The Leftovers and therefore can do no wrong in my book) but he recently announced he left the project after finishing the first draft of the script. Now we just wait and see.
Sunday is Easter. I have two plans. Well… I had one plan but that’s off the books now. My one plan was to just treat it like a normal Sunday and not do anything Eastery. Then I booked an MRI for 4:00pm. So I guess that’s something more than nothing, right? Then we made plans to have lunch with Dad and that is a great idea. I am glad we are doing that. It’s the first holiday without my mother. Next week is Dad’s birthday and it’s the first one without my mother. After that… mother’s day. That’s going to be tough.
Saturday is basically a clean slate. I am hoping the weather cooperates and I’ll get to do some ocean pictures (on both digital and film!) but it depends on the sun and the temperature and on timing. Other than that? Nothing. Maybe some music? Maybe I can talk my beloved bride into going for a drive for no reason with no actual destination. That would be nice. I enjoy spending quality together time with her more than anything in the universe. Let’s see.
As for after work today? Nothing specific. We had our first bad experience with Hello Fresh last night. I think it’s in part because I cooked it myself and I am just not as skilled as Jen. It tasted okay, but the beef was too tough and I had a hard time with it. Jen did too. Tonight is pork. Let’s see how that goes.
That’s about it for now. Cat pictures will come later. Maybe I’ll get a minute around lunch time to go put out the two remaining bird houses, and fill up the bird feeders. Until then… enjoy the start of Star Wars Celebration.
They kicked off Celebration with a trailer for Ahsoka and it has two red light sabers and Grand Admiral Thrawn! Also, half the cast of Rebels! I CAN’T FREAKIN’ WAIT! LET’S GO!!!!! (I’ll post it later)
Oh yeah, and they followed the Ahsoka trailer with an Indiana Jones trailer. That’s all, nothing special. June 30th. I’ll be there.
Look at me jumping on the tech bandwagon. Did you see that South Park did an episode that was written by ChatGPT? Now I am playing along. I asked the AI to write a blog post about the three part second season premier of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as my rewatch is currently in the second of the three episodes. Here’s what it came up with.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is one of the most beloved science fiction television series of all time, and its second season premiere was an epic three-part event that left viewers on the edge of their seats. The premiere, titled “The Homecoming,” “The Circle,” and “The Siege,” aired in 1994 and introduced a major new story arc that would dominate the show’s second season.
In “The Homecoming,” the first episode of the three-part premiere, the crew of Deep Space Nine receives news that a Bajoran resistance fighter named Li Nalas has been located in a Cardassian prison camp. Kira Nerys, a former resistance fighter herself, leads a mission to rescue him, and they succeed in bringing him back to Deep Space Nine. However, they soon discover that Li Nalas has become a symbol of hope for the Bajoran people, and his return has political implications that could have serious consequences.
In “The Circle,” the second episode, tensions rise on Bajor as a political movement called “The Circle” begins to gain power. The Circle is made up of Bajorans who are unhappy with the Federation’s presence on their planet and want them to leave. They begin to use violence and intimidation to achieve their goals, and Kira finds herself in the middle of the conflict as she tries to protect Li Nalas and prevent a full-scale war from breaking out.
Finally, in “The Siege,” the third and final episode of the premiere, The Circle launches a full-scale attack on Deep Space Nine, with the goal of taking control of the station and expelling the Federation. The crew of Deep Space Nine must work together to defend the station and prevent The Circle from achieving their goals. In the end, they are successful, but the conflict leaves lasting repercussions that will affect the rest of the season.
The three-part premiere of Deep Space Nine’s second season was a bold move for the series, and it paid off in spades. It introduced a major new story arc that would dominate the season, and it gave viewers a taste of the show’s complex characters and political intrigue. The episodes also explored themes of loyalty, betrayal, and sacrifice, which are common throughout the series.
In conclusion, the three-part second season premiere of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a masterpiece of science fiction television. It introduced a major new story arc that would captivate viewers throughout the season, and it explored complex themes that are still relevant today. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s definitely worth a watch.
https://chat.openai.com/chat
I remember being really impressed with that three parter when it aired. I had enjoyed the first season, but it was hardly world shattering. The kick off to the second season was a big improvement. The second season as a whole was an improvement, but it wasn’t until we got into season three that the show really started getting good.
Here’s hoping you enjoyed ChatGPT’s detailed review. Welcome to the future, right?
There was an episode of The X-Files that grossed me out so much when I first watched it that I very nearly threw up. Honestly. I wretched when I watched it.
Season two, episode two. I know that because my current re-watched just got to that scene. I looked away through the whole thing.
The other day I actually stumbled across a blog entry I wrote when it actually happened. It was from one of the myspace posts I pulled into wordpress.com a couple of years ago. I’m glad I did because it reminded me what happened in the episode and I was able to see it coming today.
Whew! Bullet dodged!
Today has been a long day. Not sure why, it’s just felt stressful.
Tomorrow is going to be rough too. Tomorrow is in the office and, as I mentioned in a post the other day, I want to do a lot of Disney+ TV watching before I head out. I want to have everything packed up and ready, including my lunch, tonight so that I can save time in the morning. I am such a nerd.
Food has been okay today. I had a little stuck stomach feeling while taking my pre-lunch time calcium citrate pills. It cleared after about 10 minutes, but it was uncomfortable. Breakfast and lunch themselves both went off without a hitch. After having three issue-free meals on Sunday, I had two bad experiences on Monday. Lunch was a smidge on the bad side so I just stopped eating before I was finished. I had already eaten all of the protein I had planned so it was okay. Dinner was bad, but it mostly came down to me overcooking the chicken. It was too tough to chew enough and I just got tired. Then I ate a few chunks of potato and I think the skins weren’t breaking down enough and got stuck. We’re having fish and some green veggies tonight. I am sure things will go better. If so, I could have another three good meals day. That would be nice.
I am hoping to mix a song or two tonight in between packing for work tomorrow sessions. I would like to be done with REM (Record Every Month) for March before I sleep tonight. We’ll see how it goes.
Speaking of dinner tonight, we’re giving Hello Fresh another try. We’ve used it a few times before and it’s always been a good experience. The hang up we have is planning meals, ordering the meals, putting the shipment into the fridge and freezer, and then when it comes time to cook we change our mind and do something else. We want to get away from that and stick to the schedule. If we can do that then Hello Fresh is a great option. It’s so much better than me cooking the same thing every night, or ordering out all the time. I foresee success. Just with the added caveat that I have to avoid sugar, so anything we order that has sugar in it, I will have to take a pass on. We can still cook it, and Jen can have it. I’ll just skip that item on the menu. Let’s keep this house a No Dumping Syndrome zone, shall we?
Okay. Time to finish off the work day. The only question I have for the universe is when does Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania come to Disney+? I am not happy about the existence of a Marvel movie that I haven’t seen.
I’m going to have a problem on Wednesday and I don’t know what to do.
Wednesday is our day to work in the office. I would greatly prefer that we were 100% remote work, but we’re not. Fortunately our nod to hybrid work is just one day a week. I can live with that.
Wednesday is also important for nerds as it is the day Disney+ releases new episodes of Star Wars shows. Currently there are two shows streaming new episodes each week. The Mandalorian, season three, and The Bad Batch, season two. Fortunately for me, my current morning routine involves waking up ridiculously early so I can get my daily exercise in has allowed me to watch the new episodes of both shows before getting ready for work and hitting the road with enough time to drive through 40 miles of gridlock and get to my desk by 9:00am.
This week though… the day after tomorrow to be precise… it’s going to be tough. It’s the season finale of The Bad Batch and they are releasing two episodes to wrap things up. That means there are three new episodes coming out Wednesday, one Mandalorian and two Bad Batch, and I don’t think I’ll have enough time to get through all three before work. Maybe if I get out of bed at 4:30am or so. That might work. Unfortunately, I have enough of a struggle getting up at 5:00 and getting up earlier than that is going to be next to impossible.
So how do I handle this? I will absolutely watch The Mandalorian episode first. The Bad Batch is a decent enough show, but it’s not even in the same stadium as The Mandalorian. That show would be appointment viewing if it aired at a specific time. The question is, do I watch the first of the two Bad Batch episodes and leave myself hanging through the work day, or do I punt on both of them until I get home from work. I honestly don’t know yet. I may not know until the actual moment arrives.
Talk about your 21st century nerd problem, right? Six year old me sitting in the theater watching Star Wars in 1977 had no clue how good things were going to get in the future. No clue at all.
Bad reactions to food on Sunday and Monday. Migraine on Tuesday. Bad stomach aches all day on Wednesday. Mostly okay except for a bad lunchtime food reaction on Thursday. What does the shit roulette wheel have for us on Friday?
Another stomach ache. But it feels different today. It’s not an oh I think I might be hungry kind of ache. Today it’s more like a you are disagreeing with something you ate last night kind of ache. Lots of gas, eating doesn’t help at all. I’ve had eight ounces of water, a protein bar, and a little protein snack. Still feeling it pretty much exactly the same as when I woke up.
Shit.
The good news though is that I have watched the season two premier of Yellowjackets. You know that show, the single most fucked up thing on television at this point in time? Yeah, that one. Great freakin’ show that is seriously disturbing while also really funny. No spoilers but the first episode was excellent and the last second reveal at the end… ewwww.
I checked the forecast for the weekend. Guess what’s not going to be out in the morning on either Saturday or Sunday. Go on, guess. You know it… the sun. No sunrise pics for me this week. It’s getting to the point where I might start taking this personally.
If we go to California in the fall, should I think about making a photo book for fun? Not like, oh I took a bunch of pictures so let’s throw the best ones into a book type of thing. More like planning out what I want to see in it and then trying to take pics that make it happen. Something like that. I’m sure I can get that done super cheap through Shutterfly or something. Maybe I can talk Jen into going up to the mountains a lot this summer and I could do something similar there. Just a thought. I like projects sometimes, you know? Like creative projects and stuff. I’m old, leave me alone.
The cats are in the cellar with me but they are avoiding me. I don’t think they like me very much. Sad face.
Unrelated productivity note: I am watching a youtube video of a guy using a folding camera from 1940 with a discontinued film format that expired in 1970. He’s in his home office talking about how he handled the ISO on the expired film and he’s standing in front of a white board that’s hanging on his wall. That’s super cool, of course. The stand out thing though, is that he has a Texas Instruments TI-83 calculator velcro’d onto the white board. Oh my god my nerd brain just exploded with how awesome that is! KaBoom!
Nothing much came of the doctors appointment. I have to make a couple of follow ups and I’ll be getting an MRI at some point. I’ve been crazy busy at work so I haven’t had a chance to make any of the calls I need to make.
I got home with a few minutes to spare before punching into work, but as soon as I did things got crazy busy. I tried to sneak in some lunch and I ate too fast and my stomach rebelled in a big way. It took two hours to calm down but I did get through my lunch. Granted, lunch stretched out almost all the way to dinner time but what can you do.
I’m drastically behind on both my water and protein goals right now. I’ll make it for both today, but I’m annoyed with myself, especially after I had such a good start this morning before going to see the doctor.
Change of subject: I need to do car music. We’re running out of days in March and I have to finish Record Every Month. I have three songs in the pipeline but I’ll probably only get to two. I am planning to do another album in a month this spring, but it depends on guitar gear. I’ve mentioned that I am about to come to the end of the Analog Man King of Tone waiting list. The first full month after I get my mitts on one of those suckers I will do an album in a month using it on every guitar track. That’s the plan at least. Will it be April? Will it be May? Kinda hope it will be April, but that seems highly unlikely.
What else… Star Trek Picard was good today. The whole gang is back on the show. All we need now is Tasha. Good stuff. The show has been fantastic this season. I really need it to keep up the good work and stick the landing. On the other side of the Trek/Wars coin, I started re-watching The Bad Batch over the weekend. I’m still not sure why, but I will finish the first season tonight (I think) and the second season is going to end next Wednesday, I think. Am I right about that? There are two episodes left but they will both be released next week? I head that somewhere.
I’m tired. I’ve had such a stressful week health wise. Between multiple stomach issues and yet another migraine… I need a nap. A long, comfy nap.
Six minutes left until quittin’ time. I’ll make dinner after I finish work, but I will probably be too full from lunch to eat it right away. We’ll see. 16 ounces of liquid left to go. A whopping 37 grams of protein left to go. I’ll make it to both goals, and then some. It’s just going to take some extra time tonight, I think.
Okay. Signing off. I’ll likely post again later. Yesterday was the lowest page view day I’ve had on this page in over four years. I blame the migraines, but I’ll try to write something interesting that will bring the folks by… or not. Probably not.
Redeemed isn’t the right word, but it’s sort of right.
Did you see today’s new episode of The Mandalorian? Veteran Star Wars actor Ahmed Best plays a roll. You know who he played before, right? Right. Jar Jar Fucking Binks. The nadir or all Star Wars writing. The nadir of George Lucas’ career. The worst thing about any Star Wars story… Jar Jar Fucking Binks. Ahmed Best did the motion capture acting and the voice acting for Jar Jar in all three prequels.
Jar Jar being terrible was not Ahmed Best’s fault. He did the best he could with the terrible character he was given. I put all the blame on Lucas. Still, Mr Best has taken an ocean of abuse over the roll and it’s all unfairly as far as I can tell. Ahmed Best does not need to be redeemed. Jar Jar does, but shouldn’t ever. Ahmed Best is fine just being himself.
Having said that… his brief appearance in today’s episode gave him the opportunity to KICK ALL KINDS OF ASS. His new character is an utter bad ass. I looked him up online and apparently he’s been playing this character for a long time on a Star Wars themed kids game show. He plays the roll of a teacher teaching kids Jedi skills that they use in competitive games. I have never seen the show. I have never even heard of the show. All I know is that his character made the jump to a dramatic roll in completely heroic fashion.
So welcome back to the flagship, Sir. Welcome back to the Star Wars. Here’s hoping you get more screen time soon. There’s still more story there to be told (no spoilers). Good to have you on the team.
Inside the Red Head's Head 