tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173904352024-03-14T05:24:48.799+08:00My Watering HoleIn Vino Veritas: In wine (there is) truth. igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.comBlogger296125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-8825095013985123462023-10-22T06:15:00.009+08:002023-10-22T20:07:41.179+08:00Casita Real: Your Very Own BeachhouseHawaiian Shot upon ArrivalGreat ocean view with no crowds; walking
distance to fresh food; great internet connection; well-furnished
tiny house all to me and my friends; and backups good enough for scheduled
brownouts: Casita Real is one of the best beach vacations I’ve ever had.
Long WeekendBack-to-back long weekends were in the offing in August.
Of the two (Aug 19-21 and Aug 25-28) me andigmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-67438381948138762452022-04-18T08:48:00.001+08:002022-04-19T04:21:50.884+08:00Road to Provinces Holy Week 2022Provincial road trips may be trickier I didn't see motorcycles in the expressway - duh - so I thought nothing of it. And then when we hit provincial roads they appear. One or two, here and there and then it became five or more. More than once our van was trying to overtake with only the space of a two wheeled motorcycle holding us back.We were stuck in traffic in Tiaong, Quezon for hours. I igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-39855205961069075502022-04-04T19:22:00.006+08:002022-04-05T19:55:31.076+08:00The Last Duel (2021)First impression sucked.
The first impression and truly
worst, ironically, is the star studded cast: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver, playing Jean de Carrouges, Pierre d’Alençon, and Jacques
Le Gris respectively.Worst
via GIPHY
Best friends Matt and Ben are the primary sinners. This movie is their
first writing collaboration since Good Will Hunting, the movie which catapulted themigmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-19162514390729695772022-04-04T10:37:00.000+08:002022-04-04T10:37:35.180+08:003 in Dramatis Personae (Deep Space Nine S01-E18)This is a Bajoran station - Kira Even with a
half-baked plot device the episode, Dramatis Personae, was interesting. The story could mean two things.
Its title, dramatis
personae, is Latin for characters in a play. There was a recreation of a past
event (the Play) of which the senior crew (the Characters) of Deep Space Nine
was caught in its web.
Or, the episode wants
to be philosophical. igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-19589428627746378282022-02-04T08:25:00.004+08:002022-02-09T04:25:44.286+08:003 in The Forsaken (Deep Space Nine S01-E17)You see, Odo, even us non-shape-shifters need to change who we are once in a while. Formerly titled as Only the Lonely, The Forsaken is a literal and figurative deconstruction of Odo.
On the surface, he is the
powerful alien shapeshifter; Deep Space Nine’s security chief, incorruptible,
just, and a talented investigator. He frowns at imagination and romance. His
natural form is liquid and igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-58882003607808894602021-12-28T16:39:00.006+08:002021-12-29T17:05:06.488+08:00Invasion (2021 - Season 1)Did US Special Forces face ship or creature?Spoilers You know the standard alien
invasion story package: aliens attack worldwide; earthly weapons have no
effect; aliens do terraforming. Invasion stuck to just that list. 10 episodes
in all and I did not see the alien race that wants to take over the Earth. I
can barely even remember a ship.
But why isn’t there one well
defined ship? Why not a igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-29573724861973792902021-10-16T08:41:00.003+08:002021-10-17T04:59:16.288+08:00Some people see my Blog Pics, Some Don't - Technical Issues My Oct 8 and the uploaded GIF I couldn't seeThis is to document a technical issue I experienced from
blogger.com. Out of the blue my pictures appeared selectively to various
readers. It would have been simpler if everything was down, as catastrophic as
that may be.
I couldn’t see it on desktop, I couldn’t see it on my mobile
while on WiFi, but it is there if I am on data connection. Some igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-52231492400177397572021-10-08T04:53:00.001+08:002021-10-12T15:03:23.710+08:003 in If Wishes Were Horses (Deep Space Nine S01-E16) From story to title, I always
thought The Next Generation episode Where No One Has Gone Before was
designed beautifully. The USS Enterprise was thrown millions of light years away
from Federation Space because of the Traveler who was powered only by thought. Simply put, to go where you haven't been you must first think. Imagination
has always been the cornerstone of many science igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-18850741534649273532021-10-07T06:49:00.003+08:002021-10-12T15:35:54.061+08:00Heretic (The Grail Quest)Heretic by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Heretic is thematically in-step with the name of the series – the Grail Quest – but is it a case of too little too late? The Grail Quest is a 4 book series, Heretic is the 3rd; although I am not sure if the supposed last book, 1356, is a natural book 4 because some google searches only had the Quest up to 3 books. Maybe Cornwell saw Heretic igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-24027115172786149712021-09-27T04:45:00.004+08:002021-10-12T15:15:36.536+08:00Fukushima 50 (2020)Tsunami was 43-46 feet high It was one of those what-am-I-going-to-watch moments that I came upon Chernobyl among my files. But I've seen that, so I wondered if there is a series or movie about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant? That's how I came by Fukushima
50, the only movie that came up in a google search. According to legend, 50 plant workers remained to save the nuclear plant igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-66922785573492386682021-08-27T07:46:00.002+08:002021-10-12T15:32:55.760+08:003 in Progress (Deep Space Nine S01-E15)All the inhabitants should've been evacuated by now.Deep Space Nine
Episode 15, Progress, takes another shot at Major Kira Nerys. It is thematically
closest to Past Prologue, wherein she encountered fellow freedom fighter Tahna Los. That episode created
conflict between 2 sides of Kira, the former terrorist and now the government
official. She knew Tahna Los; she knew what the life was in igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-73620148926663557732021-07-18T18:24:00.003+08:002021-10-12T15:39:25.884+08:003 in The Storyteller (Deep Space Nine S01-E14)I knew the prophets wouldn't fail usThrough the episodes so far it is obvious that Chief O’Brien doesn’t want to be around Doctor Bashir. I don’t understand what his problems are with him. Personally I am not a fan of the Doctor but maybe I'm calling it too early in the series. The Chief has had the choice of avoiding the man until this episode.
Here are the 3 notable things in The Storyteller.
igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-83501780523620976972021-06-29T19:46:00.001+08:002021-10-12T15:43:58.959+08:003 in Battle Lines (Deep Space Nine S01-E13)But it is a glimpse into the Cardassian mind.It seems that
Kira Nerys has more things in common with Tahna Los than what was revealed in
Past Prologue. She only mentions broad strokes here in Battle Lines. How
hard and dirty the fighting was against the Cardassians, and how she’s feels the utmost shame for it.
Major Kira is as
tied as Tahna Los is to the past, albeit only inwardly at this point,igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-72645759314224624832021-06-13T19:56:00.003+08:002021-10-12T15:46:11.051+08:003 in Vortex (Deep Space Nine S01-E12)Paranoia must run in your species, Odo...maybe that's why no one's ever seen another shape-shifterFirst inkling we had of Odo's baggage, so to speak, was in the pilot episode The Emissary. He expressed longing to know who he is and where
he came from. Odo even used the term “forced” alluding to passing himself off as
human, which tells you a certain level of loneliness. We forget that igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-30418545075147441132021-06-03T19:23:00.000+08:002021-06-03T19:23:16.152+08:00Vagabond (The Grail Quest)Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Without a doubt Bernard Cornwell can write battle scenes with great detail, but in Vagabond, book 2 of the Grail Quest, I feel there’s too much of it. Two great battles serve as bookends. Come to think of it, in Harlequin there are also two, so why did I enjoy that book more than this one?For one, that first battle in the book 1 of the Grail igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-3394375735177339112021-06-03T18:46:00.002+08:002021-10-12T15:52:57.626+08:003 in The Nagus (Deep Space Nine S01-E11)<!--[if gte mso 9]>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>
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EN-US
X-NONE
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<![endif]-->Our word can be our bond...until we break itThe Ferengi I remember of Star Trek the Next Generation is a pirate. Two that come to mind are igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-20523715694382017742021-05-15T15:07:00.001+08:002021-10-12T15:57:51.686+08:003 in Move Along Home (Deep Space NIne S01-E10)We were told you had games..take us to Quark'sCommander Benjamin Sisko finally
gets the formal first contact meeting he has desired since the episode Captive Pursuit. He has brought out his dress uniform, imagined himself doing all the expected diplomatic ceremony, and was quite irritated that Doctor
Bashir does not share the same enthusiasm. My take, and I think Sisko’s too, is that Bashir igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-47249855571565995682021-05-10T08:47:00.005+08:002021-10-12T16:02:42.950+08:003 Things I Hate about Without Remorse (2021)
Is there possibility of the new John Clark meeting up with the new Jack Ryan?There was a time when a trip to
the mall wasn’t complete without me digging for Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series at a second hand book shop. I was able to collect many including the spin-off novel Without Remorse. For those not
in the know John Clark was Jack Ryan’s top field man since Ryan was more into
analysis igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-28997250639137768322021-05-09T06:00:00.001+08:002021-10-12T16:05:08.166+08:00Travelers (Showcase) (2016 - season 1) There are 3 travelers in this picture, from 2 teams Travelers are time traveling sleeper agents embedded in the 21st century. They come in teams like Mission Impossible except the team never gets to go home. There’s a leader, medic, hacker, the muscle; and there’s usually a number 2 man whose narrative roll is to spoil the team leader.
I thought I’d be ok with
the series since I never get igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-21546773472955454772021-05-05T18:01:00.006+08:002021-05-09T07:58:45.007+08:00Harlequin (The Grail Quest)Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Harlequin or to the US market The Archer’s Tale is the story of Thomas, a young man of a quiet seaside town of Hookton, England. The town fell to French raiders and among those killed was his father. So young men do what is expected, they vow revenge.Problem is he has no idea who the raider was aside from the fact they were French and he igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-80405471123704457732021-05-03T11:39:00.004+08:002021-10-12T16:07:38.654+08:00The Father (2020)
Watches are more reliable than memories The Father takes a brave approach to the question of aging. Florian Zeller, director and co-writer, tells the story from the point of view of Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) who is obviously not in full control of his mental faculties.
via GIPHY
To put in another way the reality
in the story is warped. There is a touch of incoherence which makes it hard igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-22121736357297315392021-05-02T07:43:00.004+08:002021-10-12T16:10:39.013+08:003 in The Passenger (Deep Space Nine S01-E09)Make...me...live!!Religion and superstition never asked how to prolong life because the soul is the answer. When the body
dies there is an eternal place of rest waiting for the living soul. Now what if
the soul has a scientific angle shall we say?
In science fiction, the question
of prolonging life goes two ways: extend the life of the physical body which
include using biomechanical replacementsigmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-63460717171922057882021-04-19T11:18:00.007+08:002021-10-12T17:16:24.413+08:003 in Dax (Deep Space Nine S01-E08)The fugitive Dax is charged with treason... and the murder of my father.I like this episode. Dax, in the 90s, for its entire runtime was a compelling story modeled on the Ship of Theseus argument way before Wandavision and its 2 minute scene. It’s only fault is that the episode didn’t draw attention to itself as identity metaphysics.
What I also love of the episode
is that it deals with lies: igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-22716193751646944862021-04-16T11:35:00.003+08:002021-10-12T17:19:22.319+08:003 in Q-Less (Deep Space Nine S01-E07)No wonder you're not commanding a Starship.I forget. Did Captain Picard ever
do the jamaharon with Vash?
The onetime entanglement of
Captain Picard resurfaces from the wrong side of the wormhole: Lt. Dax found
her in the Gamma Quadrant. She said she was stranded for 2 years - probably pre-wormhole - which should have been a warning but getting lost was not a crime. In any case,
Vash has igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17390435.post-68184163427266093212021-04-11T09:12:00.003+08:002021-04-11T17:35:01.771+08:00Excalibur (The Warlord Chronicles)Excalibur by Bernard CornwellMy rating: 5 of 5 starsI always come back to the magic, and like in the previous two books I don’t know where I want to be. We can have a world where magicians levitate at will, shoot energy blasts, shape change, teleport, or none of it, just to keep this a grounded medieval adventure. The previous two struck a difficult balance between actual magic, dumb luck, and igmegalinganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11582627105769568912noreply@blogger.com0