Is it just me, or is this a little presumptive?



Don't get me wrong, I am happy Obama won. I cried a little the night he won. It was a milestone moment of American history. Yes, Bush has really messed up over the past eight years, BUT he is STILL THE PRESIDENT.

I first thought it was cute when near the end of the election Obama started talking from behind a podium with a campaign logo which closely resembled the presidential seal. I'm sure some guy in their advertising agency came up with that and he deserves a raise. A subtle way of easing the electorate into accepting him in a presidential setting. The prime time special days before the election had the senator speaking from an office which looked like a clone of the oval office. Again, making us think of him in a presidential setting. The more we see him looking presidential the easier it would be for us to vote for him. And it worked, thank God!

For the most part, I like the way he has been handling the transition. Quickly and on a regular basis he has been naming members of his cabinet and has been making some wonderful choices. Personally, I would have like to have seen an old friend of mine, Jack Reed, picked for Defense Secretary, but it does make sense to keep the current man in place; the whole "not changing horses in mid stream" thing. Naming Hillary as Secretary of State seemed an easier pick than trying to get her on the Supreme Court. There's even rumor of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg as Ambassador to the UN. Cool!

But Bush is still president. There is no such thing as "The Office of the President Elect". The new president doesn't get to propose policy before he gets the keys to the Oval Office. Bush is a buffoon and still gets to be the top buffoon until January 20. You could almost hear it in his voice recently in a press conference on the financial crisis when Bush stated that he was keeping Obama appraised of what was happening and what the administration was doing. There was a tone biting behind his words as if to say, "Hey! Remember me! Yeah....still the president! Me! Over here!"

I am looking forward to January 20th. I wish I had the time and money to take my son to DC and see the inaugural in person; to be able to say, "I was there". President Bush should still be given the respect due until that day and not given the bum's rush.

I am so sure John would be soooo relieved to hear this news:

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican's newspaper has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame.

The comment by Lennon to a London newspaper in 1966 infuriated Christians, particularly in the United States, some of whom burned Beatles' albums in huge pyres.

But time apparently heals all wounds.

"The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a 'boast' by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll," Vatican daily Osservatore Romano said.

The article, marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' The White Album, went on to praise the pop band.

"The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians," it said.

It's a wonder I've more or less given up on organized religion. Who gives a rat's ass that the Vatican has finally forgiven Lennon. The world has happily gone on spinning without worrying if the Vatican was still upset about what was said more than 40 years ago. Apparently, issues like war, women's rights, child abuse or abortion weren't tops on the Pope's "To Do List" this week. Maybe they should take more of their time and effort worrying about declining numbers in their church due to a leadership that still seems to think it's the 1600's.

"We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity."

Hmmmmm....

Which do you think more people all across the planet know better; the words to any Beatles tune or the 10 Commandments?

I an officially excited about the new Star Trek movie.

Many fellow geeks and fanboys have been wringing their hands over some of the photographs that have been released recently. Let me say that again....PHOTOGRAPHS. Still photographs and individual frames of an as of yet unseen motion picture. Silly me, I'd rather wait to see these people moving around and, oh....I dunno...ACTING before judging. Some of these naysayers are going as far an boycotting the movie.

Sure, I could get all obsessive about the uniforms, the weird airbrushed look to Zachary Quinto and I could really go to town about the trailer as it showed the Enterprise apparently being constructed on the ground in an atmosphere. But I take three deep breaths, stroke my autographed copy of "On the Good Ship Enterprise" and I can feel my blood pressure returning to normal.

A trailer is just advertising and this teaser trailer was designed to set the whole "reboot" mood of the movie; and it worked perfectly as it still gives me chills. The photos are only just that, photos. Next weekend a new trailer, probably with actual scenes of people moving and acting will be shown with the new Bond flick. Yet, I remind myself that it is, after all, advertisement.

What has me so jazzed about this new movie is that I just finished watching "Mission Impossible III". I had not seen it in the theatres and I regret it. I had heard it was not up to par with the others so I let it pass by. Boy, was I wrong!

This movie had me glued to the edge of my seat the entire time. This was the first time, in any of these MI movies that I felt as if I were watching an updated (rebooted) episode of the original series. I was not a fan of the original "Transformers" which is why I probably didn't like that movie. However, from fans of the old animated show repeatedly told me they felt "as if I were watching an updated episode of the original series".

Hmmmmmmm....let's see......

JJ Abrams directed "MI:III" which was a successful reboot of an old TV series and he directed "Transformers" which was a successful reboot of an old TV series and he's the guy who directed the upcoming "Star Trek" which is...oh, my...a reboot of an old TV series. Whether or not he is successful remains to be seen. However, I will take his track record and the opinion of Kevin Smith that this will be what we are hoping for.

That is what I am hoping for as well. Would I have like it better if it had been "Star Trek: Captain Sulu" instead of "Enterprise"? Yes. But there is the opportunity now to ressurect the franchise the Rick Berman (the anti-Christ) had beat into the dirt and keep it going for another 40 years or longer. I'll be there in May with my fingers crossed and thinking of how I can describe to my grandchildren how it was when there was only one version of "Star Trek".

WE DID IT, BOBBY!


Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy told the world that the United States, despite Alabama violence, is moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be President in 40 years. "...there is no question about it," the Attorney General said "In the next 40 years a Negro can achieve the same position my brother has,"...Kennedy said the prejudice exists and probably will continue to exist..."But we have tried to make progress...We are not going to accept the status quo."

The Washington Post
May 27, 1961

Exhausted is not the word for how I feel.

I went to Orlando for another geek fest called Vulkon. Due to my tight money situation, I didn't even pay the minimum for the show itself and only stayed one night with my usual convention going pals, Jim and Cheryl. It was all the usual hanging out with friends, Starfleet meeting and gook window shopping in the dealer's room. It would have been an otherwise usual weekend if I hadn't turned towards the bar at just the right moment and saw an old friend I hadn't seen in twenty years.

Standing there, big a life, was my old pal Marc Lee. His story in fandom is as wild, if not more, than my own. I first met Marc at the Boston Star Trek Convention Platinum Anniversary Convention. He was sitting in a secluded part of the hotel, leaning against a wall, reading a book. Quiet and not paying attention to the blurred activity around him.

"Would you like to help out on the convention?" I asked and he jumped at the opportunity. Later in the day I asked him if he would want to act as escort for George Takei. Again, he jumped at the opportunity. Within six months of this meeting Marc, professionally an architect, had been working on additions to Marina Sirtis' and Will Wheaton's house. Within two years he had his photo in Starlog magazine and within 5 years was MC'ing a major convention in Germany with his own fan club.

A fanboy version of the Frankenstein story; we had created a monster.

And it wasn't only in the world of fandom that he took over, but in my personal life as well. He came to my first wedding and while my new bride and I took off for our honeymoon Marc had taken over the reception and the party at my mother's house afterwards. I came back from my honeymoon hearing stories about "my mothers' black son"!!!

Marc is a good friend and we stayed in touch over the years. As usual, we have gone though long spells of no contact and I had thought he dropped off the planet completely. I was hopeful as when I moved to Florida and heard he was very active in the Vulkon conventions. That was until almost the day I moved down here when he and the promoter had a major falling out and he was no where to be found.

It was a natural as anything to hug him once again and sit with him and catch up. We both realized the worst part of this story was that he lives only two hours from each other. From now on, that small distance will not be enough to keep us apart.

Yes, it was a good weekend, after all.