Movie Meme

from ravenclawdrew via myemmie via sh1mm3r

Think of a movie that you consider to be vastly underrated. It doesn't have to be your favorite, nor does it have to be a good film. Type the title of the movie into Google Image Search then choose the best picture that pops up. Post it in your journal, but do not say what the film is.



Cheers,
Sean

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Military, Movies

A View from the Pulpit

From The Catholic Register, a plea for the Liberal party to Be true liberals:

Be true liberals

By Joe Sinasac
3/16/2006

The campaign for the leadership of the federal Liberal party ended its shadow phase this month and leapt into the open with publication of the rules of engagement. This is a defining moment for the future of the party and now is the time for those politicians who are serious about their religion to step up and be counted.

This is not about people running for leadership with crucifix in hand, though that would certainly shake things up. Our ambitions are much more modest. Rather, Canadians deserve a Liberal party that makes room for people of all faiths. In effect, we’re asking Liberals to be liberal.

This is not as humble a proposal as it sounds. Though there are Liberal members of Parliament who belong to various churches, synagogues, mosques and temples, and though millions of Liberal voters embrace religious faith as a fundamental motivator in their lives, the Liberal Party is in danger of cutting itself off from this deep source of wisdom and support.

...

Now, I'm a self-professed Zen-Catholic, and my faith and spirituality play a huge role in my life, but I take issue with the idea that being 'liberal' means pandering to religious special interests. The basic point of liberal values is to allow people to be people and follow whatever faiths they may have--even if they don't have any! To expect a so-called liberal party (and as a member of the Federal Liberal Part of Canada I think it's fair for me to say it's hardly a leftist entity--then again, compared to the CPC fascists, almost any other party in Canada could be considered leftist) to enforce prayers or any sort in a public, let alone government sponsored gathering is insulting to those of us who practice our religion or faith far more privately--if at all.

I say to Mr. Sinasac that if he wants to have his religion inffluence public policy he should move to the United States, where their President was apparently chosen by God and not the voters, and claims Jesus Christ as his personal savior and counselor--surely Christ had a few choice words about torture and pre-emptive war.

Okay all you Christo-Fascists, flame away!

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Canadian, Politics, Religion

Brother Can you Spare a Cubit?

From Canada's Space: The Imagination Station comes an interesting look at what really happened to the original Cylon Centurions once the newly evolved 'flesh-bots' took over...

Brother Can you Spare a Cubit?

Sad to see genocidal machines reduced to such squalor :)

Cheers,
Sean

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica

INCOMING REVIEW – BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: LAY DOWN YOUR BURDENS PART 2

REVIEW – BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: LAY DOWN YOUR BURDENS PART 2

Well, that's it for Season 2. Only seven months until new episodes!

Cheers,
Sean

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica

Haiku of a Cold Morning

Wind
Like a blade; freezing
Mountain rivers

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Haiku, Writing

More Hypocrisy from Conservatives (Surprise, Surprise)

Thanks to BitWhys over at SmirkingChimp for digging these up:

interesting quips from the House of Commons floor last November...

Quote:

---

The Prime Minister has chosen to commit our Canadian Forces to take a lead role in the restoration of Afghanistan in the U.S. lead Operation Enduring Freedom. What is disturbing to me is that while our forces readily accept any challenge, the government has not brought this decision before the House for debate. Instead, the government prefers to make announcements outside the chamber and avoid serious examination by members of Parliament.



Given the seriousness of this mission, Canadians should have been afforded an opportunity to hear from the Prime Minister in this very chamber as to what our objectives and exit strategies were with respect to operations in Afghanistan.

---

Dave MacKenzie - CPC - now Minister of Public Safety - November 15, 2005

Quote:

---

When a government decides to intervene in a failing state there are a number of considerations that must be taken before committing troops. It must be satisfied that the mission supports the goals and objectives of Canada's foreign policy; the mandate is realistic, clear and enforceable; there is a clearly defined concept of operation; it has an effective command and control structure; there are clear rules of engagement; there is sufficient international financial and political support for the mission; it has adequate and properly equipped forces; it can sustain the commitment and engage in other international activities that may arise; there has been an effective consultation between mission partners; there are criteria to measure progress; there is a definition of success; there is an acceptable timeframe for the commitment; and there is a clear exit strategy if the mission is not successful.



I do not have great confidence that the government had satisfactory answers to these considerations before committing our troops to increased involvement in Afghanistan. In particular, I doubt that the government has a clear political and military strategy for Afghanistan or criteria on which to measure progress or a definition of success or an exit strategy. We have had pronouncements from government officials who indicate that our commitment in Afghanistan may be 5 years, 10 years or even as long as 20 years. It is obvious that the government does not have an idea how long the commitment will go on.

---

Gordon O'Connor - CPC - now Minister of National Defence



that's back when it was 250 troops. now all of a sudden 2200 troops aren't worth talking about. go figure.

Of-course now that the CPC is the government and it's become politically expedient they've changed their 'support-the-troops' song and dance through a full 180 degrees. Are our soldiers just political pawns to them? Sounds like it. Time to contact my MP and let Art have both barrels--this whole situation pisses me off.

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Canadian, Military, Politics

Sean's Publishing credits get another WAP

Just found a couple of old articles I wrote on WAP for Linux as published on Linux.com. I'd completely forgotten about these. I guess I should add them to my published credits :)

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Programming, Writing

First they came for the mice and I said nothing....

Now apparently, for every day that Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles goes un-released, Satan inflicts torment on a kitten. True story, Darkwater told me. Honest.

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Robotech

My Letter to the Editor

Considering my military background, I obviously have strong feelings about Stephen Harper's attempts to stifle debate about the Canadian Force's deployment to Afghanistan. After reading Bill Kaufmann's column on this topic in the Calgary Sun, I was prompted to write this letter to the editor:

Editor,

Bill Kaufmann's column from Monday March 13 rings so true my ears hurt. I served for several years in the Canadian Forces, and a common refrain from my sergeant was that we 'defend democracy and not practice it', and while that may be fine for the soldier in the field, it is hardly right to practice that amongst voters, and Canadians both elected and unelected. Mister Harper was democratically elected to provide leadership, not to stifle debate on his whim. He, like any other MP is accountable to the House of Commons, and we, the Canadian people. Few Canadian's understand why our troops are in Afghanistan, and although educating the Canadian public may well begin demand to bring the troops home, that is the price to be paid for an informed electorate. I for one feel that Canadians will support the men and women in uniform just as much as we always have, and I think my friends and fellow soldiers deserve their leaders--especially the politicians--to be willing to revisit the reasons we ask them to serve, and possibly die in some god-forsaken desert. To simply place them there as some sort of show of Canada's testosterone, or worse yet to coddle up to the George Bushes of the world is criminally negligent, and certainly fits my definition of 'unpatriotic'.

Despite what Mr Harper and his Conservatives would have you think, dissent and debate is patriotic, just as Bill Kaufmann pointed out. It is people like Mr Kaufmann, and all those who actually think about the troops as people, and not symbols or props, who are the real patriots, and truly 'support the troops'.

God Bless the men and woman of the Canadian Forces, keep them safe, and return them home to their families.

Sincerely,

Sean Campbell
Calgary, AB

Now, who knows if this will be published, or if I'll even see it. Personally, I find the Sun too right-wing for my taste, and Bill Kaufmann is one of the few columnists of theirs who I don't think should be extradited to the US where they can spew their fascist propaganda to the sheeple there.... but what the hell, sometimes you need to stand up and say something.

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Canadian, Military, Politics, Writing

Of Mice and Men...

Yikes! Talk about having a bad rodent experience.

BOL with the extermination Ravenclawdrew--I can send over some home-made napalm if you think it would help :)

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Blogs, Rodents

INCOMING REVIEW – BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON TWO

Well, BSG(RDM) just finished its second season this past Friday, and while I'll leave the review of the final episode itself to Lighthope over on Media Blvd, I'd like to jot down some thoughts about the season as a whole.

The first season of BSG was a spectacularly refreshing take on sci-fi on TV--heck, TV in general--and I was left feeling awed by the writing and vision of the show, a feeling I'd not had since the second season of Babylon 5.

Would the second season of BSG live up to my hopes? Yes and no. Season 2 was seven episodes longer, and the additional work required to write these extra episodes was apparent in a drop in overall writing quality. Yes, there were real gems like 'Pegasus', 'Downloaded' and 'Lay Down your Burdens Pt II', but they were offset by the dreck that was 'Black Market', and other disappointments like 'Home Pt I', 'Fragged' and 'Resistance'. Looking back on what I enjoyed and what I didn't, it becomes evident that the first half of the season was slow to find its stride--in fact, I wasn't truly engaged until 'Final Cut' and 'Pegasus', episodes 208 and 210.

Then there was the mid-season break--after having gotten left with the cliffhanger standoff between Galactica and Pegasus at the end of 210, it was months before that story-line would be resolved. However, I was not--unlike many other fans--disappointed with either parts of 'Resurrection Ship' and for me this signaled a significant upswing in writing and better yet, it seemed that Moore's interest in producing good, rather than 'common' television had returned.

While 'Epiphanies' wasn't my cup of tea, it was required to resolve the President's cancer. The less said about the filler episode called 'Black Market' the better. From there, the season didn't have a miss IMHO. From the enjoyable 'Top Gun' in space episode 'Scar' to Billy's death in 'Sacrifice' and The Beast claiming yet another CO, right into the Cylon POV in 'Downloaded' and culminating in LDYB, where in the second part the entire series changes, leaving us breathless and wondering "What the Frack now?!?"

It's been a great ride from 210 onward, and I'm waiting with bated breath for Season 3 to start in October. BSG's failures in Season 2 can be attributed I think to trying to be more 'conventional' television that it should be. The show is about breaking eggs, and dragging the audience kicking and screaming into the 'realism' presented by the genocide of an entire people and how the survivors deal with that.

My advice to Ron Moore is to focus on what made BSG the mini-series and Season 1 great--real characters, realistic situations and an uncompromising desire to tell the story how it needs to be told, no matter what conventional TV wisdom says.

Until October, I guess I left to build models, and listen to Resurrection Ship from the album "Battlestar Galactica Season Two" by Bear McReady for my BSG fix.

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica

An Interesting Auction from a Brother in Arms...

A fellow who blogs as Progressive Programmer is finally getting rid of the duct tape he bought three years ago to protect himself and his family from t'rrists. Take a look at his story here:

Three Rolls of Fear

Amen Brother.

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Politics

INCOMING REVIEW – BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: LAY DOWN YOUR BURDENS PART 1

REVIEW – BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: LAY DOWN YOUR BURDENS PART 1

On a personal note: sorry I took so long to get this link up--my Internet connection at home had been down and work's been hectic, so needless to say, my blogging is getting backed up ;). As for my personal review of LDYB Pt I: 8/10, two thumbs up! I loved it, and can't wait for next week's finale!


Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica

A serpent is a serpent, and none the less a viper

I appologise for the crappy-ness of the bottom two images, what passes for my digital camera is in desperate need of replacement :P

Well, I just received a pretty cool resin kit the other day--a 1/72 scale Viper Mk II from the new Batttlestar Galactica Series.  The Mk II is a sleek little beast, and this kit is a fairly good representation of it, although as I work on it I discover more and more minor issues.  One thing that's a total PITA though is the nose intake/vent which comes seperate and is a total bitch to attach and fair into the feuselage.



The top pic here (from The Starship Modeler Store) shows what you get in the box.  Well, in addition to the resin pieces, you also get some decals, but IMHO, the less said about them the better...


Crappy pic #1 shows an aft-quarter shot of the Viper with the top equiptment bay and all three engine nozzels attached.


Crappy pic #2 shows a semi-profile of the Mk II allowing you to see the nose assembly now that it's 'seamlessly' faired into the feuselage--the nose tip is significantly smaller than the end it attaches to, so the curvatures seem off.  Oh well.

That's all I have for now.  These can be picked up from The Starship Modeler Store for $40 USD; not a steal, but not too bad as resin kits go. 

I'm hoping to have this little beast done for the May 13 Western Canada Regional Modeling Competition in Calgary so more progress shots (hopefully with a better camera) and more BSG goodness to come!

Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Scale Modeling

And for those of you keeping track... (pt 2)

Today makes it one month officially since I started this Blog. That's a record for me :)


Cheers,

Sean

Technorati Tags: Blogs