Day 65: My Favorite Spaceships

This post is dedicated to the vessels that carry our favorite sci-fi characters around the galaxy. Many times these spaceships have become beloved characters that not only help drive the story forward, but are also important in setting the scene. Some of them provide a mobile home for galaxy-traveling protagonists or are the means of delivering the final blow to the enemy. Here's a list of some of my favorite spaceships.

The Millennium Falcon

Luke Skywalker exclaimed that it was a piece of junk when he first laid eyes on it. But ever since I saw Star Wars for the first time as a child I have loved the Millennium Falcon. It's strange asymmetry and pieced-together look is just so classic. It's all about the details. You can really feel that Han and Chewbacca live and work there. They're smugglers and they're in debt, so the hastily repaired inside and exterior of ship reflect that exceedingly well. Perhaps it's because The Millennium Falcon was one of the first space ships that I saw, but it goes down as my all-time favorite. Sure it is a piece of junk, but it's a loveable piece of junk. I for one would take it on a The Kessel Run any day. 
    

Serenity


Serenity is one of the main characters in the film of the same name. You know, the one that followed the critically acclaimed and disastrously cancelled series Firefly. A majority of the show took place within her walls and once again the attention to detail is one of the main attractions. I particularly like Captain Mal's cabin in which he shares something that I love and has assorted container plants growing near the windows. The ship is also very unique looking with its giant engines and large storage bay. Serenity fits perfectly with the great ensemble cast in the series.


The Normandy


I called The Normandy home for quite some time during my time playing the Mass Effect series. It's sleek design and large interior make for a great home-base in a galaxy being torn apart by vicious enemies. Although it was slightly confusing at first to navigate around all of the important areas, I soon knew each and every room with the familiarity that one would have after spending quality time in a real place. That's one of the great things about interactive entertainment, you almost feel like you are there because you're forced to navigate in a 3D space. That's why The Normandy made my list.


Moya


Moya is probably the most unique of all of the ships on this list, in that she is actually a sentient being. I believe the Farscape series is sometimes overlooked when it comes to sci-fi shows. It's really great though and had some really interesting and unique concepts. One of them being that the ship that the main characters call home is a living creature, complete with little drones that repair and heal her from the inside. At one point in the series she even gives birth to a smaller ship. The only person that she can communicate with is a creature called "Pilot" who is bonded with her. The look of the ship is also very interesting and conveys the organic feel of a living being while still looking like a spacecraft.


The X-Wing Fighter


I built models of and played with the X-Wing fighter a lot when I was younger. It's a classic and well designed ship, reminiscent of dog-fighters during the golden age of aviation around the second world war. The control panel, the targeting system, the on-board droid, and the X-foils are all so well built and authentic looking that it's hard to believe the original film versions were made out of wood. It's one of my favorites and whenever given a chance in a game to pick it, I go with it every time without hesitation. Stay on target!
  

The USG Ishimura


Dead Space is an iconic third person sci-fi horror game from the year 2008. Almost the entirety of the game takes place on a Japanese planetary mining ship dubbed the USG Ishimura. Needless to say that all hell breaks loose as the zombified corpses of crewman begin to take over the ship, forcing you to fend them off using modified mining tools as weapons. The ship is massive, likened to a city unto itself. You find yourself traveling all over from the medical bay to the greenhouses and research facilities as you try to escape the forsaken vessel. At some points it's claustrophobic and in other cases you are left in awe of the grandeur and design of the Planet-Cracker class ship. Everything about it plays to the main survival theme of the game, making it a unique and memorable achievement in game and spacecraft design.
 

The USS Enterprise


No list of iconic spaceships would be complete without the USS Enterprise. I'm not talking about a specific version (TNG or TOS), I just mean the Enterprise in general. Star Trek just doesn't work without the staple ship. When you're boldly going where no man has gone before you must have a decent vessel to call home. I love The USS Enterprise and all of it's iterations throughout the years, particularly the re-design for the new films by J.J. Abrams. Just as with all of the other ships I've mentioned, the Enterprise plays a profoundly important role in telling the story of it's crew and their epic space adventures. Make it so!
  

The Space Shuttle


I'm not just limiting this list to sci-fi, this next one holds a dear place in my heart as I grew up on the space coast and watched them from my front yard as they made their journey to space. Even though it doesn't have artificial gravity, lasers, droids, or smuggling bays, The Space Shuttle is as much science fiction as the rest of them. Although they have been decommissioned, The Space Shuttles still remain as one of the greatest feats that the human race has ever achieved. We reached for the stars and we got there. I look forward to seeing what happens next for real-life space exploration.  


What are some of yours?

Day 64: Evening at The Beach

Like a brush stroking watercolor on a canvas, the waves rolled in slowly and painted the dull beige with the color of the setting sun. Glossy wet sand created a mirror of the orange-red sky as the waves pulled back to unveil it. Gulls let out their shrill cries as they fought against the wind that threatened to sweep them up and push them away from the ocean. 

A group of crabs picked at an abandoned sand-coated sandwich and scattered then into their oval holes as the shadow of the gulls suddenly fell upon them. The deep moan of a cruise ship's foghorn echoed across the beach as it carried its inhabitants out to the sea. Couples slowly marched across the shoreline, hand in hand, leaving two sets of footprints in the delicate sand. 

People sat out on their balcony's leisurely eating dinner and watching the red globe disappear behind the waves. 

Day 63: A Florida Saturday

The smell of freshly cut grass permeated the warm summer air as the sound of lawnmowers and music echoed across the subdivision. Men in hats and sunglasses stood in front of their grills wearing shorts and flip flops. Children played in their yards, laughing and giggling as they ran through sprinklers. Mothers tended to their gardens as they kept the children within earshot. 

Thunder boomed distantly as a giant wall of dark clouds began to roll in like a slow-motion tidal wave. Mothers began to emerge from their houses and gardens calling their children inside as the storm approached. The grilling men flipped the sizzling meat faster and lawnmowers were driven to shelter and shut off. The subdivision became quiet, save for the occasional car driving by and the crackling thunder. 

Pets, children, and parents peered out from their windows as the rain started cascading down from the clouds. It was light at first; just barely coating the ground in a slick sheen. The water stored in the hovering darkness was hesitant to throw itself upon the earth at first. But then like a cavalry charge, the large droplets were forcefully ripped from the clouds by gravity.

The home dwellers were safe and sound as they watched the water pour and lightning strike, knowing that in just a few hours the storm would pass and outdoor activities could resume once again. 

Day 62: Holy Basil Batman!

 
As warmer weather (hopefully) begins to descend upon us, it's time for me to seriously consider what I want to start planting this year. Last year I had a lot of success with some herbs like basil, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, mint, oregano and thyme. I also planted a tomato plant that did quite well in the little container on the deck.  I'm really excited though about having a little more room to garden this year.

I want to try to grow a few more types of basil, particularly Holy Basil and Purple Holy Basil (Tulsi). These variations of basil are said to have the most medicinal properties out of the basil family. The leaves and the flowering parts are supposed to be extremely aromatic and brew well in tea. Basil tea is great, it's one of the most relaxing teas that I've had and it's so easy to make. One of my favorite combos is a few leaves of basil, some crushed up mint, a sprig of rosemary and some honey. Not only does it taste great, but it's extremely healthy for you too.

Holy Basil is good for so many things, but one of it's main uses is for stress relief. Katie and I drank a lot of Basil tea last year and I can honestly say that it did help us relax. So I'm going to try to grow some of my own this year from seed. I've heard that the purple variation is quite difficult to grow from seed, but this gardener welcomes the challenge.

Day 61: Worst Movie Ever

I knew nothing about the movie on Netflix before my friend and I hit the play button. See, whenever a big new video game came out, he and I would pull an all nighter. When it was time to put our controllers down and eat pizza, we would always pick out a terrible movie on netflix to watch while we did so. Movies like, Killer Clown From Outer Space, Rednecks vs Zombies, and Menace From Mars just to name a few.

Well when we started Troll 2 we had absolutely no idea what we were in for. The pure awfulness that is Troll 2 is endearing in a strange way. Mainly because of the fact that no one in the film acts like a real human. It was unsurprising to me when I found out later that the director hardly spoke any English at all. Not only is the dialog laughable, but the acting is so atrocious that it's difficult to imagine how the "actors" were chosen from the other 7 billion beings on this sphere we call earth. Events in the film unfold in a completely illogical and nonsensical manner that leaves the viewing audience confused, stupefied, and afraid of green food.


Yes a random and terrible dance scene spawns out of nowhere, accompanied by some of the worst 80's synthesized music of all time. Also at one point in the film a child decides that despite countless options available to a critically thinking human mind, he must solve a problem by urinating over the entirety of his family at the dinner table. Not to mention the fact the the movie is called Troll 2 and the word Troll isn't uttered even once. Not once! They call them goblins and they are the worst looking creatures you've ever seen. When I say that, I don't mean that they are scary or threatening in any way whatsoever. What I mean is that they're midgets wrapped in burlap bags with their faces shrouded with horribly designed rubber masks. Characters "bleed" or "sweat" green blood, when it is painfully obvious that there's someone pouring it on their heads from a squeeze-easy bottle.

The strangest thing about Troll 2 though is that fact that, in it's own bizarre way, it's so bad that it's good. It's the previously mentioned scenes that make the film so different than anything else, that it's actually enjoyable on a certain level. It contains the same random (albeit unintentional) sense of humor that is so prevalent across the internet. In fact, I believe that's one of the reasons that it has become a cult classic in the last couple years. Since it's re-emergence, it has spawned viewing events and fan groups all over the world. People have been calling it "The Best Worst Movie". There's even a spectacular documentary about it that was created by the guy who played the little boy.

So if you enjoy bad movies or random humor, I would highly suggest giving Troll 2 a try. Just don't eat the green food. 

  

Day 60: Random Thoughts While Trying to Sleep

I have a lot of trouble sleeping sometimes. I've taken sleep aids, tried counting sheep and even exercised when I'm having insomnia. Sometimes those things work and sometimes they don't.

About a month or so ago, I didn't sleep much at all for about a week. I went several nights with only an hour or two of slumber. Part of my problem is that I can't turn my brain off. Sometimes I find myself thinking some of my deepest thoughts when I can't sleep. Or at least, they seem really deep at the time but I end up laughing at them later. Here are a few of them.

If time travel were ever going to be possible, we would already know about it. Why? Because just like with any new technology, people will find a way to troll it. The flag raising at Iwo Jima would definitely have been photo-bombed by somebody, as well as all other famous historical photos. Music videos and films would be ruined by time traveling trolls as well. But there would also be obvious good that would come from the time travelers too. Somebody would have told the captain of the titanic to steer clear of the iceberg, all terrorist attacks would have been thwarted and of course Firefly never would have been cancelled.

Speaking of time travel, this one hit me a while ago too. So say you could travel faster than the speed of light. Say that you also had a telescope that could zoom in on something at a ridiculous setting. Well you could travel light years away and then watch past events unfold on earth with said telescope. You could observe the pyramids being built, or the great wall of China going up. This kinda blew my sleep deprived mind.

I also had the notion that small creatures like bugs or tiny mammals can see the world in slow motion. How else could a fly or a mouse have such fast reaction time? 

And this one. What if animals are being controlled by sleeping people on the other side of the world? When I sleep at night I'm actually controlling a dog in China until I wake up in the morning and the dog goes to sleep? What if your dear little American dog is actually a Chinese business man during the day?

Insomnia. 

Day 59: Oscar Recap

No it wasn't 12 Years a Slave or Gravity that won the oscars the other night, it was my wife. Her predictions beat mine by two points, so it looks like she gets to choose where to go for dinner and what movie to watch. There's always next year for me.

I was glad to see that Gravity won so many awards though, because it really is a great movie. Calling it a movie doesn't quite do it justice though because it's more of an experience than a film. It definitely deserved to win best special effects, because while I was watching it I had no idea that almost everything was CG. It was a wild ride, but I would highly recommend it.

Frozen of course deserved it's win for best animated film and the Oscar for best original song. Also the heartfelt acceptance from the husband and wife team that wrote it was definitely compelling to say the least. It brought on the feels.

So those were really the only two big films that I saw last year. But there are a few that were nominated that I would like to see now.

I've already spoken at length on this blog about how I can't help but see origin stories and sequels whenever I see actors in different films. Well, the Oscars really messes up my head. Whoa wait, was that Bruce Wayne sitting next to Sherlock? Did Han Solo really just shake Wolverine's hand?

I had some weird dreams after watching all of that....

Day 58: Gardening Poem

Blue leather-bound hands,

encompassing soil and root.

Potted, and kept safe.

Sun soaked in warmth,

growing towards the bright orb,

watered by the clouds.

Terra cotta pots.

Deep dark pools form underneath.

Water feeding roots

Leaves spring forth under sky.

Splayed like mitts, ready to catch dew.

Green sun-catching hands.

Spade scoops softened earth,

creating homes for eggs.

Preparing to sprout.

Careful gardener

watches over his children

knowing what they need.

Markers placed nearby.

Identify their names,

for the forgetful.

Patience, care and time.

These are the ingredients,

for a good garden.

Day 57: Lizard Tails

I used to love to catch lizards growing up. I still do actually. Well except we don't really have any here in Georgia. I remember one of the first times I saw a lizard lose it's tail. I was chasing a particularly large green anole when I waited for the most opportune time and reached out to grab it. I caught part of his tail between two of my fingers and I watched in horror as the tail was torn from the lizard's body. There it was, between my fingers still wriggling back and forth. It did that for a while too, which really freaked me out.

I remember guiltily telling my mom about what happened ( my eyes may have been leaking a little too). She explained to me about how lizards can grow their tails back and that it's actually a survival strategy to ward off enemies. I felt better about it and realized that the strategy had worked really well on me. 

Just like a lizard's tail, sometimes we have to let go of things that are important to us in order to survive. It can hurt, just like the separating of skin and bone that occurs when a lizard lets go of his precious appendage. But eventually those things that we have to let go of will be replaced.

Day 56: The Oscars

Last year Katie and I had a little contest. After the oscar nominations were announced we printed a list of all the categories. We both picked the films that we thought were most likely to win in a given category and marked our initial next to it. Whoever predicted the most winners would be able to choose where to go out for dinner.

Last year was pretty close. I think I had one or two more than Katie but we both got about 70% right. I actually don’t remember where I decided for dinner with my winning choice, but it wasn't really about that. It was just about having a fun and friendly competition.

I think the oscars are fun, but also kind of silly. It seems like there's so much nepotism and power going on behind the scenes and a lot of times films that appealed to wider audiences go completely unnoticed. Most people have never even seen most of the nominations in a given year. But it is entertaining to watch and even though I usually haven’t seen most of the films that are nominated, I have watched many after the fact and enjoyed them.

So now that we're a day away from the oscars, it's time for us to once again choose our winners in the same manner and begin round 2.

The stakes have been raised this year. The winner chooses a restaurant for dinner as well as a movie to go see. 

May the odds be ever in our favor!