Thoughts on Star Trek (2009)

I finally saw Star Trek last night. I'd never seen a Star Trek movie before, and have only seen a couple episodes of one of the TV shows. Most of my prior Star Trek knowledge came from recognizing references to it in The Simpsons, Futurama, Can't Hardly Wait, xkcd, etc. Here are my thoughts.


- In the event of a Romulan attack, I don't think it should be necessary for Star Fleet crew to stand at attention whenever the captain walks by. I think they should keep doing whatever the hell it is they need to be doing.

- The average shot length, towards the climax at the end, was probably about 2 seconds.

- About halfway through I realized that the actor who plays Uhura was Anamaria in Pirates of the Caribbean. I liked her better as Anamaria.

- Speaking of Uhura, this movie fails the Bechdel-Wallace Test with flying colors. The movie pays lip service to equality at the end, making a point to say "To boldly go where no one has gone before" instead of "no man." But why talk the talk if they ain't gonna walk the walk?

- Who knew that Hoth was really just Delta Vega?

- Simon Pegg rules. There needed to be way more of Scotty. I also liked his little walking cabbage sidekick.

- My other favorites were Bones and Chekov.

- The clever thing about the time travel plot device is that it allows J.J. Abrams some leeway - if it's an alternate reality, he can stray from the canon. But even so, having Kirk born in space strips Riverside, Iowa of its claim to fame.

- There was not nearly enough pandering to K/S slash fiction writers. I demand more fan service, dammit!

- I am soooo glad I was an English major. They don't shoot English majors off into space before we even graduate.

Why I will be proud to have been a member of the Class of 2009

I graduated from the University of Rochester a couple weeks ago. One of my favorite moments of the commencement ceremony was when President Seligman, addressing the class, said, "And I am sure you will all find jobs" and everybody laughed. He didn't mean for it to be funny.

A feature story in this month's Boston Magazine calls us "Generation WTF* *As in, 'My time to join the real world had to come /now?/ What. The. F#@&?!?!'" We are "the cursed Class of '09."

In a Boston Globe article that ran on January 28th of this year, headlined "Who will hire the Class of 2009?," Christine Bolzan wrote, "There's no question that the Class of 2009 faces one of the most challenging job markets in decades." And it's true - NONE of my friends have found jobs. (Granted, I don't have *that* many friends, but that's not the point.) Even the engineers are having trouble.

But I don't know how much I buy the hype. I know that I will find a job. I am smart and talented. I am qualified for an entry-level position at any of the firms I'm applying to - even if they're not actually hiring. I can't use "It's the recession" as an excuse.

One positive thing about the impossibility of trying to find a job now is that I'm not alone in it. I don't feel like a loser for moving in with my mom. Everyone else is in the same boat - or childhood bedroom, as the case may be. In addition, the adults in my life are all eager to help me out. They are sympathetic to the situation and want to help me succeed.

The recession will get better, eventually. But economic hardships are sure to return in my lifetime. And when they do, I, a member of the Class of 2009, will know that I will be able to thrive regardless.

Welcome to the

I saw the first episode of Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse" when it premiered. I wasn't impressed. But then I happened to catch the last episode of the season a few weeks ago. It was damn good. So I've been catching up on all the episodes in between. I may do a more developed entry about the show at some point, but for now I have this to say:

Tahmoh Penikett is great as FBI Agent Ballard. But I can't help but feel like the role was written for Nathan Fillion. Hm.

Three of the Most Romantic Songs Ever, according to me

1. "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails

	Nine Inch Nails - Closer
	Found at skreemr.com

2. "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal

	Seal - Kiss From A Rose
	Found at skreemr.com

3. "The Purple Bottle" by Animal Collective

	Animal Collective - The Purple Bottle
	Found at skreemr.com

Honorable mention goes to:
"Daughters" by John Mayer

	John Mayer - Daughters
	Found at skreemr.com

The Thing (1982)

In horror movies it's generally not a good idea to split up when there's a monster/killer on the loose. I understand that sometimes a group of characters doesn't realize this and feels that they can cover more ground or whatever by not staying together.

But if the monster can only attack when it's alone with the victim, why in BLOG'S NAME would you go ANYWHERE by yourself!?