The Empire Has a TARDIS

Love Story

Today is Valentine’s Day. It is a day for chocolates, cards, flowers, expressions of love, and all other manner of fuss.

Being an intensely practical person (especially as I’ve gotten older and buy my own stuff), gifts don’t matter to me much. I recently took the 5 Love Languages quiz and was a bit surprised by the result. I thought the dominant love language would be Words of Affirmation (8 out of 12) but mine turned out to be Quality Time – with 11 out of 12 points. Does this get you out of buying me a birthday present? No.

I can’t recall a Valentines where I celebrated it with a Significant Other. I intensely disliked celebrating it in school because it was a major popularity contest where if it weren’t mandated that everyone had to give everyone in the class a card, I would have received few. See poor Ralph from The Simpsons…

Ralph’s Valentines

I’m also not one for Romantic Comedies because I think they are even more unrealistic than science fiction. I can count on one hand the number of romantic comedies I’ve enjoyed – more for the comedy rather than the romance.

All of that to say, I don’t mark it as “Single Awareness Day” and I don’t deliberately try to rain on couples who are posting love notes to each other (or how they met) on facebook. I love hearing how people met because it connects me to them as people – my friends.

I love celebrating that with you. I would only ask that you not speak down to me or say “I’m sorry.” I’m not.

Since this is Empire Haz a TARDIS, I’m going to list a few of my favorite Science Fiction couples:

Amelia Pond and Rory Williams. Or as The Eleventh Doctor calls them – The Ponds even though they are the Williams. I didn’t care for the way Amelia would just leap over Rory at the beck and call of the Doctor but when they separated, it broke my heart and their confession of love for one another in “Asylum of the Daleks” makes me cry every time I watch it. When she chose Rory over the Doctor in “The Angels Take Manhattan ” all I could finally was say was “she got it right.”
Mal and Inara. It is clear from the get go that there is sexual tension. He’s jealous; he knows he can’t ‘compete’ with the clients from her world. She’s mystified by him in that he is probably the one man she’s come across who hasn’t tried to court her (even in the ritualistic Companion sense) and that he stays behind his walls. When he sleeps with Nandi in “Heart of Gold,” Inara puts on a good front that she isn’t bothered by it but she is crushed (as we see later when she sobs.) Nandi saw right through the front and to protect herself from disappointment, Inara runs… again… leaving Serenity. Her first time to run was setting out on the boat in the first place, running to hide because of her terminal illness (sorry – this blog is always full of spoilers.) Of the two, I tend to think Inara is the more messed up because she has been taught NOT to form attachments (only to give the appearance of one) and when presented with an opportunity, she doesn’t know how to handle it. Mal has his own set of issues (judgmental, angry), too. I would love to know more about their story post-Serenity.
Han and Leia. This wouldn’t be my list if it didn’t have this couple on it. “I love you.” “I know.” “There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.” “I happen to like nice men.” “I’m a nice man.” I haven’t read any of the extended universe books to see how their lives turn out post-Return of the Jedi but Han is just awesome.

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Tags: love, Simpsons, star wars, Valentines

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Most of that article and the comments were a high-level of stupid. There are always going to be people who put on airs about liking a particular thing – Star Wars, anime, basketball – but aren’t hobbyists. Should we demean their passing interest? No.

You were a newb at one time, too. Show a little kindness, respect and appreciate people for who and where they are. Just because someone isn’t a huge fan now doesn’t mean that at a later date they won’t grow into liking it later.

I had a similar experience with Doctor Who. For my friend Beth’s birthday, I agreed to watch several episodes because she is a fan. I took an instant dislike to Rose but thought the Ninth Doctor was OK. I watched those episodes and moved on.

Several months later, I saw a couple of BBC America specials on Doctor Who – locations, women of Doctor Who, science of Doctor Who, and villains. It gave me the overview of the series. Then there was the Eleventh Doctor marathon. Matt Smith is adorable as the Doctor, and I was hooked.

Will I love Doctor Who as much as I love Firefly? Eh. Probably not. It’s all good though. Just because someone doesn’t love that thing you love as much as you do doesn’t make them a bad person – just different.

I just realized that most of the posts on this blog thus far center on a ‘being different is ok’ theme. Perhaps I’m trying to re-assure myself of that.

Posted on February 12, 2013 | Link

Big Bang Theory – Star Trek Style

Feb 11

Posted by Jonnelle

A few weeks back, Big Bang Theory had an episode where the guys get dressed up in their Star Trek uniforms and head to a convention (The Bakersfield Expedition – CBS video or the BBT wiki).

To summarize, the guys spend the episode getting their costumes ready for the Bakersfield Comic-Con. On the way the car was stolen and someone throws trash on them. After a long walk, they arrive at a diner, defeated and broke, this conversation takes place:

Raj: Great. We can still make it to Comic-Con.
Leonard: Are you kidding me? After all we’ve been through, I just want to go home.
Raj: Don’t be like that. Come on, Howard, talk to him.
Howard: I’m with Leonard. I’m done.
Raj: Fine, then I guess it’s two against two. How do we decide?
Sheldon: Actually, it’s three against one.
Raj: What? What about the mission? You said we were a real-life landing party.
Sheldon: Yeah, well, we’re not. We’re an imaginary landing party who had real-life garbage thrown at us by real-life strangers who think we’re idiots. And to tell you the truth, I’m starting to feel like one. I want to go home now.
Raj: Okay. Can we at least rent the car from Enterprise? Get it? Enterprise? (Nobody reacts) Screw you. That’s funny.

Sheldon’s reaction broke my heart. There are occasions when we need our friends and family to provide checks to our wacky notions and bring us back to reality. But should those be at the expense of what is fun and what brings us pleasure – even if it isn’t going to be our profession?

Jon Acuff tells the story of a woman who when she was young she loved to dance. Her mom said “you know you’re never going to be a Rockette, right?” And with that sentence, the girl quit dancing. I’m not sure if it is something she took up again later in life but the joy it brought to her as a little girl was stolen forever.

How many of us had our joy robbed from us in that way? How have we done that to other people? In the case of what happened in the BBT, I wanted to scream at the garbage chuckers “RIGHT! So your obsession over football is OK but theirs with Star Trek isn’t?! *expletive expletive*” I’ve never understood why it’s ok for people to deck their homes out floorboards to rafters in stuff from their favorite sports team but when someone wants to re-create the TARDIS, they are crazy and socially unacceptable.

Doctor Who is cool. And so are bow ties. And fezzes.

Fortunately, it is better today than it used to be but it is far from perfect. The Internet gives fans a safe place (most of the time – there are those within fandoms who are still jerks and can ruin it) to connect with one another and say “You aren’t alone.”

“Your creativity is OK.”

“I LOVE YOUR KAYLEE FRYE DRESS!“

It is unfortunate that the Real World has yet to catch up with our awesomeness. Maybe. Eventually. I doubt it. Just remember – you’re awesome just the way you are. Be yourself.

Unless you can be Batman or Boba Fett… heh.

Posted in Opinion, Science Fiction Awesomeness

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Tags: Big Bang Theory, bully, Star Trek

Start!

Feb 8

Posted by Jonnelle

I wouldn’t call him my friend. Acquaintance (really – was it that hard to spell this word? I had to misspell it in Google to get there because spellcheck in WordPress gave up.)? Someone that I kinda know.

I’ve known of Jon Acuff for years. I followed Stuff Christians Like before it was cool. I’ve got all the books – some of them even signed. He tweeted about my mission trip to India last year to help me raise funds – but this was trading on the fact that we also knew each other in real life because his daughter was in my Sunday School class. (Yeah.. that blog has kinda fallen by the wayside…. *guilty look*)

I’ve learned a lot from Jon. I know the 5 stages of the V-neck t-shirt and can readily spot them on the street. And the Hipster worship leader? I also cannot help but think of bringing someone a cake every time I halfway raise my arms in praise at church. But over the years, he has moved from just telling funny stories but using them to inspire people to pursue their own dreams.

To Quit. But not being stupid about it. If you are going to quit, you need a plan.

And now – to Start.

I’m guilty of this as much as anyone else. It is so easy to be average and coast along. Is everything hunky-dorey? The bills are paid and food in the fridge. There is a kitteh on my lap and another asleep on the AV receiver because that is where the warms are. Life is good.

But is it?

For the longest time, it gnawed at me. Things are ok but isn’t there something more? Am I meant for more than this? 1000 sermons preached every New Year tell you “Yes – you are meant for more.”

And probably like me you stare back and go “So how in the world do I get there? Telling me I’m destined for awesome is fine… but I have no idea how to get there.”

In Quitter, Jon talks about finding what you love to do is an act of rediscovery. To often, we think that finding what we want/love to do is supposed to be this big thing. But it usually rediscovering that love of something you used to do. For me, it is dance and writing. I love dance. Much like Firefly, I can wear people out talking about dance. I will tell you stuff about dance that will never show up on Jeopardy. And the same with Firefly. In fact, I have been warned by a friend of mine that if I get into Doctor Who the same way I am into Firefly, she will come over and rip out my Uverse box and take away my TV.

The other is writing. I wrote my first books when I learned out to write. When I moved out my old house several years ago, I found one that I wrote in the 5th grade about my classmates and an oddly shaped school building that needed to be propped up by ladders (we were in portables that year… maybe that had an influence on it).

To that end, I started blogging back before blogging was cool. But then life got in the way and it became a chore, especially to focus on trackbacks and readers and visiting people. AHH! Too much work! Now, I want to write what entertains me. Hopefully, other people will enjoy it, too. [Edit to add that I like writing mostly because I love telling stories. I LOVE... LOVE telling stories.]

As an aside, I am splitting my writing time between here and Stuff Heard on the Bus.

I’m ready to stop being average and Start being awesome. If you pre-order through the site, you get a ton of cool free stuff. Just sayin’.

As Yoda would say, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” So punch fear in the face!

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Tags: Start, StartBook

“The first rule is…”

Nov 7

Posted by Jonnelle

“Control.”

I believe that is a mostly correct quote from a deleted scene in “Serenity” (the movie, not the first episode of Firefly) regarding Inara, played by Morena Baccarin, on the training of new Companions. It relates to nearly the first thing I saw this morning post-election:

I wasn’t enchanted with either candidate and did not vote for either of the major parties in a national election. Some of you may think my vote for a third party candidate was wasted. However, I don’t think it was because I voted for the candidate that best expressed my views – which is… the point… of the electoral process?

Anyway, I saw the “Once you go black you never go Mormon” tweet at 6:45 this morning. Not exactly something I want to wake up to. I replied, as did others, that it was racist and bigoted. This makes her follow up statement that we/I need a sense of humor even more offensive and here’s why:

1) “Once you go black…” is pejorative. It goes back to the racist slurs used to make black men into nothing more than sexual beasts out to conquer genteel white women. It is also sexist in that women only care about penis size.

2) “It’s casual” and “Have a sense of humor” are a cop-out. Everyone wants the freedom to say what they like but no one wants to accept any push-back or that someone else may not like what they had to say. Words have weight and meaning. Choose them carefully.

Incidentally, I am not Congress – so my speaking out on this topic is NOT infringing on her right (or anyone else’s) to speak their mind. You are welcome to tell me to lighten up or whatever. Disagreement is not censorship.

3) Just because you have 140 characters to speak doesn’t mean that you should. Political matters are deep and require thought and explanations. It is why I really try to avoid discussing them on Facebook because many of them are deeper, more nuanced (or my views of them are deeper and more nuanced than a tiny little comment box will allow.) But since most Americans have the attention span of a gnat, it isn’t surprising that everything has moved to soundbites.

There is something to the thought of Old Entish – maybe it shouldn’t be said it unless it takes a long time to say.

4) Nothing about what was said came from a place of love. You cannot make a racist statement or one bigoted against a religion and say that is all love. It may have been intended to be funny, but it wasn’t. What is said off the cuff is usually a good insight into who they are because they aren’t monitoring themselves or being monitored/scripted by others.

You might say “you don’t know her!” You would be right. I don’t know her. She doesn’t know me, either. Neither do you. Statements like this tell me a lot about who Morena Baccarin is as a person, unfortunately. This may have been a momentary slip of the fingers but considering all the talk about bullying that very few people seem to be supportive of (and something she has actively took a stand against in the past) and mean words, how is this any different?

They also do nothing to heal the divisiveness that so many people claim to care about healing. After the 2008 election, Democrats and Obama supporters told us to come together (well, they always do that after the election, 2008 was no different) and work together for the good of the country. Mitt Romney’s concession speech last night was beautiful and gracious. It was humble and thankful to the people who worked so hard on his behalf and encouraging those to continue to work for what they believe and to work with the President to achieve those goals.

It isn’t about sore losers. If you can’t be a gracious winner, no one really wants to hear you either.

5) Statements like this are OK if the Left (or from CA or NY) does it but if someone on the Right (or from the South) says it, it’s racist. Double standards suck. A bigot is a bigot is a bigot whether they vote D or R. They are further proof that people aren’t as race-blind as they claim.

For those that think I am biased against the Left because I highlighted Morena’s tweet and she has openly supported the President, I am going through my Twitter and Facebook friends and removing those – no matter the D or the R – who make such bigoted statements.

Posted in Politics, Television

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Tags: current-events, Think before you tweet

Shiny!

Nov 5

Posted by Jonnelle

Tonight’s episode of Castle is a continuation of the show’s long-standing tease of we Firefly (and broader, science-fiction) fans. First, Castle said “Shiny” and the cats jumped because I shrieked.

Then he said “I’m a fan of GOOD science fiction – Star Trek, Battlestar, that Joss Whedon show…”

But my favorite was when they talked about how the murder victim bought the rights of this Star Trek-like show for next to nothing and turned it into a hit on the web that lead to another production company wanting to buy it and make a movie. He said something about it being a wonderful dream. All of which are directly related to things Nathan has said about Firefly in the past.

Aside from that Browncoat-love, the episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes (HELLO!), Kirk and Picard impressions, Kreavers who eat your face off, and closing with “Ideal Woman” from William Shatner… which I danced to! the other shining moment was Beckett talking about why she loved the show centered at their murder investigation and science fiction in a beautiful, open, and honest way.

We Geeks have long been teased as not normal because we have a strong connection to our imaginations. I’ve long felt that those who rip on science fiction/fantasy do so out of a place of jealousy because they killed their imaginations a long time ago and they wish they hadn’t. For those of you that have, come back to the Dark Side… we have cookies…

We never lost the love of fairy tales. Wanting to be the hero. Wanting to be the villain. To discover something bigger outside of ourself or within ourselves. To do something or to be someone great. We may have bills and a mortgage but we still want an audience. There is a movie, The Movie Hero, that touches on that. We would dance or play sports by ourselves but there was an audience… the invisible one. Still waiting for us to be the hero. But we were told “you can’t do that” or “you are too old for that” and eventually that audience fades away to nothing and we don’t dream anymore.

But there is always the Black. The Black is full of possibility. Something new to explore. Systems full of new worlds, races, animals. Daring deeds to be done. Balls to attend. Governments to topple. Standing up for what is right.

In Beckett’s honor, I want to talk about why I love science fiction.

At lunch last week, a co-worker and I were talking about books we’ve been reading. She was telling me about a book that chronicled the generations after slavery and I told her about The Hunger Games.

“There you are Jonnelle. I am seeking the past as I get older – looking to fill the gaps and things I didn’t know at the time these events occurred. You are completely buried in the future.”

“Well, I cut my teeth on the future. Star Wars shaped my world.”

I never wanted to be Princess Leia. I probably played her because she was the only girl when we would play Star Wars and I did dress as her 2 years in a row (Empire Strikes Back costumes)… but I wanted to be Darth Vader. To my 3-year old self, he had everything. He could do what he wanted. No one was telling him to go to bed. He spoke and the world listened. It quaked with fear…

mwhahahahaha…

And he was a total bad-ass when he walked onto the Rebel ship in Episode 4. The Imperial March (appearing first in Empire Strikes Back but something very similar is played in Star Wars) … Duel of the Fates is awesome but it doesn’t hold a candle to that… BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM da da dum DA da dum! (you just sang it – I know it!)

And the breather… GAH! When I saw that in the theater as an adult, I think I cried.

Now that you see my complete and total megalomanic side, what I love about science fiction is that it is the human story. What is Firefly? It’s a group of people struggling to get by – work on a marriage, hide from themselves, find healing, make some money and wear cunning hats.

Doctor Who is, among other themes, a lesson on loss. How do you function when the people you love go? It is about reinvention. The Weeping Angels are terrifying because they hit our deep fears of being alone with one one to talk to, to look at us, to see us in motion and alive.

So, I love science fiction because it makes me think and says it’s OK to be a little different. Or even a lot different.

(Edited to add: I know Star Wars opens with “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” but since time is non-linear and a big bowl of wibbly-wobbly timey wimey stuff, what happened in the past for Luke and Leia could very easily be in our future according to something I saw on Discovery about the universe and time travel and stuff)

Posted in Entertainment, Firefly, Science Fiction Awesomeness, Television

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Tags: Geek girl

Just… Really.

Oct 31

Posted by Jonnelle

I know my first post dealt with fat people being bullied. I promise this blog won’t be solely about that but, I just need to say this.

Person: “I don’t know how you walk in those things.”
Me: “Very carefully.”
Person: “Yes! I hope your ankles can carry all that weight.”

I was on my way to lunch when someone said that. My BLT didn’t taste very good – and we are talking bacon makes everything better.

I cried. My friends on Facebook provided encouragement and good counsel.

I prayed a lot this afternoon and finally got up the nerve to email the person to ask if we may speak privately (I went to the office but they were with someone) about what was said in accordance with Matthew 18:15. They may not have seen they email yet. Or they may claim that they did not receive it. So here is what I’ve been thinking and praying that I will say:

When I was on my way to lunch, I heard you say something and I could not believe it. I heard you say ‘I hope your ankles can carry all of that weight.’ What was supposed to be a fun, light-hearted day was nearly ruined by your careless words. You turned creativity into a fat joke. It was mean and uncalled for.

As a fellow believer and your sister in Christ, I feel compelled to draw this to your attention so that you can take this to our Lord in prayer and rest in His teachings. I would like to encourage you to spend some time meditating on I Thessalonians 5, where Paul encourages believers to build each other up or Hebrews 10 where we spur one another on in love.

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Bully for You, Interwebs!

Oct 4

Posted by Jonnelle

I think I have 382,024,205,523 things to say about the story of the News Anchor v. Internet Tough Guy. Too many that I can’t focus on just one thing so it might turn into a series of things. Poor Elena. She gets to hear me yell and kvetch before I write it down. She’s just generally awesome. Onto the point…

Having been the victim of my own Internet Tough Guy several years ago (see my response here all of which had to do with this video that was linked on the old Nashville is Talking blog), the dust up is rather personal to me.

Especially since Internet Tough Guy issued a statement offering to “help” the Newscaster become a better role model by taking the next year to lose a significant amount of weight. I am not sure if that angered me more than his original email.

Sure – ITG maybe thought he was saying something helpful. My grandpa did when he would poke me in the stomach or arm and call me “chubby” – that the insult would motivate me to stop eating junk food. The reverse happened – because I felt bad about myself and didn’t measure up and didn’t feel loved by my own family, I would eat more because the food wasn’t judgmental. The endorphin rush made me feel good for a while (sound like an addict?)

When you put yourself in the public eye for whatever reason – by profession, blogging, or just going to Wal-Mart, you leave yourself open to positive as well as negative criticism. The anchors knew that. I didn’t think in 2007 when I uploaded my video that I would be called a “blogging whale” by some dude in Memphis because I didn’t see myself that way and wanted to share what was so much fun for me with others.

The truth is: words hurt. And with the advent of relatively anonymous communication online, mean things get said far more often than ever would have face to face. Now that I’ve wandered back into the virtual fray, I’m sure it will happen again. Haters gonna hate. Fatties be fat. There I said it for you, future jerk. Save the bandwidth because I don’t want to hear you opine on how I disgust you. Well, you disgust me so it’s mutual. I don’t care if you wouldn’t sleep with me because… HEY! I wouldn’t want to sleep with you either even if it meant saving humanity from extinction, and I’m kinda OK with that.

Also, the reason why your comment may or may not be approved is that I’m trying to… protect you from yourself. Push your luck and I might not be so forgiving (sorta said Darth Vader.)

Sorry. Got sidetracked.

This response from the Fat Nutritionist is NSFW but raises important issues on “helpful” comments that do far more damage.

But, to the Ms. Livingston’s response (which was beautiful and classy – highlighting bigger issues than just one email from random guy… that this is a cultural problem) and anything else we may come across, one has to ask “what is the wise thing to do?” My knee jerk reaction is to pummel these ITG’s with all verbal barrels blazing. Or to beat them with my bag if confronted in person. While I may feel better, they aren’t exactly “wise.”

I do think that we must confront the bullies because they need to know that they are “sad little kings of sad little hills.” It may not change their mind or opinion, but maybe they will think twice before pulling the proverbial trigger on the next person they encounter. And you will feel better for being better than them.

Posted in Opinion

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Tags: Fat Stuff, Internet Tough Guy

An intergalactic junk drawer?

Oct 3

Posted by Jonnelle

I’ve been blogging on and off for I think nearly or over a decade now. My other blog is dedicated to my spiritual walk. Somehow, I just didn’t think it appropriate to put up my love of science fiction, forays into politics, or squeeing about LOLcats in the midst of a devotional on Matthew (that is when I do post them.)

So, welcome to the junk drawer.

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The Empire Has a TARDIS

Love Story

Big Bang Theory – Star Trek Style

Start!

“The first rule is…”

Shiny!

Just… Really.

Bully for You, Interwebs!

An intergalactic junk drawer?

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