When Battlestar Galactica first aired back in 1980, I was not a fan.  Oh, the special effects were cool, and the idea was pretty cool, though it bore a strong resemblence to Fred Saberhagen's <i>Berserker </i> books.

So when I saw that the SciFi channel was bringing back Battlestar Galactica I wasn't too excited.   In fact, I didn't even watch it when it was aired.  However, subsequent ads prompted me to go rent the DVD and watch it.

I was blown away.

What was once a cheesy attempt at SF had been stripped down and built back up with real plots, and complex characters.  No longer are the Cylons relentless robotic killing machines.  They've been reborn in their creator's image.

Our image.

And they have a plan.

The show begins with humanity observing a truce between themselves and the Cylons.  The Cylons were machines built by humans to serve us, but they revolted.  After a bloody war, a truce was declared.  An annual meeting place on a neutral outpost was arranged, but for many years  only the humans showed up. 

And then one day the doors open, and two cylons step through accompanied by a smokin' hot blonde.  And then the shit hits the fan.

You see, the Cylons have found God.  Not the many Gods of Kobol that the humans worship, but the one true God.  And they're going to destroy the infidels.

They attack the 12 worlds, killing almost all humans. The Battlestar Galactica survives the attack because it's old, and the computer virus the Cylons infect the rest of humanity with doesn't work on it. Galactica forms up with some other ships that survive for one reason or another, and they gather together and run like hell with the Cylons chasing them. Their destination is the mythical home of humanity, a place called Earth.

The Cylons would like to find Earth as well 

There are plenty of gee-whiz special effects, but they're not what make the show special.  What makes the show special are the performances by the actors, and the issues dealt with by the scripts.  The show may be set on a spaceship, but the conflicts are the same ones we see in ourselves, and in our society.  

If you haven't been watching, then you owe it to yourself to go and rent the first DVD (not Season 1, you want to start with the Miniseries from 2003 ). 

I promise, you will not be disappointed. 

~Easy

PS-  Thanks to John for the link to this apearance by the cast of BSG on David Letterman 

This month some names were added to the memorial for fallen law-enforcement officers.  In addition, most police departments hold their annual memorial services in May.  Later on this month I'll be attending the Memorial Breakfast for fallen SLMPD officers.  Sadly, since I started attending these breakfasts there have been several names added to the list.  In their honor, I'd like to share an old post from the Glory Road with you.

A Thin Blue Line
originally published 1/15/2005 

Last night Youngest child's team got their asses kicked, 25-2.  She started off pitching, but only got through one batter in the first inning.  The first batter smoked one right back at her, hitting her in the thigh.  Needless to say, she came out of the game, and spent the rest of the inning on the bench with a bag of ice.

However, she did come back in the following inning and pitched the rest of the game.  This brought her a round of applause from all of the parents on both teams, but I could tell she wasn't quite right.  Her mechanics were all screwed up, and she flinched every time a batter swung, whether they connected or not.

Thankfully, she has a pitching lesson tonight so her coach should have some words of wisdom for her psyche, and some advice on her mechanics.

~Easy 

 I honestly didn't think that this month's Randomeme was that hard.  But 10 songs went unanswered.  Here are the results:

1. When ordinary lovers / Don't feel what you feel / And real-life situations / Lose their thrill
Imaginary Lover - Atlanta Rythym Section (10 points to LisaS )

2. Who in the hell d'you think you are / A super star / Well, right you are
Instant Karma - John Lennon (5 points to R. Sherman, 5 points to Bridgette's husband)

3. Ringing stinging / Jerking like a nervous bird / Rattling up against his cage 
No Phone - Cake

4. Well this one way love-affair, it ain't fair / It ain't no kind of fair to me
I've Done Everything For You - Sammy Hagar

5. Honey pick the red corner shoes / The ones that hardly ever get used
Peace Tonight - Indigo Girls (5 points to Bridgette)

6. I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger 
Shoot to Thrill - AC/DC

7. She's got a competition clutch with the four on the floor / And she purrs like a kitten till the Lake Pipes roar
Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys (10 points to Nutsy Fagan )

8. Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come Together - The Beatles (10 points to Chuck)

9. And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing / And the road goes on forever
Midnight Rider - The Allman Brothers Band (5 points to R. Sherman, 5 points to Bridgette)

10. They will tell you, you can't sleep alone in a strange place / Then they'll tell you, you can't sleep with somebody else
My Life - Billy Joel (10 points to John)

11. Whole generations thinking of themselves / As infidels and pop stars / While the bomb loses patience / We line up and just lean against the bar
Stone Cold Sober - Del Amitri (20 points to BlackPhi )

12. Seems like things are gettin' so bad / That you can smell it / Yeah, so open those eyes and get the real picture / It's time to tell it
Tell it Like It T - I - S - The B-52's

13. One time a thing occurred to me / Whats real, and whats for sale? / Blew a kiss and tried to take it home
Vasoline - Stone Temple Pilots (10 points to Bridgette )

14. Let me flow into the ocean / Let me get back to the sea / Let me be stormy and let me be calm / Let the tide in, and set me free. 
Drowned - The Who

15. There is no political solution / To our troubled evolution
Spirits In The Material World - The Police (10 points to Chuck)

*16. I'm gonna write a little letter / Gonna mail it to my local dj.
Roll Over Beethoven - Electric Light Orchestra (5 points to John)

17. Ayatollah, hes hopping mad / Jibber about some damn jihad / Send me back to old baghdad / Spin doctor it's oh so sad
What Time Is It? - Spin Doctors

18. And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state / I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but its too late
Paranoid - Black Sabbath (10 points to BlackPhi )

19. From my window I see roads / Lead to darkness, leading home / In the midnight of a soul's unsleeping
Hiding Out - Pete Townsend

20. Barkeep gimme a drink / That's when she caught my eye / She turned to give me a wink / That make a grown man cry
Back In The Saddle - Aerosmith

21. An older version of me / Is she perverted like me / Would she go down on you in a theatre
You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette (10 points to LisaS )

22. I'm in the middle without any plans / I'm a boy and I'm a man
I'm Eighteen - Alice Cooper (10 points to John)

23. Fare you well, my honey, fare you well my only true one.
Brokedown Palace - The Grateful Dead (15 points to Bridgette )

24. We rented a truck and a semi to tow / Travel down the long and divided road
Roll On Down The Highway - Bachman Turner Overdrive

25. Yeah, mama and papa told me / I was crazy to stay / I was gay in New York / Which is a fag in L.A. 
When The Whip Comes Down - The Rolling Stones

This month's winner is Bridgette with a mere 35 points. 

Hang on to your hats for Randomtheme.  As was pointed out,  it should be a doozy.  Definitely not one for the kids.

~Easy 

 Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there.

 ~Easy

Today's challenge for Photo Hunt was a "favorite picture".  This is always a hard one because most of my favorites have already been posted. 

I really dug into the archives and found this one of the girlies when they were small and youngest child would still wear a skirt.

~Easy

Today's assignment for SPF was to take a picture of my Mp3 player.  I have an iPod nano, but it's MIA at the moment.  I think it fell into the void of my couch cushions, but I haven't been motivated to really look for it yet.

The Teenager has the same iPod, but her's is pink.  Mine is red, and I'm much too manly to let anyone think I'd use a pink iPod.  

So instead I took some pictures of my old turntable.  It still works, it's still hooked up to my stereo, and I still play records on it.  As much as I enjoy the digital format, there's just something about a record album that the digital medium doesn't have.

So that's my SPF.  Did you play?

~Easy 

From the 2007 St Patrick's Day Parade in Dogtown.

~Easy 

Another busy day.

Another day of rain. 

This should have been a light day for me as one of the first rules for my job is Never get wet.  Yet here I am, soaked to the skin after a busy as hell day.

On the upside, a glance at my bank account tells me I'm now in a position to stimulate the economy.  I still think it's a stupid idea, but I can definitely use the $1800!

~Easy

PS- For those who didn't notice, if you look at my dumbass neighbor's license plate you'll see that he put it on upside down

PPS-  Some of the artists not guessed yet in Randomeme 805 might be:

• AC/DC
• Aerosmith
• The Alarm
  
• The B-52's
• Bachman-Turner Overdrive
  
• Black Sabbath
  
• Cake
• Collective Soul
  
• Del Amitri
• Electric Light Orchestra
• Foo Fighters
  
• Sammy Hagar
• Indigo Girls
• The Ramones
• The Rolling Stones
• Boz Skaggs
  
• Spin Doctors
  
• Sugarland
  
• Pete Townshend
• The White Stripes
  
• The Who

"Stupid is as stupid does"  ~Forrest Gump 

I recently got the above picture in an email, and I saw it on Weekly Scheiss too.  It would be funny if it didn't demonstrate so clearly how woefully stupid and uninformed some people are.  Then again, I see it all of the time here in my neighborhood.

Last Sunday I was doing some yard work.  I took the loaded yard cart out to dump the clippings in the yard waste dumpster, and when I opened the lid there were 4 plastic bags inside.  It's bad enough that dumbasses put their trash in the yardwaste dumpster, but these were plastic bags filled with grass clippings. 

How is it possible for someone this stupid to safely operate a lawn mower?

More frightening than that are the people operating slightly larger vehicles.  About 2 months ago I wrote about idiots who can't park their cars as part of a general rant :

As I've said, I understand that the street belongs to everyone equally.  Sometimes people will have guests, and all of the space will be used before I get home.  This is inconvenient, but I chalk it up to city living. 

However, there are some dumbasses who don't know how to park their cars.  They don't know how to parallel park and so they plant their car in the middle of a space that is large enough for two cars.  This is no different than straddling the line in a parking lot to take up 2 spaces and it will absolutely send me up a wall. 

If you can't park it, don't buy the fucking thing.

The chief offender on my block is my next door neighbor who cannot parallel park to save his life.  The other day as I was getting into my car I noticed something about the front end of his car.  (It was easy to spot because he's parked 6 feet behind the car in front of him)  

Can you see what's wrong? 

Mouse over to see what it is!

I swear I can't make this shit up! 

~Easy 

PS - Randomeme 805 is still going on. CLICK HERE to play!