Are we going to see Lawyer Bill when we get into the legal stuff?
depending on where i am standing in my yard there is anywhere between 1 inch and 4 feet of snow. Earlier this evening an ambulance got stuck in a snowdrift in front of my house. It took about an hour before a plow showed up, then about 20 minutes for the snow plow to smash it’s way through the drift. Since then, our little street which usually gets plowed a week after it snows has gotten plowed about 10 times. There is no way I will ever get out of my driveway, but it doesn’t matter because my car is now a snowdrift.
So Otaku is the Japanese word for geek? How cool is that! Can we turn this into thing, a running gag, like “Otaku Watercooler”? Or maybe collect translations of the word geek from different languages and baffle everybody.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that what we commonly define as democracy is, by the actual definition, oligarchy.
In ancient Athens, the cradle of democracy, there were no elections. The people who were eligible for political office would assemble once a year on the agora and then there would be a lottery. THAT was the original definition of democracy: everybody could be drawn by lot to office (everybody meaning all (free) men over a certain age).
Whereas the political system we call democracy now, and which is to some extent pretty much the same in all Western countries and also a couple of other countries, does not provide the option that one day, a messenger rings at your house with a letter saying “you have been selected by your friends and neighbors to serve as the President for the next year” - the percentage of people who are ACTUALLY eligible for political office (meaning they have the right education, the right connections and the funds required for an election campaign) is evanescently low.
Relating to the Galactica universe, it’s even worse there. Adama completely defies political control over the military. In every “democratic” system on our Earth, the political leadership is the commander-in-chief, whereas with Adama and Roslin, she’s not the one with the ultimate say about military decisions and I’m not talking about micro-managing here. If Adama had subordinated to Roslin right from the very beginning - as he should have, then maybe they could have forced Cain to do the same and things wouldn’t have gotten so bad. But instead, Adama insisted on having the final say on all matters military - but this is not a military organization anymore, this is Bill Adama’s private army!
it’s going to be like the date with a girl you dated ten years ago and don’t even know anymore.
What you need is a Tauntaun!
Hey Chuck thanks for playing my call, Audra’s response was historical by the way. I intend to look into this Tit Borrent stuff, or “Chuff” I should say.
You guys rock!
David
um, listening to the podcast, i can’t help but smile at david’s phonecall.
i’m a fellow hongkie myself, and was surprised to stumble upon someone in hk who loves the show AND the podcast. Trust Chuck - tit borrent is definitely the easiest way to do it, unless you want to wait even longer to watch the anticipated season 4. (i am surprised to hear that the slingbox doesn’t work, because i was thinking of getting one myself) anyway, if you have any problems, i could probably hook you up with the eps as they come as well.
watching this episode reminded me of what Adama himself has said earlier, “in order to survive, you have to be worthy of survival.”
In this episode Roslin and Adama went against that ideal and were deservedly chastised by you and many other fans.
Basically it’s translated as geek, nerd, or enthusiast. So you could also turn it into a Battlestar otaku, Firefly otaku, etc. :3
Frak ohio, can I move to Texas next store to sean, Audra and chuck? It’s much warmer down there…but they also have guns…ahhhhhh lol
remember da Family Sean
just finished #90 while running some errands–great show again!
Audra caught my attention with her foray in comic-land with Black Panther. I like Black Panther, although I haven’t read all of the current series.
Audra, if you’re digging Black Panther, you might want to see if Chuck can find the previous Black Panther series on the Marvel digital comic site. It sets the stage for the current series and some of the storytelling techniques that the writer used might appeal to your English major side.
Also, keep your eye open for Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud–it’s an awesome comic that is also a guide to . . . well . . . understanding comics.
and I understand Chuck’s mixed feelings about Watchmen–it is a brilliant comic, but it’s not necessarily a fun comic.
For a really not fun–but amazing–graphic novel, see Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman. I read it for a Holocaust lit class in grad school. Very affecting.
Ditto that. It also helps one appreciate comics (er, sequential art) as an art form.
So, just wanted to comment on whether the “if I was in Tirol’s situation, I’d be tempted to kill him” thing. . .I don’t think it would be a matter of revenge, or even anger. Maybe it’s a guy thing, or maybe just me, but self-preservation for me doesn’t really involve anger. And I think if someone threatened a loved one, that would invoke a self-preservation reaction.
Joe
COCO, good to know you’re out here friend.
David in HK
So right at the beginning of this cast, Sean laments his trivia-brain (Sean, yes, Sean! I specifically took note of the fact that it was Sean and not… that other guy). Now, I take issue with this! Trivia is not a bad thing. In the basic sense, Audra’s right. It’s hot when someone tosses out references and you get it- and it’s also hot when someone can tell you all about something really obscure and interesting that most of us don’t realize is interesting (like Peter Parker and the spiders, or our anonymous caller knowing the names of various pieces of rarely-used clothing). To make a brief and half-serious case for trivia’s usefulness, all about free association and making connections. The more often you do that to amuse yourself the better you get at doing it at work and in your life in ways that can be really helpful. So be proud of your trivia skills, Sean. You never know when your life might depend on the fact that you know that the duck-billed platypus is the only poisonous mammal, so leave that cute little down by the pond thing the frak alone.
and you can make it work for you–find a nearby pub quiz and use it to win your weekly lunch money.
Reverend Airlock
Reverend Kill Bill (Adama)?
Joe, you hit the nail on the head. My feelings didn’t come from an “I’d be mad, so I’d want to get back at him” direction. And I wouldn’t argue with those who’ve emailed me to say “it’s a military ship, and Adama must retain complete control.” I’m grew up an Air Force brat. I get it. I agree.
I have two concerns:
First, I don’t believe that what Adama did was the only choice – or even the best choice – he had to accomplish his (quite necessary) goals. I believe that Adama and Roslin’s leadership faltered after New Caprica, and it led to the events we witnessed in Dirty Hands.
I’ve addressed this issue before – resulting in much email. While I understand that the function of orders in the military is absolute, I can’t help but hear my father – my personal hero in these matters – lecturing me as a child on leadership: You can make others do what you need them to do some of the time via threats. But eventually, someone will rise above the threat, and you – and likely your mission – will fail. True leaders bet their lives not on an ability to coerce, but rather on the qualities they exemplify and engender in others: loyalty, honor, trust, and dedication. These bonds are strong enough to bear the high risks of combat, strong enough to protect liberty, and in the case of BSG, strong enough to save the human race.
Granted, I understand how Adama and Roslin reached this low point. And I certainly don’t think their misjudgments mark them as bad people, but rather good people driven to mistakes. They rightfully fear for humanity, but their fear has driven them in a direction that threatens rather than protects.
I suspect that where I differ with those who’ve written me to disagree is in the area of exception. Obviously, there are always exceptions, and they believe this is one. I don’t, as I’ve come to expect more from Adama and Roslin.
Second, my hypothetical (were I the Chief) threat to Adama originates from a very core belief: I put those I love ahead of everyone, including military order – and likely even ahead of the survival of mankind. It’s a matter or loyalty, which I take very seriously. I’d fully understand if others disagree. It’s a personal feeling and decision. However, I suspect that if actually faced with the situation – a commanding officer threatening to execute one’s wife/husband to coerce one to take a specific action – even those who’d experience a lesser reaction than mine would never again trust that officer.
What, for example, will Adama’s loss of the Chief’s trust cost the fleet?
For some reason this reminded me of a great line from Neal Stephenson’s “Cryptonomicon”:
The implied responsibility placed upon the officer’s shoulders
by the subordinate’s unhesitating willingness to follow orders is a
withering burden to any officer with half a brain, and Shaftoe has more than
once seen seasoned noncoms reduce green lieutenants to quivering blobs
simply by standing before them and agreeing, cheerfully, to carry out their
orders.
I’d be surprised, though, to see that followed up as a plot point (of course, I’d be surprised if they didn’t surprise me this season…)