Battlestar Gallactica Grinds to a Halt

(do not read this if you haven't seen the last episode of BSG...it will ruin things for you)

Okay, Will, here it is: I confess - I was not all that happy with BSG's ending.

First, let me just say that at the beginning of the last 3-part episode I was like, "okay...that's more like it!" and by the second part I was like, "Sweet! I've missed you, Battlestar Gallactica."
The last episode had some awesome BSG drama and it truly matched the tone of the rest of the series - in most parts. There were a couple of times that I turned to Jordan and we groaned because something horribly cheesy happened (like when Baltar and Caprica were talking in unison because they could both see the angels), but for the most part, we were pretty into it. I loved that they brought back all the prophecy stuff - that was something they just left out in the last season and it was the backbone of the show.

But the last part of the 3-part episode? Meh. I'm sick of the "robots will take over the Earth if we let the crazy scientists do what they want" theme. We did that in I Robot and a billion other movies. And Hera as Mitochondrial Eve? I don't know...seems like a bit of a stretch. I mean, if there was already a tribe of advanced hominids on earth that, according to Baltar, we could breed with, why would Hera be Eve?

Really, I was so turned off by the Baltar/Caprica team of angels. They just seemed so, er, not real - so not in sync with the rest of the show. And the montage at the end of all of the robots? Ugh.

I did like what they did with Kara - how she brought them to Earth by typing in a code that corresponded with the song that her father taught her as a child. That was neat and it was right in line with the series - a bit of prophecy and a bit of mystery. She needed to do something cool, because they basically turned Kara into a washout by the last episode.

Basically, I think that Moore had a great idea and he developed some AWESOME characters and the middle of the series was SO AMAZING. But he didn't know where he was going with anything. You can tell. The show was just floundering at the end. It probably would have worked out better if the show had gotten cancelled before the final season. Not that I would have been happy about that, either, but I would have been left thinking that BSG had one of the most ineresting plots, ever.

A lot of people are saying, "how could they ended it any other way?" and I think there are plenty of ways that BSG could have ended that wouldn't have turned it into a fable. Do we really need to drill it down the audience's throat that technology could overcome the human race? No! The whole show was based on that! We get it! We started drawing parallels between the Caprican-Cylon relationship and the Human-Technology relationship as soon as the show started. For heaven's sake - your viewers are not idiots!

It could have ended at Earth. It could have ended at the scene with Adama sitting by Roslin's grave and that would have been awesome (though nothing could have redeemed the last disgrace that was the last season). In fact, I thought it was ending then and I was pretty happy with it.

But then Baltar/Caprica angels fake conversation that really was a lecture to the audience happened and I lost the warm fuzzy feeling I had.

BSG is over and it didn't go out kicking and screaming - it just sorta ground to a halt.

I'm going on a tropical vacation!!!

In early May, J and I are going to Fort Lauderdale to visit his mom, relax and unwind a bit after a difficult and long semester. We're leaving on the last day of finals, in the evening, so it'll truly be a "finish and run away" sort of thing.

J's mom surprised us last week with some news: she's going to take us to Sanibel for three nights! I've never been on the Gulf coast - nor have I ever been to an island with white sandy beaches - but I am really really excited! I hear there are some really beautiful bike trails and lots of beautiful birds and shells.

On top of going to a gorgeous island, we're also staying in a gorgeous condo with king-size beds and a patio that overlooks the ocean:

I am REALLY excited. So much so that I want the next month and a half to fly by. I'm sure it will...but right now, it just doesn't seem to be going fast enough!

An easy grader?

I did just fine on that mineralogy midterm. In fact, with the extra-credit points I racked up in the beginning of the semester, I got over 100% on the exam. So, I spent a week and a half being a miserable jerk for no good reason.

It happens.

I think that I studied too hard for the exam, which barely scratched the surface of the details in our textbook. In class, we just sorta skimmed over ideas - not going into detail - but our reading was pretty in-depth. Having no idea what to expect or, better yet, what was expected of me, I just studied everything in a ton of detail.

The exam was very long - but it required very broad answers. I spent too much time answering the first 10 questions (in as much detail as I thought was expected) and then panicked when I realized that I still had half an exam to complete within 10 minutes. So, I rushed through the last half of the exam, spending very little time and attention on the details. I did just as fine on those questions as I did on the first few.

Lesson: For the final, I should really try to give broader, less specific answers. I could study less, too, but what would be the point of that?

Sun!

It's been sunny out for, like, two whole days! And warm! So, in the spirit of Spring, I've decided to apply for a community garden plot. If I get the plot I want, it will be just a two minute bike ride from my house and all summer, I can eat fresh veggies!

I haven't decided just what I'm going to plant, though certainly I will have lettuce and tomatoes and peppers. I'd like to grow beans, too...

The plot is only going to be about 350 square feet, but I think it'll be more than enough - especially since I've never done this before and don't really know how it'll work out. It only cost 37$ and two volunteer days, so it won't be a big loss if it doesn't work out.

I love gardening - I worked in greenhouses and for landscaping companies for years. Best jobs I've ever had.

Dear Battlestar Gallactica writers,

WTF are you doing??? You left us all at the end of season 4.0 with so many questions...promising us exciting answers and another fantastic season.

And season 4.5 SUCKS. It's terrible.

What was with that entire soap-opera-ish episode in which you decided to tell everything all at once? And why is there so much romantic drama? The last couple of episodes have made me want to take a nap.

Please, please, please stop this crap and bring back your old writing style. And while you're at it, whip the actors into shape, too.

If you want to laugh until you cry...

go see Louis C.K. live. J and I went on Saturday night and I laughed the whole time. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen in my entire life. Funny, brilliant, honest and true.

Well worth the 25$.

Midterm

It's officially "mid-term" and while for most people that means TONS of work, I'm looking at a fairly light load. I have a chapter or two to read and a lab report to start on. And I have to prepare a presentation on my choice of journal article (I'm doing Maiacetus because it's cool and will allow me to talk about paleo AND sexual selection).

I took my mineralogy midterm yesterday and it was really awful. I didn't answer a good chunk of the questions and didn't do very well, despite all of my hard work. I know that working really hard doesn't guarantee success in college - but I feel like I knew the answers to the test questions and just didn't have time to answer them, not because I had to think for a really long time before writing down my answers - but because the test itself was REALLY long. There were about 30, multi-part questions, half of which were essay-type questions that asked really really broad things - like what happens to light as it goes through a petrographic microscope and thin section?. Um...lots of things...

We had 50 minutes to complete the exam. I did as much as I could in the 50-minute allotted time and then handed in my unfinished exam because I had to run to my next class. People who didn't have a class right after got to stay a little late and finish up - something I'm pretty upset about.

I don't know how the grading will go. Perhaps the test was designed to be unfinishable and there will be a considerable curve. Or, I'll get a D on something worth 20% of my grade.

Indecision

I'm having a problem. Every time I take a new class, I get entirely engrossed in the subject and decide that I want to devote my life to studying it. Except for the subject that is my current major.

So, right now....geology is neat. And I have a special place in my heart for paleontology. But studying hominid evolution....even more neat. And studying evolution and ecology? Awesome.

I can't seem to stick with one thing...every semester I freak out and change my major and it's getting really close to being a problem, since sooner or later, I won't be taking intro courses and what classes I do take will start counting toward a specific area of study.

That, and I have this "should I go to school in the fall" dilemma. That was the plan...until I found out that I need another CT scan next winter and possibly surgery on my freaking brain (which isn't such a big deal, really, but I bet it will be $$$). So, quitting my job and giving up my amazing health care in exchange for student health care seems silly - especially since there's a chance that they could label my head problem a "pre-existing condition."

If I work another year, I'll be four courses closer to a degree and will have time to save up more money for school. But what if next year they tell me I need a CT scan in another year...and maybe surgery in another year?

J is probably looking at 3 years of school after this one, so it makes sense to work another year if that's the case.

GAH! Can someone else figure this out for me, because the amount of time I spend worrying about it is getting ridiculous.

You know what today is???

It's Brian's birthday! Make sure to stop in and wish him a happy day!

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It's pretty crazy over here at the SDS household. I have a lab report due Monday and a midterm in my mineralogy class on Wednesday. I also have a potential modeling job on Tuesday (I find out today - fingers crossed!) and a ton of reading to do for both of my classes.

I bought some tickets to see the comedian, Louis C.K., at a local venue in early March and tickets to see Ani Difranco in April - two shows I'm really looking forward to! It'll be nice to do something other than schoolwork!

Best Valentine's Day cookie, ever...

Okay, I know that Valentine's Day was, like, nine days ago, but this had to be posted:



There was a female cookie, too, but I ate that one before I got the idea to photograph it.