http://www.skepticality.com/iboard/index.php?app=blog Community Blog List Syndication Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:06:12 +0000 feedback@skepticality.com (Skepticality Forum) IP.Blog 60 Closing out 2009.
(if only interested in the albums, please go to bottom of this document for the links)


With the Hawaiian vacation pictures taking precedence, I failed to properly close out 2009. By all accounts a crappy year all around, there were still photographs taken, and December had it's own share of snapshots outside the plethora of Hawaii pictures.

By the way, I still need to post a SmugMug album of Hawaii pictures . . . at this rate it will be a month or more, but it will eventually be there.

Meanwhile, December was yet another month where, when convenient, I went on pre-sunset drives looking for worthwhile subjects to digitally capture so that future generations might see what the world looked like before overpopulation, wars, greed, and iPhones messed it all up.



Most pictures depict things which captured my attention, but which are likely to elicit little interest from others. Still, I figure I should post them to the web so they can be ignored by a larger number of people.

By far the most favorite subjects of late, and the reason for my drives, were hawks. Specifically I wanted to emulate photographers whose livelihood depends on great pictures of wildlife captured in the act of being wildlife. I can't say I succeeded to the fulness of my expectations, but I think some of the shots I got might be worthwhile.



There are two kinds of hawks I've seen here; Northern Harriers and Red-Tailed. There might be more, but that's all I've seen, or recognized. Red-Tailed Hawks seem rather tolerant of balding photographers wanting to have them as subjects. Northern-Harriers, on the other hand, are reluctant subjects; they don't hang around much past me raising my camera.

Both are difficult to capture in flight, especially if one tries to capture the moment they depart their perches. All one gets, or at least all I get, are blurry images of magnificent birds spreading impressive wings to the waiting breeze.



Ducks, on the other hand, appear to be more acclimated to having people around, especially if some people regularly feed them at their favorite pond. One such pond is behind a strip mall about four miles from my house. It is home to a large number of waterfowl nearly year round (different individuals, I'm sure, but there are always some there). I've posted pictures from the site before, but usually the ducks are on the water, and they tend to move to the opposite side of the pond whenever I approach.

These days, however, the lake is frozen, and ducks hang around the parking lot and under nearby shrubs. This offered me an opportunity to snap some pictures from fairly short distances.

They are still difficult to photograph (at least for me), as the sunlight tends to play on their feathers and make getting an accurate exposure a tricky proposal.

Still, I think some people might enjoy the few duck pictures I've chosen to offer up.



December offered a few other critters crossing in front of my camera. Add to that a few shots of the local landscape, and we have a diverse offering of albums. To be sure, knowing most people are not that interested in anything requiring more than a few minutes (a.k.a. Twitter-sized) offerings, these are relatively small albums. I list them here for them who be interested, and have the time to peruse them.




SmugMug Albums:

Dec '09 Closing out the year (14 pictures) - a mix of landscape and critters.

Dec '09 Horses (8 pictures) - some equines who captured my interest

Dec '09 Ducks (7 pictures) - waterfowls in repose

Norther Harrier Hawk (12 pictures) - pictures of perched and flying Norther Harrier hawks

Red-Tailed Hawk, Part 1 (10 pictures) - a Red-Tailed hawk intent on its meal, and then flying off

Red-Tailed Hawk, Part 2 (11 pictures) - a young Red-Tailed hawk perched on a pole, and then flying off]]> Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:42:00 +0000 Rather than put up a lengthy post, I decided to try something new.

It may be many will find it daunting, mostly because in my attempt to make it easy and flexible I probably made it complicated and confusing . . . but it's just a bunch of linked documents which recount our stay in Maui and Oahu.

Account of our Big Island stay was previously posted, so I did not repeat it. My original thought was to use linked blog posts, but it's just not practical, and this seems to work a little better . . . at least in my estimation.

I know few, if any, will be interested in reading my lengthy accounts . . . that's fine. The link below will take you to a sort of portal to the write-ups, pictures, and movie clips. Read, look at, or watch whatever you are interested in.

Anyway, click HERE for the start of the adventure.
]]> Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:46:00 +0000 This is the second in my trio of reviews. This opinion piece is for the movie Terminator: Salvation.

You can read the piece as posted at Slice of SciFi HERE, or as usual, read it below.

==================

Baleful Terminator
Not really; maybe Balesome, for Bale/John Connors was not the central character of Terminator Salvation. The story is about the missing Terminator link, Marcus Wright. And the story is not that bad. In fact, aside a few gratuitous and pointless action sequences, I enjoyed the movie. True, I could still be shell-shocked from Star Trek's so-called-plot, and anything might looks good at this point.

But no, there's more than that; here we are presented with a character we can connect with. We may start out with mixed feelings about Marcus, but it does not take long to get us interested in his story, to establish a connection with his persona.

Of course anyone who has watched the trailers know what he is, but that just serves to form a stronger bond between the character and the audience as we follow him along the path of self-discovery. Unfortunately it's difficult for the audience to connect with the rest of the cast.

Bale is a passable laryngitis-struck version of John Connors, but his main role is to react to Marcus. There are attempts to show he has some kind of leadership characteristics, but they are not enough to establish credence the character is a resistance leader. Although, he does bring more credence toward his eventual role of resistance leader than Chris Pine brought to the character of Kirk as a Starship Captain.

I think the role of Kyle was miscast; Yelchin was passable as Chekov in Star Trek, but he did not bring to this role the intensity of the Kyle we know. In fact, he seemed to reprise his Chekov role (minus the overdone accent). By the way, I don't get why the machines would not have killed Kyle immediately upon finding him. No real good explanation was given, and if the aim was to get rid of both Kyle and John at the same time, all it would have taken is a booby-trapped cell.

The only other character with potential of connecting with the audience was Blair (Moon Bloodgood ) but her role is also tied to Marcus. Oh, wait . . . the T-800 makes an appearance. They obviously liked that particular CGI angle because the fight between the T-800, John, and Marcus drags on much longer than needed. Again, given the elaborate and long-term planning by SkyNet, it seemed rather shoddy to leave the outcome up to one unit, and to have no backup plan at all.

It took me a little while to realize the movie is nowhere near human-victory-over-the-machines in the Terminator franchise timeline, but once I did the plot was easy to figure out, and the ease of figuring out stuff detracted a bit from any suspense or surprise for the last 30-40 minutes of the movie. That's also where the plot gets a little thin, up to and including the act of self-sacrifice by Marcus.

This is my only complaint with the movie. It's obviously a set-up for a sequel, but they got rid of the only character I connected with, and there is little left to build a sequel on aside Connor himself, and we (I) still need to be shown he is a worthy leader and savior of mankind. Sure, we know that's his role, but it would be nice to see some evidence he is fulfilling it. Rather than the beginning of a series, this is very much a stand-alone movie, and we'll have to look to the next one (if they have a next one) to establish a rapport between the core characters (at this point only John) and the audience.

Perhaps the hook will be the story of John and how dogs become an important line of defense guarding against human-looking terminators. They'll call it Terminator Old Yeller, with Yeller sacrificing himself to keep a still floundering John alive in the hope one day John will be able to speak clearly and inspire someone, anyone, with his leadership abilities.]]> Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:23:00 +0000 I wrote this a few weeks ago, but for some reason the blog would not let me post during the last week and a half. Here it is now.

================================================== ============

Months after it ceased to be news, I finally watched Star Trek, and as usual decided the world needed my input on this supposedly milestone film.

Slice of SciFi was once again kind enough to publish my review:
Star Trek Musings

For those not interested in going to another link, here is the full text (but I would advise visiting Slice of SciFi for their great content):


================================================== ============

While everyone I meet is raving about Avatar, I only just recently caught up to the big Sci-Fi movies of last year.

I'm speaking Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, and District 9.

Mind you, I plan to go watch Avatar at the theater, maybe even at the I-Max, but for the three movies listed above I had to wait for the DVDs to be released. Now that I've seen them I can write about them, and I'll start with the one for which I had the highest expectations.

A lot of people liked the Star Trek reboot, but I was not one of them. Sure, the movie was a passable action flick, but it lacked a decent plot, and the characters – while sporting familiar names – were seriously deficient in the likability department. I get it, the universe changed because some dude traveled back in time, but apparently the main change was to turn nearly everyone into jerks, while still ensuring they all end up in the same ship, with the same Starfleet ranks, and without credible evidence of their professed abilities.

Some people I know made the argument the improbable paths to their respective slots in life were the result of the universe's attempts to realign timelines and events. That might be a good argument were it not for the millions of people who died on Vulcan alone, not to mention those meeting their demise when a large portion of Starfleet was wiped out . . . by a mining ship. Apparently none of those people were franchise players . . . just a bunch of Red Shirts as far as the Universe was concerned, their sole purpose to provide an emotional hook for the audience; an audience which obviously has no need for decent plots.

At this point I have to wonder if it's time for me to stop referring to myself as a science fiction fan, but then I remember . . . there was no evidence of science in this movie, only fiction. Well, OK . . . bad fiction. For that's my biggest beef with this thing; the original series also played fast and loose with science, but to their credit, back in those heady early days we knew a lot less than we do now. The moment I saw the Narada hang motionless halfway out of the black hole I knew the writers did not bother with even basic science, let alone looking up the "spagettification" effect near the event horizons in black holes. The Narada is a mining ship, and as such would not have any special properties allowing it to negotiate singularities. Certainly there is no indication, or explanation of how/why, it has the ability to hang half-in-half-out of a black hole.

Further, the original series utilized science fiction as a neutral vehicle for the exploration of social themes and the human condition. What did we get here? Revenge is presented as the driving motivator, but there is no exploration beyond that, no resolution, no moral to the story, and most of all, nothing is required from the audience other than to suppress any thinking process.

For if one were to think they might start wondering about the odds of Nero dumping Spock Prime (!) on a planet in the Vulcan system so he can watch the destruction of his home planet, which he got to see appearing larger than our own moon looks from Earth, through a small break in the clouds (lucky that – a few minutes either way and he would have missed it), and the Spock-not-Prime dumping Kirk on the same planet, and that being the same planet where Scotty is stationed doing transporter research. One might also wonder about a transporter powerful enough to beam two people onto the Enterprise which has been traveling for some time at warp speed.

I won't even mention the idiotic monster chase sequence on the moon or the water pipe incident once they beamed aboard the Enterprise. Wait, now that I did mention them, I should say something about them . . . oh yeah . . . WhyTF WERE THEY IN THE MOVIE!?!?

Sorry, small outburst. Where was I? . . . something about thinking, or not thinking, as it were. As in why launch three people to glide onto the drilling platform above Vulcan when later we learn all it takes is a small ship to shoot the drill to bits. And if that's all it took, why didn't Vulcan, or for that matter Earth, send out a couple of military vessels to do the same thing?

And most of all, if it was 150 years before the destruction of Romulus, why didn't Nero fly there and warn them about what would happen, thereby saving those he loved and the whole planet to boot?

And then there are the characters themselves. I suppose if one accepts the altered timeline hooey, one must accept the differences in personalities from the original characters, except . . . we have an original character, Spock Prime . . . only he's not. Spock Prime shows few of the traits of the original Spock. He seems more relaxed, apparently mellowed in his old age. Why he almost smiles a couple of times while cracking jokes. In fact, he reminded me of Mr. Miyagi in mannerism and comportment. I half expected him to pipe up with "Logic On, Logic Off" while waving his splayed fingers of the traditional Vulcan greeting.

And so, here I am. I'm wondering why this movie was so well liked. The only serious complaints I heard were about lens flares. Yes, lens flares are stupid, but as a Star Trek fan I felt insulted by what was shown to me, not the manner it was shown.

I normally add the disclaimer this article expresses my opinions, and I respect differing opinions about less-than-life-shaping entertainment. BUT . . . I am at a loss to understand why Star Trek fans liked this effort. I still respect other people's opinions, but I plead with someone, anyone, to explain to me what made this the supposed great reboot many rave about.

About the only argument which comes even close to making sense is this opens up the way for more Star Trek tales. But that just saddens me for all it points to is more plotless action, and since filmmakers feel compelled to top themselves with each franchise offering, I suppose we can expect even more absurd stories adorned with these newly introduced cardboard characters. I'll repeat my oft-stated opinion we should hold film makers to higher standards, and crappy sci-fi is not a viable substitute to no science fiction at all.]]> Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:21:00 +0000
“Whale!” The cry stirs the tourists into a horizon-scanning frenzy, and I reach for my camera as I too look for the tell-tale spout indicating a behemoth of the sea is gracing us with their presence. After a few minutes of not seeing anything, I look back at the person who shouted the warning, hoping for an indication of the direction of the sighting. . . . he’s pointing at me, and everyone is snapping pictures.


So, maybe I’ve gained a few pounds, but still, I think that’s pretty mean. Pissed off, I roll away from the crowd, huffing and puffing . . . “thar he blows!” . . . the cry fades as I dive around a corner of the building, and give my belly a chance to catch up. Anyway, as I rest from the exertion I will summarize our stay on the Big Island.


Coming from a long lineage of sea-faring folks I am drawn to the ocean as if being called home. Weird that, because I not keen on being a sea-faring folk. I’m not a big fan of boats, I’m not a strong swimmer, and I don’t particularly like the idea of swimming in water many, many creatures use as their toilet. That includes humans as I’m reasonably sure, but not certain, many habitually relieve themselves while frolicking in the surf.


That said I do like watching waves. I do like listening to waves. And I like feeling the shock from awesome surf propagate through the ground. That last may be subjective, but when those big ones angrily smash the shore I believe it feels as if the very earth shakes. So, being a wannabe photographer and writer, I take lots of wave pictures, and then I try to write about them so as to bestow even a small sense of the wonder and power associated with big surf.


Having done that, here is a small update on our Hawaii vacation.


First full day in Hawaii; travel between islands, moving into the condo, buying some essential supplies; eggs, butter, Portuguese sweet bread, and 100% Maple Syrup . . . all the supplies essential to making French Toast the way it should be made; unadorned by cinnamon and other trappings. We also went to the farmer’s market and picked up some strawberry papayas. They go well with nearly any breakfast.


With Christmas Day nearly over we went to a buffet we had booked before leaving Colorado. It was crowded, the food was so-so, and it did not feel like a proper holiday meal. Still, food was had a –plenty, and we waddled away content.


(Note: albums are named for the days, but they may span multiple days)
Day One Album


Next day we went to the place of refuge . . . no, not the dark corners of my basement, but rather a Hawai’ian sacred place now turned into a National Park. It’s called the place of refuge because any miscreant able to swim across the bay to the place would be granted asylum, and after a suitable amount of time could rejoin society cleansed of their transgressions. You can read all about it HERE.


The story sounds fishy to me as it seems to give any good swimmer essentially carte blanche to do pretty much anything they wanted. I suppose at least the people had to be fit . . . unlike these days, when all it takes is some money, and you can go through life being a complete rear orifice and get away with it.


Day Two Album


Sunday was spent heading to, and returning from, Tex Drive –In. Once again, we were in for a small disappointment, this time with regards to Tex’s world famous Malasadas. We both remember them more flavorful and lighter (fluffier). These were good, but they tasted more like Indian Fried Bread, and while not a bad thing that, it was not what we had a taste for. But no matter; we had what we came from.


Along the way to and from Tex Drive-In, we also passed a few other landmarks. I could detail all of them, but suffice it to say we drove through the High Country, to some famous lookouts, and general nice scenery. We were back at the condo in time to sit out and watch the sunset, and celebrate the end of another day with a dinner out (we usually alternate decadent condo cooking with decadent eating out).


Day Three Album


Monday was a trip to the Volcano National Park. We should have checked ahead of time . . . part of the park was closed due to excessive sulfur fumes from the new eruption (steam mostly right now). The caldera rim drive was closed, as well as sections of the caldera itself. The Chain of Craters road was open, but that is not as interesting as the sites of current activity. Plus, the lava viewing was now outside the park boundary, and was run by the county, which means it was only available between 5:00pm and 8:00pm, and involved trucking in the dark over lava fields. Yeah, not going to happen.


We opted to go on to Hilo, where we had a nice picnic by the bay, and then continue on around the island, going by Tex Drive In again, and back on down to Kona. Along the way we stopped at a couple of more parks, and did a four mile scenic drive off the main road. Overall, a nice outing, with the only bad thing being the traffic we hit when we got near Kona.


Traffic!! A far cry from our first visit here, back in the early 90’s. One other unwelcome change . . . the locals seems a lot less friendly, and on the roads they are downright rude and inconsiderate. It’s primarily the younger set, so maybe that’s just a reflection of things all over . . . the younger generations have all been infected with the A**hole virus, and the symptoms are getting worse. Anyway, we were back once again in time to view the sunset, then had some fried eggs on top of fried Spam on top of toasted 12 grain bread. After dinner we enjoy a banana split. And another day draws to a close.


Day Four Album


Tuesday was a relax day, shopping day, and swimming day. Nothing of note other than we had us our traditional Kona Mud Pie (Kona coffee ice cream pie with chocolate and whipped cream). After the sunset I made another batch of French Toast. And another day drew to a close.


Wednesday opened with my usual walk along the shore (1.5 hours) shooting waves and tidal pools. We then headed up the coast hitting a few “famous” beaches. Most were too crowded to actually spend time in, but we did find a few places where we could walk along without having to deal with crowds. We also hit a couple of the golfing resorts, but they really make inconvenient to just visit, so we did not spend much time there. We headed back to Kona and spent a nice dinner watching the sunset as we ate the fresh catch of the day.


Day Five Album


And here we are. New Year’s eve, and I’m about to go out and watch the sunset, then spend the evening packing for our flight to Maui tomorrow. I’m including links to a couple of videos I shot. Lots more that will be uploaded once we are back home, but for now these will have to do.

(remember to watch in HD)
Video One


Video Two

ejd
]]> Fri, 01 Jan 2010 04:58:00 +0000 I usually post some sappy message around the major holidays, but this year, busy with last minute preparations for our holiday escape to Hawaii, I was remiss in sending out our Christmas greetings. As we sit here at the Oahu airport and havean hour to kill I figure I can remedy the situation.

In the past I've occasionally attempted a year-end summary, explaining the generalities of our boring life, as in nothing really happened, and no personal or professional growth occurred.

And so it is this year. Of course, those who opted to receive my infrequent e-mails, or bother to read my blog, get the occasional link to a photo album, or some demented ramblings on various topics of interest (interest to me, anyway).

Oh yeah; there is one thing. Weare spending Christmas and New Year in Hawaii. Of course, I cannot yet regale you with all the wonderful details, pictures,and accounts of massive eating binges, for they have not happened yet . . . but they will, they will.

Meanwhile I extend to all my wishes for a great HolidaySeason, a fantastic New Year, and good health and prosperity for the comingyear.

Aloha and Mele Kalikimakala (or something like that).


]]> Sat, 26 Dec 2009 07:38:00 +0000 As some might know, I bought a Panasonic DSC-ZS3 camera for the purpose of taking videos. Yes, I know . . . I am a photography guy, and rest assured I plan to remain so. Still, there is no denying for some instances video is the medium of choice to share an experience.

With that in mind, the following test shots were uploaded to YouTube. The music is canned music available for free in YouTube, but I thought it fit the clips nicely.

The clips are from yesterday, December 17th; they are segments of my daily commute down Ute Pass, between Woodland Park, where I work, and Manitu Springs at the bottom of the pass.

The limit on that road is 45mph, but I just let the car go in third gear. The object is not to hit the brakes or gas all the way down, I start out at about 45mph, and by the last curve (end of the first video) I'm doing about 55-60mph, but sometimes, like when holding a mini-movie camera and forgetting to go into third gear, the car will hit 65mph. You will notice a number of cars braking in front of me . . . an annoyance I put up with because the remedy to that problem would likely land me in jail.

Anyway, here are the two clips (the music ran out on the first one because I did not realize the clip was longer than the audio . . . part of learning the video ropes). The clips are best viewed in HD (the button to the left of the menu bar just under the video frame.

http://www.youtube.c...feature=channel

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=lM_RVClc7v0

Normally the drive home is in the dark this time of year. Yesterday I left earlier than usual. Boring videos, I know, but some might find it interesting, and for me it's practice.]]> Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:04:00 +0000 For us, despite the various store displays that have been up since Halloween, Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season. The weeks until Christmas seem to drag a little less, the drive to work is a little better as decorations spring up on houses along the way, and of course, one looks forward to the days off.

It's also the time we remember family and friends; not that they are forgotten, but we give them a little more thought, send wishes of well-being their way, and perhaps consider their contribution to our own well being, and the worth they add to our lives. Some are near, some are far, and some are just names on e-mails or forum posts. The later is especially true for me; a significant part of my social circle is comprised of people I will likely never meet, but whom I feel I know as well as many of the people I interact with in person.

For both of us an equally significant part is comprised of people with whom, in times gone by, we spent a large part of our lives with, both at work and at play. Thousands of miles now separate us, and yet they are still near in thought. Not always, maybe not even often, but enough to ensure they will not pass from memory.

I send our best wishes for a great Thanksgiving day as the first salvo of the holiday season greetings, even to them who perhaps do not celebrate it in their respective countries.

]]> Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:45:00 +0000 Not exactly a Thanksgiving themed missive, but as we are approaching the end of the month, I figure I should do one of my boring photo updates. Not a whole lot of pictures, and few if any spectacular ones, but some might enjoy the albums.

The first album is about Hawks.



http://ejdalise.smugmug.com/Feathers-and-Fur/Hawks-Novo9/10423775_6V3Wq#722494495_uzuun

I've been making an effort to photograph them whenever it's even remotely convenient. Usually they are on poles next to the highway, and I zip by them at my customary 80mph. This past month I've been making it a point to look far enough ahead to allow me time to stop and snap some pictures. I've also taken certain routes I know are frequented by these winged killers.

I've gotten many pictures of them perching, but no flying shots. Rather, lots of flying shots, but none that came out. I definitely need some practice with focusing while tracking, but my big zoom is very slow, so I'll blame it for my failure. I could use my shiny, expensive, fast lens, but then I would be at half the zoom.


The second short album is about flowers.



http://ejdalise.smugmug.com/Flowers/November-09-Flowers/10423544_PZJUn#722465249_o7p2J

Yes, Flowers in November. We brought into the house three of the Geranium plants we had out this past summer. Actually, two are from the prior summer, and had already spent a winter indoors. They must like it a lot because there are lots of blooms on them.

I mentioned before Geraniums offer up some of my favorite flowers, especially when they are just about to open up. The gallery is rather small, and all of the photos were shot with my 105mm f/2.8 macro lens, mounted on the D200, and that in turn on a tripod. I also made use of the reflectors I have to add illumination in the shadow areas (the plants were in the sun).


The third album consists of test shots from my newly acquired Sigma 10-20mm f/4.0-5.6 wide angle lens. I was a little leery and hesitant to buy this lens. As well rated as it is, Sigma has a reputation for variability in their products. Still, of everything available out there, this was the logical choice (with the Nikon equivalent costing nearly 2.5 time more, and not rated as well).




The above is our Snoopy/Yoda/E.T. rock (depending the angle one views it from) shot from about 10 inches away at ground level. I like this lens (so far). The gallery can be found here:

http://ejdalise.smugmug.com/Testing/Sigma-10-20mm-f-4-56-lens/10423725_oEJDw#722488297_kZ7xm

It contains some interesting shots, and I can see this lens expanding my photographic choices.




Lastly, this album holds some shots I took of a coworker's new Camaro SS. I imagine car buffs and chicks (as opposed to women) are likely to skip all my other work and just look at this album:

http://ejdalise.smugmug.com/Machines/Non-transforming-Camarro-1/10433672_ynU9A#723373099_v2H47

I say chicks because that's what I hear most from people commenting on this car . . . it will attract the chicks. While I personally would be leery of any female attracted to a guy solely because of his car, I guess such females would be perfectly matched to guys who bought the car for that purpose. Sadly, they are likely to reproduce and make more in their likeness.

This marks my first attempt at a "product shoot". Being in a parking lot made it difficult to isolate and get good shots, but overall I thought it was not too bad.

And there you have it. My very small contribution to the vast world of electronic images people have available for perusal.

Hope some of you enjoyed them.

ejd

"Winning enemies and aggravating friends since 1953"
]]> Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:15:00 +0000 In the previous post I had a small review of Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible short. On other boards this sparked a few exchanges, and it got me to thinking about the show a little more. Today at lunch I wrote this little piece. It may get published a few places, or it might not. While I feel the premise I advance is based on solid thinking, I chose to present it in a way designed to rile up fans of Joss. I do like the guy, and I admire a lot of his work, but wanted to see if I could write a less-than-flattering piece and make it convincing. Of course, in other places I did not use this lead-in as part of the post.

** Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog **
***** SPOILERS ****

One of Joss Whedon's recurring character types is the strong, independent, and smart female.

I was not, and am not, a big fan of Buffy. Not a small fan either. In fact, not a fan at all. But one cannot deny she was indeed a strong female lead. His other works are also littered with examples of strong females, all working to create positive examples for women.

I believe the culmination has to be Zoe, from Firefly. Some might argue River. That would be River in Serenity, the movie. River in the series was a mixed bag, and we got very few glimpses of what she could be.

Given his track record, it was with great disappointment I came across Joss's latest effort. Some of you might think I am referring to Dollhouse, and that was in fact a great disappointment. For the life of me I cannot see what anyone, and especially Joss, sees in Eliza Dushku . . . actually, based on her outfits, one can see a lot, so maybe I can guess what he and others find attractive. But, that is a story for another time.

No, I am referring to Penny. Yes, the sacrificial lamb in Joss's Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog. First let me say I like the actress, Felicia Day, and this is not a reflection on her.

Her character, however, was cast with one end in mind; to be fodder. She is unassuming and weak. And not just weak of body, but of mind as well. This person is presented has having no initiative, no self worth, no desires, no personality. Sure, she is presented as nice, as innocent . . . well, not really innocent. She's willing to get it on with the first man that asks her, and she is blind to the fact he's a jerk.

So, aside her personality being as limp as a wet washcloth, aside possibly having little or no morals, she has no will of her own and is easily manipulated.

. . . and then she dies. Not a purposeful death, but rather one devoid of all meaning save to serve a cheap plot point. A convenient death, for an unimaginative turn to the story. Nothing more than a trick, really.

What kind of an example is this for young women out there? What kind of role model is Joss presenting to viewers of the female persuasion? Why, it's that of the traditional film female; that of a person of little consequence save to stroke the egos (and as hinted at, potentially more) of the male characters. Nice.

Now, some may say the story rivals great moral tales strewn throughout human history from the time of verbal recounting, to the glory age of books, to today's vacuous on-line offerings. Bull! Joss was bored, and decided to mess with his audience. An audience who is apparently as blind and as willing as Penny to follow him whichever direction he yanks the chain of their figurative nose-rings.

Enough, I say. With this piece Joss has shown me he is no better than any other chauvinistic male out there. Sure, I had some inkling from Dollhouse, but this cements it in my mind. For all his talk of admiration for strong independent-thinking females, his colors might finally be shining true . . . come to think of it, there's very little shine there.
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