the paperback Bible

When I was a child at Bellevue United Methodist Church, I along with other knee-high kids my age were given a King James Version Bible.  Lot's of thees and thous and saith untos in there for a little kid.  It was around 1970 that someone gave me a strange looking Bible called Good News For Modern Man.  It was the first paperback Bible I'd ever laid my eyes on.  I didn't see any thees and thous and saith untos in that version.  It did read a little easier for a young boy.

Good News For Modern Man seemed to be everywhere back in the day.  This Bible was illustrated with simple line art by Annie Vallotton (think of stick figures with robes).  I'm not knocking the art, it's what inspired me to drawing simple cartoon characters in the margins of my Bible.  I'd often draw a simple piece of line art which was a way that I would make a note of a verse. 

I read from that Bible for several years.  When I got into my early teens I was given The Living Bible and soon purchased and stuck with the New American Standard Bible for decades after that.  About five years ago my wife bought me a Message Bible.  I didn't read from it much because I have a terrible tendency to accidentally rip out entire pages.  I don't buy Bibles with thin tissue-like pages for that reason.  I only buy Bibles made like text books.  I gave my Message to Gina and went to my local Christian bookstore to see if they had a Message with regular page.  It was a no-go.

I guess I don't have to have scripture paraphrased.  Over the years I found myself enjoying reading from the King James Version.  Even though I've had various versions of the Bible, I've read KJV all along.  I don't mind the thees, thous and saith untos.

the tin man

I stated in the previous post that I enjoyed watching the original Star Trek series and The Next Generation.  I like both series equally for different reasons.  The original series had great stories with underlying messages.  Creator Gene Roddenberry's intention for his Wagon Train in space concept for social commentary much like Rod Serling used The Twilight Zone.

The only weakness of the original series is that most of the characters were two dimensional.  Captain James T. Kirk was an action man.  Spock was the one who stood out as the most interesting character of the entire lot.    Spock was half-Vulcan and half-human.  He served aboard the Enterprise as first officer and science officer.  There was more depth to the Spock character over the rest of the crew.  He was a fellow who was dealing with where he came from and who he is.  Though he seemed to always have it together, he was always suppressing his human side.  Kirk was always trying to pull it out of him.  The rest of the crew where who they were, but Spock's character was always in transition.

A couple of decades past and The Next Generation came along introducing us to a cast that the viewer got to know better.  All the officers had a story and a past.  All had personal stories and conflicts. This crew were given more depth by the writers.



I always liked Data (played by Brent Spiner).  Data was an android that served as second officer and chief operations officer aboard the Enterprise.  Unlike Spock, Data was always trying to emulate humanity so perchance he could not just understand it, but acquire it.  Where Spock was a logical detached adult. Data was logical, but with a childlike curiosity.    Both Spock and Data share similarities, but the primary difference is that Spock suppressed the very thing that Data sought. Spock was never in search of Spock, but Data was always searching for a humanness.

Gene Roddenburry told Brent Spiner at the onset of The Next Generation that Data was to evolve over the course of the series, to become more and more human-like.  Spiner said that he used Robbie the Robot from FORBIDDEN PLANET as a role model for the Data character.  Excellent choice because Roddenberry was inspired by the old sci-fi classic for Star Trek.

Warped Speed Mr. Sulu

I don't consider myself a Trekkie, but I have never missed a Star Trek movie.  I might start though. I watched the original show back in the day when it first aired and plenty of times in the space time television rerun continuum.  Back in the eighties Gina and I would go see the movies when we were dating.  We also watched The Next Generation when we were dating and into our marriage.  I didn't like Deep Space Nine ( or Voyager.  We'd go see the Star Trek movies though.  I'm not a Trekkie, nor have I ever wanted to put on set of pointed ears or dress like a Borg and attend a Trekkie Convention.  I just like the show.

Tonight Gina and I had a night alone so we decided to go see Star Trek: Into Darkness.  The new cast is great.  They did a wonderful job of finding actors that could fill the original cast's boots.  I have no problem believing it's Captain Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty.  They do a really good job playing those old familiar characters.

My wife enjoyed the movie, but I felt J.J. Abrams screwed the pooch on this one.  Here's what I think in a nutshell.  In this movie, which is supposed to predate the original Star Trek's five year mission, Spock was a frigid unemotional half Vulcan / half human being who took decades to finally get in touch with his human side.  From the 60's until the 80's, Spock finally came to a place where he warmed up and admitted his friendship toward Jim and Bones.

Well, this movie pretty much has Spock going through his Vulcan to his touchy-feely human transformation in the span of an hour and a half.  I like it the old way, the process of time in which this Vulcan finally transformed over time.  If Into Darkness was to be the precursor to the original Star Trek, it just doesn't work.  I liked the 2009 movie better than this one.

This movie is weak on story, but full of the kind of action you'd expect for a Star Trek movie.  Frankly, I'm kind of tired of the U.S.S. Enterprise being destroyed at the end of almost every movie.  It's getting pretty predictable these days.   Also, why do the producers feel like they've got to stick Leonard Nemoy in every movie?  I enjoyed him showing up in the Next Generation episodes, but sheesh, the story really didn't need him and the guy keeps popping into every freaking sequel.

The makers of this new Star Trek served up a big budget can of rehash.  I didn't mind seeing a younger Khan in this installment.  I like the actor that played young Khan, but it goes back to the writing.   I just wish they would've done something different with the story-line   Into Darkness started out alright, but began nose diving in warp speed once the mission got underway.  The ending was just so predictable and corny.  Since the creators put so much time, money and effort into it, why couldn't they deliver something more creative?  It was the death scene.  Why did they try to feed that to us again?  It wasn't as moving or touching as Spock's death scene in The Wrath of Khan.  It was a role reversal, but the same freaking death scene.

I'd just as soon had purchased tickets to see The Wrath of Khan again tonight rather than waste my money on this one.  In Star Trek: Into Darkness, the Starship Enterprise and her crew boldly went where they had gone before.

Yesterday's Sunday

For some reason I woke up this morning with this song from Sunday mornings past playing in my head.  My dad was more into Inspirational Music, but for some reason Gospel Music would be coming from my dad's radio next to his bed every Sunday morning.  The program he listened to always started with the Blackwood Brothers song 'Give the World a Smile'.  It was an upbeat song, but year after year Sunday after Sunday I grew weary of it.   It was this very song that ingrained within me a distaste for Gospel Music.

I found the song on YouTube and just played it again.  It's been at least three decades since I last heard it.  I am no longer weary of it.  It's still not pleasing to my ears, but It made me think of Sunday mornings of long ago.  The song made me remember that radio on which my dad would listen to music and preachers.  The song made me think of dad...those days when he was in the next room getting ready for church any given Sunday morning.  I wish I could walk across the hall and say good morning to him.

gone

no more