Gays might have saved "Star Trek"
by Christopher Curtis

"On Friday, May 13, "Star Trek: Enterprise" docked for good, after being canceled by the United Paramount Network (UPN). While the creators of the series said they did everything to keep it afloat, there's one thing they did not do that would have ensured the science fiction franchise's survival: introduce a gay character.

"...but there was just no room on the starship for a lesbian or a gay man.
To give you an idea of how galling that is, consider the original "Star Trek" series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. America's attention was focused on the Cold War, the sexual revolution, women's rights and civil rights.

"This absurdity may have been a phaser shot at the future of "Star Trek." Here was a series that promised humanity would conquer its prejudices, only to fall victim to the prejudice of homophobia by a glaring crime of omission.
The creator's intransigence not to include regular gay characters certainly hurt the show's core demographic -- not the teenage boys commonly associated with science fiction, but grown-up idealists.
While the science fiction enthusiasts could choose from a bevy of sci-fi staples, only "Star Trek" offered the hope of science fiction with a message. With that message on mute when it came to the most important social issue of the day, those idealists stopped tuning in, and "Star Trek'"s value as a vehicle for social commentary went from galactic proportions to anti-matter. "

I pretty much agree with everything Mr. Curtis says, except I think "Enterprise" was an awful show anyway and I'm not sure anything could have saved it. But I expected better from the franchise "that promised humanity would conquer its prejudices."
Take that, Star Wars freaks. (oh, I'll probably see the Sith movie, but not the week it comes out. Maybe when it gets to the Parkway).
- posted by k @ 4:04 PM

 
F. Scott Fitzgerald: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."
- posted by k @ 3:10 PM

 
Bay to Breakers.

San Francisco's 12k (7.4 mile) footrace. I finished 2170th place, though I'm not sure if that's overall or in my division (the serious seeded runners were in another division); there were 65,000 entrants this year. It was fun. I didn't know about the flying tortillas or the salmon. My finishing time was 2 hours and 42 minutes, but that includes the time we were waiting in line for the portajohn, so it's probably a little closer to 2hours and 22 minutes. Still, not too bad: about 3+ miles/hour. My running pace is a little more than 4 miles/hour and we alternated walking and running. I can't keep up the running pace for more than a mile or two at the most.

I think I could probably run all of a 5k with a reasonable finishing time if I practiced for it.

General photos here. My official photo won't be online for a couple of days yet.
- posted by k @ 10:42 AM

 
I wonder

If Lime Coke and Lemon Coke are really any different, or if it's just a marketing thing. Has Lemon Coke been phased out? And there's Lime Pepsi now. But I try to only drink caffeine free diet sodas, so I will be steering clear of all of them. Vernor's diet ginger ale is quite nice.
- posted by k @ 1:25 PM

 
Beyond Red and Blue

Hear this story on NPR's All Things Considered yesterday about a new report from the Pew Center which breaks down Americans into 9 basic politcal sub-groups. This was helpful for me, because I am frequently butting my head against the question "What are those red-staters thinking? I'm sure they're not homogeneous, so what are the differences among them? And what were they thinking?" It seems pretty clear to me that those in the middle--many of whom are described as "democracy's dropouts"--might benefit from more information about and clear framing of the issues. I mean, if you're "cynical about government and dissatisfied with their personal finances" how could you think that another 4 years of the Bush regime would be a good thing? What were you thinking?

But anyway, the fun bloggable part is that there's a quiz on the Pew site. Post your results in comments!

PS This morning I turned down a job offer at a progressive non-profit because the hours were ridiculous (70-80/week) and so was the pay. Am I going to hell? Are we all?
- posted by k @ 12:15 PM

 
DEAR ABBY: Would you please give me your definition of maturity? Thank you in advance. -- WONDERING IN WOODBURY

DEAR WONDERING: Maturity is the ability to control our impulses, to think beyond the moment, and consider how our words and our actions will affect ourselves and others before we act.
- posted by k @ 5:30 PM

 
More important information about food:

This is an important website:
http://daveola.com/Vegetarian/Restaurants/

Three that I have heard of from other sources and want to try are:
1. Greens
2. Lucky Creation
3. Herbivore

I looked at this week's Friday Five and I have answers, but they're not all family-friendly. I could try to answer one of the questions I skipped/missed in the last couple of weeks.
- posted by k @ 3:56 PM