Actually, the Lord Of The Rings quote is:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

What you're thinking of is the quote from Highlander, which Joshua referenced...

"There can be only one!"

Michale
327

You were dead on.. I hit 49 last 28 Sep... :D

Now THAT is just too uncanny for words!!!

Luck? So I guess "Bush just got lucky that no terrorist attacks post-9/11 (really "post-anthrax attacks" to be accurate) happened on his watch," eh? Sounds like sour grapes, either way you slice that one.

While luck is definitely a part of CT ops, it's not all luck...

Lemme ask you. What "skill" could Obama have used in Libya??

As for your VOYAGER comments, I have to agree. Neelix is pretty annoying.. He is like the Ferengi... A joke...

Michale, ready to get green with envy? I not only got Star Trek (TOS) drinking glasses, I also got a way-cool all-metal USS Enterprise model that doubles as a pizza cutter!

I saw that Pizza Cutter.. That's pretty awesome!! :D

But I see your Drinking Glasses (got a set too!! :D) and I raise you a Transporter Room with a "Working" Transporter!! :D

I also have a Mint Condition Still In It's Package Star Trek PEZ Dispenser set!! :D

http://sjfm.us/temp/trekstuff.jpg

But I have to admit... While all of that stuff was and is really kewl, I REALLY loved that tribble!! It's the kind that coos and vibrates when moved or sound... It's awesome!!! :D

But the gift I got that we have been playing with most often is a pair of Radio Controlled Helicopters with Infrared DogFighting!!! :D

brookstone.com/combat-rc-copter

We've been having a blast with those!! :D

Michale
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Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

What I learned this year: I got a book with the three Tintin books that make up the movie (haven't seen the film yet), and a common insult/characterization in it is "Bashi Bazouk!" from the Captain.

I'm still not sure what it means, but live and learn, that's my motto!

Michale [14] -

Luck? So I guess "Bush just got lucky that no terrorist attacks post-9/11 (really "post-anthrax attacks" to be accurate) happened on his watch," eh? Sounds like sour grapes, either way you slice that one.

Kevin [19] -

How about mental age? I've always felt about 16 or 17 years old, mentally. Maybe it's "Peter Pan Syndrome" or something... heh.

joshua [23] -

No, no, you guys keep me honest, and for that I thank you. You were 100% right in your criticism. I had gotten lazy. It was tough in Part 2 to keep to only one (isn't there a Lord Of The Rings quote about "there can only be one" or something?) winner per category. The hardest was Boldest Political Tactic, as I likely would have awarded a three-way tie in that one. They all seemed important and bold, in their own way. Both Political Theaters were tough to call, too.

But there's never a need to apologize for constructive criticism around here. Not at least as far as I'm concerned.

Voyager comments -

I liked Voyager - thought it was the best post-TOS Trek yet, when I saw it. I liked Janeway (even though I always laughed at the extreme camera angles they used to conceal the fact of how short she was...). I thought Kes was cute as a button, but then I'm a sucker for the elfin look. And of course, Jeri Ryan was a more-than-adequate replacement, to say the least.

The only problems I had with the series were Neelix (fingernails on chalkboard), and the idiocy of whoever wrote the "how Kes' race gets pregnant" storyline, and their complete ignorance of both basic biology and basic math (she could only get pregnant once in her life, and nothing was mentioned about twins... meaning each successive generation would be approximately half of the preceding one, assuming everyone successfully mated... how many generations until the race disappears? How the heck did they come into being in the first place? Sheesh...).

Hmmph.

Michale, ready to get green with envy? I not only got Star Trek (TOS) drinking glasses, I also got a way-cool all-metal USS Enterprise model that doubles as a pizza cutter!

Santa was good to me this year....

:-)

-CW

Like all the other immortals they were often said to be in a drunken stupor and left this world by flying on a heavenly swan or crane into heaven. One day while in a tavern, they had supposedly gotten up to go to the bathroom. But before leaving they flew off on the crane or swan and stripped off their clothes on the way up.

Sounds kinda funky to me.

And, a very Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year, too! Easy on the Christmas cheer, though - I'm worried about you. Seriously! :)

Happy holidays to you too, Liz..

Don't worry about me. I'm an immortal... :D

Michale...
325

Thanx.. :D

Michale
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I watched the campus republicans' cut of the UC Davis incident - the protesters were not in any way touching, pushing or threatening the police, even when they stood inches away. the students' backs were turned. they resisted 100% peacefully, so even in context the response was excessive.

All I am saying is what was reported by an eyewitness..

An eyewitness that has absolutely NO reason to lie or embellish the even in the manner she did and EVERY reason NOT to...

Videos can be started and stopped and edited to an extent that will not tell the whole story..

I am not saying that ya'all are wrong.

But ya'all have to admit the possibility that they eyewitness is right and ya'all are wrong..

As far as VOYAGER, I have to admit that, at first, I thought of it as you do.. "LOST IN SPACE", been there, seen that..

But it really grew on me... Especially after they got rid of Kes... She was the "Wesley Crusher" of Voyager.. :D

Michale
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Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn occasionally...belated Happy Birthday, and have a great Xmas and New Year's :-)

You were dead on.. I hit 49 last 28 Sep... :D

Michale
322

My wife got me a six-pack of Romulan Ale, my daughter-in-law got me a Security Section shirt and my son got me an honest to goodness tribble!!! :D

http://sjfm.us/temp/trekxmas.jpg

How kewl is THAT!! :D

Michale
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http://sjfm.us/temp/Family2.jpg

Michale
320

and cranky.

i greatly appreciate what you do here, and i encourage all others to share in showing appreciation. being north american, there is only one truly patriotic way to do so - send money. :)

And, lots of it! I knew we'd agree on something, sooner or later.

i'm jewish, so your christmas cheery stuff doesn't work on me.

My sympathies ... :)

Try to have a happy 2012, at least ...

*tongue planted firmly in cheek*

;)

joshua

i'm jewish, so your christmas cheery stuff doesn't work on me. okay so it does a little, but the mainstream assumption that everyone celebrates the commercial madness that is christmahanukkwanzaka does bug me a little. humbug, that is. :)

CW,

speaking on behalf of the peanut gallery, i'm sure you know this but i'll write it anyway: no disrespect was intended in needling you about the non-specificity of last week's award winners. i greatly appreciate what you do here, and i encourage all others to share in showing appreciation. being north american, there is only one truly patriotic way to do so - send money. :)

michale,

I watched the campus republicans' cut of the UC Davis incident - the protesters were not in any way touching, pushing or threatening the police, even when they stood inches away. the students' backs were turned. they resisted 100% peacefully, so even in context the response was excessive.

but then, i already knew you had some trouble interpreting what you see on a screen. voyager was IMNSHO the very worst trek series - absolutely cringe-worthy. the plot was nothing but awful recycles of other star trek and battlestar galactica episodes, the score was haphazard at best, the dialogue was poor, the casting mediocre (picardo was funny but most of the rest were just plain bad), the acting was generally atrocious, and the captain's voice was so much like the budweiser frogs, whenever she talked my sister and i couldn't help but make fun.

engage!
engage!
rib-bit!
~capt. janeway (voyager)

joshua

p.s. you're welcome, CW

What if he doesn't say anything outrageous? After all, he's already said he was going to arrest federal judges. If that's not outrageous enough to kill him in the primaries what is?

You said it! Gingrich is an interesting side show which is going to be very fun to watch unfold, in any event.

Merry Christmas!

On an unrelated note, for some time I've been curious about the ages of the regular commenters. To start things off, I'll be 59 in a few weeks. I THINK I may be the oldest regular here. I SUSPECT Elizabeth, David and Matt are in their mid-30s to early 40s.

Where are David and Matt? Merry Christmas to both of them, too!

As for the age thing, Kevin, I think you may be ... ahem ... bang on! Heh. But, I stopped counting along time ago so, you could be way out in left field, too ... :)

On an unrelated note, for some time I've been curious about the ages of the regular commenters. To start things off, I'll be 59 in a few weeks. I THINK I may be the oldest regular here. I SUSPECT Elizabeth, David and Matt are in their mid-30s to early 40s. Michale I put at late 40s to early 50s. I realize this may be too personal for some regulars, but I'm curious to find out how far off from reality my imagined guesses might be. I worked for my province's Liquor Control Board, and used to take a lot of pride in guessing people's ages while serving/not serving them. Anyhew, if you feel like letting me know I'll simply smack my head and shout d'oh :-)

I have a proposal for ya'all...

I usually take Mondays off...

So I propose that Monday morning (early) CW post a Trek Thread...

Ya'all try to stump me with Trek Trivia... Could be from any Trek, including novels, movies or series.. Just keep it limited to TOS, TNG, DS9 or Voyager..

On my honor, I will not GOOGLE for answers. All answers will come straight from my brain...

Now, here's the kicker...

For every question I answer correctly, the Questioner PayPals CW $5....

For every question I answer incorrectly or can't answer then *I* PayPal CW $5....

Who wants to play??? :D

Michale
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Michale
317

I really hate to disagree with you.. Especially when I am right.. :D

UC Davis Student Admits Protesters Surrounded Cops and Wouldn't Let Them Leave

newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/11/24/uc-davis-student-admits-protesters-surrounded-cops-and-wouldnt-let-th#ixzz1hUvzLTTd

I don't fault Holder as much for F-n-F as I do the head of the BATF. But I still want someone else in the job. Someone who has the guts to reschedule marijuana as Schedule II, ideally. I do fault the F-n-F program, as it was just sheer incompetence.

It's likely that Holder knew.. The email trail shows that nearly implicitly..

However, even if Holder DIDN'T know, the fact is he SHOULD have known...

Either way, he's incompetent and he needs to go...

Here are some handy hot-button topics to bring up and poke him with, should the conversation run thin:

Don't forget Trek... I can probably hash out a dozen posts just on TREK alone.. :D

* Torture

It's funny how we don't hear much from the Left about torture these days, eh???

I believe the reason is two fold..

1) It's been proven beyond ANY doubt to be effective...

and

B) It's now a Democrat who is the head torturer..

* Boycotts

Economic terrorism, pure and simple... :D

* The greatness and wonder that is Barack Obama

I think I just threw up in my mouth...

A LOT!!!

* How well the Obama Doctrine worked in Libya

You mean how lucky Obama got in Libya... You KNOW it could have gone much MUCH different.. Obama got lucky... Anyone who says different don't know jack about military action..

* The awesomeness of Nancy Pelosi

OK, NOW yer just being mean!!! :D

* How The Next Generation pales in comparison to the original Star Trek series

I am a devoted TOS fan.. No Trek ever came close to the original.. However, I have to admit, I am a big fan of Voyager, not JUST because of 36 of DD... :D Robert Picardo was awesome in Voyager and also did well in STARGATE ATLANTIS and a guest stint in SUPERNATURAL...

* Why Jack Bauer is a douchebag

Hay now!!! Let's not be sayin' things we can't take back!!! :D

Michale
316

Michale is now paid up through 400 comments, so we've all got to redouble our efforts to help him reach 500.

Done! Michale won't know what hit him. :)

It should be noted that a protestor reported that they (the protestors) had hemmed in the cops and given them no ability to escape, thereby forgetting the very wise advice of Sun Tzu...

Oh my God, I laughed so hard I cried, Michale! Oh, feel like I just ran a bloody marathon. Thanks, I needed that. :)

And, a very Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year, too! Easy on the Christmas cheer, though - I'm worried about you. Seriously! :)

... i don't know that i have any specific opinions at the moment, but i'm enjoying what i read.

Excellent! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

To my credit, however (due to complaints from the peanut gallery... ahem), I think I picked only ONE winner for everything except the collective "Sorry to see you go" category, which is always a list of folks.

You alone get to choose the rules for these awards and that is how it should be - complaints from the peanut gallery, notwithstanding. I've been meaning to say that for a while now. :)

Congratulations on the pledge drive - it's coming along very nicely and, with just another week to go, I expect to see it go off the charts before Michale hits his target!

Wishing you the very best during the holidays - Mele Kalikimaka, Hau'oli Makahiki Hou. I wish I was where the president is ...

What if he doesn't say anything outrageous? After all, he's already said he was going to arrest federal judges. If that's not outrageous enough to kill him in the primaries what is?

Super Tuesday is thought to be mostly the South -- but only 3 states are southern ... ok, 3 and half: VA, TN, GA and OK. The rest are here. 10. Out of 53 (Virgin Islands, Pacific Protectorates and Guam). Doesn't seem so super to me.

Newt has declared that any system that keeps him, Perry, Santorum, and Bachmann off the ballot is a failed system, and that he will run a vigorous write-in campaign. Good luck with that. In VA, you can't writein names on primary ballots. Don't these guys have lawyers who know this stuff?

I have no real problem with the VA system of qualifications for statewide and presidential primary qualifications: 10K signatures, with at least 400 from each congressional district in the state. It does seem a little high, but it is the same system for all, and really if you can't get 10K signatures, you have no chance at the outset. Also, you don't want Ronnie Foxy Baby (formerly Ronald James Pendergast, perpetual mayoral candidate for SF) and 197 of his closest friends on the ballot.

As a blogger who confidently predicted Newt to be the R candidate I am crushed. As a citizen who has followed Newt from way back, not so much. To quote a very Republican source: I'm lovin' it.

Michale is now paid up through 400 comments, so we've all got to redouble our efforts to help him reach 500.

Heh.

-CW

OK, folks, we're entering the final stretch here. We've seemingly stalled at just under 3/4ths of our goal. BUT that is money actually received... meaning anyone matching Michale's pledge, or counting comments they've posted who is waiting for the end to send in their donation has not yet been counted. Michale is paid up through 300 comments, and he's pushing for 500, so I encourage everyone to goad him mercilessly for the next week or so. Here are some handy hot-button topics to bring up and poke him with, should the conversation run thin:

* Torture
* Boycotts
* The greatness and wonder that is Barack Obama
* How well the Obama Doctrine worked in Libya
* The awesomeness of Nancy Pelosi
* How The Next Generation pales in comparison to the original Star Trek series
* Why Jack Bauer is a douchebag

Heh. That ought to keep him busy. I'm going to go pop some popcorn!

Seriously, we've got until New Year's to move that green thermometer. A few more pledges will put us over the top!

If the economy dictates you don't have spare cash for such frivolities, then we all still wish you a Merry Happy Whatever Winter Holiday You're Into, and better times in 2012. Peace to all.

-Chris Weigant

Re: UCD pepper spray. Hogwash. Watch a full, unedited copy of the video. Protesters are sitting down, in a single line. The cop who wielded the spray STEPS OVER THEM right before spraying them. So much for "hemming them in with no way to escape." And I don't think a protester said that, I think it was a right-wing commentator...

That cop was just being sadistic. No two ways about it.

I don't fault Holder as much for F-n-F as I do the head of the BATF. But I still want someone else in the job. Someone who has the guts to reschedule marijuana as Schedule II, ideally. I do fault the F-n-F program, as it was just sheer incompetence.

Depends on what you mean by "pass a budget." They have, indeed, passed one giant omnibus budget which will take them through Oct. 2012. But you're right, the Senate hasn't formally passed its budget bills the way it is supposed to for about three years running now, so it's not like you don't have a valid point.

That stamp thing still rankles me. It's a nightmare just waiting to happen.

:-)

-CW

I did miss Vaclav Havel in that one, though. Anyone who tries to appoint Frank Zappa as Minister of Culture will be sorely missed on this Earth (true story, look it up if you don't believe me... Reaganites had to quash it...).

-CW

OK, a reader over at Democrats For Progress caught an error. I wrote "Saddam" where I should have written "Ghaddafi." It's been fixed now...

Mea culpa, everyone!

-CW

joshua

It should be noted that a protestor reported that they (the protestors) had hemmed in the cops and given them no ability to escape, thereby forgetting the very wise advice of Sun Tzu...

ALWAYS leave your enemy an escape...

Because they forgot that, the protestors deserve what they got....

But, all salaciousness aside, I have to agree with the Republicans this year, and award the Worst Political Scandal the "Fast and Furious" program of allowing guns to be trafficked to Mexico by drug gangs. The Justice Department laid a big egg with this one. There's just no other way to say it. Eric Holder already missed his chance to gracefully step down over this fiasco, and one hopes that if Obama wins a second term, he'll decide to pick a new Attorney General.

It's about time this got the condemnation it deserves!!

It should also be noted that EVERY Democrat should be ashamed by Holder's whining, "Yer just pickin' on me because I black!!"...

Just remember, I quatloo'ed that Holder would be gone by the 2012 election... :D

Realistically, we had three strong contenders. The first runner-up was the Occupy Wall Street folks for trying to replicate the energy of the Arab Spring people power here in America. The jury's still out on how history will see the 99 Percent movement,

Now yer talking about two different groups here..

The "Oowzers" (rhymes with "lusers") and the 99%'ers...

Previously, California had been known for budgets that were seven, eight, or even nine months late.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Democrats in Congress STILL haven't passed a budget...

And THEY have had Congress and the White House for how long now??

Minus the shellacking in 2010, I mean.. :D

You really want to see a Kardashians stamp -- or a Snooki stamp?

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little....

Michale.....
310