Carpe Noctum

JoeFlanigan tweeted a heartfelt letter to fans today in regards to a family friend Sarah Geary and asked for fans to help. Joe's words speak for themselves and I hope that we fans as a group can help this family in their terrible time of need.

Letter from Joe
I would like to introduce everyone to my close friend Sarah Geary. Earlier this year she was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. She has been unfortunately declining ever since. Despite the effects of this cruel disease, she manages to continually enrich the lives of those around her in the most amazing ways. My wife Katherine and I have been profoundly effected by her iron will, piercing intellect and abominable charm. It seems like health and spirit have an inverse relationship with Sarah. Her husband Tim has been overwhelmed with the practical and emotional demands of this cries, all the while attending to a demanding full time job.
At the end of the day, however, the outcome is certain. Sarah will slowly and sometimes painfully diminish toward death. The medical demands and costs are staggering and, in some ways, constitute a second tragedy for the family. They have been living in the guest house of some very generous friends, which gives them proximity to the doctors. They have also been spending many of their weekends with my family in Malibu, where Sarah, Tim and the kids feel genuinely relaxed and welcome in their 'adopted home'. Recently Sarah has lost her speech and we now have to carry her in and out of the house. And while she has been robbed of so much of the communication we all take for granted, she manages to almost vibrate silently with affection for everyone and everything around her.
I feel remarkably blessed in my career. One thing I feel so proud of is the special relationship that we, actors of The Stargate franchises, have with our fans. If there ever was a chip I could cash in on for my success, this would be it. My uncharacteristic seriousness should only underscore the sobering obligation I feel toward Sarah.
I'm asking all of us to rally for Sarah Geary and her family. We can make her last days as comfortable as possible and help Tim and the kids transition to the next chapter of their lives. Unlike donations to a large organization where it is difficult to measure the impact of your contribution, your money will have a direct and immediate impact on her well-being from breathing apparatus' to night nurses. Tim and I will be keep everyone in touch by informing them of the process.
David Hewlett and I are auctioning off a lunch together in Los Angeles. David will be forced to eat lemons and laugh at my same joke that I will continually repeat throughout the meal. Additionally, and perhaps more shockingly, I am auctioning off my trusty skateboard that has reliably transported me around the studio-lot for many years and has appeared in scenes through out the Stargate Atlantis series. Yes, folks, I brought my skateboard to space. Please visit: http://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions/joeflanigan
So please, join me and my friends in our support of Sara Geary. Look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Joe has further said that for those that can't bid on the auction, donations can be made via this link: www.friendsofsarahgeary.com

I post this cause I can not afford jack at the moment, but hope that my friends list and any other meandering soul may be able to help by donating or bidding. I would be grateful for any and all help to go towards this cause, even if I do not know the people involved. One person's suffering, is everyone's suffering IMHO, and to ease it for one, is to ease it for all.

Much love and many thank you's 

Angela x

I do not normally blog about politics, I avoid it like the plague really. However, this whole burn the Qu'ran thing is pathetic. When did two  wrongs ever make a right???

For example, do we tell the burglarized to burgle the burglar? Do we tell the murder victims family, to murder a member of the murderer's family. As they say and Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth and we would all be blind and  toothless. 

It is pathetic when so called intellegent people decide to exact revenge. They should take the christian high road (if they are , as the purport to be; christians) and do as Jesus taught and turn the other cheek.

And this is coming from a darned pagan. egads!

Also politics and religion never mix, didn't in the pilgrim fathers day hence the mass exodus, and it doesn't now. Only there is no where left to run. Start working towards a happy medium, your land has run out.

I'm barely standing, but I'm fucking flying.

The Nature of Fandom – Or What makes a Fan a Fan

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OK I walked into this show hating it. I am going to be very honest now, very, very honest. I haven't been a fan of the new show at all. However, I have watched every episode of the series... which seems odd, until you realise you can't hate what you don't know. That said, I am looking forward to the second half of the first season.

Why?

This is odd, I actually began liking a couple of characters, and Identified with some of the traits they hold. The first would be Lt. Scott's Character, He seems to be a little like me. On the outside I seem to let everyone in, I seem to tell everyone, everything. I don't. I keep in the things that would leave me feeling vulnerable and this leaves you with an internal monologue that at best can prevent you taking actions that might be the best thing ever, and at worst can cripple and shred you to pieces (trust me, I have done just that. I really am my own worst enemy at times) Lt. Scott is an internalist, and I can identify with that.

The other character is that of Chloe. Her father dies in the three part opener and she carries on, develops relationships and that right there is exactly why I like her, again she reminds me of me. I too have lost my father, and my mother too boot. The Chloe Character hasn't lost her mother, but since she is on the other side of a UNIVERSE, for all intents and purposes, she may as well have. The scene where she watches her father die, was horrific and intense, not to mention poignant. And that there is the third reason why I am getting behind it for season 1.5 ... I can relate, the writers are doing their jobs.

My biggest issue has been that it wasn't humorous, and Creator/writer Brad Wright has simply stated that it won't have the type of snark and zing that  the predecessors have entertained. While in my heart I feel disappointment, and saddened by this development, purely because that is something the franchise was built upon, and in essence it was its very foundations - my mind however rings out with the solidity of why would they be cracking jokes and zingers? There is little to no hope in getting home, everything they have ever known is lost to them - and they have to be in close quarters with people they wouldn't have necessarily have chosen to pass time of day with let alone live, work and play with. Wouldn't it be completely unbelievable, and totally OOC for any show to pull of the we're a family and we laugh about even the most tragic of things???

In sum total the criticisms against it have been that it was too like Battlestar Galactica, another science fiction show that I have taken firmly to my heart. There have been similarities, especially in short term story ideas - however, Battlestar had an end goal - SGU doesn't appear to have divulged that to us, yet. If I did have to make any kind of comparison it would be to Star Trek Voyager. To me it is an updated, more realistic, drama and character based Voyager, and a lot more mature. Not just in terms of the fact sex is there (Its about time!) but in terms of the level of responsibility that the characters assume and are seen assuming.

This opinion will probably be seen as flying in the face of previous statements. I have watched the first half season, and I haven't been thrilled with it, future developments shown have deeply intrigued me, characters on my second round of watching (without the knee jerk of OMG this isn't SG-1/Atlantis) has shown me a group of young actors as well as those veterans who seem to be holding their own, and who in retrospect can make me wonder about them.

I personally don't like Eli, I responded so well to McKay's geek because he was like me. He had his absolute STFU moments and he had the Uber cool moments and he seemed as though he was one of my friends. Eli, is too much a stereotype (I have never been a gamer or convention goer, so perhaps I have never seen this behaviour) for me to relate to him. And Carlyle's character is a manipulative SOB, and I am not responding too well to it. The others I feel ambivalent towards, this could be rectified in the future by good writing and I hope it will be.

So What Am I Saying Here?

That quite possibly, if the writers tackle 1.5 well, I may end up loving it. That said I also have to approach it differently, this is a completely different animal to SG-1/Atlantis, of which I adored. I also have to bear in mind first seasons of any show generally have a n element of suckitude, this is while the actors and writers are developing the characters around each other, the crew are getting used to what works with the space they have created, and the directors are knowing the whole lot for the most part.


So What I AM Saying, is that I am gonna give it another shot, from a different perspective and bare in mind the aforementioned points.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people: Madkingludwig, shansgrl, smhstar82, seachanter, shadowfigment

(Considering these people are on tight schedules as is, not sure anyone is going to do the meme.)



"Halting so abruptly that Kirk nearly ran into him, Pike got right in the younger mans face. Speaking through clenched teeth and fighting to restrain himself , the Captain proceeded to explain his reasoning.

" ' If you can look past your initial animal response, cadet, and for a moment think about conditions outside your immediate surroundings, you'll recognize that without transport ability, not only can we not leave this ship, we cannot assist Vulcan or anyone in its surface. Additionally with communications blocked we cannot notify Starfleet of what's happening here, either to request reinforcements, seek information or simply warn the res of the Federation.' " ~ Star Trek (New Movie) - Alan Dean Foster, Based on the screenplay Written by - Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman

Yes that is FOUR sentences. Star Trek Authors have such command of grammar, that what is usally split into baby sentances, becomes complex and compound sentances. Yay!

In memory of family and friends who have lost the battle with cancer; and in support of the ones who continue to conquer it! Post this on your LJ if you know someone who has or had cancer. 93% won't copy and paste this. Will you?

Brandy,

You are so sweet you are watching me eat plain creamed rice, and the sweetest thing is you have decided you like it as much as mommy

You have siddled up to me, and wiht you big bush baby eyes pleaded your case. You have suckered me it, by placing a gentle paw on my knee and looking into my eyes.

If you could talk, you would have tonight. You are too cute for me.


Love you sucker for a mother

*Title comes from a jimgle my late mother (Brandy's first owner) used to sing it went a little like this;

Handy Brandy,
The Strong little gentle cat.

I have just received 3 emails from my agency. None of them anything to do with me. None of them of any interst to me ALL holding 6 other people personal information (CV and job apps). This they have brokent the Data Protection Act.

Needless to say I have deleted them, but one of them was intereting due to the fact I work with and dislike the person.

Of course I had a call from them. And my phone was at hom, I haven't called back. They can call me again.