JamesSavik

15 years with no drugs or drinking. Holy shit. I remember when missing out for a day or a few days was... really uncomfortable. When I first started writing, I got some flak about including a lot of drugs. Well, they did say write what you know. When I first really started writing, that's what I knew. It took a while but I move on. I still dream about the... never mind. What I find is sad is that a lot of gay people have trouble in recovery. There are a few predators out there talking recovery that just want to hook up. Well... who doesn't? Growing up means figuring out what's appropriate. The winners learn and the losers lose. It's Darwinian in a way- like tempering steel. If the blade if flawed, when heated, it will break. If the steel is good, it just gets harder. Be the blade.

This is a case where Imitation is the NOT the sincerest form of flattery.

From a writers perspective, B5 always struck me as writing with a plan. DS9 seemed to make it up as they went along. There are several big franchises that did that. Lost come to mind. Seasons 4 & 5 of BSG(2003). Some series get away with it.

Prologues are an authors way of orienting the reader. They define the setting, place in time and set the tone for what the reader is about to experience. Not reading the prologue is a lot like embarking on a journey without reading the map. You may have just gotten on the highway but, did you get on at the right interchange? Did you need to pack suntan oil or a combat knife? Example: The Wassari Jump Prologue In the year 2312 the Greater Terran Union embarked upon its most aggressive military campaign to date. It invaded the planet Wassa on the edge of its space for no greater reason than the Wassari civilization was beginning to tinker with space flight and might become a threat. It was from start to finish a real shit show. The troops landing in the first wave instantly knew it had been a dreadful mistake. The Wassari are a cute and fuzzy mammal species that most resembled the Terran meercat. The space marines dropped on Wassa ended up protecting the very civilization that they were there to subdue and conquer. The GTU, abused into paranoia by it's own pre-starflight invasion by a powerful alien race, had finally grown up to be just the kind of bully that it had grown to detest. _______________________________ Do you see what I did there? I answered several key questions: Who? The Greater Terran Union and the Wassari When? 2312 Where? The planet Wassa on the edge of GTU territory What? Invasion Why? The GTU was paranoid because of its history. All of this could have been done in exposition but the prologue shortens that process and makes the authors life a little easier.

It's not just nostalgia. Despite the scores of made for TV series being made, the older ones were better. MUCH BETTER. Chances are if you turn your TV on, you will watch one of several formulas: situation comedy (shit Comms), medical dramas or police procedurals. There are a few variations but not very many. It's what Hollywood knows how to do and they make them like an assembly line of Toyotas. It doesn't take too long to notice that there are really only about fifty themes and they make them over and over again. You can blame writers unions. There might be something to that. You can blame the studios. There's definitely something to that. Blame the viewer for not turning them off. Blame the advertisers for branding their mediocrity. There is a REAL difference between golden age TV and the shit that is being excreted today. The difference is in the writing. The writers for golden age TV were not TV writers. They were writers of plays, short stories and novels. They had writing experience outside of the movie and television echo chamber. If you want to see something really different, there are three old series that are really worth looking up: Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Should you look these up and watch a few episodes here are a few things to look for. In Perry Mason, look at the way the episodes are structured. The writers used the traditional 5 act structure. It's not brilliant. It just the same thing that's been working since Aristotle's Poetics. If you look at the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits, notice that these are plays derived from short stories. Also notice that they were originally written by some pretty big name sci-fi authors. What we're getting now is... Modern telecommunications technology can deliver hundreds of independent channels. There's just no excuse for there being nothing worth watching on any of them. Things are happening. Billion dollar productions are falling on their face. It will take a few of them going broke on their formulas. It will be the innovators that survive and thrive. The innovation that can most easily and most likely turn things around is looking to the traditional elements of drama and apply good writing. That will work and has worked every time it's been tried.

XXL does not equal 2XLT. XXL means short and fat. 2XLT means large, tall and amazing. XXL is big and wide. Sorta like a circus tent. It does not fit well. It fits like a tarp. It often exposes the innocent public to the dreaded plumber's crack. 2XLT is a large size but it's long for tall people. Not short for W I D E people. Insist on 2XLT on all of your internet dating and orders for large, tall and amazing. It shows off my six pack abs and pecs best.

Pentagon's New Super Weapon Kinetic Bombardment (wikipedia)

Because Douche Space 9 was a cheap and cheesy rip off of Babylon 5. Paramount passed on B5 but decided to make Derp Space 9 when Warner Brothers purchased and produced B5. There are too many points of comparison to make it anything but a rip off: Both series are named after a space station name with a single-digit number Both series premiered in 1993, and were set aboard space stations that were hubs of interstellar trade and politics. Both stations were located beside portals to distant places. (B5 is near a hyperspace "jumpgate"; DS9 guarded the mouth of a wormhole.) Both series originally featured a shapeshifter character; however, Babylon 5 dropped that element before filming, replacing it with occasional characters using various illusory and camouflage mechanisms. Both started off with unmarried commanders haunted by a recent conflict. Commanders of each station had lost their wives before the series started. (Sisko and Sheridan) Both men's wives reappeared during the series under the control of a more powerful race. (Sheridan's wife returns in person under the control of the Shadows, while the Prophets speak through Sisko's wife in visions.) Both commanders remarried during the shows run. Both commanders had a girlfriend who was a freighter captain, Carolyn Sykes for Commander Sinclair and Kasidy Yates for Captain Sisko. The commander of each station eventually became a religious figure who fulfilled a prophecy, advised by enigmatic aliens who were regarded as spiritual beings. Both commanders (Sisko and Sheridan) "ascended" to become noncorporeal lifeforms in the series finale. In both series the spiritual beings (the Vorlons, the Prophets) had an enemy (the Shadows, the Pah Wraiths) generally viewed as evil spirits by other races, with whom they had been at war for millennia. Both series build up to a war between Humans and a militarily powerful, hard-to-detect enemy (the invisible Shadows, the shapeshifting Founders). Both series had a sarcastic, cynical but dedicated head of security who started out as perceptive and extremely competent, but later succumbed to insecurity and compulsion (Garibaldi's drinking, Odo's link with the female Shapeshifter) Both series had an idealistic young doctor with a hidden secret (Bashir's genetic enhancement, Franklin's involvement with the Underground). Both doctors also had strained relationships with their fathers. Both series involved the use of genetically engineered diseases, designed to work against a specific group (Changelings, Markab, Human and Narn Telepaths, others) as a means of control or genocide. The second-in-command of each station was a woman with a hot temper who had lost a family member in a war. Central to each series were two alien races, one of which had until recently occupied and oppressed the home planet of the other. Furthermore: The oppressed race was a deeply religious one. The oppressors in both series were later manipulated by a powerful alien race to achieve its goals. This manipulation occurred via a regular character in the series belonging to the oppressor race, who vacillated between 'good' and 'evil' through the course of the series, ultimately being taken over completely by powerful evil forces, which eventually led to their untimely deaths. The plot of each series eventually centered around a war against the oppressors and those who manipulated them. These wars resulted in the devastations of the former-oppressors' homeworlds. Both series involved an alien race who had once been humanity's main enemies, but were now strong (but often troublesome) allies (Klingons, Minbari) Both series involve a character who must deal with the conflict between their alien heritage, and their adopted human qualities (Worf, Delenn) Each series added a small, tough starship, each the first of its kind, during the third season: DS9's Defiant and B5's White Star. Each series includes a sinister organization working within the humans' government: DS9's Section 31 and B5's Bureau 13, not to mention Psi Corps and Nightwatch as well. Each series had a male character named "Dukat" (though B5's is spelled "Dukhat") and each series had a female character named "Lyta" (although DS9's is spelled "Leeta"). Each Station was administered by an Earth based government (Earth Alliance in B5, the Federation in DS9) but was not in that government's territory. While each stations was administered by Earth, that administration depended upon the sufferance of a second, deeply spiritual, race. (Minbari in B5, Bajorans in DS9) In the first season finales of both series, the character frequently regarded as the "everyman" (Miles O'Brien on DS9, Michael Garibaldi on B5) is betrayed by his assistant in an assassination attempt. Both series have a character who is the sidekick from an egocentric culture (Vir the Centauri and Rom the Ferengi). They both have values that are more "human" than those of their culture and are therefore seen as poor excuses for members of their race. Despite all this, they both end up as the leaders of their race by the end of the series. Both series featured a six-episode story arc at the beginning of their penultimate seasons that chronicled a major turning point in their respective wars (the defeat of the Shadows and Vorlons in B5, and the retaking of the station from the Dominion in DS9).

Us writers have another name for Canon. We call it continuity, Continuity errors in novels are death and we work like hell to, if not eliminate them, keep them to a barest minimum. When a prequel like Shiterprise... err I mean Enterprise is done on the cheap with a bum of the month cast, LOT's of the fans will simply ignore it. Don't even ask me what I think of the God awful abomination Discovery is. You don't even want to know what TOS and NextGen fans think of that reeking caldron of excretia.

A few years ago I was fat and out of shape. I got tired of it and decided to do something about it. Over several years I went to the gym 3 or 4 times a week. I didn't do anybody's insanity workout. I studied and talked to some people and came up with plans that would work for me. Sometimes I missed. Sometimes things came up and just didn't have time. I was sick on occasion but, more often than not, I went. I went down from 300 to 240- over time. I haven't looked or felt this good in years. Fast forward to February of this year- I discovered that my older brother has bone marrow cancer and needs a stem cell transplant to have any chance at remission or a cure. The hospital he went to, SCCA(1), immediatly began screening me as a donor. They didn't like my age. People over 40 don't produce as many stem cells. They tested me and found me to be a 10 point match. Earlier this month I flew out to Seattle and underwent the physical from hell where I discovered: 1) I'm healthy 2) I'm not just healthy but in the top 10% for men my age bracket healthy 3) My cardiovascular health was such that I could be a donor. I know WHY I decided to get in shape. It was something I did for myself. It turned out to be about more than just me. That fat guy from 3 years ago- he wouldn't have made the cut. _________________________ 1- Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

Stem cells are a critical part of the human immune system. The sit beneath white cells and T-cells and usually reside in the bone marrow. In certain types of cancers like leukemia and bone marrow cancer, the damaged stem cells must be cleaned out by chemotherapy and radiation and re[laced by healthy stem cells. Those stem cells establish themselves and go to work. This is very tricky as small genetic variations can cause disaster. An identical twin would be the best match. Then statistics and probability take over. Sometimes related donors but only 1 out of 4 times. I'm donating for my older brother. He's pretty sick with an aggressive form of bone marrow cancer. The way this works is that you are given an injection of a drug that makes the stem cells all frolic and gets them moving around. You take three injections over three days. Down side is that it makes you feel like you have the flu with sore joints and all over aches. On the fourth and fifth days they connect you to a machine and collect the stem cells for transplantation. It's not very exciting. All I want to do is sleep. And take Tylenol. I feel like crap but it'll pass quickly after we stop taking that drug. I just hope it works.

Tomorrow I fly back to Seattle. Jeez that town needs a Cajun Restaurant. I wonder how I would do there selling Po-boys and gumbo. The seafood there is great but needs a touch of BAM. Damn. Now I'm hungry and think about jambalaya with chicken, sausage and shrimp. But I digress. I'll be there to donate stem cells for my brother. This procedure will cure or kill him. As we're so genetically compatible, it's his best shot. Only an identical twin would be better. It won't be a picnic for me. The drugs they'll give me to stimulate stem cell production won't be pleasant. Maybe I can slip out for some fish & chips. Tomorrow there will be a Cajun in Seattle and he'll be hungry.

I have a little confession to make. I am an urban explorer. Sometimes that can be construed as a feckless trespasser but I never vandalize or loot anything. When I was a boy my father was the Civil Defense Warden for our area and he took me with him when he inspected area fallout shelters. They were new then and very secret but I was young, free labor and willing to work so, I went. I counted supplies, made sure things were working and was a second pair of hands. I might be the only one left alive that knows where some of these actually are. I am certainly the only one who still has a full set of keys. If there's ever a zombie apocalypse, I know just where to go to eat anchient k rations and drink stale canned water. 😜 Many of the shelters are absolutely pristine. They haven't been seen by intruders for decades. Other have been broken into, looted and vandalized. I found some graffiti in one of these that 1) stopped me in my tracks and made me laugh to tears and 2) made me think. It's rude so.. fair warning. I'd put a spoiler box around it if I knew how. scroll down if you're brave. 80s era graffitti judging by the dates and tags. I hate f*gs. They won't s*ck my d*ck. I have to wonder if that's not behind a great deal of the animus we run into.

We're GLBT PEOPLE! We're the ORIGINAL Social Justice Warriors. We've been at it since before it was cool. When we tell you that you're going overboard, it's sorta like your priest and your bartender telling you that you might want to slow down on your drinking.

They say if I move to the Pacific North West, I'll have to get a Husky. I think I could live with that. They seem like nice people to me.

I have had an extensive physical at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and am in great shape. I have been tested for all sorts of viruses and conditions and have none of them. I am in great shape and will be an excellent stem cell donor for my brother- who has bone marrow cancer. We expect to give him the transplant around the 1st week of September. Since we are such a good match, that ups his chances for recovery considerably. This is excellent news for our family and, we're going out for a steak tonight. I will be flying home in the morning.

I had to publish 19 before it was really ready. I'm flying out to Seattle in the morning to be with my brother for a few days as he's undergoing chemo at the Seattle Cancer Care Clinic. If I'm healthy enough I will donate stem cells for him which will give him a shot at recovery or at least remission. Real life is a pain sometimes. It gets in the way of important stuffs like writing. Next chapter will return to the Stonegarden system for fun and games with the toasters. Hope to see ya there.

The Corregidor The Corregidor Sigma Puppis System Jeff Mason sat in the Captain’s ready room across the table from James and John. The pair were the squad leaders of the Gemini platoon best trained to run the ship and served as the command team for the ship. Corregidor was underway and the Bishop and his spies were well on their way out of the star system. Mason sat back in his chair and asked, “So now that the Bishop is gone, what is the real reason you’ve put

My reply to 686 would be too short to be interesting. Redemption.