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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Another Open Thread

Another Open Thread

by John Cole|  January 22, 201010:26 pm| 109 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Television

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90 minutes in, I have no clue wtf Caprica has to do with BSG. Is this a personal failing?

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Previous Post: « Which side are you on?
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Reader Interactions

109Comments

  1. 1.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    January 22, 2010 at 10:29 pm

    Yes.

  2. 2.

    cfaller96

    January 22, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    SPOILER ALERT: THE CYLONS EVENTUALLY DESTROY THE HUMAN RACE*

    *except not really

  3. 3.

    Kobie

    January 22, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    I’m still not at the “worst week ever” pity party stage that some of us were in a couple days ago, but the more I read about the impending health care capitulation and the SCOTUS decision, the more and more despondent I get.

  4. 4.

    D. Aristophanes

    January 22, 2010 at 10:33 pm

    Lieberman is the 13th Cylon.

  5. 5.

    Demo Woman

    January 22, 2010 at 10:34 pm

    It’s the drugs.

  6. 6.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 22, 2010 at 10:34 pm

    It’s basically the miniseries that takes several episodes before the first cyclons come online. They could have you know done one backstory episode several episodes in that details the first part of the tradegy that lead to the first realization of the tech to make cylons.

  7. 7.

    Max

    January 22, 2010 at 10:35 pm

    Well, I have no idea WTF Caprica is, so I say “no”.

    I have to give major props to Almond Milk. Very yummy in my morning Special K. If you get the unsweetened vanilla, it has zero carbs and zero sugar. For a diabetic like myself, this is a really big deal. Check it out if you’re looking for a milk alternative.

  8. 8.

    Tim F.

    January 22, 2010 at 10:36 pm

    Dunno, but Spartacus on Starz is basically a porn script with less engrossing characters.

  9. 9.

    General Winfield Stuck

    January 22, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    90 minutes in, I have no clue wtf Caprica has to do with BSG

    I wouldn’t go that far. But if I remember from watching it several months ago, that the girl was some kind of genius creating the initial programming for the Cylons. or something like that/I could be wrong.

  10. 10.

    Fern

    January 22, 2010 at 10:41 pm

    @ Thank you from a newly diagnosed diabetic who is still trying to find out what the hell she can eat. Might be nice on the morning oatmeal, I think.

  11. 11.

    Max

    January 22, 2010 at 10:41 pm

    Speaking of sci-fi, has the BJ community weighed in on Fox developing a US version of Torchwood? I really enjoyed the episodes I saw of the BBC one.

    tv.insidepulse.com/2010/01/22/fox-to-create-u-s-version-of-torchwood/

  12. 12.

    cfaller96

    January 22, 2010 at 10:43 pm

    Health care talk is too depressing. Who wants to talk about Michigan football and Rich Rodriguez?

    /I really need to start drinking to numb the pain

  13. 13.

    CaseyL

    January 22, 2010 at 10:44 pm

    Yeah, I remember finding Caprica very confusing the first time I saw it.

    What the General said, basically: Eric Stolz’ daughter is a freaking genius who creates a virtual self in a virtual world using software she invented. The first scene is the real her entering the virtual world – a nightclub of total depravity – to watch the virtual her, only you don’t know it’s a virtual world until the scene ends.

    Hope that helps :)

  14. 14.

    jeffreyw

    January 22, 2010 at 10:44 pm

    Recording Caprica, playing laser tag with the kitteh boy. It’s the very definition of good fun. Toby really, really gets into it.

  15. 15.

    General Winfield Stuck

    January 22, 2010 at 10:45 pm

    @Fern: I just dodged the needle. Was pre diabetic with A1C about a point above normal. Last visit after losing 20 pounds, now below norm by a little.

  16. 16.

    electricgrendel

    January 22, 2010 at 10:45 pm

    Caprica has nothing to do with Battlestar Galactica expect that Caprica is going to show the origin of the Cylons amongst other things.

  17. 17.

    Brian J

    January 22, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    At least you have a working TV. I have one in my bedroom that works, but the big new, HD one in the family room is attached to a cable box that isn’t working. A lot of my favorite channels aren’t available.

    Anyway, just in case there hasn’t been enough talk of health care these past few days, I’d like to ask a question: are people on the right, even those who aren’t hardcore about it, just living in a different world?

    I talk to my boss today after a couple of days of not seeing him. He’s probably best described as a right-leaning independent. We talk politics a lot, and even if we don’t agree on everything, we can usually discuss whatever want without it becoming too heated. He’s maintained while there are good things that are in the health care bill, there are/were bad things (like the public option) and that the public doesn’t understand it. For that reason, and others, he says they should start over and that both sides should come together and work on it. I told him that was nuts, because the Republicans don’t seem to have any interest in injecting any ideas into the debate. They either want to spout nonsense or refuse to participate entirely. I don’t see how starting over will change that.

    Am I wrong on this? I know this is a Democratic site, for the most part, so I don’t expect everyone here to have a keen understanding of the way the right thinks, but I don’t think I am wrong. Leaving aside the fact that there is hardly anything controversial left in the bill, I don’t see the Republicans doing an about face and suddenly deciding to work with Obama, especially after the results of last Tuesday. If anything, they will probably be more energized about defeating his agenda.

    I just don’t understand the mentality that goes into thinking like my boss. He’s not a dumb guy.

    Anyone else want to take a crack at it?

  18. 18.

    Max

    January 22, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    @Fern: I was diagnosed in June of LY. It’s a drag figuring out what to eat.

    My a1c was 14.4, and my glucose was 800. I was near coma.

    Thankfully, I responded well to Metformin, so I don’t have to take insulin shots.

  19. 19.

    El Cid

    January 22, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    I liked Caprica better than most BSG.

  20. 20.

    Annie

    January 22, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    I love my personal failings……….

    Annie +3

  21. 21.

    Comrade Kevin

    January 22, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    @Tim F.: Heh, the San Francisco Chronicle had a review of Spartacus today.

  22. 22.

    Fern

    January 22, 2010 at 10:57 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck: First A1C was 8.4, and I’m working hard at it – lost some weight, some changes in my diet, and I’m seeing some modest improvement in my morning glucose tests.

  23. 23.

    Fern

    January 22, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    @Max: Dear lord – that would be scary.

  24. 24.

    gbear

    January 22, 2010 at 10:58 pm

    This is what I did today. I drove up to Gooseberry Falls State Park for work, and Paul the park manager took a few of us on a tour of the frozen falls. It was beautiful.

    Earlier in the week someone was walking on the ice above the falls, lost their footing, fell down and wound up sliding face first over the edge of the falls. Thirty foot drop.They didn’t break any bones but they gashed their chin on the ice coming down. Ouch. You abslolutely needed ice cleats.

    And I didn’t read or listen to the news at all today. Not even going to go back to previous posts.

  25. 25.

    Lev

    January 22, 2010 at 10:59 pm

    It’s not surprising. Caprica originally was a pilot submitted to Sci-fi (I refuse to acknowledge the new spelling) that had nothing to do with BSG, but a few BSG elements were added in to further the franchise. They offer a few tie-ins at the end, but that’s it.

    I’ll probably follow it for a while, at least, because (1) Eric Stoltz is an excellent and tragically underrated actor, and (2) Patton Oswalt will be in it. Plus Paula Malcolmson and Polly Walker. Didn’t much care for Stoltz’s Zooey Deschanel-clone daughter, though.

  26. 26.

    Max

    January 22, 2010 at 11:00 pm

    @Annie: This statement resonates with me this evening.

    I just finished responding to an email from my brother who is in rehab and on Step 9 (amends). He was not making amends to me, but talking about the process and how draining it is.

    My advice to him was essentially while it’s important to own up to our shortcomings, it’s important to remember that it is those failings that define, in part, our humanity.

    Anyway, I appreciated your comment.

    Max +2 cups of coffee

  27. 27.

    gwangung

    January 22, 2010 at 11:02 pm

    Yawp.

    I’m still about 20 points above normal….in the pre-diabetes stage. I figure I need to drop a few pounds and knock off the sugar and late night pizzas.

  28. 28.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 22, 2010 at 11:05 pm

    My name’s AWS, and I’ve admitted previously on an internetblog that I suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts.

    I will not spoil this thread with my questions about cat bathing, nor will I make fun of anyone who sings for Haiti.

    So, now that that’s out of the way…

    Music recommendation: Chris Pureka – her myspace page. Especially check out “Swann Song” and “These Pages.”

    And a smudge pic.

    That is all. Smoke ’em if you got ’em.

    ETA: Am I the only one who feels like this week has just been way too long, and everyone’s nerves are frayed? I admit, I’ve avoided a lot of the rending of garments, but the vibe from the comments has been nasty – a lot. If I’ve contributed to that, I apologize.

  29. 29.

    Billy K

    January 22, 2010 at 11:05 pm

    Yes.

    SATSQ

  30. 30.

    gwangung

    January 22, 2010 at 11:06 pm

    @Lev:

    It’s not surprising. Caprica originally was a pilot submitted to Sci-fi (I refuse to acknowledge the new spelling) that had nothing to do with BSG, but a few BSG elements were added in to further the franchise. They offer a few tie-ins at the end, but that’s it.

    So, a parallel universe BSG?

  31. 31.

    Comrade Kevin

    January 22, 2010 at 11:08 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: Smudge is really growing! He’s a beauty.

  32. 32.

    Task Force Ripper

    January 22, 2010 at 11:09 pm

    @tootiredoftheright:

    It’s basically the miniseries that takes several episodes before the first cyclons come online. They could have you know done one backstory episode several episodes in that details the first part of the tradegy that lead to the first realization of the tech to make cylons.

    Whatever it is you are on? Back off of it.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    January 22, 2010 at 11:10 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: Wow, that’s a great picture of our Smudgie. Do kitties grow into their ears like puppies grow into their feet? Cause if they do, you are going to have one big girl.

  34. 34.

    preston

    January 22, 2010 at 11:11 pm

    It’s been raining a lot in L.A. lately, so I thought I’d submit some Ray LaMontagne. Recommended with a healthy side of bourbon.

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    January 22, 2010 at 11:16 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: Yes. This week has been long and hard and I have mostly had to tune out. Open threads here are about all I can handle.

    In fact, I have spent the past two days working on getting my information together for my taxes. You know it’s bad when that seems less bad than reading your favorite blogs and paying attention to politics. On the positive side, my taxes are done…

    Here’s a great kitty video I have watched several times this week.
    youtube.com/watch?v=8KswnjMa-MQ&feature=player_embedded

  36. 36.

    General Winfield Stuck

    January 22, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    @Max: Oh wow Max, I’m glad you caught it in time. My brother is type 1 juvenile and I have seen him many times in very rough shape, and watched him struggle mightily with it since childhood.

  37. 37.

    jacy

    January 22, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    It’ll pass. Everybody’s cranky and frayed. I’ve done my share of screaming incoherently at people at my house because they put an emtpy milk carton back in the fridge or some such other unforgivable transgression.

    This has been an absolutely shitty week for everybody, and even online families will snap if something hits them the wrong way.

    I’ve been trying to last few years to give those around me the same leeway that I wish for myself when I’m unhappy.

    In other words, forget about it and soldier on. :)

  38. 38.

    Mnemosyne

    January 22, 2010 at 11:18 pm

    I finally found a couple pictures of Annie, our middle cat, on my laptop.

    Here she is looking skeptical of the hairless monkeys, as she always is.

    Here she is trying to figure out what game Keaton is playing.

    You don’t really get a good sense of her size, but she’s a small cat, probably still around 6 or 7 pounds full-grown. She looks exactly like a classic Maine Coon, complete with the M on her forehead, only in miniature.

  39. 39.

    handy

    January 22, 2010 at 11:18 pm

    @Lev:

    Eric Stoltz is an excellent and tragically underrated actor

    Why yes…yes he is.

  40. 40.

    General Winfield Stuck

    January 22, 2010 at 11:19 pm

    @Fern: good deal, we will all have work at it, the weight thing especially, cause I do like to eat.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne

    January 22, 2010 at 11:26 pm

    If anyone here is not reading Laugh Out Loud Cats, you should be.

  42. 42.

    Demo Woman

    January 22, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    @Brian J: It’s the news..
    According to the news the stock market tanked this week because the President wanted to rein in the banks. Banks stocks fell because of that but most of the reaction was due to China tightening up on their banks because of inflation. Duh that’s where we are getting our loans. There is no hope unless we can educate our reporters and journalist. It’s a race to the bottom with Fox.

  43. 43.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 22, 2010 at 11:30 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Thanks for the laugh, mnemosyne. Especially this one.

  44. 44.

    Fern

    January 22, 2010 at 11:30 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck: Eat, but I also like to bake. I make the most wonderful bread.

  45. 45.

    Paul (Jvstin)

    January 22, 2010 at 11:32 pm

    @gbear my friends and I are planning to make that same trip to Gooseberry next weekend.

  46. 46.

    handy

    January 22, 2010 at 11:32 pm

    According to the news the stock market tanked this week because the President wanted to rein in the banks.

    Airheads, all of them.

  47. 47.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 22, 2010 at 11:32 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Cute cat. Amazing how big a cat can look without so much body mass and a lot of hair.

  48. 48.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 22, 2010 at 11:34 pm

    @Demo Woman:
    I mentioned this in a thread this morning, but I think a new slogan should be “more and better journalists.” And lest anyone say that journalists used to be so much better, no. there have always been airheads. We just didn’t know all their names.

  49. 49.

    WaterGirl

    January 22, 2010 at 11:34 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Annie is absolutely gorgeous! I didn’t see the M, but I guess I don’t know what I’m looking for. But I thought Maine Coons were really big cats. ??

  50. 50.

    Apsalar

    January 22, 2010 at 11:36 pm

    Caprica takes place about 50 years before BSG. Admiral Adama is Esai Morales’s son Willy Adams, and the military robots are clearly Cylons, but before they figured out how to make them intelligent, which is where the teenage girl comes into it. The two shows seem completely different, and other than finding out more about where Cylons came from, Caprica doesn’t really interest me.

  51. 51.

    goblue72

    January 22, 2010 at 11:37 pm

    Caprica is about what happens when you colonize a planet entirely with Beautiful People ™. Eventually, their own inflated sense of self-worth brought on by their perfect breasties and assies leads them down the inevitable path of thinking themselves gods and creating even more beautiful Barbie dolls in their own image. Who then go insane and destroy humanity, like Fembots with giant lazer beams in their boobies.

  52. 52.

    Mnemosyne

    January 22, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    He also wrote an “explanation” of where the cartoons came from, though I don’t think he tries to maintain it anymore.

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    January 22, 2010 at 11:39 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Okay, that picture confirms what I have been suspecting for a while–Smudge is a total camera whore! Dare I say it, a celebutante. For shame.

  54. 54.

    jnfr

    January 22, 2010 at 11:40 pm

    SPOILER!!!
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    Cylons are Zoe!!
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    /SPOILER

  55. 55.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 22, 2010 at 11:49 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Ah, that jogged the memory. I had read about that before. Just confirming Hunter Thompson’s theory that “The only reason Wolfe seems “new” is because William Randolph Hearst bent the spine of American journalism very badly when it was just getting started.”

    Which brings me to the most frightening HST quote of all, and so appropriate as a denouement to this week:

    In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile—and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: Not necessarily to Win, but mainly to keep from Losing Completely. We owe that to ourselves and our crippled self-image as something better than a nation of panicked sheep…but we owe it especially to our children, who will have to live with our loss and all its long-term consequences. I don’t want my son asking me, in 1984, why his friends are calling me a “Good German.”

    Take out the word 1984 and shudder.

  56. 56.

    Mnemosyne

    January 22, 2010 at 11:50 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    But I thought Maine Coons were really big cats. ??

    They are, and they also come in a wide variety of colors. (We’re pretty sure Keaton is part Maine Coon and he’s a tuxedo cat.) That’s why we call Annie our midget Maine Coon. Here’s a picture of a classic one from a breeder’s website.

    Annie has the markings, but Keaton has the characteristics, especially the tiny meow. Whenever I take him to the vet, people are always convinced I have a kitten in the box until they take a look at our 13-pound bruiser. One of his many names is “Mr. Meeps” because of his small meow.

  57. 57.

    SIA

    January 22, 2010 at 11:52 pm

    @Max: Good for your brother, and that is so great he can talk to you. I’m a recovering drunk myself and the step work can be exhausting and overwhelming. Wish him the best.

  58. 58.

    PTirebiter

    January 22, 2010 at 11:53 pm

    Am I the only one who feels like this week has just been way too long,

    Either that or way too short. We needed Monday to be long enough to find a replacement for Coakley.

  59. 59.

    Morbo

    January 22, 2010 at 11:53 pm

    Man, I get obsessed with songs, and then I go on a tear listening to them. Usually sharing makes it go away thought, so: Therion – In remembrance (Yes, it’s metal, as usual).

    @Demo Woman: And NPR joined the race today… sigh.

  60. 60.

    SIA

    January 22, 2010 at 11:56 pm

    @Mnemosyne: What a beauty.

  61. 61.

    Max

    January 22, 2010 at 11:57 pm

    @SIA: Thanks. I’m proud of him. I had a drug problem in my early twenties and got clean step-less. The steps were too “higher power” for me. I can still drink, etc. with no problems, speed was my thing. I’m lucky, I never relapsed and its been like 13 years.

    The struggle is greater with him and I’m glad the steps are helping.

  62. 62.

    Comrade Kevin

    January 22, 2010 at 11:57 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I have Maine Coon too, and he is a good example of the variety of colors they can have. He is, on the other hand, very small for a Maine Coon; he only weighs about 11 pounds.

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    January 23, 2010 at 12:00 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    One of his many names is “Mr. Meeps” because of his small meow.

    What a great nickname! Thanks for all the info.

  64. 64.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2010 at 12:02 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    Here’s a picture of a Maine Coon with the M, though apparently it’s more of a tabby thing (as in, tabbies of any breed can have it).

  65. 65.

    Seanly

    January 23, 2010 at 12:04 am

    It’s related to BSG in the same way that Star Trek: TNG is related to Enterprise – a few loose threads. I think it’s supposed to take place before the original Cylons are even invented. I didn’t like the ads and haven’t watched it.

  66. 66.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 23, 2010 at 12:06 am

    @Comrade Kevin: Okay, since everyone’s talking breeds, anyone have an idea of what Smudge is? Obviously, being a shelter cat, she’s likely a mix, but any thoughts of what that mix is? I have no idea from cat breeds. I think she looks sort of Turkish Angora like, but I’m not skilled at this.

  67. 67.

    SIA

    January 23, 2010 at 12:08 am

    @Max: Yes, we all get to get where we’re going our own way. As it should be. I definitely would have avoided the steps etc if I had another way, but that was pretty much the end of the line for me.

  68. 68.

    SIA

    January 23, 2010 at 12:10 am

    @arguingwithsignposts: I just always assumed she had some – a lot – of Siamese. She is so lovely.

  69. 69.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2010 at 12:11 am

    @Comrade Kevin:

    Here’s Keaton — we, too, have a weakness for tuxedo cats. :-)

  70. 70.

    Demo Woman

    January 23, 2010 at 12:14 am

    @Morbo: That darn liberal media.. What can I say..

  71. 71.

    Morbo

    January 23, 2010 at 12:14 am

    @Mnemosyne: One of our cats had that; he was a Maine Coon/Siamese mix. Best. Cat. Ever.

  72. 72.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 23, 2010 at 12:14 am

    @SIA: I guess I see that, but look at the ears on the cat in the lower picture on the turkish link. and the longer hair. i couldn’t see anything else that fit as well. The smudge makes it a little more convoluted, obviously.

  73. 73.

    SIA

    January 23, 2010 at 12:17 am

    @arguingwithsignposts

    Elegant, finely-boned creatures

    That certainly describes her – elegant was the word I used to describe her in the other thread. And it does explain the fabulous ears.

  74. 74.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2010 at 12:17 am

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Is she more fuzzy or sleek? Keaton and Annie are both fuzzy (Annie especially) but Charlotte is sleek. We have no idea what breed Charlotte is, but we’re guessing plain ol’ Domestic Shorthair (as in, no breed at all).

  75. 75.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2010 at 12:22 am

    @SIA:

    Oh, she knows she’s pretty. That’s why she tries to get away with things like stealing skeins of yarn that are bigger than she is.

    It’s not a great shot, but it’s the best one I could get once she spotted me with the camera and dropped the yarn. For any other knitters/crocheters out there, that’s a skein of Cascade Eco+, so it’s pretty big to begin with.

  76. 76.

    Brian J

    January 23, 2010 at 12:32 am

    @Demo Woman:

    Maybe you’re right.

  77. 77.

    JGabriel

    January 23, 2010 at 12:32 am

    JGabriel’s Corollary To Godwin’s Law: Any sufficiently long thread that does not devolve into Hitler/Nazi references will instead devolve into a thread about cats.

    .

  78. 78.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 23, 2010 at 12:33 am

    @Seanly:

    Actually Caprica will pretty much have the cylons come in the last part of the miniseries and be about human family drama instead of showing the creation and actions that lead to the Cylons revolting.

    Pretty much it is Moore screwing around with the mysticism and goobleygook that lead people to think the people from Battlestar Galatica were our descendants many generations in the future instead of the ass ripping illogical intelligent design plot that was what we wound up with. Moore is just cutting out 90% of the good stuff. I expect Caprica to be severly disapointing and everything that has been said so far about the plot backs me up in that respect.

  79. 79.

    CaseyL

    January 23, 2010 at 12:58 am

    Re: Caprica. jnfr is correct: we are apparently to believe that the robotic Cylon consciousness is based on an angst-ridden simulacrum/avatar of an spiritually conflicted, absolutely brilliant, adolescent girl. However, where that’s supposed to fit in with the Final Five and the 8 skinjob Cylon models they created thousands of years previously on Kobol – I have no idea.

    None of the actors who played the Final Five on BSG seem to be cast in Caprica – unless they’ll show up in later episodes, perhaps partnering up with Eric Stolz as he keeps trying to either perfect the Centurion or restore Zoe’s simulacrum.

    Failing that, though, I don’t see how these new Centurion Cylons created by Zoe and her dad relate to the ancient Centurion Cylons created by the Final Five in a previous cycle. Nor am I sure I can believe that the new Centurions can evolve into the 8 models of skinjob that secretly infiltrate human society and ultimately bring down human civilization within the 50 years between “Caprica” and “BSG” – at least, not without the Final Five hurrying things along. Which is mind-boggling in view of the whole One v. Final Five thing.

    In short, the continuity bothers me a lot.

  80. 80.

    Big E

    January 23, 2010 at 1:02 am

    re: Caprica

    Frankenstein and how religion screws everything up

    good thing no one has ever written about that before

  81. 81.

    Anne Laurie

    January 23, 2010 at 1:43 am

    @Mnemosyne: We live with Annie’s twin, our seven-pound Demon Kishkan. According to the classic Maine Coon texts, the breed “identifiers” are tufts at the tip of their ears, snowshoe paws heavily furred between the pads, and a ‘slab-sided’ rectangular build with a prominent lion ruff and heavily furred (squirrel) tail. The modern Coons are indeed big heavy cats — show specimens have gotten much heavier in just the last 20 years — but it’s not like we were breeding them for meat, or to pull sleds!

    Here in New England, every shelter has a selection of “Maine Coon type” or “mix” cats, most of them in the six-to-ten pound range. Of course that just means that cats are a lot less genetically plastic than dogs, and the MC-type gene set (rectangular build, tufted ears, snowshoes, ruff-&-tail, and not least the distinctive piratical Maine PERSONALITY) is as well-adapted for New England as the Siamese/Oriental type is to Southeast Asia.

  82. 82.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2010 at 1:52 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    tufts at the tip of their ears

    Check.

    snowshoe paws heavily furred between the pads

    Check.

    a ‘slab-sided’ rectangular build with a prominent lion ruff and heavily furred (squirrel) tail

    Check.

    I think we’ve got ourselves a couple of Maine Coons here, even if one is a midget. It’s funny that their ancestors made it all the way to sunny California, though.

  83. 83.

    Anne Laurie

    January 23, 2010 at 2:09 am

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Okay, since everyone’s talking breeds, anyone have an idea of what Smudge is?

    I have not looked at the registry descriptions for some years, but if you had to describe Smudge for the record, I believe the proper wording would be “Oriental (type) bicolor, white with minimal blue (i.e., grey) spotting.” Oriental cats (basically, Siamese types in any coat color other than the Siamese pattern) are long-limbed, fineboned cats with triangular heads, big bat ears, and little or no wooly undercoat (which is why, I’m guessing, Smudge’s pink skin in the strip between her eyes & ears shows up so nicely in her photos). There are also “Oriental Longhairs“, which seem to be called all sorts of names (pun intended), but if Smudge is going to develop a full squirrel-tail and ruff she may not do so until she’s two or three years old. Something for you to look forward to…

    (P.S. When the Wiki page says “All Oriental Longhairs have green eyes except for blue-eyed whites” that just means that Smudge’s gorgeous golden orbs are considered a less-than-perfect (dilute) shade of green. All pet-breeding people are a little OCD, and few more so than cat breeders.)

  84. 84.

    Anne Laurie

    January 23, 2010 at 2:18 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    I think we’ve got ourselves a couple of Maine Coons here, even if one is a midget. It’s funny that their ancestors made it all the way to sunny California, though.

    They have attractive personalities as well as being damned good-looking. Anthropologists have used polydactal cat populations to track historical (human) shipping corridors, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Bahston goldseekers brought their Maine Coons along with them!

  85. 85.

    ruemara

    January 23, 2010 at 2:45 am

    @Max:

    Sweet Goddess, NOOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOooooooooo!

    Bloody Fox, stay the hell away from Torchwood.

  86. 86.

    Sleeper

    January 23, 2010 at 3:22 am

    To be honest, the finale for BSG sucked so bad that it permanently put me off the series. I was one of the apologists who liked the show, despite some dragging story arcs that went nowhere and bizarre character developments, and I stayed true to it through thick and thin…right up until about halfway through the finale. Then it destroyed itself for all time with one of the worst cop-out bullshit endings in television history.

    Christ. Just remembering that pisses me off again. Almost as bad as THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS.

  87. 87.

    MikeJ

    January 23, 2010 at 3:35 am

    What’s that geetar Beck’s playing? He’s the only one that’s not playing a Les Paul. Is it a Vox?

  88. 88.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 23, 2010 at 3:42 am

    @Mnemosyne: Awwww, Annie is a complete doll-baby, and Keaton is so handsome!

    @Comrade Kevin: Your cat is handsome, too!

    @arguingwithsignposts: And, of course, the beautiful Miss Smudgey! I am with you on this being a long and nasty week. I have stayed out of the fray, mostly because my own temper has been short (not that it’s ever long).

    And, obligatory TUNCH! I make no apologies for being a cat person.

  89. 89.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 23, 2010 at 3:45 am

    @gbear: Ok, that is my kind of park. How far from the cities is it?

  90. 90.

    Blue Raven

    January 23, 2010 at 3:55 am

    The continuity timing for Caprica vis-a-vis BSG does bug me. 54 years? WTF? And that virtual world? It’s an excuse for showing skin that gets even more blatant in the DVD. How you get from toaster to “we can interbreed and have our own complex theology at odds with that of our creators” in that short a time does not sound explainable.

    I always felt rather sure that BSG was our distant past by their reckoning, though, even after the new version stripped every last ounce of Mormonism out of the old one they could find.

    Personal peeve about BSG aside from the “we are descended from the Galactica” ending? Their handling of polytheism sucked ass. Starbuck would not have called the Cylons’ deity “God”,” it would’ve been “their god.” Pluralizing “god” in “goddamn” only makes sense if sin exists and all of the gods can damn you to hell. If there’s a god that sends humans to perdition in BSG, it’d be one god’s job, not the pantheon’s. And I could continue. One good talk with Margot Adler, and they would’ve cleared all that crap right up.

  91. 91.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 23, 2010 at 8:08 am

    @Sleeper:

    “Almost as bad as THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS.”

    Well consider the idea that the Zion and the real world are actually another layer of the Matrix and that none of those people if they are really humans and not just programs ever actually escaped. They just thought they had and due to less amount of program variables no one there noticed glitches like they did in the more populated Matrix. When the faux real world got populated enough presumbly glitches would start to occur hence why the Neo would appear to start a revolution that would then be crushed with the surviving humans waiting for The One to appear again in a century or two. Neo was an agent program who thought he was human yet was working on behalf of The Matrix.

    There are hints as to the above theory throughout the movie especially in number two where the designer of The Matrix appears. On the background footage are scenes from where Neo was in the real world. Unless this is a filmmakers goof it is a huge hint that the real world is just another layer of The Matrix like the subway station was.

  92. 92.

    Mum

    January 23, 2010 at 8:45 am

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Beautiful elegant cat. However . . . Smudge? Were you being ironic? When I read the name I thought “Why didn’t I think of such a witty name for one of the two black cats I adopted?” (They’re Max and Roxy.)

  93. 93.

    RedKitten

    January 23, 2010 at 10:25 am

    I’m reserving judgment on Caprica. Like CaseyL said, there are some continuity issues that are going to be damn tricky to reconcile. I’ll give it a fair shot, but I wasn’t blown away like I was by the BSG premiere.

  94. 94.

    Rainy

    January 23, 2010 at 10:45 am

    I thought the Caprica pilot was one of the best I’d seen in a long time. At first, I thought they turned the BSG mythology into some teenybopper thing but then as it went on I started to get what was going on. They really put a lot of thought into how to connect the characters to the creation of the Cylons.

  95. 95.

    Xanthippas

    January 23, 2010 at 11:20 am

    90 minutes in, I have no clue wtf Caprica has to do with BSG. Is this a personal failing?

    Hopefully this is a realization by the show’s makers that if Caprica is to be any good, it should have as little as possible to do with the BSG.

  96. 96.

    gbear

    January 23, 2010 at 11:27 am

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Sorry I’m very late with this reply.

    Gooseberry Falls State Park is about 10 minutes past Two Harbors on the north shore of Lake Superior. It takes about 3.5 hours to drive there when the weather is good (or 3 hours if you have a lead foot and never stop).

    @Mnemosyne:

    That’s why we call Annie our midget Maine Coon

    So Annie is your Mini ME?

  97. 97.

    gbear

    January 23, 2010 at 11:38 am

    @Paul (Jvstin):

    Paul, if you’re going to do that, make sure you bring some ice cleats. Walking around the falls is incredibly dangerous without them, but it’s not bad if you have them. At any rate, be very careful.

  98. 98.

    kindness

    January 23, 2010 at 11:54 am

    OK, so I think Caprica has better writing than any of the SyFy creations of late (ie-Sanctuary, Stargate Universe). And yea I know they are building the characters but really it is too much soap opera and not enough scifi yet.

    A show where the DVR comes in handy.

  99. 99.

    arguingwithsignposts

    January 23, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    thanks for all the replies. So most agree she’s siamese. very interesting. I love her regardless of her breed. she seems very sleek to me.

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    January 23, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: I don’t know cat breeds, so I am likely wrong, but I thought she looked like this one: cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/turkish-angora.html

  101. 101.

    Mnemosyne

    January 23, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    One way to tell if she’s part Siamese – they’re notorious talkers. If she meows at you a lot (and especially if she walks around the house “talking” to herself) she’s probably part Siamese.

    My late great kitty Boris was part Russian Blue and part Persian, but we could tell he had some Siamese, too, because he was very chatty and had a positively operatic meow when he wanted. Charlotte is pretty chatty, too, so she’s probably got at least a little Siamese in her.

  102. 102.

    BJ Bjornson

    January 23, 2010 at 1:56 pm

    I’m not sure where your guys problems with the BSG continuity comes from. It was made clear that the “Final Five” travelled from the old Earth to the colonies in an attempt to stop their creation of artificial intelligence, but arrived too late to discover the cylons already in revolt. They then made a deal with the cylons to show them how to make proper skinjobs and resurrection technology in return for them leaving the humans alone, which worked until One/Cavil overthrew them, wiped their memories, and tossed them back into the colonies believing they were human.

    From the Caprica pilot, we know now that the monotheistic faith of the cylons was actually a human heresy they picked up from the Graystone daughter’s avatar, and given she also would seem likely to lead the cylon revolt, some idea of why the mechanoid cylons would think trading skinjob technology for peace a decent trade.

  103. 103.

    JScott

    January 23, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    So far, I pick up two points in Caprica that connect to BSG. The Centurions’ fundamental commitment to monotheism and the Cylons’ vivid internal reality.

  104. 104.

    Sleeper

    January 23, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    @tootiredoftheright:

    That was what the second movie was hinting at. And then the fucking abysmal third movie threw all of that out the window.

    How could Neo affect things in the real world the same as he could in the Matrix? Oh, he can just do that now. That was, literally, their explanation.

    FUCK that movie was terrible.

  105. 105.

    tootiredoftheright

    January 23, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    @Sleeper:

    Well like I said they fubared the idea that Zion was another part of The Matrix but they still dropped hints of it in the second and third movie. Honestly it does make sense that the Matrix would be several matrixes if it was designed well. Throws the idea that the machines are keeping humans as batteries out the window as well since that is what the matrix presents to the humans instead of the real truth.

    Basically any good ideas in The Matrix came from the Ghost in the Shell anime and manga series so watch especially the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. Blows most anything Americans have done in sci if on tv in the past five or nine years.

  106. 106.

    Aaron Baker

    January 23, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Somehow, I figured out that Esai Morales was Adama’s father about five minutes in. So what was your problem, Balloon-Juice guy?

  107. 107.

    Steeplejack

    January 23, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    My late great kitty Boris was part Russian Blue and part Persian, but we could tell he had some Siamese, too, because he was very chatty and had a positively operatic meow when he wanted.

    Russian blues are very talkative in their own right. I’ve had several.

  108. 108.

    dagon

    January 23, 2010 at 9:24 pm

    @tootiredoftheright

    Dude, you are my huckleberry!

    I have been trying to explain the various intricacies of the Matrix series ever since the series wrapped and most of my friends went “whaa”.

    I fully understand that the Wachovski’s perhaps did not go far enough into fleshing these themes out for a mainstream audience but you immerse yourself in enough seminal cyberbunk, the themes become clearer.

    I’m not trying to sound like some sort of brainiac know it all; I fully understand the objections to the last 2 films but I suggest anyone interested go check out Neuromancer (the granddaddy), Snow Crash and hells yes, muthafucking Ghost in the Shell!!! Get ALL of GITS, the two features and especially the excellent Stand Alone Complex. You can stream it on Netflix.

    These sources are what made me really enjoy the Matrix series and bode well for my enjoyment of Caprica, which imo looks very promising.

    peace

  109. 109.

    Mnemosyne

    January 24, 2010 at 3:21 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I did not know that. He didn’t have much of a Siamese look, so you’re probably right. Definitely a lot of Persian — he shed like nobody’s business. We took him to the groomer one time to get him professionally Furbusted and she eventually had to give up because the fur just kept coming.

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