Thank You Leonard Nimoy

Artistic individuals are born with a need to express their point of view through the process of creation. And depending on the genius of that person, a work becomes synonymous with their name and legacy. This is the case with Leonard Nimoy.

Yes, I'm a Trekker, a card carrying diehard fan of the series that began on television and exploded on the big screen.  Mr Spock, the logical, pointy-eared First Officer of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, got me hooked. 

Thanks to Leonard Nimoy, the iconic actor whose talent put life into the green blooded half Vulcan/half human character, Spock became an icon. Years after Star Trek: TOS went off the air, Spock's gestures remained part of lore. There was the raised eyebrow that communicated enough disdain to confound Queen Victoria. There was the single, cryptic "Fascinating!" uttered at moments of scandal, of nonsense, of drama. And there were the rare, but hilarious, moments in which the deeply nonsensical humor that was inside Spock shone through brilliantly.

All these were Nimoy's gift as an artist, such a large gift that the actor became synonymous with the character, something that plagued Nimoy throughout his life. Ultimately, he made peace with that. "But given the choice, if I had to be someone else, I would be Spock," said Nimoy. 

Thank you, Leonard Nimoy, for giving life to that character on behalf of your fans. We realize that as an artist you struggled with being typecast, and we thank you for embracing that struggle on our behalf. We all realize that your gift was far wider in scope than the character Spock, and we thank you for that as well.

And while you lived to a robust human age, we wish your alter-ego Vulcan side had prevailed so you could have lived even longer, and prospered even more.

Amen, and "Dif tor heh smusma." 

Fifty Shades of (Stupid) Grey is Abuse

For the last month we've been seeing promotional trailers for the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. In case you've been living under a rock, it's based on a "trilogy" of books in which a naive and malleable Anastasia Steele is besotted by Christian Grey, rich, handsome, and seriously into domination.

Hardly a rom-com, the film's release on Valentine's Day weekend, a commercialization of love at its worst, is very curious. Or perhaps it's a brilliant marketing ploy. Whatever.

The point: most of the plot involves Anastasia's loss of "innocence" as she gets to know Christian. The guy has some serious issues with respect to women -- and his method of showing "love" to them is not at all romantic. Domination involves the subjugation of one individual to another. Christian has a whole room in his mansion devoted to just that concept. And he intends to dominate Anastasia in more ways than one, some potentially painful.

If Christian Grey was toothless and had sallow skin, if he were not rich, if he did not have a helicopter and a gazillion dollars, would his antics be less acceptable? Probably in too many cases. And completely flabbergasting that supposedly savvy women don't see through that.

In a day and age in which women like Malala Yousafzai endure being shot in order to get an education, where rebels are selling young girls into slavery and others are physically mutilated -- it's incredible to think that women in a supposedly enlightened country like the United States are willing to read and watch such drivel.

Amen, and pass on abuse.

I'VE HAD IT WITH FLAKES (SNOW AND HUMAN)

Yeah, winter. Yeah, you all know I loathe it. All of it, the snow, the slush, the glop. I made an attempt at cross country skiing some years back and it made the whole thing quasi-tolerable.

But at this juncture, enough. I'm tired of shoveling, sliding and scraping off windshields.

I've especially had it with FLAKES.  And I just don't mean snow.

View from inside my car. By Ana Cabrera 

Some people turn into FLAKES during wintry weather, most notably some SUV drivers who tear up the roads under some mistaken notion that their vehicle can "handle it." Well, surprise, Mr or Ms SUV Driver/Flake, you are fishtailing up the road. You mean to tell me you can't feel that?

I'm always amused at the number of bangs and dings that most of these SUVs have on their front and rear ends. Watching their attempts at parallel parking is horrifying and amusing at the same time.

Dude or Dudette, the evidence is right on your car. Doubly true if you wear a hat, and we all know what types of hats I'm talking about. If I have to explain it to you, you probably wear one.

Learn to drive/park or get off the road. Don't get on the highway unless you know what you are doing, and for crying out loud when there are blizzard conditions get used to the notion that you have to drive more slowly because your car just might not stop in time.

So have I made myself clear, or are you still going to act like a FLAKE next time the flakes are out?

Amen, and pass me a one way ticket to the tropics, please