I happened to catch an older episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG) this afternoon. While a huge fan during it’s run back in the late 80s, early 90s, I have since grown to dislike much of what Star Trek has become, particularly the later TV series and the films. But today’s episode reminded how much I loved the show; the writing, acting and story were great.

The episode in question is “The Drumhead” which told the story of an admiral so preoccupied with preserving the Federation, that she was willing to sacrifice the liberty and freedom of anyone to protect it. It is a theme I found startling poignant considering the times in which we live. There is a quote late in the episode I eagerly awaited to jot down, since it has stuck in my memory these many years:

“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably… The first time any man’s freedom is trodden on, we are all damaged.” — Captain Picard

I feel the quote speaks for itself.

On a lighter note, while this old Trekker is feeling a little nostalgic, let me recommend some of the my favorite episodes from ST:TNG, as no show on television was better when it was at the top of its game:

The Measure of a Man (Season 2)
Yesterday’s Enterprise (Season 3)
Best of Both Worlds 1 & 2 (Season 3 & 4)
Family (Season 4)
The Drumhead (Season 4)
The Inner Light (Season 5)

That is all, and thanks for humoring this old geek one more time.

As many of you know I have been pursuing with limited success a career in film and video. My friend/partner Mark and I, and a talented crew of friends and coworkers, won the Best Video Award for Razzle Dazzle, the most recent video we produced for Bank of the West. We also recently finished a special edition DVD of Razzle Dazzle that many of you will soon have in hand. While it is well known that I am rarely pleased with my own work, (a constant struggle against my inner critic), I am relatively pleased with how everything turned out and feel comfortable sharing it with the world.

Now with the bulk of this project behind us, we are eager to start our next venture: a short horror film we hope to enter into film festivals later this year. Today we took a giant and exciting step forward in that direction as we scouted the probable location of the film: a vacant shopping mall slated for demolition later this year. We are hopeful that this mall will serve as the backdrop for our own Halloween or Friday the 13th (when shooting for the moon, always plan to leave a huge gaping hole). The short visit inspired us, and gelled a number of the ideas we had talked about.

I am determined not to let our “film” equipment rust in the garage another year, waiting for the next Bank of the West video. This will be our first completely independent project, and produced under the banner Elma Films (derived from the first two letters of each of our names, Elvis and Mark). But many details remain, including the writing and polishing of a script, casting, crewing the shoot, securing the location and all the preproduction that goes into putting it all on screen.

I hope to document much of it here, giving you some taste of how it all comes together. And if any of you are interested in participating, please let me know. It will be a bumpy but amazing ride.

Well the interview was a 4 hour affair, but I believe I did well… even on the test. I also discovered I was the number one candidate.. but there are still 2-3 other applicants in the hunt. Apparently there was another applicant, already interviewed, who was the leading candidate, but with a poor attitude. I am supposed to hear back late Friday or early Monday. It seems like a great place to work.. and the benifits are endless.

I am hopeful. More later.

It hit the newswires today that Eminem is suing Apple Computer over the use of his song “Lose Yourself” in an iTunes/iPod commercial last year. Assuming he has a leg to stand on, does this mean Ricky Martin can sue William Hung of American Idol fame?

Here’s hoping Apple pays Eminem 99 cents and moves on.