Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Face/Off a reality!

I'll admit I thought this was pretty incredible when I read it: Apparently some French (they might actually be good for somthing) surgeons were watching the John Woo film Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicholas Cage the other night and one said to the other "Hey mon ami we shurd tryy do dis for ray-al wee?"

And they did. Amazingly they perfomed the worlds first Face Transplant. One of the patients was dead before they started though. They couldn't be expected to be as good as the surgeons in Face/Off (they are only French after all), read about it here.

I can see this being marketed soon enough however and soon we'll be able to buy the face of our celebrity heroes. Me: I've got dibs on Connery!

Monday, November 28, 2005

Kid kisses his girlfriend to DEATH!!!

And you think all you have to worry about is STDs these days.

In Canada, a teenager with a nut allergy has died after kissing her boyfriend hours after he had eaten a peanut butter sandwich.

Doctors said traces of peanuts may have been on her partners teeth, tongue or lips.

Poor fucker. It'll haunt him for the rest of his days. He'll probably top himself.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Code Reds: A no-no in US but all the rage in UK!

The true 'hard men' of Great Britian are not the two bald blokes on Eastenders but the Royal Marines, British counterparts of my beloved corps.

Now, while the corps no longer recruits crybabies and whiners, it seens that a more stringent interviewing system should be applied to the Royal Marines to weed out these type of people from being recruited. The Marines should be allowed to practice this kind of training at their leisure with out MOD interference- we live in a time where this is necessary!

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Mr. Miyagi passes on.

Everyone's favourite little oriental fella and sensai, Noriuki "Pat" Morita has died of natural causes at his Las Vegas home, aged 73. The actor and comedian, whose portrayal of Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 movie The Karate Kid earned him an Oscar nomination.

I believe the wisdom of Mr. Miyagi is second only to Yoda.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

2IGTV Episode 9

The ninth episode of 2IGTV is now available. This episode was recorded in the more relaxed atmosphere of my quarters as opposed to the clinical studio where we've previously Podcasted from. So if you want to know about the XBOX360, William Shatner's latest Ebay sale or the Terminator TV series then go here.

Braga; now you can crawl back into your hole!

Brannon Braga's sci-fi show Threshold has been cancelled by CBS. I'm absolutely delighted. I wanted him to fail so badly- now I got my wish. Apparently the ratings for Braga's show were even worse after they changed it from Friday to Tuesday and that was the nail in the coffin for the network.

Braga, you murdered a good friend of mine (Star Trek), now you've no supporters, fans or even a show, you can fuck off now! Why not release your wasted life energy into the cosmic pool where it can be used by someone with more to offer the world.

With the news that he would not be continuing as a Star Trek producer and that his partner in crime Rick Berman would also be leaving Trek behind him after the next movie, this is turning out to be a very good week indeed.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Wrecks Review

I was TWELVE FEET from Ed Harris!

I fulfilled an ambition this evening, I saw my 2nd favourite actor of all time: Ed Harris, in the flesh.

Ed was performing a preview of the world premiere of "Wrecks" in the Everyman Palace Theatre here in Cork. Written by Neil Labute whom I honestly never heard of until 4 hours ago, Ed carries the drama all by himself, no mean feat. The 54-year-old actor plays Eddie Carr, a man whose wife has just died and who is reminiscing alone about their life together, and their unique love for each other, while family and friends mourn in the next room.

I can honestly say I've never been more impressed by anything I've seen on stage, not that I'm there every week, but I wasn't sure a one-man play (even with Ed) would grab my attention like this did. There was times I could almost believe that I was there with this man in the funeral home listening to him tell me about his life and the life of his wife. So much so that I was completely unprepared for the ending.

I emerged from the theatre almost speechless and I will never forget the powerful performance and well written drama that unfolded before me tonight. Both Labute and Harris deserve the highest of praises for Wrecks which continues from tonight until Dec 3rd. Go here.

50 Cent's marketing ploy!

While I could never listen to his "music", I do have some admiration for someone who's been shot more times than I have! The Rapping artist known as 50 Cent has released a bloodthirsty and extremely violent video game "50 Cent: Bulletproof" which has been given the M for 'Mature' (Over 17) rating in the US (and will most likely be attributed an 18+ here) for blood, gore and sexual themes.


Mr. Cent wants parents to buy it and use it as a teaching tool. I'm not joking!

Monday, November 21, 2005

Teen shags dummy!

Sometimes while reading the news I see a strange headline and have to read it again before realising that my filthy male mind manifested somthing completly different there and it's actually harmless (Unless you're reading The Sun in which the editors are paid to create innuendo with every headline). This time however what I read was real.

Night Vision Goggles for Potter Police

"Why the hell is the Colonel referencing Harry Potter tonight?" I hear you ask. Well, while I can safely say that I was thouroughly un-entertained by the Potter movies I have seen and I'm about as motovated to going to see the fourth installment as I am about going to a Greenpeace rally.

What I do want to say is that I'm most impressed with the Intense efforts by 20th Century Fox to prevent bootleggers from camcording Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Apparently they distributed thousands of night-vision goggles to theater staffs throughout the world and promised rewards to any employee catching a moviegoer in the act of camcording the movie.

Hang on a sec: NIGHT VISION GOGGLES!!!!! How fucking cool is that????! I want some Night Vision Goggles too godammit!!!!. Not that I want to give anyone any ideas for Christmas presents or anything....

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Lucas spells death-knell for DVD

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the great George Lucas has said that DVD will be replaced with Pay-Per-View.

"It's the way kids do it today. It's how you do it on your iPod: They just download it. You pay 99 cents for music, and movies will be like two bucks. That will definitely change the economics of the business because (studios) are losing money now."

I'd better get my DVD collection packed up to sell now. Anyone want some?

The Prisoner

Sky One is believed to be planning a new show based on The Prisoner a cult series that ran for 17 episodes on ITV in 1967, which starred Patrick McGoohan (left) as a former secret agent trapped in an isolated town.

The show will not take place in the famous "Village" setting of the original—shot in north Wales but it is understood the themes of paranoia, conspiracy and identity crisis will remain.

The executive-producer of the show for Granada said the new series would take "liberties with the original" and would not retain its arty feel. It's reported that Bill Gallagher, the writer of the BBC's crime drama Conviction, is reported to be writing the new version.

I'M BACK

Miss me? I was away for a few days of meditation before the Christmas rush, to re-energise myself. It's all go now!

Congratulations to the unknown Canadian who was visitor number 1000 a few days ago!

Sunday, November 13, 2005

More facinating statistics

Someone mentioned last week that I didn't publish any visitor infomation to "The Colonel's Eagle" for last week. This is basically because I didn't intend it to be a regular feature, but here it goes for this weeks visitors.

As you can see there's been some hits from such far off lands as Finland, Qatar, Singapore, Korea (South) and several hits from a number of South American countries.

Sith Apologist demanded browser details, as he "did his bit" for Firefox. I think he certainy did as Firefox has risen from 5% to 28.57% of the type of browser that people used to access this site last week. Various incarnations of IE still naturally have the lions share at 63.26% the remainder is divided between Netscape and Safari. Mozilla and Opera have vanished.

And yes, the US Military visits here have increased...

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Joes remember their own on Veterans Day!

The members of Counter Terrorist Group Delta known to most as G.I.Joe: America's daring highly trained special mission force, held their own Veterans Day ceremony at noon yesterday. Presiding over the ceremony was Brigadier General J. Flagg, son of the original G.I.Joe commanding general who lost his life to the evil arms-dealer Destro during a battle in Washington in 1983.

The flag was raised and saluted to remember all the Joes who had fallen in battle with Cobra: A ruthless terrorist organisation determined to rule the world.
(Picture shows left to right:- Chief Warrant Officer 4 Edward W. "Torpedo" Leialoha representing the US Navy, Major Brad J. "Ace" Armbruster of the USAF, Gunnery Sergeant Wendell A. "Leatherneck" Metzger, USMC, First Sergeant Conrad S. "Duke" Hauser representing the US Army, Lieutenant General Clayton M. "Hawk" Abernathy (sitting) US Army, former Commanding Officer of G.I.Joe who was paralysed recently when shot in the back by Cobra Commander, General Joseph B. "G.I.Joe" Colton US Army, Commanding Officer G.I.Joe and Brigadier General James Longstreet Flagg III, US Army, son of the original G.I.Joe commanding general- B.Gen. Lawrence Flagg, who was KIA battling Cobra over 20 years ago. Flag held by Sergeant Major Ettienne R. "Gung-Ho" Lafitte, USMC)

The memorial speech for fallen Joes was given by Colonel "Whopper" Creedon who himself once served as the MOUT Operations Commander for the G.I.Joe team. While Col.Creedon's speech was far too long to reprint here, he did make special mention of the Joes who had recently fallen in battle:

"We must never forget the sacrifices given by our comrades who laid down their lives so that we can continue to enjoy our freedom in a democratic and just society. Since the Global War On Terror began; 8 more brave and courageous men and women from our armed forces who united under our common goal to rid the world of tyranny, terrorism and oppression sadly lost their lives.

Corporal Wilmer S. "Hardball" Duggleby, US Army Infantry
Sergeant First Class Allison R. "Lady Jaye" Faireborn, US Army Intelligence
Petty Officer Second Class Dwane A. "Rampart" Felix, US Navy Coastal Defence
Sergeant Anthony S. "Flash" Gambello, US Army Electronics
Chief Petty Officer Christopher R. "Tracker" Groen, US Navy SEALS
Sergeant First Class Jane "Glenda" Mullighan, US Army Air Corps
Staff Sergeant Blaine L. "Mainframe" Parker, USMC Electronics
and
Sergeant Phillip M. "Chuckles" Provost, US Army CID

Least we not forget their ultimate sacrifice in the name of peace. The death of a friend and colleague may diminish us as a whole, but it will serve only to strengthen our resolve. We will never give up, we're always there, fighting for freedom over land, sea and air".

Friday, November 11, 2005

Superman Returns

Thanks be to Christ that Nicholas Cage's version of Superman was never realised. I firmly believe he would have done for the Superman what George Clooney did for Batman. I think it would have been hard for anyone to replace the late great Christopher Reeve, and impossible for someone as limited as Cage, shit I'd have even accepted Dean Cain over him.
With Tom (Clark Kent in Smallville) Welling not wanting to don the tights and cape of Superman, WB and director Bryan Singer selected a newcomer Brandon Routh to play the Man Of Steel.

However unlike the most recent Batman film, Superman Returns is not an origin story. Apparently after a mysterious absence of several years, Superman comes back to Earth. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on. Superman's return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world from destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.

Okay so the plot is hokey, but here's some good news: Kate Bosworth will be Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey himself will be Lex Luthor!!!! AND wait for it: Marlon Brando will reprise his role as Jor-El, Superman's real father- via some clever special effects and restored deleted footage from his original appearence over 25 years ago!!! WOW!! Superman will Return in this part of the world in mid July next.

Nov 11th Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day in the US. A day of prades and speeches, a day of rememberence and appreciation for all the servicemen and women who have taken part in the defence and security of the US from the forces of evil. It's a day to remember those who fought in wars past and current conflicts, for those who risked their lives and lost them. You will not be forgotten.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USMC

Today is the 230th Birthday of the USMC. I'll just post this message now from the Commandant. Semper Fi!

ON NOVEMBER 10TH, 1775, THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS RESOLVED TO RAISE TWO BATTALIONS OF CONTINENTAL MARINES MARKING THE BIRTH OF OUR UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS. AS MAJOR GENERAL LEJEUNE'S MESSAGE REMINDS US, THE ENSUING GENERATIONS OF
MARINES WOULD COME TO SIGNIFY ALL THAT IS HIGHEST IN WARFIGHTING EXCELLENCE AND MILITARY VIRTUE. EACH NOVEMBER AS MARINES THE WORLD OVER CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF OUR CORPS, WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THAT LONG LINE OF "SOLDIERS OF THE SEA" AND THE ILLUSTRIOUS LEGACY THEY HAVE HANDED DOWN TO US.
THIS PAST YEAR HAS BEEN ONE OF CONTINUOUS COMBAT OPERATIONS OVERSEAS AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE HERE AT HOME - A YEAR OF CHALLENGES THAT HAVE BROUGHT OUT THE VERY BEST IN OUR CORPS. IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, MARINE COURAGE AND MASTERY OF COMPLEX AND CHAOTIC ENVIRONMENTS HAVE TRULY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF
MILLIONS. MARINE COMPASSION AND FLEXIBILITY PROVIDED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THOUSANDS IN THE WAKE OF THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN TSUNAMI, AND HERE AT HOME, MARINES WITH AAVS, HELICOPTERS, AND SOMETIMES WITH THEIR BARE HANDS SAVED HUNDREDS OF OUR OWN FELLOW AMERICANS IN THE WAKE OF HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA. ACROSS THE FULL SPECTRUM OF OPERATIONS, YOU HAVE SHOWCASED THAT MARINES CREATE STABILITY IN AN UNSTABLE WORLD, AND HAVE REINFORCED OUR CORPS' REPUTATION FOR SETTING THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE.
THE SENSE OF HONOR, COURAGE, AND PATRIOTISM THAT EPITOMIZED THOSE WHO ANSWERED THAT FIRST CALL TO ARMS 230 YEARS AGO IS STILL INDELIBLY IMPRINTED ON OUR RANKS TODAY. IN COMMEMORATING OUR ANNIVERSARY, LET US STRENGTHEN OUR TIES TO THE PAST BY PAYING HOMAGE TO THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US. AS WE HONOR THE SACRIFICES OF OUR WOUNDED AND FALLEN COMRADES, OUR COMMITMENT TO ONE ANOTHER REMAINS UNSHAKABLE. WE TAKE SPECIAL PRIDE IN THE ACTIONS OF THE MARINES NOW SERVING IN HARM'S WAY, AND REDEDICATE OURSELVES TO THE SERVICE OF OUR NATION AND OUR CORPS.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES, SEMPER FIDELIS, AND KEEP ATTACKING!

M.W.HAGEE, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

The Colonel survives frozen iPod scare!

The other day my iPod (named Apollo on VerTecXneT after the god of music) froze. For want of a better word it crashed! It was a terrifying experience, the iPod device has revolutionised the way people listen to music the world over and certainly personally it has negated the need for carrying CD’s and awkward portable CD players which can take up almost 5 times the space of an iPod.
Anyway after I unplugged Apollo from Hyperion recently it neglected to turn over control of its interface to me; i.e. the clickwheel didn’t work. I found this odd, but I was aware of the procedure to automatically reset it, so I wasn’t fazed. I attempted to reset it by pressing the MENU and SELECT buttons simultaneously which is SOP for a frozen iPod. This however did not work. I found this curious, but I persevered and re-attempted the operation, but again nothing. A quick search on the internet revealed that it sometimes only works if you have the unit plugged into a power supply using the AC adaptor as opposed to Hyperion’s powered firewire connection, so I gave that a go, but to no avail.
My distress level was admittedly rising a bit at this point, but I wasn’t about to give up, as a Marine, I’m incapable of surrender. Another option the internet revealed was to open up the iPod and disconnect the battery. As without the battery, the iPod will loose its internal memory and ‘forget’ it was frozen. Now if you’re familiar with an iPod you also know there are no screws or any visible way to get into the internal working of the thing, so before I tell you what I did next I’ll give you a warning:
Opening your iPod will completely invalidate your warranty- you’ll have no recourse. If you send it to Apple after it has been opened by a non-Apple individual they will charge you the price of a new iPod to ‘repair’ it. In reality they just send you a new one.
Also, opening the iPod is quite easy for someone like me whose ego allows him to believe that he’s a technical genius (which I am), and someone who is apprehensive or fearful about tinkering with highly valuable microelectronic components has no business whatsoever in attempting to open one.
I was going to post a link to a website that details how to open an iPod, but then you could come back to me and saw “you said if I followed these instructions I could open my iPod and…” well you get the idea.
To shorten this post, let’s just say opened Apollo, located the battery and disconnected it from the motherboard. I left it off for about 20 minutes leaving any residual charge in the components dissipate. When everything was back together, I was filled with anticipation as I awaited the little Apple logo on screen and for it to go back to the main menu, but alas, it didn’t; instead it returned to its previous frozen state.
It appeared I had exhausted all viable options I could locate on the internet. It was time to seek a higher power, the man from whom I learned to do all of this, I speak of Mark. Mark's solution was to update Apollo’s software to the very latest release and wipe the memory entirely- THEN remove the battery and see what happened. When that didn’t work he simply offered his condolences at the ‘loss’ of my iPod and was a bit peeved that I would have to get a new video-capable iPod (as they don’t make my model any more) and thus be technically superior to him.
At this point I felt the need to paraphrase Sherlock Homes “when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the cause.It wasn’t the software in the iPod, or the hard disk being stuck, so I was forced to conclude that it must have been the click wheel itself was at fault. I was dubious that even my vast experience and knowledge would be enough to able to repair a defective component deep within the inner workings of an iPod, but the only alternative was having to buy a new one, so I reached for my tools one more time and again began to dissect Apollo piece by piece.
It was not until after I had removed the motherboard from the device that I could finally see the issue that had plagued me since this began. Somehow a miniscule metal contact strip leading from the rear of the click wheel assembly has become disconnected from the motherboard. Don’t ask me how. I would understand if it happened AFTER I opened the Apollo, but it obviously had disconnected itself beforehand, leading to the initial problem.
With the help of a tiny tweezers I was able to reseat the metal strip into its home slot on the motherboard, reconnect all the other components and seal Apollo once again. I was overjoyed when switched on again it asked me to choose an operating language (because I had wiped the memory and the device had to be set up all over again) which I was able do with my now-functioning click wheel.
Another crisis averted by Colonel “Whopper” Creedon.

Alba is whore!

Jessica Alba is upset because she's being typecast, because of the roles she's being offered. The Sin City actress is grateful for the opportunities she has been given in Hollywood - but would kill for the parts offered to rival actress Natalie Portman.

She said today: "The scripts I get are always for the whore, or the motorcycle chick in leather, or the horny maid. I get all those screenplays that start, 'Tawnya is in the shower. The water streams down her naked, perky breasts.' Somehow, I don't think this is happening to Natalie Portman."

No it isn't Jess, 'cos Portman can ACT. Now you just sit there and look beautiful, that's what your paid to do. Silly bint!

I've achieved fame!

"When someone writes about you, whatever it is, you're famous".
Edward Bennett c1962

Cubaboy has written this hilarious article. I hope some TV producer sees this and gives him a job. It'd be better than some of the shite that they put on nowadays.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Scarlett to wear loin cloth?

Scarlett Johansson (The Island) is set to star in a new action adventure film called Amazon, according to Variety.

Apparently she came up with the idea herself while filming The Island. She reportedly mentioned the concept to screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, who are producing the project.

The film, set in 200 B.C., will reportedly center around Johansson who plays a "gladiatrix" who takes on an army that destroyed her homeland.

Somebody pinch me...

Les Miserables II: This Time It's War

I pay very little attention to France, a nation of stuck-up, boring and cowardly people bogged down in snobbery, one-upmanship, producers of wine that I find substandard to their Spanish neighbours lead by a leader who says too much when he should shut the fuck up and this week, becomes mute when he should have been addressing the nation.

You see right now, for the first time during my lifetime anyway, France has become interesting.

Nightly rioting, violence and destruction reign in France now. It started when two youths were electrocuted after being perused by police into a power station. There was outrage from their peers and they went mental, burning cars, smashing windows and whatnot. They attracted support from some like-minded members of the racial minorities, the Blacks and Arabs and are now in their twelfth night of anarchy.

I blame the politically correct, liberal and leftist politicians and their confused minds. They encourage immigrants to maintain their cultures and identities and then they expect them to integrate; which of course they don’t. Now they’re paying the price for their lack of vision. Thankfully this issue has arisen in France first and not a ‘real’ country like the UK or even Ireland, so now steps can be taken to prevent similar occurrences of this phenomenon elsewhere.

Now most immigrants I know are decent, hard working and law-abiding citizens, but I think it best for safety’s sake that different members of the same immigrant race are not allowed to live within 1km of each other. I think this would encourage more integration by them and eliminate these ‘ghettos’ that exist in France where even the police don’t dare to tread. Any bad eggs should be weeded out after a period of surveillance and either sent packing from the country or ‘disappear’. We have enough of our own “scum” as Minister Nicolas Sarkozy put it so delicately.

As for France, I can only hope that a peaceful resolution to the conflict isn’t found. I’d prefer for an example made of the rioters, probably deploying the military and failing that, perhaps some bombs being dropped. You must remember it’s only France; it’s not as if anything valuable will be lost.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

The Upgrading continues

Well I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I should get this operation finished soon enough now as I've got a couple of weeks off work.
Orion, Prometheus, Agamemnon and Perseus have all been altered considerably. Magnus has been completly cannabalised and officially decomissioned and it's processor will join my very first PC (Control)'s processor in a frame on my wall as of this week.

2IGTV Episode 8

Poor Mark went a day and a half without sleep before recording this episode. I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of it more. Not evey episode can be gold folks.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

USMC to join USSOCOM

Today is a bright day for the Corps. Donald Rumsfeld announced yesterday that the United States Marine Corps will create an element to officially join the United States Special Operations Command for the first time.

For as long as I remember the Marine hierarchy standpoint on Special Operators has been that they consider the most basic Marine a special operator, the Marines were elite already, so why join SOCOM? So in 1986, the Army, Navy and Air Force went off pooled their resources and integrated their spec. ops. forces like Delta Force, Rangers, SEALS and Combat Controllers into the newly established SOCOM, while the USMC created their own independent Force Recon elements and trained some of their MEU's to be Special Operations Capable. The Corps didn't want to turn control of Force Recon over to SOCOM because it was felt that their skill was required to fulfil the fundamental mission of the USMC.

This arrangement worked for about 15 years until some bastards hijacked planes and flew them into the WTC and the Pentagon. The SOCOM operators went off to Afghanistan ahead of the main of the main force and had some fun. While a handful of Marines have been working with Special Operations in a Joint capacity, the then-Commandant General James Jones had an idea then and decided he'd have a little 'conversation' with the USSOCOM Commander, Air Force General Charles Holland and decided it was time to close ranks.

It was 2003 however before Marine Detachment One (MAR-DET-1) joined NAVSPECWAR (Navy SEALS) on training exercises to deploy as part of SOCOM. The 83-Marine strong (with 4 Navy corpsmen) was the first unit to integrate with SOCOM. I noticed also that in October of the previous year, a Marine General was appointed as Chief of Staff and Director of the Center for Command Support, U.S. Special Operations Command! I didn't think this was coincidental then as I remembered it as I read the news today and I see what was going on now. The aforementioned Marine General was one Brigadier General Denis Hejlik, the same general whom has just been appointed as head of the new MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command).

I said a few weeks ago that there would be big things in store for the Corps when Pete took the big chair, I didn't think it would be only 30 days later though. Hmmm MARSOC will have about 2600 men and hefty slice of the lovely SOCOM budget- I wonder if they'll need a Colonel?

Galactica set for third year

The best new sci-fi show this century is getting a thrid season. Battlestar Galactica has surpassed all expectations and with this renewal, will even surpass in quantity the amount of episodes of it's original incarnation as it has done in quality.

The science fiction remake began as a miniseries two years ago but was expanded into a television series after meeting with acclaim and impressive ratings. Galactica continues to be the Sci Fi Channel's top shows week after week. In fact, 7 of the channel's top 10 most-watched broadcasts in 2005 were episodes of Galactica.

In the meantime, the show is preparing to resume its second season this January after a mid-season break. More when it returns...

Michael Piller dies

The man may have been co-responsible for creating Star Trek: Voyager, but unlike Rick Berman and Brannon Braga- I don't know anyone who wanted him dead.

Sadly Mike Piller, at age 57, lost a battle with cancer yesterday that most of his collegues didn't even know he had. He remained quite active in television until recently and his shows Wildfire and The Dead Zone have been renewed for 2nd and 5th seasons respectively. I'll always think of him as the man who co-created Deep Space Nine- the best of the Star Trek shows.

I can only hope and pray that Berman and Braga will share a similar fate as poor Mike and die horribly of cancer as they were a cancer on Star Trek for the past several years and effectively killed it... for now.