Star Wars / Airwolf Rebels

This "mashup" actually works quite well.



Here's the Airwolf Imperial version.

The License

Interesting way to take the Bible literally and past customs in defense of traditional marriage...

"Total Eclipse of the Heart": Literal Video Version

You know I still like this 80s Bonnie Tyler song, but the video for it really is disturbing on so many levels. Putting aside the apparent teacher-hot-for-orgy-with-male-students theme, whomever put together the original video was on a serious acid trip.

Still, good song at least. Funny parody.


h/t - Hot Air

The A Team, Iraq

Star Wars meets MacGyver

Not bad, this "mashup" works.

Sadly no one has made a decent "mashup" with Star Trek, although I did find this clip from a real MacGyver episode that had James "Scotty" Doohan in it. This surprised me as I didn't remember that the late Doohan was on an episode that show...

Also, check out this cute amateur vid: MacGyver As A Kid.

Vanilla Ice Army Remix

Of all the songs out there to make a parody of, Vanilla Ice's monstrosity is as close to number one as you can get...

Funniest Stargate SG1 Prank

Methinks everyone could use a laugh after today's disappointing news...

Memorial Day

Simply an amazing story, words fail me...


h/t - Ace of Spades

Real Men Wear Pink Boxers

Nineteen-year-old Spc. Zachary Boyd of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry, was sleeping when the Taliban attacked his unit in Afghanistan's Kunar province. Boyd leapt from his bunk. He grabbed his weapon, pulled on his helmet and vest, and manned his station behind sandbags at Firebase Restropo. He did not stop to pull on trousers.

Great podcast from NPR with an iconic image...of sorts. As one commentor posted at NPR's site:

The boy can wear whatever he likes...he was out saving his friends life, that is what matters.

MacGyver - Groundhog Day mash up

This actually works pretty good...

NY Republican Candidate On DADT

I was sent this "Statement From Assemblyman Greg Ball On Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach" by Christopher Arnold, Communications Director for Greg Ball for Congress. Now I know nothing about Messrs. Ball or Arnold, nor do I follow New York politics since I live in Virginia. However, I do find this statement intriguing coming from what appears to be a conservative Republican running for state office. Well, from the campaign website he appears to be conservative on fiscal, 2nd Amendment and defense matters at least. No doubt some Southern conservatives would raise an eyebrow at the conservative cred of a New York Republican, but that could be just a regional thing. At any rate, here is the statement:

The recent report of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, among other less publicized accounts, has made many realize that the current policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” needs to be thoroughly reviewed.

Lt. Col. Fehrenbach has flown numerous combat missions and has been decorated for heroism.

As an Air Force Academy graduate and former ranking member of the New York State Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee, I believe strongly that it is time for the current administration to consider putting a moratorium on the current “don't ask, don't tell” policy affecting our military, until its impacts can be thoroughly reviewed.

As a veteran and member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, I will give serious consideration to urging my legislative colleagues to express our shared concerns with the current policy that forces the involuntary discharge of American heroes like Lt. Col Fehrenbach.

Very interesting...

"Love Story" meets "Viva La Vida"

I saw this over a week ago and meant to post but it got lost in the shuffle I guess. A very moving piece these artists have come up with. That Jon Schmidt came up with this for his young daughter just enhances the enjoyment. Some have poked fun at Steven Sharp Nelson on the cello because of how much he appears to enjoy playing this, but you know what? I say "rock" on, Steven! You and Jon have shown the world the great talent you've both been blessed with and given all of us a very enjoyable piece to listen to. Gracias.

Star Trek Voyager meets Baywatch

Just in time for the start of summer...

TV Geek Alert!

V is returning to television after 20+ years!!! I loved the 1980s version as a kid, though it looks a bit cheesy now, and this update looks...interesting so far.

I'm totally going to geek out over this I can see that now!


h/t - Hot Air

Star Trek Old School

Perhaps this is the film J.J. Abrams should have made...

Clearing up life's mysteries for my nieces...

One of my 9yr old nieces called me up this weekend out-of-the-blue, seeking an answer to this most important question:

Is Luke Skywalker Darth Vader?

After a brief pause, I explained the relationship between the two Star Wars characters which seemed to satisfy her. Life now made sense and the call ended.

It's good to know that the hours I've spent watching scifi over the years haven't gone to waste and that I have a become an "expert" on such mysteries of life to me dear nieces. Of course, the day they inquire about pon farr I'm turning that one over to my brother...

Star Trek, the new film

So I finally went to see the new Star Trek this weekend. My verdict: eh, it was okay. I didn't hate it, like Kevin apparently does, but I wasn't exactly thrilled with it like I was with the original. I could go on and on about what I did and didn't like in this movie, yet that would mean it deserves more of my time. Sorry, they got $30+ at the theater from me and that's enough. Perhaps my reaction is a generational thing since the original Trek as the template is what I've known, as well as the various incarnations during the 80s & 90s, although I suppose I can see why the youngsters might prefer this version.

I found this video the other day that does a good job showing what the new Star Trek really is:



Pity that George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) died, he could of been the new Brandon Walsh (he is cuter and acted better in this film than Chris Pines).

Geeky Weddings

Best wedding cake evah.

Runner up would be this confectionary rendition of the Millenium Falcon.

h/t - Ace of Spades

Why Daniel Choi Should Be Discharged

Well after seeing this, it all becomes clear to me now...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Dan Choi Is Gay
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Star Trek TNG meets Dallas

Here's the version for Star Trek: Voyager.

Army Is Alright Now

Podcast Interview of Lt. Daniel Choi

In three parts over at Ramble Redhead. Very interesting with Choi telling of his growing up, life at West Point, his service in the US Army over in Iraq, and of course coming out. Well worth listening to and I hope that the good Louie will join the fight against the unjust DADT law with a worthy group of gay vets like Servicemembers United. His voice is certainly a powerful one in this debate and though he is doing well on his own, especially with Knights Out, having others to "guard his back" in the DADT minefield doesn't hurt.

You can find these podcast interviews here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Enjoy!

Spoiler: Choi's first-generation Korean parents were oblivious to his being gay, so much so that when they suspected their older son of being gay they sought his advice on how to "change" him. Ironically the son they thought was gay is actually straight while the "straight" son they sought advice from is gay. Priceless.

UPDATE: On second thought, after exploring the Knights Out website a bit more it appears that Lt. Choi has quite a number of worthy souls guarding his back. Perhaps then his group and others like Servicemembers United can coordinate their efforts to bring DADT to the demise it so richly deserves.

(an edited version of this is also posted over at Gay Patriot)

Star Trek A-Team

An Open Letter to the Commander-in-Chief & Congress

From 1st Lt. Daniel W. Choi, Infantry officer from the New York Army National Guard:

The Department of the Army sent a letter discharging me on April 23rd. I will not lie to you; the letter is a slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to me. It is a slap in the face to my soldiers, peers and leaders who have demonstrated that an infantry unit can be professional enough to accept diversity, to accept capable leaders, to accept skilled soldiers.

My subordinates know I’m gay. They don’t care. They are professional.

Further, they are respectable infantrymen who work as a team. Many told me that they respect me even more because I trusted them enough to let them know the truth. Trust is the foundation of unit cohesion.

After I publicly announced that I am gay, I reported for training and led rifle marksmanship. I ordered hundreds of soldiers to fire live rounds and qualify on their weapons. I qualified on my own weapon. I showered after training and slept in an open bay with 40 other infantrymen. I cannot understand the claim that I “negatively affected good order and discipline in the New York Army National Guard.” I refuse to accept this statement as true.

As an infantry officer, I am not accustomed to begging. But I beg you today: Do not fire me. Do not fire me because my soldiers are more than a unit or a fighting force – we are a family and we support each other. We should not learn that honesty and courage leads to punishment and insult. Their professionalism should not be rewarded with losing their leader. I understand if you must fire me, but please do not discredit and insult my soldiers for their professionalism.

When I was commissioned I was told that I serve at the pleasure of the President. I hope I have not displeased anyone by my honesty. I love my job. I want to deploy and continue to serve with the unit I respect and admire. I want to continue to serve our country because of everything it stands for.

Please do not wait to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Please do not fire me.

The President will undoubtedly send the good Louie a nice handwritten note, ignoring the fact that the office he holds requires leadership which on this he has shown very little of. The leadership of the DNC seems to reside in the Speaker's chair, instead of the White House, from which all we hear on DADT is the dodging cry of "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!". More's the pity as Bill Clinton's legacy of betrayal is allowed to continue and good soldiers like Choi are let go.

Army & Marines "Twist & Shout"!

Battlestar DS9

The intro for BSG works really well with all the genres of Star Trek methinks, but especially with DS9.



Here's one more.

Lies My Teacher Told Me

My dear aunt, who teaches history and is a bit more liberal than I, gave me copy of this book by James Loewen back when it was released in the mid-1990s. I recall enjoying the book at the time mostly because of the plethora of trivia missing from my high school history textbook. Interestingly enough, I believe I found online the history textbook I used in class back then, which is one of the texts Loewen takes to task in this book. It's been many years since my time in history class during the late 1980s so I couldn't swear to this being the exact textbook, but the cover of this one certainly looks very, very familiar. I was curious to read this book again but having little time for actual reading, decided on the unabridged audiobook via iTunes.

For the most part, Loewen's book is still very enjoyable. Some of it seems dated to me now approximately 15 years later, but part of this could be because I was more interested in listening once again to trivia from our history that isn't generally known rather than listen to his criticisms of old history textbooks. Having been out of high school for an even longer period of time may be a factor in this as well. Ever since I can remember I've been an avid reader and have had a voracious appetite for all things involving history. I share his distaste of how poor high school textbooks are, or at least were when his book came out years ago. In school, my history textbook was the only one I ever recall reading from cover to cover and was usually left with an empty feeling afterwards as if there wasn't enough there. This is why I always supplemented my class textbook with whatever I could find in the library.

With regards to Loewen's book itself I'd have to say that the author is an accomplished story-teller and the narrator for the audiobook did a good job as well. It is quite apparent to me that Loewen is much more liberal than I am and I would say was heavily influenced by events during the 1960s. For the most part that is okay as I enjoy good history regardless of the subtle or not-so subtle bias. I have found that if one reads a variety of different perspectives than they will be able to learn far more than if they just rely upon whatever is most comfortable to their way of thinking. Yet there are times in the book where Loewen's bias breaks any pretense he may have had of being the objective historian and can be quite stark. I enjoy being challenged by authors and not coddled, yet I do not like having my intelligence insulted by an author trying to be too clever by half. Perhaps the most egregious example I found of this, where Loewen can rightly be charged with hypocrisy given his critiques of other historians, was the use of Senator John Kerry's infamous testimony before Congress in 1971 concerning atrocities by some U.S. soldiers in Vietnam. To rely upon such a source as Kerry and the discredited Winter Soldier Investigation is particularly galling since there are far more credible sources out there. This also brings his treatment of modern history into question in my mind, especially concerning Vietnam, since his politics seem to overpower his training as an historian. To put it in terms from his book, he seems to do a far better job with zamani rather than sasha. It is true that I do not come to this free from biases myself. I am the son of a Vietnam veteran and served years later myself in the U.S. Navy. I've had a deep and abiding respect for the military ever since I can remember which may affect how I view this, which my more conservative political views undoubtedly color as well. Yet even keeping in mind that none of us is completely free personal bias, I found Loewen's telling of the Vietnam Era to be highly suspect probably because it was so glaringly obvious. Overall though, despite its weaknesses, I still would recommend picking up a copy of this book for there's just too much in it that left me eager to explore other sources for more. I suppose as long as one remains mindful of the author's bias, as well as their own, this is probably the best one can say about any good book. Enjoy.

British Soldiers Footloose

I still love this song and our Brit friends do pretty good in this (video cuts out after 2 minutes).

Star Trek: What Could Have Been

Good fan "trailer"...

"Currahee!"

If this doesn't make you a lil' misty-eyed, you have a heart of stone. This lieutenant is an inspiration to all of us and I can't say enough about General Petraeus. You have shown your quality, sir.

UPDATE (5-12-09): The automatic playing of the embedded video is driving me nut, especially the same CBS commercial, so I'm removing it and putting up a link to this instead. It is still a fantastic and moving video to see: '60 Minutes': A Remarkable Recovery

h/t - Hot Air

Montgomery Scott In The 24th Century

Humorous parody mixing the opening of the campy 80s show Buck Rogers In The 25th Century and Scotty from the Star Trek TNG episode "Relics".

DADT Removes Another Worthy Vet

I'm not a fan of MSNBC or Rachel Maddow, but this is a good interview of an outstanding Infantry officer and Iraq War vet, who is now being kicked out for speaking "the three most powerful words".

REALLY Bored Navy Seabee

Hmm... Don't ask and I won't tell.

Star Trek Generations Meets Pirates of the Caribbean

Good parody by a fan of both genres...

Army Room Cleaning Procedures

No dancing this time, but still pretty damn funny...

Operation: Rock The Casbah

Not too shabby. Don't know why I like these vids but they do make me smile and it is nice to see our guys let loose even a little.

There's an Iraqi kid wearing a hoodie in this who gives our boys some real competition...

Boogie Bird

I heard about Snowball on a podcast, so of course had to check and see if there were any video clips on You Tube. Sure enough...



This bird has good taste in music, even gettin' down to a bit o' Queen.

Final Countdown - Army Style

These silly dumbasses had me laughing so hard I think I hurt something...

"Swine Flu" Preparations

Step 1: Refrain from licking pigs, no matter how "cute" or tasty they may be.



I had to chuckle at this pic a friend emailed to me today. It's undoubtedly making the rounds of the Web...