timeimmortal

So over the last few days, Grace, my mother, and have been looking at various pieces of baby-related merchandise, and it’s been pretty fun so far. Contemplating the arrival of our little one in such concrete terms as “where do we put the crib?” and “what kind of stroller should we look for?” somehow makes the whole thing seem…well…even more real than it already is. It’s pretty cool, actually.

Even more cool is just being with Grace through this experience. Aside from the fact that lately we’ve been losing sleep, we’ve been growing closer and closer as the weeks roll past, and she has been just radiant for…well, for as long as I can recollect, to be sure. Just radiant — she really has that “pregnant lady” glow about her, and it’s both cute and touching just how much she obviously loves and cares about our little one.

I don’t think the English language has words I could use to adequately express my gratitude and awe.

One thing I just thought of: baby products…what a racket! One would think that baby products would be simple and straightforward, but in reality the opposite is true — worse (and more annoyingly) still, the stuff all comes in matching sets! You can get the playpen and crib in a matching colour scheme, and also the stroller and carseat, and even the bedding, all co-ordinated with the same patterns and earthy colour tones. Much of it seems cute, but much of it gives off a creepy vibe.

Baby as fashion accessory. Sometimes, society just gets under my skin, in a bad way.

Fortunately, we were able to cut through some of the B.S. and come away with a compact, functional, relatively simple stroller. It isn’t too big, doesn’t have the full cup-holder deck that one so often sees, and folds up neatly into something that could fit comfortably into the back of a Smart Car (we drive a Chrysler Sebring, though). And the crib we found is also fairly straightforward — finished wood railings, metal (not plastic!) sliding apparatus for opening the one side.

Cribs, though…there’s another racket. There’s not a single one these days that retails with a mattress included, at least not that Grace and I were able to track down. But then, we did manage to track down a smart-looking unit, with room to spare in our budget for a mattress and some bedding. It will look really nice in the corner of the apartment we have set aside to be “Baby’s Corner”.

Now we just need diapers and a couple of jumpers.

Also, I found the neatest little blog add-on, and it should be visible at the top of the main content pane. It’s a little…slider, I guess would be the best term for it — that shows (based on the projected due date) some basic information about the expected development of the baby. Very cool.

This is one that Grace took on a recent trip to Vermilion. She liked the look of the clouds.

Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

Grace and I took her sister to see Pixar’s latest last night, and I have to say, O Reader: if you haven’t gone and seen it, go and see it. For my money, it’s probably the best Pixar film yet, and I wonder if it would be all that hyperbolic to say that it will hold that top spot in my mind for a goodly while. It’s rare enough to find a movie that is genuinely uplifting at a spiritual level, especially in the sci-fi/action genre of film (BSG often fits the bill, although it is a TV series rather than a motion picture), but Wall-E delivers that and more.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a kid’s movie, either; WALL-E is age-independent. Because the characters are primarily robots (humans appear as well, but only in a supporting role), there is little in the way of dialogue — most of the comedy is physical/scenario-driven in nature, and will appeal equally to the young and the old (in fact, I suspect adults may enjoy it more than kids, in the same way that Looney Tunes are way more funny to me now than they ever were when I was ten).

It would also make for one heck of a date movie; I don’t think I let go of Grace’s hand for more than five minutes in total during the entire length of the movie. Not only is WALL-E a well-executed sci-fi story with equal parts comedy and well-paced action sequences, it is also a very romantic movie, and the budding relationship that emerges between EVE and WALL-E is amazing for its depth, the sweetness that characterizes it, its innocence, and how very real it feels, right down to how WALL-E makes a point of proudly showing EVE just some of the many trinkets “he” has collected in his 700 years of garbage compaction. Gents, I think (hope!) we can all recognize that little ritual?

(I remember showing Grace some of the many things — model planes, Lego constructs, books — I had collected when first we met.)

Finally, don’t but into the manufactured controversy that this is basically just with a cute face. Yes, it does depict a spoiled and desolate Earth, and yes, there is an environmental message at its core. But it ultimately is, I think, a message about stewardship of the Earth (c.f. Genesis 1:28-31), about the need for humanity to use (not abuse) Nature and the many resources of the world, and to make effective and responsible use of the technology at hand…in such a way that both humanity and Nature benefit. The message in WALL-E’s narrative is very much in favour of human development and the individual spirit, and praises the virtues of “get your hands dirty”-style hard work.

Now, after the jump, we’ll get into greater detail. If you don’t want spoilers, O Reader, do skip this next part.
Read the rest of this entry »

Colin, my good friend and best man, graciously agreed to help Grace and myself move some furniture to my uncle’s place north of the city — we are in the midst of re-configuring the apartment to prepare for the arrival of our little one in October.

As payment, we took him out for dinner and a pint or two, but I also agreed to finish a t-shirt idea that he and I have been mulling over for a while. You see, Colin, good-hearted chap that he is, seems to be the one that many members of the Rover Crew turn to when they have need of a ride to or from places.

So I hauled out the Photoshop again and came up with a t-shirt logo that matched the rather hilarious slogan he had come up with some months ago.

Now I just need to find a store where I can get this printed in a reasonably expedient manner. I think the one that I had previously known about closed down recently, so I may have to resort to using an online store.

Grace and I went to see the fireworks last night, and while we were waiting (Edmonton fireworks never start on time, except on New Year’s) for the show to begin, we got to talking about the state that Canada was in. In particular, Grace wondered what, exactly, the men and women Canada has sent to fight in e.g. Afghanistan are really fighting for. Obviously, they’re fighting to establish and preserve the Agfhan government…but what is it about Canada that is worth their sacrifice?

There’s a lot about this country that’s pretty great, to be sure. We are (more or less) a democracy, and Canadian citizens enjoy a reasonable degree of freedom, especially when compared to other nations in the world. The climate is decent (it’s been hot, lately, but one expects that in summer…and a couple strategically-placed fans around the apartment seem to at least partially mitigate the worst effects thereof). We are a fairly prosperous nation, with a good economy. And evidently, there must be something about Canada that thousands of immigrants every year see as being worthwhile — why else would they uproot themselves and, in many cases, their families and move here from halfway around the world?

At the same time, though, there’s much about Canada that is anything but great. We are tragically soft on crime, and far too many unborn Canadians never see the light of day due to the fact that abortion law in Canada is practically non-existent; in most jurisdictions, it’s perfectly legal to terminate a baby at pretty much every stage of development prior to actual birth. Our culture, in pace with most Western cultures, has slipped further and further down the well of moral depravity, especially in regard to various sexual “preferences” and “lifestyles”. And while we are ostensibly a free people, that freedom can be (and has been) severely curtailed in many instances — thanks to human rights commissions, even human rights that Canadians supposedly possess as per the Charter that is the foundational document for this nation’s governance have been stripped away to suit the whims and demands of activists and the too-easily-offended.

And Grace and I came to the conclusion, standing there waiting for the fireworks, that about the best we could reasonably say about Canada is that it’s a good place to live, but that it could be better. And we both came away wishing that we didn’t have to think about the country that has been our home in such terms.

Over in Europe, and in the U.S. as well (and probably here in Canada, although it has not yet been publicized to any extent), a “rape epidemic” is in progress, as more and more immigrants from various (primarily Islamic) nations come to the West and attempt to impose their values onto the predominant culture. Most recently in Brussels, Belgium, the example of a woman who was assaulted for not wearing “the veil” (e.g. the hijab) can be found, over and over again. In the U.S., there is the recent example of the Said sisters, two honour killing victims. In Canada, we have the sad case of Aqsa Parvez, also an honour killing victim.

In a way, this sort of thing shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. Beginning with Pierre Trudeau’s attempt to re-invent the image of what Canada was, our societal attitude has moved steadily leftward, toward the socialist and multicultural ideals that are now so pervasive in every aspect of Canadian society. And somewhere along the line, we lost something — we lost confidence and courage, specifically. We now lack the confidence and the courage to say to those who immigrate here that they have come to a nation that does not necessarily follow the ways of “the old country”; indeed, we have bent over backward to reject all the many positive things about Canada’s founding heritages in a misguided (and ultimately false!) effort to pretend that every culture in the world is equal.

And yet we know that not every culture is equal, and that some cultures are, frankly, barbaric or inferior by comparison to our own. Any culture that would give sanction to a father to murder his daughter solely on the basis of her style of dress has no place in Canada, until and unless it is willing to give up that aspect of itself. And people from that culture have no place in Canada until and unless they are willing to give up that aspect of their heritage. To claim that such views can somehow be wedged into the “cultural mosaic” of Canada is, ultimately, to give the culture of Canada over to its destruction.

Even more that just rejecting those imported cultural attitudes that are incompatible with what Canada stands for, however, Canada needs to work to re-elevate itself about the level of “it could be better.” Canadian society needs to stop being so limp-wristed where dealing with crime is concerned. It needs to stop being so permissive where sexual immorality is concerned. It needs to stop encouraging its people to be thin-skinned complainers by providing them a forum (in the HRCs) to effect government-mandated financial ruin on those with whom they disagree. And along the way, it might just do well to add the right of private property into the Charter.

Canada needs to be worth fighting and dying for again — it needs to be more and better than it is now, if for no other reason than to give purpose to the sacrifices it demands of its men and women in uniform. Is it really worth the sacrifice, to die for a country that could be better?

So I’m learning how to code with Ruby on Rails. It’s a fascinating web development architecture, overall. It has a few flaws (and apparently, if recent news is to be believed, a few rather glaringly large security holes), but I am really impressed with the speed at which it can be used to achieve tangible results.

Also, I’m in the hunt for a new job, as I will in due season be the sole wage-earner providing the dollars and cents with which to feed, clothe, and shelter my beautiful wife Grace and our soon-to-be-born little one. So if the good Reader knows of any job postings a guy with a passion for programming, Photography, and/or web development might be interested in, which is offering something in the range of $50,000/year, do drop me a line. I’d like to hear what’s out there.

Finally, and also on the subject of money, I have added a Support page (read: tip jar) to the site here, where the good Reader can find information about how to support Time Immortal and your good writer (and his fledgling family). No, I don’t expect to be able to live off of the blog’s earnings, but obviously the Reader is welcome to donate something if he or she derives value from the various outpourings and/or photographs (some of which I’d be willing to sell copies of) on the site here.

In other word: tips welcome!

A while back, Grace had her ultrasound done, just to make sure that our little one was healthy and growing. And as it turns out, our little one is doing just fine…and at least as far as the ultrasound tech was concerned, Grace is also pretty-much on track for an October 23rd or 24th delivery*. Her pregnancy seems to be going very well. And blessedly, she herself is doing just smashing, for the most part.

At any rate, we made sure to ask for pictures from the ultrasound exam. Here is, I think, the best one.

There is something amazing happening in Grace’s body. She do good work.

* Of course, in the end, that’s the little one’s to decide, so we’ll see how October progresses.

In the latest installment of what is becoming almost a weekly “proud husband” feature, here’s a few pictures of Grace modeling a new maternity dress she picked out for herself. We have a lot of weddings to go to this summer, and she needed to pick up something that would serve well week after week.

It really is a pretty dress, light but elegant — pretty much ideal, in fact, for summer wedding wear. And it fits her so nicely — doesn’t she look great?

This last picture also features an overshirt that she bought which goes with…almost anything, really. In particular, it does well as a complement to the dress.

Grace, honey? Wow, you look great.

Well, Grace and I just watched the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica, Revelations, and I have to say that on the whole, I rather agree with Barb Nicolosi as far as the last few minutes of the show are concerned. The discovery of Earth (pictured below) is a delight, a moment of pure and unrestrained joy. It’s exceptionally well-filmed (or well-rendered, in the case of the effects), well-timed, and well-scored (in fact, the music is phenomenal)…so uplifting.

And then, three minutes later, the show leaves you with the feeling that you’ve been punched in the gut, as the show ends in “desolation and shock.” The transition between high and low is at once sudden and (impossibly) gradual, as Earth turns out to be not the “promised land” that everyone on the Colonial fleet — even the atheistic William Adama — thought it would prove to be. Instead of teeming with vibrant human life in the form of the Thirteenth Tribe, Earth is a burnt-out, irradiated wasteland.

What is more, the nuclear holocaust does not appear to be a recent one — this is not the handiwork of the Cylon faction headed by the Cavils (Number Ones). The series producers were very good about showing us a world in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear attack with the scenes set on post-apocalyptic Caprica; it was yellow, the atmosphere was murky, and it was obvious that fallout had polluted the atmosphere. By contrast, Earth is blue, its skies cloudy, but not in that “airborne dust” kind of way. Whatever the nature of the destruction that is evident in those final, gut-wrenching moments of the mid-season finale of BSG, it is not a recent destruction.

The episode as a whole is intense — some of the best television I’ve seen in a while, in fact. About halfway through the show, Grace remarked that there was a lot of interesting stuff happening, and indeed there was…the events of the show could easily have been spaced out into at least two, maybe three episodes. I suppose, taken in comparison to the relatively plodding pace of events so far this season, the argument could be made that Revelations feels rushed. But I observe that for myself, the only reason that the rest of the season feels rather plodding has to do with hindsight. I’ve had no problems with the pacing of the other episodes this season, either as rushed or as plodding, and I’ve no problems with the intense level of action and narrative that is in this mid-season cliffhanger.

The episode splits into roughly three acts: a first, longer act that deals with D’Anna’s attempts to liberate the Penultimate Four Cylons from the Fleet, a shorter second act that deals with the Colonials playing hardball right back, and a third act that deals with Earth both as a legitimate destination that is finally within reach, and as a larger, unifying principle. Spread throughout each act are the seeds of an idea that Kara Thrace explicitly states during the bridge between second act and the third: something or someone beyond human comprehension is orchestrating events.

What’s more, her reasoning is edifying. It’s rare when I actually applaud (inwardly, at least) something theological said on a television show these days — most of the entertainment industry, it seems, has no clue about how serious, intelligent religious people actually think. But there went Starbuck with her analysis of events, and it really was spot-on. With a dubious Lee Adama, sarcastically dismissing the notion that a “higher power” might be at work in events, Starbuck replies with conviction and clarity, and makes her case well:

Kara: Gaeta’s confirmed it. The channel is empty except for this Viper. [pause] It’s gotta be a signal from Earth.

Lee: You’re reaching, Kara.

Kara: C’mon Lee, add it up. [Lee gets out of the Viper] I vanished into a storm, ride this Viper to Earth. Coming back, I get a vision that leads me to the baseship. It’s Hybrid tells me that the Final Five Cylons have been to Earth. But we need the missing Three — D’Anna — to bring them out to the open.

Lee: [somewhat sarcastically] And now we’re starting to get messages from the beyond.

Kara: You heard the signal. The final Cylons led me to it. If it’s Earth, they’ve given us the home of the Thirteenth Tribe…just the way the Hybrid said it would happen. Like it or not, Lee, something is orchestrating this for a purpose

Lee: [still sarcastic] *sniff* A higher power.

Kara: Call it whatever you want. But it seems to want us to find Earth with the Cylons.

God has, within the BSG universe, been ever more present as the plot has progressed, and here again He turns up, defying the expectations of most. It will be interesting to see how the second half of the series, which all leads up to the finalé, will handle the issue of deity.

(Interesting note: in the final scene, as the camera pans over the various people standing amidst the ruins on Earth, take note of the cross rather plainly emblazoned onto the rock near Helo and Athena.)

>> The Final Five

Well, it turns out that I was completely wrong on one account — Samuel Anders was not the first of the Final Five to be outed. Indeed, the argument could be made that he was the last one to be outed, in a more or less complete reversal of what I had expected. Tory Foster is the first one revealed (though not on Galactica proper; she uses duplicity to get onto the rebel basestar and it is there that she outs herself, eventually telling off Laura Roslin).

What is interesting is how the rift that had previously emerged in the Penultimate Four has now, more or less, become a fixed divide. Foster more or less completely embraces her Cylonity, to the point of misanthropy. Her hatred of humanity is palpable, and I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point she flipped sides to join Cavil’s faction, when next we meet them.

Tigh’s revelation to Adama was shattering, and Adama’s flipping out was a perfectly natural result. Kudos to Edward James Olmos for a dramatic and heart-rending scene; one would totally believe that Adama had, in the span of mere minutes, been totally broken and reduced to primal rage, and then to tears. A lifetime worth of emotional pain exploded out of the Admiral in the aftermath of what was, for him, one final act of betrayal…and then by his best friend of three decades. Every act, every bad call, and every kid he sent out in a Viper to get killed haunted and hounded him, until he was drooling and sobbing into his son’s arms.

It was a painful scene to watch.

>> Old ways, new ways

I liked that Lee Adama raised an interesting point when talking with Number Three — D’Anna Biers. It was actually a point I’d raised before: throughout the mythology of the series, the idea that history is somehow cyclical has been the predominant philosophy. The way out, if any existed, was in my view to somehow break that cycle, to strike out in a new direction.

Lee Adama said this directly when proposing an alliance, and a peace, with the rebel Cylons.

What was interesting is how soundly this episode utterly rejected, in multiple ways, the old paradigm of eternal conflict between man and Cylon. D’Anna is operating on that paradigm, and Tory Foster (expressing her anti-human sentiments well) eggs her on in a violent, standoffish course when it comes to dealing with the humans. The humans react in kind, and the situation escalates almost to the point of a nuclear exchange between the two sides, which surely would have resulted in the near-anhiliation of humanity and the rebel Cylon faction (and, quite probably, the Final Five).

Into the midst of this, nothing less than God steps in to intercede. Baltar appeals to D’Anna, arguing passionately that the violent course of action failed on New Caprica and then again on the algae planet just prior to her being boxed — why would she think that this time, violence would achieve the desired ends? Meanwhile, Starbuck pleads with Lee Adama that events have been unfolding in an orchestrated, planned, intentional way that involves both humans and Cylons playing the agentic roles in God’s greater design. She all but begs Lee to realize that whatever the way forward must be, it must be in partnership with the Cylons, because everything unravels without their involvement as well. Both arguments — that of Gaius Baltar and that of Kara Thrace — are arguments from faith, and have resounding, and astounding, power.

There seems to be dawning, on everyone, a realization that the old way of doing things — hatred, distrust, eternal war — will only lead both human and Cylon closer and closer to their respective endings, which are already dangerously close enough.

>> The Other Cylons

Just a couple of remarks here. I agree with Dale Price’s remarks concerning Leoben. The Leoben Conoy Cylons began as tricksters and deceivers, like Loki with stubble and a slightly raspy voice. Since then, they have become genuinely devout prophets and servants, and are increasingly benevolent in both their desired ends and the means they use to achieve them.

I also observe that the Number Eights are still fickle, and readily swarm to the aid of D’Anna when she returns and launches her initially anti-human crusade for the Final Five.

>> Earth

One thing I noticed right off the bat was that the producers weren’t showing us everything about Earth.

Think about it for a minute, O Reader. At the end of Season 3, in the final wild, galactic-scale zooming shot, the Earth was very visibly our planet — North America was prominently featured:

And yet now, with the fleet having finally arrived at this fabled planet, the shots are murky or dark (and one notes that there’s a subtle visual clue in the dark portions of Earth suggesting it is abandoned — were it populated, lights of cities would surely be visible!), clouds obscure the continental landmasses, and in the ruins there are no easy visual indicators suggesting a familiar location to the viewer (some have tried to suggest that the one bridge-like ruin in the background might be the Brooklyn Bridge — I remain agnostic on this point).

So is this Earth? It would seem to be, especially since Felix Gaeta confirmed the presence of constellations. And yet, the producers are being deliberately vague; it is possible that the Fleet has gone astray, and somehow arrived at the wrong place in spite of all the signs. Is this Earth?

The issue of Laura Roslin actually…you know…surviving to see the surface of the planet is a key point here; if she really is the dying leader of the Pythian prophecy, she shouldn’t actually get to see Earth (think of Moses and the Promised Land). But here she is, standing right beside Bill Adama on the surface of the planet. Most intriguing…either this isn’t Earth, or else Roslin isn’t the dying leader the thought she was (though she is dying, to be sure).

I’m of two minds about the planet that everyone seems to think is Earth, myself.

On one hand, it could very well be Earth. As noted, everyone — even the non-believers — had built themselves up a myth of Earth as some kind of promised land. I don’t know why, but it honestly seemed as though the people of the Colonies thought they could just show up in orbit of their long-lost brothers and sisters in the Thirteenth Tribe, drop anchor (so to speak), land, and be welcomed with open arms into a lush, fruitful land overflowing with ambrosia and…uhm…Tauron sugar biscuits…?

Whatever…the point is that their expectations failed to take one thing into account: the Thirteenth Tribe was also composed of humans, flawed and imperfect, and prone to things like murder, dishonesty, and all the same sins that Bill Adama listed off in his speech during the Miniseries. Not more than a few hours prior to finding Earth, humanity and the Cylon rebels were no more than a handful of seconds away from using nuclear weapons to wipe each other out…can they really be surprised to find, then, that the Thirteenth Tribe may well have done the same?

On the other hand, maybe this isn’t Earth. Maybe it was just a way-station on the way to Earth, just another marker/pointer like the beacon, the algae planet, and the Ionian Nebula. It’s wholly possible that Kara Thrace’s mission as guide is not over, and that her Viper was just pointing out the next waypoint rather than the final destination. This seems unlikely given Gaeta’s confirmation of the constellations, however — it would be very nearly impossible to find another point in the galaxy in which all those stars appeared to align in just that way.

Whatever the reality, the discovery is going to cause real problems in the coming episodes. The alliance with the Cylons is fragile enough as it is, and this could potentially weaken it to the breaking point again. Or it could make the alliance stronger, as humanity and Cylon have now come face to face with the fullest implications of their mutually destructive ways.

It will almost surely trigger a wave of despair and suicides in the body of the Fleet proper. Riots too, most likely. For many of the Colonial survivors, Earth was not only their final hope, but their only hope — now that it’s gone, it will drive many of them to instability and violence, either against others or, more probably, against themselves.

>> The Last Cylon

If we pick apart D’Anna’s curt statement — that there are only four Cylons in the Fleet — we have to come to one of a handful of conclusions as to where the final Cylon might be. As I see it, the possibilities are thus:

1. Earth
2. The rebel basestar
3. Cavil’s basestar (or one of the other ships loyal to him)
4. Caprica
5. The final Cylon is not someone currently known to be living (e.g. a character currently listed as “dead”

Each of these theories is problematic, save one. Every other possibility save for the second has one major glaring flaw, and that is the scope of D’Anna’s knowledge. She has been boxed for (about) a year. In that time, she has received no knowledge of what has transpired between humanity and the Cylons, nor does she have the slightest reason to think, apart from the claims of those on the ship with her, that any other humans besides those that are on the rebel basestar are even alive.

The question that we must raise here concerns the scope of D’Anna’s knowledge of individual human beings. One of two things is possible:

1. Either she knew all of the Final Five on sight when she encountered them in her vision, or
2. She only knew four of them; the fifth was someone she’d never met before

The latter option is unlikely; D’Anna has always, always maintained that she knows all of the Five. So really, the former is the only option that makes sense, both from the perspective of the narrative thus far, and from the perspective of the quality of the series (introducing some new face just to out him or her as a Cylon would, I think, be a rather insulting cheap-shot by the series producers).

Assuming, then, that D’Anna knows who all of the Final Five are, her knowledge that only four of them are with the Fleet means one of three things:

1. D’Anna encountered the final Cylon on the rebel basestar, but did not acknowledge him or her
2. D’Anna has exterior knowledge of every human being currently in the Fleet, and knows that none of them is the final Cylon

That second option splits into two possibilities:

• Her knowledge stems from when she was briefly among the people of the Fleet as a journalist; she was somehow able to catalogue every last survivor and knows all of them on sight
• Her knowledge has a supernatural origin

Personally, I discount the two possibilities above as unlikely, which renders the second point above them equally invalid. I trust the Reader can see why I elect to do this.

Which leaves the first point — D’Anna encountered the final Cylon on the rebel basestar, but said nothing. This is actually a very reasonable conjecture — D’Anna’s silence can be explained away by the fact that the D’Anna Cylon model always has an agenda, and her silence could easily be useful in service of that agenda.

>> Predictions (mind the spoilers)

1. Invigorated by the fact that D’Anna specifically stated that only four of the Final Five were in the Fleet, I remain steadfast in my conviction that Helo — Karl Agathon — is the final Cylon.

The reason for this renewed conviction has to do with what Grace and I discussed about D’Anna’s meaning when she said that only four of the Final Five were in the Fleet. Grace agreed that the statement most likely meant that the fifth was on the basestar…but she wondered why D’Anna had not singled the fifth out in that case.

My reply was the last line of the analysis section pertaining to this topic, above: D’Anna has an agenda. Grace wondered what her agenda would be, and how her silence would benefit it. In thinking about this today, it seems to me that the answer might once again be little Hera Agathon. D’Anna was passionate in her search for the child, and could well be after Hera once again (for all we know). She could well be keeping silent on the matter of Helo’s Cylonity in order to achieve that end.

Which brings us back to the issue of the First Hybrid’s prophecy that the final Cylon would be revealed only in the “howl of terrible suffering”. Given Sharon Agathon’s passionate defence of Hera in the past — including her willingness to kill any Cylon who might even remotely threaten her child (even by way of mere proximity) — it stands to reason that if D’Anna harbours any designs on Hera, that fact will bring Sharon and D’Anna into direct conflict in the near future.

And perhaps neither Sharon nor D’Anna will survive the encounter. Perhaps Hera will be gravely endangered. And perhaps Helo will weather that terrible suffering only by discovering, and somehow coming to terms, with his Cylonity.

2. It is ultimately Roslin, in a tender, loving moment, who pulls Adama out of his abyss. More and more, she is affecting him, and it’s a beautiful, if subtle trend.

I think she’ll eventually lead him into the fold of faith; I don’t think he’ll end the series mired down in atheism.

3. As noted above (and as predicted), Tory is increasingly anti-human in her outlook and actions. When next we see Cavil (and we will see him soon, methinks), I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Tory joined up with his forces.

4. The basestar Hybrids seem to have their own agenda as well, and I’m thinking that Cavil’s people will find out from their own Hybrids that Earth has been discovered.

Update: Welcome, Dale Price readers!

Ezra Levant is in a positively giddy mood after having posted, in its entirety, the letter that got Red Deer Christian pastor Stephen Boissoin convicted by the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

I feel like a dashing rogue, like the Scarlet Pimpernel. Now I know why men ride motorcycles; now I know how it must feel to sport a moustache, to wear a tattoo (and not just the Chinese pictograph for ginger beef, but a tough one, a home-made one, that says “mom”).

There’s something ineffable about being a free man, about saying what you want, about not being afraid of what someone else thinks.

It feels pretty good.

I’d encourage you to try it.

Go ahead.

Publish Rev. Stephen Boissoin’s hate crime. I don’t care if you’re Christian, or gay, or both. I don’t care if you agree with it or not. Just republish it. Do it because you’re not supposed to do it. Because and Ed Stelmach and Darren Lund say you can’t. Do it because the Red Deer Advocate caved in and copped a plea bargain, instead of fighting like Rev. Boissoin (and Maclean’s and Mark Steyn) did.

Do it to show that you have natural rights that predate, and exceed, any “human rights” given or taken away by Alberta’s human rights commission.

Do it to show that you’re alive. To feel alive. To show that democracy and freedom are still alive.

I have to tell you, I feel great. I’m going to post it again, right now.

Hey, why not? I need to drop a few pounds!

Homosexual Agenda Wicked

The following is not intended for those who are suffering from an unwanted sexual identity crisis. For you, I have understanding, care, compassion and tolerance. I sympathize with you and offer you my love and fellowship. I prayerfully beseech you to seek help, and I assure you that your present enslavement to homosexuality can be remedied. Many outspoken, former homosexuals are free today.

Instead, this is aimed precisely at every individual that in any way supports the homosexual machine that has been mercilessly gaining ground in our society since the 1960s. I cannot pity you any longer and remain inactive. You have caused far too much damage.

My banner has now been raised and war has been declared so as to defend the precious sanctity of our innocent children and youth, that you so eagerly toil, day and night, to consume. With me stand the greatest weapons that you have encountered to date - God and the “Moral Majority.” Know this, we will defeat you, then heal the damage that you have caused. Modern society has become dispassionate to the cause of righteousness. Many people are so apathetic and desensitized today that they cannot even accurately define the term “morality.”

The masses have dug in and continue to excuse their failure to stand against horrendous atrocities such as the aggressive propagation of homo- and bisexuality. Inexcusable justifications such as, “I’m just not sure where the truth lies,” or “If they don’t affect me then I don’t care what they do,” abound from the lips of the quantifiable majority.

Face the facts, it is affecting you. Like it or not, every professing heterosexual is have their future aggressively chopped at the roots.

Edmund Burke’s observation that, “All that is required for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,” has been confirmed time and time again. From kindergarten class on, our children, your grandchildren are being strategically targeted, psychologically abused and brainwashed by homosexual and pro-homosexual educators.

Our children are being victimized by repugnant and premeditated strategies, aimed at desensitizing and eventually recruiting our young into their camps. Think about it, children as young as five and six years of age are being subjected to psychologically and physiologically damaging pro-homosexual literature and guidance in the public school system; all under the fraudulent guise of equal rights.

Your children are being warped into believing that same-sex families are acceptable; that men kissing men is appropriate.

Your teenagers are being instructed on how to perform so-called safe same gender oral and anal sex and at the same time being told that it is normal, natural and even productive. Will your child be the next victim that tests homosexuality positive?

Come on people, wake up! It’s time to stand together and take whatever steps are necessary to reverse the wickedness that our lethargy has authorized to spawn. Where homosexuality flourishes, all manner of wickedness abounds.

Regardless of what you hear, the militant homosexual agenda isn’t rooted in protecting homosexuals from “gay bashing.” The agenda is clearly about homosexual activists that include, teachers, politicians, lawyers, Supreme Court judges, and God forbid, even so-called ministers, who are all determined to gain complete equality in our nation and even worse, our world.

Don’t allow yourself to be deceived any longer. These activists are not morally upright citizens, concerned about the best interests of our society. They are perverse, self-centered and morally deprived individuals who are spreading their psychological disease into every area of our lives. Homosexual rights activists and those that defend them, are just as immoral as the pedophiles, drug dealers and pimps that plague our communities.

The homosexual agenda is not gaining ground because it is morally backed. It is gaining ground simply because you, Mr. and Mrs. Heterosexual, do nothing to stop it. It is only a matter of time before some of these morally bankrupt individuals such as those involved with NAMBLA, the North American Man/Boy Lovers Association, will achieve their goal to have sexual relations with children and assert that it is a matter of free choice and claim that we are intolerant bigots not to accept it.

If you are reading this and think that this is alarmist, then I simply ask you this: how bad do things have to become before you will get involved? It’s time to start taking back what the enemy has taken from you. The safety and future of our children is at stake.

Rev. Stephen Boissoin

You know, Grace did tell me, the other night, that she thought I looked thinner.

That’s about the only way I can really describe the Cylon Resurrection Hub — a critical, single point of failure in the entire Cylon apparatus. As to why the Cylons made resurrection dependent on a single facility that could be destroyed, I don’t really care to speculate — I’d be willing to accept that the process of resurrection is so ludicrously complex to manage that they had not yet thought out a way to develop a distributed solution (the Cylons aren’t gods, after all — at least as far as we know).

The Hub was a great episode, and one that had a reasonably happy ending (something that’s been in short supply this season of BSG). Grace, especially, rather liked it, and I share that view. As expected, the episode happens in parallel with the previous episode, explaining the “other side” of events only briefly glimpsed beforehand. And it ends where the previous episode ended, with the rebel basestar appearing where William Adama’s drifting Raptor is waiting, fulfilling his hope and faith in the president’s survival.

Which, of course, led to what might have been the best scene in the episode (and also the last): Adama and Roslin finally professing their love for one another. In a season as dark as this one has been, that maybe isn’t that much to go on…but it’s still a beautiful thing, and not really something one can categorize using measures and weights.

>> The Resurrection Hub, proper

As I said was probable, the Resurrection Hub has been destroyed — Cylons are mortal now. This will have interesting implications in the future.

Also, the battle sequence was excellent; it was nice to see a good, action-filled episode.

>> Three is back

D’Anna Biers has been unboxed — but only one copy! Still, there is hope that my theory about Anders being the first of the Penultimate Four Cylons to be “outed” might yet pan out. And I still think he’s the one that D’Anna apologized to in her vision last season.

>> My God, but humanity is corrupt

This is specifically in regard to Laura Roslin’s double-cross of the Cylons — she is utterly unable to trust them which, I suspect, stems from her inability to love (the flaw that Elosha, in Roslin’s visions, points out). There is a turnaround at the end, when Roslin belatedly rethinks her decision to let Gaius Baltar die from his wounds after he admits his unknowing complicity in the holocaust of the Twelve Colonies…and yet, she still goes on to demand a first, and then private, audience with D’Anna — Number Three, as the Cylons know her.

At every turn, now, the show goes out of its way to demonstrate that the Colonial understanding of what is just, fair, or justified is, in fact, in error and destructive. Whether it’s “eye for an eye” justice, an inability to trust, or an inability to love or forgive, humanity is at every turn seeming to be in a real rush to destroy itself.

For the first three seasons, Saul Tigh was perhaps the most visibly destructive human in the show — now, in the fourth season, Roslin has taken hold of that mantle. She is so bloody-minded, and harbours such a deep hatred of Cylons (even ones that risked everything — their very immortality given up! — to help her achieve a goal she dearly desired). There’s little doubt left in the viewer’s mind, after each scene in which Roslin speaks, that were it up to her she would see the rebel basestar destroyed and the Final Five airlocked.

D’Anna ultimately calls her out on this, and on her duplicity, in fact. And the Six’s disappointment with Helo after he admits the need to follow the president’s orders is also palpable, scathing…and damning.

This tendency for pretty much every human on the show — even Starbuck, mind — to display irrational hatred of Cylons is another reason I’m inclined to think that Karl Agathon might be a Cylon; he has, consistently, been the one human who has tried to do the right thing, rather than the expedient or advantageous thing, as the series has progressed. His disappointment at what he is forced to do by loyalty to the chain of command is profound.

Almost too profound; Helo is essentially unique among the human characters in his ability to look past the human/Cylon division.

>> Baltar’s evangelism

I have no idea what Baltar was up to in this episode — whatever apparent humility he had displayed previously has been replaced by a mutated form of his customary arrogance, to the point where he thinks himself singularly able to “calm” the basestar’s Hybrid (which provides for a bit of comedy, it must be noted). His evangelism to the Centurion is both interesting and annoying. Interesting, because I think Baltar is right that the (very active, very involved) God of the BSG universe is, in fact, dearly interested in the fate of Centurions. Annoying, because his motive doesn’t seem to be a genuine concern for God’s work or the Centurion as much as it seems to be an attempt to widen the scope of the Centurion rebellion.

>> Laura Roslin, Cylon?

Well, it would be ironic and perhaps poetically just were Roslin to turn out to be the last, missing member of the Final Five. But I very much doubt she is — I think the teaser trailer’s red herring presentation of D’Anna’s revelation, coupled with the way that red herring is itself revealed to be another red herring (since D’Anna was evidently just playing a joke on Roslin), has pretty much put Laura Roslin in the clear, as far as Cylon speculation is concerned. It would be painfully contrived for her to be “outed” now.

>>Predictions — mind the spoilers!

1) I’m still convinced that Helo is the last Cylon, more so now in light of D’Anna’s throwaway remark to the Number Six that expresses disappointment in the corridor toward the end of the show. Double-crossing, D’Anna explains, is a human trait. She’s not really addressing Helo with that remark, not by her tone, and it should be noted that Helo himself really doesn’t want to betray his new allies, especially after they’ve spoken at length about the value of shared trust.

It might just be…telling.

2) With the Hub gone, the only way the Cylons can survive is through reproduction — that’s more or less a cut-and-dried fact now. With that in mind, and given that at least one of the Final Five now seems to have demonstrated the ability to reproduce with a fellow Cylon, I’m thinking we’ll see further revelations in this regard in the second half of the season.

3) I’m still convinced — especially since his faith in Roslin has paid off in spades — that Adama won’t end the series as an atheist.

The passage he reads from the detective novel is interesting, too — it is really a sinner’s lament. Taking the form of a description of a man trying to build a garden on the shore of an island that he washed up on, it describes how the fruits of the man’s labours seemed to be but an ugly scar along the face of the beach; a wholly unfitting tribute to the island that had saved the man’s life. That’s certainly a rather apt description of the guilt of sin when sin is understood in light of the perfection of the divine, and how that sin mars the beauty of its creation.

4) As predicted, Galactica made no attempt to engage the Hub. I expect that Adama has the coordinates for where the fleet jumped to stored on his Raptor, and so will be able to guide the rebel basestar back to the Fleet. That, I think, will be the start of the next episode (which will be the mid-season finalé, unfortunately).

5) With the Threes back in action in the form of D’Anna, we can’t be far from seeing some of the Penultimate Four Cylons being outed (I don’t think we’ll get all five before the mid-season break). Some of this is confirmed in the trailer for next week’s episode: Tigh admits being a Cylon to Adama, and Tory apparently elects to return to “her people” aboard the basestar. Also, it appears that at least three of the Four will nearly be executed by Lee Adama, in his capacity as President of the Colonies. But apparently, Starbuck will intervene, claiming that the Cylons in question somehow revealed to her the coordinates for Earth.

6) I’m thinking that the discovery of Earth will have something to do with at least three of the Penultimate Four (Tigh, Samuel Anders, and Galen Tyrol) being summoned to, and perhaps tampering with, Kara Thrace’s Viper — she discovers this later on, and interrupts the execution of the Cylons. As to why the Cylons are to be executed, I’m not sure, but I wonder if perhaps it doesn’t have something to do with Tory, who chooses at some point to board the rebel basestar. Perhaps she continues her progression toward a more anti-human mentality, and in the capacity of a messianic leader elects to go against both the plans of the Cylons to co-operate with the humans, and against the humans themselves. That might be enough to movitave Lee to respond by threatening to execute the other three Cylons.

7) It looks like they find Earth, at least from the trailer. That was kind of expected, according to various rumours floating around; equally, the expectation is that Earth will be abandoned, and perhaps even post-apocalyptic.

I note, from the trailer, that Roslin appears to make it to Earth. This would seem to fly in the face of the idea that she is the dying leader foretold in ancient Colonial prophecy.

9) I still think Anders will be the first Cylon outed, and that this will have something to do with D’Anna’s apology to one of the Final Five in her vision last season, just prior to her being boxed.

Yesterday or the day before marked the start of the fifth month of Grace’s pregnancy. And God continues to effect the mystery of His glorious creation!

The “proud papa” feeling hasn’t quite hit me yet, but the “proud husband” feeling certainly has. I have an incredible, awesome wife, and a truly amazing thing is taking place in, and within, her.

Read the rest of this entry »