Snapshot Chronicles - Susan Getgood's personal blog

SciFi Sunday: R2D2 at the Natick Mall

06.08.2008 by Susan Getgood //

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…

Actually, yesterday in a mall not far from our house…

Douglas and a legion of 5 to 12 year old Jedi Warriors (and their parents) helped a LEGO Master Builder build a giant R2D2 from LEGO bricks. They were about half-way through construction when we got there Saturday afternoon. They are expected to finish Sunday afternoon, and the completed model will be on display at the Natick Mall LEGO store for about a month.

The kids don’t actually add pieces directly to the model. They build subassemblies, which the Master Builder and his assistants attach to the model. The small size model (picture below) is built mostly from white, gray, brown and blue 2×4 bricks.

The kids use smaller bricks to create a large equivalent of the 2×4 brick which the Master Builder uses to assemble the giant model.

For their efforts, they get a certificate and a $5 coupon off a $35.00 purchase. If they are a member of the LEGO Brickmaster club, they also got a postcard in the mail that entitled them to a free Star Wars LEGO keyring with a $25.00 purchase. Needless to say, we used all the coupons plus a LEGO giftcard we had from Christmas toward the purchase of two new kits.

It’s definitely a fun thing to do if your kid likes LEGOs.

[tags] LEGO, Star Wars, R2D2 [/tags]

Disappointed, disillusioned, disheartened but still a Democrat

06.07.2008 by Susan Getgood //

First let me state that I will vote for for the Democratic nominee in November. I’ve always been quite clear on that point. I am a lifelong Democrat, and while I have occasionally voted for Republicans in state and local elections, I vote the party ticket in national elections. Starting with the 1972 mock election in elementary school through to my first presidential election as a voter in 1980 and every election since then.

This year will be no different. I will cast my vote for presumptive nominee Barack Obama.

But I am very disappointed. I wanted to cast my vote, as I did in the Massachusetts primary, for Hillary Clinton.

I’m disillusioned with my political party and the Democratic leaders in my state.

And like my friend PunditMom, I am disheartened that we still do not believe a woman presidential candidate is electable.

Because no matter how you spin it, that’s what happened.

It’s why Senator Obama took the chance and ran. Even though he didn’t have the depth or breadth of experience that typically we expect from presidential candidates.

It’s why the party and the Democratic leadership rallied behind him, even as voters were saying otherwise. The leadership in my state all came out for Obama, yet Hillary Clinton still won our primary.

Obama is an eloquent public speaker. He ran for president based on his ability to stir hearts, not engage minds.

If the roles were reversed, if the woman candidate was the younger, mesmerizing speaker promoting change, and the black man was the policy wonk talking about competence and specific plans, what would the result have been?

I’m both saddened and certain that it would have been the same. The Democratic nation would still be celebrating our first black male presidential candidate.

I wanted it to be different. I wanted my country and my party to stand up for a highly qualified, experienced woman candidate with clear ideas for how to make our country better.

We didn’t. We took the safe choice: the man with the podium instead of the woman with the plan.

But disappointed, disillusioned and disheartened though I may be that it wasn’t different, I am still and always a Democrat.

So I will follow the lead of Senator Clinton and support Barack Obama in the general election.

Sadly but certainly.

[tags] Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, presidential election, Democratic Party [/tags]

SciFi Sunday: Indy, Sarah Jane and Sine Qua Non

06.01.2008 by Susan Getgood //

We saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last week. Was it as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark? No, but I don’t think the previous two sequels were either. The first film was an immediate classic; as a result, its sequels have a lot to measure up to. That they don’t — that they aren’t as good — shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s pretty much SOP with most classic films.

Crystal Skull is still a good, fun summer film. Sure you have to suspend your disbelief pretty far at some of the situations the characters survive, but it’s great to see Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones again, even if he’s moving a bit slower. Aren’t we all? Shia LaBeouf was fine as new sidekick Mutt Williams. The best though, was the return of Karen Allen as Marian Ravenwood. It’s quite easy to believe that her character is the only woman who could capture Indiana Jones’ attention for more than a moment.

The storyline is farfetched, which is fine and expected, and a bit rushed at the end, which is unfortunate. Without revealing any spoilers, I think many kids will have trouble understanding what happens at the end, especially if they are not familiar with other Spielberg films.

My summer film recommendation remains if you are only going to see one film in the theater, see Iron Man. Wait for this one on DVD. If you are a big Indiana Jones fan or can attend the film with one, preferably a child, by all means go. You’ll have some nice summer movie fun.

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Sarah Jane Adventures wrapped up its first season on SciFi on Friday. We like this show very much. It is a sci fi show for kids with some intelligence, and I mean that in both possible interpretations — the show is smart, and so are the kids. It doesn’t dumb down but at the same time it is very accessible and quite entertaining. I’ve always like star Elisabeth Sladen, and they’ve surrounded her with a nice cast, juvenile and adult. Looking forward to more of these in the future.

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Battlestar Galactica Sine Qua Non. Finally the return of the Adamas. We’d seen so little of either character this season that I would have been happy with a scene or two. Instead, the two main story arcs focused on them. Plus, we got the HUGE bonus of Mark Sheppard as Romo Lampkin. Sheppard had scenes with both Eward James Olmos and Jamie Bamber plus a solo scene that was excellent. There also was a tasty side order of Tigh and Six, and the awesome fist fight.

I enjoy the chemistry of the four main actors, Olmos, McDonnell, Sackoff and Bamber; part of what makes the show so good is that no matter how you mix up those four, you generally get something interesting on screen. Some of the best Bamber scenes though are the ones with Mark Sheppard. This week’s episode was no different. I especially liked the parallel between their meeting last season, when Lee was looking for a new direction, and their first scene in Sine Qua Non, when it was Romo who was clearly adrift.

But the best thing? The return of Jake:

(image from Battlestar Wiki)

A nice love letter to longtime fans who’ve wondered for more than a year what happened to this resistance hero.

[tags] Indiana Jones, Battlestar Galactica, Mark Sheppard, Sarah Jane Adventures, Elisabeth Sladen [/tags]