The Daily Bongo
May 2012
Thursday, May 30, 2012 -- Evening
The Doctor Meets Data
I am a huge comic book fan, especially of Archie, Scooby Doo, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. Imagine my happiness a few months ago when I heard that IDW would be releasing a crossover between Star Trek: The Next Generation and Doctor Who in an eight part series titled Assimilation². The first issue starts with an attack on a planet by a combination of the Borg (ST:TNG) and the Cybermen (Doctor Who). That's going to be a killer combination, and of course, will require the intervention of both the folks from the Enterprise and the Doctor and the Ponds. The Doctor captures an alien criminal, and the issue has a cliffhanger ending with the Tardis landing on the holodeck of the Enterprise, with Data and Commander Riker in 1940s San Francisco.The series has an interesting look with the characters having a very realistic, almost photographic look in places. Of course, the main characters haven't had a chance yet to realize that they are going to be on the trail of the Borg and Cybermen. I can't wait to see how the rest of the series plays out.
Saturday, May 19, 2012 -- Early Evening
137th Preakness Stakes
Today's 137th running of the Preakness Stakes was an exciting one. It was promoted as a match-up between I'll Have Another and Bodemeister. Since Bodemeister had set such a fast pace for the Derby, the thought was that if he just managed to go slower, Bodemeister might have a chance to win. When the horses bounded from the gate, Bodemeister got a good start. Again, he took the lead, but this time, his quarters were slower than the Derby. I'll Have Another also was up in the top few, staying fairly close to Bodemeister. When they came into the stretch, it was obvious that it was going to be a fight between the two. I'll Have Another started his drive, but Bodemeister didn't roll over. It looked like Bodemeister might be able to hold off I'll Have Another, but at the wire, I'll Have Another managed to get his nose in front, winning officially by a neck. It was really thrilling race, with the 1 3/16 miles run in 1:55.94. Creative Cause was back in a fading third, but no one was paying any attention to the rest of the horses. Zetterholm finished in fourth.Wednesday, May 16, 2012 -- Afternoon
Patriot's Dream by Barbara Michaels
I've been reading through Barbara Michaels' books, but not in any order. I did try to read the books that have been identified as the "Georgetown series" together. Those books span over 20 years, and include Ammie Come Home (1968), Shattered Silk (1986), and Stitches in Time (1995). I was thinking that I liked the earlier books, but after reading Patriot's Dream, published in 1976, I think that I've changed my mind. I had a lot of difficulty in getting into Patriot's Dream. The book goes back and forth between present day Williamsburg (1976) and Williamsburg in the 1770/1780 time period. Chapters altered between one reality and the next. Yes, Michaels has had visitors from the past appear in the story, but it was a ghostly appearance in the modern world. This back and forth transition was very disconcerting to me and made it more difficult for me to follow the story.Jan Wilde is the heroine in the modern world of 1976. She goes to Williamsburg to spend her summer vacation with her elderly aunt and uncle, to help them out with daily living. Of course, all the men are after Jan. Aunt Camilla likes Richard, who works in a Williamsburg violin shop, and comes across as a namby-pamby to me. The uncle likes the more manly, arrogant, Alan, the family lawyer. Charles Wilde, his family, their slaves, and Charles' cousin, Jonathan are the characters in revolutionary Williamsburg. Jan views incidents in the life of Charles and Jonathan as she dreams. The pair have roles in the revolution. Charles is on the side of the revolution, and Jonathan, a Mennonite, is on the side of peace and on freedom for slavery. Jonathan seems to play both sides of the game, and he's the one that Jan falls in love with. As Jan tries to find a way to communicate with Jonathan to warn him of the future, the experience drains her. Others are starting to notice that something is wrong, and of course, Jan has to decide which guy is the right one for her.
I hesitate to say anything bad about any Barbara Michaels book, but I have to admit that this one is at the bottom of the list for me. I found myself skimming over the revolutionary times pages, just to get the gist. I wasn't pleased or displeased with the ending; I was just glad that the book was in the finished pile. I have a vague memory of reading this book when I was a teen and liking it. I can't imagine why that was the case.