Groundhog Day
Yesterday, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, a dire forecast of six more weeks of winter. According to the tradition, if he doesn't see his shadow, this augurs an early spring. Now, I can't speak to the weather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but here in the Great Lakes State is winter only lasts six more weeks after February 2, that would constitute an early spring. So, it's the same prediction whether the blasted groundhog sees his shadow or not. Of course, that pretty much makes the groundhog's prognostications foolproof. Well done, city fathers of Punxsutawney! You can't lose! Brillaint!

Would Punksutawney Phil be acceptable as an album title?

Just Say "No" to Fun, Part II
I have to somewhat amend my support for the Mountain of Love's decision to skip last night's Mu330 show. He chose to play innertube water polo as a Genesee County All-Star, and as a founder and former captain of the GCAS, I applaud his participation. There are, after all, only three regular season water polo games a year. But after the game, when presumably he would be too tired to join me in Detroit, he went to the Blind Pig to see the band Oh My God in concert. It would be one thing had he said he was going to skip Mu330 to see Oh My God; that would be a mistake, but he has a free will and the right to make that mistake. But he told me he wouldn't be coming to the show because of the water polo game, which clearly didn't prevent him from going to a different show.

Where No Fan Has Gone Before
I feel kind of guilty about this, but I'm not all that upset about the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise. Make no mistake, I love the show. I don't just watch it out of habit or loyalty to Star Trek, I really love Enterprise. I've taken issue with the way established continuity was treated, going all the way back to the pilot, "Broken Bow," but it's a damned good show and I wish a pox on those bastards at UPN and Viacom for killing it. But, there has been talk of cancellation for over a year now, and talk of Star Trek needing a break for years. I suppose I had braced myself for this.

That said, let us not underestimate the tragedy of this moment. Yes, Star Trek has been in continuous production for eighteen years, but talk of a break being a good thing is madness! Eighteen years passed between the cancellation of the original series and the franchise's resurrection with Star Trek: The Next Generation. Remember those years in the wilderness! Remember what it was like to not have any new Trek! And with Rick Berman having successfully driven the movie franchise into the ground, I truly fear for the future of both Star Trek and science fiction television. Maybe I'm more upset about this that I thought I was. Maybe right now I'm just shocked, I'm numb.

At any rate, I will cherish the last ten episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. You should, too. They might be the last Star Trek for a very long time indeed.