May the Force be With You on Your Exploration of Strange New Worlds

I'm a big Star Wars fan. Have been since I was in fifth grade, when I first saw the movies. They shaped my world. I wore a Princess Leia costume to the first showing of Episode I, and I spewed movie quotes in every direction, even in class.

BUT. I'm a big Star Trek fan, too.

At work the other day, I heard two young nerds exclaiming loudly, as they ransacked the Star Trek novels, that it's impossible to be a fan of both the final frontier and a galaxy far, far away. I've yet to hear a good reason why people think this so mistakenly. I have no problem loving phasers and blasters, warp speed and hyperspace, shielding and reckless abandon.

Before seeing Episode III in theaters, we had a Star Wars marathon, watching everything in release order (except we only watched the pod race in Phantom Menace, because no one can stand that much Jake Lloyd). Yet on my honeymoon with Spousal Unit, it was a day-long Star Trek marathon we reveled in (Next Generation, of course).

I can understand preferring one over the other. I have those moods myself. Sometimes I need Han Solo's rogue heart and the mystery of the Force, ignoring the ridiculousness of midichlorians. At others, the cure for my longing is some intense science and a little bit of impossible time travel that I'm going to pretend is attainable. I have to say, the one thing I definitely prefer about Star Trek is that there are so many glorious episodes to see, as opposed to the Star Wars original trilogy. But that doesn't change my love for each work overall.

Perhaps some people are just more obsessed with science and reason (in space) as opposed to blowing TIE fighters to smithereens in the name of the Rebellion. Perhaps some prefer the religion of the Force to the exploration of strange new worlds that might kiss you or kill you at every turn.

Personally, I'm willing to live the life of a scoundrel and an explorer at the same time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sally Anns and a Can of Spam

Image
Sally Anns are one of my favorite cookies. By their taste alone, they evoke a sense of home and comfort, reminding me of the kitchen at my grandparents' place and the simple happiness of mid-afternoon sweets. They're the only food that evokes the thought, This would be better with a cup of coffee. Making them was a good Easter activity, especially as I was stuck away from the family due to unpacking (the books are now free!) and yard work shenanigans (such as finding a dead mouse in the yard, which was lovely). With help from my mom, I found the recipe in the family cookbook (my great-great-grandparents are on the cover, and other awesome old pictures are scattered throughout). I decided that the transgression of buying a can of Spam (just once) was worth it for the sake of the cookies. Poke holes in the bottom of the can to allow for air flow. I didn't have enough butter for a full batch, but half of one made 18 Cookies of Unusual Size. I made the mistake of
Read more

The Beatles' Help! Scarf

Image
Remember when I posted about making Beatles-themed crafts after seeing Cirque du Soleil's performance of Love? I've finished the first one. Here's a refresher of the original Help! scarf. Source And here's my version: a massive thing that I gave my sister for her birthday. In these shots, it's wrapped around her neck twice. I didn't measure the beast before I sent it to its new home, but it's probably about 8 feet long. Made with Caron yarn on size 8 needles, this tube scarf was 40 stitches in the round. Each block of color is 20 rows. The only tricky parts are getting a smooth transition between colors and what to do with the yarn ends inside the tube, but they are easy problems to solve. When you transitioning, knit a normal row with the new color, then pull tight the last stitch of the previous color. That last stitch shouldn't disappear entirely, but it will be close, and your problem will be solved. Then, because this scarf
Read more

Data in Social Science

The science aspect of social science work is central to improving social systems. Data inform whether we are moving in the right direction or need to adjust our course. However, data and science must not be the center of our work; we must keep focus on children, families, and individuals, whose experiences are nuanced and filtered through systems that hold innate bias, which rests within the data . By maintaining awareness of these biases and their potential, we can keep people at the center of our work and focus on the true causes of injustice and pain that many families deal with. Lack of awareness can be a slippery slope to believing that individuals or families are themselves at fault for their situations, be it lack of housing, interpersonal violence, or other abuse. With data that are conscious of systemic issues and biases, we can examine the true issues at hand, such as racism , financial instability, and ableist policies.  What good are any manner of properly applied scientifi
Read more