Student Rituals

I got to engage in one of my favorite student rituals last week: registering for the next term. No matter how tired and stressed I am by one quarter's classes, registering for the next quarter is always exciting. Here is a brand new subject area to explore! New books! New mysteries! A new journey to embark upon!

My school makes it nice, because they post the syllabus for every class as a link on the online schedule, so we have more than just the course description to go by when we make our selection. As a first-year student, I'm focusing on the required courses, but it's still nice to have the detail.

I'll be taking "Sacramental and Liturgical Theology" -- which sounds exciting to me. (I understand if many of you want to start snoring -- or run for the nearest exit.) Because this is an M.Div. program, which focuses on preparing ministers, there will be a strong emphasis on practical application as well as theological theory. Because it's an ecumenical class taught by a Jesuit, there will be an interesting variety of viewpoints about the number and nature of the sacraments. As a Swedenborgian -- and a Grail Priestess, who celebrates a rite called the Grail Mass -- I'll have a slightly different perspective than any of my classmates. It should be fun.

SciFi Remakes

I went to see Master and Commander yesterday -- which I recommend for those who like a strong dose of authenticity in their adventure films -- but what made the big impression on me was the trailer for the Sci-Fi channel's remake of Battlestar Galactica as a miniseries. To say the least, I was boggled by the changes they made to the story. To me, it looked more like someone crossed Babylon-5 with Voyager (particularly Seven of Nine) than the Galactica I remember.

So this morning I paid a visit to imdb.com and browsed the listing. I don't usually read the User Comments section, but I did today, and found this particularly amusing and cogent paragraph. (For the record, I loathe what George Lucas has done to the Star Wars universe in Episodes I and II.)

ChadGent2001 wrote: A bit off topic, but as far as I'm concerned they did remake the Star Wars universe. Have you seen the prequels? Lucas forgot what he wrote twenty years ago and didn't bother renting his own movies and now we got stuff that makes no sense when connected to the old films. The difference is the new BG is trying to be more serious and aim for an older audience, while the new SW is trying to be more stupid and is aimed at kids who have to wear bicycle helmets 24/7 and ride the short bus to school.

I'm willing to give the new BG a chance, but it will be as its own story, not as a "remake" of the 1970's Galactica. In the meantime, as my schedule permits, I'm going to be watching the original Galactica series, which I just purchased on DVD. True, the original series never lived up to the grandeur of its vision, but its heart was in the right place. Now, I find myself wondering what JMS (creator of Babylon-5) would have done with Galactica.

Who Me?

Which Star-Crossed Marvel Lover Are You?




Which Star-Crossed Marvel Lover Are You?


In my case it's the Warrior Prince of a distant galaxy, but the general concept is about right.