Bound By Blood & Love

Ok I admit it dedicated readers. As Kevin approaches high school graduation and prepares to head off to college and Bill Jr gets closer to completing college I am often left wondering "where the heck did all that time go". I truly LOVED my days as a young parent raising my two boys. Things often look anti-climatic these days. However I realize that it is what is it and I look toward the future with pride in both my boys and hope for the future.

Today while I was working in my stream the song, "Go On" by Jack Johnson came on my I-pod and images of my boys started passing through my mind. I took a few minutes to try and recreate the moment for all of you, my dedicated readers. I hope you enjoy this and if you have young ones, hug them extra hard and try to remember the moment because it will not come again.

Wegman's Policy Leads Me To The Hop Devil

Dedicated readers a few weeks ago Kevin came to me with big news. Kevin informed me that while he was shopping at Wegmans he noticed that they were now "selling beer and that the choices were endless". I was rather excited by this because I enjoy a pint from time to time and I have what my wife calls "expensive taste" for the brews. I checked Wegmans out and just like Kevin said the choices were endless. There are a couple of things to be aware of dedicated readers when it comes to picking up some brew at Wegmans.

1. You can not purchase more then a 12 pack at any time. If you want to buy more they ask you to make one purchase, go to your car and then come back for more. Hey but be patient. As Pennsylvania residents this is a huge step for us brew lovers so be patient.

2. Don't get excited like me when they card you. For a minute on my first purchase I was having wonderful flashbacks of my youth but that is a story for another day. Wegmans cards everybody, no matter how old you may appear.

Anyway onto the important stuff. Because you can buy small portions you can actually try out different brews without investing in an entire case. I tried several styles over the past few weeks and I must say I have finally found a competitor to my beloved Samuel Adams. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the Victory Brewing Company's "Hop Devil Ale". This is one mean brew dedicated readers. With a unique mix of whole flower American hops backed up by rich, German malts this is one brew that will give Samuel Adams a run for the money in the Mann Family fridge.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Mann this new brew is actually slightly more expensive then Samuel Adams.

If you like your brew dedicated reader, check out Wegmans and don't be scared of the "Hop Devil".

Revisiting The Meaning of Star Trek

In perhaps the most famous "Star Trek" episode of them all, Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Cmdr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) stand in their stretchy mock-turtle uniform shirts, lady-pleasin' tight pants and pointy-toed boots on one of those studio-lot sets designed to evoke a prewar American city. People shuffle past in shabby clothes, and a black automobile with large, curved fenders crawls down the street. "I've seen photographs of this period," says Kirk. "An economic upheaval had occurred."

"It was called 'Depression,'" says Spock, raising one painted eyebrow in archetypal distaste. "Circa 1930. Quite barbaric."

As many of you will have spotted already, this is from "City on the Edge of Forever," a time-paradox yarn written by science-fiction legend Harlan Ellison. In it, Kirk falls in love with a kittenish Salvation Army type, played by Joan Collins, who envisions a future of space travel and peaceful global cooperation, and wants to rescue the world from the threat of impending war. Kirk comes from that future, of course. Not only can he not tell her that, he must also allow her to be run down by a bus to avoid a fatal disordering of the space-time continuum that would result in Hitler conquering the world and the Starship Enterprise never existing at all.

In its narrative ambition, its talky, theatrical density, its high-minded moral tone and its nerdy philosophizing, that episode captures a great deal about what made "Star Trek" such a potent cultural force. I guess that's why it's included, along with three other episodes, on "The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series," a new DVD/Blu-ray release presumably meant to lure new viewers of J.J. Abrams' hit film back to the source material. No "Star Trek" fan could possibly be happy with such a mini-collection -- where, I ask, is "Mirror, Mirror"? "The Doomsday Machine"? "The Devil in the Dark"?.

Watching "Star Trek" in 1970s syndication was such an important part of my childhood and adolescence -- I've seen every episode at least 30 or 40 times, and some many more than that. Star Trek

stands out, even after all this time, as something unique in television history. Of course "Star Trek" can never be the cultural monster it once was. Having spawned four official follow-up series, 11 feature films (and counting) and countless non-canonical works -- and inspired an entire genre of serial intergalactic futurism from "Space: 1999" to "Babylon 5" to "Battlestar Galactica,"  Gene

Roddenberry imagined a radical-progressive, enlightenment-fueled vision of the human future, one in which the conflict between capitalism and communism had been long transcended, along with eliminating other earthbound forms of racial, ethnic or religious strife. Strikingly, there is no religious or mystical dimension to the "Star Trek" universe at all. It was based around the chronic tension between reason and emotion, represented of course by the tension between Spock, Kirk & McCoy. Roddenberry

worked with the best writers he could get. Ellison wrote "City on the Edge of Forever," and Theodore Sturgeon, another big-name sci-fi author, wrote "Amok Time", the famous episode in which Spock goes into some kind of Vulcan craze and must return to his home planet in order to mate.

When it debuted in the late 1960’s "Star Trek" was new and startling in several ways: a science-fiction series that was literary and imaginative and heavily allegorical, that ladled out historical and political messages by the quart and that delivered a distinctive undertone of adult sexuality.

Roddenberry's attention to great and meaningful writing continues to make the original "Star Trek" relevant to contemporary viewers. CBS/Paramount has re-mastered the whole entire original series in  brilliant high-definition, and made them available on Blu-ray, iTunes, XBox Live and no doubt other platforms yet to be devised.  In the end, Star Trek depicts a

future where we would all agree that war and poverty and economic depression were barbaric, and where the girls would all wear miniskirts and nylons.

Tech Bites Explores Wireless Radios

Grace Digital Wireless Internet Radio

As a dedicated reader you must have surely been saddened by the passing of my Soundbridge M500 yesterday. I love these devices so much I have three of them. One was in my kitchen which is piped to my deck, living room and kitchen. I also have one in my bedroom for evening listening of radio and podcasts and finally a third in my office at work. Yesterday my oldest one (about 3 years) passed away with what I believe was a fried board but who really knows because you cannot access the interior of the unit. Yesterday I took a ride over to Best Buy and found a Grace Wireless Internet Radio and liked what a saw. I had read about this one on the Sirius webpage so I used some of birthday money and picked this beauty up. So far I like what I see. This digital radio, which is now sitting in my kitchen can play my Sirius Radio Account, HD-Radio, Terrestrial Radio (internet streams), Pandora Radio and access my I-Tunes Library. After some tinkering I also have this piped throughout my home and deck. If you are in the market for a digital radio check this out and at $179.99 it is one of the most inexpensive options out there.

There are two areas that I am not very satisfied with however. One is the LCD screen. The screen size is very nice however it is very hard if not impossible to read from a distance which is a real shame because just like a Sirius radio the artist and song titles are displayed but you really cannot see it. The other problem is the lack of any ability to remotely access the radio from your computer. I am hoping that future software updates will at least address this issue.

Regardless of these two problems the Grace Digital Wireless Internet Radio is one of the best and most affordable options out there. Check it out dedicated readers and let the music play.

Kevin & Me (sneak peak)

Ok I know I am going a little crazy here. However Kevin getting ready to go off to college is really doing strange things to me. As a coping mechanism I have been working on a important and provoking film presentation which I will premier at Kevin's graduation party. Anyway here is a short version including exclusive clips of Kevin & I through the years. This is a sneak peek of the masterpiece I am working on. To give you, my dedicated readers some idea of how BIG the final film is going to be, this short is about 7 minutes long while the graduation film is just under 60 minutes.




Technical Note: You will not find this video on my YouTube channel. This sneak peak is available only here, for you, my dedicated readers. Also some of the pictures need to be re-edited but hey I wanted to share it with all of you even in this rough cut.

What Was & What Is To Come

With Kevin’s prom this weekend and his high school graduation only weeks away and college looming my thoughts recently have been filled with the years past and what is yet to come. I’m not really ready to be a “empty nester” but I don’t see what I can do about it. Here is a short video I made up using some pictures of Kevin. I am working on a master film project for Kevin’s graduation party. In the meantime here is a short version of what I am working on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used the music of Luka Bloom who is one of my favorites.