Squid Mixes: May Day

A May Day combines gin, bitter citrus apéritif (I used Campari), lemon juice, simple syrup, rhubarb bitters and sparkling white wine with a lemon twist.  I got my recipe from Cocktail Party.  I assume the name of the drink is a play on the surname of the inventor, bartender Jane Danger.

The flavor is bright.  The rhubarb comes through with a tangy sour.  The Campari brings the pink color and a bitter finish.

On the Coffee Table: Smiley's People

Title: Smiley's People

Author: John le Carre

First, a moment to acknowledge John le Carre's passing in December.  Born David Cornwell in 1931, he was an active MI5 officer when he published his first spy novel in 1961.  Many of his characters, including both George Smiley and Bill Haydon, were based on people he knew in the service.  He was never shy about expressing his political opinions, an outspoken critic of both Brexit and Donald Trump.  He died of pneumonia at the age of 89.

via Wikipedia

Smiley's People is the seventh George Smiley book and the third and final installment of the Karla Trilogy.  It begins, at least from George's perspective, as a murder mystery when one of his agents, General Vladimir, is killed in London.  Except it's not exactly a conventional case because whodunnit is obvious and therefore irrelevant.  The KGB (known in-story as "Moscow Centre") did it.  The more important question is "Why?"  What information did Vladimir have that the Soviets - or was it just one Soviet? - was trying to bury?

It takes a while for various narrative threads to weave together and Smiley's victory, when it finally comes in the end, is quiet and anti-climactic.  A man crosses a bridge, drops a cigarette lighter on the ground and gets into a car.  No big shoot out.  No fanfare.  George doesn't even seem comfortable with the duly earned pats on the back.  It's just over.  Such is le Carre's style and as ever, it's thoroughly believable.

Smiley's People includes a more modest travel itinerary than The Honorable Schoolboy, mostly hovering around England and Central Europe.  Le Carre does offer a loving portrait of Bern, Switzerland, a city where the author himself lived as a student.

Apart from George, the character who benefits most from the author's masterful development is Karla, Smiley's Moscow Centre nemesis.  We rarely see much of Karla in any of the books.  In fact, he never gets a spoken line in the BBC adaptations.  But we learn quite a lot in this final tale about his history, his motivations and finally, his vulnerabilities.  On screen, it's the perfect part for an actor who can make a lot out of a little, Patrick Stewart in the TV version. 

There are more George books.  The Secret Pilgrim is next up.  It's on the wish list but it could be a while for me.  The TBR shelves are overflowing at the moment.  However, there may be more le Carre in the near future...

Star Wars Comics: Classic Star Wars #9-13, Tales of the Jedi #1

via Wikipedia

Al Williamson was the artist for the Star Wars newspaper comics for several years in the early 1980s after having done the comic book adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back.  He was born March 21, 1931 in New York City, though he grew up in Bogotá, Colombia until the age of 12.  From the 1950s through the '70s, he found work on the science fiction, fantasy and horror titles of EC Comics and Warren Publishing, including a long run on Flash Gordon.  George Lucas requested him personally for Star Wars, having been impressed by his earlier work.  After Star Wars, worked primarily as an inker for Marvel for the next two decades.

Williamson passed away in 2010.

My Recent Reads

Classic Star Wars #9

Originally Published May 1, 1993

Reproduction of a comic strip from 1982

Writer: Archie Goodwin

Artist: Al Williamson

In-Story Timeline: 0 ABY

via Wookieepedia

• The Night Beast continues.
• Unfortunately, Chewie proves no match for Yavin IV's underground monster.  Nor is anyone else.
• Apparently, the planet's previous inhabitants fled and left the beast to defend the world for their eventual return.  
• Using the Force and droid assistance, Luke manages to communicate with the beast a means of reconnecting with its former masters.
• All is well.

Classic Star Wars #10

June 1, 1993

Reproduction of a comic strip from 1982

Goodwin/Williamson

via Wookieepedia

• The Return of Ben Kenobi begins.  The story ran from May 17 - July 25, 1982.
• A man who looks an awful lot like Obi-Wan Kenobi comes to the aid of rebel-affiliated weapons smugglers on the planet Aridus.  Word gets to Luke so he rushes to meet him.
• But of course, it's not really Ben.  Darth Vader has hired an actor, had him surgically altered, given him some basic training with the Force and provided a few high tech cheats.  All of this is an effort to draw out Luke, of course.
• Luke is fooled but the imposter is moved by our young hero's misplaced devotion.

Classic Star Wars #11

July 1, 1993

Reproduction of a comic strip from 1982

Goodwin/Williamson

via Wookieepedia

• The Return of Ben Kenobi continues.  
• The Kenobi imposter has a change of heart at the last moment.  After leading Luke into Vader's trap, he sacrifices himself in order to save young Skywalker.
• As he dies in Luke's arms, he confesses that he was not the real Obi-Wan Kenobi.
• The Power Gem begins.  The story ran from July 26 - October 3, 1982
• In order to have a chance against Vader's new battle cruiser, Leia believes the Rebellion needs to get ahold of a power gem, once used by space pirates to attack larger ships.
• Han and Chewie, being the closest thing to space pirates in the Rebellion, are sent off on a quest to find a power gem.  Small problem: no one is sure they actually exist any more.
• The two head to Junkfort Station where they find a lead.  From there they head to a world where seemingly the only power gem in the galaxy is held.  Its owner, Raskar, holds gladiator tournaments for those who wish to take it off his hands.
• Naturally, Han enters Chewie into the competition.

Classic Star Wars #12

September 1, 1993

Reproduction of a comic strip from 1982

Goodwin/Williamson

via Wookieepedia

• The Power Gem continues.
• Through their usual trickery, Han and Chewie manage to win the gem and defeat the reigning gladiator champ, all without ever setting foot in the arena.
• They don't get to enjoy their triumph for long.  Upon returning to Rebel Base, they learn that Luke and Threepio never made it back from their last mission...
• Iceworld begins.  The story ran from October 4 - November 14, 1982.
• While evading Imperial Tie-Fighters, Luke and C-3PO crash on a snow-covered world.  From a distance, their wreck is observed by a single rider mounted on a tauntaun...
• I will admit, I got chills when I realized the planet was Hoth.  Remember, this story (0 ABY) is set three years before The Empire Strikes Back (3 ABY).  The Rebellion is still headquartered on Yavin IV but they're scouting for a new locale.  Iceworld was indeed one of the first stories offered with an explanation for how Hoth became the new hideout.  The story is not canon - not much if anything from the newspaper strips is - but it is not contradicted by any canon material either.  So, it could have happened this way.
• The tauntaun rider, Frija, rescues our two heroes and brings them back to her home.  Her father is none too happy.
• Dad, a former Imperial Governor, doesn't want anyone knowing where he and his daughter are.  He commands Frija to tear Threepio apart for scrap and to throw Luke out in the snow.  Thankfully, she refuses.
• Luke regains consciousness.  He and the Governor tussle.  With the help of his lightsaber, Luke quickly gains the upper hand.

Classic Star Wars #13

October 1, 1993

Reproduction of a comic strip from 1982-83

Goodwin/Williamson

via Wookieepedia

• Iceworld continues.
• Frija and Luke return to the ship in order to salvage its communication equipment.  The Governor and Frija's com system is also damaged but Luke is hopeful that there's enough left between the two to combine into a single working unit.
• The Governor, now recovered, follows the two and attacks Luke.  Frija jumps in the way, sacrificing herself.  Luke defeats the Governor.
• Luke soon discovers father and daughter were both droids, intended as decoys to distract from their human counterparts.  
• As Frija dies, she thanks Luke for bringing meaning to her life, however briefly.
• Luke buries the two droids, then reports to Rebel Command, requesting rescue and recommending Hoth as a new base planet.
• According to canon, established 25 years later in Earth time, Hoth was among a list of worlds recommended by General Dodonna for the new base.  While it's not mentioned, there's nothing to say a previous visit and recommendation by Luke didn't factor in the ultimate decision.
• Due to the Hoth connection and the genuinely touching story of Frija, Iceworld is probably my favorite arc so far in the Classic Star Wars series.
• Revenge of the Jedi begins.  The story ran from November 15, 1982 - January 23, 1983.
• This particular arc offers two points of broader franchise interest:
• Revenge of the Jedi was an early working title for the film that would eventually become Return of the Jedi.
• It is the story which introduces Admiral Ackbar!
• Once again, the tale is not canon.  However, that doesn't change the fact that the newspaper comic offered fans the first glimpse of an important new character.
• While the Rebellion is in the midst of preparing for evacuation from Yavin IV, the Emprie attacks Laakteen Depot, a remote outpost.  The Mon Calamari, Ackbar's people and the Rebellion's new allies, come to join in the fight.  Their fleet is shot down, though several escape pods, including Ackbar's, make it to the planet Daluuj.
• The trouble isn't over.  There's an Imperial training outpost on Daluuj.  When the Millennium Falcon arrives to find the Calamari, an ambitious Imperial Commander pursues.
• Han lands his ship in a lake near the Calmari.  The ship is soon dragged underwater by huge aquatic serpents.
• So, they've found Ackbar and his entourage but there's no way to get off the planet.  Meanwhile, the Imperial fleet is closing in.

Tales of the Jedi #1: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, Part 1

October 1, 1993

Tom Veitch/Chris Gossett

In-Story Timeline: 4,000 BBY

via Wikipedia

• Tales of the Jedi was genuinely groundbreaking.  It was not only a departure from the Skywalker Saga but was set millennia before the original movies.  Resisted at first but ultimately pursued with George Lucas's blessing (and story approval), the series established a broader history for the Star Wars galaxy - a mythology within the mythology.  Tales of the Jedi initiated its own epic, now referred to as Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic.
• With a new story comes a new protagonist.  Ulic Qel-Droma is a young, proud and impulsive Jedi.  Ulic, his brother Cay and Tott Deneeta are all sent by their Jedi Master Arca Jeth to protect the Onderon system, new members of the Galactic Republic.
• Arca tells the history of Onderon, now embroiled in a centuries-long war between the city dwellers of Iziz and the nomadic Beast Riders surrounding them.
• Almost immediately after the Jedi arrive in Iziz, the Beast Riders attack.  While the Jedi fend most of them off, commandos break through and kidnap Queen Amanoa's daughter and heir, Princess Galia.
• The Queen is furious with the Jedi and sends them off immediately to rescue Galia.  The Jedi quickly comply, though Tott senses something is amiss.
• In the issue final frame, Ulic's ship, the Nebulon Ranger, is shot down by Beast Rider torpedoes.

Star Trek: Remember Me

Episode: "Remember Me"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 4, Episode 5

Original Air Date: October 22, 1990

via Memory Alpha

Wesley's warp bubble experiment goes horribly wrong.  His mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher, ends up in an alternate reality.  What's more, her universe is shrinking and all the people she knows are gradually disappearing.  Worst of all, she's the only one who seems to notice.

The idea for the story is fantastic, reminiscent of a line from Hamlet: "Oh God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and call myself the king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams."  I love the idea of a shrinking universe with inhabitants who have no concept that it was once larger.  It's not half bad as a Beverly episode either.  But there's a weakness in the narrative: you guessed it, too much Wesley.

Wesley created the problem so Wesley must solve it.  He gets help from an old friend, The Traveler (Eric Menyuk), who somehow sensed that Wesley needed him.  The devoted will remember that The Traveler was the one who, back in Season 1's "Where No One Has Gone Before," elevated Wes from mere wunderkind to Chosen One.  Interesting as the Traveler is in and of himself, his presence stretches the tolerability of the Wesley character concept.  Again, young Mr. Crusher's tour is almost over so tying up the loose ends is meaningful.  But for me, this wrinkle ruins an otherwise promising story.  In development, the Traveler was a late add-on for the episode and it shows.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Eric Menyuk was born November 5, 1959 in Brookline, Massachusetts.  He graduated from Vassar in 1981.  He was considered for the role of Data before it was given to Brent Spiner.

If anything, Menyuk's bio gets more interesting after his retirement from acting in 1998.  He went to law school (Loyola Marymount).  Motivated by a son with special needs, his area of specialty is children's education rights.  As he points out in his professional bio, he is one of few lawyers with his own action figure.

Squid Mixes: Alaska

An Alaska combines Chartreuse, gin and orange bitters with a lemon twist.  Some recipes call for yellow, others green.  My recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide chose green.  The drink's etymology is unknown, as is its connection with USA's 49th state.

This one's good.  I think it helped that I used a lighter gin, Fleischmann's, than I did with the Rocky Green Dragon.  The orange bitters also brought the much needed citrus notes the other lacked.

Star Wars Comics: Dark Empire #6, Classic Star Wars #4-8

I have come to the end of Dark Empire this week.  It was a strong first offering for Dark Horse and one that definitely had an impact on the franchise moving forward.  As I pointed out last week, I prefer the style of the newspaper comics featured in the Classic Star Wars series but I appreciated the ideas explored in Dark Empire as well as the darker atmosphere.  Speaking of Classic Star Wars...

via Wookieepedia

Archie Goodwin was the writer for numerous Star Wars stories, both in comic books and newspaper strips.  He was born September 8, 1937 in Kansas City.  Interestingly, he got his start in the medium as a drawer rather than a writer - magazine cartoons as well as comic strips.  He got his first regular work with Warren comics where he was also editor-in-chief for a time.  He contributed to their still running Vampirella stories.  He free-lanced with both DC and Marvel over the years and served as editor-in-chief briefly for the latter.  In addition to his work on Star Wars, he co-created both Luke Cage and the original Spider-Woman.

Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin via Wikipedia

Funny side story: Goodwin coincidentally shared a name with a character from the Nero Wolfe mysteries.  Archie is Wolfe's "legman" and the narrator of the stories.  When the writer Goodwin's first stories were published, the publisher warned him against using Archie Goodwin as a pen name because of the connection.  When he explained that it was in fact his real name, said publisher was delighted to use the story in its promotional materials.

Goodwin died in 1998 after a long battle with cancer.

My Recent Reads

Dark Empire #6: The Fate of a Galaxy

Originally Published October 20, 1992

Writer: Tom Veitch

Artist: Cam Kennedy

In-Story Timeline: 10 ABY

via Wookieepedia

• R2-D2 saves the day in the battle with the Devastators on Mon Calamari.  He has a code that effectively shuts them all down.  The Rebels win the battle.
• The stolen holocron reveals an ancient prophecy to Leia, a prophecy which appears to include both her and Luke.  
• The Emperor shows up in his Star Destroyer.  He demands the return of both Leia and the holocron.  
• She agrees, though she resists the Emperor's possession of herself and her unborn child.  
• She battles Luke and, though he resists, she manages to convert him back to the Light Side.
• Luke defeats the Emperor in a duel, slicing off his hand.  Everybody's always losing hands in this saga!
• Luke and Leia escape, just as the Destroyer and, presumably, the Emperor himself, dissipate in a Dark-Side storm.

Classic Star Wars #4

November 3, 1992

Reproduction of a newspaper comic strip from 1981

Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson

In-Story Timeline: 0 ABY

via Wookieepedia

• The Darth Vader Strikes story concludes.
• With the help of his new friend, Tanith Shire, Luke and the droids escape from Vader's ship, though Luke and Vader sense each other's presence...
• The Serpent Masters arc begins.  It ran initially from July 27 - November 1, 1981.
• Tanith's escape plan isn't the greatest.  She brings Luke and the droids to her homeworld Ophideraan where her father and the rest of their community is enslaved by, you guessed it, the Serpent Masters.  Tanith herself has managed to live a relatively free life by serving the Masters as a smuggler.  
• Unfortunately, it would appear is now likely to become a slave, too.

Classic Star Wars #5

December 1, 1992

Reproduction of a newspaper comic strip from 1981

Goodwin/Williamson

via Wookieepedia

• The Serpent Masters continues.
• Indeed, both Luke and Tanith are enslaved.  The droids are knocked out of commission.
• Luke tries to escape but without being able to control the flying serpents which the Masters ride around, there seems little hope.
• Wouldn't you know it, Artoo has the answer once again.  He figures out how to imitate the signals the Masters use to control the serpents.  As such, Luke is able to ride one.

Classic Star Wars #6

January 1, 1993

Reproduction of a newspaper comic strip from 1981

Goodwin/Williamson

via Wookieepedia

• The Serpent Masters concludes.
• Luke and friends not only manage to escape.  They also free all of the slaves.
• Luke, Tanith and the droids meet up with Han, Leia and Chewie at Kabal, just as that planet is coming under unprovoked Imperial attack.
• Luke and Tanith have a teary goodbye - at least, it's teary for her.  
• Our regulars escape together from the planet on the Millenium Falcon.
• Deadly Reunion begins.  It ran initially from November 2, 1981 - January 3, 1982.
• Our friends evade capture but are unable to jump to lightspeed.  In an effort to find a quiet place to make repairs, they follow the signal of a homing beacon.  
• Alas, it's a trap.

Classic Star Wars #7

February 1, 1993

Reproduction of a newspaper comic strip from 1981-82

Goodwin/Williamson

via Wookieepedia

• Deadly Reunion concludes.
• The mysterious Dr. Arakkus has drawn our friends to a lost ship graveyard.  Now, they are all trapped by the gravitational pull of a dwarf star.  The Falcon can't get enough thrust to break away.  
• Fortunately, Han comes up with a clever plan and they get away.
• Traitor's Gambit begins.
• In a Bespin-like story, our friends find shelter with presumed allies on the water world of Aquaris.  
• Turns out, Han knows Silver Fyre, the world's leader, from his smuggling days.  And he's not inclined to trust her as much as Leia does.

Classic Star Wars #8

April 1, 1993

Reproduction of a newspaper comic strip from 1982

Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson and Allen Nunis

via Wookieepedia

• Traitor's Gambit concludes.
• Our friends go on a hunting expedition with Silver.  Han ends up in Silver's boat.  As much as I enjoy space operas, I do enjoy an underwater adventure from time to time.
• Han still doesn't trust Silver, though it turns out her second in command, Kraaken, is the Imperial spy.
• The prey is a giant octopus, though the beast turns the table quickly, nearly killing Luke, Han and Chewie.  Silver saves them all from a watery death.
• Leia, meanwhile, confronts Kraaken as he tries to steal data files from the droids.  She outsmarts him, and everyone else, too.  
• Our friends return to the rebel base just in time to help thwart an Imperial attack.
• The Night Beast begins.  It ran initially from March 8 - May 16, 1982.
• During the previous battle, an Imperial bomber crashed into part of the base, though it was believed no harm was done.
• But some underground beast was awakened in the crash.
• In the celebratory party, Leia accepts a date with General Dodonna, neatly avoiding the Han/Luke dilemma for the time being.
• Festivities are interrupted by loud noises, among them Wookiee growls.  Chewbacca has gone to tussle with the unknown monster.

Star Trek: Suddenly Human

Episode: "Suddenly Human"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 4, Episode 4

Original Air Date: October 15, 1990

via Memory Alpha

The Enterprise responds to a distress call.  Five Talarian teenage crewmen are rescued from a shipwrecked vessel.  Except that one of them isn't Talarian.  He's human.  Turns out, young Jono was born Jeremiah Rossa.  He is the grandson of a Starfleet admiral and his parents were killed in a Talarian raid when he was a small child.  He was raised as a Talarian by Endar, the leader of the invading forces who killed Jeremiah's parents.  The question now is whether or not Jono should be returned to his human family or if he should be restored to Endar's care.

It's an interesting story, though a frequently uncomfortable one.  The initial Starfleet position - and that of the captain and most of the crew - is that Jeremiah should be returned to his human life.  Obviously (at least from their perspective)!  Allegations of abuse complicate the matter, though those allegations are eventually discredited.  This situation does come up in the real world from time to time.  Remember Elian Gonzalez?  The six-year-old Cuban refugee who arrived in the US in 2000 essentially unaccompanied?  The position of many: of course, he should stay here.  Obviously, a life in Florida is clearly preferable to one in Cuba.  One small problem: the boy's biological father, still in Cuba, wanted him returned.  At the risk of starting an argument, I'll make my own feelings clear.  Of course the boy should return to his family.  No matter the geo-political ramifications, it was the best decision for the sake of the child.

The controversy in "Suddenly Human" is much the same.  Obviously, it's better (from our heroes' quite troubling perspective) to be human than Talarian.  One very important difference: Jono, according to Talarian law, is old enough to decide for himself.  Jono wants to remain with the only family he's ever known.  Endar is prepared to respect his choice and defend his right to make it, with force if necessary.  It's not so clear that Picard will, especially after Jono attacks Picard in his sleep.

Fortunately, in my opinion, wisdom comes to Picard at last in the end and the boy is returned to his father.

Acting Notes

via Quantum Leap Wiki

Sherman Howard (Endar) was born Howard Lee Sherman on June 11, 1949 in Chicago.  Trained at the American Conservatory Theater, the vast majority of his high profile work has been on stage.  Screen credits include Day of the Dead and the role of Lex Luthor in the TV series Superboy.