The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: January 2017 Blog List

 

Greetings to all!  I hope you'll join us for the next installment of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, an online gathering of bloggers who love books.  The next meeting is set for Friday, January 27th.  If you're interested, please sign on to the link list at the end of this post.

The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers.  Please join us:

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: December 2016

Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the works they enjoyed most over the previous month.  Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun.  If you wish to add your own review to the conversation, please sign on to the link list at the end of my post.

Title: Night Soldiers
Author: Alan Furst

via Amazon

Night Soldiers is the tale of Khristo Stoianev, a Bulgarian who is recruited by the NKVD, a precursor to the Soviet Union's KGB.  The book follows his path from his hometown on the Danube to training in Moscow to the Spanish Civil War to preoccupation Paris and beyond, covering the years 1934-45.  The story was meticulously researched and certainly piques my interest about the time period.  Once again, World War II proves to be a bottomless narrative treasure trove.  I feel the inspiration for Khristo's story might have come from Furst wondering how a Soviet spy could have survived Stalin's purges.

I enjoyed this one.  I appreciate the Soviet perspective on the espionage game.  Furst also does a nice job portraying the loneliness of the work and the occasional disappointment of not being able to tell people what you actually do for a living.  The language is frequently beautiful.  I love this passage describing 1937 Paris:

At first, the tide of secrecy that rippled through the streets had made him tense and watchful, but in time he realized that in a city of clandestine passions, everyone was a spy.  Amours.   Fleeting or eternally renewed, tender or cruel, a single sip or an endless bacchanal, they were the true life and business of a place where money was never enough and power always drained away.

I'm up for more.  Furst's Night Soldiers series now totals 14 books, all of them covering the spy game during this same time period.  Dark Star is the next installment.

Please join us and share your own review of your best read from the past month.  This month's link list is below.  I'll keep it open until the end of the day.  I'll post January's tomorrow.  Meetings are the last Friday of each month.  Next gathering is January 27th.

The Clone Wars: The Box

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "The Box"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 17
Original Air Date: February 3, 2012

via Wookieepedia

"The Box" is the third part of a four episode arc in which Obi-Wan Kenobi goes deep undercover with a couple of bounty hunters scheming to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine.  This time Kenobi and his new pals participate in a contest - the aforementioned Box - to determine who will actually participate in the abduction.  As much as I've enjoyed the story to this point, it goes a bit off the rails this week.  The contest is awfully gimicky, a cross between video game and Japanese game show.  Perhaps this helped to compress what could easily have been another three episodes into one but I'm guessing the writer had the Box idea first, then built the rest of the arc around it.  Just a hunch.

via Wookieepedia

Derrown, a Parwan, is one of the other bounty hunters competing in the contest.  He is the first Parwan to appear in the Star Wars universe, though the idea for the species goes back to unused concept art from the cantina in A New Hope.

via Wookieepedia

Derrown is voiced by Matthew Wood.

Next week: "Crisis on Naboo."

Squid Eats: Holiday Party

My wife's office holiday party was last Friday night.  The DJ held a music trivia contest to determine which table would head up to the buffet line next.  It was a perfect combo for me: a test of musical geekiness with food as the primary motivation.  I knew my table mates were counting on me.  First song...

via Wikimedia Commons

Elvis.  In truth, I'm not an Elvis guy.  I knew the singer straight away but it took me a second to come up with the song.  Off I ran to the DJ booth. "'All Shook Up,' Elvis Presley," I yelled.  Alas, I had run to the wrong place.  There was a microphone on a chair on the dance floor.  That's what I get for not listening to ALL of the instructions.  I slunk back sheepishly to my table.  Second song...

via Wikipedia

The Beatles.  My band.  There's no way in hell I'm losing out to anyone on the Beatles!  I ran over and stole the mic right out from under another hand about to grab it: "The Beatles, 'Eight Days a Week.'"  Triumph!

I had earned my keep.  For the rest of the night, I was "the music trivia guy."  My table companions were most appreciative.

*****

Just in case anyone's following our Scotch adventures, we tried the Ardbeg 10 Year on Sunday.  It was definitely smokier than the others, and strong.  I'm not a huge fan of smoky Scotches - not sure why not.  I certainly like smoked meats and a smoky Scotch certainly has bacony tones about it.  Perhaps it's an acquired taste.

The Clone Wars: Friends and Enemies

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "Friends and Enemies"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 16
Original Air Date: January 27, 2012

via Wookieepedia

"Friends and Enemies" is the second of a four-part arc in which Obi-Wan Kenobi goes deep undercover with a couple of bounty hunters scheming to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine.  Last week, Kenobi, disguised as Rako Hardeen, escaped from prison with Cad Bane and Moralo Eval.  This week, he's struggling to earn the trust of his new associates.  Bane is especially suspicious.

The fugitive trio make their way to Nal Hutta, crash-landing the ship to throw their pursuers off the trail.  They head to the Bilbousa Bazaar to resupply a new ship.  Meanwhile, Anakin and Ahsoka, still believing that Obi-Wan is dead, are out for revenge.

via Wookieepedia

Pablo, a Rodian with an awfully pedestrian name for a Star Wars character, is the owner of a pawnshop where Bane and company stop for weapons.  "Friends and Enemies" marks his only appearance in the Star Wars universe.  He is voiced by Matt Lanter.

Next week: "The Box."

On the Coffee Table: L. Neil Smith

Title: Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon
Author: L. Neil Smith

via Wookieepedia

Lando's back, once again finding himself an unwitting pawn in someone else's game.   One of his Sabacc opponents draft's him to take part in a drug bust of a political rival.  There are also a couple of other parties who, entirely independent of the narc story, seem to have it in for our gambling scoundrel friend.

There's a little more character development for Lando this time, though not much.  The Millenium Falcon is still a fairly recent acquisition for him and we see how the ship is the beginning of a more stable, responsible life for Calrissian.  There are glimpses of a backstory, though one thin on details.  We get more Sabacc rules, too, though it's still a highly confusing game.  The phone app hasn't done much to help me understand it.

The Flamewind of the title is a more violent version of the Northern Lights and is a similar draw for tourists.  We do get one intriguing character: Waywa Fybot, an avian/humanoid from Uaua.  One, I believe fan-generated, image of the character looks like this:

via Wookieepedia

My own mental image was more like this:

via Wikipedia

Squid Mixes: Scotch and Soda

For Advent this year, my wife came up with a wonderful hobby for the two of us: exploring Scotch whisky.  This was an easy sell for me.  I adore whisk(e)y in all its forms, far and away my favorite liquor.  It was, however, a surprising suggestion from my wife.  While she likes most whiskeys, especially rye and Irish, I was under the impression that she did not care for Scotch at all.  Lucky me, she was keen to give it a go.

We started our adventure with three bottles, all recommendations from Becky Paskin's "Top 5 Scotch Whiskies for Beginners":  Chivas Regal 12 Year Old, Glenmorangie 10 Year Old and Glenlivet 12 Year Old.  The first is a blended whisky while the others are single malts.  The difference?  Single malt is made strictly from barley at a single distillery.  A blended combines several single malts along with wheat and/or corn whiskies.  Obviously, this a very modest sample for comparison but I would say that of what we've tasted, the single malts have more dimension than the blended.  Mind you, the Chivas Regal was still most pleasant.  Of the single malts, the Glenlivet was a bit sweeter.

As for pairing scotch with its classic mixer, the Chivas Regal is best.  The nuances of the single malts were lost when diluted.  It was still a pleasant drink with the Glenmorangie (see top photo) but better to save it for sipping.

We have since acquired a fourth bottle to try, a recommendation from my wife's colleague:  Ardbeg 10 Year Old.  While Glemorangie and Glenlivet are both Highland whiskies, Ardbeg is from Islay.  We haven't tried it yet but we're looking forward to it.  In his Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch (7th Edition), Michael Jackson rates the Ardbeg at 87.  The Glemorangie is an 81, the Glenlivet 85.

The Clone Wars: Deception

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "Deception"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 15
Original Air Date: January 20, 2012

via Wookieepedia

"Deception" kicks off a four-part arc in which Obi-Wan Kenobi - unbeknownst to Anakin and Ahsoka - goes deep undercover with a band of bounty hunters out to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine.  He switches places with his own assassin, Rako Hardeen (slight spoiler but if I don't say it, I can't say much else), before he gets sent off to prison.  Once there, he meets Moralo Eval, the plot's mastermind.  Cad Bane is in on the scheme, too.  We also get to see our old friend Boba Fett in the prison.

I thoroughly enjoy the trips that The Clone Wars takes through Star Wars's underworld so I'm excited for this one.  It should also be a good story for watching Anakin control his rage and seeing how Obi-Wan balances his Jedi morality with his new role as a baddy.

via Wookieepedia

Moralo Eval is a Phindian from the planet Phindar.  As a child, he killed his own mother out of boredom.  This story arc marks his only appearance in the Star Wars universe.  He is voiced by Stephen Stanton.  Stanton had a recurring segment on the podcast ForceCast called "Uncle Moralo's Bedtime Stories."

Next week: "Friends and Enemies."

Squid Mixes: Lime Sparkling Water

This recipe for lime sparkling water came from Homemade Soda by Andrew Schloss.  With the zest and juice of half a lime in each, it was quite limey indeed.  I was expecting it to be a bit sweeter but it was pleasant enough.  My daughter wasn't so impressed.  She didn't even finish hers.  I'm not sure it was worth the effort when when one can so easily pull a Poland Spring seltzer out of the fridge but this is the beginning of a process for me.

I have set a goal to brew my own root beer and ginger ale.  I have brewed alcoholic beer before.  I've managed to do it three times, in fact - successfully without poisoning anyone or even making a huge mess.  But it's a lot of work, especially for a beverage that can only be consumed by 2/3 of my household.  While I'd like to get back into brewing, I'd like to supplement it with beverages my daughter can enjoy, too.

Turns out, making soda's pretty easy.  The only tricky part - at least so far - is making the simple syrups.  The lime soda involved a basic sugar syrup combined with the limey stuff, then add seltzer.  My next project, orange honey ginger ale, is a little more involved.  The syrup itself is already done and sitting in the fridge.  It'll keep for a couple months.  I'll brew once we're through the holidays.

Has any of you tried to make your own soda before?

The Clone Wars: A Friend in Need

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "A Friend in Need"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 14
Original Air Date: January 13, 2012

via Wookieepedia

Lux Bonteri is back and he's out to avenge his mother's death.  He believes, correctly, that Count Dooku was behind the assassination of Mina Bonteri, a Separatist Senator.  After a public accusation, Lux is brought before a holographic projection of Dooku who commands Lux be executed for treason.  Fortunately, Lux's old pal Ahsoka is on hand to help get him out of the jam.

The story brings back a lot of strong narrative threads from Seasons Two and Three.  In addition to the Bonteri family, we venture back to the Mandalore saga as well.  In his efforts to get back at Dooku, Lux has fallen in with Death Watch, a Mandalore splinter insurgence group.  We are soon reminded, they're not so nice.

via Clone Wars Wiki

In "A Friend in Need," we hear the voice but don't yet see the face of Bo-Katan, one of the Death Watch fighters.  She will be a more significant character with a more interesting back story when she returns in Season Five (I peeked).  She is voiced by Katee Sackhoff.

Katee Sackhoff was born April 8, 1980 in Portland, Oregon.  She was a competitive swimmer with a promising future before those ambitions were derailed by a knee injury.  At that point, her interests turned to yoga... and acting.

via Wookieepedia

Sackhoff is best known in the geekverse as Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica.  Other television work includes the Robot Chicken, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and 24.  Big screen credits include Halloween: Resurrection, Riddick and Oculus.  Sackhoff is a thyroid cancer survivor.

Next week: "Deception."

Squid Bakes: Butter Cookies

I won big time brownie points at home with this recipe, yet another from How to Cook Everything: The Basics by Mark Bittman.  Butter cookies are my wife's favorite and these turned out well.  I was a little worried they'd be too soft as they came out of the oven but they hardened as they cooled.

On the Coffee Table: Patrick Harrigan

Title: The Detroit Tigers: Club and Community, 1945-1995
Author: Patrick Harrigan

Harrigan's ambitious book presents a post-war history of the Detroit Tigers baseball club, focusing more on business operations than on-field exploits.  Going in, I was worried it might be a bit dry but was pleasantly surprised.  If anything, baseball was the least interesting part of the book.  While the game between the foul lines changed little in the half-century covered, the world surrounding it was irrevocably transformed.

Harrigan covers all of the major transitional moments for the sport: integration, western migration, expansion, free agency, etc.  Just as important to the story, however, are the changes in the city of Detroit.  An industrial powerhouse in the middle of the 20th century, Detroit was hit hard when automation and globalization decimated the job market.  The affluent fled to the suburbs, leaving an increasingly impoverished inner city to struggle through decades of high crime and decaying infrastructure.  Yet, the team has, for the most part, thrived, a unifying symbol for the entire metropolitan area.

That's not to say there have been no bumps in the road.  Race relations have long been a challenge for the old ball club.  The Tigers were the second-to-last Major League team to integrate (the Red Sox were the last) and maintained unofficial discriminatory practices in hiring for years afterward - not exactly strong PR in the city with the highest percentage of African-American residents of any major city in the United States.  Over the years, the team has worked harder at maintaining its audience in the suburbs than in the inner city.

While I've read a fair amount about integration in baseball, Harrigan provided some new perspectives.  Problems continued long after Jackie Robinson, of course.  While there were few Major League teams in the segregated South, there were plenty of minor league teams.  The Tigers had a farm team in Birmingham, Alabama, one of the most notoriously segregated cities in America.  Plus, there was the matter of spring training in Florida each year.

I don't know if non-baseball fans would be interested in the book but anyone curious about the transformation of urban America in the late 20th century certainly should be.

The Clone Wars: Escape from Kadavo

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "Escape from Kadavo"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 13
Original Air Date: January 6, 2012

via Wookieepedia

This week's episode is the final chapter of the Zygerrian arc.  Obi-Wan and Rex have been captured and are now serving as slaves in the mines on Kadavo.  Anakin's cover has been blown but Queen Scintel is still trying to win him over to her side.  Meanwhile, Count Dooku has arrived to meet with the Queen.

It's a decent story from a character development perspective.  We are reminded of Anakin's childhood demons and get to see his way with the ladies.  We see Obi-Wan's compassion as he toils among the slaves.  We see Ahsoka's devotion to her people (though really, that part could have been developed better).  Rex gets a great moment towards the end, though to say more would be spoiling.

via Villains Wiki

Agruss is the Zygerrian slavemaster at the processing facility on Kadavo, Obi-Wan's primary adversary in the episode.  The Zygerrian arc marks Agruss's only appearance in The Clone Wars.  He is voiced by Victor Brandt.

Brandt was born September 19, 1942 in Los Angeles.  He had numerous appearances on iconic TV shows in the '60s, '70s and '80s, including Mission Impossible, The Odd Couple and T.J. Hooker.  His most prominent voice roles have been Professor Hamilton in Superman: The Animated Series and Master Pakku in Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Most importantly to this blogger, Brandt appeared in two Star Trek original series third season episodes, including one of the all-time stinkers.  He was Watson in "Elaan of Troyius" and Tongo Rad - what a name! - in "The Way to Eden," my least favorite in the original run.

Watson via Memory Alpha

Tango Rad via Memory Alpha

Next week: "A Friend in Need."

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: December 2016 Blog List

 

Greetings to all!  I hope you'll join us for the next installment of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, an online gathering of bloggers who love books.  The next meeting is set for Friday, December 30th.  If you're interested, please sign on to the link list at the end of this post.

The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers.  Please join us:

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: November 2016

Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the works they enjoyed most over the previous month.  Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun.  If you wish to add your own review to the conversation, please sign on to the link list at the end of my post.

Title: Play Winning Chess
Author: Yasser Seirawan

via Goodreads

I have written before of my love for chess (see here).  It has been years, however, since I devoted much time to playing or studying the game.  I first discovered Yasser Seirawan's books while we were living in New York City in the late '90s.  New York is, of course, one of the great chess cities of the world - the city that spawned Bobby Fischer.  We lived within a short walk of Washington Square Park where one can marvel over the speed chess fiends at any hour of the day.  Born in Syria, Seirawan grew up in Seattle.  In the chess world, he rose to the rank of grandmaster and was US champion four times.  His books are delightful.

One can learn a lot from chess books, obviously, but most are dry and/or unforgiving of mistakes.  I make loads of mistakes when I play.  Seirawan's message to the reader is "Yes, of course you make mistakes.  So do I.  Here's what I have learned from mine."  He presents simple principles in an engaging, accessible style with lots of concrete demonstrations.  In particular, he emphasizes force, time, space and pawn structures.  Interwoven in this first book are historical tidbits including the game's earliest known origins and profiles of great champions.

I learn a lot about myself through chess.  In order to improve my game, I've had to push myself our of my own comfort zones.  A naturally cautious person, I tend to play defensively.  While that is a strength to a point, I need to be more aggressive to convert not losing into winning.  I also have a compulsive need for dependable systems in my world.  In game play, I often get so caught up in what I'm doing that I miss small details in my opponent's position and suffer the consequences.

I'm trying to play more now, too.  All of my games are online right now, though I may seek out some real world competition soon, too.  Up for a game?  Come find me at Chess.com.  I am ikaspiel.

Please join us and share your own review of your best read from the past month.  This month's link list is below.  I'll keep it open until the end of the day.  I'll post December's tomorrow.  Meetings are the last Friday of each month.  Next gathering is December 30th.

The Clone Wars: Slaves of the Republic

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "Slaves of the Republic"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 12
Original Air Date: December 2, 2011

via Wookieepedia

"Slaves of the Republic" is the second installment of the Zygerria arc.  Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka go undercover in order to find the kidnapped Togruta colonists from last week.  Anakin scores an audience with the Queen and turns on the smarmy charm in an effort to gain her trust.  Ahsoka, disguised as his slave, spends much of the episode rolling her eyes over his flirtation.  Can't say I blame her!

I can't tell if it's me or the series but I'm burning out a little on The Clone Wars.   It could be me.  As I write this, it's August.  Anticipating a busy fall in my life beyond the blog, I've spent the summer trying to get ahead on these posts.  So, I've been watching the show and writing about it quite a lot over the past couple months.  It could be fatigue.

But, I can't help feeling the energy of the series is flagging, too.  This arc actually has a lot going for it.  We get to visit a couple of new worlds.  We get a new angle of galactic history with the Zygerrians.  We get some decent development for Anakin.  And yet, I'm having a hard time getting excited about it.  I may have a touch of Anakin-fatigue, in particular.  Generally speaking, the stories I enjoy the most have little to do with him.  The Zygerria arc is Anakin-heavy.

via Wookieepedia

That said, Queen Miraj Scintel is a decent character.  In fact, one strength of the series is powerful women: Padmé, of course, but also Duchess Satine of Mandalore and Mina Bonteri of Onderon.  The Queen is voiced by Rajia Baroudi.

via RangerWiki

Baroudi was born February 28, 1965.  As an actress, she has appeared in To Rest in Peace and The Mischievous Case of Cordelia Botkin.  She has also worked as a costume designer on The Open Door and as a production designer on the TV series, Thrills.


Next week: "Escape from Kadavo."

Squid Eats: Pho K&K

Pho K&K is a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in Williston, Vermont, opening just a couple years ago.  We have been three times recently.  I've gotten a different main dish each time and always been thoroughly satisfied.  As Southeast Asian cuisines go, I prefer Thai (see here) but Vietnamese makes for a nice change of pace from time to time.  Vietnamese food packs loads of flavor, yet somehow manages to feel lighter than Thai food.

via TripAdvisor

We went with the Mocks on our most recent visit, just before we all went to see Doctor Strange (5 stars from me: easily Marvel's best so far).  I started my meal with one of their wonderful mango smoothies.  For my entree, I had Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio, crispy spring roll and grilled chicken (or pork) served over rice vemicelli.  I meant to take a photo but... I was quite hungry.  Needless to say, it was scrumptious.

The Clone Wars: Kidnapped

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "Kidnapped"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 11
Original Air Date: November 25, 2011

via Wookieepedia

Anakin confronts his demons this week.  The Separatists have gained control of the peaceful world of Kiros.  Leading the occupation force is Darts D'Nar, a Zygerrian.  Apparently, the Zygerrians ran a lucrative slave trade for thousands of years before the Jedi shut it down.  The encounter dredges up Anakin's memories of his own childhood as a slave, inspiring a barely controlled rage.  Fortunately for the Republic, Obi-Wan, not Anakin, was summoned to D'Nar to negotiate terms of surrender.  But whose surrender, exactly?

Meanwhile, the entire civilian population of Kiros has gone missing and D'Nar speaks to Obi-Wan of restoring the Zygerrian slave enterprise to its former glory.

via Wookieepedia

Darts N'Dar is voiced by Nick Jameson.  Jameson was born July 10, 1950 in Columbia, Missouri and grew up in Philadelphia.  He has made appearances in 24, Lost and The King of Queens among other television shows.   While this is his only work in The Clone Wars, he has numerous additional Star Wars credits in other media, most often as the voice of Palpatine.

via Lostpedia

Jameson has impressive musical credentials, too.  He was the unofficial fourth member of Foghat in the mid-'70s, serving as both producer and bass player on several albums, including the band's biggest hit: "Slow Ride."  He released a couple of solo albums, too, and made the singles chart with 1986's "Weatherman."


Next week: "Slaves of the Republic."

Squid Cooks: Broiled Boneless Chicken

My wife was out of town for a few days last week, leaving me in charge of dinner.  Just so all of you understand, I'm not completely useless when it comes to cooking.  I know how to make a few things just fine: burgers (as discussed last week), pasta, stir fry, salad, etc.  I would not starve left to my own devices.  But I am lacking in some fundamental skills, including meal planning.  When my wife's away, I usually default to something easy but with my current goal of expanding my culinary capacities, I took the opportunity to learn a couple of new recipes, both out of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything: The Basics.  The first night was the burgers.  The second was broiled boneless chicken.

Both recipes involved the broiler, a first for me.  With the chicken, it actually made me a little nervous: a fair amount of oil awfully close to a flame.  But it more or less worked.  The resulting dish was not especially interesting, though serviceable.  As Bittman points out, broiling chicken breasts is a good thing to know how to do for other recipes, like chicken salad. 

My wife's brief absence also provided an opportunity to indulge in something my daughter and I enjoy more than she does: Star Trek!  I'd recently taken my daughter on a tour of my own top ten TOS episodes (see here).  On broiled chicken night, we started TNG from the beginning.  So, she got to meet Q!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

The Clone Wars: Carnage of Krell

Andrew Leon and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008.

Episode: "Carnage of Krell"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 10
Original Air Date: November 18, 2011

via Wookieepedia

Things are looking grim for the 501st Legion.  General Pong Krell, in command of the clones in Anakin's absence, has ordered Fives and Jess to face court martial for treason.  When Captain Rex appeals for mercy, Krell raises the ante by demanding they be executed immediately.  Meanwhile, Krell continues to give highly questionable orders to the troops in the field.

To say much more would be spoiling.  We've now come to the end of the Krell arc, an excellent exploration of the patronizing attitude some within the Republic take toward the clones.  Krell's personal issues run a bit deeper, we learn, but the philosophical undercurrent is fascinating.  Like "Rookies," the Krell arc frequently feels like a 1950s war movie, a good one.

*****

via Wiki 24

Matt Michnovetz wrote the four-part Krell arc.  In total, he wrote eleven Clone Wars episodes and, so far, four Rebels episodes.  He was head writer for The Clone Wars during its sixth and seventh seasons.  Michnovetz was born in Agawam, Massachusetts.  Before Star Wars, he wrote for 24, The Unknown and Armed Response.

Next week: "Kidnapped."

Squid Cooks: The Burger

Even prior to my current efforts to improve my cooking skills, I was fairly confident in my hamburger recipe and technique.  Indeed, it was gratifying to see that Mark Bittman's recipe in How to Cook Everything: The Basics was essentially the same as mine: fold chopped onions into the meat before cooking.  What was new for me, however, was using the broiler for the job.  I usually cook them on the stove top.  It made for a nice variation, providing an exterior crust.  I might not cook them quite as long next time.

The Clone Wars: Plan of Dissent

My friends and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008 (as opposed to the one that started in 2003).  All are welcome to join us for all or parts of the fun.

Episode: "Plan of Dissent"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 9
Original Air Date: November 11, 2011

via Wookieepedia

This story's getting good.  "Plan of Dissent" is the third episode in a four-part arc.  General Krell continues to be obnoxious and foolhardy.  The clones of the 501st Legion serving under him continue to grumble.  This week, Krell has yet another suicidal assault plan and, of course, the clones have a better idea.  Their scheme might be the only real chance of success but carrying it out risks a court martial for all involved.  So, of course, they swallow their pride and follow Krell's crazy orders.

Haha!  Just kidding!  Wouldn't that be boring?  The climactic scene is highly reminiscent of "Rookies," still my favorite single episode of the series.  There's also a nice little gift for the devotees, a recreation of Han Solo's intercom riff during the prison break scene in A New Hope.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: stories about the clone troopers themselves are the best thread going in The Clone Wars.  Still true, four seasons in.

*****

"Plan of Dissent" was directed by Kyle Dunlevy.  It is the ninth of 17 episodes he directed.  Prior to Star Wars, Dunlevy worked with C.A.G.E. Digital.

Over the course of the series, The Clone Wars used 15 different episode directors.  While Dunlevy directed the final two episodes of this four-part arc, chapter one was directed by Steward Lee, chapter two by Walter Murch.  It seems a strange way to divvy up the work but I supposed you do what you have to in order to meet deadlines.  Meanwhile, the same writer is credited for all four episodes: Matt Michnovetz.  I suppose that makes sense.

If you would care to join us for all or part of our travels, sign on to the list below.  Please visit the other participants today.  Next week: "Carnage of Krell."

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: November 2016 Blog List

 

Greetings to all!  I hope you'll join us for the next installment of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, an online gathering of bloggers who love books.  The next meeting is set for Friday, November 25th.  If you're interested, please sign on to the link list at the end of this post.

The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same.  In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers.  Please join us:

The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: October 2016

Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the works they enjoyed most over the previous month.  Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun.  If you wish to add your own review to the conversation, please sign on to the link list at the end of my post.

Title: Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu
Author: L. Neil Smith

via Wookieepedia

Lando Calrissian is one of many Star Wars characters in need of broader development.  Apparently, he will be included in the Han Solo standalone film scheduled for a May 2018 release, to be played by Donald Glover.  But I think he deserves a movie of his own.

Interestingly, Lando is one character who's more fun in the novelizations than he is in the movies.  As readers, we are privy to his internal dialogue laced with gambling metaphors.  In Lando Calrissian and the Mindtrap of Sharu, first released in 1983, I was hoping for more of the same.  I was also hoping for a bit of an origin story for the character.

The tale is set several years before Lando's appearance in The Empire Strikes Back.  He has just recently won the Millenium Falcon in a game of sabacc (Star Wars invention, more on that in a bit). Through a rather contrived series of events, our friend is manipulated into going on a treasure hunt for the mindharp mentioned in the title.

The story didn't do much to broaden the Lando concept.  It feels more like Smith already had an idea for the story and dropped the character into it to boost sales.  There are Star Warsy elements like the Falcon and a droid sidekick plus a splash of Indiana Jones with the search for an ancient relic.  The tale does have other things going for it: play with scale, teleportation and the hidden strengths of a seemingly primitive culture. It's just not much of a Lando story.

The one point of lasting curiosity for me is sabacc, a game invented for this novel which has had staying power within the Expanded Universe.  The deck involves cards which occasionally change faces.  Fans have compiled official rules over the years and there's now even a phone app you can download - naturally, I had to give it a go.  Can't say I understand the game much at all but it's fun to explore.  At one point, Lando does a tarot reading with the deck which is also fun.

Please join us and share your own review of your best read from the past month.  This month's link list is below.  I'll keep it open until the end of the day.  I'll post November's tomorrow.  Meetings are the last Friday of each month.  Next gathering is November 25th.

The Clone Wars: The General

My friends and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008 (as opposed to the one that started in 2003).  All are welcome to join us for all or parts of the fun.

Episode: "The General"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 8
Original Air Date: November 4, 2011

via Wookieepedia

"The General" is the second in a four-part story arc.  General Krell continues to lead the 501st Legion in Anakin's absence.  Krell is doing little to endear himself to the clones, ordering them into what appears a certain suicide mission.  The clones grumble, or at least the ones who survive do.  The banter between the clones is, in fact, the highlight of the episode.

via The Monster M*A*S*H Wiki

Krell reminds me of a M*A*S*H story.  At one point, one of the clones states that Krell has the highest casualty rate of any general in the Republic.  I recall there was a similar character in a M*A*S*H episode: Colonel Lacy in "Preventative Medicine." I see M*A*S*H storylines creep into other TV shows from time to time.  Battlestar Galactica had a couple.  I think most people forget how good M*A*S*H was at its best.

*****

via Wookieepedia

Dave Filoni was the supervising director for the Clone Wars series.  Filoni was born June 7, 1974 in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.  In high school, he played in the marching band and was the starting goaltender for the hockey team.  He attended Edinboro University.  Prior to Star Wars, he worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Filoni has been deeply involved in all of Star Wars's recent major animated projects.  He was the director of the Clone Wars film and currently serves as executive producer for Star Wars: Rebels.  Plo Koon is his favorite character, to the point that he wore a Plo Koon costume to the premiere of Revenge of the Sith and has paraphernalia of the character all over his office.  He has also contributed voice work to the Clone Wars, performing the bounty hunter Embo in several episodes.

If you would care to join us for all or part of our travels, sign on to the list below.  Please visit the other participants today.  Next week: "Plan of Dissent."

Squid Bakes: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies were another Mark Bittman recipe from How to Cook Everything.  Two items we get in great abundance from our CSA are rolled oats and eggs.  The cookies made use of both.  My wife is grateful.  They're yummy, too.

The Clone Wars: Darkness on Umbara

My friends and I are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  Every Tuesday, we will be featuring an episode from the series which began in 2008 (as opposed to the one that started in 2003).  All are welcome to join us for all or parts of the fun.

Episode: "Darkness on Umbara"
Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 4, Episode 7
Original Air Date: October 28, 2011

via Wookieepedia

Phew, I feel better now.  I'd been worried about Season 4: signs of formula creeping in plus two consecutive droid stories.  But now we're on safer ground.  "Darkness on Umbara" is, at least in part, a clone troopers story and The Clone Wars is really good at those.

The Republic launches a strategic strike on Umbara. Anakin and his troopers fall victim to a sneak attack by the Umbarans, though their bacon is saved by Jedi Master Pong Krell's air strike.  Krell's maneuvers aren't finished.  He informs Anakin that he has been called back to Coruscant.  Krell will take over command in his absence.  We soon learn Krell's a jerk, dismissive and insulting to the clones and reckless in his decisions.  Understandably, the troopers chafe, respectfully.  We're likely to learn more about Krell.  "Darkness on Umbara" is the first in a four-episode arc.

via Wookieepedia

This arc is the first and only appearance of Pong Krell in the Star Wars universe.  He is a Besalisk from the planet Ojom.  He is voiced by Dave Fennoy.

via Fables Wiki

Fennoy was born January 20, 1952 in Silver Spring, Maryland, though he grew up in Cleveland.  He worked as a DJ in San Francisco until 1990 when his station, KSOL, fired its entire staff.  Already in contact with a voice over agent, he moved to Los Angeles and dove into his second career full time.  Most of his work his been in video games, including the lead character in The Walking Dead, but he has plenty of screen credits, too.  In television, he has contributed to Archer, Ben 10 and Guardians of the Galaxy.

If you would care to join us for all or part of our travels, sign on to the list below.  Please visit the other participants today.  Next week: "The General."