Star Wars Comics: X-Wing Rogue Squadron #28-29, Crimson Empire #4

Original Star Warriors - Leia, Han and Chewie - have joined the X-Wing series and Rogue Squadron has turned up in Crimson Empire, albeit seven years later in the timeline.  I like it when the various stories intersect.

X-Wing, while definitely my favorite of the Dark Horse Star Wars series so far, does have one flaw: too many characters.  More to the point, too many of the Rogue Squadron members are human and look too much alike so it's hard to tell them apart.  It's also becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all the various narrative threads, especially with characters from previous arcs being brought back.  I think I've got everything straight at the moment but it's tempting to make a chart.

My Recent Reads

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #28

Originally published March 4, 1998

Writer: David A. Stackpole

Artist: Drew Johnson

In-Story Timeline: 4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #29

April 1, 1998

Stackpole/Johnson

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire #4

March 18, 1998

Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley/Paul Gulacy

11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Star Trek: The Host

Episode: "The Host"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 4, Episode 23

Original Air Date: May 11, 1991

via Memory Alpha

Dr. Crusher has fallen in love with Odan (Franc Luz), a visiting Trill ambassador.  When Odan is "killed," the symbiotic relationship between the parasitic Trill and their hosts is revealed.  The symbiont must be implanted in Riker while a more suitable host is rushed to the scene.

"The Host" is an important episode for a couple reasons.  In-story, the introduction of the Trill makes it an essential prequel to Deep Space Nine, though the concept went through significant development between this first appearance and the debut of Jadzia Dax.  In the broader world, it was the rare story of that television era to address homosexuality and the attendant homophobia, though not directly.  The eventual Trill host, you see, is female.  We know from future stories that switching genders from one host to the next is common for Trill.  But it's a bridge too far for Beverly.

Beverly never actually states that the problem with the new host is that she's female, though it's strongly implied.  Her explanation is certainly a cop out.  She refers to her discomfort as a "human failing."  The better choice might have been for her to acknowledge her personal feelings rather than blaming society.  After all, there are plenty of bi- and pansexuals among humans now.  Surely, the same will be true in the 24th century.  Nonetheless, in 1991, that would have been a far more taboo conversation than it is in 2021.  

In light of all this, "The Host" provides an essential set up for the best Star Trek episode I've ever seen.

Stay tuned.

Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Franc Luz was born December 22, 1950 in Chambridge, Massachusetts.  He graduated from New Mexico State University.  Over twenty years, he had a respectable career across theater, film and television.

On stage, he was the original dentist in the Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors.  On TV, he was a lead actor on the soap opera Doctors, for which he was nominated for an Emmy.  On the big screen, his best-known credits were in The Nest, Ghost Town and When Harry Met Sally...

Retired since 1999, Luz devotes his time to several fine art museums in and around New York City, for which he serves as both a trustee and a tour guide.

Squid Mixes: Lillet Reviver

A Lillet Reviver combines gin, Grand Marnier (or Coinreau or triple sec), Lillet blanc, lemon juice and absinthe (or Pastis) with a lemon (or orange) twist garnish.  I got my recipe from David Lebovitz's Drinking French.  Lebovitz admits the drink is also known as a Corpse Reviver No. 2 but he changed the name to emphasize the Lillet.  

Fortunately, absinthe is no longer illegal in the United States, its long-rumored hallucinatory properties disproved.  Even so, my wife has been skeptical as she is not a huge fan of anise flavoring.  It's not my favorite either though I'm less reluctant to experiment with it.  There's actually very little absinthe in the drink.  You pour a half-teaspoon into the empty glass, swirl it around, then dump out the excess.  There's just enough for a light scent and an even lighter flavor.  In my wife's words, it's a good drink for the absinthe shy.

She also suggested The Absinthe Shy would be a fantastic band name.

Otherwise, the drink is intensely lemony.  If I make it again, I might cut back a little on the lemon juice.

On the Coffee Table: Xinran

Title: The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices

Author: Xinran

via Amazon

In the late 1980s, Chinese journalist Xinran started a radio program entitled Words on the Night Breeze.  She asked women of all walks of life to share their stories with her in order to explore the lives of women in China.  At the time, the country was beginning to open up, though many were still recovering from their experiences in the Cultural Revolution.  The program proved extremely popular and Xinran received hundreds of stories every single day.  In The Good Women of China, Xinran includes several of these stories along with her own experience in collecting them.  Some had been censored by Communist Party-controlled media and had to wait until Xinran moved to the West in order to be published.

As in most of Asia - indeed, much of the world - the status of women in China is very poor.  Even the egalitarian promises of Maoism did little to change that reality.  Men own everything.  Women have severely limited rights.  Culturally speaking, the best thing a woman can do in her life is bear a son.  None of this should come as a surprise to the reader.  The personal narratives Xinran shares reveal how it all plays out on an individual level.  There are stories of rape, sexual abuse, neglect, public shaming and more.  It is by no means an easy read but it's undeniably important.

If you're prepared to be shocked out of your comfort zone, The Good Women of China is certainly a worthwhile read.  Westerners tend to see Asia as culturally monochrome, often failing to recognize the diversity among its cultures, not to mention within individual nations.  China is enormous, the culture of any one region vastly different from others.  Indeed, Xinran's project expands her own concept, putting her in contact with parts of the country she would probably never have seen otherwise.  While Wild Swans by Jung Chang adheres to many of the same themes, Xinran's book covers a much broader cross-section of society.

Star Wars Comics: Crimson Empire #2-3, X-Wing Rogue Squadron #27, Shadows of the Empire - Evolution #1

Crimson Empire is a strong series so far.  It appeals to me for much the same reason Rogue Squadron does: it offers the perspective of a military grunt, though this one plays for the other side.  Development of the protagonist Carnor Jax is gradual which I also appreciate.

Shadows of the Empire - Evolution is about a droid.  No thanks.

My Recent Reads

Crimson Empire #2

Originally published January 28, 1998

Writers: Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley

Artist: Paul Gulacy

In-Story Timeline: 11 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Crimson Empire #3

February 18, 1998

Richardson and Stradley/Gulacy

via Wookieepedia

X-Wing Rogue Squadron #27: Family Ties, Part 2

February 4, 1998

Michael A. Stackpole/Jim Hall and Drew Johnson

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Shadows of the Empire - Evolution #1

February 11, 1998

Steve Perry/Ron Randall

4 ABY

via Wookieepedia

Star Trek: Half a Life

Episode: "Half a Life"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 4, Episode 22

Original Air Date: May 6, 1991

via Memory Alpha

"Counselor Deanna Troi, personal log, stardate 44805.3. My mother is on board."

That might be the single greatest log entry of the entire franchise.

Yes, indeed, the generally intolerable Lwaxanna Troi is paying a visit.  But this is different from all previous Lwaxanna episodes in that it's not about Deanna, the eternally suffering daughter.  In fact, it's not about any of the principals.  Lwaxanna falls in love with Timcin (David Ogden Stiers), a visiting scientist from a dying world.  The trial run on an experiment to save his planet doesn't go well but that's not even the story's deepest tragedy.  Timcin is 60 years old, the age at which those in his culture must submit to ritual suicide.

Lwaxanna is crushed by the revelation but Picard won't do anything about it as it would violate the Prime Directive.  Timcin, wanting more time with Lwaxanna and also to continue his work, asks for asylum.  Picard grants it but, naturally, that leads to further issues.  An appeal from his daughter (Michelle Forbes, the future Ensign Ro) turns the tide.

"Half a Life" is a deeply sad episode, a new emotional note for the franchise.  It fleshes out Lwaxanna, too, and she desperately needed that.  The affection between her and Timcin is entirely believable and there's something satisfying, from a narrative perspective, in how things work out.  The tough choice is made and the loss is real.  Trek doesn't usually take us to that edge.  It's refreshing.

And of course, Stiers is wonderful.

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

David Ogden Stiers... just thinking the name makes me smile.

Stiers was born October 31, 1942 in Peoria, Illinois.  As with so many in this space, the theater work came first.  He got his start in San Francisco, then moved to New York to study at Julliard.  He made his Broadway debut in 1974 as Feldman in The Magic Show.

The big break came in 1977 when he was cast as Charles Emerson Winchester III in M*A*S*H, replacing Frank Burns.  M*A*S*H was a masterful show for so many reasons, not least for the fact that whenever they replaced principal characters - and they did it three times - the series actually improved.  Each replacement brought new dimension.  Charles was not Frank just as Potter was not Blake and BJ was not Trapper.  They were never intended to be carbon copies of the originals.  Not only was Charles a more worthy foil for Hawkeye.  He had more range than Frank, by a long shot.  As arrogant and obnoxious as he certainly was, Charles was also compassionate, elegant and occasionally even vulnerable.  The character brought Stiers two Emmy nominations.  It's a shame he never won.

Right, this is a Star Trek post...

Later, Stiers played a recurring character on Perry Mason TV movies and a principal in The Dead Zone.  A third Emmy nomination came with his work in The First Olympics: Athens 1896.  There was ample film work over the years, too, most memorably for me as the father in Better Off Dead (read here).  His voice resume is impressive.  In fact, after Charles, his best known role is probably Cogsworth in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Stiers came out as gay in 2009.  Huzzah!

He passed away in 2018 from complications due to bladder cancer.

On the Coffee Table: Yakitate!! Japan

Title: Yakitate!! Japan, Volume 1

Writer and Artist: Takashi Hashiguchi

via Amazon

Yakitate!! Japan is a food manga, originally published 2001-2007.  The protagonist Kazuma Azuma is young man out to convert the rice-loving Japanese to bread.  He wants to create Ja-Pan.  Pan is the Japanese word for bread, you see, and Kazuma feels the Japanese need a national bread like so many found in Europe.  A small town boy, he goes to Tokyo to follow his dreams.

It's fun - sort of like an inspiring sports story except it's about food.  His job interview is rather Great British Bake Off-like... or is it Iron Chef?  There's Kawachi, the goofy sidekick, and Tsukino, the (one presumes eventual) love interest who's also technically Kazuma's boss.  In the last chapter of this collection, we meet Matsushiro, the guru genius bakery manager.  He's a bit of a mess.  He'd be the Dennis Hopper character.  Kazuma even has a baking superpower: unnaturally warm hands that give him an advantage in kneading dough.

On top of it all, the text is genuinely informative about bread.

I'm definitely up for more.