Just watched the new Star Trek movie on Paramount +. Section 31 1 hour and 35 minutes. It’s the A-Team in space. Visually stunning, with great care given to the space station bar where part of the action takes place, along with some hotel and residence rooms. Some of the ships and other locations were – meh. The dialog was – terrible. It really does come across like the A-Team, even with the fate of the quadrant at stake. I was expecting so much more. Too much reliance on fight scenes and ‘funny’ quips. The bad guy was not very deep. Did I say I was expecting so much more? Some naysayers have been saying, and will continue to say, they destroyed Star Trek with this, but that’s not going to be true. This is along the lines of ‘Very Short Treks’. A plausible idea that was executed poorly. They might save the idea of a Section 31 series of short movies, but only if the next one, if there is a next one (and there probably won’t be), is very-very good. Another like this one and we won’t hear from Section 31 for a hundred years or so. I must say, I was expecting more.
Jefferson School, circa 1917, demolished in 1967. Was there fraud involved? I think maybe.
I attended 4th grade at Jefferson School in 1966, maybe 1965. I remember a huge brick building, with cement aprons around the sides and back for basketball and four-square courts, volleyball poles, and assorted other recess activity markings. I don’t really recall much of the interior, other than the auditorium/cafeteria. That is (was) located on the ‘backside’ of the building as we’re looking at it in the above picture.
Now, Jefferson School is Jefferson Park. The cement is long gone, along with the building. This image is taken from about where the event I witnessed took place, which would be along the north side of the building. (the front of the building shown in the picture above faces east)
So, fraud? I don’t know. My memories are those of a 9 year old, seeing something odd over the course of the school day. Those memories are 58 years old, but I believe I’m recalling it pretty well, since it made an impression on me at the time.
Here’s my scenario:
It’s the mid-1960’s, and Visalia is growing. The school, a (presumably) unreinforced brick structure, might be considered unsafe in the event of an earthquake. The 7.5 Tehachapi earthquake of 1952 might have been the driving force of the demolition of the school, but if that’s so, they waited a long time to act. I don’t know if the school suffered any damage during that quake, however.
Here’s what happened, as I remember it.
I was at school, and it was time for the first recess. I went out to the north side playground, and noticed a ladder perched up against the side of the building. There was a tripod of some sort a few feet away.
Noted. Grown-up stuff, only momentarily interesting.
At lunch, the ladder was still there, this time with someone at the top, futzing with the top layer of bricks underneath the eaves of the building. The tripod now had some kind of film camera mounted to it. Adults standing around, doing grown-up things, again only momentarily interesting. There’s the bell, time to get back to class.
Afternoon recess, and the ladder is still there. So is the man at the top of it, still futzing with the bricks. This time it’s different, though. He comes down, and they set up the film camera.
Now here’s where I think the fraud comes in.
During the recess, and I think the timing was just a coincidence, they started filming. The man climbs the ladder, takes a chisel and a hammer, and begins beating on the bricks under the eaves. The brick comes out with little effort. The man removes it, holds it out so the camera can see it, then climbs down.
End of recess, the bell rings, and we go running back to class. (we’re 9 and 10 year olds. We still run to class)
So.
They took most of the day to work that brick loose, then filmed a man climbing the ladder, hitting it a few times with a hammer and chisel, and then pulling the brick out. I think someone may have wanted that building to seem much more dangerous than it might truly have been.
Anyone know where those bricks ended up? Brick fireplaces were pretty common in home construction back then, and that school would have made a lot of them.
It might have been a perfectly innocent thing. I was only 9 years old, after all, and not at all cognizant of grown-up things. But I’ve always had this memory, and there’s little chance I will ever know what really happened.
I’m disappointed in the Visalia CIty Council. They basically vetoed the Planning Commission’s decision to revoke the Conditional Use Permit that allowed Rookies Sports Bar and Grill to have live entertainment. After years of escalating police responses to the sports bar, the council did not support the findings of city staff and the police department, and decided to “re-negotiate” (my term, not the Council’s) the rules under which Rookies will be allowed to continue (resume?) live entertainment.
The bar was declared a “public nuisance” back in 2021, and even after numerous contacts since with the city about the problems, it has been experiencing increasing numbers of incidents requiring police response. The process of dealing with Rookies has been ongoing, resulting with the Planning Commission’s decision recently to revoke the Conditional Use Permit (first issued in 2011) to allow live entertainment. The revocation does not close Rookies, it can still operate as a restaurant and bar, which is its primary, legally permitted, business model. Only the live entertainment is affected.
It sure looks to me, standing here on the outside looking in, like the owner of Rookies has had plenty of time to correct the problems the city has been dealing with since before 2021, but has failed to do so. Some think his position on downtown association boards (private entities, not part of City government) has granted him special status, allowing him to use those positions to get special treatment. I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s easy to suspect something is going on. There’s a lot of smoke around this situation, and you know what they say about smoke.
To “renegotiate” the deal with Rookies after the Planning Commission did it’s due diligence in acting to revoke the CUP (Conditional Use Permit), sends a message to other potential trouble spots downtown that they can get away with thumbing their nose at the city.
Kudos to Councilman Soto for being the only ‘no’ vote on the motion to “renegotiate” the CUP. (Nelsen recused himself, and left the Council chambers while the issue was being discussed and voted on.)
We’ll have to see how this shakes out. Stay tuned.
On September 8, I wrote about the City of Visalia and it’s Charter. I noticed in one section it said (Deleted November 4, 1974). No mention of what that section was, or why it was “deleted”.
Under Article XVI, Section 21 said simply “(Deleted November 4, 1974)”
Well, I needed to know what that was all about.
I cogitated about it for a while. A mystery that kept bugging me, begging to be solved. Last Monday I decided to track down the truth, if possible. Looking online hadn’t turned up the missing section, and it had been 50 years since the change was made. The local newspaper doesn’t have online access for historical stuff, and while I had the date of the vote taken to approve changes to the Charter, I didn’t know when the City Council had acted to put the measure on the ballot. That could have been almost any time in 1974, to have time to get it on the mid-term election ballot in November. I really didn’t want to sit in front of the micro-fiche reader at the library, scrolling through the newspapers for every day that year! (Are micro-fiche readers and their films still a thing?)
The hunt had to be done the old-fashioned way – sleuthing in person.
I headed down to the library to see if they had a copy of the original charter, but they were closed for Indigenous People’s Day (It might be called something else, too, but never mind that…)
Next stop – The City Clerk’s office. I was surprised to find the offices open, since it was that holiday. I also expected it might take a while to find that for which I was looking. I was afraid that the relevant documents would be in that warehouse where the US Government stuck the Ark of the Covenant, as seen in one of the Indiana Jones’ movies, or in Warehouse 13. The City Clerk thought it might take some digging, too. The Assistant City Manager came by as we were discussing the Charter, and since he’s new to the city as well, he didn’t know anything about the change. The Clerk took my info, and told me she would research it. I expected I might hear something back in a week or so, if I was lucky. Surprise, surprise, they found and emailed me the original text before I even got home! Talk about service!
The original Charter contained the following:
Article XVI. Miscellaneous Provisions:
Section 21.
Neither the City Manager nor any person in the employ of the City shall take any active part in securing, or shall contribute money toward the nomination or election of any candidate for a municipal office.
Seems in 1974 the City decided to do a bit of tweaking to the Charter, and since the only way it can be changed is a vote of the people, it was on the ballot in November 1974. The above section was deleted. (I’m assuming it was due to infringing on people’s rights to support the candidate of their choice, even though they were city employees.) Some other wording was added, looks like to clarify some minor things that had changed in the previous 50 years.
It’s been 50 years since that update, and I think it’s time to do another refresh.
I noticed references to the City Manager (and other offices as well) as “he” or “his” throughout the Charter. We don’t have a “he/him” City Manager now, so time to change the masculine pronouns to gender-neutral.
(the fact that changing masculine pronouns in city documents will undoubtedly raise the blood pressure of those who see such things as “woke liberalism” is a bonus in my book!)
Thank you to the new City Clerk, Jennifer Gomez, for digging this up for me!
Mystery solved!
(even if it was a bit anti-climatic. I was hoping for some good, scandalous dirt! oh well…)
In January, 2022, the local LGBTQ community and I lost a great friend with the passing of Gail McCarthy. I often called her “Mom”, after an amusing incident at the local Quiznoz.
I was invited to edit the last published book in the series, Not A Good Reason, and even make an appearance, by name and occupation, in it! Cool beans!
Gail was writing the sixth novel in the series when she passed, and her estate doesn’t seem interested in finishing it or having it published. This kind of leaves the characters hanging, so I decided to engage in a little “fan fiction”, and write a (very) short ending to the series. This story takes place about a decade after the events in Not A Good Reason, so if the McCarthy estate should ever decide to finish the book Gail was working on, it should not step on anything there.
Now, I’m a blogger, and have written a few things here and there, but I’m no novelist. I have to admit that I used ChatGTP for this, but I did set the stage, and edited the result quite a bit. So thanks for the help, ChatGTP, but I’m still taking (most of) the credit for this! 😉
Title: The Last (?) Goodbye
Alexandria Whitney, or Alex as everyone called her, stood in the kitchen of her quaint home in rural New York. The morning sun filtered through the windows, casting soft, golden beams onto the worn wooden table where she had shared countless breakfasts with her wife, Sam, a local sheriff’s deputy. It was their sanctuary, a place filled with warmth, laughter, and a sense of belonging. Alex had been reminiscing about her “adventures” over the years, particularly the one that brought Oscar into their lives. About ten years ago, a 16-year-old ghost of a Civil War soldier, who had been accused of desertion and executed, joined their family, and had been living with them ever since.
It was a crisp autumn morning, and as Alex sipped her freshly brewed coffee, she glanced out the kitchen window. Her heart caught in her throat as she caught sight of Oscar standing near the detached garage, seemingly engaged in a conversation with another figure at the edge of the forest that bordered their home. The stranger was a woman, possibly in her late sixties, with a thick head of grey hair cropped short and neatly combed. Intrigued, Alex grabbed her sweater and stepped out onto the porch.
With an unfocused sense of foreboding, she called out, “Who are you talking to, Oscar?” As her heart thumped in her chest, she walked down the steps and onto the leaf-strewn path that led to the edge of the yard.
Oscar turned to her, with a sad look on his face. “Alex,” he replied, tilting his head slightly. “Meet Gail. I call her the Storyteller.”
Alex quickened her pace as she approached the garage and the edge of the forest. The woman in question began to drift away, floating into the forest, her form graceful, but becoming more tenuous. “Wait!” Alex shouted, desperate to know what was happening.
But the woman only glanced back once, a soft smile flickering across her lips, and appearing to whisper something, before she melted into the trees, vanishing like mist in the morning sun.
“Who is she? Where did she go?” Alex asked, turning her gaze back to Oscar, who now looked pensive. “What do you mean, ‘the storyteller’?”
Oscar sighed, his voice distant. “Her name was Gail. She lived out west, in California I think. She came to say goodbye, and to apologize, although I told her that was not necessary. Something’s happened. I think she can no longer tell our stories. Not anymore.”
“California? Oscar, I don’t understand!” Alex was understandably confused. Although accepting Oscar as a ghost and letting him live with her and Sam wasn’t too much of a reach for her, since she already had experience with the ghosts of her spirit guides Anna and Ramon, the idea that was forming in her mind was upsetting.
Alex felt a growing sense of unease flow through her. The forest, which had always stood proud and vibrant, suddenly seemed to shift. The colors grew dull, the trees appearing to wither, their leaves fluttering down in a dance of decay.
“What do you mean she can’t tell our stories anymore?” Alex pressed, her heart racing. “Why are you saying goodbye?”
Oscar stared into the forest where she had vanished, his expression troubled, yet resigned. “I think… I think our time here is ending, Alex. Soon, we’ll all be together on the other side.”
Just then, Sam walked out from the house, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Hey, Alex, what’s going on? Why does the forest look so…?” She hesitated, searching for the right word. “Faded?”
“There was a woman,” Alex explained quickly, urgency lacing her voice. “Oscar calls her the storyteller. She just — she just floated away into the forest and disappeared!”
Sam exchanged a glance with Oscar, who gave a slight nod, his brow furrowing. “Something is happening. I think I understand what’s going on. The Storyteller has left her world to go on to the next, and can no longer tell our stories. I think we’re going with her.”
“Is she… is she the reason you’re all fading?” Alex asked Oscar, panic beginning to bubble beneath the surface. As she reached to embrace Sam, she noticed her arm no longer appeared solid, but was now as ephemeral as Oscar when he didn’t concentrate on being solidly in the living world. “…everything’s fading?”
Oscar turned, his ghostly essence shimmering slightly. “Stories need to be told, Alex. They give us life. Without them, we lose our place in the world. If she can no longer tell our stories, we might disappear completely.”
As Alex looked back at the forest, a creeping fear seeped into her bones. “But we can’t just fade away! There must be something we can do!”
Sam hesitated, then said, “Sometimes, the stories we live don’t have a clear end. Heaven knows I’ve seen that in my work as a deputy. But perhaps if they share our stories — if they’re written — it might keep us alive a little longer.”
The weight of her words hung heavy in the air. Alex glanced at Sam, who nodded in determination, as if she understood the gravity of the situation before them. “The storyteller will keep telling our story, Alex,” Sam assured her, stepping closer to Alex’s side. “Her stories are out there, reaching new people all the time. As long as they’re read and enjoyed, we’ll still be alive, somewhere.”
In that moment, Alex felt a surge of hope. “The storyteller told our stories,” she realized. “People will know us, everything we’ve been through together. That’ll make sure we’re never forgotten.”
As she spoke, the forest seemed to respond, the trees gently rustling as if they had heard her vow. Oscar smiled weakly, but there was a newfound light in his eyes, a flicker of hope.
“I think that’s all we can ask for,” he said softly. “To be together, whatever happens next. I know I’m not afraid of the future, as long as I’m with the two of you.”
Alex looked into the slowly fading forest, at the place where she last saw the storyteller. “Thank you, whoever you were. Thank you for letting us be part of your world, and thank you for being part of ours, however long it might last.”
The United States has a Constitution. The State of California has a Constitution. Did you know the City of Visalia has a Constitution? It does. Although it’s called a “Charter”. I read it last night. Not particularly thrilling reading, but interesting. (again, interesting to me. Your mileage, as always, may vary) It was approved by Visalia voters in January 1923, and ratified by the California State Legislature on February 26, 1923. Fifteen people ran for the first City Council to operate under the new Charter, in April, 1923, and five were selected by 1,326 votes. Recently, I commented here about someone speaking at a City Council meeting, and her not being aware of how the office of Mayor worked in Visalia. Here’s the scoop directly from the City Charter: Article VI Legislative. The Council. Powers and Duties Section 5. Certain Powers and Duties Enumerated: The Council shall– (4) Choose one of its members as presiding officer, to be called Mayor. The Mayor shall preside over the sessions of the Council, shall sign official documents when the signature of the Council or Mayor is required by law, and he shall act as the official head of the City on public and ceremonial occasions. He shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations. When the Mayor is absent from any meeting of the Council, the members of the Council may choose another member to act as Vice Mayor, and he shall for the time being, have the powers of the Mayor. The City Manager, as outlined in Article 8, actually runs the day-to-day operation of the City. Another curiosity: Article 16, Section 21. It says (Deleted November 4, 1974). No amendment seen on the website, so now I wonder what Section 21 was. (Maybe it’s our own Area 51! Wouldn’t that be cool!) Some odd wording in some places, and all the pronouns are male. Some updating might be in order, but that would take a vote of the people, and I’m not sure anyone in the city is eager to take on that challenge. Rabbit holes. Deep ones. “Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!” Wanna read the Charter for yourself? You can find it here: https://www.visalia.city/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?blobid=4024
It’s said that if you want to change the way your local government operates, run for office. Most of us prefer to kvetch from the sidelines, so kudos to anyone willing to jump up and try to make things better by holding office. Keyboard warriors, and I don’t exclude myself from that designation, can burn up the interwebs with criticisms of this that or the other if we take a disfavorable view of something, filling up our timelines on Facebook and Instagram (am I aging myself with only listing those two?). It’s easy and quick. Tappity tap tap, click on ‘send’, and it’s done. “Oh, did I say that a week ago? I don’t even remember what I was on about!”
It’s a big step to run for city council. It’s often a thankless job, and will get you chastised, sometimes politely, but sometimes not, for things that are often not within your power to change. It comes with the territory. The old adage “if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen” really applies to local government. And, while I’m at it, since you asked for the job, you really shouldn’t chastise the public for being on about whatever they’re on about right now. A couple of city councilmen got called out recently for their perceived poor behavior while on the dais during public comments. Much of what was directed at the council was valid. I hope those it was directed at take it to heart, and behave a bit more respectfully in the future.
Anyway, I said all that to talk about the following:
If you’re going to run for public office, don’t be like Trump was/is, and not have a clue about the job.
Recently, I was speaking with a candidate for one of the seats up for election this cycle here in Visalia. His talking points were not accurate.
He was complaining about the city council raising taxes, specifically property taxes, and utility fees. When I asked about it, he was certain in his position that the city council was raising taxes. I was a bit confused, because I could not recall any taxes on my property tax bills that could be layed at the feet of the Visalia City Council. When I followed up with him about what taxes he was talking about, I did not get a real explanation.
I asked him about utility fees, sewer and trash, he said they have been climbing, as well. Again, I could not recall any hikes on my bills, so I asked him for clarification. He basically backed down a bit and said he was going on what his father told him, because he lived on property owned by his parents.
Well, that conversation was not very enlightening, and frankly, based on conversations I’ve either briefly had with him, or on comments he’s made during public commentary sections of City Council meetings, and things he’s posted online, I was left wondering what the facts were.
So I grabbed my property tax bills for the past five years, and had a look.
At the top of the list, the county’s 1% tax on net value led the way. After that, various other taxes were listed:
Visalia Unified School District for a bond in 2012
Kaweah Delta water district
Kaweah Delta hospital
College of the Sequoias
Visalia Unified School District for a bond in 2018
Delta Mosquito control
Hmmmm. Nothing about the City of Visalia listed for any of the five years.
In those five years, my County property tax bill has increased by $105.12. That increase has been driven solely by the Proposition 13 limited increase in my home’s value.
Now, the sewer and trash bill might have gone up a few dollars over the years, but it seems to me it’s been pretty stable. I’ve not noticed any changes of more than a few dollars, which really is to be expected. Other fees and costs that city might impose for various services are not what the conversation was about, so I’m not going to comment on whether it’s valid to include them.
So, what’s that all mean? By all means run for office if you want to serve, and/or make a change. But do some research first, and make your run with something that will improve the community.
I’m not in this person’s district, so I wouldn’t be able to vote for or against him regardless, but after each interaction with him, I’m more certain he’s not a better fit than the person already serving in that seat.
Back on February 16, 2024, the Valley Voice, a local newspaper, published in it’s Opinion section a letter from the local PFLAG chapter. It generated a response that I should have expected, but was a bit surprised to see. I take hope in that it was only one such reply.
Basically, Dave M., a gentleman I know personally, took exception to the Pride flag, and Pride month, claiming that there were “a goodly number of gay pedophiles”. He finds the flag and the month offensive.
Here’s the Valley Voice article:
OPINION PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties: Our families deserve better Posted on February 16, 2024 by PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties
LGBTQIA2S+ people are under attack. Especially transgender and nonbinary folks. We know from history and science that there have always been those who are queer or intersex or gay or asexual or gender nonconforming. We know that these are normal variations of the human condition. Biology is complicated. Yet some people choose to see this as a danger. There has been a huge increase in laws limiting the freedom of individuals to use the names and pronouns they choose and the restroom best fitting their gender. There have been laws to prevent students from competing in sports as their own gender. There are laws to prevent minors from receiving the treatment that they and their parents want for them in accordance with their medical and mental health providers. The end game has been spelled out—the aim is to force transgender adults to detransition. To achieve this, laws have been passed in some states to prevent teachers, medical providers and mental health professionals from discussing sexuality, gender, race, abortion, and other important topics. By not allowing access to accurate information in schools and libraries, young people are learning from their peers and the internet—sometimes very unreliable sources.
Ignorance and hostility to the LGBT+ community put our youth at higher risk of physical and mental health problems, poverty, substance abuse, homelessness, and other adverse outcomes. When the entire community supports and celebrates its LGBT+ members everyone prospers.
This harmful and unnecessary anti-LGBT+ legislation is why the Human Rights Campaign has declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. Limiting free speech, bodily autonomy, access to knowledge, and parents’ rights to appropriate medical and psychological treatment for their children is un-American, and we need to call it out. It is time for straight allies to stand up and demand an end to this persecution of our LGBT+ friends and families. Vote as if their lives depend on it—because they do.
PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties Board Members Kathryn Hall, MD Cathy Brass Katia Clark Jonathan Ward Rev. Suzanne Ward Jim Reeves
4 thoughts on “PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties: Our families deserve better” (Commenter ID is a unique per-article, per-person commenter identifier. If multiple names have the same Commenter ID, it is likely they are the same person. For more information, click here.)
kelly says: March 4, 2024 at 12:18 pm (Commenter ID: e5ca2820) I understand that what I just read is an “opinion,” its also a idiotic one that says “we know “ from history and science that there have always been LGBQ and on and on, kinds of people. Well there has always been mental illness, child abuse , and many more things that people can easily claim they were born with…. not everything should be celebrated and those who encourage those with gender dysphoria, especially minors to undergo radical surgeries that cut off body parts should be put in prison.
Reply Jim Reeves says: March 5, 2024 at 3:19 pm (Commenter ID: a93d4c73) It’s clear from Kelly’s remarks that we still have a lot of educating to do in our area. Only the first ten words of her post are factual. The rest spring from ignorance, misinformation, and outright lies told to mislead.
Reply Dave M says: June 15, 2024 at 4:46 pm (Commenter ID: 6690a22a) Jim, I know you as a respectable and a respectful gay man. However, clearly you do not want to recognize the truth that there are a goodly number of gay pedophiles, (yes some teaching in our schools,) who are after especially the teens. Because your chosen flag represents those perverts, I cannot and will not support it! Yes, I find the whole month of June being set aside most offensive!
Reply Jim Reeves says: July 12, 2024 at 3:55 pm (Commenter ID: a93d4c73) You’re simply wrong about that, Dave. Straight pedophiles vastly outnumber those that are gay. You tend to hear about the gay ones because that sells newspapers and generates ‘clicks’ online. There is no more “a goodly number” of gay pedophiles than there are in any other group you might want to focus upon. While there are certainly gay teachers, there’s no more of a likelihood of them being pedophiles than straight teachers. Indeed, if we go by the general population statistics, there is a 90% chance that any pedophile teachers are straight. I also want to be sure you are clear on what pedophilia is: it’s the sexual attraction to PRE-pubescent children. I suspect you are equating pedophilia with hebephilia, the strong, persistent sexual interest by adults in pubescent children who are in early adolescence, typically ages 11–14, and ephebophilia, the sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19. Ask any woman how many men hit on or sexually harassed her almost the moment she hit puberty. Those were not gay men. Most straight men are not pedophiles. Most gay men are not pedophiles. Pedophilia is not a sexual orientation, nor does it have anything to do with one’s sexual orientation. Pride month and the Pride flag represent a large number of wonderful, intelligent, artistic, caring, loving, brave, outgoing, shy, professionals, artists, laborers, and more. Basically, every type of person you can think of. I’ll keep flying my flag, and celebrating Pride month.
I’ve exclusively owned Fords since 1985. That ended today. What have I done??
Here’s a look back at 39 years of Fords!
(Not my actual car, but the same model and color)
A 1985 1/2 Ford Escort. I put well over 100,000 miles on this car. A 5 speed, 4 cylinder that I drove to Canada and all over Central California, it was the first new car I ever purchased.
In 1992 I bought my Ranger XLT, and have put over 160,000 miles on it. The Ranger has taken me to Seattle, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. This was the second vehicle I bought new. (and I’ve still got it – I don’t expect to ever sell it)
In 2007 I bought this 2005 Taurus SEL at the Fresno Car Max. It had 8,700 miles on it. It was previously owned by a Ford dealership in a smaller Central Valley town, and must have been a loaner or used to give folks rides to and from the lot. What ever they did with it, they didn’t put very many miles on it. I fixed that, running to odometer up to about 110,000 miles. This one went as far east as Columbus, Ohio.
In 2020, I went back to Car Max, and bought the Blue_Heretic, a 2019 Ford Fusion SE with “Eco-Boost”. Another low-milage car, it was one year old with 2,600 miles on the odometer. This car has been the one I liked the most of all the cars I’ve owned, and it’s with mixed emotions that I traded it in on my new Honda. Good-bye, Heretic, and thanks for all the (only 35,000) miles!
So now I jump into both the Honda and the hybrid worlds.
My first “foreign” car, a 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid EX-L. Rolling along on the electric motor is taking a bit of getting used to! (but I love it! It’s so quiet)
Trying to come up with a name in the vein of my previous car’s ‘Blue_Heretic’. So far, nothing has presented itself. I’m sure I’ll think of something.
Random thoughts, occasional rants, illuminating commentary, and an odd story now and then from the world of 9-1-1 dispatching. All this and more from a gay liberal atheist living in California’s Bible belt. I recently married, so MAGA beware! I’m your worst nightmare! Some names have been omitted to protect the innocent, but the guilty will be hung out to dry!
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
Section 31 – The Movie
January 24, 2025
Jim Reeves commentary, fiction, geek movies, Paramount, science fiction, Section 31, star trek, television, tv, Yeoh Leave a comment
Just watched the new Star Trek movie on Paramount +.
Section 31
1 hour and 35 minutes.
It’s the A-Team in space.
Visually stunning, with great care given to the space station bar where part of the action takes place, along with some hotel and residence rooms. Some of the ships and other locations were – meh.
The dialog was – terrible.
It really does come across like the A-Team, even with the fate of the quadrant at stake.
I was expecting so much more.
Too much reliance on fight scenes and ‘funny’ quips.
The bad guy was not very deep.
Did I say I was expecting so much more?
Some naysayers have been saying, and will continue to say, they destroyed Star Trek with this, but that’s not going to be true. This is along the lines of ‘Very Short Treks’. A plausible idea that was executed poorly.
They might save the idea of a Section 31 series of short movies, but only if the next one, if there is a next one (and there probably won’t be), is very-very good. Another like this one and we won’t hear from Section 31 for a hundred years or so.
I must say, I was expecting more.
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