Pen to Paper

In an effort to update more regularly (and because I’m working on a Project Awesome that I hope will become home for my more editorial-type writing) I think I’m going to make this more of a personal blog.

Today was all about the job applications. Several online apps, a couple in store. Several more places to apply found for tomorrow.

A couple good friends from college called tonight, both in the middle of long drives across Indiana. It’s good talking to them; one of the main things I miss about school is living within a quarter mile of so many of my close friends.

After watching the BSG finale last weekend, I filled a notepad with everything I was thinking or thought of in response. I then despaired because (a) I couldn’t talk about them online without risking spoilers, and (b) I don’t really know anyone outside the Internet who watched the show. So the best solution I can come up with is to say that you might think this post contains SPOILERS for Battlestar Galactica, but it’s pretty much just going to be a list of general, vague statements.

Other stories the BSG made me think of:

• C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Things to think about after BSG:

• Marshall McLuhan’s “the medium is the message” in BSG
• Is history a loop, a spiral, or a straight line?
• “All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again” vs. the idea “we can change”
• Attempting to apply recorded prophecy fails, but new prophecies succeed
• Show in light of end: purgatory. Ending in light of show: debate on free will vs. fate
• God, gods, or other force of nature – what’s going on behind the scenes?
• Are fate and God separate (and sometimes opposed) entities?

I think that was vague enough to avoid spoilering anything. If you’re still here, I’ve got a question for you. In Cowboy Bebop, episodes 1 & 5 are usually the “get people hooked” episodes. What are the “get people hooked” episodes for BSG? What episode would you show a friend to help them get a feel for the show and make them want to watch the rest, without confusing them? This may or may not be the pilot. If you’ve got an answer, put it in the comments.