the big problems with space:1999

I have now watched about half of the first season of Space: 1999. When I have watched the entire series I will post a long entry that includes a review of each episode. Yes, I'm watching crap so you don't have to.

At any rate, there are a few major consistent flaws in the series that I'd like to address.

First, the episodes seem to often have good ideas at their core, but they're executed poorly. Silly concepts that ruin the good ideas. And the technobabble they use is nowhere near the quality we see in Star Trek. A case in point is the episode "Matter of Life and Death." The Alphans are checking out a planet that they're passing by, All looks great, and they're getting geared up to relocate to it. Until everything goes bad. It's a good idea -- actually, an obvious idea. But they had to ruin it with the stupid subplot about Dr. Russell's husband, the way things go bad (which defies any semblance of logic), and the final wrap up which also makes no sense. It would have worked better if there were some kind of spirit that's tasked with protecting the planet. The spirit could be purposely making things go wrong. Then it could have undone its damage on the condition that they leave. Easy Peasy.

But the bigger issue is just that the personalities are all wrong. I don't know if it's bad acting, bad directing or bad writing. Maybe it's a combination of all three. But, first, there's an odd lack of emotion. Barbara Bain is absolutely wooden. In one early episode she has to deliver the news that 128 people have died. She sighs a little. I'm not really familiar with the rest of Bain's career, so I don't know if it's her or the lines.

Martin Landau is ill-suited to be Commander. He's not a swashbuckling leader type, and he's not the cerebral intellectual. He's more of a constantly-annoyed uncle with heartburn. And it just doesn't work.

Aside from those two specific miscast characters is the fact that there's no real chemistry between the characters. In Star Trek you had the witty banter and interesting personal dynamics between Kirk Spock and McCoy. Spock and McCoy are each fiercely loyal to Kirk, and jealou of the other's relationship with him. But, despite the friction between them, they have a grudging respect for each other, and they do like each other. S99 seems to be trying to imitate that dynamic -- or at least the structure. The Commander Koenig, Professor Bergman and Sr. Russell are the core triumverate. But their interaction is cold, and there's just no "them" to them. And that lack of relationship, writ large, is a big problem with the whole cast. There's very little dialog, and so very little in the way of interpersonal dynamics. Alpha could be manned by robots and little would be lost.

As a housekeeping item, let me apologize that this entry isn't accompanied by any clips. I would love to include clips illustrating what I mean. Unfortunately, I can;t seem to find any. When I search Youtube, all I get are complete episodes and tribute videos, wherein the sound is entirely replaced by music. Neither of those tyoes of Youtube videos is suitable.

tweeting from two places at once -- all for stack-up

By all appearances, at least to anyone who follows me on Twitter, I managed to be in two places at once today.

Sharon is in California at MineCon (as half of Team Meowsome). Blair is there with her, and has been using the opportunity to spread the word about Stack-Up. She's been doing that by talking to people about the organization, and tweeting about it. In many cases she's been getting people to pose for pictures with Stack-Up stickers, and the Tweeting the pictures. And SU leadership seems to love it. They've been praising me for all this great work. The catch, of course, is that it's not my work. Blair has been tweeting under my name since she doesn't have a Twitter account of her own. So, essentially, I'm getting credit for her work. If you ask her, she'll explain that she doesn't care who gets the credit. She's a "policy wonk" as she puts it. Her mantra is that you can get a whole lot done if you don't care who gets the credit. But let me state for the record that she's the one doing killing it on behalf of Stack-Up out in California. The people in charge of Stack-Up should know that.

So, while Blair and Sharon are out at Minecraft, what have I been doing?

Today there was a Stack-Up fundraiser in New Jersey. So Ethan, Asher and I headed down to South Amboy to be part of the Stack-Up contingent. I twote from there, but I wasn't nearly as prolific as Blair. Tweeting is a medium that I still have to gain my comfort level with.

But since I was tweeting from New Jersey while Blair was tweeting (as me) from California, I managed the impossible.

three things i learned in school that i will never forget

Here are three things that I learned in school and will never forget.

A Talmudic Principle:
"אין רצוני שיהי פקדוני ביד אחר" It's pronounced "Ain r'tzoni sh'y'hey pikdoni b'yad acher." Literally
translated, it means "I didn't want my property to be in someone else's hand. This was a sentence from eight grade Talmud class. I don't remember which book of the Talmud we were in. The topic was who is responsible if a person's property is damaged while being held by a second person. Say, for example, I have your bicycle and it is damaged or lost. Do I have to pay you for the loss? The answer, of course, depends primarily on two questions:

• Why am I in possession of your property? Did you lend it to me to use? If so, am I paying for its use? Or am I  holding it because you need someone to take care of it? If so, are you paying me for the service?
• How did the object get damaged or lost? Was I careless? Was it normal use? Did I lend it to a third party?

That last question is where the concept (quoted above in Hebrew) comes into play. Unless I got your permission to pass on your property to the third party, the rules are very much against me.

Why do I remember this one concept when I don;t remember any other line of Talmud? Because our teacher, Rabbi Atik, insisted that it's really important. SO he got the whole class to chant it over and over again. Then, while we were still chanting, he stood us up and marched us up and down the hallway, into every classroom.

The Central Bank of the Soviet Union
It was the "Gosbank." In college, I took summer classes. One summer I took an economics class in money and banking. One question on the final asked for the name of the central bank of the Soviet Union. I didn't know, so I took a wild guess. "First Commie Savings and Loan" I wrote. I got it wrong, but the professor told me the answer. Had I remembered the answer from studying the text, I probably would have forgotten it by now. But in the event, I will always remember.

A cool fact about circles

Suppose you have two circles. One is inside the other, but they share one point. Now, consider a
string of circles in the space between these two circles. The circles in the string touch each other, and also touch the two main circles. The points where the little circles meet are all contained on yet another circle.

I remember this because of the complex analysis course I took in my second semester of grad school. The last question on the midterm (or was it the final?) asked us to prove this. As the professor was handing out the test papers, I saw the diagram on the last page, It looked complicated and scary. I went into a panic and started saying "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" over and over. At some point I looked up and saw that the professor had stopped handing out papers and was staring at me. To this day I don't know if he was annoyed or amused.

The irony is that that question is the only one that I got completely right. It was a simple construction using linear fractional transformations.

in memory of those who served -- you will not be forgotten

We (Blair, Ethan and I) went down to Joint Base Andrews (formerly Andrews Air Force Base) to attend their annual POW/MIA Rememberance Run. The run is something that I hadn't heard of until recently, and that I probably still would't have heard of if not for Ethan getting us involved in Stack-Up. So, as we drove down to Andrews, we really didn't know what to expect. I was told that it would be a 24-hour run. And as a vigil. Most importantly, it was an event to keep alive the memories of our country's POWs and MIA. Was I going to have to run? For 24 hours straight? Yeah, fat chance of that happening. All I knew was that Stack-Up had been invited to attend. It was an honor we could hardly pass up.

So we showed up on Thursday Morning, not quite knowing what to expect. It was, in fact, a 24-hour
run. But it was relay style. No one person was expected to run for 24 hours. This is an annual event at the base, dating back (as far as I could ascertain) to the 1980s. At a little after 10 AM, Sargent Carrie Frederickson got things started. She was followed by Colonel Sharon Bannister whose father was killed in Vietnam in 1972. My description of can't do justice to the first-hand account, so instead here is her prepared text:

Colonel Bannister, talking about growing up with a dad who was MIA

In the early morning of 7 March 1972, a 2 ship of F-4E aircraft took off from Da Nang Air Base, Republic of South Vietnam on an armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos.  The number 2 aircraft, tail number 69-7552, call sign Gunfighter 61 was cleared to attack two enemy trucks at 0655.  Unfortunately, the target wasn’t completely destroyed, so they were cleared for its second attack run.  The lead lost Gunfighter 61 in the early morning haze…enemy ground fire was heavy…and seconds later the flight lead saw a fireball over the great jungles of Laos.  Of note, both targets were destroyed.

On that hazy morning in March, First Lt Carter Howell and my dad, 1st Lt Stephen Rusch, proud Airmen assigned to the 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, disappeared.

Though visual, electronic, and photoreconnaissance searches continued for 3 days, on my 6th birthday, 10 March, the search concluded and Lt Howell and Lt Rusch had their status changed to Missing in Action.

No words can explain the years to follow.  The uncertainty was always there…what if my dad had died on impact…what if he had been captured and tortured….what if he got lost in the jungle, injured, alone…

Years of dreams and many nights of tears, fading hope, and an aching heart that never heals.  It’s what the families, friends, and brothers and sisters in arms of MIA/POW Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines feel when they are left alone to create their own stories.

In 2007, I was able to finish my story.  After an excavation years after the crash, my dad was identified through dental remains.  He had ended his short life of service on 7 March as his plane crashed into the slope of a mountainous area just outside a small village in Southern Laos, a beautiful…secluded jungle area with a small stream running at the base of the hill…a spot my sister and I were able to visit a year ago.  But there are still many who have not returned and whose stories still need an end.

As we run today in remembrance of those who are still missing, please keep their families and friends in your thoughts and hearts.  Let them never be forgotten.  Be safe, and thank you for what you do each day to serve our great nation.

Soon after that, the run began, and successive teams relayed for 24 hours, running with a large black POW/MIA flag. The next morning, which was yesterday, September 16, the flag was turned over to a group from the Green Knights (a military motorcycle club) who drove it from Andrews to the Air Force memorial at the Pentagon. There it was part of the memorial ceremony since yesterday was National POW/MIA Recognition Day. At the close of the ceremony, Lacey from the National League of POW/MIA families spoke about the importance of efforts to retrieve remains, to investigate and determine what happened to whom. And to remember loved ones lost in the line of duty. Those killed in action made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and they deserve to be remembered, as do those who were POWs. And the MIAs -- people whose fate remains unknown.

Running with the flag

And, thinking about them it's humbling to realize that all these military personnel around us are people who have pledged to sacrifice themselves for the United States if called on to do so. I was reminded of that when talking to Mike. Mike is not an airman stationed at Andrews; he came as part of Stack-Up. He's also a member of the Wounded Warrior Project, having sustained nearly-fatal injuries in Afghanistan. He told us, in vivid detail, about the day he sustained his injuries and the aftermath. I'd try to retell it, hitting the high notes, but another member of Stack-Up is already putting together plans to do a video interview, so I'll wait and try to post that when it's ready.

I got the impression, though I can't be sure, that this was the first time that an attempt was made to get outside organizations involved. My understanding is that other organizations were invited, but scheduling trouble for the others meant that Stack-Up's half dozen or so people was the extent of outsiders there. We're hoping for a better showing next year. Those who served honorably deserve it. 


 Addendum: Thanks to Colonel Bannister for allowing me to reproduce her prepared text. She did not deliver the speech verbatim as it was prepared. I assume that the prepared remarks served as a guide rather than a script.

why is it such a secret

I'm not sure about when I first heard about "secret menus," those lists of items available from chain restaurants that they sort of don't publicize. I say "sort of" because it's not terribly hard to find articles and websites that reveal these secrets. Try this, for example.

Generally speaking, the secret menu items represent some different way of putting together the ingredients of the regular menu items. For example, you can go to Five Guys and get a hamburger with grilled cheese sandwiches instead of buns. They sell burgers and they sell grilled cheese. Just put 'em together and you've got a new product.

I'm not terribly big on secret menu items, though when I go to In-N-Out Burger I like to get my burger "protein style" (wrapped in a big lettuce leaf instead of a bun). I once tried their burger "animal style" (grilled with mustard, and lots of extra messy stuff put on it), but was only whelmed by it. I vaguely recall that, a few years ago, Smashburger had deep fried pickles on their secret menu. But when I was at a Smashburger a few days ago, that item was clearly displayed. So I don't know if my memory is faulty (which happens at my advanced age of 137), or if the dep fried pickles got promoted. Other than that, I don't think I've gone off-menu, except for the occasional special request.

But I've often wondered what's the point of having these secret menus? I mean, restaurants are in business to sell food. It seems counter-productive to hold back. I suppose I should do some real research. Write to behavioral economists. Maybe Steven Levitt (author of Freakonomics) or Tyler Cowan (An Economist Gets Lunch) have thoughts on the matter. But I'm too lazy for that right now. Instead, I have a few thoughts to run by you, my loyal reader.

• The thrill. People like to be in on a secret. And when they order from the secret menu they get to feel like they're giving the secret password to get into an exclusive club. The mixed feeling of belonging and status may be something that helps keep customers. I know that the first time I ordered from the secret menu at In-N-Out, I felt an adrenaline rush (once it became clear that they actually knew what I meant by "animal style"). Yay! I was in the club!
• Real estate. Restaurants have limited wall space to display their menu. Maybe listing every last variation would take up too much space and harm the aesthetics. I know that I appreciate the simple menu at places like In-N-Out and Five Guys. McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King have so many items on their menu that I can't really appreciate the look of the menu. That may seem trivial, but all sorts of factors like that play a subconscious role in meal decisions.
• Prevention of overload. This is kind of related to the second item, and I could easily have been described as part of that item. Behavioral economists (or is it behavioral psychologists?) have found that giving people too many choices can inhibit sales. I can't cite chapter and verse, but I recall reading a study of jelly sales. They found that, if there was one kind of jelly, they sold some. If there were two kinds, they sold more. But if there were eight, total sales were lower. The theory was that when people had too many choices, they froze and didn't choose anything. By pulling some choices off the menu, maybe restaurants are preventing overload.

So what is it? Why do restaurants decline to list their products on the menu? If you know, please share.

famous among people who know me

I attI had made plans with a colleague to go out for dinner, and we were meeting in the hotel lobby (along with two others whom I had never met before). One of them introduced himself, and asked my name. I told him. His response was "So, you're the famous Marc Whinston."

This had me puzzled. I'm not famous. My initial thought was that it was a joke. I'm not above doing things like that. On occasion, a friend will introduce me to someone I've never met before and I react as if we had met years before. Or I'll say "Hi Bob" or "Hey, Mike!" to a stranger. Usually, people don't react. But when I've got the name right, that's when the fun begins. I once had a guy going for a few minutes, until he asked where we met. I gambled. "That proctology convention in Tampa." Go big or go home. But, alas, he had never been to a proctology convention in Tampa.

On the other hand, this was an actuarial crowd, I've heard that, at the Fellowship Admissions Course, they still sometimes tell the story of how I received my FSA diploma. It seems that only happens when there'a TIAA actuary there, and there's a comment along the lines of "Do you know Marc Whinston? You might like this story." This guy was not from TIAA, but maybe he heard the story at a FAC?

Sadly, the truth was more mundane. This guy's father-in-law is someone I shared an office with for a few years.

I guess I am famous. At least among people who know me.

pay to get out

Last weekend, Ethan and I attended the "Pay To Get Out" Horror Movie Marathon at the Cinema Arts Center in Huntington. They call it that because you get a 25% refund on your ticket price if you stay through the end. I've heard that the refund used to be variable, starting small and growing though the night. But I don't know fir sure, and I'm too lazy to check. Ethan has wanted to go for several years, but each year something has come up. And, in fact, this year we almost missed it because I had a flight to Florida the next day. But we went anyway. $30 (after refund) for six movies (including the mystery film) isn't a bad price. And they give you bagels and cream cheese at the end.

One thing that's interesting is that these were, for the most part, movies that I hadn't heard of, even though they date from 1979 through 1987. Those were years that I was watching a lot of movies. Though I wasn't watching many horror movies -- that was never a genre I was really into -- I did watch a lot of TV and therefore saw a lot of ads. I may have heard of The Brood before, and I had heard of the Evil Dead series. Ethan says he would have enjoyed himself more if they showed movies that interested him. Except for Vampyres, these weren't up his alley.

I did learn an important lesson -- next year I'll bring a blanket and pillow. But we had a good time. And the movies?

The Hidden (1987)

This was definitely my favorite movie of the night. Of course, as Ethan pointed out, it played more like a 1980s action movie (and to that I'll add that it was a buddy action movie) than a horror film -- though it did have horror and science fiction elements. Director Jack Sholder did a good job with the humor to keep this from becoming overbearingly negative. I thought it was a pretty good, exciting romp.

The Brood (1979)

This was just a creepy creepy movie about little mutant kids terrorizing people. It had jump scares, which is something I'm really not into. But more importantly it was just relentlessly creepy and miserable.

The Company of Wolves (1984)

I slept through this, so I can't really comment authoritatively. Ethan said it was kind of an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, and that it sucked. That's good enough for me.

Vampyres (1974)

I'm not sure how to describe this, but a poster on the Cinema Arts Center's website captures it pretty well: "Bisexual seductresses roam the English countryside with an insatiable lust for the bood of mortals as well as the succulent bodies of each other." For the most part this was a modernized adaptation of the vampire legends, though it had increased sexuality. It wasn't quite a softcore porn film, though at times it seemed like it was getting close to that territory. What's interesting is that it's not clear if the protagonists a re actually vampires or if they just think they are. My two main criticisms are that it was stretched too long and that it was edited poorly. On the first count, I think they could have judiciously pulled out fifteen minutes, and it would have worked better. On the second count, there were plot elements that didn't make any sense. The movie opens with a man shooting the two female vampires. But that story element is never referred to or followed up.

House by the Cemetery (1981)

A family moves to New England and finds themselves haunted by the house's former owner. The story is well-constructed and interesting, and this is done very well. But it relies on a lot of blood and guts and gross-out visuals as well as jump scares, and I'm not into that. If you are, then you may find this to be a really good movie. 

Evil Dead II (1987)

By tradition, the Cinema Arts Center keeps the identity of the last movie a secret. You want to know what it is? You better stay. This year it was Evil Dead II. I guess I'm glad to have had a chance to see one of the Evil Dead movies; I'd heard of the series, but had never seen any of them. ED-2 seems to have a split personality -- it's trying to be a horror movie, and yet be a comedy at the same time. And it does that by presenting itself as a horror movie parody with a nudge and a wink. But it just doesn't work on any level. I wanted to take a shower when it was over.