slightly touched

Here's a surprise short story rec from me to you:  Problem with Authority by robanybody (lj) 

Never thought I'd be reading a story about Jonathan Archer and enjoying it (I had such high hopes for Enterprise, and they were severely dashed after the first year or two) but...everyone should go and read this short piece with '09 Jim Kirk , Captain Pike and Admiral Jonathan Archer (and his beagles LOL.)  Great stuff, extremely satisfying read. You won't regret it, srsly.

Grabbed from auburn 's page:  Losing My Religion for Equality by Jimmy Carter.  

President Carter was one of the most ethical and truthful politicians we've had in this country for decades, if not longer...which is why he only lasted one term; he didn't play the game too well. Bad for us, good for him and now the rest of the world, due to all the humanitarian goals he's met since he left office. I also adore that he's never too shy to speak truth to lies, and here's his latest installment.

Go, Jimmy. We need more of you.

I took my daughter to see The Proposal this evening at the dinner theater.... OMG. I laughed so much I had snot coming out of my nose. And also? I find myself lusting after a man who's young enough to be my son. Not just admiring, or simply a mental exercise, but.... I had to come home and look him up because I HAD NO IDEA who he was.  Ryan Reynolds. He was in XMen Wolverine (which I saw but have no conscious recall of him in it.) Frankly? As good at comedy as Sandra Bullock is, Reynolds makes this movie. He's phenomenal. It doesn't hurt that Mary Steenburgen and Craig T Nelson and Betty White are in it (playing Reynold's parents and grandmother) but somehow? Reynolds takes the standard-fare tropes that make up the movie and helps turn it into magic.  He's not fatally handsome, he doesn't sparkle and shine like some men, but there is something utterly compelling about him, not the least of which is his phenomenal acting ability==he brought a level of depth and intensity to an otherwise standard-fare role that elevated it up into something different altogether.

I am also impressed that Kurtzman and Orci were two of the four exec producers for this movie (Bullock was one also.)  If you enjoy romantic comedies, this one is a must-see. SO much better than anything Hollywood has put out in that genre in many years.

I'm going to shoot for "logical argument" here, (even tho just 'shoot' is more my instinct LOL.)

I'm reading an otherwise well-written ST reboot story and find myself clenching teeth because of (once again) a Kirk characterization that I've seen in numerous stories being written: that young Captain Kirk is horribly ham-fisted when it comes to diplomacy, and in dire need of having his (much more able) crew to coach him, remind him, and when that doesn't work, haul his and the shore leave party's asses out of the danger that he put them in by refusing to adhere to any sensible behavior or to listen and learn from his crew's coaching.

Question: where, oh *where* are the authors getting this stoopid-Captain characterization from? In point of fact, during the period he actually *was* in command on Enterprise, he showed keen insight as to how actions effect outcomes, and was seen in conference with his command crew to solicit input about how to achieve his goals. When confronting Nero at the end of the movie, he offered aid; when Spock questioned his offer, he explained how such offer would be helpful when dealing with the Romulan command in the future (which was of course inevitable sometime down the line.)  *SPOCK* was the one who admitted the desire to not offer that aid, but instead to have Nero die.

Such a bizarre characterization of young Captain Kirk not only falls way short of the mark for him, but does huge disservice to any credibility of Starfleet in general. While it certainly has been known for people to get promoted who don't really deserve it or have the full capacity to perform their jobs in any reality,  fiction or not, in this particular instance, with the spotlight of the entire Federation on Kirk and Starfleet, with the unusualness of such a junior officer being deep-selected for promotion, his qualifications would have been dissected with a fine-tooth comb, every weakness highlighted and examined and put to rest within the whole picture before they would have simply *handed* Kirk their newest constellation class flagship. ESPECIALLY given that their fleet was just decimated and down by 7 starships.

Come on, people, *think*. Crackfic is *great*...but lazy, shallow writing is a whole other ballgame. Like Pike, I challenge you to do better.

I am currently enjoying a resurrected love affair with my very first passionate love from 43 years ago. Needless to say, "I feel young." Whether you're new to Star Trek: TOS or just now diving into it by way of the most excellent new movie, I hope you enjoy the endless stories that have been written about the best crew ever to man a ship. In honor of the new movie and all the new interest in Star Trek, I thought I'd dig out some old stories of mine that I've never bothered to put online. Let me know if you've enjoyed them!

Title: Passages
Author: sundara
Rating: G, Kirk & Spock friendship/pre-slash
Summary: James T. Kirk is at a big crossroads in his life.
Word Count: 7671
Universe/Timing: Star Trek: Original Series/Movies. Takes place as Kirk and the Enterprise-A are both decommissioned :-) Prequel/outtake of my story Learning Home, which was written in the early months of 2004 for Beyond Dreams 7.
A/N: This was actually how I started the original version of Learning Home, but I cut this entire portion from that story for continuity and pacing. Meanwhile, it still makes a damn good prequel of sorts. Not a lot of action, per se, but...I'm rather fond of my guys here. Hope you are, too.

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