As we all know, the term "Red Shirt" is synonymous with "expendable" or people destined to be cannon fodder. In the original Star Trek series, the away team typically consisted of Kirk, Spock, Bones, sometimes Scotty, and one or two unnamed "security" personnel in red shirts. They would of course be the victims of poisonings, stabbings, "transporter accidents", turned to stone, or generally incur the wrath of the planets alien inhabitants. The lightning rods of misfortune as it were.

To beam down in a red shirt meant certain death.

So much so that in common parlance, if you say "Red Shirt" to someone, they will more than likely understand the meaning.

I have however noticed a more absolute death sentence in the Star Trek universe ... and that is as Worf's love interest. Falling in love with Worf is a 100% terminal disease with the only cure (aside from actually dying) is to alter the course of time/space itself.

It all started in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Worf had fallen in love with half Klingon, half Human ambassador K'ehleyr. Together, they had a child (without Worf's knowledge). After much hand wringing and gnashing of teeth (literally) about his commitment to K'ehleyr, he finally succumbs to his feelings for her. They bond and within minutes ... DEAD!

Worf than turns his lethal affections on Deanna Troi. During the final seasons of ST:TNG, a romance starts brewing between Troi and Worf.

"But wait!" I hear you say. "Troi didn't die. She's still alive! Your observations provide suction!"

Ah HAA! But she did die. In the final episode of ST:TNG ("All Good Things") we see what WOULD have happened had Worf and Troi remained coupled. In this episode, we see an aged Worf, now a high-ranking member of the Klingon Empire and Admiral Riker having cross words over what happened to Deana Troi. Dead apparently.

See ... had Picard not altered the very fabric of time/space itself in this final episode, Troi would have indeed ended up with Worf and died.

And finally, Worf's latest victi ... er, spouse. Jadzia Dax of Deep Space 9. She was trotting along at a very nice pace, living the fulfilling life of a single gal on assignment in deep space, with many suitors from which to choose.

Then Worf was transferred to the station. After that is was a quick case of "I promise to love, honor and obey, as long as we both shall live, til death do us part ... next Tuesday." Ok, well perhaps not exactly that fast, but her death was swift and sure and left no room for error (or mirror universes or cloning or dream sequences or any of that other Deus Ex Machina stuff they are always pulling).

So there you have it. Statically speaking, at least a handful of Red Shirts did indeed make it back from away missions (yes, perhaps some were cinder blocks or thorny plants, but they did make it back alive ... of sorts). But a "Worf Mate"? He's batting three for three for a 100% lethality rate.

So ladies of the Star Trek universe(s) ... if you value your life, steer clear of Mr. Worf. And for you female officers (who now wear the "red shirts" of the command branch) who might find Worf a bit gruff, but you feel you could warm him up if you only took the time to get to know him better ... just put a phaser to your head now and save yourself some time.

and boy are my arms tired.

No, seriously. Jet skiing on open ocean is pretty exhausting.

Well, long time, no update. I guess I figured that with the cartoons gone, no one would really care to stop by the site. At least not to hear my random ramblings. But I still average about 5,000 people a day dropping by. I'm not sure if they anxiously await the re-launch of the strips, or are linked in accidentally from somewhere else, or are just in the process of clearing out old bookmarks. Perhaps some do drop by to read what random nuggets fall from my brainpan.

Well then, let's start off with a bit of catching up before we resume the regular (*bwaHAHAHAHA*) updates.

Work: I am still working at Intellisync (now Nokia since the buyout). My position however did not survive the changeover. But it is a mixed blessing. At the time the IT department was told the news, we were informed that we would be retained for six months. And at the time I still had six months of school left. So I would be changing careers anyways. So it is working out nicely.

Family: As I mentioned in the title, we just got back from Mexico. Moriah (who is now 10 months old) was an absolute delight to travel with. She slept on the takeoffs, sat and fiddled with the seatbelt of her car seat or looked out the window when awake, and was generally VERY well behaved. She received many compliments from our fellow passengers on how good she was during the flight. And the process of taking so much luggage (checked bags, car seat, stroller, etc.) wasn't nearly the nightmare I envisioned. All in all it was a great trip.

School: This semester is my time to shine. Man, I am sooooo excited about school right now. We are in the beginning stages of developing our own short student films for our demo reels and being in story development mode is just placing me in my element. I guess the need to write a gag a day (at LEAST one) for five years while cartooning has developed my "ideas muscle". It has just been great working with the other students and bouncing ideas back and forth and having real round table discussions where we just come up with ideas, polish existing stories, look for new directions, and generally work in a creative, collaborative environment.

I know for sure now that being in a story department is my first, best destiny and I will do whatever I can to the best of my abilities to see that dream to fruition.

So that is the long and short of what all has been happening lately. I do still have the random, odd thought I like to share and will endeavor to keep my "ideas muscle" toned by giving it light reps on my site here.

Also, you will notice that the Forum link now goes to our new and spyware/adware/spam free forums. Yay for technomology!

TTYL