Blue Scream of Jeff: September 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Rebooting the soul

Every year about this time, my friends, relatives and colleagues get an e-mail from me with the subject line: An Apology.

In the e-mail I apologize to them for anything I may have done over the past year, knowingly or unknowingly, that may have offended or hurt them in some way. I also let them know that I forgive them for anything that they might have said or done to me that may have offended or hurt me in some way during the last year.

I do this because I am Jewish and during the period between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year; and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; we Jews are supposed to do a lot of soul searching and repent for all our sins so we can start the new year with a clean slate. But as our teachings tells us, “For transgressions against G-d, the Day of Atonement atones; but for transgressions of one human being against another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another.”

I realize that I should probably say this to each person face-to-face – and I do try to do this – but because it is logistically impossible for me to meet with all my family, friends and colleagues who are scattered all over the country during these ten holiest days of the Jewish year, I am forced to resort to a more impersonal, technological method to make my apologies.

Sometimes I think this is sort of cheating, because it is much easier to write the words “I’m sorry” in an e-mail than to say them to someone’s face. Yet to say I’m sorry to only the people who happen to be geographically near me and not to those farther away doesn’t seem right to me either.

This was very much on my mind this past weekend as I attended the High Holiday services at my temple, when my rabbi began talking to us about the concept of “Teshuvah.”

Teshuvah means to “repent and return,” and as our rabbi talked about this, he said something that not only made me feel better about my use of e-mail in my attempts at Teshuvah, but also appealed to my inner geek. He said that no matter how bad the sin, if you really and truly are repentant, G-d will forgive you and will not punish you.

“Is that cheating?” he asked the congregation. “If you do the crime should you not do the time?” Is G-d granting us a metaphorical, if not somewhat literal “get out of jail free card?”

His answer to that was no. And this is why:

Because if you truly repent and change your ways, then you are no longer the person who committed the sin, he explained. “It is like hitting the reset switch,” he said.

The moment my rabbi said that, I pictured some heavily hand descending from the sky and hitting some invisible Ctrl+Alt+Delete (or for you Mac users out there: Control+Command+Eject ) keys on our heads and rebooting us the way we reboot a misbehaving computer.

Of course the moment I thought that I felt guilty (as I said, I’m Jewish, and we’re genetically programmed to feel guilt at the drop of a yamaka). I shouldn’t be thinking such silly and irreverent things during this time of the year!

But the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t think it was so silly after all. Rebooting a computer will clear out the memory and will often get rid of any corrupted information which is causing the computer to misbehave. That is why the first thing any computer geek you’ve ever gone to for help will ask you if you’ve tried rebooting. And wouldn’t it be cool if there was some magic button combination that we could press within ourselves that would clear out our memories and get rid of all that bad information which causes us to misbehave and sin?

Wouldn't it be nice if our prayers acted like that simple “three-fingered-salute” that could erase all our evil inclinations and make us live up to the greatness G-d sees in all of us? And wouldn’t it be nice if, like rebooting a PC, that transformation could be achieved in mere minutes instead of having to spend all day fasting and praying at the synagogue hoping that we can stick to the promises we make to ourselves to become a better person?

But we alas, we are not computers. It takes more effort for us to change our ways than just simply pressing a few buttons, which in the end, I guess, is a good thing. It is that struggle to find the divine in each of us that makes us human. Unlike computers there is no app we can download nor is there a single program we can run to help us find that spark of divinity. We are all individuals and we each must find our own path. For some that may mean using personal wealth or power to further some worthy cause, others might find it by healing the sick, feeding the hungry or by volunteering to help build homes for the homeless. Still others may find it by simply being a good friend, or by visiting with the sick or just through a kind word or deed said to a stranger.

G-d understands the individual nature of our path to redemption. “ You do not ask me: 'Why have you not been great as Moses?' ” one of our Yom Kippur prayers reminds us. “You do ask me: 'Why have you not been yourself? Why have you not been true to the best in you?' ”

Yet finding and remaining on that path to being the best of yourself is not easy. During our lifetimes, circumstances seem to force us to take many detours and inevitably we wander down many blind alleys. We rely on our faith to be our GPS, keeping us on the straight and narrow. But still we go astray.

I suppose then, that that makes the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the time when G-d “downloads” updated maps to us. Hopefully this year, I will be able to follow those directions better than I did last year and avoid having to worry about the need to again reboot my soul next year.

Ken yehi ratzon. (May it be God's will).

Thursday, September 13, 2012

What makes Bill Shatner so cool?

AWESOME AND HE KNOWS IT: When it comes to believing in yourself, we could all learn a thing or two from William Shatner.

Earlier this week I was reading an online article about “Star Trek’s” 46th anniversary – it premiered on Sept. 8, 1966 – when I came across this statement in the comment section of the blog:

"[William] Shatner must be the most gifted individual on Earth. He is a highly successful actor, author, playwright, singer and instrumentalist; despite having no discernible talent in any of those fields."

Now, before I go any further, let me just say that I am a HUGE fan of ~~Capt. Kirk~~, ~~TJ Hooker~~, …um… I mean William Shatner. Back in my reporter days, I even got to meet the man, however briefly, when he came to the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pa. to do a staged reading of the play “Love Letters” with his then wife. I was so star-struck by getting a chance to meet one of my childhood heroes, that I don’t even recall what question I got to ask him during that press conference.

Yet when I read that comment in the blog, I just had to laugh. Not just because it was so snarky, but because it was so true.

I mean, if you look in any dictionary for the definition of ham, and you will see Bill Shatner’s picture.
Okay, not really.

But if you look up the definition of ham on the TV Tropes web site you will literally see his picture there.

And should you look up Mr. Shatner himself on the site, you will see that his entry begins thusly:

"One of the most charming largest hams of all time."

Shatner’s overly dramatic acting style And ….His….. Odd …..Way…. OfRecitingHisLines, has been parodied so many times that it has practically become a cliché unto itself. It seems like every comedian sometime in their career has done a Shatner impression, though I think only Kevin Pollak’s impersonation has captured him the best.

Likewise with Shatner’s “singing” career, which took flight in 1978 when he performed “Rocket Man” at the Science Fiction Awards show. It was so impossibly ridiculous, it was good and probably ushered in the style of music we know today as rap.

Throughout his long career, Shatner has sometimes been called egotistical and a jerk. He’s been married four times and according to his fellow “Star Trek” actor, Nichelle Nichols, Shatner stole the honor of having the first interracial kiss on television from Leonard Nimoy, whose Spock character was the one who was originally scripted to kiss Lt. Uhura.

“My understanding is Bill Shatner took one look at the scene and said, ‘No you will not! If anyone's going to be part of the first interracial kiss in television history, it's going to be me!' So they rewrote it,” she said.

There is also a popular YouTube video where Will Wheaton (Wesley Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) tells of his first meeting with the legendary star when Shatner was filming “Star Trek V” next door to the Next Generation set.
Then there was his directorial debut with the aforementioned “Star Trek V,” which was roundly panned as the worst “Star Trek” film ever.

The movie had an interesting and promising premise. The crew of the U.S.S Enterprise is seeking G-d at the end of the universe, but the story’s execution was so weak and lamely handled that it seemed to be more of a parody of the franchise than a real attempt at making a good “Trek” movie. Yet to be fair, I’m not 100 percent certain we can lay the blame for this flop solely at Mr. Shatner’s feet. Though it was his concept, I have read some of his other “Star Trek” books and while he wrote them with the help of a ghost writer, they were quite good. In fact, they still rank among my favorite “Star Trek” novels set in the “The Next Generation” timeline. I am also told that his non-“Star Trek” book series, TekWar, is also very good.

Despite all these flaws, Shatner remains an eminently likeable person and a terrific entertainer.

Why?

If we put all the above mentioned qualities that make William Shatner, William Shatner, and put them into anyone else, they would have failed epically as actor, author, playwright, singer and instrumentalist. But somehow Bill Shatner has taken them and made them successful.

How he managed to do this became a subject of a rather long e-mail thread between a few friends of mine.

“I don't know if I can quantify Shatner as a good actor or not,” my friend Tim wrote. “I have not had enough exposure to him in a range of roles. It may be he is just playing himself. If so, then he is just a really charismatic and cool guy.”

Classic Shatner ham:
WEEEEE . . . the PEEEE-ple!

“What Bill Shatner does is give people what they want, or make them believe that what he is giving them is what they want,” another of my friends, Erik, opined. “Given the fact that he has had at least three very successful TV series, ‘Star Trek,’ ‘TJ Hooker’ and ‘Boston Legal,’ you can't say that he was a bad actor. Financial success means something, and if hamming was called for, he did it. For the better part of his career, ham acting was the norm and he did it better than most. In ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ he did an excellent job as Alexei, and he had to hold the screen with not only Lee J. Cobb (Oscar Winner for ‘Fyodor’), but also Richard Basehart and Yul Brynner!”

Valid points, but then Tim came back with this:

“The question then becomes what is the definition of a 'good' actor? And is it different than the definition of a 'successful' entertainer? If the primary attribute of a 'good' actor is the ability to entertain. Then yes, Shatner is a VERY good actor. He is also a very successful actor. If the primary attribute of a 'good' actor is the ability to assume multiple and diverse roles as the story demands, then I have not observed it. But my experience is admittedly limited, and my observations could just be the result of always casting him to play a 'Shatner' character. I think I would not enjoy any part that he played as other than himself very much. So perhaps it is all for the best. I submit for contrast, Patrick Stewart who I feel has considerable skill as an 'actor', but falls far short as an 'entertainer' (unless you are entertained by the art of acting itself).”

But after all our back and forth, it was Erik who finally hit the nail on the head in figuring out why William Shatner is so cool.

“To sum Bill Shatner up I will rephrase something once said about Yul Brynner, " he wrote. “Only Bill Shatner could have the audacity to believe that he could actually be Bill Shatner."

Thursday, September 6, 2012

What I did on my summer vacation

Marksburg Castle, the only castle on the Rhine
never to have been destroyed.

Now that summer is over and Labor Day has come and gone, I thought I’d engage in that classic of all beginning-of-the-school-year traditions, the “what I did on my summer vacation" essay.

But wait, I can hear you saying to yourselves, “Isn’t this blog supposed to be about all things geeky? How is telling me about your river cruise through the center of Europe even remotely geeky?”

I can answer that in one word.

Castles!

Lots and lots of castles!

I mean what could be more geeky than that? I’ve been a sci-fi/fantasy fan for a long time and to this day still play Dungeons and Dragons with my friends, so the chance to actually walk through or even see a real castle up close instead of having to image one in my head is always a special treat. And the opportunity to see more than a dozen of them in one afternoon was just pure Nerd-vana!

On the fifth day of our trip, we sailed down a portion of the Rhine River in Germany where there are some 18 castles lining the banks. We got to stop and explore one of them, Marksburg Castle, the only one of them never to have been destroyed by invaders and thus retains much of its Medieval character. The other castles we just sailed past. But it was a really cool experience I thought I’d share with you through some of the pictures I took of them. Along with the pictures below is a small bit of history about each structure.

Sterrenberg and Liebstein castles Sterrenberg (white structure, left) and Liebstein (darker building right) castles are known as the “Hostile Brothers” because of a family quarrel that took place between the Sterrenberg and Liebstein families who built them. It is believed that the two sons of Sterrenberg and Liebstein initiated the fight over inheritance, but according to our cruise director, local legends say the fight began because the sons were in love with the same woman.
Maus Castle Maus Castle, also called Deuernburg or Thurnberg Castle, was one of the most technologically advanced and most splendid installations of its time. The castle got its name from the counts of Katzenelnbogen, who said it was “small like a mouse” and could be eaten by their larger Katz Castle which was just up the river.
Rheinfels Castle and Fortress This castle, which sits 370 feet above the Rhine on a cliff, was once five times the size it is today. Like most castles on this river, French invaders destroyed it and it sat vacant for many years until it was eventually bought and converted into a hotel.
Katz Castle (Nue-Katzenelnbogen) Known locally as Katz Castle, this fortress’ real name is Nue-Katzenelnbogen and was owned by the same family as Maus Castle. It was completely destroyed by Napoleon and his army in 1806. Ninety years passed before its reconstruction, and in 1989 a Japanese businessman purchased it and expanded the property, turning it into a luxury hotel.
The town of Oberwesel Okay, so this isn't exactly a castle, but the town of Oberwesel, located on the Rhine at the 550 km marker, used to be surrounded by a curtain wall and you can still see the remnants of one of the wall’s guard towers in the picture. But these towers also served a second purpose as flags were flow from it to alert captains of ships sailing the river about traffic coming the other way.
Schonburg Castle In its day Schonburg Castle was one of the few in this region which got passed down to all its duke’s sons rather than just one. To accommodate so many generations of heirs, the castle could house up to 250 people from 24 different families. Locals call this place the “Red Castle” because of the red wall on the great hall which is visible on the left side of the picture. The place was plundered by the French in 1689 and left in ruins for about 200 years. It has recently been turned into a luxury hotel.
Gutenfels Castle This medieval castle was renamed Gutenfels (solid rock) after Wilhelm of Hesse tried unsuccessfully to besiege it in 1504. It’s also one of the only castles on the Rhine that features its own vineyard which has been producing wine for 600 years. Today, this castle, like many others, has been converted into a hotel.
Pfalzgrafenstein Castle This picturesque little castle sits on a rocky island in the Rhine and was one of my favorites. It is unique because unlike most other castles in the world, it was constructed for purely economic reasons and was used as customs house. It has been recently renovated.
Stahleck Castle Stahleck Castle, whose name means “impregnable castle on a crag,” was built in the 11th century. However no one told the French that because they managed to blow the castle to ruins in 1689. Among the more notable features of this hillside fortress is the water-filled moat, something the other Rhine Castles don’t have. Today it is a youth hostel for the town of Bacharch.
Furstenberg Castle Furstenberg Castle was built in 1219 by the Archbishop of Cologne to protect his estate around Bacharach. It was destroyed by the French in 1689 and never rebuilt.
Nollig Castle Nollig Castle was built around 1300 by the Archbishop of Mainz to control the Rhine and Wisper valley trade routes. Though it looks like a ruin, it’s been refurbished into a private residence, thus proving a man’s home can be his castle.
Heimburg Castle Like many other castles on the Rhine, Heimburg Castle served as the collection house for river taxes in the 13th and 14th centuries. But like the nearby castles of Reichenstein and Sooneck, Heimburg also became a retreat for robber barons until Rudolf of Habsburg put an end to the wheeling and dealing. The castle was destroyed by the French in 1689 and restored in the late 19th century. It, too, is one of the few castles still in private hands.
Sooneck Castle Built by the “robber knights” von Bolanden and von Hohenfels in the mid 1200s, these two lords made their fortune by stealing from travelers and charging excessive tolls. They also randomly raped locals and pillaged nearby towns.
Reichenstein Castle Built beginning in the 11th century to protect a nearby abbey, Reichenstein Castle was also destroyed by the French in the 1600s and recently converted to a hotel.
Rheinstein Castle This is one of the oldest castles on the Rhine River and it is believed to have been started in the 9th century. It looks like it’s carved out of the stone of the cliff. It never served as a customs house and was actually built as an imperial palace. The castle has gone by many names but earned the name Rhinestone Castle because of its beautiful Romanesque architecture, ivy-covered walls and classic drawbridge.
Ehrenfels Castle Ehrenfels Castle gets its name from the Ehrenfelser white grape that grows along the hillside where it stands. It was built in the 12th century and destroyed by the French and never rebuilt.
Mauseturm Sometimes called “Mouse Tower,” this 10th-century watchtower is set on a small rocky island and was built as a customs house and guard post for Ehrenfels Castle, which you can see in the background. The name comes from the word “Maut” which means “toll.” However a local legend tells a story of a cruel Archbishop who ruled here and was attacked by a legion of mice after indulging himself while ignoring the pleas for help from his starving people.
Klopp Castle Built on the site of an old Roman watch tower, Klopp was home to the Archbishop of Mainz in the 10th century. It was blown up by the French in 1713 and the great hall was rebuilt from 1875-79. It is now owned by the town and is the last castle we saw that day.