Trekkie Tuesday

Season 3, Episode 13- Deja Q
The crew of the Enterprise is trying to save a planet from destruction from collision with it's moon when Q shows up suddenly. He is striped of his powers and status amongst the Continuum.

 Q seeks refuge aboard the Enterprise and understandably, everyone is suspicious of Q's true intentions. No one really believes that he has become human.

 I find it interesting that Q says that he chose to be human and to be exiled aboard the Enterprise. He could have been anything anywhere but this is what he chooses. Q says that the reason for this is simply that Picard is the closest thing he has to a friend. What's really going on is that he wants protection from wronged life forms that Q has tormented in the past.
Q recognizes that Picard is capable of most anything and he knows that Picard will take pity on him and his predicament. What I love most about this episode is how beautifully it illustrates why I like Q so much. We get to see a different side of Q, a vulnerable, less cocky side. It's brilliant that even despite his unfortunate situation Q still manages to keep his sense of humor.  

 Q is very mischievous and even though he often puts people in life or death situations, they often come out of the experience better and stronger. Without it being his intention he forces people to push beyond their comfort zones, forces them to confront their fears. Q may not care about the outcome of the situations but he does love to watch people work. The human drive to move on and survive is the ultimate draw for Q. I think it's the reason he does what he does.
And in this episode, we see that Q has a particular fondness for humans, or more accurately Data. Through the selfless act of drawing the hostile alien force away from the Enterprise by stealing a shuttle, the Continuum sees fit to restore Q's powers. With this, Q departs the Enterprise by giving Data a very personal gift. He lets Data know what it's like to laugh.

I love how complex Q is and how he is almost a mirror personality to Picard. Q is the chaos and Picard is the order and when they dance, big changes occur for the characters, usually resulting in them growing as people. With every encounter with Q, the crew learns more about themselves. I think this is why Picard can never fully abandon Q because they both need each other. What are your thoughts?
Until we meet again. Live long and prosper.

Drawing Faces

These are the portraits I have been working on lately. I am a HUGE fan of Sherlock and can't wait for season 3 to start! The airing date of January 19th was just announced today, SQUEEEEEE!! Anyways, I love to draw celebrities and the characters they play, especially ones that I really like. So, I give you Sherlock and Moriarty. Please bear in mind that these are not quite finished yet but this is my progress so far.

I like to keep my reference material close at hand while I work to make sure that I'm staying consistent. It also helps with accuracy as well.
I had already done another Sherlock picture but I gave that one away as a gift. I have to say that I am much happier with this one. It just seems to be going a lot better than the first one, even though it's the same photo. Moriarty is proving to be more of a challenge. I have always found straight-on views to be more difficult to draw than 3/4 shots. I think it's because finding symmetry is usually more difficult. My friend is just the opposite of me so I guess we all have something we are working on.
I keep going back and forth between being really happy with the way these look and seeing nothing but flaws. But I suppose that is to be expected. Anyway, I will repost these pictures when they are finished. Please, let me know what you think and, by the way, I do commissions.
Bye for now.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

 This is the first TREKKIE TUESDAY! I am a Star Trek fan, specifically the Next Generation. I grew up watching this with my dad so it has fond memories for me. It seems only fitting then that the episode I chose to start with is called "Family." It's episode 2 of season 4 and it just happened to be where I was in the series when I decided to start blogging about it. I don't intend to choose episodes in any particular order, just whatever I feel like talking about in any given week. The down side to this will be if you haven't seen any Next Gen. before. In order to keep you from feeling too out of the loop I will be posting which episode I plan on watching the next week at the end of the current weeks post. I would then recommend that you watch a couple episodes previous to that one to get caught up.

 The main story of the episode is that Jean-Luc is taking a little vacation to recoup after having been kidnapped by the Borg. He goes to visit his brother and family in France. As he is explaining his plans to Deanna Troi, Picard gets annoyed that she keeps saying "interesting" because Picard and his brother don't really get along. I would be feeling the same way as Picard in this scenario because Troi never says what she is really thinking, she just spouts off psycho-babble at Picard. Sadly, this is something that she regularly does throughout the entire series, which is especially frustrating knowing she is a Betazoid. Basically, she can tap into your feelings and thoughts.
In the show, this is seen as an asset for a counselor, which Deanna is, but I think she abuses her power too much and uses it to manipulate people into being more forthcoming than they want to be. But, I digress...

In this episode, we get to see Picard in a more relaxed tone. I find it interesting that even though his character is French he comes across as very English. I'm not sure if this is the writing or Patrick Stewart's acting. Either way, I find it kind of charming. Even the way he carries himself and how he speaks reminds me of some of  my favorite English intellectuals, like Stephen Fry (he's so effing adorable).
Jean-Luc goes to his family to get away. Isn't it interesting that as soon as we experience something challenging or life threatening we think of family. At least, that is true for those of us who have good family relations. I find the times I think of family the most is during the holidays and personal celebrations; times of happiness that I want to share with them. To be fair, I've had far fewer life threatening situations than Picard so when I do face life challenges really the first person I think about is my husband. With something as traumatizing as being captive by the Borg, Picard's certainty of where he belongs is temporarily shaken. In the end, of course, he returns to the Enterprise and continues to be captain (there are after all three more seasons).
Frankly, I think Picard is much stronger than he gives himself credit for. If I were captured by the Borg and made to kill and destroy against my will and still remember that I did those things, I would be right fucked up. Maybe not right away, but that kind of shit would leave a mark. Good on ya, Captain!
Well, that's really all I have to say about this episode. Please feel free to leave comments bearing in mind this is a positive atmosphere for open discussion. Join me next Tuesday for "Deja Q." 
Live long and prosper.

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Hello, Greetings and Welcome!
I have returned, with a vengeance of sorts, and now things are going to get really interesting. There has been a lot going on this last year, one big thing is that I have started another blog. (Gasp!) This other blog is geared more towards my personality, covering the things I like to do in my free time. Its called the Painted Owl and if you wish to have a gander please feel free. All are welcome! Just visit www.itsallinthereflexs.blogspot.com and you will have hours of entertainment at your fingertips. This here blog will continue to be an outlet for my artistic endeavors with some new geeky fun thrown in. Since today is Tuesday and I like illiteration today's feature will be Trekkie Tuesdays! I am going to watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and then comment on it here. If this proves to be a fruitful endeavor perhaps live chats will be a thing of the future. Time will only tell.
I am going to have a separate post for that today, just to keep things organized. See you soon!