The Deja Vu Edition

We've all had it...that sense of Deja Vu...the feeling that you've been somewhere, met someone, done something before when you know that you haven't. In the season finale of Fringe, they gave a rather clever explanation for the phenomenon--that you have, in a sense, been there done that...only it's a different version of you in an alternate reality that you're picking up on. This is much better than The Matrix explanation (a glitch in the system) that is demonstrated when Neo sees a cat that looks exactly like one he just saw walking in the front of the same door. Since he just saw it how can he have the feeling that it hadn't happened before? The more I watch Fringe the more I like it. Yes, it does have a familiar X-files sort of feel to with the whole FBI exploring unknown phenomenon, but it definitely has more of an edge to it than it's predecessor.

I put the notion of alternate realities into the possible, but not probable category. As for going into an alternate reality, like time travel, probably not a good idea...isn't it enough that we mess up our own reality without screwing up someone else's? On Fringe, Walter really messed with someone else's reality. In his reality, his son, Peter, died so he crossed into an alternate reality and stole an alternate version of him. Tell me that isn't going to have some nasty consequences somewhere down the road.

It's an interesting theory that there are an infinite number of realities out there that are created by ever choice we make or don't make--every conceivable outcome to every conceivable decision that every person who ever lived has made. If on Monday you choose to go to work, there's a reality out there where you chose to call in sick. Maybe that means somewhere out there is a reality where I won the lottery....I wonder if it's a crime to rob a version of you living in a different reality?

What With Time Travel and All...

Several weeks ago I was reading viewer comments about Lost and was amused by the number of comments in which people were upset about how the show had gone Sci-Fi. Huh...what? You're just now realizing that this show was science fiction?? In the first two episodes of the show a large unseen force shakes the jungle trees and then apparently snatched the co-pilot out of the front of the plane and then dumps his mangled body in the tops of the trees and it wasn't obvious that the show was...well...science fiction. And what about the paralyzed Locke who suddenly gained the ability to walk when he woke up after the crash? The smoke monster? The guy in the hatch pushing a button every 108 minutes to keep the world safe? And so on and so on. But throw in a little time travel and suddenly the show is science fiction. I guess time travel just smacked of science fiction and everything else just seemed subtle?

My entire understanding about the area of time travel stems solely from watching science fiction...so there's a fair bet that my understanding is lacking in just about every possible aspect, but it's still a fascinating subject.

On the Stargate (SG-1 and Atlantis) side, time travel is possible under the right circumstances...namely the passing of an artificially created worm hole through a significant solar flare event and oops...there you are in the past. Star Trek also involved the sun in the achieving time warp and sling shotting oneself into the past. Both, however, dabble into other ways of time travel, but I don't recall anything approaching a scientific explanation regarding how it was achieved. Over in Primeval, they regard time as just another dimension so every point in time theoretically exists all at the same time. The other big debate is about causality. Typically, there is great concern about changing something in the past that would then change the future. They debate paradoxes such as going back into the past and killing your own grandfather before he fathered your parent....if you existed to do this how could go you back and do something that meant you wouldn't have been born to do what you just did. Lost has been different in that the Farraday character has, until recently, maintained that you couldn't change anything...whatever happened, happened. And no action you can take would change anything that had happened. Sayid tried to change the past when he shot Benjamin Linus as a child to keep him from growing up into the monster that they knew in the "present". However, a couple of his fellow survivors actually took action to save him...the same actions that change him so he actually becomes the monster. See...whatever happened, happened. They actually do allow things to be changed...sort of. When Desmond had a vision of Charlie dying, he took steps to prevent the event that would have led to his death. The result? The next day he had a vision of Charlie dying with the only change being the manner in which he would die. So, he could make a change, but all it did was delay what was going to happen.

If we could time travel and if we could change things, should we? On the surface, it would be easy to say that someone should go back in time and kill Hitler before his rise to power. He was a horrible monster who led to the deaths of millions of people so what could be wrong with changing that. It seems like a clear cut decision. The problem is that while we know the path of history, we have no way to determine what the new history would be. As hard as it seems, we might actually make thins worse...we might, however unintentionally, create a worse scenario...give rise to a new evil. I think if we had the ability, we'd probably use it, but I'm not sure that we would be better off for it. I think it might be better off that if time travel is possible that we never figure it out.

Annoying, Ringy Thing

I have to confess that as a teenage girl I could spend endless hours talking on the phones with my friends. And while for the life of me, I can’t remember of even now imagine what we could have to talk about during all those hours, I do recall how obsessively, insanely important it was at the time. It’s no coincidence that the worst grounding I ever got was not being able to talk on the phone. My dad knew how to deal out cruel punishments.

How the times have changed. Now when the phone rings, I announce to my husband “annoying, ringy thing”. Just in case he hadn’t noticed the thing hanging on the wall was making an annoying, soul stealing sound.

The sound of the ringing phone just grates like nails across a blackboard. It’s an instant snap of unhappy, headache inducing aggravation. I snatch the phone up and look at the Caller ID (a most fantastic invention). Then I can choose whether or not to answer it. If the number isn’t one that I know or I suspect of being any sort of telemarketer (on the Do Not Call List, but that still leaves you open to a whole host of exempt entities) I either hit the silence button (which at least keeps me from being annoyed by the phone closest to me) or I pick up the line and immediately hang up. I KNOW that I should probably just answer and tell them to stop calling, but well, I don’t. Otherwise, I answer the phone sounding well, really annoyed. It’s not the person calling (most of the time) that has annoyed me…I’m just annoyed that the phone rang.

I think the change started when I worked in a call center and I talked on the phone all day. The last thing I wanted to do on my own time was talk on the phone. And has evolved over time into the current affliction. It doesn’t help that it seems to happen at the worst times…during dinner, while I’m washing dishes, or deeply involved in something. It’s like there is some sort of universal signaling system that subliminally broadcasts the sudden desire for people to call you while you are fully engaged in something else.

Before Heidi and I both had DVR, we would be watching critical (Lost & Heroes) at the same time. We would communicate by text message any thoughts, statements regarding the current episode. The hubby would walk through and ask why we just didn’t call each other. Because I can text quickly or wait for a commercial break or read a quick message without actually distracting myself from the show….talking on the phone is distracting. Talking on the phone is annoying….even when I’ve made the call…it’s just worse if you have to do if AFTER being jolted out of peaceful content by the horrible ringing sound.

To Boldly Go...

Star Trek. I'm looking forward to seeing the latest entry into the Star Trek universe. It looks much different than anything we've seen so far and may be the better for it. Anyone who knows me might find this a bit odd since I'm normally a purist about such things (if I LOVE an original, chances are I won't see the remake). But maybe that's the beauty of Star Trek. Just like it's science...it's not about what is, but about what could be. It may indeed boldly go where no Star Trek show or movie has ever gone before.

I remember watching reruns of the original show when I was a kid and even though it seemed cheesy even then, it had an undeniable appeal. I was an avid watcher of Next Generation and even dedicated some TV watching time to Deep Space Nine. I could never watch Voyager...I tried, but it just annoyed and grated. I also tried Enterprise. I had great hopes for that show. It was a chance to have a great deal of fun...after all, there had to be some reasons, some really great screw ups that caused them to come up with all those rules (Prime Directive, anyone). It never delivered.

So with high hopes, I will be paying movie theater prices to catch this one on the big screen. I hope it's worth the price of admission!