Poem for Sunday

The Oak
By Alfred Lord Tennyson

Live thy Life,
Young and old,
Like yon oak,
Bright in spring,
Living gold;

Summer-rich
Then; and then
Autumn-changed
Soberer-hued
Gold again.

All his leaves
Fall'n at length,
Look, he stands,
Trunk and bough
Naked strength.

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I am at my in-laws and have just forced them to watch The State Within on BBC America, which ran a half hour longer than I thought it would. That is the only complaint whatsoever that I have about this miniseries, which I put on only knowing that Jason Isaacs was in it playing the British Ambassador to the US. I have no idea whether the second and third parts are as good as the first part, but I was completely riveted by both the acting and the script (some elements seem like they could end up somewhat predictable, and I'm hoping I'm wrong about the Secretary of Defense, because I am loving the female characters and wishing The West Wing had always given women in positions of power so much credit -- Senator Cohen rocks). Jason is, as always, superb and unlike any role I've seen him in before...as Mark he looks more like photos of himself than he does as Malfoy, Hook, etc., but it's quite an interesting character and he has very nice chemistry with many people, including the aforementioned Secretary of Defense as well as the hot gay guy who may be up to shady stuff. Am blowing off Sunday night BSG for sure for this; must figure out what to do about Heroes if it isn't On Demand!

I spent most of the day at the Farpoint Convention interviewing Harve Bennett, Suzie Plakson and Ron Glass and waiting for Richard Hatch, who ran late so I didn't get to do that one -- I have his fax number so will get in touch with him later, since he's the least directly relevant for a Star Trek site, anyway. I had expected Plakson to be the highlight of the day, since I interviewed Bennett last year and only knew Glass's work tangentially, but though she was charming, she didn't have a lot to say about Star Trek, the industry or life in general. Bennett, on the other hand, has lots of opinions about Paramount, prequels, J.J. Abrams and the state of sci-fi franchises, in addition to just being a phenomenally interesting man (born Chaim Fischman, WWII veteran, Peyton Place innovator, producer of A Woman Called Golda). And Glass is an amazing guy...decades of theater work, a great deal of involvement with youth education in L.A. and a good sense of humor about his fate in Serenity. I adore Richard Hatch, but have both met and interviewed him before, so I can wait!

I very briefly got to see , our friend Shalini and a few other people I know in passing. Sharon, the woman who does media liaison work for the convention, is a sweetheart. As he did last year, took the kids to the maple sugaring festival at Oregon Ridge Park, which is right near the Hunt Valley Marriott, then through the dealer's room, where younger son gleefully reported to me that there was a Boston Legal slash zine with Denny Crane on the cover in a flamingo suit. (Dealer's rooms have lost their thrill for me since I first set foot in this one...the only money I spent at the convention was $5 for a lovely beaded necklace at the art auction.) When Richard still had not appeared and it was nearing 3:30 with the podcast guy itching to get his hands on him -- and I know Richard can talk, and talk, and talk -- I packed up and we drove to Hanover, where we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday with various sausages, applesauce and marzipan cake. Maximus the groundhog appears to be hibernating under the ice at the moment, but there was a very active bunny in the backyard after dark!


Fans in costume at Farpoint, the science fiction convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland this weekend.


This is the dealer's room; I couldn't get to any of the stage appearances and wasn't allowed to take guest photos during interviews.


Sporkman, hero of convention exclusive Sporkman to the Rescue, a new comic.


Sap being boiled at the maple sugaring festival at Oregon Ridge Park, which is right near the Hunt Valley Marriott.


took these photos of the traditional Indian method of boiling down the sap, above, and the more modern method here.

Depending on the weather and how early we get moving, we may spend Sunday in Harrisburg at various museums. We figure Gettysburg's battlefields probably have far too much ice to make hiking safe.