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TALON'S EDGE |
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April 1999 |
E-mail: uss.aquila@juno.com |
IN THIS ISSUE:
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EDITOR/SUBMISSIONS: Captain Glenna M. Juilfs DISTRIBUTION: Commander Rob Langenderfer DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: April 28, 1999 SUBSCRIPTIONS: one (1) 33c stamp = 1 issue |
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BULLETIN BOARD | |
| Click on the blinking star for information
about Area Meetings |
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| ACTIVITIES & EVENTS | |
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| For more information on Activities & Events click on the little boy |
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| APRIL
April 1: Grace Lee Whitney, Denise Crosby April 5: John Pence April 13: Linda Widener April 15: Michael Ansara April 17: Jeremy Pence April 18: Avery Brooks April 20: George Takei April 26: Jason Paugh | |
| BRIEFING ROOM |
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SHIP'S LOG |
The 96th meeting of the USS Aquila was held on Saturday March 13, 1999 at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Mall Road in Florence, KY. The meeting was called to order by the CO Captain Glenna Juilfs. There were 8 members present: Nelson Charette, Glenna Juilfs, Rob Langenderfer, Erin Pence, Greg Turner, Vanessa Turner, Aimee Weber, & Linda Widener.
MEETING HIGHLIGHTS:
Millenicon: Need flyers. Discussed the panels that will be given & the Jail & Bail. (NOTE: $240 was raised some of which was donated to the Red Cross, the remainder was sent to a Klingon family in St.Louis who lost their home, their possessions, & a child in a recent fire.)
Dover: Have four rooms reserved in the convention hotel.
Marcon: Celtic wedding with Klingon flair. Dr. Demento and a Celtic band.
Tranquility Base: Need to work on plans for the Miss Tranquility Base Contest.
Engineering: Still waiting for blueprints.
Cadet Corps: NNTR
Science/Project Genesis: NNTR
Communications: System out-of-order.
Medical: don't forget CPR Saturday
Media Liaison: updated web page
Security/Marines: Need to send the only security officer present out to search for the missing members (You have your assignment, Greg, should you choose to accept it.)
Charity: $43 raised for the Veterans Guest House
Ships History: need stuff
July will be our 100th meeting. We need to plan to do something special.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Sympathy is sent out to Bev Hater who recently lost her father.
Antares: plan to do the "fed" portion of the Dover opening ceremony
Star Wars: new trailer out; release date May 19 (do recruiting drive???)
Future activities:
ceramics at Tammy B.'s; video party at Rob's.
October: Homeless Stand Down, BooFest, Tall Stacks, & Dungeons of Delhi.
REMINDER crew membership dues are due.
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  VIDEO VIEWPOINTS
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| The Struggle Against Clark: A Review of the Later Episodes of Season Four of Babylon 5, Part 3 By Rob Langenderfer |
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The Shadow War was concluded, but the Babylon 5 storyline was far from over. Earth was still under the control of a power-hungry dictator, President Morgan Clark, who had assassinated his predecessor and had most of the Senate imprisoned. Some of the strongest stories of the season were still to come even though a plotline, which had largely dominated the show from the end of the first season, was largely at an end.
"Epiphanies" is a good episode, but it is a little bit of a letdown from the stories that preceded it. Walter Koenig gives a good performance as Bester as Sheridan and the crew return to Z'ha'dum. Garibaldi resigns as security chief, and the audience (as well as Garibaldi himself to some extent) is left wondering what has happened to him. Lyta is given a good part in this story, and it seems likely, based on this episode and from others to come in the future, that her past association with Bester will have some important role to play in the future of the story.
"The Illusion of Truth" is perhaps the weakest episode from this season as an ISN reporter comes on the stat ion, promising to do a story that would allow the crew of Babylon 5 to present their positions in a fairly favorable light but instead presenting a terribly biased work that distorted the views of the B5 crew and made them out to be exactly what President Clark said they were in his propaganda. People who were actually blacklisted in the McCarthy era in the 1950's are listed in the episode in the presentation that ISN makes which Sheridan and Delenn painfully watch in the last half of the episode.
"Atonement" is a great episode, one with a lot of emotional power. We see some of the storyline behind the origins of the Earth-Minbari War, and some of the major events in Delenn's life as she attempts to justify her choice of a mate (Sheridan) to other Minbari from her clan. Bill Mumy and Mira Furlan as well as the actor playing Dukhat give very good performances. This is an episode not to be missed. This episode also reveals some interesting information about Sinclair/Valen.
"Racing Mars" is a very good story that introduces Marjorie Monaghan as Number One, the leader of the Mqrs Resistance. It features Franklin and Marcus in an interesting way, and it is the real beginning of the Sheridan-Gari baldi split that would play a major part in future episodes. This story lacks the tremendous hook that some of the earlier episodes had, but it is still definitely worth watching.
"Lines of Communication" is a continuation of the plotline of Franklin and Marcus attempting to gain the assistance of the Mars resistance in their fight against President Clark. It is also an episode in much the same vein as its predecessor. It is interesting and entertaining, but it is not quite up to the standard of many of the earlier episodes of the season. It introduces the Drath, a race that is one of the dark servants of the Shadows.
"Conflicts of Interests" is a story where Sheridan and Garibaldi's conflict reaches the point of no return, to steal a phrase from Babylon 5's third season. Sheridan asks for Garibaldi's gun and link, and that causes a conflict between Garibaldi and Zack Allen, now Chief of Security. "The Voice of the Resistance" begins its broadcasts in this story as Sheridan attempts to use his own TV broadcasting facilities, eventually provided by Epsilon Three's technology with the help of Zathras, to wage his own war of truth against President Clark's distorted lies. It is a good story, possibly a little better than the two which preceded it, but it still doesn't match up to some of the early episodes from the season.
"Rumors, Bargains, and Lies" is perhaps the most light-hearted episode of the season, but as Straczynski implied in some of his messages online, he felt that a light break was necessary before some of the dark episodes that were to follow. There are some good scenes between Delenn and Neroon, portrayed by the always-effective John Vickery. Sheridan deceptively begins creating the alliance that would prove of great assistance to Babylon 5 later in the season. This episode is a good story, but, again, it lacks the punch of some of the early season four stories.
"Moments of Transition" is a return to a classic story. This is one of the best episodes of the season. In some ways the story has tragic elements as Lyta is manipulated by Bester into becoming a Psi Corps agent. One can only guess what this might bring about later in the series. Garibaldi comes more and
more under the thumb of William Edgars, whose wife is an old flame of Garibaldi's. The scene between Delenn and Shakiri at the wheel of fire (incidentally, the title of the upcoming fifth season) is truly powerful, and it shows what a strong and principled character Delenn is. The scene at the end in which Ivanova and Sheridan explode at Clark's ruthless killing of unarmed civilians resonates with the audience. We feel their fury, and with this episode's climactic and powerful ending, we brace ourselves for the fight ahead. This episode is very much of an episode of transition as the plotline of the warring casts on Minbar is sorted out, and Sheridan decides to take the battle home and take down President Clark.
This is also an appropriate episode on which to end this review.
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CADET CORNERCmdr, Erin Pence, CCC |
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CHAPLAIN'S CORNER  |
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Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the Whole Company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then wove a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, King of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS ... Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!" In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the LORD out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" They went to the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up separate from the linen. Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying … as she wept she saw two angels standing where the body of Jesus had been...when she turned around she saw a man, but did not realize it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, Mary said, "Sir if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (Which means Teacher) On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the LORD. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." Some groups of people celebrate the coming of Spring. It is the time of rebirth when nature awakes from her winter slumber and refreshes the earth with new life. An egg is a symbol of new life springing from its slumber inside the eggshell. Rabbits are also a symbol of new life coming forth in the spring, as they have their litters of young in the spring. The same is true of many creatures, who must bear their young in the spring so that the new creatures have time to grow and mature to prepare for the coming of winter. We are blessed with flowers and trees in bloom and the sounds of the birds returning from their winter homes. This celebration of new life was incorporated into the early church as a way to celebrate the resurrection, the new life of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Quite appropriate as the Resurrection came during the Passover, which occurs at the beginning of Spring, and marks the beginning of new and everlasting life. | ||
| Click Here to read more Chaplain's Corner | ||
  HELPING HANDS
Cmdr. Linda Widener, CMO |
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| SpringTime brings Allergy Season & Increased Asthma Attacks |
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Asthma is a chronic allergic reaction that causes the muscles of the bronchial tubes to constrict spasmodically, narrowing the air passages.
Did you know that the caffeine in coffee & other beverages could unstuff your nose & help prevent asthma attacks? Caffeine opens the bronchial tubes making it easier to breathe. The caffeine in kola (used to make cola beverages) is especially beneficial to asthma & allergy sufferers (a 12-oz can contains about 40mg caffeine). 180 - 200 mg caffeine daily (1-3 6-oz. cups of coffee) is considered a "reasonable dose". Powdered kola nut can be used to brew a medicinal tea. Caffeine also increases the amount of calories you burn by about 4%. However, remember that caffeine remains in your body for 8 - 12 hours and can aggravate panic attacks. It also increases the secretion of stomach acids, which can cause stomach upset. Therefore, it is recommended that no more than 250mg be consumed daily. Another herb that aides in fighting the congestion caused by allergies & asthma is Eucalyptus. Made into a tea, or steamed & inhaled, or gargled for sore throat, Eucalyptus can open bronchial passages, help loosen phlegm in the chest, or open clogged nasal passages. Many over-the-counter remedies contain Eucalyptus. WARNING: do not give Eucalyptus to children under 2. Gingerroot tea can also help clear chest congestion. Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) quickly relieves the symptoms of hay fever & Ephedra (Ephedra sinica) decreases asthma attacks. There are also vitamins that aid in the reduction of allergic reactions and the severity of asthma attacks. Vitamin C, vitamin B2, B5, B6, B15, Beta-carotene, potassium, and vitamin E are some of those recommended. Caffeine can deplete vitamin B1, zinc, potassium, inositol, & biotin. It can also inhibit calcium & iron assimilation, vitamin K, & niacin. Antihistamines can deplete vitamin C. And over-the-counter medications for cold, pain, &/or allergy can seriously deplete vitamin A. For help in finding specialized nutritional health contact: (enclose LSASE) National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases NIH, Dept. of Health & Human Services Bldg. 31, Room 7A32 Bethesda, MD 20205 |
  PROJECT GENESIS
Chairperson Position Open |
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| Arbor Day
April 10, 1999 Plant a tree!!! Earth Day April 22, 1999 See March Project Genesi s Great American Gas Out April 30, 1999 It's time we did something about the price of gasoline in America! We are all sick and tired of high prices when there are literally millions of gallons in storage. Know what I found out? If there were just ONE day when no one purchased any gasoline, prices would drop drastically. The so-called oil cartel has decided to slow production by some 2 million barrels per day to drive up the price. I have decided to see how many Americans we can get to NOT BUY ANY GASOLINE on one particular day. Let's have a GAS OUT! Do not buy any gasoline on APRIL 30, 1999!!!!! Buy on Thursday before, or Saturday after. Do not buy any gasoline on April 30, 1999. Want to help? Send this message to everyone you know. Ask them to do the same. All we need is a few million to participate in order to make a difference. We CAN make a difference. - Lita (Submitted by Lord Anthrax, Mike Burch) |
