the Macoun's a better apple anyway

This here, is a BAD APPLE.

And I hate to say it, because it'll come back at me in a jinx, words have meaning and names have power, but this computer, this Mac Power PC G4 I've been using since this summer, this computer BITES HARD.

( why I hate this Macintosh: a fugue )

This Mac cut me off, most recently, in the middle of a brilliant and highly insightful post about Ambassador Londo Mollari. I'll try to duplicate it here again, but I don't promise the same level of unabashed brilliance of the previous draft.

While I'm working on that, here's a Babylon 5 thought to chew on:



During the Garibaldi/Sheridan rift, after Garibaldi's sleeper personality was activated but before he goes on the lam to Mars, Sheridan and Garibaldi have a fight in the middle of a public square. Garibaldi huffs something about Sheridan's god complex -- Sheridan's mad Garibaldi sold him out during the ISN interview.

Later, Sheridan comes back to try to apologize, but just as he's getting the words out a female alien rushes inopportunely over to his side goggling "you're him! You're Sheridan! You died and came back to life!" doing very little to dissuade Garibaldi of the idea of Sheridan's messiah complex.

Must have seen that scene a dozen times as I've watched and rewatched B5, but last night was the first time I noticed -- the genuflecting woman's wearing BLACK GLOVES. Now, she's an alien, but, you know, isn't it possible the Psi Corps SENT HER to spur Garibaldi's hatred in just that way?

Anyway, it was a big Eureka! for me.

Next, failing Macintoshian interference, a post about Londo Mollari, tormented victim of the Interstellar Alliance. All net, all channels.

Londo Mollari of the House Mollari

At the Melrose Ave. piercing-supply-slash-head-shop where they sell Om and Yin Yang and dragon's head pendants in pewter for eight bucks, I picked me up an amulet of dubious imagined origin -- some sort of fake spiritual symbol, I assume -- which purported to represent The Summoning of Power!

So anyway, I now have the ability to summon power, on a cheap silver chain around my neck. Mostly I bought it because I like saying it aloud in a booming voice while my sister got fitted for a new earring for her tragus pierce (and it all comes 'round again, Run), but, you know. Fear me! I can summon power now. I'll admit, I'm afraid to use it.

But here I go, summoning power that this Macintosh will not foil me while I get out all this business about Londo Mollari.

I've been thinking about Londo for weeks now. The DVDs came so I'm rewatching B5 seasons 3 and 4, and the A stories are so familiar to me I find myself scanning past them, emotionally, looking for things hiding in the fabric I hadn't seen before. And while I've always loved Londo -- as far as individual alien-centric eps go, you know, the requisite seasonal Ep About Narns or Ep About Minbari, the Centauri ones were always my favorite -- this time I took notes because there's something about him I've never been able to put into words. Not sure if I can now either, beyond the fact that he's tragic, heartbreaking, more complex, I think, than any other character in any of my fandoms. But I wanna try. Plus I made an icon for just this purpose.

(And it was a tough icon to make; several drafts preceded this one as anyone who's visited my user pics page can attest. It's such a seminal scene for Londo and such a key scene for the series; it's one of the Great Babylon 5 mental images and I wanted to do it justice, you know, really feel it.

This will probably not be the last icon draft, is all I'm saying. *g*)

( The Great Londo Mollari )

How many Centauri does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Just one. But in the great old days of the Republic, hundreds of servants would change thousands of bulbs at our slightest whim.
-- Londo, "Convictions"

the Iomega bone's connected to the AIM bone

Because julad is just obscenely helpful and good, I've almost figured out part of some of the problem with this Mac here.

Now. Does anyone know how to uninstall the drivers for my Iomega internal ZIP drive on OS 9.2?

Soup for everyone!