Current Post On Trae’s Blog:
So I'm just going to come out and say it: My favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation is "Conundrum." It's episode fourteen of season five, and I just deeply love it.
I don't know if it's because I literally just assumed Erich Anderson's Commander McDuff was a random Enterprise officer of the week (which we saw quite often during the show) when I watched it as a kid during the original run, so the twist actually worked on eleven year old me. I don't know if it's because I just like a good "everyone has amnesia" story. I don't even know if it's just because it's a good Ro Laren episode. I don't know if it's just because we learn that Starfleet doesn't give a crap about lasers.
I just like it. It's neat.
And I rewatched it last night, and feel that it holds up -- which is why I found it deeply weird that the folks who wrote the episode actually think it's not that good. My favorite episode of the entire seven season run of the show was a failure according to the folks who wrote it.
And maybe, as a writer and creator, I should remember that.
Like the hardest part of releasing creative works to the public is that often, after a while, I'll start to judge those things far more harshly than when I first made them. Or I'll compare it to the potential I thought an idea had in my head. And if I don't reach that potential, I'll think of it as "bad" -- when it might just be slightly different than that idea. I have one hundred percent published stories that I thought were just sort of okay and later had someone tell me how much it meant to them to read it.
*cough*I Hate November*cough*
So I should make sure I remember Conundrum. That one of my favorite things to rewatch is considered one of those failures by its creators. That the things I make might have value, just not in the way I originally thought they should.
It's just sort of how things work out.
Remember that on April 5th at 11AM Eastern/10AM Central you can join me for the Critical Thinking Witches' Collective's April Brew virtual event! Attendance is free, and you can register here!
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Jesus christ, what kind of rats were breeding in this grocery store?
On the one hand, super cheap.
On the other, you’ve gotta deal with vicious rats who do not fear human presence.
… How much extra money do they have to work with exactly?
Urban rats in numbers take crap from no one. They’re well aware they’re not required to. Some “abandoned” buildings end up not hosting squatter populations for that very reason. The buildings are already occupied, and the rats appreciate food delivery as much as anyone.
*little bastards never tip though “/
Ruth suddenly becomes aware of her super powers to control rats and slowly becomes Willard.
Cheap or not, I’m willing to bet con-goers would freak out at seeing rats during the convention. And since rats are curious little buggers, I could see vendors having a problem with it (in the event they would still have bigger vendors in an open area like that). It might be a good move financially, but there’s going to be people who see it as prioritizing profit over con-goer safety, even if that’s far from the truth.
That kind of bad press can spread fast among the convention scene, especially if the one complaining has a platform or a following.
No no no! Do NOT run! It attracts attention and shows weakness, the two things you do NOT want to be doing. Walk briskly. Either maintain eye contact, or turn your back like they’re not worth your time, they’ll know it’s a bluff, but might respect the moxie.