deerstalker

http://blacknerdproblems.com/site/the-expanse-recap-the-monster-and-the-rocket/

Season 2 / Episode 12 / SyFy Channel

Sorry to break it to y’all, but I think Holden has lost his actual mind. Not to say it isn’t pretty well earned, I mean dealing with aliens can get kind of brain melty, but still. Once you’re yelling at your pilot to fly a ship through an ag dome while you machine gun wisps of blue goo…maybe it is time to take a step back, have a cup of decaf, and chill. Try some country music. Alex has some of the sleepy songs all set up in his Spotify. But before we get to that, we have to talk Errinwright, or as I call him, That Mu’fucker.

Earth

I told y’all That Mu’fucker was up to some shit. But what shit exactly, I didn’t know. This opening sequence had me thinking that he was actually turning his hatred and ambition inward — the purposeful neck prick, the flashback voiceover with Avasarala being totally unhelpful, it is all a set-up for suicide. Then he goes all “Jonny let’s have this one last talk; you follow your heart” moment with his son. I wonder if anyone has sympathy for That Mu’fucker, if any of the viewers think “yo, he’s a good guy, just trying to buy a super weapon that he can use for mutually assured destruction, you know…like you do.”

Above Ganymede

Alex and Jim
Holden and Alex have a weird “Native Americans were obsolete” conversation that is one of the more predictable and trite lines of dialog in the show. I expect better from writers who have generally refused to engage in modern stereotyping of their diverse cast. Luckily, they don’t linger on extended, bizarre past vs future comparisons, but they move on to shooting up the landscape. Holden is clearly fraying, his face all scowly. It would be more moving if the actor had a wider range of facial expressions…I find his “I’m angry” scowl and his “I want to sex up Naomi” scowl and his “I have no idea what’s going on” scowl to all be interchangeable.

Prax tries to talk some sense into Holden, which is understandable that Prax is the only dude on the ship who still has sense left. Holden dismisses him, calling him Plant Boy, and continues yelling at Alex, who’s just trying to be his best. Folks always want to yell at the pilot.

Earth, UN HQ

Ah, the be strong talk. The giving away of all of his most loved items. Still not feeling sorry for him. Not one bit.

Ganymede Station


The Somnambulist is taking all comers, well…except for Naomi and Amos that is. Naomi offers to fix what they shot up.

“You people are shit magnets,” the Belta Lady says. True facts. But she lets Naomi get to work anyway, with a clearly wounded and unsteady Amos standing protectively near by.

Earth, Avasarala’s office

Bobbi and Cotyar are adorable together, well, adorable in that killers who sleep with one eye up kind of way. Their exchanges are so revealing of who each of them are — two career soldiers on opposite sides of a silent war, brought together by the gravity of Avasarala and the pressure of a system spinning out of control.



She doesn’t even say it mean, or sneering. She just says it. And you don’t doubt it. Cotyar doesn’t either.

Then you add Avasarala into the mix and it just gets better. With the boss sinking into petulance, Cotyar and Bobbi take turns laughing at and with her, distracting her while also mocking her weakness. I won’t say they’ve established a team dynamic, but you can see the contours of one forming, an alliance of people trying to stop the war from the inside that will balance out the crew of the Rocinante trying to stop it from the Belt. Really, as the leader of the threesome, Shohreh Aghdashloo plays Avasarala impeccably. Her monologues are profoundly delivered without being preachy, her interactions always aloof but genuine. This is a role the Emmy winner can sink herself into and she does it. She’s one of the best parts of the whole show, hands down.

Oh, here it is…That Mu’fucker is writing a letter alone, eyeing a pill…does he do it? Does he?

Ganymede

More madness from Holden. More yelling at Alex. More dismissing of Prax. Hunting down Caliban is stressful.

Ganymede station

Beltas getting restless...
Oh, the Belters are getting restless. Air cyclers are shutting down. The dock has been cut off from the rest of the station. There’s nowhere to go and the ship isn’t ready for all the passengers. It is, in short, a hot mess. This is what Belter Lady gets for trying to do right by these people. Amos, attempting to keep up his usual role, goes in to defend her, but quickly fails. He’s lost too much blood perhaps, is in too much pain. They shut the refugees out, they’ve gotten too dangerous. And then the kicker. The “but OF COURSE” kicker: the air refill station has shut down. The air tanks on the Somnambulist are only ¼ full. There’s enough air for 52 people. There are 100+ waiting to board. Decisions are gonna have to get made.

Earth

Sadavir Errinwright
Nope, he didn’t do it. Instead, That Mu’fucker took his rival Martian out to the opera. Their conversation reveals the set-up we’ve known had to be there from the jump: Mao had Errinwright on Earth and the Martian Emissary on Mars as his “partners”, using them to control the governments and promising them each some of the protomolecule. They could use it for defense or development or whatever else, but most importantly, they could maintain a balance of power while Mao just maintained power. These mu’fuckers.

Ganymede Station

The mob is losing its cool. Naomi has finished fixing the ship.

Earth

Heart Attack! That MU’FUCKER! Well, I guess we know who that pill was for, and it wasn’t Sadavir Errinwright. Poor dead Martian.

Space

Entrance
That. Walk. So, you may not know it, but there’s a way a woman walks when she’s in complete control of her body, when she’s put on her armor of confidence and picked up her sword of wit and is about to go to war. Avasarala comes off the elevator onto Mao’s ship in That Walk. If a woman steps to you like that, something’s getting wrecked. Probably you.
Unsurprisingly, Mao knows how to decorate his home away from home. Antiques and cultural…

The fucking point is that a Martian ship over Ganymede has been blown up and is pelting the station with debris. The Belters are screaming. Shit is meeting the fan.

The fucking point is that Avasarala has had e’rybody in Mao’s family arrested, including his cousin the monk (that’s cold). She’s frozen all his assets. Harassed all his friends. Pushed him to the edge.

The fucking point is that That Mu’fucker has blown up that Martian ship, and he makes a phone call and ruins everyone’s day, putting Avasarala and Mao on notice that he’s back on top and taking charge of this little project.

Well, that diplomatic tete-a-tete is over. Any cucumber sandwiches left?

Ganymede Station, one last time

Naomi can’t take it. She’s as wracked with guilt over what happened on Eros as Holden is, but instead of taking it out in bullets, she’s got to save more people. Amos tries to stop her, he remains a consistent bodyguard. She hits him with a double dose of painkillers, laying the big man on his back, steps over him and out into the dock to face her fellow belters.

Now what’s really interesting about this scene is that Naomi doesn’t convince the mob with her words, she convinces the heavy with her words, but she does convince them with her actions and her honesty. Naomi isn’t a powerful presence, but she gets shit done.

“Every single one of you knew, on the day you were born, Our Life Is Hard.”

Y’all, Belters are the only fucking adults in the entire solar system. They don’t like it, they’ll fight it, but they will suck it up and do right by each other when all the other humans are too busy chasing power to save their own lives, let alone someone else’s. Belters hear the truth and they handle their business. 52 people. They do what they have to do to save half, so that they save some.

“You’re not finished yet.”

Nope, they’re not. One more episode in the season. 45 more minutes. Let’s see what it holds.

You can read all of our Expanse coverage here on the site.

Are you following Black Nerd Problems on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Google+?

April 22, 2017

The Expanse Recap: The Monster and The Rocket

http://blacknerdproblems.com/site/the-expanse-recap-the-monster-and-the-rocket/

Season 2 / Episode 12 / SyFy Channel

Sorry to break it to y’all, but I think Holden has lost his actual mind. Not to say it isn’t pretty well earned, I mean dealing with aliens can get kind of brain melty, but still. Once you’re yelling at your pilot to fly a ship through an ag dome while you machine gun wisps of blue goo…maybe it is time to take a step back, have a cup of decaf, and chill. Try some country music. Alex has some of the sleepy songs all set up in his Spotify. But before we get to that, we have to talk Errinwright, or as I call him, That Mu’fucker.

Earth

I told y’all That Mu’fucker was up to some shit. But what shit exactly, I didn’t know. This opening sequence had me thinking that he was actually turning his hatred and ambition inward — the purposeful neck prick, the flashback voiceover with Avasarala being totally unhelpful, it is all a set-up for suicide. Then he goes all “Jonny let’s have this one last talk; you follow your heart” moment with his son. I wonder if anyone has sympathy for That Mu’fucker, if any of the viewers think “yo, he’s a good guy, just trying to buy a super weapon that he can use for mutually assured destruction, you know…like you do.”

Above Ganymede

Alex and Jim
Holden and Alex have a weird “Native Americans were obsolete” conversation that is one of the more predictable and trite lines of dialog in the show. I expect better from writers who have generally refused to engage in modern stereotyping of their diverse cast. Luckily, they don’t linger on extended, bizarre past vs future comparisons, but they move on to shooting up the landscape. Holden is clearly fraying, his face all scowly. It would be more moving if the actor had a wider range of facial expressions…I find his “I’m angry” scowl and his “I want to sex up Naomi” scowl and his “I have no idea what’s going on” scowl to all be interchangeable.

Prax tries to talk some sense into Holden, which is understandable that Prax is the only dude on the ship who still has sense left. Holden dismisses him, calling him Plant Boy, and continues yelling at Alex, who’s just trying to be his best. Folks always want to yell at the pilot.

Earth, UN HQ

Ah, the be strong talk. The giving away of all of his most loved items. Still not feeling sorry for him. Not one bit.

Ganymede Station


The Somnambulist is taking all comers, well…except for Naomi and Amos that is. Naomi offers to fix what they shot up.

“You people are shit magnets,” the Belta Lady says. True facts. But she lets Naomi get to work anyway, with a clearly wounded and unsteady Amos standing protectively near by.

Earth, Avasarala’s office

Bobbi and Cotyar are adorable together, well, adorable in that killers who sleep with one eye up kind of way. Their exchanges are so revealing of who each of them are — two career soldiers on opposite sides of a silent war, brought together by the gravity of Avasarala and the pressure of a system spinning out of control.



She doesn’t even say it mean, or sneering. She just says it. And you don’t doubt it. Cotyar doesn’t either.

Then you add Avasarala into the mix and it just gets better. With the boss sinking into petulance, Cotyar and Bobbi take turns laughing at and with her, distracting her while also mocking her weakness. I won’t say they’ve established a team dynamic, but you can see the contours of one forming, an alliance of people trying to stop the war from the inside that will balance out the crew of the Rocinante trying to stop it from the Belt. Really, as the leader of the threesome, Shohreh Aghdashloo plays Avasarala impeccably. Her monologues are profoundly delivered without being preachy, her interactions always aloof but genuine. This is a role the Emmy winner can sink herself into and she does it. She’s one of the best parts of the whole show, hands down.

Oh, here it is…That Mu’fucker is writing a letter alone, eyeing a pill…does he do it? Does he?

Ganymede

More madness from Holden. More yelling at Alex. More dismissing of Prax. Hunting down Caliban is stressful.

Ganymede station

Beltas getting restless...
Oh, the Belters are getting restless. Air cyclers are shutting down. The dock has been cut off from the rest of the station. There’s nowhere to go and the ship isn’t ready for all the passengers. It is, in short, a hot mess. This is what Belter Lady gets for trying to do right by these people. Amos, attempting to keep up his usual role, goes in to defend her, but quickly fails. He’s lost too much blood perhaps, is in too much pain. They shut the refugees out, they’ve gotten too dangerous. And then the kicker. The “but OF COURSE” kicker: the air refill station has shut down. The air tanks on the Somnambulist are only ¼ full. There’s enough air for 52 people. There are 100+ waiting to board. Decisions are gonna have to get made.

Earth

Sadavir Errinwright
Nope, he didn’t do it. Instead, That Mu’fucker took his rival Martian out to the opera. Their conversation reveals the set-up we’ve known had to be there from the jump: Mao had Errinwright on Earth and the Martian Emissary on Mars as his “partners”, using them to control the governments and promising them each some of the protomolecule. They could use it for defense or development or whatever else, but most importantly, they could maintain a balance of power while Mao just maintained power. These mu’fuckers.

Ganymede Station

The mob is losing its cool. Naomi has finished fixing the ship.

Earth

Heart Attack! That MU’FUCKER! Well, I guess we know who that pill was for, and it wasn’t Sadavir Errinwright. Poor dead Martian.

Space

Entrance
That. Walk. So, you may not know it, but there’s a way a woman walks when she’s in complete control of her body, when she’s put on her armor of confidence and picked up her sword of wit and is about to go to war. Avasarala comes off the elevator onto Mao’s ship in That Walk. If a woman steps to you like that, something’s getting wrecked. Probably you.
Unsurprisingly, Mao knows how to decorate his home away from home. Antiques and cultural…

The fucking point is that a Martian ship over Ganymede has been blown up and is pelting the station with debris. The Belters are screaming. Shit is meeting the fan.

The fucking point is that Avasarala has had e’rybody in Mao’s family arrested, including his cousin the monk (that’s cold). She’s frozen all his assets. Harassed all his friends. Pushed him to the edge.

The fucking point is that That Mu’fucker has blown up that Martian ship, and he makes a phone call and ruins everyone’s day, putting Avasarala and Mao on notice that he’s back on top and taking charge of this little project.

Well, that diplomatic tete-a-tete is over. Any cucumber sandwiches left?

Ganymede Station, one last time

Naomi can’t take it. She’s as wracked with guilt over what happened on Eros as Holden is, but instead of taking it out in bullets, she’s got to save more people. Amos tries to stop her, he remains a consistent bodyguard. She hits him with a double dose of painkillers, laying the big man on his back, steps over him and out into the dock to face her fellow belters.

Now what’s really interesting about this scene is that Naomi doesn’t convince the mob with her words, she convinces the heavy with her words, but she does convince them with her actions and her honesty. Naomi isn’t a powerful presence, but she gets shit done.

“Every single one of you knew, on the day you were born, Our Life Is Hard.”

Y’all, Belters are the only fucking adults in the entire solar system. They don’t like it, they’ll fight it, but they will suck it up and do right by each other when all the other humans are too busy chasing power to save their own lives, let alone someone else’s. Belters hear the truth and they handle their business. 52 people. They do what they have to do to save half, so that they save some.

“You’re not finished yet.”

Nope, they’re not. One more episode in the season. 45 more minutes. Let’s see what it holds.

You can read all of our Expanse coverage here on the site.

Are you following Black Nerd Problems on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Google+?


April 21, 2017

ThinkGeek’s Star Wars Geek Trivia Night on May the 4th!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/blog/2017/04/thinkgeeks-star-wars-geek-triv.html

The Force is with them and they are one with the Force. Tickets are on sale NOW! May the 4th! Find out if the Force is with you at Geek Trivia Night at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA. on...


April 21, 2017

Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam’s Family Comes Forward Refuting Suicide Claims

http://madamenoire.com/828429/judge-sheila-abdus-salaams-family-comes-forward-refuting-suicide-claims/

Last week, we reported about the mysterious death of Jude Abdus-Salaam. Since her body was located by authorities in the Hudson River, with no signs of foul play, many began to speculate that she’d committed suicide.

The claims took a turn for the disturbing when someone posted false claims on Wikipedia stating that Adbus-Salaam had a history of suicide in her family and that both her mother and brother took their own lives.

That was not the case and people who knew the judge personally stepped forward to refute them.

“Sheila’s mother, the matriarch of our family who died at age 92 in 2012, did not take her own life,” their statement read. “Shelia’s younger brother, who died in 2014, lost his battle with terminal lung cancer.”

Now, those close to her, including her husband, have come forward to challenge the claims of suicide.

Her husband, Rev. Gregory Jacobs, who reported his wife missing, said, “These reports have frequently included unsubstantiated comments concerning my wife’s possible mental and emotional state of mind at the time of her death. Those of us who loved (the judge) and knew her well do not believe that these unfounded conclusions have any basis in reality.And in the absence of any conclusive evidence, we believe such speculation to be unwarranted and irresponsible.”

Jacobs was Judge Abdus-Salaam’s third husband. The couple married last year.

Judge Abdus-Salaam’s extended family, the Turners also spoke to the claims about the Judge Abdus-Salaam being the first Muslim judge.

“Sheila has not been a practicing Muslim for the past 20 years. She continued to use her first husband’s surname professionally. We will forever remember witnessing her happiness as she united in marriage to an Episcopal priest last year.”

Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @VDubShrug.

The post Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam’s Family Comes Forward Refuting Suicide Claims appeared first on MadameNoire.


April 21, 2017

Tantrums of a Grown Woman

http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/temper-tantrum-grown-woman/

Temper Tantrum

What adults do you know that have TEMPER TANTRUMS? Have you ever had a hissy, (a bitch fit, a meltdown) and didn’t know how to handle it? Where did that anger come from? I mean it’s one thing to get angry; it’s another to get so mad, you can hardly control yourself! I’m talking about how I felt and what I did to control myself. I’ve been angry before, and found that I felt better if I could blame someone else for how I felt – like my kids or my husband or my hormones. And while I know that’s not healthy, it’s what I did at that time. I’ve since MATURED!

I was really angry at the circumstances that I found myself in. On the one hand, I was following the advice that I give my Finding Superwoman™ clients when they start to feel overwhelmed. However, I was mad at my Creator for being in the situation that I was in. As a faith-based person, I believe that you decide what path you want to take, pray about it, and take a leap (of faith). As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said: “Faith is taking the first step, even if you don’t see the whole staircase.”

As I gave myself time to think about what was really going on in my life, I decided that it wasn’t my faith or Creator, it was the choices that I had made for the last year and a half and the daily thoughts that I was thinking that landed me in the position that I found myself in.

When things get tough for us as grown women, I believe there are a couple of ways you can handle the situation. 1: You can either have a temper tantrum (like I did), or 2: You can take a deep look at the chain of events that got you where you currently are. The deep look inside builds wisdom because it causes you to self-reflect.

On this particular morning, I allowed myself to have a meltdown—a temper tantrum—and decided to feel sorry for myself; the world is so cruel and that was it. That didn’t last very long because it felt weird. I settled down, reached for my journal and wrote about how I felt; then asked for guidance. It didn’t take long and I felt better.

I would love to hear how you handle disappointments!

When I coach my clients about finding their superwoman, I encourage them to discuss what’s really bugging them and determine what is most important in their life: work, family, or relationships. Once they’ve sorted out what’s most important, we work on determining how to remove stress and those feelings of being overwhelmed by what family members and work associates think about the decisions we’ve made.

I believe that you can have a wonderful relationship with your partner and your children as well as a successful career. If you are struggling to make this happen, click here to schedule a complimentary discovery session.

 

 


This article was written by The BOSS Network Influencer, C. Lynn Williams

Lynn Williams is an MBA graduate, author, speaker, and entrepreneur. Her passion is helping parents seeking better relationships with each other, as well as their tweens, teens and adult children. To help working moms have better work-life balance, she created Finding Superwoman™. Her motto: Providing parenting solutions. Building solid foundations. Securing promising futures.

Learn more about C. Lynn Williams by visiting her website at www.clynnwilliams.com

Follow C. Lynn on Twitter @msparentguru


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