Keep Your Eyes Open, Sir.

Part One: History Lesson

“I always do, Lieutenant – I would not be able to see if I did not.” An exchange such as that between Tasha Yar and Data from the USS Enterprise-D alone made this collection – Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between by David Tischman and Casey Maloney (ISBN 9781600101168) – worth checking out from Ward County Public Library and reading in a day. I think I'll have to reread it though; several seemingly unconnected missions and encounters by Picard, Riker, and the rest of the crew over the seven years of the television show (stardates 41153 - 47988, or by our calendar the years 2364 - 2370) published here turn out to have a major connection to be revealed in the last comic stardated 47993.3 (shortly after the events of the main storyline in the series finale, “All Good Things ...”, stated above), and that is my public service announcement for the day. I mean morning.

Part Two: Captain's Pleasure

As for the other graphic novel I checked out of Ward County, Superman: For Tomorrow – Volume 1 by Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee (ISBN 1401203515) … I'm not sure it will bear a repeated reading, at least not by me. No disrespect meant to the Man of Steel – indeed, you could say he defined the super hero as we know him (and super heroine as we know her) today – but the story of him finding a weapon that caused a million people to disappear in a event called the Vanishing, including his wife Lois (Lane, whom Superman was then married to until the latest reset of the DC Comics universe – long story) and unloading his burden at being unable to prevent it to a Catholic priest of all people before finding himself unable to prevent the next Vanishing and in a conflict with his fellow Justice Leaguers over directly interfering in a nation's political turmoil. Scratching my head.

Part Three: Strategy

I was originally there last week because I wanted to find a copy of the book my son Jeffrey's doing his book report on today, David Shannon's David Goes to School. I asked Jeffrey if he chose that book, ISBN 9780545292511, because of me (and truth be known, I somewhat relate to the big-headed trouble-making kid, for I was one – I didn't break the rules, though I DID obey them dubiously; but I did, like David in the book, get caught writing on my desktop in first grade) and he said “a little”. All of Jeffrey's class is giving book reports today and also exchanging valentines – for their teacher asked them to make their Valentines' shoeboxes to receive their cards based on the books they're reporting on. If you read my missive yesterday, you know that their aunt Mary was over to help us with that. And it's really cool, David's big mouth is the hole for the valentines to be dropped into

Part Four: Light of the Day

and the box has pictures as well as things said to David in the book decorating the box. And that's where Jeffrey got a little scared; he thought his teacher Mrs. Johnson would be mad at him because he cut pictures out of his copy to decorate the box. He'd gotten his copy of David Goes to School. at Longfellow's book trade-in a few weeks ago – once of Sarah's classmates from kindergarten two years ago had traded it in – so in order to review the book for his report (and read it to his class, I understand) I checked a copy of it out from Minot Public Library for him. This ought to be fun! Mary was over last night too as we were having dinner (pork chops and crinkle cut French fries) to put the finishing touches on the boxes, taping them so they'll stay and what not.

Part Five: Space Seeds

(Funny thing, that title has NOTHING to do with the Original Series episode “Space Seed”, the first appearance of Khan Noonien Singh.) Sarah will be bringing her valentine box to school Friday the fourteenth, and I can say that without sounding ominous. Not so … well, not-ominous is Sherry Shahan's novel Purple Daze (ISBN 9780762440719) where her fictional characters appear in our world's 1965 and what they say and do and think is rendered entirely in poetry. “Love is like sticking/your car keys in a pocket with/your sunglasses and thinking/your glasses won't get scratched”. And for those who know or lived their American history that year, it was a pretty heavy year. (And you thought weight had nothing to do with it …)

Part Six: An Inconvenient Truth

This is a first from me. I will actually preview for you what I'm writing about – or at least what will be contained – in my writing the rest of the week. Tomorrow being February 12, I already know what will be here, parallelling the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin who were born that day the same year (1809), “The Lincoln-Darwin Debates”. For Thursday February 13, we're looking at a scenic tour of the twelfth century through two very special guest stars, and for Valentine's Day – well, I know it's an Ensign, but right now it's a tossup between a Valentine's Day message and one about Ruth the super heroine. My Lord tends to rewrite those at the last minute, so I don't know where I'll go, but I will follow HIS One Direction.

David