Odds and ends



Ian McLean has just posted about a new Australian Star Trek: The Next Generation jigsaw puzzle book on TrekBBS and PsiPhi. Sounds interesting. No listing on any of the Amazons yet, or Chapters for that matter, but this I swear: I will have a copy of this book.



There's a two-part interview with Manny Coto over at TrekWeb that reinforces my optimism for Enterprise's fourth season. When someone working on the show makes a TOS reference that the interviewer from a Trek fan website doesn't get, that's got to be a good sign. (Or maybe a not-so-good sign about the interviewer; Colonel Green is not that obscure.) Coto comes across as a knowledgeable TOS fan who wants to tie Enterprise more closely to established Trek history, building up to the original Star Trek. It's impossible to recreate that era in television, but it may well be possible to do fresh, new TV that respects and reflects its roots.



I think I failed to note the death of film music composer Jerry Goldsmith not too long ago. He did some exceptional music for Star Trek, especially the score for Star Trek - The Motion Picture, but I also liked what I heard of his other music as well, especially Logan's Run. (Elmer Bernstein's death reminded me of Goldsmith's.)



And speaking of Star Trek music, you can buy legal mp3s of several Star Trek soundtrack albums on eMusic. Most of the soundtracks released on GNP Crescendo are available. And lots of other stuff from hundredsof small record companies. You won't find top 40 material there, but if you have any serious interest in jazz, punk, reggae, alternative, classical, folk, or world music, chances are you'll find something. And for your modest monthly subscription rate you get to download real, honest-to-goodness mp3s, usually high quality VBR, with no digital rights management stuff to make your life difficult.



At least that's how things are today. eMusic is planning some big changes next month, not all of which have been announced yet. They're bringing in some editorial staff (including Michael Azerrad, author of the essential Our Band Could Be Your Life). Whether they're making any other changes remains to be seen. I hope it continues more or less as it is now, though. Today marks the beginning of a new month in my subscription so I've got 90 fresh downloads... but I already used up a lot downloading albums by Tanya Donelly, the Church, Mission of Burma, and Lata Mangeshkar (each song on an album counts as a download, but you can choose to download individual songs or whole albums). It's addictive.



(Now playing: Lata Mangeshkar, "Aaj Jagraata Hai," Mata.)