Culture on My Mind – The Disturbing History of America’s Highways

January 15, 2025January 8, 2025 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
The Disturbing History of America’s Highways
January 15, 2025

This time around, I’m thinking about the dark side of American history.

A video from PBS Origins popped up on my radar and continued my research into how the development of the United States wasn’t equitable. From redlining and disproportionate penalties from the War on Drugs to the outright ignorance of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the fortification of the Republic has cost some citizens more than others.

It’s important to think about and discuss these things because they affect a large population of the country, and in turn, that affects us all. It’s important to recognize the reasons how prosperity and success impact various communities so we can do better in the future. You know, that whole “liberty and justice for all” part of the Pledge of Allegiance.

This video is part of a series called Roots of Resistance, which I intend to check out further. In this episode, host Felecia For The Win takes a look at metropolitan highway systems, how their development deliberately targeted minority neighborhoods (which were deliberately classified as “slums”), and how they contributed to putting thousands of families out of their homes in the name of progress.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Section 31

January 13, 2025January 8, 2025 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Section 31
January 13, 2025

This time around, I’m thinking about something new in Star Trek that I’m not really excited about.

I started watching Star Trek in the mid-‘80s when my parents wanted to show me their science fiction. Throughout the years, Star Trek has become one of the cornerstones of my philosophy and life.

The Gene Roddenberry school of Trek described a utopian United Federation of Planets where members upheld strong morals on a quest for self-enlightenment and exploration. While the Federation and Starfleet skirted the edges every so often, they usually embodied what was right and just.

That philosophy still exists in Trek, but Star Trek: Deep Space Nine took a different approach by showing us life on the frontier, deconstructing the status quo and challenging the concepts of utopia and paradise by (as inspired by British screenwriter and playwright Harold Pinter) looking for “weasels under the coffee table.”

Through its history, Trek has explored corruption in the ranks, usually with “Badmirals” – admirals doing questionable things to defend their visions of the Federation’s security. Some of the greatest hits: Fleet Admiral Cartwright spearheaded a conspiracy to drive the desperate Klingon Empire to its knees; Rear Admiral Norah Satie led a paranoid witch hunt in “The Drumhead”; Admiral Mark Jameson supplied weapons to both sides of a war in violation of the Prime Directive; Rear Admiral Erik Pressman violated the Treaty of Algernon by developing a cloaking device for Starfleet; Vice Admiral Toddman threatened the lives of the DS9 crew to protect the Cardassian-Romulan fleet when they tried to destroy the Founders; Vice Admiral Dougherty nearly committed genocide to find a fountain of youth; and Admiral Leyton tried to stage a military coup on Earth by faking a Dominion invasion.

It evolved into the 1998 introduction of Section 31 in Deep Space Nine’s “Inquisition”. A secret branch of Starfleet Intelligence, their existence has been part of the Federation charter since the government’s foundation. To paraphrase the introduction to the tie-in novels, Section 31 is a self-appointed protector of the Federation’s interests, answerable to no one while they act in the shadows.

That’s precisely why I cannot stand Section 31. It flies in the face of what the Federation (and by extension, Star Trek) stands for. While they are more transparent and accepted in the Discovery and Lower Decks eras, their actions are a black mark on the Federation’s moral standing.

I mean, they tried to end the Dominion War by committing genocide and destroying the Founders. Genocide isn’t something that our captains would embrace. We’re talking about literal war crimes committed by villains literally wearing black and sneering at the protagonists.

As Jaime Babb wrote in “‘A Critical Division of Starfleet Intelligence’: Section 31 and the Normalization of the Security State” on Reactor: “I do wish that DS9 had put its weasels away once it was done with them! Instead, they were allowed to escape into the basement of the franchise and breed down there.“

To wit, instead of exposing and dismantling this supposedly secret society of obvious villains, the franchise has embraced it across Enterprise, several novels, Into Darkness, Discovery, Lower Decks, and Picard. In that last title, it’s apparent that Starfleet has pretty much legitimized and accepted 31’s goals and methods. It has embraced the security state status quo, suggesting that torture and genocide are okay as long as the good guys are doing it.

Riding this wave of apparent popularity, the franchise is releasing a television movie focused on S31 and Philippa Georgiou (played by Michelle Yeoh).

The backstory is complicated, but the short version is Georgiou was a captain on Discovery who died. Later on, we find out that her Mirror Universe counterpart is the Terran emperor, and she seeks asylum in the prime (normal) universe. Eventually, she encounters the Guardian of Forever and gets a second chance to make a difference. While her story is interesting, however, the advertising for the Section 31 film is not. That is what bothers me.

The teaser, from July 27, 2024:

The trailer, from December 7, 2024:

Both the teaser and the trailer focus on action and the spectacle, but neither divulge any real hint of the story. I would expect some indication of the story beats from the trailer, and added to how Section 31 has been portrayed, the lack of plot concerns me.

Star Trek has had success with Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Prodigy. Discovery was also quite successful, though sometimes dodgy on the story front, but Picard was really rough. That’s almost an understatement of my opinion: Season Two was nonsensical and Season Three was focused more on action and nostalgia hits than actually boldly going anywhere.

These trailers focus on action and nostalgia – Rachel Garrett (“Yesterday’s Enterprise”) and a Cheron alien (“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”) are prominent – and that makes me worry that this film will be more Picard Season Three and less exploration of the human condition like we expect from Star Trek.

Ideally, a film about Section 31 would do some shady super secret squirrel ops stuff, but also discuss the points above. Especially considering that a future Enterprise captain is among the dramatis personae. This film can’t be all about glorifying war crimes as though they’re sexy and acceptable with the franchise’s ethos. It needs to balance exploration of the human condition with the action and nostalgia.

I’m not convinced that it will.

I hope I’m wrong. I’ll be tuning in on January 24th to see what the film has to offer. I have been on board with ninety percent of what has come since Discovery revived the franchise in 2017. But neither Section 31 nor Section 31 excite me.

As a fan of Star Trek for nearly forty years, that’s a sad thing to consider in this era of strange new worlds and new stories in the universe.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – President Jimmy Carter

January 9, 2025January 8, 2025 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
President Jimmy Carter
January 9, 2025

President Jimmy Carter tenure behind the Resolute Desk was before my time. I grew up during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton eras in a time when the Religious Right used its faith as a bludgeon of shame and intolerance. As I became more aware of the world and the beautiful diversity it offers, my respect for President Carter and his humanitarian efforts grew. From the Carter Center in Atlanta to his work with Habitat for Humanity, he was a man who used his faith as a helping hand to build futures for all, not just for those on the same side of the aisle.

As he once said:

My faith demands – this is not optional – my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.

President and Rosalynn Carter were examples of faith and humanity, and the world is a bit darker without them in it. I only hope that we can learn from their examples and build an equitable world that makes a difference for all.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Returning to Dragon Con as an Attending Pro for 2025

December 18, 2024December 17, 2024 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Returning to Dragon Con as an Attending Pro for 2025
Atlanta, GA – August 28 through September 1, 2025

With a panel to the left and a party to the right, we’re gonna do Dragon Con again!

I am pleased to be selected as an Attending Professional for Dragon Con 2025. This will be my seventeenth year at the con (participating in various capacities since 2009) and my eighth year as an AP (since 2016, excluding 2020 and 2023). Dragon Con is a pop culture convention spanning five days and hundreds of programming hours and countless fan passions. It is one of the largest pop culture conventions in the world, and it remains a ton of fun both as an attendee and as a contributor.

From Dragon Con Newbies events to sci-fi classics, modern SF and fantasy, military SF, and so much more, I’m excited to see what 2025 brings.

Dragon Con takes place in Atlanta, GA during Labor Day weekend. For more information, visit the official site. For more information about Dragon Con Newbies, visit the group on Facebook.

253 days until Dragon Con.

The Convention Report is a semi-regular series that announces and discusses my convention appearances. For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Dragon Con Report 2024 #12: Post Con Blues

December 11, 2024November 22, 2024 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Dragon Con Report 2024 #12: Post Con Blues
December 11, 2024

One of the ways that I like to prep for Dragon Con is by listening to the Dragon Con Report podcast. Brought to you by the ESO Network, the podcast is a monthly discussion on all things Dragon Con that counts down to the big event over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia.

The show is hosted by Michael Gordon, Jennifer Schleusner, and Channing Sherman, and it delivers news, notes, tips, and tricks for newbies and veterans alike. The Dragon Con Newbies community has a great relationship with the show and the network.

In this final episode for the 2024 season, the team invites professor and social media muse Tyra Burton and licensed mental health and social work professional Amy Mikulski to discuss the ways that we can ease the post-con let down. We ride high during the con, but what happens when the excitement and energy come down? How do we deal with that? Tune in and find ways to get through the blues together.

The show can be found in video form on YouTube and in audio on the official website and wherever fine podcasts are fed. The Dragon Con Report channels can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. You can catch their shows live on those platforms or on demand on their website.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Dragon Con Report 2024 #11: 2025 Con Prep Begins

November 27, 2024November 22, 2024 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Dragon Con Report 2024 #11: 2025 Con Prep Begins
November 27, 2024

Yes, I know, Dragon Con 2024 is over, but it’s never too soon to get your dragons in a row for the next year. This episode, Sarah Rose from the DragonCon Theater and Performing Arts Lovers community joins the regulars to discuss hotels and other ways to get ahead of the game.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Dragon Con Report 2024 #10: Let’s Unpack Dragon Con 2024

October 14, 2024October 12, 2024 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Dragon Con Report 2024 #10: Let’s Unpack Dragon Con 2024
October 14, 2024

Preparing for con isn’t a huge focus of the tenth show of the 2024 season. Instead, the hosts reviewed their adventures and experiences, both great and not-so-great, and the panels, the parties, and more.

The 2025 season is just around the corner since planning for Dragon Con is a year-long event.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Debrief: Dragon Con 2024

September 9, 2024September 9, 2024 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Debrief: Dragon Con 2024
Atlanta, GA – August 29 through September 2, 2024

Dragon Con 2024 is done and dusted, and like 2022, it was an experience of highs and lows.

Attendance was reported at 72,000, which is higher than the 65,000 from 2022 and was definitely felt in the heavier traffic. I still like the idea of an attendance cap around 70,000.

As usual, we did a lot of good charity work this year. The Georgia chapter of the Arthritis Foundation will be receiving at least $210,000. That’s lower than last year’s numbers, but still fantastic. The blood drive nearly set a record as well.

Dragon Con was also a getaway from reality that I really needed. I left the con physically exhausted but both creatively and emotionally energized.

On to the discussion!

Dragon Con 2024

August 20, 2024August 19, 2024 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Dragon Con 2024
Atlanta, GA – August 29 through September 2, 2024

Dragon Con!

It’s an annual tradition for me. It’s also a family reunion of sorts as I catch up with dear friends from around the world. This year will be my fifteenth(!) time attending and my ninth year as an attending professional.

If you plan to be there, you can find me at various places over Labor Day weekend according to the schedule below. The convention app is available now – look for Dragon Con by Core-apps in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store – and contains the schedule of events. The list of confirmed guests, performers, artists, and attending professionals is available on the official Dragon Con site.

The schedule spans various fan tracks, each of which specializes in topics like Star Wars, Star Trek, military science fiction, horror, literature, and so on. From those hundreds of hours of programming, each attendee can play Choose Your Own Adventure and build their ultimate geeky experience.

Dragon Con itself takes place in downtown Atlanta spanning five hotels (Courtland Grand Hotel, Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, and Westin Peachtree Plaza) and the AmericasMart Atlanta exhibition center. The convention draws approximately 70,000 to 80,000 attendees (or more) annually and showcases one of the city’s most popular parades on Saturday morning at 10am.

Dragon Con prides itself on contributions to charity and the community. You can find more information about those efforts on their webpage. Each year, the convention partners with a local charity organization and this year’s partner is the Arthritis Foundation. For over seven decades, the Arthritis Foundation has led the fight to conquer arthritis for nearly 60 million adults and hundreds of thousands of children in the United States living with the disease. The Arthritis Foundation provides ways for people to take control of arthritis by connecting them with others who understand the challenges. Dragon Con will match every donation up to $125,000.

This year’s charity selection is important to me because members of my family have been helped by them. I’m eager to see how Dragon Con’s community can help the local branch further their goals.

The convention hosts the Dragon Con Hustle, a virtual 5K conducted on the honor system. The registration fee is donated to the annual charity and each participant gets a physical medal two weeks after the convention ends. This is probably one of my favorite ways to donate since I routinely log 30 to 35 miles during the convention as I walk to and fro. You can run, walk, roll, or even skip your way to the goal, and all Dragon Con asks is for a progress update on social media with the #DragonConHustle hashtag.

Dragon Con also hosts one of the most successful blood drives with the donations going to the non-profit Lifesouth Community Blood Centers. Lifesouth serves 125 hospitals in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and the Dragon Con blood drives routinely outperform those held at that big west coast corporate convention.

If you’re new to the convention, consider stopping by the Dragon Con Newbies group on Facebook. It is run by Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony, and me, and is an in-depth community resource for information about this massive (and sometimes overwhelming) event. Memberships (tickets) for this year’s convention are available, however memberships are limited.

Remember, if you buy a copy of the Dragon Tales book and come find me during the weekend, I will sign it for you. Though not an official part of Dragon Con, the book is themed around our experiences with the convention and the proceeds go to charities in honor of Thom Trainor and Darren Nowell.

Speaking of which, here’s where to find me during Dragon Con 2024.

Note: All Dragon Con schedules are tentative until the convention ends on Monday. Even then, things are a bit suspect. As things change before the convention, I’ll update this post.

Revision History:

- Rev 0 – 20 Aug 2022: Initial post.

The Schedule

Attendees start rolling in up to a week before the convention and start partying. I don’t have any big plans for Wednesday yet, but I will definitely be in the area on Thursday to check in to the hotel, pick up my badge and Hard Rock Dragon Con gear, and get started with programming.

12:00p-4:00p: Dragon Con Newbies Walking and Rolling Tours (4 hours)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
Want to get a ‘lay of the land’ and find your way around the hotels? Did you know there’s a food court? Meet others new to Dragon Con and get a tour with some veteran con-goers. The last tours will leave at approximately 3:30pm.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony

4:00p-5:00p: Dragon Con Newbies Discussion with Q&A (1 hour)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
First Dragon Con? Confused or overwhelmed? Savvy con attendees will share tips and tricks to navigate this amazing pop culture event.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony

10:00a: Dragon Con Newbies Discussion with Q&A (1 hour)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
First Dragon Con? Confused or overwhelmed? Savvy con attendees will share tips and tricks to navigate this amazing pop culture event.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony

11:30a: Quantum Leap: No Leap Home (1 hour)
American Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Marriott Marquis, M301
Ben Song’s leap had just about as much luck as Sam Beckett’s. While this Quantum Leap got mostly positive reactions, the second season shifted gears, introducing Hannah, but NBC/Peacock cancelled it, leaving Ben unable to return home, and us still lost unable to resolve Sam or Ben’s story.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Kristin Jackson, Wayland Smith, Anthony Liggins

1:00p: Farscape 25th Anniversary Fan Panel (1 hour)
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
Farscape was a landmark show for its weaving together of intricate stories, compelling characters, practical effects in puppetry, and strong visual storytelling. Board Moya with us as we look back on 25 years of this fan favorite.
Panelists include: James Henson, Amanda Tillman, Callie Kelley

10:00a: We’re Going to Need You to Come in Saturday: The Office Space Anniversary
American Sci-Fi Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
Why does it say paper jam when there’s no paper jam? Find out the answer (AFTER you turn in your TPS reports) and celebrate the anniversary of the most accurate workplace in all of cinema! Also, we really need to talk about your flair.
Panelists include: Michael Bailey, Van Allen Plexico, ToniAnn Marini, Gary Mitchel, Joe Crowe

11:30a: Battlestar Galactica: The Cylon Secrets Within
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
One of the more controversial decisions in the reimagined series (which celebrates its full-season 20th anniversary this year) was to incorporate Cylons into humanlike bodies. We’ll look at how this changed the game in terms of the plot possibilities, as well as choose our favorite Cylon models.
Panelists include: Kevin Grazier, Kevin Cafferty, Karen Henson, James Henson

No panels scheduled at this time.

10:00a: The Musicals and Plays of Fantasy Literature (1 hour)
Fantasy Literature
Hyatt, Embassy CD
A look at our favorite fantasy stories come to life on stage.
Panelists include: Nich Lyle, Mera Rose, M. C. Williams, Sara Rose

11:30a: Cruise Control: Space Travel in MSFM (1 hour)
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
How do YOU travel through space? We’re exploring methods like FTL travel, Stargates, jump gates, and more as we review the different means of travel and navigation in our MSFM properties and the benefits and drawbacks of each for a sci-fi show.
Panelists include: Doug Burbey, Erin Macdonald, Karen Henson, Badger (Joey Bruner), Alli Martin

Culture on My Mind – Dragon Con Report 2024 #9: The Final Countdown

August 15, 2024August 14, 2024 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Dragon Con Report 2024 #9: The Final Countdown
August 15, 2024

The ninth show of the 2024 season is jam-packed with Charles McFall (director of the Digital Media Track), Dave West (from the Big Damn Game Show), information from Charity Events, and a sample of the Dragon Con night life with Spider, Nori Noir, and Nemesis (members of the Cult of DCDJs).

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

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