Space, the final frontier. These are the...yada, yada, yada!

When Star Trek ruled the SciFi airways, I was a diehard fan. I even watched Voyager, which got easier to watch when they added Jerry Ryan, who played the ex-Borg hottie, 7 of 9, or simply 7.

My absolute favorite Trek series was Deep Space Nine. Believe me when I say that it was tough deciding that DS:9 was my favorite Trek series, there were some episodes of The Next Generation that stand as some of the best science fiction ever produced for TV, but pound for pound, DS:9 hits it on all levels with me. I think it was its darker, grittier look and feel which exposed some of the seamier side of the squeaky clean future the other Trek series promised us that struck a cord with me. Avery Brooks as Commander, then Captain Sisko grew into his role just as the other captains did, and his deep, resonant voice demanded attention, even from Worf, the ever scowling Klingon who joined the show later.

Space has always been fascinating to me. Its vastness seems so daunting yet inviting: What’s out there? How can we get out there to see it? Those are the questions Star Trek and science fiction in general asked of us. Thus far our answers have been both spectacular and disheartening.

Back in the days of the Moon Missions, NASA was hitting on all eight cylinders. Astronauts bouncing around on the moon were every kid’s fantasy come true. Back then the promise of a ’real’ space station and manned missions to Mars seemed so close it was almost a reality.

Somehow we lost our way, we got sidetracked. Hopefully, we’ll get back on track. In the meantime, however, NASA has not been sitting idle, far from it. They’ve had a string of successes in unmanned missions all over the Solar System, and the Voyager spacecrafts have actually made it beyond the Solar System; the first man-made objects to do so.

Scene from Hubblecast

Although all of NASA’s space-faring robots are out there for scientific reasons, gathering metrics, shooting photos and what-not, it doesn’t mean the average Joe or Jill can’t relate. Just look at the photos captured by the Hubble Space telescope, and those taken of Jupiter, Saturn and the associated moons by the Galileo probes, and you will see that a lot has been going on. True, it’s not the stuff people imagine as they read books by Ben Bova or watch Firefly, but it is still good stuff.

We iPod users are a lucky bunch because much of the videos that NASA has offered on its varied missions and accomplishments can be found as free downloads at the iTunes Store in the Video Podcast section. There’s tons of stuff out there too; info on the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, reports on Saturn, Mars and other planets, there’s even video describing some of the ancient sun-worshipping cultures, and, of course, there’s Hubblecast, a video podcast series with video and commentary showing off some of the amazing photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

You could spend a more than solid month going through the video and audio information contained in this one section. So, while you wait for warp drive to be developed (don’t laugh, we are well on our way to developing a cloaking device), you can hang out at the NASA podcast section on the iTune Store and stuff your brain with space knowledge.

On a completely different note; Have you ever been channel surfing and run across an old movie or show? You watch for a moment as the story on the screen unfolds, and somehow you lose track of time? There’s something about the show that not so much grabs your attention, but entices you to stay a while and see what happens next. Before you know it, your significant other is rattling keys in the front door, the kids are yelping for dinner, or maybe you find you are running late for the date with that new girl you met.

If all goes well, the shows ends with a satisfying finish -- the plane taxis down the runway, the baby is born, the old man dies but leaves a lasting legacy. You find that as you move on to what you were suppose to be doing the images of the show linger like echos, reprising the scenes and words, but getting fainter even as they etch themselves into your mind.

Raving, a free short movie now available at the iTunes Store, was like that for me. I had an appointment to get my car’s oil changed and I figured I’d watch the 21 minute short film on my iPod while I wait. I was curious, however, so I fired it up right after syncing my iPod; that was my mistake. The next thing I knew I had 15 minutes to get to the service center and I still hadn’t written a word about the movie, which meant this article would be later than usual. (Sorry Bryan) [Harumph! - Editor]

Raving was directed by Julia Stiles; if you’ve seen either of the Borne movies (The Borne Conspiracy and The Borne Identity) then you’ll know her as the blonde ’handler’ who monitors the health of the U.S. trained assassins. Kudos to Ms. Stiles, and I hope she does more directing.

The short stars Bill Irwin, whom you may remember as one of the few memorable characters in the completely forgettable Popeye: The Movie that starred Robin Williams as the squinty eyed sailor and Shelly Duvall as Olive Oyl, his rail-thin love interest. Bill was the guy whose head was mashed between his shoulders by Bluto.�� Bill’s neck seems to completely disappear, something that’s old hat today with all the CGI work running around, but Bill did it without computers, smoke, or mirrors.

You’ll also find a brief appearance by Michael Wright, the fallen lead singer in the really good movie, The Five Heartbeats. in fact, if you liked Dreamgirls then you enjoy The Five Heartbeats.

Anyway, Raving is odd, interesting and throughly watchable. As with most short movies, it’s hard to talk about it without giving away too much, not that there’s a lot to give away, but I believe part of the attraction short films have is the discovery.

Suffice it to say that I hardily recommend Raving. It’s a great way to break in your new AppleTV.�

Other freebies on the iTunes Store (with direct links):

Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.