Mirror, Mirror ....

By far, one of my favorite Star Trek episodes!

Surprisingly to those that really know me, not because they finally let Nichelle Nichols


show her then killer body!

What I really love about this episode, is the way avid fans are forced to see what lies just beyond the characters they've come to know and love. Captain Kirk's great resolve and strength under pressure, all turned to as close to an animal as a man can get. Sulu turned from triumphant supporter of justice, freedom and the Federation way, into a maniac possessed by the thoughts of murder. Mr. Spock as a Vulcanian and not human of course, merely had an edge to him in this alternate universe. An edge that at the end of the show, left real fans wanting for a bit more when the season continued.


"It was far easier for you as civilized men to behave like barbarians, than it was for them as barbarians to behave like civilized men." ~ Spock

The real theme in Mirror, Mirror is about us humans. How much of what we hate about us or control somehow deep within us, is still there just the same. Those things that are always waiting to break out, despite our efforts to keep them under our full control.

Mankind as a whole wants that alternate Mr. Spock edge HELL, I think we need it! But often we humans take that too far, bringing out the savage of the alter ego instead. It's in our nature somehow. Buried and falsely assumed to be under our control, the beast within spreads like wildfire when allowed to come out and play. The brain knows better, but the mouth or in some cases the fingers, seem to have a better grasp on what control is really all about.

I give you exhibit A -

A known online NLHE fishie makes a bad play. He then man's up and shares his fishiness with his friends, only to have the beneficiary of his fishie actions comment, "Nice move with no hand and no draw imo. Good poker."

As exhibit B -

I submit online chat.

It's really important to remember something here, cards can't think. It's we the player no matter what the game, that are responsible for that action. We decide when to make a move, fold a hand or as is often the case in any card game, when to take a chance and gamble. Some defend with payback mathematics, others with pot odds and possible outs in the deck but always, there's the underlying need to defend.

Sitting at a table and playing face to face when this defence is required, usually leads to frustration for one and jubilation for another. In the end however, the next hand is for the most part played out without incident and the game moves on. Face to face and in live contact, generally humans can be remarkable creatures of resolution. Yes, we all know what it's like to sit in the car or truck later and let loose the demons to ourselves. Occasionally a spouse or friend has the unfortunate timing to have the wrath of our fury thrown entirely at them, while we deal with what angered us at the time. But sitting at that table with the other player involved, usually means mental notes and adjusted play at the most. A simple nice catch or wow, being this height of the entire confrontation.

Only online and with nothing but a screen in front of us, do we humans release the demons in a small little window called a chat box. The only repercussions of our outrage are typically, a few other humans garnering some good laughs at our expense. Some just turn it off, allowing the desired time of friendship to be cast aside for the price of sanity. Others block it out as best they can, hoping it will all just go away. But it won't.

In every hand there will be a winner, a loser or a tie. Cards can't think, humans can. The need to justify our thought process does not belong as part of the game, it should rather be a point of discussion for improvement going forward. But that won't likely happen too often either, for we are human. The ability within us to resolve confrontation face to face as we so often do, is lost along the edges of anonymity and a computer screen.

We're not all going to be good at all the games we play so sometimes, a few of us are going to make a decision that helps us get lucky. The good news for the experts out there however, is statistically you should have a massive edge on the donkeys at almost all other times. I've heard that this bodes well for you in the long haul so go ahead, smile.

Here's to seeing a little more of the edge and hopefully going forward, a lot less of our demons. Although I highly doubt this possible, what with our self imposed self importance and entitlement issues. But what the hell? One can always hope.

~Special thanks for the inspiration kid!~

My sincerest thanks for dropping by....