Editorial – Metadork

And Then There Was Dolly

August 25, 2026 Editorial

I have long had this assertion that, at any given time, there is one famous person everyone just sort of agrees is a genuinely good person.

For a long time, for me, it was Mr. Rogers. There was something comforting about Fred Rogers simply existing in the world. He seemed kind, gentle, and fundamentally decent. When he died, it felt like we had lost one of the good ones.

Then, eventually, that person became Betty White. She was funny, warm, irreverent, and somehow managed to remain beloved across generations. When Betty died, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday, it genuinely felt like the world had lost something.

And then there was Dolly.

Holodecks

August 8, 2026 Editorial, Journal

I think most of us have a holodeck.

I don’t mean an actual room where you can tell a computer to recreate 1940s San Francisco, walk through the doors, and suddenly find yourself standing there. I mean the places we go when we need to leave our own lives for a little while without actually going anywhere.

Sometimes it’s a book. Sometimes it’s a television show where the characters feel like old friends. Sometimes it’s a game. Sometimes it’s a story we tell ourselves.

General Chang Had No Honor

August 2, 2026 Editorial, Review

Christopher Plummer’s portrayal of General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is magnificent. He is intelligent, theatrical, endlessly quotable, and commands every scene in which he appears. It is no surprise that many fans consider him one of Star Trek’s greatest villains.

Ironically, I would argue that Chang is also one of the least honorable Klingons the franchise has ever produced. That might sound absurd. After all, Chang constantly speaks of honor. He quotes Shakespeare with almost religious devotion. He despises peace with the Federation and presents himself as the defender of Klingon tradition.

Yet if we judge him not by his words, but by his actions, almost everything he does violates the values Klingons claim to hold sacred.

The Lost Art of Something

August 1, 2026 Editorial, Journal

I miss the early internet.

Back then, the web felt smaller. Not literally, of course, but emotionally. You could spend an evening hopping from one person’s blog to another, following links that had nothing to do with algorithms and everything to do with curiosity. Someone would recommend another site because they genuinely liked it. You’d click through, read someone’s thoughts on photography, computers, movies, or life, and before long you’d find yourself leaving a comment.

A few days later they’d reply, and before you knew it, you had a new friend.