“Star Chosen” Sci-Fi Novel Review

 

Star Chosen: A Science Fiction Space Opera for the Whole Family by Joe Chiappetta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ambitious, heartfelt, and worth the journey.
I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook of Star Chosen by Joe Chiapetta, and I appreciated it enough to purchase the print edition to experience the fun illustrations as well. The novel combines imaginative future technology with thoughtful spiritual reflection, grounded in characters who feel authentic and relatable.

The spiritual themes resonated with me personally. While the story occasionally leans into a more overtly didactic tone, the message feels sincere rather than heavy-handed. At moments, it brought to mind Robert Heinlein in its glimpses of evolving society, and a key plot turn evoked echoes of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis.

An ambitious and heartfelt work. Not flawless, but deeply worthwhile and sincerely imagined.

View all my reviews

Quick Video View of Printed Version:

Into the West

This song voiced by Annie Lennox and accompanied with footage from The Lord of the Rings film is a powerful and poignant expression of love for loved ones who have passed on. It fills my heart.

Streets of Minneapolis by Bruce Springsteen Video

Official @springsteen video of Streets of Minneapolis. Powerful. #springsteen #Minneapolis pic.twitter.com/wrp6pIevsj

— Spring-Nuts (@SpringNuts_) January 29, 2026

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

"STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS"

LYRICS

THROUGH THE WINTER'S ICE AND COLD

DOWN NICOLLET AVENUE

A CITY AFLAME FOUGHT FIRE AND ICE

'NEATH AN OCCUPIER'S BOOTS

KING TRUMP'S PRIVATE ARMY FROM THE DHS

GUNS BELTED TO THEIR COATS

CAME TO MINNEAPOLIS TO ENFORCE THE LAW

OR SO THEIR STORY GOES

AGAINST SMOKE AND RUBBER BULLETS

BY THE DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT CITIZENS STOOD FOR JUSTICE

THEIR VOICES RINGING THROUGH THE NIGHT AND THERE WERE BLOODY FOOTPRINTS

WHERE MERCY SHOULD HAVE STOOD

AND TWO DEAD LEFT TO DIE ON SNOW-FILLED STREETS

ALEX PRETTI AND RENEE GOOD

OH OUR MINNEAPOLIS, I HEAR YOUR VOICE SINGING THROUGH THE BLOODY MIST WE'LL TAKE OUR STAND FOR THIS LAND AND THE STRANGER IN OUR MIDST

HERE IN OUR HOME THEY KILLED AND ROAMED

IN THE WINTER OF '26

WE'LL REMEMBER THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO DIED

ON THE STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS

TRUMP'S FEDERAL THUGS BEAT UP ON

HIS FACE AND HIS CHEST

THEN WE HEARD THE GUNSHOTS

AND ALEX PRETTI LAY IN THE SNOW, DEAD THEIR CLAIM WAS SELF DEFENSE, SIR JUST DON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES IT'S OUR BLOOD AND BONES

AND THESE WHISTLES AND PHONES

AGAINST MILLER AND NOEM'S DIRTY LIES

NOW THEY SAY THEY'RE HERE TO UPHOLD THE LAW

BUT THEY TRAMPLE ON OUR RIGHTS

IF YOUR SKIN IS BLACK OR BROWN MY FRIEND YOU CAN BE QUESTIONED OR DEPORTED ON SIGHT

IN CHANTS OF ICE OUT NOW

OUR CITY'S HEART AND SOUL PERSISTS

THROUGH BROKEN GLASS AND BLOODY TEARS

ON THE STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS

My Personalized Year Review with ChatGPT 2025

Throughout 2025, I regularly consulted and collaborated with 

ChatGPT. Capped off with a poem, here is the app's review of my year with its service:

3 Themes

Chat Stats

Chat Style

Fortune 🔮

Prediction

Still Life

Archetype

Year in Poem

 

X-Men Anime Japanese Intro Goes Hard

 

The 90s X-Men anime opening is insane pic.twitter.com/O3yfXL2EGv

— Blaze Binges (@BlazeBinges) December 17, 2025

The Japanese opening theme for the 90s X-Men animated series is "Rising" by Ambience. Here's an English translation of the lyrics:

Shock! Slashing with a knife fortified with lies
Shock! The city gulps down my dreams and shines
Your body will be cut by conflict and hatred…

— Grok (@grok) December 18, 2025

Full Lyrics here:

The Japanese opening theme for the 90s X-Men animated series is "Rising" by Ambience. Here's an English translation of the lyrics: Shock! Slashing with a knife fortified with lies Shock! The city gulps down my dreams and shines Your body will be cut by conflict and hatred Secretly attacking in the middle of the night, break out! Cry! In the valley of buildings, the sigh of sin Cry! Swept by the wind, the city turns its back When it changes into being lost, the storm blows violently, disturbing My heart is stolen with betrayal in hand, break out! Cry for the moon Why do people indulge themselves in masks? Your body will be cut by conflict and hatred Secretly attacking in the middle of the night, break out! The limelight lights up the rustling An illusion wet with real time.

BONUS: Just for fun, here's the Teen Titans Animated Intro

Teen Titans
Opening Theme pic.twitter.com/wYs1fnLgPg

— Blaze Binges (@BlazeBinges) December 17, 2025

Fun Marvel Hero Macy's Parade Clip!

 I enjoyed the following clip of a live-action performance of Marvel Super Heroes during a past Macy's Parade (Cheesy in a fun way - LOL!):

Stop what you're doing and watch the Marvel Universe float from the 1987 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, set to the music from Back to the Future and also RoboCop is there?! pic.twitter.com/9tfcrZaWgI

— ComicBook.com (@ComicBook) November 27, 2025

But, of course, Spidey is the perennial top Super Hero of the Macy's Parade!

THWIP THWIP! 🕸️ Spider-Man swings through NYC at the #MacysParade to wish you an amazing Thanksgiving! pic.twitter.com/futudbXMfU

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) November 27, 2025

The Legendary Zod Latex Body Double

 

One of my favorite Trivia facts regarding the production of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel and Batman V Superman is that a replica latex head was made from Zod actor Michael Shannon and was attached to a latex body prop cast from the body of fitness model and actor Greg Plitt. In the clip from Batman V Superman below, you can see the use of the Zod body prop when Lex Luthor uses Kryptonian technology to create the monstrous Doomsday.

For those brief moments on screen, much care was taken to create a believable likeness to move the story along convincingly. Below is a video of the process and text from the process video notes:

For the blockbuster BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, Studio ADI created two ultra-realistic replicas of the deceased General Zod that would withstand close scrutiny by a camera lense. Fitness trainer Greg Plitt came to ADI for us to lifecast his body from the neck down while our colleague Barney Burman loaned us a headcast of actor Michael Shannon. Once the Shannon headcast was copied both the head and body were run in silicone with a polyfoam fill to make them solid.

Zod body silicone runs and seaming: Tony Matijevich, Brian Clawson, and Tim Leach. Hair: Denise Baer. Paint: Mike Larrabee. PLEASE NOTE: no photographs in this video represent REAL or ACTUAL deceased individuals (they are photos of previous replica work).

Before the release of the film, Greg Plitt passed away. This video is dedicated to his memory.

Incidentally, Zack Snyder had worked with Plitt previously. As stated on Greg Plitt's website:

“Warner Bros. cast Greg Plitt as body of Dr. Manhattan in this spring’s blockbuster film, ‘The Watchmen.’ Director, Zach Snyder, chose fitness model and actor Greg Plitt; the VFX crew took digitized Plitt in 3D and took high-definition video of the model against a grid with muscles relaxed, flexed and tensed. The crew then 3D-digitized Billy Crudup’s head and ‘frankensteined Billy’s head onto Greg’s body,’ ...”

More information & Links on Watchmen production notes for Dr. Manhattan.

👏 BTW-- Michael Shannon remains proud of his work in Man of Steel and the controversial scene where Superman kills General Zod, defending it as an important part of the film's narrative. 

Shannon recently addressed the scene, more than a decade after the film's release, and explained that director Zack Snyder deliberately put Superman in an impossible situation where he had no choice but to take a life to save innocent people. 

Key points from his recent comments:

• He is "proud" of the movie because he feels "it's actually about something," contrary to critics who dismissed it as just a typical blockbuster.

• He acknowledges the controversy, stating, "one of the controversies with this film ... is that Superman is not supposed to kill anybody," but defends the creative decision to force the hero into that difficult moral choice.

• He loved working with Zack Snyder and stands by the film's artistic vision. 
  
  
• The scene, where Superman snaps Zod's neck during their final battle to stop him from murdering a family with his heat vision, was a major point of debate among fans and critics, but Shannon views it as a necessary and significant moment for the character's journey.