mikailborg | Entries tagged with star trek

Sometimes, people post things on the Internet that just plain make me feel glad to be living in a world where someone spent the time to make them up.

The "Lions In Kenya" and "Shirley Bassey Getting the Party Started" videos are two examples. Here's another:

I successfully stayed up all night on Saturday night. We decided that our level 56-ers needed to hit 58 This Weekend, which we reached about 6 am. It was nice to know that I can still do that... a year of 10pm bedtimes had left me doubtful. Still, I had to down several Tums, as one of the tricks my body uses to try to get me to go to bed is surges of stomach acid. Also, I was kind of out of it the next day; so, I've learned from this that I can do it, but not easily.

Found a website that generates an automatically updated stat block I can use for my characters, like so...

Baldricus!

Too bad that the servers are now far too overloaded with requests to actually function properly. (This one won't update, it's static.)

Local TV re-ran the Special Edition "Trouble With Tribbles" this weekend, so last night I dug out the "Trials And Tribble-ations" DS9 episode for Starr, who'd never seen it. Great fun! And then it hit me... there's no way in heck that J.J. Abrams' Lt. Uhura will be running around in that red minidress. Not in a 2008 feature film. I weep.

Current Mood: tired

Started off the weekend with a fever on Friday, caused probably by having to run around in the cold cold rain on Thursday. But I medicated the heck out of myself, and was well enough to travel with Starr to Williamsburg on Friday for MarsCon.

Most conventions are, for me, opportunities to socialize with friends I don't often get to see.

southernsinger,

kittykatya,

impink,

geckoman, and

stori_lundi were all there, as well as folks I get to see a little more often such as

ptownhiker,

fixitup, and

torn757. Got to spend some quality time with Jesse and Dwight too!

Convention loot: a Devil's Panties graphic novel (Jennie Breeden remembered me from Dragon*Con), character sketches from an artist in the dealer's room, a Carcassonne expansion and an book of Paranoia XP modules, two White Plectrum CDs and a Coyote Run CD, some erotica from Helen Madden's table, and a couple of buttons. After spending the weekend avoiding the purchase of T-shirts, Starr and I were handed free ones by a local game store - now I have to get rid of more old ones to make space!

Next year, the con is supposed to move to a bigger location, and it really needs the space. MarsCon completely overflowed its host hotel, which is a shame, as I think it's a nice place to hold the weekend. I got to hear some other VA con politics I didn't want to hear about, but that's the down side of having friends who are so heavily involved in things.

Speaking of being involved, this was the first time I can recall having my con badge paid for as a "Guest" presenter. I have to say I found it very cool, though somehow I had always imagined it would be for my Great American Science Fiction Novel. Still, the panels (which I talk a bit more about in the Lifestyle filter) were great fun, and I can't wait to do them again next year.

We'd really intended to stay longer on Sunday, but despite finally getting the MarsCon Charity Chair Massage I'd been wanting to try for years, we had a bad case of burnout. Excitement, dancing, endorphins, and little sleep all hit at once, and Starr and I headed home around 1:30 to veg for the rest of the day. Still haven't quite come down though. How long 'till T-Con?

Oh, by the way, for people who didn't go see Cloverfield, or restrained themselves from visiting YouTube this weekend, here's the new Trek movie trailer. Total geekgasm.

Current Mood: happy

I was figuring that J.J. Abrams' Enterprise might look like almost anything, but it seems here that he's sticking fairly close to the Original Series look... with a touch of Movie Era thrown in for that big-screen feel. It's as if he knew exactly what would get him the most points from me. (You can click the pic to embiggen.)

Also, the cast photos from the same AOL site show the casting for Christopher Pike, and George and Winona Kirk. While the producers of this film claim not to be hardcore Trekkers, it looks like they care enough to go do a bit of research.

Current Mood: pleased

09:17 Memo to me... you will need clean laundry for MarsCon, including any costumes you plan to wear. #
10:03 No "Star Trek Online" MMORPG from Perpetual Entertainment. I wish I could say I was surprised. #
11:47 Half the office here eagerly awaits the Stevenote and the list of Apple toys we'll be drooling over in 2008. #

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This was supposed to be the week where I caught up on sleep and email and life. I think I'm about 83% caught up on email, but the rest of it all still needs some work!

Just had to write another program book blurb about me. I hate doing that, I never feel like I'm any good at selling myself. But I'm pleased with how it came out, so I'll consider it additional experience in an unfamiliar writing style.

I found today the Federation Models (http://www.federationmodels.com/) website which has all the customization pieces I wanted to complete the Grin'elle Kriet-era U.S.S. Yeager model kit. This is really tickling the bits of my brain that want to dig out the Dremel Tool and styrene glue again.

Current Mood: busy

Haven't posted online quiz results in a while, but the results amused me on this one that

raininva and

rattrap posted.

( Star Trek character quiz )

Current Mood: amused

DO NOT, when the time comes, purchase one of these for me.

Official 'photon torpedo' casket

Current Mood: appalled

Happy Halloween / Samhain to everyone!

I wore my Enterprise jumpsuit for candy distirbution tonight. Nobody recognized it. Given that people even mis-recognized it at a DragonCon where Connor Trinneer was guesting, I have to wonder if it should be packed away and only brought out for hardcore fannish events.

On the other hand, I got involved in a very cool audio production of a part of the Headless Horseman legend. You totally need to check out the journal entry I've linked to, and listen to the file.

Here, have a holiday-themed WoW screenshot.

Gnome on Broomstick
Mirandala riding the "Magic Broom" available during the 2007 Hallow's End celebration

Current Mood: relaxed

It seems that actor Chris Pine is up for the part of Captain James Kirk in the upcoming Trek movie. Among other named participants are Zoe Saldana as Uhura, and Zachary Quinto as Spock. Looking pretty good, so far.

"You've wrecked my childhood!" is a phrase oft heard on the Internet, when the new remake of a favorite property comes along. Most recently, some Transformers fans screamed it to anyone who would listen. I can't help but think that these people show a disappointing level of perspective; who over the age of 20 hasn't picked up an old book, or the DVD of an old movie, and discovered that it just doesn't speak to them the way it did all those years ago?

I recently acquired the first season of "Battle of the Planets": an anime import about a team of bird-costumed super-ninjas in a rocket-jet fighting a high-tech criminal syndicate. It suffered from translation; the translators were forced to make massive cuts of violence and teenage-level plot points while adding in footage of a cute robot and space travel. Imagine that someone had told you that, for Freedonian broadcast, classic Trek had to be cut to 30 minutes per episode, never leave Earth's solar system, and ditch the pointy-ear guy.

I loved "Battle of the Planets" when I was 8. I made paper airplane versions of the hero's razor-edged jet boomerang, tinfoil helmets, and beach towel capes. Finally seeing it again all these years later was fun, but I couldn't help but admit that I was no longer able to appreciate it the way I once could, and that was okay. The upcoming live-action movie will probably be a tiny bit more mature; and I won't complain at all about all the things they got "wrong".

Or at least not very much.

Current Mood: working

Just came back from a very nice dinner with

raininva at Red Robin. She gave me some loot from Vegas' Star Trek: The Experience - a Starfleet emblem and an isolinear chip keychain.

Rain just got promoted, and is apparently being groomed for bigger things in the future. I'd be jealous, if it weren't for the fact that I'm quite pleased with my new job :)

Current Mood: sleepy

There were ducks napping right outside my front door last night when I got home. This makes me happy. I like ducks.

The Leiji Matsumoto fans on my flist (I know there are a couple) really need to check out this iTunes link... Look! More cool-looking TV I don't have time to watch!

Wish I could make the Yeager Anniversary picnic this weekend. There are real disadvantages to living 5 hours' drive away from the fandoms I grew up in. I do feel like I made a modest contribution to the history of the chapter, and I'd love to see everyone again, but it's not to be this time. Hope everyone has a great time!

Current Mood: mellow

How to identify a complete Trek geek, #117:

The use of "photorp" as a verb, e.g.: "They're actually adverstising phaser eye surgery now, so I figure the next step is getting your eyes photorpped."

In other news, the gnome mage/engineer Mirandala finally reached level 60 last night. Though this accomplishment is no longer as cool as it was two months ago, it's still a wonderful milestone.

Hardcore World of Warcraft players manage this in 6 weeks - it took me about 18 months of casual play. If it's an addiction, it's one with a very weak hold on me :)

Current Mood: working

Wil Wheaton is reviewing old ST: TNG episodes for a website known as TV Squad. He's just reviewed Justice, and my trivia sense tingled; Brenda Bakke, the half-naked actress who gleefully welcomes Worf as the "Huge One", also played Nim, the Texas Air Ranger in Gunhed.

This, of course, contributes nothing at all to your day.

Slighlty more interestingly, astronomer Phil Plait has posted that tonight's 9:35 launch of the Space Shuttle will be visible over most of the US' east coast. A link to a similar opportunity from '97 suggests that Norfolk viewers might be able to see the STS reach 12 degrees over the south-southeast horizon, while Roanoke area space buffs will only see the engine glow for 5 degrees (possibly discounting intervening mountains).

(I'll probably forget to go look, though.)

Current Mood: geeky

It's pretty easy now to find copies of the J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel proposal for re-booting Classic Trek. This series would not have had to deal with 40 years worth of continuity unless it wanted to from time to time, and would have had technology more believable to the 21st century viewer; as well, it could have been interesting to see new actors and scriptwriters putting their spin on Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. (The authors even throw out the idea of a female Scotty or Sulu, just to cut down on the sexism a bit.)

But would it have been Star Trek?

I don't actually have a problem with a single revision they suggest - lots of it would have been quite interesting, and I think their season arcs had much more potential than Enterprise's. No; what I'm worried about is the current angst-ridden quality of Sci-Fi right now, and the idea that this show would bring that to Star Trek. That simply doesn't work right.

Star Trek's main message was: "If we ever get a grip on ourselves, the future's gonna be great."

TNG: "In fact, with a little more time, it'll be even shinier and comfier. Though we will talk a lot."

DS9: "And once in a while, we'll have to make nasty decisions and put ourselves on the line to keep what we've worked for. Worth it, though."

(Then things came apart a bit)

VOY: "Of course, this future society will produce a few spoiled brats who, in a crisis situation, will manage to be smug and whiny simultaneously. Hell, let's look at boobs and funky alien tech for a while."

ENT: "And for a while there, we were just whiny, and everyone in the universe hated us and had cooler toys. Wow, we sucked."

-----

While the main message of B5 and the current BSG seems to boil down to, "Humans (and the aliens who are like us) suck. We'll muddle through somehow, but we suck now and forever. Deal with it." Perhaps, a more realistic message, but I'd prefer to fight for the great shiny future, myself. Would this Star Trek be a gritty, realistic, angst-ridden examination of the flaws of humanity? If so, I don't think I'd want any part of it.

Current Mood: curious

I just found an entry on Star Trek: TNG from "TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia".

Highlights:

"Star Trek: The Next Generation is set more than 100 years in the future from the original series, when [...] the toupee technology employed by the original series' Capt. James T. Kirk has been banned following the Hairpiece Wars of the late 23rd century."

"Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton): An instant hit among fans, the character of young genius Wesley Crusher became so popular that Wheaton was forced to leave the show in its third season, after producers could not meet his skyrocketing salary demands."

"Guinan: Whoopi Goldberg portrayed the Enterprise's bartender, the last surviving member of a race that went extinct after being devoured by their own enormous, sentient hats."

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: The USS Make S**t Up - Voltaire

It's web video linkage thingy time!

"Cap-tain... Jean-Luc Pi-card... U-S-S... Ent-er-prise!"

How does the average WoW player feel about Murlocs? Approximately how Gimli felt about orcs. Now, here's a complete Flash Murloc RPG to give you the fish-man perspective.

And Samorost, where I don't know what's going on yet 'cause I haven't played enough. Cool looking, though.

Current Mood: awake

It has always been a good thing for my spare time that World of Warcraft won't install on my laptop. (Actually, I did make it install one time, but only got one video frame every 4 seconds or so, so off it went again.) Unfortunately, Monday night a friend's casual reference reminded me that the laptop's specs were well up to another piece of software, and last night, I put Starcraft on it. Maybe now I can finish the darn Terran campaign and play the other two-thirds of the game.

Blizzard does not own me. But I think it's trying to acquire controlling interest.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if Alan Moore and the Wachowskis have manufactured this little tiff they are having just to make sure V for Vendetta retains a brighter blip on the geek radar. As someone recently pointed out, any author who has sold thousands of copies of professional fanfic (I refer to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) doesn't have much of a leg to stand on when bitching about other creative folks modifying their characters and storylines.

You know, a book is not a movie is not a comic is not a TV show. They all have different rules and must make adaptations if they are to flourish in a changed environment. "Spamalot" is hardly a scene-for-scene copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, for example. If SciFi ever makes that rumored miniseries of "Ringworld", they'll have to change quite a bit to keep a good novel from being very dull television. (Knowing SciFi, they probably won't - they'll follow the advice of some uber-fan who wants a line-by-line copy.) I wish fans were better at judging material on its own merits, instead of what they wanted the material to be. (I also wish more fans understood the difference between "This is poor quality" and "I personally don't like this much.")

Speaking of which, some website recently applauded the Enterprise-D as one of the most iconic spaceships in visual science fiction, making the note that "not a lot of thought was put into the original television Enterprise." I hope the ghost of Matt Jeffries hunts this person down and explains a thing or three to him.

Current Mood: sick

Halloween's a holiday dedicated to things that aren't what they seem, so it's a bit appropriate that George Takei is choosing it to come publically out of the closet.

http://www.frontierspublishing.com/features/feature_second.html

Good for him! I can't help thinking that some of the people involved with RoVaCon way back when would have been less excited about inviting him had they known... but that's far in the past now.

I haven't decided yet what to wear to Mandy & Krys' party tomorrow night. I do wish VTSFFC Halloween wasn't 5 hours away. I also wish Rain didn't work Saturdays and Sundays, making a 2- or 3am Rocky Horror evening this weekend a bit impractical.

In good news, Rain welcomed me home last night to a spotless living room lit by candles, served me an excellent dinner, and snuggled down with me for a romantic evening of TiVo'd MythBusters. (Hey, mad science is too romantic.) It was a good way to wrap up the day.

In last Saturday's Doctor Who, a spaceship has crashed somewhere in London, and the Doctor doesn't know exactly where. His cunning plan is to ask around, but his companion Rose is disappointed in him: "Not very 'Spock', is it: just asking? I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me some 'Spock'! For once, would it kill ya?"

If only Enterprise was still on, and we could somehow have a crewman refer to an alien as "one of those mindless killer 'Dalek'-types". Then the circle would be complete :)

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Breakbeats in Time & Space - Howard Richardson - whomix.trilete.net

Quick review of the Hitchhiker's Guide movie:

You should probably go see it if you like any of the other versions, or you like SF comedy. Sure, they took a lot of stuff out. (Cutting 3 hours of radio play down to 90 minutes will do that.) Sure, they changed a lot of stuff. (This was a practice Douglas Adams himself was quite fond of.) But if you go with an open mind and don't insist on a copy of one of the other Hitchhiker's media, you ought to have a good time.

Quick review of last Friday's Enterprise:

Plot? Who cares? Space battle scenes with a certain class of starship... *happy sigh* (There's some other eye candy too, for het-male or compatible formats.)

In all seriousness... I wonder how a 21st-century costume designer would design a believable futuristic military uniform that would provide eye candy for het-females and compatible? Bill Theiss tried showing some leg in the men's "skant" uniforms for TNG, and the design died a quick, ignoble death. It's an interesting question.

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: Speed - Club Mix - Alpha Team - Speed

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Further Assimilations

We Will Add Your Observations To Our Own

Start Me Up

Weekend on Mars

You know I have to post this

Tweets for Today

To-Do Listing

Trek casting call

Less-than-Amazing Grace

I dressed funny today. Like that's new.

Misty Technicolor Memories

Are you Experienced?

Quack

Explosive Devices

IMDB Justice and the STS

Reboot! -whap-

Fact-checking

I'm pretending I don't have to leave for work

Making adaptations

And he looks dang good for 68, too

A low-tech solution

Reviews and a design challenge

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December 2018

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