Big Jared is Watching You

It was lunchtime and, having been too disorganized to pack a lunch (again), I took a short walk to the nearest place that could provide me with a meal that was both cheap and quick.  For me, that's Subway.  You know the place.  It's the one that says you can "eat fresh" by consuming preserved meats.  Yeah.  I'm not crazy about it, but it's a sandwich and I don't have a lot of time or money, so it works.  After the sandwich artist had made my lunch I grabbed a bottle of Diet Coke and stood at the register.  The friendly lady stopped as she was ringing me up and reminded me that I had a Subway card in my wallet (don't judge me).  It was nice of her to remember, and hey, I'll save a few bucks someday, so, you know.

I walked back to the workshop, carrying my bag of meat, bread, and veg, and sat myself back down at my desk.  I was on break, so I put work out of my mind for a moment, logged into Twitter, and prepared to read the wit and wisdom of the world wide interweb.

The tweet that stood at the top of my timeline caught my eye.  It was "sponsored."  That is, it was an ad.  I usually ignore these, but I was struck by the coincidence   It was from Subway.  The tweet said that I could enter to win a trip to Italy if I gave them free advertising by tweeting a picture of my sandwich and my Diet Coke.

Think about that.  It might be random chance that I got an ad from Subway just as I came back from Subway after using my customer loyalty card.  It might be just one of those things that they asked for a picture of a sub as it was sitting right in front of me.  But to ask for the sub along with the brand of soft drink that I had just purchased?  That is what you call creepy.

George Orwell's dystopic vision of the future just barely missed.  Yes, the government can and does keep citizens under surveillance, but it is big business who is really paying attention.  Not so they can oppress us.  So that they can better serve us.  I am reminded of "I, Mudd," the Star Trek episode in which androids plan to do the same thing.

NORMAN: We shall serve them. Their kind will be eager to accept our service. Soon they will become completely dependent upon us. 

ALICE 99: Their aggressive and acquisitive instincts will be under our control. 

NORMAN: We shall take care of them. 

SPOCK: Eminently practical. 

KIRK: The whole galaxy controlled by your kind? 

NORMAN: Yes, Captain. And we shall serve them and you will be happy, and controlled.

And we let the androids in.  We joined the social media sites that mine us for information.  We accepted the loyalty cards that sold our privacy for a cup of coffee or a burger.  And we could do something about it, but we won't.  Because we are happy.  And controlled.

Orwell was not our prophet.  It was Walt Kelly's Pogo.  "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Live Long and Prosper, America

I love this picture.  I love it so much.

How do I love this picture?  Let me count the ways, let me sing of my love.

It's Nichelle Nichols, our own Uhura, in the Oval Office, with the President of the United States!

Oh.  My.  God.

Okay, my little Trekkie heart can only take so much.  I'll try to calm down.

Things I love about this picture:

1.  It's the Oval Office.  What a great room, filled with power, symbolism, and history.

2.  Nichelle looks great.  79 years old, still a hottie, and I'll fight any man who says otherwise.

3.  She's wearing a Starfleet necklace.  To meet the President.  How cool is that?

4.  They're obviously happy to meet each other.  And why not?  After all,

5.  He has said that he's a fan of the show and . . .

6.  He had a crush on her when he was a younger fan.  No really!

Months ago Pres Obama was quoted as saying that he'd had a crush on me when he was younger. I asked about that & he proudly confirmed it!
— Nichelle Nichols (@RealNichelle) March 1, 2012

Well, of course he did.  What kind of red-blooded American Trekkie male didn't have a crush on Uhura?

7.  The Vulcan salute.  The President of the United States, giving the Vulcan salute, in the Oval Office.

8.  And this is the big one.  When Star Trek first aired it was in a different America.  It was in an America that had never seen an interracial kiss on it's television before Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek.  It was in an America where the sight of an African-American woman as an officer, an equal to other officers, a respected expert and leader, was unusual, and unusually important.  You may have heard the story.

And there you are.  From Star Trek to Martin Luther King, Jr., to this moment.  Take another look at that picture.  Do you see a bit of pride in Nichelle's smile?  You should.  After all, she opened the hailing frequencies.

Oh My.

Suddenly George Takei seems to be everywhere. And I love it.

Here's George with Patty Duke (Cathy was unavailable. Someone gave her a hot dog and she lost control.) doing a PSA for Social Security:



And here's George's audition tape for the Spiderman musical!



Seriously, this guy should host SNL.

Trivial Hoot Sixteen

Hey there puzzlers. Time for another trivia quiz. It's a Star Trek question, so put on your Academy thinking caps.

Here is a list of six Star Trek episodes.

The Naked Time. Tomorrow is Yesterday. The City on the Edge of Forever. Assignment: Earth. The Lights of Zetar. All Our Yesterdays.

One of these episodes does not belong on this list. Which one is the odd man out, and why?

Once again, the first person to answer correctly wins an ephemeral hoot and entry to our honor roll of Steely-Eyed Missile Men and Women. Have at it my fellow Trekkies.

Tribbles!

I just love everything about this poster.  Via

Answer Fourteen – The Shipless Trek

An official Hoot to Jaquandor who correctly answered our last trivial question. Skilled craftsmen have carefully inscribed his name on our illustrious honor roll of Steely-Eyed Missile Men.

The only episode of Star Trek that did not show the interior of the Enterprise was, as Jaquandor told us, “All Our Yesterdays.” It began with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beaming into the library and meeting Mr. Atoz. It ended back in the library.  Scotty was only heard on the communicator and never seen.

This episode was also memorable for featuring Mariette Hartley as the scantily clad Zarabeth. Spock was quite taken with the temporally exiled beauty and they engaged in some highly illogical canoodling in the cave. According to the novel Yesterday's Son, this resulted in a Spock's son, Zar. The Trek Trinity met him by taking a little trip through their old friend, the Guardian of Forever.

One more fun fact about “All Our Yesterdays;” it was the third and final episode directed my Marvin Chomsky. Mr. Chomsky, who also directed “And the Children Shall Lead” and “Day of the Dove,” has a famous cousin -- a guy from MIT named Noam. Marvin has three Emmys. Noam, none.

Trivial Hoot Fourteen

Hello again to all you trivia fans, and especially to all you Trek trivia fans. That's right, I'm celebrating my return to blogging with a Star Trek trivia question. As always the first person to get it right gets a prize of inestimable value, a hoot, as well as a place on our glorious honor roll of Steely-Eyed Missile Men. OK, without further nonsense, here is our latest trivia question:

Only one episode of Star Trek (The Original Series, dammit) did not show the interior of the Enterprise. Name it.

Simple, no? Some quick Trekkie will make fast work of this one.

Highly Illogical

Leonard Nimoy posted this on Twitter today. Something about it makes me happy. Maybe it's Shatner flipping a burger. Maybe it's the laughing Vulcan. Mostly though it's the image of DeForest Kelley doubled over.

Yes, I'm a happy, Trekkie fanboy.

Trek Tok

I must admit I've never heard of Ke$sha, and I'm not usually a fan of this type of music, which I'm told is called "dance-pop," but there's just something about this video that I like.



If you haven't clicked on it yet, go ahead. It is surprisingly well done and kind of catchy. I caught my girlfriend, the whitest woman I know, dancing to it. But then, she's a Trekkie too.

Sir Patrick

As a Trekkie I can't let this moment pass. Patrick Stewart, who played a starship captain whom Captain Kirk once met, was knighted yesterday by Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. The honor was conferred upon Stewart for “services to Drama.”


Although the film that he worked with Shatner in, Star Trek VII, was ultimately disappointing, he played his role well and the accolade is certainly deserved.

To Boldly Go Across the Universe

I just saw this on Byzantium's Shores and had to share.  Two of my favorite things in the world, Beatles and Star Trek.

Tractor Beams!

New Scientist says we've got tractor beams!  Take that Jonathan Archer and your wimpy grappler.  Oh, wait, it's just a repulsor.  Tony Stark's had one of those for years.  Still, pretty cool.

Well Done, Mr Nimoy

After six decades, Leonard Nimoy has decided to retire from the acting profession. He will be officially finished after today's final trip to Vulcan (really, that's where he is today). A veteran of stage (my parents once saw him as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof) and screen (big and small), he did voice-overs, directed, wrote, and, of course, sang. I will miss seeing him work, but if he feels it's time to rest, you can't say he hasn't earned it. Of Mr Nimoy I will say this – I am, and always will be, his fan.

Trekkie Quiz Thingie

I first saw this over at Electronic Cerebrectomy. Thought I'd throw in my two credits.

1. What is your favorite Star Trek movie? (not including STXI)?
Galaxy Quest. I kid, I kid. Star Trek IV was the most fun (“There be whales here”) and II was probably the best movie (Kaaahhhnnn!), but I have a great affection for VI. It seemed a graceful ending to the story.

2. What is your favorite scene in STXI?
Criminy, I don't know. I like the bit where Kirk asks who that “pointy-eared bastard” is and McCoy says that he doesn't know “but I like him.” Or maybe when Scotty asks if they have sandwiches in the future.

3. When was your first introduction to the Star Trek franchise?
I have no idea. I was a child and it was in syndication, five shows a week. Loved it, of course.

4. Is there anything Star Trek around the room in which you're currently sitting?
A model of the Enterprise-D that my brother carved from wood. A witty whittler, my brother. There's a couple of pins in a drawer behind me. That's about it.

5. Vulcan ears are: A) cute, B) sexy, C) neither, D) both.
It depends on who's wearing them. The answer can be either C or D.

6. If you could be any other species than human in the Star Trek universe, you would be:
Vulcan would be a . . . logical choice, but I think I'd rather be Organian. It's one of the few near omnipotent species that didn't become total jerks (like the Q) or smarmy twerps (like the Metrons).

7. Which pet would you rather have: a sehlat or a tribble?
At first I thought tribble, because my small apartment would be a problem for a rambunctious critter like a sehlat, but then I realized that a tribble would become many tribbles and I'd soon have more tribbles than I could handle. But wait! In the animated series Cyrano Jones returned with genetically engineered tribbles that didn't reproduce. Once Doctor McCoy perfected the process by adding a shot of neoethylene the safe tribble was invented. The odd pink color seems a bit strange, but I think I could manage. So, tribble it is.

8.Who might you cast in the role of reboot Nurse Chapel? Khan? Other reboot character?
For Chapel I would go with whoever J.J. Abrams is married to. Kahn would be either Joe Piscapo or Carrot Top. We could get Wil Wheaton to play Harry Mudd. Really, I've got nothing here. Wait a minute, that last one might actually be a good idea.

9. Kirk and Spock are:
Mythic characters.

10. If you could give any Star Trek character a chance to be captain of the Enterprise, who would it be?
Mr. Leslie. He's the man.

BONUS. Think fast! Give one Star Trek quote from memory.
“Brain and brain! What is brain?”

The Mystery of Uhura's Armband

Calling all fellow Trekkies! I have a run across a puzzlement. The other day I was watching “City on the Edge of Forever,” which is certainly the best episode in the canon. In the first scene in which the Enterprise is passing through some bumpy temporal something-or-others we see Lt. Uhura in her usual place on the bridge, doing her usual job, wearing her usual uniform, but with an odd variation. Around her left forearm she is wearing a black armband. When she joins the landing party in the next scene she is not wearing it. It is never mentioned or seen again. What is it? Why is it there? I've looked around for an answer and found nothing. Memory Alpha ignores it. I've run into discussion and speculation but no answers.



I have a theory that is far more likely to be wrong than right, but I rather like it. The episode was shot in early February of 1967. On January 27, just a few days before, the crew of Apollo 1, Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Ed White, were killed when a fire broke out in their command module while testing the equipment. I speculate that Nichelle Nichols was wearing a visible sign of mourning. On the other hand the reason may be perfectly mundane.

So I ask you, oh wise and knowledgeable hive mind of the internet, what do you know? Can you finally solve the mystery of Uhura's armband?

International Talk Like William Shatner Day

Yes, my friends, it's time to pause . . . between words, at odd intervals, then speak very quickly, gesticulate dramtically, emote broadly, and generally be, the man, the captain, the . . . legend that is William Shatner. For today . . . is. . . the second InternationalTalkLikeWilliamShatnerDay.

Quaint and Curious

I had no idea this even existed. William Shatner reciting Poe's "The Raven."

How cool is that?

The Kirk Answer

Jaquandor quite rightly takes me to task by pointing out that I have not yet provided an answer to the last Trivial Hoot. My apologies. November and December are my least favorite months of the year. It's the busy time in my business. I've grown to hate Christmas – but that's a post for another day.

I asked you to name every adult performer who played the role of James T. Kirk on Star Trek. I also warned you that it was trickier than you might think. That eliminates Jimmy Bennett and the uncredited baby held by Jennifer Morrison in the recent movie. We are left with My Three Kirks.

William Shatner, Chris Pine, and Sandra Smith.

Wha?!
Sandra Smith played Doctor Janice Lester, mad scientist and one of Kirk's many former girlfriends in the last (and pretty close to least) of the original episodes, “Turnabout Intruder.” Lester wants to take over the Enterprise (of course) and uses Super Science (of course) to do it. She switches her personality with that of Kirk. For most of the rest of the episode Shatner plays the increasingly hysterical Janice Lester, posing as Kirk, while Smith plays Kirk in a dress.

I told you it was tricky.

Trekgasm

How did I miss this? Bloopers from the most recent Star Trek movie.

Amusing if you are a Trekkie. Otherwise, meh. I, of course, was amused.

Analysis Spock?

Leonard Nimoy on Obama: “There will be people sniping at him for what Dick Cheney referred to as 'dithering.' Well, for Christ's sake, how about giving it some thoughtful process before you send thousands of kids to die? It's painful to watch the political game, them trying to outdo each other, to get political points at the expense of reality and intelligence.”

Logical. Flawlessly logical.