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Write, Write, You Bloody Well Write

WARP!1 pre-launch status update

WARP!1WARP!1 has engines, I’m just loading the last few bits of dilithium in them.

Well, okay, that’s rather a glib way of putting it. My third book is very much in the same “extensive critical guide to a TV series” wheelhouse as the first two books, but to be totally honest with you… this is my favorite. It’s been my favorite to work on, and my favorite to go back weeks/months later and re-read bits of.

WARP!1 examines the “Roddenberry era” of Star Trek in depth: the original Star Trek, the animated series, the original cast movies, The Next Generation, and the Next Generation movies. It examines Roddenberry’s non-Trek work from the same period, namely his string of 1970s TV projects that never got past the pilot stage. It examines how others have taken the Original Series and reinterpreted it, reviewing the J.J. Abrams movies to date and a cross-section of the better fan-made series to date. It also examines Star Trek’s immediate antecedent, Roddenberry’s single-season series The Lieutenant, both on its own merits and in light of what came later. … Read more

Categories
...And Little E Makes 3 Serious Stuff

That amazing kid and his amazing school

“Today we learned about protons and electrons!” my oldest son told me a couple of days ago when I picked him up from school. It brought me up short just a little bit.

Not because I thought it was something he shouldn’t be learning about – it’s absolutely something he should learn about – but I was thinking back to how old I was when I learned about protons and electrons in school. One thing I do know is that I wasn’t in the first grade.

And that’s kind of the magical thing about where my son goes to school. … Read more

Categories
...And Little C Makes 4 ...And Little E Makes 3 And Beyond The Infinite Gaming Television & Movies

Everybody’s geekin’ for the weekend, part four: do it again!

Whoosh!In February, the fine folks at Oklahoma City’s Starbase Studios announced another of their open house events, during which all and/or sundry are invited to tour their exquisitely detailed replicas of the original Star Trek shooting sets, free of charge (though it’s hoped that visitors might be impressed enough to drop a few coins in the hat, donating to the upkeep of those sets so future fan-made productions can make use of them. My wife was pregnant with Little C when Little E and I tagged along with some friends to visit the sets last year, and that was before they had built sickbay and started work on a transporter room (!). There was no way she was going to miss out on this open house.

As the date got closer, Little E expressed disappointment that we weren’t going to repeat the entire trip with the Martins – i.e. Friday night at Arkadia Retrocade, and a visit to the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, Oklahoma (almost an hour further west from OKC). Since he was so keen on doing it all again, we reserved a hotel room in Weatherford and decided to make it a whole geeky weekend getaway. (It should be pointed out that the timely arrival of a tax refund was pretty much the pivot point where we went from “go to OKC and back” to “make a whole weekend of it.”)

What follows is a ridiculous record – over 60 photos – of the geeky weekend in question. Ready to beam up and go to the moon?

OKC+WXford trip
Click on any photo below for the full-size version – I took “the good camera” this time and didn’t rely on my phone for much of the picture-taking this time around.… Read more

Categories
Funny Stuff

RAD TECHNO

Why can’t employers be bothered to list the actual job title when they submit stuff to Indeed? I applied for something labeled “RAD TECHNO” with visions of thumpin’ EDM and maybe some glowsticks in my head, only to discover that they wanted a Radiologic Technologist. Apparently my offer to “rave this shit up” in my cover letter didn’t impress.

… Read more

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...And Little C Makes 4 ...And Little E Makes 3

2UP

Today I peeked around the corner to check on Little C, expecting to find him – as usual – sleeping peacefully in his crib as Little E plays a game or watches cartoons with his headphones on. (Little E had a dental appointment today, hence I had both boys at home.) That would be typical for both boys being at home. But instead… I saw this: Little C watching with rapt attention as Little E plays a game.

Little C and Little E … Read more