Hubs: Hey, what are those cute little animals in Star Wars?
Me: …Ewoks?
Hubs: No, you know, those cute little furry things you can pet.
Stunned silence…
Me: Tribbles? Are you talking about Tribbles?
Hubs: Yes!
More stunned silence…
Me: That’s from Star Trek.
Hubs: Whatever, you know what I mean.
GASP
Me: No. Not even, but what about Tribbles?
Hubs: I saw a video of the cutest animal that looks like those.
…
He was talking about this:
I expect a bunch of mathematical and geometric convergences in this challenge. In the absence of getting a good picture of the Nexus, or Soran‘s attempt to enter it, I went with something a little more spiritual. Also, I really like blue.
This glass window above the transom at the Abbey Church at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit represents the challenge best. Stepping through the doors into a sacred space is a convergence, from the finite to the infinite, from the temporal to the eternal.
Day 06 – A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.
Good grief! Unless I can do this with a fictional character, I ain’t playing. At first I thought, there’s really no one I’d like to trade places with…I really tried. It’s not that I want to be difficult, but I’m just not foolish enough to somehow buy into the grass being greener on the other side. Then I thought, well, it can be interpreted in a different way, like an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes.
I thought about that for a little while, too. No. Nope. My shoes are not only comfortable, but in the difficult places where they were hard to break in and caused some blisters and callouses, well, it was painful and uncomfortable, but I’ve adapted.
Have you ever worn someone else’s shoes? Their footprint are in the shoes. Not only does it fit awkwardly, but it could cause blisters in different places. I’m not up for that, so I pass.
Plus, it gives me the opportunity to play in outer space. Yes, I want to be Lt. Uhura from Star Trek:
On April 3rd, Apple is going to release its iPad and here I am contributing to their marketing plan and I’m not even going to buy one. I’m not going to say never, but if I were to be buying any Apple products, it would be to replace my stolen MacBook Pro. Yes. I said stolen, right out from under my nose. It resides in the boy’s bedroom across the hall these days.
But I digress. This little reflection is about my awful little flip phone that chirps like a Star Trek communicator. Every time I pop it open to take a call (I still do that) or attempt to text (nearly impossible—thank heavens for opposable thumbs) I have a giddy moment of Trekkie joy.
Every time. I’m not lying; it’s fleeting but true.
Lucky for me I am surrounded by Trekkies and Trekkers (you can follow the political debate about the names here), but over the years I have gone somewhat underground with my fangirl obsession. It’s not that I am ashamed of it, I just sadly realized that fewer and fewer of my students were getting the cultural references. Part of me feels that perhaps they are just living in silly little vacuums of ignorance, but my own children look at me funny when I suggest something reminds me of Trek, any Trek.
Except that maybe Chris Pine has done a lot for the franchise. They know who he is, but again, that’s just another distraction from my point isn’t it? See what I mean about being a fan? The mere thought of Star Trek sets me into ramble mode.
I was talking about my flip phone – the antique mess from Samsung. Yuck. Its only redeemable quality in this world of smart phones is my continued delusion that I am 8 years old and pretending to be on an away mission (in any color shirt but red, of course).
I may have to turn in the faux communicator for a real 21st century phone soon. Even when it was new it was a terrible phone, but I’m not in a great big hurry to get an iPhone or a Droid (if I tell myself that maybe I’ll believe it). I’ll miss flipping it open and cherishing that moment where life imitates art.
Of course, if they ever figure out how to turn my pretty gold brooch into a communicator, all bets are off.
It seems like I’ve been having a little bit of fun with Trekkies lately (please, I know you younger folks prefer Trekker, whatever, Trekkie implies all the geekiness loser aspect of it–from back when it WASN’T cool to like science fiction, and that’s when I liked it).
Anyway, as I was saying, I’ve been enjoying the Trekkie thing, and re-discovered THIS GUY who has a blog and podcast about the Bible in KLINGON! Save the mockery for another day, guys, okay? I’m actually being serious here. See, I’m even wearing my Starfleet T-shirt to prove my sincerity.
I really think this is cool. I mean, I’m not compelled to go out and learn Klingon any time soon; I have my hands full with the English, but it’s cool that he’s doing it, and it’s cooler still that he does it while providing reflections on some very key scriptural references.
I’m not gonna get my weekly dose of Jesus there, but I think that in the big picture, what he’s doing is both admirable and entertaining. I’d like to think that when I write a serious post about the Catholic faith, perhaps in exploring my journey through the joy and revelation as it comes clear to me through my reading and understanding the Catechism, that I can help enlighten someone and make their journey easier.
That’s me being all altruistic and stuff. The truth is — and I promised myself I’d be honest in my writing — the truth is that I write for myself as as way to explore my thoughts and my feelings. So, if you get something out of it, good for you. If you don’t, well, if you don’t then perhaps it’s moot because I can’t imagine why you’d be coming back.
My point is, and I did have one though I seem to have forgotten it, is that this guy is doing something that he enjoys and seems to be benefiting him probably in the same way that my writing benefits me. And everyone who is moved by it as a bonus. So let’s not tease him today.
Tomorrow, however, is another day and my Starfleet uniform will be at the cleaners, so it’ll be open season on nerds again.
nuqneh?
But I know a family that used to rush home to watch Star Trek: Voyager and they’re pretty normal and clever. Mostly.
[rumor has it I might have a gold command shirt]
I went to see Star Trek for Mother’s Day. Here’s the big observation–everyone else in the theater was middle-aged, balding or graying, and paunchy-looking. Well, not all of us. I looked hot. Remember the middle age thing? Yeah, I was hot, as in hot flash.
Anyway, during the ridiculously long trailers and other advertisemnts taking up all my time, Vicky and I were noting the demographics in the theater. There were a lot of folks my age who had grown up with Star Trek, and then there were our kids, who either went as some weird bonding exprience, or were truly interested in Trek. I’m not sure which. Here’s the thing–it was a Trek movie that was true to Trek (sorry for the alliteration) but engaged the younger generation. It was spectacular. I loved it.
JJ Abrams is my new hero. We finally got some Star Trek that delivered. In a big way. LOL. The special effects were spectacular. There was actually a decent plot, although the time travel/alternate reality tends to get a bit old in sci-fi (still, Spock manages to address that in an amusing way at the end). There were liberties with the story line that were a bit out there, but I suppose it was resolved with the excuse that it was an alternate reality, but still–. I can totally see how a purist would be annoyed, and yet, as far as the story goes, I get it.
Things I could have done without–um, besides changing some history? Nothing. I liked it.
Things that were very well done for this Trekkie:
The characters were believable. Kirk behaved like Kirk. Spock behaved like Spock. Sulu was terrific. Chekov stole the show on the bridge. Scotty was fantastic. Uhura, who had been my favorite as a kid (I used to shove my brother’s crib spring in my ear and pretend to be on the bridge) came through very well, too, although Nichelle Nichols had a whole lot more sensuality. And in a final nod, the actor who played Sarek was wonderful.
I appreciate the nods to the canon. The references to the characters’ quirks in the series were awesome. Sulu fencing was particularly amusing. McCoy was brilliant.
The final scene on the bridge was reminiscent of the show, and the actors seemed to get it right. Kirk, especially, was Kirk without being campy. A feat even Shatner rarely pulled off.
Nicely done.
It’s hiding in the canopy of the pine trees and peeks out between the boughs, a bright basin with all the stars above it.
The bright lights in the sky remind me of a time when I was kid. I remember going trick or treating with a lot of face paint, and I couldn’t wear my glasses without ruining the frightening effect that I was going for. The trade off, of course, is that I couldn’t see very well. Back then, the liability pretty much meant that I couldn’t see things that were very far away. Like, say, the Goodyear Blimp. This is important later.
I went around the neighborhood with the usual crew. Yuyi, Eddy, Patricia, Richard, and probably the Rocamoras, although I’m guessing we had to go to them, because they rarely left their street. This was also the time in my life when I lived and breathed all thing sci-fi. It was some time after Star Trek was syndicated in the afternoons, but way before Star Wars and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Maybe I was already a fan of Space:1999 because Gene Roddenberry had introduced it and Fred Freiberger was producing it (as a side note, Freiberger’s involvement may have been why I often felt that the Space:1999 shows were re-worked Star Trek sripts. Even as a kid I realized that there is nothing new under the sun). It would be many years before television sci-fi would get my attention again.
Anyway, tonight’s moon, the pine trees, and the airport holding pattern that brings so many planes across our neighborhood all came together to replicate that night so many years ago when I was absolutely certain I was witnessing a real, live, UFO.
I saw the lights through the pines on Drew Valley, swirling in all the primary colors, and flying low, dipping, gaining altitude, and then stopping. I think my heart skipped a beat and I had a moment of absolute terror like those folks listening to War of the Worlds when they were psyched out. My vision was blurred enough to see the colors, but not realize there were words. Speechless, I wildly gesticulated to my friends, hoping to save us all from the imminent abduction.
They, of course, only saw my childish fascination with the Goodyear Blimp, and laughed at me for pointing it out to them.
There was no way I was gonna confess that I thought it was a flying saucer. Nope. I just shrugged and popped some candy corn in my mouth.
another cup of coffee 