Soooo, it doesn’t typically take me 6 months to complete a project but this also wasn’t your typical Summer. I undertook a huge move and a lot of changes to my life in the past 6 months. So what started with this resulted in this. The donations came in pretty quick (thanks to those who donated!) but life was still crazy so I updated in August when the blog turned One.
Now, 2 months later it’s finally here! Sorry for the delay, crazy life = crazy timeline.
epic win
I was lucky enough to work with professional photographer, Jonny Ups. He’s a high school friend of mine who I haven’t seen since graduation but, thanks to the wonders of facebook, have kept in touch with. Since high school he’s become a seriously ah-mazing photog. I take pictures of people walking away, he takes pictures of rock star’s shoes. What can I say? We’re both full of quirky goodness. Also, he wore this shirt to picture day. It’s quite possibly the greatest t-shirt ever created. Anyhooters, a HUGE thanks to Jonny Ups for taking the time to photogrograph the Xena pics! I look forward to working with him in future photo shoots!
So here you go, the costume y’all voted for – Xena!
Another big thanks to my friends Darcy and Joy for helping out on picture day. You guys rock my socks 🙂
October is a bittersweet month for me. On one hand, there’s Halloween and all of the fun festivities that the holiday entails. But October is the month when several of my loved ones have passed away so there’s also a lot of sadness. Even though I never met him personally, the one anniversary of someone unrelated to me that I have written in my calendar is Gene Roddenberry’s. Every October 24th I honor the life of one of my heroes, the man who created and nurtured the glory that is Star Trek. This year in particular is notable in that it’s the 20th anniversary of his passing. It’s uber hard to believe that it’s been 20 years already. Even though I was a kid I have very vivid memories of the day he died.
So in honor of Mr. Eugene Wesley Roddenberry, here are 16 Facts You Never Knew About Gene Roddenberry, for your nerdy enjoyment:
1. Most people know that Gene was a pilot during WWII but are unaware that he was a civilian pilot for Pan Am after the war and before becoming a Los Angeles police officer.
2. He was involved in at least two plane crashes. The first while piloting a B-17 Flying Fortress during the war that crashed due to mechanical failure just after take off and killed two people on board. The second was while a passenger on a commercial flight from Karachi to Istanbul that crashed in the middle of the Syrian desert in which he was one of only eight survivors.
3. He was the speechwriter for LAPD police chief William H. Parker and modeled the character of Spock after him.
4. He had affairs with Nichele Nichols and Majel Barrett in the 1960’s during his first marriage. He and Majel Barrett had been lovers for years when he decided it was time to marry her and asked her to join him during a visit to Japan. Gene did not adhere to any particular religion and since they were in Japan they chose to have a Shinto-Buddhist wedding on 6 August 1969. They regarded this as their real wedding, but his divorce was not yet final and they made it legal with a civil ceremony on 29 December 1969.
5. He tried to reboot Star Trek with the original cast in 1977. The project was called Phase II. The network abandoned the project just before filming was set to start. The project was modified and turned into Star Trek: The Motion Picture thanks in large part to the success of Star Wars.
6. The Next Generation character Wesley Crusher got his first name from Gene’s middle name. His first name became the middle name of Voyager character Thomas Eugene Paris.
7. In physics a “Roddenberry” marks the distance traveled at the speed of light during a “traveler year.” Using the theory of relativity scientists have determined that a “traveler year” is 70.7 % of a normal earth year or .707 of a light year.
9. Random personal fun fact: I used to have to go to the Roddenberry building on the Paramount Lot for work all of the time. The building is very boring and has nothing indicative of its namesake other than a nameplate. I was very disappointed.
10. He almost died in a house fire with the rest of his family when he was a toddler but the milkman came and woke them up in time.
11. He is the first television writer to get star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Random personal fun fact: when I lived in Hollywood my apartment was just off of the section of the Walk of Fame that has most of the actors from the Original Series so I walked all over them every day)
12. During WWII, Gene had a friend named Kim Noonien Singh; after the war Kim disappeared, and Gene used his name for some characters in the Star Trek series (Khan Noonien Singh from The Original Series and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Noonien Soong from Star Trek: The Next Generation) hoping that Kim would contact him.
13. During WWII, Gene wrote a song lyric “I Wanna Go Home” which became popular among the other troops.
14. My favorite Gene Roddenberry quote: “Time is the fire in which we burn.”
15. In 1992, a portion of Rodenberry’s ashes flew and returned to earth on the Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-52. On April 21, 1997, a Celestis spacecraft carrying a portion of the cremated remains of Roddenberry and 23 others were the first to be launched into Earth’s orbit aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from near the Canary Islands. On May 20, 2002, the spacecraft’s orbit deteriorated and it disintegrated in the atmosphere. Another flight to launch more of his ashes into deep space along with those of Majel Barret Roddenberry is planned for launch in 2012.
16. For Star Trek‘s 25th anniversary, two months before his death, Roddenberry gave TV Guide a list of his top ten favorite episodes:
Gene Roddenberry created the greatest science fiction franchise of all time. He didn’t set out to create a phenomenon or to inspire generations of scientists but his “wagon train to the stars” literally changed the world. As a man he was far from perfect, but as a visionary he is unparalelled. Countless inventions and advancements are a reality because he inspired people to “make it so.”
I heart you Gene Roddenberry. I heart you so much.
Normally I’m very much opposed to people dressing up their pets. The animals look miserable and I pity both them and their human parents who are obviously missing some kind of nutrient in their diets that turns them into crazy people who spend tons of money on clothes for animals who don’t need or want to wear clothes.
I don’t care what you say. I repeat. Animals. do. not. want. to. wear. clothes.
However, dressing human children up as black cats and Ninja Turtles is perfectly acceptable. Yes, that's me and my brother.
That being said, there’s a time and a place for everything. For example, my friend Hayden dressed his dog Pebbles up in some Hanukkah garb to have some professional portraits taken a few years ago. I’ll admit it, it’s ridiculously adorable. Plus, Hayden doesn’t make a habbit of dressing up Pebbles so it’s ok.
Challah!
Also, my best friend Bia dresses up her dog Dominic in a costume (usually Superman) for Halloween every year.
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super Domi!
This brings me to the ONE day of the year that it’s ok to dress up your dog. Halloween. Because if I have to strap on an uncomfortable costume, why shouldn’t Dominic have to too?
So, here is a list of the Halloween costumes for your pet that have my approval.
Y’all know I’m a big fan of the military so here’s Operation Flying Doggy
I vant to eat yor kibble
Remember the movie Lake Placid? He does.
Sir Barksalot
The Headless Dogman
Batdog and Superdog together at last
Captain Jack Sparrow with after market parrot and eyepatch
Aslan – looking a bit more perplexed than usual
Hogwarts kitteh (not sure which house uses orange and purple)
Fluffy – small dog version
Fluffy – big dog version (Harry Potter not included)
And for those who like to be more obscure – Aradog (hehe, get it?)
Princess Leia could use a shave
Wicket W. Warrick is calling you a Lurdo
Darth Vader…although honestly…this is probably more like Lord Dark Helmet
And can’t forget YODA! Especially the one on the bottom with the Jack Skellington-ish jack o’ lantern
If you follow the facebook page then you know that I’ve been more than a little obsessed with Doctor Who lately. I tend to do that. Get obsessed with something and then turn around and get obsessed with something else. Thankfully I have AMAZING taste in obsessions.
Two months ago I was a Doctor Who virgin. Sad, I know. I wish I had the time to invest in all of the amazing science fiction and fantasy shows that are out there, but I don’t. I have my shows that I follow religiously and for the rest I embark on epic television show marathons. It actually works out pretty well for me. Everything stays nice and fresh in my multiple-franchise-fact-packed little brain and I don’t have to wait a whole agonizing week for the next episode to come out. It’s a pretty sweet deal if I do say so myself.
And I do.
Anyhooters. I got through Seasons 1-5 (aka Doctor’s 9, 10, and the first of Doctor 11) ridiculously fast. Seriously…that whole unpacking and organizing my new house thing took a major productivity dive. Then something horrific happened. Netflix wouldn’t give me any more episodes. I wasn’t (and still am not – stupid broken computer 🙁 ) set up to BitTorrent them and I was really hoping to not have to buy them on Amazon Instant Video (just bought a house, remember?) I went through Doctor withdrawals. It was pathetic. But I started organizing my house again which I GUESS was a good thing. Pssh.
Then the season finale came and BBCA did a whole marathon of season 6. Thanks GODS! Then I had to go out of town. Gah! How did I ever live without a DVR? I have no idea. Since I got back I’ve been watching episodes between cleaning, organizing, wedding attending, yadda yadda yadda and I am FINALLY all caught up. Phew!
So here are my thoughts on the Doctor, his companions, his enemies and all the rest. Watch out, because as River Song would say…SPOILERS!
1. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I will spend an entire day talking like a Dalek?
2. I brought this up on the facebook page but it warrants repeating:
Does anyone else think it’s weird that the daughter of the guy who played the 5th Doctor went on to play the daughter of the 10th Doctor and gave birth to the daughter of the guy who played the 10th Doctor?
3. Dear Doc #9…you’re cool in a goofy “wait, aren’t you supposed to be a villain?” kind of way. Your smile could light up the room and was really adorable. I feel for you because you got all of the cheesy special effects and that really sucked for you. Plus, you only got one season which was sad but kind of awesome because it made way for Doc #10. I feel bad for admitting that but it’s true. Still, you’re the one who dragged me in and solidified my Doctor Who addiction and for that, I will always be in your debt.
4. Wait, did I hear it right that the Doctor killed his entire race in order to defeat the Daleks?? That’s some fucked up shit right there.
5. OMFG enough with the creepy dolls. What is it with creepy dolls??? Ugh, I hate creepy dolls.
6. I’m not gonna lie, when we first met Donna I wasn’t a huge fan.
Donna with Doctor #10
When they ditched her in favor of Martha I thought, yup, right decision! Then they ditched Martha and brought back Donna and I thought, wtf? didn’t we establish that Donna was annoying?? Then I started to crazy love Donna and I was hoping she’d stick around for a while. When her storyline ended I cried. Not just because it had ended but because of the way it ended and how they made her go back to being annoying Donna. She had the worst fate of all the Companions and my heart still breaks for her.
7. Speaking of Martha…
Martha with Doctor #10
I love how the Producers had such a hard on for Freema Agyeman that they cast her as Martha RIGHT AFTER casting her as Adeola, the Torchwood minion who got all Cyberman’d in “Army of Ghosts.” Did they think we wouldn’t notice that it was the same chick? Not hardly. I can see why they did it though. Martha was fantastic. I felt bad for her that she was the rebound chick but that’s the price you pay for being a Companion, you’re going to get hurt somehow. At least she went all girl power and took off on her own and became a badass soldier. Now she’s a lawyer on Law and Order UK with Lee Adama. Girl gets around.
8. Badger’s back!! I heart you so much Mark Sheppard. I mean, is there a sci-fi show that you won’t do?? Please say no.
Frakking badass
9. Aside from being a better title than “The Doctor” I never really got why the show was called “Doctor Who.” I mean, sure, people ask “doctor who?” every once in a while, but not really enough to make it the title of the show. Now, thanks to a fat blue man with no body, I expect to find out the answer to that question and holy fucking crap I can’t wait!
10. Dear Doc #10…I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you. You had the best hair, the best clothes (sorry, Doc #11, but bow ties aren’t that cool), the best facial expressions. You speak volumes with nothing but a raised eyebrow. The whole daughter paradox thing creeps me out a little but I could get past that. I get it Rose, I totally get it. I would hit that too.
11. The thought of fish fingers and custard makes me want to barf. But that scene was fucking brilliant.
12. I’m confused….is Rory still plastic? Or did he get converted back to being human somewhere along the way and I just missed it?
13. I will never look at angel statues the same way again. Ever.
Ever.
Ok, fine. You can blink one eye at a time. Smart ass.
14. STFU! Jack is the Face of Boe?!?
15. “Vincent and the Doctor” is one of the greatest episodes of television I have ever seen. Not so much because of the giant invisible chicken, but because of the last 10 minutes. I don’t think it’s possible to watch it without shedding a few tears. Tragically beautiful.
16. Will someone please sell me some hallucinogenic lipstick already?!
17. Rose is probably my favorite Companion.
Rose with Doctor #9 (I had to get him in here somehow)
She’s adorable in her bucked-tooth, cockney accented way but mostly I think it’s because of her chemistry with Doctor #10. I cried the ugly cry when he had to leave her in the alternate dimension. Sorry, Mickey, but you simply can’t replace the Doctor. When she started popping up in the background of season 4 I think I screamed a few times. I miss that combo.
18. Amy is a very close second.
Amy with Doctor #11
I like her spunky Scottish redhead attitude and her relationship with Rory is adorable. I was ridiculously happy when Amy chose Rory over the Doctor after that weird sort-of-but-sort-of-not love triangle thing they had going on there. If they had kept going in that direction it would have been seriously awkward when River started coming around more often. Rory should wear that Last Centurian costume, like, all the time. So cute.
19. Is it just me or is everyone reminded of The Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer when they look at The Silents (aka The Silence)?
I swear, this is one of those situations where the DW writers know what the fuck is really going on and the rest of us are all oblivious. Seriously, how many of these fuckers have I killed in my life and I can’t even remember doing it??
20. Ok really? Giant green alien babies? Sorry Raxacoricofallapatorian’s, but you’re just not that scary. Although, I suppose you’re better than the Adipose….
21. Dear Doc #11…you’re cuter than #9 but not as cute as #10. But I dig your fluttering randomness…I keep debating with myself whether or not you’ve got multiple personality disorder. I’m still undecided. I like that you’re angier than your predecessors. You’ve got that whole “brooding tortured old soul” thing going on inside mixed with that “big goofy man-boy” exterior. It’s a good time for all. Ditch the Stetson but keep the Fez. Fez’s are cool. It’s weird how it looks so good on you. I wasn’t sure how you were going to get out of that whole death thing but I’m glad you did. And well done on the wife front. You’ve got good taste in women.
22. Emperor Palpatine + Nazgul = Headless Monks. Am I right??
23. I’m conflicted. Now I don’t know if I’d rather have a Starship or a TARDIS. I used to be so sure that I wanted a Starship but a TARDIS isn’t restricted by the speed of light or timelines or the need for warp coils. *sigh* I’m sorry Gene Roddenberry, but I think I need to go with the TARDIS. Now excuse me while I go hang my Trekkie head in shame.
Can't I just have both?
24. The two-episode story arc where all of the former companions come together to help defeat the Daleks (“The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End”) is probably my favorite part of the whole series. I love seeing the forces of good coming together to defeat evil and I was so happy to see Rose get her happy ending, even if it meant that Donna lost hers. The part at the end when the Doctor tells Donna’s family that she was the most important person in the whole universe and that generations of alien worlds will tell stories about her was so poignant. All of her dreams came true and she can never know about it. Ugh. Gutwrenching. And the look on the Doctor’s face when he gave Rose to his weird hand clone, knowing that he would never see her again but that she could be finally have peace with part of him. Ugh. Gutwrenching. The science fiction aspect is great but what separates Doctor Who from the rest of the sci-fi pack is the emotional wallop it deals you on a regular basis. I lost count of how many times this show has broken my heart.
25. And last but not least, my hero, the one and only River Song. How does one go about explaining all the of epic awesomeness that is the Doctor’s wife/murderer? Although…technically I guess she didn’t actually murder him…but you know what I mean. The woman gave up any possibility of ever regenerating again in order to save the Doctor after the first time she tried to kill him (again with the fabulous lipsticks!!) And she made the ultimate sacrifice to keep him alive from the Shadows. It’s not just her loyalty that makes her so endearing. It’s her spunk. And maybe her hair. The Doctor solves problems without violence whenever possible but he has no problem with letting River shoot people. Honestly, would he be able to talk her out of it? Probably not. God I love a woman with a gun. She’s just as clever, if not more so, than the Doctor. The only woman in the universe that can match him. The fact that their timelines are reversed just adds to the tragic beauty of their romance. They can never truly be together. All they have are stolen moments in time in which they never know how well they’ll know each other. It’s practically Shakesperean!
If you read the blog you know that I come from a military family. This came to me from a family member who was in the military. Their good friend went through some flight training and was surprised to see that his training included a little assistance from Starfleet! Some of the information is sensitive so I’ve changed names and blacked out some of the text (and unfortunately for you, not included some of the pictures – sorry!) but I got permission to share it because I think it’s just so kick ass. Here you go:
I don’t know how many I have told this story to, and they all think I’m full of shit. So now, once and for all, I shall dispel the Bullshit. Before I deployed to ***** in **** for the **************, I had to attend refresher training in the aircraft-make and model specific. When I was in the Level **************, a programming extraordinare, “John Smith” at ********* in Ft. ******* said “OK, so you think your bad ass, huh, Pal?” (jokingly) I said, “Sure, John; show me what ya got” with a smirk. “We can fly upside down and cut grass if you want” He said, “I got the Starship Enterprise and I want you to land on it. I only get this out for the best of the best, you know.” I said, “Bring it on, Big Boy”, in my typical talk first, think later manner. So I did land on it, on the first approach and he was amazed. I was more amazed at the fact that someone had programmed that in! It wasn’t stationary. It was moving at an undisclosed rate at 4000 feet. Thanks Pal 🙂 Here’s the Pics; I knew I had the GD things, I just had to find them 4 years later…I had “John” stop the sim so I could get pictures. The bullshit is over. I am so thankful for “John Smith” at ******** – he was a man among men and probably saved my life about 40 times.
STFU, how awesome is that???
***On a side note: my computer is broken again and I’m having trouble figuring out what the major malfunction is – ugh, so lame – so posts are likely to continue to be sporadic until I can figure this the fuck out or *sigh* get a new computer.