RANDOM WEDNESDAY: Star Wars 1977 - 20 Weird Facts You Never Knew!

via ReelWeirdMovies 

RANDOM WEDNESDAY: Every Single Imperial Rank Explained!

via Red Five 

RANDOM WEDNESDAY: Star Trek Legacy

Star Trek: Legacy Concept Poster by Jetfreak-7 

May the 4th Be With You

 

Wizard World Austin 2017

I have to say, this year's Wizard World Austin Comic Con outdid itself. I absolutely enjoyed the exhibitors, the panels, and the cosplayers.

My day started later than what I planned--thanks to CapMetro Rail and Chuy's Children's Parade. Nonetheless, I got to the Convention Center and started my day by watching trailers of upcoming movies.

SuperKayceCosplay and RealBreakingNate presented a series of movie trailers and provided their insights on each. There seemed to be anticipation for the new Star Wars movie from the audience. Personally, I'm looking forward to not only The Last Jedi but also the arcade-based-movie Rampage.

I sat in on a brief history discussion on Dr. Who before attending the very entertaining Michael Rooker. If you don't know who Rooker is, go HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

As many of you know, I'm a big Star Trek fan. I've met Armin Shimerman, Robin Curtis, the late James Doohan, Sir Patrick Stewart, and the great William Shatner. This year, I got to meet Ms. Nichelle Nichols and got her to sign a trading card I had been holding on to since 1991.

After coming down from a high, I sat in on a discussion panel with Kevin Conroy and Loren Lester discussing 25 years of Batman: The Animated Series.

I then snuck out of Batman and Robin to watch Felicia Day in a Q&A. The cool thing I learned about Felicia Day is that her formative years were spent in Austin. If you don't know who she is or what she has contributed in the geek-realm, check out HERE, HERE, and HERE.

I then sat in on a Firefly cast reunion with Summer Glau, Sean Maher, and Jewel Staite. Sean Maher was quite entertaining to watch as he interacted with Jewel and Summer. What I got out of the panel is that Summer was blamed for things that went wrong in the show, even when she was not around. Also, Nathan Fillion is a huge Firefly fan, who has show memorabilia around his home.

My day ended watching the extremely talented cosplayers compete in the Wizard World Costume Contest.

Some of the exhibitors I visited included: Kristina Cantu, Brent Woodside, David Soto Jr., JeriLyn Alderman from Firechilde Glass Studio, Cassie Small with Randon Smash Customs, Ryan Glitch with Sci-Fi Speed Dating (I shied away from participating), the guys from Hops and Heroes, and the gals from Shivs and Giggles.

Planning My Saturday at Austin's Wizard World Comic Con

I can't wait for Saturday. It's Wizard World Comic Con in Austin, and that means I get to geek out to the various TV and movie actors, aisles of exhibitors and vendors, discussion panels and Q&A's, and the tons of cosplayers.

This is a full day event for me, where I arrive at 10 AM and don't leave until about 9 PM. And for the past few hours, I've been planning my day by highlighting the programming and setting priorities.

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM - Austin Acroart (Entertainment Stage)

I have an appreciation for acroyoga, a combination of acrobatics and yoga, so this performance should be entertaining.

11:30 AM - 12:15 PM - Trailer Park (Room 6)

I love watching TV and movie trailers. 

12:30 PM - 1:15 PM - Doctor Who: A Brief History of the Classic Series (Room 4)

I've caught a few episodes of Doctor Who... the Ninth and Eleventh Doctor; however, I'd like to get a little brief history of the series. I might stay for a bit.

12:45 PM - 1:15 PM - Cos-Spray: The Art of Cosplay (Entertainment Stage)

Cosplay... Is An Art. So... I might skip the Doctor Who and watch this performance instead.

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM - Sci-Fi Speed Dating Session  (Room 3)

When I was about 18, I placed an ad on the Star Trek Communicator seeking my Vulcan Princess. So, when I read the description, "Are you tired of lookin' for love in Alderaan places?" I saw it as a sign that I must participate. 

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM - Michael Rooker Vs The Audience (Ballroom A)

I'm a fan of Michael Rooker. So, if I chicken out of the speed dating, I might just sit in and watch Merle Dixon talk.

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM - I Assure You They're Open: A Clerks Conversation With Jason Mewes and Brian O'halloran (Ballroom A)

2:45 PM - Nichelle Nichols

I've been holding on to a trading card of Uhura since 1991. It would be great if I could get it signed by Ms. Nichols. 

4:00 PM - 4:45 PM - Queen of the Nerds: A Conversation with Felicia Day (Ballroom A)

5:00 PM - 5:45 PM - Firefly Cast Reunion With Jewel Staite, Summer Glau and Sean Mahar (Ballroom A)

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM - Wizard World Costume Contest

This is the highlight of the event. I love watching cosplayers present their creativity. 

10:00 PM - 2:00 AM - Wizard World After Party

Depending on how my Saturday goes, I might make my way to The Blind Pig Pub. 

SEE YA'LL AT AUSTIN'S WW COMIC CON.

Dorkly: The Death Star Architect Explains His "Shoddy Design"

via Dorkly

ZeRoyalViking - Star Trek Bridge Crew VR

"The Space Racists!" 😂



via ZeRoyalViking

Persis Khambatta

Acting Appreciation

If you are a Star Trek geek like myself, you'd probably recognize Lieutenant Ilia, the Deltan Starfleet officer, as Indian model/actress Persis Khambatta.

Persis was born in Mumbai, India on October 2, 1948. In 1965, she won the Femina Miss India contest, and she also participated in the Miss Universe pageant.

At the age of 19, she made her Bollywood debut in In the Arms of the Bombay Night. In 1979, she appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture as Lieutenant Ilia. Other movies followed such as Nighthawks, Megaforce, Warriors of the Lost World, My Beautiful Laudrette, Phoenix the Warrior.  She also appeared in TV series such as Macgyver and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Persis died of a heart attack on August 18, 1998. She was 49 years old.

One cool factoid is that Persis Khambatta was the first Indian citizen to present at the Academy Awards in 1980.



via Movieclips

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persis_Khambatta

Star Trek Bridge Crew

I totally geeked out watching this video by gamers, NODE.

via Node

#ThingsNeverSaidOnStarTrek

"You keep doing that Spock and your fingers are going to stuck that way." #ThingsNeverSaidOnStarTrek pic.twitter.com/99sgM3y0nR

— Whitney Hemsath (@WhitneyHemsath) August 19, 2017

"You complete me." #ThingsNeverSaidOnStarTrek pic.twitter.com/QCqAvzKNFt

— SoxOnTheBrain (@SoxOnTheBrain) August 19, 2017

#ThingsNeverSaidOnStarTrek I'm so glad I took Home Economics in school. pic.twitter.com/Iujsl7IWmN

— Regina Spacola (@gigirules7) August 19, 2017

#ThingsNeverSaidOnStarTrek We've finally met our match. pic.twitter.com/Y9qczaaOL9

— Regina Spacola (@gigirules7) August 19, 2017

Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1967)

Film Appreciation

Released on January 25, 1967, Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, was a sci-fi comedy directed by Henry Levin. The film starred Michael Connors, Dorothy Provine, Margaret Lee, and Raf Vallone.

Michael Connors played an American CIA agent in pursuit of a Brazilian industrialist wanting to sterilize the human race and personally re-populate the planet with beautiful women.



Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_the_Girls_and_Make_Them_Die

R.I.P. Princess

While many nerds preferred the Princess Leia in the Alderaan gown and the iconic hair buns, I preferred the slave ensemble--have fun psychoanalyzing that, guys.

Princess Leia epitomized everything us geeks and nerds fantasized in a heroine--petite, strong, beautiful, feisty, and determined. She was a badass. And she was played by a woman who was the badass.

via das-sporking

Today indeed is a very sad day. I didn't want to believe it, at first. I thought it was just rumor. Then it slowly set in. Carrie Fisher passed away at age 60.

My heart aches with grief, because she to me and many fellow geeks and nerds was our Princess.

R.I.P. Princess.

Around the World In 80 Days (1956)

Film Appreciation

Starring Mario Moreno (aka Cantinflas) and David Niven, Around the World in 80 Days was released on October 17, 1956 by United Artists.

The sci-fi adventure film, which was based on the classic novel of the same name by Jules Verne, won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.





Sources: 

http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Around-the-World-in-80-Days#tab=summary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_80_Days_(1956_film)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Toy Movie

How Close Are We To Star Trek's Warp Drive?

via DNews

STAR TREK

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek

U.S.S. Enterprise - A History and the Future

USS Enterprise I (1775) via todaylibertyordeath

Enterprise II (1776) via todaylibertyordeath

USS Enterprise III (1799) via modelshipworld

USS Enterprise IV (1841) via todaylibertyordeath

USS Enterprise V (1874) via wikipedia

USS Enterprise SP-790 (1874) via envisitadecortesia.com

USS Enterprise CV 6 (1936) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise CVN-65 (1960) via wikipedia.org

Space Shuttle Enterprise (1977) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise CVN-80 (est. 2025) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise NX-01 (2151) via memory-beta.wikia.com

USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (2245) via startrek.nl

USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Kelvin Timeline (2258) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A Kelvin Timeline (2263) via hobbytalk

USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Refit (2273) via images2.fanpop

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A (2286) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B (2293) via to-hollywood-and-beyond

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C (2332) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D (2363) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E (2372) via wikipedia.org

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-F (2409) via memory-alpha.fandom

USS Enterprise NCC-1701-G (2404) via memory-alpha.fandom

Independence Day (1996 Film)

Film Appreciation

It was the Summer of 1996, and I was doing an internship in Washington, DC. I joined a group of friends to the movie theater at the Union Station mall to watch the much talked about film, Independence Day.

The sci-fi movie starred rapper-turned-actor Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum, and was directed by Roland Emmerich, now widely appreciated for his disaster flicks.

The theater house was packed. There was even a holler of cheers break out from the crowd when the White House saw its destruction from an alien ship. Remind you, this was pre-9/11, and the only thing that was in our minds at the time was Y2K and the death of grunge.

I recently we to watch Independence Day: Resurgence, and in no way does it match the uniqueness and grandness of the original film. Don't get me wrong, it was great watching Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, and Judd Hirsh reprising their roles.


via 20th Century Fox


Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(1996_film)

Queen Of Outer Space

Film Appreciation

Released on September 7, 1958, Queen of Outer Space starred Hungarian-born American actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor. Directed by Edward Bernds, the movie is about a space crew that find themselves captured on the planet Venus by "long limbed beauties."



via warnerarchive

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Outer_Space
http://www.cinefania.com/movie.php/23611/en