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Tag: Star Trek

  • Benedict Cumberbatch’s Star Trek Villain Named

    Just days after the first teaser trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness sent the internet into a whirlwind of speculation and rumor, Paramount has released a new image for the movie. It shows Zachary Quinto as Spock, Chris Pine as Kirk, and Benedict Cumberbatch as the movie’s villain, named by the studio as John Harrison.

    This means the speculation that Cumberbatch could be playing Khan Noonien Singh, Gary Mitchell, or Garth of Izar were all incorrect. Other than that, not much is known about the new antagonist, who’s name doesn’t match any established Star Trek Villains. Of course, this could all be a ploy by Abrams and the production to throw off fans hungry for any small scrap of a spoiler.

    Trekmovie, however, reports that Abrams has confirmed Harrison is the character’s name. In addition, Abrams revealed to reporters who visited his production studio this week that the Klingon empire will factor into the movie’s story. Klingons themselves will be seen and the Klingon home planet of Qu’noS will also be revealed.

    Another big reveal for Star Trek fans is that Alice Eve (who was rumored to be playing Elizabeth Dehner to Cumberbatch’s Gary Mitchell) will be playing Carol Marcus. In the original series’ timeline, Marcus was an old flame of James Kirk, and the mother of his son. The character featured heavily in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, where she and her (and Kirk’s) son, David, were brilliant scientists working on the Genesis device that proved crucial in both that movie an Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

  • Star Trek Into Darkness Teaser Trailer Features Cumberbatch Villain

    Ever since J.J. Abrams successfully rebooted the Star Trek movie franchise back in 2009, speculation has been increasing as to where the new Star Trek‘s story will head. With the entirety of The Original Series and six movies to pull material from, the second movie could conceivably go just about anywhere.

    Today, trekkies and trekkers alike got their first real peek at Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel due out next summer. The teaser trailer features plenty of smash-cuts, near-reveals, and Inception-inspired horns, but doesn’t give much away. It’s narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the villain, the identity of whom fueled much of the speculation surrounding the movie. More on that in a spoilery section below the trailer.

    The common rumor is that Cumberbatch will be playing Khan Noonien Singh, the villain from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. However, Star Trek II is really about Captain Kirk and the choices he’s made, good and bad, and how poor choices can sometimes have effects years later. The new Star Trek Kirk simply hasn’t made enough of those choices for the Khan story to be meaningful. The filmmakers would have to cram the discovery of the Botany Bay and Khan’s exile to Ceti Alpha V into the first half of the movie, then fast-forward over the entire original series to make Khan’s revenge credible. No, it simply doesn’t fit.

    My guess is that Cumberbatch will play Gary Mitchell, the villain of The Original Series pilot and third episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. In it, Helmsman Mitchell is transformed into a powerful psychic being through an encounter with the galactic barrier and has to be put down by Kirk. This story would fit well into the new Enterprise crew’s early years, and the final shot of Cumberbatch in the trailer clearly shows him wearing a vandalized Starfleet uniform, implying his former service.

    Also, the reveal of Alice Eve’s character in the trailer shows just how much she resembles The Original Series’ Elizabeth Dehner, Mitchell’s eventual semi-partner in crime:

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  • William Shatner, Wil Wheaton Tout NASA Accomplishments

    Though the budget for NASA has been declining since the early 90s, the discoveries and technological advances coming out of the agency continue to stimulate the economy and improve the lives of all Americans. This makes NASA arguably the best investment the U.S. government makes, and the agency has recruited some sci-fi legends to make the case for space exploration.

    William Shatner, Wil Wheaton, and June Lockhart have each starred in a new public service announcement touting a few of NASA’s accomplishments that have changed life on Earth for the better.

    Shatner, best-known as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise on the TV show Star Trek, discusses the medical advances that have come from NASA research, including remote ultrasounds, robot-assisted surgery, and thermometer pills.

    Wheaton is well-known as Wesley Crusher (the boy) on the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. His PSA focuses on life-saving technologies developed by NASA that have improved safety in a variety of industries. Examples include rocket-powered parachutes, life rafts, and personal locator GPS beacons.

    Lockhart, known for, among other things, her role as Maureen Robinson on the TV show Lost in Space, chimes in with her PSA on the NASA-developed clean water technology that is used around the world.

  • Zachary Quinto Rumors: Actor Takes To Twitter

    Zachary Quinto, who took on the role of Spock for the “Star Trek” revival films, inadvertently started some rumors that he’s done with the franchise after the next film comes out, and took to Twitter recently to clear them up…sort of.

    The 35-year old–who can also be seen on this season of “American Horror Story”–said in an interview that he’s thinking of moving in a different direction when “Star Trek: Into Darkness” is finished, which fans took to mean he doesn’t want to get pigeonholed as the iconic character for the rest of his career.

    “It’s like an era of association with certain roles—a specific part like Spock, or a kind of part, like Sylar (his character in Heroes)—is coming to an end,” Quinto said.

    He later took to Twitter to put his fans at ease, although it may have only confused them even more.

    Quinto is a big presence on Twitter, and was in the news recently for tweets he sent to Donald Trump regarding his offer to President Obama.

  • NASA Rethinks Warp Drives, Faster-Than-Light Travel May Be Possible

    Think back on every major sci-fi work from your life. What’s the single event that propelled mankind, and space travel, into the future? Anybody who grew up with Star Trek knows that it’s the warp drive, or faster-than-light travel. Modern sci-fi fans only have to look to Mass Effect for a contemporary take on the importance of warp drives.

    Unfortunately, warp drives aren’t real and they probably will never be real in our lifetimes. It’s a realistic, if somewhat pessimistic, take on the current state of space travel. NASA has never been one to let realism get in the way of their dreams and the agency now says that warp drives may be a possibility in the future.

    The exciting part is that a warp drive concept is already out there. Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed the first warp drive in 1994, but found that the energy costs associated with such a device would be problematic. In fact, scientists peg the energy required to be about equal to the mass-energy of Jupiter.

    So how do scientists propose we overcome this gas giant sized energy problem? Just change the shape of the spaceship. The original warp drive was envisioned as a small ship that’s encircled by a flat ring that would warp space-time around the ship. The new model, proposed by Harold White of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, would see the flat ring molded into the shape of a rounded donut. The energy required by the transformation would be significantly less. White calculates that they would only need the energy-mass of the relatively tiny Voyager 1 space probe.

    I don’t think I need to tell you how massive of a discovery this is. If proven true, White’s research could pave the way for faster-than-light space travel. We could make trips to Mars in mere minutes. Human-led research teams could break out of our solar system and explore potentially habitable planets in other galaxies. The ramifications are huge and I couldn’t be more excited.

    For now, the researchers at Johnson Space Center are trying to create tiny warps in space-time. It would at least prove White’s theory that shape can make all the difference. Now we can start thinking about all the problems that traveling faster-than-light can cause.

    [h/t: Space.com]

  • Star Trek: The Original Series Google Doodle Celebrates Star Trek’s 46th Anniversary

    With all of the Google Doodles released during the London 2012 Olympics, the normal Google header on the Google homepage has seemed a little stale. Fortunately, that banality makes new Google Doodles even more exciting when they appear.

    Today, Google is celebrating the 46th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series with a point-and-click adventure game doodle. The game depicts the show’s characters as the letters of the word Google (Spock is the ‘G’, Uhura and Kirk are ‘o’s, McCoy is the ‘g’, Sulu is the’l’, and Chekov is missing) and features many sound effects from the series.

    Throughout the short adventure, players get a chance to see the bridge of the USS Enterprise, the transporter room, and the surface of a barren planet, where an abbreviated version of a famous scene (seen below) from the Star Trek episode “Arena” takes place. Kirk quickly builds the “Gorn Cannon” and defeats the Gorn Captain, who looks like a PEZ dispenser. Of course, the ‘e’ at the end of ‘Google’ who beams down with Kirk is an unnamed redshirt ensign who doesn’t make it through the journey entirely unscathed.

    It wouldn’t surprise anyone if it turns out that plenty of Googler’s are trekkies, specifically the ones on the Google Doodle creation team. Star Trek is often cited as an inspiration for nerdy, creative people who engineer or design the technology that is currently changing the world. As far as influences go, Star Trek’s strong moral and egalitarian messages are probably good ones to ensure Google stays true to its “don’t be evil” motto.

    [UPDATE]
    In case you’ve missed any of the secrets found in the doodle (did you find the Tribbles?), here is a nice walkthrough for the game:

  • It May Not Be LEGO, But This KRE-O U.S.S. Enterprise Is Amazing

    There’s no getting around it – I love it when LEGO and nerd properties collide. That’s why I’m so adamant on getting that Portal LEGO set out of committee and into the hands of my fellow nerds everywhere. There are other non-LEGO bricks that have deals with nerd properties that demand your attention as well though. One of those will be coming to Comic-Con.

    KRE-O, which is essentially Hasbro’s take on LEGO, nabbed the license to Star Trek a while back and will be premiering the sets they’ve cooked up at the San Diego Comic-Con. As toy companies regularly do before a major release, they have teased their new license with the first picture of the U.S.S. Enterprise set.

    Gut reaction: It’s beautiful and I want it. I’ve always had a thing for ships, whether they be naval or stellar, and the KRE-O Enterprise does not disappoint. Sure, it’s not LEGO, but it’s the next best thing. At least it’s not Mega Bloks and their awful Halo line.

    What makes this reveal even more special is that Hasbro has recreated the Star Trek reboot’s teaser trailer completely out of KRE-O. The fact that the fake MPAA notice at the beginning of the trailer says “The following preview has been approved for all toy loving audiences” fills me with a kind of joy that I haven’t experienced in a long time. As for the actual trailer itself, it has a Robot Chicken quality to it that’s pure delight.

    As previously mentioned, we’ll get our first look at the set this year at San Diego Comic-Con. Unfortunately, it won’t be hitting stores until Spring 2013. Here’s hoping that Hasbro reveals more than just the U.S.S. Enterprise at Comic-Con and perhaps some sets based on the older movies. I would do horrible things for a William Shatner LEGO look-alike figure.

    [h/t: Collider]

  • Star Trek Sequel: Chris Pine, Alex Kurtzman Remain Tight-Lipped

    Fans have been clambering for information regarding the highly-anticipated “Star Trek” sequel since the film’s announcement, though, in true J.J. Abrams fashion, very little about the project has been made available to the public. Outside of a few rumors regarding Benedict Cumberbatch’s turn as Kahn — even IMdB Pro has him listed as “rumored” — specific details about the flick have been kept to a bare minimum.

    In an effort shed some light on the subject, a few journalists made a valiant attempt to extract a few bits and pieces from Chris Pine and Alex Kurtzman during their promotional junket for “People LIke Us”. In all honestly, it has to suck answering questions about one project when you’re there to promote another. Then again, given the popularity of the “Star Trek” franchise, I’m sure they were prepared for such inquiries.

    Pine, who plays Captain James T. Kirk in the forthcoming sequel, tossed a few hints in Collider’s general direction, though, to be honest, they really don’t amount to much. Unless, of course, you consider the term “mythic” to hold some sort of hidden meaning.

    “With the second one, people will find that it’s the mythic structure, done really well. The character journeys are just perfect mythic structures,” Pine explained. “They do it so well. The journeys with the characters will be really great, and the explosions and set pieces are going to knock people out of their seats.”

    According to ComingSoon.net, Kurtzman was quick to address the film’s absence from this year’s San Diego Comic Con. “Part of why we delayed a year was because we didn’t want to rush it,” he said. “Just because we feel very beholden to the franchise and we feel very protective of it and the worst thing we can do is to put it out there before we felt like we were ready and we were still working on the story.”

    In other words, the cast and crew aren’t giving anything away right now. Curious parties will have to direct their attention to the “Star Trek” sequel’s trailer, which, hopefully, will attach itself to a major theatrical release sometime soon. While you’re waiting for that to happen, take a look at a few leaked set images below.

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  • Nerdy Zombies Invade Philadelphia Comic Con

    Zombie Darth Vader

    Zombies are huge right now. Probably bigger than pirates or ninjas ever were. So when I saw these great Zombie art pieces from comic artist Ken Haser I had to post them.

    WebProNews reached out to Ken to ask him about the pieces and this is what he had to say:

    “They were done as commissions at last week’s Wizard World Philly and I usually get a lot of zombie character requests.”

    I immediately wanted to know how much he usually charged and how long they took because as a non-artist I immediately assume that they are thousands of dollars and take months of work. “I Usually charge about 50 for the copy paper size and 100 for the big 11X17,” he said. “They can take between a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes for the small ones and an hour or 3 for the big ones— depends on the amount of detail.”

    Check out the trade paperback for his comic “The Living Corpse: Exhumed” comes out on June 20th from Dynamite Entertainment!

    I love the Star Trek Captains, because all I can imagine is the Trekkie they are eating was probably so stoked to meet them, having a nerd-gasm and all, and then they started eating him.

    Ken Haser has worked on various comic titles including “The Jersey Devil”, “Digital Webbing Presents”, “Warmaggedon”, “The Eyes of Asia”, “The Living Corpse” and others. Ken is currently sharing writing and artistic duties for “The Living Corpse” from Zenescope, which has also been optioned for film. He has also done a lot of work with Dynamic Forces doing remarks.

    Zombie Pillsbury Doughboy

    Zombie STar Trek Captains

    Zombie Disney Characters

  • Nerdy Cross Stitch Gives Me New Hobby

    Nerdy Cross Stitch Gives Me New Hobby

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    Star Wars

    I have no hobbies what so ever. Unless you count wishing I could draw or play the guitar. But I don’t think that wishing or daydreaming about winning the lottery is a hobby, not yet anyway. Well it looks as though I might have found something to get my creative juices flowing and that is nerdy enough to keep my increadibly short attention.

    Weelittlestitches has their own Etsy store where you can purchase patterns so you can start your own cross stitch journey. I chose a few of my favorite ones, but they have Star Trek, Justice League, Firefly, Big Bang Theory, The Princess Bride, and more.

    The patterns run from 4 dollars for smaller ones, to 9 dollars for the bigger ones. Get your today!

    The Fellowship of the Ring

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    Harry Potter

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    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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    Dr. Who Companions

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  • The Science Of Star Trek [Infographic]

    One of the coolest things about Star Trek is that the technology has always been loosely based on reality instead of total science fiction. I believe they call it science fact. Some of the stuff is way out there and other stuff has already been surpassed by us. Take the communicator for example. They had clunky communicators on TOS. My iPhone is so much more powerful than their device. Other things aren’t even close, such as warp drive.

    POver at bestcomputersciencedegrees.com they decided to put together an infographic about some of the more famous tech in the Star Trek universe and show how close we ar and how infinitesimally far away we are. In the infographic they go over things ranging from impulse engines and shields to transporters and holodecks! Enjoy!!:

  • What Kind Of Geek Are You? [Infographic]

    Have you ever wondered what kind of geek you are? Have you ever wanted an easy guide on how to identify other geeks? Well the boys over at Bestcollegesonline.org have done exactly that. In infographic form, they have compiled an end all list of types of geeks.

    The infographic, titled “The Sacred Order Of Geeks,” features, comic book geeks, Apple fanboy geeks, and sports geeks. It also accurately shows the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek geeks. Almost every kind of geek is on here and I’m having a hard time figuring out what other kinds of geeks there are.

  • Scotty Beams Up To Space By SpaceX

    Scotty Beams Up To Space By SpaceX

    So SpaceX just successfully launched their Falcon 9 rocket into space. Apparently the rocket had some stowaways on it in the name of ashes of some of our dearly departed. One of the celebrities is the world famous James “Scotty” Doohan of Star Trek fame. The iconic Scotty died on July 20, 2005 at the age of 85 in his home in Redmond, Washington. One of his final wishes was that his ashes be spread in space.

    If you have the money, Celestis, a space services company, will send your loved one’s ashes up to orbit Earth. They tried to send Scotty’s ashes up on a rocket from SpaceX in 2006 but the rocket failed and the ashes, and millions of dollars in satellites, never made it into orbit. So they tried again, this time the ashes were put into the second stage rocket and it made it into space.

    The 308 souls that launched on the rocket to space cost the people about a total of $1 million. Celestis’ prices vary. A suborbital flight with a return to Earth starts at $1,000, the launch into Earth orbit is $3,000, and a trip to the Moon costs almost $10,000. If you really want to go where no man has gone before, a flight into deep space will run you almost $13,000.

    photo courtesy of memory-alpha

  • Star Trek’s Worf, Michael Dorn, Joins Twitter

    Michael Dorn, an actor most well-known for his role as the Klingon “Worf” in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has joined twitter. Dorn’s Twitter handle is a play on his association with the famous character, @akaWorf.

    Dorn began his Twitter account by posting several pictures from the recent Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, which most of the main cast from Star Trek: The Next Generation attended. It took a while for news of Dorn’s Twitter account to travel, but once Brent Spiner, who played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, gave Dorn a mention to his 1.3 million followers, Dorn was quickly inundated with welcome Tweets:

    @BrentSpiner
    Brent Spiner    Well, here he is. Big old, dumb old Worf. @akaWorf 19 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @akaWorf
    Michael Dorn    @BrentSpiner Well thank you for the warm welcome. 19 hours ago via Twitter for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    LeVar Burton, who played Geordi La Forge, was the second Star Trek: The Next Generation cast member to welcome Dorn. There haven’t been any clever welcome messages from other cast members who use Twitter, such as Jonathan Frakes or Wil Wheaton. Perhaps they are just waiting for Follow Friday.

    @levarburton
    LeVar Burton    @akaWorf Michael, is this really you??? 18 hours ago via Twitterrific ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @akaWorf
    Michael Dorn    @levarburton It is indeed LeVar. I was finally convinced to join. 18 hours ago via Twitter for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @levarburton
    LeVar Burton    @akaWorf Daaaawwwwwwwgggggg!!! 18 hours ago via Twitterrific ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @akaWorf
    Michael Dorn    @levarburton woof 14 hours ago via Twitter for Mac ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    The character of Worf began as a tactical officer on the Enterprise-D, but was quickly promoted to security chief after the ignoble death of the previous security chief, Tasha Yar. Worf later went on to become the strategic operations officer aboard Deep Space 9. Perhaps what the character is most known for, though, is being constantly rebuked for his “shoot-first” mentality:

    Poor Worf. Leave a comment and let me know your favorite Worf moments.

  • Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-ray in July

    CBS this week announced the release date for the Blu-ray edition of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. A six-disc Blu-ray set will be released on July 24. The show has been remastered from original film elements and will feature 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. As with the DVD release of the series, the discs will be packed with bonus material, including interviews, archival footage, and the gag reel.

    As engadget pointed out, a preview Blu-ray was released in March. That disc contained the series’ first episode, Encounter at Farpoint, and two other episodes. One, Sins of the Father, is a 3rd season episode involving Klingon politics. The other is a 5th season episode, The Inner Light, in which Captain Picard learns to play a Ressikan flute.

    The trailer for that preview release is below and was uploaded to the CBSHEonDVD YouTube channel, a CBS Home Entertainment channel that promotes DVD and Blu-ray releases. It seems to be an afterthought. The trailer attempts to show how much better the series will look with before and after shots, but the video was only uploaded in 380p, meaning no difference can be seen.

    What do you think? Will you be waiting in line on July 24th? Will you have time to save up enough money for what is sure to be an expensive release? Leave a comment below and let me know.

    (via engadget)

  • Guy Builds Functional Star Trek Phaser in Garage

    Okay, that “getting laid” part was only speculation, but the “Functional Star Trek Phaser” part is real… sort of.

    In case you were wanting to up your geek level to uber-status, we present to you a life-like version of the Star Trek Phaser to complete your cosplay collection. These semi-functional Star Trek phasers were built with Playstation 3 Blu-Ray drives and toy phaser models to replicate the “real” thing.

    If you fired these things at an alien, they would be left with a really unpleasant warming sensation on their skin. So, yeah. Take that, alien scum.

    You will notice that some of these videos look a little smokey. A fog machine was used to show the laser traveling through the air, otherwise it just looks like a laser pointer. Mainly because that’s what it is, a high powered laser pointer.

    I case you are wondering how to build your own Star Trek Laser, jayrob94561 includes a link to the laser pointer forum with instructions on how to build your own. Yes, there is a laser pointer forum.

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    So far these phasers can only by set to “ruin children’s birthday party” as the only thing they are good for is popping ballons. And looking cool…

    [via: Huffington Post]

  • Watch the First Two Seasons of Star Trek – All at Once

    For those of you who just can’t wait for the next Star Trek film, YouTube user twilight1138 has got a fix for you. The user posted a video of the first 56 episodes of the original Star Trek series, complete with overlapping sound. From the YouTube description:

    If you wanted to re-watch the classics but couldn’t find the time, here’s your chance. 56 episodes, the full first 2 seasons, simultaneously, and with sound! You’ll be finished in no time 😉

    Twilight1138 does admit to a slight cheat, though. Since the first season pilot “The Man Trap” is much longer than the other episodes, so it was replaced with the first episode of the third season, “Spock’s Brain.” Still, it’s 56 episodes of classic science fiction to fill your screen with.

    A few things from the video stand out. It’s fun to see how much screen time Kirk, Spock, and McCoy get. The flow of episodes is very similar, with action coming at around the same times. Things really start to heat up around the 35-minute mark, and then the climaxes hit at around minute 45, accompanied by lots of quick-cut editing. This is followed by the denouement, which might be the best part of the video. Nearly every episode features a smug close-up of William Shatner delivering a profound quip, and a reaction from Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley.

    The music cues follow the action and are really a highlight of this video. The horns pick up and punctuate the action-packed moments. Mostly, though, its sounds the same as a large, crowded Star Trek convention.

    Take a look for yourself and feast on the essence of what the original Star Trek series is:

    (via blastr)

  • Minimalist Movie Posters Make You Think About Life

    Minimalist Movie Posters Make You Think About Life

    Sometimes things in life like movies really have the possibility to make you think about things in a new light. Saving Private Ryan did that for me, even though I was in the Air Force, it made me realize the reality of fighting a war against an experienced army. The minimalist approach has the ability to make even the smallest things that you may have not noticed the first time seem like the most important things in the movie.

    Daniel Keane over at WolfCadet.com has created a ton of cool posters making movies into minimalist pieces. The goal as far as I can tell is to get as much emotion out of as little as possible. Everything you see here is available to purchase and there are also a lot more including Seven posters and Shining posters.

    300

    The battle of Thermopylae is one of the turning points in the history of the western world. 300 Spartains led an army of 7,000 men to defend a small pass from an invading Persian army that consisted of anywhere between 100,000 and 500,000 soldiers. The Greeks held them off for 7 days before falling.

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    Ace Ventura

    Alllllrighty then! isn’t that what you think of when you see that hair?

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    Jurassic Park

    To think that life itself can be carried around in something as small as a canister of shaving cream makes one think about how delicate we really are.

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    Minority Report

    The thought that the police in the future can convict you on what you might do is not so absurd as it once was.

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    Saving Private Ryan

    The invasion of Europe started on the beaches of Normandy. The allied farces had to cross a beach littered with Belgian gates. These small pieces of steel meant to stop armor from coming ashore actually helped the allies advance and saved some lives.

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    Star Trek

    The reboot featured the entire planet of Vulcan being eliminated by the help of this energy drill. To think that 6 billion lives ended from something that is supposed to make a being’s life easier and less dangerous.

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    Top Gun

    Launching yourself off a platform sitting on thousands of pounds of jet fuel can be a sobering experience and the thrill it produces creates adventure junkies.

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    The Walking Dead

    The lasting image of Hershel’s farm burning to the ground is indeed a lasting image.

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  • Inflatable Star Trek Captain’s Chair: Sadly, Not For Adults

    If your the kind of guy that loves to debate on who is the better captain, Kirk or Picard, this is the home furnishing for you. (It’s Picard by the way). Introducing the Inflatable Captain’s Chair from ThinkGeek.

    You may already know ThinkGeek for their collection of science and geek related merchandise. And this is probably the geekiest of them all. For a mere $25, you can pretend you are the captain of the Starship Enterprise. Or your kid can, whatever.

    If you don’t purchase, or even if you’re not a Star Trek fan, you should still check out this promotional video ThinkGeek made for the product. Funny Stuff.

    Unfortunately for you, the chair will only support 120 pounds. (This guy doesn’t look to be 120 pounds)

    You are the youngest Captain in Starfleet. Your Lieutenants gather around you, desperately vying for your approval and catering to your every whim. They go on Away Missions to distant worlds and return with strange new foods. (Rigelian cabbage? Yuck!) Then there was that Red Shirt that your Chief Momular Officer called “Uncle Joe.” Gosh, wasn’t he annoying with the relentless games of Got Your Nose? You couldn’t be more pleased that he never returned (and that you got your nose back before he left).

    Galloping around the cosmos is a game for the young and you have your whole youth ahead of you. Take your seat in your Inflatable Captain’s Chair, assemble your bridge crew, and start exploring. Invented at ThinkGeek, this chair is suitable for wee geeks aged 3 to small adult, or up to about 120 pounds. The arms are printed with all sorts of buttons and and lights to encourage imagination play, including setting Red or Yellow Alerts or jettisoning the pod. All that’s missing is the most adorable Captain in the quadrant – your kid!

    [h/t: geektyrant]

  • Star Trek Convention Promises All 5 Captains On One Stage

    This October promises to be a life-altering one for those lucky Star Trek fans with the means to travel across the pond.

    A new convention has been announced in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and there are two key things you need to know: it’s in London, and all 5 captains from the show will appear on one stage to give a talk…for the first time ever.

    Patrick Stewart, Scott Bakula, Kate Mulgrew, Avery Brooks and the original, incomparable William Shatner will be attending the event, which starts on October 19th and goes through the 21st. Ticket information is available here (prices are set in pounds, obviously).

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    The announcement sent Twitter and other social media sites into a buzzing frenzy.

    (image)@mancphoenix
    Rebecca Hindle    I am so going all the way down to London in October to the Star Trek convention all 5 captains in 1 place don’t mind if I do and on stage(image) 1 hour ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@steveleng
    Stephen Leng    I just purchased a two day ticket to a Star Trek convention. I could not be MORE excited. AH!(image) 4 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@joemichalczuk
    Joe Michalczuk    FIVE Star Trek Captains announced for London Convention in October – including Kirk and Picard – just geeked out a little(image) 2 days ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@txtingandscones
    Sheldon Cooper PhD    ok who wants to go to that Star Trek Convention deal in London In October.. with all 5 Captains?? #Nerdgasm(image) 19 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Star Trek App Turns Your iPhone Into A Transporter

    In two weeks the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo comes to Calgary, Canada. The three-day expo starts on April 27th and features a celebrity guest lineup to make most geeks drool. Guests include Adam Baldwin (best known for Firefly and Chuck), Stan Lee, Adam West, Robert Englund (better known as Freddy Krueger), and the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

    To celebrate, officials from the Expo contacted E-Axis about producing an app that attendees could enjoy around town. Dubbed Vulcan Tourism Transporter, the universal iOS app is an augmented reality app that allows you to use transporter effects to make your friends (or anybody, really) disappear. Several bus stops around Calgary will be decorated with backgrounds that look like the interior of the Enterprise transporter room from Star Trek: The Next Generation. If you have the app on your iPhone or iPad, you just put your friends in front of the background, point the camera at them, and swipe the “Engergize” slider to beam them away. Swipe the slider again to bring them back (if they’re wearing a red shirt, you might want to go ahead and hit that slider quickly).

    Here’s a video of the app in action:

    According to the official Expo site, the app is available for download now, but the link they provide doesn’t appear to be working at the moment. The Expo is April 27th-29th. The bus stops in Calgary are already sporting the transporter room background, and will remain so until the end of April.