Rest in Peace, Anne McCaffrey

Image via Wikipedia

Anne McCaffrey Has Died - GalleyCat

The Dragonriders of Pern series is pretty much what, along with Star Trek and a few other bits of science fiction and fantasy, kept a very geeky, socially awkward, frequently bullied, and often bored teenaged Shoveling Ferret somewhat sane and alive and even happy through middle and early high school.

And I still have a huge geek crush on Robinton and sometimes wish Oreo was a fire lizard and would dearly love to visit Pern somewhere other than my imagination.

Thank you, Anne. You made a lot of people very happy, very thoughtful, and very entertained. 

I figured my head couldn't hurt any more...

Mudd is apparently part evil, evil chipmunk.  Via Wikipedia

Some time ago I got Star Trek:  The Animated Series from Netflix.  The DVDs, because they are so not available on streaming.  Actually, I got the most recent disk in July.  I haven't finished watching it because, well, damn are they bad.
The animation is cut-rate cheese.  And the voice-acting, despite being from the original cast, is so clearly one-take only, has my check cleared yet, that it's painful to hear.  I have the novelizations of the episodes.  I really, really wish I had just stuck with those.  The stories are actually good (some of them), but oh man, the actual shows are super bad.
(Snarkier readers will probably say that the same is true of the original series, to which I give a hearty single-finger salute.)

Anyway, tonight we watched Mudd's Passion.  The premise is that they run into their old con-artist buddy, Harry Mudd.  This time he's selling "love potion."  Taking advantage of Nurse Chapel's huge crush on Spock, Harry tricks Chapel out of her phaser.  Chapel takes the love potion and goes to touch Spock, which leads to painful awkwardness as, apparently, it takes a few minutes for the potion to work so he's all "What the hell, human, why are you touching me?"  This snaps her back to her senses, she figures out the phaser is gone and goes to kick Harry's ass.
Hijinks ensue, Harry kidnaps Chapel, the love potion kicks in and Spock starts being all emo, plus a bunch of it gets spread through the ship's ventilation system, so the ship turns into a giant rave for a while.
There's also some weird Spock-Kirk hugging (the love potion creates "strong friendship" between men or women, because apparently the future is like Iran and has no gay people).

"Thanks, Jim, it's good to have a friend like you."
"Strange, that's how I feel about you, too. My dear friend Spock."

I wonder if this is to blame for Kirk-Spock slash fiction?

Anyway, there's a monster on the planet and stuff, but they manage to rescue Harry and Chapel and the love potion wears off.  Yay.



Awesome quotes:

I wish I was a three-eyed giant poop slug.  - Tom, when the episode's monster appears

Oh my god, that was horrible.  - Me, roughly every 2 minutes.

Spock, can't you take your hands off her? -Kirk

"Captain, Doctor... I... uh, wish to report a number of strange... emotions."

That is an outstandingly stupid idea.  - Spock, apparently echoing my thoughts about watching this show.   You can actually hear this quote here.

James Hance - Relentlessly Cheerful Art

James Hance - Relentlessly Cheerful Art

Some fabulous stuff here and the prints seem very reasonably priced. We have a few bare walls that need decorating...

Frankenstein

100_4457
Originally uploaded by Waikikidragonfly808

He's so excellent! Perfect with Halloween coming up!

Holy Crap, He's a Jedi Too!?!?!

Photo by Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune (click photo for link to article)

Is he stabbing that dude?

So, to round-up the crazy conspiracy theories:

• Sekrit Muslin
• Kenyan
• Socialist
• Fascist
• Jedi

Snerk.

Extinct Eagle May Have Hunted Humans : Discovery News

So, after I just bitched about people not knowing the difference between paleontology and archaeology, a story pops up that encompasses both:  Extinct Eagle May Have Hunted Humans.

How cool is that?  It's like the roc, which I mostly know about from my vain attempts at playing Zork as a child.  Well, from being carried off and eaten by one while attempting to play Zork or Enchanter or one of those frustrating (at least for an 8 year old) games.

Lambswool Robot Scarf

Lambswool Robot Scarf
Originally uploaded by SaraCarr66

For the very latest in robot couture, check out SaraCarr66's Etsy shop. I'm a big fan of her robot-themed scarves - sooo cute and soft looking. And definitely a way to have fun with a necessary (for some places) accessory for winter.

And I think the pattern is subtle enough to work even with fancy-pants business attire. Very fun.

Doctor Zoidberg

Doctor Zoidberg
Originally uploaded by intiveda

My Futurama fan self is very tickled by this little Doctor Zoidberg made by intiveda. Very cute.

he'll take you aboard his beautiful ship

he'll take you aboard his beautiful ship
Originally uploaded by giolou

Giolou has posted this adorable ickle knitted alien. I love the glowing silver yarn and the eyes. I have yet to knit amigurumi as opposed to crocheting them (and I should really get back to crocheting them, but I'm trying to finish my freakin' project bag before I do start any thing else).

Ahem. The alien. Super cute! Knitted. Giolou scored the pattern from the wonderful and generous Barbara Prime who has posted a free pattern for the adorable little dudes and dudettes on her blog. And this is one of the best sort of patterns, it appears to me, in that it is easily customizable and adaptable, resulting in all kinds of fun creations.

k9

k9
Originally uploaded by krupp

This K-9 stitched up by krupp is wonderful! I really like the details with the bit of red to show his eyes. I have to confess to only recently having joined Doctor Who fandom with the newer series (I'll get to the older ones eventually, I promise!), so I only know K-9 from the episode School Reunion so far. I like him immensely, though! (When have I ever met a doggie I didn't like?)

Happy 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to set foot on the moon while Michael Collins waited for them in lunar orbit and the rest of humankind waited for word back on Earth. Watching the footage still takes my breath away.

If any of you out there are as geeky as I am about the early US space program, there are a number of wonderful resources available on the web. One of my favorites is the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. It's a collection of photographs, transcripts, video, and audio of each of the landing missions. It's remarkable to me to listen to the audio of the astronauts talking between themselves and back to the CAPCOM on Earth and realize what a tenuous link they had back home while in such a beautiful, hostile environment.

I also highly recommend seeing In the Shadow of the Moon it's a very stark, wonderful documentary that focuses on interviews with the astronauts themselves as well as archival footage without the distraction of fancy voice-over narration or elaborate graphics or music. Very powerful and very moving.

Boba Fett Cross-Stitch

Boba Fett Cross-Stitch
Originally uploaded by sabronx

Check out this ickle Boba Fett by sabronx.

"Who's a cute little bounty hunter?"
*Pew pew*

Yeah - don't mock the Fett. Even ickle Fett.

Holy Lasers, I'm a Nerd, Batman!

Just got back from dermatology appointment. Quick, non-eventful (in a good way) aside from some to-ing and fro-ing because the department is now split between floors for some dumb reason.

However - there was a scary part. I was totally in the neural neutralizer room from Dagger of the Mind.

There was one of these on the ceiling:

And the chair was kind of like this:

Except that it didn't have a screaming William Shatner in it. Or his hairpiece. Lame.

Okay, so it was actually the laser treatment room (or so they claim) and not a place where people's brains are erased and re-written in whatever manner some other lunatic thinks appropriate (that's across the quads at the University proper). Anyway, I think I just got stuck in there because it was convenient. No lasers for me.

On a side note, my sleep schedule re-setting plan was a big fat fail. I went to bed at 11. Couldn't sleep. At all. Finally got up and laid on the couch around 4:30 and read for a bit. Then fell asleep for maybe an hour. So, now I'm trying to stay awake all day. I apologize in advance for any increasingly incoherent posts that may result.

Also, my thumb hurts again. Stupid thumb.

Minimix Blaster

Minimix Blaster
Originally uploaded by Tinkerbots

How freakin' cool is this? I've always loved the shapes and colors of vintage kitchen equipment, but never thought to recombine it with other bits and pieces to make a wicked cool space-age blaster.

This would make my occasional tendency to smoosh up against walls, peer around the corner and yell "pew pew" at people way more fun. And possibly more comprehensible. Possibly.

sukigirl: How to crochet Eve from Wall-e

Follow the link below for a wonderful crochet pattern for Eve from Wall-e.  Yay and thanks to sukigirl designing and sharing such fun for free!  

sukigirl: How to crochet Eve from Wall-e

Dalek

In addition to watching Star Trek, I've been watching the new Doctor Who on the Roku.  I'm ashamed to admit that I'd never seen Doctor Who before - I'll have to catch up on the older seasons at some point.

Today we watched the episode Dalek.  At one point the Dalek in the episode downloads the entire internet.  All I can think is that we should probably be grateful that the Dalek just killed some people, started to mutate courtesy of Rose, and then decided to self-destruct.  I mean, what if it had taken a second look at what it had downloaded and discovered /b/ on 4chan?  Then we'd have a Dalek running around demanding tentacle porn (which, for a Dalek, probably isn't all that weird, considering), finding and creating horrible and disgusting photos, and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and standing outside of Scientology centers.  Actually, that last one would be awesome.

Trek

Trek
Originally uploaded by downtownmonsters

These nifty little polymer clay Star Trek dudes are awesome. Gorn, Bones, Kirk, Spock, and Orion Slave Girl. Very fun. Downtownmonsters has them available for sale on etsy if you're interested.

More lessons from Star Trek

So, I'm sitting on the couch trying to teach myself to knit (again).  It's going pretty well - I'm doing a long-tail cast-on courtesy of this video.  I decided I wanted background TV - this requires something relatively familiar that I can process but also sort of ignore.  So, I chose Star Trek for the simple reasons that a)  I've seen every episode dozens of times; b) it will annoy be payback for someone constantly mocking my Trekkie-ness.*

I chose the episode Miri, which is among the ones I like best.  Aside from the "ooh, Earth-like planet" = we ran out of production money, lesson, there are a few others to be noted from this one.

1. Are we sure that at the beginning, when they first get down to the planet and get attacked by the "creature" shrieking "mine, mine!" that they didn't actually find one of the few remaining academics left on the planet?  Seriously - unkempt white hair, raggedy clothing, unwashed, demanding, clingy, irrational.  Yeah.
2. Kirk and Miri tread a weird line of pedophilia and gerontophilia. I mean, she's 13, but also 313.   Or, possibly, I've just spent far too much time on the internet.  Even he acknowledges it at the end of the episode when he's all like "I never get involved with older women."
3. As I've mentioned before, the remastering really highlights the terrible makeup.  I'm guessing that it was probably at least partially necessary for decent appearance on average 1960s-era television sets.  I need to test this theory by viewing color shows of the same vintage.  Any suggestions? 
4. Shatner giving Miri the "you're becoming a woman" talk is seriously awkward.  Thank the deity of your choice we were spared "Soon...there...will....be...blood-coming-from-your-girl-parts..."
5. What the hell is up with Yeoman Rand's hair?     Like, does she spend hours every morning doing that basket-weave thing in the front of her beehive, or do they have super-special hair-weaving (literally) technology in the 23rd Century?  And if so, is it really standard equipment on a starship?  And isn't that style somehow a violation of OSHA or something?  I can think of numerous reasons why that style is a bad idea:

- random alien creatures could fly into it and be   killed

- it could become a nest for alien creatures

- it presents a large target for weapons fire

- it may frighten other sentient beings (it sure as   hell frightens me)

- there is no way that would fit under a space helmet unless they make special "big hair" ones

- it's hideous

Also, among the best quotes from this episode:

• Back on the ship, I always tried to get you to look at my legs... - Rand.  (Dude, in the mini-dress uniform how the hell could he NOT look at your legs or your underwear?)
• No more blah, blah, blah! - Kirk.  (Totally need this one next time I go to a lecture)
• Bonk!  Bonk on the head! - the children.  (Indeed, children.  Indeed.)

*Yes, "trekkie"  and get off my damn lawn.

- image courtesy of Wikipedia

Spock

spock2
Originally uploaded by samandchichi

It's a Spock amigurumi! How geek-tastic is this!??! I love the ears.

Where no meerkat has gone before...

newtrek 002
Originally uploaded by niftyknits

niftyknits created these amazing meerkat versions of the major characters from the original Star Trek and I am in awe! Little uniforms with little insignia and rank stripes, tiny tricorders, communicators, and medical instruments, even Uhura's earpiece... So awesome!
I can sort of see how they could be confused for ferrets, but niftyknits wants it known that they are meerkats, so despite the ferret love here on my blog, we welcome our space traveling meerkat friends!

If you're interested, the meerkat awesomeness is available for sale in niftyknits's Etsy shop