To Boldly Go Where Everyone Has Gone Before

But What About Second Dragon Con?

Date: September 7, 2021

Music Video of the Day:

“Here’s to goodbye, tomorrow’s gonna come too soon…”

Interstellar News: I know it’s been a hot minute since I’ve written on here. Let me catch you up, and then there will be Star Trek tomorrow.

Last Tuesday, our dear friends Keith and Wrenn drove down from New York. I made teriyaki chicken, vegetable lo mein, and crab rangoon egg rolls, as well as brownies for dessert.

Wednesday morning, our friend Mike came over and as he and I finished up work… everyone else packed the cars. I also made greek yogurt pancakes and bacon for breakfast and we had a variety of leftovers for lunch before we left town. We drove to Charlotte and spent the night at a wonderful Airbnb. It RAINED cats and dogs (who were sleeping together, it caused mass hysteria) but we ate a nice dinner, played some games, and got a decent night’s sleep before heading to Georgia.

Thursday was driving to Atlanta for Dragon Con 2021! With the miracle of technology, I was able to work in the car on the way down, hooray! The husband person and I helped set up the American Sci-Fi Classics Track room (*tiny murder pins*) and then we all had to get ready for the con to begin. Wrenn had a panel on Supernatural at 7 pm and I had one on The Labyrinth at 10 pm. It was epic, especially the amazing cosplayers who came to participate, though we did not break out in song and I’m a bit sad about that. The outfit of the day was my dragon mask, dragon shirt, and dragon skirt (with pockets!).

Evy in her black scarf, white button down shirt, and tan skirt — *“I am a librarian!”*

Friday I was on a panel about The Mummy Returns and then I watched Keith give his annual self defense workshop. He’s such a great teacher! Then there was time for a nap before helping sell books and then another panel. After dinner, hubs and I went to the charity lock-in and watched Howard the Duck for the first time. It was… interesting, but I am not disappointed in how we spent our evening. I cosplayed as Evy (from The Mummy) in the morning, wore my punk Jessica Rabbit in the afternoon, and then changed into a geeky t-shirt for the evening.

Wednesday Addams with her pigtails and black dress with white collar — *“Are you made from real girl scouts?”*

Saturday was a crazy, busy day… dressed as Wednesday Addams, of course. There was the vendor hall to meet Steve Jackson (he made me a Munchkin card!) and then over to the Westin to hear him talk some more about Munchkin. Keith had a reading and I got to hear his first run on audio of Ragnarok and a Hard Place, and it’s wonderful. I wasn’t feeling great so I didn’t change into my Lady Riddler for the DC Villains photo shoot or the Heroes/Villains ball. We also missed the Georgia Philharmonic, but we were trying not to go to any large panels anyway. The evening ended with a rousing game of “Guillotine” and dinner ordered in from The Landmark Diner, a Dragon Con tradition.

Daria in her green jacket, orange shirt, black skirt, and black combat boots — *“Why didn’t I just stay home where it’s nice and quiet and nothing ever happens?”*

Sunday was a double panel day for me, dressed as Daria in the morning and in a nerdy t-shirt for the evening. I got to be the board moderator for the Battle of the Fictional Bands (Wyld Stallyns will win at some point, they saved the world for Pete’s sake) and then read from Gargantua in my thickest Jersey accent for the novelization reading. Before the reading, there was more time selling books at the vendor hall and then there was the annual “rib night” hosted by our dear friends Kathleen and Peter. They were gracious hosts and I hated not being able to stay longer.

Giant black and red d20 — Sue is the best, that is all!

Monday was the last day of con and of course… ROLL-A-PANEL. It’s my favorite way to end Dragon Con, as it’s 20 panels crammed into one. I will absolutely defend LXG or Super Mario Brothers as not-the-worst-movies-ever, if anyone is curious. We got the car packed up, made it out of the parking garage of doom, and eventually made our way back to Raleigh. There was an accident at the end of the night, but thankfully it was only a bloody and bruised nose for me and not a broken one. No dragons were harmed.

Today was back to work with virtual office hours and answering ALL OF THE EMAILS, as well as a two-hour nap that was truly needed. I’ll sign off in the way I started or ended all of my panels… “I’m a computer science professor by day and a blogger by night. I’m watching Star Trek for the first time and I’ve made it to Enterprise where there are lyrics, and that’s weird.“ See you next year, kids.

TA Out!

Super Small AND Super Large? It’s Ant-Man-mania!

Date: August 30, 2021

Music Video of the Day:

This pretty much sums up both movies…

Interstellar News: Friday night we finally got to watch Civil War after a bunch of moving our schedules (there are five of us participating in the rewatch) and then I was tired because I had to work on and off during the movie. Saturday was filled with packing and getting cosplay/civilian clothes together, plus finishing the swag I’m making and taking to Dragon Con. Oh, and then I was tired. Sunday I watched Under Siege, my first and possibly only Steven Seagal movie, with a dear friend and then napped a whole bunch because my body hates me and I’m incredibly tired. Have I mentioned I’ve been super tired lately?

Ant-Man (2015)

“Look man, I got a masters in electrical engineering, alright? I’m gonna be fine.”

“I realized you can’t destroy power, all you can do is to make sure that it’s in the right hands.”: This movie is terribly fun and wonderfully depressing at different times. There’s a ton of humor but also a lot of folks with Daddy issues. Lang tries to go straight, and even Baskin Robbins won’t hire him. He can’t support himself so he can’t see his daughter, so he has to turn back to crime. He has wonderful support in Luis and his two friends, though they are all a bit special in their own ways and you don’t spend a minute wondering how they wound up in jail in the first place. Cassie is incredibly adorable and you can tell that Lang is doing everything he can to be a better father for her. He knows he’s expendable very early, and you can tell a lot by someone who reads a situation quickly and efficiently.

ant-man in suit looking at one of the ants — “I’m going to call him Ant-thony.”

On the opposite end you have Pym who has disappointed both his daughter and his protegee, Cross, and doesn’t ever really give a good explanation except for he lost his wife. Yes, losing someone is incredibly difficult – but when you’re a parent you’ve got to step up because that child lost one of their whole world. Cross starts off batshit crazy and gets crazier as the movie goes on… but the final battle is wonderfully done as Thomas the Tank Engine and other things grow larger than they should be. It’s fun to listen to Lang babble, devastating to watch Hope be overlooked at every turn, and heartwarming to see Lang come to an understanding with his ex and her cop-fiance as well as with Pym and van Dyne.

cassie lang in her princess tiara — ” “He’s so ugly! I love him! Can I go show my friends?”

There are too many “training montages” in this movie, but the humor is mostly spot on and the drama keeps moving things along. You’ll want to watch for Luis’s storytelling abilities alone and stay for the Stan Lee cameo as well as the giant ant puppy.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Civil War movie poster (RDJ and CE facing off) — “Are you Tony… “**Stank**“?”

“Vengeance has consumed you. It’s consuming them. I am done letting it consume me. Justice will come soon enough.”: This movie is INCREDIBLY LONG and is basically all because of Tony Stark. He can’t get over the deaths of his parents (because he feels guilty for being a brat), he thinks he’s not doing enough to make amends (he and the Avengers have saved more lives than they’ve taken), and he’s willing to do anything that will speed up his ability to have a “normal” life with Pepper. Not to say Rogers isn’t also to blame, as he goes all squishy when anybody mentions Bucky, but his heart is more in the right place. I totally get how awful it must be for the world when the Avengers have no oversight and just do whatever the fuck they want, but they also have a decent track record of making things that could be world-ending much less catastrophic. Superheros are people too, who also want to have a life. It’s a hard damn life to give up everything to protect everyone who wants you to do more, and because it’s completely fictional I can give them a pass on this.

Cap, Falcon, Wanda, Bucky, Hawkeye on the left. Stark, Nat, Rhodey, Vision, Black Panther on the other — “So, no matter what. I promise you, if you need us, if you need me, I’ll be there.”

Black Widow continues to be the only adult in the immediate group, with her practicality and levelheadedness. Lang shows up, after Falcon taps him, and he’s so incredibly enthusiastic it’s a joy to watch. Peter Parker debuts as Spider-Man, who we’ll get to in a few movies, and he runs his mouth just as much and I’m super sad that he and Ant-Man don’t get any lines together. Bucky’s just trying to figure out what the hell is going on most of the movie, Vision is figuring out this being alive thing, and Wanda is trying to work on herself too. While this is absolutely a Cap movie, because Rogers is in it the most out of everyone, it also became a Black Panther movie. T’Challa easily becomes the adultiest adult in the group when he realizes that vengeance is consuming everyone to the detriment of all they stand for. We did not deserve Chadwick Boseman and he left us too soon even if we did. He brings so much gravitas to such a small role… but so does Zemo. Knowing what happens in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier made me pay attention a lot more to everything that happened with Zemo, Bucky, and Falcon… as well as Carter. This is a hell of a way to start Phase 3 and, if I’m being honest, is my least favorite of the movies featuring most of the Avengers.

I’ll likely be quite the next few days because of Dragon Con… but if you’re good readers I’ll post my cosplay lineup 🙂

TA Out!

ENT: “Unexpected”

Date: August 26, 2021

Season 1, Episode 5

Music Video of the Day:

This song is apparently about the lead singer’s wife, who was pregnant, and it’s about the fetus being evicted from the womb. I think it’s a fitting song for this episode.

Interstellar News: Work was, well, nonstop today. I don’t expect it to slow down tomorrow either. Sigh. I am still feeling good and I’ve gotten a few more swag pieces made for Dragon Con… go me! Also, Happy National Dog Day to my pupper, Professor Zoom, and all the other pupperinos out there. Woof woof, bark bark.

Professor Zoom with a persmart grooming filter "looking fresh" he's also wearing a red tie with white polka dots — Isn’t he the goodest boy?

TL;DR: The Enterprise is experiencing system failures when they find a ship of Xyrillians is riding their exhaust is the cause of their problems. Tucker heads over to the ship to help them fix their engines and flirts a bit with Ah’len, their engineer. After they part ways, Tucker notices a bump on his arm and it turns out he’s pregnant. They go after the Xyrillian ship only to find their repairs didn’t take and they’re in the wake of a Klingon ship. T’Pol reminds Vorok of Archer’s servic e to the Empire, and they bugger off after getting holodeck technology from the Xyrillians. Ah’len didn’t think procreation with humans was possible and transfers the embryo to another host.

Favorite Quote:

Vorok: What you need is to turn your puny ship around and leave. These aliens violated our security and disrupted our systems. Both are considered acts of war against the Empire.
Archer: I assure you that any damage they’ve done was unintentional. They’re simply trying to get home.
Vorok: They won’t get home, but I’m more than willing to hasten their journey to Sto-Vo-Kor.
I love that Hoshi Sato knows that that is the Klingon afterlife… which happens right after this exchange.

“Whoa, whoa, that’s too fast. I’m not a computer.”: This episode is HILARIOUS and I love how Archer tries his damnedest to not laugh the entire time at Tucker. From top to bottom it’s a laugh-fest. Archer in the shower when artificial gravity fails, Phlox encouraging T’Pol to eat Earth food, and Tucker in the decompression chamber are just “teeheehee” moments. Then there’s a lot of flirting, and I’m glad it’s Tucker because that helps fight against the bias some might have against him being a white male with a Southern accent. It’s fun to see the holodeck through his eyes, not only because he’s an engineering, but because of all the “holodeck as a plot device” episodes we’ve watched over the years.

Tucker and Ah'len in the holodeck looking at her home planet. — “Not like any hologram I’ve ever seen.”

Tucker being pregnant is absolutely absurd but I love it as a plot piece. I don’t like that it’s an unwanted pregnancy, and that they sort of skirt around any kind of discussion about termination, but it’s ultimately played up for the camp and the fact that it could be removed and replanted made for a quick resolve to the whole thing. The Klingon bits are added in there for drama, but it’s also still to point out how little Starfleet knows about them, aside from what the Vulcans know. All in all, I was quite amused by this episode – but upset that Porthos wasn’t the star of the show, bonding with the fetus or protecting Tucker while he walked around the ship. Still, 7 ear scritches for Porthos!

TA Out!

ENT: “Strange New World”

Date: August 25, 2021

Season 1, Episode 4

Music Video of the Day:

“Now who is alive and who is The Devil?“

Interstellar News: The last two days have been not good in terms of cat hairballs and such in places that were not easy to clean. This morning, however, my chiropractor cracked my neck like a glow stick and I have been feeling great most of the day. Work is still mostly insane, but I’m working through it.

TL;DR: Enterprise encounters a Minshara-class planet. T’Pol, who doesn’t quite have the Vulcan eyebrow, suggests the cautious Vulcan way while Archer says “‘Murica” and asks her to put a survey team together. Porthos is a very happy boy and several of the crew stay overnight to do a bit of research and shore leave. An overnight storm causes the team to relocate to some caves, but they were exposed to something that makes them all paranoid and causes hallucinations. Phlox initially misdiagnoses one of the crew that returns, but he eventually figures it out and no one dies!

Favorite Quote:

Mayweather: Are we allowed to squash alien life forms?
Tucker: If they’re inside your sleeping bag.
Mayweather asking the important questions and Tucker making shit up, like engineers tend to do.

Tucker with a camera in his hand. — “Smile. Be sure to get a copy of that to the Vulcan High Command.”

“Where no dog has gone before.”: When a few new characters were introduced, I went “oh no, redshirts”, but was glad that they all had lines and no one even died. It was fun to hear a space ghost story, to see how early campsites in space worked, and to know that pollen gets the best of everyone… even in space. As soon as I saw the one character in a field of yellow flowers, I knew something bad was going to happen. I didn’t think it was a hallucinogen, but that made for a fun twist for me. I definitely thought it was going to be more like the “Shore Leave” episode from TOS. Archer is absolutely the master of improv, but also really knows his crew. He knew what Tucker would respond well to and went with it. It was also good to see how humble Dr. Phlox was, as well as earnest in his sincerity. Phlox is genuinely interested in humans and wants to be a good doctor to all. He hasn’t disappointed me yet. A not great but not awful episode, so that’s 6 belly rubs for Porthos.

TA Out!

ENT: “Fight or Flight”

Date: August 23, 2021

Season 1, Episode 3

Music Video of the Day:

“She’s a punk rocker, she don’t trust no one…“

Interstellar News: Tonight I watched Labyrinth with all of David Bowie’s amazingness. Apparently I share a birth day with Jennifer Connolly (Sarah), though we’re 16 years apart! Work was a bit insane and I had my first in-person meeting since early March 2020.

TL;DR: Sato brought a slug back from a mission and it’s not doing well. Reed works on the targeting systems. Archer goes on the first rescue mission that turns into a murder investigation, Sato reconsiders coming on the ship in the first place, and the Enterprise gets itself into a bit of trouble (and also sort of makes a friend). Sato and the slug both adapt to their new homes of a starship and a new planet, respectively.

Favorite Quote:

Dr. Phlox: Have you smelled Ensign Socorro after she exercises? She gives off a fragrance not unlike the adrenal gland of a Nausicaan. And Crewmen Bennett and Haynem over there. Do you see them?
Dr. Phlox: If I’m not mistaken, they are preparing to mate. Do you think they might let me watch?
Tucker: It’s good to see you’re enjoying yourself.
Phlox is the best. He’s got all the wonder of Dr. Bashir without the naivete.

“Come on, Travis. We’ve got to find Mr. Reed something to blow up.”: I like half of this episode. I strongly dislike the bit with Sato having a crisis because it’s typical “I’m the only human woman on the bridge so I have to be panicky and hysterical” and I am not here for it. If they had stuck with her being weary of leaving the safety of the ship… maybe, but that works for Mayweather better as he grew up in ships. I guess it just felt like they wanted to do an episode on Sato that started with her rethinking her life and then being fine in the span of an hour… snooze.

Phlox and Sato look at "sluggo" in the container — “This isn’t exactly like the place you came from, but it’s close enough. It’s not that hard to adapt. You’re going to do just fine here.”

I really enjoyed the Enterprise and Archer’s response about a distress signal. Are they explorers or are they the galaxy’s helpers? It turns out to be gruesome and T’Pol isn’t wrong when she says “assistance is no longer needed”. It might have been a cold thing to say, but she is Vulcan. I like seeing Archer reason things out with both his crew and Porthos and eventually coming to the decision of trying to help. His heart is in the right place and I know this is what leads to Starfleet responding to distress calls in the future. However, Archer needed to give Reed more time to get their weapons online and Sato more time to get the translator running… though he wasn’t really in charge of the timeline, so maybe that’s a bit unfair. I do like that Sato is able to explain, eventually, but it’s still the “clock stopping at 1” moment. It’s 5 “bork borks” for Porthos on this one.

TA Out!