Remembering Leonard on COPD Day

Today, November 16, is COPD World Awareness Day. It saddens me to think of how many people have suffered with this condition, but what’s more, it is a mostly preventable condition. (unless genetic) Remember how Leonard stressed abstinence and quitting in his final year. He had said:

“I quit smoking 30 years ago; not soon enough!” …”If you smoke, quit now and if you haven’t started, don’t!”

To think that in his last hours, the poor man couldn’t even talk, his beautiful baritone  voiced silenced, his lungs closing up, is heart-wrenching. I’ll never forget when I saw him in NYC in 2013 how he had an awful coughing fit on the stage of Symphony Space.  This was before his disease was public knowledge, but I suspected that something was awfully wrong with him.   I’m sure had he survived he would still be promoting awareness of the awful diseases that are under the tent of COPD; emphysema and chronic bronchitis.  Please support the COPD community and in Leonard’s memory, please don’t smoke.  And thanks to his daughter Julie, for making this part of the conversation. ❤
http://www.copdllap.com/

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My Weekly Spock -Writer’s Strike

It’s important to stand up for what you believe in. Here’s Leonard at the Writer’s Strike of 1988.

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Good Night America.

Friends, I won’t be posting for a while.  The events of the last 24 hours have left me so numb I will probably spend the next few weeks in deep prayer.

I am sickened and disgusted that this orange, arrogant, ignorant,  misogynistic, homophobic, racist will be taking over the reigns of my beloved country.  This man has no right to be anywhere near the nuclear codes.  He is a whiny overgrown toddler with skin thinner than an onion. Contrary to his continuous boasting, his is NOT smart, nor is he rational.   He has no respect for womanhood, he has no respect for anyone who is not white. He will reverse all the hope and good that came from the past 8 years and he has brought to the front the flagrant racism of white power.

I love my country, but I have never been an ‘our nation first’ kind of person.  I believe that every country deserves the right to live in peace and harmony, but I feel now that the nuclear clock is ever closer to midnight.  I cannot believe that so many people were suckered in by this racist bastard.  One thing I fear; the America I believe in will be soon plummeted into darkness. Trump will ally with Russia and is only happy to lick Putin and Kim Jong Un’s boots.  Our Four Freedoms here in America will slowly erode, as such:

Freedom of Speech:  Trump has already banned and mocked reporters at his rallies.  You can damn well bet that he will do his damnedest to remove any shred of disagreement in the media. He already has his Trump TV planned– I suspect it will become STATE TV.

Freedom from Want:  Not likely.  Trump will end or reverse all the programs that aid the poor. He will tax the hell out of the middle class and more.   He will keep the billionaires happy, of course.

Freedom of Worship.  Only if you’re a ‘Christian’ of course.  Jews, Muslims, Buddhist’s and all others need not apply.  He will drive out the Muslims, or very likely put them in internment camps.

Freedom from Fear.  I am more scared now than I have ever been in my life. Not just for my country, but for the world.  Trump will rout out anyone who disagrees with him.  And this is the man who asked not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES during a security briefing:  “Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?”

To the rest of the world, I am so sorry that my fellow countrymen were sucked in by this conman.  I am so sorry that our media gave this bastard free press EVERY FRIGGIN’ DAY for the past 15 months, and for all the fooled who crawled out of the woodwork to support him.  Apparently America is too naive to realize that it is NOT a good thing when one of the only papers to endorse a candidate is run by the Ku Klux Klan.

God Help Us.

To all my readers who voted for him, I will understand if you are offended by this post and decide to drop out.  I will not hold it against you.  I thank you for your time in the past.  But I’m afraid that under a Trump presidency, our future will be more of a Borg Collective than the tranquil solace of Vulcan.

May we all strive to Live Long and Prosper.  (Missing Leonard more than ever)   Love, Therese.

Update: (11/18) I added this meme sent in by reader Kid Charlemange, only modified it a bit to make it family-friendly (I totally understand Mr. Lincoln’s confusion) Thanks Kid. 🙂

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Happy Halloween!

Bringing out this old chestnut for today!  (I’ll have to make a new one for next year!) Wishing you all treats (no tricks!) -Therese

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FArF: The Lovely Backdrops of Star Trek: The Animated Series

In reviewing the old Star Trek animated series it was clear that a lot of the best art was in the creative and colorful backgrounds made for the planets.  Characters  silhouetted against the backdrops made an even a stronger impact.  The Original Series had lovely painted backdrops too, but in TAS, the imaginations soared, creating scenes the original couldn’t afford.  A shame there were only  22 episodes. I  especially like the re-creation of the Guardian of Forever in Yesteryear, and the planet Vulcan.  There’s a lovely image of Uhura resting by a lake in Once Upon a Planet. And the curvy architecture of the palace in The Lorelei Signal reflects its female inhabitants.  Which are your favorites?

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Spock heads back to his arid hometown in “Yesteryear’

My Weekly Spock- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face… Elmira 1978

I was so thrilled when I came across this picture on Facebook! I knew that sweater and shirt! How’s that?  This was how Leonard looked the very day I met him for the first time on February 18, 1978. This must have been earlier in the day, as Leonard is being interviewed by local news crews in Elmira NY, just before his appearance at the Clemmons Center for his presentation: “ Mr.Spock and I”:An Evening with Leonard Nimoy“.   You can read all about my experience at this lecture here.  Ah how this brings back memories!  So happy to see a close up photo from that night! So cool! (And so darn cute!)  I’ll never forget it!  🙂

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Steady As She Goes! Shatner, Koenig, and Takei on the Bridge Again!

This is all kinds of wonderful.  Just a few days ago at the the Destination: Star Trek Convention in Birmingham, England, the stars the many Trek incarnations as well as special guests posed on a lovely recreation of the Enterprise bridge! But most importantly, Captain Kirk, Mr. Chekov and Mr. Sulu were back at their stations!

This picture got me a little emotional!  Seeing William Shatner, Walter Koenig and George Takei sitting so fine just made my heart swell (and break just a little)!  Unfortunately, Nichelle Nichols couldn’t make it, but I’m sure she was there in spirit.  And as beautiful as this is, it made me miss the crew now watching from above: Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Majel Barrett, and Grace Lee Whitney  ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Fortunately, the legendary three here had plenty of support in their Trek family.  Most notable is Leonard’s son,  Adam Nimoy, standing in for his beloved father.  As much as I wish that Leonard was still here, I’m so thankful that Adam was there for him.

I also LOVE that George Takei wore a black shirt with a bright yellow sweater, mimicking his original uniform, and look how proudly his sits back at his helm! Steady as she goes!

Now enjoy this moment of Star Trek Awesomeness!

The many casts and special guests of the Star Trek universe at “Destination: Star Trek” in Birmingham, England, October 7, 2016: Front Row: Walter Koenig (Chekov) George Takei (Sulu) Second Row: Eddie Paskey (Mr. Leslie) William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk) Robert O’Reily (Gowron/TNG) Armin Shimmerman (Quark/DS9) Colonel Al Worden (Astronaut, Apollo 15) Chase Masterson (Leta/DS9) Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi/TNG) Alice Krige (Borg Queen/First Contact). Third Row: Dominic Keating (Reed/Enterprise) Nicole deBoer (Ezra Dax/DS9) Max Grodenchik (Rom/DS9) Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax/ DS9), Adam Nimoy, Conner Trinneer (Trip Tucker/Enterprise, Greg Grunberg (Kirk’s Stepdad,-voice/Star Trek reboot). Fourth Row: Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun/DS9) Garret Wang (Harry Kim/Voyager) Martha Hackett ( Seska/Voyager), Casey Biggs (Damar/ DS9), Eric Pierpoint (Voval/TNG, Sanders/DS9), and Kitty Swink (Rozahn/DS9)

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Wideo Wednesday: Building Star Trek

This was a wonderful documentary from The Smithsonian Channel that shares the excitement of restoring the original model of the Starship Enterprise for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, as well as recreating the original bridge for a Seattle Museum, and engineers attempting to recreate some of the legendary devices of the Original Series (tractor beams, tricorders, etc.)   I got the chills seeing the original ship model here 🙂 Lots of great clips from the original series too!  Enjoy!

 

My Weekly Spock – Conventionally Speaking.

Leonard graced us with his presence at so many Trek and Sci-Fi conventions over the years.  His joy and compassion are missed, but the smiles and happiness he left behind are forever ❤  Here he is at his final Trek convention in 2011 in Las Vegas- (age 80).  Forever loved and missed.

And speaking of conventions, I had the pleasure of attending two this past month!  I’ll be posting article on them very soon, so stay tuned! -Therese

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13 Times The Animated Star Trek Mimicked the Original

Lately I’ve been reacquainting myself with the animated Star Trek series (TAS -1973-4).  I remember being a 12-year old and excited that my favorite show was being brought back (at least in animation) and that maybe the Enterprise could finally finish its five year mission!  For the most part, it was pretty good, I only wished I had a color TV to watch it on!                                                         Anyway, recently I’ve seen a few episodes on Netflix and it really seemed all new to me again, as I hadn’t since the early 70’s.  I was taken by the lovely backgrounds and the simple, but accurate way the animation captured the faces and subtle nuances of the original actors. (Can a cartoon male be handsome? You bet!).  But something that also stood out for me was how the series often mimicked the original (TOS) in angles and style; the creators at Filmation clearly did their homework as you’ll see in these examples.   Lets’ start with some opening Enterprise shots. The makers of the series did a beautiful job recreating the ship.  There’s much more detail in the orbital images than the character scenes, but it’s lovely.  Rotoscoping anyone? thejihadcatspaw                                                                                      magikscage-12

 

 

 

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The Enterprise in its animated form: Top: Orbital views from ‘The Jihad’ and ‘Catspaw’ Center: Clever rotoscoping seen in “The Magicks fo Megus-Tu” taken from “The Cage”. Bottom: Shoulder view of the Enterprise in ‘The Terratin Incident’ and “Who Mourns for Adonais?”

But wait, there’s more.  There were several detail and character scenes that were clearly influenced by the original (if sometimes with subtlety):

Scotty in a shaft in "Once Upon a Planet" and in the Jeffries Tube in "The Naked Time".

Scotty in a shaft in “Once Upon a Planet” and in the Jeffries Tube in “The Naked Time”.

Digital time panel in "The Counter-Clock Incident" and "The Naked Time"

Digital time panel in “The Counter-Clock Incident” and “The Naked Time”

Eyebrow City - Lara from 'The Jihad' and Zora from "The Savage Curtain"

Eyebrow City – Lara from ‘The Jihad’ and Zora from “The Savage Curtain”

Ready for my super close-up: Magna in 'The Time Trap' and Sirah in "The Omega Glory"

Ready for my super close-up: Magna in ‘The Time Trap’ and Sirah in “The Omega Glory”

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They HAD to do this one! Kirk’s booted feet with tribbles in “More Tribbles, More Troubles”, and in “The Trouble with Tribbles”

In Once Upon a Planet, the Enterprise crew visits the amusement park planet again as they did in Shore Leave – so of course Alice and the White Rabbit are there, but then there’s a clear reference to Catspaw, when a giant cat menaces the crew from a doorway:once-shorejpg onceshore once-capspaw

Another  revisited character was Harry Mudd – this time in Mudd’s Passion, peddling love potion to Nurse Chapel in her eternal quest for Spock’s affections.  Here, he offers her pills, just as he did to his ‘cargo’ in Mudd’s Women: muddspassionwomenjpg

Finally, this one surprised me the most: In Albatross, Nurse Chapel checks on  sleeping patient Kol-Tai in practically the same angle she checks in on a sleeping Spock in Amok Time!  albatross-amokjpg

Well, this was a fun visit to the Saturday morning cartoons of my youth (modern kids don’t know what they were missing!)  If anyone here knows of any more similarities between TAS and TOS, let me know! I’ll post them!

Next Time: The Backdrops of TAS.