Happy Star Trek Day! 2023

Happy Star Trek Day Everyone!

And yes, of course I am biased in saying that Spock is the greatest character in all of Science Fiction! (Feel free to submit your suggestions below) But one must admit, the character of Spock really was ground-breaking in the world of 1966, and I doubt that Trek would .have become the legend it is today without this amazing, cool, yet sympathetic character that so many people have identified with other the years. The struggle between his half-human/ half Vulcan selves serves as a metaphor for our own divisive experiences in our lives. Yet the calmness in which he solves his problems — never with violence, but with reason, logic, and compassion, is a lesson to us all.

Over and over in Trek canon, we hear of how the Vulcans nearly destroyed themselves with their own passions. These days, the Vulcan essence of IDIC; Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, seems to be as far away in our current culture as is the earth to the sun. It’s hard to imagine a future where we can all live in peace regardless of race, sex, and indigenous culture in a world where we seem more divided than ever, and living in fear of “The Other” Sadly, I’ve seen the United States and other parts of the world becoming more divisive than ever in my lifetime (I’m 62) . Can mankind ever achieve the Utopian attitudes of the Star Trek world? The answer is in ourselves. Star Trek taught me not to be afraid of ‘the other’, but to embrace and learn from it in common courtesy. The more we learn from each other, the stronger we will be.

What aspects of Star Trek have made you a better person?

Here’s hoping for the brighter world that Star Trek promises. May we never give up hope.

My Weekly Spock: Friendship

This week in America is Thanksgiving, and I’m sure Leonard was thankful for all the friendships in his life. Yeah, I know that his relationship with Shatner soured at the end, but you cannot deny that they were very close.  He loved his all his Star Trek friends, especially  De Kelley, and I’m happy that he found a family in  his cast-mates. <3  Be sure to check the funny captioned photo below where Leonard doesn’t quite help De do the Vulcan salute!

My Weekly Spock: OMG!

Well, here’s one I’ve NEVER seen!  Prime Nimoy in the 1950’s!  Thanks to Monica Reinoso for finding this!!!

UPDATE:  It’s on eBay for a few more days and the price is skyrocketing! (Thanks Bobbie!) https://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Trek-Icon-Leonard-Nimoy-Vintage-1950s-Early-Career-Portrait-Photograph-Rare/292377986411?hash=item441316056b:g:REYAAOSwywRaOonc

Another Trek Photo Treasure Trove – In Color!

Hey Kids, I’m back!

Thanks for your patience, for it is truly rewarded today!

A while back I posted some wonderful black and white photos from the eBay dealer rexliv who had come across rare negative directly from the original series sets, taken by studio photographers to capture rehearsal and publicity photos for the series.  Just when I thought these were the holy grail of Trek memorabilia, rexliv strikes again with COLOR NEGATIVES!

How the dealer describes his find is nothing short of miraculous, and the fact that these have not been destroyed in over 50 years and are in remarkable condition is astonishing.  As the dealer states in his descriptions:

This authentic Color original Film Negative from the Original Star Trek TV Series is in excellent Condition for its age. During the Production of Star Trek, Photographers were hired to take Publicity Photo’s of the Series for magazine distribution and for advertising purposes. I recently obtained quite a few of these Publicity Negatives from a woman in new York City. She stated that she obtained them from a friend who worked in a professional Photo Lab as a Custom Photo Printer in New York City during the Mid-1980s. He stated to her that he was assigned to clean out the Dead Photo Files at the Lab when he found the Star Trek Negatives. The woman had kept them in their original envelopes along with their original Contact Sheets ever since the Mid-1980s when her friend had given them to her. Each five frame negative strip was enclosed in a clear plastic sleeve. Since the negatives were taken by an On Set Photographer, they are obviously a “One Of A Kind” Film Negative and display different angles of the actors as they posed for Publicity Photo’s and during live action scenes from the Episodes. They are quite RARE indeed.

Well Yes indeed! Welcome to Trekkie Heaven Everyone!

NOTE:  Currently many of these negatives are NOT up for sale, and some of them have been sold. However, they are VERY LIKELY to go back up for auction. So for you diehards, I highly recommend you check out the dealer’s current auctions here.  You can see the completed (and may unsold) auctions here.  He is also currently  selling positive contact sheets of the full  color negatives.  These auctions will end TOMORROW  (Friday, October 27)  So check it out before they end!

I’ve posted the photos of the positive images that the dealer posted that are not included in the actual auctions but used as examples of how the negatives would look when processed.  I’ve enhanced a few of these positive images to improve their tone and contrast.  And man, what a find!  From De Kelley’s incredible baby blues to Shatner’s smirks and the occasional Nimoy grin, it’s like I’ve traveled in a time machine back to 1966!

Wow. Just Wow.  You can see why not all of these were used (lighting off, or someone coughed)  But they are totally iconic, regardless. Man, how I would have loved that job!  I’ll post more in the coming weeks. Enjoy!