Are we thiiiis close to a Universal Translator?

So, I think Google will probably become Skynet, but, until the machines become self-aware, I’m enjoying all its neat innovations. Especially, Google Translate. Hasn’t all of Trekdom been hoping for a universal translator? I’m currently learning Vietnamese for no other reason other than I want to be able to converse with people. When I don’t know a phrase, I just speak to my phone with the app open and, boom, it automatically translates it to spoken Vietnamese and shows the spelling! It does this for at least 50 languages. Every time I use it, I am amazed at how far the tech has come. You remember how thick translation dictionaries are? Now, it’s at your fingertips.  Maybe we can get Klingon added…..

Check it out in the Play store.

‘Trekkie Dating’ Site Is Pretty Much Exactly Like It Sounds

Say werd??? One of my Trekkie friends saw this and is planning to come back with a humorous post about it. Yay, our first guest post! Check back.

Captain’s Log: Saw the first 9 minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness

Spoiler alert: But, you’re so smart that you already knew that…

So, my dear friend paid for us to go see The Hobbit in IMAX 3D.  I am terribly appreciative because I nearly pulled out an old Chris Rock skit when I saw how much it was.  “Good Lawd!  Can I just get one 3D lens and pay $7.50.”  I wear glasses and wearing two pair at once is terribly uncomfortable and 3D makes the film darker.  IMHO, the only reason to go see The Hobbit in IMAX 3D is to see the Star Trek preview.  So, here’s my take on it:

First, any follower of this blog knows that I want to see more diversity in these reboots.  The future is surely going to have more black and brown people in it than we see in the shows and movies.  Star Trek has been such a progressive force for good in our collective psyche, so my hope is that these reboots will continue to blaze trails.  I was pleased to see the long-form trailer begin with the gentleman below.  I have no idea who he is or what his role will be in the movie, but I was glad to see him and his wife.

Color me a little worried about the movie from what I saw in the trailer, I’m just not getting it yet-  we have the love story between Uhura and Spock clearly taking a more important role, the crew clearly gets into some Prime Directive mess on Nibiru, Admiral Pike dresses down Kirk over some risky action, and it appears San Francisco takes a beating.  Because Dr. Carol Marcus is in the movie, we know that there is some sort of connection to the Wrath of Khan.  We know Benedict Cumberbatch is playing a terrorist of epic proportions and he has said that he hopes the audience will empathize with the character somehow.  I’m anticipating a whole backstory on Eugenics and augments.  How the heck is Damon Lindelof going to fit all of that into one good screenplay and how will J.J. edit it down?  I just don’t know. But, ooh, I hope they don’t mess up.  I personally lightweight hated Lost and found the storytelling in Alias to get quite clumsy, so I just don’t want them to try to do too much at once.

Here’s hoping!?!

Oh and what was with Spock striking the “accepting death with open arms” pose in the volcano?!?  Melo0000000000drama, anyone?  I was glad it was dark in the theater so no one could see the mean side-eye I gave.  My Spock wouldn’t do this:

Photo credit: ONTD-Star Trek.

Captain’s Log: Update- Benedict Cumberbatch is not Khan…

So, anytime I mention the name, Benedict Cumberbatch, people say, “Daaaaamn!”  It’s such an impressive name.  You better be good at whatever you do with a name like that.  The word on the street is that he’s just that, so I’m looking forward to seeing him in this film.

Anyways, he debunked the rumor that he is going to play Khan in the May 17, 2013 film Star Trek Into the Darkness.  I’m fine with that; I honestly don’t think anyone could deliver as iconic a performance as Ricardo Montalban did in the original.  Cumberbatch will play a character named John Harrison, no backstory on the character yet.

Update:  There’s the scene in which Spock makes the vulcan salute to someone on the other side of a glass.  This is an obvious sendup to Wrath of Khan, but I actually think that it is the villain on the other side of the glass.  Whether Spock and the villain develop some sort of friendship during the movie or had some sort of prior relationship, I don’t know yet.  We’ll see.

Photo Credit: NY Daily News.

Captain’s Log: Leonard Nimoy Being His Marvelous Self!

In honor of the Hobbit coming out with the 9-minute short of Star Trek, I thought I would share this with all of you.  Yes, that is, indeed, Leonard Nimoy singing the Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.  AND, it has the Bangles in it!  I’m surprised this mashup didn’t give rise to the discovery of the Higg’s boson or something.   Check it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ_duzQzS1I

Captain’s Log: Awesomely Ridiculous!

Tell me that this is not the funniest thing you have seen in a long while.  We love Klingons for their irascibility.  Google that.

This is a mashup that some genius put together from an interactive board game.  Shouts to Everything Is Terrible for taking the time to do this.

Captain’s Log:The New Star Trek Trailer Is Up!!!!

So, I held my breath for 1.06 minutes while the official trailer was playing!  Squeee!  I’m so excited, but I must calm down because we have a few months to go yet.  I have been hearing that Benedict Cumberbatch is a great actor and the bee’s knees over in the UK, so I am excited to see him as the villain in this movie.  It appears that he has some sort of augmented strength or other ability and some very big weapons.  Some people think he will play Gary Mitchell and some think that he will be playing Khan.  I can’t tell yet, but I’m leaning toward Mitchell.  Who knows, he may be a completely new character.

I’ve seen some other critical reviews of the trailer that are concerned that the new Star Trek movie will be action-heavy and villain-focused.  That is precisely why I enjoyed TOS and TNG and disliked DS9 and Voyager’s later seasons.  I want action and a complex villain that I can dissect!  There was no reasoning with Nero (Eric Bana) in the first film; he was relentless and that was his strength.  Come to think of it, maybe Eric Bana should have been Bane in TKDR instead of Tom Hardy.

Chris Pine just doesn’t age–you know, I think he has done a very good job as a young Kirk.  I wasn’t convinced at first.

Oh and the future doesn’t look very diverse in J.J. Abrams view.  I counted 3 brown faces after watching again; Uhura, Sulu, and a screaming unnamed extra.  Reading the Star Trek wiki, I just learned that J.J. Abrams was concerned about casting a Korean person as Sulu (a Japanese person), but George Takei gave him the go ahead.  I wish someone would have asked me about casting Zoe Saldana as Uhura.  I still think that casting was pretty wrong, but she has done an alright job in the role.  Kerry Washington would have been truer to form, but oh well.

Alas, here’s hoping that the actual movie is a bit more diverse.  J.J., I hope you’re listening.  You have a real opportunity here.

Captain’s Log: New Star Trek Movie Update!

It’s been a long time, I shouldn’t have left you… If you’re anything like me, and I know you are, you hate when things come out of the gate strong and then fizzle.  So sorry, I’m still trying to decide the direction of this blog.  Keep checking.
So, you guys know how excited I am about the upcoming Star Trek movie?  Well, I have an update with the official synopsis for the movie (via IMDB):

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness.

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

And, it gets even better!  J.J. Abrams is going to release 9 minutes of the film to whet your appetite before the Hobbit film.  It appears this will only be available for IMAX 3D, so ante up and pay extra.

Woot!

Here’s a hilarious interview of J.J. Abrams on Conan O’Brien.  He shows three frames of the movie.

So much for the Transit of Venus…

Well, I came, I saw, but I did not conquer the Transit of Venus.  I don’t know if you can hear the disappointment in my typing, but imagine a sad puppy dog face while reading the next few lines.  I stood outside for 2 hours and finally gave up.  Went to my local science museum to see it through a gigantic telescope, but the clouds decided that wasn’t going to happen.  Honestly, the weather was pretty ominous all day, so it was mainly a chance to be around other geeks and nerds.

Success!  I spent 2 hours discussing telescopes and getting recommendations on one to buy. Once the fact that I was talking to other nerds was established, I told them about the blog and, suddenly, there were six of us talking non-stop. It was awesome, natch!

Venus was somewhere between the cloud on the left and behind the building.  Doesn’t that cloud look apocalyptic, like something is going to Independence Day-style fly out of it?

image

Veni, vidi, vi…not so much. Hear that? That’s God laughing at our plans.

It’s Venusians, Venerials if you’re nasty!

So, I don’t know from which angle to approach this post.  The important thing to know is that Venus is about to put on a show for us.  The second planet will be crossing in front of the sun for several hours in the afternoon.  This only happens once every 105 years, so not again until 2117.  I am feeling like a lot of once in a lifetime events are occurring in 2012, but that’s an apocalyptic post for another time.  This eclipse is called the Transit of Venus, which sounds like a Kama Sutra position and it probably is.  Okay, back on topic.  Astronomical phenomena always gets Captain Jackson a little geeked because it gets me thinking about what our ancestors might have thought the event signified.  Venus has historically represented love and relationships and word on the street is these eclipses coincide with significant scientific breakthroughs.  Space.com has a pretty neat article about the significance of these transits.

Oh yeah, one of the proper names of people who live on Venus is Venerials, hehe.  I can’t possibly imagine why that didn’t catch on.

Start looking up around 6:00PM on Tuesday, but only if you have the proper solar viewing equipment.  Yes, apparently, it is true that you can damage your eyes by staring at the sun.¹ Don’t do it, please, don’t do it. Drake.

If you check back on Tuesday, and I think you should, here’s some theme music.  I had to post this because dude looks like a full on Star Trek TOS villain.