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ZOMG, Star Trek. Star freaking Trek!

No, I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m super excited. My crazy – let me show you it.

Normally, I search out as many spoiler reviews as I can, even going so far as reading the novelization the day it comes out, from cover to cover, in a single sitting. I love knowing things before anybody else does. Makes me feel important, I guess. I’ll also watch every single trailer and commercial, frame by frame, looking for clues. I read the comic-book prequel, and came up with the best construct of a story I could from all the clues. Welcome to my insanity.

Last week, the soundtrack to the movie was released, and I’ve listened to it perhaps a half dozen times from beginning to end, and a few select tracks a half dozen more. I thought that, based on the track titles, and musical clues, I could get more clues about the story line. I thought I was right – I found a musical phrase in one of the later tracks that was eerily reminiscent to themes in other Trek movies. I thought that I heard a phrase from the scene in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan where Spock dies. Turns out I was totally wrong – the theme was similar to “Ilia’s Theme” from The Motion Picture. Still, I thought I was predicting the death of Spock. Again.

Now, I haven’t seen it yet. ThinkGeek is shutting down operations Friday to take the whole company out to see the movie. We’re even going to be wearing the same shirts! How wonderfully nerdy! I’ll be sure to post pictures. The theater has huge leather recliners, stadium seating, and seat-side service, which will make me feel like some Hollywood douchebag, but still more awesome than you.

I haven’t done very much, blog-wise, which is terribly sad and pathetic. I mean, this is the internet’s first blog right? RIGHT?! How sad it is that I can’t even write a single word in weeks? I’m embarrassed.

I did go to San Diego for Comic-Con, which was way more work than play. I brought a camera around to document stuff I saw around the show-floor. Things I didn’t record but did see include chatting with Wil Wheaton, dinner and drinks with folks from the BBC, and the getting nearly trampled to death by Samuel L. Jackson. Good times.

Enjoy the following video, scored with some stupid heroic music I put together.

Scene: In the autograph booths between W. Morgan Sheppard and Malcolm McDowell. Mr. Sheppard looks on as two tanned and buxom girls giggle demurely.

W. Morgan: “Malcolm! OI! MALCOLM!!”

Malcolm McDowell holds a hand up to silence the girls and cranes around their miniskirts.

W. Morgan: “YOU HAVEN’T CHANGED A BIT!!”

Malcolm: Shrugs. “Now, why would I do that?!”

Day two has come and gone, and here’s me blogging about it.

This day was, on its face, a pretty good one. It started well – breakfast at Wegmans, and back in time to get caught up on the future of Star Trek novels with David Mack, Christopher Bennett, Margaret Clark, and William Leisner. Those guys are taking Trek in very interesting directions, which makes me want to get caught up in the novels, again. Funny thing is, I had one of the books leading up to the story arc they’re continuing on my eBook reader, so I finally started it during the quiet moments of the con.

Then it was off to the “big room” where all the stars were scheduled to get up and talk about their respective careers in scifi, and take questions and give answers for an hour, each. We started with Mark Sheppard and W. Morgan Sheppart – also known as “Romo” from Battlestar Galactica, and The Klingon Jailer Rura Penthe, respectively. Both were charming and really into SciFi. It was fun to see a father and son team working together.

Next up is someone I would like to dub the second biggest douchebag in Science Fiction: Malcolm McDowell. For those keeping score, William Shatner currently holds number one. Malcolm, you could tell, held only the deepest scorn and disrespect for the fans here. Grinning at us like we were nothing more than a paycheck, and telling us stories of how many of the jobs he had worked on that were near and dear to these geeks hearts were totally forgettable, and meritless. He expounded on how he couldn’t care less about the actual role he was to play in a movie. To paraphrase, “If I was an FBI agent, I wouldn’t care to research the role. As long as the emotions were there, I could pull it off.” His general attitude came across as lazy and uncaring.

Although, he did have the most interesting bit of insight into the Royal Shakespeare Company. “It SUCKS!” He yelled. “I’ve forgotten those nine months I spent there, mostly through alcohol poisoning.”

Nice.

Afterwards, when there was nobody in line at his autograph stand, he looked quite annoyed. Huh. Interesting.

David and Kate Hewlett were up, next. Both actors, brother and sister, on Stargate Atlantis. Their sibling rivalry was readily apparent, and they told great stories about each other that had the audience in stitches. Makes me wish I actually watched Atlantis. I may have to give it another chance.

Jewel Staite, “Kaylee” from Firefly and Serenity, captivated the audience with her looks, and though she had a couple of great stories to tell about her fellow Firefly castmembers, including a fantastic explanation for this photo over here, she honestly came across as kinda sweet, but dumb. Pity.

Finally, to a standing ovation, George Takei walked on, Vulcan salute high in hand, and his partner Brad on his arm. Unlike the other guests, who arrived with no material ready, George went into a 30 minute talk about the recent California Supreme Court’s ruling that recognized a fundamental human right to marry, segued into a discussion of basic human rights with regards to his stay in a Japanese American Relocation Camp during World War II. Then, finished by encouraging everyone to get involved in politics.

James Cawley hijacked the stage for a few minutes to talk about Star Trek Phase II. Though he made sure everything discussed was focused on George, I couldn’t help but feel like he was being a bit of a, dare I say, Shatnerian ego.

Done with guests, we stood in line to get an Autograph from George. I was hoping to get a photo at his booth, but then I had the idea that he would sign the back of my eBook, since I was reading a Star Trek novel with it anyway! He was happy to, and signed it very carefully so it would be quite legible.

“Arigatoo gozaimasu!” I exclaimed.

“Doo, itashi mashite!” he replied, then paused. “Anoo, nihongo ga hanashimasu ka?!”

“Iie,” I bowed. “Joozu ni hanashimasen. Sukoshi wakarimasu.”

Cool.

I was so excited to get my eBook signed, I held it carefully to allow the ink to dry. We went back to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner by way of Wegmans to get stocked up on sundries. Like an idiot, I left it on the checkout belt, and the customer behind me in line ended up with it in his shopping bag, not noticing it until he got home. He ended up calling Wegmans saying, “Uh, I think I got George Takei’s eBook? I’ll bring it by tomorrow!”

So I’ll have to go back tomorrow to get it. Damn George – he’s bad luck!

It was an easy start, though we got out the door later than we had expected. No matter – the early parts of the conventions are usually pretty sparse and casual affairs. The only thing truly set up and running was the video room where they were showing old episodes of Star Trek.

It’s that time again, where east-coast geeks converge on the Baltimore suburbs where they let down their hair, cast off the trappings of polite society, and let their freak-flags fly! Heather and I, being no exception, came to mix and mingle with the friends we only see once a year – where we can share our love of everything SciFi.

The hotel is a very nice old place, with obvious 70’s stylings, but still holds up beautifully. Simple and comfortable. We first hit the dealer room, where Heather ran into an old vendor friend. We eyed a couple of Firefly/Serenity toys as well as some pretty cool Battlestar Galactica toys. I’ll go into those later.

We went downstairs and were surprised to see most of the celebrity guests hanging out in the main hall. Malcolm McDowell, Jewel Staite, Mark and William Morgan Sheppard were holding court with their fans before the official signing-event began.

We grabbed dinner at California Pizza Kitchen, for which Heather was all giggly. I went downstairs and watched the Star Trek: Phase II “wet-cut” episode of Blood and Fire. “Wet-Cut” means that not all of the video effects or audio-mixing was complete.

Let me tell you – that episode pushes boundaries for what has historically been deemed “acceptable” by CBS and Paramount. The story centers around Peter Kirk, Captain Kirk’s nephew, joining the ship and falling in love with his male academy study-partner. James Cawley, the Executive Producer and “Kirk” actor, was unapologetic. “Star Trek can no longer afford to be ’safe…’ If you’re at all homophobic, you’d better leave now.”

The episode began with the most spectacular action sequence Star Trek has ever seen. A Klingon warship vs. the old Enterprise, blasting each other with phasers and photons, tearing each other apart. You could really feel how the Enterprise was really straining to stay in the fight as Kirk pushed it beyond its limits.

Tomorrow is a big block of celebrities, so expect a TON of photos from that event.

Look, I am a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica. Big fan. Where I work, I’ve been trying lately to leverage BSG for sales and marketing purposes wherever I can. I’ve got some friends now who do BSG work for SciFi and I’m as excited as a three tailed cat in a rocking chair factory.

Season three showed me some of the best and the worst that Battlestar Galactica has to offer. Between some utterly unbelievable action sequences and true tales of heroism, bravery and sacrifice, and the utterly ridiculous plot-lines, dialog and character development, I’ve got a severe case of whiplash.

When season four was set to film, I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or decidedly sad about it. The show seemed to be going in a direction seemly driven by the egoic ravings of one Ronald D. Moore. To me, seeing where my favorite characters were evolving made me think Ron woke up every morning wondering how he can write himself into a corner and masterfully get himself back out again.

And then, I went to Shore Leave 29 in Baltimore. There I met Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol on the show). He spoke for a long time about having real trepidation about the direction his character was going. According to Aaron, Ron Moore took him aside, and told him where everything was going. Aaron left that meeting much less worried about the show’s wrap-up. “Don’t worry, folks,” he told the audience at Shore Leave, “it will be awesome, I promise.”

So I began season 4 a few weeks ago with those words ringing in my ears. “Don’t worry – Chief said it would be okay.”

The first two episodes were great – seeing the beginnings of a Cylon civil-war were fascinating! But that greatness was tinged with more of the same bullshit that bothered me last season. Particularly, Lee Adama’s transformation from pilot to politician seemed so completely out of character. I’m sure if I sat down with the writers, they could explain it to me, but the point I’m making is – they were incapable of explaining it adequately in the show itself. Everything felt forced and rushed.

The last episode was more of the same – fantastic plot with more Cylons killing each other, and character development that made no sense at all. In this case, Kara Thrace going from raging lunatic to lover back to lunatic. The transformation seemed more difficult than Katee Sackhoff could have possibly acted around. Again, I blame bad writers. Again, I blame Ronald D. Moore.

And who didn’t notice Weapons Locker 1701D? I mean, come on. I’m a big Trek fan – even bigger than BSG – and I thought that was too ham-fisted.

So, the good news is, CES, for me, was wildly successful. I found a strong collection of new products that I’m ready to order. I shook lots of hands, made a lot of friends, repaired one personal relationship, and strengthened others. It was highly awesome.

The downside to all that super productivity was I had nearly no time to myself. I was able to take a couple of hours here and there, but since I don’t drink much, and don’t gamble, stuff I wanted to do was across town and took me half my time just getting there and back. For example, I went to Caesar’s Palace specifically to pick up some Bacon Chocolate at Vosges, but they had run out. That whole venture sucked two hours out of my day. Boo.

Tuesday, though, I went to the Hilton and checked out the Star Trek Experience. Now that was a show! The new 3d Borg encounter was amazing! I could write an entire post on that. If you’re in Vegas, and you’re a trekkie, do yourself a favor, man. Seriously.

What’s more, the Luxor had absolutely TERRIBLE internet access. Intermittently connecting and slow, I could barely download my email. In fact, I had far more success getting my email on my iPhone than on my laptop. It was finally solid this morning, as I was packing to leave. Boo, again.

Still, Vegas is an incredibly cool city. I’d love to come back. It’s so expensive, though. If I do come back, I will have to close my eyes as I’m signing the checks. It’s painful.

See all my pictures from Creation Con 2007 here!

Today we could sleep in – it wouldn’t be until after noon before Nimoy and Shatner show up. Still, we had Harry Potter books to read, blog posts to write and photos to download and edit. We had plenty to do.

We went to Dunkin’ for breakfast – it seems like there are Dunkin’ Donuts franchises every half mile! Dunkin’ is so important to South Jersey, it would seem, that there are roadsigns pointing to them along the city streets.

We got back to the hotel in time for Leonard Nimoy to take the stage. There was thunderous applause and cheers, and Spock raised his hands in the Hebrew sign “shin” – the tell-tale Vulcan salute he created for Star Trek. He went through notes that had been passed under his door asking various random questions, and oddly entertaining statements. “Dear Leonard, if you feel like hanging out, I’m wearing a red hat…”

He spoke for twenty minutes and teased us with news about the new J.J. Abrams Trek movie. He said he wasn’t cast in it yet, but there would be more news on Thursday. More questions came regarding a possible cameo appearance in Shatner’s “Boston Legal.”

As if on cue, William Fucking Shatner took the stage. Again, the crowd went nuts, and the room was lit by stroboscopic camera flashes. He told his best friend, Leonard, that he would love to have him on the show. Of course, he couldn’t help but rub in the fact that he was up for an Emmy.

Shatner spent a good portion of time fielding questions from the crowd, but he was obviously tired – he said that he had taken a red-eye flight from his home in Toronto, and had been awake since 4am that morning. He had more fun pretending to misunderstand the question, taking the question in ridiculous directions rather than answering the tedious “If you could be any alien, what kind of alien would you be?”

The two of them spoke for over an our about their deep friendship, and their professional rivalries. They spoke of the practical jokes they played on each other – of how hard it was to eat lunch during breaks in filming. If you were first into the commissary, you could eat and make it back to the studio in time to go back to work. Leonard wasn’t a great runner, so he bought a bike. Shatner took great joy in hiding, or padlocking Leonard’s bike. He also liked to steal DeForest Kelley’s english muffins when he wasn’t looking, causing poor “De” to question his own sanity.

Soon, though, it was over. The last guest of the convention, but what a great show it was. I’d like to thank Creation for putting on a good panel of guests. I would like to attend another Creation con next year, but I might save up to go to Vegas next year instead. Tons more cool guests there!

There were only two guests today – Robert Picardo, “The Doctor” from Voyager, and George Takei, “Hikaru Sulu” from the original series. Bob was hysterical, and so entertaining! He apparently sings Star Trek parody songs, and has a couple cd’s worth of them! He sang one which blew my mind, and gave me some of my best photographs of the weekend!

George was very gracious and smooth, his baritone pleasing to listen to, even as he droned on about Howard Stern. Speaking of Howard, some of his lackeys were at the convention filming George, but staying out of the way. Unfortunately, there was also some jerk-off who ended up with the last question, trying to rile up the audience. He was booed loudly, and escorted roughly away from the stage by some of Creation’s finest (a large woman who, the weekend previous at Shore-Leave, dressed as a pretty convincing Borg).

My good time was also marred a bit by the guys sitting next to me. I could tell that they were big Trek fans because they seemed to know the answer to every trivia question there was out there, but insisted on talking with each other throughout the entire event.

Now, we all know by now that George is gay, and we all love him – we’re proud that he’s out and it makes absolutely no difference to most of us. I say most of us because the doofus next to me couldn’t stop commenting on it. “What a flamer!” he would say, his gruff whisper carrying perhaps farther than he meant. He looked at me with a big grin, expecting me to share in his surreptitious comment. I glared back at him with as much loathing as I could express. His grin quickly melted off his face, and he was silent for the remainder of the day.

Asshole.

Friday night was also the night of the release of the new Harry Potter book. After we were done with the con for the day, we ran out for a quick bite to eat. Wegmans was right down the street, and we were strangely in the mood for their buffet. Afterwards, it was back to the hotel for a few while we rested, and sorted through the day’s photos. Around 10, we piled into the car and headed to the Borders.

The place was packed! There were hundreds of people, mostly young girls, and many wearing pointed witches hats. Though there were a great number of parents and boys, I saw very few apparently single thirty-somethings. Hmm. Should I feel ashamed? I can hear Rich now. Shut it!

It was chaos, really. Everyone milling about with no apparent line anywhere, except the line for coffee (which enormous). I got my recharge of coffee, and tried to find a quiet place to wait the hour-and-a-half until midnight – the official start of the sale. The young girls around us were overly excited, and conversations were held at lightning speeds, and at a pitch that would make dogs howl. I soon became cranky due partly to my tiredness, and partly to the headache I was getting. As the hour drew near, we gleaned by listening to the PA system they had set up that the wristbands that we were given were color coded, and we would be called to join the line by color.

I knew this was going to take way longer than it needed to. When the 6th book was released, the bookstore I went to sold chits that represented a book sale. When midnight rolled around, the line moved quickly and easily – people being thrown books in exchange for the chits. The method Borders chose required the money exchange hands after midnight, which slowed the line down considerably.

It was over an hour before we got our books, but got them we did and headed straight home where we read the first chapter, and collapsed into blessed sleep.