Hey, Baby!

Who was that little baby in last week's newsletter? It was Kate Mulgrew, aka Captain Janeway. She has the honor of being featured because I didn't have any member pictures to share. However, I got a few submissions, so here we go! Who do you think this good-looking little person is? Email me at to guess.

And PS, the answer to the riddle from last week. It was a trick question, as peacocks don't lay eggs. Hee hee hee!

16th Annual MarsCon Blood Drive is March 6th!

MarsCon may not be taking place in person, but we can still save lives! Please plan to donate blood during our blood drive at the Hilton Minneapolis/Mall of America (3800 American Boulevard E, Minneapolis MN 55425) on Saturday, March 6 between 10:00 AM and 04:00 PM.

We also need some help greeting donors in the hotel lobby. Please let Mary know if you can come to help. The tasks are simple - signing people in, taking their temperature, and giving them a prize - and you get to sit most of the day!

We have lots of appointments open right now, but they'll fill up fast due to the fact that the Red Cross is testing all donations for antibodies to COVID-19. That means that you should grab one fast. Use the link below or sign on to redcrossblood.org and use Sponsor Code "MarsCon". Jane will be signing people up too, so if you run in to trouble, let her know.

https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=MarsCon

Contests and Questions

Congratulations to Melanie, who correctly guessed our last little baby as Jenna!! I'm out of baby pictures from our members, so I'll give you a brain teaser instead: If 2 peacocks lay 10 eggs in 2 days, how many peacocks will lay 100 eggs in 24 days? Email me your guess.

And also, guess who this non-member (and familiar face) is...

The answer to the afore-mentioned sneaky question is 52. How'd you do?

Happy Birthday to the Gorn!

Did you know that the Star Trek Original Series episode "Arena" premiered on January 19, 1967? The first appearance of the Gorn sparked multiple references in later Trek series. In addition, there are Gorn action figures (yah, I got mine), Gorn costumes (who would wear that?) and even several Gornaments for your tree.

In honor of this important birthday, StarTrek.com has compiled a list of Gorn references over the years. These Easter Eggs are sometimes obvious, and sometimes hard to see. They range from the Gorn appearing as an Elysian Councilor in the Animated Series, to the mention of Bones delivering eight Gorn babies - one of which bit him - in Star Trek: Into Darkness, to that crazy Gorn skeleton of Captain Lorca's. Those writers do love their Gorn! You can find all of these Easter Eggs HERE

It’s Time For Another Cookbook!

Many of you may remember that the USS Nokomis published a fantastic cookbook in 2000. It was a big hit at the time - so much so that an addendum was published later. Well, we're doing it again!

One big change we've had since our first book is the institution of annual Valentine Dinners. Every year since 2009, chefs Emma, Shannon and Harrison have created formal, gourmet meals for us. This means that there are lots of wonderful recipes to share, and they will be part of the book.

The other source of recipes will be YOU. It's time to start sending in your favorites to be included in the new book. Categories include:

  • Appetizers & Beverages
  • Soups, Salads & Vegetable
  • Main Dishes & Casseroles
  • Meat, Poultry & Seafood
  • Breads & Rolls
  • Pies, Pastries & Desserts
  • Cakes, Cookies & Candy
  • This & That

There is no limit to the number of recipes you can submit, so give us your best! Did you get a lot of compliments at the last potluck? Is a particular recipe your personal favorite, or maybe your guilty pleasure?

You can start sending recipes to now. We'll collect them for a few months and hope to get the book together by summer. This will be another treasure for your kitchen, and it will be better with more submissions!

Star Trek and Stewart Win Awards

On Sunday night, the first-ever Critics Choice Super Awards aired. Star Trek shows were up for a total of seven awards with nominations for Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Both Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Discovery were nominated for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series. Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green was nominated as Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series. Star Trek: Lower Decks had three nominations: Best Animated Series, Jack Quaid for Best Voice Actor, and Tawny Newsome for Best Voice Actress. Of all seven nominees, only Sir Patrick Stewart won for Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series (for his work in Star Trek: Picard).

The Critics Choice Association also presented the first Legacy Award to the Star Trek franchise “recognizing the cultural impact it has had across multiple decades while continuing to appeal to and grow its loyal fanbase with new stories and characters.” Well, we all knew THAT!!!

Check out the full story at TrekMovie.com HERE

Captain’s Log, Supplemental: December 30th, 2020 – Happy New Year!!

Greetings, Crew!

Can you believe we are starting the 37th year with a USS Nokomis?!?!? Back in 1984, we surely could not have imagined the twists and turns we'd go through. Hopefully, 2021 will be a bright - if strange - new world! I am so excited to see everyone in person!

Thanks to everyone that came to our holiday get-together. It was really fun! It's so nice to see everyone's faces and just sit and have fun. Thanks to everyone that helped to plan the event, too.

True to form, your generosity came through in our Toys for Tots collection. As one of the three major facets of our organization, service to the community is so important to us. It's heartwarming to see it continue while we are living in a virtual world.

Congratulations to Jane, Dave and Emma, who won the fabulous prizes in our fun games! We played Guess the Gift, jointly completed some Mad Libs, and had our first run through a Kahoot Quiz about our members. The Kahoot Quiz was built from the fun facts you've shared with me over the last weeks, and we learned a lot of interesting information. If you haven't sent me your fun facts, please do. If you have sent me facts and have some more, keep 'em coming! The plan is to have another round in February.

Here's some fun news - one of the teams with USS Nokomis members won TC Trek Trivia this month! It was close, and at one point five of the seven teams were tied, but in the end there's always one winner! Congrats to the winners!

As always, don't hesitate to reach out to the board if you have ideas or requests. Have a great week, here's to the New Year, and see you around the Galaxy!

Mary

Baby New Year??

Here's another of our cute little Nokomis babies. But first, who was that little one last time? I didn't get any right answers, so I'll tell you....

It was Pam! Yes, our own Pam was that cute when she was teeny. Now here's another one to stump you all. Who do you think this darling little one is? Send your guesses to . Don't be shy!