Captain’s Log – March 2016

Greetings, crew!

The year has started out with lots of events, including a play and dinner for fun, the science fair and packing food to help people, and the fundraiser by the young folks. That's pretty amazing for just eight weeks!

Now it's time to do more fun stuff. We have some of the tried and true events, plus some new things to do. Look forward to a visit to the Minnesota State Capitol, for instance. If you have additional ideas, let a board member know. We are especially interested in ways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.

We'd love to see everybody at the monthly meetings. The number of people at the last few has been down. Please come and join us for the meeting and plan to go out to early dinner afterwards. We love to spend time with you!

See you around the galaxy!

Mary

MarsCon Room was a Great Success!

If you didn't get to see our room at MarsCon, you missed some pretty cool stuff. The theme was Bread and Circuses, from the Star Trek episode of the same name in which Kirk, Spock and McCoy find themselves on the planet where the Roman Empire never fell. Here are the highlights:

  • Guests were welcomed to 20th Century Rome by several characters, including a helmeted police officer, some slaves, the Tech Guy, the Proconsul, several Roman lovelies, the Centurion and the Gladiator.
  • Barbarians were thrown in to the Arena, where they were broadcast throughout the realm on Empire TV. If they did a great job, the crowd cheered, but poor performance was greeted by boos and hisses.
  • Our new beverage, Roman Red, was enjoyed by all.
  • We had fabulous temple columns, stone and columned walls, television camera and spotlights, assorted statuary and props, episode-inspired graphics and more. We also unveiled the new USS Nokomis logo banners.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the room, visited with guests and supported the fun. Special thanks to the committee, who built, sewed and created to make it really great. So great, in fact that.....drum roll....we took First Place in the room competition!!! Woo hoo!

Mary

CONvergence is Just Around the Corner

Our big tribute to the 50th anniversary of Star Trek begins on Wednesday, June 29th. Please put this evening on your calendars and plan to join us for the loading, transport and unloading of the sets at the DoubleTree Bloomington. We have chosen to move the sets on Wednesday evening because it will allow more people to help, as more people will be off of work.

The next step of the process will be the construction of the rooms on Thursday. We will work most of the day on this and hope to be done by about 6pm. Again, please set this time assign if you possibly can. As we have learned, the more the merrier for the construction, and it can go very quickly if we have enough hands to raise the big walls.

Finally, the fun! The convention starts on Friday. Get your badge soon, before the price increases, so you can come and play with us in the rooms. We'll have the food processor, transporter, bar and console, plus some fun extras. Any costume will do, and if you need some costume consultation we are glad to help.

When we're done, we'll tear down the sets and transport them back to the cargo bay. This will take place on Sunday the 3rd at 9am. Again, more hands will make the work easier.

I will continue to remind you of these dates as we get closer, but want everyone to get these on their calendars early. This is going to be fun, and it will likely be last time we see the whole two-room set erected. This is the culmination of years of continued effort, and we are very proud of it. Let's show them how the pros do it.

Mary

MarsCon Blood Drive Saves Lives

On March 5th, members of the USS Nokomis hosted our 11th annual MarsCon blood drive. Thanks to many hours spent by Jane before the weekend on phone recruitment, we went in to the day with nearly 20 appointments. On Saturday, Jane and Roxanne spent the afternoon greeting donors in the hotel lobby, while Pam and Mary roamed the convention recruiting additional donors. In the end, we collected 26 units of blood, which can save up to 78 lives. A bunch of those donors were our own generous club members, and they are the real heroes! Great job to everyone, and congratulations on a great, life-saving day!

Mary

New Star Trek Series News from DenofGeek.com

Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan's Nicholas Meyer will help write and produce Bryan Fuller's 2017 Star Trek TV series...

 

Here’s some exceMeyerllent news – Nicholas Meyer will return to Star Trek to help with writing and producing the new TV series, set to be led by showrunner Bryan Fuller. Mr Meyer is best known for writing Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, from the classic William Shatner/Leonard Nimoy cinematic era (of those, he also directed II and VI).

Bryan Fuller had this to say about Meyer’s return to Trek: More inside...

‘Star Trek Beyond’ Plotline to Focus on the Five-Year Intrepid Space Mission Just Like in the Original Film Series

From www.masterherald.com:

Just like in the original movie series, “Star Trek Beyond,” the third film in the rebooted “Star Trek” movie franchise, will have for a plotline the five-year intrepid space mission to be led by Captain James Kirk, played by Chris Pine, onboard the USS Enterprise.

Despite being a big movie, there was previously very little information regarding “Star Trek Beyond” except with the fact that filming has already wrapped up late last year.

The movie already has a July 22, 2016 playdate on worldwide theaters but the details of the film and its plotline were still shrouded then in as much secrecy as Paramount can manage.

However, there a number of photos and videos from the movie that still leaked to the internet featuring extras and the main cast actors on the movie’s outdoor sets.

There are also sanctioned leaks of late from actors Zoe Saldana, who plays Uhura, and Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock, via their social media accounts, sharing photos from the set in an effort to drumbeat and hype up fan excitement for the third movie of the rebooted franchise.

Paramount has likewise released the first official trailer for “Star Trek Beyond” and fans were finally able to get their first look at some actual footage from the film, which shall incidentally mark the 50th anniversary of the original TV show’s debut way back in 1966, details the Cheat Sheet.

The intrepid space mission

Based on the trailer of “Star Trek Beyond,” the plot of the film is going to focus on the five-year mission, and if the film reboot is going to be faithful to the original movie, Captain Kirk, Spock, and the USS Enterprise team will head out in order to explore the final frontier that is space.

In fact, Captain Kirk described the goal of the space mission in the original film series through the now famous quote that says to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before.

In an interview sometime last year, Zachary Quinto revealed about the five-year space mission being the plot for “Star Trek Beyond.” However, he did mention that there will be some sense of evolution in the characters which was being built through during the first few films.

The inclusion of Idris Elba in the movie also made it big in the rumor mills last year. The actor was reported to play the role of the villain Klingon.

Eventually, Director Justin Lin confirmed that Idris Elba will play a villain in “Star Trek Beyond,” but he will not be taking the role of Klingon. Instead, he will play a reptilian alien named Krall. In the official trailer for the movie, Elba was quoted as saying to Captain Kirk that this is where it begins and that this is where the frontier pushes back.

Not just a Kirk and Spock movie

While the first two films in the rebooted “Star Trek” series featured mostly Captain Kirk and Spock as the lead protagonists, the upcoming third film will also put to the spotlight the other popular characters from the original film franchise.

Reports have it that Spock will be turning his attention to Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, played by Karl Urban, instead of Captain Kirk.

star trek beyond

In the original series, Bones seems to have a closer relationship with Kirk as the two first met while boarding the shuttle for Starfleet academy. But in the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond,” it would be a nice change of pace for both Spock and Bones as one is blunt and calculating while the other is more emotionally-driven, details Cinema Blend.

“Star Trek Beyond” is to be the 13th film in the American science-fiction action film franchise since it began in 1966.

Interestingly, this year marks the 50th Anniversary of “Star Trek” and “Star Trek Beyond” will actually underpin that important milestone in the history of the franchise, confirms Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty in the “Star Trek” reboot.

Pegg is a British comedy actor who is also one of the writers for “Star Trek Beyond.” In a recent interview, the actor cum writer said that “Star Trek Beyond” is going to be spectacular. Aside from the 50th Anniversary ideas, the movie shall also highlight what is happening in the world as well as in the Star Trek world to try to make the film a bit thoughtful too.

“Star Trek Beyond” is the sequel to “Star Trek Into Darkness” released in 2013. The movie is to be directed by Justin Lin from a screenplay by Simon Pegg, Doug Jung, Roberto Orci, John D. Payne, and Patrick McCay.

The other cast members include Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, and John Cho as Sulu. Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella will be the new faces in the franchise for “Star Trek Beyond.”

Simon Pegg says that it is difficult for him to keep movie spoilers to himself because if it was all up to him, he would like to sing it to the world.

The actor also had a cameo in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” but his face was nowhere to be seen as he was one of the alien characters in the film.

He, however, said that there is now a culture of spoiler-ism that exists because people want to get their websites traffic and he finds that a little selfish.

 

Valentine’s Dinner was Wonderful!

Emma, Shannon and Harrison just keep getting better and better every year! The Valentine Dinner was enjoyed by twelve lucky attendees on February 20th. The menu included:

  • First Course: Love Bite Martini, Queen of Tomato Tarts, Sesame-Chipotle Beef-Wrapped Asparagus Spears and Red Grapes
  • Second Course: Cold Tomato Soup with Ham & Boiled Eggs
  • Main Course: Chimichurri Chicken on Pearl Couscous with Swiss Chard Bundles
  • Dessert Coures: Magic Horta Egg, Coffee and Liqueur

The dessert stole the show, as it was a presentation dish in which a globe of white chocolate was melted by hot fudge to reveal triple chocolate cake within. It was really awe-inspiring!

The event raised almost $125 for the club. It was a lovely evening of visiting and enjoying the company and the culinary creativity. Thanks to the chefs for another incredible evening!

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="4" gal_title="Valentines Day Dinner 2016"]

St Patrick’s Day Party is March 19th!

Come to the 13th beer tasting and completion on March 19th, 2016. From home to barn to hotel to other hotel, the event has traveled around over the years. This time it will be at the Residence Inn Marriott in Roseville, where it's been for the last few years. Check it out at https://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/mspro-residence-inn-minneapolis-st-paul-roseville/ . or through our site link at Residence Inn

To enter the tasting you should bring 4-6 bottles of your entry. All types of beer, hard cider, malt beverage, near beer, maltini, non-alcoholic beer or malternative are welcome. You can even enter a soda if you'd like to, as you never know what will win. We are competing in a blind taste test for fabulous prizes, and sometimes the cheapest, most unlikely beer has won. There is also the USS Nokomis Bad Beer Board, which has sometimes gone to the most well-known and expensive beer. You never know!

Bring food to share with the group, from a main dish to side dish to dessert. Another thing that goes well with beer is hot-tubbing, and happily there is a tub in the hotel. Feel free to bring your suits and towels and to change in the two bathrooms in our suite. Some games and good conversation will round out the evening.

Please join us for the fun. If you're planning to come, drop a note to me by email or in the comments on the website. If you know what you're bringing for food, add it to your comment so other folks know, too.

Mary

Captain’s Log – February 2016

Greetings, crew!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and is weathering the storms. We haven't gotten anything compared to rest of the country, oddly enough. Between the major flooding and the coastal storms, we've been pretty lucky. There's still time, of course.

Plans are in motion for Marscon - see the article below - and I hope you can come and have fun with us. Star Trek with a twist, I call it. Save some energy for CONvergence, though, as we are pulling out all the stops for the 50th Anniversary and using all of our sets!

Here are some Save The Dates for the 50th Anniversary Year:

  • June 30th to July 3rd - CONvergence - this may be your last chance to see our full sets in action, two rooms in play, and the food replicator running!
  • Saturday, September 10th - we will be hosting a 50th Anniverary Bash for all of the local fan clubs. Similar to the recent holiday party, we will have food and dancing and maybe even a costume contest. Your ideas are very welcome, so come to the next meeting or let a board member know that you'd like to be on the planning committee.
  • November 12th - After the meeting we'll have a movie night, replacing the Star Trek outdoor movie night we've had for the last decade or so.
  • Other dates may be added. If you have ideas, please share them with the board. The 50th will never come again!

See you around the galaxy!

Mary

 

Lyrics Arts Play and Dinner Was Fun!

On January 16th, fifteen of the crew had a great dinner at Biaggi's and saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Lyrics Arts Theater. The restaurant was really good - if you haven't been there you should check it out. The play was fun and the theater is very nice. They have concessions and a bar and there isn't a bad seat in the house. There is also ample, free parking. It's a place we would like to patronize again in the future!