C.A.T. Show, Lockdown Style, Coming in April!

Many of you will remember past years when we had a fun event called the C.A.T. Show. No, we didn't flaunt our felines, we strutted our stuff! C.A.T. stands for Art, Craft and Talent, and the source of these is our members.

In those other shows, members shared props they built, a dramatic reading, beadwork, sewing, painting, and many more items. Some bakery was made and shared. One unlucky soul slashed himself with his own bat'leth, but we won't talk about that...

We've decided to bring back the tradition after our April meeting. The virtual format might make it even easier to share, since you don't have to lug your wares to a meeting. For example, I can't bring my newly painted front door to a meeting, but I definitely can show a picture on Zoom!

Although it isn't true for everyone, as some of our members had a frenzy of additional work and stress during the last year, for many there was a little more time to create. When restaurants, gyms and other venues weren't open, extra energy could be funneled to creativity.

If you aren't one whose last year included the creation of new and wonderous things, you can still participate. I happen to know someone whose dream of watching more TV (and just sitting down) came true this year. That person might share a review of a show she watched or something she learned on reality TV (OK, that part didn't happen). Maybe you tried takeout from a new place or found a new recipe. Tell us about that! Maybe your model collection has a new, or newly painted, piece. The point is that everyone has something to share and it would be fun for everyone to participate. If you don't have something specific to share, just hang out and be part of the audience.

You can send an email in advance to let me know you'd like to participate, or just bring your item/thought/picture that day. We're very informal, you know. No matter what, it will be fun to share!

Mary

Not ONE Guess?

Nobody guessed - or even tried to guess - the identity of the baby in last week's picture. It may have been a hint when we wished him a happy 90th birthday - yes it was William Shatner!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental: March 24, 2021

Greetings, Crew!

I hope everybody's well. Here are a couple of reminders for this week:

There are just 9 days left to be part of the Indiegogo campaign to fund the Star Trek: Voyager documentary. Coming out from the same folks that brought us For The Love of Spock and What We Left Behind (which were both amazing!), the new film just got a title: To The Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager. Why would you want to back the project? Outside of being involved, you can actually get your name in the official end credits of the film and get lots of other neat perks. The link to check out all of the great swag and info is HERE 

I know I sound like a broken record on this one, but PLEASE send me those recipes! I've received some great ones and need more. Also, if you have had something at an event that was made by someone else and was memorable, let them know! In an informal conversation the other day, several of us had lightbulb moments, like "Hey, what about that potato salad - can we get THAT ONE?" You know the drill - email me at

Did you wish happy birthday across the ether to William Shatner on Monday? To honor his 90th birthday, he is working to create an AI (artificial intelligence) version of himself. Future generations can interact with it, ask it questions, etc. According to DailyStarTrekNews, he said, “This is for all my children and all my children’s children and all my children’s loved ones and all the loved ones of the loved ones. That’s my gift to you down through time.” Maybe we should all do that? Hmmmm....check out the article HERE 

That's all for today. See you around the Galaxy!

Mary

Captain’s Log, Supplemental: March 17th, 2021

Greetings, Crew!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a great time at the annual St. Patrick's Beer Tasting party on Saturday! Instead of being together in one room, we tasted on Zoom from wherever the heck we were in the world (those Irish, Scottish and American pubs looked great). Thanks to Phill and Lynne, who trekked far and wide to pick up and deliver beer, each household had 14 fully obscured cans to taste. I especially enjoyed the suspense, as I have always been behind the bar in years past and knew the names of the beers. You can find a list of the top winners in the article below. They won Amazon gift cards for $20 and $10, respectively. The USS Nokomis BAD Beer Board went to Emma for her noxious submission. It was so vile that most of us declined to try it a second time (except the three people that liked it??). Think salt water and vinegar mixed with dry vermouth, and you're right on. It was really fun. Thanks to everyone that participated, and especially to Phill and Lynne for all the work!

We announced a notable calendar change, too. The anniversary picnic, which has taken place in June for as long as we can remember, will take place on July 20th this year. Why? Because it gives us a better chance at getting together in person to celebrate 37 years. If the optimistic projections are accurate, parks will be accepting reservations soon. We'll keep our eye on the situation and keep you up to date. It will be so great to see each other in person!

Speaking of being in person, we've been discussing how wonderful the Zoom format has been for the last year. It has allowed us to see and hear some friends that wouldn't normally be able to attend meetings due to their location. Accordingly, we'll be planning ways to continue using the online option when we're back in person.

That's it for now. I'm off to find a pot of gold! See you around the Galaxy!

Mary

Beer over Zoom? Here’s the result

After the last meeting we had our first (and hopefully final) Zoom-Remote Journey to Nowhere Beer Tasting.   Seven households provided 14 different brews, with quite the variety.  The gallery shows you what we had on hand.

The adventure began with collecting all the beer and figuring a way to conceal it from view.  Contact brand Shelf Liner worked well, in case you ever need to cover your can. (wait, that sounds wrong somehow).  Hand them all back out in a box of 14, and the contest was on.  There were 5 rounds with 2 or three beers, two semi-finals and a champion choice.

After about 45 minutes of tasting, the winners were

First Place New Glarus Spotted Cow Ale, provided by the Patzmans
Second Place Lupulin Javatized Coffee Stout, provided by Phill Goldman and Lynne Tauer
Bad Beer Board, for the drink with the lowest score Brew Dr Blood Orange and Ginger Kombucha, provided by Emma Frazee

Thanks to everyone who purchased and provided drinks for tasting.  I had a lot of fun figuring how to do something we've done more than a dozen times before while still being safe and healthy.  That's the first time healthy has been used in association with drinking 14 beers.   It was fun, and I hope we don't have to do the remote tasting again - it's more fun in person.

  • Phill

 

The entire tasting list:

1 Kona Big Wave Golden Ale, from Jim and Pam
2 New Glarus Spotted Cow Ale, from the Patzmans
3 Indeed Pistachio Cream Ale, from the Hills
4 Summit Extra Pale Ale, from Jack L
5 Central Waters Laid Back New England IPA, from Ben S
6 New Glarus Moon Man Pale Ale, from the Patzmans
7 Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi IPA, from Rich P
8 Heineken Alcohol Free, from the Hills
9 Indeed Mexican Honey Imperial Lager, from Phill and Lynne
10 Sam Adams Sam '76 Lager,  from Karen and Mark
11 Miller High Life, from Mary P
12 Brew Dr Blood Orange and Ginger Kombucha, from Emma Frazee
13 Lupulin Javatized Coffee Stout, from Phill and Lynne
14 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger IPA, from Mark and Karen

 

 

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="21" gal_title="Beer Gallery 2021"]

USS Nokomis 2021 Cookbook

If you missed the meeting on Saturday, you missed hearing about the upcoming cookbook. Our plan is to offer the book at cost, because this is not a fundraiser. We may offer the book for sale to non-members if we have excess copies.

The book will feature the menus and recipes from all of the annual Valentine Dinners and Garden Parties, which have been pretty spectacular. It will also include all recipes submitted by members, and it's here where we need your help. Please send Mary your favorites! We are about halfway there, so we need quite a few more. Your help is greatly appreciated.

The Queen is an Author!

Did you love Grudge on Discovery? Did you ever expect her to write a book? It's true, she has, and Star Trek Discovery: The Book of Grudge: Book's Cat from Star Trek Discovery comes out in November. According to trekmovie.com, it's “packed with offbeat observations, thoughts and universal facts.” It  will also include a combination of illustration and photography from Star Trek: Discovery season 3.

Well, why not? After all, she has her own social media sites and lots of hype. If you're interested, check it out (and even preorder) on Amazon.com.

 

Changing emails? You can handle it!

Is your email address changing?  Please keep your address up to date in the Nokomis' web page too.  You can handle it yourself.  Log in to the site, click on the My USSNOKOMIS button on the main page, then Manage My Subscriptions.  You can change your email address there, and it takes effect immediately.  Now you don't have to wonder if your email is right, you can check it right there too!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental: March 10, 2021

Greetings, Crew!

I hope you're all doing well as you breathe in a little spring air. That dose of temperatures in the 60 was just what we needed after that chilly spell. I know, I know, it's not over, but a girl can hope! I keep thinking of all the MarsCon events that were difficult due to slogging through the snow to load our trucks, but of course we don't have to load a truck this year!

The lack of a physical convention isn't slowing us down, though. You'll see the great results of our Saturday blood drive in an article below. Plus, the virtual convention - MarsCon 2021: Forces of Darkness - starts at 3pm on Friday. They are promising "a weekend of virtual panel discussions, demos, gaming, cosplay, art, science, specialty vendors, watch parties, music and camaraderie", which sounds like a lot of fun. Click HERE for a link to the Facebook event, which gives all of the details. You can subscribe to the YouTube channels and bookmark your pages to find all of your favorites. Don't forget to get the t-shirt!

Also, don't forget TC Trek Trivia, which takes place tonight (Wednesday). The theme this month is "Wait, it's been how long?" and that's pretty intriguing. Drop me an email and I'll send you the link to join us.

See you around the Galaxy!

Mary