Leonard Nimoy-Heart Throb

My birthday is right around the corner.

and while I might not love everything about growing older, I do enjoy birthdays.  
One particularly thing I've always liked about my birthday is that I share it with one of the people I most admire, Leonard Nimoy.

I loved Leonard not just for his Mr. Spock role

but for his public profile that was always so kind and generous.  He was patient and appreciative of fans, and I really think used his celebrity status for good.  I really enjoyed reading his autobiography I Am  Spock and learning about his career and life.  It remains one of my favorite books, and certainly my favorite autobiography.   



Despite his ubiquitous link to his Vulcan alter ego,  Leonard had an interesting and varied career that spanned that later half of the 20th century.  One aspect of that career did surprise me somewhat, his 1960s and 70s status as a heart throb.

While it makes perfect sense that Nimoy's nerdy outside character Spock would appeal to angst ridden 1960's teens (see below this touching letter Nimoy wrote to a young fan struggling with her bi-racial heritage, Spock of course was also bi-racial being half Vulcan and half human)

his popularity with female fans comes as something as a surprise, because well,  lets be honest Leonard Nimoy was not exactly handsome. 

Still, from the minute Star Trek appeared on the airwaves in 1966 it was Leonard Nimoy as Spock, rather then the more traditionally handsome William Shatner playing the womanizing Captain Kirk

who got the majority of female fans attention.  Something that Shatner has admitted irked him a bit at the time.

 So surprising was Nimoy's popularity with female fans that none other then famed science fiction author and Star Trek screen writer Issac Assimov wrote an article about the phenomenon.  You can read it here.   It is a great vintage article and dream reading for any vintage loving pop culture geek like myself.  In the article, Assimov explains that his teen daughter finds Mr. Spock "dreamy" and speculates that this is because smart is sexy.  Personally, I think Shatner might have been more on the nose when he said that Spock's appeal lay in his inaccesability and the general human desire to want what we can't have.  Both are probably correct.

Personally, I love both Kirk and Spock, and possibly Kirk a teensy bit more.  I think the character get's less attention then Spock in general and I've always had a thing for the underdog.  Regardless, smart and nerdy is always best in my book.

Spot's New Collar and Third Cross Stitch

Little Spot

Is not so little anymore.  In fact he grew to big for his collar.   I kept finding his grey break away collar around the house and when I went to put it back on him I realized it was a bit tight on his neck, so he was rubbing against thing's to get it off.  (Of course we only use break away collars on our cat's for safety.)  All our cat's are strictly indoor only, but Spot is the only one of the four to show any curiosity about the outside world.   He has gone out the door a few times and of course we always bring him back immediately, but I still feel he must wear a collar in case he escapes.  

15 years ago our now 16 year old cat Baby opened a screen in our Brooklyn basement apartment and was missing a week.  We papered Bay Ridge in fliers and miraculously found her but the experience has made me a maniac about preventing cat escapes.  (Interestingly it has also made Baby terrified of the outside world and she never even goes near the door.)   I never open windows, even with screen's, and I'm very careful about the door.  If a delivery person is coming the cat's get locked in a room.   I'm constantly checking on the cats, particularly, Spot, to make sure they are inside.  So the second I realized Spot's collar wasn't working I knew he needed another one.

Luckily I found a cute larger collar in the adorable etsy shop Furocious Kitty  and bonus!  It's a Star Trek collar, Spot is named after Commander Data's cat on Star Trek The Next Generation:

so this collar is perfect.   Spot and I both love this collar.  He has been wearing it three week's and hasn't tried to get it off yet.  

I love how the retro Star Trek fabric look's against his white fur and the live long and prosper tag is too cute.

I really recommend Furocious Kitty if you are in the market for a cat collar.  They have ton's of collar's with adorable charms in lot's of different themes Holidays, animals, food, etc.  I can already see myself purchasing some Holiday collars.  It's also nice that the shop caters exclusively to cats.  I think that's partly why the collar fits so well.   The collars are very reasonably prices, between $10 and $12, Spot's collar was $10 and the seller was very nice about answering my questions.  

In other news I finished my third geeky cross stitch.  This one is Fry and Leela from Futurama and I'm really happy with how it came out.   

I'm working on Twin Peak's themed cross stitch next.  

Sci Fi Saturday-Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience at The Intrepid Air and Space Museum

As every trekkie knows this year marks the 50th anniversary of the greatest Sci-Fi franchise of all time.

There are many things in the entertainment world I'm passionate about (Harry Potter, Dr. Who, Mystery Science Theatre Three Thousand, Futurama,etc.) but my love for Star Trek surpasses everything else.  This probably sounds completely ridiculous to a non-fan but for me Star Trek goes way beyond a television show, its an entire fictional world that has had a major influence on my life.   

I really love the philosophy behind Star Trek, the idea that humanity can better itself through science and exploration, that isolationism and fear of the unknown is destructive and limiting, and that people from different backgrounds can work together.  It might sound hokey, but that is a message that we are sorely in need of today.   The world is in turmoil, just as it was in 1966 and  Gene Rodenberry's message is more relevant today then ever before.   

Now I'll step down of my Star Trek soap box and get to the point of this post.  Last Saturday I attended the Star Fleet Academy Experience at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.  This is an interactive exhibit that allows fans of the show to have many hands on experiences.   I really thought it was a lot of fun.

There were plenty of attendees in Star Trek uniforms, but I wore my Trashy Diva sci-fi rockets dress and a small Star Trek pin.  This dress is one of the first vintage style things I bought about 4 years ago and it remains one of my favorites.  My purse is a metal Star Trek lunch box that a friend of mine whose brother owns a hobby shop gave me.  It contained a plastic Spock model but I'm not a model builder so I  use it as a purse.

The exhibit wasn't actually inside the Intrepid museum, it had a separate entrance. The fee was twenty five dollars which I think was pretty reasonable.

The first thing you see going in is a model of the original Enterprise ship

and a fictional time line of Star Trek history.

There are different uniforms and costumes displayed which I really liked since Im a huge fan of Star Trek style.

A Ferenghi costume for the Grand Nagus.

 One of the sexy 60s looks from the Original Series.

 Comander Tuvok's uniform from Voyager.  Of course I loved this one since he is the name sake for my own Mr. Tuvok.

Captain Kirk's uniform from the Original Series!

A uniform from Voyager and Captain Picard's Robin Hood outfit from a Next Generation episode.


There where also plenty of props on display:

What I loved about this exhibit though was that it went beyond costumes and props, it was set up like the ship with different sections for the different areas of Star Fleet: Engineering, Medical, Science, Tactical, Communications, and Command.  In each section there were interactive displays and games and at the end of the exhibit they told you what area of Star Fleet you were best suited for, I got communications.

Each section had a hall of fame with pictures of characters who worked in that area:

I'm one of the few Trekkies who love the Wesley Crusher character, he had the best sweaters, so I had to take my picture next to his hall of fame  section.

There were also different games and tests for each section:

In  command you watch videos of different captains from the show and read about how they make decisions.

Engineering had quizzes and displays about parts of the ship.

Another section had a planet you could scan so you could see where to land during an emergency.

I particularly liked sick bay where you scanned and diagnosed an injured Klingon.

And of course there was a transporter

The last and best part was the bridge.   

You could take the  Kobayashi Maru.  The famous no win Star Fleet test Kirk won by reprograming (I lost twice)

Sit in the science, tactical, and navigation stations:

and of course the Captain's Chair:

All  in All I really thought this was a great exhibit and a must for any Trekkie who can attend.  Live long and prosper.  

Riff Trax

Decades ago my late dad used to spend his Saturday afternoons watching a fun show with a truly unique premise.  A man and his robot palls are stuck in space and forced to watch bad movies

Teenage me watched the show and laughed and I saw the movie, with my dad, in the theatre, twice (he was a nerd, like me).

 I was a fan, but not a huge fan.  

Then about six years ago I rediscovered the show on netflix and became a massive fan, a MSTie. 

 I watched episodes repeatedly, bought boxed sets, and quoted lines back and forth with my husband.  After Star Trek, it is my favorite show.  

There is so much to love about MST3K.  The kitschy old films

the hosts

the robots

the mad scientists

Especially Frank

the songs

the Star Trek references

the educational shorts

the home made low tech sets

its all perfect.  There are plenty of articles about MST3Ks influence on pop culture, but  the bottom line is that its just a great show!  Which is why it is so sad that it was canceled and so great that its coming back.

However, its never really left, because we have Riff Trax.

Starring three MST3K alumns, Riff Trax offers hilarious streaming commentary on mainstream films like the Twilight Saga

b movie riffs

"educational shorts"

and live shows

The live shows are my favorite.   They are streamed from Nashville to theaters all over the US and are always fun. Usually John and I go to a theatre in NJ and its empty, but once we went in Manhattan and it was packed.  I prefer the empty theatre.  This Thursday they are riffing Time Chasers a hilariously bad 1994 film.  

I already have my tickets and can't wait.  If  you like MST3K, kitsch, or cheesy movies you owe it to yourself to check out Riff Trax.