The Blog to Nowhere

- Did a second locked library yesterday. It was part of Beakerhead, a science/art mash-up that's held in the city every year, so this locked library was much bigger than the last one I did; around 900 people, so roughly 200 teams. It was also held in the central library downtown, which is six stories tall. The size really helped with crowd control. The other locked library was held in a smaller library that only had two floors, so all of the teams started in the same place. This time, they split the teams across the various floors, so you had a different starting point depending on the colour of the wristband you were given.

And this locked library was space themed! The premise was the library was a prison ship for library offenders, i.e. late fees, people who fold down the corner of the page to mark their place, etc. You had to gather code words and then those words correlated to symbols, and then those symbols were the entry code for the escape pod. I think this locked library was a little easier than the other one. You mostly had to find words and then you pulled letters from those words to get the code word. It was somewhat easy to guess the code word even if you didn't have all of the letters. My team finished in the top third and it only took us one hour out of the three that was allotted. I think what helped the most was the use of our phones. You could take pictures of everything and then solve the puzzle, rather than going from clue to clue. I don't think it was cheating per se, there was nothing in the instructions that forbade the use of phones, but I did see a few teams where they approached it without any technological aids.

But anyway, the space theme. I wish I had more time to really appreciate the set-up, but you're too busy running around like a crazy person to really absorb the little details. At one point, there was an orientation video that you had to watch and that was pretty funny. I felt like the space prison for library offenders was something Doctor Who might do; hell, I might write something around that if I find the time.

I hope the locked library is a staple of Beakerhead going forward. By next year, the new central library should be done, so that'd be a great way to get people to the new location.

- Star Trek: Discovery premieres next week. Notice the lack of an exclamation point in the previous sentence. I mean, it's nice that there's a new Star Trek show, but I have a feeling that it won't be great. It's like the writers and the producers lost their vision of the show along the way. And the Klingons look weird! They say the show is set in the Prime Universe, but the visuals skew more towards the Kelvin Timeline. I don't know. Maybe Discovery will surprise me; one can only hope.

- In prep for the premiere, Space, the channel that will be airing Discovery (yup, no pay wall for Canada), is doing Star Trek marathons this weekend and next weekend. In a clever bit of scheduling, all of the episodes today are ones that feature the second in command. So the DS9 eps are all about Kira, the TNG ones are all about Riker, etc. Neat little nod to Michael, who will be the latest Commander to hit our screens. I also laughed when I saw that all of the Enterprise episodes are in the middle of the night. :-D Man, I love Space. Run by geeks, for geeks.

- I had some free time so I decided to watch the first episode of season three of Star Trek: the infamous "Spock's Brain". People always say it's the worst episode of TOS, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. Granted, I haven't seen every episode of the series yet, but when compared to what I've seen so far, I can say that there are worst episodes than "Spock's Brain".

Yes, the main point of the plot involves an alien race removing Spock's brain so they can use it to run the systems of their underground city, and yes, Spock's body lurches around with a fetching motor control device on his head, but it's not the weirdest plot ever. How often do we see stories where humans are used like batteries to power something? I think the episode gets a bad rap because everyone just giggles when they hear the words "Spock's Brain" and it's hard to be objective. Seriously, I wanted to laugh each time the phrase "Spock's brain" was used in dialogue.

This episode definitely falls into the category of "so bad it's good" rather than "oh my god, that was so boring I wanted to rip my eyes out".

- I finally got around to finishing my Jessica Jones infinity scarf, so I'll be going as her to my friend's Halloween party. Such an easy costume; I love it. I'll definitely have to wear it again during one of the days of the comic book expo.

- I've been working a temp job for the past couple of weeks and my manager said people totally dress up on Halloween, so I get to go into work in costume on Monday. That'll be fun. This will be the first time I've worn a costume to work. I'm thinking I'll go with my Fourth Doctor cosplay, since it's quirky enough that it doesn't look like my usual work clothes, but it's also comfortable to sit in. My co-workers and I have chatted about Doctor Who, so they will totally recognize the outfit.

- I've been so busy, I never got around to writing about the rest of Luke Cage. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it as much as Jessica Jones or season one of Daredevil. It was definitely a slow burner. Even towards the end, I didn't feel a huge sense of urgency.

( Spoilers for Luke Cage season one )

Iron Fist is up next and then The Defenders. I'm really looking forward to The Defenders. DC has had some great success teaming up the Berlantiverse superheroes, so it's about time Marvel got in on that action.

Happy 50th anniversary Star Trek!

I've been making my way through season two of Star Trek at a much slower rate than season one, so I'm only half way through the season, but I figured that today would be a good day to get my thoughts down. I know, "The Man Trap" aired September 8, 1966, but it actually aired two days earlier in Canada on September 6, 1966, so as a Canadian, I'm celebrating early. :-)

What I've noticed so far is how they emphasized the characters this season. First season, the main focus was on the trio of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, but this season, you see more interaction with the other main crew. Scotty's had more to do, Uhura doesn't just sit there and say "Hailing frequencies open", and Chekov, while introduced this season, has more personality to him than the random navigators they had come through the bridge. I feel like Sulu hasn't had much, but George Takei was absent for a bit while filming The Green Berets so maybe that has something to do with it. I guess it reflects how life would be aboard a starship. As you spend more time with people, your relationships grow deeper and everyone gets a lot closer.

( Review of Star Trek season two, episodes 1-14 (spoilers I guess) )

I feel like the majority of the TOS episodes that I had seen before this re-watch were from season two. Maybe this was TOS' best season. Looking ahead to season three, none of the episode titles look familiar.

So, my big Star Trek vacation. I attended this con five years ago, and it had been impressive then, but this year was even more impressive. Over 100 guests (some major, some minor), and seating for 6000 in the main panel room. That may not seem like a lot - hell, the Corral here holds just as many people - but that's still up from the seating for 4000 attendees when I was there last. Total attendance was, supposedly, around 10,000. That's a lot of people to squish into the hotel's convention area, which is large, but contained to one section of the hotel.

Actually, now that I think about it, that's probably 10,000 attendees over five days. The con sold one day admission passes for the first time. Still, that's a ton of people for any con in general.

Everything kicked off on Wednesday and went on straight until Sunday. I'm so glad I had a room in the hotel. After a long day, you could just go back to your room and lie down.

I should note that I didn't get my new camera until Saturday, so there's a mix of pictures taken with my phone and with the camera. I should also warn you that this is a long post with several pictures.

( Star Trek Las Vegas 50th anniversary convention )

Now I really want to re-watch all of the Star Trek shows, starting with TOS and ending with Enterprise. That's only what? 700+ episodes? Wait, should I include the animated series, too?

- Off to Las Vegas for a Star Trek 50th Anniversary convention. The con actually started today, but it's just pre-registration, so things really don't get started until tomorrow. I thought they would ease into things, but they have guests panels starting tomorrow plus autographs and photo-ops. This con means business. ;-) Since I assumed nothing would be happening tomorrow, I bought tickets to Marvel's Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. attraction at Treasure Island. So once I land in Vegas, I have to rush to the hotel, drop off my bags and/or check in, then book it over to the Strip. I'll do registration in the evening; hopefully that won't take long.

- In preparing for my trip, I decided to back up my phone just in case. I was prompted to do a software update, so I hit yes and did the download and install. Stupid phone decided to stall in the middle of the update so suddenly I didn't have a working phone. :-P This totally wasn't something I wanted to deal with a day before my vacation. Thankfully, there's an Apple store at the mall so I rushed over there to get help. One of the guys did something and the update finally took. Luckily, I had a back-up of my phone from when I was trying to install the update, so I didn't lose anything.

But this whole thing made me realize just how dependant I am on my phone. It's not just that all of my contacts are on it. I'm so used to using my phone as a watch that I had no idea what time it was when I got to the mall. Hell, I didn't even know what time it was to go back for my appointment with the Apple guys. It was so disconcerting not knowing the time of day at a glance. It's scary how much of your life is tied up with one device.

- All right, have to finish packing. Yes, I'm still packing.

- newnumber6 mentioned he was going to re-watch Sliders and that got me wanting to re-watch, too, so I got my hands on the first season. I probably haven't seen any of these episodes since they aired 20 years ago, but I could remember bits and pieces. Some of the CGI is a bit dodgy, but the premise is still a great one. It's a shame that there aren't more TV shows dealing with alternative worlds. The story possibilities are endless. It'd also be cheaper than a time travel show, as travel is regulated to one time period. So you can have an unfamiliar setting, but you can still have familiar landmarks and technology.

If someone decided to reboot Sliders, I actually wouldn't mind, but it would have to be done right. These days, I think a writer/producer would be inclined to add an overall arc and a big mysterious backstory, which is what brought down the show back in the day. I don't care about aliens who can also slide and an Earth Prime and Quinn being from another Earth that wasn't ours and having a secret brother. Keep it simple. The only arc that should matter is whether the characters find their way back home.

- I finally finished book five of The Expanse series. As the the library didn't have the ebook version, I had to read a hard copy and I swear I read slower when the words are on a page rather than a screen. I guess my eyes are more used to reading off of my phone. Thing is, I prefer reading The Expanse books on my phone as the actual books are thick tomes that don't travel very well in a backpack or a purse. But anyway... I'm caught up! Book six lands in November. It's crazy how they can put out a book every year, but since James S.A. Corey is actually two guys, I can see how the work can go faster.

All of The Expanse books are good, but Nemesis Games was really good. For once, the four POVs weren't split between Holden and three new characters. Every member of the Rocinante crew got to tell their portion of the story and it made the plot more compelling since you know these characters and you really worry when any of them are in trouble. I don't know if book six will follow the same formula. It'd be nice if it did, but that means the crew has to be split up again, and I'm not fond of the idea.

The TV show needs to play catch-up, but if the producers don't want to make a book a season, then that's okay, too. It just means more of the plot will make it onto the screen. The series is chock full of things that shouldn't be overlooked.

- Looks like Space will be airing the new Star Trek series next year. Not to brag, but Canada will be the only place where it won't be behind a pay wall. Thank goodness for Canadian content. Now I won't have to watch the show through "alternative means".

- And Star Trek Beyond is out in theatres this weekend. I'm seeing mixed reviews, which is not great, but I'm still going to see it regardless. If I don't see it opening weekend, I'm totally going to get spoiled on the plot at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas and I so don't want that to happen.

- Had to cancel my cruise for this year. It's been planned since last year, but I just don't have the funds right now for a vacation overseas. I'm bummed, sure, but I have the Star Trek 50th anniversary con in Las Vegas to look forward to and I think that'll be more fun. Ronald D. Moore, Star Trek writer extraordinaire and creator of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, is one of the guests and I'm super excited to see him. Most cons don't bother to have writers as guests so it'll be a great chance to hear him talk about the process. I really want him to sign something but I don't know what yet. Hopefully he is doing autographs.

- I'm still watching Legends of Tomorrow. I love the characters, but logistics is not the show's strong suit. It feels like the writers have no idea what to do with all of the characters or how to work their powers and skill sets organically into the plot. So we get a lot of scenarios where half of the team is back on the Waverider twiddling their thumbs and it makes no sense. Oh sure, the writers try their best to explain it away, but in the end, Rip just ends up looking like an idiot. I really hope they learn how to balance everyone as the show progresses.

( Spoilers for Legends of Tomorrow 1x06, "Star City 2046" )

- Still knitting away at my friend's season 16/17 Fourth Doctor scarf. I've started the "Duplicate" half, so I'm at least 50% done. I get so bored doing endless rows of garter stitch that I started a bunch of side projects to keep my sanity. I'm nearly done Rose's wrist warmers from "Doomsday" and I came up with a pattern that replicates Jessica's infinity scarf from Jessica Jones. It's not a super accurate design, but it's good enough for my liking.

- Agent Carter is done for the season tomorrow. :-( I hope the show gets renewed for a third season. Maybe Netflix can pick it up if ABC decides to drop it? I mean, if Full House can get a revival, then surely Agent Carter can find a good home there.

I don't think I squeed about this here. Japanese subbed trailer because of the extra, like, eight seconds at the end:


Mmm, Benedict Cumberbatch playing the villain...

Having a slight real world geek problem, though. It's out May 17 and that's the same weekend I'm seeing The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring live (live in the sense that the local orchestra is playing the music live while you watch the movie). So pack in Star Trek Into Darkness and LOTR into one geek filled day? Decisions, decisions...

Well, off to Las Vegas tomorrow, for, let's be honest, a Star Trek convention. This continues a trend of sorts. Last time I was in Las Vegas, my family and I mostly went because we wanted to visit the Star Trek: The Experience.

The con's run by the same people who do the Stargate conventions I've visited before, so lots of organized chaos is to be expected. Also tons of guests. It's kind of ridiculous how many guests they have, but really, a majority of them are actors who only appeared once at some point in the franchise's life. Don't get me wrong, there are major players, too. Like Shatner and Nimoy. And Sir Patrick Stewart! I totally would have gotten an autograph ticket or a photo-op with him if it wasn't so friggin' expensive.

Hopefully this trip is better than the last Vegas trip. Last time, I was under age and thus couldn't gamble. I couldn't even legally hang out on the casino floor. I also got horribly sick and the heat totally kicked my ass. Not that I'll be outside lots. I really have no reason to leave the hotel. Well, except maybe to find some free wi-fi.

So I spent my weekend at the local comic book and entertainment expo. A lengthy title for what's basically a convention at heart. The media guests are the main draw but there are tons of comic book artists and other exhibitors that are also part of the package. This year was the biggest one they've done by far and no offense to the organizers, who were all wonderful and very patient, but they seriously under estimated how many people would come through the doors.

The main reason? Leonard Nimoy, Mr. Spock himself, was the big main media guest. Last year, Edward James Olmos showed up, and that was a big deal, but it was so last minute. This year, the expo people knew since January Leonard Nimoy was coming and they had been advertising like crazy. Maybe too crazy because I swear, the entire population of Alberta showed up to get his picture and his autograph.

( Crazy expo going experiences behind the cut )

Oh, also saw some great costumes. Obviously, more Star Trek costumes than I could count, and anime stuff I didn't understand, but I saw some Mass Effect 2 costumes and some Doctor Who costumes. I saw a Fourth Doctor, a guy dressed like the Master from "The End of Time" (though my sister joked, "Are you sure he wasn't just a hobo?"), a lady dressed as a Time Lord in a robe, but minus the funny hat, and a girl dressed like Ten. I can dream that one day the expo will get someone from Doctor Who. Russell lives in LA now; how hard would it be to get him to fly up?

Long story short: long weekend, long lines. I want to spend next weekend taking a nap.