Digital stories for the festive season

And, way back in 2010:

Last year, my ol' pal Jonathan Sequeira asked friends to send him family Christmas pics for a song video by The Elephant Gods - and this was the result. See if you can spot any McLeans:

And just for fun:

And an update from "The Twilight Zone". Doo doo, doo doo, Doo doo, doo doo:

Officially freaked out. I was running for a bus because it was too far to clearly read its route number. Not mine, after all, I realise. The driver was on the phone, so I waited to ask him where my bus left from. He was *describing my appearance* over the phone, and what I was carrying, and he already knew I wanted the 399. I told him *no one* at the station knew where I was heading, and I hadn't asked anyone else anything, but he insisted he was holding up his bus to tell me what I needed to know.

"Technology", he said.

Last time I traveled on this route my mother had just passed away and I made every connection (without looking at the timetable) from Penrith, to Central, Circular Quay, and Malabar Heights, with precision timing, and we joked that Mum organised it. Looks like she's at it again. Merry Christmas, Mum!

Hold on to your pointed ears!

How does fifteen discs of soundtrack music from the original series of "Star Trek" sound?

For more about STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES SOUNDTRACK COLLECTION, visit www.lalalandrecords.com now and join the STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES SOUNDTRACK MAILING LIST to receive important forthcoming information and announcements regarding the release, such as the official release date, the number of units pressed, pricing and much more!

It is "licensed by CBS Consumer Products and produced in cooperation with GNP Crescendo Records, the longtime home of pioneering classic Star Trek television and film soundtracks. GNP Crescendo’s Neil Norman has allowed for episode scores previously and exclusively released by Crescendo to be newly expanded and remastered for this box set, in order to make the collection as comprehensive as possible."

How cool is that?

Redshirts!

To promote his new Star Trek-esque book "Red Shirts," author John Scazli and publisher Tor created a new song called "Red Shirts" by Jonathan Coulton:

The tribute music video was created by TrekPropGuy.

See more information about the book (and forthcoming audio novel, narrated by The Next Generation's Wil Wheaton), by checking out the link.

Federation: The First 150 Years

There is an exciting, forthcoming "Star Trek" reference book from 47North and becker&mayer! publishers (November 2012). Written by David A Goodman, the hardcover book will feature illustrations by Joe Corroney, Mark McHaley, Cat Staggs and Jeff Carlisle, and will be presented in a unique pedestal display including audio by George (Sulu) Takei.

(Above:) Captain Jonathon Archer of "Enterprise" (NX-01), with Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarite ambassadors, presumably making his infamous gazelle speech. Believe it or not, I own both the Andorian and Tellarite robes depicted in this picture.

Federation: The First 150 Years

More information about this publication can be found at Memory Alpha.

Star Blecch from MAD TV

Cool! Continuing MAD's tradition of satirising all the Trek films, only animated! This is the MAD parody of JJ Abrams' 2009 version of "Star Trek". Thanks Youtube, and Robert Bruns for the heads-up.


Star Blecch

Happy New Year!

This blog entry will self-destruct in ten seconds...

I headed off to the cinema last night, originally hoping for a convenient screening of "Puss in Boots" in 3D, but ended up choosing to see "Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol", the fourth in Tom Cruise's revitalisation/reimagining of the 60s TV show (and 80s remake).

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had quite liked the first one (1996), but I hated that they recast the Peter Graves role, even though there was an interesting, bizarre twist with the Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) character. The second film (2000) seemed more like a series of tedious car chases, but my main reason for seeing it was to recognise Sydney, Australia, doubling for various world locales. It was filming here for months and months; every Thursday night I'd stumble across the support vehicles or notice temporary new hoardings over our iconic buildings. I didn't bother with #3 (2006), although I did buy the DVD, still on my "To View, One Day" pile.

This new "M:I" movie, subtitled "Ghost Protocol", was excellent! Simon Pegg is hilarious, as always; the main team is very likable; the story had some great red herrings; and the action sequences didn't bore me to tears. Well worth it. "Mission accomplished". Very accomplished!

A highlight of this outing, though, was the exciting array of pre-film trailers:

* "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", of course, which I had already seen previewed on Facebook, but was even more enticing on the big screen



* A young Jim Kirk (ie. Chris Pine of JJ's "Star Trek" film) vs the young Jean-Luc Picard clone, Shinzon (Tom Hardy of "Nemesis") as rival spies, vying for the affections of Reese Witherspoon, in "This Means War"



* and a seemingly funny Aussie-set comedy film, "A Few Best Men", which has some very funny sequences with Olivia Newton-John.

Here comes an aeroplane... er, starship!

"Star Trek" Enterprise Light-Up Feeding System from ThinkGeek

Youtube flashback! Number 96 in Best of Aussie Dramas

Another Ian-chatting-about-"Number 96" Youtube find:


Ian inserted into the famous "Number 96" bomb episode's split-screen shot.

THE BEST OF AUSSIE DRAMAS (November 2002)
Presented by Kate Ritchie of Home and Away. Contained numerous clips of Number 96, with sound byte comments from John Orcsik, Elaine Lee, Jeff Kevin, Lorrae Desmond, Vince Sorrenti and Number 96 historian, Ian McLean. Seven Network.

Youtube flashback! Tonight Live salutes Number 96

Another "Number 96" Youtube find:


Photo © 1993 Artist Services. Thanks Fiona Vizard.

TONIGHT LIVE WITH STEVE VIZARD. (20/7/1993)
Hosted by Steve Vizard. Featured flashback footage and live interviews with Elaine Lee, Jeff Kevin, Steve Bedwell and Number 96 historian, Ian McLean. Comedian Vince Sorrenti conducted a tour of Moncur Flats, at 83 Moncur Street, Woollahra, the actual location of the Number 96 building seen in the show's credits. Seven Network.
Part 1 (Elaine Lee)

Part 2 (Jeff Kevin, Steve Bedwell)

Part 3 (featuring yours truly).

Big mail day

DAY 22

My retro "Frankenstein Jr" money box arrived in the mail today. Finally, he has been reunited with... "The Impossibles". Anyone too young to have watched 60s television may be underwhelmed.

Also in the box today was a retro Mego Captain Christopher Pike and...

the long-awaited Salt Vampire ("The Man Trap").

30 day challenge

"Try something new for 30 days", Matt Cutts

My NSW Department of Education and Communities colleagues on Maang have decided to embrace the advice of Matt Cutts in his TED talk, "Try something new for 30 days" (above).

First up is the Photo Challenge (click for the cumulative slideshow). For the next 30 days, we take a photo a day and post it under the dedicated thread for the day. Day threads will be numbered according to which day we are up to. Subject matter? "What's happening in your life/work today?" (I'm already experienced in this type of challenge, have done the 365 Photos project in 2009-2010.

Here's my pic:


DAY 1

These homemade stuffed cats date back to my teachers college days (1979), based on my cartoon characters, Fish'ook and Bluey, who featured in a comic strip in the college newspaper, "Dugil". They turned up in a vacation cleanup this week; hadn't seen them in years! (Ah, Hobbytex, remember those roll-on paint-in-a-tube things you bought on party plan like Tupperware?)

Star Trot x 2

I'd seen "The Paul Hogan Show" version of "Star Trot", but this TV parody of "Star Trek" with the same name from the much earlier "Mavis Bramston Show" - another iconic Australian satirical sketch comedy series - and featuring Johnny Lockwood, later of "Number 96" fame. Very cool Youtube find!



Note that the captain calls one female officer "Number One", so it also drew from "The Menagerie" ("The Cage" being unknown in Australia in the 60s). The "Mavis Bramston Show" ran 1964-68, so it was sending up "Star Trek" as a then-current show.

Here's the "Paul Hogan Show" (late 70s/early 80s) version. It once received a write-up in "Starlog" magazine, long before Hogan became a household name in the USA. The skit uses the same Spock-in-the-elevator joke, not just the title of the old MBS skit:

Star Trek: The Animated Series music

Star Trek TAS music! Art by Kail.

Woah, spooky. I was only thinking today that I wished Arex and M'ress were in that famous TAS cast publicity shot you see around. And yay, M'ress without her sometime-black koala nose - but with her black collar.

Introducing Gmail Motion

1st April 2011 will go down in history as the start of something revolutionary in ICT!

Cowboys herding cats

Someone mentioned this video only a few days ago, and then I stumbled across it tonight on Facebook. Love it!

Superman (It's not easy)

Five for Fighting sing "Superman (It's Not Easy)"

GJoves put this great Five for Fighting song together with images from the 2006 movie, "Superman Returns" to create a very cool Youtube music video. The distinctive Martin Place fountain, in the Sydney CBD, is glimpsed.

A cameo for Therin

An interesting use of Youtube and photo editing tools to present a "Star Trek" fan story as a photostory:


"Angels of Acheron, Part I",
a photostory sequel to "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"
by pauln6
Spot the cameo by Therin of Andor in Part II:


"Angels of Acheron, Part II",
by pauln6

Thanks Paul! Looking forward to Part III! And, in case you mised the cameo, here it is:



The central character in this still is a female Andorian security guard, utilising Suzie Plakson's "Tarah" head (from "Star Trek: Enterprise"). She'll feature more in Part III, Paul informs me.

Happy 75th Luna Park Sydney!

Feeling nostalgic in Milson's Point today (I went off to Luna Park to pick up some anniversary goodies!), I realised that the Youtube footage of the "Number 96" characters' 1976 visit to Luna Park Sydney is actually missing its fleeting glimpse of the familiar face! In this, Luna Park's 75th Anniversary week, I believe it's about time to dig out the ol' pics!


Luna Park in "Number 96" in '76




Dorrie, Herb, Flo and Junior on the Big Dipper


Topsy Turvy Flo


Refreshments? Now?


Junior feasts on hot chips and heads for the Tumble Bug


Dorrie staggers


Fairy floss - and a touch of Marilyn with an air vent, Coney Island


Sydney Harbour Bridge backdrop


Back on the Big Dipper!


One more pie before home!

(Airdate of "And They Said It Wouldn't Last": 24/06/76, Network Ten.)

As for today:


Yes, it's 75th Anniversary Luna Park Sydney Monopoly!
Limited to 2500 copies, available only from their souvenir shop or the website!



I got to thinking, though: this game needed some Aussie icons as tokens, not the traditional car, shoe, thimble, hat, etc. Racing past three George Street souvenir shops, on my way to the railway station, I quickly found a miniature Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in painted resin, a Kombi van with surfboard on top (pencil topper), a silver and enamelled thong (flip flop) with road signs on the inner sole (mobile phone charm), fuzzy kangaroo and koala (keyrings) and two thimbles, illustrating a boomerang and Sydney Tower. Clever, eh?

Ian and Andrew - Gee!

Some days it really is like I've stumbled into the Twilight Zone, and an alternate universe Ian is lucky enough to have an whirlwind adventure or celebrity encounter that seems totally surreal when compared to my usual life.

I was heading into the city today, simply because I'd had to forfeit my usual comic-buying jaunt on Thursday night to attend Night #2 the annual Year 6 musical. Suddenly, a Twitter message came through, reminding me that TV celebrity Andrew Günsberg's "365: A Year of Self Portraits" exhibition was coming to a close... today! I had intended trying to get to this, not really realising that I'd totally run out of days! Had I not already been on a train, I probably would have just admitted defeat.

My trusty iPhone helped me triangulate on the location of MART Gallery in Surry Hills - and off I went. A cheery Andrew G greeted us warmly as each browser entered the gallery. Many new arrivals seemed to be old acquaintances. Typically, Andrew was setting up his beloved, overworked camera to take a new self portrait!

Although he and I have a mutual friend (in Andrew Mercado), I'd never had the chance to meet Andrew G before. His long-running hosting stint on "Australian Idol" makes it seem like he's a part of everyone's furniture (esp. that flickering, rectangular piece in the corner!) I'd been closely following his progress on his "365 Days" photographic project on Flickr, as I'd started my own version (not self portraits, though) just a few weeks before his.

The exhibition was great! Compared to the demanding work involved in Andrew's year of self-portraits (lugging a huge camera, lenses and two lights all over the world), my own "365 Photos" project now feels like a bit of a cheat. I simply snapped off a pic a day on my trusty iPhone. (I was thrilled with the result, and it's fun looking back at a year of memories. Good self discipline, too.) But it was great meeting Andrew at the exhibition today.



I was excited that the very first photo I'd seen of his on the Internet - Day 91, of Andrew encountering an ancient television camera at the ABC studios - was still available for sale. Yeeha! I ended up selecting two smaller prints as well: Day 29 (a casually-dressed Andrew leaping into the air) and Day 120, working with musician James Morrison on an episode of "Australian Idol".

Saying my farewells to Andrew, Mel and little Pippet (the Gallery's resident canine, who loved the smell of Jack on my trouser hems), I wandered off to have a late lunch, and to wait until the exhibition closed and I could collect my purchases straight off the wall. While munching on my sandwich, I began to wonder if I should have asked to take my own photo of Andrew, or with Andrew - or whether taking pictures in a gallery of photos was simply not the done thing. Just then, I happened to notice that Andrew had sent an image to his Twitter account, via his Blackberry, and when I opened the shot... I was right in the middle of it!


Click on this thumbnail to see the larger Twitpic.

Certainly not my most flattering angle. Had I known the photo was being taken, I'd have surely sucked in my gut!

But the fun was not over! As I was preparing to upload this blog entry, Andrew posted to his own blog the self-portrait that he was taking as I entered the gallery today. Lo and behold, I'm in that one, too, just over gallery owner Mel's shoulder!


Pippet, Andrew Günsberg and Mel (and I!) at the Mart Gallery.

FLASHBACK:


Day 125 of my own "365 Photos" project - 12 September 2009.

Omigosh! I only just found out that Andrew G's wife, Israeli model/actress Noa Tishby, was MACO Corporal Amanda Cole in "Star Trek: Enterprise"!