http://ow.ly/Gntu

Sure it’s been out for a two week on DVD now but Black Friday pricing for Star Trek 2009 is really out of this world.

Over at Amazon -Star Trek (Single-Disc Edition) – is only $9 which is half price for a brand new copy.

We haven’t yet seen $9 copies anywhere else, though we’d expect that by January Blockbuster will have them in the previously viewed shelf.

But if you need one of these for an Xmas gift this might be a good time to pick it up.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Startrek

Data

Startrek

Shape Shifter

Startrek

Spock

Startrek

I was obsessed with Jurassic Park when I was a kid. I can pinpoint it as the sole film that was responsible for not only my love of film, but my love of how films were made. Obviously seeing realistic dinosaurs on the big screen was th

Movie Tie-ins: a Look at 'Star Trek: The Art of the Film'

e reason for the former, but the reason for the latter was a book my parents bought me called The Making of Jurassic Park, which included pages and pages of behind-the-scenes photos and sketches detailing how many of the film’s major sequences were done, as well as showcasing ideas that never made it into the final film. I’m sure at that young age (I was eight when the film came out), I didn’t understand what was actually being explained in the book, but even then I knew it was showing me a side of movie magic I’d never seen before.

Despite that book being my bible for a summer or two, I haven’t thought of it in years; not until I picked up Star Trek: The Art of the Film by Mark Cotta Vaz. I have no doubt that this book is going to do for some kid today what The Making of Jurassic Park did for me. It’s an absolutely gorgeous coffee table centerpiece that, as the name implies, chronicles the making of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek from the perspective of its legion of artists, featuring everything one could wish to see from behind the scenes: candid conversations with everyone from the director to the producer to the prop master to the CGI artists to the costume designers, all of which are thoroughly supported by a treasure trove of unseen concept art, pre-renders, and test photographs.

star-trek-art-2

With Star Trek: The Art of the Film, Vaz and Titan books have delivered to fans much of the pre-production documents the actors got to see before signing onto the project, save for the actual script, as well as an exhaustive chronicle of how much of the design process changed between pre, principal, and post production. One of my favorite examples of this is within the section on Future Iowa, which shows the original, distinctively human sketch of what the hoverbike cop who pulls over young Kirk should look like. ILM visual effects art director Alex Jaeger recalled to Vaz, “It didn’t feel future-cool. J.J. Said ‘This needs to be kick-ass. Cover up his face so people will wonder if he’s a man or a robot.’”

It’s not a groundbreaking revelation by any means, but it’s just a sample of the thought process behind even the smallest details that went into fleshing out Abrams’ vision of the future. I’m still wondering if the hoverbike cop was a man or a robot, so it is a relief to know that was an intentional puzzle and not just a ‘who cares, just make him look cool’ moment.

If you’re a Trekker, this is without reservation a must-own book. Even if you weren’t on-board with what Abrams did to the canon of Star Trek, you’ll love reading about the logic behind the changes and seeing how they evolved from a sketch on someone’s notepad to a CGI pre-visualization, to an actual prop. But even if you don’t care about why the phasers in Abrams’ Trek utilize a spring-loaded mechanism or what kind of wardrobe the Klingons would wear, this collection is packed with so many stunning visuals that it’s worth plopping down on your living room table just for the eye candy alone.

star-trek-art-3

The desolate landscapes of Vulcan, the sweeping beauty of the ships in the starry heavens, dozens of unused promotional posters… all captured on paper so glossy and thick that turning the page you’ll often wonder if two pages got stuck together. That may seem like an odd compliment, but should you want to desecrate Titan’s book by cutting out the pages, the paper stock could easily be mistaken for a poster; always a nice touch in an art book like this.

Now I have no idea how much of the content in Star Trek: The Art of the Film is exclusive to the book and how much of it can be seen in the special features on the Blu-ray, though I imagine there is certainly overlap. However, for a Trek completist (or someone who just appreciates fine production design), this is a wonderful, 157-page treat; an exhaustive examination that informs as many conversations as it starts. And if you have or know a kid that loved Abrams’ Star Trek, this is the perfect companion to help foster their love of movie magic.

by Peter Hall (cinematical.com)

Unbelievable!

io9 has what it claims to be a confirmation from George Lucas’ ILM and a frame from the blu-ray version of Star Trek 2009

In real-time play, it’s not even a second long, but it’s clear that everyone’s favorite astromech was on Nero’s ship when the NCC-1701 blasted her to oblivion.

Here’s the thumbnail from io9:

Surak Vulcan

Startrek

Worf Klingon

Startrek

So, I have moved again.  Left behind my Goldbach roots.  I am now living on my BFF Harper’s land.  Ironic as this was the first land I bought in SL.  I am kind of flighty, I guess.  So here are some pics of the house and miscellaneous stuff.

This is a sky box that I have modified several times – Original Made By Geist Tower, pet of Noirran Marx.  Noirran who happens to one of the best DJ’s in SL and also my ex-Landlord (and probably Landlord again LMAO).

Meditation Area...It's ASIAN again!

Bedroom, Yes a mix of Asian and Gor, I love the silk screen and tranquil fountain.

Living at Night

GAMES For ALL!

Livingroom Opposite View with Fireplace

Night time...Views of Saturn and Greenmen

Good Lord, it’s been another one of those weeks where the entire WORLD throws itself at you all at once. You have to slice it all up and deal with it bit-by-bit.

Starting with coursework.

If there are any English/ Welsh people reading this (hello to you Cymraegs!) who haven’t left school yet, I’ve got one word of advice for you (well, more like one paragraph). You may not even be thinking about it anyway, but imagine it: You’re 16 years old. You’ve just left compulsory education with 11 GCSEs, all A* to B. You can, quite literally, do anything you want. Insert-every-life-changing-and-quite-important-job-cliché here or insert-every-generic-menial-or-shitty-job-here. Whatever you choose to do, I’ve got five words for you:

DO NOT TAKE ENGLISH LITERATURE.

It may be highly appealing to you and the next logical step to take as you a) love reading and read like a motherfucker and b) got As in GCSE Language and Literature. Even if you get that B at AS English Literature, 9 marks away from an A, the A-Level coursework will EAT YOU ALIVE. I promise. Three thousand words on symbolism and imagery, guilt and redemption, good and evil or masculinity and femininity within Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” (which, conveniently, I really enjoyed and will read again now the incredibly detailed and skeleton-deep push to analyse is over), Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (good, but not commendable) and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” (quite dreary when it all comes down to it). Ick. Not only that, you have to put in criticism from other, er, critics. I was very notably shit at that.

Lesson of the day: No English Lit A-Level. Unless, of course, it’s vital to your chosen career.

I’m not actually in my freezing cold room right now; I’m babysitting a 15-month-old girl who is now asleep. She was very good; the only thing was frustration because she got very tired and was playing with her fruit and I couldn’t understand what she wanted. Luckily, she cried herself to sleep after a nappy-change and a struggle whilst getting her PJs on (she hates that, apparently). It’s all good. I don’t know when the parents (who are coincidentially absolutely lovely family friends of ours) are going to be back; I did overhear one of their sons say to a friend who came calling for them “around midnight”. I’ve been here since 5 PM. It has been hinted that I’ll get money for it, mind (“you’re our first official babysitter, so I’ll have to check rates” – Clarisse, the mama) but not really expecting anything.

It’s quite good experience, mind. It’s definitely confirmed to me that I’ll be 27 – ten years from now – before I have my first child. Maaaaahhhhhhh. That wasn’t a weird sheep impression by the way. I think that’s my fingers telling me, “MOVE THE FRAK ON, MIKA!!”

DVDs. I love them. They have become significantly more useful since the video cassette went the way of the dodo. Wait, they’re still used today – Okay, the way of the……….insert-almost-extinct-animal-here. Anyway. DVDs. If you preorder them, they may come early. When I preordered “The Dark Knight” this time last year it came 2 days before general release. I though “Star Trek XI” would be the same this time this year. Um, today, I mean. Well, obviously not otherwise I would be happily watching Zachary “Sucky Surname When Translated Into English” Quinto running around in pointy ears and slightly tight things. Well, he does look very smart in it ANYWAY. I hoped it would come today and I was pretty deflated when it didn’t and remained deflated until Sainsbury’s promised myself and my brother that the Pine ‘n’ Quinto advertising stand would remain reserved to us.

Ohhh yeaaaahhh.

And that, my friends, is how much of a frakking geek I am. Hey, I got into “Battlestar Galactica” when I was 15 and was VERY disappointed when it ended, hence why I say “frak” rather a lot. I even named my 8gig 4G purple iPod “Starbuck”. Lawl. It says all this on my profile. And yeah, this blog title is deliberately alphabetical, ruined only by the “&”, which is technically “and” anyway.

I’mma leaving you now to do something. Anything. Not sure what. If I don’t see you before Monday, live long and prosper.

xx Mika

Eaten by Vultures

The ancient Zoroastrians believed life was a constant battle between light and dark, good and evil. Their duty was to preserve the natural balance until, as with all eschataological beliefs, the world would end and a new better world would be born in which true believers would live forever in spiritual delight.

However, in the boring material world people die and need to be disposed of. How to do this without upsetting the elements? Well the Zoroastrian way, which still exists in parts of Iran and India, is to perch the naked body onto a ‘dokhma’ (a stone tower) and let it be eaten by vultures. No waste, you see. Apparently in recent years a lack of vultures in India has made this process more difficult.

A very similar custom called sky burial was practised by Buddhists in Tibet who believe the body is nothing more than flesh after death.

Hanging Coffins

In certain regions in China and the Philippines it won’t be just birds you find nesting on cliff faces. Because the ancient tradition of coffin hanging amongst some groups, primarily the Bo people in China, in Sagada on Luzon Island in the Philippines and amongst the Sa’da Toraja people of Indonesia ensured some of the best spots for the deceased. The coffins were lowered down on ropes and fixed between wooden stakes. The practice does not exist today but the coffins are still there with their beautiful sea views.

Eating the Ashes

The Yanomami tribe of the Amazon do not believe in death. Or at least they do not believe in death as a natural state. They believe all death is inflicted from a hostile source, an evil spirit, a shaman of another tribe. To ensure the evil is destroyed the Yanomami cremate the body after death and swallow the ashes, during which there is a lot of screaming and shouting, thumping the earth and singing.

Another form of endocannabalism is practised by the Amahuaca tribe of Peru. They like to crush the bones of their tribe members into a paste, cook and eat. They also take hallucinatory drugs and kill their children. Still if you’re a woman you get to enjoy the company of all your husband’s brothers.

Funeral bundles

In the Andes the Paracas people would shape their dead into the fetal position and wrap them in a bundle with gifts, clothing, food and gold. The funeral bundle was then moved to a nearby burial site, often in a cave and marked with a pole or a cane.

Exploding Ashes

The great thing about ashes is you can scatter them anywhere. Off a cliff, in the sea, on a football pitch, in a computer, even in space. And yes all of these scatterings have happened. To be buried in a computer was the dying wish of one William Alan Watson who is now spending his time inside a SPARCstation. The floppy drive, hard drive and power supply had to be removed to accommodate William but apparently he now rests very peacefully. Condolences were written on Post-it notes and posted through the floppy slot.

One of the first men on Earth to have their ashes exploded in space was Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. In 1997 Gene along with the ashes of writer Timothy Leary and nineteen others were popped into a space capsule and blasted into orbit. Unfortunately after ten years the capsule dropped back to Earth and burnt up in the atmosphere. Still they were ashes not people.

Writer Hunter S Thompson (pictured above) was determined to cause a bang. His final wish after he shot himself through the head was to be the central part of a huge fireworks display. His ashes were exploded from a 150ft cannon during a party at his home in Colorado, all paid for by the actor Johnny Depp. It cost millions apparently.

Novelty Coffins in Ghana

Getting buried in Ghana is fun. Especially if you’re a member of the Ga tribe. The Ga tribe do coffins in a big big way. Basically whatever your job was or your love, interest or hobby is exactly what you are going to be buried in the earth in. So that guy down the road who loved cigarettes and smoked 100 a day and died yesterday at the age of 45 will be buried in a giant cigarette. The man who wore new shoes everyday will enter the ground in a giant shoe. The woman who washed floors is buried in a bucket, the fish man in a fish, the kid who liked coke a Coke bottle. You get the idea? It is simple and it is brilliant and I want to die in Ghana.

The Religions

We need to devote at least three lines to the world’s main religions so here goes:

• Christianity: House, church, coffin, burial, cremation
• Judaism: House, synagogue, burial (as soon as possible after death, same day or next day) seven days of mourning
• Islam: Bathe the body (males wash males, females wash females (except husbands and wives)) ,enshroud body in white sheets (no more than three), funeral prayer, burial, head pointing towards Mecca
• Buddhism: Prayers and cremation
• Hinduism: Funeral before sun goes down on day of death, body laid head pointing south, oil lamp lit next to body and burnt for three days after death, body washed and dressed, body covered with flowers and cremated

Go Green

As the world gets greener so do the funerals. You can now be buried wearing a bio-degradable shroud inside a cardboard or bamboo coffin within an eco-cemetery (a park or natural woodland) with a tree planted on top. No one will know you were ever here.

Source

Bad thing. Good thing. Bad thing. Good thing. WHERE DO I START? Actually I will start by apologising for the complete lack of updates lately. I haven’t had anything to talk about. Fact is, I never have anything to talk about but you guys must be at least semi-interested otherwise you wouldn’t keep coming back like you do. Hot drink and something to eat? Actually, I’d like a hot drink myself. Waiting for Mum to get back before I make one. Or is she back…

Quick hello to those who apparently referred to me: Hello, Matt Griffiths, friend of my former crush Matt Blaker. Hello,  Antonia Kesel, friend of Charlotte Seymour, whom I know but am not exactly overtly close with. Yes, I look to see who has referred to me. LOL!

Anyway, onto the subjects at hand.

1: X-Factor

Ah, “The X-Factor”. Basically, it’s like Pop Idol, American Idol, all that crap, but it’s current. And not American. Obviously. I don’t watch it by my eleven-year old brother has a strange fixation on it and even my parents catch it. Mum says she doesn’t like it but I call bullshit on her. Lawl. Anyway, apparently there are these twins, John and Edward Grimes aka Jedward, and they are truly terrible or something. I dunno. They’re in the final, and Simon Cowell says he would leave the country if they won. AND YET HE WAS THE ONE WHO SENT THE WELSH GIRL HOME AS OPPOSED TO THEM! Maybe in his mind he’s done right but if I was in his shoes – and if I knew what they were like – I’d send them home. I blame twelve-year old girls keeping them in because “OMG theyr soo hotttt!!!!11!!!11!!!!” (Mind you I am like that over Zachary Quinto, but he is actually lovely to look at as opposed to those two.) I really, honestly, truly hope Jedward fuck X-Factor up to the point where it won’t be recommissioned (right word or wrong word?) next year. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. I suppose that’s why Robert Pattinson is so popular, y’know. Teenagers scream over him, and I personally think he looks like a stoner who has just rolled out of bed (sorry, Looby [http://makedetailednotes.wordpress.com], I know you love like him ). Speaking of celebrities others regard as “bed-worthy”, this brings me onto my next subject. Good Lord, I can feel myself going traffic-light-red already. Must be the Irish in me.

2. Zachary Quinto

You may also know him as Sylar off “Heroes” or the (younger and bloody sexier) Spock off the new “Star Trek” film (OUT ON DVD THIS TIME NEXT WEEK BY THE WAY! Buy it. It’s GOOD.) Or you may not know him at all, in which case…where HAVE you been for the past six months? Or maybe as a fangirl for just under 2 years I do pay attention. Aha. Anyway. Here’s a picture. This blog hath been devoid of a handsome face for a while.

(Churz to http://community.zacharyquinto.com/entry/6a0115723d1888970b012875678fc2970c for the picture.)

See, now, I’m lost for words. And tomato red. Come on. How can you not give in to the guy? Tall, dark, handsome AND plays a hooded-eyed serial killer. Ticks all my boxes. *grins like a frakking moron* I’d hate to meet him, mind: the first words I’d probably say to him would be:

Gnngghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnkkk

or

Hi, I’m Mika, I make music, and I’ve had a massive crush on you since I was 15.

Mika not being my real name. But you’re getting it. AND OH MY GOD I’VE JUST HAD MY FIRST CUP OF TEA OF THE DAY. Sweet Lord. Zachary Quinto AND tea in the space of five minutes. ANYWAY. I could probably listen to his voice all day. And other…things that aren’t weird but may seem weird once taken out of context (i.e. running my hands all over him, paying special attention to his…HANDS! HA!).

Anyway, I’m going to stop being a fangirly now. Lawl. I think he’s the only actor I do get fangirly over, despite the fact that his surname means “fifth” when translated into English. That’s one of the few crap things about the guy that I know so far.

I’m going to enjoy my tea and bother other people now. I’ve bothered you long enough and if I talk about Mr Spock any more I may explode.

BYE!!

xx Mika

J J Abrams Star Trek makes it to the ‘little’ screen on Nov. 17th.

Alongside the movie itself the DVD release will include a few notable outtakes including the deleted Klingon Scene. They don’t quite look like regular klingons to us, but hey close enough. We’ve included the clip below which aired on the Scream 2009 awards a few weeks back.

The other big thing is a featurette called “The Shatner Conundrum” which is all about why Will Shatner didn’t make it into the movie. It’s still the biggest travesty in my opinion and the featurette doesn’t make it any better

Dr McCoy playing space doctor.

The shirt uniform looks ridiculus. The set is fake and the medical tools are a joke.

The whole thing is b.s. but as a TV show was a lot of fun.

http://www.misstheda.com/2009/10/01/turnabout-is-fair-play/

Sinopsis

Pada tahun 2387, galaksi ini terancam oleh volatil yang luar biasasupernova.Duta BesarSpockpilot sebuah kapal yang membawa”masalah merah”,yang akan menciptakan buatanlubang hitammengonsumsi supernova.Sebelum Spock menyelesaikan misinya, supernova menghancurkan planetRomulus.KaptenNerodari kapal pertambangan RomulanNaradaupaya untuk membalas dendam pada Spock, yang dia menyalahkan untuk kehancuran homeworld dan penduduknya, termasuk istri dan anakyang belum lahir.Kedua kapal, bagaimanapun, ditarik ke lubang hitamcakrawala peristiwadanperjalanan ke masa lalu.Naradatiba yang pertama, 154 tahun yang lalu.Kedatangannya didahului oleh apa yang tampak seperti badai petir di luar angkasa, dimanaFederasimenyelidiki kapal luar angkasa USSKelvin.Nero menyerangKelvin,menyebabkan kerusakan parah.Pejabat-KaptenGeorge Kirkperintah evakuasi dan tinggal di belakang untuk menyediakan perlindungan untuk melarikan dirishuttlecraft,istrinya yang sedang hamil di antara para penumpang.George pilotKelvinkeNaradasaat setelah anaknyaJames Tiberius Kirklahir.Spock tiba 25 tahun kemudian, dimana ia ditangkap oleh Nero dan terdampar di planet Delta Vega sehingga ia dapat menyaksikan penghancuranVulcan,sebagai pembalasan bagi kegagalan Spock untuk menyelamatkan Romulus……….Lebih Lengkapnya Bisa Baca Disini

Yang Ni wajib Tonton jg yach…

STARTREK_2009 SUBTITLE_ENGLISH 820mb

” R A Z K A “

Νέο βίντεο για το Star Trek Online | byteme

Η Cryptic Studios έδωσε στη δημοσιότητα ένα νέο βίντεο για το Star Trek Online, μέσω του οποίου μέλη της ομάδας ανάπτυξης του παιχνιδιού αναλαμβάνουν να παραδώσουν μαθήματα ιστορίας σε κάθε ενδιαφερόμενο, επεξηγώντας την ιστορία που κρύβεται πίσω από τον τίτλο.[next]