THE ANVIL U.S.S. Hephaestus: NCC-2004
ALWAYS ONWARD A MEMBER OF STARFLEET INTERNATIONAL
November 2014
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Ready Room
1
XO Briefing
1
Ship’s Log
2
Starfleet Marine Corps
2
Starfleet Renewal Reminders
2
Treasury Report
3
Away Team and Activity Schedule
3
Quotable Quotes
4
Hunt for the Icon
4
Star Trek News
5
Star Trek Fiction
6
Name The Alien
7
Reviews
8
Area Conventions
9
Command Structure
HEPHAESTUS is the Greek name for the Roman god of the forge, Vulcan. Birmingham has the world’s largest iron statue, that of the Roman god, Vulcan. We named our Starfleet chapter the Hephaestus to give us ties to our city and to Star Trek, which has had its own Vulcan since 1966. Hephaestus forged armor and weapons for the gods. We create our own “armor and weapons” here, in our newsletter, so it is called The Anvil.
11
WEB LINKS Starfleet www.sfi.org Region 2 www.region2.org USS Hephaestus www.usssheph.org
Editor
MarkAdam Miller
Layout, Graphics and Publishing
Brenda A. Miller
Marine Reporting
Neil Yawn
Treasury Reporting
MarkAdam Miller
The Anvil, Issue 278 is the monthly newsletter of the USS Hephaestus, NCC-2004, of Starfleet, The International Star Trek Fan Association. All terms and phrases from Star Trek are owned by Paramount Pictures Corporation, a division of Paramount Communications and all rights are reserved.
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
F r o m t h e R ea d y R o o m Greeting from your Captain, Happy Thanksgiving. This is the month when the diet we all are working on goes out the window for two months. I hope everyone had a fun Halloween. I dressed up as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a Halloween Party at Kingdom Comics and was able to get my Picture taken with Black Widow. This month is the Fall Feast. It is a great time of games and food. Pete will do up a turkey that is very good. Also we will be playing the ship’s favorite games; Dalmuti, Munchkin, Texas Hold’em included. So come join us for the fun. I am always looking for articles, pictures quotes and stories that you might want toshare with your fellow crewmen. Please send the to the email address below. Capt. MarkAdam Miller { cohephaestus@bellsouth.net https://www.facebook.com/groups/Hephaestus2004/
XO Briefing We have had some beautiful fall weather lately. If you haven’t been outside to enjoy the beauty find some time and do so. All too soon it will be winter and the gold, red, and orange leaves will be gone. And the holidays will soon be here. Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been my favorite holidays, mainly because it’s the time for families to celebrate together. Some of my best memories concern being with family. Concerning ships business, I have some news concerning the EC and Second Officer. They all have agreed to remain in their positions for another two years. I would like to give a huge “Thank you” to Sue Ellen, Danny, and Denby on the EC and to Brenda Miller, our Second Officer for their willingness to serve the ship. Finally, remember the Fall Feast on November 8. There will be lots of snacks, sides, and turkey! Pat Hicks booklady44@charter.net USS HEPHAESTUS
1
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Ship’s Log October 11, 2014 Social We had a fun time at tonight's social. We welcomed a new member, Brenda Tiner. I hope we were not too much for you, Brenda. We watch Star Trek into Darkness. We discussed the new fall TV shows, actors we have seen in person and what we did when we encountered them. Brenda was given a Texas Hold'em tutorial. Pizza, pop, chips, dip and Girl Scout cookies were also available to eat. Attendance: 12 People October 25, 2014 – Kingdom Comics Kingdom Comics had its Halloween party on Saturday. Lots of people were there. Candy and free comics were handed out. Several members were there in costume. Your Captain went as an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Attendance: 4 Crewmen Personnel Updates: No updates at this time.. (If you have any news or accomplishments you would like to share with the group please email them to me at: cohephaestus@bellsouth.net. Also your personal updates can give your Captain added info to help get you recognition and awards at summit for your accomplishments).
Starfleet Marine Corps Greetings, The 654th MSG is looking for members. There is a completely different set of Academy schools for those trying to get the Boothby awards. There is no pressure in joining. There are two categories: Active which means all ranks will be Marine ranks, and Reserve which means you stay primarily Fleet and only use Marine ranks when doing marine stuff. Contact Major General Neil Yawn if you are interested or have questions. Looking to boost your Boothby Awards? The Starfleet Marines Academy may be your answer. Check out what SFMC Academy has for you.{ Major General Neil Yawn, OIC 1 BN, 2BDE, OIC 654 MSG
STARFLEET RENEWAL REMINDERS Arnold Youngblood-Yawn Potts Family Mohney Family Mangina USS HEPHAESTUS
11/30/14 11/30/14 03/05/15 03/11/15 05/15/15
Green Hicks family Lindsay Miller Family Robinson 2
06/04/15 06/16/15 06/18/15 08/26/15 09/17/15 ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Treasury Report September Description
Payments
Deposits
Balance
Beginning Balance
$
70.00
Ending Balance
$
70.00
Away Team and Activity Schedule DATE Nov 1, 2014 Nov. 7, 2014 Nov. 8, 2014 Dec 6, 2014 Dec 12, 2014 Dec 13, 2014 Jan. 3, 2015 Jan 9, 2015 Jan 10, 2015 Feb. 3, 2015 Feb. 9, 2015 Feb 10, 2015
EVENT/TIME Anvil Deadline Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm Anvil Deadline Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm Anvil Deadline Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm Anvil Deadline Poker – 7 pm Social – 7 pm
LOCATION/ACTIVITY cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Mohney’s House Mohney’s House cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Potts’s House Mohney’s House cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Paul Mohney’s House Mohney’s House cohephaestus@bellsouth.net Pott’s House Mohney’s House
ALL EVENTS AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE, PLEASE REFER TO THIS SECTION FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION
USS HEPHAESTUS
3
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Quotable Quotes To change things up a bit, here are some quotes from actors from the world of Stat Trek It is important to the typical 'Star Trek' fan that there is a tomorrow. They pretty much share the 'Star Trek' philosophies about life: the fact that it is wrong to interfere in the evolvement of other peoples, that to be different is not necessarily to be wrong or ugly. Gene Roddenberry, Creator of Star Trek We stress humanity, and this is done at considerable cost. We can't have a lot of dramatics that other shows get away with - promiscuity, greed, jealousy. None of those have a place in 'Star Trek.' Gene Roddenberry, Creator of Star Trek Having played many roles of scientific intellect I do have an empathy for that world. It's been hard on me because flying the Enterprise for seven years in Star Trek and sitting in Cerebro in X-men has led people to believe that I know what I'm talking about. But I'm still trying to work out how to operate the air conditioning unit on my car. Patrick Stewart, Captain Picard, Start Trek: Next Generation Star Trek is perhaps the best thing that ever happened to me, in a career sense. DeForest Kelley, Dr McCoy, Star Trek (the origin series) There would be no Star Trek unless there were transporter malfunctions. LeVar Burton, Geordi La Forge, Start Trek: Next Generation I'm enormously proud of the fact that Star Trek has really not just sparked an interest, but encouraged, a few generations of people to go into the sciences. LeVar Burton, Geordi La Forge, Start Trek: Next Generation I was a huge fan of the original 'Star Trek,' and I'd never even dreamed that I would someday be captain of a starship. Scott Bakula, Captain Archer, Enterprise
Hunt for the Icon Did you find the five Icons last month? Last month’s Icon was B. There were five of them hidden in October’s Newsletter. If you did not find them all they were: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Contents page middle of the second column Ship’s Log at the end of Personal Updates Away team and Activity Schedule on the Nov. 7th line Reviews –under the Hobbit in the spoiler alert line. Command Structure at the bottom of Cadet Training
I hope you found them all. This Month the Icon will be { symbol. There are five of them excluding the example above.
USS HEPHAESTUS
4
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Star Trek News Need a Tractor Beam Physicists have built a tractor beam out of Lasers. The laser can repel and attract objects up to 100 times what they thought possible. The discovery was made at The Australian National University (ANU) under Professor Wieslaw Krolikowski. For the technical aspects you can read the article here: http://www.cnet.com/news/physicists-create-reversible-laser-tractor-beam. I wonder if we will see Leonard Doing this on the Big Bang Theory. (www.startrek.com)
Nichelle Nichols working with NASA Nichelle Nichols is doing a video for NASA to introduce their new space craft Orion. NASA is going to be test the Orion spacecraft in December. Ms. Nichols is not the only one who is helping out with Orion. William Shatner tweeted about the Orion”Send your Name into Space” Program ( http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/sendyour-name/orion-first-flight/). Also Michael Okuda (graphic designer for Star Trek) designed the mission patch for Orion. (www.trekmovie.com)
Sorry Ladies{ { I have the sad news to report that Benedict Cumberbatch is off the market. He is now engaged to theater director Sophie Hunter. They have been dating since this past summer. The announcement appeared in The Times. As they always say the good ones are always taken. Congratulations to Mr. Cumberbatch and Ms. Hunter. (www.trektoday.com)
Christmas Gifts I won’t list them here but several of the Trek News service had items that are coming out this month. I didn’t see anything that I want. If you are looking for something to suggest to friends then you might want to point them to these sites: www.startrek.com, www.trekmovie.com, www.trektoday.com,etc. I am sure there is something there that you might want or need from these interesting items. By the way I do not want the Wesley Crusher Uniform Hoodie! (Did I miss something? You have an interesting news item from Star Trek? Then send me your suggestions and articles at cohephaestus@bellsouth.net)
I love the fact that it's not only about Star Trek, but about science fiction in general, and science. Rene Auberjonois, Odo, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
USS HEPHAESTUS
5
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Star Trek Fiction Star Trek: The New Adventures: Whose Right Is It Anyway? By: Donald Arnold Gul Dukan spoke first. He said, “Perhaps, Ambassador Spock, you could tell us about the long forgotten alliances in Vulcan history.” Spock kept his usual face, showing no emotion and he replied, “I am not sure of what you are referring.” Bill’s staff, when the alliance was mentioned glowed and seemed to nearly leap in its own way. Bill said, “Ambassador, I know to what alliances he’s referring. I’ll tell him if he’ll tell us what right he has to the Sword of Kahless.” Gul Dukan and Bill made an image appear above the center of the table. He began, “I was on a routine mission with my crew long ago when we encountered some… mad man in a blue box. He and I became friends and I asked him to take me to meet Surak and Kahless. I thought I would meet them separately but they were together. This staff,” he showed his staff to the room, “…was forged by Vulcan and Klingon rebels who wanted to kill the two leaders. Surak and Kahless worked on it until they made it a force for good. They trusted I could keep it safe and deemed me its Wielder. Therefore, Surak and Kahless had some alliance. It’s true.” The image vanished into thin air and Gul Dukan said, “Interesting. Now, Kahless didn’t have a hand in ours. You see there was a man named Korg, a Klingon who was a rebel against Kahless. He stole the Sword once and sold its rights to Cardassian pioneers, long ago. We still have the paperwork. I received it this morning.” He took out an old parchment on which there was evidence the Cardassians had bought the Sword of Kahless. Therefore, Martok and Gul Dukan had only one option: Battle.
Andorians gathered in one place. Shrun, the Andorian Ambassador had been mysteriously attacked. He was on the outer edge and not near where the fights broke out but he had been stabbed in a point of his chest and back. He couldn’t move. He could barely speak but got out, “He… was… Cardassian…” Shrun had seen his attacker but could say no more as he died there and then. Bill was enraged. Gul Dukan was arrested. Martok was arrested. Shrun’s family and friends held a service on the Enterprise J. Then it was all told, Gul Dukan had tried to run. In the process, he killed Shrun, but didn’t silence him well enough to frame Martok. That night, in the hours near midnight, Gul Dukan was killed by Martok in a ritual vengeance. The Sword was returned to the Klingons. Ambassador Spock returned to Earth. He had been investigating some things in the Federation government. Admiral Chekov was doing well but the Federation President had been hauling out old files and some of them were vanishing again. Spock suspected conspiracy. He knew only one thing: Jim’s was one of those files. Spock didn’t tell Bill that Kirk had gone into hiding after faking his death. He had not contacted Spock since he went into hiding but Spock knew because he saw that part of the file. Spock wondered if Bill or even Jim would get the Presidency of the UFP if the current was impeached. There were a lot of questions. Spock was near Vulcan one day when he was met by a robed figure. When the man removed his hood, Spock said, “Fascinating.” He walked off with the man and no one saw the man thereafter. There were a lot of hidden things in the UFP and little did Spock know that they were all coming to light, very soon…
The afternoon turned to evening quickly and that night the two leaders met in the bat’leth ring. Martok was the favored but what people didn’t know was that the Cardassians already had a plan for these things. The fight began. Metal hit metal and just as Martok was about to take down the Cardassian with the blow that would kill him, the floor beneath Martok exploded and the place went up in a panic. Klingons were stabbing and shooting Cardassians. Kirk and crew were trying to calm the panic. Kirk used the staff to make a loud enough noise that everyone froze in silence. There were about eight USS HEPHAESTUS
TO BE CONTINUED…
(Donald Arnold is a member of the Hephaestus and has written many Star Trek fan fiction. If you have any fan fiction you would like to submit then send me your stories at cohephaestus@bellsouth.net)
6
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
Name the Alien
USS HEPHAESTUS
NCC-2004 {
7
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Reviews RiffTrax: Anaconda By Shirley A. Burtonr (Spoiler Alert – May be spoilers in the article) On Tuesday, November 4th, while most people concentrated on the midterm election results, I decided to spend the night laughing out loud to the RiffTrax version of Anaconda at the movie theater. Before I get to that, let me explain what RiffTrax is. If you remember the series Mystery Science Theater 3000 on both Comedy Central and the Sci-Fi Channel, it basically showed Joel Hogdson (and later Mike J. Nelson) leading a group of robots in putting their own commentary to some of the worst movies ever created. Nowadays, Mike J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett utilize their goofy commentary skills into riffing some of the best (and worst) movies of the modern era. They've done riffings for George A. Romero's vintage Night of the Living Dead for Halloween 2013 and have already had three for 2014: The SyFy instant classic Sharknado in July, the horrid 1998 version of Godzilla (that one with Matthew Broderick) in August, and the most recent for Halloween this year, Anaconda, the movie that faced off with Titanic and lost big time. Before the riffing started, there were jokes and bad puns on the movie screen, including this: On the DVD box set of Anaconda, Anaconda 2: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Anaconda 3: Offspring, and Anacondas: Trail of Blood, there isn't a snake swallowing its tail. Just these lines alone were a great warm-up to the main event. Just before the movie, the RiffTrax crew showed an "educational" short for Halloween which was done by Encyclopedia Britannica in the 1950s, and their commentary alone made everyone laugh out loud, particularly the dog "Shep" not liking the mask the young boy was wearing and jumping over the kids at the end. There was also a sneak preview of a special riff they're doing on December 16th on the National Geographic Channel as they put their own commentary into an episode of "Man V. Monster." They had particular fun with the host of the show measuring everything "by the length of his fingernail." Throughout Anaconda, the three men were having serious fun riffing Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and more on Jon Voight with his scary faces and a point in the movie where he's dead but...maybe I'd better not say that in case anyone reading has just had a meal. One of the funniest references made was the constant search for fuel, as the cast mentioned it every minute or so. Overall, this was a great laugh and reminded me why Anaconda was such a bad movie to begin with. And I'm already considering getting a ticket for the Christmas show for the 1959 movie Santa Claus, which has Merlin and a few demons here and there. (The live show is on December 4th.) Interested in checking out that December RiffTrax? Go to Fathom Events' website, www.fathomevents.com and first check to see if it's available at a theater near you. (In my case, that's the AMC Theatre 16 in Montgomery.) If it is available, you can book tickets through that website. You can also purchase them early at the movie theater. For more information on RiffTrax itself, check out their website, www.rifftrax.com, and look at sneak peeks of what they've done, including audio commentary to some of today's popular movies and videos from their live performances, all available for purchase from the site. (I should know. I have the 2013 Night of the Living USS HEPHAESTUS
8
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Dead riff on both my iPod and my Kindle and have downloaded the audio commentary for Twilight.) Let's face it, we've all always wanted to make fun of a bad movie but could never really do it in the theater. Now we can leave that to the professionals at RiffTrax!
RATING: AAAAA (Shirley A. Burton was a member of the Chapter U.S.S. New Hope in Montgomery. She is a good friend of the Hephaestus and is considered a member in good standing with the Hephaestus.) Did I miss something? You have an interesting movie or TV show you would like to review or be reviewed? Then send me your suggestions and articles to cohephaestus@bellsouth.net)
Area Conventions For additional Cons please go to http://www.southernfan.com/calendar.htm.
November Nov. 21-23, 2014 – Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention – Memphis, TN http://memphiscfc.com. Geek fest for fans of comics, science fiction and fantasy. Special guest J. Michael Tatum, voice actor for many Japanese anime videos and games. There will also be a Lego display for the Lego Maniacs.
December December 7, 201 -- Phenix City Toy and Comic Book Show, Phenix City, AL https://www.facebook.com/events/692422147504396/?ref=br_tf. Our 2nd Annual show will be held again this year at the Phenix City Central Activity Center (1500 14th St Phenix City, AL 36867). Show time is 11am-4pm,General Admission is $4. There will be a Toys For Tots drive as well. Bring or buy an unopened toy for a needy child. Vendors contact Dutch Cummings at dutchsw@gmail.com
January Jan. 17 & 18, 2015 – Brick Fair, Birmingham, AL http://www.brickfair.com. BrickFair brings together adult fans of LEGO from across the USA (and Canada, and a few other countries) to show off their projects, great and small, and to share their passion for LEGO - the most awesome toy - ever. Birmingham convention Center (East Hall) This section lists Cons that might be if interest to our group. It is not intended to be a complete list. It appears that there are no more Cons in our area of interest for the rest of the year. If I’ve missed one, please let me know so I can list it in the next issue. USS HEPHAESTUS
9
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
Alabama Phoenix Festival{ http://www.alabamaphoenixfestival.com
IS PROUD TO SUPPORT STARFLEET Please use us for all Your Trek Fantasy Comic & Gaming Needs!!! (205) 978-0600 www.kingdomcomics.net
USS HEPHAESTUS
10
ALWAYS ONWARD
THE ANVIL
NCC-2004
USS HEPHAESTUS COMMAND STRUCTURE COMMAND STAFF
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MarkAdam Miller, Captain – Commanding Officer Pat Hicks, Fleet Captain – 1st Officer Brenda Miller, Lt Cmdr – Second Officer
SueEllen Mohney, Captain Denby Potts, Rear Admiral Danny Potts, Rear Admiral
SCIENCES
NAVIGATION
Roy Green, Brigadier, SFMC – Archaeology and Anthropology
Pete Mohney, Admiral
COMPUTER SCIENCES
ENGINEERING
Danny Potts, Rear Admiral
Flo Hurst, Commander
COMMUNICATIONS
SECURITY
Brenda A. Miller, Lt Cmdr Pat Simmons, Lt Cmdr Melissa Boartfield, Crewman
Roy Green, Brigadier, SFMC – Security Intelligence, Chief
OPERATIONS
MARINES
SueEllen Mohney, Captain – Chief of Operations and Counselor Shelia Benton, Lt Col – Stampede Coordinator, SFMC Brenda A. Miller, Lt Cmdr – Ships Administrative Assistant Lynnette Yawn, Lt. – Ships Galley Officer
Neil Yawn, Major General, SFMC Roy Green, Brigadier ,SFMC Shelia Benton, Lt Col
MEDICAL
AMBASSADORS
Shelia Benton, Lt Commander – Chief Medical Officer, SFMD
Mike Burtyk
CADET TRAINING
UNASSIGNED CREW AND CIVILIANS
Matthew Potts, Petty Officer Katrina Mohney, Cadet Crewman Tara Mohney, Cadet Athena Youngblood, Cadet
Gloria Greening, Lt Edward deGruy, Lt Cmdr Renee Gainer, Lt JG Donald Arnold, Ensign Diedra Robinson, Ensign Haley Youngblood, Crewmen Phillip Mangina, Red Shirt Dennis Evans, Fleet Captain(ret.)
USS HEPHAESTUS
11
ALWAYS ONWARD