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Ezine "Excellere" Number 76.

January- february 2010. Casa Juillet . Chile. English Version.
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The Whole World of Star trek ..........By Director Shafer.

I. INTRODUCTION
1. WHAT IS STAR TREK?For those among us living in a cave the last 40 years, Star Trek was atelevision science fiction show that aired on NBC television for threeseasons, from 1966, until 1969, and which chronicled the adventures ofthe Starship Enterprise, a paramilitary exploration vessel sent out byan organization known as Starfleet Command to explore strange newworlds on behalf of the United Federation of Planets. It has become,in the interceding years, a global phenomenon, with sequels andprequels made of the original show. There are now Star Trek books,movies, comics, cartoons, games, etc. and they all spawned from theoriginal television series. Because Star Trek has ingrained itself in so many areas ofentertainment and culture, those discussions can be far afield, soalmost everything is on topic here, since almost everything can beconnected to Star Trek. A reference to the relevance to Star Trek isusually appreciated in all subjects discussed here.------------------------------------------II. TREK SLANGUAGE 4. THAT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT I SEE ALL THESE STAR TREK RELATEDWORDS AND ACRONYMS BEING THROWN ABOUT. WHAT DO THEY MEAN?As with any culture, Star Trek has created a bit of its own language.Here are some of the phrases that are part of the world of Star Trek. B&B: Everywhere else, this stands for "Bed & Breakfast". Here, itrefers to the last initials of the two men, Rick Berman and BrannonBraga, that have been in charge of the Star Trek franchise sincemidway through The Next Generation's run. Sometimes not held in highesteem by fans of TOS, because of perceived lack of respect for thatshow, but they take heat from fans of all the shows. CANON: Short dictionary definition of Canon: "A body of works orwritings recognized as approved or official." In Star Trek "Canon" isa word thrown about to indicate absolute truths about what happened onthe show. Thus, what constitutes canon is the actual content of theepisodes of the various Star Trek television shows and theatricalfeatures. For obvious reasons, this excludes fanfic. It also excludesthe novels, technical manuals, and other products such as the comicbooks from Gold Key, Marvel, and DC, despite the fact that these are"officially licensed" products. In addition, the half-hour animatedtelevision series featuring the voices of most of the cast of StarTrek (TAS) is generally excluded from canon as well, possibly becauseit was produced by Filmation, rather than Paramount, though noofficial reason has been given. Interpretations of Canon create a lotof the discussions in alt.tv.star-trek.tos. CLASSIC TREK: Another name for The Original Series, which was used inthe late 80's, after the premier of The Next Generation, when the "NewCoke" fiasco was fresh in everyone's mind, the idea being that TheNext Generation was to New Coke what The Original Series was to Coca-Cola Classic. A few wits went so far as to apply the nickname "DietTrek" to the Animated Series. With the advent of the internet, thename "Classic Trek" gradually gave way to the easier-to-type "TOS".Nowadays, the term "Classic Trek" can be taken to loosely refer to theentire onscreen adventures of the original crew, namely the originalSeries, the Animated Series, and the first 6 "Star Trek" movies. DS9: Abbreviation for the fourth Star Trek series, "Star Trek: DeepSpace Nine", which appeared as a syndicated show from 1993 to 1999.This was the first show to not feature the
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starship Enterprise, as itwas set aboard a stationary space station. Its only connection to TheOriginal Series is an occasional reference to that show in very rareepisodes. This show takes place at roughly the same time period asTNG, roughly 80 years after TOS. ENTERPRISE (Ship): Name of the ship (Registry Number NCC-1701) That isused throughout the run of The Original Series. Ship was finallydestroyed in the motion picture, "Star Trek III: The Search forSpock." ENTERPRISE A (Ship): Ship introduced at the very end of Star Trek IVand used during the next two TOS movies. ENTERPRISE (Show): The sixth show in the Star Trek franchise.Enterprise is the first 'Star Trek' franchise series to be set priorto the events of TOS. Show debuted on The Paramount Network in 2001,and is set approximately 100 years before the events of The OriginalSeries. The only connection to the Original Series is use of the nameEnterprise and some of the alien species and planets first mentionedin The Original Series, though such references frequently contradictpreviously established facts. FANFIC: Short for Fan Fiction. Unlicensed writings about TOScharacters by fans of the show. REDSHIRTS: Security Guards that appear on the show, usually only longenough to die a grisly death. They are named this because of the colorof their shirts. (Duh) RETCON: "Retroactive Continuity". A process where things that wereconsidered true in an early episode are changed in later episodes,sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally. In many cases, thelast word is considered, the authoritative one, though this issometimes highly debatable. Also, not all changed concepts arenecessarily mutually exclusive. For example, if Captain Kirk has onemiddle initial in the pilot, but a different middle initial is usedevery other time such is referenced, this could be considered achange, or it could just be that he's got two middle initials. SLASH: A term used by writers of fanfic to indicate a pairing of twoor more Star Trek characters. The term comes from the "slash" usedbetween the characters in the writing. Such as, Spock/Chapel, whichwould be fan fiction that would have a Spock and Christine Chapelrelation in it. Slash fiction can take many forms, homosexual;heterosexual and multi species pairings are not uncommon. There arefour other newsgroups, alt.tv.star-trek.tos.slash,alt.sex.fetish.startrek, alt.startrek.creative.erotica, andalt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated, specially devoted todiscussions of this nature. K/S: A particular type of slash fan fiction devoted to theorizing ahomosexual relation Kirk and Spock. This particular genre of fanfichas been the subject of a long-term trolling attack on this newsgroupthat has stretched over several years. The topic is, strictlyspeaking, off topic here, and belongs rather in one of the fournewsgroups mentioned above. TAS: Abbreviation for The Animated Series, which ran for two seasonsin 1973 and 1974. This was the first sequel to TOS. No longerconsidered Canon by the powers at Paramount, but it did have GeneRoddenberry's approval, and direct participation, and had many of theOriginal Series actors and writers working on it. TMP: Abbreviation for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the first StarTrek movie. TNG: Abbreviation for "Star Trek: The Next Generation", the 3rd StarTrek series, and the second sequel to the original. This show appearedin syndication for 1987 until 1994. This show takes placeapproximately 80 years after The Original Series, and had an all-newcast, with only very rare appearances by cast members from TOS TOS: Acronym for "Star Trek", the original series, that ran from 1966until 1969 on NBC television. This show (along with TAS) is theprimary focus of this group, and is by far the best of any Star Trekseries. All other Star Trek shows are pale imitations of this, theoriginal and the most entertaining. TPTB: Abbreviation for "The Powers That Be". Usually used in aderisive tone when you are PO'ed about something that the creators ofthe show have done. TIIC: Acronym for "The Idiots In Charge". A more derisive term forTPTB. VOYAGER (Show): Name of the ship and series featured in the fifth StarTrek series, "Star Trek: Voyager", which appeared on The ParamountNetwork, from 1995 until 2001. Set in the same time frame as TheNextGeneration, about 80-90 years after the events of TOS, this showhas only passing references to The Original Series. -------------------------------------------------------------------------III. 5. WHAT DO SOME OF THESE OTHER NON-TREK RELATED ABBREVIATIONS ANDACRONYMS MEAN? Here are some basic Newsgroup words and acronyms you might see bandiedabout... AFAIK: As Far As I Know alt (or) alt.: Usually seen with a dot after it, as"alt." (pronounced: alt-dot) this refers to a large variety ofnewsgroups that discuss "alternative" topics. CROSSPOST: To post a message to several newsgroups simultaneously- an action usually frowned on in Internet culture. . FAQ: Frequently
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Asked Questions: (pronounced: fak (or) F-A-Q). Alist of recurring questions and answers related to a newsgroup,software, Web site, or whatever. FAQ lists prevent newsgroupdiscussions from being overrun by common user questions. FLAME: To send nasty or insulting messages, usually in responseto someone's having broken the rules of netiquette. FLAME WAR: When an online discussion degenerates into a series ofpersonal attacks against the debaters, rather than discussion of theirpositions. A heated exchange. FWIW: For What It's Worth FYI: For Your Information GOOGLE: This is a search engine for searching Usenet., thelargest information utility in existence. Quite simply it is thesearch engine for the newsgroups It can be found at http://www.google.com HTH: Hope This (or That) Helps. IMHO: In My Humble Opinion. IIRC: If I Remember Correctly IMNSHO: In My Not So Humble Opinion IMO: In My Opinion J/K: Just Kidding! KILLFILE: Another word for message filtering. There are settingsin your usenet software that let you filter out USENET postings tosome extent, by excluding messages on certain topics or from certainpeople. LOL: Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots of Luck (or Love) LURK: To read messages in a newsgroup or chat area without everposting or replying yourself. LURKER: A visitor to a newsgroup or online service who only readsother people posts but never posts his or her own messages, thusremaining anonymous. NETIQUITTE: The rules of etiquette that govern online interactionon the Internet. NEWBIE: Somebody new to the Internet or to computers in general.If you are reading this you are probably a Newbie. NEWSGROUPS: A part of the Internet which allows users to "post"and "reply to" messages from other users. OT: Off Topic. When starting a thread that is off the topic ofTOS, it is generally considered good Netiquette to begin the thread'stitle with "OT: " to identify it as such. PLONK: A shorthand way of saying "I am placing you in mykillfile, so don't bother talking to me any more because I won't hearit." Legend has it that the word Plonk is an acronym for "Please LeaveOur Newsgroup: Killfiled". Yeah, whatever. As a word of warning, don'ttell someone you're plonking them unless you really intend to followthrough. It frequently happens that someone says they're plonkingsomeone, but can't resist continuing to read their messages to seetheir reaction. If this person gets caught responding to the plonkedperson's messages a week later, they may never hear the end of it. POV: Point of View. ROTFL: Rolling On The Floor Laughing. ROTFLMAO: Rolling on the Floor laughing my a$$ off. SHOUTING: Chatters and Usenet posters will often tell others to"stop shouting." It's another way of saying, "TURN OFF YOUR CAPSLOCK!" Generally speaking, chatting, posting, and sending e-mail inall uppercase is considered rude. TROLL: The act of posting a message in a newsgroup that isobviously exaggerating something on a particular topic, hoping totrick a newbie into posting a follow-up article that points out themistake. A "Troll" is a person that spends all their time trying todisrupt the normal discussion of a particular newsgroup to bringattention onto themselves. As with all newsgroups, alt.tv.star-trek.tos has its share of Trolls, and you will quickly learn who theyare. Watch and see who seems to be causing most of the problems in thenewsgroup, and be prepared to use your killfile. Do not let Trollsdisrupt your enjoyment of the Star Trek newsgroup experience. USENET: Often referred to as just the "newsgroups", USENET is adistributed bulletin board system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------IV. THE MAIN PEOPLE BEHIND STAR TREK 6. WHO ARE SOME OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW? CAPTAIN KIRK, (James T. R. Kirk): Captain of The Enterprise during theentire run of The Original Series. Played by William Shatner. COMMANDER SPOCK: Half Vulcan, Half Human First officer and Scienceofficer of the Enterprise throughout the run of The Original Series,played by Leonard Nimoy. Has a father, Sarek (Played by Mark Lenard),and a mother, Amanda (Played by Jane Wyatt) LT. COMMANDER MCCOY, (Leonard H. McCoy): Chief Medical Officer of theEnterprise throughout most of The Original Series. Played by DeforestKelly. Nicknamed "Bones" by Captain Kirk. LT. COMMANDER SCOTT, (Montgomery Scott, aka Scotty):
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Chief Engineer ofthe Enterprise throughout the Original Series run. Played by JamesDoohan. LT. UHURA: Chief communication officer aboard the Enterprisethroughout most of the Original Series run. Played by NichelleNichols. LT. SULU, (Hikaru Sulu): Helmsman aboard the Enterprise during most ofthe Original Series run. Played by George Takei. ENSIGN CHEKOV, (Pavel Andreivich Chekov): Helmsman and weapons officerduring the second and third seasons of The Original Series run. Playedby Walter Koenig. YEOMAN RAND, (Janice Rand): Blonde yeoman that appeared in 8 episodes,all in the first half of the First Season, and in four of the six TOSmovies. Played by Grace Lee Whitney. NURSE CHAPEL, (Christine Chapel): Nurse on the Enterprise, played byMajel Barrett, who married Gene Roddenberry after the series. LT. RILEY, (Kevin Riley): Crewman who played an important part of twofirst season TOS episodes. Played by Bruce Hyde. CAPTAIN PIKE, (Christopher Pike): Captain on the Enterprise beforeKirk, in the original series pilot episode. This pilot was neverbroadcast during the series run, but most of it was integrated into a2-part series episode, and slightly modified versions of the originalpilot were later released on VHS and DVD. Pike was played by JefferyHunter. LT. AREX: Tripedal (3 arms, 3 legs) navigator who appeared in theAnimated Series as a replacement for Mr. Chekov. Lt. Arex was playedby James Doohan. LT. M'RESS: Felinoid communications officer, used in a few Animatedepisodes as a backup to Lt. Uhura. Lt. M'Ress was played by MajelBarrett. LT. LESLIE: The best all-around utility man in Starfleet, Mr. Leslie(named after one of William Shatner's daughters) can be seen in morethan half the episodes of the series, performing virtually every shipfunction imaginable (including command!), though his top specialtiesseemed to be engineering, security, and showing concern at the actiongoing on in the foreground of the screen. Though he rarely spoke, hehas a small but devoted cadre of admirers, and his own dedicatedwebpage at http://hometown.aol.com/led4acs/LeslieArchives.html. Mr.Leslie was played by Eddie Paskey, who has a personal webpage athttp://www.eddiepaskey.com. LT. GALLOWAY: Another utility redshirt, played by David L. Ross, whoserved mostly as security guard and transporter officer. Less wellknown than Leslie, he appeared in only a half dozen or so episodes,and does not have his own dedicated webpage, but he did manage to pulloff the trick of coming back from the dead; the least importantcharacter on the show to ever do so. 7. WHO ARE SOME OF THE MAIN ACTORS AND CREATIVE PEOPLE BEHIND THESHOW? GENE RODDENBERRY: Creator, Producer and Executive Producer of StarTrek, and the guiding force behind it for the first two seasons.Nicknamed "The Great Bird of the Galaxy", after a line from the show'spremier episode. GENE L. COON: Writer and Line Producer on TOS, and one of the mostimportant creative voices in the show's run. Creator of the Klingons. DOROTHY "D.C." FONTANA: Influential writer, and script consultant onTOS. Many of the best and most creative episodes come from her. FRED FREIBERGER: Line Producer of TOS during its third and finalseason. Many fans of the show blame the decline in the show's qualityon him, though there were other factors at work also. BOB JUSTMAN: Associate Producer and later Co-Producer of TOS, who knewmore about the nuts and bolts of putting an episode together thananyone. HERB SOLOW: Desilu Executive who sold Star Trek to NBC. Along withJustman, wrote a book called "Inside Star Trek" in the mid 1990's,that detailed the making of the series. The name Sulu was derived fromSolow's name. ALEXANDER COURAGE: Musician who composed the series title theme, anddid the music for a couple of first season episodes. Probably gets abundle of money every time a Trek sequel plays those Dah-da-daaaaa, da-da-da-da-dahhh, Da-Daaaaaah opening notes. V. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 8. ARE THERE ANY OTHER STAR TREK NEWSGROUPS?Quite a few. Just to name some of the ones in the .alt and .rechierarchies: NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO THE SHOWSalt.tv.star-trekalt.tv.star-trek.tosalt.startrek.the-old-genalt.startrek.animatedalt.tv.star-trek.next-genalt.tv.star-tr ek.tngalt.startrek.the-next-genalt.tv.star-trek.ds9alt.startrek.deep-space-9alt.startrek.enterprisealt.tv.star-trek.enterpris ealt.tv.star-trek.voyageralt.startrek.voyager NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO BOOKS AND FAN FICTIONalt.startrek.bookalt.startrek.booksalt.startrek.creativealt.startrek.creative.all-agesalt.startrek.writing-staff
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NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO EROTICAalt.sex.fetish.startrekalt.startrek.creative.eroticaalt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderatedalt.tv.star-trek.tos.slash NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO GAMESalt.games.mtrekalt.games.netrek.paradisealt.games.rpg.startrek.quadrantalt.games.xtrekalt.holoworld.rpg.startrekalt.sta rtrek.role-playingrec.games.netrekrec.games.trading-cards.startrekalt.startrek.rpg.gscalt.startrek.sould.rpg STAR TREK VS. SOMETHING NEWSGROUPSalt.startrek.vs.babylon5alt.startrek.vs.battlestar-galacticaalt.startrek.vs.dr-whoalt.startrek.vs.starwars NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO STAR TREK PEOPLEalt.startrek.people.deforest.kelleyalt.startrek.people.gene.roddenberryalt.tv.star-trek.jeffery-hunt NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO SPECIAL TOPICSalt.flame.star-trek.voyageralt.startrek.imperialalt.shared-reality.startrek.cardassianalt.shared-reality.startrek.kli ngonalt.startrek.lcarsalt.startrek.tos.trekmusealt.startrek.sus-amagosarec.arts.startrek.currentrec.arts.startrek.fandomrec.a rts.startrek.inforec.arts.startrek.miscrec.arts.startrek.reviewsrec.arts.startrek.techalt.startrek.stegalt.startrek.teroknor NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO BINARY FILESalt.binaries.startrekalt.binaries.startrek.adult NEWSGROUPS RELATED TO ALIEN RACES SEEN ON THE SHOWSalt.startrek.bajoranalt.startrek.borgalt.startrek.cardassianalt.startrek.klingonalt.startrek.romulanalt.startrek.vulcana lt.startrek.trill No guarantees about how active any of these groups are. With this manyof them, it's a good guess that some of them are dead, Jim. 9. HOW MANY STAR TREK SERIES HAVE THERE BEEN?A question frequently gotten wrong, even in the press. There have, infact been a total of six Star Trek television series:1. Star Trek (1966-1969)2. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)4. Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (1993-1999)5. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)6. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) In addition, there was one other unproduced series, entitled "StarTrek: Phase II", that would have premiered in the mid-to-late 1970's,featuring most of the original cast, but which was cancelled, when thenew network that it was intended to flagship failed to materialize. 10. WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE 2nd STAR TREK SERIES?This series was broadcast under the title "Star Trek" (same as theoriginal). This has never been officially changed, but the series isusually referred to as "Star Trek: The Animated Series" (or TAS, forshort), to differentiate it from the original. 11. WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE 6th STAR TREK SERIES?This series has had two official titles. At its premiere, it wascalled simply "Enterprise". After two seasons, of increasingly badratings, the name was changed to "Star Trek: Enterprise", apparentlyhoping that people would watch any show, so long as it had Star Trekin the title. Rumors about Paramount releasing new series entitled"Star Trek: The 6 o'Clock News", "Star Trek's Wide, Wide World ofSports", and "Star Trek: Babylon Five", are, so far, unfounded. 12. WASN'T THERE ANOTHER TELEVISION SERIES CALLED "ENTERPRISE"?Yes, in fact there was. Running from 1952-1958, the series"Enterprise" consisted of a series of documentary films about Americanindustry. In the opinion of many, the current "Enterprise" is about asinteresting as that other one sounds. 13. ARE THERE ANY OTHER TITLE CHANGES I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?Well, it's barely worth mentioning, but the second Trek movie, "StarTrek II: The Wrath of Khan", was originally released in theatersunder the title "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" (with no Romannumeral). The Roman numeral was added before the movie was released onvideotape. 14. HOW MANY TOS EPISODES ARE THERE? Anywhere from 78-80, depending on how you count. If you count theshow's lone 2-parter as 2 episodes, and also count the unaired 90-minute pilot as an episode, then there are 80 episodes. 15. HOW MANY MOVIES ARE BASED ON THE ORIGINAL STAR TREK? Six. 1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) In addition, there have been four movies based on the 3rd Trek series,Star Trek: The Next Generation: 1. Star Trek: Generations (1994)2. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)3. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)4. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) 16. WHEN DID STAR TREK TAKE PLACE?No precise year was ever given for the series. Indications given inthe episodes "Tomorrow is Yesterday", "Space
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Seed", and "The SavageCurtain" point to the late 22nd or early 23rd century. The (non-canon)book "The Making of Star Trek", and the (canon) film "Star TrekII" (which takes place 10 years after the 5 year mission ended) say23rd century. The episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" implies alater date than that, but says nothing specific. Later incarnationsof Star Trek have retconned the date to the 2260's, for reasonsunknown. The episode "The Squire of Gothos" points to a date in the28th century (!!), which is usually totally ignored by all concerned. 17. HOW MANY POST-TOS TREK EPISODES OR MOVIES FEATURE TOS CHARACTERS?Precious few. 1. Encounter at Farpoint (Next Generation)2. Sarek (Next Generation)3. Unification (Next Generation)4. Relics (Next Generation)5. Blood Oath (Deep Space 9)6. Star Trek: Generations (Movie)7. The Sword of Kahless (Deep Space 9)8. Flashback (Voyager)9. Trials and Tribble-ations (Deep Space 9)10. Once More Unto the Breach (Deep Space 9) 18. ARE STAR TREK FANS CALLED TREKKIES OR TREKKERS?Both terms are correct, though Trekkers is safer, as some peopleactually take great offense at the word Trekkies. 19. WHY "U.S.S." ENTERPRISE? IS THE ENTERPRISE AN AMERICAN SHIP?No. Though intended to resemble the modern American navy in the mindsof the viewers, the U.S.S. Enterprise (called the U.S.S. Yorktown inthe first draft of the original series proposal) is not an Americanship. Though the show is pretty darn vague about Earth's political andeconomic future, the Earth appears to have, if not a single worldgovernment, then at least a unified coalition, similar to the EuropeanCommon Market, and to be but one planet (though apparently the mostimportant one), in a galactic federation. U.S.S., though intended tovaguely suggest America, actually stands for "United StarShip." Since"Starship" is only one word, it doesn't quite work, but what theheck? 20. WHAT DOES "NCC" MEAN?The registration number on the hull of the Enterprise is NCC-1701. Asfor what it means, this question is an excellent illustration of theway the term "canon" works in the Star Trek universe. As you'llrecall, "canon" means "official Star Trek facts", those whichParamount and the show's producers theoretically feel obligated toremain true to in future productions (they frequently don't, butthat's another point entirely). With a few exceptions, "canon" isdefined as that which actually appears or is stated onscreen. Otherfacts, even if deriving from officially licensed products, or from themouth of a producer or writer himself, are not canon.How does this relate to NCC? Well, according to Roddenberryhimself, the term NCC stands for "Naval Construction Contract", andwas derived from the "NC" and "NX" designations found on privateplanes. *However*, this definition has never been stated onscreen,nor any other definition either. So,*officially* (i.e. "canonically"),the term NCC has no fixed meaning. Though unofficially, it does, andwe all know it. Cute, huh? 21. WHAT DO THE UNIFORM COLORS DENOTE?*Generally*, Gold shirts indicate command and ship operations, such ashelm and navigation. Blue indicates science and medical. Red indicatesengineering, security, communications, general ship's services, andearly deaths. There are apparent exceptions, however, so if you see ablue bloused technician working in Engineering in The AlternativeFactor, or something like that, don't expect anybody to be able toexplain it. 22. HOW DO STARDATES WORK?They don't. The Stardate was a non-specific system of timemeasurement, designed to allow the show to be vague about specificdates. It usually consisted of 4 digits, a decimal point, and a 5thdigit. At least one person working on the show described the processof assigning a Stardate to an episode as involving shouting out thewindow for a passerby to rattle off 5 random digits.It probably wasn't quite that haphazard though, as the Stardatesmore or less gradually increased as the show progressed, starting ataround 1312, and ending up at around 5925 in the final episode. Sometrue fans, unable to leave well enough alone, have attempted to comeup with precise methods for determining Stardates, some of them quiteingenious, but none of them having anything to do with what the peoplemaking the show were thinking. Some fans have even attempted toconvert Gregorian dates to Stardates by taking the last two digits ofthe year, then two digits for the month, and putting the day of themonth after the decimal point. Hence, October 16, 1997 would beStardate 9710.16. Isn't that precious?
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23. WHY DO THE KLINGONS LOOK DIFFERENT IN THE MOVIES THAN IN THE TVSHOW?At the time Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released, Roddenberrysaid that this is the way the Klingons were always supposed to look,they just never had the budget to show them that way before. Thoughthere are no sketches extant from the 1960's showing the Klingonslooking this way, it's probably true that larger budgets are the realreason for the change.Several fans came up with several elaborate explanations for thechange in Klingon appearance (the most entertaining being the ideathat they now had their spines up over their heads from being kickedin the butt so often by the Federation), but the prevailing viewseemed to be that we were supposed to shut up and pretend that theKlingons had always looked that way.This continued until the Deep Space Nine episode "TrialsandTribble-ations", in which a member of the New Look Klingonsencountered several of the Original Flavor Klingons, and admittedonscreen that there really was both a difference and an explanationfor the difference, BUT... refused to say what the explanation was.Doesn't that make you just want to slap someone? 24. WHO WAS THE FIRST CAPTAIN OF THE ENTERPRISE?Warning: Canon Alert! The "first" Captain of the Enterprise was RobertT. April, and Jeffrey Hunter was originally hired to play the part ofApril in "The Cage". Before filming, it was decided that "April"wasn't a rough, tough, sonofabitchin' enough name for Roddenberry'sCaptain, so the name was changed to Winter, and finally to Pike. SoApril never existed, right? It's just a discarded name.Well, sort of. In the final episode of the Animated Star Trek,Robert T. April actually appears as a character, and is explicitlydescribed as the first Captain of the Enterprise. Okay, so April DOESexist, and he served before Pike, right? That's true both in real lifeand in story terms, right?Well, sort of. Years later, when Paramount was formulating theirdefinition of "canon", they, for one reason or another, decided to de-canonise the Animated Star Trek series, meaning that the only onscreenreferences to April are no longer "official".So, the question, like many questions, has two answers.Officially, we don't know who the first Captain of the Enterprise is(Pike was never described as the first Captain, only as the *former*Captain). But unofficially, and in the real world rather than thefictional one, the first Captain of the Enterprise was Robert T.April.For what it's worth, the part of Robert T. April in the AnimatedStar Trek Episode, "The Counter-Clock Incident", was played by James"Scotty" Doohan. 25. WHAT IS "THE CAGE"?The original pilot episode for Star Trek, filmed in December, 1964,featuring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike, Majel Barrett as Number One,John Hoyt as Dr. Philip "Bones" Boyce, and Leonard Nimoy as Mr.Spock. Though rejected by NBC, they were impressed enough to request(and subsidize) an unheard-of second pilot episode, which featuredmost of the series regulars, and later aired as a series episode. However, "The Cage" was still such an extremely valuable piece of celluloid (until 1987, the most expensive Trek episode ever filmed)that it was felt it could not be allowed to sit around collecting dust on a shelf. A 2-part sequel story called "The Menagerie" was written,in which about 90% of "The Cage"'s footage was shown in flashbackform, thus enabling the show to save a valuable week of production time.But there was still interest in that other 10% that had never been seen, and so in the late 1980's, "The Cage" itself was released separately. 26. WHAT IS THE TITLE OF "THE CAGE"? No, not a trick question. "The Cage" was the original working title.Like the name of the ship's captain, this title was changed during filming, to "The Menagerie". Later, when the pilot was cannibalized to create the 2-part sequel, nobody had any idea that anyone would ever see the original version again, and so the title "The Menagerie" was transferred to the 2-parter.When Star Trek fandom became big, and started to take an interest in the original, unseen pilot, the original name "The Cage" was restored to it, to differentiate it from the 2-part Kirk story. Since no title at all actually appears on screen in "The Cage", the title change was relatively painless. 27. IS IT TRUE THAT NBC REJECTED "THE CAGE" BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO ALLOW A FEMALE FIRST OFFICER ON THE ENTERPRISE? No. This is a myth which has gotten a lot of mileage, largely because its source was none other than Roddenberry himself.With the exception of Jeffrey Hunter, NBC was displeased with most of the casting on "The Cage", and especially with Majel Barrett's Number One character. Because of her limited acting resume, and other reasons, they did not believe in her ability to carry the show as its co-star. NBC rejected the actress, but not the character, and in fact supported the concept of a woman in a strong position of authority.The character was originally intended to appear in the second pilot,until her
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character was scrapped by Roddenberry himself, in order to give more importance to the Mr. Spock character that he had fought so hard to save. Unable to admit in later years that he had voluntarily discarded such a ground-breaking concept, Roddenberry cooked up this"The Devil Made Me Do It" explanation. 28. WHO IS M. LEIGH HUDEC? *Majel* Leigh Hudec, is the birth name of Majel Barrett. In some quarters, the story goes that the Majel Barrett stage name was adopted so that NBC wouldn't notice that the dark-haired actress they had rejected in "The Cage" was back on the show as the blonde-haired Nurse Chapel (they noticed). This does not seem to be true, though, as the name that appears onscreen in "The Cage" is Majel Barrett, not M. Leigh Hudec, indicating that the stage name had been adopted prior tothis time.The name M. Leigh Hudec became mysterious largely because of theseminal book "The Making of Star Trek", which listed the actorsappearing in each episode without listing the parts they played. The name M. Leigh Hudec appeared on that list, not Majel Barrett. The absence of the name Majel Barrett from the list was not suggestive,since she was considered a regular actor on the show, and regular actors were not listed. 29. DOES PARAMOUNT HAVE AN OFFICIAL STAR TREK WEBSITE?Yes, it's at (are you ready for this?) http://www.startrek.com ____________________________ 30. WHAT DOES THE "T" IN JAMES T. KIRK STAND FOR? Tiberius. This was never mentioned during the original series. It was first mentioned in the Animated Episode "Bem", but fell back out of canon when the Animated Series was de-canonised. It reentered canon in 1991 when it was mentioned in the movie "Star Trek VI".Where does it come from? Some might think it comes from the Roman Emperor who ruled from 14 AD - 37 AD. Yes, but only indirectly.Really, the name comes from William Tiberius Rice, the lead character in Gene Roddenberry's earlier series, "The Lieutenant". 31. WHAT IS UHURA'S FIRST NAME? Well, I can tell you, direct from the mouth of Nichelle Nichols to me,that Uhura's full name is Nyota Penda Uhura. But again, we run in to that sticky "canon" business. Offscreen sources, however creditable are not sources of "Official Star Trek Facts", or "canon" in Paramount's eyes (though perhaps they sometimes are in other people'seyes?).No name other than Uhura is ever given for her onscreen, and Roddenberry supposedly said at one point that she had no first name(though of course, if true, that's not canon either). Where do the names Nyota and Penda come from, then? Well, Penda is a name that originated somewhere in fandom sometime in the 70's, and was pushed heavily by the nowdefunct "Trek" magazine. The name Nyota came from William Rotsler, author of the book "Star Trek II: Biographies", and was later used heavily in a Trek novel entitled "The Tears of the Singers", and perhaps others.So, what do these names mean? Well, all three are Swahili words.Uhura is from the Swahili word "Uhuru", meaning "freedom". This namecame from the title of a book that Nichelle Nichols was reading inGeneRoddenberry's office while waiting for an interview. Penda is theSwahili word for "Love". Nyota is the Swahili word for "Star". Ishould say that in my own encounter with Ms. Nichols (at aconvention), that, although I was aware of these names, I did notsuggest either one to her, but simply asked what Uhura's first namewas and let her answer. She said Nyota Penda Uhura. Not canon, butworth mentioning.On a final note, it's interesting to recall that the original planfor the Uhura character had been to *transfer* the name Sulu to her,and come up with a new name for George Takei's character. (Since Takeihad already appeared as Sulu in the second pilot episode, which *was*later broadcast, this would have been a continuity nightmare).Luckily, fearing that the similarity of the words "Sulu" and"Zulu" might lead to unintended interpretations, this idea wasdiscarded and replaced with the much more sensible idea of just namingthe character after whatever book the actress happened to have underher arm. Good thing she wasn't reading Playgirl, huh? 32. WHAT IS SPOCK'S FIRST NAME?All right, another convention story. In this case, not one that I canpersonally attest to, but still too good not to share. The onlyreference to Spock having *another* name is from the episode "ThisSide of Paradise", in which Jill Ireland asks if Spock has anothername, and is told simply that she couldn't pronounce it.After the release of "Star Trek IV", in which Jane Wyatt had madeher second appearance as Spock's mother Amanda, Ms. Wyatt appeared ata
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Trek convention and took questions from the audience. One audiencemember asked her what Spock's first name was. It was a dumb question.Ms. Wyatt is an actress, not one of the architects of the show. Shehad no idea. But, since she was onstage, and since the show must goon, and since "I don't know" is a very lame and unentertaining answer,she thought for a moment and said "Herman". Several people tried todisagree with her. "No, no, it's supposed to be somethingunpronounceable," but she dismissed them with words to the effect of"Don't try to tell ME! I'm his mother!"A joke answer, but... you know, I like it! It makes a certainsense that the half-human Spock would have one Vulcan name and onehuman name. It also makes sense that he'd be embarrassed about it, tryto hide it, and dissuade questioners with stories about how theycouldn't pronounce it, so please don't ask. Herman Spock. I like it.Not canon, but after all, it DOES come from Spock's own mother! 33. HIKARU SULU? HOW COME THAT NAME IS LISTED IN SECTION 4 WHEN NYOTAISN'T, AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?Well, the reason Hikaru Sulu is listed in Section IV of the FAQ isthat it was actually mentioned onscreen in the very last Classic Trekproduction, "Star Trek VI".Where does the name Hikaru come from? Well, it was supposedlyselected by Roddenberry himself, and is the name of the centralcharacter in a classic Japanese work known as "The Tale ofGenji" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji). The firstappearance of the name in an officially licensed Trek work was in the1981 novel "The Entropy Effect", and it finally found its way onscreen(and into canon) 10 years later.Some might be wondering if I ever bothered Takei with thisquestion the same way I bothered Nichols? Of course. I'm a nerdyfanboy, so naturally I asked him, a couple of years before "Trek VI"was released, and got that answer: Hikaru Sulu.I bring this up to dispel another possible name that some may haveheard. Remember how it was mentioned that Trek magazine had beenpushing "Penda" as Uhura's first name, and succeeded in getting itkind of unofficially accepted as her middle name, at least? Well, atthe same time, Trek magazine had a name in mind for Sulu also. Theythought he should be called Walter Sulu, as a way of showing thatnames didn't necessarily have to have ethnic connotations. Theypushed that name heavily too, and even wrote at one point that GeorgeTakei thought it was a good one.Well, when George Takei said "Hikaru Sulu", I asked him aboutthat. "There's this magazine that thinks Sulu's first name isWalter." His eyes bugged out in surprise, and he had a pretty biglaugh about it (in those days, there was a running joke about theinexplicable tendency of some people to get George Takei and *Walter*Koenig mixed up in their minds, and to George, this seemed like justanother example of same.) If he'd ever heard "Walter Sulu" before, hehadn't thought much of it when he did, and had long since forgottenit. Nyota Penda Uhura, yes. Walter Sulu, no. 34. WHAT EXACTLY IS AND ISN'T INCLUDED IN STAR TREK "CANON"?Well, as mentioned, a good general rule is "Onscreen = canon, notonscreen = not canon". Paramount's website, startrek.com, has thefollowing, more precise, but still a bit rough around the edgesdefinition: As a rule of thumb, the events that take place within the liveaction episodes and movies are canon, or official Star Trek facts.Story lines, characters, events, stardates, etc. that take placewithin the fictional novels, the Animated Adventures, and the variouscomic lines are not canon. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule: the Jeri Taylorpenned novels "Mosaic" and "Pathways." Many of the events in these twonovels feature background details of the main Star Trek: Voyagercharacters. (Note: There are a few details from an episode of theAnimated Adventures that have entered into the Star Trek canon. Theepisode "Yesteryear," written by D.C. Fontana, features somebiographical background on Spock.)
35. DID ALAN DEAN FOSTER GHOST WRITE THE NOVELIZATION OF STAR TREK:THE MOTION PICTURE? No. At one time it was widely believed in this newsgroup that he had,and was stated several times. There are various links on the internet,some saying that he did, others that he didn't. But I came across hiswebsite in 2003, and posed the question to him, which he answeredpersonally with an unequivocal no. Now, he did write the novelization of Star Wars, which is no secret. 36.
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HOW MANY EPISODES REFER TO THE EVENTS OF OTHER EPISODES?Not many. TOS was made in the days before story arcs, when everyepisode of a series was meant to stand on its own, so that stationswouldn't have to worry about what order to show them in.Nevertheless, there are a few instances, such as: In By Any Other Name, Kirk directly refers to the events of A Taste of Armageddon, mentioning Eminiar 7 by name, when he asks Spock to trythe Mind-Meld-Through-The-Wall trick he had used in that episode. Italso indirectly refers to Where No Man Has Gone Before, when Kirk mentions having been to the barrier at the edge of the galaxy before.In Turnabout Intruder, Lester/Kirk refers to the events of The Empath, and The Tholian Web when trying to convince Spock who she is.The Trouble With Tribbles refers to the Organian Peace Treaty, which arose as a result of the actions in Errand of Mercy.I, Mudd, being a direct sequel to Mudd's Women, refers to that episode. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, being a direct sequel to SpaceSeed, refers to that episode. 37. HOW MANY TOS CHARACTERS HAVE DIED?Hmmm, several come to think of it, though for most of them it wasn'tserious. Captain Kirk - (in Star Trek: Generations)Mr. Spock - (in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)Dr. McCoy - (in Shore Leave)Scotty (in The Changeling)Chekov - (in Spectre of the Gun) Of the major characters, Uhura, Sulu, Chapel, Rand have never died. For what it's worth, death doesn't seem to be all that memorable an experience. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, when Dr. McCoy asked Spock what death was like, Spock said that he couldn't explain it unless McCoy died too, so that they'd have a common frame of reference. It completely slipped both their minds that McCoy had died. Since Spock declined to answer the question, we are deprived of his insights on death. The best answer to this question, however, mightbe that provided by Arnold Rimmer in Red Dwarf, when he said that death was like being on holiday with a group of Germans. -------------------------------------------------------------------------and finally, with great trepidation, we come to VI. THE K/S TROLLING FOLLIES 38. WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT K/S IN THIS NEWSGROUP?As mentioned before, K/S is a genre of slash fanfic, dedicated to portraying Kirk and Spock as gay lovers. Though the genre has been around since the mid 1970's, and is as legitimate as any other type of fanfic, there is one long-term poster here who regards it as more than just fanfic, but considers it to have been consciously intended from the get-go by the actors, writers, and staff of the show, who all concocted a gigantic conspiracy to portray Kirk as gay, without evercoming and explicitly saying so. While no evidence has ever been offered for this theory, apart from aWish List of scenes that the poster finds titillating, and Gene Roddenberry himself explicitly denied it, the topic has raged on,virtually non-stop for approximately 5 years now, carried primarily by one person who has devoted thousands of posts to it. If you would like to discuss this with her, by all means, go for it. Though the topic is technically off-topic here, and belongs in one of the Trek Erotica groups named above, this group is free, open and unmoderated, and ultimately, anything that your ISP will allow you to post can be posted. Anyone wishing to have a go at it, however, should be aware of a few points:
1. As mentioned, the topic has raged for almost 5 years, and sofar, nobody has ever been convinced by it who wasn't supportive of it from the beginning. The most that can be said for it is that it doesn't explicitly contradict anything directly stated in canon, but no evidence of the great K/S conspiracy has ever been forthcoming.Nobody who ever worked on the show, even those who later becamedisenchanted with it, have ever let slip a word of this conspiracy,and it contradicts direct statements by the makers of the show.
2. It has been the experience of long-term posters that the topicis not argued honestly, but rather its conditions, terms, claims anddefinitions change frequently, whenever the need arises. Evidence thatcan't be dealt with is routinely ignored, and as with most conspiracytheories, one may be subjected to a spate of verbal abuse forchallenging it too effectively. Generally
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not the kind of thing thata newsgroup newbie wants to subject him/herself to. 3. Several Long term posters, long beyond being sick of the wholesubject, and the incessant bickering that invariably results from it,have killfiled the main perpetrators ,in an effort to be free of thetopic without having to leave the group. A newbie who obviates thesekillfiles, by heavily quoting these killfiled people (a process knownas "tracking in troll poop") may face killfiling themselves bydesperate long-termers. It is recommended at the least, that a newbiewishing to discuss this subject should alter the subject line of anysuch threads by adding "K/S" or "Troll" to the title, so that theseposts may be killfiled by Subject Title without having to killfile theactual poster. 38a. I DON'T WANT ANY PART OF THIS! WHO IS PERPETUATING THISDISCUSSION, SO I CAN STEER CLEAR? Many newbies get sucked into the argument when they first arrive inthe group, and devote a lot of time to it before recognizing it as anessentially pointless task, and putting the subject on ignore for theduration of their stay here. But there are three people who have bothposted heavily *and* devoted the majority of their total posts to thisone topic (or to personal attacks resulting from this one topic), overa span of several years. These are: LAURA GOODWIN KABEL, aka TOOLPACKINMAMA: laura @lauragoodwin.org,sureshot @pcwranglers.com, and philnblanc @comcast.net, STEPHAN DULKA, aka PROMETHEUS, aka MAGNUS BUMSKI: dulka@alpha.ocn.ne.jp and urbanasphalt @yahoo.com BRAD FILIPPONE: al019 @chebucto.ns.ca All three are valuable additions to any killfile, especially asall will not only flood threads specifically devoted to this topic,but will routinely try to turn totally un-related threads into adiscussion of it also.It should be pointed out, to her credit, that Laura has repeatedlymade the same recommendation being made here, and requested thatanyone who does not want to talk about this subject should justkillfile her and have done with it, rather than continue arguing.Despite this, the subject is frequently enabled by people who swearthat they don't want to talk about it, yet talk about nothing else.It's worth remembering that it does take at least two sides to conductan argument. OR 38b.THIS TOPIC IS GREAT! KIRK GAY??? THAT'S THE MOST FASCINATING IDEAI'VE HEARD IN LIKE FOREVER! I COULD SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE TALKING ABOUT THIS! You're in luck! But in that case, it would still be both advisable andgood netiquitte to put K/S in the subject line of such posts, sincesome people are so beyond sick of the whole thing that they maykillfile anyone who gets into an extended discussion of it, if theyare unable to filter the K/S material out any other way. After acouple of years here, you may come to sympathize with their feelings.*Give* them another way to filter the subject without filtering you,and alter those subject lines.
0000000000 Links to tales of science fiction : http://members.fortunecity.com/juillet http://eternity-oceanica.blogspot.com http://members.fortunecity.com/juillet http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/CasaJuilletScienceFiction/ http://heliosium.livejournal.com/ Alfredo Juillet Frascara., Escritor de Ciencia Ficcion. ************************************* Area 51..............By Merlone. The UFO Reporting Center received an eyewitness report from an employee of the O'Hare Airport in Chicago as early as the middle of November, 2006, stating that an unknown object had hovered over the major airport for several minutes on November 7. The object then shot away from the area, creating an "eerie" hole in the cloud cover. This initial account went virtually unnoticed, viewed as just another report. Chicago Tribune Releases Report: On January 1, 2007, Jon Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune wrote an article titled, "In the sky! A bird? A plane? A... UFO?" which broke the O'Hare sighting report to the mass media. Peter Davenport of the NUFORC, had related his findings to Hilkevitch, which listed a number of United Airline employees who had come forward with their eyewitness accounts of that day. When contacted, an United Airlines spokesman denied the reports. Saucer-shaped Object:
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The employees became upset that the airlines would not take their reports seriously. They reported that a saucer-shaped UFO had hovered above the airport for several minutes before shooting away at great speed through the clouds. The energy expelled from the burst of energy had made a strange, eerie hole in the cloud bank. The question had to be asked, Could this have been something as simple as a weather balloon, or some trick of the eye? FAA Admits Knowledge of UFO: Although more than a dozen witnesses had seen and reported the UFO to United Airlines, when first queried by the Chicago Tribune, the Airlines denied that they had any knowledge of the events of November 7. However, the Federal Aviation Administration admitted that the air traffic control tower had received a call from a United Airlines supervisor requesting information on an "elliptical-saucer-shaped craft" hovering over Concourse C of the terminal. "Chuckles" in the Tower: FAA spokesperson Elizabeth Isham Cory stated that none of the air traffic controllers had seen the object, and they saw no radar return from an uncorrelated target. She also stated that the FAA had no plans to investigate the incident. They did, however, have a theory - the sightings were caused by a "weather phenomenon." Hilkevitch reported that there were plenty of "chuckles" in the tower over the report. Dark Gray, Clearly Visible: The UFO was first seen by a United Airlines ramp worker who was directing a plane at Gate C17, according to a report by the NUFORC. He stated that his sighting occurred at 4:30 PM. He and other witnesses said the object was dark gray, and clearly visible in the clouds. The object did not show any lights, and could have been up to 24 feet in diameter. The object made no noise as it hovered over the airport. Eyewitness Statement: "I tend to be scientific by nature, and I don't understand why aliens would hover over a busy airport," said a United mechanic who was in the cockpit of a Boeing 777 that he was taxiing to a maintenance hangar when he observed the metallic-looking object above Gate C17. "But I know that what I saw and what a lot of other people saw stood out very clearly, and it definitely was not an [Earth] aircraft," the mechanic said. United Airline Manager Hears Report: One of the United Airline managers stated that he heard reports of the UFO on internal airline radio. "I stood outside in the gate area not knowing what to think, just trying to figure out what it was," he said. "I knew no one would make a false call like that. But if somebody was bouncing a weather balloon or something else over O'Hare, we had to stop it, because it was in very close proximity to our flight operations." Considerations: An important consideration in the matter is public safety, and whatever was in the area at the time posed a risk to planes and passengers. All witnesses to the events of November 7, state that the object was not a weather balloon, helicopter, airplane, or any known conventional flying craft. It is important to note that some of the reports were made by pilots, whose professional expertise involves the identification and observance of flying craft.
Some Conclusions:
Pilots aboard the plane at Gate C17 were alerted to the sighting by United personnel. One of the pilots opened his cockpit windscreen to get a good look at the UFO. He saw the object accelerate through the clouds, which had a ceiling of 1,900 feet at the time. Because of the fear of losing their jobs, and probably being under instruction to not discuss the incident, all of the employees who have come forward have done so anonymously. There are reports from reliable sources that at least one photograph was taken of the object, but as of this writing, none have been made public. United Airlines had the witnesses make drawings of what they saw, but even these drawings have not been made public. The FAA, which initially told the Chicago Tribune that it had no knowledge of the sightings, has changed their position because the Tribune filed a Freedom of Information Act request. It remains to be seen what will be revealed in this compelling UFO sighting case at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. gggggggggggggg
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Today's set of image releases from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE team included this one, of a fairly blandlooking lava plain to the northeast of Arsia Mons. Bland, that is, except for a black spot in the center. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter What's that black spot? It's a window onto an underground world. Cave entrance on the flank of Arsia Mons In this HiRISE image captured on May 7, 2007, a black spot mars the flank of Arsia Mons. The spot is most likely a skylight onto a subterranean cavern. Credit: NASA / JPL / U. Arizona This black spot is one of seven possible entrances to subterranean caves identified on Mars by Glen Cushing, Tim Titus, J. Judson Wynne and Phil Christensen in a paper they presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in March (read it far below).
Here's the figure from their paper that shows the seven caves, which they refer to by the names Dena, Chloe, Wendy, Annie, Abbey, Nikki, and Jeanne:
Possible cave entrances on Mars Seven dark spots seen in Mars Odyssey THEMIS images could be the entrances to underground caves on Mars. The researchers who identified these caves have given them the following names: Dena (-6.084 N, 239.061 E) Chloe (-4.926 N, 239.193 E) Wendy (-8.099 N, 240.242 E) Annie (-6.267 N, 240.005 E) Abbey & Nikki (-8.498 N, 240.349 E) Jeanne (-5.636 N, 241.259 E) Credit: NASA / JPL / U. Arizona / G. Cushing et al. 2007 Their identifications were based upon Mars Odyssey THEMIS images, which achieve resolutions of a little better than 20 meters per pixel; having spotted the caves, they requested that the sharper-eyed HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter target the spots for more detailed imaging. The image above is the first one of these, and it shows the cave entrance called Jeanne.
So what more can we learn from the HiRISE image?
Let's check it out at full resolution (you'll have to click to enlarge for the full glory of 25 centimeters per pixel, a number I still goggle at every time I think about it).
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At its highest resolution of 25 centimeters per pixel, the HiRISE camera can see the detailed shape of the slightly scalloped edge of a hole on the flank of Mars' Arsia Mons (left), but no amount of image enhancement (right) can bring out any further details inside the hole. That means that the walls of the cave are overhanging - the cave is larger below the ground than the entrance we can see at the surface - and that it is very deep. Mars' dusty atmosphere produces enough scattered light that "skylight" would illuminate the floor of a shallow cavern well enough for HiRISE to detect it. Credit: NASA / JPL / U. Arizona The hope for the HiRISE images was that we could see some details from inside the hole. But as you can see by the highly stretched version at right, there is absolutely nothing visible inside that hole. It's black black black black black. HiRISE is a very sensitive instrument, and Mars' dusty atmosphere scatters quite a bit of light around, so there is certainly light entering that cave hole and bouncing around the interior.
But it seems that the cave is so big and so deep that almost none of the light that enters the cave comes out. It's deep, and it's big; the hole that we see really is just a skylight on a big subterranean room.
How big?
We'll never know for sure without visiting it, but I expect that Cushing and his coauthors and the HiRISE team will be crunching the numbers on the illumination conditions and the sensitivity of the camera to put a lower limit on how deep that cave must be for HiRISE to be able to see nothing at all inside it.
Think about that.
All these orbiters at Mars, and most of them are just seeing the surface and atmosphere. To be sure, there are two instruments up there - MARSIS on Mars Express and SHARAD on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter - that are probing the shape of the subsurface with ground-penetrating radar. But neither of those instruments have the resolution necessary to tell us what the inside of this cave looks like. It might as well be in the greatest depths of space. Here there be dragons.
What's down there? Are there stalactites and stalagmites and crystals, or is it just a vast open room or tunnel? Maybe these spots will be explored by Martian speleologists someday. But that day is a distant one, I'm sure. 1957-The Levelland, Texas, UFO Landings By Billy Booth, About.com Guide See More About:early ufo reportsufo landingsufo casesufo police reportslevelland texasLevelland Texas UFO Landings B J BoothSponsored Links OEM K-Band Doppler Radar 4X Lower Power Next Gen Technology Short Delivery Time. Made in U.S.A, Houston-Radar.com Traffic Product Summary: On November 2, 1957, one of the best documented cases of UFO landings took place in Levelland, Texas, at the time a
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city of about 10,000 people. This night would be the most unforgettable experience ever for patrolman A. J. Fowler, who was manning the police call line. He received fifteen different calls from anxious citizens reporting UFOs. The sightings began at 11:00 PM, some four miles west of town. Pedro Saucedo and friend Joe Salaz were driving in a pick-up truck, and observed a brightly lit cigar-shaped object heading in their direction. 200 Foot Long Object: Pedro's truck began to fail, the engine cut out, and the electrical system went dead. The truck was allowed to roll to a stop. Pedro and his friend recalled the unknown object as being 200 feet long. In the small town of Whiteface, he called in what he had seen to Fowler, who thinking he was talking to a drunk person, dismissed the call. Brightly Lit Egg-Shaped Object: At 11:45 PM, Fowler gets his second call of the night. Near the small town of Whitharral, located four miles east of Levelland, a man encountered an egg-shaped object, this time the object was sitting in the middle of the road. The object was brightly lit. The man left his vehicle, watching the object from a safe distance. Shortly, the UFO slowly raised from the ground to an altitude of about 200 feet, and disappeared. His vehicle had also stalled, but restarted after the UFO was gone.
Object Lands on Road:

At 12:00 AM, the third call of the night comes in. A man traveling about 11 miles north of Levelland sees a UFO sitting on the road. His vehicle is disabled. He sits for a time watching the unknown craft. Before long, the silent object lifts up, and disappears into the night. The man's car immediately fires up again. He drives to the nearest telephone, and calls in his report. Object Sitting on Road: At 12:10 A.M, Texas Tech freshman Newell Wright was driving 9 miles east of Levelland when his engine failed. The nineteen-year-old got out of his car, popped open the hood, and tried to see if he had an electrical problem. He then saw an unknown object landed on the pavement a small piece down the road. He estimated the object's length at 125 feet. It was a bluish-green color. It soon rose up and disappeared. Fourth Object on Road: Only five minutes later, at 12:15 AM, another driver near Whitharral, encountered an unknown object in the middle of the highway. His vehicle also was disabled. Like the other drivers, after the object left, his vehicle returned to normal. After a fourth call reporting a landed object in the middle of the road, patrolman Fowler began to worry, and called patrol cars in the Levelland area to be on the look out for this object. Orange Ball Lands on Road: At 12:45 AM, Fowler received yet another report from the general area of Saucedo's initial sighting. This time the driver sees an orange ball-like object coming toward him. He reported that the UFO made a soft, quiet landing on the pavement of the road. He also related a strange phenomena-the orange color of the object changed to a bluish-green color as it landed on the highway. He could also estimate the length of the object at about 18 feet, as it covered the entire width of the road. 200 Foot Long Object Seen Agaiin: There would be about a 30 minute lapse in the reports with the next one coming in at 1:15 AM. A truck driver from the city of Waco, Texas, made the call. He tells Fowler that driving northeast of Levelland, he saw a large unknown object which glowed in the dark sky. The man sounded frightened on the phone. The trucker noted that the object was about 200 feet long, which agreed with the initial Saucedo report. The man's truck, temporarily disabled by the object, roared back to life when the object left his area. Two Policemen See Object: Up until 1:30 AM, all of the reports received by Fowler had been from civilians. That would change when he received a report from two lawmen, about 3-4 miles out of Levelland. Sheriff Clem and Deputy McCullough testified that they observed a "large, glowing object," pass across the highway in front of them. The had never seen anything quite like it. They had been monitoring Fowler's reports on the positions of the callers, and tracking the object. The officers stated that the entire highway was lit up below the sun-like object. No Less Than 15 Reports: For reasons that we will never know, for some 2 1/2 hours on the night of November 2, 1957, the city of Levelland, Texas
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was visited by unknown flying objects that landed on the roads of the city and surrounding areas. Patrolman Fowler logged fifteen calls from concerned, and sometimes frightened callers. What exactly were the UFOs that landed in or near Levelland? Certainly, a full investigation was needed. The day after the sightings, the entire city was full of newspaper reporters, and other interested parties. The United States Air Force did eventually arrive in Levelland, but only did a brief overview of the case. They theorized that "ball lightning" could be the cause of the sightings. Naturally, we know that ball lightning does not land on highways, and disrupt car engines. The case of the Levelland, Texas, landings is still unsolved. == 1 of 3 ==Date: Sat 2 Aug 2008 07:07From: David Langford ANSIBLE 253AUGUST 2008 From DAVE LANGFORD, 94 London Road, Reading, Berks, RG1 5AU. Webnews.ansible.co.uk. Fax 0705 080 1534. ISSN 0265-9816 (print) 1740-942X(e). Available for SAE, Snibbo or Bloggo. [NET NOTE. See http://news.ansible.co.uk/a253.html for the nice HTMLversion. Mailing list subscribe/unsubscribe information appears below --please don't send such requests to my own e-mail address. DRL] ### A PLAGUE OF MASTERS ### BRIAN ALDISS accepted his honorary doctorate from Liverpool U on 1 July.His speech recalled 'how, during an era when drunkenness and prostitutionwere absolutely _not_ to be found in the wonderful new Soviet Union, heembarrassed someone who clearly was his KGB "minder" on the way back tohis hotel by talking to someone who was standing around under a bridgein rather provocative mode. The next day, said "minder" saved the faceof the Soviet Utopia by casually mentioning that the woman they saw lastnight, well she was the wife of the Japanese Ambassador who was out totake the air. / What the Japanese Ambassador had to say about this is notrecorded....' [via AS]
RAY BRADBURY is this year's SF Poetry Association Grand Master. Othernominees included Joe Haldeman and UK sf poet Steve Sneyd. ALAN DEAN FOSTER was announced as a Grand Master of (wait for it) theInternational Association of Media Tie-In Writers. [L]
HARRY HARRISON has been named as the 2009 SFWA Grand Master ('DamonKnight Grand Master') for life achievement. DORIS LESSING was interviewed yet again. Q: 'For the last two decades,most of your fiction has veered toward science fiction, which hasdisappointed literary critics like Harold Bloom.' A: 'I can't be botheredwith Bloom. A lot of people think some of my best writing is in sciencefiction, and they are just as significant as bloody Bloom.' Q: 'When youwon the Nobel Prize in Literature last year, he described the choice as"pure political correctness", presumably because you are female. A: 'Yes,I remember. It was a very malicious thing. If he gets the Nobel Prize,believe me, I won't be as bitchy.' (_NY Times_ magazine, 27 July) [MF] STEPHENIE MEYER on her latest: 'It's science fiction because it's aboutaliens, so there's no other way to categorize it. And I like sciencefiction. But this doesn't feel to me like science fiction; once you getpast the basic premise, it's just about being human.' (_KC Star_, 1 Aug)[MM] TERRY PRATCHETT is the only author who's had more than one title in theNeilsen Bookspan top 5,000 UK sellers ever since the list began in 1995.He has three: _Colour of Magic_, _Light Fantastic_, and _Mort_. [B] SALMAN RUSHDIE's fantasy _Midnight's Children_ was voted as the best ofall the Booker Prize winners on the award's 40th anniversary -- repeatinghis 25th-anniversary 'Booker of Bookers' win. [PL] PETER STRAUB is this year's International Horror Guild 'Living Legend',the IHG's life achievement award. ### CONGRUMATE ### 6-10 Aug [] DENVENTION 3 (66th Worldcon), Colorado Convention Center,Denver, USA. _Advance booking is now
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closed._ At the door: $225, child$50, 'kid-in-tow' free. Day: Wed $55, Thu $75, Fri $85, Sat $85, Sun $35.Contact Denvention, PO Box 1349, Denver, CO 80201, USA. 8-10 Aug [] WOLF GALACTICA (_BSG_), Thistle Hotel, Heathrow. TicketsPounds85, children Pounds35. Bookings (not 24-hour) 01327 878550. 9-10 Aug [] CAPTION (small-press comics), East Oxford Community Centre,Princes St, Oxford. Pounds10 at the door or Pounds5/day. 21-25 Aug [] FRIGHTFEST (film festival), Odeon West End, London.Bookings: www.frightfest.co.uk or 0871 224 4007. 22-25 Aug [] DISCWORLD CONVENTION 2008, Hilton Metropole, Birmingham(NEC). 'Membership applications are now closed.' Contact PO Box 4101,Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5XD, or www.dwcon.org. 27 Aug [] BSFA OPEN MEETING, Antelope, 22 Eaton Tce, London, SW1W 8EZ.6pm on; fans present from 5pm. With Gwyneth Jones. 29-31 Aug [] MECON 11/UNICON 22, Queen's University Belfast Student'sUnion. Pounds15/Euro22 reg; Pounds10/Euro15 concessions; Pounds5 supp.Cheques to 'QUB Sci-Fi Society'. Contact 115 Malone Road, Belfast, BT96SP. 29-31 Aug [] WADFEST (Discworld), Trentfield Farm Camp Site, ChurchLaneham, Retford, Notts, DN22 0NJ. Adult campers Pounds15 (2 nights),accompanied children 1p each. See www.wadfest.co.uk/2008/. 5 Sep [] BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY OPEN NIGHT, Ye Olde Cock Tavern, 22Fleet St, London, EC4 1AA. From 6pm. All welcome. 5-7 Sep [] ZOMBIECON (_Brainnnnnns!_), Quality Hotel, Bentley, Walsall.Pounds45 reg until 31 August; Pounds50 at the door. Contact 54 Bridge Rd,Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 2QP; info at zombiecon co uk. 25-28 Sep [] OXONMOOT (Tolkien Society), Christchurch, Oxford. _NowPounds49.50 reg (members Pounds42.50)_. Contact 29 Tockley Rd, Burham,Bucks, SL1 7DQ; bookings at tolkiensociety org. 1-2 Nov [] UNCON 2008 (Forteana), University of Westminster, 309 RegentSt, London, W1B 2UW. Pounds36 advance reg, Pounds20 day. Booking on-lineonly, it seems: http://www.wegottickets.com/f/319. 20-22 Feb 09 [] REDEMPTION 09 (multimedia sf) -- Britannia Hotel, FairfaxSt, Coventry, CV1 5RP. Pounds50 reg, _rising to Pounds55 on 1 Sep_.Under-18s/supp: Pounds15. Contact 26 Kings Meadow View, Wetherby, LS227FX. 31 Jul - 2 Aug 09 [ ] CONSTITUTION (sf, fantasy, RPG), New Hall,Cambridge. GoH: Steph Swainston, Henry Gee, others TBA. Pounds20 reg;reductions for children; rates will rise before the con. Contact 207Campkin Rd, Cambridge, CB4 2LE; info at constitution-con org uk. 6-10 Aug 09 [] ANTICIPATION (67th Worldcon), Palais des congres deMontreal, Montreal, Canada. _Now $Can215/$US215/Pounds110/Euro135 reg_;supp $Can55/$US55/Pounds25/Euro35; discounts for presupporters. ContactPO Box 105, Station NDG, Montreal, QC, H4A 3P4, Canada. _Rumblings_ [] James Bacon at Conrunner (June): 'One highlight of theweekend was a presentation by ACC Liverpool, SECC Glasgow and ExcelLondon about potential venues for a future UK worldcon. All three sentpeople and presentations, eager to engage with fandom.' With added newsof three possible Netherlands sites, this led to discussion of a UK orDutch bid for maybe 2014 or 2015: 'Vince Docherty and Colin Harrissetting pace with Steve Cooper doing groundwork. Not a dissenting voicewas heard. Could one imagine same in 1998?'
### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ### AS OTHERS SEE US. Traditional opening to

a UFO news story: 'If you stilllive with your parents, wear a zip-up cardigan over your collar and tie,have enamel badges in your lapel and don't get out much because you'retoo busy curating your collection of Star Trek memorabilia, it has beenquite a week. While the rest of the country has been fussing over suchtrivia as Zimbabwe, you've been tabulating the latest activities offorces beyond our galaxy.' (David Randall, _Independent_, 29 June) AWARDS. _Campbell Memorial:_ Kathleen Ann Goonan, _In War Times_._Cordwainer Smith_ (out-of-print rediscovery): Stanley G. Weinbaum._Prometheus_ (libertarian): Harry Turtledove, _The Gladiator_, andJo
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Walton, _Ha'penny_ (tie). HALL OF FAME Anthony Burgess, _A ClockworkOrange_._Rhysling_ (poetry): SHORT F.J. Bergmann, 'Eating Light' (_MythicDelirium_). LONG Catherynne M. Valente, 'The Seven Devils of CentralCalifornia' (_Farrago's Wainscot_)._Shirley Jackson_ (suspense/horror/dark fantasy). Among the winners:NOVEL Elizabeth Hand, _Generation Loss_. ANTHOLOGY _Inferno_ ed. EllenDatlow._Sturgeon_ (short): David R. Moles, 'Finisterra' and Elizabeth Bear,'Tideline' (tie)._International Horror Guild_ novel shortlist: Ramsey Campbell, _Grinof the Dark_; Elizabeth Hand, _Generation Loss_; Sarah Langan, _TheMissing_; Natasha Mostert, _Season of the Witch_; Dan Simmons, _TheTerror_. ASTRONOMY MASTERCLASS. 'In 2006, Pluto was classed as a minor planet.Unlike the planets, it has an elliptical orbit.' (Helpful factoid fromHarperCollins at the end of Diana Wynne Jones's _The Game_, 2007) R.I.P. _Chris Cooper_ (1959-2008), well-known and famously tall UK fansometimes known as Jolly Green Giant, died on 4 July after falling intoa coma in mid-June; he was 49. [BS]_Frank Darcy_ (1959-2008), Irish fan who ran P-Con IV and V (he wasalso working on the next two) and coorganized the New Irish SFAssociation, died from cancer on 2 July. He was 49. [POM]_Don S. Davis_ (1942-2008), former US Army captain who played MajorGeneral Hammond in _Stargate SG-1_, died on 29 June aged 65. Thomas M. Disch, Science fiction writer. [DKMK]_Thomas M. Disch_ (1940-2008), US author and poet who began publishing sf in 1962 and gave us many darkly brilliant short stories andnovels, committed suicide on 4 July; he was 68. His finest novels were_Camp Concentration_ (1968), _334_ (1972) and _On Wings of Song_ (1979);the latter won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Brian Aldiss hailedDisch's early work thus: 'A genuine pessimist of a new writer has comealong, to delight us with an unadulterated shot of pure bracing gloom.'John Clute's _SF Encyclopedia_ entry called him 'the most respected,least trusted, most envied and least read of all modern first-rank sfwriters.' His solitary Hugo was for the entertainingly contentious _TheDreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World_(1998); 'The Brave Little Toaster' (1980 _F&SF_) won a BSFA award and wasfilmed. I admire his work very much indeed._ Ann Green_, well-known UK fan, publisher of the 1990s fanzine_Ormolu_ and wife of Steve Green, died on 29 July. [LK] All sympathy toSteve, who is devastated._ Lloyd Lamble_ (1914-2008), last surviving actor to have played TheShadow in the golden days of radio, died on 9 April aged 94. He alsoappeared in _The Avengers_, _The Prisoner_ and _Doctor Who_. [AIP]_Bruce Purchase_ (1938-2008), New Zealand-born actor whose best-known sf role was the cyborg villain in _Doctor Who_'s 'The PiratePlanet', died on 5 June aged 69. [SR] THOG'S MATHS MASTERCLASS. _Dept of the Easily Amazed:_ '... aninconceivable fraction that can be written out as 1/10 preceded by 32zeros ...' (Deepak Chopra, _Quantum Healing_, 1989) [PB] OUTRAGED LETTERS. _Richard E. Geis:_ 'It appears that sci-fi is now aput-down word, no longer of any use to us. What can we use to describeourselves? I haven't a clue. Create a contest to find a respectfulalternate. Non-muggles?'_Martin Morse Wooster_ is full of hollow popcorn: 'At the
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beginningof _Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D_, Brendan Fraser holds a copyof the Jules Verne novel. "This isn't just science fiction," he says,"it's _inspiration_!" / By the way, the words "Jules Verne" are nevermentioned in the film. And at the end, Fraser holds a copy of IgnatiusDonnelly's book on Atlantis....'
ANOTHER BOOK POLL. The Disinformation Company's 'alternative' survey ofall-time favourite books
produced a very genre-oriented top ten: 1 GeorgeOrwell, _Nineteen Eighty-Four_; 2 Douglas Adams, _The Hitchhiker's Guideto the Galaxy_; 3 Hunter S. Thompson, _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_;4 J.R.R. Tolkien, _The Lord of the Rings_; 5 Aldous Huxley, _Brave NewWorld_; 6 Kurt Vonnegut, _Slaughterhouse Five_; 7 J.D. Salinger, _TheCatcher in the Rye_; 8 Lao Tzu, _Tao Te Ching_; 9 Robert Shea & RobertAnton Wilson, _The Illuminatus! Trilogy_; 10 Daniel Quinn, _Ishmael_.[DVB] I didn't think anyone but John Clute even remembered the last,winner of the one-off $500,000 Turner Tomorrow Award for sf back in 1991. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Rob Holdstock celebrated his 60th in July, while ChrisPriest turned 65 and began to receive the long-awaited state pension: 'Atlast I am the old rope for which there is money.' AS OTHERS ANALYSE US. 'The Frankenstein problem of technology run amokis beloved by science fiction writers. The world may be taken over byman-made objects, like robots, or mutations, like triffids. It may besubmerged in grey goo from nanotechnology. The fiction genre survivesbecause no one can say categorically that any of these things areimpossible.' (John Kay, _Financial Times_, 9 July) [MMW] _METROPOLIS_ EXTENDED. The discovery of an _uncut_ 16mm print of the classic sf film in a Buenos Aires archive attracted lots of mediacoverage. One scene remains lost, at the end of a damaged reel. [JHB] ROMANCE MASTERCLASS. 'Though I find this the greatest ecstasy everoffered in life, I beg that you not bring your hips so hard against me,nor torture so my flesh with the stirring beauty of rosebuds and creammounds, else I shall not leave, but drown again my lover's sword in thevelvet cloak of your body.' (Shannon Drake, _Ondine_, 1997) [via JG] RANDOM FANDOM. _Terry Jeeves_ updates his _A252_ note: 'Am delighted tosay that Val's [cancer] operation was a success and she is now walkingand eating. [...] Not so good is the fact that I have been fitted witha catheter because of prostate trouble.' [via MP/PW] Ouch. _Elliot Shorter_, 1970 US TAFF delegate, is in the Providence VAhospital (ward 6a) and unlikely to be released; it may still be possibleto visit him. [AIP]_Barbara Stewart_ on Chris Cooper: 'He was part of fireworks fandom,a computer geek, and advised many conventions and their hotels aboutliquid supplies and how to order, look after and correctly serve real ale. He helped design the art board system now used at Britishconventions and regularly helped build it; worked as steward and tech;and was a regular panel member for "So This Is Your First Convention".He could weird out mundanes or fandom whilst sitting down being ordinary,let alone in one of his "silly moods".... As one of his annoying little sisters I know better than most that he will be a hard act to follow. Thefamily thanks fandom for all their kind thoughts.' SERIOUS & CONSTRUCTIVE. The (US) SF Book Club, with other clubs owned byBertelsmann's North American Direct Group, is being sold off to theinvestment firm Najafi Companies (Phoenix, AZ). [PL/DG]Wizards of the Coast is cancelling its 'Discovery' line of original(that is, non-game-spinoff) genre novels, which will cease after 2008. AS OTHERS REMEMBER FANZINES. 'Originally published in hand-stapled mimeographed pages called fanzines, collections of these
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fan fiction stories were distributed in the early days as a kind of pop-cultural samizdat -- undercover publications handed out from boxes under tables at fan conventions or stuffed into envelopes and mailed to fan community members from volunteers' basements. But fan fiction migrated to the Net in the mid-1990s, where it has since exploded in size and scope.' (GraceWestcott, _Literary Review of Canada_, July) [MMW] THE DEAD PAST. _25 Years Ago_, Worldcon 1983: 'Highlight of the fan program was the "Fans Are Slans" panel, wherein Steve Stiles extemporiseda remarkable account of Claude Degler's insanitary habits, John Shirley exposed parts of his body nobody (except representatives of the Frenchmedia) wanted to see, and Charles Platt developed his "I love fandom" act with glutinous sincerity.' (Malcolm Edwards, _Ansible 35_) C.O.A. _Eclectic Games_, Thames Tower, Station Rd, Reading, RG1 1LX._Gary Farber_, 1416 Greenside Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609-9503, USA. _TerryJeeves_ (temporary), 101 Prospect Rd, Scarborough, YO12 7JX. MAGAZINE UPROAR. Short version of controversy: a writer with an insecure grasp of net etiquette made public his rejection letter from HelixSF.comco-editor William Sanders, which categorized Muslims as 'sheet heads'.Debate ensued. Some _Helix_ authors withdrew their work: the irritated Sanders variously said they couldn't, asked $40 per removal, replaced pages with 'Story deleted at author's pantiwadulous request' and informed protesting contributor Yoon Ha Lee that hers was a story 'that never did make any sense and that I only accepted because I thought it might please those who admire your work, and also because (notorious bigot that I am)I was trying to get more work by non-Caucasian writers.' Oh dear. Various_Helix_ writers and ex-writers began a new on-line magazine for thei rrefugee works: Transcriptase.org. GROUP GROPES. _FORTH_, the Edinburgh sf fan group, has now 'found a new home after a few unsavoury experiences in dodgy pubs -The Oxford Bar,8 Young St, from around 8:30pm each Tuesday.' [JD] _A252_ ADDENDA. _Michael Capobianco_ on that 'SFWA' fraud: 'The perpetrator of the contest has been reported to both the US PostalInspector and the Office of the California District Attorney. You should know that in the US, at least, it's quite difficult to get the authorities to take this kind of scam seriously. SFWA's Writer Beware hasmade intensive efforts to get much more egregious literary scammers arrested, and has had a few notable successes, but, in general, if theamounts scammed are only $10 a pop, as with this scam contest, the authorities don't have time for it.' _Later, 31 July:_ 'I just heard from the San Diego branch of the US Postal Inspection Service. They're going to follow up on the complaint.'_Jack Speer_ obituary clarification: he was the last surviving founder member of FAPA _who was still a member_. THOG'S MASTERCLASS. _Morning After Ray Bradbury Dept._ 'The green featherof nausea blew through his intestines as if, during the night, he hadpolished off a keg of dandelion wine.' (Jeffrey Ford, _The Cosmology ofthe Wider World_, 2005) [MM] _Dept of Dynamic Cartography._ 'The meridian drifted at a thousandmiles an hour across the Pacific ...'(Bill Napier, _Nemesis_, 1998) [CM] _Planetary Colony Disaster Dept._ 'We found that all the planets were being drawn quickly towards the sun, and the effect this extra-sudden dash had on Mars was catastrophic. All the oxygen, we learned from the one lucky space-ship crew who got back safely, was absorbed into space by the action of a violent earthquake ...' (Terence Haile,_Galaxies Ahead_, 1963) ### GEEKS' CORNER ### SUBSCRIPTIONS. To receive _Ansible_ monthly via e-mail, send a messageto ...ansible-request{at}dcs.gla.ac.uk... with a Subject line reading:subscribe(Message body text irrelevant.) Please send a corresponding'unsubscribe' to resign from this list. You can also manage yoursubscription details at the following URL:
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https://mr1.dcs.gla.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/ansibleRSS -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/rss.htmlLiveJournal syndication -http://www.livejournal.com/users/ansiblezine/Back issues -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/_Ansible_ Links -http://links.ansible.co.uk/ CONVENTIONS/EVENTS LONGLISTDetails at http://links.ansible.co.uk#consLondon meetings/events -http://news.ansible.co.uk/london.htmlOverseas -- http://news.ansible.co.uk/conlisti.html[] 2008Until 25 Oct 2008, Dan Dare and the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain, ScienceMuseum, London6-10 Aug 2008, Denvention 3 (Worldcon), Denver, USA8-10 Aug 2008, Wolf Galactica 4 (_BSG_), Heathrow21-25 Aug 2008, Frightfest film festival, London22-25 Aug 2008, Discworld Convention 2008, Birmingham29-31 Aug 2008, Mecon, Belfast5-7 Sep 2008, ZombieCon, Bentley, Walsall12-14 Sep 2008, Reunion5 (media), Coventry19-21 Sep 2008, Fantasycon 2008, Nottingham25-28 Sep 2008, Oxonmoot (Tolkien), Oxford4-5 Oct 2008, Birmingham International Comics Show, Birmingham11-12 Oct 2008, NewCon 4, Northampton17-19 Oct 2008, Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester18-19 Oct 2008, Octocon, Ireland1-2 Nov 2008, UnCon 2008 (Forteana), London7-9 Nov 2008, ArmadaCon XX, Plymouth11 Nov 2008 - 4 Jan 2009, Science Fact & Science Fiction exhibition,National Space Centre, Leicester14-16 Nov 2008, Novacon 38, Bentley, Walsall5-7 Dec 2008, Battlestar Starfury (_BSG_), Heathrow[] 200920-24 Jan 2009, Wyrd Sisters: The Directors' Cut (play), Abingdon6-8 Feb 2009, AXXIdental (filk), Grantham20-22 Feb 2009, Redemption 09 (multimedia sf), Coventry26-29 Mar 2009, Eurocon 2009, Fiuggi, Italy27-29 Mar 2009, P-Con VI, Dublin.10-13 Apr 2009, LXcon (Eastercon), Bradford19-21 Jun 2009, Aetherica (fantasy), ChesterCANCELLED: 26-29 Jun 2009, Sectus 2009 (Harry Potter), North Wales25-26 Jul 2009, Satellite 2, Glasgow31 July - 2 August 2009, Constitution (sf, fantasy, RPG), Cambridge6-10 Aug 2009, Anticipation (67th Worldcon), Montreal, Canada[] 20102-5 Apr 2010, Odyssey 2010 (Eastercon), Heathrow ### ENDNOTES ###
APPARITIONS.[] 7 Aug 2008: Richard Morgan signing, Forbidden Planet, 179Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR. 6-7pm.[] 8 Aug 2008: Brum Group. Summer Social meal at Black Eagle pub(advance booking only).[] 9 Aug 2008: Raymond Briggs & Bryan Talbot, ICA, London. 2:30pm.Pounds10, Pounds9 concessions, Pounds8 members. Box office 020 79303647. [Originally announced for 2 Aug and postponed.][] 22 Aug 2008: Alan Grant & Bryan Talbot, EdinburghLiterary Festival. 8:30pm.[] 6 Sep 2008: Sarah Ash, Chaz Brenchley, Deborah J. Miller & JessicaRydill Saunders at the West London Literary Festival, Main Tent,Walpole Park, Ealing, London W5. 1pm-2pm.[]
12 Sep 2008: Brum Group, Briar Rose, Bennett Hill, Birmingham citycentre. With James Barclay. 7.45pm. Pounds4; members Pounds3. Contact07845 897760 or 4bhamsfgroup at yahoo co uk. RANDOM LINKS. See the latest additions here: http://links.ansible.co.uk/ PAYPAL DONATION. Support _Ansible_ and keep the editor happy! Or justbuy his books ... http://ansible.co.uk/paypal.html http://ansible.co.uk/biblio.html http://ansible.co.uk/books/buy.php ORSON SCOTT CARD sees 'the end of democracy in America' and verynearly urges the overthrow of the US government and the country's'insane Constitution', for reasons not all of us may share: http://mormontimes.com/ME_blogs.php?id=1586 RANDOM FANDOM II. _Moshe Feder_ has started an email list for fannishcat-lovers, subtly named The Bastion. 'Any reader of _Ansible_ interestedin joining may write to me at moshe at feder dot name.'_David A. Hardy_ reports stunning upheavals at the ASFA (Associationof Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists): 'I am the new Vice President --the first time this has been a European, or Brit even.'_Marcia Illingworth_ (and Tim) have the wanderlust: 'Bell House, thehome of the annual Illingworth barbie for the last ten years, is forsale, and we would love to see it stay in fandom. The
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asking price at themoment is Pounds350,000. Drop us a line if interested, to marcia atbellhouse org uk. Our plans are to return to the States by the end of theyear, for a variety of reasons.' That's Coveney, Ely, Cambs._Terry Martin_ sends a late plug: 'Low Energy Day (30 August) is areally laid back grass roots comic and graphic strips "convention". Amixture of garage publishers and slick productions. No-one gets to havetheir own table like at a proper convention (four dealers to a table!)... but best of all you don't have to pay as a visitor -- it's totallyfree! Plus you get the attractions of the rest of Camden Lock Market (the"original" Camden market) with its bars and eating places, and in a greatlocation.' EDITORIAL. Envious best wishes to all of you who'll be at the DenverWorldcon (which I can't afford) and the Discworld Convention (which I... um, it's complicated). As usual, Martin Hoare will be the officialLangford-surrogate at Worldcon, with full power to refuse drinks on mybehalf. Try offering him one, and see for yourself. Ansible 253 Copyright (c) Dave Langford, 2008. Thanks to Paul Barnett,David V Barrett, The Bookseller, James H. Burns, Jim Darroch, JaniceGelb, Dan Goodman, David K.M. Klaus, Linda Krawecke, Locus, ChrisMoore, Murray Moore, Padraig O Mealoid, Marti McKenna, Mark Plummer,Andrew I. Porter, Publishers Lunch, Steve Rogerson, Andy Sawyer,Barbara Stewart, Peter Weston, Martin Morse Wooster and HeroDistributors: Vernon Brown (Brum Group), Janice Murray (NA),SCIS/Prophecy, and Alan Stewart (Australia). 2 Aug 08-- David Langford | http://ansible.co.uk/Read Ansible at http://news.ansible.co.uk/ == 2 of 3 ==Date: Tues 5 Aug 2008 08:30From: Marc Wilson In uk.people.sf-fans, (David Langford) wrote in<idq894p7te9dkgrv3rhejm9aj59gu2bsej@4ax.com>:: >PETER STRAUB is this year's International Horror Guild 'Living Legend', How sad that they resisted calling it "Undead legend".-- Marc Not only does the English Language borrow words from other languages,it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, andgoes through their pockets. -- James NicollNot only that, instead of the money, it escapes with the pocket lint. -- Don Roberts == 3 of 3 ==Date: Tues 5 Aug 2008 08:40From: Marc Wilson In uk.people.sf-fans, (David Langford) wrote in<idq894p7te9dkgrv3rhejm9aj59gu2bsej@4ax.com>:: > ORSON SCOTT CARD sees 'the end of democracy in America' and very>nearly urges the overthrow of the US government and the country's>'insane Constitution', for reasons not all of us may share:> http://mormontimes.com/ME_blogs.php?id=1586 Ugh. That's ugly. Last time I read anything of his.-- Marc Not only does the English Language borrow words from other languages,it sometimes chases them down dark alleys, hits them over the head, andgoes through their pockets. -- James NicollNot only that, instead of the money, it escapes with the pocket lint. -- Don Roberts =============================================
Chao to the Moon! What a pity.....By Mourner.

Monday, February 1, 2010; 4:11 PM WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is redirecting America's space program, killing NASA's $100 billion plans to return astronauts to the moon and using much of that money for new rocket technology research. The moon plan, which NASA had already spent $9.1 billion on, was based on old technology and revisiting old places astronauts had already been, officials said. The previous NASA chief, in selling the old moon plan, had even called it "Apollo on steroids." The rockets were based on space shuttle boosters. "Simply put, we're putting the science back into the rocket science at NASA," White House science adviser John Holdren said at a budget briefing Monday. The $4 billion that NASA spends yearly on human space exploration will now be used for what NASA and White House
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officials called dramatic changes in rocketry, including in-orbit fueling. They said eventually those new technologies would be used to send astronauts to a nearby asteroid, a brief foray back to the moon, or the Martian moons. The White House plan was short on details, such as where astronauts would fly next, on what type of rocketship, or when. However, officials were quick to point out the failures of the Bush administration's moon program, called Constellation. It included the construction of two types of rockets, Ares I and Ares V, and an Orion crew capsule. All were canceled. Shutting down the program will cost about $2.5 billion, NASA said. Former President George W. Bush proposed the moon mission after the Feb. 1, 2003, space shuttle Columbia disaster that claimed seven lives - exactly seven years ago Monday. Besides redirecting money to new technologies, NASA is getting an extra $6 billion over five years to encourage companies to build private spaceships that NASA could rent. Many of those companies are run by Internet pioneers. The companies included in the pilot project include Blue Origin, which is run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Another firm already building private rockets is run by PayPal founder Elon Musk. NASA will also spend an additional $2.5 billion over five years for more research on how global warming is affecting Earth, including replacing a carbon dioxide monitoring satellite that crashed last year. NASA will also extend the life by several years of the International Space Station, which had been slated for retirement in 2016. NASA's yearly budget is $19 billion. NASA said if the private companies work well on their unproven spaceships, astronauts could fly in them to the space station as soon as 2016. After the next five space shuttle flights, NASA will have to hitch rides to the space station on Russian rockets. "The truth is we were not on a sustainable path to get back to the moon," NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a telephone conference call. "We were neglecting investments in key technologies." Congressional officials howled over lost programs and jobs, but it is hard for Congress to save such a large program that is being cut with redistributed money. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., called the cancellation of the moon program the "death march for the future of U.S. human space flight."
************************************** Dreams of cold ice........By Nick Obre. **************************************

Antarctica (1941) Part 5 of 6 Officially the North Star's mission was a geographical, biological and metereological one. Very few people knew at the times what this expedition was really all about. Nowadays the most logical deduction is that the U.S. Intelligence was really concerned about the Nazi research of the secret Antarctic Doors (to get in touch with the "Unknown Masters", the people allegedly living in the inner Earth, in order to know their secrets...?!) according to the "Hollow Earth" theory. There were also rumours about a Nazi "Secret Disk-Shaped Planes Factory and Military Air Base" in the area. The possibility of the passage of unknown weapons and Axis' troops through the Earth, able to hit the USA by surprise
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from the underground, was taken in serious consideration by the American Intelligence at the end of the 1930ies. To control the Germans in their activities in "Neu-Schwabenland" was considered a priority in the early times of WW2, at least before Pearl Harbor's attack and the US involvement in the conflict. In this recently declassified original silent footage there's much more that meets the eye than the trip to Antarctic and the daily life of the crew. There are really revealing and unexpected shots here and there...
A Commentary from our Director Mr. Shafer:

Well, we are in the year 2010. What about that? Where are the door to the inner Earth? It was a lie, a dream, or a reality? If a reality, there is no evidence U.S. or any other country is using the inner Earth passageway, or if it is forbidden by some higher race, where are they and etc. So, for me, it's a lot of deception in this- I guess the Nazi were looking for a place where to retreat in case of defeatAnd defeated they were- so they return to that cold place and what? Mr. betrayer, the Admiral Byrd, finds nothing? Later, U.S. drop some atomic bombs there? What happened then, and now? Questions! Not an answer- so the fact is: Deutschland lost the war against the World, and the german Base served them but not for long. No door to the inner world, no higher people living there, no Nazi Base there, just cold and ice- and a lot of dreams?
The End.
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076 Excellere Ezine

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Ezine "

Ezine "Excellere" Number 76.

The Whole World of Star trek ..........By Director Shafer.

So what more can we learn from the HiRISE image?

Think about that.

Object Lands on Road:

### INFINITELY IMPROBABLE ### AS OTHERS SEE US. Traditional opening to

Chao to the Moon! What a pity.....By Mourner.

Dreams of cold ice........By Nick Obre.

A Commentary from our Director Mr. Shafer:

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