Posts where Star Trek, in all its forms from The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise and all it’s movie goodness.
Nothing says “party” like a large punch bowl full of fresh blood wine.
Blood Wine is the favorite alcoholic beverage of the Klingons, a race of warrior aliens from the planet Qo’noS. Originally an enemy of the Federation, the Klingons have been allies for quite some time. Just don’t ask them about how their foreheads went from being smooth to wrinkled…they don’t like to discuss it with outsiders. Traditionally Klingon Blood Wine is about twice as potent as whiskey and can’t be tolerated by most humans. Don’t worry, this recipe (from the Star Trek Cookbook) is pretty tame. The base recipe is without alcohol but you just feel free to add as much vodka as you want. I added some and it was delish.
You could go out a buy a bottle of Blood Wine (I got mine at the now defunct Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas) but why do that when you can make your own?
Yup, I've also got a bottle of Romulan Ale
So, without further ado, here is how you make Klingon Blood Wine according to Neelix:
Here’s the recipe excerpt from page 126 of the Star Trek Cookbook (sorry, they don’t use exact amounts for this recipe so just do it to taste):
“Klingon Bloodwine is exactly what it says it is: fermented blood and sugar. To make an excellent re-creation of Klingon Bloodwine, you can use straight up “Just Cranberry” from Knudsen sweetened to your own taste with Welch’s pure dark grape juice. If you want to lighten the color of the cranberry juice just a bit, use Welch’s white grape juice. Want it to have some nice floating red corpuscles? Run fresh or frozen cranberries or red raspberries through your blender (or chop them if you’re like me and you don’t want to have to clean your blender) and add them to your juice. That makes it fresh and sweet, the way Worf drinks it.”
This is what happens when you drink too much of it
Previous installments of Cooking with Hot Nerd Girl:
Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth of Roddenberry Productions
About 10 days ago I got an email asking me if I was interested in joining Rod Roddenberry at a private viewing of his documentary Trek Nationbeing held for his friends and a few fans.
Uh…does the Enterprise have warp nacelles??
It was not a difficult decision 😉
Rod and his peeps were kind enough to let me bring two guests so I grabbed my Mom and my friend Darcy. The screening was at a sports bar, the irony and hilarity of which did not escape us. But seeing as I’m one of those weirdo chicks that like sci-fi AND sports, it was kind of perfect for me (Go Chargers!)
*sigh* …… jocks….
Rod, his wife and his friends were all incredibly nice. I had so much fun chatting with them before and after the screening. I have a copy of The Continuing Mission that I’ve been collecting signatures in for years. I asked Rod if he would sign it and he said he would be happy to. He then proceeded to sign it up in the corner explaining that he wanted to leave the main area open for the big signatures of the big stars. He’s very humble and almost in awe of the role fate has given him. Instead of exploiting it like so many other children of Hollywood, he has funneled this opportunity into his environment and science-based Roddenberry Foundation. He’s big on scuba diving and has become passionate about protecting Earth’s oceans. Just this past October the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine at Gladstone was inaugurated, helping to pave the way for all of those advancements in medicine that make Star Trek such an idealic version of the future. Y’all know I love it when people help each other.
Rod picking out his place in the upper left corner
I’m sure that many of you have seen Trekkies and/or its follow up Trekkies 2. If not, you should. I am ridiculously good at poking fun at myself and I think that most of the world is far too PC so I can appreciate the comedic portrayal of the more “out there” fanatics of Star Trek. While that is all well and good and has its place in pop culture, Trekkies is severely lacking representation of the rest of us (i.e. the people who DON’T dress up and sing folk songs as the wife of the dead astronaut in “The Royale.”)
Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry set out to change that, to show us Trekkies and Trekkers as the beautiful and highly intelligent individuals that we are. A group of fans joined together by arguably the greatest science fiction franchise of all time and a man most of us have never met. Somewhere along the line the focus changed and, while the aspect of “normal” Trekkers was still vital, it also became a documentary about Rod’s journey to discover his father, a man he hardly knew himself.
My Dad was away on Westpacs a lot while I was growing up so I can empathize with what it’s like to feel like you don’t know your Dad but I can’t even begin to fathom what it must be like to lose your father at age 17. Close or not, losing a parent cannot be easy at such a vulnerable age.
Rod was very brave in wanting to know everything about his Dad, the good, the bad and the ugly. I mentioned some of these triumphs and tribulations in my tribute back on October 24th but Trek Nation goes infinitely deeper. Over the course of 10 years Rod interviewed dozens of people about Gene Roddenberry, from fans who idolize him to former co-workers who felt very bitter towards him. The one common thread between them all was that they got it. They understood Gene Roddenberry’s vision and, in many cases, fought for it. Watching Rod go through this whole process is touching and his humility when faced with his father’s greatness is endearing. It’s obvious that this was a true labor of therapeutic love, not just for his parents, but for Star Trek and the fans so that we too can understand the imperfect human behind the Great Bird of the Galaxy.
At the screening Rod mentioned that they only used about 5% of the footage they shot (10 years worth, remember?) and I’m hoping that the DVD has much of what ended up on the cutting room floor. I could easily watch 12 more hours of this. The decades worth of footage and the natural shifts in focus result in a documentray that feels totally organic and never forced. At one point in the editing process the test audiences felt that there was too much emphasis on Rod and so they shifted it back to Gene. The sheer volume of material allowed them to tweak it to perfection. The subject matter isn’t always pretty but it’s always pure. One of my favorite parts of the documentary is the montages of the costumed Trekkies. The manner in which they are filmed is simple yet stunning. Trek Nation is ultimately a love letter to them.
Something tells me that Gene Roddenberry would be proud.
If you haven’t seen Trek Nation yet, it’s airing on the Science Channel Dec 28th and 29th.
A while back (maybe September?) I posted on the Hot Nerd Girl facebook page that I was having a hard time figuring out how to organize all of my Star Trek stuff in my office. The fans
a) thought it was a really great problem to have
and
b) demanded pictures.
I promised I would take some once it was all done. I’m still searching for a few of my smaller posters but it’s done for the most part. Just in time for Christmas and all of the relatives coming to town 🙂
So here are the pictures I promised as well as some background on some of the items. Sadly, about half of my collection is in storage in Idaho (had to put in somewhere when I went to college) so hopefully someday I can run up there and bring it all back down to SoCal.
This is my whole office area aka my little slice of heaven aka where all the magic happens. I infiltrated the area above the TV as well. Because I could.
Yes, I interrupted my game of God of War III for you.
1. The Posters
Regarding the posters: the one on the right you’ve probably seen me gushing about on the facebook page because my picture (and some of yours as well!) is part of the mosaic. I finally got it framed and hung up which was no easy task since it had to hang over the giant monstrosity that is the entertainment center. The Spock poster I’ve had since middle school and I literally took it with me everywhere I moved. That’s 13 moves and 13 walls it has hung on. He’s been one of the few constant companions I’ve had and I find his presence very comforting.
No matter what I did I couldn't prevent the reflections on the glass. Sorry.
2.The lifesize Worf
I got my lifesize cardboard cut out of Worf from my step-uncle. He used to keep it in the coat closet. When visitors would come over and hang up their coats they’d get startled by Worf and usually scream at which point my step-uncle would laugh and laugh and laugh. It was my kind of prank. When he retired and moved he passed Worf down to me.
My own personal Chief of Security
3. The Autographs
I’ve got quite a few autographs, including several in a Star Trek: The Next Generation book. Of these four I got three of them in person: Nichelle Nichols, Michael Dorn, and Marina Sirtis. The Majel Barrett one I got while she was alive but was no longer appearing at conventions. I heart her so much that I bought it anyways. I wish I had met her. I did meet her son, Eugene “Rod” Rodenberry Jr. at a convention in 2002. He was a nice guy.
Super awesomesauce
I came upon my World Premier of Voyager cast autographs via my cousins best friend. She worked on the series and knew I was a big fan so she gave me her Voyager cast photo some years back (did I mention that she’s now one of my fave peeps on the planet?) It’s kind of hidden behind my Tribbles because I have so many damn stuffed animals.
If you don’t know their name, just call them “Robert” and chances are you’ll be right
4. Data and the Holograms
My Data bust was a High School graduation present. In the past he sat on my bookshelf with all of my Star Trek books…of which there are way more than I care to admit….but he now has a place of honor on top of the entertainment center. I have an insane love for this bust and I’m not really sure why. I guess I was seduced by how ridiculously awesome it is. The picture on the left is a hologram (see below) and the picture on the right is of me, my brother and my nephew at the Star Trek Exhibition in Riverside (California, not Iowa).
Spinerfems ftw!
For my birthday a few years ago my friend Hayden took me to Star Trek: The Tour down in Long Beach and bought me a hologram picture of us being “beamed.” I wish I had access to this technology because I would take SO MANY holographic pictures.
Hey Scotty? How about throwing in a couple of Romulan Ales when we reach the surface? Cool?
5. The Mousepad
This may seem like just a mousepad BUT it actually holds a lot of significance for me. I got it when I went away to college. Why is that important? Well, because I went to school in San Francisco because it’s the future location of Starfleet Academy and I wanted to be as close to Starfleet Academy as possible. And yes, I am completely serious. In addition to my university diploma, I also have a Starfleet Academy diploma and a Kobayashi Maru certificate (signed by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy no less). This is a prime example of why I consider myself a Nerd/Geek/Dork combo.
Yes, I'm THAT big of a nerd.
6. The Ships
My Dad is a total perfectionist and I adore him for it even though it meant I couldn’t leave my homework out as a kid. When he does something, he does it perfectly. When we were kids he bought 3 Star Trek models and painted them. The two smaller ones have been lost for years but the largest one, the Enterprise NCC-1701-D is alive and kicking.
Thank God for invisible thread
I have another NCC-1701-D that is 2 feet long but it’s one of the items up in storage.
My Dad also gave me my Star Trek mobile. It’s a little faded after all these years but it glows in the dark and I love it.
If I ever have kids this is what they have to look forward to
7. The Scripts
I am very lucky in that I’ve been surrounded by amazing people my whole life. I also refuse to put up with a-holes so maybe that has something to do with it too. One of the areas in which I’ve been very blessed is my parental units. Through divorce and random circumstances I’ve ended up with six parents. One of them is Dean Minnerly aka “Popi.” (Literally) one of the most kick ass dudes I’ve ever known. He works in the technical side of the entertainment industry and, as a side job, was a contributing writer on The Next Generation for the first two seasons. One of his biggest contributions? Helping to kill off Tasha Yar.
What’s that? You want proof? Ok. Go to Netflix and turn on “Skin of Evil” (you know, the episode with the giant tar monster that kills her). At the very beginning of the episode Tasha and Worf are talking about Yar’s upcoming martial arts competion. Worf asks who she is competing against. He dismisses her first competitor, saying that she will defeat him easily. Then she mentions that she’ll be fighting Lt. Minnerly next and Worf gets worried. That’s right folks, Dean (who is a martial artist in real life) wrote himself into the episode.
Epic win.
Sadly, he did all of this just before he came into my life so I never got to participate in the TNG awesomeness, but he did give me an extremely rare cast jacket, several scripts, and some HI-larious stories.
Ok, time to go back in the safe.
Aaaaaaand on that note, I think I’ll stop there. There’s more I could show you but that would make for a VERY long post. Don’t worry all you non-Trekkies, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Thor, Transformers, etc. etc. are also represented here albeit in a much smaller capacity.
I mentioned on the facebook page last week that I would be MIA for a few days while I attended my cousin’s wedding in Iowa. I hadn’t planned on doing anything non-wedding related but when my Mom and I found ourselves with a perfectly good Monday and nothing to fill it with there was really only one place we wanted to go.
That’s right kids. Riverside, Iowa. Future birthplace of the one and only James T. Kirk.
So we hopped in the car with my Aunt Lori and drove 2 hours East to a dinky little town with a population of 924. It’s the home of the annual Trek Fest which we missed by 2 weeks (it’s June 24-25). Bummer. Oh well. We got to see all the major landmarks which are all within about 5 blocks of each other (pretty sure the town is only 10 blocks long).
So allow me to give you a tour of the town where the greatest Captain of all time was born and bred. Enjoy.
=/\= <–that’s supposed to be a Star Trek insignia
This is Murphy’s Bar & Grill, the place where Jimmy was conceived. That’s my Mom and Aunt Lori getting excited to see what’s inside.
A hotbed of romance this place
See that little bump on the floor underneath the pool table?
The pool table of loooove
That would be the plaque indicating that this is the very spot where Jimmy’s parents got it on.
See? I told ya!
I helpfully pointed out the parts needed for this conception.
You're welcome for the biology lesson.
We then moved on to where Jimmy was born behind the local barber shop. When you see the flag on the lightpole you’ll know that you’re in the right place.
Tada!
Once behind the barber shop, you are presented with a monument that is eerily gravestone-like.
Nothing creepy about that…
We then proceeded to introduce ourselves to the local print shop owner. He looked Amish but was super awesome. I got into a tribble throwing battle with his grandson. Because that’s what one does when in Riverside, Iowa.
I do have a thing for men in suspenders…
I bought some potholders crocheted by his wife.
Best. Souvenir. Ever.
We then headed to the local ice cream parlor where the walls are signed by TOS cast members. What flavor did we get, you ask? Some delicious concoction called “Oops.”
Wrong hole, but nice try.
After our frosty treat we made our way down to The Voyage Home, the local Star Trek/history museum and gift shop. Outside is parked the infamous USS Riverside and Van Allen shuttle.
Inside the museum is a display donated by the local movie theatre.
Don't be fooled by the empty shelves, they're just rearranging for Trek Fest
And a wooden carving of Jimmy that looks remarkably similar to Han Solo. I felt the need to hold it’s hand. I don’t know why.
It is universally known that I have the most adorable nephew on the planet. If you were not aware of this, then you need only meet him to realize that I am absolutely correct when I make this declaration.
Now that we’ve established his awesomeness, you can see why I would try to hang out with this little bundle of rad every opportunity I get.
So when my brother discovered that his local museum was doing a Star Trek “where science meets science fiction” exhibition, he immediately texted me and said that we had to go. I had a wedding and its various festivities on Friday night and Saturday so that left us with Sunday.
Brother + nephew + Star Trek = ftw!
Having been to The Experience in Las Vegas many, many, many times and The Tour that made its way around the country a couple years ago, I had high hopes for The Exhibition.
Meh. It was ok.
It turned out to be a small collection of stuff that I’ve already seen only this time it was poorly displayed and poorly labeled (poor Troi and Riker, their wedding picture was toppled over inside a plastic dome and no one could be bothered to fix it). The big draw was supposed to be never before seen items from the latest movie…of which I saw exactly 2 items. What made it fun was seeing Zeke react to it. Turns out the kid has a thing for phasers and women that take pictures of you surrounded by Tribbles. He shows true nerd potential and if I have anything to say about it he will grow up to be a nerd to be reckoned with.
I have no idea why the Enterprise is flying across the bridge
The major bummer? All photographs were banned except for the craptastic ones you had to pay $10 a pop for (see above). Whatever. I’m a rebel. I took some pictures with my iPhone on the sly. My brother; however, is the perfect Marine and refused to take pictures of me. Rules shmules Michael!
We got through the whole thing in about an hour and a half (and that’s with my brother reading every single caption).
If you’re in the Riverside area, this weekend is your last chance to see Star Trek: The Exhibition. A guy that had worked some kind of effects on Star Trek: TNG was there and said he was hoping to get some of the background actors to show up on Saturday. He didn’t seem too enthusiastic that any of them would actually show up though.
I say we all pool our money and get The Experience back open.
I’ve got a major hankering for a Klingon Encounter.
It was neck and neck between the Star Trek Starfleet uniform and Rafael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but ultimately, Star Trek edged out TMNT. Which is apparently a good thing after reading this article:
I know I said I was thinking about getting the new/old uniform but, well, time is short and I ran out of it. So I went with my classic TOS old school uniform made famous by Lt. Uhura and Yeoman Rand (who I met about 6 years ago and is a crazy psycho bitch).
Here are some pictures (as you can see, I have way too much fun playing dress up):
Hope all you nerds had a fantastically fun and nerdy Halloween. Send me pictures of your costumes!
If I was a gal going in to Starfleet Academy in the year 2267, I would request a job that required a blue or gold uniform. Why were the redshirts always the first to go? I could give you the technical answer about how red uniforms are worn by Engineering and Security personnel and one or more of them would be required to go on away missions to protect the Captain or go in first to investigate. But let’s be honest. It’s the “black dude dies first” rule but since Star Trek is so enlightened they had to find another way of going about it.
You know it’s true.
At my first Star Trek Convention in San Francisco we were treated to some short films produced by fanboys. One of them (and by far the most popular) was one about redshirts. I don’t know if this was the exact one but it is equally as humorous:
The term “redshirt” has embedded itself in pop culture. Anyone expendable is now a redshirt.
Personally, I like to think about how Ensign Ricky would have felt about all this. I’m sure his mama would be proud that her brave young son will always be remembered for taking one for the (away) team.
By 2364 the red and gold uniforms had been swapped. I think this was a good move. Red is more regal and commanding than yellow is. It demands respect. The Next Generation understandably didn’t want to become a joke by continuing the redshirt joke. But they still needed a way to show that the bad guy was bad without killing off the main characters (Tasha Yar being the exception, but hey, she wanted out).
*bitch slap* "Don't you know who I am? I am the borg! Resistance is futile, A**HOLE!"
This is where The Worf Effect comes in to play.
Worf is the biggest and most badass of the good guys so if a bad guy can throw Worf across the room (which they often do) they MUST be really bad! Of course, Worf is a Klingon so he never really gets hurt (they leave that to falling cargo containers – far more deadly than the Borg apparently – but wait! He’s got back up organs!)
So the goldshirt never really took off like the redshirt did. Which is probably for the best.
The blue uniforms have always been for Medical and Science personnel. Let’s face it. They are far less interesting. Sure Dr. Crusher and Councilor Troi were hotties but Crusher covered hers up with a lab coat and Troi ditched hers altogether after the first two episodes in favor of cleavage. If it wasn’t for Spock, the blueshirt wouldn’t even be purchased by fanboys for ComicCon and Halloween. It’s a fact.
And lastly, the no shirt. Made famous by Captain James Tiberius Kirk. Whichever Orion slave girl made his uniforms had an ulterior motive because there is no reason for his uniforms to fall apart at the seams during every episode while everyone else’s stay intact. Even while battling Spock in “Amok Time” Spock’s uniform manages to stay in one piece while Kirk’s is ripped to shreds. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying that shirt shredding should be equal opportunity amongst all of the handsome men…
It was 06 APR 2002 at the Star Trek Convention in San Francisco. I was attending with an ex-sort-of-boyfriend and fellow nerd. Even though I have been an avid Star Trek fan since birth, this was my very first convention and I was uber excited. I found my way downstairs to the celebrity and vendor floor and after buying a celtic ring (I know, way random) ended up at Manu Intiraymi’s table where he was having a spirited conversation with a fan in full uniform. I had a question for him (can’t for the life of me remember what it was) so I sort of listened in on their conversation and looked through the photographs of him and Jeri Ryan spread out on the table. He kept glancing at me. I wasn’t in uniform; however, I was wearing my communicator and several Star Trek pins.
Finally the uniformed fan stepped away and I turned to ask him my question.
Borg Boy beat me to it.
MI: “So, are you here with your boyfriend?”
HNG: “Excuse me?”
MI: “Girls like you only come with their boyfriends who are into this stuff.”
HNG (looking incredulous): “No, I’m not here with a boyfriend. I’m a Trekker.”
MI (looking incredulous): “Are you serious?”
HNG (getting pissed off): “Yes, I’m serious.”
MI (looking stunned): “Huh.”
Don’t let the hat fool you. He’s cute.
I then proceeded to ask him my question and we spent about 5 minutes engaged (heeheehee) in a nerdy conversation regarding some aspect of playing a Borg on TV. I asked if I could get a picture taken with him and he said yes so I ran back up to where my friend was waiting and grabbed my camera and headed back down. I popped in a Listerine Pocket Pak because, well, one always wants fresh breath when confronting the Borg. Uniformed Fan was back so we had him take the picture.
MI: “What’s that great smell? Is that gum?”
HNG: “No, it’s a Listerine Pocket Pak, want one?”
MI: “Sure.”
I then proceeded to explain to Borg Boy and UF the virtues of Pocket Paks for those who can’t chew gum due to TMJ…Paks must have been relatively new to the market or something because they listened with rapt interest and declared that I could be a spokesperson for them.
Whatever.
The conversation turned to Borg Boy’s upbringing by hippie parents and how his parents still live here so he comes to visit a lot. He asked if I wanted to hang out sometime when he was in town. I said, sure, why not? He asked me for my phone number. (UF is watching this with his head moving back and forth like it’s a tennis match). I wrote down my number and gave it to him. He put it in his wallet with a promise to call me and take me out to dinner.
Whatever. I’m not holding my breath, fresh as it may be.
I walked away and UF followed me, rambling on about how cool it is that I got asked out by a Borg. Yeah, it’s cool I guess. I finally ditched UF and headed back to my friend/ESOBF. I tell him the whole story and he can’t even believe it. WTF? Why is it so hard to believe? YOU asked me out. Geez.
Anyways, it’s a good thing I’m somewhat cynical because I never did get a call from Borg Boy…