Book Review: Star Trek: The New Voyages Ed. by S. Marshak and M. Culbreath

Star Trek: The New Voyages edited by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath with a foreward by Gene Roddenberry

Published in 1976, this book of short stories came from a lot of fan fiction that was published "off the books" by authors who loved the TV show even as the legal rights for new Star Trek stories were tangled up. After the problems were worked out, the editors had a hard time choosing from the many fanzines and other story sources. This happened nearly fifty years ago (long before internet research was available to even the nerdiest nerds). Charmingly, they request more stories, even giving a publishing house address to send manuscripts in.

The collection is a fun group with short, heartfelt introductions to each story by one of the cast members. The stories are not focused on each individual character, however. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy get the most attention, with Spock leading the way. The best of the stories is "The Enchanted Pool" where Spock has to deal with an elf-like woman on a planet where he is trapped. Two Kirk-centric tales are also worth mentioning--"The Face on the Barroom Floor" where he winds up in jail during shore leave and "The Mind Sifter" where he winds up in the twentieth century with no memory of who he is. This collection also has a fun nonsense story where the three main characters are whisked back to the 1960s on the set of the television show Star Trek.

Recommended for Trek fans--these are some golden oldies.

Cute Kid Pix December 2023

More photos that did not make their own post...

My daughter made a special cake for Mom's birthday. It had a thin cake with meringue layers and whipped cream in the middle. Yum!

Working on the layers

Finished product

She also had her winter concert which we attended.

Sorry, no video

We had our winter showcase, dancing a fox trot and a rhumba. The theme was "Frosted" so we picked a song about cake (which needs frosting, right?), If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake. Lavay Smith's Winter Wonderland was our rhumba. We received a nice Christmas Tree ornament and certificates of accomplishment. Videos will come later.

Fits the "Frosted" theme

Something for the walls!

We started decorating for Christmas on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent when the pink (or rose) candle is lit on the Advent Wreath. Our door wreath was from a Scouts' sale.

On our front door

The pictures at our youngest's concert came out better.

Pre-concert warm-up

Stage lights make a difference!

Book Review: Scott Pilgrim Color Edition Vol. 1 by B. L. O'Malley et al.

Scott Pilgrim Color Edition Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life written and drawn by Bryan Lee O'Malley and colored by Nathan Fairbairn

Scott Pilgrim is a Toronto twenty-something slacker who plays in a mediocre band and has a girlfriend named Knives Chau, a seventee-year-old high school student. His friends and sister Stacie are unimpressed with him though he thinks he's great. His world is turned upside down when he sees Ramona Flowers, an American twenty-something Amazon.ca delivery girl who is highly fashionable and totally cool. She's probably out of his league but he goes for her anyway. Life complications ensue, and not just because he has two girlfriends. Ramona has seven evil ex-boyfriends who are going to come and fight him before he can really date Ramona.

The story is charmingly quirky. Scott share a one-room apartment with Wallace Wells, a gay guy who tries not to be the stereotype. He mostly is, with a penchant for stealing Stacie's dates. The band has a red-headed, freckle-faced female drummer who has a lot of moxie. Knives is innocent and happy, blathering on about high school drama while Scott tunes her out. Ramona is a bit of the manic pixie dreamgirl, though the problem with her ex-boyfriends creates plenty of drama. The story is a comedy, with a bizarre, over-the-top fight sequence at the end with the first ex. I enjoyed the story and the art, both of which are easygoing and enjoyable.

The series was original published in black and white (probably for budgetary reasons). The color is natural and helps things along. There's nothing earth-shattering or insightful here, just a fun read.

Mildly recommended.

Movie Review: Wonka (2023)

Wonka (2023) co-written and directed by Paul King based on the character by Roald Dahl

This prequel to the Chocolate Factory story finds a young Willie Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) traveling to a big European city (which is never properly identified, probably deliberately so) to sell his chocolates and make a name for himself. He has traveled the world over collecting exotic ingredients that make his chocolates not only the tastiest but also magical. The first confection he introduces makes people float off the ground! He has two main problems. First, the flop house where he spends his first night is run by charlatans (Olivia Colman and Tom Davis) who get him to sign a contract that puts him in their debt, seemingly for life. His other problem is the chocolate cartel in the city who want to stop him from selling his much better chocolates and threatening their industry. At the flop house, Wonka befriends the other imprisoned "customers" who work in the basement wash house. He slowly wins them over to his scheme for selling chocolates on the side, a way to pay off not only his debt but theirs as well.

The movie has the whimsical attitude of Dahl's stories while telling a different, earlier tale from Wonka's life. It is visually creative and awe-inspiring, crafting a mythical European city which has more than the usual interest in chocolate. The visual effects are amazing and very enjoyable. The movie is also a musical, even borrowing some tunes (and sometimes lyrics too) from the Gene Wilder film. Chalamet does most of the singing and carries the film ably. He has the charm and winsomeness needed to make the character larger than life, since that's his persona in his larger-than-life world. The rest of the cast is also very good, making this movie a delightful Christmas treat.

Recommended, highly for Wonka fans.

Christmas Fun 2023

A sampling of our Christmas activities!

Our church, Saint Mary of the Mills, had the usual amazing display of poinsettias. 

Christmas deco

We saw some of the fantastic light displays in our area.

Near the mill in Savage, Maryland is a house with a full yard of inflatables and lights.

Foundry Street decor

We found a Clydesdale inflatable but didn't stop for photos in one Elkridge neighborhood.

Front car window view

A more tree-centric house was our next visit.

Trees made of light!

Riverside Circle (back in Ellicott City) had music along with the light display. Nothing like a little FM to sync with!

Approaching from one side

Approaching from the other end of the street

In the middle

More of the middle

Reindeer rodeo

Yoda or Grogu?

Back at the beginning, but from the other direction

Our big finale was on Red Hill Way in Ellicott City. It even has its own Facebook page!

Approaching the big house

Sports section

Close up of the Ravens

A lit house

Decorating philosophy

Snowman made of light!

Roof

The next door neighbor, realizing the impossibility of coming even close, has only one yard decoration.

If you can't beat 'em, copy 'em!

A popular Christmas present was Ribbon Ninja, where players try to take ribbons off of each others' wrists. It's a bit like flag-football but with ninja action.

Ready for action!

Lunging

It's all fun and games until someone loses their last ribbon

We went bowling and forgot to take pictures. Too much fun was being had. We may go again in the new year.

Book Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline Jones lives with her two parents in one of the many flats of an old house. Downstairs two aging actresses live and reminisce about their careers. Upstairs an old man is training mice for a circus act. The Jones's flat is next to an empty one. A door in their parlor would lead into the other flat but when they open it, the doorframe is bricked up. The parlor is for good guests so they hardly go in there anyway.

Coraline's parents are a bit neglectful and not entirely competent (the dad makes dinners but there's always something wrong with them). Coraline explores the area around the house and is eventually drawn back to the bricked-up door. She snatches the keys while her parent are out and discovers a passageway rather than a brick wall. Being an adventurer, she wanders into the other flat, where she discovers her other mother and other father. They seem the same as her parents but they have black shiny buttons for eyes. They also are more attentive to her needs and want her to stay. At first she is attracted by the offer. The other mother says she can stay as long as they sew button eyes on Caroline. She finds this less attractive. The other mother is insistent, bringing about a conflict between the two.

The story is bizarre and creepy and imaginative. Gaiman crafts a sinister other world where Coraline can learn more about herself and her relationship to adults, especially her parents. There's a lot of provocative details that engage the brain. In both worlds, there's only one Coraline and there's only one cat, so the cat has a special relation to the story and to Coraline. The book might even be more fun to read as an adult even though it has the classic "child's fantasy adventure" trappings.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga Vol.1 by Yusuke Osawa

Star Wars: The Mandalorian: The Manga Volume 1 adapted by Yusuke Osawa based on the series created by Jon Favreau

This manga faithfully reproduces the first couple of episode of The Mandalorian, a Star Wars series that manages to have almost nothing to do with the Skywalker saga (no small accomplishment) and develops a new and interesting mythology within the Star Wars universe. The graphic novel's style is mostly faithful to the television series, with occasional bits of manga-style thrown in.

Unfortunately, this manga is like many other manga, i.e. it is an almost literal translation of the source material. I've read a few manga that were exactly the same as the anime series they were based on (or on which they were based). Consequently, I felt that either reading the manga or watching the anime was sufficient to get what the narrative offered. Having watched the first series of The Mandalorian three times (it is that good), I don't feel any need to keep reading this manga adaptation.

Mildly recommended--if you've seen the series, you've seen all the best bits. But the series is excellent, so if you haven't, the manga is sure to entertain.