I don’t really understand Star Trek’s universal translator. I know that it’s used to translate various languages to make communication possible among Star Trek’s numerous species. It doesn’t always translate, though. Captain Picard would often speak in Klingon but it wasn’t translated to English. And sometimes the universal translator would just break down and soRead more
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Someone’s making an Avengers porn. What the crap? I read that news yesterday and couldn’t help but shake my head. It shouldn’t be all that surprising. There are porn parodies of lots of different nerdclinations, including Star Wars. I suppose if people are excited about seeing the Avengers battle Loki and his secret army, thenRead more
A popular sci-fi trope is malfunctioning cryogenic sleep systems. Nothing ever good happens when the cryogenic system fails and the travelers wake up earlier than they’re supposed to. In spite of the apparently unavoidable problems, I wouldn’t mind curling up inside a cryogenic chamber for a few weeks or years.Read more
I recently watched the trailer for Trek Nation, a documentary about the impact of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future. Gene Roddenberry was a secular humanist and believed that through our own efforts, humanity could fully achieve a utopian society free of war, disease and brokenness. I love Star Trek but IRead more
When I was younger Return of the Jedi was by far my favorite Star Wars movie. It starts off with a bang at Jabba’s Palace and finishes with three separate battles. Unfortunately all that excitement bookended some boring conversations on Degobah and in the Ewok village. I always fell asleep when Ben showed up onRead more
I am all-pro at falling asleep in church. In my rookie years I used to head nod like a Pez dispenser. I’ve learned, though, that the key is to look like you’re praying. My favorite position is with my elbows on my thighs and my face in my hands. Anyone looking on will think you’reRead more