The world just can’t stop talking about Star Trek, and every week we here at TrekMovie scoop it all up in the Great Links We start off with John Stewart and Stephen Colbert talking Trek, then ponder if Apple has been faking their Trek, watch a Star Trek contortionist, find out we are just like a bunch of punks, and take a look at an adorable little Gorn.
Daily Show and Colbert Trek again
As they have done before, both the Daily Show, and The Colbert Report from Comedy Central dipped into the final frontier for gags this week.
On Wednesday during an opening of The Daily Show with John Stewart was talking about NASA’s outreach efforts, joking they sounded like "the lamest Star Trek episode ever". And on Tuesday, during "The Word", Stephen Colbert talked about how Chinese companies are now hiring white foreigners to stand around at events, and he noted it is a great opportunity for white guys, joking "it is like we’re George Takei and the world is our Star Trek convention".
Comedy Central inspired by Star Trek again and again
Did Apple fake Star Trek image for iPad promotion
Back in January TrekMovie pointed out how Apple was using images from the Star Trek movie to promote its new iPad. There is an image from the film that is used on the official iPad site, someone noticed that it didn’t look just right. The iPad has a screen with a 4:3 ratio, so if you ‘zoom in’ a film it will be cropped. And a fan on Reddit noticed the cropped image was doctored. He created a big infographic to show this off, which went viral this week.
Apple doing some doctoring of "Star Trek" to fit better on iPad
Fan craft of the week: Baby Gorn
Get ready to say "aaaawwwww". James Sawyer of the A Piece of the Action blog points us to his post about his latest acquisition, a fan made sculpture of a little gorn hatchling, which was made for him by fan Richard Svensson.
Isn’t he adorable?
Quote of the week: Trekkies are just punks
In an interview with Racket Magazine, Tom Gabel, lead singer of the punk band Against Me! was asked if he thought the factions within punk fans was like religious factions, but Gabel saw similarities with another group:
I think it’s more comparable to Star Trek, which like religion has also split off into many, many, different factions, there’s enthusiasts of the original, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise (that was one right?), and then there’s all the movies. Everyone’s got their favorite crew, everyone’s got their favorite alien race, everyone’s got their opinion on which uniform is the best, and there’s tons of bit-part characters that appeared in one episode for 15 seconds but whom people still obsess over (which is like the equivalent of those bands that made one 7″ record 20 years ago but who people still wear t-shirts and patches for). The shows are just conventions for the collectors and I’m William Shatner telling everyone to “get a life.”.
Punks and Trekkies – we are all the same
VIDEO of the week: Star Trek contortionist
The "Amazing Amy" is 55 year old yoga contortionist from New York who loves Star Trek. She likes to perform in Star Trek costume and Star Trek music. She will be performing at the Gong Show Live at BB King’s Blues Club in New York on August 12th, and here is a video of her from last summer.
More Great Links:
- Reason takes a look at former Congressman Jim Traficant’s history of saying "beam me up"
- Topless Robot count down their picks for The 30 Greatest Star Trek Villains.
The quivering hate in the linked infographic made me smile. Nice how he gave the letterboxing example some extra pixelation and distracting white background just to drive the point home — maybe he just figured one good cheat deserves another. :P
My son!!!!
Hehe, that sculpture rules obviously.
The “fake” Apple image was somewhat cleverly done; you can tell the difference between the images by looking at Spock’s left shoulder (viewer’s right) positioning relative to the background. There might be other differences.
Also, although much cuter than adult Gorn, baby Gorns are not as cute as baby dinosaurs:
http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Baby-dinosaurs-133580_795_581.gif
That Gorn IS a cutie!
That punk text made me laugh, he´s right, hheheeh
There once was a baby Gorn
Really cute when it was born
It seemed quite dumb
Until it bit off my thumb
Now I can’t help feeling forlorn!
Great imagination with the baby gorn item! Maybe the artist could sell the rights to have it mass-produced? Count me among all the others who want one.
LOL @ APPLE
False Advertisement. Shame on you Steve Jobs.
The ONLY proper relationship between Trekkie and Punks…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB0wa8a80Mc
They should mass market that Gorn piece. I’d buy one.
Re: cropping the image… Is this really news to you guys? This is done all the time, everywhere in advertising. If you open up a catalog for computer monitors, televisions, what-have-you, you should always assume the image has been placed in artificially. No advertiser is going to take an actual shot of an image on a display for the simple reason that the photographic representation never looks as good as it does to the eye — thus the photoshopping.
@10- I’m with you! Hey Sideshow, are you listening?
The chick in the TOS mini has an ENT phase pistol.
There, my nit-picking duty is fulfilled.
6 – Harry! You poet, you!
14
Brett, as Elvis would say, “thank ya, thank ya very mush!”
That Gorn should get made for sale
As a punk rocker, I like the comments made from the singer of Against Me!
We definitely all travel in packs too.
Both punk rock and Star Trek changed and saved my life as a kid, so I do owe much to both. In fact, I have been making Star Trek references in my band Uppertiers a few times, one being a song “Captain’s Woman” (Mirror, Mirror) as well as a hardcore song we’re working on called “You Are Not of the Body!!” (Return of the Archons).
you can check out “Captain’s Woman” at http://www.myspace.com/theuppertiers
Gah! You guys rock! Thanks for linking up my blog post on the baby Gorn!
Slow Trek day eh? I want a Gorn.
Gorns. You really just goda have ’em.
Now there’s an alien race we just haven’t seen enough of. (wink wink)
See, if they mass-produce the sculpture, it just might sell out — it’s that good, IMHO.
In other words, here today, “gorn” tomorrow.
;-)
OMG, I must have the baby Gorn. That is too adorable by half.
Baby Gorn could replace keenser in the next movie–course he might kill and/or eat scotty but we all know scotty does wear a red shirt—
Gorns apparently have this permanent frown on their face. But it could be just a facial feature and not actually an sign of their emotional state, just like a dolphin’s smile.
For all we know, Baby Gorn could be perfectly happy (or, OTOH, very hungry).
Hungry for a fight with a heroic starship Captain, Hat Rick.
Its what they do.
Now all they need to do is invent some safety goggles to back up that tough as nails skin and Kirk is finished.
Now that you mention it, I do see an evil, famished smile on that little tyke.
And safety goggles? Those diamond-faceted composite eyes are each probably twice the strength of transparent aluminum, from the looks of it.
So young and cute, and already so voracious.
Diamonds are their weakness, Rick. Diamonds are definitely not a Gorns best friend!
But I think you are onto something- those eyes. They are like a big bowl of vanilla ice-cream topped off with hundreds and thousands. What’s not to like!?
John Stewart is often quite brilliant. We get his show just 24 hours after you so its still fresh. Some of the stuff he did regarding the recent general election here in the UK was hysterical.
The Star Trek logo is added to the iPad screenshot because it’s a joint advertisement for the iPad and for Star Trek on iTunes. As far as anyone knows Paramount Pictures may be responsible for altering the screenshot to optimize it for the iPad ad, and Apple ran exactly what they were provided and authorized to use.
It should be pointed out that Apple also used Star Trek on its iMac images:
http://apple.com/imac/
That screenshot a pre-release publicity still. The actual scene of the Enterprise leaving spacedock doesn’t look like that. It’s not a frame from the movie. Where was the outrage then?
It’s a baseless assumption that this is Apple’s doing. My theory that it is Paramount is equally if not more likely.
#1: “The quivering hate in the linked infographic”
#29: “Where was the outrage then?”
Where is the outrage now? I just read the infographic, and while it’s a bit “aha! caught ya!” in that typical consumer-advocate crusader way, I spotted no “quivering hate” or “outrage.”
Was there an angrier version that I missed?
Interesting points, 29. I concur that the original infographic seems overblown. Really, like many, I fail to see the need for irritation at Apple, honestly, for the use of the “fake” image. Folks, it’s an advertisement, not a dissertation.
True, I own an Apple iPhone 3GS — and love it. And, true, although a Microsoft user for many years, I was quite annoyed by its viral-philic properties (recently having had to use multiple antivirus programs to purge my Windows-based ‘puter). But all that aside, who can really deny that associating a cool product (iPad — look at the sales numbers!) with an even cooler product (Trek) is a marketing stroke of genius?
Go Trek! Go Apple! Etc.
And, 27 — “Diamonds aren’t a Gorn’s best friend” — your punning skills are obviously superior to mine. In fact, one might say that you are a natural-gorn punster….
Damn it.
Now I’m curious about Gorn broods. How many children … differences between males and females … do they go to the hospital to lay eggs or do they do it at home? (Or in a cool, dry root cellar – protected, of course. God knows, a planet where the dominant species is a raptor-like reptile, I can’t imagine what the wild predators that still exist are like. Tyrannosaurian, even.)
What’s the gestation of a Gorn like? How many months a cycle? Do they carry their very young babies in their mouths like alligators?
32, I believe that the natural birthing method is preferred by the more progressive members of the Gorn Hegemony, whereas Caesarian (or Tyrannian) section is preferred by those who also like a healthy epidural with their labor.
Some decades back, there was a dispute as to whether defective fertility drugs had paradoxically contributed to an overall decline of nestmates from an average of seven to four. (Contra, the rising standards of living had allowed female Gorn to retain almost all their brood rather than send away their unhatched eggs for adoption.) With the recent ban on fertility drugs, this trend was reversed, and thankfully so, since the Hegemony’s policy was to encourage greater numbers to deal with the Federation threat.
So I have written. So it shall be.
#31: “who can really deny that associating a cool product (iPad — look at the sales numbers!) with an even cooler product (Trek) is a marketing stroke of genius?”
If it’s true that they’re both demonstrably “cool” products, then it’s a marketing stroke of obvious.
I’d be a lot more interested in the Amazing Amy if she was 25 years old! Sorry for my ageism! : D
As for Punks vs. Trekkies, I can confirm that that guy’s theory is exactly right. Cuz I’m both a Punk AND a Trekkie!
I WANT A BABY GORN!!!
Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw years ago:
Happiness is a warm Gorn!
17.
Joe, the music player didn’t work for me, but I watched both of your videos. Good stuff! Best of luck to you and the band.
That baby Gorn is cute! I want to see a Gorn in the movie! And a Horta, too! :-)
Few would ever charge Madison Avenue with an excess of subtlety, 34.
Apple uses a screen with a 4:3 ratio, as nearly everything is presented in 16:9 or 2,35:1 in nowadays. I´m deeply impressed ;-) I can´t stop laughing. Go Apple, go!
#38 I want a gorn in it as well. But not one of those fake cgi one’s that we saw in Enterprise. I want a real one like the one Kirk fought. lol
Maybe one thats a bit more athletic than that wheezy specimen, but you get the idea. :-D
Maybe I need to dress up in a Trek outfit when I teach qigong.
And I hate to say this but Amazing Amy is the average age for a Trek fan. Our club only has one member under the age of 40.
Oh, and Punks definitely have better hair than Trek fans.
41
Buzz, I agree. A Gorn in the next movie should look like the one Kirk fought in TOS, but this time, let’s not be able to see the zipper up the back of the Gorn costume! :>)
@11 — Indeed. I don’t understand why anyone thinks this is a story. I could pull out a dozen ads with photoshopped monitors from any issue of “Wired” or “PC Magazine,” yet somehow this is news? Huh??
T.’.
The Gorn baby is cute, and why the hell can’t we convince the Hegemony to join the Federation for the big win in any timeline? I’d love to have those guys in Starfleet (the dragon fleet?) facing down the usual interstellar bullies who think its fun to push the Feds around.
As for the punks…
The comparison is absolutely spot on, and is nice call for inter-Trek tolerance of each others preferences in the ST universe(s).
T.’.
Thanks Anthony!
#44 you prefer the more traditional front zip, Harry? ;-))
Seriously, i’m pinning so many hopes on the next film opening with Kirk v the Gorn as per Arena. As I’ve said before. No explanation. No set-up. Thats it. Kirk fighting the Gorn. But this time with some kind of new/funny/quirky twist. Thats the bit I’m struggling with. Which is why I’m not paid the big bucks i spose!
#44 Harry, were you the poster on here that was beating the drum quite consistently for a gorn to feature in Trek ’09? I know one of the regulars on here was but I can’t quite remember who it was?
(i think it was suggested very tongue in cheek- hence the reason I seem to remember it being your good self, Mr Ballz!)
Hmmm… I wonder if there’s any connection between the Gorn and the Visitors…?
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/3560/photobabylizard.jpg