Collecting gold coins is not only a fun hobby but a great investment too. You can share the fun of buying gold coins with the whole family.
Check out Goldline.com for some very interesting facts about gold coins as well as informative price quotes on the current value of your gold collection.
If only I had collected gold coins instead of Star Trek action figures my collection could actually be worth something now instead of just sitting in my storage locker taking up room and costing me money. Sadly I know more about Star Trek than I do about trading gold. Thank goodness for Goldline International and their very informative site. Now I will have some knowledge should I decide to change those Trek toys into gold, literally.
While Valentine’s Day has hardly come and gone Easter is hitting the shelves of the stores already. Target had PEEPS on the shelves Saturday when I stopped in to pick up a few goodies. I love Peeps. I especially love the Peep Shows that the Washington Post has every year. I just wish they would open it up to more than DC and the surrounding areas. I reall, really want to enter. Guess I could make my own…and maybe even have my own contest too….hmmmm. That’s what I am going to.
Okay, everybody get to working on your Peeps dioramas contest information will be coming soon…for now get some ideas brewing in your heads. At least in my contest you won’t have to deliver anything but a photo of your diorama to me.
The fine and rather sarcastic folks over at Pophangover.com must have been hungover when they reviewed the Spock action figure on their site.
Take a look at the picture to the right. As you can see they are clearly talking about the NEW Spock action figures from Playmates Toys, but are comparing it to Leonard Nimoy as Spock. So of course the photo of the actual person isn’t going to look ANYTHING like the action figure and vice versa.
Perhaps as a pop culture site they are so out of touch with reality that they don’t really know what is going on in the world of pop culture any more? Have they had their collective heads in the sand for the past year? Do they not know that their is a NEW Star Trek movie with a whole new cast? Spock is now played by Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes).
Now with that new knowledge people, try your little review again. Your two main complaints about the figure seem a perfect match when compared to the correct actor.
I would say the toy is pretty close, not dead on, but pretty dang close to Quinto (but certainly not Nimoy). And I’m the slacker here
Saw the new Star Trek movie last night and all I can say right now is “WOW!” I am headed to the IMAX today to see it again and maybe I will be able to formulate more of an actual review at that point, but until then here is my friend’s review from last nights viewing (Warning some spoilers most are at the end of the review — enjoy and go see the film!)
Kent’s Review:
It has been a long, long time since I have given a four star review to any science fiction film released in the theater of late. I was beginning to think the endless sequels, remakes, retreads and prequels had Hollywood in a funk they could not get out of, which certainly did not justify the recent writer’s strike and does even less to fuel the rationalization of the pending actor’s strike. In short, there are very few new ideas out there, and even fewer new ideas that are actually decent and play well from beginning to end without being mucked up by the Hollywood machine. So, in these times of uncertainty, unoriginality and unappreciation, we turn our eyes to what offerings ther are on the table and hope for the best. Sadly, more often than not, we are disappointed with the results.
Until now.
Make no mistake, Star Trek is back, not only in a big way, but in a way that will please fans both young and old and also give chance to newcomers to the saga to hop on board without needing any previous knowledge of the canon or its characters. This is not a reboot. This is not a remake. This is (slightly skewed) fresh start for us to see played out the first meetings of the beloved Original Series characters and many of the snippets of their pasts that were mentioned or alluded to in episodes but were not actually seen. This is no easy task since director J J Abrams needs to walk the fine line between diehard fans, and deeply entrenched legendary history, established and beloved characters, the demands of special effects and action sequences of today and the board of critics, both novice and professional, that have been waiting anxoiusly for this much-hyped recalibration. An impossible task at best, but the results are as mindblowingly close to perfect as anyone could possibly hope to come.
First and foremost, if the cast doesn’t work, the rest of the film doesn’t matter. You can’t just have anyone don a classic Trek uniform, have them deliver tagline references and hope to pass them off as the iconic legends these characters have become. But there are absolutely no worries in that department. Chris Pine’s Kirk is savvy, rebelious, slightly egotistical, reckless and has a weakness for the opposite sex. Equally inpressive is Zachary Quinto’s portrayal of the emotionally and logically divided Spock, who is still trying to determine who he is and sort out what sort of man he is to become. Everyone else - Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, Scotty - is more than passable, even if the looks don’t exactly match or the character developmen is a bit off. But above them all, dead on, perfect-for-the-role is Keith Urban’s portrayal of the late, great DeForrest Kelly’s Dr. McCoy. Just close your eyes as he delivers his crusty county doctor repitoire and try to separate him from his predecessor. Then open them and copare the mannerisms, gestures, expressions and side-of-the-mouth dialogue delivery and try not to believe he is Kelly reborn. The comparisons are staggeringly uncanny.
Then there’s the plot. Well, whenever you have a villain that goes dickering around with time, there are bound to be a few flaws, not to mention inconsistancies that result due to the interference with the space/time continuum. However, since this is not an exact history and some latitude needs to be given for plot devices, the few changes to what history we know of Star Trek are both forgivable and understandable. We can suspend our belief and accept a few minor changes here and there for the sake of the Trek we have all been so eagerly and patiently been waiting for.
And finally, the finishing touches. Special effects; check. Music; check. Surprising and unexpected castings for the supportng roles; check. classic taglines that don’t feel forced or out of place; check. All systems; check. An a kickass ship to put them all in; absolutely.
For so many years the “blockbuster” start of the summer has been a mixed bag of disappointments, half-hearted attempts and critically bashed tripe. This year, without question, the summer film season has begun on an extremely positive note. And with the Enterprise out in front, with any luck, this time it will live long and prosper.
Star Trek **** (out of four) Rated PG-13 for violence, language, sexual situations, alcohol consumption, and scary situations. Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Keith Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saladna, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Eric Bana, Ben Cross, Wynona Rider, Deep Roy and Leonard Nimoy.
Spoiler stuff from here down.
Things we would like to have seen or heard that were not included in the film:
Nurse Chapel
Yeoman Janice Rand
“He’s dead, Jim.”
“I’m only one man, captain.”
“Beam me up, Scotty” (only because no one officially ever said it ever) or “Energize” all by itself.
“Fascinating.”
For the timeline to have been restored, even if only to bring back Amanda or Kirk’s dad, or at least save Vulcan
Captain (or Admiral) Robert April
Lt. Arex and/or Lt. M’Ress (now that the special effects are available, they could do it)
Things that seemed out of place:
That little alien creature hanging around with Scotty (sorry Deep Roy)
The violation of the orignal canon regarding no one knowing what a romulan looked like before Balance of Terror
and, again, the destruction of Vulcan and the loss of Amanda and Kirk’s father
That whole scene with young Kirk stealing the car and driving it off the cliff
The premise that Budweiser beer will still be around hundreds of years from now.
The Spock/Uhura relationship
Things that were absolutely cool:
The continued death-of-a-red-shirt tradition
Uhura being smokin’ hot!
The inclusion of an Orion girl. Always welcome.
The inclusion of other alien races in crowd scenes. Nice touch.
The playing out of the whole Kobyashai Muru incident.
I have been telling FatHead for years that they needed to make Star Trek wall stickers. I even contacted the cardboard people to see if they were going to do them (they let their license go a bout two years ago and I bet they are kicking themselves now). Roommates has picked up the slack and their stuff looks good and costs less than FatHeads anyway.
I may wind up settling for the giant wall appliques. I could handle having just a Kirk or Spock standing next to my PC. But like I always asked when I was bothering the other companies, please bring us some big ships for our walls and ceilings!
Just found this site - youneek.com - where you can customize posters and cards. The best part for me is the Star Trek posters. I gots to go make me some!
CBS announces new licensing agreements to hock Twilight Zone merchandise inlcuding a US postage stamp (probably the reason stamps are going up to 44 cents in May).
Other products will include games, dolls and Hallmark ornaments.
So I guess the new Star Trek film isn’t the only thing CBS is whoring out.
So I guess it is true that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, sort of. Last Fall the Star Trek Experience, which I NEVER got to go to, closed its doors. Bummer not only for me but tons of Trekkies every where.
Well good news all you geeks out there Star Trek The Experience is coming back to Los Vegas (or maybe it never left). So now I can finally get my sorry butt out to the desert and head to this Trek mecca (before it disappears again).
Guess while I am out there I should head off to Roswell too. As these are both on my big TO DO LIST I keep talking about.
Boy would I love one of these for my collection, but at around two grand I cannot foresee ever having one. Noting in my Star Trek collection has cost me more than $200. I just can’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on a collectible. (funny though I spent that on my other hobby, photography, when I bought my first digital SLR)
I will just have to continue under the impression that it is really uncomfortable (most likely not), would NEVER make me feel like a starship captain (fat chance on that, it would be SO COOL) and there is no where I could fit it in the house (duh, throw out the sofa!) Okay, so I have convinced myself (NOT) that I don’t want or need this splendid, life-sized, original series Captain’s chair to act out my Captain Kirk fantasies.
Besides if I had this where would I get the green alien girls from?
Since these are limited and I don’t seem to be able to get me one, why not head over to EE and pre-order a Captain’s Chair for yourself (and make me EXTREMELY jealous in the process)?
I had so much fun with my friends trying to figure out the 51 Robots on my other Chop Shop t-shirt that I thought I would do the same here with the 50 Aliens shirt. (Both of which are highly recommended by me as being both uber cool and uber geeky.)
Here’s what I got (feel free to comment below with additions or corrections to the list):
Ignignokt the Mooninite - Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Alien
Space Invaders ?
Preditor
Yip Yip Martians - Sesame Street
?
Marvin the Martian - Looney Tunes
Bug - Starship Troopers
Kodos or is it Kang? - The Simpsons
Glactus - Marvel Comics (not the Silver Surfer movie, slackers)
Vorgon - Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Movie
Mos Eisley Cantina Band Member - Star Wars: A New Hope
Who knew that the game of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock shown on the Big Bang Theory was and actual game? Not I. I found out the other day while poking around ThinkGeek.com they made a t-shirt (which is pretty cool in its own right) and they linked to the guy who came up with it.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock was created by Sam Kass with Karen Bryla. The rules are easy and the reasons for using it instead of the standard rock, paper, scissors makes pretty good sense. People that know each other too well will inevitably end up in a tie about 80% of the time. So by adding 2 new variables this will decrease those chances of getting a tie.
Here are the rules (Sheldon will also explain them in the video). Scissors cut paper. Paper covers rock. Rock crushes lizard. Lizard poisons Spock. Spock smashes scissors. Scissors decapitate lizard. Lizard eats paper. Paper disproves Spock. Spock vaporizes rock. Rock crushes scissors.
