Star Trek

What’s Inside: March 2016 Loot Crate

Looking Inside the March Loot Crate

Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t opened or received your March Loot Crate yet, turn back now!

I’ve waited long as I could to share my March Loot Crate.  Of all of my Loot Crates, I think this one is my favorite.  In fact, I know it’s my favorite.

The March Loot Crate theme is Versus, which is perfect timing with the March 25th release of the highly anticipated Batman vs Superman movie.  That being said, the good folks at Loot Crate did not disappoint.

This month’s t-shirt celebrates the famous classic Star Trek episode “Mirror, Mirror” that pits Good Spock vs Evil Spock.  Juan Ortiz, the artist who designed the shirt, is an avid Star Trek fan and created posters depicting every episode of the original series.  The “Mirror, Mirror” poster, he says, is based on boxing posters with their striking but limited use of color.

When you think of rivalries, no rivalry comes to mind more than Alien vs Predator, and not only is AvP represented on the March 2016 Loot Pin, but there is also a blind box featuring either an Alien or Predator 4.5 inch figure.  I got the Alien figure.  (Yes, I open my blind boxes.  I’m also the kind of person who will open Christmas presents several days early if someone leaves them within reach.  I have crazy amounts of patience for many other things…but not for blind boxes.  I need to know!!!)

Given that we’re still in the last days of winter, the March Loot Crate also features a reversible Daredevil vs Punisher beanie.  The red side features an embroidered DD while the black side features the Punisher symbol.  I see this beanie coming in handy during those chilly nights outside the San Diego Convention Center during SDCC.  It does get chilly down by the water at night.  I know this because I live here.

While everything in the Loot Crate box is near and dear to my heart, this month we receive a Loot Crate Exclusive edition of the Harley Quinn comic.  If you’re not reading Harley Quinn, this is a great chance to get to know one of DC Comic’s most complex—and perpetually entertaining—characters.  When Harley find herself her very own Genie in a bottle, the sky is the limit (as you’ll see when she takes a little trip into orbit).

Lastly, in honor of Batman vs Superman, there is a Mighty Wallet made from Tyvek.  I’m not exactly sure what Tyvek is, but it’s so strong that I doubt Superman himself could tear it.  It’s also 100% green, which is awesome.

Are you a Loot Crate subscriber?  What did you think of this month’s Loot?

Live Long and Prosper

Today we mourn the passing of television and science fiction icon Leonard Nimoy.

Nimoy, the inimitable actor who portrayed our favorite Vulcan Mr. Spock on Star Trek, demonstrated that emotions can indeed be logical. They are what make us human. (Spock was half-human)

Thank you, Mr. Nimoy, for being such a huge part of our lives. 

Live Long and Prosper.

Trekkie Since 1991

For some strange reason, it occurred to me tonight that I don’t blog about being a Star Trek fan despite the fact that Star Trek was my entree into geekdom.

When I was 11, way back in 1991, I was convinced that I was going to grow up, go to college, major in astrophysics, and work for NASA.  (Incidentally, I did grow up and go to college, but an aversion to math kept me away from astrophysics. I still love physics, I just can’t do the requisite math.  Ironically, I discussed my aversion to math with Bobak Ferdowski, the mohawk guy from NASA who helped land the Mars rover.  He told me that he doesn’t use much math at all. This made me feel slightly better, somehow)

I started watching the original Star Trek series because of my love affair with space. My parents had seen the show but weren’t huge fans. Little did they know, we would soon become a Star Trek family.  We attended conventions here in San Diego that, in retrospect, were more popular than San Diego Comic Con.  I met stars from all of the series, including William Shatner, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Rene Auberjenois, Marina Sirtis, and Jonathan Frakes.  I had both a command gold uniform and the command red uniform from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I watched Deep Space Nine, but fell away from Star Trek on television after the premiere of Voyager. To this day, I have never seen Enterprise, though I was in line on opening day to see Star Trek VI as well as Generations.

Star Trek gave me something to believe in at a critical moment in my childhood.  I truly believe that I would be a different person without it. I also know what it was like to be ridiculed for being a nerd before being a nerd was cool.

I pledge to post more about the series and films that did so much for me in my childhood. 

Nerdvana in San Diego: It’s Time for Comic Con 2014

Eight years ago you could buy a 4-day pass to Comic Con and walk in the front door when the Exhibit Hall opened.  Syfy had huge installations in the middle of the floor, and their booth was surrounded by Pokemon and D&D gaming tables.  

Now, people enter a lottery to be able to buy badges, and the Exhibit Hall floor is crowded beyond belief.  Vendors are on a waiting list to get in.  Syfy has moved across the street to the Hard Rock.  In fact, many of the neighboring hotels have taken advantage of SDCC by sharing their ballrooms and convention spaces for extra panels.  Even Petco Park has cashed in as it hosts The Walking Dead Escape.

Personally, as a native San Diegan, I think that SDCC is a welcome boon to our city and I support anything that needs to happen to keep SDCC here.  SDCC was born here, after all, and the money generated from out-of-town guests is more than we’ll ever see from the Chargers.  I think SDCC should be a city-wide event, spreading beyond the confines of the Gaslamp to other areas of San Diego.  

I get as excited about the SDCC banners going up along Harbor Drive as I get when I see the first Christmas trees during the holiday season.  

SDCC is a nerd’s paradise.  I’m so glad to be a part of it!

(That said, watch for my coverage of SDCC here on my blog and on Twitter @SarabethPollock

Preparing for…what?

Once again I’m listening to Clive Lewis’ Ground Zero radio show.  He’s talking about the hidden messages in the Super Bowl.  The multiple appearances of the number 12, the word “prepare” during Bruno Mars’ performance….  Prepare for what?  The next big world war?  The symbolism is everywhere.  It’s like the movie 21, which is a great movie.

This nerdy girl is going to return to her nerdy roots.  While the people on the radio show are talking about the Antichrist and all of the religious symbolism, I am recalling a dream I had in college whereby aliens arrive on Earth and take the form of Jesus and other major religious figures from religions all over the world.  Everyone goes nuts and thinks it’s the second coming, and the aliens take over with little to no resistance.  Think about it: It’s the best way to take over a planet.  Mimic the religious leaders (especially, in the case of Jesus, a religious figure who is forecasted to return at some point).

For all we know, we could be under attack from the Daleks or the Borg.  Or the Cybermen.  Doctor Who and Star Trek teach us great lessons about why the human race needs to be wary of getting too comfortable.  We lose sight of problems and forget to be mindful of what is going on around us.  Ground Zero is talking about something possibly happening around February 15 or the Ides of March (March 15).  For my sake, I don’t want anything to happen on those days.  They are the 6th and 5th birthdays of my cat and dog, respectively.  Of course, last year around this time, we had the huge fireball over Moscow.  And now we have the Olympics in Russia.

I know I’m rambling.  This is all a lot more esoteric than the snow that won’t melt, which has been a favorite topic of mine the past few days.  All I know is that we have to pay attention to what’s going on around us.  Don’t read too much into everything, but be mindful.

To quote Spock: “Live Long and Prosper.”