IRON PLANKING - STARK TREKKING ACROSS THE AUSTREK 'VERSE
It's only logical...that I do some "Iron Planking" in this context as Mr Stark is such a fan of Star Trek - the only non documentary telly his father allowed him to watch, as a kid!
I had a beaut arvo in November (2014) revisiting my geek 'origins' after excepting an invitation from Austrek, the Australian Star Trek Club, to attend a monthly meeting and give a talk about "Bad Science Fiction Films".
Fandom (ANY fandom) at its best is all about passion and I have been, and always shall be, a mad keen Star Trek fan.
Austrek, was where I discovered Science Fiction fandom, although it's equally true to say that it discovered me.
It was in the mid 1970s, though I'll have to do some digging to discover exactly when...and do rather look forward to a fondly nostalgic fossicking around in my archives.
For now though, it's enough to recall how much fun I had there, for a couple of decades or so, and how much I got from it and how much I gave back and by doing so got even more in return...
Anyway, I took along with me a quickly gathered random selection of "The Captain's Log" newsletter, which has been Austrek's periodical newsletter, under one masthead or another, since its inception. As one terrific teen at the meeting asked, "Which of these covers did you draw?"
Me: "All of them..."
And so I did. Not all of the entire run of the covers, to be sure, but at least fifty-ish, I reckon, at a guess.
Austrek was and is like that. It's fertile soil for fannish creativity. Many of the things I enjoy doing now were either kickstarted or developed further during those early years I spent with Austrek, including writing, drawing, painting, sculpting, costuming and, messing about with assorted performing arts.
Of course, Austrek is where I first met Paul Ruzek, who was the co-creator of the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Historical radio show back in 1994, and which I am still presenting and producing today.
So, yah, it was very much like coming home walking through the door of the Northcote Town Hall, and being met with a generously warm welcome by the clubmemembers.
The talk was well received, which is instructive, since I normally wouldn't go out of my way to be so negative as to single out "Bad Sci-Fi" as a category in itself...life's too short, and I'm more often than not given to a more positive outlook.
However, focusing that much negativity was a challenge, and I found myself slipping back into a certain, shall we say, Klingon mindset, that has been such a personal 'joy' to role play with, when I've been costuming as one of those worthy aliens.
Oh, the films?
Well, I'll post here a list of the ones that made the cut, including many that are 'yeahnahmaybe' movies...so bad that they're actually great fun to watch!
-ALIEN 3
-BATMAN AND ROBIN
-BIRDEMIC
-FRANKENSTEIN VS BARAGON
-HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN
-H.G WELLS' THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
-HIGHLANDER II
-HOWARD THE DUCK
-I AM OMEGA
-INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
-MAN OF STEEL
-PLANET OF THE APES (THE BURTON ONE)
-PROMETHEUS
-SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS
-STARSHIP TROOPERS
-STAR TREK V
-STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
-STAR WARS I, II, III and VI (Cheers, ta, Mr Lucas, that I have to bloody well explain that I mean the three prequels and the last movie of the original trilogy)
-SUPERMAN IV THE QUEST FOR PEACE
-THE TIME MACHINE (The 2002 one)
-TOTAL RECALL (The 1990 one)
-TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION
-VOYAGE TO THE PLANET OF PREHISTORIC WOMEN (Which is to say, the butchered American versions of the classic Pavel Klushantsev Soviet space exploration film, PLANET BUR)
Some additional films were added on during the Q & A session: ESCAPE FROM L.A, KING KONG LIVES and, for my sins, I even gleefully wrangled over Tarkovsky's magnificent masterpieces, SOLARIS and STALKER (Ask me how!)
What evil fun!
But remember, everyone takes their own size popcorn and flavour choc-top into the cinema...
Thanks to Austrek, and to its brilliant clubmembers, including Rebecca Pinskier and Mel Nemer, who invited me along, and Snudge, who provided essential technical support for the talk.
Austrek: "Live Long & Prosper- I have been, and always shall be, your friend."
IRON PLANKING - STARK TREKKING ACROSS THE AUSTREK 'VERSE
It's only logical...that I do some "Iron Planking" in this context as Mr Stark is such a fan of Star Trek - the only non documentary telly his father allowed him to watch, as a kid!
I had a beaut arvo in November (2014) revisiting my geek 'origins' after excepting an invitation from Austrek, the Australian Star Trek Club, to attend a monthly meeting and give a talk about "Bad Science Fiction Films".
Fandom (ANY fandom) at its best is all about passion and I have been, and always shall be, a mad keen Star Trek fan.
Austrek, was where I discovered Science Fiction fandom, although it's equally true to say that it discovered me.
It was in the mid 1970s, though I'll have to do some digging to discover exactly when...and do rather look forward to a fondly nostalgic fossicking around in my archives.
For now though, it's enough to recall how much fun I had there, for a couple of decades or so, and how much I got from it and how much I gave back and by doing so got even more in return...
Anyway, I took along with me a quickly gathered random selection of "The Captain's Log" newsletter, which has been Austrek's periodical newsletter, under one masthead or another, since its inception. As one terrific teen at the meeting asked, "Which of these covers did you draw?"
Me: "All of them..."
And so I did. Not all of the entire run of the covers, to be sure, but at least fifty-ish, I reckon, at a guess.
Austrek was and is like that. It's fertile soil for fannish creativity. Many of the things I enjoy doing now were either kickstarted or developed further during those early years I spent with Austrek, including writing, drawing, painting, sculpting, costuming and, messing about with assorted performing arts.
Of course, Austrek is where I first met Paul Ruzek, who was the co-creator of the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Historical radio show back in 1994, and which I am still presenting and producing today.
So, yah, it was very much like coming home walking through the door of the Northcote Town Hall, and being met with a generously warm welcome by the clubmemembers.
The talk was well received, which is instructive, since I normally wouldn't go out of my way to be so negative as to single out "Bad Sci-Fi" as a category in itself...life's too short, and I'm more often than not given to a more positive outlook.
However, focusing that much negativity was a challenge, and I found myself slipping back into a certain, shall we say, Klingon mindset, that has been such a personal 'joy' to role play with, when I've been costuming as one of those worthy aliens.
Oh, the films?
Well, I'll post here a list of the ones that made the cut, including many that are 'yeahnahmaybe' movies...so bad that they're actually great fun to watch!
-ALIEN 3
-BATMAN AND ROBIN
-BIRDEMIC
-FRANKENSTEIN VS BARAGON
-HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN
-H.G WELLS' THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
-HIGHLANDER II
-HOWARD THE DUCK
-I AM OMEGA
-INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
-MAN OF STEEL
-PLANET OF THE APES (THE BURTON ONE)
-PROMETHEUS
-SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS
-STARSHIP TROOPERS
-STAR TREK V
-STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
-STAR WARS I, II, III and VI (Cheers, ta, Mr Lucas, that I have to bloody well explain that I mean the three prequels and the last movie of the original trilogy)
-SUPERMAN IV THE QUEST FOR PEACE
-THE TIME MACHINE (The 2002 one)
-TOTAL RECALL (The 1990 one)
-TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION
-VOYAGE TO THE PLANET OF PREHISTORIC WOMEN (Which is to say, the butchered American versions of the classic Pavel Klushantsev Soviet space exploration film, PLANET BUR)
Some additional films were added on during the Q & A session: ESCAPE FROM L.A, KING KONG LIVES and, for my sins, I even gleefully wrangled over Tarkovsky's magnificent masterpieces, SOLARIS and STALKER (Ask me how!)
What evil fun!
But remember, everyone takes their own size popcorn and flavour choc-top into the cinema...
Thanks to Austrek, and to its brilliant clubmembers, including Rebecca Pinskier and Mel Nemer, who invited me along, and Snudge, who provided essential technical support for the talk.
Austrek: "Live Long & Prosper- I have been, and always shall be, your friend."