View allAll Photos Tagged asterisk
Recently i bought a Zeiss Ikon Ikonta 521/16 (6x6 format) and noticed that there was a 5 pointed star (also called asterisk) behind the serial number on the body (see red arrow).
I have read about that Star before but this was the first time i actually saw it on a camera.
Mr. Bernd K.Otto writes about that Star in part 2 of his article "Die Entwicklung der Ikonta/Super Ikonta".
You can find that Star on folders (yes, only on folders) which were produced by Zeiss Ikon in Stuttgart (Contessa Werk) in the first years (1945 to 1949) after the second world war AND were partly made of parts from pre May 1945 production which were still lying in storage.
btw The serial number starts with an "O" . this indicates the production of the body somewhere between the years 1943 and 1945. However its Tessar lens has a red T on the name ring, indicating a lens with (early) coating. Coated lenses on cameras for the public appeared after WW2.
made using orphan asterisk blocks from a quilt that never got finished.
It was a bit too big for a pillow so I made it into an 'oxford' style and now it fits perfectly. Hoorah!
Something strange was happening in the skies over Stanage today. An invasion of the punctuation marks as contrails formed an asterisk.
I've owned this Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens for a long time and it's served me well. Sadly it has finally developed the infamous autofocus malfunction. I'll take it apart and try to repair it. - Canon EOS 10D
Anna's Hummingbird
Calypte anna
Another one of the shots I took on that long hot day at Martin Ray Winery. Hope you enjoy.
Thank you for your views, faves and comments. Deeply appreciated.
I've been through a lot in the last 2 months and actually for an unknown while before that that I and no one else realized the seriousness of. This image doesn't really reflect my situation, other than perhaps some Freudian stuff about doors and windows, but it is the first picture I could figure out how to upload today.
In between the row of asterisks I'll be writing a tiny true story about me and what has happened.
If you give this an extra second or two to load it will be more clear.
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From about the first half of 2019, I had been occasionally tilting to my starboard side (right side) and once in awhile actually falling down. I thought it was some sort of Vertigo, which I had experienced in the past, but didn't really know, and I didn't break any bones, and it wasn't very often. I was also getting more confused about written instructions particularly, again not thinking too much about it, as I'm smart, but have never been a whiz at written instructions. I dropped my medications and couldn't get them all sorted back. I'm 71 years old and just thought part of this was aging. Unbeknownst to me, some neighbors said I was talking sort of disconnectedly. I finally called my primary care doctor's office and said I wasn't "functioning on all my cylinders." We talked on the phone. She said to go to the ER at a local hospital. The ambulance driver wouldn't take me, because I was standing upright at the time, and he felt I just wanted a free ride to the hospital. He criticized me for it, and he and two assistants chimed in about there were only 14 ambulances in Springfield, and what if there was a fire or a big car wreck, etc.? I told him my doctor said to call the ambulance and to go there. He wouldn't budge. That was the first time in my life I was refused. Meanwhile, another first. I got a call from my doctor, and she wanted to know how it was going at the emergency room. That has never happened before. I said it wasn't *going at all* because the ambulance driver refused me. She was very upset and called them and I presume gave them a piece of her mind on my behalf, and I did get a ride with different medics (thankfully) later. I went to ER, but not much definitive was found that I can recall.
Meanwhile, for several months of this year (2019) I had excruciating pain in my right armpit all the way down my arm to every finger on my hand. I had a number of medical appointments about it, and I had agreed to spinal surgery. It was supposed to open up two pinched places that probably were causing the pain. I'm not afraid of surgery, but I am afraid of pain. After months of jumping through the medical hoops, I got a date for surgery. It was the second half of May. No one had really connected my falls, etc. with anything. It is fortuitous that they didn't, because had I not voluntarily and very willingly gone to the hospital for spinal surgery, this other thing that I'm about to tell may not have happened.
Apparently, and I was so out of it that I don't recall much at all of my hospital stay, I was not recovering in a normal manner from the spinal surgery. I only found out after some persistence on the telephone, just a few days ago (July 2, 2019), that I could not sit up, nor stand, nor walk and my cognitive functions were suffering. I imagine that was pretty bad. I guess they couldn't tell me at the time, as I would likely not have understood, but it seems like they could have told me later or scheduled a follow-up appointment. Maybe they don't do those for "emergency" surgery. They called my son and told him they had done a scan of my brain and found hydrocephalus (commonly called water on the brain, though not really just water). He approved the surgery (back in late May 2019) and thought I might die. I was clueless. I was in the hospital 16 or 17 days weeks and then 9 days at a rehab center. My son moved up here to help me recover. That was almost a month of being away from home for medical care, and I have been recovering since then. I've been told I could have died, but I am making a very good (maybe even great) recovery. My son likes to tell people "remarkable" recovery. I think that word is a little over the top, but find it nice that he thinks so. I haven't fallen down in about 2 months. My thinking is better.
My arm is only about 30% improved so far, and that much suddenly only after about 6 weeks of no apparent improvement at all. I naively thought it would be better right after surgery. I was wrong! My spinal surgeon told me a few days ago it could take 3 to 9 months to improve. I wish he would have told me that in the beginning. I would be less disappointed and more realistic.
Anyway, thanks for the prayers and encouraging comments . They help more than you know.
~~ Delina (pronounced with a long *i* sound)
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(20190322_144725window&doornearLCMH032219flickr070419)
"First Upload in Almost 2 Months ~ I Nearly Died ~ True Story"
Ruby came to pick her cousin Canada up from the bus stop.
Here you can see now how he compares to an M sized girl after the hybridizing with the L girl legs and arms. He's a good bit taller than Ruby now and looking exactly like I wished he would. Yay! :D
Cloud-shadowed view from the Appalachian Trail at Wolf Rocks, Monroe County.
Wolf Rocks form a narrow, north-facing ledge of boulders deposited during the last ice age. The ledge commands a fine view of Pleasant Valley and the Pocono Plateau escarpment.
better view by pressing the button "L"
i am pleased with your visit and your comments and fav., many thanks friends
Tiny True Story will be between the rows of asterisks.
"P" is for Peanuts in the ABCs & 123s group.
I used Flickr's Creative Commons for the image of a serving bowl of peanuts. Terms and conditions: mark me (Christian Schnettelker) as the creator and set a link to www.manoftaste.de in return.
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It was the 1960s, I believe. My parents had been invited to a cocktail party at Chiang Kai-shek's granddaughter's home in the part of the San Francisco, California Peninsula area known as possibly Atherton, Menlo Park or Palo Alto. My parents were both interior designers and frequently got invited to some of the homes they had worked on. She lived in that area at the time, and I don't want to get bogged down whether it was exactly the 1960s nor which town, nor did I ever learn her name. The vast majority of my Tiny True Stories are things that happened to me, and I know them to be true. This event happened to my father, and the true part is what he told me happened. I was not there, but I love what she said to him. It is a remark I have never forgotten.
She had asked my father if he would like to try Chinese peanuts. He said, "Sure!" She served him some in a bowl, and he took a tiny handful. He remarked to her that they tasted just like American peanuts. She laughed and said, "Peanuts like hiccups and laughter...same all over world!"
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(9233039800_8f7a863dcb_kPeanutsforChiangKai-shek'sGranddaughterStory)
Well...the top is done. What I want to do quiltingwise will have to wait until the wintertime because it's toooooo hot right now to have a quilt in my lap!:o Phew!:)
Kona coal and lovely grey and brown batiks!!:)
I have so many things I need to be doing, but had to take a stress relief break and make a funky asterisk. This idea had been brewing for a while, it was time to let it out :)
arrived : December 21, 2016
the workroom received all 22 colour of the Asterisks collection. Full Metre, Half Metre and Fat Quarter bundles are available while they last.
The Aster is September's flower of the month. The name comes from the Greek word for Stars. The violet, pink and white shades are most popular.
The Aster symbolizes afterthought, daintiness and love of variety. They are also called Star flowers or Frost flowers (probably because they are one of the last to bloom before the autumn frosts).
The butterflies can't get enough of their tasty nectar that's hidden in the tiny yellow flowers clustered around the flower's center. This row of flowers separates them from the chrysanthemum family.
These seeds in their casings look like stars and asterisks hence the title I have given the photograph. I did not see the flowers of these seeds so at the moment I do not know what they might have been. If anyone knows please let me know as I would find this interesting, as I would imagine that other flickr members might.
The camera arrived via ebay in a very good condition with hardly any signs of corrosion or paint chipping and with light tight leather bellows. But the longer shutter speeds below 1/10 second are considerably extended and the shutter requires cleaning and lubricating.
This camera has a five-pointed star (asterisk) behind its serial number, indicating that it is a pre-war camera on storage sold after the war or was produced in the first years after the war (1945-1949), but made of parts from pre-1945 production. According to its serial number starting with "Q", this camera was produced between 1943 and 1944: camera-wiki.org/wiki/Zeiss_Ikon_serial_numbers
The Zeiss Ikon Ikonta cameras have been produced since 1929 and were offered in four models (A, B, C, and D) with different negative formats (4,5 x 6, 6 x 6, 6 x 9, and 6,5 x 11 cm). The Ikonta B (521/16) is the second version of the B model and was produced between 1938 and 1951, followed by the Ikonta 523/16 (produced 1952-1953).
Pre-war Zeiss Ikon folders require some rethinking with regard to their handling: The red dot signal next to the shutter release button of the Ikonta 521/16 model indicates that the shutter is ready to fire, whereas a red dot signal for example of my past-war Agfa folders indicates that the double exposure prevention is active and the shutter release is blocked. Furthermore, the tripod sockets of the pre-war cameras have a 3/8 inch mount (rather the current 1/4 inch mount), but adapters are available. In contrast to the A and C models, the shutter release button of the Ikonta A model 521 is on the right (in viewing direction), at the typical shutter button place.
General remarks:
Folding cameras deliver medium format in a truly pocketable form. Their compact size makes them great travel cameras. The basic concept of folders is a flexible structure between camera body and lens so that the camera can be folded up. The bellows as the folding element makes folders compact but is also the weak point of the design by developing light leaks, especially in the folds and the corners. Folders have to be opened by pressing a button on the top plate. Powerful springs release the lens cover and push the lens into working position. As a result of the big negative size, medium format folders give far more resolution than any 35mm camera, along with very smooth images (a huge amount of detail with finer grain and better tonality). The results look very clean and sharp, with a lovely background blur when the aperture is set wide open. Compared to the clinical data of digital sensors, film emulsions deliver more imperfection and therefore appear less sterile. The texture of the grain and the tone of the color produce a certain feel or look, that digital photos lack. High-resolution scans of large negatives deliver an ideal basis for digital picture editing. But you get only between 8 and 16 shots per film roll, depending on the film format.
Using folding cameras requires some care and forces you to make some serious decisions before taking a picture. The shooting procedure is fully manual, which means that all parameters have to be set up by hand: You have to adjust the distance, the aperture, and the exposure time, allowing the time to make sure they are set up correctly. Optimal exposure requires the use of an external exposure meter, which delivers the range of aperture and exposure time combinations available for the given light and personal demands. With their archaic film advance, the uncoupled rangefinder, the front cell focusing, and the lack of an exposure meter, most medium format folding cameras are no point and shoot cameras. But slowing down by carefully adjusting and controlling the decisive photographic parameters increases the amount of satisfying pictures and revaluates each single shot.
But using vintage folding cameras can be highly problematic: Agfa Isolettes, for example, are infamous for the poor plastic material used to make the original bellows. Constant opening and closing over many decades leave tiny pinholes, particularly in the corners. Ikontas and Super Ikontas, however, come with leather bellows, which normally remain light tight for many decades, provided that the camera has been stored carefully. Besides the problems with light leaks, the lubricants used by the camera manufacturers prior to the 1970s or 1980s are another weak point. They often cause frozen or stiff focusing rings and retarding shutters, the latter resulting in strong overexposure. Dust in the shutter mechanism and fungus or haze between the lens elements are further items. For proper function, the lenses and shutters usually must be disassembled, cleaned (sometimes adjusted), and reassembled.
This camera has been purchased from a private seller via ebay.
Some valuable tips for using vintage folding cameras have been listed here: www.petrakla.com/pages/folding-camera-tips
Invitation to join our new group “Star Trek Forever” No Limits on uploads!
www.flickr.com/groups/2601080@N25/
Star Trek: Asterisk "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
Written by Steve Beaudry
Release Date: November 26, 1986
Written by: Steve Meerson & Peter Krikes and Harve Bennett & Nicholas Meyer
Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
Review
Deep in the outer reaches of space, a monstrous space probe passes by the USS Saratoga and knocks its power out on the way to Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, a Klingon ambassador accuses Kirk of murdering a ship full of Klingons in his quest to exterminate the Klingon race with the Genesis probe (that thing will just not go away). The Federation president says that Kirk will face nine violations of Starfleet regulations, the crew of the Enterprise has been stuck on Vulcan for three months, and on top of all that, a computer is trying to find out how Spock feels. There's nowhere to go from here but up.
Well, in The Search for Spock, Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise stole a starship, blew it up, visited a forbidden planet, and apparently six other naughty things, so now they're getting ready to go back to Earth on their stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey and face the music. There's just one hitch in this plan: the probe. It has now reached earth, shut down main power to... everything... and caused a huge weather phenomenon that blocked out the sun. So, basically, humanity has however long it'll take for Earth to freeze from lack of sunlight to tell this thing to move out of the way.
"When this is over, I'm quitting Starfleet and starting a gumbo restaurant."
In their Klingon ship, Kirk and the crew approach Earth and pick up a distress call from the president with the manly gray beard saying that Earth is under attack, so they pick up the probe's transmissions and analyze it. Since the transmission appears to be directed at the oceans, Kirk has Uhura compensate for the density of the water. When the audio effects are all in, the probe's transmission ends up sounding a lot like whale song; specifically, the extinct humpback whale. There's only one way they can get a humpback whale to answer the probe: The Guardian of Forev-... er... wait, no, the highly dangerous and tricky slingshot time warp maneuver. So there are two ways. We'll go with the dangerous one for now.
When they arrive in 1986, they confirm the date by testing the pollution in the air. Then they go into cloak and land in the middle of a park in San Francisco. After scaring off a couple of trash guys, the crew sets out to downtown. Their mission: 1) find humpback whales 2) get them on board the Klingon ship 3) fix the ship's dilithium crystals so they can go home. They split up to achieve their separate goals. Spock and Kirk go for the whales, Bones and Scotty go to build a proper tank, Uhura and Chekov find some nuclear power to fix the crystals.
Spock would like to take this opportunity to learn karate.
Spock and Kirk easily find some whales after they see an advertisement for the local whale institute where they meet George, Gracie and Dr. Gillian Taylor. George and Gracie are the whales and Gillian is the nice lady who knows everything about them. So Spock and Kirk get to know about the whales in their own unique way: Spock mind melds with Gracie and Kirk seduces Gillian. Meanwhile, Bones and Scotty are having a time of their own getting some plexiglass to make a whale tank. Luckily, they have an ace up their sleeves. They meet with a guy who deals in plexiglass and trade the secret formula for transparent aluminum in exchange for their required plexiglass. Also, Sulu learns how to drive a helicopter so they can lift all that plexiglass to the ship.
Things are just about set to go; Kirk is ready to pick up the whales, the plexiglass is ready to be delivered, everything is running smoothly until Chekov screws things up. He finds the USS Enterprise, the aircraft carrier, and, with Uhura's help, steals some of its nuclear power. Well, the officers on board sense the power drain and go looking for him. He hands the power device over to Uhura who beams up to the Klingon ship. But there's not enough transporter power to get Chekov, too, and he's captured. After escaping by attempting and failing to stun his captors, he runs and jumps off a high platform and hospitalizes himself.
It's possible they just got too high.
Chekov arrives at Mercy Hospital, so now they have to go save him before taking off. But to make matters worse, Gillian decided she wants to help, so she wandered off into the park and ran into the cloaked ship. So they beam her aboard, explain a few things, and then run off to save Chekov. With Gillian's help, they sneak into the hospital and pretend to be doctors. Chekov, a suspected Russian spy, is being kept under guard, but Bones easily tricks them into believing they have an emergency. He has a bit of a fight with the attending surgeon and then Kirk locks the surgeon and his team in a small room. Bones heals Chekov, and they leave. The guards give chase once they see that Chekov is being kidnapped, but they beam up in the elevator and make a clean getaway.
Ok, so, Chekov is safe, the tank is built, the dilithium crystals are fixed, all they need now are the whales. Kirk gets their tracking frequency from Gillian and says his goodbyes. She can't, after all, go to the future with them. Right? Weellll... as soon as he starts transporting aboard the ship, Gillian hops on him and comes with. She's staying whether Kirk likes it or not. With Gillian aboard, they set out to find George and Gracie. They find them right in front of a whaling ship. Still cloaked, they head right over to them and just hover for a bit while the whaling ship takes aim. And then... the decloakening.
Klingons on the port bow, captain!
Successfully having scared off the whalers, Scotty beams up George and Gracie and they make their way to the future. In a great evolution of Spock's revived character, he makes his "best guess" with the calculations for time warp, and they head out. Back in the future, they crash into San Francisco Bay. While the rest of the crew abandons ship, Kirk releases the whales out of the cargo bay and into the ocean. Once they're out, Kirk joins his crew as the whales start talking to the probe. After a delightful reunion and conversation with its good buddies, George and Gracie, the Probe turns around, says "thank you!" and leaves the Sol system in peace. The day is saved! So, now it's time for Kirk to stand trial.
Oh, right, yeah, this was the whole reason they were coming back to Earth, wasn't it? The crew of the Enterprise all stand in front of the president to be judged. Because for some reason the president is the judge in the future. Ready to be taken out of Starfleet forever, they all, including Spock who "stands with his shipmates", they all hear the charges brought to them. And then the president says he's getting rid of all of them in light of them saving the entire Earth, and all. The only charge that sticks, disobeying a superior officer, is directed solely at Kirk and because of it, he is reduced in rank to Captain. Which is basically like grounding a nerd to his room with the Internet still on. And not only that, it wouldn't be Star Trek and Kirk wouldn't be Captain without the proper ship. They head out to the shipyard and find the brand spankin' new USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A. The only proper ship for them to go and "see what's out there."
Overall Thoughts
This had been my absolute favorite Star Trek movie for the longest time until my tastes matured and I learned to like The Wrath of Kahn just slightly better. I love a good comedy sci-fi, especially when that comedy sci-fi involves time travel! Every good Star Trek series needs a comedy relief. "The Trouble with Tribbles" was that for The Original Series and this movie is that for the movie series. And, in fact, this movie was so monstrously successful, that it was almost entirely responsible for green-lighting The Next Generation. Picard would take command almost a year after this movie was released and Trek would never be the same.
Invitation to join our new group “Star Trek Forever” No Limits on uploads!
www.flickr.com/groups/2601080@N25/
Star Trek: Asterisk "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
Written by Steve Beaudry
Release Date: November 26, 1986
Written by: Steve Meerson & Peter Krikes and Harve Bennett & Nicholas Meyer
Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
Review
Deep in the outer reaches of space, a monstrous space probe passes by the USS Saratoga and knocks its power out on the way to Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, a Klingon ambassador accuses Kirk of murdering a ship full of Klingons in his quest to exterminate the Klingon race with the Genesis probe (that thing will just not go away). The Federation president says that Kirk will face nine violations of Starfleet regulations, the crew of the Enterprise has been stuck on Vulcan for three months, and on top of all that, a computer is trying to find out how Spock feels. There's nowhere to go from here but up.
Well, in The Search for Spock, Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise stole a starship, blew it up, visited a forbidden planet, and apparently six other naughty things, so now they're getting ready to go back to Earth on their stolen Klingon Bird-of-Prey and face the music. There's just one hitch in this plan: the probe. It has now reached earth, shut down main power to... everything... and caused a huge weather phenomenon that blocked out the sun. So, basically, humanity has however long it'll take for Earth to freeze from lack of sunlight to tell this thing to move out of the way.
"When this is over, I'm quitting Starfleet and starting a gumbo restaurant."
In their Klingon ship, Kirk and the crew approach Earth and pick up a distress call from the president with the manly gray beard saying that Earth is under attack, so they pick up the probe's transmissions and analyze it. Since the transmission appears to be directed at the oceans, Kirk has Uhura compensate for the density of the water. When the audio effects are all in, the probe's transmission ends up sounding a lot like whale song; specifically, the extinct humpback whale. There's only one way they can get a humpback whale to answer the probe: The Guardian of Forev-... er... wait, no, the highly dangerous and tricky slingshot time warp maneuver. So there are two ways. We'll go with the dangerous one for now.
When they arrive in 1986, they confirm the date by testing the pollution in the air. Then they go into cloak and land in the middle of a park in San Francisco. After scaring off a couple of trash guys, the crew sets out to downtown. Their mission: 1) find humpback whales 2) get them on board the Klingon ship 3) fix the ship's dilithium crystals so they can go home. They split up to achieve their separate goals. Spock and Kirk go for the whales, Bones and Scotty go to build a proper tank, Uhura and Chekov find some nuclear power to fix the crystals.
Spock would like to take this opportunity to learn karate.
Spock and Kirk easily find some whales after they see an advertisement for the local whale institute where they meet George, Gracie and Dr. Gillian Taylor. George and Gracie are the whales and Gillian is the nice lady who knows everything about them. So Spock and Kirk get to know about the whales in their own unique way: Spock mind melds with Gracie and Kirk seduces Gillian. Meanwhile, Bones and Scotty are having a time of their own getting some plexiglass to make a whale tank. Luckily, they have an ace up their sleeves. They meet with a guy who deals in plexiglass and trade the secret formula for transparent aluminum in exchange for their required plexiglass. Also, Sulu learns how to drive a helicopter so they can lift all that plexiglass to the ship.
Things are just about set to go; Kirk is ready to pick up the whales, the plexiglass is ready to be delivered, everything is running smoothly until Chekov screws things up. He finds the USS Enterprise, the aircraft carrier, and, with Uhura's help, steals some of its nuclear power. Well, the officers on board sense the power drain and go looking for him. He hands the power device over to Uhura who beams up to the Klingon ship. But there's not enough transporter power to get Chekov, too, and he's captured. After escaping by attempting and failing to stun his captors, he runs and jumps off a high platform and hospitalizes himself.
It's possible they just got too high.
Chekov arrives at Mercy Hospital, so now they have to go save him before taking off. But to make matters worse, Gillian decided she wants to help, so she wandered off into the park and ran into the cloaked ship. So they beam her aboard, explain a few things, and then run off to save Chekov. With Gillian's help, they sneak into the hospital and pretend to be doctors. Chekov, a suspected Russian spy, is being kept under guard, but Bones easily tricks them into believing they have an emergency. He has a bit of a fight with the attending surgeon and then Kirk locks the surgeon and his team in a small room. Bones heals Chekov, and they leave. The guards give chase once they see that Chekov is being kidnapped, but they beam up in the elevator and make a clean getaway.
Ok, so, Chekov is safe, the tank is built, the dilithium crystals are fixed, all they need now are the whales. Kirk gets their tracking frequency from Gillian and says his goodbyes. She can't, after all, go to the future with them. Right? Weellll... as soon as he starts transporting aboard the ship, Gillian hops on him and comes with. She's staying whether Kirk likes it or not. With Gillian aboard, they set out to find George and Gracie. They find them right in front of a whaling ship. Still cloaked, they head right over to them and just hover for a bit while the whaling ship takes aim. And then... the decloakening.
Klingons on the port bow, captain!
Successfully having scared off the whalers, Scotty beams up George and Gracie and they make their way to the future. In a great evolution of Spock's revived character, he makes his "best guess" with the calculations for time warp, and they head out. Back in the future, they crash into San Francisco Bay. While the rest of the crew abandons ship, Kirk releases the whales out of the cargo bay and into the ocean. Once they're out, Kirk joins his crew as the whales start talking to the probe. After a delightful reunion and conversation with its good buddies, George and Gracie, the Probe turns around, says "thank you!" and leaves the Sol system in peace. The day is saved! So, now it's time for Kirk to stand trial.
Oh, right, yeah, this was the whole reason they were coming back to Earth, wasn't it? The crew of the Enterprise all stand in front of the president to be judged. Because for some reason the president is the judge in the future. Ready to be taken out of Starfleet forever, they all, including Spock who "stands with his shipmates", they all hear the charges brought to them. And then the president says he's getting rid of all of them in light of them saving the entire Earth, and all. The only charge that sticks, disobeying a superior officer, is directed solely at Kirk and because of it, he is reduced in rank to Captain. Which is basically like grounding a nerd to his room with the Internet still on. And not only that, it wouldn't be Star Trek and Kirk wouldn't be Captain without the proper ship. They head out to the shipyard and find the brand spankin' new USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A. The only proper ship for them to go and "see what's out there."
Overall Thoughts
This had been my absolute favorite Star Trek movie for the longest time until my tastes matured and I learned to like The Wrath of Kahn just slightly better. I love a good comedy sci-fi, especially when that comedy sci-fi involves time travel! Every good Star Trek series needs a comedy relief. "The Trouble with Tribbles" was that for The Original Series and this movie is that for the movie series. And, in fact, this movie was so monstrously successful, that it was almost entirely responsible for green-lighting The Next Generation. Picard would take command almost a year after this movie was released and Trek would never be the same.
For Dave C., I think the soul of this photo is my true story about what happened here nearly 40 years ago. I still get embarrassed, but also laugh at myself and the situation. This curved section of street is still full of chuckholes, railroad tracks and traffic. My tiny true story is below the row of asterisks.
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I rode a motorcycle sometimes back in the early 1980s. I wasn't in a gang, nor tough, no stereotypes, just loved to go out and find pretty scenery and the like. I either had a Honda 500cc or a Honda 550K at the time of this story. It doesn't matter too much for what I'm going to tell. I had begun a Hubcap company and frequently rode my motorcycle out to the countryside to various wrecking yards looking for hubcaps (wheel covers) to buy for re-sale. I had gone to one such place, absolutely gorgeous with a creek running through the woods, and had it not been for all the rusty junk even in the creek, it would have been so splendid. It wasn't easy to find very many hubcaps that were worth trying to clean up and have at my shop, but I found 11 of them. I know that technically hubcaps are just the center part of the wheel, and the ones that cover nearly the whole wheel are called wheel covers. I also know that most of the general public didn't really know or make use of the difference. Kind of like people asking if you have a Kleenex, don't necessarily care if it is that exact brand. And just when you think they don't care, they do. Anyway the hubcaps I bought from the man with the gorgeous property were 14" to 15" stainless steel full wheel covers.
I had noticed in the back seat of one of the wrecked cars, that there was a soccer ball that seemed to be in really nice condition. I asked the owner of this paradise of junk if I could buy it too. We had already negotiated for the 11 wheel covers to be $1.00 each and he gave me the same price for the soccer ball. I thought my daughter or my Golden Retriever would enjoy it. So the man got his $12.00 and I strapped (with my minimal amount of bungee cord) the 11 full wheel covers and the soccer ball to the back part of my motorcycle seat. I didn't always plan ahead particularly well, but I did have one bungee cord with me, for sure, and maybe two, short little cheap quality things.
There they rode and stayed for about 20 miles from out in the countryside until I got into 42nd St. in Springfield. I wasn't speeding, but I wasn't anticipating this large, busy intersection with its train tracks and chuck holes and a jillion guys coming and going to this huge plant. Bungee cords aren't necessarily designed to hold spheres, and especially not spheres that are strapped on top of 11 large metal disc type things.
I hit the train tracks and all 12 objects went flying! The metal hitting the pavement and each other, and some of them rolling away made a near deafening clatter. The lone soccer ball bounced away from me a few bounces and then almost as if in defeat or embarrassment, just rolled a bit and came to a halt. I believe that every working person in Springfield that day was at that intersection, shaking their head at what dizzy dame would lose 11 stainless steel wheel covers and a soccer ball off the back of her motorcycle. Oh, and they no doubt wondered why the heck they were all strapped on back of my motorcycle anyway. I wasn't hurt, but I was certainly embarrassed as I tried to pull my motorcycle over to the edge of the street and then gather up my stuff. Traffic in both directions was either stopped for me or going very slowly around me and my noisy, bouncy stuff.
It was very embarrassing when it happened, early 1980s. I'm a lady, and the majority of employees entering or exiting the huge company whose driveway is right off this curve, were men. This is 42nd Street in Springfield, Lane County, Oregon USA, still a big curve, still a big company right off it, and still lots of chuckholes, still railroad tracks, and still a very busy street. BTW, I voted for road improvement all these years later, but haven't seen much of it. The large company back then was called Weyerhaeuser. These days it is called International Paper.
Sorry I no longer have a motorcycle, but even if I did I doubt I would go try to re-enact this for my readers. So this picture is of the curve, and the railroad track and one driveway for a huge company, same as 40 years ago, and you'll have to just read my story and imagine what a raucous and embarrassing event this was.
THE END
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