Doll Trek:TNG

Here's another belated photograph from Phoenix Comicon 16 - Gates McFadden of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame playing with Clementine and I! (Gates had just had cataract surgery so she was wearing sunglasses.)

She obviously liked us and spent a few minutes talking to Momma about her own childhood dolls. 

Oh, and she signed Me right above Wil Wheaton's signature. 

I'm getting quite the autograph collection!

The next generation

I am so going to crush this!

First Wil Wheaton at Phoenix Comicon 11, and now his mom.

Well, his show mom.

Gates McFadden was cast in 1987 as Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation as a widow balancing motherhood and a career as well as Captain Jean-Luc Picard's love interest.

McFadden was replaced by actress Diana Muldaur as the Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer at the end of the first season. (Muldaur's character, Dr. Katherine Pulaski, didn't make it to the third season.) McFadden was persuaded to reprise her role, which she retained through the remainder of the series.

McFadden reprised her role for all four TNG movies and also provided her voice for personal computer games Star Trek: A Final Unity and Star Trek Generations. Also, McFadden directed the TNG episode "Genesis" (her only directing credit to date) and choreographed the dance routine in "Data's Day."

I shall be dressing as the doctor herself.

Wow, that makes two Doctors in one weekend!

Praying frequencies open!

Please keep actress Nichelle Nichols, most famous as Nyota Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series, in your thoughts and prayers.

Her representative Zach McGinnis announced earlier today,

"Last night while at her home in L.A., Nichelle Nichols suffered from a mild stroke. She is currently undergoing testing to determine how severe the stroke was. Please keep her in your thoughts."

I'm sure my doppelgänger in Los Angeles is worried.

I see you shiver with antici ...

Yippee! Phoenix Comicon 15 officially opened today!

Momma has been busily working on our new cosplay outfits (Clementine and I are wearing two different Columbia outfits from The Rocky Horror Picture Show in honor of her PHXCC appearance) and she is exhausted. She said it's harder to get us ready than it is to get ready herself!

We'll also be wearing:

• Firefly in honor of Summer Glau
• Hogwarts in honor of Jason Isaacs
• Star Trek in honor of Karl Urban
• ... and my Super Suit just because it's awesome!

... PATION!

No Bones about it

Karl Urban was born in Wellington, New Zealand where he developed an interest in the filming industry. He went to St Mark's Church School and won his first acting role on the television series Pioneer Woman at age 8. He continued to act in school productions, and after high school launched his professional acting career. Beginning in TV commercials and theatre roles, Urban moved to Auckland and began appearing in guest spots on TV. He played the recurring characters of both Cupid and Julius Caesar on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and the spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess.

Urban continued to gain international exposure with roles in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Chronicles of Riddick. He played the role of Éomer in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and was cast as Dr. Leonard McCoy in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness. Urban has also played John "Reaper" Grimm in the film Doom, which was based on the video game. He starred as law-enforcing comic book hero Judge Dredd in the film Dredd, and as Detective John Kennex in Almost Human, a TV series created by J. H. Wyman. Urban next appeared in the ensemble thriller The Loft, a remake of the Belgian film of the same name. It was filmed in New Orleans and Belgium by the director of the 2008 original, Erik Van Looy.

Set phasers on 'Weep'

What can I say about the death of my beloved Leonard Nimoy: 1931-2015.

"I have been, and always shall be, your friend.... Live long and prosper." 

"Of my friend I can only say this: of all the souls that I met on my travels, his was the most … human."

RIP Spock. Please give my regards to Bones, Scotty, Christine, and Gene.

I aim to misbehave

abc.com

Clementine is in a dither and, I must admit, I am not much better.

It was announced today that Nathan Fillion is a scheduled guest for Phoenix Comicon.

fox.com

Swoon!

For those poor souls who don't know who he is, Fillion is an actor best known for his role as Richard Castle on the television series Castle, as well as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in both the television series Firefly and its moving picture sequel, Serenity.

Clementine loves both Firefly and Serenity and got actress Jewel Staite's autograph last year at Phoenix Comicon. (I do Star Trek and she does Firefly.)

Not only is he a hilarious actor (who really is ruggedly handsome), but in 2007 Fillion co-founded the non-profit organization Kids Need to Read with author PJ Haarsma.

What's not to like?

Now please excuse me. Clementine and I only have two-and-a-half months to get ready for our photo op with Fillion.

Whatever shall we wear?

Hustle and bustle

I am rocking my new Steampunk Star Trek outfit, so I was thrilled to see Thimbles and Acorns has made a bustle to go under it.

I laughed when I read her comment when she posted a photo on Facebook yesterday:

Yes, as a foundation garment, this bustle pattern should have been finished before the bustle dress... better late than never. Hoping to have this pattern out later this week as a supplement to the "Unmentionables" pattern.

 
I have loved Shari Fuller's Thimbles and Acorns designs and patterns ever since she started in 2011. I thoroughly approve of her love of history and its fashions.

I also like her description of how the bustle evolved in Victorian fashion in her 1870s Bustle Dress:

Fashion is where expression meets practicality and lures it into the realm of the extreme. Though fashion trends have a tendency to push the limits, practicality always manages to bring them back into balance… at least for a time. Full skirts were the hallmark of the early Victorian era and by the 1860s they had expanded to as wide as six feet in diameter.

However, as railroads began forging paths around the world, women began to travel more and more. Full skirts and crinolines made for poor traveling companions and the boundary for this fashion trend had been reached. Still, it would be a gallant exit.

The 1870s saw a great boom in the textile industry. Hand looms were replaced by more efficient steam driven power looms which resulted in a larger supply of cloth and fancy trims at greatly reduced prices.

The great cage crinolines were shed and the surplus fabric from the full skirts was draped in elaborately decorated layers and pulled toward the back in large bustles that were reminiscent of those worn a century earlier. The fashionable silhouette had become smaller and more mobile, but what was lost in size was more than made up for with the elaborate trimming which would become the hallmark of the later Victorian Era. 

Since Momma is sewing again, maybe I can persuade her to make the bustle with one of the Unmentionables fabrics?

(Yes, it tickles my funny bone to make Unmentionables with Unmentionables.)

Who let the geeks out?

Geeking out at Geeks Night Out.

I am a Mini Me Dolly Diva. Thanks Dacia!

Set phasers on stunning!

My Steam Team has my back.

These are not the stormtroopers you are looking for.

At last! Another æthernet traveler!

Madness takes its toll.

Tees for two ... or more

Mini Me Dolly Divas

Clementine and I have hit the clothing jackpot!

Just look at what Momma got for us from Mini Me Dolly Divas!

You've seen the stunning Steampunk Star Trek outfit Dacia made me, but she added a "few" more T-shirts into the trade. 

Woo hoo!

Meanwhile we are trying to decide what to wear first. Any suggestions?

Bonus points if  you can name all the pop culture references in the T-shirts.

Waving a red shirt

Did you know I am a Star Trek fan?

Yup, Momma was a real first generation Star Trek fan. 

She watched it from its introduction on Sept. 8, 1966 through its end on June 3, 1969.

(Admittedly, she was very young and when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon one month later on July 20, 1969 she was completely unimpressed. Momma had just turned 5 and had seen Captain Kirk and Spock (swoon!) do it weekly for nearly three years in COLOR. The grainy black-and-white footage of Neil Armstrong was b.o.r.i.n.g.) 

Knowing this, Momma's brother introduced us last year to John Scalzi's 2012 hysterical sci-fi novel, Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, which was the winner of the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on "Away Missions" alongside the starship’s famous senior officers.

Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to realize that 1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, 2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations, and 3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members below-decks avoid Away Missions at all costs.

Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

 

(The idea of red-shirted characters being frequently killed in Star Trek has become a pop culture cliché. But is it really that hazardous? Click here to find out, but please note the women have a much better survival rate.)

 

Anyway, it was with great joy when we saw that FX announced plans to produce Redshirts as a limited television series - hopefully in 2015.

If Galaxy Quest was one of the best Star Trek motion pictures ever made, then Redshirts has the potential to be one of the best Star Trek television shows ever made.

 

 

Star Trek: Into Dorkness

Wow! Talk about quick service.

Momma made this Custom Request from Mini Me Dolly Divas on Sunday (hoping for May 31 delivery) and it's done by Thursday!

Custom order for Great (Love the typo!)

This is a truly inspired special order. I just can't help but smile when I look at this... Live Long and Prosper...

This is not recommended for small children.

This outfit includes t-shirt, leggings, hat, bustle skirt, and Jacket.

What you will receive:

THE JACKET- The jacket is fully lined with Enterprise fabric and has button has button detail, trimmed with black and closes in the front with snaps.

THE SKIRT- Bustle skirt has a Star Trek print , and a coordinating Enterprise print skirt and closes in the back with a snap.

THE HAT- The hat is black with a Star Trek print little band around the top, it is finished off with a fabric bow, and feathers. This hat is fully lined.

THE T-SHIRT- Machine embroidered t-shirt closes in the back with velcro.

THE LEGGINGS- Jersey knit leggings have an elastic waistband.

I am going to be the best dressed any0ne at Phoenix Comicon!

Make is sew

Mini Me Dolly Divas

As hinted at the other day, here's a sneak peek of my newest outfit being created for me by Mini Me Dolly Divas - as modeled by My Dear Friend, Samantha.

Momma had a vision while looking at Dacia's items, and Dacia agreed to the Special Order.

Special order I am working on for Steampunk Addie. Samantha gets to model it since she is pre-Mattel also. This is going to be a steampunk, Star Trek outfit... doesn't look like it yet I know but it will. I am very excited about this one.

Ok, this so stinking cute it's crazy! Oh, Samantha doesn't want to give this one up....

If Samantha thinks she's going to keep this, she's got another think coming. 

The dress is a modified version of the Thimbles and Acorn's 1870s Bustle Dress pattern.

The t-shirt and the hat are modified Liberty Jane patterns. You can find LJC patterns at http://www.pixiefaire.com.

To boldly sew where no doll has sewn before

Camelot Fabrics

Momma and I are both geeking out right now.

Camelot Fabrics has had a line of licensed Star Trek fabrics for awhile, but it looks like they are expanding that soon.

Camelot Fabrics

Go boldly where no man has gone before with our exclusive line of STAR TREK fabric featuring the original cast including Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy on the USS Enterprise. 

Just in time for Comic Con!

Make it sew.

No Tribble at all

It has taken way, way too long, but Steampunk Uhura is finally on her way to Nichelle Nichols!

In case you're late in joining this story already in progress, Momma took me and my dear friend Phoebe to Phoenix Comicon 13 last May to meet Nichelle Nichols - AKA Lieutenant Nyota Uhura of Star Trek: The Original Series fame. 

Ms. Nichols liked me so much she asked for one just like me! 

Swoon!

Well, we all know there is only one ME, but Momma worked hard to recreate a steampunk doppelgänger just for her.

Sadly, between the time it took to create Steampunk Uhura and Momma's bouts with pneumonia, Bell's Palsy, a hospitalization, etc., it took until today for Momma to send Steampunk Uhura on her way.

But Steampunk Uhura is really and truly headed to California to live with Momma Nichols.

I hope she likes her!

BTW, someone commented on Ms. Nichol's Twitter page about the lock and chain I was wearing.

I want to say that I wear the Master lock and chain as a symbol of my origins, but only I have the key.

Fair haven

Now that temperatures are finally dropping in the Phoenix area it is time for the 128th Arizona State Fair!

This year's fair is especially exciting because of Star Trek: The Exhibition.


Visitors will enjoy an interactive, museum-style experience of one of the largest collections of authentic Star Trek artifacts and information ever put on display. Included in the Exhibition are the Star Trek: The Original Series bridge, a Timeline wall, the Scorpion fighter from Nemesis, Dr. Crusher’s sick bay and a motion simulator. Fans will also be able to enjoy interactive kiosks and photo opportunities, including one with Kirk’s captain’s chair.

The Arizona State Fair's history spans three centuries. It was 128 years ago, in the territorial days before statehood, when Arizonans first began coming together to show their best livestock, share their agricultural accomplishments, and have fun.

In November of 1884, a group of citizens in the territory of Arizona wanted to organize an event with the family in mind. The very first Arizona Territorial Fair was held in Phoenix in late fall, near the Salt River west of Central Avenue. Fairgoers of the day were treated to horse, pony, and mule races along with exhibits including agriculture, home economics, and dairy and beef cattle. Fairs were held here annually until 1891, when the untamed Salt River flooded and destroyed the site's buildings and racetrack.

Reviving the Fair became the mission of a citizens' group which formed the Arizona Territorial Fair Association in 1905. Financed by its members, the group led by hotelier J.C. Adams purchased the present location for $9,200.

The Association immediately developed the property, adding two racetracks, a grandstand, and a wooden fence around the grounds.

To aid the Association with their 80-acre development, the Territory of Arizona created a Fair Commission. With a legislative appropriation of $22,500, the Commission constructed two buildings on the property.

After renting the property from the Fair Association for $10 a year, the Fair Commission purchased the property in 1909 for $30,000. With statehood granted in 1912, the State Fair Commission continued the work of the Territorial Fair Commission in presenting the annual Fair. With the exceptions of 1921 (cotton crop failure), 1934 to 1939 (Depression era), and 1943 to 1945 (World War II), the Fair has been presented yearly.

The 2012 Arizona State Fair preserves the best of the Fair's traditions, while moving forward with 21st Century innovations in technologies for education and entertainment. This year's Fair marks the 67th consecutive time Arizonans have celebrated with an annual State Fair. 

Resistance is futile

Steampunk Uhura

Woo hoo!

Steampunk Uhura has arrived and begun her transformation!

Remember how Nichelle Nichols, the original Uhura from Star Trek: The Original Series, met Phoebe and me at Phoenix Comicon and wanted her very own version of Moi?

Surprisingly, Momma found an Addy Walker on eBay that looks remarkably like me - complete with tiny braids in her hair and the beginnings of silver-eye in her right eye.

Awesome!

In the meantime, Momma has been assembling Steampunk Uhura a duplicate outfit:

• red uniform: Enchanted Designer
• black fishnet tights: Cupcake Cutie Pie
• black lace mitts: I Dream of Jeanne Marie 
• black snood: Darling Dolly
• black boots: eBay
• chain belt and lock: hardware store
• headband: hardware store

I am (of course) one of a kind, but it is flattering to watch the creation of My Twin for none other than the fabulous Nichelle Nichols.

You're safe now

Just in case you think comicons are all fun and games, Sir Patrick Stewart (better known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation) passionately addressed the need to end domestic abuse last weekend at Texas' Comicpalooza.





I have been, and always shall be, your fan.

http://youtu.be/TqFaiVNuy1k

 

I'm a dork-able

What a whirlwind four days.

Talk about blissfully exhausted.

Phoenix Comicon 13 was a blast. In its 13 years it has grown from 400 attendees in one day to more than 30,000 in four days.

Phoebe and I met Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols, who signed us and loved us so much she asked for her very own version of Me. (I, of course, graciously agreed.)

We met Wil Wheaton (again) who signed my Li'l Wil and rolled his eyes at my peacebonded knife and leg. (Apparently Wheaton still does not realize what a threat I am!)

Clementine met Jewel Staite, the ship's mechanic Kaylee Frye on Firefly and Serenity, who signed her tummy.

We also go to say hi to Kristin Bauer who plays the vampire Pam on True Blood.

We attended workshops and panels, met authors and illustrators, and watched people in all kinds of costumes.

(Not to mention hundreds of booths filled with geeky goodness.)

I have hundreds of photos to edit and share, but the internet is being g-l-a-c-i-a-l so I'll share them tomorrow.

Of course there will be more to report this week, but for now it is time for us to rest.

Zzzz....

Let's make a deal

It is now official.

Within a month or two beloved Star Trek: The Original Series actress Nichelle Nichols will have a cloned copy of Yours Truly.

We stopped by today while Nichols was signing autographs at Phoenix Comicon to see if she really, truly wanted an Uhura fangirl doll - and she did!

(We also asked which doll she wanted. While she loved Phoebe it was My Awesomeness that won her over.)

What a brilliant woman!

While we all know that I am An Original, Momma agreed to make a doppelgänger just for her.

Now Momma is off to scour the world for a doll that looks something like me - as well as try to recreate my Awesome Star Trek fangirl costume.

Stay Tuned!