Leave your Sharpies and 8x10 glossies at home, trekkies, because The Royal Shakespeare Company just released a statement regarding the production of "Hamlet" starring "Star Trek: The Next Generation’s" Patrick Stewart and "Doctor Who’s" David Tennant today, stating that fans will not be allowed to bring any Dr. Who or Star Trek memorabilia to be autographed.

"Due to the huge amount of interest in the RSC’s current production of Hamlet, only Royal Shakespeare Company or production related memorabilia will be signed by members of the company. It is very flattering that there is so much interest in this production, but the sheer volume of requests means that we need to set some limits which will be as fair as possible for everyone. We apologize if this causes any disappointment."

This news will no doubt break the hearts of trekkies and "Doctor Who" fans making it out to this year's performance of "Hamlet," but let's examine the facts. There is a time and a place to dress in your finest Starfleet uniforms; classical theater is not that time. I’m sure the performers would prefer fans to go and appreciate their new roles and enjoy Shakespeare, rather than just be there to see a character they’ve played in the past.

On the flip side, I am not entirely sure that RSC handled the heartbreak in the classiest of manners.

It is one thing to ban autograph requests entirely for logistical reasons. The same as it makes sense to limit autograph requests to 1 per person. Or if the actors themselves choose not to sign the memorabilia for whatever reason.

But the facts are, there's no real difference between autographing a play brochure or signing a Star Trek TNG Picard as Locutus action figure, so the statement is more insulting than it ever should have been. How about you just say you want to keep the focus on actors and get your action figures signed at San Diego's Comic-Con?

-- Christie St. Martin of Funny Pages 2.0

Photo Credits: "Doctor Who," BBC; "Star Trek: Enterprise," CBS Studios Inc.

The first picture, which makes me go all gooey inside with it's dark, lovely, broodiness can be found here. David Tennant in a black coat, sigh. (Link found originally at Digital Spy).

The second lot of pictures can be found here at david-tennant.com here and show David Tennant and cast rehearsing Hamlet.

Finally for a non-Hamlet related good laugh featuring the unlikely mix of David Tennant and Jeremy Clarkson check out David Tennant in a Reasonably Priced Tardis on YouTube.

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* Nope, I'm also going to see it because it's got Patrick Stewart in to!

via BBC

Hollywood star Patrick Stewart, who plays Professor Xavier in the X-Men science fiction films, has had a real-life professorship given to him.

The actor was taking on the new role of Professor of Performing Arts at Huddersfield University, where he is chancellor, in a ceremony on Monday.

He was also leading 400 students in the university's inaugural graduate procession through the town centre.

Stewart said of his professorship: "I'm truly honoured to receive this title."

The Huddersfield-born actor, who was installed as the university's chancellor in November 2004, said: "The university is an outstanding educational institution, one that I am extremely proud to be associated with, and I look forward to continuing to work with the staff and students."

Vice-chancellor Professor Bob Cryan said: "We are delighted that Patrick was able to attend today and lead our first procession through Huddersfield, which was a great honour for the university and the town."

This year 6,000 students will graduate from the University of Huddersfield, with 63 achieving degrees in drama.

X-Men star becomes real professor

Hollywood star Patrick Stewart, who plays Professor Xavier in the X-Men science fiction films, has had a real-life professorship given to him.

The actor was taking on the new role of Professor of Performing Arts at Huddersfield University, where he is chancellor, in a ceremony on Monday.

In New York.

www.volotao.com

volotao@volotao.com

The clip is from the British sitcom Extras, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.  The show started back in 2005, and I really wish I'd known about it then because its hilarious.  I'd love to post all of the clips I've watched on youtube, but that would just be impractical since there are so many.

Preview: Ricky Gervais drop kicks Warwick Davis in the head and Dianna Rigg lectures Daniel Radcliffe on the proper pronounciation of "prophylactic" with his 12-inch concom draped across her head.

So, instead, what I'm going to give you is a very SHORT plot synopsis, followed by a list of life lessons this movie is attempting to teach us. That way, you can read the list of lessons, put a checkmark next to the ones you already know, and decide from what's left whether or not you need to see this film in order to obtain the knowledge you lack.

Short plot synopsis: This movie is about a bunch of aliens that look like humans and were chilling out in Halley's Comet when they were "rescued" by some dumb astronauts who didn't know any better and then let loose in England. Once on Earth, they begin French kissing everybody they encounter (with lightning bolts!) in order to suck their life forces out of them and sustain their own beings. Any human who has macked with an alien turns into a mummy who must then mack with someone else in order to restore themselves back to normal. And once they are back to normal, they must mack with someone ELSE every two hours or else they turn back into a mummy again. Commence worldwide epidemic of orgy.

More important than the plot, however, are the lessons this film teaches us about the nature of sci-fi movies, the nature of humans, the nature of this planet we call home, and the nature of Patrick Stewart's hair (or lack thereof). Here's the list -- if you already know all these things, you can safely skip this film. If you don't, however, I'd suggest renting it ASAP and avoiding anybody who wants to French kiss you until you've mastered the following ropes. It's for your own good.

1. All astronauts should be required to watch Tobe Hooper's OTHER movie, Poltergeist, because if the astronauts in THIS movie had done that, they would've known better than to go towards the light in the alien space ship, which is they got themselves into this mess. If you ever see a bright light, I would strongly suggest NOT going towards it unless A) you are trapped in a cave or B) you are accompanied by Zelda Rubenstein.

2. Naked women ain't nuthin' but trouble. Boy and howdy!

3. The target demographic for bad sci-fi movies is the 14 year old male. Hence the fact I lost count of the gratuitous boobie shots somewhere around number 87,456.

4. French kissing strangers is never a good idea. Especially if the strangers shoot lightning bolts out of their throats and/or say things like, "It'll be much less terrifying if you just come to me."

5. If you are a woman who needs to escape from a secured building, try taking all your clothes off. Because as soon as you are naked, all the male security guards will be so stunned by your luscious boobies they'll let you waltz right out the front door, even as they mutter things like, "A naked girl is not going to get out of this complex!"

6. Patrick Stewart has been bald since he was 13 years old.

7. If you've noticed that, since the aliens arrived, people who at first glance seem to be dead tend to rise up later and kill others, leave the corpse behind when you board your escape helicopter.

8. Never trust the Prime Minister of England. Jesus, I thought EVERYBODY knew that guy was an alien by now!

9. Don't assume that just because everybody around you has turned into a soul-sucking mummy, the military has noticed something strange is going on. The military is usually the last to know. Unless it's all their fault to begin with, in which case, they will just PRETEND to be the last to know and then act all surprised when you finally tell them.

10. DO NOT HAVE SEX WITH ALIENS. Regardless of the lusciousness of their boobies.

And, last but not least: 11. If you are going to stab an alien through the back with a 3-foot sword, do not embrace her from the front while you ram the sword through her. Because that's a really good way to also ram it through yourself. And then you're pretty much stuck with her for the rest of your life.

Though, fortunately for all of us, that will not be much longer.

Did I mention I loved this movie? Because I totally did. Tobe Hooper can do no wrong in my book. The man's a genius.

[Netflix me (available for Instant Viewing, which means I watched it using my spiffy new Roku Player!) | Buy me]

Genre: Sci-fi/horror
Cast: Boobies, boobies, boobies, Patrick Stewart, boobies, boobies.

- Now let´s all get drunk and play ping-pong!

Who would not like to be part of a secret society where you can hear those words spoken by its leader?

This is Number One, in the TV series The Simpsons, he is the head of the Stonecutters and is voiced by Patrick Stewart. Not much is known about Number One, except that he is a loyal stonecutter and rose above the ranks to lead the Springfield chapter. The Stonecutters appears in the episode "Homer the Great" from season six.

The voice of Number One, Patrick Stewart, is considered one of the best single episode guest stars in the shows history by both fans and producers. He is now also playing a recurring role as CIA Deputy Director Avery Bullock on the animated series American Dad.

After all the huge internet buzz of Patrick Stewart getting nominated for the "Tony's" for his role in "Macbeth", he didn't win!

See here for the winners:
http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/winners.html

BUMMER! It's such a travesty that Patrick didn't win!

Kev

I was at the American Theatre Wing Gala last night til late... the only person I knew at all (aside from celebrities) was this guy Taylor who had done Suessical with Dani (he says hi by the way).  He was a guest of one of the entertainers.  Everyone looked fantastic, Patrick Stewart, Leslie Uggums, Jerry Herman, David Hyde Pierce, Laura Benanti, Martha Plimpton... and my new Broadway crush, Hannah Waddingham.  She's playing the Lady of Lake in Spamalot right now and last night she was stunning!  Point is... I'm dragging ass this morning even after that I didn't get good sleep... lot of tossing and turning lately.  But I won't let that get in the way of the festivities.

Over the past 249 posts I've always tried to bring you useful information... like this:

For the occasion I was going to rent a tux, but I couldn't get this one in time:

Bacon scented bacon tuxedo

Because as much as I am over her... for the most part... you have to admit that for a while she was the hottest thing in the world... and these are all from that bygone era:

10 Hottest Angelina Jolie topless scenes

Perfect for this anniversary, a video that sums up the mentality, maturity, and sense of humor of this blog... 34 Nut shots in 31 seconds:

It is mandatory that there be at least one Indy related link in each post this week. This quiz fulfills that requirement:

Indy artifact or Pier 1 import

I enjoy Steve Carell and this is a good list of Steve moments... but... they left out the waiters who are nauseated by food:

10 Funniest Steve Carell moments

Since they left it out... I've gotta to put it here... it's easily one of my faves:

250 posts... I've accomplished so much... I should be proud... I mean few people do something this important and I'm not even deep into my thirties yet... I'm going to go curl into fetal position and weep now:

8 Child prodigies that make me feel like an ass

This is why my clothes don't fit:

Food portions 1998 and today

I love cult cinema. There was a book called the Psychotronic Film guide that listed a whole bunch of cult films... everything from Nosferatu to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians... fortunately someone has found a bunch of them and made them available to watch or download online:

Cult cinema classics

I remember the fly and the defibrillator commercial, but the others were new to me... and all quite brilliant... kudos Ameriquest:

more cat pictures

I wish it was goodnight because I've got a killer headache that was not there before I saw the play.

I'll admit I am more of a musical person, but event here I have discriminating tastes, not ever song is good, and most are forgettable.

The play was a good length despite its 3 hours. I've been antsier at shorter productions which just goes to show how interesting this production was.

It didn't make much sense and I found a fellow subway rider with the same impression. IT was the exact same Macbeth with the same script only it was supposed to be occurring in the 1940's. I don't mind this, I actually welcome adaptations so that people who might not understand Shakespeare can enjoy the work. The problem is this was no adaptation. it was the exact same play  which i think contributed to my headache because i was trying to figure out if they were in an alternate universe or if the director had thought the change of costume would liven it up a bit.

The cast was briiliant though especially Patrick Stewart and theThree witches. So I recommend the show, but it won't be your usual Macbeth, nor will be be like a Julia Styles movie adaptation.

Patrick Stewart speaks to Entertainment Weekly in an interview about his first nominated Tony award. He never had an opportunity like this before and he says it is a dream come true to land on the Tony's. Patrick Stewart just received a nomination for "Best Performance by a Leading Actor In a Play" for this year's Tony Awards.

There is no talk on whether or not Patrick is making a return to the movies but I don't see him returning to the movies anytime soon. He seems too committed to doing theatre, but the cool thing is, Patrick does have plans in seeing J.J. Abrams "Star Trek XI" when that hits movie theaters and he can't wait to see the movie.

See here to read this great interview:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20199775,00.html

Congratulations to Patrick on the Tony award nomination! That man deserves it every step of the way, an underrated talented actor finally getting the recognition he deserves!

Click here to see the rest of the Tony award nominees:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=27843

Kev

Just as a fun extra, here's the video of Brent Spiner surprising Patrick Stewart with convention questions at this last March's Star Trek Con NJ.

Excalibur (1981)

Rated PG/R

Director: John Boorman
Written by: Thomas Malory (book), Rospo Pallenberg (screenplay)

Starring
Nigel Terry: King Arthur
Helen Mirren: Morgana
Nicol Williamson: Merlin

Tagline: No mortal could possess it! No kingdom could command it!

By Gurn Blanston

Past Memories: When this film was released in 1981 I was still one year away from a driver’s license. Which meant that any movie I saw had to be with my parents, or I had to arrange my own ride and money. Since they had no interest, and I had no ride or funding, I had to wait until 1982, when I had a license and the movie was playing at the local dollar theater, to see it.I went with several like minded friends, by like minded I mean bored and cheap, and we all pressed into the tiny theater with butter saturated bags of popcorn and Bacardi Rum laden soft drinks, (just because we were a bunch of Asteroid playing, Star Trek quoting geeks doesn’t mean we didn’t know how to party,. …which we didn’t) to watch the show.

What I remember most was the stylized portrayal of the knights and ladies, the grand matte painted castles, very flashy and clean, and how everyone seemed so polished and energetic. Forget the story, this film looked cool! The scene where the Lady of the Lake (or the moistened bim if you're a Python fan) was stunning, and the sword itself made my hands itch to wield it, even though my massive 120 pound frame probably could not have lifted it. At the time we all assumed that this was historically accurate and that we had been educated as well as entertained. It’s not that we were stupid, just slightly tipsy. We ran around the parking lot afterwards engaging in pretend, mostly non-homosexual, sword fights and jousts.

The strength of Max von Sydow as Merlin, the allure of Genevieve Bujold as Guinevere, the pageantry and the spectacle all combined to make this the standard, in my mind, for all medieval era films I was to see for the next decade. Unfortunately, I now know that neither of these actors were actually in the film, and that it was also the first film for both Gabriel Byrne and Liam Neeson, neither of whom I remember being in it at all. Bacardi marred memories be damned, Mr. Von Sydow, you will always be Merlin to me.

New Memories?
[audio http://www.archive.org/download/natsukashiexcalibur/excaliburfinal.mp3]

Download: Episode IV: Excalibur.

<a

“You who I called brother. How could you have come to hate me so? Is this what you wanted? Then let my heart be hardened and never mind how high the cost may grow. This will still be so. I will never let your people go.” – Pharaoh Ramesses II

An ambitious account of the life of Moses and the great Exodus. The Prince of Egypt was DreamWorks first full-length animated film and while based on the biblical story, the film does take many dramatic liberties. However, it still stays true to the book of Exodus. The filmmakers actually place a disclaimer up front which points the viewers to the Bible to find out what actually happened (which impressed me).

The film starts in the middle of the persecution of the Hebrew people by the King of Egypt. He has ordered the execution of the first born male child of all the Hebrew people. The Pharaoh was afraid that if the male numbers grew, one day they the slaves would have enough men to overpower him and flee for freedom.

Jochebed, a Hebrew woman is afraid for her new baby boy. With her daughter Miriam she sets her son afloat inside a whicker basket in the Nile river in hopes for a better life - free from the slaughter that would find him if he were to stay.

Miriam follows the basket until it arrives at of all places the palace of the King and Queen of Egypt. The Queen finds the baby and names him Moses. She adopts him as her own. The film cuts to twenty years later and we see Moses and his adopted brother Rameses playing and causing trouble. They are the Prices of Egypt and are having a grand time. One night, Moses runs into his slave sister Miriam. She confronts Moses and tells him that he is her brother. He is upset and angry at such an accusation, until she starts to sing a lullaby that he remembers.

Moses runs away in search for answers. The Pharaoh, tells Moses it’s the truth, but that matters not because he a Prince of Egypt now. He says not to feel upset, they were only Hebrew children that were killed. Moses is taken back at the callousness in his father’s voice.

This eventually leads to Moses running away and fleeing Egypt into the desert. Here is here’s the voice of God in the Burning Bush telling him to return to Egypt and free the slaves and lead them to freedom. When Moses does finally return to confront the king, he realizes the new Pharaoh is his brother Rameses!

The filmmakers had daunting task ahead of them when they set out to make this film. The story is cherished by billions of people. Christians, Jews and Muslims all hold this story is sacred. It was banned in several Arab countries and caused a lot of controversy at the time of it’s release. The film was all most universally praised but it still contains several very dark themes. The murder of children for instance is confronted head on in the film.

The story of Moses and the great Exodus comes alive in this animated film. It’s very close to a musical, but I don’t think it’s actually classified as one. The music in the film is remarkable is probably my favorite soundtrack of all time. This is a powerful and uplifting story that will show you how miracles can happen if you believe. The scenes of Moses parting the Red Sea are worth the price of admission alone.

Cast

• Val Kilmer as Moses
• Ralph Fiennes as Ramesses II
• Patrick Stewart as Pharaoh Seti I
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Zipporah
• Helen Mirrem as Queen Tuya
• Jeff Goldblum as Aaron
• Sandra Bullock as Miriam
• Danny Glover as Jethro
• Steve Martin as Hotep
• Martin Short as Huy
• Ofra Haza as Yocheved

The cast is incredible. You can see from the names above, this is nothing but top notch talent. Jeff Goldbulm was great as Aaron, the brother of Moses. Val Kilmer, the voice of Moses was also the voice used for God. He was extremely reverent and there is nothing sacrilegious at all about his portal. Steve Martin and Martin Short steal many scenes in the film as the two head priests for the Pharaoh.

Ratings and Suggestions

The Prince of Egypt is rated PG for intense depiction of thematic elements. I would recommend this film for the whole family. Even with the darker themes in the movie, it’s nothing graphic and should not stop you from showing your younger children the movie. I strong recommend the film however to adults who want a fresh (or new even) perspective on the story. This is one amazing film, which I happy give four out of four stars.

Friday, early morning, 5 am, I get up from bed and try to get dressed quitely and quickly since I was being picked up at 5:30am. Everything was packed and ready to go except for the portable dvd player. My son uses it when he goes to bed and watches "Goodnight Moon." So, I open the door to his room as best as I can as to not wake him up. No dice. He sees me but I tell him to go back to bed. He does sort of but I can feel his eyes staring at me in the dark as I fumble to take out his dvd and unplug the adapter from the outlet. As I leave, he starts to cry. I'm try using the power of the Force and use the Jedi mind tricks on my son to go back to bed once more. This, however, had same effect as Qui-Gon had on convincing Watto to Federation credits. If my son could talk, he would say:

"What, you think you're some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that? I'm a Toydarian a boy who wants his Moon dvd. Mind tricks don't work on me, only money now go get my milk old man."

Needless to say, I got him milk to calm him down. It worked a short time as he took several sips and went back to bed on his own. By this time, my friend, Mr.Gene was outside and just as I was leaving, my son starts crying again. I had to go and unfortunately, my wife had to get up earlier than expected. There was nothing else I could do but I blame my damn squeaky sneakers which from the night before since my boy cat did not pee on my sneakers but he pee'd in them. F'cat. I did wash them and they were dried as I put them on but damn it, I could never be a cat burgular. Even a deaf man could hear me coming.

Zoom, we go on the road to the airport. We get to MIA at 6:00 and it's still dark. I really hate not seeing the sun when I wake up. Gene and I have a 2 hour wait and we kill some time having breakfast. Before we knew it, it became 7:00. Gene need to get his smoke fix before boarding but I needed to hit the ATM. This turned out to be a long ass walk and thank god for the super walkways because it was now 7:30 and haven't gone through any security screenings. Off go the shoes like a prom dress, throw the change and other junk in my pocket and waited on line to get our stuff scanned. Luckily, we bypassed two checkpoints as we were waived through. Sweet, I thought. We get our crap together and then we hear the announcement that this was the final boarding call for our flight. We hauled ass but as fast as Mr Gene ran, smoker's lung came in to play. I took the lead and got to our terminal. Damn, that was a long ass run but we made with minutes to spare. What a rush until....

My plane ride from Miami was almost eventful except for this lovely Carribean woman who would not shut up. In her Carribean accent, she was showing us her Carribean and U.S. money. Later, she was looking through the Airline's catalog and telling me what she was going to get for her mother. Oy vey! Gene lucked out and plastured his face on the window, bastard. Later even still, I get up to use the lavatory. I'm three seats away from the back and noticed that I had to wait. I turned around to face the front and there is again but also waiting to use the lavatory. Geez, Louise. I could not shake this woman but when I got back to my seat, I whipped out my dvd player and started my Heroes dvd Season 1 marathon. Thank god, she got the hint. (I might do a dvd review on Heroes Season 1, keep an eye out for it.)

We landed and my ears were killing me and popping but not clearing. My friend Gene had his girlfriend Amada meet him at the airport which was nice to see them reunited. He then goes for a smoke, I get the luggage, and then we go grab a bite. I miss have a New York slice of pizza. You have no idea how hard it is to get just one freakin' slice of pizza in Miami. I bought two and eat it quickly because I had to go. I jumped into a cab and off we went to the Milford in Manhattan.

The cab ride was truly awesome as there was a backseat tv display of the lastest new cast, interactive menu for sightseeing, dining and a true GPS readout where I can zoom in and out anywhere I wanted to go. The weather was warm and when we hit Manhattan, it all start to come back to me. The concrete jungle devoid of any trees, green grass, and blue sky. Ahh, home again. The street vendors selling of the I-think-it's-meat-on-a-stick waft in the air and BOOM, I see Indy on the side of the bus. Indy! Indy! We have been on many adventures but I go first I yell in my head as my cab takes off. I got my second wind when I saw my childhood hero once more bigger than the life. We get to the hotel, I go out of the cab on the corner of 45th and 8th and the cabbie gave me a Welcome to New York hail. WOW! I could not wait to get to the Comic Con.

I get to check in early which was fantastic and had a room on the 23rd floor. All my life, I never stayed in a NY hotel but then again I used to live in the Bronx. Yes, I never had a reason to until till now. But I felt like a true grownup in a weird way. So here I was, I'm checking into upscale hotel wearing my Army of Darkness t-shirt under a button down a collar shirt which contradicts my mature feelings. I guess I'm a conservative geek until I am in the presence of other geeks and then we can let a geek flag fly.

I was a man on a mission to get to the Con. I started to listen to The Time Traveler's Wife on a playaway device. If you haven't seen these in your bookstore or library, this is the next generation of audiobooks without the need listening to cds or cassettes. The playaways are their own players and since I heard great things about the book, I couldn't resist taking it on the trip. The 30 minute walk was fun and enjoyed what I heard. I played several more time during the time but didn't finish it...yet. I get to the Jacob Javits Convention Center which is another thing I never been to while I lived in NY and I was blown away by the size of it. You'll see in the pics what I'm taking about but there was just so much to see and do.

Since I was granted a professional pass for the weekend due to being a librarian, the early afternoon sessions were closed to the general public. There was a great deal of people but it didn't feel as crowded as the day grew long and even to all day saturday. While I had to go to several panel specific for Librarians, I was also there to see a very old and dear friend Michele St. Martin. She is a talented illustrator and she has made the leap to the other side of the con table. To me, this was important to me to see her again and at this stage of her career. Going back ages ago, we wanted to do a horrow movie called Lupin and she did some great werewolves drawings. I self taught myself film production techniques and I was going to work on the story. We never made the film but we did have fun trying. Jump back to the con, we had a great time after the con and I look forward to working with her in the near future. 

Saturday morning and I am awake by 8:30. I head out to the NBC store. Along the way, I am playing Vangelis' Blade Runner on my MP3 player. The NY setting was perfect with the harsh bright light beating down. I started to get emotional with the Blade Runner Blues track just as I saw the Zeigfield theatre. This was my place. I grew watching movies like Earthquake, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones, and other summer blockbusters. This was my childhood playground where I felt safe and protected. So all these feeling and memories rushed at me all at once and I couldn't hold back my tears. I had to let this wave play out and a few blocks later, I was able to regain my composure. Basically, I was Spock fighting to keep him human side in check. Okay, enough of the rememberance crap but I didn't expect nor plan this as by pure chance I went down this one block.

As I walked into 30 Rock, I entered the NBC store which seemed like forever. I saw all the Heroes stuff and nearly picked everything up and quickly fought against myself to put it all back. I didn't want to but honestly, they are just things that I would have bought and just gathered dust on my desk. I couldn't waste money like I used to 10 to 20 years ago. I moved on back to the Con to collect lots of swag for myself and my friends. I saw one more panel which was on upcoming books for Star Trek and by 2pm, I was exhausted. The crowds were getting way too much for much to manage. I said my goodbyes to St. Martin and head back to the hotel to take a nap. Several hours later, I wake up for my psuedo high school reunion. While only 4 people showed up, I had a great time with them and even traveled down to the Village. Before I knew it, it was 12:30am and I had to get up in three hours to fly back home.

Two things that sucked about the return trip home was the layover and the text message when I landed. First, the return flight was $100 but I had to fly in to Nashville with a 3 hour layover. I explored the airport, grabbed some lunch, and then sat for a couple of hours, BORING. I then get a text from my friend Gene who is still in NY. He sends me this picture on the right. Okay, great. He was near my hotel and... He sends a reply that he is going to see the play because there were seats available for $26.50. FUDGE! FRAK! THE HAND GOES UP! (An inside RIker joke using the Q powers.) He gets to see my scifi two-fer and while I was happy for HIM him, I would have loved to have see Patrick Stewart perform live on stage. Yes, I've seen Patrick at an earlier Con but it's another thing to see him in action. This closest thing that I have is the one man Christmas Carol he performs on CD. It's not the same but it would have been icing on the cake. After the exchange, my high school friend Lilly keeps me company on the cell phone until my flight was ready for departure. After that, my flight was uneventful, quiet and somewhat peaceful. Thank the Gods that crazy Carribean woman wasn't sitting next to me on the way home.

So, sorry for the long ass blog entry but I promise to have the pics up asap.

Let me know if you went to the Con or what you thought.

I'm often struck by just how many songs are written about a particular topic. We've done shows on Traveling and Technology and Mayhem and Fire and all of these concepts spanned every genre. Interestingly though, some genres seemed to hold a corner on the market in some topics. For example, almost every song in the Traveling show was rooted in country or bluegrass. Technology was all about Techno and Synth-pop. A few topics have spanned every genre equally. I think Time is one of them.

Of all the theories on Time I've read, the only one I feel compelled to post is from a man near and dear to every nerd's heart.

Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.

Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, from the film "Star Trek: Generations"

So maybe Time itself isn't the issue at all. Maybe we should just enjoy the music. :)

Oh my, those reviews of "Macbeth" that Patrick Stewart plays in just keep coming. Variety just posted their review when they went and saw the "Macbeth" show in Brooklyn, New York April 8th last night (the start of the six week show), Variety commended Patrick's acting in this play saying that Patrick is giving this character "brutal bid for power" and you can absolutely see that in him in the picture posted above.

See the Variety review on "Macbeth" here:

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936215.html?categoryid=1265&cs=1

The more I read these reviews, the more it makes me want to purchase tickets and go to Brooklyn to see "Macbeth" with Patrick Stewart.

I don't go to theatre but I would go see this one if I had the cash, I would imagine ticket pricing to this one would be pretty pricey.

Kev

Well, I said I would have another go at this Secret Belgian Binding and here it is. I tried the method that Rhonda at My Handbound Books recommended. The text block is sewn first in the usual way and then the covers and spine are attached. It's a bit of a juggling act trying to hold all three bits of board and the book block together while you stitch them together and it's especially difficult to keep the whole thing tight when you have to keep pulling it apart to get at the stitching in order to sew it all together but I eventually managed it. I'm actually quite pleased with it. I overcame the problems from my last effort by using a much longer length of thread, so no knots and also this method doesn't need masking tape, so no tearing. This book is A5 size - much bigger than the last one which was a sweet little thing - here is a shot of the two of them together.

I placed an order for some more supplies and paper from my favourite shop, Falkiners (incidentally, which is now known as Shepherds Bookbinders). You may remember I mentioned a while back, that I had an email from Falkiners thanking me for mentioning them so often on my blog! They had been googling themselves to check their 'google-ability' and I came up so often that they emailed to thank me and said that next time I placed an order, they would send me a gift to say thank you. Well, it arrived today - a whole black goatskin! I am so thrilled, it is so generous of them and I aim to put it to good use - it is gorgeous. I just wish that it didn't look quite so much like a goat - little legs and all......

As you may or may not remember, it's no secret that I am a sci fi fan and Number 1 son and I are closet Trekkies and we love Star Trek in all it's incarnations. I seem to have come across a lot of Star Trek jokes recently so here they are. This follows on from a previous post, last year called 'To Boldly Go....' which included the best Star trek cartoon EVER and a great song about 'Bald Headed Men' by Christine Lavin. I only mention the song because Jean-Luc Picard is my favourite 'Star Trek' character.....

and finally, here is my favourite, Eddie Izzard talking about Star Trek, it's a bit long (9 minutes) but is well worth watching (a little bit of strong language warning). Hilarious!

Actor Patrick Stewart who once played Captain Jean Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and Professor Xavier in the "X-Men" series, is getting very strong and positive reviews with his role as "Macbeth" in the famous William Shakespeare play which Stewart is performing in Broadway. Critics and people on the internet are saying this is Patrick Stewart's best acting in his entire acting career.

You can check out some of the positive articles about him below:

Here:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/theater/reviews/2008-04-08-stewart-macbeth_N.htm

Here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/reviewsNews/idUSN0835152920080409

And here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-macbeth9apr09,0,4510896.story

Do a google search, and you can read all kinds of reviews on the internet with Patrick Stewart as Macbeth in the famous legendary play.

Ever since leaving "Star Trek: The Next Generation" films, he has decided to retire from Star Trek to go back to theatre.

Personally, I think Patrick Stewart took a hiatus in acting in films to do theatre instead so he can get better at acting. I think he's using "theatre" to improve his acting in films.

Patrick Stewart is one of the most talented actors I've ever seen, I've always admired him. One day this man is going to win an Oscar if Hollywood gives him the right movie. He's so underrated and deserves the recognition.

Congrats to Patrick, I'm proud of him!

Kev