The Paradise Syndrome

I have a recent love for spicy food but I’m still a spice wimp. I know that makes no sense and I can’t even comprehend it either but it has been a fun adventure. Tonight I made Szechuan beef and veggies and it was soo good but yeah just a bit too spicy. Thank god I was at home because I was sitting there on my couch eating Asian food and sweating my ass off! Note to self, do not bring this food to work for lunch unless I also bring deodorant and body wash. In addition to that adventure I was at Target getting a few supplies and other food items and it happened; I got stuck behind the lady with the screaming kid! UGH And the worst part about it was that she wasn’t doing anything about the little skid mark’s screaming.  Come on people be a parent and make an effort at least to shut the kid up or don’t bring them shopping.

Today’s Workout- Treadmill but forgot to write down any of the information… woops

The Paradise Syndrome

The Enterprise is doing some preliminary investigation on a planet that is doomed to be destroyed unless they can blow up the asteroid that is heading towards it. The planet is nearly identical to Earth and the inhabitants are very similar to Native American Indians from say the 1700’s. They discover a monolith that seems out of place and Kirk falls into a secret mechanical room and gets his brain washed by some accidental power surge. McCoy and Spock have to leave to blow up the approaching asteroid so Kirk is left missing. From here there are two stories. The first is that Kirk is thought to be a ‘god’ and becomes the tribes magic man and marries a native. This of course all happens over two months. The second story is set on the Enterprise where Spock leads the ship to the asteroid where they cannot destroy it because they wear out their power. Now the Enterprise heads back to the planet at impulse power followed by the asteroid. The trip will take an estimated 2 months. Once they arrive they will have 4 hours to destroy the asteroid. McCoy and Spock beam down in time to save Kirk from an angry Indian mob when it is discovered that he is not a ‘god’. In the end things work out and the Enterprise is off to a new adventure.

Ok so two things… Is this episode Lame as hell and campy entertainment YES… Is it offensive as hell and inappropriate.. HELL YES. While watching Kirk in American Indian garb the only thing I could hear in my head was Cher singing “Half Breed… That’s all I ever heard.. Half Breed.. How I learned to hate the word”.

Also this is post 60! WOW I’m so happy with how this blog is going and the response and support I have been getting from friends! THANK YOU ALL

The Enterprise Incident

I am always amazed at how intuitive some children can be at times. I was working with a young man today who just could not sit still and kept getting up and down and up and down. He was like a little toy on a spring and it was starting to get just a little more than distracting. So I told him we were going to go and borrow a special chair from another teacher. Upon seeing the chair cushion he practically squealed with joy, grabbed it and ran back to my classroom. I was amazed how he knew that would help and wanted to use it!  Never underestimate a child’s ability to help themselves… no matter what their level of functioning. Though I must say not all students are as intuitive in nature. This was evidenced by the fact that every day I have been on the roof of the school taking photos for the yearbook a student has looked at me puzzled and said “How did you get up there Mr. Olson?” I mean really! Part of me wants to say that I was airlifted on to the roof or that I climbed the wall but I just can’t bring myself to say that.

Today’s Workout:

2.23miles and 300 calories

The Enterprise Incident

Kirk is acting irritable, moody and downright bitchy! Maybe somebody stole the man girdle he wears under his stunning mustard velour tunic?? Or maybe he is planning on violating intergalactic treaty and that has his undies in a bunch. Well of course the answer is the second. Kirk orders the ship across the Romulan Neutral Zone and they are apprehended by three Romulan ships. Their options now are to Fight, Self-Destruct, or Surrender. At this time Kirk and Spock are ordered to beam aboard the lead ship to meet with the Romulan Commander. Well the commander ends up being a woman.. shocker! Kirk is betrayed by Spock who cannot lie and he is then placed into the brig. It is at this time that Romulan Commander makes every attempt possible to “GET BUSY” with Spock. Kirk nearly kills himself by throwing his body at the brig’s force field and Dr. McCoy is called to help. Spock informs McCoy to bring Kirk’s body to the Enterprise and it is announced that he is dead. Moments later Kirk comes to and it is revealed that the whole ordeal has been planned and was under order by Starfleet. The reason being is that Starfleet has just discovered that the Romulans developed a Cloaking Device and now Starfleet wants one. Now that Kirk is back aboard he undergoes surgery to look like a Romulan and he goes undercover to steal the cloaking device. In the end the Enterprise gets a cloaking device and the Romulan Commander’s heart is broken when Spock reveals his deception.

A truly amazing episode from the third season, which is generally agreed upon to be the weakest of the three seasons of the original series. It is a story about the arms race again but has several twists and turns and is thoroughly enjoyable to watch!

I'm A Unicorn Too Damnit!!!! (A glee wednesday post)

What a day! Yearbook photos are going well and work is fun as usual! Today was a fantastic day on the weight loss front! We got our portraits today from lifetouch today and mine were great… and that never happens. I think I can count on one hand that times I have had a school photo taken that I actually like. I have posted my 2010 and 2011 school photos below and I was pleasantly surprised by how different things look. Today continues the Glee Wednesday trend and this week’s episode was good. I was bummed to see that there were only three songs but they were pretty good. Ok, two were ok and then Darren Criss took the stage and blew my mind!!!!

Today’s Workout-

Treadmill- 2.18 miles and 281calories

Weekly Weigh-in: 231 which places me at a 25 pound loss

                                                           2010                                2011

Spock's Brain

Craziness at work today.. YIKES. It is was school wide photo day today which means I spent about 30 minutes on the roof of the school today. Of course it is a four day process so I get to do it the next three days and as it were I’m not a big fan of heights. The reward of course is that the photo turned out brilliantly and the kids were well behaved. I do always have this vision of the poor school kids watching Mr. Olson plummeting to his death from the roof of the gym. So to all of my friends please keep me in your thoughts for good weather!

Today’s Workout:

300calories and 2.25miles

Spock’s Brain

So the entire fandom of Star Trek campaigned and campaigned to get a third season of Star Trek and the network relented and the show moved forward into season three. Upon hearing this fans rejoiced, that is of course I imagine until they saw this episode. The premise is simple, a mysterious alien woman beams on board the Enterprise, paralyzes the crew and steals Spock’s brain. Well the crew comes to and finds Spock in sickbay, brainless and they begin pursuing the alien ship to retrieve the brain and put it back in his body. Big Neanderthal men people the planet on the surface and scantily clad women who are as dumb as a box of hair inhabit the underground. These women capture the landing party and a robotically controlled Spock but they have no knowledge of the word brain or other concepts we take for granted. Spock ’s brain is found to be the new planet controller and is operating the entire planet. The controller shares information with the stupid women when it needs to so they may be smart for a limited time. The leader of the woman refuses to help so McCoy puts on the “thinking hat” and performs the surgery. Well it goes well until the last hour and McCoy starts to fumble so he turns on Spock’s vocal folds and the two complete the surgery together.

The most enjoyable moment of the show is when Kirk, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura and Scott have a conversation about the plan to save Spock. This is fun because in a normal episode this conversation would have been between McCoy, Kirk and Spock. It is nice to see the other crew members get to deliver intelligent lines for once. 

Assignment:Earth

Today is all about finally watching the Star Wars movies on Blu-Ray. I bought them last week and have been wanting to watch them all week! I watched the Phantom Menace last night and found the changes made to the movie a welcome addition. I don’t understand why Lucas decided to use a puppet for Yoda again in that movie and was happy to see it replaced by a CGI character because the puppet was dreadful! I can’t believe that movie came out 12 years ago this year. I can remember waiting in uncontrollable excitement to go see the movie as a sophomore in high school. I can remember getting in a van with a bunch of my friends and heading to the East Bethel movie theater and feeling overwhelmed when the familiar yellow scroll started to whiz by! I can also remember leaving it thinking.. “I’ve been waiting all my life for that? WTF” It has gotten better in my eyes over the years but it is not perfect still and most likely is the worst of the six. Now I’m starting to watch Attack of the Clones, the second worst of the movies. Ya know it used to be that you could watch the Star Wars trilogy and there wasn’t a week one in the bunch; now you have to sit through two fairly mediocre movies before you can watch one ok movie and three awesome movies. Later today I’m heading to have dinner with my family at my sister’s house.. I’ve heard it will be Chili… J

Today’s Workout-

Treadmill: 273 calories and 2.21miles

Assignment: Earth

The Enterprise has traveled back in time to do some undercover research in the year 1968. This to me seems extremely ridiculous because they are opening themselves up to something bad to happen… which of course it does. The Enterprise interrupts a transporter beam and finds itself playing host to a Mr. Gary Seven and his cat Isis. Mr. Seven claims to be a human who has been working for an alien power and is attempting to stop a catastrophe from happening on Earth that will destroy the planet. Well Kirk can’t decide if he should trust Mr. Seven or not and decides to hold him in the brig until the medical report on him comes back, Of course he escapes and heads down to Earth to complete his mission. Gary Seven is a head agent who is actually human and working for an alien planet and has come to make sure two agents complete their job. He discovers that his two agents were accidentally killed and he now must sabotage a NASA launch to prevent the USA from putting nuclear warheads in orbit. Upon beam down Kirk and Spock find Mr. Seven and the ditzy secretary who was hired by his two dead agents. On fumble happens after another but Mr. Seven ends up succeeding in his plan which was actually to detonate the NASA warhead satellite in the high atmosphere. This leads to increased nuclear talks and eventual peace on Earth.

This is an interesting episode because the characters of the Enterprise play second fiddle to Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln but it still manages to be fun and engaging. This is the only episode in which the guest star’s name appears on the title shot of the episode. Also of note is that this was a proposed “pilot” idea for a spinoff featuring Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln’s adventures in time travel. That show of course was not picked up by the network. The character of Roberta Lincoln is played by future Young Frankenstein star Teri Garr. She was later nominated for an OSCAR in 1982 for Tootsie. This was the year of my birth and coincidentally Terri Garr is my Hollywood birthday buddy!

I'm finished With Season 2 and now on to the 3rd and final season of Star Trek: The Original Series. I'm starting to debate whether or not to include Star Trek: The Animated Series in my workout plan? So readers let me know if you have any thoughts on that matter.

Bread and Circuses

Things at school keep getting busier and busier but still all is going well! Tomorrow is happy hour with my coworker family and I am so pumped, a well deserved time out is what we all need.  Nothing else to report today. Sorry folks but once the school year starts my life becomes much less exciting/interesting.

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill: 250calories and 2.2miles

Bread & Circuses

The Enterprise is investigating the disappearance of the USS Beagle, a freight ship that was lost six years ago. I must say back in the day Starfleet was a bit behind on the missing persons reports! Well they find the wreckage and trace it to a nearby planet that is very similar to our Earth. They tune into the planets TV stations and find that the planet has nearly mimicked the history of Earth but with one exception, The Roman Empire never fell in the early  2^nd century. Now Rome is a barbaric ruthless state with Cars, Telephones, TV’s and Guns. Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down and are captured by a group of slaves in hiding. Kirk and crew who can’t leave well enough alone decide to head into the city and find out what happened to the crew of the Beagle. They are of course captured by the Romans who are aware of the Beagle crew, and try to exploit Kirk and get him to beam his crew down. The Romans consider them enemies of the state and need new slaves to fight in their televised coliseum games. Kirk is forced to watch McCoy and Spock fight a couple of professional gladiators on TV but through some amazing timing the Enterprise is able to get them out before anyone dies.

The episode isn’t the worst one Star Trek ever produced but as far as second season episodes go… it is in the bottom 5. One more episode and I am on to season three!

Glee For The Day, Back To Star Trek Tomorrow!

So I didn’t watch Star Trek today but I did still work out! I missed yesterday’s episode of Glee because I had choir rehearsal so I thought I would watch it today on Hulu. Apparently HULU is a pain in the ass these days and episodes of GLEE are not available until 8 days after the first air date.. WHAT? Well it was a tough decision but I finally ditched Netflix and signed up for Hulu Plus.. I gotsta have my glees and can’t wait 8 days. YIKES!.

Say what you will about Glee it is one of my favorite shows because of the music, the story and it just makes me smile like none other! Another reason I love the show is that it is everything I wish I had while I was in High School. As a teenager there were no teens like me on TV. There was of course Will and Grace but that was adults who had gotten past their High School days and survived but had nothing great to say about adolescence. Glee though features students who are out and proud and having some difficulty with bullying but being loved and supported by their friends. The show has also gotten people to talk about issues facing kids and at times has given me and my folks things to chat about. LOVE this show and the opening episode was enjoyable. I think I’m developing a silly celebrity crush on Darren Criss though.. and I’m feeling the whole thing is just a little to “tiger beat magazine” but oh well!

BTW--- Glee Wednesdays will become a regular occurance from now until the season ends in May!

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill- 2.17 miles and 300 calories

Weekly Weigh-in: 233lbs… I’m down 23 pounds!!!

PS.... Where can I get Me a Pair of red pants??????

The Ultimate Computer

Feeling better… thank you baby Jebus!!! I’m still a little under the weather but feeling much much better. Today was a bit of a bummer because I was supposed to take a whole school photo but the weather did not agree and so did other technical difficulties. I love the yearbook to death but at times it is a logistical nightmare, but it does force me to be even more organized and anal retentive than ever! The one upside of the whole sickness thing was that I went to the doctor and found my weight loss is continuing to go well because my blood pressure was very healthy 120/60, even with a fever!

Walked on the Treadmill!

The Ultimate Computer

The Enterprise has been chosen to play host to a new ultimate computer called the M-5. The entire crew is a bit on edge about the concept of a man being replaced by a computer. Well the M-5 is accompanied by its creator Dr. Daystrom, who is a relative genius in the computer world. Everything starts off just fine and the computer performs well in all simulations and war games. About a day into the trip the computer starts to act a little odd and it culminates when the ship goes out of its way to destroy an automated ore freighter. When the crew attempts to shut down the M-5 it kills a crew member and takes total control of the ship. It proceeds to attack a fleet of Starfleet ships and destroys one of them. Kirk and crew race frantically to disarm the M-5 and they finally convince the machine that it has murdered and must carry out the natural punishment,,,, which of course is death. So… The computer kills itself essentially.

The Omega Glory

So this workout actually happened on Thursday but… I didn’t have the time to write it up. Then on Friday I was running errands and went to the Twins game and had no time to myself but had a blast. I was feeling a little under the weather on Friday but WOW today hit and I have a 102 degree fever and a sinus infection. YEAH urgent care sucks but at least I’m on antibiotics and a fever reducer. All the while I’m supposed to be house sitting at my parents. UGH.

The Omega Glory

The Enterprise is once again investigating the disappearance of a starship. On board Kirk, McCoy and Spock find the entire crew dead and the captain has beamed down to the planet. On the planet the Enterprise crew discovers a society where the people are in an early industrial age and the dominant culture is Asian and referred to as the “Coms” and the other group is a big hulking Scandinavian looking group called the  “Yangs”. Coms= communist and Yangs= Yankees. Extremely thinly  veiled references. The people of the planet live to be hundreds of years old and the Captain of the Exeter believes he has found a fountain of youth but McCoy proves that there are no illnesses and that these people naturally live this long. Years prior there was a horrific war which wiped out many of the planets natural diseases and such. Well Kirk gets in good with the Yangs and we discover that they used to be part of a society that nearly mimicked the USA right down to the flag. Kind of a lame episode not going to lie!

By Any Other Name

To quote the Mamas and the Papas… “Monday Monday can’t trust that day..”. Yikes the first Monday of the school year came and went and I survived. I worked went to my other job and then worked out. I’m tired and ready to go to work tomorrow and then the first night of rehearsal in Minneapolis.

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill: 280 Calories and 2.15miles

By Any Other Name

While investigating a mysterious signal on a distant planet the crew of the Enterprise is kidnapped and the ship is hijacked. The hijackers are a group of aliens from the distant world of Andromeda who have assumed the shape of humans despite the fact that naturally they look like giant octopuses or something similar. The aliens have the ability to freeze people and evaporate them into a salt ball. The balls can be rehydrated if they are not destroyed. The aliens demonstrate this fact when they evaporate Yeoman Thompson and crush her salt ball, thus killing her. The entire crew is evaporated with the exception of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty. Once the ship crosses the great barrier to leave the galaxy they devise a plan to overthrow the aliens. Since the aliens have not been humans and can not easily process the emotions and sensations they are experiencing the crew uses this to its advantage. McCoy starts by getting one of the aliens addicted to a chemical substance to make him extremely irritable. Scotty proceeds to get into a drinking match with one of the aliens and in the process they drink about 4-5 bottles alcohol before they both pass out. Kirk seduces the hot female alien because she is naïve in the ways of love. Meanwhile, Spock plays the role of the bitchy gay best friend and stirs the pot between the leader and the female Kirk seduces. In the end tensions fly and so do the punches before the aliens return control of the ship to the crew.

This episode has the distinction of being the only show in which a Red Shirt dies who is a female. Hundreds of guest actors ‘died’ on that show in a red shirt but only one female and she didn’t even get to die on screen. The woman was turned into a salt ball and then crushed into a fine powder. The show's name derives from a quote by Shakespeare in "Romeo & Juliet" in which he compares the smell of a rose not being sweet if we were to call it any other name.

Patterns of Force

Sooo much has gone down this week it is just too much! Ahaha The first week of school ended and here I find myself getting ready for the second week to happen. I should be getting ready for the week but I’m sitting here eating homemade Taboule and watching Revenge of the Nerds. I presented at a class on Thursday of last week to my fellow speechies and it went really well and seems that most everyone thought it was worth their time. That was my biggest concern to be completely honest. Then as if that wasn’t enough stress for one day I had an audition Thursday night which I was nervous as hell for! I ended up doing well and will give y’all more information on that in the future as I know more.  

I also cannot fathom that it is September 11th today and the ten year anniversary of that horrible tragedy. I can remember and most likely will always remember where I was when it happened. It was my first day of school at St. Cloud State University and I was sitting in American History class. Funny to think how we all sat there in utter ignorance as to what was happening in the world during this 75 minute lecture. I returned to W.W. Holes Hall and it was a total Chaos of people not knowing what to do and what to think. I sat there for most of the day with my room wide open and a variety of people in my room sitting around my 13inch TV watching in shock. I think I will keep this memory for as long as I live, much the same way my parents will remember Kennedy being shot or the moon landing. This is an event that changed this country and will always be remembered.

That being said I have not watched any of the re-played footage that has been on the TV today because I do not feel the need to relive that experience and in some ways ten years is too soon.

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill- 280 calories and 2.2miles

Weekly Weigh-in: as of Saturday morning I was at 235 lbs which puts me at down 21 pounds J

Patterns of Force

The Enterprise is sent to investigate a missing Starfleet Academy professor and high ranking official. Upon arriving at the planet where he was stationed The Enterprise is attacked by an old style nuclear missile but of course it is destroyed. Upon beaming down to the planet Kirk and Spock discover that somehow the planet has fashioned itself after Nazi Germany of the 30’s and 40’s. Kirk and Spock now must work to find the Starfleet professor responsible for this action and try to set things correct before the “party” institutes its final solution and destroys the inhabitants of the neighboring planet. Kirk and Spock break jail and meet the underground resistance against the Nazi party. A plan is devised to interrupt a live broadcast from the Nazi leader and see what has happened. Kirk, Spock and the resistance find that the federation representative purposely set up the Nazi state because it was organized but…. Someone power hungry took over and perverted the system. Once they took over they kept the federation rep under sedation and used him as a figurehead for the government.  Kirk returns the government control to a group who desire peace and all is set right in the world.

Return to Tomorrow

So this really happened on Saturday but didn't have time to write it up!

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill- 247 calories and 2.16miles

Return To Tomorrow

The Enterprise is exploring the farthest reaches of space and encounters a mysterious signal that they ca not pinpoint. Suddenly a voice is heard that invites Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a Dr. Mulhall toa cavern hundreds of miles below the surface. In the chamber the crew encounters 3 Orbs that hold the intelligence of the last surviving members of a race that died thousands of years earlier. The three beings ask to inhabit the bodies of the crewmembers so that they can create android bodies to live in for as long as they desire. The plan is a great risk and after a very long…. And cheesy… speech from…. Captain Kirk… The crew…. Decides to.. take the risk. LOL Well two of the aliens are just fine with the plan but the alien in Spock’s body wishes to kill the others and hijack Spock’s body permanently. In the end the crew works together to trick the alien out of Spock with the help of the other two beings. Again in the end all is well and the Enterprise is off to a new voyage.

This episode contains the iconic and slowly delivered “risk speech” from Captain Kirk. No clip could epitomize Shatner’s acting style more than this nearly two minute monologue. Also of note the episode guest stars Diana Muldaur who later went on to play Dr. Paulaski in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, when Gates McFadden left the show for a season.  This is the first of two appearances Muldaur made in the original series.

Diana Muldaur as Dr. Ann Mullhall (1968)

Diana Muldaur as Dr. Catherine Paulaski (1988)

A Private Little War

First day back to the clinic which means I put in about a 13 hour work day today… and I still worked out. Yeah Me! I was happy to get back to be honest the money is nice and the kids I’m working with seem really really fun. I’m presenting to my fellow SLPs tomorrow and I’m really nervous about it. I have given this talk before to other speech clinicians but this is a bigger group and I’m less familiar with them because I don’t get to see the elementary folks very often.  I’m sure it will go well.. Wish me luck friends.

Today’s Workout

Treadmilla; 2.23 miles and 276 calories

A Private Little War

The Enterprise is completing a survey of a world Kirk visited years earlier when one of the natives shoots Spock. This is quite the shock as the natives were years behind the riffle stage of development only ten years earlier. Kirk and McCoy beam down to investigate and Kirk is attacked by a Mugatu (no not the fashion designer played by Will Farrell in Zoolander) but a large ape like creature that is poisonous. Now McCoy must reunite Kirk and his old friend the leader of the Hill People. The leader’s wife a “witch woman” heals Kirk and apparently has ambitions to get technology and destroy whoever is not on her side. Well we learn that the Klingons are supplying the City People with weapons in exchange for mining. This starts an arms race and Kirk must decide whether to supply the Hill People with weapons or let them be killed by the City People. In the end it seems Kirk gives them equal weapons to their enemies but no one is really happy about it because of the dangerous path it sets the world on.

WOW this is a pretty thinly veiled reference to the war in Vietnam and they got away with airing the show! Kirk and McCoy even mention the “brush wars in Southeast Asia of the 20^th century”.  A Cheesy yet poignant episode.

The Immunity Syndrome

Day one of school down and we’re off! I’m glad to be back and had a great time meeting all of my new kids. What a bunch of funny little kids I’m going to get to work with this year. Each year countless things happen at work that are for lack of a description both Hilarious, Sad, and Mind-Boggling at the same time. I’ve often thought of writing these little nuggets of joy down and writing a 365 day calendar of coffee book. Who knows that may be in my future someday.

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill- 2.11miles and 290calories

The Immunity Syndrome

The Enterprise is diverted to a space system in trouble in which a Vulcan-manned ship has mysteriously been destroyed. The Enterprise encounters are large black mass in space that begins to drain the power from the ship and from the members of the crew. As the ship becomes weaker so do the crewmembers themselves who begin fainting and dropping like flies! When the ship attempts to pull back they are shot forward and thus we find that everything in this black mass is opposite of normal space. At the center of the black mass the crew finds a gigantic single celled organism. McCoy and Spock compare this organism to an Amoeba, and they learn this organism is ready to reproduce by mitosis. It is at this point that McCoy and Spock get into an argument over who will leave the ship in a shuttlecraft to gather information. Kirk is faced with making this hard decision and he eventually lets Spock go. In the end Kirk and McCoy decide to treat the organism like a virus and launch a gigantic anti-mater probe into the nucleus to destroy it. Well this works and everyone lives,,, even Spock.  

A Piece of the Action

Last Day of summer and I feel like saying “Mom do I have to wake up… just five more minutes?” Spent a fun day getting diner with my family and doing a little shopping with my sister. Sooo Much fun. I bought the cutest new pair of Nikes for the treadmill! They are grey, orange and white. I will post a picture of them tomorrow or sometime in the near future. I will be honest they may not make it onto the treadmill because they are soo cute they may have to make a public appearance or two.

Treadmill:

2.5miles and 300 calories.

A Piece of the Action

The Enterprise is making a check of the planet Sigma Iotia after receiving a signal that an earth vessel crashed on that planet over 100 years ago. The message was received so late because the old ship did not have subspace communication systems. The Enterprise is checking to determine how much contamination was caused to the Iotian culture.  The Enterprise crew has learned that the Iotians are keen imitators, which is immediately apparent upon beam down. The entire planet has adopted a 1920’s Chicago gangster feel right down to the lingo, apparel, and look of the planet. They have gotten their information from what they call “the book” which is a book on gangs of the 1920’s. Kirk and Spock are now faced with the task of trying to limit the contamination and set them on the right track again. Through a series of misadventures and mishaps Kirk convinces the Iotians that the federation is coming in to take over but that the Iotians are going to be in charge of the planet. They sufficiently set the planet back on track and then head out to the next adventure.

The funniest moment of the show comes when Kirk tries to drive he and Spock around in an old 1920’s Rolls Royce. The pair have no clue how to drive the car and have a difficult time getting from point A to point B. Spock even quips to him that “you may be a great starship captain but.. “ Too Funny.

The Gamesters of Triskelion

The last weekend of freedom.. not that I see my job as horrible or a cross to be carried but after this weekend work does start to take over more and more of my life for 9 months. Today I finally hooked my Blu Ray player up to the internet and Netflix. Why on Earth did I wait so long??? I had considered canceling Netflix all together but this I tell you is simply genius. To hell with renting movies or watching movies on my computer! I have always wanted to watch Mad Men but didn’t want to rent or borrow the DVDs.. now I can watch them at my own leisure! I’m so excited.

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill: 2.4 miles and 305 calories

The Gamesters of Triskelion

Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are getting ready to beam down to Gamma 2 when they are kidnapped by an unknown alien society. The aliens kidnapped the crewmembers to be gladiators in their games. The three are assigned drill masters who will prepare them for the games but of course all three refuse to participate and are punished quite frequently. Kirk spends his time trying to learn what he can from his green-haired scantily clad female drill instructor and of course as it always happens he tries to seduce her for information. It works and eventually Kirk finds himself face to face with the gamesters. The gamesters are revealed to be three extremely advanced creatures who are no longer physical in nature. The gamesters are three brains tied into a machine and the only thing they do is kidnap alien species and bet on the games with fake money. Kirk wagers them that if he can beat three of their gladiators at one time that the gladiators and his crew will be set free, if Kirk loses then the entire Enterprise crew will be bound to slavery on Triskelion forever. The subplot of this episode is between McCoy, Spock and Scotty who are desperately trying to find the missing landing party. They are not on Gamma 2 so Spock follows a mysterious Ion trail. McCoy and Scotty protest heavily and essentially Spock must prove himself to these officers. In the end Spock is correct and they find the crew on Triskelion and Kirk wins the fight so everyone is happy, except of course the gamesters.

This episode is basically pure action and fun with a little sidebar message against slavery in the galaxy. Some of the only humor in the show comes from Chekov’s yellow-skinned, deep voiced alien trainer who appears female but does not sound it, and of course who is madly in love with Chekov.

The Trouble with Tribbles

What a lazy day this Saturday has been! I’ve been watching the Jurassic Park movies… I’m not sure why but thought they would be fun for the day. The first two are better than I remembered and the third is well not as good as I remember. Besides just hanging out I’m going to be getting drinks with some friends!

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill: 2.4 miles and 300 calories

The Trouble With Tribbles

The Enterprise is on route to Sherman’s Planet to help oversee the Federation claim on the planet. While on route they receive a priority 1 call from station K-7 that they are in dire need of assistance. When they arrive Kirk and Spock discover that there is nothing wrong except for an uptight Federation under secretary who wants guards for the precious grain being stored on the station. Kirk and Mr. Barriss continue to bicker and fight throughout the entire episode which is just hilarious to see. Kirk assigns guards to the grain and returns to the ship. Shortly after the Klingons arrive at the station requesting shore leave, and due to treaty rights they can’t turn them down. So the compromise is only 12 Klingons at a time and a matching number of Enterprise crew to balance it out. It is about this time that Uhura and Chekov arrive at the K-7 bar to do some shopping and Uhura buys a Tribble from Cyrano Jones. Jones informs Uhura that a tribble is the only love that money can buy. For those who don’t know a tribble is a little ball of fur that makes a cooing sound and reproduce at will as the crew of the Enterprise finds out. Eventually there are tribbles all over the Enterprise and the space station. When the tribbles are found in the Enterprise air shafts Kirk starts to worry about the grain compartments. Well surprise surprise the grain shafts are loaded with tribbles but they are almost all dead. It seems that the grain has been poisoned by a Klingon agent. At first Cyrano Jones is the suspect but the Federation Secretary’s aid is found to be a the Klingon agent disguised as a human. When Kirk returns to the Enterprise it is Tribble-less and Scotty informs everyone that he beamed them all to the Klingon engine room, because Klingons and Tribbles don’t quite like each other.

This is possibly the most famous episode of the Original Series and it is one of the few out and out comedies they ever produced. The episode spawned a sequel in the animated series and reimagining in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Wolf in the Fold

Workshop week has come to an end and I’m supposed to be ready for school to start on Monday.. but wait I’m not. I think that all educators face this challenge every year but we simply get used to the fact that a big part of education is learning how to punt. I have missed the last two days’ workouts because I have simply been too busy working and getting shit done. Okay so one day I got home at 7:30 and just couldn’t get off the couch after I sat down and yesterday I went to happy hour after work. I have dubbed myself “The Unofficial Head of the Unofficial Social Committee” and thus thought it was time to get the group to a bar! It was a wonderful night. I am always amazed how people from such different backgrounds can have fun and hang out together because of one common trait… working in a school. Love the staff at my school and I’m excited for school next week.

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill 2 miles and 210 calories

Weekly Weigh-in: 238 (nothing gained nothing lost… yeah!)

Wolf In The Fold

Kirk and McCoy take Mr. Scott out for some shore leave,,, how nice of them! Well to be truthful they take him to what could best be described as a Brothel or Strip Club. CLASSY! So Scotty and a stripper go for a walk and later she is found dead with Scotty holding a knife and standing over her dead body. The authorities investigate and so does the crew of the Enterprise. When a female crewmember is beamed down to do some tests… she is killed too in almost the same fashion. Later the prefect and his wife who is a “medium” of sorts does an ancient empathic séance and well after freaking out and talking about a being  that is pure evil.. she is dead too. Again seemingly at Scotty’s hands. The investigation is transferred to the Enterprise where after a long court scene the crew determines that Scotty is not guilty and that a creature made of pure energy that feeds on hate, anger, and fear. This entity was also known as “Jack The Ripper” in the 1800’s. The Entity is now on the Enterprise and attempts to take over the Enterprise and kill the entire crew. In an attempt to limit fear the whole crew is given a massive dose of a tranquilizer. Eventually the being and the man it is inhabiting is sent out into space and essentially killed. In the End Kirk still wants to go to the strip club on the planet but no one will go with him.. Sad face for Kirk.

This episode used to freak me out when I was a little kid! I can distinctly remember watching it as a pre-teen and being scared shitless. I know this sounds sad and you are right… I am a big wimp and can hardly watch scary movies without freaking out. That said… this is a really good episode!