Star Trek Continues Triple
I’ve talked about Star Trek Continues before when they released their first episode online. Since then I’ve even helped (in a very, very small way) to fund the production of further episodes and that has indirectly led to – surprise! – more episodes being produced. They’re now up to three and since three is the magic number when I occasionally share these “triple” video links it seems fitting to share the episodes so far. Episode 1, Pilgrim of Eternity, is a continuation of the Who Mourns For Adonais? story in the original series. Episode 2, Lolani, features everyone’s favourite green-skinned type of slave girl, an Orion slave girl. A story that explores slavery, non-interference, and love and which has an emotional kick in the guts at the end just for good measure. Episode 3, Fairest Of Them All, takes place in the mirror universe directly following the original series episode Mirror, Mirror and follows Spock leading a revolt against Kirk on board the ISS Enterprise. Not only are all three episodes great entertainment they’re also fabulously produced, directed, lit, costumed (is that a verb?), and acted. May there be many, many...
Tsikamutandas
This is a new word for me: tsikamutanda. A tsikamutanda is a witch hunter in Zimbabwe or, to put it another way, a scam artist preying on the poorly-educated in Zimbabwe. Not everyone in Zimbabwe is taken in by these fraudsters but it’s a battle between those trying to help victims out and those who truly believe they need help to fight off the supernatural. Take this account from Harare 24 three years ago: [T]his new breed of “society cleansers” is often noted for the youthfulness of its members and the flashy cars and wealth they display. While many question the authenticity of these tsikamutandas, most people, it seems are more than ready to welcome them in their society and take their pronouncements as gospel. This is despite repeated warnings from the police that some of these so-called healers take people for a ride and are nothing more than conmen in sheep’s clothing. Some? Hmmm. That same article goes on to describe a confrontation between villagers waiting for tsikamutandas to cleanse their village of evil and the police who stepped in to prevent it happening. after the police had moved in, villagers had already gathered, eagerly awaiting the ceremony. Most seemed angry that the police had prevented the tsikamutandas from conducting a session in their village. […] Another elderly woman shouted at a police officer who was addressing the highly agitated crowd, […] “There is too much witchcraft here, we are always troubled. When it rains, we become afraid because lightning bolts are being sent to injure people. Our daughters are becoming pregnant outside wedlock and goblins are making our lives unbearable. This law that the police are talking about makes things difficult and witchcraft acts will become even worse. All we want is peace.” Strangely, there are accounts of people who believe in tsikamutandas and can spot a fake one. From the Zimbabwe Mail earlier this year: It is alleged that before the healing and cleansing act, Chinyama had charged $300 and a goat for his services and was given a goat, with the balance to be paid after the cleansing act. He led the brothers to the grave and along the way, one of the brothers noticed that the tsikamutanda had something concealed under his armpit and he tipped his elder brother. When they got to the grave, he started performing his acts and again got into a trance, jumping all over the grave and said the spirit had shown him that there was something evil buried by the side of the grave. As he dug, he dropped the unidentified object into the pit he had dug,...
Portsmouth, Alien Invasion – Defy Them Poster
We’ve already seen that one way in which the citizens of Portsmouth kept their spirits up during the alien invasion by the Squirmy Munge of the early part of the twentieth century was through comics, and in particular the well-received Commander Pompey publication. Another way, and one common with most of the greater wars in recent centuries, was through motivational posters, the most famous of which was the Defy Them poster that first started appearing on walls in and around the city in late 1919. Present day Portsmouth has a thriving local art scene and it can clearly be seen that this talent was alive and well in 1919 too. However, it’s not just the wonderful example of art deco design that made this particular war poster so famous. It happens to have a rather bizarre history to it too. A tale started circulating in the city of a young woman named Abigail Ball. Abigail – it was claimed – had been walking through the Baffins area of Portsmouth when a Squirmy Munge landing craft dropped onto the ground in front of her. As the hatch on the craft hissed open and too afraid to run or scream Abigail did the first thing she could think of and performed an interpretive dance routine. The hatch closed up, the craft lifted off, and Abigail lived to tell her tale. Quite a fanciful story but it proved popular among the locals. The posters started to appear not long after and dancing to defy became a regular pastime for the people of Portsmouth. It was believed that the elusive and mysterious Abigail herself had designed, printed, and put up the posters as each one had the signature “Ball, A” on the back in fine print. However, in 1927 – long after the alien invasion had been repelled – in an interview with the local newspaper a Mrs Jenny Smith of Buckland admitted that she had invented the Abigail story and had produced the posters not because of any fighting spirit but rather to drum up trade for her ballet school which had been on the verge of financial collapse owing to the war. As is the nature of these things most people decided to disbelieve this version of the events and the legend of Abigail Ball and the Defy Them poster lives on to this...
Fashion Faves – Ribbons
Via Fashion Copious… Styled by Panos Yiapanis, photographed by Inez and Vinoodh, and featuring models Christy Turlington and Adriana Lima is this photo shoot for Love magazine called Ribbons. With a title like Ribbons you know the photoshoot is going to feature sardines. I mean ribbons. What you might not expect is a series of increasingly bizarre acting and styling demands from the photographers. Take this first photo, for instance, where Adriana has been instructed to channel the spirit of fashion known to haunt the corpse of King Louis XIV of France. Adriana conveys the haughty demeanour of French royalty wonderfully although the five-sizes-too-large suit jacket she’s sporting probably wouldn’t have been in favour in the palaces of 17th century France. “Adriana, I want to see Brian May.” “I might know some people who can get hold of some tickets…” “No, no, no. I want you to be Brian May.” “Oh! Okay.” “Brian May standing as if a cockerel were about to leap through a gap in his legs.” “Oh. Kay.” “And put this cape on.” “Is Brian May famous for wearing capes? I thought that was Dracula.” “It’s a pun.” “And I’m sure it’s a very good one.” Christy hasn’t been spared the bizarre treatment either in this final example from the shoot. Rather than anyone famous Christy has been asked to act the part of a mime artist leaning against an invisible wall to help support the fact that one of her legs has popped out of her hip socket. Ever the professional, Christy hasn’t just acted a dislocated leg she’s clearly dislocated it for real. The blend of dedication to reality mixed with miming fantasy produces a great image. View the rest of the photos...
Lady Hester Stanhope
A short biography of Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839), someone I’d not actually heard of but who Wikipedia describes as “a British socialite, adventurer and traveler.” She sounds rather fantastic, if not a little bit eccentric. Lady Hester Stanhope, Queen of the Desert: As she traveled throughout the Middle East, Lady Hester was received royally whereever she and her party went. She was received in state by the Pasha, Mehmet Ali, in Cairo. She traveled to Jerusalem and Acre, and other little known citites. When she reached Damascus, Lady Hester refused to wear the veil or change out of her men’s clothes to enter the city, despite the warnings she received that it was an anti-Christian community. Instead she rode in, unveiled at midday. The people of Damascus didn’t know what hit them, but their amazement turned to enthusiasm and she was hailed as a Queen. An interesting, very headstrong woman and a very good read but one that only briefly touches on a part of her archaeological work. For more on that, though, another article on Lady Hester Stanhope well worth a read is this one: Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope: The First Modern Excavator of the Holy Land.. The start to Stanhope’s excavation began when she came into possession of a “curious document”, which was a supposed medieval Italian manuscript that described the location of a hidden treasure buried under mosque in Ashkelon by Christians. Apparently, the manuscript was very detailed and Ashkelon was well-known as the ruins of an ancient port city. Stanhope didn’t merely march into Ashkelon and begin ripping the place apart. She submitted a request to the Ottoman government for permission and was granted the right to excavate the...
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