Poem du Jour: "Old Fashioned Spaceman"

From Leonard Nimoy's poetry collection Warmed by Love,
published by Blue Mountain Press in 1983.

Apologies for slacking, but here we are already six days into National Poetry Month 2020 and I have yet to post anything. Fortunately, this error is easily rectified by digging deep into my book shelf for a poem by recently departed Star Trek actor-director-poet Leonard Nimoy.

"Old Fashioned Spaceman" is fairly representative of the collection as a whole: Nimoy's style is free form, devoid of traditional  punctuation, with occasional rhyme, and frequently self-referential. There are few writer's who can use their own careers, especially an iconic character initially brought to life on a television screen, as a means of providing cultural allusion ("logic"). As we know, though, Leonard "Mr. Spock" Nimoy was not your normal cat.
The typography and publishing elements in this collection (gold hues, New Times-Roman font, bright, chalky strokes of color) strongly suggest the Vintage Hallmark poetry editions sold at the greeting card shops of my youth. These volumes, and my weekend evenings watching Star Trek, represent the breadth and depth of my youthful poetic experience. The warm traditional presentation (the very pleasant and joyful headshot of Mr. Nimoy on the cover for example) occasionally comes into contrast with the cold (logical?) tone established in the lines of poetry. One could interpret this contradiction and  of publishing style and content to reinforce the conflict Nimoy himself once felt about his association with the character.

My hard cover of Warmed By Love is a gift from many star-dates ago, so I am unsure whether it is still in print. If you do happen across it, I recommend picking it up as it is very readable, and worthy of some consideration beyond the kitsch value. Of course my own appreciation of Mr. Nimoy's poetry may be because I, too, often feel like an "old fashioned spaceman."

Boldly Living & Prospering

Star Trek Limited Edition Pez set #190,296 out of 250,000. (6/3/14)

Today, June 3, is the 45th anniversary of the airing of the final episode of the real Star Trek on NBC. Last month, I also turned 45 for the (presumably) final time. For a far back as I can member, the original crew of the Enterprise has been a part of my life. From watching the reruns on our local WUHF station every Saturday evening to seeing the original crew's final hurrah, Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, opening night in 1991--the year I graduated from college, I've taken it all in. While not unusual (let's face it, lots of people were born around specific stardates days somehow tangentially related to one facet or another of Star Trek lore), both my recent birthday and Star Trek's "anniversary" have provided me with a slightly different perspective on the age game. Less than a month after I was born,  Star Trek ended its original run on network television. Damn, time flies doesn't it?

Though I still enjoy re-watching the movies, and occasionally pick up a comic book (depending primarily on the creative team involved) from the Star Trek universe, I would not consider myself as a "hardcore" collector of memorabilia.  I do, however, enjoy the many memories that spending time with Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock bring forth. Every so often, one of my family will gift me with an  unusual Trek-themed gift for laughs (thereby creating new memories). A few years ago, my stepson bought me a collectible set of Pez Star Trek (Original Series) Limited Edition dispenser set depicting the entire original crew and the Enterprise (pictured above). I'm not exactly sure what one is expected to do with such a gift after chuckling over its kitschiness, but it has found its way around the house, most frequently settling in the rooms where I most often find myself recreating. On the days when I take a moment to review the character bios on the back and reminisce about best episodes, issues and movies, I am reminded again that time does fly--sometimes at warp speed.

Trading Cards: Star Date 1979

10 year-old me would be psyched to know that I eventually did end up with all 88 cards!

Once again I've gone back to the old box of trading cards my mother recovered from her attic months ago, to seek inspiration for a blog post. The late 1970's were a great time to be a young science-fiction fan. Following the success of Star Wars, television networks were trying to cash in with shows like Buck Rogers in The 25th Century! and one movie studio, Paramount Pictures, attempted to breathe new life on the big screen into a short-lived television show, Star Trek.

The original crew was back looking none the worse for the wear after a decade away.

Released 10 years after the original series was cancelled in 1969, Star Trek the Motion Picture (1979) was not very successful, likely due to the filmmaker's efforts to go "big" with special effects rather than focusing on the smaller human stories that Star Trek episodes did so well during its brief 3 year run. Like most potential sci-fi franchises of the era such as Disney's The Black Hole or television's Space: 1999, the Star Trek movie was supported by a set of trading cards, that, like the movie itself, never really caught on. Even now, thirty-plus years later, a complete set of the Topps Star Trek the Motion Picture "picture card series" (with stickers, too!) can be had on Ebay for anywhere from 10 cents to $12.

Hunky newcomers Persis Khambatta and Stephen Collins were introduced as hip,
new Enterprise crew members.

I have fond memories of seeing the movie as it was a passion of my father's. Though it may not have been as action packed as this then-ten year-old would have liked, it was Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones and the gang on the big screen, which was (and remains) good enough for me. Flipping though these old cards, and fondly remembering the movie and my life when it came out, must be what it was like for baseball card collectors back-in-the day; I never felt as invested in sports memorabilia, but have a similar affection for most things sci-fi and comic booky.

Unfortunately alien practical effects and costumes failed to advance much in
the 10 year's since Star Trek the television show had been cancelled.

Count me as a fan of the hippie looks both Spock and McCoy sported
at the beginning of the film. Will always be a DeForest Kelley/McCoy fan.

Not only are these two cards almost exactly the same, they'r ordered right next to one another!?

I spent nearly an hour this evening sorting through my Star Trek the Motion Picture Topps trading cards, and it was time well spent. Not only did it remind me of simpler times, but it also gave me the opportunity to verify, after all these years, that I had indeed managed to get a full set (minus the stickers). I'm willing to make this concession to my momentary desire to have the entire set--as a ten year old, stickers often found their way onto notebooks, wall sand other places. For a young fanboy just learning to fly his geek flag, that's where they belonged anyway...

NBIM Day 3: Star Trek #34 (1975)

Star Trek #34 (1975)

Somehow I've been blogging for nearly five years and have yet to have posted once about the "real" Star Trek; you know, the one with William Shatner's Kirk and Leonard Nimoy's Spock. This error is all the more grievous as Trek was (like many fanboys, I suspect) among the earliest influences of my television viewing and reading habits... which leads to today's National Back Issue Month read, Gold Key Comics Star Trek #34.

Splash page with crystal dinosaur and
Mr. Scott's (mercifully short-lived) new
catchphrase.

Issue 34 features a story entitled "The Psychocrystals" and does the main thing early comic book adaptations of television shows were expected to: deliver familiar characters in unfamiliar (translation: too expensive for television production costs) situations.

While the story reads much like an early Star Trek television episode, through the reuse of common themes and set-ups, the partially Scotty-centric nature of the story is refreshing. Except when there seems to be a clear attempt to cater to the viewer/readers desire for more Scotty-isms.

Throughout the issue, the storytellers (both writer and artist are uncredited) attempt to further develop the lesser Trek cast member with characterization that appears to have been thrown in for marketing purpose. Nearly every other page features Mr. Scott's attempts at adding to his canon of catchphrases ("Ahm givin' 'er all I kin!") with the much less memorialized "Great Moons of Mars!" (used twice in this issue) and "Flaming Lakes of Orion!"

The Gold Key series has the distinction of being just the first of many (Marvel, DC, IDW) attempts at licensing and publishing successful Star Trek properties in comic book form. While more recent series may have more recognizable creators at the helm, few did the "real" Star Trek as closely to the show as Gold Key, at least as represented by this issue. Online this issue, in "Good" condition goes for nearly $10, but I would venture to guess that relatives or neighbors probably have this one lying around for future neighborhood yard sales... the issue I have was acquired when I friend was cleaning out his garage!

Scotty very concerned about a fate much worse than death!