No, not the old, dearly departed Starlog magazine! This is the first StarLog associated with the Smithsonian Institution edX course I just started: Star Trek: Inspiring Culture and Technology.
For this first post, we’re to introduce ourselves and tell a little bit about what brought us to the course. So, here we go!
I’ve been a lifelong fan of Star Trek; earliest memories are watching TOS reruns on a tiny 4″ black and white television screen with an old aerial I had to keep maneuvering in order to find the best reception. I watched reruns as often as I could, usually after school on whatever affiliate network I could find it on.
My college years were dominated by TNG and DS9, and I fell in love with DS9 the moment I watched the pilot episode, “The Emissary.” As much as I love TOS and TNG, DS9 is the series that speaks to me the most–particularly the religion angle the Bajorans bring to the setting and the still-very-relevant story lines and themes woven throughout the series. My wife and I are rewatching the series now and see a lot of parallels to current politics and society. DS9 holds to the Trek tradition of being way ahead of the times.
I’m slowly introducing my 3-year old son to Star Trek, mostly through an assortment of children’s books and regular visits to the National Air and Space Museum, where he loves to check out the 11′ model of the U.S.S. Enterprise. We’ll start watching episodes in a few years, but for now, I’m just thrilled he knows the names of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Chekov, Sulu, Scotty, the Gorn, the Horta, and a few others!
I freelance as the line editor and developer of Modiphius Entertainment’s Star Trek Adventures Roleplaying Game, so I have a vested interest in the course because it brings even more Star Trek in my life. I’m confident there are good nuggets of information I can help weave into the fabric of the game and products we produce. I saw the link to the course cross my Twitter feed and signed up as fast as I could.
And this is my Chief Warrant Officer’s pip! I believe we’ll be working up through the ranks as we proceed through the course. 🙂 Live long and prosper, everyone!
