Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

Love this! Seriously squealed when I watched this!

I know, I know... It's been around for quite some time and I'm only discovering it now... I'm late to the party! But... That doesn't mean I can't gush about it! Retro Phase Shift is a science fiction blog with lots of posts about (just to name a few shows) Doctor Who, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Defiance, Babylon 5 and Torchwood. Just reading the names of some of my favourite shows and knowing that others enjoy them too, makes me happy. Yes, really. (Is this a good moment to insert an "oh, the feels" comment? No? Ah, okay...) Reading some of the posts on this blog is even better than just reading about the blog's existence. Take for instance 4 Good Entry Points to Big Franchises - Friday Four which lists good episodes for first-time viewers watching Stargate, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who. Seeing these are all shows I watch(ed) and enjoy, this post makes me happy. I may not agree with all the choices for first episo...

Stormqueen! by Marion Zimmer Bradley My rating: 5 of 5 stars Interesting, intriguing. A story with a clear line to it, no jumping about from scene to scene, no confusion. Reading the Darkover books in the order they were written in has been a little confusing, however thankfully there are others who've read the books before me, have written notes about the books, who help me understand and take away some of the confusion with handy maps and explanations of who's who. This book did not feel like a confusing jumble as some of the other (earlier) Darkover books have, it felt like a clear story with a beginning and an end, a story I enjoyed reading and felt a part of. Although the story of Darkover intrigues me and I am determined to read all the books, I am glad that in this book I was able to get to know the characters, to really get into the story and feel that I was part of the action. View all my reviews

It's Friday! That means a new episode of Defiance! And a Twitter feed full of references to Castithans, Irathients, Indogenes and Omec. And a lot of other things, including marriage and food... Not a bad way to spend my Friday evening - my inner geek / nerd / sci-fi fan(atic) is happy! To start off this Defiance Friday, I read an interview with Nichole Galicia. She plays Kindzi - one of the new aliens this season. As the actress explains in the interview, she was in New Zealand at the time of her audition. Due to the distance and the time difference with the rest of the world, her entire audition was done by taping herself. Now that is dedication and a lot of hard work! "This role was meant to be mine because that never happens. So when I was booked I did what I do to research every role, I started in a museum." As if reading that the actress was in New Zealand didn't already make me jealous, reading that she went to one of my favourite places didn't help eit...

This is awesome! And almost made me squeal! And has me writing sentences that end with exclamation marks! Who knew that one of my favourite artists is into science-fiction and likes so many of the same shows I do ... Van Gogh continues to show love for all things geeky with the Firefly Starry Night T-Shirt. I always suspected he had a ... Posted by It's a Browncoat thing, you wouldn't understand on Wednesday, 17 June 2015 You can buy the "Starry Flight" t-shirt at Neatoshop by following the link :) For more Vincent-related awesomeness and Starry Night in modern science fiction and fantasy, check out some of the links below. I went a 'little' (ahum...) geek-happy while visiting Shirtoid and several other websites! Starry Night / Star Wars -themed t-shirt Amazing Game of Thrones / Night's Watch Starry Night Very cool Exploding Tardis   A Doctor Who / Vincent Tardis BBC Christmas card  A Vulcan salute / Enterprise / Vincent tribute ...

The Struggle Within by Christopher L. Bennett My rating: 5 of 5 stars Very much enjoyed this story. My only complaint is that it was not nearly long enough! Found the Kinshaya story fascinating, the Talarian story a little less so, although equally interesting. View all my reviews

  If you've not read this book yet, you may want to read a spoiler-free review first! You have been warned! Paths of Disharmony by Dayton Ward My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed reading this book, however have a few things I would have liked to change, if I could. While I understand that making me 'happy' with the book would require it to be changed into something it's not (a novel that's a lot longer and a whole lot more detailed than this book is), I'm still going to write some of those thoughts dow. I felt it was a pity that we didn't learn more details about the Andorian reproductive crisis itself. Learning about an alien race that has four genders instead of two is fascinating however being me, I would have liked to read more about the way they reproduce - which gender does / contributes what and why / how. The sentence "And that, my friends, is where baby Andorians come from" would have been perfect at the end of a looooot of detail...

“It isn't all over; everything has not been invented; the human adventure is just beginning.” “The Strength of a civilization is not measured by its ability to fight wars, but rather by its ability to prevent them.” “If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear.” “Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. […] If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there.” “Reality is incredibly larger, infin...

The UK's Daily Mail writes that actress Lena Headey - who many will know as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones - is expecting a baby girl in about six weeks. On the website of Plan International USA , she  writes a guest blog post entitled " My Daughter " with some very inspiring words for her future daughter. As she's a famous actress known by millions around the world, her words reach a lot of people. They reached me and hopefully, through this post, they'll reach a few more people. "The ever-present abuse of social and human rights in our world keeps me consciously awake, grateful, and humble."  I got to know Lena Headey as Sarah Connor in television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles . She played the mother of John Connor, the young man who will one day lead the human revolution against the machines known as Terminators. Yes - that tough as nails Sarah Connor who stops at nothing to protect her son and with him, the future of humani...

Being of the Field by Traci Harding My rating: 5 of 5 stars There are some authors whose next book you simply must read no matter what, because you enjoy their work and the way their minds work. Traci Harding is one of those authors. I've been a fan of her writing and her thinking for over a decade now (fourteen-ish years? Seriously? Wow!) and while sometimes a character makes me wonder if maybe they're not too perfect (and good at almost everything to boot!), it is the story that keeps me coming back for more with every book. Traci Harding takes her readers on an amazing adventure that I hope will continue through many more books, stories, characters, countries, worlds and universes. I enjoyed getting to know Taren, Lucian, Zeven and the rest of the crew of AMIE. They were new characters yet felt like old friends - books two and three explained why that was, exactly. I actually squealed and couldn't stop smiling upon realising where these books were taking me. The ideas t...

Some time ago (back in January 2011), I wrote a blog posts about Zeppelins in alternate realities . I used examples from television series Doctor Who and Fringe , two shows that both feature alternate universes. One key way of identifying that characters had gone from the regular universe to an alternate universe was the appearance of Zeppelins in the sky. They weren't travelling through time to go to an era in our past when Zeppelins were common; they were in the current era. Just somewhere a little different from where they were before. " Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more ," those Zeppelins seemed to scream at the viewer. While I did not intend my post to be read as meaning 'both alternate universes in Doctor Who and Fringe are the exact same universe', apparently someone did think that that's what I meant. A link to my blog post appeared on Reddit and suddenly my post got lots and lots of visitors. Please don't get me wrong,...

I like posting quotes. There's something very satisfying about posting a small(ish) bit of text in a large font, emphasising it and not having to write much else. No paragraphs of information, no need to explain why I think or feel something. Just a quote. Here's one from Game of Thrones: “ It is a big and beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born and never get to see any of it. I don’t want to be most of us. ” -- Oberyn Martell | Game of Thrones

Love this! Happy First Contact Day indeed! In the Star Trek universe, first contact between humans and aliens (Vulcans, who look like Leonard Nimoy's Spock) happens after said aliens realise that humans have managed to achieve faster than light travel. Or rather - it will happen, forty-eight years from now. The story of humanity's first warp-speed journey is told in the movie Star Trek: First Contact (1996). Happy First Contact Day! http://t.co/dUUOoeMfKA #StarTrek #FirstContact pic.twitter.com/YhDrVZutnT — Star Trek (@StarTrek) April 5, 2015 On a related note, today's Star Trek.com poll asks: If YOU could make First Contact with a Star Trek alien species, which of the following would it be? Andorian Bajoran Borg Ferengi Klingon Romulan Vulcan Personally, I would love to meet a joined Trill. How amazing and fascinating would it be to actually meet someone who can remember multiple lifetimes as different people?! As for the aliens from the above list - ...

I do love being a geek! :-) Post by Fantasy and Sci-Fi Rock My World .

Happy 82nd Birthday to actress Nichelle Nichols. May you enjoy peace and prosperity! Thank you for appearing in Star Trek; your portrayal of commander Uhura helped me realise that women really can do everything and is one of the main reasons I've been a fan of Star Trek for over 20 years! "Her role as Uhura on Star Trek was one of the first times that an African-American actress portrayed a non-stereotypical role on television. Previously, most African-American female characters on American television were depicted as maids or housekeepers, and Nichols' role helped break that barrier."  Nichelle Nichols article; Memory Alpha Nyota Uhura wasn't just the one with the pretty legs, she wasn't just the token female on a science-fiction show or an example of equality for both women and African Americans in a time when equality was sorely lacking. She wasn't just a woman on the bridge of a starship, heck, she was THE communications officer of THE Federation...

I absolutely LOVE love LOVE this Star Trek-themed hooded sweater. Resembling Worf's The Next Generation uniform, the zip-up hoodie looks awesome front and back. Photo Source: Star Trek official website Head over to Think Geek to buy this awesome hooded sweater! Here's some info about the hoodie from their product description: "This is the Star Trek: The Next Generation Worf Costume Hoodie! Modeled on the two-piece, Robert Blackman uniforms from seasons 3 forward (and the Klingon warrior's sash redesign by Durinda Rice Wood), these hoodies are a ThinkGeek creation and exclusive.  The hood features piping along the edge. When the hood is up, it's a hoodie. When the hood is down, it mimics the collar of the uniform. We made these without pips so that you can add your own, appropriate to your rank. And we assumed many of you already had a working combadge. If not, you can pick one up from us to wear with this."  Star Trek TNG Worf Costume Hoodie | T...

I'm so excited !!!!!!! Series 8 of Doctor Who is coming to television in less than two weeks !!! Source:  World tour launch event in Cardiff - Doctor Who Series 8 2014  - BBC One The BBC have released a new trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who episode Deep Breath. The first episode of series 8, Deep Breath is also the first proper episode to star the newest Doctor; Peter Capaldi. What I know from watching this video: We're visiting old friends and seeing some familiar faces, the special effects are mind-blowing, Peter Capaldi is A-MA-ZING and the Tardis gets a new look...  I like it! Deep Breath will air on the BBC on Saturday 23/08. Less than two weeks left to wait !!!

While browsing the web today looking for location names (not) to use for a story I'm writing, I came across the following bit of info on Wikipedia . How totally cool is this! "Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains (planitia) and other features on Saturn's moon Titan. To date, Arrakis, Chusuk, and Sikun have been used."

Source: DeviantART While browsing the web looking for cute / funny / silly Doctor Who related images, I came across something I'd not seen before. Fish fingers and custard jewellery!  After some very excited fan girl jumping up and down while squealing like a girl (well, not quite due to my heart but close... sort of...) I realised that this was one more for the blog as I simply * have to * share the amazingness!  Source: Etsy The first image from Deviant ART (by way of Google) is a set, which I love. When enjoying the coolness of fish fingers and custard, why not enjoy it in threefold? Also very cool that all three 'bowls' look slightly different.  The second image which is from Etsy (also sourced through Google, of course!) is pretty much the same but slightly different from the earlier three 'bowls' which is why I've included it. I like the silver chain better than the black cord and the third fish finger covered in custard is a cute...

Source: Daily Mail Online A friend shared an article on Facebook today entitled " Zombie Organism Created in Laboratory " (Zombease.com). Intrigued by the title, I simply had to go and read the article! After Googling "zombie cells" and finding several articles from websites I'm more familiar with, it seems authentic which makes this SUPER COOL! While I enjoy science fiction and fantasy stories, I've never quite warmed to zombies. The closest I've come to liking zombie stories is reading about Anita Blake's work as an animator aka someone who raises zombies for a living. Anita Blake is a character created by the amazing Laurell K. Hamilton - Check the links on the right to visit her website and read more about Anita's world and her work. Zombie cells...  Using silicic acid to 'embalm' mammalian cells  (Daily Mail)...  Building structures at the nanometer scale  (Huffington Post)... I understand the words themselves however the sci...