End of Fall

This was probably one of the most interesting falls I have ever had - a wonderful luncheon for good cause, another couple of fun-filled convention Saturdays and two tremendous conferences! Made the time just disappear.

December 12th - Opening of Alec Egan's Close To Home art show at Freight+Volume Gallery in NYC
January 15th - Toast the Titanosaur at AMNH

January 21st - Dual Market Transformation: Concrete and Recycled Glass (Urban Green Council)
January 30th - Rutgers Geology Museum Open House
February 15th - William Shatner author event at Barnes&Noble on Union Square
March 5th - Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage concert at Madison Square Garden
March 11th - 13th - Monster Mania
April 8th - 10th - NY / NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show
April 11th - David Gilmour concert at Madison Square Garden
April 22nd - 24th - the spring Chiller Theatre
June 3rd - 5th - WizardWorld's Philadelphia Comic Con
June 23rd - 29th - AACEi Annual Meeting in Toronto
August 3rd - 7th - the epic five days long 50th Anniversary Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas
August 26th - 28th - Star Trek Convention in Cherry Hill
September 9th - 11th - Star Trek Convention in Chicago
October 6th - 9th - New York Comic Con

End of Summer

This year's Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas most certainly fell into a category of events of a lifetime. The Voyager 20th Anniversary celebration was a complete success! What a tremendous experience!


September 30th - 2015 Emerging Artist's Luncheon at Vineyard Theatre
October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 23rd - 25th - the fall Chiller Theatre
October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC
March 5th (yes, next year) - Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage concert at Madison Square Garden
April 8th - 10th - NY / NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show
April 11th - David Gilmour concert at Madison Square Garde
August 3rd - 7th - the epic five days long 50th Anniversary Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas
August 26th - 28th - Star Trek Convention in Cherry Hill, NJ

Still looking into attending these two - The Hirschfeld Century: The Art of Al Hirschfeld at the New York Historical Society and Discovering Japanese Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Getting Close to August

August 6th - 9th - Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and the biggest party in the universe! (It's happening!!! Voyager cast reunion!!!)
August 12th - Tour of Woolworth Building Lobby and Its Massive Underbelly, a fascinating off-limits tour through Untapped Cities

October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 23rd - 25th - the fall Chiller Theatre
October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC
March 5th (yes, next year) - Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage concert at Madison Square Garden
April 8th - 10th - NY / NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show
April 11th - David Gilmour concert at Madison Square Garden

There are also two exhibitions I would really like to check out - The Hirschfeld Century: The Art of Al Hirschfeld at the New York Historical Society and Discovering Japanese Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Summer

Can you believe it, it is summer already!

As I thought, Philly Comic Con did not happen (it's OK, more funds for the Vegas celebration). The Behind the Scenes tour at AMNH was quite interesting - one of the curators actually let us hold pieces of various meteorites, so I've got to hold chunks of the Moon, Mars and Vesta!

June brought unexpected excitement in the form of OITNB's OrangeCon, which I got an opportunity to attend thanks to a friend and fellow KM fan. It was named like a convention and advertised as the ultimate fan event, however, in reality it was neither - it was an exclusive pre-premiere PR party attended by the bulk of the cast, besieged by the press (there was even an orange carpet!) with extremely over-excited crowds of fans as a very convenient backdrop for the cameras. Fascinating experience but, more than anything, hype was the word.

August 6th - 9th - Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and the biggest party in the universe! (the line up is tremendous! And it looks like there might be a Voyager cast reunion!!!)

October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC
March 5th (yes, next year) - Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage concert at Madison Square Garden

Wonderful Spring

Let's hope all these wonderful spring events will be followed by even more wonderful summer events. Not as many are planned at this point but we'll see.

I have indeed skipped the Chiller, and the trip to Chicago was pretty amazing - art and science in the middle of some wonky but, thankfully, mostly warm Midwest weather. The Philadelphia author event has added itself to the list of unique memories (I am so very glad I attended - it gave me chance to wish Kate happy birthday in person). The Vineyard benefit was just a cherry on top of everything; a very fitting conclusion to an incredible author tour.

May 8th - 10th - Philadelphia Comic Con (most likely not happening - things planned with family)

May 20th - Behind the Scenes in Earth and Planetary Sciences at AMNH
August 6th - 9th - Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and the biggest party in the universe! (the line up is tremendous! And it looks like there might be a Voyager cast reunion!!!)

October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC

Moving Along

Things are moving along just nicely. Helen Mirren in The Audience was simply magnificent; what a play! The NYU course turned out to be reasonably interesting. The Gem Show in Edison was almost as good as I expected, if with less vendors than anticipated. Still, I had to talk myself out of purchasing a Megalodon tooth and some gorgeous malachite specimens (did end up buying two meteorites, though - a Gibeon and a Brahin pallasite). The NYC book launch of Kate Mulgrew's memoir became yet another memory of a lifetime; spent an absolutely fantastic day with fellow fans in the City!

 

 April 24th - 26th - the spring Chiller Theatre (though the celebrity list is impressive, for some reason, it's just not grabbing me; I think I'll skip it this time)
April 28th - author event at Free Library of Philadelphia - Kate Mulgrew's memoir Born With Teeth (cannot wait!!!)

April 30th - May 3rd - trip to Chicago to celebrate my grandmother's birthday (read: museums galore!)

May 3rd - An Evening with Kate Mulgrew in Conversation with Rosie O'Donnell at Vineyard Theater

May 8th - 10th - Philadelphia Comic Con

May 20th - Behind the Scenes in Earth and Planetary Sciences at AMNH
June 27th - Fun with Fossils with Carl Mehling, fossil-hunting trip with AMNH (I haven't gone to one of these in ages)
August 6th - 9th - Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and the biggest party in the universe! (the line up is tremendous! And it looks like there might be a Voyager cast reunion!!!)

October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC

Looking Forward to Spring

Excellent, simply excellent, if sickeningly frigid, March this year. I never made it to Monster Mania and I wish I wasn't sick as a dog and managed to get tickets for the Shamrock Gala but everything else was spectacular. There is still an "audience with the Queen" to happen this month but I can't wait till April!

March 27th - NYU class Concrete, History, Technology and Repair (somewhat unsurprisingly, got cancelled)

March 29th - The Audience (a Broadway play with Helen Mirren!!!)

April 10th and 17th - NYU class NYC Building Code Overview (definitely professionally useful, I just hope they won't cancel it as well)

April 10th - 12th - NY/NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry Show
April 15th - author event at Union Square B&N - Kate Mulgrew's memoir Born With Teeth (totally exciting!!! I have pre-ordered the book last November)

April 24th - 26th - the spring Chiller Theatre
April 28th - author event at Free Library of Philadelphia - Kate Mulgrew's memoir Born With Teeth (I am definitely doing both events)

April 30th - May 3rd - trip to Chicago to celebrate my grandmother's birthday (read: museums galore!)

May 8th - 10th - Philadelphia Comic Con

May 20th - Behind the Scenes in Earth and Planetary Sciences at AMNH
June 27th - Fun with Fossils with Carl Mehling, fossil-hunting trip with AMNH (I haven't gone to one of these in ages)
August 6th - 9th - Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and the biggest party in the universe!

October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC

Born With Teeth: A Memoir by Kate Mulgrew

Just slightly over a month ago, in February, I had a great opportunity to read an advanced reading copy of Kate Mulgrew's new memoir Born With Teeth. To say that I was impressed by it is to say nothing. I was completely floored. I admit that I had expected it to be well-written, having heard Kate speak on multiple occasions at various events. And, being a fan, I could guess at some of the themes she would be certainly discussing in the book. What I did not anticipate was just how powerfully and beautifully her eloquence and intelligence translated into the written word. This is an excellent and worthy read even if you do not have emotional or intellectual attachment to her or to the characters she played. Truly, a gem!
 

        Very aptly titled Born With Teeth is an intensely honest and intelligent memoir written by an extraordinary and yet very human individual. Within its pages, Kate Mulgrew provides an exceptionally personal glimpse into some the crucial events of her fascinating and complicated life. This book will fill you with admiration for Ms. Mulgrew's strength, passion and tremendous courage.

The memoir will be released on April 14th, followed by a tour of author events. I am really looking forward to attending the events in New York and Philadelphia.

Week of March 9th

What a week that was!!! Nearly sent me into a complete Kate Mulgrew overload!

 

That Monday, the Lilly Awards hosted a reading of the first of the three plays from the Kilroy's list - The Comparables. Fabulous play, superbly performed! Kate's performance was so powerful, after one of her scenes, the audience just spontaneously burst into applause! After the reading, my fellow KM fans and I had a wonderful opportunity to approach and speak with her briefly! Amazing evening!

 

And then Saturday brought the lengthy but so, so worthwhile drive to Connecticut to see Insights - a live candid conversation between Kate Mulgrew and Clair Labine. I have taken plenty of pictures and wrote a report on the event, which can be found here. Suffice it to say, my heart was in my throat!

Updated Info

The year certainly started out on the high note, eh?

Fleetwood Mac totally rocked! Geology Museum Open House brought new interesting minerals into my collection, and Selected Shorts reading was nothing short of outstanding! I still get shivers thinking about witnessing Kate Mulgrew, Phylicia Rashad and Jane Curtin performing!

March 9th - The Lilly Awards: (3) Plays From The Kilroys' List

March 11th - Opulent Oceans Lecture at AMNH (part of a series of lectures related to the wonderful AMNH clamshell box book releases of the last few years; somehow, I managed to miss the previous lectures, so I am really looking forward to this one).

March 13th - 15th - Monster Mania
March 14th - a live candid conversation between Kate Mulgrew and Clair Labine in CT (it's quite a drive but soooo tempting; I just might go)
March 16th - Gingold's Theatrical Group's Golden Shamrock Gala (I am not sure if this is open to general public but this event honors Kate Mulgrew, so I would love to check it out)

March 27th - NYU class Concrete, History, Technology and Repair (sounds pretty interesting)

March 29th - The Audience (a Broadway play with Helen Mirren!!!)

April 10th and 17th - NYU class NYC Building Code Overview (definitely professionally useful, I just hope they won't cancel it)

April 10th - 12th - NY/NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry Show
April 15th - author event at Union Square B&N - Kate Mulgrew's memoir Born With Teeth (totally exciting!!! I have pre-ordered the book last November)

April 24th - 26th - the spring Chiller Theatre
April 28th - author event at Free Library of Philadelphia - Kate Mulgrew's memoir Born With Teeth (I am definitely doing both events)

April 30th - May 3rd - trip to Chicago to celebrate my grandmother's birthday (read: museums galore!)

May 8th - 10th - Philadelphia Comic Con

August 6th - 9th - Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and the biggest party in the universe!

October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC

P.S. Yes, I am a Kate Mulgrew fan. Have been for 17 years. ;)

_\\//

 

The first Monday in the world without Leonard Nimoy. LLAP

(picture via @writing_wrongs on Twitter)

A Bit More

Shatner's World was wonderful, as expected with an unanticipated pleasure of getting an autograph and having a photo taken (it is not that I did not expect for these to happen, after all I paid for a ticket which included both, but the experience turned out to be very sweet - Mr. Shatner was relaxed and very approachable; the photo op turned out to be the best I have ever had with him).

The following is largely a repeat of the last post from 2014 with a few more things of note added.

January 22nd - Fleetwood Mac in Madison Square Garden

January 29th - Love Letters is sadly no go. For unknown reasons, performances got cancelled.

January 31st - annual Rutgers University Geology Museum Open House
February 4th - Selected Shorts: Letters of Note
March 11th - Opulent Oceans Lecture at AMNH (part of a series of lectures related to the wonderful AMNH clamshell box book releases of the last few years; somehow, I managed to miss the previous lectures, so I am really looking forward to this one).

March 13th - 15th - Monster Mania
March 16th - Gingold's Theatrical Group's Golden Shamrock Gala (I am not sure if this is open to general public but this event honors Kate Mulgrew, so I would love to check it out)

March 20th - AACE 2nd Northeast TCM Symposium (I had no chance to go to the first one, so I have no idea if this is professionally useful or not; we'll see)
March 27th - NYU class Concrete, History, Technology and Repair (sounds pretty interesting)

March 29th - The Audience (a Broadway play with Helen Mirren!!!)

April 10th and 17th - NYU class NYC Building Code Overview (definitely professionally useful, I just hope they won't cancel it)

April 10th - 12th - NY/NJ Mineral, Fossil, Gem & Jewelry Show
April 15th - author event at Union Square B&N - Kate Mulgrew's memoir Born With Teeth (totally exciting!!! I have pre-ordered the book last November)

April 24th - 26th - the spring Chiller Theatre
April 28th - author event at Free Library of Philadelphia - Kate Mulgrew's memoir Born With Teeth (I'll try and do both events)

April 30th - May 3rd - trip to Chicago to celebrate my grandmother's birthday (read: museums galore!)

May 8th - 10th - Philadelphia Comic Con

June 12th - 14th - Star Trek Convention in Chicago (it is still not on sale unfortunately; as most people on the convention circuit know, Creation is doing only two ST conventions this year in preparation for the 2016 50th anniversary tour, for which the dates have been already posted; on one hand I can totally understand it, and I can't wait till 2016 but, on the other hand, the 20th anniversary of Voyager gets practically no coverage) UPDATE: the convention has gone on sale and added even more guests, however, with deepest respects to the invited guests, this con does not exactly beckon, I am skipping it in favor of other events this year and certainly next year.

August 6th - 9th - Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas, and the biggest party in the universe! That one, I cannot wait for!

October 9th - 11th - New York Comic Con

October 26th - 30th - CTBUH 2015 International Conference in NYC

November 18th - 20th - Greenbuild International Conference in Washington, DC

Happy 2015!!!

Oh, my! And another year bites the dust... All the best in the new one!!!