Lee Thomson has a copy of Gene Roddenberry’s March 1964 pitch for Star Trek. There were many changes made before the first and second pilot episodes were filmed. For example, the ship’s doctor went by a different name, but was still known as "Bones". Sex kitten Yeoman Rand was called "Colt", and Roddenberry clearly had a larger role in mind for that character.

"STAR TREK is a "Wagon Train" concept -- built around around characters who travel to worlds "similar" to our own, and meet the action-adventure-drama which becomes our stories. Their transportation is the cruiser "S.S. Yorktown", performing a well-defined and long-range Exploration-Science-Security mission which helps create our format."

Take a peek at the original pitch document (.pdf format), and enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:15 PM  I   I  0 comments

From the first e-mail to the world domination of Facebook, social media has come a long way. Here is an illustrative History of Social Networking. Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 12:33 PM  I   I  0 comments

Did you know?....

The Buran 1.01 spacecraft was the only finished and operational space vehicle from the Soviet Buran program. The Buran completed one unmanned spaceflight in 1988 before the cancellation of the program in 1993. Unfortunately, the Buran was destroyed by a hangar collapse in 2002.

In 1989, it was projected that Buran would have an unmanned second flight in 1993. The cancellation of the project, however, prohibited this from ever happening. The Space Shuttle 2.02 -- which looks remarkably similar to the US Space shuttle -- was only 10%-20% complete when the program was scrapped. Without further funding, the shuttle was put outside of the factory near Moscow, and vandals have since stripped it of most of the heat tiles.

Here are some fascinating photos of the shuttle and its abandoned launch facility.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 12:26 PM  I   I  0 comments

The Tree of Life (Sharajat-al-Hayat) in Bahrain is a 400 year-old mesquite tree that lives in the middle of the desert. The mystery of the survival of the tree and it's location have made it a legend. The local inhabitants believe -- with all their heart -- that this was the actual location of the Garden of Eden.

The Tree of Life stands alone in the heart of the desert, on top of a 25-foot-high sandy hill. And there are no other trees in the vacinity. It's a mystery where the tree gets its water, but scientist say its roots go very deep and wide in order to get water from the reserves of sweet springs miles away.

Here are some photos of this unusual tree. Take a peek, and enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 12:12 PM  I   I  0 comments

With the ever-rising cost of oil, and the rapidly increasing level of traffic, more and more people are forced to choose the bus as their primary mode of transportation. As a result, bus stops are becoming integral to the daily commute of many urban citizens. With that in mind, here are some fascinating photos of 19 innovative and creative bus stop concepts. Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 12:04 PM  I   I  0 comments

For those that have been curious in regards to my lack of posts this week, fear not, I am on vacation. Vacation, as in, I decided to take this week off from blogging so that I could focus on other projects. I'm still here, though, still kicking. Posting will resume again -- right here -- on Monday.

Enjoy your weekend everyone, stay warm, and I'll see you on the flip side!

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:46 PM  I   I  0 comments

Modern architecture and creative art are almost one in the same these days. In fact, there's even a term to define it: "Blobitecture" (or, blobism, blobismus or blob architecture) -- an architectural school in which organic shapes are the aim, and bulging, cellular, amoeba-like buildings are its expression.

Here are a few photos depicting masterpieces in the area of blobitecture.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:09 PM  I   I  0 comments

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers. With a win over the division rival Chicago Bears, they're going to the Super Bowl! Dallas. February 6, 2011.

"Packers, Steelers to clash in Super Bowl"

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:23 PM  I   I  0 comments

"The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play."
-- Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek

If this is true, then I must have a simple mind... because my favorite non-work activities are rather complicated. Either that, or I'm just a geek with a really big imagination!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:10 PM  I   I  0 comments

As many of you know, the short-lived television series, "Firefly" is my all-time favorite Sci-Fi series. And yes, believe it or not, it even trumps Star Trek.

With that said, this morning I happened upon a neat little Firefly trivia discovery. Apparently, there is a rumor going around that a little model of Han Solo in carbonite (from Star Wars) appears in every episode of "Firefly". Supposedly, actor Nathan Fillion (Capt. Malcolm Reynolds) is a big Star Wars fan, so the set technicians placed the Han Solo model into the background whenever possible.

Amy Ratcliffe has already found several examples and has posted screenshots.

Grab your "Firefly" DVD's and get watching!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:45 AM  I   I  0 comments

Here's a fun little two-minute movie. Actually, it's an advertisement for computer company Intel. It features a beautiful and deadly secret agent on the run from enemies, as they chase her through multiple on-screen computer windows and creative PC applications. The film is entitled "The Chase". It was directed by Venables Bell, and shot in Prague. Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:22 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Life is a great, big canvas and you should throw all the paint on it that you can."
-- Danny Kaye

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:07 AM  I   I  0 comments

Did you know, there is currently snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 U.S. states. Even Hawaii, where snow falls on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea all winter. Florida is the only state without any snow.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:35 PM  I   I  0 comments

After spending 11 days re-watching all 11 Pixar feature films, Leandro Braga took 500 hand-selected scenes, and made an amazing seven-minute tribute to the best animation studio on the planet. Beautifully done! Enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 3:17 PM  I   I  0 comments

In 2011, our world population will exceed seven billion people. To illustrate this, National Geographic presents a video titled "7 Billion", offering an overview of demographic trends that have gotten us to today. And will impact all of us tomorrow.

Take a peek, and enjoy! :: "7 Billion" ... [video]

-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:58 PM  I   I  0 comments

Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep. Not often, but on occassion. In moments like that I hate laying in bed wasting time. So, when I came across this link today, it proved to be rather insightful. It's an article written for WomensDay.com that suggests ten nutritious ways in which you can encourage your body to slow down and rest. If you too have nights in which you can't sleep, maybe these will help.

"10 Foods That Can Help You Sleep"

-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:48 PM  I   I  0 comments

Some call it the "City of 1001 Churches". Other call it the "City of Forty Gates". Yet, no one has called it home in over three centuries.

Abandoned by it's once prosperous and powerful inhabitants, the city of Ani is situated on the Turkish side of a militarised zone between the border of Turkey and Armenia. It's no stranger to death, destruction and abandonment.

Here are some fascinating photos of the magnificent ruins of Ani. Take a peek, and enjoy!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:30 PM  I   I  0 comments

I'm back in Brillion again; Kelli and I returned on Sunday. However, one of the Christmas gifts I received this year was an all-access subscription to Ancestry.com. As a result, I've been distracted by intensive family genealogy for the past couple days, and thus my return to blogging has been delayed a bit.

But I'm coming up for air. Time to get the blog moving again.

My Christmas break was good. Enjoyable. And a nice break from the ordinary. Kelli and I drove three hours southwest to Tomah to spend the Holidays with her family. It's a new thing for me to be part of an extended family that celebrates more than one Christmas get-together. In my family, we went to Church on Christmas Day, and then came home to open the presents under the tree. On Kelli's side of the family, there's a "mom's side" Christmas out at the family farm. There's a "dad's side" Christmas at the grandmother's house. And there's a gathering of just the immediate family at Kelli's married sister's house. That's three Christmas'! Busy, but fun!

Oh, yes, and then there's the traditional New Years Eve Day dinner. Kelli's dad is a Navy veteran, and his shipboard job was in the galley (aka, cook). So, every New Year's Eve, the last meal of the year is a special one. Kelli's dad cooks up a few lobsters, steaks, shrimp, mashed potatoes, vegetables, etc, serves some of his homemade wine, and we celebrate the close of another year.

Great food, family, loved ones. What better way to end a year!

There was one snags this year, though. Kelli was sick on Christmas Day, and unable to join me and the rest of the family out at the farm ("mom's side" Christmas). She stayed home -- in bed. As it turns out, her strep throat meds weren't agreeing with her, and it wasn't a strong case of the flu, as originally assumed. But, nonetheless, she had to miss Christmas. That pissed her off something fierce, but it was for the best. She was able to join us for the third and final gathering, though, as well as the New Year's celebration.

It was fun too, hanging out with our two little nephews. Christian is five years old; Alex is younger -- just starting to run around. Those two kids crack me up. At that age, everything is fascinating, be it the building blocks we gave Alex for Christmas, the LEGO Christian had me build (while insisting I follow the directions to the letter!), or the silly reactions both had to the gift opening. Christmas is always fun when seen through the eyes of a child!

All-in-all, it was a great Holiday break spent with family.

Now that I'm home again, and 2011 has sprung, it's time to get back to business as usual. There are more t-shirts to design, new projects to complete, and, thanks to my brother, plenty of family history to discover. It should be a good year. And hopefully, one as enjoyable as this year past.

Here's hoping all of you had a great break as well. Have a wonderful Thursday. Stay warm if you're near snow; dry if you're near rain. And until next time,

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 2:02 AM  I   I  0 comments