Where No Show Has Gone Before

Leonard Nimoy in the role for which he will always be remembered

By the time I discovered the wonders of Star Trek, it was already off the air.

Luckily for me, the local New York TV station, WPIX channel 11, played re-runs every night at 6 p.m.

Mind you, I am of the generation that grew up with just 13 channels and I had to get up off my keister and turn the clear plastic knob on our black and white Zenith, just to see it (and maybe adjust the antennae a little bit too, to get rid of the "snow.").

But it was always well worth the effort.

The death Friday of Lenoard Nimoy, who played Star Trek's most iconic character, stirred memories of the show and what it meant.

Even as a child, I understood that the show was a little unsophisticated, just like the "Batman" re-runs I also watched and loved on WPIX.

But Star Trek had phasers.

And space ships.

And aliens (even though almost all of them had two arms, two legs and spoke perfect English, due to one of the shows innumerable far-sighted inventions, the "universal translator.")

Did I mention it had space ships, time travel and transporter beams?

What pre-teen boy wouldn't watch?

So I watched.

And on a good day, I would stay over at my friend Marc Scott's house, and I could see it in color! (Until I saw it there, I had never actually known the show was in color. It almost seemed like cheating.)

We built balsa wood hand-phasers and communicators, he and I, and our Lego space-port was a thing to behold.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the wormhole, I began to think about the issues that Star Trek dealt with in their uniquely goofy, but non-threatening way.

Frank Gorshin and Lou Antonio in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,"
which aired in January, 1969, less than a year after the assassination
of Martin Luther King Jr. sparked race riots across the country.

The first time I was actually conscious of this was in the ham-handed episode which dealt with the long-standing conflict between two aliens with half-black and half-white faces (one of whom was played with the delicious exuberance of Frank Gorshin).

Even as a 9-year-old, I could figure out this was a lesson in racism, a word I did not even know at the time.

And the show spawned a love of science fiction in me not just for the adventure and exotic locales, but because the genre is a much more forgiving stage for the suspension of disbelief.

You approach all science fiction already prepared to accept what would other-wise be unbelievable.

The colorful, multi-ethnic and (mostly) human crew
of the USS Enterprise.

And so, as it turned out, Star Trek slyly allowed you to also accept the other-wise unbelievable circumstances of a Russian, Japanese, African-American woman and an alien, all being on the same crew and having no conflicts other than those created by their personalities.

After all, when you're dealing with a whole galaxy, instead of just a single world, your definition of who is "like me" gets a whole lot broader.

With science fiction, we did not have to deal with the niggling voice in our heads saying "that could never happen," as we might if the show had been a western.

Racial hatred had his world burning in January, 1969...

And so, Star Trek could explore racism, over-population, religion, xenophobia, robotics, or pollution without objections from churches or moralists or nationalists; precisely because we were already trained to consider anything possible in the context of the genre.

Because there was nothing familiar about the settings, other than the perennially cheesy sets, we could watch two men continue to hate each other because one's face was black on the left side and one was black on the right side -- all while their world burned -- and consider the significance of that.

...just it had ours. (Baltimore, April, 1968)

The fact that it was being aired less than a year after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. caused riots in 125 cities across the country because some of us have black faces and some of us have white faces was certainly relevant; but it could dismissed as "science fiction" instead of potentially inflammatory social commentary on current events, even though that is exactly what it was

And while the special effects were definitely better in "Star Wars" (at age 13, I stood in line, again with Marc Scott, outside the theater in Beach Haven, Long Beach Island to be amazed by that one), the Star Wars story was never as compelling.

You did not, either with the original Star Wars, or any of its sequels, leave the theater with any deep thoughts about where we've been and where we're headed.

And while the same was often true of the Star Trek movies -- which always seemed to try a little too hard to recapture the dynamic of a show no one watched until it was cancelled -- the original series had its moments, as outrageous and flamboyant as they so often were.

As the cult aspect of Star Trek grew, the plots and characteristics of the show and its characters transformed from ground-breaking to self-parodying, but I could never quite discard it for that reason.

After all, that was just what other people thought and I knew what it had revealed to me -- that the adult world was in fact not unified, as our parents and teachers would have us believe and, in point of fact, definitely did not have its act together.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, called Spock "the conscience of Star Trek" and indeed, this was another aspect of science fiction which allowed for more in-your-face exploration of the human condition.

Captain Kirk controls Spock's body as they search for
his brain -- appropriated to operate the systems of an
underground city devoid of men.

As an alien, Spock could stand outside the reactions of his human crew mates and by questioning them, serve as a gentle but unsubtle reminder that we would be a better species if we questioned our motives half as often as he did.

Consider for a moment the matter of the Federation's "prime directive," a central archetype of the show important as much for how often it was ignored as for when it was revered.

Not only did the prime directive ask the country to stop and think about interfering with other cultures at a time we were wading into a war in Southeast Asia, it also explored the idea that absolute adherence to the rules can be as harmful as ignoring them.

Judgement was, and always is, required. Our fondness for absolutes is often our undoing.

The pairing of Spock's detached reserve with the hormone-driven leadership style of William Shatner's Captain Kirk, also provided an -- as always -- unsubtle portrait of the human psyche.

For if Spock was Star Trek's conscience, its Super-Ego in Freudian parlance, then Kirk was its Id; whether sucking face with any biped who walked by in a flimsy shift or grappling with his prejudices about the Klingon warrior race.

The conflict, and strong bond, between the two reminded us that being human is complicated.

In short, Star Trek was a futuristic show about aliens and other worlds, which helped us to better know ourselves; and they never could have pulled it off without Leonard Nimoy.

And for that, I thank him.

'Brigadoon' Free at The Hill This Weekend

The "Brigadoon" cast and crew

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by The Hill School

This weekend, The Hill School’s Ellis Theatre Guild will show three performances of its winter musical, "Brigadoon." 

 The curtain opens at 7:15 p.m. for the Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28 shows, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 1. 

All performances will be in The Hill’s Center For The Arts Theatre. The musical is free and open to the community.

"Brigadoon" tells the story of two New Yorkers, Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas, who become lost on a vacation in the Scottish Highlands and stumble into Brigadoon, a mythical village that they learn appears for one day, once every hundred years.

In a production method similar to what has become the norm on Broadway, the pit orchestra for Brigadoon will not be located in the CFTA theatre; rather, the 20 member pit will perform remotely from the Green Room. 

Each instrumentalist is equipped with a microphone and a personal digital mixer that is synched to the master sound booth in the theatre, from which the sound is projected to the audience.

The Hill School is thankful for the generosity of Nathan Powell and his production company, PTCGroup, and Dean Danowitz for supplying the necessary lighting and sound equipment for the production. 

Powell, a Collegeville resident, is father of Hill 2014 graduate Jamie Powell and current Hill freshman Noah Powell, and Danowitz is the father of Hill senior Adam Gross of Marlton, N.J.

Below is a full cast list, including class year and hometown:

• Fiona MacLaren: Erica Lowry (Sr. - Barto, Pa.)
• Meg Brockie: AJ Sullivan (Sr. - Bronx, NY)
• Jean MacLaren: Olivia Zitkus (Jr. - Pottstown, Pa.)
• Tommy Albright: Berenger Wegman (Sr. - Reading, Pa.)
• Jeff Douglas: Will McCarter (Soph. - Unionville, Pa.)
• Charlie Dalrymple: Will Bell (Jr. – Honey Brook, Pa.)
• Mr. Lundie: Burt Merriam (Hill’s CFTA Director)
• Harry Beaton: Peter Marsh (Sr. – Omaha, Neb.)
• Jane Ashton: Crystal Desai (Sr. – St. Petersburg, Fla.)
• Andrew MacLaren: Jeff Armstrong (Jr. – Glenmoore, Pa.)
• Angus MacGuffie: Timothy Rutt (Sr. – Prospect, Conn.)
• Archie Beaton: Zack Daub (Fr. – Douglassville, Pa.)
• Stuart Dalrymple: Tyler Miles (Jr. – Lower Merion, Pa.)
• MacGregor: Kushal Modi (Soph. – Sinking Spring, Pa.)
• Sandy Dean: Crystal Desai
• Maggie Anderson: Piper Hudspeth Blackburn (Sr. – Burlington, NJ)
• Kate (friend of Jean’s): Helena Bauer-Mitterlehner (Jr. - Vienna, Austria)
• Opening solo in Prologue: Burt Merriam
• Vendors: Anagha Havildar (Soph. – Malvern, Pa.), Carly Lange (Fr. – Collegeville, Pa.), Taylor Lange (Jr. – Collegeville, Pa.), Chau Le (Sr. – Hanoi, Vietnam), Margot Wegman (Jr. – Reading, Pa.), Zack Daub,Tyler Miles, Kushal Modi 

The chorus is: Anagha Havildar, Addy Henderson (Soph. – Sugar Hill, NH), Carly Lange, Chau Le, Merrie Marsh (Fr. – Omaha, Neb.), Celeste Owusu (Fr. – Pottstown, Pa.), Shirley Ye (Soph. – Shanghai, China), Tarik Atlic (Sr. – Tuzla, Bosnia), Timi Solanki (Fr. – Sinking Spring, Pa.), and Rachel Swartz (Soph. – Birdsboro, Pa.)

Trail Plan, Road Plan and Comprehensive Plan

The monthly meeting of the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee, looked at three issues Wednesday nigt.

The first is a regional trail plan, a grant application for which was authorized by unanimous vote.

The second, a new road and bridge management computer system tool that was put together for free by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

The third, a review of the slow arc of the new regional comprehensive plan which should be ready for public comment by June or July at the earliest.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting.

Budgets, Graduation and Cyber Schools

This time, the all-committee-meetings-all-the-time format did not lead to an endless meeting.

Tuesday's Pottsgrove School Board meeting only lasted about two hours, which is about average.

During that meeting we learned about recommendations for new graduation requirements for the Class of 2016. Those recommendations include the elimination of the "graduation project" requirement.

We were also introduced to a new "budget Bible" that we could admire from distance, but not read to better understand the budget. And the board was encouraged at least ask the administration to put together a preliminary budget with tax increase at all, just to see what it would look like.

 And we talked about digital learning, cyber classes, digital books written by Pottsgrove teachers and even the potential for selling that on-line content to others.

You can learn it all by reading the comprehensive and incisive Tweets from the meeting, as presented by our live Tweeting team.... ahem....

And I Thought Thursday's Meeting Was Short

So I thought Thursday's meeting of the Pottstown School Board was short.

Well, Monday's beat it by several minutes I think, clocking in under 30 minutes.

There were no presentations, no reports, no communications and little to no discussion on anything.

There was a video, so that was nice....

MCCC's RecycleMania

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Montgomery County Community College

Students from Montgomery County Community College’s (MCCC) Environmental Club are leading the institution’s 2015 RecycleMania efforts, a nationwide tournament among colleges and universities designed to increase student awareness of campus recycling and waste minimization.

After finishing second in Pennsylvania in the Waste Minimization category during the 2014 challenge—collecting 17.248 pounds of combined trash and recycling per capita—MCCC expects to maintain momentum in this, its eighth consecutive year of competing.

The competition kicked off on Feb. 1 and continues eight weeks through March 28.

During the program, campuses compete in different contests to see which institution can collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita or have the highest recycling rate. Final results will be announced in mid-April.

In 2014, 461 colleges comprised of 6.3 million students and staff recycled and/or composted 89 million pounds of waste. In addition, Recyclemania 2014 resulted in a reduction of 126,597 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2E). Of the totals, MCCC contributed 37,390 pounds of recycling and averaged 4.658 pounds of recycling per person each week.

According to the U.S. EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM), MCCC’s recycling efforts during

last year’s competition resulted in a greenhouse gas reduction of 63 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E), which translates to the energy consumption of five households or the emissions of 12 cars.

RecycleMania is made possible through the sponsorship support of Alcoa, The Coca Cola Company and Keep America Beautiful. Additional program support is provided by the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), U.S. EPA Waste Wise program, Campus Conservation Nationals, and the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program.

Check out MCCC’s Think Green blog at mc3green.wordpress.com for RecycleMania stats and updates.

To learn more about the RecycleMania 2015 competition, visit recyclemaniacs.org.

Don't Know Much About History...

Sometimes, I'm embarrassed to be an American.

Our culture's ever-dwindling respect for intelligence, education and knowledge continues to undermine the very things that once made us "exceptional;" and instead, now makes us "exceptional" in ways those who claim we are "exceptional" should not us want to be.

For this week's example, I present to you: the Oklahoma State Legislature.

It was with dumbfound amazement that I learned last week of a bill is now pending in the Oklahoma state legislature to cut all funding for AP American History.

Why?

Because, according to the bill's sponsor, Republican representative Daniel Fisher, the course focuses too much on “what is bad about America” and fails to teach “American exceptionalism,” the Tulsa World reports.

Oklahoma state Rep. Dan Fisher, R-Yukon.

Fisher, according to Time magazine, is a member of the Black Robe Regiment, "a group that seeks to dismantle the 'false wall of separation of church and state.'” 

According to this group, "all governance of and by the people was informed by way of Scripture and the Church."

Voltaire and John Locke, apparently, had nothing to do with the Enlightenment philosophy that informed the Declaration of Independence and the idea of an American republic.

Nope. Just the Bible and the people preaching it.

One suspects the Robers are unaware of (or choose to ignore) the inconvenient fact that the very first words in the very First Amendment to the Constitution (the one before the one about the guns)  reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." 

Historical revisionism such as this represents the rejection of actual, recorded history in favor of the "Wishful Thinking" School of History.

I can understand a few extremists thinking this way, but 11 out of 15 elected, theoretically intelligent, educated state officials? 

Frankly, we should all find that more than a little scary.

One can be sympathetic to some extent. 

"America" is hard and needs well-informed citizens 

to function properly.

After all, America is hard.

We fought for freedom, then we fought to keep slaves. 

We fought for the right to vote, then denied it to women and blacks.

We urge the world to give us their tired, their poor, their huddled masses yearning to breath free, then we advocate building a wall to keep them out.

Such thoroughly American dichotomies can sorely test F. Scott Fitzgerald's definition of "a first-rate intelligence" as being "the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

It can be difficult to deal with the fact that there are some parts of the short and often brutal history of this country that are not so glorious; periods which are, in every way imaginable, shameful.

After all, genocide, ethnic cleansing and slavery, just to name a few, are generally considered crimes these days, even by most Americans, however grudgingly.

But we should be teaching our children to face those mistakes, learn from them and continue to strive to make us better; not teach them to be willfully ignorant of everything that might make you question your country or, by proxy, your government.

Questioning your government is America's first principle, or should be. 

And its important to remember that most of the things Mr. Fisher and his black-robed friends would have us unlearn were undertaken, sanctioned or at least allowed by our government at the time.

Purposefully raising an uninformed generation will not make a better country. It is a dereliction of our responsibility as parents and citizens.

Sticking our fingers in our children's ears and yelling "na na na na na, they can't hear you!" really won't help them understand why these terrible things happened. 

Isn't that supposed to be the idea of education? Understanding.

You know, so we don't repeat some of these mistakes? 

Doesn't erasing from the history books our nation's treatment of Native Americans, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, poor Americans, Jewish Americans, Irish Americans, to name just a few, disrespect the suffering they endured at our nation's hands?

Can we really be advocating washing our hands of responsibility for those chapters of our history? That hardly sounds like the actions of an enlightened or courageous nation.

But then, we don't much favor enlightenment these days, preferring instead, a thought-free, pre-packaged patriotism that rejects the central act of patriotism as practiced by this nation's often-invoked founders -- questioning the course of one's nation and those leading it, and the right to do so.

And to responsibly exercise that right, those founders believed in universal public education; in an education that teaches students to be adult citizens, citizens who can think critically for themselves given all the facts, not regurgitate mindless pablum about how America is never wrong.

True patriotism, after all, should be defined as the love of one's country despite its past mistakes, and a desire to learn and improve the country as a result of those mistakes, not to pretend they never existed. 

For as the mistake disappears, so too does the lesson it teaches future generations.

Instead, think of patriotism like family. Just as we love our children and our parents -- and just as they love us -- despite all the faults involved, we should love America for what it is, warts and all, and always strive to be better.

Isn't that what unconditional love -- the love a true patriot is supposed to feel for his or her country -- all about?

Nobody's perfect, why must we pretend our country is? "America, love her only if she's perfect" seems somehow LESS patriotic to me.

Perhaps author G.K. Chesterton put it best when he wrote: "'My country, right or wrong,' is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, 'My mother, drunk or sober.'”

Given the Black Robe Regiment school of thought's rejection of historical fact, I consider them good candidates for the rejection of unwelcome scientific facts as well. 

As a result, I consider them unlikely to invent the world's first time machine.

So if they can't go back in time to change unpleasant chapters of our history, the next best thing is to try to make sure no one reads those chapters -- particularly children.

After all, the best way to control how America withstands the judgement of history is to keep certain things from being entered into evidence.

But the ham-handedness of this effort is somewhat re-assuring.

Consider that the text of Fisher's bill also insists students learn "a long list of primary documents that it says must be taught in all U.S. history classrooms going forward. Among the titles are the sermon known as 'A Model of Christian Charity' by John Winthrop, the sermon known as 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' by Jonathan Edwards and the 'give me liberty or give me death' speech made by Patrick Henry in 1775," according to Time.

Never mind that those who take AP American History have already learned these basics of American history or, if they haven't, are most likely to learn then where else? In AP AMERICAN HISTORY!.

"I don’t know of any history teacher who is worth his or her salt that doesn't teach all of these already,” Eugene Earsom, who taught social studies in the Oklahoma public school system for 20 years and was the director of the social studies curriculum for the state’s Department of Education for another seven, told Time.

Perhaps we should take heart that opposition to this idiocy is already building and, in a particularly satisfying irony, has sparked interest and debate among the very AP American History students Fisher's bill meant to de-educate.

Matt Holtzen, an AP U.S. history teacher at Enid High School in Enid, Oklahoma, told Time, "the day after the education committee voted on the bill, his 23 AP students came to class incensed. 'It’s gotten them excited. They've been contacting their members of the Legislature, many of them for their first time. As a social studies teacher, that’s exactly what I want to see: engagement.'”

Let us hope that Alexis de Tocqueville was right when he wrote "the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."