So my laptop threw a fit and became a brick, so I had to get it wiped. I had re-download everything, reset each setting, the whole shebang. My girlfriend was helping me and put in a background to replace the default and this is what she did
My favourite things about the “are you prepared for the kind of death you’ve earned, little man?” meme are that a. it’s not an “incorrect quotes” gag - that’s actually what Brent Spiner is saying in that shot; and b. he’s talking to Wil Wheaton.
I don’t remember this, so please, tell me where I can learn more.
The Next Generation, season one, episode thirteen.
God I love Brent Spiner
Looking back on the early episodes, it’s striking how much of the humour relies on finding excuses for Brent Spiner to say something wildly incongruous with a perfectly straight face. I know it’s weird to praise an actor for lack of affect, but Spiner’s impenetrable poker face carries whole scenes.
“The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko,” the famous research center says, informing the world about the death of a gorilla who fascinated and elated millions of people with her facility for language.
Koko, who was 46, died in her sleep Tuesday morning, the Gorilla Foundation said. At birth, she was named Hanabi-ko — Japanese for “fireworks child,” because she was born at the San Francisco Zoo on the Fourth of July in 1971. She was a western lowland gorilla.
so sad to hear about the passing of Koko the gorilla. we saw ourselves in her. she was curious, wise and loving. she was amazing. she gave us a reason to be better than we are. she was a reason to be kind. a reason to protect Mother Earth and all the amazing things this world has to teach us. thank you, Koko.
Someone tried to start a fight with me on Twitter because I called myself a “trekkie” and not a “trekker.” Instead of being provoked I lol'ed and now we are friends.
This is my life.
Interesting!
I always believed “trekkie” was the term anyway.
I never even knew “trekker” was a thing. o_O
Oh, it is a thing, and it used to be taken pretty seriously too. I’m glad it has mostly died out. Starting in the early 70s, the Star Trek fandom divided itself into Trekkies and Trekkers.
The terms carried different connotations. Trekkers were considered serious fans. The kind that knew the trivia and history of the show, but at the same time kept their enthusiasm to respectable levels. The rational fans.
Trekkies, on the other hand, were seen as more frivolous. They were the ones who bought the merchandise, no matter how silly, romanticized the characters, and lived or died by the show.
Trekkers tended to look down on Trekkies as emotional and vapid, while Trekkies considered Trekkers to be exclusionary and patronizing.
And yes, there was an undertone of “fan girl” to it. To many “Trekkie” evoked images of teenage girls mobbing the stage at Elvis and Beetles concerts.
I was in elementary school when TNG aired, and my dad was a fan since the late 60s, so I’ve been exposed to Trek culture and stories my whole life. For many people, like my dad, it was almost an insult to be called a Trekkie, but they could live with, or celebrate, being a Trekker. Trekkie was… juvenile. Demeaning. With a hint of feminine frivolity thrown in.
For others being called a Trekkie was a celebration of the show. An acceptance that, yes, they were the biggest super-uber geek Star Trek fans. And what, exactly, is wrong with that?
The debate, often heated, raged for years. Both sides wanted only their term used to describe all Star Trek fans. Even Leonard Nimoy picked a side, telling us in 1991 that Trekker was the correct term.
Today the issue has pretty much faded away. By the mid 90s the terms were used interchangeably by most people (with the exception of hard core Trekkers) and now I’d say Trekkie has carried the day - in my opinion because Trekkers were just too darn serious for their own good. They also tended to become the fandom’s gatekeepers and the most resistant to change, and eventually they stopped being listened to.
I’m a Trekkie, and I always have been. I knew it was no longer much of a sticking point with fans at all, though, when a few years ago my dad starting a conversation by saying, “You know, Trekkies like us…”
Thank you for this! From what you described, I have a feeling we are close to the same age, and I had COMPLETELY forgotten about this debate!!! Thank you for reminding me of the now mostly forgotten argument of Trekker vs. Trekkie. What a long, strange trip it’s been.
For a brief period in the 90s, I preferred Trekker. Then I realized I was taking myself far too seriously.
I remember the Usenet flame wars in the 90s where someone tried to take the position the using Trekkie in the pejorative was the same thing as, I shit you not, the N-Word. So if you think people’s hot takes are messed up TODAY, well…
