My Back to the Future Journey!

Enter Jamie and Doc

Doc: Great Scott Jamie!

Jamie: What's up Doc?

Doc: You haven't ever seen the Back to the Future franchise before October of this year!?

Jamie: That's right Doc.

Doc: But they're classics! Millions of people grew up with it as part of their childhood!

Jamie: I know.

Doc: How did people react when you told them you had only seen them all for the first time recently?

Jamie: Surprised and shocked and rightly so.

Doc: Of course!

Jamie: It would have been worse if I hated it or not even been aware of it's existence. 

Doc: That's true! 

Jamie: And it's only fitting that I watched it on the 30th anniversary in 2015.

Doc: Of course! Who got you to watch them then?

Jamie: My great friend Simon. I owe him many thanks.

Doc: True. Is that all your going to do, just leave at watching them once then?

Jamie: No, I'm getting the films for Christmas. I want to watch them again and let other Trekkies know why I loved it so much!

Doc: How do you plan on doing that?

Jamie: Writing a blog about it of course!

Doc: What's a blog?

Jamie: A blog is...never mind, I need to write this now. I can't travel Back to the Future like you!  

Doc: Your right! Great Scott, you better hop to it then! 

Jamie: Thanks Doc!

Doc exits and Jamie muses and starts writing his blog.

Hello Trekkies and welcome to my last blog of 2015! As you may have gathered from that conversation between me and Doc, this is a special one for me on my reflecting on watching the classic Back to the Future franchise a couple of months ago in October!

30th Anniversary

Yes I know a few of you may be charging up your Phasers at that confession. (But please leave them on stun!) However being a first time watcher especially on the franchise's 30th anniversary gives me a unique opportunity in exploring my thoughts and feelings about BTTF. In reading this blog the feelings of nostalgia of viewing it for the first time may come back for you and remind you why you love it so much! So let's get stuck into it and go back to the...well in my case the past where it all began!

How I got into it!

It started with my confession to Simon that I had never seen any of the films before, which shocked him. So he made it his mission to get me to watch all three. Later that day after my confession he expressed his surprise on our podcast Facebook page, which got some responses that mirrored Simon's reaction (and rightly so which is understandable considering how much I enjoy watching movies)

Response 2

So the next time I went round Simon's he sat me down to the watch the first film and I loved it so much we eventually had the BTTF marathon watching the whole trilogy back to back in one day!

I expressed my gratitude to Simon for getting me into the franchise afterwards via Facebook and Twitter.

Twitter

Facebook

So that's how I came to watch the films. Now I'm going to tell you why I love them!

Why I love Back to the Future.

There are many things I love about Back to the Future, the characters, story and the concepts, but it all comes down to three reasons.

1. It's really fun escapism!

I know this can be said for a lot of movies and franchises, it's a pretty generic reason, but for me it's the truth. Sitting there for six hours back to back watching all three films made me forget about my real life as I became absorbed into the world of Marty, Doc and the times that traveled to. It's a franchise that knew how to have fun and embrace it with where everyone involved looks like there having a whale of a time, so as a result, you feel as the viewer that you are too!

In particular the DeLorean car as a time machine! It just looked so cool and amazing with the style and the way Doc had designed it, that quite simply it's awesome! I've definitely got to get me one of those!


 

The DeLorean building up to a temporal displacement. 

Yes I know I sound like a little kid here (clear throat) anyway it's looks nice. But also how how fast it drives especially when Doc revs it round the parking lot near the start of the first film! It's also great with the variety that the three films offer in terms of the times he and Marty travel in, 1955 (the decade my dad was born in) 2015 (where we're at now) and 1885 (Western era) of what was. This makes it even more fun going into essentially different worlds due to their ability to time travel, which brings me onto my second reason of loving BTTF.

2. Time/Time travelling.

How the movies navigate time travel and especially the periods of time that Doc and Marty end up in really resonated with me. With the time travel aspect BTTF does a good job of messing with your head especially as the time travel has that knock on effect on all three films with them going back and forth to 1955 and then to 1985, onwards to 2015 and then... oh wait 1885 anyway.

The fact is I enjoyed being challenged trying to make sense of the time travel with the different paradoxes and having two Marty's and two Doc's etc. The movies don't insult your intelligence, but just show you. And even if you don't understand the time travel elements, (I'm still not sure I do, I sometimes just get a headache thinking about it) there's plenty else to sink your teeth into. This diagram explains the different timelines created much better than I ever could.

Back to the Future Trilogy timeline/time travel explained 

I know it's quite a mouthful isn't it!

Anyway what also resonated with me is how much of an impact BTTF has had on my life simply by the time it was made and times that Marty and Doc travel to, both past (1955) and future (2015 or in our case now the current present) With Back to the Future coming out in 1985 and the sequel in 1989 (the year I was born) these movies give me a brief glimpse into what life was like in the 1980s with the clothes people wore and the cars they drove. A look at the tail end of a decade I was born in, but can never remember.

When both Mary and Doc travel back to 1955 to get Marty's mum and dad to fall in love is where we get a true sense of what life was like in America and to an extent Britain as they both benefited from the same fashion, technology, music and hairstyles. It was a time my dad was born in and experienced it, which he has told me a lot about. BTTF shows us mullets, Rock and Roll (which Marty "introduces" to the crowd in one of my favorite moments of the whole franchise!) Jazz and more. 

It was an era of big change in music, fashion, technology and more and Back the the Future pays a great homage to it.

However the franchise, BTTF Part II more specifically has fun with imagining what 2015 (our current year) would be like with futuristic clothing and hoverboards. 

2015, the future clothing

It's fascinating seeing how BTTF thought 2015 would like and comparing to that year, which we are in now. Unfortunately we don't have fashion like that and we still need the use of roads! But the idea of using hover boards isn't totally out of the question as the BBC explain!

I also like the fact the BTTF Part 3 III goes further back into the past of 1885, back in the western era days.

Marty and Doc in the Wild West (1885)

It was simply nice to visit a different time and setting and I've always had a soft spot for the western genre, particularly having my Dad and Nan who watch the old Westerns all the time, especially the John Wayne ones like Stagecoach (1939), Rio Bravo (1959) and True Grit (1969) to name a few.

3. A Timeless franchise that hasn't aged.

This last reason is an obvious one, in terms of effects, the film has (even though they still look quite impressive 30 years on). But the style and substance it brings through the script, the storytelling and the acting makes this one for the ages. That rare type of franchise that has something for all ages and is always fun and enjoyable to watch no matter how much time has passed as evidenced with people still talking, remembering and watching it 30 years on.

I'm glad I have finally joined the crowd (should have done it years ago) and this is why I wanted to share what I loved about the franchise with all of you.

I wanted to send out a big thanks to Simon for the use of the pictures he gave me like the BFFT posters and the Facebook and Twitter ones. Thanks mate.

That's it for now! See you all soon!

Simon: My Temporary Leave of Absence from the podcast



That picture...again!

Hi #Treksters

As many of you may know (Phil & Jamie in particular) I am very passionate about the podcast. To the length that (at times) I will go above and beyond to make the podcast the best it can, which can manifest itself into a help or a hindrance.




Although most of the time it’s the latter (much to the annoyance of Phil & Jamie), which is why I have decided (after consulting with Phil & Jamie) to take a Temporary Leave of Absence from managing the podcast (between 17^th December 2015-1^st March 2016).

So I am writing this blog post to explain my reasons behind my decision.

Firstly, I’ve got to say that there’s no single reason why…but it’s all centred around the fact that I need to concentrate on sorting myself out. Because that’s something I’ve neglected to do, whilst I’ve been producing content for the podcast.

In my mind I’ve been unable to do both, as I’ve needed to know that (however stupid it sounds) the podcast would be ok without me there.

Now that we’ve been up and running for a year, I think it’s about time for me to take a step back…and for Phil & Jamie to take the burden. Something I’ve solely been responsible for the past three and a half years.

Which is why I want to focus on what’s important to me, my friends & family. As I feel like they’ve lost out (at times) when I’ve put my efforts into the podcast.



Me, Phil & Jamie together at Destination Star Trek London 2012 (DST1)

This has even effected my friendship’s between Phil & Jamie, as they’ve changed since we started (and later launched) the podcast.

In a way my friendships with them have become ‘cursed’ and ‘charmed’, because I obviously get to see them more often…which is fantastic!

But when we’re together, we just talk about the podcast. Which is stopping us concentrating on what started the whole adventure (our friendships), detrimentally causing friction along the way.

As I’m the main cause of all that tension (in one way or another) I’m going to step aside as Executive Producer (for a while) and ‘leave’ the podcast in the quite capable hands of Phil & Jamie!

Like I say this is only a temporary arrangement, as I’ll still be active here on the blog…and over on Twitter & Facebook (and our e-mail).

Meanwhile, backstage I’ll also be acting as an Advisor (or Consultant) to the boys. Who I’m quite sure will want some advice from me concerning the perils of running the podcast on a daily basis.




Me and Phil together

And it also looks like I’ll be taking over one of Phil’s jobs, as I’ll be the one who’ll be uploading our latest episodes up onto SoundCloud (our new home).

As you might expect with this kind of change (however temporary), there is likely to be some ‘teething problems’ while the boys are getting use to ‘running the show’ and everything that entails.

Podcast 'juggling act'

Because I’ve always described it (running the podcast) as being a bit of a 'juggling act'. Due to the fact that you’re desperately trying to keep everything going simultaneously…which is no small feat!

So I just ask that you give them a chance to get use to how much time & effort is needed in order to keep the podcast running smoothly (and on time).  

For more information about this please listen to our Science Fiction Regrets episode!

This comes into effect on Thursday 17^th December 2015 at 00:00am until Tuesday 1^st March 2016 at 00:00am.

This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out!

Simon: My 'New7Wonders of the World' 2007 GCSE Resit Essay 2015 Remastered

A picture of me from 2007

Hi #Treksters

As you can tell from that very convoluted title, this blog post is going to be a blast from the past...well to be more precise a blast from my past!

Which I wanted to share with you, although before I get into the 'remastered' Sixth Form essay. I just want to give you a bit of expedition into what your about to read...and why it even exists!

As your quite aware I'm Dyslexic (and Dyspraxic), so I've always found it difficult to do numeracy and literacy (see previous blog post). Which makes it extremely difficult to get a high level (grade) in exams and coursework.
This meant that by the time I was studying my A-Levels (AS Levels in Year 12) at my Secondary School Sixth Form.
I had to resit my GCSE English, which was something I wanted to do. Because I needed a slightly higher level (grade) to get into university initially, before getting into the teaching profession.

The essay you're going to read is something I wrote (originally) back in 2007 (when I was 17)...but like I said it's been 'remastered' it.
So that it illustrates more of who I am today. Whilst still representing who I was back then, during that point in my life.
The other real reason why I have published this school essay, is because in it's original format my teacher though it was written to such a high standard that he used it as an example in his lessons. Which I thought was quite a compliment at the time!

This blog post (come former essay), is in answer to my English teachers question (similar to this...I can't remember):

"If you could choose seven modern Wonders from the candidates selected for this years New7Wonders of the World vote, which ones would you choose any why?!"

My new 7 Wonders of the World, and why I think they should be selected:

The Acropolis of Athens, Greece:



The Acropolis

The reason I chose The Acropolis in Greece is because it’s one of the most well-known tourist attractions in the whole world. The Greeks thought that The Acropolis was meant to “radiate power and protection for its citizens”. Which is interesting, as it shows how we’ve developed over time…and that we don’t think the same way as people did 1,000 years ago.

The Acropolis can also teach us so much about the Ancient Greeks. Unlike The Sydney Opera House, which was built in the early 1970’s and has no important information to tell us about the Australians. As it was built some 900 years later, and also because much is known about Australian culture from the 1970’s.

But for the ancient Greeks we have HAD to learn about their society, by looking at their writing and building designs such as The Acropolis.

So my question is; do you really want a 1970’s building in the 7 Wonders of the World?

As hopefully the list will be occupied by pre-1930’s buildings of the world.

 The Colosseum of Rome, Italy:

The Colosseum

The reason I chose the Colosseum is because it’s a structure which is known all around the globe. At the time, it’s was one of the largest structures around the world:

• 48 metres high
• 88 metres long
• 156 metres wide

On each level (3 levels) there are 80 arches, making a total of 240 arches!

On the wooden arena area they placed sand to make it easier to ‘work’ on.

If you’re like me you’d expect the Colosseum to be a round circle…but we’d both be wrong as it’s actually an elliptical shape.

So that the ‘players’ wouldn’t be able to retreat into a corner, keeping the audience entertained for longer!!!

The Colosseum is made of 100,000 cubic metres of travertine stone was used in the construction.

As I mentioned earlier there are 3 levels where you can watch the entertainment from:

• The podium: 1^st level was for Roman Senators.
• The area above the podium was for other Roman Aristocrats.
• The 3^rd level, which is divided into 3 sections:

1. Lower part for wealthy citizens.
2. Upper part for poorer ones.
3. And at the very top of the building was for peasants to stand and watch only this was for lower-class women.

The Colosseum teaches us about how the Romans enjoyed themselves in ancient times. Where entertainment was more ‘real’ to us because now we have computer this, computer that and nothing really ‘real’ anymore and when we do go to the theatre it’s on very special occasions but for the ancient Greeks it was a daily occurrence.

But if you look at something like The Great Wall of China although it had a different purpose to the Colosseum the Great Wall of China is just a very large wall because the Chinese can’t be bothered to fight the attacking army!!!

So the question, I’d ask yourself is if you’d prefer to have a very large wall on the 7 wonders list or a place of entertainment?

So it should be a 7th Wonder of the World because this is a ‘snapshot’ of Roman life. But some may argue that the great wall is seen from space but nothing is more valuable than a snapshot in time in my opinion.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France:




The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is the ‘brainchild’ of the French engineer Gustave Eiffel in order to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution.



Gustave Eiffel

It was also built to act as the entrance “arch” for the 1889 World Fair (Exposition Universelle in French), which was strangely being held in Paris.

 



The construction of the Eiffel Tower

 Back to the modern day, the tower is visited by a staggering six million visitors every year.

• Metal structure weighs 7,300 tons.
• Total weigh of 10,100 tons.
• 300 workers built it and 1 died.
• 18,038 pieces of puddle iron (pure kind of structural iron) had to be joined.
• Using 2.5 million rivets.
• Every 7 years, 50 tons of paint are applied to protect it against rust.
• On the 1^st floor there are interactive screens, which let visitors give their opinion on what colour should be applied in the future.

Some people may argue that the Eiffel Tower is just a tower well to argue for the Eiffel Tower you could just say that the Sydney opera house is just a “beautiful building” with its ideas of “abstraction and creativity” but the Eiffel tower is a symbol of “challenge and progress” (source www.new7wonders.com).

This is because it was a challenge to build it and shows the progress the French people have made in the time since the French Revolution.

The Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia:

The Kremlin

The Kremlin was originally built in 1156 for the residence of Ivan the 1^st, since then it’s become the centre of Russian statehood and the residence of the czars and the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1367 to 1368 the white stone walls and towers of the Kremlin were erected and from the colour of the walls Moscow became being called “white-stone”. In 1485 to 1495 the Kremlin was rebuilt and this is the one we know today.

St Basil’s Cathedral

The St Basil’s Cathedral is less known by the name Cathedral of Intercession on the Mound…is it just me or did they get bored naming the cathedral?!

Because I think they added to the end of the name “on the Mound” for a laugh!

The Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral should be picked because where else would you hear a comical Cathedral name like the Cathedral of Intercession on the mound?!

Because I very much doubt you’d hear an English cathedral doing the same.

As this is the sort of conversation you would get if the Archbishop of Canterbury went to a PR (Public Relations) agency to get Canterbury Cathedral renamed-

Archbishop of Canterbury: “Excuse me can you help me please?”

Assistant would say: “Ok, what are you looking for?”

Archbishop of Canterbury would go “We’d like our cathedral remembered all over the world”

Assistant would say: “Well there’s two options available to you, as you can either-

1. "Rename your cathedral with a comical name".  
2. "Or you can become a DJ".

Archbishop of Canterbury: “…O ok then in that case I’ll rename Canterbury Cathedral!”

The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt:

The Pyramids at Giza

The Pyramids at Giza were built between 2,600 and 2,500 BC the 3 pyramids are made of a total of 5 million sandstone blocks that were transported using ‘primitive’ techniques by our standards.

There were two main techniques used to get them to Giza, the first was by putting the sandstone blocks on a timber sled and by pulling it.

The other technique they could use, involved rolling the blocks over the top of logs. The Egyptians believed that represented a link between heaven and earth, which were directed at Horus, who as you all know was the Egyptian god of the world!!!

I think the pyramids should be a 7th Wonder of the World because there are still some mysteries about the pyramid’s which will never be answered.

For example:

Who constructed them? Was it slaves, who were really badly treated or were they probably very fed up paid workers? No one will ever know the answer to that question...which is the mystery.

I think it should be a 7^th Wonder of the World but others may argue that the Statue of Liberty is symbol of The United States of America but the pyramids are one of very few symbols of Africa.

The Taj Mahal, India:

The Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan who was the 5th Muslim Mogul emperor built the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife a Persian princess who was born as Arjuman Bano begum but was better known as Mumtaz Mahal.

Shah Jahan (right) and his wife Mumtaz Mahal (left)

Mumtaz was a huge influence on Shah’s life and policies but the sad thing is she died at the age of 39 giving birth to their 14^th child in 1631.

On her deathbed her last wish to her husband was “to build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen before”. So he built exactly that and that is what we see today.

Shah himself is laid next to his wife at the Taj Mahal, it’s said that when his son overthrown him. He was imprisoned in the nearby Great Red Fort for 8 years, where he could see the Taj Mahal out of his small cell window.

• Built between 1631 and 1648.
• 20,000 workmen employed on it daily.
• Specially built town next it called “Mumtazabad” named after the deceased empress.
• Materials brought from all over India and central Asia with the help of 1,000 elephants.
• Central dome is 57metres or 187 feet high in the middle.

The reason I think the Taj Mahal should be selected to be a 7 wonder is because I can’t a better symbol of love and passion (source www.new7wonders.com) and I don’t see a couple building a structure similar to it in this day and age for example:

Women-“To build a tomb in my memory such as the world had never seen before”

Man-“Love, have you realised that we’re in debt so I can’t build you this fabulous building sorry”.

Women-“Oh"

Other’s may argue that it’s a little over the top for love…although I wouldn’t go back in time and say to Shah Mahal “excuse me Mr Mahal don’t you think that’s a little over the top?”

As if you did…you’d probably be hanged just for saying it. He really loved her and he wanted to for fill her last wish, so I think the Taj Mahal is a great symbol for love and passion.

Stonehenge, Amesbury, United Kingdom:



Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument. With only half of the original monument remaining.

As over time, some of the stones have fallen over, or have been carried away for building and repairing farm tracks.

The site has unfortunately over the centuries seen it fair share of intrigued visitors (and tourists) who have chipped souvenirs off the stones, greatly reducing the sight we see today.

Stonehenge was built in 3 stages/phases:

1. 1^st monument built around 3100 BC and it was a circular bank with a ditch enclosure probably for keeping livestock amazingly enough the enclosure was dug by hand using animal bones as shovels and deer antlers as pick-axes with 56 holes were around the edge of the bank to hold wooden posts.
2. In about 2500 BC Stonehenge was rebuilt but this time using sandstone from Preseli Mountains in Wales 245 miles (380km) away. The stones were probably dragged to the sea then floated on huge rafts up the river Avon and dragged on site this is when one stone weighs about 5 tons. 
3. About 200 years later in 2300 BC the bluestones were dug up and rearranged and bigger sandstones or sarsen stones were incorporated.
4. Then 700 years later in 1600 BC monument building at Stonehenge seemed to have stopped.

Stonehenge is surrounded in lots of mythology, for example:

• Since it’s aligned north-east/south-west there's a theory that astronomical rituals involving solstice and the equinox points.
• For instance on a midsummer’s morning the sun’s rays went directly into the centre of the monument between the horseshoe arrangement.
• But other scholars argue that Stonehenge was the destination of a long ritualised funerary procession.
• The old legends think that Merlin the wizard had a giant build Stonehenge for him, or that he had magically transported it from Ireland. Others say that the devil built it.

So I think Stonehenge should be a 7th Wonder of the World because then the British people will have something to be proud about. Well if you think about it for a Stone Age man it’s not that easy to get stones weighing 5+ tonnes to a field in the middle of nowhere and putting them upright.

Others may argue that the British people HAVE got something to be proud about but we don’t just look at the sport at the moment and then you’ll see what I’m on about!!!

I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog post!
Hopefully it's given you a better understanding of how much my writing abilities have improved since then!!!

This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out!

Simon's Time Travel adventures (featuring the Tardis and DeLorean)

Hi #Treksters
In honour of the 30th Anniversary of Back To The Future this year, and because we also had the celebrations surrounding the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who two years ago with The Day of The Doctor.

I thought it was about time for me to release a new blog post for you to read through. Which (as you can tell from the title) is quite fitting!
So flicking through my list of ideas, I've decided to revisit one of my favourite interests history and time travel!!!

As (in this blog post) I will be talking you through all the times and places I would really love to visit if I had access to a time machine like The Doctor's Tardis (Doctor Who) or Doc Brown's Time Travelling DeLorean (Back To The Future trilogy).

Obviously because I'm dealing with Time Travel, I will be following some 'Time Traveller's Guidelines" (similar to these).
So that I can witness events without irritably changing the timeline.

Because I don't particularly want to get visited by Mulder & Scully's descendants from the Starfleet Department of Temporal Investigations, after my travels!
This is because I don't want to accidently cause a 'Butterfly effect' scenario or a 'Grandfather paradox'.
So as a precautionary measure, I'm going to exclude any historical event concerning my home county of Essex in this blog post.

 

On top of that I'm also going to say that in each situation I'm going to have access to period specific costumes, and access to the correct currency.
As that way my contamination of the timeline will be minimal...and I can still enjoy myself while I'm there!!!

Now that I've got all out of the way, I think it's about time I input my first temporal coordinates...

The White Star Dock (Berth 44), Southampton United Kingdom 11:45am 10th April 1912

  

 

The first place I would like to visit will seem very familiar to all of you avid #Trekster readers out there....as I'd want to see the RMS Titanic!

Unusually for me, I've actually come up with a couple of suggestions on how I'd do it. But as you'll see the first one is quite a safe option...whereas the second way definitely wouldn't be.

Anyone who reads my blog posts on a regular basis, will notice straight away that I don't usually writing down an unsafe idea.
As it's not very me...but I think that Jamie 'influenced' me when I was talking to Jamie on the phone about it. Because he thought it was a good idea! #JamieBadInfluence

 

Idea one

 



The first (safe) idea is that I would Ideally like to 'blend' into the dockside crowd (with the help of a period costume) watching the (RMS) Titanic steaming away, as it leaves Southampton on it's maiden voyage.

I think this is a moment I'd love to witness, seeing the 'hustle and bustle' of the people going about their way racing to get on-board.
With all that going on it would make it a very celebratory environment to be apart of!

Idea two

The second (risky) idea is that I would board the ship at Southampton (on the 10th April 1912), most likely as a 1st Class passenger. Before disembarking at Cobh (Queenstown), which was Titanic's final destination before New York on the morning of the 11th April 1912.
That way I could then enjoy staying on-board the ship, whilst generally experiencing the ambiance of life on-board ship.
Obviously this would be amazing....but the chances of changing history (and contaminating the timeline) would be huge.

Although I would enjoy the excitement of witnessing the event (either way) I would also be filled with mixed emotions...know the ships ultimate fate.
Making it feel deeply sobering for me, whilst simultaneously also making me feel 'good' knowing that huge advances in marine safety that would come out of the disaster.
It would also make me think that we take modern day marine safety for granted these days!

I input my second temporal coordinates...

Moving forward 54 years to

 

The Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel, Cleveland United States of America 1st-5th September 1966

 

The second place I would like to visit is somewhere else, which will be no great surprise to any of you...as I've chosen a Star Trek convention!

But this is no ordinary Star Trek convention, as the 24th Tricon World Science Fiction Convention was the first official convention for the franchise.

Again this is somewhere else I could 'blend' into the crowd seamlessly (and easily due to my extensive Star Trek wardrobe).

This is something I would love to attend, knowing the significance (and history) Star Trek would go on to have in the decades to follow...and the impact it will have on so many peoples lives (including myself)!
It would also be amazing meeting 'The Great Bird of the Galaxy' Gene Roddenberry, as that is something I would have loved to have done.
To make the convention even better he promoted the first two pilots of Star Trek: The Original Series(uncut version of "The Cage" and "Where No Man has Gone Before") before they aired!
Can you imagine that?!

Being one of a few hundred people watching Star Trek for the first time...and afterwards getting to hear Gene Roddenberry's thoughts and feelings on the pilots.
Making it an amazing few days in the history of the franchise we all love, which is something I would like to be apart of!

With that in mind I don't think there's nothing else I can really say apart from...there is no better way to live and breathe Star Trek for 120 hours straight!!!

 

 

I input my third (and final) temporal coordinates...

 

Moving forward another 3 years to

 

Kennedy Space Centre, Florida United States of America 19th-22nd July 1969

 

  

The third place I would like to visit is one of (if not) the greatest human achievement ever. So much so that I've already spoken about it in a previous blog post.
Obviously I'm talking about witnessing the Apollo 11 Moon landing!

 

 

This is something I would love to witness from start (launch) to finish (splashdown). As it would be amazing being able to watch the three astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin & Michael Collins) historic progress to the Moon, and their journey safely back to Earth...live (as much as you could back in 1969).

I would so enjoy seeing the massive Saturn V rocket lift off from the Kennedy Space Centre on Wednesday (16th July) at 13:32:00pm (1969-07-16UTC13:32Z) UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).

Shaking the ground below it, and starting off the staggering 953,054 miles (1,533,791.737km) roundtrip to the Moon!

 

And then being able to keep up with the latest television updates on their slow progress, joining in as the world held it's collective breathe!  

This would then be instantly changed by a feeling of global excitement. Which would slowly grow, as the days slowly tumbled by.

Until Sunday 20th July (Day 4), when the Lunar Module ("Eagle") landed on the Moon at 20:18:04pm UTC.

 

However, it wasn't until 02:56:15am UTC on Day 5 (Monday 21st July) that man actually walked on the moon for first time...and those immortal words were uttered by Neil Armstrong to the estimated 600 million people watching worldwide:

"That's one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind"

After spending 21 hours, 36 minutes on the moon's surface Armstrong's & Aldrin's work was done. So understandably after a busy day's work, they then slept for a well earned seven hours in the Lunar Module.

They then returned to Lunar orbit after jettisoning the Lunar Module's ("Eagle‍") ascent stage at 23:41pm UTC.
This was then followed by a reunion (via docking) with their colleague Michael Collins (piloting the "Columbia" Command Module).
With all the astronauts back together (and the samples safely on-board), they could now think about completing their mission...and begin their journey back home.

 

After another three days of travelling (Day 8), the "Columbia" Command Module finally splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 16:50:35pm (1969-07-24UTC16:50:36Z) UTC on July 24th 1969. To the relief of millions around the world.

Making U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 'dream' "of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" a reality!

Whilst making the three astronauts who went on this momentous journey heroes across the world!!!




I would really enjoy watching one of the most pivotal (and defining) moments of the 20th Century unfold before my own eyes. As I've always had to settle with hearing about on history programmes (and history books) 'out of context', which really isn't the same.

There's just no real way (or words for that matter)that I can describe to you how much I'd love to see these events happen in real-time!

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog post, and have got you starting to think about all the historical events you'd like to go back and witness....as trust me, you'll have plenty of choice!

Which I found out the hard way researching for this blog post!!! #OverwhelmedTrekkie

 

This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out! 

 

The Engage Podcast Launch Anniversary - One year on.

Phil, Jamie and Simon at DST3 2014

Hi #Treksters welcome to the one year anniversary of The Engage Podcast launch! Where precisely on Friday 3rd of October 2014 at Destination Star Trek 3 me, Simon and Phil broadcast our podcast to you all!    

Since our launch we have researched, recorded and released a colossal 22 episodes for topics of discussion from the hypothetical like our episode Who would you go on Shore Leave with? to the more in depth such as Star Trek Role models and our guest interviews with various other Trek podcasters and bloggers alike!

We just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has helped us since our launch in October from all our fellow Treksters who have followed and supported us on Facebook and Twitter, reading our blogs and downloading/playing the episodes we upload on Podomatic. We hope you have enjoyed and will continue to listening to our episodes and that have entertained you and been educational in whatever form.

Secondly to our fellow podcasters and bloggers who are too numerous to mention who have welcomed us into the Trek podcast/general community at large we thank you including those have been guests on our Podcast and vice versa. We couldn't have done any of this without you!

Initially borne out of an idea by me of listening to another Trek Podcast, Make it So. I turn to Simon one day and say "hey, why don't we do something like this, it sounds like fun!"

Simon agreed and has since with assistance from me and Phil built up the podcast to how we wanted to go by the time we launched last year. Credit to Simon for suggesting we go live at DST3. It has been an amazing journey with these guys and our fellow Treksters and podcasters alike!

Like with the one year anniversary blog post Simon wrote, it is only fitting to hear from him and Phil as they also orchestrated the success of us going live about how they feel how far we've come since we launched a year ago today, so it's over to you guys!            

Simon

I can’t believe it’s already been 365 days since we launched the podcast at Destination Star Trek 3. Where we started our adventure with a bang…doing our ‘Fan Panel’ on the Borg! (Thank you to Neil Green, Sam from the Trekkie Girls, and Media 10 for making it possible).

Since then we’ve done more topics (and interviews) than I can remember, making me think that it’s been “one hell of a year”.

As some of you know, it has taken us a long time in development just to launch the podcast...so to make it to our one year anniversary is quite humbling.

After all the trials and tribulations we’ve had since our quite modest beginnings with Jamie asking me “Si, do you want to start a podcast?” all those years ago!

So I’m going to mirror what I said in the Blog’s one year anniversary post, by saying that without you listening to the podcast on a regular basis, we wouldn't have a need to record ever more exciting and intriguing episodes!!!

Thank you all for your continued support!

You have no idea how much we really appreciate it!!!

Simon

Executive Producer (and host)

The Engage Podcast

Now over to Phil (or Jamie) depending on how Jamie’s organised this blog post!!! #FunnyTrekkie #lol

Phil

Happy Birthday podcast!!!
I can’t believe it’s been a year since we got this baby off the ground, and what a year it’s been!!!
As at the heart of it it’s been bloody good fun, and for that I want to thank Simon & Jamie. Because if it wasn't for them it would just be me talking about how bad Operation Annihilate[!] was...hehe!

We have been pleased (and amazed) with the amount of help we’ve received from so many other podcasters and associated people alike.
I would also like to just take a moment to personally thank Neil Green and the gorgeous ladies from the Trek Girls (including The Original TiT)!
e.g. the #NaughtyTiT (see Twitter it will make sense)

But the group of people I want to thank more than anyone else, is you! Yes…you our loyal Treksters!
I hope you’ve liked our first year just as much as we’ve enjoyed making the podcast, and I’m sure you’ll love what we have in store for you in the future!

Beam me up, Phil out!

Thanks guys! So that ends another blog! And our official first year on the podcast, so it's onwards from here! Thanks again for all your support everyone! And we hope you have enjoyed reading!

As usual I'll be back with another blog soon. So until then this is Jamie from the Engage Podcast warping off into the unknown! Punch it!