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 17th December 2015-1st 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).
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: 1st level was for Roman Senators.
The
area above the podium was for other Roman Aristocrats.
The
3rd level, which is divided into 3 sections:
Lower
part for wealthy citizens.
Upper
part for poorer ones.
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 1st 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 1st, 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-
"Rename
your cathedral with a comical name".
"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 7th
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 14th 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:
1st
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.
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.
About
200 years later in 2300 BC the bluestones were dug up and rearranged and bigger
sandstones or sarsen stones were incorporated.
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!
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!
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).
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. PresidentJohn 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!
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!
Leading up to the podcast's first Birthday (3rd October 2014), I just wanted to celebrate by taking a look back at the day the podcast launched.
That day we 'dived in' to the world of podcasting head first by covering Media 10's three day extravaganza...Destination Star Trek 3 up at the London Excel centre.
But on top of our convention covering duties, we were also fortunate enough to host a Fan Panel about the Borg on that day. Where we asked the question:
As it was the centrepiece of that day (and of the whole event) for us. I wanted it to be the main focus of this blog post as well.
To see whether I think looking retrospectively back on it, if it (as John & Ken from the Mission Log podcast say) "still holds up" one year on?!
Before I start going into the what we said at DST3, I would just like to take a moment to blow your mind!
Something you may not know, is that originally the topic was going to be our third Teaser Episode. But we had to replace it, as we were covering it in our Fan Panel at DST3.
So
As we didn't know (at the time) whether we could obtain a recording of our DST3 Fan Panel. So we pre-recorded a version before we attended the convention!
Meaning that somewhere in our 'Lost Files' is an unaired version of our Borg topic!!!
Because we recorded that, I think we had a reasonably good idea what sort of things we were say up on stage.
This meant that when we finally got there, gave the impression that the topic was scripted. Which is partly true, as I had created some sub-topics for the Fan Panel to explore!
I think this only happened as we'd never done anything like it before...and trust me in that situation it's very difficult to plan for something you've only witnessed at previous conventions.
That being said, if we were to do the topic again. I would definitely stand by that decision, as I would rather be prepared (and organised). Than being the complete opposite, and ending up standing on stage looking like compete lemons!
This leads me nicely into something you won't be able to pick up from the recording, and is kind of related to my last point!
As when we stood up on stage presenting our Fan Panel, I think the nerves got to us...as we stood in the same places throughout.
Giving us the appearance of novices and amateurs, making us look (unfortunately) like complete lemons!
Because of our experience at DST3 I think we're going to be more confident and more...well animated!!!
One source I wish had existed last year is the video featured above from the (amazing) Trekspertise YouTube channel.
As it discusses (at length) the 'known' canon history of the Borg, which could have come in an awful lot of help when it came to deciding what were going to talk about.
Something else I remember listening back to the recording.
Is that after we'd finished we were saying to each other that we thought the Excelsior Stage had a problem with feedback. As we couldn't really hear what an audience member was saying (or asking) us. I'm hoping this will explain why in some cases our replies were a bit vague!
Fortunately the problem doesn't come across in the recording, mainly due to the fact that my Dictaphone was linked up to sound desk. Which transmitted the sound directly from the microphones straight into my Dictaphone!
We didn't do the Fan Panel, solely on our own...as we had our 'Honouree' member of the podcast Neil Green acting as our host.
Because he played such a crucial role at DST3 for us I wanted to hear Neil's thoughts on our Fan Panel also.
Here is what Neil thought of our efforts:
It was in August 2014 that I was asked to take The Engage
Podcast under my wing.
After all, I was going to be presenting their talk on stage,
I had experience of hosting other talks, and I was going to be one of two main
comperes for the entire weekend in October 2014.
Suzy from Media 10 gave me their contact details, and Sam
from the Trekkie Girls gave mine to Simon, Jamie and Phil. It wasn’t long after
details had been given out that Simon, in his usual excited to be involved
manner, and contacted me via email.
Many emails and phone calls were swapped over the coming
weeks and even a few failed skype attempts. We went over and over the talk, who
should stand where, should people be able to ask questions, who will say what,
every minute detail! This type of stuff doesn’t create itself you know?
The third of October had arrived. We had arranged to meet on
one of the outside balconies of the Excel to make our very first contact.
However, due to the amount of phone calls and emails we had ping ponged across
the cosmos, I knew the guys already. I knew what they were capable of even
though we had never met.
I had only just enough time to arrive from my train from Derby
to St Pancras and hot foot it across London to the Excel, get changed and make
contact with Simon, Jamie and Phil. I only had a limited amount of time, I had
to get back to introduce a viewing of Star Trek the Wrath of Khan. Time was
against us so I ran from the organiser’s office to the meeting place. The guys
were already emblazoned in their very own Engage Podcast uniforms, (their
t-shirts!). Hellos were made and we quickly got into discussion on what will
happen during their talk. But, there really was no need for any of this! The
guys knew what they had to do, they knew what was expected of them, and I knew
they could do it. You don’t have constant contact with people and not learn
anything about them!
Here’s your cheesy movie bit…
The time had arrived, three boys walked onto the Excelsior
Stage, but, walked off as men. Good eh? But, they did! They really did. It
takes, for want of a better analogy, huge balls, to be able to get up onto a
stage and deliver an hour of information and entertainment and hope to get some
audience participation at an event that pulls in 30,000 people over the
weekend. And they deserved everything that came from it afterwards. Interviews
on other people’s podcasts, the radio, being able to perform at other shows and
events. If you don’t have what it takes to take that initial plunge into the
murky depths, then you’ll never find out what you’re capable of.
So, what have you learnt from this?
Well, I hope you now have a better appreciation of how much
work goes into something that you’ll sit down and look at for an hour. But, you
should have also learnt that if it wasn’t for three guys from the south,
getting together as friends and saying “you know what we should do…” you
wouldn’t have things like this at conventions. It’s a special breed of fan,
which I am happy to be part of, to be able to bring you some of the
entertainment at these events. Without them, there is no convention.
Neil green is STILL available for all your TV / Sci-Fi
related presenting needs.
So in answer to my original question of does the Fan Panel "still hold up" one year on?!
I think my answer has to be a definite yes!
As it was our first major convention experience I don't think we did a particularly bad job...but I think there is room for us to make improvements for our future convention appearances (talks and Fan Panels).
Looking forward to the future, the next convention we're really excited to be attending (and covering) will be the fan run First Contact Day 2016 (FCD 2016) convention up in Telford next April from Friday the 1st to Sunday the 3rd!
If you'd like to make your own decision...why not listen back to our DST3 Part 1 episode, where there is a recording of our Fan Panel!
I'm also pleased to announce that, in the not so distant future Daniel Houston (@TheeeRealBigDan on Twitter) will be 'joining our blogging rankings' as our "Guest Blogger"!
Hoping to 'learn the ropes', once he's confident enough to go it alone he's planning on setting up his own fantastic blog!!!
This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out!
