Leonard Nimoy on ARTST TLK

Leonard Nimoy was recently interviewed by Pharrell Williams on ARTST TLK.

The full 25 minute video is online.  People who are quite familiar with Nimoy will have heard answers to the first few questions before but Williams does manage to dig a bit deeper and cover Nimoy's photography, time in the US military and what it means to be an artist.

Until now, I was only familiar with Pharrell from his work with Daft Punk but, chances are, you've heard his work without knowing his name.  He has collaborated with dozens of chart-topping artists as a producer through his music label, Star Trak Entertainment.

A quick Google search showed me that Pharrell is often seen promoting his label and Star Trek fandom by throwing up the Vulcan salute.

 

Tim Russ as Tuvok

Most Trekkies will know that Tim Russ has been busy directing and starring in a new Star Trek project.  The team hopes to sell Star Trek: Renegades to CBS as a pilot for a new Trek series.

Here are some publicity shots of Tim Russ breathing life into Tuvok once again.

Jolene Blalock as T'Pol

Galaxy Pop Spock

As I posted yesterday, StarTrek.com has been adding lots of new exclusive merchandise to their shop this summer.  One of the new categories is called "Galaxy Pop."  It features artwork inspired by the Gold Key Star Trek comics of yesteryear.  Products include mugs, T-Shirts, hoodies, iPad covers and more!

Tokyo Invasion Supokku!

This summer, StarTrek.com has quietly been adding a lot of exclusive merchandise to their shop.  They've added a slew of products under the "Tokyo Invasion" heading.  These include pop Japanese inspired designs for the original Star Trek crew on products that range from iPad and iPhone cases to T-shirts, hoodies and mugs.  There are two designs of interest to Vulcanologists: Spock and Nerve Pinch. Here's a small selection of the products to give you an idea:

Who knew Spock translated to Supokku in Japanese?

New Pon Farr Perfume

Back in 2010, Genki Wear introduced a line of Star Trek fragrances including one called Pon Farr.  A new licensee called Palm Beach Beauté is now creating Trek fragrances with the same names as the originals.

The new description for Pon Farr:

Pon Farr Eau de Parfum for women is a refreshing fragrance that is both invigorating and dramatic. Pon Farr is perfect for those bright sunny days and warm summer nights spent together at the beach, around the fire or simply watching your favorite affaire d’honneur. 

Light, clean top notes of Juicy Nectarine, White Violet, Tropical Orchid, with mid and base notes of Mirabelle Plum, Egyptian Jasmine, Vanilla, Sandalwood and Musk. A fragrance that is sharp and aggressive, simple yet exotic. 
In keeping with the futuristic aesthetic that is the signature of STAR TREK™, the PON FARR fragrance is contained in its own distinctive purple gradient glass bottle with a sharply defined clear cap. The outer packaging is luminous Mylar foil in metallic shades of purple and silver.
3.0 FL. OZ., 90 ml

The original Genki bottle featured a more Vulcan-looking design including an IDIC.  This bottle is clearly designed to capture a broader Star Trek audience. It can be purchased in the Star Trek.com Shop.

Vulcans in Plastic: Fighter Pods

The toy license for JJ Abrams' Trek films was picked up by Hasbro.  Frankly, the offerings are not that exciting or impressive.  The first Star Trek toys released by Hasbro are part of their Fighter Pods series. They have already released similar Star Wars and Marvel products.

These are not being marketed heavily.  In fact, they don't even appear on Hasbro's Canadian website.  As far as I can tell there are 36 figures and three launching pods.  You can place the figures into small transparent plastic balls and launch them from the pods at each other.  It doesn't fit well with the Star Trek universe which may be why they aren't being marketed more.

Of the 36 figures, three are Spock.  There are also two Romulan figures which may be of interest to Vulcanologists.  The figures can be purchased individually in "mystery" packages or in small sets as pictured below.

Since I wasn't interested in the pods themselves I sought out just the Vulcan and Romulan figures on eBay.  I found it difficult to take good photos of them because they're so tiny (no more than an inch in height).

From left to right: Spock in his volcano suit from Star Trek Into Darkness, Spock in Starfleet uniform, Spock in wetsuit from Star Trek Into Darkness, Ayel and Nero from Star Trek XI.  The painting and detail are as good as can be expected for something so small.  You'll notice that all of these figures have the characters holding weapons.  I'm bothered by this.  Even the figure that features Spock giving the Vulcan salute also has a phaser.

Overall, these are nothing to write to New Vulcan about.  I suppose the exaggerated features are sort of cute but the emphasis is clearly on action and battle which will appeal more to fans of Star Wars than to Trekkies.