Run Amok

TO BOLDY GO: Busy weekend here at MPA. One of the most memorable activities was attending 's Hello Earth's production of Outdoor Trek. Each year they stage an episode from the original series of Star Trek, and this summer it was "Amok Time," the classic where Spock and Captain Kirk end up in a battle to the death as part of a Vulcan mating ritual. 

Outdoor Trek is always great fun. The sets are sparse, but inventive. For example check out the 'bridge' of the USS Enterprise above. It's just some office chairs, but it worked!

And bedazzled hula hoops were used for low tech but hilarious transporters!

The orchestra was great, performing the familiar soundtrack music, as well as a couple of surprises, including a cool version of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" during a set change. 

The fight scene was nicely choreographed, though poor Kirk came out on the losing end.

Fortunately, there was a happy ending for all. 

Apologies for the crappy photos. I was using my cell phone, and didn't take my good camera to the show because rain was in the forecast. Fortunately, the forecast was wrong.

The actors in Outdoor Trek said a few things that made us think this might be the end of their 'five year mission' (to borrow a Star Trek quote), and that Trek in the park might not be back next season. If not, we will truly miss it, but are happy to have had a chance to see it when we did.

HAPPY CAMPERS: Monday through Friday this week, CJ and Annabelle are attending a workshop with award-winning illustrator/songwriter Morgan Taylor, creator of the popular Gustafer Yellowgold series.

During the workshop, they are exploring multimedia comic techniques and inventing characters, creating narratives and writing songs. In Monday's session, after much discussion, the group came up with a character named Christopher Acorn, a squirrel. They also collaborated to write an original song, "Pig Up." I'll have to get the kids to sing that and I'll post it later. 

Here's a little sample of some Gustafer Yellowgold music. Pretty wild stuff!
https://youtu.be/DQuEEXtcGO4

BLUE MOON: The second full Moon of July is just around the corner and, according to modern folklore, that makes it a a "blue moon."
https://youtu.be/XyBp-EYrwTA

Visit http://science.nasa.gov/ for more.