Kirk Archives - Chris Carosa

‘I’ve Been Contemplating The Death Of An Old Friend…’

By Chris Carosa on December 3, 2024

The titular quote comes from the climax scene of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” While this aired on September 22, 1966 as the third episode of the first season, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was produced in 1965 as the second pilot for the seminal series. It sets the stage for all that is Captain Kirk.

Briefly, (spoiler alerts here, but if you haven’t watched it yet, that’s another issue), Captain Kirk’s good friend Gary Mitchell (played by actor Gary Lockwood), gains God-like powers when the starship Enterprise becomes the first vessel to go beyond the barrier at the edge of the galaxy (hence, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”). In a fight to the death, Kirk (with a little help) prevails. Despite his near-fatal confrontation, Kirk says Mitchell died in the line of duty because “He didn’t ask for what happened to him.”

“Where No Man Has Gone Before” stands out as a story of the bonds of friendship and its undying importance to Captain Kirk. Of all his friendships, it’s the one between Kirk and Continue Reading “‘I’ve Been Contemplating The Death Of An Old Friend…’”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life Tagged 765874 - Unification, Amok Time, brother, Chris Pine, death, Dr.Tolian Soran, Edith Keeler, Frank Poole, friendship, Gary Lockwood, Gary Mitchell, Kelvin, Kenny, Kirk, Leonard Nimoy, life, Nexus, Picard, Spock, Star Trek, Star Trek II, Star Trek III, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek: Generations, The City on the Edge of Forever, The Original Series, The Search for Spock, The Wrath of Khan, Where No Man Has Gone Before, Whom Gods Destroy, William Shatner

Why I Started To Write

By Chris Carosa on August 15, 2023

I’ve seen this quote all over the news lately. Funny thing, but I remember the quote and not the news story that prompted its use. The quote is from Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. In it, Bill asks how Mike went bankrupt. Mike responds with the now literary meme, “Two ways. Gradually and then suddenly.”

It turns out this “gradually then suddenly” concept applies to a lot more than bankruptcy. Think about how the Roman Empire fell. This applies both to the OG empire centered in Continue Reading “Why I Started To Write”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Armageddon, chain reaction, critical mass, English class, Erie County Fair Museum, Ernest Hemingway, first grade, freshman year, Herbie the Helicopter, high school, I think I can, Joseph Conrad, Kirk, Mary Lee, Miss Jackson, Mr. Clauss, Mr. Harvey, Mr. Polito, nuclear fission, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Spock, Star Trek, The Enemy Within, The Secret Sharer, The Sun Also Rises

Simple Summer Mornings In The Years B.C. (‘Before Chili’)

By Chris Carosa on August 1, 2023

If the summers of Dortmund Circle were filled with sports of all sorts, flingable fruit filled the summers of Abbott Parkway. That wasn’t the only difference.

While nearly all the kids my age on Dortmund Circle were boys, girls dominated the peerage on Abbott Parkway. There were a lot more kids on Abbott Parkway, in part because the street was twice as long. That length also changed our venues of play.

On Dortmund Circle, all us guys lived within a few houses of each other. Our playing fields (mostly the street and our driveways) lay right outside our doors. Given its substantial length and the location of most of the kids, Abbott Parkway presented a different avenue to fun.Continue Reading “Simple Summer Mornings In The Years B.C. (‘Before Chili’)”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 3-d Football Card, Abbott Parkway, Angelo, bikes, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Dave Thomas, Dick Butkus, Dortmund Circle, grandpa's house, Highland Parkway, Kellogg's, Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Kenny, Kirk, Life cereal, Markie, Mary Lee, McCoy, mom, Quake, Quisp, Raisin Bran, Rocketship 7, Spock, Star Trek, Trix

We’ll Always Have Paris… How The Business of Sequels Destroyed America’s Youth

By Chris Carosa on July 23, 2019

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. That may be true, but it is also the greatest impediment to progress.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s a certain business sense to imitation – and I don’t mean outright theft of intellectual property. I’m referring to the “variation on a theme” that has become a successful marketing trope since well before Beethoven, Bach, and The Beatles.

Companies use the goodwill (and good publicity) generated by a top selling product, give it a tweak here and there, then come out with a “new” product that borrows heavily from the theme of the original. Rarely, however, does this sequel product ever reach the heights of its predecessor.

Here’s an example. Following the tremendous success of Continue Reading “We’ll Always Have Paris… How The Business of Sequels Destroyed America’s Youth”

Posted in Business Tips, Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Abbott and Costello, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Buck Rogers, Casablanca, Charlie Chan, Coke, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, George Lucas, Han Solo, Hollywood, Ilsa, Kirk, Leia, Luke, McCoy, millenial, On the Road, Pepsi, Renault, Rick, serial movie, Spock, Star Trek, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, Tarzan, The Wrath of Khan, Two and a Half Men, variations on a theme, Victor Lazlo

The Soul of the Machine

By Chris Carosa on November 8, 2016

The group of more than a dozen met at a row of tables by the windows towards the back of the Pinehurst dining room. It was the early 1990s, and most businesses by then had discovered the most profitable way to increase productivity meant equipping its employees with personal computers. Spreadsheets, word processing, and this new thing called “PowerPoint” became the standard. Employers, though, had one challenge – they were ill-prepared to train their employees. It was one of those “old dog – new tricks” conundrums.

So the HFL Board of Education decided the best way the school district could add value to Continue Reading “The Soul of the Machine”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Big Tree Volunteer Fire Company, Court Martial, Elisha Cook, HFL, Jr., Kirk, Star Trek

Star Trek Into Darkness Review: Man Enough to Admit the Truth

By Chris Carosa on May 14, 2013

Here’s the good news: My daughter and her college girlfriends went to the New York red carpet premiere for one purpose: to leave with a picture of themselves with Chris Pine. They succeeded. As for the movie, with the exception of my daughter, none of them had ever seen any of the many versions of Star Trek available in this universe and, in fact, openly declared their dislike for science fiction in general. After seeing Star Trek Into Darkness, they emerged as fans. They couldn’t believe how great the movie was. They were bubbling with excitement, eager for the next sequel.

That’s what they call “expanding the constituency.” It’s a marketers dream come true, and no doubt one of the reasons Paramount partnered with J. J. Abrams for the Star Trek reboot.

But I’m part of the original constituency – the one dating back to Star Trek: The Original Series (a.k.a. “TOS”). For my part, I fulfilled my dream merely by Continue Reading “Star Trek Into Darkness Review: Man Enough to Admit the Truth”

Posted in It's a Nerd's World Tagged Chris Pine, Into Darkness, John Wayne, Khan, Kirk, Spock, Star Trek, The Searchers, The Wrath of Khan

‘I’ve Been Contemplating The Death Of An Old Friend…’

Why I Started To Write

Simple Summer Mornings In The Years B.C. (‘Before Chili’)

We’ll Always Have Paris… How The Business of Sequels Destroyed America’s Youth

The Soul of the Machine

Star Trek Into Darkness Review: Man Enough to Admit the Truth

Welcome to ChrisCarosa.com

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‘I’ve Been Contemplating The Death Of An Old Friend…’

Why I Started To Write

Simple Summer Mornings In The Years B.C. (‘Before Chili’)

We’ll Always Have Paris… How The Business of Sequels Destroyed America’s Youth

The Soul of the Machine

Star Trek Into Darkness Review: Man Enough to Admit the Truth

Welcome to ChrisCarosa.com

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