Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Dark Mirror

Posted on August 21, 2026 by smellincoffee

The memory of thirty years ago is hazy, but I can look back through it and see one moment of clarity: my best friend Gil and I walking around during lunch period (we always skipped lunch in favor of roaming … Continue reading →

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I Am Spock

Posted on August 20, 2026 by smellincoffee

I cannot tell you how many times I read through this book in high school, but it’s the foundation of everything I know about Star Trek’s original production, from the practical effects to the behind the scenes drama.  I Am … Continue reading →

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ST Stargazer: Gauntlet

Posted on August 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

Captain Jean-Luc Picard just showed up at a sector captains’ meeting with a serious case of imposter syndrome. He’s all of 28, and the only reason he’s a captain is that everyone higher else up on the command chain got … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday

Posted on August 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

If that meme bewilders you, LeVar Burton (Geordie) was the star of a PBS show called Reading Rainbow. Its theme: WHAT have you finished reading recently? I Am Spock, Leonard Nimoy, and a book I won’t mention just yet. Review … Continue reading →

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ST TNG: The Forgotten War

Posted on August 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

Centuries ago, in the days of legends like Captain Pike and Captain Murat, the Federation fought an undeclared war against an aggressive reptilian warrior-race called the Tarn. The war ended in an armistice that established a small no-fly zone between … Continue reading →

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It’s a Trekkie Teaser Tuesday

Posted on August 18, 2026 by smellincoffee

Leonard Nimoy, musing on the Spock/McCoy dynamic in I Am Spock: McCoy, frustrated: Now wait a minute, Spock! When the first baseman gets his paycheck, who gets the money?Spock: It is only logical that he should do so, since he … Continue reading →

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ST DS9: Vengeance

Posted on August 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

Recommended mood music: “Klingon Imperial Theme“, Jerry Goldsmith When I did a full DVD watch-through of DS9 back in the mid-late 2000s, I was confused. Where was  the episode where the Klingons took over the station, and Bashir and O’Brien … Continue reading →

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Set Phasers to Frag!

Posted on August 17, 2026 by smellincoffee

For the last few years it has been my custom, or at least habit, to do a “Blast from the Past” week in which I visit stories from my youth, ranging from the very early stuff –Henry Huggins, Boxcar Children, … Continue reading →

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Worth Watching: The Dystopia We Forgot

Posted on August 12, 2026 by smellincoffee

This is not merely a literary observation; Hannah Arendt identified similar factors as the prerequisites for a totalitarian society: Loneliness and Social Atomization Losing Faith in Hierarchies and Institutions The Desire to Transgress and Destroy Propaganda and the Willingness to … Continue reading →

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WWW Wednesday + Country Cooking

Posted on August 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is, “Food from Our Region We Love”. One potential issue with this: I’ve only been out of the Southland a few times in my life, both times to the Southwest. I’m not entirely … Continue reading →

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