Author Archive
USS Crazy Horse Recommissioned
Greetings,
I am pleased to announce that the USS Crazy Horse has been recommissioned in UCIP.
The Crazy Horse has a long and proud history in UCIP dating back to before 2398, earning multiple Bergen and Timmis awards over the course of it’s many years of service, and holds the distinction of being the former flagship of Gamma Fleet, and UCIP.
The Horse will be lead by a posse of experienced simmers, with Captain Sova (Runty) acting as CO, and Commander Brooke Irons (Auryn) as XO.
If you are interested in joining, please take a look at http://crazyhorse.ucip.org or contact their command team via cmd@crazyhorse.ucip.org.
As their new banner states: “Nobody saw us do it; you can’t prove anything!”.
Director of SIM Development, Suz, will be coordinating the development period up to the trial stage.
Godspeed to the Crazy Horse as it begins development.
Regards,
Jazza
President, UCIP
Call for Applications: Vice President & Board Member, UCIP
Following the recent retirement of Jacob from UCIP, and the resignation from the board of Shaun Fisher, I would like to call for applications for:
Vice President, UCIP
Board Member, UCIP Board of Trustees
The role and duties of these positions are outlined in the UCIP constitution and the Board of Trustees Charter, which can be found at:
http://ucip.org/content/about/constitution
http://ucip.org/content/about/constitution/bylaws-policies/board-charter
As per the Constitution, both appointments will be subject to approval by the Board.
Interested members should submit a free-form application outlining their experience in UCIP, in real life, and a summary of key issues they feel UCIP needs to address in the next 6 month by the Board and staff of UCIP. Applications should be sent to president@ucip.org.
Both roles will last until the end of the current term (31 July 2012).
Call for Applications: Executive Producer, Star Trek Multiverse
With the announcement of Wolf’s impending retirement, the Board have taken the opportunity to recast the traditional role of Division Commander.
We are now seeking interested applicants for the newly created role of Executive Producer, Star Trek Multiverse. This change reflects the Board’s desire to move the organisation away from a militaristic-structured body towards one that fosters and develops role-playing.
Initially this role will act as Deputy Division Commander during the hand-over from Wolf. Upon his retirement in February, the role will replace the Division Commander position.
Position Description
Position Title: Executive Producer
Division/Department: Star Trek Multiverse
Reports To: President, UCIP
Tenure: 1 year
Approval Required: Board of Trustees
Function
The Executive Producer is tasked with facilitating the Star Trek Multiverse, providing support and development opportunities to SIM CO’s and ensuring the proper functioning of the division.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide leadership and guidance to the Star Trek Multiverse division
- Ensure the joint universe is developed
- Represent the division’s needs to the Executive staff
- Act as liaison between the division and UCIP support departments
- Ensure that SIMs and SIM leadership teams are supported
- Nurture leadership talent within the division
- Report on the activities of the division regularly to the Executive staff
- Appointing SIM leaders
- Review and provide guidance on senior promotions
Direct Reports
- Plot Director
- SIM Leaders
Tenure
Appointment to the position is for a period of 1 year. The appointment may be revoked by the President.
Required Commitment
Approximately 5-10 hours per week will be required to adequately perform the role.
Applications
Interested members should send their application to president@ucip.org by 2359 hours on Wednesday 30 November 2011 (US Eastern Time).
Applications should address:
- Your experience and career in UCIP
- Your experience and carerr in organisations other than UCIP
- A summary of your real-world experience
- Your thoughts on how you will successfully achieve the key functions of the role
- Your vision for the Star Trek Multiverse divisision
Applications will be considered by the Board and short-listed candidates will be asked to attend a Board meeting to discuss their applications.
Best of luck to all!
45 Years of Star Trek
Today marks the 45th anniversary of Star Trek going to air, a show which rated poorly but was saved by a massive mail-in campaign (by just a handful of people faking lots of letters!) to last for 3 seasons.
This fantastic story of imagination, exploration and acceptance used science fiction as a vehicle to inspire us.
This story, that rated poorly for 3 years, has spawned an animated series, four spin off series and 11 feature films. It has also spawned a committed fan base who share the creativity and imagination to continue building the story. That’s you!
I share some thoughts of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, in the hope that it inspires you to be more creative in your logs, and to continue to build the magical universe that we’ve all collaborated on:
“It speaks to some basic human needs, that there is a tomorrow – it’s not all going to be over in a big flash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans. No, ancient astronauts did not build the pyramids – human beings built them because they’re clever and they work hard. And ‘Star Trek’ is about those things.”
“I had insisted on half women on board [the Enterprise]. The network came to me and said, ‘You can’t have half women. Our people say it will make it look like a ship with all sorts of mad sexual things going on — half men and half women.’ So we argued about it like a poker game and they finally said, ‘Okay. We’ll settle for one-third women.’ I figured one-third women could take care of the males anyway.”
“It isn’t all over; everything has not been invented; the human adventure is just beginning.”
“If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life’s exciting variety, not something to fear.”
“When they say on a show ‘Created by’ anyone, like ‘Created by Gene Roddenberry,’ that is not true. I laid out a pathway, and then the only thing I will take credit for is, I surrounded myself by very bright people who came up with all those wonderful things. And then you can appear very smart.”
“That’s been a question, one of the big questions in my life. ‘What is a human?’ What are the elements that make a human?’ It’s a search for…how many elements do you get before you say, “Yes, it’s human,” where before you were saying it’s not human.”
“I was pleased that in those days when you couldn’t even get blacks on television, that I not only had a black, but a black woman, and a black officer [on 'Star Trek'].”
“Almost all of this comes out of my feeling that the human future is bright. We’re just beginning. We have wonders ahead of us. I don’t see how it can be any other way, with the way the future is going. We now have got a telescope up there. We’re photographing the universe. We’re inventing the next life form, which is the computer. We’re in the midst of it. And it will happen.”
“Perhaps one of the primary features of ‘Star Trek’ that made it different from other shows was, it believed that humans are improving – they will vastly improve in the 23rd century.”
“Mass communications is our language today between one another, and we can’t say, ‘Well, let’s not talk about anything serious on television.’ That is a criminal statement and a criminal intention. In my opinion, the audience is way ahead of our government leaders. I think the government leaders should catch up with our audience, and then we’d have 21st century dreams right now.”
“There is a tomorrow – we humans are going to make it – we’re something. To any young-minded person, that’s a very important statement.”
“We grow – we humans actually grow.’” (In reference to the fact that women didn’t like a fellow woman as second-in-command in the original pilot).
“I have nothing but admiration for this silly race of ours. Even with the Hitler’s in it and so on. Sometimes it goes into ugliness, but, in all though, it is a beauty. It’s like a rose, which also has thorns. We’re something.”
“I have always been reasonably leery of religion because there are so many edicts in religion, ‘thou shalt not,’ or ‘thou shalt.’ I wanted my world of the future to be clear of that.”
Another excellent summary of human achievement, and the Star Trek story, is available at: http://www.space.com/12858-star-trek-timeline-science-fiction-infographic.html.
To celebrate this important milestone, you can purchase a UCIP commemorative 45th Anniversary of Star Trek mug for $18.75, available at:
http://www.zazzle.com/ucip_star_trek_45th_anniversary_frosted_glass_mug-168898405686574935
As a further bonus, UCIP will shortly be offering free email accounts for members. This is based on the Google Apps for Business platform, and you’re able to register a username@subspacerelay.net or (for Galactica fans) username@colonialforces.net. We’re currently seeking beta testers, please email jazza@subspacerelay.net to indicate your interest.
Star Trek is not just a TV show, a movie or a franchise. The Enterprise is a real vehicle, one for storytelling. You are part of Star Trek and its future. You are writing the story.
Congratulations to you all on contributing to 45 years of Star Trek, and to UCIP on being part of the last 15.
Live long, and prosper.
UCIP Member Survey
Once again UCIP is polling it’s membership to understand their thoughts, feelings and desires for UCIP’s future.
The survey looks at UCIP from a variety of viewpoints, aiming to gather as much data as possible to enable the leadership (including staff and the Board) to put together our action plan for the next 12 months.
“The annual survey has proved an invaluable tool over the last two years,” said Jazza, President of UCIP. “It helps us to prioritise and plan our strategy to develop and grow the organisation.”
The survey is open until 11:59pm US Eastern time on Friday 9 September 2011 and can be completed at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YZMRVPQ
