Finding Faith at Starfleet Academy
Scotty, beam up my homework!
Two graduate students from Germany have landed fellowships worth $15,300 per year at UC Riverside to study the religious content and structure of “Star Trek,” the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
The article pointed out that the university has the largest collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror works in the world.
News of the far-out fellowships didn’t come as a shock to me, not here in Southern California. It was only a few years ago that the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena offered the course “The Films of Keanu Reeves.”
Still, Press-Enterprise columnist Dan Bernstein wondered if “the doors of research have been flung wide open.” For instance, he mused, how about a fellowship “to study the conflict-resolution strategies employed by ‘The Three Stooges’?”
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SPEAKING OF SPACE CADETS: Lois and Jim Berry of Fountain Valley walked into a restaurant and asked the hostess if they could have a table instead of a booth. The hostess hesitated, then asked, “You mean with chairs?”
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CARRYING DISCIPLINE A BIT TOO FAR: Returning to the subject of school humor, retired teacher Tom Blackman says that one of his most unforgettable parental excuses read this way: “My son is under a doctor’s care and should not take PE today. Please execute him.”
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GUIDE TO DARING DINING: Hi. Today’s specials (see accompanying) include a new type of vegetable soup (submitted by Jan Kessler of Manhattan Beach), a restaurant with an impertinent chef (Tim Creedon of L.A.) and a warning against using too much hot sauce.
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GUERRILLA COPY EDITORS REPORT: Some adventures in print with the English language spotted by alert column readers:
* A grandfather clock described in an ad as a “hairloom” (Judy Post)
* A heater with the brand name Life Time--but carrying a one-year warranty (Bob Lloyd)
* Plantation “shudders” (Carol Orendy)
* Some “sheik” home furnishings (Skip Loomis-Klotz)
* Drum sets with “symbols” not included (Jane Patronite)
* A notice for a supremely qualified housekeeper: “reverences” required (Clarice Lemburg)
* And, finally, Rosie Rosenlof of Carson noticed that a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post reminded readers that its February-March publication “is for two mouths.”
From my brief military experience, I know that two mouths are enough to spread the news to everyone in the fort.
miscelLAny:
Carson auto dealer Don Kott’s electronic sign off the San Diego Freeway displayed this greeting on Valentine’s Day:
HAPPY (HEART) DAY TO ALL U 405 LOVERS
I would guess that you could probably fit all the lovers of the 405 into the front passenger seat of a Ford Escort.