CONTENTS |
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Sunday,
Oct. 11: Centennial Park Picnic & Republic
Brick Hunt
Saturday, October 31:
Fourth Annual Halloween Spooktacular
Saturday, November 14: Fall
Sci-Fi Charity Putt-Putt Challenge
Saturday, November 21:
Fall Dinner & Business Meeting
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
USS
Republic to be featured in STARFLEET Communiqué...?
USS Exeter files
activity report for July
Visit
the USS Republic Ship's Store today!
Recent
Chapter Event Photos
SIDEBAR
September
Birthdays
Welcome Aboard!
September
Membership Renewals
Member Reenlistments
Wish List
About
the Republic
For More Information
USS Republic Online
Related Sites
Our
Member Benefits Program Partners
News
from TrekMovie.com
Star Trek Finishes
Theatrical Run with $385M
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
Centennial
Olympic Park Picnic
& USS Republic Brick Hunt
A Joint Event with the USS Atlanta
Sunday, October 11, 2009
1:00 p.m. at CNN Center Food Court
190 Marietta St, Atlanta GA 30303
1:30 p.m. at The Fountain of Rings
Bordered by Andrew Young International Blvd NW, Marietta St
NW, and Centennial Olympic Park Dr NW
Atlanta, GA 30313 |
Fifteen
years ago, the USS Republic purchased a personalized,
inscribed brick for the brand new Centennial
Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. We
have a certificate in our chapter archives confirming its
ownership and placement, but we do not have a photo of the
brick itself. On Sunday, October 11, members
of the Republic and the USS Atlantamany
of whom were members of the Republic in the mid-1990swill
come togetherour first official joint eventfor
an afternoon picnic in the park, a "brick hunt"
(it won't be hard... we have a map indicating where it's
located), and a group photo opportunity.
Members, former members and Friends of the Republic
are encouraged to wear current or past Republic shirts
and join us for this soon-to-be-historic afternoon. Current
and former members are invited to join us for a group opportunity
around our brick.
GETTING THERE
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MARTA
is highly recommended. From your starting point,
take the train to MARTA's longest-named station, the
Georgia Dome/Georgia World Congress Center/Philips
Arena/CNN Center Station (W1 on the east/west Blue
Line) |
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Park
in the Georgia World Congress Center's Green Lot,
located on Marietta Street across the street from
the Embassy Suites Hotel, at a daily rate of $8.00 |
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Park
in a variety of privately owned lots near the intersection
of Marietta Street and Centennial Olympic Park Drive
(near the CNN Center and Philips Arena); rates vary |
SCHEDULE
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1:00
p.m. |
Meet
in the CNN
Center Food Court
to buy lunch |
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1:30
p.m. |
Picnic
at The Fountain of Rings; locate brick |
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2:00
p.m. |
Assemble
for group photo around brick |
You are welcome to bring a box lunch from home and join
us for an old-fashioned picnic in the park; otherwise, please
meet in the CNN
Center Food Court at 1:00 p.m. to order a lunch
from one of several restaurants, including Arby's, Blimpie,
Chick-fil-A, China Breeze, Dunkin' Donuts, Fuji Express,
Great Wraps, Gorin's Homemade Sandwiches, Natural's Ice
Cream, Yogurt & Smoothies, Moe's Southwest Grill, Roman
Delight, Salad Sensations, Starbucks, Taco Bell and Wendy's. Around
1:30, weather permitting, we'll then walk across Marietta
Street to the Fountain of Rings to enjoy our lunch during
what will hopefully be a beautiful autumn afternoon. At
2:00, we'll locate and gather around the USS Republic's
commemorative brick, located in the southeast corner of
Centennial Plaza near the intersection of Centennial Olympic
Park Drive and Luckie Street, for group photos of this historic
occasion.
The Republic has no specific plans immediately after
the group photos, but there are plenty of nearby attractions
to visit and enjoy, including the Georgia
Aquarium, the World
of Coca-Cola, the CNN
Center Studios Tour, the Imagine
It Children's Museum of Atlanta and much more. Members
and friends of the Republic are encouraged to visit
a local attraction after our group picnic and brick photos.
Please plan to join us for an afternoon of food, fun and
friendship!
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Fourth
Annual Halloween Spooktacular
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Time
and Location to Be Announced |
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The
Republic's Third
Annual Halloween Spooktacular
October 2008
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The USS
Republic's Fourth Annual Halloween Spooktacular
is scheduled for Saturday, October 31, but we have not yet
confirmed a location for the event. Any member
or friend of the Republic who would be willing to host
this event in their home should contact
the Captain as soon as possible!
This will, of course, be a costume-encouraged eventand
not necessarily Star Trek or science fiction costumes! Save
the date now! Depending on where the event is held,
it may be a potluck dinner and BYOB event... or maybe
not! Additional details to be announced. |
Fall
Sci-Fi Charity Putt-Putt Challenge
Sponsored by KAG Atlanta and Sci-Fi Summer
Con
A charity event benefitting Bread of Life Food Ministry
12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday, November 14, 2009
Malibu Grand Prix Theme Park
5400 Brook Hollow Parkway, Norcross GA 30071
(770) 416-7630 |
Let's
join our Klingon friends from KAG
Atlanta at the Malibu
Grand Prix Theme Park in Norcross for this fun-filled
fundraiser benefitting Bread
of Life Food Ministry,
a community food bank in Lawrenceville. We had
a lot of fun at this event the last two years and have been
challenged by KAG Atlanta to do it again!
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Malibu
Grand Prix is on Brook Hollow Parkway in Norcross, just
west of I-85 at Indian Trail-Lilburn Road |
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Bring
at least two canned food donations per person
for a free 18-hole round of putt-putt per person (a
$6.99 value)! |
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All
other attractions at group rate prices! |
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Prizes
to the winner and person donating the most canned goods! |
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Republic
shirts or Star Trek costumes encouraged but not
required! |
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All
local fan clubs and fan groups are challenged and welcomed
to attend and participate! |
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This
is a "family-friendly" event! |
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There
may be some fun semi-fabulous prizes for the winner! |
For more information, please contact Sci-Fi
Summer Con
chairman and KAG Atlanta Quadrant Commander Chris
Jones. On behalf of the command and crew of
the USS Republic NCC-1371, we hope to see you there!
Q'pla!
MAP AND DIRECTIONS |
Fall
Dinner & Business Meeting
6:00 p.m. Saturday, November 21, 2009
Location to be announced |
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The
Republic's 2008 Fall Dinner & Business
Meeting
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The Republic
typically holds two business meetings a year, one in the spring
and one in the fall, to set the chapter's course for the following
six months. At this meeting, we'll be making specific
plans for chapter activities from December through next May. Members
who wish to be more involved in the Republic's operations
are especially encouraged to attend. As always,
the Republic's many friends and guests are invited
to join us.
Restaurant or Potluck? Any member who would
like to host this meeting in their home as a potluck event
is encouraged to contact
the Captain. Otherwise, a family-style
restaurant will be chosen and announced next month.
Dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m. The business meeting
is scheduled to begin around 7:00 and will likely last between
a half-hour to an hour. If this event is a potluck,
following the business meeting, we'll have a variety of entertainments
available: a variety of Star Trek board games to play,
a selection of Star Trek videos to watch, or just hang
around and chat with your fellow members! |
NEWS
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
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USS
Republic to be featured in STARFLEET Communiqué
front-page story...? |
Already
the largest chapter in STARFLEET, the USS Republic
is on the brink of an extraordinary achievementsurpassing
one hundred members! As of this issue, the Republic
is 91 members strong and reaching triple digits in our membership
roster at this point almost seems inevitable. If
and when the Republic finally reaches that historic
number, we have been promised by STARFLEET Chief Communications
Officer Commodore Jonathan Lane a front-page story
and feature article in the following issue of the STARFLEET
Communiqué, the bimonthly newsletter of our
parent organization that all STARFLEET members receive as
part of their membership.
The Republic will, of course, continue to recruit
new members, but this goal could be easily reached by the
end of this month if only half of our members whose
STARFLEET dues have expired would simply renew their membership
dues. We currently have 18 members on our roster
whose dues have lapsed and are no longer considered members
in good standing in STARFLEET. If you are one
of those folks, please consider renewing your dues today! Simply
click the "Click
Here to Renew" button or the "How
to Join" link in the sidebar for easy online
payment processing by PayPal. Payments by cash
or check are also welcomed. If finances are tight,
the Republic also offers an easy 90-day installment
plan... contact
the Captain for details. Please remember
that your total dues obligation is $25 per year for individuals,
which includes both STARFLEET ($15) and chapter ($10) dues. If
you recently renewed your STARFLEET dues online, you may
still owe chapter dues! Please contact
the Captain if you think this may apply to you.
The Republic has worked hard for more than three
years to build our membership to the admirable strength
it is today, and is deserving of the recognition a feature
article in the Communiqué would provide. Longtime
friends of the Republic who have not yet officially
joined the chapter are also encouraged to help us achieve
this membership goal. Thank you for your support!
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USS
Exeter files activity report for August |
The
USS Exeter NCC-1706, based in Jacksonville, Florida,
is a shuttle of the USS Republic. Commander
John R. Sims, Commanding Officer of the Exeter,
submitted the following report for August 2009:
The command and crew of the USS Exeter met at the Sweet
Tomatoes restaurant on August 15th. We had three new
guests attend and hopefully, they will join our band of travelers!
Thanks to Chris, Hiedi and son and Mary
for attending. I hope to see you folks at the next meeting.
Loved having you attend. Our chapter was also
in full swing preparing for our landing party to Dragon*Con
in Atlanta. Phasers, tricorders and communicators were
issued and our shuttle was prepped for this event.
We also discussed our involvement with a Huntington's Disease
Society of America fundraising event here in Jacksonville
on September 19, 2009, being organized by local representative
Tina Hellum. We all look forward to helping find a cure
for this devastating condition.
We, the crew of the USS Exeter, are very much looking
forward to finally meeting our support ship's commanding officer,
Captain Eric L. Watts, and plan on having a bonnie
time indeed at Dragon*Con!
As of September 7, the USS Exeter crew included twelve
STARFLEET members in good standing. Visit the Exeter's
web site here. |
Visit
the USS Republic Ship's Store today! |
The
USS Republic's Ship's
Store has plenty of merchandise still available. Help
stimulate your chapter's economy by purchasing one
or more of these exclusive, custom-made, Republic-branded
items!
Our
very own custom-designed chapter comm badges, designed and
created by Capt Michael Cowart, feature the Republic's
"Delta Shield/Capital R" logo rendered in a Deep Space
Nine/Voyager-style comm badge that can be worn
with your Next Generation-era style uniform. Each
badge is individually cast in urethane resin and painted by
hand to closely resemble the silver and bronze colors of comm
badges actually used on the modern Star Trek series.
Available in your choice of traditional butterfly clutch (most
secure) for $10.00 each or magnetic backing (won't harm fabric)
for $12.00 each, these unique chapter comm badges will be
a perfect addition to your uniform for all future chapter
events. Show your pride in the Republic and visit
the Ship's
Store to order yours now!
The
Calendars That Would Not Go Away! Still Available
at Half-Price! Printed in full color and on heavyweight
card stock, drilled and comb-bound for easy wall-hanging,
the USS Republic's 2009 calendars feature twelve photos
from the Republic's highest-profile events and activities
from 2008, as well as member birthdays, federal holidays,
major religious and seasonal observances, and most Atlanta-area
science fiction convention dates. THE calendar
for all your fannish needs, this full-sized (10¾"
x 17"), limited edition calendar, regularly priced at
$10.00, can now be yours for only $5.00 postpaid. Visit
the Ship's
Store to order yours now!
GPB
Pledge Drive DVDs: We came, we answered phones, we conquered! Twenty-one
members and friends of the USS Republic answered phones
for two hours during Georgia Public Broadcasting's live semi-annual
Pledge Drive on Saturday, December 6... and we've got it on
DVD! See Capt Eric L. Watts be interviewed
on live TV! See Ens Eddie Hines ham it up
for the cameras! See two fully ridged Klingons
try to hold phones to their heads! See it all for
only $5.00 per each postpaid DVD! In addition to
40 minutes of televised Republic samaritanism, this
four-hour DVD also includes the last half-hour of Celtic
Woman–The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection; Victor
Borge: 100 Years of Music & Laughter! (1½ hrs); Yanni
Voices (30 min.) and the first hour of My Music: My
Generation–The 60s, hosted by Michelle Phillips. Visit
the Ship's
Store to order yours now! |
Recent
Chapter Event Photos |
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Dragon*Con
Planning Meeting || August 2, 2009
Seated: Ens Kenneth Cribbs. Standing: CO
Capt Eric L. Watts, Capt Michael Cowart, Ens Julianne
Trew, Ens "Wolfy," Ens Joanne Trew, Ens
Chris Seckinger, Ens Barry Bynum, Ens John Stump,
Beth Miller with daughter Alex, Ens Mark A. Ozanick,
Ens Audra Diaha, Ens Eddie Hines, Ens Victoria A.
White.
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SEPTEMBER
BIRTHDAYS
Tuesday, September 1
Ensign Pamela C. Richards
Tuesday, September 15
Crewman Elizabeth Hurst
Sunday, September 20
Crewman Connor Sollie
Crewman Aaron Taylor
Sunday, September 27
Ensign Kenneth Cribbs
Tuesday, September 29
Ensign Richard H. Beall
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WELCOME
ABOARD!
2 New Members in August!
Ensign Elizabeth Michelle Miller
Crewman Jessica Anne Curtiss
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SEPTEMBER
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
These members' SFI and chapter dues
expire in September
Ensign
Joel Tyler Anderson
Ensign Richard H. Beall
Crewman Cody Harner
Ensign Joseph M. Harner
Ensign Darrell R. Ortiz
Ensign Christopher W. Smith
Ensign Philip Patron
Crewman Connor Sollie
Ensign Mike Sollie
Ensign Jamie Sweat
Ensign Jonathan W. Thomas
Ensign Jose A. Torres
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MEMBER
REENLISTMENTS
These members renewed their SFI and chapter
dues in August
Ensign 2nd Class Chadd Franklin
Ensign 3rd Class Eric L.
Ensign 2nd Class Sue Lin L.
Ensign 3rd Class John Stump
Ensign 3rd Class "Wolfy"
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The
Republic needs certain items on a continuing basis
to operate. To help keep our expenses and membership
dues as low as possible, donations of the following items
would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for
your support!
CRITICAL NEED: HP 10 black, cyan, magenta and yellow
ink cartridges and print heads
Also:
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Wi-fi
enabled Windows XP laptop with remote mouse |
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postage
stamps |
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Avery
8160 or compatible address labels |
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9
x 12 manila clasp envelopes |
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8½
x 11 90-lb. white index card stock (Springhill 15101) |
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clear
packing tape |
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ABOUT
THE REPUBLIC
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Commissioned
on May 14, 1988 at Dixie-Trek in Atlanta, Georgia, the
USS Republic NCC-1371 is a chapter of STARFLEET
International (SFI) and a member of STARFLEET Region 2. The
Republic currently has 91 active members
(as of October 4) and is the largest chapter of STARFLEET
in the world.
The Republic plans and coordinates an active schedule
of events for its members, frequently partnering with
other local science fiction groups in the Atlanta area
for joint activities, but does not hold meetings on a
consistently fixed date each month.
Membership in the Republic includes membership
in STARFLEET International. Annual dues are $25
per person for both groups (family discounts are available
with certain conditions and restrictions). Membership
in the Republic includes a subscription to our
award-winning quarterly magazine, The Sovereign Star,
access to our YahooGroups message board, voting privileges
in chapter elections and a personalized laminated membership
card which entitles the member to discounts and rebates
on products and services offered by our Member Benefits
Program partners. Additional information on Republic
membership and how to join is on our award-winning web
site.
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FOR
MORE INFORMATION
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USS
REPUBLIC ONLINE
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RELATED
SITES
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XBox
Live Gamertag:
"USS Republic"
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OUR
MEMBER BENEFITS PROGRAM PARTNERS
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NEWS
from
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Star
Trek Finishes Theatrical Run with $385M – Full Box Office
Analysis |
by
Anthony Pascale
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After
a long life of 21 weeks in theaters, J. J. Abrams new Star
Trek movie has officially ended its run. The film
is still in a handful of theaters, but distributors will
no longer be tracking performance. The final tally,
as of last Thursday, brings the film a few thousand short
of $385 million worldwide, which is certainly a big success,
especially for a franchise that was given up for dead by
some just a few years ago.
Star Trek is Back
According to Box Office Mojo, Star Trek’s domestic
tally is $257.7 over the 147-day theatrical run. This
includes $28.1 million for IMAX (or around 11%). This
makes it the highest-grossing and highest-attended film
in the Trek franchise.
Star Trek’s performance makes it the 47th highest-grossing
film of all time (180th when adjusting for inflation). More
importantly, Star Trek ended up beating expectations,
by outperforming its two primary May 2009 competitors, X-Men
Wolverine ($179.9M) and Terminator Salvation
($125.3). The film is currently the 5th-ranked film
for 2009 (Fall/Holiday releases like 2012, Sherlock
Holmes, New Moon and Avatar could push
it down the list). The film also met Paramount’s goals
of of putting it into league with other recent tentpole
films, like Iron Man, and ‘franchise reboots’ like
Batman Begins and Casino Royale.
Star Trek has work to do internationally
Although Star Trek was a hit domestically (which
covers US and Canada), internationally it was more of a
mixed bag. According to the international distributor,
Star Trek brought in $127.2M overseas. This
is quite good for the franchise, and the best outing since
Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
With the strength of its domestic sales, Star Trek
brought in around $385M total worldwide, which currently
ranks it 8th for the year. But when you look just
at its international sales, the film is ranked 13th. In
the last two decades, Trek films have just not been
a strong performer overseas. A number of films that
Star Trek eclipsed at home ended up beating it overseas.
As a percentage, Star Trek earned about 1/3 of its
total money overseas, which is very low for modern big budget
movies (except for comedies). Most films earn closer
to 50%, with some films (like Ice Age 2 and Angels
& Demons) earning up to 70% or more overseas. When
one looks closer at the numbers, you can see that Star
Trek actually performed well in the English-speaking
countries (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand), where its
competitive position was not unlike the domestic ranking.
However, everywhere else in the world, the film did
not perform like a Hollywood tentpole, and more like a medium-sized
Hollywood movie. For example, in the UK, Star Trek
is ranked 6th for the year with $35.2M, but in Korea it
is ranked 27th with $5.7M, in Mexico it is ranked 30th with
$3.4M, in France it ranked 42nd with $7.0M.
As for why Star Trek under-performed in the non-English
speaking world, there is no obvious single answer. One
factor is clearly that Star Trek has never been a
strong brand outside the English-speaking countries (with
the exception of Germany). In the past, Star Trek
films have been short on action and long on dialog, which
has not worked well vs. other summer tentpoles. Even
though the new Star Trek tried to redress this balance,
it is possible that many foreign film-goers just didn’t
give it a chance and didn’t get the message that this was
a totally new kind of Star Trek film (hopefully those
that did go can help the word of mouth for the next film).
Another factor could be that the film had no big bankable
stars in (like a Tom Cruise, Wil Smith, Christian Bale,
Hugh Jackman, etc.). Even though studios make more
money off their domestic sales (less middlemen, no currency
issues, etc.), international sales are no longer the "extra"
bit for a movie. For the Star Trek sequel to
break into the $500M+ category of "super blockbusters,"
it is going to need to find a way to increase its appeal
to non-English speaking audiences.
Home Video coming Nov. 17th
The next big milestone for the Star Trek movie
is the highly anticipated release on home video. The
movie is getting three core releases in North America (1-disk
DVD, 2-disk DVD, 3-disk Blu-ray), plus some special gift
sets. Paramount executives have been talking
up the sales of Star Trek home video to investors,
so it seems that they expect to be a big factor in their
4th-quarter returns. It is possible that the film can build
some more goodwill for first-time viewers who waited until
he film was available to rent, especially overseas. |
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