Editor's Message

Article by Richard Smith

Hello everyone I’m Rich Smith the Editor of the Blue Report. Thanks for checking out this month’s Issue. We’ve got a pretty full issue this month. T’Pel provides another recap of the Simming Teams Activities, and also regales us with another epic tale of her own. Sarek searched high and low and has a listing of open positions around the Outpost. Numbers has pulled down some interesting items and as always the agony aunt is ready to give you a good laugh. And we’d like to welcome our latest addition CL4 Kady. She has reviewed a fiction novel and you’ll be seeing more from her. Cameron also has his chat save contribution this month.

Speaking of Cameron, He’s decided to leave the Blue Report Staff in favor of a new position in the Entertainment department. We wish him the best of luck.

Also bidding farewell to the team is Starfinder Warp. You’ll notice that his brain teasers are not included in this month’s issue. That’s because he has opted to step back from the team. While it was a surprise to me I understood his reasoning and wish him the best as well.

Both Cameron and Starfinder Warp will be missed and we thank them for their contributions over the years.

Thanks everyone for checking out this month’s issue and we’ll see you all in chat…… Smith out

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Promotions

The following members have been promoted for the months of September and October 2013. Congratulations!

To CL3

September


• Gia
• Kovac
• Lala_jala
• New Mercury
• S
• sizzle
• Tom Baker

October


• binaryferret
• Han Shot First
• Naerys H'ghar
• Savrek
• Scott Wolf
• thereRfive4lights

To CL4

• Admiral kast
• Cognizance
• Darth Jadus
• Jayde*+*
• OceansandStreams

To CL5

• Darth Sidious

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Outpost10f Classifieds

Article by Sarek

Outpost 10F Classifieds [by CL5 Sarek]

Marketing
Team Members - The Marketing Team is looking for members to help promote OTF to outside sources. Preferable, but not required, skills include: knowledge of Photoshop (or similar programs), HTML, musical talent, writing experience, and recruiting experience. Interested persons should contact the team leader, CL5 Cameron Brown.

Unions
Team Members - The Unions Team is looking for members to help plan, organize, and promote the 2014 Philadelphia Union. Union attendance is not required, but highly encouraged. Interested persons should contact the team leader, CL6 Numbahs.

Blue Report
Entertainment Writer - The Blue Report seeks someone to write reviews of movie and DVD releases. Interested persons should contact the team leader, CL7 Richard Smith.

Simming
Team Members - The Simming Team is looking for members to fill out the creative and simming divisions. Any experience in sim writing, leading, moderating, or simply a desire to learn is all you need. Interested persons should contact the team leader, CL4 Darth Sidious.

Engineering
Team Members - The Avatar Project Manager is looking for persons to help locate raw, unedited images from TNG, VOY, DS9, ENT, LOTR, and SW. Interested persons should contact the project manager, CL6 Trinity.
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Simming Update

Article by T'Pel Kestra

Simming Update from ATL T'Pel of the Simming Team

Granted we did not have the same turn out for this round of our Sim, but that did not stop our crew. Once they had made their way to the Nisa's test sight, there was an overload that sent the Nisa into an overload. Sending the crew scrambling to figure out just what went wrong.

With further investigation, it was learned that the overload signal had come from the Pulsar, sending their Captain into a near panic frenzie as the signal had been sent from the Ambassador's position on the bridge.

Few survived from the Nisa, but survivors and debris were instantly being rounded up to continue the investigation. While Captain T'Pel cornered the Ambassador in Engineering in an attempt to get to the bottom of the issue. Going as far as threatening an invasion into his mind for the answers.

What will happen next? Will the crew be able to gather the information they need to prove their innocence in the matter? Will T'Pel conduct a breach of personal Vulcan and Betazoid code to gain the information? Tune in for the next episode to find out and see!

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The USS T'Kumbra: A Trip Home - Part Two

Article by T'Pel Kestra

Time for that new chapter!

Eager for a peek? Why give it away?
Here you go! The New Chapter!
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Book Review

Article by Kady

　　　　"We women make choices for others, not for ourselves, and when we are mothers, we...bear what we must for our children. You will protect them. It will hurt you; it will hurt them. Your job is to hide that your heart is breaking and do what they need you to do." - Kristin Hannah, Winter Garden

From the New York Times Bestselling Author of Firefly Lane and True Colors comes an intricately woven story about the relationship of a mother and her daughters.

　　　　Anya Whitson is a Russian immigrant living in the United States. Only upon the death of her husband does Anya reconnect with her two adult daughters to form a strained relationship filled with past emotional scars. Sometimes mothers and daughters share an intrinsic emotional bond. At other times, what grows between a mother and her daughters is as barren as a winter garden.

　　　　When Captain Richard Smith requested that I review a book for the Blue Report, my mind scrambled to select the proper fit for the Blue Report’s readers. Obviously, Outpost Ten Forward is composed of a science fiction geared population with a focus on Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of The Rings, Game of Thrones, Firefly, and even Dr. Who. How would an adult best seller like Winter Garden ever be able to stand up against literary works by gifted science fiction writers? How could I pull off reviewing an American novel when so many members of the population are scattered around the world and not come off as being short sighted?

　　　　Even with all this doubt shadowing this book, it tugged at my heart. And the answer became clear. Winter Garden is not just a ‘non science fiction,’ ‘American’ novel devoid of any real literary merit. Winter Garden is a story of human emotion and the pain that is all too often rooted inside. It is a exploration into the realm of secrets and broken lines of communication. Coincidentally, it also serves as a reminder of the affects of chaos caused by the imbalance of a corrupted government.

　　　　Nina and Meredith Whitson grew up with an emotionally distant mother who rarely communicated with her family aside from telling and retelling a fairy tale about a family living in Russia. Their mother, Anya, would spend countless hours sitting in and admiring her winter garden despite being color blind. Is it ironic that a color blind woman’s prized possession would be her garden in the dead of winter? Indeed, it is. However, it symbolizes the very essence of a woman’s heart stripped of human emotion as she grows up from infancy in the tyranny of a communist government during a time when revealing the slightest human emotion may endanger her family from the watchful scrutiny of the ‘secret police’.

　　　　Anya relates her youth living in Russia to her daughters in the form of a fairy tale. Her daughters’ disdain this fairy tale because they view it as their mother’s inability to converse with them about important details in their lives. Nina and Meredith eventually begin to understand that decoding the characters and events in their mother’s story leads them to understand their mother’s past and how she evolved into the person they know her as.

　　　　In an effort to unravel the secrets of their mother’s past, Nina and Meredith take Anya to Alaska to meet Professor Adamovich who has mailed Anya a letter years earlier in an effort to find answers to secrets that the Soviets kept in Leningrad. Magically, they notice a remarkable difference in their mother’s demeanor as they are sailing on a cruise ship charted for Alaska.

　　　　"But the woman who’s just smiled was someone else entirely. Secrets within secrets. Was that what they’d discover on this trip? That their mother was like one of her precious Russian nesting dolls, and if that were true, would they ever really see the one hidden deep inside?" (Winter Garden, pg 251)

　　　　Let it be known that the novel Winter Garden stole my heart. I caution anyone wanting to read this book to do so with a box of tissues in hand. From the death of Nina’s and Meredith’s father until the time when Anya’s story begins to reveal that Vera is living in the midst of the Invasion of the Soviet Union by the Germans in 1941, I found that there are few parts that are not emotionally gripping. I truly felt that I was sucked into the plot and became connected with the characters. It took me longer to read this book all the way through, but it was never because it was lagging or dull or boring. Rather, it was the way the author Kristin Hannah wound my heart around the emotions experienced by the characters. I visualized their pain, fears, and disappointments.

　　　　There is no "villain" and no "hero" in this book. And the character development takes place in all the characters: Anya as she learns to let go of her past and allow her love to radiate out to reach her own two daughters, Nina and Meredith as they come to understand the reasons behind their mothers detachment, and Vera as we follow her through history in Leningrad surrounding the invasion by Germany. In fact, I was so motivated by this novel that I began rereading USSR/Russian history surrounding the cusp of World War II. I encourage everyone to read this book.
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Agony Aunt

Article by Mr Numbahs

Dear Agony Aunt,

My GF keeps telling me to do dishes. I LOATH dishes! I just wanna shoot these little annoying buggers!!! Please help me!!!

Regards,
Annoyed BF


Dear Annoyed BF,
Why not shoot them? Grab a shotgun, shovel, and a map of your backyard. Shoot them,bury them, and when the GF comes home asking where the dishes are, hand her a map with random X's on it, and say it's treasure hunt day. At that point,it may be a good time to run.

Regards,
Agony Aunt
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