Deleted Star Trek Kirk Scene

Those of you regular readers know I was on the new Star Trek bandwagon well before the movie came out. The release of the DVD last week only confirmed my pick as the best movie of the summer of 2009.

Now comes CONFIRMATION of this deleted scene that contained Shatner's Kirk, What might have been...

For those who might be interested, this is from the script before shooting began. It's got Shatner in it. I can tell you that I could not imagine Shatner as Kirk anymore. He has kind of turned egg shaped. I guess they could have thinned him via computer imagery (a la the DirectTV/Star Trek VI commercial).
This begins during the scene where Spock Prime meets Quinto's Spock at the end of the film:

SPOCK PRIME
Then I ask that you do yourself a
favor... put away logic, and do what
feels right. The world you've inherited
lives in the shadow of incalculable
devastation... but there's no reason you
must face it alone.
And from around his neck, he removes the PENDANT that until now,
we've only caught glimpses of. Places it on the table beside
his younger self. The feeling in his eyes is profound...
SPOCK PRIME (CONT'D)
This was a gift to me. Representing...
a dream. One we were unable to fulfill.
(softly)
The way you can now.
And moves to the door. Stops. Offers the VULCAN SALUTE:
SPOCK PRIME (CONT'D)
As my customary farewell would appear
oddly self serving, I will simply say...
good luck.
Their eyes hold. Spock turns, disappearing into the corridor.
Young Spock stares at the empty doorway a beat, his mind a
jumble of thoughts. Looks to the pendant... and realizes it's a
HOLO-EMITTER. After considering a beat, he hits an activation
button and a MOVING HOLOGRAPHIC MESSAGE materializes before him:
CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK. WILLIAM SHATNER. As always, brash, wry,
confident -- and SINGING:
KIRK/ SHATNER
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to
you...
(stops, grins)
I know I know, it's illogical to
celebrate something you had nothing to do
with, but I haven't had the chance to
congratulate you on your appointment to
the ambassadorship so I thought I'd seize
the occasion... Bravo, Spock -- they tell
me your first mission may take you away
for awhile, so I'll be the first to wish
you luck... and to say...
(beat, emotional)
I miss you, old friend.
... and we're PUSHING IN on Young Spock, taking in the image of
Kirk's future self, the message, but above all -- the clear,
unquestionable friendship these two men had...
INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
As Spock Prime walks off down the corridor, he passes right by a
man conferring with a nurse -- the man pauses, turns... it's
SAREK. Suddenly overcome by a feeling that the stranger who's
just passed him is... oddly familiar.
KIRK/SHATNER (V.O.)
I suppose I'd always imagined us...
outgrowing Starfleet together. Watching
life swing us into our Emeritus years...
INT. STARBASE ONE - HANGAR - ETERNAL NIGHT
MUSIC BUILDING -- glass walls reveal THE ENTERPRISE at dock,
UTILITY CRAFTS floating around it, repairing. Standing at
attention in rows, THE ENTERPRISE CREW -- over four hundred of
them wearing DRESS UNIFORMS -- TRACK DOWN the faces, all proud:
KIRK/SHATNER (V.O.)
I look around at the new cadets now and
can't help thinking... has it really been
so long? Wasn't it only yesterday we
stepped onto the Enterprise as boys?
That I had to prove to the crew I
deserved command... and their respect?
And we STOP ON YOUNG KIRK. Composed, focused, proud. A man.
And to every fan's delight, finally wearing his YELLOW SHIRT.
The FEDERATION COMMANDANT stands at a podium:
COMMANDANT
This assembly calls Captain James
Tiberius Kirk...
Kirk breaks from formation, pivots, marches down the hangar --
past UHURA... SULU... CHEKOV... SCOTTY. All Beaming. Notably
absent, is Spock. Kirk ascends the stairs, snaps to attention:
COMMANDANT (CONT'D)
Your inspirational valor and supreme
dedication to your comrades are in
keeping with the highest traditions of
service and reflect utmost credit to
yourself, your crew, and the Federation.
By Starfleet Order 28455, you are hereby
directed to report to Commanding Officer,
USS Enterprise, for duty as his relief.
Kirk turns. Walks to... PIKE. In a wheelchair now, wearing an
ADMIRAL'S UNIFORM. Overnight, his hair's turned totally grey --
but despite his trauma, his pride's overwhelming. They SALUTE
each other:
KIRK
I relieve you, Sir.
PIKE
... I am relieved.
He opens a BOX in his lap -- glorious in repose, a MEDAL:
PIKE (CONT'D)
And as Fleet Admiral, for your... unique
solution to the Kobayashi Maru, it's my
honor to award you with a commendation
for original thinking.
Pike containing a smirk, pins the medal to Kirk's chest...
PIKE (CONT'D)
(a touch choked)
Congratulations, Captain.
KIRK
Thank you, Sir.
Kirk turns to the crowd. Eyes shining. WILD APPLAUSE. OUR
MUSIC SOARS. Bones leans in to Sulu, rolling his eyes:
BONES
... Same ship, different day.
As Kirk rejoins his crew for hugs and congratulations, we go to
the BACK of the hangar... SPOCK PRIME. Watching. Moved beyond
words. He turns and leaves them to it... as he goes...
KIRK/SHATNER (V.O.)
I know what you'd say -- `It's their turn
now, Jim...' And of course you're
right... but it got me thinking:
INT. STARFLEET HOSPITAL - EARTH - DAY
Our montage comes full circle as we END on Kirk's transmission:
KIRK/SHATNER
Who's to say we can't go one more round?
By the last tally, only twenty five
percent of the galaxy's been chartered...
I'd call that negligent. Criminal even --
an invitation.
(MORE)
KIRK/SHATNER (CONT'D)
You once said being a starship captain
was my first, best destiny... if that's
true, then yours is to be by my side. If
there's any true logic to the universe...
we'll end up on that bridge again
someday.
Stops, grins. Because this is the part he needs to say most...
KIRK
Admit it, Spock. For people like us, the
journey itself... is home.

Young Spock's face. Lost in feelings that flood through him.

Beaujolais Nouveau

Why should you care about the third Thursday in November? It's the day that Beaujolais Nouveau -- a French wine called BN for short -- arrives in stores all over the world.

This is a light-bodied, fruity, fun red, made from the Gamay grape in the region of Beaujolais. "Regular"

Beaujolais is released the year after the grapes are picked, but BN is released a few weeks after the grapes come in. So the wine you taste was made with grapes picked just a few weeks before. The tradition started when winemakers wanted to use up their Gamay grapes and realized they could make a passable wine quickly with the use of the carbonic maceration method, where the fruity quality is preserved without the bitter tannins of the skins and seeds. What began as a winemaker trick became marketing genius. French law requires that BN be released no earlier than the third Thursday of November - no exceptions.

This is not a serious wine - it's just fun and cheap and can be served chilled or at room temperature, and it pairs with virtually every food on the planet. Just don't keep it too long - it's meant to be drunk within six months of purchase. And in these financially precarious times, you'll be happy to hear that BN is one of the best values out there; most bottles are about $10. A few producers are going green and bottling their BN in plastic bottles rather than glass; it keeps the shipping weight down.

Most wine stores carry three or four types of Beaujolais Nouveau, and here are some of the better producers to look for: Mommessin, Georges Duboueuf, Joseph Drouhin, J. Arthaud, and Michel Picard.

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire Super Deluxe Edition (2009)

"An appreciable leap forward in almost every fashion from the group's first trio of albums, The Unforgettable Fire is its first with the production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. And while they take a strong hand in wrestling U2's music out of the mainstream and into a more individualistic area, it's the songs themselves that demand a more subtle approach. Moody gems such as "A Sort of Homecoming" and the entrancing "Bad" set the table for more explosive fare such as "Pride," "Wire," and the title track. This is the album that made U2 a career act, showing that their music could grow by leaps and bounds, even at the hand of another, without sacrificing its soul. "--Daniel Durchholz

My favorite album until The Joshua Tree came out.

Tracklist:
Disc 01:
1. A Sort Of Homecoming 05:282. Pride In The Name Of Love 03:503. Wire 04:204. The Unforgettable Fire 04:555. Promenade 02:356. 4th Of July 02:177. Bad 06:098. Indian Summer Sky 04:209. Elvis Presley And America 06:2310. MLK 02:34

Disc 02:
1. Disappearing Act 04:352. A Sort Of Homecoming Live 04:073. Bad Live 08:004. Love Comes Tumbling 04:525. The Three Sunrises 03:536. Yoshino Blossom 03:397. Wire Kervorkian Remix 05:128. Boomerang I 02:499. Pride In The Name Of Love 04:4310. A Sort Of Homecoming 03:1811. 11 OClock Tick Tock 04:1312. Wire Celtic Dub Mix 04:3613. Basa Trap 05:1514. Boomerang II 04:5015. 4th Of July 02:2616. Sixty Seconds In Kingdom Come 03:15

here

Let It Be (UK Stereo LP - MFSL- Dr. Ebbets)

HERE

Mac and Cheese with Roasted Chicken, Goat Cheese and Rosemary

I love this book! - Mac and cheese postponed until tomorrow night but here is the recipe -


Mac and Cheese with Roasted Chicken, Goat Cheese and Rosemary

from Live To Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen

Kosher salt as needed

1 pound dried rigatoni

1 quart cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

8 ounces goat cheese

2 cups shredded roasted chicken

Bring a pot of water to a boil (add enough salt so that it tastes seasoned). While it's heating, pour the cream into a large sauce pan, add the rosemary and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring it to a simmer, careful not to let it boil over. Reduce the cream by about half. Add the goat cheese and chicken and keep cooking it till the cream coats the back of a spoon.

Cook the rigatoni till it's al dente, about ten minutes. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce. Toss the pasta in the sauce till the sauce resumes a simmer, then serve.

Serves 6 to 8

Back in the Saddle

I know, it has been a while. I have been struggling lately to find a muse. A couple of things came to my attention in the past week that I did want to share -

I have been reading a lot of Michael Ruhlman and noticed that he was part of a new shopping site called Open Sky.

Here is how he describes it," Here's why I think Open Sky is such a great idea. Earlier this month, my son James was home with the flu (all's well now, thank goodness!). I scoured netflix for thrillers or sci-fi flicks that both a 10-year-old and his father would love. There was no search function for this. But I went to my local video store, VidStar, explained the situation to a guy named Joe behind the counter, who took me to his personal shelf and handed me a dozen movies that fit my requirements. I chose three, they were awesome and I went back for three more a few days later.

This is an increasingly infrequent experience in our WalMart-Amazon world, one that Open Sky hopes to make less so by asking individuals to create small "shops" comprising products they themselves love and use. There are shops for gardeners, for fishermen, for bird watchers. It's an expression of the Long Tail theory.

Just last week, a reader of my books and blog wrote to me saying she had had enough worrying over E coli and wanted to start grinding her own meat. She doesn't have a standing mixer so I sent her to the grinder I recommend on Open Sky.

This is my shop for kitchen tools—and everything in it is something I either own and use or covet myself. Want to make a proper quiche? I've got the ring mold you need. What's coolest about Open Sky, though, is that I tell my colleagues at Open Sky that I want to offer something unusual, something most people don't know about, and they find a way for me to offer it through Open Sky. For instance, I found a great magnetic knife holder to hang my knives on (they're made from gorgeous woods so are not only beautiful, they also won't ding my knives) made by a small company you've probably never heard of. Now you have. The company is Bench Crafted and the knife holder is called Mag-Blok, and if you want a space-efficient way to store your knives, I highly recommend it. It's also a really cool, affordable gift (it's not like you see these things all over the place).

Another example. Every time I returned to the Culinary Institute of America, I brought home with me 4 or 5 of the side towels they sell and which all the students use. They're really heavy duty sturdy towels, not for wiping your board! or dabbing your brow! as Chef Pardus told our class, "They're FOR GRABBING HOT THINGS!" I hate pot holders and oven mitts; I find them ugly and clunky and inconvenient. I love these side towels (5 towels per order, btw). They have many uses and I always have a stack folded and ready nearby. I used to have to wait till I went back to Hyde Park to buy more. Now I can order them from my own store! I love it. "

The prices are also very competitive, and there are other "experts" in many different vocations. Open Sky, a very good idea.


Second, Michael Symon's new book, Live to Cook! is hot. It's a chef's cookbook that doesn't talk down to the home cook but is completely home cook accessible. One of his old cooks said this, I've never forgotten it, and it remains true: "You know what I like about Michael's food? It's the kind of food you can do at home." So true. He got a Best New Chef award, and last year Best Chef Midwest from the Beard Foundation, by serving "do-at-home" food. That's what I love about his style and the food in this book. I'll post his Mac and Cheese recipe soon, I'll be making it Tuesday night.

Last but not least - new JM. Battle Studies. This is very, very good. I'll keep the link as long as it stays active.

01. Heartbreak Warfare
02. All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye
03. Half Of My Heart
04. Who Says
05. Perfectly Lonely
06. Assassin
07. Crossroads
08. War Of My Life
09. Edge Of Desire
10. Do You Know Me
11. Friends, Lovers Or Nothing

Password=Zinhof

"2009 studio album from the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter. Since the release of his hit album, Room For Squares, in 2001, Mayer has progressed from a sensitive acoustic-based performer into a full-fledged paparazzi-baiting superstar with acclaimed musical detours into Jazz, Blues and Folk. Battle Studies is yet another milestone for Mayer, containing some of his best work to date." here