Acrux premiere issue - June, 2007

EDITORIAL -

Within the short space of five issues the new crew of the USS Southern Cross, have given me the support and content to create a high quality, fan made newsletter, ScuttleButt, which is available as a free download from our website as a series of free pdfs. Fun though it has been at the time, there is no real space in it for creative content or in-depth treatment of things that might be of importance to me but which would bloat the newsletter. After all, it's never been my intention to turn it into "The Kirok Newsletter". It has become increasingly apparent that I do need a forum for publishing my own work - and the work of others that doesn't quite fit the mold of a club's newsletter.

So here it is. My personal 'zine. In it I not only intend to blatently soapbox about issues I feel are important with Star Trek fandom in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, but also showcase the fan productions of Star Trek fans within the region.

What's a fan production? Like a lot of buzz-words it means different things to different people. On Wikipedia, the article on Star Trek fan productions takes the narrow view of seeing them as dramatic productions, covering only fan films, animation and audio dramas. I prefer to take the wider view that a fan production is virtually anything that a fan produces! Fan films, music videos, written fan fiction, filk and poetry! Virtually anything that is of an art or craft nature that expresses your love of the Sci fi genre! Yes, crafts and technology as well! Whether they are paper models or knitting patterns, musical instruments, costumes, Treknology or props!

If what you love dearest is to watch your DVD collection, read the licensed books or see the stars at a convention, I'm right there with ya! These are things that cemented my love of the sci fi genre and I gain great entertainment and satisfaction from my own collections and convention going. However amongst all groups there are those who want to contribute & create and through their own efforts gain a resonance of the feeling they had for the original.

Read more on "The Ravens Writing Desk - June, 2007" by Lt Cmdr Kirok of L'Stok, Editor, USS Southern Cross