Quicksand Fans

Trekyards EP70 - Klingon D6 (Part 1) (Axanar Special)
Trekyards EP72 - Klingon D6 (Part 2) (Axanar Special)

Podcast and discussion with Alec Peters on the D6 , specifically the Axanar 'verse version. Some good stuff here, especially watching the chowderheads twist themselves into knots trying to mate-up this and that with various things on screen and telly -- and Alec's reply, which basically bitchslaps them through the 'net "no, we're not going to bother with that"
Since Trek already has so many internal continuity and canon balls-ups, its not even worth trying. I loved how he just dismissed the Enterprise guys for making an obvious - and stupid -mistake which wasn't even worth going over.
AND, forget the Space Vikings
It shouldn't need to be said, but it gets said anyways : The Klingon Empire is a vast expanse, which is properly administered by professionals. It encompasses most of the Beta Quadrant. They didn't get that by being a bunch of retards drinking blood wine and waving swords, and dropping everything just to engage in a duel over 'honour'. When he said that I felt like cheering
The entire Viking BS is all on Gene. No where in any of Trek prior to TNG was it around. Certainly nothing in the FASA stuff, or in John Ford's writing. The real irony there , is that Gene the not-so-bright, was the one who terminated the relationship between FASA and Paramount because FASA was too military or violent

On the actual film front, work continues steadily; set construction on schedule, and VFX way ahead. Apparently the animatics work for over 50% of the shots is ready and most of the remaining stuff has been sketched out and approved. It may be a first that VFX is done before principle photography

Actually, at the beginning of WWII, didn't Hitler have to issue an order forbidding his officers from dueling? As I recall, Wehrmacht officers were challenging SS officers to duels when they accused them of dishonorable actions- like executing civilians.

And remember, the real Vikings weren't the bloodthirsty savages they're made out to be. They pretty much invented long-distance sailing, including a ton of the vocabulary. They navigated by the stars, so the Old Norse word "Stjerne" (star) became the word for "steer". The rudder ended up on the right-hand side of the ship, where a right handed person would hold an oar. That was the "steer-board" or Starboard side. And the steering oar was at the rear of the ship- the Stern.
It's been confirmed that the viking "sunstones" weren't a myth; get a piece of the right kind of Calcite crystal, and you can figure the position of the sun on a cloudy day. In their travels, if a city had sturdy walls and an alert garrison, they were peaceful traders. If the place was as open as a (insert metaphor), they'd loot the place bare.
I remember one famous incident where a shipload of Vikings slowly rowed their way up the Loire river in France. Then, when the wind and tide were right, they flew down the river, looted every town along the banks, and got away to sea before the cavalry arrived.
So, anyway, the Vikings, for all their mead-drinking, sword-waving, and duels of honor, were also at the cutting edge of naval technology for the period, both for purpose-built warships like the Longships and cargo ships like the Knorr. In 1997, they discovered a late Viking age warship in Roskilde harbor. Apparently the tales in the Sagas of the "Great Ships" were true; this beauty was 37 meters/121 feet long. http://www.danishnet.com/vikings/types-viking-ships/