We’re in a convention mood these days so tonight we’re going to fill you in on another great fan run con this time located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. We know it’s early, but we’re trying to stay on top of events this year and give you lots of advanced notice. You have plenty of time to prepare, considering it’s from June 30 – July 1, 2012.

Since it's premiere last month, Colm Meaney's new Drama Hell on Wheels has seen excellent ratings and reviews from critics. We just learned that the AMC series has been picked up for a second season. Hell on Wheels focuses on former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon, portrayed by Anson Mount, whose quest for vengeance has led him to the Union Pacific Railroad's westward construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Colm plays Thomas "Doc" Durant, a greedy entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times. As the railroad comes closer to completion and he becomes rich beyond his wildest dreams, he becomes more and more concerned about his place in history.

This might a be a little late, but for those in the pacific time zone, you can still catch Wil Wheaton on the Nerdist: Year In Review. BBC America is airing the episode at 9pm ET / PT and not only will it feature young Wesley Crusher, but you get a double dose of scifi awesome with Firefly's (and Castle's) Nathan Fillion.

Thanks to our friend Stompy for posting a very funny and special season's greetings from one non-holographic Robert Picardo. That's right kiddos, The Doctor sends his best to you and me in this special youtube video. We even get to see a glimpse of his alter-latin-ego Alphonso. Who's Alphonso, you ask? He's the most interesting man this side of a Dos Equis. Actually, he's the star of several short web clips starring Bob as a latin (or Italian, were not sure) lover who answers viewer's questions in "Ask Alphonso".

Also something that Bob mentions in the video is his new CD "Scrooge". He takes on the lead role as Scrooge in this new recording of the soundtrack from the 1970 film version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, featuring original music by Academy Award-winner Leslie Bricusse. Bob is also joined by Trek alumni Chase Masterson who appears as Mrs. Fezziwig in the recording.

We would like to wish a very happy birthday to one of our favorite ensigns, Harry Kim, Garrett Wang from Star Trek: Voyager. As you know, Garrett is a fan favorite at conventions and is very active in the fan-run convention circuit. For all of the Trek fans in Germany, Garrett will be attending FedCon May 17-20, 2012 in Dusseldorf.

Rod Roddenberry's long anticipated and widely acclaimed documentary Trek Nation, directed by Scott Colthorp, is re-airing this month on Science. According to the official Trek Nation website: Thanks to tremendous response, Trek Nation will be airing in the Pacific time zone December 18th at 6pm and again at 9pm, then on December 20th at 1am. If you're in the Eastern time zone, it will air December 18th at 9pm, December 19th at 12am and again at 4am.

"It's like we're living in the future." I said that at least five dozen times over the past year or so. Everyone knows about Apple's new voice activated assistant named Siri that's available for the iPhone 4s (why it's not available for my iPhone 4, I'll never understand). It seems the Google Android team has been working on a similar app / service that has been lovingly named Majel. And, yes, it IS named for the first lady of the galaxy, Majel Roddenberry. Pretty darn cool.

So, by now you've all heard the rumors about Benecio Del Toro's quick rise and fall as a possible substitute for Ricardo Montalban's Khan. Now it seems that there are two more possibilities for an alternate universe super human with superior intellect. According to Variety (via Conventry Telegraph), Edgar Ramirez (The Bourne Ultimatum, Vantage Point, Carlos the Jackal miniseries, upcoming Wrath of the Titans) and Jordi Molla (Bad Boys II, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Knight and Day) might be up for the job.

We've been hitting the DS9 pretty hard the last few weeks and got to thinking about Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir).. He's made quite a career for himself since leaving the station's sick bay (most recently with his work on Primeval) and his next project Inescapable is going to be a worthy addition. According to Variety,  The film, written and directed by Ruba Nadda, is the story of a Syrian expatriate (Siddig) whose journalist daughter goes missing in Damascus. He must return to his homeland to find her despite the risks, and calls on a former love to help him. An embassy official is at first helpful but may have an agenda of his own