Phil Farrand
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Phil Farrand (born November 5, 1958) is an American
computer programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...
and consultant, webmaster and
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
. He is known for his ''Nitpicker's Guides'', in which he nitpicks plot holes and continuity errors in the various ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''
television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...
s and
movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...
, and for the creation of Nitcentral, a
website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
devoted to the same activity. Subsequent to his ''Nitpicker's Guides'', he has ventured into fiction as a novelist.


Early life

Farrand was born in
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city in Tulsa and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2020 census, Broken Arrow has a population of 113,540 residents and is the 4th most populous city in the s ...
, and grew up in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, where his parents were missionaries for
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
. He first became interested in the original ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' as a child.Nachtigal, Jerry (April 3, 1994). "'Star Trek' fan points out flaws". ''
The Beaver County Times ''The Beaver County Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, United States, serving suburban Beaver County northwest of Pittsburgh. It is the sole newspaper covering Beaver County. The ''Times'' has previously produc ...
'', The Times/Beaver Newspapers, Inc. (Pennsylvania). p. 4.
After returning to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Farrand earned
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
s in
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
performance and
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
composition.


Career


Music

Farrand worked as a music editor, but became frustrated with working with music printed on paper, and worked for two years on a notation package for the
Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...
, which later became Polywriter. Later, working with Coda Music Technology, Farrand created an award-winning, high-end desktop publishing software package for music notation called Finale (software), Finale. Now owned by MakeMusic, Finale won Best Book/Video/Software at the 2015 Music & Sound Awards and has been used to score films such as ''
Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Paul Haggis. It is based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...
'', '' The Aviator'', ''
Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of Spider-Man. Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story conceived by Michael Chabon and the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles ...
'', ''
Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymond ( Paul Giamatti), a de ...
'', ''
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ( ; also ) is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the third installment in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The novel follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third yea ...
'', ''
The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson from a screenplay he wrote with Benedict Fitzgerald. It stars Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as the Bl ...
'', ''
Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic ...
'', and ''
Michael Clayton ''Michael Clayton'' is a 2007 American legal thriller film by writer and director Tony Gilroy. It stars George Clooney as lawyer Michael Clayton, who discovers a coverup of criminal wrongdoing by one of his firm's clients. Tom Wilkinson, Tild ...
''.


As a nitpicker

Farrand first became a ''Star Trek'' nitpicker when watching a scene in the 1990 '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode ''
The Offspring The Offspring is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Garden Grove, California, in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Dexter Holland, Bryan "Dexter" Holland, ...
''. In the scene, the character
Wesley Crusher Wesley Crusher is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears regularly in the first four seasons of the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG''), and sporadically in its next three seasons. He also a ...
speaks to his mother, Dr. Beverly Crusher using his communicator badge. After responding to Dr. Crusher's reminder to get a haircut, Wesley utters a sarcastic remark, but without tapping his comm badge to terminate the connection, leading Farrand to wonder if Dr. Crusher heard the remark. This sparked a spirited discussion between Farrand and his Trekker friend as to how the communicators worked, and the inconsistencies in their depicted usage in the series. In 1990, Farrand decided to try writing fiction, but could not find anyone to read his work. Because the only
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...
willing to represent him dealt only with nonfiction works, Farrand decided to attempt writing nonfiction in order to develop a reputation on which a career writing fiction could be based. A book producer liked Farrand's idea for a ''Next Generation'' nitpicker's guide, and so Farrand spent two years conducting careful analysis of the first six seasons of that series, spending eight to nine hours a day for months watching each episode multiple times, composing a tongue-in-cheek analysis of the plot holes, continuity errors and other trivia in the series. In 1993
Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...
published the first guide, ''The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers''. By 1994 nearly 800,000 copies had been sold, and four printings published. From 1994 to 1997, similar guides followed annually, including ''Guides'' for '' Star Trek: The Original Series'', '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'', along with a second ''Next Generation'' volume. Watching the episodes and movies of each series in order to compile each Guide took about seven months, leaving Farrand five months out of the year to learn how to write fiction.Message Board Message
Although exhaustive in their attention to detail, the Guides were not intended as critiques of the series' episodes or movies, but lighthearted musings that Farrand explained with the philosophy, "All nitpickers shall perform their duties with lightheartedness and good cheer," explaining that nitpicking should be about having fun with one's favorite television shows, not pointing fingers and assigning blame. Farrand solicited submissions from readers, who then became members of the "Nitpicker's Guild." He began sending out newsletters in 1994 in order to keep in touch with the Guild, beginning with the April 1994 edition. The Guild numbered 7,450 members from 32 countries as of May 28, 1999. Farrand decided to create an online version of the newsletter called Nitpicker Central, or Nitcentral; this took the form of an
HTML Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the content and structure of web content. It is often assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets ( ...
feature called "This Week at Nitcentral", and debuted in November 1997. The hardcopy version of the newsletter also continued, with a total of 17 issues published intermittently, ceasing with issue dated October 1998, which coincided with the creation of Nitcentral's message boards, using free Discus software. Farrand was Nitcentral's first and sole moderator at first, with the site covering only four topics, the
live action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...
''Star Trek''
television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...
s that had been produced up to then: '' Star Trek: The Original Series,'' '' Star Trek: The Next Generation,'' '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,'' and '' Star Trek: Voyager.'' By June 2009, the topics listed on the main Topics page numbered 89. Farrand planned to release a ''Nitpicker's Guide'' for ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' in April 1999, one month before ''
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (also known simply as ''Star Wars: The Phantom Menace''), is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was written and d ...
'', but publishers became wary of publishing media tie-in products as a result
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
lawsuits brought against similar products. Although the lawsuits did not name Farrand's ''Guides'' as an example — and in fact, even cited the ''Guides'' used as an example of what was legal — Del Rey ceased publishing Farrand's ''Guides'', leaving Nitcentral as the sole ongoing outlet for the Guild. As the site expanded, Farrand assigned dozens of moderators to oversee the site's various topics. Although Farrand has since stepped down as a moderator of day-to-day activities, he remains the ultimate authority on the site and will step in occasionally to resolve matters of severe conflict among visitors and moderators, who refer to him as "The Chief".


Church work

Following the cancellation of the ''Guides'', Farrand returned to the computer consulting industry, hoping to begin writing his first novel in his free time. Those plans changed when his wife Lynette, who had served as music minister at their church for 16 years, decided to take a two-year break from her position. Farrand, a devout
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
who mentions
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
in the acknowledgments of all his books, agreed to serve as interim music minister; combined with his consultation job, this consumed all of his time, and he worked seven days a week. He eventually stepped down as music minister on September 28, 2003.


As a novelist

Farrand's initial attempts to publish through a small publisher in August 2003 were not fruitful, and he ultimately decided to self-publish through on-demand publisher
Xlibris Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider, founded in 1997 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In 2000, ''The New York Times'' stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The current president i ...
. His novel ''The Son, the Wind and the Reign'' was published in 2004. It depicts a world in which
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
and his followers have returned to
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
to rule with an iron rod for a thousand years. Twenty years into the new rule, a resistance fighter named Avery Foster decides to confront the new rulers, including Judge Thomas Stone, whose brutal interpretations of the new law have oppressed anyone daring to rebel. Farrand wrote the novel in part to explore the question of how one can distinguish between the
divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...
and
extraterrestrials Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...
, and added a topic to Nitcentral for discussion of the novel. In 2007, Farrand published ''Grumpy Old Prophets: A Christmas Fable for Adults''. He also began a new Internet provider venture called Zarks, providing high-speed Internet access to the rural areas in and around
Greene County, Missouri Greene County is located in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 298,915. making it the fourth most-populous county in Missouri and the most populous outside the Kansas City or Saint Loui ...
.


Personal life

Farrand lives with his wife Lynette in
Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
.


Books


''Nitpicker's Guides''

*''The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers'' (1993) *''The Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers'' (1994) *''The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, Volume II'' (1995) *''Nitpicker's Fun & Games for Next Generation Trekkers'' (1995) *''The Nitpicker's Guide for Deep Space Nine Trekkers'' (1996) *''The Nitpicker's Guide for X-Philes'' (1997)


On audio cassette

*''The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers Part 3''''Nitpicker's Fun & Games for Next Generation Trekkers''
at
amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...


Fiction

*''The Son, the Wind and the Reign'' *''Grumpy Old Prophets: A Christmas Fable for Adults'' *''Windfall: The 99 and 1: The Conviction Opus, Part One'' (2014) *''Windfall: Broadcast: The Conviction Opus, Part Two'' (2015) *''Windfall: The Strait Gate: The Conviction Opus, Part Three'' (2015)


Non-fiction

*''Still Whispers: Meditations To Help You Calm The Atmosphere Of Your Life And Find Abundance'' (2008)


References


External links


Nitpicker Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrand, Phil 1958 births Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists American children's writers American Christian writers American expatriates in the Philippines American fiction writers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists Christian novelists People in information technology