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Happy 80th Birthday, William Shatner!
gregg writes "Today another geek legend celebrates a birthday. Best known for portraying Captain James T. Kirk, William Shatner has cemented himself into geek science fiction lore forever. Today he begins his ninth decade on this planet — yes, Captain Kirk is now 80 years old."
Seems like a nice enough guy, but man is that show painful to watch. I don't toss around the word "himbo" outside of a tanning salon very often, but it's pretty bad when Valerie Bertinelli has to talk down to you.
I guess at least his infamous ego seems to have ebbed a bit in his advanced years. But he still can't appreciate why Walter Koenig and others hated him in the Star Trek days. In his appearance on the show, Koenig looked like it was all he could do to keep from grabbing him and yelling "YOU STOLE ALL OUR LINES, MOTHERFUCKER!" It probably didn't help that Shatner kept saying stuff like "I'm sorry that you *perceived* me as being selfish or hostile to you back then."
Still, got to give the guy props for a great performance in Star Trek 2. I always wondered how Nicholas Meyer got it out of him. On the DVD commentary track I finally learned how he did it. He would do so about 10 throwaway takes. After about 10 takes, Shanter would get tired and stop trying to be Shatner (i.e. the pompous hero) and he would start to play around with the lines and actually act. Shatner didn't realize what a favor Meyer was doing to him at the time.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Looks like he's doing well on both the living long and the prospering parts...hope there are many years to go. Anyone else think that Raw Nerve is the best thing Shatner has ever done? I love Captain Kirk and Denny Crane but raw nerve is a damn entertaining format, rarely do you see an interview type show where by the end of it you feel like you actually got to know the person a little bit...Raw Nerve does that just about every time, its more like listening in on a conversation at another table more than watching an interview and I really appreciate that.
To moldily go where no octogenarian has gone before
...you're soon to kick the bucket mate.
Live longer and prosper some more.
a nice blue lady to dance with tonight. And smile into the morning hours.
Mr. Shatner won't start his ninth decade until his 81st birthday.
Wonder who looks older... surprisingly their birthdays are only 4 days apart...
so, we'll then expect to see you at any one of the million babys+ /us, beginning with disarmament? tell 'em capt.,
play-dates, conscience arisings, georgia stone editing(s), & a host of
other life promoting/loving events. guaranteed to activate all of our
sense(s) at once. perhaps you have seen our list of pure intentions for
you
I can get behind that.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
If it's only William Shatner's birthday, then why do I suddenly feel so old?
I am not a sig.
I have to disagree with the final link, though. Kirk is either dead or 22ish. Pedantry FTW!
Doesn't he live to like 143 or something?
...to share a birthday with Mr Shatner.
Happy Birthday, Bill.
-m
Happy Birthday.... to... you.
Happy Birthday.... to... you.
Happy Birthday... William.... Shatnerhappy.... Birthday... to you.
OK, so I can't imitate his speaking style.
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
That's funny I was just watching this last week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVuxvJVdZQc
Jim Carrey is hilarious. "We just left the Romulan galaxy and are approaching... ... ... senility."
He's old, Jim.
May the force be with you!
Please Bill what ever you do today DON'T under any circumstances loose your shirt in public! Thanks, otherwise, have a happy 80th!
Why is it every time there's an article posted in connection with some soap opera in space, so many /. denizens are all over it with 100's of posts. Yet whenever there's an article on the real thing (space probes, man in space, deep space observation, etc.), either there are only a few tens of posts (many frivolous), and/or there's actual opposition (waste of money, rich bastards in space, etc.).
Fun and entertaining as he is (and indeed, happy birthday to the man), Shatner is an actor. Neil Armstrong, Wernher von Braun, Burt Rutan, Carl Sagan are/were the real deal - scientists, engineers, astronauts.
Of course, I might be jumping the gun. Perhaps this article will garner few posts.
Why is my karma going up in smoke? :-)
Go Bill!
"Kif, I have made it with a woman. Inform the men."
At least I think that was Kirk, it all kind of blurs together...
80!? I can't believe it. He doesn't look a day beyond 79.
Here he finally admits what business he had with the mountain in Star Trek V:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU2ftCitvyQ
William Shatner can't be 80 - that would mean I'm no longer young.
#DeleteChrome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU2ftCitvyQ
Also, his toupee turns 50 next Friday.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Best known for portraying Captain James T. Kirk, William Shatner...
Oh, you mean the Priceline guy?
Posting as AC for obvious geek cred reasons.
Bet he's not so pleased with himself now that he stopped himself from being cloned as an Android in that one episode!
Has Been is history
Has been was
Has been might again
Live long and prosper Bill!
Set your phasers on "funky"!
"I have an erection. That's a good sign. I'm ready to go to trial. Lock and load."
salutations!
Denny Crane!
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but since you mentioned him, I have to ask: does anyone remember that show with him and Tom Davis, called "Trailer Park"? Davis would show trailers from various science fiction movies and talk about them, afterwards. At the end of the show, Meyer would always do a deep, philosophical commentary about one of the films.
The show didn't last long, but I still miss it.
Sit, Ubuntu, sit. Good dog.
ST fans vs SW fans. To the death.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Congrats Kirk and congrats me! XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOGkDsH0OsI
khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan gratulations.
To oldly go where noone has gone before
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
But many happy returns - I couldn't stand T J Hooker, that dreadful show about life in SF after the earthquake ... but some fun was had watching ST.
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill
Great analysis, Dr., of someone you've never met. Do you give discount rates for patients you actually see in person?
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
T'Pol is still looking pretty hot for being in her 60's.
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
Mr. Shatner is at Megacon this weekend in Orlando where, for $495., you can get signed/personalized limited-edition print of the man (3 scenes), get a photo with the man, and meet the man. He's the most expensive meet-n-greet at the convention.
He has to say that every now and then that we know we are in the presence of greatness.
Who Gives a Shat?!?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
That Twilight Zone episode where he saw an alien on the wing of the airplane. In fact, I think he's been playing the same character ever since...
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I just learned of this, though they have been out a while I guess. They reworked the old Star Trek episodes with CGI special effects. This enables them to show Ships, landscapes, explosions, that are much better than the original. I am enjoying them a lot. Both because the sound and presentation are so much better than when they were on TV, but also because the updates are really nicely done.
FYI
or another member of that famous story? Star Trek inspired many of us in ways and continues to do so for those new to the story. For some of us it takes us back to the magical days of our childhood where such worlds could be possible, Yes Shatner is an actor, he is a good one at that, the best adapt and become more than merely the person.
While I do not disagree there are stories about him that don't hold to everyone's standards the simple fact is, he was Kirk and Kirk is what many think of when they think of Star Trek. Each new incarnation of the show we always saw comparisons of the new Captains to Kirk. Rarely was there a comparison to other characters of the show. I think this most likely because the writers tried to steer away from such so they gave us different personalities. Yet the position of captain is a personality itself and therefor invited comparisons to the first.
He was brash, he was brave, and he always got the girl if not while saving the universe. Fortunately, given many many years, Shatner attempted to move on such an iconic role was bound to follow him for life. He did better in escaping that than many of the other actors, I think Koneig was the only really able to escape and he did so with great skill by being a character wholly unlike his Star Trek role. Shatner's first attempts all had him in a leading position, not until later when he was just part of the cast instead of the lead did he truly define himself in other ways.
So yeah, stories like this beg hundreds of replies. Almost everyone can speak authoritatively about Star Trek, far fewer can about real science.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Unlike "Talk... Like.. a PIRATE .. day", THIS one's... NOT OFFICIAL!
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
... he'll tell his friends that his "body is wearing thin." Then, he'll go into his TARDIS and regenerate.
So remember, in just over ten years, look for a younger actor. who. talks. like. this. on. stage.
He got his TARDIS cheap, though, since he was able to name his own price.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
who was around 63 as of the first episode of Enterprise, making her actually around 73 today, assuming the canon ran simultaneously with current time.
Jolene Blalock is a real person who is 36.
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
Q. What did Mr. Spock say to Captain Kirk?
... booooo!
A. Captain, there are Klingons Uranus.
Yes, I know, I know, lame
"Happily lived Mankind in the peaceful Valley of Ignorance." -- Hendrik Willem Van Loon
George, it's good to see you on Slashdot! (sorry to ruin your pseudonym...)
Better known as 318230.
Is wired down, or is the URL invalid? Can someone post a link that works?
(Mainly, I'm curious to know what he looks like at 80.)
What, I thought Capt Kirk wasn't due to be born for a couple of centuries, right? Who cares how old Shattner is?
This is for real: according to USofA law, Mr. Shatner is an alien, as he was born in Planet Canada.
For example, to start the day off, he goes into the bathroom and makes the daily Captains Log :-)
And when he speaks, he makes sure his "phraser" is on stun.
And at 80, he's doing stuff most people half his age wish they were doing. AND getting away with it.
(C) 3/22/2011 HNNEWS (Redistribution allowed with HNNEWS credit)
Happy Birthday Captain Kirk – Here’s A Warp Drive
By Stan Stevnor
William Shatner got an unusual and unexpected surprise for his 80th birthday. In the Forum section of his web site a post appeared from MarshallBarnes that said “Happy Birthday, Capt. Kirk”. The body of the post explains that after much research and effort, a warp drive prototype will be revealed to the world and that when they’re ready for the first test with a space probe, they’ll let Shatner fly the thing out of Earth orbit via remote control. http://bit.ly/f3oe16
Though it may sound like an early April Fool’s joke, it’s not. MarshallBarnes is none other than THE Marshall Barnes, who has been credited for really developing a prototype for warp drive that has been seen by a number of scientists and others, including Ike Mgbatogu, reporter for Don King’s Call & Post newspaper, accelerating things faster than they can go under their own power. Since February, he has been aggressively beginning to promote the reality of his invention, the STDTS. A video of it accelerating a target object faster than the speed of gravity during a test dead drop, was even shown at the USA Science and Engineering Festival where NASA Kepler Mission scientist Alan Gould saw it. He was impressed enough to give Marshall his card and allow his name to be used as someone who witnessed it.
The post on Shatner’s web site includes excerpts from an upcoming science paper that deals with the issue of warp drive physics and explains where and how it went wrong – resulting in calculations that require tremendous amounts of exotic matter and negative energy. The solution, Marshall found was where no one was looking – Einstein’s unfinished Unified Field Theory. He produces documentation to prove it as well.
The note closed with, “When we’re ready, we’ll invite you to fly the probe out of the Earth’s gravitational field (via remote control of course) to guide it boldly where no man has gone before, and hopefully reaching the speed of light and beyond!
‘Til then – Live Long and Prosper,
Barnes out”
Oh. , ... My. ; GOD!
The story I heard was that, since Star Trek was filmed (ie, on film, not videotape), they figured that they could do an HD release. The problem was that the special effects really looked bad in HD. So they redid them.
There's some cases where they added new shots. Check out "The Doomsday Machine" for some shots of the Enterprise swooping down and distracting the doomsday machine. "The Ultimate Computer" has some good shots of wrecked starships, though they could have done more. "The Galileo 7" also has some nice shots of the Galileo leaving the planet and the whole igniting the fuel sequence. The opening sequence in "Tomorrow is Yesterday" (with the Enterprise in the atmosphere) also looks much better.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5m76m_william-shatner-sings-pulp-common-p_music
It helps that Joe Jackson is in there too... :-D
at around 14 seconds in he asks another man to sing with him . . . listen for the "come on mike"
not . . .that . . . there . . .is . . .anything . ..wrong . . .with . . .that.
Happy Birthday
Can't believe no other geek caught this. Shatner just turned 80. His 8th decade doesn't end until the end of his 80th year. Thus he does not begin his 9th decade on the planet for another year.
If /. had posted this story when his birthday began in the first timezone of the world, I would have got that question (what canadian is celebrating his 80th birthday today) right at trivia...last night.
Boolean logic: True, False, and File not found.
Not only is the video - with Maurice LaMarche, no less - funny (although a bit out-of-sync, for me at least), ...
He Announced That They Will Renew Futurama For A Seventh Season!!!
Now would be a good time to re-shoot his scenes in "The Deadly Years" episode without any makeup.
It's amusing really... I have a six month old niece. Shatner really was out saving the galaxy when her Grandfather was in diapers. Like or Loathe Shatner, the world probably wouldn't be the same today without him and his compatriots. RIP Deforest Kelly, James Doohan, Majel Barret and Gene Roddenberry.
"There are three schools of magic..."
...has he actually learned to ACT yet? I've seen more expression on the face of my watch than I've ever seen on Shatner's face.
Not yet DEAD Jim!
The day Microsoft creates a product that doesn't suck, it will be known as the Microsoft Vaccuum Cleaner!
Does he still play world of warcraft, is so, I would say he is probably the oldest player, unless ozzy is older..... /., but just the same, great to see your still this active at your age, and funny too.
Seriously, Happy BDay dude.....not that your geek enough to read
Denny Crane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tek_War
Did you mount a military-grade, variable-focus MASER on an unlicensed artificial intelligence?
You mean "ends his eighth decade on this planet," right? Sheesh, doesn't anyone here know how to count?
I think they did a shot walking over a "sky bridge" for Amok Time. All in all, I have been very pleased with my purchase. When the old series was out, TVs were -really- bad: Reception, Sound, Color, everything else is better now. And with the new edits I sort of feel like these are the directors cuts of the episodes.
Its nifty, and a nice surprise: I picked up the box at random and looked at the back. And it said, "Before" / "After".
I haven't seen them all, but every reworked show I've seen has been worse than the original. They should have spent more time matching the look of the old show while fixing the mistakes and "cheap-looking" effects, because the new shots stick out like a sore thumb and look modern while still managing to look fake!