[Eug]

Leonard Nimoy visits Vulcan, retires from acting.

don’t expect to see Nimoy in the next Trek sequel, scheduled for 2012. And don’t expect to see him anywhere else, either. Having just shot what will be his final appearance as enigmatic genius Dr. William Bell in TV’s Fringe, he says he’s retiring from acting altogether.

He’ll be at this weekend’s Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo which “could be the last go-round for that too,” he says, noting he only has a few more public appearances planned.

If Leonard Nimoy is going to be in Calgary, it only seems logical that he pays a visit to Vulcan too.

“I couldn’t resist,” he says with a very un-Spock-like laugh. “I thought, ‘Since I’m coming to Calgary, why not Vulcan?’ ”

Thus the Southern Alberta community of about 1,900 will get its long-awaited chance to host Nimoy on Friday, ahead of his scheduled appearance at this weekend’s Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.

Nimoy’s fondness for the town is well-documented. Vulcan generated worldwide headlines last spring when Nimoy backed its bid to host the premiere of 2009’s Star Trek film. Ultimately, Paramount bused about 300 residents of Vulcan — which has long capitalized on the fact it shares the name of Spock’s home planet — to Calgary for a private screening.

“How wonderful it is to be home in Vulcan.”


Trek geeks draft William Shatner for Canada's next Governor General

Facebook petition page:

It's time for Canada to boldly go where no country has gone before.

It's time for Canada to appoint the incomparable William Shatner to the position of Governor General.

Indeed, it's time to Back the Shat.

Best comment so far: "Either Shat or get off the Throne"

[ghporter]

Is Shatner still a Canadian citizen? He's been in the States for so long...

Anyway, if he's smart, he's say "no thanks." Holding even a figurehead political position would cramp Denny's litigation...

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Taiwanese singer lights up web again, this time with William Shatner

Video

[lexapro]

Doesn't the Canadian Gov Gen have zero power?

[imitchellg5]

This thread has Shat all over it

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Nimoy backs Shatner for Governor General

"Bill: You're being considered for Governor General of Canada. Do it!

Finally a chance to do something with your life," Nimoy twittered on Friday.

Mr. Spock backs William Shatner for GG bid

Nimoy, who was in Alberta for a comic convention, says the job would be perfect because Shatner has just been “sitting around twiddling his thumbs” recently.

He says the job would give Shatner a sense of “self worth” and allow him to “get out and do something.”

Originally Posted by lexapro 

Doesn't the Canadian Gov Gen have zero power?

Yeah, it's the local stand-in for the Queen of England, who also has no power.

[Lateralus]

Cool.

What the **** is a Governor General?

[Eug]

Governor General of Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canada is part of the British Commonwealth, and therefore has a stand-in representative of the Queen of England. On paper it's the highest political position in Canada, with the most power. However, the GG is of course just a figurehead and in fact is appointed about every five years.

Of course, William Shatner no chance in hell of ever being nominated for this position, but the online petition is nonetheless amusing.

Our current one is Michaelle Jean, and the northerners fell in love with her when she snacked on the raw carcass of a freshly killed seal, basically as a symbolic gesture against the European anti seal hunt protest.



CBC News - Canada - Governor General's seal snack sparks controversy

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean snacking on a slain seal's raw heart has sparked criticism from the European Union and animal rights groups.

Barbara Slee, an anti-seal hunt campaigner at the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Brussels, said she was disgusted by Jean's actions.

"The fact that the Governor General in public is slashing and eating a seal, I don't think that really helps the cause, and I'm convinced that this will not change the mind of European citizens and politicians," Slee told The Associated Press.

BTW, I ran into the previous GG Adrienne Clarkson after her "reign", at our local movie theatre, at a screening of The Departed.

[lpkmckenna]

Shat has no chance at becoming GG, Harper would never go with it. He tends to prefer long-established civil servants for these kinds of things. Besides, Shat would destroy everything Ms Jean brought to the post: elegance, empathy, and relevance. Her trip to Haiti and her visit to the Inuit both demonstrate the value of a Head of State.

Leonard Cohen, otoh, would be an awesome choice for the role.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

Leonard Cohen, otoh, would be an awesome choice for the role.

As much as I agree with you about Shat being totally inappropriate for the job, I'd have to also say Leonard Cohen is totally inappropriate for the job too. He's a flake and not suited for a diplomatic position, but beyond that I just can't stand him.

[Eug]

Matt Hartley: I started the Shatner for Governor-General firestorm - Full Comment

Yesterday, my little Facebook page surpassed 35,000 supporters and caught the attention of the international media. Since the story blew up last week, I’ve been interviewed by two Canadian television networks, this newspaper, several radio stations and, believe it or not, BBC Scotland.

Although my campaign was started with a smirk and a wink, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t an enlightening experience. As a technology reporter, I’ve reported on so-called viral videos, memes and other online phenomena, but I had never had the chance to observe one up close and from the inside.

On the one hand, it has been remarkable to watch as enthusiastic support for Mr. Shatner poured in from across Canada and around the world. There are Shatner fans who support his GG candidacy living in nearly every major city in Canada — with large concentrations of fans in Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg — and international backers are coming from Germany, South Korea and Qatar.

Still, for all the supposed power of the Web, it wasn’t until the mainstream media started picking up the story late last week that the campaign truly began to snowball. Before the story appeared in the Toronto Sun last Thursday, the group had only 10,000 members. By the end of the weekend, that number had more than tripled.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Our current one is Michaelle Jean, and the northerners fell in love with her when she snacked on the raw carcass of a freshly killed seal, basically as a symbolic gesture against the European anti seal hunt protest.

Apple rejects seal-clubbing game from App Store | National Post

Smyth wonders whether Apple rejected the game because they oppose the Canadian seal hunt. He calls this unfair because the hunt is socially acceptable in his province and sanctioned by the federal government. And in his game, just in like real life, hunting baby seals in illegal. This observance of the law, he argues, makes his game less “objectionable” compared to other games available in the App Store that let players shoot cops and steal cars, like Grand Theft Auto.

“I have that on my phone,” he said. “You can walk around, shoot cops in cold blood, and watch them sort of fall down in their own pool of blood.”