Happy Birthday Marina Sirtis!

These Are The Voyages...

Well, Majel was amazing. When we first found out that she was going to be my mom on the show, we were all a little nervous, because we were very, very badly behaved on the set. We had way too much fun. And the boss' wife was coming, you know? But we soon found out that she was nuttier than the rest of us, really! And she really fit in with this madcap atmosphere on the set. She was a delight. And actually what really made me happy was that as she did more and more episodes, especially toward the end of Next Gen and when she went on to DS9, they gave her episodes where you could really see what a great actress she was. She wasn't just the Auntie Mame of the galaxy, you know? She really was a gifted actress, and I was so happy that she got the opportunity to show that.

They should've done a two-hour, you know, like we did. Then I would've gotten double the money, that would've been good.

I've been getting a lot of science fiction scripts which contained variations on my 'Star Trek' character and I've been turning them down. I strongly feel that the next role I do, I should not be wearing spandex.

Apparently I'm the 'eye-candy' of TNG, which at my age I find quite a compliment.

I think the fans want to see the whole team in action, while that was very much Picard taking center stage. Also, I didn't think Tom Hardy was at all convincing as a young Patrick Stewart. Don't get me wrong - he's a great, great actor and a really lovely guy, but he didn't look a bit like Patrick at all. They should have cast James Marsters. They auditioned him, you know. I think, physically, he was much more suitable for the part. 

I am not a sound bite person. I prefer to run at the mouth. 

I think my most memorable moment was Patrick Dempsey calling me an icon! Can you imagine? I was so taken aback. Here I was on his set as a guest. It was a very generous thing to do.

I have the best time. My stand-up material is pretty well-set now. The traveling part gets me down, but the actual convention part I still love. I come home after a weekend at a convention, and you have to scrape me off the ceiling. I'm so up and high and full of self-confidence, and I thank the fans for making me feel that way. Sometimes, I think I should be paying the fans money to let me be there. I bet they would like that, too. I probably get more out of it than they do.

I'd be happy if I was still playing her [Troi] now. No, really. Being on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was the best experience of my life. 

I was originally cast to be the brains of the Enterprise. Somehow I became The Chick. There's a little ugly girl inside of me going 'Yay! I'm a sex symbol!'

It was the first time really that I got to be a mom, and I thought it was about time, really, because I really am old enough to be someone's mom. It was just a little bit of a shock going from never having been a mom to being a mom of a teenager. There was no kind of toddler stage for me, you know, mom of toddler, or mom of baby.

We hate our uniforms. We've said it a gazillion times. It's like a chant that we have to say every day. They're hot, they're uncomfortable, and we can't wait to get out of them. But even when we get to wear something else, it's usually something hot. So I'm in a nice leather jacket in the mountains, on a day when the temperature turns out to be ninety degrees!

It wasn't so much the fans as the cast. They were all lovely to work with on the set. Although I did hear they weren't at all happy with their show ending with what was essentially an episode of The Next Generation.

Gene Roddenberry's thing always was, we should not pass judgment on anything that anyone else believes in or what they do in their lives.

I don't want to get any letters or postings on my website about how bad I look in this movie.

I would have to say that most of my other favorite things that I've done have been theater projects. Playing Ophelia in "Hamlet" is one of my favorites. Esmeralda in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and Magenta in "Rocky Horror" are my other favorite stage roles.

I was sitting in a cold bath, all latexed up as a lizard or something, thinking, "They really don't pay me enough for this!".

The thing about 'Star Trek' is that it is not judgmental. You can do what ever you want, within reason. 

When we ever had problems with potentially dangerous or unhealthy conditions on the set, Patrick Stewart was the first to complain. He went to SAG and made sure people came out and tested for toxins when the smoke machine was used.

We knew that she ate chocolates and that she worked out, but that was really boring. I wanted to know what she did when she went on the holodeck. We basically never saw her off-duty or going on holiday. We knew she was a psychologist -- and a pretty good one -- but that was all we knew about her.

And personally - really the Roddenberrys kind of adopted me when I came to the States. I mean I was literally fresh of the boat when I got "Star Trek: The Next Generation", and they made sure that I had somewhere to go on the holidays, and that I wasn't sitting on my own in my apartment at Christmas. So... I actually used to call her "Mom". And when my own mother died, and I saw Majel soon after, I said to her "You know, you have to take care of yourself, because you're the only mom I've got left now..." So, it was very sad when I lost my other mom, too.

What they told us about 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' when we first started was that we were guaranteed 26 episodes, so that was the longest job I've ever had. And that was basically it - we didn't know what the premise of the show was going to be and we waited, week by week, to see a script.

I want to play parts that touch my heart or touch someone else's heart and, to be honest, that's what I'm good at. I'm not good at just chatting about the weather. I'm either good at being really funny or really dramatic. I don't have that gray area in the middle.

What they told us about "Star Trek: The Next Generation" when we first started was that we were guaranteed 26 episodes, so that was the longest job I've ever had. And that was basically it - we didn't know what the premise of the show was going to be and we waited, week by week, to see a script. We knew that we weren't going to be taking over from the original cast, that it was going to be a whole new entity, but that was it. I remember I went to see Gene Roddenberry to ask him about my character, about her background and things like that. I'd done a history for her; her likes, dislikes, upbringing, things like that. And he just said, "Yeah, yeah, that's fine." I don't know if it was that he wasn't interested or whether I'd hit the nail on the head, but that was it. I don't think they told us much about it at all.

I was a little scared, not so much when we were filming but when it came time for the first show to go on the air. We were being scrutinized so closely, especially by the press, and by the fans who were not happy about there being a new show at all. They were quite happy watching their re-runs of the original Star Trek and were quite miffed that we were trying to replace their idols. So I felt like I was jumping into an abyss sometimes.

I wasn't a 'Star Trek' fan, yet I knew who all the characters were. that goes to show what an impact the show had not just in entertainment but in life. I knew who Chekhov was and I knew who Kirk and Spock were, although I probably had never seen the show.

The challenge that I found was to stay true to the character, because she was so unlike me. I'm much more brash and loud and a bit obnoxious sometimes, to be honest. She was so cerebral and kind and nurturing and all those things. I'm not saying that I don't have those things in my personality, but they're certainly not on the outside. And the challenge was to not inject Marina into Councillor Troi, but to keep Councillor Troi true to who she was.

It was a fascinating sequence. What was funny was that my chair caught fire and burned my bottom. When we did the next take, I stopped in the middle of all the confusion and made sure there was nothing burning on my seat before I sat on it again. I think they had to cut that take out of the movie. 

The only difference was that we were going to places where no one had gone before, and the original cast were going to places where no man had been before.

As an actor, of course, you want to be in something that's successful.

I come home after a weekend at a convention, and you have to scrape me off the ceiling. I'm so up and high and full of self-confidence, and I thank the fans for making me feel that way. Sometimes I think I should be paying the fans money to let me be there.

"These Are the Voyages..." was a good episode but not a great finale. They should have done a 2-hour one, you know, like we did. Then I would've gotten double the money - that would've been good" 

Gene Rodenberry always said that despite all the technology and all the flashing lights and special effects and all that stuff, that fundamentally Star Trek was a people show, and it was about the people on the show who happened to be in these unusual situations.

Happy Birthday Leonard Nimoy!

"I have been and always shall be your friend"
One of my most favorite Star Trek moments...

I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may.

The means of many out way the means of the few or one.

I think about myself as like an ocean liner that's been going full speed for a long distance, and the captain pulls the throttle back all the way to 'stop,' but the ship doesn't stop immediately, does it? It has its own momentum and it keeps on going, and I'm very flattered that people are still finding me useful.

I believe in goodness, mercy and charity. I believe in casting bread upon the waters.

I'm touched by the idea that when we do things that are useful and helpful - collecting these shards of spirituality - that we may be helping to bring about a healing.

Rocket ships are exciting but so are roses on a birthday.

My folks came to U.S. as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens. I was born in Boston, a citizen, went to Hollywood and became an alien.

I am intrigued with scriptural mythology that tells us that God created a divine feminine presence to dwell amongst humanity. This concept has had a constant influence on the work. I have imagined her as ubiquitous, watchful, and often in motion. This work is, in effect, the photographic image of the invisible.

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.

Hello, I'm Leonard Nimoy. The following tale of alien encounters is true. By true I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies and in the end, isn't that the truth?
The answer is no.

You proceed from a false assumption: I have no ego to bruise.

I have found my way, step by step, proceeding from touch points that have emerged, some through conscious choice and some through dream state discovery.

Boston was a great city to grow up in, and it probably still is. We were surrounded by two very important elements: academia and the arts. I was surrounded by theater, music, dance, museums. And I learned how to sail on the Charles River. So I had a great childhood in Boston. It was wonderful.

Rocket ships are exciting but so are roses on a birthday.

The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have.

Some words having to do with the death of the people in the World Trade Center attack had been added, and when I got to it, I had this overwhelmingly emotional experience. I struggled to get through the words; tears were streaming down my cheeks.

That's true, because I'm a photographer now.

Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white... to highlight that contrast.

But if you're talking about fine art work, then I think you have to ask yourself some pretty deep questions about why it is you want to take pictures and what it is you want to say.

I became hooked on the idea of being able to shoot an image and process it myself, and end up with a product.

What I'm exploring right now is the subject of my own mortality. It's an area that I'm curious about, and I'm researching it to see if there's a photographic essay in it for me. If images don't start to come, I'll go to something else.

My memory of those places is better than my pictures. That's why I get much more satisfaction out of shooting thematic work that has to do with an idea that I'm searching for, or searching to express.

For a period of time, I carried cameras with me wherever I went, and then I realized that my interest in photography was turning toward the conceptual. So I wasn't carrying around cameras shooting stuff, I was developing concepts about what I wanted to shoot. And then I'd get the camera angle and do the job.

I did not move into developing or processing color. I stayed with black and white. I still think to this day that I prefer to work in black and white if it has to do with poetry or anything other than specific reality. I have worked in color when I thought it was the appropriate way to express the thought that I was working on.

My dream concept is that I have a camera and I am trying to photograph what is essentially invisible. And every once in a while I get a glimpse of her and I grab that picture.

I became enamored with photography when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I've been at it ever since. I studied seriously in the '70s.

That is the exploration that awaits you! Not mapping stars and studying nebula, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence.

I'm attracted to images that come from a personal exploration of a subject matter. When they have a personal stamp to them, then I think it becomes identifiable.

I became involved in photography when I was about thirteen years old.

I also do my own processing, so it means a big commitment in lab time.

I certainly don't live in a kosher home although I was raised in a kosher environment.

A neighborhood friend showed me how it was possible to go to a camera shop and pick up chemicals for pennies... literally... and develop your own film and make prints.

Don't smoke. I did. Wish I never had. LLAP

With family on a beach. I wake up to sunshine, ocean and love.  LLAP

Really feeling for the folks back East. Cold, tired and hungry. Heart goes out to them LLAP

I really enjoyed giving this commencement speech to the College of Fine Arts at Boston University. LLAP

A movie scene: stranger lands on earth. Hits buttons on a small device. All guns on earth are melted . He leaves. LLAP

Alexander Pope said,"Act well your part. There all honor lies". True in art, true in life. LLAP

Will they ever stop playing "gotcha" and go to work for the country?  LLAP

Watching "Argo"and suddenly there's Spock in the final scene. LLAP

Blessed are the peacemakers. Heal the earth. LLAP

John Chambers depicted by John Goodman in Argo made some fine Spock ears but Fred Phillips designed them and created the whole makeup. LLAP

My holiday season wish for our planet and everyone on it. The same for those on other planets. LLAP

Susan and I at a wonderful symphonic concert tonite on a tropical isle. Giving thanks for our blessings. And prayers for all. LLAP

A leader shall appear. It is not only necessary, it is logical. LLAP

Interesting new App I recorded. Go to Apple App Store. Search for My PaceBoss.Enjoy  LLAP

I miss DeForest Kelley a lot. A real friend and a gentle man. For his memory, LLAP

George Takei. Brave man. Class act. LLAP

Gives me pleasure to say good things about good people while they are still alive. LLAP

Vacation on the island is ending. Seeing Zach Quinto in LA Monday.LLAP

Speaking truth to power isn't easy. I admire those who do. LLAP

North Coast Repertory in Ca. will present Jean-Michel Richaud in my play, "Vincent" on March 4th. A really special performance. LLAP

Did a job for Audi yesterday with Zachary Quinto. Total pleasure. LLAP

Valentine's day approaching. I remember making our own cards in grade school.Don't forget the loved ones. LLAP

Just saw a guy propose on bended knee in a NY restaurant. Girl cried "yes" and everyone applauded and cheered. Love still happens.  LLAP

"Vulcan" is the logical choice. LLAP

So much love flowing today. Warms my Vulcan heart. LLAP

Heading East soon to see Mr. Quinto in "Glass Menagerie" Shut out by snowstorm at last attempt. Great play. Great performances.  LLAP

Here's a big LLAP to all. Wish I could respond individually.

I hear my Vulcan people have a new home. True ? LLAP

Only a Vulcan mind meld will help with this congress. LLAP

"Glass Menagerie" in Cambridge,Ma. That's as good as it gets. LLAP

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is the 15th film to ever reach the billion-dollar box office milestone. My Bilbo Baggins helped.LLAP

Good news. Companies are hiring. Unemployment is dropping. Down to 7.7.
U.S. economy, LLAP

Boston Globe has invited me to the White House correspondents dinner  LLAP

I think there's a Star Trek movie opening soon. ST does LLAP

Goodbye Malachi. One of the best. Memories of you and your work LLAP

The "needs" of Nimoy are not being met.
When do I get to see this movie ??!!  LLAP

To deny the Nimoy is not logical. LLAP

I hear the U.K. sees it first. Is this revenge against the colonists ?  LLAP

The logical treatment for irrational behavior is the application of a neck pinch.  LLAP

Family and friends surrounding me with birthday plans. I might get emotional. LLAP

We celebrate the release from bondage that most of us take for granted. Some are still enslaved. Wishing freedom for all. Good Passover LLAP

Thanks all for brightening my already fantastic day w/your birthday wishes. Spending all this energy is not logical but it is sooo good.LLAP

Does this mean I have to stay hidden for 50 years? LLAP now!!

Simplify.LLAP

Had a conversation with Mr. Quinto for German "Interview" magazine. Good talk about the Spock character and more. LLAP

My love and concern for all in Boston, my hometown. Deep sadness.

I grew up in Boston. The city gave me education, arts, and above all, spine. My hometown.  LLAP


Now I have Texas tragedy on my mind. My sympathy for all the loss. LLAP

Humpback whale population is growing. Star Trek IV was helpful. LLAP

In California there's this wet stuff coming down from the sky. Is this what's called "rain"? LLAP

We owe a thanks to Theodore Sturgeon who wrote "Amok Time" episode and "Live long and prosper" .LLAP

I turned off the talking politicos. Too much jabbering at each other. Not enough care about humans. LLAP

Wish I could make a Star Trek movie about destruction of elephants.They're being killed for their ivory tusks. LLAP

We are all children searching for love. LLAP

Just spent the evening with Jackson Browne and Al Gore. Climate Change !! Serious. Time to pay attention now so we can LLAP

Somewhere in the great ocean there is a humpback whale named Spock. LLAP indeed

Police: Ore. mall shooter didn't know his victims

Plenty of guns on the streets. Can this be good ?  Please LLAP

My door is still open to honorary grandchildren. Say "yes" and step inside. LLAP

Today it's Connecticut. Lots of people will not LLAP!!

All honoraries accepted including brothers,sisters, nieces, nephews etc. LLAP

I am angry/disgusted. Amazing that some think the solution is more guns. Madness. Even NRA members want more control.  LLAP

How good it feels to know some folks are quitting smoking because of tweets here !! Blessings and strength to you all. LLAP

I understand the right own a gun. Does it have to be an automatic weapon of mass destruction ? LLAP

Some say E-cigs help to quit smoking. Maybe. But they give nicotine which is highly addictive. Be warned. LLAP

I respect the diffence between "Automatic" and "Semi-Automatic" but the horrible FACT is these kids were sprayed with bullets.  LLAP

Cigarettes don't make anything better. Nicotine taken in any form is addictive. Look into mindful meditation instead. LLAP

"Morning Joe" Thank you. A very moving statement about your new view of the need to protect our children.Politicians, pay attention!!  LLAP

No matter how you get it, nicotine is addictive and dangerous. Sucks oxigen out of your lungs and money out of your pocket. LLAP

Remembering Majel Barrett Roddenberry. We met on"The Lieutenant" before Star Trek

May her memory LLAP

LLAQ!! Live long and quit

Thank you NRA. Looking forward to your "meaningful contributions" to help avoid more such tragedies.  LLAP

Blessings to you who are quitting smoking. Nicotine doesn't make things better. LLAP

No "snark" intended. Sincerely hoping. LLAP

I tried to "smoke a little". Failed.  I finally learned I cannot smoke at all. Quitting isn't easy. I went thru a program. Now FREE. LLAP

The "Meaningful Contribution" promised by the NRA turns out be more guns. I'm disapponted. Not surprised. LLAP

Quitting smoking ? Great!! Drink lots of water to wash nicotine out of your system. LLAP

"We must never forget art is not a form of propoganda. Art is a form of truth." John F. Kennedy. To all ...In this holiday season, LLAP

Smokers, please understand. If you quit after you're diagnosed with lung damage it's too late. Grandpa says learn my lesson. Quit now. LLAP.

Grandchildren home for holiday break from school. What a joy!!  LLAP

I quit smoking 30 yrs ago. Not soon enough. I have COPD. Grandpa says, quit now!! LLAP

Don't miss Bruno Mars "Unorthodox Jukebox". This man is the real deal.  LLAP

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP

Ein Leben ist wie ein Garten. Perfekte Momente können erlebt, aber nicht bewahrt werden, außer in der Erinnerung. Lebt lang und in Frieden.

Happy Birthday Wernher von Braun!

Wir sollten den Kosmos nicht mit den Augen des Rationalisierungsfachmanns betrachten. Verschwenderische Fülle gehört seit jeher zum Wesen der Natur.

Nature does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation. Everything science has taught me, and continues to teach me, strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death.

Ich glaube, der Weltraum ist heute weniger gefährlich als die Straßen Berlins.

For my confirmation, I didn't get a watch and my first pair of long pants, like most Lutheran boys. I got a telescope. My mother thought it would make the best gift.

Zivilcourage ist das, was von einem Menschen übrig bleibt, wenn der Vorgesetzte das Zimmer betritt.

There is just one thing I can promise you about the outer-space program: Your tax dollar will go further.

Das einzige, was noch schlimmer ist als Experten, sind Leute, die sich dafür halten.

One good test is worth a thousand expert opinions.

In Zukunft wird sich die Utopie beeilen müssen, wenn sie die Realität einholen will.

I have learned to use the word impossible with the greatest caution.

Auf dem Mond ist für den Menschen eigentlich nichts zu holen.

The best computer is a man, and it’s the only one that can be mass-produced by unskilled labor.

Meine persönliche Überzeugung und Auffassung gipfelt in der Erkenntnis, daß die Menschheit der Kraft des Gebetes heute mehr bedarf als jemals zuvor in der Geschichte.

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

Dieselben Naturkräfte, die uns ermöglichen, zu den Sternen zu fliegen, versetzen uns auch in die Lage, unseren Stern zu vernichten.

The rocket worked perfectly except for landing on the wrong planet.

Nichts sieht hinterher so einfach aus wie eine verwirklichte Utopie.

Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing.

Alles, von dem sich der Mensch eine Vorstellung machen kann, ist machbar.

All one can really leave one's children is what's inside their heads. Education, in other words, and not earthly possessions, is the ultimate legacy, the only thing that cannot be taken away.

Noch vor dem Jahr 2000 wird es auf dem Mond vollklimatisierte Städte geben, in denen man wesentlich komfortabler als auf der Erde leben kann. Zuerst für die Wissenschaftler, später auch für ihre Familien. Die Kinder können dort die Schule besuchen. Nur zum Universitätsbesuch werden sie vorerst noch zur Erde zurückkehren müssen. Dort werden sie sich aber schnell nach der keimfreien Luft und der geringen Mondschwere zurücksehnen.

We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.

Es ist mein Job, nie zufrieden zu sein.

I'm convinced that before the year 2000 is over, the first child will have been born on the moon.

Über allem stehe die Ehre Gottes, der das große Universum schuf.

Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of the billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things within that enormous immensity.

Bei der Eroberung des Weltraums sind zwei Probleme zu lösen: die Schwerkraft und der Papierkrieg. Mit der Schwerkraft wären wir fertig geworden.

You can’t have a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.

Wenn die Weltbevölkerung auf siebeneinhalb Milliarden Menschen gewachsen sein wird, können die Produkte der Nahrungs- und Energiequellen nicht mehr mit den Mitteln des heutigen Welthandels veteilt werden. Man wird dann ein Welt-Management brauchen, das die Ressourcen dorthin lenkt, wo sie am dringendsten benötigt werden.

It will free man from the remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet.

Grundlagenforschung betreibe ich dann, wenn ich nicht weiß, was ich tue.

Crash programs fail because they are based on the theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month.

Wir können die Schwerkraft überwinden, aber der Papierkram erdrückt uns.

Happy Birthday William Shatner!

Gradually the live TV scene simmered out, replaced by film, and that took place in L.A. So many actors left New York.

Ich bin mit der Magie der Disney-Filme aufgewachsen, die letzten Endes dazu geführt haben, dass ich Schauspieler und Produzent werden wollte. Es war diese lustige kleine Comic-Figur mit den großen, runden Ohren, die in meinen Augen etwas Magisches hatte.

Getting that audience approval is always a question mark, and it's always that flag that flutters in front of you.

I am private.

Babies have big heads and big eyes, and tiny little bodies with tiny little arms and legs. So did the aliens at Roswell! I rest my case.

I believe in taking what happens as inevitable.

Here's something pompous - you take your day and artistically create it, so every moment has an artistic flavor.

I can't stand the gossip of celebrities' lives, all the time! Every minute!

Regret is the worst human emotion. If you took another road, you might have fallen off a cliff. I'm content.

I can't type. Can't do it.

And I enjoyed the celebrity and the creativity that was involved in Star Trek.

I did a movie in Esperanto.

Energy is the key to creativity. Energy is the key to life.

I don't know how to deal with being 80.

I think making a good film shot is joyful.

I don't read reviews.

I love the concept of togetherness and the entwinement of marriage.

 I don't think in terms of God.

My wife and my three kids and my grandchildren are my life, but my horses and my dogs are everything else. 

I don't watch television.

I believe that when things happen, they happen with a purpose.

I never watched 'Star Trek.' 

The ability to breathe the air and drink the water will be what the wars will be about from here on in. And it's coming with alarming rapidity.

I played comedies and dramas.

You need to be silly to be funny.

I see myself as an actor with a love of music.

I was built for the long run, not for the short dash, I guess.

I spent years doing 'Star Trek' bits and things, and a lot of people loved it, a lot of people mocked it.

How do I stay so healthy and boyishly handsome? It's simple. I drink the blood of young runaways.

I think the acting satisfies the need and desire for approval.

My understanding is, the fans are so ravenous in Canada, they gnaw on the stars.

I thought I was loved.

No, I don't regret anything at this point. That may change on the next phone call, but at the moment I don't regret anything. 

 I'm a performer, comedian, entertainer, writer and director.

I envy the people who say, 'oh, well, I've got my name in the golden book and I'm going to be entered into the pearly gates.'

I'm an optimist.

I've been in that angst of loneliness, where you're really alone in the universe, except for the dog.

 I'm anxious to make another film.

A director is a choreographer, both politically and creatively.

I'm just quizzical about how things work and why things are.

The good life is one that's artistically made.

I've been approached to do some things with astronauts and the preparation that astronauts go through.

Ads need to be little pieces of entertainment.

 I've been breeding Dobies for years. Almost won the breed in Westminster at one time.

Remember - you can't beam through a force field. So, don't try it.

I've got rock 'n' roll in my blood.

I know is that I am constantly intrigued by something I'm doing.

I've never not appeared in front of a live audience for any longer period than a month or two.

You have to create your life. You have to carve it, like a sculpture.

If someone criticizes my acting, they may be right.

All in all, Kirk's character is something I am very proud of.

My dad died of a stroke.

The possibilities that are suggested in quantum physics tell us that everything that we're looking at may not be in fact there, so the underlying nature of being is weird.

My dad was good with actions.

At 40, I went to bed for three days. I thought my life is over.

No matter how prosaic something is that you've done and been a part of again and again, there is so much more there that you haven't seen.

This is my saddest story: In grade school, they would have us open our Valentine's cards and read them out loud. I always sent cards to myself because nobody else did.

Tabloid stuff just offends.

Death is an absolute marvel.

The actor is in the hands of a lot of other people, over which he has no control.

 What is down will go up. At the same time, you have to be prepared for what is up to go down.

The problem is I don't know anything or anyone. I am so focused on the immediate picture in front of me.

I also derive a great deal of pleasure from horses and dogs... the ocean... and love.

There's too many people in the world.

You and I and everybody in show business and the entertainment industry fly by the seat of our pants. We don't know quite what is going to happen. William Shatner Business, Fly, Happen I frequently dream of being on these horses' backs and running across a field. And the horse and I are one.

Every piece of entertainment is made with the idea that 'This is going to be terrific' and 'This is the best thing I've ever done' and then it hits the public and then the public tells you whether it's good or bad.

I didn't want to do the sitcom thing, but I didn't know what else to do.

There's a joy and a pain about directing where the dreams you have are becoming concrete but the attention to detail, the need for time is such that it's overwhelming at times, and the stream of responsibility.

Most people, including myself, keep repeating the same mistakes.

I don't know how I got to this point but it must be as a result of everything that has come before so if I were to change something, I might not be at this point now.

I don't think of myself as being tied. 

I know very little about the viral, electronic world, but I use Twitter to communicate not only information that I think some of the fans want to hear about but also ideas.

There's an ecstasy about doing something really good on film: the composition of a shot, the drama within the shot, the texture... It's palpable.

I watch movies and sports. I can count on the fingers of my hand the number of times I have watched an hour show. I never watch a half-hour show, and I never watch myself. 

I had been in a Shakespeare company for three years and done a lot of Shakespeare. That was fun. That was interesting.

If you read my books, especially the Star Trek books and the Quest for Tomorrow books, you'll see in them the core theme of the basic humanistic questions that Star Trek asked.

I find age such a foreign concept. I have to be reminded. I still have the extraordinary feeling of adventure, striking out into unknown fields.

In entertainment, whether it's movies or television or whatever, I'm a great audience, but I don't remember the names of the people I've seen or the groups that I've heard.

I like making people laugh. It comes off and shines in everything I do.

Spencer Tracy was a man who did very much what I do on a set, and that is, he comes down and he does his job, and then he goes back to his dressing room. 

If saving money is wrong, I don't want to be right!

Voice acting is very interesting, I've done several animated projects, and you have to make the voice reflect the character and try and do as much with a word as you can with a look in a live-action film.

I've blundered my way through life.

With three kids, it was always very, very tight, and it was always a scramble for what was my next job. So I learned never to go into debt because I don't want those monthly payments to preoccupy my thoughts.

The name Shatner is Austrian and partly Germanic, and there's Germanic reticence and silence perhaps, but there is passion underneath.

If I'm given an opportunity to do something, I do it. Or else I fool around with it.

I'm always open to the possibility that somebody's got a better idea than I have. It happens with some frequency.

If we can clean up our world, I'll bet you we can achieve warp drive.

The essence of paint ball is the fact that when you get hit by a ball full of paint, it hurts just enough to say, 'Ow, I gotta get out of the way,' but not enough to say, 'I quit.'

In my proudest moments, I think I had a real hand in the creative force of making 'Star Trek.' But most of the time, I don't think about it.

The conundrum of free will and destiny has always kept me dangling. 

My fear is dying badly, through illness or injury. But what a glorious demise it would be to burn up in space.

I love horses. There's something practical and mystical about them.

Nature is perfect.

We meet aliens every day who have something to give us. They come in the form of people with different opinions.

So many dot-com companies were formulated on air. 

I love living in Los Angeles.

The only subject I know anything about is myself and I don't know that too clearly.

Over the years, I've become barraged by comments from people, such as, 'Beam me up, Scotty!' and I became defensive. I felt they were derisive and engendered an attitude. I am grateful for the success, but didn't want to be mocked.

The political scene is already so turgid, it doesn't need more of that from me.

I love to evoke the bones and meat and thoughts of characters.

These people who come to Comic-Con and dress up - all across the country, the rest of the population who doesn't understand are scoffing at them. 

Montreal is a very cosmopolitan, sophisticated, erudite, educated, glorious city today. But it wasn't quite that way when I was growing up there. There was a lot of anti-Semitism. And I had to deal with that in an area of the city that had very few Jews.

Well-written words are music.

I love to go to a movie, get a Diet Coke and a barrel of popcorn, and sit there with my kids and watch a film.

When I'm interviewing somebody I don't work from prepared questions. 

Why does the lizard stick his tongue out? The lizard sticks its tongue out because that's the way its listening and looking and tasting its environment. It's its means of appreciating what's in front of it.

But if you want to know the truth, the weirdest thing that has happened has been my discovery that people who attend the conventions are filled with love.

It's very easy to say no to leaving the house.

The mysteriousness and mystique of space is such, that science fiction attempts to tantalize you by telling you a story that could possibly be out there and that's the appeal of science fiction.

I find the whole time travel question very unsettling if you take it to its logical extension. I think it might eventually be possible, but then what happens?

 I was always working. Maybe you weren't aware of the movies I was making, or the television I was doing, or the shows I was creating, or the books I was writing; there have been thirty. But I have always been solidly at work, running as fast as I can.

My plan has always been to return to Broadway every 50 years.

We live in grief for having left the womb, for having left the teat, then school, then home. In my case, it was leaving marriages, and the death of my wife.

Divorce is probably as painful as death.

Instead of playing something heavily, I play it lightly. Since people like to cast cyclically, once you've done one thing, people want to put you in that bag again. And since I want to work, I let it happen.

Writing is truly a creative art - putting word to a blank piece of paper and ending up with a full-fledged story rife with character and plot.

When you've done the technical part, you're then into the joy, the zen, into being. Technology no longer exists for you. You're then into the mystery of the thing you're doing.

A tree you pass by every day is just a tree. If you are to closely examine what a tree has and the life a tree has, even the smallest thing can withstand a curiosity, and you can examine whole worlds.

Things people say strike me as amusing, and I am prone to saying out loud what everybody's thinking. 

You know, the process of making a documentary is one of discovery, and like writing a story, you follow a lead and that leads you to something else and then by the time you finish, the story is nothing like you expected.

My mother was an exuberant, silly lady.

The basic quality that any great story must have is a story that illustrates the human condition. 

When I direct and have to look at filmed scenes of myself, I suck.

I'm gonna reveal something to you that's going to come as a shock: If you're a stupid young man, you're usually a stupid old man. Most people, including myself, keep repeating the same mistakes.

A stage actor has to be 10% aware of the audience as he's performing.

If you make a fool of yourself, you can do it with dignity, without taking your pants down. And if you do take your pants down, you can still do it with dignity.

I'm not out to convince anybody of anything.

It was the early 1970s and I was recently divorced. I had three kids and was totally broke. I managed to find work back east on the straw-hat circuit - summer stock - but couldn't afford hotels, so I lived out of the back of my truck, under a hard shell.

Fate gives you the finger and you accept.

The longer I go about living, I see it's the relationship that is most meaningful. 

I enjoyed reading all the classic authors like Isaac Asimov and Bradbury.

Sci-fi films are the epic films of the day because we can no longer put 10,000 extras in the scene - but we can draw thousands of aliens with computers.

The great mystery of our consciousness is beyond our grasp.

Captain Kirk has been a source of pleasure and income for a long time.

I think that prog rock is the science fiction of music. Science fiction speculates on what the future might be and look like and how we'll get there, and yet there's always a central theme of humanity, or there should be. Progressive rock has the same concept of exploration into the parts of the music world that hasn't been explored.

I am not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship NCC-1701, or own a phaser. And I don't know anybody named Bones, Sulu, or Spock.

Nobody could have imagined the phenomenon that 'Star Trek' became. It's still almost impossible to imagine.

I sometimes find that in interviews you learn more about yourself than the person learned about you.

I'm looking for the perfect paintball movie.

I didn't realize that, in doing a documentary, there is this process of discovery. It's not like a film or a play with a set script. It sort of reveals itself.

When there are tiers of meaning in an ad it intrigues the audience and they look for it again and again.

Writing an acceptance speech gives you the expectation of winning, and you are therefore devastated or hurt if you didn't win.

Exercise? A Jew doesn't exercise.

I love technology. Matches, to light a fire, is really high tech. The wheel is really one of the great inventions of all time. Other than that, I am an ignoramus about technology.

A series is filled with compromises.

Acting is easier - writing is more creative. The lazy man vies with the industrious.

All any artist can do is please themselves.

I see people putting text messages on the phone or computer and I think, 'Why don't you just call?'

I hate flying, flat out hate its guts.

I'm surfing the giant life wave.

I have been accused of never saying no.

I think of doing a series as very hard work. But then I've talked to coal miners, and that's really hard work. 

I'm not technically adept at music, but I'd love to be part of a discussion of where progressive rock ends and country music begins.

I often conduct interviews in my truck.

It's irksome to read about someone I don't recognize. It frightens me.

I've never been without a dog. I've made trips across the country with a dog.

My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!

My kids say if there's any family dinner that doesn't result in somebody crying, it's not a good dinner. They cry because it helps relieve them of a guilt or some onerous emotional burden. It's like a family tradition.

My site has the whole thing - blogs, information, video interviews. 

My beautiful wife is dead. She meant everything to me. Her laughter, her tears and her joy will remain with me the rest of my life.

When I did the film Generations, in which the character died, I felt like a guest for the first time. That made me very sad.

Success is different for everyone; everybody defines it in their own way, and that's part of what we do in 'Close Up', finding what it was each person wanted to achieve and what their willingness to sacrifice for that was.

Yeah, I do stand-up, my own type of stand-up.

Marriage is a reflection of your life in general: how you treat people, how you argue, how secure you are in your own thoughts. How vehemently do you argue your point of view? With what disdain do you view the other's point of view?

Although I'm a business major out of McGill University, I know nothing... but then I found out much later in life, nobody knows anything.

Success should always be just beyond your grasp.

Every day I realized I would not be a star. 

I think the supernatural is a catch-all for everything we don't understand about the vast other parts of life that we cannot perceive.

Everybody has their 15 minutes, and those 15 minutes should be spent in a private limo and a private plane. It's the ultimate.