Happy Birthday Marina Sirtis!

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

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 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 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.

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. 

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

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.

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.

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

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.

The Next Generation", 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.

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.

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!'

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!".

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.

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.

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

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

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.

"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"

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.

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.

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.

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.

Oh do it Cappy, please!!!!!

Not many people ask me out.

Happy Birthday Leonard Nimoy!

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

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

I deal with this spiritual issue every day - either shooting or processing or sorting or discussing or having conversations - I'm in constant contact with it.

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

Years ago - in the 70s, for about a decade - I carried a camera every place I went. And I shot a lot of pictures that were still life and landscape, using available light.

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

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

We are all children searching for love. 

I am not Spock.

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

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

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

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. 

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

LLAQ!! Live long and quit

Spock is definitely one of my best friends. When I put on those ears, it's not like just another day. When I become Spock, that day becomes something special. 

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

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.

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.

For me it's all about personal vision; is there something about a subject that uniquely speaks to me.

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

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.

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

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

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

I began working with a family camera. It was called a Kodak Autographic, which was one of those things where you flopped it open and pulled out the bellows. And I've been at it ever since; I've never stopped.

I use a computer. I don't know if that qualifies me as a techie, but I'm pretty good on the computer.

I have a master's degree in photography as a fine art, and I would call my work primarily conceptual.

I don't carry cameras with me wherever I go. I get an idea of a subject matter I want to deal with and I pull out my cameras.

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.

I'm not an equipment nut. I tend to use whatever's to hand. I have several cameras, of course, but I'm not emotional about any of them.

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.

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've been working with photography for many years.

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

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.

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.

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.

Other times, you're doing some piece of work and suddenly you get feedback that tells you that you have touched something that is very alive in the cosmos.

You know, for a long time I have been of the opinion that artists don't necessarily know what they're doing. You don't necessarily know what kind of universal concept you're tapping into.

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

This time, there have been a lot of interesting discussion about the subject matter and I've had a good time talking about it. And in some of the cases, I'm not just signing books; I'm showing slides and talking about the work. 

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.

The book tour has been really interesting and very gratifying. I have not book toured before. I've never had quite as much pleasure, as much satisfaction.

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

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

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.

That's the most difficult issue for me... to find a subject that holds my interest long enough that I'm prepared to go to work and spend the time and energy to shoot the subject.

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

My wife and I are affiliated with a temple here in Los Angeles. We feel very close to the congregation and to the rabbi, who happens to be my wife's cousin and who I admire greatly. I talk to him regularly but I consider myself more spiritual than religious.

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

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.

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

Most of my images have been done in-studio, under very controlled lighting conditions. There have been a few that have been shot in nature, but even then they were shot almost exclusively at night, and again, under controlled lighting conditions.

Blessed are the peacemakers. Heal the earth.

Happy Birthday William Shatner!

My children are my life. I have three kids in total; Leslie, Lisabeth & Melanie. They are my reason to get up & live each day to the fullest

My dad was good with actions.

My mother was an exuberant, silly lady. 

There's too many people in the world.

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

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

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

I can't type. Can't do it.  

My dad died of a stroke.

So many dot-com companies were formulated on air.

Exercise? A Jew doesn't exercise.

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

All any artist can do is please themselves. 

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

I'm an optimist.

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

I'm not out to convince anybody of anything.

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 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.'

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

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

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.

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.

I'm looking for the perfect paintball movie.

I am private.

A director is a choreographer, both politically and creatively.

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

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.

The great mystery of our consciousness is beyond our grasp.

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?

My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian! 

A series is filled with compromises.

I love technology.

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.

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

I hate flying, flat out hate its guts.

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

Nature is perfect.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Every day I realized I would not be a star. 

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

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

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.

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

If someone criticizes my acting, they may be right.

Death is an absolute marvel.

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.

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

I don't watch television.

I don't think of myself as being tied.

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

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

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.

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.

I never watched 'Star Trek.'

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

I played comedies and dramas.

Everyone knows everything about all of us. That's too much knowledge!

I've blundered my way through life.

My boy, that was a TV show. I used a stunt double. I always use a stunt double. Except in love scenes. I insist on doing those myself.

I did a movie in Esperanto.

You know who I am?! I'm William Tiberius Shatner!

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

Being an icon is overrated, remember an icon can be moved by a mouse.

I'm anxious to make another film.

What does God need with a starship?

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

I don't want people to know me. I want them to believe my version.

I thought I was loved.

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.

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.

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

Well-written words are music.

Fate gives you the finger and you accept.

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

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

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

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

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. 

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.

Ads need to be little pieces of entertainment.

I don't read reviews.

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. 

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

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. 

I don't think in terms of God.

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.

I have been accused of never saying no.

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

I believe in taking what happens as inevitable.

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

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. 

Happy Birthday John de Lancie!

As pathologists, you will learn the nature of disease and it's causes, it's processes, development, and consequences. But far far more than that. I like to think of the pathologist as offering a window to god, if you will. Now, it may be said that pathology is the study of all things human, save the soul of course. But it is in that particular branch of pathology known as forensics, that we will delve into what it means to be inhuman. You will see the perversion, the corruption of the flesh by all means unnatural. And then we will work backwards, always back to that original pristine design, to determine the affecting cause of death.

In a story so bizarre I can scarcely believe the event I'm reporting, and yet corroborated by at least a dozen eye witnesses. A white male apparently fell from the sky above downtown Los Angeles today, landed in the middle of a busy intersection, destroying one vehicle and hospitalising its elderly driver,and then was removed from the scene even before emergency personnel could respond. Without a body the police have yet to piece together the events of the day.It can only be described as implausible. Reports of a second body landing in the Boyle Heights area have yet to be confirmed, and are being treated as the bullshit they most likely are.

Roddenberry warned me that I had no idea what I was getting into with Star Trek. Someone should have warned me about My Little Pony! Egads!

Astonishing isn't it, but the one conspiracy theory Donald Trump doesn't believe in, is the Russians hacking the election.

Meryl Streep's speech was eloquent. The response...not so.

Why must the @'s count in the 140?! These's nothing to read finally.

Many actors who came out of the theater, who came out of doing a lot of Shakespeare, and a lot of other types of authors as well, have the skill set to handle complex words. Knowing that, then now all of sudden you go, "Well, actually, you know now it does sort of make sense," if you go and look at the cast of "Star Trek." They did a lot of Shakespeare in their day. There's Patrick [Stewart,] there's Armin [Shimerman,] and then there's René Auberjonois, on and on and on. A lot of us had done that type of material, which made us capable to do the "Star Trek" material. Bill Shatner, he was at the Shakespeare Festival up in Ontario, that's where he got his chops.

Very memorable weekend in Milwaukee. Great con, great people and great German food. What more could one ask for?Auf Wiedersehen, ponies!

Truth: The majority of Americans did not vote for Trump. Truth: Trump was aided by a Russian cyber attack against our country. Illegitimate!

I'm in Milwaukee! Just had a ton of German food. Getting ready for a Brony weekend. Come join.

I was not a good student, and the reason I was not a good student is that I didn't know how to read. ... I was dyslexic, but at the time that was not really a word that was used. What was used was "mildly retarded" or "slow."  I ended up flunking out of a couple of schools. The last school I went to, they said "Oh, no, no, we think he's dyslexic, but nobody really knew what to do with that. I probably was 14 by that time. My teacher, who was really quite a wonderful teacher ... we would do projects.

The poetry slam is a great event. I start off the proceeding and then others read the poems. Often very funny, moving, revealing and fun.

House GOP votes to gut House ethics committee. Welcome to the new order.

In this time of Discord and Chaos the Reason Rally should give us all hope. Be a voice for a better future. Let Reason ring!

Trump's used of the phrase "enemy of the people" is chilling. There's a history to that sentiment and it's not good - for anyone! Look it up

The Humanist weekend was wonderful. Very smart, very inspiring. If you don't know about the American Humanist look them up. Well worth it.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy & prosperous new year. Let's take a moment to be grateful & generous and expansive towards others. Cheers!

I'm in Chicago this weekend speaking at the Humanist convention. Can't wait to meet all the fine folks. The following week the Reason Rally

A very happy holidays to all from 21.9750° N, 96.0833° E. The weather is a comfortable 72 degrees and Christmas is in the air.

For those of you who said, Thailand, you are correct. Bravo! Specifically, Pharos.

Here's a hint for architect buffs. Because land is scarce they are growing ivy and trees on and in the building.

Hong Kong! Why the mask? Hey, I saw Contagion. Need I say more? 

I'm not a great Twitterer. Chit chat eludes me. My followers seem to be from 2 camps:Trek & MLP. I'm going Twit about both - substantively

A chicken head and a bottle beer - heaven.

Just given book about Twittering by someone who will remain nameless. Practicing 1st chapter "Ambient Intimacy" So..Runny nose Off to yoga.

Don't usually get into this but: The witches' brew the Rep Party has been stirring for the last 7 years boiled over last night. Shame !

I have just finished recording some of the STTimelines dialogue. Let's just call it what it is: Q Unleashed!

If you've been following: this clue was difficult. Yes, still Burma. I'm on a river. Answer: Irrawaddy. Go to Google Earth. Follow along.

I'm back. After sailing to the South Sea, being kidnapped and tattooed by cannibals...I'm back. Let's talk.

Everyone! The game STTimelines is up & running. Wonderful work by lots of very talented people. Have a look and let me know what you think.

Xmas Dinner: Rakhine fish paste, pork curry & sour mango pickle, pomelo & pounded fish, roasted eggplant salad. Yum

Happy Birthday Connor Trinneer!

I am a fiercely proud American.  I like most Americans descend from immigrants.  I am the product of their dream.  Today I feel such shame.

I had the profound honor of telling the story of Trip Tucker.

I think Alice is in trouble.  Folks are going for it in Yakima!  

Looking back at the throngs of people yesterday.  It shocked me how many there were womensmarchla

I loved the last episode.  I had the profound honor of telling the story

2016.  A long slow kick in the balls.  Enough already.

Wine+friends+phones that do too much+ridiculous phone apps+did I say wine yet?=this.  Sorry…

Someone said that Paramount went to the well one too many times and our show just happened to be that walk to the well. I tend to agree with that. I don't think our numbers were really that much worse than Voyager or Deep Space Nine -- they were all in the same ballpark -- but the cost-to-viewer ratio of Star Trek reached a point when we were making Enterprise where it was no longer satisfactory to the studio. Star Trek was no longer cost effective.

I wish I knew what the rest of this sign said... 

Goddamn I love football!  I know the game has taken a hit.  Taught me everything I know about life. I didn't care who won. What a game!!!!!

#StarTrek50 I am so proud to be a part of Star Trek!! Happy 50th you sexy thing!!!🖖

I can hardly look at @SpeakerRyan any more.  If you can't stick to the courage of your convictions, how are we to believe anything you say?

Final dinner in Germany at this castle built by the Knights Templar in the 14th Century.

Day after Christmas squirrel hunt.  Kids a sharpshooter!   Musta bagged 15 of em'.  I joke.… 

They say there used to be gold in them there hills.  Looks like there still is. 

I don't know exactly when they tuned out, but they did, obviously, somewhere along season one or two. We had a great season last year with the Xindi storyline and we still weren't able to get them back. For network shows, it doesn't seem particularly important for them to publicize the science fiction genre, or it wasn't that important for [UPN] to publicize our show. They sort of let that go and I don't think we had a lot of momentum in terms of backing from the network. But they have their own concerns. So I think it was a combination of things. I think different camps weren't in sync at the right time to draw in people.

Glad to be home but didn't think we'd drag race to touch down.  The planes actually kept getting…

Really, what did you think was going to happen under Trumpcare?  It would get better?  The list of this shit show goes on and on.

Star Trek Dallas.  See you tomorrow!  Need barbecue.  Never been to Dallas.  Where should I go? Sadly, my hotel is near the airport.

All the episodes and tons of extras, all at a great price...sounds like a must have set for #StarTrek fans!

Yes it's April 1st in some parts of the world.  You don't have Trader Joes.  The Trader Joes bit was my point,  not the world clock.

Thank you to all the veterans who've protected this great country of ours!!!

Um, there are rules to April fools day jokes. @YahooNews reports Trader Joe's closing all stores in 2017.  It's March 31st dickheads. rules.

Bring your cowboy hat and boots to  the @CreationEnt Dallas show.  I'll be there all weekend.....with my cowboy hat and boots y'all!

The Mother Fuckin chandelier at The Shrine Theater.......pardon my French. 

We've moved.  Went back to the old place to pick up some stuff.  Thought this was a perfect reminder…

Happy Birthday Anton Yelchin!

Taking photographs seems to be a means to express some kind of emotional, abstractive narrative. I look at the images that I'm most proud of like a film about the world the way I see it (or at least saw it at that moment, a perspective that seems to be ever-shifting and filled with self-doubt.)

Maybe silence is something we're uncomfortable with as a culture, I don't know. 

The way I see the job, my definition of it, is to create characters to the best of your ability and then fit into what's trying to be accomplished in the general framework of the film. I think that's whether you're doing this- even if you're doing musical theater. That's what I think an actors job is. I don't know. I like to think what an actors job is is to create characters.

Every relationship I've been in becomes long-distance because of work. It's never worked out. It puts an intense strain on the relationship, and at a certain point, it becomes too difficult.

I've always been drawn to a certain kind of dark aesthetic in cinema and in film, to what's abjected or considered abject. I've been tremendously influenced by noirish cinema whether that's Von Sternberg or Scorsese in the 70s or Lynch, etc.

It would be nice to live off the land and fix cars.

At age 12 I had an obsession with Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and then proceeded to watch all the other Kubrick films I could including a doc called Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures in which it was revealed to me that he started as a photographer...I got a camera sometime shortly after, but spent many years just photographing flowers in my neighborhood.

There's only a handful of people I trust completely, and I know who they are. Other than that, I pretty much don't trust people.

Guilt is a very important part of my personality... There are two things at work here, history and genetics. The history of Eastern European Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, has not been very pleasant. And I'm not just talking about World War II, but centuries and centuries of oppression and pogroms. If you are a product of that environment, it is a very big part of who you are. That's not to say it's all you are, but it is a part.

I'm fascinated by how ethnic communities have assimilated into massive capitalist environments.

I think any time you're in a new relationship, there's so much to look forward to.

Teenagers are like atoms when they're moving at hundreds of miles an hour and bouncing off each other. Everybody's got such a crazy hormonal drive and reacting to each other differently and getting upset over little things. High school puts all these potential explosions in one place.

I'm trying to figure out what I can do creatively. It's about trying to find new things and trying to figure out voices and borrowing from things and learning as much as possible so that I have an archive of things to borrow from.

I tried ice-skating and wasn't very good at it.

Russia is very complicated. It is one of the most complicated histories. I could go on about this forever. It produces Dostoyevsky and Rachmaninoff and then it produces Stalins and Lenins. It is such a strange combination. I don't know why that rant about Russia was necessary.

The ability to have a choice in what you do is a privilege.

The music that really moves me is music that's written by people where there isn't a lot of money and they're really singing with just their voice and a guitar about their feelings and about their life. Their poetry is relatively simple, in the sense that it's about their soul in jeopardy.

I don't hang out at trendy Hollywood bars.

I have an aversion to remakes, which is ironic because I'm in two of them right now. When I went back and watched T3 recently, I thought we need to make a better movie. I can't say I'm a fan.

If you want to make movies you need to think on a micro-micro level and figure out how to make them for nothing with people who really care about your movie and really want to make it.

I think you can always find interesting, complex and fascinating characters to play in different kinds of movies. It's in your hands. 

I don't feel any connection to Russia.

I was a horrible athlete. My parents are athletes; they tried me to get me to do that, but I just couldn't. I sucked. First I wanted to be a scientist, and I set our bathroom on fire. Then I wanted to be a basketball player and I'm a not-very-tall white, Russian Jewish kid. So that didn't work out either.

My parents were of the opinion, because they had started skating very young, that you should have something that you do that you care about, because it structures your life as you're growing up. 

I think the best way to put it is this: The reason I say I feel lucky is because I do what I do. I think when you love something and you get the opportunity to do it, and consistently do it and be able to play different characters or great people, you feel lucky. I’ve been doing it for kind of a long time at this point. Sometimes I think about it and it’s been almost 13, 14 years. It’s always humbling to have someone say, 'You did a great job. Here’s an award.'

I love Andy Warhol!

No, I feel lucky to be part of anything that I’m a part of. I look at it, and if I like it, I do it. The amazing thing about this job is that you get the opportunity to play so many different characters and have so many different kinds of experiences and do so many different character studies, whether they’re in such a broad, generic format or a very specific genre format or a genre like a dramatic romance. My favorite thing about this job is doing all these different things.

I'm actually embarrassed to tell people I'm Russian these days, because it's become such an awful place.

I've been lucky to play characters that are really broad.

I prefer when movies target my heart instead of my mind.

I've been lucky to be able to work with great people and on interesting material.

I think you can always find interesting, complex and fascinating characters to play in different kinds of movies. It's in your hands.

I love academics, theory and all that. I love and admire that and try to do as much reading as I can.

I'm not passive aggressive. If something bothers me, I think about it, then I act on it. I express it.

One of my favorite vampire movies is 'Nosferatu,' which has a palpable sense of dread that's a pre-war dread.

I want things to be characters and not me. Why would I want to play me?

When you don't understand the fashion world you're just grateful you get to wear good clothes.

In a relationship when things are really great you don't need to say anything and just enjoy the other person. Sometimes with a couple, it gets dark and you don't know what to say and that silence can last all day. Other times you don't want to stop talking because you don't want to lose one another. 

I love movies.

Russia itself is an extremely complex country, and sometimes I feel like all of that comes back to haunt me. I can see why so many Russian writers were so tortured.

I think the beauty of images is that they are by definition fetishes and every image (banal or not) as a fetish holds within it the promise of a sensuousness that (without generalizing) at least I, as a human being, am drawn to.

My playing music is strictly for fun. When I was in a band, I was really excited to talk about it since I had never really played music to that extent. It was never meant as something I would consider as anything more than having fun with my friends. But I think I would enjoy writing music for the movies that I'm working on.

I usually bring a point and shoot with me so I can go out on the weekends and shoot a bit. I used to bring more cameras, but I'm also an Ebay nut so sometimes I'll order something if I'm really pining for it when I'm on location.

I feel lucky to be in whatever I'm in. I feel lucky to be working.

I think its important for movies to recognize that they are part of a history of movies. I also think that most movies are about movies anyway, even if they're about something else.

Happy Birthday Dean Stockwell!

It's been a long hard road. Some parts of it were pretty bumpy, but the last few years have been pretty smooth.

There are a lot of problems in the world, a lot of tragic things that have to be addressed, economic, medical, political, all kinds of things, but, to my way of thinking, they pale in comparison to the overall problem of the environmental deadline.

Most hackers graduate from Unix and Linux platforms. They know them intimately. They don't try to exploit them.

That's one great thing about my profession, traveling to locations. 

We had actually given in August an undertaking to bring a final proposal in time for the ministerial council to consider it in October.

I hate to admit it, but you can't do a role unless it's somewhere in your psyche. People don't realize how vast the subconscious is. It's like infinity.

I started at a very early age in this business and I'm sure most of you have read stories about people who have started as children and ended up in very difficult lives and bad consequences. It's not the easiest life in the world, but then no life is easy.

I've got categories of jobs, and one of the categories is 'money jobs.' If one of those comes along and I have to make a living, even if I don't like the script that much, I'll do it and just try to stay above water, which I'm able to do most of the time. I try not to sink with the ship.

My mother was in vaudeville, but after she had her children, she quit working. 

There were uglies and there were beauties. For me, Errol Flynn was the best. I didn't know anything about sex or what manhood was - and he opened that door for me.

Dick Widmark... I remember him with such fondness. He and Errol had something in common. They didn't have a condescending attitude. Being human and honest in a relationship seemed to mean more to them than anything else. It meant a great deal to me. I don't know if Widmark is aware of that. They were straight with me - like, I would imagine, a father would be to a son... if he loved and respected him. And I didn't have a father with me.

So I'm going to go on and work on preserving the ozone layer, encouraging everyone to recycle.

And I can't wait to see where the road leads from here.

I did some drugs and went to some love-ins. The experience of those days provided me with a huge, panoramic view of my existence that I didn’t have before. I have no regrets.

Promi-Bashing!

Hallo,

immer wieder geben Schauspieler, Künstler und Musiker ihre Meinungen und Ansichten auf Twitter, Facebook und anderen Social Media Netzwerken kund.

Die gefallen nicht jedem. Muss es auch nicht. Es sind deren Meinungen und Ansichten. 

Deine, meine und unsere Meinungen und Ansichten interessieren und gefallen auch nicht jedem. Dennoch schreiben wir sie ständig dort rein. 

Wir Kommentieren, diskutieren, streiten im Internet und immer öfter wird dieses dann bis zum beleidigen geführt.

Mit Beleidigungen um sich zu werfen und anderen zu verbieten, ihre Meinungen und Ansichten mitzuteilen, scheint die neue Diskussionskultur zu sein. 

Nicht nur im Internet.

Prominenten wird sehr oft das Recht abgesprochen, eine eigene Meinung zu haben, bzw. diese zu veröffentlichen und ihren Fans und der Welt mitzuteilen. 

Vor allem dann, wenn der Prominente nicht der gleichen Meinung ist. 

Dabei sind Meinungsfreiheit und Redefreiheit Menschenrechte in Demokratien. 

Jeder darf seine Meinung kundtun. 

Sie muss nicht jedem gefallen, aber jeder hat das Recht dazu, dies zu tun. 

Auch Promis.

Egal ob Schauspieler, Musiker, Künstler, Bauer, Schlosser, Handwerker, Bauarbeiter, Sekretärin, Pizza-Bote, Briefträger, Manager, Hausfrau usw.. 

Wirklich jeder darf das laut Gesetzen. 

Egal welchen Beruf er oder sie ausübt.

Wer oder was gibt euch also das Recht zu sagen, dass dieses Recht nicht für alle gilt? 

Sind Schauspieler, Musiker, Künstler und andere Promis keine Menschen?

Geben die ihre Menschenrechte mit ihrer Berufswahl ab und müssen dann auf Meinungsfreiheit und Redefreiheit verzichten?

Reicht es nicht, dass sie oftmals kaum ein Privatleben haben?

Müsst ihr ihnen auch noch die Freiheit nehmen, ihre eigene Meinung zu haben und auszusprechen, was sie denken?

Happy Birthday Gates McFadden!

As I became a part of the show, I started to understand the vision of Gene Roddenberry. It really has influenced me a lot. It is a very amazing philosophy that he came up with. This whole prime directive, finding ways of living together, the picture it shows of the future. I wish everybody had that philosophy.

It's wonderful that the show was so imaginative and creative. I'm glad to be a part of it. I get many kids telling me that they would like a mom like Beverly Crusher, and they feel I can solve their problems. It's not an easy world to grow up in. It's tough. And it's nice to think we are doing our bit to help. I always wish I had more to do, but I got my moments and direction "Genesis" was, without question, the high point of my years with the show, really the culmination of my Star Trek experience.

Life is so fast these days, and we're exposed to so much information. Television makes us a witness to such misery.

There was a period of time where I thought it was ... I was almost getting indignant about the fact that both Marina and I had done fencing, I'd done stage combat, karate, aikido, all sorts of things like that, and whenever there was anything to do that was action oriented, it was always the male characters who were getting it, and if there was a fight or something, Beverly was supposed to, like, take a frying pan over someone's head, and I thought, "This is ridiculous!" The female astronauts now know how to do everything that the male astronauts know how to do, and that's the way it needs to be because if something happens to somebody up there you have to be able to take over in a flash any of those positions. So it seemed ludicrous for a while that the women seemed only to have this nurturing thing.

Just learning to think in another language allows you to see your own culture in a better viewpoint.

Some people say there will be another movie, some people say there won't. But certainly the mythology of Star Trek will continue. With or without Dr. Crusher, I'm sure.

Theater really is my first love. I love the stage, performing for an audience. Some of my favorite credits would have to be the Shakespeare work I did in New York and "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday". I also loved working with Jim Henson on "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and "Labyrinth". I've also loved "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

I like the interaction between the performer and the spectator. I think it's a magical interaction ... in theater you never know what's going to happen.

I love a lot of things, and I'm pretty much obsessive about most things I do, whether it be gardening, or architecture, or music. I'd be an obsessive hairdresser. 

When I was young, it was very exciting to have a thought that we can change the world if we all collaborated, but I think it's not just an artist's responsibility as I think we all have responsibilities to different things, whatever we choose in our lives. I feel responsible to my family and also many other things and people in my life. And then how much responsibility do I have for people in Yugoslavia, and people like that? You start to think, how much do I want to do as an individual? How are you going to live your life? I don't have a short philosophical answer. I just know that that thought informs the way I live my life. I don't know exactly how, but it's something that I consider often. What is my responsibility as a citizen, as an actress, as a mother, and on and on?

When I was young, it was very exciting to have a thought that we can change the world if we all collaborated, but I think it's not just an artist's responsibility as I think we all have responsibilities to different things, whatever we choose in our lives.

I think it's very important that young people have role models. They seem to write us enormous amounts of letters, young people, and say, "I want to be a doctor like Beverly Crusher, and it's great that you're a mom as well," and all of that. And ... that make's me feel very good. And therefore, I feel responsible to keep pushing the role as much as I can in the direction that ... really shows the potential of what women will be doing, men and women will be doing in space. And I often have felt, "Just write the character as a man, I'll make it female."

Shooting the boat sequences, I think, is probably something all of us have a story to tell about. I can tell you that the boat was supposed to be pitching back and forth, so we all had to really pitch back and forth... for days. At times, it was very funny and we were all having a good laugh, and at other times, it wasn't at all funny and it could be quite tiring. But it's a terrific scene.

You know, you guys with the computers get the rumors way before we do. I get asked things at conventions and I'll say, "You're kidding, is that true? That's ridiculous." And I'll go back, and sure enough, it's true, and I had no idea.

I walked in and was told they had three parts, and I could play any part I wanted. "Okay", I asked, "Which one is the funniest?" Beverly Crusher. I swear to God. Seriously! So I go, "Okay, fine", and I look at the scene and it's a scene from "The Naked Now" and that's funny because she's kind of drunk and I thought, "This is funny." So that's about the only funny scene in seven seasons! 

Television makes us a witness to such misery.