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NASA Honors William Shatner With Distinguished Public Service Medal 111
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Red Orbit reports that after nearly 50 years of warping across galaxies and saving the universe from a variety of alien threats and celestial disasters, Star Trek's William Shatner was honored with NASA's Distinguished Public Service medal, the highest award bestowed by the agency to non-government personnel. 'William Shatner has been so generous with his time and energy in encouraging students to study science and math, and for inspiring generations of explorers, including many of the astronauts and engineers who are a part of NASA today,' said David Weaver, NASA's associate administrator for the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 'He's most deserving of this prestigious award.' Past recipients of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory director and Voyager project scientist Edward Stone, theoretical physicist and astronomer Lyman Spitzer, and science fiction writer Robert Heinlein. The award is presented to those who 'have personally made a contribution representing substantial progress to the NASA mission. The contribution must be so extraordinary that other forms of recognition would be inadequate.'"
Re:First Contact (Score:4, Funny)
Gorn chicks are hotter.
And scalier.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Gorn chicks are hotter.
That kinda depends on whether it's sunny or not.
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...until Sanchez has to go into the game...
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Gotta wait till 2024.
But... (Score:3)
Re:But... (Score:4, Informative)
The reason why has to do with not what you said, but how you said it. Here, I'll help:
I've been. pretending, to have - SEX - with... green women! For Years!
...and that's why Shatner got one and you didn't.
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The reason why has to do with not what you said, but how you said it. Here, I'll help:
I've been. pretending, to have - SEX - with... green women! For Years!
...and that's why Shatner got one and you didn't.
You forgot the finish:
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN!
There. You're welcome.
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um, isn't it
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN
?
and here's a bunch of extra text that is even less funny than the previous text
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um, isn't it
KHAAAA...AAAN
Whoops, you're right.
I forgot the tags too.
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Damn, hit send too soon. I meant to say: I forgot the <orgasm> tags too.
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You need to take your shirt off as well.
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No, your shirt needs to be partially torn off, in hand to hand combat.
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Denny Crane. (Score:1)
Denny Crane.
I'm kookoo for Cocoa Puffs.
INteresting (Score:1, Troll)
"“William Shatner has been so generous with his time and energy in encouraging students to study science and math, and for inspiring generations of explorers, including many of the astronauts and engineers who are a part of NASA today, "
I listen to a lot of science podcast, shows, help with engineering programs and I have never heard his name in anything but an ST reference.
Re:INteresting (Score:5, Informative)
Star Trek has inspired countless people to explore science.
He wasn't Gene, but Shatner has pretty much always embraced his role in Trek.
Re:INteresting (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:INteresting (Score:5, Funny)
In my day, we had to reverse the polarity of the signaling array while jettisoning the warp core!
While walking uphill in holographic snow for zero net distance but 16 kilometers worth of grueling exercise!
Then the Vulcan chef gave us a pot with some kind of flesh-eating sunflower that we had to fight and kill ourselves for dinner, using nothing but a double-axis Andorian spork!
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Yeah, well we had to reverse the polarity of the Neutron flow while hiding behind our couches.
Re:INteresting (Score:5, Funny)
Pffft. Amateurs.
You do the following:
1. Climb into a Jefferies tube;
2. Run a level-two diagnostic;
3. Bypass the power-flow converters;
4. Realign the sensor array;
5. Do all of the above before the next commercial break, and then notify the Captain you're ready for Warp 9.
Now, the next time you walk into a meeting with a bunch of MBAs sitting at the table, staring at you and your STEM degree, hit them with the above.
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I'm glad something as stupid as a spork isn't an exclusively human invention...
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no no no you don't invert the deflector array, you modulate the plasma stream input to create a verteron pulse you insensitive clod!
Re:INteresting (Score:5, Insightful)
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War...
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why can't we be friends?
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I was born in 69, so I got to watch most 70's sci-fi in second run at dollar theaters.
Double features of Logan's Run and Rollerball. Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green. ...ahhh, paradise :)
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you where going to dollar theaters between the age of 1 and 10? :) Sadly, I am older.
You where 3 when soylent green came out. You memory is playing tricks... which is normal for a man you age.
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I saw them in reprisals at artsy dollar theaters - not first run.
Perhaps "second run" wasn't the perfect choice -- but I don't know a lot about how movie re-releases worked in the early 80's.
In the late 70's and VERY early 80's, summer movie passes for KIDS were the rage, parents would drop you off for 3 hours to see G-rated films and get the hell out of their hair. Of those, I still remember the sci-fi and sci-fi adjactent films. Escape to Witch Mountain -- heck, even The Cat from Outer Space.
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War.
Not really... WWII might have gave Werner Von Braun the street cred, but he was big into rocketry long, long before Hitler put him to work at building V-rockets.
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He wasn't Gene, but Shatner has pretty much always embraced his role in Trek.
Well, that and TJ Hooker really, really sucked.
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He wasn't Gene, but Shatner has pretty much always embraced his role in Trek.
Well, that and TJ Hooker really, really sucked.
Barbary Coast too.
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I see, it's because he was in Star Trek. I thought maybe he had done something else in the last 40 years.
And NO he certainly has not always embraced his role in Trek..
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Without Shatner, no Space Teens [youtube.com]
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I realize you italicized pretty much, but in one of his books, he talks about living out of the back of his truck in the 70s while doing not very good gigs.. IIRC dinner theater and such... being annoyed by Trek.
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This. Shatner's performances on TOS were the prime motivator in inspiring me to treat women as commodities to be leered at before banging the shit out of.
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So a (court drama/western/gangster show/soap opera) set in space inspired people to pursue STEM careers?
So they didn't have to grow up and become shysters?
There were about 3 episodes of the original ST that were actually SF. 3 more then next generation.
Re: INteresting (Score:2)
I'm sure TNG inspired many to _not_ go into psychotherapy, so it has that going for it. Whether they chose STEM instead is a different story.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Yes. Many people sight Star Trek as a driver for them going into STEM.
It's the imagination, setting, add possibilities that did it, not becasue Warp actual exists.
Whist ST is given WAY to much credit for devices that have come out, it was very inspiring for a generate of kids.
Yes, the only choice is STEM or shyster.
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I have never heard his name in anything but an ST reference.
I think Stephen Hawking said he was inspired to study theoretical physics after hearing Shatner's version of Rocket Man.
Bad acting... (Score:2)
makes us want to escape this planet!
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Oh do come on. He boldly went were other no other actor went before... unfortunately.
NASA PR - the part of NASA that works best (Score:5, Insightful)
NASA, doing what they do best - issuing press releases.
During the medal ceremony, Shatner blurted out (Score:5, Funny)
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!
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More like ... "You KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN do it!"
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And Bones, who was standing in the back, said "Dammit, Jim!"
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And Leonard Nimoy's response was only three words.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
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And Leonard Nimoy's response was only three words.
"Kill me already!"
No colorful metaphors for Spock..
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"Kill me already!"
No colorful metaphors for Spock..
Fascinating.....
"saving the universe"? When? (Score:1)
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He also saved it from the deadly energy draining space amoebas in "The Immunity Syndrome".
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alternative_Factor
Mod parent informative. If that's not saving the universe, what is?
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I don't recall Kirk ever saving the universe. I could be mistaken.....
Of course he did, One piece at a time.
OK, just the parts that mattered (and a few that didn't) then..
Get a life... (Score:1)
Citation from Wikipedia: The much-discussed sketch accurate
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You don't generally piss where you eat.
But someone had to tell 'em.
Re:Get a life... (Score:4, Insightful)
...I'm not a trekkie, but I can't forget when mr. Shatner told his fans to get a life http://www.myvideo.de/watch/12... [myvideo.de] ...yeah yeah...that's probably a humorous parody, but he really "killed" it for a lot of people back then. The no #1 rule of Hollywood is to always cherish your fans, never spit on them. He always told in interviews after that, that trekkies really don't have a life etc. You can find this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W... [wikipedia.org]
It was funny, because it is so true. The people he inspired are those that excelled in sciences and in school, not people who are so obsessed with belonging to the "community" that they have to go dress up and go to conventions. Bill inspired me to get my degree in Physics. And I also laugh at the so-called-fans who can quote lines from the show, but never understand or even care to understand the science underlying it.
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Fortunately, those who did use him as an inspiration to get a life/career were also well adjusted enough to have a good laugh.
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...I'm not a trekkie, but I can't forget when mr. Shatner told his fans to get a life http://www.myvideo.de/watch/12... [myvideo.de] ...yeah yeah...that's probably a humorous parody
Probably? Come on, that skit was from Saturday Night Live.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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Mr Scott got to chase the girl on occasion...
Wasn't he and Uhura an item at one point? Also season 3 episode 18 "The Lights of Zetar" Scottie has a girlfriend.
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Wasn't he and Uhura an item at one point?
Yes, but since that knowledge requires watching movie #5 it's pretty much a secret.
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You got a point... #5 was pretty bad, sort of like 1 and 3 where... Yawn
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wow (Score:2)
Apparently they've never read any of his books. If they had, they'd know that irrelevant of any good he's done in his life, some things you just can't redeem.
Should have been Nimoy (Score:5, Insightful)
But you know what? Kirk was the captain, so I guess he had to be first; hopefully they recognize Spock before he passes.
Because he's the one that inspired me. Kirk was kinda like dad; he was cool, and I respected him; but I'm never gonna be him.
Spock, I could be. (well if i tried really hard and put down the beer and weed and went back for those advanced math classes and wasn't so damned lazy...)
Seriously, as a kid, it was Spock all the way.
WTF? honor the SCIENCE OFFICER! (Score:5, Insightful)
SPOCK! duh!
I haven't heard of Shatner doing anything besides acting alpha male in TV and some Movies. The creator/writer of Trek deserves far far more credit.
Nimoy, has at least done voice overs for many TV shows that were real science shows over the decades. He also helped keep the movies going (not that the movies were inspirational... but they kept things alive before TNG got started up which may not have happened otherwise.)
Scotty also deserves more than Shatner, for getting people to be engineers. He even has a term named after him which any wise engineer uses ("The Scotty Principle.") But perhaps that keeps NASA away from him (plus he is dead.)
Although Nimoy's blessing on the disgraceful reboot... that shouldn't be overlooked; perhaps that cost him the honor? maybe it should?
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SPOCK! duh!
I haven't heard of Shatner doing anything besides acting alpha male in TV and some Movies. The creator/writer of Trek deserves far far more credit.
Nimoy, has at least done voice overs for many TV shows that were real science shows over the decades. He also helped keep the movies going (not that the movies were inspirational... but they kept things alive before TNG got started up which may not have happened otherwise.)
Scotty also deserves more than Shatner, for getting people to be engineers. He even has a term named after him which any wise engineer uses ("The Scotty Principle.") But perhaps that keeps NASA away from him (plus he is dead.)
Although Nimoy's blessing on the disgraceful reboot... that shouldn't be overlooked; perhaps that cost him the honor? maybe it should?
Yes... this.
As much as I love Shatner, I despise him in comparison to Nimoy and his contributions.
Sadly, the reboot is bad. You can't destroy Vulcan. It's just something you cannot do. There were better ways of rebooting than the destruction of an entire area of canon. But that's just me. Other may disagree.
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Look it up. It doesn't have anything to do with physics.
In reboot Trek, physics only exists so a main character can kick it's ass.
Mentality:
new Kirk can change the laws of physics. With his fists.
new Scotty doesn't fall, he attracts the earth to him.
new Spock does logic, on your face. over and over and over.
new Uhura doesn't need communications, everybody just runs to the person they need to shout at.
Kahn!!! (I put it in for no reason, to be in the spirit of JJ Abrams.)
He taught me about how to deal with women (Score:4, Funny)
He said, "Never let them Klingon."
First I would. Like to thank. The NASA. Who... (Score:4, Funny)
Never has. There been a. Greater spokesperson for the. Exploration of fictional. Space than. Mr. William. Shatner.
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why...does an ACTOR ........get ....a NASA award?
What about Gene Roddenberry? (Score:2)
For me, the creator of the show is the one who was inspiring, though unseen. But Shatner did a lot more than just act in the show, and that is probably a lot more important for this award than just his years on Star Trek.
Does anyone know if Roddenberry also pushed kids to study science? Star trek still inspires me to what is possible, and it's more than just technology. The society he envisioned is also something to work towards.
What about Nichelle Nichols? (Score:1)
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According to Nichols, she wanted to leave the show but Dr Martin Luther King persuaded her to stay in it. For some reason he thought that representing black people in the future was important.
I also want to say that in her 80s, as she is now, she is still one damn fine woman.
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I second the motion to nominate Nichelle Nichols. She's one hell of a public speaker and was responsible for recruiting Sally Ride as an astronaut (if we can believe Wikipedia. Can anyone confirm?).
What Has NASA Become? (Score:1)
There was a time NASA had better things to do than be concerned about the Social issues and Entertainment industry (and their actors).
Bread and circuses. Your tax dollars at work.
(And of course you all agree do to all humorous comments hitherto.)