All posts tagged: William

William Shatner, Neil deGrasse Tyson on Physics, Space, New Album

William Shatner, Neil deGrasse Tyson on Physics, Space, New Album

Published by Daniella Wilson

William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson regaled an enthusiastic crowd with stories of everything from our understanding quantum physics to Shatner‘s space flight to the meaning of the universe on Wednesday night during a conversation dubbed “The Universe Is Absurd!” at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. The event was actually the second of a two-night event wherein the close friends ribbed each other and shared personal anecdotes of their adventures together, including their 2024 trip to Antarctica, where they first met. The audience may have even learned a few things about astrophysics along the way. (“The electron is so small, we do not know how small it is,” Tyson shared. “Every measurement of the electron is smaller than our attempts to measure it. As far as we’re concerned, it’s infinitesimally small.”) The topic of Shatner’s age (95 years) came up quite often. At one point, he mentioned his forthcoming heavy metal album (yes, you read that right), out in October. (“Why does everyone approach me with a smile when they hear ‘heavy metal album’?” …

Heidi Gardner, William H. Macy to Star in ‘The Swimming Lesson’ Movie

Heidi Gardner, William H. Macy to Star in ‘The Swimming Lesson’ Movie

Published by Daniella Wilson

Heidi Gardner and William H. Macy are ready to make a splash with their forthcoming dramedy feature. Gardner and Macy are set to star in the indie film The Swimming Lesson from writer-director Casey Twenter, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Production is scheduled to begin this summer in Gardner’s hometown of Kansas City. The Swimming Lesson centers on Tay (Gardner), a single mother who leaves behind her complicated life in Los Angeles to return to her childhood home. She winds up embroiled in a custody battle over son Albee, an autistic child who is obsessed with the ocean but terrified of swimming. Macy co-stars as Leonard, Tay’s foul-mouthed father whose blunt nature can sometimes disguise the fact that he remains loyal to his daughter and grandson. Making his solo directorial feature debut, Twenter helmed the project from a script he co-wrote with Jeff Robison. Twenter and Robison previously co-wrote the 2014 drama Rudderless, which marked Macy’s directorial debut and landed distribution after premiering at Sundance. The Swimming Lesson’s producers include Dan Koetting for KP’s Remain …

William Shatner Says AI Is Spreading Horrific Rumors About Him

William Shatner Says AI Is Spreading Horrific Rumors About Him

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech The advent of powerful generative AI tools has supercharged the proliferation of disinformation, with viral and fictional stories making the lives of public figures a living hell. Facebook, in particular, has been overrun with misleading news stories, often featuring AI-generated images, that attract huge engagement. Now William Shatner, the 95-year-old actor of “Star Trek” fame, has become the latest victim of the trend. “My daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer,” he wrote in a caption of a April 2 Instagram post, which showed him sitting in a patio chair, smiling into the camera. “She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I’m not ill.” In a post on X, the Canadian actor further explained that “there is a page on Facebook that is using AI to create horrible fake news stories about me.” Screenshots attached to his post show AI-generated pictures of him lying in …

William Shatner Shows the Way for Name Ridicule

William Shatner Shows the Way for Name Ridicule

Published by Jenni Sidey

One of the main attractions of the Super Bowl is the funny commercials. William Shatner, of Star Trek fame, is now 94 years old and starred in a hilarious Kellogg’s Raisin Bran commercial that has made the news. While the purpose of the commercial was to bring relief from constipation, it deserves recognition and applause for its unintended benefit for victims of bullying. One of the most common symptoms of bullying is having one’s name ridiculed. A large percentage of bullied children who come to me for help suffer from this. Many news stories have appeared about kids facing name-ridicule, and I have written articles in this PT venue in response to ones about kids named Trump and Isis. As a kid, William Shatner was terrified of being called Will Shat. In an interview with him about the commercial, Entertainment Weekly informs us: Shatner says that he had “tremendous” apprehensions about leaning into his name’s nastier side. “I haven’t lost those apprehensions…I mean, I used to get into fights when I was a kid in …

William Shatner, 94, faces shoulder surgery after falling off horse

William Shatner, 94, faces shoulder surgery after falling off horse

Published by Daniella Wilson

William Shatner has reportedly undergone shoulder surgery to repair a debilitating injury he sustained late last year after falling from his horse. Ahead of the procedure taking place on Wednesday, March 11, the Star Trek legend, who turns 95 later this month, described it as a “new type of shoulder operation called a reverse something or other.” “You put the ball in the socket and the socket in the thing, and you come out 10 hours later, and you’re pain-free,” he said at Sunday’s 53rd annual Saturn Awards in Burbank, California, according to Page Six. “So that’s what I am meandering towards.” Admitting that he was feeling “old, tired and kind of hurt,” the Boston Legal alum addressed the horseback-riding incident while accepting the Hall of Fame award for his work in the iconic sci-fi franchise. “I ride the horses that can compete in equine skills, which is fast down and ends on a sliding stop — and the horse that I owned, I came off,” Shatner explained. He added that his horse “had a …

Why William Grimes Wrote to John Quincy Adams

Why William Grimes Wrote to John Quincy Adams

Published by José Betancourt

In 1825, Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave, Written by Himself became the first known fugitive-slave narrative in American history. Although earlier autobiographical accounts of slavery had been published in England, the genre wouldn’t fully flourish in the United States until the antislavery movement of the 1830s to 1860s, when such narratives became powerful tools of moral persuasion, exposing the brutality of bondage while asserting the writer’s humanity, intellect, and will. William Grimes wrote before that moment, introducing a distinctly American voice shaped by the horrors of enslavement in the South and the precariousness of freedom in the North. What he published was more than a memoir—it was an indictment of the contradictions that had been central to the American experiment since the Revolution itself. For 30 years, I have been researching the life and legacy of Grimes, who was my third great-grandfather. In May 2024, during my final week as a research fellow at Yale’s Beinecke Library, I made a trip to the Boston Athenaeum to see a copy of his book that …

William Shatner, 94, to release heavy metal album: ‘I’ll headbang where nobody has headbanged before’

William Shatner, 94, to release heavy metal album: ‘I’ll headbang where nobody has headbanged before’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Rock me up, Scotty! Star Trek actor William Shatner is about to “boldly headbang where nobody has headbanged before” with the announcement of a new project – a heavy metal album. You’d be forgiven for thinking the 94-year-old might want to enjoy the quiet life after decades of success in the entertainment industry, but Shatner is powering ahead with the unexpected record. The Star Trek icon shared details about the project in an excitable X post, writing: “I have explored space.
I have explored time.
Now… I explore distortion. “Yes. You read that correctly.
I am releasing a HEAVY METAL album.” The album will feature “35 metal virtuous, thunderous guitars, and chaos with purpose”, he added, teasing “covers of legends like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest – and a few originals forged in the same cosmic fire”. open image in gallery Shatner introduced fans to his unique vocal style decades ago (Getty Images for SXSW) “This project is, quite literally, a gathering of forces. Loud imagination. Honest intensity. Unapologetic exploration,” Shatner said. “At 94, one does …

The Rev. William Barber II: Fighting Autocrats Starts at the Grassroots

The Rev. William Barber II: Fighting Autocrats Starts at the Grassroots

Published by Sam Flores

“This Is Our Selma”—and a debate challenge to Speaker Mike Johnson. Turn out 1,500 more voters per county in North Carolina. That’s the threshold. The Reverend William Barber II has analyzed the numbers and believes that’s where districts flip. Gerrymandering typically assumes 45% turnout. At 50%, the map changes. Barber’s ‘s launching “This Is Our Selma” February 11-14 in Raleigh—a mobilization focused on organizing around voting rights, healthcare, and wage policy rather than resistance messaging. Barber, who led the 2013 Moral Monday protests, contends the strategy requires state-based county-level organizing rather than federal action alone. In every battleground state, voters earning low wages make up 36-42% of the electorate. Last cycle saw a notable shift: for the first time, voters earning under $50,000 favored Trump over Democrats by roughly 1%. The campaigns took different approaches. Trump visited rural Eastern North Carolina counties. Democrats focused on Charlotte and Greensboro. Barber says former candidate Pete Buttigieg confirmed that consultants discourage using the word “poor,” preferring “affordability.” The poverty rate remains unchanged—Barber cites data showing 800 daily deaths …

Former agency boss Richard Sexton joins William Reed as COO

Former agency boss Richard Sexton joins William Reed as COO

Published by Sam Flores

Family-owned UK B2B media business William Reed has appointed Richard Sexton as chief operating officer. He is a former UK operations director at marketing business Dentsu International and former chief operations officer at media buying agency Carat UK. William Reed said in a press release: “His remit will focus on driving speed and discipline across operations, embedding a performance mindset and a culture of continuous improvement, informed decision-making, and personal accountability.” William Reed CEO Tracy De Groose joined the company in 2024, also from Dentsu where she was UK chief executive. She said: “Richard’s appointment is a pivotal moment for William Reed. This new role will help us deliver on our priorities with clarity and impact, supporting growth and improving profitability across our brands. “Richard’s experience in tackling complex business challenges and managing stakeholders at all levels makes him the ideal partner as we continue to transform and future-proof the business.” Sexton said: “My focus will be on ensuring we operate with pace, discipline and collaboration – creating the foundations for sustainable growth and success.” …

Dr. William Foege, leader in smallpox eradication, dies

Dr. William Foege, leader in smallpox eradication, dies

Published by Sam Flores

ATLANTA — Dr. William Foege, a leader of one of humanity’s greatest public health victories — the global eradication of smallpox — has died. Foege died Saturday in Atlanta at the age of 89, according to the Task Force for Global Health, which he co-founded. The 6-foot-7 inch Foege literally stood out in the field of public health. A brilliant medical doctor with a calm demeanor, he had a long record of beating back infectious diseases. He was director of the agency now known as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and later held other key leadership roles in campaigns against international health problems. But his greatest achievement came before all that, with his work on smallpox, one of the most lethal diseases in human history. For centuries, it killed about one-third of the people it infected and left most survivors with deep scars on their faces from the pus-filled lesions. Smallpox vaccination campaigns were well established by the time Foege was a young doctor. Indeed, it was …