Category Archives: Random Thoughts
Happy 75th Birthday, Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris
Say what you will about Chuck Norris, the man has mad martial arts skills, a great deal of personal integrity, and good sense of humor. That’s not a bad combination for anyone to aspire to. He’s been doing martial arts since he discovered them while stationed in South Korea with the USAF. At 75, he’s still at the top of his own system, Chun Kuk Do, and he still takes an occasional acting role among fellow action stars like Schwarzenegger and Stallone. The difference, of course, is that Chuck really is that much of a badass.
Humorous Chuck Norris “facts” are at epic legendary status on the internet and around the world. Anyone who has ever played World of Warcraft knows why Chuck Norris was recruited to do their commercials: A running stream of player narrated “Chuck Norris Facts” are a regular staple on Barrens Chat, the common chat channel on one lower level area of the WoW virtual world, at any time of day or night.
For my own part, I have to admit taking a certain amount of silly pride in having Mr. Norris in my Tang Soo Do training lineage by way of my first instructor, SBN Breuer. It took a while for my days in the Chuck Norris Karate System, as it was called back then, to steer me back to Tang Soo Do but that history definitely played a part. For that I say, thank you, Mr. Norris, and Happy Birthday!
Live Long and Prosper, Mr. Nimoy
We lost a cultural icon Friday morning.
It’s should be no secret that I’m a life long Trekker from the original series through the original cast movies, the new generation spinoffs, the nextgen movies and even the controversial (among Trekkies, anyway) JJ Abrams reboot. Leonard Nimoy and his portrayal of Mr. Spock was a part of all of them.
When Star Trek came along in 1966, Nimoy, an army veteran, had already been acting for 15 years, had dozens of acting credits including many memorable 50s and 60s TV series, and was teaching Method acting in his own studio. But it is his almost 50 years of recurring roles as the half-human, half-alien Science Officer of the starship Enterprise for which he will always be remembered the best.
He was not always comfortable being so closely identified with Spock; being typecast can ruin an actor’s career. His first autobiography, in 1977, was titled, I Am Not Spock. His second, in 1995, was titled, I Am Spock. Between the two, he made peace with the enigmatic alien he had created and would continue to portray on film until as recently as 2013.
In addition to his perpetual portrayal of Spock, he narrated the popular “In Search Of…” TV series, directed “Three Men and a Baby” and two original cast Star Trek movies (One odd numbered, one even. Trekkers will know the significance of that.) He played Teyve on stage in “Fiddler on the Roof” and Mel Mermelstein , the man who took Holocaust deniers to court and won, in “Never Forget”. Casual fans often confused the titles of Mr. Spock and Dr. Spock but may not have realized that Dr. Nimoy held an honorary PhD. from Antioch University, his Masters Degree Alma Mater.
Nimoy wrote free verse poetry that he published along with his photography. He also sang badly but with great enthusiasm. His “Ballad of Bilbo Baggins” is something of a cult classic combining the nerd realms of Star Trek and The Hobbit all in one vintage 60s psychedelic performance.
“Given the choice, if I had to be someone else, I would be Spock.”
The character of Spock was arguably the most complicated of the Star Trek personalities. He was an outsider who was not quite human in a way that made us examine our own humanity. His own struggle to overcome his human half eventually brought him to the realization that, sometimes, logic alone isn’t enough. Nimoy gave us that character and brought to life all the complexity and humanity that makes Spock a fascinating character. For that, among many things, he will be long remembered.
Leonard Nimoy
1931 – 2015
Live Long and Prosper
