Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: celebrities

New Respect for Ashton

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On August 15, 2013

In General Cogitation, Movies

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Whether you’re a fan of Ashton Kutcher or not, the advice he gives in this video is almost as important as the audience whom he is addressing. He won a Teen Choice Award and, as you can tell from the video, he has thousands of screaming fans. You know there are teens hanging on his every word and when you have a captive audience who is easily influenced by celebrity behavior, I’m glad he took the opportunity to provide sound, practical advice instead of trying to influence teens with some hippy, celebrity political nonsense.

I think what I love most about his speech is the passion in which he delivers some of the key points. The notion that opportunities don’t always just fall in your lap, they are acquired through lots of hard work is something that I think is lost in younger generations. You learn to appreciate the things you have when you work hard to obtain them. I love his attitude toward his success as an actor and that he had to do all the shit jobs before he got his big break.

I wasn’t all that motivated to see his latest movie where he portrays Steve Jobs. I had a hard time imagining “Kelso” as one of the biggest innovators of the modern era. I even joked that Kutcher as Jobs seemed about as plausible as American Pie’s “Steve Stifler” as Bill Gates. However, after watching this video, our Kelso has grown up. He even admits that one of the points he makes in his speech was something he just learned after playing the role of Steve Jobs. It’s rare to see a rising star appear humble in front of thousands of screaming, doting girls.

It’s that humility, and his great advice, that has given me new respect for Ashton Kutcher. Now I do feel motivated to go see his new movie.

Biggs On: Star Wars vs Star Trek

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On April 6, 2013

In Biggs On, General Cogitation

Star-Trek-Enterprise-vs-Star-WarsOne of the biggest causes of nerd quarrels is the debate about which franchise is better; Star Wars or Star Trek. While from a fictional perspective these two are vastly different, they do have at least one thing in common. You can not deny that both have extremely loyal fans (some probably border on creepy). Personally, I’m probably a Star Wars nerd and a Star Trek fan.

I’ve loved the Star Wars movies (all of them) since the first time that I saw them. I’ve seen the movies enough times that I can probably recite just about every line. I’ve purchased a years wages worth of collectibles. I’m probably borderline obsessive. The amount of useless minutia I know about the Star Wars movies and universe would paint me in a pretty pathetic light, whereas what I know about the Star Trek movies probably isn’t any more then what I might know about any other movie.

There is no doubt that I do love Star Wars far more than Star Trek and while I will defend the former as the better franchise I admit there is something the Star Trek universe is far better at. The stars from the popular movies and TV series are probably some of the most sociable celebrities on the Internet. You can expect a joke or witty post from George Takei on a fairly regular basis on Facebook. You will see tweets from William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan, and more quite frequently. These folks are often the highlight of my day.

I have to admit, these folks really give the Star Trek name a sense of community. I really wish the Star Wars fans had the same kind of extraordinary ambassadors. Most of the time Star Wars fans are bashing George Lucas (who, despite his faults, is responsible for creating the films and they wouldn’t exist without him) or criticizing one another because they did, or did not, like the prequels.

We definitely need more Shatner’s, Takei’s, Ryan’s, Nimoy’s, Wheatons, etc who are not afraid to connect with their fans. These folks were already icons but by sharing their nerdy enthusiasm I think it further enriches the community. My only ask of these wonderful people is that they never stop what they are doing both socially and professionally. All of you, even those I failed to mention, enrich our culture and our lives.

If Mr. Nimoy would allow me a small liberty I bestow the appropriate blessing, with all sincerity, to “Live Long and Prosper”.

Social Celebrities

By

On June 29, 2012

In General Cogitation

I use most of the popular social media websites (Facebook, Google+ and Twitter) and I primarily use them to stay connected with old friends and co-workers. I also use them to shamefully promote my blog posts. Lately I’ve enjoyed another aspect of social media, something that I wasn’t expecting. There are a number of celebrities that are pretty active on the same social media networks and I think its extraordinary.

I already knew they were amazing people just from all the movies and television shows that I have watched over the years, but to see them posting on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ makes them all even more amazing. We were all always separated by the movie screens which created a popularity gap. Celebrities were put up on this high pedestal that we all wished we could be apart of but social media has changed all that. It has broken down the barriers that kept us all from connecting. It has created a way for all of us to vicariously experience their fascinating lives, and perhaps it has provided a similar experience for them though I know our lives are not quite as interesting.

It has been enlightening to realize how much I have in common with the people I have admired from the other side of the silver screen, its a fascinating cardinality. Though they will never know my name and though we may never meet in person, I hope its a comfort to them to know that we enjoy them just as much when they are simply being themselves.

So thank you Mila Kunis, Nathan Fillion, George Takei, Wil Wheaton, Dulé Hill, Simon Pegg, Kaley Cuoco, Eliza Dushku and all the other celebrities active on social media for all the extraordinary entertainment you have provided; and thank you for letting us in on just a tiny part of your lives.

/cheers!

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