geekosystem

If you haven't seen much original Star Trek before, you're going to want to at least watch one brief, and very (in)famous, clip in a moment. A clever and hilarious new trailer for the upcoming Star Trek video game features William Shatner once again battling the Gorn in hand to hand combat.

Space is huuuuuge, but it gets a tiny bit smaller each time we discover something new that we can name, classify, and tell everyone about. The latest is exciting, because it's been a very long time since we've seen anything like it. It's a new star system -- a field of stars revolving around one another -- and it's the closest one we've found in nearly a century. It's also the third-closest to our Sun. While we've been busy demoting our own Solar System's planets into ice dwarfs, then letting William Shatner name the moons, this binary system's been floating out there beyond our knowledge. Until now. Hit the jump to find out how.

First the SETI Institute put it up for vote, then the geeks and nerds swarmed the Internet, and now it's as certain as it can be before the International Astronomical Union (IAU) makes the final call: The names of last two moons of Pluto have been chosen, courtesy of 450,324 votes and William Shatner. And the Plutonian award goes to....

We should have known! When SETI announced that the public could vote to name the fourth and fifth moons of Pluto, they also allowed voters to suggest their own. Given the demographic of astronomy and sci-fi fans, this new twist in the space-time continuum should have been inevitable: William Shatner rallied Star Trek fans to vote for the added name of Vulcan -- and now it's winning! Read on to learn about the other contenders.

If there's something cool to be done aboard the International Space Station, then Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is going to do it. He's already talked to William Shatner, jammed with the Barenaked Ladies, and tweeted a Valentine while in space. Today at 4pm ET he'll be taking questions during a Reddit Ask Me Anything. Our first question: Why you so awesome, Commander Hadfield?

We love Reddit here at Geekosystem, but sometimes the deep, dark recesses of the site can get a little frightening due to racist, sexist, or otherwise abusive posts and the championing thereof. One man has chosen to boldly go where many have gone before and complained about the site's offensive content, but when that man is William Shatner, people listen.

Yesterday, we listened to William Shatner talk about life on the International Space Station (ISS) with astronaut Chris Hadfield, and it was pretty great. Why should Kirk have all the fun, though? Chances are you've got some things you'd like to know about what it's like to be an astronaut, too. Well, now is your chance to pick the brains of people whose lives are more awesome than yours, because they live in space, because later this month, NASA will be hosting a Google Hangout live from the ISS, and they'll be answering your questions while they do. So if you've ever wanted to know what flavor of astronaut ice cream is always left over after a mission or who the worst snorer in Earth orbit is, this is your time.

Reality is set to become a bit more like fiction this morning. William Shatner, as in Captain James Tiberius Kirk of Star Trek fame, will be calling the International Space Station to speak with astronaut Chris Hadfield at 10:40AM ET. If that doesn't make you just a little bit giddy, you're probably sick or something. It gets better, though. You can watch a live stream of the event after the jump.

When Shatner stole Leonard Nimoy's bike (The Daily What) There's a secret code in Cyber Command's logo (Danger Room) Men in Black 3 spoilers (Bleeding Cool) AT&T data upload speed problems explained; no throttling (GigaOM) The curse of the Little Rascals (Neatorama) Government starts BaTMAN and RoBIN defense programs (Topless Robot) Don't give up on M. Night Shyamalan ... (NY Mag) (title image via Capcom Unity)

For the uninitiated, Blizzard has a rather compelling ad campaign where they get celebrities in white rooms to tout the benefits of playing their favorite World of Warcraft class. Well, except for Mr. T, who, in the -- uh, canon? -- of the advertisements has hacked the game to include his own class, the Night Elf Mohawk. Blizzard even extended the idea to an in-game item, the Mohawk Grenade, available from Night Elf Mohawk NPCs in low level areas during WoW's five year anniversary celebrations. Slinging a grenade at another player would outfit them with an overlarge be-mohawked Night Elf head. The items are no longer available in-game, but Blizzard's newest TV spot indicates that players may see a comeback.

In case you somehow neglected to mark your calendar, today is William Shakespeare's birthday. His 446th birthday, to be specific. Shakespeare has been far better eulogized and analyzed than on some geek blog -- we recommend A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess' amazing biography of Shakespeare and Harold C. Goddard's insightful essays for that -- but suffice it to say, Shakespeare is a towering influence over all of literature and entertainment.

Though Shakespeare's influence tends to be thought of in the context of academics and books, he's also had a steady influence on geekdom. After the jump, five geeky ways you can bring in the Bard's birthday:

Where's my lighter? For that matter, where's your lighter? Performing in what has got to be one of the most hilariously heroic performance in ages, last night's Lopez Tonight featured Taiwanese Super Star Avenue star -- and "The Next Susan Boyle" -- Lin Yu Chun and William Shatner AKA Capt. James T. Kirk AKA Denny Crane AKA my dad who happens to say crazy sh*t singing a duet of Bonnie Tyler's classic "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

The kid's got skill. Shatner's pretty much Shatner, and he's amazing at it. Video after the jump!

Last year, voice actor Maurice LaMarche (of Futurama/Simpsons fame) dared to dream that one day, the world would unite in its shared love of William Shatner impressions through spontaneous and unabashed mimetic vocalizations of one of history's most well-known voices.  After seeing that dream come to fruition last year, today we officially celebrate the second annual "International Talk Like William Shatner Day."

For the uninitiated, International Talk Like William Shatner Day was the brainchild of not only LaMarche, but an Ohio resident named Doug VanHorn.  Back in 2009, the two strangers were brought together by Facebook when each independently decided to declare March 22 International Talk Like William Shatner Day. (The date isn't total coincidence; March 22 is Shatner's birthday.) Though they started off as enemies thanks to a dispute over who came up with the idea first, they've since joined forces and are now co-admins of ITLWS Day's official Facebook page, proving that all things Shatner are indeed, very good.

How exactly does one celebrate International Talk Like William Shatner Day?  In LaMarche and VanHorn's own words, it's quite simple really:

...and it's called MyOuterSpace.com.

Yesterday, William Shatner casually tweeted that he's created his own social network.

Now, before we discuss the questionable logic behind naming a new social network service by using a pun on an old social network service that itself feels like an aging dinosaur from 2005, let me give you the basic rundown on what the Shat's new internet venture is all about:

You may not be aware, but there is a Twitter feed known as Shit My Dad Says, created and curated by Justin Halpern, a 29 year old man who moved back in with his parents last year and has since recorded the wonderfully blunt musings of his father for Internet posterity.

Well, CBS has okayed the making of a pilot to a proposed sitcom based on Shit My Dad Says, to be produced by the creators of Will & Grace. Yes, someone is making a family sitcom out of a genuinely funny but frequently profane Twitter feed. Got that?

William Shatner has been cast in the role of the titular Dad, and now we're really not sure how to feel about it.