Monday News: RIP Leonard Nimoy, Silent Circle buys BlackPhone, Show Boat casting controversy, and Wattpad’s After Dark Romance App
Publishing Newsdigital books / diversity / free books / obituary / privacy / Race / racism / Silent Circle / Star Trek / wattpad5 Comments
Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83 – The death of Leonard Nimoy on Friday morning hit the internet fast and hard, and although fans were hit extremely hard by Nimoy’s death, some wonderful tributes and memories were posted, reminding us of how multi-talented and socially engaged he was. It was Nimoy, for example, who demanded equal pay for male and female stars on Star Trek, and this letter he wrote to a teenager who asked “Spock” for advice about how to deal with racial prejudice is a great reminder of how much he respected the role he played (contrast to some younger actors who have made a fortune off of movie adaptations but who have not been shy about their disdain for the source material). Please feel free to share any links in the comments; I chose this NY Times obituary because of its comprehensive treatment of Nimoy’s life and creative ventures.
His religious upbringing also influenced the characterization of Spock. The character’s split-fingered salute, he often explained, had been his idea: He based it on the kohanic blessing, a manual approximation of the Hebrew letter shin, which is the first letter in Shaddai, one of the Hebrew names for God.
“To this day, I sense Vulcan speech patterns, Vulcan social attitudes and even Vulcan patterns of logic and emotional suppression in my behavior,” Mr. Nimoy wrote years after the original series ended.
But that wasn’t such a bad thing, he discovered. “Given the choice,” he wrote, “if I had to be someone else, I would be Spock.” –New York Times
BlackPhone maker Silent Circle announces $50 million in funding – You may remember when Silent Circle shut down its secure email network after fear that the NSA could gain access to its metadata. And after Snowden’s disclosures about the extent of domestic government surveillance, investors were apparently anxious to fund Silent Circle’s attempt to purchase full rights to the BlackPhone from GeeksPhone, which manufactured the hardware for the phone.
Terms of the buyout deal with Spanish smartphone maker Geeksphone, the phone’s hardware manufacturer, were not disclosed. Silent Circle said Thursday that it has raised $50 million and plans on showing off an encrypted “enterprise privacy ecosystem” at World Mobile Congress next week. A BlackPhone tablet is on the way, too.
“Silent Circle has brought tremendous disruption to the mobile industry and created an integrated suite of secure enterprise communication products that are challenging the status quo,” Mike Janke, cofounder and chairman of the Silent Circle board, said in a statement. “This first stage of growth has enabled us to raise approximately $50M to accelerate our continued rapid expansion and fuel our second stage of growth.” –Ars Technica
A ‘Show Boat’ With An Asian-American Cast Hits The Rocks – This is a really interesting story about the National Asian Arts Project’s plans to put on the musical Show Boat, directed by Tommy Tune, with an all Asian-American cast. The NAAP had produced other popular shows with the same concept, but actress Erin Quill, who auditioned for a role she ultimately turned down, felt very uneasy about the idea of Asian Americans performing a show that is not just traditionally cast with black and white actors, but is specifically about white racism against blacks in the American South. Quill ultimately contacted NAAP with her concerns, and they ended up canceling the show, stating
“We spoke with, and listened purposefully to members of racially diverse communities and particularly with our most direct constituents, Asian-Americans, regarding how tackling this work might be perceived when the Asian presence is thrust into the center of a conversation that has historically excluded it. After carefully absorbing arguments of both support and opposition, we have chosen to cancel the production, concluding that the goal that propelled us — to lift up the Asian-American theater artist — could not be sufficiently achieved.” –NPR
Wattpad Introduces After Dark, An App Just For Romance – After Dark, developed by Wattled, is focused on Romance, offering free content in multiple subgeneres. It seems to focus on “steamy” reads, and it’s currently limited to iOS, available for download on iTunes.
With more than 40 million registered users and over 100 million uploads for readers to enjoy, Wattpad is probably the most widely used go-to source for open-comunity digital reading content. Completely free to use, readers can browse categories, discover new stories, and even subscribe to follow authors and receive updates on when new content or continuations to their existing works go live. Even better, Wattpad’s readers are able to comment and interact with the author during the creative process, making it almost a collaborative experience. –FileHippo
I know it shows my age, but if I see something for computers called After Dark, I expect it to involve flying toasters in some way.
@Lostshadows: I guess I have to show my age too, because Flying Toasters were awesome. Popping up to save the day on mighty toaster wings and all that :)
Okay, and you know what? After Dark made some games from those screensavers that were really fun. I miss the screen savers and the games!
I actually shed some tears over Nimoy and I’m notoriously dry-eyed. It wasn’t surprising since he had just gone to the hospital earlier in the week but I was hoping he would pull through. I got to see him last summer, via Skype, and even through all the layers of technology he was lovely.
I cried too, Little Red, and and frankly I’m still a little verklempt today. This one hurt.
Mr. Spock was my first crush, my first love. There are references to him in my first book, and in the book I’ll publish this summer. I can’t remember a time when he wasn’t part of my world, and my worldview.
Live long and prosper, Mr. Nimoy. Live long and prosper.