Beam Me Up

On a cold Sunday afternoon, the desire to get away is strong, so why not boldly go where so many have gone before-- into the NY Times "Arts & Leisure" section, and specifically into this wonderful piece about Patrick Stewart? It focuses primarily on his recent return to Shakespeare, inspired by a production of "Macbeth" that's about to debut on Broadway, but there are also funny anecdotes about Star Trek, about Stewart's early theater training, and about long walks through the Oxfordshire woods. Predictably for an often staid arts section, the Times reporter occasionally condescends to Stewart's sci-fi experiences, but Stewart himself will have none of it, his warmth, self-deprecation and good humor shining throughout the interview. It's a reminder that the best Star Trek captains are always bald Shakespeareans.