Oh, William Shatner, you have brought us much joy over the years with all your awkward spoken-word interpretations of popular songs. Now, you're covering The Cramps' "Garbageman" and, well, we're still amused.

Well if you can't dig me, you can't dig nothin'

Do you want the real thing, or are you just talkin'?

Do you understand?

I'm your garbageman

Bill's Cramps' cover was recorded for the forthcoming Covered in Punk box set by novelty song radio personality, the one and only Dr. Demento.

Over two-full hours, a total of 64 tracks—all created specifically for “Dr. Demento Covered in Punk”!

Both the two-disc CD, or three-disc vinyl LP come with an equally entertaining full-color booklet jam-packed with extensive liner notes and quotes personally written by the artists, a foreword by producer John Cafiero (Misfits, Ramones, Osaka Popstar), an Afterword by Dr. Demento, as well as facts, photos, and an array of dynamic paintings and illustrations created specifically for the project by a team of visual artists spanning the world of comic books, classic punk-rock album covers, Topps Trading card series, Mad Magazine and more.

Joined by everyone from the Misfits, Joan Jett, Fred Schneider of the B52s, to “Weird Al” Yankovic, the late Adam “Batman” West (in one of his final performances), and Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner—(to name just a few), the Doctor is in…and he’s ‘Covered in Punk’!!

Pre-order it now (release date is January 2018).

Side note: The vinyl looks a bit like spin art:

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The first episode of Star Trek aired on Sept. 8, 1966. The fifty-year-old franchise has spawned a number of television series, and the last episode (Star Trek: Enterprise) aired 10 years ago. But the beloved series is returning in 2017 on CBS. It will produced by Alex Kurtzman, who co-wrote and produced the movies Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). Read the rest

The epic fist fight between Captain Kirk and a man in a lizard suit was a low water mark for Star Trek. Mario Wienerroither made it even worse (and therefore much better) by removing the music and adding squeaky rubber suit sound effects.

(Thanks, Matthew!)

Another fine piece of work from Wienerroither:

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On a panel at Comic-Con last Thursday, William Shatner shared his opinion about the green shirt he had to wear as Captain Kirk on Star Trek. And it wasn't favorable. The problem was it was just too darn snug, making him feel uncomfortable. "It was a little embarrassing after lunch to have that tight green thing on." And, according to CinemaBlend, it wasn't just the lunches that made him self-conscious.

Besides the practical inconveniences, there was clearly an element of embarrassment from walking around the studio lot wearing something that one might guess to be the Easter Bunny’s karate gi. This is especially true considering that it was a time when westerns still dominated and science fiction was generally ostracized.

But Shatner was good-natured in his wardrobe dissing and complimented costume designer Bill Theiss for all of his hard work. For more details on Shatner's past and future costumes, click here. Read the rest

84-year-old William Shatner is excited about his upcoming eight-day road trip, from Chicago to his home in Los Angeles. He'll do it astride a 3-wheeled vehicle called the Landjet. It looks like something Immortan Joe, the bad guy in Mad Max: Fury Road, might tool around on, rather than the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Shatner says he isn't quite sure why he's doing this, other than for the sheer fun of it.

“It’s a jump into the dark,” he admits, though not one that will go undocumented. “I’m going to film it, and I’m wondering what the story is. The more I think about it, the more I realize it’s a ledger of an adventure into the unknown.”

Superheroes Wanted - A Look At The Machine from Rivet Motors on Vimeo. Read the rest

Actor William Shatner celebrates his 81st birthday today. He is best known for his role in the Star Trek television series and films, but has had a long and wildly varied career that... continues to... boldly go where no man has gone before, one might say.

Captain James T. Kirk was a constant presence in my home, growing up—my dad was a huge Trekkie. I think it's fair to guess that many Boing Boing readers also consider this character, and Shatner's broader body of work, a formative part of their lives as nerds.

I recently attended his one-man-show, "Shatner's World," in Hollywood. It was a hoot. You should catch it when it comes to your town. The fate of Star Trek: The Original Series was closely linked to that of the American space program in the late 1960s, and Shatner tells some wonderful anecdotes about the historic ties to NASA in his touring performance. My favorite? His visit to Kennedy Space Center to see the Apollo LEM up-close, and a funny prank the astronauts and engineers played on him. But I won't blog any spoilers, go see it yourself.

Also, his most recent book, Shatner Rules (2011), might help you make sense of the universe. To the extent that the universe really makes any sense, that is.

Happy birthday, Rocket Man.

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