We appreciate teevee’s “Mr. Spock,” the 79-year-old photographer Leonard Nimoy, for being a mensch who paid a lot of money to have Griffith Park Observatory rebuilt, and for sneaking in some Kohanic rabbi voodoo into the Star Trek show, and for being an ageless entertainer long after most people are in the rest home. But we especially appreciate this video of Nimoy describing a brief meeting with Barack Obama two years ago — because, you know, Barack is Spock. [YouTube]

You may have read on the Internet that this week’s big movie release is the “new” original Star Trek movie, and it is going to make millions of dollars. It is the latest manifestation of Hollywood studios’ race to abandon all creativity: after a popular movie series like Batman or Superman has run its course, just start over and make the first one again. Critics then praise the director’s “new vision,” and political writers note that all of the characters are famous politicians, secretly, in real life. Everyone remembers last year’s important Wall Street Journal column, “George Bush Jr. Is The Bat Man.” This year’s version? “Barack Obama is the Spock.” Steady yourself… MORE »