So Leonard Nimoy just died.
I'd heard that he was taken into the hospital a few days ago. At 83, I imagine that's always pretty serious, but I didn't want to really talk about it. If I lived to be 83 and famous, I wouldn't want people whispering about my trips to the hospital, with my death hanging unspoken above the conversation like a crash at a NASCAR race.
io9 has the best obituary. They have the right blend of biography, relevance, and flattering quotes to make the entire affair as calming and respectable as a funeral. That's the point, after all.
Superficially, I liked Spock because I identified with him. For the same reasons I liked Data and Odo. They were clearly outsiders with a narrow emotional range. Eventually, I came to appreciate the differences between Spock's suppressed emotions and real personality, Data's unique, but very real emotional range, and Odo's hard-shell exterior that should never let him be mistaken for someone who doesn't feel. Good actors slice those thin hairs.
