Model railway's global uber-view
Rail enthusiasts can now enjoy views of Scandinavian fjords, the Swiss Alps, and even Mount Rushmore - in Germany.
Twin brothers Frederick and Gerrit Braun have built the world's longest model railway in the city of Hamburg.
It has six miles of track, cost £8m to build and its 1,150 square metres (12,380 square feet) take in the US, Scandinavia and the Swiss Alps.
By the time the layout is completed in 2014 it will be twice as long and will take in France, Italy and the UK.
The Braun brothers, 41, began work on the Miniatur Wunderland project in 2000.
Their model railway now comprises 700 trains with 10,000 carriages, 900 signals, 2,800 buildings and 160,000 individually designed figures.
It even includes scale models of the Rocky Mountains, Mount Rushmore, the Swiss Matterhorn, and a Scandinavian fjord complete with 4ft cruise ship.
The scenery took 500,000 hours, 700kg of fake grass and 4,000kg of steel to build.
So large is the layout that 160 staff are employed to show visitors around the railway.
"Our idea was to build a world that men, women, and children can be equally astonished and amazed in," said Gerrit Braun, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"With this attitude we managed to create technology which amazes our visitors."
Showing posts with label Fine Arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fine Arts. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Food, wine and the fine art of sketching
By CATHERINE LANGSTON, Special to the GazetteFebruary 28, 2009
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Entertainment/Food+wine+fine+sketching/1338411/story.html
Squinting into the dimly lit foyer, I pressed the door buzzer beside the peel-off label reading Galerie Synesthésie. Seconds later, I was buzzed off the short, edgy stretch of Ste. Catherine St. E. near St. Laurent Blvd., and into the gallery's drawing workshop. It was like flipping the channel from a black-and-white indie documentary on street kids to a reality show in hyper-colour about an artist's loft.
But reality TV had nothing on the gallery's live model workshop when I walked in that Saturday afternoon to try my hand at sketching. A dozen-plus artists were grouped at work stations throughout the airy studio loft, preparing their materials and chatting. The model was stretching before her job under the bright lights. Soft music drifted around the long run of high-ceilinged space. Bowls of juicy grapes, ripe berries, salted nuts and chocolate biscuits surrounded a fresh baguette and cheeses. Red and white wine was on tap.
This was a drawing workshop?
"With sensory stimulus, people draw links between different sources of inspiration," explained owner Anthony Walsh, who's been running Galerie Synesthésie, which holds live model drawing sessions, art classes, and art exhibitions, since 2007.
Stimuli such as music, food or alcohol light up the brain's pleasure zones, he said, making the world, or in this case the drawing workshop, a more magical place.
Except that no one was draining the wine cartons dry. In fact, the artists seemed rooted by the challenge of rapidly sketching their impressions of the model before each 60-second pose dissolved then reformed into another. The short poses "get people into a creative state of flow" where they stop being self-critical, said Walsh, a master's student in Université de Montréal's psychology program.
So forget that Grade 2 teacher's warning not to colour outside the lines. Unlike our artistically suppressed
7-year-old selves, the sketchers at this gallery simply turn the page on their errors. And it works: halfway into the three-hour session, the Nefertiti-like necks and football shoulders of my earlier sketches had shrunk to more realistic shapes and proportions.
Art therapist Thomas Shortliffe agrees that over-rationalizing blocks the creative process, but said self-critiquing can aid growth.
"Through art, we understand about our creative process ... at the end of the process, we feel more secure in the development of our abilities," said Shortliffe, who holds a graduate degree in art therapy from Concordia University.
CÉGEP teacher and workshop regular Jane Petring said her sense of accomplishment is "related to how satisfied I am with what I produce. If I'm not working at developing (my abilities), I don't want to go there."
Walsh agreed, adding that by learning to use artists' tools for measuring angles and distances, for example, participants can start to put what they see on paper.
Sure enough, three hours and countless poses later, my first short, light, careful pencil strokes on newsprint had gradually been worked into firmer, darker, more fluid lines that captured some of the model's form and energy. And when the model stirred from her last long pose, I picked up my wine glass to toast myself for pushing past an ordinary glass door into an exceptional place.
Galerie Synesthésie is at 94 Ste. Catherine St. E., Suite 7. The three-hour sketching sessions with live models are open to everyone. Cost is $15. Sessions are on Saturdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. For more information, visit www.galeriesynesthesie.com or call 514-998-7625
By CATHERINE LANGSTON, Special to the GazetteFebruary 28, 2009
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Entertainment/Food+wine+fine+sketching/1338411/story.html
Squinting into the dimly lit foyer, I pressed the door buzzer beside the peel-off label reading Galerie Synesthésie. Seconds later, I was buzzed off the short, edgy stretch of Ste. Catherine St. E. near St. Laurent Blvd., and into the gallery's drawing workshop. It was like flipping the channel from a black-and-white indie documentary on street kids to a reality show in hyper-colour about an artist's loft.
But reality TV had nothing on the gallery's live model workshop when I walked in that Saturday afternoon to try my hand at sketching. A dozen-plus artists were grouped at work stations throughout the airy studio loft, preparing their materials and chatting. The model was stretching before her job under the bright lights. Soft music drifted around the long run of high-ceilinged space. Bowls of juicy grapes, ripe berries, salted nuts and chocolate biscuits surrounded a fresh baguette and cheeses. Red and white wine was on tap.
This was a drawing workshop?
"With sensory stimulus, people draw links between different sources of inspiration," explained owner Anthony Walsh, who's been running Galerie Synesthésie, which holds live model drawing sessions, art classes, and art exhibitions, since 2007.
Stimuli such as music, food or alcohol light up the brain's pleasure zones, he said, making the world, or in this case the drawing workshop, a more magical place.
Except that no one was draining the wine cartons dry. In fact, the artists seemed rooted by the challenge of rapidly sketching their impressions of the model before each 60-second pose dissolved then reformed into another. The short poses "get people into a creative state of flow" where they stop being self-critical, said Walsh, a master's student in Université de Montréal's psychology program.
So forget that Grade 2 teacher's warning not to colour outside the lines. Unlike our artistically suppressed
7-year-old selves, the sketchers at this gallery simply turn the page on their errors. And it works: halfway into the three-hour session, the Nefertiti-like necks and football shoulders of my earlier sketches had shrunk to more realistic shapes and proportions.
Art therapist Thomas Shortliffe agrees that over-rationalizing blocks the creative process, but said self-critiquing can aid growth.
"Through art, we understand about our creative process ... at the end of the process, we feel more secure in the development of our abilities," said Shortliffe, who holds a graduate degree in art therapy from Concordia University.
CÉGEP teacher and workshop regular Jane Petring said her sense of accomplishment is "related to how satisfied I am with what I produce. If I'm not working at developing (my abilities), I don't want to go there."
Walsh agreed, adding that by learning to use artists' tools for measuring angles and distances, for example, participants can start to put what they see on paper.
Sure enough, three hours and countless poses later, my first short, light, careful pencil strokes on newsprint had gradually been worked into firmer, darker, more fluid lines that captured some of the model's form and energy. And when the model stirred from her last long pose, I picked up my wine glass to toast myself for pushing past an ordinary glass door into an exceptional place.
Galerie Synesthésie is at 94 Ste. Catherine St. E., Suite 7. The three-hour sketching sessions with live models are open to everyone. Cost is $15. Sessions are on Saturdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. For more information, visit www.galeriesynesthesie.com or call 514-998-7625
Girls talk about rape
Two girls in a Youtheatre production engage in a verbal duel on issues of culture, sexuality, betrayal, class and race
By Kathryn Greenaway, The GazetteMarch 19, 2009
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/theatre/Girls+talk+about+rape/1406152/story.html
Playwright Hannah Moscovitch realized she had to get back into the loop when it came to sex and the teenage girl after Youtheatre artistic director Michel Lefebvre commissioned her to write a play about rape, from a girl’s perspective. Moscovitch had just turned 30 and felt out of touch with teen girls and their attitudes toward sexuality.
As part of Youtheatre’s 40th anniversary season, there is one public performance of Moscovitch’s play In This World, directed by Lefebvre, at Théâtre Calixa-Lavallée tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Youtheatre is dedicated to the production of issue-oriented works by Canadian playwrights and has been touring Ed Roy’s Bang Boy, Bang! – a play about rape from a guy’s perspective – for years. Lefebvre wanted to give the girls a say.
Moscovitch hated her first draft of the play, so Lefebvre suggested she go to the source. She set up interviews with girls from a high school in Dorval and a high school in LaSalle.
“I was worried they would react to me like a teacher and I didn’t want my questions to sound judgmental,” Moscovitch said following a student performance on Monday.
“Luckily, because of the way I look (like a teenager), they opened up to me completely and said the most incredible things.
“The genesis for the (two) characters in the play is based on interviews I did with an alpha female from each of the two schools.”
In This World is relevant and unflinching.
Sharon James plays Neyssa, a curvy black girl with roots in Jamaica and a working-class address in LaSalle. She thinks girls who have sex are sluts.
Hannah Cheesman plays Bijou, a slender blond WASP from Westmount who has had sex with Neyssa’s cousin and is proud of it.
The girls attend the same swank private school (Neyssa’s on scholarship) and play on the same volleyball team.
Their tenuous friendship is threatened when Neyssa goes to a party at Bijou’s mansion and is raped. She tells no one. At school, Neyssa picks a fight with Bijou and punches her.
Cheesman and James vibrated with anger and frustration during Monday afternoon’s performance.
Lefebvre coaxed emotionally acute performances out of both actors, leaving little time for the audience to exhale, but then this is a play for teenagers who are pretty much on hormonal high alert 24/7, so the ferocity fit.
In the detention hall, the girls faced off while sitting on raised metal chairs. Their verbal sparring touched on issues of culture, sexuality, betrayal, class and race. At one point, Bijou stopped just short of using the “N” word.
Teenagers attending Monday’s performance listened carefully – the ultimate compliment – and responded thoughtfully during a question period following the show.
“It’s a risky thing having an ending where a rape is hidden instead of reported,” Moscovitch said.
“But when I interviewed the (girl students), they said it was what they would do. I’m hoping the teachers will talk about what went on and what should be done.”
Moscovitch is Ottawa-raised, Toronto-based and a National Theatre School graduate. Her mainstage play East of Berlin – about the son of a Nazi war criminal coming to terms with his father’s past – is a hit with theatre critics this season.
Youtheatre presents In This World at Théâtre Calixa-Lavallée, 3829 Calixa-Lavallée Ave., tomorrow at 7 p.m. For info, call 514-844-8781.
kgreenaway@thegazette.canwest.com
Two girls in a Youtheatre production engage in a verbal duel on issues of culture, sexuality, betrayal, class and race
By Kathryn Greenaway, The GazetteMarch 19, 2009
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/theatre/Girls+talk+about+rape/1406152/story.html
Playwright Hannah Moscovitch realized she had to get back into the loop when it came to sex and the teenage girl after Youtheatre artistic director Michel Lefebvre commissioned her to write a play about rape, from a girl’s perspective. Moscovitch had just turned 30 and felt out of touch with teen girls and their attitudes toward sexuality.
As part of Youtheatre’s 40th anniversary season, there is one public performance of Moscovitch’s play In This World, directed by Lefebvre, at Théâtre Calixa-Lavallée tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Youtheatre is dedicated to the production of issue-oriented works by Canadian playwrights and has been touring Ed Roy’s Bang Boy, Bang! – a play about rape from a guy’s perspective – for years. Lefebvre wanted to give the girls a say.
Moscovitch hated her first draft of the play, so Lefebvre suggested she go to the source. She set up interviews with girls from a high school in Dorval and a high school in LaSalle.
“I was worried they would react to me like a teacher and I didn’t want my questions to sound judgmental,” Moscovitch said following a student performance on Monday.
“Luckily, because of the way I look (like a teenager), they opened up to me completely and said the most incredible things.
“The genesis for the (two) characters in the play is based on interviews I did with an alpha female from each of the two schools.”
In This World is relevant and unflinching.
Sharon James plays Neyssa, a curvy black girl with roots in Jamaica and a working-class address in LaSalle. She thinks girls who have sex are sluts.
Hannah Cheesman plays Bijou, a slender blond WASP from Westmount who has had sex with Neyssa’s cousin and is proud of it.
The girls attend the same swank private school (Neyssa’s on scholarship) and play on the same volleyball team.
Their tenuous friendship is threatened when Neyssa goes to a party at Bijou’s mansion and is raped. She tells no one. At school, Neyssa picks a fight with Bijou and punches her.
Cheesman and James vibrated with anger and frustration during Monday afternoon’s performance.
Lefebvre coaxed emotionally acute performances out of both actors, leaving little time for the audience to exhale, but then this is a play for teenagers who are pretty much on hormonal high alert 24/7, so the ferocity fit.
In the detention hall, the girls faced off while sitting on raised metal chairs. Their verbal sparring touched on issues of culture, sexuality, betrayal, class and race. At one point, Bijou stopped just short of using the “N” word.
Teenagers attending Monday’s performance listened carefully – the ultimate compliment – and responded thoughtfully during a question period following the show.
“It’s a risky thing having an ending where a rape is hidden instead of reported,” Moscovitch said.
“But when I interviewed the (girl students), they said it was what they would do. I’m hoping the teachers will talk about what went on and what should be done.”
Moscovitch is Ottawa-raised, Toronto-based and a National Theatre School graduate. Her mainstage play East of Berlin – about the son of a Nazi war criminal coming to terms with his father’s past – is a hit with theatre critics this season.
Youtheatre presents In This World at Théâtre Calixa-Lavallée, 3829 Calixa-Lavallée Ave., tomorrow at 7 p.m. For info, call 514-844-8781.
kgreenaway@thegazette.canwest.com
Canada's Vampiress
By Katherine Monk, Canwest News ServiceMarch 20, 2009 11:02 AM
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Canada+Vampiress/1409722/story.html
Rachelle Lefevre doesn't want to sound like a walking cliche, but she really is "over the moon" these days thanks to the imminent start of New Moon, the latest instalment in Stephanie Meyer's 'tweener vampire sensation.'
Lefevre landed the role of "evil vampire Victoria" in the original Twilight, and come March 23, she'll be back on the west coast when camera goes up on the new movie's Vancouver shoot.
Lefevre likes working in her home and native land. Born and raised in Montreal as the daughter of an English teacher and psychologist, Lefevre has a long resume that includes smaller parts in U.S. and Canadian episodics, but it's her role in Twilight - which hits DVD March 21 - and the forthcoming New Moon that really set her star aflame.
Even though Victoria doesn't occupy large swaths of screen time, Lefevre says she's been enjoying the best of both worlds since she faced down Kristen Stewart's Bella Swan in a rogue baseball match.
"I don't even feel famous," Lefevre says from her home in Los Angeles. "And that's good. I feel like I'm a part of something with a huge fan base and that's entirely different. It's not about me at all. It's about the work that Stephenie Meyer created, so while I may be photographed at a Twilight party, I'm not stopped on the streets of Los Angeles."
Lefevre says she still has her own life, and her own privacy, and she's smart and wise enough to know just how valuable those intangibles are.
"The way I look at it is that I don't have to experience any of the downs that famous people have. I can hang out with my new puppy and my boyfriend, play Wii tennis, and be a real person."
Lefevre's insight into the empty vessel of fame is the result of her grounded upbringing with well-adjusted and educated parents, as well as her Canadian identity, she says.
"I'm not criticizing the States at all. But when you're raised in Canada, you're brought up with a different appreciation of difference. We have the mosaic model instead of embracing this general trend of assimilation - where people are encouraged to believe in the same things," she says.
"I was taught to be inquisitive about people and to respect their uniqueness."
When you realize everyone is different, and everyone has intrinsic social value, Lefevre says the drive for fame loses its urgency because the need to stand out from the uniform masses disappears.
The other upside of her Canadian upbringing relates directly to her craft.
Lefevre says acting demands a surrender of self, and a desire to explore the other perspectives and value systems - two ideals built right into the Canadian experience.
"I remember when we were shooting the big vampire baseball game, and I had this impulse to run my fingers down Nikki Reed's leg - like a creepy bug. I didn't do it on the first take because I thought about it too much and censored myself," says Lefevre, who actually wrote Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke a letter explaining her long-standing vampire fixation and her deep desire for the role.
"We learn to suppress negative impulses, which is good - unless you're playing an evil vampire. Victoria does not censor herself, so it's been really liberating to play a character who just says what's she's feeling."
Lefevre says she even solicited her psychologist mother for some professional advice on the symptoms of various psychoses.
"I wanted Victoria to be playful and powerful, but not a sociopath. There's no pathology to her evil. I think she's just an example of what happens when you have absolute power: It corrupts absolutely," she says.
"And let's face it: If you were more powerful than every other person on the planet, you'd start looking at everyone else as inferior beings. Victoria also sees humans as food, too, which doesn't help with the empathy."
Victoria's role gets a little heftier in New Moon as she seeks to avenge Bella Swan for the death of her lover, James, but Lefevre says it's not about the cumulative screen time. She just feels lucky to be a part of such a great project.
"I've been fascinated by vampires for a long time," says Lefevre.
Immortality and the ability to outwit death is appealing to any mere mortal, but the real attraction behind New Moon and the entire Twilight saga is epic romance, says Lefevre.
"When you're in your teens and tweens, you don't really understand all these strange feelings that you have. One year, a boy beats up on you. The next year, he gives you butterflies and you think he's cute," says Lefevre.
"Sure, (vampirism) is about sexuality, but these books help young people explore that sexuality in a safe way."
The other attraction is plain as day: "The dark side can be fascinating. And for Bella and Edward, there is no happily ever after," says Lefevre. "In that way, the series is a lot like real life."
Twilight hits DVD March 20. New Moon is tentatively slated for a November 2009 release.
By Katherine Monk, Canwest News ServiceMarch 20, 2009 11:02 AM
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Canada+Vampiress/1409722/story.html
Rachelle Lefevre doesn't want to sound like a walking cliche, but she really is "over the moon" these days thanks to the imminent start of New Moon, the latest instalment in Stephanie Meyer's 'tweener vampire sensation.'
Lefevre landed the role of "evil vampire Victoria" in the original Twilight, and come March 23, she'll be back on the west coast when camera goes up on the new movie's Vancouver shoot.
Lefevre likes working in her home and native land. Born and raised in Montreal as the daughter of an English teacher and psychologist, Lefevre has a long resume that includes smaller parts in U.S. and Canadian episodics, but it's her role in Twilight - which hits DVD March 21 - and the forthcoming New Moon that really set her star aflame.
Even though Victoria doesn't occupy large swaths of screen time, Lefevre says she's been enjoying the best of both worlds since she faced down Kristen Stewart's Bella Swan in a rogue baseball match.
"I don't even feel famous," Lefevre says from her home in Los Angeles. "And that's good. I feel like I'm a part of something with a huge fan base and that's entirely different. It's not about me at all. It's about the work that Stephenie Meyer created, so while I may be photographed at a Twilight party, I'm not stopped on the streets of Los Angeles."
Lefevre says she still has her own life, and her own privacy, and she's smart and wise enough to know just how valuable those intangibles are.
"The way I look at it is that I don't have to experience any of the downs that famous people have. I can hang out with my new puppy and my boyfriend, play Wii tennis, and be a real person."
Lefevre's insight into the empty vessel of fame is the result of her grounded upbringing with well-adjusted and educated parents, as well as her Canadian identity, she says.
"I'm not criticizing the States at all. But when you're raised in Canada, you're brought up with a different appreciation of difference. We have the mosaic model instead of embracing this general trend of assimilation - where people are encouraged to believe in the same things," she says.
"I was taught to be inquisitive about people and to respect their uniqueness."
When you realize everyone is different, and everyone has intrinsic social value, Lefevre says the drive for fame loses its urgency because the need to stand out from the uniform masses disappears.
The other upside of her Canadian upbringing relates directly to her craft.
Lefevre says acting demands a surrender of self, and a desire to explore the other perspectives and value systems - two ideals built right into the Canadian experience.
"I remember when we were shooting the big vampire baseball game, and I had this impulse to run my fingers down Nikki Reed's leg - like a creepy bug. I didn't do it on the first take because I thought about it too much and censored myself," says Lefevre, who actually wrote Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke a letter explaining her long-standing vampire fixation and her deep desire for the role.
"We learn to suppress negative impulses, which is good - unless you're playing an evil vampire. Victoria does not censor herself, so it's been really liberating to play a character who just says what's she's feeling."
Lefevre says she even solicited her psychologist mother for some professional advice on the symptoms of various psychoses.
"I wanted Victoria to be playful and powerful, but not a sociopath. There's no pathology to her evil. I think she's just an example of what happens when you have absolute power: It corrupts absolutely," she says.
"And let's face it: If you were more powerful than every other person on the planet, you'd start looking at everyone else as inferior beings. Victoria also sees humans as food, too, which doesn't help with the empathy."
Victoria's role gets a little heftier in New Moon as she seeks to avenge Bella Swan for the death of her lover, James, but Lefevre says it's not about the cumulative screen time. She just feels lucky to be a part of such a great project.
"I've been fascinated by vampires for a long time," says Lefevre.
Immortality and the ability to outwit death is appealing to any mere mortal, but the real attraction behind New Moon and the entire Twilight saga is epic romance, says Lefevre.
"When you're in your teens and tweens, you don't really understand all these strange feelings that you have. One year, a boy beats up on you. The next year, he gives you butterflies and you think he's cute," says Lefevre.
"Sure, (vampirism) is about sexuality, but these books help young people explore that sexuality in a safe way."
The other attraction is plain as day: "The dark side can be fascinating. And for Bella and Edward, there is no happily ever after," says Lefevre. "In that way, the series is a lot like real life."
Twilight hits DVD March 20. New Moon is tentatively slated for a November 2009 release.
The trek back home
from: http://reporter-archive.mcgill.ca/Rep/r3112/shatner.html
LESLIE STOJSIC | After decades of intergalactic travel, Captain James T. Kirk finally came home -- to McGill University in Montreal.
Last Sunday, William Shatner -- arguably McGill's most famous graduate -- made a pilgrimage to McGill with the crew of Life and Times, the CBC program that profiles Canadian icons. During his visit, he toured the lower campus and visited Moyse Hall, where, as an undergraduate during the 1950s, he performed in various school plays -- no doubt a precursor to his legendary role as Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek series.
"All the buildings reek of nostalgia," Shatner told the Reporter. "The stone [of McGill's buildings] has a special place in my heart."
Shatner made a special point of stopping by McGill's student union building, the University Centre. That's the official name for the building in McGill's eyes, although a student referendum several years ago resulted in the building being rechristened in honour of Shatner.
The University didn't accept the referendum results. Traditionally, McGill reserves the honour of naming buildings for deceased members of the University community or, more commonly, for major benefactors.
In spite of the University's position, the centre is widely known as the Shatner Building -- the name is used in official Students' Society of McGill University documents, by the Montreal media and even by a McGill administrator or two.
To date, Shatner has not made a significant donation to McGill. But he hinted that might change.
Shatner was introduced to the building named after him by SSMU president Duncan Reid. Standing on the building's steps in the bitter cold, Reid showed Shatner the new plans for the building, which must be renovated to improve safety and accessibility. The building is not up to fire code regulations and has no elevators, rendering it impossible to navigate in a wheelchair.
Upon hearing of this situation, Shatner smiled and said simply, "The magic words are: how can I help?"
If Shatner is willing to help, it is only because he knows the importance of student life to the totality of the university experience. "Academic knowledge stays for a while, but the student life is what I will always cherish," he mused.
As a student, Shatner recalled, he excelled more on stage than in the classroom. "I have many fond memories of McGill, most of them being centred not so much around academic life, but from getting involved in all kinds of student activites," he said.
How does it feel to have students nickname their building after him? "I'm happy to be connected with this building," he said. "It means a great deal to me. It's the centre of student life... in many ways, the centre of the University."
The Life and Times episode profiling William Shatner is scheduled to air this fall.
from: http://reporter-archive.mcgill.ca/Rep/r3112/shatner.html
LESLIE STOJSIC | After decades of intergalactic travel, Captain James T. Kirk finally came home -- to McGill University in Montreal.
Last Sunday, William Shatner -- arguably McGill's most famous graduate -- made a pilgrimage to McGill with the crew of Life and Times, the CBC program that profiles Canadian icons. During his visit, he toured the lower campus and visited Moyse Hall, where, as an undergraduate during the 1950s, he performed in various school plays -- no doubt a precursor to his legendary role as Captain Kirk on the original Star Trek series.
"All the buildings reek of nostalgia," Shatner told the Reporter. "The stone [of McGill's buildings] has a special place in my heart."
Shatner made a special point of stopping by McGill's student union building, the University Centre. That's the official name for the building in McGill's eyes, although a student referendum several years ago resulted in the building being rechristened in honour of Shatner.
The University didn't accept the referendum results. Traditionally, McGill reserves the honour of naming buildings for deceased members of the University community or, more commonly, for major benefactors.
In spite of the University's position, the centre is widely known as the Shatner Building -- the name is used in official Students' Society of McGill University documents, by the Montreal media and even by a McGill administrator or two.
To date, Shatner has not made a significant donation to McGill. But he hinted that might change.
Shatner was introduced to the building named after him by SSMU president Duncan Reid. Standing on the building's steps in the bitter cold, Reid showed Shatner the new plans for the building, which must be renovated to improve safety and accessibility. The building is not up to fire code regulations and has no elevators, rendering it impossible to navigate in a wheelchair.
Upon hearing of this situation, Shatner smiled and said simply, "The magic words are: how can I help?"
If Shatner is willing to help, it is only because he knows the importance of student life to the totality of the university experience. "Academic knowledge stays for a while, but the student life is what I will always cherish," he mused.
As a student, Shatner recalled, he excelled more on stage than in the classroom. "I have many fond memories of McGill, most of them being centred not so much around academic life, but from getting involved in all kinds of student activites," he said.
How does it feel to have students nickname their building after him? "I'm happy to be connected with this building," he said. "It means a great deal to me. It's the centre of student life... in many ways, the centre of the University."
The Life and Times episode profiling William Shatner is scheduled to air this fall.
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