Paying tribute to Mr. Spock
In a perfectly logical move, Boston is paying tribute to the actor who played Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek“television show and movies.
Mayor Marty Walsh has declared Friday, March 26 Leonard Nimoy Day in the city, his daughter, Julie. shared on her Twitter account.
Nimoy, who died in 2015, was born in Boston on March 26, 1931.
Nimoy nurtured his acting talent as a youngster at the Elizabeth Peabody House and the West End Boys Club and as a teenager received a summer scholarship for acting lessons at Boston College, according to the proclamation.
He “brought honor upon his native city with his accomplishments as an actor, writer, producer, director, poet, photographer, and philanthropist,” according to the proclamation.
He also contributed to cancer research and arts and space research scholarship programs, according to the city.
Sandra Oh speaks up at pro-asian rally
Sandra Oh urged Asian-americans to be there for each other and started an “I am proud to be Asian” chant during a speech Saturday at an anti-discrimination rally in Pittsburgh.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” star surprised demonstrators when she gave the address over a megaphone at the Stop Asian Hate protest, as seen in a video published by CBS Pittsburgh.
“I am so happy and proud to be here with you, and thank you to all the organizers for organizing this just to give us an opportunity to be together and to stand together and to feel each other,” Oh told the crowd as she spoke in the middle of an intersection.
“For many of us in our community, this is the first time we are even able to voice our fear and our anger, and I really am so grateful to everyone willing to listen.”
The protest took place days after a gunman opened fire on three massage parlors in Atlanta, killing eight people, including six women of Asian descent.
“I am proud to be Asian,” Oh, 49, and the crowd chanted. “I belong here.”
— New York Daily News
Super stuffed bears fighting COVID blues
A bookshop owner has found a way to keep people in Paris feeling plush during the depressing days of the coronavirus pandemic: giant teddy bears.
Philippe Labourel has been lending out oversized stuffed animals since October 2018. Since the pandemic, the bookseller’s over 8-feet tall bears have been spotted sitting at a bus stop and in shops to remind customers of social distancing rules.
“Don’t ask me why I did it in the first place, but I decided to loan the bears everywhere to make people smile,” Labourel said.
— Associated Press
$2.6M raised for kin of Atlanta shooting victim
A Gofundme created to raise money for the sons of one of the victims of the killings at three Atlanta massage parlors, Hyun Jung Grant, has raised more than $2.6 million as of Sunday, from almost 70,000 individual donors.
Grant’s son, Randy Park, said the money will be used for funeral costs and necessities for him and his brother.
“She was one of my best friends and the strongest influence on who we are today. Losing her has put a new lens on my eyes on the amount of hate that exists in our world,” Park wrote. “As much as I want to grieve and process the reality that she is gone, I have a younger brother to take care of and matters to resolve.”
Park wrote that he and his brother are the only members of their South Korean family in the United States.
Grant, 51, was fatally shot on Tuesday.