Great interview by Stephen Whitty, in the Star-Ledger:
… After all, he’s a beloved actor. The subject of a new documentary, “To Be Takei” — which will get its “trans-Atlantic premiere” here — and the inspiration for (and star of) an award-winning musical, currently looking for a Broadway home.
He is also a dedicated political activist, an authority on mass-transit issues, a best-selling author, a Howard Stern regular and an internet sensation with over a million Twitter followers.
Given the successive challenges and prejudices he’s had to overcome since childhood — well, to Takei, 77, at times all this success feels a bit “like science-fiction.”
But then that, as a long-time colleague might observe, is only logical…
“So much science-fiction sees our future as dystopian,” Takei says, reflecting on the show’s appeal. “We’ve polluted our environment, we’re living in dank poverty, the world’s ruled by apes — that’s a very pessimistic view! But ‘Star Trek’ was optimistic. I mean, at that time we were in the middle of a Cold War in real life, and yet we had a trusted crew member who spoke with a Russian accent. You probably wouldn’t see that on TV today. But Gene Roddenberry said if we have confidence in ourselves and our ability to innovate, we can overcome anything.”…
If anything, Takei has been even busier since his marriage. First, there’s the musical “Allegiance,” inspired by his childhood, which details the anguish of the wartime internment camps. It won awards (and broke attendance records) in San Diego, where Takei and Lea Salonga starred; a Broadway run is planned. (“We just need to find the right empty theater,” Takei says. “We’re watching the closing notices like vultures.”)
Then, there’s his internet presence. Takei began it, he says, to build a fan base for the show; it surprised him to see how little-known the history of the internment was. But he sweetened his outreach efforts by first sharing jokes, viral videos, funny pictures. He’s now a ubiquitous and much-followed celebrity…
“When 9/11 happened, I was the chairman of the board of the Japanese American National Museum in L.A., and we organized a candlelight march, and symposia with leaders from the Arab- American community and with Japanese-Americans,” he says. “Whenever there’s a horrific tragedy, there will always be hysteria afterward — but it’s important for cooler minds to prevail. As my father said, we’re a government of the people — but we can only be as good, or as bad, as our people.”…
Takei’s “It Gets Better” video is also at the link.
***********
What’s on the agenda for the weekend?
Amir Khalid
I might go see Lucy. It’s the only thing on at the TGV cineplex worth half a damn that I’ve yet to see. I’ll also be worrying about Liverpool FC’s tendency to sign problem-child strikers. It seems that’s the only kind who want to come to the Beatles’ home town.
In the documentary, does Takei talk about why he and most of the Original Seven detest Shatner so? Or has that subject been beaten into the ground by now?
Tommy
Playing off John’s last “Late Night Post” about his Fitbit, well I got a Jawbone Up24 (what a stupid name, “Jawbone” BTW) about two weeks ago. The main reason I got it over say the Fitbit or others is it tracks sleeping patterns. I didn’t believe it could do it, so I read like ten reviews and it said it did. Now having used it for two plus weeks, it does a better job then I ever would have thought.
It also directly integrates with MyFitnessPal which is what I use to track what I eat and with fitness apps like MapMyWalk and MapMyRide (for bicycles).
These devices, well if you want to monitor these things, are amazing.
Looking at my sleep stats from last night. Slept 5.27 hours. Feel alseep in 3 minutes. Woke of 4 different times and was awake for 43 minutes. Was in REM sleep (they call it “sound sleep”) for 3 hours and 30 minutes. Light sleep for 1.56. In bed for a total of 6.9 hours. AND THIS IS MY BEST NIGHT OF SLEEP IN TWO PLUS WEEKS.
ThresherK
I love musical theater, and I like how new shows get to be darker and more serious than thirty or fifty or eighty years ago.
(See “Parade”, the musicalization of the Leo Frank case. I have, twice, and own the album.)
So I’m interested in buzz about “Allegiance”. Anyone take it in in the Balloon-o-sphere?
Tommy
Is anybody here watching the Netflix original show Happy Valley? Netflix overview of the show:
Don’t get me wrong House of Cards and OITNB are wonderful. But since getting Netflix a few months ago I am stunned by how much other, what I think is amazing TV, they do that doesn’t seem to get any notice/press.
I am only 3 shows into Happy Valley and literally on the edge of my seat. Now I will admit the English accents are so “thick” I had to use subtitles for the first two or so shows until I got used to them, but wonderful none the less :).
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Amir Khalid:
This is a mystery?
Punchy
Somehow I missed the news that Mythbusters is shedding Kari, Tori, and Grant. Just gunna be Adam and Jamie. Just gunna be lame, I suspect. Dayum.
Tommy
@Punchy: I missed that as well. Don’t get me wrong, I like both Adam and Jamie. But I’d say at least 50% of the time (if not more) I prefer the testing/segments done by Kari, Tori, and Grant. Oh and not to be sexist, Kari is “easy on the eyes.” My gut, from following a few TV blogs, it is all about salary. It is something most TV shows run into. They hire folks nobody knows, the show gets big. Their contracts come up and they want more money. Heck it happened and/or is happening this year with The Big Bang Theory.
JPL
@Tommy: Thanks for the recommendation and I’ll add that to my list. It is interesting how using subtitles can aid in training the ear, while watching shows with a thick accents.
Tommy
@JPL: And Netflix’s overview is kind of terrible. It is different/better then that. But I won’t say anymore in case somebody like yourself has not watched it yet. It is set in rural England. I know accents are different in different regions of the US and I can only assume the same in the UK. Guess I am just used to London accents, because that seems to be where most shows are centered, and this seems like something else entirely.
Now I just can’t wait for Doctor Who tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HeartlandLiberal
Watching YouTube videos yesterday, and one started playing the ad. Usually five seconds, click to stop ad, watch video.
But this one was George Takei. Talking with historians and scientists in Japan about project to study the long term effects of radiation.
They have mapped where Japanese citizens were in the cities we nuked.
They were able to show Takei on the map the house where is grandparents, were, when the bomb went off. The house collapsed on them. They survived.
And we got George Takei.
Who, frankly, is a national treasure as far as I am concerned.
The ad was apparently a promo or news item, I was not sure of the sponsorship, and it ran for several minutes.
I just searched on YouTube and Google, and it appears Takei has made video / documentary on the bombing of Hiroshima, where his ancestors come from.
Google “George Takei Visits Hiroshma”
A little more Googling and I found it. Radiation Effects Research Foundation.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Radiation-Effects-Research-Foundation-%E6%94%BE%E5%BD%B1%E7%A0%94/1484115061815543
JGabriel
And in Icelandic volcano news:
Bárðarbunga Activity Causes 20 Centimeter Divergence
Bárðarbunga Caldera Likely Sinking, Gunnar B. Guðmundsson, Earthquake Specialist at the Icelandic Met Office:
JGabriel
Also:
Track Icelandic Bardarbunga volcano’s incredible activity with real-time dashboard
Dashboard
Chris
Speaking of Russians on the bridge during the Cold War? I can take or leave the Abrams reboot, but I love the fact that the very first Starfleet captain we see is played by a Pakistani actor (who just played an Afghan warlord in Iron Man). In 2009. Nice nod to Star Trek’s “in the future, all Earth will be united and our modern wars will be ancient history” optimism.
Mike J
@Amir Khalid:
Balotelli is 10,000x less troublesome than the cannibal.
Woke up this morning to find no coffee in the house. On the upside, while driving to get coffee my ipod randomised onto All of the Time followed by Weird Summer. So at least good wake up tunes.
OzarkHillbilly
Gonna cook today. No I don’t mean food, I mean me. Predicted high of 98 and I am going on a float trip with a few old friends (about 40, not too many) than bar-b-q, than… probably come home and collapse in my ac and bed. And no, I won’t feel sorry for those suckers trying to sleep in 80+ degree tents and 80% humidity.
Actually, I’m really looking forward to it. This group is my old original grotto (caving club) and I don’t get to see those folks very often since I moved out here. It will be a good time.
Mustang Bobby
I am this close to going out into the front yard and yelling at the lawn crew next door. It’s not even 7:30 in the morning and they’re out there with the mowers and the leaf blowers. Where’s John McCain when I need him?
JPL
From the NY Times.. Headlines that make you go wtf
Blamed for Rise of ISIS, Syrian Leader Is Pushed to Escalate Fight
I thought we were on the side, wanting to over throw the Assad regime. In fact John McCain took a picture with a leader of ISIS and bragged about how they were the good guys. He was upset that we weren’t arming them.
rikyrah
@Tommy:
You can do subtitles on Netflix if the accents are too much for you
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: It’s suppose to be in the mid-nineties but with the humidity factored in, closer to 100.
Tommy
@OzarkHillbilly: Oh a floating trip. Been years and years since I did that. When I was at grad school at LSU my best friend had a girlfriend. Her parents had a summer cottage outside of San Marcos, TX. Near the Guadalupe River. We’d often head over there for a few days, I mean it was free for poor grad students :).
I recall eating lunch at this “hole in the wall” Mexican place right on the river. All these folks are passing by on tubes. Picking them up, stacking them near bike racks, and walking off towards these buildings.
I recall saying out loud, maybe kind of really loud because a few adult beverages might have already been had (OK maybe more then just a few), and somebody at the next table said the dorm for Texas State University was up the river, academic buildings over there. People were tubing to class.
I thought then and even to this day (guess why I mention this) that was pretty darn cool.
Hope you have a ton of fun today and don’t forget that darn sun screen. Worse sun burn I ever got was on a tubing trip right in your neck of the woods in fact.
Tommy
@rikyrah: LOL. That is just what I said did in another comment, or the first comment about this show :).
Mike J
@Tommy:
It’s set in Yorkshire, which is in the far north. Northern accents tend to carry many of the same cultural signals that American southern accents do.
Newcastle are playing Aston Villa (from Birmingham (in the midlands)) on NBC right now if you want more exposure to the north.
NotMax
One of Mr. Takei’s odder performances.
Poopyman
@JGabriel: Love that dashboard. Thanks for the link.
Tomorrow’s the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bladensburg and the burning of Washington. The battle reenactment is today. I don’t think there are plans to burn the Navy Yard, Capitol, and White House.
OzarkHillbilly
@JGabriel: The dashboard is pretty cool. LOTS of activity. The wife is flying to Spain on Wednesday and I am hoping there is no eruption till after she lands. If it does erupt I am hoping it quiets down before she is due back 2 weeks later.
NotMax
Tommy
As, typically, about 20% of total sleep time is REM sleep, perhaps “sound sleep” refers to deep NREM sleep.
Tommy
@Mike J: Thanks. I never used to be able to watch British shows. Don’t know why. But 6 or so years ago started watching Doctor Who and that has lead me to watching many more British shows on BBC America and Netflix. In fact I am coming to enjoy a few British shows more then American shows. Happy Valley a case in point.
JGabriel
Poopyman, OzarkHillbilly:
Þú ert velkomin
NotMax
@NotMax
No edit function, or would have added that over a typical 8 hour sleep period, the total of REM intervals would be somewhere around 90 minutes.
debbie
@JPL:
I remember this photo incident, but were they in fact really ISIS?
JPL
@debbie: Now I’m doing research to find out what terrorist group they belonged to. It was before ISIS became a common term. It was a sunni terrorist group though.
JPL
testing.. why are my comments not posting.
debbie.. Thanks for questioning me.. According to the c.a.t.o inst. it was the Northern B.rigade. I have no idea if they are connected to isis.
danielx
Decisions, decisions….shall it be Bean Blossom Blues Festival, Greekfest, or STAY INSIDE WHERE IT’S COOL?
debbie
@JPL:
All I’ve found is that the terrorists were part of the Northern Storm Brigade, whatever that is:
http://egbertowillies.com/2013/05/30/john-mccain-photographed-with-alleged-terrorists-in-syria-video/
There is also this article which says ISIS has called McCain an “enemy.” If it’s the same group, they’re very fickle:
http://www.azcentral.com/story/azdc/2014/07/28/mccain-isis-enemy-crusader-syria-iraq/13289749/
debbie
I’m not familiar with this blogger, but here’s more info on the Brigade and their relationship with ISIS:
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/northern-storm-brigade-history-current-status-matters-chris-looney/
JPL
@debbie: Interesting. Thanks. I would have linked to the c.a.t.o but my comment kept disappearing.
You might find this article interesting about ISIS funding.
raven
Holy smokes I slept until 9am! My bride insists that surgery is taxing whether you feel like it or not!
muddy
@raven: Healing is tiring, like growing.
raven
@muddy: Yea, I can’t wait to take the pressure bandage off and see the stitches. They were so funny with the cautions about scarring. Like it would matter with my mug!
debbie
@JPL:
Thanks. I wonder if the Bushes are still good friends with the Saudis.
NotMax
@raven
The body recognizes an invasive procedure and its injury, and goes into ‘shut down as much as possible in order to focus on this’ mode.
Put up a recipe last night which you might like, either as a main dish or an accompaniment to certain types of fish.
muddy
@raven: Careful! I have been known to say, How could it be worse? And then I find out…
raven
@NotMax: I guess so, while it took a few hours it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.
Nice recipe, I water smoked a bunch of cobia for fish tacos last week for a party, folks likee.
raven
@muddy: I have a big scar on my big nose where it got broke several times and a big one where I went over the handlebars of my bike and landed on my chin. I do wonder if I’m going to be able to shave over this. I’ve had a goat for years but I may have to return to my ZZ Top days.
muddy
@raven: I got 68 stitches in my face after a car accident. Some above the eyebrow, a lot at the hairline and a (vertical) diagonal right in the middle of my forehead. I was lucky in that the resident at the ER wanted to go into plastic surgery, so he was pleased to practice his stuff. I was amazed at how well he did the diagonal.
The only one that really shows that much is at the hairline. But I got a terrific white stripe in my hair there, so of course I have to part my hair to display it. This displaying the scar, but fuck it my stripe is cool. I have a lot of scars, but my freckle camo helps out.
tybee
redfish and sheepshead on the half shell this eve.
loosely following this: http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/fish-zarandeado/
raven
@muddy: Good!
raven
@tybee: But but, it’s not an R month!
tybee
sheepshead starts with an S and august has one of them so i’m good to go.
Mnemosyne
If gwangung is around, Takei said in an interview that he always wanted to do “Death of a Salesman” with an all-Asian cast. You need to find someone who can make it so.
(I think there’s another Juicer who’s also in playwriting circles. That person also needs to get working on it as well.)