I'm sweating like a bridegroom.

As a fan of Star Trek and an admirer of George Takei in particular (he has a very interesting life story and always speaks his mind) I just wanted to say how happy I am for him on his wedding this week to his longtime partner Brad Altman.

I'm going to risk conflating real life with fiction here but I think that in this case it will be okay since Takei has never run away from his association with Trek, in fact he's always spoke of it proudly. Star Trek means cardboard sets and bad acting to a good portion of the population and I won't argue that. I readily admit it's cheesy to it's core.

But Star Trek - specifically the future imagined by Gene Rodenberry some forty years ago now - has also always presented a kind of society that I as a progressive wished we lived in. There is no racism, sexism or prejudice against homosexuals in that fictional future. Takei understood what Trek represented from the start which is why he didn't try and run away from the show like Shatner and Nimoy did.

So congratulations Mr. Takei on your wedding. In the larger sense it was a step towards a better, more equatable society. For that I thank you.

(Takei with spouse Altman, Maid of Honor Nichelle Nichols and Best Man Walter Koenig)

They are the Nazgul, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead.

A few Friday afternoon tidbits.

Cat's and dogs living together and the first documented case of the Bush administration acting responsibly when it came to national defense. It only took until there were only a few months left in his presidency for it to happen.

George Takei is taking advantage of the recent decisions in California on gay marriage to marry his long-term SO. Everybody in the Star Trek cast but William Shatner is invited.

I like Spike Lee but in this dust-up with Clint Eastwood he's being an asshole. 1) "Flags of Our Fathers" is biographical story based on the guys who were credited with putting the flag up at Iwo Jima, one of which happened to be a Native American I might add and 2) Eastwood is the guy that made "Bird."

I guess it isn't really news that Joe Lieberman is a horse's ass. But just in case you were having trouble identifying what part of the horse Lieberman actually represents, that article is for you.

This guys nails it. Labradoodles are tougher than Sauron's Nazgul. Hobbits chase them away with torches for God's sakes.