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George H. Takei

George Takei is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed television and film series Star Trek. He's an actor, social justice activist, social media mega-power, New York Times bestselling author, originated the role of Sam Kimura and Ojii-Chan in the Broadway musical Allegiance, and subject of To Be Takei, a documentary on his life and career.

Takei's acting career has spanned five decades, with more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television guest-starring roles to his credit. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Actors' Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

With the outbreak of World War II, Los Angeles, California-born Takei and his family were placed behind the barbed-wire enclosures of United States internment camps along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans. He spent most of his childhood at Camp Rohwer in the swamps of Arkansas and at wind-swept Camp Tule Lake in northern California. At the end of the war, Takei's family returned to their native Los Angeles.

Inspired by this difficult chapter of American history, Takei developed the Broadway musical Allegiance, an epic story of love, family and heroism in which he starred alongside Tony Award winner Lea Salonga. Allegiance's record-breaking world premiere, at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in 2012, won multiple awards, and was followed by a Broadway run in 2015-2016.

Now a community activist, Takei serves as chair of the council of governors of East West Players, the nation's foremost Asian Pacific American theater. He is also a member of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender political organization. Takei is Chairman Emeritus of the Japanese American National Museum's Board of Trustees; a member of the US-Japan Bridging Foundation Board of Directors; and served on the Board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton. In recognition of his contribution to the Japan-United States relationship, in 2004, Takei was conferred with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan.

With Takei's expansion into social media, interest in his personal life grew. In January 2014, To Be Takei, a Jennifer M. Kroot documentary on George's life and career, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that January, and was later released in select theaters across North America.

Among his many accomplishments is a Grammy nomination Takei shared with Leonard Nimoy, in 1987, in the Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording category. He received a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame in 1986. And in 1991, Takei left his signature and hand print, in cement, in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

As an author, Takei's first book, his autobiography, To the Stars, was published in 1994; and in 2012 and 2013 he published his second and third books, Oh Myyy! There Goes The Internet, and its sequel, Lions And Tigers And Bears: The Internet Strikes Back. The latter two books explored his forays on social media and the Internet, earning placement on the Amazon e-book and paperback best-seller lists in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Takei's social media dominance is best denoted by his numerous awards. Mashable.com named George a "social media superstar" on Facebook in 2012, where he currently has over 19.6 million combined fans. In 2013, Takei won the Shorty Award for Distinguished Achievement in Internet Culture. He has 2.8 million followers on Twitter, and posts on various social media platforms. He expanded his internet presence with the 2015 YouTube series, "It Takeis Two," starring with husband, Brad Takei. The "reality" series shared the couple's daily navigation of their world, with George's vibrant sense of humor and Brad's less-than-optimistic pragmatism.

In 2015, Cosmopolitan Magazine named Takei "One of the Internet's 50 Most Fascinating People."

Takei and his husband, Brad, were married at the Japanese American National Museum on September 14, 2008. The Takeis reside in Los Angeles, California.


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People Break Down Adult Problems That No One Prepared Them For

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Being an adult can be difficult. No one taught me how to negotiate my salary for a job, for example. It was just something I had to figure out on my own and it made moving up in the working world a bit rocky. That said, I've always known how to cook well and clean properly, which is more than I can say about some of the people I know. Everyone has their own strengths. I also vastly prefer being an adult to being a teenager! It's a lot more fun.

After Redditor IllustriousLaw_4248 asked the online community, "What is an adult problem that no one prepared you for?" people shared some of their experiences.

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Psychologists Break Down The Most Bone-Chilling Thing A Patent Ever Said To Them

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People Debate The Worst Name Someone Could Give Their Child

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People Describe The Most Terrifying Thing They Ever Experienced In A Hospital

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Unless you've just realized a lifelong dream of becoming a doctor, finding yourself in the hospital is not a joyous occasion.

Whether you are patient, employee, or concerned loved one, the hospital is a place known for its high-stress elements, morbid realities, and involuntary bodily functions.

All of those common elements can be quite scary, especially while you're in that heightened state of mental stress.

Plenty of Redditors know that full well, and from personal experience. They shared their stories.

le_kif420 asked, "What was the most terrifying thing that you've experienced while staying in a hospital?"

Many Redditors found it scariest to wake up in a hospital bed. Often disoriented, under the influence of drugs, or generally worried for their safety, the moments after the eyes open can be full of panic.

The In-Between World 

"I was strapped down and on a ventilator. I woke up and I was on heavy drugs so I kept thinking I was in a very bad dream and and trying to get out."

"I only did that a couple times but I remember having to be told it was real and not a dream. Whatever I think is real is the dream. And after a few seconds it would clear up."

-- LoveAndDynamite

A Regular Refresher

"When I woke up in the hospital buckled to the bed and didn't know why I was there. Happened more than once because it was for a brain injury and I couldn't remember why I was there so I kept trying to escape."

"They ended up writing on a whiteboard at the end of my bed that I'm supposed to be there and stuff."

-- Zeliv

Way Too Public 

"I had intestinal surgery when I was about 13. Recovery was about 7 days to be sure that all the plumbing was working properly."

"Well about the 5th day I had woken up to a fairly large wet spot covering my crotch and gown."

"Turns out I had a wet dream and was still unable to move easily to clean myself so I had to inform the nurse. I know it's not much compared to these others, but to a 13 year old it was a nightmare!"

-- 19rotuken84

Too Many Tubes 

"It really wasn't that bad but I was 5 and very very scared. It was after waking up from anaesthesia after having my tonsils removed. Due to a genetic thing painkillers or anything anesthetic doesn't really affect me."

"So I wake up and I am in a huge amount of pain, I'm surrounded by strangers and I can't talk. And then I see the bandage on my arm from the IV and start crying."

"It felt like forever until my Dad and Mom were there. But definitely being alone, in pain and unable to voice it was the scariest thing for me."

-- thetikwthethirteenth

For others, it was all about the screams.

The other people around them in the hospital were in far more pain or anguish than these Redditors, but there involuntary outbursts were enough to make them shutter.

A Lot for a 12-Year-Old to See 

"Was about 12 years old got bit by a poisonous spider. In ER for it. The guy in the next curtain was apperently shot and stabbed with knife still in him."

"Nurses opened the curtain didnt realize me and my dad were in the next area over and so I saw a guy scream and holding in a knife in his gut."

-- HaereticiGarnifex

A Tragic Twist 

"I was in a car accident with my mom back in 1999 here in Texas. A large van ran the red light at a four way intersection and t-boned us. The accident was so bad they took us all by ambulance to the emergency room."

"The people who hit my mom and I were in the room next to us. The woman was heavily pregnant but explained to the doctors something felt off for many, many weeks but that her doctor in Mexico said the baby was fine."

"The ER doctors did an ultrasound and determined her baby was dead and that it wasn't due to the accident - they figured the baby had been dead for WEEKS."

"I'll never forget that woman's screams. It was heartbreaking. She kept screaming 'get it out of me, get it out of me.' "

"I'll never forget that moment."

-- isithalloweenyet

A Pop and A Scream 

"I spent some time in a psych ward as a kid. It was a bad place and pretty abusive. One of the staff members broke another kids arm and I remember hearing the boy screaming as it happened and afterwards."

"It was scary especially because we had no agency between being kids and psych patients so the staff had total control."

-- Heartlast

Others recalled the procedures they themselves endured. At the time, they were concerned, in pain, and frantic. They hope to never find themselves in that spot again.

ER Trip

"In the ER and was given an IV push for pain and left alone in a treatment room. I had a bad reaction to the medication (found out later, I can't have any form of opiates, real or synthetic, as I have a bad reaction.) In short, I tripped my fu**ing A** off, while bleeding heavily, and whatever they gave me seriously slowed my HR and my BP tanked."

"I'm not sure what was more terrifying: being fully conscious and aware in a body that is slowly shutting down, or being convinced there's a 7 foot tall shadow demon standing at the foot of your bed to take you to Hell when it's over."

-- geminiloveca

AHHHH

"It wasn't terrifying but the most awful thing I've ever felt. I had a drain put in after having my gallbladder removed and the next day the nurse came in to take it."

"That things was in there about 6/7 inches, right up into my stomach and she just slowly pulled it out. Oh a still shudder thinking about it."

-- thatisyucky

Close Call 

"Giving birth. I lost a lot of blood, I was lying in bed and feeling really weak and cold when someone from the staff came to check on me."

"I asked if that's what it feels like to die, she didn't seem to take it seriously until she had checked some stuff at which point she got others there and then last thing I remember is them putting some mask on me, thinking I was going to die."

"Reading the journal it was initially estimated to be 0.8L blood loss but it was more than double that I lost. If she had checked on me later, I probably would have lost more blood."

-- jpesj


Hopefully, you never find yourself in the hospital facing such concerning moments like these ones. But if you do, know that you're not alone.

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