George takei celebrates selfies, space travel and cat videos

A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY Technology for me is there to be humanized. Most people think the "me" in media is the operative thing. It's not just ego gratification. It's

"social" media, after all — our town square. People gather and gossip. Some people come up with ideas and orate. We like to share. HELLO, KITTY! My Facebook and Twitter following

started with sci-fi geeks and nerds from _Star Trek,_ and grew and grew. Through trial and error, I have found that what gets the most shares is humor. That's the honey that allows me

to slip in more personal posts about the gay-liberation movement, the plight of Japanese Americans during years of internment, and campaign-finance reform. But what get the most likes, of

course, are cat videos. STRENGTH OF CHARACTER Like so many Japanese American families, my family was incarcerated during World War II simply because we looked like the people who bombed

Pearl Harbor. I felt worst for my father. How humiliating to take four years of a man's life and leave him penniless. Our first home after the camps was on skid row. But my father had

what we call in Japanese gaman, an ability to endure with dignity. He died in 1979, but he will always be my hero. FREEDOM OF TRUTH I came out at age 68 in response to then-Governor Arnold

Schwarzenegger's vetoing California's marriage-equality bill, but I've known since age 9 that I'm gay. I so wanted to be normal. I double-dated with my buddies but was

more interested in my buddies than in my dates. If I could go back to my 16-year-old self, I'd say, "You won't always feel so alone." I feel marvelously free now.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT My husband, Brad, and I have been together more than 25 years. What keeps us going is our diversity. We don't look anything alike. He's very organized, and

I'm not. I am easygoing, but Brad is tightly wound. I'm a newsaholic and a computer junkie. He ignores all that. Whatevs, as the kids say. It works. SMILE FOR THE CAMERA I go to

conventions to thank fans for their support. I don't count the number of selfies I take. Before selfies, there were autographs, which can be forged. The secret to a good selfie is to

make sure your teeth are clean. FINAL FRONTIER Even before _Star Trek_, I thought about future worlds. I loved watching _Space Patrol _in the early 1950s. That elusive "something"

beyond the horizon still fascinates me. Richard Branson and Elon Musk are talking about tourism in outer space. Hey! Don't forget to take me! [_Star Trek _creator] Gene Roddenberry had

his ashes carried into space, but I actually want to be alive when I go up there!