Star Trek‘s George Takei will be performing with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in Ode to Joy later this month.

Ode to Joy will be performed on February 25 and 26 at the Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Takei will act as narrator for Schoenberg‘s “A Survivor from Warsaw” piece. The narration for this piece “depicts the story of a concentration camp survivor from the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.”

Takei and his family were sent to an internment camp in Rohwer, Arkansas during World War II. The actor is chairman emeritus and a trustee of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Takei was also appointed by former President Clinton to the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission.

Tickets can be purchased from the Arkansas Symphony.

In Celebrity Apprentice, the celebrity contestants vie to raise money and awareness for their charity of choice, with the last person standing “hired” as the “Celebrity Apprentice” who will then have the honor of delivering a check for $250,000 to his or her favorite charity.

Takei will join talk show host Arsenio Hall; singers Clay Aiken, Dee Snider, Aubrey O’Day, Debbie Gibson and Tia Carrere; actors Lou Ferrigno, Paul Teutul Sr., and Adam Carolla; race car driver Michael Andretti; models Cheryl Tiegs and Patricia Velasquez; former Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza; Lisa Lampanelli; magician Penn Jillette; reality show star Teresa Guidice; and author/daughter of a mobster Victoria Gotti on the Donald Trump-hosted show.

The new season of Celebrity Apprentice premieres on NBC on February 12.

After the recent online exchange between Star Trek‘s William Shatner and Star Wars‘ Carrie Fisher, Takei decided to jump in with his own opinion on the fandom war, with a three minute video, George Takei is the Broker of Star Peace.

“No More Hope,” begins the video. “William Shatner went where no man had gone before, risking a civil war that pitted two fan worlds against each other.”

The video shows what happened when Shatner called Star Wars “derivative of Star Trek.” Fisher fired back, claiming that Star Trek wasn’t even in “the same league” as Star Wars.

“Fellow Star folks,” said Takei. “Cool it down! And shut your big wormholes. Each is wonderful in its own special way.”

Takei goes on to encourage both sides to aim at a more worthy target, Twilight. “It is really, really bad,” said Takei. “Gone is any sense of heroism, camaraderie or epic battles. In its place, we have vampires that sparkle, and moan and go to high school…

“But sci-fi fans, be warned. There are no great stories, characters, or profound life lessons to be had in Twilight. Noooo…in Twilight, the only message that rings through loud and clear, is ‘does my boyfriend like me?’ Let us band together to combat this mutual threat.”

While TrekToday certainly doesn’t encourage fandom wars, it’s hard to approve of a series where vampires, instead of bursting into flames when exposed to the sun as they’re supposed to do, sparkle instead. DIAMONDS sparkle. Vampires blaze.

http://youtu.be/mvTCr5Z-0lA

In his new book, Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large, it’s Shatner’s turn to attack Takei.

Takei has been “”saying mean things about me for nearly forty years now,” said Shatner, who then went on to say a few mean things of his own.

Regarding Takei’s wedding several years ago, Shatner said that contrary to what Takei said, Shatner did not get an invitation. Furthermore, Shatner believes that Takei asked Walter Koenig and Nichelle Nichols to be best man and maid of honor for one reason only, to get media coverage of the wedding.

Takei “says that I have a ‘big, shiny ego,’” wrote Shatner. “Well, actors have big egos. If mine is shiny, it’s because I tend to it very carefully and lovingly. Perhaps George’s needs a good polish.”

Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large goes on sale October 4.

Supah Ninjas is “about a team of three young teenage ninjas, one of them being my grandson Mike (Ryan Potter),” said Takei. “I’m a ninja master and I want to see the art and the tradition of our clan carried on. My son doesn’t quite measure up, but I find that the genes have skipped a generation and the grandson has all the qualities necessary. So I recruit my grandson to be a ninja, and he has a good buddy named Owen Reynolds (Carlos Knight). He wants his buddy to be a ninja as well, and I agree.”

The prospect of steady work was one of the draws for Takei when it came to accepting the role. “Well, it’s been some time since I had a series regular role,” he said. “As you know, I am associated with Star Trek and then I did Heroes as a recurring character. But when this opportunity came for me to be a regular again, and working with young people which I enjoy, I thought ‘Wow, this is going to be fun!’ I’m really pleased that it’s turned out as wonderfully as it has. The kids are great and the writers are fantastic.”

Other attractions include music and working with young people. “Some of the episodes are of epic scale, and others are whimsical,” said Takei. “As a matter of fact, in one [episode], I get the chance to sing. Musical theatre has always been one of my passions, so it combines all of the things that I enjoy about being an actor. And I’m being made to feel young again, with young people around me!”

Takei also spoke about his time on Star Trek, and what he took away from that experience. “I think the best gift I got from Star Trek [was] some of the friendships,” he said. “With so many TV or movies you become friends while you’re working and you might sporadically keep up the relationship, but with Star Trek my work colleagues have become real, good, genuine friends. Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) and Walter Koenig (Chekov) were part of mine and Brad’s wedding party.”

Although he’s not exactly friends with William Shatner, the two are civil to one another when they run across each other. “We do still speak to each other, yes,” said Takei. “‘Hi, George!’ and ‘hi, Bill!’ and that’s about it. We exchange pleasantries. He is a fascinating, charismatic guy, but so self-possessed, and that becomes a little bit of a strain. But he has mellowed.”

Takei has no plans to retire, even though he’s in his mid-seventies. “You know the wonderful thing about acting is they’re always going to need old codgers,” he said. “And I hope I’ll be around to be able to service those roles.”

Supah Ninjas will debut Monday, September 12 at 6 PM on the Nickelodeon Channel.

Takei tried to make it to Broadway via Spiderman, but now, he’s sure that his performance as Sister Mary Teriyaki in Sister Act will be the ticket to fame and fortune.

George Takei: The Road to Broadway, is an ongoing series of viral videos promoting the musical Allegiance, which will open on Broadway next year. Takei will star with Lea Salonga in the musical, described as “an epic story of love, family and heroism during the Japanese-American interment” during World War II.

http://youtu.be/LAEhp2Uzl9Q

Topics of discussion included Lady Gaga, the rapture that didn’t happen, the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, planking, the zombie apocalypse and the “don’t say gay” Tennessee bill.

Seventeen-year-old social activist Devon Hicks appeared live on What’s Trending to discuss why he started the #itsokaytosaygay hashtag. Hicks is not gay himself, but found it disturbing to see how gays in his school were treated, and  he was also appalled by the Tennessee “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Takei explained his “It’s OK to be Takei” campaign. “The way you fight it [bigotry] is with humor,” he said. “That’s a powerful weapon. And since my surname Takei rhymes with gay, I’ve suggested that we replace the use of the word gay…with Takei, as in Takei marriage.”

Another trending story concerned planking, the newest craze where a person lies face down, with arms close to the body, in unusual public spaces and has the deed photographed. The term planking was coined in Australia, and the fad is now world-wide.

Hardwick discussed the recent case where planker Acton Beale fell to his death while trying to plank on a seventh floor balcony in Australia. He then proceeded to show George Takei what planking was, climbing up on the couch behind Takei to demonstrate how to properly plank.

SB49, sponsored by Senator Stacey Campbell, would forbid discussion of homosexuality in school to students below the ninth grade. The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill has made it out of a Tennessee committee and will advance to the full Senate.

Those objecting to the bill are speaking up and amongst the opponents of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill is Star Trek‘s George Takei. “The so-called ‘don’t say gay’ law is premised on the misguided belief that, by not talking about gay people, they can simply make us disappear,” said Takei.

Takei has spoken out in a YouTube video where he suggests that “anytime you need to say the word gay, you could simply say Takei. For example, you could simply proclaim that you’re a supporter of Takei marriage.”

On a new website, located here, those wishing to help Takei get the word out and to show their support for his campaign against the bill, can purchase merchandise with “It’s OK to be Takei!” slogan on them. The merchandise includes buttons, mugs, hats, a mousepad and shirts. All proceeds from the sales of the “It’s OK to be Takei!” merchandise will be donated to charity, according to Takei.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRkIWB3HIEs

According to a petition on Facebook, the eight actors that are thus far being considered for the roles of Tetsuo and Kaneda in Akira are all non-Asian-Americans.

One actor familiar to Star Trek fans is on that list of non-Asian-American actors. Chris Pine is one of the five actors being considered for the role of Kaneda.

“If not in a film called Akira, for characters named Kaneda and Tetsuo, when will Asian-Americans get to star in a Warner Bros film?” asks the petition.

Takei tweeted his opinion on the matter. “Akira epic fail,” he said. “All actors up for Kaneda & Tetsuo are white?” He then asked his followers to “Sign & RT the [virtual] petition.”

In the Social Security commercial, the latest in a series of commercials that have featured baby boomer celebrities such as Chubby Checker, Takei teams up with Patty Duke to encourage seniors to sign up for Social Security benefits online.

In the commercial, Duke is wearing Sciences blue while Takei is of course Lieutenant Sulu. Duke is trying to sell Takei on the benefits of signing up for Social Security online, while Takei worries that it will be “confusing.”

“You’ve navigated through asteroid belts, right?” Duke asks Takei. “Well, compared to that, navigating Social Security.gov is a snap.”

Then playing upon the Takei-Shatner dislike she adds, “It’s so easy even Kirk could do it.”

http://youtu.be/vaOmOo8pySk

Takei can also be seen on YouTube showing the world why he should be the next Spiderman. In the video, located here, Takei, promoting  Allegiance due out in 2012, claims to “want to be in a Broadway musical NOW,” and “Spiderman, Turn Off the Dark” is his choice of currently running musicals.

Dressed in a Spiderman costume and dangling from wires, the actor shows off his “great moves” and “great musculature,” and battles bad guys, dispatching one of them with a Star Trek phaser.