Sulu Gets Married as Uhura and Chekov Look On

Stories

Toast the groom (and the other groom) with a tall mug of Romulan ale! George Takei of “Star Trek” fame tied the knot in Los Angeles on Sunday and People magazine was all over it like Captain Kirk on that green alien lady.

George Takei and his longtime partner, Brad Altman, were wed Sunday evening in a Buddhist ceremony in downtown Los Angeles.

“All I can remember is what the priest said,” Takei told People after the ceremony. “That this moment will never happen again. It’s something to savor.”

Nearly 200 of the couple’s friends attended the event, which began as a kimono-clad koto player plucked out tunes on the ancient Japanese stringed instrument. Afterward, the couple sipped sake from red lacquer cups, then said their vows to one another while standing within a circle of yellow rose petals.

A Scottish bagpiper led Takei, 71, and Altman, 54, to the reception on the grounds of the Japanese American National Museum. On the way, the couple, along with their maid of honor and best man (Takei’s former “Star Trek” costars Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig) flashed the “live long and prosper” hand sign to photographers and friends.

“I was fighting back the tears,” said Nichols, who played Uhura on the “Star Trek” series. “But they came oozing out anyway. I’m so happy that they’re both able to legally proclaim their commitment to one another after spending the past 21 years together.”

In May, Takei announced his plans to wed after California’s Supreme Court allowed gay marriage under the state’s Constitution.

Wait, does this mean Mr. Sulu is gay? Set red-state phasers on stunned!

But seriously, best wishes for Takei and Altman, and we hope didn’t get too many of these as wedding gifts.

— Geoff Boucher

LOS ANGELES TIMES BLOG

Losses at XM and Sirius as They Pursue a Merger

Artie Lange, Beetlejuice, Fred Norris, Gary Dell'Abate, George Takei, Howard Stern, J.D. Harmeyer, Kenneth Keith Callenbach, Lisa Lampanelli, Mark The Bagger, Ralph Cirella, Richard Christy, Robin Quivers, Sal the Stockbroker, Sirius, XM
May 13, 2008
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Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, the pay radio stations that are seeking to merge, both reported solid gains in subscribers on Monday although both also posted quarterly losses.

Sirus said that its quarterly net loss narrowed to $104.1 million, or 7 cents a share, from a net loss of $144.7 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.

At XM, the net loss increased to $129 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with $122 million, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sirius’s acquisition of XM is still awaiting the approval of the Federal Communications Commission. The Justice Department approved the deal in March.

Revenue at Sirius, the satellite radio home of the shock jock Howard Stern and the National Football League, climbed 33 percent, to $270.4 million.

The company, based in New York, added 322,534 net subscribers and ended the quarter with about 8.6 million, up 31 percent from 6.6 million one year ago.

The Washington-based XM, whose program lineup includes Major League Baseball and Oprah Winfrey, said it added 303,000 net subscribers and ended the quarter on March 31 with 9.33 million subscribers. That is up from 7.91 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Revenue rose to $308 million, which was lower than the average analyst forecast of $313 million.

XM and Sirius hope to persuade regulators that their merger would provide consumers with more choice in radio programming and could lead to lower prices in some cases.

Shares of Sirius closed up 14 cents, or 5.1 percent, at $2.87 on Nasdaq.

XM closed up 50 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $12.30, also on Nasdaq.