I don’t recall exactly how I stumbled across this earlier today, but I thought it was really creative and different:
The description at the source reads:
My friend dressed up as the scroll from Star Wars. Her headband reads “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
Hey, anybody can go to a party dressed as an Ewok…
The InterWebs have been buzzing this week with the confirmation of those year-old rumors that Uncle George is planning theatrical re-releases of all six Star Wars films, newly converted into trendy 3D, beginning with The Phantom Menace in 2012 and proceeding with one episode per year through Return of the Jedi in 2018. Assuming, that is, that the earlier releases do well enough at the box office to warrant going through the entire series. Personally, I think it may be a mistake to start with the prequels rather than the Original Trilogy. I know George views them all as one big happy saga and would like for them to be seen in sequence, but the sad truth that he seems unable to accept is that the prequels just aren’t as well-liked as the OT. They have their supporters, true, and I myself am not as hard on them as many of my friends, but I have a bad feeling that the OT is going to get shafted when the prequels fail to perform to whatever expectations the Great Flanneled One has for this event.
Okay, I know nothing is more tedious than somebody talking about their dreams, but I had one last night that I still haven’t managed to shake off, even after being up for several hours, so I’m afraid I’m about to become one of those boring people who blather on about their dreams as if they actually matter to anyone but the person doing the blathering. Sorry, everyone, but I’ve just got to get this out of my head.
I dreamed I was at some kind of townhall meeting where President Obama was appearing in person. It was a small and intimate gathering where everyone was guaranteed up-close-and-personal contact with him, and we’d all been told he would answer any question we wanted to ask him. Any question about any topic at all. So I was wracking my brains trying to come up with something good, something original, something hard-hitting and penetrating and relevant, a question that would stand out from all the mundane bullshit everyone else was asking. I wanted to give the president a chance to satisfy his critics on both the Left and the Right, to defuse the rising hysteria and ignorance and anger that is sweeping this nation and make everything all right again, for everyone. I knew he could do it if only he heard the right question, the magic query that would send his thought processes cascading down just the right pathway. And it was going to be my question that would do it. It was all on me.
So what, you may be wondering, was my question? My brilliant inquiry that would restore the glory of the Republic? Well, when my turn finally came, and the president stood before me and shook my hand and looked me in the face, I asked him… man, I hate to admit this, even though I’m the one who brought it up…
I asked him which of the Star Wars movies was his favorite.
I’ve been haunted by this all morning…
Direct from the Star Wars Celebration V fan convention, here is a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi, which Uncle George, in person at the con, confirmed will be included as an extra on next year’s Blu-Ray release of the original trilogy. This has never been seen by the public before today, not even in bootleg form as far as I’m aware. It was recorded from the con’s projection screen on a handheld cam, so the quality is somewhat dodgy and the hollering fanboy is an unfortunate distraction, but you can certainly see what’s happening. Watch it quick, before the copyright troops from Lucasfilm yank it down:
This is quite possibly the coolest thing I’ve found on the Internet in at least a year:
I recently delved a bit into the blaxploitation genre by watching four of the acknowledged classics — Shaft, Superfly, Coffy, and Foxy Brown — and while I can’t really say they were good movies, they did display a sort of sleazy charm and cocky attitude that I found supremely entertaining. And I’ve always liked Lando Calrissian, even if Uncle George had no idea what to do with him in Return of the Jedi. A pre-Rebellion buddy-story about him and Han Solo would be a lot of fun. If only this trailer was for real!
In yet another bit of inspired silliness, Improv Everywhere, that group of merry pranksters who inspired an annual tradition of pantsless public transit rides in New York and other cities around the world (including, surprisingly enough, my own Salt Lake City), strikes again — or should I say “strikes back?” — with a Star Wars-themed subway stunt:
I dig the dude who tries to figure out what the princess is reading, then has a hearty chuckle over it. And of course all the tiny handheld cameras that suddenly appear when the stormtroopers and Vader arrive. Funny how I didn’t see that coming when I used to imagine as a kid what the 21st century would be like…
This video has popped up in a lot of places recently; I got it from Sullivan’s Daily Dish.
In addition to Pac-Man, today is also the 30th anniversary of another major signpost in the pop-cultural landscape: the premiere of The Empire Strikes Back. But perhaps you’ve not heard of it? It was, after all, just a little-known sequel to a cultish fantasy movie about a farm boy who befriends a trashcan and a walking carpet…
Okay, so that was a really lame attempt at humor. Sorry about that.
I don’t have much to say about the movie itself. We’ve all seen it. We all know the shocking twist at the end. Popular consensus long ago determined it was the best of the six Star Wars films, and I don’t disagree with that assessment. (I do, however, hold about the same level of esteem for both it and the original Star Wars. They’re quite different in many respects, but I love them equally.) It remains, even after decades, the textbook example of everything a good sequel ought to do: its plot was original and compelling, not simply a redo of the original; it expanded upon the established setting without rewriting any rules; it deepened the familiar characters, added new ones that were equally as interesting and/or lovable, and offered more sophisticated themes. Like the Harry Potter novels would do years later, the Star Wars saga was growing up, keeping pace with the maturation of its primary fanbase. It’s a shame that Return of the Jedi was in so many ways a step backwards… but that’s a blog entry for another time.
I have several strong memories associated with the release of Empire, most notably the fiendish way in which I found out about Vader’s big revelation to Luke, but quite honestly, I don’t have the time right now to do that story justice. So what I’d like to do is share with you the little-seen teaser trailer that was released a year before the movie itself:
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Yeah, I know, but it’s Friday, and I’m punchy after a very busy week and several nights of lousy sleep. Hopefully I’ll make it back later with a couple things…
Would any of my Loyal Readers be surprised in the least to learn that I just scored 100% on the Boing Boing Star Wars Sound Effects Quiz?
Curiously, I had no problem identifying even those effects that come from the prequels. The only one I dithered over was something from the revised edition of the original film. Make of that what you will…
Is it just me, or do Tuesday afternoons always seem rather elongated? They have none of the settling-back-into-the-routine bustle of a Monday. They lack the over-the-hump frisson of a Wednesday, or the gathering steam of Thursday, or Friday’s downhill sprint (or leisurely stroll, depending on the pace of your particular workplace) toward the weekend. No, Tuesdays just sort of sit there, like that bad food-court burger you ate last night and can still feel, lodged somewhere in the vicinity of your duodenum and seeming like it’s in no hurry to go either up or down.
At least that’s how this Tuesday afternoon is feeling to me, just sitting there all cold and gristly and utterly lacking in nutritional value. Seems like a good time for some Star Wars-flavored netcrap, and SamuraiFrog has a most excellent serving for us:
Yeah, that’s probably exactly what Han was thinking. Not that he could criticize much, of course, not after some of the unspeakable mischief he and the Wook probably got up to back in their old spice-smuggling days. No, not Han and the Wook, you perverts. I just meant that there were probably lots of occasions when they served as each other’s wingman in whatever passed for singles’ bars out there on the Outer Rim… no, really… stop looking at me like that!