Where Have All the Bloggers Gone?

The time has come to make the $15 decision: do I want to renew my Hyperspace or not?

Judging by the state of the blogs, the answer is "no".

There was a time when these blogs were hopping. Several entries a day, and clever entries they were. But now things are just not the same. Too many bloggers have "gone to black" or missing entirely.

Darthgenious7, Lord_Noctifer, darthlando22, 21212121212, Oboe-Wan, JediMasterPickles, darthgenious7, Rive Caedo, jediprincess77, janlomona, Rogueish, Michelle1968, Viridian Saber, anakinside1, Kenobi-fan, Granny-Wan, Lady Shada, Marvolo7, jkelly, YoshiYoda, DarthVicomte, warthog jedi, Evil Darth Bear, Sarlaac-Pitt, jk thunder, Darth Rex0... just to name a few!

Interest in Star Wars hasn't waned; I think folks are just tired of this blogging site. It hasn't been updated, the Featured Blog of the Day is simply the same two dozen or so blogs being rotated, some of which are not active and haven't had entries in years.

The same with the Most Popular feature. Sure, you can tell me the computer does it, but I won't believe you. I had an entry there once that dropped 1100 places overnight. Don't try to tell me that 1100 blogs, some of which were 3-4 years old, got clicked on in an 8-hour period. I'm not that gullible.

In spite of the politics, religion, and censorship, it's been a fun time. But unless I miss the other content on the site I won't be paying the $15. I'll still be around to comment.

And if I think of anything to blog about, I'll be back.

Until then, may the Force be with us all.

BFD FRIDAY! A New Take on that Dang Gungan

So, our friend Esria has come up with a new take on a classic....


...and History was Made


I dug up another oldie, a picture from an old friend:





Happy BFD!

BFD - A Classic Piece from a Friend

Here's a contribution from our very own Galactic Babe!



I saw Giddy kissing Obi-Wan
In the Jedi Temple late one night......
They didn't seem to care
If I had a peek at their affair
They thought that I was tucked up in my chambers unaware.

Then I saw Giddy tickle Obi-Wan
Underneath his beard of sandy blond.........
Oh what a laugh it would have been
If Yoda had only seen
Giddy kissing Obi-Wan one night!!

BFD Day 3: Do You Hear what Luke Hears?

Said the desert wind to the Farmer Boy
"Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, Farmer Boy?
Do you see what I see?
A star, a Death Star, shining in the night
With a laser that's big, green and bright?
With a laser that's big, green and bright!

Said the Farm Boy to the little droid?,
"Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, little Droid,
Do you hear what I hear?
Hyperdrives, and turbolasers in the air
Does Darth Vader have any hair?
Does Darth Vader have any hair?

Said the little Droid to the Jedi Master.
"Do you know what I know?
Waiting in your hut, Jedi Master.
Do you know what I know?
A Princess needs you and your magic skills
Before the Rebellion the Empire kills.
Before the Rebellion the Empire kills.

Said the Jedi Master to Dark Sith Lord
"Listen to what I say!
Kill me and I'll hurt you even more
Listen to what I say!
A child, your child, is shining with the Force
He will be a great Jedi of course!
He will be the greatest Jedi of course!

ALL I WANT FOR BFD IS OBI-WAN

(All I Want for Xmas is You)

Take back the blasters and holograms.
Sonic grenades on a string.
If I meditated all night long,
I would ask the Force for just one thing...

I don't need speeder rides in the night.
Don't need the sky of blue.
Take back the brandy, fizzies and wine,
'Cause all I want for BFD is you!

I don't need clone troopers,
They don't matter to me!
All that I want, can't be found
Underneath my BFD tree!

You are the Jedi atop my list.
You are my Force Mate, it's true
Oh, Master Kenobi, give me what I need,
'Cause all I want for BFD is you!

I don't need hyperdrive rings,
Laser bolts and flashing strobes.
All that I want, can only be found
Underneath those Jedi robes!

You are the Jedi atop my list
You are my Force Mate, it's true!
Please Master Obi-Wan, give me what I need,
'Cause all I want for BFD is you!

AND... it's not over yet! Here's a poem from the lovely Esria!

It Wouldn't be BFD Without Songs!

Get that lightsaber ready, Obi-Wan!

(Let it Snow)

Well, Order 66 is frightful,
But the Jedi are so delightful.
So before they turn us into bones,
Kill the clones, kill the clones, kill the clones!

It doesn't show signs of stopping,
I brought grenades for dropping.
We could even throw some stones!
Kill the clones, kill the clones, kill the clones!

I don't want to kiss "good night"
You know I hate going out in the war!
But if you really hold me tight,
I'll stick around for some more!

I know your kisses always thrill us,
But those clones are trying to kill us.
So unless you want to turn into bones,
Kill the clones, kill the clones, kill the clones!


For much better BFD Songs than this one, click HERE and HERE. (Thanks, Esria!)

BFD IS HERE! Celebrate With Us!

BFD is here!
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all
That we geeks call
Our favorite time of year!


Yes, once again it's time for Balanced Force Day!

Usually it's Jedi Princess 77 who starts us off, but she's busier than a tauntaun at the North Pole this year, so she's given me permission to start the festivities!

There are no rules, just HAVE FUN!

Song parodies, jokes, blogs about your favorite characters, anything goes!


HAVE FUN!

Let Me Be the First to Say It!

Orlando sucks.

Florida in August sucks. It's hot and humid. Yes, I've heard of AC, but it doesn't help when you step outside your hotel and get hit with a blast of sauna air.

Orlando is next to Disney World, which means it's a tourist town and that makes hotels and restaurants expensive.

And the Boba Fett logo is the EPIC FAIL of all EPIC FAILS! If I do go, I won't have to worry about the celebration store, I wouldn't buy anything with that on it!

For crying out loud, it's the 30th Anniversary of Empire Strikes Back, why isn't Yoda on the logo! Or Vader!

Geez, thanks a lot, LFL...

EDIT: This post maxed out on comments, first and last time that ever happened to me. So, I'm posting all the comments from this and the follow up blog entry here!

Limerick Friday II - Ode to Obi-Wan

There once was a Jedi who fought,
Even though his apprentice was snot.
He dealt with a Hutt,
Kicked Grevieous's butt,
And to Giddy was totally hot.

As Night Fell on the Republic

A Knight in shining armor. The Knights of the Round Table. A white Knight upon a fiery steed. Any way I look at it, a Knight is a hero, someone to revere, someone to call "Sir Galahad".

There are several unforgettable scenes in the Star Wars Saga, and on of them is Anakin Skywalker, or rather the newly minted Darth Vader, leading thousands of clone troopers up the steps to the Jedi Temple as the lights of the city burned brightly behind them.


I recently read a reference to this as "Operation Knightfall." The phrase brought a tear to my eye.

Operation Knightfall. A name rich in meaning. The Jedi Knights are falling, it happens under the cover of night, and night is falling on the Republic as its defenders of peace and justice are murdered.

It's also called the Jedi Purge, but it's murder just the same. Clone troopers in the battlefield murder their Jedi commanders; Troopers in the Jedi Temple murder younglings and civilians, while Vader ruthlessly cuts down the innocent children who look to him for help.

Operation Knightfall. The night the Dark Times began and the Empire was born.

Attachment... It Never Quite Seems to Go Away

"Know do you, Obi-Wan, why reluctant I was for Skywalker to become your apprentice?" (Yoda in Wild Space)

Attachment. How much is too much?

Then tell you I will. Reluctant I was because the same flaw you share, Obi-Wan. The flaw of attachment. (Wild Space by Karen Miller)

No doubt about that, although Anakin took his attachment to extremes. Killing the Tuskens, for example. And his attachment to Padme was downright creepy. Ten years he held on to a childhood crush?

It occurred to him then, with a clarity that was startling, given the dark side hurricane howling through him, that Yoda was wrong about the dangers of attachment. Or at least that he wasn't altogether right.

It was true that attachment could weaken a Jedi's resolve. But it could also strengthen it... as he was strengthened now by his love for Qui-Gon, and Anakin. Without them he would have failed long before this moment. (Wild Space)

So in this case attachment was good. But where do you draw the line, or more importantly, where does a Jedi draw the line?

Obi-Wan's attachment to Qui-Gon and to Anakin gave him the strength to survive on Zigoola, and possibly times and places as well.

Anakin's attachment to Padme led to the destruction of the Jedi Order and the fall of the Republic.

Hmmmm, I wonder who was right and who was wrong? Obi-Wan and Bail were doomed to die if Obi-Wan hadn't called upon his inner strength to survive the Sith Temple and find a way to "phone home". He had nothing to lose, and used his attachments for good.

Anakin killed for his attachment, killed younglings, cut down fellow Jedi and led the troopers into killing even more. He traded the lives of every Jedi in the order, thousands of lives, for one life: Padme.

But he doesn't even do it for her, he does it for himself: "I can't live without her!"

It doesn't surprise me that he can live with his decision, but I wonder why he though Padme could. I can't believe that she'd want to save her own life at the expense of so many others. That's not the Padme we see on Naboo or Geonosis.

**SIGH** Attachments... can't live with 'em, can't just throw out with the bathwater...

Somehow, I’ve Always Known

Orphan, Princess, Senator, Rebel leader, Head of State, wife and mother, ambassador, Jedi Knight. A strange career path for anyone except our own Leia Organa Solo.

Who can forget that scene in "Return of the Jedi?"

"The Force is strong in my family," Luke says. "My father has it, I have and my sister has it."

"I know," Leia replies. "Somehow, I've always known."

And it seem likely that she did. There she was running around the galaxy with two attractive men, one who mirrors her beliefs and ideals, the other one an older man, a scoundrel, one with his own agenda. One would seem the perfect match for her, and yet she falls for the dubious one.

(Yes, I know she kissed Luke in ESB, but that was just to make Han jealous.)

So even early on, she knows there's something special about Luke.

But even knowing, always knowing, doesn't make it easy to accept.

Even after all these months, she couldn't make herself entirely belief that actual Jedi blood ran in her veins... She had never entirely gotten her mind around the truth that her instincts and intuitions and premonitions were much more that psychological phenomena...

Coming to grips with their Jedi heritage must have been easier for Luke; growing up on the Outer Rim, he'd barely even known what a Jedi was. Leia, on the other hand, had been raised in a household that was steeped in reverence for the Jedi Order and everything it had stood for. ("Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor"

Before reading this, I never gave much thought to Leia's upbringing, and how it affected her throughout her life. Bail Organa was a great supporter of the Jedi, and his memories of the Old Republic and the Jedi Order must have seeped into the stories and lessons he gave his adopted daughter.

He knew she was the daughter of Anakin Skywalker, but did he know that Darth Vader was Anakin? I don't think so. I don't think he would have involved Leia so deeply in Imperial politics if he'd known. Whatever he knew, it's obvious he never told her anything, for her own protection.

It takes Leia a long time to come to terms with being a Jedi. Was it denial? Fear? Awe? Or just plain disbelief?

Whatever the cause, she does come around in the end and becomes a Jedi Knight. A fitting profession for someone who's done it all!

Facing the Mirror

Facing the mirror, a symbolic phrase meaning to take stock of one's self.

What does a Jedi see in the mirror? It depends on the Jedi.

If it's Qui-Gon Jinn, he sees beyond his rugged features to see a Jedi Knight, one who is calm and satisfied with his decisions, even those that don't agree with the Jedi Council. Qui-Gon is a man at peace with himself, knowing that he's always done what he felt was right.

If it's Obi-Wan Kenobi, a young man very sure of himself, he doesn't even see the handsome visage, the sparkly blue eyes ... sorry, I digress. Within Obi-Wan there lies a Jedi Master: loyal, honest, brave, and dedicated to peace and justice.

Anakin would probably say he saw the same, but in truth, in his arrogance, he saw someone who was better than everyone else.

But after Mustafar, everything changed. Obi-Wan saw himself as a failure. Unjustifiably so, IMO, but he accepted much blame for Anakin's downfall upon himself.

I wonder if Vader looked at himself in a mirror in the literal sense, gazing upon his ghastly scars and fueling his anger and hatred, giving himself strength in the dark side.

But if he'd looked deeper, would he have seen what he truly was, the epitome of evil, a being driven by darkness and selfishness?


Now we come to Luke.

Luke Skywalker, the Jedi's brightest star, a man whose light shines like a beacon in the blackest night, is probably the most humble and modest of all the Jedi.

But his greatest fear, the fear that haunts him throughout his life, is the fear that he will become like his father.

In the cave on Dagobah, he faces that fear, his vision like a mirror, a mirror to a future that he feared.

But he went on to Cloud City and faced his fears, only to have the fear reinforced by Vader himself. "No, I am your father."

And yet he survives, choosing to let the Force determine his fate rather than go with Vader. He will not turn to the dark side no matter what.

The next few months after that must have been a troubling time for Luke, a time filled with doubts and pain, yet he emerges stronger and more determined that ever.

He surrenders to the Imperials rather than endanger the Endor mission, and once again lets the Force determine his fate, for he will not turn, trusting that there is still good in his father.

Luke's moment of truth comes when he has Vader down, beaten, helpless. He could easily have killed him at the moment, but he stops when he sees the mechanical hand. Another mirror. This could be me, he thinks. I will NOT go there!

So then we come to this moment: He sees his father's horrendously scarred features, and he has a glimpse of the suffering that drove Vader's relentless reign of terror. And although he knows that Anakin brought it upon himself, his compassion is boundless and sees the father he never knew, the good man who he once was.

And as Anakin calls him "son" for the first time, Luke realizes that he was right, there was still good in him. And he sees that he himself is truly a good person, a true Jedi Knight.

This is the final trial of Luke Skywalker, and he passes with flying colors. His thoughts and feelings are clear, and he can go forth with a clean conscience, and the self-assurance he has earned in his journey into Jedi Knighthood.

A Jedi unlike his father before him.

I leave you with this poem, from my dearest friend Jedi Master Mina:

I am a Jedi Knight
Lost, confused and feeling weak
Struggling to battle aggressions to fight
Driven to push beyond this feat

Massive training, I will undergo
Do it trembling if I must
My Gnostic powers will continue to grow
"Master" of the Force is what I lust

Tear my flesh with such strife
Battle the dark side without delight
I bear this burden throughout my life
The hunger grows to honor this fight

Strip my courage from its place
Await safe haven for my devour
I'll stand and deliver with dignified grace
As I dive into this awesome power

Test my skill, if you may
Fatigued and battered, my spirit will lift
I will not become a wounded prey
For I call upon this special gift

Forced to reflect upon this mirror
I ponder thoughts which can't express
Passed the trails without shame or fear
Behold a Jedi Master the Force has blessed

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Master!

It's About Forgiveness

It's all about forgiveness. And you have to be ready for it.

I recently read "The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi". It's pretty good, for a kid's book. And I love Obi-Wan, so I HAD to read it.

There's a particular scene that's sticking with me: Obi-Wan, during his exile on Tatooine, comes across the remains of a Tusken camp. He suddenly realizes, with the help of the Force, that this is where Shmi Skywalker died, and that the darkness he senses is from Anakin's rampage.

He is angry with Qui-Gon, or rather Qui-Gon's ghost, for not telling him. Qui-Gon tells him that he kept it from him for the same reason he keeps the truth of Luke's father to himself. He wasn't ready.

Well, Obi-Wan is ticked off, and Qui-Gon tells him he still isn't ready, and vanishes.

How rude! Well, he was right, Obi-Wan wasn't ready. Why? He finds out after his death, at the time of Anakin's death, when he reaches out to his former Padawan and saves him from oblivion.

"Why me, Master?" Anakin asks in his contrition.

And at the moment Obi-Wan realizes that it wasn't the knowledge that he wasn't ready for, it was forgiveness. He wasn't ready to forgive Anakin until that moment.

But I wonder something. How could he forgive him? How could anyone forgive such betrayal, and the atrocities that followed? Was saving Luke enough to redeem him for everything he'd done?

Or was it as Obi-Wan answered him, "Because you ended the horror."

Well, that maybe true, but you're a better person that I am, Obi-Wan. I would have let him rot in all nine of the Corellian hells. Oh, I can let things go... go past that is, and move on, but I can hold a grudge for a long time!

Perhaps it's the Jedi way. Or perhaps it's the heart and wisdom of Obi-Wan.

Whatever it is, it's beyond my comprehension!

It's a Good Omen!

I've read a couple of Star Trek books by Christie Golden, so I was familiar with the name.

Like Karen Miller and Wild Space, I worried about Christie's first venture into the Star Wars Universe. How would she fare in our beloved GFFA?

Well, like Wild Space, I worried for nothing. Ms. Golden has breathed life into an EU that, for me at least, had been growing a little stale.


Fate of the Jedi: Omen is a great read, and a wonderful follow-up to Aaron Allston's Fate of the Jedi: Outcast.


It's entertaining, and it moves along at a fair pace, giving us a few teases about things to come in future volumes.

No details or spoilers in this review, just my advice to READ THE BOOK! But be sure you've read Outcast first.

I can hardly wait for the next volume when Troy Denning chimes in with Abyss. If it's anything like the first two volumes, and why wouldn't it be, this looks to be a very entertaining series!

So, what are you waiting for? Read it!

Champion of Remembrance Day

Well, it's Remembrance Day, or Empire Day for you dark side folks, in Star Wars Galaxies.

I am geeking out over the Rebellion Ceremony. In the background, "Battle of the Heroes" starts to play as the Millennium Falcon comes in to land on the outskirts of Coronet City.




Princess Leia appears, followed by Han and Chewie. She makes her way to the plaza where the gigantic fountain statue of Yoda sits.







Every quarter hour she picks three rebels to bestow the "Champion of Remembrance Day" title on. Very exciting.

She's wearing a purple dress though, that's just not right, she should be in white!

As she leaves the plaza, there are flyovers and fireworks. One player followed her all the way to the Falcon saying, "Wait, I love you!"

She didn't say, "I know..."

Wedge Antilles is there, with his X-Wing. Luke Skywalker is the poster boy for the Rebellion.




Over on the Imperial Side, Darth Vader makes a grand entrance in front of Theed Palace. Of course, he's famous for making grand entrances anyway. The huge statue of the Emperor tells me I am NOT eligible for "Champion of Empire Day" recognition. I should hope not! I have my standards.


Imperial music plays, a crowd gathers. Stormtroopers, Red Guards, Galactic Marines line the plaza. The event organizer tells me "move along scum"!

Then "The Imperial March" plays and a shuttle arrives. Vader gets off and comes to the statue. I slap him. And he Force chokes me into incapacitation! ROFL


Back on Corellia, I am finally chosen as "Champion of Remembrance Day" YAY

Well, it's just special event, and I'm loving the atmosphere. WOO HOO!

Someday I Will Be the Most Powerful Jedi Ever!

The powers that be on the OS have booted this entry as being Fan Fiction! WTF? This was from Star Wars Galaxies, an online video game fully licensed by LFL and written by professionals! Dark Moose is being his usual vindictive self... But it's worth a read!

BY: Viridian Saber


It was a raid, the type of raid you do a million times and never even think twice about it. We enter the base, status set to "on leave" to avoid any Imperial entanglements, slip into the room bearing our target, have enough time for half a breath and blast him to oblivion. Then we run as fast as our virtual legs can carry us, destroying and claiming everything in our wake.

It was just a raid, the type that any self-named connoisseur of the maddeningly addictive Galaxies becomes instantly and all-too familiar with.

But to me, it was more than that.

In a few short days that seemed to have spanned an eternity, I moved from nothingness to a considerable -- but still so far away -- level 24, with much help from the mayhem-wrecking Jedi Master Gidrea Lightsky. Needless to say, Gidrea is much more skilled than I am, being a level 90, but I know that won't last very long.

When I heard that Gidrea was assembling a strike team of our guild-mates -- all accomplished level 90 vets -- I jumped on this opportunity to see how the pros do it. They let me tag along, as long as I stayed out of the way. Like I could actually do anything to hinder them. Besides, I might pick up some cool loot along the way.

The four and a half of us (I was the half) made our way to the base, never pausing once until we reached the room bearing our target. General Otto was his name, a stupid but ruthless Imperial stationed on our home planet of Lok. I didn't have any of his background info at the time, but I didn't need it. He looked mean enough to scare the pants off a gundark. Or a bantha.

Confronted with his ugly hide, we paused the tension almost palpable. After backing myself into a corner where I could be inconspicuous but still have a good view of the fight, I grabbed my headphones and shoved them into the jack, unwilling to miss any part of the battle ahead.

Finally, when the apprehension began to grow unbearable, one of our boys said "On three."

I grinned in anticipation.

1

To my immediate right, a green-armored figure's blaster carbine whirred in ravenous expectation.

2

With a slight flush of embarrassment, I realized that I had forgot to turn my speakers on. Eyes trained on the screen, I turned the dial slowly.

3

The room erupted in a massive kaleidoscope of sound and movement: a lightsaber flaring to life, a blaster belching blue flame at our hapless General, our team vying for the perfect shot that would bring this dirty Imp down.

He went down fast. After a slight pause to catch our metaphorical breath and decide on our next move, we rushed out into the base, raining bloody terror upon the Imperials.

It was a bad day for the Empire, but a heck of a day for us.

And I got another glimpse of how the pros cut 'em down to size. Hooked on Galaxies? Me?

Never!

Like Obi-Wan Before Me...

I can get mean in a Cantina. Stormtroopers? Here? Can't a Jedi get a drink in peace while waiting for her Padawan?

While Snips went off into the backroom to meet her contact, I sidled up to the bar for an Eyeblaster.

Suddenly from behind came the sound of blaster fire! Two kriffin’ stormtroopers had followed us into the bar. The nerve of them.

Those guys hate me, especially the ones in Theed. Can’t say I think much of them, either. So with “Battle of the Heroes” echoing in my head, I took care of the problem.


As you see, Obi-Wan is my inspiration, though I don't stop with severing arms. All or nothing, do or die. Death to the Empire!


LMAO

Gidrea Lightsky Has Looted a Lucky Trinket from the Corpse of a Stormtrooper

Well, just how lucky could it be? It sure didn't help the stormtrooper!

So, V.S. and I have been playing "Galaxies" together the last few nights... kill and autoloot the bodies, as she likes to say.

But some of the loot just cracks me up. Like the lucky trinket, or the charmed artifact. Didn't work too well, did they? Or the "ambush detector"! Two Jedi sneaking into a bunker and killing everyone inside certainly constitutes an ambush in my book.

Or the shattered crystal shard fragment I got off a stormtrooper. Just where in the hell was he carrying that thing, inside his armor? No wonder they're so irritable that they keep shooting at me...

On Mustafar the things you loot are sometimes glowing. Like a dimly glowing sphere of water, or a barely glowing recording rod. I think the faintly glowing patch of hair is the creepiest.

But the weirdest thing I ever got was a pair of shorts from a Bantha. I know it's hot on Tatooine, but still...

I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm Your Density

I'm not sure I believe in Destiny, sometimes I think it's a lot of bunk! Other times, I'm not so sure. But for the sake of storytelling, I think destiny lends an extra layer.

I vaguely remember a blog entry here that compared Anakin Skywalker to Sir Lancelot. My aunt loves the Arthurian Legends, so I asked her about it. She tells me that Lancelot was in love with Guinivere, the Queen, but refuses to betray the trust of King Arthur and instead exiles himself into the forest until wounds, his heartbreak, can heal.

Sir Lancelot made the right choice, for the good of many instead of just himself.

So, what if Anakin had walked away from Padme, instead of violating the Jedi Code, and the trust of his best friend, and his comrades. Would he still have fallen to the dark side? Or would he have gone on to become a great Jedi Knight?

Or, what if he'd left the Jedi Order when he married her? I wonder if they would have lived happily ever after. Considering his upbringing in slavery, would he have provided a happy life for his children, never wanting them to suffer as he had?

Galactic history would certainly have been different, but would it have been better?

I'm sure Sidious have found a new apprentice to terrorize the galaxy, but Vader came with his own set of baggage that fueled his hatred of all things good. A Sith relies on strong emotion for his strength, and all that rage and anger made Vader a very powerful Sith.


Then there was Mustafar. Obi-Wan Kenobi does the right thing when he leaves Vader's fate to the will of the Force, but what if he'd gone back and made sure he was dead?


Luke believes he's doing the right thing when he leaves Dagobah to save Han and Leia, and surrenders to Vader at Endor rather than endanger his friends and their mission. He does the right thing.

Why is Luke strong where Anakin was weak?


The Jedi raised neither of them, and they both had fear and anger. Anakin lost his mother, Luke loses his family, but how could one turn out so right where the other turned so wrong? Was it their destinies? Is that Destiny with a capital "D"?

Palpatine tells Luke his destiny is to kill his father, but he chooses to die rather than turn to the dark side. I guess he doesn't believe in Destiny!

Ordinary people don't think about their destinies, and neither did Luke Skywalker. He just went about his life doing the best he could! And he always seemed to do the right thing.

Looking Back to the Future of Star Wars

Here's an interesting article I found online. It discusses the PT before the PT existed!

I found it to be an interesting take on the possibilities that were out there before George finally put his pencil to paper.

I know it's a long essay, but you could skip ahead to the synopsis of the Prequels that never happened!

LOOKING BACK TO THE FUTURE OF STAR WARS

By John L. Flynn

"A Long Time Ago... In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...."

Even now, some seventeen years later, those words still strike such an emotional response of awe and wonder in the hearts of audiences worldwide. Without doubt, the most popular space age adventure of all time, the "Star Wars" trilogy mesmerized filmgoers with the exploits of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader, and delighted both young and old alike with the antics of See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo.

Few film series have enjoyed such success, or have had such an impact on the popular culture of an entire generation. And now, the word for which hundreds of millions of fans have been waiting comes that there will be more adventures. Late last year, George Lucas announced plans to produce not only another installment in the Indiana Jones films but also the first three motion pictures in the "Star Wars" saga.

By utilizing the refined digital-image "compositing" technology (first introduced by Industrial Light and Magic in "The Abyss," later showcased in "Terminator Two" and perfected in "Jurassic Park"), Lucas hopes to complete his three prequels between 1995 and 2001. The first trilogy, set some twenty years before the action in "Star Wars," has remained both a mystery and the subject of rumor and baseless speculation for over ten years.

George Lucas himself has kept purposely tight-lipped for fear that some movie-of-the week might "borrow" key elements and upstage his project. However, by looking back at the original films, their novelizations and early drafts, tantalizing clues do reveal the future of his sprawling space saga. "I wanted to make a kid's film that would strengthen contemporary mythology and introduce a kind of basic morality," Lucas explained his vision in 1983. "Nobody was saying the very basic things; they were dealing in the abstract. Everybody was forgetting to tell the kids, 'Hey, this right and this is wrong.'"

While in pre-production of "Star Wars," Lucas wrote dozens of scripts and story treatments. Each were unique in some way, and featured a different perspective of the space fantasy. One of the earliest scripts dealt with Luke's father and his relationship to Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi.

Fearing that the story would bore modern audiences because it focused more on character development than action, George discarded the treatment in favor of another story, which eventually became "Star Wars." But he never abandoned its precepts.

The earlier material became the back story upon which "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" would turn. Lucas also knew he had enough raw material to make several other motion pictures, and envisioned a saga which would take place over a sixty-year period.

He has always maintained that the narrative link between the films (and trilogies) would be his two lovable 'droids, Artoo-Detoo and See-Threepio, and that each trilogy would be a complete work unto itself. Those guiding principles and the presuppositions drawn from the earlier films have made certain details about the first trilogy somewhat immutable.

By the same token, Lucas's decision to structure his middle trilogy like a classic work of Greek tragedy suggests that the first trilogy might also have the same dramatic structure. "Star Wars," like the first act of a Greek play, provides exposition for the major characters, introduces central conflict (which will later be resolved) and ends triumphantly. "The Empire Strikes Back," like the second act, begins "en medias res" (in the middle of the action), provides a somewhat darker vision of the central conflict and ends with many issues left unresolved.

"Return of the Jedi," the third and final act, resolves all of the conflicts, ties up the loose ends in the denouement and offers some form of redemption or hope. Perhaps "The Clone Wars," "The Seduction of Darth Vader" and "Fall of the Republic" represent acts one, two and three (respectively) in his new drama.

Central to this analogy is also a tragic figure whose "hamartia" (error, transgression or weakness of character) has caused him to fall from grace. Darth Vader, the evil Dark Lord of the Sith, is clearly this tragic figure. When he first appears in "Star Wars," he is a most reprehensible character, capable of any abomination.

But, by the end of the third film, Vader is portrayed sympathetically as a pitiful old man who has made one too many mistakes in his life. He also emerges as the true hero who, by destroying the Emperor, saves not only Luke but also the Rebel Alliance.

Clearly then, his struggles as a younger man (Anakin Skywalker) with Obi-wan Kenobi and the Emperor are central to this tale of fall and redemption, and must form the basis of the first trilogy.

Similarly, George's fondness for the work of classicist Joseph Campbell (in particular, The Hero With a Thousand Faces) reveals a common narrative thread that runs through the stories of both Luke Skywalker and his father Anakin.

Campbell wrote that heroes in every culture share a common journey that begins with a Separation from home, family and familiar surroundings in what he terms the "call to adventure." [Some heroes refuse the call, but are later forced by circumstances to take the journey anyway.]

And while everyone knows that "a Jedi craves not these things," these heroic figures are often called upon to undertake a dangerous journey or unknown risk. Their journey into the heart of darkness leads to an Initiation, in which they gain valuable insight about the nature of the universe and themselves from an older mentor.

That insight helps them deal with a confrontation with the dark father, wounding, and often dismemberment. Heroes who survive the ordeal are awarded great treasure (in either a physical or spiritual sense), and Return with their treasure to empower or control other men. "The Adventures of Luke Skywalker" clearly follow this path.

Whereas audiences are aware of the final disposition of Darth Vader by the close of "Return of the Jedi," Anakin Skywalker's journey as a tragic hero begins nearly twenty years earlier in "The Clone Wars"...

THE CLONE WARS
Episode One: "The Clone Wars."

"For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic . . ." Having completed his training as a Jedi Knight, under the tutelage of Jedi Master Yoda, young Obi-wan Kenobi faces his first test as a warrior in the Clone Wars. Audiences know this for a fact because Ben has told Luke that he once "fought in the Clone Wars," and that he (like Luke) was a "reckless" pupil under Yoda.

Leia, in her holographic message, confirms Obi-wan's story: "General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars." Ben evidentally rises quickly in the service of her father Bail Organa, Viceroy and 1st Chairman of the Alderaan system, and is awarded the rank of general before he is thirty-five or forty. His rank also includes the command of young warriors anxious to become Jedi Knights.

In one of the earliest drafts of the screenplay for "Star Wars," Lucas introduced a general who commanded a group of young boys (aged fifteen to eighteen). Although first reluctant to accept the task, the general instructs the boys to fly one-man "devil-fighters" against superior enemy forces. Kenobi admits to Luke that Darth Vader was "one of my brightest disciples . . . one of my greatest failures," so it is possible that Obi-wan first meets Anakin Skywalker while he is training the others.

Perhaps Anakin is, as Luke has been told by Owen Lars, merely "a navigator on a spice freighter," and only later becomes "the best star-pilot in the galaxy, and a cunnin warrior." Ben's decision to train the edler Skywalker would haunt him many years later; but in his younger, more reckless days, the prospect of instructing a young Jedi must have seemed very tempting. Anakin heeds the call to adventure, and follows "Obi-wan on some damned-fool idealistic crusade." That crusade undoubtably concerns eliminating the threat to peace in the Republic caused by the Clone Wars.

Meanwhile, in "the bright center of the galaxy," on the capitol city-planet Aguilae, the young, ambitious Senator Palpatine promises "to reunite the disaffected among the people and to restore the remembered glory of the Republic."

He plans to use the current crisis, notably the Clone Wars, to be elected President of the Republic. But some members of the High Council, which governs the Republic, are dubious of Palpatine's claims, and seek to block his election. These senators include Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and others (who will eventually form the Rebel Alliance).

Numbered among these professional diplomats is likely to be the future wife of Anakin Skywalker and the mother of Luke and Leia, call her Lady Arkady (or Arcadia, since Lucas has a tendency to pair couples or siblings with the same vowel or consonant).

While this notion is purely speculative, it is founded on one or two facts. Luke and Leia are noble-born, and Leia is taken "to live as the daughter of Senator Organa, on Alderaan" by her mother. Clearly, a relationship, professional or otherwise, exists between her and Bail. Both See-Threepio, who was programmed as a protocol 'droid, and Artoo-Detoo probably make their first appearance in the series as two robotic, bumbling bureaucrats because George originally envisioned them that way. Their adventures just begin as they leave Aguilae in the company of Bail Organa, Lady Arkady, and the others.

When Palpatine is narrowly defeated for the Presidency (as was an ambitious young Richard Nixon, upon whom the senator is modeled), he abandons all conventional means, and seizes power "through subterfuge, bribery an terror."

His first threacherous act is to order to destruction of Organa's party as they return to Alderaan, with specific instructions to make their deaths appear the result of an enemy raid. "Aided and abetted by restless, power-hungry individuals within the government, and the massive organs of commerce," he later succeeds in his goal to be elected President of the Republic.

So, it is clear that Palpatine controls (or influences through his powers as an evil sorcerer) many Council representatives and numerous guilds (possibly the spacing and mining guilds) within the Republic. His inevitable emergence as Emperor and the dissolution of the High Council are well- documented in the novelization, Star Wars.

On the other hand, the central conflict of the Clone Wars remains a mystery. Few details surface in the books, and even fewer details are revealed in the three films or the earlier drafts of the screenplay. Since Owen Lars deems the wars as "some damned-fool idealistic crusade" (as paraphrased by Ben Kenobi), the struggle must be one of conscience rather than clearly defined lines of a political or military objective.

Thus, when Kenobi and his young apprentice Anakin leave (on instructions from Bail Organa), they are undertaking a holy quest. Their crusade is defined only in terms of good and evil. And since a clone is a genetic duplicate grown from human cells, the Jedi Knights are either struggling to preserve that technology or prevent it from being perverted by others (possibly Senator Palpatine) into some terrible weapon.

Obi-wan (O.B.-one) might even be some sort of clone designation, identifying the first clone of a man with the initials O.B.14--a designation that Kenobi has long since replaced with the name "Ben." Perhaps, as the Jedi Knights grew fewer in number (through sickness, disease or other natural causes), scientists in the Old Republic were forced to clone their warriors.

When news and valuable information about that technology first surfaced, other groups (with sinister motives) may have sought out those scientists to increase their own numbers. The Clone Wars may be nothing more than a struggle to control that powerful secret. And in the end, fearing that the technology might once again be used for evil, the secret of cloning is forever destroyed by the Jedi.

The first film is climaxed with the rescue of Viceroy Bail Organa and his party by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and the destruction of those evil forces which have threatened the peace of the Republic. One clue to the identity of those evil forces lies in the novelization of The Empire Strikes Back by Donald Glut.

When Boba Fett is first introduced in the novel, he is described as wearing "a weapon-covered, armored spacesuit, the kind worn by a group of evil warriors defeated by the Jedi Knights during the Clone Wars."

Perhaps, like "Star Wars," this prequel ends with a dramatic space battle and the triumphant return of its victors. President-elect Palpatine reluctantly rewards Kenobi and his young apprentice with medals, and Anakin Skywalker finds favor with both Lady Arkady and the former senator.

"The Clone Wars," like the first act of a much longer work, provides exposition for the major characters (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-wan Kenobi, Lady Arkady, Bail Organa and Senator Palpatine), introduces two important conflicts (one, dealing with the Clone Wars, which finds resolution, and the other, concerning the future of the Republic, which awaits resolution) and ends triumphantly.

Issues such as Palpatine's political machinations, Kenobi's fallibility as a teacher, and the budding romance between Anakin and Arkady remain purposely unresolved until the next film. Central to the unfolding drama is the reckless, young protagonist whose noble soul and innocent nature will be tested by extraordinary circumstances. Separated from his friends and family, Anakin faces Initiation, his first real test as a hero.

THE SEDUCTION OF DARTH VADER
Episode Two: "The Seduction of Darth Vader."

"Once, under the wise rule of the Senate and the protection of the Jedi Knights, the Republic throve and grew. But as often happens when wealth and power pass beyond the admirable and attain the awesome, then appear those evil ones who had greed to match . . ." Some time has passed since victory brought an end to the Clone Wars, but in that time boredom and complacency have exacted a terrible toll on the Old Republic.

Corruption, bribery and terror have reduced the High Council to all but a devoted few, including Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, while a massive bureaucracy, too large and not very effective, maintains control over the various star systems. Even the one-great Jedi Knights have been supplanted by Palpatine's own Sith Lords and their elite guard. "Like the greatest of trees, the Republic rotted from within though the danger was not visible from outside," Lucas reveals.

The portrait that George Lucas paints of the Republic under Palpatine is not a favorable one, and its dark decline casts an even darker shadow on the lives of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi. Typically, the second act in a Greek drama begins "en medias res" (in the middle of the action) and provides a somewhat darker vision of the central conflict with many issues left unresolved at the close.

This middle story also represents the climax, or turning point, in Anakin Skywalker's life. Like all great mythological and literary heroes, he faces his first real test under fire as a warrior. Joseph Campbell refers to this stage metaphorically as "the belly of the whale," and suggests that, like Jonah, the test of a true hero is one of courage. He further concludes that only by shrugging off fear, anger and aggression (what Yoda deems "the dark side of the Force are they") does a hero survive to the next level.

Not adequately prepared (by Obi-wan) to face this trial (no doubt orchestrated by Palpatine), Anakin apparently succumbs to his fears, and calls upon the quick and easy allies of anger and aggression to see him through. On Dagobah, Yoda warns Luke not to embrace these emotions: "If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-wan's apprentice."

Ben Kenobi later reveals Luke's "father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed." While little is actually known about Anakin's courtship and marriage to Lady Arcady, their eventual union produces Luke and Leia. Impatient, reckless and disappointed in his own failures, Anakin leaves his wife and friends to pursue a new course of study under Palpatine--long before his wife's pregnancy is revealed.

Twenty years later, Kenobi explains to Luke that "when your father left, he didn't know your mother was pregnant. Your mother and I knew he would find out eventually, but we wanted to keep you both as safe as possible." Obi-wan, a trusted friend and confidant, agrees to kept her secret safe, and much later helps her hide the children. "To protect you both from the Emperor, you were hidden from your father when you were born," Ben continues his tragic tale to Luke. "I took you to live with my brother Owen on Tatooine . . . and your mother took Leia to live as the daughter of Senator Organa, on Alderaan."

The actual events (of the birth and relocation of Luke and Leia) will probably occur in the third film, but the plan itself (like a page torn from Mallory's L'morte de Arthur) takes seed here in the sacred trust between the knight-errant protector (Obi-wan) and his good friend's wife.

Since Skywalker is such a "powerful Jedi" (according to Yoda), his youth and inexperience are not so easily exploited by Palpatine. But promises of wealth, position and power from the evil sorcerer help gradually turn Anakin to the dark side. A rift eventually forms between Kenobi and his former apprentice, and Obi-wan is forced to take action. "When I saw what had become of him, I tried to dissuade him, to draw him back from the dark side. We fought . . . your father fell into a molten pit," Ben tells Luke in Jedi.

Their climatic struggle over the "molten pit" probably ends the second film, leaving (in typical cliffhanger form) the final disposition of Anakin in question. "When your father clawed his way out of that fiery pool, the change had been burned into him forever--he was Darth Vader. . .Irredeemably dark. Scarred. Kept alive only by machinery and his own black will."

Audiences already know his fate, that he survived the pit, but to Kenobi and the others, his death appears certain. When Obi-wan retrieves Anakin's light sabre (which he will one day give to Luke) from their private battlefield, he bids farewell to a good friend. Unbeknownst to Kenobi, below him in the fiery pool of death, a scarred hand reaches up for life. Anakin Skywalker may well be dead, but Darth Vader lives . . .

This deadly struggle between Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker may well form the central conflict in the middle film, but its background story must be equally compelling. Like Indiana Jones's search for the "Lost Ark" or his last crusade to find the "Holy Grail," much of the action in this character-driven story could be centered around a quest for some great energy source.

In George Lucas's second screenplay for "Star Wars," completed in January 1975, the primary focus of General Skywalker, Luke Starkiller and Darth Vader was the possession of a Kiber Crystal. [The Kaiburr Crystal was a powerful energy source which gave the owner "such powers over the Force that he would be all but invincible."] Since Lucas rarely discards ideas, the inclusion of a "maguffin" which drives the story seems logical.

Obsessed with possessing the powerful red crystal, Palpatine has dispatched his Sith Lords (including Anakin Skywalker) throughout the galaxy in an effort to find the mythical gem. Anakin's discovery of the gem might also fuel the growing tension between he and Obi-wan Kenobi. But like Skywalker's final disposition, resolution about the back story could also wait until the third film.

FALL OF THE REPUBLIC
Episode Three: "Fall of the Republic."

"Once secure in office he declared himself Emperor, shutting himself away from the populace. Soon he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he had appointed to high office . . ." The implication of George Lucas's words from the novelization of Star Wars suggests that Palpatine himself faces a struggle with his own forces to maintain control of the galaxy.

By this third film, the fall of the Republic is imminent, and chaos and anarchy are at hand unless the Emperor can demonstrate the awesome power of the Dark side. Possession of some great power source, like the Kiber Crystal, is one way; the other is to commit some outrageous abomination that will strike fear and terror into the hearts of those who seek to control him. He chooses to do both.

The Emperor's first action is the resurrection of Anakin Skywalker as Darth Vader. Through a montage of scenes, the scarred and corpse-like features of the one-great Jedi are covered by a "bizarre black metal breath screen," black robes, a flowing black cape, and "black armor--armor which, though black it was, was not nearly as dark as the thoughts drifting through the mind within."

Perhaps, his fellow Sith lords assist him by calling upon the power of the Crystal, or perhaps, Palpatine is alone responsible for his rebirth. In either event, Darth Vader emerges as the ultimate weapon of the Emperor, "more machine now than man. Twisted and evil." One he is fully restored and operational, the Dark Lord helps the Emperor "hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights."

"Having exterminated through treachery and deception the guardians of justice in the galaxy, the Imperial governors and bureaucrats prepared to institute a reign of terror among the disheartened worlds of the galaxy." Palpatine's plan to terrorize the numerous star systems has only just begun.

Meanwhile, Obi-wan has managed to escape the slaughter by returning to Dagobah to confess his failure to adequately train Anakin Skywalker with Yoda. Audiences already know how well-informed and knowledgeable the Jedi Master is, and while he may possess an amptitude for mind-reading and clairvoyance, it is somewhat logical to assume that Kenobi would seek out his council.

"Most important lesson have you learned! Now a great burden you carry," Yoda responds to the Jedi's self pity. When news of the Emperor's outrageous abomination reaches them on Dagobah, they have but one goal in mind: the rescue of Lady Arcady and her two children. Revenge is simply not a proper emotion for Jedi Knights, and no matter how tempting the destruction of Vader and Palpatine may be, Yoda and Obi-wan must transcend their anger to look at the whole picture.

Luke and Leia represent the future of the galaxy, and their safety must be paramount. "The Emperor knew, as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him," Ben explains to Luke.

Slipping through the Emperor's hostile defenses, Kenobi manages to rescue Skywalker's family. Leia and her mother then go to live on Alderaan, in the safety of Bail Organa's family, while Obi-wan delivers Luke to his brother Owen Lars, possibly stopping first on Dagobah to bid Yoda farewell. (When he arrives on Dagobah, Luke tells Artoo- Detoo "there's something familiar about this place," suggesting that he has some childhood memory buried deep in his subconscious.)

Kenobi then settles on Tatooine, not far from his brother's moisture farm, changes his name (to Ben) and awaits the day when the young Luke will heed his own call to adventure. The film ends on a hopeful note. Even though the Republic has fallen to a greedy and corrupt politician and his sinister forces, a new Republic will someday emerge from the ashes of the old.

The story of Anakin Skywalker comes full circle by the close of the third film. In fact, when Darth Vader first encounters Obi-wan Kenobi in "Star Wars," he says: "The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."

But though his journey as a hero, from separation (as an innocent) to initiation (as a warrior), is seemingly complete, Anakin's character still awaits redemption and return. His wounding and dismemberment (in the molten pit) at the hands of Obi-wan Kenobi provide only a temporary resolution.

When Anakin emerges as the Dark Lord of the Sith, he taken the wrong treasure. He has embraced the power of evil, as possibly amplified by the Kiber Crystal. And as often befalls a tragic hero, who has taken the wrong treasure, he is punished for his actions. Only much later does Vader learn the real treasure (to be won) is the inner courage that his son demonstrates before the Emperor. For it is that singular act of courage which redeems him, and gives him the strength to destroy Palpatine.

Not too long from now . . . in a neighborhood theatre not that far away, most of the questions that have been raised by the first three films, their novelizations and this article will find resolution in George Lucas's next epic trilogy.

The same space saga, which once mesmerized audiences with the exploits of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo will again delight a whole new generation of fans with the future adventures of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi. Few film series in the history of motion pictures have enjoyed such success, or generated such devoted enthusiasm.

And now, as preparations get under way on a brand new trilogy, hundreds of millions of fans will begin that final countdown to opening day in 1998 or 2001. May the Force be with us all until then.

I Happen to Like Nice Men

In reading around the internet, I've come across a few references to Anakin and Padme's romance as being a little creepy.

I'm not sure I'd use "creepy" as the right word, but it was definitely "off".

I can't for the life of me figure out what she saw in him. Sure, he was cute in a beach-boy sort of way, Michelle68 can appreciate that, and flirtatious and she probably liked the attention he paid to her. She was smart enough to see that he was hot for her.

But in many other ways she was not so smart. He was younger than her, and way more immature, in spite of being a Jedi he was petty and jealous, not to mention selfish.

And after his temper tantrum in the garage on Tatooine, and the admission that he'd killed all the Tuskens, the thought of "run, Padme, run" as Master Mina would say comes to mind.

I know some girls like bad boys, but "I happen to like nice men".

I suppose she might have felt motherly towards him. Now that is creepy. And he seems to like her attentions, since he has to run to her and be placated whenever he's upset, which seems to be all the time in ROTS.

George, I love you dearly, but you took the greatest villain of all time, or as Ewan says "everyone's favorite baddie" and turned him into a wimp.

I guess you wanted us to feel sorry for him, but you over did it! I would much have preferred a grown up, mature, heroic man. It would have made his fall all that much more tragic.

Instead I wanted to slap him and tell him to act like a Jedi, or at least like a man.

But then, I happen to like nice men!

Return of the Jedi - Redemption of a Another

"I was once a Jedi Knight...."

Yes, Obi-Wan, you were a Jedi Knight, and even then, at that moment in your hut out beyond the Dune Sea, you were still a Jedi Knight.

A long time before that fateful day, you gave your dying Master your word that you would train Anakin. Why? Was it a decision based on emotion? If you'd had time to think it through would you have suggested that an older, more experienced Jedi take on the young Padawan? Oh, I hope you would have!

Ah, Obi-Wan. My favorite OR Jedi.

I don't fault him for his promise, for he is a good man, a caring man, and he loved Qui-Gon like a father. I can't see him refusing.

And so Anakin was trained, and his exceptional talents blossomed, but so did his arrogance. Perhaps an older, more experienced Master could have curbed that arrogance a little! But Obi-Wan did his best; I have no doubt of that, since he is a man of his word.

But many years later Obi-Wan finds himself face to face with the future of the Jedi: Luke Skywalker. (my favorite NR Jedi) A young man who, although stronger with the Force than his father had been, had some important qualities that Anakin lacked. Like humility.

Obi-Wan had promised Yoda he would watch over Luke, and I suppose he did as best he could in spite of Uncle Owen. But here was his chance to start Luke down the Jedi Path.

How could he not see Luke as the salvation of the Jedi? And with that, the redemption of himself. I don't want to lose you the way I lost Vader. Even then he still feels responsible.

In "Labyrinth of Evil" Obi-Wan feels his destiny is to protect Anakin so he'll live long enough to fulfill his destiny. By the time ANH rolls around, he knows that Anakin's destiny is really Luke's destiny, for Anakin is lost to the dark side, more machine now than man, twisted and evil.

I have no doubt that a stirring in the Force pulled him out of his hut and into the Jundland wastes that fateful morning. And there his redemption begins.

Obi-Wan's death scene is certainly one of the most quietly powerful death scenes ever filmed. He looks over at Luke, the boy he is protecting, the Future of the Jedi, and then closes his eyes and gives himself up to the Force, to protect the future.

I often wonder if he believed death would relieve his torment, and bring him peace from his guilt over Anakin. But his words to him, If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine, seem to show that he knew he'd not be free of existence permanently.

But perhaps he thought he'd still find peace in being one with the Force. After all, he had Qui-Gon's teachings to carry on across to the ethereal side of the Force.

I like to think that he was alongside Luke during his time with the Rebellion. A "behind the scenes" mentor like we got a glimpse of in "Allegiance". Doing his duty, even after death.

And where ROTJ may have been the return of Anakin to the light, it was also the redemption of Obi-Wan.

Ten Years of Rumpled Jedi

TPM is ten years old. Who would have thought it!

I wasn't very impressed with this movie over all the first time I saw it. I say "over all" because there were a few things that impressed me. Like Jedi. Rumpled Jedi.

First off I noticed Qui-Gon. "Wow, he's handsome!" Then I noticed Obi-Wan. "OMG, he's adorable!"

Then they whipped out the lightsabers. OMG, I was in love. Jedi. Yes, I'm a Jedi Junkie. I admit it. I love those guys. The calmness, the inner peace, the strength, the Force, everything that I don't have.

Coruscant was awesome, Naboo was beautiful, Tatooine was miserable looking. Why was Shmi wearing such heavy clothing?

Anakin was cute for a kid, but obnoxious. The pod race was boring. Jar-Jar was just.... Well, he was Jar-Jar. If they'd dropped him off the waterfall in Theed right after they went through the core, things would have gone much smoother.

I looooved the lightsaber duel. "We'll handle this," Qui-Gon says. And Obi-Wan shrugs off his cloak and ignites his lightsaber with that calm, determined look on his face.

I think the most powerful scene was at Qui-Gon's memorial, when Mace says "Which was destroyed, the master or the apprentice?" and the camera zooms in on Palpatine's face. Prequel moment! I loved it.

Speaking of prequels, I finally saw "Star Trek" yesterday; woo hoo, what a ride! But it makes me wish there were more Star Wars movies in my future. Sigh

A Clog, a Blog and a Dog Walk into a Cantina

Blog, I know, it's "Web Log", but it's still a silly, made-up word. I suppose it could have been an E-Log, or a Wlog. We have Webzines and E-books, after all.

Most blogs are not really logs anyway. Some are just updates. Shouldn't they be called "blupdates"? And some are poems, so they'd be "boems", which sounds an awful lot like "bombs" which is what any poem I wrote would be.

Then there's the essay, which most blogs really are. Should we call them "bessays"? Or "wessays"? Or better yet, "w'bessays".

A lot of blogs are just plain old whining. I'd call those "binings"!

Oh no, it's a whole new language. I blame starwars.com.

LMAO

Wow, I crack myself up.

The Cloak of Kenobi

The Jedi Master Cloak was looted from the corpse of a bad guy on Mustafar. A droid, actually, or perhaps a cyborg, but a baddie nonetheless.

I was given the item by my guildmates, and wear it proudly, and I'm intrigued by it's descrption:

A cloak once owned by a Jedi Master. Somehow this item has not decayed over the period of time since it was last worn.

Sewn on the inside you can make out the phrase: There is no death, there is the Force.

We all saw Obi-Wan drop his cloak on the landing pad on Mustafar. I just assumed that C-3PO, being the fussbudget that he is, picked it up and took it inside Padme's ship. But what if he didn't?

What if some scary droid came along and took it away, hiding it for 20 years, only to lose it in a battle with my fellow rebels?

Ingame, Mustafar is haunted by Obi-Wan. He watches the mining the facility and gives the miners who see him a sense of peace. He also guides those on a quest into choosing good or evil.

But my cloak gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling I can only get from Obi-Wan.

Thank you, Master. And may the Force be with you.

It's a Hard Life, My Brothers

One of the great features of "Star Wars Galaxies" is the Guild. It's a great way to always have friends on hand to play with since many of the adventures cannot be done individually. A guild has it's own private chat channel, too, so it's easy to have get-togethers.

And we trade collection items and give free buffs and save loot. And we're just brimming with free advice!

I was ready to quit playing because of computer problems, but two of the guys convinced me to call Dell Customer Support and they fixed my laptop so I can keep playing! Woot!

Two of the hot pilots taught me to fly so I'm not afraid of space missions anymore.

So, last Saturday night my guild mates decided to run the Death Watch Bunker, and invited me along. "Let the Jedi take point," the leader said, and I followed "D", a more experienced player, along and attacked whatever he attacked.

All went well for a while, it was great fun, killing battle droids and Death Watch guards, although it's a good thing there's no friendly fire, because all of us letting loose in a tight hallway would certainly have created some. One guy had a flamethrower... lol

We reached the mine level without losing anyone, but halfway through the mine "D" went around a stone pillar to entice a super battle droid out of hiding.... And I charged ahead, around the pillar and found FOUR super battle druids, and they all attacked at once! To sum up, everyone in the group was killed, and it was all my fault!

Were they mad? Well, I think "astonished" would be a better description. "D" kept saying, "She just ran over there!!!!" But they other guys were laughing. "Sorry," I said sheepishly.

Our Medic was dead, so we all had to clone. But we went back and finished the mission, with me staying safely behind "D" the rest of the time.

So... on Sunday night they went off on a mission that I couldn't go on (I hadn't done the quest yet) and they came back with a Jedi Master Cloak for me!

For the good of the guild, of course, it allows me to wear my statted clothing, that another guild mate made for me, and be a better fighter.

But I think they like me.

LOL

I WAS WRONG!

I didn't think I'd like this book! Minor spoilers for Outcast

I didn't think I'd like "Fate of the Jedi: Outcast."

The whole idea of Luke as some sort of criminal, sent packing from the Jedi Temple in disgrace really rubbed me the wrong way. And the whole idea that there IS a fate for the Jedi disturbs me.

The Jedi are the heroes of Star Wars. (If you don't like them, don't bother commenting, since you have your head somewhere the sun doesn't shine.) If they're going to be destroyed or even diminished, I'm not interested in reading about it. Don't go there, George!

Anyway, I needed something to read, something Star Wars, and "Outcast" was on sale. Pre-release price. And it's by Aaron Allston (X-Wing Series) who's one of my more favorite authors and a nice guy, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Much to my pleasant surprise, it was really enjoyable. Yes, Luke is outcast, kicked off Coruscant for ten years, but he's not fazed by it. His son Ben goes with him, and they are so great together.

Exclamations of surprise and disapproval filled the room then. Ben kept his face impassive, but inwardly he was smiling. Much as he liked causing trouble from time to time, it was just as much fun watching his father do it.

The book is peppered with snarky exchanges between the two of them and their enemies.

Luke is the patient Jedi Master throughout. Most impressive.

"I would stand no chance in combat with the true Luke Skywalker."

Luke smiled outright. "Or any sufficiently well-trained impostor."

"That is not a given. Regardless, were you to defeat me, I would acknowledge that your claim to be Luke Skywalker was possibly true."

Luke nodded. "A useful solution. But impractical."

"Why?"

"Because you are not worthy to face me."

Yes! That's the Luke we deserve to have! Woo Hoo!

Thanks Aaron, and I hope you're feeling better!

WTH is Wrong with People?

So! I happen to click on the main page of starwars,com, and I see a link about "why does Star Wars take over the minds of young boys?"

And I out of curiosity, since I have two grandsons, I clicked on what I thought would be something slightly amusing about kids (including girls) and their fascination with the GFFA.

Instead, to my somewhat shock, I read an article about how horrible it was for the parents of two boys that their sons liked Star Wars so much.

It seems it's OK for them to learn mythology, David and Goliath, and Lord of the Rings, but not Star Wars? They're all fairy tales. They all spark the imagination in their creation of fantasy worlds.

They called letting their 3-year-old watch the movie a "mistake".

SO what is so evil about "Star Wars" that isn't present in some form in other genres? She mentions steering her son towards "Dora the Explorer" and "Bob the Builder", which are fine shows for pre-schoolers, don't get me wrong, but they are nothing compared the the phenomena of Star Wars. Of course the "Evils" of merchandising are mentioned, but there's plenty of stuff out there with "Dora" and "Bob" on it.

The mother even "confesses" to a child psychologist that she let her kids watch Star Wars, and is told that her kids shouldn't see any movies with violence or suspense. WTH? Are parents so stupid they can't teach their children the difference between fantasy and reality? It's a MOVIE! Hello???!?!?!

Are there any of us out there who didn't see a little fantasy violence when we were kids? And what kid doesn't love a good suspenseful story? Especially one where the good guys win in the end. And that's an important lesson they'd miss out on. Good triumphs over evil. Good is, well, good. Evil loses.

I read the article thinking I'd be commenting on "Hey, girls like Star Wars, too!" and instead went off on the stupidity of some parents. WTH is wrong with you people, lighten up and have some fun, and let your kids be kids.

But, I do wonder what they'd think of all we adults who are obsessed, too! LMAO

A Reluctant Imperial

I couldn't do it. I couldn't stay Imperial! But how many of us would change sides to be right?

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I created another character in "Galaxies" so I could fly Imperial ships. Sure, the TIE fighter flew nicely, but I wanted that Jedi Starfighter.

Didn't make sense to me that the Jedi Starfighter was an Imperial ship, BTW. But I went on the quest to obtain it, flinching every time I had to blow up an X-Wing.

It made more sense during the quest, since it's Darth Vader's old starfighter that you receive as the quest reward. I finished it, and got the ship! And then found out I was so many levels below the ability to fly it that I'd have to spend weeks blowing up more X-Wings. I couldn't do it!

So I sold the starfighter, resigned from the Imperial military and joined the Rebellion!

But I wonder how people have the courage to join a revolution. Our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence knowing they were committing treason against the established government. We must hang together or we will hang separately.

I'm a good citizen. I pay my taxes, I pull over for emergency vehicles, I don't run red lights, I've never been arrested. Heck, I never even had detention.

I'm lucky to live in a free country. But, if I were a citizen of the Empire, would I obey ever law and turn a blind eye to injustice? Probably. And justify it in every way! But I might not like it.

I guess I'm not an idealist, I'm a pragmatist. The Rebel Alliance, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, was made up of idealists. Would any of us follow old Obi-Wan off on some damn fool idealistic crusade?

Well, I might for Obi-Wan. LOL

March 28, 1985 - A Day Long Remembered

The anniversary of one of the BEST DAYS EVER!

I touched on this when I blogged about ANH, but on the anniversary of one of the BEST DAYS EVER I feel the need for... more blogging!

We were living in San Jose, California. Somehow, somewhere, we heard that the Star Wars Trilogy was going to be shown at the Coronet Theater in San Francisco, all three movies in one day, for charity! I think it was for Channel 9, the local PBS station.

We got up at 4:30 in the morning, cold and dark, sleepy but excited.

We got to the theater just in time to snag one of the last few parking spots. It was about 6 o'clock, and just getting daylight. There were less than a dozen people in line, and we quickly joined them, the adults joking about how crazy we were to be out in the foggy cold just to see three movies we'd already seen before.

The box office opened at 8 and afterwards, we traded places with people in line to take turns going out for breakfast.

Not wanting to lose that great parking place, we took a city bus west until we found a restaurant. If we'd been as smart as we are now, we'd have gone east and gone to Mel's Diner.

Throughout the morning, people traded off waiting in line, while making trips to 7-11 and a local gas station bathroom.

At noon, they brought hot dogs and popcorn out of the theater and started selling to the line up. That was about the time the local news showed up. Two cameras! And TV man said: "Don't wave, everyone act normal!" And the crowd roared in laughter, because we wouldn't have been there if we were normal!

At 2 o'clock they opened the doors and let us in. It's a beautiful theater and pretty comfortable for waiting another two hours!!!!!!

Right at four the crowd started the countdown... 10,9,8,7,6... who told them when to start? 5,4,3,2,1 and the lights dimmed right on cue!

Needless to say, we were exhausted by the end of Return of the Jedi, and we still had over an hour's drive home, but it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Twenty-four years later I can still remember the details, the cold foggy morning, the eggs over easy, the popcorn, the hot dogs and coke for dinner. It was one of the best days of my life, and I'll never forget it.

May the Force be with us all!

What Has Been Done Cannot Be Undone

A while back I blogged about my quest with the Ethereal Spirit on Mustafar (in "Galaxies"). The spirit, of course, is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he haunts Mustafar, giving the miners a sense of peace and tranquility.*

The other night I decided to visit him, just to see how he's doing, so I went to the burning plains of Mustafar, meditated like a good Jedi, and then clicked on the mysterious holocron that summons the ethereal spirit.

Then I received this message: You have already completed the quest that the spirit set before you. What has been done cannot be undone, and you must live with the decisions you made during that journey.

Wow! I was floored. What a profound statement to find in a video game!

And how true is that? How true is that in our real lives? Life is a journey after all, and the decisions we make follow us throughout our days. Words cannot be taken back, actions cannot be undone. Decisions cannot be unmade.

In the Star Wars universe, our heroes and villains made decisions throughout the course of the Saga that set in motion amazing heroics, unthinkable calamities, seemingly miraculous rescues, and of course, redemptions.


But here is where I lose it. Here is where I discover my own inner, dark side. If it had been me on the second Death Star, with Vader down on the floor and the Emperor cackling in my ear, with all that power at my disposal...

I would have offed the both of them and been done with it. (No, I wouldn't haver taken over the Empire as my own, I'm too lazy for that sort of responsibility.) I probably would have twirled my lightsaber and did a little dance around their corpses, too.

So you're thinking, "We wouldn't have had a happy ending!" Well, why the heck not? Those two would still have been dead, Ewoks could still have played the rumba on the stormtrooper helmets, and the ethereal spirits could have partied at Qui-Gon's place.

But would Obi-Wan have been disappointed in me?



* That's an in-game painting, a rare item, called, appropriately enough, "Redemption"

I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm Here to Rescue You!

Words that sparked the imagination!

You must do what you feel is right, of course.

Obi-Wan gives Luke the chance to do the right thing, for the right reasons. He won't beg or badger him into going along, although he must have been desperate at that point, needing Luke to go with him, hoping against hope that he'll go with him.

Obi-Wan had a lot he isn't saying here, like "You're the last of the Jedi and if you stay here on this dirtball you'll never realize your destiny!"

He knows he's getting old, and perhaps he's seen the end of his life drawing near and knows he hasn't much time left to teach Luke the things he needs to know. The things the galaxy needs him to know.

I suppose if Luke had chosen to stay on Tatooine, it would have meant he wasn't worthy of becoming a Jedi! But he's our hero, and does the right thing.


I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you!

Luke never thinks twice about rescuing the Princess. Just because she's beautiful? I don't think so. It's another case of doing the right thing. He sees her as helpless (HA!) and he's in a position to help her, so he does, without thought of the danger.


I am a Jedi, like my father before me.

Well, there's a lot of imagination at work there. Luke wanted his father to have been a great Jedi, not knowing the details of his betrayal and his murderous rampage through the Temple. Luke was young and idealistic, and he had a good heart.

Did he really do the right thing? Sure, it all came out all right in the end, but was Vader worth risking his life for? I don't think so.

Maybe that's why Luke's a hero and I'm a big, fat chicken-butt!

My personal favorite imagination-sparking quote of the entire saga has to be:

For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic.

For me, that started a lifelong love affair with the Jedi and Star Wars!

Now, go imagine something!

Books: Postscript - LotF and WILD SPACE

EH on one, and WOO HOO on the other! SPOILERS!!!!!!!!

Legacy of the Force - Aaron Allston, Karen Traviss, Troy Denning

This series could easily have been a trilogy. The Rise of Jacen, The Reign of Terror, and The Fall of Jacen. But it just went on and on and on. I kept reading to see what would happen next, but whole volumes went by without anything much happening.

I didn't care for the Mandalorian story line, and in fact I didn't even read those parts and the story still made sense. Therefore it must have been unnecessary. The idea that they could teach a Jedi (Jaina Solo) anything was nauseating. It was simply Karen Traviss' infatuation with Boba Fett. All of contributions were so awful I'm not sure I should even call them "contributions."

The Ben Skywalker story line was mostly unbelievable. The kid was 14, what was he doing assassinating people and trying to be a CSI? Puleeeze... where were his parents? Luke and Mara were written as complete wimps as parents. Tell that kid to get back to the Jedi Academy or go to high school and quit following his evil cousin around the galaxy. Mara's death was a waste, BTW.

The only one of these I own is the finale, since my dear friend Master Mina got me an autographed copy! Woo Hoo! I like Denning's work anyway. I read it to make sure Jason was DEAD!

Now, on to better things.... WILD SPACE by Karen Miller.

Amidalooine and Darth Hiram reviewed this book better than I can. All I can add is that as an Obi-Wan lover, I thought this book was FANTASTIC. Poor Obi-Wan suffers throughout most of the story from Sith mind tricks and physical injuries, and although I felt for his suffering, I was so impressed by his courage and fortitude. He was so Jedi-like and, well, manly that I love him even more now than I did before!

>This book had the potential to become tedious with the journey of our heroes that lasted three days, but it never did. It does not overwhelm with unnessecary details of the trip, it is compactly told and keeps moving along! Kudos.

You just have to stomach Anakin and Padme's lovemaking in chapter one. LOL

I hear Ms. Miller is planning another Clone Wars book starring Obi-Wan and Anakin, and I say: "YES!" If it's anything like "Wild Space" it'll be a keeper.

Oh, and this book should have been a hardback! Paperback release doesn't do it justice. Maybe I'll have it laminated.

Sinking into the Force, he gathered its measureless power to him. Felt the light fill him, sparkling in his blood. Once he was supremely centered, aware of himself and his place in the universe, aware of Organa's place, the duet they sang within the Force's living glory, he extended his senses and control. Wrapped them around the struggling starship, the gliding brick, and cradled it in a cocoon of pure light-side energy.