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.

No One Ever Has Enough Time... Yours Just Ran Out!

Taking a break from books to play "Galaxies" some more. This time: SPACE!

"I hear you've become a pretty fair pilot." (Obi-Wan to Luke in ANH)

For I long time I really stank at space combat, and avoided it whenever possible. Then I joined a Players' Association aka a Guild, and two of my guild mates decided that I needed to be an Ace Pilot! Ha! I dared them to try, but their lessons have been a great help! I'm not an Ace yet, but at least I can fly an X-Wing now.

Space combat gives some interesting messages. Instead of being system messages, like I blogged about before, these are taunts from the opposing pilots.

Messages such as "Is that the best you got?" or "You are good but I am better." Or "At last I get to defeat the famous Gidrea Lightsky" or "Lucky shot!" just before I blow him up.

Another good one is, "You should be flying FOR the Empire, not against....ARRRGH!" and "Hey, that won't be easy to repair" just before their ship comes apart.

But I think my all time favorite, so far, has got to be the title of this blog entry. "No one ever has enough time... yours just ran out." Of course, I blew the ship up.

"Pull up! Pull up! (Gold Leader in ANH)

On the other hand, I can't count the number of times I've had to eject. And when I eject I get a brand new ship! Don't remember that happening in the movies, in fact, I don't remember anyone ejecting at all. I thought they all got blown up.

Of course, if I got blown up permanently in game they couldn't collect my subscription fees anymore.

And the Rebel Alliance would give me a new ship anyway, since I'm so hot, I can bullseye womp rats! I mean, TIE fighters.

"It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it!" (Luke in ANH)

I discovered that in order to fly a Jedi Starfighter, one has to be flying for the Empire! So I created a new character just to do that. They don't call it at "Jedi" Starfighter, it has some other name, but that's what it is. I have to work up to it and earn it, so it means flying missions for the EMPIRE! Oh no! I know it's just a silly game, but it just gets to me blowing up Rebel X-wings... what if it was Luke out there? I know, I'd never be able to blow up Luke. I may be getting better, but I still stink!

As soon as I fly that JSF, I'm kissing the Empire goodbye!

EDIT: Never flew the JSF, and I deleted the Imperial character!

Books and More Books Continued! Rise of the New Republic

SPOILERS!

The Thrawn Trilogy: "Heir to the Empire", "Dark Force Rising" and "The Last Command" by Timothy Zahn.

I've read the first one and part of the second, and wasn't enjoying it very much, so I set aside for later. Only knowing that Thrawn eventually dies kept me going that long. I'll get back to it one of these days, possibly. I really don't see why everyone raves about this, though.

The Hand of Thrawn Duology: "Specter of the Past" and "Vision of the Future" by Timothy Zahn

I actually read these first. Backwards I know, but I enjoyed these more. Possibly because Thrawn was already dead. LOL VotF ends with Luke asking Mara Jade to marry him! Piqued my interest there so I had to read "Union," a comic-style book about their wedding! Not for fanboys! LOL It's really cute, especially the part where all the females are spending the day together prior to the wedding.

"I, Jedi" by Michael Stackpole

I had a great conversation with Mr. Stackpole while buying an autographed copy of this book. I confessed to him that the first time I read it I HATED IT! He laughed and said a lot of people had that reaction at first, and that he'd been prepared to spend six months as a villain before the X-Wing series came out. Which leads me into:

>X-Wing Series by Michael Stackpole and Aaron Alston

One I read this and learned more about Corran Horn, then I appreciated "I,Jedi" a lot more! As Mr. Stackpole pointed out, at first everyone wondered who this upstart Corran Horn was, and why was he telling Luke Skywalker to take a hike?

The X-Wing series is good; it stars Wedge Antilles, developing his character into someone we can care about. Also Corran Horn, a fan favorite later on, gets a great back-story to lead into "I, Jedi" and future novels.

"The Courtship of Princess Leia" by Dave Wolverton

I liked this book, in spite of the silly title. Han gets a run for his money. Fanboys will find it too romantic, I'm sure.

The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy I haven't read yet.

I haven't read the Dark Nest trilogy because it involves bugs, and I hate bugs. I never should have seen "Starship Troopers" on the big screen.

EDIT 6/05/2012: Now, after playing Star Wars: The Old Republic" and having to kill Genosians, Killiks and Colocoids, I will NEVER read a book about bugs.

The Jedi Academy Trilogy: "Jedi Search", "Dark Apprentice" and "Champions of the Force" by Kevin J. Anderson

These were OK. Not great, and I skimmed over parts of them. Most of them.

"Darksaber" by Kevin J. Anderson

Possibly he WORST STAR WARS BOOK I've ever read. ("Possibly" only because I have not, and will not, read anything by Karen Traviss.) I feel fortunate that I got it from the library and didn't waste my money buying it. When I took it back I had the urge to THROW it at the drive through book drop!

"Tatooine Ghost" by Troy Denning

Another fan favorite. A FABULOUS book! Lots of great storyline fill in, and it was so awesome to have a book written from Leia's point of view for a change. Guys, don't let that scare you off, it's not a girly book. Read it!!!

"Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor" by Matthew Stover

A must read for Luke fans. A Must Read for Star Wars fans! Luke is a serious kickass Jedi here. I loved it when he said he wasn't trained enough to settle a situation without violence!

The New Jedi Order, various authors.

If I'd liked these books I would write a separate blog, but I didn't like them much. I went through them at lightspeed to get the storyline, but overall I didn't enjoy them much. The Jedi are being turned into a bunch of pacifistic wimps, there's a convenient new substance that a lightsaber can't cut, and the fanatical rantings of the Yuzahn Vong really got on my nerves.

OK, that's enough for one blog; let me know what you all think!

Books and More Books! Fall of the Empire Era

There aren't a lot of books out there about the OT era, at least not that I know of. But I've read a few, so here's my list, again in no particular order. SPOILER ALERT!!!*


"Allegiance" by Timothy Zahn

Great book! Read it! It picks up with Luke, Leia and Han up right after the Battle of Yavin. Luke's messing around with the Force, and Obi-Wan helps him out from time to time. One cool part is in a bar, during an altercation, Luke takes out his lightsaber and ignites it over his head... and the place goes dead quiet! Too cool!

"Shadows of the Empire" by Steve Perry

Takes place between TESB and ROTJ. Great fill in material! How does Luke get a new lightsaber? Find out! I always thought that time between movies was sort of a gray area, and this sheds some light on it.

The movie novelizations are great, and I love how the ANH book says "from the Adventures of Luke Skywalker" and starts off with a quote from "The Journal of the Whills."

I particularly remember enjoying the ROTJ novel.

"Death Star" could be considered OT, even though I talked about it in by 'tween blog. It's still good, so read it!

"Truce at Bakura" by Kathy Tyers

I consider this to be OT era, since it's only a few weeks after the Battle of Endor. Luke is still injured from all that Sith lightning, but he's willing to do his mission like a good Jedi. He meets the girl of dreams but nothing comes of it, sadly. If my memory serves me well, and it usually doesn't, this was the first Star Wars book I ever read.


Next I'll start in on the EU, so be prepared for a lot of complaining!

* The Rebel Alliance wins the war.

Books in the Middle! Rise of the Empire Era

Post-ROTS and Pre-ANH, I just don't know where else to put these! And also things I forgot! SPOILERS!!!!!!

I suppose I should have put "Dark Lord" in this section, but I wasn't planning on having a another section... till I realized I have "Last of the Jedi" and "Coruscant Nights" to consider!

The "Coruscant Nights" Trilogy by Michael Reaves starts with "Jedi Twilight", which stars Jax Pavan, a Jedi in hiding, and his father's droid, I-5. Let's just say that I-5 is more interesting. (We previously met I-5 in "Darth Maul, Shadowhunter" so it's best to read that first. "Streets of Shadows" is volume 2, which I started reading on an airplane at Christmas time and haven't finished yet. But I will! It looks interesting, as Padme's bodyguard is certain that Anakin killed her, and decides to track him down, not knowing he's now Darth Vader! "Patterns of Force" is volume 3, and obviously I haven't read that yet.

EDIT 6/5/2012: Finished up Vol.2, and it was disappointing. So was volume 3, which I trudged through hoping to find some conclusion to the storyline. Also disappointing. And poor editing concerning the timeline. The series is supposed to take place right after the fall of the Jedi Order, but those events are referred to as taking place decades ago. I heard that the era had been moved in the final rewrite, but I don't know for sure.

"Last of the Jedi" by Jude Watson, is a ten-volume young readers series. It's pretty good, we meet up with Ferus Olin from the Jedi Apprentice series as he tries to round up Jedi who survived order 66 and save them. Obi-Wan has a couple of appearances. The ending with Obi-Wan and Feris is a bittersweet one.

"Death Star" by Michael Reeves and Steve Perry

Great book! Read it! Lots of great back-story in this one. A new view on the Empire, too. I loved the part where the engineer wonders why there's an extra small thermal exhaust port, but then decides it's better to have too many than not enough! I was afraid this book was going down some pacifistic road about Luke murdering everyone on board, but thankfully it doesn't. There were a lot of people on board. There were a lot of people on Alderaan, too.

I never read the classic Han Solo trilogy, because Luke wasn't in it, so I can't comment. I believe these may have been the first EU contributions, but I'm not sure. It's "Han Solo at Stars' End," "Han Solo's Revenge," and "Han Solo and the Lost Legacy."

EDIT 6/05/2012: I read the new Han Solo trilogy, it's really good. A lot of insight into Han's character, and why he was so cynical at the beginning of the OT. "The Paradise Snare," "The Hutt Gambit," and "Rebel Dawn." Also, TMI about Hutts!

I may be leaving out other books, so be sure to add your comments!

More Books! The Old Republic Era, Part 2

So I forgot a few books the other day. It's not my fault! Well, yes it is, but here's the short list.

"Darth Bane, Path of Destruction" by Drew Karpshyn

This is a prequel to the prequels, taking place a thousand years earlier. Thanks to the Viridian Saber for reminding me! It's really good, in spite of being Sith-oriented, it's still entertaining. And chilling.

"Shatterpoint" by Matthew Stover

It was OK. It dragged on and on and few places. The story was good, but how many times can you go through the jungle in detail? Maybe it was my short attention span at work.

"The Cestus Deception" by Steven Barnes

You'd think I'd absolutely LOVE a book that stars Obi-Wan, and he is great in the book, but the book itself is just OK, and the short story that comes with it, "The Hive" is cute. I bought it in an airport and read it on the plane. I'm not sure it would have held my attention if I'd been somewhere else.

"Outbound Flight" by Timothy Zahn

Great Book! You want to read it now! A prequel to "Survivor's Quest" it stars an insane Jedi named Jorus C'Boath. He's very arrogant and shows some of what is causing the decay of the Jedi Order. I hate him.

"Rogue Planet" by Greg Bear

The introduction of the sentient planet Zonoma Sekot. It's good, but not great. Stars Obi-Wan and a young Anakin. Zonoma always make me think of Sonoma County, California.

"Jedi Trial" by David Sherman and Dan Craig

Boring! And I don't say that because I'm not an Anakin fan, there's not even enough of Anakin in here to make it interesting.

"Yoda, Dark Rendezvous" by Sean Stewart

I was listening to this on a train trip and fell asleep. That was two years ago and I haven't felt the urge to finish it. There's nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't that compelling. Yoda is not really the star, as far as I remember, the story was centered around a young, failing Padawan named Scout.

"Medstar I: Battle Surgeons" and "Medstar II: Jedi Healer" by Michael Reeves and Steve Perry

I have these and haven't read them yet! Any spoilers would be welcome to me! I love spoilers!

EDIT 6/5/12: I read them both, they are good enough to finish! The story of a couple of Republic doctors int he midst of the Clone Wars. Bariss Offee is here, too, in her role as a Jedi Healer.

OK! This should REALLY finish the PT era. Really, I'm done now.

Books! Books, Books and More Books! The Old Republic Era, Part 1

Where would we be without Star Wars books? Love 'em or hate 'em, or a little bit of both, it's hard to deny their importance to the Saga. Beware of MINOR SPOILERS!!!!

Over the last fifteen years I've read various books, and I can't remember them all other than likes and dislikes, and I don't like posting spoilers, but I can't help it! Most of my likes and dislikes revolve around particular points, so consider this a SPOILER WARNING!

So, in no particular order:

"Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter" by Michael Reaves.

This book is excellent, even though it doesn't involve any of our heroes, except for a small part by Obi-Wan. But it's fast paced, has some good plot twists, and is an excellent lead in for the new "Coruscant Nights" series. Definitely a "must read"!

"The Approaching Storm" by Alan Dean Foster.

It was OK. It's the story of the border dispute on Ansion, referred to by Mace Windu in AOTC. For me it got tedious, how many times can our heroes get in trouble on one planet?

"Cloak of Deception" by James Luceno

It was OK. I don't remember much about it! I guess it wasn't that memorable.

"Labyrinth of Evil" by James Luceno

This books RAWKS! I loved it! It's a great lead-in to ROTS, taking you right up to the battle of Coruscant. The relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin is great, and it really adds to the sense of loss I get from ROTS.

"Revenge of the Sith" by Matthew Stover

The BEST of the movie novelizations. This book adds many, many layers to the story. Anakin's fall seems so much more believable, as does Obi-Wan's heartbreak. READ THIS!

"Jedi Apprentice" series by Jude Watson.

The books, 18 volumes plus "Secrets of the Jedi" and "Legacy of the Jedi" may be for young readers, but they are EXCELLENT! They truly give life to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, giving them a backstory and personalities that the movies don't have time to give us. They are quick reads; so if you're going on a plane ride, take two volumes.

"Jedi Quest" series by Jude Watson

Not as good as "Jedi Apprentice" unless you're an Anakin fan. But good nonetheless. And more backstory! (Also for younger readers)

"Last of the Jedi" series by Jude Watson

Also for younger readers, and entertaining. A nice finish to the PT era.

I'll round out the PT era with "Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader" by James Luceno

Unless I remember something else, this is probably the last of the PT era books. It is excellent! Read it! No spoilers.


So... I'll write about other books in other eras later. Or continue this one if I think of something else! LOL