Star Wars

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Monday Update

August 10, 2009 in Public Introspection | 1 comment

Here’s a general “what’s going on” post to keep everyone updated and get me back on track writing this thing.

Friday night was, as usual, game night (or “nerd night” as Dustin’s wife likes to call it).  We were run out of our local game store due to a Magic the Gathering tournament crowd that had grown significantly over the summer, so everyone came to our house.  Hosting a game makes it fun and easy, which resulted in a great session.  This was session two of my 4th Edition game; I will post more of my 4E thoughts soon.

Saturday morning was spent cleaning up around the house after Sarah and I both got in a run.  She went to Winthrop Lake, while I completed week 2 of Couch to 5K in the neighborhood near our house that wraps around the country club.  That afternoon — more gaming!  My former DM for a Friday night game won Paizo’s RPG Superstar contest and is putting the finishing touches on his module.  We playtested a few encounters for him at his house in Weddington.  The game was great fun and the finished adventure (“The Fellnight Queen”) looks to be awesome.

That night was Sarah’s night out, so I rushed home so she could leave.  Eleanor went to bed and I popped in The Clone Wars animated movie.  I won’t waste a full entry on a review — it was average.  I think Star Wars has just lost its luster to me, which is rather sad.

Sunday we didn’t make it to church (I know, I know. . .).  We did do a little shopping, trying to find a speaker/radio set to hook to the iPhone and scope out a TV.  No luck with either, but I did get a new shirt.  Exciting!

Yesterday afternoon (post nap) was spent at my cousin’s pool.  Eleanor had a good time, even though she is still a little timid in the water.  We’re lucky to have some great family here in Rock Hill who’ve extended us an open invitation to use the pool.  Dinner, bath, bed for E afterwards, then bed shortly after that for me.  I needed the rest, as I am watching three kids today while Sarah works a 12 hour shift!

George Lucas Ruined My Meatloaf

January 12, 2009 in Films, Geek | 2 comments

As I write this, The Empire Strikes Back is on television.  As anyone who is remotely involved in geek culture will tell you, this is the best of the Star Wars movies.  We get Han Solo being a badass in various forms, some romance, Luke beginning to learn about his past, and the harsh, dark ending: Han frozen in carbonite and “Luke, I am your father.”  Awesome.  I remember standing in line to get into this movie in 1981 with my dad and my neighbor/best friend Travis, just as I remember my jaw dropping with Vader’s revelation at the end.  We were at the theatre in Owensboro in the shopping center just down from K-Mart, the one with the Sir Beef in the parking lot near the main road.
It’s a very strong and positive memory.

Except now I can’t watch this movie without thinking about the horribleness that is Episodes 1-3.  Yoda has gone from wise and wizend old master to mini-ninja on jumping juice.  Vader is no longer the Dark Lord of the Sith, but a incoherent, petulant child.  The mysterious and deadly Boba Fett is some cloned child, coming from a plot thread so convoluted and full of holes, to point them all out would require more time than I can devote, even with my furlough days.  Let’s just pick one:  why does Yoda have to inform Obi-Wan that “there is another” hope?  Obi-Wan was there when Leia was born!  And Chewbacca and Yoda were friends!  What the hell?

I know it’s de rigeur to hate on Lucas and the prequels; I am jumping on a bandwagon that’s already very, very full.  At first I was dismissive of the hate.  Lucas made bad movies (I think we can all agree on that), but I said he didn’t make them for me, or any other 30ish fan.  He made them for himself and, probably, for kids today.  That’s fine, I said, I still have my original three movies and all the fun and joy they brought me.  Except I don’t, not only because I think about the prequels every time I watch the original ones, but because he’s tinkered with those original ones to such a degree.

It’s like you have a favorite dish from childhood — your mom’s meatloaf.  It’s awesome.  You lived on it as a kid.  Every time you eat it now, or any meatloaf, really, it makes you feel young and warm inside.  Sure, it may not be the best food in the world, but it tastes good and occupies a special place in your heart.  But one day you go home and your mom has changed the recipe a little.  Not too much — it’s still her meatloaf — but she’s added a few spices.  It’s not the same, but the basic taste is there, along with all the warm feelings you carry with the memories of the original meatloaf, so you eat it up and feel okay about it all.  She tells you she doesn’t make the original stuff anymore, so you take what you can get.  Then, one day, you come home for meatloaf and she tells you she’s made this great salad that you need to eat before the meatloaf.  It’s got all these wonderful tastes and spices that make the meatloaf even better!  So you eat the salad. And it’s horrible.  Just gross.  And it does remind you of the meatloaf.  Except now you can’t eat the meatloaf without thinking of the disgusting salad.  You want too, because you love the meatloaf.  The meatloaf recipe hasn’t changed (your mom even says she’ll cook you the original meatloaf recipe), but now every time you taste the meatloaf, the salad comes to mind.  It’s all ruined.

Thanks, George, for spoiling my meatloaf.