Stormtrooper driving

Stumbled upon this the other day without any explaination or mention of ownership, but it was too cool to pass up.

The Force Unleashed

My copy of The Force Unleashed showed up Tuesday! Unfortunately physics homework had to come first. In the end I only popped in long enough to check out the opening cinematic. The apparent consensus among people who enjoy "Star Wars" is that while the quality of the gameplay itself is up for argument the story should not be missed. Tycho said it best with "And if you can find someone else to play the game while you watch, you might be approaching the optimal scenario." .

That said, my plan is to play out the entire story when Em is around. I anticipate that she'll play whenever the levels aren't too challenging, and I'll help her out as much as she wants. As much as I'd love to just power though huge chunks of the game whenever I have time, I think the benefit of experiencing yet another Star Wars story together with Em will more than make up for that. I took Em to see The Phantom Menace in theaters when she was 3 years old, like my father (before me) who took me to see A New Hope when I was 3. I'm not sure how well (or if) Em really remembers that theater trip at 3 years old. For myself I have to admit I only clearly remember the irony of eating "STAR BURSTS" candy while watching "STAR WARS", and the theater had dark red carpet...

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Emmalee, Zack, Deb, and I all went to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Friday night. Though I've heard nothing but bad reviews I tried to go in with an open mind. I don't care what anyone else tells you, this is a great kids movie.
It's a KID'S MOVIE. It was designed to entertain CHILDREN. Great storytelling occurs when the audience identifies with an idea, emotion, archetype (,...) that the story crafter(s) intended. Until we figure out how to communicate ideas in a fully realized form, we are limited by the medium used for communication (in this case a movie). That said, if you recognize that this movie was made for KIDS, and try to watch it through a child's eyes I think you will see some genuine gems within it. Here's my short list:
-Jabba the Hutt creating a new front in the Clone Wars by sending bounty hunters, Separatists, and Jedi to rescue his kidnapped son. Even bad guys love their kids!
-Anakin getting a padawan, learning some of the lessons that BEING a mentor can provide (as opposed to HAVING a mentor)
-Beautiful style. The look and feel of the film is beautiful. At times it looks almost as though it were animated via stop frame as opposed to CGI.
-I've had to read the "opening crawl" to my daughter whenever we have seen a Star Wars movie in the past (not that I mind particularly, but sometime I feel like I'm disturbing the other theater goers). This time the crawl is replaced by a newsreel type opening that I thoroughly enjoyed (as did Em). Also during the movie there are no subtitles that need read to younger kids.
-...
-I have heard that this movie serves as the pilot for a television series. I love the idea that there could be dozens of episodes, dozens of hours of new Star Wars content available for me to enjoy with my daughter. And this show is easily up to par with any of the Saturday morning cartoons that Em has been interested in lately.

Don't get me wrong, the movie is far from perfect, but as a kid's movie it is much better than most reviews would have you believe.

3 out of 5 Star Wars factions turned on each other.

quick funny

Jedi Gym
Make sure you hang in there until at least the 4 minute mark!