'An elegant weapon for a more civilized age'

This has been floating around on YouTube for a week or so.  For everyone who ever wished to have a lightsaber, here's every lightsaber ignition and retraction from all of the Star Wars movies...

May the cupcakes be with you

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Thanks to Shawn for passing this one along. These Star Wars cupcakes look pretty awesome. Which one would you eat first? And what's the most creative thing you'd do with the Jar-Jar cupcake?

Wookie Mania

"Oooh, Look! There's Chewbacca!"

It wasn't the kids who were so excited. It was me.

I took to the boys on Saturday to the annual Kidz Expo at the Empire State Plaza. It's filled to the gills with booths and displays from various kid-related businesses pushing their services. There's some things to do, like giant bouncy-bounces, video games, mini golf and lots of other stuff. Laser tag was the biggest hit for Nolan and Thomas.

For their giant geek of a dad it's seeing people wandering around in really cool Star Wars costumes. There was a variety of stormtroopers and Jedi. We even saw a Jawa. Darth Vader was also lurking about.

But my eyes lit up when I saw the first mate of the Millennium Falcon.

"Hey, Chewie! How about a picture?" I asked after rushing right over to him.

Except while everyone else was taking photos of their kids with George Lucas' creations, I promptly handed my camera to 6-year-old Thomas and proudly took my place next to my favorite Wookie. I admit, part of me wondered if the guy in the costume thought I was nuts.

Afterward, almost as an after thought, I asked the boys if they'd like their picture with Chewbacca.

"Um, no, dad. That's OK."

The guy in the Wookie suit might not have thought I was crazy. But I'm pretty sure my kids did.

Then again, they're probably used to it. I had a similar reaction at last year's Kidz Expo when I had my picture taken with Lord Vader.

Words trailing off

Ever wonder what happens to the words floating through space after they go by at the beginning of "Star Wars?" Where do they go?

The question is answered in what is likely the most geektastic viral video you'll see this week...

'That's no moon...'

Everyone likes to point out the similarities between today's cell phones and Star Trek's communicators and tri-corders. Well, you ain't seen nothing yet. Get a load of this...

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What piece of sci-technology would you like to see come to life? I wouldn't mind having a transporter. Although, flying cars would be cool too.

Han Solo, P.I.

It's well known that Tom Selleck was the first choice for Indiana Jones, but the role ultimately went to Harrison Ford.

Now journey with me to the land of What If and we'll find out what might have happened if things went the other way and the captain of the Millennium Falcon wound up starring in Selleck's most famous TV part...



I bet you didn't realize just how good that mashup really is. Check out the side-by-side comparison with the real "Magnum, P.I." opening...

'I sense much dork in you'

Kris' folks were pretty proud of Nolan when they heard he saved enough to get a Wii. So they decided to reward him by sending him the new "Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels" game.

It's pretty cool.  As you might imagine, it lets you wield your Wii remote like a lightsaber as you try to defeat the forces of the Dark Side.

I freely admit I wasted about two hours playing it myself tonight.  Hopefully, I don't come across like these guys...



Thanks grandma & grandpa!

John Williams tribute

This is just too darn awsome...

'You were right...'

I spotted this on Ain't It Cool News tonight...It looks like George Lucas is finally ready to admit the fans are right. He was spotted wearing a "Han Shot First" T-Shirt on the set of "Indy IV."

Making it more ironic is the fact that this picture shows next to Han Solo, er, I mean Harrison Ford.

Super snail mail

Right now if you get a piece of snail mail from the Rooneys, it's likely to come with one of the Postal Service's commemorative "Star Wars" stamps stuck to the envelope.

Maybe when we use those up, we'll pick up the Marvel Comics Super Heroes stamps that go on sale later this week.

Could all of this be the Post Office's attempt to reach out to geeks and youngsters who would be more likely to use e-mail?

If Yoda had a blog...

If Yoda did have a blog, what would he call it? Blogobah?

Vader Sessoins

We geeked out tonight, watching both "Star Wars Tech" and "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed" on the History Channel. Both documentaries were good and amounted to Nerd TV at its finest.

And it inspired me to throw on this clip I stumbled upon recently...

May the Mahna Mahna be with you

I spent some time surfing YouTube with the kids this afternoon. For the most part, we watched Muppet clips. But this one was the clear favorite...



What made it even better was listening to Thomas sing along. We've been singing this around this house ever since.

A geek's dream come true

What would happen if the starship Enterprise took on Darth Vader and the Empire?

Lightsaber contest

Lucasfilm is taking a cue from the Stephen Colbert Green Screen Challenge. They're asking fans to make videos using Hasbro's new spring-loaded toy lightsabers and submit them to a special YouTube group.

For any fan who's used Hasbro's new spring-loaded Force Action Lightsaber to flip on a light switch, swat a fly on the ceiling, unclog a drain, or launch a ping pong ball across the room, Hasbro's got the contest for you!

The best video will win a trip to the “Star Wars Celebration IV” in Los Angeles and a fancy chrome-plated toy lightsaber.

People have been making lightsaber videos forever (see classic “The Star Wars Kid” or the impressive “Ryan vs. Dorkman”). Now you can actually win something for it—and sounds like you don’t even need to worry about adding your own digital effects.

Silent Star Wars

Here's what "Star Wars" may have looked like if it had been made in the 1920s...

May the Force be with you

I was playing around in Photoshop, trying to figure out how to make Nolan's lightsaber "glow." Here are my first attempts...

Sith silliness

I spotted this on PLANET3RRY's blog and it's too damn funny.

"Star Wars" fans know the only film the Emperor didn't appear in was the original movie.

Now, here is the lost scene where Darth Vader breaks the news to the Emperor that the Death Star has been destroyed, recreated courtesy of Cartoon Network's "Robot Chicken" (and if you're a "24" fan, listen for when the phone rings)...

Damn you, George Lucas!

I knew it! I knew this would happen.

When they announced the Star Wars movies would be coming out on DVD in 2004 the deal was that we would get the 1997 Special Edition versions (further altered for the DVDs), not the originals.

That angered a lot of fans who didn’t care for the changes made to the movies. Personally, I can appreciate both versions. I couldn’t see why Lucasfilm couldn’t release both versions all in one set. After all, there is a special edition DVD of “Terminator 2” out there that actually has three different cuts of the movie included in the set.

I resisted the urge to get the Stars Wars DVDs for a year, but finally caved in December. Now, just five months later, comes this news: in September they will issue a set that includes both versions of the original Star Wars Trilogy.

Here’s a tidbit from the news release on starwars.com…

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and yes, see Han Solo shoot first.

Arrrggh! If only I had waited one more year!

In other news, the same day the new DVDs hit the street, the “LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy” videogame will also be released. That will be a must have in the Rooney house.

Yoda screen tests

I sat down at the computer with the kids this morning and searched Google Video and You Tube for Muppet clips. Nolan thought this one was particularly silly...