Before the dark times, before the Empire...I mean before the internet, getting news about Star Wars was not an easy task. Ten year old me would faithfully read Starlog magazine every month for any article about Star Wars or the rumored sequel. Ten year old me's little brain would have exploded if he could see how much information can be gathered now and how fast. But even in today's world, it is nice to have one place that helps bring you all you need to know and do it in an entertaining fashion. Enter the podcast.
And for me, there has only ever been one podcast and that was the Forcecast. I would eagerly listen every week as Jason and Pete would bring the news and so much more around my favorite franchise. But more than just being a source of news, these were guys who I wanted to hang out with. They were fans! They were just like me...only with much better speaking voices. Then Pete left and Jimmy Mac entered as co-host, but the show remained just as awesome.
I have to admit that I am kind of a fanboy about the Forcecast; I was one of the prize winners on their three year anniversary show. Hard to match the excitement I felt when I heard my name called as a winner. One of the highlights of Star Wars Celebration V for me was getting to meet and talk with Jason. A picture of me holding the Forcecast microphone sits proudly on my desk.
So I was floored when the unexpected news broke that Jason and Jimmy were leaving the Forcecast. I thought to myself "How can they leave the Forcecast? They ARE the Forcecast!" I have no idea what caused this, it all feels very sudden. First Curto and now Jason and Jimmy. It feels vaguely of Order 66...but I digress. The upside of all this...and the point of this posting...is that Jason and Jimmy are going out and starting their own Star Wars podcast.
Introducing RebelForce Radio!
I fully expect it will continue to bring the latest and greatest Star Wars news, interviews, Billy Dee quote of the week, Star Wars in pop culture, and all the awesomeness that I came to expect from the Forcecast.
So if you are a Star Wars fan, you owe it to yourself to listen to the best Star Wars podcast on the net. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow the guys on Facebook and Twitter:
http://www.facebook.com/RebelForceRadio
@RebelForceRadio
Give a listen and before you know it, you'll be asking "Where's Kitster?"
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
I Assure you; We're Open...Just Under a New Name!
Happy 2013 everyone!
It has been ages since I have posted anything here. For a variety of personal reasons, 2012 was not conducive to writing anything. It was a year for trying to keep my head above water. But here in the new year, I decided to take a look at the 'ol blog and think about if I even wanted to keep it open and if I did, what did I want it to be? The days of me pouring all my angst out for anyone to read are over. I am just not comfortable being that open anymore and honestly, life is not so bad. So if I wasn't going to ramble on about the hell inside my head, which some people seemed to enjoy, then what should I do, if anything? After giving it some thought, the answer became, if not clear, at least a bit more obvious. They (whoever they are) say you should write about what you know. I know about being a geek. I have been one since before it was a thing. From the time I was very young and watched Planet of the Apes, the Six Million Dollar Man and Space 1999, I was hooked on all things geeky. It went into hyperdrive when I was nine and had the life changing experience of seeing Star Wars.
Hence the new blog title. New year, new me, new blog. This is not the blog you are looking for. And if I have to explain what the title references, then you are really reading the wrong blog.
The posts will probably be shorter, or at least short for me; I do tend to prattle on. But hopefully they will be fun and maybe a little interesting. In short, I will post about the geeky stuff I like. There will be a lot of Star Wars, I warn you of that now.
So I invite you to stick around. Feel free to let me know what you think.
It has been ages since I have posted anything here. For a variety of personal reasons, 2012 was not conducive to writing anything. It was a year for trying to keep my head above water. But here in the new year, I decided to take a look at the 'ol blog and think about if I even wanted to keep it open and if I did, what did I want it to be? The days of me pouring all my angst out for anyone to read are over. I am just not comfortable being that open anymore and honestly, life is not so bad. So if I wasn't going to ramble on about the hell inside my head, which some people seemed to enjoy, then what should I do, if anything? After giving it some thought, the answer became, if not clear, at least a bit more obvious. They (whoever they are) say you should write about what you know. I know about being a geek. I have been one since before it was a thing. From the time I was very young and watched Planet of the Apes, the Six Million Dollar Man and Space 1999, I was hooked on all things geeky. It went into hyperdrive when I was nine and had the life changing experience of seeing Star Wars.
Hence the new blog title. New year, new me, new blog. This is not the blog you are looking for. And if I have to explain what the title references, then you are really reading the wrong blog.
The posts will probably be shorter, or at least short for me; I do tend to prattle on. But hopefully they will be fun and maybe a little interesting. In short, I will post about the geeky stuff I like. There will be a lot of Star Wars, I warn you of that now.
So I invite you to stick around. Feel free to let me know what you think.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Episode 1 The Phantom Menace
My son and I went to see Star Wars Episode 1 in 3D this past Friday. When my son was 4, the very first movie he ever saw in theatres was Episode 1, so it is pretty cool that 13 years later we can share the same experience. And we got these cool Darth Maul 3D glasses!
As for the movie itself, the 3D conversion was well done. It added depth to the movie, giving you a sense of immersion into the film, rather than the gimmicky things flying at the screen that many movies use 3D for. Plus, it is always amazing to see Star Wars on the big screen.
The Phantom Menace is not my favorite of the Star Wars movies, but it is still Star Wars and I love it. However, I am shocked at the amount of hatred being spewed towards this film and George Lucas in general. There have been several things in the news that have made me think seriously about Star Wars fandom and my connection to it. This will be a posting at a later date as it is something I want to really try to express well.
So for now, I will just say that I am very happy Star Wars is back on the big screen and that I had the chance to see it once again with my son.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Redline
Every few years an anime movie will come along that is groundbreaking and raises the entire genre to new levels. In the past, movies such as 'Akira' and 'Ghost in the Shell' have done this. Tonight I watched a movie that should join theses ranks; 'Redline'.
I had been hearing about this movie for quite some time now on different anime podcasts and web sites. And everything I heard was incredible. Not only did no one seem to dislike this movie, but they all raved about it. Finding people mostly agreeing on anything online is almost unheard of. So I added the movie to my Netflix que and today it arrived.
It did not disappoint in the least! The plot is nice and simple; racers from all across the galaxy are competing in a road race called the Redline. The race is not exactly legal and the planet it is to be held on does everything they can to stop it. That's it, nothing more complex then that. Anime sometimes has, in my opinion, the tendency to get bogged down in complex plots. To find one that was simple and just wanted to be entertaining was a nice change of pace.
What really sets 'Redline' apart are the visuals. It is beautifully animated. The races are a cacophony of chaos; cars twisting and dancing in ways that defy all laws of physics. Explosions, smoke, fire, revving engines, all of it coming at once, making for scenes that need repeat viewings. Think of it as Speed Racer on crack. Even the background and crowd scenes are amazing; with strange alien species being depicted.
My words are not sufficient to get across how amazing this movie looks and how much fun it is. If you like exciting race movies with a sci-fi twist and are will to try something different, add 'Redline' to your Netflix list. I think you will be glad you did.
I had been hearing about this movie for quite some time now on different anime podcasts and web sites. And everything I heard was incredible. Not only did no one seem to dislike this movie, but they all raved about it. Finding people mostly agreeing on anything online is almost unheard of. So I added the movie to my Netflix que and today it arrived.
It did not disappoint in the least! The plot is nice and simple; racers from all across the galaxy are competing in a road race called the Redline. The race is not exactly legal and the planet it is to be held on does everything they can to stop it. That's it, nothing more complex then that. Anime sometimes has, in my opinion, the tendency to get bogged down in complex plots. To find one that was simple and just wanted to be entertaining was a nice change of pace.
What really sets 'Redline' apart are the visuals. It is beautifully animated. The races are a cacophony of chaos; cars twisting and dancing in ways that defy all laws of physics. Explosions, smoke, fire, revving engines, all of it coming at once, making for scenes that need repeat viewings. Think of it as Speed Racer on crack. Even the background and crowd scenes are amazing; with strange alien species being depicted.
My words are not sufficient to get across how amazing this movie looks and how much fun it is. If you like exciting race movies with a sci-fi twist and are will to try something different, add 'Redline' to your Netflix list. I think you will be glad you did.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Celebration Time, C'mon!
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Actually, it wasn't that long ago. Only about five months now. And it was actually in this galaxy. Florida to be exact. But we were on our way to a celebration of all things in that galaxy far, far away.
Ever since the announcement of Star Wars Celebration V (henceforth to be described as CV) my son and I had made the commitment to going to this one. I had not gone to the previous four Celebrations, dating back to the very first one in 1999 out in Denver, Colorado. Celebration II and III were both held in Indianapolis and Celebration IV was way out in Los Angeles. But now CV was being held in Orlando, Florida. This made it possible for us to attend. So after months of planning, saving, reserving, more planning, lots of reading, did I mention planning, and spread sheets to keep track of all the collectibles we needed to buy, we were finally heading to the greatest gathering of Star Wars fans on the planet.
We decided to fly out of Portland, Maine. My dad lives not far from there so this allowed us to be driven to the airport and not deal with traffic and parking. Our tickets were with Jet Blue and our flight was at 7:00 in the morning. Ryan had never flown before, so he was a combination of excitement and terror. My biggest fear was that he would get on the plane and flip out on me. But after going through security we finally were aboard the plane. Should I ever find myself flying again (not something I really look forward to) I would not hesitate to fly Jet Blue. The fact that every seat had a TV made the flight much more fun. In fact, I was able to watch NCIS the entire trip! (Thank you, USA Network for running an NCIS marathon that day!) It was a sunny, beautiful day to fly and I did my best to joke with Ryan upon takeoff to keep his mind off the fact he was on an airplane. Once we were in the air, Ryan discovered that he loved flying. Though he seemed more interested in what was on TV than looking out the window. We had a short layover at JFK and then straight on to Orlando. We made good time and actually arrived in sunny Florida 20 minutes early.
Orlando International Airport is not exactly like Burlington or even Portland. It was huge! We had to take a train from our gate to the main part of the airport. Pretty amazing. Once we got there and I finally managed to figure out how to secure us some transportation to the hotel (note to self, figure this out ahead of time should we ever do something like this again. I think not knowing how to get to the hotel was the most stressful part of the trip.) But soon we were on our way by taxi to our hotel.
This was my first trip to Florida and I found it very beautiful. It was very humid, but it looked like I expected it to and enjoyed the ride in very much. We soon found ourselves at our hotel which was one of the official CV hotels. This meant that we were on the free bus route that would take us every morning to the convention center. We had arrived early and our room was not ready. So the hotel graciously secured our luggage and I asked direction to the convention center. With those in hand, Ryan and I decided to kill the time by venturing out and getting the lay of the land.
We started our hike and was taken by all the sights and attraction that were along the route. There was one attraction, what it is escapes me at the moment, but it looked like an upside down building. There were many restaurants, shops and attractions along this strip. As I mentioned, it was very humid and it wasn't too long before Ryan was whining about the heat. But he soon stopped complaining and just kept marching. Several times he questioned my internal navigation skills and suggested I didn't know where the hell I was going, but I soon proved him wrong as we came around the corner and there before us was the sight of our destination. And what a sight it was!
The Orange County Convention Center is a huge structure. We knew we were in the right place at the sight of the massive CV banners hanging on the front of the building. We made our way up to it, just to look around, when I noticed that the doors seemed to be unlocked. Figuring I had nothing to lose but being told to get the hell out, I opened the door and we headed inside.
What greeted us was a Star Wars geek's greatest fantasy. We had walked into a hall where some guys were finishing the assembly of a massive AT-AT. the air conditioning inside felt great, so we decided to have a look around. We wandered the halls, looking at signs and getting an idea of how the convention center was laid out. Before long I spotted lines of people in front of some booths. So we wandered that way and found we were able to register early and get the lanyards for our convention badges. Since I am a Hyperspace member (that is part of the official fan club) I had a special lanyard and it would allow us to go in a special entrance and get in a little bit earlier than the general public.
After registering, the next line was where we were able to pick up the autograph tickets we had pre-ordered. I had pre-ordered autograph tickets that would allow us to get autographs from Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Ray Park (Darth Maul) as well a few general autograph tickets that could be used with other celebrities. Since I was one of the first 200 people to pre-order a certain amount (don't ask how much) I was given an exclusive pack of autograph cards. These were trading cards of all the celebrities that were going to be appearing at CV. The cards had their character picture as well as a space where they could sign, should you meet them and should you want the card signed. I tucked away the pack of cards as a neat collectible.
We continued to wander around the convention center. Mostly because we were killing time before our room would be ready, plus it was air conditioned inside the convention hall. We sat down at one of the many tables inside to rest for a minute, when I noticed a group of people walking towards us. Instantly I recognized one of the group; Steve Sansweet! This is a name that is instantly recognized by Star Wars fans, but probably not by anyone else. Steve Sansweet is the head of fan relations for Lucasfilm. he was one of the main planners of Celebration. But aside from that, he is the premiere collector of Star Wars memorabilia in the world. His collection has no equal. He has written books on Star Wars collecting and is frequently on TV for his collection. Seizing this opportunity, I sprinted from the table straight into his path were I was able to say hello and shake his hand. My first encounter with a Star Wars celebrity. It would not be the last.
At one point we wandered into a hallway that opened onto these glass walls and we found ourselves looking down on convention floor. On one wall we were able to look down where the Celebration Store was being set up. Box after box of exclusive merchandise was being unpacked and set up. The other wall looked out over the dealer's room. This is where all the companies that make and sell Star Wars merchandise were set up. We could see where a full size TIE Interceptor had been built, and row after row of Star Wars dealers were setting up. This was going to be amazing!
Finally, Ryan and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel. We made another long, hot trek back to the hotel, but our room was ready and we gratefully crashed inside the air conditioned room. It had been a long, exciting day and the convention hadn't even started yet! We walked next door to a Friendly's and had dinner before heading back to the room for last minute planning before getting to bed early, for the next day we would begin our Star Wars Celebration experience.
And so ended our first day in Florida. Be here next time when I will regale you with tales from the first day of CV! So until then May the Force Be With You!
Actually, it wasn't that long ago. Only about five months now. And it was actually in this galaxy. Florida to be exact. But we were on our way to a celebration of all things in that galaxy far, far away.
Ever since the announcement of Star Wars Celebration V (henceforth to be described as CV) my son and I had made the commitment to going to this one. I had not gone to the previous four Celebrations, dating back to the very first one in 1999 out in Denver, Colorado. Celebration II and III were both held in Indianapolis and Celebration IV was way out in Los Angeles. But now CV was being held in Orlando, Florida. This made it possible for us to attend. So after months of planning, saving, reserving, more planning, lots of reading, did I mention planning, and spread sheets to keep track of all the collectibles we needed to buy, we were finally heading to the greatest gathering of Star Wars fans on the planet.
We decided to fly out of Portland, Maine. My dad lives not far from there so this allowed us to be driven to the airport and not deal with traffic and parking. Our tickets were with Jet Blue and our flight was at 7:00 in the morning. Ryan had never flown before, so he was a combination of excitement and terror. My biggest fear was that he would get on the plane and flip out on me. But after going through security we finally were aboard the plane. Should I ever find myself flying again (not something I really look forward to) I would not hesitate to fly Jet Blue. The fact that every seat had a TV made the flight much more fun. In fact, I was able to watch NCIS the entire trip! (Thank you, USA Network for running an NCIS marathon that day!) It was a sunny, beautiful day to fly and I did my best to joke with Ryan upon takeoff to keep his mind off the fact he was on an airplane. Once we were in the air, Ryan discovered that he loved flying. Though he seemed more interested in what was on TV than looking out the window. We had a short layover at JFK and then straight on to Orlando. We made good time and actually arrived in sunny Florida 20 minutes early.
Orlando International Airport is not exactly like Burlington or even Portland. It was huge! We had to take a train from our gate to the main part of the airport. Pretty amazing. Once we got there and I finally managed to figure out how to secure us some transportation to the hotel (note to self, figure this out ahead of time should we ever do something like this again. I think not knowing how to get to the hotel was the most stressful part of the trip.) But soon we were on our way by taxi to our hotel.
This was my first trip to Florida and I found it very beautiful. It was very humid, but it looked like I expected it to and enjoyed the ride in very much. We soon found ourselves at our hotel which was one of the official CV hotels. This meant that we were on the free bus route that would take us every morning to the convention center. We had arrived early and our room was not ready. So the hotel graciously secured our luggage and I asked direction to the convention center. With those in hand, Ryan and I decided to kill the time by venturing out and getting the lay of the land.
We started our hike and was taken by all the sights and attraction that were along the route. There was one attraction, what it is escapes me at the moment, but it looked like an upside down building. There were many restaurants, shops and attractions along this strip. As I mentioned, it was very humid and it wasn't too long before Ryan was whining about the heat. But he soon stopped complaining and just kept marching. Several times he questioned my internal navigation skills and suggested I didn't know where the hell I was going, but I soon proved him wrong as we came around the corner and there before us was the sight of our destination. And what a sight it was!
The Orange County Convention Center is a huge structure. We knew we were in the right place at the sight of the massive CV banners hanging on the front of the building. We made our way up to it, just to look around, when I noticed that the doors seemed to be unlocked. Figuring I had nothing to lose but being told to get the hell out, I opened the door and we headed inside.
What greeted us was a Star Wars geek's greatest fantasy. We had walked into a hall where some guys were finishing the assembly of a massive AT-AT. the air conditioning inside felt great, so we decided to have a look around. We wandered the halls, looking at signs and getting an idea of how the convention center was laid out. Before long I spotted lines of people in front of some booths. So we wandered that way and found we were able to register early and get the lanyards for our convention badges. Since I am a Hyperspace member (that is part of the official fan club) I had a special lanyard and it would allow us to go in a special entrance and get in a little bit earlier than the general public.
After registering, the next line was where we were able to pick up the autograph tickets we had pre-ordered. I had pre-ordered autograph tickets that would allow us to get autographs from Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Ray Park (Darth Maul) as well a few general autograph tickets that could be used with other celebrities. Since I was one of the first 200 people to pre-order a certain amount (don't ask how much) I was given an exclusive pack of autograph cards. These were trading cards of all the celebrities that were going to be appearing at CV. The cards had their character picture as well as a space where they could sign, should you meet them and should you want the card signed. I tucked away the pack of cards as a neat collectible.
We continued to wander around the convention center. Mostly because we were killing time before our room would be ready, plus it was air conditioned inside the convention hall. We sat down at one of the many tables inside to rest for a minute, when I noticed a group of people walking towards us. Instantly I recognized one of the group; Steve Sansweet! This is a name that is instantly recognized by Star Wars fans, but probably not by anyone else. Steve Sansweet is the head of fan relations for Lucasfilm. he was one of the main planners of Celebration. But aside from that, he is the premiere collector of Star Wars memorabilia in the world. His collection has no equal. He has written books on Star Wars collecting and is frequently on TV for his collection. Seizing this opportunity, I sprinted from the table straight into his path were I was able to say hello and shake his hand. My first encounter with a Star Wars celebrity. It would not be the last.
At one point we wandered into a hallway that opened onto these glass walls and we found ourselves looking down on convention floor. On one wall we were able to look down where the Celebration Store was being set up. Box after box of exclusive merchandise was being unpacked and set up. The other wall looked out over the dealer's room. This is where all the companies that make and sell Star Wars merchandise were set up. We could see where a full size TIE Interceptor had been built, and row after row of Star Wars dealers were setting up. This was going to be amazing!
Finally, Ryan and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel. We made another long, hot trek back to the hotel, but our room was ready and we gratefully crashed inside the air conditioned room. It had been a long, exciting day and the convention hadn't even started yet! We walked next door to a Friendly's and had dinner before heading back to the room for last minute planning before getting to bed early, for the next day we would begin our Star Wars Celebration experience.
And so ended our first day in Florida. Be here next time when I will regale you with tales from the first day of CV! So until then May the Force Be With You!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Star Wars Celebration Pre-Game Show!
Hello! Yeah, yeah, I know, I have been back a month and I haven't written about the convention. In my defense, things have been really busy since I got back and this trip is not a short one to write about.
Okay, now that I have my defense out of the way, I am currently in the process of writing all about the trip. As you can imagine, this may take awhile. So while I am working on that, I thought you may want to look at the many, many pictures that we took. Way too many to try and embed into the blog, so I have set up an online album where you can stare at my handsome mug to your hearts content. Here be the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/101344272653491597984/StarWarsCelebrationV?authkey=Gv1sRgCImnz-OxydymogE&feat=directlink
So click on it, look at all the pretty pictures, feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment if you have a question about any particular picture and then check back here for the ongoing narrative of the trip.
See you soon!
Okay, now that I have my defense out of the way, I am currently in the process of writing all about the trip. As you can imagine, this may take awhile. So while I am working on that, I thought you may want to look at the many, many pictures that we took. Way too many to try and embed into the blog, so I have set up an online album where you can stare at my handsome mug to your hearts content. Here be the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/101344272653491597984/StarWarsCelebrationV?authkey=Gv1sRgCImnz-OxydymogE&feat=directlink
So click on it, look at all the pretty pictures, feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment if you have a question about any particular picture and then check back here for the ongoing narrative of the trip.
See you soon!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
And the Rain Kept Coming!
And I was doing so well blogging again! That was right up until Wednesday night, when it seems like most of the rain we had ended up in my basement.
As you can see from the above picture of several comic book boxes under water, I lost a few things. Luckily, not as many as it could have been. Thank goodness for all those years of being a compulsive bagger of my comic books. They saved the day!
Anyhow, thanks to the efforts of some really good friends, we got a lot of stuff up and out of the basement before it could be ruined. Including most of my Star Wars collection. I only lost one container of Star Wars things and they were all Episode 1, so they should be replaced somewhat easily.
So that is why you have not heard from me. And now, I am off to Star Wars Celebration V in sunny Orlando. Or as it should be called this week, O Lando! See you when I get back!
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