COOL STUFF: "An Outsider's View of Star Wars" (6 July 2008)

TOP: Star Wars, still a classic...

Hi All,

I can't imagine a world without Star Wars. While I was born before it came out, I was young (...and impressionable) when it came out. I remember collected Star Wars figures of which my sister summarily beheaded as one of those sibling rivalry pranks we all do... I also remember playing Star Wars on the playground with other grade schoolers SO...

When perusing my friend Yehuda's blog the other day ago, I was SHOCKED to discover that Yehuda had apparently NEVER seen the Star Wars film before! Yehuda's review is written as an outsider, someone not completely taken in by the Star Wars cult... which made it rather novel in my eyes. Here we live in a world where many UK citizens publicly declare their religion to be "THE FORCE" and Yehuda had still never seen the films, while living in the Western world... To gosh and beyond...

Please enjoy this short excerpt from Yehuda's review and then find the link below to the entire shebang.

First movie (The Phantom Menace)

This was a neat movie. The good guys and their light swords are ubercool. Obi-Wan, Qui Jon, Yoda, and Palpatine are all played well enough, although they don't exhibit much more than one-dimensional personalities. Padme is a feisty heroine, but she really doesn't have much to do or say in the movie. She just wanders around.

It culminates in a battle to recapture the Naboo palace, and a wicked fight scene with light sabers.

Unfortunately, the actors who play Anakin and his mother are pretty bad, as are some of the hokey lines of dialog. Some of the dialog is inconsistent. For instance, the mother lets Anakin go off with Qui Gon Jinn to be a Jedi, and then two seconds later Anakin asks if he can go. Du-uh.

The Trade Federation's droids are supposed to be menacing, but they're fairly ineffective and say a lot of things that don't make sense for a droid, such as "Uh oh". And there's a race of annoying aquatic people on Naboo who talk with Jamaican accents and blubber a lot, added as comic relief. They were dispensable.

I think Yehuda about summed up the Star Wars Episode I film in those few sentences. Jar-Jar Binks is pretty universally despised and "dispensable" seems just about right for him... maybe too kind. Uggh.

The rest of his comments were fun too... it's just hard to know if Yehuda was being sarcastic or if his review is as sincere as it appears. It seems so hard to imagine that an adult male could have missed Star Wars altogether unless they were cloistered in a monastery, prison, or some other sort of similar explanation. Of course, Yehuda is also a dedicated family man and that's as good an excuse as any. But still... LOL

Read Yehuda's review with all six Star Wars films here:

http://jergames.blogspot.com/2008/07/review-star-wars.html

Have a great Sunday!
And good gaming to you!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

FUN VIDEOS: "Dance Off With the Star Wars Stars 2008" (18 June 2008)

Hi All,

First of all, I'm sharing the above video, which I thought was really amusing. If the first two dance numbers are a tad annoying, please hold out for the third, Lord Vader comes out to do one of my all-time favorite Michael Jackson numbers (Forward to about the 3:00 minute mark if you want to skip the first two dance numbers). It worth it for no other reason than to see Lord Vader's head bobble in that characteristic Michael Jackson way...

I've also been keeping busy lately... but haven't forgotten gaming. The June MWS meet went really well with almost twenty attendees AGAIN!

We had three games:

1. Starmada
   (...in "starship scale" or some ridiculously puny number such as 1/3,000)
   [Vince had set up a scenario between Chinese and German future fleets.]
2. Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) for Miniatures
   (...in 6mm or 1/285 scale)
   [Eric set up a WWII Western Front scenario with Americans confronting dug-in Germans.]
3. Hordes of The Things (HOTT)
   (...in 15mm scale)
   [Joe set up a cool little series of games with Orcs battling Dwarf Kings laden with treasure.]

And despite not playing in any of the games, I had a great time. Gaming, for me, has always really been about friends, camaraderie, and having a good time. And the MWSS (Miniatures Wargaming Society of Sacramento) has really been delivering lately.

We have a new schedule too:

The new schedule for the Miniature Wargaming Society of Sacramento is:

Day / Date /Time:
Sunday = 7/13/8 = 10am-6pm
Sunday = 8/10/8 = 11am-7pm
Saturday = 9/27/8 = 11am-7pm
Saturday = 10/18/8 = 12am-8pm
Sunday = 11/16/8 = 11am-7pm
Saturday = 12-20-8 = 12am-7pm

All meetings at the Carmichael Library located at 5605 Marconi Ave in Sacramento

I'm looking forward to gaming much more this year with MWS AKA MWSS. I hope to host a few more 28mm pirate games, maybe a few 28mm WAB games, and possibly a 6mm Kaiju / Godzilla game soon among my other wishes and long shots!

I'm also excited to be going on a vacation trip to New York in the first week of July. I'll be visiting my uncle, some old friends, and even, perhaps, getting a choice game or two in. Here's hoping...

And one other quick news tidbit:

My buddy Tas in the land of Oz has re-started his old OGRE web site as a blog... find it here:
http://ogrerecognitionmanual.blogspot.com/

So, good gaming to you!
And have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: "Star Wars in France!" (14 May 2008)

. TOP: Darth Vader clearly knows how to...

Dominate French apartment blocks.

Hi All,

I had a busy weekend with Mothers Day and all, and barely got to touch my models. My mother and sister both love drinking tea and collecting tea cups and that's what we did... head off to a British tea house and have a tea party, from appetizers to horsdoeuvres and multiple courses of tea, of course, we did it all.

In gaming news, my 28mm Barbary Pirates crew is nearly done and I've started putting together a 28mm Orc-Gobbo pirate crew. Thanks to the awesome folks at Black Cat Miniatures, I have a few new goblins, some excellent sculpts of some Gobbo natives and a few more piratey greenskins in tricornes with cutlasses and flintlocks. I hope to share pictures when available.

I haven't written about Star Wars in some time although I have plenty of material to farm out when I have more time to blog again. There are some rumors that a new Star Wars television series will soon be coming out. I've heard conflicting rumors that the new series might be animated or live action. I have no idea as to the veracity of the rumors.

The below link is very clever insertion of Star Wars characters and images into still life photos taken in France. I thought they were very clever and would invite you to take a look. I enjoyed them. I always knew that France always had a bit of "evil empire" lurking under its "wine & snails" exterior... LOL ;o)

Link below:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1738796,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

============

This year, 2008, has also a tremendous year for history, between folks like Arthur C. Clarke, Gary Gyax, and so many others, we've really lost some major history makers. May they all rest in peace. One of the most recent deaths I heard of was of a woman named Irena Sendler, an amazing Polish-Catholic woman who represents what I find good in the world. You see, she rescued upwards of 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazi Holocaust. The Nazis later captured her and tortured her, but she was able to escape and has always taken pride in her actions to save those children. Her story is an amazing one and well worth reading.

Link here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irena_Sendler

May Irena Sendler rest in peace.

Have a great Wednesday!

Good gaming to you!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

FUN VIDEOS: "Star Wars According To a 3-year-old" (26 February 2008)

Hi All,

I've really fallen behind on blog updates... still trying to find a new job. The search is really chewing up my free time.

And now I'm on Jury Duty for a week or two...

I've been mostly working on 28mm pirates and ships, but this past Sunday, I got to play in a CoC (Call of Cthulhu) RPG game and really enjoyed it.

Several of my friends sent me the above video "Star Wars according to a 3 year old," which I though was pretty classic. Enjoy!

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: "Slave Girls Rock! Part 1" (22 October 2007)

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TOP: Leia #1 - She can BE my princess / slave girl!

Hi All,

OK. I admit it: Star Wars must have had a formative effect on me growing up. How do I know? ...because the simple site of a woman in a Return of the Jedi brass lingerie outfit still turns a smile on my face! I've always known that I was a "Geek-child" growing up. Who else builds castles out of graph paper, worships Flash Gordon, and had faith that Superman was the runt child from Krypton... because I was obviously the missing Kryptonian super-link, as I kept waiting for my superpowers to come out. The superpowers never developed further than an odd ability to catch thrown M&Ms in my mouth, but I did develop of love of fantasy & science fiction that's stuck with me ever since. At least I got something out of that deal.

And key among those acquired tastes was a deep and abiding appreciation for everything Princess Leia. You see... I was a runt kid growing up; I didn't get my heft and height until much later and being the low man on the totem pole, when we played Star Wars out on the playground, I always got stuck with the most undesirable roles, which were usually Princess Leia or R2D2. Even C3PO was too popular a role for likes of a wretch like I was. And you know what they say: If you're on the bottom, you might as well get to like it. So I did. Still, it felt a heck of a lot better when I finally outgrew the playground pack leaders and could claim a really fun role like Chewbacca. Every now and then, I still make that distinctive Chewie roar in fond memory of that day.

TOP: Leia #2 & #3 - Sometimes you need a little more than the Force...

...to keep you warm on those long hyperspace journeys.

As an adult (...and I sort of lay claim to that title), I've come to enjoy attending the occasional comic book convention, anime convention, sci-fi convention, gaming convention, Renn Faire, etc. And one of my favorite things about such conventions is to bask in the light of pretty ladies dressing up as Princess Leia. And they pop up EVERYWHERE! For the women of my generation and maybe the one after it, they must have all learned & yearned to secretly be the princess / slave girl. And as these photos attest, a few of them are a whole lot less secret about those desires to be the princess / slave girl. And all I can say about them is this:

God bless them!

My life is certainly a little bit richer with a few more Princess Leia's in it!

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
I'm not sure where these photos came from as they were sent to me by E-mail from a fan so... if they're yours, please drop me a line so I can credit you or remove them as is your wish!

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: "Necrovores: A Blast from the Past!" (17 October 2007)

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TOP: Cyborg Trucker's (CT) "Necrovores" shamble across a bridge.

Hi All,

Robots have been one of the staples of science fiction since "scientific romances" came into vogue around the early 1900's. And one of the earliest themes to be explored has been the relationship between man and robot, and particularly the theme of what happens when man and robot are mixed. In the early days of science fiction, these man-robot mixes were still called robots, but sometime in the 1960s, the term "cyborg" came into usage after two scientists, Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline, used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. And the term has stuck ever since, becoming a part of several science fiction genres, and most notably, the cyberpunk novel.

Here are a few of the better know appearances of cyborgs in popular culture:
- Terminator movies
- The Borg from Star Trek
- The Cylons from Battlestar Galactica
- The Necrons from GW40k
- a variety of cyberware enhanced humans from the Cyberpunk sci-fi genre
- Darth Vader from Star Wars
- etc.

A link about the history of cyborgs here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg

A link about the cyberpunk sci-fi genre here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk

TOP: CT's Necrovores wander an urban wasteland.

Now, one of my favorite fellow gamers is Cyborg Trucker (CT) USA! And the reason I wrote this post is to congratulate him on his article recently published on The Miniatures Page (TMP). Mazel Tov and congratulations, CT! CT has been putting out some of the most imaginative content on the web for some time, from goofy brains encased in robot walkers, to creepy mutated things, to Gamma Marauders turtle-bots, and much, much more. The guy's imagination must be brewing with fun sci-fi themes all day, and I imagine being a truck driver, that's a good thing to have in the back of your head when you're hauling cross-country. CT is also a great guy to chat with over the 'Net, a very enthusiastic person always happy to share ideas.

Mazel Tov, Cyborg Trucker!

A link to Cyborg Trucker's TMP work bench article here:
http://theminiaturespage.com/workbench/595567/

A link to Cyborg Trucker's blog here:
http://cyborgtrucker.blogspot.com/

A link Cyborg Trucker's Photobucket album of miniatures images here:
http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/CyborgTrucker/

And Bill from TMP writes this about the Necrovore figures from CT's article:

Bill: The Necrovore figures were produced by Ral Partha as part of the Space Knights license from Steve Jackson Games. The license has since expired, and the figures are no longer available.

TOP: A Necrovore with an "energy sword."

TOP: Necrovore troops armed with energy weapons of arcane design.

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: "Eject, Luke, Eject! Part 2"

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Hi All,

*** LANGUAGE ALERT *** on the video... if your ears are delicate, please pass on the above video.

Someone caught the unedited footage from the Rebellion why the recent X-wing rocket launch REALLY didn't work. Witness the "truth" for yourself.

Previous post here:
http://6mm-minis.blogspot.com/2007/10/cool-stuff-eject-luke-eject-or-was-that.html

Have a great Saturday!

And a Gut Shabbos to my Jewish readers!

Shabbat Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: "Spaceman Spiff & 10mm Sci-fi Resources!" (12 October 2007)

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TOP: Spaceman Spiff's beautiful 10mm MWDA Marauder mod.

Hi All,

If you know me and are a miniatures gamer, you probably associate my name with the 6mm scale... it's the one I go most crazy over... don't ask my why! I just like little pieces. However, I've never limited myself to just 6mm and about a year or two ago I decided that my hobby project for the year would be to build a Star Wars Battle of Hoth army set... I had wanted to do it in 6mm, but I simply couldn't find the pieces I needed on I kept on searching. And eventually I found all of the pieces I needed ...only in 10mm scale! And that's what got me into 10mm sci-fi!
If you'd like to see some photos of my 10mm Star Wars Battle of Hoth army set, you can find some of them here:
http://6mm-minis.blogspot.com/search/label/10mm%20Sci-fi

And 10mm sci-fi is a very up and coming scale. While 10mm is the stated scale, everything from 8mm to 12mm including 1/144 and N scale RR trains are often included as acceptable variations within the greater "scale creep" realm of 10mm.

And one of my favorite sources of inspiration for 10mm is a gamer named Spaceman Spiff who is not only incredibly productive, constantly posting new photos of his minis, but he's also incredibly creative - modifying model kits, scratch-building pieces, and coming up with some breathtaking models. This post is a salute to him, more or less! Huzzah, Spaceman Spiff!

TOP: A Battletech Slayer aerospace fighter by Spaceman Spiff!

Please check out all of Spaceman Spiff's images here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f12/4370spaceman-spiff/?mediafilter=all

Spaceman Spiff also keeps many images here at Lords Of the Battlefield (LOTB):
http://www.lordsofthebattlefield.com/news/weblog.php

TOP: Spaceman Spiff's scratch-built parts for a 10mm Urbanmech!

TOP: The Urbanmech begins to come together!

I wouldn't be writing a Maksim-Smelchak post if I didn't share a few links either so here are a few of my favorite links that I think of when 10mm sci-fi comes to mind. The first link I wanted to share was one to the Yahoo E-group I created to support 10mm sci-fi gaming and the second is for one of my favorite sci-fi games.

Alien Squadleader (ASQL) is a wonderful sci-fi game, with similarities to DBA, DBM, HOTT, Command Horizon and other games with more streamlined, fast-moving rule sets. The author, Alex Self, is a real mensch and runs his own Yahoo E-group for the game, where the on-line community is very helpful and Alex often personally helps out ASQL newbies ...like myself! While Alex and most of the gamers use 15mm sci-fi themed figures, I've chosen to use 10mm sci-fi figures, partially because another local gamer, Aron Clark, already has several armies made of recycled MWDA figures that are already 10mm scale. Add those to my Hoth set and throw in some of the other armies I have on the project queue and I'm set as a 10mm sci-fi ASQL player! Huzzah! There are also a couple of other local players building ASQL armies plus an established league in San Jose so I might actually get a few games out of this project!

And one the best resources for an interested 10mm sci-fi player is the 10mm Sci-fi Yahoo E-group I put together... it's a growing resource:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/10mm_SFWG/

And one of my favorite sci-fi games is Alien Squadleader (ASQL):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aliensquadleader/

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: "Eject, Luke, Eject! ...or was that Porkins?"

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Hi All,

Star Wars... still giving geeks reasons to be stupid after thirty years! Got a spare five grand? Let's build an X-wing rocket replica complete with a swiveling R2D2 head! Awesome, dude! I mean... like, what could go wrong?

And the below video is a short thirty-second fast and slow version of the launch... I love the Chipmunk-like voices when they speed up the video.

And it wouldn't be a Maksim-Smelchak post if I didn't share a few links...

Article link:
http://slashdot.org/articles/07/10/07/159251.shtml

Article link:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/boom/x+wing-rocket-launches-disintegrates-mid+air-307945.php

Article link:
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34230/113/

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: Star Wars Diagrammed!

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TOP: Hard to believe that the...

...Two Trilogies could be so easily mapped!

Hi All,

Another quick post today... too much going on between work and my "Life" TM afterwords... I came across the above Star Wars diagram of the "First" and "Second Trilogies" depending on how you count them. At any rate, the diagram represents Episodes I to III and IV through VI. I thought it was pretty cool and I save these kinds of tiny posts for rainy days and, well, it's raining here!

I wish I could say that I've never made a diagram as geeky as the above one, but I have! Such story, setting and plot diagrams are not only something I used to use and teach when I was a teacher, but I also use them playing RPGs and other "ambrosia of the nerds." My students used to love them. I even occasionally use them when reading books or watching movies... my brain is only so big and keeping track of story elements is SO much easier with a graphic representation.

If you'd like to see a bigger version of the above diagram, please follow this link:
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/writing/2007/05/star_wars_diagr.html

I'm also going to give a shout-out to the ubiquitous Jeff, who writes about everything RPG, geeky, and otherwise cool on his blog here:
http://jrients.blogspot.com/

To tempt those of you who have never seen Jeff's blog, I'm going to leave you with his self description:

Farm boy who wanted to grow up, go to the Academy, and join the Rebellion. Ended up a banker instead. Go figure.

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

FUN VIDEOS: "Blue milk, anyone?"

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Hi All,

I'm still very much overhwhelmed at and away from my job, but I did manage to get a little gaming in with some buds Wednesday evening. Vynnie, Mikos, George and I got together "to shoot the bull" and played a short board game of ZOMBIES!. Mikos just bought a copy and wanted to give it a spin...

And here's a short Star Wars video that I recently enjoyed. I find it exceptionally difficult to NOT root for the Empire at times... Blue milk, anyone?

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: Deathstar Mania! Part-Four: Deathstar Theatre! (20 September 2007)

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TOP: This Grand Imperial Theater features three seating levels...
...a stage screen, and a fiber-optic star field.

Hi All,

I'm undoubtedly a Geek, and, at that, a blasted big Geek, but... every time I think I'm a hopeless fanboy of the multiple shades of Geekness known by such appellations as Battlestar Galactica, Robotech, Star Trek, Traveller, and, of course, Star Wars... I get a rude awakening! Here's an excerpt written about the Geekiest Star Wars home theatre I've EVER seen (...and that includes the previously shown Star Wars sub woofer shaped like the Deathstar):

Designing a Death Star Theater

Three separate rooms, one star field, and a life-sized Han Solo are just a few of the things that help two super "Star Wars" fans get their geek on in this theater.

A long time ago in a home theater far, far away—well, outside of Seattle anyway—began one of the greatest “Star Wars” spectacles to ever exist outside the doors of Comic-Con.

Super-fans Vic Wertz and Lisa Stevens used to run the Official Star Wars Fan Club and even the “Star Wars Insider” magazine. But even though they’re both out of that business now, they still pay homage to their dark lord and master each and every day—thanks to their incredibly impressive and geeky home theater.

Darth Vader wouldn’t call in an Ewok to do his dirty work, and neither did this couple. Instead they recruited Doug Chiang, the lead designer on “Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace” and “Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones.” Stevens met him during her days at another game company, Wizards of the Coast. “When we decided to do this project, I wanted to make sure I had the right designer, and he was at the top of the list,” says Wertz. Sure, but was he gettable? “He was pretty busy at the time, so it almost didn’t happen, but at the last minute, he was able to schedule a block of time for the designs.”

Three designs later, the couple brought in Mike Dillon and his custom design and fabrication company, Dillon Works, to do the icing on the cake. “We can design and fabricate just about anything,” he says. And he wasn’t kidding.

“It ended up being the control deck of the Death Star,” says Eric Ward, custom sales manager at Definitive Audio. The Bellevue, Wash.-based installation company was responsible for all of the audio and video for this 36-month project...

Please follow the below link to read the rest of the article...

Here's a link to the full Death Star Theatre article: http://www.electronichouse.com/article/designing_the_death_star_theater/

TOP: The Jedi’s Last Supper: Which One Is Judas?

And I threw in the above "Jedi's Last Supper" graphic even though it's old news and has been floating around the 'Net for the Lord only knows how long... As far as the question goes, I think that the Judas of Star Wars is obvious... don't you?

*** Who do you think the Judas of Star Wars is? ***

If you'd care to share, please share your Judas in the comments section of this post.

Here's a link to one of the MANY posts featuring this graphic:
http://www.uberreview.com/2007/08/the-jedi-last-supper-which-one-is-judas.htm

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: Deathstar Mania! Part-Three: Dolly Deathstar! (13 September 2007)

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TOP: DOLLY DEATHSTAR, The Empire loves her!

Hi All,

I've said it before, but fanboys (...and girls) are among the strangest people on the planet, and Star Wars fanboys are no less weird. Now, add on another even stranger breed, the "sci-fi & anime costume convention crowd" and you have a real recipe for truly astounding mutations. Dragon-Con (...mentioned in a previous post with a site link) and Comic-Con are among the most colorful of these events. And I haven't featured a "gratuitous babe" in awhile... What do you get when you mix a good-looking girl from the South with a little Star Wars funkiness?

DOLLY DEATHSTAR!

TOP: DOLLY DEATHSTAR, I wonder if she has any telekinetic Sith powers?

Or is that just natural?

TOP: DOLLY is popular with the whole crew, especially Stormtroopers!TOP: And the Deathstar maintenance crew just adores DOLLY!

I wonder if they'd share their Spoo and blue milk with her?

I have a Flickr fellow to thank for most of the photos. He goes by the monniker: "Women, Fire & Dangerous Things." Appropriate, huh?

Thanks, WFDT!

Check out his galleries here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfdt/sets/72157601753134634/

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: Darth Mania! Part-Uno (12 September 2007)

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TOP: Darth Kitty, who could have known?

Hi All,

I've said it before, but people do the strangest things with the Star Wars franchise. One barely has to lower a stick into the radioactive pond outside the Springfield reactors to come up with some abhorent, yet strangly fascinating mutant. Darth Kitty is no different... so in tradition of P.T. Barnum, give me a nickel and I present to you the Sixth Strangest Wonder of the World:

DARTH KITTY!

TOP: Aagh! ...make it go away!

I have a Flickr fellow to thank for the photos who goes by the monniker: "Women, Fire & Dangerous Things." Appropriate, huh?

Thanks, WFDT!

Check out his galleries here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfdt/sets/72157601753134634/

TOP: "Actually Chuck, I'm NOT Luke's father..."
"...more like an estranged ex-uncle."

And you can learn more about DragonCon, the convention where people dress as Darth Kitty, here:

http://www.dragoncon.org/

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,

Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: The Star Wars You Never Knew...

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TOP: Darth Vader's real "stay-at-home" Mom...

...not the silly Episode I version...

Hi All,

Every now and then, I go looking for Star Wars images on the Web... just to see what I can find. As I've mentioned before, it never ceases to amaze me the massive effect that Star Wars has had on world culture... such as that UK survey in which a significant percentage of Brits claimed that their religion was "The Force." I'm not kidding about that either...

So, here are a couple of the more choice Star Wars images that I've enjoyed:

TOP: The Empire would have never amounted to anything...

...if they would have recruited more hippies.

TOP: Darth Vader must have had this Rebel artist killed...

...preferably by Force Tickling.

And here are two reasons why "The Dark Side" isn't limited to any one group... we're all susceptible to it, ya know? And for the record, I'm not very fond of either of the dominant political parties in the USA... I really feel that the American people could use a few more viable choices.

TOP: This Dark Lord will probably claim that her "village" raised you too!

...even if you're a Wookie, Jawa, or Sand Person.

TOP: And this Dark Lord looks like he's done kissing babies...

...he's ready to start raising taxes!

Evil, huh?

Have a great Monday!

Update (27 August 2007 @ 2:10pm PST):

A fellow nicknamed Chronoglide over at TMP was kind enough to further elucidate me about the religion of "The Force" in the UK:

Chronoglide: Lots of Brits entered The Force or Jedi as their religion as a political statement, not because they were Star Wars spods. We had been lead to believe, by the media (...now there is an Evil Empire), that if enough people put it down on the survey, that it would become recognised as an official religion by the Government. Most of the anarcho-hippies that called themselves Jedi probably hadn't seen one of the films in years, if at all. So don't get the impression that we're all Skywalker nerds.

P.S.
My other car's an Ewok glider

Link here:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=118033

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
Spod is a British slang term for an annoying "computer geek" if I'm not mistaken.

Link here:
http://www.catb.org/esr/jargon/html/S/spod.html

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

HUMOUR: A Barbie Toy That Shouldn't Have Made It... But It Did!

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Barbie's Dog Takes a Dump

TOP: Barbie's dog just may be eating its own feces. Weird!

Hi All,

I don't know if this commercial toy pitch is real or a gag, but I found it amusing. And, personally, I think there should be a market for this toy... I hate walking along public pathways and finding "doggie treats" that haven't been looked after... especially if I find them the hard way! "Doggie treats" really put a cramp on a good hike...

TOP: My baby sister was good at "beheading the tyrant."
I lost several Darth Vaders to her machinations...

I also have a soft spot for Barbie as I once dated a Greek girl who was really named Barbie... although Ken used to take a beating from my G.I. Joes. He's really a wuss. Although my baby sister would get even by biting the heads of my Star Wars men... Darth Vader was no match for her... his head rolled... my little sister has some serious Sith powers!

Update (21 August 2007 @ 7:10am PST):

Coyote BD was kind enough to point out that not only was this toy REAL, but it has been recalled. Thanks, Coyote BD!

Please check out this link:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07271.html

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: "My lord, I've reached the main power generator..."

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TOP: "The Empire Strikes Back," an all-time classic!

Hi All,

I have a number of married friends with young children and when I visit them, I usually try to be a good guy and help them push the stroller about. I was thinking about that yesterday when I came across this photo:

TOP: "Mama, I've reached the main power generators."

"The shield will be down in moments, you may start your landing."

I found the photo here:
http://www.myconfinedspace.com/2007/06/15/star-wars-at-at-stroller/

And if I had one of those AT-AT strollers (...and a baby), I think I'd volunteer a HECK of a lot more to push the stroller!

TOP: General Maximillian Veers, played by Julian Glover.

And I thought I'd mention that General Maximillian Veers is probably one of my all-time favorite Star Wars characters... it might just be the name! Not only did he command the ultra-cool AT-ATs, but he had these cool lines:

"My lord, I've reached the main power generators. The shield will be down in moments, you may start your landing."

You can learn more about the General Veers character here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Maximilian_Veers

Or here:
http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/generalmaximilianveers/

Or here:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Maximilian_Veers

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: Deathstar Mania! Part-Deux - Lego Edition (17 July 2007)

.TOP: The actual Death star... in film!

Hi All,

I never stop marvelling at the depths to which the Star Wars franchise has infiltrated modern culture, whether...

TOP: Tiny Lego DEATH STAR!
I really like this little tiny Lego masterpiece! Well done!

TOP: Big Lego DEATH STAR!
And this one is cool and even has crew!
After all, no Death Star can operate efficiently without a few Sith force-stranglings!

TOP: Bigger Lego DEATH STAR!
Love the laser firing effect!
The small ship orbiting the Death Star is a Star Destroyer!

TOP: Bigger Lego DEATH STAR!
And the view of the interior construction is cool!

TOP: Biggest Lego DEATH STAR!
This is the biggest of the big, but...
...I'm disappointed that Lego didn't actually build this one out of Legos.

...and we were afraid of H.G. Wells' "War Of the Worlds."

Come to think of it, Spielburg's "War Of the Worlds" was pretty bad... although the Pendragon version was even worse. Sometimes, you just can't beat the classics.

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
Hi to Peter G. "Lego Maniac" and the "Hot German Chick" in Germany!

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: Deathstar Mania! Part-Uno (16 July 2007)

. TOP: The actual Death star... in film!

Hi All,

I never stop marvelling at the depths to which the Star Wars franchise has infiltrated modern culture, whether...

TOP: It's in mock advertising of the humorous variety...

TOP: Or you just happen to notice that the AT&T logo bears a startling resemblance to...

TOP: Or this actual logo, which doesn't even try to hide its' inspiration...

TOP: And no one would be surprised if the last ComicCon was held in a hallway...
...with a must-be-more-than-coincidental resemblance to...

TOP: A certain Tx-11 CAKE packing a certain planet-destroying punch...
...much rougher than "double-chocolate-fudge"...

TOP: Do you think it could destroy the birthday boy?
...especially if he's from Alderaan.

Hey, DUDE! You know what would be a cool Halloween costume?

TOP: DUDE! That sucks! Check out my stereo and new sub woofer!
Whoa, Spicoli, man! Pass over the joint...

Yup. It's too late...

...and we were afraid of H.G. Wells' "War Of the Worlds."

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

FOOD: The Serenity Flies Again! ...And Then Gets Eaten!

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Hey Kimbo! Cool game cake, huh?

Hi All,

That crazy Nils... I've never quite figured out what he really does for a living, but I figure that in the end of ends, he's gotten some kind of government grant to surf the Internet everyday as a "study." I say that because he always find this wacky, but intensely amusing stuff...

So, somehow we get to "E-chatting" about cakes one day and what does he come up with but these:

Any Browncoat (Firefly/Serenity fan) would love this masterpiece!

Dun, dun, dun, duh, dun, dun, dun, duh, dun... In a galaxy...

They're not cheap at five-hundred smackers a pop for starters, but they SHORE are cool!

I think if I ever bought one, I'd have to encase it in carbonite or something...

And the chef's name is REALLY Chef Duff! How cool is that?


His name reminds me of Crime Dog McGruff!

"Take a bite out of crime! And Charm City Cakes!"

Crime Dog McGruff even has his own web site.

Check it out here:
http://www.mcgruff-tid.com/

And, oh yeah, here's the Charm City Cakes web site:
http://www.charmcitycakes.com/

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
I have another theory that Nils is the webmaster for the Elder Gods from the Chthulhu mythos... but I have less evidence of that than the government grant theory... I can picture him chanting around a circle of black candles and applying Chthulhu bumper stickers to his car though.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).