The Blog - The Archive

   Revealing Ourselves to the Jedi...

I thought I'd write a photoblog of my experiences seeing Revenge of the Sith tonight (Clickie on the photos if you want bigger versions, even though the thumbnails are nasty, the real ones are good.)

Tonight was the night we'd been waiting for: tonight was the night we, your intrepid reporters into all things Star Wars, were going to see... Darth Vader Live. Naturally enough, Heidi and I dressed for the occasion in shiny new clothes (to show we were his biggest fans):
It was pretty late when we got there; all the lights were out. I guess that was to add to the Sithly atmosphere (Tony, James and Charles): They also had taken down the sign about Darth Vader Live, since all the tickets were sold out.

We got seats right near the front, even though the theatre was nearly full when we arrived. I guess we're just lucky like that. We were promptly accosted by a visiting reporter from a community radio station, who demanded that we sing for her. So, we did, though it was a little off-key due to the fact that a different song was playing in the background to warm up the crowd. Oh well... We'll leave the singing to Lord Vader.

After much discussion, it was decided that Tony should see if he could do a good deed and invite someone else to the movie. He stood up, waved our spare ticket, took a few steps, and said, "Is there anyone out there who has a friend who could be here in half an hour?" A guy sitting three seats from us leapt up and said "I'll take it". We handed it over, and he mentioned that needed the ticket for himself; he'd snuck in, such was his desperation to see Darth Vader in concert. We adopted him, and have decided to name him Bren-Dan. (This is a not-at-all-subtle reference to the fact that Brendan stood us up, stating that he couldn't be bothered driving over to see us.)

We were also in the background for much discussion by a reporter from Showtime, who gibbered on about the atmosphere, and the response of some of the fans. His cameraman seemed most interested in some crazies waving wimpy Jedi lightsabers around...

I should take a moment to point out just how pretty the theatre was (if you couldn't tell from the background of our previous shots): And then finally, the man himself showed up, and the crowd went wild: After the concert, they decided to show a feature film on the life of Lord Vader. It didn't seem to portray him in a particularly nice light, but they did get most of the facts right.

Our review of the concert: Three thumbs up. A must see for anyone visiting Coruscant, if you can get tickets. Sith abilities may be required.

Our review of the film: Not too hard to judge. See it youself and you'll see what we mean.

And remember:
Stormtroopers: protecting you and your intellectual property from the Rebel Pirate Alliance.

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   A few more bits and pieces...

Yes, it's black friday, but I don't have the energy to talk about all the stuffs in my life. So here are a few more bits and pieces to keep you entertained:

For as long as there have been people, there has been porn
German archaeologists have found what they believe is Europe's earliest known clay figure of a male, along with a female figure that they think once was attached to the male in a sexual position. Together, the two finds could represent the earliest 3D depiction of a copulating human couple, according to the archaeological team.
The statues are 7,000 years old. That's pretty impressive really. Oh course, it's not really surprising that people back then were just as obsessed with sex as people today. People like sex, it's built in.

How the Grinch Trolled Fanfiction.net
All the fans on ff.net liked fanfics a lot -
But the Grinch, who lurked websites and MLs, did not.
The Grinch hated fanfics! The whole fandom craze!
Now please don't ask why, or we'll be here for days...
Okay, it's silly and full of bad rhymes, but a truly great story nonetheless.

Labels: this was before tags

   Catching up on old news...

Yup, I'm here, and posting too. Who'da thunkit?
Anyway, I've been building up a great and noble list of things I wanted to blog about, but never got around to any of them, so here we go:

The Science of Superman
Comic strip characters like Superman and the Incredible Hulk reflect what society thinks about science, says a UK researcher. Dr Simon Locke of Kingston University says superhero comics present science, technology and scientists as a force for good and evil.
Which is to say we're not all bad... Only the select few who seek to destroy the world... Not that I'm one of them, of course not... *sends minions*
Actually, I did like the main point of the article, which was that people are apprehensive about science, that they are aware that it can be used for evil as well as good. In many ways this is a good thing, not because I want people to be scared of scientists, but because it is always good to be aware of what you are doing and what repercussions it could have. And I think a lot of people just don't think enough.

The Minutemen (original news link)
"We the people are tired of waiting for you to lead. We are going to lead our nation in an effort to secure our borders, to protect our families, our children, our neighbours and our way of life in this great country known as the United States of America."
These guys scare me. They've gone and got themselves lots of guns, and are patrolling some part of the USA/Mexico border, turning away 60,000 (apparently) illegal immigrants. Now, even ignoring the possibility that regular american citizens may be being turned away from the border that's being guarded by these people (kinda the opposite of what goes on in Australia where we deport citizens who have lived here all their lives as illegal immigrants), these people are just plain crackers. What exactly are they protecting their families from? Those damn Mexicans stealing their jobs? People hoping for a better life? Gah! You all suck, be nice people! Shooting illegal immigrants is just as wrong as shooting your neighbour who ticks you off. It's all bad and wrong.

Lady Bush is a Desperate Housewife
"I said to him the other day, 'George, if you really want to end tyranny in this world, you're going to have to stay up later'," Mrs Bush said. "Nine o'clock and Mr Excitement here is in bed, and I am watching Desperate Housewives - with Lynne Cheney. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife."
I'd be desperate too if I was married to him. I applaud your taste in television, even as I deplore your taste in men. I wish you weren't a crazy republican, you might have been able to save the world through your husband.

Astrologer Sues NASA for "Disrupting the Natural Balance of the Universe"
Ms Bai seeks a ruling that will restrict NASA in its plans to annihilate a section of the Tempel 1 comet, in a project that has been dubbed Deep Impact, as well as punitive damages of $US300 million.
"My client believes that the NASA project infringes upon her spiritual and life values as well as the natural life of the cosmos and would disrupt the natural balance of forces in the universe," her lawyer said.
The lawyer says Tempel 1 has sentimental value to Ms Bai because her grandparents met when her grandfather pointed the comet out to his future wife.
Okay, I have sympathy with the last one, as I am a big softie at heart despite all my silly science talk earlier in this piece. But actually, I think Deep Impact is a really cool project. By blowing up a chunk of the surface of this comet, we can find out what it's made up of deep beneath the surface. That's really interesting to me.
Oh, and by the way, dearie, there are thirteen constellations in the true zodiac, and the star signs as you date them are out by a whole month. Your star charts are two thousand years out of date, maybe that's why your predictions are so dodgy.

Paul Davies may be an alien
Aliens may be living among us, say two scientists, who argue we may even carry some alien genes. Australian researchers Professor Paul Davies and Dr Charles Lineweaver outline their hypothesis in the latest issue of the journal Astrobiology. They say the aliens in question are likely to be primitive microbes that sprang up some four billion years ago.
First off, let me say that those two are very cool guys. Charlie Lineweaver is one of the most fun eccentric scientists I've met, and he has a great way of making complicated ideas simple. Paul Davies is very good at what he does (these days mostly public relations, it seems sometimes). I've heard both of them speak, and they are good value.
And secondly, I always knew my brother was an alien microbe.

I'm not done here, but my bus stop is coming up now so I'm signing off. I'll provide updates on all my conference and study plans soon, but first I just have to say that I love the new Star Wars soundtrack. I've been listening to it for ages now, and it spooks me out something severe.

Labels: this was before tags