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Phantom Menace Day

Posted in Fun, Spotlight with tags , , , on 19 June 2017 by Megan
Or, “A Hypothetical Baby Born On the Day I First Saw The Phantom Menace Is Now Old Enough to Buy Cigarettes in the United States.”
Or, “I Feel Really Old, Oh, My Gosh, How Am I This Old.”
On May 19, 1999, t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ the US exploded with the sensation of “The Phantom Menace.” (The UK didn’t get E1 until July 14, which makes me feel better about the story I’m about to relate.) I only exploded with impatience, however, because I was 14 and my parents had declared I was “too interested” in Star Wars and therefore would have to wait to see it until it came to our small-town movie theater which typically got new releases five or six months after the general release.
The story of why June 19 is “Phantom Menace Day” in my mind can be traced through a series of increasingly frantic diary entries, which I thought would be entertaining to share with you, since 2017 is apparently the year of me sharing my decades-old diaries with the internet at large.
First, a few entries to set the mood:
“Tuesday, May 18, 1999. The thought of the day: IT’S COMING OUT TOMMOROW!!!! AGGGGGGGG! UNO DAY UNTIL ITS OUT IN THEATRES!! AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!”
“Wednesday, May 19, 1999. The thought of the day: Guess. SW: E1: PM IS OUT. I am SOO Psyched! It opened at midnight this morning. I am SOO dying to see it. M thinks it will be the same movie in June or July, but I don’t agree. It will be different and is liable to disappear if I don’t go see it NOW!”

“Thursday, May 20, 1999. It’s (SW:E1:PM) been out for a day. Nobody’s talking about it yet. I’m going to check the Urbana weekender this week to see when it hits Urbana or Bellefontaine or something. It isn’t fair I’ve got to wait 2 months for it to come to Urbana’s ‘small’ theatre. I want to see it NOW!”

“Wednesday, May 26, 1999. It’s been 1 wk since SW:E1:PM came.”

Offsetting the intense agony of the “no Star Wars until it comes to Urbana” announcement, my mom did buy me the Episode I Visual dictionary on June 16. It was a surprise because I hadn’t even known such a book existed, let alone asked for it, but it became my favorite possession and I spent the rest of 1999 taking it with me everywhere. (Well, not the bathroom. Books do not belong in the bathroom.)

By the way, that’s what eventually happens to a Star Wars visual dictionary that you carry with you everywhere for a year. The cover comes off and half the pages fall come apart.

I tried not to read any of the text so nothing would be “given away,” and the movie I came up with in my head based on the pictures is pretty amusing. Let’s just say that I thought Jar Jar was going to be a lot more “bad cop” than Buster Keaton.

So, maybe my parents had a point and I was “too interested” in Star Wars, because after a month of not seeing the movie, and only about thirty hours after getting the visual dictionary, my diary records an amusing descent into hysteria.

  • June 13, “Got my SW books (SWE1PM).”
  • June 14, “Jamie gave me a COOEL poster.”

To clarify, Jamie was a friend of my sister’s who was always giving me stuff for no discernible reason. Since she always took all my sister’s money, I suppose I could make a better argument that all the random Star Wars junk Jamie gave me actually came from my sister instead ;)

Anyway, this was the poster, the catalyst of the next few days:

Tuesday, June 15, 1999. I WANT TO SEE SWE1PM!!! This sucks. Put my poster up. I am so. . . something. I’m going to DIE if I don’t see E1PM this weekend. I feel ill.

Wednesday, June 16, 1999. I SOO have to see E1:PM this SATURDAY w/ Corey (Heather & Racheal have already seen it.) Racheal accidentally confirmed my suspicions that Qui-Gon Jinn gets killed. I DON’T KNOW HOW IN THE — I”LL BE ABLE TO WAIT UNTIL THIS WEEKEND TO SEE IT! IF I HAVE TO WAIT ONE — MORE WEEK, I AM GOING TO A) DIE, B) KILL SOMETHING. AGHWEWAK:HABSFPIUASFPIUADSFUJOQFQEGEFNEEOEGNO!!!!!!*

 *This particular diary was kept in a text file on the computer so these kinds of outbursts were made just slamming the keyboard…also you can tell I was just holding Shift down because of double quotes for apostrophes…

Friday, June 18, 1999. The thought of the day: It’s Friday. Like DUH. But tomorrow is Saturday, and I’m going to see E1 on Saturday, no matter what. So today I have to be agreeable, and do what I’m told so mom won’t have a reason to keep me home.

Several hours later…

Today was bad. M threw a fit over my poster. Really stressed out. Seeing E1PM tomorrow. I will NEVER get rid of my SW things, not ever. I just LIKE IT.

Ah, teenagers.

No suspense necessary. The very subdued next entry for June 19 was “Saw E1PM.” I must have begged, bribed, and/or cajoled my sister into taking me to the movie theater in Bellefontaine (a mere 3 miles further than the one in Urbana). I remember I wore a yellow tank top and a bead necklace; she sat with her arms crossed for most of it and I cried my eyes out when Qui-Gon died. For some reason, I didn’t write anything about it until June 24, “Its one of the MOST AWESOME movies I’ve ever seen.”

What else can I say? That’s June 19 for me. The day I saw The Phantom Menace for the first time. And it was 18 years ago. Oh my lord. We all got very, very old somehow, didn’t we…

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Favorite E1 Moment

Posted in Challenges with tags , , , , , , , on 1 May 2014 by Megan

I know people hate Jar Jar Binks. If it’s one thing practically everyone in the universe knows, it’s that practically everyone in the universe hates Jar Jar Binks.

Why so much hate?

Why so much hate?

He’s not my favorite character, by any means whatsoever, but I think it’s unfair that he’s been made the entire scapegoat of why “everyone” hates a movie they were going to hate from the word go for the same reason they were going to hate ROTJ no matter what — the delivery did not live up to the expectation. Should George Lucas have bought into the idiotic notion that Star Wars was a kids movie and therefore construct a film for 7-year-olds? No. He should have understood that his primary demographic was far closer to 27 than 7 and given us a buddy Jedi (in the buddy cop vein) of Anakin and Obi-Wan kicking ass and taking names.

But all of that aside, Jar Jar Binks is neither the worst nor the best character in the prequels, and certainly not the most embarrassing. Ahmed Best didn’t deserve what he got from the movie at all. And my favorite moment in Episode I (not to be confused with the funniest) also happens to be the first clip I ever saw.

obi40-f

Oh, hey guys.

I was 14 and I watched all the news religiously in order to hear reports on Episode I and see bits. And one morning (May 13, 1999), George Lucas was interviewed on NBC and they showed this clip from Episode I — Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Jar Jar meeting in the swamp on Naboo.

If they find us, they will crush us, grind us into tiny pieces, and blast us into oblivion.

Honestly I love this scene from the moment Qui-Gon snaps, “You almost got us killed! Are you brainless?” all the way up to where Jar Jar spins around, forcing Obi-Wan to duck his flying ears. I’ve been charmed by this scene since day one, and it never ceases to be funny.

Neither Obi-Wan nor Qui-Gon behave in a very appropriate manor for a couple of monks. They are short-tempered, demanding, and bully a stranger — clearly some kind of mentally handicapped young person — into taking them to his people’s hidden underwater city, knowing full well that he faces execution for doing so. It’s only after Qui-Gon’s conscience smites him that he asks about Jar Jar’s fate and, with much protest from Obi-Wan, brings him along to save his life. They take what they want until they get to the capital city. All of this actually falls in line very neatly with how Jedi are known to behave — ends justifying the means, absolute selfishness, etc. etc. — and even the two best Jedi the Order has ever known fall into that trap.

And, come on, Obi-Wan has to duck so Jar Jar’s ears don’t hit him! He has to duck! Ah, ha ha ha, I can’t get over that. He ducks! Oh, I love it. I have to go watch this movie. Bye.

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Flashback! Why?

Posted in Questions with tags , , , , , , on 1 April 2013 by Megan

I feel like I’ve been quoting old AIM convos kind of a lot this year, and it made me want to go back and do another flashback question, courtesy of one of those AIM convos.

If Qui-Gon knew that Jar-Jar was going to be a pain while he went looking for a hyper drive why did he take him? — Krisco F.

Qui-Gon Jinn with Jar Jar

No one ever asks that question about Anakin…

My answer at the time was quite accurate and fully sourced by a Lucas-approved canonical source, that is, the novelization of Episode I — this included a scene never filmed for the movie, in which Obi-Wan dismisses Jar Jar’s concerns about going. (Jar Jar in fact did not want to go). The argument is a small group would be less noticeable than a single undercover Jedi in a place like Mos Epsa.

What I actually quoted, in the fall of 2000, to answer the question, though, was the following excerpt from an Episode I journal I myself had actually written — Obi-Wan’s Padawan journal. (I wrote it because, as a massive oversight, no one else had.) I’m going to quote it for  you, just to get some length to this post, but be patient and keep in mind that the person who wrote this was fourteen years old at the time.

A moment later, holding a scanner in one hand, I was checking the artfully designed Naboo hyperdrive. I frowned at the readouts, just as Jar Jar burst into the hold, looking around as if seeking salvation from a fate worse then death. For a moment, I wondered just what kind of trouble he’d gotten himself into now, and then he threw himself at my feet, moaning. “Obi-Wan, sire!” he wailed, “Pleeze–me not go wid Quiggon!”

It only took a moment to realize what the terrified Gungan was talking about–Qui-Gon had decided to take Jar Jar with him into the spaceport. “Sorry,” I said, detaching myself from him. I told the Gungan he would make Qui-Gon appear less obvious by going along. I silently added, I hope.

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Funniest Moment

Posted in Challenges with tags , , , , on 28 February 2013 by Megan

I can’t believe I can’t find a video or a GIF or something showcasing my very favorite funny scene from Star Wars. In fact, I tried to pick a back-up funny moment . . . but I can’t find anything of that, either!

Fine, this screen-cap will have to do. Qui-Gon, thinking he’s playing it so cool, casually remarks on how Anakin must have Jedi reflexes if he races Pods. Maybe he’s trying to get a reaction from Shmi, to try to figure out what this kid’s deal is, but he’s distracted by Jar Jar’s incessant slurping plums out of the common bowl. SNAP! He grabs his tongue. And then is confused when he gets pegged for a Jedi.

grabtongue

Jedi so far undercover, you don’t even know what covers are

Look, this scene does it for me. It cracks me up. Sometimes I rewind and watch it a couple of times in a row. This is really funny.

I also absolutely love the scene in ROTJ when Han starts issuing instructions to Threepio, interrupting him every second before Threepio can translate his demands to the Ewoks. He concludes, “And hurry up, will ya? I haven’t got all day.” Threepio actually does a double take. That scene has always been incredibly amusing to me.

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3D Experience

Posted in Fun with tags , , , , , , on 15 February 2013 by Megan

My much, long, absolutely delayed review of my time at the E3 3D this time last year.

I know, I said for a year I was going to post about this. And you may well wonder what is proved by doing an entry about an experience that you can’t run out and share anymore because it’s way over. Well, that’s why I made this a Fun Friday and not a Spotlight Sunday post!

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Me and Trilogy, kicking it 3D

Here’s a picture of me with Trilogy the Bear, whom I introduced last week, kicking our three-d glasses with my metal ROTJ poster over my shoulder. This was right after I got back from the first showing.

So, Episode I came out in 3D on February 10, 2012. I thought this date was wildly random, but I’d been looking forward to it for a long time . . . as this post from Hundredaire Socialite (from my 80 Day Facebook challenge) will demonstrate:

Episode I in 3D

A Photo that Makes Me Happy

I have been hanging onto this picture for like a month now. This makes me happy because Star Wars is coming back to the theaters!! I can finally see all six of them in the theater! And lightsaber duels in 3D! There is NO downside here. Plus this poster makes me smile. So the whole thing is happiness.

E1’s release date is February 10, 2012.

On Saturday, February 11, my roommate and I abruptly decided to simply go over and watch without really planning it. That put us a the 1 o’clock showing. We got the awesome Darth Maul glasses and those adorable minifigs. We snuck out after the podrace because, hello, boring. It was so amazing, so awesome to get to see E1 in the theater again.

As far as 3D was concerned, it largely didn’t look any different — instead of coming out of the screen, the way regular 3D movies do, it was like looking in. Not only did I not get a headache, but it looked sweet. The parts that looked different were epic cool. I can’t wait for the Coruscant speeder chase next year — and the opening scene to E3!!! (More here at Hundredaire Socialite)

My little pod trooper from the first showing

My little pod trooper from the first showing

The second time was great; seriously would’ve gone again if I could afford it. However, they were out of proper glasses and out of Pods when we went back the second time, so that and being broke reduced the desire for a third. Totally ruined some kid’s life crawling over him to get out during the Podrace scene. I know that people leaving the film in the middle is a huge pet peeve of people’s. Tell Lucas to stop putting sucky crap in and I won’t have to stand in the lobby for 15 minutes waiting for the scene to end! (Due warning: I’m going to hide outside in the lobby during Yoda’s “fight scene” too.)

Mini-trooper with R2-D2 and R2-D2 Jr.

Mini-trooper with R2-D2 and R2-D2 Jr.

Anyway, for some more size perspective, there’s my pod clone trooper with a Heroes Artoo and a regular size Artoo. (He came with the Dex action figure I bought for the SW party. OMG, I should really post about that party.)

Trilogy rocking it with two lightsabers and 3D glasses

Trilogy rocking it with two lightsabers and 3D glasses

In conclusion, here’s Trilogy with his lightsabers and 3D glasses. I will say that Episode I in 3D was everything I hoped for. I don’t even like 3D movies, but just seeing it on the big screen is worth it . . . and 3D lightsabers did not disappoint.

Just for fun, how I made my candy lightsaber work even after eating the candy.

Just for fun, how I made my candy lightsaber work even after eating the candy.

 

 

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The First Party

Posted in Fun with tags , , , , , , , on 1 June 2012 by Megan

I have been meaning to post about this for ages, honestly. I mean telling you all about the glorious Episode I bash that we threw. And then I thought, well, I need content, and I’m in a reminiscing kind of mood. So here we go. I’ve redone the pictures, but the text is mainly as-is from the original post.

So, this month, in case you didn’t know it, in case you’re retarded or don’t know anything about anything, this is National Star Wars Month, and last week, for those not dedicated to dedicate the entire month to the worthiest of causes, was National Star Wars Week. And in fact, for those who cannot even be bothered to pay attention for a week, May 19th is National Star Wars Day. We in fact had the party of the decade on May 18th, which is not even a remotely significant date in the history and canon of the Star Wars Saga, but it was a convenient date for everyone given our other plans.

As I believe you should have noticed, Kristine and I dedicated Saturday to preparing the festivities. If you didn’t notice, well, bite me and go read that stupid post. Otherwise, moving on! Monday morning, I dug out a bunch of action figures from my closet and collected some soundtracks and stuff. Then, after Kristine got off work, about 12:30, Michelle and I headed down to her house, where she had already prepped the Jawa Eyes and was working on the Yoda Sausage when we arrived. I proceeded to sort out mynock eggs by color, decorate the living room, and . . . take pictures obsessively. Here is Kristine making Yoda Sausage:

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Here are decorations and things, and our sweet, sweet table.

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Then we ate and gloriously feasted . . . actually, we ate about a tenth of what we would’ve a few years ago, but oh well. We put E1 in the DVD player and rocked out. After the movie got boring, we took out Star Wars LIFE and I won, except I think I had to categorically lose because I drew Yoda for my master and that just sucks. And that was how Star Wars’ 10th anniversary went for us. I feel so freaking old? Yeah.

Playing Star Wars Life.

Playing Star Wars Life.

via I Am a Jedi at Hundredaire Socialite.

In conclusion, I have no idea why I cut this post off so randomly without even a mention of the piece d’resistance, that is, a piece of cake, so here is a photo montage of my favorite Episode I Cake moments.

Funfetti cake mix — odd as it sounds, it was to look like “the interior” of the lightsaber
Kristine mixing up the mix, appropriately enough
And into the oven she goes.
Important stuff, all this to dye the icing for appropriate colors
Green, gray,black; all really metallic actually
Beginning to shape the cake.
Originally it was going to be one saber, but the crossed design turned out better.
Carving out some shape to the sabers
Less like lightsabers, but it’s coming.
First, application of green icing
I know no one ever fights green-to-green. It was available!
Almost done! Spray icing for depth.
Candy for buttons.
TA DA! Cake completed.
The proud bakers show off their work.
With festive Coruscant Sunrises to drink.
My lightsaber sings / Out SCHWIING and cuts off / Some of everything (A haiku)
And ready to feast.
Cheers!
Happy 10th Anniversary, Star Wars

(It’s entirely possible I didn’t do pics of the cake because I meant to add this video I did of us with the cake. Here you go.)

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Costumes, of Course

Posted in Spotlight with tags , , , , on 30 October 2011 by Megan

At first I was going to showcase some Halloween costumes, but then I realized I don’t know anyone who dresses up for Halloween and I didn’t want to scour the net for material because nothing was really springing to mind.

Then I remembered that I found this totally random website a few weeks ago, and I’ve been meaning to link to it. It’s the best of both worlds because it’s about costumes and it’s also awesome. It’s a website dedicated to the Dressing the Galaxy exhibit that went up in December of 2005  at the FIDM Museum & Galleries. It featured more than 100 costumes, accessories, and props from all six films. There are two galleries available online for your perusal: a tour of the gallery, which has some great panoramas of costumes including minor characters, and detail shots. These include a lot of Padmé’s gowns, but only two original trilogy costumes. The only trilogy items are Boba Fett, Han Solo, slave Leia, and an X-wing, which is kind of disappointing, but on the other hand, the prequel costumes are just gorgeous and worth a look. So check it out!

Tusken Raider costumes

A family of Tusken Raiders

That being said, if you have Star Wars cosplay you’d like to send me, go ahead! I’ll do a spotlight on cosplay if I get enough material.

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