What Went Wrong With the Star Wars Prequels by Kristen Lamb

What to do when it’s late Friday evening, your brain is fried and you need to write a blog post?

You’re damn greatful that you know people who write awesome posts.

Today I’m directing you to wonderfully funny Kristen Lamb’s blog where she talks about the Star Wars prequels and why they arent telling as good story as they could.

Here’s a taster of the post:

“I am a serious nerd. I grew up on J.R.R. Tolkein and played Dungeons and Dragons all through high school. Trekkie conventions, RPGs, Renaissance festivals, you name it. I had the punch mark on my Geek Card. I still remember being 3 years old standing in line with my father and uncle for hours as we eagerly waited to see this new epic film…Star Wars.

Two hours later, I was hooked. I grew up ankle deep in action figures, and logged so many gaming hours on Atari’s The Empire Strikes Back that even my dreams were pixilated. So when George Lucas announced, many years later, that he would be releasing the prequels to Star Wars, I was soooo excited.

Yeah.

Please do not send me hate mail. I didn’t like the prequels….”

Head to Kristen’s blog and find out why.

Baby Cthulhu and Fan Merchandise

Baby Ctulhu

Oh noes, kids have torn my heart apart

Hello little Cthulhu. Doesn’t the plushie look adorable?

H.P. Lovecraft must be rolling in his grave.

He wrote the creature as a thing from beyond the stars, so vast and alien that no human mind remains sane after encountering it.

And now it has become a cuddly toy for kids.

Such is the effect of the commercial world. For example George Lucas and the Angry Birds makers are making more money from the fan merchandise than of their movies and the game itself.

I don’t think that J.K Rowling is looking down her nose at the moola from Harry Potter wand and broom look-alikes and other items her books have inspired.

Some fans really want to be part of the world they love and the related knick knacks make the connection more real for them.

But where goes the limit before the items get way too tacky and become detractive, blasphemous even?

Han Solo in carbon chocolate? Darth Vader bobbleheads? Jedi bathrobes?

I have a dark confession to make.

I know why people want those items.

As a teenager, I used to write fan fiction in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time world. I also bought a Great Serpent Ring merchandise, just like the one his sorceresses wear.

I’ve even cosplayed as one of those sorceresses (that is, had a nice costume on so I’d look like one). It wasn’t Halloween.

Having fans that dedicated to a world I have created would be really awesome. And if a company offered to make stuff based on my books, I would seriously consider it.

But please, no bobbleheads of my characters. Naming your children after a fictional person is kind of weird too.

 

Do tell, how much is too much for you? Have you ever bought fan merchandise? Would you allow fan items to be made of your books? What kind of merchandise is tasty and what’s tacky?

Talk Like Yoda You Must

Happy Belated Talk Like Yoda Day! (it was yesterday May 21).

Yoda is the ultimate mentor character. Wise and mysterious with a great sense of humour. Yet Jedi he also was and fearsome with his light saber as we saw in the prequel movies. The special speech pattern thing was the final touch to make him truly memorable. Yoda either put his verbs to the beginning of the sentence or to the end.

“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.”

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”

If your Yoda Speak perfect is not, these links check out, yes? And scroll down a little you should some hilarious Star Wars videos to see, hmm.

 

Yoda Recording for Tom Tom GPS – Behind The Scenes (2:07)

 

Darth Vader Being A Smartass (0:47)

 

Star Wars Gangsta Rap (warning: foul language & totally non PC)

 

Darth Vader In Love (6:49)

 

Comment leave, please. Your Yoda Speak practice (or not). Think what of the Star Wars movies you did? Who your favourite characters are?

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