THE DARK SIDE OF THE MASQUERADE

THE PITIFUL LITTLE BAND RAWKS WONDERCON!

The Emperor may have felt safe from Luke Skywalker and his "pitiful little band" of rebels, but guests at WonderCon in San Francisco last night didn't stand a chance.
WE WON THE FREAKIN' LUCASFILM AWARD!

Yes, it's true, the winners of the WonderCon 2008 Masquerade Lucasfilm Award just happen to be Star Wars Bloggers! Well, three bloggers and a spouse... close enough.

Jedi Master Mina, Hansgirl, Grampy-Wan and I competed in the WonderCon Masquerade. So what you say? Well, it was the first time for all of us, in any sort of costume contest... And we converged upon Coruscant from three distant points in the galaxy without benefit of in-person planning or rehearsal or costume fittings...

The whole deal was co-coordinated by email, IM's, phone calls, and a last minute practice session on Saturday afternoon!

This wasn't just a walk-across-the-stage type of costume contest, this was a presentation style show. We had 2 minutes... sound like a short time? When you're rehearsing, it's an eternity.... But on stage it went fast... even when one is out of step...

I take credit for the costuming, because I did make them all myself. And I created the music track... but BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE for Hansgirl for choreographing a dance to fit my poor edit of Meco's 1970's disco style "Star Wars" theme and trying teach JMM and I the steps... (we loved the clashing saber parts the best).

And of course a BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE for Jedi Master Mina and myself for not falling down, passing out, running into each other, or tripping over the curtains and falling off the stage....

Here we are pre-performance.... Jedi Master Mina (as herself), Hansgirl as Princess Leia, Grampy-Wan as Yoda and me as Mara Jade Skywalker. And here we are post prize winning! Yes, the bicycle was the prize... supposedly it's very valuable.... Or so the M.C. says that Steve Sansweet says.... I'm certain they're joking, and a rather cruel joke at that...it seems like an odd prize to give to convention goers that MIGHT BE FROM ANOTHER STATE! Good thing we didn't fly in....

On a side note, Grampy-Wan paid homage to his hero this morning, in spite of a great Force wind blowing... and I posed with the Master, too...

In other bits of Convention news....

Met up with Nob01 and the expectant Pidluk... I have visions of baby Jedi costumes dancing in my head...

Friday I got a snuggle from Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica fame... I had such a crush on him back in 1979... almost as big as the one I had on Mark Hamill... and I was no giggling teenager back then, either....

And here is the face behind the greatest Fan Film ever, Hardware Wars... Ernie Fosselius himself, along with Artie Deco and the Wookie Monster...

Also, I learned a bit about droid building, mold making, and the secret of industrial strength Velcro...

We saw several Star Wars Fan Films, a couple of cool trailers for action movies, heard a couple of great guests and got WOWED by the Indiana Jones and Clone Wars trailers shown on a big screen!

Sadly, we did not hear any news of the fate of the next Star Wars Celebration.... So they're having one in Japan, BFD.... It's all such a long way from here....

BUT FRIENDS & STAR WARS ARE FOREVER!

NO SIGNS OF IMPERIAL ACTIVITY, WE ARE CLEAR FOR HYPERSPACE!

Mos Eisley may have been a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but I bet it at least had holo-net towers...

There's something intriguing about blogging from the car. It's not that I have anything in particular to say, it just seems so damn cool, so high-tech, that I have to do it.

I'm on my way from Arizona to California, which could be a short trip or a long trip, depending upon where you start and where you finish. In this case it's a long trip, about 900 miles... Right now I'm actually writing this offline, because on this particular stretch of US-95 there hasn't been a cell tower in sight for... many parsecs.

I would have posted while I was crossing the state line, in this case the Colorado River, but I was eating a double cheeseburger at the time and I have limits to my multitasking abilities while riding in a car...

There's a whole lot of nothing going on out here in the Mojave Desert, just tumbleweeds and motor homes... Quartzsite, AZ must be the RV capital of the galaxy... I expect to see Lone Starr and Barfolomew on the road at any time now... I'm sure he'd blast the pipe truck and the two RV's that are in front of us, slowing down traffic...

It's nice to be in a rented landspeeder... only 245 parsecs on the odometer... but what good does it do to have 8-cylinders of hyperdrive if you never get to use it? We've just come over a hill and can see Needles, California... from here it looks a bit like our first view of Mos Eisley in ANH.

But, just as that wretched hive of scum and villainy was the closest thing to civilization that Luke and Old Ben had, Needles undoubtedly has cell towers....

I just had a flash of memory of a vacation with my parents, I must have been about 10, going from California towards New Mexico, and we stopped at a Denny's in Needles for dinner... I remember it was hot, and the motel next to the restaurant had a pool that looked sooooooo inviting.... I'd heard of Needles before, since that's where Snoopy's brother Spike lives...in fact, we just passed Spike Road...but I thought it must have been named Needles because the temperature was so high it was like needles of heat stabbing you...

Aha! I can see the interstate through the haze...Interstate 40, talk about a wretched hive...have I ever mentioned that I've been on every mile of it? I've crossed the Continental Divide so many times I don't know which way to spit, but at least I won't on this trip... but at least I-40 has hyperspace lanes... and cell towers!

THIS IS DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE

Happy Valentine's Day? Yes, Master (2008 Version)

Each night before I go to bed, my Jedi...
I leave my door unlocked for you, my Jedi....
And tell the moons and the stars up above,
"May the Force send to me the one I love."

My Dearest Obi-Wan,

I love you. I know that you know. And you love me, I know.

I'm sorry we haven't had time to...see each other since Balanced Force Day, but with the war going on and all, it's understandable. Inconvenient, the war is. All those troopers look alike to me, don't you ever get a headache? Well, never mind that, I'm always here to take care of you, whatever your... needs may be.

As I told you last Valentine's Day, and during your Week of Honor, you are the Jedi that fits my description of A JEDI KNIGHT. Honest, brave, loyal, dedicated, skilled and wise. You are everything a Knight should be, and you can make a night everything it should be!

I love the Valentine you sent. Thank you for the wine and flowers, and those two nights on Chandrila you have planned sound great, I hear that hotel has the best... room service droids in that part of the galaxy, and you know how much I love a good.... cheese omelet.

It was impressive how you've figured out how to ditch our nosy Padawans, I'm sure they will appreciate the weekend on Hoth. I mean, who wouldn't?

Oh, my love, what a year we've had, in spite of being sent all over the galaxy in separate directions. I will never forget that night on Dantooine beneath the shooting stars, that was the best.... dinner I've ever had. And the soothing sounds of the waterfalls near that hotel on Naboo while we... meditated together. Your Jedi talents are unforgettable, and the memory of your... words will stay with me throughout eternity.

You know, my dearest, that time you tried to slip your... thoughts into me was so exciting, even if you were just trying to get me to... see things your way. Silly Jedi, you could have accomplished the same things with wine and chocolate, or your best.... persuasive techniques.

And that fine piece of hardware you have hanging from your... belt. Nothing turns me on faster than the sound of a lightsaber springing to life, except for maybe the sound of your whisper in my ear when you said, "Let's ditch this briefing and go behind the twin rocks in the fountain room..."

You certainly bring out the best in me as a woman, as well as a Jedi. Like the time I told Master Mina that bottle of massage oil was really a medicinal elixir brewed from Bacta and pallie juice? And I was rubbing it into your chest to relieve a cough? And she believed me? Those noises you were making didn't sound a bit like a cough to me...

And who could forget that night you were going to sneak into my quarters and I was going to sneak into yours and we met in the elevator, barefooted and in our Jedi Jammies... Who knew I could jam a turbolift with a hairpin?

I've learned so much from you, Obi-Wan... my love, my life, the Master of my heart. Only the Force knows what this year will bring for us. Your wishes are my commands... or is it the other way around?

May our love and passion extend from now into the far distant future, across the vastness of space, so that billions of years from now, someone, somewhere will say, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."



Life can never be, exactly what we want it to be
But there's something that every Jedi needs....
Each night before you meditate, my Jedi,
Whisper into the Force for me, my Jedi.
And tell the moons and the stars up above.
"This is dedicated to the one I love."

THE REDEMPTION OF OBI-WAN KENOBI

Patience may be useful to the villain, but it's a virtue of the Light Side... "Until the time is right"... But how long is long enough? Especially for a Man of his Word...

DISCLAIMER: Most everyone here knows I love Obi-Wan Kenobi, and not just because Ewan McGregor is a hot, hunky, gorgeous piece of manhood... although that doesn't hurt... But this blog is about the character of Obi-Wan... the character that I admire above all others... so let's keep our minds out of the gutter while we read this, shall we? If I can do it while writing it, you all ought to be able to while reading it.... Tee hee



Obi-Wan Kenobi was a man of his word. He promised his dying Master he would train Anakin. I feel for him at this moment, as Galactic Babe pointed out in one of my earlier blogs, once Qui-Gon met Anakin, he was done with Obi-Wan. After twelve years of a father-son relationship, he's suddenly ready to dump him for another apprentice. Yes, he does reach for Obi-Wan's face in a tender manner, but his last words are of Anakin.

Was Obi-Wan ready to be a Knight? Yes. Was he ready to train an Apprentice? No. But Obi-Wan feels obligated, as he tells Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word. The council agrees in spite of Yoda's objections. And so it goes.

Did Obi-Wan have to take his promise to literally? Once the Council agreed to allow the training, why not turn him over to a more experienced Master? Qui-Gon's dying wish would still be honored, but perhaps with better results. Obi-Wan's obligation was to see that Anakin was trained, he really didn't have to do it himself.

Perhaps Yoda should have been less stubborn about the whole affair and taken Anakin into his classes with the other younglings, and let him be chosen at age 13 like any other Padawan. Then Obi-Wan could have stepped in if necessary to keep his promise, but with four years of experience under his belt.

It's mentioned in the "Jedi Quest" series that Anakin thought he was special because he already knew who his master would be, while the other kids did not. It's certainly not something a child who already has a big ego needs...

But Obi-Wan keeps his word, and does so to the best of his ability. I have trained you since you were a small boy, I have taught you everything I know, and you've become a far greater Jedi that I could ever hope to be.... Come on, Obi-Wan, you know he's strong with the Force, and a great fighter, but you know he doesn't have your wisdom or your mental disciplines... you're just feeding his ego some more... tsk tsk.... I know, you were just trying to make peace...

Then Obi-Wan takes on the responsibility of watching over baby Luke. He needed a place to hide, and I suppose Tatooine was as good as any, considering he thought Anakin was dead at the time, but it would have been more productive for the future of the Jedi for him to go off to some outer rim colony and take up farming or some other pursuit, get married and make a dozen or so Jedi babies... but that would throw the whole story off, I know...

In "Labyrinth of Evil", it is said that Obi-Wan feels his destiny is to protect Anakin so he'll live long enough to fulfill his destiny. And now he knows that Anakin's destiny is really Luke's destiny.

And he has given Master Yoda his word that he will watch over Luke. And he hides out in the desert and waits. And waits. Owen Lars won't allow him any contact with young Luke, but still he waits even longer.

How did he know he was doing the right thing? All those years of remorse and regrets, with the Force clouded by the Dark Side, how was he so certain that some day clarity would come and he would know?

I have no doubt that a whisper in the Force pulled him out of his hut and into the Jundland wastes that fateful morning. And there his redemption begins.

Obi-Wan's death scene is certainly one of the most poignant death scenes ever filmed (and Sir Alec Guinness plays it perfectly). He looks over at Luke, the boy he is protecting, the Future of the Jedi, and then closes his eyes and gives himself up to the Force.... To protect the future of the Jedi... to fulfill his promise, if not to Master Yoda then to himself.

I wonder if he thought death would relieve his torment over Anakin... but his words to him, If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine show that he knew he'd still be around.... But perhaps he thought he'd still find peace in being one with the Force. To be totally immersed in the light of the Force, so that it fills your very being with its power... yes, I can see that...

As a side note, I think he should have been given a stronger role in episodes 5 and 6. Even in death, he should have been "more powerful than you can possibly imagine". Perhaps he was working "behind the scenes", so to speak, helping and guiding Luke along his Jedi path so that he would live long enough to fulfill his destiny.

Many have called the end of Return of the Jedi "the redemption of Anakin" but I'm sure Obi-Wan must have felt redeemed from his failures at the same time. The terrible things that Anakin had done could never be undone, but the prophecy was finally fulfilled, balance was restored and the future set back along its rightful path.

Obi-Wan will always be my favorite Jedi, good looking or not. He's the epitome of a Jedi Knight. Always putting others ahead of himself. And always keeping his word.

What more could a girl ask for? Except maybe a nice lightsaber....

FIVE THINGS I LIKE ABOUT PALPATINE

Join me in a short trip down the dark path.... I promise we won't stay long... only long enough to satisfy our evil curiosity...

Join me in a short trip down the dark path.... I promise we won't stay long... only long enough to satisfy our evil curiosity...

5. Patience. No human could have that sort of patience in the world we live in today. Think of the YEARS he spent waiting for just the right moment to reveal himself. He trained Darth Maul from birth, twenty years at least. And another ten years after that, he waited. It hardly matters whether or not he knew of Anakin's existence before Qui-Gon discovered him, because either way he had to wait for him to grow up and learn the ways of the Force. He had to wait for just the right times to manipulate things to his liking.

4. Mental discipline. He hid his Force sensitivity from the Jedi, even from Master Yoda. How tempting it must have been to just once say, "You think you're so hot, try THIS" and zap a little Force lightning across the room just shut up the Jedi Council.

3. Guile. Guile is defined by Merriam-Webster as "deceitful cunning." I would add to that being calm and cool at all times while being deceitfully cunning. No one could ever say he lost his cool or gave himself away at any time while he was manipulating the fate of the galaxy...

2. Taste. His taste in clothing and office décor was, well... a little overdone. But it was PERFECT for a dictator-in-waiting.... His wardrobe and his surroundings DEMANDED respect in a subtle, elusive way. He comported himself with dignity and automatically expected to be treated with dignity. He acted the part of statesman and gentleman.

1. EVILNESS! While I expressed some disappointment over the lack of true evil in Anakin Skywalker, there was no lack of this characteristic in Palpatine. He was "bad to the bone" and the glimpses we catch of that dark side are tantalizing, especially if one has seen the OT first and KNOW he's bad and just hiding it. How many times have you wanted to shout "He's lying!" or "He's manipulating you!" or something similar at your TV screen? The close up of him being somber and serious at Qui-Gon's memorial was brilliant and gave me the chills. Which was destroyed, the master or the apprentice? Well, the Jedi didn't know, but WE did.


I remember after seeing the Emperor's face for the first time in ROTJ, one friend saying "What WAS he?" He was so hideous and disgusting. To see him as a fine looking, middle aged man in TPM made him all the more intriguing. How and when would the truth come out? What would be that final step that makes him "Emperor?"

Young Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi says at the beginning of the movie, "I have a bad feeling about this!" and "It's something elsewhere, elusive." Perhaps Qui-Gon should have paid more attention instead of correcting him, telling him to concentrate on the here and now. But the elusive evilness he sensed was out there.

Palpatine is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm old enough to have seen the OT first. Watching him develop from seemingly honest and dedicated Senator in to Emperor was a treat in itself!

We now return you to the light side of the Force.....

THE WASTE OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER

A long time ago, in a theater 869.2 miles away, I saw a movie.... I laughed, I cried, I kissed three bucks goodbye... my faith in good was renewed... But what happened to my villain?

THE WASTE OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER

Unlike a lot of you here, I remember 1977, and its sequels, 1980 and 1983. I saw movies those years, movies that changed my outlook on life forever.

In 1977, I met Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia. People who were good. Oh, Han was a bit of scoundrel but he was brave and had a good heart.

And there was the unknown Mr. Skywalker, Senior. He didn't even have a first name. But he was once a Jedi Knight, just like Obi-Wan. So that crazy old hermit Ben Kenobi wasn't so crazy after all. He'd been a Jedi Knight.

For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were guardians of peace and justice in the old Republic... from that moment I was hooked. There were heroes out there, Knights that were somehow special, for they had the power of the Force, and they'd survived for a THOUSAND generations. Incredible.

Then there was THE EMPIRE! And the meanest, baddest, most evil villain to ever cross the silver screen... Darth Vader. He was dark, and cruel and menacing. He had a mysterious past.

He was a student of mine, until he turned to evil... Oh, so something terrible must have happened. Something so horrid and unspeakable that it drove a Jedi Knight to do such evil things that Obi-Wan was forced to hunt him down and cast him into a volcano.

In spite of my instant adoration of all things Jedi, I thought Vader was the coolest bad guy EVER! He was scary. And his redemption in the end was touching, as became a person again, a person named Anakin Skywalker. And his death was fitting, for how could he have lived with himself knowing the things he'd done?

The came the prequels.

We were given the Jedi Knights in all their glory, and it was better than I'd ever dreamed of! But where was the mysterious, evil Anakin Skywalker that was so twisted that he turned to the dark side of the Force?

He was home whining on his wife's shoulders...Obi-Wan and the council don't trust me (they won't let me join in any Jedi games)... he whines, and Padme soothes him... there's nothing wimpier than a grown man who has to be placated by his wife.... His mother must have nursed him until he was two....

But I digress!

What happened to the terrible, horrible things that must have happened to him to drive him into the depths of the dark side? War horrors or other atrocities, brainwashing, cloning, torture, brain damage.... Something, for crying out loud!

But we'll never know, because instead of a Jedi Knight, we got a whiny, aggravating wimp for Anakin Skywalker. The mysterious and heroic father that Luke so longed to know about was nothing more than a weasel.

OK, before everyone jumps in and reminds me that Luke did a fair amount of whining in the OT, let me point out that Luke was a miserable, unhappy teenager living on the planet furthest from the bright center of the universe while Anakin was, supposedly, a fully trained Jedi Knight, a leader of troops, a war hero... old enough, or at least he thought, to be married and make babies, and be a Jedi Master at an age when most Jedi are still Padawans.

Oh sorry, I'm digressing again...

Oh, finally, we get to see the true Darth Vader, as he marches on the Temple and kills small children... this is the baddie we love to hate... but somewhere along the line GL expects us to feel sorry for him.... "The Tragedy of Darth Vader" to use his own words... There's even a bit of a cult following of men who admire Anakin and women who want him...

But a tragedy is something that happens to someone who is innocent, someone who does not bring disaster on himself, not someone who twists words and actions around to suit his own selfish desires. If Anakin had been strong, and manly, and somehow turned to the dark side against his will, perhaps while performing some heroic act, then it would have been a tragedy. Then the man in the black armored suit would have made more sense.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the prequels, because of Obi-Wan and his inherent goodness, because of all those lightsabers....because I'd been given the Jedi Knights in all the glory I'd dreamed of all those years.

But I feel like I was cheated out of my villain...

What I Learned from a Small Town Con

Yes, I know Phoenix, Arizona is the eighth largest city in the US. Or it is higher than that? And we just hosted the Super Bowl. But as far as Sci-Fi goes, it's a second or third class city.

But going to a con here was educational. I learned that most Star Wars content is generated by Star Wars fans. If the Rebel Legion and the 501st hadn't been out there with their respective training camps for kids, there would have been very little Star Wars there.

I learned that fans of anime will wear ANYTHING, and either their parents are nuts, or they smuggled those costumes out of the house and put them on after they arrived. See-through underwear and a fur shawl are NOT attractive on a 14 year-old girl...

I learned that Zombies are cool...

I learned that Peter Mayhew was not happy with Chewbacca's fate in the EU, and in fact received an autographed copy of the offending book with the message, "sorry mate, someone had to do it!"

I also learned from Jeremy Bulloch that Boba Fett survived in side the Sarlaac Pitt by operating a fast food counter...

I did NOT learn the significance of "FREE HUGS" and I hope I never do....

I also did not learn the significance of knitted caps... but they were popular enough to keep a table busy most of the time.... And it wasn't cold out...

And why are Trekkie costumes so lame?

I learned that a Jedi should be prepared for anything, and that includes carrying an umbrella in the desert. Ever wonder what a Jedi carries in her belt pouches? Emergency supplies vital to the survival of the galaxy... safety pins, hair pins, makeup, breath mints, quarters for the coke machine...

I also learned that wearing tights under a skirted costume is a wise idea, unless one is young and has luscious thighs... also learned that putting on said tights is difficult when one hasn't worn pantyhose in seven years....

I also learned that a small con is more focused on buying and selling than it is on activities....so take lots of money...

Bring your own food and drinks...

And also, one day of attendance would probably be sufficient for Star Wars fans, if you study the schedule in advance... fortunately this con put out a schedule in advance, putting it up a few notches on the scale of organization....

The most important thing I learned? The sound of a lightsaber is recognizable ANYWHERE! Even a rainy parking lot...

SPECIAL REPORT! SCANDAL AMONG THE JEDI MASTERS!

Holonet News reported today that Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker abandoned her husband Luke to marry an older, wiser Jedi.

"I couldn't take the black anymore," Mara was quoted as saying, "That's all Luke would ever wear, black, black, black, just like his father before him, who was an Imperial pain the butt, as I know from experience."

The mysterious and as yet unidentified groom is rumored to be the long lost Jedi Master Yoda. He had no comment when asked about his whereabouts for the last six billion years.

No follow up reports on the honeymoon are expected to surface, as Master Yoda is known to be able to hide an entire planet.

Grand Master Luke Skywalker reportedly told the Jedi Council, "Never trust a redhead."

A WEEKEND OF HIGHS AND LOWS

Celebrities, Tow trucks, cheeseburgers, empty wallets, happy younglings, and a Jedi secret exposed...

Last weekend I attended Phoenix Cactus Comicon for the first time. It was a mixture of Sci-Fi, Comics, and Anime. I really felt my age when I realized that I didn't recognize 99% of the costumes I saw. To me, comics are Charlie Brown and Donald Duck...and anime is just.... something I don't understand...

I mostly went because of the Rebel Legion, and because my real estate agent wanted to have an open house with us not at home.... So we needed someplace to go.... And I love to dress up in costumes...

I started off on Friday with the ups and downs of getting a display binder made and printed up for the RL table, while also getting my house ready for the open house. So I was grumpy when I got to the Con since I didn't have time to take a shower... and they were 15 minutes late opening the doors... and after we got the table set up, the head of the Con comes by and lets us know that anyone who works the table can get free passes... Would have been nice if he told us that when we booked the table... maybe $25 is cheap for three days, but $50 to Grampy and I right now is a fortune...

But on the up side of Friday, I wore my new Rebel Legion Knights of the Jedi Order tee-shirt and my CUSTOM HAND PAINTED STAR WARS SHOES courtesy of the Princess of Painting, Hansgirl... they were much admired by the group and all the kids they made me show them off to...I should have just sat with my feet up on the table…

We made it to the Film Fest kickoff, seeing a weird Star Wars fan film, a few episodes of Chad Vader, and then SPIRITS OF THE FORCE, written by and starring my friends Joel and Brenda of the Rebel Legion as Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors...

Saturday started out with more house crap, but we finally got away on time. My boots were sliding around so I decided to roll my socks down for padding.. which involves removing the boots, of course... and Grampy has to help me get them back on.... Which went fine until one zipper got stuck.... So there we are in Jedi garb, sitting at the RL table with my leg in his lap while all the galaxy discovered the great Jedi secret....we wear pink socks... good thing they couldn't see my flowered underpants...

The best time of the whole weekend was mid-day Saturday, when I helped put on a "Jedi Training Camp" for kids. I handed out lightsabers, kept younglings in line, played Master to an Apprentice, and let a couple of younglings beat me in a duel.... Then I remembered I had my pocket camera in the truck and shot a video of the next class... you can see it here, but the videography is obviously done with a pocket camera by someone who doesn't know what she's doing...

The only picture of my participation is of me in the background sitting on my Jedi butt holding the camera... and here I am standing next to "Master Bendeen" of Spirits of the Force… during the screening the night before, I leaned over to one of the women from the group and whispered," that’s a cool costume"… then he shows up Saturday wearing it… ROFL

Then we went to a Q&A session with Walter Koenig and Tim Russ of Star Trek fame about a new fan-film called Star Trek: Of Gods and Men which looks fairly cool, especially if you remember the original Star Trek the way I do... as a kid... it's a fan film, but with real actors...

They were out of seats so I stood in the back of the room and ended up chatting with the producer of the film! Then on the way out a snotty teenager pointed at my Jedi costume and asked, "Isn't this a conflict of interest?" Hey, space is space... it's either cool or it isn't, and I don't take sides based on the title... Not all of Star Trek sucks and not all of Star Wars is awesome....

BONUS PHOTOS:
Jedi A'Sahrad Hett with a Sandperson (named Cindy)
Our Rebel Legion State Captain and boyfriend
A Dancing Stormtrooper?
Young Indiana Jones
Mountain Base has HOT chicks

I can't remember who they're supposed to be... of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most...

Then a crisis arose when we discovered the food cart was out of hot dogs! So we went to McDonald's... a funny side note, when we arrived on Saturday morning, someone was pulling out of the closest handicap parking space to the entrance, and we took it... when we came back from McD's someone was pulling out of the second closest spot so we took it... the Force was truly with us... and then it left us as Grampy locked the keys in the truck....

And also in the truck were our wallets with the phone number to the auto club... but a quick call to Montana fixed that...LOL... I went inside to take my turn at the RL table while Grampy waited for the tow truck... which took 45 minutes to show up and then they guy didn't have any break-in tools... he tried to tell Grampy it was his own fault for locking the keys inside.... No, that's not the reason you don't have the right tools, moron....

After table duty we attended "Star Wars Q&A" with Peter Mayhew, Jeremy Bulloch, and Felix Silla. I remember Felix as Twiki on Buck Rogers back in the '80s, but he was also Cousin Itt on The Adams Family and the flying Ewok in Return of the Jedi. Seeing him next to Peter Mayhew was hysterical and they played it up... It was an amusing and entertaining hour...

Sunday, I put on my new Mara Jade costume for the first time besides wearing it for pictures... Grampy and I planned on going to the free photo booth, so I used makeup and hair spray, and got my fake braid over my shoulder just like Mara... wrapped up my boots...Grampy got all our props into the truck and we took off for the Con... and by the time we got there 10 mintues later it was like Kamino... I had a DUH moment, much like Obi-Wan must have had here...

I tried standing under the door of the camper shell while Grampy got the rest of his Yoda outfit on, but I was still getting soaked... and halfway across the parking lot he lost a foot off one shoe... we made it inside and I accessed my emergency Jedi supply pouch and fixed the foot...

Ever wonder what's in a Jedi’s pouches? Safety pins, hair pins, a compact, lipstick, breath mints, quarters for the Coke machine.... Important items for the survival of the galaxy...

After a touch up we went to the photo booth, and of course, we had to stop for several pictures along the way.... Of Yoda, not of me... and before we got to the booth he'd lost his OTHER foot, and one of my boots had come unwrapped.... I was so flustered that I forgot to take off my glasses for the picture... which was supposed to be available today online and still isn’t…

And no one refilled the Coke machines overnight…

Leaving the vendors' room was as difficult as entering it as far as stopping for pictures was concerned... so we stashed Yoda's head and hands under the RL table so we could go check out the artwork and stuff without distraction....

I took pictures of all the celebrities, and here's Felix Silla teasing me... and everyone's favorite wookie...


It really sucks to go to a con with no money.... I'm not into comic books, but there was artwork and toys and books.....And it really sucks when you're over 50 and ought not to be worrying about such things....it's ridiculous at our age to be living payday to payday... goddamn house has drained us dry....:rant: :rant: :rant: There weren’t even any good freebies, just anime junk…

I did buy a cool picture of the Battle of Hoth, and the artist signed it.... My first piece of SW art...

By three o'clock realized that that two elastic bands are not enough to hold the weight of my braid onto my real hair, and it was sliding lower and lower... so I took a hairpin and pinned it to the shoulder of my dress...

That picture of the biker scout at the urinal was in Sunday's paper, and I'm just glad the photographer wasn't hanging out in the ladies room.... Nose powdering, hair pinning, and brassiere adjustment would NOT do much for Mara's image...

After serving my table duty for Sunday, we went to a screening of the first part of Star Trek: Of Gods and Men and a reel of some hilarious Trek bloopers...

By then it was after five, and the RL table was closing down, which was good, because it was my dress dummy we were using... so we got our stuff, and headed out towards the parking lot... and it's Kamino all over again... I was so afraid to get my shiny new piece of SW art wet... so I rolled up the artwork and put it inside the free posters I had, and started out through the downpour... as I step out from under the overhang at the front door, the dress dummy under my arm bumps the lightsaber hanging on my belt and the sound goes off.... "Hey there's a Jedi around here," I hear someone say.

All the way across the parking lot (no close spaces this time) in the rain I hear, "hmmmm, swoosh, hmmm, hmmm"

So, would I go to the con all over again? Sure, if I can get in free....LOL

And the worse part of it all....not one person came to see my house.... {sigh}