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Posts Tagged ‘movies’

For My Fellow Nerds

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , on December 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Here’s something fun for my fellow sci-fi nerds:

How the Written Word Evolved in ‘Star Wars’

The original Star Wars is covered with English signage and written words on displays, something that would change in the wake of the film’s blockbuster success. Both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi would, with the confidence that audiences had accepted the galaxy far, far away, move away from putting English text on-screen, instead creating unique writing systems—reams of text that were not just left untranslated, but were never given meaning behind the symbology beyond the graphic design.

How that changed, and why, is actually a pretty fun read if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s also one of the many reasons why my first re-watch of the Star Wars re-release was repeatedly punctuated by me exclaiming, “Hang on just a minute!”

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Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

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Four Forever!

Posted in Entertainment, Holidays, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s May 4th and you know what that means! It’s Star Wars Day!

Why is Star Wars Day celebrated on May the 4th?

Star Wars Day was created by fans as a sly nod to one of the films’ most popular catchphrases, “May the force be with you.”

And when does science fiction become science fact? A few examples:

Some ‘Star Wars’ stories have already become reality

…at least four important aspects of the “Star Wars” saga are much closer – both in time and space – than Lucas was letting on.

And while it’s true that we’re making progress on the scientific and technological aspects of the Star Wars universe, that’s not the reason we care so much about it. 

Star Wars came to me at a difficult time, and has served as an anchor ever since. Why does the story resonate so strongly with so many people?

A force awakened: why so many find meaning in Star Wars

According to Lucas: “I became fascinated with how culture is transmitted through fairy tales and myth. Fairy tales are about how people learn about good and evil…it’s the most intimate struggle that we cope with – trying to do the right thing and what’s expected of us by society, by our peers, and in our hearts.”

These stories typically appear during times of doubt and can help viewers reclaim the goodness and innocence in themselves, reminding them they can overcome the evil they see in the world. 

And while I normally ignore Episodes I, II and III (IV forever!), this quote from the script of III seems appropriate.

“In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.”

—Yoda

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Photo by Alexander Jawfox on Unsplash

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No One’s Ever Really Gone

Posted in Entertainment, Other, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

James Earl Jones (1931-2024)

His career spanned three-quarters of a century and included work from stage to voice to movies, but for me he will always be Darth Vader. I’ve written about my love of Star Wars before, and that’s my anchor when thinking about James Earl Jones. 

Who else could have captured Vader’s complex and contradictory traits? Who made us both hate and finally feel for the tortured soul that was Anakin Skywalker? 

‘Star Wars’ colleagues lead tributes to James Earl Jones

“James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit. For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, sincerity and meaning to all his roles, amongst the most important being devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn. James will be missed by so many of us…friends and fans alike.” 

— “Star Wars” creator George Lucas

A lot of tributes are being published, and if you’re interested in learning more about his impressive and wide-ranging career, I recommend reading them. Here’s just one, from NPR: Actor James Earl Jones, a beloved baritone, dies at 93.

But if you just want to take a quiet moment to appreciate the loss of this generational talent, may I recommend this: 

Thankfully, as Luke says, no one is ever really gone.

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Photo by Josh Howard on Unsplash

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Here’s a Thought

Posted in Other, tagged , , , , , on June 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I sometimes come up with low-level problem solutions that are absolutely, 100% super duper excellently awesome… or at least maybe not terrible ideas?

Here’s one for movie theaters without assigned seating: 

Add glow-in-the-dark dots to the headrests of movie theatre seats. Because finding empty spots in the dark sucks.

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See what I mean? Photo by Krists Luhaers on Unsplash

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Lost Sols

Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on February 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

In a recent chat with my mother, I mentioned that I thought she would enjoy the movie version of The Martian. I don’t know if she was convinced by my sales pitch: “An astronaut is stranded alone on Mars and has to find a way home before he dies a horrible death. It’s hilarious!” but I hope she’ll watch it.

Andy Weir’s book is also a lot of fun. It was published ten years ago this month, and to celebrate he wrote a new chapter and shared it with us all.

Enjoy!

The Martian: Lost Sols

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Photo by Ali Bakgor on Unsplash

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Movie Night

Posted in Entertainment, tagged , , , , , , on July 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »

It’s Saturday, hooray. Thinking about streaming a movie tonight? If so, this site may be for you:

Movie of the Night

Let’s check out my options. Hmm, lots of maybes, some no thanks, but wait, what’s this? Deadpool? 

Yes, please!

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Photo by JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN on Unsplash

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How to Win in Twelve Parsecs or Less

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 17, 2021| 1 Comment »

Does everything have to be perfect in order for a story to work? Nope. 

Here’s the script and breakdown for Star Wars:

Star Wars: A New Hope Script — Screenplay Analysis and PDF Download

par·sec| ˈpärsek | (abbreviation pc) noun

a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to about 3.26 light years (3.086 × 1013 kilometers). One parsec corresponds to the distance at which the mean radius of the earth’s orbit subtends an angle of one second of arc.

A parsec is a measurement of distance, not time. Twelve of those do not a winning Kessel Run make, but, as millions of fans (and yes, dollars) attest, no one cares. The story works.

These are the things I think about when I’m stuck on a plot point, or deep in historical or technical weeds.

Just keep going.

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Photo by Sam Balye on Unsplash

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Writing: A Comment and an Apology

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on May 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

When it comes to writing, I try to study the substance behind the story, the skeleton that supports the larger whole. Novels have time to throw curve balls, and short stories can just upend everything because they don’t always give you all the information up front, but television and movies? I find that they tend to be much more predictable.

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One thing I’ve noticed is that the more closely I study the structure of fiction, the easier it is to predict the course of any particular show. 

This is useful because it helps me better study and understand story structure. It’s also less helpful because it leads to me muttering things like “Yep, you’re definitely going to die,” and “Oh yeah, he did it,” or “Well, if you didn’t want to die a horrible death, you shouldn’t have had that heartfelt moment with the main character. Did your mother teach you nothing?!” 

This is also why I love shows like Resident Alien and Sherlock and Wynonna Earp and Killjoys. Great characters and humor, plus creative, often unpredictable storylines and dynamics. And they’re just fun.

Dear Industry of Entertainment, please do not underestimate the power of fun.

Especially after the year we’ve just had.

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This brings me to my apology: Dear Mr Man, I am sorry for the ongoing commentary (ok, heckling, let’s just call it what it is) during shows. Please understand that it is a natural extension of my ongoing writerly education. 

Also, we bought that high-capacity PVR for a reason. We can always rewind:)

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Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

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Wonder Woman

Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

A Wonder Woman movie is finally really actually happening. This article at Tor.com lays out what we know (not much) and how this movie fits with the WB film slate.

Few details are available other than a 2017 release date, so let me leave you with Jill Lepore’s New Yorker piece on everyone’s favorite lasso-toting amazon and this fascinating Smithsonian article on The Surprising Origins of Wonder Woman.

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Crap Day? No Problem!

Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2014| 1 Comment »

So there I was fighting with some work stuff and fixing to have a perfectly crappy afternoon when a little lightbulb went off over my head, just like in the cartoons. A few clicks later and all was once again right with the world. Go ahead try it, bet it will work for you too:)

Yeah, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy. If you haven’t, it’s a damn fine movie. Damn fine!

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