Is This the One With Ewoks?: Watching the Original Star Wars Trilogy with Stephanie

by on December 18, 2012 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, Humor

[dc]F[/dc]ollowing the news of Disney purchasing LucasFilm, and by extension, Star Wars, I wanted to revisit the original trilogy. Better still, Stephanie also expressed interest, as she had not watched the series since her youth.

star wars stormtroopers at penguicon 2011 by daniel j. hogan

Troops troopin’ it up at Penguicon 2011. Photo by me.

I am a big Star Wars fan, and Stephanie is a big Star Trek fan, specifically The Next Generation (she owns the entire series on DVD). While I enjoy Star Trek as well, Star Wars was my first geek love.

I was able to track down the out-of-print DVD set which included the original theatrical versions of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi—that’s right, no extra CGI crap. The transfer isn’t the best, as I have heard it is just a straight dump of the LaserDisc copy, but it is better than my VHS copies. Plus, each of the films is in widescreen (which after years of watching fullscreen VHS copies is like watching a totally different film¹).

The best part? The set only cost me $30 at a local used media store. This set fetches $100 to $200+ online.

We originally planned to watch the Star Wars trilogy as a marathon, but that just didn’t happen. So, over the course of a few weeks, we watched the films when we could, and I took notes of Stephanie’s observations (and my own).
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Amazon Enigmas: Christmas Costumes for People and Pets

by on December 13, 2012 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Amazon Enigmas, Blog, Humor

[dc]I[/dc]’m always on the look out for a good Christmas costume. Because, why should the costumes I wear to court appearances have all the fun?

christmas tree costume on amazon

There is a legend of The Tree Who Walks. Image via Amazon.

Good thing I found this Christmas costume shaped like a Christmas tree. Now, I can strike fear into the hearts of children on Christmas morning. Which children, I can’t say. I don’t have any of my own, and our cat Nigel is too smart for such subterfuge (plus he doesn’t get up that early).

Just imagine: A serene Christmas morning. Snow falling outside, piling up on the engine block in the front yard. A family huddles together ’round the Christmas tree, listening to Uncle Dad spin a yarn about the time he got kicked out of the Wal-Mart as he sips from a stein of light beer and Clamato.

Then: Clad in my tree-sized Christmas costume, I spring to life. The kids flees in terror, leaving their unopened gifts behind. I buy the unopened toys and gadgets from Uncle Dad for 50 cents on the dollar, and sell them on eBay at a 200% mark-up.

Uh. I mean. I wouldn’t do that. Not more than once.

Moving on.

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Gumdrop Fezzes Are Cool: My Gingerbread TARDIS

by on December 11, 2012 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, Humor

[dc]L[/dc]ast week, I showed how I made a gingerbread trailer (by which I mean a graham cracker trailer. I’m not a member of the country club, y’know. Or even the coffee club).

christmas gingerbread TARDIS by Daniel J. Hogan

This season, the Doctor is rather short…ON TIME. I’m sorry D: Photo by me.

If you want to impress the Doctor Who geeks in your family, try making a gingerbread TARDIS (again, graham cracker, but that doesn’t sound as cool). For you Normals: A TARDIS is Doctor Who’s blue Police Box time machine/spaceship.

Two years ago, my gingerbread trailer caused plenty of confusion. This meant I had to play it safe with my Christmas decoration the second time around. My idea of playing it safe? Making a gingerbread house inspired by Doctor Who. Stephanie liked the idea, which is all I really care about anyway.

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Amazon Enigmas: Christmas Hats to Daze and Confuse

by on December 6, 2012 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Amazon Enigmas, Blog, Humor

[dc]H[/dc]ats. They go on our heads and…well…stay there, because that is what they do (except my ALF baseball cap one windy afternoon on Lake St. Clair, circa 1987). But, what if you want to ‘get all festive up in here’? Two words: drink heavily Christmas hats.

light up christmas hat shaped like a tree on amazon

“If she sinks in eggnog, she’s a Christmas Witch!” Image via Amazon.

That’s right. Hats ain’t just for Lincoln’s Birthday anymore. Now you can take Christmas with you wherever you go.

Take this light up Christmas hat shaped like a tree (take it, please). It is a must for any Christmas tree fan on the go, which is pretty much everyone today. Or, it could be handy if you want to cosplay as the Christmas Witch. Hey, I don’t judge, except at Who is A Cute Kitty? Contests. In which case, Nigel always wins, because such contests are only held in our apartment, and I’m the only judge (what I do while Stephanie is at work is my business).
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