Thumper

I haven't seen the movie, nor do I want to, for various reasons. I was personally involved behind-the-scenes in an event that got national attention. If I learned one thing from that, it was that the media is not always right. I knew people who called up CNN and corrected them on what really happened. We had people at all levels off the street second-guessing high-level decisions using that wonderful thing called "hindsight." There's always more to a situation than the average person knows. (Disclaimer: the opinion expressed here is solely my own, and does not necessarily reflect that of the agency I work for) That said, I do my best to take things I hear with a grain of salt, and I try to trust that my country's leaders know what they're doing. Since I'm never going into politics, I can't do much more. -Thumper

Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks! Looks like I'll have to go watch the movie again. What a hardship. -Thumper

I remember seeing these somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember where. Maybe it was on TF.N, like was mentioned. Most of these changes wouldn't bother me too much, and some would be improvements. There are a couple that would really put me off, though. A few Z-95's at Yavin would be cool, but not Naboo fighters. I share everyone's general confusion about why Padme would be a spirit. And keep the Duros in! Also, I really hope they don't go all CG-happy. CG taun-tauns? CG Rancor? CG Yoda? Is Ten Numb going to be CG too? For me, the puppets and alien masks are part of what gives the OT its more realistic "feel" compared to the Prequels. For example, I much prefer the Gran in the OT to the one in AotC. CG is fine for special effects, spaceships and inanimate objects, but for the portrayal of sentient creatures (and even some animals), there are still limitations. But that's just me. Random comment on #11 of RotJ...I'm trying to imagine a "sad" rendition of the Imperial March, but I just can't. Well, it should be interesting to see what happens. -Thumper

I agree. Sometimes the world needs a "pause" button. Anyway, we're gonna miss ya around here, TF. I'm sure you'll have more great stories to tell when you are able to stop in, though. (Or maybe some that BBL could pass along... ) -Thumper

No problem. I'm not trying to put you down or anything. I've just done a fair amount of research on the Original Trilogy-era Rogues, so I've accumulated some trivia. -Thumper

Hmm. I've heard slightly different details for some of the Rogues. For instance, Wes joined before Yavin. He sat out of the battle because he was sick. I've also heard that Dack was born on the prison planet and escaped in another fashion. But anyway, just my two Republic credits. -Thumper

Yoda may have looked so much younger in EpII as opposed to ESB because of his living conditions. The Jedi Temple is probably a lot cushier than a slimy mudhole. All in all, I prefer the puppets over the CG characters. *shrug* -Thumper

I remembered another I like: "A leader is someone who can take a group of people to a place they don't think they can go." -Bob Eaton

Interesting. My experience has been quite the opposite: most of the people I know like the Rebels more than the Empire. I fall into that category too. I see it the other way. I think the Rebels, not the Empire, were the underdog based on their situation and what they were up against. Though I'll admit that wherever there's an underdog with a good cause, you'll see me there cheering them on. Now, with that being said, I do know some people who like the Empire. Mostly the reason seems to be "The stormtroopers and Star Destroyers are awesome!" like Jahled mentioned. I think some of the others are fascinated by the absolute power the Empire has. One friend has tried to convince me numerous times that the Rebels are just a group of despicable, merciless terrorists trying to overthrow the lawful government. On the topic of Alderaan... Alderaan had some fairly strong ties to the Rebel Alliance. Those Rebel Fleet Troopers on the Tantive IV? Alderaanian. Bail Organa, Leia...definite ties there. There's also a fair amount out there that says Alderaan may have been peaceful, but they had a military and they had defenses, so they weren't complete pacifists. This Technical Commentary has more info. I think all that had just as much to do with the decision to destroy Alderaan as just being Leia's homeworld and a strong bargaining chip. Anyway, my two credits, FWIW. -Thumper

I finally got my private pilot's license last September. It's awesome. One of my next goals is to learn aerobatics. One piece of friendly advice, Viking: don't go too long in between lessons or flights if you can help it. It makes things a lot easier. -Thumper

Kosh makes my head hurt. "A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from the bristles." -Kosh "We are all star stuff. We are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out." -Delenn (I love that line) "I'm not authorized for that kind of information." "But you are the head of security." "Then what kind of head of security would I be if I let people like me know things that I'm not supposed to know? I know what I know because I have to know it. And if I don't have to know it, I don't tell me, and I don't let anyone else tell me either. Now look, we have tried most of the other ambassadors, why don't you speak to G'Kar, maybe he knows something about this ship." "Under the terms of our recent treaty, I am not authorized to have any official conversation with the Narn without Centauri approval." "So you'll ask unofficially. And I can give you reasonable assurances that the head of security will not report you for doing so." "Because you won't tell yourself about it?" "That's right. I never get involved with my own life. It's too much trouble." "This is a very strange place you have here, Mr. Garibaldi." "Thank you." - Garibaldi and David Endawi

I love Calvin & Hobbes! Especially Calvin's snowmen. That strip has some great lines, and Bill Watterson writes some excellent poems. The "state of denial" was hilarious. (FoxTrot is my favorite comic strip, but C&H is right up there with it.) ...can't...resist...writing...Firefly quotes.... "Burn the land and boil the sea; you can't take the sky from me." -from the theme song "You paid money for this, sir? On purpose?" -Zoe "The planet's coming up a mite fast." "That's just because I'm going down too quick. Likely crash and kill us all." "Well, if that happens, let me know." "Okay." -Kaylee, Wash (pilot), Mal (captain) Okay, got that out of my system for now. Never really listened to Bill Cosby's routines. -Thumper

Isard definitely lived up to her nickname of Iceheart. Some of the things she did... *shudder* As for the poll...Wedge. Non-Force user: it's all skill! I think he was also the only one to fly a fighter (in a battle) in all three movies. I like Han a lot as well--I think he has some of the best lines in the movies. R2 is a close third. EU: Myn Donos. -Thumper

I love quotes. It took me a while to go through my files and pick out a few. "Someday I would like to stand on the Moon, look down through a quarter of a million miles of space and say, 'There certainly is a beautiful Earth out tonight.'" -Lt. Col. Rankin "Whoopee!" -Pete Conrad, third man on the Moon "Banana hammock!" -JD, Scrubs (maybe you just had to be there. ) From various sources (in other words, I don't remember where I first saw them): "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." "Chaos, panic, disorder...my work here is done." "I'll procrastinate tomorrow." "Don't think of it as being outnumbered, think of it as unlimited target selection!" Finally, paraphrased from someone at work: Did you see what he put down on this list for what he's bringing to the Thanksgiving dinner? "Appetite." I've got a ton from Firefly, but in the interests of time and space, I won't list them here. -Thumper

hee hee, yup! "You don't know her name? You live in the same village with her!" And later on, Wedge's lavender shorts... Oyah. -Thumper

Favorite movie quote: "Who's 'scruffy-lookin'?'" -Han Favorite book quote: Not exactly a quote, but the entire Dod, Fod and Lod scene from Wraith Squadron. I laugh just thinking about it. If I had to pick one actual quote, it would probably be this one, though it's really hard to choose: "Leader, this is Three. Are you crazy? Acknowledge." "Three, Leader. That's affirmative." -Wes, Wedge. SoA Favorite authors: Allston, Stackpole, Zahn. By far. I love their characters, and I really get into their stories. -Thumper

Are the Imperials playing in armor? -Thumper

Still sticking with the X-wing. Shields, a pressurized cockpit, a hyperdrive, a good balance of things like speed, ruggedness and maneuverability, plus an astromech to repair things and talk to on long missions...what more could a Star Wars fighter pilot want? oh, wait, forgot to mention the ejection seat. -Thumper

Ah, this is nothing--on another board I go to often, there's a starfighter thread that's on page 13, but with 25 replies per page. 321 posts, last I saw. And I do admit to being biased, but I think the starfighters are one of the coolest parts of the SW universe. -Thumper

There is a Mara Jade action figure, and the Dack Ralter action figure comes with the Luke Skywalker Crashed Snowspeeder set. They also have the Red Leader (Garven Dreis) figure with X-wing out now, but I haven't seen any of the others (Karrde, Fel, etc.). They should come out with an Unleashed version of Wedge. That'd be so cool. (I doubt they will because they already have Pilot Luke, but that one's really neat, too.) It would take me ten pages to list all the stuff on my desk at home (read: pack rat and knick-knack collector), so I won't even try. I can't even do work on it anymore. Don't worry, mask, I can see how it looks like a dinosaur. Some of the concept art for taun-tauns showed them as looking like small dinosaurs, too. And (sorta) with the food topic...TF, a live goldfish?! Do I even want to know? -Thumper

Congrats, TF!! (Loved the article, BTW!) -Thumper, who now has this strong urge to go watch The Last Starfighter

Thanks! That Playskool Taun-taun is the most adorable SW toy I think I've ever seen. All the Playskool stuff is pretty neat, especially the X-wing! But yeah, I'm just biding my time until the Cracian thumper action figure comes out. They make obscure characters or character variations into action figures, but they never seem to make the obscure characters that I want. -Thumper

I have to buy the helmets and some of the more complicated pieces. The rest I either make on my own or buy and then modify (thrift stores and army surplus stores are my friends). Some pieces are harder to make than others. -Thumper

Random SW t-shirts, couple handfuls of novels, RPG books, all the Rogue Squadron comics, handful of PC games, I might have an Atari game somewhere, some model kits, and a few handfuls of action figures. I have an "X-wing Fighter Captain" hat that I wear everywhere, and I've gotten more than one "Oh, you're a fighter pilot?" questions. I've got some artwork, too. As for costumes, well... X-wing pilot Rebel Fleet trooper New Republic Dress Uniform (from comics) (I've been costuming for almost three years now.) I bought a stuffed Ewok with the intentions of making a Lt. Kettch costume (from the Wraith Squadron books), but that idea has been abandoned. Last year I bought an X-wing Hoth jacket from the site Mad78 linked to previously. (It looks like the same site, anyway.) I only wear the costumes for conventions and other events with the costuming group (charities and whatnot). I tried wearing my X-wing helmet once while playing Rogue Squadron just to see what it was like, but man, that was hard! That's all I can think of offhand. -Thumper

There's also a Fuddruckers in Houston, and at least one somewhere between Orlando and Atlanta. There used to be a few in Wisconsin, but that was a while ago, and I don't know if they're there anymore. Great hamburgers. Favorite foods: spaghetti and apples. Not combined, of course. Oh, and chocolate frozen custard from Culver's, though Blue Bell's Dutch Chocolate ice cream is a good substitute. -Thumper