Sunday, February 22, 2015

A Selfless Season of Communing with the Force

 
There has been awakening. Have you felt it? There is a stirring in every fangirl and fanboy. Something is about to change. I completely expect that our minds will be blown in ten short months when the screens explode with the next chapter in the Star Wars saga. The change will be something impossible to guess at this moment. It will be a surprise that makes us examine our own presuppositions – if only for the movie, but maybe even for our personal lives. We will be challenged to grow from the experience, after this excruciatingly long wait.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Tauntauns are Awesome




The third storm is hitting us in the Northeast.  They say that it is the third storm, but it feels like it has been snowing since Thanksgiving - or maybe even Labor Day.  I go outside, and I am hit with subzero temperatures and snow deeper than my boots.  But that is how it goes here in the Finger Lakes.  We knew what we signed up for when we moved here.  But I could use some help going about my daily business. 

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Lando and the Value of Good Friends

Wow! What did we see last Monday night? Was Lando a temporary crewmember of the Ghost and aiding the Lothal Rebels? Amazing! And so as not to spoil it for those who are waiting for the complete series, the episode ended with the sure hope that Lando will make his way back on the galactic stage.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Review of Star Wars Rebels: The Rebellion Begins by Michael Kogge

When the Star Wars fans sat down last October to see the dawning of the age of the Rebellion, we knew that we would be immersed in that galaxy far, far away in all of its splendor. We were not disappointed. All of the classical elements were there – a lived-in universe, Force-sensitive beings, and so on. And in that distressed universe, a new literary world began, immersing us in the Dark Times.  We met a group of rebels – the outcasts, the disaffected and the oppressed.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Thankful for Family & Friends, Skywalker Style

Cloud City Dining Room
 In this week before Thanksgiving in the United States, I sit back with a cup of caff and get to thinking about all of the things for which I am grateful. I am married to the love of my life and have three great kids. My work is amazingly satisfying, and every month I get to share my thoughts with the Coffee with Kenobi family. It seems to me that gratitude is the basic function of humanity. We are grateful because, let’s face it, on our own we are weak and wanting.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

CWK: Luke Returns Home as a Man and a Jedi

For your reading enjoyment, here is my post from Coffee With Kenobi that was published a few weeks ago.  

In my first regular post, let’s just get this out there.  My favorite character is Luke.  In an age where many are rooting for the underdog and cheering for the peripheral characters, I am a fan of the New Hope to the bitter end.  There is just something about his life, his journey and his lineage that calls to me.  And there is something that calls me out of myself – out of my comfortable world to something greater.
This calling is innate in all of us.  It calls us from our childish states to a greater maturity.  Luke heard this call and left his home in order to fulfill his greater purpose as the emerging heir to the Jedi.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Reliquary of an Old Jedi Master



There was a familiar motif in the expanded universe novels that often frustrated me:  the long journey to an uncertain destination.  There are quite a few examples.  In The Approaching Storm, Obi-wan and Anakin meet up with Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee to trek across a desolate planet for many days.  Come to think of it, the same story element appears in the movies as well.  Why did the AT-ATs land so far from Echo Base?  Seriously, if they had landed a few kilometers closer far fewer transports would have been able to escape.