the most interesting alien race has to be those jawas. just because they're so enigmatic. and dude the hutts are pretty awesome. except they can't really run away when someone comes at them with a lightsaber. how do they survive that long without getting killed? and who would listen to them? i know they're supposed to be godfathers but if my boss drooled all over me and could barely walk i would kill him in his sleep and take over. that's just me, if i lived that kind of lifestyle. won't actually do that for real.

quote:

Originally posted by The Friar:
how do they survive that long without getting killed? and who would listen to them? i know they're supposed to be godfathers but if my boss drooled all over me and could barely walk i would kill him in his sleep and take over.

Well, they are resistant to mind tricks & they are very intelligent. Think about it. Were Marlon Brando or James Gandolfini big tough guys in their respective roles? Well, you know what I mean. When it comes to a crime boss, it's not how mobile or athletic they are, it's all about the brain. Criminals can't plan the crimes without their boss.

Besides, you wouldn't have to wait until he was asleep to kill him. Just "pull a Leia" & choke him out from behind where he can't reach you

but see marlon brando was intially a young and very bad ass robert deniro who was definitely a survivor after all his family is killed and orphaned in NYC.

so do hutts start out like robert deniro and then get fat like marlon brando?

but you do have a point about that brain thing, though criminals usually are more driven by greed.

A Short Lesson on the Hutts:
In Hutt society, obesity is equated with power. There are skinny ones, but they are considered weak & get no respect. A full grown adult can weigh as much as a metric ton & their tails can be lethal. Their skin can actually repel blaster shots, so Luke woulda shot him for nothing and that poor Gammorrean guard (the pig dude) sacrificed his life for nothing, too. (How sad for him.) This is probably why Leia brought a thermal detonator instead of a blaster. They can also withstand a number of poisons & chemicals. Another thing that makes them so darn powerful is the fact they can regenerate lost parts. A Hutt known as Gargonn lost half his head, including an eye and apparently a chunk of his brain, when he got his butt kicked by a wandrella (giant worms native to the plains and swamps of Mimban) yet it was expected that he would regenerate the injured tissue completely after a hundred years or so. Interestingly enough, Hutts are hermaphrodites. They CHOOSE whether they wanna be male or female! Even after having children, some Hutts still refer to themseves as males. Their children stay in their "mother's" pouch for the first 50 years. Even after that, they'll still return to their pouch when they need to feel warm & secure. It's not always the safest place, though. Some parents kill their children for fear of future competition! In their culture, a Hutt hasn't reached adulthood until they are 130 years old. Besides all of these amazing physical attributes, they are also extremely intelligent & are resistant to Jedi mind tricks (as EVERYONE should know). Oh! They also brag about being the only survivors of a planet bombarded by meteors. However, it is said that it was actually THE HUTTS, themselves, who caused the massive craters while battling over territory. Either way it goes... I'd say that makes 'em pretty darn bad @ss! If you would like to learn more about them or any other of those imaginative aliens of the Star Wars Universe (which is what makes it sooooo much better than Star Trek's, at least it does to me), check out Wookieepedia.

thanks for the info. hutts are so badass. definitely more creative than star trek races. almost all star trek races are bipedal quais hominids. though i still like star trek a lot. next generation and some of the movies are just awesome.

i love wookieepedia, i should have checked that stuff out earlier.

so next question, favorite planet, moon or space station?

quote:

Originally posted by The Fryer:
though i still like star trek a lot. next generation and some of the movies are just awesome.

Star Trek is alright. I never really liked the original shows with Captain Kirk, but I got into The Next Generation & LOVED Deep Space Nine. Maybe because they had more black people & they weren't just operators . Worf was the man! I just saw the first six movies with an old friend of mine who's always been a fan of both, "Star Trek" & "Star Wars". They were better than I thought they would be. My boy explained that "Star Trek" is more science driven. So all aliens & humans are linked to a common ancestor, or somethin' like that. But "Star Wars" just has fun with it. The aliens are just outrageous!

quote:

favorite planet, moon or space station?

Hmmmm. I never really thought about that! Naboo is very beautiful, I'd probably wanna live there. If I wasn't so afraid of heights, I'd live on Bespin in Cloud City. Tatooine would be cool to visit, if only to see the pod races, the Sarlacc Pit or some banthas. Least favorite? Hoth. I HATE THE COLD! The Death Star has always been a menacing space station, but the darn thing just took so long to fire! If they could've fired more quickly, they'd have been unstoppable!

the comments for that video (very funny by the way) are hilarious. From the exploration of the astrophysics of a gas giant exploding, to the hypothesis that the death star must "cool down" and can only shoot once a day.

my least favorite? mines of Kessel. though they don't ever go into those into the movies.

my favorite? Naboo, Dantoonie, Alderaan, and I'd want to be a hermit on Tatoonie for a few years and attempt to thwart those nearly immortal hutts.

but what i would really like to do, if i could choose...

get a shitty freighter and juice it up and then travel around the galaxy. visit all of them.

quote:

Originally posted by The Friar:
visit all of them.

Sounds like lil' Anakin in Episode I, "I wanna be the first person to see 'em all!"

The mines of Kessel... I forgot all about those! Yeah, you've never seen what they are like in the movies. Maybe, if we ever get the final 3 stories (Episodes 7-9 Lucas says he'll never make 'em, but he also said he'd never re-release the original versions of the movies, either), we'll see 'em yet. We did finally see Alderaan in Episode III. Before, it was just a planet blown to bits from afar by the Empire. Now, we know just how beautiful Leia's homeworld was & how tragic it truly was having been destroyed so carelessly.

Another planet that would be cool to see would be Kamino, the water planet of the cloners. I'd love to get some scuba gear & find out what kinda underwater world they have. Think it would be similar to Naboo's Gungan City or more hi-tech? I wonder if it's mentioned in Wookiepedia...

quote:

Originally posted by Monkey_Boy:
I wonder if it's mentioned in Wookiepedia...

wookiepedia time! get lost in oblivion or i guess in a galaxy far away.

lucas barely explored kamino and the cloners race. their pretty interesting. an entire culture dependent and devoted to cloning. you can use those jedi toys in episode 1 to scuba as well!

by the way, i'm loving those "how it should have ended videos." LOTOR was hilarious. keep on posting your crazy vids.

i've been thinking and though this might be a huge generalization I would say that warriors (star wars nuts like us) are more likely going to be in the arts, like english and history majors. Trekkies are more likely going to be science oriented.

ok next: favorite ride/vehicle

I'm glad you like the vids! I found those a long time ago & sent 'em to a few friends o' mine that I knew would get a kick outta 'em!

Ya know, I think ya just might have a point about the differences between the two most popular sci-fi groups there! Star Wars has always been about the characters. Even the blurriest background creature has a name & a past in this universe. Not so much the technical aspect. However, I've seen extremely detailed schematics of Star Trek ships & weapons. They do a little of that with Star Wars, but nowhere near as intricate in the techno-babble.

Ooh, favorite ride? Well, of course it's gonna be the Millennium Falcon! BUT if I wanted to lean more towards something to get to work & back? It's gotta be a 74-Z speeder bike! I wouldn't wanna ride 'em through a forest, though. You're just begging to "pull a Sonny Bono" doin' that! I also love the design of the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle. It was always so darn cool lookin' in "Return of the Jedi".

Oh! I would also wanna own a baby AT-AT! That's what I used to call it when I was younger.

its almost sad that i knew all those rides you mentioned. except they're awesome! i used to play the x-wing computer game series and i know so many random vehicles.

i'd have to go with millenium falcon as well or any shitty freighter that can make the kessel run in 2 parsecs (correct me if that is the wrong line)

quote:

Oh! I would also wanna own a baby AT-AT! That's what I used to call it when I was younger. Big Grin

i called them chicken walkers though i'm not sure where i got that.

i wouldn't mind the speeder either and i would love to fly in the same shuttle that the emperor and darth vader sat in. its probably kind of awkward for the pilot when you have darth vader breathing down your neck, though.

i also really like the design of the jedi starfighter from episode II (played a lot of battlefront with this one). but i don't like the a-wing much. or the b-wing.

and i love the design of the capital ships. the star destroyers match the personality of the empire. when you first saw one in episode IV, you're like oh shit! that thing ain't good. but then you also have the elegant mon calamari ships and they're so organic and cool. it hurts to watch return of the jedi when some of them get blown to bits by that fully charged and operational battlestation.

I do believe you're correct on the "2 parsecs" quote, but, for some reason, I wanna say, "in less than 2 parsecs." I dunno why. I guess I'll find out for certain tomorrow ! That's right! Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! All 6 episodes (including the Clone Wars) will be airing in the Den from around 8am until abooooouuut 1am or 2am. Depending on the lengths of the breaks between movies and the time it takes for lunch between episodes III & IV (that just seems like a good spot for a lunchbreak).

There is no stopping the movies in the middle. So, any emergencies will have to wait until AFTER an episode. Like, when my wife's car broke down last year during our marathon. Luckily, she got her car running again because we were only halfway through episode II and I wasn't stopping it! I only ask for one full day outta the year to do this. Is that too much to ask? I mean, at least wait until there is an 18 year gap between the stories! Sheesh!

I've invited everyone that wants to come, but chances are, it'll only be me and my best friend of 15 years. We seem to be the only 2 people that have the stamina to watch roughly 16 hours worth of heart pounding, sci-fi, excitment in one sitting. A few others have talked about popping in every now and again, but they have the understanding that they CANNOT join in the middle of an episode. Interuptions (and cel phones) will not be tolerated!

quote:

Originally posted by The Fryer:
i called them chicken walkers though i'm not sure where i got that.

Well, that is one of their "official" nicknames. Maybe you overheard a bigger Star Wars geek use it and picked it up. That's how I've accumulated most of my knowledge of the Star Wars Universe. When Episode I first came out, I had a friend who knew the ENTIRE story of the prequels and he shared it with us on the way to a special screening that we were invited to. (We saw it 2 weeks before everyone else! ) So, I knew all about Palpatine's plan, the Clone War, what made Anakin turn, and where Obi-Wan & Anakin's final fight would be. For the next few years, I became the supreme authority on the story for those that didn't know the guy, and I sounded extra nerdy, too. Buuuut it was cool to some people I talked about it with!

quote:

its probably kind of awkward for the pilot when you have darth vader breathing down your neck, though.

HA! That's a good one!

quote:

but then you also have the elegant mon calamari ships and they're so organic and cool.

That's one of the reasons I think the battle in the last(?) episode is one of the most beautiful! Even better than the opening space battle in Episode III! To just watch the Falcon gliding between those mammoth ships... MAN! I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW!

i'm glad i have one star wars buddy (NO, i have two!! that is so awesome!) who would be willing to do a marathon of that size with me. do you always celebrate it on 9/20? I think I want to make this an annual tradition too.

what'd you do about food? you should totally get a star wars birthday cake next year with yoda on it.

hey monkey-boy! did you get that 30 year anniversary book/making of star wars. wondering if i should drop the $35.

and update me on that line.

quote:

Originally posted by The Fryer:
i'm glad i have one star wars buddy (NO, i have two!! that is so awesome!) who would be willing to do a marathon of that size with me.

WOW! That is awesome! I've never encountered anyone who actually HAS watched all 6 in one day besides my friends and I! Do you also include the 'Clone Wars' 'toons? When those came out, we looked at each other like, "Are you kidding me? That's gonna put this marathon at almost 16 hours!" We weren't sure if we'd be able to pull that off, but we did!

quote:

do you always celebrate it on 9/20? I think I want to make this an annual tradition too.

We don't really have a set date to watch 'em every year. We usually watch 'em in October because that's when Episode III came to DVD and that following Wednesday (the next day!), we sat down and watched all 6 in a row for the first time! After that, we swore to ALWAYS do this EVERY YEAR around that time, but this year we weren't going to be able to do it next month because both of our schedules are pretty booked. We didn't want it to have been MORE than a year, so we watched 'em yesterday, to stay on track.

quote:

what'd you do about food?

I stock the Den's mini-fridge with plenty of Coca-Cola and A&W Root Beer with a bag o' ice and a half gallon of milk, white & chocolate. (We aren't big on alchoholic beverages. Well, at least I'm not.) At least one person brings a jug of water. (Sometimes, ya gotta rinse the sugar out your mouth!) I make sure to get plenty of bags of candy: like yesterday, we had Snickers', M&M's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, & Twizzlers. We also grab a few bags of chips: Like Dorito's Spicy Nacho and a new flavor none of us have tried. (We had one of those new "2 Flavor" bags. It wasn't that great.) And this year we also had chocolate chip cookies. We always start off with a bag of mini-chocolate donuts and milk. (YUM!) Then we munch on sweets until lunchtime. For lunch, it depends. Sometimes we send someone out, sometimes we cook something real quick here. Like last year, we had homemade pizza. This year, we sent someone out to grab a bucket of spicy Church's Chicken! We waste as little time as possible, so lunch & dinner are eaten in the Den during the movies. (The ONLY day this is permitted, by the way!) This year we didn't have dinner. We didn't really need it. We had plenty to eat!

quote:

you should totally get a star wars birthday cake next year with yoda on it.

I'd love that! I've only ever had a Simpsons cake, but a Star Wars one? Whoo-hoo!

quote:

hey monkey-boy! did you get that 30 year anniversary book/making of star wars. wondering if i should drop the $35.

Not yet, but I've asked for it! I've flipped through it at the mall and it's definetly a MUST-HAVE! My family usually buys me "Star Wars" stuff for my birthday or Christmas. So, I'm sure someone will grab it for me! I still haven't gotten 'The Ultimate Visual Guide To Star Wars' or 'The Complete Visual Dictionary of Star Wars'. I asked for the "Yoda one" last year, but I got a different "Star Wars" item. I better get one of those books this year, dag-nab-it! So far, in memorabilia, I have: Star Wars Monopoly, Star Wars' Game of Life, an original 1980 AT-AT, a Micro Machines Millenium Falcon (that actually seems to scale with the AT-AT!), a pewter Chewbacca, a foot tall C-3PO, an "Episode I" C-3PO head mug, a small General Greivous with 4 lightsabers that swings his arms when you push a button on his back, a larger General Greivous that is in a fixed position holding onto a base with one hand, a lightsaber in 2 of the others, and a blaster in the 4th, a Darth Tater, an Emperor Pez dispenser, a rubber-molded Jar Jar, a small Jar Jar head rubber stamp that used to be in a bar of soap, and a sheet of "Star Wars" Stamps still sealed in the plastic they were given to me in. Every single one of these items was bought FOR me except for the Darth Tater. I grabbed him, myself, when I saw him for only 3 bucks, brand new! I couldn't pass that up! Every item listed here is on top of my television in the Den along with the VHS boxed sets of the Remastered THX versions & widescreen Special Editions AND the box to the original DVD set that came out in '04. Well, I guess, technically, the stamps are above the television, hung from the ceiling. I was very surprised when I was able to fit that AT-AT up there! There's alotta space on top of a 52" widescreen projection HDTV!

You know what I really want? Well, there are 2 things:
an original Millenium Falcon - There's one for sale at this vintage shop up the street for 50 bucks! Still in the box! Since it's only 50 dollars, I suspect it's been opened, which is gravy because I would want to display this baby out in the open where it can look it's best!
And a Rancor Monster- This is only the coolest alien monster EVER created! Just big, mean, ugly, and drooly! The original toy would be great, but I actually want the Rancor Bronze Statue! Just look at that detail!

A long time ago, on a street far, far away...
I used to own every "Star Wars" toy. I had all of the vehicles and every action figure they released (with the exception of the girls, GIRLS DON'T FIGHT!) However, when my parents split, I had to leave every one behind. There wasn't enough room in the car for mom, 3 kids, clothes AND my "Star Wars" collection.

Well it sounds like you had a great time my Chimp-like child! All of that junk food will rot your teeth though, be careful.

Maybe one day I will have my own marathon, although I don't think I have your will power to sit the whole day to watch all of them.

Well anyways, glad you had fun, wish I could have been there with you!

Don't worry about MY teeth, my breakable child , we only do this once a year. Besides, I have strong teeth! 29 years old, and not a single cavity my entire life. I don't even floss most of the time!

It truly DOES take some will power to sit through. It was really only two of us the entire time! There were a few who stayed for a couple of the prequels, then had to go. There were also a few late comers, who showed up as the second volume of 'Clone Wars' was starting and left at the end of "A New Hope". Even between the 2 of us, my boy, fell asleep a couple of times ! That turd! He's actually never done that before, so he musta really been tired. However, if you CAN sit through ALL of them in a continous stream of their science fiction glory... it... is... WONDERFUL!

As always, we got really geeky and discussed little plotlines and story details that we we've figured out. I run theories by him, he runs a few by me. We agree, we disagree. It's fun on a bun ! Apparently he's developed a hatred for Qui-Gon Jinn that I never knew about! He just sees Obi-Wan as being a much better Jedi than his master. Like, for example: It was Obi-Wan who originally sensed there was something fishy going on with the Trade Federation at the beginning of "Episode I", and Qui-Gon shot him down! Then, a few minutes later he says, "I sense an awful lot of fear around something as trivial as this trade dispute." Uh, yeah, Obi-Wan already sensed that! He even believes Qui-Gon never knew Padme' was the Queen! I argued with him on that one because you can tell that he knew by the way Qui-Gon kept saying things like, "The Queen trusts my judgment, young handmaiden." to try to bait her into telling the truth and the way Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon exchanged looks when she finally "came out". BUT he says that Qui-Gon genuinly believed the Queen did trust his judgment and that the look exchanged between them during her revelation was that Qui-Gon was smiling at Obi-Wan as if to say, "You were right!" and Obi-Wan is smiling back saying, "I know. Give me my 50 republic credits." At least, that's how he sees it , I just couldn't stop laughing ! It can actually work that way! If you wanna see him as a dumb@ss, you can! We also noticed something we never noticed before... Threepio has a silver leg! We didn't notice it in "A New Hope", but right at the beginning of "The Empire Strikes Back", his right leg, below the knee, is silver, and it stays that way through "Return of the Jedi"! How did we never notice that before? We just came to the conclusion that he musta been damaged in a battle at some point and they didn't have any gold plating for the replacement covering.

Oh, by the way, Friar? We were BOTH wrong! Well, you got the 2 right and I got the "less than" right, but it was actually, "Less than 12 parsecs"! Man! I feel so stupid for not remembering that ! Especially since I had just watched these movies a few months ago on my own! I shoulda remembered that, but at least I can be sure I'll never forget it again!

catch the family guy interpretation of episode IV tonight? hilarious, for the most part. didn't like the creepy old guy playing my all time favorite character, obi wan. and i wish they went a little further with stewie as darth vader. and the almost humble reference to the robot chicken episode a few months back was almost nice of seth mcfarlane and crew.

the only toys i got were those really nice dolls. i have at least 20 of them, though, i played with them and stuff so they ain't in the box. good times though. my friend and i (the one whom would watch that marathon with me) used to play star wars so much. we would take those toys and play for hours. at scouts, we would play star wars, and at school we would too! it was so fun. and i got those stamps too! they're fantastic!

as for qui gon, I read the phantom menace book when the movie first came out and in the book qui gon suspects something fishy about padme, how she seems to be in charge instead of the queen, but he doesn't realize she is the actual queen. but george lucas didn't right that book so who knows?

shit, i never noticed the silver leg either! according to the canon there is a four year gap between a new hope and empire strikes back so some weird shit definitely could have happened. i don't have my copy here in college to check that. first thing i'm doing when i get home.

have you read any of the star wars books monkey?