So quiet today...

[ceebeegee]

...the silence is broken only by the dulcet tones of one of the bankers cursing up a storm at a custimer service rep on the phone--apparently, he ordered something and hasn't received it yet. I'm tempted to ask him either to close his door, or turn up the speaker phone so we can all hear!

It should be much warmer for New Year's Eve--it's supposed to hit the 50s.

I forgot to mention yesterday--I also received the Star Wars DVD set! I was watching Episode IV yesterday (no commentary) with my Mom and cooing over Mark Hamill's pre-accident face, quoting lines along with the soundtrack ("Over my dead body." "That's the idea."), remembering Aunt Beru's blue milk and space-age Tupperware, and wondering aloud why Ben didn't just use the Force on Han to make him transport them in the Falcon for whatever price they wanted to pay. Maybe Han was too strong-willed. *Sigh.* I love the double sunset scene. So beautiful, with the music and those colors. I can't wait to listen to the commentary tracks and watch the bonus disc.

Comments

[dje2004.livejournal.com]

I got the DVDs as well, and I was watching the Empire of Dreams documentary yesterday. It was interesting to see all the problems they had to overcome to get the first film made. It's amazing how well it turned out, since the documentary made it seem like the whole production was a huge, unmitigated disaster.

I'd say that Ben didn't use the force on Han because that might be straying a little too close to the dark side. Or maybe it's just that force is good for short-term suggestion, but not long-term mind control.

So when are you going to have that Star Wars-themed party?

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Okay, another question--why the hell do they put the stormtroopers in such impractical shoes? Running around in those non-treaded boots on those slippery, shiny floors? It's a mercy more of them aren't slipping and falling. And CLEARLY the uniforms provide no protection whatsoever--they incur the same gunfire casualty rate as the Rebels.

Hmm. SW themed party. I think my apartment is too small--I thought Carlos or Jason/Paula had mentioned having it.

[dje2004.livejournal.com]

Those boots aren't soled? I never really noticed. I always wondered why the outfits were stark white? Do they hot have camoflauge in the future? On a similar note, why are the blast doors in the death star so dangerous? How many accidents do those cause? And what about the Death Star's super-laser? Note the cannon operators stand, completely unprotected, next to the beam as it fires. Who the hell designed that?

As a kid, I remember reading somewhere that stormtrooper armor was supposed to afford protection against indirect fire. I find that kind of dubious though, since apparently it doesn't even offer protection from rocks and arrows fired by teddy bears.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Those boots aren't soled? I never really noticed.

Well, just listen to them trap-trap-trapping in the battle between the blockade runner and the star destroyer in the beginning. They're very loud. No tread whatsoever--it's not safe. I wonder if any of the -troopers have thought of scoring them with steak knives in their off-hours, to give them traction. That's what I do with my new, hard-soled shoes.

I'm pretty sure the armor's function is to a) give them, well, uniformity, and thereby b) dehumanize them (since we can't see their faces).

Re: the blast doors: the Death Star is a prototype--no doubt they would've retrofitted them after working out the kinks. That is, if Luke hadn't blown them up.

[dje2004.livejournal.com]

You're right. I didn't really think about the tapping. Of course, I've never really thought about their boots either.

IIRC, the armor is also supposed to provide enviornmental protection. I would have also assumed that it provided defense against lower-tech weapons, i.e., that it was bulletproof, but in ROTJ, during the scene where the Ewoks first attack, you can see one of the stormtroopers get hit with an arrow and scream. Maybe it hit in one of the gaps in the armor.

One other thing that always stuck out in my mind about Star Wars is how no one can hit the easiest targets. In the beginning, you've got the Rebel troops lined up in the corridor when the Stormtroopers break through and attack. All the Stormtroopers have to come through a narrow doorway. They should have been sitting ducks. Yet, they manage to overwhelm the Rebel troops. Later, in the cell block in the Death Star, stormtroopers break through the locked door and start shooting at Han and Chewie, forcing them back into the cell block tunnel. When they first break in, they aren't even going through a full doorway - they're squeezing in through a hole in the door. There's no way Han should have been able to miss, much less let them force him back. All he had to do was point his gun at the hole and keep shooting.

Ok, geek rant over.