More NonSense: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens came to movie theaters very recently, and the overwhelming positive reaction to the film is for our modern fandom the closest equivalent to a religious revival. Indeed, the film's title promises as much, possessing the most metaphysical wording from all the seven in the series. Of course, there's a great deal riding on the film's financial success, but spiritual longing has always been intertwined with worldly self-interest. And for better or worse, the world's most beloved Geek properties are already in the hands of massive, mostly uncaring organizations who stand to reap the greatest profit.

Off course, what's exciting to fans is the symbolic handoff of stewardship from franchise creator George Lucas to Disney. For almost forty years Lucas has steered Star Wars in accordance to his own personal dictates, both to great acclaim and heartfelt derision from fans and critics alike. He's given up ownership and responsibility for the franchise on more or less his own terms. And now Disney has just released a film with the purpose of fulfilling the deepest longings of Star Wars' most ardent worshipers by following in the steps of the Lucas of the original trilogy, while washing away the stain of the Lucas of the prequels and special editions. The fandom/religion/cult/movement had officially outgrown its founder.

As someone who saw the original trilogy during its initial theatrical run, Star Wars to me has always been synonymous with George Lucas. I'm somewhat disappointed that this occasion could have been used to make a more well-rounded appreciation of his accomplishments. But unlike some other old-timers, I've been fine with the film series continuing without him. For all its flaws, I really enjoyed TFA. Besides, a continuing Star Wars universe could use an Emo antagonist, a conscientious war objector who also happens to be black, and a kickass heroine who doesn't need anyone holding her hand. And all things considered, the original cast didn't look too bad. Face it - once TFA was in the works, the heroes of the original trilogy were probably going to lose their happy ending.

And here for your reading pleasure are a few Star Wars links:

Yours Truly:
I haven't spent a lot of time discussing the franchise on this blog, but I did write reviews for a few Star Wars books: Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess and Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye.

Martial Arts:
How Yoda Helped to Invent Kung Fu
Can Donnie Yen Bring Kung Fu (Back) to the Star Wars Universe?
Sword vs. lightsaber: How the Samurai warrior inspired the Jedi Knights

Comics:
The Long, Complicated Relationship Between Star Wars and Marvel Comics

Popular Entertainment and Culture:
How “Star Wars” changed the world
How Star Wars Helped Create President Reagan
The Force Awakens shatters records but can it also save Hollywood?

Gender:
Why Retiring the Slave Bikini From ‘Star Wars’ is Excellent News
Please Stop Spreading This Nonsense that Rey From Star Wars Is a “Mary Sue”
“Star Wars” doesn’t have a heroine problem: Arguing over whether Rey’s a “Mary Sue” is missing the point
Some thoughts on Carrie Fisher

Race:
How Well-Meaning Tweeters Trended a Hateful Star Wars Hashtag
How 2 racist trolls got a ridiculous Star Wars boycott trending on Twitter

The Canon:
The Complete New ‘Star Wars’ Canon Timeline 
A Brief History Of Star Wars Canon, Old And New
Everything We Know About Star Wars' Post-Return of the Jedi Future
What The Force Awakens Borrowed From the Old Star Wars Expanded Universe
A Not-So-Brief History of George Lucas Talking Shit About Disney’s Star Wars
George Lucas criticizes “retro” feel of new Star Wars, describes “breakup”

The Prequels:
Not all the “Star Wars” prequels suck: Revisiting “Revenge of the Sith”
What It Would Take For ‘The Force Awakens’ To Redeem Star Wars
Kylo Ren Is Everything That Anakin Skywalker Should Have Been

The Latest Film:
Your Star Wars spoiler zone: Ars fully discusses The [REDACTED] Awakens
33 Questions We Desperately Want Answered After Star Wars: The Force Awakens
some thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Rey
some thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Kylo Ren
some thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Finn
Some thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Poe Dameron and General Hux
Pop Culture Happy Hour Small Batch: The Very Spoilery 'Star Wars'

The Nerds Talk:
Blue Milk
Stephen Colbert Explains Star Wars To Non-Fans
Weather Presenter Makes 12 Star Wars Puns In 40-Seconds
Which character is going to have the most fanfic?
The “Star Wars” fandom menace
From “A New Hope” to no hope at all
The K Chronicles: Star Wars
Tom the Dancing Bug: Chagrin Falls

R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy (1913-2015)

Photo courtesy of NASA

From Star Trek/X-Men

From "The Devil in the Dark" (Star Trek)

From "Unification" (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

From Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Photo Courtesy of R. Michelson Galleries

Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most human.
 - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

In an era when nerd heroes were still in short supply, Mr. Spock was already there. Bon voyage Leonard Nimoy. You lived and prospered.

Our Humble Convention

Small cities bequeath small fan conventions. So it is with the Supanova Pop Culture Expo being held this weekend in Brisbane, a show that breaks barely above 10,000 people in attendance. That's on the order of twelve times smaller than Comic Con International. But this is the biggest event of its kind in the city. There is nowhere better to go to without leaving the state of Queensland. The venue is so intimate I seem to run into the same cosplayers every year.

The biggest celebrity guests for this year were Jewel Staite of Firefly and Stargate Atlantis, and Teryl Rothery of Stagate SG-1. Given that Firefly and SG-1 are no longer airing new episodes, that feels like something of a step down from last year's Aaron Douglas of the continuing hit series Battlestar Galactica. The Supanova franchise is modeled after the typical geeky pop culture mishmash that is most American comic book conventions. Every year the organizers manage to wrangle some actors, writers, comic book artists, and other stateside professionals to visit Brisbane and mingle with the local talent and aspiring fans. This year's artists who made the trip to Australia included Ms Marvel cover artist Greg Horn (whose art adorns the Supanova promo) and Marvel Zombies cover artist Arthur Suydam. Unfortunately I don't find either of their respective works particularly interesting.

I'm tired so I'll let the pictures do the talking. Photos of today's convention will be posted at some point within the next week or two on my photoblog.