For some more grounded stories and ideas, please feel free to explore Rosie's Words Words Words.

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Rey Kenobi Skywalker? The Generations of Kenobis interwoven with the Generations of Skywalkers

Rey Kenobi Skywalker?



It's possible that our new friend, Rey 
has a lineage completely new to our saga.
It's possible that we've never seen 
the family that she's waiting for.

We never saw Han Solo's family
before he was introduced in A New Hope.
So, it wouldn't be the first time a wild card 
without a pedigree was introduced 
to the Journal of the Whills

But, based on the type of stories
that have been at the heart of  Star Wars,
I, like most fans (I think) believe there is foreshadowing 
throughout Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, 
that Rey's family tree will be filled 
with familiar faces and names.

But which faces and which names?










Rey Skywalker?
Daughter of Luke?
Cousin to Kylo Ren, the Son of Leia?



Probably.
*************************************************************************
Or Rey Solo? 
Daughter of Leia?
Twin Sister of Ben Solo...Kylo Ren


Nope.  They were born about ten years apart.
*************************************************************************
Or could she be related to Palpatine?

A secret Granddaughter?  A clone?



Perhaps.
That WOULD satisfy the trope of
Skywalker (Kylo Ren) versus Palaptine (Rey)
which ripples throughout the entire saga.
*************************************************************************

But what about Rey Kenobi? 
Or perhaps...Rey Kenobi Skywalker?

Daughter of Luke Skywalker and the daughter of Obi-wan's...daughter?
Rey...Granddaughter of BOTH Darth Vader AND Obi-wan Kenobi?
Granddaughter of the man who was like a brother to Anakin?
Granddaughter of the man who is linked forever
to Anakin's fall to the Dark Side?

Now...this...just...got...interesting.

And...if Obi-wan had a child
...who was the mother?


How could Kenobi have had a family?
And how could a descendant have ended up alone on Jakku? 

A key to this mystery could (should) lie with the Tusken Raiders.  
The Sand People.  You heard me.


I know that this theory sounds crazy, at first.  
(Actually...it pretty much continues to sound crazy.)
But hear me out...it gets pretty cool and really fun!!  

And it does turn the character Obi-wan Kenobi on it's head.  If true, it would mean that much of what we thought we knew about Obi-wan Kenobi is wrong.  But it would be a stellar example that
many of the truths that we cling to depend greatly upon our point of view.  And also that Obi-wan doesn't always tell the whole story...in an effort to protect the innocent.

Here is the quick and dirty summary of my "Rey Kenobi Skywalker Theory":
  • Between Episode 3 and 4, while living as a hermit on Tatooine, Obi-wan meets, falls in love with and marries the sole survivor of the Tuskan Raider village that Anakin had destroyed in Episode 2.  
  • They have a daughter, but Obi-wan and the mom agree that the child should grow up with other Sand People.   Obi-wan can not go with them because he must still focus on watching over Luke.
  • The mom is killed when the Imperials destroy her new Tusken Raider village.  The imperials need to leave false evidence to cover-up their involvement on their deceptive attack on the Jawas during their hunt for the stolen Death Star plans during Episode 4.  The mother's sacrifices allows her daughter to get away.
  • She is now alone on Tatooine, just as her mother had been.  Having no where else to go, she travels to her father's home in Jundland Wastes for shelter.  She arrives to find it empty.  She would not know that the very same Imperial danger that disrupted her life also disrupted that of her father, Obi-wan.  She did not know that he would not return because he had traveled to Mos Eisley to find passage to leave Tatooine to travel to Alderaan...a journey he would never return from.  There she would remain.
  • After the First Death Star is destroyed, Luke returns to looking for somewhere to meditate and seek knowledge, he travels to the home of Obi-wan Kenobi.   (See Marvel Comics)  Obi-wan's daughter stays hidden from this stranger, but Luke senses her presence.  He thinks he is feeling is a lingering feeling of his old Mentor even though it's slightly different.  Luke is tracked there by Boba Fett and the house is destroyed.  Obi-wan's daughter becomes a hermit nomad like her parents.  She travels the surface of Tatooine aimlessly scavenging and struggling to survive.
  • After the Second Death Star is destroyed in Episode 6, Luke senses that the Darkness that he thwarted on the massive battle station still lingers in the Galaxy.  He begins a quest to vanquish the Darkness once and for all and he starts a new Jedi Academy.  Eventually, he decides to use the Force to reach out an feel others who are sensitive to the Force to begin a new Jedi Academy.  In his meditations, he realizes that the Force sensation he got back on Tatooine wasn't Obi-wan, but another.  The strength in Ben's daughter is strong, so when Luke returns to Tatooine, one last time, he finally finds her.  He invites her to be a member of his nascent Jedi Academy.  She is hesitant, but she senses the goodness in Luke and accepts.  
  • While at the Academy, she and Luke fall in love.  Much like her father, Obi-wan, she finds comfort and understanding with another lonely survivor.  They marry and their daughter, Rey, is born at the Academy. 
  • Luke continues to sense the ever growing Darkness in the Galaxy and he and his wife agree that she should take Rey away from the Academy for her own protection.  They return to her home on Jakku.
  • After Snoke and Kylo Ren destroy the academy, Obi-wan's daughter, who has sensed the disaster, in a panic, rushes to do what she can to protect Luke.  She makes sure the Lor San Tekka can look after her.  But since his Church of the Force would be a target of Dark Forces, Rey can not stay with him.  She leaves Rey with Unkar Plutt out of desperation.  It is only meant to be a short time.  When Obi-wan's daughter leaves, Lor San Tekka records the Lightspeed Jump trajectory, which will later be a necessary starting reference point to later find Luke with the other information on Luke's location with Leia in Artoo.
  • Obi-wan's daughter gets killed when she returns to the Academy.  Luke flees with her body and eventually buries her at the First Jedi Temple.  He knows that even though her life would be harsh, it would be too dangerous to return to Jakku for Rey.  He knows she is strong enough to survive.  He can feel it.
  • Rey grows up.  She (the granddaughter of Obi-wan Kenobi, child of Luke Skywalker) and Kylo Ren (child of a princess and a scoundrel) who fight at first will eventually join forces and discover that balancing between the Light and the Dark is the only way to defeat Snoke and to bring balance to the Force.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Captain Phasma - Not a Disappointment...just Underutilized and Misunderstood (A Rosie Revision Essay)

Captain Phasma was not a disappointment...just underutilized and misunderstood with hints at more awesomeness to come!

In the weeks following the premiere of Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, many have said Captain Phasma was a disappointment.  But I disagree. To some extent, I generally agree with some of this basic assessment.  I understand where these thoughts come from.  But, ultimately, I see more there.  Much more.

When the remarkable Gwendoline Christie was announced as being cast to play the armored bad-ass, many fellow geeks had very high expectations due to her fan-favorite portrayal of "Brienne of Tarth" on the wildly popular HBO series Game of Thrones.  "Brienne" is also an armored bad-ass, with enormous bravery, strength and pathos.  Ms. Christie's excitement and enthusiasm was apparent to the fans who saw her appearances at Star Wars Celebration and other publicity events.  She was clearly as much a fan of being in Star Wars as we were of seeing a brand new film.

But the minimal screentime and action of "Captain Phasma" in TFA was cause for concern and complaint from many fans of both Star Wars and Game of Thrones.

So, I am in the camp that thinks a more accurate description is that she was not a disappointment, but she was underutilized in TFA.   And more than that...I think the character has been misunderstood, as well.

In the scenes where she appeared in the film, Ms. Christie portrayed a very effective menacing villain.  Her steely determination when ordering the destruction of the sacred village on Jakku at the beginning of the story was vicious and cold.   Her methodical persistence in adherence to rules and protocol, especially in terms of her criticism and relentless obsession with the traitor, FN-2178, were emblematic of a faithful soldier dutifully following orders of a tyrannical regime.

One missed opportunity:
I did think that there was one scene that would have greatly improved if the action of the Riot Trooper had been played out by Captain Phasma.  It would have been understandable when she had a different weapon than the other troopers shown in the film.  The fight was dynamic and exciting.  The fight showed Finn being bested by a superior fighter, which, no doubt would be followed up with more plot developments in the remaining two Episodes.   This would have been another step on Finn's Hero's Journey.

As I said...the tweak I would have loved to have witnessed would have been the exact same sequence, but with Captain Phasma wielding the amazing baton of vibro-death.  As it was presented in the film, the Riot Patrol Trooper gets killed before finishing off his prey.  And just moments later, our Resistance heroes get captured regardless.  So, of course, in this revised version, it would have ended without Han Solo killing the trooper to save Finn.  And since moments after the fight, our heroes get captured regardless, why not have this fight end with Phasma knocking Finn to the ground and then having her troopers just collect her prize?  

It would have given Phasma that moment to shine as a warrior in addition to a cold, fearless leader.  That would have transitioned seamlessly to her shifting to the lake as the X-Wings arrived.  But...as I said...just a missed opportunity.  But the lack of physical action of the character was one of the prime complaints about the character.

One misunderstood scene:
This is apparent in all except her most pivotal scene.   My initial thought about how quickly she lowered the shields at Starkiller Base was that it would have seemed more plausible that she would simply refuse to comply and sacrifice herself, if necessary, for the cause.  A cynical view of this action is that this only happened to move the plot forward.  In other words, she acted out-of-character as a coward fearing for her life.

However, the reason she states in the movie (and expanded upon in the novel) does ring true to me.  She does not consider the act of lowering the shields as a risk, since she is so confident/arrogant to believe that her troopers will simply retake the control room as restart the shield.   In its own way, it is an continuation and extension of the arrogance of Tarkin and the other Imperials (including Palpatine in ROTJ) showed refusing to acknowledge the Rebellion, and likewise, The Resistance, as a credible threat. 

BUT...the First Order will, no doubt, find out that she was the one who lowered the shields. And it won't matter much that she thought that her troops would retake them shortly after to restore the shields without incident. The Empire wasn't very forgiving for failure of this magnitude.   I can't imagine The First Order would be any more forgiving.

She may find herself on the run from The First Order, just like Finn.   But, unlike Finn, she will still be a true believer.  So, her exile will be a very different struggle for her to cope with.  The bottom line...I can't WAIT to see what happens next for Captain Phasma along with all our new other heroes and villains in 2017 in Star Wars: Episode VIII!!!

Monday, December 28, 2015

Dead Parrot...I mean, dead smuggler

(A customer enters a pet shop.)

CUSTOMER: 'Ello, I wish to register a complaint about this smuggler what I purchased back in 1977 from this very boutique.

OWNER: Oh yes, the, uh, the Corellian Blue...What's, uh...What's wrong with it?

CUSTOMER: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E'S DEAD, that's what's wrong with it!

OWNER: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Joker as Batman's Dad?

Here's a bit of fan-fic that I came up with...

What if the Joker is actually Batman's dad.   

A young Bruce Wayne is walking home from The Mask of Zorro with his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne.  They take a shortcut through what would later be called Crime Alley are shot and left for dead.  All for Thomas' wallet and a string of pearls.

A traumatized Bruce safely waits in police custody to be picked up by his butler, Alfred.  Thomas and Martha are whisked away to a private hospital owned by the Waynes.  Martha dies en-route.  However, Thomas survives but remains comatose.  For fear of follow-up and possible kidnapping of Bruce, his security team acts on Thomas' established instructions of keeping him in hiding during his recuperation.  But he remains in the coma for years. Bruce grows up an orphan, raised as best as he can by his only family left, Alfred Pennyworth.

Meanwhile, Thomas' condition remains unchanged.  He becomes pale from lack of sun, and his hair turned green due to dysfunction in his kidneys due to the gunshot.  When he finally awakens, gaunt and thin, he learns of his wife's death and that his son Bruce grew up without parents and has left to travel the world without an explanation to anyone...even Alfred.  This heaping loss, as well as residual brain damage from the accident along with years of solitude drives him mad.  He sees the whole thing as one cruel joke.  And his suffering is the macabre punchline.  He sees laughter as the only distraction from feeling the unfathomable loss that is the hole in his life that his family once held.


He becomes obsessed with wanting to share the joke with the world.  He is desperate for anyone to connect with.   When Batman emerges in Gotham, the Joker feels a bond immediately.  He doesn't realize on the surface that the Bats is his son...but in Batman, he sees Martha's eyes.  Deep down on some unconscious level, the Joker recognizes him as his own flesh and blood.  He sees a kindred spirit who, clearly is looking for something to fill his emptiness, too.  

So, he begins his endless quest to help the Batman.  To make his son finally cheer up and laugh.  At any cost.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Who Are You? (A Video Love Letter to Star Wars)

As were many of you, I was moved by all of the teasers and trailers for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens.  The music, imagery and script of the Full Theatrical Trailer got me thinking about the entire history of the Star Wars films from before 1977 and into the future.

I was inspired to try to figure out the best way I could think to express this.  I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I did preparing it...



See you in December.

The Force Will Be With You, Always.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Hand crafted - Millennium Falcon


While my son and his fellow cub scouts learned how to wittle by slowly carving sticks into slightly smaller sticks with less bark, I thought it'd be neat to try it myself.

I figured I'd start with something basically flat.   With that in mind, the choice was pretty obvious.

What do you think?








Monday, November 2, 2015

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Poetic Interpretation of Second Trailer (from Celebration Anaheim) for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens

While we patiently await the next trailer, here is my interpretation of the second trailer, which first aired at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim (April 2015):

*********
In the vast wasteland, a spark of the living Force remains...grows.

Memories of the past linger; cherished legends.
Scars and sacrifice can not...must not be forgotten. 

A legacy balancing evil and hope.
The journey of a hero; an ember of light in the darkness. 
The family ties that bind us all together.
Generations connected like links in an endless chain. 

Exhilaration.
Rage.
Perseverance.
Control.
Order.
Innocence.
Intimidation.
Defiance.
Regret.
Technology.
Intensity.
Inquisitiveness.
Awe.
Disbelief.
Companionship.
Acceptance.
Return.
Strength.
Guile.
Darkness.
Light.

Home.
We're home.
Chewie...we're home.

*********
Here is the trailer...

Here it is with the fan reaction at Anaheim:

And here is the fan reaction from around the web...



Tuesday, September 1, 2015

I'm Just A Nerd (with profound apologies to No Doubt)

Take this dumb team cap off my head
I'm exposed and like the walking dead.
Don't you think I know that we aren't all the same.
This world is forcing me to watch the game.

'Cause I'm just a nerd, a little 'ol me
Well don't let me have my own thought
Oh I'm just a nerd, all wimpy and free
So don't let me choose what I bought

Oh...I've had it up to here!

The moment that I step outside
So many reasons for me to run and hide
I can't do the little things I hold so dear
'Cause it's all those little things that they fear

'Cause I'm just a nerd, and I'm glad to be me
'but they won't let me drive in starflight
Oh I'm just a nerd, guess I'm some kind of freak
'Cause they all sit and stare with their eyes
Oh I'm just a nerd, take a good look at me
Just your typical prototype

Oh...I've had it up to here!

Oh...am I making myself clear?

I'm just a nerd 
I'm just a nerd in the world...
That's all that I want to be!

I'm just a nerd, living in captivity
Your rule of thumb makes me worry some 
I'm just a nerd, what's my destiny?
What I've succumbed to is making me numb

Oh I'm just a nerd, no apologies
What I've become is so burdensome
Oh I'm just a nerd, lucky me
Twiddle-dum there's no comparison

Oh...I've had it up to!
Oh...I've had it up to!
Oh...I've had it up to here!


image from www.jameshance.com

Sunday, August 30, 2015

99 programming bugs on the wall

99 programming bugs in the code.
99 programming bugs.
Correct a bug.
Compile again.
117 programming bugs in the code.

Crap.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

The nuanced hype so far...or why I am excited about Star Wars: EpisodeVII: The Force Awakens



The thing that impressed me about the reveals so far for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens is how much care, love and reverence is immediately apparent. And how realistic everything seems to be. It is tactile. It is visceral. 



It reminds me of 1977, when we all felt like we had been dropped in a real place...a far away place, but real. It didn't feel like sets. The characters didn't feel like actors. Chewbacca never felt like a man in a costume...he was a fully realized being. Artoo wasn't a prop...he was a relateable entity. The Galaxy that George Lucas built was home.


So, when JJ did the Omaze video on that wonderful desert set with the old alien carrying the packages of chicken-things...we were all (well most of us) back to a wretched hive of scum and villainy that we hadn't been to in a long time. A long time.



The video of the Millennium Falcon that slowly panned across the detailed ship further whetted our appetites. The fact that it transitioned seamlessly into a tight surprise of the Batmobile hidden on the underside demonstrated the level of care and detail the production team was striving for, but at the same time, they were filled with a sense of fun and wonder. There was a self-awareness that let us know that they knew how much we, the fans, were a part of this journey.

And it was a special treat for the earliest fans who remember the early documentaries which explained that the epic models used on the blue-screens to film those starships were as realistic and detailed as they were because they were pieced together from other existing models. Cars, ships, trains...anything and everything was fair game when the shape and feel was right for the realism in Star Wars. Including a model of the Batmobile on the underside of the Falcon hearkens back to those days.



So, when the first teaser was released on Black Friday 2014, millions of us watched 88 seconds of footage that took its time to build to a mighty crescendo. The dissolve to a bright desert planet instantly brought us back to a familiar welcome place. Similar to what Ford would say in the second teaser, we were home.

A deep, textured voice drew us in. "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" Who was this? Is he a good guy or bad? Limitless narrative possibilities began swirling in our heads as to where this new adventure might be heading.

And then like a jolt, a stranger burst into view. We we shocked by his sudden appearance. And instantly we were drawn to his story. First, we recognized the blaring horn blast which built tension as Luke stood before a vile, powerful crime lord hovering over certain death in the maw of the mighty Sarlacc Pit.

But then, we lept to the thoughts: Who was he? Why was this so scared? Was he a Stormtrooper on the run from the remnants of an evil galactic empire...or was he a hero in disguise like Han and Luke on the Death Star or something else entirely? A swirl of violins and rising music amped up the energy further. And the unmistakable sound of the Probe Droid nearby brought up the question...was this droid helping him find his prey...or was HE the prey?

Then a flood of images washed over us. Nothing had changed, but everything changed. A droid raced across a frontier...instantly recognizable but new...filled with energy and determination. And like specters from the past, echoes of imperial Stormtroopers preparing to unleash fury and menace. 

In the brightness of day, we saw a young woman racing towards adventure. But we also saw her speeder, an evolution of a landspeeder we met in '77 combined with a podracer we met in '99. The sound was loud, clear and vibrated like the real world would. X-Wings raced in a fully realized environment, a pilot with a look of passionate determination.

The Force was awakening. The Light Side. And the Dark. A black hooded figure tromped, heavily through a secluded, cold unforgiving wilderness. But this figure was ready to explode with rage...his red bladed weapon belching out fire, lightning and venom. 

And then...like something out of a dream burst a ship we all knew with a powerful musical introduction that cemented us back in a place we had long remembered. The Millennium Falcon moved in ways that seem completely familiar, but in energetic and frenetic motions that were completely fresh and new.

As our pulses began to return to normal we heard familiar mechanical breathing and a familiar crack-hiss of an ancient weapon igniting. An elegant weapon from a more civilized time.





When months later, in April 2015, a Celebration began in a place called Anaheim, even more care and passion for detail was revealed. More images, sounds and music drew us slowly into the past (Vader's mangled mask), the present (Luke's mechanical hand placed tenderly and with a bond of true friendship on Artoo) with glimpses of the future (Leia's journey in The Force since we last saw her) and references to the next generation taking their place in the ongoing adventure. 

You have that power to. A line spoken to a beloved character in 1983... reverberated still to an unknown character in 2015. But theses words...

you have that power, too...

were also directed at the audience. It was a recognition to the fans that they are a part of this journey, too, and always have been.




Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future... the past. Old friends long gone.

We saw images of conflict... danger... trepidation. But we saw images of growing bonds of connections. And we saw sheer joy of adventure. And we returned to home.


The behind-the-scenes footage from San Diego harkened back to pulling back the veil on a magic show that we were to welcomed to from the very beginning in the 70s. 

The care, dedication and determination for perfection came through throughout the glimpses of the creative team who picked up the torch to share the oldest story in the world. The monomyth. The Hero's Journey.



A reverence for the material and a recognition of the joy and whimsy of returning to this sandbox was clear with each frame. The sparkle in the eye of the perky young woman in the Power Droid...the Gonk Droid costume was infectious. A carpenter who says, "I come to work every day smiling." The look in the eyes of old friends...Hamill, Fisher, Daniels, Davies, Mayhew, Ford. Guiding compasses...Kennedy, Kasdan. The excitement in the faces of the next generation...Abrams, Boyega, Ridley, Issacs.




All of this and more fills me with hope.



I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a geek can feel. A geek at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it to opening night. I hope to see my old friends long gone. I hope that Episode VII is as fantastic as it has been in my dreams. 



I hope.