Star Wars Challenge Day 5

Today is favorite droid!

...But I don't have a favorite droid.

Well, I sometimes like C3P0 and R2D2, but it depends on what I've been watching/reading.  So let's talk about...Todo 360!

wookieepedia

"I am a techno-service droid, not a butler droid!"

Todo is Cad Bane's droid from the The Clone Wars, and so far has appeared in seasons two and three.  I've always found him funny and an interesting "sidekick" for Bane.

Fun fact: as I was reading about him on Wookieepedia I noticed that Todo is the same height as Yoda, .66 meters.

Palpatine: Did you say Order 66?  *evil cackle*

Hey!  As I was saying, he is .66 meters tall, which is about 2.17 feet.

Palpatine: I knew Arda would come to the dark side.

Get lost already!  So anyway, Todo's first episode is a lot of fun - I love the part where Todo breaks into the communications room in the Jedi Temple only to find four Jedi staring back at him.

Palpatine: Foolish Jedi.

He tries to pretend he's a Temple droid, greeting the esteemed Jedi Masters with "hey guys," and makes the excuse that he was just "ah...testing the access hatch. Works great!"

Palpatine: They are blind, all of them.

Another thing I just saw on Wookieepedia - Todo was rebuilt by Anakin after he exploded in Holocron Heist in the attempt to learn more about Cad Bane.  Todo escaped, however, and that's how we were able to see him in Evil Plans and Hunt for Zero.

Palpatine: They can't even keep a weakling droid in custody.

Hmph.  Well, I hope you all have a great weekend!  I've got a Sith to exterminate...

Star Wars Challenge Day 4

Favorite Jedi!  The Jedi are one of my favorite things about Star Wars, so this is much easier than picking someone from the Empire.

Since I already talked about Obi-Wan on day one, this post is dedicated to his master, Qui-Gon Jinn!

"Feel, don't think.  Use your instincts."

 

He is another character that I probably really like because of the Jedi Apprentice books.  When it was announced that he would appear in TCW (voiced by Liam Neeson!) I was beyond excited.

 

Qui-Gon is so wise and connected to the Living Force, keeping him in the present moment, and making him compassionate toward all creatures.  Even Jar Jar Binks, much to Obi-Wan's dismay.

He's also a bit of a rebel.  Although the Jedi Council, 12 of the greatest Jedi in the Order, have one idea about how things are, Qui-Gon will do what he believes to be right.

But he's a lot of fun too.  His dry sense of humor is great.  And if anyone writes song parodies, his name fits in everything.  Especially super hero songs like Larry-Boy and Darkwing Duck.

Oh, and he's hilarious in the webcomic Darths & Droids.  Does anyone read it?  If you don't, I'd definitely recommend it.  You can find the first strip here.

That's all for tonight - so long, and thanks for all the bigger fish.

Star Wars Challenge Day 3

So we've had good guys the past couple of days, but now it's time for the bad guys - Favorite member of the Empire!

...And sorry, but the guy I thought of I like because he's not all bad.

Darth Vader.

wookieepedia

"All too easy."

I like him because he is/was Anakin Skywalker and has an inner conflict between good and evil.  He is a pretty cool villain, and although I'm not frightened of him anymore, he still makes me nervous once in a while when I'm thinking about how the heroes see him.

Before I really saw Star Wars, I thought Vader had some vacuum cleaner in his helmet and would suck people up in the air toward him and than release them tumbling on the floor.  Guess I was a bit off.

Well, this post seems kind of lame.  I'm really not into bad guys and I mostly like them because they have either have good in them, were good once, or have an awesome voice.  Vader has all three.

But these are not his only qualities.

That's all for now - thanks for reading, and may the Lord be with you, because the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Lord.

Star Wars Challenge Day 2

Today's prompt is "Favorite member of the rebellion."  For me...

Luke Skywalker!

wookieepedia

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

Two things about him really stand out at me.  One, as a farmboy on Tatooine, he's always looking to the horizon, dreaming about adventure.  Although Yoda wasn't too crazy about this trait, it's an easy one to relate to.  Here I am gazing out at my upcoming life, wondering what I'll do and life as an adult will be like.  And like Yoda also said, how often is my mind away from where I am and what I'm doing?  For Luke, his dreams were realized, probably more dramatically than he imagined.  We, on the other hand, will likely have quite a different fate.  Although I can imagine it, there's not going to be an elderly man in my neighborhood who one day tells me that I'm Force-sensitive and we run off to save the world from a meteorite or something.  But whatever we do, we can put our all into it, and change the world in our own way.

This is getting more inspirational than I intended.

The other thing is how he'll give anything for his friends.  Flying into the Death Star, racing to Cloud City, and giving himself up to Vader and the Emperor, Luke doesn't let doubt get to him.  Each of those three times, someone told him that he was crazy, and maybe he was.  But he would rather risk himself than let his friends suffer.  "No greater love is there than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."  I bet Luke would do that.  And that's a great example to follow.

Since Luke is so great, wouldn't you just love to meet him?

Thanks for reading, and may the Lord be with you!

Star Wars Challenge Day 1

Sarah at a certain point of view posted a Star Wars challenge for the month of November.  It sounds like a lot of fun and it a great way to blog while I'm busy (and procrastinating) so I am going to take a shot at it!

Today is "All-time favorite character."  For me, it's one of my favorite characters ever.  Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I probably became a fan of him from reading the Jedi Apprentice and Jedi Quest books, which are partially from his point of view.

"Obi-Wan is a great mentor; as wise as Master Yoda, and as powerful as Master Windu" - Anakin Skywalker.

The teacher of both Anakin and Luke, Obi-Wan is stable, calm, skilled, dedicated, and has a great sense of humor.

And yeah, he's kind of handsome too.

Obi-Wan is one of the characters in Star Wars that I can relate to the most; we're both cautious, and he worries about Anakin while I worry about...life.

In short, I think of Obi-Wan as one of the best Jedi ever.  I love him, consider him as a friend, and find myself wishing like crazy that he was real.

Feel free to comment with your favorite character, especially if you're not doing the challenge, (and talk about how awesome Obi-Wan is)!

May the Lord be with you~

LotR Awards (and a guest post!)

Rebecca at Just me... gave me these awesome LotR awards!  Thanks so much Rebecca!
 


And now the questions that come with them!

1) Who is your favorite LOTR character and why?
Sam.  He's so loyal to Frodo, and I love that although he's in this huge world, fighting battles and facing dangers that most men would not see in their lifetimes, he stays who he is and doesn't lose his simple Hobbit self.

2) If you were in Middle Earth, what species would you be?
Probably a human, but otherwise a Hobbit!  I love their unique traits and charming lifestyle.   Plus I'm short.

3) If you were in Middle Earth where would you be from? Would you be from the Lothlorian Forest? Or maybe the great hall of Rohan? Where would your home be?
Again, with the Hobbits in the Shire!  It's so pretty and not too dangerous.  But I'd want to visit Rivendell sometime!

I give these awards to The Director at Castles, Quills, and Cameras, and any other LotR fans!


Also, on Friday I wrote a guest post on Sophia's blog, Life and Times of a Geek.  Go check it out!

Hope you all have a great week, and may the Lord be with you!

Padmé on "Shadow Warrior"

(source)

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Padmé Amidala is a senator for Naboo in the Galactic Senate.  When she was fourteen she was elected queen and led her people through the Naboo Crisis.  She has been on many missions of diplomacy for the Republic in the Clone Wars and is respected as a great supporter of democracy.

I would have written this sooner but lately I have been tied up in special sessions of Congress.  We are considering a motion to defer more powers to the Chancellor.  However, I was able to snag some time this weekend to view the latest episode.  As is clear, this one was more personal for me than the previous episodes of season four.  There are many things that could be said on the episode, but here are a few things I would like to mention.

While the Mon Calamari arc portrayed Jar Jar and the Gungans as warriors, this showed a bit more of the light side of their nature.  I must admit that I was laughing a bit as Jar Jar, disguised as Boss Lyonie, tried to keep Grievous from finding out what was going on--and from killing him.  Perhaps more seriousness would have been called for in the situation, but Jar Jar must have been very frightened.

This was my first time seeing how the Gungan army managed to capture Grievous.  To be honest, I found it slightly unrealistic that they were be able to overcome him, his two lightsabers, and advanced training.  It seems we have all underestimated the Gungans.  I am thankful to have them not only as allies, but as friends.

Their capture was not without cost.  During the struggle, Grievous killed General Tarpals.  He was instrumental in the Battle of Naboo and his loss was a great one.  After a few days of recovery, we held a traditional Gungan funeral for him, honoring his sacrifice for Naboo and the Republic, and mourning him as our friend.

As I'm sure you can imagine, the choice between holding Grievous or exchanging him for Master Skywalker broke my heart.  In war, we are too often forced to choose between duty and personal feelings.  If the Republic had Grievous in custody, we might have been able to end the war.  But in the end, Jar Jar and Boss Lyonie convinced me.  They were right--I don't think I could have ever forgiven if Anakin died because of me.

Something that I found unsettling as I watched the episode were the words the Sith spoke to Count Dooku.  It seemed he knew that in this case I would put duty aside.  How?  What does he know about me?

On a lighter note, for all of you wondering where Boss Nass was, do not worry--he is alive and in good health.  He attended General Tarpals' funeral and afterward had some time to catch up with Anakin and me.  I will always be grateful for his help in defeating the Trade Federation all those years ago.

I suppose that's all for now.  Wish us luck in the Senate--I pray that we will be able to come to a resolution on the additional powers within the next couple of days.  Hopefully then I will be able to watch Friday's episode and see how C3P0 and R2D2 fared on their relief mission.  May the Force be with you all!