Michael Offutt's Blog, page 138

Ima-Gun Di for the Republic

This is not my "oh" face. I'm upset cause I have no flash to wear and my stapler's missing.In the third episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' third season, we get to meet Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di. The title of the episode is "Supply Lines."

A Kajain'sa Nikto (yes that's his race and I think someone rolled their face across a keyboard) Ima-Gun Di was so named in order to sound like the phrase "I'm a gonna die" which reflects his fate. Nice, eh?

And you authors out there thought you were so clever with your names. Anyway...

Jedi Master Mace Windu sent "I'm a gonna die" to the planet of Ryloth where he never had much hope (fancy that). Di fought on the ground against the droid army as a bad guy named Wat Tamor led an invasion of the Twi-lek homeworld.
"I'm sooo gonna die for the republic!" Cheesy naming? Well dear reader,
I never said that Star Wars was high brow entertainment. It really is the
"Twilight" for fat nerdy pimpled boys now isn't it? And I chain watched
the episodes thinking "Damn this is gooood" eatin' my popcorn and
channelin' Eddie Murphy's "soul singin'" brotha "Sexual Chocolate"
from "Coming to America" where he sings and the guys in the
audience say, "Damn...that boy's good!"His last stand happened after he planted explosives in a canyon wall to seal off access points that the droid army could exploit. As the droids made their way around to the only opening (a bottle-necked canyon), the surviving Twi-leks that Di protected escaped without interception because this Jedi stood in the way alongside Captain Keeli and other surviving clone troopers. So the droids came in enmasse and there was a huge slaughter. Di fought valiantly but was inevitably slain as the droids closed in on him, sustaining five direct blaster bolts to the chest during a crescendo of melodramatic music.

Dude was tougher than Boromir (and if you get that reference you are a true nerd).

Ima-Gun Di for the Republic! I'm still snickering about this one. Oh how awful (the people who are behind this franchise made millions for brilliant stuff like that--are you angry yet?). Embedded below is the snippet where Ima-Gun Di makes his last stand. You should watch it and listen to the dramatic music they play as he gets taken down. Oh the death of a hero...so sad.

Hutt Grand Council

Ziro the Hutt going before the Hutt Grand Council in the episode "Hunt for Ziro"The Clone Wars did for Star Wars canon what the movies simply couldn't do even in six films because the universe is so huge. For me, one of the more intriguing characters was always Jabba the Hutt. I always wanted an answer to the question: where did the Hutts come from? To know this requires a little information borrowed from the Clone Wars Wiki:

The Hutt Grand Council is the governing body of the Hutts. It convenes on the planet Nal Hutta, the capital of Hutt Space. Who knew, right? I never thought the Hutts would have their own planet or even a capital city. Anyway, the council arbitrates disagreements and makes the laws that the Hutts live by and is regarded by other races as "fair" in their rulings.

One member of each clan represents their family's position and criminal enterprises in the Hutt Council. However, not all Hutt clans are allowed a seat on the council, as each clan has to trace their lineage to the Hutt's old homeworld "Varl" to win a seat. During the Clone Wars, the five members of the Hutt Council are Jabba, Gorga, Arok, Oruba, and Marlo. Watch the clip below and see how good the animation really is.
So just like the Jedi High Council, the Hutts had one too...albeit far less athletic. You see the Hutt Council in "Hunt for Ziro," which is the ninth episode of the third season, and again in "Eminence," which is the fourteenth episode of the fifth (and last) season.
Communication by holonet is the only way to talk to someone, even for
a huge space slug like a hutt.

Greedo

The guy on the right is Greedo (in case you didn't know). The animation in this show is
bar none the best I have ever seen from a syndicated cartoon series. Look at the detail.Greedo is probably the most famous of the bounty hunters to appear in Star Wars canon outside of Boba Fett. And honestly, the only reason everyone liked Boba Fett was because he wore cool looking armor that's now copied by every first-person shooter from Crysis to Halo.
Greedo's race is Rodian and he lived in Mos Espa alongside the young Anakin Skywalker (who became Darth Vader) and he met his end by Han Solo, which is where we get the whole "continuity" controversy that I shall talk about below.
CONTINUITY: This scene in the Mos Eisley cantina is probably the biggest controversy of the films.Who shot first?
In the original 1977 release of Star Wars, Greedo did not shoot at Han at all. When Lucas re-released the film in 1997, Greedo gets a badly-aimed shot at Solo before Solo kills him. Lucas said that this change is to enhance Solo's overall heroism. But it pissed a lot of fans off...people who had lived with Han Solo being this complete roguish bad-ass for twenty years. So it forced Lucas to edit it yet again in 2004 to make it so the two shots are almost simultaneous, with Greedo shooting first. Thus Han is still a "hero" because he kills Greedo now in "self-defense" to match up with the morals of an unforgiving public. Having "shot first" and not out of defense is what most die-hard fans of Han Solo
are so upset about. I personally don't care. It's amazing the implications a few seconds makes.
GREEDO'S APPEARANCE IN CARTOON NETWORK'S THE CLONE WARS:
Greedo takes center stage in the third season of this completely awesome t.v. show during episode four entitled "Sphere of Influence." Here's the plot summary:
Pantora in peril! The newly electedChairman of Pantora, Baron Papanoida,is caught in a deadly political game.The Trade Federation has blockadedPantora and suspended all commercewith the system. Isolated from therest of the Republic, the people ofPantora are beginning to rallyagainst the Senate, who have seemedunsympathetic to their plight.
To make matters worse, Count Dookuhas come forward offering aid ifPantora joins the Separatist Alliance.Chairman Papanoida has dispatchedSenator Chuchi to Coruscant with thehope that she can motivate the Senateto act in favor of Pantora beforeLott Dod can legitimize theblockade....
In this particular episode, Papanoida's daughter is kidnapped from their quarters. Papanoida discovers that one of the kidnappers is Greedo because of some blood left at the crime scene. He goes to Tattoine, enters Jabba the Hutt's palace, and traps Greedo. Evidence is presented before Jabba the Hutt and Greedo is forced to take Papanoida to a seedy bar in Mos Eisley where his daughter is kept. Here's a clip of the shootout that ensues.
Have a great Monday.

Finis Valorum

Some of you who know Latin may recognize the phrase "Finis Valorum." It means "the end of worthy deeds." Well it is also the name of Chancellor Valorum from "Star Wars episode 1: The Phantom Menace." His name was chosen by Lucas to refer to the fact that he is the final "legitimate" Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. When he is ousted, it paves the way for Senator Palpatine to become "Emperor."

The actor who played him in "The Phantom Menace" is Terence Stamp. If you are an uber nerd, you may recall Terence in the well-known role of General Zod from the second Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder.
So in a really weird kind of way, Terence in the role of "Zod" had to relinquish his leadership role and kneel before Superman when all of his powers were stripped away at the end of Superman II.
And he also had to kneel before Amidala in "The Phantom Menace" when she stripped away all of his political power through a vote of "No Confidence" before the galactic congress. Coincidence? The world may never know.
I know that I've embedded double meanings within the names of some characters who exist solely in the pages of fiction that I write. For example, I made up this villain once and called him "The Hater of All", because I thought it sounded rather cool. The villain was a huge monster with tentacles that sprouted from its head. It lived inside a huge cylindrical fish tank. People that stared in through the glass would see this kind of floating disembodied head with a huge eye ringed by stalks that had other eyes. On a plaque in front of the tank read "Hater of All."

One kid asked me, "Why is it called that?"

I shrugged and replied, "Because it hates everything. Hence 'Hater of All.'"

I thought it was pretty self-explanatory :P And "Hater of Some" just wouldn't have the same ring to it.

So quid pro quo? Do you use double meanings in the names that you choose?

Ebert I miss you already

I felt deeply saddened yesterday when I learned that a man who I never met (yet felt was my friend) passed away. I came to be so deeply and emotionally connected to Roger Ebert through his writing. I discovered him more than two decades ago and much like everyone else, loved what he and Gene Siskel had to say about the movies of our time.

But to say that Roger Ebert was a film critic does not do him justice. He is the first of his industry to receive the Pulitzer Prize...a thing I used many a time to silence those in my social circle who would say offhandedly "I don't trust what reviewers have to say about movies."

These "friends of mine" would always pop off with that excuse when I (in the role of wet blanket) declared that I would not be going to see a movie and "I hope you have fun." Sometimes I'd have to resort to: "Well...let's see you win a Pulitzer Prize for anything and maybe I'll care about what you have to say. Until then shut up about that bad movie 'cause Roger Ebert hated it, and I'm going to save money and time." Anyone that knows me in real life pretty much knows that there needs to be a reason to hang out. If there is no reason, I'm not going to make up a bad one to provide an excuse to socialize. No thanks. Being alone is better than being bored with multiple people.

I trusted Roger Ebert. I loved practically every movie he told me I'd love, and my taste closely echoed his. Truthfully, I would not have seen "Jack the Giant Slayer" had I not purposefully (on a cold Sunday night) looked up his review to see if the movie was worth a ticket. Roger Ebert gave it the "thumbs up." Within ten minutes, I was on my way to the theater.

One of my favorite lines comes from a Roger Ebert review wherein he examined the awful gorn flick "The Human Centipede." He says, "I am required to award stars to movies I review. This time, I refuse to do it. The star rating system is unsuited to this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don't shine."

Even when he truly hated a film or found it's very existence puzzling, he always had a way with words.

Writers we lost one of our own yesterday...one of the giants. And I don't think there will ever be another movie reviewer who, in death, will make national news.

Ebert, I miss you already.

Durd and the Defenders of Peace

General Lok Durd consulting with Count Dooku in "Defenders of Peace"I first became aware of Lok Durd in the episode "Defenders of Peace," the fourteenth episode in Season One of the Star Wars: the Clone Wars television series. Here are the words that lead into the episode:

Republic forces in retreat! While rescuing General Aayla Secura from certain defeat, Anakin Skywalker has been seriously injured. After a narrow escape, our heroes crash-landed on the remote world of Maridun. Stranded, and with no way to contact the Republic, the Jedi receive medical aid from the peaceful Lurmencolonists.
But even on this tiny planet, thewar threatens to follow the Jedi....
The foreshadowing that takes place in the last sentence has to do with Durd and his defoliator, a weapon capable of destroying organic life while leaving non-organics unharmed. Sounds like a perfect weapon for a droid army, right? 
As it turns out, Anakin saves the peaceful Lurmen by erecting a shield around the village to deflect the test phase of the Defoliator. This forces Durd to send his troops forward and the jedi and clones then go outside to meet their foes. During the fight, a second wave of droids gets behind the shield and destroys the generators. Before the defoliator cannon can be used again, Anakin slices his way to Lok (through a contingent of droid protectors) and captures him through levitation. Anakin levitating Lok Durd at the end of the episode.Why do I choose to highlight this episode? Well first of all, I thought it was clever. I like fancy new weapons and the explanation behind what the "Defoliator" did intrigued me.
But second, Lok Durd was also voiced by famous actor George Takei who I think is just awesome! I wish I knew how to embed soundbites into blogger, but if you want to hear him talk from the episode, follow this LINK (it's only 13 seconds long).

Cancellation

Today is Alex's Insecure Writer's Support Group post, but I found a way to work it into the challenge :).

I think that my insecurity this month is "cancellation." Last month, I lost three of my favorite t.v. shows due to cancellation and then I also lost one of my favorite music groups. It got me to thinking about how nothing seems to last anymore. It also made me ask the question: is the small publishing business immune?

My answer: I don't think it is. There's a part of me that is a little concerned that my publisher may go out of business. There hasn't been any "red flags" per se. But the thought has crossed my mind that a lack of universal sales will kill any business. I just don't want to get to the end of the series that I'm writing (in a few years) and then have my publisher go under. I think that would kind of "suck" to put it lightly, because all of my books would be back in my lap again as if they were unpublished. That would just be...I dunno...really annoying. I guess that could happen to anyone though.

If it did happen, I'd just self-publish everything. At least then you don't have to worry about cancellation and having to do all the work over again. Maybe the old adage "if you want something done right you got to do it yourself" may apply at that point.

Have a great Wednesday.

Barriss Offee

Barriss OffeeBarriss Offee was padawan to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli. You saw her briefly in the movies when she and her master were sent to the planet Geonosis (that would be in "Attack of the Clones") and quite a bit in the Clone Wars (where the above picture is from).

Barriss Offee had the ability to use floating meditation, which looks kind of cool. She's also a skilled Jedi healer with very strong telekinesis abilities. She and her master held up an entire cave roof that was collapsing long enough for Yoda to arrive to rescue them. The Jedi-pedia says that Offee can force choke someone to death without even being in the same room or being able to see them. Even Vader couldn't do that.

I was really surprised that Barriss Offee turned to the dark side in the last episode of the series. And I'll probably always want to know what Luminara Unduli would have to say about that. Below is the speech that Barriss gave to the Jedi Order shortly before she was sentenced for the terrorist attack on the Jedi Temple.

Arlee Bird

Today is the first day of the A to Z challenge created by Arlee Bird.

So thank you Arlee!

What better way to celebrate the letter "A" than to begin it with you.

Have a great Monday, everyone.

Christine's Odyssey makes the Simms Siblings Series Sure Sound Super!

Howdy. I’m glad you’ve stopped in. My name is Christine and although I’m only eleven, I’m what some adults might call precocious. A lot has happened in my life, some of it bad, but like my dad used to say, good things can result from the bad stuff that happens to us.

To help me celebrate overcoming my challenges, a great gang of authors have teamed up and will be giving away copies of their books. Sweet, yes?

For a chance to win a pair of the books listed, you can do anything included on the Rafflecopter below or on Facebook . However, for those who’d like to win a $10.00 Amazon Gift Voucher, hop on over to the Jamaican Kid Lit Blog to enter for that.

Anyway, I tend to talk a lot, so before I carried away, here’s my story:
Raised in a hotbed of arguments and fights, eleven-year-old Christine Simms is the victim of her mother's cruelty. A domestic dispute ends in tragedy, sending the family into a tailspin.

A shocking discovery sends Christine on a quest to find the stranger who left her behind in Jamaica. Determined to unravel the mystery of her birth, Christine uses every tool at her disposal and treads with courage where no child should.

Thanks so much for dropping in! I hope you win the novels of your choice. I should tell you that you get to choose books based on how the Rafflecopter does the drawing of the winners. So, if your name comes up first, you get to say which pack you want.

Available in ebook format at AmazonUS  <<<CLICK

J.L. Campbell is a proud Jamaican, who is always on the hunt for story-making material.

She writes romantic suspense, women's fiction and young adult novels. She is the also the author of Contraband, Dissolution, Distraction, Don't Get Mad...Get Even, Giving up the Dream, Retribution and Hardware (written under the pen name Jayda McTyson).

Visit her on the web by clicking HERE .a Rafflecopter giveawaya Rafflecopter giveaway
***** Christine's Odyssey makes the Simms Siblings Series Sure Sound Super!

I will be away from the desk Thursday and Friday. I'm visiting my parents for Easter. However, I shall see you soon enough next Monday as the A to Z challenge begins. I'm going to be blogging about my favorite canceled animated television series, The Clone Wars. I think the Star Wars universe told from the perspective of the cartoons is definitely fertile enough ground for me to find a topic for every letter.