At least I assume that Gremlin-esque transformation of a part of my collection happened sometime during the insanely wonderful Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando. How else to explain the simple math: We arrived at the Orange County Convention Center with 17 pallets and crates weighing well over two tons. The returning truck has 26 pallets and crates weighing who-knows-how-much!
2 Comments » | 
Tags: Celebration VI, Rancho Obi-Wan
Collecting, Events | 
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Well, I’m off to NYC next week to work with Abrams on a yet-to-be-announced book. Some fans, or at least one I’ve noticed online, have already guess at its subject, but I’m forbidden to announce it. Still too early, but it’ll be out spring of next year. Also spending a fair amount of time on another undisclosed project, very exciting, but way, way too early to announce—it’s presently scheduled for early 2014. Sorry to tease, but it’s like working in a different time zone, toiling away on material that has no verbal or public forum. I guess there are a lot of people in the same boat.
5 Comments » | Tags: Making of Return of the Jedi
Books and Comics | Permalink
If there’s one thing that’s central to the Dragon*Con experience, it’s costumes. You can’t wave a stick in any of the host hotels without whacking a costumed attendee. (Please, don’t wave sticks at cons with the intent of whacking people.) And because the con is so huge, most tracks have their own costume contests, in addition to the con-wide hall costume contest and the Dragon*Con Masquerade. Star Wars is no exception, but this year was unique because Dragon*Con fell right on the heels of Celebration VI. That meant that some people had opted to attend the less frequent Star Wars con instead of the annual con, and some people attended both, but were too wiped out from CVI to compete their costumes again. This resulted in a slightly smaller field for the Dragon*Con contest. Even with a smaller group, there was no shortage of variety and creativity.
2 Comments » | Tags: Costumes, Dragon*Con
Creativity, Events, Fans and Community | Permalink
It’s that time of year again. The summer holidays are over and it’s time for the kids to head back to school. This can be a sad time for kids because their vacation is over, but it should also be an exciting time because they will be learning all new things this year! A great way to get kids excited for school and learning is to get some fun reading material into their hands. They are going to be doing book reports, why not use Star Wars themed books? Here are some fun Star Wars books for readers of all ages.
1 Comment » | Tags: back to school, Star Wars Books
Books and Comics | Permalink
It’s August – funny how that happens every year – and it’s time for school to be in session again. I actually always looked forward to it when I was younger. Yes, I was that kid. I liked getting back into a routine, learning, having homework (unless it was math), and seeing friends. Mostly though, I liked going shopping for school supplies. I loved getting the list of what items were required for the year’s classes, and I loved crossing the items off just as much. I always found that making my tools more interesting made learning more fun. That’s where Star Wars comes in.
Long days at school can be improved with Star Wars pens, notebooks, and folders. It seems like it wouldn’t matter, but I remember being really frustrated with an algebra problem in high school and feeling slightly better about figuring it out when I used my calculator with a giant She-Ra sticker on it. I don’t remember if I answered the problem correctly, but seeing characters who inspire you when you open your backpack can make a difference. Read the rest of this entry »
15 Comments » | Tags: back to school
Fans and Community | Permalink
The time is here, my young Padawans, to head off to Jedi training. Or as some people call it, “go back to school.” Ah yes, I can hear you cheering now. School is a fantastic place to learn, challenge yourself, and interact with all different types of people. But for some younglings, heading back to school can be a scary time. When I was a kid, going back to school made me as nervous as Ben Quadinaros in a podrace. So when the going got tough, I watched Star Wars. Star Wars gave me hope and many valuable life lessons along the way. In Master Yoda, I had the greatest after-school tutor ever!
12 Comments » | Tags: back to school
Fans and Community | Permalink
I have been a fan of Star Wars since the beginning, so this challenge was very exciting for me for numerous reasons. First and foremost, it was a Star Wars challenge! It was also the first challenge of the competition. As we were standing there as a group I remember thinking to myself “Not only did I make it on Face Off, but our first spotlight challenge is creating a Star Wars inspired alien? Wow! How many people would love to be in my place right now?” What made it the most exciting for me though, was that in some way, I had a chance to follow in the footsteps of great special make-up effects artist like Stuart Freeborn and Rick Baker. Their work has always been an inspiration, and this was the challenge of a lifetime for me. I don’t know of any other film that has inspired as many generations as Star Wars has.
3 Comments » | Tags: creature effects, face off
In Pop Culture | Permalink
When Roy and I were asked to write a guest blog to be featured on StarWars.com, we were given the option to write it together or on our own. We decided to write something up on our own, then e-mail it to each other and see what we could come up with together. Well, Roy just e-mailed me his draft, and it cracked me up because we both basically said the same thing about our experience working with each other. It’s that synchronicity that worked so well for us as a team.
8 Comments » | Tags: creature effects, face off
In Pop Culture | Permalink
There are always so many great things happening at Star Wars Celebration events that it’s hard to keep track! Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Read on for highlights, photos and more!
No Comments » | Tags: celebration cvi
Events | Permalink
