Mashup Monday - Party Rock In The Cantina

If you are anything like me, you think that LMFAO is an insult to music.  I guess it's a matter of not what you know, but who you know.  The group is comprised of the brother and son of Barry Gordy, the head of Motown.

In any event, someone brilliantly edited mesh of their Party Rock video, with the audio from the Mos Eisley Cantina scene in Star Wars.  Hilarious.

"Jedi Mindfuck" (Video)

A dad filmed his four year old watching 'The Empire Strikes Back', just as Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker that he is his father.  His reaction is priceless.

Video: George C. Scott Previews Star Wars On Blu-ray

Leave a comment.  Let me know if you have any intention of dropping $90.00 on the Blu-rays when they come out next Tuesday.

Quote Of The Day II

"These current defacements are just the beginning. Today, engineers with their computers can add color to black-and-white movies, change the soundtrack, speed up the pace, and add or subtract material to the philosophical tastes of the copyright holder. Tomorrow, more advanced technology will be able to replace actors with "fresher faces," or alter dialogue and change the movement of the actor's lips to match. It will soon be possible to create a new "original" negative with whatever changes or alterations the copyright holder of the moment desires."

 - George Lucas, speaking before Congress on March 3, 1988, the last time he was known to be of sound mind and body.


In all fairness, Lucas created the 'Star Wars' trilogy.  It's just that he has tinkered with it so much, that it is practically unrecognizable from it's original theatrical version.  He is releasing 3D versions of his movies in theaters, and then on Blu Ray, in order of "Episode", every year, starting in 2013.  Which means it will be 2019 before 'Return of the Jedi' will be released in 3D.  By then, Darth Vader will have laser beams coming out of his eyes, and Luke Skywalker will be digitally replaced by 'X-Men's Wolverine.

Video: Hitler Learns Of Changes To Star Wars Blu Rays

Mash Up Monday

I haven't posted a "Mashup Monday" piece in a while.  Frankly, I haven't seen anything that has really captured my attention.  There was something I caught on Vimeo that made me decide to resurrect the article.

Chris at Ithaca Audio uploaded a new mix.  I love it.  It blends together the theme from 'Shaft', Darth Vader's ominous theme from 'Star Wars', Daft Punk, Q-Tip and a number of other tracks.  It's mixed together seamlessly and is quite catchy.  I hope you enjoy it.


Don't hold back, just push things forward from Ithaca Audio on Vimeo.

Happy Star Wars Day

May the 4th be with you. (Get it?)

Video: Woman Gets Punched By Officer While Boba Fett And Stormtrooper Looks On

I couldn't make this up if I tried.

At an Atlanta area IHOP, on Sunday morning, at 4:00AM, a disagreement broke out between a woman and an off duty Atlanta police officer.  According to eyewitnesses, she was yelling at other patrons, and was asked to leave by the officer.  She refused.  That brings us to the video your're about to see.

Oh, fair warning.  This particular IHOP is apparently a fueling station for the Empire.  The gentleman taking the video is the "Hip Hop Stormtrooper".  He's sharing a table with Boba Fett, the galaxy's most dangerous bounty hunter.  I always pictured Boba Fett as...taller, and not as scrawny.



Did you see how hard the cop punched that girl at the :45 mark.  Damn.  Atlanta PD has released a statement regarding the incident:

"The officer involved in the arrest and confrontation with a patron at the IHOP in Buckhead has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation by the department’s Office of Professional Standards. Use of force by police officers is a matter the department takes seriously, and the OPS investigation will determine if the officer acted within established guidelines. Chief Turner has pledged to have the OPS investigation concluded in 10 business days.”

Just imagine what that place looks like after hours on Halloween night. 

Excuse Me, But I Was Promised Cookies.

For the last couple of years at Disneyland, two or three times each afternoon in Tomorrowland, they have something called the Jedi Training Academy.  They get a bunch of little grade school kids together, dress them up in robes, and give them each a plastic light saber.  Then a "Jedi" comes out and teaches them all some fancy moves.

During the middle of each show, Darth Vader and Darth Maul make a surprise appearance, and it's up to the little ones to fend them off.  They come up, one at a time, and duel on stage with Darth Vader.  It's really cute to see these kids get excited and think that they're in a battle with THE Darth Vader.  Some of these little ones are only 4 years old or so.  It's a great photo opportunity if you or your kid is a fan of 'Star Wars', and you have an hour to kill in the park, too.

Home video of a performance back in February, though, shows that in one instance, things didn't go exactly as planned.  When it was eight year old Sariah Gallego's turn to fight Vader, she bowed to him instead.  She turned to the Dark Side.



I so want that to be my kid someday!!!  She must have heard about the cookies.

Well Sariah was interviewed yesterday about the clip, and her motives were even more sinister than first thought.  She had bowed to Vader in order to gain his trust, become his apprentice, and later kill him and rule the galaxy. (Oh dear god.)

She says her inspiration came from Darth Zannah, an ancient female Sith Lord that killed her master Darth Bane.  For the record, even after listening to her interview, I had to look all of this up on a 'Star Wars' fan page, just to understand what she was talking about.  I'm a fan, but not as big of a fan as this eight year old kid, evidentially.  I must say, she has a really cool 'Star Wars' collection.  I was unaware that there were that many female characters in the 'Star Wars' universe.



Let this be a lesson to you, dads.  Little girls like science fiction, too.  Mine is only two right now, but you better believe, as soon as that evil monkey turns three, Episode IV is going into the DVD player.  Last time we were at Disneyland, I bought a set of 'Star Wars' toddler toys to introduce her to the characters, with the understanding that they are not to be opened until she starts watching the movies.

I figure with six movies (five if I leave out 'The Phantom Menace'), at roughly two hours or more apiece, that makes for some quality bonding time.  Hopefully, in five years, it will be my daughter scheming to take over the universe.

Kevin Smith Officiates Gay Wedding

Last night's 'Nightline' on ABC had a piece about getting married by a celebrity.  I guess it's the new "in" thing to do if you're getting married in California.  Tori Spelling has been doing it on her reality show for a couple of years, now.  And, in February, you can add writer/director/actor Kevin Smith into the mix.

In February, Smith, an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church, an online church with over 20 million members, married Scott Loudon and Michael Wojtowicz.  Yes, his first official marriage was of a gay couple.  As long time Los Angeles Kings season ticket holders, Loudon and Wojtowicz wanted a hockey themed wedding.  Being the hockey fanatic that he is, Smith couldn't refuse.

Dressed as a referee, he conducted the ceremony as the couple were dressed as players, complete with jerseys and fake bruises.  The 50 or so in attendance at Smiths theater in L.A. all wore jerseys as well, while the proceedings were broadcast online as part of a regularly scheduled podcast.

The invites were even made to look like tickets to a game:

The wedding date was 02/12/2011 - Sec 2011, Row 2, Seat 12

I don't know about you, but speaking for myself, I would much rather be married by Silent Bob than Donna from 'Beverly Hills, 90210'.  As Smith said in the piece last night,

"If you're getting married here, you're really interesting.... If you're getting married in hockey jerseys, and making me wear a referee jersey, and you're gay, and you're here, and you're huge hockey fans, we're in for a great show."

Take a look at the video.  I found it really touching.  It's nice to see Smith's reaction to the whole thing.  It's as if he's just hanging out with a couple of his drinking buddies.  It's no big deal to him.

I have read a couple of comments on the gay websites regarding this story, and I was surprised to see how much of a negative reaction it's getting.  One comment in particular struck me as peculiar.  It went on to say, "Shame on Kevin Smith.  Publicity stunts like this make our fight towards marriage equality look insincere.  Gay marriage is not a joke."

Really?  Are we going to bring the "sanctity of marriage" bullshit argument into this story, now?  News flash:  There is no sanctity in marriage, anymore.  There hasn't been for decades.  When Larry King can be on his 8th (or is it 9th) wife.  Or when you can get married by Elvis at a drive thru window in Las Vegas.  Or when one of the most popular shows on cable is about a man and his four wives, there is no sanctity in marriage.

If straight couples can have Star Wars themed weddings or Lord of the Rings themed weddings, why can't a gay couple have a hockey themed wedding?  What's the harm?  In my mind that IS marriage equality.

Kevin Smith, believe it or not, has been a long time advocate for the LGBT community.  In fact, when no one else would fund or produce a little documentary called 'Small Town Gay Bar', Smith personally funded the project so that it would be completed.  He also distributed it through his production company, View Askew, and secured a spot for it to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.  It is an amazing film that documents the lives of gay and lesbian residents in rural areas in the South, and the steps they have taken to try to form a resemblance of a community.  Over the last three decades, some have had the courage to open gay bars in their local towns, only to be threatened, beaten, and run out by local politicians and church leaders.

On a personal note:  My wife and I were initially planning on having a Beatles themed wedding in Las Vegas.  Due to unforeseen circumstances (our almost 3 year old daughter on the way), we decided to change our wedding plans.  A close friend of ours became ordained as a minister online through the Universal Life Church.  We were married in our kitchen, with only a couple of our closest friends in attendance.  

If I had to do our wedding day all over again, I would still be standing in that little kitchen with my beautiful fiancée, and a champagne flute filled with sparkling grape juice.  I wouldn't change a thing.  It's 2011.  Weddings aren't about pomp and circumstance, or wedding dresses and "something borrowed/something blue" anymore.  Tradition is out the window.  Today, it's simply about two people coming together to make a commitment to love each other for the rest of their lives.  End of story.

Congratulations, Scott and Michael.  May the two of you have a happy and fruitful life together.  Go Kings!! 

Funny A-Team/Star Wars Mash Up

I found this on another blog I follow this morning. It puts together two of my fondest childhood memories. I don't know who created this video, but, whoever they were, did such a good job at it, I couldn't help but share: