Sci-Fi:

I've been fairly unproductive today. No... I've been very unproductive, actually. I read the book "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card and also proceeded to watch a couple of the Star Wars movies. I sort of see the whole sequence as a homage to my older nerdy ways. I had never gotten around to reading "Ender's Game" even though I had heard a lot about it while I was in middle school since my brother was reading it. Back in those days I was really into reading Sci-Fi. I read through just about every Star Wars book (the good ones, not the silly young jedi series) that was available at the library at that time. I've always loved Star Wars the originals. Few people probably remember when they digitally remastered the original three movies and rereleased them in theaters with extra scenes. I stood out in line to watch them at the Uptown theater. All three of them... and it was awesome. I've played a fair amount of the video games released (Jedi Knight 1, 2, and 3, Jedi Academy, Episode 1 on PS, Pod-racer, X-Wing Alliance, Battlegrounds, KOTOR I and II... that's 10!!!) and also have a collection of toys that are lying around here somewhere. So obviously, the movies have had a pretty large influence in my nerdish upbringing.

The detail provided about this imaginary universe allowed for the formation of building blocks, those of which could allow the universe to be expanded on. Okay, for example... Bacta is mentioned only once briefly in the second movie. This is the name of the substance Luke is submerged in seen in the second movie. Why give a name to it? Because it let's you know that it's not water, but rather a rare substance that speeds up the healing process. That's all implied in the movie. And from there, bacta is found in almost every Star Wars franchise product as the medical commodity of the universe. It's the details that let the universe come alive and let your imagination indulge in fantasy. Han mentions the Kessel Run in a brief quip in the first movie. It's used a couple of times in the books and in at least one of the space flight video games, you get to race through the route to see if you beat Han Solo's time.

On another note, I absolutely love the musical score. I've played parts of it in an orchestra and I can confidently say that it is the best orchestral movie score ever written. Hands down. If you want to argue it, go somewhere else.

Thanks for letting me indulge in my nerdom.