Fuuuuuuuck. It's true, no good deed goes unpunished.
So, Leah's moving to Vermont right away and I'm stuck with her Warped ticket. Who wants it?
Zach, give me my fucking issues of Green Arrow.
Mike Wilson - 12:08:00 AM
Monday, July 29, 2002
Zach, I want my fucking Green Arrow comics back.
Mike Wilson - 6:32:00 PM
Friday, July 26, 2002
Wordy word, kids. Pay attention. I would like to take the opportuity to declare the Bald Mountain the best and greatest brother in the world (even better than me). This is based not only on years of dedicated brotherhod, but also on the strength of his second, hidden birthday present, which I did not discover until this morning. Thank you, David. I love you.
Mike Wilson - 6:56:00 PM
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
You poor confused bastards. Empire doesn't have to be able to stand on it's own, because all of Star Wars is one incredibly good, outrageously long movie. Now, on to the list! Although I do not have the benefit of hindsight (not the foresight to judge Episode III), Attack of the Clones is the best of the films. It is followed by The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, and the still great A New Hope.
More on Anakin and Sith lightning tomorrow, because right now I'm short on time.
Mike Wilson - 6:30:00 PM
Monday, July 22, 2002
Now, I want more theorizing on Anakin and bring the Force back into balance. Do it!
Mike Wilson - 6:44:00 PM
Nope, it's all my fault. Between going to california and feeling sorry for myself since I got back, I haven't taken the hours necessary to lay it out. Yeah, I feel sort of bad about this, but not too bad. After all, it was Brad and Jim who wanted to go once-monthly for the Summer, and I'm the only one doing an damned work for it. I layout the issues, print off the copies, and address and stuff the envelopes. Jim helps with layout, but he's in Los Alamos right now, and Brad's worthless. So, I just haven't felt like doing it all by myself lately. But, it'll get done this week, and things will be back to the hectic, but easy to maintain biweekly schedule in September. (And I rather liked your column, Zach.)
Mike Wilson - 6:42:00 PM
Friday, July 19, 2002
We all do, Zach, we all do. I was actually in Marin County on Sunday; so, given my recent (relatively) close proximity to George Lucas, I feel vastly superior to you all.
Mike Wilson - 6:54:00 PM
Thursday, July 18, 2002
Thanks, Steeze. By the way, Ace Windu, great work on the mommies and puppies question.
So, now, another deeply philosophical and entirely theoretical question (one the answer to which we cannot possibly know now and may not fully understand even after multiple viewings of Episode III): what do you think it means to "bring the Force back into balance"? Also, an inbedded question is, having seen in A New Hope, Empire, and Jedi the consequences of Anakin's fall to the Dark Side (i.e. the destruction of the Jedi Order), does the prophecy come true? Or is it a load of dingo's kidneys? Think, and then bring your thoughts before the group. Or, better yet, embrace the true spirit of BTW and bring your thoughts before the group without really thinking. I look forward to some quality master debating.
Mike Wilson - 6:37:00 PM
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
In The Phantom Menace, Masters Yoda and Windu have their little discussion by Qui-Gon's pyre for three reasons: a) to establish that the modus operandi of the Sith is the single master-single apprentice system. We see this in operation in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but as these are prequels it is right and proper that it is explicitly stated; b) to let those who haven't figured it out in on the secret that kindly old Palpatine is the same man as the sinister Darth Sidious via John Williams's brilliant musical cue; and c) to hint at Sidious's power by allowing him to stand in the same room as virtually the entire Jedi Council and not be detected. He does a lot more of this in Attack of the Clones, but this is the first time we see it happen.
The Jedi use the term "master" loosely, but at no point in the five films have we ever seen the Sith throw it around casually. Yoda, Mace Windu, Qui-Gon Jinn, et alii hold the level of Jedi Master, rather than the lesser levels of Jedi Knight and Jedi Padawan. Yet Obi-Wan Kenobi, holding the level of Jedi Knight, is called "Master Kenobi" by Madame Jocasta Nu, "Master Obi-Wan" by Yoda, and "Master Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi" by Taun We. So, just as there is a specific level of Jedi Knight at the same time that all the Jedi are correctly called Jedi Knights, there is both a specific level of Jedi Master and an acceptance of the term master as an honorific for all adult Jedi.
Among the Sith, the only one ever called "Master" is Darth Sidious. Darth Vader and Darth Maul both ackowledge his orders by saying "Yes, my master" whereas Darth Tyranus greets him as "Master Sidious." Sidious is heard to address all three of his apprentices by the title "Lord," Lord Vader, Lord Maul, and Lord Tyranus. In the same way as all Jedi are Jedi Knights, all Sith are Sith Lords. Whereas the Jedi have chosen the honorific master, the Sith, probably in a nod to the slavish nature of there order, reserve the term master for the one true Sith master, and instead rely on lord as an honorific, which still conveys to underlings a sense of inferiority and obedience.
Mike Wilson - 1:28:00 PM
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
Hey, gang, The Last Angry Man has returned from San Francisco and ready to get back into the swing of things. So, once I've had a chance to catch up on all the posts, prepare for an earful. (Both because I have a lot to say and I need to take my mind off Linz.)
Mike Wilson - 6:29:00 PM
Tuesday, July 09, 2002
I want to discuss Zach's theory in great and painstaking detail, but I don't have the time now. So, even if you guys move on, we'll be renewing this in seven days when I'm back.
Also, Kevin, have you even seen A New Hope? Tarkin is the one very much in command of the Death Star and he blows up Alderaan, not Vader.
Hey, you remember how the sidewalk along State Street leading to my house was all torn up and shabbily filled in with soft patch? Well, yesterday the city replaced the deadly soft patch with, gaaah, real concrete. So, now the sidewalk is more safe and usable than it was before. What the hell? Come on, the soft patch would have been even better come Winter. Curses, I wanted my DEATHTRAP!
Mike Wilson - 2:12:00 PM
Monday, July 08, 2002
My only question is, what exactly does it mean to bring balance to the Force? If light and dark are equally powerful (Luke, "Is the Dark Side stronger?" Yoda, "No. Quicker, easier, more seductive."), then wouldn't the Force have been out of balance for millennia? The Jedi are numerous and have enforced peace and stability in the galaxy. This is a good thing, but as they've been much more powerful than the Sith, confined to their order of two, plotting and scheming the downfall of their benevolent reflections, the Force has been out of balance. Of course, this is only an imbalance to a Western liberal mindset heavily influenced by the Mills, father and son. As with so many things, we can only speak hypothetically until after the release of Episode III, the *sniffle* last piece of Star Wars that will ever be produced.
I find Zach's theory about Anakin to be terribly insightful and worth further contemplation. Yeah, most of Zach's theories suck (i.e. Dagobah being Naboo and Boba Fett being identical to Han Solo), but when he's right he 's right. And here, he may very well be right.
Mike Wilson - 6:38:00 PM
Sunday, July 07, 2002
Anakin Skywalker. He will be the greatest villain of any age, but for all the right reasons. He doesn't want to be in the thrall of the dark side, but he will go there of his own volition. (Now, that said, it was difficult picking him over Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, and Han Solo. Deep down, we all want to be Han Solo.)
Mike Wilson - 12:54:00 AM
Thursday, July 04, 2002
Kevin, please pay attention. Song titles are in quotation marks, they are not italicized. For instance, Dude, Weak is not accurate; it should be written "Dude, Weak." The titles of albums, books, and films are italicized. Thus, "Across the Stars" is the love theme from Attack of the Clones. "Lobster of Truth (Wanted Me For Him)" is a fan favorite from Good or Suck!
Mike Wilson - 2:56:00 AM
Wednesday, July 03, 2002
"Ask the Professor" is just about the best thing in the entire Information Superhighway.
Mike Wilson - 1:42:00 PM
Dude, sweet! Good luck, Steeze. You are all required to post how many times you have seen Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones in theaters. Why? Because this is who we are, and there's nothing else as important as Star Wars.
The Last Angry Man: 14.
Mike Wilson - 1:38:00 PM
Tuesday, July 02, 2002
T.L.A.M sez: Holy shit, I almost forgot! This weekend, I came face to face with... vodka cheese! AAAAAAAAAHHH! Okay, so, I didn't actually encounter vodka cheese (thanks be to the Heavenly Father), but I did come perilously close. A terribly harbinger of what is sure to be the end of our civilization, brought to us by none other than my dear, sweet mother, Mrs. Wilson: cheddar beer bread! Oh, no! Cheese and alcohol... together! Remove the bread and we're one step away from vodka cheese! Oh, no! No! Noooooooooooo!
... the horror... the horror...
Mike Wilson - 1:39:00 PM
T.L.A.M. sez: Be brave, Steeze! Ask and ye shall receive.
You're obviously missing the point here: I want to have my cake and to eat it too. I want a fast, easily updatable btw.com* and the cool icons. I want it all. Now, do it! (*I love how we refer to bluetreewhacking.com as btw.com, and the website identifies itself as such, even though there is a wholly separate and real btw.com that has less than nothing to do with our wacky antics.)
Mike Wilson - 1:30:00 PM
Monday, July 01, 2002
I'm not sure why posts are turning up unidentified. I've contacted the administrators and hope to have an answer soon.
Mike Wilson - 6:54:00 PM
Hey, Steeze, please bring back the icons at the BTW site. The links bar is just so ordinary. I really liked the little images of the camera, the CD, the name tag. I thought they were an integral part of the bluetreewhacking.com experience.
Also, I think our comments need to come faster and mor furious. And way more random. Jon's done some good work here with Shaolin Soccer, now I want the rest of you to go find the weirdness out there (escluding the weirdness BTW has contributed, and I've got dibs on Art Truck).
Mike Wilson - 6:48:00 PM
