star wars is for *everyone*

i was completely disheartened the other day when i read an account of a 7 year old girl who was bullied because she liked star wars so much that she carried a star wars backpack and matching water bottle to school!

apparently some kids at her school think star wars is only for boys and made her feel so bad that she made up excuses for her mother in order to take a *pink* water bottle and blend in with the other girls at school. she didnt want to be different anymore. seven years old and these kids in groups are already absorbing nonsensical gender identifications and bullying other kids to conform.

the mother of the little girl solicited her female readers to share stories of their enjoyment of star wars, which she then shared with her daughter. the article is definitely worth a read.

so, here i am saying not only do i like (the original) star wars series, but i have an entire tag on this blog dedicated to the science fantasy space opera!

to show my enjoyment of how the series continues to inspire, i was going to choose just one of these great posters by olly moss to share. but i couldnt decide on only one and i really like the whole set. (just when i start to think there was no original star wars stuff out there...)

star wars christmas special

the folks of gamervision bring us this highly entertaining star wars christmas special. enjoy!

its never too early to introduce your child to star wars.

this video is just great!  

i agree wholeheartedly when they say:  i don't want my children growing up in a world where we believe Greedo shot first!

silent star wars

i'm almost more impressed by the piano composition than the silent movie bit, but its still worth a quick watch...

star wars tuxedo shirt

smooth.


get your very own here!

spotted at dark roasted blend.

a pet AT-AT

too cute! my favorite part is around 00:40 after he has to go outside!

AT-AT day afternoon from Patrick Boivin on Vimeo.

a june (photo) journey

the royal observatory greenwich has posted the new "astronomer's gallery" for the month of june. this month's astronomer is emma rigby who blogs about astronomy at we are all in the gutter and is a fellow post-doc here at the university of nottingham!

of the images in her gallery, i really like this photo of the aurora borealis by dave brosha:



and i'm partial to this photo of the space geodesy facility because it kinda looks like a giant lightsaber!

enjoy the rest of emma's june journey gallery!

new favorite band

may the fourth be with you

after having a pleasantly productive week last week, i'm heading out of town this week for a couple different adventures.

i'm going to london tomorrow to support a colleague who made the final cut for the Institute of Physics Award for the Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year. i wrote her a letter of recommendation and i'm so proud of her achievements, that i'm going to the ceremony they're holding tomorrow to honor the nominees. each "very early career" physicist finalist will give a short talk summarizing their research and there are a few other invited speakers as well.

while in london, i'm hoping to see the Hubble 3D IMAX movie which is only playing in the UK at the science museum. also, happy 20th anniversary to the hubble space telescope! the hubblesite released this image of the carina nebula in honor of the occasion:


the hubble has taken some amazing images for us - after receiving an eye treatment soon after its launch. i wonder how many of you remember when it was discovered that hubble had a flawed mirror and needed fixing? what was your reaction when you heard the news?

i was twelve or so at the time and remember thinking: oops, that was a big mistake, wasnt it?! i also remember seeing before and after images from the hubble in the newspaper after they fixed it. i was amazed at what a difference there was between the blurry before shot and the crisp, detailed after shot. while i remember feeling slightly embarrassed for the scientists because they had made such a huge mistake when making the original mirror, i was really impressed that they could fix the problem, considering the telescope was already floating in space.

anyway, after the quick 2-day trip to london, i'll leave the next day for a 4-day musical escapade at the ATP festival, curated by matt groening. i think i'm most excited to see daniel johnston live, but there are several great bands playing!

oh yeah, and happy star wars day.

star wars cakes

why didnt i think to get a star wars theme cake for my 30th birthday? there's always the 31st to plan for...




see the whole set at funcrawler.com

luke skywalker can't spell

from college humor

R2D2 knitted hat!

this is purely awesome knit wear from babbidge patch!!

storm trooper fashion

Liam Fahy's excellent design won him the fashion fringe shoe competition!


yes!

storm trooper musical

singin' in the rain

the death shrub

dont know the source of the death shrub - i found it from a friend.

height difference - star wars

here's a great, relaxed photo of most of our favorite star wars characters!


from left to right: Harrison Ford (Han Solo), David Prowse (Darth Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Kenny Baker (R2-D2), and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). Undated. link

the force

get one here.

more star wars humor at dark roasted blend.

cantina song on harp

i've always wanted to play the harp, but it was an impractical instrument to get a hold of... maybe one day. meanwhile, this sports-jersey-wearing young fellow can play a mean harp! and he plays the cantina song from star wars to boot!



from cynical-c.

film trilogy meter

seriously excellent summary of film trilogies, by dan meth. of course, these are his opinions and we all have our own, but the visual representation is fantastic!


i think the third back to the future was better than the second. other than that, i mostly agree with his ratings for the movies i've seen!

millenium falcon sled

i would love to do some sled riding with this: the millenium falcon sled!!


by the way, it sounds so weird to my ear to hear everyone in england talk about going "sledging."

while on the star wars theme, i'll share these funny action figures. you decided... obama or darth vader??