A New Hope for The Old Republic?

With the recent announcements from Disney/Lucasfilm about Rian Johnson’s new Star Wars movie trilogy, as well as the new live-action series which will be released on Disney’s forthcoming proprietary streaming service, it seems our petition is basically a moot point now, having stalled at a little over 207K signatures. Even so, the underlying motive of the #TORonNetflix movement and our petition to bring the Old Republic to Netflix was always more about finding a way to get this era and setting from a galaxy far, far away portrayed on-screen. While Netflix was the preferred vehicle for that depiction, the landscape has changed quite a bit since the petition was originally created.

A New Opportunity

Disney plans to launch its own streaming service sometime in 2019 and, according to Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, they intend to bring it to market at a lower price point than Netflix. In the company’s recent quarterly earnings call, Mr. Iger stated,

“It’ll have a lot of high quality because of the brands and the franchises that will be on it that we’ve talked about. But it’ll simply launch with less volume, and the price will reflect that.”

This new streaming service will bring all of the Disney properties under one banner (although, it seems there are plans for a separate ESPN service, but I digress). Movies and series from Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, as well as the “vanilla” Disney studios (i.e., Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation) will all apparently be available for streaming exclusively through this as-yet-unnamed service. Also, with the reports of talks between Disney and Fox, it’s possible that even more of the properties that have thus-far eluded the Mouse’s grasp – Marvel’s X-Men and the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V and VI) to name a couple – may finally be consolidated into a single, unified entity.

What Does This Mean for #TORonNetflix?

So, I’ve tried to paint a somewhat broad panorama of the current tableau in which we find our petition languishing. We may get the occasional signature here and there, but it’s now obvious that Netflix will not be the content provider for any sort of official Old Republic series. While Netflix subscribers will still have access to Disney films through the end of 2019, including movies opening in theaters throughout 2018, our best chance for seeing any sort of storyline involving Revan, Darth Bane, Nico Okarr, Emperor Valkorian, Meetra Surik, and so many other beloved characters – or, at the very least, some sort of analogous character(s) – will likely be in or after 2019. We don’t yet have enough details about the new live-action series or Rian Johnson’s new trilogy to say for certain if either of them will bring TOR to life, but according to the Disney/Lucasfilm news release,

“In shepherding this new trilogy, which is separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”

I’m not sure what that means, exactly, but I like to think that it’s possible that, in this context, “lore” is synonymous with “canon” or even “Legends“.  I, for one, refuse to give up on the idea that we may one day soon see the Old Republic represented on the big screen.  We may have to shift our focus a bit (and maybe come up with a cool and catchy new hashtag), but we aren’t going away.  At the very least, all of this news has given me a somewhat renewed hope that the Old Republic may finally have its day.

-Master Erudian Starbreeze of the Jedi Order

References:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/10/disney-ceo-says-their-streaming-service-will-be-cheaper-than-net/

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/disney-streaming-service-netflix-coming-soon

https://www.polygon.com/2017/11/9/16630894/star-wars-new-trilogy-rian-johnson

Lords of the Sith

A canon book placed 14 BBY by Paul S. Kemp.

This has to be one of my favorite books. To understand Darth Vader you first must understand the suit. Vader talks about the suit and how it helps him focus his dark side. The suit allows Vader to be who he is. After watching A Star Wars Story: Rogue One you probably want more Vader. Well look no further. This book is all about Vader and Palpatine. After reading this book several times I’ve come to understand that this is how Palpatine teaches Vader to use the dark side.

The story of the book is about Vader and Palpatine escaping off of the planet Ryloth after their star destroyer was destroyed in space.

In the beginning, the rebels take a vessel full of weapons and explosives from the empire. Vader doesn’t want to just destroy the ship so he commands his tie fighters to disable it. Unable to dock on the ship Vader sets his fighter in auto pilot and opens the hatch. In the vacuum of space he jumps. Using the force to guide him, he lands on the stolen vessel. Using his lightsaber to cut a hole and enter the ship. All the rebels hear is the iconic breathing from Vader and the sound of their comrades choking. The twi’leks have no choice but to retreat back to Ryloth. Where our story begins.

Palpatine sets Vader up to test himself. Allowing Vader to understand what it means to be a Sith. Overall this book is just awesome. If you need more Vader I definitely recommend this one.

You must sacrifice everything to gain the true power of the dark side. A lesson learned at a great cost.

 

 

Put the Blast Shield Down, I Don’t Want to See Anything

With Rogue One coming up so very soon (premiere is tonight! EEEEEEE!!!) and Episode VIII in post-production, I dodge and duck into hiding. Social media and the news has frequent reports on rumors and theories and spoilers about the films, and I don’t want to know. On my Google News feed, I have a Star Wars page and Kylo Ren page so Google finds news items for me, but I glance at them, and the moment the word “spoiler” or theory is in a headline, I move on.

Sometimes there are words that hint at what might be, or fan theories of what might be, and I don’t want to know. Like the one pictured: WHAT THE?!? When I looked at that first headline on this day’s newsfeed, I gasped. I convinced myself that it just must be a fan theory, but I wasn’t going to read that or any of these other articles to find out if I was wrong . My cupcake better not die or turn to the light side! And as much as I am ravenous for knowledge about my knights of Ren, if Episode VIII is going to tell me more about them, I want to wait.

Nor do I want to know what Kylo Ren’s mission might be or, as these headlines hint at, about Kylo Ren and Rey—if there is a relationship, it better be family and not a romantic entanglement! Rey, you keep your hands off my cupcake, girl!

Having seen the original trilogy, when first released in theaters, as an elementary school kid,  in a time before the internet and cable TV, spoilers were pretty much unheard of. Perhaps in magazines and things there were spoilers or speculation, but for a kid, I didn’t really see any of that. Looking back, I know that coming into the films, with no knowledge of what might be, made the films have such an impact. Darth Vader’s entrance in A New Hope terrified me, Princess Leia changed my worldview of women, being a strong, sassy, brunette.

In The Empire Strikes Back the cutting open of the Tauntan, was shockingly gruesome (and it was fun to see my friend’s reactions during that scene when I brought my them to see it to celebrate my 9th birthday—my third time seeing it).  I was so glad to see Darth Vader was still alive. I remember before Episode V was released there was a “Darth Vader Lives” campaign (I had my button!) because people didn’t want to think Vader was knocked out into space never to be seen again. And when Han is frozen in carbonite, my heart sank, I cried, and still cry every time I see that scene (It’s a secret I must keep to retain some dark side cred),

When Darth Vader revealed to Luke that he was his father, I experienced such shock, such disbelief, and, as a child whose favorite character was Darth Vader, a character that terrified me, I experienced, simultaneously, disgust in imagining the reality of having this villain as a dad and awe in Luke having such a cool dad. It was the first time I was submerged in utter, intense disbelief. I still throw my hands up and shout out, “whaaat!” when that happens (drives my kid crazy.). 

In Return of the Jedi, I was not prepared for Boba Fett’s embarrassing demise and never felt so happy for Han and Leia to reunite (thank goodness they did or they would have never had my darling, dark side cupcake, Kylo). Although it was a satisfying ending, I felt like I was mourning because at that time, for all we knew, the saga was over.

My aged copy of the only Star Wars novel that I’ve read.

I never got into videogames and didn’t read any Star Wars novels except Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, so I had/have a fairly film-pure understanding of Star Wars.  I think the absence of anything “new” about Star Wars created a kind of absence, making my anticipation of the new films so intense. I wanted to temper that anticipation because I knew that it would be very difficult for a new Star Wars film to capture my imagination and make me feel the exact same way it did when I was a child. The Star Wars prequels set in the context of my life as an adult could not give the me the same impression and reaction.

Credit: https://imgflip.com/i/vrxkz

I wanted to avoid the critiques of the prequels (before their release) based on leaked information and that the films were not following the books. And I hated that the merchandising was so gluttonously gratuitous, fodder for a hopeful feeding frenzy of fans trying to anticipate which characters would make the most valuable collectibles. 

With the release of the prequels, I was in my late-20s and read a tiny bit about the films, mostly drawn to the art, smitten by Queen Amidala’s beautiful, inspired costumes, hair and planet. That and Darth Maul are enough to make me love The Phantom Menace. My happiness that I was going to get more information about this galaxy far, far away was all I needed from the prequels.

But with the prequels, it was the first time I experienced hostile comments about Star Wars directed at me because I liked to point out the good things I found in the prequels. A relative berated me for not launching, along with her, into a “it’s not like the original trilogy” tirade after seeing The Phantom Menace. I watched Attack of the Clones, my least favorite of the films, with a date—a casual fan of the saga, and he was disappointed that the film didn’t have more battle scenes and felt that it was stupid to have anything about Padmé and the senate. 

Watching them again in retrospect I find more I like about Revenge of the Sith than just super-fine Anakin waking up abruptly from a bad dream, all shirtless…heaving up on that huge IMAX screen. That scene forced from my friend and me both, an audible gasp and a “oh, hello.” 

The level of over-merchandising with the prequels set a precedent for The Force Awakens as well, with Kylo Ren’s masked face and lightsaber and BB8 plastered on everything from tangerines, bottled water, BBQ tongs, pool toys, selfie sticks, etc., before the film was released. And in searching for Kylo Ren merchandise for myself,  I find so much made for little kids not adults. Having Kylo Ren marketed to little kids still seems odd to me. Kylo Ren pajamas are sold at Pottery Barn Kids in size 2T-8. Really? Parents want pictures of a twisted, patricidal bastard (albeit a damn sexy, delicious, sexy one) on the pajamas of their little toddlers?  I want those pajamas!

With The Force Awakens, I watched the trailers, but I didn’t watch any interview, did not read any social media rumors or speculations, and did not read any articles about what was to come. I delighted in coming to the film with no preconceptions, and, again, was hit with complete shock, more with this film than with Episode V because I am adult and processed the complexities, when I learned who

Sooooo yummmm!

Kylo Ren’s parents were. Seeing him unmasked (gush, sigh) created a raging conflict of intense lust and hatred that I am currently, and delightfully wrestling with in a research essay, and hit with shock and grief when Kylo Ren killed Han Solo.

 

But just like with the prequels people were negative and against, seemingly hurt by the film. And after the film, came more hostility, people so angry about the film and angry at me for liking it, for loving it. I understand their viewpoints, but I should be allowed to also have my own informed reasons for my preferences, without being told that I’m not a true fan among other more personal insults. 

And now with Rogue One, I watch the trailers but avoid the spoilers, articles, interviews, speculation, merchandising (although, I know I’ve blown chances to get some good collectibles) because I don’t want to know! Even now, thankfully, there is a Star Wars marathon on TV to keep me from watching the premiere and the red carpet banter that might reveal a detail that I don’t want to know, yet.

But people are already critiquing a film that hasn’t been released; their critiques coming from spoilers, speculation and theories, it seems. I saw someone post an angry comment about Darth Vader being in Rogue One, very upset and already arguing against Vader having a huge presence in the film. Maybe a spoiler revealed how much Vader will be in the film, but isn’t context needed? I would need to see the film before I decided how much Vader their should be. And what does “too much Vader” mean?  I understand the words, but that sentence expresses a foreign concept.

Star Wars made such an impression on me at such a young age; they aren’t just films, they are part of my memories with my late dad, who took us to see the films because they had many of the same appealing features as his favorite WW2 movies, memories of my late mother, who enjoyed them, mostly because of Harrison Ford, memories of my big sister and little brother, we still can have conversations purely in Star Wars dialogue. They are an immersive memory linked to other memories in my life, a reflection, reaction to, response to society and American culture at the time. It is why I spend so much time caring for, curating that memory and coming to episodes made beyond VI with such care and a positive frame of reference.

Being critical of fiction is second nature for me because of my education and career as an English professor. Analysis and criticism is what I do. And Star Wars, I defend. I don’t pretend that there aren’t awful things about the prequels, things I take issue with in Episode VII, and having re-experienced the original trilogy for 39 years, now, things I see as weaknesses in those films. I am not looking at the films as flawless. I just prefer to focus on the things that keep me delighted, in that place of wonder, that feeling of home, which is why Star Wars is so integral to my life.

But I don’t feel like I get to have ownership over the Star Wars universe or feel entitled to a say in how it all turns out—although I act like I do sometimes, in jest—that the story can’t be taken in new directions, even of those directions turn out disastrous. Works of fiction evolve with each audience, generation, state of the world, and I accept that it will change, and if a change is disagreeable to me, I don’t insult those who like it, I won’t trash the entire saga or feel slighted or betrayed by its authors.

The Star Wars saga is strong enough to withstand the good and not-so-good creations that it inspires. Stories written after the original trilogy, whether I think they’re well done or not, cannot ruin my experience of the Star Wars universe or make me angry because I control my reaction. I choose the focus, the point of view, so it’s a positive experience. 

I constantly question my devotion of time and energy to this fictional galaxy, that I could be using it for other, more noble endeavors. But Star Wars keeps me ethically grounded, makes me a critical thinker, gives me practice standing up for something I believe it, exercises my analysis skills, practices my synthesis skills as I see parallels with the films and society, forces me to see flaws and weaknesses in something I hold up so high on a pedestal and be comfortable with that.

This feeling of having a relative tabula rasa going into the theatre allowed the films to have such an impact on me that I want this same opportunity when I see Episode VIII and Rogue One. I know how difficult it will be to stay untainted, unless I cut myself off from the Internet, which won’t happen, but I will try. I will don the helmet and pull down my blast shield. 

Feeling the Force through the Flab

Fully bloated, feeling like Jabba, I was trying to recover from Thanksgiving feasting as shown (full credit to whoever made the fun Star Wars Thanksgiving images; sorry I don’t have the info to properly cite you—let me know) and my

skipped workouts. I was supposed to run the day before Thanksgiving, but the bomb threat at my work, Wednesday, threw off my Wednesday plans. The day after Thanksgiving, I had planned to enjoy a hike for California Parks Day, but anxious about crazy Black Friday shoppers, I only took a short walk in my local park.  Saturday, it rained, so I couldn’t run, so I tried another Star Wars workout: yoga. 

I have to give the disclaimer that I had a couple of glasses of red wine in me, but I had promised myself not to skip the workout. It started promising, the instructor, Erica, in the video seemed laid back as yoga instructors often are and was wearing C3PO/R2D2 leggings. I had on my R2D2 yoga pants 

These are what my yoga pants look like, but is is not my bottom half. Gravity and IPAs, cake, and Mexican food have made me look a little puffier than this

She started off by explaining yoga breathing like breathing like Darth Vader. The Star Wars references and quotes were too light for my taste, I guess to preserve the yoga-ness of it. I expected more, like giving the yoga name for a pose (like in this pic below). 

She did explain at the end that with more practice that you would feel less like Jabba, as if she knew that was how I was feeling.

As for her level of Star Wars devotion, she asked if viewers remember the name of the actor who played Han Solo as if that would be a tricky question. Made me question her level of fandom, but then I also realize that she might be trying to reach out to those who might not be complete fanatics like me, but would they really seek out a Star Wars workout?  She could have also had some low volume Star Wars music playing in the background as well as some Star Wars props to set the right fusion mood.

It truly was a beginner’s workout and I had to strain a bit on the runner’s lunges on the left side and the twists since my left leg does not want to cross over my right because of my IT band issues and arthritic left hip. 

She has a part two, that I did on Sunday, which as far as yoga goes, it’s an easy to follow workout for a beginner. She started that one with, again, some cool Star Wars leggings and a Darth Vader helmet on,  but I want, well I guess I’m still looking for the perfect Star Wars workout something like the meditative, moment-focused routine that I imagine the Jedi and Sith must have practiced in that galaxy far, far away, and that’s the one that I want.

I’ve discovered a few more of these amateur Star Wars workouts. A Daisy Ridley-workout inspired workout, a couple flat abs workout, and a bunch of Star Wars workouts for kids—why do kids get Star Wars marketed to them more than it gets marketed to adults?—so, I’ve got a lot to get me trained for the Star Wars Half Marathon. But with Rogue One coming up soon and Episode VIII rumors getting more difficult to dodge, I have thoughts fighting for space on this blog.

But I will continue strengthening my body in the way most appropriate to my life—through Star Wars-themed workouts in hopes to find the ones that fully indulge my desire to train physically in the dark Jedi arts and launch me in to more Mary Sue dreams of getting sweaty with my delicious dark side cupcake, my dreamy Master of the Knights of Ren. Look at him! He is so fine! So YUM!

Some advice from an old dark side student for those of you in your teens, 20s, 30s, develop healthy habits now. Being in my mid-40s it takes twice as much effort just to maintain my current weight and state of health as my metabolism slows, my time is sparse, and my body degenerates. If you want more time in this life to cherish the dark side, to obsess over the Star Wars universe take care of your bodies, work ’em!  

Path Of Destruction

Book one of the Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn.

Born of the dark side. A flickering flame ready to burst into a raging forest fire. This was Dessel. The bane of his father, the simple man who mines Kurtosis. Darth Bane book one takes place roughly 1000 years BBY. Des is stuck on the mining planet Apatros located in the Outer Rim. Des is a big man, 2 meters tall.

He joins the military of the sith and quickly escalates in rank. He relied on the funny feeling he would get right before an ambush. Always knowing when they would come. Defying his commanding officer, Des was sentenced to death in front of his fellow troopers. Des died but Darth Bane was born. Joining the brotherhood of darkness.

Learning the way of the Sith was easy for Bane. Eventually he became overwhelmed in the force and killed a student. Haunted by the people he had killed with the force, his fire became a flicker. Unable to use the force he was ignored and put to shame. He still craved knowledge, needed to know everything. Studying ancient text in the library, Bane discovered a problem with the current day Sith. A problem he vowed to resolve.

With new students coming to the Sith Academy Bane eventually meant the Jedi traitor Githany. Helping Bane restore his confidence and his eternal flame, she brought his force back. Now it was time to show the brotherhood of darkness what it truly means to be a Sith.

This book and the rest of the trilogy are my most favorite Star Wars books. I highly recommend reading the entire trilogy. I don’t want to ruin the ending for you readers. So your just going to have to find a copy and read it. You will not regret it. Especially if you are a dark side sith lover, this book will tickle your inner Sith. Darth Bane is one of my favorite characters in the Star Wars world. Not just for his strength but for his determination to make the Sith powerful again. Hail the Sith!

 

Star Wars HIIT Workout: My Failure was Complete

 

I died. The Star Wars HIIT workout https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIir4DxhIZg has killed me! After a rest day, full of sitting on my bum grading essays, I was looking forward to working out, and I’ve done the the kickboxing video by this YouTuber, so I knew I was in for a serious, sweat-pouring workout.

Eager to start I couldn’t hold the phone still.

I was hoping for some a cool Star Wars backdrop or something visually Star Wars or maybe a clip of music to help create a mood, but no. I do like that he does not play music in his videos because I can use my own playlist for better motivation. After his usual warm ups, we began the Star Wars-themed circuit. As soon as I heard the name, Jar Jar Jogs, I became disappointed; of all characters, why choose this one? But after seeing how I looked doing them, I realized why they were called that. I looked like an overreacting creature having running spasms.

This guy works in fun kickboxing Sith Kicks, Leia Kicks, and jabs and blocks, Darth Crawlers and FORCE pushes in the Obi-Run Kenobi, but puts in 3 kinds of burpees — Yoda, Ewok and Boba Fett burpees  — which are exercises straight from a torture manual. I know their benefit, but I hate them so much! The severity of weakness and tightness in my left hip and leg presented itself more in this workout than the Dark Side workout, when I had to shift my weight to that side during kicks and one-legged burpees (One-legged! Seriously, dude?!?!)  I did far less reps than he did, but my muscles were failing, streams of sweat were stinging my eyes, and my glasses were slipping off my soaked nose mid-way through the workout so I had to slow down to keep my form somewhat correct.

With quivering muscles, I attempted the Skywalkers (doing a handstand while you walkyour legs up and down the wall) despite feeling certain that my arms would give out and I would land on my face, but I survived, face intact. But the feeling that I should have waited more than an hour after eating a chicken salad was intensified as it tried to come back up. “Arise, chicken. Arise.” (Thank you AQHF for allowing me to amuse myself there.) https://youtu.be/zZ9dtZ8lYww

The last combo of all his videos was the death blow, which he calls the burnout combo, and in this video they were named Force Be With You. These combos move you from floor to ceiling — squats, jumps, side crawls and other things I can’t remember because I was dying. He really pushes you and himself to the limit; even he had to stop mid sets to catch his breath, which made me feel better about not being able to complete half of what he did.

…slightly composed for stretching

HELP! After combos struggling to stand…

With the last, long water break, I had to lean on the counter to hold myself up. My legs were shaking. Stretching was more of a series of contortions to stay balanced on Jello legs.  But I am determined to try it again because it was fun, and I want to get good enough to do all the reps. I woke up sore, today, but not immobile like I expected.

Unlike the Dark Side workout, There was no energy in my body or brain to spare during this workout for me to have Mary Sue fantasies about training with my dark side cupcake. All I could do was imagine him using this special ancient Sith healing tincture while performing a

Art Credit: Erik Maell

Ancient Sith healing tincture disguised as peppermint oil.

deep tissue massage on me and carrying me to bed.

 

Feel the Force Flow (and try not to hurt yourself…or the dog): a dark side inspired workout.

Being an elder squire for the Knights of Ren, I am more prone to injury than some of my other dark side devotees. A recently healed hip flexor injury as well as a diagnosis of degenerative arthritis in my left hip have me on a quest to prepare for running the Star Wars Half Marathon at Disneyland in January

My friends and me at last year’s Star Wars – Light Side 10K

Unfortunately it’s the “light side”—waaaaahhh—but Disneyland is only about 15 miles from my house; Disneyworld gets the dark side marathon – but it’s not as close to my home.

To stay motivated, I’ve discovered some Star Wars workouts online that I wanted to share, which will also keep me accountable for my training and maybe inspire fellow dark side fitness experts to create even more Star Wars-inspired workouts.

Disclaimer: Seek a galactic medic droid’s advice before starting any workout program, so that you don’t get hurt and end up in a bacta tank.

Come to the Dark Side Workout

I found this workout on the website, Darbee, which also has a Jedi workout and Stormtrooper workout, but I had to go with the Dark Side workout.

The description: “Let your dark side surface and fight with a highly developed sense of precision. Using the Bo staff allows you to reap the benefits that come when you train with weapons. The staff doesn’t just challenge your body, it also challenges your mind as you need to re-conceptualize the way you physically connect to the world and take into account the weight, length and dynamics of the staff. A workout that tasks your mind and body is truly what we mean about letting your Dark Side out.” Cool.

It looked fun, and I could indulge in Mary Sue day dreams about sparring with Kylo Ren as we worked as a couple to become strong in body as well as with the Force.

Credit: Fowl Language Comics

In my mid-40s, my expectations were that I would feel like I’m dying after 2 sets, and, nowhere near graceful, I also expected to injure myself with my makeshift Bo staff (I wanted to use a pool noodle  but couldn’t find one in my kid’s room) or damage some furniture or accidentally hurt the dog. I ended up using an old security bar as my “Bo staff.”

My “Bo staff”

The first set went slow as I tried to get the movement right and not strain a muscle. (I found out after working out that the website has videos showing the moves, so I’ll refer to those next time I do this.) With my first Overhead Strike, the plastic end of the bar flew across the room and hit the glass sliding door. Scared the dog.

I got through the first set of the second combo, Block+Block+Horizontal strike, with no incidents. During the Downward Swipe Combos, the other end of my “staff” flew off and hit the TV. Scaring the dog again. He left the room and watched from the hallway after that.

The Side Kick+Horizontal Strike Combos were the hardest. With my arthritic hip, my range of motion was limited and when I tried to kick as high as the guy in the picture, my tight hip muscles resisted and threw me off balance. I was able to stop my fall with the back of the couch.

Mmmm cupcake

The second set was much better! But since the ends of my “Bo staff” were now uncovered, the swinging created a wind that moved fast through the staff and made a whistling sound, and not a cool whooshing but a I’m-missing-my-front-teeth and trying to say the “s” wavering whistle sound. By the end of this set, I felt like a bad ass swinging the Bo Staff, and since my movements were more accurate, I could do it faster. Not having to focus so much on doing the moves right, I indulged in my fantasy about sparring with my dark side cupcake and kicking his ass.

As I began my third combo, the sweat was profuse and stinging my eyes. I was getting really tired, my muscles were fatiguing, so my form started to suffer, and I jammed the Bo staff in my armpit during one of my Downward Swipes to the left. Ouch. Terrible Forcemanship.

It took me about 40 minutes to get through the 3 sets of each combo, and it was fun, exhausting, worked my core, arms, legs, and glutes, but I didn’t feel the total muscle failure of strength training.  But I am just a beginner, and really enjoyed the physical movements and the daydreams of my delicious dark side cupcake that it inspired, so I will try it again. The next taste of Star Wars workouts? I will attempt to survive a HIIT circuit.

 

 

 

 

This is really moving!

“The Force is strong with this inspiring seventh grader. And thanks to The For The Win Project she’s able to look past her tough times and forward to something amazing.” Via Upworthy

http://www.facebook.com/Upworthy/

http://forthewinproject.org/ For The Win Project

The Dark Lord of The Sith getting ready

​Courtesy of LucasFilm

Dressing Vader can be so tiresome…that yawn!  LOL!

Dave Prowse getting dressed on the set of A New Hope
Posted on behalf of The Empress 

Darth Plagueis

A book that was recently announced as non canon. Written by James Luceno.

“Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis “the wise”? I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life… He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful… the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It’s ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.” 

– Palpatine, Darth Sidious, 19 BBY