Club Jade

Today is the day to support Star Wars and geek pride for Katie, so wear or display some Star Wars gear, or donate a Star Wars toy to needy children. (But don’t forget to add a note saying that the toy is for a boy or a girl!)

Meanwhile, io9 has an theory on the reason behind bullying Katie.

As a nice counterpoint to yesterday’s facepalming about TheMarySue.com, CNN’s Geek Out has a double-punch of stories: One about Katie the Star Wars girl and geek girls in general (featuring Ashley Eckstein!)

Many of the points being made by Dan Abrams and Susana Polo as they seek to launch a site for female geeks are true: The audience is underserved. On the other hand… They’re calling it TheMarySue.com.

She explained by phone that the name of the site is an ironic twist on the Mary Sue character in fan fiction. A Mary Sue is typically a beautiful female character who represents a standard of perfection that’s impossible to live up to.

“I feel that that is a very familiar concept to women in the geek world,” Polo said. “Women in the sciences often feel that they must be twice as competent as their male counterparts to get to the same regard. If society expects us to be a Mary Sue, well, we can certainly try, but in the meantime we’d like to giggle while pointing out the hypocrisy of the whole thing.”

I can see what she’s trying to say about the name, but mostly it just makes me wince. (And that’s not even going into the term being so overused that it’s practically lost all meaning as a defining term.) Thoughts, ladies?

Geek and Gamer Girls Song – Watch more Funny Videos

I’m beyond sick of the ‘California Girls’* filks, but y’all are sure to get a kick out of this. (And how can you not love Seth Green in the Snoop Dogg role?) Already seen? Bonnie interviews Team Unicorn.

* Yes, I know that’s not how Katy Perry spells it. I guess they don’t have spell check in Candyland.

You can purchase this top in “Chewbacca Pink.” Accident? Intentional? Easter Egg? We may never know… (via)

A man dressed as Darth Vader robbed a Long Island bank on Thursday. The Empire’s response, via DeathStarPR:

The Galactic Empire categorically and emphatically denies Lord Vader’s involvement in the alleged robbery and quite frankly, we find these allegations offensive. Several reliable witnesses can confirm that at the time of the robbery, Darth Vader was busy brutally murdering a Jedi cell in a galaxy far, far away.

They go on to use “Darth Vader’s’ fashion choices as proof. However, Darth Vader claims he is at Comic-Con. What is the real story? Stay tuned…

UPDATE: Chad also denys.

French psychiatrists and psychologists have determined that Anakin’s actions in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith are likely the result of borderline personality disorder and the character is in need of psychiatric help. To which every Star Wars fan on the planet says: Duh.

The Bechdel Test or Mo Movie Measure (misnamed as it may be) is a simple formula that tests three simple things in a movie: a) if there are (named) female characters and b) that they talk to each other about c) something other than a man.

Most movies fail this by a mile, including the lions share of the Star Wars saga.

I believe The Phantom Menace (Shmi and Padme) and Attack of the Clones (Padme and Queen Jamillia, Padme and Beru) may be the only Star Wars movies that pass the Bechdel test… Though perhaps barely, Anakin being a topic (but not a romantic one) in all three conversations I’m thinking of. Thoughts?

‘Isabella’ and ‘Jacob’ are topping the list of baby names for 2009. Granted, ‘Jacob’ has been #1 for 11 years now, and Isabella has been in the top ten since 2004, but there’s no way I’m not pointing fingers at Twilight: How else can one explain ‘Cullen’ hopping 297 spots?

As for Star Wars, Lucas is rising at #39, Luke is #48, Owen #49 and Ben is #653; On the girls list, Mara is #758 and Leia is #822. Han, Anakin, Shmi, Padme, Jaina and Jacen haven’t cracked the top 1000. Do your own search at SSA.gov.

You gotta see this. No, really. Or, what Topless Robot said.