Club Jade

A Paris statue of Henri IV is now sporting a lightsaber as part of an art installation that celebrates the 400th anniversary of the King’s death. Why not? (via)

The makers don’t call it a lightsaber (though the internet certainly does) but the Spyder III Arctic laser certainly looks like one, and that’s prompted Lucasfilm to send the Hong Kong company Wicked Lasers a cease and desist.

I’m no lawyer, but the appearance of the laser is pretty blatantly inspired by its fictional forbearer. And anything that might keep “the most dangerous laser ever created” out of the hands of stupid geeks is fine by me.

The Star Wars kid is all grown up. Ghyslain Raza, who rose to unwilling internet fame as the subject of one of the internet’s first and most famous viral videos, hasn’t done too badly for himself. He’s pursuing a law degree (perhaps inspired by the lawsuit that he filed against the classmates who uploaded the infamous video?) and is the president of a conservation society in his hometown of Trois-Rivières.

Wedding bells. Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart got hitched Tuesday! The pair made it legal in New Mexico, where Ford is shooting Cowboys and Aliens. New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, a friend of the couple, performed the wedding at the Governor’s Mansion in Santa Fe.

…And not so much. In less happy news, Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson, who also got engaged in 2009, are “taking a break.”

Don’t try this at home. No, seriously, don’t. A company in Hong Kong is selling a laser “home theater projector” that resembles a lightsaber and is strong enough to burn skin and cause “irreversable retinal damage.” It can be purchased online for a mere $200. What could go wrong?

I’m sorry, but the coloring of the melted metal or plasma or whatever the hell that’s supposed to be makes me think of, uhh, the end result of liposuction. Yeah. A for effort?

Call me when they bring back the trash compactor, ‘kay?

Don’t tell me what I can’t shampoo. So Lost is pretty much the only non-rerun genre show I’ve been watching* and I was charmed to discover/rediscover the recaps at The Ack Attack, which are brilliant and hilarious. (The site also features an ongoing comic done in a style that looks quite familiar…)

Ladies, love and Warcraft. Times Online did an article on women who game. Or rather, women “finding love” in World of Warcraft. No seriously, that’s the article. Jezebel snarks so we don’t have to.

Nah nah nah nah nah nah. I remember music videos and Daria, so MTV is not exactly a hot number on the dial these days. (The esteem is mutual.) But apparently they do run at least one show these days that isn’t Jersey Shore, and the other day there were lightsabers on it. Also: Get off my lawn.

* Well, there is The Vampire Diaries, but it is a) shameful and b) an accident, I swear.

Between this and the escalation of dancing stormtroopers, I really hope someone organizes a flashmob at Celebration 5. (via)

The first episode of Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, which premieres Tuesday on the Science Channel, will take a look at lightsabers and a Stargateesque portal. Sure, the History Channel has been-there done-that, but the more the merrier. As for the ones in the pictures… I doubt those are actual plasma tubes, io9.

General Grevious these things are not. (via)

TFN spotted this amusing novelty product at – where else? – Thinkgeek. Taunt your pets and coworkers with them for a mere $14.99.

In less wacky and far more pricey lightsaber news, a Master Replicas saber signed by George Lucas, Samuel L. Jackson, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Nick Gillard is being auctioned on eBay to raise money for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.

I guess you can be too dorky for an iPod. This will play your MP3s in “in the order that they’re stored on the memory card directory,” all old-school like. Branding or… branding? Your choice, fanboy.