Month: October 2008

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A TIE Fighter with Starbucks DNA

Dan Winters's Starbucks TIENo, this has nothing to do with Battlestar Galactica, it’s a TIE Fighter made by Wired’s Dan Winters out of nonperishable stuff easily found at a local Starbucks coffee shop:

He used nearly 50 ‘Bucks cups and a crazy number of stirrers to build this, the coolest TIE Fighter ever. “The ribbing on the drink holders reminded me of solar panels,” Winters says. “That instantly registered ‘TIE fighter’ in my head.”

(See a bigger picture at the link.) Wired is running a contest, and I bet there’s a lot more Star Wars stuff to be made from cups and stirrers. Get to it! (via)

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The folly of youth: Let’s own our shame together

As I’m technically still reading the most shameful series of my adolescence, linking MGK Versus His Adolescent Reading Habits might very well be an act of supreme hypocrisy.

Oh well. I might still be an Expanded Universe fan (or am I?) but at least I never read The Wheel of Time. It’s a slim victory if anything, but I’ll take it. At least until I remember how many Melanie Rawn novels I own in hardcover.

UPDATE: But wait, there’s more!

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Falcon week continues behind-the-scenes

This morning, StarWars.com takes Hyperspace members back to the making of The Empire Strikes Back with The Last Corellian Shipyard, an article reprinted from the UK Star Wars magazine (at least if Wookieepedia is to be believed) on the the full sized Falcon set built for The Empire Strikes Back by actual shipbuilders in Wales.

For those without Hyperspace, your consolation prize is a look back at the Falcon in video games.

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Star Trek: The Experience – Boldly going? or just boldly moving…

At the beginning of September, Star Trek: The Experience, at the Las Vegas Hilton, was shut down due to the hotel’s desire to re-use the space for more profit-generating attractions. The attraction, which included a restaurant recreation of Quark’s Bar, simulator rides, displays of original props and costumes, and gift shop, just wasn’t bringing in the latinum for the Hilton. But, according to reports on wired.com, Neonopolis in downtown Las Vegas is in negotiation to get Star Trek: The Experience and bring it to the next generation. No word yet on an expected opening date, but we’ll be waiting in the ready room!

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Explore the cracktastic early drafts of Star Wars

Very early poster concept by Ralph McQuarrie: Luke\'s a girl! Han\'s a Jedi! Chewbacca\'s... I don\'t know.

Try not to be totally surprised that Star Wars is #2 on Cracked’s list of seven terrible early versions of great movies. After reading the early drafts, some of the prequels less-stellar quirks make a lot more sense.

You can read early drafts of Star Wars for yourself at The Jedi Bendu Script Site, and see the (considerably less painful) Ralph McQuarrie concept art in Michael Heilemann’s Flickr collection.