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EUbits: Shadow Games mini-excerpts, looking at recent SW comics, and a real Crystal Star?

While a lot of talk this week has been focusing on the changes coming in the Star Wars Blu-ray release, there’s also been some news and chatter in the world of the Expanded Universe:

Shadow Games: Del Rey has posted two mini-excerpts from Shadow Games on the Star Wars Books account on Facebook. The novel, by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, comes out at the end of November.

Mini-excerpt #1 (from last week):

“Confidence,” Dash retorted, annoyed at being pulled out of his pleasant reverie. “The Outrider is twice the ship the Falcon is.” As far as he was concerned Solo’s boat was a scow compared with Dash’s heavily modified YT-2400.

Mini-excerpt #2:

“Then where am I supposed to come by these steely-eyed, laser-toting…characters?”

A smile curved Kendara Farlion’s lips and her teeth showed, white and even in her face. “I never thought I’d say this, but there are advantages to being from Mos Eisley. I know exactly where to look for that kind of character.”

Comics:

Favorite Scenes: Del Rey asked fans on Facebook to identify favorite scenes from the novels. A lot of deaths pop in: Anakin Solo, Ganner, Chewbacca (I guess fans have mellowed a bit on that) and Thrawn, as well as scenes from the X-Wing (both comedic and action scenes), Republic Commando, and Darth Bane series. Did not see any mentions of Waru or the Black Fleet Crisis, and that makes me sad.

Fact mirrors Star Wars fiction: Discovered: A real life “Crystal Star” (well, a crystallizing former star) – Formerly a white dwarf star, this planet is believed to be turning into one giant diamond. At 4,000 light-years away, it’ll take a while for this rock to be a girl’s best friend. Also, did not see any mentions of Waru, and that makes me sad again.

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Off to DragonCon!

Paula and I (as well as a handful of other Jaders) are going to be at Dragon*Con through Labor Day weekend. It’s not a huge con for news like SDCC, so there may not be much blogging, but we will be tweeting as @rosiewook and @clubjade, connection permitting.

I even dug up some of those bracelets we had at Celebration…

This pretty much means that James is in charge. Are you afraid? Be afraid.

James’ edit: We aren’t going to harm you. We only want to help you.

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And the rest: Wonder Woman, BSG: Blood and Chrome, Angel, and Damon Lindelof loves Raiders

Wonder Woman: Erika Peterman demands a Wonder Woman movie on the CNN Geek Out! blog. The co-founder of Girls-Gone-Geek.com addresses different theories as to why we haven’t gotten one yet: lack of a good story? Finding the right costume? Having an action movie led by a female? Casting for the perfect Princess Diana of the Amazons?

Battlestar Galactica: There’s talk that the upcoming BSG prequel series, Blood and Chrome, may end up a web series instead of airing on Syfy. Because they need more airtime for paranormal researching wrestlers. Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome focuses on a young William Adama during the first Cylon war.

Comics: Angel, the vampire with a soul, returns to Dark Horse Comics with this week’s release of Angel & Faith #1. For the past few years, while Dark Horse and Joss Whedon had been busy with Buffy Season Eight, IDW Comics and Joss Whedon had been publishing stories in the Angel franchise, including Angel: After the Fall and several Spike arcs. Now the Buffyverse is re-united back under Dark Horse as Angel and Faith team up to fight evil after the tumultuous events of Season Eight.

Raiders of the Lost Ark:Damon Lindelof (of Lost and 2009’s Star Trek) writes a love letter to the perfect movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and describes when he last peed in his pants.

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Lucasfilm confirms ROTJ Blu-ray change to NYT

As I said on Twitter earlier: Oh dear. Lucasfilm tells The New York Times’ Dave Itzkoff that the Blu-Ray release will indeed contain one of the rumored changes to Return of the Jedi: “Darth says NO.”


Man, this is heavy. Let’s have a laugh. (via)

These types of changes aren’t going to make me hate Star Wars, or go all ranty on it. But I don’t think this improves the films, or adds to the moment in any way. To quote @LaneWinree: “The quiet understatement of that scene is what made it for me. Perfect illustration of ‘show, don’t tell.'”

This is not exactly our first ride on this particular merry-go-round, and I’m not going to not get the Blu-rays, or decry Star Wars and George Lucas entirely. I’m just… disappointed.

But, here’s another handy quote, from @Blankitout: “It shouldn’t be too hard to comprehend that things that aren’t important to you can be important to other people. Respect their feelings.” We’re big fans of respect around here.

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Rumor: More changes in the Star Wars Blu-rays?

There have been a few more rumors and possible leaked (or faked) footage from the new Star Wars Blu-rays, mostly Return of the Jedi: A new addition in the the Emperor’s death scene, blinking Ewoks. io9 rounds it up, and even they’re suggesting caution, so take it as you will. We’ll find out soon enough.

UPDATE: Big Shiny Robot has a rebuttal to the rumors. It’s not quite time to panic yet, folks.

UPDATE: Nope. It’s real. Part of it, anyway.

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Protesters want Lando in The Old Republic MMO

At Penny Arcade Expo this past weekend, a group of Calrissian aficionados held a protest against the lack of Lando in the Star Wars: The Old Republic online game. Members of The Lando Society chanted “Never forget!” and donned mustaches and capes to draw attention to their cause: to ensure that everyone’s favorite baron-administrator (or a distant relative, which is more likely for a game taking place 3,500 years prior to Lando’s time) appear in the upcoming Bioware MMO title.

Want to support their drive to have the galaxy’s smoothest businessman (or his ancestor) included in the game? The Lando Society’s got a petition. Although, judging from this video of the society encountering a TOR developer, Bioware has its own in-house Lando fans, with Lando Calrissian’s moustache and outfit in mind for the game, due to release this holiday season. At least we now know who bought all the excess Lando ‘staches from Celebration V.

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Inside the Indiana Jones museum exhibition

It belongs in a museum. So do you!The LA Times interviews the creative forces behind the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology exhibition tour, currently at the Montreal Science Centre until September. While no U.S. dates are on the schedule yet, the Indiana Jones exhibition, which features real archaeological artifacts alongside movie props, costumes and artwork, will travel for the next six years. Interviewed are the exhibits manager at Lucasfilm, Kyra Bowling; National Geographic’s archaeology fellow, Fredrik Hiebert; and co-project manager at X3 Productions, Geneviève Angio-Morneau.

Along with the interview, there’s a photo gallery of some of the props and artifacts on display. Some of the iconic props in the exhibition include the Ark of the Covenant, Holy Grail, and Crystal Skull. X3 has been producing a series of video clips related to the show – Fredrik Hiebert talking about the influence of the films on would-be archaeologists, and James Mathieu about the Penn Museum’s contribution to the exhibit’s real archaeological contents.

The exhibition, produced by X3 Productions, is a collaboration of Lucasfilm and the National Geographic Society. Stay in the loop on the exhibition with the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology Facebook page. One of Dr. Jones’ rivals once told the man in the fedora that he belonged in a museum — and now he’s been proven right.