Not a lot to talk about this week, really. I loved the latest episode of The Bad Batch, and I’ll talk about that in Monday’s post.
I’ve been working on a post about the heroes of Star Wars–who are my top ten heroes of Star Wars, how would I rank them, and why. I haven’t written a post like this for awhile, and it’s been fun to work on. I’ll probably post that on Tuesday (since I’m not done yet, lol).
I finished my reread of The Light of the Jedi, and am currently rereading Into the Dark, by Claudia Gray. The next YA novel of the High Republic will be coming out in July, and it’s called Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland. I am absolutely loving the High Republic stories, and am fully invested in these characters and this time. I think it’s because it’s familiar, in that it’s about the Jedi and the Republic (and the Jedi are my favorite part of Star Wars), but it’s also different because of the earlier timeline. I’ve always wanted to know a little bit more about the history of the Jedi, and we’re getting some here in the High Republic books. We’re also getting some tantalizing clues about how the Jedi were different, and what might have happened to lead them to become the kind of Jedi in the prequels (and subsequently lead to their downfall). I find it all very fascinating.
That’s really about it. I’ve noticed on Disney+ that Loki has premiered. I’m not a Marvel or DC fan at all (I don’t even know the difference, or which one he’s from, lol), but I do remember seeing a Thor movie with him in it (I just went along with some friends). I wasn’t too wowed by the movie, but I LOVED the character of Loki. He was the best part of the movie, lol. So I’m thinking about checking it out, even though I know nothing about the universe at all. I’ll probably be lost, but I’ll at least check out the first episode. Any DC/Marvel/Loki fans here? Have you watched the show, and what do you think?
I don’t have too much to write about this week, just the usual stuff. I thought the latest Bad Batch episode, “Decommissioned,” was great, and will write about that in Monday’s post.
One thing I did do was finish my re-read of Light of the Jedi, by Charles Soule. This was simply to refresh my memory of the story in preparation for The Rising Storm, coming out on June 29th. It really is a wonderful book, a great introduction to the High Republic. I’ll probably write a post on it this coming week, just reflecting on some of the things I loved about it (and it will probably have spoilers, but I’ll warn readers of that). I’m now re-reading Into the Dark, by Claudia Gray, the first YA book in the series, since the next YA book, Out of the Shadows, will be coming out in July. I also loved this book, and will do a similar post.
Oh, one of the things I learned this week was that Qi’ra made an appearance in one of the comic series, TheWar of the Bounty Hunters, and in a big way. WOTBH is a big comic crossover event, but the gist of it is that Han Solo’s carbonited body had been stolen from Boba Fett en route to delivery to Jabba on Tatooine. From what I understand (I don’t read the comics, but I try to keep up on events through others’ reviews) Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn come into possession of Han, with Qi’ra’s big reveal at the end of issue one. She says that Han always wanted to save her, and now he has his chance.
I love this idea, as I loved the movie Solo, and I especially loved Qi’ra’s character. I’ve always wanted to know what became of her. Apparently, she’s still with Crimson Dawn, and of course Maul by this time is dead, so I’m guessing she’s running the show. Obviously we know that Boba Fett gets Han back and delivers him to Jabba, but it will be interesting to see how Qi’ra will play into all of this.
In kitten news, we’ve had Cosmo for a week now, and he’s settling into our household quite nicely. He’s a little rascal, as I’m covered in scratches, but that comes with the territory, lol. Everything is a toy to be played with, especially shoes and their laces, cords and wires, and any moving body part. He cries for attention, gets into everything (and I mean everything), knocks things over and off tables, and can be a general nuisance. He also will go to sleep in my lap while I’m at the computer, or curl up with me in bed, and vibrate his little body and mine with purring. I love him to pieces, lol.
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How’s your weekend going? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
Hello there, and happy weekend to my Star Wars readers!
So last Wednesday was May 25th, which to fans is known as Star Wars Day because the original Star Wars film (now called A New Hope) was released on May 25, 1977. In honor of that, I re-watched ANH, since I hadn’t watched it anyway in quite a while.
I’m convinced it still holds up, 44 years later. Maybe I’m biased, but I enjoy it just as much now as I did as a kid watching it for the first time. More so now, I think. The funny thing is, I haven’t watched the new editions (when George Lucas tinkered with his original trilogy some time ago and made some additions and changes) that much, so they were still kind of a surprise to me. One thing stood out to me in particular: when Ben Kenobi made the sound of the krayt dragon to scare the Tusken Raiders off. The original sound he made is burned into my memory; but this new sound he makes–it’s just weird, in my opinion, lol. The old sound was like an elephant roaring or something, some beastly call. The new sound was like a person being strangled to death, I swear. It was so odd, and disconcerting.
Anyway, the other thing I wanted to mention was that in the last few scenes during the trench run, whenever Darth Vader was shown, I could see the actor’s eyes behind the lenses in the mask. Was that always the case? Because I swear I never noticed before, if so. But it was so clear, like that last scene in The Clone Wars when he’s holding Ahsoka’s lightsaber and looking up at the sky. Spooky. I’m wondering if that’s something Lucas threw in when he edited the film, or if I was just blind to it all these years, lol.
When I wrote my overview of Resistance the other day, I wondered if the Colossus had been at the Battle of Exegol. So I just did some quick googling, and there it was: on Wookieepedia, it stated that the Colossus received a distress call from Lando Calrissian, and showed up at Exegol, along with Yeager’s ship Blue Ace, and the Fireball, piloted by Kaz (I can’t believe that rickety thing made it through that rough ride to Exegol, lol). So there you have it. Now I just have to pick it out of the crowd the next time I watch The Rise of Skywalker.
The Colossus
I finished reading Clone Wars: Wild Space the other day, and will be working on a review. It was an interesting read: on the one hand, it was really fun; and on the other, the characters just didn’t seem to be in character, if you know what I mean. I’ll get into it more in the review.
The Bad Batch was another good episode, with some interesting events and revelations. I’ll be posting my thoughts on that on Monday.
I was hoping to get to another non-Star Wars entertainment this week, but I just didn’t get to it. I was hoping to watch Winchester, with Meryl Streep. After signing up for Netflix to watch Halston last week, I was scrolling around to see if there was anything else I wanted to watch and put on my list, and I saw Winchester. I remember seeing some documentary about this weird house a while ago, and when the movie came out I thought, I just have to see this. But of course I never got around to it. So I’m going to try for next week.
The big news in our house this weekend is that we got a new kitten! He’s a sweet little black kitten, and he’s just adorable. A couple of months ago, we had to put our 20 year-old ginger cat to sleep; she was just having problems and beginning to suffer. It was so hard saying goodbye to her, and I thought I wouldn’t be ready for another cat at least until fall or winter (I knew we’d eventually get another, as I must have cats in my life). And that was true up to a couple of days ago.
Then I saw a post on Facebook from one of our friends saying she has kittens she needs to find good homes for. There were two black kittens, and two tiger cats. I knew I wanted my next cat to be black, preferably a boy, as I’d only had females most of my life and wanted something different. Both the black kittens were boys, and I figured I shouldn’t let this opportunity slip by. So I contacted her, and all of a sudden, we have a kitten! He’s still figuring out who we are, and exploring the place, but he’s staring to settle down. Our daughter named him Cosmo, lol.
He tired himself out, lol.
So that’s about it this week. Hope you guys have a great day, and if you’re in the U.S., have a great Memorial Day tomorrow!
This week I’ve been charging through Clone Wars: Wild Space, a Legends novel by Karen Miller. It’s part of a series of Clone Wars books she wrote in the early 2000’s. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it yet, lol. It’s compulsively readable, and that’s why I’m tearing through it; but the characters seem to be a bit…off, I don’t know. All they seem to do is argue with one another, constantly, for one reason or another. I picked up the book because of some fan art I’d seen a few weeks ago, of Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi:
Mission to Zigoola, by Chris Trevas on Twitter.com
Naturally, I had to know what was going on here. The plot seems promising, if they could all just calm down and stop butting heads with one another. It’s kind of annoying. But we’ll see; I’ll probably finish it this week and post my thoughts on it on The Star Wars Reader.
I’ve also started to re-read Light of the Jedi, by Charles Soule, just to refresh my memory on the events of the book, in preparation for The Rising Storm, coming out June 29th. Man, I can’t wait for this book! I need to know what’s going to happen to my guy, Loden Greatstorm. As I mentioned before, I’m quite anxious about him. He’s my favorite High Republic Jedi, and at the end of LOTJ he was captured by the nefarious Nihil. (Don’t you hurt him, you sleemos! Lol. But oh, I know they will).
On the Disney+ front, I enjoyed the latest Bad Batch episode “Cornered,” and will have my thoughts on it posted probably Monday. And I finally finished Resistance–yay! As I mentioned earlier, the last few episodes of Season One got more compelling, and all of Season Two was quite good. I’ll write a post about both seasons sometime this week.
The podcast continues to be fun, and this week I’ll do one on Heir to the Jedi, by Kevin Hearne. It’s a Luke-centric story, taking place between ANH and ESB.
So on Thursday, I got my second Covid-19 shot and planned to take it easy on Friday, maybe watch a few movies (I was in a prequel kind of mood), since a lot of people report feeling tired, etc. the next day after the second shot. Well, I was tired–so much so, that I slept most of the day! Not even enough energy to watch a movie. In truth, I felt like I got hit by a truck, lol. Some body aches, headache, no appetite, etc., but mostly exhausted. So no Star Wars, just dreamland. By Saturday, I was completely fine and back to work. Totally worth a lost day to finally feel safe against Covid.
Finally, for my non-Star Wars indulgence, I watched Halston on Netflix, and I LOVED it. I suppose it’s not for everyone, but Ewan McGregor proves (as if he has to) that he’s an actor on an Emmy Award-level. He just blew me away with is portrayal of fashion designer Roy Halston, a brilliant, tragically flawed man who “changed the face of American fashion.” The five-episode series was quite a ride!
What have you been up to this past week? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
So this is kind of off-topic for me, but I just have to comment on this. The other day I posted my usual Star Wars Weekend Update, where I just go over some of the stuff I’ve been doing, what I’ve been reading, what I’ve been watching, etc. And I just happened to mention that I was going to attempt to put up curtains in my daughter’s bedroom, just as an aside.
So when I went to put in my tags for the post, I put in my usual stuff, but then just for ha-ha’s put in “curtains.” Because I did mention curtains, right?
Well. A day later I noticed the traffic to my blog went way up. Like WAY up. I usually get a few dozen views, or maybe 40-50 at the very most. But it had gone up to 90, and I was like, wow! They really like me, lol.
Then today, I got up at 7:30 in the morning and just peeked around, and it was up to 317. Then later, 431. And it just keeps going up and up. And naturally, I thought What the hell? Lol. This makes no sense. I hadn’t done anything differently, really. All my post views were normal, and there were no additional likes or anything.
And then it hit me: curtains! It seems that a great many people are in need of knowing about curtains. Who knew? I didn’t. And I thought: I’m writing about the wrong thing! Curtains is where it’s at! I’d could make a killing on curtains.
The problem is, I can’t think of anything more boring to write about. Plus the fact I don’t know a darn thing about curtains. My daughter’s curtains? Well, they’re up, but when I bought the package, I thought there were two panels, but there was only one. So she’s got one panel up, and just barely. Apparently I needed a drill, which I don’t have, and so I had to MacGyver it. I managed to get the screws into the wall, but about halfway through they just stopped. Hit something hard and impenetrable. So the screws are only halfway in, but it’s fairly secure. I think. Still looks pretty. Just waiting on the second panel I had to order online.
Anyway, all of this is to say that curtains, while a very popular subject as far as I can see, is not my thing. Same with other popular blog subjects: cooking, gardening, travel, fashion, etc. I don’t give two hoots about that stuff. But Star Wars? Count me in! I’ll happily add my voice to the thousands of others who write about it, and love every minute of it. I’ll leave the curtains to those who get all giddy about curtains, and good for them.
Anyway, I feel a little bad that I put curtains in the tags in the first place, like it was a bit misleading. That all those people clicked on my post and thought, huh? This isn’t about curtains! Bye! Oh well. Maybe I caught a few people who are interested in curtains AND Star Wars, right? Maybe they’ll keep me in mind.
Have you ever had any weird blog traffic? Something that didn’t make sense or you didn’t intend, but the traffic went way up? I’d be very interested to hear about it! (Do I put curtains in the tags for this post? It’s ALL about curtains, lol. But not what people think, so maybe not. Maybe I’ll put NOT CURTAINS, lol.)
May the 4th is only a few days away, and with it is the premiere of The Bad Batch. I’m looking forward to it, and in preparation I’ve been re-watching Season 7 of The Clone Wars. As of today, I’m only halfway through, but will get the other half in by the time the show starts on Tuesday. The two arcs I’ve watched are the initial episodes with the Bad Batch, and Ahsoka’s time with the Cortez sisters.
The Bad Batch arc is pretty entertaining, as we get introduced to these very different sorts of Clones. Clone Force 99, as they’re called (after the Clone named 99, whose mutation was rapidly accelerated aging, and who became a fond fan favorite) are kind of fun to watch, even though I’ve always thought they’re a bit cliched. Oh well. In the arc, the BB, along with Captain Rex and Anakin, are on a mission to find out how the Separatists are predicting their every military move; Rex believes that they’re getting the information from Echo, a Clone who presumably died in an earlier episode, and who Rex left for dead. Turns out Rex is right, and they’re using Echo’s mind and memories for their “algorithms.” Echo is left mutilated and haunted by his experience, and ends up joining the Bad Batch, as he’s no longer like his other clone brothers. I think Echo is going to be my favorite BB member, if only because he’s quite unique and a touch more vulnerable than the others.
The arc with Ahsoka and the Cortez sisters is fine, it’s great seeing Ahsoka again, but I feel the arc went on way too long. I like Trace and Raffa and what Ahsoka learns from them (namely that not everybody thinks the Jedi are all that), as well as the fact that Maul is involved in the criminal underworld, but 3 episodes with these ladies? I feel it could have been tightened up a bit. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the season, which is really where the meat of the whole thing is.
Anyway, I’ve set up my corner of the bedroom with a desk and got my microphone unpacked, but now I’m waiting for a new computer I ordered, which should be in today. It’s a Dell Inspiron, and though I’m no expert on computers, it seems like it’s a decent laptop. At any rate, I’ve never paid this much for a computer before, lol. My needs are simple–internet and podcasting–but I want it to be a good investment. Anyone have any opinions on Dell computers? I had one a long time ago, one of the very first computers I ever owned, and I seem to remember liking it. It was a bulky desktop computer; I’ll never go back to those, lol. Once I get the new one up and running, it’s time to start podcasting!
I’ve pretty much set aside the fan fiction right now, at least for the past week, since I’ve been focused on the blog, setting up the podcast, and rewatching the Clone Wars. But I do intend to finish it. I’m about two-thirds done with the first draft, and I do like the story. It’ll have to wait a bit, though.
I would like to mention that at work today (I work in a grocery store) I saw a woman dressed up as Princess Leia. She had the long, flowing white dress and the cinnamon bun hairdo, and she looked great! Apparently she was going to a Star Wars-themed 40th birthday party. I love that grown-ups can have Star Wars birthday fun, too, lol.
My non-Star Wars indulgence this week was going to see The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings being my other favorite fandom, though Star Wars has been with me a lot longer) at my local movie theater. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I last saw it on the big screen. How can that be?! I was so thrilled our theater brought back all three films in honor of the Oscars (Return of the King won a slew of them, including Best Picture), but I could only make the time to see Fellowship. For all the epic scope of RoTK and its brilliance, Fellowship is probably my favorite. It was a really happy two and a half hours spent that evening, and what made it even better was that I was the only one in the theater! It was like my own private showing of the film.
Have a great weekend and see you around the blogosphere!
Happy weekend, Star Wars readers, and I hope you are all doing well!
I’ve been busy this week with several different Star Wars-related pursuits. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working on some fan fiction, and it’s going…slowly. I take about an hour a day to write it, but I get a few pages done a day. Forward progress is better than no progress, I guess. I’m worried it’s a bit too talky, but as it’s a first draft, I need to just relax and write the darn thing before I get too worried about anything. I know all this, but it’s a hard habit to break, lol.
I’ve also been thinking about the podcast I’d like to start. I even researched microphones and learned about USB vs XLR, dynamic vs condenser, and words like “cardioid.” I ended up buying an Audio Technica Cardioid Dynamic USB microphone for about $80. That’s just the first step; I need to clear out a corner of my bedroom and buy a desk to put there, and I could really use a new computer, too, lol. So that’s going slowly too, but I’ll get there.
This is the one I ordered.
I’ve decided that, at least to begin, I’m going to do book reviews on the podcast. I know I already do that on my blog The Star Wars Reader, but I thought I’d have written review posts for the blog, and then do a podcast version and put a link on My Point of View. I think I can do that, lol. I’m not the most tech-savvy person, but I think I can at least figure this out. So I’ll probably start with some book reviews I’ve already done on the Reader, and edit them for the podcast, and then do new book reviews when I finish reading a book. Maybe it’s redundant, I don’t know. But I feel there might be people who’d rather listen to a review than read one. It would be a whole new audience.
Anyway, I’m going to start with that, because I love the books and love writing and talking about them. But if the response is mostly crickets, maybe I’ll consider something else. (Don’t worry, Julie G, I’ve still got you in mind, lol).
I’m also still slowly going through the animated series Resistance. I’m about three quarters of the way through Season One, and I’m enjoying it. It doesn’t have the same viewing urgency as The Clone Wars or Rebels, but it’s fun and entertaining. And I love the characters. Kaz is a just a sweet kid trying to do the right thing, and I adore the child-like Neeku. I’m also a fan of Yeager, who I’d like to know more about. Every once in a while Poe comes around, and he’s always a fun ride. It’s just a fun show to dip into now and then. Someone in a fan group referred to it as the most “wholesome” Star Wars show, and that’s a good way of putting it. It’s great for kids, but also for adults who want a little Star Wars and don’t necessarily need the angst and edginess. I think it’s a little underrated and unappreciated, lol.
I just watched this one last night, lol.
I’m still making my way through the book Aftermath: Empire’s End. It’s the third book in the Aftermath trilogy, and as I’ve said before, I’m enjoying these books. The new characters are great, and we’re getting more Han and Leia. The character that is most conspicuously missing is Luke. He’s traveling the galaxy looking for Jedi artifacts and information. I wish he’d at least make a cameo or something. There’s not a lot of canon stories about Luke in this time period–he showed up in the Rise of Kylo Ren, when he was running the Jedi Academy and brought a teenage Ben Solo along with him and Lor San Tekka to look for Jedi artifacts. And then we got the gift of him appearing in The Mandalorian. But that’s it, I think. I’m wondering if they’re saving Luke for something else in this time period? I hope so.
Finally, I’m looking forward to The Bad Batch, which is just on the horizon, only ten days away. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each episode here, and talking about it with you guys. Can’t wait!
So that’s it for this week. Always busy with Star Wars, but I did allow myself something a little different this week: I watched Moulin Rouge again after many years. I’m not a huge fan of musicals, but this one just makes me happy. When I first watched it years ago, it was mostly for Nicole Kidman, who I adored at the time (and still do). Now I watch it for her AND Ewan McGregor. A singing Obi-Wan is pretty much one of the best things ever, in my opinion.
What’s going on in your world? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll talk about it!
I thought I’d take Sundays to post updates about what I’m working on with the blog and other projects.
As I mentioned recently, I’m cutting down on the number of blog posts I publish each week, from 4-5 to about 2-3 between the two blogs. I hate to do this (I love blogging about Star Wars) but as I also mentioned, I’ve started writing a fan fiction piece, and need to make some time in my schedule.
I free-wrote about my idea for awhile, and as of today I have two scenes written: a Prologue, and a first scene. It’s first draft stuff, of course, but I’m happy with where it’s going so far. I’m eager to keep going and see how it comes out.
I’ve never written fan fiction before, of any kind, and it was a little weird inserting my characters into the familiar world of Star Wars. I worried I wouldn’t do it “right”, that I’d get details wrong and be called out on it, that it would be boring, etc etc. But once I got into the story and started writing it, I loved it, and those worries faded into the background (they’re still there, lol, but quieter). I haven’t written fiction in a few years, so I’m a little rusty, but it really is like riding a bike. You get back into a rhythm, and it just feels right.
I won’t go into too many details, but I’ll tell you that my story takes place at the palace of Alderaan, when Leia is sixteen years old. Leia isn’t my main character, but she makes an appearance, as well as Bail and Breha Organa. My character is about Leia’s age, visiting the palace with her mother. I was inspired to set the story here by Claudia Gray’s book “Leia: Princess of Alderaan,” which is a great book, by the way. But you don’t have to read it to understand my story. I think, lol.
So I’m busy doing that; and I’ve also mentioned that I’ve toyed with the idea of starting a podcast. I noticed that WordPress advertises using Anchor to turn your blog posts into audio versions, or record new ones. And I thought, hmmm, why not? As a means of growing the blog, it couldn’t hurt. And it might be fun. I’m not saying I’d be COMFORTABLE doing podcasts, lol, but I’m working on going beyond my comfort zone in order to grow, as a person, and as a blogger and writer.
So just for ha-ha’s, I clicked into Anchor and set up the whole thing, and then converted one of my older blog posts into an audio version (it was My Five Favorite Romances in Star Wars). And surprisingly, it sounded–not bad. Not completely like a robot, but you could definitely tell it was automated. There were some mispronunciations (Vos was pronounced “Vo” for some reason) and the inflections of grammar weren’t perfect. It was cool actually hearing my blog post, but I’m not going to go with the automated versions. So that means I’ll be talking into a microphone to bring my words to life, lol.
I’m just not sure what, exactly, I want to do with a podcast. To start, and as an experiment, I might just record some older blog posts to see what it sounds like, and how it would do. But ultimately, I don’t think I want to just regurgitate old blog posts, or even record new ones that I put on the blog. I want to do something different, narrow the focus, but I’m not sure in what way. There’s also the possibility of collaboration. Endless possibilities.
So I’m still in the brainstorming phase of the podcast, but I’m hoping to have something going by the end of next month, at least. And to have the fan fiction piece finished and posted here even sooner than that.
So lots of fun and exciting Star Wars stuff to work on. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you in the blogosphere!
I was recently having a discussion with my fellow writer, blogger and Star Wars fan Julie G. about affirmations and positive mindset (check out her post that got the discussion going here), and we both mentioned some books that have helped us in this regard. Julie has read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson; I’ve been reading Jen Sincero’s You Are A Badass series. Julie suggested I write a review of the book(s), and while this post isn’t exactly a “formal” review, I thought I’d write my thoughts on it and how it ties into the future of my blog.
So Julie and I agreed that, at first glance, all this self-helpery and positive mindset stuff is a bit corny. And it’s true; I’ve never been that much into self-help books, and historically rolled my eyes at it, thinking it was up there with rainbows and unicorns. If it helped people, great; but I doubted it could help me. I was just destined to be a vaguely talented writer who could never really get her shit together, and would remain penniless her entire life while she worked at the local grocery store for minimum wage. I turned out to be the starving artist, and I guess that was just my fate. Sigh. Poor me.
My husband, meanwhile, has struggled with a directionless life, going from job to job, not really liking any of them, certainly not making much money, and not really knowing what to do with his life. We’re both about 50 years old, and so both of our struggles with purpose and success had been going on for decades. Like us, it was getting old.
One day he was perusing some books at the bookstore and saw a bright yellow book called You Are A Badass, by a woman named Jen Sincero. He picked it up, read a few paragraphs, and decided to buy it. He told me about it, I glanced at the book, and thought, huh. I didn’t have any interest in reading it at first; I was still in denial and subconsciously didn’t want to change. Looking back, I can see that I was in my comfort zone of excuses and limiting self-beliefs.
This is the classic starter book for uncovering your awesomeness.
The book really revved up my husband, and he did things I never thought I’d see him do. He was interested in humanitarian causes, and decided he was going to walk 500 miles total in our local area to bring awareness to volunteers. He spent hours making signs that said things like, “Thank A Volunteer” and then spent two months walking at least ten miles a day (in a New England winter, mind you) with said signs held up over his head along roadways where cars could beep at him in support. He alerted the local newspaper to his doings, and they did articles on it. The next year he did another 500 miles, this time circling the local high school track, putting the spotlight on opioid addiction. More articles ensued, and he even got on TV with a local station. It was crazy, amazing, and very brave for my shy, don’t-put-the-spotlight-on-me husband. I was proud and a little awed. What the heck’s in this book, anyway?
So I picked it up and read it. And I have to tell you, it literally changed my life. Not so much on the outside–yet (it will happen eventually, I’m determined)–but mostly in my head. It completely changed my mindset. And that’s a good start.
So here’s what I learned from You Are A Badass:
Most people who are living sucky lives do so because they have sucky thoughts. Basically, you create your own reality. What you focus on, you create more of. If you focus on thoughts of how much of an idiot you are, for example, well, then you’re going to be an idiot. If you’re convinced you can’t make money, you’ll be buying your groceries at the dollar store the rest of your life. If you believe you’re unlovable, you’ll either remain single, or have a string of terrible relationships.
Our thoughts are often driven by our subconscious minds. Somewhere along the way, we picked up the beliefs that we are idiots, unlovable, don’t deserve money, etc. Sincero calls your subconscious The Little Prince–basically a toddler who throws tantrums anytime you try to do something out of your comfort zone. The Little Prince wants to keep you safe, and will do just about anything to keep you in that comfort zone.
If you want to change your life, you MUST change your thoughts and beliefs. The way to do this is to basically be nice to yourself and repeat affirmations like I deserve love or Money comes to me when I call or I ambeautiful and love the size of my ass (she’s very funny, by the way). Even if you don’t believe it at first, and feel ridiculous saying them, you must retrain your mind with repetition, and sooner or later you’ll even come to believe what you’re saying. You’ve trained your mind for years with negative thoughts that aren’t true; why not retrain them with more positive thoughts? (Remember when Luke failed to raise his X-Wing out of the swamp because he didn’t believe he could do it? Hmmm….I can hear Yoda now: “You must unlearn what you have learned.”)
This one is the kicker, and what a lot of people have a problem with: you must believe in a Higher Power, a Creator, Lifeforce, God, the Universe, Spirit Guide, Universal Intelligence, whatever you want to call it. Because what you’re doing with the affirmations and positivity (aside from retraining your own beliefs) is “raising your frequency”. And when you raise your frequency, the Universe pays attention. Basically, we ARE the Universe (Stardust?); we’re made of the same stuff as the Universe, including our thoughts. It’s all energy, and it vibrates at various frequencies. When we raise our frequency, we attract more of the same frequency. It’s the whole Law of Attraction thing. Ask, and ye shall receive. If you want to make more money, for example, let the Universe know that that is your intention, you’re not messing around, and this is how it’s gonna be. I know, corny, right? Downright crazy. But tell me this: how’s your negative thinking been working for you? Yeah, me too.
This one is even tougher than believing that the Universe loves you and wants you to be happy–you MUST force yourself out of your comfort zone. Period. There can be no change in your life if you’re not willing to take risks. If you stay in your safe little comfort zone, you may prevent yourself from being uncomfortable, but you’ll be unhappy with your stagnant and ho-hum life. This one really caused an epiphany for me: it really got to the root of my lack of success in life–I was unwilling to be uncomfortable. No way. If something scared me, I ran away from it. No thanks. I’ll just stay here in my safe little bubble. When you do this, you’re certainly letting the Universe know you’re not really serious about whatever it is you want.
There’s so much more to these books than what I’ve rather clumsily said here, and Sincero gets really detailed about how you can go about changing your life. But what I really love about her books is that she’s hilarious. She tends to curse a lot (so if that bothers you, you might want to skip her books and learn these same principles elsewhere), and she tells a lot of funny but illuminating stories from her own life and the life of her clients (she’s a life coach). I love her personal success story, which I won’t get into here, since this post is seemingly never going to end, but trust me when I tell you she’s entertaining, she knows what she’s talking about, and she’s lived it herself.
So yeah, I haven’t even gotten to how it inspired me to start this blog, even though I was afraid my family would think I was reverting back to childhood talking about Star Wars, of all things. You’re 49 years old, grow up! (No one ever said that, lol, in fact they’ve been very supportive). I actually had a false start of learning about copywriting and trying to get into that business, was all fired up about it, but then realized my heart wasn’t in it. I was only doing it because of the financial potential, and it involved writing in some form. But when I thought about it, what I would rather have been doing is writing about my love of Star Wars. So why not? That’s where my passion lies. And you must be passionate about what you’re doing, or you’re doomed.
It’s been great fun, I’ve found my tribe, and I’ve been much happier this past year than I have in a while. But I’d also like to grow the blog, and so I need to do something that scares me, right? I’ve mentioned writing the fan fiction for the blog, but that in itself doesn’t scare me (besides the usual What if it sucks? thoughts, lol, which I’ve learned to ignore). What scares me is that I’m thinking about expanding the blog with podcasting, with either the fan fiction or the blog posts, or both. That is SO out of my comfort zone. I’ve always hidden behind the written word. It’s why I became a writer in the first place, for feck’s sake. It’s a solitary pursuit where I don’t actually have to talk to anyone, or have anyone see me, or interact like a normal human being, lol. But that’s not actually true, is it? You can’t create in a vacuum. You need readers, viewers, listeners, as well as any number of helpers along the way. Writers must interact with editors, publishers, do interviews and book readings, interact with readers. Making art may be solitary, but bringing it out to the world isn’t. And that’s why I never succeeded in writing–I was never willing to put myself out there. I shrunk back, hid, wanting my words to be seen, but not me. It was a terrible dilemma, and kept me from pushing my boundaries, from taking risks. Not anymore. Now I’m more afraid of living an unfulfilled life than putting myself out there. Well, I’ll still be scared, lol. The difference is, I’ll do it anyway.
So this post is WAY longer than I planned, and if you’re still with me, I’m impressed and thank you, because it’s not my typical Star Wars post. I won’t write too many of these off-topic posts, but Julie gave me the idea, and so here it is. I hope it helped you in some way, and as always, May the Force be with you (hey, the Force is another way to envision the Universe, the Creator, God, Higher Power, etc. If those other words don’t resonate with you, well, use the Force, Luke!)
I’ve read this one more times than the others, since I’m tired of being broke, lol.
This one has short little daily nuggets of wisdom.
I haven’t actually gotten through this one yet, but someday I’ll work on my chocolate addiction with it, lol.
Have you read these books? Do you have any favorite self-help books? Or do you think it’s all a bunch of hooey (or should I say, a bunch of simple tricks and nonsense)? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll talk about it!
There’s so many Han Solo moments that I love, because I just think he’s a cool character. But there are a few moments that exemplify his true character (despite what he might say) and make me love him:
Giving the coaxium to Enfys Nest (Han Solo: A Star Wars Story).
Join a rebellion? “Don’t hold your breath, kid.”
Although Han Solo had just recently insisted to Q’ira that he’s “an outlaw,” her assertion that he’s one of the good guys is proven true when he gives the stolen coaxium to Enfys Nest and her crusade against the Empire and criminal syndicates. He could have given the coaxium to Dryden Voss, or kept it for himself, but he chose to give it to this young woman who had suffered at the hands of bullies. He can deny it all he wants, but he’s got a heart (even though it’s been broken by Q’ira).
Last minute assist with blowing up Death Star 1 (A New Hope).
“You’re all clear kid, so let’s blow this thing and go home!”
This is another moment that proves Han’s a softie; thought long-gone with his reward money, he makes a surprise appearance to rid Luke of the TIE fighters dogging him so he could focus on blowing up the space station. He did it, of course, as only Han Solo could: making himself look like a hero (and of course, he is). Still, it’s a great moment–once you see the Millenium Falcon appear, you just want to cheer.
Navigating the asteroid field (The Empire Strikes Back).
“Never tell me the odds.”
When Han decides to fly into the asteroid field as they try to evade the Imperials, his crewmates look at him as if he’s insane. And maybe he is, just a little bit. Crazy like a fox, that is: he thinks the Imperials would be crazy themselves to follow them into it. But they do, and the Falcon ends up hiding in a cave that turns out to be a space worm that wants to eat them, and…oh well. They make it out alive, Han does a few shifty maneuvers, and they hide in plain sight on one of the Star Destroyers, floating away with the rest of the garage when it’s released. Even though they’re followed to Cloud City by Boba Fett and….oh well. Even Leia admits that Han has his moments (not many of them, but he does have them), and this is one of them.
On Endor with Leia (Return of the Jedi).
“You love him…don’t you?”
This is a great little scene that shows just how much Han loves Leia–he’s willing to let her go if it would make her happy. After the Death Star 2 blows up, he senses her worry about Luke. He also senses that maybe she loves Luke, and asks her that question. When she replies that she does, he misunderstands and tells her that when Luke gets back, he won’t get in the way. When we first meet him, it’s clear Han Solo’s favorite person is Han Solo. The fact that he cares more about Leia’s happiness than his own here shows how he’s grown as a character and a human being since ANH. And it’s just so damn sweet. Also, the look he makes when Leia tells him that Luke is her brother is priceless.
Facing Kylo Ren (The Force Awakens).
“We miss you, son.”
In TFA, Han Solo is older and more emotionally battered, but still has that Solo charm. He drops it all when he confronts his son, Ben Solo, who’s now calling himself Kylo Ren. He’s lost his son to the dark side, and when he steps onto that bridge to confront him, he must know he could very probably die. But it doesn’t matter. I think most parents would do whatever it takes to snatch their child from the abyss, and Han doesn’t hesitate. There is a heartbreaking moment when he thinks he might have broken through, that Ben will come back home with him. But then the sun on Starkiller Base goes out, the light disappears and darkness sweeps in, and Kylo makes his choice. This was one of the hardest moments for me in Star Wars, as my childhood idol was killed by his own son. I was shocked into speechlessness; did that just really happen? I kept thinking. Then I was angry. I hated Kylo. I cursed the powers-that-be that allowed this to happen. WTF???
But then I read later that Harrison Ford himself wanted the character of Han Solo to be killed off–not because he hated the character, but because he wanted to lend Han Solo more “emotional weight.” And it makes sense in a weird kind of way. Han Solo had always been the charming rogue, the swashbuckler, the scoundrel–and we loved him that way. But here, at the beginning of the end of the Skywalker saga, just like Luke, he needs to be different. Characters can’t stay static, especially after thirty years. He’s a father now, a man who’s come to understand that the Jedi, the Force, the dark side are real, not just “simple tricks and nonsense.” Evil has snared his son, and this was his chance to do something about it. It didn’t work–not in the way he’d hoped or that we could see–but it’s such a crucial scene as it plays an important part in Ben Solo’s redemption in The Rise of Skywalker. This is the scene that Kylo plays over and over in his mind–of his slain father touching his cheek in love as he falls to his death. Han Solo’s last act is to love his son, even as that son has killed him. I’d say that’s a lot of emotional weight.
Honorable mention: This gesture.
What can he say? He’s Han Solo.
So those, in my opinion, are Han Solo’s best moments. What do you think? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
