I ran into an interesting link on Screenhead tonight. Star Wars Origins is a site that looks at the sources that probably inspired Lucas when creating his Magnus Opus. Some of the comparisons we've heard before, even from George himself, but the side by side photographs are still eye opening.

All of which leads me into the main reason for this post. It seems as if George may have saved his greatest homage to the very end. I'm now hearing rumors about the climactic battle between Anakin & Obiwan, in the lava pit that ends with the disfigurement and reconstruction of Skywalker into Vader. It's been suggested that not only is his face disfigured, but parts of his arms and legs are dismembered.

A hero knight, dismembering a villain in black, cutting off his arms and legs before leaving him for dead. Hmmmm, I can almost see it now.......

VADER:

All right; we'll call it a draw.

KENOBI:

Goodbye, Anakin. (He turns to leave)

VADER:

Oh, oh, I see, running away then. You Jedi bastard!
Come back here and take what's coming to you.
I'll bite your legs off!

Jonas Bergstrand loves the style of the 1960s. And he replicates it pretty well using vector art. He's got a lot of stylish illustrations that load in an instant and make for nice Flash animations.

Check out his portfolio.

Via my favorite site: Drawn!

Remember “Ginger” - the pre-launch, pre-unveiling secret name for the Segway? For a few weeks at work, I remember the buzz about what “Ginger” could be - a perpetual motion machine? Something that eliminated gasoline from the economy? Something even better than that

What we got was an upright, self-balancing lawnmower - I felt a little deflated. Sure, the technology was cool in a geeky sort of way. But that was the problem, the geekiness. The Executive Creative Director where I work bought an early Segway, and to see him arriving at work on it with his little helmet made you realize that no self-respecting person with an ounce of street credibility was ever going to ride one of those things in public.

And so, what reaction do we get from the genius behind the Segway (and he IS a genius, that much I know). The Centaur, which I can charitably only describe as the bastard child of a Segway and a Stroller.

(Link via Transbuddha)

Liberty Island...just like millions of other New Yorkers, I'd never been.

Today's tourist tip - If you stand downwind on the top deck on the Circle Line and lean over the rail a bit, you will experience the biggest ferry fumes buzz you could imagine.

A lego version of Star Wars fans waiting on line.

Click here for a list of things that would make it more accurate.

Although I think the big thing it is missing is a Lego Triumph the insult comic dog making fun of them.

After hearing all the underground and high school buzz for a while, I finally checked out Napoleon Dynamite a couple of months ago (better late than never). I was pleasantly surprised. I wonder how they slipped this one past the MTV Film suits, but I'm glad they did.

But as the fan clubs are still going strong what I still don't understand if Jon Heder (Napoleon) is a great actor or a total freak. Judge for yourself as he reads Letterman's top ten (on collegehumor.com).

Governor Schwarzenegger got some bad press over the weekend for comments he made on the Howard Stern Show. The former body builder and action star advocated the destruction of the moon.

"If we get rid of the moon, women, whose menstrual cycles are governed by the moon, will not get PMS. They will stop bitching and whining."

Actually, it was a (dead-on) Arnie-impersonator, who has been calling in to the Stern Show for years. Many people missed the joke. This was The Ottawa Sun's Quote of the Week, made the news in both Great Britain and India, and of course surfaced in the blogosphere here at home.

From the site Black People Love Us
"We are well-liked by Black people so we're psyched (since lots of Black people don't like lots of White people)!! We thought it'd be cool to honor our exceptional status with a ROCKIN' domain name and a killer website!!"

Be sure to check out the "testimonials" and "hanging out" pictures.

We're all about fun this week.

1) Can't handle the reponsibility of a real pooch. Try a Nintendog first.
2) The latest in customizable kicks...NikeID
3) How 'bout an inflatable waterpipe. (Just making sure you're paying attention)
4) Remember last week's post about Invader. Give your apartment the same treatment.
5) And just about the coolest skateboard I've ever seen.

Gummies rule...via Flickr.