Personally, being born the year Star Wars came out in theaters, I was too young to see the Holiday Special air live and before people started putting it online, I had never watched it, as Lucasfilms refuses to release it on DVD (Amazon has it listed, but “not available”). That lack of recognition has only created more of a cult status for the special, and made me want to seek it out.

So here it is, in its entirety, commercials and all. Enjoy, May the Force Be With You, and have a Happy and Blessed Life Day.

Post-viewing discussion topic: In the Star Wars galaxy, there is the Light Side of the Force and there is “Life Day”. There is also the Dark Side of Force, which embraces the self and the ego. However, in Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo mentions “hell”. Where does that fit in the Star Wars mythology?

Note: Answer – Han Solo was a Corellian. Corellians and other species believed in a dark underworld called “Chaos” or “hell”. Thanks, Wookiepedia!

Post-viewing additional viewing: For the best review of the Star Wars Holiday Special on the internet, please check out this hilarious review from ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com.

My own theories on Palpatine/Darth Sidious were also kindled when I recently read the Episode 3 prequel book, Labyrith of Evil. In the book, the author says there can only be two Sith at any one time. Wookiepedia calls this The Rule of Two.

Sith are driven by power and greed. They will eternally eat each other. Hence they can never run the galaxy efficiently, unless they kept their greed in order. More likely, however, one will oppose the other.

Vader represented this when he asked Luke to join him to rule the galaxy together. Vader was planning on killing the Emperor. There was no way there was going to be a “Holy Trinity” of Sith rulers. Vader was assuredly plotting a coup.

If Darth Plagueis created Anakin to kill Darth Sidious, it was probably as revenge because he knew Sidious was going to kill him. Palantine knew this child would be his down fall, but he knew he was essential to exist.

What if there was no “Chosen One”? What if the idea of a “Chosen One” was a never-fulfilled Jedi fable and the only way the Jedi prosper is because the Sith are so driven by greed that the moment one Sith brings in another, the second plots his day in the sun?

Although people have studied and contemplated the Jedi and they were given the most emphasis in the mainstream Star Wars media, it is the Sith that require more study. They drive the entire galaxy.

There is also a reason why Vader was not made as powerful as General Grevious. Sidious wanted Vader to be weak and vulnerable as a human robot. Had Vader been more powerful or more of a military mind, he would have killed Luke, but Vader never could. Then his moral compass took over and he eventually destroyed Sidious.

Now here is another theory: what if Han Solo – the only wildcard in the movies – was unknowingly controlled by Palantine? Solo foils Vader from killing Luke in the trenches of the Death Star at a moment when Vader doesn’t know who Luke is. Solo is the thorn in Vader’s side through Empire Strikes Back that prevents Vader from finding Skywalker before their relationship has blossomed into father and son. And if Palantine knew of Chewbacca and the Wookie’s blood oath, which is not unlikely since he probably wanted to know all about the enemy the Jedi were working with in the begin of the Clone Wars and Wookies were on the Senate, he could have manipulated Republic hero and friend of Yoda, Chewbacca, by linking him up with Han Solo, a stooge of Palpatine.

Chewbacca and Solo are forced to become smugglers, not unlike how Dan Akroyd was forced into a life of crime in Trading Places. I don’t think it is beyond Palpatine to conduct a social experiment and send Solo and his former Wookie war hero friend into a life of crime. Solo wasn’t the smartest person in the galaxy either. Why did he go back to Tatooine when he dropped Jabba’s spice load? Shouldn’t he have run as far away from the Hutt’s reach as possible? What if Chewbacca convinced him it was safe because Chewie knew Obi Wan was there?

So Palpatine tells the Imperial forces to intercept Han Solo. Solo drops his spice and is now in trouble with Jabba the Hutt. The Empire doesn’t fear the Hutts, at least not Jabba. So Palpatine controls Solo and Chewbacca falls into the trap. Chewie knows the Empire is closing their grip on crime and he knows he has no choice but to find Obi-Wan in this time of trouble. Palpatine used Chewbacca and Solo to bring Obi-Wan and Luke to Vader, where Vader and Obi-Wan would face off. If Vader lost again, Palpatine knew Obi-Wan would go after the Emperor next. And Palatine knew he could take Obi-Wan. If Vader won, it would also cause even more mental instability in the one-time padawan. There is no doubt Vader was distraught over killing Obi-Wan underneath the layers of hate he held for the man who left him stranded on Mustafar.

Although Vader spends time hunting for Kenobi prior to Episode 4, he is sidetracked by his hunt for Princess Leia. It is very possible Palatine knew Leia would lead Vader to Tatooine and rile up Kenobi.  The difficult thing for Palpatine is that he didn’t have anyone else who could hunt down Kenobi. So Palpatine figured he would lead Kenobi to Vader.

Palantine knew Obi-Wan was looking after one Skywalker child and Bail Organa was looking after the other. Organa was not going to train Leia in the force, but Obi-Wan could easily train Luke as he did, hence the latter pair need to be deposed of first. When Luke’s friends join the academy, Palpatine knows Luke is then old enough to be a threat. Now perhaps even Uncle Owen is controlled by the Emperor when he tells Luke he can’t join the academy. Maybe Palpatine controlled the harvest.

It is clear here also that the Sith have no trust in the military apparatus. The military is used only for wild goose chases, seizures, or large scale assaults. This is seen most in Vader’s blatant disregard of Imperial officers in Empire Strikes Back and there is no scene where Palantine counsels with Imperial Officers. He doesn’t trust them. So Palantine doesn’t want Luke to be part of the military environment. He does not want Luke’s mind to be militarily rigid, as Grevious’s was.

So I have just made a case that Han Solo and Uncle Owen were stooges of Emperor Palantine designed to push Luke to Emperor when the time came. It was Luke who was supposed to be the heir to Palantine after Anakin’s body was destroyed. When Luke was before Sidious, Vader and his half robotic self was expendable. But to Vader, who probably thought of himself as nearly as powerful as Sidious, Sidious was expendable if Vader could convince Luke to join him.

And by the end of Return of the Jedi, we have free-will restored to the galaxy. We have the Light and Dark Side of the Force weaker than they had been in thousands of years. We have no Siths and no Jedi Council. We have only one Jedi Knight, but that might be in name only as Luke was the weakest Jedi in the movies, by far. Who is around to call Luke an official Jedi Knight? I could study how to be a medieval knight all day, but am I really?

In conclusion, although I did all this typing and pondering and maybe some it made sense and some of it didn’t, I think overanalysis is the worst thing to hit the Star Wars Universe. The fact that Palpatine was a super-powerful figure means people attach more and more power to him, as I did here, making him stronger than George Lucas ever imagined. And this is the worst part of the prequels, that they create an idea around the Force that it controls everything. The fact that none of the characters have free-will and that they are all puppets to a creepy, evil old man totally sucks the fun out of Star Wars. No longer are there Rebels fighting to get out from the clutches of a repressive Empire, but the story turns into a magical monster man playing puppet master with people. Until of course an innocent naïve – some might say weak – farm boy says he would rather have the love of his father than rule the universe.

And then perhaps it is love that changed Han Solo from easily-manipulated scoundrel to a caring Princess lover in Empire Strikes Back.

Unless that was Yoda’s doing …

(If you don’t want to watch the match, fast-forward to the 11:00 mark and just watch the end.)

But while I haven’t blogged here much, I have been collecting a few links I think are worth checking out.

First, the amazing Metalcakes heavy-metal themed cupcake site has a new recipe: Crumb-wich Cakes for the band Electric Wizard. They look mighty tasty.

Over in Iran, they saluted recently deceased heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier. I had no idea he was that big in Iran.

Here is a post on the Russian army promoting badminton to their troops. Interesting.

In Trinidad and Tobago, a local blogger calls for a National Bullshit Council. That would be big in America as well.

The Ukrainian media mistook a photoshop for Chuck Norris’s endorsement of the Ukrainian language.

You can finally go on vacation in North Korea as long as you leave your cell phone at home. This will make North Korea a haven for people like my Dad, who don’t own cell phones and who complain about poor cell phone etiquette. No driving on the phone, no phones in movie theaters or restaurants or concerts? Hmmm, maybe I’ll go for a week or two.

Speaking of repressive regimes, the Death Star Public Relations site lists the 10 dating rules you can learn from the Star Wars movies.

And lastly, this is awesome. My friend Ro took my last poem, American Pain, and recorded it through her voice reader program for the blind (Yes, she is blind and this is how she “reads” the web. So awesome.).

Written by Virginia writer Tom Angleberger, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is an investigation by a 6^th grader named Tommy into an unusual classmate named Dwight. According to Tommy, Dwight is a weirdo. He plays with his food, says random things, and wears the same clothes for weeks on end. He is not ashamed of his weirdness and when other kids point out how unusual he is, he turns it up to another level.

While other kids in 6^th grade are all about who is “cool”, who is a “loser”, and who is “weird”, Dwight embraces his role as outsider.

Then one day, Dwight shows up with an awkwardly-made green origami Yoda on his finger. He claims Origami Yoda knows all and can answer any question. Assisted by several other classmates, including the pessimistic Harvey, Tommy cites several examples of Yoda guides the kids through embarrassing moments, movie reviews, and most importantly, their relationships with members of the opposite sex. For many of the boys, Yoda’s advice is key to avoiding looking like a fool in front of the girls they like.

Throughout the book, Origami Yoda helps in more ways the kids realize. He helps them with their confidence, helps them not to panic, and helps them to not be scared of the unknown. Even if that unknown is the feelings of the cutest girl in class. He also helps them understand the weird kid named Dwight.

Although he doesn’t make them Jedi like the real Yoda did, Origami Yoda does make the kids better people.  And that’s what’s most important in this very likeable book for kids and Star Wars fans of all ages.

After a short stay at the Channelside Marriot, Lord Vader marched his troops along the Tampa Riverwalk to the cheers and applause of many Tampa residents.

Accompanying the Imperial contingent was the Real Tampa Ghostbusters. They were called in by the Empire as a special detachment because hiring an intergalactic paranormal specialist was too expensive for an Empire still reeling from the wasted cost of two Death Stars. So the Empire went local.

Although I refused to talk to any Imperial Officers (#occupyCoruscant), I did speak briefly with the Ghostbusters. Before we talked however, they checked the ‘fro for ghouls using their EKG meter.

(For more videos of the march, check out this youtube channel.)

I bet you didn’t know Chewie got down like that.

After Colma, I picked up Buckethead’s Monsters and Robots, then I dipped into the guitar great’s back catalog and have been following along since.

I discovered Buckethead was not only a guitar virtuoso, but also one of the most creative musicians out there.

As the years past, Buckethead crept up my list of guitar greats I had yet to see.

I’ve seen Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Zakk Wylde, Dimedag Darrell, Alexi Lahio, and Magic Red, but never saw Buckethead.

Finally, on September 22, 2011 at State Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida, I had the chance to finally see the bucketed one live. And outside of two minor complaints, he didn’t disappoint.

Seeing Buckethead is visual experience as well as a musical treat. After his stage was prepared by a dreded tech in a hospital mask, Buckethead took the stage with his trademark KFC bucket on his head and dressed in black. Immediately he started his guitar wizardry with his fingers flying up and down the fret board. I’ll admit, I am not good at memorizing the titles of instrumental songs, but I recognized a few songs from his classics Monsters and Robots and Giant Robot.

Buckethead is also part Carrot Top in his show. The dreded tech placed several toys on Buckethead’s amp and speakers for the guitarist to play with during the show. These included a hand-held distorting mirror (like those in an amusement park House of Mirrors), a toy chainsaw, and of course Buckethead’s nunchucks.

Seeing Buckethead whip his nunchucks to and fro was a treat I looked forward to. As was seeing Bucket put down the guitar and dance like a robot on stage. These are things Buckethead is known for. Of  course all the while he kept his bucket and Michael Myers mask in place.

Halfway through the performance the theme song from the movie Space Jam played and Buckethead walked to the front of the stage with a big blue bag. He reached in the bag and started handing out toys to the fans. Buckethead gave out Halloween masks, Star Wars toys, action figures, and other assorted goodies.

I guess that shouldn’t be that unusual considering Buckethead has a song called “Buckethead’s Toy Store“, he runs his own “abusement” park, and he is the friend of children everywhere.

I was surprised however when the toy giveaway turned into a toy exchange and fans gave Buckethead gifts as well. If Buckethead saw something he liked, he simply traded toys with the fan.

Speaking of Star Wars, Buckethead is a huge Star Wars fan. As of course, I am. Needless to say, when he played the Star Wars theme song and the Imperial March, I got goosebumps. For real.

One of the strangest things about a Buckethead concert is seeing an artist that looks completely emotionless. That’s his schtick and being a big fan, I get it. But to not see an artist smile, laugh, or talk on stage is an interesting phenomenon. The emotion of the show comes strictly from his music or the crowd.

This lack of emotion is part of one of my complaints. The show was only and hour and 45 minutes long. That’s it. Granted, I’m not sure even I could have withstood three hours of guitar shredding, but not even two hours? It went by quick. And when he was done, Buckethead simply walked off stage. No bow, no cheering the fans, no thank yous. He just walked off as if his programing was finished and he had something else to do.

My other small gripe: Buckethead’s t-shirt selection was awfully small. There was only one t-shirt for sale. And not only did it not have the tour dates on it, but it was an ugly white design.

Oh well, I guess that’s another reason for me to visit Buckethead’s Toy Store. I hope they have a clothing department.

Here is a video a fan took of Buckethead’s performance Thursday night.

It might seem hypocritical for me to post this video and then complain, but I’ll have an opinion piece soon on the absolute annoying trend of people who hold their phones up to video record entire concerts. You can enjoy the music without being a cinematographer. Trust me, it’s possible.

Anyway, here are a few links worth checking out . The post title might seem a little strange, but I promise it will make sense.

As I mentioned a few days ago, Star Wars has been taking over Major League Baseball ballparks across the country this month. A few days ago in a state far, far away, they invaded Shea Stadium Citi Field, home of the Mets. Jason Fry, one of the writers from Fear and Faith in Flushing, one of my favorite baseball websites, dressed up as a stormtrooper and joined the festivities. Check out his account of the day.

Over at National Geographic there is a neat article on overconfidence, what causes it and why we are prone to exhibit it on occasion. In the last few months, a few people have called me arrogant and other not-so-flattering things. That’s not true. I may have my tendencies to think a bit too highly of my abilities, but as Nat Geo points out, that’s human.

I don’t normally read Andrew Sullivan. I think I’ve heard he is a prominent blogger or something. But I couldn’t resist checking out this post on the decline of meth use and the rise of marijuana use in the US. If I was going to invest in illegal narcotics on my block, in my town, or in my state, I think it would be time to dump the meth lab equipment and put my money in hydroponics.

Speaking of local, one of my neighbors is an aspiring rapper. His name is M-16 and he recently put an new song on youtube. Check it out.

Then, today I found this video and found it pleasantly enjoyable.

Good to see Star Wars and the comic community teaming up to defeat the dark forces of cancer.

Remember, when it comes to cell possession: midi-chlorians = good. Cancer = bad.