Happy Star Wars Day to you all

I joke about how The Empire were not that bad, but we are in danger of seeing this happen in the Republic that the USA is, for now. Comparisons have been made to Bush and Episode Three of the Star Wars franchise in the past, and even with Trump in his first term. We will get more of an idea if democracy is threatened after the midterms in the USA. While freedom of speech is being nudged in the USA, repeatedly, no laws forbidding improper thought for American citizens have been passed. Yet. 

Anyway, back to the enjoyable parts of Star Wars. I hope that any who have not seen this video like it.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

Today, I watched this film with my son in the cinema.  It has been a few years since I last watched it. I still love Star Wars, and while the prequels are not as good as the original three, it was good to watch this. I have to remember that this is a children’s film, though a dark one, a very dark one. I may have commented before that these films have a better plot than the sequels, and that is the case. But episodes seven to nine have better acting and direction, but the plot is wanting. 

Before I watched it in 2020 when Trump was in power, but he did not succeed in destroying democracy. Will he be lucky the second time, a thought which was present when this film charted the descent of he Galactic Republic into the dictatorship of The Empire. 

I think that my son enjoyed the film, it was great to spend time with him. I would like to think that he enjoyed time with me as well. 

Say No to May the 4th

Once again it is May the 4th. Today is not a day to celebrate the rebellion, but rather to praise the order that The Empire brought to the galaxy.  

My children have fallen for the lies and propaganda of the rebels.  When they are older, they may open their eyes to the truth.  Anyway, thanks to the exams that the kids have coming up, I doubt that I will be able to watch any of the films with them today.

Back at home

We are back at home. I was a bit too tipsy to post on our last day in Rhodes after I drank a whole bottle of wine.  My wife, daughter and I, had spent the morning at the beach, but I returned to our room just before two, to have lunch in the restaurant with my son. In the evening we had a meal in one of the hotel restaurants, this being a pizza restaurant. They made good American pizza’s, but I much prefer Italian ones which have a thinner crust and base.  This also meant that we missed out on Casino night as I decided to power nap and my son decided not to gamble. 

Our day travelling to the UK was uneventful apart from me forgetting to claim VAT back on purchases until after we had gone through passport control.

My son and I started to watch Ashoka, but we were both too tired to continue this and had to retire to bed. Hopefully we will get to watch it together again. I do wonder where all the people trained in the force hid during the rule of the Empire. It was bad enough with how Snoke came to be about in the poorly written sequel films (episodes vii-x). Now there are more Jedi? 

Also, we now have Leia back. She was ecstatic to see us when we got her from the dog sitter. I got in trouble for taking treats with me but she has been for a short walk with me and a longer one with my daughter. I also have had a nap today and she has slept with me, but has woken me up each time she has decided to jump off the bed to see what the other family members are up to.

When Vader met Kenobi

I had thought that this was a bad episode when I first watched it, but that was only because I thought it changed the film Star Wars itself.  I was wrong though.  

I am referring to the series Kenobi.  We are watching it together.  Part of me apologises for the title spoiling things, but Vader and Ben Kenobi meet again.  This battle does not go well for one.  I thought that they had not met since the battle on Malastare, and this may be my recollection of the books. But I also got the quote from Star Wars wrong.  I thought it referred to when the two last met.  Oops.

I am looking forwards to the next episode.  It looks like the series is to be a lot better that the prequel trilogy and also the sequel trilogy. 

13 Reasons Why; The Second Polaroid

The truth is relative, that being that there are two sides to any story.  This episode shows that, but also shows how one side can be a deliberately twisted form, designed to ensure that the person telling this comes across as looking good, or at least, not looking bad.  In this episode the He Said, She Said tale demonstrates one of the reasons why so many allegations of rape are not taken to court.

On a lighter note, my son and I watched an episode of The Bad Batch afterwards.  I do like this series looking at life soon after the Galactic Empire was formed.  Also, it was good to catch up with Trace and Rafa Martinez.  It will be interesting to see if they are seen more often in the Star Wars Universe.

This was all after our return home from Devon. We left at 0530 in the morning and had a clear run home, my wife and I swapping over our drive so that she and the kids could eat breakfast (I ate some cereal before we left).  I miss Devon, but it is great to be home again.

Bank holiday Monday

We relaxed today.  I went into work to do some telephone work.  In my drive to get fitter, I took a slight detour and I think that my fitness levels may be improving.  After work when home I found that my wife was not as well as she had hoped.  She rested, I ironed and helped her prepare some food that she had cooked.  But I forgot to do it properly.  Fortunately she and my son helped salvage the food.

I also got to go for a walk with my daughter as well as watching Star Wars Rebels with my son.  He loves watching the Simpsons but took time to not watch that and instead spend some time with me.  Rebels is a kids cartoon, but there was a reason cited in one of the episodes we watched as to why stormtroopers cannot shoot properly.  And we had a slight disagreement about how The Clone Wars ended.  I was right, but he will not accept that. All in all, it was a good end to the weekend, so long as my wife is better tomorrow.  

The Darksaber

My son is very happy.  He now owns a darksaber.  He saw it on Star Wars Rebels and we have both watched it make a brief appearance on The Mandalorian.  He had bought some lightsabers on Amazon before and was disappointed when they broke within 48 hours, but when he saw this, he knew what he wanted to spend the last of his Christmas and Birthday money on...

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Our journey has begun.  Right now, we are at my parents in law resting before the long drive to Devon.  We have looked at the route, but are not sure where we will be stopping for rest, food and drink yet.  A lot will depend on traffic as well as the time we leave.

When I woke up this morning we watched he end of Star Wars, Episode Nine, The Rise of Skywalker.  I have posted about this earlier in the year, but now I feel free to discuss the film more.

It was well directed with better acting than the prequels and tugs on the heart strings well.  But while it appeals to the boy inside me who sided with the rebels/terrorist scum, it has made lots of errors.  Examples of this are how Finn and Jannah are rescued from a falling Star Destroyer, or how only a few knew the way to the planet of  Exegol, but there were loads of people there already.  In fact, there are so many errors and issues, it amazes me that people focused on the lesbian kiss instead!  But, despite the many issues, it is still a good film.  Not up to the standards of the original three, or even Solo and Rogue One.  But it is probably my sixth favourite Star Wars film.  Considering there are eleven, that is not saying much, but seeing Wedge Antilles in the final battle made the child in me sing for joy.

We did get to see my mother.  My wife had to stay in the car as it was full of our luggage and it was great to briefly see my youngest brother.  The visit was much briefer than I would have liked but my son claimed that his sister was mean to him 75%.  While he later said it was only 50% of the time, my Mum made things worse when she asked my daughter to be nicer to him.  Worse, I had asked her to get him to justify the maths behind his statement, but she decided to ignore me and upset my daughter so we left early.

We have eaten, been watered and I watched THAT interview with my father-in-law.

So, to bed soon for our journey tomorrow...

Passengers

First of all, Arsenal won yesterday.  I did not post about it before I went to bed, but I knew the score.  When I woke this morning, I felt I must have dreamed it.  But I watched the highlights and was pleased.  I suspect that if Man City had pressed more, things would have been different.  Maybe the victory they had over us earlier led to a sense of complacency that helped us to win.  I doubt that will be the case when we play Chelski in the final, but I am hoping that the team has more confidence in itself, for they certainly have the ability to overcome our rivals.

I also was taken on a cycle ride today.  Nick, one of our friends had offered to take me biking.  So we cycled to Wivenhoe.  I had tried to do this before with the children years before, but due to an encounter on the way, we turned and I never got round to trying it again.  It was a gentle trip and it is something I may do again, though ideally on an early morning cycle.  We met a few walkers and runners on the trip, and it was threatening to rain, which means there will be lots more on a sunny day.

I finished watching Passengers, the version from 2008 with Anne Hathaway.  It was an interesting film, annoying me at parts, but it all made sense in the end.  Slow after start, it draws you in and is certainly worth watching.

I also watched some Rebels with my son before watching The Last Jedi with my daughter.  While essentially The Empire Strikes Back in places, it was a good film, lacking plot/physics issues seen in the other two episodes, though why hyperspace weaponry has not been used at other times is unanswered.

Am back to work tomorrow but I feel that the long weekend has given me a much needed rest.  I will find out for sure tomorrow though.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Another busy day.

After a quick shopping trip with my wife, I went for a quick bike ride before we went to see the kids grandparents.

The visit was as socially distant as possible considering the kids have not been seen in person for a while, but my mother and my wife’s parents were very grateful to see them.  And I guess, my wife and me as well.  I got to see my brother as well, as my youngest one is staying with my Mum.

Getting back, I went for a walk with my daughter to get some milk.  We could have driven, but I need the exercise and it is nice to talk to her when we walk.  I don’t get to exercise with my son anymore, but that may change in the future.

And on getting back I watched Rebels with my son.  We have not watched an episode together in a while and I suspect he watched it to please me, but it was nice to spend the time with him.  Afterwards it was The Force Awakens.  Compared to The Saint yesterday, this was so much better.  I do get annoyed at how physics is ignored an example being laser bolts travelling across the galaxy slowing down so that people on the planets can see them arrive, and how they were seen in real time across the galaxy rather than years/decades/centuries/millennia later.  I know that this is science fiction, but some laws of physics need to be constant.

But I still love it.  I can forgive the errors (along with how sucking the sun should have boiled the planet) as the direction, plot and acting was of sufficient standard.

Return of the Jedi

Today was a busy one.  It started with a trip to Primark.  While we have one in Colchester, despite being big, it has not got the choice of that at Lakeside.  So we went for an early morning drive there.  While I had wanted to get there before 0900, I think that it was because of me that we arrived late.  We queued in a socially distanced manner, made use of the hand sanitiser that was at he entrance and split up for a speed shop.  I was able to get some boxers, but no socks.  My daughter got some much needed items of clothing, but the main recipient was my son, who has had a growth spurt and since lockdown began, has grown out of most his clothes.

After an afternoon nap, I watched Return of the Jedi with my daughter.  I still love the film and remember my father taking me to watch it in the cinema when I was young.  My daughter has watched it before, but was not able to remember all that had happened.  Of course, when I was a teenager, once recorded, my brothers and I watched it over and over again.

I finished watching the Clone Wars film with my son, but have realised that we need to watch Solo before Star Wars Rebels.  The film was good, but there is no way Anakin would have bonded with and trusted Ahsoka Tano so much and so quickly.

I had a bike ride by myself. I should have taken my son, but the advantage of forgetting to ask him until I got back was that the ride was far longer and more gruelling than it would have been with him.  I do want my daughter to ride her bike, but we went for a walk instead.  We also saw a friend, Michelle which was nice.  So overall, a fulfilling day.

The Empire Strikes Back

Turns out that the Clone Wars film on Disney is not the only series, but rather is the first episodes featuring Ahsoka Tano, in order.  My son and I have started to watch it, though it is not the film we are looking for.

As for my daughter, we watched The Empire Strikes Back today, but he best bit was going for a long walk earlier.

Anyway, good night.  I am tired and would love to type more, but need my beauty sleep.

Clone Wars Series 7

Have finished watching the seventh series of Clone Wars with my son.  He insists on watching all of Star Wars in order.  So we watched Revenge Of The Sith.  I do like the film, it is just that the chemistry between Padmé Amidala and Anakain is very lacking.  It was only after that when we remembered to watch the original Clone Wars film.  But that will need to be for another day.  Saying that, this series ties in quite well with Revenge of the Sith, the last few episodes more so.  But Anakin is quite likeable in the series, including this one, while in both Revenge of the Sith and Attack of the Clones, he is not.    

It was nice going for a walk with my son in the evening, almost as good as spending the rest of the day with my wife earlier when I drove her to get some vinyl that she had been looking for.

Star Wars, or as some call it, A New Hope

Still cannot find my daughters iPhone.  She appears to be coping well.  This evening, the kids spent time together, not watching anything but being nice to each other.  That does not happen a lot.

We also went on a drive to collect the birthday present for my wife.  We put it together (creating the space for it required input from all the family) and my wife loves it.  The drive involved the kids waking up earlier than they normally do and both, despite being warned about his before hand, found this a bit exhausting.  We may need to look at bed times again which have become later for them during lockdown.  I suspect that they will resist any such improvements though.

And of course, there is Star Wars, which we watched earlier in the week.  And I still love it.  It was the remastered version, so there was differences with some of the CGI, we got to see Jabba, in a scene that was not in the original film, and of course, the controversial scene where Han Solo no longer murders the bounty hunter before he is killed, but instead, the bounty hunter shoots first, and misses, despite being across the table.  Needless to say, while most of the improvements do add to the film, the original scene makes more sense.

Last of all, series seven of The Clone Wars appears to involve a clone based on Charlie Sheen.  Have not watched it as much as my son or I would like, but hopefully that is to change on Sunday.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Today was a good day.  I went for a long morning walk with my daughter which knackered her out during it, and me afterwards.  The sad thing is that I have gone on this walk and more in the past with no issues but this was not the case today.  It was great to chat and bond again and I think she liked it as well.

When it came to my son, we bonded while watching Clone Wars.  We are now on the final series, which excites him.  I am going to have to take him to Tub and Cone again, but that means placing an order which means eating earlier.  Dinner today was another amazing meal made by my wife before she had a Zoom school reunion.

And of course, the kids and I watched Rogue One.  Well, my son watched bits of it while playing Animal Crossing.  I do love this film, almost as much as the holy trilogy of the original films.  Well made, it such a shame that episodes seven, eight and nine fall so short of matching up to it.  Probably the darkest of the films, it shows the grey that is absent in most of the other films.  Of course, there is the issue at the end of the film about how The Empire were unable to obtain the location of the rebel base from the prisoners that they would have captured or the data banks of the ship they boarded.  But other than that, no major plot issues.

Star Wars next or as some call it, A New Hope.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Today was a quiet one.  My wife and I had a romantic morning drive to the shops.  Being in the butchers was interesting as I was sent in as it was quite cold (the weather today has decided it is a bank holiday weekend).  I had to order food while on the mobile phone and did not get too much wrong.  I had spent a lot of the morning before that bonding with my son while watching Clone Wars.  We are on series six, which is a lot darker compared to the first series.  When it comes to the Star Wars sage, it shows how the Jedi become a lot more grey compared to the shining white they claim to be.

After lunch, while my wife got some rest after a stressful week, the kids and I watched Solo.  It is a shame that there is to be no sequel as I rate this film as being either my fourth or fifth favourite Star Wars film.  It was a great way of tying up the issues with the Kessel Run from Star Wars itself as well as how Han got the Millennium Falcon.  As a film, like with how I remember Rogue One, when it comes to the plot and a lack of glaring holes, it is much better compared to episodes seven to nine.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

We have finished watching Revenge of the Sith.  Which is an interesting take on democracy and what happens when it is bent to deal with a crisis.

Before I get onto that, the kids are well.  My amazing son has started back at school.  His work ethic at home has been lacking and he has been keen to return to school.  Since testing for COVID19 has been available I have been keen for his return as well as if he catches something, it may not mean 14 days in isolation.  But such a decision is a risky one as COVID numbers are going to rise again.

Lock-down is being eased because there is capacity in ITU, not because it is safe.

My daughter has had exam week and has been doing this while at home.  Her iPhone is still AWOL and because of this, she has not been out for the walks she normally goes on.  And she now may not be the tallest child.  It is hard to tell because she will not compare height any more.  But it is close.

Anyway, people across the world are shocked at the actions of a minority of the police in the USA.  Like in all nations, racism exists in the USA.  And this probably was a contributing factor in the death of George Floyd.  People can argue either way if it was or not, but the actions of the police in suffocating him are inexcusable.  Just like the death of Ahmaud Arbery is inexcusable, as was the refusal of the authorities to take action over the way an unarmed jogger was killed until a video of this death was shared on the internet.  Amber Ruffin is one of many black people who have talked about how they have been treated.  But what is surprising is how a minority of the police have been acting towards peaceful protesters.  It is almost like they are obeying instructions to dominate the streets.  Trump has stated that he thinks that armed forces should be involved, something that those forces may disagree on.

Today's speech from President Palpatine.

(Attn: @pattonoswalt ) pic.twitter.com/HWpDFnqgaZ

— Andy Harris (@THEAndyHarris) June 2, 2020

The question is if Trump will respect democracy or decide that it must respect him.

I think I hate squirrels

Today was spent relaxing mostly.  After my post last night, my wife and I watched Kinky Boots. But it as late we went to bed and on waking this morning, finished it.  I loved it, and while the film was a predictable feel good film. I liked it for the quality of acting and the background in which the film was set.  It is not often that the topic of drag queens is in film, and while this does not match up to films like The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and The Birdcage, it still was an enjoyable film.

I also after watched Clone Wars with my son, relaxed with my wife in the garden went for a bike ride, and started to watch Attack of the Clones with the kids.  My son decided that he did not want to watch it as he had watched it recently but watched the first part before heading for bed.  My daughter is now in bed so we may finish it tomorrow.

And I fed the birds, my wife had made some lovely sandwiches for lunch and we still had some left over from yesterday.  So the bread from yesterday’s sandwiches and the crusts from lunch went to the birds. I have some big balls as well so took them out to feed them.  Only to find that the squirrels had somehow managed to get into a caged feeder.  My wife and I had seen one running across the lawn with what appeared to be a bird ball.  I discounted it because there was no way into the feeder, or so I thought.  But they had managed to get into it, and take out the ball of food.  I hate the little gits, but I am impressed that they were able to do this.  Very impressed.

VE day

Today was VE Day.  I got to see the fly past by the Red Arrows, my son missed it completely but my wife and daughter got to hear it.  My wife was amazing and prepared an amazing lunch, and afternoon tea, which our street had in driveways and front gardens, most of us socially distancing while doing so.

We listened to music from the war, my son having had downloaded some music which we listened to before the music from one of our neighbours drowned it out.  As you can see, some dressed up much more than us, but it was lovely to see the street our like this.  Most of us do get outside for the 2000 Key Worker clap, which still touches me, but this lasted longer than a minute.

Afterwards my daughter and I went out for a walk which was almost an hour and while my wife attended her book club using Zoom, the kids and I watched The Phantom Menace.  I have not watched it in a while, and once I felt that it was not up to the standards of the original three films. I still think that, but it is much better than episodes seven to nine in terms of writing, just not in the direction.