Hey there, I haven't added a new classic Kenner Star Wars Action figure to my collection in quite some time, so that's what I am going to go today. I think.
I received a package from the great Ryan Dassing, and I am going to open it up live on the show today (on video even!) and see what's inside. Let's find out together!
To recap, here are the figures I already have...
ANH Princess Leia
Lobot
Logray
Hoth Luke
Hoth Rebel Soldier
Hoth Rebel Commander
Snowtrooper
AT-AT Driver
2-1B
C-3PO
Walrus Man
Hammerhead
Imperial Royal Guard
If you have a figure to sell me, or send me (I won't say no to freebies!), please let me know! I'm looking for loose, clean, near-mintish figures, preferably with their accessories!
Over the weekend, I read a fun debate on Twitter. People where trying to decide who was the greatest pilot in all of Star Wars. I really enjoyed the discussion, and it gave me a lot to think about. So, today, after much thought, I've decided who I think is the best pilot in the galaxy. Please take 5 minutes to hear my conclusion!
PS - If you're not following me on Twitter, please do! You can find me @TwelveParPod
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In what I hope will become an annual tradition lasting many years into the future, todays episode is a list of some of the things in the world of Star Wars I am happy for. I did this last year (which you can listen to HERE), and am doing it again, this time with a new items of thankfulness! (That makes sense, right?) Enjoy!
Have you read the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly? The annual issue that previews the new Star Wars film? Well, I haven't. And I haven't watched any of the new commercials that are out there for The Last Jedi either. Why? Well, take four minutes to learn why!
I had preordered Star Wars Battlefront 2, which gave me early access to the game. So, today's episode is a bit of my personal history with Star Wars video games, along with my initial thoughts on BF2 (which was officially released today!). And I keep it spoiler free, so feel free to listen even if you haven't play it yet. Enjoy!
As you know, I'm not much of a reviewer, but that said, from time to time, I like to give you my "Gut Reaction" about something new in the world of Star Wars. So, here is are my thoughts on the mid-season finale of Star Wars Rebels that aired last night, as well as some opinions about the season as a whole so far this year, and where I think it may go next. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead, so do not listen to this until after you've watched the episode! Enjoy!
Are you like me, and are you known as "The Star Wars Guy" among your groups of friends, family and acquaintances? Well, I'm guessing a lot of us are. Anyway, since I proudly accept this label, I get a lot of Star Wars questions. But the other day, this jerk I know, and he is a jerk, started asking me some questions. It was like I was on the hot spot in a game of "10 Stoopid Questions"! (Note to self, bring back this segment.). Sadly, I did not record this conversation, but today's episode is me telling you the tale of this kinda odd interaction. Enjoy!
Yesterday, BIG news in the world of Star Wars broke. And as required by Article 4, Subsection B, Paragraph 17c of the Star Wars Podcasters Code, I am required to comment upon it. Unfortunately, the "real world" prevented me from posting this right away. So, here ya go, better late than never!
As a fan of the old Expanded Universe, I love whenever Star Wars elements that are branded "Legends", make it back into canon. We've seen a lot of this thanks to Star Wars Rebels. For example, the Noghri assassin Rukh has just made this leap.
Well, after this week's episodes, it got me to thinking... What other old EU elements would like to see referenced on the screen, be it television or the movies? So, are five ideas of mine. Mind you, these aren't necessarily things to build a story around, just ideas I'd like to see referenced in canon. Enjoy!
Last week, Kathleen Kennedy mentioned on The Star Wars Show that the Lucasfilm Story Group is currently working on laying the groundwork for the next ten years of Star Wars stories. And while it is fun to speculate what those stories may be, I'm interested in the new and interesting ways Lucasfilm will tell them.
Beyond the normal way of telling tales, such as novels, comics, television show and games, what other story telling tools could we see in the next decade? Here are 5 possible ideas I came up with! Enjoy!
Part of what I was doing while Less Then 12 Parsecs was on hiatus was converting part of my basement into a "fan cave". (Thank you to Ryan Dassing for that moniker!). This is not a typical "finished basement" as you often find in suburban American homes. No, instead, what I did was cordoned off a corner of the basement, laid down a false floor, and put up four walls. Basically, I made a room to call my own.
A little history here... when my wife and I purchased our home, it was plenty big enough for the two of us. Compared to the apartments we had shared, this place was darn near palatial! In fact, we both had extra rooms we called our own. Not bedrooms, but dens. Studies. Man-caves. (call them what you will). It was great!
Then, the kids came along...
It's amazing how much room kids, and all their stuff, takes up!
So, I gave up my room for my daughter, and told myself that "someday" I'll get that space back.
Well, I grew tired of waiting for "someday" to come, so... I went into the basement, and made a corner of it my own. That's the stereotype anyway right? We nerds all dwell in basements according to popular myth! ;-)
This post is a series of photos of my build process, followed by a video tour of where things stand now. The room is about 90% complete I'd say, but I wanted to get this out there. (I wasn't going to bring LT12P back from hiatus until I was 100% with the room, but I'm not sure that day will ever really come!)
I should have taken more photos, but here is what I remembered to make note of...
The first task was to clear out the junk in the basement. This was taken after 99% of the stuff we had stored down there was gone.
The wall on the left caused my first problem. I found that it was leaking, in part because there weren't any rain gutters on that side of the house (that's another story for another day). So, the first thing I had to do was a bit of masonry.
(I did research for each step of this building process, but I'm not a contractor. Far from it! I'm sure I got a lot of it wrong. If you see mistakes on my part, please don't tell me. My ego doesn't want to hear how poorly a job I did!)
This next photo is of the corner of the basement after the wall had been repaired and painted. Also, the ceiling has been painted at this point as well. These first two photos were nearly a month apart. I had to wait for the cement to cure before I could seal and paint it. That was unexpected, and annoying, delay.
Next is the framing for the false floor I laid down. We've had one small basement flood in the 20 years that we've lived here, and I am paranoid it is going to happen again. I even laid down a heavy tarp on the floor as well, and a tarp along the wall (with heavy foam insulation behind it) to keep out the cold. I wasn't able to build all the way to the far wall (the white wall in the photo) because of the water-do-hicky-thing. I don't know what it's called, but that's were the water line comes into the house. I could have built around it, but I thought better of it.
To keep the draft out (our basement gets quite cool in the winters), I put down a lawyer of fiberglass insulation.
'
And then next is the ply-wood sub flooring. Here's a find fact I didn't figure out until I was nailing in the last piece... One side of this type of ply-wood is smooth, and the other is rough. Guess which side I have facing up? Yup, the rough! Oh well. --- Because I was trying to keep the cost down, I didn't put any additional flooring material over this. I just painted it with a heavy duty floor paint, and then threw down a could of cheep throw rugs.
Next, I started framing the walls. Because our house is hold (from the 1920's, and because the basement floor wasn't even close to level, this was a pain. I swear, every one of these studs was a different length. So there was lots of measuring, and remeasuring, and then measuring again, to make sure I got things right. (and even then I didn't always get it right, but I got it "right enough".)
This is after the walls went up, and I put together the first of 11 bookshelves. I just put up the cheap, 1970's fake wood paneling, and then painted them. I ended up using 5 different color paints in total. The ceiling is a very light grey with a satin sheen (to reflect the light, since there are no windows in this room), three of the walls are an eggshell medium grey, then the floor is a matte black. The desk I installed was a darker, putty grey, and the wall behind that a flat white. Because every decorator knows the power of an accent wall! -- I tried to complete this project "on the cheap", but buying all the different paints was my one extravagance. A treat for myself.
Here are the brackets for the kitchen countertop I purchased, to use as a desk. I also purchased
the same type of brackets (in a smaller size) to use for a shelf that rings the room. --- I screwed up two of these brackets, as they are not quite the correct height. I think I'll be ok though.
And these here is the countertop, all installed!
And finally, here is a panorama shot of the room, before I started to move in all my books, computer, lights, and Stormtroopers.
All in all, I am quite happy with myself. I did this project completely on my own. I believe my wife thinks I am crazy for doing this, (and that I spent too much money), and she is probably right (on both accounts), but life is short, and you have to find ways to enjoy it while you can. And so, that's what I'm doing!
And now, here is a video tour of the room, now that I have moved in. Enjoy!
A new commercial dropped last night for THE LAST JEDI. It contained some additional footage of Luke Skywalker. And, that got me to thinking... and worrying... about Luke Skywalker. Have a listen to learn what's on my mind.
Hey, Less Than 12 PARSECS is back! And man oh man, am I a wee bit rusty! Don't worry, podcasting is like riding a bike, it will all come back to me soon enough!
Today I share with you the Top Six things I've missed in the world of Star Wars since the show has been on hiatus. (Because Top Six lists are a thing, right?) This list is part missed news, and part things I've personally missed.
So, what have I been up to while away from the mic? Well, come back tomorrow for a rambling, babbling episode we're I tell that tale. Thanks for listening!
