"Titanic in space." Speaking to the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas, Lucas said that the new film was "not like the old Star Wars ... This one's a little bit more emotional."

Considering what has to be done so that the proper tableau is in place for that start of episode IV, it kind of has to be. I don't know how much will be included in episode III, but essentially, by the start of New Hope, the Republic needs to be in ruins, the Empire on the ascension, and Obi Wan needs to be fleeing Coruscant, after having horribly scarred and wounded his star pupil, with that same pupil's twin children in tow, so he can secret them away, one with the Organa family on Alderran, and one he takes with him to Tatooine.

Then he goes and lives in the tractless wastes as a hermit.

I have frequently thought, after learning the details of how it came to be, that Obi Wan's plan left a little something to be desired.

I've also thought that R2 is the only one who understands the whole picture, and wondered how he puts up with the fleshy idiots that surround him.

I have frequently thought

Maybe devoting this much time to the Lucas-verse wasn't the best possible use of Sean's brainpower.

Maybe devoting this much time to the Lucas-verse wasn't the best possible use of Sean's brainpower.

I'm thinking it's things like this that kept me out of the really good schools.

Jars, Angel will not be a chick - that was a false spoiler.

I have frequently thought, after learning the details of how it came to be, that Obi Wan's plan left a little something to be desired.

Heh. You might enjoy Javier Grillo-Marxuach's take on it. He claimed to be being humorous, but it's surprising how much sense he makes.

I was just at Target, getting some stuff, and decided to check out their DVD selection. It pretty much sucked (they were out of the Star Trek: First Contact that just came out on Tuesday, but had five million of The Incredibles, instead), but I did pick up a few. The Incredibles (which I haven't seen before, so I hope it's good!), and the special editions of Groundhog Day and Sense and Sensibility, both on sale for $10 each. I'm heading over to Best Buy tomorrow to get the ST:FC, and the boxed sets for both the Classic Musicals and That's Entertainment.

If I were more depressed than I am now, I'd buy an iPod that I can't afford, but I'm putting that money into my cat and car, instead. Happy 39th birthday next week, Kathy--feel better with more DVDs!

special editions of Groundhog Day and Sense and Sensibility, both on sale for $10 each

GYUH!??!! Groundhog Day for $10?!?! MY KINGDOM FOR A TARGET RUN.

Yeah--they had a bunch of DVDs for $10 each, but those were the only two that caught my eye. They did have Angel Season 5 for $45.99, and I was tempted, but I'm going to get the other two boxed sets I mention earlier instead.

I saw Ice Princess this afternoon. It was actually better than I expected, and I very much expected to enjoy it. Michelle Trachtenberg was generally excellent (necessary warning: I always liked Dawn), Joan Cusack was funny, most of the time, and some of the most annoying cliches of movies with high school girls and individual sports competitors were, thankfully, avoided.

Most importantly, MT's transition to high-class skater wasn't QUITE as completely-and-utterly-impossible as the trailers implied it might be. And none of the nerd jokes were super-offensive, and most of the science seemed accurate.

It was probably better to the now-me than The Mighty Ducks, which I just recently watched. I doubt it will have the same national effect on figure-skating that little flick had on hockey, though.

I recommend it, if you like these kinds of things.

Speaking of movies with inane twist endings, husband rented Saw. I have to say, it's been a while since a movie left me feeling both irritated and physically ill.

And I wasn't even paying that much attention.