Encontro de Fãs Star Wars

Retirado do blogue Star Wars Fan Force Portugal:

Anunciámos aqui e depois aqui este evento que vai, pela primeira vez, reunir adeptos de costuming de todo o pais, mas também muitos fãs e amigos, todos debaixo da missão comum de enaltecer o universo Star Wars.

A organização está a preparar um evento inesquecível com diversos atractivos que vão tornar esta ocasião única e inédita em Portugal.Todos os que o desejarem, deverão comparecer HOJE pelas 19:00 na FNAC do Centro Comercial Colombo em Lisboa, para participarem em primeiro lugar na parada de Star Wars que irá ter lugar na própria FNAC e depois se vai "expandir" para o recinto do CC Colombo.O encontro culminará num jantar de amigos e fãs no Restaurante Só Peso, num espaço especialmente reservado para os participantes. Recordamos que para o jantar é preciso reservar lugar utilizando os contactos no cartaz ao lado.

Todos estão convidados para fazer com que Star Wars seja para sempre... Mesmo cá...

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Star Wars Mimobot Series 2

Mimoco has launched a second series of USB flash drives, inspired by the Star Wars universe. These are the most awesome drives I´ve seen so far. The first series depicts 4 characters: Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and a Stormtrooper, knowing that Vader and R2 are in a sold out status. The most recent series focuses in 4 new fellas: Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Boba Fett. Ther status is still pre-order, due to their release in the first 2 months of 2008. Both 1st and 2nd series are available in 1GB, 2GB, & 4GB capacities and come preloaded with bonus removable Star Wars mimobot content like trailers (Series 1), the mimobot soundByte™ Application, icons, avatars, screensavers (Series 2), and wallpapers! Click the image and get linked to Mimobot SW.

I just want one!!!

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Chewbacca backpack

Lack of ideas for a Christmas gift? Here´s a good one for the kids. Taken from here (where you can find another geek stuff from SW), after my friend Saki posted it in "Já Cheiro o Samádhi".

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Está com falta de ideias para um presente de Natal? Ora aqui tem uma boa opção para os miúdos. Retirado daqui (onde é possível encontrar mais uma série de coisas geek de SW), depois da minha amiga Saki ter feito um post no "Já Cheiro o Samádhi".


Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Franz Ferdinand go Star Wars

This has some time now... but it´s still good!
Enjoy our heroes going wild in a musical show.

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É verdade que isto já tem algum tempo... mas ainda assim é bom!
Divirtam-se com os nossos heróis na maluquice, num espectáculo musical.

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Star Wars Family Tree

Done by Modi. Although I do not know you, thanks a lot for this family tree. It came real handy. Feel free to visit Modi´s website: Star Wars Atlas. You can find lots of maps there.

Cheers mate!

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Feito pelo Modi. Apesar de não o conhecer, fica o meu agradecimento por esta árvore genealógica. Veio mesmo a calhar. Sintam-se à vontade para fazerem uma visita ao site do Modi: Star Wars Atlas. Encontrarão mais uma carrada de mapas por lá.

Fica bem!

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Stormtrooper Blaster - Do it yourself

Wanna figure how you can get from a simple PVC pipe to a 1:1 scale Blaster? Just check the Blaster Builders Club tutorial. And there´s more blasters here.
Cool ain´t it?!

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Querem perceber como se passa de um simples tubo de PVC para uma réplica de um Blaster à escala 1:1? Basta uma visita à pagina dos Blaster Builders Club e ler o tutorial. E há mais blasters aqui.
Porreiro, não?!

Before

Antes

And after
E depois

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Star Wars and Sanskrit #2

As time passes, we tend to reflect on things we´ve done before. In my case, in this blog´s case, it´s a matter of training. Are we not an Academy? So, "Star Wars and Sanskrit" is back.

Exploring wookieepedia, I came to know of the existence of a certain planet called "Shiva IV". It´s located in the Wild Space area, in the Shiva system. Shiva system has a single star, also called Shiva. Well, so far I´ve counted 3 Shivas... Whether or not this is a coincidence, only few can say. I´m saying it because there´s an aspect in the Hindu culture (we´re talking about Sanskrit here; check the previous article for more info) which is called trimurti (the Hindu trinity; representing the three primary deities), where Shiva is one of the represented gods (associated with destruction; destroy to renew). Shiva, in Hinduism, assumes many aspects in his personality/representation. If you triple that, a lot of mess is coming, I guarantee.

So, what does this has to do with Star Wars? Apparently, a lot. Some of our heroes have many skills and abilities, and use them oftenly to their benefits, and to save their loved ones. And what about Shiva and a planet? There is also a great matter of mysticism in India, especially after the occupation of the territory by the aryas coming from Europe, nearly 4000 years ago. Since those days, the cult to Shiva has grown bigger and bigger, but the raw strength and essence of this deity remained as it was in the beginning. Maybe that is the same strength and mystery that surrounds the area where Shiva IV is situated (Wild Space), the same power that is present in their inhabitants, that fight for righteousness and against occupation. Probably the same feeling and attitude against Aryan occupation of the Indus Valley so many centuries ago.

Before ending this article, I recommend you to read Star Wars 53: The Last Gift From Alderaan, and Star Wars 54: Starfire Rising, both from Marvel comics, published in November and December 1981. It´s the first time that Shiva IV is mentioned in the SW Universe and a good starting point to understand what I´ve been saying.

Happy readings! And again, thanks to Wookieepedia.

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

No Hope...

Erm... This will always be a matter for discussion...

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Erm... Isto será sempre tema de discussão...

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

The STAR WARS Vault

This book is a real treasure. It contains 30 years of Star Wars history and a panoply of unpublished sketches, blueprints and handwritten texts. But enough talking, just check the description, as one can find it in Amazon.com.

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Este livro é realmente um tesouro. Nele podemos encontrar 30 anos da história de Star Wars bem como uma panóplia de esboços e desenhos nunca antes publicados, desenhos técnicos e textos escritos à mão. Mas chega de conversa e toca a ler a descrição, como pode ser encontrada no site Amazon.com.

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." It's been 30 years since those immortal words were first seen on movie screens nationwide and it was the start of a worldwide phenomenon and the beginning of the most successful movie franchise of all time.

The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives, With Removable Memorabilia and Two Audio CDs by Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur (HarperEntertainment; on-sale October 30, 2007; $85.00) is the official illustrated book celebrating this year's 30th anniversary of George Lucas' first Star Wars movie, and includes removable reproductions of memorabilia, along with two CDs containing vintage radio ads, original cast interviews, George Lucas' commentary, and even Carrie Fisher singing in the Star Wars Holiday Special.

The Star Wars Vault is the insider's look at the development and making of all six movies, and the huge cultural impact they've had. In addition to hundreds of photos and pieces of artwork, the book includes fifty interactive, rare, and some never-before-seen pieces of memorabilia.

Among the book's features are:
- The special questionnaire for the first and only test screening of the original Star Wars — and the invitation to attend it

- George Lucas' hand-written treatment for The Empire Strikes Back
- Lucasfilm Christmas cards

- Iron-on T-shirt transfer

- The very first concept sketch drawn for Star Wars

- Blueprints of Star Wars vehicles and sets

- Original hand-written directions for ground-breaking special effects

The Star Wars Vault is the ultimate, one-of-a-kind insider's look into the sensation that launched a phenomenon that includes six feature films; two spin-off films; three television series with more to come; and an extensive collection of licensed books, comics, video games, action figures, trading cards, and many other products worldwide.

About the Author
Steve Sansweet joined Lucasfilm Ltd in 1996 after a 26-year career as a journalist at The Wall Street Journal; his last position there was as Los Angeles Bureau Chief. He is currently Director of Content Management and head of fan relations in Lucasfilm's Marketing Division. Steve started collecting robots and space toys in the mid-1970s and now owns the largest private collection of Star Wars memorabilia in the world."

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

A very unique TIE

Emperor's Royal Guard TIE

Interceptor starfighter

Emperor's Royal Guard TIE/In starfighter
The Emperor's Royal Guard TIE/In starfighter was a specially modified version of the TIE/In starfighter. These TIE Interceptors were flown only by Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guard.

Details
Unlike the original TIE Interceptor, the Royal Guard TIE Interceptor was equipped with a built-in hyperdrive and shield generator. Capable of blazing speeds and fantastic maneuverability, these starfighters were commonly used to escort Emperor Palpatine's Lambda-class shuttle and its decoys during his travels. Displaying the distinctive crimson red color of the Royal Guard, these deadly war machines struck fear into any opposing fighters. Royal Guard fighter wings were thought to even rival the skills of Rogue Squadron's elite pilots.
These fighters were said to have been commissioned by Palpatine himself. Under the supervision of Darth Vader, Imperial workers spent many long hours modifying TIE Interceptor fighters.
On very rare occasions, these fighters found places outside of the Royal Guard, and were thus subject to even further modification, including more devastating weapons, more advanced shielding technologies, and, in rare cases, ordnance launchers.

Behind the scenes
The Royal Guard TIE Interceptor was introduced in Rage of the Wookiees, the second expansion of Star Wars Galaxies. It is a quest reward for Imperial pilots for completing a series of quests from the Civilian Protection Guild.
In 2007 Hasbro released a die-cast model of the Royal Guard TIE Interceptor as part of their Titanium Series.

Info from Wookieepedia (it´s just my favourite database).

This is a post that gives a little more information about the Royal Guard.

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Royal Guard after Red Guard

These are the kind of characters that have always fascinated me. Since the first time I saw them in the Star Wars movie The Return of the Jedi, something clicked in me. Probably due to their constant stealthy presence. They were there, but you couldn't´t perceive them. And the uniform is one of the most successful of all times. As this characters are surrounded by a sort of mist and enigma, lets try to find out a little about their origins and whereabouts.

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Sempre fui fascinado por estes personagens. Desde a primeira vez que os vi no filme Star Wars The Return of the Jedi, algo despertou em mim. Provavelmente por passarem praticamente despercebidos durante grande parte do tempo. Estavam lá, mas não se dava por eles. Quanto ao uniforme, é um dos mais bem conseguidos de sempre. Tentaremos perceber algumas coisas relacionadas com as suas origens e actual paradeiro, já que é sempre difícil saber de personagens que estão tão envoltas em mistério e enigma.

RED GUARD

"You see? You must allow yourself your own private guards, Supreme Chancellor!"

―Senator Viento to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine[src]

The Red Guard, nicknamed Redrobes, was a group of specially trained members of the Senate Guard. They were charged with the protection of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine prior to and during the Clone Wars.

History

"Yes, I remember how powerful the Red Guards were. They used to bully us."
―Kambrea[src]

As they were formed at Palpatine's discretion without a formal act, several senators (including Bail Organa) considered them to be illegal, and even the Jedi High Council were unsure of their true number and strength. Palpatine justified their creation due to rumors of corruption amongst the Senate Guard, especially after the infamous Ronhar Kim incident. During the hunt for Darth Sidious, Mace Windu and Yoda suspected that the Dark Lord of the Sith might be among their number.
During the Battle of Coruscant, the Red Guard were led by High Jedi General Windu in his defense of the Galactic Senate building. The Red Guards protecting Palpatine during the battle also expressed some anxiety at Palpatine's stubborn refusal to leave his office. Following Order 66, the Red Guard became the new Emperor's Royal Guard; however, their appearance and equipment changed little.
Unlike the Royal Guard, there is no indication that the Red Guard evolved out of the elite clone troopers and stormtroopers. Given how the Red Guard appeared independently and before the appearance of the Grand Army of the Republic, it seems that the Red Guard only gradually became the elite unit of the conventional military. However, like the Royal Guard, the Red Guard was not subject to senatorial oversight, and reported only to Chancellor Palpatine.

Equipment

The armor of the Royal Guard reflected the armor of the Mandalorian Death Watch and the Thyrsus Sun Guards. It consisted of plated crimson armor of an unknown composition, overlaid with voluminous robes, presumably to conceal weaponry. The Red Guard primarily used a meter long force pike.

Check the Wookieepedia for info about appearances, sources and other stuff.

EMPEROR´S ROYAL GUARD

"A Royal Guardsman never seeks special privileges. Ever. His entire goal in life is to serve the Emperor, and the New Order he created. His goal in life, and his desire in death."
―Grodin Tierce[src]

The Emperor's Royal Guard, also called Imperial Royal Guard or just Imperial Guard, was a highly elite guard unit tasked with the protection of Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor was almost never seen without a detachment of Royal Guards at his side. The Emperor's Royal Guard was the successor to the Republic's Red Guard.
The exact number of Royal Guardsmen serving the Emperor was unknown, with speculations ranging from less than fifty to tens of thousands, although their numbers were known to have exceeded four hundred.
Like the stormtroopers of the Stormtrooper Corps, the Royal Guards formed a military unit independent of the Imperial Military and directly answerable to the Emperor.

Palpatine's Royal Guard

The Royal Guards in the Imperial era were selected from only the best men in the Academy who had proven themselves worthy for the position. There were several ranks in the Royal Guard system, the top being Sovereign Protector.

Royal Guards wore matching scarlet robes, battle armor, and helmets. Although ceremonial, the red armor did not hamper movement or fighting. The armor bore design influences from the uniforms of the Death Watch of the Mandalore system, the Sun Guards of the Thyrsus system, and the Senate Guards of the old Galactic Republic. Their preferred weapon was the meter-long force pike, although they were trained in the use of many common and exotic weapons and martial arts, such as Echani art. They used a special "combat language" that only they understood, and part of the training included removal of fingerprints. They flew specialized red variants of the TIE/In starfighter.

The primary duties of the Imperial Guard included the personal protection of Palpatine and his designees, as well as guarding his secret facilities and clone laboratories on Byss, as well as the Emperor's Citadel. This task was considered the most prestigious and was usually reserved for the Sovereign Protectors. Others operated the Guard training facility on Yinchorr or served at some of the Emperor's other safehouses.

The only records regarding their exact number remained with Palpatine, or in his private archives on Imperial Center or Byss. With their primary mission to protect the Emperor and any of his designees, the Royal Guard was never sent on combat missions as a corps. Instead, a few small elements of Royal Guardsmen were sent into combat on a rotating basis to keep them in fighting trim, appearing as and working alongside the usual stormtroopers. This was how Grodin Tierce explained his survival of his unit's destruction on the second Death Star.[1]

After the death of Palpatine, many of the Royal Guard—such as Kir Kanos—refused to choose sides among the various Imperial factions. Others remained undercover in their stormtrooper units, while others still pledged themselves to Sate Pestage and his successors. In 10 ABY, however, they all flocked to Byss when summoned by the reborn Palpatine. They fought by his side until his final death the next year. It was later revealed that his death had been hastened by the sabotage of his clones by renegade Protector Carnor Jax.

After Palpatine's final death, the remnants of the Royal Guard, much decimated by the disasters on Byss and Eclipse II[2], returned to Yinchorr, where they gathered to mourn Palpatine and form a plan to avenge him. However, Jax had laid a trap, and they were slaughtered by his stormtroopers. Ironically, the Royal Guards suffered the same fate as the old Jedi Order. As the Royal Guards were annihilated by the stormtroopers, so too were the Jedi by the clone troopers decades before the massacre of the Royal Guards. Only Kir Kanos escaped, and eventually killed Jax. Kanos is often said to be the last surviving member of the Royal Guard, but this may only be true "from a certain point of view", as at least one member of Palpatine's original Royal Guard, Vin Northal, defected to the Rebel Alliance, and others still may have served the Dark Lady Lumiya. The clone of Grodin Tierce and members of the new Royal Guard recruited by Admiral Daala were the most high-profile "Guardsmen" encountered by the New Republic.

Training

Members of the Royal Guard were hand-picked from the ranks of the most elite stormtroopers. Each recruit was scrutinized to fit select size, strength, intelligence and loyalty requirements, as well as latent Force sensitivity. Recruits strong but not too strong in the Force were noted and pulled aside to test into a special class of Royal Guards known as Sovereign Protectors. If they passed these even more rigorous tests, they were trained by Dark Jedi to wield the Force. The names of the Royal Guardsmen were never uttered by anyone outside the Guard, including Palpatine.

Equipment and training were lavished upon them at the Imperial Royal Guard Academy on Yinchorr. Students would train fencing and fighting in an arena called the Squall. Classes consisted of approximately forty students each, and trainees were partnered up into doubles. During a yearlong training program, recruits sparred against each other continuously to perfect their combat skills. A step away from the squad-based stormtrooper training received on Carida, by working both alone and in pairs, recruits learned how to rely on themselves or on a teammate to achieve victory. Training mainly centered on Echani hand-to-hand combat, and failure often resulted in death. Casualty rates were very high; out of Kir Kanos's class of forty-two, only two reached full Guardsman status—all others were killed in training. During their final test, trainees fought each other to the death before Palpatine himself. Only a handful would survive this final test in a display of their loyalty and skill.

During training, the Guards were inculcated with the belief that Palpatine, and his every order, were beyond fault or question.

More info about The Royal Guard at Wookieepedia.

There´s a very cool section of known members of this elite force.

Also check the official Star Wars databank.

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Some characters

Roaming in the Internet, I just found this fellas made for Lego. The things they can do... Just check some of the most emblematic characters of the Star Wars universe.

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Vagueando pela Internet, dei de caras com estes amigos concebidos para a Lego. As coisas que se podem fazer... Vejam alguns dos mais emblemáticos personagens do universo Star Wars.

Bobba Fett

Shaak Ti

Nute Gunray

Admiral Ackbar

Aurra Sing
Kaminoan

Lando Calrissian

You can check more characters at Chris Deck site. They´re just awesome. Click the images to see The Brothers Bricks blog and also a Flickr gallery.

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Podem ver mais personagens no sítio do Chris Deck. Estão muito porreiros. Cliquem nas imagens para terem acesso ao blogue The Brothers Brick e ainda a uma galeria do Flickr.

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

The Great ReSynchronization

Attention!!! This is very important information. It will make understand certain time-lines and possible mistakes that sometimes may occur in people´s minds, due to misinformation and unrecommended reading. Do not follow the wrong path, young padawan. I´m here to guide you throughout the Force.

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Atenção!!! Esta informação é muito importante. Farte-a compreender as linhas temporais e possíveis enganos que possam ocorrer nalgumas mentes, devido a má informação e leitura não recomendada. Não sigas o trilho errado, jovem padawan. Estou aqui para guiar-te através da Força.

The Great ReSynchronization occurred in 35 BBY as a method of the Republic Measures & Standards Bureau to recalibrate the disparate dating systems used by the Galactic Republic. It was since used as a zero year for the dating system; thus, the Battle of Geonosis takes place in the year 13, the Great Jedi Purge in the year 16, Battle of Yavin in the year 35, and the Battle of Endor in the year 39. The Seventh Battle of Ruusan occurred in the year 964BrS.

Dates using the ReSynchronization are written in the following format:
[Year]:[Month]:[Day]
ex. 13:5:21

Dates after ReSynchronization do not include trailing characters. Dates occurring before the ReSynchronization are followed by "BrS", for Before ReSynchonization:
ex. 4,965BrS

The dating system introduced with the Great ReSynchronization was still used during the Imperial period, although some Imperials preferred to use the establishment of the Galactic Empire (19 BBY) as the starting point. The Great ReSynchronization system eventually became obsolete under the New Republic and replaced in 25 ABY with the current Galactic Standard Calendar, centered around the Battle of Yavin (0 BBY).

Taken from the great Wookieepedia.

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Is the Force with Linux?

Many thanks to my friend mawalien, who send this cool ad. Cheers mate!


Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Chewie

After being inactive for a while due to work, followed by some deserved vacations, the Academy has reopened to training. Chewie opens the hostilities again, this time with an illustration by the chilean Alberto Montt. Take my advice and visit his blog. You´ll love it.

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Depois de algum tempo de inactividade devido a trabalho, seguido de merecidas férias, a Academia volta aos treinos. Novamente com Chewie a fazer as honras da casa, deixo-vos uma ilustração do chileno Alberto Montt, e o conselho para uma visita ao seu blogue.

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

Wookie or Wookiee?

This is one of those questions that have risen up many times in several galaxies. How should I spell it: Wookie or Wookiee? Mmmm... May this be cleared once and for all.

WOOKIEE

That´s how it is. Some might say: "but I´ve seen Wookie writen and published before". No doubt you have. But it was wrong! Some guy thought he could change the original word. Well, bad luck for him. You may search the wookieepedia if you have any doubts or the Star Wars official databank and see for yourself. And don´t write ever again Wookie, with just one e. Please. And thank you. You don´t wanna see a pissed off Wookiee. Believe me...

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Esta é daquelas questões que provavelmente já surgiram várias vezes em inúmeras galáxias. Como escrever: Wookie ou Wookiee? Mmmm... Que se esclareça de uma vez por todas.

WOOKIEE

Esta é a forma correcta. Alguns poderão dizer: "mas eu já vi Wookie escrito anteriormente". Sem dúvida que sim. Mas estava mal escrito! Houve algum espertalhão que pensou que podia alterar a palavra original. Bem, azar do pirete! Em caso de dúvida podem sempre consultar a wookieepedia ou a base de dados oficial Star Wars para comprovarem por iniciativa própria. E não voltem a escrever Wookie só com um e. Por favor. Muito obrigado. É que não vão querer cruzar-se com um Wookiee chateado. Acreditem...

Mauro Bex : maurobindo

"Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" - Concept Art

No words needed... just a wish... hope they publish a book with these, after the game is available.

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Sem palavras... só um desejo... o de que publiquem um livro com toda esta arte, assim que o jogo estiver disponível para venda.

More info, pics and videos here.

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Mais informação, fotos e videos aqui.


Mauro Bex : maurobindo