We're Through Being Cool
Sorry about taking a break from my blue-faced foaming at the mouth over the Bush administration’s insane policies. Even though I’m OUTRAGED by the mounting evidence that our government’s use of torture on “enemy combatants” is widespread (and approved by Bush and Wolfowitz) in Gitmo , Afghanistan, and Iraq (and people in Gitmo were tortured as recently as four months ago!) – and that 14 more U.S. soldiers were blown to bits in our dirty little Iraq-‘nam war, I need a break before my poor brain melts and my miserable heart implodes. Somebody make it all stop!
After having seen the original Star Wars movie (the one where the Death Star is blown up, not the crappy new episodes) one rainy afternoon this fall, my son M asked Santa to bring him a bunch of action figures (he has the few SW figures that survived my childhood, including Obi-Wan, Chewbacca – with one leg shorter than the other, poor wookie – Luke in his X-Wing fighter get-up, a headless Leia, and C-3PO). So, I found (and won) a massive lot of figures on eBay that includes multiple Stormtroopers, Sand People, and Jawas, as well as many of the main characters, like Darth Vader, Han Solo, etc. In addition, I bought these incredible X-Wing and Tie fighter toy ships on Amazon that are big enough so that you can place the action figures in their cockpits. It’s going to be pretty amazing to watch him open this all up on X-mas morning. He’s gonna freak!
Since my two year-old daughter F wants to do pretty much everything that her big bro does, I picked up this Playskool Millennium Falcon that includes stubby versions of Han, Chewy, C-3PO, etc. This way, she has her own spaceship and can put the other SW figures in it (and M will dig playing with it, too). When I presented this prize to her, my wife berated me, worrying that I’m gonna turn her beautiful, hep daughter into a sci-fi geek. I kept on playing up the “equal treatment of the kids” theme, and may have won her over…slightly. (“Honey, it’s made by Playskool, for Pete’s sake! And F will probably end up putting her little toy cows in it!”)
More troubling is my own geekiness. Over lunch yesterday with my co-workers, Star Trek reared it ugly, latex head, and I had to bite my tongue from answering all of these questions I knew down pat. My boss was trying to remember the name of the Next Generation’s counselor (“Deanna Troi!”) who had special powers (“She’s an empath!”) and was from an alien species (“Betazoid!”). Didn’t want to tip my hand. Then we all had a discussion about which series was the best, and I ended up trying to defend the sexist, imperialist, Cold Warrior original series against a room full of very progressive women! Needless to say, I didn’t put up much of a fight…
And the gift that Kris Kringle is bring me, M, and F that crowns me king of all geeks is the toy Galileo 7 Shuttlecraft (from the episode “Where No Man has Gone Before!”) that I also won on eBay. We already have all of these Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, Uhuru, etc. action figures that will fit inside it and…oh…oh, the shame! The guilty, pathetic, loser-y, I-suck-pickled-eggs pleasure of it all!
After having seen the original Star Wars movie (the one where the Death Star is blown up, not the crappy new episodes) one rainy afternoon this fall, my son M asked Santa to bring him a bunch of action figures (he has the few SW figures that survived my childhood, including Obi-Wan, Chewbacca – with one leg shorter than the other, poor wookie – Luke in his X-Wing fighter get-up, a headless Leia, and C-3PO). So, I found (and won) a massive lot of figures on eBay that includes multiple Stormtroopers, Sand People, and Jawas, as well as many of the main characters, like Darth Vader, Han Solo, etc. In addition, I bought these incredible X-Wing and Tie fighter toy ships on Amazon that are big enough so that you can place the action figures in their cockpits. It’s going to be pretty amazing to watch him open this all up on X-mas morning. He’s gonna freak!
Since my two year-old daughter F wants to do pretty much everything that her big bro does, I picked up this Playskool Millennium Falcon that includes stubby versions of Han, Chewy, C-3PO, etc. This way, she has her own spaceship and can put the other SW figures in it (and M will dig playing with it, too). When I presented this prize to her, my wife berated me, worrying that I’m gonna turn her beautiful, hep daughter into a sci-fi geek. I kept on playing up the “equal treatment of the kids” theme, and may have won her over…slightly. (“Honey, it’s made by Playskool, for Pete’s sake! And F will probably end up putting her little toy cows in it!”)
More troubling is my own geekiness. Over lunch yesterday with my co-workers, Star Trek reared it ugly, latex head, and I had to bite my tongue from answering all of these questions I knew down pat. My boss was trying to remember the name of the Next Generation’s counselor (“Deanna Troi!”) who had special powers (“She’s an empath!”) and was from an alien species (“Betazoid!”). Didn’t want to tip my hand. Then we all had a discussion about which series was the best, and I ended up trying to defend the sexist, imperialist, Cold Warrior original series against a room full of very progressive women! Needless to say, I didn’t put up much of a fight…
And the gift that Kris Kringle is bring me, M, and F that crowns me king of all geeks is the toy Galileo 7 Shuttlecraft (from the episode “Where No Man has Gone Before!”) that I also won on eBay. We already have all of these Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, Uhuru, etc. action figures that will fit inside it and…oh…oh, the shame! The guilty, pathetic, loser-y, I-suck-pickled-eggs pleasure of it all!
posted by Steve from Moon | 6:58 AM
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