Spud, I am your father!

Darth Potatohead is as good an indication as any that the steam has run out of Star Wars. I mean, that assumes that the content of the new movies wasn't good enough evidence.

I remember back to 1976, when the first movie came out. Bogle and I popped over to see it, literally on opening day, not because it was an event, but we wanted to go to a movie and that was what was playing. I don't know why Liz didn't go. Anyhow, they gave us buttons that said "May the Force be with you," which was pretty cool, and then there was the movie itself... Bogle's complaint was, really, "Of course they had to make Darth Vader Black." I ended up seeing it in the movie theaters two or three more times immediately thereafter, and then about a dozen times since. Like most people I still maintain that Empire Strikes Back was the best of the 3, but the first time I saw them in sequence, one immediately after the other, I was really suprised how much they held together as one film. Anyhow, Lucas is one of the folks responsible for the demise of film as we know it, as much from the success of the trilogy as anything else. It's a shame that the new films have all the bad parts of event films (you've got to see them three days after opening or they're gone from the mall, and they are disappointing on a truly core level, and you can't keep yourself from going nonetheless). There must be a true sickness unto death of the poor folks assembling the final one. Still, they all make a bazillion bucks, so I guess when all is said and done they deserve Darth Potatohead.

I see O'Cruz is back from Florida; there were 325 new posts on BVD today. This guy needs to take up a new hobby. I would suggest shortening the names of the Bronx kids so that it doesn't take half an hour to type every individual into TRPC at every tournament, but when I suggested that last weekend to some kid who had more letters in her name than BVD has cribs, it was taken askance. Where is Ellis Island when you need it? (Municiello, if you must know, getting off the boat. Menick/Menicke getting off the island. I think I prefer Municiello.)

Ewok (keeping with the Star Wars theme, and a Tater Tot if there ever was one) tells me that the hardware engineering of Districts is totally under control. Yeah. It's amazing that the present team of Hardware Engineers that was capable of engineering a bus monitor to Newark can't get 3 crummy rooms Friday for Congress. Oh, the glory that was engineering in the good old days, when we had firehouses and could find all the trophies after Bump.

CFL Grands tomorrow looks as if it will not be hurt by the weather. Tabbing Grands is always a pain. TRPC doesn't like small tournaments to begin with, then you add three judges double-flighted and you're looking at index cards pretty much from round one. But the computer will be good for things like printing ballots and results.

And, think of that, Districts is next week (at Ewok's house). I have done absolutely nothing to get ready. Which means Sunday will be the day from hell sorting everything out.