Offbeat Mama builds an AT-AT from diaper boxes

And you can, too. Follow the link for instructions.

Offbeat Mama: You could recycle those leftover diaper boxes… or you could make your own AT-AT out of them

Fun new Star Wars posters from Etsy

Etsy comes through again with more clever, attractive Star Wars posters. Pictured above is Jay Hornsby's Death Starry Night, a mashup of Van Gogh's masterpiece and a certain film featured on this blog from time to time. Follow Jay on Twitter: @belligerentmnky

Etsy: Death Starry Night - Star Wars Print

Next are three posters by Patrick Concepcion of Concepcion Studios which re-imagine the three films as mid-twentieth-century paperback novels. I really like these. 

Etsy: STAR WARS Art Print Movie Poster Series - 12 x 18 Minimalist, Nursery, Graphic, Mid Century Modern, Vintage Style, Retro Home

Finally, this bit of imperial propaganda comes from Etsy seller Marcus from Malaysia. 

Etsy: Star Wars - Support Our Troops A3 Poster Vintage Print

Mediaeval Star Wars

9GAG: Medieval Star Wars

Star Wars: not just for boys

Over on LiveJournal (yes, it's still there), author Claudia Gray takes umbrage with a commenter who tells her that, in 1980, girls didn't like Star Wars:

In 1980, EVERYONE EVERYWHERE IN THE WHOLE WORLD LOVED STAR WARS. I cannot emphasize this enough. From 1977 to 1983, Star Wars was basically as popular as Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, One Direction, American Idol, NASCAR, chocolate, and oxygen, combined. Also, EVERYONE EVERYWHERE IN THE WHOLE WORLD includes girls. I personally built an X-Wing fighter simulator in my closet, owned a “Star Wars Passport” that guaranteed me entry to Mos Eisley Spaceport and Cloud City (have not tested this, more’s the pity), and had collected a group of Star Wars action figures that rivaled my brother’s in quantity and desirability. He really only had the edge because the Millennium Falcon playset was his, though I played with it nearly as much as he did. (Once, when allowed to borrow the Lando Calrissian action figure that was clearly and undeniably my property, said brother traded it to another kid – for a lowly Hoth Ranger, no less! – and that remains a point of contention to this day. Yes, we’re in our 40s. Your point?) 

And no, I was not the only girl out there who felt that way. All my friends loved Star Wars. Lucasfilm made Princess Leia dolls, and Princess Leia bubble bath, and Princess Kneesa stuffed Ewoks with pink headwraps; they knew there were little girls who loved and wanted these things. I’m in a Mardi Gras krewe here in New Orleans called Chewbacchus – cofounded by a woman – in which women and men both dress up in science fiction costumes to parade around. A good friend of mine named Jen Heddle loved Star Wars as a kid, then as an adult, so much and so deeply that she now works for Lucasfilm. Every single one of those women grew up loving Star Wars. No, it wasn’t just me. 

I feel a little admonished by this post, given the subtitle of this blog. But I certainly do not deny that Star Wars swept up little girls along with little boys 35 years ago. My own sister was one of them. I think it fair to say, however, that Star Wars had a more lasting impact on boys than on girls. Looking at the composition of this blog's Facebook followers, they are overwhelmingly men. But never mind. Girls and women, you are most welcome to my blog! 

LiveJournal: Claudia Gray: "I'm not like the other girls."

Star Wars as told by someone who hasn't seen it

I'm not entirely convinced that this is genuine, but maybe.

Regretsy lightsaber earrings

I love Etsy, as regular readers of this blog will know. It's especially good for clever, unusual Star-Wars-themed items of all kinds. But not everything on Etsy is a tribute to its maker. Some items there are, in fact, hilariously horrible. This small insight is apparently enough to support an entire blog, the cleverly-named (and prominently trade-marked) Regretsy.

After that rather long-winded build-up, I bring you (via Regretsy) these truly awful lightsaber earrings. Follow the link to "View it in a room". (I'm not sure what that means either, but give it a go.) 

Regretsy: Revenge of the Shith

LA Times Hero Complex on the original Star Wars poster

A nice article, from June 2010, about the original Star Wars poster. From the piece:

The Brothers Hildebrandt created one of the signature images of the 1970s with this striking, cosmic tableau showing the Skywalker family, a craggy terrain and a space battle unfolding in the starry sky. I had a poster of this painting on the wall of my room as a child and, as with many moviegoers, this was the entry-point image for a new mythology – the first glimpse of the George Lucas universe before any of us actually sat down in the dark with the 1977 film.

Hero Complex: The classic 'Star Wars' poster and The Force of history

Dinosaur Comics on the Expanded Universe

If you don't know about Dinosaur Comics, allow me to enrich your life in no small measure. (Pro tip: the red text is spoken by the Devil, an occasional character in the comic.)

Surf over to quantz.com for more dinosaur-induced hilarity. Warning: most Dinosaur Comics are not about Star Wars. If that troubles you at all, be consoled by the fact that Chewbac.ca redirects to Dinosaur Comics.

Cyber Wars: the latest from Sillof's Workshop

I have sung the praises of Sillof before. He re-imagines Star Wars characters in a variety of other settings, then crafts handmade action figures for them.

Sillof's latest project is Cyber Wars:  

This line was actually one of the first redesign idea I had almost 15 years ago, in 99, when I first started to redesign characters. The line is intended to have a 90's sci-fi aesthetic. It has some elements of Cyberpunk, the Matrix, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, etc. I envisioned the movie as a struggle by a group of rebel hackers struggling to break free from the oppressive system of control by a mega technological corporation that controlled all aspects of society. I tried to stay true to my original ideas for characters as I made the line.

The figurine to the side is Sillof's reworking of Luke Skywalker--Link Sourcecoder:

Link is a new to the world of hacking he is forced to go on the run after his family was targeted by Vector.  I went with the classic color scheme but incorporated the mechanical hand to go with the sci-fi feel.

Sillof's Workshop: Cyber Wars

Follow him on Twitter: @sillof

Grown men (mostly) dressed up as Lando Calrissian

Lando Calrissian is easily the most underrated character in Star Wars. How has Anthony Daniels parleyed his prissy C-3PO into a multi-million dollar career while Billy Dee Williams--whose character was a hundred times more intriguing--is doing well to get an invite to Winnipeg for the Central Canada Comic Con? (Oh right, I forgot: Daniels will do anything.)

Here for your viewing pleasure is a collection of photos of grown men (or mostly) dressing up as Lando Calrissian for uncertain purposes. Personally I think dress-up parties--sorry, cosplay gatherings--are mildly insane, but if you've got to do it, consider Lando. Instructions for the costume are right here. 

It would be easy to make fun of this guy, but I'm not going to. There's something kind of awesome about him.   

It would be easy to make fun of this guy, but I'm slightly afraid of him.

Not sure a Wookie could get his hands around this Lando's neck.

A female, and notably untidy, Lando. By re-posting this photo I may have just blown the internet's mind.

Well he does kind of look like him.

Great costume, great attitude, and he's even doing the pose. Our winner?

Hello, what have we here? Home One, this is Gold Leader.