Getting Back in Touch with My Star Wars side …

Well, over the last few weeks, I have gone back through and watched all of the Star Wars Saga.  It’s a pleasure I enjoy at least once a year.  This year I watched the original theatrical versions of Episodes IV and V, but not VI, because I currently do not own a DVD copy of it in that form.  I still hold to the feeling that Empire is the best in the Saga, and of the newer trilogy, I feel that Revenge of the Sith is the superior movie.

Next then proceeded to add to the mix, the newest addition to the Star Wars Universe in video form, Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  I have to admit, I had not watched the film (if you can call a completely CGI video a film) and failed to see it in the theaters because I had strong reservations about the whole thing.  I’m not even much of a fan of the CGI stuff Lucas did when he revamped the original trilogy.  Consequently, it wasn’t until my recent Star Wars revival that I purchased the movie and watched it.  I have to admit, I really enjoyed it.  While I cannot say that it is on par with the Saga, and certainly it is not on par with the original trilogy, it is really nice to see something new and exciting involving the Star Wars Universe.  Over the years, I have pretty much been a purist about the movies, but the introduction of the Clone Wars has changed my view.

Another result of this change is that I have also gotten on board with the Clone Wars TV series.  I cannot believe it.  After watching the movie, I craved more, so I went to the website and watched a few episodes online.  I don’t have cable TV, so I went ahead and downloaded a few more episodes from the first season and the second season.  I have thoroughly enjoyed them,  and  I anxiously await the release of the full season on DVD Nov. 3 assuming I don’t download the whole series from iTunes before then at about a 15% markup over what I would pay at Wal-mart.  How I hate Wal-mart, but what a difference!  Maybe the Itunes price will go down at release, but I still want a hardcopy.  Maybe I can get it for the same price elsewhere.  It’s still $2.oo more at amazon.com.

Actually, now that I’ve been looking at it for this blog post, it seems these prices are the pre-order prices.  Hmm, the dilemma is, should I go ahead and pre-order and pay for it on this paycheck, or wait till it after it comes out and I get my next paycheck, but run the risk of spending fifteen more dollars.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

Working: Chapter and Other Titles

First of all, I am working on a chapter entitled Swords and Monkeys. I won’t tell you anymore than that. You’ll just have to anxiously await and find out what happens to Dylan and the other children during this chapter. Will Billings do what we all know he is destined to do?

As far as series titles are concerned, well, I also have considered:

• “Picture Door Travels”
• Chronicles of the Picture Door Children
• Endless Sea Journals
• Pierats (also a possible first book title
• Picture Door Chronicles
• Endless Seas Saga
• Picture Door Saga
• Picture-Door Legends

Obviously I cannot seem to get away from the headings “Endless Seas” and “Picture-Door.” This is because they are the two most predominant entities in the book and they span the entirety of the series rather than one simple world. Again, I will just have to wait till it comes to me. Honestly, I’m not sure I particularly like any of them. Picture-door sounds stupid to me, and Endless Seas, sounds good, but I have a hard time putting an Endless Sea in every world, especially since they connect to ours, which does not have an endless sea in it at all. I suppose it could be renamed, but I guess it could be more metaphorical, and just have the Endless Sea that is in the world of the first book.

Alba, as the world of the first book is currently referred to. I had the name before I ever looked it up. It’s appropriate to my supposed Scottish Heritage, but my wife told me it made her think of Jessica Alba. Dear God please … noooooooo! So I guess I may have to re-work the world name, but I really have grown attached to it. Screw Jessica, the word was here long before she was … which raises the other eyebrow, should the name be a word already in existence. I hate Christopher Paolini’s name for his world, although I love his books. It’s just too hard to spell. Still, Alba is close to Albion, in fact a fundamental form of the word. And it starts with A, but I just can’t let it go. Maybe I won’t. We shall see. I’ll take a vote right here and right now from all zero of my readers at this point. Commenters vote! Keep it or leave it?