So some of Hasbro's recent moves really have me wondering if they're creating some intentional variants, or if they're really just honest mistakes that we should thank them for fixing.  If it's a case of the latter, then they're still technically to blame just for having poor quality control and a crappy overall review process.

These are the figures that have been changed part way through their production run, thus reigniting this idea in my head:

Boba Fett (Pit of Carkoon) - changed from a blue jumpsuit to the more accurate green one

Jedi Luke (Throne Room) - changed the black glove from his left hand originally, to the corrected right hand

Elan Sleazebaggano (not yet released) - GH is reporting that Hasbro originally didn't include antennaes on this figure, but noticed the error at some point and made a running change to to include antennaes on him later on in the run (blaming it on Lucasfilm for the change)

Previously:

Bespin Luke - From "Bloody Stump", to metal peg, and finally to plastic peg.  What's the deal with all that?  And yes I've already heard their excuses for the changes.

Endor Han (Saga) - from the white commlink/lever on his belt, to the more accurate grey one

etc.

I'm sure there's others, but with the current Boba Fett and Jedi Luke alterations, and the announcement on the Deathsticks dude yesterday, I just have to wonder what the hell is going on over at Hasbro.

What do you guys think?  Should we be thankful for the fixes, or is Hasbro trying to milk the variation hunters and completists in this line?  If you wouldn't mind, please don't start with the "If you don't like it, don't buy it" routine either.  That's tired!  

I was just curious as to how many of the older folks around here have children.  If so, how many?  Do you enjoy having them, or regret having them, or a little of both?  Do they drive you insane?  If you don't have kids, are you happy that you chose not to, or do you feel left out that most other people have them but you don't?

I'm about to get engaged, and neither myself nor my girlfriend are sure if we really want kids or not at this point.  Seems like we should have them, but we often get driven a little crazy by the antics of many other kids that we see with our friends, families, or when we're out in public.  We go back and forth on the decision, so I was wondering what everyone else's thoughts were on the matter.  Please be honest, and don't rip people who might be on the other side of the fence!  

So?

I'm getting pretty close to proposing to my girfriend (hopefully later this summer), and have been racking my brain trying to come up with something that's really unique, clever, romantic, etc.  So for all you married folks out there, I was curious how the fellas proposed to their ladies, or how the ladies here were proposed to.

So if it ain't too private, please spill the beans on your (hopefully) romantic moment of engagement, and hopefully you can give me a good idea or two to work with.  Thanks!  

So who's forked over the money for the Hyperspace site and seen this deleted scene over there?  What'd you think of it?



I at least appreciate the official explanation (and acknowledgement) they've given as to why this scene wasn't on the DVD as had been rumored and greatly anticipated:

When Episode II was about to arrive on DVD, the Internet buzzed with rumors and discussion as to what deleted material was going to resurface. One heavily reported false rumor "confirmed" that the raid on the Droid Control Ship would indeed make the cut. As it appeared in the shooting script, the scene involved Ki-Adi-Mundi and Plo Koon leading an attack on a Droid Control Ship in order to disable the battle droid forces overwhelming the Jedi in the Geonosian execution arena. The raiding party makes its way to the bridge of the Trade Federation craft, and shuts down the droids, only to discover that their efforts were in vain.

When the eight scenes included on the DVD were announced, there was some disappointment and confusion as to why this much talked about sequence was left off. "It added another story to be intercut with what already was becoming too complicated and time consuming for the climax of the movie," explained editor Ben Burtt. "Including the sequence also meant time needed to set it up and resolve it while the arena battle and the Clone War land battle proceeded simultaneously."

You can check out their full write up on the scene right here.  So is it worth tacking $10 onto my Fan Club membership and checking the clip out?  

So we've got two prequel flicks in the bag now.  What's your favorite scene from these flicks so far?

I'm not such a big fan of the prequels myself, but I absolutely loved the final lightsaber duel in TPM between Maul, Qui-Gonn, and Obi-Wan.  That was awesome!

A couple of my other runner ups would be when Anakin goes berzerko on the Tusken camp (and his Swoop ride there), as he begins his turn towards the dark side.  I think this scene should've been just a tiny bit longer though.  I also liked when Anakin and Tyrannus were dueling at the end of AOTC - the parts where it was so dark that all you could see were the flashing colors of their lightsabers.  I guess those beautiful lightsabers are just really one of my favorite things in the Star Wars saga.

Note from JediMAC:  I merged Brian's (TopJedi's) similar thread onto the end here, so fast forward to page 2 for the newer replies to his post!  

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My parents made me take piano lessons as a kid (which I diligently kept secret from all my friends).  Lasted a good 7-8 years or so.  Hated it back then, but now that I'm closing in on my 30's, I guess I better appreciate the opportunity I had to learn how to play some music when I was young.  My old piano is still at my parents place, but it's still fun to twinkle the ivories whenever I head out there for a family function.

Though I can still play decently enough, and can still hammer out a nice tune or two when the situation presents itself, I've gotten a little rusty over the years.  I've given some consideration to buying a cheap piano or keyboard and jumping back into the music a little, as a form of relaxation in my old age now (especially considering it's no longer considered such a "nerdy" thing at my age).

So who else can play some music?  What's your instrument?  I know we must have at least a few guitar players here!

An interesting question popped into my tiny brain today when I was thinking about the arena battle in AOTC.  Considering there were probably tens of thousands of Geonosian Warriors in attendance at the execution gone bad, why didn't any of them fight when all the Jedi subsequently showed up?  The Jedi just wound up fighting all the various droids.  I don't recall any of the Geonosian Warriors getting involved.  Are they just a bunch of chicken $h!t sissies, or what?  Did they all just bail the arena at the first sign of the Jedi?

Fighting on a level playing field with a bunch of droids would be way easier than fighting those same droids while getting attacked from above and all other angles by hundreds/thousands of flying Geonosian Warriors.  Bad tactical war strategy on their part for sure!

Or am I just completely missing or forgetting something?