Kobe got suspended for two games for his elbow into Miller's throat.  Kobe's comments;

Any player that was going to come down the lane at that point in time, I was going to let him know that he just can't walk through there," Bryant said. "I think we as a team have to do a better job of establishing that. And me, as a leader of the ballclub, I've got to take the initiative to do that - and hopefully, everybody will see that.  This being our home court, people come here and think it's Hollywood and all sorts of stuff, so they think they'll come down (the lane) and look pretty and shoot jump shots and dunk the ball and finger-roll the ball and do all sorts of cute stuff. And we've got to stop that.

Good for him.  If that is how he plays "tough defense in the lane," then he'll be playing in 1/3 of the remaining Laker game.

Play 1 game, sit out 2 games,
Play 1 game, sit out 2 games,
Play 1 game, sit out 2 games,
Play 1 game, sit out 2 games


What a thug.   

Hey, Michael wants to go outside and blow bubbles! 

Uh, wait...

 

Just got this for Christmas.  Not usually a hardcover book reader, but it was a nice surprise.

I have read thru chapter 10, which includes the story setup of Act I, the first 8 chapters, and then Vader/Emperor in chapter 9-10.  So far so good!

I liked the how the first 8 chapters take place during the events of ROTS.  Didn't figure this out until near the end.

I'll check back throughout my reading.

Does spanking the monkey count??

Oh, wait.......that is something else.....

 

WOW!

Great work, Dean.  Way to impress your son with your engineering talent!

The size is still hard to imagine b/c of all those SW toys!  i would hate to accidently bump into it.

Me next! Me next! 

DECEMBER 23rd

The Holiday Itself...

During the last few weeks in December when Festivus takes place, families and friends get together at the dinner table and have something called "the Airing of Grievances". Durning this time, we share with family and friends all the ways they had disappointed over the past year.

I GOT A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH YOU PEOPLE!!!

Happy Festivus!

(No offense, but this holiday is a little <pffffftt>

Thanx again for the critique, CHEWIE!

Chap 13 (Anakin/Dooku) - Glad you liked the poses of the figs.  Dooku is much easier to work with than Anakin (swivel elbows! argh!).  The dialogue for Dooku is a lot of fun to create since he has such a personality tht looks down upon everything.  I inter-changed the ROTS and Evolution Dooku mainly for the facial expression.  The Evolutions Dooku has a more angry and determined face than the ROTS version.  I like both tho.    As for the Red Guards, they are basically as faceless as a wall.  Since they flank Palpatine/Sidious all the time, I decided to use them to explain how Dooku could simply walk into a Senator's home.

Chap 14 (Funeral) - Fun but challenging chapter to tell.  The best dialogue to write is definetly Palpatine's.  He has such a way of speaking that it is a lot of fun to get all the points across.  The Mace Windu scenes didn't work as well as I would have hoped.  It was mostly a lighting challenge.  I wanted to hide Shade in the dark while keeping Mace in the light.  In the end, I couldn't get the lighting just right, so I just kept Shade out of the pic until the end.

Thanx again for the feedback.  Always look forward to your info.   

DARK ILLUSIONS

Chapter 15



While the Jedi ceremony concludes, the remaining Clone Commanders are assembled in one of the outpost hangars on Coruscant, awaiting their next orders.


Commander Gree:   Have you got your orders yet?
Commander Bacara:   Not yet.  Rumor is Rhen Var or Mygeeto.  General Mundi doesn’t tell me anything until we ship out.  What about you?




Commander Gree:   My latest orders have me researching the origins of Grievous.  The Jedi believe a better understanding of his background will give us an advantage whenever we find him.
Commander Bacara:   If they gave me a week, I could hunt down & destroy Grievous. 




Commander Bacara:   All I need are my Marines and no meddling Jedi.   





Commander Gree:   Hey, no arguments here!






Commander Gree:   But my research has been very interesting.  The Kaleesh species have always been at war.  Grievous has known nothing else his entire life.  It would explain his expertise during battle.






Commander Bacara:   Is that why the Jedi are afraid of him?  We could have destroyed him on Raxus Prime, but Mundi wanted to sweep through the barracks on foot.  We lost a lot of men that day……unnecessarily. 





Commander Gree:   The Jedi are one “species” I prefer not to understand.  Why are we wasting our time here on Coruscant, anyway?
Commander Bacara:   Some Jedi ceremony.  What is Commander EZ doing now?





Commander EZ:   And I want that speeder bike secured to the ship!  When you get done with that, inspect the exterior cannons!






Commander Bacara:   Why don’t you do some of the work yourself, EZ, instead of barking out orders?  You can always catch up on your rest when you get to the battle, anyway.
Commander EZ:   Wha???   Oh……Bacara……I should have guessed.





Commander EZ:   Well, I am a commander.  I give orders, and my men take orders.  You would be wise to teach that to your men.  Or what’s left of them…
Commander Bacara:   What did you say?





Commander Bacara:   Why don’t I do your men a favor and dump you off at the nearest Separatists base?
Commander EZ:   Heeeyy!!!





Commander Gree:   Calm down, Bacara.  We don’t need him filing another complaint.
Commander EZ:   That’s right.  Wouldn’t want your squadron to be without their beloved barbarian commander!





Commander Gree:   Enough, EZ.  Get back to your work, and we’ll get out of your way.
Commander EZ:   Good thing you were here, Gree.





Commander EZ:   What are you guys staring at!!!  Get back to work!





Commander Bacara:   One day he’ll get his…...
Commander Gree:   Forget him, Bacara.  Here comes Bly & Oddball.





Commander Bly:   Too bad our brethren don’t get that type of ceremony.
Commander Oddball:   No problem, because the Republic knows who really is responsible for winning the War.




Commander Gree:   Commander Bly & Oddball!  So good to see you guys again.  Heard you got in.  Where’ve you been?





Commander Bly:   Just left the memorial for General Gallia. 






Commander Bacara:   Why waste your time remembering a Jedi?  They could care less about us.  Their only concern is whether or not you can follow their commands.





Commander Bly:   General Gallia was a great warrior.  And General Secura has saved my men plenty of times.
Commander Bacara:   Only because you didn’t do it yourself…





Commander Bly:   You want a fight, you got it!






Commander Bacara:   Just as long as your bleeding heart can take it, banana boy!
Gree & Oddball:   Break it up guys!




Commander Bly:   It’s not my fault you lost some men at Raxus Prime, Bacara!






Commander Bacara:   Only because of your precious Jedi!  My men gave their lives for nothing!!!






Commander EZ:   Which one of you is responsible for denting my Gunship?






Commander Bacara:   I’ve had enough of you bleeding hearts.  I’m outta here! 






Commander Bly:   Gree, you know him best.  What is his problem??
Commander Gree:   He just needs to be back on the battlefield.  All this time waiting is just making him more and more irate about what happened at Raxus Prime.






Commander Bly:   Trust me when I say that Commander Deviss and his men were given a proper burial at Adaven. 
Commander Oddball:   And the next offensive should be happening very soon.  Since all of the Generals and Commanders have been recalled to Coruscant, a new attack plan will be created to win the War.





Commander Gree:   Nevertheless, Deviss did not get his name all over the Holonet like the Jedi.  Just remember that.  What ended up happening to General Gallia & Deviss anyway?
Commander Bly:   According to General Secura, the Seppes ambushed Gallia, Deviss, and his men.  The attack was led by General Grievous.





Commander Gree:   I have been studying Grievous and the Kaleesh species.  Based on my research, Grievous has known nothing else but war his entire life.  Deviss’ squad had no chance of survival as soon as they arrived on Adaven.






Commander Bly:   That could be very true, but someone still had to alert Grievous to their exact location.  That is more troubling than the attack itself.






Commander EZ:   I would not be taken out so easily.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a ship to inspect.





Commander Oddball:   If only EZ was as good in battle as he is in keeping his armor clean.
Commander Bly:   What else have you learned about Grievous?
Commander Gree:   Well, let me tell you his history in the War with the Huks………



To be continued…