Return of the Unipiper

This video contains almost everything I like in the world.

Star Wars - The Empire Won

It's 3:30 in the morning, my MS is acting up and I can't sleep - so why not go on a bit of Star Wars rant.

Recently, Greenpeace produced a satirical commercial - poking fun at the Star War - Darth Vader Volkswagen commercial that appeared in Super Bowl 2010.

I happened to like the Volkswagen commercial - It was cute.



Tonight, I Stumbled Upon an article in AutoBlog titled, Greenpeace parodies Little Vader ad to show dark side of Volkswagen. The article, in a non-biased way, explains that Greenpeace is upset at Volkswagen trying to squelch the EU laws on CO2 admissions and created a fake commercial, where Volkswagen is the new Empire. There's even a huge VW logo on the Death Star. To tell you the truth, it's not that funny - I mean it's okay I guess - but that's not what this post is about.



Even though the article was published a few days ago, it seems that George Lucas got his panties in a wad, a real tight wad and demanded the video be removed. Now, I'm not going to go into the political argument of whether Greenpeace is right or wrong about Global Climate Change. And it is a political arguement, because the science is conclusive. Maybe the CO2 laws in the EU are too strict .. I have no idea.

Here's what this post is about. Greenpeace suggests that Lucas has sold his soul to the Dark Side commercial marketing and become the Empire of capitalization. So, what does George Lucas do? He immediately turns around and proves it's all true by lawyering  up and forcing GP to shut down the video. It is the highest form of douchebagness to shut down a parody. 

In Star Wars 4 - A New Hope, which is really chronologically the first Star Wars movie.  There's a great line by Princess Leia. 

The Empire a-hole, Governor Tarkin says "... No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now."

To which Leia replies, "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

Is this not a perfect analogy of what Lucas is doing to GP? The video Lucas is so desperately trying to shutdown is popping up all over the Internet.


The purpose of a parody is to provoke thought and conversation using comedy. And look, I don't really think the content of the GP's parody succeeds - first, I don't consider VW to be one of the big offenders of CO2 emissions and the video is too far reaching and over the top to be effective.


However, George Lucas reacting to the video in such a draconian way validates the parody. In sense VW may not be the evil empire but Lucas my be the Emperor. 


Article in AutoBlog

My List of Great Nonrequired Movies

I have quite a few friends that are in their twenties and thirties - It's just how I roll - I refuse to grow old. Anyway, there are a lot movies that never made the top ten or top hundred list that are really great and it's shame that these darn kids don't know about them .. so here's my list of Nonrequired Movies.

Also - if you Stumble Upon,  please if you like what you're reading give me a thumbs-up. It helps.

Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946)

I think this one of Hitchcock's best films. It stars Cary Grant, Claude Rains and a mysterious Ingrid Bergman. It's a spy thriller, where a Bergman has to double-cross her father's Nazi buddies who are operating out of Rio after the war. Ingrid Bergman play a great - naughty girl.

Kelly's Hereos (1970)

This is one of my favorite WW II movies. It's a comedy about a group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi gold. There is an amazing list of stars in this movie from the protagonist - Clint Eastwood to Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, and Carroll O'Connor.

Imagine the movie MASH set in World War II.

The Flamingo Kid (1984)

This was an 80's film that took place in the 60's. Matt Dillon plays a kid who just finished high school and doesn't know what to do with his future. He comes from a working class family and for the summer he gets a taste of the good life by working at a swank beach club - "El Flamingo". Like any good 80's film there is a perfect character arc where Dillon's character has to choose if wishes to throw away his long-term future for a short-term gain. It's funny and poignant and has great characters.

Network (1976)

This movie made some thirty years ago, perfectly predicted the rise of  the FOX News Network. It's uncanny how accurate this film is. The deranged ex-TV anchor Howard Beale - played by Peter Finch is a creepy version of the future Glenn Beck.



This film was directed by famed Sidney Lumet who also directed  Dog Day Afternoon and  Murder on the Orient Express. Lumet died on April 9th of this year.
  

The Killing Fields (1984)

Year Zero in the aftermath of the bombing of Cambodia. Follows the path of a Dith Pran (as Dr. Haing S Ngor). Should be a reminder of what happens when you drop bombs on a civilization.

See the movie and then find out the tragic outcome of Dr. Ngor's life in the USA.

American Graffiti (1973)

In my opinion, this is George Lucas' best movie. It's the last summer night in 1962. The last drive down the boulevard in Modesto, California. Lucas captures the time and tone of that summer night perfectly. It also stars a very young Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss.

The Wages of Fear (1953)

Okay here is the premise: Load a truck full of explosive nitroglycerin and get safely to it's destination as quickly as possible - without any safety equipment .. at night. Need I say more?

Seven Samurai (1954)

The best of famed Akira Kurosawa films. The premise may be simple: seven samurai help a poor village plagued by bandits, but it's the incredible characters that keep you watching. Each Samurai is a Jungian archetype, but forget all that .. there is lots of really good sword fighting.

Norma Rae (1979)

With all the problems with union busting these days, I can't think of a better film to watch that puts it all into perspective. Sally Field is at her best in this movie. She plays a young, single mother fighting da Man to get a  union in a cotton mill after her father dies of a neglected heart attack.

Lost in America (1985)

I love Albert Brooks who's real name is Albert Einstein and who's brother is Bob Einstein and Bob plays a very funny character named Super Dave Osborne. Got all that? - good. Anyway Albert Brooks is one of my favorite comedians. He introspective yet self-absorbed. He's the perfect straight man.

I like this movie mostly because of what happens in Vegas when Brooks' character finds out his wife, played by Julie Hagerty is a compulsive gambler and lost their "nest egg".

Patton (1970)

Patton is not my favorite WW II movie; don't get me wrong it is very fine film and George C. Scott does a spot on General George S. Patton. I put Patton on this list because it was Elvis' favorite movie. He knew every line of dialogue in the almost three hour film.



There it is, my list of great nonrequired movies. I kind of enjoyed writing this list. Maybe I will do it again. If you have any suggestions please leave a comment.

Lightsaber Badminton

Normally I'm not a big fan of "Star Wars" fandom videos - especially concerning lightsabers. I think, sadly, Star Wars Kid and George Lucas did enough to kill off any magic in the old Jedi Knight weapon. However this little video of a badminton game is different. It's short - to the point - and isn't badminton itself an archaic game.

If this was a real game, I argue the first objective would be to not get sliced in half by your partner rather than getting the little ball over the net.



I found this video on Attack of the Blog. It was created by Boo Ya Pictures

Star Wars Facts

[Via: Online PhD]