If I may, I'm going to start off this latest edition of Star Wars is Everywhere with some fun references I stumbled across last Friday. Currently making up for transgressions of my youth, I'm back in college trying to get the degree I should have obtained years ago. So in my infinite wisdom, I decided to take Accounting I as a 3 week winter course. While the class was online, I was required to go to the campus test center in order to take my exams for the course. Friday marked my last day and my last exam. Suffice to say, I wasn't in the best of moods. The week leading up to the exam consisted of my day job, school work, and very little sleep. So I go up to the college, while grumbling, around noon to take my exam. I get the test, sit down and immediately flip to the word problems which I knew would take up the majority of my allotted time. Well, what do we have here? "Vader Industries is aquiring Kenobi Productions which includes plant assets of..." And then there was, "Darkside Corporation purchased $400,000 of inventory from The Force Corporation..." Luke and Yoda were represented in other questions as well. Every word problem contained Star Wars references. I had heard of tests of this sort before, but had never stumbled across one personally. I gotta tell you. It really took the sting out of any questions that stumped me!
Forging ahead, Chris from Uncasville, CT wrote in about a recent Star Wars reference on Big Bang Theory.
"Just wanted to let you know that there was a Star Wars reference on this week's episode of The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon was talking to Howard using a walkie-talkie between cars. Sheldon refers to himself as Red Leader and is calling Howard Red 5. Funny stuff ... Love the show!"
You can catch up on this, and other recent episodes of Big Bang Theory, over at CBS.com. (Thanks Chris!)
According to an article at News.com.au, the possibility of Earth becoming a twin sun planet isn't quite so far fetched...
"IT'S the ultimate experience for Star Wars fans - staring forlornly off into the distance as twin suns sink into the horizon.
Yet it's not just a figment of George Lucas's imagination - twin suns are real. And here's the big news - they could be coming to Earth.
Yes, any day now we see a second sun light up the sky, if only for a matter of weeks.
The infamous red super-giant star in Orion?s nebula - Betelgeuse - is predicted to go gangbusters and the impending super-nova may reach Earth before 2012, and when it does, all of our wildest Star Wars dreams will come true.
The second biggest star in the universe is losing mass, a typical indication that a gravitation collapse is occurring.
When that happens, we'll get our second sun, according to Dr Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland."
Our friend Chris M. found a few Star Wars references and was nice enough to send them over in one neat package...
"A few weeks ago I wrote to tell you about some SW references in the Radio 4 UK sitcom, "Bleak Expectations". Well, I've found a few more references from other sources.
First, I found the following link, to "Han Solo's on "Firefly", on the Internet Movie Database (although I'm probably the last to do so):
Second, the current issue of "AAT Technician" (the magazine of the Association of Accounting Technicians) contains an article on mentoring. It begins:
"Barack Obama, Richard Madeley and Luke Skywalker may not have that much in common, but all have put their success down to the same thing - a brilliant mentor."
Richard Madeley eventually married his mentor, Judy Finnigan - the two are a well-known media couple in the UK - and the article says, "And though Skywalker's apprenticeship with Yoda on the planet Dagobah did not lead to wedding bells, it did at least spell the end of the Empire."
Finally, Yoda is a father! This particular Yoda is a giraffe at Paignton Zoo in the English county of Devon. His mate, Sangha, recently gave birth. You can see the full story at:
The Washington Post highlights a recent Star Wars program aimed towards younglings and recently held by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. (Thanks Som!)
The Jakarta Globe presents an article on the Indonesian fan organization known as Order 66 ? SITH (Star Wars Indonesian Troopers Homebase).
Continuing with another fan spotlight, the BBC gets to know John Page, from north-east England, and his Star Wars prop collection.
The Endor Holocaust Theory is brought to life through a fun video, created by BenHallert, that you can check out over at Wired.com.
And catching up with a few links to the always entertaining Official Starwars.com Blog that we may not have covered...