Out of the (Last Jedi) Closet

I need to admit something to y'all. Something that's truly a part of me, but which some may not be able to accept. But I have to do it anyway, especially since today is Star Wars Day.
I loved The Last Jedi.
I realise this is a shameful thing to say about a movie that made $1.3 billion globally, but I've decided to be brave. Maybe I can set an example for other outsiders just like me. 

Since it’s a legislative requirement or something, I of course need to start by saying that I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was a kid – which is actually true, though.  I was 4 when my Dad took me see Star Wars … I mean … "A New Hope" (my 3-year old brother couldn’t come because my parents thought he’d be scared of Chewbacca). By the time I was around 10 or 11 I’d seen it about 20 times. I was a nut. After Return of the Jedi came out, my friends and I bought the soundtrack album and worked out the lyrics to "Lapti-nek".  

Since then, I’ve seen all of them at the cinema. Hell, I even saw Caravan of Courage at the Waverley Gardens cinema!
So I love Star Wars. I love the fact there are new Star Wars movies. I recall even being OK with Phantom Menace when it first came out, simply because it was NEW Star Wars (I am not prepared to write an apology blog about that, just yet...)

Oddly enough, though, I didn't 'love' The Force Awakens. It was OK, and again, I was glad there was a new Star Wars movie. But it wasn't really new enough to get too excited about (even though I liked the new characters and, of course, the fact that Han and Chewie were back). And I really didn't like the fact that, despite the ending of Return of Jedi, it looked like the Rebellion ... I mean ... "the Resistance" ... was again on the defensive, fighting a guerrilla war against the Empire again again. 
I mean, against the "First Order".
More like: The "Worst Order", AMIRITE?!?! 
* Hand left hanging in mid-air, slowly lowers arm...*
This guy was really annoyed about the same-osity of it, and I thought this meme kinda nailed it:

My 11-year old (at the time) son was also quite annoyed about it, and I had to explain to him that The Force Awakens was probably just as much of a reboot as a sequel, and so was deliberately hitting a lot of the same plot and character beats as the original Star Wars, but for a new generation. I also told him to wait and see what Episode 8 was like – if it just repeated Empire, then we could have serious problems, but hopefully it would go in its own direction.

And that it did!
The Last Jedi is the first truly new Star Wars movie we've had since Revenge of the Sith. Even Rogue One (which I also loved) dealt with issues, and even featured characters, that we'd seen before (e.g., Tarkin, Leia, Vader, Death Star ... err ... spoiler alert ...).
But Last Jedi took us somewhere new. Sure, it also touched on some themes from Empire, such as a Jedi Master training a new student, but it had some genuine surprises, too. Kevin Smith on his Fatman on Batman review called some of them "F*ck you, JJ" moments (i.e., where Rian Johnson appeared to zig where everyone expected him to zag, post-Force Awakens)!
And so I thought it was REALLY great. A really nice surprise.
And I was then surprised even further when I found out that a lot of people hated it! A particularly irate fan even started a petition asking Disney to remove it from canon (although, admittedly, he now regrets it)! 
Others claimed to be vindicated in their complaints by the Box Office drop from Force Awakens to Last Jedi, although Scott Mendelson at Forbes confirmed that the drop in ticket sales is actually in line with the drops with all previous second Star Wars instalments (and considering Force Awakens went so high, in a way it's a miracle that The Last Jedi didn't fall more).
Apparently, it was the Nerdist who summed these reactions up thusly:

"To help JJ plan the next film here's the perfect formula: 
Make it the same as the original trilogy, but also make it different. But don't change anything. Make sure to include surprises, but not surprises we don't want. In fact avoid surprises.
But don't rehash anything. Also don't try something new, because we won't like it.
Make sure to do justice to the cast, but we won't say how. Just make sure to get it right.
I want it to be exactly the way I want it. Just a bit different. And also the same.
Make sure we know the back story to all the characters even the incidental ones (because we are all speculating and you better be reading my mind) but leave it mysterious at the same time.
No CGI! Keep it practical. But make sure to expand the universe like the prequels did, you know, using CGI. 
Also don't do anything the prequels did. Or Force Awakens. Or the original trilogy. But make it like those films too. 
Give it some humour too. But don't make it too funny. Show us some new force powers! But not ones we havent seen before because new powers are ridiculous. 
Dont kill anyone! It betrays my childhood. But also make it unpredictable by killing off a few characters."

Den of Geek also had a good, less tongue-in-cheek synopsis of the main complaints, along with very good rebuttals for all of them. 
Without getting too spoiler-y, I'm also fine with such things as the Snoke development, Leia's under-pressure use of the Force, the whole Luke arc, the Rey's parents-reveal, the innovative use of a hyperdrive, Porgs...all of it!

So I'd like to finish on that positive note. The State of the Star Wars is Strong. All o' you nerds should chill out (that's right - I'm taking on the Hard Targets: NERDS!) 
The fact we've got new Star Wars is amazing - be happy like an uncooked Porg! 
And may the 4th be with you!

Equality for all! Not just the married!

So, it looks like this ill-conceived, expensive, non-binding, divisive, responsibility-dodging survey is going ahead.
When it was announced, rilestar made his feelings known:

So @TurnbullMalcolm & @LiberalAus you gutless wonders - I assume we'll get a plebiscite every time you want to raise taxes or cut services? https://t.co/ZZRT0fKZp7

— Riley J (@rilestar) August 8, 2017

Prognosis? Unlikely.
But ignoring the ridiculous waste and the fact these politicians can't just do their jobs and represent the people and vote in Parliament rather than making us do it for them and despite how terrible this decision is generally for the fabric of Australian society (*takes a breath*), it's good to see some surprising people coming out (no pun intended) in favour of the sensible, non-terrible option (that's Voting 'Yes', in case it wasn't clear).
Case in point, Amanda Vanstone of all people (and the whole article's good - you should read it!):

"Heterosexuals have been rushing out of marriage for decades. If gay people want to rush in I'm delighted. Let's not listen any more to that rubbish about marriage being between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others, for life. Our own laws support the "for life" rule going down the gurgler. Now it just means until such time as you think you might be happier in another marriage. "To the exclusion of all others" is less and less a likely outcome. The only one left is "between a man and a woman"."

And, even better, she succinctly states that this vote is about "whether we believe that we have the right to dictate how others live their lives." Clearly, we shouldn't.
"It's not about what you want for yourself. It's about letting other people have proper recognition of their relationships."

That's right - unless you're a gay person who wants to get married...this doesn't affect you. It's not about you. This will not force you to get gay-married. Just let them be happy! 

Of course, the churches - especially Catholics* - are doing their usual bit of ignoring the logs in their own eyes while staring uncomfortably long at people in their bedrooms (and making it like THEY are the real victims here). This guy in particular is probably just annoyed that priests can't marry their altar boys and says "It is true..." and "There is no doubt..." a lot, but, as we all know, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes"**. 

 

Also, here's a truth: There is no doubt you are a hateful monster, and the opposite of what Jesus preached.
Incidentally, the winning response to him was this, by good ol' Bazza:

Bazza Aug 18 2017 at 10:29am Yes we should listen to Catholics in this debate. They are the ones who believe that eating magic bread transforms into the flesh of a 2,000 year old dead guy so they can be forgiven for a sin they were born with because a magic rib woman was talked into eating forbidden fruit by a talking snake. They can take the moral high ground.

Plus this idiot, who says she's not against gay people, but she'll go to the effort of voluntarily voting 'No', just ... because?: "As a 30-year-old woman, everyone expects me to vote 'yes'. But I won't be"
Annie's response was perfect:

AnnieAug 23 2017 at 4:31pm
As an elderly, Catholic, long-married, rural woman, everyone expects me to vote "No" but I'll be voting "Yes". Why? It's not about me. It's about giving the same rights I enjoy to others. Yes, I believe marriage is the bedrock of our society and I believe we will be so much richer when it is open to those who have waited so long. Good, loving, committed marriages can only be beneficial to our country. Yes!

Annie reminds us that some Catholics are actually practising what they preach, and actually doing what Jesus (and the current Pope) would do. In fact, both St Ignatius' College in Sydney and Xavier College in Melbourne have "cautiously endorsed same-sex marriage in messages to parents, staff and students, directly rebuking recent statements from church leaders".
Of course, they're Jesuits, who are notoriously reasonable. Reason has no place here!
Anyhoo, just do the right thing in the upcoming 'plebiscite', and vote 'Yes'. It's easy, and everything's going to be fine. Oh yeah, and people are dying, including kids. Be a hero and help save their lives.
Encourage everyone you know to do so, too.

Show the world that Australia really is the land of the Fair Go. Be relaxed and laid-back. Or are you un-Australian? Maybe we should have another $122 million survey, sort that out...
* Disclaimer: I'm married and a Catholic. Well, I was raised a Catholic, now I'm a Pastafarian Jedi. But I am 100% convinced that (a) my marriage can cope with other people getting married, and (b) Christians will still keep doing whatever they want to do, just as they have since the time of Nero...
** Ironically, Obi-Wan, that is an absolute. Try "Only Sith ... and maybe some other dudes ... deal in absolutes, probably, bruh!"

Better than The Phantom Menace

I don't know if it's because I watched this at least 10 times in a row with my kids on the weekend, or if I'm just playing too much of The Force Unleashed, but this is frickin' golden:

Apparently it's now been played during an event known as the "SuperBowl"*, but I credit @DamonLindelof with giving us the heads-up last week. Thanks, DL**!
* Of course, I know what the SuperBowl is, even if I don't understand it. Is "Third and Down" a thing?
** Based purely on initials, Damon Lindelof is clearly the Bizarro Larry David.

Because I said so

No rants today, just some stuff I like (I'm getting soft - I actually like stuff!)
First - great song, with Bears:

Seeing these guys on July 27th at the Hi-Fi Bar. Sweet.
(If you're interested, there's a good explanation for the meaning behind the lyrics here. That rilestar guy blows my mind.)
Second, and in relation to some other stuff I posted a while ago, a classic Star Wars, SNL, O.C. mind-meld:

And that's all I've got for now. Put your feet up, relax. There's plenty of time for proper ranting later.
In the meantime, July the Second be with you (it works better on May 4th).