37 years ago tonight came "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

It was on November 10th, 1975 that the Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest ship on the Great Lakes, sank into the depths of Superior. She carried twenty-nine men down with her.

The following year, Gordon Lightfoot recorded what is almost certainly his best-known song. It's also one of my personal favorites, and when I found this on YouTube I had to post it here too.

Accompanied by video and photos from her construction on through her tragic end and beyond, here is "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"...

You can read more about the Edmund Fitzgerald at its Wikipedia entry.

And some years ago, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the disater, I wrote a retrospective about the ship and its good crew.

Read More

And on the day after...

...we still woke up. The sun rose again. There was a new morning. Life did go on.

In fact, it couldn't sincerely be said that much of anything changed at all.

This country, this world even, is not made by the grace of a single man or woman. An individual can render it grievous harm however.

But in the end, America - and every other country for that matter - is the result of the diligence of her entire people. And I tend to believe she is only as good as the lengths her people will go to admit that they are not wise enough to govern this land with mere human reasoning.

Acknowledging that much is the beginning of the enlightenment that the Founders prayed we might have. We've lost sight of that, and that has to be said regardless of what "party" we might belong to.

I'm going to have more to say about this election in the coming days. Including some things that may not be very popular, but I think they need to be said anyway.

In the meantime, congratulations to everyone who won his or her respective election.

---

I wrote that four years ago, on the morning after the last presidential election. Thought it was worth sharing again this morning.

Read More

Somebody voted for me for President!

Hey, I got a write-in vote from Florida for the office of President of the United States!

Not a joke: that is a real ballot a friend turned in this afternoon. I doubt I'll win but hey, at least someone thinks I'm more qualified for the job than Roseanne Barr. That's... something, I suppose!

As for my own vote for President:

There it is. That's it. The space on my ballot for President was left unmarked. Untouched. Unsoiled. As virgin as the wind-driven snow.

I had thought of writing in "Rufus T. Firefly". Until a wise friend convinced me today that a write-in vote for a fictitious character or anything like that would have been just as waste of a vote as those who blindly vote straight-ticket. That a much more morally powerful vote would be to choose not to participate in that particular madness at all.

Wanna know what most led me to not vote for anyone at all?

I believe in the sanctity and preciousness of human life. I believe that nothing has done more irreparable damage to our value of the soul than abortion. It is as Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion... And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?" and "Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants."

I cannot vote for Barack Obama because of his steadfast belief that innocent human life can be destroyed out of "choice".

Nor could I vote for Mitt Romney because he has gone on record many, MANY times as likewise believing that abortion should be upheld and even protected. Enough times in fact that I can not and do not trust his very convenient "conversion" on the issue prior to running for President. "Pro-life" George W. Bush had a "pro-life" Congress to work with... and they did NOTHING about abortion but token gestures!

I brook no doubt that Romney will/would be doing just as much.

And I am not entirely comfortable with Gary Johnson's position on the matter either.

So this afternoon, since were no candidates who I could feel confident enough about trusting my vote with, voted for no one for President.

My hands are clean and tonight my conscience is absolutely clear.

It can not be said that I "wasted" my vote.

And neither can it be said that I lent my consent toward this country's being apparently hellbent toward colossal ruin.

But I'm still honored that in the state of Florida, however miniscule it might be, that someone was willing to put their faith in me as President :-)

Read More

This week's THE WALKING DEAD was the darkest yet

And that's sayin' something about this show...

Congratulations producers of The Walking Dead: you finally brought television its most gruesome and disturbing birth scene since Robin's delivery in V: The Final Battle all the way back in 1984:

Yeah. It was sicker than that even.

"Killer Within" raised the stakes. Dropped jaws. And most of all, broke our hearts.

Due to peculiar circumstances at the moment I'm not catching The Walking Dead until the day after it airs (well I could if I wanted to, but I'm an honorable boyfriend who can only experience this story together with his girlfriend :-) and when Facebook and Twitter went berzerk about this episode last night, well... it was a long 20 hours to wait. But that was a hella thing to be patient for. I'm gonna be numb all night after watching that.

Anyone else wanna argue that The Walking Dead is not the best show on television right now? Let's hear about something else. 'Cuz if there is, I wanna watch it too.

In the meantime, so looking forward to next week's episode! And speaking of The Walking Dead and my girlfriend: Kristen and I applied to attend this year's Butt-Numb-A-Thon film festival next month in Austin, Texas. I went to the ninth one in 2007 and we were hoping that this could be an "ultimate movie date night" for us, but we didn't get on the attendance list (with 170 being picked out of 3000+ it was gonna be tough no matter what). Anyhoo, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News and the founder/emcee of the festival gave applicants the option of making a video: their interpretation of a scene from their favorite movie. Kristen came up with a crazy awesome idea and we filmed it two weeks ago. I thought it'd be fun to share it here :-)

So here is Kristen and her spin on a well-known scene from Love Actually:

Read More

American politics: How to level the playing field

The game is rigged. We all know it.

So why do we tolerate it?

America owes the old Soviet Union an apology. At least the Soviets had one party rule and were honest about it.

Tomorrow is the national election day in the United States. But nothing will substantially change as a result of it. The two major parties, corporate interests and the mainstream media have perpetrated a massive con on the American people: making us believe that there are only two parties that count when in truth they are much the same.

I will not be voting for either one of the two major candidates for President. Neither of them has done anything to earn my trust. I will vote for another. Some may call that "throwing your vote away". I disagree.

Any vote from one's earnest conscience is a valid one. As I see it, it is the straight-ticket vote which is the real wasted vote. Anybody who blindly and without question votes straight down a party ticket is wasting their vote. Worse: they are shirking the responsibility of freedom that too many men and women fought and died so that they might have said freedom.

I won't go back to being a slave of the system. Long ago I saw it for what it really is: a machine keeping most Americans intellectually hostage, when every one of us can choose liberation over captivity.

It is not easy. But it is worth it.

The system is broken. The system has no vitality left to it. All that is left is stagnation. America is a nation of political and philosophical vacuum among its leadership. The damn system has been made to keep out people with new and refreshing thoughts and ideas.

I'm going to have to answer to my children someday about why this country is the way that it is. I'll be damned if I have to tell them that I didn't do my best to leave them a world just a little bit better than how it was when I came into it.

So what would I suggest that could reinvigorate the United States and make this a land of true freedom and place of ideas and opportunity again?

Pass a new amendment to the Constitution. It could even be considered an amendment to Amendment One. It would read thusly...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of political party.
In one fell swoop, partisan politics would be eliminated. There would be no more favoritism toward one party or toward two parties or toward any other.

Come to think of it, Amendment One might already outlaw favoritism toward political parties. I've seen plenty enough Christians who think that voting Republican is a God-ordained ordinance. The same with a lot who vote Democrat with theistic zeal. Political parties are the only religion a lot of people seem to have. But all the same, clarifying the point would not be a bad thing.

Keep in mind that this amendment does not outlaw political parties. Parties would and should exist, if people want them as a coalescence of common notion. They would be de-fanged. But as organs of nomination, they would be even welcome, because...

Candidate party affiliation will be removed from the ballot.  No more "D"s and "R"s on the ticket.  No more "I"s either, because they simply wouldn't be needed. If a candidate meets the criteria to be put on a state's ballot (which should be reasonable for all prospective candidates), then he or she is on the ballot... but as himself or herself, and not as a representative of a party. It would make straight-ticket voting impossible. It would also force a lot of people who haven't done it nearly enough to be informed and think critically before casting a ballot.

And when it comes to Presidential elections...

The Commission on Presidential Debates will no longer be the sponsor of Presidential debates.  The debates used to be the province of the League of Women Voters. Then the Democrats and Republicans colluded in 1988 to create the Commission on Presidential Debates. It was the proverbial wolves guarding the henhouse. The commission is controlled solely by Democrats and Republicans as a "bipartisan" organization, with funding (most of it secret) from a number of major corporations. Of course these are the only Presidential debates that the major news media choose to cover.

So, disband the commission. And let every candidate who has been qualified to appear on the ballot in each of the fifty states take part. That means that candidates nominated from the Libertarian, the Constitution and other significant parties would be welcomed on the same stage as the Democrats and Republicans... while the truly radical parties with agendas running counter to democracy and capitalism (such as the Communist Party USA) would in all likelihood never appear. I mean, they could theoretically with enough support... but it is not a fair and honest battleground of ideas when only two parties collude to lock out all legitimate competition.

Don't think that will work? Believe that more than two parties would only bring on confusion and discord?

Abraham Lincoln was one of four candidates who were listed on the ballot in the 1860 election. Lincoln only received just shy of 40% of the vote.

Do I believe that this is a country with thoughtful leadership that would seek to implement such measures?

I believe that it could be.

But I am realist enough to know that it is next to impossible. Corruption looks after itself, after all.

But as for myself, I can still choose to think for myself. To follow my own conscience. And if I am so led, to cast a vote against the demands of those around me.

I can't put it any better than how Captain America did when he spoke to Spider-Man during Marvel's Civil War arc...

Click to enlarge

Here I am.

"No. You move."

Read More

1956 TV appearance by Samuel Seymour

Good friend "lowbridge" informed me about this a few years ago, so I've got to credit him with the find. It's a story that's gained renewed interest because of a certain upcoming movie.

So who was Samuel Seymour? He was the last surviving witness of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

And Mr. Seymour lived long enough to talk about it on national television (sharing a stage with Lucille Ball, among others).

From February 9 1956, here is Samuel Seymour's appearance on I've Got a Secret:

Pause for a moment, and consider: Samuel Seymour was five years old when he heard the gunshot in Ford's Theater and saw John Wilkes Booth jump down to the stage after shooting Lincoln in the back of the head. Seymour was 96 when he passed away two months after being on I've Got a Secret.

No doubt there are many still living today who watched Samuel Seymour tell his story on television.

A century and a half seems such a long time... until we consider how few lifetimes fit within it.

There are photographs existing today of veterans of the Revolutionary War, posing in their uniforms. Photography was invented in 1826: the same year that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams passed away. It was within the realm of possibility (though it never happened) that we could have had real pictures of either or both men before they died.

A relative of mine passed away ten years ago this month. He witnessed the Hindenburg explode. I got to hear him tell me about it from his own lips.

On the scale of history a hundred years is nothing. A thousand years is nothing. Between now and the time of Christ, there have been a mere twenty lifetimes.

Think about that. I certainly do.

Read More

Bold prophecy about Election Day

You know what's going to happen to America after Tuesday?

Nothing. Not a damned frazzling thing.

We will still be taxed too much.

Abortion will still go on.

TSA will still be molesting children and elderly people.

We will continue to be over-extended militarily.

Companies will keep relocating their production overseas.

Children in our schools will continue to be taught to obey and not question instead of encouraged to think for themselves.

Government power over us will continue to increase instead of diminishing.

Our economy won't stop being based around fiat currency.

The Constitution will continue to be ignored by lawmakers and the judiciary and the White House.

NOTHING will change after Tuesday... except perhaps a different set of faces upon which we'll blame for the folly that we ourselves allowed to happen. Because we didn't want to buck the status quo.

Some call that "being comfortable". I call that "being enslaved".

All we'll be doing on Tuesday so far as higher offices go is choosing a new overseer for the plantation. The funny thing is: we can choose to walk off of it any damned time we want.

So why aren't we?

Read More

The Top Ten Greatest Fictional Statesmen

We deserve better.  We should have demanded better.  We should have had higher expectations from those who asked to be entrusted with crafting laws, with the public treasury, with judicial integrity, with command of the military.

Let's stop the bullcrap and be honest.  I mean, SERIOUSLY honest.  With an election looming in the next few days here in the United States, we have been incrementally conned and conditioned to have practically nobody to cast a vote for other than smooth-talkers and snake-oil salesmen.  Incumbents and challengers ready willing and able to sell their soul for a little scrap of power... and fools that we are, we seem only too willing to give it to them.  Sometimes I wonder if most of us like being treated with such contempt by those who allege to serve we the people.

In short: we have a surplus of politicians and too damned few statesmen.

What is a statesman?  Someone, man or woman, who puts the good of those they serve above his or her own desires and ambitions.  True statesmen are not politicians.  Politicians care only for the trappings of office and don't care how they get it.

For the past several years I have had a rule by which I abide when it comes to casting a ballot.  It is very simple: if a candidate's campaign creates or sanctions even one negative ad aimed at an opponent, I do not vote for that candidate.  To me it indicates that the candidate is a politician, not a statesman.  Statesmen will hold up under scrutiny per their own virtues.  They don't want or even need to attack the virtues of others, even if said virtues are lacking.

Right now, my ballot for next week has some pretty wide open spaces.

How has it come to this?  Could it be that... we as citizens have forgotten what a statesman is supposed to be?  That we can no longer recognize the qualities that make them leaders and not mere "politicians"?

Maybe.  In fact, I would dare say, unfortunately... yes, we have.

So if sincere and selfless and capable leadership cannot be found in our real world, perhaps a look toward movies, books and television is in order.  Assembled here are the top ten men, women, and other beings from fiction who best exemplify the various aspects of statesmanship, along with the qualities for which they are best known.

Who are they?  Find out after the jump!

Read More

Shumate revs up the spiritual engine with CARS AND CHRISTIANITY

Awright, disclaimer time ('cuz I believe in that sort of thing): I've known Stephen Shumate for most of my life, though it's been the better part of twenty years since we've corresponded at all. But as is such these days we wound up hooking up again through Facebook. I've always thought Stephen as being one of the wisest and coolest people I've ever met (not to mention adventurous: he used to do crazy dangerous whitewater kayaking and probably still does).

When it caught my eye that Stephen had written a book, well... that certainly piqued my attention. Especially when the title of it is Cars and Christianity.

When I saw that title I was honestly expecting something very different. Like, maybe a book about the physical nuts 'n bolts of automobiles as much as contemplation upon spiritual life. Technical geek though I be, the inner workings of cars and trucks continue to mystify me (though that hasn't stopped me from getting three speeding tickets so far this year, but I digress...) and I was anticipating that Cars and Christianity would provide multi-disciplinary education across two disparate fields of interest. Alas! It did not.

But Cars and Christianity is, however, a very thoughtful lil' tome of reflections upon the grace of God and the seeking after Him for guidance and wisdom. One that will be readily accessible and enjoyable to anyone.

Cars and Christianity presents the walk with Christ as an auto restoration project (much like the one Shumate undertook with his '73 Corvette shown on the cover). The life of the believer is one that begins as a banged-up embarrassment of rusted chrome and Bondo-filled panels: one that MAACO wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Yet the Master Mechanic that is Christ is more than sufficient to repair "every single dent and scratch", as Shumate puts it. So it is that in the beginning, the Christian's car is made better than sparkling new.

And yet, as Shumate notes, far too many Christians are content to leave their cars sitting in the garage: accumulating dust and quietly rotting under the hood. And that's not what our spiritual vehicles are intended to be! Our cars are supposed to be driven hard and fast on God's highway, trusting Him to guide us even amidst smoke, snow and any other adverse condition. No life should be left idly in park. Indeed, that isn't much of life at all. But to hit the road as a believer in Christ is to have a more action-packed adventure than possibly anything depicted in Easy Rider or Thelma and Louise. All we have to do is be willing to put the key into the ignition.

Wonderfully laden with insight and humor, Cars and Christianity invokes everything from NASCAR racing to the quirks of GPS. My only complaint about it is that I was left wanting more. But as a first-time book, it is a terrific work of analogies and applications for long-time Christians and new believers alike. I certainly came away from reading it feeling that it was time well spent... and time leading to deeper reflection upon my own faith.

Cars and Christianity is available as softcover printed book and one of those new-fangled Kindle readers (and it can also be used on an iPad with the free Kindle app). BUT READERS OF THIS BLOG are getting the book for just $5.00! Simply head on over to this page that Stephen has set up for you nice folks and enter B7NY3ZL8 as the discount code. So you're getting a fun and edifying book, putting money into Stephen's pocket AND saving some coin for yourself all at the same time! Is that a great deal or what?!

Anyhoo however you get it, Cars and Christianity gets this blogger's seal of approval. And I hope that this is only the first of many, many books still to come from Stephen Shumate :-)

Read More

Penka Kouneva's A WARRIOR'S ODYSSEY: a journey across emotion under fire

In the almost nine years of writing on this blog and not a few write-ups about music, I can't recall doing any review of an original orchestral composition. Mostly it has been soundtracks and albums by "Weird Al" Yankovic.

So it is that when a copy of A Warrior's Odyssey - the new album from film composer Penka Kouneva - arrived for review, I made the approach with more than a little trepidation. Composing a review for a movie score or studio album is one thing. Writing it for a more classical work is a whole new thing for me (and my iPod is loaded with everything from Wagner to The Three Tenors in Concert 1994, believe it or not.)

And now, after listening to A Warrior's Odyssey a bunch of times... I can't honestly claim that I have skill enough to write about how magnificent an album this is!

Kouneva is no stranger to dramatic composition. She has previously collaborated with other artists, including Steve Jablonsky on the soundtracks for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Gears of War 3, as well as contributing to The Matrix Revolutions and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. With A Warrior's Odyssey however, Kouneva is relying on the music itself to convey a sense of experience of - and very personal evolution ensuing from - the brutal realm of modern battle. There are no visuals playing on the screen or in your head to juxtapose this album with.

And it doesn't need them, either. A Warrior's Odyssey is a flowing work of eighteen tracks making up a triptych of movements. They beautifully convey drama in all its buildup and resolution, without a typically requisite plot to steer it with. But Kouneva arouses emotion with such skill and thoughtfulness with A Warrior's Odyssey that it stands beautifully as a work unto itself, without needing a commercial story behind it.

And really, music like this can evoke thoughts and images better than any soundtrack could. "Waiting for Dawn to Break" brings to mind the fleeting night and anticipation of the combat to come. The next several tracks take us quickly into the fray of battle, interspersed with moments of personal conflict, with Track 4 - also titled "A Warrior's Odyssey" - the masterpiece of the tapestry's first part.

It's onward from "Forgotten Steeples", the eighth track, that A Warrior's Odyssey really takes off from a glorious opening round. These are the moments of introspection: all-too-brief and desperately grasped moments of reflection, doubt, wonder.

The individual focus is washed away again in the deluge of war with the album's third section. And here is where Kouneva flexes all her considerable talent, masterfully interweaving the album's previous forays into both personal emotion and the brutality of battle. I found my three favorite tracks from this part to be "Fading Fortitude/The Battle Must Go On" and "Pilot Bombardier and Dogfights" (each of which has been nominated for industry awards) and "Airplane Bound for the Skies": the album's grand finale.

Penka Kouneva has enjoyed an already stellar career in Hollywood, but I have a strong feeling that A Warrior's Odyssey will prove to be her real breakout album. One that will put her in high demand as both a commercial composer and originator of the highest caliber of classical style. So it is that A Warrior's Odyssey gets this blogger's highest recommendation for your music library! Click here to find it at Amazon.com. Or head on over to iTunes and purchase it there if you can't wait for a nice shiny disc. However it is that you buy it, you won't regret that you did!

Read More

Congratulations Jerel and Grace!

Awright, so it comes almost three weeks too late. I've had a lot going on here and it just kinda slipped my mind.

But a wedding is always a good thing to celebrate!

So to great friends Jerel and Grace: congratulations on your nuptials! You guys had a beautiful ceremony and I am thankful to have been there to see the two of you off on your adventure through life together.

Read More

Today's ultra-scary BLONDIE comic strip

Out of the mouths of babes...

Click to enlarge

Read More

Too dangerous to make a video out of it...

My Facebook status at 9:03 p.m. EST this evening:

ITS FINALLY SINKING IN THAT WE ARE GETTING NEW STAR WARS MOVIES!!! A WHOLE NEW STAR WARS TRILOGY OF 7 8 AND 9 AND MORE NEW MOVIES AFTER THAT!!! MORE STAR WARS IS COMING PEOPLE!!! I DON'T GIVE A FLYING RAT'S ASS WHO WINS THAT DAMN ELECTION NEXT WEEK!!! WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THAT F-CKING ELECTION??!!?? THE UNITED STATES POLITICAL SYSTEM CAN GO TO SH-T NEXT WEEK AND I DON'T GIVE A DAMN BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING NEW STAR WARS MOVIES!!!!! STAR WARS BAY-BEEE!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

STAR WARS!! STAR WARS!! STAR WARS!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS, I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!!!! STAR WARS FOREVER BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few years from now, Lord willing, Kristen and I will get to take our first child to see a new Star Wars movie. I will get to see all of our children see new Star Wars movies. If God is kind enough, I will get to see my grandchildren seeing new Star Wars movies.

And I will be right there with them, enjoying every moment of it.

What a time to be alive :-)

Read More

Star Wars fans building a full-sized Millennium Falcon

Because there simply is no such thing as too much Star Wars...

A dude named Chris Lee has assembled a crack team of volunteers to bring their collective hydrospanners together to build... a full-sized model of the Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars movies.

From FullScaleFalcon.com, the official site of The Full Scale Millennium Falcon Project: "This is a quest to build the ultimate Star Wars prop: a 1:1 scale ESB/ANH hybrid Millennium Falcon with complete, correctly scaled interior. Yes, I have completely lost my mind, just like most of my friends and family say. Except for my close Star Wars fan friends, who say 'cool, can I help?'."

Yes, the interior as well! Does that mean they've figured out what a "fresher" is supposed to look like?! We've already gotten to see the bathrooms in the Star Trek and Babylon 5 franchises: surely they have water closets in a galaxy far, far away too.

Click on the link above for much more about this grand endeavor... which apparently, judging by the photos on the site, is already very well along!

Read More

Dear Disney:

Please hire this guy...

Read More

No Jedi mind trick: Disney buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion, STAR WARS EPISODE VII coming in 2015!

Call it "Walt Disney Galaxy".

What's not widely known among even die-hard fans of the saga is that around 1990, Michael Eisner was seriously putting a bug into George Lucas’ ear about Disney being the distributor of any future Star Wars movies.  Especially the prequels.  Which would have been an absolute perfect storm of FUBAR.  But then, that was when Eisner was running Disney...

Today?  I'm thinking... this might be the best thing that has happened to Star Wars in a long, long time.

The news busting the Intertubes wide open this afternoon is that Disney is purchasing Lucasfilm!  The deal is for $4 billion.

But that's NOT all.  Because along with the acqusition... 2015 will see the release of Star Wars Episode VII!

Feel free to pick your jaw from the floor after reading that.  When I was sent the news of it a short while ago, my immediate reaction was "Is this a joke?!?"

It's not.  A new Star Wars trilogy is seriously going to happen.  There really will be the nine movies that we were told for more than two decades would be made.  One new Star Wars movie a year beginning in 2015... and quite possibly many more to come down the line as well.

Look!  Official Press Release!

Burbank, CA and San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2012 – Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.

"Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney's unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value."

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and "evergreen" Star Wars franchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney's global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm's legendary Star Wars franchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term. Star Wars resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks. Star Wars feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars one of the world's top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney's strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney's very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company's unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney's portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company's ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world's highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm.

Personally, I believe this to be a very wise and commendable decision by George Lucas.  It means that the universe he created will not be forever restricted to the six movies he produced, but will instead be nurtured and tended to and allowed to flourish for generations to come.  Sometimes, it takes a fresh approach to keep things going.  J.J. Abrams did that beautifully with 2009's Star Trek, and that certainly was faithful to the spirit and meaning of the original franchise.  I think the same potential is there for Star Wars as well.

There will be a new Star Wars trilogy.

Now, that's something I sure as heck never thought for a moment I would ever be writing on this blog! :-)

UPDATE 6:21 p.m. EST: It is HIGHLY suggested that y'all read Steve Sansweet's blog post about the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm. In it he reveals a bunch of intriguing stuff about what's been going on behind the scenes of Star Wars for these past several years: including how George Lucas has been quietly developing a third trilogy - set after Return of the Jedi - all along!

Looks like I'll be wearing my Jedi Knight costume for many, many more years to come. Incidentally, I discovered this past weekend that it's excellent for ballroom dancing in :-)

UPDATE 6:32 p.m. EST: A whole heap more was discussed during the Disney investors' conference call this afternoon. Among other things: an "extensive and detailed" treatment for the 7-9 trilogy was purchased and Disney is feeling "very good" about it. Indiana Jones is also part of the deal. George Lucas will serve as creative consultant for the new Star Wars movies. And there exists a great possibility that the Star Wars movies will eventually encompass the entire 20,000-years of the saga's mythology.

Dare we dream of a trilogy set during the Old Republic era?!?

"Hello, Mr. Iger? Where do I audition for the part of Darth Malgus?" :-P

Read More

Dear friends in the Northeast...

Good night, and good luck.

October 29 2012: Hurricane Sandy floods the site of the World Trade Center in New York City

Read More