#the many adventures of bark vader | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tomeandflickcorner · 6 years ago

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Star Wars: Episode 5- The Empire Strikes Back

While it could be argued that A New Hope was a basic mythical style adventure set in a futuristic environment, the first sequel really seemed to up the ante quite a bit, with the stakes becoming much higher. And while that potentially icky love triangle was still more or less present, it did start to lean more strongly into one direction.

Even though it’s not directly stated in the movie, three years have passed since the Death Star was destroyed. But because Darth Vader survived to tell the rest of the Empire about its location, the Rebel Base on Yaven 4 had to be abandoned. As the text crawl informs us, the Empire have been chasing down the Rebels across the galaxy ever since then, forcing our heroes to constantly be on the move.

At the start of this movie, the Rebel Base is currently located on Hoth, a planet that’s constantly covered with ice and snow. I do wonder how Luke managed to settle into such a cold environment, as he’d spent his entire life on a desert planet. But while it’s never established how long they’ve been stationed on Hoth, I guess he might have had time to adjust to the drastically different climate.

Anyway, the movie opens with Han and Luke, who are surveying the area surrounding the Hoth base, searching for any signs of life only to find nothing. After setting up a few scanners to continue searching for any lifeforms, Han heads back to the base. But Luke opts to take the scenic route back, as he’d witnessed what he believes to be a meteorite hitting the ground a short distance away. Unbeknownst to him, the ‘meteorite’ is actually one of the Probe Droids that Darth Vader has been sending out to locate the Rebels, on account of the fact that he’s now searching for Luke. There’s something I have to say about that, but I’ll hold off on that for now.

Before Luke can actually go investigate the site where the Probe Droid landed, the Tauntaun (a bipedal lizard-goat creature) he was riding starts to freak out. Seconds later, Luke is attacked by a giant yeti-like creature called a Wampa, resulting in Luke getting knocked out. I wonder why Luke’s Tauntaun didn’t smell the Wampa until he was right on top of them. Also, wasn’t it just mentioned that Luke and Han were specifically looking for any signs of life? So why didn’t their sensors detect the Wampa’s approach? Were they just looking for signs of human life? I guess that would make sense, as the Rebels already knew there was some form of life on Hoth. After all, they had managed to domesticate a team of Tauntauns, which were native to the icy planet.

Back at the Rebel Base, we see Chewbacca in the middle of performing repairs to the Millennium Falcon, which was apparently damaged in a previous battle that occurred off-camera. When Han returns from his scouting mission, he promises to give Chewbacca a hand in a moment. But first, he approaches General Rieekan to give his report on how he didn’t pick up any life signs during his scouting mission. Han then announces that he’s planning on leaving Hoth and can no longer stay and assist the Rebel Alliance, on account of the fact that Jabba the Hutt is now out for his blood. It turns out that Han never used the money he’d gotten for helping to rescue Leia in A New Hope to pay back his debt to Jabba. So he’s going to have to get that taken care of ASAP or Jabba will start sending bounty hunters after him. Apparently, Han’s already had a run-in with one such bounty hunter on a planet called Ord Mantell, during an adventure that I think was explored in one of the Star Wars novels I never read, and he doesn’t want to push his luck any further. General Rieekan expresses his sorrow to see Han leave, but wishes him the best.

However, Leia, who had been within earshot of this conversation, doesn’t take the news as well. Instead, she all but runs after him, trying to convince him to stay, stating that the Rebel Alliance needs him, as he’s proven himself to be a true asset. But Han isn’t swayed and starts to challenge Leia, telling her to just come out and admit the real reason why she wants him to stay.

Yeah, this movie really puts the petal to the metal in regards to a potential romance between Han and Leia. Han is convinced that Leia had developed genuine feelings for him during the past three years, but it constantly discouraged that she won’t allow herself to admit it, even to herself. While I suppose it could be argued that Han is coming on too strongly, I have to disagree. But to explain why, I’m going to go off on a brief tangent, so you’ll have to forgive me for that.

The way I see it, the whole relationship between Han and Leia has what Anakin/Padmé lacked. Yes, there’s a bigger age gap between Han and Leia then the one that existed between Anakin and Padmé, but my main issue with Anakin/Padmé had nothing to do with their ages. (Not really.) With Han and Leia, they’ve pretty much spent the past three years getting to know one another. It wasn’t as if their interactions in this move were the first time they’d seen each other since the end of A New Hope. No, they’ve had three years of shared adventures and experiences under their belts. In addition, while I never got what Padmé ever saw in Anakin, I can see exactly what would draw Leia and Han to one other. With Han, he was a complete loner when we first met him. He was completely used to calling all the shots and felt he could only count on himself (and maybe his best friend, Chewbacca.) All of a sudden, here’s this young woman who might look fragile and delicate, but has both bark and bite. Someone who can clearly hold her own in a fight, and most importantly, isn’t afraid to challenge him and put him in his place. Chances are, Leia seriously impressed Han without even trying. As for Leia, think about what her life might have been like before meeting Han. To everyone around her, she was the daughter of a respected senator and his wife. She probably spent her whole childhood having to live up to everyone’s expectations by following Bail Organa’s example. Especially in regards to their secret connection to the Rebel Alliance. Simply put, Leia most likely spent her entire childhood being molded into a great leader. And when Bail Organa died when Alderaan was destroyed, everyone must have immediately turned to her, expecting her to take over her adoptive father’s role. After all, Bail was one of the founding leaders in the Rebel Alliance. Imagine how it must have been to have so many people turning to you for guidance when you’re only 19. You can’t even take the time to properly mourn for your home planet, or the people you considered your parents. Now, all of a sudden, here comes Han. And unlike everyone else, he doesn’t humbly defer to you. He actually talks back to you and isn’t afraid to argue with you. Simply put, Han is probably the first person Leia has met who doesn’t treat her like royalty or an esteemed leader. He treats her like an actual person. I imagine that is both confusing and refreshing for her at the same time.

So that’s why I don’t think Han is out of line when he challenges Leia to just come out and admit that she has feelings for him. Because Leia is just so accustomed to putting the needs of the Rebellion before her own, she is in danger of becoming incapable of basic human emotion. Han probably knows that’s no way to live. And I have to say I agree with him. For starters, what would Leia do once the war ended if she hadn’t learned to let herself let go and focus on herself once in a while? Han probably knows that Leia would be a lot happier in the long run if she stopped making the needs of the Rebellion her only priority. (This is made even clearer in a deleted scene.) So of course he’s going to be blunt in his attempts at getting her to open up.

On a side note, I do have to chuckle a bit in regards to those random Rebels who are walking by during Han and Leia’s confrontation in the hallway. They don’t even stop and look back at these two arguing. It makes you wonder how often this sort of thing happened during the three year time jump. By this point, the other Rebels are probably just shaking their heads every time they see Han and Leia fighting. There might even be secret bets going on over how long it’s going to be before those two just get a room together.

Either way, Han and Leia’s most recent spat has to be put on hold when word gets around that Luke hadn’t returned to the Hoth Base. When he finds out about this, Han is greatly concerned for his friends, as night is approaching and nights on Hoth are dangerously cold. In order to find him, Han decides to set off on his own, despite the warnings from the other Rebels about the rapidly dropping temperatures outside. As such, he heads off on a Tauntaun to begin searching for Luke. And after an hour or two goes by with no sign of either Han or Luke returning, Leia has no choice but to give the order for the shield doors to be closed until morning. This is a rather hard-hitting scene, as we can appreciate how difficult this situation must be. Leia knows that the chances of Luke and Han surviving for the night out on the frigidly cold planet are very slim, but she knows she can’t risk a search party until morning, or put everyone in danger by leaving the doors open overnight.

Meanwhile, Luke has woken up within the Wampa’s cave, where the Wampa was busy devouring Luke’s Tauntaun. He manages to escape with the aid of the lightsaber Obi-Wan had given him in A New Hope. It had apparently fallen off his belt when the Wampa hung him up from the roof of the cave. Which was really convenient. What if it had fallen off when Luke was being dragged through the snow on the way back to the cave? Regardless, Luke manages to free himself from the ice cave, even wounding the Wampa when he attacks. (By the way, when did Luke learn that trick with summoning the lightsaber into his hand? I don’t remember Obi-Wan getting to that particular lesson before he died.) But Luke then proceeds to run out of the cave and out into the night. While this might seem like a bad idea in hindsight, I can understand it, as Luke was in a high stress situation at the moment, and he had very little time to come up with a good plan. And he probably had no idea how far he was from the Hoth Base. Nevertheless, he begins trying to make his way back to the base, but eventually, the dropping temperatures prove to be too much for him and he collapses from the cold and exhaustion.

At that moment, Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost appears before Luke. Obi-Wan instructs Luke to travel to Dagobah and seek out Yoda, who will continue Luke’s Jedi training. Okay, two things. First, Obi-Wan claims that Yoda was the one who instructed him. This is a pretty big retcon, as it completely ignores the fact that the prequels told us Obi-Wan’s master was Qui-Gon. But I guess this could refer to the fact that Yoda instructed Obi-Wan on the ways of Force Ghosts. Second, why is Obi-Wan waiting until now to send Luke to find Yoda? It’s been three years, after all. Why wait until Luke was dying of hypothermia? What if Luke hadn’t made it out of his predicament? That would put a damper on the plan to have Yoda continue Luke’s training. Then again, I guess it’s possible Obi-Wan knew that Luke would soon be saved, because Han appears on the scene seconds later. After making sure that his friend is still alive, Han, in an attempt to help warm Luke up, deposits him inside the body of the Tauntaun, who chose that moment to die from the bitter cold.

We then cut to morning, when a small Rebel shuttle is deployed to search for Han and Luke. And what’s the name of this Rebel shuttle? Rouge Two. That name is rather bittersweet when you know the story of Rouge One. Although, it does present the question of what this particular pilot did to earn the name of Rouge Two. Given what happened with Rouge One, being called Rouge Two is probably a huge honor. Either way, the Rouge Two pilot manages to find Han and Luke when Han is able to radio up to him. Not that I’m complaining, but I do wonder how Han managed to survive the night. I doubt there was enough room for him in that dead Tauntaun, too. Granted Han mentioned to the delirious Luke that he was getting a shelter put together, but what was he using to make that shelter? And how did he manage to keep himself warm through the night?

Anyway, Han and Luke are both brought back to the Rebel base, where Luke is immediately given medical attention. Under the care of the Medical Droids, he soon recovers from his hyperthermia, as well as the injuries he received from the Wampa attack. (I’ve heard people say the Wampa attack was written in to explain the facial scars Mark Hamill got from his real life car accident, but I’m not sure if this is true or not.) As Luke is recovering from his ordeal, Han, Leia, Chewbacca 3PO and R2 all come to check up on him. During this scene, Han pretty much continues the earlier ‘argument’ he got into with Leia, stating that he thinks General Rieekan’s decision that it would be dangerous for any ships to leave Hoth at the moment was just an excuse, and that Leia really just didn’t want him to leave. This assumption exasperates Leia who, in what I think was an attempt to knock Han down a few pegs, kisses Luke on the mouth. Which is REALLY gross when you know that those two are brother and sister. George Lucas did know about that plot point when he made this movie, didn’t he? Or did he just plan on Luke having a twin sister and hadn’t yet decided on having Leia be the long-lost sister? If it’s the latter, then it probably would have been smart to have included more female characters into the story. You know, so there would be other candidates who could have been the sister?

But there’s no time to really dwell on that, because the overall plot kicks in again at this point. The Imperial Probe Droid that Luke had mistook for a meteorite earlier in the film has taken notice of the Rebel base’s exterior and has begun sending a transmission back to the Empire, notifying them about it. While one of the Imperial Officers was ready to dismiss it as just being a smuggler settlement, Vader’s Force Senses enabled him to realize that it was indeed the Rebel Base they were looking for. Thankfully, the Rebel Alliance’s radio contact team managed to intercept the Probe Droid’s transmission, which puts them on high alert, especially when 3PO, who was in the room at the time, informs them that the signal they intercepted was most likely an Imperial code. Their suspicions are confirmed when Han and Chewbacca head back out to investigate and determine the existence of the Probe Droid. While the Probe Droid activates a self-destruct mechanism when he’s tipped off that the Rebels have spotted him, the Rebels realize it might be too late, and that the Droid had already informed the Empire that the Rebel Base was on Hoth. Their fears are proved to be well founded when an armada of Imperial ships appear on their radar. As such, they begin the excavation, with a fully-recovered Luke joining the team of Rebel pilots charged with fighting against the approaching AT-AT Walkers in order to give the others the chance to evacuate.

As such, we enter into the first action sequence, with the X-Wings fighting the AT-AT Walkers while the rest of the Rebels evacuate in transports, with the transports leaving two to three ships at a time. Although, as much as I love the design of the AT-AT Walkers, I do question the practicality of utilizing them in the attack on the Hoth Base. I get that the Imperial armada managed to drop them off on the planet surface so the Imperials and Stormtroopers wouldn’t have to traipse across the snowy surface of the planet, but wouldn’t ordinary tanks have been more practical? Either way, the attack on the Hoth Base begins. While Luke and the other pilots manage to take out all the AT-AT Walkers (even though Luke’s rear gunner is killed in the process), the Imperial forces still manage to infiltrate the Rebel Base, prompting Leia to order a full-scale evacuation. Even so, Han, whose departure was delayed by him and Chewbacca having a prolonged difficulty in finishing their repairs to the Millennium Falcon, has to nearly drag Leia out of the control room to get her to her transport. Because Leia had apparently refused to leave before the other Rebels had a chance to get away. However, on the way to her evacuation transport, the attack on the surface of the planet causes one of the tunnels to cave in, blocking Han and Leia’s path. As such, Han has no choice other than to get Leia off the planet on the Falcon, with 3PO tagging along. Because this movie kinda sets up the status quo that 3PO predominantly accompanies Leia while R2 is mostly seen with Luke. Kinda ironic as this is more or less the same setup that occurred with Luke and Leia’s parents. The female gets 3PO and the job as senator/political leader and the male gets R2, along with the position of skilled pilot and Jedi. (And yes, I can see how this can come off as rather sexist, but I’d rather not go into that at the moment.)

As for Luke, after he’s finished taking out the AT-AT Walkers and then gets the evacuation order, he declines from following the rest of the fleet to their designated rendezvous point. Instead, he decides to reroute his X-Wing to venture to Dagobah and locate Yoda, as Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost had decreed. And it’s at this point the movie splits off into two separate subplots. While Luke’s subplot involves his journey to Dagobah and his training under Yoda, we’re also following Han, Leia, Chewbacca and 3PO as they try to evade the Imperial fleet that end up tailing them when they attempt to escape Hoth.

Admittedly, the fact that the Imperials are so focused on the Millennium Falcon is a bit head scratching. Because the opening text crawl makes it seem as if Vader is aiming to track down Luke. So why would he go after the Millennium Falcon? I suppose it’s possible that he might think Luke was on that ship, as he probably remembered seeing it during the Battle of the Death Star and concluded that Han and Luke were friends. But wouldn’t his Force Senses have tipped him off that Luke was not on board?

Then again, it becomes clear later on that Vader hadn’t yet figured out that Luke was his long-lost son until he is personally contacted by Emperor Palpatine at a later point in the movie. But this does make it a bit more confusing. Why would Vader be apparently so interested in Luke if he hadn’t already suspected that Luke was his son? Was it just that he was intrigued by the young man on account of how he sensed Luke’s strong Force Sensitivity during the Battle of the Death Star? Also, in the scene when Emperor Palpatine is telling Vader that he suspects that Luke is Vader’s son, it’s rather weird how he and Vader are talking about how Luke is the son of Anakin Skywalker, as if Anakin and Vader weren’t the same person. Cinematically, I understand why they had to do that, as nobody was supposed to know that Vader was Anakin at this point in the movie, but once you do know about that particular twist, it just makes the dialogue really odd. Either way, Emperor Palpatine’s master plan is to capture Luke and force him into turning to the Dark Side, thereby turning Luke into a Sith Lord like him and Vader. Which is slightly odd, as it was established in Phantom Menace that there could only be two Sith Lords at any given time- a Master and an Apprentice. So, if their plan is to turn Luke into a Sith Lord, doesn’t that mean that they both know either Vader or Palpatiene will have to get killed off? I suppose it’s possible that the Emperor plans to kill off Vader in favor of Luke and that Vader thinks he can overthrow Emperor Palpatine and take over as Luke’s master, but even so.

Anyway, in the Millennium Falcon crew subplot, Han quickly discovers that the ships’ hyperdrive unit was somehow damaged as well, which prevents them from making the jump to lightspeed. (Seriously, how was the Millennium Falcon damaged? They’ve been trying to repair it throughout the entire movie so far.) So Han has to quickly scramble to repair the hyperdrive on the double so they could get away from a pair of Star Destroyers. But before he could make much progress, they find themselves in another spot of trouble. Because the Imperial ships have chased them right into the path of an asteroid field. In a desperate attempt at escaping their pursuers, Han decides to fly into the asteroid field, stating the Imperial ships would be crazy to follow them. Despite 3PO’s pessimistic outlook on their chances of successfully navigating through an asteroid field, Han manages to dodge the asteroids before deciding to land on a particularly large asteroid. (Yeah, just try to tell me that Han doesn’t have some degree of Force Sensitivity. 3PO had just stated it was almost impossible to navigate through an asteroid field. And Han managed to do so in a ship that Spaceballs not only compared to a Winnebago, but one that was apparently already heavily damaged.) The Millennium Falcon ends up taking refuge inside a rocky cavern inside the asteroid. There, they hope to evade detection from the Empire so they can finish the repairs to the ship.

It’s during this ship repair scene that 3PO is actually somewhat useful for once. Being a Droid, he can plug himself into the ship’s computer and get a full system’s diagnosis in order to determine what exactly needs to be fixed within the hyperdrive mechanism. While it’s made somewhat clear that he isn’t quite as adept in this area as R2, since Protocol Droids were not designed for this sort of thing, he still shows a willingness to do his best. And yes, there is one moment when 3PO comments on how the Millennium Falcon’s computer has a peculiar dialect. While I doubt George Lucas and his staff had thought up L3 at this point in the franchise, I still appreciate that line now, as it’s a reminder that L3 lives on in some form. Although, that does lead to the question as to whether or not the Millennium Falcon can be considered somewhat sentient.

However, because the ship is essentially dry-docked until further notice, this means Han and Leia are forced to closely interact with one another. Which, in typical romance novel fashion, leads to them sharing a rather well-timed kiss. While it isn’t outwardly stated, it does become clear that Han’s earlier assumptions that Leia had developed feelings for him wasn’t too off the mark, and that her outward hostility towards him was pretty much just the result of her trying to deny her feelings. It’s possible that her upbringing in being constantly looked to as a leader led her to believe that, if she ever did look for a romantic partner, it should be someone respectable. Almost like a modern-day prince. And Han clearly comes across as the exact opposite of a suitable match. That’s probably why she was so determined to push him away. Because she knows that’s not the sort of man she’s supposed to end up with. Nevertheless, she is still drawn to him and doesn’t pull away when he moves in to kiss her. In fact, the extended version of the scene shows she even instigates another kiss when Han pulls away. However, the moment is spoiled when 3PO barges in, completely ignorant to what he’d just walked in on. With the spell broken, Leia quickly retreats to try and deal with her conflicting feelings, as she’s now probably feeling even more torn between what she wants and what’s expected of her.

While Leia is off reflecting on things, she spots something flying past the cockpit windows. When one of the flying creatures initiates the closest thing this movie has to a jumpscare, a startled Leia hurries off to inform Han of what she saw. Instantly on the alert, Han steps outside the ship with Chewbacca and Leia accompanying him. As a result, the three of them discover the flying creatures are a group of Mynocks, which I guess are like space lampreys with wings. When a whole flock of them appear, Han starts shooting at them, but that, for some reason, causes a tremor in the cave. That’s when Han starts to figure out that things aren’t what they appear to be, and he ends up shooting at the ground to test his theory. Simply put, they didn’t land the Millennium Falcon inside a cave, but in the gullet of a space slug. (So, there are Mynocks living inside the mouth of a space slug? What kind of weird symbiotic relationship is this?)

In any event, now that Han has figured out that they’re inside the gullet of a space slug, he hurries Leia and Chewbacca back inside the ship, taking off on the double. They manage to fly out of the space slug’s moth in the nick of time. However, this once again gets them back into the situation they were before, with the Imperial fleet chasing them. And because the Millennium Falcon’s hyperdrive still isn’t working, they’re pretty much sitting ducks. Thankfully, Han once again gets a brilliant idea. His plan involves pretending to charge at the lead Star Destroyer and then land on the top of the ship. This apparently enables the Millennium Falcon to avoid being detected by the Star Destroyer’s radar, as the signal from their ship blends into the Star Destroyer. This plan ends up working like a charm, although it did result in the death of Imperial Captain Needa, whom Vader held personally responsible for losing the Millennium Falcon.

While they’re tethered to the side of the Star Destroyer, Han announces to Leia the next stage of his plan. Utilizing his knowledge of Imperial procedure, which we now know he’d gained from the time he’d spent enrolled in the Imperial academy, he plans to take advantage of the fact that Star Destroyers typically empty their garbage compartments before jumping to lightspeed. Han plans to blend in with the debris and wait until the Star Destroyers leave. After that, they’ll be free to head off without any further trouble. The only issue is that they’ll need to find a safe port to finish the repairs on the Millennium Falcon. When they start scanning the records of nearby planets, Han notices that his old acquaintance, Lando, is in the vicinity, on a planet called Bespin. The planet’s records indicate Lando now owns a tibanna gas mine there. Han decides that, even though Bespin is a bit of a distance from their current location, their best bet is to head there, because while Lando can’t exactly be trusted, he knows the man is no friend to the Empire. And so, once the Star Destroyers jump to lightspeed after jettisoning their garbage into space, just as Han predicted, the Millennium Falcon begins the journey to Bespin. Although, while I’m not sure when this addition was put in, we do see the Millennium Falcon is now being followed by the Slave I, the ship that’s owned by Boba Fett. There was an earlier scene when Vader had hired a team of bounty hunters to track down the Millennium Falcon. And Boba Fett, who had previously been hired to track down Han for Jabba, was among them.

Meanwhile, Luke and R2 have arrived on Dagobah, which is an unpopulated swamp-covered planet. Because the planet has no settlements, and is covered by a heavy blanket of clouds, Luke pretty much crashes his X-Wing in the middle of the swampy lake. He does manage to make it to shore, though. Even though R2 has a brief spot of trouble with some kind of aquatic beast. (Yes, I know the prequels were made years afterward, but seriously, did R2 completely forget that he could have simply flown to shore?) After cleaning the gunk and saliva off of R2, Luke sets up camp, where he admits to R2 that he almost thinks he recognizes his surroundings. Which I guess is meant to imply he had Force-induced premonitions of coming here.

Out of nowhere, Yoda suddenly appears before them, although the Jedi Master does not make his identity known at first. Instead, he takes on this whole act, as if he’s just some crazy old Alien living there. (It does present the question as to whether or not R2 recognized Yoda, though. His behavior during Yoda’s initial appearance in this movie suggests not, but shouldn’t R2 have at least noticed that he was at least the same species as Yoda? What are the odds that there were two individuals of that particular Alien race on the same planet?) Anyway, from what I can gather, the reason why Yoda was putting on the whole act at first was so he could test Luke, and figure out if he had the right sort of temperament to undergo Jedi Training. Unfortunately, Luke ends up failing that test by displaying he has too much impatience. In disappointment, Yoda finally drops the act and starts communicating with Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost, stating that he doesn’t believe Luke can be taught. However, Obi-Wan continues to vouch for Luke, by stating he’d been just as reckless and whatnot as Luke had been when he’d undergone his Jedi Training. Luke, upon realizing that the little Alien had been Yoda the whole time, begs for a chance, insisting that he’s not afraid. To which Yoda states ‘you will be.’

Despite Yoda’s reservations, he begins Luke’s Jedi training sessions. Which appears to involve Luke running around Dagobah’s surface with Yoda clinging to his back. Though Yoda does give him a lecture about the dangers of the Dark Side, stating that while the Dark Side is quicker and more seductive, a true Jedi must use the Force for knowledge and defense, never to attack. At some point, however they end up at this cave that apparently contains concentrated Dark Force energy. Yoda informs Luke that he must enter the cave, in order to undergo another test. Luke proceeds to do so, but he refuses to heed Yoda’s statement that he won’t need his weapons inside the cave.

Once he’s inside, Luke finds himself face to face with Darth Vader. Immediately, Luke activates his lightsaber and proceeds to battle Vader. The fight ends quickly with Luke decapitating Vader. But when part of Vader’s helmet explodes, exposing the face beneath, Luke is shocked to see his own face within the mask. Obviously, this was meant to be taken as a lesson, with Luke being shown that he could easily end up just like Vader if he’s not careful. But I do wonder if this was also meant to be a subtle bit of foreshadowing as to who Vader really was to Luke. Either way, Yoda seems to sense what happened within the cave and is visibly crestfallen. Which I guess means that Luke failed his test. It’s hard to determine what Luke was supposed to have done, though. Maybe it was the fact that his first instinct was to attack Vader upon seeing his image that made him fail the test. I did notice the Vader hallucination only activated his lightsaber after Luke did.

Nevertheless, Luke’s Jedi Training continues. This time, Yoda has moved on to the lesson of exploring the telekinetic aspect of the Force, by having Luke lift rocks with his mind. Unfortunately, the lesson is interrupted by R2, who franticly informs Luke that the X-Wing is sinking into the swamp. (Exactly how long has Luke been on Dagobah at this point? And why did the X-Wing only start to sink now?) Upon seeing his ship sinking, Luke starts to worry about how he’s supposed to get his ship out now. To this, Yoda pretty much rolls his eyes and is all ‘haven’t you been paying attention to me? I’ve literally just been instructing you how to lift things with the Force, remember?’ So Luke decides to take a stab at using the Force to lift the X-Wing out of the swamp. (With Yoda delivering his iconic line of ‘Do or do not. There is no try.’)

Unfortunately, while Luke’s attempt at pulling the X-Wing out with the Force seemed to be working, he gives up almost instantly, as he can’t get over his preconceived notion on how the X-Wing is simply too big to lift. Not even Yoda’s reminder on how powerful the Force can be gets through to him. Luke just simply refuses to even try, stating that what Yoda is asking of him is impossible. Once again, Yoda is visibly disappointed in Luke’s inability to get it. And, to drive the point home, Yoda effortlessly pulls out the now-submerged X-Wing, placing it safely on the solid ground.

Have to say, it’s almost embarrassing how much Luke is messing up in his training sessions with Yoda. While I know it was probably done this way to make Luke appear more human and we had to see him struggle a bit, it also makes it a bit problematic. Like, is this guy really the person who Obi-Wan and Yoda were investing all their faith into? Is he really their best chance at restoring peace to the galaxy? If so, that’s really worrisome. Then again, they also thought an arrogant whiny brat like Anakin was their prophesized Chosen One, so I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and 3PO eventually arrive on Bespin and make their way to Cloud City, a series of buildings suspended above the clouds by anti-gravity boosters or something. Despite a rather cold welcoming, they’re eventually allowed to land. Shortly after landing, Lando comes out to greet them personally, along with a few of his staff, including a cyborg named Lobot. At first, Lando appears to greet Han with hostility, but this is quickly shown to be an act. (I do wonder if this is the first time Lando and Han have seen each other since the events of Solo, but maybe we’ll get that answer on a later date.) Once he drops the fake hostility, Lando greets Han like an old friend, even though Han starts showing a bit of jealousy when Lando pours out the charm upon noticing Leia.

As Lando proceeds to show Han, Leia, Chewbacca and 3PO around, he goes on to explain that he obtained the gas mine in a gamble, but it’s been a relatively successful business, despite a number of problems ranging from supply issues to labor disputes. However, during the impromptu tour, 3PO breaks off from the group when he encounters another Protocol Droid and overhears an Astromech Droid within a side room. He ends up going to investigate, for reasons I can’t really understand. So there were other Droids roaming the corridors. So what? It’s not as if Droids like 3PO and R2 were rare. But the movie had to get 3PO alone somehow, I guess. Anyway, when 3PO heads off, he stumbles into a place he wasn’t supposed to be in, resulting in an unseen figure shooting him into pieces.

Meanwhile, on Dagobah, Luke ends up getting a premonition during another training exercise. He ends up seeing a vision of Han and Leia being tortured on Bespin’s Cloud City. When he tells Yoda about his vision, Yoda informs him that he’s seeing the future, but goes on to say that even he cannot tell if Han and Leia would die, as the future is always in motion. Yoda tells Luke that he could help them if he went to find his friends, but doing so would destroy everything they had fought and suffered for. Despite this, Luke finds he can’t concentrate on continuing his training as his vision is plaguing him. He ultimately decides to travel to Bespin in order to help Han and Leia. As he’s preparing his X-Wing to leave Dagobah, Yoda and Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost attempt to talk Luke out of it, stating that his training isn’t complete and only a fully trained Jedi Knight has any hope of defeating Vader and Emperor Palpatine. Obi-Wan goes on to state that if Luke chooses to face Vader now, then he will do it alone, as he and Yoda won’t be able to help him. In the end, Luke decides that it’s worth the risk, as the lives of his friends are on the line. As such, with the promise that he will return to complete his training later, Luke sets off for Bespin, leaving Yoda and Obi-Wan to watch his departure in despair. At this point, Yoda states that Luke isn’t their last hope, as ‘there is another.’ Which is obviously meant to set up the reveal that Luke has a twin sister. Though if they were thinking Leia could have been their Plan B, they totally botched that one, as nobody has even informed her that she’s Force Sensitive yet.

Back on Cloud City, Han, Leia and Chewbacca have noticed 3PO’s absence, prompting Chewbacca to go looking for the Droid. He ends up finding 3PO’s scattered pieces inside the mining facility’s junkyard and manages to retrieve the broken Droid from the little pig men who work there. There’s also a small scene at this point with Han and Leia, which pretty much only exists to show that Leia is much more receptive to Han’s affection since their big kissing scene, as she allows him to kiss her forehead. (There was even an earlier scene when she willingly kisses his cheek upon seeing his plan on blending in with the Imperial garbage was working). However, Leia makes it clear that she doesn’t believe Han will stick around, as she fully expects him to head off on his own again once he’s done escorting Leia to rejoin the rest of the Rebel Alliance.

Before Han could confirm or deny Leia’s assumption, or Chewbacca could start working on putting 3PO back together, Lando stops by the suite that he’d loaned them. He invites the group to join him for a drink. On the way to the dining hall, Lando informs Han, Leia and Chewbacca that his mining operation is not under the Empire’s jurisdiction, but is small enough to not be noticed. Nevertheless, there is still the possibility that the Empire would eventually find out about Lando’s mining business and shut them down. But Lando states he’d just made a deal that would ensure the Empire would never set foot on Bespin. The details of that deal becomes clear when Lando opens up a door, revealing that Vader himself is waiting for them. It turns out, because of Boba Fett tipping them off, Vader and a squadron of Stormtoopers had arrived on Cloud City before the Millennium Falcon did. As such, Vader had bribed Lando into betraying Han, Leia and Chewbacca to the Empire.

On a side note, props to Han in this moment. His first instinct upon seeing Vader is to move in front of Leia and fire his blaster at the Sith Lord, despite the fact that he probably knows by now that this wouldn’t accomplish anything. But it’s the fact that that was his first instinct that what makes this moment admirable. He’s probably learned by now that Vader had personally tortured Leia while she was imprisoned on the Death Star, and also was among the men who forced her to watch as her home planet was blown up, and therefore moves to shield her from Vader without thinking. Gotta love it.

Despite Han’s best efforts, he, Leia and Chewbacca are all taken prisoner, being confined to a prison chamber. While he’s confined, Chewbacca takes the time to start reassembling 3PO, which is how we learn that the reason why he got shot into pieces in the first place because he’d stumbled across the hiding Stormtroopers earlier and they didn’t want him to warn anybody of their presence prematurely. Anyway, Vader and the rest of the Imperials proceed to torture Han (and maybe Leia as well, even though we don’t see what they do to Leia). As Han is being tortured, Vader assures Boba Fett that he can have Han once the Empire is done with him.

Lando, however, is clearly starting to regret betraying his old friend to the Empire. Especially when he’s notified that Han will eventually be turned over to Boba Fett, who plans to deliver him to Jabba, and that Leia and Chewbacca would not be permitted to ever leave Cloud City again. He ends up visiting the three prisoners in their cell to explain that the Empire wasn’t really after them at all. Instead, Vader is simply using Han, Leia and Chewbacca as bait to trick Luke into coming to Bespin. (I guess this is why Vader was so insistent on following the Millennium Falcon into the asteroid field. He knew the people on board were Luke’s friends and that he was sure to come rescue them if he knew they were in danger.) Upon hearing the details of Vader’s plan, Han lunges at Lando in rage, only for Lando’s bodyguards to beat him back until Lando breaks up the confrontation. Before leaving the cell, Lando apologizes not being able to do more for them, but insists he has too much at stake to risk angering Vader.

However, it’s then discovered that Vader intends to turn Han into a Guinea pig. His plan is ultimately to force Luke into this carbon freezing chamber, which will essentially encase him in carbonite until further notice. But since the process has never been used on a human before, Vader plans to test it on Han first. Lando is visibly shocked upon hearing this, but ultimately does nothing to prevent it, as he’s fearful of what the Empire would do if he tried to interfere. When Han is brought into the chamber where the carbon freezing takes place, Chewbacca tries to fight back, but Han urges him to stop, telling his friend that he should save his strength as Leia will need him to keep her safe. Reluctantly, Chewbacca listens to Han. But before the little pig guys from earlier drag Han onto the platform to be lowered into the carbon freezing chamber, he’s able to share one last kiss with Leia, who finally admits that she loves him. And while I think there are some people who might give Han flak for simply saying ‘I know’ instead of returning the sentiment, I think it makes more sense this way. Throughout the movie, we’ve seen signs of how much Han cares for Leia and how he largly tries to put her first. So, in that moment, he probably realized how distraught Leia must have been, especially since she’s picked now to come out and say that she loves him. He must have realized that she was saying it now because she was afraid he’d die without knowing how she really felt. If that’s the case, by saying ‘I know,’ he was reassuring her that he’d always known, and that she didn’t have to feel guilty for not telling him sooner.

Ultimately, Han gets encased in carbonate. And because the monitors fixed to the sides of the carbonite block indicate he survived the process, Vader orders that the chamber be reset for Luke. Vader then proceeds to instruct the Stormtroopers to escort Leia and Chewbacca to his ship. An order that shocks Lando, as Vader had previously stated that Leia and Chewbacca were to be left alone. When he tries to remind Vader about that, Vader simply announces that he’s changed his mind.

Before anything more could be said, notification arrives that Luke had just arrived at Cloud City. As the Stormtroopers escort Leia and Chewbacca (who is now carrying the partially repaired 3PO), Vader gives orders that Luke is to be led right into the carbon freezing chamber. So Luke, despite Leia’s attempts to warn him, walks right into Vader’s trap. The two begin a prolonged lightsaber battle, with the occasional intermission. Yeah, there are quite a few moments during this battle where Luke gets shoved into the carbon freezing chamber but escapes at the last possible second by performing a Force fueled jump, or when he gets sucked out a window. There are a few moments like that, in which the movie is trying to drag it out and move the battle to a different location.

While all of this is going on, Lando has apparently decided that Vader had gone too far. As he’s walking through Cloud City with the Stormtroopers escorting Leia and Chewbacca to Vader’s ship, he secretly signals Lobot to rally together Lando’s staff. These men end up ambushing the Stormtroopers en route to Vader’s ship, allowing Lando to try and get Chewbacca and Leia to safety. However, they’ve both too angry at Lando over what happened to Han to accept his help, with Leia doing nothing to interfere when Chewbacca tries to strangle Lando. It’s only when Lando manages to inform them that they can still save Han if they can reach the East Platform before Boba Fett leaves that they decide to ease up on him. Taking advantage of this information, Leia and Chewbacca both race off, leaving Lando gasping for breath. Unfortunately, while they are joined by R2 (who got separated from Luke) along the way, they don’t make it in time and can only watch helplessly as the Slave I takes off.

However, while they have failed to prevent Boba Fett from taking Han away, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando and the two Droids now have to deal with the fact that additional Stormtroopers have apparently figured out that Leia and Chewbacca have essentially escaped, as they appear on the scene and start to shoot at them. To get away, they have to fight their way to where the Millennium Falcon is docked. Along the way, Lando manages to send out an announcement through Cloud City’s P.A. system, informing the population that the Empire has taken over the city and that they’d better get out before more Imperials arrive. As a result, a whole bunch of people start running through the halls of Cloud City, which probably helped give Lando, Leia, Chewbacca and the two Droids cover as they made their way to the Falcon. (Try and spot the random extra carrying the ice cream maker during this scene. This guy is apparently so iconic, te fans gave him an elaborite backstory.) Eventually, Lando, Leia and the others manage to make it to the hanger where the Millennium Falcon is waiting, with R2 managing to hack the door to the hanger bay open. (Though 3PO, who is still strapped to Chewbacca’s back and has been making pointless comments the whole time, dismisses R2’s attempts to warn them about something being wrong with the Millennium Falcon’s hyperdrive.) Once R2 gets the doors open, they are able to take off on the Falcon.

Now, I have to pause for a moment to talk about Lando. In spite of everything, he’s actually a rather likable character. Sure, he did betray Han and the others, but it’s still made clear that he’s not doing this because he’s a bad guy. And as things progress, you can see he’s seriously regretting his actions, especially when Vader’s intentions with Han and Leia become clearer. And in the end, he makes a valent attempt at redeeming himself. In short, Lando is an iconic grey character. And he even seems to have been cut from the same cloth as Han. Remember that Han had this whole ‘look out for number one’ approach at the start of A New Hope. But he eventually turned himself around and slowly started to emerge as a heroic character. Well, now we’re seeing a similar progression with Lando. The only real difference is that we didn’t get to see the moment when Han ultimately decided to come back and join in the Battle of the Death Star. With Lando, we can see the moment when he decides to officially start fighting back against the Empire.

Of course, while Lando, Leia, Chewbacca and the Droids were escaping on the Falcon, Luke’s battle with Vader was continuing on. It ultimately ends up on, you guessed it, a long platform over a large gaping chute. The lightsaber battle comes to an end when Vader slices off Luke’s hand (which is not too dissimilar as to how Anakin lost his hand in a battle with Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones.)

As the injured Luke tries to stagger away from Vader, the Sith Lord tries to coax him into surrendering and join forces with him. Only for Luke to adamantly declare that he’d never join Vader. But Luke is thrown for a loop when Vader reveals the truth- that he is Luke’s father. The revelation is devastating to Luke, as he can sense the truth of Vader’s words. However, in spite of the shocking revelation, Luke still refuses to accept Vader’s offer to pledge his allegiance to the Empire. Instead, he allows himself to simply fall off the platform. Thankfully, Luke’s fall doesn’t prove to be fatal, but it does result in him ending hanging from some kind of thin pole affixed to the underbelly of Cloud City. I could be wrong, of course, but I’m guessing these poles serve as part of Cloud City’s anti-gravity generator that keeps the city hovering over the clouds of Bespin.

Obviously, this presented a problem, though. Luke is still no doubt in serious pain from getting his hand chopped off, so he’s not going to be able to hang on to this anti-gravity pole forever. Thankfully, he manages to remain collected enough to call out to Leia through the Force. Because of the twin bond they currently don’t know they have, Leia is able to hear Luke’s call. She convinces Chewbacca and Lando to turn the Millennium Falcon around so they can go back and save Luke. They manage to do so, with Lando being the one to get Luke into the ship, where Leia is quick to help stabilize Luke’s injuries until they can get him somewhere for proper medical attention.

However, once Luke is on board, the heroes once again find themselves with the issue of how to escape the Imperial Star Destroyers. Especially since, as R2 tried to warn them before, the now-repaired hyperdrive unit was subsequently deactivated by Vader’s forces. (Insert more useless commentary from 3PO, who continues to be more of an annoyance than an asset.) Thankfully, R2 manages to switch it back on in time, allowing Lando to make the jump to lightspeed. Luke, on the other hand, is unable to focus on how they were lucky to escape with their lives, as his thoughts remain on the knowledge that Vader was his father the whole time. And he’s left wondering why Obi-Wan never told him the truth about the matter.

An undetermined amount of time later, our heroes have finally managed to rejoin the rest of the Rebel Alliance, who now reside in some space station somewhere. There, Luke is able to receive proper medical treatment, with a Medical Droid fitting him with a highly advanced prosthetic hand. As Luke adjusts to his new appendage, he joins Leia, R2 and 3PO (who was finally put completely back together again) at the window looking out into space, where they watch as Lando (who has apparently officially joined the Rebel Alliance) and Chewbacca take off in the Millennium Falcon. Their plan is to track down Jabba and Boba Fett in order to find out where they’ve taken Han, in order to formulate a plan to rescue their friend. Before leaving Lando gives them his word that he and Chewbacca will signal them the moment they find Han and then meet them at an established location Tatooine. And it’s on that note, the movie ends.

While it might have been a gutsy move to end this movie on such an obvious cliffhanger, they probably knew at this point that they were going to make more Star Wars movies, considering the original film was an instant hit with audiences. Although, this did pretty much set up a pattern that continued with the other trilogies, with the second film in a trilogy always ending on a cliffhanger. (Although, The Last Jedi’s ending was a different kind of cliffhanger, for reasons I’ll discuss on a later date.)

As for the reveal that Vader was Luke’s father, I gather this was a huge shock for audiences at the time, as the prequels obviously didn’t exist when this movie first premiered, and there was nothing substantial to suggest it prior to that moment when Vader came out and revealed it. However, I honestly cannot remember how I reacted to that when I first saw the movie. Of course, I was probably around three when I first saw it, and by that point, I was able to watch the movies on a VHS tape. It might have been possible that I’d already been spoiled by the time I watched it, or I was too young to really grasp why that was such a big deal. I just don’t remember being shocked by it.

Also, it actually did surprise me how much I found myself loving Han/Leia during the rewatch I did in preparation for this review. Not that I was ever opposed to the pairing, of course. I guess I just never was that invested in it before. But this time, I found myself simply loving their dynamic. Maybe I was just noticing the numerous similarities to Captain Swan, my ultimate OTP, this time around. Because there were a LOT of parallels going on here. Either way, I can now safely say I’m a Han/Leia shipper.

Next week is Return of the Jedi. Which is probably the most interesting of the films, to say the least.

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#star wars #star wars episode 5 #star wars: the empire strikes back #star wars review #star wars franchise

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galacticbugman · 6 years ago

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Wildlife at TCC South Campus

Here I am on a recent hike with some our our Student Activity members during our recent spring fest. I have always wanted to lead a hike on campus and share with people just just how many organisms we have on site and how important they are to our campus ecosystem. TCC South Campus may not look like the best place for wildlife but you would be totally mistaken. There is plenty of things to look at if you know where to look.

I have been studying Tarrant County Community College Wildlife on two campuses the Southeast and South Campus. I still go to the South Campus but I did go to the Southeast Campus at times. I still go out to their ponds to look for wildlife. I must say that both are rich in wildlife but South Campus holds some particularly special creatures that always make me stop and start observing them. Let me dive into a few from years past and my most recent findings. Let me point out that this is something that was suggested to me in a round about way.

A particular special creature that I always look for in late April to early May is the little chirpy and lively Cliff Swallow. We get two types of Swallow on Campus but these are my favorite. They like to nest at the Technology building often and they gather in great numbers and build their nests from mud and saliva. They often get into minor disagreements and pick on each other if someone winds up at the wrong nest. They are just minor squabbles with very little violence. They may peck a little and may flit around and slap another with their wings but it is over pretty quickly. This year I have not seen them yet which is kind of odd for them. Normally they are here now but this year they are coming in late. We do have their close cousin which is just as lively. The Barn Swallows are there now making their nests. These guy are migratory and come all the way from Capistrano and nest in this area of Texas and a few southern areas. They are one of my favorite things to watch when I am on study break. I always take my camera with me just in case I make some sort of personal discovery. I have to stand back a little because these guys are fast and I have had a few close calls with some of these birds. I had one almost run right into me and let me tell you that wouldn’t have felt good if he hadn’t veered off. Still a fun bird to watch when I am on campus.

On hot and muggy days we get a ton of moths. I was walking around the engineering building which is one of our hot spots for insects and birds. I was walking along the breeze way path that has a solar panel canopy and was walking along the side where the classrooms were and I spotted this moth and almost stumbled. This is Tersa Sphinx moth caught me off guard and I almost fell. This is the first and only time I have ever seen this moth. I have friends who have seen them before many times but for me I don’t get to see big moths that often but we get quite a few big moths as I may have mentioned in the past. There are times where I want to do a moth night on campus and see what goes on in the nocturnal world on campus. It is a world rarely seen by some but in my experience you see some of the coolest things at night. Basically in the day time you see some moths that are sleeping. This guy was waiting for the night to return. I don’t see too many big moths on campus but there are quite a few that I have to say totally blew me away. TCC South Campus has a lot of interesting moths. Let us visit another moth that I saw late summer day.

Here is one that I found near the Nursing Building a couple of semesters back. It was when I was still taking math courses at the Nursing Building and I was outside just before my class started. I had run into a married couple I know from the Texas Master Naturalist program and the Native Plant Society of Texas North Central Texas. They had just walked into their exercise class when I saw it. This guy was on the round wall that looks like something you would see in the film Lord of the Rings the wall looks like something from the Shire. Anyway this Vine Sphinx caught me completely off guard too. I love giant moths and I have documented about five big moths on campus most of them are Sphinx Moths. This guy was easily three inches from head to tail and three inches at widest point. Some of my friends call this guy the “Stormtrooper” or it may remind you of Darth Vader for it looks like one of the masks from the Star Wars franchise. I have to agree that it looks more like a Stormtrooper. South Campus is home to many kinds of moths but there is also some interesting beetles to be found here. Some of them are considered to be rare.

A few projects have been made on the iNaturalist site dedicated to TCC Wildlife. I have actually made one that encompasses all of the colleges in the TCC District. This guy came off to me as a little strange. I was walking one day before class. I was at the library which is another hot spot on Campus. Insects like to hang around on the pillars and just chill. This leaf beetle struck me as very unusual. He has a pattern that make me think of tribal print from Africa or something. This is a kind of Leaf Beetle that is called Zygogramma Heterothecae. I know that is a mouthful but it is the only name that I know this one by. This is one of my favorite beetles for when I documented it on the site it turned out to be the first one on spotted in the Metroplex. I didn’t expect to have such rarities on campus. Before 2016 I didn’t really do photography on campus. I did it else where but not here. It was not until 2016 when I became a Texas Master Naturalist and began to study the wildlife on campus. As they say better late than never. Still I have made over three hundred observations on Campus in just the matter of a few years. I haven’t seen too many rare things on Campus but I have seen a few.

On our recent Spring Fest Hike that I lead we found this guy. This is one of those ant-mimic beetles. When we saw it looked just like an ant; it was small and even moved like an ant but it was far from it. It is a beetle in the Checkered Beetle family and is known but (here comes another technical name) Phyllobaenus unifasciatus. This is one that had never been found in Fort Worth before according to iNaturalist. I use iNaturalist as a guide in many cases. It has become the tool that I normally use in all my outdoor adventures. It was kind of a cool spotting. I know the photo is a little dark but there was a lot of cloud cover. So this is all I got of the beetle.

Today I made a very interesting find at the Wildflower Restoration area at the front of the Campus that goes all the way from the front parking lot to I-20. This guy is the Colorado Potato Beetle. I found him sitting in a Desert-Chicory plant. I wanted to get a better shot of him so without any hesitation. He did wind up barfing orange goo all over my hand but it that is when I put him back. These guys in the wild feed primarily on the members of the nightshade family but in the agriculture world these guys are very devastating to Potato crops. Though not rare this was the first one to be found on Campus grounds. It had been one I had been searching for since high school. I was in the Future Farmers of America Program and I participated in the State Entomology ID Contest and this was one that we had to study about. I had seen it in the contest arena but I have never seen it live until now. It is almost dime sized but much smaller than I had anticipated. I love it when I can find really cool things like this on campus.

Along the exercise track on the left side of the Wildflower Restoration area lies the area I called the “Mud Puddle” It is just a low area that collects with water and last winter I decided to walk around there to see if there was any winter birds that I could see. Ever so often I would walk around the tall grass and a bird would shoot out from the tall grass. This was the only shot I could get of any of the birds. This bird is one of the many winter visitors that TCC South Campus gets called the Wison’s Snipe. I did a report on these back in high school and this one kind of hit home for me. They are know for their elaborate flight displays and often make loud whistling sound with their tail feathers. they maybe a drab colored bird but their patterns (shown here) are dazzling. the dark stripes down the back, the little ruddy colored tail feathers, the black secondaries of their wings. At first I thought they were another bird called the American Woodcock or what some people refer to as the Timberdoodle. It almost has the same body shape but the Woodcock sits lower to the ground and makes a little Weemp! or Meemp! that sounds nasally. These guys let out a loud barking alarm call that sometimes startles me. Sometimes things are so quite and I am focused then I get too close and then I hear that and my heart jumps to my throat. This is one of those special birds I see at Southeast Campus too.

In the summer time we have a plant that grows at the corner of the sceince building nearest to the corridor that takes you down the path to the engineering building. The plant (seen here) is called the Flame Acanthus. One day I was out making my rounds just killing time when I saw something moving with jerky movement. I stopped and got my camera in focus and took this photo of a hummingbird. I am still in a debate if it is Black-chinned or Ruby-throated but it is one of the two. This is the best shot I have of a Hummer feeding on a flower. This is one of the truly magical shots I have ever taken on Campus.

A declining species that we have on Campus is the raptor like Loggerhead Shrike. Some days when I am on my way to school and I come to pull into the campus drive way closest to the Football Stadium across the street I will see these birds on power lines. However on the day I took this one I was walking the track with my mother. We had some time to kill and we deiced to take a brisk winter walk. I spotted this guy in a tree and knew exactly what is was. These guys are known for being a bird of pray (raptor) trapped in a song-bird’s body. These guys have a beak like a raptor and a the sounds of a songbird. They have a problem they can’t tear prey with their small birdie feet but they have a solution. They will catch what they find and impale them on a sharp barb. I have seen mice and snakes on some of the trees on campus and my only thought is that the Loggerhead Shrikes have been there. They are sadly declining due to human interference by architectural advancement. It is a pity really these birds are one of my favorites and we need to do all we can to protect these birds for they keep rodent, insect, and snake populations in check. They are one of the good guys of the open prairie and that is the place they call home. So we should be making more prairie and not tearing up more land to put parking lots and things. The more food that these guys have on a tree will make him more attractive to the ladies as I saw in a PBS nature special. With more food in the fridge so to speak he is stronger and able to provide more for their young.

Let us not forget about the cute little furry guys that call our campus home. This is one that doesn’t always occur on campus but it does from time to time; meet the Striped Skunk. The engineering building is a hive of wildlife like I have said many times. This skunk was just one of the many species I found out there. This guy was in the blue drain pipe when I came around from making a bug run. I saw something black and furry and it didn’t look exactly like a feral cat. So I walked around to see if he would come out again. I then came back and then I saw that white part of his head and I then raised my camera and began to tell myself it was a skunk. He didn’t seem to sure if he wanted to come out of the pipe or not. He was pretty hesitant to come out. He would pull in and come out and make little sounds. Then finally he jumped out and startled himself and raised his tail. I was pretty far back and not anywhere near his firing range for he was turned away from me. This guy is the first wild skunk I have ever seen in my life. May not be a rarity for some people but for me it is. Normally these guys are seen the night so this could have wound up a dicey encounter but he didn’t try anything. Normally they are solitary only coming up to another one during breeding season. The males mate with the females and then wonder off the females raise their young by themselves and then once the young are able to fend for themselves they will leave mom and then she is back to being solitary. Skunks are one of my favorite mammals. I used to feed one at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge so this was a really neat encounter.

Let me take sometime to show you one of the most common of our mammals. We get a lot of Virginia Opossums on our campus. This one I got the day before spring fest. This guy was in a rush to find a place to rest. He looked like he was in a fever state looking for shelter. He was running around the Rotunda and going back and forth not knowing which direction to go. When I took this shot he almost looked like he was at a loss. He put his hand on the outer wall and was looking right at me. It was almost like he was saying “Talk about a rut.” I love the opossum but many people don’t seem to appreciate them because they look like big rats. They are not all that bad in fact you should consider yourselves very lucky to have these in your backyard and in your forests for they are the number one tick zappers on the planet. They eat more ticks than any other animals and that helps cut back on Lyme Disease and other horrible tick related ailments. In my book the Opossum is Awesome! It is one of the heroes of the natural world for it keeps the human and pet pests away and help save lives. So the next time you see an opossum just think it is on the prowl to do you a big favor.

So this is a representation of the three main groups of animals we have on campus. I wish I could go into all of them for they all have something wonderful to tell. Each animal and person have a story. TCC South Campus is known for its quite atmosphere, clubs, and its bell tower but for me TCC South has a lot more to be recognize for. It may just be a school to some but to me it is a wildlife hot bed, a wild place; a place for wildlife to thrive. It is a habitat for countless species. Many people don’t take the time to notice the wildlife on campus. However when I am on campus I am always checking out every nook and cranny that I can get to to find the next best thing. Their is a magic to TCC South and it is not too hard to find it. The wildlife on campus is really special to me for I have been studying it for a while. It is vital that we take care of it and keep planting native vegetation and keeping it clean so that way more things can show up. Most of the things we get are arthropods but we get a lot of birds too. We get a good cross section of things. Some people don’t take the time to enjoy what I think is the most special thing about the campus. It is a hidden world to most but for me it is a world I love to lose myself in. Observing these things and documenting and discovering what other creatures call this campus home. For me this the true magic of TCC. Sure it is a peaceful place but the animals that we share with it add to that natural ambiance of the campus. The South Campus is by far the wildest place I have ever attended for schooling. It has a whole plethora of wildlife that I love to explore and even if it is just for a few minutes a day or about an hour a day I never miss out on personal discovery. This is what I want to share with people on campus. There is a whole world different from our own out there and that is why I created the South Nature Club to help people understand and appreciate the world of wildlife on campus and beyond. It is a wonderful feeling to meet a new creature on campus and it makes me want to tell people the value of that creature or organism. I hope this has been a little window to my feelings on Campus wildlife. A little window from the eyes of a student and a budding naturalist.

I am Zachary Chapman and I will see you on the trail.

#campus #wildlife #nature #birds #bugs #mammals #school #hikes #nature walks #photography #all seasons #documentation #inaturalist #birding #bug hunting #exploring #connections #making a connection #natural wonders

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molinaesque · 8 years ago

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Krennic is really intimidated by Tarkin.

Okay. I want to talk about the excellent characterizations of these two, particularly in regards to each other. What’s interesting about Tarkin and Krennic is that they’re always in conflict. There’s always a push and pull contest going on. The only thing is Krennic never wins (he had his moment over Tarkin in Catalyst, but only briefly). He never gets ahead of Tarkin, and this gets under his skin. And HOO BOY does Tarkin know how to get under his skin. The two are always in contrast to each other. ALWAYS. Krennic is impatient and hot headed, Tarkin is patient, calm and collected. Krennic snarls and barks when he gives orders (”Fiyah!”), Tarkin commands with firmed politeness (”You may fire when ready.”). Krennic wants to be in good graces of the likes of Darth Vader and have an audience with Palpatine, Tarkin has the respect of the Sith lord and is on first named basis with The Emperor. Krennic strives to have control and power, Tarkin barely has to wave a finger for things to be done. There is even a scene in Rogue One where Krennic moves through a crowd of officers who one by one slowly shift out of the way for him. Meanwhile, Tarkin merely speaks and the officers go quiet. He then slowly turns, and the sea of officers part so he would have complete eye line of Krennic!

Even physically the contrasts are vast! Krennic wears a majorly white uniform complete with cape and sees himself as imposing, while Tarkin in standard olive uniform is severe and has no use for such flair. He’s already imposing. Their height, age, accents, even upbringings. Which brings me to something very ironic. Krennic didn’t even like Tarkin (as much as you can like the guy anyway) even when they met before Rogue One because he feels that he deserves whatever Tarkin has even more. He’s climbed his way to his position all the way from the bottom. He’s had to prove himself so many times. Tarkin’s just another sycophant from a high-class family and probably was just handed positions and possessions from the get go. What does he know of struggle?

Except he couldn’t be more wrong if he tried. Tarkin was born from the Outer Rim. He has been taught to not take anything for granted since he was a boy. He had to go through a family tradition that required the males in the family to live in the wilderness and conquer it or die. He has killed things with his bare hands, gutted animals and eaten their organs when they were raw and bloody. He didn’t live to survive, he survived to live. The man was WILD. Throughout most of his life, Tarkin has had extraordinary encounters and near brushes with death more times than he’s remembered. He became a legend even during his academy years despite early on being mocked and ridiculed by other students and peers (even getting into brawls), even punished unfairly by instructors just because he was from the Outer Rim, and also because he never stood for their bullshit and conform to them. He’s fought pirates in his teens, bested a wookie in hand to hand combat, was an ace pilot and star cadet, sought out by Palpatine himself not only to have the guy compliment him on his vast knowledge and understanding of various subjects, but to persuade him to get into politics! He became decorated for The Battle of Kamino, survived torture in The Citadel, was respected by Anakin Skywalker who turned into Darth Vader (whose identity Tarkin deduced by himself but was smart enough not to bring up), and has endless scars and wounds from falls, scrapes, battles, blaster fire, etc, as a result of his various adventures and experiences. But what does he know of struggle? asks Krennic.

This is the Tarkin who faced a carnivorous beast on his last trial and faced it head on. This is a man who, after leading an assassin to a trap on his homeworld, left him there with the necessary provisions should the man ever escape, JUST SO HE COULD BE KEPT ON HIS TOES AS A CHALLENGE AND A REMINDER. Hell, the Tarkin I see in the last GIF seem to be saying, “I haven’t punched anyone in the face for 40+ years. So go on, I dare you. Give me an excuse to completely destroy you, you ungrateful piece of shit. I. Dare. You.”

In the end, Krennic is an engineer at heart. Krennic is a man who builds. Tarkin, on the other hand has spent his whole life fighting and is good at it. Tarkin is a man who destroys.This is the Tarkin that has tasted blood, and liked it. Krennic is a boy trapped in a beast’s cage.

#tarkin #wilhuff tarkin #rogue one #orson krennic #ben mendelsohn #peter cushing #not to mention that krennic tried to backstab tarkin and nearly got him killed #so yeah add that to the flames of disdain tarkin has for him #seriously go read tarkin #and the two rogue one novels #it will make you appreciate the characters even more when watching them #i'm sure im missing more stuff to talk about #but i'm falling asleep as i'm typing this #so please excuse me #also i would like to add that i'm not totally trashing on krennic i love the guy #i'm jist stating how in regards to tarkin krennic is significantly overpowered by him #and that the tragedy is he's made the worst enemy out of tarkin #when he tried to overreach by trying to take him out and be in control of the station and in command over tarkin etc etc #and the huge irony is if he had stayed in his lane he and tarkin would've possibly gotten along fine #and he would've probably found the weakness in the death star leading to tarkin possibly surviving #so the poeticness of both deaths are amplified and that's shakespeare level tragedy right there #and i love it #star wars #rogifs

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twentysomethinginorlando · 7 years ago

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Wine & Dine Weekend Part One: The Expo and 10K

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/wine-dine-10k/

Wine & Dine Weekend Part One: The Expo and 10K

Fall brings many events to Orlando from the Halloween events of Not So Scary and Horror Nights to Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival. One of my favorite events is the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend. In 2014, I ran the Jingle Jungle 5K, which was my first RunDisney race, and in 2016, I ran the Inaugural Lumiere’s Two Course Challenge, which saw the former Saturday night race move to Sunday morning and add in a Saturday morning 10K. This year I decided to keep the streak going and signed up for my fourth Challenge Race to run both the Wine and Dine 10K and Wine and Dine Half Marathon for a total of 19.3 miles. This would be two more notches on my 30 by 30 plan, that I now have to rethink due to Disney canceling all the West Coast races for the foreseeable future.

This would be a smarter decision if I was capable of staying on a training schedule. I am not. I draw up really pretty schedules and charts in my bullet journal, then never make it past the first run. (Sometimes I don’t even do the first run.) So November 3rd saw Jay and I heading to the Expo for packet pickup and the last time I went running was during Hurricane Irma. Treadmills for the win.

When the Wine and Dine Half Marathon was a night race, it ended at Epcot where the Food and Wine Festival was still open. When it moved to a morning race last year, they added the Post Race Party in the evening starting at 10:00 p.m. I didn’t make it last year because I was exhausted from the run and didn’t feel like driving back to Epcot to go to a party by myself.

Party admission is included with the Half Marathon or Challenge registration, but has to be purchased separately for anyone else. I was determined to change that this year. For weeks I had been debating if I should buy Jay a ticket to the party or simply sign him up for the race since I was looking at spending $80 for just the party or $199 for the party and the race. He was game for either, but as time ticked closer to the start date I never had the spare funds to swing registration so we decided to just get him a party ticket at the Expo.

Silly Chelsea, things never go according to plan.

We arrived at ESPN Wide World of Sports early Thursday afternoon and headed for the Field House. I’m used to everything always being in the same place, but RunDisney seems to like messing with me at the moment. Packet pickup was still in the Field House, but you went left instead of right and everything was upstairs. The only thing downstairs was the Official RunDisney store. I remembered to print my waiver in advance this time, but had forgotten it at home and had to stop and reprint it. Picking up my Bib was a breeze and we started to head out of the building, until I noticed a sign that read “Last Minute Registrations”. I stopped dead in my tracks and I swear it was like my ears perked up like a puppy. I looked at Jay, “Wanna run with me?”

Apparently registering at the eleventh hour for a RunDisney race actually is fairly simple as long as the race is not sold out. They had us sign him up on our phones like normal and then he just showed them his driver’s license. They had preprinted waivers to fill out and bibs ready to go, just without his name on it. Instead of having a detachable part for shirt pick up, there was a sticker for them to cross out. The whole thing took about ten minutes. My only complaint is he got put in the last start corral, but I really shouldn’t have expected anything else. That was probably all that was left. I’d have to move back to run with him, but that was a small sacrifice to make.

I decided not to bother going downstairs to look at the Official RunDisney merchandise since I never actually buy anything, and we headed outside. We stopped into Will Call to pick up Jay’s Post Race Party ticket and $15 gift card, which took no time at all. I grabbed a brochure for the Post Race Party and I was super excited when I saw how many characters would be out. It also listed The Adventurers Club as entertainment and I found myself intrigued. The Adventurers Club was an old part of Pleasure Island, and my friends frequently talk about it like I should know what it is.

We then headed to the J Center to get our shirts. I picked up my three long sleeved shirts, and Jay got his one. I knew mine would fit but I had Jay try his on over his shirt to be sure. We rounded the corner to head toward the exhibit booths and found none other than Mickey Mouse waiting for us. We hopped in the extremely short line and it was our turn in about five minutes. Mickey was so excited when I told him it was Jay’s first RunDisney race!

We headed back for the car with one last stop for the traditional photo with the medal backdrops outside. We were about halfway home when Jay finally had it sink��in what he had just gotten himself into. I don’t train because I’m semi-lazy and my work schedule makes it hard to make time for running, but at least I know what I am capable of on a RunDisney course. Jay hadn’t been for a run since the Color Run 5K in March, and that was his first race ever.

“I have to keep how short of a mile?”

“A sixteen-minute mile.”

“Oh, I can do that.”

“Except you have to go faster if you want to see characters.”

“How much faster?”

Cue evil laughter.

Friday was an easy day that involved a much-needed trip to the grocery store and seeing Thor: Ragnarok. (Two thumbs up, highly recommend.) I laid out all my clothes for the race, and duck taped the apron to make it short enough to run in. Then I went to bed around ten to try to get some sleep before my alarm went off at 2:20 a.m.

No alarm should ever go off that early, but such is the RunDisney life.

I arrived at Epcot around 3:45 a.m. and went straight for the buses. Security laughed at me because apparently my Running Buddy* isn’t big enough to count as a bag. Call me crazy, but if it’s big enough to hold a pocket knife, it should count. The ride over to the Ticket and Transportation Center went quickly, and I was there a few minutes after 4:00 a.m.

All the character lines were HUGE. I hadn’t seen them this long since Wine and Dine last year. Even Darth Vader’s line wasn’t as long as Mickey and Minnie’s. I jumped in line anyway since I didn’t have much else to do and I thought being in line would be warmer than being in the open air. It was freezing, and I was grateful I’d swapped my shorts for capris, but wished I’d found my space blanket.

The characters were being pulled at 5 a.m. to go to the Finish Line. My theory is that is so people would go to their start corrals on time. My friend Andria joined me and we caught up on things before we bailed the line around 4:55, a.m. since there were still about forty people in front of us. We headed for the start corrals with some other friends of hers and split off to go to our respective corrals. I made a swing by the bathrooms and went to Corral D.

There are two gentleman who are the Commentators for all the RunDisney races, and a woman who joins them sometimes. I’m really curious what they do the rest of the year. Their names are Rudy, John and Carissa. (Yes, I had to look that up.) They’re really funny and good at keeping the crowd’s energy up, but they say things that would get regular Cast Members eaten alive, like jokes about drinking at the Finish Line. My favorite thing I heard this year, I think it was Rudy who said it, but I could be wrong, was, “When you see couples crossing the finish line together, and they’re holding hands and you think ‘Aww, that’s so cute!’ That’s really just him making sure she doesn’t finish without him.”

They did the same thing with the start corrals for Wine and Dine that they did for Star Wars in having less corrals and sending people off in smaller bursts. I still don’t care for it, but it matters less on the 10K than it does the Half. I started at 5:53 a.m., thank you runner tracking. It didn’t take long before I was annoyed with the Chef’s Hat falling off my head, and I stuffed it in the pocket of my apron until I got to the parts of the course that would have Photopass Photographers.

It was the exact same course as the Star Wars 10K back in April, meaning the first three miles or so were basically empty, open road. There was a marching band cheering the runners on at the first turn, and then the first characters were somewhere between the second and third mile markers. I didn’t recognize the music playing until I saw them, but I don’t hear “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” too often. It was the Three Little Pigs! They’re rare so their line was fairly long, and I kept going. I met them way back during my College Program and got hug attacked by the Big Bad Wolf himself.

The course made the turn onto the ramp to Hollywood Studios, that I affectionately refer to as the “Death Turn” because it’s one of the only hills on the course and it’s at a terrible angle. Halfway up the hill was the 5K marker, and my time came in at a pace of just under fourteen minutes per mile. My Fitbit and Pokémon Go don’t get along so I’m reliant on RunDisney’s tracking text messages to gauge my time. At the top was a Green Army Man barking orders to keep running and taking photos. For some reason he’s always on a hill, and I’ve just learned to dislike the Green Army Men so much because of it.

The only good news about that stupid ramp is what comes up, must go down. Running downhill is my favorite. I made the turn into the Backstage Entrance to Hollywood Studios and found myself entering the Fantastmic amphitheater just behind Tower of Terror. I started to run down that hill as well and saw the longest line I had seen all day, and had to make it almost to the bottom to see who it was. I stopped dead in my tracks: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit had finally made his Walt Disney World debut!

For those unfamiliar with Oswald, he was Walt’s first character before Mickey Mouse. Walt found out he didn’t own the rights to his own creation, Universal did, which led to the founding of the Walt Disney Studios and creation of Mickey Mouse. Way to go, Universal, you created your own worst enemy. In 2006 Bob Iger was able to purchase the rights to Oswald back from Universal and the character began making regular appearances at California Adventure in 2014. As far as I know, November 4th was his first ever appearance at Walt Disney World and, despite scouring the internet, I haven’t been able to find any proof to the contrary.

I turned hard to go back up the hill, and almost ran into someone in my haste to get in line. I had almost made it to the back when I remembered that the course would repeat the next day, and Oswald would likely be out again with a much shorter line. I turned and kept going. I had made it past the entrance to Tower of Terror before I regretted my decision, but it was too late to turn back. For someone who doesn’t care enough about time to train, I hate stopping. It’s so hard to get going again!

I was in and out of Hollywood Studios in under ten minutes. As I headed out the front, I passed a group of people wearing Wizarding robes and carrying signs for the Hogwarts Running Club. I love the Hogwarts Running Club to begin with and the fact that they’re willing to get up that early on a Saturday to cheer people on is just amazing.

The course headed to the Boardwalk on the tiny, congested sidewalk. As I rounded a corner, I saw a bunch of people stopping to take a photo of the full moon over the Tower of Terror. Once again, I should have stopped but kept going since I didn’t want to deal with taking my phone out of my pouch and getting it back in.

Next to the Atlantic Dance Hall they had a group of four women on microphones cheering people on and posing for photos. I think they were supposed to be from a vineyard. Near the end of the Boardwalk was Genie in his Hawaiian shirt and Goofy hat. I think they bring him out for almost every race now.

The course headed backstage at Epcot behind France and brought the runners out beside the U.K. pavilion. I got a good look at some of the construction going on, and I’m curious to see what happens with the Ratatouille ride. I made the left turn that took me past Canada where Koda and Kenai from Brother Bear were out. I knew they were on the schedule for the Post Race Party so I continued. I really need to learn to care less about time and more about characters.

I made the turn by Spaceship Earth to go backstage towards the Finish Line and there was a Gospel Choir in the usual place singing their hearts out. One last corner and I could see the Finish Line, and I started running as hard as I could. I crossed the Finish Line with a time of 1:30:29 and a pace of 14:34 a minute. Not great, but not bad at all. I went to get my medal and they were doing that annoying thing where they just hand you the medal instead of putting it around your neck. IT IS AN EXPERIENCE DISNEY AND YOUR VOLUNTEERS KEEP RUINING IT. I appreciate their volunteering, and I get that it’s more work, but come on, do it right. Did Leia hand Luke his medal in Star Wars: A New Hope, or did she put it around his neck? I was waiting for the one girl who was actually putting them on people’s necks and the guy standing next to her kept trying to hand me a medal so I finally just took it because it was so awkward. When you add in Jay’s registration, I spent over $500 on these races. I WANT MY MEDAL ON MY NECK NOT IN MY HAND.

So I put my medal on my own neck and moved down to get my free cooling towel, snack box and Powerade. I should have taken a water too, since I finished the Powerade before I even made it to the character lines. I jumped in line for the Chipmunks since they’re my favorites after Mickey and Minnie and I wanted to save the mice for when I was with Jay. I finished off everything in the snack box before it was my turn for photos. Chip and Dale were proud of me, and Chip liked that I had a chef’s hat like them. Then I made my way back to my car so I could go home and take a nice long nap before getting everything ready for the Half Marathon.

Check back for Part Two where Jay and I take on the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, and we see exactly how hard it is to run a race with only two and a half days notice!

*This is an affiliate link. To read Twenty Something in Orlando’s affiliate link disclosure, click here.

#characters #disney #epcot #rundisney #running #Running

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soundandaround · 8 years ago

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Soundscape Analyze- Hong Kong Disney Land

Soundscape Analyze- Hong Kong Disneyland Lo Ching Yin Isaac 14222124

The Whole set of Sounds

(https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/sets/disney)

For the final sound trip, I’ve have chosen the Hong Kong Disney Land as my research spot. Hong Kong Disneyland is an amusement park located at Penny’s Landau Island. It was opened back in 2005 September 12. And it has been 12 years since the opening. Today’s research will focused on how Hong Kong Disneyland creates its atmosphere with sound, how the soundscape cooperate with the visual element of the park. As Disneyland is a place full of wonder, full of magic, to create a fantasy world outside the city and how exactly it does that with sound and music?

The journey to Disneyland begins with the Disneyland Resort line from Sunny Bay MTR station. As soon we entered the train, the speaker will announce welcome the guests boarding the Disneyland Resort train and it will be taking us to enter the realm of Disneyland.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/d-train?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

After arriving, what we saw is a vintage 60s look train station with arches and classic round clock around. After exiting the train station, we will be walking a long path till we arrived to the font gate of the park. During the long path, we saw two-food truck parking in an area, which is interesting cause I’ve, saw food trucks in the previous sound trip at the Golden Bauhinia Square before but the business there wasn’t satisfying. In Disneyland here, it’s full of people buying their food and though it’s not decorated in Disney theme, the price is cheaper than the restaurant inside the park. Maybe setting food truck outside the park isn’t the best idea at all cause people may have food first and won’t be spending money inside the park to eat.

Along the path are all music speakers, playing smoothing fantasy music. Like the famous song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” which make people feel familiar and start to build up the mood of excitement.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/d-entering?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

After entering the park we arrived to the Main Street, USA. Where there are shops selling accessories, jewelries and collectibles.

The first facilities we played are the Hyperspace Mountain at Tomorrow land. The sound clip is the whole process while we are on the ride. As it's a Star Wars theme ride, the whole process are filled with exciting music and the original theme song of Star Wars, the speakers are playing conversation of the pilots with both English and Chinese, then the music suddenly changed to the climax where the Darth Vader theme song appeared. And there are laser guns sound surrounding all of us. We can hear people screaming back in the ride too. And the ride ended in like an orchestra. The whole process is a storytelling itself with intro, climax and ending. The Hyperspace Mountain may be the most thrilling experience in all facilities in Disneyland, the sound really does helped building up the tension and excitement, plus the excite ride and mesmerizing light effects, the whole ride is beyond amazing.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/sm?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

After the Hyperspace Mountain we went to the new facility Iron Man Experience, where we soar over the Hong Kong city with Iron Man to battle the evil forces of Hydra. We can hear in the sound clip a robotic like sound is introducing the game and instructions, which suits for the theme of Iron Man. It also brings us to the futuristic world.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/iron-man-instruction?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

To go to Fantasyland, we crossed the Sleeping Beauty castle appeared on every Disney film as a logo at the beginning. The music played under the castle is something different we heard on the street, a bit mystery but in a glamorous way.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/under-the-castle?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

Then we arrived the Fantasyland, where we entered the fairy tale forest. The forest itself isn’t a facility buy a place where they installed few models with different Disney Princess stories, for instance the story of Tangled where we stir the handle and the installation will react and do certain actions, it’s user-friendly and people are having fun looking at it as an artwork.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/tangeled?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

We also visited the 4D play Mickey and the Wondrous Book, the theater setting is magnificent itself, with almost 360 degree build speakers, we can hear the character like Mickey and Goofy walking behind the curtain though they aren't really there. Many classic songs are also played like “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, “Beauty and the beast”, from Beauty and the beast and ”I can’t wait to be king” from Lion King.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/play?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

After the play, we played another ride facility The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The whole idea is we are reading the pages from the Winnie the Pooh book but instead of reading the book, the scene of the book was created for us. And a soft sound was reading the sentences on the book for us so it’s like a 4D audible experience.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/winnie?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

Afterwards, we went to the Toy Story Land, at the entrance we saw a huge Woody acting as a welcoming guardian, he even spoke to us like how he talked as a toy in the toy story movie. Then we played the Slinky Dog Spin where the slinky dog will bark during the ride, it’s like we’re really chasing our own dog tail.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/iron-man?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

Next to the Toy Story Land is the Mystic Point where everything is mysterious, the decorations and music will somehow spark up your adventure and explore spirit.The facility Mystic Point is another highlight of the whole day trip. We first entered an elevator where Lord Henry and his monkey introduce us his Mystic Mansion and the art and antiquities he collected. Then we hopped on a car and started the adventure. The Mystic Mansion was divided in different room, each room has it own theme and relative music, like the South Pole room, Egypt room, Chinese room more to say. Each time we changed the room, the atmosphere escalated, from peaceful to thrilling, so does the music and sound effects, starting to creep us out. The music itself are all around us and the sound is so loud that we didn’t suspect we are in a fake built room, it’s like we are really exploring the mansion.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/entering-mansion?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

After the Mystic Point, we passed through Grizzly Gulch where country side music is played but we didn’t have time for the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars ride but the whole place really reminds us of cowboys, mines, and west side.

Then, we arrived the Adventure land; the speakers are playing spooky, jungle like music. We are like wild adventurer exploring the unknown jungle. Then we enjoyed the Festival of Lion King. Lion King may be the best Disney Animated film ever, no matter the plot, the songs, all can be considered as classic. The theater was divided in four parts and the actors and actresses were performing in the center of the theater, which fits the theme of “Circle of Life”, and we are like animal audience, witnessing the greatness of the Lion King in the center. The play started with the song “Circle of Life”, the actress is singing live with passion and beautiful, resonating voice. And the roar of the Lion was so real and thrilling which make us believe the lion was real. It then continue performing classic songs like “Hakuna Matata” and “Can you feel the love tonight” During all narrator lines, it was said in Cantonese and English and there are subtitles in the front seats for mainlander. From the music and songs, we can feel the passion and excitement of the crew and witness a colorful pageant of music and dance. The audience was so active too; they clap and yelled every time a scene was performed, making the whole show more passionate. The show ended in a festival like celebration where we clapped and shake our body as an ending.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/lion-king?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/opening-lion-king?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

When we were about to leave, we met the springtime processional parade that celebrated the springtime, there are dancers and Disney characters celebrating with the remix version of “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” which make us want to dance so badly.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/parade?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

We didn’t stay till the fireworks cause to be honest Hong Kong Disney land is quite small compare to other Disneyland like USA or Paris. But what’s heartwarming is how they changed the music on the path when we entered the park, they changed it to a farewell like song and make us miss the park already and want to come back the next time.

Furthermore, when we take the Disneyland Resort train back to Sunny Bay, the voice from the speaker thanks us for visiting Disneyland and that they are taking us back to the modern city and that’s the final chapter of the whole Disney trip.

https://soundcloud.com/isaac-lo-1/leavind-disney?in=isaac-lo-1/sets/disney

To conclude, we think Disneyland is the only place in Hong Kong that has such magical moment and Ocean Park certainly can’t compare. The whole trip was smooth and guides us from the hectic city to the wondrous place. The sound really makes us feel good and forgetting the worries in our head, just to enjoy every single moment in Disneyland, they did very well with not only the main facilities but the whole environment, well polishes and really thoughtful of the visitors experience. It’s certainly a magical place that you want to stay forever.

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iftekharsanom · 8 years ago

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The Lord of the Rings: The 10 Worst Movie Book Shifts

The art of adaptation is a cruel business. For a beloved property like J.R.R. The trilogy of The Lord of the Rings Tolkien is not limited to being victims when they move from page to screen. Peter Jackson calmly led the attack to bring Tolkien's rich Middle-earth world to life by adding some of his own artistic flowers. The King's Return Ring Society, Jackson has taken the highest of high fantasy concepts and translates them into three thrilling adventures. He just won three Academy Awards in 2004 for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.That is, the films are not flawless. Fans of the books know how much Jackson left from Tolkien writing, especially his adaptation of the two towers. The characters are distorted, omitted from the underestimated key elements and important events, often to the less effective substitute. Here are the 10 worst book changes to Lord of the Rings movies. 1. To a joke Gimli

Unlike trilogy to his portrayal in Peter Jackson, Gimli is a tough warrior and a dwarf only. Although he is a fool in films essentially Tolkien put him as "an obscure character, usually only occasionally, to laugh, and although in some rare cases, entertainment, but never a joke." He certainly is not the idiot who thinks he can break the ring with a single blow from his ax. If in the laughter of the community conversion to Gimli, it undermines the dwarven moments of gravity. Take the darkest moments of the Battle of Helm's deep links, which is the Battle of Normandy beach from Middle Earth substantially. Although Aragorn and Theoden prepare their men and their bark orders, Gimli is on the edge how to make cracked strength and laughing. There is room for humor, even in the most difficult situations, but not at the expense of Gimli's character, approaching caricature throughout the filming. 2. Pass the Shire Wash

Long before J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the end of The Return of the King, he planned to bring the epic circle of fantasy. Amidst the destruction of mighty Middle-earth, the region was not spared. Tolkien noted that "an image of the last decrepitude of the old flour mill, with its pool, which seemed so important to me." The picturesque image was Tolkien's own Shire, and he also had the hounds were destroyed. When the Hobbits return home (in the books), they discover that their homes have changed their own lives so much. Saruman and his servant Wormtongue moved to Frodo's facility in Bolson, and the evil forces of Mordor moved to Shire. The last battle of the War of the Ring found in Bilbo Baggins's backyard, and sees that the hobbits bravely fighting and Saruman is the death he has always deserved. Although Hobbits are peaceful short of Shire's tongue Snake's neck and his master will distribute dead by a shower of arrows. These sequences have added the already epic runtime of the film, but have the omnipresence of the evil Sauron demonstrated inspired. Without them making the movies that region than practically unchanged despite the apocalypse around them, which not only reduces the risks, but raises the question of whether Bag-end was out of danger, should not Frodo simply stay at home? Tolkien hanging entire story on this penultimate chapter because it represented during the war, even the most sympathetic people or the field are safe. 3. No Closure For Saruman

Saruman is a central character in The Lord of the Rings, so why was the ending so unsatisfactory? Sauron may be the most difficult of all bad guy, but is caught in an eye presence for the whole trilogy. This leaves Saruman as the main enemy to take shape in the flesh, and once all the chaos caused in Middle-earth, you would think that Peter Jackson would have enjoyed the opportunity to take his death in the final movie. In the theatrical edition of The Return of the King, all we say (by Tree Beard) is that the twisted wizard was locked in his tower, disappearing, until death comes to him. When the Ents had under her command, certain that she would be unhappy some form of punishment, instead of imposing a prison sentence. The species decimated the population, after all. Unfortunately, Jackson decided not to close for the White Magician to give to save for more cut of his death, in Isengard. As the director himself admitted, "I reluctantly decide to save this sequence for the DVD The selection based on was made that most people assume that Saruman was defeated by the events of deep and Helm's Ent. End appropriate, it is strange, "take over", the fate of Saruman in the film. Trimming to Shire: This inconsistency can be explained by the lack of other key element books. 4. Escape ARAGORN a hero in HAMBRIENDO CAR

If there was no model to compare with Aragorn movies, you can think of it as the ultimate hero. He is discreet, (relatively) early, and if you are struggling to convince bravely in the battle. This is all very well, but Aragorn as you can imagine from J.R.R. Tolkien is much more pronounced. More self-abominable in the movies, the Aragorn books unkempt, and almost reluctant leader is poised for leadership. More than any other man in history, Aragorn is the bearer of heroism. He does not withdraw his fate, nor does he question his role in the fate of Middle-earth. No, he embraces his role as Isildur's warm heritage. In movies, it always seems to have a foot out the door. A shining example of heroism confused his decision Aragorn the heads unarmed emissary Sauron in the Black Gate. Although the creature is uglier than the sin and mocks Aragorn, Legolas and should never the heir of Isildur get his moral code broke and a messenger of peace killed Gandalf on the fate of Frodo, the "Mouth of Sauron." Tolkien would be such an act reserved only for the most famous characters in Middle-earth. 5. HUMANIZING GANDALF against the Witch King

Speaking of King Warlock, if you have a scene to add in the fight with Gandalf, you can not let him win. Or if you are going to put the Wizards knees, do so after a glorious battle, love the kind of writers of fan fiction to create. For some reason, the extended version of Peter Jackson has the Return of the King a scene in Minas Tirith where the Witch King walk to stop Gandalf with Pippin flies. Though one of his greatest enemies in the present, Gandalf did not move, and instead sits on his horse to the shudder expecting Nazgul. Kill. Witch King sends a magical force field from Gandalf to destroy and then thrown from his horse in a really humiliating way. It is a pointless moment that not only adds value to the film again but has zero relationship with Tolkien's books and reduces Gandalf's omnipotent power without even a chance to respond, to give. 6. Neutralization THE IMPORTANCE OF Merry and Pippin

In general, Comic Relief is managed throughout the trilogy The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson and co-writer Philippa Boyens. Bring out Bilbo's 111th birthday to the end, Merry and Pippin laughing with their intrusive and audible. Unfortunately, the two hobbits are the Middle-earth puppet theater depicted far beyond the Tolkien borders. His wit and courage, unfortunately, lost in the shuffle. If for Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam were not they would never come with success in the region in the first place. Although they are out of their league long history, Merry and Pippin are quick to accept and learn as they go. In the movies, but Merry and Pippin are presented as accidental warriors who come to the community in a fantasy. In the books they need Frodo to come on the trip and, although hot Elrond to protest against his presence, Gandalf who insists on being accepted is. Finally, it is argued in value that it has been neglected by the death of Éowyn important against the Witch King, the Merry contribution. Without his dagger and his mystical wave of daring, Nazgul did not weaken to such an extent that a single strike would end. Although the Cheerful films show the dagger on the side of the spectrum to bring down, he received no credit in the episode. 7. Notes ENTS Daft

Despite the many missed opportunities, Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Hobbit achieved its calmer scenes, especially in moments of music. When the dwarves of the "misty mountains," a haunting and hypnotic Braman theme, all majesty in Tolkien's mind seems to thrive. It is particularly strange that Peter Jackson several minutes running precious time to see Thorin Shield of Oak hum an output melody when you consider that the rest of the movie is consumed by the CGI high frame rate. It is not until Bart tree hobbits on a walk in the afternoon when he finally got the decimation of his colleagues testify Ents. Like Eowyn, he uttered a cry from Darth Vader-lite of the sadistic magician knows that his days are numbered. This is a slap in the face that created Tolkien's character for the first time. In the books, the arrival of Merry and Pippin comes just before Entebate where Barbary and Co. quickly decide to bring ruin to Saruman. There is no need to think about it because they are intelligent, experienced and proud of their people. The movies show the Ents have little or no agency, but rather serve as the filling time, while the rest of the plot unfolds kills. 8. Reduced almost all songs and POEMS

Despite the many missed opportunities, Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Hobbit achieved its calmer scenes, especially in moments of music. When the dwarves of the "misty mountains," a haunting and hypnotic Braman theme, all majesty in Tolkien's mind seems to thrive. It is particularly strange that Peter Jackson several minutes running precious time to see Thorin Shield of Oak hum an output melody when you consider that the rest of the movie is consumed by the CGI high frame rate. This moment is just one of the many songs and poems written throughout the text of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Pippin Music in The Return of the King is one of the most prominent in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Jackson used it with great effect. If only the original songs of Tolkien object of frequent use. Without suggesting that the trilogy a full-length music film would have benefited from the song Frodo in the Bouncing Pony or Aragorn's poem about Gondor. This is of great imagination, which Tolkien wrote after all for the same reason of such a long list of songs in the first place. 9. MAKING HEROES IN PRACTICAL ELAS

For many fans of the film, the battle of the Abyss of Helm, the highest mark was two towers in the water. It was a confrontation in the rain of Uruk-hai furiously against an army of men and elves. It is a scene that is opposite to the best fights of Game of Thrones, but it is a pity that Peter Jackson strongly to interpolate the raw material and wrote basically the whole nature of the war. The most notorious of all, he relied on warrior Elven to fight against the Dark Army. To be clear, there were no elves for the Abyss of Helm in the books when the film a team of five hundred archers shows from Lothlórien to sent the scene of the fight. Army Theoden consisted largely of "soldiers [I have seen many winters or very few." Of course, this does not mean it describes the presence of immortal popular Elf. In the battle of Horburg, Theoden did not shoot the luxury of a battalion of experienced archers dozens of bloodthirsty Saruman warriors. This is a recurring theme in The Lord of the Rings, the world of men shows that they strive to survive in a universe where everyone, even the elves flee to safety. This subtly benefits Theoden and Aragorn's deep Helms allows elves to save the day. 10. CASTING Hugo Weaving AS ELROND

When we meet Elrond in the Fellowship of the Ring, which is about 6,500 years old. JRR Tolkien describes him as "noble and just as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as an assistant, as venerable, as king of the dwarves, and just as in summer." Briefly, Elrond is the total package . His debut on the big screen can be described as something of a sage, but pushes Elrond in a much more humane way than his elvish nature area can withstand properly. To be sure, he is as mortal as she is eternal, he can not quite god-like in appearance and be in nature. Hugo Weaving, despite his entire talent and screen presence, may not have been the ideal role for an actor. His dullness and his ridiculous "Mr. Anderson" make him more militant than he probably thought Tolkien. Although dressed in the best clothes and insignia, the fabric looks more like a front-warriors than an old-fashioned board. It actually looks right at home in flashback scenes during the Battle of Dagorlad.

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twentysomethinginorlando · 7 years ago

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Wine & Dine Weekend Part One: The Expo and 10K

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/wine-dine-10k/

Wine & Dine Weekend Part One: The Expo and 10K

Silly Chelsea, things never go according to plan.

We headed back for the car with one last stop for the traditional photo with the medal backdrops outside. We were about halfway home when Jay finally had it sink in what he had just gotten himself into. I don’t train because I’m semi-lazy and my work schedule makes it hard to make time for running, but at least I know what I am capable of on a RunDisney course. Jay hadn’t been for a run since the Color Run 5K in March, and that was his first race ever.

“I have to keep how short of a mile?”

“A sixteen-minute mile.”

“Oh, I can do that.”

“Except you have to go faster if you want to see characters.”

“How much faster?”

Cue evil laughter.

No alarm should ever go off that early, but such is the RunDisney life.

I arrived at Epcot around 3:45 a.m. and went straight for the buses. Security laughed at me because apparently my Running Buddy isn’t big enough to count as a bag. Call me crazy, but if it’s big enough to hold a pocket knife, it should count. The ride over to the Ticket and Transportation Center went quickly, and I was there a few minutes after 4:00 a.m.

Check out Part Two where Jay and I take on the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, and we see exactly how hard it is to run a race with only two and a half days notice!

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#characters #disney #epcot #race #rundisney #Adventure Report #Running

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