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And the beat goes on...

Well, this will instantly align me with the millions of other nerds out there with similar tastes. You've probably gotten a whiff of it with some of the earlier entries for Nerdery Week.

My name is Thomas...and I am a Star Wars nerd.

*sigh*

Truth be told, I've been a geek/nerd/dork for Star Wars since I was a wee lad and saw it in the theatre with my dad. I was 4 years old and it pretty much changed my life. The problem is, it never changed it back.

*rim shot*

While I'll never profess to be a 'deluxe SW nerd' (I've never read the books outside of the original 6 movies, nor do I want to acknowledge they exist) and I don't have every single thing with the image of Star Wars emblazoned on it (cereal boxes, toothpaste, Chewbacca Depends Undergarments), I do have to admit to dressing up as Han Solo once at a Comic Convention.

Yes. Blaster and all.

But...I never, um...tried to use The Force to get myself out of a predicament.

Okay, well, there was that one time I was hanging upside down from an apple tree in winter, a la Luke Skywalker in Hoth. And yes, there was a flashlight (lightsaber) lying in the snow juuuuust out of reach. But, er... I was eight years old or something. I think.

Okay. I'm a giant nerd. But heck, this is our week to celebrate, wounds and all.

Welcome to the Star Wars portion of my Nerdery.

First off, my shelves. These are located to the left of my desk where all the 'magic' happens.

Let's punch in for a closer look, eh?

Here's the original foursome and by original, I'm not saying they're from the original Kenner line way back in the 70's. Nope. These are the new-fangled Star Wars figures that came out a little over 1o years ago. I was a fool when I was a youngster and sold nearly all of my old Star Wars stuff. I had gotten tired of it, so I sold the stuff at rock-bottom prices in a garage sale. Almost immediately I regretted it and spent too much time and money buying all the original smaller figures back. I think I've got all but 4 of them.

Anyway, here is Darth Vader, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and my favorite Obi Wan Kenobi. I'm such a nerd, I still have an unopened OWK in my steamer trunk in the other room.

Side note: I'm pissed that Han Solo can't hold his well-known blaster properly. How much does that stink?

Here we have 4 characters from the 'it should've been much cooler' flick The Phantom Menace.

Young Obi Wan Kenobi (complete with Padawan braid)

Darth Maul (who was the best part of the movie)

Queen Amidala (who cost like $2 at Kaybee Toys when they were going out of business)

And the suckiest guy in the group, Young Anakin Skywalker. I bought Ani on eBay for literally $1. No one else bothered to bid against me. Now I know why. Must've been all those midichloreans in his bloodstream.

2nd shelf down brings us to my favorite characters in the movies: The Bounty Hunters. Something about aliens and robots out hunting other people/Jedis/smugglers that just does something for me.

From the left we have Ponda Baba (that's 'Walrus Man' to my generation) complete with removable left arm, a result of stepping to Alec Guiness on Tatooine. "He doesn't like you. I don't like you either..."

Next we've got Zam Wessel . She was in the worst of all of the Star Wars movies: Attack of the Clones. I still thought she was pretty cool. Almost as cool as Princess Leia as Boussh.

Next in line is Bossk. I don't know why, but I always liked ol' B. He was a lizard who had no business holding a blaster, but he looked mean and greasy. I was sold.

Well, you know who that is next to him, right? (If you said Zuckuss, you're dead wrong) That's 4-LOM which is an inside joke in that his name means 'For Love or Money.' You know, that's what former protocol droid bounty hunters do it for. Love or... Nevermind.

(Okay, when I step away for a moment and re-read what I've just written, I can see that I am a tried and true nerd. Just sayin..')

Hey! There's the grand-daddy of all bounty hunters and snack of the Saarlac, Boba Fett. He's much cooler than the shabby version offered in the 80's. For one thing, his head is proportionate and for another, he talks. My favorite line? "He's no good to me dead."

Next to him is probably the least frightening of all bounty hunters, Dengar. He looks like a turd with a bandage on his head, but I still like the guy. You know, just looking at him, that he never had a chance catching up with Han Solo. Still, you gotta give the guy props for trying.

That tall droid next to him? That's IG-88. He was a hard one to come by and I was worried that he was going to be a crappy addition to the original Bounty-Hunter-Let's-Get-Han-Solo gang. In the movies he's super tall. When he came in the box...he wasn't. Thankfully, the geniuses who designed him equipped ol' IG with extendable legs. Proper!

And next to him is...(if you said 4-LOM you're wrong!) Zuckuss. Believe it or not, he was my first bounty hunter. Why? 'Cause he was so darn cheap on eBay.

So that takes care of the shelf. I looked through the nerdery archives and found these two items sitting in the closet with nowhere to be.

They were priced to move at Target, so they came home with me. It's a pocket-sized Bossk and Princess Leia in Endor Gear. I still haven't decided if I'll open 'em or not. A true nerd wouldn't, but that's never stopped me before. We'll see. I still think it's weird that they redesigned the figures, but put them on the same ol' cards they had in the 80's. Say what???

My little brother bought me this weird thing a few years back. I think it's supposed to be Jango Fett (you know, Boba's dad?) but he's made out of old machinery pieces and gears and stuff. He swivels on ball-bearings and it sporting Jango's dual blasters, but I'm not sure. I think he's pretty cool, but definitely ramps up my nerd cred a bit, dontcha think?

And now for the crown jewel of the Star Wars stuff in my nerdery.

I found this at an antique store in Minneapolis. It's a picture of whiny Luke Skywalker alongside his mentor and all-around bad-ass with a beard, Obi Wan Kenobi. If you click the picture or check out the closer-up shot I took, you'll see why this is so garsh-darn cool...and nerdy.

It's signed by the man himself, the late, great Sir Alec Guinness. It says: Good wishes above his name. Now, I have absolutely no way of authenticating that this is his real signature, but I have seen other items with his Johnny Hancock on it and it's pretty much spot-on. Regardless, I've convinced myself that it's the real deal and for that it hangs proudly on my nerdery wall...

...above my autographed picture of Salma Hayek and Gina Gershon. (maybe later)

So, there you have it: all the Star Wars stuff that I could find with the confines of my nerdery. I wish I could say that's all the Star Wars crap I've got, but I can't. There's a steamer trunk in another room that's contains more treaures, but hey...it's not Steamer Trunk Week. It's all about the Nerderies, y'all.

Check out these new updates and what-not from the Get-Nerdy-All-Stars:

Dan @ This Man's Blog - Muses about 'The King of Kong'
Matt @ Blue Birdland - Nerdery: A capella Style
Caryle @ Caryle's Corner - Comic Books!
Catherine J. Gardner/Phoenix Rendell @ The Poisoned Apple - A Nerd's Album Collection

And in case you missed 'em...

Wendy @ The Musings of Wendy Withers - Nerdery 2008, Day 3 (includes a video!)
Uvulapie @ Uvulapie and His Amazing Hillbillies - The Nerdery
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse - Angela's Nerdery
Unhinged - Where the Magic Happens (or not)
Susan Sandmore - It's the Nerdery!

And there's more...tomorrow!!! Strong finish Nerdery Dwellers! Let's do this!

Man...I'm taking a beating already! More than a few people (ahem!) said my desk was too neat n' tidy and therefore they didn't feel up to posting their nerderies for the world to see.

I cry FOUL!

Here's the thing...I sort of have to have some order to my chaos otherwise I can't get a lick of work done. On top of that, my lovely wife is not a fan of clutter and mess. This room, er...my nerdery is easily the messiest room in the house. I could open the closets and show you the absolute horror that resides in there, but hey...we got all week.

So for today, I'm going to display some of the items o' interest on the wall behind where I sit. Sound good? Good...


Here's shot from the doorway to my basement 'nerdery.' This is the back wall that has a built in shelf/ledge/whatever there. You see where the four posters are to the right? Eventually, there's going to be floor to ceiling bookshelves there. Basically the posters are a place-holder until I can get my dad over to help me with the project. You don't even want to see the sick stack of books I've got.

And now, for some close-ups:

I don't think I need to tell anyone how cool the movie Blood Simple is, but in case I need to: It's great. It's the first major film by Minnesota director/producer team Joel & Ethan Coen. I totally love this poster for a number of reasons.

1. It's black n' red (my favorite colors)
2. It's got M. Emmett Walsh on it
3. The dude's loading a small pistol.

Below that, we have a couple of puppets. One is Jesus (which my brother bought me for Xmas one year...don't ask) and the other is a firefighter that my mom bought me last year. It's fun to put on a show between Beardy (what my son calls Jesus) and Smokey (the firefighter).

Next to that and very small are Master Chief and Arbiter figurines. I got 'em free with my copy of Halo 3 for Xbox 360.

Since I'm also a filmmaker, I've got a clapboard and while it doesn't work like a real one, it's nerdy enough to warrant a space on the shelf.

In the frame? Why that's a bloated picture of me with my wife during our honeymoon in Maui. There's a movie ticket stub for Man on Fire in there. We saw it whilst on vacation.

Okay, so I've got a weakness for Angelina Jolie and I'm also a tried and true nerd when it comes to the Tomb Raider video games. Sue me. Can I add to the nerdiness? I bought two replica pistols from the movie and they shoot little plastic pellets. Maybe someday when we do Garage Week! I'll display them here on Tappity Tapppity.

Below the movie poster you'll find a couple Lord of the Rings action figures. There's Sam and Frodo on their crappy little canoe. Sauron is hangin' out ready to talk smack and...hey, who the hell is that? Is that Lucy from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe? It is. Probably one of the worst action figures ever made, I got her for a mere .79 in Madison. Never mind her. Treebeard rocks and so does Gollum/Smeagol. Yesssss....preciousssss...

Okay...why is there a poster for the movie Beautiful Girls here among all the nerdy stuff? Why would ANYONE have a poster with Rosie O'Donnell on it hanging in their office of cool nerdiness? Well, it's like this:

I'm in the movie for like 2.5 seconds. If you own it or rent is (and it's actually a good movie!) right around the 1:02:27 mark, you'll see yours truly standing there, watching the band Afghan Whigs. Here's a screen capture.

There I am next to that poorly Photoshopped arrow. If you blink, you'll miss me. But seriously, the rest of the movie is decent if not downright hilarious. Some of it was shot in Minneapolis and directed by the late Ted Demme. Hooo...I've got stories. As an extra, I saw and experienced quite a bit. Also, Uma Thurman touched my shoulder like 4 times.

Not that I counted.

Below my BG poster is my previously mentioned glow-in-the-dark zombies that Triple S found for me. Next to the wacky undead? Why, that's a Nazgul doll standing sentinel next to his undead bretheren.

While I'm not a HUGE foreign movie fan, Run Lola Run is probably one of my favorite movies of all time, besides the fact the dialogue is all German. Just a cool, wicked, adrenalin-pumpin' movie. If you ever need a soundtrack to work out to and you have the means, I highly recommend picking it up. It is so choice.

Below that is a skull snow globe...errr...actually it has little bats instead of snow. Next to that is a black earth paper weight. I got it because it reminded me of Public Enemy's 3rd album Fear of a Black Planet. Next to that is a photo of my estranged cat, Kato. Check out how killer this picture is:

He's sitting in an antique box that says KINGSLEY on it. My middle name is KINGSLEY! It's like the whole world split in half and awesome oozed from the gaping wound!

Ahem.

Next to that is a little brown guy called a Japanese Domo. You may have seen him in a certain e-mail attachment that warns you about doing something that might make God do something awful to kittens. If you don't know what I'm talking about...uh, let's move on.

Probably the pride of my movie poster collection is Rushmore. Has there ever been a better movie? Well, maybe. But I still contend that it's Wes Anderson's best. Sorry, W. You peaked with this one, yo. Below that is a Ku Tiki or God of Strength. We got him in Hawaii. I think the Brady Bunch left it behind when they were there last. Next to all the crazy phenomena are ol' Agents Scully and Mulder. They both look like they have no idea how they got here.

What's that in the corner? Well, that, my friends is a leather coffin backpack I won from Heather Brewer, author of Eight Grade Bites (and the forthcoming sequels). Inside was all kinds of cool vampire stuff, including a signed ARC of EGB. I've never worn the backpack, but dang if it doesn't look wicked in the corner all mysterious-like. On top of the coffin is a toy that Travis keeps breaking, so it's up there until he can control himself.

Oh, and yes...Jedi Master Yoda is coolin' out next to the coffin. He talks, teaches you about the force and if he ever kicks the bucket, I'll probably bury him in the backpack. It's about the right size.

Okay. I guess this went on a bit longer than expected. I promise to reign it in a bit for the next five days. Until then, check out these Nerdery updates!

http://dancsblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/nerdery-week-desktop.html
Matt @ Blue Birdland - Nerdy Media
http://carylerg.livejournal.com/

I've heard we'll have some new nerderies joining the fray tomorrow. Stay tuned!!!