Cool Publicity Stunt

NASA Shuttle to Launch Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber By Robert Z. Pearlman posted: 28 August 2007 10:34 a.m. ET

When the space shuttle Discovery launches the STS-120
astronaut crew in October, the force will be with them.

Stowed on-board the orbiter, in addition to a new module
for the International Space Station, will be the
original prop lightsaber used by actor Mark Hamill as
Luke Skywalker in the 1977 film "Star Wars". The
laser-like Jedi weapon is being flown to the orbiting
outpost and back in honor of the 30th anniversary
of director George Lucas' franchise.

Before it can make its trip to orbit though,
the lightsaber will first fly to Houston, Texas,
home of NASA's Johnson Space Center, by
way of Southwest Airlines and a
Star Wars-studded send off from Oakland
International Airport in California on Tuesday.

Chewbacca, the towering Wookiee best
known from the film as Han Solo's co-pilot
on the Millennium Falcon, will officially hand
the lightsaber over to officials from Space Center
Houston during a ceremony at the airport. Joining
"Chewie" will be other characters from the
six-part sci-fi classic, including Boba and
Jango Fett and together they help push back
the airplane on the tarmac.

Once on the ground in Houston, the flight will
be greeted by a troop of Stormtroopers and
other Star Wars notables including the droid R2-D2,
who will deliver the lightsaber to a waiting line of Hummers
outside the baggage claim of the William P. Hobby Airport.
Accompanied by a police escort, the soon-to-be real space
artifact will be driven to Space Center Houston to be exhibited
inside a vault that currently displays moon rocks.

Space Center Houston, as the official visitor center for NASA's
Johnson Space Center, plans to publicly display the lightsaber
through Labor Day, after which it will be prepared for its launch
from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The lightsaber is scheduled to depart California at 10:40 a.m.
PDT and arrive in Texas at 4:20 p.m. CDT according to a
release jointly issued Monday by Southwest Airlines,
Space Center Houston and Lucasfilm.

STS-120, targeted for launch on October 23, will be led
by commander Pam Melroy and pilot George Zamka.
The seven-person crew is completed by mission specialists
Scott Parazynski, Doug Wheelock, Stephanie Wilson and
European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, as well
as space station Expedition 16 flight engineer Dan Tani.
Besides the lightsaber, their primary cargo is the station's
second Italian-built U.S. multi-port node named Harmony.

Here's Baylin!!!! GRRRR!

See what I mean?

Ming the Merciless my Butt cheeks!!!

If this is Ming the Merciless than I am the King of Siam. When did Ming turn into a 5'5" blonde white guy? I seriously kept waiting for the REAL Ming to pop out from behind a curtain or something. Of course, this is from the new show on Sci-fi Channel "Flash Gordon". I was and still am a HUGE Sam Jones Flash Gordon fan, so I was really skeptical about the new show. Overall, I give it a C-. Flash is okay, no manly man like Sam Jones, Dale Arden...uh, she's alright, kinda maniquinish, Zarkov...annoying in a bad way, not in the good 80's movie way. Ming is completely unbelievable. However, Ming's daughter is pretty nice. The real saver though is Baylin. Who's Baylin, you ask? The hot, smart, kick-butt bounty hunter chick that makes it a love triangle for Flash & Dale. Hmmm....I see sexy bad jealousy episodes coming.
Maybe I'll hang around for a while.

More cool Figures from Sideshow!

Pretty good likeness. It's a two-figure pack.

About to be FREE of the man!

Thank the gods T went to college. I have been bustin' my ass for 6 years at the lousy stink hole i am employed by and still haven't gotten a promotion and still make under $9.40 an hour. I fall in what is considered the "poor" bracket. How is that possible? I've worn down my body, I've spent precious time and energy doing something that isn't ART or even ART related, yet for 6 years I have been loyal, hardworking, and greatly unappreciated. My last raise wasn't even technically a raise. The cost of living rose twice what my pay increase did. I've been discriminated against, lied to, promised things that were never to be, stolen from, and harassed. And that's just by the people I work with and for, not the customers. Don't even get me started on the customers. Now, however, there is a ray of hope. Let's say a rainbow of hope. T got a job at the college! Her pay will be 4 times what I was making after 6 years. Now, you tell me what's wrong with corporate America. My CEO makes $1,000,000 a year. I tried to take a three week vacation and you know what they told me. No. Why? Because three weeks is like a leave of absence and they would have to hire someone to fill in for me. How many vacations do you think my CEO got? How many weeks was he sunning his flabby white belly in the sun drinking pina coladas, and I can't get three weeks? 6 years of dedicated service and 3 weeks is too much to ask. They have to hire someone to cover my "leave of absence", but they can't give me more than a 14 cent raise? I was "strongly" discouraged from taking even 2 weeks together, and lectured about my RESPONSIBILITY to my co-workers and my loyalty to my place of employement. What about my life? What about my T? What about my dreams and desires and relaxation time. What the HELL! I want all of you, as you go out to shop this week and weekend, to think about that poor sap checking you out. If they come off a little short or bitter, just think back and remember, that poor son-of-a-bitch can't even get a break. You try working for 6 years and not being allowed to go frolic in the sun for a couple of weeks and see how cheery you are. Luckily, just knowing there is a light at the end of this long, long tunnel makes the bitter turn just a little sweeter. I will get the corporate world back! You just watch.