I know more recently a lot of us have been kind of caught up in all the worst things about what has been going on. But let's try and remember all the great stuff. The three amazing movies that captivated all of us, resonated on a level that is next to impossible to replicate, and somehow totally hold up even 40 years later. I still love listening to the music, the movies still get me, and I've mostly been able to block out the bad stuff.
These movies have also given us inspiration for our writing, or for those of you who just read, it gives you great things to read. And we also of course have each other, and our little community here or elsewhere on the internet where you might hang out and converse with other fans. I've "met" and also literally met some really cool people because of all of this. And it's been really nice to find other people who are equally obsessed, but also functional humans and not just total weirdos ;) I mean, yeah, we're all probably a little weird but then the outside world doesn't have to know that, do they?
So, go forth and wear your Star Wars tshirts. Watch the movies if you have time. Bust out some of your fun Star Wars merchandise. Read some fanfic, anything that brings you happiness because of these movies.
Hear! Hear! Will be breaking out a new tshirt bought at Celebration and listening to the soundtracks... and probably perusing AO3, FFN, tumblr, and of course, here...
ReplyDeleteZyra: thanks for continuing to host this awesome blog, and to convene a space for some awesome people! It's a delight coming here and reading so many of the wonderful thoughts everyone shares.
May the Fourth be with you!
Yes, dittos to Erma's thanks to Zyra for this blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you Zyra.
DeleteDid you go to Celebration this year? Wasn't sure how many of us went. I'll be watching the OT later today. And ordered handmade Han/Leia Mickey ears from etsy yesterday.
Deletehttps://www.etsy.com/listing/514539523/han-and-leia-inspired-mickey-ears?ref=market
Deleteamara z: yes, I went this year! First time, too. Was blown away by the experience, and surprised to realize I'm still somewhat in a state of withdrawal. ;) Did you get there for all of it? What it your first Celebration? And those Mickey ears are cute.
DeleteI was there too. :)All four days. Had a blast. It was my third. My first was 2012 just before they sold to Disney. You realize Harrison was on stage by TIE fighter? Kicking myself that I missed it, but prob in a panel. Thanks on the ears. :) I was looking for fun ears in the park recently and couldn't find any that we liked. I was massively sick when home from Celebration, so just happy to better.
DeleteAwesome!! Yes, I was also real disappointed to have missed Harrison on that stage. I saw him in the 40th panel, but from waaaay in the back, so it barely counts. ;) Glad you're feeling better now... hope you found some long lines to stand in to help keep your spirits up. ;)
DeleteLol! Yeah some lines were bad. Did you make it into live 40th or streaming? I didn't even try as didn't want to sleepover. Spent 1.5 hour checking out at store instead.
DeleteYeah, I did both sleep overs, and made it into live for both panels. Got Streaming for the Carrie Tribute though, which was still great. Did you make it to the store before they sold out of everything? And did you like the other panels you attended? (I missed those completely.)
DeleteWow! Very cool. I had my teenager with me and I didn't really relish sleeping on the floor. Did you get any sleep at all? And how was it seeing Harrison and John Williams?
DeleteI made it to the store the first morning. I used the time while everyone was at 40th. :) Only problem I had was checking out. Same problem as Anaheim Celebration. Man, did they sell out? That blows.
I made it to quite a few panels. We got there 6:30am on Friday and got into Carrie's tribute live. Went to Billy Dee. It was ok. Liked the Disney merchandise panel and musical trivia was fun. Her Universe is going to have some cute SW and non-SW stuff.
Hey amara! Thanks for your patience while non-H/L life grabbed me away... I planned ahead and brought a lightweight backpacking air mattress, so it was surprisingly comfortable, but didn't get much sleep due to excitement and silly things like 1:00am dance parties with a DJ and lightsaber duels (!) And it was absolutely amazing to be in the same room with Harrison and John Williams -- they're like, real human beings and stuff. :) That was very wise of you to get to the store when you did! And great that you got some cool stuff and enjoyed some panels. :)
DeleteAnd, how cool is it that your teenager was with you!? Fun for the whole family. :)
DeleteI may just have to watch the OT tomorrow night. Happy Star Wars day, y'all!
ReplyDeleteStar Wars shirt is on. (So weird. I never wear logo t-shirts. But screw it. I'm getting too old to miss out on the fun!) Neighbors have been wished a Happy Star Wars Day. (Smiles were had all around.) And... I started and finished my first fanfic draft in about, oh, 20 years!! (Ah. Felt good to write. Now to find that post about beta readers. Anyone interested? It's only about 2 pages with lots of spaces. ;) )
ReplyDeleteI'll beta for you, Erma, if you haven't already found someone!
DeleteHow exciting that you're writing again after so long. I was on "hiatus" from writing fanfic for around 17 years (!) when I found myself rattling out a new story in the aftermath of TFA. Having not even *thought* about any of it for years, I was amazed at how certain conventions of SW fic-writing came rushing back into my head, as if I'd never left.
You can email me at erin darroch at gmail dot com (no spaces)
Hey Erma, yay for writing! It was about 32 years for me writing Star Wars when I started up again last year (I'd been writing other fanfic in the meantime)
DeleteLooking forward to reading!!
Thanks for the encouragement! And Erin, thanks for the offer! email will come from erma dot swfan at gmail
DeleteThank you so much, Zyra, for this safe haven. I love that there's this place I can come to and get away from the horror half of the fandom and talk with people who share the same outlook/opinions on the fandom as I do.
ReplyDeleteYesterday was a rough day, but I am proudly strutting around in my SW Vans, Falcon necklace, and new Leia shirt, so take that, stupid world! Also, I did manage to find some nail glitter for Space Mom, so I'm really glad that today is here!
So, May the Fourth be with you all!
Happy Star Wars Day! I'm really glad to be part of this awesome fandom!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, here's a Star Wars Day gift. If you are a Star Wars AND Beatles fan, I think I have found your nirvana:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYD3QtyEGGM
Check out their youtube page - they seem to have set the whole Sgt Pepper album to ANH.
This is priceless, Kels! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteOh, my goodness! I'm so late to replying, but thanks, Kels. That just made my day! My two favorite things combined!
DeleteMay the Fourth be with you, guys!!
ReplyDeleteYesterday was awful, and tbh there's not much of a celebration going on for me today because the only two pieces of merch I own are keychains, I have no glitter, I can't sit down to watch even one movie, and they're not marathoning them on tv!! But it's still a great day to be grateful for having found a new cool fandom space (THAT WILL REMAIN BEING COOL because we'll kick the uncool out!), and I'm glad for all of you having a good time.
And I also have a musical Star Wars Day gift!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSWjU779FdE&list=PLC80E87CFFE1D1F88
Beatles who? :P
Holy kamoly what the .... what IS that!? Is there a, a, a dance game set in the SW universe? What? Is this really old news and I've just been oblivious? (Probably.)
DeleteI ain't no hologram girl! rofl Now I've got Gwen Stefani stuck in my heads. Thanks.
Yeah it's been out. I have it actually. Check out princess in a battle. That's a good one.
DeleteWhat about a disco dancing scoundrel- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HqZiWTYXl7s.
I literally had to sit on the floor I was laughing so hard.
Haha, yeah, it's one of the Kinect Star Wars games, came out in 2012. The "I'm Han Solo" video has been making the rounds on Tumblr for a while, so I did some searching to find out if there was more of that goodness.
DeleteI LOVED DISCO HAN!! And how most of the songs Han and Leia danced to had references to each other, lmao #justshipperthings
If anyone wonders why Harrison Ford sometimes shows some dismay at being "Han Solo" and the use of his image everywhere...I think we have found the culprit. But for me, LOLOLOLOL.
DeleteOmg thank you guys for bringing these to my attention again. What a gift to the world they are. Also they kind of make me want to curl up in the shame of second-hand embarrassment (not sure if it's for the cast or the characters or both) but they're simultaneously the best thing ever.
DeleteAlso, the songs omg
"If you want to be with me,
Solo, there's a price to pay
I'm a princess in a battle
You gotta join the Rebel way"
Don't mind me I'm just getting my groove on over here....
Nice. :) I do like that one and really fitting for our princess.
Delete"Princess in a Battle" - currently favourite song 😁
DeleteYeah, there is a healthy dose of second-hand embarrassment on behalf of the cast, outrage at Leia's scenario, and disappointment that we didn't get to see if Luke's got some sick moves as well. But the blatant Han/Leia content of so many of those songs erase all that!
Happy 4th! Somebody posted from the Making of Jedi book (the original one) that they were doing May the 4th jokes in 1982 during the filming so...
ReplyDeleteWore my Rebel Alliance earrings (yep, the mouse made one good thing!) as I'm working here at home. Also posted fic - yep, saved Han again - that's 3 times!
May see some of the trilogy tonight as it's running on TBS as I type this, about to start Empire!
Yes, thank you Zyra for continuing this lovely space!!!
Crap, I had to go turn on the TV right? They're escaping the Death Star in New Hope - "Blast the door, kid!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting the blog, Zyra! Happy May the Fourth to all of you! And also thanks to those of you (LoveThis & Kels, maybe? Or cv73?) who mentioned the New York Philharmonic performances coming up this fall; I was able to score tickets today!
ReplyDeleteYay! Yep, I'm going!
DeleteYou're welcome, guys. And thank YOU for posting and contributing. I love talking about this stuff with other fans, and it's nice to have a place for us all to do that. I'm not really celebrating. But I just realized... and don't laugh, but I'm wearing a Star Wars sweatshirt, because I needed a sweatshirt to throw on and figured of course for today it should be one of the Star Wars ones (I have two). But I'm also wearing one of my Star Wars tshirts. And these Star Wars lounge pants I found at Target. Those are more coincidental because a Star Wars tshirt and these pants are like my universal "winding down for the evening" uniform. Then I realized I'm also wearing Star Wars underwear. This I swear is purely coincidental. And I'm on my couch snuggled under a fleece Star Wars blanket. I swear I'm not as weird and obsessed as that all sounds. No wonder I'm alone ;)
ReplyDeleteLol, Zyra. That is a fair bit. Just have to find a guy that finds it cute. I've got my 40th anniversary shirt on. And watching movies on TBS. My wind down for the evening shirts tend to be SW or Disney. Old Navy are the best shirts as super comfy.
DeleteIt's a lot, right? Literally every item of clothing I'm wearing right now is Star Wars. If I were wearing socks right now, those would also be Star Wars. I don't own a Star Wars bra, but who wears a bra during evening wind-down time, anyway?
DeleteI think only one of my Star Wars shirts is Old Navy, and that one came from the boys department. It is an awesome ESB shirt, and an XL boys shirt is about the same size as a men's medium FYI!
A lot of my shirts came from Target. A couple from Walmart, and at least one from Kolhs. Kohls has TONS of Star Wars shirts. But recently I've had to hold myself back because I don't need this many tshirts in general let alone this many Star Wars tshirts.
I do agree my one Old Navy shirt is super comfy, that softer shirt material.
Look. Last night I went to bed under my Millennium Falcon comforter while wearing an oversized Millennium Falcon t-shirt (I bought to wear over my Han Solo red bloodstripe leggings but which also works well as a sleep shirt). #No shame
DeleteI'm still sporting my ESB shirt in spanish. Perfect for SW Day and Cinco de Mayo. :)
DeleteOK. All those Star Wars clothes... awesome! And: Star Wars bra. Need. Want. But really, need. Does anyone make them? And if not, WHY!?
DeleteErma- I saw one at Target last week! It was technically I think a juniors bra but it would looked like it would work for small to moderately endowed women (i.e. not me.)
Delete*pouts because I can't wear anything*
DeleteZyra, I'm *jealous* of all your Star Wars stuff! That rocks!
ReplyDeleteAnyone else watch the movies and miss our girl? Ugh. Such a bummer she's gone. Celebration wasn't the same without her.
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched them in a while, and I want my next viewing to be full attention, the blu rays, no commercials and all that. I haven't watched them since sometime before Carrie died. Before Princess Diarist came out, in fact. I need a rainy day and some popcorn.
DeleteHappy Day! Wore my shirt and had a nice conversation with a store clerk about our SW shirts.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is Return of the Fifth!
I was working all day on the 4th, with an early start and a late finish, so I toppled into bed long before my usual bed time, right after accidentally watching a clip of Carrie on Graham Norton, which just made me sad. =[
ReplyDeleteMy only sartorial nod to SW on the day was to sport these earrings. I really must acquire some new t-shirts now that there are so many available again... But the earrings and my Millennium Falcon ones have proven to be great conversation starters for people who recognize what they are. I met a woman yesterday who is part of the Rebel Legion UK community. She gave me a card. Now the big question is, do I suit up and join in? I've never done any cosplay in my life. I'm thinking I'd need to go as Yarna d'al' Gargan, or else go on a diet. :P
Erin- WHY DID YOU SHOW ME THAT THOSE FALCON EARRINGS EXIST? (I'm realizing that I own to much MILLENNIUM FALCON stuff, lol). Yarna is beautiful, don't hate on Yarna with your lame Earth standards. ;)
DeleteOoops, sorry. lol My lame Earth standards are often my undoing!
DeleteAlso, not sorry about the MF earrings. I think that's how we should identify each other in the real world. I am a teacher and, as such, cannot go to work sporting a Star Wars t-shirt and Han Solo leggings (those are just the best, aren't they? I see you've acquired a pair!!!!), but I can wear those earrings with any outfit! And it's always fun when I'm speaking to someone (sometimes a student) who suddenly recognizes what they are.... It outs me as the nerd I am, but also makes for a nifty way of meeting like-minded people. =D
My husband got me Rebellion earrings for Valentine's day, I love them (but I never know what to wear them with!). The problem really is just that I need to stop buying MILLENNIUM FALCON items. Like I should also reduce the number of Star War purchases I make (or my husband would prefer it), but the amount of MILLENNIUM FALCON stuff is a little out of control. But I LOVE that ship- what it means to me in evoking the characters who rely on it etc, even down to its shape. I find that hunk of junk aesthetically pleasing.
DeleteI had a fun moment earlier this week though (before May the 4th). I had to go to a government building with a metal detector for part of my job, and I put my keys in the little bin and put it through the scanner. They have a Millennium Falcon on the keychain. One of the two guards standing there nudges the other when it comes out the other end and says, "Hey, look!" and then says to me about that guard, "He's a big Star Trek fan."
So of course my response is "It's a Star Wars ship, the Millennium Falcon" (I will literally always say this, genuinely not realizing that the other person does not care what it is called until AFTER it leaves my mouth, like MINUTES after, lol). But the guard actually just picks up the keychain and hands it to the other Star Trek fan guard (which in hindsight is super rude and could even be considered scary but didn't come off that way to me at the time). The guard then looks at me with a gleam in his eyes, says, "Yeah, I have the Enterprise on mine, and some model ships." And we just shared a knowing smile and a silent moment of knowing exactly what our similarities and our differences were in a way the other guard could not, united for a moment in our identification as part of A fandom, and as fellow travelers who are so frequently mistaken for each other that we know each other's customs. I gave him a little two-fingered salute as I left.
So I get it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also love when kids see my keychain and their faces light up.
DeleteErin, you should totally try cosplaying! It's so much fun seeing people's faces light up and bringing a little more Star Wars joy to their lives. And honestly, it doesn't matter what size you are (or anything else like how old you are, etc.) — yesterday at the event I did there was a larger, older woman cosplaying as Harley Quinn and she was absolutely slaying it.
DeleteAlso, those earrings are A+++ <3
innothere24 that story from the airport is amazing!!!
I had a great May the Fourth, Return of the Fifth, and Revenge of the Sixth — for the 4th I wore a Star Wars tee, did my hair Leia-style, and wore lots of glitter for Carrie, then I had a cosplaying gig as Hoth Leia on each of the following days with the SW fan club I'm a part of. Both were really wonderful in different ways, but the one on the 5th was particularly special as we got to go to a local school/center for homeless kids and surprise them before they all watched ANH. I'm so happy I got involved with this fan/cosplay group this year. It's been a truly wonderful experience, and again, it's just amazing getting to bring that much joy to people through something I'm passionate about.
Lolololol omg ... but you know. ... even disco!Han is kinda hot.... >=D
ReplyDeleteNo doubt! But Han and disco? Omg I laughed so hard. More Lando's style. I'd hope Han would have some super smooth moves for Leia. :)
DeleteOne of you guys is going to have to start pressuring me to write or it is going to be May the 4th again before we know it and I still won't have any updates to my story.
ReplyDeleteZyra, do you know how much I NEED your sweet universe with the REAL SOLO CHILDREN sneaking around and time-traveling and messing stuff up and having to fix it or else cause themselves never to be born!?
DeleteMay I remind you that you left us with NO KISS. And no kiss means no love, no commitment and no, you know, baby-making later on.
Look at this way; if you stop writing now, you've effectively killed off the Solo children! I'm sure you don't want that on your conscience.... :D
Good point, Erin. I MUST keep writing or they will be split up forever and their kids will never be born and they won't all live happily ever after! I must also resist the urge to make it happen immediately in the next chapter, haha.
DeleteDude, do NOT kill off the original Solo children. And a Han and Leia kiss is always good. :)
DeleteAmara, you're right. If I don't finish, the original Solo children will die. We can't have that.
Delete