The Star Wars Post

Actually, it's not going to be That Post.

Or The Other Post.

That Post would be the one where I give all the spoilers away. That's not going to happen. I think anyone who sees this movie will have so much emotional impact from it that they will keep the secrets. It's a hell of a movie.

I thought all of the original 6 movies were good movies. (Note - not excellent). However, they were both celebrated and cursed by the vision of their creator. George Lucas managed to create a great universe with huge varied scope which also lent itself to film and novel, setting up compelling stories. But that dialogue ... And some of the elements which were more about merchandising and other weirdness.

You can easily tell how the first six films will turn people off the franchise. This one is different, probably due to heavy JJ Abrams influence.

He's a weird case. He's done some excellent stuff with Alias and Fringe. He's also done turkeys like Lost (I stopped watching after 1 season). He did an update to Star Trek which I enjoyed and will hopefully reignite that franchise after the misguided Nemesis killed it. But even that Star Trek film divides fans, I loved it, CK hated it and refuses to watch any more of Alt Trek.

But it looks like with this Star Wars that he has made his own story, suitable long after the originals to make the age of the characters make sense.

And that's all I'm saying about the new film. Because this post isn't going to be That Post that gives away all the spoilers.

I'm holding off on The Other Post too, which is where I talk about the Expanded Universe. It slipped out a good while ago that the Expanded Universe for Star Wars was being rejected for the new films. None of it was to be included. And that's a shame because there were some excellent books from Timothy Zahn, Michael Stackpole and Aaron Allston. But I'll save The Other Post for a time when I'm less tired.

Anyway - Force Awakens - go see it if you're interested in space based scifi. It's a triumph from start to finish. There are very few films where I would quite happily see it again straight after the first viewing (Martian was close but not quite) but this is one. Perhaps that's the little boy part of me that saw Return of the Jedi in the cinema when it first came out.

And now for something completely different ...

I have the tireds.

Last day in work for me for a while, I'm off now until the 4th. It'll be a chance to see about getting some repairs done on house stuff. Perhaps a chance to drag my weary bones to the doctors to get some ailments looked at that have nothing to do with my outsides.

It's odd to be thinking about getting my insides (multiple issues) sorted out as the outsides return to normality. There are still repairs to do on my outsides but they're definitely healing. Not long to go hopefully.

But there are other problems that I'm hiding :

Exhaustion - mostly from lack of sleep. Partly because I drive myself to keep going when I should be keeling over. It's why I don't do much gaming in the evenings these days, because I've put all I have into what I do at work.
Hip - I tore stuff up in my groin during my cricket days which never really healed. That's worsened with some of the measures I had to use when I was really bad (sitting on the floor so I wouldn't damage my furniture). Perhaps it needs exercise that I never figured out during the cricket days.
Shoulder - the dislocation and muscle injury left it even looser, which means it can move around and trap blood vessels and nerves, which makes the arm go numb. Not sure if much can be done about that, apart from more exercises to move it back to where it should be.
Legs - it's weird. I can walk indefinitely most of the time but when I'm pounding in from the bus (either route), I get a limp on as my left calf freezes up. Dunno what's causing that.
And the acid - this is why I'm not getting enough sleep at the moment.

The hip and shoulder is an annoyance, the leg is probably because I've killed my work shoes (I'll get some more next week). The exhaustion is a function of the time of year, the 2 weeks off will counter a lot of that. The acid will need me to lose weight again and be wary about what I eat. I had a lovely meal with great company on Monday but definitely paid for having the hot chocolate, plus more machine hot chocolate at work.

Perhaps I should avoid that lovely, smooth hot chocolate ...

And pizza - I need to avoid that too ! Spot the lactose intolerance. Age gets to us in the end but you never really know what you'll react to before the toxicity level rises enough that stuff you could tolerate before starts doing damage.

Enough about me !

Go see film ! It'll be worth it, even if you're an Anti-Star Wars person. (One person reading this will know who I mean !) At least I hope you'll enjoy it :-).
I'm exhausted - but I'll recover.
Time for a break - enjoy your Winter breaks !

That said, this can be a hard time of year for people who don't have anyone to share it with. I hope there aren't many of you in that position. I know a few people will be, if you're reading this and will be on your own on the 25th :

Have a great break ! I hope your preparations have gone well, that you don't have last minute stress (I still need to get cards!) and that you can spend the break doing what you enjoy.

I know a few people won't have that luxury (thoughts for the fella at work who just lost his mum), keep a few thoughts for those less fortunate than we are.

Cya !

PS That film may have unfortunate consequences for me being able to resist Star Wars games when they go on sale at GoG.com again.