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Author Topic: Fanboys Again
mindtwister_138  294 posts
Registered: Jul '02
41717_Darth Vader
Date Posted: 6/12 8:16am Subject: Fanboys Again

I think both in the mailbox would be sweeter!

 

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Yoda_Jammies  581 posts
Registered: Jan '03
6187_Yoda
Date Posted: 6/30 7:21pm Subject: Fanboys Again
Hey Gang,

Got this in my inbox just now:


Kyle Newman posted:
hey jammies

congrats on winning the fanboys DVD thru the forcecast. thanks for supporting the film. i am putting it in the mail tomorrow!

kyle


To which I replied:

Holy Sith! An email to me from THE Kyle Newman!

Mr. Newman, first I cannot thank you enough for the film you have given all us fans! Our local fanclub watched Fanboys in Louisville and we absolutely loved it! We had tears in our eyes from the jokes, but also from the pathos of the film. Personally, I have to tip my hat to you for Hutch’s van gag.

Mostly, I want to express my gratitude to you for weaving a tale that mixed fandom with chronic illness. You see, I work with college students with disabilities at *****, and I use Star Wars fandom to reach out to a lot of my students. That “idiotic lifestyle” has helped me reach so many students over the years. I have had wounded warriors come back from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder, and instead of using psychological terms like “hyper-vigilance” I say “so, when you walk through campus, do you have your shields up?” And they understand exactly what I am talking about and will open up to me about their past. I have had dyslexic students paralyzed with test anxiety, and when I tell them to relax and “use the Force,” they get it, and loosen up enough to ace their exams. I have had students with chronic illness like cancer or Multiple Sclerosis (students like Linus) on the verge of dropping out of school, and I tell them “hey, this is your Death Star. If you can blow this thing, you can do anything” and they tough it out. I have graduated doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists….. hundreds of students with disabilities, in part, because I can reach them through a shared connection with the greatest film saga ever made.

Thank you Kyle Newman. We all appreciate the galaxy that George Lucas has given us, but it is talented people like you that give it that personal touch, and keep his dreams alive. I promise, not only will this DVD be cherished in my collection, but that it will not sit idle. Scenes from the film will be added to my curricula to further encourage students with disabilities to live out their dreams, and fulfill their destinies, and conquer their Death Stars.



May the Force Be With You

“Jammies”

 

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"The Glove of Darth Vader was a Mandalorian Crushgaunt fitted around one of Lord Kaan's indestructible Sith Amulets."
I thought I was a SW fan until I read that and had no idea what it meant.
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DarthZannah  435 posts
Registered: Nov '08
48278_Darth Zannah
Date Posted: 7/1 5:54am Subject: Fanboys Again
When I read your letter, it deeply touched me. We all have our "Death Stars" to face, some of them will be in small crises, others of them will inevitably send us on our way, but they come to us. For some of us, they come sooner than others, but they will come to us all. Jammies, I don't know what prompted you to go into the field you chose, but from a military wife, who has seen what the mind can do to a person, I am grateful to you. "They" are grateful to you. I think that for most of us, metaphors like what you use with your clients reach them on a positive level, a "living of life" level, one that can be understood and appreciated. Clinical terms are mostly cold, they leave one feeling cold and un-loved, like your just another clinical person, a number, a statistic to be dealt with on a clinical level. (Typically: "Yea, your suffering from P.T.S., take this pill and come back in a month"). One feels like a bother to those around them, a broken and worn out soul, and it wears them out. They will stop trying. You have been inspired by a Saga of life, to inspire life..... how beautiful can it get. We.... all of us, at least most of us, need to feel wanted, appreciated, cared about, and that we matter... even to our end. We all need those things, but within those self needs, I think many of us forget to give them. You haven't forgotten Jammies. I can only know this about you.... you care enough to be inspired. And you "are" inspired. My gratitude to you for being who you are. applause There wasn't a face that expressed what I felt concerning you, so I settled for the applause. I just want you to know that it fell sorrowfully short. A hand over the heart would have been the ticket. Hope to see you soon... batting

 

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Peace is a lie , There is only passion
The Force shall set me free
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Cungr_Vanck  357 posts
Registered: Jul '08
7387_Wedge Antilles
Date Posted: 7/1 6:48am Subject: Fanboys Again
Congratulations once again Jammies. Be sure you print that email out/save it for posterity!

And might I add that you have my appreciation and admiration for what you are doing. Though your greatest reward is probably seeing those individuals defeat "their Death Star" and succeed despite any limitations. Most Impressive! Keep up the good work!

 

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"You're coming dangerously close to insubordination, General."
"No, General. I'm not your subordinate. And what I'm coming dangerously close to is violence."
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Yoda_Jammies  581 posts
Registered: Jan '03
6187_Yoda
Date Posted: 7/1 7:23am Subject: Fanboys Again
Thanks all.

I, as a rule, do not post about work on cyberspace (rules and regs, confidentiality, "cyber-stalking" from a few trouble students, etc *and you notice I blanked out my school and my real name) and I totally do not want to toot my own horn. BUT, I knew you all, of all people, could relate to what I wrote Klye Newman.

And that is just it. These are not just some action movies about space. Instead, they are profoundly deep films seeped in a shared mythology. And, they can be used to connect and heal people-- which I try to do on a daily basis. I had to share with like minded folks, and i hope noone was offended.

Thanks Cugr. Agreed, that is the best reward. I mean, a living wage would be cool too, but yes, seeing these students grow-- and seeing the students abandon me as they become self-sufficent is the true reward.

Oh Zannah, I heart you.

"They" are my biggest challange, as they don't come see me. By and large, they avoid all help. Perhaps "university types" are seen as the enamy from a military point of view, hippie leftist professors and all that. But that is not at all true. And when a vet come into my office, and the first words out of my mouth are "thank you." It changes the whole dynamic. Sadly, I have a lot of Fi's walking around-- and I help them as best as I can. I don't know... maybe I need to visit Ft. Knox just to introduce myself, and hopefuly the rest of the warriors in need will come by my office.

Again, I didn't meen to toot my horn, just to show the impact Star Wars can have on people in need-- just like in Fanboys.

MTFBWY

Jammies

 

-----signature-----
"The Glove of Darth Vader was a Mandalorian Crushgaunt fitted around one of Lord Kaan's indestructible Sith Amulets."
I thought I was a SW fan until I read that and had no idea what it meant.
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DarthZannah  435 posts
Registered: Nov '08
48278_Darth Zannah
Date Posted: 7/1 8:53am Subject: Fanboys Again
Oh my Dear, you are most assuredly "not" a horn blower here. What you did was to thank someone else for what "they" have done, which led to others of us being able to use it for the benefit of others.... passing it forward, in many ways.... be it threw social benefits for charities, medical and mental help, or simply being an image and inspiration to others, especially children, which may inspire them in different ways we will may never know. Yes, the Star Wars Saga, and others like it, are so much more than just fun movies, gathering their shares of freaky and geeky type followers.... who in my estimation, are some awesome types of people... heartful and easily inspired. And here recently, we have seen a few examples of the enrichment to peoples lives that these freaks and geeks have been, and will continue to be. I don't think anyone here would have a problem with your post, or any which followed it. May The Force Be With Us.... Always. batting

 

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Peace is a lie , There is only passion
The Force shall set me free
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