Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

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I occasionally substitute teach on my off days at the university. Today I was in a middle school English department. The department common room had a collection of various novels along one wall, and I was surprised to see a copy of Shadow Hunter there. Then in the classroom itself, I was even more surprised to see a copy of Glove of Darth Vader (!). Finally, one of the students had the last name of "Hutt". It was quite the day.

 

My middle school library had a copy of Zorba the Hutt's Revenge.

 

Bah. My first Star Wars book report was Heir to the Empire. And yes, it was when the book actually came out.

--Adm. Nick

 

Please tell me his middle name was "the".

 

Last fall, I wrote an essay for my Religions of China and Japan class comparing Vergere's take on the Force to Chinese religious practices- particularly Daoism- and came to the conclusion that Vergere practices proactive Daoism, and was getting at the philosophical basis/inspirations for the Order. I discussed how Vergere was trying to get Jacen to understand the lesson of the Uncarved Block, and how even Nom Anor represented a lesson in Daoism. I received a 94 on the paper (didn't include any citations). The ball is in your court, fellas.

 

I ultimately think the greatest argument for Vergere is that by practicing involuntary teaching and involving the use of torture in her teachings, that ultimately her teachings are bankrupt morally. It is not what you say, but what you DO which determines your value as a teacher. Forget the Sith retcons of Vergere, the fact she warned the Yuuzahn Vong about the Jedi strike team at Myrkyr says everything which needs to be said.

I mostly think Mathew Stover made her SOUND like a Jedi in ways that we don't normally get in Star Wars, though. They're all lightsaber, no wisdom.

 

My high school was devoid of EU. I was the only one in school with a collection of books. The only one in English class, reading Tales of the Bounty Hunters. The only one toting Shadows of the Empire around. And the only one writing a book report on Truce at Bakura.

 

I found Dark Force Rising in a airport book rack.

That was when I was 12.

The rest is history.

 

My introduction to the EU came from the old Time Tales Chronology here on the TFN oddly. I must have spent hours reading that stuff. Sure I was spoiled on a lot of stories, but I knew it would years before I could buy a lot of that anyway.

 

My school had a first edition print of the A New Novel and I got to keep it when they were going to throw it out because the cover had a slight rip.

 

Sounds like your end is about as fun as my end. No cool nicknames, no EU available in school... Though, I did write some fanfics and hand them in for grades. I think back on them now, though, and cringe. Blech.

 

I was a Star Wars fan, perhaps too much of a Star Wars fan at my school, both home school and my two tours in public school (1st to halfway through 3rd, then my junior and senior year). The main thing I did as far as reading during high school was concerned, besides reading at least a few Star Wars books, was actually reading LotR after a false start around the time of the films. I started out by being given the film novelizations as presents around the time of the PT, then I started going to the public library and reading the Bantam novels and short story anthologies, then the NJO and finally several of the PT tie-ins.

Earlier this year I started actively buying books, and now I plan on finally reading the Clone Wars multimedia project, several of the newer Star Wars books and comics, and other things like the Halo books, mainly the first six novels and the short story anthology, Evolutions.

 

My fandom earned me ridicule. But, so did everything else about me. My entire school hated me for no good reason. Well, it really didn't help matters that I was aggressive and overall weird. In elementary, recess was spent wandering the playground and picking up bugs, or hiding under a large pine bush and finding bugs, or digging in the dirt beside the staircase to the ball courts. High school was spent drawing in my notebook, trying to avoid people, throwing my books (and even heaving a chair or two) at anyone who harassed me, and getting into fights. I tried to do extra-curricular stuff, but the teachers wouldn't let me and half of my classes were the "learning support" remedial classes. School sucked loads.

However, in college, my fandom became an asset. If I were to go to college again (not sure for what, though), I already know what character I'll use for a fictional case study to hand in for my Psychology class.

 

My nerddom waas pretty well known from preschool on. In grade school I only associated with a small circle of friends, and there was very little bullying. In middle school, A) people respected me because I was smart and B) my mother was a teacher at that middle school, and while popular people were afraid to cross her. In high school my circle of friends remained pretty constant, and they are the people that I hang out with/live with up here at WVU. I lucked out in that my friends and peers accept me for the nerd I am, and find it fun instead of punishable.

 

Star Wars never came up for me, but one teacher did require that I write Epic of Gilgamesh fanfiction between analyzing the Aeneid and composing haiku.

 

I'm sorry to admit it, but while in high school my interest in Star Wars fell to nil.... mainly because the post-ROTJ Star Wars tie-ins were 98% Ewoks. Didn't get back into it until the mid-90s (although my great love of Lucasarts had me playing Star Wars games even when I wasn't reading Star Wars books)