Lit Literature member interviews

Todd the Jedi - will answer those later, those are questions, again, I want to put some time into.

In the meantime, bask in the glory of this Lego set from 2012! I have never wanted a set as much as this.

I used to use a vine as Kit Fisto's decapitated head (thanks, RotS novel), waaaay before he had his own minifigure. I believe all Jedi Councillors have Lego figures with Agen Kolar's appearance here. Cool.

 

I was building my own attempts at SW Lego before any official models were around.

They were rather colourful- I liked them though.

 

5. What is your favorite part of the JCF?

My favourite part of JCF is either here or in LACWAC (). Not only is the discussion about the things I actually am interested in - the EU and the television shows - but I also enjoy the people that also frequent these forums. I like discussing things with people who also actually know that the planet Byss exists, and who Dass Jennir or Waru are, for instance. In Lit I feel that everyone is wildly more intelligent than myself; everyone knows ancient history and plays days of CK. I enjoy reading things related to content I normally would never have encountered in real life, like people actually attempting to utilise Latin in sentence form.

I like the in-depth discussions that Lit allows. People here can actually articulate my misgivings about the drastic change in direction of LotF, for instance. Sure, I disagree with people on many things here - the BFC trilogy will always be excellent, and the Jedi Apprentice/Way books are actually not too bad - but I appreciate that, for the most part, people actually present their reasons for liking/disliking or being apatehtic towards a piece of literature coherently and reasonably. Lit, after all, is the reason why I came onto the JCF.

As for LACWAC, oh, LACWAC, we go way back. That's where I first made friends with people like you Todd, Tracy, Rob, Zandalore, HJ, Drew, K'Kruhk, Convor, Fanboy, Tarkas, CT, Mia, Tarados, Coric, Dan Grievous, Seerow, Barriss, GG, BDB, and Jonesy; we're all like a little community that's around most of the time. Of course, there's lots of other people there, but these are just some of the people which draw me back in to discuss the utterly dire Corruption; the outstanding Grievous Intrigue and Bounty; 'tell everyone my opinion!!!' on the Bonus Content; to discuss how pitiful Grievous was; to discuss how redundant and nauseating Ahsoka is.
We had insurrection, civil war, rebellion and revolution, and now, seemingly, peace. But the darkness of Rebels approaches...
Just kidding, that place needs a good inquisition. There's far too many heretics that don't bask in His glory. Lord Kowak is not pleased.






6. What places have you traveled too? Any favorite locations?

Excellent question!
I love to travel. Love it.
Earlier this year I went to Europe for three months or so on my own, a first for me. I started in the UK, doing England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, before moving on to the Republic of Ireland, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, and Belgium. Of course I had an absolutely superb time! Particular favourites of mine were Edinburgh, for its Gothic architecture; Berlin, for its crazy history and exciting nightlife; Vienna, for its majesty and beauty. My hostel in Edinburgh was right below the castle, and I got free entry because I was going to an ANZAC day service there, which was quite good. I am, however, sad I missed some Pagan festival due to being up in the highlands; I came back to my hostel and it turns out all my friends I'd made had gone to some bizarre fire festival, where things were burnt on one of the hills above the city. Edinburgh truly is beautiful - the buildings, the surrounding landscape. Everything. Also, haggis is surprisingly delicious.


As for Berlin, I think this little anecdote sums up my fantastic time in this deeply interesting capital: I was walking back to my hostel when I came across a large, somewhat overgrown office complex. I didn't give it much attention, though a plaque did catch my eye, "The East German Ministry for State Security . . . occupied this building from 1950 to 1990". As someone who had studied the Stasi (as they were known), one of the world's most extensive domestic surveillance apparatuses, this was one of those 'moments'. Berlin is a treasure trove of fascinating relics of the past, just waiting to be discovered. Not only this but it is also a contagiously exciting city to be in. As such, I can't wait to visit it again.



Other favourites were London, Prague and Amsterdam, though, as they're perennial favourites, I won't talk so much about those.
A couple of years before that I went to Japan with my school; I studied Japanese at high school and intend to do the same at uni. Tokyo is ****ing fantastic. A city with more people than my country? I'm sold. As you can probably tell, I love cities. I particularly liked the Tokyo suburbs of Akihabara and Ginza, which were both incredible. Ginza is like the upmarket shopping district, and like all of Tokyo, is a sight-in-and-of-itself at night-time. Akihabara is nick-named "Electric City", with shopping many of us geeks love. Heaps of electronic stuff and anime things available. Nikko, just a little north of Tokyo, is startlingly sublime nature. Other highlights were Shibuya Crossing (the Japanese equivalent of Times Square) and watching a soccer match play out on the roof of a skyscraper from our hostel's window. I will go back, and indeed, the $600 return flight sales Jetstar was running last month was oh, so tempting.

Furthermore, I have also been to the Philippines (wow, Firefox doesn't have that in its dictionary), and Vietnam with my family. My family also travels a lot on its own.

Loving these questions, Todd the Jedi - though I apologise for the lengthy time it takes me to respond.

​

 

Todd & Jack ... why am I getting Nazi Breaking Bad vibes?

 

Actually, I think it's probably more intelligent to avoid being sucked in.

 

​

​

​

Thug Life!​

 

Before I do these questions, I'd like to elaborate on my travel response.
I forgot to mention what places I really want to go to in the future. The answer: pretty much everywhere. Particularly I'd like to do the Americas, the Middle East and Russia, and return to Japan. As for the rest of Asia, having it so close, I tend to take it for granted and will probably travel it some more when I'm older.
In the Americas I want to do the States extensively for a few months, likewise Canada, and also Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Argentina, among others. For the Middle East I'd like to visit Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan and Morocco (even if that is really Northern Africa, I'm including it here).

7. What was your reaction to Disney's purchase of SW, and what are your hopes for the sequels?
Let's set the stage, shall we?
Considering I'm on my gap year, and finished high school last year, I had my final exams at the of last year. The day of my exams I opened Facebook to see an image of the Death Star with Mickey Mouse ears and I thought, "Oh, sweet Waru, no. Please no." So, needless to say, when my mind should've been solely focused on my English exam of that day, I was struggling to get terrible ST thoughts out of my head. I immediately felt horror for content such as Dark Times, and mourned that we probably wouldn't get books by Matthew Stover or James Luceno or Aaron Allston again. I thought of all of the Republic comics, and other such outstanding EU works being erased. I was sad. However, I hoped that TCW might be scrapped so as to focus on the ST ().
I'm going to continue the trend of digging up my posts so as to see what I truly felt like at the time, and not what I thought I felt like.

From the Disney Wars thread. Heh.

And that was from "The Future of DH comics".
As I said, I will watch the ST, but if there's a EU 2.0 as some of the crazies on the ST forum are contending (as if they won't contradict that EU, too) I definitely won't be investing my time and money in it. I enjoyed this EU, and it will always have a special place in my heart, but there's absolutely no incentive to join EU 2.0 after the treatment of this one.
Of course, the EU could survive, but that is highly unlikely.



However, after a time when I was thinking rationally and my emotions had calmed, I realised that the only current continuing comic story I was interested in was Dark Times, which has, fortunately, seemingly been given the chance to wrap up all of its stories. I'm grateful for that. Not only that, but I am interested in seeing what Lucas imagined for a post-RotJ universe, and to see it on screen will be exciting, there's no denying that. I can't wait to see the Big Three on screen that first time! I have many questions, and much hope. Will there be greater continuity with the PT, probably! What happens to the Empire after Endor? The Rebel Alliance? Also, I just can't wait to see a reformed Senate, to see new ships and all of the buzz when all of the merchandise appears on shelves. It's exciting, for sure. However, I'm just not sure it's worth erasing all of the 25,000 years of in-universe EU. We'll see, I suppose.

8. Besides SW, what are your passions in life?
Hmm.
As I'm about to study International Studies/Global Politics, and Japanese, I suppose you could draw some answers from there. I like international relations, relatively modern history, languages and also travel. I suppose you could say I don't really want to live in Australia when I'm older.

The reason I'm interested in these fields is something I can't really put my finger on. I've always been interested in history, especially as a ten-year-old and stuff, but after that I became far more interested in how the 20th Century shaped and still shapes what happens this century. I used to be so fascinated in Ancient Greece and Rome, but as I got older, I found that if I couldn't relate to it so much, I became disinterested. It's a shame really. Instead, I am really into WWII and history from there on after and then into current global politics.
Actually, now that I think of it, having my dad read all of these WWII books all the time and watching countless documentaries with him as a kid, and having so many books around probably influenced me, and brought my attention to these. Thanks, dad!
As for international politics, I love it. Maybe it's because it is so relevant to our lives (though many just ignore it), or because it's history before our eyes, I just can't describe my passion for it. Whereas English and Maths and Literature were a struggle in high school, I actually enormously enjoyed international studies - the study of treaties, of who's on the UNSC, all of it. I remember being far too excited by the news that Australia had scored a non-permanent seat on the Security Council last year, for instance.

As for sports, pfft, who needs them? I think the amount of time and energy people put into sports is a waste, to be honest. Obviously many would disagree, but whatever; I am on a Star Wars website, after all.

Todd the Jedi

 

Todd the Jedi

9. How would you rank the 6 Star Wars films?
I would probably go:
The Empire Strikes Back: It's everything that ANH built upon and much, much more. I don't fast-forward through the boring parts, because there are none. Hoth is a favourite location of mine; Echo Base was unbelievably cool as a child. Some hate the asteroid chase scene but I love the Leia and Han interaction, and Threepio being, well, Threepio. It adds Lando; Rieekan; the Emperor; "No, I am your father".

Return of the Jedi: Sure, the Tatooine sequence may be a bit too long, and there's the Ewoks, but it sure is a fitting end to the SW saga (or, was). It has the best fleet battle of screen, the Emperor being a sadistic and mind****er, Admiral Ackbar and Mon Mothma, Coruscant and Naboo (I was born in '94, okay?). I love it.

A New Hope and Revenge of the Sith: ANH is where it all started. That being said, I don'tparticularly enjoy the Dam Busters-inspired Trench Run, and I find it is a little slow in places. That being said, the opening is still brilliant. Everytime I watch the Tantive IV being boarded it completely takes me into that universe. Vader is perfect in this film, too. I don't particularly care for Tarkin as a villain, though. Still, it is a great launching pad for the epic ESB.
Revenge of the Sith is the best of the PT, and for a brief time, we can glimpse just how great it could have been. There's no trade blockades; Sidious is a masterful badass; Yoda decapitates/pierces clone troopers; "You were the Chosen One!"; the look on Ki-Adi's face; those proto-Rebellion scenes. Basically it ties all of the PT together in an acceptable manner, almost making up for the fact that TPM was absolutely horrendous. I liked that all of the hero Jedi we grew to love in the films, and particularly in the EU, were exterminated before our eyes. It's a great example of the EU really contributing to one's enjoyment of the films; how many people that didn't read the comics or novels cared that Plo Koon got shot down?

Attack of the Clones: I think it gets too much flak for the Naboo love sequence; Geonosis easily makes up for it. Seeing all of those Jedi activate their lightsabers after, "This party's over" is still awesome to this day. I also like Kamino and Geonosis as new planets, and all of the new Jedi and Seppies are actually great. It's a pity the 3D won't come out for a while, if at all. That being said, I do dislike the somewhat jarring use of SFX in this one - it's definitely the most noticeable in this episode.

The Phantom Menace: Ugh. I don't even like Qui-Gon, so there's really no saving grace in that department, and the cool Jedi from the Council don't actually do anything until the next episode, or Acts of War. Tatooine, Jar Jar, Jake Lloyd and heaps of other **** make this nearly unbearable for me.



10. What are your favorite non-SW TV shows/movies?

I don't particularly watch many films due to having not that much of an interest in many of the new releases, a lack of cinema nearby and also due to an indifference in going back and watching what people consider 'classics', and 'must-watch's. That being said, I like many of the Bond films (no, wait, I actually just enjoy them all to different degrees), Indy, the Bourne movies, and lots of comedies. Rat Race, Reno 911: the Movie, The Hangover, Inception, Blade Runner, Toy Story etc. are just some films that spring to mind; it's a poor and lacking list, I know. If anyone has some recommendations, I will gladly take them onboard!

Television is a whole other story: I love the format of TV over film; the ability to stay with characters and plotlines for extended periods, to really become engrossed, is huge for me.
I love Game of Thrones. I don't care if it occasionally and tragically deviates from ASoIaF, it's still always great, and I can see the reasons for it doing so. That being said: work on Stannis.

I also loved The Office (both versions), though after the fifth season of the American version the decline in quality was sadly noticeable. I still re-watch such classics as Health Care, Diversity Day, Business School, Casino Night, Conflict Resolution, Dinner Party, Stress Relief, Michael's Birthday all of the time.

Seinfeld was what my childhood, along with TMNT, Postman Pat, Rugrats, and Scooby Doo, was built on. All of the characters are superb, whether they be one of the four regulars or a single episode appearance. Considering it is still re-running on two of the like, twelve, free-to-air channels over hear, I catch episodes a lot. I recently watched The Dinner Party, and I must say, after all of these years, it is still so enjoyable to me.

Parks and Recreation, Homeland, Breaking Bad, Grandma's House, Derek, The IT Crowd, Flight of the Conchords, Adventure Time, Entourage, Veep, The Borgias, The Killing are other notable favourites of mine.

I also wouldn't mind starting The Wire in earnest.

 

I was so confused on this forum when Season 2 came out. I hadn't read the books and you all had Stannis icons. And he was like... just some dude. Sort of a rather dull... dude... just standing in a conference room all day. It would be like if TPM was released and suddenly everyone (ok ok maybe like 4 people) had Valorum avatars. And then he got it on with that Red Witch lady and I was just sort of "WTF (er literally)!"

 

An easier solution Barriss: Don't care about GoT!

 

I have only read and seen up to the end of the second part, but Stannis is somehow funny to me. If he ever gets that crown the rest of the show will be boring meetings where Stannis gets offended if someone takes the last donut. That donut was his by right. Then he goes to continue his reading of The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, which he had to pause in an interesting part when he had to leave the city.

 

Pfft Ben don't be one of those dull old codgers who complains about something they didn't investigate firsthand. I mean if you watched or read anything from the franchise and didn't like it like Anakinsfan did, sure, then I'll grant you it's not for you. But if you're gonna go all hater cuz it's popular, then I'll be forced to create a mental image of you as an old man in a rocking chair waving his cane at the damn kids who won't get off his e-lawn.

 

Ah, you've fallen neatly into my trap Barriss. Yes, it was a trap. Well, actually it wasn't a trap until you posted what you did, which rendered it a retro-trap!

In short: Assuming that not caring = hating it is a contradiction in terms, because hatred of a story is a form of caring, albeit in terms of denial.

I'll admit I find the furore over the reporting of the Red Wedding episode quite hilarious though, but by the same measure, that plot twist doesn't sell me the story either.

ASOFAI simply isn't for me, tried GoT years back and, had I read it a decade earlier, when I was working my way through Donaldson's the Gap I would have loved it, probably - but that me is long gone. Instead I found it too brutal a story for my liking. I find myself far more drawn into Erikson's world than Martin. Yet though Erikson is perhaps every bit as brutal as Martin, I find his worlds more intriguing. Well, that and he has Kellanved and Dancer and Rake....

Second, if I give either the TV or books a go, I have one simple requirement: That the story be complete! That's years away. Again, simple reason - I'm loving reading through an entire arc without waiting, not least as 2-3 years between books is a memory test too far, thus I'm waiting for Kingkiller Chronicles Book 3 to come out before I re-read Bk 1 and then hit Bks 2-3. It's a rare series that can overcome this, Gentlemen Bastards and Stormlight Archive likely qualify.

So, might I buy the DVD boxset of GoT when it's all done? Quite possibly - I'm contemplating doing that on Breaking Bad after all.

 

Interesting that you note A Song of Ice and Fire as "brutal", because personally, the Siege of Capustan in Malazan turned my stomach in a way that nothing in ASOIAF did*. That was brutal.

But yeah, I can get not liking Martin. There are certainly things about his writing style that annoy me, but his overall vision is one I find very compelling. If I had to choose I would say that I prefer Malazan (in many ways I feel Malazan is Mad Men to ASOIAF's Breaking Bad; both highly different yet fantastic shows, though only one can truly be called popular), but that's because I really love that Tolkienesque sense that Erikson's world is something so different and unknowable compared to our own, where metaphor literally comes to life, which is exactly the opposite of what Martin was going for.

Anyway, don't want to hijack JackG's thread from him.

*Spoiler for A Dance with Dragons

Spoiler

Save perhaps the stuff with Theon, though that blow is blunted by the fact that I really dislike the guy

 

I better throw this in: I do get the incomprehensiblity angle of it all, you know the whole "what? how can you not like X...." point, as we've all got our favourite tales that we think everyone would like, so when someone says: Nah, not for me - our immediate instinct is to retort: You're missing out on something great! Which is, on an objective level, given the amount of plaudits for GoT, is probably accurate.

But the world we're in now doesn't require us to like things now or else miss out forever. Be it DVDs, streaming or the next gen options, these shows will have carved out a sufficiently successful niche to run for a very long time. Just as people buy and watch classics like I, Claudius and Inspector Morse, so too will they do so for The Wire, The Shield, Breaking Bad, GoT. I think this changes the dynamic greatly

 

Whatever it may have been meant to be I feel like it was an unneeded hijacking of Jack's Q & A. If your not interested in something the person being interviewed mentions it might be better to keep it to yourself rather than telling people not to care about.

 

It was intended as a light-hearted and obviously so quip Robi - and you really know me better in any case - but as it was then taken more seriously than expected - though Barriss' reply says she got the joke just fine - it did get me thinking of aspects I hadn't noticed before so I then I felt obliged to explain more fully.

Clearly I should have just opted for: Never apologise, never explain!

Though, this'll all be moot when Jack answers Q11, which in turn will put said thread back on-track.

 

Yeah, the cannibalism is a bit more subtle in ASOIAF. Though holy crap, there's a crapload of cannibalism and human sacrifice undertones to A Dance With Dragons.

 

It wasn't so much the cannibalism for me as it was the vivid descriptions of the mounds of corpses being used to form barricades, some still alive and squirming beneath the piles, some with intestines dangling out of them as leftovers. Having had the displeasure to be near a rotting corpse (long story), just imagining the smell of that is enough to make me want to gag.