Brockton Holiday Parade

Here's a few shots from this weekend's troop. It was my first parade, so that was fun. Even better, I got to troop with Darth Chip, who I'm partly responsible for. I put the bug in his ear, at any rate.

Touch a Truck

I spent the better part of my Sunday freezing my ass off dressed in white armor. There was a "Touch a Truck" fund raiser in Weymouth, and I was the lone trooper. Here are a few of my favorite shots:


TK8103, meet T&K
"I don't want stormtrooper Daddy!"
The two faces of Homeland Security
Posing with the ladies
Yeah, I'm cool

TK-8103 on Weymouth After Dark

At long last, excerpts from TK-8103's legendary appearance on Weymouth Community cable.

Imperial Duck Tour

That would be TK8103, the infamous Molius, and 11 other costumed Imperials tooling around Boston Saturday night on a Duck Boat.

A good time was had by all on board, and a lot of people walking the streets of Boston were left confused.

More pics here.

The cat's out of the bag

What were 25 members of the NEG doing marching around in full armor in a parking lot last weekend?

There was indeed a reason.... LFL is going to select 200 lucky troopers to march in The Tournament of Roses Parade!

Sweet! Here's hoping I'm one of the lucky ones that get selected!

Finally, someone takes note...

When you're a member of the 501st , you tend to notice little details when it comes to SW costumes. Glaring errors are annoying.

So, when a bunch of TKs go to see the SW exhibit at the MOS and see this, naturally they/we are disturbed...

We pointed out to the staff numerous times that the ab plate should be underneath the chest plate. In fact, there were 30 stormtroopers walking around, and none of them looked like this.

We were told only LFL could open the case and fix it. Well, looks like someone finally did something about it...

Thanks, guys!

Vader's Fist

I'll start this off by saying I'm fucking sick. Head cold, chest cough, all that fun shit.
I spent the better part of Tueday in armor. I don't recommend coughing and sneezing inside a stormtrooper helmet. It sucks.
Anyhow, I got the ROTS DVD. Still haven't watched it, but I did start watching the bonus stuff today. I stayed home sick from work. Slept until 11, then got up and dialed into work. Worked until about 2:30. Then I played XBox for a while.
I picked up a copy of Battlefront 2 Tuesday night. I have a feeling I won't be blogging much for a bit. The game is awesome. Great graphics, a much improved single player mode. You work your way through all the military campaigns, through all 6 films. Not only that, but you play as a member of the 501st! You can't get much cooler than that!
Well.... maybe Stubbs. I won't know for sure until I own that as well.

Star Wars hangover

What a weekend! The gala opening at the MOS was a blast. I got there around 10AM, spent a few hours checking out the exhibit and riding on the Falcon again. I can't say enough about the exhibit. It's incredible! Seeing all the costumes and props, standing inches away from Luke's landspeeder, the original Tantive IV model. If you look in the cockpit window, you can even see the Playboy centerfold!
We had a few hours of down time, and then suited up for the main event. 80 costumed characters, including an 8 foot Chewie. It actually looked like the MOS was under Imperial occupation, Stormtroopers lined the halls, squads marched back and forth. Awesome.
I did not get to meet George. Didn't even see him. But he was there.
I'll throw up a few pics soon. I got my picture in today's Herald. Of course, I'm probably the only one who can tell for certain it's me.

That's me on the right!

Chewie, lock in the auxillary thrusters!

So.... it's very late and I'm very tired. But I couldn't resist posting this news...

I sat in the pilots seat of the mutha fucking Millenium Falcon!!!

Got a sneak peek at the SW exhibit as well. Oh... my... God. I ain't giving details just yet.

Luminous beings are we

Rest In Peace, Katie. To Albin and family... my heart goes out to you. Be strong.

Enough about me...

Here's a link to pictures from this past Sunday.
Andrew... I wish that we actually got the chance to talk.
My fellow NEGers... I love you guys. Thanks for making this happen!

One for the fans

Well, for once I got off my self absorbed ass and did something good for someone else. And let me tell you, it felt good.
One of the nurses at work, CW, has a patient with muscular dystophy. He's 23, and hasn't been out of his house in four years, except for surgery. Turns out he's a huge Star Wars fan. CW was telling me how one whole room in his house is filled with SW figures. Last week, I was going on at some length about my repeat viewings of ROTS. CW informed me that her patient was being taken by ambulance, along with a team of nurses, to see the movie on Sunday.
Well, my wheels started spinning. Me, I had no problem going to see the movie 5 times. I'm able bodied, and I thank God for that. I got to thinking about what a big event it was for this guy to go see a movie. Then, I thought, how awesome would it be for him to show up at the theater and be greeted by stormtroopers?
Let me tell you... pretty freakin awesome. I put a post up on the NEG forum, and ended up with 3 stormtroopers and a photographer! Great, awesome, wonderful guys who on short notice gave up their Sunday to come down and make a special day all that more special. One of the troopers even drove down from Maine!
Well, we had a blast. We met CW and her patient at the entrance to the mall. We than escorted them through the mall food court to the theater. A good time was had by all.
After we got them to the theater, we spent some time trooping around the mall. We even got glamour shots done at a portrait studio!
So, in short, to Mr. A... I hope you enjoyed the movie and the Imperial presence. It was an honor to meet you. To my fellow troopers, you guys fucking rock! My faith in mankind has been renewed.

Having fun in my Underoos

As I believe I have mentioned at one time or another, I am quite the Star Wars enthusiast. I like me some SW.
There's some funny things going on in the fandom universe these days. The 501st has had some really heated debates this past week about new costumes and such. It got a little ugly.
I'm wondering if perhaps some of us fans aren't a little emotional now that the saga has run it's course. Seems to me some people are acting out, as we do when we try to supress emotions.
Me... I'm remembering what it was like to be a child. A little boy. Those days when I played with action figures for hours and enjoyed the shit out of it. Afternoons of imagination, mornings full of cartoons. Cub scouts, sleepovers.
I'm grateful that I can reach out and touch those memories right now. I have a little boy. He'll soon be entering an age of wonder. I'm really excited for him, because I have no idea what his fancies will be. What will capture his imagination. Of course, I am attempting to lay a solid SW foundation, but ultimately TK Junior will be moved by what ever moves him.
I really dig the idea of passing the torch. I'll admit, I never really knew what to do with it when it got thrust into my hand. Here's hoping my guy does.
KG reminded me tonight of the herring run . I'm looking forward to their return, as the back river is a stone's throw from our apartment. We stumbled across it one evening walking to the pizza joint up the street. The water was teeming with thousands of these fish, and there were a bunch of weird, giant birds hiding in the trees. It didn't quite look like this. (second picture down) Very cool.

Access Denied!

Well, hoorah for City Year, they managed to sell out the charity premier. Which meant we didn't get to see the movie. We got to hear the movie, but that was it. Alas, the countdown continues.
But, a fun time was had by all. This was my first time out at a big event, so I got to meet a lot of the NEG. That was pretty cool, and now I won't have to take guff for being the garrison's lone trooper. I also got the chance to meet Lenny Clarke and Tom Brady. Lenny I actually talked to, Brady was in the same room. So, that was kind of cool.
I decided to skip the post party as I was pretty sore, and have to work tomorrow. So now I'm back home, chilling with KG and looking forward to hitting the sack.
My sister got herself arrested today. Apparently a cop ran her plate and came up with a bench warrent. In reality, the warrent had been reversed, but it hadn't been entered in the SCMODS. So, she was handcuffed, taken to the station, and then had to appear in court in shackles. JeeBee thinks the whole thing was pretty funny. My mother, she did not. Anyhow, JeeBee now has a mug shot, which I need to get a framed copy of.
Tomorrow promises to be a fun day. Abbreviated work day due to a dental appointment to get my permanent crown, and the landlord is coming over to put squirrel traps in the attic. Which means I have to place the D Con up there, since I told him I did two weeks ago. D'oh.
Well, enough is enough. I'm still wearing my body glove, and I think it's time to get it off.
6 days, 43 minutes, 58 seconds.

I have a fan!

Last week while I was trooping at the SSP, I had one of those funny little moments in life. A group of teenagers wandered into the store, mostly boys shopping for games. At any rate, there was one cute girl, and she got all excited when she saw me. She came over and said "Can I hug you?". Well, who am I to turn down such a request? I gave her a hug.
It was a cute and funny moment. The store manager asked me if that happened often. He was going to get himself some armor if it did. Well, it was a first for me.
Anyhow, while checking my email tonight, I found one titled "hello stormtrooper, I have a question..." Turns out it's the hugging girl.

hey!

I was looking at your webpage, and I had a question.... were you the stormtrooper at the South Shore Plaza? If it was you, then I saw you there on May 5th and I was so excited to see you that I ran up to you and gave you a hug! and I came back the next day with a camera but you werent there ;/ i went back to the mall today, and asked the emplyees of you were coming back, and they said probabally not..... but they knew who I was. They knew that I was "that girl" who ran up to you and gave you a hug. Even some customers knew who I was. I found this really amusing, how did they know? hehe, I dunno, but I thought it was the koolest thing though, so I had to email you and see if it was you. I would really appreciate it if you wrote me back!

thanks so much!
Lana
Too funny. KG and I had a good laugh over it.
Speaking of armor, I need to spend my evening tomorrow polishing it for the charity screening on Thursday. Apparently City Year hasn't done a good job of promoting it, and has only sold 600 tickets. Rumor is if the sales remain flat, we'll get to see the movie. So, I'm not linking to the City Year site. I don't want any of my one or two readers buying tickets and leaving me shut out!
Had one of those days today at work where pretty much every one was annoying me. Closing week always gets me stressed, and it doesn't help that I have a day off. Sure, I deserve it, and it's laughable to think they won't function without me. But I worry anyway.
Well, RB lent me a tape of 20/20 with interviews from the cast of Lost, so I think I'll go check that out. Then I'll go kick Dooku's ass. Never got around to it last night.
8 days, 2 hours, 25 minutes.

No taking pictures in the mall!

That's what security told us this afternoon during my trooping stint. Odd, to say the least. First I was asked to stay in the store because the mall president was there, and then we were told no pics.
First off... I'm the Imperial agent. Isn't it my job to be the oppressor?
Anyhow, it was a good time. 6 hours in armor. I walked away with the ROTS video game, a poster, and the strategy guide. Not too shabby. I didn't have any problems, and was generally well received by the mall rats. One old lady did ask me what I was supposed to be. When I replied "a stormtrooper", she took off her glasses and said "That's all we need. More guns."
Odd.
KG and TK Junior came by at the end of my gig. TK Jr was especially cute, wearing a stormtrooper ringer T. He was shy at first, then kept running around yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" Best part... he saw the cover to the SW Battlefronts game, which has a TK on the cover. He pointed at it and said "Daddy!" Very, very cool.
KG posted a Poem for Vader on her blog. It's refreshing to read something both creative and NOT written by a rabid fan boy. I'm reminded once again why I love that beeyatch so much.
13 days, 2 hours, 12 minutes.

Costume junkies are people too

I was checking the 501st boards tonight, and found a link to a great doc in the works.Heart of an Empire is about the people behind the masks. The human side of the 501st. I haven't made a trip to a children's hospital yet, but I've heard many times that a lot of the guys are pretty torn up after leaving. I look at TK Junior, and I refuse to even contemplate anything bad happening to him. Albin Johnson, the founder of the 501st, has a little daughter. She's got a brain tumor.
Sometimes God kills little children.
Being in love, loving, being loved... they are wonderful things. They open you up to a world of hurt, of course. But it's good to know you can feel something strong enough to be hurt by it's loss. That's what life is all about, I suppose.
Tomorrow, life will be full of meetings and reports. I get to learn about all the wonders of Horizons 9.0. I get to summarize and share our error report. I get to listen to the nurses' union reps bitch about all the clerical work they have to do, and how the laptops are destroying their lives. I wish, I wish so much, that for one moment I could be like Darth Vader. I would stand behind the conference table and clench my fist. FK, the labor leader, would choke, and I would say simply "I find your lack of faith disturbing." I shit you not, the lure of the Dark Side is strong.
Alas, I will have to be content to share my wry observations and go about my business.
I'm going to have to miss my 3PM cookie break. But at least I get my cube to myself for the day. So I got that going for me!