A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Photo Credit: www.rebelscum.com. (C) 1998 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  The boggy, swamp planet Dagobah is the principal planet in the star system of the same name. Although explored, Dagobah remains sparsely populated because of its inhospitable climate and generally unpleasant surroundings. Constantly shrouded in mist and strangled by dense vegetation, the planet is the home to numerous animal life, including dangerous flying predators. The Jedi Master Yoda also makes his home and hideout there and is the only resident of notoriety. – From the package blurb, Star Wars – Power of the Force: Dagobah with Yoda (Complete Galaxy) Twenty years ago, Hasbro, Inc.’s Kenner division released a new assortment of globe-and-figure sets called Complete Galaxy. Sold as part of Kenner’s revived Star Wars: The Power of the Force collection, this assortment consists of four detailed globes based on three planets and one battle station where crucial events of the Galactic Civil Wa...

Photo Credit: Rebelscum.com. (C) 2003 Hasbro Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  The Jedi High Council is the main interface between the Jedi and the government of the Republic. The twelve High Council members are chosen from the ranks of the Jedi Masters and represent a gathering of great minds who have proven themselves and their abilities in the service of peace and justice. – Package blurb, Jedi High Council 2, Star Wars Saga Collection Screen Scene Pack During the first quarter of 2003, Hasbro released the second wave of its revamped Star Wars collection of action figures, vehicles, creatures, and other toys and collectibles based on the popular franchise created by George Lucas. The Star Wars line – which was dubbed the Star Wars Saga collection by various collectors even though Hasbro never officially used the moniker on the new logo – featured many products based on Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but it offered toys and collectibles from the other films ...

Album Cover Design: Tom Wilkes. Photo by: Angus McBean. (C) 1973 Apple Records On April 2, 1973, Apple Records released two double-LP compilation albums by The Beatles: The Beatles: 1962-1966 and The Beatles: 1967-1970. Known respectively as the Red and Blue Albums (a reference to the colors of the album packaging), the two sets presented 54 of the Fab Four’s best-known songs from their eight-year reign as rock’s premier performing act. Produced by George Martin and Phil Spector, the Red and Blue Albums were compiled by The Beatles’ (and The Rolling Stones’) infamously sleazy agent Allen Klein in response to the bootleg collection Alpha Omega , which was being sold without permission via television marketing. Per Klein, Martin, and Spector’s design,   The Red Album covers the first half of The Beatles’ career, featuring 26 songs written and performed by the “lads from Liverpool” between 1962 and 1966. For various reasons – some artistic, some financial – Klein decreed...

Album Cover Design: Tom Wilkes. Photo by: Angus McBean. (C) 1973 Apple Records I became a Beatles' fan when I was 17 years old. That’s rather late in life, relatively speaking, in part because my taste in music tends to veer to the classical/orchestral film score end rather than rock. I was less than a year old when the Fab Four made their American TV debut in February 1964. Then I lived in South America from 1966 till 1972 in an environment where I didn’t mix with too many rock and roll fans. That’s why I wasn't really exposed to The Beatles' music until the 1980s, by which time the group had split and John Lennon had been taken away by a madman's bullet. My fascination with the "lads from Liverpool" began in my sophomore year at South Miami High, when a fellow journalism student took the time to write down the lyrics to Paul McCartney's ode to Julian Lennon ("Hey, Jude"). In chorus class I learned the lyrics to "Eleanor Rigby...

Photo Credit: Rebelscum.com. (C) 2003 Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) The Jedi High Council is the main interface between the Jedi and the government of the Republic. The twelve High Council members are chosen from the ranks of the Jedi Masters and represent a gathering of great minds who have proven themselves and their abilities in the service of peace and justice. – Package blurb, Jedi High Council 1, Star Wars Saga Collection Screen Scene Pack One of the exciting things about the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series was learning some of the lore of   how the Jedi Order operated in the waning years of the Old Republic. We saw some of the prominent Jedi Masters and their Padawan apprentices in action, learned about the Jedi Code, and witnessed how the Jedi High Council was outmaneuvered and eventually destroyed by Darth Sidious and his minions. . Hasbro's Star Wars Saga Screen Scene Pack: Jedi Council 1 features three ...

Photo Credit: www.reservoir.com. (C) 2003 Hasbro Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  In a conference room on Geonosis, leaders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems watch Republic and Separatist forces engage in what will become the first battle of the Clone Wars. unscrupulous opportunists who will do anything that will benefit them financially, they ally with Count Dooku to advance their own interests. -   Package blurb, Geonosian War Room 2,   Star Wars Saga Screen Scene, 2003 In 2002, Hasbro phased out its Power of the Jedi line of Star Wars toys and collectibles. In its place, the Rhode Island-based toy manufacturer introduced a new product line simply called Star Wars. As with the previous Star Wars- themed collection, Hasbro rolled out several waves of new “basic” figures, vehicles, playsets, deluxe figures, and screen scenes that spanned the entire Star Wars saga rather than just a specific film. Consequently, many fans and collectors started calling the 20...