I believe I'm getting better at searching the archives in My Blue Heaven aboard my old raft: for the first time since I've started this journal, I actually found what I was looking for instead of getting sidetracked by something else unrelated that interested me beforehand. Granted, I didn't just walk straight into the room, select the correct box, and there was the poster pictured above--it's NEVER quite that easy for me. My archives are a bit of a labyrinth in a sense, and I'm not nearly as organized now as I used to be years ago. Perhaps there's a lesson in there for me somewhere?
I used to have sort of a peculiar way of organizing things, though it worked for me for many years. I organized things more chronologically rather than by subject. As an example, I wouldn't have just a box of old VHS tapes; I would have a box with old VHS tapes I had watched and/or acquired in that era, as well as other novelties I had found around that time, up to and including greeting cards and letters/pictures I had received at that time. You would also be likely to find AA batteries in that box as well because they're just so handy. And pens--lots of ink pens. So yes, AA batteries are a common theme with me, and small flashlights. And portable compact disc players. Because you just never know when the power will go out, right? I digress.
My old manner of archiving things became obsolete soon after Weasel and Butterfly entered my life. Necessity dictated that I started grouping items by subject rather than by era, but I had a lot less time to organize memories once the kids were born. So ultimately, what I'm left with on my old raft are a couple different series of archives--those arranged by era, and those arranged by subject...and the unfortunate boxes that are a blend of the two. It would take a mathematician of considerable skill to make sense of my current archives. I am not that mathematician, as I'm sure calculus and imaginary numbers would come into play. It just occurred to me that this whole chapter so far has been nothing but a digression. It'll have to do...I'm not re-writing the entry.
So the Star Wars conundrum: that was the original point of all this. In a way, it does tie in, because I also have Star Wars items littered throughout nearly ALL of my archives--but I won't digress further. Not yet anyway. Weasel was born in January of 2005, so the poster pictured above confirms that this was the first Star Wars film released after his birth--and the first one released with me as a father. I was fortunate to have gone to see the movie on Father's Day, because the usher gave me this wonderful keepsake that helps me keep track of memories. I remember now wanting to go see the new Star Wars movie as a Father's Day gift to myself, and making arrangements for the grandparents to watch Weasel so I could do so (he was much too young to take to a movie at that time--and even if I could have enjoyed the movie while changing diapers and feeding and entertaining him, I was certain that my fellow Star Wars nerds would NOT be so understanding). So I went alone--just me. Peace and quiet, and finally seeing exactly how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader for the first time. I enjoyed it thoroughly, of course, and it was the best of the prequels in my opinion.
Later that night after watching Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (when I was going to sleep, no doubt--or the next day while showering), I got to thinking just how I was going to introduce the Star Wars saga to Weasel when he was old enough. Episodes I and II were bad enough that I thought we might just be able to skip over the prequels completely as if they never existed. Certainly my preference was for Weasel to experience Star Wars the same way that I did--beginning with Episode IV, then V, and finally VI. I considered ways I might shelter him from the prequels and how he could just live his life feeling satisfied knowing that Darth Vader really WAS Luke's father--and that Emperor Palpatine was dead, and that Luke saved his father's spirit. And that Ewoks were lame--though we enjoyed C-3PO telling them stories in their native tongue.
At some point during my inner dialogue, however, reality reared its profit-making head, and I knew that by the time Weasel was old enough to enjoy Star Wars, he would also be old enough to recognize Jar-Jar Binks underwear, Qui-Gon toothbrushes, and Clone Trooper costumes & bicycles...and I'd have lots of explaining to do. And if I didn't explain things well enough, then he'd also be old enough at this point to just search the internet for his answers. I most certainly didn't want important questions like this answered by bloggers and YouTube videos I didn't know and trust--they might somehow convince him that the prequels were actually GOOD--then Weasel and I would forever have an awkward father/son relationship. So I came up with a plan. I didn't yet know, of course, that Butterfly was going to be in the picture the next year, but the plan applied just the same toward her.
I don't like to pat myself on the back for things--certainly not as it pertains to fatherhood--but I believe I solved the Star Wars conundrum and nailed at least this one small part of parenting. What I did was only own the DVD's for the original Star Wars movies (Episodes IV, V, and VI) but owned the Star Wars Lego's XBOX game for Episodes I, II, and III. In all honesty, I did own the DVD's for the prequels as well, but I stashed them in the archives so they didn't know we had them. But you get my point. It worked like a charm! The only Star Wars movies they got to see were the real ones...all the underwear, toothbrushes, costumes, and bicycles could be explained away by the Lego's video game. I could even have them play the XBOX game as Jar-Jar Binks so they could see how he couldn't do anything except jump high--he had no blaster, grappling hook, or anything cool to offer at all in the game. See, I never had to explain to my kids that Jar-Jar was lame--I could just smile smugly as we played XBOX and they said "I don't want to be Jar-Jar...he sucks!" The more time we spent playing the video game, the more Weasel and Butterfly associated the prequels with animated Lego's characters. And we could watch the DVD's so that they also had a chance to understand why Star Wars is so sacred and important. I never once had to answer awkward Star Wars questions with Weasel and Butterfly, and to this day, Episodes IV, V, and VI remain the "real" Star Wars to them.
I'm still nervous about Episode VII coming out this December (even more so now that it's being put out by Disney), but I'm trying to stay optimistic. Whether the new movies are wonderful or horrendous, I'm guessing fathers having kids over the next several years will have to find a new strategy...my Star Wars conundrum solve will be obsolete, I'm afraid.
I have decided, however, that any and all Star Wars related items from the old raft will be transferred to the new raft once I build it. No exceptions.
I used to have sort of a peculiar way of organizing things, though it worked for me for many years. I organized things more chronologically rather than by subject. As an example, I wouldn't have just a box of old VHS tapes; I would have a box with old VHS tapes I had watched and/or acquired in that era, as well as other novelties I had found around that time, up to and including greeting cards and letters/pictures I had received at that time. You would also be likely to find AA batteries in that box as well because they're just so handy. And pens--lots of ink pens. So yes, AA batteries are a common theme with me, and small flashlights. And portable compact disc players. Because you just never know when the power will go out, right? I digress.
My old manner of archiving things became obsolete soon after Weasel and Butterfly entered my life. Necessity dictated that I started grouping items by subject rather than by era, but I had a lot less time to organize memories once the kids were born. So ultimately, what I'm left with on my old raft are a couple different series of archives--those arranged by era, and those arranged by subject...and the unfortunate boxes that are a blend of the two. It would take a mathematician of considerable skill to make sense of my current archives. I am not that mathematician, as I'm sure calculus and imaginary numbers would come into play. It just occurred to me that this whole chapter so far has been nothing but a digression. It'll have to do...I'm not re-writing the entry.
So the Star Wars conundrum: that was the original point of all this. In a way, it does tie in, because I also have Star Wars items littered throughout nearly ALL of my archives--but I won't digress further. Not yet anyway. Weasel was born in January of 2005, so the poster pictured above confirms that this was the first Star Wars film released after his birth--and the first one released with me as a father. I was fortunate to have gone to see the movie on Father's Day, because the usher gave me this wonderful keepsake that helps me keep track of memories. I remember now wanting to go see the new Star Wars movie as a Father's Day gift to myself, and making arrangements for the grandparents to watch Weasel so I could do so (he was much too young to take to a movie at that time--and even if I could have enjoyed the movie while changing diapers and feeding and entertaining him, I was certain that my fellow Star Wars nerds would NOT be so understanding). So I went alone--just me. Peace and quiet, and finally seeing exactly how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader for the first time. I enjoyed it thoroughly, of course, and it was the best of the prequels in my opinion.
Later that night after watching Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (when I was going to sleep, no doubt--or the next day while showering), I got to thinking just how I was going to introduce the Star Wars saga to Weasel when he was old enough. Episodes I and II were bad enough that I thought we might just be able to skip over the prequels completely as if they never existed. Certainly my preference was for Weasel to experience Star Wars the same way that I did--beginning with Episode IV, then V, and finally VI. I considered ways I might shelter him from the prequels and how he could just live his life feeling satisfied knowing that Darth Vader really WAS Luke's father--and that Emperor Palpatine was dead, and that Luke saved his father's spirit. And that Ewoks were lame--though we enjoyed C-3PO telling them stories in their native tongue.
At some point during my inner dialogue, however, reality reared its profit-making head, and I knew that by the time Weasel was old enough to enjoy Star Wars, he would also be old enough to recognize Jar-Jar Binks underwear, Qui-Gon toothbrushes, and Clone Trooper costumes & bicycles...and I'd have lots of explaining to do. And if I didn't explain things well enough, then he'd also be old enough at this point to just search the internet for his answers. I most certainly didn't want important questions like this answered by bloggers and YouTube videos I didn't know and trust--they might somehow convince him that the prequels were actually GOOD--then Weasel and I would forever have an awkward father/son relationship. So I came up with a plan. I didn't yet know, of course, that Butterfly was going to be in the picture the next year, but the plan applied just the same toward her.
I don't like to pat myself on the back for things--certainly not as it pertains to fatherhood--but I believe I solved the Star Wars conundrum and nailed at least this one small part of parenting. What I did was only own the DVD's for the original Star Wars movies (Episodes IV, V, and VI) but owned the Star Wars Lego's XBOX game for Episodes I, II, and III. In all honesty, I did own the DVD's for the prequels as well, but I stashed them in the archives so they didn't know we had them. But you get my point. It worked like a charm! The only Star Wars movies they got to see were the real ones...all the underwear, toothbrushes, costumes, and bicycles could be explained away by the Lego's video game. I could even have them play the XBOX game as Jar-Jar Binks so they could see how he couldn't do anything except jump high--he had no blaster, grappling hook, or anything cool to offer at all in the game. See, I never had to explain to my kids that Jar-Jar was lame--I could just smile smugly as we played XBOX and they said "I don't want to be Jar-Jar...he sucks!" The more time we spent playing the video game, the more Weasel and Butterfly associated the prequels with animated Lego's characters. And we could watch the DVD's so that they also had a chance to understand why Star Wars is so sacred and important. I never once had to answer awkward Star Wars questions with Weasel and Butterfly, and to this day, Episodes IV, V, and VI remain the "real" Star Wars to them.
I'm still nervous about Episode VII coming out this December (even more so now that it's being put out by Disney), but I'm trying to stay optimistic. Whether the new movies are wonderful or horrendous, I'm guessing fathers having kids over the next several years will have to find a new strategy...my Star Wars conundrum solve will be obsolete, I'm afraid.
I have decided, however, that any and all Star Wars related items from the old raft will be transferred to the new raft once I build it. No exceptions.
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