How to be the Best Dad in the Galaxy

I came across this funny vid on Youtube, and whether you're a Star Wars fan or not, or whether you're a Daddy or a Mommy, you'll pick up some nuggets of wisdom watching this. Enjoy!

Click here to watch the video:

How to be the Best Dad in the Galaxy 

Key points from the vid:

1. Crush the Dark Side of the Force -When children play, they will often play with the Dark Side. Make sure that the boundaries between the Dark Side and Light Side are always clear and consistent.

2. Make the Force Strong in Them - Get them doing new things, like reading, cycling, chess, geo-political analysis (LOL!)... Give them plenty of chances to succeed, so they come to know victory like an old friend. Praise their successes and make sure they don't take failures to heart.

3. Ignore Jedi Mind  Tricks - Your kids may be masters of manipulation already. The skill is when to let them know when to win and when to stand firm. Kids need to know that they are listened to.

4. Never show your Dark Side - Shouting is always a waste of time and very unpleasant as well. If their childlike ways are getting to you, look within yourself. Remember how influential you are to them and how scary it is to be shouted at when you are little.

5. Become a child again - Good dads are never off duty (I love this line!). Being affectionate and warm, when you'd rather be reading the papers (or checking your Facebook newsfeeds :)  and then getting up and playing one more game of spaceships is what makes the difference between an OK dad and the best dad in the galaxy!

Happy Father's Day to all you hardworking and devoted dads out there!

The Darth Knight: This time it's a Star Wars-Batman Crossover!

Check out some clever custom concepts by my friend TK-9849 of Action Figure Empire:

Vader-Man

ALF-RD

Vader-Man, ALF-RD and Rebel

Vader-Man, Knight-Wing and Rebel

Commissioner Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock

Joker and Harley-Quinn

The Riddler

Killer Croc

Mr. Freeze

You can see more of his customs at http://www.imperialshipyards.net/

Yoda, a Green Lantern?!

With the world premier of the new Green Lantern movie, I thought it was best to share some amazing Star Wars/Green Lantern crossover portraits that I found in this site: http://www.elance.com/samples/master-yoda-green-lantern/23746887/#posSlide

According to the website, the portraits are credited to Darren Lim Geers "a recent graduate from Kendall College of Art and Design with a Bachelors in Fine Arts, Digital Illustration. He is inspired by the works of creators like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robert E. Howard, Masamune Shirow, Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas and Akira Kurosawa. He holds a passion for artwork, video games and comic books. Darren's overall goal is to become established in the entertainment media industry as a concept artist for video gaming and movie development."

If you've read the "Blackest Night" series you'll get a kick out of other Star Wars/Lantern characters:

So if we mash up the Green Lantern Oath with some Star Wars lines, it would go something like this:


"In brightest day, in blackest night, do or do not, there is no try.
Let those who worship evil’s might, Beware my power... Green Lantern’s lightsaber!"

Philippine Toycon Turns 10!

 

If you guys are free on June 18-19, head on over to the 10th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention at Megatrade Halls 1-2-3 at the SM Megamall. Visit http://www.toyconph.com/ for more details!

The Dirk Side of the Force

Dirk Nowitzki finally exorcised his demons of failures past by leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 4-2 NBA Finals victory over the heavily favored Miami Heat and its "big" triumvirate of All Stars Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Without the benefit of homecourt advantage and down 1-0 and 2-1 in one of the most exciting Finals ever, Nowitzki battled even more formidable odds in Game 4 with a torn left middle finger tendon (he wore a splint since Game 2) AND a flu virus. Inspired by the gallant effort of their main man playing through pain and illness, Dallas pulled off yet another trademark come from behind victory to tie the series at home and turn the tide in their favor.

With the top seeds falling by the wayside in the playoffs (my Lakers, included), and with the apparent ease that Miami manhandled New York, Boston and Chicago, it became an interesting "good vs evil" Finals subplot. While many still supported Miami (Filipinos rooted for Fi-Am Heat coach Erik Spoelstra), Lebron James, the self-anointed "King" who left Cleveland to team up with Wade and Bosh in a selfish, desperate attempt to win a championship , became the face of greed and villainy.

A fan made poster which went viral during the finals

Fans (not a few of them Cavaliers faithful) rallied around the Mavericks, who came into the finals as the underdogs, despite breezing into the play-offs themselves. I rooted for Dallas because:

a. I wanted the team who beat my Lakers, the defending champs, become this season's champs themselves.
b. I wanted Jason Kidd, the charismatic Mavs captain and PG, to earn a ring. Like Dirk, Cap'n Kidd is also a future Hall of Famer haunted by many seasons of frustration and disappointment. With the lock-out looming next season, Jason Kidd would most likely retire.
c. I own a Dirk Nowitzki #41 Adidas jersey, which I won in a Gatorade raffle two years ago.

d. I believe piggy-back riders do not deserve a championship.

Where Dirk played on magnificently despite illness and injury, a healthy pretender-King sputtered and failed miserably.

Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, summed it up nicely in his tweet:

Shock and Awe: Azkals lose but Pinoy football wins

Let me go straight to the SHOCK part first. The Azkals (Philippine men's football team) lost 4-3 to the United Football League All Stars in an exhibition match held on June 5, 201,1 Sunday, at the University of Makati Football Stadium.

Playing without a sense of urgency and with defense loose as sand, the Azkals allowed two goals from Eric Dagroh, an Ivory Coast national playing for Kaya FC (41' and 75'), Mark Hartmann of Loyola Meralco (52') and a last minute go-ahead goal by Sudanese and UFL top striker Izzeldin El-Habbib of Globe Smartmatic.

Chieffy Caligdong scored the game's first goal on the 10th minute, while Simon Greatwich and Ian Araneta each scored catch-up goals.

Now we go to the AWE part.

Three years ago when you said "jampacked stadium" in the Philippines you'd probably assume that it described either:

a. a basketball game or
b. a sold-out concert

Add "football game" to that list now. And it's about time! Imagine a Pinoy crowd 10,000+ strong coming out to watch a friendly. Who would have thought?

Football die-hards, casual fans, families and groupies. They all gave Pinoy football some good lovin'. Some even brought flags, wore scarves and colorful wigs and blew vuvuzelas. Eat your heart out South Africa!

Security personnel were well-distributed around UMak to keep the crowd orderly.

It was also a great venue to reunite with friends and former teammates...

UFL All Stars whoop it up during the Awarding Ceremonies. It was a well deserved win.

At the end of the day, I went home with a smile on my face, knowing that football is now alive and kicking in the Philippines.

Feast your eyes on this Lego Sandcrawler!

Now this is a masterpiece that would make a Jawa's jaw drop!

This is the handiwork of Marshal Banana, which took nine months to prepare and build. Talk about passion!

Details and Facts (from the Youtube page LEGO Sandcrawler MOC)

Facts:

Minifigscale: 96 cm long, 100.5 cm long (lowered main ramp)

Weight: approximability 20 kg

Part count: over 10'000

Powerfunctions: 4 xl motors, 5 m motors, 4 receivers, 4 batterypacks, 22 Lego LED-lights

Powered radio-controlled Functions: 

- driving: forward reverse

- stearing

- main ramp: up and down

- crane: up and down, in and out

- conveyer band: forward and reverse

Other features: 

fully interior on three floors in the front half of the model and a detailed cockpit (removable roof) second crane in the back of the workshop, lighted smelter.

Building and planning time: 9 months

Rancho Cucamonga goes Star Wars-Gaga

From his blog Pinoy in America, my friend Third Paran brings us highlights of the Star Wars Day held in Rancho Cucamonga, CA last May 28, 2011. In his entry "The Force in R.C.", Third shared photos and gave this account:

"Stormtroopers invaded the city’s library courtyard this weekend, but there was no cause for alarm as Han Solo was there, along with Chewbacca, New Republic pilots and Obi Wan Kenobi. Alas, there was no sign of Luke Skywalker. But there was an army of young jedis in training, so the future looked safe.

As you may have guessed, it was Star Wars Day in Rancho Cucamonga." (Read the full article and view more photos here)

That's Third, with the glasses, and Stephen Stanton, the voice of Capt. Tarkin on "The Clone Wars," 

Artoo powered navigation. Now that's one heck of a ride! Third identifies the "pilot" as Jon Paulson (aka Major Tag Greenly) who is a member of "Rebel Legion," a provider of Star Wars costumes and props. Check out www.sunriderbase for more info.

Rancho Cucamonga could've been a nice planet or spaceport name in the SW galaxy, dontcha think?