Hi Folks,

The 501st Legion of Stormtroopers will be attending this year’s Big Apple Con ‘National’ on November 15th, 2008. Click the link and come join the fun! Along with your favorite 501st Star Wars troopers, the following will be there, including :

Peter Mayhew -Actor known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. His peak height was 7 feet 3 inches tall!

Jerome Blake -British former model and professional musician Jerome Blake portrayed seven characters in Star Wars: Episodes 1, 2, and 3: Vice Chancellor of the Senate Mas Amedda, Jedi councillor Opposite Rancisis, and Rune Haako,  Horox Ryyder, Orn Free Taa, Graxol Kelvyyn, and a Trade Federation Delegate. His other genre credits include roles in First Knight, The Fifth Element, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Jamie Luner-Jamie's first TV show came in 1988 in the role of Cindy Lubbock on the show "Just the Ten of Us." She had a couple of guest appearances on "Growing Pains" and "Married with Children" and major roles in the shows "Savannah" and "Melrose Place."

Cheryl Bachman-Playboy Centerfold October 1991 first appearance since 1994

Michael Boatman-Best known for his roles as Samuel Beckett in the drama series China Beach, as Carter Heywood in the sitcom Spin City, and as Stanley Babson in the comedy series Arli$$.

Kate Mulgrew-Captain Kathryn Janeway on the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager.

Cheers,

Force Drainer

Paul Starybrat

I'm a Star Wars fan myself and one thing that used to bother me was the fact that Vader was Luke's father.

I mean look at Vader in the first movie. He terrifies people! He can strangle people from ten feet away and has such great lines as, "If this is a counselor ship, than where is the ambassador?"

When Vader says that line he chokes a rebel! There was probably a big pile of dead rebels and the bad ass that Vader is was probably just bringing rebels out one at a time so he could do that over and over again!

Luke, on the other hand, is a total wimp. Uncle Owen tells him to go fix some moisture vaporators and what does Luke say? He whines about going to Taschi Station and power converters. Lucky for us we know nothing about Vader being Luke's father at this point.

We only find out about it after he cuts Luke's hand off.

It is only after seeing the horrible acting of that guy who played Anakin in parts 2 and 3 that we fully understand the Skywalker curse. Yes, the curse!

See, Anakin Skywalker was a good kid but when he grew into his teen years he became a very whiney bitch. He also acted like a piece of cardboard with marionette strings tied to his limbs but that is a different curse.

It is not until the second movie, when Anakin loses a hand to Count Douku that the whininess begins to fade.

Too bad for Anakin count Douku cut off the wrong hand because he gets super whiney in the third movie until Obi Wan takes matters into his own hands and cuts Anakin's legs off.

The point I'm trying to make is that we all make sacrifices in life. Some we do willingly while others are thrust upon us.

Lucky for Luke he learned quick and only had to lose one hand to grow a pair and become a man. He was obviously far luckier than his father before him.

What price would you pay to improve your life? Would you give up time with your family just so you can afford a new car? Would you forgo a new car to spend more time with your family?

Right now I'm working nights and it sucks. I have almost no time with my family during the week but I do have more money. At this stage of my life I would much rather have more time with my family. I'm willing to sacrifice the new car for that. Not my hand though, I'm not that whiney.

I was out shopping with my daughter today and I ran into this in the toy store. The Han Solo Torture set?

What the heck is Hasbro thinking these days? Putting the poor guy in carbonite (that was a whole play set) was bad enough but now this?

Look at his face, it looks like he is smiling! What kind of torture device makes a guy smile? My only guess is that Hasbro was not able to take the time to make a Han Solo figure with pain on his face so they just re-purposed an earlier model. Kind of like when they took the muscle-bound Han and Luke figures and put them in those over-sized mech outfits.

You know what the little kids will do with this thing once they get their hands on it? They will remove Han Solo and put that annoying Anakin figure in there.

Let me take you to a little boy's bedroom, in a house nearby. I can hear the dialogue now...

Kid "Why did you have to be such a girly-man?"
Anakin "It was Lucas, he made me this way!"
Kid "I can't believe you become Vader, you don't even sound like him."
Anakin "That was just a voice actor, a big white guy was inside the suit."
Kid "Now you will pay for ruining the Star Wars movies..."
Anakin "AAAAIIIIGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

The 501st Legion’s Garrison will be making an appearance for Friendly’s Fun Night, February 4th in Plainville , CT. This year, tips and proceeds from the event will benefit TEAM MORGAN & EASTER SEALS.
Dinner, ice cream, and THE GALACTIC EMPIRE! Come join the fun!

FRIENDLY’S FUN NIGHT
Date: 2/4/08
Time: 5:00 - 8:00
Place: Friendly’s of Plainville
230 New Britain Ave
Plainville, CT

Hi Folks,

The 501st Legion’s Garrison will be making TWO appearances at this year’s “Festival For Kids, January 19th & 20th in Hartford , CT. This year, proceeds from the event will benefit the Fox 61 Family Fund. Come join the fun!

Apart from The 501st Legions CTG, other attractions will be:
• Amusement rides
• Games
• Hands-on exhibits
• Ride all day for one price
• Tons of kid related products
• Continuous weekend long entertainment
• Educational activities

FESTIVAL FOR KIDS
Date: 1/19/08 & 1/20/08
Time: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Place: CT Convention Center
100 Columbus Bvd
Hartford, CT

Hi Folks,

Just as the title says, The 501st Legion will be making MANY appearances during the month of September. Some are benefits, some are promos, ALL ARE FUN. Come join us, won’t you?

EMPIRE CITY GARRISON EVENT: Invisible Children/ Project: Restoration
Date: 9/8/07
Time: evening
Place:New York City's Columbus Park ,between Mulberry and Baxter
This gig benefits TWO organizations: 
Invisible Children, which is dedicated to children who have fallen through the cracks throughout the world, and project: Restoration, a new organization dedicated to combating eating disorders. This gig actually takes place during FASHION WEEK. A ton of cool sponsors and DJ and artists have signed on, as well as runway models from Ford, Bella, and others.

ABILITY BEYOND DISABILITY CONSUMER PICNIC: NOT open to the general public
Date: 9/19/07
The dedicated staff members, along with those they serve will have their annual picnic in Bethel, CT. The 501st Legion CTG will be there to spread cheer and present a check to this fine company for al the work they do with disabled individuals.

WEIRD AL CONCERT: We’ll be performing on stage with him during his Star Wars songs!
Date: 9/21/07
Time: 9:00
Place: Foxwoods Casino, Fox Theater
Price: $35, $45

THE BIG ‘E’: We’ll be in the BIG closing day parade
Date: 9/30/07
Time: 5:00
Place:1305 Memorial Avenue,West Springfield, MA
Price: $15 for adults, $10 for kids, children 5 years old or under are free

On Thursday, August 9th 2007, the 501st Legion CT Garrison will be making an appearance at Dairy Queen of East Hartford. Come join the fun! 

Beat the heat! Eat ice cream! Hang out with members of the Galactic Empire and take pictures with them! What more could you ask for? 

Best of all, half of the money generated from the day’s sales from the “Blizzard” frozen treat will be given to the Children’s Miracle Network. Everyone wins! 

DATE: 8/9/07 

TIME: 2pm-8pm 

LOCATION: Dairy Queen

441 Main St
East Hartford, CT 06118 

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS 

Cheers,
The Force Drainer
Paul Starybrat

Hi Folks,

On Sunday, July 1st 2007, the 501st Legion CT Garrison inducted John Ratzenberger into the Legion as an honorary member during Bridgeport’s Barnum Festival Parade. It was a real thrill to listen to him talk about his experiences on the set of Empire. After we inducted him, we gave him a handsome plaque, as well as some other 501st swag.

Mr. Ratzenberger was in the film “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”, playing the part of ‘Major Bren Derlin’, though most people know him as ‘Cliff Claven’ from the television show, “Cheers”.

Cheers,

Paul Starybrat- The Force Drainer

Believe it or not you can make money with a blog. Very few bloggers make enough money to quit their day job but a lot of us do make enough to afford a few video games and other bits of tech to make out lives better. Does the work to reward ratio work in our favor? Sometimes.

There is a website on the net called The News Room which allows you to make money by embedding fully licensed news videos onto your site.

Yes, you read that right, you can make money just for embedding some video content on your site. The CPM rate starts at $1 and goes as high as $4. You can see the payment chart on their website.

Not only can you make money off their CPM-based program you also get access to a bunch of good news clips that can help to inspire you to write something.

I know many bloggers wake up in the morning and wonder, "what do I blog about today?" You can scan the news sites or think up a funny story but sometimes you get stuck. With The News Room in your corner you can quickly find videos and press releases to blog about.

I do use a lot of news feeds to get ideas for blog posts and I will be adding this one to my list.

Here is an example video from their service:

Look at those crazy Star Wars fans! This is the kind of News by friend Force Drainer would write about.

So, how does The News Room make their money? They slip a short commercial in before the video runs. It is nothing long or terrible, just a quick spot from a sponsor.

As long as your blog can get a good amount of traffic (you need 1,000 views to make money) you can add a nice revenue stream to your blog that also inspires you to write. Not only can you make money when people view the video on your site but, if it goes "viral" from people getting it from you then you also make money off of those who copy it from you.

Now for the bad. As you can see above, there is no text wrapped around the video. The standard code they give you is somewhat complex and beyond my 5:00AM brain to properly alter for wrap around text. I did move it to the right side of my blog so as not to interfere with back ground gradient image, but that is about it. Also, the money is based on 1,000 impressions/views. If you are not getting that many hits on your site than you may never see a dime. I did not see anything on the site saying you have to earn those 1,000 views on each individual piece so I'm going to guess it is an aggregate number for all the content you get from the News Room.

I'm going to be giving The News Room a shot here on the blog and I suggest you at least look into it for your site.

Hi Folks,

The American Cancer Society is holding their “Relay For Life” TODAY, Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 and The 501st Legion CT Garrison will be there! You are invited!

We will have a photographer on hand, so if you have ever wanted a picture of yourself hanging out with members of the Galactic Empire, now is your chance! Just donate what you can and the pic is yours. There will also be mini posters and full sized posters of the 501st CTG, which will be autographed and available to those whom want them. The proceeds for these items will be given to The American Cancer Society.

Date: Saturday, June 2nd, 2007

Time: 4:00-10:00

Address:
101 Aspetuck Avenue
New Milford
CT , 06897

Cheers,
Paul Starybrat
The Force Drainer