497 replies to this topic

[jeckles]

Dude,

Who is the greater Jedi:

Obi Wan
Luke Skywalker
Yoda
or Qui-Gon?

Thanks in advance... and may the Force be with you.

[Dave]

Drax, on 10 August 2009 - 05:31 AM, said:

Does anyone remember the Cartoon, "The Killer Tomatoes"?

I do. In fact, I remember the movie on which it was based. Definitely check out the movie. It's a send up of horror/monster movies. Lot better than the Wayans' Scary Movie spoofs, at any rate.

jeckles, on 08 September 2009 - 04:15 AM, said:

Dude,

Who is the greater Jedi:

Obi Wan
Luke Skywalker
Yoda
or Qui-Gon?

Thanks in advance... and may the Force be with you.

Interesting question. (Also: I thank you for answering mine about why Kenobi didn't use Force Push in the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith. I've emailed you my rebuttal.)

For a moment, I thought you sneaked Anakin Skywalker in your list, and I was thinking, "hey, he was a great Sith, but not a very good Jedi."

Kenobi is good. But he is portrayed rather poorly in I to III. He has a fine moment against General Grievous, but man, they took a lot of that man's cool away. You can't take away a man's cool. It's not right. But it is painfully obvious he is nothing compared to Yoda. Yoda practically laughs at him when he asks to confront the Emperor. He's out.

Qui-Gon is an interesting choice. The man invented holographic resurrection (or whatever the fuck it is). He was a pioneer. He taught Yoda how to do it. The man taught Yoda. That's crazy. But wow did he look bad against Darth Maul. Considering Qui-Gon's role was originally Kenobi, and later got rewritten as this new Qui-Gon character, it's hard to give him much credit for anything. He was just a red shirt Jedi that they could kill off in Ep 1 without messing with continuity. He's out.

Yoda versus Luke. Yoda was superior to Luke when they met. There's no doubt of that. Yoda was still superior to Luke when he died. No doubt of that. But would Luke at the height of his powers surpass Yoda? I say yes. Luke restored balance to the force. Not Yoda. Not Anakin. It was Luke's actions. His action motivated Vader's. There is a horrible revisionism going around that episodes 4 through 6 is just a continuation of Anakin's story. It is not. It is Luke's story. He starts as a whiney, power-converter-buying doof and ends as a champion.

[monogodo]

Restoring balance to the Force didn't necessarily require a great Jedi. You make it sound as if Luke is Star Wars' version of Neo.

And basing your opinion on Luke's potential abilities isn't fair. Sure, Luke could potentially surpass Yoda's skills and knowledge in the ways of using the Force. But as depicted in the movies, he hasn't.

As for Qui-Gon teaching Yoda, everyone has something they can teach to everyone else. It's entirely possible for someone of inferior skill/abilities to teach someone of greater skill/abilities something that the greater person didn't know. Yes, Yoda was great, but he wasn't omniscient nor omnipotent. Had he been, he'd have been God, and there would have been an entirely different outcome.

[Dave]

monogodo, on 09 September 2009 - 12:22 PM, said:

Restoring balance to the Force didn't necessarily require a great Jedi.

It ain't my half-assed mythology, but as far as I can tell from the movies, it did.

re: Luke's potential. Jeckles knows more of the expanded universe than I do. Luke's teaching is recorded there. I have no interest in expanded universe stuff, so I'm making a guess. If you want to play this literally: "who's the best at the end of episode 6?" The answer is Luke because the other three are dead. That's not a terribly interesting question. What's wrong with projecting his potential?

The 49ers have this rookie RB Glen Coffee who's been doing well in preseason. He's currently alive, while Red Grange is dead. Who's the best RB? Now? Coffee is; Grange is dead. In history, up until this time, Grange vs Coffee? Grange. All-time and forever? Let's say Coffee has a monster year. A year so big he restores balance to the single-back offense.

re: qui-gon. Dude did nothing else but run around an entire movie making highly questionable decisions. Then he got thrown a retcon bone about the force ghost stuff. Don't take away a man's retcon bone. (The fact that he did teach Yoda this thing explains a little bit about Yoda's weakness. Yoda was inflexible about his teachings. He frowned on unorthodox approaches. In that way, he grew old and stale. He failed to see the Sith threat, and he certainly didn't like any of that rock n' roll. He was unable to adapt until it was too late.)

[jeckles]

Good Points. And thanks. I think I will address these and your rebutal on SBR this week.

[Bacony Goodness]

Do you like The Flaming Lips?

[The Corporal]

Why does he wear his sunglasses at night? So he can, So he can... What!? For the love of GOD!

[Deb]

Dave, on 09 September 2009 - 01:46 PM, said:

It ain't my half-assed mythology, but as far as I can tell from the movies, it did.

re: Luke's potential. Jeckles knows more of the expanded universe than I do. Luke's teaching is recorded there. I have no interest in expanded universe stuff, so I'm making a guess. If you want to play this literally: "who's the best at the end of episode 6?" The answer is Luke because the other three are dead. That's not a terribly interesting question. What's wrong with projecting his potential?

The 49ers have this rookie RB Glen Coffee who's been doing well in preseason. He's currently alive, while Red Grange is dead. Who's the best RB? Now? Coffee is; Grange is dead. In history, up until this time, Grange vs Coffee? Grange. All-time and forever? Let's say Coffee has a monster year. A year so big he restores balance to the single-back offense.

re: qui-gon. Dude did nothing else but run around an entire movie making highly questionable decisions. Then he got thrown a retcon bone about the force ghost stuff. Don't take away a man's retcon bone. (The fact that he did teach Yoda this thing explains a little bit about Yoda's weakness. Yoda was inflexible about his teachings. He frowned on unorthodox approaches. In that way, he grew old and stale. He failed to see the Sith threat, and he certainly didn't like any of that rock n' roll. He was unable to adapt until it was too late.)

I read the books and Luke does become the better Jedi, although Anakin Jr and the twins were on their way to Jedi greatness, too.

I'm not too sure anymore because I stopped reading the books after Chewbacca died in book 72. A fact I might have pointed out more than a once.

Dave, why do I have identical graze marks on the OUTSIDES of my ankles?

[jeckles]

Dave, on 09 September 2009 - 01:46 PM, said:

Jeckles knows more of the expanded universe than I do.

Only because you know none of it... I follow it very little. But enough to know that Luke does go on to be one of the greatest Jedi. But my question wasn't about the 'future,' it was placed in the context of the film.

Dave, on 09 September 2009 - 01:46 PM, said:

re: qui-gon. Dude did nothing else but run around an entire movie making highly questionable decisions. Then he got thrown a retcon bone about the force ghost stuff. Don't take away a man's retcon bone. (The fact that he did teach Yoda this thing explains a little bit about Yoda's weakness. Yoda was inflexible about his teachings. He frowned on unorthodox approaches. In that way, he grew old and stale. He failed to see the Sith threat, and he certainly didn't like any of that rock n' roll. He was unable to adapt until it was too late.)

Yoda's inability to detect the Sith presence is frankly disturbing. I still maintain that Qui-Gon, bad decision making and all, is pretty kick ass. I mean he meditated in the middle the duel with Darth Maul. That's freaking incredible. And then he bit it... and that shitty. But maybe, just maybe, he knew that he had already mastered the whole force ghost or at least willing to risk it. And he knew that Obi-Wan would have to be strong to train Anakin... so he allowed Obi Wan to witness his death. Of course, it was a miscalculation. That's why Qui-Gon and Obi Wan, while self-exiled to Tattoine, worked out how to do it better. When the opportunity arose, Obi Wan let Vader Strike him down and let there be no doubt that he was letting it happen.

[Deb]

Fuck the Force.

Tell me how I got these damn grazes!!!

Don't make me go to a doctor

[jeckles]

Why is Boba Fett so cool? (And I am in no way suggesting that he is not.) He doesn't really do anything.

[jeckles]

Okay... no more Star Wars questions, but you have to admit... I owed you that.

Has the American Dream always been a lie? If not when did it vanish? Either way, what can I do about it? Do you think the Fight Club method would really work?

Thanks,

j

[monogodo]

Dave,

Which team do you think has the best chance to win this season of Bullrun?

Why is it that college football quarterbacks make a huge production of taking a knee, while pro QBs get their knee down at the speed of light?

[Deb]

When will my fucking finger heal?

Ummm by that, I don't mean a finger I fuck with...

[Dave]

jeckles, on 14 September 2009 - 09:08 PM, said:

Why is Boba Fett so cool? (And I am in no way suggesting that he is not.) He doesn't really do anything.

Certainly not for anything he did in Return of the Jedi (just fall, basically). In Empire, he was a man of few words. He had bad-ass armor. His ship looked kinda dumb, but we'll forgive that.

Most importantly, he established himself as someone on par with Vader and (almost) Luke. Let's look at the latter first. Luke comes into Bespin sneaking around. He's a crash-course Jedi, but still pretty good. Fett notices him, plays it cool, and lies in wait to shoot him. It was mostly just a stalling action to get Han aboard his ship (which was his primary mission), but c'mon, laying a trap for a Jedi is pretty cool. You want to say that Fett didn't know Luke was a Jedi? Maybe. Fett had to guess Skywalker was pretty important/badass for Vader to want to set a trap for him, so for Fett to get the jump on Luke is damn good.

Lastly, the reason Fett was so cool (I say 'was' because fanboys have made him no longer cool) is that Vader treated him with respect. Vader kills underlings for sport, yet he has to warn Fett about "no disintegrations" with his naughty, naughty finger? "Fett, don't be naughty," is what he should've said. Then in Cloud City, Vader (again, who kills underlings for sport or for stuff like coming out of light speed too quickly) offers to compensate Fett if Han dies. "Go stew," Vader says to Lando, but Fett gets fair treatment. This is the type of subtle screenwriting that tells you Fett is a badass. Outside of Star Wars and Empire, this kind of writing is absent from every other film.

jeckles, on 15 September 2009 - 01:21 AM, said:

Okay... no more Star Wars questions, but you have to admit... I owed you that.

Has the American Dream always been a lie? If not when did it vanish? Either way, what can I do about it? Do you think the Fight Club method would really work?

Thanks,

j

1. No. Compared to the nobility castes that ruled Europe at the time, the notion of class mobility was much better realized in America than elsewhere.
2. Post-WWII. Although an argument could be made for the post-Jacksonian era and the rise of the National Bank. The problem I see with the Nat'l Bank argument is that tremendous progress was made in the early 20th century in terms of worker reform in response to the industrial revolution.
3. Stop people from being complete jerks? I dunno. Let me know how that goes.
4. No. People are jerks. Jerks do jerky things. Having jerks fight other jerks is entertaining but not reformative (see UFC and MMA).

monogodo, on 28 February 2010 - 12:36 AM, said:

Dave,

Which team do you think has the best chance to win this season of Bullrun?

Why is it that college football quarterbacks make a huge production of taking a knee, while pro QBs get their knee down at the speed of light?

1. Dude, seriously, I haven't watched this show since season 1 (maybe two or three eps of season 2). I didn't even know season 3 started. I'll go with the Acura, not having watched a second of the show. My rationale: None, really. Otherwise I would probably root for the Mini or the Beetle which got bounced already.
2. They're dumb. I think they feel like they can get away with it. I've seen them catch defenses off-guard and run off an extra 7 seconds or so. Pointless if you ask me, and you did.

Deb, on 28 February 2010 - 08:05 AM, said:

When will my fucking finger heal?

Tuesday, 4:32am.

[Dave]

shoutbox said:

From the shoutbox:
malfouka Icon : (27 February 2010 - 07:55 PM) Edit icon Did you know that a group of ravens is called an Unkindness?

This is from the shoutbox and not directed at me, but I thought it was interesting. I remember 'murder' as a flock of ravens/crows. An unkindness of ravens. A murder of crows. Eerie.

[Chad]

Which circle of hell is your favorite?

[Dave]

Chad, on 02 March 2010 - 12:15 AM, said:

Which circle of hell is your favorite?

7th circle. Boiling blood. Simple, classic. But I always thought Limbo was the most interesting--technically hell, but just outside the gates.

[Deb]

Dave, on 01 March 2010 - 04:38 PM, said:

This is from the shoutbox and not directed at me, but I thought it was interesting. I remember 'murder' as a flock of ravens/crows. An unkindness of ravens. A murder of crows. Eerie.

Why do these poor birds get stuck with such horrible descriptions?

Why couldn't it be a kitten of ravens and a rainbow of crows?

Also, why does my cursor disappear when I need to backspace in here and change corws to crows?

[Dave]

Bacony Goodness, on 09 September 2009 - 07:01 PM, said:

Do you like The Flaming Lips?

Yep.

The Corporal, on 10 September 2009 - 05:08 AM, said:

Why does he wear his sunglasses at night? So he can, So he can... What!? For the love of GOD!

So he can, so he can...wear them again the next night and keep the streak alive.

Deb, on 11 September 2009 - 01:41 PM, said:

Dave, why do I have identical graze marks on the OUTSIDES of my ankles?

Your ankles have become hardened and impervious to snake bites due to eons of evolution on the world's most dangerous continent.

Deb, on 02 March 2010 - 12:22 PM, said:

Why do these poor birds get stuck with such horrible descriptions?

Why couldn't it be a kitten of ravens and a rainbow of crows?

Also, why does my cursor disappear when I need to backspace in here and change corws to crows?

1. They are evil.
2. Because dictionaries were written by men. What do you think this is, Bella Sara?
3. Punishment.