Darth Vader Star Wars Lego Mini-Figures

Like the previously posted Chewbacca Lego mini-figures, there are differences between the Darth Vader mini-figures that I have. I have two Vader mini-figures. One comes from the Final Duel I set (#7200) and the other from the 10 Year Anniversary Darth Vader's Tie Fighter set (#8017) (both sets pictured here). The Final Duel I set was released in 2002, and the Tie Fighter set was released in 2009 and belongs to the episode IV, A New Hope series.

Tie-Fighter Vader

Final Duel I Vader, with Emperor mini-fig.

Tie-fighter Vader on left, Final Duel Vader on right.

The differences between the two Vader mini-figures are readily apparent. There is detail that covers the entire chest on the Tie Fighter Vader, representing his flight suit. The chest of the duel Vader has a 1/2 oval design, covers less of the chest, and has less detail in general. The face of the Tie fighter Vader has two scars, one one the left and one on the right side of his face. The duel Vader has only one scar on the right side of hist face. Additionally, the duel Vader has black eye-brows instead of the grey ones on the tie fighter Vader.

Difference in Chewbacca Lego Figures

I have noticed some differences in the Lego Star Wars figures. This post points out the difference between the Chewbacca figures. 

I have two Chewbacca Lego figures in my collection. The earliest comes from the Imperial AT-ST set, released in 2001. The serial number for this set is 7127. The second Chewie figure comes from the Limited Edition X-Wing Fighter set, released in 2006.

AT-ST set 7127

X-Win set 6212

The difference between the two Chewbaccas is that the one from the 7127 set has a lighter, more milk chocolate brown color. The later Chewie is more glossy and has a red-brown color. Neither figure comes with any attachments (crossbow or whatnot). The head piece is attached to the front and back hair, so there is a total of three pieces to these figures.

Chewbaccas: 7127 set (right) & 6212 set (left)

So keep your eyes peeled fellow Lego Star Wars enthusiasts!

Star Wars Lego

I love Star Wars Lego. I enjoy the building and slowly seeing what it is you're building come together. I also love how Leog strips down a classic idea, like a space ship from Star Wars, and turns it into a blocky mass of simplified colors. The figures are another great feature to the Star Wars Lego line, with the classic shape of Lego people wrapped inside the equally classic Star Wars character designs!

OK, so enough gushing! I have quite a bit of Star Wars Lego and was going through a bunch of it the other night and realized that I have some duplicate figures. I began wondering if there was any differences between the figures that came out in earlier versus later Lego sets, and low-and-behold there were! Noting these differences is incredibly nerdy of me of course but it can also be helpful if you are buying figures at yard sales or conventions. Personally, it makes sense to pay more for an earlier version of a certain character than a later one, and so it is in your best interest to know exactly what you are paying for. In the next few posts I'll be discussing some differences between Lego characters that I noted from my collection. So hang on for a truly geeky trip through the next few posts!

Lego Star Wars Diorama.

Foreseen On the Road

Monumental events in history has us look, perhaps unconsciously, for clues to its eventuality in previous deeds.

When something important happens we sometimes find precursors or warnings that we previously had not noticed. The falling of the world trade center is such an event that cause people to cite previous 'signs'. However, these signs are likely nothing more than happenstance but nonetheless make us take pause and wonder. Jack Kerouac's iconic novel On the Road is such a source for a sign to 9/11. The book was published in 1957 and tells the tale of a young man's exploration of the wild America. On the last page of the second chapter, in the second section, one of the book's characters wraps a scarf around his ears on a cold New York night. The character, Dean, had said "we were a band of Arabs coming in to blow up New York".

Jack Kerouac

The connection between Kerouac's words and what would happen 40 plus years has been pointed out by others, but I had not realized this until I my recent rereading of On the Road. While this is nothing more than happenstance, it is still interesting to take Kerouac's writing as a reflection of American thinking on the subject of the Orientalist (ala Edward Said) within the framework of 1950's American youth counter-culture.

Democracy Now's Coverage of Aristide's Return to Haiti

NPR's weekday radio show, Democracy Now (DN), is a heavily left-leaning program that discusses issues throughout the world and tends to favor those issues that affect the United States (I thoroughly enjoy the program too). It's left-leaning slant is the antithesis to Fox's heavily right-leaning news programs. Regardless of NPR's political favoring, their programs like DN tend to showcase examples of excellence in journalism and discusses issues that rarely receive coverage by other more mainstream news agencies; for instance the recent massive demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin have received virtually no mention.  However, a black spot has emerged on the quality of DN -the coverage of former president Aristide's return to Haiti -they forgot that every story needs CONTEXT!

Aristide in Haiti (2011)

My context to the story: Beginning earlier this week (March 14th), DN has been covering Aristide's return to Haiti. Back in 2004 Aristide was exiled from Haiti during a military coup that the United States have been accused of backing. Aristide fled to South Africa, where he has stayed ever since. DN staff reporter Amy Goodman traveled there to document Aristide's return which was allowed as the current Haitian government had recently lifted his exile status but the American government had vocally protested such a move and asked that Aristide postpone his return until after the pivotal Haitian elections. The reason is that the previous election that had followed the brutal earthquake that decimated the country was rocked by extreme violence and accusations of election fraud. This latest election is to replace the previous one and it is hoped it will be more peaceful. The American government has said it worries that Aristide's return could jeopardize this peace. Aristide insists that his return has nothing to do with this election and that it is his right to return. Further, Aristide commented that following the election there might be a new ruling party that would maintain his exile. Both of Aristide's comments come from DN's program and reading between the lines suggests a contradiction in his opinion on how his trip is or is not connected to the election.

The Problem: The primary problem with DN's program is that throughout it there is no mention of WHY Aristide was forced out of Haiti and instead only vague innuendo that the US was involved in this somehow. Goodman repeatedly suggested that the US was and is interfering with foreign politics and Aristide's personal freedom. That there was no reason for Aristide's exile is far from the case as he has been cited by Human Rights Watch for his brutal treatment of the political opposition during his run as president. It is true that Aristide was the first democratically elected president of Haiti, but that does not mean he is perfect or saintly as Goodman would have you believe -similar to many other democratically elected leaders I can think of! Instead, Aristide has been also accused of embezzling millions of dollars from an already poor country. This has never been proven, and of course Aristide has vehemently denied it as well.

The Weird: I can also smell something fishy that Goodman has not explained: Aristide has a good friend in a well known American actor, Danny Glover. Danny Glover flew to South Africa this week to escort his friend back to Haiti. He is a known advocate and has been a speaker at a many anti-war rallies. What is odd is that in 2007 president (or dictator if you prefer) of Venezuela Hugo Chavez gave Glover 18 million dollars to film a movie about Toussaint Louverture who in 1791 had led a slave uprising in Haiti (photo on right is of Glover and Chavez in 2007). Chavez has never been known as a humanitarian, and this large sum of money came from the hands of a man who runs a rich country filled with poverty stricken citizens. Glover took that money and considers himself a spokesman for issues of liberty. I smell something fishy

Context is Important Folks: I don't claim to know why the US wanted Aristide out of the country, and that is what is wrong with DN's coverage. It did not give the entire story. Where is the CONTEXT? What US state department spokesman Crowley said back in January was that “We do not doubt President Aristide`s desire to help the people of Haiti. But today Haiti needs to focus on its future, not its past.” I suppose this means Crowley does not see Aristide as a part of this focused on future, but this misses the point. Miss Goodman is a better reporter than this and she should have added context to this story. A good story should encourage a listener or reader to search out more information out of interest and not out of confusion from not having the story properly explained.



 Sources:
NPR /DN story(s): http://www.democracynow.org/tags/haiti http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/3/18/amy_goodman_reports_aristide_lands_in_haiti_after_seven_years_in_exile

Haiti: Aristide Should Uphold Rule of Law (2004): http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2004/02/13/haiti-aristide-should-uphold-rule-law 

Govt Corruption Suit Stalls for Lack of Funds (2006): http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35254

Hugo Chavez, Movie Mogul (2007): http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1624992,00.html

US diplomacy embraces Twitter amid global crises (2011): http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/24/us-diplomacy-embraces-twitter-amid-global-crises.html

Canada's Unrecognized Contribution

Media groups rarely recognize Canada's contributions to global issues. The contributions may not always be as large as some nations, but they are nonetheless important and it is high time this country gets some attention. The recent coverage of NATO's decision to approve a no-fly zone over Libya is a case in point.

A recent article by the New York Time's about NATO's approval of a no-fly zone over Libya did not mention Canada's role in the event. Their article mentions only Britain and France, as in the opening paragraph of: "The United States, Britain and France pushed forward against Libya on Friday as they declared that a cease-fire abruptly announced by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government was not enough, at least for now, to ward off military action against his forces." (New York Times). French forces currently have an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean which houses some 40 aircraft which could be used for this operation, but no exact number of aircraft or specific resources have been committed by France as of yet (Miami Herald). The US involvement is circumscribed only to the talks within NATO and supporting of various sanctions. There are no plans for the US military to support this mission in the form of troops or in leading the mission (Miami  Herald). However, the US "would provide "unique capabilities" to enable European partners to enforce no-fly zone, Obama said, and experts predicted that could include providing command and control, intelligence, surveillance and search-and-rescue functions" (Miami Herald).

Canadian CF-18

The Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, had this to say about Canada's involvement: "Canada will send six CF-18s, last in action in 1999 as they bombed Serb positions to protect the Albanians of Kosovo." This contribution may not be as large as some nations, such as the UK's who "according to David Cameron... [deployed] Tornados and Typhoon aircraft, as well as air-to-air refuelling and surveillance aircraft" (BBC News). Similar to France's commitment, Great Britain has not yet committed an exact number of aircraft. It is then interesting that Canada has provided an exact number. Regardless, Canada has been heavily involved in the NATO talks and are contributing resources in an effort to halt the violence in Libya. This stands as yet another example of Canada's involvement on the world stage being completely ignored by foreign and particularly American media sources.

All articles published on-line, March 18th, 2011

NYT article: Allies Press Libya, Saying Declaration of Cease-Fire Is Not Enough http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/africa/19libya.html?_r=1&hp

Miami Herald: Obama Vows US Role in Libya will be Limited

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/18/2122564/obama-vows-us-role-in-libya-will.html

G&M article: Canada joins UN call for military action in Libya. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/canada-joins-un-call-for-military-action-in-libya/article1945738/

BBC News article: Libya 'to halt military action'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12782642

New Cartoon Series: G.I. Joe & Transformers

So this morning I was watching Teletoon. They aired the first episodes of the new G.I. Joe: Renegade and Transformers: Prime series. They are both good, but the Joe series is far better than the Transformers show which is a bit cliched version of the previous Transformer shows.

So beginning with the lesser of these two shows, Transformers: Prime is a computer animated show  that has some decent animation sequences. The new character designs look nice, and I particularly like the soft metal looking faces; works well for depicting facial expressions. The first episode features a drawn out chase sequence and the introduction of three human characters along with a few of the autobots and decepticons. The plot is the same as always, where the autobots befriend a few humans as they are caught between the eternal fight between autobots and decepticons. Nonetheless, the story was interesting enough and even had one surprising mention of the movie 'Fight Club', which was assuredly not expected.

G.I. Joe: Renegade is a better show than the latest Transformers in that it is a great re-imagination of the original cartoon where the battle between Cobra and Joe has been situated in a modern context. It is interesting enough to engage an adult while easy enough to understand to do the same for a younger audience. The plot for the first episode is that Cobra is a multi-national company that deals in pharmaceuticals, communications, weapons, and etc. Beneath the business suit exterior is a snake's head (nice pun eh?). Some within the government know that Cobra is dealing in black market arm sales and other nefarious deeds. The character of Scarlet recruits a few of the American military's best to infiltrate and obtain proof of Cobra's secrets. This does not turn out well for the Joes and they are framed as terrorists in their own country. Great re-imagination of the show right?

The art in G.I. Joe: Renegade is not bad either! It is a cross between the Anime seen in Cowboy Bebop and what Marvel has been producing in shows like the Avengers; many of the characters have angular designs and faces. The character movement is not too stilted and the general facial expressions are passible, especially for a cartoon of this calibre. The backgrounds are also nicely rendered with ample detail and often with stylized shading. In comparison to the new Transformers show, the artists on Joe have put in a lot more effort.

Can I hear a Yo' Joe for this new show?