This is the most exciting Drudge headline that I’ve seen in a while.

George Lucas is creating a Star Wars TV series!

They shouldn’t be worried that the series won’t feature original characters. I haven’t read the books, but there is an entire industry of novels, comic books and video games that don’t feature Darth Vader, Luke or Han Solo.

Actually, I’m happy that Lucas isn’t incorporating those characters. Aside from the special effects, I really hated the new trilogy. Lucas is a creative genius, but his plotlines and dialogue are horrible.

Lucas also only works on his terms. When Episode IV was released in 1977, it drastically changed the movie industry. Will Lucas use his power to change television?

There hasn’t been anything worth watching on TV since Alias ended two seasons ago. I’ve contemplated getting rid of cable, but something like this may tempt me to continue putting up with the evil Comcast.

Dear Mr. Owen,

I’m a fan of yours. I’ve seen every movie that you have starred in and several of your mini-series for British television. As the picture above shows, you wear a suit better than 99% of the male population. If you’re in a movie, I promise to see it, even when it’s horrible like Derailed.

Why must you always play the same character? How is your character in Shoot ‘Em Up any different than the one you played in BMW’s The Driver series? While you’re great at playing the brooding-reluctant-hero-with-a-checkered-past-who-happens-to be-a-sniper, you’re extremely talented and can do more. There’s a reason why you won a Golden Globe for Closer. I state my case:

• BMW’s The Driver-you play a mysterious chauffer who carts people around the west coast in a BMW Z-3 or Z-4 Roadster. I admit the movies work. If I ever happen to be gifted with several million dollars, a Z4 Roadster (silver with a black top) is on my list of purchases.



 

• I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: I was excited to see you work with Mike Hodges, director of Croupier, again. Adding Johnathan Rhys Myers as your younger brother was an added bonus. However, you play the reformed mobster out to get revenge. You still end up driving a sleek car and shooting a lot of bad guys.
• Sin City: Elijah Wood’s part of this film grossed me out so much that I turned it off before you came on. However, from the clips that I’ve seen, it’s another variation of the above.
• Children of Men: You don’t pack any heat in this film, but you still play the reluctant hero, tortured by the past and forced into saving mankind by your ex-wife before succumbing to your wounds just as the future of mankind is rescued. This is an excellent film but same character.
• Inside Man: Once again, you play the criminal mastermind with a conscience. This is probably the only Spike Lee film that I enjoy. You make Captain Von Trapp look evil! At least we know what would have happened if Maria hadn’t stopped by the manor with her guitar and saved the family with music, and the good Captain ended up joining the Nazis.

Greenfingers was hilarious. You should do more comedy. Closer made me hate you and want to slap Jude Law’s sniveling character.  You capture the mind of a writer in Croupier. Once you finally figure out what’s going on in Gosford Park, it’s a funny take on the British social system. You deserved the Golden Globe for Closer, but Sin City, Children of Men, Second Sight–they’re all the same role. Why don’t you play a wider range of characters?

Is there any reason that I should go watch Shoot ‘Em Up when I can pull The Driver series off my old computer? There’s even a BMW in the new film. I’m hoping that your Sir Walter Raleigh in The Golden Age is good. I loved the original Elizabeth, so please don’t let the sequel be bad.

Sincerely,

GFTS

A Salary.com survey found that American office workers waste about 20% of their time surfing:

An online survey of 2,057 employees by online compensation company Salary.com found about six in every 10 workers admit to wasting time at work with the average employee wasting 1.7 hours of a typical 8.5 hour working day.

Further proof thatOfficeSpace is one of the most accurate movies ever made about American life.  Does this mean that all workers are straight shooters to middle management?

I’m sure that blogging doesn’t fall into that category. This is informative research. 

Yesterday, the roomie and I were discussing how cool the new Star Wars mailboxes are. Forget my master’s degree, my new goal in life is to take my picture in front of one. Kudos to the genius at the Postal Service who realized that Artoo is roughly the same shape as a mailbox. It’s one of the best product tie-ins that I’ve ever seen.

The roomie commented that you can tell a true Star Wars fan if they know the planet that Wookies come from. I looked at her and instantly replied, “Kashyyyk.” She was momentarily surprised before she remembered that I’m an unabashed Star Wars fanatic.

Yeah. That’s right. I’m not afraid to admit that I like Star Wars. While I won’t be assuming a Jedi alias and attending any conventions any time soon (those people really are freaks), I do enjoy some of the books and watching the movies. It’s just fun to me, and I’ve been a fan since the 6th grade when George Lucas was just contemplating doing another trilogy.

This always shocks people, almost more than finding out that I’m not a liberal. Sure, I’m a blonde girly-girl who wears pink almost every day and loves polka dots and monograms. Yes, I’ve actually had conversations contrasting Helen Fielding, Sophie Kinsella and Jane Greene. True, I was in a sorority and am working on my second degree in public relations. However, I like science fiction, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

I can’t be the only one out there. Are there other women who aren’t afraid to admit that they love the galaxy far, far away?

Grad school is a challenge. It’s a completely different ballgame than college. The pressure is more intense, the work harder, schedules are busier, and the Bank of Dad isn’t recieving the (pricier) bills.

However, I love my program. Despite moments when I’ve questioned if grad school is causing me to lose my already tenuous grip on reality (hence the frequently bizarre Facebook messages and now-famous Top 10 list), there’s a passion for my field that underlies the challenges.

My management class is a perfect example. The professor in this class is awesome, and my good friend, R, refers to the prof as Yoda. Last week we had to write a RFP, or request for proposals. These are common in the industry, so we needed experience writing one. Our assignment was to design an RFP for a nonprofit with a budget of $350,000. The best one out of the two management classes will then become a competition for teams to answer and create a proposals.

Since it was a small budget and a nonprofit, I decided to have some fun with it. The expression, “The cobbler’s wife has no shoes,” fits the internal communications of the SoC at American. Despite teaching us how strategically communicate, the administration isn’t capable of using two soup cans and a string to relay critical information. We’re constantly grousing about it, so I decided to be creative with my complaint. Hence, my RFP covered “National University’s College of Communication” and their internal communication problems. Strangely enough, this university is also nestled in a quiet, residential neighborhood of NW DC and is led by Dean Garry Dirkman. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun with a writing assignment.

Next week, we have to write a paper on some topic relating to management, so I’m researching the effects of satires on management. It seems that being able to quote Office Space has finally come in useful. Yoda loved the idea, saying, “Oh, I love Dilbert! Do that!” So, I’m examining how Office Space, The Office, Dilbert and Despair.com have affected management styles. There are countless other examples that I could use (the movie 9 to 5 has more organizational theory than most textbooks), but those are my favorites. The scary thing is that there’s a ton of work out there already. Dilbert has spawned an entire field of research on its own. “The Dilbert Principle” has been adopted by scholars and actually quantified.

Brown squirrels don’t bother me. They’re a fairly common species in North America. It’s fun to watch them frolic and be merry. Plus, I know a camp song about them.

Black squirrels are a completely different situation.

Washingtonians are familiar with this odd-looking rodent. Apparently, the National Zoo brought them in from Canada in the early 1900s. It’s like the DC version of kudzu.

Yesterday, while walking home, I noticed a black squirrel climbing up a tree. It was very near the sidewalk, and I could see it’s features up close. My first reaction was that it was Squirrelicula.

I swear this looked like the vampire version of a squirrel. It had a small, pointy head, beady eyes and possibly fangs. There was just a sinister look about it.

As a child, I loved the Bunnicula series about a pet rabbit fron Transylvania that had fangs and a black patch on it’s fur that looked like cape. Bunnicula also had the strange habit of sucking all the juice out of fruits and vegetables until they turned completely white.

This squirrel could have been Bunnicula’s cousin. After all, Rabbits and squirrels are in the rodent family, although Bunnicula was good and Squirrelicula looked demonic. Bottomline, it was an odd squirrel and creeped me out.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have watched Underworld:Evolution this week. Lots of vampires. Lots of werewolves. Lots of blood. Buffy or Bunnicula, it was not.