Too old? Technology and Movie Moods

This past week, through a series of odd circumstances, I had my first dealings with Facebook. Obviously I had heard of it, but I had never gone on it or even looked at it. I'm not the most social-able of people, and I figure if someone wants to get ahold of me they can email me or call my cell. Also, I spend all day on a computer at work so I really don't excited about the idea of coming home to interact with people on the computer even more.

So I reluctantly and sceptically signed on and was almost immediately...what's the word? Perplexed. It seems that one can do a kind of IM on it as well as a bulletin board style interaction. Well, this isn't my first rodeo when it comes to IM'ing, so I was very, very hesitant to get involved with anything that could involve my blurting out things in a written form that I can't easily take back when I think better of it. I found too that it seems like there are lots of things you can do as far as hooking it to other things like pictures and websites and stuff. Since that seems to involve reading instructions, I am not sure that is for me.

Ultimately I think the fault lies not in Facebook but in me. Anyone who wants to reach me knows how, anyone who doesn't want to reach me but just find out about me is not really someone really think needs to know what I am up to.

Or maybe I am just in the midst of my usual April grumps. Seems like every year, or most years, something goes awry in April, a phenomenon noticed since the early 1980s. "April is the cruellest month," said Eliot, and I think he knew what he was talking about. For one thing there is the false promise of spring, with its "new beginnings" and sprouting buds and whatnot. It'll all just wither away eventually.

I have also taken to describing my moods in terms of Star Wars movies. When I am really down, I am in an "Empire Strikes Back" mood, whereas if I am feeling really hopeful (very rare) and content, it is a "New Hope" mood. If I am feeling content but still slightly wistful and world-weary, that is a "Return of the Jedi" mood. If, as has been the case much recently, I am in a lot of pain and also depressed, that is definitely a "Revenge of the Sith" mood.

New "Star wars" book

There's a new series out following the further adventures of the "Star Wars" characters, entitled "Fate of the Jedi." The first one is called "Outcast," by veteran SW writer Aaron Allston. I will try to be as delicate as possible and not include any spoilers.

When the last series ended, Jacen Solo, the son of Princess Leia and Han Solo, had risen to power and gone over to the dark side, becoming Darth Caedus. After killing Luke Skywalker's wife, he was ultimately defeated by another family member. The series, as all SW books seem to, had many subplots, e.g. Boba Fett was dying and needed a cure, Corellia rebelling against the Galactic Alliance, Luke Skywalker's nemesis Lumiya was stalking him, other characters were also after the Solo and Skywalker clans, Jaina Solo was training as a fighter pilot and having to decide between two suitors. There was also a neat subplot involving a Sith meditation sphere, which sounds just like what I need. In addition, Lumiya had was possibly the coolest weapon ever, a lightwhip, which sounded like a whip combined with a light sabre and with tips of Mandalorian steel.

This series begins not too long after Jacen is killed. I was actually a bit taken aback to realize that there was actually, possibly some merit to the new reason Luke is being persecuted: as Grand Master of the Jedi Order, he is being held liable for not realizing Jacen was going to the dark side and then failing to do much about it. It kind of makes sense. Shouldn't he have sensed something? And been a little more proactive about it?

Luke is exiled for ten years from Coruscant and prohibited from being in charge of the Jedi, so he decides to try and track down what made Jacen end up as he did. Which seems rather like a closing the barn door situation to me. His son Ben goes along and they end up on this world debating with some Jedi-like beings about what "living" really means. Zzzzzzz. In the meantime Han and Leia go to Kessel, Han's least favorite place, to help Lando try and figure out why the planet is having so many earthquakes. Han and Chewbacca had been enslaved in the spice mines, which were also home to the dreaded energy spiders. Jaina is running around with her boyfriend while evading the state-ordered Jedi watcher. There is also a lot involving Jedi who hallucinate that those close to them have been taken over by others. It is one of the less interesting subplots I have read.

I was pleased with it while I was reading it but I really don't know if I can make through several books in which they try to figure out the disorder causing Jedi to think everyone is an imposter. I guess for me, More Sith! more of the Solos! Less with the existential debate, unless it is more interesting.