In this week's mailbag: Star Wars in the classroom, a response to our Sean Astin inteview, thoughts on Star Wars Kinect, and more.
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Kids Say The Darnedest Things
My five-year-old son Cohen had some friends over to play. My wife was getting out the costumes because they wanted to dress up. She was handing them out -- Obi-Wan, Stormtrooper, Commander Fox, Iron Hide, and Optimus Prime. She then says
"Darth Vader" and my son's friend says, "Not him, he's a bad guy." Then my son looks at him with a hurt look on his face and says, "But there was goodness in his heart." I thought this was a good story worth sharing. Thanks for putting on a podcast I can't wait to listen to.
Ben from Missouri
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Star Wars In School
Hey Jason and Jimmy,
I just listened to the March 30th podcast, and Jason brought up a story about a middle school in Texas that used Star Wars to motivate the students. Well, I wanted to let you know that my wife is an English teacher at a middle school here in Burbank, California. The students at her school have been taking their state tests, also called STAR testing, these past two weeks. Her school also used Star Wars to psych-up the kids. The Star Wars theme was played over the PA system during morning announcements; there was a Star Wars costume contest involving the staff at the school; and everyone was encouraged to wear Star Wars t-shirts a few times during the last couple of weeks.
Knowing that George Lucas is a big supporter of education, I'm sure that he would be glad to hear that Star Wars is being used to help kids to do their very best!
Keep up the good work, guys.
Hector Rios
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Moralo Eval's Bedtime Stories and Star Wars Kinect
Hey Jason & Jimmy,
My wife, whose mother is German, actually owns the book of nasty fairy tales that inspired Uncle Moralo's story this week. I caught her reading it to my sons once and locked it away until they're old enough (i.e. 45 years old).
By the way, I just picked up the limited edition Star Wars Kinect Xbox. I was resisting, as my financial situation doesn't really allow for buying new video game consoles whenever I feel like it, but my old Xbox died just in time. Gotta say, it's fantastic. The box itself, looking like Artoo, with the Threepio controller, look amazing. I would have liked, say, some bonus content like themes or avatar gear, but you can't have everything.
There's been a lot of criticism about the Kinect game, but I think the comments come from either hard core gamers looking for live action Old Republic, or non Star Wars fans. I played the game with my kids and we had a great time. I found the controls a little awkward but then I haven't played Kinect games before so I think it's just a learning curve. Graphics and voice acting are very good, and the story itself is fun (if not deep). The rancor minigame is not a minigame but a separate experience entirely, and I had a great time smashing Mos Eisley. I haven't even tried Podracing yet. Dare I try the Han Solo dance off?
If you're looking for the next KOTOR then this isn't for you, but if you're looking for a fun and active distraction, or, if like me, you find exercise boring and need something to get you going, this is perfect. Pass it on!
Tyler Archbold
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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Sean Astin interview and Aung San Suu Kyi
Hey Jimmy Mac and Jason,
I just listened to your interview with Sean Astin. Really cool that he spent so much time with ForceCast. I haven't met him, but I did meet the lady he said he'd want to meet, Aung San Suu Kyi. She is the opposition leader in Burma/Myanmar, and she is often compared to not only Mandela but also Princess Leia. In fact, when I teach about Burma to younger students, I often make the analogy to Star Wars, with the generals as the Empire, Suu Kyi as Princess Leia, and the ethnic insurgent groups as the Rebels.
I do research on Burma and presented the University of Michigan Raoul Wallenberg Award to Aung San Suu Kyi last December (see photo below). It was such an honor to meet her. She's one of the most charismatic people I've ever met, and I've met a few politicians (including both Clintons). Unfortunately, Sean probably wouldn't be able to get a meeting nowadays because she just became a member of parliament and is really busy leading Burma's political reforms. Still, I hope Sean does get the chance to meet her one day.
Related Stories:
Listener Mailbag: June 4, 2012
Listener Mailbag: May 20, 2012
Listener Mailbag: May 10, 2012
Listener Mailbag: April 23, 2012
Listener Mailbag: April 9, 2012
