Monday Afternoon Commute - geoglyphs

Good afternoon. A co-worker pointed out today that the original Star Wars Trilogy is basically unchanged if Leia and Luke aren't siblings. Sure, maybe it explains why Luke looses it during the last light-saber fight, but you could've gotten there without it (as Family Guy so eloquently pointed out). And it doesn't matter in the second trilogy either. So why do it? Anyway the speed bike chase is still pretty cool.

• Coverage of the DDOT bike lane meeting from GGW. I have some notes to add to this as well, but as usual, I'm behind. 
• The new plan for the McMillan sand filtration site includes "a hiker-biker trail along North Capitol for the length of the site, several new sidewalks, and two Capital Bikeshare stations on the site—one near the grocery store and one in the middle of the mixed-use medical office/retail complex."
• Bicycle as paintbrush.
• 'For [3-feet passing] laws to work, cities must incorporate two key components - education and enforcement. Without those things, "the [three-foot] law is just something written on a piece of paper," says Mike Samuelson of the Alliance for Biking & Walking.'

Comments

[antibozo]

Luke and Leia's siblinghood is important because it's a key element of the Arthur myth on which much of Star Wars is based. Leia is Morgan le Fey, aka Morgana. Note that Leia's name is Leia Organa.

[Michael H.]

What about when Yoda says "There is another" in "The Empire Strikes Back". Luke leaves Dagobah and Obiwan says that he was their only hope. Then Yoda makes a reference to the other hope.

In "The Return of the Jedi", there would have been a fierce competition between Luke and Han but for the fact that Luke finally discovered that Leia was his sister. The ending would have been completely different. Han would have walked away for good since he said he wouldn't stand in the way when Luke came back.

(Before you say that I'm a complete geek, I'll add in my defense that I've seen the movies on TV in the past year or so. I think I have them on DVD but I haven't watched the DVDs in many years.)

On a somewhat-related topic, are there any bikes featured in the Star Wars movie series? Not forest speeders or landspeeders or personal jet scooters, etc. but an old-fashioned bike. I don't remember seeing any. But it's possible that they might have been slipped in during one of the revisions.

[Michael H.]

Another question: Why isn't this post marked with a "Star Wars" tag?

[Crickey7]

Ignorant of the 3 foot law, drivers are.

[dynaryder]

Jus sayin',but if I could use the Force,I'd be a total Sith. Every SUV and cab that cut me off would find themselves getting lifted up and dropped in the Potomac.

[washcycle]

No, no bikes in Star Wars - Lucas is a big car fanatic.

The reference to "another" at the end of TESB is totally extraneous - it doesn't drive the plot at all. Perhaps their relationship does end the love triangle between Luke, Han and Leia, but that had already been resolved by the time Han is frozen in carbonite.

[Rootchopper]

Now wait a second. When Luke is hanging like a wet dish towel at the bottom of that inverted antenna after Pops chopped his hand off, he doesn't call for Han or the Fuzzball or Lando he calls for Leia. She can hear him because the force is strong in her.

As for biking, I find that stupid jedi mind tricks do not work on joggers with ear buds.

[washcycle]

True, but at the time we didn't know she was his sister and no one really thought it was odd. Lucas kept adding powers to the Force (telekinesis doesn't show up until TESB) so why wouldn't it let him communicate with someone who wasn't a jedi (we never see anyone use the power ever again and we never saw it before - it's not like it was some rule). Leia could have been strong with the Force without being Luke's sister.

All it does it make it more complicated. He asks her about their mother and Leia says she remembers her being sad - but then we see that she died immediately after childbirth. So what's up with that. Nope, the whole series would have been better without it.

[antibozo]

I think the whole series would have been better if Lucas had simply stopped at three films. No need to alter the mythology to right the inconsistencies.

While we're at it, The Matrix would have been better if they'd stopped at one. ;^)

[washcycle]

Those are two great points. Except with Star Wars, I think one could have made a good prequel trilogy - just not Lucas. The Matrix could not be saved. As can be seen in Dune and Highlander - once your hero becomes the messiah, there is nowhere left to take the story.

[Michael H.]

The Matrix was too cynical and harshly antiauthoritarian (all the police officers were vicious killers or targets for bullets) to be a long-running, feel-good heroic movie series. While I liked the 1st movie, I was always a bit uncomfortable with the anarchist undertone. Even before the sequels came out, I didn't think it needed more movies.

As for the Star Wars love triangle, I meant that in Jedi, Han seemed very willing to walk away completely when Leia said that she knew Luke didn't die in the Death Star II explosion.

As for superpowers for cyclists, the lightning shooting out of the fingers would be kind of cool for fending off an aggressive delivery truck. There are more than a few of those around.

No injuries to the driver. The power would only be used to stop an oncoming vehicle. Or one that is being used to force pedestrians out of a crosswalk, even when they have the WALK signal. I've seen this situation far too many times in D.C. (the aggressive drivers, not the lightning shooting out of the fingertips).

[washcycle]

I really should've started this conversation last Friday - May the 4th

[Jar-Jar]

Meesah luv prequels!

[Spock]

I fail to see the logic in this conversation.

[Kolohe]

No, no bikes in Star Wars - Lucus is a big car fanatic.

Wut?

[washcycle]

MichaelH specifically said no forest speeder bikes. Those are more like motorcycles

[Kolohe]

Ah, missed that.

I don't think there's anything in the Star Wars universe (or in any other non-dystopian sci-fi universe) that's self propelled besides walking.

And we'll have hover technology within 3 years anyway.