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Playing Inside

Rainy Day Action. Playing inside can be one of the most boring and yet one of the most exciting things, depending on your inventiveness and passion. Here are a few impressions from sword fights of our Jedi Juniours to start with. Would the good knights prevail, following their leader's official certification at Disneyland's Jedi Academy? Would more forces be unleashed and could the evil empire strike back another time with a look-alike clone army, huge All Terrain Armored Transports Walkers and its dark master breathing heavily? Would there be more digitally revamped movie editions, additional tie-in novels as well as brand-new motion-controlled computer games? The answers will be found... in the kids' room!

When we took a picture of an Imperial Guard statue at a media store, it turned out to be alive. Next we ran into some genuine Stormtroopers, who were securing the area.

Decorating the room with a Star Wars poster, depicting everything from episode I to VI.

Star Wars Anniversary. Then it was time again for the war of the stars. Ever since the first (technically the fourth) episode had spread "New Hope" on the big screen, the empire did strike back multiple times, be it as part of sequels, prequels, digital re-releases or the latest three-dimensional movie experience. As we went back to see them with dark 3D-glasses on that would have made Ray Charles jealous, we discovered our friend's anniversary, which we called: 10th time at Star Wars in the movie theater! Taking a picture of the exciting moment while waiting in front of the entrance was the least we could do. For sure, episode VII of the star saga takes place somewhere else... at home!

Watching Star Wars in 3D with a good friend, who had seen it all from the very beginning.

Iron Enthusiasm. When I took my boy to the "Iron Man" movie (with a nice musical quote from Black Sabbath at the end), seeing his finger nail endangering excitement, I figured, it might have felt like me going to see "Flash Gordon", when being about the same age. I wonder, whether he will also remember it for a long time. A few days later, I read the weekend story in his school book, starting with the sentence "It was my best weekend ever!" Furthermore, he informed the teacher: "My father smuggled me into the cinema, by standing in line on his own and ordering two tickets..." Soon after, there came "the Incredible Hulk". His comment: "Awesome!"

Duel Delight. Equipped with laser swords, Star Wars would continue in the kids' room. Most dangerous is a little boy... another secret apprentice in whom the force is strong? It had begun with knight fights in the boy's medieval era, when our girl was hugging "nono and baby", nicknames for dolls of Disney's Tarzan and his buddy elephant Tantor.

California Training. There had been an officially certified training hour at Disneyland's Jedi Academy, which was followed by a most dangerous duel against Darth Maul, redneck and -face sith from "Star Wars Episode I". We sensed great danger as well as great power, with which comes great responsibility...

Garden Cinema. A friend of mine can still tell stories of watching the very first "Star Wars" film in "the" high standard movie theater of the time next to the Vienna City Park. Sitting in the first row, he was simply blown away by space ships speeding by. He was especially impressed by the huge imperial walkers in the ice desert, as "The Empire strikes back".

Royal Soundtrack. A memorable event for me was watching the "Flash Gordon" movie in the same cinema a couple years later. Its soundtrack ("Flash, aaah") by the British music group Queen I had recorded on music cassette, forever repeating the bad guy's words in the opening scene, "Clytus, I'm bored" and "I like to play with things a while before annihilation" (incomprehensible gibberish to me back then).

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