Saturday, August 14, 2010

“With kids, the future of 'Star Wars' is rosy” plus 2 more

“With kids, the future of 'Star Wars' is rosy” plus 2 more

With kids, the future of 'Star Wars' is rosy

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 06:06 AM PDT

At Celebration V, the 'Star Wars' fan convention in Orlando, Fla., kids are everywhere, signaling a bright future for George Lucas sci-fi universe.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

ORLANDO, Fla.--You might think that 33 years after the original "Star Wars" film was released, George Lucas' science-fiction universe might be getting a little long in the tooth.

But if the countless beaming kids at Celebration V, the huge "Star Wars" fan fest being held here, were any indication, the future is very bright for the multi-billion dollar franchise. And it's not just because of the many "Star Wars" video games, books, comics, and toys that have come out in recent years, most of them clearly targeting a young audience.

In fact, that's what I figured would be the case when I started going around Celebration V Friday looking for kids to talk to. After all, everyone knows that the original three "Star Wars" movies were orders of magnitude better than the mediocre prequels that came out much later, and so it wouldn't be beyond the imagination to think that the up-and-coming "Star Wars" fans were not coming to that universe via a group of movies that first came out in 1977 and which concluded in 1983.

Click here for a full photo gallery from the Celebration V 'Star Wars' fan fest in Orlando, Fla.

Yet, that's precisely what seems to be the case: In an afternoon of canvassing kids aged 6 through 12, boys and girls alike, every single one of them told me that the basis of their fandom was the original movies.

"When I was three, my mom showed me ['Star Wars']," said 10-year-old Scott Reese, from Louisiana. "I enjoyed the fact the rebels were trying to destroy the Empire and bring freedom to the galaxy. And that got me interested in watching the other movies."

I had come to Celebration V as the last stop on Road Trip 2010, and I was certain that the many kids I'd see would not only be more interested in playing video games like The Force Unleashed, but would be uniformly sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and would hold a fair bit of enmity for the evil of the Galactic Alliance.

And Reese's sentiments notwithstanding, that's really not at all what I found.

As noted above, each kid I met had started with 1977's "Star Wars" and moved on to the rest of Lucas' universe from there. But these kids were also not at all shy about expressing their interest in the Empire. I guess being a fictional universe, there's nothing wrong with being partial to the Dark Side.

For example, 8-year-old Nick Sanford told me his favorite character is Darth Vader "because he started out from a good person to a bad person."

Or take what I was told by Orlando's Drew Redmond, a 10-year-old who was introduced to "Star Wars" on an Orlando to Denver driving trip where he basically watched all three original movies for 32 hours straight: "Darth Maul is my favorite. I just like him because I like the Dark Side. I like the Sith more than the Jedi for the same reason."

Everywhere you looked at Celebration V, kids were showing off their devotion to the 'Star Wars' universe, as with this kid wearing a Boba Fett helmet.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

And Shelby Sporl, a 12-year-old girl from Jacksonville, Fla., said that she had learned her preference for the Empire from her brother. "I like them both (the Rebel Alliance and the Empire), but I'm a little more for the Empire."

Even some of the kids who preferred characters like Han Solo, like Parker Jochum, 10, from Orlando, hedged their bets. Jochum said he sympathized with the Empire "because I know it's hard to be losing."

Of course, there were those that were pure of heart. One little girl, Emerson Phillips-Georg, who is "six-and-a-half" said her favorite character is Luke Skywalker. And why is she a "Star Wars" fan? "There are some good characters, and there are spaceships in there," Phillips-Georg said. "And I really like space."

And then there were those, like Autumn Frink, 9, whose heart is with the Empire, but whose favorite character is Padme Amidala, the Natalie Portman character, and who she was dressed as Friday at Celebration V. She also was wearing Princess Leia's hair buns.

Sporl, too, said that despite her Empire sympathies, her favorite character is Padme Amidala. I began to sense some patterns.

Video games and books

While these kids universally had come across "Star Wars" via the original movies, it's not to say that they don't play the video games or read the books. Indeed, most of the kids I talked to Friday said they do spend a fair bit of time playing "Star Wars" video games.

For example, Drew Redmond told me plays a lot of Star Wars: Force Unleashed and plays with "Star Wars" Legos. Similarly, Parker Jochum said he has the complete set of "Star Wars" games available for the Nintendo Wii.

Sporl said that she doesn't get much of a chance to play "Star Wars" video games because her brother hogs them most of the time. Still, she said, she does play them from time to time.

"Hey, R2!"
I shouldn't give you the impression that Celebration V was dominated by kids. Though they were everywhere--from the littlest infants to 17-year-olds sprouting their first beards and curves--the vast majority of attendees were adults.

Yet it was heartening to see kids throughout the vast halls of the Orange County Convention Center here. It said to me that there is a very strong future ahead for "Star Wars," and that's a good thing even if the prequels and the more recent "Clone Wars" films had, pretty much by universal consent, sucked. It says that what Lucas unleashed on us all in 1977 has a life of its own--and a very big part of it is the fans.

And who better to demonstrate that the fans will take all this where they want than the kids?

A small child is excited to meet R2-D2 at Celebration V.

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Perhaps my favorite moment at the convention was something I could easily have missed. An R2-D2 came rolling through one of the main exhibit halls, remotely controlled by its owner. Out of nowhere, a tiny little girl came running after it, yelling, "Hey, R2!"

She pounced on the droid, a giant smile on her face. And that was all I needed to see to know this was a lifelong convert.

In the meantime, I was also pleased by the fact that the kids I talked to seem to have taste: none of them said they liked the prequels more than the original films. Yet, most of them had watched Episodes I through III. Except Jochum.

"I'm not allowed to watch Episode III," he said. "Because it's PG-13."

Since June 23, Geek Gestalt has been on Road Trip 2010. After driving more than 18,000 miles in the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest and the Southeast over the last four years, I've been looking for the best in technology, science, military, nature, aviation and more throughout the American northeast. You can follow my progress on Twitter @GreeterDan and @RoadTrip and find the project on Facebook. And you can also test your knowledge of the U.S. and try to win a prize in the Road Trip Picture of the Day challenge.

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Red Wave kids head to TAAF games

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 11:11 PM PDT

El Campo will be well represented this weekend in Waco during the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Games of Texas Summer Swimming Championships.

Olympics-type opening ceremonies will be held Friday at 7 p.m., but swimming and other sports competitions begin as early as Thursday.

Eighteen Red Wave youth will compete sometime between Thursday and Sunday.

1. Krystan Espinoza, age 10: Girls 9-10 100 medley relay; 100 individual medley; 100 freestyle relay.

 2. Julia Foegelle, age 7: Girls 8 & U 100 freestyle relay.

3. Casey Green, age 11: Boys 11-12 50 backstroke; 50 butterfly; 100 individual medley.

4. Michaela Holt, age 8: Girls 8 & U 100 freestyle relay.

5. Camryn Jansky, age 8: Girls 8 & U 50 freestyle; 25 butterfly; 100 freestyle relay.

6. Macy Marek, age 9: Girls 9-10 100 medley relay; 100 freestyle relay.

7. Mathew Marek, age 7: Boys 8 & U 50 freestyle.

8. Colton Martin, age 14: Boys 13-14 100 freestyle; 50 butterfly; 50 freestyle.

9. Cailyn McComb, age 8: Girls 8 & U 50 freestyle; 25 breaststroke; 100 freestyle relay.

10. Micah McComb, age 11: Boys 11-12 100 freestyle; 50 backstroke; 50 freestyle.

11. Blythe Nava, age 17: Women 15-17 50 freestyle; 50 backstroke; 50 butterfly; 100 freestyle.

12. Jill Nava, age 11: Girls 11-12 50 freestyle.

13. Kiara Romo, age 8: Girls 8 & U 25 freestyle; 100 freestyle relay.

14. Sydney Slattery, age 9: Girls 9-10 100 medley relay; 100 freestyle relay.

15. Davis Stockton, age 10: Boys 9-10 25 backstroke; 100 individual medley.

16. Camille Thrash, age 9: Girls 9-10 100 medley relay; 25 butterfly; 100 freestyle relay.

17. Kari Wilkins, age 14: Girls 13-14 50 backstroke; 50 breaststroke; 100 individual medley.

18. Matthew Wilkins, age 12: Boys 11-12 50 breaststroke; 50 butterfly; 100 individual medley.

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Kids learn to play it safe

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 05:25 AM PDT

Posted By KATE MCLAREN THE DAILY PRESS

Posted 1 day ago

Local kids are learning how to play safe.

As part of the Porcupine Health Unit's Kids are Unpredictable -Injuries Don't Have to Be campaign, children in local daycare centres are being schooled on the ins and outs of playground safety.

"I learned that when I'm on the playground equipment I shouldn't hang upside down, I should hold on to the monkey bars with both hands," said Nolan Dagg-Labine, 4, a child in the Timmins YMCA's daycare program. "If I'm not safe, I could break my arm."

The program has been visiting daycares and Ontario Early Years centres in the area, teaching kids through books and learning activities.

Krystle Cox, childcare supervisor at the YMCA, said the program targets children 3-4 years old. She said summer is a good time to learn about safety.

"It's absolutely needed," she said. "At this age, children do little things out of instinct when they're playing that could potentially hurt them.

"It's so great for them to learn the basics and have an example to follow in the form of books and games."

Cox explained that at the Timmins YMCA, playground injuries don't happen often, but prevention is the key.

"We have a pretty good surface outside so if they fall, it's usually just a scraped knee or something, and we always have supervisors watching and helping the kids. But it's important for them to hear this now, to catch it before something happens."

At the YMCA Thursday, children read about Simon and Catapult Man's adventures, the story of two children learning playground safety from a superhero.

Porcupine Health Unit public health nurse Tina Brunet offered some tips to ensure kids are playing it safe.

"Some things parents and care givers can do are to actively supervise children when they're playing, or create some family safety rules.

"The number one cause of injuries for kids is from the impact from falls, so it's a good idea to have soft surfaces like sand, gravel, or peat. Grass really isn't as soft a landing as you'd think."

Brunet explained that the majority of kids' injuries are unnecessary.

"Nine out of 10 injuries are predictable and preventable," she said. "We want to help parents to recognize how they can prevent their child from getting hurt, whether it's a cut, or broken bone or worse."

The campaign also offers a contest component, explained Brunet. By submitting a family rule for playground safety, participants could win a $100 gift card from Canadian Tire.

Approximately 20% of playground injuries occur on backyard equipment, added the health nurse.

"Kids between the age of 5 to 9 are more frequently injured at playgrounds than at any other age."

For more information on the safety program or to submit a family safety rule, call 1-800- 461-1818 ext 349, or visit www.porcupinehu.on.ca.

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