Three new acquisitions for the vintage collection!

I have no idea why the 140 piece puzzles tickle my fancy, and yet they do. Both puzzles pictured are complete and will be added to the collection here. The Hoth Ice Planet Adventure Game was one I did not know about when I was a kid, nor did I own it. But the artwork on the box is gorgeous. It shall join the vintage collection of games. That collection currently includes Star Wars: Wicket the Ewok; Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game; and Star Wars: Escape from the Death Star Game. Wicket and Ultimate are by Parker Brothers, Escape is by Kenner.

At some point I want to find a way to display both the puzzles and the games as hanging wall artwork. Any advice on how to accomplish that would be appreciated!

Coming soon: I purchased a lot of vintage figures, and one of them is a Droids Cartoon figure — so stand by for pictures of that beauty!

I buy lots of action figures sometimes. I mean “lots” in both senses of the word — lots as in many and lots as in a grouping sold together. The cool part is you end up with figures you may not otherwise end up with (Like the three modern Indiana Jones figures I own and adore); but the downside is you end up with a gazillion action figures that are duplicates or which don’t float your boat. Of course because they come in loose lots, they also come mismatched to any weapon.

That means a process of identifying the figures, identifying what weapons and accessories go with them, sifting through the hundreds of loose weapons you’ve collected to see if you have the right one to match to the figure and if you do, marrying the two. If you don’t well.. (sigh).

I am part of several Facebook groups dedicated to collecting, selling and trading figures and what not. And when it comes to Star Wars identification, nothing beats the Jedi Business webpage ( http://jedibusiness.com/ ) and it’s awesome sauce figure ID tool. There are others out there and I will share them as I use them and have a minute to post link.

Now, back to match-making figures and accessories. Happy Tuesday!

Oh, Han…

If you are like me, an avid (some say freakishly obsessed) Star Wars collector and adorer of all things Star Wars; you understand that the hunt for the “perfect” piece is a journey on its own face — dare I say it mirrors Joseph Campbell’s brilliant analysis of the “The Hero’s Journey”? The hunt is in some ways a mirror to the idealism of trusting the force. Unfortunately, for me anyway, the hunt has become somewhat arcane with the advance of the internet. It takes the fun out of the hunt, while at the same time feeding the desire to find that “grail” piece. Yep, I do the ‘net buying. But NOTHING compares to the thrill of the wild hunt.

The trust in luck that you will stumble on an undiscovered treasure trove of long forgotten Star Wars items, hidden in the back of some attic. That is how, in part, I stumbled into collecting. It was an Ewok playset and ewok figures — for $100. How could I say no to having that dream playset again in my life? That one stumble upon and discovery has led me down the road to where I am now. I am a Star Wars geek and damn proud of it.

Welcome to Yoda on my Shoulder! Seriously, what better guide is there than the great Jedi Master Yoda in this journey of discovery. And that’s what Star Wars collecting has become for me: A journey of discovery of my youth; of my passions; of my world. Sure, I do it haphazardly, but it’s my collecting process. However odd it may seem, the process creates an extraordinary moments of surprise, of growth and of human connection. That’s what I want to share through this blog and I hope you will follow along in that galaxy “far, far away…”

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

Alright, let’s be real. Those of us who are obsessed with Star Wars collecting are really chasing the nostalgia of another time. Sure, some of us have the added bonus of enjoying the mythic themes of the story arches; or the bigger than life characters who’ve come feel like friends. But at its core, collecting from the far, far away universe is really about the nostalgia.

And I am totally OK with admitting that my obsession and chase is feeding the triggers of nostalgia like a drug. There’s a reason some refer to this obsessive collecting as “plastic crack.” The emotional rewards are addictive.

All that said, I blather on regularly to friends about this obsession and I think they’ve gotten bored with it. Thus, I had the following conversation in my head:

“Self,” said I.

“Yes,” replied me.

“I think the people who are your friends have grown bored by your incessant babbling about the dark hair Luke farmboy versus the traditional blond hair version,” said I.

Me was a aghast. “Foolishness!”

I pointed out the friends were not obsessing over the hair variant dialog and have moved over to the corner of the bar to look at a dead cockroach, “Really, me? Why are they conversing about a crushed cockroach in the corner?”

Me was silent.

“I believe it may be time to find a new audience for these missives and geekeries,” said I.

Me was pouting.

“You know, me, the intertoobz is full of Star Peoplez likers.”

Me glared at I, furious I allowed our friend John’s taunting of our obsession to taint our thoughtful conversation.

I was pensive, and paused. It was a thoughtful pause.

“It is important that we find our tribe,” I said finally. “That means the wilds of the electrons.”

Me turned his back to me.

Thus was the first discussion I had with myself about this Star Wars thing. But it wasn’t until yesterday, while taking a breathing treatment, and joking around with a cellphone camera and a 1981 Empire Strikes Back Yoda hand puppet, that it all crystalized.

I snapped a photo of myself with a breathing treatment mask on my face, hissing out the drugs I need to control the problems in my lungs, with Yoda on my shoulder. I texted it to my boss, with the quote: “Breathing, you must. To living, essential it is.” [OK the text of the text message has been embellished for story telling purposes, but you get the point.]

Yoda on my Shoulder was born. And now, Me and I will get to share our journeys with you. Snapped images from garage sales and barn auctions; video of auctions and audio of me cursing during some pursuit — these are just some of the things I will share. I will also share with you some of my finds (but never my honey holes). I might share images of variants for a wee bit of conversation. I will more than likely share photos of my dog, Lancelot Gobbo with various Star Wars items.

I should note, as well, that while I fully admit to be obsessed with all the things Star Wars, that I do occasionally grab up other action figures and brands. Why? Because I like the figure, or the reference creates a warm nostalgia for me. Whatever the reason, I will probably banter a bit about thinks like Thundercats or He-Man. I am no expert in any of these toy arenas mind you — so take my advice, observations whatnotism with a grain of salt — but I like what I like and I hope I can articulate why enough to maybe introduce you to a new line.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
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• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.