Star Wars

Snuggled up to a palm tree on West Alameda Avenue in Burbank sits a mailbox disguised as a droid. Star Wars-themed mailboxes like the R2-D2 boxes in front of NBC and Warner Bros. studios in Burbank were put out March 16 as a promotion for a 30-year anniversary Star Wars commemorative stamp from the U.S. Postal Service. There are 400 R2-D2 boxes in 200 cities across the nation serving as fully functional mailboxes. But the drop-off box on Alameda isn't being used that much at all, said letter carrier Harold Maxham.

Glendale Community College on Thursday hosted a lecture on the anthropology of ?Star Wars? and ?Star Trek.? Can you see my grin? Daryl Frazetti, an anthropology and biology professor at Western Nevada College in Carson City, Nev., gave the talk. According to campus e-mails, the talk focused on the politics, religion, identity, technology, the cultural role of the individual and the anthropological concept of ?race? that is inherent in both franchises. Of course, I can speak about ?

Ron Piasecki came home one night to a disturbing sight. A burglar was moments away from stealing valuable possessions from his neighbor’s home. After police came and successfully apprehended the suspect, Piasecki was determined to find a way to express his gratitude. So he decided to host a block party to celebrate National Night Out, an event held for the past 25 years across the United States on the first Tuesday of August. Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, the program gathers community members, police officers and other city officials to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, according to the association’s website.

As I arrived at Olive Park last Friday afternoon for my son's T-ball practice, the campers were already pitching tents along Olive Avenue, securing their positions in line for the summer camp sign-ups the following morning. I write this seven days later on Friday afternoon, as my wife leaves to begin her 24-hour stint in line at Olive Park to sign my kids up for swimming lessons tomorrow morning. As competition for the parks and recreation summer programs becomes ever more cutthroat, I am left angry and dumbfounded at the perverse pleasure our parks and rec officials seem to take in allowing this process to continue.

For the last several years, Frank Corona, along with his wife, Heidi, have maintained the Halo 13, in the Burbank Town Center that sells everything from comic books, antique figurines, action figures, shirts and DVDs. But don’t call Halo 13 a comic book store; call it more of a collectible toy store, he said. “We get a lot of collectors here,” Frank Corona said. “Mostly people looking for that one-of-a-kind item.” Halo 13, although similar to the name of the video game, has nothing to do with the popular series, he said.

Maybe Episodes I and II lowered my expectations so dramatically I was bound to love the final installment of the "Star Wars" series, since it provides the major pay-off I've been craving for six years now -- witnessing Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) finally turn to the dark side and become the dreaded Darth Vader. The truth is: I don't care, I loved this movie. "Revenge of the Sith" is satisfying because it actually does something very gutsy: it chronicles the unraveling of a hero (Anakin)

"Valiant" means courageous, especially in the new Disney/Vanguard film. "Valiant" is the perfect name for a young pigeon (voiced by Ewan McGregor, lately of "Star Wars" fame), who is also sweet, honest and true, and longs to serve his country well in World War II. Unfortunately for us, we're given much too little time with Valiant, and too much time with a parade of almost 20 other characters, in a lifeless, confused, mishmash of 50 different war movie cliches -- like the nurse/girlfriend meeting the new recruit; or the alluring French Resistance fighter named Charles De Girl.

geisha"Memoirs of a Geisha" tells the story of little 9-year-old Chiyo, a true survivor, who is sold into slavery by her parents shortly before World War II, and then sent to Geisha school because of her remarkable sea-colored eyes. On the plus side, this movie is lovely to look at. It's blessed by the same two gorgeous leading ladies who flew through the air, hacking at their enemies with wild abandon, in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" -- the indomitable Ziyi Zhang and glorious Michelle Yeoh.

The recently erected statue at Five Points has truly inspired me . . . to think about some of the other truly lame, artistically challenged eyesores around town! Here’s what I found one afternoon: 1. What’s with these lame-o banners all over the place? “Come Out & Play,” “Come Out & Dine,” “Newer Than Ever,” “Cooler Than Ever,” “Dumber Than Ever!” Do they think we’re complete idiots?

Everyone is seeing "Pirates of the Caribbean." Everyone. I probably couldn't say anything to discourage you from joining the throngs, so may I suggest you go late? To do so, you'd need to wait until the weekend crowds thin out or catch a matinee so you can snag a seat on the aisle. Or you could scope out a seat and go back for your popcorn and Coke after your first yawn. If you choose the latter, however, don't tell those you must disturb it was my idea. Maybe you'll think of a better method, but trust me, little happens for the first 38 minutes of this film.

The recently erected statue at Five Points has truly inspired me . . . to think about some of the other truly lame, artistically challenged eyesores around town! Here’s what I found one afternoon: 1. What’s with these lame-o banners all over the place? “Come Out & Play,” “Come Out & Dine,” “Newer Than Ever,” “Cooler Than Ever,” “Dumber Than Ever!” Do they think we’re complete idiots?

For the last several years, Frank Corona, along with his wife, Heidi, have maintained the Halo 13, in the Burbank Town Center that sells everything from comic books, antique figurines, action figures, shirts and DVDs. But don’t call Halo 13 a comic book store; call it more of a collectible toy store, he said. “We get a lot of collectors here,” Frank Corona said. “Mostly people looking for that one-of-a-kind item.” Halo 13, although similar to the name of the video game, has nothing to do with the popular series, he said.

Glendale Community College on Thursday hosted a lecture on the anthropology of ?Star Wars? and ?Star Trek.? Can you see my grin? Daryl Frazetti, an anthropology and biology professor at Western Nevada College in Carson City, Nev., gave the talk. According to campus e-mails, the talk focused on the politics, religion, identity, technology, the cultural role of the individual and the anthropological concept of ?race? that is inherent in both franchises. Of course, I can speak about ?

Ron Piasecki came home one night to a disturbing sight. A burglar was moments away from stealing valuable possessions from his neighbor’s home. After police came and successfully apprehended the suspect, Piasecki was determined to find a way to express his gratitude. So he decided to host a block party to celebrate National Night Out, an event held for the past 25 years across the United States on the first Tuesday of August. Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, the program gathers community members, police officers and other city officials to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, according to the association’s website.

What if you found yourself stuck in a dead-end job with a nightmare of a boss? Add in a best friend sleeping with your cute, but horrid, girlfriend and you have a life of painful insecurities, crippling anxieties and one not worth living. That’s the exact situation the hero of “Wanted” finds himself in. Subsisting on a numbing mix of self-loathing and anti-anxiety medication, Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a complete mess. That is until Fox (Angelina Jolie) enters and, literally, saves his life.

Everyone is seeing "Pirates of the Caribbean." Everyone. I probably couldn't say anything to discourage you from joining the throngs, so may I suggest you go late? To do so, you'd need to wait until the weekend crowds thin out or catch a matinee so you can snag a seat on the aisle. Or you could scope out a seat and go back for your popcorn and Coke after your first yawn. If you choose the latter, however, don't tell those you must disturb it was my idea. Maybe you'll think of a better method, but trust me, little happens for the first 38 minutes of this film.

Snuggled up to a palm tree on West Alameda Avenue in Burbank sits a mailbox disguised as a droid. Star Wars-themed mailboxes like the R2-D2 boxes in front of NBC and Warner Bros. studios in Burbank were put out March 16 as a promotion for a 30-year anniversary Star Wars commemorative stamp from the U.S. Postal Service. There are 400 R2-D2 boxes in 200 cities across the nation serving as fully functional mailboxes. But the drop-off box on Alameda isn't being used that much at all, said letter carrier Harold Maxham.

geisha"Memoirs of a Geisha" tells the story of little 9-year-old Chiyo, a true survivor, who is sold into slavery by her parents shortly before World War II, and then sent to Geisha school because of her remarkable sea-colored eyes. On the plus side, this movie is lovely to look at. It's blessed by the same two gorgeous leading ladies who flew through the air, hacking at their enemies with wild abandon, in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" -- the indomitable Ziyi Zhang and glorious Michelle Yeoh.

"Valiant" means courageous, especially in the new Disney/Vanguard film. "Valiant" is the perfect name for a young pigeon (voiced by Ewan McGregor, lately of "Star Wars" fame), who is also sweet, honest and true, and longs to serve his country well in World War II. Unfortunately for us, we're given much too little time with Valiant, and too much time with a parade of almost 20 other characters, in a lifeless, confused, mishmash of 50 different war movie cliches -- like the nurse/girlfriend meeting the new recruit; or the alluring French Resistance fighter named Charles De Girl.

Maybe Episodes I and II lowered my expectations so dramatically I was bound to love the final installment of the "Star Wars" series, since it provides the major pay-off I've been craving for six years now -- witnessing Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) finally turn to the dark side and become the dreaded Darth Vader. The truth is: I don't care, I loved this movie. "Revenge of the Sith" is satisfying because it actually does something very gutsy: it chronicles the unraveling of a hero (Anakin)