<![CDATA[Gizmodo: star wars]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: star wars]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/starwars http://gizmodo.com/tag/starwars <![CDATA[Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side Trailer]]> We've seen Family Guy take on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Come December 22nd, Fox will release DVDs of Family Guy's Empire Strikes Back parody. Here's the first trailer. And yes, I'm still a sucker for knee humor.

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<![CDATA[What Would Happen If Star Wars Characters Used Facebook]]> I know. I'm a total dork, but these Facebook status updates by Star Wars characters made me laugh this morning. Or maybe it's just all that turkey fat and pumpkin pie bits affecting my neurotransmitters.

Check the rest at College Humor. [College Humor via Geeks Are Sexy]

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<![CDATA[The Craziest Official Star Wars Stuff]]> Star Wars: 1,000 Collectibles is one of the best Star Wars coffee-table books in recent memory. It catalogs authorized Star Wars merchandise from around the globe. Some you've seen (and maybe owned), some will just blow your mind.

Written and compiled by Stephen J. Sansweet—who, as head of fan relations for Lucasfilm and curator of Rancho Obi-Wan, has two of the awesomest jobs in our galaxy—the book covers a million different things Lucasfilm has licensed over the years, and a handful of very impressive efforts by fans as well. People love to make fun of the over-licensing of Star Wars, but a certain genius is revealed when you see all of it, all at once.

Here, courtesy of the book's publisher, is a glimpse of the crazier marvels found within (along with comments by me—not the author):

Needless to say, we highly recommend you spring $23 and check out the book itself, and all 1,000 treasures kept within. [StarWars.com; Amazon]

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<![CDATA[What Would've Happened if Hewlett Packard Built R2-D2]]> Youch. So that's what would happen if HP built astromech droids. Can't say I blame Leia, those error messages make me want to break something, too. Though maybe a lightsaber would've looked more dignified than the baseball bat. [Abstruse Goose]

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<![CDATA[Now They're Teaching Robots to Use Lightsabers]]> The International Robot Exhibition 2009 is underway in Tokyo, and Yaskawa is again showcasing its Motoman robots. We've seen how dexterous previous models were in robo chef demonstrations, but it seems they've now got a taste for the Force.

The choreographed moves are more cute than intimidating, but seriously, maybe we'll see lightsaber droids one day after all. [NetworkWorld YouTube Channel]

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<![CDATA[Gifts For Pets Owned By Geeks Who Treat Them Like Spoiled Children]]> In all honesty, this entire list is a "do not buy" for normal people, but I love my dogs beyond reason. So, here are some unreasonable gifts for them, your pets and your pet loving geek friends.

BTW, if you hate the gallery format as much as the Grinch hated Christmas, click here.

Remote Fetch: Ball chasing is very good exercise for pooches, even if it can cause obsession and anti social tendencies that will result in thousands of dollars in dog therapy. Capable of being remote triggered at 7 or 15 second intervals, or just automatically throwing balls your dog drops in the bucket, it might be worth the trouble. Think of it as the equivalent of a video game for a dog. And it's better than a doggie treadmill, which you can't really leave a dog unsupervised on for very long. $120 [Remote Fetch]

Hotdoll:Ugh! Someone actually went and turned the hotdoll dog sex doll concept into an actual product. The doll has a silicon...nevermind. We had one at Gizmodo Gallery and one owner brought one in to see if their dog—that loves humping—would hump it. He did not. I guess just like real people, it takes a flexible sexual orientation to find comfort in inanimate figurines. Price TBD [Hotdoll on Giz]

Indiana Jones and Star Wars Dog Costumes: Remember when Indiana Jones shot that guy with the swords in Temple of Doom? What if, no, listen, wait, what if Harrison Ford was a dog and in that scene and, instead of shooting the assassin, he used teeth! And, like in Star Wars, instead of light sabers, they had swords made of bones. Oh man, hilarious! Earnestly, these costumes are the only items on this list you should legitimately buy for your dogs. Roughly $14 each. [SpoiledRottenDoggies]

Autofetch Motion Pet Ball: It looks like the famous Super Happy Fun Ball* from Saturday Night Live sketches in the 90s, and although not radioactive, the Autofetch ball acts freakishly similar. The motorized dog toy takes a cookie and then spins around, wildly, til batteries go out, or your dog goes insane and crushes the life out of it. Recommended! *Do not taunt! $27 for two. [Autofetch]

Bissell SpotBot Pet: Puppy training is basically like potty training a kid, except your whole apartment is the diaper. Here we have a steam cleaner that sprays cleaning solution to the mess on your carpet, a rotating brush that scrubs while the vacuuming action drinks—sorry, that may have not been the best choice of word—up the dirty water, storing it in a reservoir for disposal later. Basically, it's an automatic poop/vomit/pee cleaner. I'm surprised they don't make one for frat boys. $140 [Bissell]
Catgenie: Look, I know I said this whole list is a bunch of things you shouldn't buy, but this is the one you should especially not buy: CatGenie is basically an automatic literbox that takes 45 minute to cycle out the poop. Until humans engineer smarter pets that can be potty trained, there is no tech that can avoid domestic animal excrement handling. $329 [Catgenie review]

Sleepypod Air: This is a travel bag for little animals. What makes it different from other bags is that it has special deceptive fold-in panels that squash your animal while going through security checkpoints, so no one can tell you your bag is too big. (Don't worry, I don't think it'll kill your cat.) Then, after you board, it expands a few inches but fits under a chair. It also has a slot for slipping through a rolling luggage handle, so the bag can rest on top, and has seatbelt clips for placing it in car seats. $150 [Sleepypod Air]

The Hydroglass: For those who believe fish are pets, even though you can't hug them, I'd find it hard to believe you could do better than this fish tank, which has a seven-head horizontal shower on top. $14,500 [Hydroglass]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite pet gifts in comments-include pics and pricing if possible.

All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

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<![CDATA[Elephant-Subduing Device Appears Inspired by Star Wars]]> Angry elephants are a big issue. That's why someone invented a remote-controlled device that shoots out nylon rope and binds rampaging elephants' legs. Sounds familiar somehow. How'd those snow speeders in Star Wars subdue the ATATs again?

The device is called the Violent Elephant Control Gear and is basically a seven kilogram box that attaches to the hind leg of an elephant. If necessary, it's triggered by remote and woosh—ziiiip—-tied is the elephant. I just hope that the poor thing doesn't trip as a result and crush someone. [Psyorg via Fast Company]

Photo by Henry Brett

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<![CDATA[Star Wars USB Drives Hands On Gallery]]> Tyme Machines' Star Wars sculpted USB drives might not have your favorite characters available yet, in its first series, but they do have Vader, Boba Fett, Yoda and a Storm Trooper, and they're quite good.

The drives are available in 4, 8 and 16GB capacities for $30, $40 and $60, respectively. The head comes off and you plug the body into any USB port. The downside is that the bodies are decently sized, so if you have two USB ports adjacent to each other, you won't be able to use the other one.

Click through the gallery to see our impressions. [Tyme Machines]

Here's a lone Storm Trooper before he suffers a fate unimaginable for all but Storm Troopers. Decapitation.

With his head gone, his body is free to be plugged into any USB port.

Here's the view from behind.

Boba Fett and Vader are still in mint condition.

The set includes Yoda, but we only have the evil characters.

All three with their heads off.

Vader, engaged.

What would it look like if they switched helmets? This.

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<![CDATA[Adidas Imperial Stormtrooper Sneakers]]> Adidas Imperial Stormtropper sneakers. You know, so you can run faster when random people start chasing you down the street. To beat the crap out of you. Or ask where did you buy them. It can go either way.

There are also Darth Vader shoes and hoodies, all part of next year's Adidas Star Wars Collection. Check out the rest of the images at [Kicks on Fire—Thanks Ponies]

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<![CDATA[Wow, It Took Him This Long?]]> Everyone's making money off the iPhone, so that might as well include George Lucas. $30 this December. [StarWarsShop via ChipChick]

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<![CDATA[Star Wars Trench Run for the iPhone]]> Star Wars: Trench Run for the iPhone gets you into Luke's multitouch underpants, so you can blow up the Death Star while Darth Vader and a thousand TIE Fighters chase you. And, apparently, you can play on the Empire's side:

Looks nice in the screenshots, but remember that the $5 Star Wars Trench Run is one of those games that has special graphics features if you run it on the iPhone 3GS. You know, because everybody knows the Force is stronger in that one. [iTunes App Store]

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<![CDATA[1950s Stereo 3D Projector Is Luke's Grandpa]]> I first saw this 1950s projector when I was a kid. He was evil, he killed that Old Dude, but at the end the Goodguys blew up his Badass Star. It comes without its black cape and lightsaber, but works.

The Stereo Realist Model 81 3-D Slide Projector was manufactured in 1950 by the David White Sales Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It has dual lenses—with 3.5" focal length, f.2.8 aperture—and runs on two 500-watt bulbs which are cooled by two separate fans.

Not old school enough for you? Fear not, my dear readers, for you have to feed two slides at a time into this thing—to create amazing stereo imagesby hand: There's a slide tray on the top of the projector, with a rotary carrier that pushes the slides when you activate the handle on its back.

Darth Vader is now for sale on eBay, and I wouldn't be surprised if the great Ralph McQuarrie owned or saw one, once upon a time. [eBay via Star Wars Blog]

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<![CDATA[Mechanical Tauntaun Costume Pushes Halloween Insanity to the Galactic Outer Rim]]> At last, Star Wars fans all over the world would be able to go to their wedding on a tauntaun, to eat their tauntaun cake, and then carry their imaginary brides to a lovefest inside their tauntaun sleeping bags.

Which is exactly how my next wedding would be, mind you. Check his blog for the step by step instructions. When I see these overachievers in action I just want to go downstairs, grab a carrot cake, a latte, and spend my evening reading a book. [Cockeyed via Make]

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<![CDATA[I Ain't In This for Your Revolution, I'm In This for the Star Wars T-Shirts]]> Hans Solo or Guitar Solo? Dark Side or Who's Your Daddy? Obi-Juan Kenobi makes me laugh too... hmmm, I'm having a hard time deciding which of these 22 Star Wars t-shirts will better fit the dorky nerd in me:

For the dorky nerd outside me I'd need an M, thank you very much. You can get them all from [T-Shirt Rater]

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<![CDATA[These Are the Bikini Princess Leias You Are Looking For (Updated)]]> Did you know Princess Leia had a twin sister? And that they sunbathed on Jabba barge's deck, half-naked and oily under the torrid light of Tatooine's twin suns? Neither did I. [Update: ANTHR CLEERER PICTRR AFTRR JMP]

Here you can see Carrie Fisher in her metal bikini alonside Tracy Eddon, her stunt double in Return of the Jedi. Both are suntanning between takes on the deck of Jabba's Sail Barge, on location in Tunisia's desert Yuma, Arizona. Yes, Han, this shot is one in a million. [fukung via @Kottke]

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<![CDATA[This Is Why You Shouldn't Put Drunk Ewoks On Live TV]]> In honor of Halloween, the Today Show had a Star Wars themed episode. The only trouble is that no one considered that sticking a bunch of drunk midgets into Ewok costume might end with dry humping, fighting, and moon-walking.

According to the Warming Glow, there's confirmation that the people inside Ewok costumes were genuinely drunk, but whether that's true or not, this is bound to turn into a Halloween classic. [YouTube via Warming Glow]

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<![CDATA[Where Are Those Damn Droids?]]> If I were these Imperial stormtroppers, I would trust the Force and click on "I'm Feeling Lucky." [Flickr and Flickr via Ellephanta]

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<![CDATA[Great News: No All-New 3D Star Wars]]> The rumor is that the greedy all-you-can-sell-and-eat alien entity known in Earth as George Lucas was preparing a new trilogy, all filmed in 3D digital. You can rejoice now, for there won't be any new Star Wars movie in 3D:

It wasn't a news item. It was something that somebody made up. It's totally, totally ignorant and stupid, and even the people who picked it up and spread it along, said there's no way this can be true. And of course there's no way it can be true. You shouldn't believe what you read on the internet. Take everything with a big grain of salt.

That's what Lucasfilm's Head of Fan Relations Steve Sansweet says about those rumors. The only 3D Star Wars movies you will see are the classic trilogy and those three shameful accidents also known as the "prequels."

Or maybe Steve here is just trying a Jedi mind trick on us. Here's hoping he is not lying. [Movie Geek Squad via io9]

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<![CDATA[I Want a Slice of this Amazingly Freaky Dead Tauntaun Wedding Cake]]> I've seen plenty of nerdy geeky freaky cakes in my life, mostly Star Wars-related: R2-D2, the Death Star, the Millennium Falcon, Darth Vader, and pregnant Darth Vader. This dead tauntaun wedding cake, however, is just sick. And I love it.

Look at that detail! This is so gross, yet so damn cool. If I ever get married again, I would only do it to get a frikkin' freakierer cake than this. Like, instead of a tauntaun, it would be a giant hairless albino monkey with Ringo Starr's face, and... and his guts would be snakes with the faces of Yoko Ono and Margaret Thatcher and Sarah Palin and Madonna, and instead of Luke it would be David Bowie wearing Princess Leia's metal bikini.

There. I grossed myself out. [Star Wars Blog]

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<![CDATA[Craigslist Ad By A Horrid Excuse for a Human Being]]> If you begin anything with "this might seem strange and offensive," then stop. Seriously, just stop. Don't be like this guy who posted on Craigslist searching for a double amputee to be part of his Chewbacca-carrying-C3PO-around Star Wars costume.

Click on the image for a closer look at the ad.

I'm ashamed to even be in the same country as this guy. Geezus freakin' Christ. [Some Country For Old Men]

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