17: Eat, Drink, and be Hairy: The Wookiee Way | Star Wars and the Power of Costume | Healthy Desserts | NERD Coffee and Game Shop

Happy Superhero Friday! This week we're doing these things the Wookiee Way and thank goodness that Miss Light is back to help out. From the delectable drink choices of Mr. and Mrs. Light to the Star Wars Costume exhibit in Denver to having a healthy relationship with other people, this installment is packed.
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In This Episode

Mounting and dismounting unicycles...
Fine tuning my 90s music playlist
Coffee, cheese muffins, and healthy desserts?
Star. Wars. Costume. Exhibit.
Comics and Game Shop
Having healthy relationships

The Wookiee Way

There are right ways, there are wrong ways.
There is the long way and the round-about way.
There are byways and highways.
And then there is the Wookiee way.

No one really knows the Way of the Wookiee, and those who think they do tend to have disagreements among themselves. On the whole, I tend to take the Philip Stanhope approach: "Anything worth doing at all is worth doing well." And wow, can that approach get exhausting.

Whether we're talking about our passion in life or a particular relationship, the result of our efforts changes significantly when significant attention is paid. In this installment of Superhero Friday, Brian and Sarah talk about about Star Wars and relationships and we discover in this conversation the connection between them. trbs-017-mr-and-mrs-light

Let's start with Star Wars, as a lead in, because even though we all have relationships in one form or another, we don't all enjoy the same stuff. Star Wars is a pretty safe example of entertainment consumers not enjoying the same things. Here is a film franchise which has garnered tremendous attention since the first film was released in 1977. Some love it, some hate it, some are indifferent. The basis on which we are drawn to something is different from person to person, and just like Brian and Sarah talk about in this episode, that's what makes us a fabulous community. However, step aside from the actual film for a moment, step aside from whether or not you enjoyed the films, and think about the tremendous effort that went into bringing these stories to life.

Worth Doing Well

The exhibit Brian and Sarah visited last weekend is the personification of Philip Stanhope's adage (whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well), which he originally wrote in a letter to his son on the art of becoming a man in the world. Star Wars is brought to life through its costumes, through its ability to take us out of a theater, out of our living rooms, out of our dreary, one-planet lives, and place us in this new realm of existence. It bears marks of our reality, which allow us to connect with the characters on a fundamental level, and at the same time construct something completely foreign that is well within our ability to conceptualize. So much attention to detail was paid in the costumes, sets, and language and, as a result, made the story and the franchise the success that it is.

Imagine how different a relationship would be if we put a similar depth of thought into it. I'm not talking about putting on masks or costumes to make those around us see a reality we want them to see. I'm talking about the investment we put into relationships the way the costume designers of Star Wars invested in the story presented to them. From the mind of one man, enough was articulated for a team of people to come together and create a cohesive world fit for the big screen.

Relationships are not one-size fits all. Lucasfilms didn't ask their costume designers to emulate Sound of Music (1965) or Spartacus (1960), he asked them to consider the world he was building and to innovate new ways to reveal personality to the world.

Differences make us need each other, and when accessed properly, help us see the true benefit of community. Our differences help complete the complex puzzle of life. The challenge shouldn't be a struggle of learning how to co-exist, it should be in the adventure of continuously discovering new aspects of the people around us.