LASIK: The Ultimate Mod

Any respectable Stormtrooper is always tinkering with their costume, whether it's adding new parts or improving old ones. The colloquial term for a modification is "mod". I have a whole section of the old site dedicated to trooper mods that make things easier, better, or more fun. Well, in late 2006 I made the decision to make what I would call "the ultimate mod," laser eye surgery. While some troopers deal with wearing eyeglasses while trooping, they are not comfortable given the confines of a Stormtrooper helmet, and they can fog up easily. For five years, I endured the increasingly aggravating use of rigid gas-permeable contact lenses beneath my helmet to deal with my nearsightedness. I was always concerned with how long I would be in costume since I knew the lenses became more irritating with time, and the sweat that inevitably ran down into my eyes didn't help the situation. I inquired amongst some other trooper friends and coworkers and decided LASIK (or more specifically, IntraLASIK) would be right for me. Fortunately, my eye doctor concurred (note that not everyone is a good candidate depending on the shape and condition of your eyes). This was the first pre-meditated elective surgery I've ever had, but I don't consider it cosmetic as much as functional (pity my insurance company doesn't see it the same way). The outpatient surgery was much simpler than I thought it would be and after 20 minutes of slicing and burning my eyes (yes, there is an odor of burning eye tissue), my vision was corrected to 20/15. Surprisingly, the procedure was fairly painless and the painkillers took the edge off. However, I must admit that the first 12 hours after the surgery are not fun. Think sand in your eyes. Light...any light...is blindingly painful and you need to force your eyelids open to administer prescription eyedrops. You may also experience some blurriness, starbursts, and halos around bright lights which can last several months. Even today, my eyes are dryer than they ever have been. While many would consider the procedure itself a bit unsettling, the end result was still the best $3000 I ever spent and just in time for my participation in the 2007 Rose Parade. Remember that LASIK is not for everyone so please consult one or more vision specialists before making the decision to have your eyes operated on!

Off the Shelf Stormtrooper Armor

My posts on various costuming message boards today began with "This is either the news we've been waiting for...or the news we've been fearing." You see, for over a decade, die-hard fans have been sculpting, forming and casting their own replica Stormtrooper armor in garages and basements around the world. And, frankly, we've gotten quite good at it. Scores of trooper experts spend countless hours debating over the minutiae of what constitutes a completely screen-accurate Stormtrooper. At a glance, we can tell you which Star Wars film a particular armor part comes from. It's a sickness. Well, now the corporate entity of Rubies Costume Company (who currently holds the license for Star Wars costumes) enters the scene with their $850 answer to every fan's desire to be a Stormtrooper. Although we grass-roots costumers hold no rights to the intellectual property of Lucasfilm, it kind of feels like someone just signed the deal to build a Super Wal-Mart next to our favorite Mom & Pop grocery, the difference being that the fan-made suits are much more accurate in appearance and generally less expensive. The jury will be out until we've actually seen and touched one of these Supreme Edition Stormtrooper costumes in person, but Rubies does not have a great track record for the discerning fans as witnessed in discussion threads like this one. Click here to take a look at what the costuming community is already calling a "craptastic" suit of armor.

Just Picture Them in Their Underwear

What do Stormtroopers wear beneath that shiny white armor? Even among the seasoned ranks of the 501st, that question makes for awkward discussion. Well, as an integral part of any trooper's wardrobe, I'm here to reveal my personal secret. First, let me explain that a black bodysuit is necessary to complete the proper look of a Stormtrooper where there are gaps between the armor. Second, I don't like to think that any troopers "go commando" beneath that bodysuit...not even if they are a Republic Commando. I've tried boxers, but they bunch up. I've tried briefs, but the cotton doesn't breathe well. I've tried boxer-briefs...the worst of both worlds. So, one day my wife and I were perusing a camping/outdoors shop and she recommended these Give-N-Go shorts that were supposedly made for high-energy outdoor activities. They are lightweight, moisture-wicking, odor-resistant and very travel friendly in that you can hand-rinse and air dry in a matter of hours (this works out great for multi-day trooping events where you don't want to pack too much luggage or do laundry on vacation). These Ex Officio Give-N-Go shorts come in boxer or brief styles, and they even have some for the lady troopers. So, if you see me at an event, and my menacing skull-like frown makes you nervous, just picture me in my underwear. For more about the bodysuits worn over the underwear, click here and scroll down to Bodysuit.

The 501stCast Won't Stop

Well, it would seem that we are cranking out 501st podcasts faster than I can remember to blog about them here on my own site! We're already working on 501stCast episode 9 now, and have also debuted a fun new game show called Stump the Trooper where we test the knowledge of our 501st members and give out prizes to our friends on myspace.com/501stcast. The widget on the right column is your easiest way to listen from tk899.com. For the fastest distribution and notification, you can always subscribe to the podcast RSS feed through any podcatcher. Am I speaking a foreign language? The podcast feed is "Really Simple Syndication" which allows you to use a "podcatcher" or "aggregator" such as iTunes to automatically download each new episode as soon as it is posted. Here's a list of podcatchers (most, if not all, are free): http://www.podcatchermatrix.org/ Now go forth, and tell your friends.

501stCast Episode 6

The latest 501stCast is now available at 501st.com/podcast (or conveniently through the 501stCast player on the right column of this page). Since this was Episode VI, we gave the show a title that alluded to the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi and joked about how it would be 100% Ewok-Free (us troopers are still bitter about that whole "defeated by teddy bears" thing). As we started reviewing the stories in this podcast, it became evident that there were a few unexpected Ewok references so we had to change the title to 97% Ewok-Free to comply with galactic "truth-in-advertising" laws.

Holiday Greetings from Around the World

Back on November 14, 2007, I posted an internal request to the Commanding Officers of every unit of the 501st Legion to send me their New Year's Greetings in their native languages. I thought it would make a nice minicast for the 501stCast. Additionally, we needed something to round up the past year's greatest accomplishments of the 501st...the 118th Tournament of Roses Parade (I was there, baby!), Celebration IV and Celebration Europe, recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records, a trooper on every continent...the list goes on and on! Anyway, I received 29 different recorded audio messages from around the globe which I compiled into a single mp3 and released on New Year's Day. While the request was for a no-frills "Happy New Year from (insert your 501st unit name here)", I ended up with some very creative submissions, some of which I was able to recycle and edit into the overall message. Click here to check it out or just use the 501stCast widget in the righthand column to listen without leaving this site. Happy New Year from TK-899, a proud member of the international 501st Legion!

501stCast Episodes 4 and 5

Where is the time going?! Okay, the fourth and fifth episodes of our official 501st Legion podcast are now available for download at 501st.com/podcast. We've done our first "celebrity interview" with Star Wars author Karen Traviss (of the Republic Commando series) but it wasn't edited in time for Episode 5, so listen for it in Episode 6 in January 2008. I'm also doing some Skype (you do have Skype, don't you?) interviews with 501st members who participated in the New Year's Day Rose Parade in 2007 for a special retrospective 501stCast episode. Hopefully this will be out during the first week of January as well. Honestly, you should just subscribe to the feed instead of relying on me to blog about it here, but since I like to experiment with new things I just added a 501stCast widget to the sidebar for your convenience. Just select the podcast episode and press the play button (you may have to wait for it to load 100% before you get audio).

Geek Cred, LFL-Style

One of the biggest geek milestones for a Star Wars fan has to be getting on Lucasfilm's holiday greeting card mailing list. Each year, they send out a custom-designed card to their friends, licensees, and partners. Over the past decade, the 501st has developed a great relationship with LFL...particularly in the area of fan relations. As such, many 501st members (including yours truly) are on the list! The 2007 card (featuring pop-up rows of caroling Stormtroopers) seems like it was made for us troopers. Big thanks to Steve and Mary at LFL for their thoughtfulness and support.

'Tis the Season for Toys For Tots

Stormtroopers all across America have been working with their local U.S. Marines to help promote the Toys For Tots toy drive this time of year. The 501st Carolina Garrison is no exception, and if I was going to squeeze in one event during the holidays, it might as well be something in the spirit of the season. I'm normally in the Charlotte, NC, area, but we were visiting the in-laws this weekend which put us closer to Asheville, where TK-7404 had organized a Toys for Tots event at a local Toys R Us store. This would be my wife's first official troop since receiving her 501st ID number back in September, and as a result I ended up working the event out of costume as a handler taking photos and minding the kids. In retrospect, a giant sign explaining our presence as related to the Toys For Tots campaign would probably have helped people understand why Darth Vader was greeting shoppers on this rainy December day, but even so, we did get some donations. Here's some photos from the event.

Are You a Member of the 501st Legion?

This post is really to serve as an archive for past polls that I've put here on White Armor Chronicles. Surprisingly, it doesn't appear that Blogger has an option to archive old polls. There's probably a hack out there somewhere, but until I find it, I'll just post results like this:

Yes, I'm a 501st member. 26 votes (42%)
Not yet, but thinking about it! 31 votes (50%)
No, just visiting. 4 votes (6%)

Total Votes: 61

There. Now I can post the next poll. (See right column)