Television is a medium that is fairly new to the saga. It was done disastrously with the Star Wars Christmas Special but thankfully things have improved a lot since then. The recent Clone Wars Television series has been a fantastic way to experience space battles and familiar characters on the small screen. It is set during Episodes 3 and 4 and tells the story of the Jedi and Republic versus the Sith and the Separatists and has lots of space, land and sea battles. Of course this has led to even more Star Wars action figures and vehicle toys hitting the shops.

Next you’ve got computer games. The Force unleashed was one of the bigger deals in the last few years. I would highly recommend the Wii version of the game as it lets you use the force in the best way to date in a game. Then there’s the big cahuna. The Old Republic MMO game which has been hyped for years. It finally got released this year and allows players to travel the Star Wars Galaxy crafting their own stories. I haven’t tried it yet but I will when I get a few months of free time.

The novels have been a mainstay for years for fans who just can’t get enough. With the fantastic Yuuzhan Vong storyline having wrapped up we were treated to a new Sith. One that came from the Skywalker Solo family. The difference with this dark side defection compared to Anakins is that we get to read about the transformation slowly which I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Comics recently have had storylines featuring Darth Vader, the Old Republic and even the Yuuzhan Vong war. Comics are a natural home for Star Wars due to the amazing visuals that the saga is capable of inspiring. The Yuuzan Vong storyline Invasion was decent although it could have done with a lot more Jacen and Jaina Solo as they were the main heroes of that timeline.

If that isn’t enough for you there is Lego to consider. Putting together a huge Lego Star Wars spaceship will take you hours and it’s a great way to spend your time.

To read reviews about Star Wars games, comics, books and movies and to buy Clone Wars vehicle Toys visit BangZap Toys.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Lego’s Star Wars III – The Clone Wars is the latest release (perhaps bar one) and can be used on Nintendo Wii, DS and 3DS, Sony PSP, Xbox360 and PC platforms.

Lego’s Star Wars Clone Wars includes 20 missions based on familiar stories, humour and characters with 40 bonus levels covering the whole age of the Clone Wars.

The Force can be used to control all sorts of Lego characters and objects. Solve puzzles, send your enemies flying and create weapons. Assume command of clone troopers fighting the droid army, just like a real army commander, using and deploying the equipment and forces at your disposal. Your new armaments include capital ships, rocket launchers and rapid fire guns.

New features include the control of more than one team in different locations, the fighting of the huge bosses such as Gor, The Zillo Beast and others.

Players will be able to navigate their favourite space ships in multi layered combat through the whole galaxy.

Combat will be fiercer with greater freedom of character movement and lightsaber abilities as well as new grappling abilities to help defeat the enemies.

Exploration of the galaxy becomes more exciting with a variety of exotic locations and ships and players can assume different characters as they play.

New vehicles available in this version of Lego’s Clone Wars are the Republic gunship, Clone Turbo Tank and Anakin’s Jedi Intercepter and players will come across their favourite characters as they play, meeting Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca amongst others.

There is new lighting and animation as well as new puzzles but the highlight is probably the enhanced split screen for playing with friends and family who can jump in and out as they wish.

If you really want to be a favourite with your family this holiday season you could buy the entire Video Game Collection of Lego’s Star Wars which will enable them to play all six of the movies in one video game or you could get Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels which allows players to re-enact duels with characters of their choice. Interactive surroundings help to vanquish the enemy, re-arrange the architecture and generally have lots of fun.

For more exciting features of Lego’s Star Wars Video Games, visit Cliff Lively’s website, Lego Star Wars Deals.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

A little aluminum foil and cardboard can turn your living room into the Millennium Falcon, and can create a fantasy that your kids and their friends will adore!

Here are a few great tips:

The Basics

Any party requires a few basic elements in order to be truly successful. You’ll want to look for some basic decorations, like balloons and streamers, as well as possibly a few posters. Make sure that it’s easy for partiers to get their little hands on cake and other treats by making sure to get plenty of disposable plates, silverware, and other dishes – all available in a Star Wars theme! Another good idea is to provide party sacks that the kids can take home with them to remember the party. Fill the sacks up with little toys, candies, and other treats. These basics are a great place to start.

Costumes

The very best themed parties include costumes. By dressing up as their favorite characters from films, your kids will be able to immerse themselves completely in the theme. The number of Star Wars costumes available borders on infinite. All of the main characters from both trilogies are well represented, from Anakin/Vader to droids or Jedis. Some go so far as to ensure that each partier comes dressed as a different character – certainly an option. It’s more important that the kids dress as their favorite character and enjoy themselves than trying to avoid having three Princess Amidalas at the party.

Party Activities

There’s a lot more than simply eating cake and watching movies that you can do at a Star Wars costume party. One great to do is to set up some basic games and activities for the kids to participate in during the party. Many traditional party activities can be adapted to your party – bobbing for Death Stars (apples), or an R2D2 piñata, for example, would be a good start.

If things are looking pretty even, you can even divide the party into two groups – the good guys and the bad guys, or even original trilogy vs. prequels. The droids give you an opportunity to ensure that the teams are even, as they appear in all six films.

Star Wars trivia is a great activity. You can develop the questions yourself, or find them online and provide small prizes to those getting the answers correct. You could also set up a themed scavenger hunt around the house and yard, asking party attendees to search out themed items within a set time frame.

Whatever approach you choose to take to your Star Wars party, make sure that you focus is on your kids – and not on your own thoughts regarding the theme. Incorporate all of your children’s favorite characters and elements from the films, and your party will surely be a great success!

Whenever you have a Star Wars theme party, costumes are important, both for you and for your guests. Consider a Stormtrooper Costume if you can’t decide for yourself. Not only is it a great costume, but it doesn’t matter how many other Stormtroopers show up for the party! You’ll also want to grab some Star Wars Party Supplies for the occasion. Rebecca can offer you some top-notch products through her affiliation with the very best retailers of party supplies and costumes online, offering a 110% best price guarantee!

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

The History of the Game

Of course, part 2 is a sequel to the original Star Wars game which first introduced Starkiller. In the sequel, Starkiller is back and he’s on a mission to find his true love, the one and only Juno Eclipse. However, Darth Vader has other plans as he wants to find our hero and turn him into the most powerful Sith warrior ever created. It’s an evil plan and one that must be stopped and you get to control the outcome.

New Tricks and Features

Star Wars Force Unleashed 2 wouldn’t be a very exciting game without all-new tricks and features available to Starkiller to take advantage of. Therefore, the creators have given you a host of new abilities to take advantage of during your exciting game play. One of the exciting new tricks is the highly deceptive Mind Trick which allows the controller to turn enemies against their allies! Another exciting feature waiting to be unlocked is the Force Rage. This power allows Starkiller to powerfully execute targeted strikes against the enemy.

There are host of other great features and tricks in this game that are just waiting to be discovered. Some of these include new combo attacks, enhanced puzzle-solving gameplay, increased customization, dual wielded light sabers and much more. You will not be disappointed with the new Star Wars Force Unleashed 2 game. In fact, Wii players will be able to experience the ultimate 4-player showdown! The game can be purchased for Nintendo Wii as well as Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360.

Incidentally, my son got this game for Christmas for his Wii and he sais that it’s a lot more challenging than the first one and that the graphics are much better. He’s quite particular given that he is a huge fan of the movies and cartoon series. This game wasn’t a disappointment at all.

Where to Find a Great Deal This Game

Of course, as a devoted Star Wars game player, you want to get your copy of Star Wars Force Unleashed 2 as soon as possible. You can easily find it at your local game store, but you should do a little research before you buy the game from them. More than likely you can find it for less online. Online retailers are known for selling products, especially electronics for quite a bit less than the price found at game stores. You may even be able to find it with free shipping when you buy online as well, thus saving even more money!

The biggest reason to shop online for the Star Wars Force Unleashed 2 video game is the convenience of being able to shop from your home. When you visit the Force Unleashed 2 blog, you’ll discover a retailer that can ship this item to your house within a few days and for free.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Ever since first seeing Star Wars as a child, I was hooked. Like so many others, I used to pretend to be a Jedi, jumping off of objects whilst brandishing a toy Light Sabre. As my Mother would tell you today, many thousands of dollars’ worth of damage was done, and many neighbours traumatised, whilst I was in ‘Jedi Training’.

As I’ve grown older, I have not had time to continue my Jedi training, much to the delight of my Mother and the Neighbourhood. Instead I have opted to settle for a job as a National Health, Safety Environment and Quality Manager for Alliance Power and Data, based in East Perth, Western Australia. My love of Star Wars however, is as strong as the day as I first saw it.

After recently re-watching the entire Star Wars series, I have seen it in a completely new light. It occurred to me that even though the Jedi’s were vastly smaller in number, they were still able to compete against a much larger army, by only implementing and applying a few aspects which are now considered to be the fundamentals of an Occupational Health and Safety System.

Lesson One: Incident Investigations

It’s a sad point in your life when you realise that only yourself and a select handful of friends and family can be trusted. Remember when Obi-Wan Kenobi used the ‘Jedi Mind Trick’ on the incident investigating Storm troopers? Even though they’re Jedi’s, the portrayed ‘good-guys’, the act itself does provide a strong case that individuals trying to avoid prosecution, no matter inherently good or bad, will use any means at their disposal to be found not guilty.

Many times whilst on site, I found myself caught in the middle of an Incident Investigation resembling a sandstorm. Almost every Occupational Health and Safety Professional can relate to this. Why do I call it a sandstorm? Well it’s just like a normal sandstorm in the desert; unprepared, you know that you’re going to get belted from every direction for an undefined and prolonged period of time. You also know that it’s going to inflict ranging levels of pain; both mental and physical, resulting in you doubting and questioning your own abilities and beliefs in your position. Add to this the fact that you simply can’t see what to do or where to go until after the sandstorm settles and ultimately clears.

Like most others, my general incident investigation sandstorm included;

Several differing versions of the unfolded events,
Several differing sequences of events,
Several differing fingers of blame being pointed, and
An abundance of select words of the English language being used either towards myself or others.

I won’t lie, during these times I wanted nothing more than my own fully functioning light sabre.

So how do we plan the simple fact that we are going to be misled?

The Jedi’s had a Council that discussed matters, with a little green man that could see into the future. From my experience, companies have had several degrees of Council’s and Committees, but lack the ability of the use of said little green man at their disposal.

With this in mind, implementing a strong Incident Investigation Procedure is a good start. This can include the documentation of; Preliminary Reports, Witness Statements, Accident and ICAM/Taproot findings and implementation of required actions. The truth is between the lines of all these hand written statements combined. It’s up to the Safety Professional to ensure they are not treated like a Stormtrooper, and are the victim of another’s ‘Jedi Mind Trick’ whilst investigating.

Lesson Two: Leading From the Front

I’ve been there, you’ve been there, we’ve all been there. Everyone has at some point in their life, had a boss who walked around believing they’re either Genghis Khan or Adolf Hitler. Both influential individuals used fear within their organisation to obtain what they desired. Ok, so maybe a bit overdramatic with the general stereotype of a boss, but keep in mind that Khan fell off his horse due to fatigue and Hitler poisoned himself. Either way both left their organisation early due to the culture they implemented and nurtured.

Moving away from the brief history lesson of historical Dictatorial lunatics, in Star Wars, Queen Amidala ruled Naboo. Besides from the fact that I personally would do anything for Natalie Portman, her subjects in her rule also adore her. She uses; forward thinking, fairness and fights for the rights of her people whilst maintaining a Diplomatic mindset whilst ruling over her constituents. She has the respect of her organisation and leads from the front when required. So am I wrong in stating that this is a good example of a CEO and General Manager when initiating change with safety?

Seeing Miss Portman running around with her subjects, defending her ‘office’ with several handguns, turned a 6ft tall, 105kg male into a love-struck drooling pre-teen. Like her servants, I would join her cause and follow without ever questioning her decisions.

Now my current boss is in his thirties and married. If suddenly he copied Queen Amidala’s example and ran around the office with a handgun, it would be a cause for concern that would more than likely involve the services of the West Australian Police. The underlying principle however is there that if an organization is serious about bringing around change in safety, it must be led by a figurehead of a company who can walk and talk safety.

This figurehead required to drive this change, is an individual or group that has not only the respect, but the trust of the workforce, throughout all levels of the organisation.

Lesson Three: Use the Resources Available

Han Solo was hired by Luke Skywalker to aid him to travel to Alderaan. His short term goal was to rescue the Princess Leia. Luke did not have the necessary equipment or skills to perform such a task by himself alone, so required the outside assistance of Han Solo and Chewbacca to achieve his short-term goal. The same can be said for Jabba the Hutt in hiring Jango and eventually Boba Fett to perform bounty hunting work on his behalf.

Without the hiring of subcontractors both Luke and Jabba would not of been able to achieve their short term goals.

In safety, organising and approving the selected Sub-Contractors can be the difference between short term goals being achieved, or failing miserably. Checks for Pre-Qualification for selection need to be performed. Information on; insurances, available scopes of work and examples of contractor abilities to perform said tasks are vital in ensuring that the outsourced work does not impact on the name of the business. Measures to ensure the contractor has means at their disposal to perform the task both safely and within a scope of time, have to be included in an organisations safety system. This leads us nicely into the next lesson.

Lesson Four: Always Do Your Research

Luke, mate, seriously, she is your twin sister. I can turn the blind eye to the fact that at the time he didn’t know, but unfortunately the same logic cannot be applied to mistakes with safety.

Background checking potential personnel has now become an industry standard. Applying with the same principle as ‘Lesson One: Always Plan to be Misled’, an employer or PCBU needs to check the validity and integrity of the persons involved in their undertakings, to protect the business.

So if Luke had waited, and performed all the industry standard checks before embarking to enlist Princess Leia into his company, would avoided tarnishing his name?

A Safety Professional must include in their Occupational Health and Safety System;
Character References Checks,
Previous Work History Checks,
Validity of Licences and
Qualification/Education Received Validity.

Working closely with a Human Resources Department is always beneficial as in recent years, Occupational Health and Safety has moved in on territory previously owned and dominated by a HR Department.

Lesson Five: Don’t Market to Children

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace would have been an amazing movie, if Jar-Jar Binks was merely a background character. The backlash experienced from the introduction of Jar-Jar into the movie franchise, caused George Lucas to rethink and re-write the remaining movies, allocating him as minimal lines as possible. Lucas himself admits that the character was placed and targeted to attract children to the franchise. The character was basically removed from all future movies, as it was damaging the reputation of Mr Lucas’ business.

So why the uproar? Simply put, he was an idiot, cracking unfunny jokes, requiring constant babysitting and generally not listening to anything that any person in authority would instruct him to do. In short, not a model employee to have in any organisation, no mind preaching safety to.

With workplace fatalities in Australia for the financial year 2010 at 124, and the same period in 2009 at 177, Safety Professionals can simply not afford to have any personnel exhibiting traits of Jar-Jar Binks within their organisation. Safety Systems are designed and implemented to protect the workforce, but like the old saying goes, ‘you can lead a horse to water’. Unfortunately, individuals exhibiting Jar-Jar like characteristics can only be dealt with by following the example of Mr Lucas; to remove them from the organisation before they cause damage to the reputation of the business.

Lesson Six: Train Your Workforce

The ‘Imperial Army’ is of impressive size, majority consisting of Stormtroopers. Never in the Star Wars series, do you see any form of training being administered to the Sith Army. None, whatsoever. No long montage footage of them in training at all. The result of which, has caused an entire army of individuals who do not know how to shoot their blaster at their target in a straight line. Sure, every now and again one gets lucky, but for the sheer amount of numbers, the statistics for ‘hit to miss’ ratio would be appalling.

This begs the question that if the Dark Lords established a HSEQ Department to monitor and review some Key Performance Indicators, and hired a Trainer/Assessor for their training programs, could they of changed the eventual outcome of the battle?

The Jedi’s were greatly smaller in number, but administered a widely regarded and respected training program, known throughout the Universe. It was specifically designed to build skills and knowledge of an individuals use of the ‘the force’. This training program held a certain level of respect throughout general society and the Universe as a whole. Every Jedi knew the; process, training requirements and information required to be obtained, to progress to the next level. A stronger Jedi, meant a stronger Jedi organisation.

Ok I admit that the Jedi’s had some hiccups on the way, but I don’t think I’m going to spoil the movie for anyone by saying that eventually, the Jedi’s won.

The same can be said for training of a business workforce. Companies are realising that by raising the level of the standard of their general worker through education and training, they raise the quality of work being produced by their company. Pretty simple in theory really, application however is where it becomes tricky.

Qualified Trainer/Assessors are more in demand than ever. Finding one with experience, no mind one at all is near impossible. Similar to when a young Luke Skywalker was searching to be trained, only two Jedi’s were rumoured to be in existence. These two Jedi’s were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Obi-Wan was in found in the desert and Yoda had retired, refusing to train anyone and living near a swamp.

Much like Trainer/Assessors today, most are either following Obi-Wans example, and are in the desert with a Mine Site, or retired and refusing to train anyone, like Yoda.

Ensuring a fully competent workforce also aids in reducing the risks associated with workplace incidents and fatalities. If you ignore Star Wars III: Clone Wars, where every Jedi, bar a handful are brutally slaughtered, the Jedi’s had a pretty low Loss Time Injury Rate.

So if we as Safety Professionals want to reduce the amount of LTI’s and incidents as a whole, we require a training program worthy of a Jedi. This training program however has to ensure you do not employ anyone named Anakin Skywalker.

Lesson Seven: Expand the Culture – The Indigenous Are Allies

In Star Wars I-III, allegiances were chosen and an Alliance was formed to defend the greater good of the Council. This Alliance consisted of many differing races, from all varying reaches of the Universe. A workforce was built, with each individual race having a specific skill set which strengthened the organisation.

Ok readers, here’s a revelation which many of us seem to forget, Australia is ‘terra nullius’: land that belongs to no one. It doesn’t matter if you’re seventh generation Australian, it’s not yours. After the landmark Mabo case decision in 1992, and the subsequent Native Title Act of 1993, the law now states in black and white that it is no longer ‘terra nullius’. The Native Title Act of 1993 paved the way for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders to legally reclaim the land which was forcefully removed from them, since the arrival of the First Fleet on Australian shores in 1788.

So in Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi, we met the Ewoks, the Indigenous land owners of Endor. Presumably residing there for many generations, the Ewoks had established their own; colonies, customs, culture and beliefs. Now the Jedi’s and the Rebel Alliance required the assistance of the Ewoks to achieve their desired intentions. Instead of invading their land and enslaving the indigenous owners, like the First Fleet, the Jedi’s worked with and alongside them. With the use of technology, namely a robot named C-3P0, they were able to build the bridge required to create a relationship between the two differing established organisations and work together towards a common goal.

Now whatever this common goal is in our society, I’ll leave up to the two disputing parties to decide.

Whilst on the Ewoks native land, the Rebel Alliance trained the indigenous population, increasing their ability to perform in their natural environment. It aided their common goal. So if this worked for them, why can’t it work for us?

Many companies now have Indigenous and Multi-Cultural Employment Opportunities. Australia is blessed with being a multi-cultural nation. Personally, I have had the privilege of working alongside individuals not only of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, but from various differing nations, with widely contrasting cultures, customs and beliefs. Between the two of us, we shared information which furthered both our knowledge and understanding to perform our working duties better.

So what are the lessons to take from here?

Firstly, for two vastly different societies, a common goal must be found.

The goal, both short and long term, must be beneficial for everyone involved. Like with most meetings between two parties that are vastly different, there’s always going to be times which are frustrating and stressful. The Ewoks nearly cooked and devoured their future work colleagues upon their first meeting! However they established a common goal and implemented a plan. The entire time they were surrounded by individuals who didn’t want their plan to thrive into fruition however, by working together, both parties achieved their common goal.

Another lesson to learn, relates to using the same theory and application of the Jedi’s training of the Ewoks.

A goal of a Safety Professional should be to ensure that the information contained in training programs and safety documentation is easily understandable to anyone and everyone. I have always based my systems on the ‘KISS’ method, ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’. This is my own way of ensuring that personnel with limited skill and use of the English language can still receive a Duty of Care. This application of the Duty of Care pertains that they receive the same assessment level and outcomes of a safety training package, as the personnel who are fluent with the English language. This aids in reducing the risk of incidents caused by cultural and language barriers.

Lesson Eight: Personal Protective Equipment

So in the opening scenes of Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker is patrolling a baron sub-zero environment, whilst wearing layer after layer of clothing, designed to create and retain body heat in the cold environment.

After being held captive by a native Wampa, Luke is able to remain alive in the environment, thanks to the clothes that were issued to him. The PPE used in the environment was practicable and relevant to his working duties.

Compare this to the Sith. The Sith Army wears uniform armour, with the common knowledge that it is simply no match for the Jedi’s Light Sabre or Blaster. So with that in mind, why continue wearing it?

Using the example of the Sith’s non-practical use of the armour, organisations must ensure that their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is practicable and relevant for use within the workforce.

Like the Stormtroopers, it is an impressive image for all personnel of an organisation to be uniform, but the reality is, differing parts of the organisation require differing items of Personal Protective Equipment to ensure they stay alive whilst performing various working duties.

Lesson Nine: Women in the Workforce

The Rebel Alliance seemed to be the only party in a galaxy far, far away to hear of Equal Opportunity Employment. Given that the two women in question were in fact royalty, they still were the only prominent females in the franchise.

The Sith on the other hand, had none. What would Germaine Greer have to say about that I wonder? They failed to change their system to include females, in what could be considered a male dominated industry. Similar to many Mine Site’s a decade ago, women were stereotyped by the Sith, and not included in their plans for domination of the Universe.

Thankfully times have changed in recent years, where females are now performing tasks previously owned only by men.

With this in mind, a safety system needs to include the changes to the male: female ratio of the workforce. It’s a scientific fact that with manual handling, a 120kg male miner would be able to lift a heavier object with ease, compared to a female miner that weighed half that. So with the changes to society to what was previously thought of as a ‘male role’, does your safety system provide an environment that reduces the risk to females in a male dominated area?

Implementing provisions for female workers can be as simple as purchasing PPE designed for women, or providing additional training in areas such as manual handling. The inclusion of Work Plans for during and post pregnancy are also beneficial to ensure your organisation increases the number of Jedi’s for years to come.

Conclusion

So as you can see, I’m still in love with Star Wars after all these years. I’m a self-confessed nerd when it comes to the franchise. As usual, I’ve thought way too much into the movies and used it as a platform for writing about another love of mine, Occupational Health and Safety. But I like to think that I have a valid point.

So if a Safety Professional follows the Jedi’s example and ensure that they; establish, implement, monitor and review the above ‘lessons’, will the system prevent the organisation from ending up like the Imperial Empire? Like previously stated in ‘Lesson Six: Train Your Workforce’, in theory it would, but application is where it becomes hard.

“Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering” -Master Yoda

Fear of not knowing or understanding how to safely performing a task, can turn into hate. This hate either becomes targeted towards a workers disregard for either: their own company, their co-workers health and safety, or their own health and safety. From this hate, it can turn into suffering, as one of the previously mentioned three parties, are exposed to varying kinds of potential suffering, ranging from medical or financial.

Using the above lesson from Master Yoda, is the primary common goal of all Safety Professionals to ensure that your workforce is fully competent and has a complete understanding of how to safely perform tasks involved in their daily working duties. Only by applying the previously stated lessons will aid in your organisation and workplace repelling the ‘Dark Side’.

Liam O’Connor

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

#3 Blue Harvest (Family Guy)

I know a lot of Star Wars fans who also love family guy. Which is why for our first gift we’re going to suggest buying the Family Guy parody of the series. In the episode each of the Family Guy characters plays a role in the Star War series. The episode was released to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Star Wars franchise. For the most part the episode received positive reviews from critics. Since I’ve seen the episode I can tell you that it’s actually extremely funny. The Family Guy writing staff does a great job. The single episode is available on DVD and can even be downloaded online.

#2 Death Star Planetarium

For our second gift idea we’re going to recommend a gift that would be perfect for all of those astronomy fans out there. The Death Star planetarium is a planetarium that takes the form of the Death Star just like the title suggest. The projector displays the entire cosmos on your bedroom ceiling. What we liked the most about this gift idea is that it’s educational. On top of that the price isn’t that bad either.

#1 Star Wars Science Naboo Sea Creatures

If you’ve never heard of a Naboo before it’s basically a triod. One of the more common terms for this creature is the dinosaur shrimp. Since it’s very existence can be traced all the way back 350 million years. Again we wanted to choose another education gift idea. Since education is extremely important to this author. What I think I liked the most about this gift is it’s underlying showcase. The Naboo sea creatures are housed in one of the coolest tubs that I’ve ever seen.

Want to find more gift ideas? If you’re anything like most people you probably have a hard time shopping for men. Which is exactly why we decided to help you out: Gifts for Him. On our website you’ll be able to find dozens of gift suggestions for all of those men out there. It doesn’t matter what the man in your life is like you’ll definitely be able to find a gift for him: http://www.gift-for-men.com/

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

You start the game with the choice of being an Imperial or a Republic soldier or force-user. This choice greatly influences your gaming experience to come. As an imperial you will be expected to use the force lightning and choke to kill people, or simply shoot them. While as the republic you will be expected to make well thought out decisions and preserve life. But just because you are expected to react those ways does not necessarily mean you have to. For instance, you can make an Imperial Sith Juggernaut and when given the option to kill a man you can simply set him free, for light side points. The opposite is true for the republic. If they expect you to arrest somebody but you just don’t like their face, or think it would take too long to arrest them, you can go ahead and put a light saber in their belly or a blaster round in their head.

This game also has a very in-depth companion system that isn’t seen in many other, if any, MMO’s on the market right now. You get allies to join you along your journey. These allies can craft for you while you quest or PVP. They can sell your unwanted items for you. They can come with you on your adventures and heal you or help you kill monsters or other players. Hell you can even have sex with them if you want to. The possibilities are limitless. Another reason why having an informative Star Wars walkthrough is extremely handy.

Now one of my favorite aspects of any MMO is absolutely the PVP system. This is a department that I think Star Wars computer games has always shined in, especially Star Wars: The Old Republic. Every PVP match is filled with Jedi throwing rocks, Sith Sorcerers shooting lightning, Juggernauts and Guardians choking and lifting people and lovely blaster bullets flying in every which direction. Each class can mix up to three skill trees to combine various perks with skills and become an even deadly adversary and I just can’t get enough of it. This guide has many epic PVP builds, and I can honestly say that I have stomped as well as been stomped by, just about every single one of them.

Now if you want to be the best around and get the most out of your Star Wars experience I suggest this guide. But if you want to be a second-rate chump who sits at his/her computer desk and cries because, “This stupid overpowered sorcerer can keep me CC’d for days.” then go ahead. I don’t mind opening my eGuide, reading through my Star Wars walkthrough and keeping you CC’d with my top of the line build while gaining valor off of your poor decisions and builds. But if you change your mind, it is the best price for the best guide I’ve seen for this game yet. See you on the war front.

If you want to know everything there is to know about Star Wars: The Old Republic and absolutely dominate the competition then you are going to want the world’s number one rated guide and the best price around! Visit this link and see for yourself! cheapswtorguide.com

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Star Wars Lego comes in many different box sets. As with all the series, this series is no different – adults and children alike collect the sets as they are released. The sets start out at an affordable price of less than ten dollars, but can go up in the hundreds. These come with minifigures included in the box which can also be purchased separately. Other Lego products also come with the minifigures, such as the Lego watch. The alarm clock is actually shaped the same as a minifigure, but it comes at eight times the size of the normal minifigures. It even has arms and legs that move the same.

Lego did hold the licence to produce it until 2008 but they recently extended this licence until 2011. However, with the vast amount of sales it is expected that they may apply to extend the licence again.

The bestsellers in Star Wars Lego can be found at Star Wars Squidoo and to see more on the lego watch which comes with all your favourite Star Wars characters Lego Watch.

Hayley L Hewitt

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

The Lego company has also stated that they soon intent to abandon licenses altogether and focus on new and original sets completely of their own design! As you can understand, the Lego Star Wars product line is most likely going to be one of the first to be discontinued so if you are a Lego fan, now’s the time to purchase these sets because they will become valuable in the future and very expensive collector’s items!

The Lego Group came up with the Star Wars line because of the very high demand for Star Wars toys generated by the release of the Phantom Menace, the first Star Wars Prequel! These sets recreate famous moments, spaceships and characters from all the movies in the series!

As with anything made by the Lego company, you can rest assured that the Lego toys are perfectly safe and extremely durable! They’ll also help your children develop their creativity by building awesome things like Star Wars space ships, or by using the Lego pieces included in the sets to build things of their own design!

Apart from being completely safe and harmless, you’ll also find that the Lego pieces contained in each set are compatible with those contained in others. They’re also built from very high quality plastic which means that they’re very easy to clean, and will last for ages, in fact some Lego pieces even get handed down from father to son.

These Lego sets have become so popular that there are even video games based on them!

The Lego Star Wars Sets are the most popular Lego playsets ever released and they dominate the best selling toy charts each year! On our site you will all the information and the best prices for the coolest sets including the most popular one, the Star Wars Lego Republic Attack Set!

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

1966 was the year that the Lego system first came out. One set that’s still well-liked as we speak as back then is the Train set that let you construct different motor trains. After that Lego has sold loads of other sets with cars, people and towns, even space, that allows you to buy a single thing and build it to begin making an ultimate set. It would be very hard to search out somebody that hasn’t built a home or car or boat out of these Lego bricks. People of all ages love the new additions to the Lego product lines – sets based on motion pictures and cartoons like Toy Story, Sponge Bob, Batman and Speed Racer.

I think the most popular Lego style must be the Lego Star Wars sets. It was 1999 when Lucas and Lego made the deal and produced the first licensed Lego sets. The first set within the Star Wars range was Luke Skywalkers X-Wing Starfighter that he flew to defeat the Death Star. Lego launched more Star Wars sets based on all 6 movies plus the Clone Wars. Some other sets have been released in extremely detailed form as the Ultimate Collectors Series – set such as Darth Vader, General Grevious and a Storm Trooper. Lego has also made video games based on Star Wars Lego and Episode1 to 6 of the movies.

You can pretend you are a part of the Rebel Alliance and battle the Empire together with your Lego X-Wing. The X-Wing set has all the parts you need to construct both Red Three or Red Five Starfighter – that is Lukes or Wedges starfighter in the movies! It also includes mini-figures of the Alliance’s best heroes–Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, R2-D2, and the mighty Chewbacca. What an awesome classic Lego set that gives you everything that you need to destroy the evil Empire.

Myself and my young son love collecting Lego. Visit us to see all of his Star Wars Lego Minifigures including some of the Rare Star Wars Lego Collectibles that are hard to find even photos of, well, they are rare:).

Article Source: EzineArticles.com