Happy Universal Day fo the Jedi

I hope you are having fun celebrating the 31st anniversary of the release of Star Wars Episode IV A new Hope. Here are some tributes to Star Wars: pictures, videos, and articles.

Celebrate the Universal Day of the Jedi - Go to Church Dressed as a Wookiee!

10 of the Coolest Star Wars Videos Ever Made

10 of the Coolest Star Wars Pictures Ever Made

Before the Galaxy Far, Far Away: Influences on 'Star Wars'

In Honor of Universal Day of the Jedi

Indiana Jones vs. Han Solo: Who Would Win?

Have fun surfing the Internet Galaxies!

Star Wars Images from the Web - Part II

Counting down to Universal Day of the Jedi with my friends at The-TrukstoP.com

10 more of the coolest Star Wars images ever made

The first compilation of 10 of the coolest Star Wars images ever made gathered quite some interest. So, bearing that in mind, & with two [days] to go until Universal Day of the Jedi, I figured I would grab some more pics you may not have seen and go for Round 2... or should I say, "Episode II"?

As with the last list, there's a variety of pictures that I've selected: awesome compositions, humorous images, and others. Click on the pics for the full sizes. Here we go:

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10. Mr. Toda

You have to hand it to the folks over at Worth1000.com. Not only do they have some of the most awesome Photoshop tutorials, but the creativity of their contest entrants is amazing. Mr. Toda, the winning entry of the Celebrity Star Wars contest by mjhaylor, is testament to this. The composition is not only hysterical, but justification for just how outstanding digital art can be. "Gettin' on no spaceship, I am not - pity the fool, I do!"

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9. Rockabilly Yoda

Someone took the trend set by Sith Lords Rock and Star Wars Rocks, and created Yoda gettin' ready to bring the noise rockabilly style. Fairly creative, worth a mention, and is a pic that seems to be gathering some popularity on MySpace.com.

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8. Someone Missed A Meeting

Being a KISS fan, I couldn't help but include this one here. Obviously, someone missed a meeting at some point. This pic was found over at Bloggerheads.com.

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7. Jedi Frodo from Hogwarts

Another Worth1000.com contest entry, this one made by MadWasabi for the Triple Cliche Heck contest: a contest where entrants had to combine elements from three different films into one. This one rated high on the list, and has been included here because it's indicative of a geeky fanboy's wet dream come true.

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6. The Real Asajj Ventress

The Expanded Universe of Star Wars has spawned so many memorable characters, such as Mara Jade, Thrawn, and Xizor... but if there was one character from the Clone Wars era that stands out as a notable EU character, it would be Asajj Ventress. Fans have read about her, seen her on the Clone Wars cartoon, and played as her on the bonus levels from Battlefront II. Every so often, a digital artist comes along that attempts to bring a realism of life to the character - and this composition is of no exception. The above image is part of a series of wallpaper designs at RabitTooth.com.

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5. Chewie Cops A Feel

I am guessing that this photo takes place sometime either when Han wasn't looking, or when he was put in carbonite. Either way, I guess it explains the scene where a very angry Wookiee tries to beat down Xizor's door in Shadows of the Empire, interrupting Xizor and Leia. Sith hath no fury like a Wookiee scorn.

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4. Beepity Beep Whistle Crack Splat

This is yet another Worth1000.com image - one from a contest we mentioned in the last list (the one with Attack of the Muppets). Nice photoshop work - very creative. Check out all the other entries here.

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3. Female Mandalorian

Expanded Universe fans will remember a few Mandalorian female bounty hunters, such as Ailyn Vel and Mirta Gev, but outside of the EU many fans have tried to visualize female Mandalorian warriors in the past - somewhat unsuccessfully. Most of the renderings I have come across are either cheap rip-offs of Boba Fett's green armor, or pink Mandalorian armor. This image on the other hand is different and unique. It successfully highlights that the women of Mandalore are just as brutal as their male counterparts, and unique. Definitely one of my favorite Star Wars images ever. This image was composed by Tom Hodges (and was included in an issue of Star Wars Insider), and can be seen, along with some other awesome artwork, over at ComicArtFans.com.

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2. Wookieevolution

Another Star Wars Insider image, this one made by Randy Martinez, proves two things: evolution is real, and you are not cooler than a Wookiee - period.

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1. Gandhi-Yoda

If Ghandi was in Star Wars, he would be Yoda. This image was made by paraloid, and was the theme post (the image to get the ideas going for contestants) in the Star Wars Celebrities contest at Worth1000.com - the same contest Mr. Toda came from. I love this picture not only because it is well made, but because both identities - Ghandi and Yoda - share many similarities.

Star Wars Images from the Web

With Universal Day of the Jedi approaching, here is a tribute to Star Wars from fans through pictures from my friends at The-TruckstoP.com:

Star Wars fandom certainly has grown exponentially since the Internet came our way. It's opened the doorway for custom made items (costumes and figures) by fans, fan films, and of course, fan art. & with two months to go until Universal Day of the Jedi, I figured I would take a look at 10 of the coolest Star Wars pics online that you may not have seen.

There's a variety of pictures that I've selected. Some of them are just awesome compositions that add to the saga, others are humorous, and others are just, well, just cool and odd. Click on the images for the full sizes. Here we go:

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10. Sith Lords Rock

I'm not sure who made this one - but was obviously made in homage to another one, Star Wars Rocks, you'll see shortly. I just like the idea of Maul and Vader bringing the noise together. Mosh, anyone?

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9. Temptation of Jedi

I've always gravitated towards the artworks of Salvador Dali, so I couldn't help but share this one as well - an awesome abstract composition. This artwork is by Hanelle aka Elle from Fark - and was one of the winning entries in Fark's 2005 Photoshop contest.

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8. Dark Leia

In the world of Star Wars, with Infinities and fan fiction, there's always a realm for non-canon alternative concepts. Here's one pic in that vein that grabbed my attention. Daddy's little girl is more than just a princess in this one.

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7. Attack of the Muppets

Worth1000.com has had a few Star Wars related Photoshop contests and this was the winning entry from one of them. Very funny stuff - you can go here to check out some more from the contest over at their site. This awesome picture was made by Puffnasty.

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6. Southern Falcon

If Han and Chewie were from the Southern states... what are those Duke boys up to this time? This pic was found over at x-dezyn.com

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5. Star Wars Rocks

I recently posted this to Digg.com - where it had been edited into a motivator poster. The artwork is by Hugh Fleming and hangs in one of the hallways of ILM. Star Wars does indeed rock.

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4. Anakin Vader

This classic pic was initially made for a couple of Lucasfilm CD-ROMs that were released just before or around 1999. It's a nice image of the journey Skywalker will take.

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3. Squirrel Jedi

Okay, it's cheesy and a little lame, but it's one seems to be popular on MySpace - some clever Photoshop work there.

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2. A Jedi Can Be Anyone

Don't trust anyone - stand up and support your Empire.

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1. Grief

Possibly the best Star Wars image I've come across online. It perfectly captures Anakin's loss - and realization that he was manipulated into making his mistakes and poor choices for longer than he can remember.

Universal Day of the Jedi

The holiday for Star Wars fans is Universal Day of the Jedi: May 25th!

The official website for Universal Day of the Jedi: http://www.dayofthejedi.com

After over 30 years of being part of and witnessing the rise and fall of Sith Lords and Jedi Knights, it is time for Star Wars fans to rise to the occasion; and celebrate May 25 as the Universal Day of the Jedi - a celebration of Star Wars by fans for fans.

The first Universal Day of the Jedi was celebrated on May 25, 2007, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of when George Lucas released Star Wars in 1977. The choice of this date made sense for fans across the world to celebrate the saga Lucas had delivered.

The Star Wars galaxy is an ongoing and ever-changing place. With Lucas always making constant changes to subsequent DVD releases of the movies, there is also the Expanded Universe: a world of Star Wars that literally expands upon what Lucas has created - a whole line of books and comics that stretch the continuity even further than before; to which there appears to be no end point for their upcoming publications.

Not to mention the fact that in the very near future, we are also going to see the launch of two new Star Wars television series. The first, The Clone Wars, begins in 2008; and starts with a movie feature to be released in theaters. The second is the live-action television show, said to be hitting the screens sometime in 2009.

Later in 2008 we will see the release of new Star Wars costumes. The new costumes will be both from the classic movie trilogy as well as new Star Wars costumes from The Clone Wars, plus a few new concept designs of sexy costumes for women. Stay tuned to the Extreme Halloween Blog for details on all these new Star Wars Costumes and Accessories.

So, how exactly does a Star Wars fan celebrate Universal Day of the Jedi? Simple ways could be watching the entire saga with friends and families... for those of us who are geekier and extreme, dress as a Jedi and attack your co-workers with your Force FX Lightsabers! Better yet, film it happening!

Join us in celebrating Universal Day of the Jedi on May 25. May the Force be with you!