Ruminations from the Temple

The Promised Review We, Padawan and myself, took the plunge and purchased lower-end sabers from Ultra Saber, LLC . We came across this maker of prop and dueling lightsabers when we met the gentlemen representing the company at the Western Washington Fair. After some investigation, and collecting of necessary discretionary cash, we each purchased blades to be used specifically for night parades where 'light-ups' are required.  I chose the Standard Issue Battle Saber v3 (shown below). Padawan chose the Aeon saber. Ordering was easy and quick. We chose the mid-grade blades , and no bells and whistles; basic sabers for parades and photo shoots, although I did upgrade to the arctic blue blade for an extra $5. (The cost, even with shipping, of both of these sabers was less than one of the blades we purchased from SaberForge a while back.) We ordered these on a Wednesday, received timely email confirmation and shipping information, and had them in-hand the following Monday. Fr...

As shocking as it may be, there are some folks that think dressing up as Star Wars characters is just plain silly...perhaps even sinful.  *gasp*  I have been asked often times, "Why in the world would you want to do that?  Don't you have better things to do?"  Well, I suppose it depends upon your definition of better ... Today was the first Sunday of our Western Washington Fair, otherwise known as the Puyallup Fair.  This is our third year at this large fair and it is tons of fun.  In exchange for a donation to a local children's charity, the 501st and Rebel Legion agreed to arrive in costume to thrill the crowds.  I always wonder at these events how many photos are actually taken - hundreds, easily.  As I share some of the pics I snapped, I will try to enumerate why anyone would want to dress as a Star Wars character... ' 1.  You get to know really cool people like my Jedi friends here.  And who doesn't want more opportunities f...

This past weekend, while at Norwescon , I was interviewed for an internet magazine. The gentleman was interviewing all kinds of folks and I guess he liked my smile. I have to admit I was a little nervous about being filmed and recorded. My mom always told me on picture day not to smile too big - I'm positive I muffed it this time, Mom. Anyway, in light of current events of which I've talked too much about here on the blog, I feel that there are questions that are just begging to be asked. Well, sorta. Perhaps you will see what I mean... Q: So, how did you acquire the, um...unique name of Hendel D'bu ? A: It is actually a mix of my real name. Hend is taken from my married last name, and el is the first two letters of my given first name. The D'bu part is a little more tricky; D is the first letter of my mother's maiden name and the bu part is the first two letters of my city of birth. So, now you know. Just to make it look and sound more Star W...

Do Jedi have spare time? Well, of course they do - how else would they have time for meditating, studying and sparring? Or perhaps they spend that time to make another set of tabbards for an upcoming mission... Today, while Padawan and I were stopping into JoAnn's for some extra thick craft foam, we not only ran into some dear friends from shul, but we also discovered some really cool fabric. It is a 100 percent poly, distressed and sueded moleskin. It looked a lot like distressed leather and in was in a lovely brown...yes, brown! Somehow this fabric had to go home with me. What do you think? this angle shows the distressed effect - looks like leather, huh? It jazzes up my rather plain brown tunic nicely. *smile* We also found a great black chenille jacquard robe/cape fabric that would work wonderfully for a Barriss Offee costume. It was rather heavy and kind of expensive for the amount that I would need. Haven't truly committed to creating that costume yet, though. Am...

(actual sizes - the silver is 1.25", the copper .75") There is nothing more exciting for a paper-crafter than to wander through our local premier paper, stamp & ink store, Impress. We just love that store with it's unique paper offerings, tons of stamps and card ideas, embellishments galore and, my favorite, ink in every color you can imagine. Yesterday, I splurged on Provincial Grey and Sand Beige...how lovely. Anyway, we found these metal medallions in amongst all the embellishments and stuff. Very cool and perfect for our favorite mandala, the Council Floor. Our first attempt was a complete failure. We printed out the design on plain paper, then cut them to size and added the paper glaze...too much paper glaze, actually. Unfortunately, the ink ran horribly and the paper warped; they just looked terrible. *scrape, scrape, scrape* Attempt number two seems to be successful, although there are a couple of air bubbles...hardly noticeable, in my view. I printed th...

UPDATE, April 19, 2012: we purchased new sabers from Ultra Saber LLC. To see a review, go HERE . * * * Saber Forge's Ambassador saber hilt This post is to document and record the history of our experience with a company called Saber Forge. I would like this information to serve as information and perhaps a warning to all that are interested in purchasing a machined lightsaber, and/or are considering Saber Forge. Saber Forge makes and sells lightsabers to be used as props with Star Wars costumes. When we started looking to purchase lightsabers that had the ability to light, Lisa posted for information on the Rebel Legion website. She was contacted by Mr. Phil Isherwood, owner of SaberForge. Saber Forge It is most unfortunate that we have had problems with the sabers. I love the hilt, to be honest, and felt that we got what we paid for; however, the lingering problems and now the complete lack of customer service is most troubling. [We were so excited about purcha...

So, what exactly is a tabbard ? When talking about a Jedi costume, the tabbards are the sashes that drape the shoulders and are secured at the waist with a sash, or obi. The costume consists of an undertunic , overtunic , tabbards and obi, all topped off with the utility belt (not to mention the pants & boots). Today, Padawan and I spent the better part of the day constructing a new vest ( overtunic ), tabbards and obi for her costume. We are hoping to be hand-picked to troop the Star Wars in Concert event taking place in Seattle on October 13 th . Ari's costume was lacking the tabbards for various reasons, but it was suggested, by good authority, that she definitely needed tabbards for this high-profile event. So, we made tabbards ! Here's a few pics from the day. A little sewing, a little ripping, some furry companions, a Star Wars movie or two and a lot of laughing and philosophizing...what a great day! Jeddy looks on as we lay out the pattern pieces. Ari cu...

My newest toy - "The Ambassador" They have arrived! The sabers we ordered from SaberForge have arrived and I got my first chance to inspect it yesterday at shul. Man, it was tough waiting through the liturgy and lunch before bustin' into that package to install the batteries! Y'know, we have taken a lot of guff from all sides for being Star Wars costumers, but you would have been surprised who gathered around to watch us take the sabers apart to install the power. Unfortunately, those little set screws are kinda slippery, and we spent quite a bit of time scouring the floor for the escapees *snort* But, when we got those babies powered up and turned on...whoa! It definitely attracted attention! lol! They are absolutely lovely, I can tell you - the real thing. Nice weight to hold, nice balance with the blade, and the sound card adds that extra oomph that was definitely a must! Here is Padawan's pick, the Staunch Defender - so sweet! The cutouts show the c...

Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy. Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect. Jedi respect all life, in any form. Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy. Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training. I like to call myself a Jedi. I feel like a Jedi on quite a number of occasions, dress like one whenever I can (for troops, of course!) and regularly remember Jedi wisdom from the numerous books I have read containing Jedi philosophy. Yeah, I know...it's all just made up, but I have to see the value. I believe we can learn a great deal from literary sources, Star Wars authors included. I have pondered where George Lucas came up with the idea of Jedi...thinking about various cultures from around the world that may fit. I have also wondered if he had knowledge of a certain type of people that are more intuitive than the norm; there are certain personality profiles that would suggest this idea. I stumbled upon the ...

The current version of my Jedi attire; just got to wear it again for a fun troop at the Seattle Center.

Woke up this morning feeling rather reflective of this whole process of putting together a Jedi costume. Today is the day that we have set up to have photographs taken, and then comes submission of our applications for membership into a Jedi costumers group. All this is great, however, I have to say that I am obsessing over details that others don't see. OK, so that's not all that unusual... While in the tunnel of creativity, expectations, motivation and energy is always high. It is only after emerging from the tunnel, do I remember the rather interesting details of the journey. I am a very auditory soul, so it would make sense that I would remember the soundbites. I will try to capture some of them here for posterity. "Wow! Cha-ching!" "Can we do that?" "Man, am I sick of shopping for stuff that just isn't out there!" "But, do we need half a cow?" "Oh, poop... my emitter just fell out!" "How many layers am I gon...

Did you ever play dress-up as a child? For my kids, when they were younger, I collected funny, goofy clothes and accessories for them to play dress-up. Funny hats, weird sunglasses and wigs, funky ties... they had great fun. Got some really great pics of them getting creative! Now I'm embarking on a type of dress-up, as well. As an avid Star Wars fan, I have always wanted my own Jedi costume. Not an exact replica of one of the characters, but my own creation. And, after many months of considering, I actually have a good excuse to create one! I will be attending a letterboxing event in July, where I will be wearing (hopefully) my new Jedi attire, complete with lightsaber! Putting together a Jedi costume is no easy feat, I will tell you. To purchase one outright is a little out of my comfort zone (not to mention not in the budget), so that leaves making it my only option. There are the tunics, the obi and belt (which is very specific), the pants, the boots. And, you cannot ...