Coming back after a long absence has been a gratifying and humbling experience. I’m gratified every time someone remembers me, and every once in a while I’m humbled.Thank you for the outpouring of concern while I was down for the count with the creeping crud and for being such an engaged audience.
Are you prepared to jump to lightspeed? The Star Wars fever is growing stronger by the day . . .
Hour of The Force
I got this in my mailbox today, and it made me really happy:
“Once again, Disney and Code.org have teamed up, this time with Lucasfilm, to bring computer science and coding to K-12 students around the globe for Hour of Code. Today, the free online lessons offer a build-your-own game tutorial featuring Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO as well as Rey and BB-8 from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Disney and Star Wars are dedicated to supporting non-profit Code.org in their mission of expanding computer science education access and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Last year’s big Hour of Code moment year’s featured heroines Anna and Elsa from Disney’s Frozen, and was completed more than 14 million times.
This year, kids (and teachers) will learn how to code by building their own Star Wars game; and they will be able to play their completed games on smartphones and share them with their friends and families. The Hour of Code online lesson launch is part of the lead-up to Computer Science Education Week, December 7-13, 2015.
More than 5 million students have enrolled on Code.org’s online learning platform, Code Studio, since its 2014 launch.
Forty-three percent of Code Studio students are girls and 37 percent are black or Hispanic.
Check out these staggering stats:
- Just 23% of computing jobs are held by women
- Only 18% of bachelor’s degrees in computer science are awarded to women
- Girls make up just 22% of high school AP Computer Science exam takers
- Blacks and Latinos hold 18% of computer science bachelor’s degrees
- At the high school level, 9% of AP Computer Science exam takers are Hispanic and 4% are black”
Man, I wish they had something like this when I was a kid. Oh, who am I kidding? We had punch cards and PONG. But we had Star Wars!
Star Wars Secrets Revealed in 23
If you’re not a D23 Gold Member yet, you might want to go sign up. The upcoming issue of 23 Magazine, exclusive to D23 Gold Members, is crazy with Star Wars goodies and is going to be collectors’ gold. Seriously. They’re the house organ and they’re giving fans “unprecedented access” to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They say: “FEATURING EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH J.J. ABRAMS, MARK HAMILL, HARRISON FORD, CARRIE FISHER, DAISY RIDLEY, LAWRENCE KASDAN, AND KATHLEEN KENNEDY, DISNEY’S OFFICIAL FAN CLUB CELEBRATES THE EPIC SAGA.” It’s bold and all in caps, so you know they mean business.
Guest editor C-3PO (“…although I am very familiar with the R2 series of droid, I am less familiar with the D23 line. Would it be R2-D23?”) takes fans through all of the films in the Star Wars saga, with interviews, a look with Imagineer Scott Trowbridge (who has been doing great things since the Mouse lured him away from Uni in 2007) at what’s ahead for Star Wars Land(s) and all that, PLUS:
- Stories behind the movie poster artwork for all seven films
- An exclusive interview with Star Wars Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni, who talks about his first, nerve-wracking meeting with George Lucas
- The incredible collectibles—past and future—that allow guests to bring the movies into their homes, including the story of the groundbreaking BB-8 toy
- A salute to George Lucas by Star Wars authority Steve Sansweet
Seems pretty sweet to me. (Sorry Steve.) If you want it, you have to join. So go join already!
Rebels: B-Wing Debuts
November 11th at 9:30 is the new episode of Star Wars Rebels, a great show, on Disney XD.
Here is the description: “When the rebels need a new ship to help break an Imperial blockade of a struggling planet, Hera is dispatched on a dangerous mission to meet with an eccentric ship engineer. Hera earns his trust and completes a successful test flight in the harsh conditions of the planet’s atmosphere. Hera’s amazing piloting skills will be showcased as she embarks on a dangerous mission to acquire a new ship, the B-Wing, to turn the tide in a crucial battle against the Empire”
StarWars.com says: “Perhaps the oddest-looking starfighter in the Rebel Alliance fleet, the B-wing fighter is as powerful as it is ungainly. The ship’s structure is almost entirely taken up by its primary airfoil, which houses a cylindrical cockpit on one end, an engine cluster in the center, and a heavy weapons pod at its base. Located just below the engine cluster are a pair of S-foils which can deploy to extend the firing arc of twin laser cannons. The B-wing’s command pod has a unique gyroscopic control system. The pilot can orient it so that it always stays level with a horizon line. No matter which way the B-wing may maneuver laterally, its pilot remains upright.”
So is this a canon origin story for one of the weirdest, coolest ships in the Star Wars Universe? I’m in.
I hope your week is a cheerful one. I can’t look at all of the holiday decorations and not be cheerful, even if it is early. I hope everyone uses this long season as an excuse to be kind and generous with each other, and I’ll have more stories for you on Thursday.
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