All Terrain Armored Transport for America

I’m not going to lie to you, Gentle Reader; we are in a slump. We consistently are confronted by bad news Stateside; the economy, the jobless rates, we are mortgaged to other countries three times over, we don’t produce too much these days in science or technology and there are wars on three fronts… some might be tempted into saying something like, “Our best days are behind us.” In a world where corporations are now considered individuals (thanks Supreme Court!) it is hard not to envision the future looming like Darth Vader in a room full of Padawans representative of the evil Empire in the much beloved Star Wars saga.

Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, JOIN ‘em!

I was poking around Twitter (WIRED’s Underwire, specifically) and found this: http://ht.ly/4ySy4. Yes, that’s right; there is an effort underway to build a full sized – fully functional AT-AT right here in the good ole, U S of A. Let’s face it we are excellent consumers and, as is alluded to in this particular blog posting, one of our favorite consumer items is Popular Culture. As a red blooded, American Geek this pleases me. To think that Adam Savage from Mythbusters has been made privy to these plans shoots my patriotic, Midi-chlorian count off the scale.

They are calling for people to spread the word – which is, as it happens, exactly what I have now done. To quote from this blog, “…Now the rest is up to you. Spread the word. Get organized. We can get this done. If America can put a man on the Moon, we can bring a little bit of Hoth to the Earth. To volunteer to help, email ATATforAmerica@hotmail.com”.

Remember you real-life nephew of your Uncle Sam, the Force will be with you… Always.

Want to Win an AT-AT?

If you just asked the question, “What’s an AT-AT?” Thank you for stopping by. This particular blog posting is NOT for you. No hard feelings, Gentle Reader; I’ll see you next time.

Still here? Good. It is no big secret; I am a geek. If you are a geek too I HIGHLY recommend that you go to: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/05/celebrate-empire-strikes-backs-birthday-win-a-killer-at-at/.

“Why?”

I’ll tell you why – to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film, “The Empire Strikes Back”, Wired Magazine is giving away a new version of an old classic – an All Terrain Armored Transport. I have no doubt that you know that these are the weapons the Empire unleashed on the rebel base on Hoth. Yeah, it’s pretty iconic. Epic, dare I say.

“What do I have to do?”

Excellent question! All you have to do is comment about why YOU deserve such a favor. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Here is what I posted…


I’m not alone in saying that “Star Wars” changed my life. Seriously; “Star Wars” made me want to discover stories (in whatever form they materialize) and then, tell them. I think I saw it three times during that summer of 1977. And then George Lucas’s Empire really grew due to the magic of toy merchandizing. My favorite toy was my “Millennium Falcon”. It was choice. It held a slew of figures and had that cool 3D video game table from the movie. Oh yeah, it rocked.

When “The Empire Strikes Back” came out 30 years ago I remember being stunned; immobilized in the theater chair. [Gratuitously Unnecessary Spoiler Alert] How could Darth Vader by Luke’s father?! How is Leia going to rescue Han from Boba Fett? What is Luke going to do without a lightsaber? Why is Lando wearing Han’s hand me downs? [End Unnecessary Spoiler Alert] And then the next wave of toys came. I remember begging for a “Kenner” AT-AT Walker and, low and behold, for my birthday I got one! I loved that thing; it was like a multi-jointed Old Yeller without the rabies and need to go outside. What a great toy. When “Return of the Jedi” came out and I was pleased to see that an AT-AT had a cameo appearance on that forest moon of Endor. AT-AT’s need work too.

Time passed as time always does. I maintained my collection but, by this time, I had to pay the rent. It was a sad day but I sold my entire “Star Wars” collection; all for a roof over our heads (did I mention I was now married? No? Well now you know that too). I sold my childhood that fateful day and winning this “Hasbro” AT-AT would bring a bit of that back.

Say, you guys don’t happen to have an extra Millennium Falcon hanging around, do you?


…There. That wasn’t so bad was it?

Now try your hand at it! However, I must warn you… I have already picked out a space in the Chicken’s Lair where the AT-AT will grace.

Good Luck.