Fandom School (8th period): Catchphrases

It's time again for Fandom School! Today, we're going to talk about catchphrases.

What is a catchphrase? It's a phrase, line (or pattern thereof) that is repeated often enough that the audience associates it with a particular character or book/movie/TV show. I'd like to take this post to share a few of my favorite catchphrases.

Get Smart (TV show) [go to www.wouldyoubelieve.com for a complete list of catchphrases]

• "Would you believe..." - Maxwell Smart

Smart: At the moment, seven Coast Guard cutters are converging on us. Would you believe it?
Mr Big: I find that hard to believe.
Smart: Hmmm . . . Would you believe six?
Mr Big: I don't think so.
Smart: How about two cops in a rowboat?

• "Missed it by that much!" - Maxwell Smart
• "Zis is KAOS, we don't ________ here!" - Siegfried, usually to Shtarker

Shtarker: Let me let them have it. Dudududududu (making a machine gun noise).
Siegfried: Shtarker, zis is KAOS, we don't Dududu here.

Doctor Who (TV show)

• "Fantastic!" - Ninth Doctor
• "[insert things] are cool" - Eleventh Doctor
• bow ties, fezzes, stetsons, bunk beds... the list goes on
• "Allons-y!" - Tenth Doctor
• "Spoilers" - River Song
• "Hello, Sweetie" - River Song
• "It's bigger on the inside!" - (almost*) every companion, upon entering the TARDIS
• "Oi! Watch it, spaceman!" - Donna Noble to the Tenth Doctor

The Princess Bride (book/movie)

• "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." - Inigo Montoya
• "As you wish" - Westley
• "Inconceivable!" - Vizzini

Star Trek (TV show and several movies)

• "Live long and prosper" - Vulcan greeting/farewell, usually said by Spock
• "Highly illogical" - Spock
• "I'm a doctor, not a..." - Dr. Leonard McCoy
• bricklayer, psychiatrist, mechanic, coal miner, engineer, physicist... [see this website for a list of all occurrences]
• "He's dead, Jim" - Dr. Leonard McCoy

Star Wars (movie series)

• "May the Force be with you" - Jedi blessing/good luck, said by almost everyone on the good side
• "I got a bad feeling about this" - Han Solo is known for this phrase, but many other characters say variations of it as well

Harry Potter (books/movies)

• "My father will hear about this!" - Draco Malfoy
• "Bloody hell!" - Ronald Weasley
• "Wicked!" - Fred & George Weasley
• "I shouldn't have said that" - Hagrid

Sherlock (TV show)

• "Not my division!" - Greg Lestrade
• "I'm not gay!" - John Watson, said when anyone tries to ship him with Sherlock
• "I'm your landlady, not your housekeeper!" - Mrs. Hudson

I know I'm missing lots of fandoms and catchphrases, but I only included the fandoms I'm in that have multiple catchphrases. If you have any catchphrases you'd like to add, feel free to do so in the comments.

*Notable exceptions include Clara Oswald, who said "It's smaller on the outside!", and Rory Williams, who said nothing, prompting this exchange:

The Doctor [after entering the TARDIS]: It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside; what's that about? Let me explain...
Rory: It's another dimension.
The Doctor: It's basically another dimen — what?
Rory: After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes.
The Doctor: I like the bit when someone says "It's bigger on the inside!" I always look forward to that.

Star Wars Awesomeness (May the 4th Be With You)

Happy Star Wars Day, everyone! To celebrate, I've collected my favorite Star Wars videos for you to enjoy. May the Force be with you!

Star Wars (John Williams is the Man)

a song about Star Wars set to a medley of John Williams songs

Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel

The Piano Guys battle it out while playing a medley of Star Wars songs

The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars Story Ever Told

A humorous summary of the Star Wars original trilogy

Grocery Store Wars

A parody of Star Wars about organic vs processed food

Fandom School (7th period): How to Find Related Fandoms

So this was supposed to be written yesterday. Sorry. Let's just say that Fandom School had a snow day because my school didn't (but we do have one today). But enough about snow, let's talk about fandoms.

As a huge fangirl, I'm always looking for a new fandom to add to my life (more like become my life), and I'm sure many of you are the same. While you may like a wide variety of things, most people like fandoms in the same genre. But how do you find fandoms similar to the ones you're already in? This post will give you advice as well as a few fandom recommendations. (Note: if you want more detailed recommendations instead of an "if you like this, you might like that" approach, you should read this post.)

Step 1: Make a list of the fandoms you are in
What do you watch/read? What are you obsessed with? You have to figure this out first before you can find what else you might like.

Step 2: Find out what genre(s) you like
Now, look at your list. What categories do these fit into? I like several different genres, but most of my fandoms are sci-fi or fantasy. I also like musicals, mystery, and Disney. There are a few fandoms I'm in that don't fit in any of those categories (those are what we call outliers).

Step 3: Pick a few of your biggest fandoms
If you're like me, you have a LOT of fandoms (just take a look at my list on the right sidebar- and that's only the beginning!), so focus on the one's you're most obsessed with.

Step 4: The Google search
Search for similar shows/movies/books. For example...

Step 5: The "Recommended for you" section

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and most places you would get books/movies/TV shows will give you recommendations based on your watching/browsing history. Check out the shows it recommends.

Step 6: See what your friends are watching/reading

Ask your friends (this includes online friends) what fandoms they are in. Chances are, they watch something you might want to start watching.

Step 7: Look for crossovers

Fanfiction.net has a section specifically for crossovers. On other fanfiction websites, you can search the works in one fandom for other fandoms. See what fandom is often put in a crossover with your fandom. You might like it! 

Step 8: Investigate spin-offs

Many popular shows (and to a lesser extent, books and movies) have spin-offs. For example, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures are both crossovers of Doctor Who. Sometimes, spin-offs keep going even when the original is done.

Step 9: Look at various adaptations

If a book is popular enough, it will often be made into a movie or TV show. Arthur Conan Doyle's books about Sherlock Holmes have had many adaptations, including Sherlock and Elementary.

Step 10: See what else your favorite actors/writers are in

How many times have you watched a movie just because your favorite actor was in it? Yeah, probably a lot. For example, Broadchurch (which just started airing Season 2 on BBC America) has several actors from Doctor Who, including David Tennant, Arthur Darvill, and several other people who were minor characters in Doctor Who. You can also look at who writes your favorite shows and what else they write. Steven Moffat writes both Doctor Who and Sherlock (whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is for you to decide).

Finally, I provide you with some fandom recommendations.

If you like: Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk

You might like: The Avengers, Agent Carter

If you like: Doctor Who

You might like: Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Sherlock, Supernatural

If you like: Sherlock

You might like: Elementary, Agent Carter, Doctor Who, Supernatural

If you like: Star Wars

You might like: Star Trek, The Avengers, The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who

If you like: American Idol

You might like: Sing Your Face Off, The Voice, Pitch Perfect

If you like: musicals and/or fantasy

You might like: Galavant

If you like: The Hunger Games

You might like: Divergent [note: read the books; the movies aren't that great]

If you like: Harry Potter, fantasy, Arthurian legend

You might like: Merlin

If you like: The Lord of the Rings, How to Train Your Dragon

You might like: Eragon

Fandom School (4th period): Crossover Fanfiction

Hello and welcome again to Fandom School! We're back to fanfiction again, and now I'd like to talk about crossover fanfics.

First of all, what is a crossover? A crossover is a mash-up of two or more fandoms. You can combine just a few fandoms (Wholock, Superwholock, etc.), or you can go all out (for example, this fanfic). A crossover is not the same thing as an AU. For example, my fic The Once And Future Time Lord is a multi-fandom AU because while there are elements of Doctor Who, they are assumed to have always been there. A crossover takes the characters of one world and inserts them into another, while still retaining the memory of their original story (unless there's a memory loss trope or something). A multi-fandom AU takes one fandom and changes it so that it's part of another fandom. Fanfics where characters from one fandom are students at Hogwarts (like this fanfic) are a good example of this type of AU.

So now that you know what a crossover is, let's get to crossover fanfics. What should you keep in mind when writing them? Well besides the usual fanfiction tips, it's important to think about how your fandoms mesh. Wholock is a common crossover because the two fandoms are similar: eccentric genius outsmarts bad guys with the help of his friends. (They're also both set in the modern world.) However, if you wanted to combine the Avengers and My Little Pony, that would be a bit harder. (A quick google search reveals that fanfiction for this crossover does exist, and here's an example.)

There are a few other things to consider when writing crossover fanfics:

• How many fandoms are you including? Try to keep it to just a few fandoms, else you'll risk complicating your fanfic and seriously limiting your number of readers.
• How many characters are you including? Like fandoms, if you include too many your story will get cluttered.
• How do your characters meet? Are they old friends? Do they randomly happen to run into each other? Is there some sort of crisis that brings them together?
• How do the worlds connect? Have both universes co-exist, do the characters live in the same universe, or does something cause the universes to come together/the characters to be transported to each other?
• Are your characters interacting reasonably? Is any character monopolizing the story, or is any character just sort of... there (invisibility level: Mickey Smith)?
• How is canon affected? Is it canon divergence, or is canon altered to explain how the fandoms are connected?
• Make sure your characters stay in character. OOC characters are a common problem with crossovers. It is justifiable to change a character somewhat to make them fit in with the other fandom(s), but you need to make sure that the essence of his/her personality remains the same. You could intentionally make characters be OOC, but I wouldn't recommend it.

And now that I've given you advice, I'll share my own crossover fanfics:

Wholock (Doctor Who and Sherlock crossover)

• An Interesting Case
• This is my first Wholock story (and my first fanfiction). In this one, Sherlock is asked to interrogate a mysterious witness who proves to be just as interesting as the case itself, and they go on an adventure together.
• The Search For Father
• This is a story for all of you who were frustrated when we saw that Jenny (from "The Doctor's Daughter") was alive, only to never see her again. I mean seriously. She never even gets a spin-off show! So, I wrote a story in which she goes off looking for her dad and enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes.
• Call In The Expert
• "When the police are out of their depth, they consult me," Sherlock had said. But what about when Sherlock was out of his depth? What then? That's when it's time to ask an even greater genius for help. Sherlock must call in the expert.
• When Justice Is Treason
• The Master and Moriarty. A deadly duo. With the help of the Archangel network, they control all of England. So when the few people who know the truth try to stop them, it is treason. Will they succeed? Or will Prime Minister Harold Saxon and King Moriarty continue their reign of terror?
• You Matter
• Sometimes characters have things going pretty rough for them. And sometimes their friends and family can't console them. But what about if somebody totally different were to come in? This is how characters would take care of each other in a Wholock universe.
• On this blog: chapters 1 2 3

Other Crossovers

• Use The Force (or the Mind Palace)
• Remember the first time Luke used the Force? What did he actually see? What if he visited Sherlock's mind palace? Strange concept, I know, but the idea came into my head and wouldn't go away. (It's more of a series than a cohesive story.) Feel free to tell me what character you'd like to see next.
• On this blog: chapters 2 3
• You Are Not Alone: The Search For The Other Time Lords
• The Twelfth Doctor feels as though he is all alone, until his daughter Jenny comes to him, telling him that she has found a way to locate other Time Lords. She tells him that he is not the only one. Together, they go out to find the rest.
• Rating: G
• On this blog: chapters 1 2 3

And a few great crossover fanvids:

Lightsaber vs. Sonic Screwdriver: The Use of Weapons/Tools In Fandoms

In every good fandom, there comes a time where there is a need for a weapon or a tool. But which one to use? This post examines various fictional and real weapons and tools used in fandoms.

1. Lightsabers (Star Wars): like a sword, but with light. The "light" is formed of plasma. The lightsaber is dangerous and difficult to wield, but in the hands of a Jedi, it's a formidable weapon. See this post for more information about lightsabers. Coolness rating: 10/10. Dangerousness rating: 10/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.
2. Sonic Screwdriver (Doctor Who): like a screwdriver, but a bit more sonic. When the button is pressed, it emits a light and a buzzing sound. It can't wound, maim, or kill, but it is a useful tool. It can unlock doors, intercept signals, operating machinery and computers, and many other things (as listed on the TARDIS wiki). However, it doesn't do wood. See this post on what I would do if I had a sonic screwdriver. Coolness rating: 9/10. Dangerousness rating: 5/10. Usefulness rating: 10/10.
3. Gandalf's Staff (The Lord of the Rings): a staff used by Gandalf for casting spells. "You shall not pass!" Coolness rating: 8/10. Dangerousness rating: 9/10. Usefulness rating: 9/10.
4. Andúril (The Lord of the Rings): the sword used by Aragorn. It was broken into 6 parts, but then it was reforged. Coolness rating: 7/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 7/10.
5. Sting (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings): Bilbo finds this sword that glows blue when Orcs are near. (We discover later that it's actually more of a letter-opener because it's so small.) He puts it to good use, then gives it to his son, Frodo. Coolness rating: 6/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.
6. Mjölnir (Thor): Thor's hammer. Very good at smashing things. Can only be held by those who are worthy. Coolness rating: 8/10. Dangerousness rating: 9/10. Usefulness rating: 9/10.
7. Phaser (Star Trek): like a stun gun, but more powerful. Can stun, heat, kill, or disintegrate living creatures. It can also damage shields and cut through walls. Coolness rating: 6/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 10/10.
8. The Neuralizer (Men In Black): slightly larger than a pen, this device wipes a person's memory for as long an amount of time as the user chooses with just a flash of light. Afterwards, the people who were affected are highly susceptible to suggestion. Coolness rating: 9/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 9/10.
9. The Point-of-View Gun (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy): when fired, this weapon forces anyone in its path to understand and reveal the shooter's thoughts. Coolness rating: 8/10. Dangerousness rating: 4/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.
10. Blue Shell (Mario Kart): a bomb that explodes on whoever is in first place, taking out them and anyone else in the vicinity. This slows them down enough that you have a chance of getting ahead. Coolness rating: 5/10. Dangerousness rating: 8/10. Usefulness rating: 8/10.

How To Choose Your Fandom

If you're reading this blog, you're probably in at least one fandom, but maybe you want more. If that's the case, read on to figure out which fandom may be best for you. First of all, consider the genre. Here are my fandoms, organized by genre, with a brief summary of each.

Fantasy
Merlin
Media form: TV
Key features: Arthurian legend, magic, destiny, sarcasm and cheek
Synopsis: (based off of Arthurian legend) Merlin, a young warlock (i.e., born with magic), travels to Camelot, where king Uther Pendragon has banned magic. Merlin becomes prince Arthur's manservant and discovers that it is his destiny to protect Arthur. He saves Arthur's life countless times, all the while hiding his magic.

Harry Potter
Media form: books, movies
Key features: magic, evil wizards and witches, good wizards and witches, fun and shenanigans but also serious stuff
Synopsis: Harry Potter, called "The Boy Who Lived" because the dark lord Voldemort was unable to kill him, finds out that he is a wizard and goes to Hogwarts, a school for wizards and witches. Voldemort keeps trying to regain power, and Harry, together with his friends Ron and Hermione, tries to stop him.

The Lord of the Rings
Media form: books, movies
Key features: adventure, battle, rings, dark lord, magic, danger, seriously lots of danger
Synopsis: Frodo Baggins takes the one ring of power (which is really evil) and goes on a quest to throw it into Mordor, so that it will be destroyed and the dark lord Sauron will be destroyed as well. Frodo travels with 3 other hobbits, 2 men, 1 dwarf, and 1 elf. They get into lots of trouble on the way, and it's quite the adventure.

Sci-Fi
Star Wars
Media form: movies
Key features: evil guy, not so evil guys, adventure, danger, battle, lightsabers, rebellion
Synopsis: Darth Vader is really evil and he's basically trying to take over the universe. He controls the empire (well technically, the emperor controls the empire, but we don't see much of the emperor), but there is a group of rebels who are determined to defeat him. Luke Skywalker is a major part of this rebellion.

Star Trek
Media form: TV, movies
Key features: lots of technology, exploration, adventure, warp speed, aliens
Synopsis: Captain Kirk is in charge of the Enterprise, a spaceship that can go warp speed (i.e., really fast). He and his crew travel around the universe and explore. They get into trouble and have adventures. It's fun.

Doctor Who
Media form: TV
Key features: wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, time travel, technology, aliens, exploration, adventure, danger, genius, saving the universe
Synopsis: The Doctor, a Time Lord, travels through time and space in his TARDIS. He typically travels with a companion (usually female), and together they have adventures. Except, it's not all fun and games; evil aliens inevitably show up, and then the Doctor has to do awesome genius stuff and save the universe.

The Avengers/Marvel/DC
Media form: comic books, movies
Key features: danger, fighting, superheroes, justice
Synopsis: (sorry for lumping them all in together, btw) superheroes (or awesome people with a technological advantage) fight against evil.

Dystopia
The Hunger Games
Media type: books, movies
Key features: revolution, fighting, oppression, social/political inequality, poverty, hunger
Synopsis: Every year, the Capitol shows its dominance over the 12 Districts by hosting the Hunger Games, where a boy and a girl are taken from each district to fight to the death, with only one survivor. Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to take the place of her sister Prim in the Games, is intent on changing things and starts a rebellion.

Divergent
Media type: books, movies
Key features: revolution, fighting, oppression, division based on aptitude, being different, fear, hiding
Synopsis: (similar to The Hunger Games) Tris Prior takes the test to find out which faction (district, social class, group of people) she belongs in (Amity, for friendliness; Candor, for truthfulness; Dauntless, for bravery; Abnegation, for selflessness; or Erudite, for knowledge), and finds out that she belongs in both Dauntless and Abnegation, meaning that she is Divergent. Divergents are hunted and killed because they are unknown and therefore feared. Tris decides to start a revolution.

Modern (i.e., set in the modern-day world)
Sherlock
Media type: books, movies, TV
Key features: mysteries, solving crimes, genius, murder, "not our division"
Synopsis: (there are books and movies, but this focuses on BBC Sherlock) Sherlock Holmes is the world's only consulting detective. "When the police are out of their depth, they consult me." He solves crimes with the help of his trusty blogger, Doctor John Watson. In John's words, "We solve crimes. I blog about it. He forgets his pants."

The Big Bang Theory
Media type: TV
Key features: science, annoying characters, awkward social situations
Synopsis: Four young scientists - Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Rajesh - are friends and get into shenanigans. Penny, Leonard and Sheldon's next-door neighbor, doesn't know anything about science, but still interacts with the group in an amusing, clueless sort of way.

The Fault In Our Stars
Media type: book, movie
Key features: sadness, romance, cancer, enjoy life while you can
Synopsis: Two teenagers, Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster, fall in love with each other. However, they both have cancer, so they know they won't live much longer. They determine to make the most of their lives while they can.

Other
Les Misérables
Media type: book, musical, movie
Key features: France, revolution, historical fiction, sadness, lots of sadness
Synopsis: Short version - the French government is terrible, and bad things happen to people because of it, so a revolution is started. Long version - *insert several pages of synopsis* (sorry, it's really long what can I say)

The Princess Bride
Media type: book, movie
Key features: true love, high adventure, kidnapping, swordfighting
Synopsis: Buttercup works on a farm and falls in love with the farm-boy, Westley. Westley goes to America to seek his fortune and is murdered by the Dread Pirate Roberts. Buttercup is devastated vows never to love again. Prince Humperdinck thinks differently and orders her to marry him. Before this can happen, however, she is kidnapped by a criminal band consisting of Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo. They are defeated by a man in black, and then the story takes an interesting turn (sorry, not giving any more because I don't want to share any spoilers).

Disney
Media type: movies
Key features: fairy tales, old-fashioned, happily ever after
Synopsis: Disney makes lots of different movies. They are generally fairy tales with happy endings (usually the original fairy tales have rather gruesome endings).

Next, consider that you may want to choose a fandom by what the fandom is like.

Fandoms that are very active: Doctor Who, Sherlock, Merlin, Harry Potter

Fandoms that are not continuing (the book/movie/series/show is over): Merlin, The Fault In Our Stars, The Princess Bride

Fandoms that have long hiatuses: Sherlock, Doctor Who (sort of)

Fandoms that are popular on this blog: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Merlin, Harry Potter

Fandoms that are British: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Merlin, Harry Potter

Fandoms in which Steven Moffat writes the episodes: Sherlock, Doctor Who

And finally, consider fan names. Would you be happy calling yourself any of these terms?
Merlin - Merlinian (not commonly used)
Harry Potter - Potterhead
Star Trek - Trekkie
Doctor Who - Whovian
Sherlock - Sherlockian

Fandom School (6th period): Roleplaying Example

I totally meant to post this yesterday, but then I forgot. Sorry, guys. I guess the teacher is tardy to her own Fandom School class. Did you enjoy throwing paper airplanes at eachother or whatever it is you do when the teacher isn't there? Anyway, today's (or rather, yesterday's) topic is roleplaying. In an earlier post, I explained what roleplaying is. So now, I'll provide you with an example of roleplaying. This is a roleplay I did on the Google+ community Doctor Who Roleplay Center. (Note: when we were doing this, the person named "Vladimír Mlečenkov" was called "Lord President Rassilon", so that's why he is tagged as that. Also, when we used asterisks, the text changed to bold, so instead of *action*, it's action)

The Villain's Guide to Frustrating Your Enemy

According to Madam Kovarian from Doctor Who, "Good men have too many rules." But the truth is, villains too have their own rules; they have their favorite ways to be evil.

1. Disguises (e.g., put on a disguise before you are known to be a villain so that later, people will go "No! He was right under our noses!")

2. Set up your rule in such a way that you even step over your own people. (This frustrates your enemies because then you are too unpredictable.)

3. Blow up a planet.

4. Devise some clever scheme so that it is very difficult for you to die.

5. Commit a crime that is incredibly obvious, then find a way to be declared innocent.

6. Pretend you've changed your ways until you've convinced everyone, then go back to being evil.

7. An extreme version of #1 - pretend you are the hero for most of the story, until a plot twist reveals that you are actually the bad guy.

8. Make people think you are defeated, then come back.

(I was going to put examples for each one, but too many contained spoilers, and I couldn't figure out how to code the html to hide spoilers until you click on them. If anyone knows how to do that, please let me know.)

Book Review- Rise of the Time Lords: A Geek's Guide to Christianity

Hello, dear readers! Sorry this post is late. I normally write my posts ahead of time and schedule them, but I got a bit behind. Without further ado, here is today's book review for #reviewsdaytuesday.

Rise of the Time Lords: A Geek's Guide to Christianity

Are you a geek? A science-fiction lover? A Christian? A person who wants to learn about Christianity?
If you answered "yes" to one or more of those questions, this book might be for you. In this book, Michael Belote uses fandom references (e.g., Star Wars, Doctor Who) and general geeky things (e.g., the formation of a star, quantum physics) to explain Christianity. This will allow you to see the bible and religion in a way you never have before.

Some people say, "I don't get all this Christianity stuff. It's too strange." You might think the Trinity is boring and confusing, but when it's explained through Flatland and a Pringles can, suddenly, it seems a bit more interesting. Reading this book really made Christianity come alive for me, and besides, it's fun! You get to learn about cool geeky concepts and Christianity!

This is a must read for any Christian geek. If you read it, you will quickly find it is worth your while. It gives you a good working knowledge of God and the Bible, but not so much that it makes your head explode. It explains things in a way that makes sense to us and provides a fresh new perspective from all the theology books that give you facts and explanations, but none of the fun stuff we geeks adore.

So what are you waiting for? It's time to go read the book! Allons-y!

May the 4th Be With You!

Hello, Star Wars fans, and May the 4th be with you! For those of you who don't know, today is Star Wars Day. So, it's time for another Star Wars post!

So, I sat at my computer for a few minutes facing writer's block until I came up with the idea for what to write on this post. I'm going to talk about the Force. It is May the 4th, after all.

What is the Force?
Not know what the Force is, do you? Read carefully and understand, you must. Do or do not. There is no try.
The Force is a mysterious power that moves all things, unifies all things, defines all things, does all things. It's "an energy field created by all living things". Some people believe it is sentient, classifying it as a god. You can do all sorts of useful things with the Force.

What can you do with the Force?
1. Enhance natural, physical, and mental abilities - e.g., doing a "Force jump" to slow what would otherwise be a dangerous fall. This also includes enhanced speed and reflexes.
2. Increase accuracy - How did Luke blow up the Death Star? Yes, he used torpedos, but that's not the answer I'm looking for. How did he get them into such a small space? I mean, that'd have to be a really lucky shot. "Use the Force, Luke." And there's your answer.
3. Telekinesis/levitation - I play French Horn, and I can't even count the number of times I've joked with my friends that I wished I could use the Force to carry my instrument. I'd say telekinesis is the coolest thing you can do with the Force.
4. Telepathy - Okay, actually telepathy might be cooler. Communicating with your mind is just awesome! Too bad it doesn't exist in real life.
5. Hypnosis - "These are not the droids you are looking for."

Yeah, I know, two photos in one post is a lot, but I couldn't resist.

6. Enhance empathy
7. See the future
8. Become a Force Ghost (also called a Force Spirit) - Both Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi learned this difficult skill to become a ghost through the power of the Force and thus live forever, so they could keep teaching their pupils.
9. Do better in a lightsaber combat
10. Force choke/Force lighting (dark side only) - These are both ways of killing people and thus are limited to the dark side of the Force.

The light side vs the dark side
The light side = good, and the dark side = bad. We all know that. But let's be a little more specific.

The light side
Used by jedis, this is the good side of the Force. It is for peaceful purposes only. The light side of the force is typically associated with kindness, compassion, selflessness, and other good qualities.

The dark side
This is the side used by siths, who are typically just jedis gone bad. This is the evil side of the Force. As might be expected, it is the exact opposite of the light side. It is often associated with anger, fear, lust, jealousy, and hate. You must beware of crossing over to the dark side, as it will corrupt you completely. There are many ways/reasons to go to the dark side. Yoda says that "The fear of loss is a path to the dark side." People who use it claim that the dark side is stronger, insisting that the light side is far too weak and thus they must join the dark side.

Okay, clearly I should have made a slideshow. Oh, well.

A disturbance in the Force

Sometimes, people (most notably, Obi-wan Kenobi) sense a disturbance in the Force. This occurs when there is widespread suffering or death, or when a jedi or sith is near.

How to use the Force

Okay, that's all great. But how do you use the Force? Well, sadly, you probably can't. Even if you existed in the Star Wars universe, you'd have to be born Force-sensitive to be able to use the Force. But that doesn't mean you can't pretend. In the world of roleplaying and fanfiction, anything is possible.

I'm not promoting Volkswagen, I just like this commercial.

Why Lightsabers Are Cool

Hello, Star Wars fandom! (By the way, is there a name for Star Wars fans?) Here's my first post about Star Wars, just because why not?

Everyone knows lightsabers are awesome. If you didn't before, now you know. But why are they called lightsabers anyway? It's a compound word; "light" (we all know what that means, I hope) and "saber" (basically a sword) combine to make lightsaber, a glowing sword. At first glance, it just looks like a giant glow stick (which, I must say, is already pretty awesome). But then two characters pull out their lightsabers and you learn that it's really a giant glow stick of death! Perfect for dueling. It slices cleanly, and if you could touch it without cutting your fingers off, I'd expect it would feel hot to the touch. After all, it is pure light. Well, pure light inside a scabbard of sorts. And, well, it's awesome.

Lightsabers make duels epic. Think of your favorite duel scene (besides ones in Star Wars). It's best if you think of a sword fight, but other duels will work too. (I'm imagining the sword fight near the beginning of the Princess Bride.) Now imagine the people fighting have lightsabers. That battle just got epic, don't you think? Lightsabers make boring scenes exciting and good scenes even better.

Go lightsabers and may the force be with you!

Why Do We Love Villains?

Aren't we all?

Quick! Name your favorite villain/psychopath! 

Having trouble naming just one? You aren't alone. Many of us fall in love with fictional villains. 

But why? That's what this post seeks to answer.

First of all, let's be clear about who we're talking about. According to the (World English) dictionary, a psychopath is "a person afflicted with a personality disorder characterized by a tendency to commit antisocial and sometimes violent acts"*. And a villain is "a wicked or malevolent person" or "(in a novel, play, film, etc.) the main evil character and antagonist to the hero". So these people are not nice. And they don't care. In some cases, they even enjoy being evil.

So why do we like them? Some people might say we just like the actors, but not all villains look attractive, and the whole "it's just the actors" theory doesn't account for characters in books, comics, etc.

Therefore, we must be attracted to the characters themselves. What makes these characters attractive? Well, let's take a look at a few example villains.

Moriarty (Sherlock)

Who's the archenemy of the world's only consulting detective? Jim Moriarty, the world's only consulting criminal. Obviously. He's totally crazy, but has enough sense to pull off huge crimes and not get caught. He's very good with technology and has all sorts of good uses for it. He even pulls off fake identities, such as Jim from IT and (I won't spoil it for the rest of you, but people who've seen season 3 know what I mean). He pulls off a huge crime in broad daylight and gets off scott-free! (Or is it Andrew-free? Pun intended.) And we even discover he did something pretty amazing (again, I'm trying to keep this spoiler-free, and some of you will know what the amazing thing is). He's powerful, smart, malicious, and crazy in a sexy sort of way that few can pull off. All in all, he's an awesome villain, and it's no wonder people are obsessing over him and shipping him.

The Master (Doctor Who)

For those of you who've seen both Classic Who and New Who (if you don't know what Classic Who is, you probably haven't seen it), you know that the Master is a recurring villain, and he's regenerated a few times. For the rest of you, you've probably seen the Master at least once. Like the Doctor, he's a Time Lord who survived the great Time War. The two used to be friends, but then the Master became crazy and evil. He hears the constant sound of drums in his head, which apparently call him to rule the universe. He's every bit as clever as the Doctor, but unlike the Doctor, he has no kindness or forgiveness, and he thinks killing people is fun. Depending on which regeneration of the Master you look at, you might find the actor attractive, but even more would argue that the character himself is evil in a seductive way. He certainly managed to deceive poor Lucy.

The Daleks (Doctor Who)

I know there should probably be only one Doctor Who villain, but I just couldn't leave out the Daleks. And besides, "good men don't need rules" and "the Doctor lies". Daleks are the quintessential villain: machines of pure, unadulterated hatred. Hate is the only emotion they can feel, and they feel it quite strongly. Their goal is to exterminate every living thing that is not a Dalek, especially the Doctor.

Mr. Hyde (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

I've only read the book, so that's what I'm talking about here. Hyde is Jekyll's own invention, and is essentially Jekyll's evil nature. All he has to do is drink a potion and he is transformed to a huge, grotesque villain. Mr. Hyde is not very bright (unlike Dr. Jekyll), but he is very evil. All he knows is how to be pure evil. Jekyll learns throughout the book that the more he uses Hyde, the more evil he becomes. I don't think anyone could argue Hyde is attractive, but he is extraordinarily evil and certainly a villain.

Voldemort (Harry Potter)

Whether you're talking about the movies or the books, there's no doubt that Voldemort is a villain. I mean, for most of the series, the characters won't even say his name! He's either "the Dark Lord" (for the people on his side) or "He Who Must Not Be Named". Full of selfish greed, he kills witches, wizards, and muggles left and right, then has no qualms about murdering both parents of the boy who will supposedly kill him. Only he can't kill the boy. Voldemort may be an evil guy, but in the scope of the story, his success rate is pretty low. As with Mr. Hyde, I have a hard time considering Voldemort attractive, but hey, you never know.

Cruella de vil (101 Dalmatians)

Arguably one of the best movie villains of all time (she has a bit more competition in literature), this woman has a great sense of fashion and a horrible sense of animal rights. This dog-killer is bad to the bone (pun intended).

Khan (Star Trek)

Like the Master, Khan has appeared many times and has been played by multiple actors. Most recently, Benedict Cumberbatch (Moriarty's enemy, Sherlock in BBC's Sherlock) has played this nemesis. Whatever the specific plot is, Khan's goal is always the same: mess things up Captain Kirk and his crew. There's nothing quite like a dangerous, focused villain.

Darth Vader (Star Wars)

No list of villains would be complete without this guy. He's a stranger all in black, breathing loudly in a way that somehow freaks everyone out, a man with powers (that he won't hesitate to use) to choke someone to death. A guy who can whip out a glowing red weapon and kill a super-important good guy in less than a minute, a guy who looks the protagonist in the eye and says with his haunting voice, "Luke, I am your father." And then we find out that this guy used to be a jedi, just like Luke. He's scary, make no doubt about it!

So, what did we find out? Most, but not all evil characters are attractive. They're all scary, though. Are we just attracted to scary characters? Maybe, but that answer doesn't satisfy me. Here's a few more theories:

1. A good villain is much less scary than the real enemy- ourselves.

Some psychologists would argue that we are our own enemies. I mean, after all, think about all the times you've wanted to do something evil. It's much easier to blame all the evil stuff on a villain than acknowledge that we are in fact responsible for evil.

2. Liking a villain is safer than acting out our own evil desires.

A corollary to #2, we like to do evil things. But most of us know that doing so is a bad idea. So, we just think about all the stuff villains do and admire them, all the while secretly envying them. Sometimes we even think about what we would do if we were villains.

3. Villains get what they want.

Let's face it, we all want lots of things. Villains get whatever they want. Sometimes we are jealous and therefore like the evil people who do whatever they feel like.

4. Villains can give revenge.

Ever gotten so angry about something someone did that you plotted revenge? Most of us have. But have you gotten so angry that you imagined getting a villain to do your revenge work for you? Some of us have done that, and then of course we like the villains for doing what we ask them to (at least in our minds).

5. Villains are powerful.

You can't deny it, power is attractive. Yes, it may not be all it seems, yes, it corrupts, but it's still attractive. We like people who have power, and that includes villains.

And that's about it! Comment and let me know who your favorite villain is?

*Technically, "sociopath" is just another word for "psychopath", so Sherlock Holmes is not a sociopath as he claims. Apparently he didn't do his research. See here and here.