International Space Station Captures Dragon Capsule

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Early this morning, the crew of the International Space Station reached out with its robotic arm and captured SpaceX’s Dragon module. The capture and eventual docking marks the first privately driven cargo delivery to the space station, something that could change the landscape of manned spaceflight.

The ramifications are potentially huge. If SpaceX can make these deliveries reliably, it frees NASA’s budget and brainpower to focus on other projects. Perhaps a high-capacity launch vehicle to send something like the Orion capsule beyond Low Earth Orbit? Of course, SpaceX still has some hurdles to clear in order to become that reliable. First and foremost, it’s got to figure out why one of its Falcon 9 engines failed during Sunday’s launch.  Still, this is huge for SpaceX and for NASA. Further progress can get NASA out of the cargo and crew shuttling business and into more Final Frontier kind of exploration.

Trope Tuesday: Uniqueness Decay

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It’s Tuesday, which means you’ve survived the first day of the work week but still have another four days to get through. It also means that it’s time for our weekly soujourn into TVTropes.org. On the docket this time around: Uniqueness Decay.

In many series, something or someone is first introduced as special – new, awe-inspiring, mysterious, utterly unique, unparalleled, or some combination of those things. Sometimes, either later in the series or in related works in shared universes, that specialness seems to fade without much explanation or get outright retconned away. The unique example becomes just one of many, the mystery somehow gets thoroughly documented, the new arrival turns out to have a long history in the area, the unparalleled turns out to be a footnote, and the awe becomes…ehn.

This is a form of Continuity Drift, perhaps sometimes due to They Just Didn’t Care or careless research on Long Runners. It can be justified if enough time passes and the once unique aspect is spread due to analysis/teaching/reverse engineering.

Remember when super weapons were unique? When there was just one maniacal overlord menacing the Galaxy with a fully armed and operational battlestation capable of turning an entire planet into an asteroid field? It meant something to have a weapon of mass destruction capable of inflicting total xenocide in a matter of seconds.

Then the Expanded Universe happened and every Durron, Daala, and Durga had one. They weren’t even elegant! Some were just superlasers with engines strapped on the back. But really, someone ought to regulate these things. How can you inspire terror and fear when another big, honking super-weapon is being built between a couple black holes?

It used to mean something to have a Death Star, you know.

Cosplay Monday: Jaina Solo

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It’s time for another Cosplay Monday and this week we’re featuring an awesome Jaina Solo costume by Cavalyn!  Not only does her costume look great but she also makes a wonderful Jaina.  You can more pictures of Cavalyn’s costume on her tumblr including some awesome group shots with not only the other Solo children but also some really cool looking Legacy of the Force inspired shots.

Angry Birds: Star Wars Coming November 8

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Fans of Star Wars and cheap mobile gaming applications will be overjoyed to hear that Angry Birds will be moving to the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

In Angry Birds Star Wars, a totally new edition of the game out Nov. 8 for iOS, Android and computers, the birds and pigs alike will take on the personalities of characters from the Star Wars saga. “They are not Angry Birds dressed up as Star Wars characters,” says Paul Southern, vice president of licensing and consumer products marketing for Lucasfilm Ltd. “They are characters in their own right.”

For example, Red Bird will be transformed into Luke Skywalker as an X-Wing pilot in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. “They’ve got personalities which are kind of similar,” he says.

Other birds provide takes on Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the game, which will likely have free and paid versions. And, of course, Darth Vader and the dark side of the Force will be represented. “You will see a pig-esque Vader and pig-esque stormtroopers,” Southern says.

You’ll be able to download the Star Wars edition of Angry Birds on November 8th.

Book Review: ‘The Mark of Athena’ by Rick Riordan

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In case you hadn’t already noticed, we at Tosche Station are big fans of young adult literature even if we’re hardly the target age demographic.  Everyone should be able to enjoy those books.  Sticking an age label on a book shouldn’t stop older readers from enjoying them too.  Today, I’d like to extend that argument and say that the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan are absolutely not just for kids because wow can anyone enjoy that story.

The basic premise of the series is simple: what if one of your parents was actually a Greek God?  Our hero, Percy Jackson, is the son of Poseidon and wow did that cause some problems for him in the first series.  Of course, you can’t have ancient gods and mythology without some prophecy so you can absolutely bet that our heroes are always going to have to try and save the world because of one.  (Spoiler Alert: Percy Jackson never gets a break from this sort of thing.)

Tuesday saw the release of the third book in the second series about Percy Jackson and company: Mark of Athena.  The previous two books in the Heroes of Olympus series saw our group of heroes divided between Camp Half Blood (the Greek demigods) and Camp Jupiter (the Roman demigods) and both camps happily existing without acknowledging the other.  But now, because of a prophecy and meddling of Hera, young heroes from both camps have to team up to save not only one of their friends but also the world.  And they have to do it fast.

Mark of Athena not only reunites our heroes but tells an awesome story.   I was originally worried that the book would struggle with having such a comparatively large cast (the previous books had three main heroes, this one had seven) but my fears were unfounded.  Riordan manages the larger cast well, sending different pairs or trios off to face each new obstacle or task.  This allows not only for the two groups of heroes to get to know each other but also for Riordan to explore the different dynamics between the heroes.

Continue reading →

Upcoming Her Universe Releases

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The wonderful Ashley Eckstein was a guest on this week’s episode of Tosche Station Radio and shared with us some pretty great new products that you can look forward to from Her Universe in the near future.

Starting this Monday, Her Universe will be releasing a new Halloween bag for 2012.  This year’s design, once again by Katie Cook, will feature Darth Vader in a unicorn costume.  (Yes, you read that correctly!)  He will have all of the candy and will be saying “I find your lack of candy disturbing” to several costumed yet candyless stormtroopers.   Also available this Monday will be the Ahsoka Tano costume top in adult sizes (Small through 3X) and a brand new Spock costume top.

The next upcoming product doesn’t yet have a release date yet but will be a Hot Topic exclusive so keep an eye out for a TARDIS dress!

Finally, Ashley let us in on a new product for the holidays that will be released for Cyber Monday.  You will now be able to purchase Her Universe pajamas!  These are another Katie Cook design and will be a pair of flannel pants with little Darth Vaders on them and a top that will picture Darth Vader with bunny slippers and a coffee mug and saying “I woke up on the dark side of the bed.”  The holiday pin will also make its return and this year’s design will feature Chewbacca.

Tosche Station Radio #33: Her Universe

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On this special episode of Tosche Station Radio, hosts Nanci and Brian are joined by the voice of Ahsoka Tano and the founder of Her Universe, Ashley Eckstein!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Fanwork Friday featured a fic by salanderjade called Beside the Dying Fire. Bria’s weekly Cosplay Monday feature looked at a brilliant Ursula costume. In Trope Tuesday, Brian entered the battlefield of love to discuss Ship-to-Ship Combat. He also reviewed the Essential Reader’s Companion by Pablo Hidalgo and discussed continuity and perspective in the Expanded Universe. Hark.com sent us some infographic fun comparing Star Wars to Star Trek.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci has been keeping herself busy by reading The Long Hunt as well as the Essential Reader’s Companion. She’s also thrilled that Once Upon a Time is back on the air. Meanwhile, Brian is reading through War of the Seasons: The Half-Blood by Janine Spendlove and the latest issues of the all-new Captain Marvel. He also has been enjoying all the extra features in the Avengers Blu-Ray set.

Deak’s Dirt starts with news that the Essential Reader’s Companion has hit book stores. Long story short? Go buy it. Suvudu has collected a wealth of Star Wars short stories and archived them on their site. New ebook editions of the ERC and Essential Guide to Warfare are now available from Del Rey. Meanwhile, the Scoundrels release date has been pushed back to January 1st. Finally, The Clone Wars television series now has its own Twitter account!

For this week’s Camie’s Concerns, hosts Brian and Nanci are excited to welcome the voice of Ahsoka Tano and the founder of Her Universe onto the show. Ashley Eckstein joins Tosche Station Radio to answer questions from the hosts and listeners.

Wrapping up the show, hosts Brian and Nanci field questions from listeners and readers in our Ask Us Anything segment.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Zune Marketplace. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

The Old Republic’s Lead Designer Leaves Bioware

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The upheaval at Bioware Austin, development studio for the much hyped and underperforming The Old Republic, continues as the game’s lead designer has announced he has left the company. Daniel Erickson is currently looking for employment elsewhere

While a lead designer of an massively multiplayer online game isn’t especially unusual, one has to wonder if the troubles of The Old Republic factored heavily into Erickson’s decision. The Star Wars themed MMO launched to much fanfare and high expectations, but rapidly hemorrhaging subscriber numbers have dealt a blow to Bioware Austin. Earlier this year, the studio was hit hard by employee layoffs.