Tag: Lucius Antony

  • Thursday 13

    It’s that day of the week again, when we corral lists by our contributing authors. Happy Thursday!

    Darla M. Sands

    Nikki Memmott Now

    Tess Miller

    And from Lucius Antony:

    Thursday 13 – December 10, 2009: Thirteen of the best Star Wars Quotes

    For this Thursday Thirteen, I’ve decided to take a look at one of my favorite movie series of all time: Star Wars. So, here are some of my favorite quotes from the Original Trilogy (back when the writing was actually pretty good):

    1. “I want to come with you to Alderaan. There’s nothing for me here now. I wan to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father.” Luke Skywalker, Episode IV: A New Hope

    2. “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” Darth Vader, Episode IV: A New Hope

    3. “Greetings Exalted One, allow me to introduce myself: I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and friend of Captain Solo. I know you are powerful, mighty Jabba, and that your anger with Solo must be equally powerful. I seek an audience with your Greatness to bargain for Solo’s life. As a token of my good will, I offer you a gift: these two droids.”
    “What did he say?”
    “Both are hard working, and will serve you well.”
    “Artoo, you’re playing the wrong message!” Luke Skywalker/C3P0 Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

    4. “You have your moments, not many of them, but you have them.” Leia, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

    5. “You’ll find that many of the truths we believe in are all dependant on our point of view.” Obi-Wan Kenobi, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

    6. “Young fool! Only now, at the end, do you understand.” Emperor Palpatine, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

    7. “Obi-Wan once thought as you do. You don’t know the power of the Dark Side, I must obey my Master.” Darth Vader, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

    8. “No, try not! Do, or do not. There is no try.” Yoda, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

    9. “Luke, don’t give in to hate, that leads to the Dark Side.” Obi-Wan Kenobi, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

    10. “The Force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet.” Darth Vader, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

    11. “Will someone get this walking carpet outta my way?” Leia, Episode IV: A New Hope

    12. “Would you prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system! I grow tired of asking this, so it will be last time. Where is the rebel base?” Grand Moff Tarkin, Episode IV: A New Hope

    13. The Wilhelm Scream, used throughout the saga.

  • Thursday 13

    Every Thursday, the writers of the Writer’s Retreat participate in the Thursday 13 meme and this Thursday is no exception.

    A. Catherine Noon

    Darla M. Sands

    And from a brand-new entrant:
    Debbie Cairo

    Tess Miller

    And from another brand-new entrant, Lucius Antony!

    Thursday 13 – December 3, 2009: Thirteen Reasons Conan of Cimmeria is a Badass

    Ok, if you didn’t know, my favorite author is Robert E. Howard. I like his writing style and I like his characters. The first character of his I was introduced to (that made me fall in love with the author) was Conan. So, here are thirteen reasons why everyone should agree that he is probably the ultimate badass.

    1. He has his priorities straight. In the first Conan story (Phoenix on the Sword), Conan is already a king, and has to face a revolt of maybe around a dozen men, give or take. So, what does he do? He kills them, is then assaulted by a supernatural creature (which he kills) before anyone loyal to him arrives. At this point, he very injured and probably near death, so what does he want after all this? Wine. Why? Because “Slaying is cursed dry work.”

    2. The man won’t give up when he finds something that he wants. In The Frost Giant’s Daughter, Conan is the last surviving man on the battlefield, on either side, and even takes a pretty bad hit to the head. Instead of waiting around or going to find the reinforcements that were suppose to arrive before the battle, he decides to wander off (this is winter in a very snowy land, under the easily seeable conditions he could get lost and freeze to death). Why does he risk death yet again? For sex. He chases after a woman, not stopping when she calls on her ice giant brothers to stop him… nor does he stop when she says “no” but his morals aren’t exactly what I’m looking at the moment.

    3. He kills a man by throwing a chair at him. Need I say more?

    4. In another story, he’s crucified. After the cross is cut to the ground, and the nails from his hands removed by tongs used for shoeing horses, he grabs the instrument from the man and pulls the nail out of his feet himself. He then proceeds to ride for at least the rest of the day before seeking medical attention.

    5. Conan is not afraid to incite a rage from you by calling into question your parentage… even you’re a DRAGON.

    6. As mentioned earlier, this barbarian from Cimmeria becomes king of a different country called Aquilonia. How? He chokes the previous king with his bare hands and takes the crown. ‘Nuff said.

    7. The man is chivalrous. He always, always, saves the girl… even if “saving” the girl is more along the lines of “saving the girl the torture of walking through a desert with no water by quickly and painlessly killing her.” Just a note, he never actually DOES it, the thought just crossed his mind before they found a city that stands in the middle of the desert inhabited by people who are always sleeping. If it’s any consolation, he DID give her the last of the water first.

    8. He’s so badass that the women love him enough to find a way to come back from the grave to save him.

    9. He always pays back his debts. I’m fairly certain he married the woman that rescued him from prison, once… It’s never actually mentioned in Howard’s stories, but I believe it brought up in one of the pastiches. Either way, he doesn’t forget his debt to her at the end of the novel, which is probably several months after his rescue.

    10. Loyalty. When a friend of his killed a guard for making a rude comment to his woman and fled the town, Conan didn’t rat him out to the judge, even under penalty of staying in a dungeon for the rest of his life. In fact, he did the town a favor by killing said judge because the judge was clearly mad.

    11. The man is also a poet. Can you imagine how much more badass people would be if they could make poetry about your death after they kill you? Just imagine how much better The Iliad would be if Achilles had written it himself. If you doubt me, try finding a copy of The Road of Kings on the internet that was clearly meant to be written by Conan.

    12. One of the things he does as king is correct the maps in the royal… map keeping place. .. because he knows from experience that they are wrong. Ok, I can’t really tell if this is really badass or not. My list topped out at 11 and there wasn’t anything I could do short of going straight to the tomes to find more.

    13. Conan laughs at you for using the internet when there are battles to fight! Seriously, I procrastinated too long.