Photo Coverage - Counting by Empire

On This weeks photo coverage we visit a recent photo taken during the Lehigh Valley Autism Walk in April 2010.

The photo was taken from the ground looking up at 10 of us with numbered signs assisting with the 10 - 1 countdown to start the walk. It's a Where's Waldo of where I am, the answer will be at the end of the post :).

Obviously Chewbacca had to kick things off with 10 also being the tallest we put him down in the incline so the number 10 wouldn't be several feet higher in the air then all the rest. Though it sort of ended up that way has some of the middle numbers got a bit shy and didn't hold theirs up over their helmets.

It was a fun way to help kick off the autism walk and a good photo capture of the Empire doing its best to present the numbers of the day to you like Sesame Street.

For those playing at home, That Stormtrooper Guy is Lucky Number #3! ;) thanks for playing :)

Troublesome Tuesday - Range of Motion

Today on Troublesome Tuesday, yours truly will cover Range of Motion. Stormtroopers have never been known to be the most agile of the galaxy's workforce. The protective armor of a Stormtrooper can be very restricting. It's no wonder a scared Han Solo can easily outrun a battalion of us standing in the Death Star.

To give you an idea of the restriction of the armor, I challenge you to stand up right now and see how far back you can bend your leg at the knee. Can you get your foot the whole way back so your heel is touching the small of your back? Well even if you can't I guarantee you've far surpassed the range of a Stormtrooper. At best, most Stormtroopers can barely bend their leg back 45 degrees before the shin armor and the thigh armor touch behind the knee thus preventing further movement.

By the above restrictions, I pose a question to you... What is a Stormtrooper's worst enemy? If you said Jedi, Ewok, Rebel, or the Boss' Force Choke... you'd be very wrong. The correct answer is STAIRS!!! Requiring usually more range of motion than our legs in armor will allow, it takes full body movement sometimes to take down stairs. Often shifting weight and repositioning the back to get a foot up one step. Now this is not the same for everyone, some stormtroopers have an easier time than most. I personally can annihalate stairs like a stairmaster. But it took practice and technique that could have better been put towards increasing my "precise aim".

The same range of motion is restrictive in the arms and torso. The wait the ab armor restricts a greater range of spine movement, bending over to pick an object off the ground is practically impossible (but has been done). Shoulder and Chest Armor often prevents the arms from reaching too high up or too far to one side. Asking a stormtrooper to itch his left shoulder with his right hand is like asking a Gungan to be less annoying.

In closing, the restricted movements of a Stormtrooper is definitely due to the armor. Someone moving very slowly in armor could be an Olympic gold medalist in track. Every trooper has their different speeds, but none are any where near as agile or fast as they are in normal civilian clothes.

Hope you've enjoyed this installment of Troublesome Tuesday. Plenty more to come because as Stormtroopers... we definitely have our fair share of Troublesome quirks to deal with.

Photo Coverage - Earth Day

On this week's Photo Coverage, we go Earth-friendly in honor of Earth Day today! This photo was taken at the Erie Zoo in Erie, PA back in May 2009. We found a lovely little photo op on a bridge overlooking some excellent natural scenery in the zoo.

As a Galactic Soldier from planets far away, I am quite impressed by the beautiful habitat of this planet you live on known as Earth. Seeing such wastelands as Tattooine and Geonosis... This planet is quite rich with life. So on this holiday of Earth Day, a Public Service Announcement from That Stormtrooper Guy. Keep your planet clean, healthy and green!!!

OR ELSE... I'll be back with a Death Star ;)

Troublesome Tuesday - TK-Kiss

I know it's a day late but I was unable to get to my blog yesterday so on today's (yesterday's)edition of Troublesome Tuesday... We talk about the TK-Kiss!

I know what you're thinking... no TK-Kiss isn't a KISS themed Stormtrooper (though I have seen 1 or 2 of those running around)... The TK-Kiss is a term used to describe an armor pinch. Most commonly, the TK-Kiss will surface around the primary joints such as elbows and knees. It happens when someone bends their appendages too much in armor causing the upper and lower halves of armor to touch, sometimes catching skin in the middle.

Often a Stormtrooper doesn't even feel the constant pinching and rather than 1 sharp pain pinch, it'll develop over hours of trooping and irritation. Not everyone gets them, Yours truly happens to be slim enough that usually my skin is not in the way of pinches but nonetheless, it can happen all the same. What results is a very red and painful mark almost like a hickie or rash.

Next time you see a stormtrooper out there for hours, think about how the poor fellow or lady might be getting pinched everytime he/she takes a step.

Autism Double Header Weekend

This past weekend was a Double Header of Autism Awareness events in support of April as Autism Awareness Month. Yours Truly, alongside brothers and sisters of Garrison Carida of the 501st Legion, made appearances at both the Lehigh Valley, PA Walk Now for Autism Speaks event on Saturday 4/17 and the Philadelphia Zoo Autism Awareness Day Festival in Philadelphia, PA on Sunday 4/18.

The weather held out for both events and brought a little taste of Spring back out in support of these great events. Both events were phenominal and received amazing support from the community.

Saturday's Lehigh Valley Walk Now for Autism raised over $300,000 towards the fight to help wage war on the Galactic War on Autism. Several thousand people in attendance, great festivities to make the atmosphere enjoyable and fun for all ages and of course... Star Wars!

The walk was great and we were so well received by the public it was truly amazing once again. Many heart-warming scenes were witnessed that showed that the Galactic Empire truly does have a heart of gold.

Sunday's Autism Awareness Day at the Philadelphia Zoo wasn't as much a fundraiser as it was just a fun day for Families with an autistic member to come out and enjoy a fun festival of shows, games and of course... the zoo itself. We were once again a hit for all ages and had even more heart-warming scenes with some members of the autistic community. One of my particular examples was a young boy with Autism (I'm guessing around 10 years old) basically latched on to me and didn't want to go. He wanted me to follow him into the one pavillion to watch him get a temporary tattoo and his parents were doing the whole "it's ok buddy he's got to stay out here to say hello to all the other kids too". I could sense the smiles on their faces as I took their sons hand and said I'd love to accompany him and spent the next 15 or so minutes with him.

As mentioned before, Autism Awareness is a very near and dear cause to me so this weekend was definitely well worth it to me personally. Take a moment to find a local Autism event to you and go out in support of it if you can. The Empire will graciously appreciate your support in our war on Autism.

8702 out

Autism Awareness

As mentioned before, the Empire does have a heart of gold. We are not the bad guys as you may be led to believe. I wanted to take this moment to recognize something very near and dear to me, Autism.

April is Autism Awareness Month and I will be doing my part to help spread Awareness of Autism this month and challenge everyone out there to do the same. You can come visit That Stormtrooper Guy and all his Stormtrooper and Sith Lord friends this weekend for a Double header of Autism Awareness appearances.

Saturday April 17th: Walk Now for Autism - Lehigh Valley, PA (Near Allentown)
http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/lehighvalley

Sunday April 18th: Autism Speaks - Philadelphia, PA (Philadelphia Zoo)
http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/zoo/Visit-The-Zoo/Calendar-of-Events/Autism-Awareness-Day.htm

I will be wearing my Scout Trooper armor both days. Hope to see you there in support with me! Reports from both appearances to come in the next few days.

Photo Coverage - A Magic Trick

This weeks Photo Coverage comes from the Great Allentown Comic Con 2 weeks ago on April 3rd, 2010.

I was just minding my own business when this two bit wack job in a purple coat and makeup started in on his craziness. I decided to stand toe to toe with him. I pulled out my E-11 Blaster Rifle and he pulled out a Pencil. I chuckled and asked what he planned to do with that. He asked if I wanted to see a Magic trick. The rest as they say is history.

Lesson to everyone to be learned out there? Be careful who you ask to do a magic trick.

Troublesome Tuesday - Armor Transportation

It's not all wine and roses when it comes to toting stormtrooper armor around. This week's edition of Troublesome Tuesday is Armor Transportation!

Often overlooked or never even thought of is how that Stormtrooper you see showed up where he is. As this isn't Star Trek he most certainly didn't "beam" there. You might have seen him arrive and never thought twice. Looking just like an ordinary guide except for one crucial difference. the sound of plastic wheels rolling around on the floor.

What you might refer to as the "Home Storage" section of your local department store is a Stormtrooper's Armor Storage and Transportation Paradise! Those big "tupperware totes" often found in someone's attic or storage unit are ideal for armor storage. Many have wheels on the bottom so they can easily be drug behind you and roll along with your steps. 4 or 5 people walking together all dragging home storage totes behind them is a sure sign of a Stormtrooper Squad about to get ready.

Consider the size of the totes, car pooling also becomes a careful game of jenga... how many troopers and their armor can be fit into each vehicle. Sometimes a trooper goes through nightmares to get themselves and their armor to an appearance. There are even horror stories of troopers flying and having the airlines lose their armor for days or weeks.

So if you expected a stormtrooper to just drive up in his car, lock the doors and march into a convention or event.... you are 99.5% mistaken (some can). Almost all Stormtroopers will have to tote their armor behind them and change on-site to entertain you and the public. That's this week's Troublesome Tuesday... got a request for a future Troublesome Tuesday? don't forget to email me at thatstormtrooperguy@gmail.com

Why the Empire is better...

Top 10 Reasons why the Empire is better than the Rebel Alliance:
(a Top 10 List by That Stormtrooper Guy)

10) Star Destroyers are Aerodynamic - true this doesn't really give the ship any better maneuverability in space.... but it just looks cool!!! Like a giant gray slice of yummy pie floating around blowing stuff up!

9) Health Benefits - The Empire truly does have an amazing Health Benefit plan. Granted most Imperial never get injured... only killed. Now that I think about it, it would be better if we had an amazing Life Insurance plan. But the Rebel's sure don't have a good Health plan!

8) The Bosses have Red Lightsabers - Yeah you know you're jealous... there really is no cooler color for a lightsaber than Red.

7) Comfort on base - I mean other than that whole Death Star fiasco... Imperials don't need to keep looking over their shoulders in their own base. Rebels?... you have to hide on the most unfit for life planets known to man, bith, and hutt.

6) Ease of Language - It's allll Galactic Basic for us my friends. With the Empire's strict No Alien policy... you don't have to worry about learning all different alien languages just to go about your day to day work. Take that Horse Head Rebel Pilot Guy!!

5) AT-ATs - I mean come on... Who doesn't love giant robot camels that rebel lasers can't shoot through (except at the neck... hmmm we should look into that)

4) Climbing the Corporate Ladder - How long do you sit at your desk hoping for a promotion some day. In the Empire... your boss could get strangled any day and you could be instantly promoted. The Empire has the highest # of promotions in the entire galaxy! Also the highest on the job casualty rate but that's just details.

3) The DEATH STAR!!! - I mean... come on... that's no moon... that's a moon that will blow you up! What's that? the Death Star. What does it do? It does DEATH!!!

2) Galactic Domination - Rebel Alliance may be a group of freedom fighters rallying support for their geurilla tactics... but the Empire has control of the Galaxy! We are stationed everywhere keeping the peace. We are THE POWER!

AND FINALLY...

1) The Armor baby Yeah!!! - After all, what did you expect me to put down for number 1? I'm That Stormtrooper Guy... of course it's the sleek, shiny, sexy and awesome STORMTROOPER ARMOR! Take that Rebel Scum with your camo or flightsuits!

Fangirls

The General Public loves seeing Stormtroopers out and about. But what does the Stormtrooper have to look forward to? You though I was going to shout FANGIRLS! didn't you? Well I won't shout it because we also look forward to bringing smiles to children, entertaining the public, and doing good work for the community. However, you still can't help but smile at Fangirls.

We are all fans of a collective geekdom, Star Wars. But nothing is cooler than some of the fans having fans of their own. So to all the fangirls of Star Wars, we salute you! Continue turning our stormtrooper frowns upside-down!

Photo Coverage - Ewok Attack

I've been given the suggestion to do a weekly photo coverage of a past photo of my experiences in life of being a Stormtrooper. Every Thursday, I'll cover a random photo of yours truly out an about on the town.

This week takes us to Star Wars Celebration IV in lovely Los Angeles, California, May 24th through May 28th, 2007. What we have here is the result of me in my Biker Scout armor letting my guard down for a friendly pose with a cute little ewok. Never trust these things... as you can see while I'm happily facing the camera for the picture, he's ready to gnaw on the side of my helmet like a little zombie.

Needless to mention, an infantile Ewok managed to latch onto my back while I was diverted by his partner. Ewoks may be small but take it from this trooper... They are NOT to be underestimated. They will use their cute kindness as a diversion for their evil anti-imperial thoughts.

Content Suggestions

Greetings all! I'm looking for some content suggestions. Is there something you'd like to see on the "That Stormtrooper Guy" blog? Maybe another Weekly feature? a Poll? More Pictures? Make your voices heard! You can email your suggestions to thatstormtrooperguy@gmail.com and I'll happily take a look at your ideas!

8702 out

Troublesome Tuesday - Vision

I'd like to start a new segment here on the That Stormtrooper Guy blog... Troublesome Tuesday. Every Tuesday, check in to see a specific topic covered about the troubles of walking about in Stormtrooper armor. It's not as easy and worry-free as you might think.

Today's Troublesome Tuesday Topic (wow 4 Ts!!) is Vision! Luke Skywalker wasn't kidding when he said "I can't see a thing in this helmet"

Every suit of armor is different, some provide more visibility, some provide less visibility. The Stormtrooper is pretty middle of the field. With it's menacing slanted eyes it creates a lovely blind spot at the least practical location... right infront of you and down where you're walking. The slanted eyes of the stormtrooper allow for good vision towards the sides. Next time you're talking to a stormtrooper and it looks like he's looking off to the side a bit ignoring you, he is probably actually looking at you from the side through the wider part of the lens.

Many stormtroopers have the holes of their frown cut out with screening put into them as they were done in the movies. This allows just enough of an opening that you can look down the bridge of your nose in armor and see if something is right infront of you before you start to walk.

So next time you are trying to get a stormtrooper's attention, keep in mind where his range of vision is. Some, like the Biker Scout have to look straight forward because they have blinders on the sides of their helmets, others like the stormtrooper have to look a bit to the sides or look down to see straight.

That's it for this Troublesome Tuesday! Stay tuned for more posts and more Troublesome Tuesday's every... you guessed it... Tuesday!

The Great Allentown Comic Con

Well, That Stormtrooper Guy has returned from the great Allentown Comic Con in one piece! (despite a near limbless experience with my arms being in close proximity to a wookiee). The show itself was just starting itself into life, this was it's first show ever. It did a very good job in my opinion of getting it off to a great start! It's obviously no San Diego Comic Con but their name is out there now and that is what is important.

It was a 1 day show on April 3rd and I had a good variety of support (good and evil) for the appearance. Everyone from Darth Maul to Chewbacca to the Secret Apprentice from the Force Unleashed helped invade Allentown, PA. The staff with the Allentown Comic Con were very generous and held a charity auction in our name with all proceeds going towards star wars toys for myself and my brothers in arms to hand out to the kids when we visit Children's Hospitals.

All in all it was a great show despite it's fresh start. I met a bunch of new star wars fans whom I hope to be in touch with again. If I gave you the link to this blog... don't be a stranger, comment things, email me.... it's lonely being a trooper of the empire ;.;

I believe they will have this show more than once a year so stay tuned for information advertising the next occurence of the Great Allentown Comic Con 2! Electric Boogaloo!

Allentown Comic Con approaching

It is the night before the Great Allentown Comic Con! Technically it's the morning of, as it's after 0:00 already. For those in the Allentown, PA area... the 501st Legion will be making our grand appearance at the Great Allentown Comic Con today, Saturday April 3rd from 10AM to 5PM.

Come visit That Stormtrooper Guy and all his fellow Imperial friends... we may even have a rebel spy or two you can help me keep an eye out for. I hear a wookiee might even be planning an assault on our forces. I hope he doesn't rip my arms out of my sockets.

Stay tuned for an in-depth report from the first annual Great Allentown Comic Con!

You can also check them out at http://greatallentowncomiccon.blogspot.com

Rebel Propoganda

Today's topic is Rebel Propoganda and how it has influenced the galaxies public opinion against the Galactic Empire. Let me start off by telling you my story. I was just an ordinary citizen of the galaxy living on Corellia who volunteered to keep the peace. I joined the Imperial service and was trained to be a soldier of the Empire. My goal is simple, to defend the peace of the galaxy against the guerilla hit and run attacks against our government.

But it seems that this guerilla organization calling itself the "Rebel Alliance" has quickly spread enough propoganda to make me and my fellow troops out to be opressors! Now granted I don't always agree with every step the men at the top take. The Emperor has his own way of ruling out of fear and it definitely scares the fodder out of me! Lord Vader rules with his iron fist (or maybe it's steel) and practices his mystical powers. But that is all independant of the fact that I, TB-8702 am not a bad guy! I don't want to hurt anyone! I just want to keep the peace for everyone back home on Corellia and other peace minded planets.

So next time you see a stormtrooper and say "look its that bad guy!!!" take a minute to think if he has a family, why he may have chosen to be a soldier, and what his point of view might just be. Don't be so accepting of this rebel alliance's "good intentions". There are 2 sides to everything my friend. The rebel alliance is only this: a group of people waging a war against those maintaining peace, conducting hit and run attacks, and using kamikaze suicide bombing techniques! Oh that's right... have we all forgotten about the Rebel pilot flying the a-wing that crashed right into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer killing THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of Imperials kamikaze style. Tell me what kind of "Good Intentions" the Rebel Alliance had in mind behind that mass genocide.

The Empire does good things... lets not forget that :D