Cortana proves that even in the distant future, they celebrate what happened a long time ago.
I, like many people, have a routine.
Step #1 is to wake up. If I complete Step #1, no matter what, my day is going better than if I didn’t. After that, I blindly eject my arm out of bed and start jabbing at the air to find my phone, which sits on my nightstand.
Upon completion of that task, I begin by checking my email accounts for anything of interest or urgency and then Cortana gives me my daily custom feed of various local, nation, global, and video game news. I like to find out if we’ve attacked someone or been attacked yet before I get out of bed, because depending on that answer I may or may not do it.
And yes, I use Cortana, that’s because I have a Windows Mobile device. Yes, I use a Windows Mobile device. It just works so much better than the other two, app-gap be damned. Now, now. No teasing. That leads to the Dark Side. 😉
Anyways, today I had a great greeting from “her” as I was waking up. After unlocking my phone, Cortana offered up the best wake-up message I think she’s done yet; and that includes the “Happy Birthday!” she said to me just last weekend!
Check out how she said “Good Morning” to me today. She shifted from her usual circular, or, dare I say it, “Halo” icon and morphed into the face of a very familiar Jedi Master. What could be a better way to start your day with a smile then that? Can one truly love an inanimate object? I think quite possibly yes, as there’s always another reason why I love my phone. 🙂
Best headline for Cortana to wake me up to on my Windows Mobile phone.
But she wasn’t done! She had one last notification before I was forced to either start my day or waste time talking to my phone’s AI about how fast Han Solo made the Kessel Run.
Ah, May the 4th. The geekiest “holiday” fandom has. ^_^
But does it really belong to fandom? Let’s take a little bit of a look into where May the 4th supposedly originated, what it means to us here today, as well as ways you can celebrate it here in Massachusetts.
The story goes, on May 4, 1979 Margaret Thatcher‘s political party, the Conservatives, placed a congratulatory advertisement in The London Evening News, saying “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations.”, on that, the first day she took office as the first woman to ever have been appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Newspaper advertisement of dubious originality congratulating Margaret Thatcher on her first day in office.
Off and on there have been references to May the 4th and Star Wars, but nothing really concrete and celebrated annually until the era of social media really took off. Since purchasing Lucasfilm in 2013, though, the Walt Disney Corporation has turned into just that though – a bonafide holiday.
At least at their theme parks. Every year on May the 4th at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida they roll out the red carpet, and the droids, landspeeders, and other rolling and non-rolling things for all things Star Wars. Part of me has thought that this must be an amazing weekend to spend at their parks to experience a Star Wars celebration as only Disney can do – with a bottomless budget. However, the other part of me thinks “Good lord, the parks must be packed tighter than a can of sardines. What must the bathroom line wait be?!” 😉
As it relates to us though, we thought we’d celebrate May the 4th by letting you all know that we’ve decided to put out a teaser for our radio drama podcast later on this summer as we approach the unveiling of our first release this Fall. More news on both of these topics will be announced in an upcoming transmission of our newsletter, The Commlink, so be sure to sign up today if you haven’t already!
So whatever pockets of the universe you may be in today as you celebrate Star Wars Day, we hope you’re having a fun time. We thought we’d help out some of those local to us in the eastern Massachusetts area with some ideas on what they can do today if they’re looking to get out and about and celebrate with others.
The Franklin Public Library will be kicking off their May the 4th celebration at 1:30pm with arts and crafts events for the kids while playing John Williams Star Wars scores throughout the space during the afternoon.
Everything is awesome when you get to experience May the 4th at Boston’s Legoland! The center recently erected a new Star Wars display that portrays scenes from the prequel “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” and Legoland will also have special build stations available for Star Wars Day.
The Boston Children’s Museum will be celebrating the art, science, and design of the galaxy far, far away from a long time ago all weekend long! All weekend long you can dress up as your favorite Star Wars character, put your Jedi skills to the test on their training course, build an X-Wing or Death Star with KEVA blocks, and meet some of your favorite characters! Make a lightsaber, explore robotics, design a costume, and maybe even meet R2D2! Check their daily calendar with specific times and additional activities. Costumes encouraged, but they ask that all smuggler, bounty hunters, and troopers alike please leave their blasters at home.
When your done with making your artwork masterpieces and taking in the museums if you’re looking to stay in the city for the evening, be sure to drop off the kids and head out to celebrate May the 4th with the folks at Backbar in Union Square. The Somerville cocktail lounge invites guests to dress up and stop by for some Star Wars Day fun every year with drink specials like “Bananakin Skywalker” that pay homage to the hit sci-fi franchise. 😉
Try not to laugh imagining Liam Neeson yelling “BANANKIN! Get to the ship!”
If you’re up on the North Shore, be sure to stop by and say hi to our friends at The Gamepad in Haverhill, MA! In honor of May the 4th and the new Solo movie, the GamePad is kicking off their monthly theme nights by showing Star Wars movies all night tonight, starting at 4pm and going until 1am! Come dressed as your favorite Star Wars character to get in for free! They’ll have Star Wars themed drinks & more to keep you and your Wookiee companion entertained for hours. And be sure to tell them we said hi!
As you can see, there’s a lot of different ways you can celebrate May the 4th in and out of Boston today, and we’re sure there’s more then what we’ve listed here. No matter how you spend the day and night today though, just be sure to watch out when you go out tomorrow. Never forget, “May the 4th” be with you, but the very next day is the “Revenge of the 5th”!
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