I remember being eleven years old on Christmas Eve. I knew that within hours life would catch up with this wonderful event and it'd all be grey and normal. I wanted to catch a snapshot of the ecstatic state of anticipation, since it would seem so impossible later on, so I wrote a note to myself before I went to sleep: a hello from the brink. I tossed out that note years later during an, erm, teen episode, but the idea remains. as I write this, I've 5 hours and 45 minutes left until I get to see "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" at an 8:30am showing opening day. perfect for someone thoroughly excited but not a crazed fanboy by any stretch. the ticket is a gift from a brilliant friend.

I've already decided that I'm going to love this movie. although I'm at the right age, I saw the first trilogy much later than everyone else of my generation. I never had the chance to get swept up in it - partially because "Return of the Jedi" was the only one I saw in original release (and I didn't have access to a VCR for several years afterwards), but also because it seems to me that being a huge fan as a kid was all about having a best friend who was also really into it. the two of you could babble lines and trivia back and forth...my swingin' sociopathic younger self never had that friend, so I could only play catch-up when I finally did get the chance to see them later on. but this one? Ewan McGregor rocks my pantheon. I've been defending his casting for years, and he's gonna be awesome. so's Liam, and Samuel L., and everyone else. this is my trilogy.

fuck the backlash. movie critics have had 15 years since "Jedi" to figure out why the first three were great. most of them are still making the same errors in their reviews. they still don't get it. I'm bored of people claiming to be weary of the hype, as if it's an assault on them or something. ah, suck it up. if you're really tired of it, go volunteer at a domestic abuse shelter. I guarantee you won't hear much there. otherwise, shut up and endure it. I think you'll survive. (it's not that bad, anyway. "Godzilla" was worse, in my estimation, and had far less justification.) more than anything else, I'm sick of self-appointed gurus holding forth in every major media forum with the revelation that "this is just a movie". their wisdom and distance has given them the ability to look down on us scurrying plebes and drop that particular golden nugget. as if we don't know that it's a movie? of course we do. everything is what it is. they're "just" boring people who apparently haven't got anything interesting or original to write about. we react as we wish. I plan to enjoy this movie like a five year old on mescaline because I choose to. cheers.

long-lost acquaintances are encouraged to email and we'll go see it together. ah, cool. five and a half hours to go!