Echo 3 to Echo 7 Podcast Blog

Episode 16 - Let there be Light-Sabers (New Episode at last!)

2007-12-08T20:07:00.001-08:00

It's been a while but the guys are finally back!

This month, join us as we catch up on what has been going on, and then join us on a special entertaining and informative tour of Mark's lightsaber collection.

Part One:
Our show begins with reactions to finding out we have become 'part of Star Wars History' (see our earlier post). We then take a brief first look at the great "The Force Among Us" film (theforceamongus.com), and talk about the state of fandom.
Mark shares an interesting Star Wars tale about his baby daughter's interest in a particular character....

Part Two:
Join us for an inside tour of Mark's lightsaber collection. Find out the history of the different sabers, their manufacturing, as well as an audio tour of some of the differences between them.

Our conversations ran long, so there is a third part to this show which should appear as a stand-alone episode within the next week or two. And we hope to have one more for the holiday week....

Enjoy.

Approximately 33 minutes.
Show Site (And Special Enhanced Visual Podcast)
http://web.mac.com/tonygonzalez/Echo3toEcho7/Podcast/Podcast.html

MP3 Audio Only Version - click on the Player in the sidebar to directly access the show (and/or past episodes)

New Show in Production!

2007-12-01T05:38:00.001-08:00

Greetings everyone.

Yes, I know it's been a while .As we all know, Real Life takes precedence. But we are back....sort of!

Mark and I finally got a chance to meet up last night, as he was going through some of his old props and collections that he left back in storage. We spoke on a few topics that might interest those collecting fans out there. His collection of lightsabers, some model kits and some thoughts about the future of Star Wars. I also finally had a chance to show him our claim-to-fame page in the Star Wars Vault book and get some initial feedback from him on "The Force Among Us". Sadly, we have not been able to get together in a way that will enable us to cover that great movie the way we want to, but we are working on it!

We've had an interesting couple of months, and received some great feedback from many people. We have even had some great interview requests out there, and are working to make them happen. Time and Energy are at culprit here.

Due to our lives and schedules, it has been difficult to plan a talk, even via phone on Talkshoe, because we are rarely at our computers at the same time, and when we do speak on the phone, we aren't at liberty to record our talks all the time. Any other moment we had available to record would have been greeted with either a very lethargic conversation (and believe me - you don't want to get me talking when I'm groggy), or one peppered with baby gurgles in the background (not that there's anything wrong with that -- but it's kind of hard to hold a conversation with someone who has to run off and change a diaper in the middle of it). But these are the way of our real lives. Yes, we are fans. But we are real people with real lives and real concerns to deal with. Those come first.

The great thing about Podcasting is that unlike traditional media, it was initially created as a method for producing your own kind of show at your own pace. And though I'd love to be able to produce a weekly show on par with the great ones out there (like for instance, The Force Cast), logistics, time, schedules and lives make this impossible. Mark and I live and work at opposite ends of the City. Our weekends are spent even further away. While I have constant access to the internet, he is on maybe minutes at a time. We speak frequently on the phone and we have met up a couple of times in person, but just because we can be in the same place at the same time, it doesn't mean we are ready to "record", if you take my meaning.

With that thought in mind, please note that our enthusiasm for this podcast is still strong. We will keep it going as long as we can. As you will note in the new show (when you get to hear it), our love of Star Wars has not been diminished at all for the past few months. In fact, it seems to have grown while we've been away. It always seems to be part of our lives. Which is why there'll always be a new story to tell.

This show was set up as a method for us to share our recollections ("the Star Wars Memories Podcast") and those of others, and I think we've been able to provide that for the past two years. As time goes on, it's amazing how many more stories we still have to tell about something that was just a science fiction movie for kids once upon a thirty years ago.

Keep up with the blog for the latest on the show. Those of you who have contacted us, Thank you for letting us know you are out there. Those of you who plan to join us for a conversation soon -- please be patient as we head into our our third year, we should be able to figure that out! And those who just happened upon us, I hope you enjoy the experience and that you let us know about it!

I estimate the newest program will be posted during the first week of December (that's this week to me and you!)

See ya real soon.

We're a part of "Official" Star Wars History!

2007-11-05T22:25:00.000-08:00

I received Steve Sansweet's new book, the STAR WARS Vault as a Birthday present last week (Thanks, Rich & Jen!). It was a big thrill and a half to sift through the pages and find so many neat and wondrous ways of inter-acting with the past -- for those who don't know what I mean, check out the Amazon link below.
However, the biggest thrill would have to be when I flipped over to the page where they discuss the various celebrations, and in it, they have a replica of the Birthday Card from 1987 that was presented to George Lucas.
Well, those of you with the book, if you flip open that card, and look on the lower right center, you will find a big gigantic scribbling by my show co-host, Mark - where he had signed the card on our behalf back in 1987 when he attended the first ever Star Wars gathering. We're in a Star Wars book!!!! Woohoo!
Check it out for yourself. That is indeed us, and if you heard my celebration IV show, you'll hear me talking about this very same card.
We'll surely talk about this on the show.
And I'll give you a formal review of the book soon!

Meantime - this is what I'm talking about:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514vaaGZG0L._SS400_.jpg

Greetings and Update

2007-11-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

I'm truly hoping that someone out there has subscribed to this blog and will get the info that I'm submitting now. Yes E3toE7 is still active. Unfortunately, our schedules have made it impossible to record a show within the past couple of months. We hope to get it together soon, as there is a lot to talk about. And HOPEFULLY we'll even have a special guest! SO hang in there.
This show will soon be switching from a monthly to a "whenever" format in 2008. "Whenever" means we will post one whenever there's a chance to do so. But it will surely remain active.
Meantime, if you're a listener, subscriber, fan, whatever -- we'd love to hear from you. It's the only way we know you're out there listening. So drop us a line, won't ya?

My CIV Video - Part One - Day For the Fans

2007-09-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it's months later, but I finally had an opportunity to put together the first part of a video of my Star Wars Celebration (IV) experience. I struggled with the footage for months until I finally decided to make it a bunch of shorter movies related to the theme, rather than one all encompassing one.

In this first exercise, which I thought I'd share with you as I was making it, I decided to focus in on the costumed fans, the ones that made the entire CIV experience unique and special. The final movie itself will probably feature an overdubbed soundtrack to explain things a bit. But I was having fun cutting into the motion here, and watching for unique or interesting people.

So, here is a first look at what I shot as a memory of CIV. There is more to come, but I wanted to see if I could complete this short film to share with you all tonight. It also becomes my very first production posted onto YouTube.

Enjoy...

Newest Show Posted - Celebrating the Celebrations

2007-08-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

Click here to get your own player.

The SW Ending I'd Love to see some day

2007-07-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

I found this alternate (fan-made) ending to Return of the Jedi that I thought was stupendous! It's what I always imagined it to look like.
See, back in 1983 when I first heard the title was being changed to "Return of the Jedi", my friends and I had postulated, based upon a foreign film we'd seen that I wish I could remember the name of, that the end of Jedi would feature the return of all of the 'dead' Jedi - sort of what happens in "Return of the King". Of course, the filmmakers couldn't do that back in 1983, as the older Jedi had yet to be cast, but I always imagined that Luke would see more than just the spirit of his mentors and father. And this wonderfully talented person has helped make that happen.
While I probably would have also added the rest of the Jedi, since it has become clear that Qui-Gon Jinn was practicing the ways of eternal life, it is very touching to see him added here amongst his peers. Great stuff.
Just imagine this ending:

A New Show, Yet?

2007-07-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, Mark and I finally got together this past weekend and INTENDED to do a new show, but circumstances prevented it. So, with that said, we did take some photos of his collection, prior to moving it into another location, so check out one of the slideshows being shown -- that's Mark's actual collection...and get this...this is only the section that is dispayed. There's so much more he's accumulated over the course of the past few years.

We hope to do our new show soon and will let you know as soon as we have one.

New way to listen!

2007-07-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

OK, listen up, MP3 fans. I've been exploring many new ways of getting the show posted so that everyone can listen, and found this neat service page called "PODOMATIC". Give it a try, go listen, subscribe, comment, whatever. Most of all, let me know what you think. Oh-- and new shows are coming soon!

Click here to get your own player.

STAR WARS Mash-Ups

2007-06-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

The official Star Wars site is now offering members the opportunity to create "Star Wars Mash-Ups" - kind of a way of mixing your own footage, with real footage from the Lucasfilm archives. Not sure why anyone would REALLY want to do this, but, Hey, I love trying out new technological things, so here is my first attempt at a Mash-Up. Done totally for fun's sake - I wasn't trying to be serious or make a point. My footage comes from this weekend at Disney World.

ENJOY THE DANCING CHEWBACCA....

Star Wars Weekends

2007-06-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Let's start this off with a party! I was lucky enough to attend the last Star Wars Weekends for this year, and I can easily say I had an awesome time. I hope to talk about it on our next Podcast, but for now, enjoy this gallery of photos I took.

Slideshow provided by Picasa Web Albums. Click on the pics to view or for more options.

Welcome to the New Blog Page

2007-06-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone!

I decided to create a Blogspot page for our Podcast so that I could take advantage of some of the great (Web 2.o) features that my regular website application isn't ready for. The wonderful thing about podcasting on Blogspot, is that it can be done from just about anywhere, and anytime. My hope is to create a place where we can post our more immediate thoughts and comments and photos and movies and hopefully reach a larger audience. We will also be posting MP3 versions of our show here for your consumption.

It may be a slow start, but keep tuning back, and be sure to participate with your thoughts and comments.

Bookmark the new url -e3toe7podcast.blogspot.com, and add us to your blog rolls or favorites pages (just let me know if you do). And enjoy the shows, movies, pictures, whatever....

May the Force Be With You...

Tony G.