Five months after its huge debut, Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience is leaving Navy Pier IMAX. On Friday, April 4, Chicago Force will gather during its final weekend. We’ll meet at the box office at 8:30 P.M. for the 9:30 P.M. showing. If you’ve never seen AOTC in the IMAX format, you owe it to yourself to see it on their 60-foot-tall screen with 11,000 watts of sound. Look for the Chicago Force t-shirts. Afterward, we’ll head to Dick’s Last Resort to toast its departure.
Navy Pier IMAX is at 700 E. Grand St., Suite 115. Tickets can be bought at the box office or at www.imax.com/chicago. Since there is only one showing of Attack of the Clones that evening, we strongly encourage you to buy your ticket in advance. Dick’s Last Resort is at 435 E. Illinois. Check out www.dickslastresort.com for more info. We’ll be there at approximately 11:45 P.M. For the latest information on Chicago Force events, visit www.ChicagoForce.org. Talk about this event at this thread in our FanForce forum.
On Saturday, March 22 at 12:00 noon, join Chicago Force’s Errant Venture book club at the Barnes & Noble in Schaumburg as we discuss Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. Come out and talk about the book that established the modern Expanded Universe, introducing characters such as Mara Jade and Grand Admiral Thrawn. After that, we’ll have lunch at Fuddruckers at approximately 2:00 P.M. If you can’t make it out to the bookstore, have some burgers with us!
Barnes & Noble is at 590 E. Golf Road in Schamburg. Fuddruckers is also in Schaumburg, at 436 E. Golf Road. If you have any questions, send an e-mail to suburb moderator Thom Olsen (ThomSolo). For the latest updates on Chicago Force events, visit www.chicagoforce.org.
On Saturday, March 15th at 1:00 P.M., Chicago Force presents our second Roleplaying Game session at the Edgewater home of Hans Aeschbacher (TheExecutor). For directions, send an RSVP e-mail to Mike Hammer (Master Daylan). For the latest on Chicago Force events, visit www.chicagoforce.org.
On Saturday, March 1 at noon, Chicago Force presents the debut of our Costume Club. The first project will be making Jedi outer robes and will be held at the Mokena home of Phyllis Schulte (Schph Gochi). If you plan to attend, you will need to bring a pattern, fabric (washed and dried), a 300-yard spool of all-purpose thread the same color as the fabric, straight pins, and scissors. For more detailed information on these items, please see this FanForce forum thread.
You will need to RSVP for this event by sending an e-mail to Heather Ast (Darth Jurist) by Thursday night. For the latest information on Chicago Force events, visit www.chicagoforce.org or stop by our Fan Force Forum.
On Saturday, February 22 at 1:00 P.M., Chicago Force’s Errant Venture book discussion group will have its first city meeting at the Borders on State Street. We’ll discuss The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton. Come join us to talk about this story which introduced the Force Witches of Dathomir and culminated in the marriage of Han and Leia. There is a 20% discount for this book for book club participants. (Please note that this is only available at the Borders on State Street.)
Borders is at 150 N. State Street. If you have any questions, send an e-mail to city moderator Phil Salomon (Mos Eisleian Radio). For the latest information on Chicago Force events, visit www.chicagoforce.org.
Chicago Force will be spreading Star Wars goodness all weekend long at Capricon in Arlington Heights.
On Friday, February 7, at 9:00 P.M., Hans Aeschbacher (TheExecutor) will be hosting a Chicago Force RPG session. The adventure will take place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. You’ll be part of a Rebel team stealing plans for a new TIE Fighter design. Hans will have a wide variety of pre-rolled characters to choose from.
Chowbaso! On Saturday, February 8, at approximately 9:30 P.M., Chicago Force will be throwing a party at Jabba’s Palace. Come and dance to the otherworldly tunes of The Corkscrews and DJ Max Rebo. We’ve gone all-out for this one, so you won’t want to miss out!
On Sunday morning, February 9, several members of Chicago Force will be participating in a panel entitled “George Lucas: God or Monster?” Come on out and choose your side for this great debate.
Capricon is being held February 6-9 in Arlington Heights. For more information, including registration, go to www.capricon.org. Please note that only registered attendees of Capricon may attend the RPG session or Lucas panel. Convention attendees will also be able to vote in the Best Party competition. For the latest information on Chicago Force events, head over to www.chicagoforce.org.
On Saturday, January 25 at 1 p.m., Chicago Force presents the debut of the Errant Venture Book Club. The group will meet on a monthly basis, alternating between city and suburban locations to discuss Star Wars books with fellow Expanded Universe readers.
The first meeting was at the Barnes & Nobles at 590 E. Golf Road in Schaumburg. The book for the month was X-Wing: Rogue Squadron by Michael Stackpole. We talked about the brave men, women, and aliens who fight to protect the New Republic in its early years.
Chicago Force will be holding a public meeting on October 12, 2002. The meeting will be held at 12:00 PM (Noon) at Zephyr’s Ice Cream Restaurant, located at 1777 W Wilson Ave, Chicago, IL.
Items on the agenda include the Video Scavenger Hunt coming up in two weeks, the IMAX showing of Episode II, and our scheduled attendance at the upcoming conventions.
I apologize for the late notification. Many people have had schedule changes in the past two weeks, and we have been trying to work around them, but we felt it would be better to have a meeting now that some people might have to miss rather than spend weeks trying to schedule a meeting that might never happen.
To get details on any Chicago Force event, simply go to:
On October 6, 2002, members of Chicago Force traveled to East Troy, Wisconsin to visit the Electric Train Museum there. The Museum has two working trains, and a warehouse of other restored train cars, many of which came from Chicago.
Those in attendance where Mark “Jodo Kast” Franklin, Phil “Mos Eisleian Radio” Salomon, Thom “Thom Solo” Olsen, Ray “Rex Karrde” Bosques with daughters Leah and Leann, and Matthew “Hazmatt” Callison. We were met by 3 members of the Milwookiee Council from Milwaukee, Wisconson: BYOB Kenobi, Jedi Isadore and Dawn. The Milwookiee people were great sports. We had arranged to meet there at 11:30 AM, but ran a bit late as Jodo Kast guided us through the wilds of north-western Illinois. When we didn’t arrive by the time the 11:30 train was leaving, they boarded and made the trip. We got to East Troy just before they got back and met them as they disembarked. In true fan spirit, they purchased additional tickets and rode the train again, just to be with us. Our hats are off to you, Milwaukee, that was a very cool thing to do.
Now, on to the photos!
The scoop on the railroad.Don’t they make a cute couple?Trains, trains, trains.They hit you with the gift shop early.“Fifteen thousand? We could almost buy our own train for that!”“Where’d they go?” “Where’d who go?”“Well, I think that the dichotomy of good versus evil is best summed up by the Crimean conflict of 1830…”Hey, we all made it!Thom favors us with a soft-shoe number.Pete, our conductor.Arrival at “The Elegant Farmer”Mark show us his Caramel Apple.Mark plays with Ray’s melons (yes, I know pumpkins are really a squash, but the joke doesn’t work that way)“BYOB Kenobi” must stand for “Bash Your Own Bee”The train ride back.
OK, the entire time we were sitting at the picnic table, these bees kept harassing us (leading up to the “insect-icide” shown above), and Mark had this little dance he did to fend of the deadly creature that was just hilarious. The problem was, by the time I could get the camera up and switch it to movie mode, he would be done flailing about. I finallly switched to movie and just sat there, camera pointed at Mark. As luck would have it, no more bees stopped by. So when he did this on the train, I just had to capture it, although it isn’t one tenth as funny as the others.
We arrive safe and sound.Mark shows off his Interactive R2-D2. Very cool.Anakin’s father must have stopped here for ice cream (you really need to read the white sign at the top of the picture).“Yes, but if we take 3 to the X power of Y, we find that it is close to the binomial derivation of the cosine…”We love ice cream! Oh, yeah, and ‘Star Wars’.Ray and Thom pull the “Oooh, the train is really moving” gag.
On September 22, 2002, Chicago Force went on their first paintball outing. It was a perfect day for paintball, a little cloudy in the morning and in the mid-60’s, clearing up by midday to be a gorgeous, sunny Sunday.
12 Chicago Forcers made it out: Matt “Darth Astuart” Springer, Dave “Bosh Talk” Gray and friend Ed, Ray “Rex Karrde” Bosques and friend Hector, Phil “Mos Eisleian Radio” Salomon, Mark “Jodo Kast” Franklin and friend Bien, Mary “Amber Eyes” and son Mike, Tom “TomTav” Tavrides, and Matthew “Hazmatt” Callison.
Everyone had a lot of fun, and there was talk floating around of making this an annual or semi-annual event, so stay tuned to Chicago Force Web. There was a lot of paint traded by both teams, with the group going through 5000 paintballs during the day. Yes, they sting when you get hit, but it’s certain there was more pain the following day, when little-used muscles made their presence known to the owner.
Finally, a very big thank you to Blast Camp Paintball and our ref, Whisler. The facilities were top-notch and the staff was organized and professional, creating a fun environment with zero delays. Good job Blast Camp!
Now, on with the evidence….
Meeting up at Huck Finn’s
The first order of business was to meet up in the morning to caravan out to Blast Camp. We chose Huck Finn’s Donuts on the corner of Damen and Archer.
Yes, everyone stared at us because of the way we were dressedBosh gets the BIG doughnut“And I’m going to shoot YOU in the head.”
Before the Battle
We played at Blast Camp near Hobart, Indiana, about 40 miles south-east from Chicago.
Ray, on the way to the fieldSmile for the birdie!The troops prepare for combat.
CENTER COLLAPSE
Waiting for the whistleGame on!View of the courtyardThe teams gather at the fieldWhisler explains the rulesThe long walkRay gets to the center octagon firstDave defends the backfieldBien provides cover-fire while Mike storms a buildingMatt tries to get an angleBien holds the buildingMike and Bien“Stop shooting, I’m already hit!”Tom scopes out the fieldEd, Matt and Dave prepare to attackTom tries to keep his head downEd moves into position with Dave coveringMark falls down, Take OneMary gets in on the actionMary shoots her sonHector and Ed move up the fieldDave checks his positionMark rushes the centerMark falls down, Take TwoGame over, re-group and change sidesGame on!Dave takes control of a buildingDave kneels before ZodEd advances through the buildingHey, don’t shoot the cameraman!Tom trades paint with EdBien gets eliminatedMike poses for the cameraBien gets resurrected and moves outRay waits at the resurrection point to make a break for itMark falls down, Take ThreeRay takes the middleMark moves around to help RayEd guards the entranceNice shot of Matt’s buttDave stays in the building too long and is taken out of the gameHector sneaks up on Ray in the middleHector eliminates RayFinal push at the end of the gameMary wonders if it’s safeRay pushes deep into enemy territoryBack to the staging area to reloadFARP (that’s military-talk for “Fuel-Ammo Resupply Point”)This is a tired bunch ‘o’ people, and it’s only about noon“And then I snuck around this corner and…”Hazmatt’s custom Tippmann CarbineWe never figured out what this was, we were shooting WHITE paintReady for the next gameWhisler, our fantastic ref
PROTECT THE PRESIDENT
The name of this game is “Protect the President”. This is a 15 minute game where one person is selected as “The President” and one person is assigned to guard them. They go deep in the field and hide, then everyone else has 15 minutes to find them. We voted for Matt to the be the President and Dave to be the bodyguard.
The action in this game was fast and furious and the brush was thick, so not much of the action is covered. Just use your imagination and think of your favorite Vietnam movie.
Whisler leads Matt and Dave to the fieldWhisler explains the rules. He did forget to tell them about the 3 hardened bunkers, unfortunately.Matt and Dave head deep into the “bush”Here comes the hunting partyWhisler explains the rulesShhhh! Be vewy quiet, their hunting wabbits“Nope, they’re not behind this bush.”Mark heads in after his preyAnd it’s over
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SPEEDBALL
The name of this game is “Speedball”. This is a 10 minute game where there is one flag in the middle. The object is to get the flag and take it down to your opponents goal. This is a game that is often played in paintball tournaments.
Speedball is called that for a reason: it’s fast. Normally, if you are behind a bunker for more than 20 seconds, you’re dead. Despite the 10 minute time limit, most games are done in less than 5 minutes.
Heading to the fieldOrange takes their placeYellow takes their place“3..2..1..Game on!”Ray rushes and is first to the flag, but gets pinned downHe calls for covering fireRay covers Bien as he moves upMatt keeps Ray from advancingBien moves up to assist RayHector takes a shot at RayTom lets it fly to keep Hector containedRay moves up within striking distance of the goalBien watches Ray hang the flagNew game, switch sidesGame on!Boy, that’s a good lookin’ paintgunEd rushes the center and gets the flagDave looks for someone to shootEd tucks the flag away and unknowingly drops itGun hits count, and this is all you have to expose to get eliminatedMatt watches Ed get eliminated and decides to make a run for the flagEd checks to make sure he is really hitMary covers Matt as he runs for itMark tries to shoot Matt to no availMark makes his own run for the flagMark pops up to get Matt and is promptly shot in the foreheadMatt makes it to where Ed was hit, but the flag’s not here…Matt braves the fire one more time to run back and pick up the flagThis is why auto-focus cameras don’t always work. Matt hangs the flag while we get a good shot of Dave’s head.Everyone checks their paint supply
THE AFTERMATH
Out of paint, we decide to call it a dayThe final walk off the fieldRay shows off his battle scarsMore woundsAs good as it was, we’re glad to be doneIt was a glancing blow, but it’s gotta hurt“Do you want to see my hiney?”Matt caught more than one at close rangeThat was fun. Let’s go home.We stop to have BK our wayWe need red meat and grease to combat all that exercise we just gotRay asks, “Wanna wrestle?”Looks like we over-loaded the cookAh, now to the grubRay on the way homeMust be contagious
