I Have To Laugh!

Last weekend NASCAR ran its race at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, dubbed the Brickyard. In case you missed it, the Goodyear tires couldn't handle the race. Teams were forced to change their tires every ten laps. Yes, you read it right, TEN LAPS! I'm glad I didn't bother watching that race.

Also consider that a couple of years ago, the Formula One series ran at the same racetrack with another tire problem. Apparrently the Michelin tires were not capable of running safe only the track. The teams with Michelin tires demanded that a chicane (modification of the track course) be put in. Of course all the teams with Bridgestone tires ran just fine. In a huff, all the Michelin teams pulled out of the race when they couldn't get their way.

So, what are the only tires to run without problems at Indy? Bridgestone (F1) and Firestone (IRL). I rest my case!

Tire Problems Dredge Up Bad Memories for Indy Fans
NASCAR Apologizes for Indianapolis Tire Fiasco
Michelin blames tire design flaw

Clone Wars & IndyCar

How could I not be a Marco Andretti fan now? During the Indy 500, Marco had his race car all decked out in Indiana Jones ads to promote Indy IV. He even wore a fedora hat when they had the driver introductions prior to the race. Now he will do it again with another Lucas film franchise: Star Wars!

He will run this car at the Infinion Raceway in California over the weekend of August 22-24. Considering that he has crashed in about as many races as he has finished, let's hope he can keep from messing up this car!

I really like the Asajj Ventress (a new villian in the Clone Wars movie) placement at the nose of the IndyCar:

Clone Wars Launch

Well, I finally got my computer to reboot and get onto my blog. I just got back from the midnight madness sale to celebrate the product launch of all the new Star Wars toys, books, etc. The special midnight sale was available only at Toys'R'Us.

I've never been to a midnight product launch (such as Harry Potter or any of the previous Star Wars launches) and I figured this may be my last chance, and my son's only chance, to be at a pre-movie Star Wars midnight sale. So we headed down with my sister to the local (and only) TRU.

It was our first time seeing the 501st in person. They are an organization dedicated to homemade but highly detailed costuming of Star Wars characters. They are also a charity group that supports causes like the Make A Wish Foundation and also do activities like visit sick children (fully costumed) in the hospital. There were 15 members in all for the late night event: six clone troopers, Jango & Boba Fett, Padme, Chewbacca ("life-sized", which was amazing to see!), ROTS Anakin, TPM Anakin, plus a Jawa and an Ewok. My son was both nervous and excited about seeing these people up close. I had to hold him for a little while as he got used to them.

When the doors opened, people were assertive but also respectful. There were about 30 or more people at the event and the racks were cleared out in fairly short order. However, I think everyone had a fair shot at getting everything they wanted. The 501st were inside as well, taking time to chat and have pictures taken. Considering how late it was, how long they had already been in costume, and that a rain earlier tonight raised the humidity in the night time heat to a saturation point, they were practically saints!

We had so much fun that I will definitely do this again if another major Star Wars event like this comes along in the future!