Menu

Ask Luke’s Mother-in-Law: Mandalorians and Marijuana


mandaloremom.jpg

Martha Boyd is not just Luke’s mother-in-law – she’s also an ex-cop, a landlord, a self-described crazy cat lady, a major Star Trek geek and the widow of a green beret. So go ahead: ask her anything. And we mean anything.

Hi all,

Had the honor of having Malice and Risika from the Skirata Clan (Star Wars) at my house the other day. He is a wonderful Star Wars costumer – Mandalorian. The Clan is also building something special for the Anaheim, CA Convention in 2015. I understand it is going to be huge. I have attached a pic of the work in progress and also…how would you like this guy in your kitchen? By the way, he is also a great computer tech and got my system back on line and purring like one of the kittens again. Check out the Facebook page and like it at SkirataAliit. If you are interested in crafting your own Star Wars wardrobe you can reach them there. They have monthly construction parties here in Joshua Tree, CA. The clan also does great charity work and recently built a costume for a little girl who unfortunately just died of cancer – her pics are on the site – check them out.

It has been cold and rainy here is sunny So Cal. Did the first fire in the fireplace. Glad John taught me how to build a fire; it takes the cold off the house. It was fun watching the new kitties see fire for the first time. They were so cute, but very good and stayed a respectable few feet away from the screening. Such a change from nice sunny Mexico. One week sitting in a swim suit the next bundled up with blankets. My crock pot is working overtime making soup. All of the Christmas decorations are up that I am going to do this year. Maybe next year I will do more. But for now we have lights inside and outside and 2 small trees. Thinking about getting a small white tree at the after Christmas sale. I have always wanted a white tree. When I was little we had a silver tree with a revolving color light, it was so pretty to watch the tree change colors.

1412150002.JPG

On Sunday 12/14 was Julia’s birthday (LYT’s wife/boss). We met partway between LA and JT for lunch in Rancho Cucamonga. She loves Joe’s Crab Shack. That was lots of fun. She let me know that she will be performing again at the World Famous Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood on 12/30/14 – This is one of the top comedy clubs in California. All of the big names have worked here and also come to see the shows. So if you are in Hollywood on 12/30 come to the show. Tickets are reasonable, and say you are here for Julia Boyd. OK shameless mom plug.

Also, LYT has quite a bit of air time in a French news story on robots and robots in movies [official title is “Robotland” -LYT] . It is really good and he is wearing his Topless Robot T-shirt in the piece. It runs about 26 minutes and his comments are all thru the piece. He can’t post it because of copyright issues. But maybe if you Google French TV and robots you may fine it – who knows. It is really good and not just because LYT is in it; they also have scientists, movie directors, other actors etc.

Due to the holiday, the Joshua Tree Film Fest will not have a screening on 12/18, but will resume in January with a night of shorts per the founder Eric Quander. Also Mr. Quander advised that the company that filmed our second movie, Skanks, will be out filming in our area and he will be getting me information on this. Maybe I can do a set visit.

Today’s cat pic is of Frizzy (grey) and Pirate (black) sitting enjoying the sun in my office window.

1412080002.JPG

On to questions…,

Humberto Dellamorte:

Question about the proper way to watch a film, say, If Nolan or Anderson shoot it in 70MM, shouldn’t that the way it should be seen? Or is it the choice of the moviegoer to see it, regardless, whatever means available? Is it disrespectful then to the filmmaker if one doesn’t see it they way they (and god) intended or is one being elitist for wanting it to be that way?

Well, it is always the best to see the film in the format that it was made in. However, I think that if the theater does not have the means to show the film for example in 70MM then at least see it in whatever format is available. No every theater has the ability to use multiple formats. No is it all of the time feasible for the moviegoer to drive many miles to see a film at a special theater. For example we have 1 indoor theater in the entire Morongo Basin and 1 drive-in theater. No 3D no IMAX etc. To get to something special it would be a 50+ mile drive. Well, I guess I would not be going no matter how much I wanted to see the film.

Edward Douglas: Why did I just like this post without leaving a question?

I don’t know, but thank you for the like – most appreciated.

Christian Lindke: Has anti-Shyamalan criticism created a negative feedback loop where M. Night becomes more like what his critics think he is?

I really don’t know. All I can say is that I have enjoyed most of his work.

David N. Scott: How should you start saving for retirement?

Get a good financial advisor. Disclaimer: I am not one. But I will tell you what we did. When John and I first got married we joined an investment club it was call NCIC at the time. With this club you could by what are known as odd lots (less than 100 shares of stock) without a penalty that the traditional stock broker would charge. You had to buy at least 1 share, so depending on the store it could be just a few dollars. We made the choice to invest or do something like go out to dinner or a movie etc. It was pretty painless and I like to cook. We did the 401K thing thru work, and also put aside 10% of every check into a bank account and when we had enough we bought a CD or put more in the stock market.

We also went to county tax sales and purchased properties for the taxes, rehabbed them and then either rented the property or sold for profit. We did this for the first 8 years of our marriage. We needed to scale back on this when finally Julia was born, but we continued every chance we got. We also lived on a budget and I wrote down everything we spent money on for several months after we were married. It is amazing how much juke you just buy during the month. This really helps you to see where your money is going, then instead of going out to lunch – you brown bag, you don’t go to Starbucks, do you really need that Big Gulp from 7-11?

Bradley J. Fikes: Was “Eaten Alive” more cruel to the anaconda, or to the Viewers?

I think the whole show was pretty stupid to start with, and shame on Discovery who generally puts on a pretty good product. What ever nitwit thought of this should be eaten alive by something. It was a waste of viewers’ time and the poor snake was traumatized. And did you know that if the snake had eaten the guy they would have had to kill the snake to get him out? Really Discovery. Where were the animal rights folks?

Randy O: How many years will pass before today’s young people can expect to be able to earn a living, build a life for themselves, and take financial responsibility for their parents’ debts?

I don’t think kids should necessarily be responsible for their parent’s debts to start with. Most of the young people that I know are earning a living and building a life for them selves. They are living on their own and not in my or their parent’s homes. I know things are still tough for a lot of people in today’s economy. My income has been pretty well cut in half since my husband died, but my kid is not supporting me and I am making my own way, just as they are. They even keep trying to get me to move in with them and I keep saying no, it is not a good idea.

Ray Richmond: Why is printer ink the most expensive substance known to man on a per-ounce basis?

Good point, and I don’t really know why – perhaps because we all pay the price and there is not a lot of competition for the stuff. They also don’t fully fill the cartridges; notice how the case is always a solid color so you can’t see how much is in the cartridge. I have a laser printer and I run a lot of pages and go thru about 2 cartridges a year so that is not too bad. But ink jets are really bad.

Broos C: If Priscilla’s Coffee in Toluca Lake is so damn great, how come it doesn’t have any plugs for charging your computer?

I would assume that the no-charging your computer is to move patrons in and out of the store. Like most places they need to turn the tables and if you take up space for hours and only buy one drink the profit margin goes down. I know they have free wifi, but I’m sure they don’t want you sitting their forever.

M.V. Moorhead: What is the all-time greatest Hammer film?

Curse of Frankenstein and Curse of the Werewolf. Both from the 1950’s I think. Saw them many years ago on an Elvira show if I remember correctly.

Alonso Duralde: Doesn’t that embarrass you? Just a little? Not aimed at you. It’s a question.

I don’t know – should I be embarrassed over something? If so, it is noted.

Witney Seibold: Which of Dickens’ novels is his best?

I am partial to A Christmas Carol.

Gallen_Dugall:
SEASONAL QUESTION! Should pets receive presents? Should they be addressed as being from Santa Claws?

Yes, yes and yes. My pets always get Christmas presents. So far this year Santa will be bringing them catnip mice, rolling jingle balls and I am hoping for a really big kitty tree house, and a new scratchy post is on their list too.

skrag2112:

Seasonal question: what are your top ten Christmas specials? (Trusting there are ten you like.)

1) Rudolph the red nose reindeer
2) Frosty the snowman
3) How the Grinch stole Christmas
4) Charlie Brown Christmas
5) The Santa Clause
6) Nutcracker
7) Grandma got run over by a reindeer
8) The night the animals talked
9) Prep and Landing
10) Elf

Bet you didn’t think I would come up with 10.

clashctyrkr6: with more and more states entertaining and passing laws decriminalizing cannabis. Do you see the states passing such laws, forcing the federal govt. to reclassify cannabis from schedule 1 to something far more accurate, like removing it from the list entirely, and treating it more like tobacco or alcohol? I think it can be fairly stated that this country’s policies regarding cannabis have been detrimental to our society as a whole.

They need to loosen up on the Medical Marijuana thing. Like, if you have a card in California you should be able to use it in another state and you should be able to take your marijuana to another state. For example, now if you are okay and legal in CA you can’t take it to Nevada. So if you are legal in one state you should be legal everywhere, just like a driver’s license. I have seen it do wonders for people with cancer, and other illnesses. I think it should be treated more like alcohol and tobacco and the feds should get out of this. I feel it is more of a state’s rights issue.

Well folks that’s about it for this week.

1412150001.JPG

Other pictures attached this week are Miss Love Bug looking at her first fire and two of the Christmas trees and lights in the house. How about that arch by the tree – my husband built that several years ago. It was where we had an old evap cooler. Yes that is an old record player in the picture – I still like vinyl.

1412150003.JPG

As always, my friends, be good to each other this next week. Please send questions. After all, how can I give advice without questions? Take care all – and as always Huggs.

As always, keep your questions coming, be they foolish, philosophical or anything else! Any questions submitted in comments below will be included in future columns.