Saturday, April 23, 2011

How To Make Your Own Language




I have had a few people ask me about this and thought it would be a good idea for a blog post. I am an avid linguist (someone who studies languages) and have enjoyed making a few languages myself. An artificially made language is called a constructed language or conlang. There are various uses for conlangs. Some are made to study the human brain and how we perceive and learn words and grammar, some aspire to unite the world under one comment tongue, and others are made for purely artistic purposes. Additionally, a lot of people make artistic conlangs for universe projects (like for novels and video games).

There are several cheap ways of making your own language. You can find a way to encode English (like Pig Latin) or you can just come up with a parallel language to English by substituting each word with gibberish. But the more artistic and accomplished conlangs have more to them than that. If you go about making a conlang that resembles a natural language, with its own set of rules and quirks, the process will be certainly more entertaining and even educational. Through constructing my own languages, I have learned a great deal about linguistics, and I hope you will too.

A lot of people, especially people who are creative writers, have had the desire to create a language at one time in their life. But most don't know how to go about it. The project is certainly a large one, and can seem daunting to a novice. But I'm going to attempt to outline and explain the process in several easy steps. The first is developing a phonology (basically what letters, sounds, and combinations of letters and sounds can be used in the language). If you want to make up a new alphabet for the language, you can do it in this step. But typically it's less confusing to make the language first, and then make an alphabet. The second thing to do is develop the grammar (how words change and interact with each other). And the final step is to add vocabulary to the language by creating words. You can simplify this process by coming up with a set of small, basic words, and then combining them to make more complicated words. For instance you could have words for blue, wet, and area and then combine them to make the word for sea.

After you have created a language you can use it for many purposes. You could have a code to write sensitive information in, a unique language to add color to a species or culture in a novel or video game project, and even a blue print to help you study real languages. But remember, this is your language. If you don't want it to be complicated, you don't have to make it that way. If there are irregularities in English that annoy you, you don't need to carry them over into it. So take things at your own pace, and have fun!


Step I: Phonology

Every language has its own set of sound and spelling rules. For instance in English we don't have the gargling khhh sound that is prominent in languages like German and Hebrew. It's also against our spelling rules to end words with the letters q or v, or to have long strings of consonants like ngstsch. So the first step to giving your language a unique look and sound, is to come up with these rules. To help you, I'm going to outline all the common sounds in human languages and describe how they relate to each other.

There are three main types of sounds that humans can make. Vowels are made by opening your mouth in different ways and exhaling air while vibrating the vocal chords, consonants are made by closing your mouth in some way and diverting the air flow, and clicks are made by creating friction by rubbing one part of your mouth against another. It's most likely that all the languages you are familiar with only use vowels and consonants in words and use clicks as interjections (like tsk tsk), so I'll only focus on the first two.

There are an infinite amount of possible vowel sounds because there are an infinite amount of ways to blow air out your mouth. The different positions of the tongue and jaw muscles used while speaking vowels account for the majority of accent differences between versions of even the same language. For example American, Irish, British, and Australian English all have their own unique and easily distinguishable rules for how vowels are spoken. Because American English is either natively spoken or recognizable for most English speakers, I'll use it's rules and examples to describe common types of vowels.

Short Vowels:

A in Apple
E in pEn
I in pIn
O in pOp
U in bUn (also called the "schwa" sound)
OO in cOOk

Long Vowels:

A in blAme
E in scEne
O in nOte
U in tUne

Semivowels (really short vowels often used as consonants):

Y in Yot
W in Win

Diphthongs (combinations of vowels):

Long A + short I in sAnd
Short A + long U in cOW
Short O + long E in tIme
Long O + long E in bOY
Long O + short U in sAW

It is really hard to pinpoint rules about vowels because there are even inconsistencies from person to person. Many people pronounce two vowel sounds when they think they are only using one. For instance people in New York City and Boston tend to use a combination of the oh and uh sounds in words where other Americans use the ah sound. Consequently in some regions the word cot can sound identical to the word caught. Another example of vowel inconsistency is in the Midwest, where many Americans add a oo sound to their oh sound. When making a language's rules for vowels, you will most likely copy your own accent. But you can make your language unique by paying careful attention to this area. You can add some exoticness by following rules from French and Spanish rather than English. To illustrate a common difference. The made up word fane would be pronounced with a long a sound according to American rules, but would be pronounced like fah-nay with Spanish rules.

Consonants are thankfully a little more easy to map out than vowels. There are three main ways to distinguish consonants, by where they are made in the mouth, by whether they are a stopped sound or a continuing sound, and by whether or not the vocal chords are used. Most of the consonant sounds that I will discuss here are used in English, but a few are not. You can make your language sound exotic and even alien by throwing in rare consonant sounds and combinations, but also run the risk of rendering your language unspeakable by the average person. I'll start by defining some important terms used to describe consonants.

Voiced: when the vocal chords are used

Unvoiced: when the vocal chords are not used

Stop: when the sound is made by completely stopping airflow

Fricative: when airflow is restricted and diverted but not stopped

Nasal: when the sound is made by moving airflow from the mouth to the nose

Liquid: when there is mostly unrestricted airflow (these can be used like vowels)

To use examples to illustrate these concepts, the s in sand is unvoiced while the s in bays is voiced, t is a stop consonant because it's a sound that cannot be held for any longer than normal, while th is a fricative because it can go on indefinitely, m is a nasal sound because you need to blow air out your nose to say it, while l is a liquid because you need to blow air out your mouth. Try making the m sound while holding your nose or the l sound with your mouth closed... it's impossible. Here are some examples of consonants ordered by these criteria.

Voiced stops: B, D, G

Unvoiced stops: P, T, K

Voiced fricatives: V, DH(in THe), GH(basically the gargling sound), Z, ZH(in viSion)

Unvoiced fricatives: F, TH(in THin), KH(in German baCH), S, SH, CH(in German iCH)

Nasals: M, NY(half-way between N and Y, similar to Spanish Ñ), N, NG(in siNG)

Liquids: R, L

To give a few notes about these examples, v and f are sometimes considered "laterals" because air flows out of the sides of your mouth when you make their sounds, there are actually two different types of th sounds in English, one is voiced and one is not, and you should probably ignore the ch sound I mentioned because it has nothing to do with the ch in cheese and is really difficult for native Enlish speakers to pronounce because it's made on the roof of the mouth somewhere between sh and kh.

You might have noticed that there are a couple common consonant sounds that I have not mentioned yet. That's because the j and ch sounds are actually consonant combinations called affricates. They start with a stop consonant and end with a fricative. J is a combination of d and the zh sound (like in vision), and ch is the t sound quickly followed by the sh sound. The ts in tsunami is another example of an affricate.

Hopefully these descriptions of letters and sounds will help you decide how to make the pronunciation and spelling rules in your language. Before I move on to another subject though, I want to quickly mention that stress is yet another way to add color to a language. For instance, usually we give more focus to a certain part of a word. In English we say ba-NAAA-na, but in other languages it might be BUHH-nana or bana-NAHH. Some languages have specific rules about on which syllable the stress falls, while in others the stress varies greatly from word to word.

Here are some examples of how different phonetic rules change the look and sound of a language.

This is what a language with just a sounds and alternating consonants and vowels would look like:

Al alava kabara sala ba apa kana

A language where words can only have one syllable would look like this:

Mau tsi yung toi han mung

Here is an example of a vowel heavy language that only has three consonants:

Oa ki ana aihu noa hoi

And a consonant heavy language could look like this:

Dengr schtrochtnen kufthbar bint ausgrunder dengr brucht

To you these examples might have a resemblance to Arabic, Chinese, Hawaiian, and German respectively. That's because the balance between consonants and vowels, and the rules about how they fit together into words go a long way to give a language character.


Step II: Grammar

Now that you've thought about what the rules for spelling and pronunciation for your language could be, the next step is mapping out how the grammar works. Grammar is simply how words relate to each other. The most important factors of a language's grammar are parts of speech (the function of words), what order those parts should be in, and how words change to agree with others or alter their own meanings. It can be difficult to find a place to start defining a language's grammar, so I'll begin by defining some important grammatical terms.

Glyph: a self contained symbol, the lower case letter i has two glyphs, the line and the dot

Grapheme: the smallest written unit in a language, each letter is a grapheme

Phoneme: the smallest spoken unit, a basic sound like shh, sometimes a phoneme is made with more than one grapheme and vice versa

Morpheme: the smallest part of a language that has a meaning, for instance the word play has one morpheme and the word playground has two

Noun: a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

Article: a word that defines a noun, the is an article that suggests the noun is a specific thing and the article a suggests it's a more general thing

Adjective: a word that describes a noun

Pronoun: a word that takes the place of a noun

Verb: a word that puts nouns into action (action verb), describes their state, or equates them with other words (linking verb)

Adverb: a word that describes a verb

Preposition: a word that describes the relationship between other words

Interjection: a word that does not relate to any other words and can be used to directly illustrate an emotion

Particle: a morpheme that describes or changes the grammatical purpose of a word

Declension: how a noun, adjective, or article changes under different grammatical circumstances

Conjugation: how a verb changes to relate to a noun or to alter its own meaning

The relation and expression of these basic terms are what forms a language's grammar. It's important that you decide what type of grammar you want in your language. Analytical languages have words that seldom change forms, and rely mostly on word order and prepositions to convey meaning. Inflected languages have words that often change depending on what purpose they are serving and what exact meaning they have, and do not rely as much on word order. Synthetic languages throw particles next to words to describe how they fit into the sentence. And agglutinative languages tend to stack many small morphemes together to make larger and more complex words. Your language could be a combination of any of these types, just as every natural language is. English is a good example of an analytical language that has limited inflection, while Latin is heavily inflected, and German is both an analytical, agglutinative, and inflected language.

Even inflected languages tend to have a preferred word order, and analytical languages rely on rules on which parts of speech go where. The three most important parts in word order are the subject, the verb, and the object. Here are some examples of different word orders.

John sees the painting (subject - verb - object order or SVO)
The painting sees John (object - verb - subject or OVS)
Sees John the painting (verb - subject - object or VSO)
John the painting sees (subject - object - verb or SOV)

It's important to figure out what order you are going to use in your language. English generally uses SVO order (and if you aren't thinking too hard about it, your language probably will too). But other languages like Latin use SOV order. Sometimes the order can change depending on the type of sentence. For instance Spanish uses SVO in most sentences, but uses VSO when asking question. Adding other parts of speech to a sentence can also change the default word order.

For many languages, the most complicated and irregular aspects of grammar is declension and conjugation. Even if you don't wish to make an inflected or synthetic language that pays much detail to these things, it still is beneficial to understand some of the possible ways that a language can use declension and conjugation to convey grammatical meaning. For me personally, studying these aspects helped me a great deal in learning foreign languages that utilize them more, like Latin, Spanish, French, and German.

The common parts of speech that are declined are nouns, pronouns, articles, and adjectives. These are all words that have a hand in describing people, places, concepts, and so forth. Words can be declined by changing or adding to different parts of the word. The most basic part of the word is called its "stem" and anything added through declension are called "inflections" or "affixes". The three most common areas a word is declined in, is gender (which can be related to the gender of the object it describes or can be totally random), number (the quantity of the word, in English we have singular and plural versions), and case (how the word fits into the sentence, is it a subject, or an object, or something else?).

To illustrate this and other difficult concepts, I'm going to make up a special exemplary word. The word is bas (pronounced bahhs like how a British person would say bass) and means it or thing as a noun and to be as a verb. I'm going to decline it by adding suffixes in a similar fashion to how ancient Latin and Greek words were declined. Hopefully by comparing how I changed the word to how the meaning changed, you will begin to understand declension.

Declined by gender:

Neuter - basi - it, thing
Masculine - baso - he, man
Feminine - basa - she, woman
Common - basu - person (either male or female)

Declined by number:

Singular - basu - (one) person
Dual - basuwa - (two) people
Plural - basuya - (many) people

Declined by case:

Nominative - basu - person (used as the subject of a sentence)
Genitive - basus - person's, (of the) person
Accusative - basum - person (used as the object of a verb or preposition)
Ablative - basuay - person (used as the object of a preposition)
Dative - basul - (to or for the) person
Ergative - basur - person (used as the subject of an action verb)
Vocative - basun - (O) person (used when addressing a person)

So let's talk about this for a bit, because it can be confusing. The most common cases are nominative, genitive, and accusative. Most English nouns don't have these declensions, but pronouns often do. For instance he is nominative, his is genitive, and him is accusative. When making your language you can choose what types of words you want to decline and how. Sometimes adjectives and articles match the declension of the nouns they modify like in los rojos libros (Spanish for the red books). Not all words have to be declined. The language could be like English and only decline common pronouns, but it could be like Latin and decline nearly every single noun and pronoun and make every adjective match them.

Also don't think that adding letters to a word is the only way to decline it. You could change its meaning by adding letters to the beginning of the root word, putting a particle next to it, or even changing the letters inside the root themselves. Here are some examples on how to make the word bas plural.

Adding to the end: bas --> basa
Adding to the begining: bas --> abas
Swapping the consonants: bas --> sab
Changing the vowel: bas --> bes
Changing a consonant: bas --> bath
Adding a particle marker: bas --> ma bas
Doubling the word: bas --> basbas

You can even combine these things: bas --> betha (changing and adding)

There are an infinite amount of ways that you can decline any given word. Therefore declension, however complicated it can be, is a great way to add some spunk to your language. And remember that you can throw different forms of declension on top of each other. Say if you wanted the plural betha to be masculine and genitive.

Bas - person
Betha - people
Bethora - men
Bethorash - of the men

So the main concept of declension can be summed up here: if you wanted to make up a translation for the phrase of the men, you could simply make up a word for of, the, and men which might look like da la bes or you could use a declension system to make a single word bethorash that means the same exact thing --whatever suits your tastes.

The final aspect of grammar I want to cover is conjugation. This is basically anything that changes in a verb. Even analytical languages that are hardly inflected have some conjugation in them. English has three main changes that a verb can go through; it adds an s at the end to agree present verbs with third person subjects (e.g. he wants, the man talks), it adds the letters ed to the end of past tense verbs, and it adds the letters ing to form the present participle. Additionally some verbs in English also go through sound changes to denote the past tense (e.g. sing --> sang, catch --> caught). All of these changes are considered conjugation.

Inflected languages like German and Spanish have many more changes like this in their verbs. Just like how the phrase of the men can be rendered as only one word in an inflected language, long verbal structures like he was going can be expressed with one inflected word. Just like nouns can be declined in different areas, verbs can be conjugated in different ways. The most common are mood (are you describing something, telling somebody to do something, or giving a condition?), person (who is the subject?), number (is the subject singular or plural?), tense (did the action already happen, is it happening now, or is it going to happen?), and aspect (did the action happen once, did it continue over a period of time, or is it always happening?). Once again I'm going to use my little word bas to illustrate different possible types of conjugation.

Conjugated by mood (and tense in the participles):

Infinitive - basin - to be
Present participle - basing - being
Past participle - basith - been
Indicative - bast - (it) is
Subjunctive - basat - let (it) be
Imperative - bas - be!
Conditional - basinat - (it) would be
Aorist  - basut - (it always) is

Conjugated by person and number:

First person singular - basim - (I) am
Second person singular - basist - (you) are
Third person singular - bast - (it) is
First person plural - basimis - (we) are
Second person plural - basistis - (you all) are
Third person plural - basint - (they) are

Conjugated by tense:

Present - bast - (it) is
Past - bastit - (it) was
Future - basnit - (it) will be

Conjugated by aspect:

Past simple - bastit - (it) was
Past progressive - bastingit - (it) was being
Past perfect - baswit - (it) has been
Past plurfect - baswitit - (it) had been

As you probably can figure, conjugation can be endlessly complex. If you combine all the different forms for mood, person, number, tense, aspect, and even rare forms like gender, you could end up with hundreds if not thousands of different version of just one verb. Of course, you have the choice of how inflected you want the verbs to be in your language, you could make them like English and have only a few different forms and use pronouns and helping verbs to do the heavy work, or you could follow a more ancient and exotic pattern, and create a complex system. And remember, like with declension, you don't have to just throw letters onto the end of a word to conjugate it. You could change it in other ways too, like in this example.

Bas - to be
Ivas - he is
Ives - he was
Sives - they were

I hope you are getting the picture. Basically you could say I will be going in your language analytically with a bunch of words like ech volm schin gend or you could use just one word that is changed according to set rules like ginendim. As always this is your language. So you can craft it either way and mix in any concepts that appeal to you. I'll also mention that you don't have to just have one set of conjugation rules, you could have formal and informal rules, written and spoken language variants. These are all things that will add depth to the language.

In summary, the things you need to think about when mapping out the grammar of your language is word order, how your language goes about defining parts of speech, the declension of nouns, and the conjugation of verbs. Of course even these things will never be set in stone, and you can continue to tweak them as you move forward. But it is important to have a game plan from early on about how your language is grammatically structured. That way you can start building the vocabulary in a manner that fits well into the structure of a sentence.


Step III: Vocabulary

Now that you have constructed the phonology and grammar for your language, the final step to embark on is building a vocabulary. This process on the surface seems the least complicated; all you need to do is make a bunch of words right? Well, you could do it that way, but here's the thing. Some languages have tens if not hundreds of thousands of words; where would one begin? I have had this problem myself in making my own languages. I would either make up words when I needed to use them, or go through the process of translating poems, short stories, and songs. But both of these ways can be unrefined, because when you don't make similar words together, similar words tend to end up looking totally different, which is both confusing and unrealistic. Also if you build a vocabulary by translating texts, you probably won't be making the most common and important words first, and will be creating a bunch of obscure words that can clog up your memory, and make it difficult to memorize or translate your own language.

So what is the solution to this problem? One solution I came up with is to create the most frequently used words first. If the first few hundred words you make are the most common words, you actually will have created about ninety percent of the the language in terms of usage, even though there are still thousands of more obscure words left to make. Another benefit to making the most frequent words first, is that larger and more complicated words in languages usually can be made up of combinations of smaller and simpler words.

To aid you in this process I have assembled a comprehensive vocabulary building guide. Here I have the one thousand most frequently used English words divided into parts of speech categories. There are six main phases and one preliminary phase. Once you find how each of these words will be represented in your language, you will have a dictionary that can be used to translate over ninety percent of the words that appear in common speech and writing, and once you memorize these words, you should be able to speak and write your language fluently and get any idea across. After you have mastered these one thousand words, you then can go on to create specific vocabulary lists for different aspects of life, like words used in the kitchen, or computer terms, or words for various animals and plants.

Preliminary Phase

Before creating all kinds of verbs, nouns, prepositions, and other words, you should pause for a brief time to figure out two important vocabulary systems; these are numbers and basic pronouns. It is impossible to speak for any length of time without using these words, and making them might help you develop the look and sound of your language.

There are two types of numbers, cardinal and ordinal. Cardinals describe how many of something there is (like one, two, and three) and ordinals describe where something appears in a sequence (like first, second, and third). You can either make both versions of each number, or have only one version that works both ways. There are an infinite amount of ways to go about creating a number system, but I'll use the decimal system based on tens to illustrate how it can be done.

First come up with eleven numbers, zero through nine. Here is an example:

Zero - nal
One - man
Two - dava
Three - tar
Four - tas
Five - pan
Six - saka
Seven - sapa
Eight - aka
Nine - nava
Ten - daka

Then make their ordinal versions (usually zero doesn't have an ordinal):

First - manta
Second - davita
Third - tarta
Fourth - tasta
Fifth - panta
Sixth - sakita
Seventh - sapita
Eighth - akita
Ninth - navita
Tenth - dakita

Then you can use these roots to construct all the numbers from zero to ninety-nine. All you need to do is come up with a prefix for the teens and the tens. For instance if eight is aka, then eighteen can be akatika and eighty can be akinta. You can also make special words for large numbers like a hundred, thousand, and million. One way of forming fractions like a half and a third is to combine the cardinals and ordinals together. For instance the word for one-fourth could be mantasta (man + tasta).

The main pronouns consist of words that often take the place of nouns in a language, words like she, it, and them. These pronouns can have different forms for subjects, objects, and possessives, like he, him, and his. Making a list of basic pronouns is a fantastic way to refine your declension system if you have one. Here are some examples of important pronouns.

Subjects in nominative case:

First person singular - ma - I
Second person singular - tha - you
Third person singular neuter - da - it
Third person singular masculine - ha - he
Third person singular feminine - sa - she
First person plural - mai - we
Second person plural - thai - you (all)
Third person plural - dai - they

Objects in accusative case:

First person singular - mam - me
Second person singular - tham - you
Third person singular neuter - dam - it
Third person singular masculine - ham - him
Third person singular feminine - sam - her
First person plural - maim - us
Second person plural - thaim - you (all)
Third person plural - daim - them

Possessives in genitive case:

First person singular - mas - my/mine
Second person singular - thas - your/yours
Third person singular neuter - das - its
Third person singular masculine - has - his
Third person singular feminine - sas - her/hers
First person plural - mais - our/ours
Second person plural - thais - your/yours (you all's)
Third person plural - dais - their/theirs

Your pronoun system doesn't have to be this complicated or, conversely, it could be even more specific. For instance you could have two words for we, one that means you and I and one that means they and I. You could fit all of these words together into a perfect system, with each one relating to the other, or you could make them a bit more irregular like English.

To conclude this guide to making a language, I have listed nearly one thousand vocabulary words in the final six main phases. Each of the phases is divided further into subcategories based on part of speech. Whenever you are not sure what words to add next to your language, just follow this list. After translating the first hundred or so words, you will be able to construct most simple phrases and expressions in your language, and by the times you have translated all thousand words, you will be able to speak and write it near fluently. But don't think this list is boxing you in or forcing you to dredge along a rigid path. It's only a guide to help you, and you can use it however you want.

If you have any questions or comments about this post, I would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page, or send me an email at cterra5@gmail.com. Happy language building!





Phase I
100 of 100

Nouns 1
10 of 10
time
year
people
way
man
day
thing
child
government
part

Verbs 1
10 of 10
be
have
do
say
go
get
make
see
know
take

Adjectives 1
10 of 10
last
other
new
good
old
great
high
small
different
large

Adverbs 1
10 of 10
not
out
up
so
then
more
now
just
also
well

Prepositions 1
10 of 10
of
in
to
for
on
with
at
by
from
as

Pronouns 1
10 of 10
the
a
this
that
many
some
no
any
every
other

Conjunctions 1
10 of 10

and
that
but
or
as
it
than
when
because
so

Modals 1
10 of 10

will
would
can
could
should
may
must
might
shall
used

Relatives 1
10 of 10

what
which
who
where
when
why
how
how many
whatever
whoever

Phrases 1
10 of 10

yes
no
maybe
please
thank you
you're welcome
well
hello
good bye
sorry

Phase II
105 of 205


Nouns 2
15 of 25

life
case
woman
work
system
group
number
world
area
course
company
problem
service
hand
party

Verbs 2
15 of 25

think
come
give
look
use
find
want
tell
put
work
become
mean
leave
seem
need

Adjectives 2
15 of 25

local
social
long
important
young
national
possible
big
right
early
public
only
able
political
particular

Adverbs 2
15 of 25

only
very
how
when
as
even
there
down
back
still
here
too
on
where
over

Prepositions 2
15 of 25

into
about
like
between
after
through
over
under
against
before
without
within
during
towards
off

Pronouns 2
15 of 25

own
more
same
each
another
most
both
every
much
little
several
half
few
either
less

Conjunctions 2
15 of 25

while
where
although
whether
until
though
since
alter
before
nor
unless
once
thus
therefore
however

Phase III
125 of 330


Nouns 3
25 of 50

school
place
point
house
country
week
member
end
word
example
family
fact
state
percent
home
month
side
night
eye
head
information
question
business
power
money

Verbs 3
25 of 50

feel
may
ask
show
try
call
keep
provide
hold
follow
turn
bring
begin
like
write
start
run
set
help
play
move
pay
hear
meet
include

Adjectives 3
25 of 50

full
far
late
available
little
low
bad
main
major
economic
general
real
likely
certain
special
difficult
international
clear
sure
black
white
common
strong
whole
free

Adverbs 3
25 of 50

much
however
again
never
all
most
about
in
why
away
really
off
always
next
rather
quite
right
often
yet
perhaps
already
least
almost
long
together

Prepositions 3
25 of 50

upon
including
among
around
across
behind
up
along
according
since
despite
per
near
above
throughout
outside
beyond
round
beside
excluding
concerning
except
amid
twixt
notwithstanding

Phase IV
200 of 530


Nouns 4
50 of 100

change
interest
order
book
development
room
water
form
car
other
level
policy
council
line
need
effect
use
idea
study
lot
job
result
body
friend
right
authority
view
report
bit
face
market
hour
rate
law
door
court
office
war
reason
minister
subject
person
term
sort
period
society
process
mother
voice
police

Verbs 4
50 of 100

believe
allow
lead
stand
live
happen
carry
talk
sit
appear
continue
let
produce
involve
require
suggest
consider
read
change
offer
lose
add
expect
remember
remain
tall
speak
open
buy
stop
send
decide
win
understand
develop
receive
return
build
spend
describe
agree
increase
learn
reach
lie
walk
die
draw
hope
create

Adjectives 4
50 of 100

similar
necessary
central
true
open
short
single
easy
private
poor
foreign
human
simple
wide
various
due
hard
royal
fine
natural
wrong
final
present
nice
close
current
legal
red
happy
concerned
normal
previous
serious
prime
sorry
left
dead
specific
total
appropriate
military
basic
original
successful
popular
heavy
top
dark
ready
useful

Adverbs 4
50 of 100

later
less
both
once
probably
ever
no
far
actually
today
enough
therefore
around
soon
particularly
early
else
sometimes
thus
further
ago
yesterday
usually
indeed
certainly
home
simply
especially
better
either
clearly
instead
round
to
finally
please
forward
quickly
recently
anyway
suddenly
generality
nearly
obviously
though
hard
okay
exactly
above
maybe

Phase V
200 of 730


Nouns 5
100 of 200

kind
price
action
issue
position
cost
matter
community
figure
type
research
education
few
program
minute
moment
girl
age
center
control
value
health
decision
class
industry
back
force
condition
paper
century
father
section
patient
activity
road
table
church
mind
team
experience
death
act
sense
staff
student
language
department
management
morning
plan
role
practice
bank
support
event
building
range
stage
meeting
town
art
club
arm
history
parent
land
trade
situation
teacher
record
manager
relation
field
window
account
difference
material
air
wife
project
sale
relationship
light
care
rule
story
quality
tax
worker
nature
structure
data
pound
method
unit
bed
union
movement
board

Verbs 5
100 of 200

sell
pass
accept
cause
watch
break
support
stay
wait
cover
form
cut
grow
contain
join
reduce
face
choose
wish
drive
place
seek
fail
serve
end
occur
kill
act
plan
eat
close
represent
love
rise
prepare
manage
discuss
prove
catch
enjoy
suppose
wear
argue
introduce
enter
arrive
pull
refer
thank
present
control
affect
point
relate
force
compare
suffer
announce
obtain
forget
publish
visit
listen
finish
fight
train
maintain
save
design
improve
avoid
wonder
express
exist
share
smile
treat
remove
state
throw
assume
mention
admit
replace
reflect
intend
encourage
miss
drop
fly
reveal
operate
discover
record
refuse
prevent
teach
cost
answer
depend
hit

Phase VI
200 of 930


Nouns 6
200 of 400

detail
model
wall
computer
hospital
chapter
scheme
theory
property
officer
charge
director
approach
chance
application
top
amount
son
operation
opportunity
leader
look
share
production
firm
picture
source
security
contract
agreement
site
labor
test
loss
color
shop
benefit
animal
heart
election
purpose
standard
secretary
date
music
hair
factor
pattern
piece
front
evening
tree
population
plant
pressure
response
street
performance
knowledge
design
page
individual
rest
basis
size
environment
fire
series
success
thought
list
future
space
demand
statement
attention
love
principle
doctor
choice
feature
couple
step
machine
income
training
association
film
region
effort
player
award
organization
news
difficulty
cell
energy
degree
mile
growth
sound
task
provision
behavior
function
resource
defense
garden
floor
technology
style
feeling
science
doubt
horse
answer
user
character
risk
dog
army
station
glass
cup
husband
capital
note
season
argument
show
responsibility
deal
economy
element
duty
attempt
leg
investment
brother
title
hotel
increase
help
summer
daughter
baby
sea
skill
claim
concern
university
discussion
customer
box
conference
whole
profit
division
procedure
king
image
oil
circumstance
proposal
client
sector
direction
instance
sign
measure
attitude
disease
commission
seat
president
addition
goal
affair
technique
respect
item
version
ability
good
campaign
advice
institution
surface
library
advantage
memory
culture
blood
majority
variety
bill
competition
general
access
stone

Friday, April 22, 2011

You know you grew up in the 2000s when...





"Text" is a verb.

American Idol and Survivor are the best TV shows ever!

You say "That's what she said!" everytime someone uses the words "hard" or "ball" in a sentence.

You (or your sister) were obsessed with High School Musical.

It was "epic" when you "pwned" your friend at Halo/COD.

You don't get why they have libraries because all the info you could ever need is on Google.

You ask people, "Pirates or ninjas?".

The Star Wars prequels, Lord of the Rings, and Pirates the of the Carribean films are classics.

You party to the Black Eyed Peas and Bitney Spears.

Real phones don't have wires or antennas.

You wanted a laptop and a digital camera for Christmas.

You just lost the Game. (sorry)

You want to be like Kobe and Lebron.

Tiger Woods and golf are synonomous.

The best trivia show ever was Who Wants To Be A Millionare.

Digital pets are cooler than real ones.

When you think something is funny you say, "LOL".

You were taught that there are 8 planets.

You watch just as much on Youtube as TV.

Videos or music stored on tapes is ancient.

Earphones go inside your ear.

There are 10 types of Coke and Doritos.

The best family films ever were made by Pixar.

Dude's belts are more for show than function.

Comfort clothing is geans and a hoodie with your iPod in a pocket and earbuds in.

You are smarter than a Fifth Grader.

Your parents always talk about how much better the 70s and 80s were.

":-)" makes you smile.

"Like" is the most common word in your vocabulary.

"Sick" is a positive description.

You will only pick up a book if it's about wizards or vampires.

Your coffee has to be iced.

Vault and energy drinks are like water.

The best outdoor sports are paintball and airsoft.

If you couldn't use Facebook your social life would decrease 50 percent.

You have both online and IRL friends.

You always click on links that say "You know you are _____ when..."

Friday, April 15, 2011

Computer Tips and Tricks: The Basics




Being the administer of several popular fan pages and the writer of a couple of blogs, I get a lot of technical questions, which I am happy to answer. So I want to start writing posts that discuss computer tips and tricks that I find myself explaining to people often. I'm going to assume that the majority of people reading this have Windows 7 for an operating system and Internet Explorer 8 or 9 for a web browser, but most of the things I discuss work with similar systems and other browsers like Firefox and Chrome. In my first post I want to discuss the basics of file and internet operations.

Note: I'm going to highlight important terms in bold initially, however after a while, I'll leave them alone as they should by then have found their place in your vocabulary.


File Operations

Computers are like virtual "file cabinets". Inside the cabinets are different "drawers" called drives. Usually there is only one main drive built into the computer called the hard drive, but drives can be anything you plug into the computer like cameras, USB (also called flash or thumb) drives, CDs, DVDs, and external hard drives. Inside these "drawers" can be an infinite amount of folders. Folders can exist side by side and also can be inside each other. Folders are used to contain and organize files. These files can be documents, presentations, spreadsheets, images, videos, songs, and programs.

Files are created and edited with various programs (which can be called applications). Files can be easily moved from folder to folder, but it usually takes a bit longer to move a file to a different drive. The main operations that pertain to files are new, save, save as, close, open, delete, cut, copy, and paste.

When you run a file editing program like Microsoft Office, Notepad, or MS Paint, the important operations are newsavesave asclose, and open. New creates a new fileSave places that file in a folder and/or updates it with any changes made with the programSave as can be used to save changes to a new file without overwriting the original. Close shuts down the program used to view and/or edit the file; any changes made since the last save or save as will be lost, however some programs have an optional auto save feature that automatically saves changes as soon as they are made. This prevents the loss of changes if the program crashes or is accidentally closed. Finally, open is used to view/edit a previously created file with a program.

When navigating through folders with a folder viewing program like Windows Explorer, the main operations are opendeletecutcopy, and paste. You will see these and other options when you click a file or folder icon with the right mouse/touchpad button. Open brings the file up in a viewing/editing program, if you want to specify which program to open the file with, click the open with option. Delete removes the file from its folder and places it in a virtual "trash bin" that can be emptied to permanently remove the file from the computer. When files that aren't on the main drive are deleted they usually don't go into the "trash bin" and are permanently removed. Cut moves the file to the clipboard, a virtual temporary holding place that usually can only contain one file or inseparable group of files at a time. From there the file can be placed into another folder with the paste operation. Copy places a replica of the file on the clipboard without removing it from its original folder. This is the easiest way to duplicate a file. Two other options in the "right click" menu are rename and properties. These can be used to change the name of a file and view information about it, like its size or when it was created.

There are three main ways to manipulate files on a screen. They are using the touchpad/mouse, the touchpad/mouse buttons, and the keys. Here I'll go over what can be done with these controls.

Move pointer: The simplest control operation is to move the pointer around the screen with the touchpad/mouse. When the pointer "hovers" over an object on screen it can change form. Generally it looks like an arrow. When it hovers over the edge of something that it can change the size of it looks like a 2-way or 4-way arrow. If the pointer looks like a hand, it means that you can click the object and something will happen, and when it looks like a thin capitol "I" it indicates that you can type into that area.

Left click: The most important button on the computer is the left large button on the mouse or right under the touchpad. Sometimes tapping the touchpad achieves the same effect. The button is the one used to "click", "left click", and "select" objects on screen. This is how you navigate menus and other on screen controls. Sometimes objects require a "double click" of the left mouse/touchpad button.

Right click: Another important button is the left mouse/touchpad button. This is used to bring up an options menu for objects. For instance, when you "right click" a file, a little menu pops up where you can use the "left click" to copy, delete, or rename it. Usually you can paste an object into a folder or document by "left clicking" an empty area where you want to put it and selecting the paste option.

Dragging: You can "drag" over a group of files or text by "left clicking" the beginning of the section you want to highlight and holding the left touchpad/mouse button down while you move the pointer to the end of the section. After you release the button, something will indicate that the area has been selected. Then you can "right click" the selected area to bring up an options menu. Another from of "dragging" is "drag and drop". Here you "drag" over an area and then "pick it up" by "left clicking" the selected area and moving the pointer while holding the left touchpad/mouse button down. This way you can move the selected objects or text to another part of the screen. When you drag and drop files from one folder to another, it usually copies the file.

Keys: There are various operations that can be performed by pushing one or a combination of keys on the keyboard. Here are some examples:

F5 - View a presentation in full screen
F11 - View a website page in full screen
PRTSC - Copy an image of the screen to the clipboard
DEL - Delete the selected object(s)
HOME - Go to the top of a page
END - Go to the bottom of a page

ALT + F4 - Close program / Turns off computer if no program is open
CTRL + ALT + DEL - Opens a task manager where you can view all programs running
CTRL + S - Save changes in editing program
CTRL + Z - Undo change in editing program
CTRL + X - Cut selected object(s)
CTRL + C - Copy selected object(s)
CTRL + V - Paste object(s) in clipboard


Internet Operations

The internet is a web of cable, satellite, and wireless connections between computers. Through it all the "file cabinets" in the world can share files and information. Here are some basic internet terms:

Client: That's you! A client is an individual computer or device that accesses the internet.

Server: That's them. Servers are computers that are connected to the internet 24/7 and hold files that are accessible by clients. Servers can also facilitate communication between clients.

ISP (Internet Service Provider): Your ISP is the company that you pay to access the internet.

IP (Internet Protocol) address:  This is like your computer's phone number. Every device that accesses the internet has its own unique IP address.

Web Browser: This is the program that you use to view and interact with the internet. Examples are Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Chrome.

Webpage: A webpage is what you see on screen when your go on the internet. They are stored on servers.

Website (often abbreviated "site"): A website is a group of connected webpages. A website is like a book, and a webpage is like a book page.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The URL is the address of a webpage. Each webpage has its own unique URL. For example this page's URL is "http://thegleemo.blogspot.com/XXXX".

Address Bar: This is the section of the web browser that contains the URL of the webpage you are viewing.

Domain: The domain is the section of the URL that comes between the "www" and the next slash. "Google.com" is a domain. Usually all the webpages in a website have the same domain.

Hyperlink: This is a segment of text or an image that "links" to another webpage. When you hover over a hyperlink, usually the pointer turns into a hand. Then you can "left click" the link to view the webpage it links to. Most sites will let you create your own hyperlink by pasting the URL of a webpage into a text box.

Text Box: This is an area that you can type text into.

Window: A window is a separately running program. You can view multiple webpages at once by opening multiple windows. Sometimes you can open up a new window by pressing "CTRL + N" on the keyboard.

Tab: You can toggle back and forth between different webpages in a single browser window by having multiple tabs. An easy way to make a new tab is to press "CTRL + T" on the keyboard. You can also close a tab by pressing "CTRL + W".

Bookmarks: Web browsers contain easily accessible lists of your favorite webpages called bookmarks or favorites.

History: This is a list of all the webpages you have visited.

Cookies: These are small text files that your web browser saves on your computer. They remember settings you have on various sites.

Upload: The term for transferring a file from your computer to a server.

Download: The term for transferring a file from a server to your computer.

Stream: The term for watching and downloading a video at the same time.


Hopefully you have understood everything I've said and have learned at least a few things. If you knew all these things already, than you can consider yourself a computer wiz ;-) But don't worry, this is just my first post on the subject, and I wanted to cover all the terminology that I will use in further computer tips posts. If you have any questions about this post, or want to suggest that I discuss something in a future post, please leave a comment below.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Clone Wars Season 3 Review




Prologue

After the conclusion of the widely appreciated Boba Fett arc of Season 2, fans of the Clone Wars series greatly looked forward to the next season. The creators of the show promised deeper writing, improved animation, and mind-blowing stories. The initial trailers showed a stunning battle on Kamino and the intriguing ability of Ahsoka to see the future in her dreams. After it was revealed that Darth Maul's brother, Savage Opress, would enter the series and that the Nightsisters clan would be introduced, anticipation reached a fever pitch. By most accounts, the third season started off with a bang with the marvelously animated Kamino episodes, but the ship started to leak with the following political episodes. From time to time, fan favorite villains like Cad Bane provided highlights, but for the most part, the first half of the season left fans disappointed. The creators of the series urged the fans that the plots of these episodes did have a purpose that would be illustrated in the future, but we have yet to see how they tie into the frontline stories.

But just when excitement surrounding the series was at an all time low, the second half rocketed the experience into light-speed with the amazing Nightsisters arc. The latter half continued to delight fans with an outstanding trilogy of trilogies that drew their energy from the Star Wars films themselves and reached new heights in the visual achievement of the series. Finally the season concluded with an arc that showed off the animation capabilities of the show, and introduced more characters from the films into the series. Ultimately Season 3 was a story of two halves, one that left fans scratching their heads and one that left them picking their jaws up off the floor. Inside these vastly different parts, I see 7 distinct story-lines; I will give my opinion on each of them and speculate where they are going.


Series I: The Clone Wars

Episodes: Clone Cadets, ARC Troopers, Supply Lines

Summary: Clone troopers are led by the Jedi, fight against the Separatists, and ultimately are being manipulated by the Dark Lord of the Sith. Yet they remain central to the story of the Clone Wars. They are the souls on the frontlines at the center of the war named after them. One of the earliest episodes of the series told a story from the perspective of the clones. Rookies was loved by fans and remains one of the most beloved episodes to this day. The creators brilliantly decided to bookend this hallmark episode, with stories that told the origin and further adventures of its characters, while adding a few new ones along the way. The stories about the war continued with Supply Lines, an episode that set up another fan favorite, Ambush.

Assessment: The animation in these episodes was a notch above that of the previous season. The depiction of the watery planet of Kamino was an outstanding achievement in the series. The battle that ensued was on an epic scale that rivaled Season 2's Landing At Point Rain. The battle on Ryloth also included a good deal of action. The story of Domino Squad was very compelling, as we saw a dysfunctional group of clone cadets mature into decorated soldiers. Coupled with Rookies, the Kamino episodes create a strong trilogy that takes us into the world of the Clone Army, like never before seen on screen. Aside from the infantry, we also saw some well done scenes involving Jedi and Sith in these episodes. The duals between Anakin and a fantastically animated Ventress, and Obi-Wan and Grievous were very entertaining. The last stand of Master Di and the heroic deeds of Clone 99 were memorable and compelling parts of these stories. Perhaps the action in the clone training simulation could have been intensified, and less of Jar Jar's negotiations on Toydaria could have been shown in favor of an extended battle on Ryloth. But overall these episodes were pretty solid.

Looking Forward: For a series titled "The Clone Wars", there wasn't really a proliferation of either clones or wars this past season, with the initial episodes providing some of the strongest character exposition and action sequences in these areas. I am greatly looking forward to more battles like we had in these episodes in Season 4. For Domino Squad, ARC Trooper Fives remains the only living member. I'm sure we will continue to see stories about him, as he fights beside the central character of Captain Rex. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of clone-focussed stories. The marine battle shown in the Season 4 trailers teases us with more clone action.


Series II: Political Currents

Episodes: Sphere of Influence, Corruption, The Academy, Heroes on Both Sides, Pursuit of Peace

Summary: After a strong start on the frontlines, Season 3 started to slow down a bit and delve into the complicated world of galactic politics. We started off by following the Pantoran Baron Papanoida on his quest to find his kidnapped daughters. Then we came back to Mandalore, to find corruption permeating and crippling the planet's young government, as even its Prime Minister bowed down to a lust for wealth power. Finally the series took a look at Palpatine's grand scheme, with Padme Amidala desperately trying to quell the machines and fears of war to no avail. The one bright spot in these episodes seemed to be Ahsoka's growing understanding of politics.

Assessment: To most fans, this series of episodes was the weakest in all 3 seasons of the show. Sphere of Influence was bearable, with the strong character of Papanoida carrying the episode. But to date the story remains irrelevant, and the introduction of Greedo to the series was relatively unheralded. However controversial, the immanent Deathwatch takeover of a pacifist Mandalore was anticipated by many excited fans. But when Season 3 rolled along we only saw irrelevant episodes detailing the erosion of the government. To make matters worse, Deathwatch wasn't even involved in this erosion. Instead we had nameless villains whose greatest offense was accidentally poisoning school children. We got to see some heroism on Padme's part and a bit of character exposition of Duchess Satine. But these episodes were blatantly unnecessary with the most exciting sequences surrounding Ahsoka's martial arts abilities. Of the following 2 episodes about galactic politics, I felt Heroes on Both Sides was the more relevant one, and in my opinion the best of the political episodes. Ahsoka's realization that she wasn't just fighting mindless automatons and twisted warlords was an important one. However these episodes focussed on Padme too much. We have seen her beat her head against the wall of corruption and manipulation one too many times, and there isn't really anywhere interesting for her character to go. More emphasis should have been placed on Palpatine, as only one short scene hinted at his plot.

Looking Forward: Even though some of these episodes were sometimes boring and pointless, the general story-lines that they follow have a great amount of potential. Now that we have seen the erosion of the political systems on Mandalore and in the Republic, the stage is set for the takeovers by Deathwatch and Palpatine respectively. In coming seasons, I look forward to seeing the return of the Mando splinter group and an epic battle for control of Mandalore, as well as further exposition surrounding Palpatine and his machinations. Additionally, an interesting seed has been planted in young Ahsoka's mind. Will she realize that she may not be fighting on the right side before it is too late?


Series III: The Underworld

Episodes: Assassin, Evil Plans, Hunt for Ziro

Summary: In these episodes we saw the return of the nefarious third-party character that give Star Wars so much depth, the scum and villainy of assassins, bounty hunters, and crime lords. The story here builds off of the lauded introduction of the Underworld in Season 1's Hostage Crisis. The first two episodes detail how Aurra Sing and Cad Bane went about enacting Ziro the Hutt's revenge on Padme Amidala and acquiring the information to free Ziro from prison. When Sing attempted to terminate the senator on a diplomatic trip to Alderaan, Ahsoka hones her new abilities to see the future through Force visions. Then we watch Bane capture C-3PO and R2-D2 in an effort to gain information that will help free Ziro. The arc concluded in the third episode, that followed Ziro after he escaped and Quinlan Vos and Obi-Wan's quest to track him down. But eventually Ziro's past caught up with him as he was murdered by former lover Sy Snootles, leaving the Jedi and Cad Bane to engage in an epic showdown that was one of the highlights of this arc.

Assessment: Aurra Sing seemed to lack a certain edge in her episode, leaving fans with mixed opinions. But the revelation that Ahsoka can have Force visions was very interesting. Alderaan was beautifully animated, as this episode serves as an early look into Princess Leia's eventual homeland. The second episode Evil Plans left a lot to be desired, and in my opinion was one of the worst episodes in the entire TV series. It neither included high action nor an interesting plot, and was a complete waste of the popular villain, Cad Bane. Thankfully the final episode of this arc was a bit more fun to watch. Quinlan Vos was a fresh addition to the series, a perfect character to play off of Obi-Wan's by the book methods. However cheesy, the romance between Ziro and Sy was dramatic against the backdrop of the swamps of Nal Hutta and jungles of Teth. Finally at the end of this episode, we saw a much needed action sequence between the Jedi and Bane. This was well choreographed and gave the story a climactic end that the previous one lacked.

Looking Forward: This arc did little to advance the characters in the Underworld, with Boba Fett and many others on the sidelines. But I still hope there will be more stories told about Bane and Sing. I can live without seeing the Hutts again though. Hopefully further exposition on this subject will be more action packed and relevant to the war and its politics, like the arcs in Season 2. The evolution of the young Boba Fett into the most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy is certainly the most compelling story-line in the Underworld, and I look forward to seeing how Cad Bane and Aurra Sing will factor into it.


Series IV: The Dark Side

Episodes: Nightsisters, Monster, Witches of the Mist

Summary: I'm sure a lot of people would agree that Season 3 didn't really start until the Nightsisters episodes aired. Here we were brought a story like none before it, one that focussed on the Dark Side of the Force. It began with a space battle between the Republic and the Separatists. After their ships crashed in a hanger, a lightsaber dual ensued between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ventress. The Sith warrior was outmatched, forcing her to call Count Dooku for help. But Dooku saw this as an opportunity to kill his apprentice at the wary request of his own master Darth Sidious. Left alone after escaping an exploding warship, Ventress finds her way back to her birthplace, the witch infested planet of Dathomir. There the Nightsisters begin their plot to avenge Dooku's betrayal of Ventress. Initially a trio of assassins including Ventress, storm Dooku's palatial home in an attempt to kill him, but they are no match for the Dark Force user. After retreating they come up with a new plan, offer Dooku a male warrior to replace Ventress that they control through Dark Magic.

After a brutal selection process, none other than Darth Maul's brother, Savage Opress, is chosen. After enhancing and enchanting the Zabrak warrior, the Nightsisters turn him over to Dooku for training. However their plans are accelerated when Anakin and Obi-Wan catch the scent of this new force, and become a threat to his life. Thus Ventress boards Dooku's ship after Savage completes a mission and forces the immature Sith to help her fight Dooku prematurely. After withstanding a beating from Dooku's Force lightning, Savage realizes that he is nor more than a pawn and turns against both Ventress and Dooku, with Ventress too taxed by fighting Dooku to calmly control Savage. Ultimately the outmatched Ventress and Savage retreat with Anakin and Obi-Wan on Savage's tail. Ventress escapes into unknown space, and Savage finds his way back to the Nightsisters, where he is told that his brother Darth Maul is still alive. The story ends with Savage embarking on a quest to seek Maul out for further training.

Assessment: These episodes blew the previous Season 3 episodes out of the water. Their plot is fresh and compelling, and the animation is groundbreaking. However brief, the space battle towards the beginning is fantastically animated, and the duel that occurs in the hanger is excellently choreographed. The environment of Dathomir was depicted with breathtaking detail as its inhabiting Nightsisters proved to be interesting characters. The attempt on Dooku's life was a climactic end to the first episode. The dark nature of the following episode was novel, as the show reached a new level of violence and palpable action. Savage Opress was proven to be a dangerous warrior as he slaughtered clones and Jedi alike on Devaron. Dooku's Sith training was intriguing to watch, as it proved to be a warped version of Yoda's training of Luke. This makes sense considering that Yoda was Dooku's master at one time. The final duel that involved Anakin, Obi-Wan, Dooku, Savage, and Ventress was probably the greatest the show has seen. And the revelation of Maul's fate was one of the most shocking moments of this past season. Throughout these episodes the music fit well with what was going on in various scenes. There was a much welcome abundance of new character models, like the Zabraks, Obi-Wan's Episode III look, a couple new outfits for Ventress, the debut of Saesee Tiin and a couple new Jedi, and even the brief appearance of Delta Squad. The combination of an innovative plot and well executed visuals, voice acting, and music, make this arc one of the best of the TV series thus far.

Looking Forward: The future of this story-line is extremely exciting to think about, as we now have the groundwork for many compelling stories about Dooku, Force Witches, Ventress, Savage, and even Darth Maul. Throw in the possible role that the under-used Darth Sidious could play into this plot, and you have a recipe for brilliance. It is implied that Savage will find and be trained by his brother. More powerful than ever, Savage could team up with multiple Sith parties and help eliminate their opposition. I'm sure that we have only seen the beginning of the role and activity that the Dark Side has in the Clone Wars.


Series V: The Force

Episodes: Overlords, Altar of Mortis, Ghosts of Mortis

Summary: Before the dust could settle after the epic Nighsisters arc, the Mortis trilogy plunged the series even deeper into the mysteries of the Force. An ancient distress signal draws the 3 main protagonists of the series, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka, to an intersection in space that causes their consciousnesses to be transported to a strange world that appears to be an amplification and allegory of the nature of the Force itself. In the first episode, the 3 Jedi experience visions that cause them to consider what their place is in the universe. Obi-Wan discusses his former Padawan Anakin with the curious yet wary ghost of Qui-Gon. Ahsoka receives a warning from her future self. And Anakin sees his deceased mother, Shmi, who calls attention to his issues with attachment. The episode concludes with Anakin passing a test that allegedly proves he is the Chosen One from an ancient prophecy. A being called the Father whose apparent purpose is to balance his quarreling and opposite-natured children, asks Anakin to stay in Mortis to replace him, but Anakin refuses.

While trying to leave the planet, the Dark Side inclined Son kidnaps Ahsoka and takes control of her, forcing her to fight Anakin to the death. Meanwhile the Light Side inclined Daughter helps Obi-Wan obtain a dagger that has the ability to kill the Son. But the enchanted Ahsoka is able to take the dagger from Obi-Wan and turn it over to the Son, who attempts to kill the Father with it. But at the last moment, the Daughter hurls herself in front of her doomed father and sacrifices her life for his. With her last breath, the incarnation of the Light Side frees Ahsoka from the Son's control. The Jedi try to flee Mortis once more, but Anakin discovers that he must kill the Son, or there will be serious consequences. But when confronting the Son, Anakin is shown events from his future, and in an attempt to thwart them, joins the Son. However the Father is able to erase Anakin's memory of the future, and then the Father and the Jedi proceed to kill the Son, bringing balance to the Force.

Assessment: These episodes are extremely controversial, and can be interpreted in various ways. Many find a literal interpretation to be unbelievable. But I feel like there is enough evidence to support that the events of these episodes were nothing but a collective Force vision experienced by the 3 Jedi. Therefore I think these episodes are an allegory of the Star Wars saga itself, mainly focusing around the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin. Through its ethereal nature, this plot allowed the creators of the series to paint a rich and compelling story, independent of continuity restraints. The planet of Mortis was beautifully animated. The dialog was deftly written. The fight scenes were mind-blowing. And the characters were very interesting. Additionally, the music of the series reached new heights of excellence, as John Williams motifs were craftily altered and echoed throughout the trilogy. This story answered questions in a very Star Wars-like fashion by providing answers at the expense of asking even deeper questions. But after this episode we know for certain that Anakin is the Chosen One, and more importantly that both his former master and Padawan understand this.

Looking Forward: The future of this story-line is expressed in various questions. Now that Anakin knows for certain who he is, how will that affect his training of Ahsoka, his view on the war, and ultimately his fall to the Dark Side? Will Obi-Wan report this knowledge back to the council, and will that start to sow the seeds of distrust that we see by Episode III? How will this experience affect Ahsoka? She now has been warned about Anakin's philosophy and has seen how it can negatively affect him. Will she realize that he is going down a dark path and reject the temptation of the Dark Side, or will she continue to emulate her master and slip deeper and deeper into the shadows? This story-line will most likely not continue directly, with the beings of Mortis now dead, but there is an opportunity for it to have a profound effect on the future of the series.


Series VI: Star Wars

Episodes: The Citadel, Counterattack, Citadel Rescue

Summary: After 2 plot heavy trilogies, the series turned back to some classic Star Wars adventure. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, and a stowed-away Ahsoka embark on a dangerous mission to free Jedi Master Even Piell from the clutches of the twisted and cunning Osi Sobeck and his notoriously impenetrable prison, the Citadel. Along the way they pick up Captain Tarken who shares half of the information with Piell that the Seperatists are after. The team spends a good deal of time trying to escape the Citadel, with Sobeck thwarting their every move. Meanwhile Anakin and Tarkin begin to discuss their philosophies on the war with each other, and agree that the Jedi Code can sometimes inhibit the Jedi's ability to command the clones. Ultimately many team members are killed in the great escape, including Domino Squad's Echo, and Master Piell himself. After several intense skirmishes with Sobeck's minions, the remaining rescuers are forced to call in a fleet to get themselves off the planet. Among those who come to aid them is Saesee Tiin who takes part in a large space battle above the surface. Finally the heroes are rescued and brought to Coruscant where they prepare to reveal the important information to the Republic that Piell had died to protect. However Ahsoka, who had taken the information from him, would only reveal it to the council, and Tarkin would only agree to give his part to Palpatine.

Assessment: The Citadel Trilogy continued the season's upward trajectory of improving animation and excitement. The character expression was phenomenal, and there were many emotionally compelling moments. Even though I didn't find Sobeck to be the best villain the series has seen, I was very pleased with the portrayal of the classic Star Wars character, Tarkin. His relationship with Anakin added another dimension to pretty simple plot. At times the music in these episodes was filler and at other times it rose to the occasion. But there certainly was no problem with the choreography of action, as the final battles in space and on the ground were amazing. One of the most controversial issues in the series stemmed from this arc however, as according to the Expanded Universe, Even Piell was supposed to live through Episode III. But I only see that as a minor inconsistency in a sea of inspired story-telling.

Looking Forward: This story arc laid the groundwork for a very compelling side story in the TV series, the relationship between Anakin, Tarkin, and Palpatine. We know that around this time, Tarkin begins helping Palpatine build the Death Star, and the Citadel's resemblance to the lethal space station probably is no coincidence. I would love to see these character's relationships continue to develop and watch the early formation of the Imperial might in Episode IV. These episodes seemed almost like a prequel to A New Hope in that way, but most of all, they were compelling because they included many classic Star Wars elements, and I look forward to seeing more of the same.


Series VII: A Padawan's Tale

Episodes: Padawan Lost, Wookiee Hunt

Summary: Season 3 concluded with a Finale duology centering on Ahsoka. During a battle on Felucia, the Padawan is captured by Trandoshan game hunters and released onto the distant moon of Wasskah to be hunted down for sport. Soon she bands up with a clan of lost Jedi Padawan's with the same fate, and with the help of  the beloved Chewbacca and his fellow Wookiees, they defeat their treacherous captors and escape the forlorn moon. Experiencing the loss of a fellow Padawan, Ahsoka is thrust into a leadership position, and provides the moral strength that allows the captives to become victorious. Meanwhile Anakin struggles to let go of his attachment to his Padawan, as he paces the halls of the Jedi Temple, powerless to find and save her.

Assessment: Fans were initially uncertain if these episodes could outdo the epic trilogy of trilogies that came before them, but once again, the creators of the series delivered a visual and emotional masterpiece. The most stunning aspect of these episodes was without question the animation. The environment of Wasskah was densely depicted with outstanding detail. The expression of the characters was believable, as we felt their pain, frustration, sorrow, exertion, and triumph. The Trandoshans proved to be some of the most menacing villains the show has seen, with both their looks and sounds portraying their fierce reptilian nature. The addition of Chewbacca and the Wookiees to the series was another fantastic and well received feat. The season certainly ended on a high note with a demonstration of how animation, sound, and music can come together to create an enthralling experience.

Looking Forward: The Finale did set up a possible explanation of why Yoda has good relations with the Wookiees. But ultimately it was all about Ahsoka. She is nearly a full knight now, proving that she can overcome dire circumstances without the help of her master and even lead others. It will be very interesting to see how her character develops. Plo-Koon seems to be an active mentor to her; will his wisdom be able to counter Anakin's recklessness? As much as this arc sets a story standard for the series, it also sets an animation standard. And one of the greatest things I take from these episodes is the anticipation of how amazing the animation will be in Season 4.


Epilogue

Overall Season 3 was a season that continued to push the boundaries of television animation. Even though the first half had some dull moments, I feel like the final 11 episodes saved the season and caused it to surpass the  previous 2 in my mind. From the trailers we gather that the series will return to the frontlines in Season 4, with clips of epic battles on the marine planet Dac and Naboo being released, as well as a large-scale space battle. We have seen images of a young Admiral Ackbar and a 4-armed, double-bladed-saber-wielding Jedi of Dexter Jettster's species. Another exciting thing to expect in the next season is the introduction of the Phase II clone armor from Episode III. Personally, I am also excited to see the return of one of my favorite Jedi, Kit Fisto, and more action from the recently quiet General Grievous. There also appears to be a story in Season 4 involving Count Dooku, Anakin, and Padme. That leaves us all wondering if Dooku will find out about their secret.

In the coming seasons I hope to see an epic battle on Mandalore, the rise of Boba Fett, the fate of Ahsoka and Rex, a Zillo beast army, the return of Darth Maul, the revenge of Savage Opress, and more character exposition of Darth Sidious, the man behind the Clone War. I was thoroughly satisfied with Season 3, and greatly enjoyed writing reviews for the episodes. I can't wait to sink me teeth into Season 4, and look forward to speculating about it all summer long. The Clone Wars is keeping Star Wars mainstream, and I am loving every second of it. I hope you are too.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Clone Wars Resources: Wookiee Hunt

Season III episodes: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22



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Episode Information...
Premiered April 1st, 2011

"A great student is what the teacher hopes to be."

As Ahsoka and her youngling allies struggle to evade the Trandoshan hunters, their efforts receive an unexpected boost when a new captive, Chewbacca the Wookiee, arrives. Chewie scrounges parts from a wrecked Trandoshan slave ship, assembling a communicator to send out a distress signal. Help arrives in the towering, shaggy form of Wookiee warriors led by General Tarfful. Freed from captivity, Ahsoka returns to the Jedi Temple and is reunited with Anakin Skywalker.

Written by Bonnie Mark
Directed by Dave Filoni

Characters...
Tom Kane as narrator / Yoda
Chewbacca as Himself with special thanks to Peter Mayhew

Locals and Species...

Behind the Scenes Info (courtesy Starwars.com)...

Rather than a beach, the original script described new prey being dropped off within a canyon.


The Trandoshan slave ship pilot carries a shotgun, a rare example of a projectile weapon in Star Wars seen in the Republic Commando video game.


When Chewbacca says his home world is very close, he's not kidding. According to the Expanded Universe, Kashyyyk and Trandosha are in the same star system.

The critter that attempts to pounce on the birds (convorees) outside of the youngling camp is a momong, a Trandoshan monkey.


The side of the Halo has a painting of a rather demented looking Tooka doll holding a knife with aurebesh text that reads: "Nice Playing With Ya"


Many of the background Trandoshan characters have interesting sources for their (usually) unspoken names: Gilas is named after the Godzilla Monster, Angilas. Ratter is named after a rattlesnake. Some are named after famous fictional reptiles: Goron is named after the Gorn from Star Trek, Lagon after The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Smug after Smaug, the dragon from The Hobbit. Ramy is named after Mary Franklin, known to Star Wars fans as the editor of Bantha Tracks and a huge fan of Trandoshans.


Among the trophies in the Trandoshan hunting lodge are wampa and Wookiee pelts; stuffed and mounted heads of an Ithorian, a Gungan, a Gran, a Skrilling, a reek, a rancor, a dragonsnake; an ancient Mandalorian Neo-Crusader helmet; teeth that may or may not belong to a Zillo beast, a fully mounted gundark and narglatch; and a suspiciously familiar-looking crystal skull.





Watch the Episode Online...

Notice: Lucasfilm deserves to receive compensation for their hard work. So please only use these sites if you are financially supporting the creators of the Clone Wars by paying for iTunes or PSN versions, buying Blu-Rays or DVDs of episodes, or watching episodes through Cartoon Network and other licensed distributors.

Official Episode Guide...

Official Commentary...


Reviews...

Articles...
Starwars.com collection of the sounds of Wookiees and Trandoshans from the episode

Starwars.com article with instructions on how to make a Chewbacca sock puppet

Entertainment Weekly interview with supervising director Dave Filoni about the episode

Shea's guide for the episode


Images...
Here you can view and download all of the official starwars.com screengrabs and concept art images.

This links to a site where you can download a zipped folder that contains over 60 official images from starwars.com including screengrabs, concept art, and clone cards. !!!!!!!

This site includes hundreds of screengrabs from the version of the episode that aired on Cartoon Network.



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If you have any suggestions on how to make this guide better, feel free to comment. I'm always looking for more resources to add to this.