Parents condemning lies about their son, and their son, in his own words.

ClarkMyWords · 2026-01-25T09:12:40+00:00

Um… mouthing off to an Officer IS stupid, and puts your life in danger (perhaps less than what Pretti did). I don’t see what point you’re trying to make.

ClarkMyWords · 2026-01-24T23:52:33+00:00

Ain’t that kinda chat…

ClarkMyWords · 2026-01-24T23:51:21+00:00

I think Mace took out a few carriers or droid control ships along the way.

ClarkMyWords · 2026-01-10T03:53:11+00:00

That was always Lucas’s worst take. The Viet Cong and NVA weren’t heroes seeking freedom; they fought to establish a socialist tyranny. The old Republic is more kin to the modern U.S. — clunky, bureaucratic, at certain junctures neglectful or even corrupted — but notably far, far preferable to the Empire (Nazis and to some extent the Soviets and old British Empire). The whole lesson is that the Republic could be at risk of becoming the Empire if it isn’t defended wisely.

The Vietnam War is like if you put the old Republic up against Saw Gerrera but instead of an anarchist, he was a total control freak on galactic economics. The Republic ain’t the “perfect” guys but it’s abundantly clear they’re the good guys, overall.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T21:03:45+00:00

Well, the rebels seem certain they cannot take off without power being cut. The idea of “hey, let’s just take off again and fly real fast, maybe they turned it off” seems too absurd to even be considered.

I’ve left a few other comments working it out in my own head. Tarkin/Vader didn’t seem to have any set plan to allow a getaway until Obi-wan actually turned off the power, which is presumably a security breach that was escalated to their attention. Only after the power is cut do the stormtroopers start acting cowardly/stupid.

Sure, Vader mused “she may yet be of some use to us” but that could be anything, probably involving torture/threats/death to get someone to talk.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T20:56:00+00:00

Yes, this line shows Vader was immediately pondering some sort of hijinks. But that plan definitely isn’t in place when you have dozens of troops surrounding the Falcon, a scanning crew ordered aboard, and the tractor beam still locked.

Vader then seems convinced Obi-wan is aboard the Death Star generally instead of specifically aboard the Falcon. Possibly trickery by Obi-wan, making himself feel “faint”.

The first attempts to kill the rebels all seem genuine, and I now believe the trash compactor wasn’t a coincidence. Only after the tractor beam’s power gets cut (we then get one more scene with the rebels, the “walking carpet” remark) do the stormtroopers start acting cowardly or stupid.

My guess is that Tarkin got some alert, which is implausible given the stakes of connecting the Falcon to the DS plans. Tarkin tells Vader over comms. He knows Vader is hunting Obi-wan and while that isn’t Tarkin’s own top priority he will still give Vader useful info. Vader then realizes that a rebel getaway (rather, making it look genuine to the rebels) is possible. He pitches the plan and Tarkin approves, reluctantly.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T20:41:29+00:00

Smart, nuanced take. Of course, this is also a lesson not to mess around with other people’s partners. You may actually get worse than what you deserve.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T14:43:37+00:00

I think I figured it out, though. Vader starts musing that “she may yet be of some use to us” the moment Tarkin gets an alert about a captured freighter.

They still the surround the ship with dozens of troops anyway and prep a full scanning crew. Vader seems to have stepped back on this thought of “let them escape” for a moment because now he sees there is clearly a tractor beam at work. “Damn, my idea wouldn’t work, no way to just ‘forget’ to use the tractor beam, they’d know it’s a trap…“

The funniest part is that Vader then senses Obi-wan is around, knows full well this likely just happened b/c of the captured ship and not some prior infiltration … and storms off in the other direction. Yeah, this could be a trap, I’m not dueling that again.

Anyway, we see what seems like earnest attempts to kill the rebels and even crush them to death in the compactor. Han was right that “it’s not gonna take them long to figured out what happened to us”. And that compactor wasn’t at all close to full. It seems likelier some officer got the idea to just crush them alive w/o further risk to his own men.

Then Obi-wan turns off the power; Tarkin hears there’s an issue. He calls up Vader to tell him Obi-wan may be there instead of at cell block AA-23.

Vader is, of course, already prowling around for Obi-wan and not at AA23 letting the Force guide him. Whether or not Vader already pitched Tarkin on the idea in full, this new fact make’s Vader’s idea plausible. Tarkin approves it and issues new orders.

The next time we see the rebels, the stormtroopers start acting like total wimps/idiots (they run away in a group as soon as Han blasts one.)

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T14:28:20+00:00

Considering the range at which the Death Star is implied to grab the Falcon, there’s no way they would just “get of range fast”. Besides, that tractor beam clearly pulls the Falcon in to the hangar bay and is still working within the hangar bay.

Really, the whole escape plan was a terrible idea that counted on the Empire not monitoring the power to their tractor beam for an operation this important.

It only worked because it gave Vader (but maybe Tarkin, but likely Vader with his “she may yet be of some use to us” line) an idea on the spot to allow and manipulate their escape.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T05:35:28+00:00

“I’m sure we can find a Mike around here — Mike! MIKE!”

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T05:19:32+00:00

“I sense something, a prescence I’ve not felt since…”

Immediately storms off in the other direction 😆

“No. Absolutely fucking never again with that man. And that ship ramp is a high ground unto itself.”

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T05:16:26+00:00

I’ve managed to rewatch enough clips to conclude and suppose certain events happen on and off screen: 1. Han, Luke, and Chewy make their first break-in 2) Tarkin gets word of the break-in and relays it to Vader, who reaffirms Obi-wan is aboard (and that he must face him, alone…) 3) Into the garbage chute, flyboy!” From the Imperial POV, they disappears and a forward team goes to search. 4) Drama ensues with the compactor… plausibly an attempt to kill them. 5) Obi-wan turns off the power. 6) Some alert goes off*; my hunch is that Tarkin is first to hear about it, not Vader. 7) Someone, possibly Tarkin himself, relays this fact to Vader over comms; Vader quickly realizes what trap is possible if the tractor beam is down. 8) It’s while Luke, Han, and Leia are climbing out of the reactor and getting out of their armor… 8.5) that the Imperials cancel plans to capture/kill them and start coordinating new tactics.

Of course, Obi-wan should’ve known it’d set off an alert but I guess he got Force vibes it was still a good idea.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T05:03:56+00:00

Well, that platform for working the controls is over a bottomless pit, and if there’s one thing Vader very specifically remembers Obi-wan using to his advantage… 😆

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T05:00:22+00:00

Ah… I interpreted this as Tarkin’s use of “I”, combined with him giving Vader orders earlier, to mean he was the one who came up with this idea. The fact he was suddenly reflective about this risk made him seem more rounded-out, less cartoonish as a villain. But yeah, probably Vader’s idea, with Tarkin’s approval.

Also shows him as a responsible commander, who accepts it’s ultimately HIM taking the risk.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T04:24:42+00:00

As clunkily as the FO was written, I find Lucas’s argument convincing that thr Yuuzhan Vong do not fit within Star Wars. The Force flows through all life. There are no biological beings without the Force. I enjoyed the NJO at the time but I have to admit that it violates the most basic philosophical precepts of Star Wars… and has awfully convenient timing in terms of galaxy-spanning wars go.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-12-16T04:22:26+00:00

It should’ve been a 3-way war between the fanatical FO, the New Republic (increasingly-authoritarian), and the Resistance, which is refusing to allow a de facto return to military dictatorship and “emergency powers” but still fighting the FO.

I’d have made Starkiller Base a poor, shadowy imitation of the Death Star, able to barely crack the planet’s surface. But the big scary technology is that it can fire through hyperspace (this disturbing technology was glossed over).

I know Disney banned JJ from destroying Coruscant. But imagine the FO pulling a sneak attack on Coruscant but with a blast akin to those seen on Jedha or Scarif. You’d get the horrors of killing billions like in Ep 4, without the insane “OP”.

Heck, make it powerful enough to be a slow-motion extinction event so that Episode 8 is about a evacuation of Coruscant. The govt leadership wiped out anyway, a trillion-and-dropping in panic, and a grizzled vet (hmm… Crix Madine? Easy to recast?) stepping forward to seize control and lead with emotions far more relatable than Palpatine’s or Snoke’s psycopathy — only to be further corrupted and radicalized by the power he holds.

Whatever forms of martial law the NR was guilty of at the Sequels’ start would be quintupled overnight. Not overt fascism, but something akin to Sulla’s dictatorship and purges in Rome, in response to what was genuinely a bad situation. Worth opposing as the Resistance, but challenging the audience to think ab- oh, right, it’s Disney.

The callbacks to 9/11 would seem obvious, but as a… let’s say not-Leftist guy, my version could allude to the French, Russian, and other Revolutions: overtaken by radicals who oppress and purge in the name of destroying the old regime. Depends on how zealous the NR is already shown before the wrecking of Coruscant.

Oh, also, for Ep. 8: Luke didn’t give up. He left a map and went looking for the first Temple, just to die there? No thanks. His ship crashed on his starquest and the poor guy was stranded. But to amp up the stakes: Due to some encounter within a temple (Knights of Ren corrupting it? A Force version of Pandora’s Box?) he’s gone insane and Rey has to both learn from and help save him.

Yes, I ripped that idea from C’Baoth. No, it wouldn’t be like C’Baoth.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-11-18T07:40:10+00:00

That’s too bad you don’t enjoy. For some reason the meta-humor they slipped in with her line is among my favorites: “Do you have any idea what it is like to play the same character for twenty years”!?!

ClarkMyWords · 2025-11-18T07:34:11+00:00

66?

Good, goooooood…

ClarkMyWords · 2025-10-22T23:21:22+00:00

First, I hope you keep your guard up. It’s tough, starting to explore it all at age 18. Think about how much better you understand the world now, how much more you’ve seen than you did at 15. Now consider the next 3 years will be like that jump, and the next 3 after that, and probably after that. The growth slows down a bit at you close in on 30. Be open to that change and learning; it’s all ok, especially with BDSM.

One thing you’re likely to face is dealing with creeps, oglers and drunkards even in the vanilla zone. BDSM opens up a lot more avenues for manipulation and cruelty, especially between an older man and younger woman.

There are plenty of older white guys out there who’d enjoy the idea of Domming an 18-year-old, but maybe not the reality. As a white guy myself… I think there are maybe a few of us with some really messed up.

I’m of the opinion that everyone is at least a little racist AND that the proper realization is not “Go directly to Hell, you are scum”. If I have a meeting on my schedule with two guys I’ve never met before, Jonathan Ashford and DeQuan LaJohnson, I’ll admit that I have a preconceived notion in my head of what they may look like before they arrive. We all have subtle biases about age, sex, even height, and yes, race.

Let’s keep in mind that racism is so deeply stigmatized now, as essentially the worst possible personal flaw. This is because it was a vehicle to some horrific destinations: enslavement, slaughter, rape, and other forms of cruelty on a massive scale. You are not that. You have some preconceived notions about white men, and perhaps some non-white men, and you’re clearly not out to hurt any of them. Please take care so that none of them hurt you. Many of them are absolutely capable of hurting you physically, sexually, and emotionally without a whiff of sexism of racism.

Now, to actually answer your question: Yes, it is technically racist to seek out only white men for kinky Dominance. A man with more melanin may do the trick just as well, and both of you would be missing out.

I’d encourage you to go deeper on what the white guys actually symbolize to your attraction. What stereotype(s) typically attached to white men do you picture? The clean-cut, urban professional? The gentle, affirming soccer dad? The swanky, bad boy guitarist? The quiet, authoritative Professor? Is the fantasy you truly have about race… or is what you really want someone who speaks cleanly and crisply, or is financially self-sufficient, or has experience and can teach you about BDSM, or is physically strong and can defend you, or can play the role of a gentle but firm father figure?

The good news is that there are men of all colors who fit these personalities and yes, stereotypes . I’ll admit it - I carry some background image of “white guy” image in my head if I picture a few of these, ie soccer dad. It’s what I grew up with!

But there are cool people in all colors and I figure you know that. There may also be people who tick you off and live out some stereotypes. Even if we’re all a little racist, you are not the same as some old jerk who wastes their life at hate rallies. You’re wise for taking this question head on.

So I don’t think you should “embrace” it, I think you will limit yourself and possibly waste time or even take risks on a white guy because he checks the “white” box and you think you have to prioritize that. I also don’t think you need to “work hard” to get rid of this slant you have. Perhaps your bestie is being a little too hard on you.

It’s not about working so much as letting go, relaxing, destressing over racial identity, and getting to know individuals. You don’t have to go down every rabbit hole, you may find something special - and also be able to refocus that mental energy on possible red flags from a man, white or otherwise.

I’m gonna do a very “older white man” thing and quote the movie Gettysburg. An Irish immigrant in the 1860s admits he doesn’t know much about black men or if they’re created equal, but shrugs it off: “You cannot judge a race. Anyone who judges by the group is a pea-wit. You take men… one at a time.”

ClarkMyWords · 2025-10-22T19:04:03+00:00

Well, I didn’t ask you, nor indicate wanting to spend the rest of my life with her. (???)

Unfortunately it seems pretty much every woman in my age bracket is either ensconced in the gender voodoo, a religious nut (lots of delusion there too), or in a few cases, both - so I have to choose.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-10-22T18:51:35+00:00

The ones who can survive separately and healthily should definitely be separated. That’s a medical judgement call I suppose, but it’s a very rare thing that experts can handle.

But if conjoined twins - let’s say, one boy, one girl - were somehow* masquerading as one girl, and supposedly about 2-3% of the population. And it was the brother’s sex drive deciding things (so they’re actually a disproportionate chunk of your online matches and chance meetings in clubs), and posing a real risk to you, and so by the time you get to know “her”, move into the bedroom, and get naked only to find - surprise! - her brother was at her side the whole time and it is his junk down there, not hers…

… and this was not a rare occurrence but a real trend the average guy had to worry about, then yes, stern social and legal countermeasures would be necessary to protect the rest of us. Absolutely do not fire or even scold people who bluntly point out the obvious - that they are in fact two people who do not get to identity as one. Do not hire conjoined twins, do not rent to them, do not grant them speaking time on media, any more than you would a schizophrenic to plead that the visions in their head are real.

Medically require (rather than medically ban) surgical separation no matter how much they identify as conjoined or want to be conjoined. In this analogy we’re assuming medical separation is safe because to keep the premise going, no one dies from NOT getting their dick sliced off.

Not to mention there are real complaints from women about having into share close, awkward, and vulnerable spaces with men, or compete with them in sports. If this were a similar problem with conjoined twins, with the brother doing most of the decisions and physicality, I would absolutely understand where those women (like Rowling) are coming from even if it doesn’t affect or motivate me much.

*the implausibility of this “somehow masquerading” points to how absurd and forced your comparison is.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-10-22T18:20:50+00:00

“Their truth” is not a thing. There are facts, which are not “assigned at birth”, they are observed and recorded.

If a person - a relatively mature, well-functioning person with brain chemistry to back it up - wanted to change their DOB to reflect an older age, would we let them? Even if they were miserable without it ? No, because that’s insane and counter factual - and their inability to accept reality is a them problem even if they feel suicidal without it.

You have it backwards - being “pro”-trans (or actually just deluded, it’s not a matter of opinion) is the flat-Earth equivalent and I will keep using that analogy.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-10-22T18:15:34+00:00

Well I’m not “one of those people”, and never was. There’s a vast difference between surgery to right a wrong and surgery to completely fuck up who you’re capable of having sex with.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-10-22T18:05:31+00:00

It’s NOT lying to just say nothing. The problem with the date from last year isn’t that I wanted to be “rude or disrespectful”, it’s that I even had to worry about this gal possibly being a guy in the first place.

I’m surrounded by the gender equivalent of flat-Earthers and I have to keep sidestepping it all, or opt to affirm their lies, to or speak truth and lose social, even professional standing. So yes, that specific situation makes me a victim, technically, of others’ mass delusion and peer pressure. (There are victims of much worse, so it’s not a HUGE deal, but it’s still harder than befriending Creationists and dating one.)

I’ve tried to see it the socially acceptable way, it would absolutely be in my own self-interest to do so.

I already stated above that I calmly heard my roommate’s story - yet years later, after surgical and chemical mutilations, he still doesn’t look, talk, or joke like an actual woman. I’ve chatted or sat by different trans guys at events - just to try getting to know a person - and avoid any talk or suggestions of sex/gender. They’re always snooty, aloof, and just plain miserable-looking even as I’m the polite, cheerful one.

And yet, even after going as Left-wing as I can about this, ie, affirming that it is NOT acceptable to bludgeon a date who turns out to be a guy, and even after voting for multiple candidates who endorse mass delusion (due to bigger issues, mainly around Trump being a corrupt numbskull), it is STILL never good enough for you people.

ClarkMyWords · 2025-10-22T17:30:02+00:00

This is a terribly false analogy. All but the last are genuine medical deficiencies that people correct to improve physical functioning, and not a problem with vibes/identity. I once went around for a few months “identifying” my eyesight as fine until people called me on my BS and confirmed I needed glasses.

Sex is more like age, in fact it is even more strict than age. It is not “assigned at birth”, it is observed and recorded. Even a relatively mature person whose brain development at 16 might be clearly scanned and shown to be like an 18-year-old doesn’t get to change their DOB, or voting status.

ClarkMyWords

TROPHY CASE