On the idea of a Republic...

The in-laws have been here for almost the whole weekend, they're all leaving tomorrow. They've been watching a lot of Star Wars. We got the DVD set a while ago, and they've been watching the different documentaries, and whatnot. We also opened Christmas presents, because we won't be able to get together to do it in December. Corbin got a Darth Vader Voice Changing Helmet. When he saw it, he tackled his Mom while professing his love profusely.

I got a copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Sort of dangerous to have this close to finals, but... what the hey. Suffice it to say I've been marinating in a galaxy far, far away. And I've got to say, I love all of the Star Wars movies. Always have, always will. People joke about Jar-Jar. I just ignore him, mostly. I loved The Pantom Menace, because it let you see how Sidious pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. People walked out of that movie thinking the good guys won. And they couldn't have been more wrong. I loved Attack of the Clones. I enjoyed seeing the foundation of the Empire start to appear. I've been listening to the music, I was up late the last couple nights playing KOTOR, it's been a fun weekend.

Interestng thing about KotOR; as you travel from area to area, a loading screen will pop up, and an interesting factoid about the characters, or about the Star Wars Universe in general. One in particular that I found interesting was its claim that the Republic is just a loose alliance of worlds who use an agreed upon currency, and trade laws. Sounds a little familiar, doesn't it? (Implied winking and nodding in the general direction of the EU inserted here). It struck me as a really bad way to run things, at least on a galactic scale, because the currency doesn't necessarily reflect the strength of the economy underneath it. There's no exchange rate - no market in currency. (Yes, I am quite possibly one of the world's biggest nerds).

Of course, we all know how well that Republic thing worked out, right? Internecine warfare, over thousands of years, occasional Sith Lords, blockades, etc., etc., etc.

UPDATE: Okay, maybe there were alternative currencies. Recall Phantom Menace, where Watto was asking for something more "real" than Republic credits - and also said that mind tricks didn't work on him, only money. There's also the cost of a lizard treat at the store - measured in "wupiupi", or something like that. So, perhaps there were alternative currencies used in areas where the Republic had less influence, like Hutt-dominated Tatooine. (Nerd sense tingling...)