Rick Romley - 2004 AZ Republic.  "Crusader or Darth Vader?" "...But critics see him as a much darker fictional character: Darth Vader, despotic corrupter of Maricopa County courts, who cares more about politics and punishment than justice.  Some say Romley's entrenched prosecutorial regime imprisoned those who didn't desert it, cost taxpayers dearly and undermined the legal system.  Some say he used the law as a political tool.  Some even refer to the County Attorney's Office on Jefferson Street as "the Evil Empire" (Thanks to John at Obroa-Skai for this reference!)

Xie Peiqi - "Xei Peiqi, Master of Yin ba gua, is best described as a real-life Yoda.  Xie's secret: pure CHI control, a concentration of vital energy that allows him to do with his hands and body what Obi-Wan Kenobi could do with a lightsaber."  "While some of his fellow Yoda-like colleagues have been rumored to levitate and hurl random objects across the room just by looking at them, Xie uses his expertise for healing."

Miscellany

Census - In New Zealand, England and Australia Jedi has appeared as a religion on the Census forms.

"Commander Solo" tells Taliban: Surrender or die: "When you decide to surrender, approach United States forces with your hands in the air. Sling your weapon across your back, muzzle towards the ground. Remove your magazine and expel any rounds. Doing this is your only chance of survival."..............Booming down from the sky to the mountains and valleys of Afghanistan, this message, and others like it, are the United States' new front in its war to bring down Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and wipe out Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, chief suspect in last month's suicide plane attacks on New York and Washington..............Delivered in an operation named "Commander Solo," the messages, broadcast in local Afghan dialects from a slow moving EC-130CE plane, are the center piece of U.S. psychological warfare efforts, along with dropping of millions of leaflets with similar messages...............The Pentagon is coy about why the day-and-night broadcasts are named "Commander Solo" but boasts they were highly successful during U.S. military operations in Grenada, Haiti, Panama and during the Gulf War..........There has been speculation "Commander Solo" was named after the film character Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, who was the hero of the Hollywood "Star Wars" series.

French Lottery 1999 - Uses 9 images from The Phantom Menace to promote the French Lottery.

French - Popular Names (2000) - Lea and Lucas (purely coincidental of course, but funny never the less)

Hitachi (2004) - Hitachi has been influenced by Star Wars (by their own admission).  They have been working on 3-D hologram technology for communication purposes and their goal was to create a 3-D image similar to the one used by Lucas in ANH, Princess Leia being projected as a hologram asking Obi-Wan for help.  Introduced at CREATIC (2004) in Chiba, Japan.

Homemade sign in a battery store: OBI-WAN SAYS "BUY BATTERIES HERE" (thanks to Brianakin for this life reference!)

Jaguar 2002 - the designer of the 2002 Jaguar sports car says that the rear brake lights were inspired by the Pod Racers for TPM and the headlights looked like lightsabers.

Nigerian email scam (419) - some of  the scams were sent from "Princess Leia", complete with SW refs in the body of the email.

Radiancy - 2004 Part of their philosophy is quoting Yoda, "Size matters not.  Look at me, judge me by my size, do you?"

St Margaret's Church (Palm Desert) -

Reverend Dan's Sermon has been truncated:

...A modern day story might help to illustrate these lessons as we stand in the sandals of Joseph and Mary.  Imagine you are in a mall crowded with Christmas shoppers. You enter a large department store and begin browsing through the many items on display. A salesperson moves quickly to your side. "May I help you?" she asks.  "Yes, I hope so," you respond. "You see, I'm looking for the perfect gift-for myself." "And what is it you seek?" the salesperson inquires.  "A Christ," you answer. "I'm looking for a Christ-for Christmas." "Right this way," she says as she leads you to a very special section of the store. "Here we have a number of fine models from which you might choose. On your left there is the ever popular `Care Bear Christ,' soft and cuddly with outstretched arms guaranteed to steal your heart away. Or maybe you would prefer our `Rambo Christ-a real `macho' figure that comes prepared to combat all foes with a bruising display of muscle and overwhelming firepower. Or how about our futuristic `Star Wars Christ,' able to fight evil throughout the universe with a mastery of the mystical Force and of space age weapons capable of destroying entire planets. Considerably less violent is our `Pentium Pro Home Computer Christ'-a very sophisticated and useful Christ able to play games, organize your personal finances, teach you five different languages, and answer all questions needed to solve your daily problems just by touching the right buttons as directed in our 50page manual of easy instructions."

Sound ridiculous? Of course! The Real Christ is not found in a department store available in a variety of models from which we may select the one most pleasing to us! There is only One true Christ who refuses to be conformed to our image or fit the blueprint we make for Him. Instead He reaches out to remake and remold us into His image and to renew our lives with His Spirit. This is the Christ Who cannot be bought but Who gives himself to us and for us freely. May we seek no other Christ than this and so reveal Him through our own lives that others may come to know Him and rejoice in Him as the right Christ for their lives, too.  Remember, the child Mary bore, the child Joseph embraced, is called Emmanuel, God with us. By grace do we bear this child, by grace do we share this child. God-not against us. Not before us. Not behind or above or beneath us. Not God beyond us. But God with us, delivering us from the power sin and death. Come, O come, Jesus, our Emmanuel.  The Rev. Daniel Rondeau  (Thanks Dan!!)

Yoda Fire - A fire that raged through the desert just northwest of the valley and burned several structures is dying down.  The Yoda fire broke out just after 4:00 Monday afternoon near the town of Wittman.  The fire received its name due to its proximity to the Toyota proving grounds.  (Thanks to John at Obroa-Skai!)

Places: Stores, Restaurants, etc.

Star Wars license plates