Now from the Star Wars Phase

Emperor Palpatine here, showin' the rest of you Jedi weenies what to do with your light saber. And how to age gracefully and end up with lizard eyes as well. Proceed.

And in case you'd rather not get deep into George Lucas' character development, here's some technical specs for you to peruse instead.

Palpatine by the youngest. Specs by the oldest. Which kind of gets you into their heads. With the youngest, it's all about power and who has it. With the oldest, it's the little, niggling details that matter.

Vader and Luke

Not sure if this pair is raising their hands because they're sure or if they just want to show off their light sabers, but here we have Vader and Luke -- no Anakin, or at least not much of him in our house; we're Star Wars snobs.

Star Wars Poses

You know, looking at these Jedi, I can't say I'd care to encounter any of them in a dark alley. Especially Qui-Gon Jinn. He's kinda got that Scott Adams "Rasputin" vibe going on.

Star Wars

Our three children love the Star Wars movies, proving once again that they really are aimed at a prepubescent audience (which is, of course, why I like them).

Here is a series of drawings our youngest has produced of the film -- well, I can't call it a trilogy, so maybe I'll call it a travesty -- and its main Jedi characters. (He's heavily into Jedi stuff; he has his own light saber and walks around the house in my Dickies jacket because it's way too big for him and makes him look like he's wearing a Jedi robe).

First, Luke and Crewman No. 5. Luke's the guy in orange. He doesn't remember who the other guy is.

Next, of course, Yoda. Obviously not in his later, SWK stage, but in an earlier, more robust and obviously more buff stage.

Then good ol' Obi Wan Kenobi, wearing what looks like an angora sweater.

And last but not least Qui-gon Jinn.

Dad (or a Scruffy-Looking Nerf Herder) and Isaac

Wait a second. When he handed me this drawing a few weeks ago, he said: "Look, Dad, it's you and me." Now he's telling me it's him and Han Solo. I get second billing to a scruffy-looking Nerf herder? Oh well.