Star Wars Exhibit

I thought I would share some random photos from the "Star Wars" exhibit at the California ScienCenter mentioned in the previous blog entry. I'm not sure if I can say that the "science" in Star Wars is that accurate, but it's a great story/movie. If you click on the photos below, you can see a slightly larger image.



This is Luke Skywalker's landspeeder which is sort of like a hovercraft. In the era of computer graphics, it still nice to see a "hardware" model for an imaginary object.



This is a closeup of Luke Skywalker's prosthetic hand. Who knows? It would be beneficial to have mechanical body part replacements -- just in case we might need an extra hand.



Below is C-3PO with some of his internal wiring exposed. It's good that they still use color coding for electrical wiring in the future.



There were many models on exhibit of spacecraft that were used in the movie. This is a rebel alliance X-wing starfighter.



Master Yoda peers outward from behind the glass. For someone 900 years old, he's looking pretty good.



And this guy, I believe, is one of the snow creatures from Episode V.



And here's an Imperial TIE fighter from the evil Empire. Not sure what kind of propulsion system was used, but they're very fast and maneuverable (in the movie, that is).

The Science of Sake

Last night the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) held a "sold out" food and sake-tasting benefit fundraising event called "The Science of Sake". It was held after hours at the California Science Center which currently features a "Star Wars" exhibit.

Since I'm on the LTSC staff, I was working at the event. I'm not much of a sake (Japanese rice wine) expert or drinker/taster, but I took a few photos below.



As you can see, many LTSC staff working at the event were dressed in black suits, since it was quite a formal event.



In addition to sake, there was also plenty of great food to go around.





We honored the Iron Chef Morimoto who participated in our annual Los Angeles Tofu Festival -- the main LTSC fundraiser of the year.





There was also a silent auction and a raffle drawing -- the usual non-profit organization fundraiser stuff. Everyone seemed to be having a great time socializing, schmoozing, eating, and tasting the variety of sake.





Sometimes, you never know who you might meet, and you have to be careful. The guy below pulled a light saber on me. But it's not surprising, since this is LA.



In the photo below, the winning raffle ticket is being drawn for the $25,000 cash prize.



Everything seemed to go smoothly last night, so perhaps the Force was with Little Tokyo Service Center, and many thanks, of course, goes to everyone who attended.