For the Glory of the Empire! » Trooping

Bartlett 4th of July parade, 2009

TK4544 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:45:03 +0000

My wife and I did the Bartlett 4th of July parade again, this time she was in her TK and I had my TD pack on. Hotter than last year and more humid, but fun as always.

Trooper tracks

TK4544 — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:19:14 +0000

So, I mentioned the bruising behind me knees from the armor pinching while running through the prairie grass at Fermi Lab. Yeah. It’s really bad. Looks like someone was beating the back of my legs with a baseball bat. I don’t think I’ll be suiting up again anytime soon.

More filming

TK4544 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:29:34 +0000

Spent the day at Fermi Lab yesterday for more filming. Note to self: wearing a headband in the sun leaves a silly looking tan line.

The backs of my knees look like hamburger after spending most of the day running through the tall prairie grass in armor. I’m just glad the only times I fell were on purpose.

I got stabbed in the back by a lightsaber, then I got beheaded by a lightsaber.

So far in this film I have been killed by friendly fire, shot by a rebel and killed by a jedi (twice).

I can’t wait to see how it comes out.

Behind the scenes footage here:

Fastfilms

Camp Quality

TK4544 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:30:17 +0000

On Friday the Midwest Garrison trooped for Camp Quality, a week long camp event for kids with cancer. It’s a chance for them to just be kids and have fun. We arrived on the last day of the week and had Nerf gun target shooting and they played Hot Thermal Detonator. We had a temporary tattoo station set up and we gave prizes to the best shooter and all the kids got toys and games which we had gotten as donations for this event. It was a really great event to take part in and we were all happy to be able to help out, even if only in a small way.

Sadly, there were two kids we didn’t get to meet as they had passed away earlier in the week.

Max

TK4544 — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:13:02 +0000

Over the weekend I trooped a child’s birthday party. I’m not much of a kid person so this is unusual, but the kid in question was born with half a heart and had to have a heart transplant a couple of years ago. He’s also a huge Star Wars fan, so I was happy to help make his birthday a special one. It turned out to be a fun day, the adults got as much of a kick out of us being there as the kids.

Tatooine Death March, 2008

TK4544 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:22:41 +0000

My wife and I did it. We survived the Tatooine Death March, also known as the Bartlett 4th of July parade. This is the 6th year the Midwest Garrison has participated, and to be honest I think people like us because we pass out bags of marshmallows.

“TK4544, why aren’t you at your post?”

TK4544 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:44:06 +0000

It’s been a while since I posted any news. Not because there hasn’t been any, but because I have been so busy.

I finished modifying my armor to be more screen accurate. I have most of the pieces I need for my pack, but the main boxes are still a no-show, so I can’t get started assembling it.

I finished work on my DLT-19. It looks pretty sweet now.

I went and opened my big mouth at a garrison meeting and ended up as the new Garrison Web Liaison. The first big job was moving the Midwest Garrison website over, since I am now hosting it.

Wizard World Chicago is next week, I’m looking forward to that.

MWG Meeting and Surprise Party

TK4544 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:41:44 +0000

There was a Garrison meeting on Saturday, followed by a small troop at a surprise birthday party for a guy thinking about joining the legion.

It looks like I’m going to be taking over hosting duties for the garrison website soon as the new Garrison Web Liaison.

The meeting was actually quite productive, not the chaotic gripe session that I thought might break out.

Kids Camp

TK4544 — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:47:02 +0000

This August the Midwest Garrison will be trooping at a Camp for Children with terminal illness. The children are from 5 to 18 years old and there are up to 175 of them at the camp. We are trying to collect toys and/or books that we can hand out to the kids.

Some members are collecting toys on their own. Others are emailing toy companies to see if we can get donations.

Anyone wishing to help us out is welcome to contact me: ed@tk4544.org

Anything that can be done to make what little time these kids have a little better is worth it.

MSI 1-6-2008

TK4544 — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:26:14 +0000

MSI 1-6-2008

Originally uploaded by edlitmus

Last day of the Star Wars exhibit at the MSI Chicago.