Young Jedi, Book Your Hotel Early, You Must

There are those events where we remember exactly where we were when we heard the news -- Kennedy being shot, 9/11, the Loma Prieda earthquake, and many more. It's funny how many of us also remember seeing Star Wars for the first time. And now, 30 years and six films later, it's still a force.

On May 24, over 30,000 people will be flocking to Celebration IV, a five-day gathering in Los Angeles of Star Wars fans and enthusiasts. Celebs from all six films will be there, along with prop exhibits and showings. Collectors will also be able to nab some rare, limited-edition memorabilia at a huge shop.

But you can't make it, you can still join the celebration on eBay! Visit A Galaxy Far Far Away to find out the hottest selling Star Wars stuff, based on Mpire's Movers & Shakers list, and link to other Star Wars items on eBay like DVDs, action figures, video games, entertainment memorabilia, books and more.

Tags: Star Wars, Star Wars Celebration events

Halo 3 Coming Soon; Pro Gamer's Top Picks

Gamers anticipating the release of the Halo 3 beta will have to find something else to occupy their hands for a bit. XBox's sci-fi shoot'em up is now expected in "late Spring" as opposed to sometime in March, and the official release is happening this fall.

Halo 3 picks up where Halo 2 left off: The Covenant, a powerful alien collective was about to invade the earth. Sounds like a job for Master Chief, the game's human super-soldier. Halo: Combat Evolved broke sales records when it came out in 2002, and in 2004, Halo 2 was the fastest selling media product in history with an estimated $125 million in sales.

If you are still jonesing for some video game action, here are four top picks from video game ace Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel. The 25-year-old PC pro-gamer has won 12 World Championship titles (there seems to be title for everything these days). Check out the Fatal1ty game brand on eBay too.

1. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (for PC) Predicted to be the next huge multi-player sensation based on virtual warfare and the need for team chemistry for victory. The present administration could take a cue from this play book.

2. Wii Sports (Nintendo Wii) The interactivity of the wireless controller and its ability to read what your arms and hands are doing make this a crowd-pleaser. Has the potential to completely replace the need to do any sort of physical activity again.

3. Unreal Tournament 2007 (PC) Stellar and realistic graphics make this first-person shooter game a player favorite. Apparently the 2008 version comes with a choice of Dick Cheney or Charlton Heston action figure.

4. Guitar Hero II (Sony PlayStation 2) If air-guitaring dorks dream of cranking out a face-melting guitar solo in front of screaming, adoring fans, well, keep dreaming. But you can get awfully close with Guitar Hero II, which sounds challenging and downright fun. Apparently, Guitar I ain't no simple riffage either.

Tags: video games

Prepping For St. Patty's Day

No doubt the 1,419 breweries in the United States (yes, that's a fact, over 1,400) have amped up their output in advance of St. Patty's Day with an anticipated 96 million people turning "Irish for the day." Over 34 million people claim some sort of Irish ancestry, about nine times the population of Ireland itself.

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans decorate or don green on March 17, so get your green crocs, bling, hats, handbags, you name it, all perfect fodder for the New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade, now in its 246th year, or wherever the day may take you.

Tags: breweriana, St. Patrick's Day

March Madness Among Us

This week kicks off arguably the most exciting event on the sports calendar: the NCAA Tournament, where unabashed passion and true grittiness mean any team can win (or lose) and grown men weep openly -- and that's just during the office pool.

North Carolina earned a No. 1 seed in the East, its 11th No. 1 nod and the most of any school all-time -- surpassing Duke (10) and Kentucky (9), neither of which will earn top seeds this year after average seasons. Kansas , a No. 1 seed in the West Region, made up some ground by earning its 7th No. 1 seed all-time. Ohio State and defending national champion Florida are the No. 1 seeds in the South and Midwest regions, respectively.

Tags: college basketball, NCAA Tournament

Sports Spotlight

Former NBA star Dennis Johnson died Feb. 23 at the age of 52, and naturally his items took jump on eBay. After seeing months of sales of 10-15 items per week at less than $5, over 350 "D.J." items have sold for an average of about $20 each since his passing. Johnson, noted for his gritty, steady and defensive prowess, played on three NBA title teams, twice with the Boston Celtics and once with the Seattle Supersonics, when he was named the 1979 Finals MVP.

Switching to another court -- tennis -- there didn't seem to be much buying excitement around the new record set by Swiss tennis star Roger Federer, who has been the world's top-ranked men's player for 161 straight weeks, breaking Jimmy Connors' 30-year-old record of 160 straight weeks. Conner's still holds the record for most titles at 109, compared to Federer's 46. Still, no one has yet figured out how to stop the Fed.

Rock of Aged

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions are taking place this week (March 12), and this year, a rap/hip-hop group is among those entering the Hall. Hip Hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five join R.E.M., Van Halen, Patti Smith and the Ronettes.

The fact that a group or artist can't be inducted until 25 years after their first album release has kept a number of legendary (yet relatively young) rappers looking in, but over the next couple year's, as they meet the year threshold, the flood gates will open for many of the genre.

Fourteen Genesis albums are being re-released, starting with five albums mid March. Phil and the boys have sold over 150 million albums since it started in the late 70s, and now they are loaded up on Gerital and hitting the road (what aged rock band isn't?) for the Turn It On Again tour in June. Unfortunately, Peter Gabriel won't be making the trip.

After its comeback kick-off at this year's Grammy's, The Police are back on the beat, starting June 6 in Seattle and ending up in Washington, D.C. in August. New shows are being added almost weekly. Tickets are on sale now. Word is also circulating that the band is planning live concert recordings to be available for resale, including right after the show.

Tags: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Genesis, The Police, Grandmaster Flash, Van Halen

Clinton, Obama Leading Candidates in eBay Sales

While 2008 presidential candidates from both parties are setting up shop on YouTube, the sale of items related to the candidates are also ramping up on eBay. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama-related items are the most popular, while items related to John McCain (pictured below with David Letterman), Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards all trail the front runners significantly.

While Clinton items are bringing in the highest price -- over $20 -- and getting the highest number of bids per item -- over six -- Obama is winning the "popular vote" by selling more overall items -- nearly 2,400 compared to 2,000 for Clinton -- and the Illinois democrat saw a bigger percentage jump in sales the week after announcing his candidacy -- 54% to Clinton's 26%. Incidentally, if Al Gore were running in 2008, he'd rank a strong third with nearly 1,400 items sold over the last two months, much of them related to An Inconvenient Truth and his global warming campaign.

Tags: 2008 presidential candidates, political memorabilia

New Poly MLB Caps Fitting the Bill

Major League Baseball and New Era have introduced its first significant change to player hats in 50 years. Wool is out and polyester is in, apparently with a built-in "vapor management system" to better "wisk" away perspiration from players' sweaty brows (as if they sweat), help combat glare, and keep the players from, well, stinking. Over the course of a 162-game season, sweaty wool can start to become a little offensive, especially when it rains. The 59FIFTY (100% polyester) is the style being used by players in games, while the 39THIRTY, a 60/40 poly/wool blend currently being worn by players at spring training, is used exclusively for batting practice. Still no word on if MLB will adopt breathable cotton as their uniform fabric of choice -- something first introduce by George Costanza on Seinfeld.


Tags: Major League Baseball, spring training, fitted baseball hats, Seinfeld

Battle of the Balds

Call it the Battle of the Balds -- Britney Spears vs. Jack Nicholson. It appears Jack, who donned a clean, close shave at the Oscars is preparing for an upcoming movie role (no, he's not ill as some suspected), whereas, Britney (hopefully) isn't in an upcoming movie and is appearing quite ill. And while her items are no stranger to eBay, one of the more unusual items representing the new, wayward Diva of Dome -- a Britney Spears bald hair straight jacket action figure -- sold on eBay recently for over $182.

Tags: hair care, hair removal, Britney Spears, Jack Nicholson