Man Assult Three With Light Saber

Yep, you heard right - from OregonLive.com via Boing Boing comes the story of a suspect, identified only as a 33-year-old man, who was arrested for assaulting three people with a blue light saber at a local Toys R Us.

Officers arriving on scene tried to arrest the man, but he kept swinging the light saber at them. One officer's taser failed to work while another officer used his taser and made contact, but the man knocked one of the wires away with the light saber.

After his arrest he was being held, pending a mental evaluation. He faces "several criminal charges" after he is evaluated.

None of the victims of the light saber assault needed medical attention.

Woolworths ban lightsabers

British supermarket chain Woolworths has restricted the sale of toy lightsabers to people over the age of 18, concerned that the toys could be mistaken for real weapons.

My question is pretty obvious...ummmm WHAT REAL WEAPON??? Tell me the last time you saw a weapon that emitted a 3 foot coherent light beam of such high intensity that it could cut through just about anything? If you are going to ban something that resembles a weapon shouldn't it at least be a REAL weapon?!

admirable, even governmental watchdog the Trading Standards Institute thinks it may be going a little bit too far:

Some companies are going the whole hog and are banning the sale of any weapon-style products to anyone under the age of 18, even if they are clearly toys like these. I think it’s a bit over the top in this instance, but it really is up to the individual companies and stores to set their own rules, they can sell what they want to who they want.

Ultimate amateur lightsaber duel

Wow, this is one of the most pro looking amateur light saber duels I have ever seen. It is an amazing tour of technical know how and movie special effect that even Lucas or Speilberg would and should envy. It is really that good!

Luke Skywalker's lightsaber gets shuttle flight

The original lightsaber wielded by Mark 'Luke Skywalker' Hamill will be delivered to NASA for launch in late October aboard shuttle Discovery, a flight that will mark the 30th anniversary of the 1977 release of the movie classic "Star Wars." The lightsaber will be delivered today to Houston Hobby Airport, which is located about 30 minutes north of NASA's Johnson Space Center. The lightsaber will be transported to Space Center Houston -- the visitor complex on NASA Road One near the main gate to JSC -- where it will be on display through Labor Day. Then it will be shipped to Kennedy Space Center and stowed in the orbiter Discovery's middeck during the shuttle's 13-day round trip to the International Space Station.

Thanks to Shaun A. Saunders for the post