Greetings, fellow fans! I am Grand Admiral Sean, semi-regular lurker and warlord of the Unknown Regions. Before I torture you with my lengthy, bombastically worded dissertations, I thought I'd introduce myself and my weblog.

I have Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism. Don't worry, I'm not part of an obnoxious special-interests group; I just happen to have some mental differences. Asperger's is characterized by monomaniacal interest in a particular subject (hmm, I wonder what mine could be...), extreme sensory sensitivity, and poor social skills (which may explain why I do most of my interacting online). You may not have heard about us "Aspies", but I guarantee that if you've been in the science fiction community for a while, you've met us. Now, I'm not one of those people who label everyone with a neurosis at the slightest hint of peculiarity, but I think we need to acknowledge the existence of psychiatric disorders. For instance, I don't think every obsessive introvert has Asperger's, but my own autism is intense enough to warrant diagnosis. But 'severe' is such a harsh word. Really, I tremendously enjoy being unusual -- normal people are boring!

I studiously follow every aspect of the developing Star Wars universe. Yes, I actually loved the Prequels! I've done my best to read roundly from old and new sources. A little caveat: my reading is almost complete...but not one hundred percent up to date. For instance, N.J.O. fans may arch their eyebrows when I refer to Anakin as the introvert of the series -- but, of course, I'm referencing older sources like Junior Jedi Knights, in which he was portrayed as having a quiet personality. However, I support all published canon equally, so I try to reconcile various series and ascribe equal validity to their content. I think the universe is malleable enough that Anakin could be both an introvert and a warrior. Who says nerds can't kick butt?

As an amateur writer, I'm trudging my way up the editorial slushpile. I won't post my writings here because of the ban of fan-fiction. Besides, writers -- especially unpublished writers -- cannot send unsolicited Star Wars work to Del Rey. I'd certainly love to write Expanded Universe books some day...but that's the editors' choice. Right now, I'm focused on getting my name out there.

I, like HK-47, like to mark each of my entries with a qualifier: e.g., essays on religion would be preceded with the tag 'Faith:' and then the name of the actual entry. Here is a list of the categories into which most of my entries should fall and with which they will be labeled:

REVIEWS: I enjoy gushing about my favorite Star Wars movies, books, comics, and television programs. I may review either individual works or their creators. I will only review from a strictly positive perspective, so I'd appreciate if any posted responses be kept in-line, as well. Feel free to disagree with me, but I'd prefer you not bash the materials and people about whom I'm writing.

RELIGION: As a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian, I love to compare real-world theology to the doctrines of the Jedi, and to speculate about moral quandaries. I claim no wisdom, but it's always interesting to wrestle with ethics.

PHILOSOPHY: I define this term rather broadly; entries under this category may deal with everything from epistemology to economics as applied to the Star Wars universe. But I have no idea what I'm talking about, so please, debate me!

SKETCHES: I draw in my spare time and will endeavor to regularly post my personal renditions of Expanded Universe characters. Now, be warned that I'm not a particularly good artist.

Here are the questions most frequently asked of me online:

"Will you please shut up and go away?"
Sorry, sorry! I'll be quiet after this entry, I promise!

"Why do you insist on using underlines instead of italics?"
Sorry. Writer's habit. Remember -- I draw for fun, but I'm actually a wordsmith by trade (though I'm not outstanding at either!). Professional editors will reject work out of hand if it has italics. Think of how hard it would be for a typesetter to find slightly tilted words in a massive manuscript! Long dashes, fancy fonts, home-drawn illustrations, and pink paper are also no-nos.

"Why are you writing a Sunday-Morning blog on Saturday night?"
Er...jumping the gun? And under the Judeo-Christian system, new days actually start the sunset of the previous night. That system was altered during the Roman Empire. But, actually, I'm just jumping the gun.

"Why are you writing such an elaborate introduction when you're not sure if anyone will read this thing?"
Hey, I have friends who will read my blog! You just can't see them...

Having spoken far too much already, a bid you adieu for the night!

Force be with one and all,
~The Admiral