My name is Jean Erik Bjørnskau. I live in Oslo, Norway, where I was also born in the spring of 1974. I first discovered Star Wars when I was about six years old. Skimming through my fathers large record collection, without permission, I came a cross an LP that stood out among all the others. It was a double album with strangely appealing yellow text on the cover - and even more fascinating pictures on the inside. I remember running to my dad, record in hand, asking him what this was. He told me, after first reminding me that his record collection was of limits, that it was the music from an American space movie called Star Wars, or Stjernekrigen, as he translated to me in Norwegian. I will never forget the first time I heard the Main Theme after I convinced my father to turn the record on, even though it was 8 PM on a school night. I know it’s a verbal cliché uttered by many fans before me, but “Star Wars basically blew my mind out”. At that fateful moment in my life, sitting on the floor in front of my dads’ record player, I knew that I would never be the same person again. The music made me feel more alive than anything I had experienced before (at least up until then), it was magic in its’ most pure and pristine form – it was a slice of heaven.
Cutting a long story short, Star Wars became my first true love, moreover, a passionate and romantic affaire that would last a lifetime. Within a few short weeks I got my first couple of Star Wars Action Figures, while at the same time introducing several of my friends to this wonderful realm of imagination. The first Star Wars movie I ever saw was Return of the Jedi in 1983 at the Colosseum, the larges cinema in Oslo. My father, being a film critic for one of Norway’s major newspapers, got us the best seats in the house at the premiere, making the experience so extraordinary that I still remember everything as though it was yesterday. Indeed, if the music was breathtaking, seeing Star Wars on the big screen was out of this world. A while later I, of course, also saw episode four and five (in that order), feeding my love for Star Wars further. Remember, these were the years before home video and VHS really hit the common households, making it very difficult to see movies like this if they weren’t playing in a cinema. It wasn’t until 1985 that I had actually seen the entire classic trilogy. By then I already knew the story by heart through various books and comics. Nevertheless, seeing The Empire Strikes Back for the first time, on a bootleg VHS in my friends’ basement, is probably the greatest cinematic moment of my life.
My love of Star Wars hit a new high with the introduction of the Special Editions and Prequels in the nineties. Yes, I am one of the “old ” Star Wars fans who love every chapter of the saga. Star Wars has never really disappointed me. OK, I do believe that “Han shots first”, but I have no quarrel with either Jar Jar Binks or Hayden Christensen, and am a true admirer of George Lucas, his work, as well as the impact he’s had on both society and my own life. Hence, I keep filling my life with Star Wars. Much of the money I earn, after the bills are paid, I use on Star Wars merchandise and collectibles. I have been to Star Wars conventions, Star Wars Lives (roleplaying), camped out for several days for all three prequel movies - and every Christmas my girlfriend and I decorate the tree with Star Wars ornaments. My girlfriend, by the way, also makes me a Star Wars Christmas calendar each year. It’s supercool!
So, if you for some strange reason are still wondering why I have arrived at this site, I would like to emphasise, as mentioned earlier, my love of Star Wars fans. To me, Star Wars fans are the nicest, prettiest, most intelligent and coolest people in the world. I have never met a true Star Wars fan that I didn’t like, and I don’t think I ever will. Star Wars fans are unique among fans. The Force is VERY strong with us.
A Jedi journalist
Sunday, February 14, 2010, 6:53 PM
[General]


Hi Jean, glad to hear you have joined us. We feel the same about Star wars... I was 5 when it came out and have never looked back. Hope to read more posts from you - rod
John Solo3:55 PM