Not so far away

The familiar, slightly eerie music begins and you immediately know where you are: In George Lucas's fantastical Star Wars universe. Then the voices of Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda speak, and you're there, you're home, you're back in the magic. And by "you," I mean me.

It's countdown week! My Star Wars fangirl heart is a-flutter. This Friday, August 15, George Lucas is going to shake some more money out of our pockets with an extremely cool-looking theatrical movie release, The Clone Wars, a fully digital precursor to an eponymous television series.

You will watch the trailer right now! ~Obi-Wan Force wave~

Just hearing the familiar sounds as this preview begins gets my pulse racing. I know it's ridiculous, but remember, anticipation is a good thing, and so is being a fan.

The characters will be three-dimensional animations. I'm not bothered by that. The action in much of the three Star Wars prequels was computer-generated, so it's not a huge leap to simply replace live actors with digital doppelgangers.

I'll be in a theater this Friday with son Kevin, waiting eagerly for the green LucasFilm logo to appear on the screen. MTFBWY!