Robert Landell

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

Mark Hamill spent almost thirty years insisting this scene was never filmed.

It was. In a cave on Tatooine, Luke snaps the final piece into his new lightsaber, ignites the green blade for the first time, slides the weapon into a hidden compartment inside R2-D2, and sends the droids ahead to Jabba's palace. It would have been the first lightsaber ever assembled on screen in a Star Wars film.

The cave moment came bolted to another cut shot: Vader reaching out to Luke through the Force from his meditation chamber. Leaving it in would have told the audience these two were connected almost a full hour before the movie actually reveals it.

Here's the part that ties back to your saber question. The blade was supposed to be blue, same as Luke's old one. But during the Sarlacc pit fight he holds it up against the blinding Tatooine sky, and a blue blade washed out on camera, nearly invisible against all that light. So they recolored it green to read against both the sand and the sky.

The most recognizable weapon in the saga is green because of a visibility problem.

Lucas and Richard Marquand then cut the cave scene for pacing. The result: Luke walks into Jabba's palace already in black, already a Jedi, and the green saber materializes out of R2 mid-firefight with zero setup.

That gap is the whole trick. Film the kid screwing parts together in a cave and you explain the magic away. Cut it, and a farm boy returns to the planet he grew up on as a fully formed Jedi, and nobody has to say a word about how.

Lucas finally screened the footage at Celebration V in 2010, twenty-seven years after release. Hamill was sitting right there.

[Max Verstappen @VerstappenCOM]

Good morning fam ☀️

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

What the Artemis II astronauts did over the last 10 days was a testament to their bravery. And the fact that they traveled farther from Earth than anyone ever has, re-entered our atmosphere at more than 24,000 mph, and splashed down safely was a testament to human ingenuity. Thanks to everyone at @NASA for making this mission possible, and for taking us along for the ride.

[James Tate @JamesTate121]

Yes it does.

[Pete Buttigieg @PeteButtigieg]

Ask yourself: why would this administration want to delete references to Medgar Evers’ racist assassin being a racist? Why might that be?

I challenge anyone in this administration or Congress to defend this.
https://t.co/veFMzb6IOE

[ArchaeoHistories @histories_arch]

The Great Migration: How the Foundations of the English-Speaking World Were Laid

​Ever wonder why we speak English and not a Roman or Celtic tongue? The answer lies in a chaotic, transformative period between the 5th and 7th centuries. When the Roman Empire’s grip on Britain slipped, a vacuum was left behind—one that was filled by the bold seafaring tribes of Northern Europe: the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.

​This wasn't just a military invasion; it was a total cultural reset. From the shores of modern-day Denmark and Northern Germany, these tribes crossed the treacherous North Sea to seek new land, eventually pushing the native Britons to the fringes and creating the "Heptarchy"—the seven kingdoms that would one day become England.

​Whether you're a history buff or just curious about where our modern traditions and language began, this map tracks the very first steps of the journey that would eventually reach the shores of America centuries later.

​The Foundations of a New World: The Anglo-Saxon Migration (449–600 CE)

​To understand the United States today—its laws, its literature, and its primary language—one must look back nearly 1,600 years to the foggy coastlines of the North Sea. The migration of the Germanic tribes to the British Isles is perhaps one of the most consequential movements of people in Western history. It was a period marked by the collapse of an old superpower, the arrival of opportunistic warriors, and the slow, grinding birth of a new identity. This is the story of how Britain became "England" and how the seeds of the English-speaking world were first planted.

​In 410 CE, the Roman Empire was crumbling. Under pressure from "barbarian" tribes closer to home, the Emperor Honorius sent a letter to the cities of Britain, famously telling them to "look to their own defenses." For nearly four centuries, Rome had provided a professional military, legal infrastructure, and a sense of global connectivity. When the legions left, they took the stability with them.

​Britain was left vulnerable. To the north, the Picts and Scots began raiding deeper into the lowlands. According to the monk-historian Bede, a British leader named Vortigern made a fateful decision:

The invited Germanic mercenaries from the mainland to help defend his lands. He offered them territory in exchange for protection. It was an invitation that changed the course of history forever. Once the first wave of warriors realized how fertile and poorly defended the island was, the trickle of mercenaries turned into a flood of settlers.

​As shown in map, the migration was primarily driven by three distinct groups, each bringing their own dialects and customs. Hailing from the region of Angeln (modern-day Schleswig-Holstein in Germany), they were perhaps the most numerous. They settled in the north and east, founding the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia. It is from this tribe that names "England" (Engla-lond) and "English" (Englisc) are derived.

​Coming from the sprawling plains of Northern Germany, the Saxons were fierce warriors and prolific settlers. They moved into the south and west of Britain, establishing Wessex (West Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), and Essex (East Saxons). Their legacy survived in the title of the "Anglo-Saxon" people and heavily influenced the legal and social structures of the early English state.

​The smallest of the three main groups, the Jutes traveled from the Jutland peninsula (modern Denmark). They settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight. Though fewer in number, they maintained a distinct cultural identity for generations, and the Kingdom of Kent became a vital gateway for the reintroduction of Christianity to the island later on.

​#archaeohistories

[Rolling Stone @RollingStone]

"Imagine a universe where an unannounced Rage Against the Machine took the stage at Defend Minnesota. It would have generated worldwide headlines and been one of the greatest moments in the band’s long history."

Commentary: https://t.co/mntS3wykFL

[Anonymous @YourAnonCentral]

“When they say, ‘Why would you be out here?’ How the fuck could I not be out here?” “My nation is under attack."

#3E #GoodVsEvil #NationalStrike #ICEOut

[Fly Sistah 🪷 @Fly_Sistah]

The Tuskegee airmen went off to fight the Nazis and came home to de jure segregation and a country that showed no gratitude for their sacrifice. They fought and defeated the hatred of the Nazis only to come home and face hatred from people they had just defended from tyranny.

[Captain Mark Kelly @CaptMarkKelly]

Donald Trump is suing the federal government for $10 billion. That is your money. Never in our history have we seen something like this. The billionaire President always has a new plan to make himself richer, but never a plan to make your bills more affordable.

[David Axelrod @davidaxelrod]

In any other time or presidency, this story. reported by @WSJ, would be an earthquake of a scandal.
The size, scope and implications of it are unprecedented and mind-boggling.
But will this Congress, which brayed endlessly about the "Biden crime family," probe it?
Not a chance.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

Remember when Google dropped this Black History Month commercial in 2020?

That’s what honoring Black history looks like, telling the truth loudly, not sanitizing it when it makes people uncomfortable.

Happy Black History Month.

[Formula 1 @F1]

2026, but illustrated the old fashioned way... 🤩✍️

Here's what's new about our new era! 👇

#F1

[Spencer Hakimian @SpencerHakimian]

🚨BREAKING: Alex Pretti’s Colleagues Hold a Moment of Silence.

[Niko @NikoLeMieux]

Yesterday as I was walking through Minneapolis with a friend I saw this Lexus parked terribly and commented to him: “get a load of this asshole’s terrible parking.” By complete serendipity, as if the universe itself was saying "be kinder with your spoken thoughts," right at that moment I heard a voice say “hey that’s my car, ICE grabbed me, I’m so sorry!” come from the passenger of a Jeep slowly passing by; the Jeep driver said she was the sister of the Lexus’ owner and that the two of them had just come back from picking her up from Federal detention. I went to go talk to the Lexus’ driver, but first I read the note on the windshield:

“THIS WOMAN WAS TAKEN BY ICE. Please don’t hit or tow.” Neighbors put that there, and put a tarp over the window that ICE broke open so snow wouldn’t get in.

The Lexus driver, a short, brown haired white woman told me she lived in the area and was driving through looking for parking, when armed ICE agents speedily blocked off the street in front of her, and swarmed the white pickup truck in front of her grabbing its driver. She said people came from throughout the neighborhood with whistles to record them grabbing that driver, and as she was trying to leave, ICE agents swarmed her vehicle as well and proceeded to open her window and door and remove her from her car, slamming her facedown in the street. She said a Federal agent entered her vehicle and parked it like this, before taking her away. I don’t know the story of the pickup driver.

I'll be honest, I didn't really believe what I was hearing at first until she showed me the video that a neighbor filmed, confirming the whole story. I asked her to airdrop it to me so I could make this post.

This woman was just driving and minding her business one moment, and the next she was snatched, she told me that they said she was "obstructing an investigation." After 24 hours in Federal custody, they released her with only the white shirt she was wearing when I met her, into the -8F cold where her sister was waiting, and they didn't give her back her car keys. She came to make sure her vehicle was still there.

There's a lot of people on this platform making all sorts of excuses for the Federal government's despicable behavior in Minneapolis, but what it comes down to is this: they are out of control. They are Out. Of. Control.

This woman's story that I saw firsthand is emblematic of the institutional rot at the core of DHS, CBP, and ICE. The agents involved in both shootings this month were 8- and 10-year veterans, not untrained amateurs. There have been three homicides in Minneapolis thus far in 2026- 66% of them have been US citizens murdered by the Federal government. My city is being subjected to a full-fledged occupation by lawless, unprofessional, un-American thugs. They have gone far beyond their stated mission of removing violent criminals and illegal aliens. They have all of us looking at every SUV, every vehicle with out-of-state plates, every vehicle with more than 2 men in it with caution, scrutiny, and concern. Many of my friends have bought guns or have gone to get their conceal carry permits, to stay safe from their own government because it's better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six.

Minneapolis will survive this and will come out stronger for it, because we learned in 2020 that there's no one coming to save us, it's up to us to show up for our friends and neighbors. But people need to know that if the Federal government are doing this to us: You're not safe. You're next.

[Richard Ossoff @Rhossoff]

@SecVetAffairs