Welcome to today’s installment of Cool Tool Tuesdays, where I feature a favorite item from my life and spotlight it so that others who are not familiar with the product may also benefit from it. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, hardware, material, or website that I have personally tried and love.

Do you have any questions about today’s cool tool? Would you like an item featured in the future? Please leave a comment to this post, or send me a message via my contact form. Enjoy!

As with most Star Wars fans, I hate the various modifications that has been made to the original trilogy and I openly voice my opinion on the matter.

And unless you own the trilogy, in its unedited and original form (often in Laserdisc or VHS format), it can be difficult to relive the untainted masterpiece.

(Just in case you are wondering, I did once own Star Wars episodes IV-VI in VHS format. But it disappeared from my parents’ home while I was away at college. My parents swear they did not touch it, so we can only surmise that a visitor “borrowed” it. I consider this one of the saddest losses of my life.)

There’s also the fact that technology has changed tremendously since 1977, when Episode IV was released. I don’t even know anyone who owns a VHS player anymore — how can we continue to enjoy the authentic version and ensure that future generations will have access to it too?

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Or, in this case, where there is Star Wars, there will be a devoted following of über geeks with tons of time and resources to spare. (Or at least lend for this good cause.)

A very dedicated fan who goes by the name “Harmy” at The Original Trilogy forums has painstakingly put together a very high quality cut of the entire trilogy, utilizing a wide variety of video sources as well as custom mattes. The result: nearly identical versions of the original theatrical releases of Episodes IV-VI in HD format!

Right now, Harmy’s Despecialized Editions are the best restorations of the original trilogy by far. Because it is a fan preservation, it does not technically infringe on copyright laws…but this also means that it cannot be bought or sold. What you can do is download the trilogy and enjoy it from your computer, or burn it onto a disc and enjoy it on your television.

Heck, it even comes with cover art for Blu-ray cases — you can print those out and geek out even more!

You can learn more about the “despecialized” version of each film at the following threads in The Original Trilogy forums:

Episode IV: A New Hope

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Screened.com also featured a special, behind-the-scenes article on Harmy and his project here. It’s worth reading as it tells the tales of fandom, dedication, and “rare examples of Internet dissatisfaction leading to something genuinely amazing and productive.” 

Finding the actual download links to the movies can be a bit of a pain, but they can certainly be found if you know where to look. (And if you’re really having trouble, just let me know and I’ll help you out.)

Harmy says that the “despecialized project” is not quite over yet. An obvious perfectionist, he still sees minor glitches, and wants to work on certain scenes such as the Ben vs. Vader lightsaber duel, or the original hologram of Leia, both of which were recomposited in later edits of the film and given a very different look in the process.

We will certainly be waiting for the newer — ironic when you consider that the goal is to go back to the original — release of Harmy’s Despecialized Editions with great anticipation. But in the meantime, geeks everywhere thank this 23-year-old student for all his hard work.

This mashup by illustrator James Hance (previously featured on this blog for his Wookie the Pooh pieces) is too adorable not to share.

Titled “Someone Who Loves You,” this sweet painting features Up‘s Carl Fredricksen and his wife Ellie as Han and Leia from Star Wars. Prints will be available Tuesday on Hance’s website.

Via io9.

1. Did you know that you can embed Tweets?

Just mouseover the tweet I have embedded below. Notice that the tweet is “live,” meaning that all the links (such as the “Follow” button) clickable and functional.

So they’re watching Knicks in Taipei but I can’t get the game.#iliveheredammit

— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) February 16, 2012

Apparently I seem to be one of the last people on earth who did not know this feature existed. And if you too, are thinking, “THIS IS COMPLETELY NEW INFORMATION TO ME!”, here’s how you do it:

1. From the Twitter webpage, mouseover the tweet you want to embed.
2. Click on “Open” on the top right corner.
3. Click on “Details” which should slide out directly beneath the tweet.
4. Now, you will see an option to “Embed this Tweet” right under the tweet. And voilà! The following window should open:

While most people will want to use the HTML, the Shortcode option is a great one for those who are blogging from a platform — like WordPress.com — that allows Twitter shortcodes. (If you are a WordPress.org user, you can install the Modern Media Tweet Shortcode plugin to get the shortcode working.)

2. Scumbag Jeremy Lin

Yesterday, I chuckled over the following meme on Reddit:

And today, I saw that last night’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart had a segment of a similar note, one that is full of corny Lin puns and sarcastic humor that is so classic of the comedic news show. Check it out yourself:

3. New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks, February 19, 2012

J and I try our best to attend at least one Knicks game every season (if only they weren’t so expensive!), and this year’s visit to MSG will be this Sunday!

Needless to say, I am super stoked. I am crossing my fingers that this game will surpass the best NBA game I’ve attended so far (which was a Sixers vs. Lakers game in 2001, when they went to the Finals) and you know that I will be decked out in Jeremy Lin gear!

Sunday’s game is a nationally televised one (ABC), so I’m thinking of making a catchy sign. Any suggestions?

I do not pay too much attention to movie posters, so it comes as no surprise that I have never noticed these clichés before. I guess that the movie advertising business is similar to other design-related fields in that they know what works, and/or are fresh out of original ideas.

Between the legs:

Black and white with colored flames:

 Lying in bed:

 Big heads in the sky over tiny people on the beach:

 Back to back:

Large text over faces:

Blue nature-themed:

One big eye:

 From the back (often with weapons):

The red dress:

Yellow indie film poster:

Reflection in sunglasses:

On a bench:

Go visit Le Sibère Carnet de Christophe Courtois (note: site in French) for more!

A fanatical Hunger Games fan by the name of V. Arrow has thoughtfully and carefully put together a map of Panem’s 13 districts, taking into account all historical accounts from the books, and merging what has been revealed about each district with the typography and natural resources of North America.

Click on over to aimmyarrowshigh’s LiveJournal, where she details the reasonings and processes that went into developing this magnificent map.

She also has a small FAQ section which answers, “Why don’t you leave big blank spaces of empty land between the Districts? What about the Wilderness?” and “Y U NO HAVE MORE OF CANADA AND MEXICO?”

Via Nerd Approved.