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What's happening at the Water Cooler?

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What's the buzz at the water cooler these days? Of course the water cooler was beaten to death (no pun intended) with the happenings of PopeGate 2005, and then we seemed to quickly burn through the "hot at the moment" rumors of Dave Chappelle going mental, checking into a hospital, fleeing to Mars, take your pick.

But now, no one can escape THE REVENGE OF THE SITH. Every local place LAist has stopped in this week so far, whether it be a restaurant, the post office, a coffee shop, or even the dry cleaners, the question on everyone's lips is "So, did you see Star Wars?" Finding the person who didn't see it is like running into a person who was born in Los Angeles. This weekend we ran into two people who hadn't seen ANY Star Wars films, old or new, and it's almost like finding somene who doesn't breathe oxygen.

It's become such a part of the our collective being that everyone has become an expert in Star Wars, and has their own way they would have fixed the movie in the end. The "sandwich artist" at Subway offered us an extended pitch (while making a chicken and bacon wrap) on what he would have done differently with these three new movies. And when George Lucas releases "Star Wars: Make Your Own Movie Kit (tm)" soon, we'll all be able to do just that. While making any lunch item of our choosing. And now that George Lucas has moved into the Presidio, where will he stop? He already has his fingers in USC, and a big foot in San Rafael with his Skywalker Ranch. With the money he's making off of Episode III merchandising alone (Yoda selling Diet Pepsi? Darth Vader showing up to claim a Burger King winnier's million bucks?), he'll soon own all of Southern California. And if you rearrange the letters in SoCal...you get LoCas. Coincidence? Or just a typo?

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