yodablog.info

Author Archive

Outlands: Lives of Dirt An angelic blue sky hovered high above with puffy white clouds roaming its endless vista. Below, a serene rolling landscape of blown over grass rustled silently in a cool breeze. The vibrant greens literally stabbed the eye with their color. A boy of about nine or ten swept away a lock [...]
Star Wars Book Report

The federal government is making strides to make it easier to get a passport in less time. Travelers can choose to visit an agency, go to the local post office, mail-in their application to the U. S. Department of State, or go to the county clerk. You can seek the assistance of an outside firm and they will handle the details for you to get a US passport rush.

You Need A Passport

By going through the government entities, a traveler has three options: expedited service, routine service and life or death emergency service. In this case, the traveler needs expedited service. You will also need to make sure you have all the necessary materials.

You Need An Itinerary

The government understands many people need to obtain expedited passports. Travelers have options should they choose to take care of the matter personally. They can visit the specialized agency, mail-in the application to the U. S. Department of State, visit a local post office or see the county clerk.

You Need Help

One can also contact an outside firm. They will handle all of the details for obtaining your travel document. However, they must first get your information, which will mean additional costs.

You Need Documents

The process for getting it varies slightly depending on the speed at which you need it. To begin, the traveler will need to gather the items mentioned above. You may then determine which application option you want to pursue.

You Must Pay The Fee

If the traveler chooses to handle the matter personally, the application fee may be expensive for anyone over 18 years of age. For anyone under 18, it may cost a bit less. Expedited passports cost more than the regular ones, however. Payment methods depend on whether you mail your application materials or visit an agency.

You Need A Speedy Delivery

You may need to contact the US State Department if you have any specific questions or needs. You may likely need a copy of your travel arrangements and itinerary to prove the need for speed. There is no guarantee that you will receive one within 2-3 weeks but you are more likely to do so by visiting a government office.

You Can Track The Progress

If the traveler chooses to handle this United States passport name change personally, your best bet is to schedule an appointment with a regional office. The stipulation for this service is that you must be traveling within two weeks. You are required to also bring all of the articles mentioned above and prove your travel arrangements and agenda during your trip.

On the heels of the latest patch BioWare has also debuted a new trailer that highlights things to come for Star Wars: The Old Republic. James Ohlen discusses the recent Rise of the Rakghouls game update and how it is … Continue reading »
Star Wars: The Old Republic

BioWare has announced a new event to take place at their studio in Austin, the Guild Summit. This event will invite guild leaders from around the world to meet with the design team for Q&A sessions, roundtable discussions, and even … Continue reading »
Star Wars: The Old Republic

I don’t know why I was surprised when James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis failed to blow my mind. I bought the book on the release date, but didn’t start it until last Monday – mainly because I knew I’d have to recap the Luceno Facebook chat on Wednesday and I didn’t want to be spoiled for [...]
Club Jade

If you find yourself in a position where you have less pages left in your passport, you should consider adding a few more. This can be as a result of you being a frequent traveler who needs urgent or new passport books. If you are a frequent traveler and you are a business person, you have to look for the easiest way to add pages to American passport fast.

Minimum Pages

When the passport has only a few pages left, you have to act quickly, especially if you are planning on traveling soon. You can do this by applying for it right away since the process takes about four to six weeks for it to be complete. Acting upon this issue fast will allow you to have a successful procedure that will enable you to travel.

Documents

Before requesting or applying for extra space for this travel document, make sure that it is valid. Therefore, you should always bear in mind that the document has to be valid to be able to get additional pages added. If the document is valid, you can resume the application process for the document. However, after applying for the document, ensure that you mail the document along with the existing travel document to the given address.

Personal Details

Note that whenever you are completing this form, you will first be required to provide personal or background information. You can start by giving the birth certificate, sex, birthplace, phone numbers and current address. When submitting the phone numbers, you may include alternate emergency contacts. Finish off by signing the form and stating the date in which the form was completed.

Routine

As for the charges, if you are using the normal routine, you are not supposed to pay extra fees for this service to be rendered. You should also note that when you need such a document immediately, you can go for the expedited travel documents which, in turn, will require you to pay extra fees. These types of travel documents are processed faster allowing you to travel in about two weeks time.

Travel Agencies

If you do not have any other alternative, you can seek the help of a tour agency in the area. You will be in a position to fill out the forms with the help of an expert. This expert will direct you on the information required so that the passport is released on time. When filling the form in, the PIN number and security number should be included.

Process

If you need the document quickly, you can seek the help of an online agency because the whole process will be faster since they take care of all needs of customers that travel frequently. You can seek their services at the comfort of your home or office. This is convenient because you will save on transportation costs. Look into getting a same day American passport.

It was before the release of Star Wars Episode III, when I heard George Lucas reveal that he was going to put together a movie about the Tuskeegee Airmen. I remember being very excited about this movie much more so then watching Episode III. Whenever someone would negatively criticize Lucas, I made it a point to bring up the mythical production of a mainstream movie about the Tuskeegee Airmen. Being a historian, World War II has become one of my favorite eras to cover with the contributions by African American pilots and tank crews, Chinese partisans, and Russian female fighter pilots being my favorite parts. So when I saw the preview to “Red Tails,” I have to admit that I had a large emotional investment in the project.

American pop culture in general has been very nostalgic when it comes to doing movies or stories about WWII. That war is considered “the just war.” It is sacred ground. Anything about segregation, Japanese internment camps, and the dropping of bombs on civilians (Dresden stands out the most) is never to be discussed. The last movie that dealt with segregation in the US military during WWII was HBO’s Tuskeegee Airmen in which Lucas took many cues from. With a smaller budget but stellar cast, HBO produced a wonderful piece. Lucas employed probably one of the best satirical writers in Hollywood today: Aaron McGruder and John Ridley. The most critical approach to WWII was put together in comic book form by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker entitled “Truth: Red, White, and Black.” It’s release in 2003 was controversial in geekdom since the story implied that the U.S. military experimented on African American soldiers with the untested super soldier serum that later made Steve Rogers Captain America. We learn that the original Captain America, Isaiah Bradley, was secretly fighting Nazi’s while Rogers was doing parades and USO shows. Thankfully, Marvel Comics has kept Bradley’s story as canon. What was interesting in the latest movie adaptation of Captain America is Derek Luke’s role as Gabriel Jones one of the members of Howling Commandos. Luke’s Gabriel Jones was the renaissance man speaking several languages, able to operate almost every vehicle, out punch any Nazi, and even give a shout out to Howard University.

It’s important to note that McGruder on his popular Boondocks series on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, wrote a story about the elder Freeman as a Tuskeegee Airman entitled “Wing Man.” It was probably one of the funniest episodes of that season. Ridley also penned a jingoistic period piece entitled “The American Way” for DC Comics about fake superheroes employed by the US government during the Civil Rights era to entertain the public. The black superhero of that story was called “The New American.” His power was being impervious to almost anything but the catch was that he would still feel the pain of the particular onslaught be it bullets or flamethrower. We see that same approach to the characters in Red Tails. Most of them are hard, gritty pilots who can match barbs with the best of them but understand that their presence in the Army Air Corps stands by a thread.

Unlike HBO’s story of the Fightin’ 99th, Red Tails lacks substance. If anything Ne Yo is annoying. There is someone named Joker (Elijah Kelley) but all the comic relief attempts were done by Ne Yo. Cuba Gooding, Jr. was restrained in his role as Major Emanuelle Stance. Although, he had few lines, Gooding did well playing the old pilot dropping jewels on his young fighter pilots. While I love Nate Parker, he did not sell his role as squadron leader Marty “Easy” Julian. The stand out performance was by new comer David Ayewolo who played Easy’s Wingman, Joe “Lightning” Little. Ayewolo carried the movie and one couldn’t help but root for him. Like any black and white movie produced in the 1950s about WWII pilots, Parker played the by the book squadron leader who has conflicts with the maverick pilot. Unfortunately, we didn’t see that chemistry played well between the two.

What I enjoyed the most about the movie is that it was about fighter pilots. Anyone who has worked around fighter pilots will tell you that they are a unique breed who want to see action. They disdain anything that grounds them. I know quite a few Colonels who are up for desk jobs who refuse to do this and want to remain fighter pilots until their heart stops. We see that conflict arise when Ray “Junior” Gannon (Tristan Wilds) is grounded by the flight surgeon. At one point Gannon laments that he would rather die than be grounded. This is how real fighter pilots think. Gannon, who insists on being addressed by his call name “Ray Gun,” is referred to as Junior because of his green ears. As he is shot down and taken prisoner by the Germans, we see his fellow POWs rely on him. When he escapes and returns to his unit, they immediately call him “Ray Gun.” There is even a Nazi villain. What’s a fun movie about WWII without it’s Nazi villain. The Tuskeegee Airmen even dub him “Pretty Boy.” I must admit that I jumped up when he was blown out of the sky.

Overall, the movie could use some work. The acting leaves much to be desired. The pacing is slow. The real struggle of the Tuskeegee Airmen was pretty much written out. Lucas admitted that there was so much to cover and let’s face it, the American audience disdains long history lessons. The movie is fun and the action is unparalleled. The dog fights are realistic and the costumes are spot on. I took my daughter to see this. Like my other children, she is familiar with the story of the Tuskeegee Airmen, Patton’s Panthers, and Russian women fighter pilots. Like her father, my daughter is a huge Star Wars fan and I wanted to share this moment with her. She found the movie to be fun and entertaining. I think that was the entire point. So this writer salutes Lucas and I hope his gamble pays off.

Comic Books for Colored Folks

This week in Alderaan News Holopics we have some fresh holo-stills from the planet Ilum, famed for it’s Adegan lightsaber crystals if its icy surface and starry skies can’t hide from this vicious war. We also have a few hard … Continue reading »
Star Wars: The Old Republic

This Trooper Log series is posted simultaneously and in full on both my personal blog, Twilight Lynk, and StarWarsMMO.net. Enjoy! Havoc Squad travels to the neutral moon of Nar Shaddaa to investigate reports that an advanced Republic Battle Droid has … Continue reading »
Star Wars: The Old Republic

In most areas of the world, an individual traveling from one country to another must have proper identification showing who they are and their citizenship. Lacking this type of documentation will often prevent them from entering the country they wish to enter and may prevent them from easily returning back into their home country. However, there are times when a person must travel to another country when they originally had no intention of doing so. Situations happen when emergency United States passports are needed for people to freely move from one area of the world to another.

Unexpected Travel

In some countries, these passports can be issued within a twenty-four hour period. They are issued for a specific purpose that can be verified. Situations where a family member has been hurt or become seriously ill while traveling is a reason. There are times when business matters can trigger the process of expediting traveling documents. Whatever the reason, the normal waiting time that most people have to go through has to be shortened to attend to a critical situation.

Issuance

There are steps that have to be followed when these documents are issued. Personal identification will be necessary to have as in all applications. There will be a fee structure that must be paid. In many instances, a person is required to appear at a processing location in person before emergency paperwork is processed.

Official Documents

The personal identification required is usually a birth certificate or an official certificate of birth. These should have the raised seal of the place of issuance on the paper to prove authenticity. A person will also need to have a photograph of themselves to place in the passport.

Costs

The costs involved will vary depending on how quickly they need the document. There will be the normal processing fee charged in most cases. Then there will be additional fees associated with expediting the process. Also, there are extra costs associated with traveling to offices where they have to appear in person to have the procedure take place. There may be different fees if you need to renew a pasport.

Government

Since these passports are being fast tracked, a government official will need to verify the identity of the person applying for documents. The official also must verify that an actual emergency exists to evade the normal procedures. In order for this, an individual must appear in person in front of the official giving permission to expedite the documents.

Emergency Passport

Obtaining a passport ahead of time is advisable in many situations to avoid this situation from arising. If one knows that a close family member is traveling overseas, one may wish apply for proper paperwork for traveling ahead of time in case an emergency arises. Also, anyone planning on doing business overseas should plan ahead to avoid any problems with their traveling plans.