Byrne, son of the Great Thomas the Learnéd from the land of the Swamp known as Louisiana and Lord of the Reeses, decedents of the Followers, which the Elves called Hildor, in the eve of the year of the reign of Obama, set out to read The Children of Húrin, a tale edited by Christopher Tolkien, heir to J.R.R. Tolkien, a man of Legend from a Land across a great Sea which is called The Kingdom United.

'Tis a tedious read,' said Byrne. 'Why must the words be organized thus?'

But endure I will.

Thanks to my friend and brother in-law Erik who always manages to send me the best Star Wars links in the world. This time he sent me to a site featuring a do-it-yourself, cut-out of the Millennium Falcon created and designed by Shunichi Makino.

What I love about paper craft is the engineering behind it all. Like the Star Wars pop-up book that my wife got me for my birthday one year, one has to make special accommodations for the material being used. Paper is not typically a very strong or sturdy material from which to build something as intricate and large as this, and the kit takes all of that into consideration. The instructions clearly show how much of what you will cut out is used for buttressing and support structures, not to mention to help give the Falcon its final shape and form.

Lastly, the detail of this model is extraordinary. Look how the model involves multiple layers to give the final product a truly three dimensional feel, from the radar dish, to the vent covers and the sunken engine parts.

If anyone is looking for a last minute and very easy, very cheap Christmas present for a Star Wars buff, then buy some nice card stock, print this puppy out, wrap it up and you are good to go. Thanks Erik, I know what I will be doing this week!