Welcome back, fellow SWTOR fans, to another epic episode of the TORWars Podcast!  This week's show is full of news, opinions, and all the latest info for fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic (and for Star Wars in general) for the week of December 17th, 2013.  Without further ado, let's jump right on into the show!
News:
If you happen to be listening to the show when it first goes live (on Tuesday morning), you'll recognized that the servers have been down for maintenance.  This four-hour maintenance is called Update 2.5.1, and it's a whopper.  Update 2.5.1 serves no less than four individual purposes.

First, Update 2.5.1 is a generalized bug-fixing patch:

On December 17th, all game servers will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.5.1 will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday December 17th, 2013
Duration: 4 hours
Time: 3AM PST (11AM GMT) - 7AM PST (3PM GMT)

Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

Second, Update 2.5.1 introduces the SWTOR Second Anniversary Rewards:

On December 17th, SWTOR will be celebrating its two year anniversary!  BioWare is celebrating by giving everyone "SWTOR Second Anniversary Rewards", which includes 25 faction based fireworks, as well as custom paint jobs for the scout starfighter.  

Third, Update 2.5.1 introduces a new Life Day event:

NEW EVENT COMING SOON: LIFE DAY EVENT
(DECEMBER 17, 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014: BEGINS AND ENDS
AT 2AM PST/10AM GMT) LEVEL: Levels 10 – 55

MISSION: Celebrate Life Day with two weeks of snowball fights! Every snowball you throw during the Life Day Event has a chance to award you with a Snow-Covered Parcel. Collect and exchange your Snow-Covered Parcels for festive rewards at the “Master of Ceremonies” located in the Galactic Trade Market sector in the Imperial and Republic fleets. Snowball Bombs and Fireworks can be purchased for credits from the Master of Ceremonies. Watch out for those snowballs!

FEATURED REWARDS::

Mount: Sleigh I
Mount: Cyan Sphere (requires Snow Parcels from Life Day Event and Gray Helix Components from the Gree Event)
Achievements:Fireworks: Life Day Tree

Jolly Parcel Peddler (Legacy Title: Life Day Celebrant)
Merry Life Day To All!
To All A Good Night! (Legacy Title: A Special Snowflake)

Life Day Snowball Bomb

Fourth, Update 2.5.1 brings back the Relics of the Gree event:

RETURNING SOON: RELICS OF THE GREE EVENT
(DECEMBER 17, 2013 – JANUARY 1, 2014: BEGINS AND ENDS AT 2AM PST/10AM GMT)
LEVEL: Levels 50 – 55

MISSION: Explore Ilum’s contested area in the Western Ice Shelf to uncover the mysterious purpose of the Gray Secant, an enormous ancient Gree starship. Get ready to face a powerful opponent that awaits you at the center of this ancient vessel. Visit the in-game News Terminal located on Carrick Station or Vaiken Spacedock to get started on your adventure!

FEATURED REWARDS:

NEWLY ADDED: Gree Digitization Cube (Gree-themed rest-and-recharge item)
NEWLY ADDED: Cyan Sphere (requires Snow Parcels from Life Day Event and Gray Helix Components from the Gree Event)
Reputation with the Gree Enclave
Armor: White, Red, Blue Scalene Armor
Weapons: Gray Helix Weapons, Gray Helix Lightsaber
In-game pets: L1-L Defender, L1-L Scout, Miniature Gray Secant
Mounts: Blue Sphere and Red Sphere Transport Enclosure Vehicles
…and more!

New Feature - The SWTOR Whine of the Week:
First up, we got this comment from The Grand Nagus, a listener of the show/reader of the site:
Hey folks, long time listener, first time commenting. Ive enjoyed the show for some time, but not so much lately because it seems like half of the show is just whining about other people whining. I get that you love the game and dont like to read complaints, but listening to you complain about other people complaining isnt very fun. So please,