Best Laid Plans...

So I started my day on a schedule.. woke up around 7:30am. My schedule didn't start until 8am. So I jumped online and read twitter.. I noticed that LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online) tweeted that they were starting their Spring Festival 2013 in game today. So I went to check it out. Figured it would be like their 6th Anniversary celebration last month but instead of a just a few new "special" quests, there were 30 to 40 new quests taking you all over Middle Earth.. it was pretty awesome but was not in my schedule for the day.

I debated on even starting the quests as I knew if I started I would have a tough time stopping. Also alot of the quests were timed so once you started you couldn't stop until they were complete. Well I started at 8am and didn't come up for air until around 2pm when my buddy Chris joined me.

I took a break as I needed to run a few errands, eat lunch and vote. Well the voting thing didn't turn out so well. My normal voting place was not doing it this time around and I never got anything in the mail saying where it was going to be. So I looked online and for my address the official site said it did not have a polling place for me so I wasn't able to vote :(

I did pick up what I needed and grabbed some lunch before heading home. I started LOTRO back up around 4pm and played until 8pm before calling it a night.

Of course I feel guilty not getting anything on my schedule done like I wanted to. But I haven't done a full day of gaming in quite a while and sometimes you just need it. The schedule I made for tomorrow is pretty much the same for today but I added "rewards" so when I finish a task like editing my next KOTG podcast I can take an hour to play some LOTRO.  So will see how this works out tomorrow. I can't keep delaying all this stuff I have to do.

I'm A Judge for The Geekie Awards

This actually happened a few days ago but I didn't want to announce it until it was official (on their website). I am a judge of the upcoming Geekie Awards. If you don't know what they are here is more info..

The Geekie Awards presents the best indie-created, high production value, awe-inspiring geek-genre content, art, products and experiences in the world.

We, as creators, have never found one show that covered all of our multi-faceted talents, and often, we’ve discovered that the rest of the world didn’t take our work seriously because it was “geeky.” So we created our own show to give indie “geekmakers” a place to shine and be seen by leaders and experts in their respective industries.

Our goal is to create an impact on mainstream media, putting the true geek culture in the spotlight as a collection of valid award-winning genres for storytelling and creation.

This award show was created by the lovely Kristen Nedopak

A friend contacted me on facebook and said that The Geekie Awards were looking for a judge for in a certain field and he thought of no one better then me. I was excited, I quickly emailed them and offered my services to judge and the next day I got a response welcoming me to the team.

So now I'm an official judge for The Geekie Awards.

You can check out my bio page HERE 

I Need A Kick In The Butt

Typical Monday... got up, looked for work... nothing :( Made some plans of what I needed to get done. Then I procrastinated, I mean I really should have worked on my podcasts but instead I cleaned up the house, did some yard work (It was way to hot outside), watched some TV, organized and cleaned up some stuff on my computer. I watched the latest episode of Defiance and I'm still really enjoying this series.. I'm not loving it but it's good enough to make me want to come back each week and see more.. As for my podcasts I did start to prep my MASH and Alien Nation podcasts for tomorrow. I wrote down an hour by hour schedule for tomorrow as well..

Being out of work really takes away the structure in life. I get up when I feel like it. I pretty much do anything I want all day long with no regards to what I actually need to get done. I tend to be very motivated in the morning thinking I'll get so much done today and then a few hours in I start to get lethargic and tired, then it's a struggle all day to keep myself motivated. So I'm hoping with a schedule I can organize my life a bit better, I do like goals. I hope this is the motivation I need to get things moving again.

Dungeons and Dragons and Friends... oh my!!

D&D today.. we normally play every other Sunday but since one member of our party is leaving this month we wanted to get one more game in with him so we pushed it up a week. Before D&D Anthony and I went over to Dallas and Jes' a few hours early. Jes and Anthony were going to work on making "the internet" (it's an IT Crowd thing). Anthony knows about electronics and Jes wanted to learn. So he actually showed her how to read specs and solder. At first it didn't work and then did and then broke but in the end they got it to work and now Jes has her very own Internet.

While they were doing this I chatted with Dallas for an hour or so before he had to get back to work on finishing up our D&D sheets. I knew these guys had HBO Go so I figured I'd watch an episode of Game of Thrones.

I read/listen to the first book but only got about 2/3d's of the way through it before not being able to continue. I was told that Game of Thrones was a fantasy so I was expecting swords and sorcery kind of thing.. it's not. It's all about political intrigue, incest and underage rape. I had a hard time with these topics. It wasn't a fun to read so I gave it up. Now that I know what kind of "fantasy" it is I do want to go back and read the books. And I've been wanting to see the series for a while now.  I did enjoyed the pilot a few months ago with Jes, Dallas and Chris. I was excited to see some more so I watched episode 2 and loved it.

It's slow, there isn't really any action. It's more of a story/character base series. Very dramatic, lots of harsh living, some sex and nudity. The drama kind of reminds me of  Downton Abbey. I mean it's not the same kind of drama but still very mellow-dramatic, very serious. But there is something about that kind of drama that I love.

Was going to try and watch episode 3 but Jes and Anthony were done with the Internet and Dallas was finished with his D&D stuff so we walked over to a shopping center to grab some snacks and lunch before we play.

3:30 came and now it was time for D&D. This round we still had a large group; Adam, Dallas, Jes, Josh, Kenny, Anthony, Will, Luis, Matt, Aaron and Rupert. Jen arrived during the last half hour or so of play. This game was completely different then the previous two. We had no battles other then a small skimish between our group and the blacksmith. I'm happy to say that Dash (my halfling Wizard) actually put a sleep spell on two of the three people. The story continued to progress as we walked around the town trying to get more information about the Dragon cult. I did a bit more interaction with the gang, but it went a bit to far when they wanted my character to decide what we were going to do next. Over all another fun evening of Dungeons and Dragons. (Pathfinder).

Afterwards I hung out with Jen and we talked for hour straight, catching up on each others lives. I miss her, we haven't really hung out in over a year. She's been extremely busy but recently moved in with my buddy Will. We talked about having a one on one day again soon. She and I are able to talk about anything, that's what I always loved about your relationship.

Anyways at 10:30 Anthony and I left Jes and Dallas' place and headed home. Can't wait for another D&D game in two weeks.

Doctor Who S7 Finale

~SPOILERS~

Not only did a get to see the AWESOME Star Trek Into Darkness (check out my previous blog) but afterwards I came home and got to watch Doctor Who Season Seven Finale. Now if you've been reading my blog you know that I haven't been a big fan of the second half of season seven. I mean this season hasn't been bad, all the episodes have been good, some even really good but none of them left me with the OMG moment like they have done in the past.

I so loved Clara in the Dalek episode and the Christmas special, but they haven't really done much with her in the series. I loved the whole "Who is Clara" storyline and why is she showing up through out the Doctor's lives. But again none of the episodes really dealt with that. It was mentioned here and there but nothing to serious. For the most part episodes have been stand alone episodes not really relating to the others.

Like I said I'm still enjoying the series but alot was riding on this finale and I have to say it didn't disappoint. I loved it, they finally explain who Clara is and why there are multiple versions of the same person. I loved how they blended her into all the other Doctor adventures. I like that they brought back the trio (Vastra, Jenny, Strax) and I really loved that River was back. This is one of those episodes that after it's over you are throughly confused but as I read more online and other peoples thoughts things start to make a little sense. 

The final shot of John Hurt and then they title it As The Doctor, but he's the one that was never called the Doctor. Many are speculating that he's actually the 8th Doctor, the one during the time war. This entire episode is leading up to the 50th Anniversary episode in November. Should be pretty EPIC!!! Can't wait. 

So did this finale change my thoughts about the second half of season seven. Not really it's still a season that I really don't need to go back and watch.. but I think the finale did get me super excited for the 50th anniversary.

Star Trek Into Darkness - My Review

So here are my thoughts on Star Trek Into Darkness (be warned there will be spoilers)

First let me say that I'm a HUGE Star Trek fan. I really got into Star Trek when The Next Generation had started. I mean I saw alot of the Original series but I was more of a Star Wars fanboy then a Trek fanboy... like I said... until TNG.

I enjoyed the reboot and the first movie from JJ. I like how he didn't destroy all that had happened in the past, they just created an alternate universe, brilliant idea. Keep the original fans happy and bring in a whole new crop of new fans.

So it's Saturday and the movie came out here in the U.S. on Wednesday, and actually came out in other countries a few weeks ago so it's been the tough avoiding spoilers. I am happy to say that I avoided most of them.

When the movie was over I was grinning from ear to ear, this was such an incredible movie. Action packed, amazing camera work, the acting was superb and the story was great.

Yes the main bad guy was Kahn and yes they pulled scenes directly from Wrath of Kahn and switched them up a bit. Do I wish they would have had a different bad guy.. of course. The Trek universe is vast and I was really hoping they would use someone that we didn't already know. I mean we are in a different universe why not see different bad guys. But with that said Kahn being the bad guy was pretty much out there, we all knew it was going to be him or Gary Marshal and everyone was leaning towards Kahn. So when he revealed his name I wasn't shocked or disappointed. And I have to say Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job portraying this iconic villain.

Most of the twists and turns I did not see coming which made it fun. I like that Uhura got a more substantal role in this movie. She was pretty bad ass. Scotty and McCoy's roles weren't that large but they had some crucial scenes. Chekov and Sulu didn't have a ton of screen time or much to do. Sulu had a bit more then Chekov and he also had a great scene where he became temp Captain of the ship which of course is foreshadowing of him becoming Captain of the USS Excelsior.

I loved the interaction between Kirk and Spock. These two actors have such great chemistry and really play well of each other. The scene that was directly pulled from TWOK but with a twist was when Kirk sacrifices himself to save his crew and subsequently dies in front of Spock. Of course in the original Spock dies but here Kirk does and the interaction between those two brought me to tears. I mean I knew Kirk wasn't going to die, as soon as this scene started I knew where it was going, I knew Kirk would die but they were going to bring him back with Kahn's blood. But even knowing that the acting from those two guys still moved me. The audience may have known that Kirk would be brought back to life but those two did not.. this was their final goodbye. Quinto's Spoke was amazing here. And of course once Kirk is dead you get Spock (instead of Kirk) doing the infamous yell of KAHHHHHNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!! Some folks are comparing it to the NOOOOOO from Vader in Episode 3. I thought it worked for the scene as well as being a nod to the original. I loved it.

I enjoyed seeing the Klingons.. I'm so glad they had their ridges. It was great getting the cameo of the original Spock (I didn't have a clue he was going to be in it). I like that they introduced the future wife of Kirk, Carol Marcus to the story.. look forward to seeing where that goes. I like the final battle scene with Spock and Kahn and the fact that Spock would have died if it wasn't for Uhura beaming onto a moving transport and attacking Kahn.

There was some amazing camera work here.. when the Enterprise is disabled and falling to Earth and it's twisting and turning and everyone inside is being thrown around was fantastic. Kirk, Scotty and Chechov running while the ship is falling so they were running on walls and then ceilings and falling and through corridors was so well done.  I loved that entire scene.

As you can tell from my review.. I loved the movie I don't think there was a single thing that I didn't like. I actual enjoyed this movie more then the first one and I can't wait to go back and see it again.  I give Star Trek Into Darkness a solid A

Family Visit

It's been a few weeks so today I went down and visited my dad, brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece. First went to lunch with my dad. He wanted to try P.F. Changs. He loved it, especially the garlic noodles which are one of my favorite things from there.  Afterwards we drove over to Toys R Us as my nephew's birthday is in a few weeks and we wanted to pick up some gifts for him. Dad couldn't find what he wanted to get at Toys R Us so we stopped by Target and he found the laser tag guns that he wanted to get.

We headed back home and I hung out with the rest of the family. Got to play alot with my nephew (who adores me) and a bit with my niece (who is still unsure if I'm a good guy).  Had dinner with the family before calling it a day. I think this visit was the longest I have done in a long time. It was a great time hanging with family. My niece and nephew are getting so big.. Kenobi is going to be 4 years old on June 4th... where does the time go!!!

D&D Dice & The Tomorrow People

Got my new D&D dice in the mail today.. of course if you know me you know Green is my favorite color so my dice had to be green. Some folks are surprised when I say that this is my very first set of D&D dice. But understand the last time I played D&D I was 11 years old and didn't play long enough to buy my own set.. I just used friends dice. I played plenty of RPG games over the years but they didn't require dice. Now that I started up a new D&D game with a bunch of friends and it seems to be going really well so I figured it was time to buy my own set... can't wait to use them on Sunday.

I did a blog post a few days ago talking about the new TV series I was looking forward to in the fall. At the time I said there was nothing from the CW network.. but today the CW released trailers for their four "genre" type shows. The only one that really caught my eye was The Tomorrow People, which come to find out is a remake of a 70's British kids show. Quick sysnopsis of the new version; The story of several young people from around the world who represent the next stage in human evolution, possessing special powers, including the ability to teleport and communicate with each other telepathically. Together they work to defeat the forces of evil.

Here's the trailer

And here is a scene.

This looks like my kind of show.. I can't wait!!!!

Ever Changing...

I'm starting to make scrapbooks of my past movie marathons so I've been doing through hundreds of pictures picking ones that best represents the event. Looking at pictures reminds me of all the great times we've had the past few years but it also saddens my heart knowing that we will never have those kind of times again as a group. It was one of those rare moments in time when we all came together in all our geekiness and bonded as one solid group of friends. But over time people change, feelings are hurt, cliques are formed, people move away and what was once this awesome "Geek Mob" is just a faded memory.

But I won't be sadden by it's demise I remain happy that it happen. For a moment in time I had the perfect group of friends. I have the most wonderful memories and pictures to remember all the good times we had. They may never come again but who knows.. maybe something bigger and better is waiting just around the corner.

Now I'm not saying that those friends are gone... most are still around, we've just splintered off into smaller groups. We tend to hang out with those that we bonded with most when we were the bigger group. We have several folks who met through The Geek Mob who are now roommates. We also have some who are doing projects together like webseries. The Geek Mob will continue in some form or another... it will never truly go away as long as a few of us keep it's light burning in our hearts.

Buffy Rewatch/1st Time Continues...

It's Wednesday so that means I drive down to my best bud Robert's place for some dinner and Buffy. We walked over to Taco Bell for some vittles. Back at his place we continued the Buffy marathon. We are in the middle of Season Six. First up is Episode 7 "Once More With Feelings" In this episode, a mysterious force compels Sunnydale residents to sing songs that reveal their true feelings and deep secrets. Buffy is forced to finally admit to her friends that they pulled her out of heaven—not hell as they believed. Later, she and Spike share a kiss.

This is one of my all time favorite Buffy episodes. I have the sound track and listen to it often. I know most of the words to most of the songs. The music is great but so many things happen in this episodes. Tara finds out about Willow's mind trick on her and is devastated. Buffy reveals that she was in Heaven and everyone is devastated. This episode was a game changer for story and for story telling for a TV series.

Next was Episode 8 "Tabula Rasa" In the aftermath of the discovery that they had pulled Buffy Summers out of Heaven, Rupert Giles finally resolves to leave Sunnydale and return to England to allow Buffy to gain independence. Meanwhile, Willow Rosenberg agrees to go a week without using magic when Tara Maclay threatens to leave her, but almost immediately goes back on her word and casts another memory spell with the intent of making Tara and Buffy forget the damages of the spells she used on them. The spell goes awry and gives the entire Scooby Gang, including herself, complete amnesia, which puts everyone in danger when a demonic loan shark, Teeth, and his vampire enforcers attack the Magic Box to collect Spike's gambling debt.

This was a fun episode in the since that the actors got to play completely different roles.  Once the spell was broken then all the seriousness took over. Willow is going down a dark path and it's hard to watch as she's one of my favorite characters (of course I've seen all these episodes before so I know what happens but it's fun watching with Robert who has never seen it). Robert could not believe that Buffy and Spike continued with their weird relationship.

Our third episode of the night is Episode 9 "Smashed" Willow "de-rats" Amy. The Trio rob the Sunnydale Museum of Natural History. Buffy and Spike engage in some very rough play.

Again hard to watch as Willow continue down the darkside with the help of fellow witch Amy. And Buffy and Spike finally have sex while destroying a house was epic.

Our final episode of the night is Episode 10 "Wrecked" Willow is finally forced to face the consequences of her addiction when her carelessness lands Dawn in the hospital.

Willow finally hits rock bottom (of has she?) Alyson's acting is incredible. When she is pleading with Buffy for help it's heart breaking. There is no excuse for what she did but part of me still feels so sad for her. She addicted to magic, she can't help herself.

Season six isn't my favorite season.. but I do love the final four episodes, they are some of the best episodes of all of the Buffy series.

Another great Buffy and Bros with my best bud Robert.