SDCC, MASH, Soldiers & a Housewarming

San Diego Comic Con Saturday programing has been released. Like with Friday there are a ton of things I'd like to see but only one that is a "must" see and that's the Warner Bros Panel Saturday morning at 10am. There going to be presenting The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Not sure if any of the cast members will be there but I'm sure they'll have a few surprises up their sleeves. It's in Hall H which is the largest of the rooms (holds over 7000 people) but this is also the room where people camp out overnight in line to get in. I'm going to do my best to get there early but I won't camp out overnight there. So will see if I make it in or not.

Spent about three hours today watching six episodes of MASH. I am recording podcasts tomorrow and I always like to watch the episodes I'm about to record so I can refresh my memory. Most episodes I can remember from the description but it's always nice to watch them as well.

I made the mistake of watching the reunion between a dog and soldier on you tube and 3 hours later I was still watching soldiers reunions.. not only with their dogs but with family and friends. I was a blubbering ball of tears afterwards. I should have know better as I'm a sucker for a heartwarming video.

During the evening I went over to my buddy Robert's place for his house warming party. He and his girlfriend Cait move in a few blocks away from me here in Noho. I brought over about 15 beers that I have had in my fridge. It was hot and I walked over with them. Felt I was carry a ton of bricks.

Once there we played some Mario Cart 8, snacked on some chicken, played a game of Ticket to Ride and a few hours of Cards Against Humanity.

It was a fun evening with friends. I stumbled home just after midnight. I love living within walking distance.

Blogging, SDCC & Mario Bros

Today I spent a good amount of the day blogging about my vacation. It takes me about an hour to blog one post. But it's fun reliving those days. It's been a few months since I've been home but I miss Ireland/England.. especially my friends over there. One day I'll make my way back. But for now I'm just happy to finish up my blogs.

San Diego Comic Con has released it's Friday programing. Lot's of great things.. Fox, Marvel, Jim Henson panels but nothing that I "must" go to like with Thursday. I may try and cosplay as a Hobbit if my feet hold out one more day. If not I'll just enjoy walking the floors and visiting with friends.

I came across these videos on Facebook and they made me laugh.. figured I'd share them with you all. Both of Super Mario Bros related... enjoy!!

Goonies, SDCC and Cups

San Diego Comic Con Programming for Thursday has been released. And there are so many awesome panels that I wouldn't mind attending but the one that caught my attention the most and is a must see for me...

Goonies: Never Say Die Panel - With Richard Donner's announcement that a sequel to his beloved 1985 classic The Goonies is on the way, join Goonies cast members to explore how it became an iconic movie for an entire generation, why the film has stood the test of time, and possible insights into the much anticipated sequel. Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) moderates a panel of cast members and special surprise guests, including a Q&A session. Thursday July 24, 2014 6:00pm - 7:00pm Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Super excited of this as The Goonies is one of my all time favorite movies. I was 14/15 years old when it came out and I so wanted to be a Goonie and go on adventures. They haven't announced which cast members will be there but I'm excited to see who shows up and hear any news about the long awaited sequel.

I also wanted to share a video with you guy that was posted on Facebook. I guess I'm late to the party as it was posted in September of 2013 and has over 3 million views.. but I guess it's better late then never. I had never heard the song before, which I really like and I like her performance and choice of instrument. Check it out below.

President Snow PSA & My New Patrons

President Snow released another PSA for Panem, but things didn't go as planned.

I'm really liking these viral video for the next Hunger Games movie Mockingjay part 1. Can't wait to see what comes next.

I want to thank my first patrons for Geekyfanboy Proudctions. Anthony Thompson, Aaron Trahan, Doug Rusley, Steven Cain, Robert F. Ludwick and Tamar Curry. Thank you guys for being amazing friends and always being so supportive in all that I do. If you'd like to become a patron of mine you can do so HERE.

Become a Patron of Mine

Besides all the geeky stuff that has happen today I finished editing my next MASH 4077 Podcast, it will be released on July 15th. I even started on the next podcast which won't be out until August 1st. Currently trying to setup a time that my brother and I can get together to record our next Alien Nation podcast.

Speaking of podcasts.. I created a Patreon account, to help pay for my podcasting hobby. Between URL fees, Podbean fees, equipment updates and various other podcast related items I have spent over $10,000 the past five years. Luckily I've been very fortunate that "listeners" have helped alot with donations. But since I've been out of work for over a year it's getting harder and harder to justify spending what little money I have on this hobby. But with that said I love doing podcasts and creating other types of online content.

That's when I came across Patreon. It's kind of like Kickstarter/Indiegogo which enables fans to give ongoing support to their favorite creators. Unlike Kickstarter which is a one time donation this is a monthly thing. You can donate any dollar amount and at the end of every month you will automatically donate that amount to help keep me creating new online content/podcasts. So if you enjoy my podcasts, blogs or various other online things I do then please consider becoming a patron of mine. Thank you. Here's the link to my Patreon account. http://www.patreon.com/geekyfanboy

C&H, Diagon Alley & Pottermore

Woke up to a Calvin and Hobbes post on Facebook that brought me to tears. I'm not sure who wrote it but if you're a Calvin and Hobbes fan this is a must read. Just make sure you are not in a public place and have plenty of tissues. You can read it HERE.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley opens today. I have been seeing pictures of crazy fans filling every inch of that place all day today. There's even a picture of a waiting sign for the new Gringots ride that says the wait time is 460 minutes.

I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan but I would never go on opening day of one of these parks. It took me a year and a half to get to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade and it was still packed but nothing like it was on opening day. I'll probably go to Diagon Alley sometime in 2016... I think waiting a year is a good plan.

There's even more Potter news... Are you a member of Pottermore? If so you know that J.K. Rowling has been releasing a ton of new information about the Harry Potter World on that site. Well today she released her first short story about a current day Harry Potter and friends. It's an article written by Rita Skeeter so of course it's a gossip column but even so you get a good idea of what the gang has been up to since the infamous Battle of Hogwarts. If you are a member of Pottermore you should check it out there. But for whatever reason you are not a member of Pottermore then should sign up.. and if you don't have time to do that you can go to this WEBSITE where they have the entire 1500 short story posted.

I Hate My Voice...

This came up in a Twitter conversation and it got me thinking on how far I'm come on this topic. From my early teens and into my twenties I had a hard time listening to my recorded voice. My voice is higher then the average male and I use to get made fun of all the time in grade school, which made me become less vocal and known as the "quiet" one. When I was a teen and would answer the phone I would always get. "How you doing today madam" or "Good evening miss.. is the man of the house available". It use to drive me crazy and I'm sure it lead to some of my insecurity's.

In collage I took a "child literary" course and for our final we had pick three children books with a common theme and present them in front of the entire class. Now I have a huge fear of public speaking and as I mentioned, not liking my voice played into that. But I sucked it up and presented my three books like I was talking to a group of five year olds. When I was done fellow students would critique my performance and the biggest positive/complement was the tone of my voice. That it was perfect for talking to children. That I have a very sweet and gentle voice, one that would appeal to kids. This was the first time I had heard anything positive about my voice and it felt great.

Jump ahead to 2005 and the birth of podcasts. One of the first ones that I ever listen to was called Treks in Sci Fi. Rico Dostie was the host and he was charming and funny and I was hooked from the first beta episode. I started sending in audio comments that he would play on his show. It was strange hearing myself on his podcasts but also very exciting. To know that listeners of his podcasts were hearing me and my thoughts on whatever topic he was talking about was amazing.

Slowly but surely over the years I grew to be comfortable my voice. I also can say that it had deepen a bit over time. In 2007 several members of the Treks in Sci Fi forums started doing a RPG Star Trek game and in 2008 Jen and I started the Treks in Sci Fi RPG podcast, it would be a supplement to the regular Treks in Sci Fi podcast. So now I was hearing my voice on a monthly bases and the more I listen to more I got use to it and not really care what I sounded like.

Now in 2014 I can say that I am content with my voice. Would I like it to be a bit deeper.. sure but I no longer cringe when I hear myself on a podcast or doing an interview. My voice is part of me, it makes me the podcaster that I am and I am happy with that... I've come along way!!!

RGQ - Favorite Robot/Android/AI

This morning I asked a Random Geek Question on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Here is what I asked: Who's your favorite Android - Robot - A.I. and why?

Here are some responses from Twitter -

• @MattJSour  @Geekyfanboy Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons. Because of her sexy strut...and she cleans up things.

•  @luisbermudez @Geekyfanboy Bender from Futurama. A sarcastic, drunken robot. That bends things. Called Bender. Because he drinks. So many levels.

•  @BelRand @Geekyfanboy Buffybot! Because she'll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo!  

•  @Parademon @Geekyfanboy I'll go with Data. I just like the straight man humor.situations.  

•  @Lunachique @Geekyfanboy Data, because he is kind of like a kid, trying to find his way in his world.

• @Aradinsc @Geekyfanboy Probably S.A.R.A.H., EDI & The Andromeda Ascendant As I thought they were all interesting characters in their own right 

• @bonk_of_37 @Geekyfanboy The "man-machine" Maria from Metropolis. Top 10 all-time film for me. So ahead of its time.   

• @egspoony @Geekyfanboy V.I.C.I (Voice Input Child Identicant) "Vicky" the robot. Cause she was prob my first celebrity crush.

• @Josh_TolkienFan  @Geekyfanboy Data, Bender, R2D2, Bishop(Aliens), David(Prometheus), Hal 9000, Marcus Wright(Terminator Salvation), Roy Batty(Blade Runner) 

• @OliviaYoungers @Geekyfanboy Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide -- he's the Eeyore of space!

And from Facebook - 

 
Doug Luberts - Marvin the Paranoid Android from "A Hitchhiker's Guide", because he's the funniest morbidly-depressed android around.

Daniel Vieira - No contest. Data Funny and innocent. 

 

Ken Todd - Kryton from Red Dwarf. Hilarious observations about people.

Andrew Stirling MacDonald - Bender from Futurama is my favorite. Runners-up include Marvin (Hitchhiker's) Legion (Mass Effect) and Morgan Primus (Star Trek: New Frontier).

Andrew Avalos - Twiki, because he's awesome...

Scarlett Weasley - Rosie from The Jetsons cuz she don't take no shit from anyone!

Data was clearly the winner getting 4 votes but two things really surprised me about this poll.. first that Rosie from The Jetsons got several votes and that R2D2 got none. 

As for me my favorite it has to be R2D2 with Data coming in a close second. Let me know who your favorite Android, Robot and/or A.I. is down in the comment section.

Podcasts and Pathfinder

It was a productive day, I managed to finish editing my next Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast, which will be released on July 10th. I also got a majority of my next MASH 4077 Podcast compete. That one will be released on July 15th. I only have one more pass to sweeten the audio before that one is done. Still working on officially ending my Knights of the Guild podcast, reconfiguring my Confessions of a Fanboy podcast and starting up my all geek podcast The Geek Roundtable.

During the evening it was D&D time. We finished out last session surrounded by a bunch of evil people and Dash (my character) was about to do something foolish.

~ Faced with the prospect of seeing some of his Halfling brethren forced to beat each other to death before his very eyes, Dash commanded them to stop and all eyes turned towards the party. It wasn’t long before people started to recognize them as the Fellowship of the Foaming Mug and the battle begun.

And what a battle it was! Necromancers! Witches! Inquistors! Ice Wizards! Toddlers! The bulk of the party got webbed into place in pretty short order, severely hindering their movements but they managed to hold their own with superior defensive maneuvers. While Dash jumped down to help his Halfing brothers tear down the wall keeping them trapped in the makeshift pit. Arethal and Nár saw the worst of things up top but persistence paid off and the party was victorious even though it seemed that Lord Armin escaped.

The Halflings begged the party to catch Lord Armin before he was able to report to Niliius the Necromancer as they felt their family and friends would be in danger from the dire Necromancer. The party took off with the Halfling Percy in tow and after a semi-thrilling chase that involved killing some bugbear porters, Tailyn and Ginneon managed to find him dead at the docks.

A bent old man with a gray beard that they presumed to be Nilius stepped out of the fog. He told the party that the point was well taken and that he would reconsider their employer’s offer. Not entirely sure what he was talking about, Tailyn thought it was a good idea to shoot him in the face with her bow. He calmly wiped away the blood, noted that “Adventurers always have to take the harder road,” and raised his hand to cast a spell. The dead bugbears began to stumble to their feet. ~

Another fun and exciting D&D/Pathfinder session. I can't wait to see what's next for our gang of adventurers. Thanks Dallas for being an awesome game master and putting this all together for us.

International Kissing Day

Happy International Kissing Day... Yep this is actually a thing. It started in the UK and has been adopted worldwide. I'm a big fan of kissing, though I don't get to do it often these days.

Here's one of my favorite kissing stories... If you've been to my house you may have seen my montage of pictures of me kissing various friends. It started as a joke as I was determined to kiss a straight male friend of mine. While we were at one of my movie marathons, I mentioned this to him and to my surprise he didn't have a problem kissing me. So we kissed and I got a picture of it.

Well another straight friend of mine said "why does he get to kiss you". So I said "I can kiss you too" and it kind of snowballed from there. The next thing I knew I had a line of straight guys and girls waiting to kiss me. To make it more fun with each person we did a different pose. For example, one picture had the two of us embraced in a tight hug and kissing. Another is me being pushed up against a door and the person holding my hands above my head while kissing me and so on. It was a lot of fun coming up with different ways to kiss my friends.