Webseries, Mustaches and Friends

Today Chris and I worked on revamping our web series GE3K'S Company. We initially had written 6 of 10 episodes for season one and each episode was about 10 minutes each. But I spoke with several "seasoned" web series creators who said that for a first season they'd suggest that we keep the episodes to 2 to 3 minutes each. And once we establish a fan base then we can do longer ones.

So we took our idea and refined it down to just one storyline. We actually took the first episode and half of the second episode and re-wrote them into the new season one (which is now only 5 episodes). We kept alot from the original scripts as we did like alot of what we wrote but somethings had to change since it's a much shorter season now.

In the end I'm very happy with the final result. So far Chris and I are the only ones who have read the season but I do plan on opening it up to some friends for notes. Still don't know when it will be filmed but it's moving forward... slowly

Since Chris is visiting for the extended weekend he put together a gathering of his friends.

Earlier in the day Chris and I went shopping for mustache/beard wax as now that my mustache and beard are getting longer I wanted to see if I could shape them. So I had a bit of fun twirling my stache. I think it turned out pretty good.

First to arrive at my place was Arron, then Rupert and Luis. We all took a shot of Jameson before heading out to Pitfire Grill to meet up with Jes and Dallas. On the way over I realized I forgot my phone and ran back home to get it while everyone waited for me. While at home I took another shot of Jameson. The five of us got to Pitfire and met up with Jes and Dallas. We hung out there for a bit and had a few pitchers of beer (I tried three different kinds) I also had a glass of Sangria (which I had never had before).

After Pitfire we headed over to Jes and Dallas' place to pick up a new card game that Jes had gotten from Wondercon called Superheros. We then proceeded to my place to grab some beers but then got a message from our buddy Will who was now home so we ventured over to his place and met up with him and Becca.

We did a few more shots and beers before starting up a game of Superheros. About halfway through the game Jen woke up and came downstairs to join in. It was some good times.

I got back to my place around 1:30am and didn't feel so well. I spent the next few hours running back and forth to the bathroom thinking I might throw up (which I never did). I feel asleep sometime after 4am... it was totally worth it.

Toys, Walk and Wars

I finally finished my guest/toy room. I also managed to clean up the living room area but there are still 25 toy bins left over. It's a far cry from the 60 that I had but still way to may to keep in the apartment. There are also about ten boxes in my bedroom that will need to be gone through as well. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do next. For now I'm ready to host my buddy Chris for the weekend.

I picked Chris up just before 4pm, we came back to my place to hang before heading out for dinner. Chris picked a new "local" Chinese restaurant. I'm apprehensive when trying new places as I'm a creature of  habit and I know what I like but he wanted to try this place, it's call Hot Wok. I am very happy that he did. I not only enjoyed the food but it's my new favorite Chinese place in town.

While there our friend Dallas contacted me and asked if I wanted to walk around the park with him. Chris and I both agreed that we'd like to join him so we did. Also joining in the walk was our buddy Robert and Doug. We walked around the park three times (about 3 miles) but it felt like forever and I think that's because we did a lot of talking and walked extremely slow. Afterwards the gang came to my place to hang for a bit.

In geeky news I came across this video on Facebook and had to share it there and figured I'd post it here as well. It's an interesting look into the influence/creation of Star Wars.

Marriage, Justice & SW Charity

Spent all day working on my toy/guest room. My buddy Chris is staying with me for the extended Memorial Day weekend and arrives tomorrow around 4ish. By the end of the night I was about 2/3's done but luckily I have a few hours tomorrow to finish up. I'm really liking how things are turning out.

I still have way to much stuff to display and I  know I'll have to make some hard choices on what to get rid of or sale. The point of renting a two bedroom was that I wouldn't have to rent a storage unit. Hopefully I can stick with that plan.

I want to congratulate Pennsylvania on becoming the 19th State to legalize Gay Marriage. They join California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

It's been 10 years since Massachusetts was the first to legalized gay marriage back in 2004 and since then 18 more states have followed suit. It's a far cry from 50 but it's progress.. baby steps.

In geeky news.. two very cool things were released today, the first was a logo & title for the upcoming Man of Steel 2 movie. The title is Batman v Superman "Dawn of Justice" and the new logo is below. I like both the logo and title. Obviously it's setting us up for a Justice League movie. Besides Batman and Superman in this movie we are also getting Wonder Woman. Can't wait to see how this all plays out.

The other very cool geek news was a video that was released by J.J. Abrams while on set on Star Wars Episode Seven to promote Star Wars: Force for Change, a brand new Star Wars initiative from Disney and Lucasfilm, in collaboration with Bad Robot, dedicated to finding creative solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. The first Star Wars: Force for Change campaign will raise funds and awareness for UNICEF's Innovation Labs and its innovative projects benefiting children in need. For every $10 you donate you get a chance to win the grand prize of getting a walk on role in the next Star Wars movie, currently titled Episode Seven.

Besides the awesome charity event a lot of buzz in the geek world was when a "practical" non-cg character showed up on screen with J.J. He has said in the past that he plans to do as much practical effects as he could. I think he purposely had this character on screen to prove a point. To show fans that he wasn't just blowing smoke. Can't wait for more SW news, you can watch the video below.

Roller Coaster Fun

I got to meet an online friend (Michael) today. We actually met through our love for The Guild. We chat from time to time on Facebook and he was visiting from Kansas this week and wanted to know if I wanted to join him for a trip to Magic Mountain. I said yes of course as I love Magic Mountain and have a season pass.

We got to MM around 10am, got his ticket and got in the line to get in, it opened at 10:30. Once inside we made our way to X2 but it was closed for the moment, we then went next door to Viper and it too was closed. The day wasn't started off that great... We continued up the hill to Tatsu and this one was open so our first roller coaster of the day was Tatsu.

Next up was Apocalypse, every time I ride this coaster I swear it gets faster and faster. Afterward we rode Gold Rusher and were the only two people on it. Next was The Riddler and then Green Lantern which is always a blast.. we were really spinning on that one.

Batman was next and for the first time they were running it backwards and it's a completely different experience.. crazy fun.

We stopped to enjoy some lunch before getting on Wonder Women Lasso of Truth, then we rode Lex Luther's Drop of Doom and boy was it windy so we were swaying quite a bit at the time.

Colossus was next and once again it was going backwards, they have done this from time to time but I had never ridden backwards.. again it was crazy. We then did Scream and Goliath.

Full Throttle was next and I think that was the longest we stood in line.. a little over an hour. The rest were less then 30 minutes each. We made our way back to the front of the park and rode Revolution.

We checked out X2 but it was still closed. We then walked up the hill and rode Ninja before going over to Superman but that too was closed so those were the only roller coasters that we were not able to do. We still had an hour and a half before the park closed so we re-rode Apocalypse and Goliath.

Afterwards we grabbed some fudge and then headed to dinner at Islands (my favorite burger joint and Michael had never been to one).

Back at my place Michael and I hung out and I found out that he had not seen Sherlock so we watched season one, episode one.

Around 10:30pm we said our good nights. It was a fun day, I got to know Michael better and rode lots of roller coasters.. doesn't get any better then that.

Building a Toy Room

Today was all about my toy room. I spent the entire day on and off working on the room. I have several large book shelves downstairs in the garage area that needed to be brought up. I knew there would be no way I'd be able to bring them up myself I instead I disassembled them and brought them up piece by piece. I have to say that was the best idea I could have had. It was so easy and they were disassembled and assembled within 15 minutes.

Spent the day going through bin after bin trying to organize and figure out which figures I wanted to sale. I'm also discovering quite a few "toys" that I had forgotten that I purchased. Some of them are really cool.

I'm super excited to get this room up, it's been years since I've seen some of them. I've also decided that if it can't be displayed and has to stay in a plastic bin then it has to be sold. I'm sure I won't sell everything but still have a few bins to store but there is no point in having something if it's can't be displayed and enjoyed by all.

The Toys, The Race and The Roundtable

Spent today working on my guest/toy room. As I said earlier it's taking me a lot longer to unpack everything and figure out where things are going. I seem to get a full steam and work for about two hours and then hit a wall or get frustrated that I just have to much stuff and I don't have a clue where everything is going on.

So I stop for a few hours until I get motivated again for a few hours until the same thing happens again.. it's a viscous cycle.  As my buddy Erik says.. you have to make a bigger mess to clean everything up and that's exactly what I am doing. There are plastic bins and boxes all over the apartment. Which again leads to adding to my frustration. But it's coming along, at least it's starting to look like a toy room.

Besides working on my toy room off and on today I also watched the season finale of The Amazing Race All Stars. I was rooting for two of the three teams so the odds were good that the team I disliked the most would not win and I'm happy to say that they did not win. Though I would have preferred the two country girls to win, I'm happy the dad and son team won, especially since the way they went out during the last race due to an injury. So another season is done.. I enjoyed this all star season. Most of the crappy teams were eliminated early on. I would say that this finale race in Vegas was kind of lack luster but other then that it was another fun season. Can't wait for the next one.

I finally started moving forward once again on my general "geek" podcast, The Geek Roundtable.. I've been wanting to this podcast for the past four years. I had this idea way back in 2010 with a different co-host and title but things never really moved forward. It saw the light of day a few years ago with a new co-host and title but once again life got in the way so nothing happened. Well I'm dusting it off once again, still with the same co-host and title. But now I'm determined to actually start recording in June and have my first episode out by July. I'm going to do it this time.. no more delay. Follow @Geek_Roundtable for more info about this new geeky podcast.

New TV Series Trailers... So Good!!

The toy/guest room is taking alot longer then planned but that always seems to be the case. I also have way more then I even thought. I'm going to have to make some hard choices in what to display and put out and what to sell or get rid of.

I saw three new trailers for new TV series that will be premiering this fall and I wanted to share them with you.

First one is for The Whispers. Aliens have invaded Earth by using our most unlikely resource to achieve world domination—our children. As the kids unwittingly help these unseen enemies, the clock counts down in this suspenseful race to save humanity.

I found the trailer kind of creepy and spooky... I'm looking forward to this series.

The next one is for Forever. A 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality.

This one looked interesting so I'll be sure to watch the first few episodes to see if it's any good.

The third one looks the best to me.. Scorpion. It follows an eccentric genius and his international network of super-geniuses as they form the last line of defense against the complex threats of the modern age.

This one looks soooooo goooood... it's fun, suspenseful and geeky.. I'm all over it.

So many new and interesting series are starting up this fall.. I hope a few survive to make it a full season.

Potter, Toys, Wars and More Potter

A friend on Facebook posted this picture in my time line and I got a kick out of it so I figured I'd share it with you all. I'm not big into beer pong but I'd play this version for sure. ---->

If you know me or read my blog on a regular bases you know I collect action figures and other movie and TV memorabilia. In the past I would have up to 70% of it displayed in the extra room I always had when renting apartments. When I purchased the house some years back my plan was to build a toy building on my property but as you know things didn't quite work out as planned and my collection sat in the plastic bins in the garage for over four years. Well I sold the house and am now living in a much smaller two bedroom apartment. And as much as I hate to do it, it's time to thin out my collection once again. I did this once before around 10 years ago and it's time to do it again. I plan on selling up to 1/3 of my collection. Some of the things are easy to get rid of like Chicken Run action figures.. why did I buy these back then... not a clue. Guess I enjoyed the movie so I purchased the figures. But others are tough like my X-Files action figures. I'm still a big fan but I don't love them like I do my Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek or Lord of the Rings things.

So starting today I am going through about 50 plastic bins and seeing what I can't live with out and what I sell on ebay or give away. It's tough to get rid of things but I know there is no way I'll be able to display everything and there is no point in keeping it if it can't be displayed... I gotta be strong.

Today social media went crazy with the release of the very first image from the new Star Wars Episode Seven movie. I mean it's only a slate with the title on it but it's official.. a movie that we thought we would never see has actually started filming... woohoo.

And the last thing I wanted to share with you guys is a USA Today video taking it's readers behind the scene of the new section of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley. I can't wait to go (though it will probably be several years before I get there.. I still can't wait).

Flash, Twin Peaks & Some Movies

Two pieces of geeky news that I wanted to share with you guys.. first is the extended trailer for the new CW series The Flash. I've always been a huge fan of the The Flash so I was excited to hear that they were going to make a series about him. Well I have to say that after watching this trailer I am even more excited. This looks amazing and I can't wait for it to start this fall. 

The second geeky piece I wanted to share with you all is the announcement that Twin Peaks is coming to blu-ray. I'm a huge Twin Peaks fan.. I watched it originally when it first aired on ABC and owned it on VHS and DVD, but this new Blu-ray set sounds amazing with so much bonus material.

On stunning High Definition Blu-ray, Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery is a comprehensive collection with every episode from the complete television series; both the U.S. and international versions of the series’ Pilot; the North American Blu-ray debut of David Lynch’s follow-up feature Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me; and nearly 90 minutes of deleted and extended scenes from the film. The set also features newly transferred Log Lady introductions for each episode; picture upgrades to many shots in the TV series; a new featurette with series creator Lynch and the actors who portrayed the Palmer family which includes a mesmerizing return to the lives of their characters today; and hours of never-before-released material that dives into the fascinating story behind the celebrated pop culture classic.

It comes out on July 29th.. this is defiantly going on my list of things to buy when I get a job. 

I watched two more "gay" themed movies. First one was "Petunia" An off beat family of New Yorkers must come to terms with their own misgivings about life, relationships and the sheer unpredictability of love itself. Petunia weaves together the lives of brothers Charlie, Adrian and Michael as they unlearn everything their psychoanalyst parents have taught them. While Michael's cynical wife Vivian discovers she is pregnant, the family is also changing. Charlie's would be boyfriend George is in a polyamorous relationship with fitness fanatic Robin and Adrian has developed a unrelenting sex addiction. Meddling parents Felicia and Percy must decide whether to reignite the spark in their relationship or start all over again. Petunia is a film about a dysfunctional family unit on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This is the story of how they pick up the pieces. 

I wouldn't say this was a "gay" themed movie per se. I mean it does have several gay characters but it's more about a very dysfunctional family. It had some amazing moments of human relationships, very true and honest but then there were some that were so over the top to the point of being ridiculous. There were a few inconsistency in the storyline but only one that I felt pulled me out of the film. The acting was good and I did enjoy the 'gay' character though he was a bit to quirky, even for me. Over all a decent film, not what I was expecting but still enjoyable. I don't need to see it again or buy it on blu-ray. I'd give Petunia a C+

And the second movie was called "Were the World Mine" Timothy is an openly gay student at a private boy's school. Although now in his senior year, he is still persecuted by the aggressive rugby team, on whose captain, Jonathon, he has a crush. Timothy lives with his mother, Donna, who is struggling with her son's sexuality and with getting a job, and his father who is not a part of his life.

Timothy is cast as Puck in the senior production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. While reviewing his lines, he discovers the recipe for creating the flower love-in-idleness. Timothy uses the flower to have the homophobic town take a "walk in his shoes". The entire town is thrown into chaos as previously heterosexual community members fall in love with their same-sex friends, bosses, and co-workers: whomever they first saw after being sprayed by the flower. The school drama teacher, Ms. Tebbit, guides Timothy towards the question of whether his actions have caused more harm than good.

I've passed by this movie many times as I didn't like the idea of someone turning someone "gay". But I have watched quite a few of the gay themed movies on netflix and am running out of new stuff so I gave it a shot. I have to say it wasn't anything like I expected. It was more fantastical then reality based.. It's kind of like a gay version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's also a musical with some very cool "dream/musical" sequences. I liked the acting and the story was entertaining for the most part. I do think they went a little over board at turning the town gay and the way they resolved it was just okay.

I would watch this again just for the musical aspect of it as those were defiantly some of my favorite parts. I'm glad I watched it and would consider buying it on blu-ray. I give "Were the World Mine" a solid B.

More Potter, Attacking Cats and B5

Warner Bros announced the release date for the first of three films adapted from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter companion book; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The date they chose is November 18, 2016. Interestingly, this release is only two days after the 15 year anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie release, which was in theaters on November 16, 2001.

The film will be set in New York, 70 years before the tale of Harry Potter becomes famous within the wizarding world.

What is crazy is the release date is set but that's about it, the have not announced a director, or cast for this film.. but I guess there is plenty of time for that.

This video is making the rounds on the internets today and when you first watch it, it's hard to believe.. but this is what happens with a dog picks on this cats human.

 

TV night continues with my buddy Robert. We are still watching Babylon 5. Tonight we watched S4 Episode 15, 16 & 17

First is S4 Ep 15 "No Surrender, No Retreat" After Clark's order causes the death of civilians, Sheridan decides it's time to attack Clark's forces directly. First mission is a colony that's being oppressed by some Earth Cruisers. Some in Earth force also distrust Clark, Sheridan might find some allies, amongst those he might be fighting. Meanwhile, Londo and G'Kar begin the slow process of rebuilding their frayed relationship.

I really enjoyed this episode, it's the beginning of a new civil war. It has some great writing and the battle scenes were cool. It brings up a good question about the military. When is following orders to much, when do you say no to killing innocent people. I like that we got a wide spectrum of different opinions among the ship captains. It's not so black and white. 

I liked the scene with Londo offering an olive branch to G'Kar and G'Kar's initial reaction to it. By the end he does take Londo's offer and signs a joint resolution to support Sheridan efforts to free Earth (But of course he won't sign on the same page at Londo). 

And Garibaldi leaves Babylon 5 for good and heads to Mars. If you have read my previous review you know I haven't been a fan of Garibaldi this season. I know "something" happen to him and he's not being himself but it doesn't make me like or accept what he is doing any better.

Our second episode of the night, S4 Ep 16 "Exercise of Vital Powers" Garibaldi meets with his benefactor. He wants to join with Edgar Industries. But his employer wants proof of his commitment. He want Garibaldi's to bring in Sheridan. Meanwhile Franklin finally manages to temporarily revive a telepath that had been captured by the Shadows. He'll need Lyta's help to continue his research.

Another good episode, both A& B stories dealt with telepaths. First we kind of find out what Williams is up to and that it involves telepaths. Back on the station Lyta and Dr. Franklin are also working on helping the telepaths they have on ice on B5. I like the Lyta character so it's always nice when she has a bigger role. I can't wait to see her full potential. I know they are leading up to something with the telepaths.. I just don't know what exactly... 

I'm so hating Garibaldi more and more, I hope they explain what happen to him very soon as he's pissing me off with everything he does. They have taken one of my favorite characters and turned him to one of my least favorite. Kind of like what they did to Londo and though Londo has his moments of being a decent person I still dislike his character and think it will take a lot for me to like him again.

And our final episode of the night, S4 Ep 17 "The Face of the Enemy" Garibaldi sets up Sheridan who is promptly taken into custody by Clark's men. Garibaldi's behavior and what happened to him when he disappeared in his Starfury is revealed.

We go further and further down the telepath rabbit hole in this episode. We find out that telepaths are taking the law into their own hands and doing things that made Lyta want to leave the core. Garibaldi finds out that William has a virus that will kill all telepaths unless they take the antidote every few weeks, which of course William has control of as well. Garibaldi set's up Sheridan and when he just sits at the table while Sheridan is beaten down. I didn't think I could dislike Garibaldi any more.. but I was wrong.

But the big reveal of this episode is that they finally explain what happen to Garibaldi and why he is the way he is now and I have to say it was a satisfying explanation. I had no clue what had happen to him so it was a surprise to me when they revealed that Bester and the telepaths were controlling him.

During the beginning of the episode Robert and I were discussing that maybe this was all planned by Sheridan to get Garibaldi in good with William but when he turned on Sheridan and betrayed him we realized that this was not the case.

I'm so glad that we finally found out what's be going on. And unlike Londo's character I felt sympathy for Garibaldi, I look forward to his redemption. It's going to be a struggle because all of his friends think he betrayed Sheridan, and in a way he did, but not by his own doing. 

So that's it for our TV night.. the story is ramping up.. I know something is going to happen with all these telepaths.. can't wait to see what it is.

Batman, Gambit, Finales and Trailers

Lots of geeky and TV news today.. first up. Zack Snyder released the first picture of Ben Affleck at Batman (also a glimpse of the Batmobile). I don't really have an opinion about the suit. I mean it looks like Batman I'm more interested in how he portrays him and Bruce Wayne.

There was also news that Channing Tatum will be Gambit in the next X-Men movie, X-Men Apocalypse (Sequel to X-Men Days of Future Past). I think he's a good choice, I look forward to seeing his costume and how they portray him in the movie.

I got to watch several finales (with Erik via Skype), first up was Jim Henson's Creature Shop and I'm happy with the outcome. I really wanted Melissa to win but would be happy if Robert won as long as Ben didn't and Robert did won. I hope we see a second season for this series. It's super fun and creative.

Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. season one finale was amazing. The action was great but what I really liked about this episode was the writing. The character banter was so Joss Whedon, the Fitz and Simmon stuff brought me to tears. I loved when Garrett, who you thought was dead, gets up and gives himself cyber enhancements and starts to give his great speech about being back when suddenly he is blown into a million wispy fibers by Coulson... that was very much a Joss moment. Samuel L. Jackson's Fury character not only had a cameo but some pivotal key moments in this episode. And last but defiantly not least.. May kicking Wards ass and nailing his foot literally to the floor.. AWESOME!!

So glad ABC picked them up for a second season.. I can't wait!!

Several trailers for upcoming TV series were released.. here are a few that I'm interested in.

First is Constantine on NBC. This is based off the comic book Hellblazer, they did do a movie of the same name that starred Keanu Reeves a few years back and it was okay. This looks amazing, looks like a movie trailer.. I hope they can keep the quality up for the series.

Next is a comedy from NBC called A to Z. The only reason I want to watch is because of the main female lead, Cristin Milioti, who I just feel in love with as the Mom in the last season of How I Met Your Mother. This series looks cute.

The next show is a Fox show called Wayward Pines. Besides it having a lot of "big" stars in it..  It has a Twin Peaks kind of feel to it. I think I'll give it a chance

And the final one is also from Fox called Hieroglyph, The world of ancient Egypt -- a time of magic, Pharaohs, gods and thieves. When I heard about this series I thought it sounded kind of cool. But from the trailer it looks more drama and soap opery then fantastical. But I think I'll still give it a chance.

Wil Wheaton Project & PSA

Today my friend Jes and I went to a test recording/filming of Wil Wheatons new Syfy show The Wil Wheaton Project. We got there around 3:30pm (suppose to be there no later then 4:30) We were audience members 10 and 11. By 4:30 there were about 35 or so people in line. Come to find out that the audience is fairly small and only can hold 25 people. Three of those spaces were reserved for Wil's family so only 22 of us audience members got in. Luckily we made the cut but I felt bad for all those who didn't. We were suppose to start loading in at 4:30 but there was delays and we didn't get into the studio until around 6pm.

We were fortunate that we were in the NBC/Universal lobby area while we waited and not outside in the heat.

When we walked into the studio it was smaller then I expected. As I mentioned the audience area only had 25 chairs, there were cameras and crew around, including my favorite wardrobe person Kristen (who I have worked with on The Guild & My Gimpy Life). The stage consisted of a "green" screen and there were several TV's, one for Wil to reference and one for the audience to watch.

Prodcuer Josh came out to entertain the audience, he thanked us for waiting so long and did some Wil trivia and gave away a few gifts. Wil came out shortly after and talked to the crowd and explained what we were about to see.

I can't go into great detail about the show but it took about three hours to record everything, along with some promo's. This episode will never see the light of day... it's a test episode for the network to see everything put together with an audience. It's a bummer that it won't air on TV but also kind of cool that just a few of us actually get to see this "special" episode.

By now it's just after 9pm, it was a long day but totally worth it. After the show as the audience was leaving Wil stood at the stage door and high fived everyone (such a great guy). When it was my turn to high five him, we did and then his smile widen and he said.. "Hey Kenny I didn't know you were here." I said "Yep...Great show" and walked out. I would have liked to chat more but there were people behind me waiting for their high five.

I don't know why it always surprises me when Wil remembers me, though it has been a few years since we have seen each other, I did work with him on The Guild for several seasons, interviewed him several times for Knights of the Guild podcast and email him from time to time. He also did this "special" PSA for The Guild Season Four DVD easter egg a few years back.

It was a great time and I hope to get tickets for future shows. Be sure to watch The Wil Wheaton Project on Syfy started Tuesday May 27th at 10pm.

Mom, Blogging, Mutants & Carnival

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mom's out there but I want to wish my Mom in particular a very Happy Mother's Day.... love you. Also I want to give a special shout out to my sister-in-law Lora, who's an amazing mom to my niece and nephew.

I get asked why I blog everyday... well I blog partly to keep friends and family up to date on my daily life as I don't get to talk to them everyday. Another reason I blog is that it's a great way for me to get things out of my head and off my chest... a kind of diary. It's fun to go back and read posts from a years pasts and bring back great memories. And a small part of me likes the notoriety, I know I'll never be famous but it's fun to think that there are "fans" out there that enjoy my work (podcasts, blogging, webseries, etc..).

It always confused me as to why some blog posts will get a few hundred hits while others get 20. Most of the time the content is similar and there really isn't anything different about the posts. It could be the timing of the post. I have noticed that if I post a blog during the week during work hours I tend to get more views (people at their computers), as compared to weekends when I post something I get less views (people not at their computers). But I also think it has something to do with the title of the blog post. Recently I posted a blog with the title "Penis Size and Bitches" Which was about a movie I watched and TV series I just finished. Well this particular blog post got 80 views within 6 hours, that's extremely rare for me. My average blog post normally get 40 to 60 views total. So obviously the title brought in the views this time but it seems so random at times. I'm just happy that folks enjoy my blog be it 20 or 200.

Played some more SWTOR with my buddies Chris and Brett. Again I gave myself a 3 hour limit to play and sure enough I could have gone on for many more hours but didn't... so yay me.

I pre-purchased tickets for the new upcoming X-Men movie Days of Future Past. I've been super excited for this movie as I have loved all the X-Men movies. I created an event on Facebook to see if I can get a group together for it. I'll be seeing it on Saturday May 24th at 4:40pm at the Arclight Sherman Oaks. I'm seeing it in the Dolby Atmos (which is the best theater audio system by far). If you want to join me, let me know.

Went jogging/walking with my buddies Adam and Andrew. I saw a tweet from Adam debating on jogging for a third day in a row and I replied that if he'd go I'd go with him and then our buddy Andrew asked to join in. It was fun, we walked, then jogged and walked again around the NoHo park a few times before heading to Starbucks for a drink. Hope we can do it again soon. 

During the evening a group of friends had planned to go to the local carnival which was at the NoHo park (across the street from my house). When the time came everyone bailed but my buddy Robert, his girlfriend Cait and myself. So the three of us went and enjoyed the carnival. First thing we did was the big slide (Cait won). Then Cait and I did the scrabbler and that ride lasted at least 10 minutes. I was ready to get off that thing halfway through the ride, but it was fun. We then went and get a few snacks before Cait and Robert did this kind of drop ride.. we then headed over to games booth to win Cait a stuff animal. We choose the water guns/balloons game. What is funny is Cait actually won and got herself a stuff animal, she don't need no man to win her anything. :) 

Robert and I then went on the one ride that I wanted to do the most. It's hard to explain but it's like a roller coaster car on a track that goes in a loop. So you rock back and forth a few times before going completely in a circle (3 times) and then you do it backwards (3 times). It was a crazy but super fun ride.. I definitely felt wobbly kneed when I got off that one. 

We called it a night (we were there for little over an hour). It was alot of fun, just wish more friends would have shown up. Oh well.. the three of us had a great time.

Podcasts, Potter and Bunnies

Well I just heard that CBS just cancelled The Crazy Ones, this is the Robin Williams/Sarah Michelle Geller sitcom. I really enjoyed it and was bummed when I heard the news. Of all the cancellations of TV series this one was the one that stung the most for me as I am a huge fan of Williams and have always loved Geller ever since her Buffy days.

I spent a good chunk of the day editing two of my six MASH 4077 Podcasts. I found that it's so much easier and enjoyable editing these podcasts when the episodes that we are talking about are good. Luckily the bulk of these episodes were really good and super fun to talk about.

Chris, Brett and I got on Star Wars The Old Republic (SWTOR) and played for a bit. I set a time limit of 2 hours but those two hours just flew by so I added another hour. I could have played for another ten hours but I knew when I started playing these MMO's that I could easily be addicted so I had to set limits and really stick to them. So after three hours of play I stopped and went back to work on podcasts.

There are two videos and a link that I want to share with you all.. the first video and link are for an "island of bunnies".. yep there is an island off Japan where the main inhabitance are bunnies.. thousands of them. And though they are wild bunnies they are extremely people friends as you can see from these pictures and video.

Here's the link with the story and a ton of adorable pictures: Bunny Island 

Here's the fun video of a Bunny Stampede

The other video I wanted to share with you is a promo video for the new section of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park attraction at Orlando Universal Studios. The original WWofHP (Hogsmead) is located at Island of Adventures while this new section (Diagon Alley) is located at it's sister park Universal Studios. You actually take the Hogwarts Express from one section to the other.

Penis Size and Bitches

Wasn't feeling well today so I decided to just watch some TV.  First up I came across this documentary called Unhung Hero. In this documentary, actor-comedian Patrick Moote proposes to his girlfriend at a UCLA basketball game but she refuses to marry him because of his penis size. A video clip of the failed proposal ends up on YouTube and begins an internet phenomenon. Moote then travels the world to find out if size really does matter and how he can enlarge his manhood.

It was a very interesting look at how different societies view penis size and it's importance. When he finds out that he is indeed just below average on the small side he turned to ways to fix the problem. Pumps, pills and some other very extreme ideas ie. plastic surgery and injecting an "oil" into your penis. It's interesting to watch this guy's mental breakdown until he loses it at the end. But, in the end he realizes that it's his own issues with his small penis that he has to deal with and not the women around him. I'd give Unhung Hero a nice firm B.

While surfing Netflix I came across "Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23" I remember when this aired a few years ago and I wanted to watch it as I'm a huge James Van Der Beek fan. Well I thought I would give it a watch so I put on the pilot episode. The series follows June Colburn as she moves from Indiana to New York City to pursue her dream job, until she finds out that it no longer exists and she ends up moving in with a con-artist party-girl named Chloe (the Bitch). The two don't get along at first; however, when Chloe's attempts at scamming June backfire, they end up forming an unlikely friendship. James Van Der Beek plays a fictionalized version of himself, the former TV star of Dawson's Creek, who is a good friend of Chloe's and desperate to revamp his sagging acting career.

I really enjoyed the first episode.. James was as dreamy as ever :) So I watched the second episode, then the third, fourth and so on until I had watched all of Season 1 (11 Episodes) and Season 2 (15 Episodes). Yeah I watched all 26 episodes of this series in about 12 hours. Guess you can say I liked it. I'm bummed that it only lasted two seasons, but they were a fun two seasons. I laughed alot which is what I needed to make me feel better and by the end of the night I was feeling good.

Side note.. after watching Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23, and hearing so many references to Dawson's Creek I had to check Netflix to see if it was on there and it is!! I loved Dawson's Creek back in the day when it first aired and now that I know it's on Netflix I think it's time to start up a re-watch... can't wait!!

Wheaton, S.H.I.E.L.D, Geekies & Apes

Saw this tweet from Wil Wheaton "We are taping a preview episode of @wilwproject on Monday. Tickets are limited and free, if you want to come: http://is.gd/PHTTw6" Luckily for me it was posted mere minutes before I saw it so I quickly went online and reserved two tickets. Didn't know who I was going to take with me but I figured I'd get two tickets before they were gone (luckily I did as they were gone within 10 minutes). After I acquired the tickets I had to figure out who I wanted to take with me. The first person who came to mind was my friend Jes. She is currently not working a full time job and is a big Wil Wheaton fan like me. I wasn't sure if she'd be available but not even a minute after I sent the text asking her if she wanted to go, I got a response... YES!!!

So Jes and I are going to the preview episode of Wil Wheatons new show The Wil Wheaton Project this coming Monday... I can't wait!!!

I spent the morning judging the cosplay category for this years Geekies Awards. I'm doing both cosplay and podcasts. Not a huge amount of entries for the cosplay category but the one's who did enter were fantastic. I'll need a alot more time to judge all the podcasts which there are a ton of. Luckily I have a month and a half before I have to have everything done.

I was super excited to hear that ABC picked up a second season of my favorite show on TV these days, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was hoping they were going to do this and all the signs were there but you never know with networks. Agents had a HUGE premiere and then slowly dropped a few viewers, but things have picked back up a bit for the last five or six episodes of this season. I know friends who didn't like it at the beginning are really enjoying it now. So yay for Season 2.. still have the season one finale next week but big changes are happening.

I wanted to share this second trailer for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I enjoyed the originals and the several remakes including the most recent one in which this one is a sequel to.

SWTOR and Babylon 5

My buddy Chris has been trying to get me to play Star Wars The Old Republic for a while now. It's a Star Wars MMO and though I'm a huge Star Wars fan I have put it off as I knew, like with Lord of the Rings Online, once I play it I'll be addicted. But I promised when I got a better internet connection that I'd give it a go. Well today is the day. We played for two hours.. the first half hour was just creating my Jedi Knight. I am very happy with the way he turned out. I wanted Quinn for his name but of course it was taken and after trying many variations one finally worked.. so he's still Quinn just spelled Qwwin. As I mentioned he's a Jedi Knight and on the side of light.

I had a blast playing as I knew I would and I can see myself spending hours upon hours playing. But I also know I don't have a ton of free time and when I get a job that time will be even less. So my challenge will be setting aside a few hours a week to play. Same with LOTRO and I plan to start up on the Star Trek MMO as well.

Now that I'm back from my vacation and Robert is all moved into his new place we started up our TV nights again. It's been just over two months since our last TV night. We picked back up with Babylon 5. Tonight we watched two episodes. We started with S4 Episode 13 "Rumors, Bargains and Lies" Here's a brief synopsis; Delenn meets with Neroon to discuss the war that's torn their planet apart. She proposes a plan but she'll need his support. Sheridan launches an eccentric plan involving misdirection, rumors, etc, to get the League to agree to a new role for the White Star Fleet.

It's been way to long since we've seen B5, and it took a few minutes to remember what was going on but once we up to date we jumped back into the action. I enjoyed this episode. Lennier is really the unsung hero, he'll do anything for Delenn. I love the amount of guilt he put on those other Mimbari religious sec member who were going to kill everyone on the ship. Not sure what is going on with Delenn and Neroon.. the jury is still on on what he is actually up to.

The Sheridan storyline was fantastic. He manipulated all those alien races and got them to ask for his help. Kudos to Sheridan.. well done.

We then watched S4 Episode 14 "Moments of Transition" Here's a brief synopsis; The Minbari war between the warrior and the religious castes comes to an end, leading to the formation of a new Grey Council. Bester comes to Babylon 5 to make Lyta an offer. Clark's forces attack a transport convoy carrying thousands of civilians, prompting Sheridan to change strategies.

Again another good episode, it was good to see Lyta and I felt bad for her but things were hitting rock bottom so I understand why she did what she did. Still hating Garibaldi, don't know why they are going this route with his character.. I hope there is a good reason. Loved all the Mimbari stuff. Both Robert and I had a feeling that Neroon and Delenn had a plan and in the end he sacrificed himself for Delenn and went from Warrior race to Religion race before being vaporized.

And then you had the last two minutes when you find out that President Clark killed 10,000 innocent civilians trying to escape the war and that pushed Sheridan over the edge. Time to change tactic and go on the offensive. I knew this had to be coming.. look forward to seeing where this goes.

About five minutes into this episode our buddy Dallas texted us and asked if we wanted to walk a few laps around the park. Robert and I debated on whether we wanted to stop the episode for the walk or not.. in the end we figured it would be good to get some walking in, especially after our pizza dinner... so we stopped the episode and walked for about an hour and a half. Once back at Robert's place we finished the episode and I headed home for the evening.

The Geekie Awards & LOTRO

So I'm judging the Geeky Awards again this year. I judged the category of podcasts last year and had so much fun. This year I'm doing podcasts again but I'm also judging cosplay...woot!!  Today I had some free time so I went over the rules of judging both categories and checked out some of the entries. It's gonna take me a good few days to go through all the entries (which is awesome). And like last year there are some really amazing podcasts out there. Also like last year I'll be adding more podcasts to my "must listen to" list. I look forward to checking out more in the weeks to come.

Today my buddy Chris and I were finally able to play some Lord of the Rings Online. We haven't really played together since he went to Kuwait seven months ago. It was nice getting in 3 hours of questing, thought I wish I had more time to spare. I could have played all day. LOTRO is awesome but it's more enjoyable when you guest with friends.

Birthday, Blogging and Batman

Happy Birthday to my one and only brother Michael. He turns 39 today. We are five years apart and as kids he drove me crazy, always wanting to hang out with me. As we have gotten older we've gotten closer. I remember the day he was born and I can't believe he is 39 years old today, where has the time gone. He has gone from this annoying little brother, to a not so responsible teenager, to a crazy 20 something to a 30 something family man.

I'm very proud of my brother and what he's accomplished in life. He's very successful in his career, he has a loving wife and two adorable kids. He lives in a nice house in a good neighborhood and takes very good care of his family, including our father who lives with him. He has grown into a very responsible man. Happy Birthday Bro.. Love you.

I'm finally caught up on my blog.. at least the daily part. Now I just have to keep on it while I go back and blog about my vacation.

I have been looking for a job for the past week and I finally got a lead that a job might be opening up soon. I will hopefully find out by the end of this week if a post production supervisor position will be available... keep your fingers crossed.

And in geeky news.. they released a trailer for the upcoming new TV series on Fox called Gotham. It's an origin story behind Commissioner James Gordon's rise to prominence in Gotham City in the years before Batman's arrival. I wasn't sure about this series but after watching the trailer it really got me excited for it.. I can't wait.

Happy Star Wars Day!!

Today is the unofficial Star Wars holiday...  May the Fourth Be With You, (obviously a pun on May the Force Be With You). So in honor of this day I posted the picture below.. it's the only picture of me in some Jedi robes. This was taken at Disneyland with three friends (side note this was probably one I my favorite trips to Disneyland in recent memory).

They released a full trailer for the new Star Wars cartoon called Star Wars Rebels. I loved The Clone Wars and miss it dearly but I'm excited to see what they give us with this new series.

I watched the new Lego Star Wars cartoon called The (New) Yoda Chronicles: Escape from the Jedi Temple. Last year we had The Yoda Chronicles which was split into 3 episodes, but now it look as though they added two more episodes making this a five episode story and renaming it The New Yoda Chronicles. There were also two previous Lego Star Wars specials, Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace and Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out. Both were huge hits and lead to The Yoda Chronicles. All of these fantastic specials were written by one man Michael Price @Mikepriceinla If you haven't seen them find them.. they are hilarious and if you're a Star Wars fan a must see.

I went out to lunch today to Islands and wore my Star Wars shirt in honor of May the fourth be with you. The waitress at the restaurant saw my shirt and raised her hand and said.. Happy Star Wars Day.. high five. So we high fived. Several people in the bar area raised their glasses and kind of gave a nod and woohoo to this. I then noticed that they too had Star Wars shirts. Man I love being a geek.

Non Star Wars related, I recorded six episodes of my MASH 4077 Podcast with my buddy Meds. Unfortunately my other co-host Al wasn't able to make it to this record session. We had lots of great episodes so it was a fun conversation.