My 90 Day Check Up

It's been 90 days since I was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic. My doctor gave me 90 days to try and bring my sugar (A1C) levels down. I took this seriously as I don't want to be "labeled" diabetic for the rest of my life. I took up walking/jogging 30 to 45 minutes everyday, which I'm proud to say that I stuck with and it's now become a routine/habit to get up every morning and do my cardio.

The food on the other hand has been extremely tough for me. Overall I have cut back on calories and carbs but I still struggle with eating "fast" food. I have my good days and bad. I try not to let my bad days discourage me to much. I know this is a process and it will take a while to change my eating habits. This isn't just for a short time, it's for the rest of my life.

I am happy to say that three months ago I weighted in at the most I have ever weight 219 lbs. Today while at the doctors I came in at 200 lbs. I have lost a total of 19 lbs in 90 days. I set a goal of being below 200 lbs when I went back to the doctors and I barely missed that goal by a pound but I can't be upset with myself as I did lose 19 pounds. And what is even better was that the nurses and my doctor were very impressed with my weight lose, which of course made me feel good.

So I gave blood and will find out in a week or so if my numbers have gone down. But this battle is far from over. My cardio work outs are habit but I continue to fight my addiction to fast foods. It's a process and I know it's not going to change over night. I want to thank my friends and family for their continued support in this endeavor.

My next goal is for the end of February and that's for me to be down to 195. That's six pounds in about six weeks. It's going to be tough but I'm going to push myself to achieve this goal.. wish me luck.

Friends, Potter, Love and Minecraft

I got to spend some times with friend Nicki and Anne. They live down in San Diego and we haven't seen each other in quite a while so it was nice to get to hang out for a few hours. We got to catch up on each others lives and grabbed some lunch before they headed off to see more friends.

The Treks in Sci Fi guest podcast on the first Harry Potter book and movie that I did with co-host Rico was released today. You can take a listen HERE. We plan to continue with the series and talk about all seven books and eight movies.

Freedom to Marry released this amazing video about four months ago but this is the first I'm seeing it and it's pretty awesome. So I figured I'd share it with you all.

I also played some Minecraft with my buddies Brett and Chris. I only planned to play for an hour or so and the next thing I knew was 3 hours. It's funny how games can just suck you in and you don't feel the passage of time.

Molly's 3rd Birthday Party

Today I went and visited family. We were celebrating my niece Molly's 3rd birthday today. Her actual birthday is in December but the first part had to be cancelled because poor little Molly was sick, and then we had the holidays which pushed it back even more.

I was getting there early as I always do so I could help my sister-in-law Lora set up. My brother wasn't feeling well so I helped him out with a few errands before heading over to their place. Once there I helped set up, blowing up balloons, decorating and things.

Lora goes all out for these parties, besides the bouncer/slide, there was a pinata, themed candy (it was a Doc McStuffins party) and she also got "stuff your own animal". This is where each kids picks an animal and then stuffs it with cotton. This sounds like a fun activity for the kids but it wound up being the adults who did all the stuffing as it was a very tiring activity. Soon it was just the adults in the room stuff animals while the kids went off to play. I actually stuffed two of them, one for a neighbor kid and the other for my niece Molly.

It was a fun party, Molly got cranky when another little girl wanted to play with her and her new toys but other then that meltdown all went very smoothly.

Looking, PGA Awards, Gay Marriage & Voyager Turns 20

So I finally finished editing up a Harry Potter podcasts that I co-hosted with my buddy Rico for his Treks in Sci Fi podcast. If you had read my blog earlier this week you'd have read that I was having issues with Rico's audio, well I manage to fix it a bit but I pretty much just had to get over it. It was as good as it was going to get and I needed to get the podcast done as it's due to be released in two days. I'm very happy with the podcast, it was a blast talking Potter. Can't wait until we do the next movie Chamber of Secrets.

I watched season 2 episode 1 of HBO's Looking. I really enjoyed season one of Looking and was looking forward to starting season two but I wasn't thrilled with this first episode. One thing I liked about season one of Looking was lack of drugs and alcohol. They were good stories that happen to be about gay characters. This first episode had all three main characters doing drugs, drinking alcohol and having random sex.. these things are sterotypes of the gay lifestyle and for the most represent a small portion of the gay community. I'm hoping they get back to the good stories with episode two.

I voted for the Producer's Guild of America (PGA) Awards today. That's always fun choosing my favorite TV and Movies of last year.

The US Supreme Court made a HUGE announcement. They are going to listen to arguments on a recent 6th Circuit decision to uphold the ban on gay marriage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. This could be what we have all be waiting for. The Supreme Court could make a Federal ruling on gay marriage which would mean it would supersede all State rulings. Now if it goes our way gay marriage will be legal in all of the United States, if it goes against us then it could be back to fighting state by state for marriage equality. I'm cautiously optimistic.

And one last thing.. Happy 20th Anniversary to one of my favorite Star Trek, Star Trek: Voyager. It premiered 20 years ago today. I remember watching that first episode and falling in love with this new Captain, crew and especially the ship. I've seen every episode of this series multiple times. We finally got a female Captain and she kicked ass. I was said when Kes left but was so happy with the addition of Seven of Nine, who turned out to be one of my favorite characters. I think it's time to do a rewatch of this amazing tv series.

You Tube Comments

Why do I read You tube comments and for that matter why do I ready any comments on hot topic articles. Most of the time I end up being disgusted with the human race and so sick to my stomach. I just don't understand how human being (and I use that term loosely) can be so hateful. We're not born to hate, it's something that is taught to us. I guess I'm lucky as I've never felt the urge to tear down someone just because I disagree with them or to make me feel better with my choices. I just can't grasp that concept.

I'd like to say that it's getting better but I can't. It's been around for as long as humans have roamed this Earth. I think it feels more prevalent now, because of social media and the internet. It's easy to comment anonymously. I can guarantee you that 95% of the trolls/haters out there wouldn't say what they say to the person's face. Will it ever change.. I hope so but I'm not holding my breath. All I can do is be a good example for my niece and nephew and teach them how to treat their fellow human beings.

It's All About Podcasts

Spent a good part of today trying to "fix" the audio for an upcoming Harry Potter podcast that I co-hosted with my buddy Rico. I made the mistake of not informing Rico on how I usually record podcasts so he wasn't ready and didn't really prep his microphone properly so his audio is over modulated. It's usable but me being me, it needs to be as perfect as possible. So I spent a good three to four hours trying to fix it but in the end got frustrated as I couldn't really change anything so I gave up and figured I'd come back to you at a later date. It's due to be released in five days.

Speaking of podcasts I put out a request for audio bumpers for my podcasts. Here is what I asked for:

To my fellow podcasters.. I'm looking for "bumpers" for my podcasts. Please record the following with no effects, no music, no processing (feel free to adlib) "Hey, this is (your name) with (your podcast). And you're listening to (MASH 4077 Podcast) (Alien Nation The Newcomers Podcast) (The Geek Roundtable). And when you're done enjoying this podcast check out mine at (your website), Email them to GeekyfanboyProductions@gmail.com ... Thanks

I haven't gotten any yet but if you have a podcast, videocast, blog or any other project that you want to promote please do a recording and email it to me.

Screeners, Spring Cleaning and Loving Agent Carter

So I thought the screening season was over but low and behold I got a another screener in the mail today. This time it's The Book of Life. It's an animated movie and to be honest it didn't peak my interest but now that I have it on DVD I'll give it a watch.

Spent most of the day "spring cleaning". I'm really trying to decrease my clutter, not only do I have alot of old receipts and bills but I have boxes of things that I haven't even looked at in over a year. I have a hard time getting rid of things so I know this will be a struggle, especially when it comes to my collections as I'm planning on thinning out my collection as well (hopefully a by a third). I did pretty good today as I got about half of my guest closet emptied, that doesn't mean it's gone, it's just thrown about my living room and guest room as I go through box after box and see what can be tossed, donated or sold.

During the evening my buddy Erik and I watched the latest Agent Carter. Man I love this series, I can't praise it enough. Tonight's episode had a OMG moment. Both Erik and I were shocked at what happen. ::Spoilers:: I mean I think the agent that was killed was a pig but I didn't want him to die, especially that way. :: End Spoilers:: Carter and Jarvis's chemistry continues to be my favorite part of the show. We get a bit more info about Jarvis which was very interesting. These was a nice moment between Peggy and Angie at the end. This like Scorpion is one series that I just can't wait to see every week. I'll be sad when it goes as it's only eight episodes long. And unfortunately it's not doing great in the ratings but you never know what will happen.. all I can do is hope for the best.

Goodbye Adam, Scorpion Renewed & TV Watch

Today I got to have lunch with my buddy Adam. He's heading up north at the end of the week for his job. And when I say up north I mean Seattle so we're not going to be seeing each other on a regular bases. Adam has been setting up "get togethers" to say goodbye to friends but I haven't been able to make any of them so I asked if he wanted to do lunch and he said yes. I actually like this better then a group thing as I get to have some one on one time to hang. We went to Islands for some burgers and come to find out that Adam had never been there before. It was a nice visit. He'll be missed but he'll be back down for the Star Wars con in April and hopefully will get to see him at San Diego Comic Con.

One of my favorite new TV series this Scorpion was picked up for a second season. This made my day. I knew it was doing well in the ratings but you never know what the network is going to do. So not only do we get the last half of this season but will be getting an whole new season in the fall... can't wait!!

I watched a few shows that I had recorded yesterday.. the first one was "My Husband is Not Gay" It was a TLC special and has caused an uproar in the gay community. I watch alot of these TLC specials and this one intrigued me. This special was about Morman men who live in Utah, are married to women but are attracted to men. I watched it and I have to say it wasn't horrible. As a gay man I wasn't offended by it. If anything I felt bad for these guys as they are obviously gay but not accepting it because of their religion. They don't call themselves gay, instead they call it SSA (Same Sex Attraction) and these four guys that we meet in the episode are part of an SSA group. Some of the men were gayer then some and you know that some of them cheat on their wife with men. I don't support what these guys are doing but I do understand why they are doing it. I didn't come out until I was 27/28. I considered getting married, having kids and living my ideal life. But I decided not to do that as I knew that in the end I would only hurt my wife and kids when I finally couldn't take it anymore and came out as gay in my 40's or 50's. If this was a TV series I think I'd give it a watch. 

Next I watched two more episodes of Galavant. I think the novelty is starting to ware off. I enjoyed the episodes but not as much as I did with the first two episodes. Best part of tonight's episode was the recap of what happen in the previous episodes. I'm still enjoying it and I'll continue to watch but I hope the next two episodes brings back some of the whimsy from the first two.

And the final thing I watched was a new episode of Star Wars Rebels. It finally returned after the holidays and I'm happy it did. I've enjoyed this series and this latest episode was one of my favorites. I'm still debating which Star Wars cartoon I like better.. Clone Wars or Rebels. Right now it's Clone Wars but I think that's because there are six seasons of Clone Wars and so far there have only been nine episodes of Rebels. They are two very different series but both have their good and bad things. But for now I'm just happy to be able to watch new Star Wars on a weekly bases.

Podcasts, Websites and Golden Globes

I spent a good chunk of today editing some upcoming MASH 4077 Podcasts. One great thing about this podcast is that we normally record six episodes every few months. My goal every time is to edit all of them at once and then I don't have to worry about editing episodes for a few months (since we release two a month) but in reality I'm normally editing days before an episode is due to be released. But this time I managed to edit the upcoming episode for Jan 15th, also Feb 1st and got about half of Feb 15th's episode done. Thing is now just because those are done I need to force myself to continue to edit additional MASH casts and try and get the rest of the episodes that we already recorded in the can as well.

I also spent a good amount of time working on my new website. I have a website at Geekyfanboy.com but I've never been happy with it, but since I'm not a web master it takes me a while to figure out how things work and normally I get frustrated or bored and give up. Well I really want to get a page set up for my production company Geekyfanboy Productions so I started working on a new page before going back and trying to revamp my entire website. Of course it would be so much easier to just pay someone to do this but seeing that I have no money I have to do this all myself and it may take a while but I'm determined to get it done this time around.

The Golden Globes were on tonight and I was actually excited to watch them. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were hosting again and they did a pretty good job, I loved most of their jokes but the North Korean Foreign press person (aka Margaret Cho) joke went on way to long, but other then that it was fun. I loved that a lot of first timers won. I hate seeing the same person win year after year after year. Some of my favorite wins were Joanne Froggatt from Downton Abbey, Eddie Redmayne from The Theory of Everything and Gina Rodriquez from Jane the Virgin. Here's a list of all the winners.

Best Picture, Comedy: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Best Picture, Drama: Boyhood, Best TV Comedy: Transparent, Best TV Drama: The Affair, Best Miniseries: Fargo, Best Actress, Motion Picture Drama: Julianne Moore, Still Alice, Best Actor, Motion Picture Drama: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything, Best Actress, Motion Picture Comedy: Amy Adams, Big Eyes, Best Actor, Motion Picture Comedy: Michael Keaton, Birdman, Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash, Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood, Best Actor, TV Comedy: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent, Best Actress, TV Comedy: Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin, Best Actor, TV Drama: Kevin Spacey, House of Cards, Best Actress, TV Drama: Ruth Wilson, The Affair, Best Actor, Miniseries: Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo, Best Actress, Miniseries: Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honourable Woman, Best Supporting Actress, Miniseries: Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey, Best Supporting Actor, Miniseries: Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart, Best Screenplay: Birdman, Best Director: Richard Linklater, Boyhood, Best Foreign Language Film: Leviathan, Best Animated Film: How to Train Your Dragon 2, Best Original Score: The Theory of Everything, Best Original Song: John Legend and Common's "Glory," Selma

Alien Nation Podcast & More Movies

Today I released episode 31 of my Alien Nation podcast, were my brother and I cover the second part of the fourth TV movie The Enemy Within. My brother and I are still having a fantastic time recording these podcasts. We got one more TV movie and then the actual film they series is based on before we move to comic book and novels.

Download from itunes http://bit.ly/itunesAlienNation Listen on Stitcher Radio http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32281/episodes or Listen/ Get Direct Download http://Aliennationpodcast.com  

 

I continued my watch of Netflix "Gay" Themed movies... first I watch "East is East". George Khan, proud Pakistani and chip shop owner -- Ghengis to his kids -- rules his family with a rod of iron. He thinks he's raising his seven children to be respectable Pakistanis. But this is Salford in the North of England, in 1971. Much as George's English wife, Ella, loves and tries to honor her husband, she also wants her kids to be happy. The children, caught between bell-bottoms and arranged marriages, simply want to be citizens of the modern world.

 

This was labeled on Netflix as a Gay Comedy... well it's neither gay themed or a comedy. It wasn't a bad movie and one of the kids winds up being gay but it's not the focus of the movie. This a super dramatic movie, this father hits his kids and wife. He's horrible to his family and so set in his ways that he almost tears his family apart. I also wasn't happy with ending as his battered wife takes him back and they act like nothing happened.. back to their happy life in England. I give East is East a C, I enjoyed the movie until the end when I feel like it just wimped out and took the easy route.

 

The next movie I watched was called "In The Name Of...". Adam, a Roman Catholic priest in rural Poland, knows that he desires men and his embrace of the priesthood has been a flight from his sexuality. When he meets a particular young man, self-imposed abstinence becomes a heavy burden. 

 

I knew when I started this film that it was going to be heavy and it was. It's a Polish film and subtitled in English. I found this movie a bit odd as there wasn't really much dialogue, just these long scenes of people doing things. They would say something and then the camera would stay on them for a good extra 30 seconds and then move on. The acting was great, especially the main guy. Towards the end of the film he breaks down to his sister over Skype (about being gay and liking the young men.. but she's just horrible to him). He's so distraught that it looked as if he killed himself. They even open up the next scene with what looks like a funeral procession, but soon you find out it's some sort of church ceremony and the priest is at the end of the procession. I enjoyed the film, it's not a happy one but not all of them can be. I give In The Name Of... a pretty solid B

Health Insurance Woes

So my I got a letter in the mail today informing me that my health insurance rates will be going up again. In the past few years (roughly since I've turned 40) my rate has gone from $250 to double that as it's now going to be $508 a month. Up until recently I have been keeping up with the payment (via credit card) as I know my health hasn't been the best in the past few years with high cholesterol, high blood pressure and now being pre-diabetic. But I just can't do it anymore. I'm in debt up to my eye balls because of health insurance but the time has come to drop it. I'm going to try for one of these Obama care health plans and see what comes of it. If nothing comes of it then I'll go without until I can find a steady job and afford insurance again... wish me luck.

Marvel's Agent Carter - My Review

Though it aired a few days ago I was finally able to watch Marvel's Agent Carter. When troops return from fighting abroad, Peggy Carter finds herself marginalized once again by 1940s U.S. society. In the wake of losing her love, Steve Rogers, she struggles to find balance between navigating life as a single woman and working at the covert Strategic Scientific Reserve, with administrative duties and tackling secret missions for an old acquaintance, Howard Stark. Edwin Jarvis, Stark's butler, helps Carter as she risks her life and freedom to complete assignments.

Now Captain America is my favorite of the Marvel movies and I was a huge fan of Peggy Carter from the first movie so when I heard they were going to do a series around her I was excited but wasn't sure what it was going to look like. 

So I watched the double episode tonight with my buddy Erik and I was blown away. The setting, the storyline, the action and the heart this series has is amazing. Within the first five minutes and I was hooked, and after the first episode I was in love and couldn't wait for the second one. Hayley Atwell is perfect, she's portrays Peggy as this strong, hard nosed, smart, sexy, tough independent woman but she's also no afraid to cry when she is hurting. She's a very well rounded character and that was all in just the first two episodes. 

I really liked all the supporting characters.. okay some of the male agents are pigs and horrible to Peggy but that it the way women were treated back then in the 40's. But there are few good guys in that bunch, including fellow agent Daniel Sousa. I'm hoping he will be integrated into Carter's new crew and a possible love interest. And the break out character for me was Jarvis (which is the of the AI for Starks computer) but at this time he's a real person and the elder Starks Butler. He's been tasked with helping Peggy and those two as a duo are amazing, funny and have some great chemistry. I can't say enough about this new series. I'm bummed that it's a limited 8 episodes season. Hopefully it will do well enough in the ratings to be picked up for a second season. 

Five Dances & Going Down in La-La Land

Today I watched a few more "gay" themed movies on Netflix. First was Five Dances, FIVE DANCES is a creatively adventurous narrative feature film set in the New York 'downtown' modern dance world. The story follows the rocky emotional journey of an 18-year old dancer with talent to burn, who must choose between his responsibility to his broken family in the Midwest, and forging a life and career for himself.
This felt like a student film to me. Not really any story or the story there was, was very light. It was more about the amazing dancing and it was pretty amazing. There really wasn't any conflict or stakes. It kind of just started and then it was over. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. I give Five Dances a C

The second film I watched today was called Going Down in La-La Land.  Based on the novel by Andy Zeffer, "Going Down in LA-LA Land" is a riveting and uncensored look at Hollywood. It is a story that reveals how friendships sustain us and keep us going. It is a tale that reflects our celebrity-obsessed culture. It is a revealing look at some people's desire to be loved, adored, and adulated at any cost. Readers have grown to adore the flawed and imperfect, yet earnest and likable characters of Adam and Candy. Now movie audiences will have the same opportunity to follow their rocky ride through Hollywood, and all the laughs that go along with it.

I enjoyed this movie over all but I really LOVED the ending. It wasn't anything that I didn't already know about the entertainment industry. The first half of the movie is fun and entertaining but my favorite was the second half with the love story involving the "closeted" actor and the main character Adam. It had quite a few laughs, thanks to Adam's best friend Candy, who also wanted to be an actor and famous. Overall I wish the storyline would had been more about the romance but I'd give Going Down in La-La Land a solid B.

Dropping Cable

Today I got a bill from Time Warner Cable and when I looked at it I noticed that my monthly amount went up. So of course in investigated as I didn't receive anything from TWC informing me that this would be happening. Well in the fine print of the bill it mentions the rate increase at the beginning of the new year. Also come to find out that my "promotional" deal when I signed up a year ago is over, hence my bill goes up by $20.

Finances are tough at the moment so I am now considering dropping my cable all together. Yes I know if I call the cable company and threaten to leave they would give me another deal but money is tight and cable isn't a necessity anymore. Of course I'll be keeping TWC internet but losing my TV. I've never been without cable. I have quite a few friends who don't have it and they seems to get along fine but TV is such a huge part of my life that I don't know how that will work. I mean I know I can find most of what I watch "online" but I won't be watching anything live. The question for me is can I live with that. I have until the 19th to decide as that's when I pay for another month of cable.

Finishing Babylon 5 The Series

Since the holidays are over my buddy Robert and I continued our TV night. Tonight it looks like we will finally be finishing Babylon 5 the series. But of course there are still five TV movies and a spin off series if we choose to watch them.

But we started the night with S5 Ep20 "Objects in Motion" As G'Kar plans to leave Babylon 5 with Lyta, the crew avert an assassination attempt on Garibaldi and Lise but then a G'Kar follower tries to kill G'Kar and accidentally shots Lise. Number One talks with Sheridan and they suspect that Earth is trying to provoke a civil war on Mars. Garibaldi forces access to the assassin and takes him to Lyta Alexander, and makes a deal for her to scan him. He finds that he was hired by Edgar Industries. Garibaldi stays by Lise's side in Medlab, and when she awakes he asks her to marry him then and now. She agrees. Number One is the new head of covert intelligence for the Interstellar Alliance. Franklin leaves for Earth. Garibaldi and Lise then leave for Mars. Delenn and Sheridan take a walk from one end of the station to the other.

Lot's of goodbyes in this episode. First G'Kar and Lyte, then the Doctor, and finally Garibaldi. Speaking of Garibaldi he was one of my favorite characters for the first three to four seasons. I'm glad he kind of redeemed himself at the end. It's good to see that he is going to get a happy ending. It was great seeing Number One (Tessa) again, I love that they made her the new intelligence chief for the Alliance.

Then we watched S5 Ep21 "Objects at Rest" Garibaldi forms a new Board of Directors for his company. Ta'Lon becomes the new Narn ambassador. Sheridan and Delenn leave for Mimbar. An accident on board their White Star ship creates doubt/hesitation for Lennier, who fails to act appropriately. He leaves the ship, and tells Delenn he'll come back one day to atone for what he's done. Sheridan and Delenn are greeted by Londo on Mimbar who has a gift for them.

This felt like the final episode of the series. It wrapped up what little story was left. I was shocked at what Lennier did, I actually gave an audible "Oh my God.. he didn't just do that". I liked Garibaldi's interaction with his new board members. It was good to see Londo again, even though he gave Delenn and Sheridan that urn with one of those creators in it. Guess will never see if that story plays out. This was a very emotional ending to this series (yeah I know there is one more episode). I really liked the shot when Sheridan and Delenn leave and the "new crew" of Babylon 5 is standing there and saluting him a farewell... very cool.

And finally the series finale S5 Ep22 "Sleeping in Light" 20 years after he visited Z'Ha'Dum, Sheridan knows his time is short and gathers his old comrades together. Afterwards he takes personalized White Star to Babylon 5 where it's going to be decommissioned shortly. The final leg of his journey takes him to Coriana 6 where they ended the Shadow War, and meets with one last person. The old command staff gather on Babylon 5 to watch its decommissioning.

I knew ahead of time that this episode was actually filmed as the finale of Season 4 but when they got picked up by another network for season 5 they pulled it and saved it for the end of season five. For the most part it worked, most of the storyline made sense. If the last episode made me cry this episode almost killed me. Sheridan dying was bad enough by when he had to say goodbye to Delenn, I lost it. We still don't know what happen to Lennier or if their son opened that urn on his 16th birthday but it was still great to see Susan again.. I miss her character.

So that's it.. it took us almost a year and a half (7/10/13 - 1/7/15) but we finished all 110 episodes of Babylon 5. It's an amazing series, one that I am very happy that I took the time to watch. We still have the five TV movies and the spin off series, if we decide to watch it all. But this was a fantastic series, so many ups and downs, great storylines and characters. Characters that I loved at the beginning and hated at the end and vice versa. This series moved me to tears and then fits of anger, it was so well written and defiantly one of the all time favorite TV series. 

Next up the first TV movie... "Babylon 5: In the Beginning"

Podcasts and Websites

I spent the first few hours working/editing a guest podcast that I'm doing for Treks in Scifi Podcast. In this episode Rico (the host) and I talk about first Harry Potter book and movie. Unfortunately I didn't explain to him how I usually do podcasts and he had not prepared to record his own audio so he kind of did it on the fly and when I listened to his audio it's a bit over blown. I've spent the last few hours trying to normalize it but overblown audio is tough to fix. I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and use what I got. It's still going to be fantastic but if you know me you know I'm a perfectionist, and the little things drive me crazy.

After working on the audio for a few hours I needed a break and moved on to building a new website. I actually have a website that I don't really promote as I'm very unhappy with it and I have been wanting to revamp it for years now. But even more important is that I want to make a website for my Geekyfanboy Productions so I can really start promoting my business.

I asked "social media" which "dummy" web builder I should use as I really don't have a clue how to build a website. Many said word press and since I already have a host and they have a word press app for it I figured I'd give it a go. Of course I built my previous website several years ago with word press but this time around it was like learning it all over again. It feels like when I do simple things it takes me hours to get a result. I didn't really make any progress with the site but I'm in the process of trying to find a "free" template that I like and once I have that I can start to build my new pages. If anyone wants to offer me their assistance in building my site I won't say no :)

Charmed, Downton CAH & Ant-Man Trailer

So I caught this episode of Charmed today, first let me say that I watched this entire series back when it first aired and loved it. I've seen episodes now and then but this one introduced Chris (Piper and Leo's second son) and I really enjoyed his storyline so I spent the next five hours popping in my DVD's and watching about five or six episodes with the keypoints of his storyline. Watching those few episodes really made me want to do a re-watch of that entire series. Such an amazing series, so glad I own it all on DVD.

I have several videos that I want to share with you all.. first one is three of the ladies from Downton Abbey, Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol), and Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) playing a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity.. it's pretty hilarious.

And the second one is a teaser trailer for the next Marvel movie Ant-Man. I don't know much about Ant-Man and he seems like an odd character to base a movie around but with Marvel's track record I'm sure it's going to be pretty awesome so I'm really looking forward to it.

Anglophile & New TV

I've always been a huge fan of all things England/British/United Kingdom And Ireland for that matter. I love the people, the cities, the sites, the history, the TV & movies.. I love it all.  And the past few years I've been thinking of moving there for a year or so.

Come to find out that there is a word for people like me. I'm called an Anglophile, it's defined as a person who admires England, its people, and its culture. Its antonym is Anglophobe. The word's roots come from the Latin Angli "the English", and Ancient Greek φίλος - philos, "friend." How cool is that!!

Two tv series are back from the holidays.. Gotham and Scorpion.  I got to watch the new episode of Gotham with my buddy Erik. Tonight we watched S1 Ep 11 "Rouge's Gallery" James Gordon, reassigned to guard duty at Arkham Asylum, investigates attacks on prisoners with the help of Dr. Leslie Thompkins. Gordon asks Harvey Bullock for help with his investigation and Bullock interrogates Arkham's Director Dr. Gerry Lang. Montoya realizes she is "toxic" to Barbara's health and breaks off their relationship. Gordon discovers that Nurse Dorothy Duncan is actually an inmate. Duncan releases the inmates from their cells, but is trampled to death during the chaos. Gordon, Bullock, and Essen discover that the culprit was Jack Gruber, who escapes from Arkham with his associate Aaron Helzinger, after killing two guards and Dr. Lang.

This was a great way to return after the extended time off. We got introduced to a new ally for Gordan, Dr. Thompkins played by the lovely Morena Baccarin. I had heard she was joining the cast so I know she'll be around for a while. I really enjoy the ongoing storylines. I'm still hoping Barbara Gordan dies in some horrible accident (she's just a horrible character and pretty useless). It was great seeing Allyce Beasley again, she played Ms DiPesto, the secretary on Moonlighting (and I loved that show). I'm warming up to Harvey more and more with every episode. He was particularly fun in this one. I look forward to seeing where all these storylines go.

Next up was the return of Scorpion. S1 Ep 13  "Kill Screen" The team tries to help Ralph when he is taken by the FBI for questioning after his web game play unintentionally reveals a CIA safe house's location.

This is my favorite new series of the new TV season so I was really looking forward to this returning. And as always it was another awesome, very tense yet funny and sweet episode. A good learning episode for Walter. 

Galavant - My Review

Galavant is a new TV series on ABC. Well it started off as a new TV series with eight episodes produced. They took those eight half hour episodes and made them into four hour long episodes and kind of made it an ABC 4-part "special event" or "comedy extravaganza" as they are calling it. I don't know if this means it's only going to be these four episodes and be a limited-run TV series or if they are just trying to burn off this series and get it over with. Either way ABC has really been promoting this all over the place. It's currently taking the time slot of another fairytale series Once Upon A Time.

I for one was very excited to see this. I was excited when I saw the trailer late last summer and was highly anticipating the premiere. So if you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick synopsis of Galavant. The series follows the adventures of Galavant, a dashing hero who is determined to reclaim his reputation and his "Happily Ever After" by going after the evil King Richard, who ruined it the moment he stole the love of Galavant's life, Madalena. The episodes chronicle Galavant's journeys (and the twists and turns that go along with them) through musical numbers composed and written by Menken and Slate.

Yep.. it's an offbeat, tongue and cheek musical, It has a sort of Monty Python meets Princess Bride feel to it! As I mentioned the aired the first two episodes back to back and when they were over social media went a bit crazy, you either loved it or hated it. I for one LOVED it. I watched with my buddy Erik via Skype and we both enjoyed it. I loved the music, the songs, the characters and the story. Erik figured out the twist in the first episode before it was revealed but I didn't have a clue. The opening scene is by far my favorite scene/song of the first two episodes. I love that in a two minute song we get the entire storyline and catch up with whats going on. Check it out below... oh and be warned once you hear this song you'll be singing Gaaaalllllaaaaavvvvvvannnnntttttt over and over :)

What is even better the tune was used in all of ABC commercials promoting their other shows. Even the local news weather guy had his own version of the Galavant song... it was pretty awesome.

I can't for next Sunday and two more episodes of this fun new series.

Readership for my Blog

Blog readership various from blog to blog, I assume it has to do with topic or time of posting but some blog posts will get 1000 hits while others barely get 10 hits. I haven't figured out a pattern but most of my blog posts get about 50 hits and I was wondering who was reading my blogs. So I created these polls. If you could please answer both of these questions, I would really appreciate it.

Readership for my Blog, I read...

Every blog post

Majority of the blog posts

Some of the blog posts

Only those that interest me

poll generator

Who is Reading My Blog

I'm a Friend

I'm an Online Friend

I don't know you but enjoy your blog

Poll Maker

De-Christmasing & Eureka Re-watch

I spent a good part of the day De-Christmasing my apartment. It's always a sad day when I start to take down all my Christmas decorations. But on a happy note in 11 months they all go back up again. :)

I did a mini re-watch of Eureka. I found out that Eureka is on Netflix.. well the last two seasons (4 & 5). I watched all of Eureka and loved it but haven't watched since it first originally aired. I figured I'd put that on in the background as I took down my Christmas stuff.. well that was a mistake. I forgot how much I loved Eureka, especially the final few seasons so I pretty much sat and watched season 4 episodes 1 - 15, back to back to back. I finally pulled myself away from it so I could actually finish taking down the rest of the Christmas stuff.

A Day of Netflix, Dramas & Comedies

So I've been at this apartment for one year. It was one of the best decisions that I made in recent years, to move to this neighborhood and apartment. With several good friends around, walking distance to food, shops and the red line, it's ideal. I love living across from the park as it makes going on my morning jogs so much more easier which ensures that I do them every morning. Now that my lease is up I have to wait and see if my rent will increase (which I expect it to) but hopefully by not to much.

Today was a Netflix day... I love my Netflix as it's opened my world up to a ton of new "gay" themed movies that I wouldn't otherwise see, but I've come to find out that a lot of the "gay" themed movies aren't that great or they show the gay culture as drug and sex obsessed, which a segment of it is, but it's not what I want to see all the time. Over the past year I have watched about thirty pretty amazing "gay" themed movies (which I have blogged about) but it seems that I'm having a harder time finding "happy" movies theses day. Lots of dramas which I'm sure are good but I have to be in a really good place to watch a hardcore drama. But the movie I started with today didn't sound to dramatic...

Angels of Sex: The established relationship between university student Bruno and aspiring photographer Carla is thrown into turmoil when Bruno feels drawn to sexy karate instructor/break dancer Rai. Complications ensue.

This movie is from Spain and is in Spanish so it's subtitled and the subtitles were so fast that I missed half of the dialogue. It annoyed me at times as I couldn't really watch the actors as I had to focus on the subtitles to see what they were saying before they were gone.

But overall I enjoyed this movie as you don't see many movie about open relationships, threesomes, and bisexuality. It shows how complicated relationships can be. It also shows you how all three sides to this relationship deal with it. For me personally I'd never be in an open or a threesome relationship, but it was a interesting look at another aspect on a variation of relationships.

After this drama I wanted a bit of fun to so I watched one of my favorite comedies of the 80's Troop Beverly Hills: Phyllis Nefler, a soon to be divorced Beverly Hills society wife is determined to prove to her husband Freddy and herself that she can finish what she starts out to do. She soon realizes that being a Wilderness Girls' den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills-bred girls is not as easy as buying cookies.

I love this movie and I'm so happy that it's finally on Netflix. It's one of Shelly Longs best movies (IMO). Funny, caring, heartwarming and wacky at times.. the perfect movie to make you laugh out loud.

I then decided to watch one of the more "heavy" drama gay themed movies called Priest. It was highly recommended with 4 1/2 stars out of 5 on Netflix. Priest: The Rev. Greg Pilkington is homosexual and a Roman Catholic priest who takes his vows and his love of God seriously. When a young girl confesses to him that her father has been sexually abusing her, Pilkington is overcome with protective rage and feels that he must break the secrecy rules binding the confessional in order to stop the abuse. As the case haunts him, Pilkington is forced to confront the transgression of his lack of celibacy through sex with other men.

This movie was exactly what I had expected.. drama, drama, drama. On the lighter side it was fun to see a younger Robert Carlyle (Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon A Time) playing the Priests lover, though it was interesting seeing him naked. Even with the movie being uber dramatic I did enjoy it, and it was extremely painful to see what this poor man had to endure.

After that depressing movie I wanted to watch something lighthearted. I came across Bedroom and Hallways and I remember seeing this movie and liking it but it's been a while so I figured I'd give it another go. Bedroom and Hallways: At the suggestion of a straight friend, gay man Leo joins a men's group and is delighted to find hunky, straight Brendan who is coming to grips with his bisexuality and becomes his lover. Things turn ugly as it turns out Brendan's girlfriend is Leo's school ex and still able to seduce him.

I enjoyed this movie even more the second time round. Again like with Angels of Sex this movie deals with bisexuality but in a more comedic way. I enjoyed the characters and the story and I kept trying to figure out where I had seen the actor who played Brendan (James Purefoy) as I find him very cute.. he actually played the Prince in A Knights Tale... so that was cool.

Overall a good day of Netflix viewing.. some heavy dramas mixed with some fun comedies. 

The Year That Was - 2014

I've been debating on weather 2014 was a good year or a bad year overall. Of course I had ups and downs like we all do but my downs were extreme downs and my ups are really high ups. I'll list my good and bad things and see which comes out on top.

Let's start with good in 2014:

• I moved into my new apartment in North Hollywood blocks from many of my close friends.
• Met someone online and hit it off, possible boyfriend?
• Said person visited for a week, had a great time, only issue he lives in Portland
• Went on my Dream Vacation to Ireland and the UK for a month. Got to meet several "online" friends who were amazing and wish I lived closer to them so we could hang out more often. (Matt, Erlend, Bel, Daniel, Simon, Phil, Russ & Markus)
• I got to enjoy Wondercon
• I visited Disneyland about 15 times through out the year
• Discovered several amazing TV shows, that weren't on my radar to watch. Call the Midwife (Thanks Jes via America), Looking, Please Like Me.
• I got to spend some quality time with friends who came from over seas (Lydia & Thomas)
• I attended San Diego Comic Con
• Got some amazing movie this year, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Imitation Game to name a few.
• Got my fourth geeky tattoo
• Some really good TV this year, Scorpion, Agents of SHIELD, Arrow, Flash, Gotham, Big Bang Theory, 
• Got to play more D&D (Thanks Dallas for always making it fun and entertaining)
• Marriage equality has become mainstream, we are currently up to 35 state were gay couple can legal marry.
• My family & friends are healthy

Now for the bad in 2014:

• My continued weight issues, high as 217
• Being diagnosed as pre-diebatic.
• Distancing friendships
• My continued fight with depression. I was at my lowest this year in a long time. Was very difficult to pull myself out of it... it's a continuing fight.
• I only worked five weeks this year
• Lack of work has meant huge credit card debt, gotta charge to survive.
• Stress from all this effects my health even more
• Still single and lonely, haven't had a date in many years
• Lost my friend Craig this year... I miss him.

Though my "bad" list is shorter then my "good" list I think the things on my bad list effect me more, ie my health and my finances. So I'm gonna say 2014 wasn't a good year for me. Though it had some amazing things in it, overall it was a very tough year to get through.

So what do I hope for 2015... well I got all the bad out of the way and I'm due for some good. In 2015 I'll find a great job (that lasts a while) and a great guy that I can see spending he rest of my life with. With a job I can get my financials woes in order and I've already started working on bettering my health towards the end of 2014 so I'll continue to move forward with that. I'm going to make a better effort to strength the friendships that I deem worthy and let go of the ones that no longer work. Gonna stop worry about what people think of me and just be the best me I can be.

I'm gonna grow Geekyfanboy Productions with more podcasts, video blogs and series. I know there will be set backs as I continue to struggle with my depression but I will overcome these obstacles and continue to fight the good fight. 2015 is a year of change and I'm ready for the challenge.