NerdStrong Gym - Endurance Testing

Test week continues.. today was our Endurance Test. We started with a good warm up before moving into the testing stage.

We started with a 1 Mile Run, that's 8 laps around the parking lot (which they actually measured and found it that it's not 250 meters round it's 230 meters), but since we did 8 laps we actually did 1.14 miles. Coach Blair wanted us to try and keep our laps pretty steady with less then a 10 second difference. I did pretty good the first four times around but on my fifth I was about 20 seconds off my time and I fell even more behind on my seventh and eighth time. But I run this 1 Mile (actually 1.14 Miles) in 11 minutes 51 seconds. I'm hoping to get it under a 10 minute mile the next time we test in October.

After a short rest we moved on to the Rowing. We were doing a 2000 Meter (1.24 Miles) Row. Since we only have a limited amount of rowers we did these in heats of 500. So we rowed 500 meters and then rested why someone else did their 500 meter row. Like with the running coach Blair asked that we try and keep our times within 10 seconds. My first 500 meter row was 2:15, second was 2:09, third was 2:12 and my final 500 meter row was 2:10 for a total of 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Coach said 8 minute row for 2000 meters is ideal so I'm not that far off.. maybe I'll hit that number in October.

Overall I'm happy with my numbers. I ran the entire 1.14 miles which was great and I'm happy with my pace for rowing.. of course next time we are going to be doing the entire 2000 meter at one time. As you can see from the picture we were all dead tired after this workout but it was good indicator at where we are physically. And we get to do this all over again in October.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - My Review

So after work today my buddy Robert and I went to a PGA screening of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.This is the fifth Mission: Impossible movies. Here's a quick synopsis for the latest one, With the IMF now disbanded and Ethan Hunt out in the cold, a new threat -- called the Syndicate -- soon emerges. The Syndicate is a network of highly skilled operatives who are dedicated to establishing a new world order via an escalating series of terrorist attacks. Faced with what may be the most impossible mission yet, Ethan gathers his team and joins forces with Ilsa Faust, a disavowed British agent who may or may not be a member of this deadly rogue nation.

Now I'm not a big fan of this movie series.. I did see the first movie and hated it but watched the second and wasn't impressed to so skipped the third but got a see a free screening of the fourth and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this one and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. This latest movie is non-stop action. From the moment it starts to the very last scene it's action, action, action. I enjoyed the story though it felt very much like the last movie, but still good. I enjoyed the acting, Simon Pegg's character was hilarious and I liked the edition of the British agent Ilsa Faust. She could kick some ass and don't need any man to save her.

Would I watch this again.. sure, but I don't need to buy it. The last two films in this series have been fun popcorn movies. You just sit back and enjoy the ride. I give Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation a solid B+ 

NerdStrong Gym - DEX Testing

Back to NerdStrong I go.. today is a DEX Test and man was it a good one. We started with a mini workout for a warm up. 2 rounds of 10x Banded Pass Thrus, 10x Banded Pull Aparts, 10x Good Mornings and 10x Squats. We then had to do 50x Jump Rope, 40x Mountain Climbers and 30x Lunges. I was winded just by that warm up alone.

For the first test we had to do 2 minute max reps for the following, Push Ups,  Sit Ups, Kettlebell Swings, Squats and Pull Ups/Ring Rows. So I did 33 Push Ups in 2 minutes, up about 12 Push Ups from my last max. I did 40 Sit Ups in 2 minutes which is impressive for me because I'm extremely slow at sit ups. I did 56 Kettlebell Swings in 2 minutes which I was somewhat disappointed in. I was hoping to hit 60. I manged to do 51 Squats in 2 minutes but expected to do better since I'm really good a Squats. For the Pull Ups/Ring Rows I can actually do 2 Pull Ups, but I went for the Ring Rows for 2 minutes and did 35 of them which I was happy with. So overall I was satisfied with my 2 minute test this go round.

We then did 3 rounds of :30 seconds of Box Jumps and then :60 seconds of Box Step Ups with no rest in between, before finishing the workout with TABATA Planking.

It was a rough workout but a good one. We test again in October so hopefully I will improve on those numbers next time.

Boys - Another Amazing Movie - My Thoughts

Since I've been taking off Fridays from the Gym to recoup and still getting up at 6am (stupid internal clock). I had about three and a half hours to kill before work so I continued my movie watching from last night.

Up first was another five star movie (according the Netflix) called Boys. BOYS (Jongens) tells the story of Sieger, a sporty, rather quiet 15-year-old boy who discovers love during the summer holidays. Sieger is training in the new athletics team for the national relay championships and meets the intriguing and unpredictable Marc. The friendship that develops seems nothing out of the ordinary, but Sieger secretly harbours stronger feelings for Marc. He engages in a lonely struggle with himself when it emerges that Marc is also in love with him. Events soon take on a momentum of their own as Sieger quickly becomes involved with Jessica. Sieger struggles with what his heart wants but what but his mind is telling him. It becomes increasingly more difficult to deny his feelings for Marc.

This movie is from the Netherlands and came out last year. Like with The Way He Looks it also had English subtitles. And also just like with The Way He Looks I really enjoyed this movie. Not as much as The Way He Looks but it's definitely in my top 10 of "gay" themed movies and top 5 coming of age movies. This movie took a different approach to a gay teen dealing with his emerging sexuality. Sieger pushes down those feelings, he begins dating a girl to mimic his best friend.

There is some very sweet scenes of Marc and Sieger at a pond horsing around until they final kiss for the first time. And later there this great moment when their at Marc's house playing with his sister and you can just see the love Marc has for Sieger.

Unlike The Way He Looks, Boys has a bit more conflict. Sieger is with his girlfriend at a fair and Marc shows up only to be given the cold shoulder. The look on Marcs face is devastating (and just breaks your heart), but that's nothing compared to one of the final scenes when Sieger is with his brother and their girlfriends and come upon Marc who is just broken hearted because Sieger promised to meet him at the pond but didn't. Sieger pushes Marc aside so the car can get by but minutes later is in tears and jumps out of the car and goes home.

The last scene has Sieger with his family and friend when his dad ask if he's okay.. he replies with No and then takes his brothers moped and the last shot of the film is Sieger riding into the sunset with Marc on the back.

It's a great ending but I would have liked to have seen the reconciliation of the two. Marc looked devastated when Sieger pushed him on the road and I would have liked to see them reconnect.

I give Boys a solid A, it's a fun, sweet and heartwarming at times.. but also heartwrenching.

So I still have an hour and a half to kill so guess what I watched.. yep.. The Way He Looks. You can check out my extended blog post about his amazing movie HERE.

The Way He Looks - Amazing Movie - My Thoughts

Okay now it's time to talk about my favorite movie I watched today... "The Way He Looks" This is by far my favorite coming-of-age films of all time. The Way He Looks is a beautifully told Brazilian film that follows Leonardo, a blind boy dealing with the everyday struggles of life due to his disability. He is teased and ridiculed by others in his high school on a daily basis, and his best friend, Giovana, stands by his side every step of the way-physically and metaphorically.

Yet, Leonardo yearns for independence. He longs to discover the world, and moreover, discover himself. His life slowly begins to change as he befriends a new student, Gabriel. The two instantly click and become extremely close friends, sparking jealously from Giovana and afflicted feeling from Leonardo as he attempts to make sense of his thoughts, experiences, and sexuality.

The Way He Looks is a subtle yet magnificent tale about friendship, love, and hardship, and it is one that is flawlessly presented with sentimental and humanistic meaning. I can't stop praising this film. It's been a long time since I have been moved by such an amazing film.

As I mentioned it's a Brazilian film and the language spoken is Portuguese (with English subtitles) but that didn't stop me from falling in love with these characters and story. The main three actors are amazing especially the one who plays Leo (the blind boy). He's acting is incredible and I actually had to look this actor up to see if he truly was blind (he's not btw), just goes to show you how amazing of a job he did.

There are so many scenes that I just loved but I don't want this blog to go on forever so I'll try and just pick a few of my very favorite.. the first one is early on in the film where Leo is taking a shower and then starts to practice kissing on the shower door. It's a very tender moment and the music that accompanies this scene is just beautiful. That's one of many things that I loved about this movie, the music is perfect in ever scene. Another amazing scene is when Leo is out with Gabriel "watching" an eclipse and Leo asks Gabriel what does it mean "The Moon disappears" and Gabriel comes up with a cool way to explain an eclipse to a blind person. It was just a very sweet moment.

Another incredible scene, that is not only shot and lighted beautifully but has the perfect music and the acting is amazing without a single word being said is when Leo is by himself in his bedroom just getting home from "watching" the eclipse and Gabriel left his hoodie in his room. He gently picks it up, puts it up against his face and inhales deeply. He then gets undressed and puts the hoodie on and lays down in his bed as though he is being embraced by Gabriel.. it's just an amazing moment of self awareness.

There are so many touching scenes in this movie but I'll try and limit how many I talk about because you all are gonna watch this film. A great moment that is very sweet is when Leo's dad helps him shave or when Leo is upset because everyone is controlling him and no one wants to kiss him so Gabriel kiss hims unexpectedly but then runs off.

And then you finally get the big moment when Gabriel expresses his interest in Leo (in a very cute and sweet way) and Leo stands and in one of the sweetest, gentlest and loving things I've ever seen, kisses Gabriel and they embrace... make me tear up just thinking about it.

I can go on and on about this movie, if you couldn't tell...

I obviously don't blog each night (I tend to play catch up after a week) and it's been five days since I watched this movie and I have watched it everyday since.. sometimes multiple times in the day. I honestly can't remember a movie that has touched me so much as this one did and still does ever time I watch it.

I've done a bit a research over the past five days and found out is this movie is based off a short that came out in 2010 called "I Don't Want to Go Back Alone". Of course I had to find it and luckily enough it's on You Tube.. It has the same three main actors but of course they are 3 years younger then they are in the 2014 movie. It's a similar theme but of course it's only 17 minutes compared to the hour and a half movie, but I love every minute of it. The only downside to loving this movie is finding stuff online like interviews with the cast and crew but since it's native language is Portuguese I don't understand a word they are saying. Speaking of Portuguese I'm actually learning some words because I've watched this movie so many times already.

Anyways.. watch the short below (like I said it's 17 minutes and well worth your time). Then find the movie on Netflix (it's new there) or else where and watch it. You won't be disappointed. I give The Way He Looks a HUGE A++++++++++ (and I'd keep going with the pluses but that would be obnoxious)

Movie Day

After a great Indy workout a few of us headed out to brunch at the Hungry Fox. Joining me for this brunch was Shannon, Brett and Lauren. As with all of our after workout brunches it was a great time; tasty food, geeky conversation and good friends.

Back home I decided that I wasn't going to do a thing today. Yesterday's and today workout were killers and all I wanted to do was sit in front of the TV and veg.

I noticed a few new "gay" themed movies available on Netflex so I figured I've give them a go. The first one had five stars and was just added to Netflix. It is called "The Way He Looks" I'm going to do a separate post about this movie as it's now one of my all time favorite coming of age movies and I'm totally in love with it.

After "The Way He Looks" I moved on to another new addition to Netflix called "The Falls", it had four and a half stars. The Falls is a feature film about two missionaries that fall in love while on their mission. RJ travels to a small town in Oregon with Elder Merrill to serve their mission and teach the words of Joseph Smith. Living together and sharing the challenge of leaving home, the two men help each other discover their strengths. They share a passion for their faith and learn to express their feelings, risking the only community they have for a forbidden intimacy.

I really enjoyed this movie, it reminded me of Later Days but this one had a much stronger message at the end. The last fifteen minutes of this movie becomes a somewhat PSA about the Morman Church (and for that matter all churches) on how they teach love and take someone into their fellowship only to discard them like a piece of trash when they admit that they are gay. I like the way that final speech was shot as the main actor is talking to the head of the church but he's looking directly into the camera and really talking to those who are watching. I enjoyed the story, the acting and overall feel of the movie. I'd give The Falls a solid B

The third movie I started to watch as called Gerontophilia, it only had one and half stars but the topic seemed interesting and the main actor was cute. A male youth begins exploring his attraction to much much older men while working in a nursing home.

Now the description on Netflix all it said was that he is a young man and he's attracted to older men. Unlike the description on IMDB which is above, he's attacked to very old men, like in their 70's and 80's. After ten minutes I just couldn't continue to watch. I mean I tried my best because the guy cute.. but I just couldn't do it. Now I'm open to all kinds of relationships but this was just to much for me. And to be honest I'm a bit ashamed for saying that but it's the truth.

So I stopped that movie and moved on to The Seminarian. A closeted gay seminarian's struggle in a troubled relationship leads him to question everything he had known about God and love.

Again this had one and a half stars on Netflix but the topic sounded interesting to I gave it a go. I enjoyed the story and the characters of this movie. The acting was just okay but the direction on this was horrible. I felt like I was watching a really bad student film. Of the many issues the one that annoyed me the most was when two, three or four people are talking the director keep the camera on one person for the entire conversation. So you're watching someone's facial expressions as others in the conversation are talking, this would go on for minutes.. I was yelling at my TV.. okay.. cut to another person.. ok now show us the person talking... I kept telling myself this must be this directors style because he/she can't be that bad.. I mean it's basic movie 101 common sense.

Needless to say I watched the entire hour and a half as I did enjoy the story. I probably won't watch this movie again and I give it a C-

Unfortunately I watched the best movie first and it just kind of went down hill from there. But that's how it goes when watching any movies.. they can't all be hits.. I just happen to get a few more duds then hits this time around.

My Willow Podcast

Today the Treks in Sci fi podcast that I co-hosted with my buddy Chris was released. We discuss one of my all time favorite fantasy movies Willow.

"This week we have a special guest podcast for everyone to enjoy.  Kenny & Chris take over the show for a little Trek in Fantasy with a look at the very cool & classic film “Willow” from 1988.  I really like this film too and the guys cover it well and share their thoughts and opinions about this dive into fantasy for George Lucas.  Big thanks to them for doing this special show this week.  I will be back next weekend with a round up of the current comics I am reading as well as a look at some classic books you might want to check out too.  Until then take care and enjoy the week ahead."

Take a listen to the podcast HERE. 

NerdStrong Gym - Dodging a Boulder

Today is the Indiana Jones workout. This was my very first "team" work out back in February when I started. Unfortunately I did not complete it and was ran over by the boulder which meant I had to do the 30x Wall balls, but since I was new (literally my second workout) coach Andrew took pity on me and said I didn't have to do them.. but coach Marla didn't agree with him and wasn't going to let me slide so she made me do 30x Air Squats :) instead.

Anyways after the warm up that felt like a mini workout with 20x Jumping Jacks, 20x Seal Jacks, 10x Air Squats, 10x Lunges, 10x Samson Stretch and 5x Inch Worms we moved onto the actually workout.

This one has a 12 minute time limit. If you can't complete the workout within that time limit you are crushed and have to do the wall balls. I teamed up with one of my usual team mates Lauren. She and I have are pretty similar with our fitness capabilities. We had to choose what we were going to do before we actually started. I opted for the "Hard" workout with one modification to the Sit Ups, I opted to do only 12 instead of the 20 since I'm rather slow at doing sit ups.

So what I had to do was five rounds of 5x Burpees, 10x Box Jumps, 15x Kettlebell Swings and 12x Sit Ups. The time started and I did my first round, as Lauren was doing her first round coach Andrew came over and asked how many times I had gone.. I said once and now Lauren is going. Come to find out that one person was suppose to do all 5 rounds of this at one time and then your partner would do their 5 rounds afterwards. But it wasn't just us who misunderstood, about half the class was doing our way. So she finished her first round and I started my second, third, fourth and my fifth. Time was running out as I struggled to finish my final 12 sit ups. They called time and I finished my final four sit ups seconds after my time had run out but because Lauren had done one of her rounds during my time (which took a few minutes) I actually considered getting done a minute and a half before the 12 minute limit, so I finished before the boulder got me... woot!!!

Lauren then did her final 4 rounds well within the 12 minute time limit and there was almost three minutes still left so I decided to do a bonus 6th rounds with the full 20 sit ups after she finished.

Overall I was very happy with the results of my second attempt at the Indiana Jones workout. Unlike last time where I did all the "easy" stuff, This time I did the majority of the "hard" workouts and still finished in about 10 and a half minutes.

Only 3 people from the 10am class were crushed by the boulder.. so the majority escaped. Can't wait to do this workout again in another six months.. see if I can improve upon my time even more.

Killjoys & Minions

After workout today I came home and watched the latest Killjoys S1 Ep 7 "Kiss, Kiss, Bye Bye". The Killjoys' continuing quest to uncover the mystery behind D'avin's missing memories leads them to an underground black market, triggering a shocking incident that will haunt the team."

Another amazing episode, this is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. This episode dealt with D'avin's missing memories. They finally find the doctor responsible who seems to be another victim controlled by the government. But soon you find out she's a cold-hearted manipulative bitch. She activate D'avin and he goes from having sex with Dutch to almost killing her. This was one of most brutal fights I have seen in a long time. Maybe because it was between a man and a woman but the stuff he was doing her was hard to watch. She gets the upper hand and goes after the doctor who did this while John stays with his brother but D'avin gets free and stabs John and leaves him for dead. As John is dying Lucy the ship's computer become concern and this is one aspect I like about this series, the ship has a mind of her own. When John is dying on her floor you can hear the panic and concern in her voice as she doesn't know what to do. Luckily she decided to call the local doctor who gets there just in time to save him. Dutch erases the mind of the evil doctor instead of killing her and D'avin is deactivated but the damage is done. He remembers everything and though Dutch and John both said they understand that it wasn't him things will never be the same. I can't wait to see where this storyline goes.

Spent the afternoon with my friend/roommate Lydia who is visiting from Switzerland. We went out to lunch at the Universal City Walk Hard Rock Cafe and then went and saw Minions.

Minions was pretty much what I expected it to be. It was cute and funny at times and had some really cute characters, especially "little" bob, but I wasn't really blown way by it like I was hoping to be since I'm a huge fan of the Minions. I left the theater thinking, okay.. that was good but I don't have to see it again. Maybe my expectations were to high or maybe it's because I really enjoyed the Minions in the Despicable Me movies but I wanted to like this movie so much more then I actually did. Anyways maybe I'll enjoy it more on a second viewing, maybe my mood had something to do with it.. I don't really know. But I have Minions a solid B-

NerdStrong Gym - Monster of a Workout

Today was a monster of a workout, after a quick warm up we went into our main workout. It had a 40 minute cap on it and there was alot to do.

We started in heats since we only have so many rowers and I was part of the first heat. We had to do a 50 Cal Row, which can take a few minutes on the Rower. I noticed that height really does matter when it comes to rowing. The person next to me was about six or seven inches taller then me and was moving much faster in his Calorie count then I was. But I guess there are advantages and disadvantages in all exercises.

After the row was had to go do a 50x Walking Lunge. These can be rough on my knees but today they weren't so bad. Next was a 250 meter run, when I got back I had to do 50x Air Squats, I love air squats so these weren't an issue for me. I then did another 250 meter run before coming back into the gym and doing 50x 1 Arm Kettlebell Press (so 25 each arm). Once I got the form down with some help from coach Andrew these weren't to bad. I did another 250 meter run before doing 50x Deficit Push Ups. Now if you're a regular reader of my blog you know I love push ups, I'm good at them and have the form down pretty good but these were a killer. What these are, are regular push ups but you have your hands on two elevated items (we used weights) and then when you went down you go below your hands. I manged to do 25 of those before scaling down to a regular push up and finished off the other 25.

Once again I did a 250 meter run before starting Pull Ups. Since I can only do two pull ups I did slow releases instead. So I would jump and get my chin above the bar (with the help of a box) and then slowly let myself go down. I actually did 50 of these and then realized that I was only suppose to do 30... oh well.. extra. I did another 250 meter run before doing 30x Toes 2 Bar, these are tough and especially after that workout. You're arms are like jelly but you push yourself to your limits to finish and speaking of finishing I finally did the final 250 meter run around the parking lot and with that I was done.

I was exhausted but I'm happy to say that I finished within the 40 minute time limit.. 

100 Facts About Me

So I posted this back in 2011 (with 80 facts about me) So I updated it with 20 more things and figured I'd repost it.

Hey Guys... here's everything you wanted to know about Kenny and maybe just a bit more.

1. I'll be 45 years old come September.
2. I've broken two bones so far... .my right arm (fell off monkey bars) and left wrist (rolled down a hill with an ATV)
3. I currently have 4 tattoos, Hogwarts crest on my left shoulder & R2D2 on my right calf, Star Trek Borgified Badge on my left calf and Lord of the Rings writing on my right shoulder.
4. When I was younger I wanted to be a veterinarian.
5. I struggled with being gay and didn't come out of the closet until I was 27 years old.
6. My favorite type of music is Country Music.
7. I am extremely shy & quiet (on the verge of socially awkward) in person
8. Favorite color is Green
9. I don't cuss.. EVER!!!
10. I've been collecting action figures since I was 6 years old, my first being Star Wars.

11. I've always wanted a biological child of my own and as I get older that hope dwindles.
12. My hair has been purple, red, orange, black, blond and it's natural brown.
13. My very first geeky convention that I attended was in LA for the series Alien Nation, 2 days of awesomeness.
14. I was Donny and Marie Osmond's personal assistant back in the summer 97
15. I graduated from California State University Fullerton w/ a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication - TV/Radio/Film
16. I rarely drink (a few times a year maybe), never smoked, never done drugs of any kind.
17. Saved my brother from drowning when he was 3 and I was 8
18. I'm a Hopeless Romantic
19. I love singing along with the radio while driving in the car

20. Because of Jaws I'm still afraid to go into deep water / ocean

21. I've worked in the TV/Film industry for over 20 years
22. I was born and raised in Southern California
23. Saw Star Wars when I was 6 & it made me the Geekyfanboy I am today.
24. Pets I've had, Dogs, Cats, Chickens, Ducks, Turtle, Rabbits, Mice, Rats, Fish & a Chinchilla
25. I bungee jumped from 150 feet up.
26. I had a Star Trek "Borg" Themed wedding cake

27. Rode my bike from San Fransisco to Los Angeles (600+ miles) in seven days for the California Aids Ride in 2001
28. I'm a roller coaster enthusiast
29. I have a large round birth mark the size of a sliver dollar on my lower back.
30. I've appeared in many episodes of the webseries The Guild, I've also appeared in My Gimpy Life and Legend of Neil.

31. I'm told that I have an infectious laugh, friends use to call me The Giggler
32. Had an anxiety/panic attack in High School that was so bad that I made myself go temporally blind
33. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars and Firefly our my top 5 favorite worlds to visit.
34. If I went to Hogwarts I'd be sorted into Hufflepuff, which values Loyalty, Dedication and Hard Work.. sounds like me
35. I am a proud member of the Producer's Guild of America
36. I am teaching myself American Sign Language 
37. Found my Dad's biological family after 58 years

38. I am half Puerto Rican & half German
39. I am allergic to Dairy (Lactose intolerant)
40. Graduated from High School with a 3.89 GPA and in the top 10% of my class

41. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
42. Would rather be in the company of a handful of close friends then a room full of acquaintances.
43. I've only been out of the country a few times.. Mexico, Ireland and United Kingdom.
44. Though I do 5 podcasts I've always disliked the sound of my voice.
45. I've always been mature for my age.. at 16 I was ready to marry and settle down.
46. At the age of 37 I dressed up in my Hogwarts Robes and stood in line for the release of the final Harry Potter book. I cosplay regularly at comic cons
47. I'm one of those people who always looks on the bright side of things.
48. I'm addicted to the internet, can't go more then a few hours without checking my email, facebook, or twitter.
49. Don't eat salads, not a big veggie eater.
50. Call me a Geek, Dork, Dweeb, Nerd, or Loser.. I don't care.. I love who I am and wouldn't change for anything. 

51. I'm a very empathic person.

52. I suffer from depression
53. I'm a TV junkie, can't get enough of those shows.
54. I've been blogging for almost 15 years.
55. I love to dance, not saying I'm good, but it's tons of fun.
56. I'd rather live in the country/woods/mountains then in a big city or beach.
57. I have a difficult time accepting compliments.
58. I'm a nice guy and normally finish last.
59. Loved the Star Wars prequels, not as much as the original trilogy but still very enjoyable.
60. In High School I had a Pompadour-Mullet.. yeah I was that cool :)

61. My middle name is Harvey, named after my grandfather.
62. I can't spell to save my life, thank goodness for spellcheckers.
63. My childhood nickname was KenKen, as my dad went by Kenny.
64. Use to have a speech impediment when I was younger, took many years to over come, still have it slightly.
65. For those who haven't met me in person I'm short, standing at a proud 5 foot 3 inches.
66. Favorite book series would be a toss up between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
67. Favorite Star Trek Series, TNG, followed closely by Voyager & DS9, also enjoy Enterprise and TOS.
68. Though I work on The Guild I've never played WoW, nor played alot of video games.
69. As I get older I try and enjoy my life more as there is less of it.
70. I'm an Uncle and have an amazing nephew (Kenobi) and niece (Molly). 

71. I want to go skydiving at least once in my life.

72. I’ve always had weight issues but I'm working hard to get fit at NerdStrong

73. I had a rocking mustache starting at age 12 and didn’t shave it off until I was 19.

74. My hair is thinning on top to the point of baldness 

75. I am a podcaster currently creator/co-host/producer on Knights of the Guild, MASH 4077 Podcast, Confessions of a Fanboy, My Gimpy Life, Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast and The Geek Roundtable

76. I've always wanted to learn to play the piano & flute.. I hope to still do that some day

77. Use to watch Soaps, One Life to Live and General Hospital religiously, from age 12 to 22

78. I’ve had major dental work done, my top front five teeth are fake (prem. Bridge)

79. I use to love mathematics, went as high as Trigonometry and Calculus in Collage.

80. I can spend an entire day by myself at the movie theater watching 4 to 5 movies, which I've done in the past.

81. I've never kissed a girl (pecks don't count)

82. At my heaviest I was 219 pounds, currently down to 189, I have lost 30 pounds in six months

83. Favorite food is Mexican

84. Drove 17 days while in the UK from Edinburgh to London 

85. If I had the  money I'm build myself my very own Hobbit Hole to live in.

86. I would love to live in England/Ireland for a year

87. My favorite car that I've ever owned was my Honda CRX

88. My dream job would be to open a Geek themed arcade/gaming cafe

89. I have one younger brother (he's five years younger)

90. I have very low self esteem (it's a constant battle)

91. Would rather be poor & happy then rich & unhappy.

92. I'm actually attracted to both men and women, but out of 5 people I'm attracted to 4 would be men and only 1 a woman.

93. I was bullied through out my schooling for being short

94. Three different people attempted to abduct me while I walked to elementary school.

95. Once I lose all the weight I want to lose I'm considering plastic surgery to nip and tuck.

96. I've always wanted to own a large house so I could adopt kids who were about to age out of the system just so they would have a place to call home.

97. Try and live my life without regrets but it's hard.

98. I believe that we are not alone in this universe

99. I prefer cake over pie

100. I've always wished I was more outgoing.

Con Man Trailer & Exploding Kittens

I don't know how I missed this but Con Man trailer was released during San Diego Comic Con and I'm just now seeing it today. If you haven't heard of Con Man it's a Web series created by Alan Tudyk who plays an actor from a canceled cult sci-f show who becomes a tragi-comic figure, increasingly in the shadow of his more successful former costar (portrayed by Nathan Fillion!!!). It was an indiegogo campaign that I almost contributed to but even without my help it raised 3.1 million dollars, that's 735% over their goal... it was crazy. Well needless to say the series is being made and will premiere on Vimeo in October. I knew there were going to be alot of guest stars from the Whedon verse but I had not idea just how many. Watch the trailer below and see.

I'm happy to say that I finished editing the Willow Podcast for the Treks in Sci Fi podcast this Sunday. It took me 3 days and a few hours of late nights but it's done. I'm very happy with the final results and I'll be sure to post a link when it's released on Sunday... just in case you'd like to listen.

During the evening I went to NerdStrong Game Night. It's always a blast playing board and card games with fellow NerdStrongers. Today we were fortunate enough to play a brand new game that's sweeping the geek world called Explosives Kittens. I had never heard of this game but I guess it was the most successful gaming campaign on Kickstarter, raising 8.7 million dollars.

It was actually a fun card game. I played six rounds along with a few rounds of Cockroach Poker. Overall it was another fun NerdStrong game night.

DubSmash Battle Continues, Lava Short & Sherlock Pop! Figures

So I thought the DubSmash war between Team Carter and Team Shield was over.. but that's not the case. Announced today there is a new challenge being thrown down but this time it's for charity. It hasn't started yet but when it does I'm sure I'll be blogging about it.. so stay tuned.

Since I saw Inside Out at a PGA screening I did not have the pleasure of seeing the Pixar short "Lava" before the movie. But today Disney's Movie app released it for free so I was able to watch it and I have to say this is my favorite short Pixar has done so far and that's saying alot since all the Pixar shorts are pretty amazing. I loved the song, the story, the animation, the entire thing. It brought me to tears. The idea that this lonely volcano sings this song of loneliness and love for hundreds of years slowly dying and come to find out that there is a female volcano under the water listening to him sing for hundreds of years wanting the same thing. And then when he finally is about to die she springs up from the water only to not see him because he's on her backside then he goes completely down and they are alone again. My heart sank.. I thought there is no way they can end this short like this.. and honestly I should have known better.. I mean it's Pixar and Disney and their stories always end happy so when she started to sing that re-ignited his Lava (Love) and he rose from the water and they are finally together.

I think this short touched me so much because I can identify with the volcano's song of loneliness and love, let's just hope it doesn't take me hundreds of thousands of years to find someone to Lava.

I can't add the movie to this blog as it's only available on the Disney App at the  moment but you can listen to the song which is just so sweet.

And the final thing I want to share with you guys are some awesome Funko Pop! figures from the TV series Sherlock. 

I'm a big fan of these Pop Figures and own quite a few of them but there are hundreds and though I would love to have them all costs and space is a real issue. These are also the only figures that I actual take out of the packaging and display. But with that said this series of Sherlock figures are going to be a must buy for me. And if they every come out with Downton Abbey Pop figures I'm domed. You can check out this article that my friend Bonnie Burton wrote for CNET HERE. It has all the information and picture of the various figures.

NerdStrong Gym - Bench Press' and WallBalls

Strength day today and we are continuing with our three week Bench Press workouts. Next week will be doing our one rep max but today after the warm up we set out to do 8 rounds of 3 at various weight.  We started at 60% of my max which is 180 lbs, so 60% is 115 lbs, then 70% which is 125 lbs, next was 80 % at 145 and then 85% at 155 lbs before dropping down to 65% so 120 lbs, and working our way back up 75% which is 135 lbs, then 85% at 155% and the final set is at 90% which is 165 lbs.

I'm not a huge fan of bar work but of all the bar work that we do at NerdStrong, Bench Press' are my favorite. It only took a few classes before I got the form down and that truly is half the battle. With the correct form you're able to lift more weight and build bigger muscles.

After the Bench Press we moved on to a mini workout were he had to do 5 rounds of 10x Wall Balls and 10x Knees 2 Elbows. The Wall Balls aren't bad once you get into a rhythm but the Knees 2 Elbows took some practice and after 30 or so your hands start to hurt. But over all it was a nice workout. Not to taxing which is nice after a crazy CON class on Wednesday.

Electra Women and Dyna Girl Reboot

Today they released a new teaser trailer for the reboot of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl from Legendary Digital. Now if you weren't born in the 70's then you might not know who Electra Woman and Dyna Girl are.. so here's a brief description. This series is part of the world of Sid and Marty Krofft and aired during the The Krofft Supershow. The show was a spoof on the 60's Batman series that followed the crime-fighting exploits of female caped crusader Electra Woman and her teen sidekick Dyna Girl, who worked in their off-time as reporters for a magazine.  In each episode, the duo would don skintight spandex in a bright flash of light called an "Electra-Change," get into the "ElectraCar," and use an array of technically advanced gadgets to thwart an eclectic collection of supervillains. They were assisted by Frank Heflin (Norman Alden), a scientist who stayed at their "ElectraBase," operating its highly sophisticated "CrimeScope" computer, a parody of the BatComputer, while keeping in continual contact with the pair through their "ElectraComs."

The updated version of Sid & Marty Krofft’s classic 70s TV series follows two superheroes Electra Woman and Dyna Girl as they move from Akron to Los Angeles in hopes of making it big in the crime fighting world, only to find competition with other vigilantes and infighting amongst themselves.

I enjoyed the original as a kid but I haven't seen it in over 35 years. But I'll give this go when it's released. The actual trailer starts a minute and 15 seconds into the video.

So I'm guest hosting on the Treks in Sci Fi podcast, I'm reviewing one of my all time favorite Fantasy movies Willow with fellow fan Chris. They asked that it be released this Sunday but I haven't had a chance to edit it yet so  spent a few hours after work trying to get a start on it. It's going to take me a few days since I don't have do a few hours here and there. I'm hoping to have it done by Friday evening and sent to Rico on Saturday for a Sunday release.. I'll keep you guys posted.

NerdStrong Gym - Running & Rowing

Today was the last round of our Run/Jog event that we have been doing the past three weeks. The past few weeks on Wednesday we've done nothing but run, oh and some sprinting. For this final round we had to do a 2 minute 30 second Run, then a 1 minute rest, then another 2 minute 30 second Run and minute rest before doing one final 2 minute 30 second Run. Running for that long is tough but coach Andrew asked that if we can't run to at least job but don't stop and walk. So the first few times I was good and pretty much ran the entire thing but the final run was tough so I ran as much as I could but I did slow down to a jog towards the end.

We got a 3 minute rest before we moved on to the Rowing Sprints. It was a :30 second workout and a minute rest. We did eight rounds with each round getting harder and harder as we increased the pace. We started with a 2:20 pace which wasn't bad but it got progressively worse as you got progressively more tired. I am happy to say that I did mange to keep the pace all the way to the eighth round at a pace of 1:35.

And to finish off this workout we did an 8 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 15x Sit Ups and :30 seconds of Wall Sit, oh and if you wanted to spice things up you could hold a Mace while wall sitting. And of course me being me I took the challenge to held a Mace. Eight minutes of constant work is tough especially since sit ups seem to be the bane of my existence. I mean they aren't hard for me but I'm just slow at doing them. I can't recall how many rounds I did but I think it was 4 or 5 rounds.

Overall it was another great workout and I know I say that with all these workouts but it's true. Every single one of these workouts are pretty awesome.

NerdStrong Gym - Another DEX Day

Today's workout is our DEX workout. We started with a nice Warm Up of Calf/Hamstring Stretching, then 10x Wall Squats, 10x Bridges, 10x Inch Worms and finally 1 minute of Shoulder Circles.

We moved on to 3 rounds of 16x Weighted Step Ups and Max Handstand Holds. Handstands are pretty easy for me so I'm working more of hold then my form. Weighted Steps Ups are a lot tougher then I expected. Doing a Step Up is pretty easy but when you have and extra 15 lbs on both sides it's amazing how much harder it is.

For the final part of the today's workout we repeated a workout that we did last Tuesday. We did 4 rounds of 1 minute on and 1 minute rest of Jump Ropes, Kettlebell Swings and Burpees.  It doesn't seem like much but man when you hit the third and fourth round you are really start to feel it.

There was another workout planned but we ran out of time so we didn't get a chance to do it. But what was did do was good. Thanks again coaches for another awesome workout at NerdStrong Gym

Another Job, Dirty Paws & Star Wars Rebels S2

Work news... I start a second show today and luckily it's out of the same offices I am in for my current show. I'll be doubling up for the next month and a half.. double the work isn't great but more money will help pay down my debt quicker. Can't really talk much about the new gig.. other then it's a new game show for cable. My current gigs runs until mid-September and the new one runs through November.

Came across this very cute short film called "Dirty Paws" that was put online a few months ago, it's the thesis film of a student (Karina Farek) who attends SVA (School of Visual Arts) animation. Here's a quick synopsis: All relationships have issues. Who does the dishes, which in-laws to spend the holidays with. But having a boyfriend who happens to be a werewolf can make life interesting at times. Their a normal couple doing normal things like cuddling, making each other breakfast, and being there for each other specially during a full moon. 

The animation is cool and the story is very sweet, I love that there is more same sex couples being represented in animation.  

During my lunch break I was finally able to watch the premiere episode of season two of Star Wars Rebels. If you have no idea what Star Wars Rebels is.. It's an animated series that fills the gap between the events of "Episode III" and "Episode IV." Imperial forces occupy a remote planet and are ruling -- and ruining -- its inhabitants' lives with an iron fist. A clever, disparate crew aboard the starship Ghost takes a stand against the Empire, facing new villains and colorful adversaries. The rebels on the Ghost include leader Kanan, ace pilot Hera, feisty heroine Sabine, tough guy Zeb and 14-year-old con artist Ezra.

Though this was episode one of season two.. it's more of a stand alone TV-movie called "The Siege of Lothal" On orders to hunt down the Rebels and especially the Jedi among them, Darth Vader begins an oppressive campaign against Lothal's populace in order to find the group. The Ghost crew starts working with the wider Rebel cells, but are divided between joining the larger network and waging open war on the Empire, or staying out of a large-scale fight. The situation is even more complicated when Minister Maketh Tua, fearing punishment for failing to neutralize the Lothal rebels, tries to defect to them in order to escape Vader, offering to reveal the truth behind why the Emperor wants the planet - however, Vader uses this to his advantage and orchestrates Tua's murder, framing the rebels for the act and turning Lothal's population against them. The Ghost crew tries to flee but are cornered by Vader, who injures Kanan and Sabine and nearly kills Ezra before they finally escape.

After being smuggled offworld by Lando to escape the Empire, the demoralized crew meet up with Ahsoka's rebel cell, but Vader pursues them and proceeds to wipe out most of the rebel ships, discovering Ahsoka in the process - where Ahsoka is horrified to learn that Vader is actually her old Jedi master, Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka joins the Ghost crew as they vow to join the wider fight against the Empire, while Vader reports Ahsoka's existence to Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor issues Vader new orders; dispatch another Inquisitor to hunt the crew of the Ghost, Ahsoka included, and capture them.


There was so much awesome in this episode. They are opening this series into a much larger world. Season one established these characters but it was never as grand as The Clone Wars. But if they continue doing what they are doing this is going to be one heck of a series. My favorite part was when Ahsoka and Vader felt each other's presence causing Ahsoka to pass out. They are aware of each other and everyone knows there will have to be some sort of battle between the master and apprentice and when it happens it's going to be EPIC!!! This episode was just a sneak preview as the rest of the season doesn't started until October.  I can't wait!!!  

Syfy's New Series Killjoys - My Thoughts

Killjoys is a new series that premiered on Syfy a few months back. I have been recording them on my Tivo along with other new science fiction shows Dark Matter and Humans. I had seven episodes recorded so far. I really didn't know anything about this series when I stared watching it. I had never seen any previews or commercials but friends online have been praising it so I figured I'd give it a watch.

Here's a quick synopsis of the series. Killjoys follows a trio of hard-living but fun-loving bounty hunters – Dutch, John, and D'avin– taking on interplanetary missions, chasing and capturing deadly criminals throughout a distant system named the Quad. They have sworn amongst themselves to remain neutral during a bloody, multi-planetary class war that threatens to destroy the Quad.

Ten minutes into the first episode and I was hooked. I wanted to know more about these people and this amazing universe. It really did feel like these people and their situation could be dropped right in middle of the Firefly verse. I think that's one reason why I took to it so quickly. Of course the writing isn't as Whedon-like but still some very good lines.

I actually watched six of the seven episodes back to back to back, I even considered staying up pass my bedtime to watch the seventh. But I'm sure I'll be watching as soon as I can tomorrow. One thing I really enjoyed about this series is that we are getting little bits of backstory along the way while the storylines moved forward. It was never dull there is a ton of action and some really good character development.

I really like the three main actors Hannah John-Kamen who plays Dutch, she's the leader and can kick some major ass. She also has a very dark past that we are learning more and more about with every episode. Aaron Ashmore plays John Jaqobis, he is the only actor I actual know but I know more about his twin brother Shawn Ashmore who was in the X-Men movies. His character is still a bit of a mystery. We haven't learned a great deal about him yet... and then there is Luke Macfarlane who plays D'avin Jaqobis, I know nothing about this actor but we are learning alot about his character and his past.. things are still unfolding but man is it going to be interesting.

I can't say enough great things about this series. I'm bummed that it's only 10 episodes and there is no word if it's going to be picked up for a season season or not. One thing that is going for this series is it's a co-produced with Canada's Space channel, so even though it's not getting stellar ratings, they  might be good enough for Syfy... fingers crossed.

If they keep making them I'll keep watching them... I give Killjoys a huge thumbs up from me!!!

Brunch, Grocery Shopping & A Lazy Day

After workout, as we usual do on Sunday, a group of us headed out to brunch. Instead of Hungry Fox which is always busy and has extremely slow service we opted to go to Corky's. We always find seating right away but depending on how busy they are it can take a while to get food their as well. Joining us for brunch were the regulars Derek, Lauren and I, then the semi-regulars Josh, Brett and Mel and then the noobie Ty. We had a lot of fun as these brunches are always fun. They had on the Cross-fit games so we got a kick out of watching these ladies do some crazy things and sympathizing with them.

I got home from brunch around 2pm and rested for a few hours before heading out to Ralphs to do some much needed grocery shopping. I tried to shop healthier as I'm going to try and lose some more weight in August as both June and July saw no actual weight lose.

Spent the rest of the day doing nothing and it was awesome.. well not nothing, I started to watch a new Syfy show called Killjoys that I had recorded. I had seven episode on my Tivo so I gave it a shot. Gonna post my thought/review in my next blog post so check it out.

NerdStrong Gym - Calling All Ants!!!

Today's workout was Ant-Man themed and started with a 10 minute "Time Bomb" warm up consisting of a "Cone Run". They had five cones set up each about twenty meters apart from each other. We had to run to the first cone, touch the ground and then run back to where we started, touch the ground and then run to the second cone and so on. Back and forth until we ran to the fifth cone and back. Then the next person in line would go. I was first in line (somehow) so I really didn't have anyone to watch beforehand to see how they paced themselves and I killed myself on the first few cones and really struggled to finish with a decent time... it was pretty horrible. But going first did have it's advantage as I got to rest the longest before starting the main workout.

Speaking of the main workout today's was a station workout in groups.. first of all I love station workouts and I love group workouts so this was win win for me. When we saw that we are being grouped into teams of 3 Lauren, Derek and I looked at each other with a nod that we were going to be a team but the coaches squashed that idea by making us count off. I was number 3 and joined fellow number 3's, coach Seely and Mike.

For the workout itself there were seven station, station 1 - 10 Cal Row, station 2 - 10x Kettlebell Deadlift, station 3 - 10x Kettlebell Swings, station 4 - 10x Ring Rows, station 5 - 10x Box Jumps, station 6 - 10x Sit Ups and station 7 10x Push Ups. While one person from your team is doing the exercise a second person is doing an overhead hold with a weighted plate (25lbs) and the third person rests and then we rotate and keep rotating until the 3 minutes is up.

Since we were group 3 we started with station 3 so that meant 10x Kettlebell Swings. I as glad to get these over as I still worry about pulling my back (as I had done in the past). Next was the Ring Rows and this is one of my favorite exercise so I didn't have a problem with this, though I did get a little sloppy towards the end which coach Christy quickly corrected. Next was Box Jumps and I had done something to my upper right leg during that "cone run" so doing these box jumps I wasn't as light on my feet as I usual am but I manged to get through them with very little discomfort. We then moved to Sit Ups. I am now back pad and steel weight for the feet free, which is a big deal but I do them very slowly, not my favorite thing to do. We then did Push Ups and this is where I shined. I love doing push up and have the form down pretty good. Next was the rowing which wasn't that bad though burning 10 calories can take a bit of time. And our final station was Kettlebell Deadlifts which were okay. I was spent by the end but still managed to get a few rounds of these in before time was up.

Overall I was happy with my performance, it's always intimidating workout with one of the coaches as your teammate. But overall I think my team did pretty well. Another fun "themed" workout.