Podcast-Mania

Well as many of you know I have been doing the Knights of the Guild podcast for the past two years. Now I know The Guild webseries isn't going to last forever and once that series ends my podcast has maybe one more year in it. So I've been talking with some friends of mine about other podcast ideas that I have had and have come up with not one but two other podcasts that I'll be starting in the next month or so.

First one is called Epic Geek Out. This is the kind of podcast I've always wanted to do, something that has a much wider range of topic then my Knights of the guild podcast so I'm really looking forward to starting this one. Here's a brief description of what you can expect on Epic Geek Out.

"Epic Geek Out is a fun, warp speed, geektacular show hosted by Kenny from Knights of The Guild and Jen from the Anomaly Podcast. Each episode features a round table of geeky guests, a single geek topic and a challenging thirty minute time limit--when the klaxon sounds, the show's over! Debates and discussions cover a wide range of subjects including science, news, video games, TV and movies, Sci-fi and Fantasy books, comics, technology, blogs, podcasts, webseries, ninjas, pirates, killer robots, vampires, zombie outbreaks, etc. So gear up! It's time for an Epic Geek Out!!!!"

Podcast Website: http://TheEGOShow.com
Twitter: @EpicGeekOutShow
Email: EpicGeekMail@gmail.com

My second podcast is called MASH 4077 Podcast. This podcast I had thought about doing with Harry because he was a huge MASH fan and got me into watching it. Well that didn't really pan out so I asked my friend Meds and Al if they wanted to join me in co-hosting this podcast and they said yes. Here's a brief description of what you can expect on MASH 4077 Podcast.

"MASH 4077 Podcast is a fan cast covering one of the most well known and highly successful series in television history. Hosted by Kenny from Knight of the Guild Podcast, Meds from Waffle On Podcast and Al from Tales of the Mouse House Podcast. Each episode will cover a single episode of MASH starting at the beginning with the pilot. We hope to share with our listeners some cool and informative behind the scene information, cool trivia and little know facts about this wonderful TV series.

Podcast Website: http://MASH4077.podbean.com
Twitter: @MASH4077Podcast
Email: MASH4077Podcast@gmail.com

Of course I'll be posting more information as it get closer to releasing these new podcast...

Knights of the Guild Ep 24 pt1

Even though I have been sick the past few days I did manage to edit the next Knights of the Guild podcast. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Download from itunes http://bit.ly/KotGCast or Direct Download / Listen at http://knightsoftheguild.com

Show Notes:

Here it is Episode 24 part 1 of Knights of the Guild. We hope you enjoy it.

Today’s show features:

• * First up we have a Classic Vorkism
• * We are recording this weeks podcast down and dirty live in our studios
• * Guild News
• * Crew Interviews with Stephanie Rose and Andrew Seely
• * We have some Listener Feedback
• * What the Cast and Crew are up too
• * We also announce winners of our end of month contests as well as talk about continuing contests
• * Then Business Time (We continue to use contest submissions)
• * And finally our Good byes

Thank you again for all your support, we do this podcast because we are fans and more importantly for the fans.

Kenny

Catching up on TV

Since I'm home sick today from work I decided to try and catch up on some of the past few weeks of TV that I have recorded. I first started with the second episode of season two of V. Was just as fun as the first episode. They have really ramped up the action and information. Again with this episode we get loads of information as to why the V are here. And again Jane Badler (Original Diana, New Dianna) was FANTASTIC. She still has it and I'm loving her new character. They also gave a nod to the original miniseries when Anna takes a giant white rat and devours it only to regurgitate it for the hybrid baby to eat. The effects were fantastic and very similar to when Dian in the original V ate a guinea pig. I'm very excited to see where this series goes.. it's only 10 episode this season but if they keep the pace going it's gonna to be an AWESOME season.

Next up was No Ordinary Family, I was five episodes behind on this series. So Harry and I watched one after another. This is a fun series, some action, some character development. It was nice to not have to wait for a new episode because the story kept ending on cliffhanger type scene. I can't wait to see where they are going and the effects have been fantastic. Looking forward to the rest of this season.

THANK YOU

All Good Things...

Must Come To an End!!

I normally don't talk/blog about my personal life/relationship so this may come as a shock to some but after 7 years and 10 months Harry and I have decided to call it quits. I will not go into details as to why (as it's extremely complicated) but it is best for both of us and something that we did not take lightly. Though we are no longer together as a couple, because of our house we will remain roommates and living together for the time being. At least until Harry decides what he wants to do (he looks to be going back home to Austria). I wish him the very best and look forward to where life takes me.

A Healthier Me - Day 150

Another night workout.. sometimes it's easier to workout at night, sometimes it's easier to workout during the morning...

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the curl arm for my biceps (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 working on my back (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 for shoulders (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)

Elliptical is still making funky noises but it's still working.

One Of Those Days

I don't know what it is today but I am so high strung at the moment and every little thing is driving me crazy and making me want to pull my hair out (what little I have left). I don't understand why I'm feeling this way... My job is going well.. these little fires shouldn't be pushing me to my edge but they are, I have to keep telling myself to breath..  I had planned to eat lunch in my office today but now I can't wait to get out of here and take a break, listen to some Hungry Game and escape this life, even if only for an hour. I feel like I am juggling to many balls and I'm about to drop some. I need to find control in my life again.

i need a hug....

A Healthier Me - Day 149

Once again I couldn't convince myself to get up this morning so I did my workout at night, which is tough because I'm so tired by the end of the day.

Since it's Monday I weight myself this morning 205.5

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
15 minutes for jumping rope

Not a bad workout.. because I'm so tired I didn't get my full hour of cardio and besides that my elliptical is making some strange noises and it's getting tougher and tougher to turn the wheel.. not sure what I'll do if I lose my elliptical. Need to see if I can fix it. All in all a decent workout.. also weight myself this morning at 205.5 which is .5 lbs less then last Monday but still 1.0 lbs higher then my lowest a few weeks ago.

Not eating out (fast food) on my lunch Mon - Friday is still my biggest struggle. Until I can overcome that I won't get below 200.

The Hunger Games

Just started reading (listening) to The Hunger Games. The host of Pottercast (a Harry Potter fan podcast) talk about it all the time and say how great it is, so I decided to pick it up. It's a trilogy, book 1 is The Hunger Games, book 2 is Catching Fire and book 3 is MockingJay. It's by Susanne Collins who wrote another book series that I really enjoyed last year called The Underland Chronicles.

I went into this book really not knowing anything and I've listened to about 2 1/2 hours.. or about seven chapters so far and have been really enjoying it. It's not fantasy at all, very different then Harry Potter, it's a post apocalyptic story, but the characters (at least the ones I've been introduced to thus far) have been very endearing. Here's is what I've learned so far about the story:

(from wiki) It takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as "Panem." Panem used to consist of a rich Capitol, located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and thirteen surrounding, poorer districts which cater to the Capitol's needs. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol wherein the thirteenth district was supposedly destroyed, every year one boy and one girl from each of the remaining twelve districts, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the "Hunger Games." The Games are a televised event where the participants, called "tributes," must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The winning tribute and his/her corresponding district is then rewarded handsomely. It is required viewing for everyone in the districts.

I'll post a full report on this blog when I'm done with book 1. For now I'm just enjoying where the story is taking me... btw they are making this series into a movie.

A Healthier Me - Day 147

Missed my workout yesterday so I did it today...

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the curl arm for my biceps (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 working on my back (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 for shoulders (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)

Only worked out four days out of the week.. but not bad.. don't think I've done a full five days since before Christmas.. but at least I'm still working out on day 147.

Misconceptions of Being Gay

:: Getting on my Soapbox:::

• Gay = being a woman...

First let me say that this blog is not anti-woman.. I love the fairer sex and many of my closest friends are of the female sort. But it's so frustrating when people hear that you are gay and automatically assume you to be feminine or like female things. Just because I like guys doesn't mean I'm female and like female things. I don't like dressing up in woman's clothing, I don't wear make up, my mind doesn't think like a female. I'm a dude all the way I just happen to be attracted to dudes. Now there are gay men out there who do act effeminate or like to wear woman clothing and such and there is nothing wrong that but that's such a small part of the gay community. 

• Stereotypes

My friends say.. "Oh you guys are good with interior design", yes our house is nicely decorated but it's not because we are gay. Another favorite of mine is"Oh you guys are always nice dressers".. no.. no we are not. Just like in the straight world there are various versions of gay people.. we're not all the same... just because you are gay doesn't mean you inherit these "stereotypical" gay genes. 

•  Attracted to all Men...

I don't understand why most straight guys think that all gay men are after them. Sorry to disappoint you but just because I'm a gay man it doesn't mean I'm going to jump on anything with a penis. Just like in the straight world us gay men are attracted to what we like.

• Attracted to Children

This really drives me crazy but for some reason people (mostly religious) have associated being gay with being a pedophile. Are straight people attracted to children.. no.. so why would gay people be attracted to young boys?? I just don't get it...

• Choosing to be Gay

This misconception is the worse, why would I choose to be gay and have half the world hate me, a quarter tolerate me and quarter accept me? Why would I choose to not have my civil liberates, not be able to marry, not be able to donate blood (you know us gays are all infected with HIV), I can't visit my partner in the hospital or say my final goodbye if he's near death, in most states gay couples can't adopt children.  Yeah I want to live in a world where I can't hold my partners hand or give him a quick kiss in public and not be stared at or made fun of.. or worse.  Yeah I choose this lifestyle.. I woke up one day and thought "hey I like penis", think I'm going to be gay. It truly is scary that people think that's how it actually happens.

Secular Humanism

I've recently have come to to learn about Secular Humanism and agree with many of it's points. I'm not into labeling myself as this or that but I must admit if one would ask I'd say I am a Secular Humanist. If you don't know what it is here is a quick synopsis.  

Secular Humanism is a term which has come into use in the last thirty years to describe a world view with the following elements and principles:

• A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted on faith.
• Commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence, and scientific methods of inquiry, rather than faith and mysticism, in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
• A primary concern with fulfillment, growth, and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
• A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
• A concern for this life and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
• A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
• A conviction that with reason, an open marketplace of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children.

Secular humanism, then, is a philosophy and world view which centers upon human concerns and employs rational and scientific methods to address the wide range of issues important to us all. While secular humanism is at odds with faith-based religious systems on many issues, it is dedicated to the fulfillment of the individual and humankind in general. To accomplish this end, secular humanism encourages a commitment to a set of principles which promote the development of tolerance and compassion and an understanding of the methods of science, critical analysis, and philosophical reflection.

A Healthier Me - Day 145

So I didn't workout yesterday and was able to get to bed at a decent time so I could get up at 6am and get my workout done before I head into work.. I still haven't decided if I like working out early in the morning or late at night. 

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the free weight (110 lbs)

Didn't go as long as I normally do on the elliptical so I did some free weights to make up for it.. at least it does in my head. When will this workout thing get easier??? Never I suspect.

V - Season 2 Premiere

Watched the premiere of season 2 of the re-imagined sci fi series V. I was a huge fan of the original miniseries/TV series back in the 80's and enjoyed the first season of this new series. The first half of season one had it's ups and downs but the last three or four episodes really ramped up the action and excitement, so much so that I've been looking forward to the premiere of season 2.

I have to say it didn't disappoint.. the story picks up 4 days after the finale of season 1 and in the first 10 minutes you get an OMG moment when Anna uses her tail and kills one of her captains, but before she does she rips off his face (human skin) and exposes the reptilian face.. AWESOME. Again in the first 10 minutes you get a pretty good look at half human/ half alien baby that was born last season and you find out it's a she.

The remaining hour is filled with one revelation after another.. Anna killing her remaining offspring, Joshua is back but they wiped of his memory, Erica questioning that the V's may have done something to Tyler when she was pregnant. chad Decker wanting to join the resistance but I'm not sure he's on the up and up. Introducing a new character (scientist) and seeing a skeleton of a V that was found on Earth 50 years ago... so may answers in one episode it was fantastic... and the tension continues grows and grows as the story ramps up for what is sure to be a wild ride.

But the one scene that had me jump for joy and scream out YES!!!! was the introduction of Anna's mother Dianna down in the bowls of the ship..  It's done as this big reveal, as she slowly gets out of some sort of cocoon chair and is in darkness until she moves forward into the light and it's revealed to be Jane Badler (the original Diana and Queen V from the 80's series). It was a totally AWESOME moment for those of use you watched the original and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Diana.

I so can't wait to see where this series goes..

A Healthier Me - Day 143

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the curl arm for my biceps (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 working on my back (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 for shoulders (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)

Tired... going to bed.. night all.

A Healthier Me - Day 142

Since there was snow all over and it was freezing this morning I opted to workout tonight after work. It's still freezing outside but less snow so I guess that was a good plan.

Since it's Monday I weight myself this morning 206

Today's Workout:

45 minutes of cardio on the elliptical

Only lasted 45 minutes out there.. I was so cold, I struggled the entire time. I also gained a pound a half from last week..  Not starting this year off too well. :(

Dinner with Friends

This has become an annual event for us. Every year our friends John and Moises invite us over for a "12 days of Christmas" dinner. it's always the same group of close friends, John, Moises, Tom, Ervin and Bruce. Moise always makes the best dinners.. everytime I go over there I try something new.. one year it was duck and this year it was Figgy Pudding. Always a fun experience.. good food and great company... Thanks Guys

Snow Again!!!!

After my last video it started coming down.. so of course I had to do another video.

Snow!!!!

Well when we moved up here they told us that it snowed very rarely out here.. I mean our house is about 2800 feet above sea level so it's not out of the realm of possiblities.. but it snowed last January for a day but only lasted that day.. and early this morning it's snowed on and off but didn't stick.. but now it's snow harder and it's sticking to the ground.. did a quick video

Happy New Year 2011

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic and prosperous  

2011

A Healthier Me - Day 139

Missed my workout yesterday so I made up for some of it today.

Today's Workout:

1 hour of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the curl arm for my biceps (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 working on my back (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 for shoulders (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)


Was suppose to only do cardio today but since I missed yesterday I did some weights as well. So not a bad ending to my workouts for 2010. Again didn't meet my goal of being below 200 by years end but I should be able to hit there in a month or two. At least I'm going into 2011 healthier then I did going into 2010.

Harry Potter Goodies - Vlog

Here's another Video Blog.. talking about more of my Christmas gifts..all Harry Potter related.

2010 - A Look Back

This has been an interesting year for me, as are most years. There were lots of up and several downs. I was going to review this year month by month but instead I think I'm just going to try and group topics together and take a look back at 2010.

This year started out with me being stuck in a horrible job working for a man who didn't understand the meaning of a schedule. I did get another job offer, a 2 month gig down in South Africa for the World Series of Soccer, but declined it as it would have cut into our vacation plans and SDCC. So I was suck with my current job, I wouldn't quit because, first of all I've only quit one job in my life and if I quit I wouldn't be able to collect unemployment.. so I suffered until April when finally he decided we could no longer work together and they let me go (happiest day of my life). Of course I didn't know then that I would be out of a job for 7 months and have to pull half of my saving out just to pay the mortgage and living expenses. But in October I did get a job with MTV, it's a very long commute but really good pay. And it lasts until August of 2011.

During my down time with work Harry and I did take a trip to the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It was 17 Days, 8 States and over 4000 miles, we had lots of fun, we got to meet one of my long time online friend Rick Moyer and his family and that was a highlight of the trip. We saw so many beautiful sites and got to experience some very cool things.

We've had our ups and down with our new house, we had our 1 year anniversary in 2010, we also finally finished remodeling/painting/decorating the inside of the house. We had snow here for the first time in years, it was only a few inches and didn't last the day but it was cool none the less. But we had several bad things happen as well.. Wildfires, we had several wildfires around us this year.. one you could see burning from our backyard.. luckily it was going in the opposite direction from us. And our well broke and cost a few thousands to fix. Of course there are the occasional leaks and battles with woodpeckers but for the most part this house has been great.

2010 has been a great year for The Guild and my Knights of the Guild podcast. The Guild released S4, several comic books and Lil'Gulidies all to raving reviews.. The podcast had it's 1 year anniversary in February, We took the podcast to a whole new level for Season 4 of The Guild and created Companioncasts which is a first ever for a webseries and podcast. It was a huge success and I hope to do it again for Season 5. Knights of the Guild was nominated for a People's Choice Podcast Award for Best Entertainment Podcast. We lost to The Fringe Podcast but it was truly an honor to be nominated among thousands of podcasts. We hit record downloads for the month of October, we had over 40,000 downloads that month. We've been upgrading our podcast equipment.. got a new computer and second monitor and it's made podcasting much easier.

It's been a great TV and Movie season, there have been lots of TV that I have loved this year like; Glee, Big Bang Theory, Clone Wars, No Ordinary Family, Doctor Who, and the resurrected old TV series V, which started off rocky but ended strong and I can't wait for the second season in 2011. As for great movies I've loved Percy Jackson, The Last Airbender, Ironman 2, Shrek 4, Toy Story 3, Clash of the Titans (remake), The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Kick Ass, Narnia 3, Tron 2 and of course Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 which was just phenomenal.

Read/Listened to some new book series and really loved them... The Underland Chronicles was a really great series that my friend Christopher suggested. And I'm almost finished with the Percy Jackson Series. The fifth book had some missing chapters on the CD so I had to stop an not complete it.. well not yet at least. I really loved those books.

Went to San Diego Comic Con for my seventh year in a row and had a fantastic time. Even though it gets busier and busier I continue to go and have fun. I get to meet loads of my online friends, which is always a major plus, the past few years I've gotten to help out The Guild booth which is fun. I don't go to get swag or see panels.. I go to hang out with some of the coolest and geekiest people I know and I love it. A highlight from this years con was going to Flynn's Arcade, one of the best experiences I've had in a long time.. Tron rules!!!!

I turned 40 this year and it started to make me thing about my health and weight issues so I bought a home gym and started working out 5 days a week.. I've lost about 13 lbs so far and working to improve my diet and overall health.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened in Florida and I SOOOOOOOOOO want to go but because of the lack of job and money I have put it off until 2011. But I'm very excited about seeing this cool new park.

I've have some of the best friends in the world.. some are online and some are in person.. I love them all. I've also met some great people this year, one very important person that I've met this year is my Padawan Troy, It's funny how it can take years to get to know someone and fell that connection or it can take seconds like it did with Troy. I've only had that experience with a few other friends and they are some of the closest people to me.

Here are some odds and ends for the year...This has been the best year for PGA (Producer's Guild of America) movie screeners..I've gotten about 30 of them and some of really big name movies. Had a really good Tax refund (because of the house) which allowed us to survive a bit during my hiatus from work. Visited Vasquez Rocks which is a few mile from our house, beautiful place. My yahoo email account has been broken into 3 times this year, no matter how many times or how hard I make my new password yahoo is being hacked every time. Got my first gaming console in years.. we got a Wii.. we wanted a communal gaming system for parties and friends.. it's also a good workout. It's been a roller coaster ride with Prop 8 the ban on gay marriages.. it's been in the court system and was overturned again but was appealed and is now waiting for that process to start.

Overall this has been a year of changes, growth, and finding ones self. I've had lots of good times and some not so good times. My love of all things geeky has grown and I've developed very close friendships. I've delved deeper into the social media with Twitter and facebook and am really enjoying it.  I'm also being listened to by 1000's of people a month, which is cool and kind of odd at the same time.

I suspect big changes for 2011, I hope to lose a significant amount of weight, become healthier and eat better. I want to see my friends more, hang out more of often and laugh alot more. I hope to travel a bit, to Florida for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and hopefully a trip to England. What does the future holds I don't know.. but whatever it is.. I just have to enjoy every moment of it with the people that I love.

Tron Legacy

Well I was finally able to see Tron Legacy last night with my Padawan Troy. I drove out to his neck of the woods, Long Beach. Before Tron I had Chick-fil-A for the first time.. it was okay. I think my friends hyped it up so much I was expecting so much more.. I mean it's chicken on a bun with butter.

Anyways we saw Tron in 2D, as I was told many times that the 3D doesn't really enhance the film and isn't worth the extra money you have to pay... so 2D it was.

I saw the original Tron in a drive in double feature with Star Trek The Motion Picture back in the day. I feel asleep with Star Trek but was totally enveloped in the world of Tron and loved it... I was 12. Because I waited a few weeks to see this I have been hearing other peoples reviews of this movie.. beautiful special effects, horrible story.. blah blah blah. So my quick review.. I LOVED IT!!!!

I thought the SFX were incredible, my favor was the light cycle battle.. OMG.. the double level track was pure genius. I thought the Clu (Young Jeff Bridges) was done really well. There were a few times I could tell it was altered (CG'd) but for the most part it looked like a younger Jeff Bridges. I was excited to see Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) back and even see a younger version of him as well. I liked Corra, I liked that she was different from the users and programs.. and that she was last of her kind. I liked the ladies in white, Gem was one of them, very cool scene when Sam first goes into the Grid and they dress him.. that was pretty cool.

Now for the story, I'm not sure what everyone is complaining about.. the story made since to me, it's not complicated, it's a simple story from point A to point B. I didn't expect it to be deep.. I mean it's Tron. I enjoyed it very much.

Some people are complaining about the end but I thought it was a cool ending and even leaves it open for another sequel. I like that we see Tron dropping into the ocean and changing colors from bad (red) to good (blue) and not derezing.

The one thing I loved about the movie is that the world felt exactly the same as the first Tron movie. I mean the CG is updated and the costumes were tweaked a bit as were the vehicles but in essences it was the same Tron that I watched when I was a 12 year old kid... I can't wait to see it again.

A Healthier Me - Day 137

Totally forgot to workout this morning.. didn't remember until 12:30ish.. but got out there and my workout.

Today's Workout:

1 hour of cardio on the elliptical

Nothing special today.. no issues got out there and did my hour of cardio.. 

Knights of the Guild Ep 23 pt2

Download from itunes http://bit.ly/KotGCast or Direct Download / Listen at http://knightsoftheguild.com

 

Show Notes:

 

Here it is Episode 23 part 2 of Knights of the Guild. We hope you enjoy it.

 

Today’s show features:

• * First up we have a Classic Vorkism
• * We are recording this weeks podcast down and dirty live in our studios
• * We discuss Behind the Scenes of Season 3 Episode 11: Battle Royale
• * We have some Listener Feedback
• * GenCon Report from listener Troy
• * We also announce winners of our end of month contests for December as well as talk about continuing contests
• * We thank our donors.
• * Then Business Time (We continue to use contest submissions)
• * And finally our Good byes

Thank you again for all your support, we do this podcast because we are fans and more importantly for the fans.

Kenny & Jenni

Prince of Persia

Harry and I finally got around to watching Prince of Persia the Sands of Time. I got the blu-ray of the movie for my birthday back in September but really haven't had time to watch it. Now that I have ton of things to watch I handed Harry a bunch of movies and said lets watch a movie and he picked this one.. totally forgot I had it so I was happy that he choose it.

The movie stars one of my favorite actors Jake Gyllenhaal (doesn't hurt that he's a hottie) and I know it's based off a video game. I figured it would be like the Mummy movies which I really enjoyed. The movie starts off kind of slow and drags for a bit in the beginning but really picks up midway and is action packed until the very end. The story was cool and some of the fight scenes were awesome. I liked the different characters we meet along the way and how it kept you guessing who truly was the bad guy. It had some cool sfx and I enjoyed the cinematography. In the end it was exactly what I expected it to be.. a fun adventure/action/sfx movie.. exactly the escape you are looking for when going to the movies... or in this case watching on DVD.

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Just got back from watching the third Narnia film. I'm a huge fan of the books and have enjoyed the movies so I was looking forward to seeing this. I know it's had a rough road getting made and will probably be the last film made from the series but this was an excellent film. I actually liked it better then the 2nd movie Prince Caspin.  Now it's been a few years since I have read the books (well actually listen since I have them on CD), but I did notice a few changes to the story and other things I wasn't quite sure if it was in the book or not.. but that didn't bother me. This was a fun fill roller coaster of a ride filled with great special effects, a simple and understandable story and some good acting. The two main kids have really grown up especially Lucy. I also enjoyed the introduction of Eustace who was exactly as I pictured him from the books. I left the theater very satisfied and wanting to re-listen to the entire series again. I do hope they make a fourth movie with Eustace and his adventures in Narnia but at least the finished the story of the four main children. Only downside to seeing this was it was only playing in 3D and cost $13.50 for matinees viewings.. and to be honest you don't have to see it in 3D. The 3D didn't enhance the film at all.. But I don't really care because I loved the movie so much it was wroth every penny. I may actually go see this again in the theater but will defiantly buy it on Blu-ray when it comes out. If you're a fan of the books series and have enjoyed the movie this is a must see.. you won't be disappointed.

A Healthier Me - Day 136

Got up around 9:30am and had planned to get out to the garage to workout but finally dragged my butt out there around 10:30am

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the curl arm for my biceps (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 working on my back (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 for shoulders (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the free weight (110 lbs)

It was a good workout.. cardio moved along with the help of some new podcasts and I've been pushing myself harder with the weights which feels great.. well not while I'm doing it.. but after wards I like the results.

A DVD Christmas

I always seem to get a ton of DVD's for Christmas but this year was "The Year of the DVD's" for me.

I got all nine seasons of Smallville, now I had asked for these from my brother as I knew he was doing Black Friday at Best Buy and they were selling each season for only $10 each and though I've only seen the first three seasons of Smallville I'm a huge fan and really wanted to see the rest.. so my brother got these for me.

Another deal I couldn't pass up was Madmen, I've never seen the series but have heard such good things from friends that when I saw that they were selling the three seasons on Blu-ray for $10 I couldn't pass it up and bought them... of course they are from Harry to me.

Another series that I love is Kyle XY.. it only lasted three seasons and those too were on sale on Amazon so I picked up all three seasons.

Another series that I'm getting into is True Blood, season 1 was on sale and you guessed it I had to get it. I'm also a huge V fan and have really been enjoying the new series so my brother picked me up season 1 of the new series.

While I was on amazon I got Big Bang Theory season 3 and a very cool kids cartoon that I use to love when I was younger Dungeons and Dragons.

Two more DVD's that I got were Princess Bride (which I was surprised I didn't have already) but I got it on Blu-ray and then my buddy Jeff got me White Christmas

And finally I got two of my all time favorite Scifi/Fantasy films from the 80's Willow and Krull

Like I said tons of DVD.. but I also got some Wii games (Star Wars and Harry Potter), socks, shirts and underwear. Several very cool Harry Potter items (ornaments, pins and a plaque). Oh and I almost forgot my Lord of the Rings Ring.. which is AWESOME.

It was a very good Christmas for me this year

A Healthier Me - Day 135

So I didn't workout on Christmas Eve as planned and since I'm off work this week I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn and workout before work.. so it was a causal morning, Didn't get out there until 10am and had a good workout.

Since it's Monday I weight myself this morning 204.5

Today's Workout:

1 hour of cardio on the elliptical

Well this was unexpected but I lost a pound, from  205.5  to 204.5 I figured with the holidays and all the yummy foods I would have at least gained a pound or two but never thought I would lose.. so yay me. My workouts really just maintain my weight, I eat crappy but don't gain because of my workouts but I also don't lose or at least don't lose as much as I should.. for 2011 I'm going to focus on eating better and losing the weight. And then the real battle starts by keeping it off permanently.

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2010

First let me say that I'm a HUGE Doctor Who fan, I have loved every moment from when it first started re-airing in 2005 and I didn't think I could love it anymore then I already do.. but WOW..  I LOVED this Christmas Special and though it was one of the the best stories of all Who. Steven Moffat wrote my other favorite episodes of Who "Girl in the Fireplace" & "Blink" and he did it again with "A Christmas Carol". Previous Christmas specials have always been good, I've enjoyed them all but this one captured that special something that only Steven can capture. The acting was great, Matt Smith continued to impress me with his performance as The Doctor.. I swear he was born to play this character and he is fast becoming my favorite Doctor. Michael Gambon who I have enjoyed as Dumbledore did a fantastic job as the "Scrooge" of the story. All the actors were wonderful. One thing Steven can do is write characters.. all his characters are so engaging and you care for them instantly. But it truly was the story that stood out as something special. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. Moffat has a special talent of blending humor with sadness with just the right amounts of each. Though this story ends sadly it's still uplifting and only Moffat can write that to perfection. Another thing I enjoy about Moffat's writing are all the relationships that the Doctor make, be it with an young boy or an old man.. they are just magical and real. Oh one more thing.. I loved the fish and the CG was fantastic.. very whimsical.

I can't wait for the next season of Who.. it can't get here soon enough. I LOVE DOCTOR WHO!!!!

Christmas with Family

Today Harry and I got up really early as we had to go pick up a friend (Lydia, who was visiting from Switzerland) as she was going to be joining us for Christmas. She was staying in Hollywood and we had to be at my Mom's by 11am. So we got to Lydia's hotel around 9:30am, which was much quicker then we thought.. there was hardly any traffic. When then headed out to my Mom's in Newport Beach.. again we got there at 10:30am which was much sooner then we expected.. it was very light traffic.

Had a really good visit with my Mom, Step-Dad, and Grandma, along with my Brother, Sister-in-Law and Nephew. We had a nice Christmas lunch with turkey, ham, corn, peas, mash potatoes, gravy, rolls, cranberry sauce and finished it off with pumpkin pie and ice cream. Kenobi managed to stay awake to open a few presents but was out like a light for most of it. Chuck's (my step dad) youngest son Christopher came over to visit and brought his boyfriend Josh.

We enjoyed each others company until around 4pm and then we packed up and headed over to visit my Dad.

Got to my Dad's around 5 and his Christmas dinner was almost ready. For Christmas dinner we had turkey, ham, corn, mash potatoes, gravy, rolls, and cranberry sauce. We had pumpkin and apple pie but forgot to eat it. it was a yummy dinner even though we had the same thing for lunch. I ate light for both meals so I was able to eat both meals.

After dinner we sat down to open presents. Every year my brother and dad go way over board with presents and this year was no exception. It was just crazy.. I am normally that one that will organize the gifts into piles and hand out one at a time and take pictures and video of everyone opening their gifts, but this time there were so many gifts and my brother just handed gifts out like crazy and folks were opening them all at the same time.. it was chaos and I got so few pictures and video this year. :(

But it's not about the gifts it's about spending time with the family... which is always nice. It was fun seeing Kenobi open his gifts. He's now 19 months and starting to understand  Christmas. I got him a bag of 150 plastic balls, as he really loves balls and my Dad got him a bag of 100 balls and soon those were all over the house.. but he was loving it.

It was fun sharing an "American" Christmas with Lydia. She said it's pretty much the same as how they celebrate in Europe, other then the meals are different and the open gifts on Christmas Eve.

All in all it was another exhausting but fun filled Christmas... but I'm glad it's over. I love Christmas but man is it a lot of work.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas Everyone. Hope you have a FANTASTIC Day!!!

Christmas Eve

I spent most of the day wrapping presents.. I would do two or three at a time and then take a break so it took me almost all day to wrap everything we had.

Later in the evening Harry and I open our gifts for each other since we spend Christmas day with my family. I think there was only one thing Harry didn't know about and I think I knew everything I was getting. The only stuff we didn't know was the stuff we got from Harry's friend Sandra and her family. It kind of takes the fun out of opening gifts when you  know what you are opening.. especially if you just spent hours before wrapping them up. It was fun because Harry actually forgot a few of his until he opened them... so there were a few surprises. All in all it was a good night.

Tomorrow is going to be a long but fun day. Merry Christmas Eve.

More Screeners

Today besides all the AWESOME Christmas gifts I got more movie screeners. The Way Back, Barney's Version, The Tillman Story and The Kings Speech. I haven't heard of any of any of these except The Kings Speech which has gotten alot of Oscar buzz. But other then that I'm not sure what any of these other movies are about. Hopefully next week between Christmas and New Years I'll be able to sit down and watch of few of these.. I'm now up to 30 movie screeners.. This is has been one of the best years for screeners.

Secret Santa's & Surprise Gifts

Today was full of surprises. We had many delivers from UPS and the post office. First thing I got were some AWESOME Star Wars book from my Guild Secret Santa. The past few years Guild Bryan has put together a fun Secret Santa with the Guild community. Found out my Secret Santa was my friend Liz who I got to meet/hang out with at comic con 2010. Thanks Liz for the great books.

Second to arrive was from my buddy Bryan. He's another person who I have met through The Guild. He is actually a listener of my Knights of the Guild podcast and wrote in every month and we struck up a friendship. He knows how much I love Harry Potter and he got me these really cool Harry Potter ornaments. They are so cool that I'm going to use them year round. Thanks Bryan

Third was another surprise gift from fellow Guildie Jeff Elwell. Again we meet him at last years comic con 2009. He like Bryan was a fan of our podcast and we because friends. He gave me White Christmas 2 disc special edition DVD set. I must have mentioned that it was my favorite Christmas movie and hadn't gotten it on DVD and normally watch it on TV every year. Now I have my very own copy.. Thanks Jeff.

A Healthier Me - Day 131

Today was a surprise day off so I actually slept in to about 8:30am, got up and checked my emails and such for an hour and then went out to workout.

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the curl arm for my biceps (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 working on my back (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 for shoulders (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the free weight (110 lbs)

Felt good working out, really pushed myself with the weights. Now that I'm off until Jan 3rd it's going to be a struggle to continue to get up and workout first thing.. but I'm going to do my best.

A Healthier Me - Day 130

Another workout day.. once again alarm went off at 6:30am and I fought with myself to get up. Almost convinced myself that I would work out after work and to sleep another hour.. but I knew better and dragged my butt out of bed.

Today's Workout:

1 hour of cardio on the elliptical

Doing pretty good 3 days in a row of working out.. it's a struggle each day but I'm doing it. As for eating better that really has taken a back seat since the holidays and I started my new job. I really need to focus in the new year on eating better. I can workout all I want but if I don't team that up with eating better I won't lose the weight I need to lose. Already failed my first goal.. can't fail another one. :(

Most Romantic Song Ever

I was digging through my CDs recently looking for my Buffy "Once More With Feeling" CD and came across my Moulin Rouge CD and decided to upload it to my ipod. I remember really enjoying the movie and music. I knew there was this one song that I totally LOVED and after looking at the titles realized it was "Come What May" I haven't stopped listening it since.  This is quintessential love song, this is the kind of love that everyone dreams of having someday... it's perfect.

KOTG Microcast #21 Quest for the UK

We have a special announcement for Fans of the Guild in the UK. Take a listen to this skype call with the one and only Felicia Day for all the details.

Link to The Guild on UK Itunes http://bit.ly/iaXVj2

Thank you again for all your support, we do this podcast because we are fans and more importantly for the fans.

thanks,

Kenny

Other Important Links

• Knights of the Guild Feeds/Downloads http://knightsoftheguild.com
• Knights of the Guild Daily Blog http://knightsoftheguildpodcast.blogspot.com/

Good Things About The Rain

VIEW FROM OUR BACKYARD

As much as I hate driving in the rain it has it's benefits. One thing it's replenishes the water table and as many of you know we use a well so that's good to know we will have plenty of water for the year. The second thing is the green everywhere. When it rains the hillsides get this thin layer of green moss/grass and it's just beautiful. 9 months out of the year we get to look at a very brown landscape (though still beautiful) it's drab and with winter rains we get green and then spring brings pretty orange and yellow weeds.. but they're pretty :)

A Healthier Me - Day 129

Well it was a struggle to get up today, I actually didn't get up at 6am and reset my alarm for 6:30am and really considered pushing off working out for when I got home. But I know how I am and I'm normally exhausted by the time I get home and wouldn't have worked out. I've done that too many times so I forced myself to get up and get out there.

Today's Workout:

30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical
4 sets of 10 on the chest fly for my chest (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the curl arm for my biceps (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 working on my back (75 lbs)
4 sets of 10 for shoulders (45 lbs)
4 sets of 10 on the front leg press (45 lbs)

Had a really nice workout, struggled with the cardio but the 30 minutes flew by.  I hadn't done weights in over a week so it was nice working with those again. This may sound vain but it's nice looking in the mirror and seeing the results of all your hard work. My upper (chest & arms) and lower body (legs) are starting to look really good.. it's the middle (stomach) I'm just not seeing any changes... that's seems to be my toughest part.  But will keep at it and I know in time I'll start to see the stomach shrink.

A Healthier Me - Day 128

Wow.. only worked out two days last week.. that was worse then the 3 days the previous week. I'm hoping after the holidays I'll be able to get back into my 5 day a week routine.

Since it's Monday I weight myself this morning 205.5

Today's Workout:

1 hour of cardio on the elliptical

Bad news I didn't lose any weight, which I kind of expected with my lack of working out.. but good news is I haven't gained any weight and will all these Holidays goodies I'm very proud of that. I know now that I will not hit my goal of 200 or below by the end of the year :( but come January I'll set some new goals and work my hardest to accomplish them.

Wash Away That Gray

BEFORE

AFTER

Tonight I dyed my hair. Over the years the gray has gotten worse and worse and prior to this I have only used that "Just for Men" but it washes out in a few weeks and wham you suddenly have tons of gray hair again. This time I used some kind of lady hair dye that I hope will stay in longer. I plan on doing the blond tips again but my hair needs to grow out a bit more for it to look good. One thing I did notice with my hair dyed you can notice my balding top more because the hair is darker and my skin in light.. oh well at least the gray is gone for now :)

It's a Eureka Christmas

Was finally able to sit down and watch the Eureka Christmas episode and I LOVED IT!!!!

Eureka has been one of the very few TV series that's been consisitant with great episodes. It's in it's fourth season now and I can't think of one single episode that I wouldn't love watching again. Each season they really manage to change things up. First season was the experiement gone wrong and though they still do those episode through out the other seasons they are not the focus of the season. Each season has a very well woven storyline that goes through out the entire season. And with season four they really went all out and changed the past which altered the future.. some major things have changed now and I thought they would revert things back but with it's mid-season finale it looks like this is the new Eureka.

Now with this Christmas episode it was a stand alone episode and was so well done, it was funny, heartfelt, had some action and was just another example of how good this series is. The Eureka Christmas episode will be a new yearly viewing along with White Christmas.. it's an instant classic.  Can't wait for the second of Eureka season 4 next year.

Christmas Party in the Hollywood Hills

Though the weather was horrible and it was raining cats and dogs Harry and I wouldn't have missed Gary and Steve's annual Christmas party. They live up in the Hollywood Hills in a beautiful house overlooking Los Angeles. It's always an adventure getting up to them but with the rain it made it even more adventurous. We got there about an hour late and the party was in full swing. It's always nice going to parties like these because we get to see alot of our friends that we don't get to see as often as we would like. I forgot my camera so I didn't take any pictures :( but we had a fun time. Great food, wonderful friends and some extremely fun games. It was, as always, a fantastic party and night... great way to end a roller coaster of a day.

People's Choice Podcast Award Results

Well they announced the winners of the 2010 People's Choice Podcast Awards today. Knights of the Guild podcast (my podcast) was nominated in the Entertainment category and was the sixth category to be announced. It's funny my internet sucks here at my house and I was in the middle of getting ready to head out for a Xmas party so I had my friend Aaron keep me updated via texting on the winners. They were going through them fairly quick and when he texted me the fifth winner I jumped online to see if I could actually watch my category. I was surprised that my internet actually worked and the streaming feed actually held up and I was able to watch that category and see that the winner was The Fringe Podcast.

Yeah we lost, which is a bummer but as they say (and it's true) it was an honor to be nominated. Out of the thousands of podcasts submitted for Best Entertainment we were selected as one of the top 10. I knew our chances were slim but you still hope.. Guildies are the best and it's a fairly large community but in the end Fringe got more votes.

But on a positive note our podcast will always be known as "The People's Choice "Best Entertainment" Nominated Knights of the Guild Podcast" ... see there is that silver lining :)

DADT Repealed

Finally something good comes out of this government. The Don't Ask Don't Tell law for the US Military has been repealed after 17 years. Wasn't sure it was going to happen.. there were several false started to repeal it but in the end it happened today. It's good that it's gone (or will be gone) and GLBT military folks will be able to serve opening and proud if they wish and won't be kicked out because of it, but honestly if I was a gay man in the military I still wouldn't serve openly as there is still so much hate and bigotry towards being gay I would fear for my life from other service men. I'm happy they can serve openly but cautious.

Coach, Crowds and Christmas

Still have a few Christmas gifts to buy and this being our last weekend we had to brave the storm and head out. One of those gifts is a Coach wallet for my mom. Now I can't afford a Coach wallet from one of their many stores but I figured if I went to one of the outlets I should be able to buy one there at a discounted price. So I looked online and found that the closest outlet to us is in Camarillo which is about 70 miles south west of us and would take about an hour and a half to get there. So with wind and rain we started our trek to the Coach outlet store. When we get there it's PACKED!!! I mean the parking lot, there were cars everywhere and it was pouring outside and people running around, it was pretty crazy. We found the Coach store and started to look for a parking space, which was going to take a miracle. When we drove by the front of the store we saw that there were at least 100+ people standing outside in the rain waiting to get into the Coach store which was also packed.. I looked at Harry and said "think I'm going to call Mom and see if it's cool if she gets her Christmas present after Christmas" it would take an hour to find a parking spot and then stand in line for a few hours and then fight my way inside the store to find a wallet. He agreed and we abandon our mission and headed home. But before that we went to a local Denny's for some lunch. Now the blog should be over but it's not. On our way home a bout of nausea hit me. So much so that I fought my body from trowing up. There were several times when I almost asked Harry to pull over on the freeway. Luckily I made it home and the nausea ceased after a few hours.. not sure if it was Denny's or what but for a moment I thought I had food poisoning.