Robert's Bachelor Party Extravaganza

Today is my best buddy Robert's Bachelor party. I've been planning this for since the day he asked me to be his best man (btw this the first time I have been asked to be a best man, been a groomsmen several times but not a best man). Right off the bat I knew it was going to be an all day event. Weeks before I created an itinerary and worked out all the details. Then three days before the party I went to make a reservation at the restaurant that look me forever to find and found out that they are closed on the day due to some foreign holiday that they celebrate. So now I'm in a panic and need to find another restaurant quick. Luckily with in a few hours I found another one though it's a bit more pricey then the one I had previously found, but that didn't matter.. I mean he is my best friend and deserves the very best.

Joining Robert and I for this Bachelor Party Extravaganza was groomsman Will, groomsman Chris (who fly in from Montana), groomsman Dallas, groomsman Tamar and Ringman George.

Everyone joined me at my place with exception of George who was going to join us later in the day. Will, Dallas, Tamar, Chris and I walked to Robert's place to pick him up. He joined the party and we then headed out for breakfast. We were going to walk to EAT which is a kind of hipster breakfast place, but they have good food but we realized that we had six people and seating there is extremely limited, so instead we decided to go to NoNo Diner, food is good (typical diner) but the place is large and they can easily seat a party of six. Servers was bit slower then usual and that pushed us off my carefully laid out plan. Breakfast came and everyone enjoyed a good meal. Robert has no idea what I have planned so it was funny with Chris accidentally spilled the beans on what was coming up next. He felt horrible but it was all good as Robert would eventually found out that we were going Paintballing next.

So after breakfast and more then a half hour off of my schedule we walked back to my place and split into two groups as the six of us couldn't fit into one car. Robert and Will drove with me while Chris and Dallas rode with Tamar. It's a 45 minute drive north to Canyon Country where Paintball USA was located. We had gone to this place a few years ago for Chris' going away party but that experience was pretty horrible as there was a constant rain and our masks kept fogging up allowing us to see nothing. Today the weather was shaping up to be the same.. clear all week and then suddenly clouds and possible rain. As we were driving up it started to sprinkling and my heart sank. It was to late to change plans as I had pre-paid for the tickets. Since we were off schedule a bit George arrived a half hour earlier then us so we met up with him and went to check in. After alot of craziness we all had our guns, gear and paintballs and headed up to the more advanced fields which I didn't even know about.

There was a light sprinkle but the masks didn't fog up like before. We were part of the .55 caliber guns so when one of the refs walked to an entrance of a game and yell 55 that was our cue to get over to him and join the game. Our first game with in the Mole Hill area. You play two games in each area, starting on different sides each time. I don't know how long each rounds last but I'd say about 5 minutes or so. The first round I made it about half way before getting hit in the head. Second game I was taking out fairly early on. Chris had some issues with his guns but everyone else seemed to have a good time. After our first two games we knew we would need more ammo as the majority of us went through our allotment of paintballs fairly quickly so George picked up another 1000 and we all loaded up for our next battle. The next battle was in the Trench area, this is one that we had to walk by to get to the mole hill one and we all wanted to run that one. Though my gun jammed a few times I survived the entire run of both rounds in this area. It started to rain a bit harder while we waited for our third and final round. We knew this was going to be our final round as the place was about to close so we filled up our guns and planned to go out in a blaze of glory. For our third round we went to the hay bail area, we were hoping for the apocalypse trailer park but no such luck. When we grouped up in front of our next area there were a bunch of young kids so they split up our group for the first time and we got to fight against each other which was kind of fun. It was a fun way to end our paintball adventure.

Next we were to head back to my place, clean up, suit up and then head out for One Up for some drinks and video games but as they say the best laid plans.. Since George drove separately he decided to go home and freshen up instead of back at my place. He lives about a half hour from me and was going to Uber to my place when he was ready. We were already a bit behind because of paintball and it was clear that it would be a waste of time to head to One Up for a half hour before heading out to dinner so instead we opted to go over to Will's for some pre-dinner drinks. This also gave me the opportunity to take some pictures while we drank some 30+ year old scotch. Once George arrived we called two Ubers as once again seven of us couldn't fit into one car and made our way to the restaurant.

As I said this was my second choice that I had to find quickly but once we were there I was very happy with the choice. It's called Larsen's Streakhouse and as I said it's a bit pricey but well worth it. We had an amazing dinner, the food was unbelievable and the service was beyond fantastic. We had our own attendant who just stood there and waited for us to need something. In the end with food, drinks and tip we spent almost $1100 for dinner.

After dinner we Uber'd back to Will's place and hung out and a drank for a few hours. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the day. Robert loved every minute of it so for me it was a huge success. It was a lot of fun and planning and I'm glad it's over.. next up is the wedding!!

Princess Rap Battle : Galadriel vs Leia

I don't now how I missed this when it first came out over a year and a half ago but this is by far my favorite Rap Battle of all.. This is Galadriel Vs Leia and it's the best thing I've ever seen. This popped up on Facebook and after watching it I must have watched it 50 times (I'm not kidding) I loved it.  It's created by Whitney Avalon (who plays Leia in this video) she has a you tube channel for her Princess Rap Battles. You can check it out HERE. There are five or six more of these amazing videos with various other Princess Battling it out but I have to say this one is my favorite.

There is also a Behind the Scenes of this battle that is worth a watch..

NerdStrong Gym - This Past Week

I got my full five days of workouts in this week. Saturday CON, Sunday TEAM, Tuesday DEX, Wednesday CON and Thursday STG.

Saturday's CON class started with a Slo-Push Up Challenge. We started with a 6 second push up, so that's 3 seconds down and 3 seconds back up. Not to bad so they up'd the time to a 10 second push up, 5 up and 5 down. Now we're talking.. they increased the time to 20 seconds, that's 10 seconds down and 10 seconds up. Now you're feeling the strain to hold yourself up while you slowly lower yourself down. The final one was a 30 second Push up, 15 down and 15 up.. it was tough but I'm fairly proficient in my push ups so this challenge wasn't horrible.

We then did a scaled down version of this months boss monster, it was called Chip'Thulu "third form" it was a 15 minute AMRAP, we started with 10x Slamball Wallball, 10x Kettlebell Swing, 10x Dumbbell Push Press, 10x Armless Sit ups and then 10x Hi-Pull. But we increased 5 reps with every round. So after 10 of everything we did 15, then 20 and so on. It was a tough workout.

For Sunday's TEAM workout we once again took one Boomer's Burden. After alot of stretching we did the first portion of the workout which was an 8 minute Ladder, all of these movement were with a sandbag, we did Sprawls, Deadlifts, Cleans, Front Squats and Overhead Press. We then rested a few minutes before doing another 8 minute AMRAP, this time we did a 140 Meter Run, 10x Toes to Bar, 10x Wallballs and 10x Kettlebell Swings. We rested once again before doing our final 8 minute AMRAP, this one was 20x Scissor Kicks, 20x Kettlebell Glute Bridges, 20x Sit Ups and finally 50x Jumping Jacks. Overall this was a good workout.. lots of various movements.

Tuesday's DEX workout was all about Planking. Five rounds and a Finisher. We started with 3 rounds of :15 Plank, :15 Plank (R Knee), :15 Plank (L Knee), :15 Plank, :30 Pike Stretch and then :30 Rest.
The next round was :60 seconds Work, :30 seconds Rest of Wall Angels and Jumping Jacks. The third round was :15 Plank, :15 Wide Leg Plank, :15 Plank, :15 Wide Leg Plank, :15 Child Pose and then :30 Rest. Fourth round was :60 seconds Work, :30 seconds Rest of Butt Kickers and Flutter Kicks. The final round was :15 Plank, :15 Bird Dog (R Arm, L Leg), :15 Bird Dog (L Arm, R Leg), :15 Plank, :30 Knee Hug to Chest and :30 Rest. And after all that we did a TABATA of :20 work, :10 rest of High Knees and Squat Holds. This was a pretty rough workout.. definitely a good DEX day.

Wednesday's CON day was my least favorite activity.. Rowing. We had to do 3 rounds of a 500 Meter Row. When we weren't rowing we were doing Max Holds for Wall Sits, Plank and Hang. We then moved on to 5 rounds of 20x Box Dips, 10x Pull Ups or Chin Ups or Lat Rows and then 20 meter Walking Lunge with a Mace. Rowing is tough and I feel like since I'm short it take twice the effort to row the same amount of distance as the majority of the class.

Thursday's STG day started with a pretty crazy warm up of 2 rounds of 230 meter Run, 10x Kettlebell Swings, 10x Air Squats, 10x Push up and when you were done you did 50x Sit Ups. We then did 5 rounds of 8x (each side) Pinch Grip Plate Curls, this was extremely touch depending on the weight and the type of weight. Though it was tough I enjoyed this workout as it's a part of our body that we don't workout often. We then did a 12 minute AMRAP of Thrusters, Knee to Elbow and Suicide Run. We started with x2 Thrusters and x4 Knee to Elbow but each round we increased Thrusters by 2 and Knee to Elbows by 4.. luckily the run said at 1. It was an exhausting finisher.

Overall this was a good workout week. I got to learn some new moves while doing old favorites. I continue to love my time at NerdStrong Gym.

SDCC Hotel Success & New Poe Dameron Comic Book

OMG!!! I got my third choice of Hotel for San Diego Comic Con. I can't believe it.. I've never gotten a hotel through the lottery. I got word that notices were going out a half hour earlier and then sure enough I got my email that informed me that I got the Manchester Grand Hyatt. It's the same hotel that we stayed in last year and it's only one hotel away from the convention center. I couldn't be more excited and I know my brother is going to be thrilled as well. So how I was lucky enough to have the hotel gods shine their light down upon me.. woohoo!!!!

After work today I headed to my local comic book show "Blast Off" to pick up the very first issue of the new Star Wars comic book titled "Poe Dameron" I heard they were going to do a run of new comics based on this new Force Awakens character. Come to find out that the Damerons are actually in a previous Star Wars comic book series called Shattered Empire. So of course I had to get the graphic novel of that was well. I'm super excited to read these and learn more about one of my favorite rebel pilots.

Rogue One Trailer!!!

Today they released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story teaser trailer though it's over 2 minutes long. Regardless of the length.. it's pretty EPIC. I don't really know much about this movie other then it's the story about how the Rebels got the plans for the first Death Star. I can't wait until December!!!

Force Awakens on Blu Ray & The BFG Trailer

On my lunch hour I headed to Target to pick up Star Wars The Force Awakens which came out on Blu ray today. There were several exclusives from different stores but I choose Target for the extra 20 minutes of behind the scenes footage. Not sure when I'll get to watch this but I'm super excited to not only rewatch the movie but check out all the awesome extras.

Disney released a new trailer for the BFG. I really don't know much about this movie but I do know it's based on a Children's novel. I love fantasy movies so I'm really looking forward to this one.

SDCC Hotel Lottery

This morning was the SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) Hotel Lottery. This is when millions (okay maybe hundred of thousands) of people all bombard the hotel website hoping to be about to get a hotel near the convention center at a decent price.. and when I say decent price I mean $300 a night. Previous years it was a free for all.. at 9am the website opened and it depend on how fast you could type and how fast your internet is would determined if you got your application entered in time. Usually it was within the first three minutes you'd get your room. I never got a room during the lottery but I continue to try.

This year they decided to do the same as the badge purchases and use a waiting room and then randomly bring people into the hotel website where you had to fill out a form and submit it within minutes if you wanted to get a room. I've had no luck with this system when it came to badges so I wasn't hopeful here. You have to get in the waiting room between 6am and 9am. It didn't matter what time you got in as it was all to chance. So I signed in on my home computer around 8:45am as well as my iphone around 8:50am. Figured I'd double my chances to get in early and get a room.

9am came and they started bringing people in. On my computer all I had was the spinning wheel which meant I had not been selected yet. About a minute in to the process my iphone screen changed and it said I as 496th in line, then seconds later 275, then 49 and about a minute after getting in line I was on the website. I quickly selected my top six hotels and entered my information and by the time I hit send a total of about 4 minutes had passed. I didn't have a good feeling but I did the best I could. Now we have to wait while they process all the application. Fingers crossed that I got one of my six choices.

Fellowship Travels & New Passport

This is an impressive GIF.. it follows the track of the the Nine from Fellowship of the Ring. It's pretty fantastic!! If the image isn't moving below you can follow the link and watch it HERE.

I got my new passport today.. super excited as I can now leave the country at a moments notice.. or at least start planning my next dream vacation, which is going to be New Zealand. But I really wanna go back to Ireland and England.. so will see which trip is next.

Star Wars Rebels S2 Finale

Tonight I watched the season finale of Star Wars Rebels, S2 Eps 21 & 22 "Twilight of the Apprentice" Ahsoka, Ezra, Kanan and Chopper arrive on Malachor – a Sith world long forbidden to the Jedi – in search of knowledge, discovering a cavern containing a Sith Temple amid the site of an ancient battlefield between Sith and Jedi who used cross guard lightsabers. They soon are attacked by a new Inquisitor, the Eighth Brother, who is hunting a mysterious hermit calling himself "Old Master." When Ezra encounters the hermit, he reveals himself to be Darth Maul and offers to help Ezra get into the Temple, aiding him in recovering a Sith holocron. When the other Inquisitors arrive and alert Darth Vader of their presence, Ezra convinces the group to work together in spite of Kanan's fears that Maul is corrupting his student, allowing them to finally kill the three Inquisitors.

However, Maul soon betrays the group and blinds Kanan with his lightsaber, revealing his true intentions of making Ezra his apprentice. Although sightless, Kanan dons the helmet of a fallen Jedi Temple Guard and manages to throw Maul from the top of the temple. Ahsoka finally faces Darth Vader - who has cornered Ezra and destroyed his lightsaber - and comes to terms with his identity as Anakin Skywalker as she engages him in a duel, while Kanan and Ezra remove the Sith Holocron. Unable to abandon her old Master, Ahsoka stays within the crumbling temple and stalls Vader while Ezra, Kanan, and Chopper flee the planet and reunite with the Ghost crew. Maul escapes Malachor in one of the Inquisitor's TIE fighters while Vader, who survived the destruction of the temple, walks away as a convor watches from above. Ahsoka appears briefly post-battle entering a temple doorway, but her ultimate fate is left unknown. As the Ghost crew tries to cope with their losses, Ezra continues to meditate on the Sith Holocron and finally succeeds in opening it, potentially beginning his fall to the Dark Side.

So everyone was waiting for this battle.. the battle between master and apprentice. But before I talk about that I'd like to talk about a few other things. First up the reintroduction of "old Master" aka Darth Maul. It was great seeing him again. I loved when he was brought back from the dead on The Clone Wars and they left his story open so I knew there was a possibility of him showing up on this show. They make you believe his good "A enemy of my enemy is my friend" but then you're not sure and then you think maybe he is but ultimately he's a bad guy and trying to turn Ezra to the dark side.  These last few episodes are Ezra, Kanan and Ahsoka centric and we see very little of the rest of the Ghost crew.

We get a new inquisitor but that's short lived as Maul kills all three of them. I think the bulk of the episode happens as the end with Maul tricking Ezra to activate the Sith Temple. I wonder if Kanan will be blind from here on out. And of course we have the very end when Ezra opens a Sith Holocron and we are told that only a sith can open it.. does this mean he's sith or has he tapped far enough into his dark side. Lot's of questions for season three to answer.

Now to talk about the battle between Ahsoka and Anakin (Vader). As I mentioned everyone has been anticipating this fight and I have to say they didn't disappoint. The fight scene was amazing, the reaction of Ahsoka when she actually truly found out that Darth Vader is actually Anakin Skywalker was heart wrenching.

My only complaint if you can call it that is how they left the battle at a very pivotal point to follow the main characters off the planet. Of course this was done on purpose so we don't know if Ahsoka is dead or alive. The Ghost crew believes she's dead but we did see something staggering into the temple at the end. So I guess will have to wait until next season to find out (if they reveal it then).

I have to say Star Wars Rebels first season was good but I was such a hard core fan of The Clone Wars that I kept comparing the two and it didn't stack up. But I have to say Season two has really found it's footing.. and not only because they added Ahsoka and Captain Rex (from Clone Wars) to the cast but the overall story feel more connected with the original Star Wars "A New Hope". Both Star Wars The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels are some of the best Star Wars stories out there and I'm super excited for season three.. not sure when it will start.. I assume in the fall but I can't wait for more Wars.

The Geek Roundtable Podcast - First Recording

After six years of on again off again plans, my new podcast The Geek Roundtable, finally recorded it's first episode. I can't believe it's finally happen. This poor podcast has gone through several incarnations and several host possibilities over the years but I'm happy with the current format and hosting ideas. Of course I may record this first episode and realize that it's doesn't work but I think it's going to be a fun podcast.

Last month a recruited a about 40 friends to help co-host this podcast with me. For the first recording I got friends Anne, Ivan, Michael and Patty to join me. My plan is to record four episodes today, one topic per episode. Today's topics are Buffy/Angel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Strong Female Characters and Disney Animation/Pixar.

Unfortunately my friend Anne has to cancel at the last minute but luckily a familiar voice (if you listen to my Knights of the Guild podcast) my friend Jenni was available and happy to fill the void. Jenni and I haven't recorded a podcast together in years.. this is a sort of KOTG reunion.

I'm not going into great detail about the topics or recordings as you'll have to wait to listen to them but the over all experience was really fun. It was as though five friends were sitting around the living room talking about their favorite things... we were just geeking out.

I don't know when this podcast will be released. I'd like to get at least twenty or so podcasts in the can before I start releasing them. Just so I can mix up the co-hosts from episode to episode. I hope to premiere it sometime this summer. I have already booked people for the next recording and I can't wait to get down with more friends and talk geek.

Korean BBQ & Karaoke

Went out for Korean BBQ for the first time. My buddy Andrew gathered a group of friends to grab some food down in Downtown Los Angeles. Not only was this my first time eating Korean BBQ but also being to this part of Downtown (Korean Town). Luckily for me friends Derek and Lauren Ubered down with me and knew where they were going, if not I think I might have gotten lost. Now if you've never done Koren BBQ (like me), here's what it is.. Korean barbecue or Gogigui (meat roast) in Korean refers to the Korean method of roasting beef, pork, chicken, or other types of meat. Such dishes are often prepared at the diner's table on gas or charcoal grills that are built into the table itself.

As I said I had no idea what I was in store for so when we got there we found our party and sure enough we were at tables with two large grills in the middle of them. Andrew did all the ordering and grilling which made it more enjoyable for me as all I had to do was eat all the tasty meats.. and man were some of the beef and pork amazing. We got a bunch of white rice as well and access to their "salad bar" type thing with some very unusual items. I tried to be a bit more adventurous and tried a few things that I didn't know what they were. Overall it was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again.

As the dinner wound down the majority of us were heading out to a Birthday Karaoke party for our friend Adam happening at a bar in the valley. I was able to catch a ride with friend Brent. When we got to the bar it was packed (95% were Adam's friends). Singing was happening and everyone was having a great time. I got a drink and sat with a group of friends from NerdStrong. The wait list to sing was a few hours long and I knew that I wasn't going to stay long so I just relaxed and enjoyed the karaoke. Around midnight I called it a night and got a lift back to my place. It was a super fun evening.

Star Trek 50th The Ultimate Voyage in Concert

Tonight after work I headed out to a concert.. but it's not you typical concert.. this was for Star Trek 50th The Ultimate Voyage in concert at the Pantages theater. I enjoyed this concert with my buddy Adam (who is a huge Star Trek fan as well)... It was two hours of awesome music set to The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise footage as well as the 12 movies. And for an added surprise Michael Dorn (Worf) was the narrator. 

It's the brainchild of conductor Justin Freer and his producing partner Brady Beaubien, whose CineConcerts company does live-to-picture concerts of complete films, including "The Godfather," "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Gladiator." Paramount and CBS entrusted them with the idea of a 50th-anniversary musical tribute.

Freer will conduct an 85-piece orchestra in music by 13 composers, including themes by Oscar winners Jerry Goldsmith (who scored five of the movies, starting with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"), James Horner ("Star Trek II" and "III"), Leonard Rosenman ("Star Trek IV") and Michael Giacchino (the recent "Trek" reboot) and Emmy winners Dennis McCarthy and Jay Chattaway, who together scored more than two-thirds of the four later "Trek" series ("The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine," "Voyager" and "Enterprise").

We were lucky enough to have several people who actually worked on Star Trek over the years in the audience including the wonderful Nichelle Nicoles who played Uhura in the original series and movies.  We also had three guest composer who came out and conducted their piece music of music. And for the life of me I can't remember who they were, but I think I have it written down somewhere so check back later and I'll edit this blog post and add the information.

Overall it was pretty amazing, the song selections were great, I like how they had short segments of each series. The lightening was amazing for example when the Borg music started everything went green on stage. Some of the narrated bits were a bit cheesy and they did repeat of few of the scenes. What was great is that the music would suck you in that you'd forget that it was live.

One stand out moment for me was when they played the flute song from "inner light". It's one of my favorite pieces of all the Star Trek music and the reason I want to learn to play the flute. Such a beautiful piece and I kept looking for the person playing flute but couldn't find him but I'm happy at the end they had him stand so we could applaud him for his amazing work.

I'm happy that I got my ticket to see this.. it was worth every penny. What a great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of such an amazing franchise.

NerdStrong Gym - Weekly Recap

So I'm going to make these NerdStrong Recap blog posts quick.. at least until I catch up with my blog (currently a month behind). This past week I was able to do my full five days of workouts.. which was great. I started off with Saturday's CON class though I attended the 9am class which is an hour earlier then my usual 10am class but it was Wondercon and I wanted to get a workout in before I went to con. This was my first Saturday in two weeks so I got a taste of this months Boss Monster and it was pretty tough. For Sunday's TEAM workout I did my usual 9am class as it was the last day of Wondercon. We saw the return of the Uber Viking workout. It's one of the toughest but also one of the more enjoyable ones as well. Tuesday's DEX class was a fun one as we got to use the Wheel of Dexterity. Which meant we did a very random and customized workout. Wednesday's CON class was a classic Saturday Boss Monster workout.. and just like before it was a tough one but I did manage to finish the entire workout in the allotted time. Thursday's STG class was one of my favorite barbell workouts.. Bench Press. We actually did a bench press ladder which is tough but satisfying when you finish it. Overall it was another great workout week.. Thanks NerdStrong.

Ahsoka Tano Novel

Here's some AMAZING Star Wars news... Disney-Lucasfilm Press just announced that they will be releasing a novel about Ahsoka Tano (btw she's one of my all time favorite SW characters). The character walked away from the Jedi Order at the end of season five of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and we know little about her life in the years following her decision to carve her own path. With this novel I hope we find out a little bit more about those missing years.

Here's the official press release: From Disney-Lucasfilm Press:

Ahsoka Tano, fan favorite character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, will be the star of her own young adult novel from Disney Lucasfilm Press this October 11, 2016! Fans have long wondered what happened to Ahsoka after she left the Jedi Order near the end of the Clone Wars, and before she re-appeared as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum in Rebels. Finally, her story will begin to be told. Following her experiences with the Jedi and the devastation of Order 66, Ahsoka is unsure she can be part of a larger whole ever again. But her desire to fight the evils of the Empire and protect those who need it will lead her right to Bail Organa, and the Rebel Alliance…

“Ahsoka has a long history, and there is much more to it than the fans know,” says Dave Filoni, Executive Producer/Supervising Director [of Star Wars Rebels and The Clone Wars]. “I have always worked on her story, even parts that I know we will probably never see on screen. By broadening her story from the animated series to the written page, I feel we have a real opportunity to provide fans with details about her character that they would not know otherwise. We are also responding to the strong fan support that we have seen Ahsoka receive over the last eight years. The fans want more Ahsoka and we are going to give it to you, and since I’ve been there since the beginning I am dedicated to working with publishing to help make this book as authentic a part of her story as if we filmed it for the series.”

Acclaimed author and Star Wars fan E.K. Johnston has been tapped to pen the novel to bring Ahsoka’s untold story to the legions of fans who demanded it. “Writing for Ahsoka is tremendously exciting. She has a blank spot in her story that I know a lot of fans (including myself!) want to see filled in. And being able to help tell her story is a dream come true.”

Powerful PTSD Commercial

I came across this amazing commercial on Facebook and had to share it. Everytime I watch it, it gives me chills.. it's so well done.  I dug a little deeper and found out that it was the Winner of the Gouden Loeki 2014 (Dutch commercial award).. and it's well deserved. I have friends and family who suffer from PTSD and I think that's why this is such a powerful commercial.

Another Mud Run

I had so much fun doing the Warrior Dash last month that when my buddy Rob mentioned that he was talking his family into doing one similar to that while they are down here visiting I asked if I could join in and of course he said yes. So I just signed up to do the Rugged Maniac, It's being held in Temecula on June 18th. Only time that was available was 1:30pm which isn't ideal as it will be hot and the path will be well worn out by the time we run it. But it's another 5k Obstacle course run in the mud and I plan to make the most of it. I'm really looking forward to doing another one of these with friends.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - My Thoughts

After work I got to hang out with my friend Lauren. We had planned to see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice last night with a few other friends but one by one they had to pull out so tonight Lauren and I decided that we would just go by ourselves. We started the night with dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings (Lauren had never been there before).

Afterwards we headed to the AMC Burbank 16, we were seeing Batman v Superman in their Prime theaters. This is a theater that has nice large seats that recline and kind of vibrate with the sounds of the movie. Of course this theater cost more, about $22 a ticket and honestly it wasn't anything special, I mean the seats were amazing and it was cool but I don't know if it was worth the extra cost. But I'm not blogging about the theater I'm blogging about my thoughts on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Of course I was aware of all the negativity this film has gotten but it was the same with Man of Steel and I loved Man of Steel so I knew that I would enjoy this movie as well and sure enough I did. First let me say that I never understood why Batman would want to fight Superman, since they have always been on the same side but the story behind this movie was good and made sense to me. Yes the story is dark as well as the film itself. Would I prefer a happier go lucky Superman.. sure but that's not this Superman. He's still finding his way as Superman and dealing with human nature. I think that's why I don't mind the change in this character. I feel at his core he is still the same character but he's still learning his ways to become the Superman we all know and love. I feel this is the most realistic version of Superman.

I thought Batman was so narrow minded in this movie. He says if there was a 1% chance that Superman was going to turn on them they have to take that as an absolute... that's just crazy thinking. Because of this I couldn't really get behind Batman, I thought Ben Affleck did a great job, but I just wasn't a fan of his. loved Alfred, enjoyed Lois Lane and so happy they introduced Wonder Woman.. who was pretty fantastic and got me really excited for her solo film. I like that we get a quick glimpse at Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman. I can't wait to see more of them in future films.

The special effect were amazing and the fight scenes were fantastic. I loved Batman's hand on hand fighting technique. I will admit that they gave away to much in the trailers for this movie, but it didn't take away the excitement. I was not happy with the ending but I know it's not really the end. Oh and one more thing I didn't think I would like this version of Lex but man he was a horrible man and so well done... I hated him with ever fiber of my being... that's good character writing.

Overall I really enjoyed this movie. Was it everything I was hoping for.. of course not. Did it have it's flaws.. yep. Will I buy it when it comes out on blu-ray.. for sure. Am I excited for Justice League.. oh yeah!! I give Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice a solid B+

Showing Affection

I found this comment/picture on Facebook and reposted it to my timeline because I really believe in what it says.

I'm a hugger and always have been. I think physical touch is super important in all relationships. I enjoy touching a friends shoulder or back to show support. I hug hellos and goodbyes. When I sit next to you I usually like having our arms touch. Physical contact doesn't always have to be sexual. Of course I have different levels of intimacy with different friends. I'm closer to some then others or some of more comfortable with me then others. When meeting new people it can be tough to judge if they are receptive to getting a hug but if you're mine friend you should expect one from time to time. We need to love more in this world. 

Buddy Bench and The Gift

Several videos I want to share with you guys.. first one is about a buddy bench. I never heard of these but I guess they have been around in schools for a while. If you don't know what the Buddy Bench is watch the video below. I wish they had these back in the day when I went to school.. would have saved me a lot of lonely school days.

The second video I saw on Facebook and thought it was well done. No words are said but so much is actually said. I like how the women didn't give her "heart" away but instead shared it with the man. When I went to find this video on You Tube to post here on my blog I found a much longer version of this video. The only part I saw was when the women leaves the guys and takes his "heart" with her and you kind of feel bad for the guy. But seeing this longer version of their relationship and why she leaves him it kind of makes sense. It kind of changed my view of their relationship. After watching the full video I kind of feel bad for the girl, no wonder she left him. But I still like the idea of not giving your heart completely away but instead share it with the one you love. Great video and as you can see it won lots of awards.

Wondercon Day 2

After going to WonderCon yesterday and seeing all the amazing cosplayers I had to cosplay today. This morning I quickly prepped my wig and patched up my poor Hobbit feet for one last adventure. I got to try out my new Hobbit ears (these are official WETA Samwise ears that I got from SDCC last year). Like with yesterday a group of us were taking the subway to the Los Angeles Convention Center. But this time I'm dressed as a Hobbit (Frodo) and got lots of stares. Some folks would ask why we were dressed up but most just stared or took pictures.

Once at the con we hit the dealers floor and walked around for a bit. We grabbed some lunch mid day and then headed back into the main hall. The last few cons I haven't been getting as much attention in my Hobbit cosplay. Since there are no new Hobbit/Lord of the Rings movies coming out the fandom has kind of died down a bit. But of course you still get the uber fans who think you look amazing and are so excited to take a picture with you.. those are the people that make cosplaying so much fun.  Towards the end of the day we went to the main entrance area where a bunch of cosplayers just hang out and take pictures. I got some of the best pictures there. I came across an Ariel and Prince Eric, they looked amazing and I was so excited to get a picture with them but what made it even better was that Prince Eric was super excited to take a picture with me. I love when cosplayers are excited for other cosplayers.

Had a great time this Wondercon, next year it will be back down in Anaheim which means I'll have to get a hotel room and drive down there. Next up is San Diego Comic Con in July.

Wondercon Day 1

After an early workout I headed out to Wondercon. I actually met up with friends Jes, Dallas, Hayley, Kimi, Derek, Naomi and Lauren at the North Hollywood Red Line to take the metro/subway to the convention center. This year the con was happening at the Los Angeles Convention Center instead of the usual Anaheim Convention Center so the subway was a viable option.

It was a interesting experience taking the subway, though I opted not to cosplay today, friends Hayley, Kimi, Jes and Dallas did so I got to see reactions from various people on the subway... it was pretty great. With exception to the creepy old guy taking video of Kimi in her Wonder Women costume, he was trying to be sneaky but I spotted him and had Kimi move to an inside seat. Other then that the expeience was fine, it's a great way to get to the convention center and saves a ton of money on parking (currently $40).

Once we were there we found out way to the badge area. At first the line looked super long but it actually took about fifteen minutes to get through it and it was pretty painless.

First thing we did was head to the food trucks to grab some lunch. That in itself is an experience. We ran into a few friends while we were there also my brother showed up to grab his badge from Jes (Thanks Jes for getting my brother a badge).

Once we were feed we hit the sales floor and for the next four hours we walked around, checked out booths and took a lot of pictures of amazing cosplayers. I have to admit seeing all these people dressed up really made me miss cosplaying. So I have decided that I will Frodo it up tomorrow. I spent most of my time with my friend Lauren. Other friends would come and go but Lauren and I were together then entire time.

Around 5pm my buddy Eric Campbell was on a panel about webseries so a few of us headed over to give it a watch. When the panel was over the con floor was closed and we all were tired so the few that were left made out way back to the subway and made our way home.

It was a good con day. Nothing to crazy, just lots of walking and enjoying the company of my friends and the amazing cosplayers.

Cosplaying Delays

So Wondercon is this weekend.. it actually started today and I'm missing out due to work. But I'm seeing tweets and facebook posts from friends who are there.. this is kind of a double edge sword.. part of me enjoys reading what's happening with friends there but the other part of me really wants to be there.

Speaking of Wondercon I won't be premiering any new cosplay as I had planned. My Twi-Lek Jedi is far from being finished and my Samwise Hobbit Alt isn't finished yet either. I'm bummed that I wasn't able to pull things together before the con but life has been a bit hectic with work and my social life. But my new goal is to have both of these cosplays done by San Diego Comic Con which is at the end of July, but I'm not going to wait to until the last minute. I hope to have everything done by the end of May. That seems doable. As for cosplaying this weekend I may pull out my Hobbit (Frodo) cosplay but my Hobbit feet are about to fall apart. They were meant for one con and over the past six years I've gone to about 15 cons so they are far pass their expatriation date. But with some super glue I might be able to wear them one last time. I'll see how I feel when it comes to this weekend.

I can't wait for WonderCon!!

NerdStrong Gym - My Weekly Recap

Only got in four days of workouts this week but there was a good reason why I didn't get my full five.

Instead of Saturdays CON workout I did the Warrior Dash with some fellow NerdStrongers,  you can check out my blog post if you want to read more about that awesome experience.

Sunday's TEAM workout was all about Peewee's Playhouse. This was a fun one, not the workout it self because it was tough like all the others, we started with 22x Burpees and then a 25 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 10x Headcutters, 1 Minute Chair Pose, 25x Kettlebell Swings, 100x Jumping Jacks, 25x Wallball Sit Ups and a 230 Meter Run. To finish off the workout we did a TABATA Hollow Hold. What made this workout fun was the secret word of the day "Up". Everytime one of the coaches said "Up" we all screamed.. we screamed alot as the word "Up" comes up a lot during a workout.

Tuesday's DEX workout started with a pretty long warm up, 2 rounds of 7x Scap Pulls, 7x Scap Push Ups, Door Stretch, J-Hook Calf Stretch, then 2 rounds of 10x Bridges and 10x Slow Frog. For the main workout it was a ladder for Push Ups and Pulls Ups. We started with 10x Push Ups and worked our way down to 1 while we started with 1 Pull Up and work our way up to 10 Pull Ups. Push Ups are a piece of cake but pull ups are something completely different. At my best I can do two pull ups in a row, so instead I scaled down to Lat Rows instead. As a finisher we did 4 rounds of :45 seconds of work, :30 seconds of rest Jump Rope, Kettlebell Swings and Burpees. It was a good one.. I enjoy doing ladders.

Wednesday's CON workout was a former Boss Monster, we had a nice warm up and then did 100 Jumping Jacks, 920 Meter Run (4 times around the parking lot), 80x Squats, 70x V-Ups, 60 second Plank, 50x Alt Steel Club Pullovers, 460 Meter Run (2 times around the parking lot), 20x Hanging Knee Raises, 20x  Turkish Get Ups and finally 10x Burpees. Of course we have a 35 minute time cap so you just slowly chip away at the list hoping to reach the end before time runs out. I honestly can't remember if I finished this or not.. all I know when I was done I was exhausted. Everybody was exhausted.. these kinds of chipper workouts are tough.

Thursday's STG workout started with a pretty hefty warm up, 2 laps around the parking lot, then 10x Banded Good Mornings, 10x Banded Pass Thrus, 10x Air Squats, 10x Banded Squats and 10x addition Air Squats. We then did 2 minutes of Pigeon Stretching and then Banded Hamstring Stretch before finishing up with 10x Straight Leg to Ground Hang and then 10x Bent Knee to Chest Hang.

That was a workout in itself but the actual main workout was 10 Rounds of 10x Sandbag Cleans, 10x Reverse Lunge with Sandbag, 20x 1-Handed Steel Club Swing and then 60 seconds of rest. About round 5 your are dying but somehow  you push yourself five more rounds. And if that wasn't enough for a finisher we did a :15 second Leg Raise Holds TABATA. 

Overall another great week of working out at NerdStrong Gym.

Introvert or Extrovert

I've always considered myself an introvert, but recently I found out that shyness is not a trait of being introverted and that's how I determined what I was.

The term extrovert tends to be manifested in outgoing, talkative, energetic behavior, whereas introvert is manifested in more reserved and solitary behavior. But a big factor is how you replenish your energy. Introverts like to recharge by being alone while extroverts get their recharge by being with others.

Introverts prefer solitary to social activities, but do not necessarily fear social encounters like shy people do. So with this statement I'd be a shy extrovert, if that's even possible. But more accurately I'm a combination of both.. and sure enough there is a word for that.. ambivert. An ambivert is moderately comfortable with groups and social interaction, but also relishes time alone, away from a crowd. That's describes me perfectly. It's strange thinking yourself one way for over 40 years but come to find out that you really aren't that after all... you're just shy.

Negativity Shifts to Wonder Woman

And the hate/negativity continues.. DC released one still image from the upcoming Wonder Woman movie and the internet has gone crazy. People are calling for a boycott of the movie, saying how it's ruined now. These comments are so ridiculous and stupid. Now I get it, you don't like the costume and that's fine but saying that the movie is ruined or that you will not see it because of one still image is just asinine. I know it's only a small portion of people but they tend to speak the loudest and get noticed.

Please don't say that people have the right to their opinion, I completely agree with you on that. And they have to the right to complain "loudly" online but it doesn't mean I have to like it.  It continues to boggle my mind on how someone can "hate" something after seeing one still image. But as the saying goes.. haters gonna hate.

Stop the Negativity and Hate

Today when I got on Facebook I was bombarded by so much negativity and hate about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Critic reviews came out today and needless to say they weren't so kind. What upset me most wasn't the negative reviews (as I don't really care what critic's think) it was the fact that so many people jumped on the "I hate this movie" bandwagon when they hadn't even seen it yet. I can accept negative comments after you see something and you honestly didn't like it. But to complain about it before you've even seen it is just stupid.

These weren't just "I told you so" kind of comments these were vicious and mean comments towards Zack Snyder, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and Ben Affleck and this is based solely on trailers and the critic negative reviews. Such hatred is just idiotic and a waste of energy in my opinion.

Of course you ask why do I care, it's doesn't effect me and believe me I try and not let all the negativity get to me but seeing post after post in friends timelines takes it toll. I actually unfriended and stopped following a few people for their horrible bashing. Again everyone has a right to their opinion but please wait until you actually see the movie to complain about it.. Thanks.

And since I'm on the I hate "hate" thing.. You know you can promote and cheer on your presidential candidate without tearing down their opponent. I'd respect your argument so much more... just saying. I'm not talking about Democrats vs Republicans.. I'm now seeing Sanders supports bashing Hillary and vice versa.

I'm just so tired of all this hate and negativity... Between the negative comments about movies and the hateful bashing of presidential candidates I considered taking a break from Facebook. If I didn't have this blog or my podcasts I think I would but this is really the only way to promote those things. So I'll just do my best to ignore and even unfriend/unfollow people who hate or post negativity on a regular bases.