Behind On My Blog

If you're a regular reader of my blog you have noticed that I have been behind the past six months.. usually just a month but I've gotten further and further behind and I'm currently about two months behind. Of course I could just drop those two months and start new today but I just can't do that.. I've done some fun things the past two months and I want to share. This is more of a "diary" for me and I enjoy going back and re-reading parts of my life. I might skip some things just to blog faster and I know I'll skip the majority of my NerdStrong posts.. those were daily and then we weekly so I may have one or two posts about it but rest assure I'm still working out five days a week and loving it. I'm seeing improvements though slowly so I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. When I get caught up on my blog (and I will) I'll go back to my daily NerdStrong blog posts. As of now I'm going to try my best to get caught up in the next few weeks. Of course this will depend on work and my free time. I just wanted to give my regular readers an update. Thanks for reading and supporting everything I do.

Robert and Caits Wedding

Today is the big day.. my best bud Robert is marrying his best friend Cait. The day started with me heading over to Robert's place in the AM to help him pack up his car and take things over to the Church/Wedding site. After unloading everything and a little bit of drama, we made our way back to NoHo for his Bachelor Brunch at a local restaurant. It was a fun brunch, we had a great waitress who Will actually improv'd with.. This was Robert's final hurrah of his single life. Afterwards we grabbed our tuxes and headed back to the church.

When we arrived we made our way to the "Grooms" room and hung up our tuxes. We then went into the reception area and started to set up. This wedding was done on a budget so it was all hands on deck. For my part I did table clothes, table numbering and place settings among other smaller things. Soon it was time to get ready so we all headed to the Grooms room and began to suit up.

People started to arrive to the church, Robert's stepdad and brother joined us in our room for a while before heading in. Soon it was our turn to head in. We met up with our counterparts (bridesmaids) and got into position. I was walking in last with the maid of honor so we watched each couple walk up one at a time. It was our turn and we slowly made our way up. It was great seeing so many friends smiling faces. During the rehearsal yesterday we all decided that we would all give Robert a kiss on the check as we passed by him, so one by one we gave him a peak.. at least I assume they did I didn't really pay attention to what was happening in front of me as I was just focusing on walking and not tripping. But I did hug and kiss Robert when I got up to him and then stood beside him.  As ring bearer George passed by me he handed me the ring and then the ceremony began as Cait who looked amazing began to walk down the aisle.

The ceremony went off without a hitch, there were lots of getting up, sitting down, walking up stairs, walking down stairs, singing and saying prayers. It's was a long ceremony but very enjoyable.. both Robert and Cait beamed. I was so happy for the two of them.

After the ceremony the wedding party and family headed over to the other side of the church to take photos. After the family was done the wedding party ran across the street to City Hall to take our pictures over there. It was alot of fun. We did your typical wedding party pictures but then there were some fun ones mixed in as well. Photos took about an hour or so but we finished and headed into the reception. We were announced as we entered the room to cheers and applause. It was great seeing several tables with friends sitting around it. I found my table and sat down.

The next several hours were a whirlwind. I did shots of Fireball Whiskey with friends in the kitchen, we chatted, danced and ate dinner. When it came time for the toast I was feeling pretty good. I hate public speaking but this was my best man duty. I had written a speech weeks prior and wrote it down on several index cards but when it came time to give the speech I was so nervous I went off card and babbled on for a few minutes. I think I covered about two thirds of my speech but folks laughed in the right places and in the end everyone said they enjoyed it. Now that the speech was over I could relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. We drank a little more and danced a little more before we had to exit the hall. We had to be cleaned and out by 10pm so the party came to an end around 9pm and then family and a few friends stuck around and helped clean up the place. Afterwards a group of us headed over to a local hotel bar to drink a little more. Around 11pm I said my goodnights and got a lift home from my buddy Will.

Overall it was a crazy day filled with laughs, joy, dancing, drinking, lots of pictures, a little stress and a bunch of amazing people. Congratulations to the happy couple...

Robert & Cait's Wedding Rehearsal

Took off work around lunchtime to head over the hill to Hollywood to pick up my tuxedo for Robert's wedding tomorrow. I was also picking up my buddy Dallas' as well. Once I got to the place the lady had me try it on to make sure everything looked good and nothing needed to be altered. Luckily everything fit nicely. I usually have issue the suit jackets because of my broad chest but this jacket actually laid down pretty good. I was very happy with the fit. After picking up my tux I headed out to Pasadena for the wedding rehearsal. That was interesting as I didn't realize that I'd be playing a role in it by holding the notes for the priest as she had to use both hands during points of the ceremony. It was an Episcopal ceremony. I'd never been to a Episcopal service and there is lots of moving around and singing and praying.. it was interesting.

Before the rehearsal I got to meet Robert and Cait's family who all flew in for the wedding. I don't really know Cait's family but I have heard alot about Robert's and I'm actually Facebook friends with Robert's mom and older sister so it was great to finally meet them in person as well as his step dad. I also got to meet Robert's Dad (who I've heard alot about) and his younger sister and brother. There were all exactly how I expected them to me.. awesome!!

After rehearsal we walked to a local restaurant to for rehearsal dinner. There was a bit of confusion at the beginning but in the end everything turned out great. We drank and ate a ton of tasty food. We were there for a couple of hours before the party broke up. The groomsmen and I got to talk about going out to an arcade, I had planned to go to an arcade during Robert's Bachelor but we ran out of time so why not do this now.. We passed a place while walking to the restaurant so all the groomsmen, ring bearer, father of the bride, Robert's younger brother and several other family members went out and played some video games for an hour or so. Afterward we walked back to our cars, I drove Chad (Robert's younger brother) back to his hotel and then headed home.. tomorrow is the big day.

My Workout Week

This workout week was all kinds of crazy, with Robert's Bachelor party on Saturday and Renaissance Festival on Sunday this week was a bit shorter then most of my workout weeks.

So since I missed two days on the weekend I joined in for a rare Monday workout. Mondays are strength days which I do on Thursday as well hence why I usually don't do Mondays. We started off with a pretty crazy warm up, then did 3 rounds of 10x Wall Tap Hip Hinge & 10x PVC Hip Hinge. Then we did 3 rounds of Kettlebell Pendulum Swings and 10x Banded Hinge Pull-Thrus. Then 3 rounds of Kettlebell Swing Ladder, this was 1 minute sets for 15 minutes, each set is 10x reps. The object was to start light and go heavy. I started with the lightest and ended on the heaviest. I can't believe I kettlebell swung 80lbs for 10 reps. We we finished with a TABATA :20 seconds of work, :10 seconds of rest, Jump Squats and Push Ups. I'm glad I came to workout on Monday as I really enjoyed the Kettlebell Ladder.

Tuesdays DEX workout started with a nice warm up, we then did 5 minutes of Dynamic Step Overs and 5 minutes of Dynamic Step Unders. For the main workout it was stations, 1:30 minutes of work and :30 seconds of Rest. We did 3 rounds of Split Squats, Deep Knee Bends, Medium to Tall Kneel, Deep Knee Bends to 1/2 Knell and SHIN box.

Wednesday was Coach Christy's birthday so she created this "37 is a Prime Number" Workout. After a warm up we did a 37 Minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible). Here is what we had to do for those 37 minutes.. Plank Pulls, Push Ups, V-Ups, Slamballs and Jump Squats. None of these are to difficult but doing them over and over again is a killer.

For Thursday's workout we did a nice warm up and then some banded hip and ankle work. For the workout it was a 30 minutes of 10 Duel Kettlebell Front Squats and then 20x Explosive Box Step-Ups. After that we had a finisher of 5x :30 work :30 rest Wall Sits / Rest.

It was a good week.. though it was one less day. And the coming weekend I'm taking off as well because of the wedding but hopefully I can get a extra day in during the week.

Laughing & Star Wars With Chris

I came across this Coca Cola "Happiness Starts With A Smile" Campaign video of a man on a subway watching a video and then starts to laugh and eventually he has everyone else laughing around him. I assume this isn't "hidden camera" and that everyone laughing are actors but I think it's gets it's point across. Laughter is infectious. I am told that I have an infectious laugh, so much so that when I was younger my friends use to call me The Giggler. There are many versions to my laugh but the one that most people enjoy most is my Sesame Street "Count" laugh.  Unfortunately I don't get to laugh like that very often so when I do it's magical and feels amazing.

My best friend Chris is visiting from Montana for our buddy Robert's upcoming wedding but tonight we got to hang out.. just he and I and it was awesome. He made some amazing ribs and we got to watch Star Wars The Force Awakens on Blu-Ray for the first time together. I purchased this a few weeks ago but have been so busy with everything that I hadn't had a chance to watch it yet.. until now. It was great watching with him. I wish I could have watched it for the very first time in a theater with him but current circumstance prevent that so we do what we can do. It was a great way to end a stressful work day.

Labyrinth Board Game and My New Wig

When I saw this I was hoping it was real.. and sure enough it looks to be.. River Horse, Who have created tabletop games like My little Pony, Terminator Genisys and The Hunger Games, have secured the rights to making a brand new table top game called – Jim Henson’s Labyrinth The Board Game.

Here is a bit of information about the game... This is the maze that players must navigate every time they wish to save Sarah’s baby brother. Each game is different with the blank card spaces being filled with the magical encounters and monsters that are depicted on the deck of cards that comes with the game, this ensures a great deal of replayability and unpredictability in the game, giving the Labyrinth its signature feel.

The game consists of two distinct stages, one where the group must adventure through the labyrinth trying to find the goblin city whilst keeping their willpower as high as possible (nobody wants to fall into the oubliette!), and a second action packed stage where the players must fight their way into Jareth’s castle where Sarah must say the  magical words that will release her brother.

Check out this LINK for pictures of the game pieces and more info. There is no release date so I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes open.

I've been searching and searching for the right wig for my Samwise Gamgee Cosplay and I think I finally found it. It's synthetic hair which I don't really like but it did say that it could be curled.. so will see if it works.. wish me luck.

The Magicians S1 Finale

Tonight I watched the season finale of season one of Syfy's The Magicians. S1 Ep13 "Have You Brought Me Little Cakes" Having traveled to Fillory, Julia and Quentin discover they've been followed by Martin Chatwin, who they promise to help. They commission a blade to help them kill the Beast, and meet the Watcherwoman, a future Jane Chatwin, who takes them to when they need to be. They rejoin the group, collect the knife, and Eliot marries a local girl as he has been named future High King. Quentin and Julia meet Ember, who gives them power and unlocks Julia's memories, revealing that her friends had accidentally summoned Reynard the Fox, who killed her friends and raped Julia. Quentin and Julia rejoin the others, who had been rescuing Victoria and discover Christopher Plover, who reveals that the Beast is Martin Chatwin. Josh and Victoria escape, and the rest travel to the source of Fillory's magic to ambush the Beast. However, Julia has taken the knife from Alice, and while the rest of them are injured, with Penny's hands cut off, Julia holds a knife to the Beast's throat. Julia makes a deal with the Beast to kill Reynard, and they leave, with Quentin the only one left standing.

First let me say that I'm glad they got picked up for a second season.  I was left in shock after watching this finale. I don't even know where to start talking about this episode. Of course everything has been leading up to this big battle with the Beast. You are lead to believe that the Beast is Christopher Plover but find out that it's Martin the molested brother of the main character Jane Chatwin. I was never a fan of Julia and what she did at the end was horrible.. I mean I understand why she did it but it was all about revenge and helping herself. It was an interesting twist to find out that they have been living the same time loop over and over again trying to defeat the beast. Of course we have the ending and everything going to hell. We don't know who is dead and all we know for sure is Quintin is alive. Since this is the last loop before the current Jane was killed so she can't start it over again I don't see how they are going to write themselves out of this one. I'm temped to read the books but I kind of like not knowing and I was told that the books are pretty different from the TV series. I guess they are combining alot of the different ideas in the books together for this series. Anyways it was a crazy ending to a pretty crazy season one. I can't wait to see what's next in season two.

A Friends Movie Trailer, Sweet SW Commercial & Doctor Strange

One of my friends America Young has been working on a movie for several years, it's her first directorial debate and it's reaching it's end. They released a trailer for it.. has a kind of cool 80's vibe to it. I also happy to have a very small cameo in the film. I'll let you know when it's released but for now enjoy the new trailer.

I came across this very sweet Star Wars themed commercial. It's for a place called Kaufland which I assume from the commercial is a German department store, like a Walmart. All I know is it's an extremely sweet and touching commercial.

And I have one more trailer for you.. they Marvel released the teaser trailer for Doctor Strange. I know absolutely nothing about this Marvel character but from what I see in the trailer it looks pretty good.

Car Accident, New Fantastic Beast & Suicide Squad Trailers

On my way to the gym this morning I was at a stop light and a car hit me from behind. From the hit I assumed my bumper was hanging off the car. We both pulled into a parking area to check out the damage. The guy was very apologetic and said that he didn't see me. I don't think that's possible as I'm in a very green vehicle. And to my surprise there wasn't much damage, just a few scratches, so I'm thinking he was stopped behind me and reading his phone when he suddenly thought I moved forward so he hit the gas the impact felt big but little damage was done so I assume he was only a few inches away from me when he hit the gas.. because when I felt the hit I looked up and it looked as though he as looking at his phone. As I said he was a nice guy and offered to exchange info, which I didn't do but later thought I should have just in case. Needless to say it's not how I wanted to start my day.

WB released a teaser trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This is set in the Harry Potter Universe and takes place the 1920's in United States. It's not really a prequel but Harry Potter and all students have Hogwarts have to read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them written my Newt Scamander who is the main character in this movie. This is part of of a three part trilogy. I'm super excited to see this. I don't know anything about this movie other then what I've seen here in the trailer.. I can't wait!!!

WB also released a second trailer for Suicide Squad. I know very little about this comic book series.. only from what I got on Arrow and of course the first trailer which I loved. They had alot of live up to with this new one and I have to say if it's not better it's definitely just as good as the first.. check it out.

Last thing I want to share today is this image I came upon.. it made me smile. Not all Princes need a Princess to live happily ever after :)

Renaissance Festival

Since my buddy Chris was visiting from Montana my other buddy Dallas organized a trip to the local Renaissance Festival. I had not intended on dressing up (just haven't had the time to make anything but Chris had bits an piece from his previous cosplays so I rifled through them and found a pretty great "pirate" type outfit. I really liked the red pants.. I think those were my favorite piece. And though they were a bit small around the waist (as Chris is much smaller then me) I was happy to see that they would still close and tight up. Besides the amazing red pants I wore this awesome black fluffy shirt, a cool wrap around belt with a small dagger attached and a few sizes to big boots that finished off the look. Well a hat would have really finished it off.. but I think I looked pretty good for a last minute throw things together cosplay and I could definitely see my weight lose in those clothes... I felt great.

When we got to the faire there was a bit of ticket confusion but it was quickly resolved and we entered the grounds. I've only been to the Ren Faire a few times and I missed last years but this years felt a lot larger, maybe I just didn't explore everywhere the last few times but this years I felt like it was at least a third larger then previous years. We walked around, checked out the booths and just enjoyed the atmosphere. We had a large group and that always makes it more difficult to do things. We enjoyed some meat pies, the Queen Jousting Tournament and a few of the stage shows.

Towards the end of the day I lost my group and roamed for a bit by myself. My feet were hurting in the two sizes to big boots so when my ride said they were ready to go I was all on board with that. I think we spent a total of about seven hours there. It was loads of fun and I look forward to attending next year.

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+