Finding Dory - My Thoughts

After doing the mud run I came home and then headed out to meet up with some friends to watch Finding Dory. I've been super excited to see this movie since it was announced as I loved, loved, loved Finding Nemo, so I had high hopes for this one and I have to say it didn't disappoint. I wouldn't say it was as good as Finding Nemo but it was extremely entertaining. It has the same "feel" as the first movie and of course the animation was amazing. I'm a huge fan of Ellen Degeneres and Dory was one of my favorites from Finding Nemo. And I had to say "little" Dory was adorable, cutest thing ever. I really enjoyed some of the new characters and I'm glad we got to see some returning characters. The story is a bit far fetches but hey it's a cartoon that is entertaining. There were a lot of very sweet moments in this movie, especially between young Dory and her parents. I love that her parents never gave up hope that one day their daughter would return to them. This will definitely be a must buy when it comes out on Blu-ray. I give Finding Dory a solid B+

The Rugged Maniac Mud Run

Today I did my second "mud run" and it was called the Rugged Maniac, it was out in Temecula. I was doing it with my buddy Rob (from NerdStrong) and his family (dad, sister and her boyfriend) This is a 3.1 miles run with 25 obstacles. Our run time was at 1:30pm so it was hot, like 105 f hot. We jogged here and there but the majority of the time we walked along with the majority of the other people... It was just to hot to run. It was a lot of fun.. they had a water truck that would drive by you while you were on the path and spray a ton of water on you. Of course you dried immediately afterwards. There were so many awesome obstacles and there were a few that I attempted to do but failed, overall I was able to accomplish about 95% of them.

This experience was similar but different to the other mud run that I did earlier this year, The Warrior Dash. That had about half of the obstacles and they didn't allow people to roam around the grounds to cheer people on like they did here. The shower systems was much better here then at the Warrior Dash. The Warrior Dash had a large hosing off area that was way to crowded and the water pressure was horrible so people were removing the nozzles which would make the water pressure even worse. Here at the Rugged Maniac they had this large glass room that about thirty people would get into and then people from above would spray soap foam all over you and then wait a few minutes for you to wash up before turning on high pressure hoses and spraying you off. It was surprisingly efficient and got you really clean. I think the overall set up and organization was better then Warrior Dash... both were fun but I definitely prefer Rugged Maniac

I was going to type out all the different obstacles but instead I decided to just post pictures of each so you can get an idea of what we did.

If you want to read more about the obstacles you go check them out HERE. This was my second mud run and it was a blast (though hot). I will definitely be going another one of these in the near future.

Getting Drunk

After the horrible week I had (Orlando tragedy and Work woes) I put out there on Facebook that I was going to go to Idle Hour (a local bar in NoHo) to get drunk. I figured I'd get a few friends to join me but I never expected to get about 20 people to join me. It was pretty fantastic. I felt extremely loved and cared for. Everyone who came knew that I just needed to unwind and have a good time and they helped with that.

Got home from work and grabbed a quick shot of Fireball before walking over to the bar. The night started off a bit rocky as the plan was to sit in back and kind of eat, drink and hang out but I didn't realize that the place is like a restaurant Friday night and you have to be seated and can't just go where ever there is open seating. At first I put my name down for 12 people and as the party continued to grow it became more and more evident that we were not going to be seated so we actually hung out front in their little porch area. There was no seating but we did have high tables to set our drinks on. Everyone seems to be having a great time. I didn't buy a single drink as people kept putting drinks in my hand. About an hour in and I had already had that shot from earlier and three more drinks and I was feeling pretty good.

I like to think that I'm a fun drunk, I can get a bit loud but that's usually from the constant giggling. I had my friends Shannon and Jes look after me to make sure I didn't do anything stupid (well other then drunk tweet) which everyone seemed to love. They also made sure I ate something and drank plenty of water and at the end of the night Shannon and Brett walked me home and made sure I arrived safe. Gotta love my friends!!

In the end I accomplished exactly what I set out to do. Have an amazing time with my friends, lift my spirits and live life to the fullest because you never know when it might end.

Star Trek Risk & Serenity Color Book

I'm not a big fan of the board game "Risk" but I have to say this Star Trek Risk game looks pretty fantastic. I love that it's Captain's verses Captain's. Now you can really find out which Captain is best. You can check out all the details HERE.

This is a new trend.. coloring books for adults. I have several friends who say it's extremely relaxing. I've seen some books here and there but not until I saw that they were going to release a Serenity/Firefly color book did I even consider getting one. You can read more about the coloring book HERE... it's going to be Shiny!!

Pete's Dragon Trailer, New MASH Podcast & Real Life Minecraft

Today Disney released a trailer for the re-imagined Pete's Dragon. I watched the original when I was a kid and loved it. This new version isn't a remake (or at least it doesn't look like it from this trailer) but I'll see this at some point. I don't know if it will be in the theater or on blu-ray but I want to watch it.

Geekyfanboy Productions released a new episode of the MASH 4077 Podcast. This is episode 131, covering Season 6 Episode 9, "Change Day"

Klinger says he grew up over the weekend and is wearing his Army uniform. Potter is tickled; he cannot wait to laugh over the latest Lebanese lunacy...until Potter gets a letter that pertains to West Point. Colonel Mike Abrams at HQ announces Army scrip change (from blue to red) will take place the following day. The 4077 will be on "lockdown" at 1600 hours while scrip exchange takes place. An MP named Boone is in post-op; his friend, Sgt. Maxwell thanks Hawkeye and BJ for saving his friend's life. Maxwell offers to do them a favor any time. When Boone's $400 in old scrip goes missing, Father Mulcahy is outraged and blasts the camp from his PA pulpit. With a bit of luck and a lot of help from friends, the zany surgeons enact their own take on Scripture and give a brief demonstration of what the Lord will giveth and what the Lord will taketh away.

You can Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or listen and get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

My friend Maggie saw that I have been this week and gave me this picture that she colored last night... how sweet is she. Thanks Maggie, gonna put it up in my office so I can look at it and remember your kindness.

Last thing I want to share is this amazing "real life" Minecraft video. If you don't know what Minecraft is, in simple terms it's a video game where you build blockish type things. But it's extremely popular and a blast to play.. anyways someone create this live action Minecraft and it's pretty fantastic!!!

Uplifting LOTR Quote

So I woke up not feeling so great, not sick from illness but sick from sadness. More and more stories are coming out of the Orlando tragedy as well as text messages and voice messages from the victims that are just heartbreaking.

But I saw something on Facebook that did make me smile and brighten my day. It's one of my favorite quotes from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie. It's the exchange at the end when Frodo is starting to feel down and is losing hope in all things. Sam is there to lift his spirits.

FRODO: I can’t do this, Sam.

SAM: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.

FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?

SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

I tear up every time I read this.. it's just what I needed to get through another day. 

Re-Watching The West Wing

After the horrible day I came home from work extremely depressed so I plopped myself in front of the TV and started my re-watch of The West Wing. I haven't watched this series since it's first premiered many years ago. I have been wanting to do a re-watch for a while now, even considered watching it with my buddy Robert after we finished our re-watch/first time viewing of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but instead we decided to go with a Babylon 5, a series neither of us had seen before. But I needed something to get my mind off of the horribleness that has happened to The West Wing to the rescue and I have to say it really worked. I watched the first four episodes back to back to back to back. I would have watched more but had to be up at 6am for a workout.

Watching the pilot episode of The West Wing brought back to many amazing memories of this series. It really is one of my all time favorite TV series. I forgot how much walking and talking they did in this series.. I know it kind of became a joke but they do it alot. So happy I decided to do a re-watch. So many great episodes to come.. can't wait.

Orlando Tragedy

I woke up this morning to horrific news.. there was a mass shooting in Orlando Florida at a gay nightclub last night. Like with most news you get bits and pieces of news as the day progresses, first it was a few shot and killed then that number went up and kept going up. 49 people were killed, (50 if you include the gunman). When I heard the news my heart dropped and I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't know any of the victims but the fact that 49 people were killed at a place where you go for sanctuary, where you can be yourself and not worry about being made fun of or harassed. Such senseless deaths to such beautiful people. I was pretty numb all day at work as more and more info came out about the victims and the pain deepened.

So L.A. Pride was this past weekend and I planned on going as I haven't gone in over 10 years but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it and I decided to just stay in and chill this weekend. Well come to find out today that Santa Monica police detained a man who had explosives and other weapons in his car. When they stopped and questioned him he said he wanted to "harm L.A. Pride". Thankfully a concerned citizen noticed this guy being weird and called the police. She potentially saved a lot of lives.

Things like this really make you think about life, you really don't know what will happen from minute to minute. Places that you think you are safe and secure can become your tomb in a heartbeat. Life is short and you need to constantly remind yourself of this. Don't put off anything that you really want to do as you don't know if you have a tomorrow.

Planet Stamps

After a NerdStrong workout a group of us went out to breakfast as we usually do after a weekend workout. Today we decided to go to Harvest Moon which just so happens to be next store to a post office and when I was leaving breakfast I remembered that I saw some new stamps that I really wanted to get. They were the "Planet" stamps, they just came out and I'm a sucker for anything about space. I don't plan to ever use them, I got them more as a collector. So I picked up the set of the Planets (Mercury, Venus,  Earth, Mars,  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Of course Pluto has been downgraded but since we got some amazing picture of her recently she's hot stuff again so they did a special set just for her so I picked that one up as well. 

Jay Leno's Garage Premiere Party

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the "media" premiere party for Jay Leno's Garage season two. It was being held in the New York backlots of Universal Studios. It's always fun going to premeire parties and CNBC really went all out for this one.

It was alot of fun, some celebrities were there including Catlyn Jenner (who I got a picture with and man is she tall). Jay was there of course being his hilarious self, he did a Q&A with the press. He also brought along a very small portion of his car collection. There was tasty food and drinks all night. I didn't plan to stay long but wound up staying for about four hours. Everyone also got a Jay Leno's Garage denim long sleeve shirt. It was a pretty fun night.

National Best Friend Day

Today is National Best Friend Day so I want to give a shout out to my best friends. Yes I have multiple best friends (it's allowed). I have a handful great friends who are as close to being best friends as you can but there are a few that go beyond that to be called my best friend. It's funny as I always though best friends are friends that you have known for your entire life and if you have a friend like that.. that's awesome. But my best friends are fairly recent, within the last ten years of my life. They became my best friends because after meeting them their was this instant connection. We didn't have to try and become friends, it was as though we were already friends just waiting to meet. That connection happens so rarely that when it happens it's something special.

I have five circles for friendship, first circle is "Acquaintances", people I know (mostly online) I may have never actually met them before face to face but we enjoying chatting online from time to time. Second circle are "Friends" this is probably my largest groups, because if I meet you and you are nice, sweet, funny, kind, witty, and/or caring then you go right into that circle. Third circle are "Good Friends" these are people who I look forward to hanging out with and when we do it's pretty fantastic, this circle is fairly small. My fourth circle which is even smaller then my good friends is "Great Friends", those are the people that I go out of my way to hangout with. Being with them brings me such joy and I couldn't imagine my life without them in it. And then there is my fifth circle, my best friends, those are the few that I would do anything for, we can sit in a room and not say a word for hours and be perfectly content just being in each others company.

Acquaintances can become Friends and Friends can become Good friends, just like Good Friends can become Great Friends and Great Friends can become Best Friends, but Best Friends will always be Best Friends, even if we don't talk for years that person will always hold a special place in my heart.

Voted & Goonies Anniversary

Today I did my civic duty and voted. I voted for Hilary as I felt she had a better chance and defeating Trump. I agree with alot of what Bernie is saying but honestly the biggest issue I have at stake for this election is civil liberties. As a gay man I can't allow a Republican to get into office because if one does lots of civil liberties that Obama has secured for the gay community will be taken away. Besides that Trump is a bigoted, misogynistic asshole who can't win. I agree with 95% of what Hillary stands for and the fact that she would be our first female president would be a plus. I really can't believe how many people are supporting Trump. Just goes to show you how much "hate" these really is in this world... it makes me sad.

On a happier note.. today marks the 31st Anniversary of one of my all time favorite movies from my teenhood, Goonies. I was 14 when this movie came out and I instantly identified with the main character of Mikey. I must have seen this movie about six or seven times in the theater (and that's quite a bit since I wasn't able to drive yet). This is one of those movies that is still enjoyable to watch today even though I've seen it over 100 times by now. It's one that all young people should watch when growing up.

At age 45 I still consider myself a Goonie.

Recording My MASH Podcast

Today I spent a few hours recording six more of my MASH 4077 podcast. This podcast has been my most consistent podcast. I've released episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month since it started in February of 2011. We are just a little over halfway through the series (season six), which means we have another five or so years left of recordings and then whatever else we decide to do afterwards, ie movie, books, etc... Started off with two co-hosts but one left us about a year a go so it's just Meds and I now but we have a great time recording and we have been doing it so long that we have everything down to a science.

You can Download the podcast from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or listen and get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

SDCC Pro Badges & Minecraft Birthday Party

I got my professional San Diego Comic Con badges today. I was fortunate enough to get one for me, my brother and friend Caryn. I'm really looking forward to SDCC this year as I'll be introducing a new cosplay this year.. though I still have to start working on it.

Today I headed out to visit family and attended my nephew Kenobi's seventh birthday party. Lora, his mom went all out (as she usually does) to give him the best Minecraft themed birthday. They decorated the house and even made a Nether portal that you had to go through to get to the party. She made pix axes, swords, and Steve & Creeper heads from scratch for the kids. And the food and snacks were all themed as well. She even made an Enderman birthday cake. One of my favorites were the dirt/grass blocks made out of rice crispy treats... they were really tasty. 

Whenever my brother and sister-in-law have a party they go all out. They had an extremely large water slide that I did go down a few times.. there is video proof on Facebook :) Overall it was a fun day.. Kenobi had a blast and that's all that really matters in the end. Happy 7th Birthday Kenobi.

A Good Man

I like when they take people stories and animated them, I've seen a few in the past but I really like this one. This is from StoryCorps.. here's a quick synopsis: When he was a teenager, Bryan Wilmoth’s father kicked him out of his family home after discovering Bryan was gay. Homeless and separated from his seven younger brothers and sisters, Bryan learned to survive on his own and went on to become the loving force that reunited his adult siblings as a family. This short if called “A Good Man.”

Before and After

So the picture on the left popped up on Facebook memories, on my buddy Will's timeline and I almost fell over. It's a picture of me from June 1st 2012, this wasn't a great time for me personally as I had broken up about a year earlier from a long term relationship and I had been jobless for about a year so things weren't going so well for me. And believe it or not I still wasn't at my heaviest here. Though I hate this picture it's a good reminder I where I was compared to where I am today. I took the picture on the right this morning. Besides the thinning of the face what really interested me where my eyes, they are so much bigger and brighter now. Again at the time in 2012 I didn't realize how bad my weight had gotten.. it's not until you compare pictures side to side where you can really see the difference. I know that I'll never go back to that again, I may go up and down a few pounds but I will never let me weight or my health get that bad again. I want to thank all of you who have continue to support me in my endeavor to better myself and my health.

New MASH Podcast & My Nephew's Birthday

Geekyfanboy Productions released a new episode of the MASH 4077 Podcast. This is episode 130, covering Season 6 Episode 8, "In Love and War"

The Lins were like Korean aristocracy before the war; now, the remains of their estate is filled with their homeless friends and villagers. Daughter, Kyung Soon takes care of her mother, Madame Lin and the others; she hauls Hawkeye to tend to her mother, at Col. Potter's order, in a nicely kept automobile. Hawkeye gets the wrong impression until he sees the estate... and Kyung Soon in action. The 4077 gets a new nurse, Lt. Bobbie Gleason, fresh from Tokyo. She has the misfortune to mention a Lt. Colonel Donald something who flirted with her at her going-away party; Margaret is frantic it is her Donald and continues to plague the new nurse. As Col. Potter, BJ and Hawkeye drink, Potter tells Hawkeye love and war do not mix. But, Hawkeye has found a woman both novel and interesting. He refuses to take the wise 3 war, multi-tour veteran's advice. It is not within Hawkeye's nature to rebuff novelty.

You can Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or listen and get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

Born a month and a half early, my nephew Kenobi turns seven today, gonna be seeing him this weekend for his birthday party. Can't believe how big he is getting.. soon he'll be old enough to come hang out with his uncle Kenny for a weekend. I'm really looking forward to those visits. 

Harry Potter Dinner

After a particularly rough day at work it's great to be able to call up my friend Lauren and grab some dinner at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade (Universal Studio's Hollywood, Wizarding World of Harry Potter). Walking into that world just releases all the stress from the days activities. Sitting down in the middle of The Three Broomsticks with some good food and awesome Harry Potter music just immerse you into this amazing world and is extremely soothing. It also helps that I'm with my good friend Lauren who is also a big fan of Harry Potter and enjoy escaping into this world as much as I do.

After dinner we walk around Hogsmeade for a bit and then ride The Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff before calling it an night and heading home. I'm so happy that I leave close enough to Universal Hollywood to enjoy this world whenever I like.

The Animated Adventures of Buffy & More Sportsball

I came across this very cool video of The Animated Adventures of Buffy opening sequence. It's done by artist Stephen Byrne, who also did The Animated Adventures of Doctor Who and looks to be doing a Firefly one as well. All I know is this is pretty fantastic and something I would watch in a heart beat.

Today some Nerdstrong folks got together for another Sportsball day. We had one last weekend and had so much fun so we decided to have another one. It's great to get outside and run around in the sunshine. It was a much smaller group but still loads of fun and a good workout.

DanceStrong Again

In the evening a group of us from NerdStrong went dancing at Oil Can Harry's. This has become a kind of monthly or bi-monthly event. This is our fifth or six time we've done this. It wasn't the largest of turn outs this time but it was still alot of fun. I actually danced for three hours straight. I think I stopped to drink some water only twice. I want to give a shout out to my dance partner Naomi who also danced for three hours straight.

These outings are always alot of fun and we've really only gone to one place, Oil Can Harry's because it's local, a safe environment for the ladies (gay club) and they have half price drinks from 8pm to 10pm. It's usually a country bar but on Saturdays (the day we go) it's retro disco night. Can't wait for the next one.

X-Men: Apocalypse - My Thoughts

Today I went to Arclight Sherman Oaks with some friends to see X-Men: Apocalypse. Here's a quick synopsis: Worshiped as a god since the dawn of civilization, the immortal Apocalypse becomes the first and most powerful mutant. Awakening after thousands of years, he recruits the disheartened Magneto and other mutants to create a new world order. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Professor X and Raven lead a team of young X-Men to stop their seemingly invincible nemesis from destroying mankind.

I've enjoyed the "reboot" of this franchise. Well I don't know if you can call it that since they are starting to combine both casts into one universe. But I really liked First Class and Days of Future Past so I went into this movie with high hopes and I have to say they didn't disappoint.

Of course the SFX were amazing but you come to expect that. I really liked the character development and the story. Of course some of the characters could have done with a bit more back story but overall it was well done. It was interesting to see Storm as a "bad" guy and I think they underused Angel. I enjoyed what they did with Jean and seeing Phoenix emerge was pretty fantastic. Nightcrawler was probably one of my favorite new characters and of course we had Quicksilver have the best scene like he did in the last movie. Overall a really fun movie.. I give it a B+.

Game Night at NerdStrong Gym

It's the last Friday of the month so that means game night at NerdStrong Gym. This is one of many perks for going to a really nerdy and awesome gym.

Tonight I played the new game I got during International Tabletop Day called  Dr Eureka, it's a quick game but fun. I was then introduced to several new games. The Grizzled is a cooperative card game, we didn't survive. I then played DC Deck Building Game, that was fun but went on for a bit to long. And the final game of the night was Robo Rally and that was loads of fun but a strategy game which I'm usually not good at but this one went pretty well. I don't think I came close to winning but I had alot of fun trying.

Vintage Gay Home Movies

I came across this article from The New Yorker titled "The Moving Revelations of Gay Home Movies" A collection of home movies at the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco captures the intimacies of gay life long before it was allowed to flourish in the open.

I can't explain why but these videos really touched me, so much so that when I watch them I tear up. Maybe it's because these men were being themselves at a time when homosexuality was considered a mental illness and you could . These guys are so happy and having a great time just being themselves. I'm sure most of these men are repressed in their "real" life and these weekend getaways were something extremely special to them. I couldn't imagine being a gay man in the 40's, even today we still experience bigotry and hatred but back then I'm sure it was unbearable.

Check out the link below

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-moving-revelations-of-gay-home-movies

Pop! Vinyl Figures - Dark Crystal

Today Funko announced their Dark Crystal Pop! Vinyl Figures. I'm a huge fan of these Funko Pop! figures but I'm really trying to control how many I get as it seems these days that they are making them for everything. But these are now on my list to buy as I'm a big fan of The Dark Crystal. I remember being dropped off at the movies and seeing a double feature of Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal... I was in geek heaven.

Here's the press release for these figures.

POP! MOVIES: THE DARK CRYSTAL

Relive the majestic tale of Jen the Gelfling on his quest to reclaim the final crystal shard from Aughra the astronomer! He’s joined by Kira and her pet Fizzgig, and must face many challenges including The Chamberlain Skeksis and UrSol the Chanter! Make sure to search for the chase variant closed mouth Fizzgig! Collect the whole set this summer!

Geek Pride Day & More Finding Dory

Today is a very special day in the Geek/Nerd world. Not only is it the 39th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars which in turn created Geek Pride Day, it is also International Towel Day, for all you fans of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,

39 years ago today I went and saw a movie that would forever change my life. I credit Star Wars for making me the Sci Fi / Fantasy lover I am today and that series will always hold a very special place in my heart. It will always be part of my life and I am forever be thankful to George Lucas for the world that sprung from his imagination.

Geek Pride Day is an initiative to promote geek culture. The date was chosen as to commemorate the release of the first Star Wars film as mentioned above and I don't mind celebrating Geek Pride day today but honestly I celebrate Geek Pride everyday of my life.

Towel Day is an annual celebration on the 25th of May, as a tribute to the late author Douglas Adams (1952-2001), who wrote the very famous series The Hitchhikers Guild to the Galaxy. On that day, fans around the universe proudly carry a towel in his honor. This is truly a day of geeky goodness!!

Also I want to share another Finding Dory trailer.. I'm really looking forward to this sequel.

Beauty and the Beast Teaser Trailer

This is a teaser (and I mean teaser) trailer for one of my most anticipated movies in the coming years, Disney's live action version of Beauty and the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast has always been a favorite story of mine and I love the animated movie, it's probably one of my all time favorite Disney movies. The cast is amazing Emma Watson, Ian McKellen, Ewan McGregor, Luke Evans, Emma Thompson.. I mean the list goes on and on. And though this teaser trailer gives nothing away it really hypes up my excitement for this movie... I even got teary eyed when the familiar music played at the end... so amazing. BTW it's not due to be released in theaters until next year.

Recorded More Of The Geek Roundtable Podcast

Recorded another Geek Roundtable Podcast today. This time my guest hosts were Joey, Astrid, Robert and my former KOTG (Knights of the Guild) podcast co-host Jenni join me for this session.  Instead of doing discussions like our previous recordings today's sessions are all about debates.

For today's episodes we will be debating Harry Potter Books vs Movies, Digital Media vs Physical (DVD/Blu Ray), Favorite Star Trek Captain and Batman v Superman (not the movie, the characters in general). 

We had a some great discussions and kind of debated but I've decided that even our debates are just really good discussions. So from here on our they will be nothing but discussion of the topic. Still hoping get enough episodes in the can so I can start releasing them sometime in July (edit note, it's now looking like August). So stay tuned for more info when it gets closer to release date.

Sportsball Day!!!

Today was another NerdStrong/Sportsball day. This is our third or fourth one and again it was a ton of fun. Not as many people as last time but still loads of fun. We played ultimate Frisbee, kickball and a version of sprinting tic tac toe. It's always a blast playing games like this in the park.. reminds me of my youth. This is the second time that we've had strangers how just happen to be in the park join us in the fun. We had folks who came and didn't play, they just hung our, watched and visited with each other.

Afterwards the majority of us headed to The Counter for some much needed grub. Some other friends who didn't make it to Sportsball joined for dinner. It was some good times.

Star Trek Beyond Trailer #2 & Hilarious New Game

The new NBC showed called Powerless, which is coming out this fall, trailer was leaked online. I managed to watch it before it was quickly pulled. It's a different kind of DC story, it's about the everyday, ordinary people who live in a world with superheros. From the trailer it looked really good and I look forward to watching when it airs.

They released a second trailer for Star Trek Beyond. The first one didn't go over well with fans because it was super action packed and used a Beasty Boys song. I agree that the song was a poor choice but I liked what I saw. This second trailer feels more like Trek and I'm super pumped to see this movie.

I came across this video and thought I was going to die laughing. It's four siblings playing a game. I wasn't sure if they had made it up or saw it somewhere but it was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time. I immediately went only to see if this was a real game and I found someone who was selling a version online. I don't know if it was legit, they called it "Come Again" game. I had to purchase it.

Since I'm three months behind on my blog I have an update, these folks got together with Hasbro and actually made an official game called "Speak Out" and they posted another video of them playing the actual game.. it's just as hilarious as this one.

My Toy Collection on Instagram

So I've been trying to come up with other things I can produce through my Geekyfanboy Productions. I have the five podcasts and my blog but there is always room for me.. so a few days ago I got the idea of sharing my toy collection on Instagram. I thought it might fun to post one or two pictures (and possible video) a day of my collectibles; action figures, toys, collector plates, trading cards, books and various other TV and movie related memorabilia. I've been collecting since I was six years old (Star Wars figures were my first), I don't know my exact count but I'm sure I have over 10,000 collectibles so it will take a while to post all of them. Along with the pictures I'll post a bit of information about each collectable or maybe a story about how I obtain it. I'm not sure how many people will be interested but if anything this will be a great way to catalog all my collectibles. And who knows.. maybe it will become popular.

If you're interested in checking out my toy collection and following along click HERE. If you are a member of Instagram please give me a follow at KennysCollection. If you are not a member you can still enjoy my collection from a web browser. Thanks for checking it out.

Firefly Loot Crate, Speechless & Star Trek TV Trailers

Today I signed up for the Firefly Loot Crate (or as they called it Cargo Crate). I've been wanting to do a Loot Crate or one of those other geeky/nerdy boxes but most of the time they have two or three things that I'd love and then the rest wouldn't interest me. But I love everything about Firefly so I figured I'd love everything in these boxes. I already missed the first two boxes, Kaylee and Jayne (which really bums me out). I actually missed the Jayne box by two days.. which means I have to wait two months before my first box (Zoe) will arrive. I can't wait to see what shows up and of course I'll be posting all about the boxes here when I get them.

ABC released a new trailer for a show called Speechless.. I love Minnie Driver and the fact that they are using an real disabled actor in the main role is fantastic... and it looks hilarious.. so I'll be watching it this fall.

Also released today was the teaser trailer for the new CBS Star Trek Series.. of course it doesn't show much to according to some there are alot of easter eggs in it. I'm just happy that we are getting another Star Trek series and I can't wait to hear and see more.

Geek Rage

In the past when being a geek wasn't so popular I can't remember to much geek rage towards Scifi, Fantasy, Comic TV and movies, but nowadays it seems like geeks are bullies, mean spirited, vindictive and cruel. I know it's only a few but those few are so loud that they are giving all of us geeks/nerds a bad name. I'm tired of hearing people complain about everything, or say how something has ruined their childhood. I came across this article and it really hit home for me.

The titles is "If nerds won the war for pop culture, why are they so angry all the time?" You can read the article HERE. 

I was the same as the kid (Scott) in this story.. I was the awkward nerd of the 70's who let my geek flag fly and was bullied/shunned relentlessly for it. It's interesting to hear the "bully/closeted nerd's" reasoning on why they bullied nerds like me. My heart breaks when I hear what he did to this poor kid as it hits close to home. But I like the overall message that he is saying and I hope we as a geek culture can get to that point before all of this is gone.

New MASH 4077 Podcast

Geekyfanboy Productions released a new episode of the MASH 4077 Podcast. This is episode 129, covering Season 6 Episode 7, "The Light that failed"

It is the dead of winter and the 4077 is out of everything: medicine, bandages, light bulbs, gel foam, and general supplies; a Supply Truck delivers mosquito netting and an ice cream churn. BJ gets a book: a mystery novel; everyone is so bored, he rips it from the binding, chapter by chapter so everyone can read along. But the final page of the whodunnit is missing. Winchester nearly kills a patient with curare as it was "too dark" to read the label. BJ saves the patient and Hawkeye calls Winchester to the carpet. A new truck brings the supplies they need... except for the big answer to their big mystery.

You can Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or listen and get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

Camping Weekend Comes To An End

Day three of camping (technically) slept better then I did last night but still not great. Woke up around 6am, but finally got up around 7am. Josh was already starting to pack up his tent and things as he had to be somewhere mid day today.

Initially most of us planned to stay until mid afternoon but once everyone was up and we pretty much did everything yesterday folks decided to leave a bit earlier. As I mentioned Josh was a the first to go, the rest of us cleaned up the camping area. We had brought way to much food and things so it took a while to go through everything and figure out who brought what.

Andy and Leo were next to leave followed by the rest of us shortly after. Anne and Naomi, Eric, Shannon and then Lauren and myself caravan out of the forest and back to civilization. I dropped off Lauren at her place about 1pm and then went home and pretty much crashed the rest of the day.

It was a successful camping trip, we all had a great time and though it was short I think we experienced alot. I know for some of us we can't wait to do it again.

Camping Jackson Flats

Woke up early around 6am, slept horribly but I'm not a good sleeper when I'm not in my own bed. It was cold and I wasn't prepared for the cold weather so my sleeping bag wasn't enough to keep me warm. Regardless I woke up and made my way to the bathroom. A few other people were awake and starting a fire. I grabbed my phone and decided to walk around a bit and grab some photos of the camping area.

Shannon did an amazing job at picking probably the best campsite at Jackson Flats. As I mentioned in my last blog we initially had like 30 people interested in going camping but as the weeks went on more and more backed out until there were just a handful of us left. But we still had this very large campsite (holds at least 40 people). So we had alot of space to spread out but we all pretty much kept out tents right around the picnic and fire pit area.

About an hour after I got up the rest of the gang started to get up. Shannon (the unofficial camp mom) broke out all her gear and started to make breakfast for us. Breakfast was interesting as we only had this small gas burner and some folks were on the Whole 30 diet so they couldn't eat certain things. But Shannon persevered and in the end we all had a great breakfast.

Afterwards we sat around the fire to warm up, the wind had gone (yay) but the cold was still there. Josh put up his mansion of a tent and a group of use went hiking. It was really a nice relaxing kind of day. Naomi's husband Eric showed up about mid day. We drank, ate, hiked and sat around chatting all day long. We made smores, played "I never ever" and laughed alot. We called it a night around midnight.

NerdStrong Interview & Going Camping

Today is open gym at NerdStrong and I usually don't go to open gym but since I'm camping this weekend I'm going to be missing Saturday and Sunday's workout so I figured I'd go to open gym. Another thing that was happening at the gym today was that a camera crew was showing up to film for a new TBS online program. Usually six or seven people show up on Friday's open gym.. but today it was a full house, there were people everywhere. The coaches made fun of us saying that we all want to be on camera and for some that is true but for some we wanted to make the gym look good and how would it look if there was only a handful of people working out there. Anyways after the workout they interviewed a few people and I was lucky enough to be one of them. I think it helped that I have the gym's logo tattoo'd on me. It was a good interviews, talked mostly about geeky things and how the gym helped me. Now sure when or if this will air but I'll post it here if it does.

After work I went and picked up my friend Lauren and we headed out to the Jackson Flat campgrounds where we'd be spending the weekend with a few other NerdStrong friends camping. I haven't gone camping in about 15 years so I was really looking forward to this weekend. My friend Shannon and I planned this months ago and at the time we had about 30 people interested and going, but as with most things people started backing out left and right until there were just a handful of us left. But the few of us who are still going plan to have an amazing time. So we got there to the area just as night started to fall, finding the campsite was difficult and I'm so happy that I had someone with me, as several people didn't and they had some scary stories. GPS isn't your friend when it comes to finding camp sites as they tend to take you through back roads (that are actually roads). We were the third group to arrive. Shannon, Leo and Andy were already there. Shortly after us Naomi and Anne arrived and finally Josh. It was cold.. I didn't realize how high we were and though it was low 90's down in the valley it was in the 60's here and it was also really windy which made it fun when we went to set up our tents, but we all managed to get the tents pitched, except for Josh who just crashed in my tent for the night. Afterwards we gathered around the fire pit, built a fire and hung out before calling it a night around midnight.