Star Wars in Concert

I had missed this last time it was in the Los Angeles area so when I heard a few months ago that it was coming back to Los Angeles for two days only I jumped at the opportunity to see it. I was attending the event with my friend Sean. I left my brother's house around 5:30pm expecting to get to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles around 6:30pm, which I did.. but I wasn't expecting the chaos surrounding the place. I was first going to try and find parking on the street and just walk but thought better of it so instead I parked across the street from the Bowl and paid $21. It was also stacked parking which means you can't leave once you're in as they just pack the cars in. Of course I'm in the very back of the parking lot and figured it would take me hours to get out.

I followed the crowds to the entrance, having never been. I got to the entrance around 7pm. The event started at 7:30pm so I opted to grab a hot dog and some water. That took about 20 minutes in line to accomplish that. I headed over to will call to leave Sean's ticket as he was filming all day and expect to be a bit late. After leaving his ticket I made the trek up to my seat. I manage to sit down and settle in around 7:22pm.

I was very happy with my seat selection. I didn't need to be near the stage as you're really listening to the music and watching the huge screen. I choose seats about 2/3's up but directly in the middle.  I was bummed that I didn't get there earlier and go through the museum with Star Wars memorabilia, costumes and such. I knew that they opened 2 hours before the concert started but really miss judged as how crazy they place would be. Also they said no cameras or video devices but there security was nothing and I could have easily brought my camera or flip cam.. so I was stuck with the camera on my iPhone.

Anyways the program finally got started around 8pm and Sean showed up about 20 minutes in. The event itself was FANTASTIC!! Anthony Daniels who plays C3PO hosted the event and was so charming and charismatic.. he was the prefect host. They started with the beginning of the story and the orchestra would play famous Star Wars music to accompany the movie clips. Each clip segment was title.. Here's a list of the titles and who the main focus was in the clips.

Of course they started off with "Star Wars Main Title", then "Dark Forces Conspire" ("Duel of the Fates"), which was pretty epic!!! "A Hero Rises" (Anakin) was a very cool segment. They showed clips from the first three movies. Next was "Droids!" (C-3PO, R2-D2, and other droids), R2D2 is my favorite Star Wars character so I really enjoyed this segment. "A Race with Destiny" (Pod Race Flag Parade) was next and then "A Fateful Love" ("Padma and Anakin"). "A Hero Falls" (turning to the Dark Side) and this is when the crowds started to go crazy "An Empire is Forged" (Darth Vader). We then had a 20 minutes Intermission and the second half of the concert started. This of course was my favorite part because it was pretty much all from the first trilogy. It started with "A Narrow Escape" (Han Solo), then "A Defender Emerges" (Princess Leia). There was some video issues here and the video started about a minute into the piece. Next was "An Unlikely Alliance" (Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cantina Theme), this was a fun piece, though my only complaint is they used the scene where Greedo shots first and Han does that stupid jump move. After that came "A Jedi is Trained" (Yoda & Luke) and  "A Strike for Freedom". Another segment that I really liked was "A Bond Unbroken" (Luke & Leia). Then then did "Sanctuary Moon" (Endor and Ewoks) and "A Life Redeemed" (Vader) and finally "A New Day Dawns" (Throne Room and End Titles).

It was an incredible night and event. Oh and I totally forgot to mention after intermission many of the original segments included awesome laser shows that were timed with the music and/or scenes... it was truly amazing.

photo courtesy of @amy_geek

And if the night couldn't get any better. After everyone said goodbye and some folks were standing to leave, Anthony Daniels came back out to announce a special guest who wanted to come out and say hi.. and then went on to say.. Please welcome JOHN WILLIAMS!!!! The crowd went CRAZY!!!! Everyone was on their feet screaming and cheering. Mr. Williams looked surprised and very appreciative of all the noise. He then went on to conduct the orchestra for a special encore of

"The Imperial March". I had tears in my eyes listening to this magical piece being conducted by the man or created it so many years ago. Sean and I couldn't stop smiling at each other.

The night was already fantastic but this made it incredible and a night that I will never forget. On our way out I stopped by one of dealer booths and purchased a cool T-shirt and Program of the event. They were expensive but I couldn't pass it up. This is an event that I want to remember and cherish.

After the event I was on a high and didn't care that it took me almost an hour to walk from my seat to my car and then another half hour to get out of the parking lot and to the freeway. Nothing was going to spoil this evening.

IT WAS TRULY MAGICAL!!!!!

Kenobi's 2nd Birthday Party

So my little guy is now two years old and let me tell ya they don't exaggerate when the call them the terrible twos. But he got better as the party went on. They went with the baseball ballpark theme/ various sports theme. As always it was great to see the family. I got to hang out with my Dad for a bit which is great. The chemo is working and started to shrink the tumors and the left side of his face is started to go back to normal.. so those results put my Dad in a really good mood.. which is nice to see. Got to spend a good few hours talking to my aunt Joyce who I miss very much. We caught up on each other lives. Some of Mike's friends are really great.. some.. not so much. Got to visit with Lora's family which is always nice. And got to see Cindy and her youngest daughter who I remember when they brought her home from the hospital... she new just graduated High School.. man I feel old... but all in all it was a pretty good visit.

Dating Again

You know I haven't really thought about dating since Harry and I broke up back in January as we still live together (until August) but I guess I'm going to have to start doing that again. It been over eight years since I've dated and so many things have changed.. including myself.

I saw myself in the mirror this morning and it just hit me.. I'm a short balding middle aged fat man. Last time I dated I was still short, but less bald and 30 pounds lighter and very much hated dating. I didn't like all the BS that went along with it. I guess one good thing now is I'm much wiser, I know what I'm looking for and won't put up with any BS. If I see "red flags" I know it's best not to ignore them. I have a better understanding of who I am now and I've learned to accept and love the way I look for good or bad. I know I'm a nice guy, maybe too nice on the verge of being naive... but that's just me. I have a good heart and I'm a hopeless romantic.

Folks have asked me are you going to play the field or settle back down and I don't really know. I've never been one to play the field but I don't want to get into a serious relationship unless I know it will be for the rest of my life. So I guess all I can say is will see. It's scary dating again after all these years but I think now that I'm older and wiser I'll have a better experience at it.. and who knows maybe I'll find Mr. Right this time.

Quidditch Practice

Well it's been a few weeks since I've been to Quidditch practice so I was very excited to be attending a practice tonight. Practice was at 7pm at Pan Pacific Park. I normally get out of work at 7 but left a little early at 6:30pm. Even though it's only 8 miles it's all surface streets in the middle of rush hour traffic, so I arrived at the park around 7:30pm.. yep.. an hour to go 8 miles.. gotta love Los Angeles.

Got to the park and after walking around for a few minute I saw the familiar hoops and made my way over to them. Luckily they just started so I didn't miss much. We actually had 8 people show up today which is the most we've ever had. We also had two bystanders who were just walking in the part stop and watch and then actually join us for two games.. it was pretty awesome.

We played around eight games total, most of the time it was 3 on 3 while two people rested, until the last two games when we had 4 on 4, which was fantastic.

I got poked by a broom handle right in the gut, I took a dive trying to make a goal and while hitting my face on the ground I realizing that it was concrete. I ran full force into a team mate as I was unable to move around her, that lead to my left side of my face tingling as if I got smacked hard. After a few games I somehow twisted my ankle and was in so much pain that it made me nauseous and I thought I was going to throw up.

But even with all that it was SO MUCH FUN!!! Just being there with these people who are all HUGE Harry Potter fans made all the pain worth it. Unbeknown to me my teammates gave me a nick name "Cannonball" because when I have the Quaffle I'll run like a bullet to the hoops to score. So that made my night.

I'm extremely out of shape and can only last a few minutes at a time but I'm hoping in time my stamina and athleticism will improve. I'm the oldest person on the team but that won't stop me from having a great time.

GO HOLLYWOOD HARPIES!!!!

New MASH T-shirts

Today when I got home from work I had a delivery.. I've been excitedly waiting for this package as it contained our new MASH 4077 Podcast T-shirts that I plan on giving away as prize gifts and to help promote the podcast.

I only ordered a small amount to start out with, besides the fact that I used money out of my own pocket to pay for these, I wasn't sure how they would turn out.... but I think they turned out GREAT!!

Dad Update 6

Just got off the phone with my Dad.. he had his first chemo today. I guess he's been taking several chemo pills the past few days, and though they made him sick the first few days he is feeling better today and it's starting to take down the swelling in his face. Today he went in to the hospital and they gave him another chemo pill and 3 different chemo liquid solutions. He said he was in there for about three hours while they pumped the chemo in. He seemed in good spirits. He goes back to the hospital Thursday and Friday for hydration, one of the side effect of the chemo. Then next week they will decide if they will do radiation as well as chemo to get rid of these tumors faster.

Yesterday he sounded horrible and sick.. today he sounded much better and happy with the results of the chemo so far. Will find out in a few weeks if the chemo is actually shrinking the tumors or not. Here's hoping for the best.

MASH 4077 Podcast Episode 9

Download from itunes http://t.co/N69yPdi or listen/direct download http://t.co/G4g8Mcn

Kenny Mittleider from Knights of the Guild Podcast, Simon Meddings from Waffle On Podcast, Al Kessel from Tales from the Mouse House Podcast and special guest hosts Harry Dauz & Joyce Kessel discuss one of the most successful and longest running television series in history.. M*A*S*H

Today we cover Episode #9 - Henry, Please Come Home

Directed by William Wiard
Written by Laurence Marks
Production code J302
Original air date November 19, 1972

Set during the Korean War in the 1950’s

Plot Summary: The 4077th is commended for achieving a 90% success rate. General Hammond reassigns Henry to an outpost in Tokyo leaving the second in-command, Major Frank Burns, in charge of camp. Right away Frank goes gung-ho, making everybody follow his rules, and he even takes away the captain’s still. Hawkeye, Trapper, Spearchucker and Radar plot together on how to bring back Henry and get rid of Frank. But will Henry leave his cushy new job with cushy new geishas?

Hope you enjoy it,

Kenny, Meds, Al, Harry & Joyce

Find Us on the Web:
Main website - http://MASH4077Podcast.com
Twitter - @MASH4077Podcast
Facebook Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/MASH4077Podcast
MASH 4077 Podcast Blog - http://www.MASH4077Podcast.blogspot.com
Email Us - MASH4077Podcast@Gmail.com

12 Hour Work Day

I was off for Memorial Day Monday so Tuesday was the start of my work week. I had to get up at 5:30am this morning because I had to be at work by 8am which means I had to leave my house by 6am. So it wasn't the best way to start my week. We are finally "onlining" our first episode of Chelsea Settles (the new MTV show I'm working on). And I had to get the media/hard drive to the facility by 8:30am. 

So I dropped off the media and waited to hear back. Just for those who don't know what onlining is, here's a very brief description; "offline" are when editors take the footage (at a low resolution) and cut the show together. Once that's done it goes to another place and is called "online".. meaning they uprez all the footage and do all the final color correction and blurs and finish the show so it's ready to air.

So our 1st episode went to online and about mid day I heard nothing but good news. Everything looked great, there were no major video or audio issues and the show was on it's way to being finished. And just so you know that rarely happens so I was feeling great. I worked about 12 hours but didn't mind because it was all good.. wish I had more work days like this one.

On my way home I talked with my Dad and he has been having a few rough days. He's diabetic and since the cancer is making him not want to eat it's throwing off his blood sugar so he's been trying to find a balance with everything. Luckily my brother and sister-in-law are there to help him out. He goes in for his first Chemo treatment tomorrow... I hope all goes well.

Star Trek Marathon

Came across this video on a forum that I regular and I thought it was well done and lots of fun. I don't agree with their assessment of some of the Star Trek Movies but everyone has their opinion.

Here are my ratings as I remember the movies.. it's been a while since I have scene some of the original ones.. so rating may change if I watch them again... but for here here's how I number them.

Star Trek 1 (Motion Picture) - 5
Star Trek 2 (Wraith of Khan) - 8
Star Trek 3 (Search for Spock) - 6
Star Trek 4 (Voyage Home) - 9
Star Trek 5 (The Final Frontier) - 5
Star Trek 6 (Undiscovered Country) - 8
Star Trek 7 (Generations) - 7
Star Trek 8 (First Contact) - 10
Star Trek 9 (Insurrection) - 7
Star Trek 10 (Nemesis) - 7
Star Trek 11 (Star Trek) - 8

My Sunday!!

So day two of my three day weekend was busy.. The day started with Harry and I doing our never ending yard work. Feels like we take down a ton of weeds and two weeks later they are back again and have doubled. This is the worst part of living in this house.

After yard work we had some lunch and watched the last 6 episodes of Cougar Town. We have so much TV saved up in our DVR it's nice that we are finally able to watch some of it.

Worked on building the show notes and such for the next MASH 4077 Podcast.. so that's ready to be released on June 1st.

It was great just hanging out and doing nothing for a few hours.. it seems like I have fewer and fewer days were I can just do nothing.

In the evening I headed out to meet up with my friend Adam who is moving down from the Bay Area. I meet Adam a few months back through my friend Ray and we hit it off. We also worked together on season six of The Guild.  Adam is a graphic designer and has done some well know work among the Firefly and BSG fans. And is currently working on some other big projects with other geeky folks. Anyways he quit his job and is moving down here to start his graphic design career full time. He had a small get together to celebrate his unemployment and the start of his new adventure. Got to see some mutual friends as well as meet some folks who I only know from Twitter.. which is always fun. It was a really fun night.

Knights of the Guild Ep 31

Listen on itunes - http://bit.ly/KotGCast, Listen or download directly http://bit.ly/2CrYxk

Show Notes:
MEET
Today's episode is a very special joint podcast with Knights of the Guild Podcast and Tech Barbarians Podcast.

We had a little welcome party at Teal's (Venom) place.

This is PART TWO. This part includes interviews with Chris and Mark, Sean Becker (Director), and Teddy Garces (Bruiser).

We also have a special Song written and preformed by Gabriel Hager for his I Hearth Geek's podcast

You can also watch the video over on our Ustream channel.. you can find the link below.

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

Kenny

Knights of the Guild Podcast has a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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