Grimm

So I finally took some time to watch the premiere and second episode of NBC's new series Grimm. If you don't know what Grimm is here's a short synopsis:

Set in present-day Portland, Oregon, the series puts a new twist on the stories of the Brothers Grimm in which a homicide detective learns that he is a descendant of a group of hunters known as "Grimms", who fight to keep humanity safe from the supernatural creatures of the world. Upon learning of his destiny, he has to protect every living soul from the sinister storybook characters that have infiltrated the real world.

Now this is one of two Fairytale / Fantasy TV series on this fall. The other being Once Upon a Time, which I totally love.  This series couldn't be further apart from Once. This is dark, gritty, intense and scary at times. I really enjoyed the first episode even though in an early preview they tell the entire story in five minutes and shows everything, but it was still fun watching this cop learn who he is and what he now has to do with the rest of his life. I really like the "good" werewolf, he adds some comedy to this very dark story. The second episode was just as fun, gory and intense.

Though I love Once Upon a Time, I have a hard time understanding how they are going to continue this story for seasons to come.. But with Grimm it's a cop show with an element of fairy tales which can go on forever, but with that said I hope it's not a monster of the week kind of series. I guess will have to wait and see. I look forward to seeing where this series goes.

Vasquez Rocks

Today was a lull between rainy days so I took advantage of it and went for hike at Vasquez Rocks. It was beautiful outside but cold which makes for the perfect hiking weather.  I also wanted to try out my new 360 Panoramic app on my iPad 2. It's a pretty sweet program as you just hold up your iPad and it snaps pictures as you move it from side to side so you get there incredible 360 views.

The hike was great, I had a ton of energy (not sure where it came from), but I hiked all over the place and grabbed a few 360 pictures along the way. Think I might try and do a hike there several times a week.. it's a great workout. Here are some of my 360 pictures.

The first one is from the ground level looking up at the iconic Vasquez Rocks. http://360.io/2bCTrS

This one is looking from one of the peaks down to the ground. http://360.io/wNmuX5

Here's another one I took while hiking. http://360.io/Chcjvm & http://360.io/8RqePh

And the final one is from the highest peak at Vasquez Rock, which I have always wanted to climb but never did.. until today.  http://360.io/5kRcPp

If anyone ever wants to join me for a hike at Vasquez Rocks drop me a line, I only live 2 miles away.

Where Does the Day Go

Wow.. when you're out of work the day just seems to fly by. I get up in the morning and have such huge plans for the day. Gonna do this and gonna do that but by the time the day is over and it's time for bed I look back and ask myself  "What the heck did I do today". 

I've been out of work now for a little over a month and you figure I would get so much stuff done but I haven't. I have a lot of things half started but not complete. My garage is half cleaned and almost done. My podcasts are half recorded/edited but not completely done. My house is half cleaned but not fully cleaned. I have closet I want to organize and yard work that need to get done and I want to re-finish my back deck. So much stuff to do and I feel like I do nothing by days end. Maybe I need to buy a big wipe board and make a list of everything that I need to get done and hang it in my office so I see it everyday.

When you're not working you get lazy and though I love TV I really need to limit the amount I watch on a daily bases. I think that is where alot of my time is spent.. just trying to catch up on TV.  I hate the feeling when I got back to work and look back at my time off and realize I could have done so much more. So I'm making a pledge right now to all my blog readers.. I will get things done, I will watch less TV and focus on getting all the jobs completed and getting my life back in order.

Friendship is a Two Way Street

I don't know the author of this quote that I got from Facebook, but it really struck a cord with me. Now you can read this quote many ways, could be talking about a partner/boyfriend/girlfriend but I read it as a good friend. So I figured I'd blog about my thoughts on this.

First the Quote:

"If someone wants to be a part of your life, they'll make an effort to be in it. So don't bother reserving a space in your heart for someone who doesn't make an effort to stay."

I've been on the receiving end of alot of loop sided friendship over the years, where I would give 90% and they would give 10%. I would call, email or text them to try and keep in touch with very little effort on their part. Eventually I would give up and lose them as a friend. To me life is all about friendship and the relationships that your form along the way. Finding good friends is hard enough but friendship shouldn't be work. I understand that people get busy and you might not be able to see them as you once did, but with today's technologies it takes only a few seconds to text someone saying "been super busy but wanted to say hi" or "thinking about you, let's hang soon". It's so simple yet it's so hard for some to do. If my friendship with you is not worth a few seconds of your day then like the quote says I shouldn't be holding a spot in my heart for you. I have been hurt so many times by friends who I think are "good" friends but they really only want something from me and when they get it our friendship withers away.

Maybe it's me, maybe I expect to much from my friendships, all I ask is that they put in the same amount of effort I put into our friendship. I've always wanted that small group of friends, like on the TV show Friends. Six or seven folks who just hang out all the time... I've never had that and in today's society it may be unrealistic since peoples lives seem to be so busy now a days. But I guess I'm a dreamer as I still hoping to find that group of friends.

But friendships have changed over the years with social media and the internet. I have so many great "close" friends online whom I've never met (or met once or twice). And with those friends it seems like I talk to them almost everyday and they are closer to me then most of my "real life" friends. But online friends, as great as they are, can not be there for you when you need a hug or want to just hang out and watch TV. There is a limit to those kinds of friendships, not that it takes away any importance to them, but they are different.


I currently have some of the best friendships I have had in my entire life. Unfortunately I still don't have that small group of friends to hang out with on a weekly bases but I'm getting closer. I love each and everyone of my friends, from those that I communicate online with every once in a while to those I spend time with hanging out and enjoying ones company. Friendship is what makes the world go round and I'm just enjoying the ride.

Rewards & Dinner

Today I worked on getting together all the rewards for my Knights of the Guild Kickstarter project from a few months back. When folks donated we promised them rewards in return, ie poster, buttons and such. Now I have 60+ people that I need to ship rewards too. I have manage to get most of the rewards (still waiting to get the screen used props from Greg Aronowitz) but other then that I have everything else. It's just a matter of figuring out the best way to ship all these things. If you made a donation to my Kickstarter you should be getting your rewards in the next few week.. fingers crossed :)

Tonight I headed down the downtown Los Angeles as my buddy Mike was in town for a blogging and social media convention. Mike and I have been friends for years but never managed to have more then a 10 minute visit as the only times we see each other are at cons and both of us are normally very busy. So when he said he was going to be in town and wanted to grab some dinner I jumped at it. Since it was a Wednesday and in downtown LA I didn't want to drive as I knew traffic was going to be bad so instead I drove to the North Hollywood Metro (subway) station. That's only a 40 minute drive for me. I ride the subway very rarely but I did my research ahead of time to find out what exit I had to get off that was closest to where we were going to eat.

Got on the train right away as there was one waiting for me when I got down there. Took about 15 minutes and I was downtown (would have taken me over an hour in traffic to get there). I got off at Persian Square and went right for a few blocks (which I have to say were very ghetto). It was dark and I normally don't mind walking through a more "seedy" part of town but there were alot of homeless and less then nice looking folks just hanging around the sidewalk. Well I got about two blocks from the subway and realized I must be going the wrong direction as the street I was expected didn't show up as it should have. So I turned around and walked back through the same homeless and sketchy looking people back to the subway and then went left from there. It was like night and day. A block away there were young couples dressed to the nines, woman jogging alone, business suit men and women walking around. I found the street I was looking for and about ten minute later I was at my location.

We had dinner at Bonaventure Brewing Co. at the Westin. It was great to see Mike, we chatted non stop for hours and really got to know each other better. He's one of those friends that you feel like you have known forever and can talk open and honest about everything. It was a really good visit. His friend Danielle joined us later in the evening and we enjoyed each others company. Around 10pm I said my goodbye and headed back to the subway (this time I went to a different station). Had to wait about 10 minute for a train. Got back to my jeep around 10:30 and home a little after 11pm.  It was a good night.

I'm just so tired...

:: getting on soapbox::

I'm so tired of defending my lifestyle to everyone. How is it anyones business how I live my life. I'm not hurting a single person, I'm a law abiding citizen, pay my taxes and am just trying to live the best life I've been given. I'm tried of being treated as a second class citizen, I'm tried of the name calling, I'm sick of people constantly trying to take my civil liberates away from me. I'm tired of racist, bigoted, conservative assholes opening there mouths and spewing hate all over the place all under the guise of religion. I'm just so tired of it all.

::getting off soapbox::

Mid-Life Crisis

Okay so October is over and as many of you may have noticed via my blog, facebook or twitter that I've been out of sorts lately. I think I'm going through some sort of mid life crisis. I've had some great highs this past month like the times spent with some of the best friends a guy could ever ask for and then there are have been some super lows like when I'm home alone for a weekend struggling to motivate myself to do anything. I've had friends ask if I'm depressed and suicidal. I admit I have been depressed from time to time but I don't think I would call it clinical depression. As for suicidal, defiantly not, I have never once in my life consider that.. so no worries there. Some have suggested that I see a professional, now I'm not opposed to the idea but I'd really like to try and work this out for myself before taking that step.

I am extremely lonely, even though I have some of the best friends that I have ever had in my entire life, I'm still feel alone. After hanging out with them and feeling on top of the world, I come home to this big house empty house in the middle of no where. I really think this is all fallout from the break up. Having someone in your life everyday for 8 years then nothing is going to take some getting use to. I felt as if I had gotten over Harry and was moving on with my life, but I guess deep down I'm still struggling with the loneliness.

I feel as thought I've hit a crossroads in life and I have to make some big decisions. I'm 41 (halfway though my life), jobless (really not sure if I want to go back into Post Production), and single (after an 8 relationship). Where do I go from here, what do I want to do with the next 40 years of my life. I need to really look at my life and figure out what direction I want to go.

I mean when I was younger and I though about my life at 40 this is not what I had in mind. I saw myself, as many of us do. With a loving partner of many years, 1 or 2 kids, a house and a satisfying job and right now I have the least important one of them all, a house.

I'm going to take this month (November) and really work out what my next steps will be to help me reach my future goal of partner, family, and satisfying career. I'm sure things won't just click into place, it's going to be a struggle but I'm hopeful that there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel.

MASH 4077 Podcast Episode 19

Download from itunes http://tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes or listen/direct download http://MASH4077Podcast.com 

Show Notes

Kenny Mittleider from Knights of the Guild, Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast & Confessions of a Fanboy Podcast, Simon Meddings from Waffle On Podcast, & Al Kessel from Tales from the Mouse House, Fast Forward & Just Because Podcast discuss one of the most successful and longest running television series in history.. M*A*S*H

Today we cover Season 1, Episode #19 - The Longjohn Flap

Plot Summary: In the middle of a cold snap, Hawkeye receives a pair of longjohns from home. Hawkeye gives them to an ill Trapper out of sympathy and Trapper loses them to Radar in a poker game. The longjohns proceed to pass through the hands of almost everyone in the camp: Radar gives them to the cook in exchange for a whole lamb roast with mint jelly, and the cook bribes Frank with them to avoid being demoted because of the unsanitary conditions of the kitchen. Frank gives the longjohns to an intimidating Margaret as a sign of devotion to her, before Klinger steals the longjohns from Margaret's tent. A remorseful Klinger then gives the longjohns to Father Mulcahy, who in turn gives them to Henry (but not until after he spends the night wearing them). Henry claims he will return the longjohns to their rightful owner, but gets caught putting them on by Hawkeye and Trapper. Henry rebuffs Hawkeye's demand that the longjohns be returned, but later gives them back to Hawkeye in gratitude for saving his life via an appendectomy.

Hope you enjoy it,
Kenny, Meds & Al

© Geekyfanboy Productions

Halloween

Woke up this morning in Bryan's hotel room, didn't get the best night sleep as the hotel was pretty loud (being near a main street and me being a light sleeper). Bryan and I kind of laid there in bed, chatted and enjoyed ones company. We then got up around 9am and got ready for the day. I took him out to breakfast at Denny's and then drove him over to Disneyland as he was doing his third and final day there.  I thought about hanging out with him all day today but really needed to get home to do two podcasts that are due tomorrow.

Traffic wasn't that bad driving home in the morning.. got home around 11am and pretty much did nothing all day long. There were several Halloween parties that I was invited to but I just couldn't get motivated to do anything. I kind of regret not spending the day with Bryan again as yesterday was so much fun and how often is he in town... but I didn't :(

The day started off great as I got to spend it with my buddy Bryan but ended kind of crappy as I didn't get any podcasting done, didn't go to any parties and regret not hanging with Bryan at Disneyland all day.  

Disneyland & Medieval Times

Though I didn't go to bed until 3am this morning and was so drunk, I had made plans to join my buddy Bryan at Disneyland, who was visiting from Michigan. So I got up at 7am and actually felt pretty good. I was tired and had a bit of a hangover but for the amount of alcohol I drank and the little sleep I got I think I was doing pretty good. Luckily I stayed in Long Beach so getting to Disneyland didn't take me too long. I got there around 9am and made plans to hook up with my buddy in the front of the park. Bryan and I are online friends, we've been chatting for a few years and really get along online so I was very excited to finally actual meet him face to face.

You know it's always funny when you first meet a person that you only know for online. Bryan and I have only communicated over facebook chat, we've never verbally talked or did video chats. I knew what he looked like from his pictures so when I walked into the park I saw him walking over to me. Now I'm a hugger, always have been but some people don't like to be touched so I opted for the one are "straight" guy hug and said hello. Come to find out he's okay with actual hugs :)

Our bond was instant, there are some people that you meet and they are nice and you'll call them a friend but then there are those who from the moment you meet it's as though you've been friends all your life. That's what it was like meeting Bryan face to face.

First thing he wanted to do was show me a "birthday" gift that he wanted to get for me so we walked over to Tomorrow Land and to the Star Wars store area. There is a place where they take your picture and place it in a Star Wars scene. He wanted to buy one of those for me for my birthday. I've always liked those but never had gotten one. I was excited and of course I wanted him to be part of the picture so I looked for a two person picture and found the perfect one... and it turned out GREAT!!!  ----->

Next we rode a few rides and chatted about life. He and I talk TV or movies most of the time online so it was nice to actually talk about our personal lives and get to know each other better. We headed over to California Adventures to go to the Aladdin live stage play. I love Aladdin so I was super excited to see this and it didn't disappoint.. That play will be a must watch every time I go to Disney.

We grabbed some lunch and watched the Star Wars Jedi Training, and continued to enjoy ones company. I talked Bryan into doing Autopia as he can't drive due to a medical condition and I figured it would be fun as you kind of drive those cars though they are on a track. I was behind him and got to watch him attempt to drive.. it was pretty funny.

Around 4:30pm we headed over to Medieval Times for dinner and show. This is something that I have been wanting to do since I was young but never did. Bryan is huge into Medieval Times and was excited to share this experience with me. He went all out and got lots of extras, like a picture of us in costume fighting the dragons.. that was fun. We got prime seating and some flags. It was everything I expected and more and I'm so happy that I got to share the experience with him. Good food, great company and a fantastic show. Can't wait to do it again one day.

After Medieval Times we headed back to Disneyland and spend a few more hours there before they closed. We did a few rides and I was excited to be able to take Bryan to ElecTronica as he's a Tron fan and we thought we weren't going to be able to make it, but we got the California Adventures 10 minutes before they closed.

At 11pm both parks were closed and Bryan was kind enough to offer for me to crash at his hotel room as I was so tired after all the excitement of Saturday and now a fun filled day on Sunday. So I said yes. Not sure what time we both went to bed but we spent a few more hours chatting.. it was great.

I had such a FANTASTIC time hanging with Bryan, I have to admit I'm a bit smitten with him but as with most of the great guys I know.. he's straight as well. Oh well, he's going to make some woman very happy some day. Can't wait to hang out with you again Bryan.. hope it's soon. Thanks for everything.