Dinner with Friends

I didn't go to bed until 6am today (read my previous blog to find out why) so I got up around 11:30am. I finished creating the show notes for the first episode of my new podcast Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast. The big thing happening today was dinner with my friends John and Moises. Every year John has a dinner party on or close to the 12th Day of Christmas. This year joining John and Moises was Tom and Ervin, Bruce, and Martin. It was great seeing everyone as we use to hang out during TV nights as my place a few years back (when I lived closer) but now a days I'm lucky if I see these guys a few times a year. I hope to change that, as tonight really reminded me how much I care about these guys and enjoy their company. Moises made a wonderful dinner, we watched John's super 8 movies from 20 years ago and just chatted. Good times were had by all.

Family

Today I spent some time with my family. Dad was sick but I did get to hang out with my brother's family. Got to visit my brother Michael, his wife Lora and my nephew Kenobi and my 3 week old niece Molly. Spent about 5 hours hanging out, helping with the feeding of Molly and playing with Kenobi. I also brought Michael our completed first episode of our Alien Nation Podcast.

After visiting my family and since I was out that way I had to visit another person who I consider family, my buddy Josh. I drove to his place around 10pm and as always he was there to greet me with a smile and the worlds best hug. We hung out in his room for a bit and went over all his DVD's. I must say he has a very eclectic collection of DVD's... from Booty Call to Lord of the Rings to The Boondock Saints. He loaned me several "must" see movies that I haven't seen yet. And I made a list of movies that I need to bring to him for he hasn't seen several classics like The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles.

He also showed me his collection of Lord of the Rings mini figurines for a RPG game that he use to play. He hand painted every one of them and even won some awards. Very detailed paint jobs.. I was extremely impressed.

We then headed over to Denny's for a late late dinner at midnight and we sat there and talked for four in a half hours... it was AWESOME!!! We really got to know each other even better. Our friendship is new (this is only our fourth time actually hanging out and it's the first time that it's just he and I). But as I've said in previous blogs that he's a Kindred Spirit and it's as if we've know each other for a lifetime. So it was a blast just sitting there and enjoying ones company. Around 4:30am he needed to get to bed as he had to be up for work in 5 hours and I still had my hour and a half drive home. We went back to his house said our goodbyes and headed home. I did manage to get home before the sun rose. But a little lack of sleep was well worth the time spent with such a special person... can't wait to do it again.

PGA Awards & Alien Nation

This morning I got to vote for the PGA Awards (Producer's Guild of America). I've been a member of the PGA for four or five years and it's always fun to get screeners of current movies but the other fun thing is to actual vote for the official awards. There are about 12 categories and I have to say this year I have seen 95% of the movies that are up. The big movie best film of the year our of the 10 nominated I chose The Help and something new this year the PGA have a webseries category so I got to vote for the one and only webseries that I have worked on The Guild.

The rest of the day was spent editing on and off my very first Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast. I'm excited to get this out there and see what folks think. I'm also excited because my brother is my co-host and I think our chemistry really came across on the podcast. We've recorded two episodes so far and have three more planned in the near future. My plan is to release 1 podcast on the 10th of every month. I hope fans enjoy it as much as my brother and I enjoyed recording it.

Disneyland

Well my annual pass has already paid for itself and it's only been a few months.  Went to Disneyland again today. This time with my friend Lydia who is visiting from Switzerland. Also joining us were my friends Adam, Jared (and his brother), Andrew, Anthony and Jennifer. And later joined by Rachel and Sharaya.

My morning started at 6:21am. Left the house around 7am to drive to Northridge to pick up Jennifer. With traffic I got to her place around 8:15am. We then headed to my friend Lydia who was staying in Hollywood. That took us a bit longer then planned. I was hoping to get to her by 9am but got there around 9:15am. I parked my jeep and Lydia drove to the rest of the way to Disneyland. Of course it's LA so we hit traffic on and off but got to Disneyland around 10:30am. The line of cars to get into the parking structure was HUGE. I just knew it was going to be a busy day. But when we actually got in to the structure we were on the first level and there weren't many cars. I guess everyone decided to arrive about the same time. We manage to get on the tram fairly quickly and meet up with Andrew, Anthony, Adam, Jared and his brother Colin.

A few of them had to get tickets but most had annual passes. Once everyone had their tickets we opted to go to DCA (Disneyland California Adventures) first. Lydia, Jennifer and myself were hungry after the 3 hours of traveling so we wanted to get some food. The others didn't so we split up. It was me, Anthony, Jennifer and Lydia and then it was Andrew, Jared, Colin and Adam. We stopped for food at he Taste Pilot Grill. After lunch we headed over to The Tower of Terror. This was Lydia's first time at DCA so we wanted to start it off right. After that we went to The Monster Inc. ride (can't remember the actual name) but it was closed so we walked over to the Muppet Vision 3D. I had never done this before so it was new for all of us. It was a fun experience and when we got out we noticed that the Monster Inc ride was open so we headed over there. Just then a friend of Anthony's joined us Rachel.  so the five of us rode they ride and then Lydia wanted to go to Screaming (the roller coaster). So we walked over there to find out that it's completely shut down and guys were working on the tracks. So instead we went over to the big Ferris wheel (can't remember the name of it) we stood in line for the moving cars and about 45 minutes later we were swinging back and fourth.

After the Ferris Wheel we got in line for Goofy's Sky School even though it was an hour wait. Well about five minutes into our wait the ride broke down and we all looked at each other and said, let's get something to drink so we did that and relaxed for a bit and talked Who (love my geeky friends).

After our rest we decided to head over to Disneyland. Our first ride was Indiana Jones. Now my friend Anthony was in a recent car accident (well he was actually hit by a car while on his motorcycle), I blogged about picking him up for the hospital a few months back. He now walks with a cane so he was able to get us into the handicap lines which meant we didn't have to wait in the hour + lines and only had to wait five to ten minutes. Not all rides had this "special" line but the big rides did and it was nice not having to wait. So after Indy we did Big Thunder Mountain, Captain EO, then Space Mountain and then had some dinner. After dinner we did Innovations and Star Tours before taking a break and charging our phones. During Star Tour we meet up with another of Anthony's friends Sharaya. So Jennifer, Anthony, Rachel and Sharaya went over to ElecTRONica over at DCA as Lydia and I charged our phones and watched the fireworks. After the fireworks Lydia and I rode the Matterhorn. The other guys came back over and went to get Gumbo so after we got off the Matterhorn we headed over there as well. After Gumbo we did The Haunted Mansion and for our final ride we did Indiana Jones for a second time.

It was a packed day. My goal was to make sure Lydia has a great time and from what I could tell she did. We never did re-connect with the other group, which was a bummer as I hadn't seen some of those guys in months... but I got to meet two new friends Rachel and Sharaya and I got to hang out with Anthony, Jennifer and of course Lydia.

Lydia drove back to her place, Jen and I got in my jeep and I drove her home to her place before finally getting home around 2am. I watched an episode of The Simpsons and then went to bed.

Editing Alien Nation Podcast

I spent the day editing my Alien Nation podcast off and on. Michael and I recorded a few episodes last week and I really wanted to get the first episode out. I did manage to get the entire podcast edited and it sounds great but I ran into trouble when I tried to get episodes of the actual show imported into my computer. Several friends suggested several "ripping" programs but none of them seemed to work. Between frustrating attempts I would clean the kitchen, do dishes and tidy up from the non-party party this past weekend.

I finally got my spare tire fixed on my Jeep. The past few weeks I've been driving around with no spare and it's not the best feeling. So I found a PepBoys and they fixed my spare (had a nail in it). And now I have a spare again which makes me happy as I haven't had the best of luck with tires.

My attempts to covert the video and import to my Avid has failed. My Alien Nation podcast will have to be put on hold until I can figure out how to get the audio imported. I still hope to have the first episode out by the 10th.

The Holidays Are Over

Once again I'm always sad when one of my weekend movie marathon / Weekend party / Non-Party Party ends. Jes just left my house to head back home and I'm in this big house alone again. But with that said I'm already gearing up for my Back to the Future Movie marathon in a few weeks. So the house will be filled with all my friends soon enough.

I put up my Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving and I take them down the day after New Years. So today I slowly took down all my decorations. I love the Christmas season but it is nice to have my house back in order. Only thing still standing is my tree which I'll deal with tomorrow.

I tried to do some editing of some podcasts but that didn't happen.. instead, as I always do after a "party weekend" I just chill and watch TV. I did watch the Rose Parade and thought this years they had a lot more "geeky" floats which was awesome.. I guess it's partly because of the theme of the parade this year... Just Believe...

Anyways.. still have to do dishes and work on getting out my next Knights of the Guild podcast, which is now overdue. I also want to edit my very first Alien Nation podcast and get that released asap.. Guess I'll tackle those tomorrow.

2011 My Year in Review

2011 had some of my highest highs and some of my lowest lows. It's been a year of lose, stress and uncertainty, mixed with new friendships, support and a rebirth. The year started on a sour note and kind of went down hill from there with a few peaks every now and then. Beginning of this year I was sick (lasted 3 months) which prevented me from working out. Up to this point I had lost 20 lbs but being sick and not working out meant I would gain it all back. My relationship with Harry was on a down turn and I knew I had to do something so we talked about it and we broke up. He wasn't going to leave for a few months so we had to deal with the next stage of our relationship, which turned out to be pretty good. This was also the year that I worked for MTV and I would have to say though it was extremely stressful at times (expected with my line of work) for the most part it was a good job. Up until the end when things got there worse and I wanted to quit (and in fact did quit for a few hours).

I had a mini nervous breakdown mid way through the year. But I guess that should be expected since I had broken up with Harry (after 8 years), Daisy went to live with Harry, worked at a job that was stressing me out, and I just found out that my Dad had gotten cancer again for the second time. And then when Harry actually left in August I felt really lost and alone. I been telling folks that I'm going through a mid-life crisis a bit early. I'm 41, single, jobless and not really sure where my life is going next.

There were points in this year where I didn't think I could continue going forward. Between work, Dad's cancers, Harry leaving, The Guild, multiple podcasts and my own health issues things weren't looking to good.

It hasn't been all doom and gloom this year. We had snow up at my house that lasted five days (rarely snows up here) so that was fun. Started two new podcasts MASH 4077 Podcast with my buddies Meds and Al. And Confessions of a Fanboy which I host solo. Also my Knights of the Guild podcast celebrated it's 2nd year anniversary. I've been wanting to learn sign language for many years and I finally started to teach myself. I have the alphabet down and I'm slowly learning entire words. It will take time but I hope to one day be able to have a conversation completely in sign language. I'm a huge J.R.R Tolkien fan and I finally found the Silmarillions on audio book and listened to them on my long commutes into MTV. There is so much rich history to middle earth and I completely feel in love with these stories.

I attended San Diego Comic Con as I have done the past eight years but this year I dressed up for two days. I've been wanting to do cos-play for years now but never took the time to actually make my outfit. This year I was determined to get my costume made and with the help of my friend Greg Aronowitz I had a fantastic Hobbit outfit. I had such a great time taking pictures with folks and chatting about LOTR. I plan to dress up for other cons as well in the future. On my last day of SDCC my jeep was broken into and thousands of dollars of equipment was taken, but there is a silver lining. When friends and podcast listeners heard about the thief they banded together and raised over $3000 for replacement equipment.

Went to the Western cup Quidditch match (yes Quidditch is real) and had the best time. Then a few weeks later I actually joined a local Quidditch team (Hollywood Harpies). I played in about six games before I realized that I need to be in better shape before I can continue to play so I'm currently on hold with Quidditch. Speaking of Harry Potter I finally took my trip to Florida to go to Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I spent 3 days at the park and was in heaven. It's just what I needed after a horrible job. I loved immersing myself into this magical world. They also started an online community called Pottermore which I was lucky enough to get into the beta program.

I got to see Star Wars in concert with my buddy Sean. I missed this when it came around to LA a few years ago so I was extremely excited to see that it was coming back for it's final run. Speaking of Star Wars I got a Disneyland premium annual pass and got to ride the new Star Tours and loved it. Then my buddy Andrew said we should go and just ride Star Tours all day long.. so we did.  We were there from 2pm to 11pm and road Star Tours 10 times. We were able to see all the different versions and Andrew was actually picked once to be the rebel spy... it was a fantastic experience.

Got to meet The Kessels (Al and Joyce). It was great to see the bond we had over the internet was instantly there in person. They are a fantastic couple and I love them dearly. I also got to meet my buddy Bryan Hyland who turned out to be even more special and cool in person.

I got to be on set for The Guild season five, I've been with The Guild for four out of the five seasons now. During season five it was set at a comic book convention which meant they needed lots of extras. Some of those extras became some of my best friends. And to keep the fun going after shooting I started having Movie Marathon Weekends. Where 10 to 15 people would come over to my place for a weekend to watch movies, play games, drink and have an awesome time. First up was Indiana Jones then we did Star Wars, then Lord of the Rings. I also had a Weekend Christmas party. These events are so EPIC and are truly some of the best times I've had in my 40+ years of life.

I became an uncle for a second time. Little Miss Molly was born in December and completed my brothers family. She's adorable and I can't wait to see her and her big brother Kenobi grow up and become big geeks like their daddy and uncle.

I will remember 2011 as the year of friendships.. I've made some new life long friends in Jes, Kim, Jen, Anne, Nicki, Anthony, Rupert, Gabriel, Adam L, Ashphord and Lesley. While strengthening the bond with older friendships like Andrew, Scott, Aaron, Leo, Luis, Lydia and Thomas. I also have so many wonderful online friends, like Russ, Markus, Bryan H, Charles, Steve, Ken. Matt B and got to see/meet some of them at this years SDCC, like Dani, Adam (Bel), Jeff V, Becky, Erlend, Liz, Michael D,  Joshua, Eva, Jeff C, & Bryan V. I've also lost focus with some of my older friendships. These friends are so dear to me that it's hurt that we weren't able to see each other very much in 2011. I hope that will change for 2012.

CHRIS

JOSH

And lastly there are two "new" friends who really made this year extra special for me... Chris and Josh. Both had that rare thing happen when you meet someone, you feel as if you have known them your entire life. I like to call them "Kindred Spirits". Being friends with them takes no effort, it's as if we have always been friends. It rarely happens and I was lucky enough to have it happen twice to me this year. I love both of these guys like brothers and they will forever be part of my life.

The end of 2011 has started an upswing in life and I hope to continue this into 2012. I'm still single and looking for a job.. but this year I'm focusing on me, finding my place in this big world. Going to travel more, spend more time with family and friends. Life is short, you never know when it might be our last day so live each day to it's fullest... that's my new 2012 Motto :)

Happy 2012

My New Years Eve Non-Party party continues, got up and made pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Lydia left last night but still here at my place are Jes, Jen, Aaron and Rupert. After breakfast Aaron had to head home leaving Jes, Jen and Rupert. We played a few rounds of Waterworks (our new favorite card game). We headed out to Buffalo Wild Wings, which I had never heard of but Jen and Jes kept raving about. We found out there is on in Palmdale about 15 minutes north of me so we headed over there. It was packed.. of course we forgot it was Sunday and football was happening and it seems this was the place to be. We waited about 30 minutes for a table, but I have to say the wait was worth it. Had some very yummy buffalo wings (3 kinds), popcorn shrimp and seasoned fries. All very delicious and yummy.

After lunch we headed over to Target so I could buy Apples to Apples the family size... because Aaron had to leave he took his Apples to Apples of course and we wanted to play. So I bought me own. When we got home from Target we wanted to play a joke on our buddy Chris who couldn't make it to our non-party party. Chris loves playing extreme bocce ball when he comes over to my place so we posed (didn't actual play) for pictures with some bocce balls and pretended to play... just so I could text him the photos :)

We played Apples to Apples for hours and after we took all the adjectives card that we won and pulled out six of them that we felt best described ourselves. Mine was Magical, Cuddly, Chunky, Spunky, Fuzzy and Weird. Jes got Friendly, Responsible, Calm, Hilarious, Mischievous, and Dirty. Jen got Busy, Unnatural, Luscious, Charismatic, Fresh and Chewy. And Rupert got Creative, Eccentric, Easy, Visionary, Charming, & Masculine

Next Jen brought her XBox 360 with Kinect and we played Fruit Ninja.. OMG.. I thought it was fun playing on my phone and ipad.. that's nothing compared to playing it on my 60inch TV and actually slicing the fruit in half.. man that's a good work out. We played singles, teams and various versions.. it was a blast. After that we changed to a game called Carnival Game Monkey See Monkey Do. This had a ton of fun games and we played that until around 11pm. I killed my shoulder but man it was fun playing. Both Jen and Rupert didn't plan to stay all day but as my parties, even my non-parties, go we were having to much fun to stop.  Jes was staying the night as she was heading back up north (7 hour drive) Monday morning.

Had a blast playing games, both card and Xbox, all day long. If this is any indication of how 2012 is going to be.. then it's going to be an AWESOME year.

Thanks again to Jes, Jen and Rupert for making the first day of 2012 FANTASTIC!!

MASH 4077 Podcast Episode 23

Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes or Listen/Direct Download bit.ly/eXCRxT

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 #23 - Ceasefire
Directed by Earl Bellamy
Written by Larry Gelbart & Robert Klane
Production code J323
Original air date March 18, 1973

Set during the Korean War in the 1950’s

Plot Summary: News of a ceasefire has reached the 4077th. Everyone celebrates and says their good-byes, except Trapper, who remains skeptical. The ceasefire does, of course, turn out to be a rumour, but not before Hawkeye tells three of his lovers he is married, shows the camp pictures taken of General Clayton and Major Houlihan, and forgives $1,500 worth of gambling debts.

Hope you enjoy it,
Kenny, Meds & Al