Podcasts and Doctor Who

Today I worked on another MASH 4077 Podcast, though I already have the one for the 15th set and ready to go I wanted to get a jump start on the one that will be released on Oct 1st. So I spent a few hours today editing up that podcasts as well. I still have two that I can help up and be even further ahead but for today I think one is plenty.

It's day 34 of my "pic a day" until my 44th birthday. So like before here is a picture of me at age 34. I remember taking this picture. I was down at El Matador Beach.

During the evening my friend Jes stopped by and we watched the latest Doctor Who. This episode was titled "Listen" When ghosts of past and future crowd into their lives, the Doctor and Clara are thrown into an adventure that takes them to the very end of the universe.

I've enjoyed the new season of Who but this was by far my favorite of the four episodes that have aired. I'm really liking the interaction between Clara and Peter Capaldi's Doctor. I liked how Clara influenced her future "boyfriends" life. And even see her "possible" future great grandson. But my favorite had to be Clara "The Impossible Girl" still influencing the Doctor even at very young age. I love that everything came full circle.

Lots of thinking and little action in this episode. It had some very scary bits and it's one that I'll definitely have to go back and watch again to figure out all the little nuances. I thought Moffat had lost his touch (in recent years) but with this episode I think he's back to form. Can't wait for next week.

The Quest - Series Review

The Quest just ended it's run on ABC and I loved every minute of it. If you don't know what The Quest is here is a brief synopsis; Twelve people compete in a reality competition that takes place against the backdrop of a high fantasy setting, the kingdom of Everealm. While the ongoing storyline is scripted and the contestants are interacting with actors throughout the competition, the actual challenges and eliminations are genuine and determined by the contestants' abilities and decisions.
 
In each episode, the contestants (called "Paladins") compete in a challenge related to events in the storyline. The winning Paladin receives a "mark" of a virtue corresponding to the challenge; it is a medal that the Paladin wears. A predetermined number of losing Paladins are subjected to a subsequent challenge (the "Fates' Challenge"), and the winner of that challenge remains safe from elimination ("banishment"). The remaining Paladins, including the winner of the Fates' Challenge, decide which of the losing Paladins should be banished; the Paladins deliberate as a group and then each publicly stands behind the Paladin he or she wishes to save from banishment. The Paladin with the least support is banished.

What impressed me most about this "reality" show is the story. I loved how they would weave the "scripted" story around the competition "reality" part of the show. Each competition would progress the story and move it forward. Besides the amazing story my other favorite part of the show was the setting, props, location. Everything combined made it feel as though these 12 contestants were living out a fantasy is some other realm.

I really enjoyed the Three Fates at the end of each episode, not only did they look amazing but acted as Fates would. I liked how it was determined who would be banished, that even if you were in the bottom three you still had one chance to save yourself before putting your "fate" into the hands of your fellow contestants.

Each competition was fun and entertaining, as well as somewhat challenging. Each challenge fit into this world.

Like with most reality shows you have your favorites, and one of my favorite was actually a friend whom I met yearly this year at a mutual friends birthday party. Her name is Bonnie and she truly was the heart of the group. Unfortunately she only made it to fifth place and then my second favorite, Patrick, made it to fourth.

The final three I really didn't like anyone of them but I especially disliked one of them, Andrew. Shondo and Lina were both good people and I would have been happy for either to win but in the end it was Lina who won to become the one true hero. And with the help all her fellow Paladins (the return of the Banished Paladins was one of my favorite scenes) she defeated the evil Verlox and saved Everealm.

Unfortunately this didn't do to well in the ratings so it's more then likely not going to be picked up for a second season but if you get a chance to watch this season I highly recommend it. I plan to do a re-watch of the entire series (only 8 episodes) in the near future.

Firefly "Clue" & My Next Tattoo

Look what I got in the mail today.... Firefly Clue. The collector in me wants to keep it sealed in it's box but the gamer geek in me wants to rip it open and play with it. I think I'm going to with my gamer geek... I can't wait to get a group of friends together to play. Gonna have to make it a special event!!

Today is day 33 of my "pic a day" until my 44th birthday. Here I am at age 33.

I was talking to my friend Moose, he's my tattoo artist who I've known since he was 8 years old. Well after talking with him he offered to do my next tattoo as a birthday present. So here I though I was going to break my streak of getting a tattoo every birthday since 40. Harry Potter at 40, Star Wars at 41, Lord of the Rings at 42 and so far nothing for my 43rd.. until now. I booked a session with Moose for Monday which will be a 8 days before my 44th birthday. So it looks like Star Trek will be in honor of my 43rd birthday and sometime early next year I'll get another (Superman or E.T.) for my 44th.

I came up with the concept of my Star Trek tattoo while my buddy Matthew Brackney drew it up. I'm going to tweak the colors and make them more greens and blacks but I can't wait to get it done. I don't know if we will be able to get it done in one session.. I'm hoping so because if we don't that means I'll have to wait two weeks for it to heal before going back and having it finished. I'd prefer five to six hours of pain in one night and now spread over several... but will see what happens.

Spent some of the day editing my next MASH 4077 Podcast. I have four that we've recorded already so I'm hoping to edit them up so I don't have to worry about them for a month or so. So far one of four is done.

9/11, Star Trek Gag Reel & The Verse

First thing I want to do is take a moment to remember all those that we lost on that morning, the innocent and the heroes. It's be 13 years since 9/11 and I remember like it was yesterday. I actually visited New York about 10 months after the tragedy and went ground zero. It's hard to explain the emotions that you feel as you stand where two 100 story buildings had stood less then a year prior. The fences around the site were filled with pictures and letters of loved one who had been lost. It's an experience that I will never forget.

Well today is day 32 of my "pic a day" until my 44th birthday. Here is a picture of me at age 32. This is another of my favorite pictures taken of me. An ex boyfriend took several pictures of me but this one was always my favorite. I've always like the way I've looked in cowboy hats.

There are several videos that I want to share with you guys.. the first one is a gag reel from Star Trek Into Darkness, though the movie has been out of a while this video just surfaced. You can tell the cast and crew had a great time working together. I can't wait for the third installment of the rebooted franchise. The looks like the video was pulled from You Tube but luckily I saved me a copy of it. Check out the video below.

The next video is a "fan film" set in one of the best verses around... Firefly. It runs about 15 minutes and is called "The Verse" After watching it, I wanted to see more from these characters. It's pretty epic!!

LOTR Dice & Alien Nation Podcast

So I got this early birthday gift a few weeks ago when my buddy Chris was visiting but I hadn't posted pictures on twitter or Facebook until today. Chris got me these amazingly cool D&D dice but they aren't just any ordinary dice.. they are Lord of the Rings/Hobbit themed dice. They are pretty EPIC and I love them. Can't wait to use them at my next D&D session.

It's day 31 of my "pic a day" until my 44th birthday.. so here I am at age 31. This picture was taken during the California AIDS ride where I rode my bike from San Fransisco to Los Angeles in seven days. I had some of the best times of my life during those tough but rewarding days. You can read more about my adventures HERE.

And I released episode 27 of my Alien Nation podcast, were my brother and I cover the second part of the second TV movie Body and Soul. My brother and I are still having a fantastic time recording these podcasts. We still have three more TV movies to review, books and comic books. We still have several more years of podcasts to produce before we run out of material.

Download from itunes http://bit.ly/itunesAlienNation Listen on Stitcher Radio http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32281/episodes or Listen/ Get Direct Download http://Aliennationpodcast.com 

Podcasts, Vacation Pixs & Outlander Ep5

I finally finished working on this month's Alien Nation podcast. It took a while to complete but I'm happy to say that it's done, uploaded and ready to be released tomorrow. Now to work on my next MASH podcast.. it seems it's never ending.

It's Day 30 of my "pix a day" until my 44th Birthday so here I am at age 30.

If we are friends on Facebook be sure to check out the vacation pictures that I posted, I uploaded a few albums. I took over 3000 photos and it's taking me a while to go through, group and pick the best photos to post. I'm also still working on my vacation blogs. If you would like to read them just search for Dream Vacation or look back in my archives for dates starting 3/15/14 to 4/17/14. I still have a few more days before I'm completely done but it's fun going back and reliving those days as they have been some of the best I've had in the past few years.

I watched the fifth episode of Outlander titled, "Rent". Claire clashes with Dougal and his men on the rent-collecting journey, especially when Dougal uses Jamie's scars to get more money from the villagers. Later she realizes that they are collecting funds for the Jacobite army. Knowing from history that their cause is destined to fail and many Highlanders will die, she tries to warn them off.

Another fantastic episode, this series is slow, sometimes glacier but it's a good slow, it's hard to explain. The story is continuing to move forward but it's more character building then action. 45 minutes just flies by and before you know it the episode is over. This weeks episode left us with a big cliffhanger, who will Claire choose.. the Highland men who are keeping her "hostage" or the British Army, but we don't know what they will do with her as she was almost raped by one in episode one when she first arrived in the past. I mean I know this series is about her with the Highland men so she's obviously going to stick with them, but even knowing that it was still a OMG ending. I can't wait for episode six. 

The setting/landscapes and music still continue to impress me. Maybe that's why I'm not bothered by the slow moving story. It brings back wonderful memories of my trip to Ireland and the UK (including Scotland).

More Geeky Tattoos

Here is my Star Trek design

I have gotten a tattoo every year since my 40th birthday. 40 it was my Harry Potter Tattoo, 41 was my Star Wars Tattoo, 42 was my Lord of the Rings Tattoo and 43 was suppose to my Star Trek Tattoo. But that never happened. Due to delays in getting the right design it still hasn't happened and now my 44th birthday is only a few weeks away so my streak will be broken.. kind of bummed about that.

Though my Star Trek design is now ready I don't think I'm going to be able to get it done in the next few weeks and I don't want to rush it. So more then likely I'll be getting several tattoos before my 45th birthday next year.

Besides the Star Trek tattoo I have several others that I want to get. First one is E.T. I've always loved E.T. I was 12 when it came out and it had a huge impact on my life. I've looked online at other E.T. tattoos trying to figure out what I wanted. I like the full body tattoos but I think I'm going to go with just his face so I can get more details in. I came across three E.T. tattoos that I liked, which one do you guys think I should choose 1, 2 or 3?

The other tattoo is for my love of Superman, he has always been my favorite of all Superheroes. I know I want to go with his iconic S shield. And I want to go with the traditional colors. I found several photos online of the style that I like but should I go with the ripped skin (which I have always liked) or the more straight on S shield... so should it be 1 or 2?

Best Birthday Card, Happy B-day Star Trek & Jibo

I got another surprise in the mail today from my buddy Matt. I got my first birthday card, but it's not your typical birthday card, it's a very geeky personalized birthday card, I've never seen anything quite like it.

It's set up like a movie poster. It has my head on the body of a Jedi, it's titled "Return of the Geekyfanboy", there's a review on the card as well as production notes on the bottom which say "A Darkside Produtions film, Starring Kenny Mittleider and his Geek Mob. Filmed on location in Vasquez Rocks... and a Riverside in Cambridge, Coming Soon!!" It's pretty amazing. And I have to say it's the one of the best birthday cards I've ever received. Thanks Matt for this awesome gift.

It's day 29 of my "pix a day" until my 44th birthday. So here is a picture of me at age 29. I remember taking this picture, I was at the beach with friends.

Today is the 48th anniversary of one of my favorite sci fi tv series premiere, Star Trek. Now I enjoyed the original Star Trek back when I was a kid and watched them on repeats but I didn't become a die hard fan until The Next Generation came out in the late 80's. But if we never had the original then we wouldn't have had TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT. And I have loved all of those series... So Happy Birthday Star Trek

So my 60' TV went out again, if you remember my TV lamp blew out about a month or so ago. I manged to buy a replacement lamp and easily replaced the lamp and all was well.... until today. All of a sudden and without warning my TV went out and the lamp light started to flash but it wasn't orange like it was previously, this time it was green. I waited a few minutes and then turned on the TV again and it started up with no issues. A few days later it did it again and I tried to start it up again and it would run about 30 seconds before going off. So this time around it looks like the lamp is okay but something else is wrong with that TV... ugh!!!

I came across this video for this thing called Jibo. At first I thought it was a joke video but come to find out it's a indiegogo project. They are requesting $100,000 and it's currently over $2 Million. If I had the money I would purchase one of these in a heart beat but it might be better to wait and see what the "real" ones look like when they are completed. If they are as call as they are in the video then it's going to be a must buy for me. So I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open on this one. Check out the video below.

Arrow S2 Back to Back to Back

Today is Day 28 of my "pix a day" until my 44th birthday. Here is a picture of me at Age 28. This is an important age for me as it's the year I came out of the closet. I was actually 27 still when I came out to a few friends, but only for a few weeks before turning 28. This was the year that changed the course of my life.

I came across this amazing looking Doctor Who poster that I just had to share. I don't think it's a "real" poster but someone created these pictures individually and then someone else put them all together. I wish it was real as this is one poster that I would love to have.

I was up at 7am and figured I'd watch an episode of Arrow season two while I ate breakfast. I still had to watch the entire 23 episodes before season three started in October. Well one episode lead to another and the next thing I knew I was on episode 8, then 13 and by then I was in it for the long haul. I was determined to watch all 23 episodes of season two of Arrow.

I started at 7am and with only a few breaks I was finished by 1am. I succeeded in watching all 23 episodes of season two, back to back to back.

The tough part about season two of Arrow was that each episode ended with an OMG moment. Part of me is happy that I didn't watch this when they first aired or I would have had to wait with everyone else for the next episode to find out what happen. Instead I just watched the next episode immediately.

As for my thoughts on season two of Arrow. Action, suspense, shock, revelations, surprises and so much more made up this season. I was kind of spoiled about Carny so I knew she was the missing sister, I could have done without so much of the island flashbacks. I mean I understand why they did it especially since the main big bad is Queen's "brother" from the island. I was shocked at some of the deaths, Queen having to choose between the two woman that he care about on the island (Shadow and Sara) and then again later in the season with his mom and sister.

I liked the addition of Roy and I was hoping he'd be about to control is powers but it wasn't meant to be. Some characters that I disliked in season one, I wound up really enjoying in season two and vice versa. Mrs. Queen is one of them. She is such a grey character, I didn't like her in the beginning, then I did, then I didn't and so forth until her shocking death. Quentin is another one, I really disliked his character in season one but really enjoyed him in season two. Let's hope he survives for season three.

One character that I have disliked from the beginning has been Thea, though she was getting better in season two towards the end she totally lost me and I really don't care what happens to her next.

One of my favorites has always been Felicity. And after season two I love her even more. Though Oliver said he was pretending to call her his one true love I think he really does have feelings for her as we all know she has feelings for him.  Maybe will see something in season three.

I liked the addition of Sara as Carny and it was great getting a sneak peek at Barry Allen (future Flash). And it's always great to see Summer Glau.

I'm really looking forward to season three and luckily for me it starts in just under a month.