Lunch with Friends, Iron Man 3 & Buffy

Woke up with a bit of a headache this morning.. only did two shots of Fireball last night but I guess that was enough. I was up earlier then I had planned.. went to bad at 2am, expected and wanted to sleep until 10am but was up at 9am. Will was still sleeping.

So I got up, put a bow tie on my Yoda doll and headed out back to take a picture for May The 4th (which you can see in my previous blog post). I came back in and started surfing the net. I knew Will was a late sleeper.. my buddy Robert was coming over today as we plan on spending the day doing lunch and seeing Iron Man 3.

Love these guys!!!

Robert arrived a little after 11am, we sat in the living room and chatted for a bit. Around 11:45 Robert and I went to pounce on Will and wake him up but unfortunately Will was already up and getting ready. Will was joining Robert and I for lunch but he couldn't join us for Iron Man 3.

We headed out around 12:30 and over to Chili's for lunch, Robert had a $15 coupon that he had gotten from Klout. It was a fun lunch, we had a very nice but kind of kooky waitress. We ate our lunch and then we drove back to my house to drop off Will before heading down to the Sherman Oaks Acrlight theater.

This is pretty much the only theater I will see brand new movies at. I love assigned seating, no lines, you just show up a few minutes before the movie starts and there are your perfect seats. Of course I use to stand in line for movies for hours on end. The longest being Star Wars Episode 1 (17 hours). But as I get older the novelty of standing in line get's old... so I opt for assigned seating.

We got to the theater about 10 minutes before the start time, grabbed a drink and some junior mints and found our seats for Iron Man 3, now if you don't no the plot of Iron Man 3 here's a synopsis: Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

My Review: I loved this movie. (there will be spoilers, if you haven't seen the movie don't read the rest of this blog until you do). I think this is my favorite of the three. I admit I have to go back and re-watch 1 again but I know for sure I love it more then 2 and if it's not better then 1 it's a very close second. I enjoyed everything about this movie. The effects were amazing, the story was great, the acting was good... it was the complete package.

I love how it's set after the events of the Avengers. We get to see how those events effect Tony Stark. I think this film took a huge chance at not really having Tony in the suit all that often, but I have to say it worked. I absolutely loved Pepper Potts in the suit, that scene was amazing all in slow motion as the house is being blown apart Tony direct the suit to form around her to save her life and then she winds up saving him... awesome. I loved Gwyneth's roll in this movie. Pepper was a big part of it, especially at the end as once again after being saved by Tony, then supposedly dying, she saves him at the end and kills the bad guy. I loved the interaction with Tony and the Kid. The supposed bad guy (Kingsley) was this really kooky (2nd time using that word in this blog) actor and the real bad guy was really bad. I like how these "bad" people were part of Tony's past.

And then you have the ending where we get nothing but amazing action as the 42 suits battle the "super" humans (BTW my buddy Fernando Chien is one of those bad guys). Some awesome action scenes. And I thought they ended this movie perfectly. I don't need an Iron Man 4, This tied up the story nicely and anyways we are getting an Avengers 2 and will see Tony Stark/ Iron Man back in action. This is a defiantly must buy on bluray when it comes out and I think I'll be seeing it a few more times in the theater. I give Iron Man 3 a solid A.

Afterwards Robert and I went back to my place to watch a the last episodes of Season Five of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. We normally do our Buffy watching on Wednesday but Robert was crashing at my place tonight as we are carpooling to the Ren Faire tomorrow and we have a few hours to kill before bed time.

First up was from Season 5 Ep 19 "Tough Love" Under the mistaken impression that Tara is the Key, Glory attacks and brain-sucks her, leaving her completely insane, which puts her on the receiving end of an enraged Willow's wrath.

Love this episode, Willow is one of my favorite characters from Buffy, and the Willow/Tara relationship is the best. When Willow tries and take revenge on Glory she's pretty bad ass, unfortunately she's not strong enough to take her out and Buffy comes to her rescue.

Next up is Ep 20 "Spiral" With Glory now knowing that Dawn is the Key, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Dawn, Anya, Tara, and Spike flee from Sunnydale only to run afoul of the Knights of Byzantium. 

My least favorite of the set for tonight but still a good episode. Glory finds out that Dawn is the key (poor insane Tara is the one to spill the beans).  I never liked the Knights of Byzantium, I kept saying.. how is this large group of Knightly looking men on horses suppose to be living in our modern times and no one noticing them. They were always a weak part of this storyline. But they all die by Glory's hand at the end. I like that everyone finds out that Ben is Glory but then forgets except Spike who keeps telling them that Ben is Glory. In the end Dawn is taken by Glory and Buffy goes catatonic. These last few episode have these crazy cliffhangers and I remember having to wait a week sometimes more for the next episode.. but for Robert and the re-watch it's a completely different experience as you can just watch the episodes back to back. Not sure which is better.

Our third episode of the night is Ep 21 "The Weight of the World" Willow tries to reach Buffy, who has been rendered catatonic by Dawn's abduction by Glory. Meanwhile, Glory is having her own problems as the line between herself & Ben gets thinner, causing her to start feeling human emotions.

Watching the Ben/Glory battle now reminds me of the Gollum/Smeagal battle in The Two Towers. It was really well done. Willow inside Buffy's mind was interesting. It was a nice set up for the finale which we will be watching next.

And to cap off the night and season five we watched Ep 22 "The Gift" Buffy faces Glory as the ritual commences. In order to save Dawn and the world, Buffy must sacrifice her own life. 

I've been waiting for this episode since we started watching season five. As I have mentioned in past blog posts, season five is my favorite season and season five finale is my favorite of all the finales. I enjoy how everyone comes together at the end to defeat the hell god Glory. I like that they win but then all of a sudden a character that we saw a few times continues the ritual and open the portal leaving Buffy to finally realize that when the first slayer said her gift was death, it meant her gift to Dawn, who was made of the same material as Buffy, leaving Buffy to understand that she didn't have to kill Dawn to close the portal, she could die and close it herself... which she does. It's a super sad ending but extremely satisfying. It was crazy watching Giles kill Ben because he knew Buffy couldn't and it was great seeing Tara healthy and whole again.

This was the end of the series, The CW cancel Buffy so this was how it was going to end. And to be honest I would have been upset but happy. Fortunately UPN picked up Buffy for another 2 seasons.. so now the fun thing we had to wait for over the summer was how would Buffy be returning.

Wow this was a long post, which translates into a long but extremely fun day.

May The 4th Be With You

Star Wars made me the geek I am today. I remember being six/seven years old when Star Wars came out and being in awe. Star Wars made me fall in love with fantasy and science fiction. It allowed my imagination to just run free. I had every Star Wars action figure, I re-enacted every scene from that movie for years. Star Wars lead to other scifi/fantasy loves like Star Trek and Lord of the Rings. I couldn't imagine my life without Star Wars being a huge part of it. I will always be thankful to George Lucas and Star Wars as it changed my life forever. My the force be with you.... always.

More Fires, Star Trek Email & Shots of Fireball

Today started with several more fires, so we now had five big fires going.. the closest was Glendale, which is still some distance away from me but the smoke filled the air around my house and you could smell it. At first I was sure there was a fire closer to me so I headed outside but couldn't see any dark smoke.. instead the entire valley below had this gray haze over it. The winds were blowing north west from Glendale.. and guess where I live.. yep, north west of Glendale. Luckily they got a hold of that fire rather quickly and by mid day the smoke and smell was gone.

Saw an ad for a Star Trek related email address for $15 a year. You could choose from Yourname@ToBoldlyGo.com, Yourname@Starfleet.com or Yourname@USSEnterprise1701.com. I wasn't a fan of the Enterprise one so I had to choose from the other two. I liked To Boldly Go but I couldn't resist having a @Starfleet.com email address. I wasn't sure if I should go with a Star Trek character' s name like CaptainPicard@Starfleet.com (and if I did I would then have to choose which character) or go with my internet handle Geekyfanboy@Starfleet.com or just my name Kenny@Starfleet.com. In the end I went with my handle as I'm Geekyfanboy all over the internet. So I purchased Geekyfanboy@Starfleet.com. Only thing I did wrong is I selected email account rather then forwarding account. I should have made it a forwarding account so I could use the address but all emails would go to my gmail account. Oh well.. maybe I can change it down the road. If you're interested in getting a Star Trek email account.. check them out HERE.

Tonight my buddy Will came over to hang out. He brought some tasty Mexican food, we had a few shots of Fireball whiskey (this was my first time having it.. totally loved it, almost as much as Rumplemintz) and we watched the pilot episode of Star Trek Deep Space Nine (Will has only seen a few episodes of DS9). But after dinner, the shots and DS9 we spent the next four hours chatting about life. That's one thing Will and I are good at... talking.. about any and everything. We were up till around 2am before calling it night and going to bed (Will crashed at my place.) It was a fun evening. Will and I don't get to spend as much time together as I would like but the time we do get to spend is priceless to me.

Wildfires

Fires season has begun.. well here in SoCal it's fire season year round but today there were actually three different fires happening within a 60 mile radius of me. My house was never in any threat but it got me thinking about fire danger. It is the only thing I really have to worry about living out in a rural area.. I have wanted to remove brush that's at the top of the hillside, next to my back deck for several years but it's hard work and of course I could pay someone to do it but funds are low at the moment. So for now I just hope that a brush fire doesn't start at the bottom of my hill.

People say it all the time.. Brush fires are what we deal with to live out in nature and it's true. It really isn't a bad trade off, I mean in the 3 1/2 years that I have lived here our house has been threaten once.. so the odds have been in my favor. Let's hope they hold out.

On a different topic.. I got new sheets for my bed. I've been wanting to get new ones for a while but king size sheets are so dang expensive. But I went on ebay a few days ago and found a nice set of chocolate brown satin sheets for about $40 with shipping. Well they arrived today and I put them on my bed.. can't wait to go to sleep.. I love new sheets.

Buffy Rewatch/1st Time Continues...

Wednesday means Buffy time with my best bud Robert. Tonight we ordered in Italian. We are on the later half of season five. We started with "I Was Made To Love You" An odd girl who turns out to be a robot roams Sunnydale looking for her boyfriend Warren, becoming violent when impeded -- and especially when he tells her that he is in love with someone else. Spike asks Warren to create a robot of Buffy for him. When Buffy returns home, she finds her mother dead on the living room couch.

I really enjoyed this episode. Had some great moments and some very sad moments. I loved the scene where Buffy is talking to the Robot girl and painting Warren in a good light to make her happy before she dies. I like that Buffy realizes that she doesn't need a guy, she needs to take care of herself first.  And I totally forgot the ending of this episode, I thought it was all in the next episode but when Buffy comes home and find her mom wide eyed and pale on the couch and says "mommy" and then it goes to black.. so heart wrenching.

Next up was "The Body" Buffy is shocked to find her mother dead after returning home, and has to learn how to cope with her loved one's death.

I love this episode, not only because of the amazing acting by everyone but there isn't a single piece of background music or noise. It makes for some very awkward moments that work. I loved Anya finally breaking down because she "doesn't understand". Dawns breakdown that we see from the point of view of the kids in the class room. I love how this episodes was directed and shot.. so many cool things.

 Our third episode of the night "Forever"  Following Joyce's death, Buffy questions her ability to cope now that her mother is dead, while Dawn attempts to bring her mother back to life through the power of magic.

Another solid episode, lots of great acting from Michele (Dawn) and Sarah Michele (Buffy). It was good to see Angel return for the funeral. I wasn't surprised at what Dawn did but I'm glad she realized what she did before it was to late.

And for our final episode of the evening "Intervention" Giles sends Buffy on a spiritual quest in the desert. Warren delivers the Buffybot to Spike. Xander and Anya see Spike and the Buffybot (whom they mistake for Buffy) have sex. Spike is kidnapped by Glory's minions and Glory decides to torture Spike for The Key's location. Buffy's spiritual journey leads her to the First Slayer, who tells her that death is her gift. Buffy returns and the confusion between herself and the Buffybot is soon sorted out, and they all head to rescue Spike.

Lot's of laughs in this one. It was great to see Glory again, Ben makes the mistake of letting Glory know that the key is a person. I love that Glory minions  mistake Spike as being the key. And though everyone though Spike would fold and tell Glory who the key is.. he didn't and almost was beaten to death for it.  Buffybot was awesome. And I love the final scene when Buffy pretends to be the Buffy bot and Spike reveals that she would never tell Glory that Dawn was the key because it would devastate Buffy. This act showed how much he truly cares for her. I like that she gave him a kiss and that he realized it was the real Buffy.

We only got four more episodes for season five. We should be able to watch the rest next Wednesday. I'm bummed that Robert already knows how season five ends.. at least he doesn't know the details. Can't wait to finish up season five next week.

MASH 4077 Podcast Episode 53

Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or Listen, get direct download from our main website 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 3, Episode #5 - O.R.
53rd Episode Overall
Directed by Gene Reynolds
Written by Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks
Production code B306
Original air date October 8, 1974

Set during the Korean War in the 1950’s

Plot Summary: The OR is filled with more wounded than the unit can handle. Hawkeye does heart massage on a soldier, which saves his life, but he dies four hours later. Sidney Freedman drops in during the deluge, and is dragged into the fray by Hawkeye.

Hope you enjoy it, Kenny

Dinner with Christopher

Tonight I got to have dinner with my buddy Christopher.. twice in two weeks is crazy for us. He is super busy and travels alot, so when we find time to hang out it's always a good time.

We meet up at islands for dinner and afterwards we went back to his place to hang out. He wanted to show me some new furniture that he had gotten a few months back. I was craving some cake after dinner so we walked to Ralphs and both bought a slice a cake (love that they sell single slices). Back at his place we decided to watch Defiance, episode 3 aired the day before and neither of us had watch it. I enjoyed it, I don't think the series is wowing me yet but it's definably keeping me interested and wanting to come back next week.. so that's good.

It was fun just hanging out with him. We haven't done that in a long time. It's always great spending time with Christopher.

Good Friends vs. Best Friends

I posed this question on Twitter and Facebook and got a fair amount of responses. The Question was, "what makes a good friend a best friend";

 From Facebook

Katie Parker Someone who knows you inside and out and will be there for you no matter the time of day or nite. And you can also count on that best friend to not judge you, and not spread around your business, good bad or ugly.

Nicole Dill I believe a best friend is another form of a soul mate. They accept you for all of you and don't bail when shit hits the fan. They accept your crazy moments and and don't judge you for them. They are there through the good and the bad. When you are with them, you don't have to hold back, you can just be you with no reservations! They are family...

Markus Hunt The willingness to help hide a body.

Nicole Dill hahaha!! that's funny! I heard once that a good friend will post bail, a best friend will be right there with you in jail!

Tabitha Grace Smith The person who knows the worst about you, but loves you anyways.

John Keating Being 7? 

Russell H Clarke You

From Twitter:

elfhybrid responded with @Geekyfanboy Honesty. Loyalty. Time.

TheRobZone responded with @Geekyfanboy You just know?

SierraHouk  responded with @Geekyfanboy time and being able to comfortably share silence.

Jamie1km  responded with @Geekyfanboy There's a terminology question right there. I always had ONE best friend, but my daughter uses it like a category.

Jamie's' response lead to a follow up question "can you have more then one best friend".  

From Facebook:

Nicole Dill Most definitely...

Harry Dauz Yes, certainly can!

Rachelle Smith Trial I have 3. Anne Lamsa, Blake & my English friend Madeleine. All 3 of these relationships are very special to me in different ways.  For me a best friend is someone who has become family. We may fight, disagree or bicker sometimes but I will love them forever. I can tell them anything & vise versa. We will always be there for each other even if we don't speak or see one another everyday.

Simon Meddings Yup I have a good 6 or 7 best friends (different sex as well) 

elfhybrid responded with @Geekyfanboy two at the most I think. 

loopinthe1st responded with @Geekyfanboy Yes.

alexinmadison responded with @Geekyfanboy Heck yeah!

vincecaso  responded with @Geekyfanboy If we use the ordinary definition of "best", then I'd say no, but some people use it as a category, outside of its definition

Jamie1km responded with @vincecaso @Geekyfanboy I always feel the category version has a hidden parenthetical: best (kind of) friend. Because BEST is exclusive.

My response to the questions.. What makes a good friend a best friend, I can't really answer this one as I think there are two kinds of "best friends" there are those that you instantly connect with, a bond that you can't really explain, you just feel it in your gut and your heart. Then there are those friends that you meet, and enjoy their company and over time you form a close bond with and you couldn't imagine your life without them in it.

As for the second question... Can you have more then one best friend, I've always claimed to have more then one best friend. But Jamie brought up a good point. Have I turned the term "best friend" into a category, so people I know fall into one of four categories, acquaintances, friend, good friend and best friend. Or can you truly have more then one "best" friend. I think you can have more then one best friend and not make it a category. In the past I have said to have six best friends, as time goes on I realized I jumped the gun on several of those friendships. I mean they are great friends but best is set aside for the few who go above and beyond in our friendship. 

To me Best friends are those who will be there for you in good times and bad. They don't judge, they make you feel just as important as you make them feel. They are present in your daily life, it's a 50/50 relationship. You can sit in a room with them for an hour and not say a word to each other and be perfectly content..that is what Best Friend is. Thankfully I have a few of those :)

Country Music and Being Gay

About 15 or so years ago I fell in love with Country music and that is pretty much the only kind of music I listen to these days. I heard this song on Sirius XM radio the other day and instantly feel in love with it.

Highway Country is the Sirius XM station that played the song and they have a facebook page and asked folks to go there and let them know if they liked the song or not... so I did.  There were about 200 comments and I'd say that every 10th comment or so was negative. Saying that this song does not allign with their values, they prefer more traditional songs, there was even one gentlemen (if you can call him that) was saying that this song is teaching young girls to kiss girls. I don't have a clue where he heard that!!! She does mention kissing boys or kissing girls, if that's what you're into.

These naysayers didn't bother to listen for the true meaning of the song.. to be who you are, to love you want. Like with most religious types they tend to point out one or two lines in the bible and kind to ignore others to prove their point. It's small minded and idiotic.

Things like this reminds me that the majority of country music listeners are very "traditional" and that goes for country music singers as well.. they aren't very open minded. This causes a conflict in me.. as I love their music but they disapprove of who I am at my core. It's hard for me to spend my hard earned money on someone who hates me. I go back and fourth all the time. Not all country music stars are bigoted or closed minded, and I try and not support those who are open about it. But honestly I try not to think about it too often as it make me sick to my stomach.

LOTRO and D&D

Dash

Today was all about gaming... got up around 7am and jumped on Lord of the Rings Online and played with my bud Chris until 2pm. We haven't quested in quite a while so we manage to get quite a bit of it done. I could have played all day but this was our first meet up for a new D&D campaign that my buddy Dallas was starting up.

I haven't played D&D since I was 11 or 12 years old.. that was 30 years ago, so I was super excited to start playing again but I was going to be as new to this as someone who had never played.. thankfully there were plenty of us noob here. We had a group of 12 (and that was with some missing). Normal groups are usual no more then six.. but Dallas had a lot of interest and is gonna take a chance at having a large campaign.

Got to Dallas' just before 3:30. Jes was obviously there (since she lives with him), Josh was also there. But within 10 to 15 minutes more folks showed up. Josh, Jes, Dallas and I were joined by Robert, Aaron, Rupert, Luis, Brett, Jen, Will, Matt (and his wife Melissa, but she didn't play) and Anthony. We had a total of 12 players, 1 Dungeon Master and a spectator... it was a full house.

Kobold

It took a good hour and a half to get everyone settled and their characters ready to go.  We had all met with Dallas previously to roll our numbers but there was still a bit of prep work that Dallas had to do.

I won't give a blow by blow game play.. needless to say it was six hours of awesome fun. My character Dash was the first to be injured but luckily was healed soon after with no scars. Anthony's character actually took the burnt of the hit points and was unconscious for a bit. We were attacked by crocodiles, then Kobolds but finally made it to the town only to enter an abandon Inn and run into some sort of Humanoid Lizard things. But we stopped there.. the perfect cliffhanger. 

Game play took a long time as we had 12 players who had to roll, fight, take damage and so on with each round. Dallas did a great job at keeping things moving along and really got into the story and conveying what we were seeing. We are schedule to play every two weeks.. can't for the next session.

After D&D, Robert and I headed over to Carl's Jr. to get some much needed food. We were suppose to order pizza while playing but everyone was so into it we totally forgot. 

Portal, Blogging, Supernatural

Woke up at 5:45am to say goodbye to Chris and Kody. I could have said goodbye last night, but of course I'm me and couldn't do that.. I had to be there to see my best bud one last time as I may not be seeing him until July and comic con. Got to spend 15 minutes with him while he packed up. 6am, I gave him a big hug and said goodbye. I remember the first time I had to say goodbye to him after driving with him up to Montana and helping him get established for several weeks.. I weep and it was very tough. But subsequent visits to Montana and him visiting here in CA there has been no tears. I mean I'm sad that he has to go but I know we have many years of friendship left and that this parting won't be our last. But it's always hard saying goodbye. After they drove away I jumped back into bed for an hour and tried to sleep... with no luck.

Found a very cool "Portal" video that I had not seen before. It was released last year on You Tube and I don't have a clue how I missed it.. but it's pretty EPIC!!!

My internet has been acting up lately but today has been the worse.. it was down for over four hours. Luckily I have my iphone but I'm about to go over my 2g data plan which of course means I'll be paying $10 additional for every 1g used. Luckily it's close to the end of the month so I shouldn't go over to much.

While the net was down I wrote a few blogs offline so I could just copy and paste them when things were back up and running again. I really tried to motivate myself to do some podcasting as I don't need internet for that but atlas no luck. 

I did manage to watch the latest Supernatural episode with Felicia Day. I watched the first two seasons of Supernatural but gave up mid season. I have watched the previous two episodes with Felicia and loved them so I was really looking forward to this one... and I have to say they did not disappoint. This was by far my favorite of the Felicia Day episodes. I was crying by the end. I love Felicia's character Charlie and this episode really fleshed out her character. The hug with Dean was precious.. her saying "I love you" and him saying "I know" ala Star Wars was fantastic.. I love that she ready the Hobbit one last time to her mother before pulling the plug.. so heart wrenching. Felicia gave an amazing performance. I really do hope they make her character a regular or semi-regular next season.. would love to see more Charlie.

Magic Mountain Thrice

Today I went to Magic Mountain for the third time in three weeks. This time I went with my best bud Chris and his friend Kody. Kody is a huge roller coaster fan, since they were in CA Chris told him that they had to go to Magic Mountain for the best roller coasters around. Both guys crashed at my place the night before so we could get up early and head over.

But before we headed to the park we had to stop by one of Chris' favorite places.. Vasquez Rocks. He wanted to show his buddy the famous peaks and climb the tallest one. So we were up at 8am and out the door around 8:30. Got to Vasquez and the guys immediately started to climb the peak. I hung back as I didn't have the correct shoes but I also wanted to get some pictures.

After Vasquez we ran over to Denny's for a quick breakfast before heading to Magic Mountain. They opened at 10:30am and we got there just before 10:30.  The guys already got their tickets (on the Military base, discounted). So we got in line and was in the park in less then 10 minutes.

I wanted to do the most popular rides first since the lines would only get worse as the day went on so we went over to X2, but it was currently closed and I didn't want to waste any time waiting in line not knowing if it would open anytime soon. So we moved on to Tatsu and literally walked onto the ride. Kody is hilarious when he rides a roller coaster.. he giggles like a mad man the entire time... it's pretty awesome. After Tatsu we hit X2 (now open), Viper, Ninja, Superman (I haven't been on this since the changed the direction of the car and reopened it... it was pretty awesome), Jet Streamer (of course I got the wettest) and Apocalypse.

We then had lunch, crowds were very low today and we pretty much walked onto all the rides.. X2 was our longest wait at 40 minutes.. but everything else has been cake.. my goal is to have Kody ride every single Roller Coaster in the park.. so far we are doing pretty well.

After lunch we hit Riddler's Revenge, Tidal Wave (the guys did as I didn't want to get soaked again), Green Lantern First Flight, Batman, Colossus, Scream, Lex Luther's Drop of Doom, Goliath and Revolution. That was every coaster at the park with exception of the kiddy roller coaster and Gold Rush which was shut down when we were near it.

I couldn't believe we did every available coaster at the part and it was only 4:30pm.. still had an hour and a half to kill before the park was closed so we re-rode Kody's favorites. First up was Tatsu again, this time we rode in the very back and I have to say compared to riding in the very front it's a completely different ride in the back.. alot more intense, especially the back loop.. crazy cool.

We were close to Roaring Rapids when we got off Tatsu and Chris was bugging me all day to go on it and I kept refusing (but I knew I would be riding it) as I always get soaked on that ride. So the time came and of course I got hit left and right with waves.. but I have to say poor Kody on the last dip got the worse as a wave came over the raft and drenched him from head to toe.

Afterwards we rode X2 and Superman for a second time. The park was closed but we were passing by Gold Rush and it was still running so we jumped on so Kody could say he rode every roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

It was a bit confusing as the park closed at 6pm but rides were still going and folks were still riding.. come to find out that there was a special event going on and that you had to have a yellow wrist band to ride after 6pm. So we made our way out of the park and back to the car. It was the best day I've had at the park in terms of riding rides. I've never walked onto so many rides or rode so many rides in a single day.

After MM we headed to a local In-n-Out, as the guys wanted to have it since they don't have them in Montana, but the place was packed and Kody has had it before. So we opted to go to one of my favorite burger place Islands. Obviously Chris has been there many times but this was Kody's first.

After dinner we headed back to my place and played a game of Cards Against Humanity with Anthony and Michele. It was a fun game and though Kody was a noob he did really well at figuring out what cards to play for each person.

We called it a night around 10:30pm as both Chris and Kody had to be up at 5:45am to hit the road back to Montana.

Had a great day hanging with my best friend Chris and my new friend Kody.

To Boldly Go...

Tonight I got to see one of my all time favorite Star Trek The Next Generation two-parter episodes "The Best of Both Worlds" on the big screen. Joining me for this event were my buddies Sebastian and Aaron.

Here's the details..

Special Fathom Features: The Best of Both Worlds – the two-part storyline comprising the third season finale and the fourth season premiere of the beloved series Star Trek: The Next Generation. For the first time ever, it will be seamlessly tied together as one continuous and uninterrupted story digitally restored with new CGI effects… on the big screen! Audiences will also see special clips from “Regeneration: Engaging the Borg”, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Best of Both Worlds. There’s a gag reel culled from recently discovered original negatives. As well as a preview of the blu ray for season four.

I was super excited for this they aired two episodes for season one and season two blu ray releases and I missed both of those.. I was not going to miss this one. This was like an actual movie event. Only part one is the season 3 finale and part two opened season 4 so it surprised me that they chose these two episodes to represent the season three blu ray, but I'm glad they did.

As I mentioned the previous two times the event didn't sell out and I heard there were plenty of seats left so I didn't bother to get a ticket, but earlier today I saw on twitter that the theater I had planned to see it at were sold out (AMC Universal Citywalk) I quickly went to plan B (AMC Burbank) and purchased a ticket. I noticed that they had two showings listed at the same time. Come to find out that they sold out as well but were able to play it in another theater and I managed to get a ticket for that one. Now the second theater was about half the size of the first one and the screen was about 2/3'rds the size of the larger room.. but you know what it's much bigger then my TV at home so I was happy. It was also nice being in the overflow room because it wasn't packed, but it was pretty close.

So they started the night off with the very cool behind the scenes of Best of Both Worlds called Regeneration: Engaging the Borg. I assume this will be on the blu ray as well.. it was fun hearing folks remembering shooting these two episodes and knowing then how important they would become. It was nice to hear how the Borg came into being and the over all experience working on the show.

Next were the two episodes.. they were completely remastered and looked amazing, the sound was also perfect it was a fantastic experience. The only thing was the end of the first episode. I mean it ends was a loud swelling of music, black screen and the words "To Be Continued" well now they blended the two episodes seamlessly together and it was awesome but I must admit I miss the black screen after Riker says "FIRE". I think I missed it because that is how I've watched it for years.

When the episodes were over everyone applauded.. it was pretty epic.

They then shared the recently found gag reel and I have to say OMG that was one of the funniest gag reels I've ever seen and I really hope it shows up on the blu ray as well.

Afterward they played the final promo which was for the upcoming blu ray for Season Four.

Now that I have been to one of these events I hope they continue to have these for each of their season blu ray releases. 

It was an awesome night to be a Trekkie!!!

Knights of the Guild #49

Finally motivated myself to get another Knights of the Guild podcast edited and released... woohoo. I also announce the end of the podcast... well kind of. I don't have a specific date but the podcast is coming to an end. I have a handful of interviews left for season six. Once those are done I plan on doing a big "goodbye" episode. I plan on bringing back my co-host Jenni as well as some very "special" guests. Want to go out with a bang. But for now here is the latest podcast... Knights of the Guild #49

Download from itunes bit.ly/KotGCast, Listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iXCpg or Listen and gek Direct Download on our main website bit.ly/2CrYxk

In this episode I sit down with Corey Craig (Donovan), Sajana Day (Sula), Alex Hoover (Theodra) and Derek Basco (Roy) as we discuss how they got the role and episode one of season six.

Hope you enjoy the podcast and stick around for the grand finale of Knights of the Guild podcast.

It's Slayer Time

Our weekly Buffy Rewatch/1st Time started a bit earlier then previous viewing, but in the end it didn't matter as work things popped up for Robert that paused our viewing so in the end we watched our regular four episodes tonight.

First up was Season 5, Ep 11 "Triangle" The two most important women in Xander's life: his girlfriend Anya and his best friend Willow, jealously squabble and bicker. However, the escalating aggression between them causes them to accidentally summon Olaf the troll, who wreaks havoc throughout Sunnydale, forcing Willow and Anya to work together to stop him.

This was a good episode.. kind of a stand alone episode as it really didn't have anything to do with the current "Glory" storyline. But it was fun to watch.

Next was Season 5, Ep 12 "Checkpoint" The Watchers Council comes to Sunnydale to tell Buffy what they know about Glory, on condition that she proves herself worthy. She refuses to go through their tests, and they tell her Glory is a god.

This is a favorite of mine.. I hate the watcher council and when they were giving demands to Buffy and Giles I turned to Robert and said, why are these guys still together.. I mean Buffy quit a year ago and until Faith is dead there won't be another Slayer for them to assist. So when Buffy comes to the realization and says the exact same thing I thought to myself... right on!!! I love that Buffy got the upper hand on the council. I like that she has rejoined them and that Giles is a watcher again.. best part was we find out the Glory is a God... now how is Buffy going to defeat this big bad?

Third episode of the night Season 5, Ep 13 "Blood Ties" Dawn makes a profound discovery about herself and her origin. Ben is revealed to share a body with Glory.

Again one of my favorites as it was all about Dawn and Glory. Dawn finds out that she is the key and has a total meltdown (to be expected). We also find out that the mysterious Ben is actually "family" to Glory, the two of them share the same body. Dawn is almost caught by Glory when she confesses what she is to Ben.  And Willow preforms a "teleportation" spell on Glory and the spell almost kills her. The first sign of Willow's true magic powers.... good stuff

And our final episode of the evening is Season 5, Ep 14 "Crush" Drusilla returns to Sunnydale and walks back into Spike's life, causing Spike to re-examine his relationships with the three women in his life: Drusilla, Harmony, and Buffy.

Not much Glory stuff in this one but alot happens. Spike's crush on Buffy is revealed to Buffy's dismay. Dru is back and crazier then ever and you think Spike is turning evil again but nope his love for Buffy is stronger. Lot's of great Spike moments.

We are now just past the halfway mark.. so may great episodes to come before the huge season five finale... oh I can't wait.

San Diego Zoo

Woke up around 7:30am, Nicki was already up and ready so I jumped in the shower and ate a little breakfast. We headed over to the San Diego Zoo around 8:30 and got there just before 9am. We were to meet up with Chris and Kody at 9. Nicki and I sat out front and chatted for bit. Nicki and I never seem to be at a lose of things to talk about.. I love that about her.

The guys showed up around 9:30, we got to meet Kody. He's one of Chris' friends/co-worker in the Military out in Montana. He drove down with Chris for the military seminar. Nicki got me into the park for free and both Chris and Kody got in free because they are military ( I think it's cool that the San Diego Zoo let's military people in for free).  Now I haven't been to the SD Zoo in over 30 years so I was looking forward to this. Nicki comes all the time so she played tour guide. We had a few other folks who planned to join us later.

We walked around checking out the Giraffes, Kangaroos, Rhinos, Elephants, Llamas, Camels, Pandas, Hippos, Tigers, Flamingos and then Tortoises. 

Our friend Ruben showed up and joined the party. We went and grabbed a bite to eat and then Rachelle and Anne joined us. We walked around a bit checking out other animals and then jumped on the sky tram thingy that takes you to the other side of the park. We checked out the kids section and a few more animals that we missed in our first go round.

By 4pm we were tired and my back and ready to call it a day. It was a lot of fun and it was great having Rachelle, Anne and Nicki as our tour guides. 

Chris and Cody were heading to a baseball game, Ruben was heading back to the Zoo to see the stuff he missed. Rachelle and Anne were heading back to her place so I caught a ride back with Nicki. Once back at her place I didn't want to get on the road as traffic would be horrific so I hung out with her and eventually Anne before leaving their place around 6:30pm.

Jumped on the road and went about forty or so miles outside of SD before stopping for dinner. Traffic wasn't that bad and I made it home by 10pm. I was exhausted from the drive and from walking around the Zoo all day. But it was totally worth it as I got to hang out with a bunch of good friends and made a new one with Kody.. but my favorite part of course was getting to hang with my best bud Chris.

Who, Trek and More

I watched the latest episode of Doctor Who called "Hide". I really enjoyed this episode. This new season has kind of been lackluster for me. Not that they haven't been good Who episodes.. I mean any Who is good Who but there hasn't been an episode were when it was finished I thought to myself.. wow that was great. But tonight's episode changed all that. Here's a brief synopsis: Clara and the Doctor arrive at Caliburn House, a haunted mansion sat alone on a desolate moor. Within its walls, a ghost hunting Professor and a gifted psychic are searching for the Witch of the Well. Her apparition appears throughout the history of the building, but is she really a ghost? And what is chasing her?

This was a very creepy and spooky episode. What you think is a cool ghost story turns into something completely different (I won't spoil it). One thing I really loved about this episode is that I couldn't predict what was going to happen next. Every twist and turn was a surprise to me, even in the last few minutes.. I didn't have a clue what was going to happen.... loved that. Got a bit more into the whole "who is Clara" storyline which is my favorite of this season. I hope this upswing continues in the next episode.

Today a scene from the upcoming Star Trek movie Star Trek Into Darkness was released. If you know me you know I'm a huge Star Trek fan. I very much enjoyed the new incarnation of Trek but it's defiantly not my Trek of old... but it's still great in it's own right so I'm looking forward to this movie but this scene really got me excited and I can't wait for May 17th. Check out the scene here:

During the evening I got my oil changed on my new car.. first time ever.. I've already hit 5000 miles and it's only been a few months. 

I had dinner with a good friend of mine Christopher. We met up in Burbank at Zanku Chicken. I rarely eat there so when I do it's a real treat. It was great hanging out with Christopher and catching up on each other lives. We use to hang out all the time but life and work has kind of gotten in the way, but we do try and see each other as much as possible. 

After dinner I drove down to San Diego to crash at my friends Nicki and Anne's place. My best bud Chris was down here visiting for a business trip and we planned to hang out tomorrow at the Zoo.