Meeting Mrs Patmore

So I was watching Good Day LA yesterday morning and they had on Lesley Nicol who plays Mrs Patmore on Downton Abbey. She mentioned that she was going to be at the Farmer's Market Cost Plus World Market tomorrow for a food drive for the LA food bank, if you bring 5 can goods you can get an autographed picture. I immediately messaged my buddy Leo to see if she wanted to join me as she is a recent fan of Downton and she agreed to go with me. So this morning she and I went down to World Market about an hour and a half before she was to sign as we didn't know if it would be super crowded or not. When we got there, there was a table in front of the store where we left our can goods. They gave us our line numbers and said to be back a half hour before she was to sign. We were surprised that we got numbers #8 and #9.

We had an hour to kill so we headed over to the Farmers Market to grab some lunch. Once we were done we made our way back to the World Market and got in line which was on the outside of the store. As it got closer to the time the line grew and started to go around the corner. There were several press people taking pictures of us (the fans). Right on time Mrs Nicol arrived and made her way into the store. They took six people at a time and after about 20 minutes Leo and I made our way into the store and got into another line and waited. It looked like friends and employee friends got to jump in front of everyone to get pictures and such.. this would explain why it was taking longer then expect.

The set up was nice, Mrs Nicol stood up on a platform next to a table where she was signing pictures. She was allowing us to take pictures with her and she spent a good five minutes chatting with you. I went up before Leo. I was all giddy smiling from ear to ear as I shook her hand. She was very sweet and soft spoken. She mentioned my awesome T-shirt (I was wearing the Union Jack (British Flag). She asked where I got the shirt and mentioned that she needs to get a flag for her house and we discussed getting one on ebay. We talked a bit about Downton and how much I love her character and how I have already seen season six and was very happy with where they were taking her character. We did a bit more chit chat before taking several pictures and then getting a hug from her and saying goodbye.

After I walked down from the platform my friend Leo with the same giddy grin that I had went up. As I exited the area a guy pulled me aside and asked if I would do a quick interview about meeting her. I don't know who he was with (the store, LA Food Bank or the actress) but I said of course so he asked me a few questions and I answer them as excitingly as I could.

After Leo was done we fanboy/fangirled out a little bit and then went shopping. World Market had some very cool Downton Abbey merchandise as well other cool items. Once we were done talking we headed out and sat in the courtyard and talked about the experience of meeting her. Some how the conversation turned to Harry Potter and I asked if Leo had ever been to Whimsic Alley (a very cool Harry Potter store), she said no so of course I had to take her since it was only a few miles way.

We spent a half hour or so walking around Whimsic Alley checking everything out. Since their lawsuit with the WB they have changed their merchandise a bit and also added abit more British things to their inventory like Doctor Who, Sherlock and Downton Abbey.

It was a great day.. I'm so happy Leo agreed to go with me as I would not have gone alone and I would have missed out on this great experience... Thanks again Leo for joining me.

NerdStrong Gym - DEX, CON and STR Oh My!!

Combining my workout blog posts for the time being.. I worked out Tuesday (DEX), Wednesday (CON) and Thursday (STR)

Tuesday's DEX callas was a good one. The warm up was just as hard as the actual workouts.

This was a CON class through and through.. look at all those different workouts. This was a tough one but sometimes the tough ones are the most rewarding.

Strength is my least favorite workout days but today's barbell work was Bench Press which is my favorite of the barbell workouts. The Battles were tough and exhausting but over a good workout day.

LARPs The Series S2 Ep7 - My Thoughts

S2 Ep7 "Last Breath" It doesn't matter if you win or lose; it's how you play the game.

This is by far the best episode of LARPs The Series in my opinion. I loved every minute of it. Half of the episode is set in the LARPing world with some amazing fight sequences and the other half is moments after the LARPing session and the complete and total meltdown on the team.

Brittney was ready to sacrifice her character Corillia for the greater good, that was until Will's character Biff came to her rescue which didn't make her happy at all. Will and Brittney's argument escalates when Arthur is brought into it and the three just attack each other. Some brilliant acting was happening during that scene. It's always hard to watch characters that you like argue like that.

There was a very sweet scene between Kat and Evan when she asks him out. Evan's reaction is simply adorable.. that is of course until she slips up and kind of reveals Shane secret that she's been writing about the LARPing group behind everyone's back.

Then there is another amazing scene at the end when Shane confronts Evan and just let's him have it and he just drives away. Again like with the other argumentative scene some brilliant acting was happening. These guys have some acting chops.

The last six episodes have been leading up to this huge blow out and now we have only a few episodes left this season to rebuild this team and make them stronger then ever.. at least that's how I hope it turns out. Can't wait to see how the resolve this episode.

More Screeners & Promo for WWofHP Hollywood

Just when I said I wasn't getting enough screeners I got a ton of them today including Sicarro, 99 Homes, Inside Out and Cinderella.

Universal Studio Hollywood released a promo video for the upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hollywood...

Huntsman Trailer, More Star Wars & New Log Books

I had heard they were making a prequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, which I enjoyed. That movie has one of the most beautiful and most realized fantasy worlds.. I loved it. This looks like a lot of fun.

Got another screener.. Black Mass. Sceeners seems to be coming in alot slower this year. Hopefully things will start coming in as the month progresses.

As I have mentioned here on my blog.. more and more Star Wars The Force Awakens footage has been released with trailers and commercials. Here's the 6th TV spot and it's focused on the character of Finn... again it doesn't spoil anything and it shows us a bit more of the movie... so excited.

During Pilates tonight at NerdStrong Gym I was able to pick up my new Log Book. They really outdid themselves with this Log Book. Like the gym it's very much fashioned after D&D with a ton of achievements to unlock and goals to hit. I can't wait to get started.

Living Building, RGQ, Gods of Egypt & Agent Carter S2 Trailers

I came across this architects rendering of this beautiful building covered in greenery. If you know me you know I'm a Hobbit and I love all things nature and greenery. If I couldn't live in a hole in the ground surrounded by grasses and forests I'd want to live in this building.

Here's some more details about the project.. Stefano Boeri, an Italian architect with an affinity for innovative green structures, is set to build a 117m-tall (384ft) apartment tower in Lausanne, Switzerland, that will be the first building in the world to be covered in evergreen trees.

The 36-story green tower, aptly named “La Tour des Cedres” (The Tower of Cedars), will be home to more than 100 trees, 6,000 shrubs and 18,000 plants spread over roughly 3,000 square meters of green space. The plants will protect the apartments inside from harsh winds, dust, and noise pollution, and will offer a more pleasant view of the city.

This tower will be the second project of its kind by Boeri. He previously designed two 112m towers in Milan as well.

So I asked a "Random Geek Question" on Facebook and Twitter. "Is there an age limit to cosplay?" I ask this because as a 45 year old man I feel like when it comes to cosplay I'm on a older side of things. Of course most of the responses were "Of course there is no age limit to cosplaying" which is what I expected. I really don't know why I even asked the question because honestly I don't care what people think of me. I'm not hurting anyone and I'm enjoying doing what I'm doing.

I hadn't heard of this movie before but here's a trailer for a new fantasy action movie called Gods of Egypt. It looks pretty good...

During tonight's amazing Agents of Shield episode (loving this series) they aired a new trailer for Season two of Agent Carter. I LOVED season one of Agent Carter so I'm super excited to see season two and from the trailer it looks to be another amazing season.. can't wait.

Oh and one last thing.. ONE MONTH FROM TONIGHT... STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS!!!!!

Universal Studios Hollywood Annual Pass Price Hike

Today as expected Universal Studios Hollywood has raised their annual pass price. A 2015 annual pass with no blackout dates had cost $139 online, or $159 when purchased at the park. A value pass with blackout dates ran $119. The new annual pass program with blackout dates, announced Monday, will cost California residents $139 for 182 days of access to the theme park, or $199 for 244 days. And there is a pass that can be used 312 days costs $299 and is available to all parkgoers.

Honestly I would pay anything for an annual pass so the price bump didn't bother me. As I said with the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in April everyone expected the price raise. I think what bothers me more is that there is no annual pass with no blackout dates. The "Gold" pass, which is highest you could get has 312 days which is great but alot of the weekends are blacked out, especially during the summer and Christmas Holidays. But I'm cool with that because the fact is I live about a 5 minute drive 20 minute walk to Universal and I plan to go during the week after work to grab dinner at the Three Broom Sticks or walk around Hogmeades sipping on some Butterbeer.

Oh the other change they made from their previous annual pass plans is the previous passes use to be good only for the year.. so regardless of when you purchased your ticket you only had to the end of the year to use it. These new passes are good for 12 months, so if you buy your pass in April (which I plan to) it will be good until the following April.

If you can't tell I"m super excited for this. Of course opening Day and weekend are blacked out for annual pass holder and honestly I'm happy to wait until the Monday after opening to attended The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hollywood... who's gonna join me???

Falling Behind On My Daily Blog

So it's January 1st 2016 but you may have notice I post dated this to November 17th 2015 because I'm about a month and a half behind on blogging. Between the end of a job, working out, and life in general I fell further and further behind.

So in order to catch up before I start my new job on Monday I'm not going to blog about every NerdStrong gym day. Instead I'll do a combined week at NerdStrong Gym. I also will pick and choose what geeky things I will share from Nov/Dec. Hopefully I'll be back on schedule very soon and back to blogging daily.

Thanks to all my loyal readers.. I appreciate each and ever one of you.

Another Star Wars The Force Awakens Commercial

Wow.. nothing on Star Wars The Force Awakens for months and then suddenly.. WHAM!!! Trailers and commercials galore. And what is even better is that they keep releasing new footage with these new trailers but nothing is really a spoiler.. it only gets me even more excited for the movie. Just over a month away... woohoo!!!

Xmas Music, Equality for Ireland & More Star Wars Footage

Woohoo... local station KOST 103.5 has started playing Christmas music earlier then usual. I love Christmas music and could listen to it none stop through out the year but then again if I did I don't think it was be as special as it is during the Christmas holiday. Needless to say that my car radio station will be set on KOST from today until the end of the year.

Congratulations to all my LGBT Brothers and Sisters in The Republic of Ireland. They can now marry the ones they love. It's official, today marks the first day that same sex couple can marry in Ireland. It's a beautiful day but I can't wait for the day that this isn't headline news and just the norm.

Today Disney released more Star Wars The Force Awakens footage. Disney XD aired a behind the scenes promo for the upcoming movie.. check it out.

NerdStrong Gym - UberViking

For today's workout we were doing UBERVIKING. Now we've done the Viking workout in the past and it's a tough one but Uberviking is like nothing we've done before.

After a warm up of 9x Wall Squats, 140 Meter Run, 9x Sit Ups, 9x Lunges and 9x PVC Dislocates.

We then jumped into the main workout. We had to start in heats since we only have 5 Row Machines. I was part of the first heat as I really wanted to finish the entire thing so I figured the sooner I started the better chance I had at finishing before the class was over.

I started with a 1000 Meter Row, rowing is not one of my strong points and not a favorite of mine but I trudged though meter by meter. Next was a 460 Meter Run with Gear, this was either a Spear (Barbell), Shield (Weighted Plate), Boulder (Wallball) or Sling Bullets (Steel Bell). I chose a Boulder and I actually enjoy running so this part of the workout was okay for me. We had to run two time around the parking lot to do the full 460 Meters. Next was 100 Tire Strikes, this is fun, you take a Mace and pound a large tire. Once you get into a rhythm it's pretty easy. I then moved on to 100 Slam Balls. This is where it got hard.. doing slam balls isn't bad but doing 100 of them at one time is a killer.. but somehow I got through them and moved on to 100 Gravediggers. This was a new movement for us and we had to take a weighted plate and then squat down and kind of scoop the ground, 50 on each side. You then had to do another 460 Meter Run with Gear (Medicine Ball again) and then get back on the rower and row another 1000 Meters.

I don't know how I did it and as I type this all out I still don't know how I did it but I finished with plenty of time to spare (benefit of going in the first wave). This was one of the hardest workouts we've done.. starting with a 1000 meter row and ending with a 1000 meter row was a killer. 

New MASH 4077 Podcast

Geekyfanboy Productions released a new episode of the MASH 4077 Podcast. This is episode 116, covering S5 Ep 19 "Hanky Panky".

Lt. Carrie Donovan is having marital problems: she received a "Dear Jane" letter. But, she would rather discuss her problems with BJ than Hawkeye. Poor Margaret is very worried because she has not received a letter from Donald. When she learns her fiancé is in the hospital, she is manic, trying to find out what happened to him. BJ spends the night with Donovan and is so guilt ridden he wants to write home and confess his sins.

You can Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or listen and get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

NerdStrong Gym - Mini Boss Battle

Today is Saturday so that means the Boss Fight. Today we take on the Mini-Boss.

We started with what they called a "Warm Up" but it was more of a mini-workout. 2 Rounds of 5x Pole Squats, 10x Air Squats, 10x Jump Squats 5x Hop Knee Touch then Banded Lunge with Overhead, Banded Pass Thrus, Banded Pull Aparts, Banded Good Mornings and finally Banded Tricep Stretches.

For the Quest we did a TABATA (:20 seconds of work, :10 seconds of rest) x8 Hi-Planking.

And after all that we finally get to our Mini-Boss battle. We started with a 230 Meter Run with Body (Sandbag), then 10 rounds of 10x Goblets Squats, 9x Kettlebell Sit Ups, 8x Explosive Push Ups, 7x Kettlebell Reverse Lunges, 6x Face Peelers, 5x Wall Balls. Then we did another 230 Meter Run with Body.

It was a tough workout and I know I didn't finish it but I can't recall how far I got (been over a month since I did this workout) but I did get pretty far. I have a few more Saturdays to build up to the Big Boss again at the end of the month. My goal is to be able to do the entire thing within the allotted time.

Thanks coaches for another amazing workout.

SW TFA 60 Sec. Trailer & Minion Screener

Another TV spot for Star Wars The Force Awakens and yes it has new footage.. this time it's a 60 second spot and seeing these spots just gets me even more excited for the movie.

They also announced that the new Star Wars movie will run 2 hours and 15 minutes. Honestly I would love to see an even longer version but I realize that Disney wants to get as many showings in per day which means more money.. it's sad but true.

I started a another group on Facebook for my gym NerdStrong. This one is called Be NerdStrong and it's for non-members who are interested in joining the gym and want to get more information. Here you can chat with coaches and ask as many questions as you like pertaining to fitness and the gym. Give us a follow on Facebook HERE.

One last thing I got a screener for the movie Minions. I'm a big fan of the Despicable Me franchise and I did go to a PGA screening last month and enjoyed the film. Not my favorite story but it did have Sandra Bullock as the main villain so that was fun.

LARPs The Series S2 Ep 6 - My Thoughts

S02E06 - Charisma "It's more fun when you play nicely with others."

Not a lot of LARPing in this episode but some great character building stuff. We see Kat and Brittney get mugged and Brittney go all Ninja on the dude and the after math of that fight. We see Kat and Evans' "relationship" escalate when Kat seduces the map away from Evan's character. That was fun to see. The scenes with Shane and her boss are always fun as well as Will and his boss, who's just plain crazy. We see the continued downward spiral of Arthur and his Bard character. And we see some of the Steampunk characters from last week show up, including the one that Arthur killed. 

This was a nice solid addition to season two, they are definitely building things up and things are going to hit the fan soon... can't wait!!!

Check out the episode below...

NerdStrong Gym - Bear Complex

Strength Day... We started with a nice warm up of 150 Meter Row, 10x Walk Quad, 10x Knee to Chest, Leg Swings F/B/S and then 10x Good Mornings.

For Proficiency we did 8x Heavy Goblet Squats, 10x Bulgarian Split Squat (off Bench), 10x Seated Spine Rotations (on bench). We've done goblet squats before but never heavy goblet squats. And the other two workouts were brand new.

The Quest is are main workout which consisted of a Bear (Barbell) Complex. I'm not a fan of the Bear Complex which is a Deadlift, into a Hang Clean into a Front Squat into a Push Press into a Back Squat, then a small push press to get the weight back over your head and to the ground. That is one rep and we had to do 3 reps at one time. We rested 2 to 3 minutes and then did it again and again for 15 to 20 minutes.

Next was the Battle which was 3 rounds of :30 seconds of Lying Toe Touch, :30 second of Leg Levers, :30 seconds of Scissor Kicks, :30 seconds of Armless Sit Ups and then :30 seconds of rest before doing it all over again.

And because we had some time left over we did some Planking.

It was a tough workout but then I wouldn't have expected anything else. I may be exhausted after the workout but it only takes a five to ten minutes to recoup, which is fantastic.

Veterans Day, Lunch with a Friend & Pilates

Happy Birthday Mom (I know you don't read my blog but I had to wish you a Happy Birthday. I love you very much).

I also want to Thank all the men and women who served and are still serving in our Military. I want to give an extra shout out to some of my friends who served or are currently serving, you guys rock!! Christopher Setts, Leonor Dutcher, Kody Lambert, Dallas Bloom, David Sharp, Andrew Avalos, Pete Foltz, & Ivy Hefler-Ochocki.

I had lunch with my buddy Kevin today, it's always fun getting to hang out with him outside the gym. Hopefully we can do it more often.

And after two weeks of not being able to go.. I finally got to attend another Pilates class at NerdStrong Gym. I'm really enjoying Pilates, for me it's a great way to release stress after a crazy day of work. It's also a great core workout and helps with your flexibility.  

NerdStrong Gym - Escape From Shelob

Today we did one of my favorite workouts.. not because of the actual workout but because of the theme.. Escape from Shelob.

We started with a 10 to 12 minute build which included 4x Perfect Stretch, 6x Lunge, 8x Sit Ups and 10x Ring Rows. We then moved outside for the Proficiency portion of the workout. We started with Agility Bear Crawl then Ran around the parking lot (230 Meters) then Plate Hop. First pass we did 1 foot at a time, second pass we did two feet at a time, third time was Stepping Backwards and then the fourth was Hop Over Each Plate) then 10x Air Squats and do it again and again and again (4 rounds).

We then moved on to the main workout. We had to do 5 rounds of 40x Jumping Jacks, 30x Bicycles, 20x Goblet Squats, 10x Push Ups, and 5x Burpees. In between these rounds we had to go outside and grab a sandbag (Frodo) and carry him to the next cone and then walk lunge back to the gym. If you made it to the final round you had to go get Frodo from the fifth cone and then lunge walk back with him. 

It was grueling workout but enjoyable. I always love being Sam and helping Mr. Frodo. And if you notice on the right side of the board you'll see a count of how to pronounce the word Shelob... Love my gym.

Finding Dory Trailer & Star Wars Rebels

Disney released a Finding Dory trailer. I really enjoyed Finding Nemo and Dory was one of my favorite characters so I'm really looking forward to Finding Dory.

Today I watched a fantastic episode of Star Wars Rebels, S2 Ep 6 "Brothers of the Broken Horn" Ezra receives a distress signal from Vizago's ship. Ezra and Chopper decides to see what has happened. When Ezra and Chopper arrives at the ship, they find out that the ship has been taken over by Hondo Ohnaka. They finds out that Vizago is captured inside the ship and Ezra helps him get it back.

We see the return of a loved character from The Clone Wars cartoon Hondo. I wasn't a huge fan of this character but as the series went on and his character grew he became much more compelling. If I remember correctly the last time we see him he is trying to kill a ship of Younglings so he's not the nicest of guys. But in this series he's older and crazier then ever and I just adored him. I loved his interaction with Ezra, they made a great duo. This entire episode was all about these two (and chopper) it was funny and had a bit of action in it. I really enjoyed this episode and I hope we see Hondo again in a future episode.

NerdStrong Gym - DEX Day!!

DEX workouts are always a good selection of various workouts to work the entire body. Today's workout was no exception.

We started with the Build, 230 Meter Run, Shoulder Rolls, Tricep Stretch and Calf/HamString Pole Stretch.

Next was the Proficiency part of the workout where we did Shin Box and Shin Box with Hip Extension work.

For the Quest we spent 15 minutes and had to do Half Turkish Get Ups (x5 on each side). I actually like doing Turkish Get Ups (at least the version we do at the gym).

The Battle was next and we had to do 4 minute rounds of :30 seconds of work  and :30 seconds of rest. Diamond Push Ups, Russian Twists, Jump Squats and Hollow Holds and for our :30 seconds of rest we had to do Superman (which really isn't a rest)

Luckily we got a minute between rounds to actually rest as these workouts got harder and harder as we did them.

For the finisher we got to choose between 3:00 minutes of Jump Rope or 140 Meter Relay Race. I voted for the Relay Race but the majority voted for Jumping Rope so we did 3 minutes of jump rope to finish off the workout.

Awesome Starbuck Drive Thur (ASL) & A New Flask

I came across this video and it brought tears to my eyes. I think every fast food place should have this type of drive thru. Kuddos to Starbucks to doing this for the deaf community.  

And I got a new flask today, not sure why I did as I'm not a big drinker but I like the idea of having a flask just in case I need a quick nip to brighten my mood. 

I filled it up with my favorite new spirit Fireball Whiskey. I don't know if I'll ever drink from it but it now has a new home in my bag and will travel with me where ever I might go.

SW TFA TV Spot & Table Read for a Friends Script

Today Disney released it's first TV spot for Star Wars The Force Awakens. I'm not one for spoilers but so far what they have released hasn't really been spoilery and has really got me excited for the movie. This TV spot has new footage but again doesn't spoil anything and I didn't think I could be more excited... but I am... can't wait!!!

Headed back to NerdStrong around noon but not to workout, instead a group of us were doing a table read for a fellow member and friend Adam's script.

He requested assistance a few weeks ago and about 20 or so people volunteered to help him out so with permission from the owners we used NerdStrong for the table read. If you don't know what a table read is, it's when the cast sits around a table and does a dry read of the script. I volunteered to be one of the readers and asked that I have a very small part as I'm not an actor but I am trying to put myself out there more.

When Adam handed me the script he said "well I know you wanted a small part... but...". I flipped though it and noticed that I had quite a bit of dialogue. My heart started to race and I could feel the "fear of public speaking" starting to set in but I told myself that I was among friends and they all knew I wasn't an actor so that thought kind of calmed me down, but I was still nervous.

Once everyone was there and settled Adam went through all the characters and gave us some description of who they are and what they are doing. After Adam explained my character I understood why he gave it to me as I was a perfect fit. I'd say I was the fourth or fifth character with the most lines.

Of course I can't go into detail about the script but it's pretty fantastic. We read through it once and then started to give our feedback. We talked for over an hour and made suggestions on changes or plot points and I think Adam really appreciated everyone's input.

I actually surprised myself with my performance and was happy that I got the larger role. It was a fun experience and I hope we get to do it again real soon. Thanks Adam for including me in the fun.

NerdStrong Gym - All the Eights (BSG)

Today's Sunday themed workout is titled All the Eights (ala Battlestar Galatica).

We started with a run, some pass thrus, figure 8's and good mornings before preparing ourselves for the Eights.

First up was our 8 Minute Proficiency/Stretching. We started with 2 minutes of Hamstring Wall Stretch (both sides) and then 2 minutes of Couch Stretch (both sides). Couch stretch seem to be the worst kind of stretching we do at the gym. Unless you're extremely flexible it's not the easiest position to get into.

Next was Boomers Burden which consisted of an 8 Minute Ladder of Sandbag; Sprawl, Deadlift, Clean, Front Squat and Press. We started with one of each, then two, then three up to eight and then went back down the ladder back to 1. The first few weren't bad but once you hit the peak of the ladder it got a lot harder to continue.

We moved on to Athena's  Ascension and did an 8 minute AMRAP (As Many Reps/Rounds As Possible). We started with a 140 Meter Run, then 10x Toes to Bar (or Knee Ups), 10x WallBalls and then 10x Kettlebell Swings. I kept a pretty good pace the entire time and managed to do 4 1/2 rounds of this workout.

After our mandatory 3 minute rest we moved on to "Hard Eight" Again this was an AMRAP and we had to do 20x Scissor Kicks, 20x Kettlebell Glute Bridges, 20x Sit Ups and 50x Jumping Jacks. I can't remember the exact amount of rounds that I did but I was exhusted by then but I know I did at least 3 rounds.. maybe 4.

It was a pretty grueling workout today.

NerdStrong Brunch & Dub Smash Just Rewards

After the tough boss fight several of us from NerdStrong went to Harvest Moon Kitchen & Marketplace for brunch. I had never been to this place but everyone said that they had really good breakfast. When we got there fellow NerdStronger Lauren was there. She did not come to the workout and was just having breakfast on her own so she joined us. While we chatted and bantered back and forth I found out that Ty is leaving us. He's moving to New York for a new adventure. Of course this made me sad as Ty is a really funny and sweet guy.. and he's pretty easy on the eyes (looks like a very fit Daniel Radcliffe). He's doing the Thor workout the past 10 weeks so we haven't really seen him around the gym and just as he's coming back to regular classes he's leaving us.  It was nice being able to hang out with these guys and gals outside the gym. Something I hope we do more often.

I've posted here about he Dub Smash war between Team Carter (Agent Carter) and Team Shield (Agents of the SHIELD). And I mentioned that Team Carter came from behind to win the battle.. well the video was released of their reward.. take a look. I loved that these people raised so much money and looked like they were having a blast.. hopefully a new battle will begin soon.

NerdStrong Gym - Big Bad Boss Monster

Today is the first Saturday of the Month so that means was start a new boss and the first battle is the Big Boss Monster. This Boss Battle has a 40 minute time cap.

We started with a 230 Meter Run with Body (Sandbag), then back inside the Gym and do 100x Goblet Squats, :90 Second Plank, 90x Kettlebell Sit Ups, :90 Second Plank,80x Explosive Push Ups, :90 Second Plank, 70x Kettlebell Reverse Lunges, :90 Second Plank, 60x Kettlebell FacePeelers, :90 Second Plank, 50x Wall Balls and then to finish is off a :90 Second Plank.

So instead of the running between workouts there is planking this time around. This is a chipper workout which means you just chip away at the workout little by little until you run out of time. I knew that there was no way I was going to finish this workout but I as hoping to at least make it to Reverse Lunges and I'm happy to say that I actually made it halfway through Kettlebell FacePeelers. I did have to do a step down for Kettlebell Sit Ups as when I went to sit up with the kettlebell I felt it in my lower back so I dropped the weight and just did regular sit ups.

I'm happy with my results and by the time we do this workout again at the end of the month I hope I go even further.

Middle-earth Coins, SW TFA International & Warcraft Trailers

My friend Hayley posted this article on my Facebook timeline and usually I don't like when people post things as I like to control what is on my own timeline but I was very thankful she posted this and she knew it was right up alley. It was a Middle-earth News story about a Kickstarter for a company making Lord of the Rings / Hobbit inspired coins. These are officially licensed merchandise.. which is pretty awesome.  Of course I had to contribute to the kickstarter, it had already made it's goal in just over 24 hours but they were doing lots of stretch goals and still had 20 more days left in the campaign. I went with the $65 "The Nine" package which meant I would get both set #1 and set #2 for a total of 9 coins. Containing one copper Farthing (1/4 penny), one copper Haypenny (1/2 penny), one copper Penny, and one copper Thrup'ny bit (3 pence), one copper Dwarvish Axe of Durin, one copper Elven Leaf of Hollin, one iron Eye of Sauron from Mordor, one bronze Brumby Penny of Rohan, and one copper Raven Penny of Dale Town.

Because I'm so behind on my blogging this kickstarter campaign ended a while ago and went way over their goal and them adding a bunch of stretch goals (additional coins) which I will be receiving as well. I don't know the exact count of coins that I will be getting but they're going to be awesome and I can't wait for them to arrive.

The second thing I want to share with you guys is the international trailer for Star Wars The Force Awakens. It does contain quite a bit of new material but still doesn't give away any of the plot or who these characters are. All this trailer does it get me even more pumped for the movie.

I got another screener.. this time for the comedy Trainwreak.

And there is one last trailer I wanted to share with you guys.. it's the the World of Warcraft movie adaptation, titled Warcraft. I've never played WOW but I have many friends who do and I have considered starting up many times. But this is a fantasy movie and I love fantasy and this looks amazing.. I can't wait.

LARPs The Series Ep 5 "Crossover" - My Thoughts

So we are half way through season two and I'm loving it. Not only have the episode doubled in length but the stories have delved deeper into the characters background and personalities. The fighting is amazing, acting is superb and the overall feel of the stories is grand.

This entire episode is about a different LARPing group in which our regular LARPer's join in for their third anniversary. What is great is this LARPing group is extremely different then our group. There's is a Steampunk LARPing group, set in a completely different world and they fight with cards which is very much different then the very tactile fighting that our group does.

Again my favorite character Arthur takes a turn for the worse. I really enjoyed his story in season one but towards the end of season one and the beginning of season two I haven't really liked where his character is going. When I first saw Arthur he was the one that I identified with most (hence why he become my favorite) but he's done things that I not only didn't see coming but he continue in his downward spiral. In this episode he poison one of the characters from the other group and she dies. She's been this character for the entire run of their LARPing group (which is a big deal) and though it looks like her and Arthur have an adversarial past and she's not the most modest person in the world, what he did was just plain mean and vengeful. I'm hoping we see him bounce back in the second half the season. He needs something good to happen for him.

Can't wait to see what happens next.. bring on episode 6!!

NerdStrong Gym - Front Squats

Thursday means Strength day. This is probably my least favorite type of workout but I know it's necessary for a nice well rounded workout week.

Today's build started with a 1 minute row, then 12x Air Squats, Banded Lateral Walks and 10x PVC Pass Thrus. Once we were done with those we did the entire thing all over again.

For Proficiency we worked on Wrist Wall Walk and Thoracic Foam Roll. This was more like a great stretching session, which was nice for a change.

The Quest was next and we were doing an EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) for 12 minutes. We were working on Front Squats and had to do 3 reps per that minute. I teamed up with my barbell buddy Derek, so every 30 seconds we would switch off. I did find that I can't do nearly as much weight as I can do with my back squats and my form still needs some work but the 12 minutes flew by.

The final bit of the workout "The Battle" can be some of the hardest as we are already tired from all the other stuff we did and this one is a burner. For this one we had to do 4 rounds of :30 second 1 Hand Kettlebell Suitcase DL, :60 seconds of Facepeelers, :30 seconds of Standing Dumbbell Twists and :30 seconds of rest before doing it all over again.  It doesn't seem like much but 60 seconds, let alone 30 seconds is a long time.. well not when you're resting, for some reason when you're resting 30 seconds feels like 10.

Fantastic Beast Pictures & Dinner with Friends

Entertainment Weekly has a story about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this is a Harry Potter Prequel that takes place 50 years before his story. They also released several photo from the set. You can check out the rest of the photos HERE.

Not much is given away but we do get to see some of the lead actor as their characters. Not much is known about the film.. but the film is rumored to feature an American wizarding school similar to Hogwarts, and will also visit the Magical Congress of the United States of America (or MACUSA), the U.S. equivalent of the Ministry of Magic. Eddie Redmayne is the main character Newt. I'm really looking forward to this trilogy.

Sad new today, Melissa Mathison, who wrote one of my all time favorite movies Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” died of neuroendrocrine cancer today. She was 65.

She recently reunited with Spielberg to write the screenplay for Roald Dahl adaptation “The BFG,” which is in post-production and will be released next year. Mathison, who was married to Harrison Ford from 1983 to 2004, had two children with the actor, Malcolm and Georgia.

I got another screener today.. this time it's Furious 7. I haven't seen any of these movies but I hear they are good and they are on my list to movies to watch.. so many one day I'll catch up. 

In the evening I set up a dinner with some friends. A group of us gathered in NoHo at a Lebanese restaurant that I really enjoy. Joining me for dinner was Will, Jen, Jes, Hayley, Robert, Cait and Dallas. I miss seeing these guys on a regular bases as we all have such busy lives these days. It's nice when we can get together and just catch up. Lot's of hilarity always ensues. It was a good night.

NerdStrong Gym - Dungeon Run

Today's CON workout is titled Dungeon Run and boy was it.. lots of different workouts in the battle portion of this Dungeon Run.

We started with a Run (of course) and then did 6x Perfect Stretch. This stretch is one of my most complicated stretches I think we do at the gym. It has lots of movement and a certain way to do them.

Next was did 5x Air Squats, 10x Banded Squats and 5x Air Squats again. It's crazy the difference you feel from the firs set of air squats to the second set after doing the banded one in-between.

No Quest for today's workout.. instead we moved on to a very long Battle. We had to do 2 rounds of 2 minutes of work and 1 minute of rest. We had to do Bird Dogs, Armless Sit Ups, Dumbbell Thrusters, Mountain Climbers, Bicycles, Dumbbell Curls and then Half Push Ups (with a 3 second hold).

Two minutes of each of these with a minute of rest (which feels like 10 seconds) it rough and when you finish one round you have to do it all over again and it's even harder. Once I got to my second round of mountain climbers I hit a wall and struggled to finish the rest but I'm happy to say I did everything.. I was tired and exhausted but glad I finished. 

And check out another great article that Geek and Sundry did on the gym.. HERE

NerdStrong Gym - Handstands and Mace Jousting

DEX day at NerdStrong Gym.. Dexterity days have a really wide range of workouts. For today's workout.. after we ran a lap as we all know Coach Blair loves to make us run laps.

We started with our "Build" 50x Jumping Jacks, 3x Calf/Hamstring Stretches, 2x Doorway Stretches and finished with another 50x Jumping Jacks. We moved on to "Proficiency" and did 2x Walking Rope Squat and then 3x Lateral Walking Push Up. These were some new moves that we (or at least I) have never done. Standing on a "battlerope' and doing a squat is difficult enough but then you have to side step on the rope a foot or so and do it again and again until you get to the end of the rope.  Doing the Push Ups on the rope wasn't as bad (at least not for me as I actually enjoy push ups now).

For the Quest we did 5x Ring Dips, 100x Jump Rope and :30 seconds Handstand Hold. Ring Dips are extremely tough as they take alot of tricep strength to do them properly, which I can't so I have to use a box to help with the dips. Jumping rope is fine but I really enjoy doing handstands so that was my favorite part of the workout.

We finished off with our "Battle". We had to do 5 Rounds of 10x Mace Joust (Right), 5x Strict Mace Squats, 10x Mace Joust (Left) and then 5x Strict Mace Squats. Depending on the weight (and I choose a heavy one) these got daunting after the first three rounds but it was a nice way to finish up with workout.

New Star Trek Series & Metroid: The Sky Calls

CBS Television Studios announced today it will launch a new Star Trek television series in January 2017.

We don't know much about it but this is what they have told us so far. The brand-new Star Trek will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.

The new series will start with a special preview broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The premiere episode and all subsequent first-run episodes will then be available exclusively in the United States on CBS All Access, the Network’s digital subscription video on demand and live streaming service. This will be the first original series developed specifically for U.S. audiences for CBS All Access, a cross-platform streaming service that brings viewers thousands of episodes from CBS’s current and past seasons on demand, plus the ability to stream their local CBS Television station live for $5.99 per month. CBS All Access already offers every episode of all previous Star Trek television series.
Alex Kurtzman will serve as executive producer for the new Star Trek TV series. Kurtzman co-wrote and produced the blockbuster films Star Trek (2009) with Roberto Orci, and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) with Orci and Damon Lindelof. Both films were produced and directed by J.J. Abrams. The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout. Kurtzman and Heather Kadin will serve as executive producers. Kurtzman is also an executive producer for the hit CBS television series Scorpion and Limitless, along with Kadin and Orci, and for Hawaii Five-0 with Orci.

I'm super excited for this though I don't like the idea that I'll have to pay for another streaming service to watch it.. but it's Star Trek and I'll pretty much do anything for a new Star Trek. You can read the original article HERE.

There is a short movie that I want to share with you guys. The creator is the husband of one of the coaches (Kimi) at NerdStrong, and the actress (on screen) is the wife of another coach (Blair) at NerdStrong. And my friend America did all the motion capture for this film. And if that's not enough they actually filmed some of it at the gym itself.

It's produced by Rainfall Films (coach Kimi's husbands company) and you might remember they produced this AMAZING Wonder Women short back in 2013, which you can watch HERE. That too had several of my friends in it.. but the one I want to share with you today is Metroid: The Sky Calls. It's based off a very popular video game from Nintendo. Hope you enjoy it, I thought it was a lot of fun.