Random Ramblings: It's My Blog...

... and I will blog when I want to.

Blogging: So I missed another Sunday. Well, it is my blog so I can do whatever I want to do. So I have decided that for the remainder of my BlogBlitz(tm) I will be skipping Sundays.

Reading: For my quarterly book I am reading the sequel to Mick Foley's Have a Nice Day. Yup, another wrasslin' book. Hey, I know what I like.

Writing: I have had this comic book idea pop in and out of my mind these last couple of days. I am combining that idea with another novel idea The Samaritans with it and seeing where it is going. And surprising myself, I have also scripted a few pages. I think I am going to use this idea for the upcoming ScriptFrenzy. Before I script more I am going to plot out some stuff. This idea was something my friend Joel and I developed way back in the day but we decided to go in another direction. Hopefully he doesn't mind me dusting this off and adding a coat of paint.

Planning: What to eat here in two weeks for the Superbowl. Yesterday we ate these yummy sweet pork sandwiches/salads while catching the games. Now that the stupid Pats and Giants made the Superbowl, the only important thing about the Superbowl will be the food.

Disappointing: While both games yesterday were exciting, two of my least favorite teams won. I was hoping for the Ravens and 49ers but I guess I cannot win them all. But on the other hand, I felt this way four years ago when the same teams faced each other and it turned out to be one of the greatest games ever. Oh well, there is always next year.

Reading Part II:  I have decided to read all my X-Men books from the beginning which leads me to this:

Blogging Part II:  The comic book geek inside of me is going to do a comic book blog sometime later this year. I just have to find a clever name for my blog and set it up. I am planning on blogging about each X-Men book I am reading and I am choosing 3 panels from each book to blog about. I'll be blogging about other stuff as well.

Random Ramblings: Too Many Questions

And not enough answers...

Writing: I am now 9 days (I have not written yet today) into my new novel and I am proud to say that I have posted 20,773 words and I am way ahead of schedule. Like I have said before, one of the most satisfying things is when the novel begins to write itself. When story beats suddenly come out of nowhere and characters come to life. I was worried that my novel was lacking in an antagonist when suddenly the idea of turning a good supporting character into one of the main villains came to me. And it fits so perfectly and I don't have to change anything that I have written before. So when should the main protagonist discover the true antagonist?

Listening Part I: While I write I like to listen to music. I usually get distracted when I listen to Queen (I start to sing along) so I try to listen to movie soundtracks and the like. And one of my favorite bands/orchestras came out with another album. E.S. Posthumus's new album Makara is fantastic and the cover of Moonlight Sonata (featured below) is wonderful. What other music do you recommend I should listen to when I write?

Debating: So I feel that I am at a moral crossroads. I see something in the future that I feel can either turn into some sort of Dateline show or could be completely innocent. What makes matters worse is that I recently saw a Dateline episode that was basically the same thing I am seeing now and that did not end well. So what should I do?

Listening Part II: I have gone through the last five studio Queen albums and I have to say that these new remasters were well worth the purchase. The sound is so much clearer and crisp on the Miracle and Innuendo albums especially. The last two albums are bittersweet, Freddie knew the end was coming and it shows through the songs. While artistically I feel Queen was at their best on these final albums, the songs definitely had hints of retrospect, sadness and dealing with the cards you have been dealt with. So when am I going to post my reviews of each album?

Wishing: I wish I had the NFL Network so I can catch the Thursday games. I just cannot justify paying that much more a month for a TV package when the NFL Network would really be the only channel I would watch. I think I may cancel my TV when the football season ends. It could be that I am getting old but there is just nothing good on TV anymore. The bad stuff on TV clearly overshadows the good. And what TV I would watch, I can catch on the Internet. So should I cancel my TV service at the end of the season?

Calling: Speaking of the NFL game tonight...

Oakland at San Diego:

Both the Chargers and Raiders are in a free fall. Oakland is without RB McFadden and I think that is what will be crucial in this game. RB Michael Bush can also run the ball but lacks the explosiveness that McFadden has. The Chargers usually wake up at this point in the season and I think they will bounce back here.

Winner: San Diego Chargers

Singing: So a couple of Sundays ago I was attending the community choir practice and I got to hear the gospel song we are going to do. Oh boy... ...I really am going to be stepping out of my comfort zone here. A lot of dancing and hand waving and praising. I like to sing and the song is a ton of fun but the actions are not my style. I am going to have to hype myself up to do what they want me to do. I am gonna have to channel my inner Blues Brother.

And shame on you if you don't know who the Blues Brothers are. Have you seen this movie?

So there are some questions... ...now to find some answers.

Random Ramblings: *Insert Title Here*

Blogging: It seems that I just don't have enough to blog about anymore. These Random Ramblings blogs cover most of the stuff that happens to my family and I. I want to blog more, I just don't know what else to say aside from the column and my NFL-inspired blogs. I might have to resort to mission stories or comic book stuff.

Listening: For some reason the Phantom of the Opera has been calling my name. That was the first major musical I saw and from the moment I heard the music, I loved it. It also takes me back to my college days with my friend Lared where we would crank this out in the car and sing. And I usually would do Christine's part and surprisingly I could hit a lot of her notes. Now I didn't say that I sounded good but at least I could hit them!

Surveying: I know I have been pimping this out a lot lately but it really works. Since June, I have made a little over in $200 worth of Amazon gift codes. I just recently placed an order for the Queen Boxset #3, which I paid NOTHING for. It comes out in a few weeks and I am giddy with anticipation.

Singing: Speaking of singing and music, I was invited to join a community choir. They are setting up a Christmas program and they even have a baritone section! I am thrilled to be invited and I hope it is a lot of fun. It should be since we are singing Christmas music. But I hope it continues past the Christmas season.

Eating: One of the tastiest coconut-cream donuts EVER! Just thought you would all like to know.

Reading: I am plowing through my collection of spooky/horror comics and I am almost halfway through my Hellboy collection. By Yoda, I love these books. I highly recommend this set of books. The art has a spooky atmosphere and the writing is top-notch. What I really love about these books are the various folk stories from all over the world which he investigates. The strange other-worldly fairy tales and legends really make for some spooky and funny moments. If you liked the movie, you will love the books. Seriously, check them out! They are available not just in comic book form, you can also pick them up in bound tradepaperback editions and I am sure you can find them at your local library.

The Wolves of St. August, The Corpse and the Iron Shoes, the Conqueror Worm and Darkness Falls are some of my favorite Hellboy tales.

Plotting: I am getting really eager to start writing for the NaNoWriMo competition. This will be the third year in a row for me and I cannot recommend it enough. Seriously, if you have any desire to do some writing, you should check this out and try it. It is extremely rewarding. You know who I am talking to! I am meeting up with a couple of local writers this Saturday to chat and plot our novels. Should be fun!

Cheering: Logan and his football team got their first win last night in a blowout. Logan had to block against this huge kid and did really well. They definitely played like a team last night and it was fun to watch. Logan definitely like defense and he is pretty good at snatching flags. We only have two more games.

Logan and his small team. We are missing three kids. One quit, one is a bit flaky and one broke his arm.

An action shot. Not sure who that is. So let's pretend it is Logan.

Watching: I watched one of the saddest things yesterday. I watched an ESPN E:60 special on professional wrestler Scott Hall. He was always one of my favorites and it was extremely sad to see him in such condition. Have you seen the movie The Wrestler? This guy is living it. So sad, I really wish I could do something.

Watching Part II: The season premiere of the Walking Dead. Holy crap, the first thirty minutes was fantastic. I must have bitten off all my nails! I know (mostly) what is going to happen since I read the comics but seeing it in full color (the comic is in black and white) and hearing the sounds really make a huge difference in how scary it is. I am surprised at the amount of gore is allowed for this TV show but I cannot see it any other way. I look forward to the rest of the season.

Random Ramblings: Ugh

Sneezing, Aching, Coughing: Yeah, I have been sick the last couple of days. UGH.  It started Sunday night with a sore throat and by morning I was hurting all over. Each day has been a new symptom. Today my chest feels as if a hippos was using it as a pillow. But on the bright side, I am not sore and my throat feels much better. Wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Pondering: So I am still thinking of going back to school. And I am leaning on going back to school to learn to become a paralegal. I spoke to a recruiter on the horn yesterday and got some great information. I also spoke to our new Bishop as well. He is a lawyer and I wanted to know his opinion on a paralegal career. I got some really good information from him as well. He basically told me that if I am really good, I will be in high demand. I am checking a few other places out and we'll see what comes from that.

Coaching: Last night Logan had a football game and I was called into action to coach. The real coach's son had his wrist snapped during a play and you could hear that poor kid scream. Now this kid seems to get hurt every week and comes crying off the field. And I am ashamed to say that I thought the same thing was happening. His dad teases him and when he was carrying him off the field he was saying that his wrist was broke. We didn't know how to act, it looked like he could be dramatizing the whole incident for his son, who also likes to dramatize things. And then I saw the huge bump by his wrist. It was for real. So he called me in to coach the team. This accident really shook the boys and it was hard to get them to focus. I have to admit that I was a bit distracted by it as well. Poor kid, Logan was already traumatized when the team tried to play "skins". We didn't have enough players on our team so the other coach lent us a few of his players.

Reading: It came!

My big free X-Men Omnibus came in the mail yesterday and it is glorious! And the best part is that it is FREE! So that whole survey thing that I have blogged about? It is for real, I got my Amazon codes and the codes worked and I got my first product. Looking forward to January to get the 2nd volume free and I already have another $60 in codes waiting to be used. It looks like the 3rd Queen Boxset will be mine next month!

Brainstorming: Next month is NaNoWriMo. And I am a bit excited to get cranking on a new novel. I don't want to share the main idea (it would blow the whole mystery) but it involves a man who begins to realize that the life he currently leads is not the life he remembers. But his past life seems so ridiculous that it couldn't possibly be true. The novel will either be called "Parallel Lies" or "Secrets" or something like that.

Growing: Not only did we get some great green peppers but we also got some awesome pumpkins. We got about 8 pumpkins and we cooked on this morning to make cupcakes out of. Look how pretty they are!

Anticipating: I love Halloween. I love strange and spooky things. And I am looking forward to Season 2 of the Walking Dead. And I am looking forward to my annual tradition of reading horror comic books and novels and also watching Ichabod Crane, The Great Pumpkin and hours of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes.

Random Ramblings: Feeling Blue

Feeling Blue: I think that if the Jets pulled off a win yesterday I would be in a better mood. I take losses pretty hard. But I am feeling a little blue...

Feeling Blue Part II: Aside from the game, I had a pretty good day yesterday. Going to the funeral church did bum me out and cheer me up a bit. Our fantastic Bishop and his cute family are moving and he was released yesterday. I have known them since my family and I moved in. He was the first guy that came over to visit me. I served with him many times and I was very fortunate to teach his children in Primary. I am bummed that I will not have a chance to teach the rest of his kids.

Feeling Blue Part III: Two weekends ago was the Top of Utah marathon and I set a goal to run the 5K portion of the festivities. My knee and I never made it.

Feeling Green: On a happier note, my harvested some of our garden last week and we got some awesome looking green peppers. And a ton of them too! We are going to make a batch of Stuffed Peppers and freeze some to use for Philly Steak sandwiches.

Listening: To the first 5 Queen albums. I think I will review each album of these new remasters for the blog. Professional writers say that you should write what you know.

Feeling Giddy: I ordered the second set of Queen remasters and they are on their way. I sold some comic tradepaperbacks and I had some Amazon points to use so I only paid $10 for the set.

Thinking: I think it is time for me to make some life-altering decisions. I think it might be time for this old man to go back to school. The only problem is that I have no idea what to go back to school to learn. If you have any ideas, let me know. I do think that a career as a professional wrestler has passed me by.

Feeling Giddy Part II: That big fat X-Men hardcover that I got for free comes out in a few weeks!

Random Ramblings: All Belinda Edition!

Looking Forward: What a horrible rough week. One that I am so glad to see come to an end. Almost every thing has become a major disappointment. Last week I had such high hopes and this week saw all of them come crashing down. I guess I shouldn't complain but this is my blog and I'll complain if I want too! I am looking forward to next week already. It can't possibly get worse right?

*knocks on wood*

Committing: I have not blogged as much as I thought I would when I completed my 365 Challenge. It has been a lot more difficult than I have anticipated, I am easily distracted and have had issues coming up with ideas. Combine that with the bigger problem of being plain lazy and it is crystal clear why I am not blogging as much. So I am trying a new approach, I am going to try to blog every other day. If that happens to land on a Sunday, I can call an audible and blog if only I have something I can blog about. We'll see how this goes.

Listening: Belinda Carlisle's A Place on Earth. I bought this CD on eBay a few years ago. It is a set of her greatest hits along with a bonus disc of remixes. This CD is not available here in the States which is why I resorted to eBay and it was worth every penny.

Reading: A few days ago, I was stressing that I have not read a book yet this quarter. I finally broke open my copy of Belinda Carlisle's autobiography that I picked up months ago and dug in. And I can now check that goal off my checklist! Lips Unsealed was not was I was expecting. It was a very detailed look at her life and her battle with cocaine addiction. Now I knew that she partied while with the Go-Go's but I had no clue that she was coked up for many years after and that it was just recently that she finally conquered those demons. It was hard to read about someone you admire go through such hell. Aside from the drugs, it was a neat peek behind the scenes behind her music. Some things that I learned that I didn't know was that she didn't think she could sing. Beatle George Harrison also played on one of her songs because he loved her voice. When she was younger she snuck into a hotel to try to meet Freddie Mercury and those events led to her forming the Go-Go's. Quite interesting stuff and it makes me appreciate her music even more since she definitely came off very humble and human. Great stuff!

Plucking: My fingers are sore from playing the bass. I have been trying to learn some new songs by yup, you guessed it. Belinda Carlisle. Some songs have been easy to pick out but my favorite song, Summer Rain has been elusive.

Laughing: Sometimes the internet comes up with something that for some reason just gets me. I found this cat video at work the other day and I can't stop watching it. Both my dad and I must have watched this for ten minutes straight laughing our heads off. Oh man, my side hurts again.

Random Ramblings: Get Shorty

Writing: I have struggled greatly what I should blog about. A few years ago I translated my mission journal into a nice formal book and I have debated whether I should publish it here on the blog. There are some things that I wouldn't mind sharing but there are some things that might be better left unsaid. I am running out of ideas here!

Listening: Men Without Hats - Pop Goes the World. My sister's first husband gave me a cassette of this and I really liked it. I tracked down the CD through eBay and that is one of the few CDs that I cannot let go of. It is not available here in the States so you might have to track it down online. I highly recommend it and it certainly takes me back to the days.

So cheesy!

Reading: I only have a few days before the quarter is up and I have not even started my new book! I better get a move on.

Listening Part II: Yesterday I had the pleasure of hearing Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at a special Stake meeting here in Logan. He was very serious but very funny at the same time. He said a lot of things that I felt I needed to hear. In fact, my mind was wandering a bit (a kid distracted me) and suddenly he said in a very loud voice, "Listen Up!" Could he tell I was not paying attention? I made sure that didn't happen again. His talk made me want to get up and do something. I have been debating back and forth with myself if these promptings I have been getting are for real or just something else. I don't want to get into all the details but I was disqualifying them because they seemed to be "out of my jurisdiction". But he said something that struck me and quickly changed my mind. It was fantastic to hear him speak (Logan even got to meet him) and I will definitely heed his challenge.

Watching: I caught Rise of the Planet of the Apes last week. I went in not expecting anything and I came out quite enthralled and entertained. That may be the best summer movie I have seen. The special effects were unbelievable. It had a lot of heart to it and I was surprised how John Lithgow's character really affected me. It had some very fun nods to the original and it made me eager to see more. That had to be one of the best prequels I have ever seen.

Typing: But than erasing... ...so I guess I don't know what else to say so I will quit.

Random Ramblings: BOOGER!

Wondering: I will give a shout-out to anyone who guesses why I named the column the way I did. Any takers?

Watching: Kristy and I have been slowly going through the first season of one of my all-time favorite shows in WKRP in Cincinnati. When I was a kid I wanted to be Dr. Johnny Fever and I would pretend to be a DJ all the time growing up. Watching this awesome show makes me want to be a DJ again. Which leads to...

E-mailing: I am e-mailing a local radio station (a Classic Rock station that I listen to a lot) and asking if they offer any type of internships or if they are currently hiring. Don't get me wrong, I like what I am doing but I don't love it. We'll see where this could lead. I might as well check it out. I have had pretty good luck before.

Chewing: My dad and his family recently came back from Canada and they brought back loads of candy. And much to my surprise they brought back something I used to love as a kid that I thought they didn't make anymore. There were these gums called "Chews" and they came in all sorts of flavors. They were really cheap gum and each piece had a flavor of its own. They would all have a fruit flavor, depending on the pack you bought, but some of them would have a mint flavor to them and some of them were extremely sour. In fact, whenever I think of them, my jaws ache. I am so glad they are back and I totally want to get more of them.

Cherry and Grape Chews. They are no longer called Chews but they are exactly the same thing.

Watching Part II: Looking forward to this evening. My mom is coming over for dinner and we are watching the first preseason Jets game. So happy that football is back. I got my first invite for Fantasy Football and look forward to getting into that. I am still debating if I should do a column here on the blog like I did last year. It was a lot of work but it was fun.

Drinking: Remember the Pop Shop? I was at a local grocery store and saw that old familiar Pop Shop logo. And not only that, they had a Lime Rickey flavor so I had to try it.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. It was not as flavorful as I expected it. I might have to get the Root Beer one to see if it tastes like I remember it. Root Beer was my favorite flavor back then.

Listening: So I finally used some of my birthday money and got the first Queen Remasters Box Set. The sound is definitely improved. The first two albums (Queen and Queen II) had the most dramatic improvement. That made the purchase worth it but the 2nd bonus discs have been a lot of fun. It is fun to hear other versions and demos and it makes me appreciate the band a whole lot more. I look forward to the next set and hopefully with those surveys, I can get it for free.

Smarting: My knee is still giving me fits and it looks like I may not be able to run a 5K. I went running last week and it seemed fine but today I did a small walking/running workout and it hurts. I hate being old.

Staring: Kristy and Logan went down to Antelope Island and snagged this beautiful sunset. I could stare at this for hours.

Catching Up: Boy I have a lot of catching up reading blogs!

Watching Part III: I caught Captain America: The First Avenger and even though I knew what was going to happen going in (being a comic geek and all) I was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. Of course I like the WWII era and I love Nazis being enemies. This movie surpassed my expectations, I was thinking it would be the weakest of the Marvel movies but I think this one was the strongest. Fun stuff and Chris Evans is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors.

Watching Part IV: I also caught Cowboys and Aliens last week. The movie was definitely entertaining and I thought that the special effects were absolutely breathtaking. The acting was good, but then what do you expect with Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig? The supporting actors were just as great. Aside from that, I thought that the movie was rather ho-hum and full of cliches. I think my 25 plus years of reading comics (and this was based on a comic) has spoiled me. It was rather predictable and didn't offer anything that would set this movie apart from others. If you have seen a Western movie in your life, then you have seen most of this movie. And if you have seen an Alien Invasion movie, you have seen this movie too. It is not like I didn't enjoy it, because I thought it was fun but it was nothing new.

Random Ramblings: Finally!

Happy: Are you ready for some football? This will be an interesting week for the NFL. The NFL is back as the players and owners have agreed to a new 10-year deal. And now teams will have to compress 5-months of business into a week or so. News will be flying fast and I couldn't be more happy.

Laughing: Patriots owner Robert Craft said something pretty funny during the news conference announcing the new NFL deal.

"I believe you're going to see a very great NFL over the next decade and I hope we gave a little lesson to the people in Washington because the debt crisis is a lot easier to fix than this deal was." 

Excited: This will be the final blog of the week as I am taking off to Girl's Camp early tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to spending time with my wife and these wonderful girls. At least it will be quite entertaining. Kristy put me in charge of taking pictures and I have no problem doing that. My only rule is no duckfaces. I hate that look. It is not cute, it makes you look plain stupid.

Sad, Worried and Confused: I have a situation drama that I am observing and it really gives me the heebie-jeebies. I can't blog much about it here because I certainly don't want to offend and with recent events, I have learned that I should keep my nose (and mouth) out of family matters, except for my immediate family. But I cannot stop thinking about it. Personally, I think they are making a big mistake, and one that could potentially be extremely drastic and that is what worries me. I get the reason why they are doing this, I desire the same thing. I get why they are helping someone, I want to help people as well. The big deal is not what they are doing but how they are doing it. The big mistake in my opinion is that they are being too casual.

*DISCLAIMER*

I am now on my soapbox.

You can skip this tirade if you desire. Just scroll down to the Monty Python picture.

It seems lately that Church leaders have warned us to be careful how casual we are in our relationships with others. We have been asked in our Stake (the local area) to assist each other in making sure everyone is being taken care of. My local ward has been asked to help visit (what we call home teaching) other members in other wards. But our leaders have stressed to be careful in these relationships. We should love them and treat them as we would our own family but we are to be careful in our casual this relationship should be. This casualness could lead down a road that will end up in a lot of pain and heartache. Being casual in some things can lead to other things becoming casual and so forth. And this is what I am seeing. I am seeing something that at first was good but now it has become casual. Too casual in my opinion.

Let's take me for instance. I am friends with the Young Women here in our neighborhood. I like being around them and I want to help them when I can. That's not bad right? Nothing wrong to see here. But what if I become to casual with them? What if I start to go out of my way to see them? Is that bad? I don't think it is bad initially. But what if it gets to the point where they come over and visit me? And what if they come and see me when Kristy is not around?

Do you see where I am going with this now? It started off all good and well but things are getting a bit too casual. It is not like I would do anything but it would be easier now that they are coming over alone than it would be if I only saw them in appropriate situations. This is why being casual could lead to problems. Why put yourself in that type of situation?

And this is the sort of situation I am seeing now. Now I know that I don't know all the details and I am not in the same situation. But I can't help feeling this way. It really frightens me where this could go. And unfortunately I wouldn't be able to help them once they are gone.

Boy that was depressing. 

And now for something completely different. 

I was going through some pictures and I found this one of my dad and sister and it reminded me of another picture.

I guess I do look a lot like my dad.

Random Ramblings: Here I Go Again

Reliving: It sure seems like I have written parts of this blog before.

Eating: Junior Mints. My dad and his family are off in Canada so I am tending the dog and working alone. My dad and I usually share the movie-size boxes of Junior Mints while at work but since he is not here I get the whole box to myself. I am sure he would have wanted it that way.

Reading: A bunch of comics and tradepaperbacks that I got for my birthday. Two of those books were G.I. Joe related. How old am I?

Double Dipping: So I have decided to sell all my Queen CDs. Yes, the same ones that I said I wouldn't sell. I have decided to upgrade my Queen collection to the new remastered sets. The new CDs have better audio quality and they are also all double sets. I usually hate double-dipping but I think this will be worth it. That is until the 50th anniversary of Queen where I am sure they will release some new bonus stuff.

Soon this will be mine!

Preparing: Next week I will be at Girl's Camp again. I cannot believe that it has been over a year ago since I went last year. This time I will be staying the whole time and I have to admit that I am looking forward to it. Last Sunday after Church a few of the girls came up to me and said that they are going to make me a camp shirt this week. They said it was going to be awesome and part of me is excited to see what they will come up with and part of me is a little leery of what it might turn out to be. I am flattered that they want to make me a shirt (which is the reason why I didn't want to do one in the first place; I wanted them to do one for me) and I told them I am excited to see it. But I also reminded them that the reason I am going to Girl's Camp is because I wanted to spend time with them because I like them. Hopefully that will quell any embarrassing shirts they could make me. I already know that my nickname is going to be plastered on it.

Painting: The camp shirts are pretty cool. Logan liked them so much that he made some as well. I do think they turned out pretty cool.

 To make tie-dye shirts the easy way, just get a blank white shirt and crumple it.

 Then spray with paint.

And that is it!

Forgetting: I think I have forgotten how to drive. I have been without my car for almost a month. It is still being repaired by a friend of the family. It has taken a lot more time than he figured and it has been a bit aggravating but then I just have to remember how much money he is helping me save. I have not filled up my car too so that is saving me $50 at least! I borrowed my dad's car the other night and I think my depth perception is off. I cut off two cars by mistake and I think it is because I have not driven in nearly a month!

Pondering: I am thinking of purchasing tickets for the family to see The Music of Queen by the Utah Symphony next month. It is up at Park City and the concert is outdoors on the lawn. But the tickets are $30 bucks a piece. But I think Logan would have a good time. I did find a $10 off coupon and that helps. And I might be able to get Logan in for free! Hmmmm.....

Random Ramblings: July Already?

Shaking my Head: I cannot believe that we are 5 days in July already! Where did June go?

Sweating: Like I have said before, I am no fan of the heat. It has gone from cool to sweltering in only a couple of days. It got so bad that I put in my air conditioner unit so I could sleep at night. If I can see my breath at night, then I know I can sleep comfortably. Must be my Canadian training.

I totally need to watch this movie again.

Sweating Part II: I have a sweating problem. I sweat like no one's business (and I am sure you are all pleased to hear this) especially when I am exercising. I look like a NBA basketball player when I play racquetball, it just runs off my nose. But my sister came to the rescue for my birthday. She got me a new set of purple racquetballs and a sweatband (unfortunately wearing a sweatband reminds me of Lebron) and some wrist sweatbands. I tried them out last Saturday and it worked wonders.

Eating: Pez. My sister Jennifer also got me this huge Wolverine Pez Dispenser. Seriously, it is huge! It also talks as well and it says some pretty typical Wolverine stuff and then it spouted the line, "I like Pez."

Listening: It is the 40th Anniversary of Queen and to celebrate they are coming out of Deluxe Remastered versions of all their studio albums in sets of five. These re-issues have a bonus CD which contains demos, unreleased tracks, live tracks or alternate versions. I downloaded (thanks iTunes for not making me buy the whole album) the first set of bonus tracks and I have been listening to them non-stop.

Shaking my Finger: The next batch of Queen releases came out on June 27th. Except that they delayed the American releases until SEPTEMBER! Good grief that sucks. I don't want to wait until then! I highly doubt that we Americans will get the fourth and final batch before the end of the year. So I guess we Americans will celebrate the 41st Anniversary of Queen.

I am eagerly awaiting the Hot Space bonus CD. And I totally want this t-shirt ringer now!

Celebrating: I had a nice 4th of July with my sister-in-law Lynn and her family. It was also her daughter Jessica's birthday. We had a nice BBQ at their house and ate some cake and ice cream and I drank a ton of homemade Raspberry Cream Soda.

Yawning: I have been without a car since Thursday and it unfortunately looks like I won't get my car until this Thursday. All this biking has made me extra tired. I should count my blessings that I am exercising, saving money on gas and ultimately I am saving money on my car as well.

Eating Part II: I had some of the best Peach Cobbler last Sunday. My neighbor and his family invited us over Sunday evening for what he claims is the best Peach Cobbler. He is right, I have never had Peach Cobbler that was better. I have some fantastic neighbors, it was a nice evening to spend with them and another family.

Wishing: Didja know that my mother-in-law is older than Alaska? It was her birthday on the 3rd and we celebrated it by lighting all of her candles with a blowtorch.

Random Ramblings: Memorial Day Weekend

Listening: It is the 40th Anniversary of Queen and to celebrate they are re-releasing their albums 5 at a time with a bonus disc of extra material. And thankfully iTunes has allowed us to buy just those songs instead of it being the dreaded Album Only. The new "Beeb" renditions of Nevermore and Teo Torriatte are spectacular.

Scaring: Last Sunday we helped out some friends of ours by watching their kids while they went to Salt Lake to pick up a relative from the airport. We first took them back to our house for some lunch and then we headed to their house to play while we waited for their parents. They were happily playing with Logan and then it was time to eat lunch. I snuck up the corner of our stairs to scare the next person who came down the stairs which was unfortunate for Shelby. I scared that poor girl good! Afterwards we took them back to their house and played by the river in their backyard. The girls showed me two large duck nests that were full of eggs. And then we played Fish until their parents came home.

Logan, Cassiday and Shelby

Their house was right on the river. Logan is at the bottom of the stairs leading to their backyard, which is now the Logan River.

Cooking: The morning of Memorial Day we had a neighborhood breakfast at the park. I was partly in charge of cooking up the French Toast. We had a real good showing and it was fun to spend the morning with my great neighbors. I cooked for the first hour and a half (with help from Kristy) and then went inside to socialize with everyone and play basketball with the Young Men and Women.

Freezing: I cannot believe that we woke up Monday to snow! It was not a lot of snow but I did have to scrape it off the car!

Really? Snow?

Riding: Yesterday for Memorial Day we took a road trip with my mom and visited a couple of cemeteries (Wellsville, Logan, Hyrum and Richmond) and looked at some of our deceased relatives. It was a beautiful day for the most part. It got sunny and warm and then cold and rainy. The weather made every cemetery clean and green. It was so awesome to see all the flowers and flags. Visiting these gravesides always puts me in a sober and reflective mood. But I am glad that I was able to do it. It is fun hanging out with my mom and driving around. It takes me back to our road trips to Idaho and Colorado. We stopped for some dinner at Big J's and had a nice drive back to Logan.

I cannot believe that it has been 7 years since my grandparents passed away.

Feeling Strange: We dropped by the USU Trailer Court (where Kristy and I lived right after we got married) and our trailer is gone! And so is every trailer that was on our block. The whole trailer park was stripped with only a few trailers remaining. It was like a tornado cleared it out. Both Kristy and I felt strange. A part of our early married life is gone forever. All that remained was a few bricks that Kristy put in for a flower bed.

Logan is standing where the bathroom used to be.

Riding Part II: I rode my bike to my dad's house today for work. 4.13 miles is not to shabby. But I can already tell that my butt is going to be sore.

Tempting: You know I just might have to go see X-Men: First Class at midnight Thursday by myself.

Random Ramblings: Bottoms Up!

Eating: Our family was invited to a birthday BBQ for our neighbor yesterday. The food was wonderful, and the company was even better. My family and I are blessed to have such awesome neighbors. I thought it was cute that Kara told Logan that he needs to kick Kristy and I out so she can babysit him again.
 

This was thier backyard. The river is pretty full, last year when we were here, the water was nowhere near this level.

Drinking: Mountain Dew Livewire. Not only had it finally returned to Cache Valley, the 12-pack has also returned!

Drinking II: So I was at the store picking up some Livewire when I found another soda that I used to love. Tahitian Treat! This was one of the best fruit punch sodas ever! I thought it was only available in Canada but I did find some limited quantities in New York. But I have not had one since then. And then I found a 12-pack so I had to have it. And it tastes just like I remembered.

Listening: To a fun mix of the 80's. Bangles, Rick Springfield, the Spoons... ...I definitely grew up in the BEST decade!

Eating II: I ate way too much last Saturday. Saturday was Richmond's annual Black and White Days. So we headed up to Richmond to watch the parade. We first picked up Kristy's sister Lynn and her daughter Jessica since their jeep was on the fritz. We headed up and dropped off some chairs at my mom's house and then went to Big J's (a local burger joint) and got an early dinner. Then we headed up to watch the parade. The parade was nice but not as good as it has been in years past. Funny thing is that we see a couple of our neighbors in the parade. Logan did get a bunch of candy and it was nice to see Jennifer and her family as well. After the parade we waited for Justin to come back (he was leading the parade in his cop car) and headed back to Big J's and got some ice cream. I got a large (and I really shouldn't have) Rice Krispie Treat shake and it was awesome!

Waiting for candy...

I told Logan that he needs to wave cutely to the cute girls. Here he is awarded a candy from one of the girls. Logan should trust me on this.

Our neighbor Sister Weeks playing the bass drum.

Winning: Kara's little brother Justin has been wanting to kick my trash in Madden. Finally last Saturday we had a showdown. It was close for a little while and then I pulled away and won the game. I guess I should feel bad for beating a 10-11 year old but he was a huge Steelers fan so it was deserved. The winner had to make cookies and so he made his sister Kara make me a plate of delicious cookies. Don't worry, I will pay them both back with a batch of cookies sometime this week.

Itching: Last week Logan was at a basketball camp for three days and he came home with a case of Athlete's Foot!

Reading: I am still a kid. I just finished a comic trade paperback G.I. Joe: Cobra and it was absolutely enthralling. This is not your daddy's G.I. Joe!

His name is Chuckles. He's the Joes' top undercover agent. And he's just infiltrated a top secret, highly organized terrorist organization... one the Joes aren't familiar with... one with a snake motif. As Chuckles is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark underbelly of Cobra, where one misstep means death, can he pull off the ultimate deception and bring them down from within?

I am very surprised (and pleased) that Hasbro (the toy company that owns G.I. Joe) would allow a book like this to be published. This is a very dark book with a couple of surprising twists. This is nothing like the old cartoon, it is a much more serious look at America's top fighting force taking on a dangerous terrorist group. There are two more volumes in print that I definitely want to track down.

Random Ramblings: Really?

Hurting: I am a little sore today. My biceps are quite tender and they feel like they could fall off at any moment. Last Friday I did a workout and then Saturday I played racquetball (on an already sore arm) and then I went and helped sandbag.

Flooding: I only live about two blocks away from the Logan River and it looks like we are in for some flooding here in a couple of weeks. The Blacksmith Fork River is already past flood stage (and I only live a few miles away from that river) and it looks like it may get even worse. I went up the canyon and helped sandbag one of the cabins that my neighbor owns. Man, those sandbags are incredibly heavy!

Loving: A few days ago I was asked if I would go back into the Primary for a couple of weeks at church. Yesterday was my first day back and I really missed it. I was helping teach the 5-year olds and it is really Comedy Central. I am looking forward to staying there for a couple of weeks and I am lobbying hard to make it official!

Loving Part II: Ever since I went and saw Thor last week I have been in a God of Thunder mood. I dug out a few old trade paperbacks of Thor that I had and I have been re-reading them. I have not read these for years and I am getting a kick out of them. I am reading and in the middle of the fantastic Walter Simonson run (Thor issues #337-382 along with the Balder the Brave #1-4) and I just finished one of my all-time favorite issues of that run (Thor #362) where the Executioner makes his valiant stand against the hordes of Hel. My favorite quote from the comic is when someone asked how the Executioner would be remembered.

"He stood alone at Gjallerbru. And that answer is enough."

Smiling: Last Thursday I got a nice package of comics in the mail. For the last couple of years I have been trimming down my massive comic collection. I am running out of room to handle them all but the real reason I am doing this is because I want a comic collection that is all stuff that I love. So I have been going through my collection and re-reading a ton of books and purging those books that just no longer cut the mustard. So far I have sold over 1,000 comics. One of the sites that I sell comics back to gives me double store credit and I trade comics for comics. Last Thursday I got a set of books that I am really looking forward to. But the one that I was excited for the most turned out to be quite the embarrassment for Marvel.

Shaking: Shaking my head and wagging my finger at Marvel Comics. There was a storyline running in Captain America that I really liked. It involved this character named Scourge who was going around and killing villains. He was shrouded in mystery and he appeared and killed villains in a ton of other Marvel comics like the Amazing Spider-Man, the Avengers and so forth. I wanted to get every single issue he appeared in when I was younger but I never got the chance. Fast forward twenty some odd years later and Marvel has collected all of Scourge's appearance along with all his killings from other books in one handy volume called Captain America: Scourge of the Underworld. And I was giddy with excitement!

Take a closer peek at the cover.

Really Marvel?

Yeah, they spelled Underworld wrong. How in the blue heck do you spell that wrong in the age of Spellcheck? Not only is it spelled wrong on the cover but also on the spine. How was it that this book was still published? How embarrassing and unprofessional for Marvel. You would think that they would be able to catch such an obvious mistake especially with Disney's deep pockets now backing them up. But then I still bought it and it is a beautiful reprint. So I guess it wasn't that* bad.


*yes it was.

Random Ramblings: Where Ya Been?

Stuttering: It has been a long time since I last blogged. I think it has been the longest amount of time between blogs since I started blogging over a year ago. I just don't know what to blog about anymore. And if I can't think of a topic to blog about, I just bag it and put it off till the next day. Yeah, we see how well that has turned out.

Angry Blogging: Now I did have a topic that I really wanted to blog about these last couple of days but as you can see I have not yet published it. I have something that I really want to blurt out and fire back at but I don't think it will do any good. Aside from the brief moment of getting revenge I guess. It goes back to my blog a few weeks ago that dealt with backbiting. I want to "bite" back at some mud that was slung at my family. But it won't do any good, it will just feed the flames. If that is what they think and reap, that is what they will sow.

I'll eventually catch up to you!

Reading: I have started the autobiography of President Monson, To The Rescue. So far it has been enjoyable and I am sure I will learn something from it. Now applying what I learn... ...well, that is another story. I will have to crank this hefty book out pretty quick if I want this done by the quarter.

Procrastinating: My cousin Josh updated his blog with how he is doing with his New Year's Resolutions. I know I should do the same thing but I am a bit afraid of what I may find.

Celebrating: Finally!  Mountain Dew Livewire has returned to Cache Valley! Now I don't have to go to Salt Lake anymore to find my favorite Dew!

Listening: I don't know about you but I seem to swing from band to band for months at a time. I would listen to U2 for months and then go somewhere completely different. I am now back to listening to Queen and I feel like I am back with some old friends. 

Hammering: I went and saw Thor yesterday and I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with it. The acting was fantastic. Both Thor and his brother Loki exceeded my expectations. And it was loaded with a ton of geek moments for the hardcore comic book fan. I think my favorite cameo was one of the best Thor artists Walt Simonson. He was sitting at the table with the other Asgardians celebrating near the end of the movie. That must have been such a surreal and fantastic moment for him. I am totally looking forward to the Avengers next year. 

I am not a huge Thor fan and I only have a smattering of comics. But Walt Simonson's run on Thor is one of the all-time greats of ANY comic. Watching the movie made me dig out that run and start over again from scratch.

Rubbing: I have been rubbing my poor legs today and last night. I have not played racquetball for about a week due to me being sick. Yesterday I played for the first time in over a week and I am sore! I am looking forward to defending my belt tomorrow morning in what may be the last time. Both our schedules change and we cannot play so early in the morning anymore. I am going to go out like a winner though!

Wishing: All the Mothers a belated Happy Mother's Day. There are a ton of them out there. Logan made a nice card along with a book of gift certificates that Kristy could use.

Random Ramblings: Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

Sick: Wasn't I just getting over some strange stomach flu just last week? Now my allergies are kicking my rear. I am so congested and itchy.

Listening: Black Sheep by the Evil Exes. I love this song!

Lazing: Yesterday was such a nice day. Early in the morning we took a road trip down to Salt Lake for Stella's baby blessing. For those that don't know, in the LDS faith, fathers have the opportunity to bless their baby during church and it serves a couple of purposes. The main purpose is to give the infant a name which it will be known on the church records and then the father can give the infant a blessing. I really appreciated Andrea for going out of her way to make sure I meet Stella before the service began. I feel kinda bad that this was the first time I met my beautiful new niece. Steven (Stella's father) asked me if I would assist and I was happy to do it. It was a beautiful blessing and it was a wonderful church service. It was also nice to see some of my fellow bloggers even if I was not able to chat with them. But it was nice to be remembered. Afterwards we went to Kristy's mom house for some lunch and to relax. It was a nice and relaxing visit.

Giddy: So Steven and I were talking (about football of course) and he mentioned that he would really like to catch the Detroit Lions (his favorite team) when they play the Denver Broncos. He just doesn't have anyone to go with. Now I have been to Denver a few times and I would love to go to a cold weather game in Denver! The game is October 30th. Wheels are in motion!

Winning: I completed my 100 page ScriptFrenzy project! There were times that I didn't think I would make it but I persevered and made it! The next time I do it I will be better prepared and plot things out. It was still a learning experience and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND any wanna-be-writer to give this a whirl. You won't regret the time and hard work you put into it.

Random Ramblings

Celebrating:  I love Easter. It definitely is my favorite holiday. I had a fantastic Easter Sunday. I had to wake up a bit earlier than normal since I had to make it to church before it started to choir practice. I was a little nervous since this song has a ton of high notes that are just a little out of my reach. But with some prayer and some faith I managed to hit my notes. We sang Consider the Lilies and our choir knocked it out of the park! After a fantastic church service we came home and relaxed and ate a wonderful dinner (thanks Kristy) and ate some candy. 

Puppy Love: I am not sure if it is puppy love or not but Logan did something that I am sure will embarrass him when he gets older. So I have to blog about it! Kara, (one of the Young Women) had her tonsils out and she looked downright miserable Sunday. I am sure she was sad that she couldn't sing in the choir but she also looked very uncomfortable. I felt bad for her so I stopped to chat with her and told her that drinking soda is supposed to help. I offered to bring her a Dr. Pepper (since that is who I am) and she smiled and said sure. So after church Kristy, Logan and I put a can of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper along with a Barq's Red Creme Soda and we tried it in a bow and wrote a small note for her. Logan signed his name and before we left he said that he didn't do it right. So he took it back and made a small change. Instead of an "O" in his name he put a heart! Now I don't know if he did this so the card would look more girlie or if it was something else. It wouldn't surprise me either way since I know he certainly is enamored with them

Color Me Eating: I am looking forward to eating some deviled eggs out of the ones we colored last Saturday night. We have colored eggs for the last couple of years. Logan gets a kick out of doing them and I must say that I kinda do too. We made some real nice ones this year and of course I had to make a New York Jets egg. That has been a tradition since my mission whenever I colored eggs.

 

Eating Part II: Easter candy is the best candy! My poor tongue and mouth are sore from eating so many SweeTarts!

Listening: I downloaded a new album the other night and I cannot stop listening to it. I really liked the music that accompanied the X-Men: First Class trailer so I googled it and found that it was done by a band called Two Steps From Hell and they had just put out a new CD. I went to iTunes and sampled them and then immediately downloaded it. If you like original movie scores, I definitely recommend getting this album! It gets me in a writing mood.

Writing: I only have a few days left in the ScriptFrenzy competition! I am at 70 pages (you need to do a 100 during the month) and I got to crank out 30 pages. Last Friday I killed Zartan and it was awesome! And I hope to kill Duke by the end of the month. I never liked Duke and when I first plotted this series many, many years ago, he was the first to go! 

Seriously: Yup. When I said I was doing a GI Joe versus Aliens comic, I meant it! 

Feeling Better: Yesterday I was sick as a dog. Cold and hot chills and I must have barfed in every dream I had. Luckily I didn't in real life. I don't know what I ate or what happened. But I am feeling much, much better today. Glad it didn't stick around. I wonder if it was because I ate too much Easter candy.