The Big Picture

Day 225

Creating that large image was a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. Using PhotoShop to cut each picture out was a different story. But I am happy with what I got. Some of the images you cannot see all that well so here is the full picture along with a legend.

1. Lime Crush - One of my all-time favorite sodas that they don't make anymore. Sadly the new Mountain Dew Lime is nowhere like this flavor. I would drive back to Canada tomorrow if I knew I could get some.

2. Brett Favre - I have always like the Packers (even though the Jets are my team) but I really liked Favre. I own 3 different Favre jerseys and no matter the flipflops of retirement, he will go down as one of my all-time favorite players. His boyish love of the game is just one of the reasons why I admire Brett. In fact, Logan was almost named Brett (after Favre) and Kristy and I are thinking of travelling and visiting the Football Hall of Fame when Favre gets inducted. If he retires...

3. Edmonton Oilers - Before there was football there was hockey. And Hockey Night in Canada was a staple growing up in Canada. And I was very lucky to be there in Edmonton during the dynasty days. Hockey is the only sport that I can sit down and watch any team play each other and know I will be entertained.

4. Wolverine and the X-Men - I love comic books but I don't have a love of comic book movies, that is until the first X-Men was released and raised the bar. I never thought any actor would be able to portray one of my favorite comic characters but Hugh Jackman nailed the role and it only took a few minutes to convince me. Now when a comic book movie comes out I am not as nervous as I used to be. Most of them have been good with X2 being the best.

5. Ric Flair - WHOOOO! I admit that I love wrestling and I was lucky enough (if you consider that to be lucky) to watch wrestling when it was awesome. Ric Flair is my all-time favorite wrestler, again like with Brett Favre, the Nature Boy just loves to play the game. And no one plays an evil (heel) wrestler like Ric Flair. Nothing gets you more excited when a hated villain finally gets what is coming to him!

6. Nexus - I don't think I have mentioned Nexus here on the blog yet but that is one of my all-time favorite comics. It came out in the 80's and was way before its time. It combined science fiction along with a heavy dose of politics with just a hint of superheroes. The main character Nexus (picture here) is gifted with god-like powers to act as judge, jury and executioner. He dreams of evil people (mass murderers) and is haunted by these dreams until he tracks them down and kills them. If he doesn't eventually the dreams will kill him. Awesome comic series.

7. Cadbury Creme Egg - I wish I had one right now. I love these tasty Easter chocolates. My all-time favorite candy.

8. U2's Zooropa - I love U2 and I am one of the few fans that think Zooropa is their best album. And this is one album that I cannot just listen to one or two songs, I have to listen to the whole album all at once. Johnny Cash's voice on "The Wanderer" is the perfect and fitting end to such a wonderful album. For some strange reason I really like the album cover too. I wish I had a T-shirt of this album cover.

9. Mountain Dew LiveWire - I don't get to drink this very often since it is not available where I live but it gives me a grand excuse to go down to Salt Lake. My old boss used to complain that it was just orange soda mixed with Mountain Dew and I would laugh (in my mind) at him. That is EXACTLY what it is. I don't know why I love it but I do.

10. The Laughing Cat - You are either a dog person or a cat person. While I don't mind dogs, I do prefer cats. Kristy found this picture of a laughing cat in a magazine and I had to keep it. Whenever I feel down I can always look at this pic and smile. So sorry dog people, I like cats better.

11. Alan Davis and Captain Britain - Captain Britain (pictured here) is one my favorite heroes. So why not Captain America? I like Captain Britain because he is a flawed hero. He doesn't want to be a hero and makes mistakes but ultimately becomes a hero. My favorite comic book artist is Alan Davis (who drew this) and I first saw his artwork drawing this character as well. He drew the good Captain aloof and brooding but powerful. And I just had to learn more about him. I have followed Captain Britain and Alan Davis wherever they go. I also run an Alan Davis message board and I have been extremely lucky that I am in contact with my favorite artist. A comic geek's dream come true.

12. Bottlecaps - My tongue has cankers. Yes, I went out and bought another box and ate them while watching the World Cup. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I love this candy. I love soda and candy. And those orange ones taste like children's aspirin, which I love.

13. Queen - I love this picture (taken from the album The Miracle) and it totally represents what Queen means to me. They are so diverse and creative. Listening to them relaxes me and makes me want to be like them and create. I never tire of them. This may surprise you though, Crazy Little Thing Called Love is one of their songs I like the least. Not sure why, it might be because I have heard it too many times.

14. Banshee - My favorite comic book character. Why? Beats the crap out of me. I think it is because he is not popular and is not seen very much. Something about his gliders on his costume and his powers that make me think he is cool. When I participated in the ScriptFrenzy, I wrote a comic book script that had Banshee in it. One of these days...

15. Princess Leia and Star Wars - My first celebrity crush as a kid. And it wasn't until Empire Strikes Back that I really began to think that she was hot. And then Return of the Jedi came out (I was 9 at the time) and I really began to crush on her. I didn't know it at the time but I am sure her little slave outfit had something to do with it.

16. Mr. Burns and the Simpsons - I quote the Simpsons all the time. Seriously, I do it all the time and I think I do it unconsciously, without even thinking about it. Mr. Burns is my favorite character. I can watch this show anytime and every Halloween, Kristy and I will whip out all the Halloween episodes and watch them. We love the Simpsons around here.

17. NaNoWrMo - I love to write and this novel contest is awesome. If any of you are aspiring writers or want to see what you are capable of, I highly HIGHLY recommend doing this. It is very rewarding and I am looking forward to doing it again this November.

18. Bob and Doug McKenzie - SCTV was a fixture growing up. People still believe that all Canadians are like this and that is not true. Only a few of them are exactly like this. Watching Strange Brew quickly brings about my Canadian accent. I can use the Great White North call and my family would immediately call back and come running.

19. New York Jets and the NFL - I get asked this all the time, why the Jets? My mom and I share a love for the NFL and I followed the Packers and 49ers but it was not until my LDS mission where I started to follow the Jets. I was in Queens and we used to go over to Mike's, a member's house every Sunday after Church. Mike’s dad did not like us at all. He did not want to be disturbed while watching football and this Sunday wasthe Giants/Jets game. Sometimes I would peek in and see the scores but I never stayed and never made any noise. But for some reason Mike’s dad wanted to know where that one missionary was. And he for some reason was talking about me. I walked in and his dad yells out “Are you going to stand there or are you going sit here and watch the game with me?” We were all flabbergasted! I sat down next to him and I was nervous. He looked over and said, “Who are you for? The Giants or the Jets?” I did not know what to say so I looked over at the television and I saw that Ronnie Lott was on the Jets team. (I guess he was traded while I was on my mission.) I replied “I like the Jets!” I picked the right team because he muttered “Damn Giants. I hate them!” He looked over at me and I blurted out "I hate the damn Giants!" He smiled and asked Mike to bring me my dinner plate so I could watch the game with him. I did what no missionary ever did. I ate quietly (I was a little scared) and after the game was over Mike’s dad wanted to take a nap but before he went upstairs he told me he expected me next Sunday to watch the Jets play. I have rarely missed a game since.

20. Annyong and Arrested Development - The best show ever. Seriously, go google and find the episode Pier Pressure and tell me you didn't laugh. If you watched it and didn't laugh you have no soul. How can a TV show be so wrong be so right?

21. The Little Mermaid - I already confessed that I love the movie The Little Mermaid. As I left my LDS mission in New York, this cute little girl Tina, gave me her favorite puzzle of the Little Mermaid. She was so sad that I was leaving and she wanted me to have it. We used to put it together when I would visit her family.

22. Chris Hansen and Dateline - I love Dateline and Chris Hansen is awesome. One of my guilty pleasures was watching him when he did those To Catch a Predator news stories. He asked the perfect questions and said the funniest things. If I was a journalist, I would want to be Chris Hansen.

23. The Platypus Clan - My awesome family. Without them I wouldn't be what I am today. My life would be so boring without them. They are the center of my life.

Jack Fishing

Day 186

Every time I tell someone that I am from Canada I usually am asked these two questions.

1) Why did you move?

and

2) Do you miss it?

I will try to address the 2nd question with this post. I do miss Canada, there are many things that I miss about Canada. I miss their chocolate, I miss the cool culture in Edmonton, I miss watching the Oilers play a couple times of the week, but what one of the things I miss a lot is the fishing.

My dad and I used to go to a lake called Lake Wabamun about 40 miles outside of Edmonton. We would pack a lunch (usually consisting of Greek Kalamata Olives, Greek Cheese and some sort of beef stick) and head out in a canoe into the lake to catch Jack fish.

Now these fish were something else. Jack fish are more commonly known as Northern Pike and they are fighters! You know when you catch one since they are so strong and jerk your pole out of your hand! They not only have a 1st class temper but they also have a set of razor sharp teeth capable of easily shearing off the bone. My dad used to beat the heck out of them when we would catch one before he would stick his fingers in its mouth to get the lure out. Visitors to the lake were warned not to wear nail polish on finger or toe nails since the Jack fish might take a digit or two.

These fishing trips were a lot of fun. Sometimes we would go out with a couple of my dad's friends and sometimes it would be just us. A few occasions were certainly memorable. One time it was so windy that we could barely get out into the lake, we would just be drive to the shore. One time it was so windy that we almost capsized. This gust hit and I looked down at the canoe and we turned and the side of the canoe became level with the water. I don't know how we survived that. Right after that happened I looked at my dad and he said we should head back. Which was funny since he was the one telling me that it was not that bad out. I know now that he was just protecting me from realizing how bad it was!

Another time I tossed my line out and it went into the thick weeds. I quickly tried to reel it in so it would not get so stuck in the weeds. When I pulled out my lure it was hooked with a ton of weeds and thrashing around in the weeds was a Jack fish! He was barely an inch or two from my lure. So my dad tossed the whole thing and put a golf putter to it.

Notice that my dad and I are wearing the same hat? I would also like to note that I have always liked wearing sport jerseys. And sweatbands. And to be really cool I wore my watch on top of my sweatbands.

Catching these fish was worth the fight. They had the best flavor. My dad would cook them up with a little lemon and butter and these things were amazing. Unfortunately they were not easy to de-bone and you had to be careful while eating them but they would be so worth it.

There are some places here in Utah that have Northern Pike but I have yet to try them out. Unfortunately I have not been fishing for years but it is something that I would like to get back into.

Sedated, Caught and Tagged

Day 159

I was all set with what my blog was going to be today (List-Mania) and I was catching up on my fellow blogger's blogs when I noticed that I have been tagged. Or at least I think I have been tagged. All I know if that Lewis tagged a "Matt" on her blog and I am thinking that has to be me. How many Matts does she know that blogs too?

So how this works is that I write 7 things about me, and 5 things that make me smile. And then I get to pick someone and tag then to do the same. You'll find out who I picked at the end of my blog.

7 Things about Me...

1. The number 28 is my favorite number. I was born on the 28th (and if it was a day later, I wouldn't be around) and it has appeared throughout my life in strange ways. Like those numbers in Lost. One of my favorite football players wore this number too.

2. Those who knew me in high school knew that I was not the biggest sports guy. But I like sports quite a bit actually. I even coached the 9th Grade Girl's Basketball team (ages 14-15) down in Riverton, Utah for 3 years. It was one of the best experiences that I have ever had. And that will be a future blog.

3. When I get tired I tend to ramble on and on and on.

4. I have a crush on Winona Ryder. Always have and always will.

5. I absolutely loathe Satan's fruit. You might know them from their commonly known name: ONIONS. But I will eat onion rings. Go figure...

6. Once a year for about a week or so I get to badger and test out new police recruits for Bridgerland. They put me in scenarios to help train new officers. Nothing like getting paid to scream obscenities at cops. I get to play drunk and shoot at them with guns loaded with paint bullets. I think my family would be shocked at my behavior!

7. I love animals and love to watch nature shows. One of my favorite shows was Animal Precinct. It is a reality show set in New York City (where I served my LDS Mission) where you follow the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Division as they work as advocates for the five million pets and other animals in New York City. Most of the time that show made me sad.

5 Things That Make Me Smile

1. Music. I love music and can appreciate any type of music. Music alters my mood, it can pump me up, it can relax me and it can help me write. And it does more than that. I don't know what I would do without my iPod.

2. Animals. Watching them play always makes me smile. Some of my favorite animals are Killdeer birds, cats, platypuses (of course) and bunnies. I will be one of those old grandpas that sit in a chair and look out the window while stroking one of my cats.

3. Sitting cows. Something about these fat animals sitting all polite and daintily just makes me laugh.

4. Fresh donuts.

5. The Simpsons. I can always watch this show and I quote them relentlessly.

So who should I tag? How about my fellow bloggers (I do like saying that) that start with a "J"? So Jennifer and Jaimee, you're It!