Comic Book Day!

Day 157

Short blog today. I am not feeling so great and today is also the day when I get new comics. So I would rather sit on my comfy couch, have a Coke, snuggle under a warm blanket and read some new comics.

And to celebrate getting new comics, I am posting a picture of the Danger Room. I drew this back in 1986 when I was really getting into comic books. Wolverine was obviously my favorite character and I loved to draw his claws. I remember having difficulty in drawing the front of his mask and that is why he has his back turned.

Maybe next week during Lost, I will draw an updated version.

One Last Easter... One Final Episode...

Day 156

Yesterday was a fantastic day. It was filled with food, chocolate, cards and the sad end to one of my favorite shows. But more on that later.

Yesterday we celebrated Greek Easter with Grandpa Platis and Grandma Pauline and family. And it was a nice time. There was a ton of yummy Greek food including fresh Feta cheese, Kalamata olives and spread, baskets and baskets of bread, red peppers, more cheese, Spanakopita, and Dolmades.



So much food and I downed it with so much soda. After we ate we played Old Bob, which is a family favorite card game and ate Creme eggs. It was such a nice day.

Then we came home and put Logan to bed and we watched the Season Finale of Celebrity Fit Club: Bootcamp. I love the last episode because they show how fat they were and they shrink down to their current size. Watching this show does motivate me to continue to watch what I eat and exercise. Some of these celebrities lost up to 30 pounds! It is also neat to see their personality change, they are much happier and they know it.

The Blue Team won and I am very happy that they did. They deserved it. And I am glad that Jay won the individual prize because he deserved that. Aside from Char, Nicole and Bobby definitely cost their team the victory.

Sebastian Bach was my favorite team member. He had to be the funniest one there and the one I would want to hang out with. Sadly, my crush on Nicole Eggert took a huge hit by watching this show. And it has nothing to do with her weight. She was fake and was not very nice and I don't like her anymore. She also had excuses for everything and denied any help feeling that she was right. I am so glad that Harvey called her out at the end. But I had to admit that the best moment of the season finale is when K-Fed manned up. Now I am not into celebrity gossip and I had no idea what his story was before. But I am extremely proud that he owned up and admitted he was selfish. We waited all season for this and I am glad he took that step. It takes a big man to own up to being selfish and it takes a bigger man to apologize.

I am totally gushing about this show aren't I?

I will end it with with favorite moment during this season provided by Sebastian.

From the Soap Box: Throwing Rocks

Day 155

I had a great Easter. It was a nice Sunday spending it playing games, eating way too much candy, visiting with family and watching General Conference.

Today I am heading over to my dad's for Greek Easter and I am looking forward to that. I will blog about it tomorrow.

My tongue is so raw from eating almost a whole bag of Sweet Tarts (one of my favorite candies) and from eating these new Cheeseburger Doritos. Yes, you read that right. Cheeseburger Doritos.

And they do taste just like a Burger King Whopper. I must have ate more than 2/3 of those chips in just two days. They really aren't that bad.

Aside from having a raw tongue I also was reminded of a HUGE pet peeve. Now I am not perfect and I will be first to admit that. I have my own set of problems and things I have to deal with. But everybody is in the same boat as I am. Everyone has their own issues.

I cannot find the clip to a favorite Simpson's moment but I did find the script. It is found on the episode Lisa's Sax.

Ned: Uh, Homer?
Homer: What, Flanders?
Ned: [politely] Well sir, I hate to be suspicious-allouicious on you,
[angrily] but did you steal my air conditioner?!
[We take a look out the window, and see an obvious path leading from
a hole torn out of the side of Ned's house in the window where his air conditioner used to be, leading to a knocked over fence accompanied by footprints in the soil, and a newly installed unit sticking out of Homer's window.]
Homer: Well, I admit it looks bad, Flanders, but haven't you heard of "let
he who is without sin cast the first stone"?
[Homer gets hit in the head with a rock.]
Todd: Got him, dad!

And that sums up this pet peeve. Let he that is without sin among you, let him first cast the first stone. Unfortunately I am seeing this happen all the time and it needs to stop. One of my friends (who is not perfect) is being throttled; stone after cruel stone. And it pains me to watch this happening. He knows he is not perfect but he is trying but that doesn't matter. The stones just keep coming. And what drives me insane is that the person throwing the stones is no Todd Flanders. This person is not perfect either and it would be easy to throw stones back. And I have been sorely tempted to hurl some back. It is a terrible situation and I feel horrible witnessing it. I love these people but I cannot stand people that are selfish. And let's face it, this person is acting selfish.

I am glad that I had parents that taught me tolerance and not to throw rocks on these people but to love and appreciate them for who they are.

Happy Easter

Day 154

I love Easter. Easter is my favorite holiday for many reasons.

Easter means the beginning of Spring, while Winter and Fall are my favorite seasons, I appreciate Spring the most because it is the start of new life and a fresh beginning.

My favorite animal are rabbits. And not those huge ugly jack rabbits but those cute and fluffy dwarf bunnies. So that is another reason why I love Easter because of the Easter Bunny.

And the candy. Easter candy is the best, the chocolate Creme eggs, the marshmallows, jelly beans and all those fantastic candy bars in egg form. I also like real eggs as well and Deviled eggs are one of my favorite things to eat at Easter dinner. Easter Eggs themselves also represent new life.

But those are just minor things and temporal reasons why I love Easter. What I love about Easter the most is religious. Easter is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he is risen, I and my family have that same gift given to us. The Resurrection is given to everybody and they will all live again. The Book of Mormon offers this beautiful scripture found in Alma 11:44.

Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

I especially like the hair part. I am thankful that my family and I will be resurrected and have New Life. It is something to celebrate while eating all those delicious treats on Easter.

Logan and the Aggies

Day 153

Last night we went out as a family to the Future Aggie Athlete benefit dinner sponsored by Utah State University. This was aimed at kids in elementary school and get them to try out various sports taught by Aggie athletes.

Logan had a lot of fun trying out the different sports and did much better than I thought he would. He can be a shy kid and I was a little worried that he wouldn't participate as much as I wanted him to but he proved wrong.

The first station we went to was soccer. He was taught how to dribble and kick the ball but his favorite was using his head to score a goal. I think the girls that were running the station were having just as good of a time as the kids were. They were really cute with Logan, I overheard them say how cute he was. He must take after his dad.

The next station he had a choice of either gymnastics or hockey. I would have loved for him to try gymnastics but I was more proud that he chose hockey. There he learned how to handle the puck (it was a tennis ball) how to pass and of course how to shoot. The stick was a little big for him but that didn't stop him from doing slap shots.



But I was really proud of Logan when they announced the next station, football. I looked over and he pumped his fist and said YES! There he learned how to carry the ball, throw a spiral, run a route and catch the ball and defend. Logan has never been one to catch the ball (think of George Michael on Arrested Development) but he tried his hardest to catch the ball and caught it a couple of times. He even scored a touchdown with a little girl hanging on to him trying to bring him down. He didn't stiff arm her he just twirled his way into the end zone.

The next station was his favorite. He loved volleyball which took Kristy and I by surprise. He did very well bumping the ball in the air. It was cute to see him beam when the girl he was working with gave him five for doing it right.

The last station was basketball. I felt bad for Logan since the ball is so big and heavy but he really tried hard to shoot the ball. He did make a basket (where he gave a double fist pump) against one of the Aggie girls. He asked them to show him an alley-oop and they did just for him.

Afterwards we had a dinner catered by Cafe Sabor (tasty) and had a raffle. Kristy won a $20 gift certificate so she could buy some Aggie gear. He also got his own t-shirt. He had a fantastic and fun night. The Aggie athletes really made a positive impact on him and I thought they did very well.

Logan pumping his fist having a good time.

List-Mania: Simpson Episodes

Day 152

I love the Simpsons. Anybody that knows me knows that I love the Simpsons. I quote the Simpsons so many times a day that it edges on pathetic. Kristy knows the Simpsons extremely well too, we can look at something that reminds us of the Simpsons and we both will quote it.

In fact we own at least seven different Simpson games including Simpsons Chess which is something I will introduce to Logan on Spring Break.

Back in the day, I made about twenty volumes of VHS tapes that I called the Simpsons Masters. I would record the Simpsons off of TV and cut out the commercials as much as I could. Kristy and I would watch them for hours and hours. Then when DVD's hit the market, I purchased Season One even before I owned a DVD player! Now they have reached the twelfth season on DVD and I am proud to say that I own each one of them. The Simpsons were gold in those early seasons but lost most of their magic in later seasons even though their still were a few hidden gems to be found. So here are my Top 5 Favorite Simpson Episodes of all-time from Seasons 1-12.

5) Three Men and a Comic Book (Season 2)
The comic book collector in me geeks out with this episode. In this episode, Bart finds an original issue of Radioactive Man #1 for sale at a comic book store. He convinces Martin and Milhouse to combine their money to buy the comic, only to lose it due to their selfishness and inability to share. Being a comic book collector I really appreciated what they did here. The Wonder Years parody they did here was classic.

4) Mayored to the Mob (Season 10)
This episode also has a comic book connection as Homer protects Mark Hamil from a vicious mob at a comic book convention. Homer is then appointed to become Mayor Quimby's bodyguard. Homer then discovers that the mob is selling rat's milk to the town's schools and the mayor's life is placed in jeopardy. Luke be a Jedi tonight! makes me laugh every time.

3) Behind the Laughter (Season 11)
This is a direct ripoff (homage) to another favorite television show, VH1's Behind the Music and they did it perfectly. You get to see the real Simpsons family and how fame almost destroyed the family. The whole episode is just perfect.


2) Treehouse of Horror V (Season 6)
Every Halloween Kristy and I try to watch all of the Treehouse of Horror episodes. Each one of them is just so fantastic but this one stands out the most. So much that I love about this episode. All of Season Six is exceptional but this episode is the most memorable. From the The Shinning to Time And Punishment to Nightmare Cafeteria they are all gold. I laugh loudly every time I see Homer scare himself in the mirror in The Shinning.

1) Last Exit to Springfield (Season 4)
Dental Plan! This to me is the perfect Simpsons episode. Homer becomes the new union leader at the Nuclear Power Plant after disputing Burn's new contract. And they go on strike. I quote this all the time and I have been known to suddenly yell out Dental Plan! That and the Mr. Burns/Grinch moments are my favorites. Ooh and the Beatles-esque trip Lisa takes. And oh yeah, when Homer thinks Mr. Burns is coming on to him and... ...trust me, this episode is awesome.

Now I want to go watch the Simpsons.

It's Spring! APRIL FOOL'S!

Day 152

APRILS FOOL'S!!
I had this story that I had concocted last night to tell on the blog as an April Fool's joke but then Mother Nature topped my joke.

Last night while Kristy and I were watching the Jazz game we heard this strange crashing noise right outside. We peered out the window and it looked like something was in our driveway. So we opened the door and we discovered this huge branch that had fallen off our neighbor's large tree. It almost broke the chain link fence and came very close to hitting our car. It blocked our driveway and we thought about moving it but decided to wait till morning so Logan could see it.

We woke up this morning to SIX inches of heavy, heavy snow. So much that we had to shovel it so we could get to the branch and move the car.



I had to look everywhere for my Jets toque since I put it away for winter.
Mother Nature certainly has a wicked sense of humor.