Logan the Scout

I was never much into Scouts. I had some decent leaders but it just was not my thing. Logan on the other hand likes Scouts and I have absolutely no problem with that. We had a Court of Honor this evening and Logan received his Wolf along with some other awards.

Logan putting the pin on his mom.

Like I said, I have no problem that Logan is into Scouting. I am pretty proud of my kid.

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.

Strange Weather

We took Logan to his basketball game this morning and I went with a light jacket, no coat. It has been unseasonably warm here. In fact, we had rain these last couple of days which melted all the snow we had.

Those smudges are not smudges at all. Those are some snowflakes!

Now we have some snow on the ground. It first rained a lot then suddenly it switched to the largest snowflakes I have ever seen. And then back to rain and then it came down as ice pellets.

Strange weather indeed. But at least we do not have tornadoes coming down.

The End of an Era

Next month marks the end of a huge era for me. 

For the first time since December, 1985 I will not be picking up a monthly issue of the Uncanny X-Men.

This was my first issue of the Uncanny X-Men that I bought monthly.

I am sure most of you are thinking this is not a big deal but this certainly is a big deal for me. Imagine for second that you bought and read a comic (or something else) every month for the last 27 years. 

Now I am ending that streak and it is ALL Marvel's fault. Don't get me wrong, I still love and am interested in the X-Men franchise but I can no longer afford it.

Back in the day, when I first began to read comics there was only one X-title, Uncanny X-Men. But now there are five main X-Men books and at $4 a pop that can definitely add up. But then Marvel decided to be greedy and publish these X-Men books more than once a month.

Because of this obvious money-grab, I was forced to drop other titles that I was reading (and loved) so I could just keep up with the main X-Men books. I was hoping that this would not become a regular thing since Marvel was not consistent in these double-shipped books so I hung on for as long as I could.

Uncanny X-Men #4... ...my LAST issue

But then I had to drop the Avengers, then Captain America, then Secret Avengers, then the plain X-Men, then X-Men Legacy, then Astonishing X-Men, then Captain America and Bucky and now finally Uncanny X-Men. Not only am I done with the X-titles but it looks like I am done with Marvel completely. The new Avengers vs X-Men miniseries will be my swan song for Marvel.

I am not done with comics completely. There is still a ton of classic material that really interests me but my days of buying comics monthly seems to be over. The only book that I will continue to get monthly is an independent book called The Savage Dragon.

I'll have to blog about this comic sometime in the future. 

It is sad that after 27 years and 348 (344 issues of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 and 4 issues of Uncanny X-Men Vol 2) straight issues that I have to quit something that I love so much.

I sent Marvel an e-mail about this issue back in July but received no reply. I just sent them another e-mail this morning informing them that I am dropping all the books because of this. If I get a response, I will blog about it here. 

School Daze: Logan's 3rd Grade Class

I am not sure if my little experience qualifies as a true "First Kiss" but I am counting it. When I was in the 3rd Grade  I was kissed by a girl named Carmen. Ar first I thought she was cute but then when she kissed me, I hated her. Hmmmm... now that I think about it, that was something that became standard.

Here is Logan and his 3rd grade class. Here I thought I was hot stuff in the 3rd grade and then I look at my kid and I think he is just a little kid. I wonder if he has a crush on any of the girls in his class.

End Piracy, Not Liberty

**I ripped this off of Google. They explained it a lot better than I would.**

Tell Congress: Don’t censor the Web

Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.


Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There’s no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs.

Too much is at stake – please vote NO on PIPA and SOPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Click on the link below and sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

For more information and to sign an online petition click here!

Sing Along With...

This last December has been all about the music it seems. I joined the Logan Community Choir and performed on December 11th. I also sang in out Church choir and a special performance on the 18th and I also was invited to join the Logan High School's performance of the Messiah.

A few months ago I blogged that I joined the Logan Community Choir and I am so glad that I did. I had a hoot learning new music and also meeting new people. The performance is an annual tradition to drum up support and food for the Cache County Food Pantry and includes the Logan Community Choir, the Logan High Crimson Colony, the Westminister Bell Choir and the First Presbyterian Choir. I was a bit nervous that Sunday morning but after our Church choir practice, I was feeling pretty confident. My friends came and picked me up and I arrived in the beautiful Logan Tabernacle and I was no longer feeling nervous. There is just something about being in that awesome building. I was a bit disappointed that the building did not fill up but it was nice to have my parents attend to support me and it was very nice to see a few of my neighbors.

We sang the following songs:

• Still, Still, Still -- I was not as comfortable with this song as the others, I could have used more practice with this one. It sounded phenomenal with the bell choir accompanying us. 
• Breathe of Heaven -- Now I knew this song beforehand but had never attempted to sing it before. This  song is just so beautiful and the tenor part is absolutely fun to sing. 
• The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy -- Now we are getting to the fun stuff. Beforehand they handed out these small plastic shakers for us to shake while we sung. This is way fun song to sing and it definitely has a spirit to it.
• Praise His Holy Name -- Oh boy... ...this was intimidating since it asked for not only an insanely high tenor part but it also called for some movement. I will never forget this song. I managed to hit some notes that I didn't think I could hit and it was emotionally and physically draining.
• The Hallelujah Chorus -- I wish we practiced this more. I think I might have been the only person in the choir(s) that have never sang it before. Luckily I found a cool tenor tutorial on YouTube that I used to practice. Hearing and feeling the organ pound was almost literally breathtaking. What a way to end it!

Can you see me?

That next Sunday we had our Christmas program at Church and it was amazing. Every one sang absolutely beautiful and I was impressed by our small group of very talented people. I was mostly nervous because I sang in a men's quartet. We sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives and I sang the melody. I was a little intimidated because the highest note is slightly out of my range and if I screw up, every one would know since I am singing the most familiar tune. But it went off without a hitch.

I even received in the mail a very nice and unexpected note from someone anonymous. It is so nice to get things like this. I really appreciate whoever sent this and to all those that supported me in these singing endeavors. It is greatly appreciated.

Kristy, Logan and I also attended the Christmas Program put on by Logan High. One of the girls that came to see me sing with the Logan Community Choir was singing tonight. I wanted to show her how much I appreciated her support by coming and supporting her. And one of my friends who sung with me also came and sat with us. At the bottom of the program it invited anyone who knew the Messiah to come and sing along. I was not going to go down but Logan and Danielle talked me into it. I am glad I went down, it was fun to perform that song again.

I never would have thought that one of my favorite hobbies would be to sing.