Tebow: MVP...and a refreshing addition to the sports world

Hello everyone. Grad classes are done!....for at least 3 weeks. So here I am...rock you like a hurricane.

Tonight I want to talk about an underdog that nobody gave a chance to. A guy that 95% of the media shot down. That's right...Tim Tebow

Since becoming a starter for the Denver Broncos, (That's right, the awful Broncos who were nowhere near the play offs last year) he has led them to a 7-1 record...and they've now taken 1st place in their AFC division and are...as of now...play off bound.

What impresses me about this guy is the way in which he conducts himself. Let's get one thing straight here, I hate the Broncos (though now that may become past tense) I hate Florida (Where he came from) and I hate...I  hate...I HATE PETER PAN!...wait that last part was channeling the movie "Hook," sorry.

Anyways, this guy has won me over.

What do I like about him? Well I like that he wears his religion on his sleeve. There are many people that are over his "I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" comments after EVERY game. They don't like his shooting his pointer finger to the sky after he scores either. "He's rubbing religion in my face" is the complaint most commonly heard.

Well considering how much "anti-religion" and "pro-sin" messages we get over and over and over again from entertainers and such, I'd say this is refreshing. Maybe people don't like it cause they don't want to be reminded (on Sundays of all days) that some people find importance in religion.

It's hilarious how a guy who touts Christianity has so many "miracle" come backs. To some it's inexplicable, to me though I get it.

No, God isn't winning games for the Denver Broncos. (God is a Lions fan actually...little known fact). What's happening here, is that Tim Tebow has a positive countenance about him. The guy is beaming with energy and positivity.

He is a natural leader and has found the "WILL TO WIN." He literally found it somewhere. Some teams win cause they're good. He's playing for a team that started the year 1-4 or 1-5...now they are play off bound?

I'm not of the same faith as the guy, but I am a Christian, and I appreciate someone who without flinching or looking sheepish can step up to the Mic and thank Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior. He doesn't hesitate to then thank his defense for stripping the ball from Marion Barber in OT....

I hope he continues to win and I hope that people take notice in the way he conducts himself. There's a huge disparity between the scene on Saturday when Cincinnati and Xavier beat the snot out of each other and were just "being gangsta" after their game....and when the Broncos beat the Jets on a Thursday night and Tebow knelt in a circle of players from BOTH teams...holding hands...and praying for thanks that they were able to compete and have fun.

MVP

Call of Doody

Does anyone else find it funny that the most popular video game is called, "Call of Doody?" How great was it when they came out with "Call of Doody 2" hahahaha! What's even better is when you start giving them subtitles like, "Call of Doody: Modern Warfare." That sounds like some killer doody. My students walk in with blood shot eyes...dragging their feet...and their excuse? "Up late with Call of Doody." I'm like, "Daaaaaang that must have been some wicked Taco Bell to destroy your body like that." Oh and what about, "Call of Doody: Black Ops?" Sounds like they've got waaaaay too much fiber in that diet. hahahaha.

My name is Justin Reeves,

I have 2 kids

I have 2 Jobs

I have 2 Graduate Classes

and I haven't blogged in a long time.
Tonight I'm dropping by to tell you that "Doody" is hilarious- JR

Blogging in the spaces inbetween

Hi all,

Remember when I used to blog a lot? Yeah them good old "pre-grad school" days. I had a life back then :) I'm doing my best to hop in and say hello right now. Ashley and I went to the Pumpkins concert in Vegas last weekend. It was an awesome show. I've now seen them 5 times, and Zwan (Billy's other band) once. The setlist was a mix between early stuff and brand new songs. Best part was that after the show, instead of looking all over the Internet for expensive crappy bootlegs, I just purchased a USB drive with the whole concert uploaded on it. THAT is technology folks.

My trip to Vegas was an eye opener. This was the first time I've really BEEN to Vegas. Last time I stayed off the strip and went to a Football game, before that I was with my family so I didn't get to experience the ummm "stuff."

Frankly I'm appalled at the world. Humanity is just plain weird and vile. I'm walking hand in hand with my wife down the strip and countless trolls keep trying to hand me flyers with naked chicks on them. I've got a wife guys...does it look like I need prostitutes or strippers? NOPE! It's sad how many people probably take advantage of those ads. It's sad to think that those are people's daughters. In order to get to our room in the Planet Hollywood Hotel, we had to walk through, "the Pleasure Pit." This consisted of a bunch of card tables with scantily clad girls dancing by them while you gambled. Really? I mean I had to sit back and laugh. What is up with people?

We went to a club where my wife wanted to meet a D list celebrity from one of those Bachelor shows. It was her Birthday. Well we got in there and there were all sorts of scantily clad girls whipping each other and pole dancing...ummm...bad club. We stayed for ten minutes and bolted. I got to watch the ground a lot.

I also got to see how humans meet and court now adays. Wow...clubbing has got to be the most pathetic thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Group of girls shows up, drinks in hand, and then groups of guys show up, drinks in hand, they all get sloshed and start grinding on each other like baboons. It was all very "primal." I was surprised that the males didn't compete for the females by throwing feces at each other. Is that really how people meet now? I go, I drink, I grind, I wake up next to her, and then I move on to the next female? Check yourselves guys...this belonged on National Geographic. Kind of fun to witness though. With the loud club music people try to posture themselves as being total bad asses when in fact they look ridiculous and embarrassing to the human race.

Well that's my rant for the day. I try to steer clear of politics on here, but one last note: The other night I went to use the restroom at my work, and it was "Occupied." It was lame. I get that you want to Occupy Wall Street, but leave my restroom be, I really gotta go!

What is and what could have been...

First off,
I like where I'm at,
I love who I'm with,
I love my life, it freaking rocks.

But...
I had a thought the other night whilst watching the first game of the NFL season.

I still feel like a little kid... (this is obvious to all who know me...I'm almost 30 and I go to the Comic Book Store weekly to Geek out). So it's weird when I'm watching the NFL and it says, "he's an NFL veteran, he's 30 and has been in the league 8 years..." I'll be 30 in December.

So let's turn the clock back to the early 90's... I believe it was 5th grade when the original x-men animated series started airing on Fox. I was already a huge Star Wars fan and loved sci fi stuffs. Let's say I never got into that stuff and I spent every waking moment in the gym. I was 6'3 and 156 lbs when I graduated. What if I'd put on a ton of muscle and was 195?

What if I'd played football all through Jr. High and made it onto the high school team?

What if I'd been really good? I seem to do ok at the Turkey Bowl every year so maybe I have skills?

What if a college had picked me up? What if I'd actually played college ball? 6'3 195lbs is a pretty good size for a quarterback. What if I'd played for some Jr. College and then transferred to BYU or U of U or Utah State?

What if I was good enough and got picked up in some late round draft pick?

What if the starting QB was awful, the 2nd string got hurt, and they had to throw me into the game?

What if I'd replaced Drew Brees in San Diego instead of Phillip Rivers? We're the same age right?

What if I was currently a starting quarterback in the NFL? Could I have done it? I mean there's got to be a chance that somewhere along these "what if" questions there is a scenario where I'm making millions of dollars and throwing touchdown passes like a champ right?

What if I was a top tier fantasy draft pick?

What if ESPN loved me and Jim Rome booked me often?

What if...

What if I hate lifting weights, was too skinny to play ball, and was more interested in photography and reading. What if I went to school and found that I loved teaching English at my alma matter high school for slightly less than millions a year. What if the only person who wants me on their fantasy team is my wife cause she loves me? What if I "watch the Superbowl from my house on a Sunday, go to school the next mornin drive off in a Hyundai?"

I can barely afford to buy tyco with my money...
Still too skinny to buy lipo with my money...

My thoughts on 9/11

I promised my good friend Dave that I'd blog about what went down that day since we were together when the $#it hit the fan. 9/11 is always in the back of the minds of those who witnessed it, and once a year the History channel and others show us documentary after documentary with that footage that stirs up the feelings I had that day. Not sadness, not remorse,....but anger.

I was ticked off.

I was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Columbus, Ohio on September the 11th. I was "stationed" in the suburb of Gahanna, Ohio. There were four of us in the apartment. Elder Bradford, and I were one set of missionaries. Elder Hall and Elder Bunting were the others. On that particular morning we got up, read scriptures, ate, and decided that Elder Hall and Bradford would go help with some service at a member of our congregation's house, meanwhile Dave Bunting and I would go knock on doors. Dave recounted to me that he remembers that morning being very quiet...which wasn't the usual case seeing as how we lived 2 blocks from the airport. Nothing was taking off....

Hall and Bradford took the car and we set out on foot. Before we started knocking doors, we stopped at the bank on the corner so Dave could make a deposit or something. We walked in the door and saw about a dozen or so stunned people gathered around a little tv that had been set up on a folding card table. I asked what happened, and a gentleman said, "awww they're crashing planes into the Trade Centers." I didn't know who "they were" and I had assumed they meant small planes (like everyone else did I'm pretty sure) . Just then a woman next to me broke out into hysterics screaming, "my sister is New York City Oh my God! My Sister!" While someone helped comfort her I recall the news reporter saying, "we can see building one and there is a lot of smoke. Reports of building two falling are unconfirmed but...."and then Tower 1 fell... "Ladies and gentleman the other tower is not standing, they are both down...at any given time there are 20,000+ people working in those buildings...." At this point Dave and I left. It was only two blocks to our apartment, but I stopped at a radio shack on the way back and bought a small black and white tv. Missionaries don't watch t.v. or listen to the radio while in the service, however one of the last things the newsman had said was something about a grounded flight at the Columbus airport (2 blocks away) that might have a bomb on it. Plus Bradford was from DC so we figured we needed to know what was up.

When we got back and got the tv working, Bradford and Hall came in. We had learned about the Pentagon moments before.

Strange thing about that day was the "WHAT!?" moments that kept coming up. First a plane hit and there was fire and people were concerned. When the 2nd plane hit..."WHAT?!" that's when we knew it was terrorists. When the tower fell...."WHAT!?" we thought it was just a fire. When the news broke of the Pentagon..."WHAT!?" struck again.

Bradford was crying because he knew people who worked at the Pentagon. I remember him saying, "pack your bags guys, we're going to war...."

I remember that the news showed a lot of images that day that for years have not been shown. Most notably...the people jumping. I'll never forget that sight.

That afternoon we went to the mall to try and escape the emotions we were feeling. The WHOLE mall was closed.

A mission buddy of mine later recounted his experience that day. He was standing in a Walmart, watching the screens, and noticed a few people dressed in their traditional Muslim clothing. He said that the women were pointing at the screen, laughing, and giving each other high fives.

It's a good thing that I wasn't at that Walmart....that's all I'm going to say there.

Some people were scared...
Some were confused...(Heck I'd never really heard much about this Bin Laden fellow)
Some were personally affected...

I was just plain ticked off. I'll never forget that feeling, because every time I see a video of those planes hitting or people falling...those feelings of anger come back.

I take comfort in knowing that Bin Laden spent the 10th anniversary as a bullet riddled corpse that has probably become fish excrement at this point.

When the planes hit, and the fires started, the people ran out...
The fireman and first responders ran in...
That's heroism at its finest.
I'm proud to be an American- JR

Too old for rock concerts? nah

So last night my brother and I took our wives to our yearly dose of 311. This year was a special treat since they had Sublime opening. Sublime has been dead since their singer died in the mid 90's however they got a new guy that sounded just like him and it was boss.

Things to check off my bucket list?
How about hearing: Santeria, Wrong Way, Garden Grove, April 26th 1992, What I got and Date Rape all performed live? CHECK!

After the show we were discussing at what age it becomes pathetic to show up to a concert like this. For example, there was a lady in her mid 40's behind us that was so hammered she didn't even make it past the opening act. She spilled beer all over us and was incredibly embarrassing. It's been a couple of years since I've purchased GA (that's concert goer speak for General Admission) to a 311 show. I'm presented with a choice, I can either stand by my wife in good seats and make out during the slow songs, or I can battle it out with drunken shirtless dudes in front. Both are great options, however last night was perfect because it was just Ash and I. (Although her constant asking of, "when will Nick Hexum (lead singer) be taking his shirt off?" got a little old haha).

The setlist was solid last night, but I must say there was a blaring omission in that my brother Cody was not there to dig it with us.

I got home and felt really old because I was so wiped out from the show. Concerts take a lot of energy and at 29 in grad school and working 2 jobs I don't have much of that. So I guess I'll take it easy for a while. No more big shows for me....oops just bought tickets to The Smashing Pumpkins on October 8th in Vegas. Clinging to youth my friends... To quote said Smashing Pumpkins, "Youth is wasted on the young."
Feel free to enjoy 98% of the song "Down"

Summer Wrap Up...sorry I've been busy

The Summer of 2011 will go down in history as one of my best and one of my worst. It started off innocently enough with me teaching summer school for extra moneys. Grad school started on the third week in June so I was just biding my time until it started. Well one Monday evening after work, some friends and I went to Super 8 (so good). I sat down, kicked my feet up and then I started getting light headed. I felt like I was going to pass out...which I didn't because I rudely grabbed my cousin's soda and started drinking to keep conscious. I thought nothing of it and went on with my life. The next day at work though, I got really light headed again before I started my class. So light headed that I called a sub and made my way down to the office before I nearly blacked out on the nurse's bed thing. EMT's were called, vitals were taken, and they said I was fine.
I took it easy for a day and then one night went on a drive with my wife, suddenly my right leg felt like it was going numb. I panicked, ran to the ER, almost blacked out again, feared a blood clot, did tests, freaked out etc...nothing came back positive.
What the Hell was wrong with me? Doctors kept saying, "stress, it's stress," which is usually the answer they give when they don't know.
I had just finished a hectic school year, I was teaching summer school, prepping for (and dreading) grad school, and all of this had...I guess...caused a short circuit of sorts. Yep...I was stressed.
Well I quit summer school and waited for grad school to start. It started and lo and behold my teachers were quite awesome/chill. I was still getting tests done for the "just in case" idea that had formed in my mind. I got an MRI on my brain (insert empty x-ray joke) and did this really cool nerve test that they called the torture test on my leg. They basically "tazed me bro" for an hour and stuck me with needles. In the end they said negative on everything, including MS. SO....apparently when I get stressed it causes my right leg to get a numb feeling which causes my brain to think I've got a life threatening clot which causes anxiety which leads to...whatever.

I got to go on my yearly de-stressing trip to Cave Falls which is located in the southwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park. Fishing, hiking, camping...it relaxes me like crazy while simultaneously stressing out my wife. The water was really high this year so the mosquitoes were biblical plague levels. Instead of camping in the normal spot and getting eaten, we stayed in a nice spot by a golf course at the mouth of Cave Falls road. No skeeters, grass instead of dirt, it was soooo nice.

The only problem with the trip was that the high water made the river nearly impossible to ford. (I say nearly impossible because I got really ticked off and forded it just to say I did) In a summer where I'd realized my own limitations (I'm mortal? What!?) I was sad to see that my yearly shot of confidence (conquering nature all over the place) was not going to happen. The river had the best of me...the fish weren't biting for me...ugh.

I started tying my own flies this year and hoped beyond hope that I'd be able to catch a fish with a fly of my own making. This would truly make me a man...well since all of the fishing holes I usually wade out to were now abysses that could in fact contain rogue Russian submarines, I couldn't even get a bite.

Well standing the river, mentally cursing the stupid water level and my stupid stress levels and this and that, I looked to the heavens and said, "God, this summer has been lame. I know this is a dumb request, but I really need to catch a fish on this here fly that I tied else I'll go home with my head hung low."

God blessed me with 2...

He also blessed me with the Captain America movie when I got home. It was incredible. So grateful for my friends who selflessly waited a week for me to get home to see Cap with me...sacrifice ladies and gentlemen...that's what it's all about. Cowboys and Aliens along with The Rise of the Planet of the Apes rounded out the summer nicely.

Right before I posted this I sent my final term paper to my professor. I'm done with this round of classes. I've got 2 weeks til school starts so I'm relaxed and a little busy.

311/Sublime concert on the 17th
Fantasy Football Draft at the end of the month
Life is good. I appreciate all who have supported me this summer. God Bless You All.

Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings

I know that everyone is super excited for the last chapter of the Harry Potter franchise to hit the big screen. I know it's a cultural phenomenon and everything but let's just hang on a second here. Harry Potter (whose name Rowling ripped off of the movie "Troll" from the 80's-look it up) as far as a film series is concerned, has been one of the most boring wastes of time in the history of cinema.

Is it just me or did most of the movies consist of that red haired weasel kid whining and brooding about something while adolescence did cutesy magic things and went to dances? This is a franchise that liked to throw around kick butt phrases like, "defense against the dark arts" and "death eaters." (Death Eaters a name given to Taco Bell addicts)

So in the 6th movie, nothing happened. Nothing at all. If I recall it was more like a British romantic film with the "who's snogging Ginny" bit being the most important. Then at the end some guy dies and then instead of having an epic fight scene like the book portrays, they just let the bad guys go. LAAAAAAME. Let's see some of that defense against the dark arts used against the death eaters eh? naaaah that'd be too cool. Instead we should just wrap it up and watch the money roll in.

Lord of the Rings needs no defense. I just finished watching extended trilogy on Blu-Ray and I saw major action sequences in all 3 films. The locations changed at a rapid pace as opposed to the first Deathly Hallows film which pretty much took place in an acre of forest over and over and over again.

Do you know what I DIDN'T see in Lord of the Rings? Robert Pattinson....Game Set Match.

I'll give Harry Potter credit on this one item: the 3rd film was actually fairly well done. It had decent characters in it and so I was a bit more interested. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all pretty lame characters. Snape, Sirius, and Belatrix are pretty much the only cool parts of the series.

Villains?
Right...Voldemort is REALLY scary. His only frightening feature was the lack of a nose. What, did he do something really evil one day and his nose just popped out of existence? I suppose the dementors are pretty cool, or at least they would have been if they hadn't already shown up in Lord of the Rings riding on really cool looking black horses or dragon things.

The makers of Harry Potter are pretty stupid. The biggest complaint from fans is that the books are all better than the movies. The movies just have to pack way too much in so things get left out. Ummmm excuse me? You think you could make a Potter movie 4 hours long and people wouldn't have gone? Of course they would have. Lord of the Rings was incredibly long, and then extended to even longer...and IT WORKED! Then again Lord of the Rings extended and added scenes of action and plot thickening events. Harry Potter would just add scenes of kids eating puke jelly beans, full quiditch matches, and Moaning Mertle practicing for synchronized swimming.

Let's face it, no matter how cool the final battle between the good wizards and the bad wizards is in this new film (which I'll eventually see and give a fair chance to) it will never EVER stack up to the goblins in the Mines of Moria, the Battle of Helms Deep, or The Battle of Pelinor Fields.

You know your story has issues when I find myself kind of hoping that Voldamort pulls off a victory and shuts those whiny teens up. How great would it have been to see the witch king wraith guy swallow Harry's Patronus and crap it out onto the battle field?

Whoah where I been?

So I've been gone for a while. My bad. I've had some health issues (and am currently still trying to figure out what the #%#$ is going on with them) that have kept me from blogging.

So let's just touch bases with you on a few things. Thanks for being out there for me to blog at by the way.

1. I made a great post/rant about hating smart phones and all that etc etc. Well...ummm...my wife really wanted them so I caved and we both got Samsung Galaxy things on some great Father's day deal. I know I know, I'm a weak hypocritical fool. I've already wasted more than enough time of my life throwing birds at pigs hiding behind bricks and ice blocks.

2. Super 8 review: Jaws + Goonies + Close Encounteres = Super 8. It's classic Spielbergian cinema. J.J. Abrams is making a name for himself as an excellent director ( I loved Star Trek and the controversial Cloverfield)

3. I started grad school today. Minus my freaking out about my medical gig stuff it was pretty darned cool. The professor was hilarious and made things quite easy. I'm excited to further my education.

4. Go Mavs! I was pretty pumped to see Dirk and Jason Kidd get their rings. Heat can win next year and I'll be fine with that, but this was Dallas' year.

5. Pumped for X-men Schism. This summer the X-men are going to split up. Wolverine and Cyclops will square off (you know which side I've chosen) and the x-men will basically pick between the two. I've really loved getting back into the world of Comic Books. They have brought me so much joy.

Anyways, that's me right now. I appreciate good friends and family for pitching in and helping me with whatever the biff is going on with me physically right now (Huge shout out to Chad Durham for saving my skin in Lehi).

I'd like to continue blogging about stuff but the TV is on in the background and there's an Anaconda movie on. It is airing after the third one, so I'm guessing it's part 4, but there is not 4 in the title. It's kind of like when they ran out of Land Before Time numbers and just started giving them cool subtitles. Ok a wolf just howled in the amazon in the movie.

Cheers to all. I'll get better blogs going soon. Peace- JR

My review of X-men First Class

Much of this blog will be in response to my good friend Johnny's blog post (here) about the film.

Johnathon- I agreed with many parts of your review but I gotta say that your hang up on continuity is much like Magneto getting dragged behind that Submarine. "You have to let go or you'll die!"

I know where you are coming from. Continuity can be frustrating. You bring up many situations in the film that seem to contradict themselves in the original trilogy. However, the hang up on continuity just ruined for you what many consider to be one of Marvel's best flicks.

Sabertooth in X-men Origins: Wolverine was way different than the Sabertooth from the first X-men movie...but it was a welcome change... Just go with it and all is well.

When the hobbit is released I'm not going to walk in and say, "Gandalf said Bilbo hadn't aged a day but these are clearly very different looking hobbits!"

Nor will I bemoan the Lord of the Rings Trilogy for not simply using the eagles to fly over Mt. Doom and drop the ring in like 5 minutes into the film...would have saved us a lot of drama and great battle scenes.

Magneto helped Xavier build cerebro? That's possible and here's why: Like in the comic books, Xavier and Magneto have a love hate relationship that goes off and on fairly quickly. It is quite possible that (God Willing) in X-men first class 2, Xavier and Magneto will unite in an effort to destroy a common enemy. The comics are full of enemies that could fit the role of the "kill all mutants" mentality.

Moira McTaggert is an Irish doctor in the comics and is a CIA member in this one. It's ok to stray from the comics in this one. Remember, if we'd gone by the comics this whole time then Dark Phoenix would have had to fight the X-men on the moon with the Watcher checking the whole thing out. Sometimes it's ok to make some changes from the source material to the big screen.

Ask yourself this: If this had been the first X film and there was no earlier trilogy...would you have not loved it?

I guess in the end the point is this: X-men First Class ROCKED big time as far as action and story go. Honestly I was glad that most of the focus was on Bacon, Magneto, and Professor X. The other actors were chosen hastily (I believe Beast dropped out and they got this guy 2 weeks before shooting began or something like that) and I wanted more from them.

John...you and I both know that if Marvel wants to be serious about making the best X movie ever, they'd call us up, we'd collaborate, and Singer and Ratner would be kept far far away from our bunker.

X-men First Class gets:

A+ for action. Very cool very disturbing scenes with Magneto vs Nazis

A for acting. Some of the minor mutants were newbies, but Magneto, Bacon, and Professor were great.

B+ for special effects. Banshee vs Angel was a REALLY cool scene, however Beast looked kind of Grinch/Cat in the Hat-esque

D+ for continuity...but it's ok...just go with it.

F for not having anything at the end of the credits. BOOOOOH!

I've seen it twice and loved it both times. Ignore all continuity and you won't have the hang ups of my good friend Johnathon. Some day you'll see the both of us on the writing credits for the best X-movie ever. Til then, This one and X-2 are neck and neck...probably gotta give the edge to this one.

My parents didn't have names...they were taken from them by Pig Farmers and Tailors...

What difference do you and I make?

How much are you worth? How much am I worth? How large is the ripple we've caused? What would the world be like without Captain Hook...errr...Me/You?

This is one of those alternate reality questions that can never be answered but it is fun to think about it on occasion.

The ground rule is: Not a scenario where the premise is "If I died today." because that's really depressing. Plus most of your scenario would be about people mourning you and that's just downright sad.

Ask yourself these questions:

What would my family be like without me? If you are the oldest, what would your closest sibling act like if they were the first instead of the 2nd child?

Where would my spouse be? I assume she'd be married to someone else...would she be happy?

What would my friends be like? If you are the glue that holds the group together, you have to consider that they'd have all hung out with different people. Maybe your friend who ended up going to college and getting a degree would have ended up hanging out with the wrong crowd, gotten involved with drugs, and OD'd before they were 17.

Would the population of the world be differnet? For example, because you were driving to the mall at age 16, was there a car that missed a light, which eventually led to them getting in to a car accident 3 hours later and dying? If you had never been born, would those people in the accident have had 3 more kids by now?

There are so many different questions. The Butterfly Effect that you produce can be simply amazing.

One of the best X-men story arcs of all time was "The Age of Apocalypse." This was where Legion went back in time and murdered Professor Xavier. Because of this action, the future was altered and Apocalypse ruled the world. Magneto led the X-men. Cyclops and his Brother Havok (along with a Darker version of Beast) worked for Mr. Sinister (one of Apocalypse's 4 horsemen) and Sabertooth fought for the good guys. Wolverine was missing a hand due to a duel with Cyclops who in turn was missing an eye from said duel.

The point is, there was a difference of peace or nuclear holocaust based on the presence of one man.

I like to think that as an English Teacher I've made a difference in some of my student's lives this year. It was nice to see so many old students come BACK to see me before they graduated this week. May we all make sure that our existence, our presence here isn't wasted. Be a positive ripple in the space time continuum of life- JR

100th POST EXTRAVAGANZA OF SUPER DUPER FUN!!!

In April of 2009 I started this blog. 2 years later and a lot of "what the heck is he talking about" later and here we are. 100th post! This could be wrong though, I'm not sure. At some point I went through and deleted a few posts that were politically charged. I've decided that politics have no place on my blog, nor anywhere on facebook. Just as teaching a Sunday School lesson in a crowded McDonalds is a poor choice of venue, so is Facebook for posting political rants and videos. So it's possible that a few posts ago was "really" my 100th post, but whatever here we go, let's celebrate life!

List of 100 great things (in no particular order):

100. Family
99. Friends
98. Food
97. Music
96. Sports
95. Comic Books
94. Movies
93. The Great Outdoors
92. Video Games (classic Video Games)
91. The great outdoors with family friends and food and physical activity. While listening to music, Playing Video Games, watching movies and reading comic books in the tent at night.

And that's pretty much it...the list stops there. Did I miss anything? Cause I'm pretty sure that everything great about life is covered right there. I'm sure there's ONE unmentionable that we'll just leave to reader's imagination. Wink Wink giggle giggle geeky snort.

I just want to thank the readers. The people like you who have dropped by and checked out what I have to say about various topics. Some of you even post comments! Do you have any idea how much better my day is when I see that people hath commented on my stuffs?

I went back and read my first post. It says that I'd end each post with, "out." Well that faded pretty quickly, but what the heck. Here's to 100 more posts and more time spent with family and friends...eating food...after playing sports...in a tent with comic books, video games, music, and movies. OUT

Geek Week

Great week for Geeks. Yep I just capitalized "Geek." Midnight Thursday: THOR!
As stated in my review last week, it was epic. The review touched on the film itself, but the viewing experience is so much more. I love getting together with fellow "Geek" friends and hitting up the premiers of these movies. I know I know, "can't you just wait to see it tomorrow at a normal time?" Well yes I could, but I guarantee that your showing didn't have as much cheering and applause as ours did when Thor totally did that big beasty thing in. Yeah. Also, how many people showed up in costume for your 7:15 show Friday night eh?This Schism poster was free at Free Comic Book Day... The colors messed up on the scan but how cool is this picture? (for those of you who don't get it, Wolverine just off'd Cyclops)

Then on Saturday: Free Comic Book Day! I headed over to "Dragons Keep," in Provo. That store has been in the valley since I first started collecting back in the early 90's. The guys who run the store are very cool and it was nice to see so many people out. I was able to snag some really cool free comics such as "The Dark Crystal."

I also grabbed some back issues of X-treme X-men and Uncanny X-men. Mostly for the artwork by Salvador Larocca.

I found a gem in the original mini-series of "The Last Starfighter" from 1984. Classic 80's flick, which I've also blogged about. I scanned the covers to make a montage of awesomeness. All in all it was a great geeky weekend. My buddy John lent me the first season of "The Big Bang Theory." And that pretty much topped off a perfect trifecta of Geekdom... Carry on True Believers...carry on.

Movie Reviews: Fast 5 and Thor

It's the summer movie season. I think that this season I'll write reviews for each film I see and maybe you'll find yourself in the theater seeing something you might not have otherwise?

Fast 5 (Fast and the Furious part 5)
Saw it last week at midnight on the Imax big screen. Now to be honest I've never seen the 1st Fast and the Furious. I saw the 2nd one once with some work buddies. Never saw the third. The 4th one somehow got me interested and it was a fine fine movie. Fast 5 takes place immediately after the events of the 4th installment. This film was ridiculously awesome in that every chance to blow something up was taken advantage of. Vin Diesel's character got to tussle with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Paul Walker and Diesel at one point drove a car off of a cliff for a long...long...time. This is one of those movies where someone can say, "but the acting was cheesy!" Well yeah...but you don't go to these movies to see Shakespearean acting, you go to see stolen street racing cars drag a multi-ton safe through the streets of Rio while being shot by drug cartels. I saw this movie with my buddies: Kelly, Clint, and Robin. I couldn't have seen it with a better group. If you see this, make sure you've seen the 4th one first (it'll fill the story in for ya) and then stay after the credits for one of the best surprises EVER. Not only is this the best Fast and Furious movie, it is also one of the best action flicks I've seen in years. 5/5 stars



Thor...let me try that again...THOOOOORRRRR!

Saw it at midnight last night and it's fresh in my memory! Forgive my bias. I'm a comic book fan who is as loyal to Marvel as I am to my wife. I love that brand the way some may love "American Express" "Pepsi" or "Nike." Thor is the 2nd to last piece that must be placed delicately into a much larger picture. The Avengers is slated for release next May. So far, both Iron Man movies were incredible, the 2nd take on Hulk was unbelievably cool, and all we need is for Thor and Captain America to hold their own. Avengers is currently shooting and may very well be the biggest movie...ever. Of all of these characters though, THOR is the one I was the most concerned about. He's not just a super hero, he's a God from another dimension with the powers of Norse deity. It's a hard pill to swallow, luckily though Kenneth Branaugh gave us a spoon full of sugar to help that medicine go down. First and foremost the acting was insanely good for a comic book flick. Chris Hemsworth stole the show as Thor, while Tom Hiddleston played a very dubious "Loki" and Sir Anthony Hopkins played "Odin" to perfection. Stallin Skarsgard and Natalie Portman were fine in their roles as mortals wrapped in Thor's story but they were kind of outshined by all of the other worldly action. Half of the movie takes place in Asgard while the rest takes place on Earth. Thor's armor looks right at home in the other dimension, but a little out of place on Earth. Hopefully the Avengers movie somehow addresses this. The director for some reason likes to do this weird diagonal shot which was cool a couple of times, but quickly got annoying. Despite its flaws it is one of, if not THE best Marvel movie to date. I can't wait to see how Iron Man interacts with Thor in team up flick. I loved it. Go see it. 4.5/5 Stars

Revenge: A dish best served with noodles

What is it about our basic human nature that makes revenge so sweet? Sweet is a bad word, how about, "positively stimulating."

We like revenge.

Revenge of the Nerds

Revenge of the Sith

Reve....Return of the Jedi

Taking out Osama Bin laden. etc etc etc

Sunday night was interesting. I'd like to say I was watching something manly when the news broke, but I was watching Desperate Housewives with my wife.

I was 19 when Bin Laden orchestrated the attacks that brought the Trade Center down amongst the other attacks that day. I was old enough to know what was going on and I was really REALLY mad. I wanted revenge. I've wanted revenge for almost 10 years. Now that I know Bin Laden is dead and at the bottom of the ocean finding Nemo, I feel pretty good.

We gave the guy a proper Muslim burial, and while some are complaining about this (and I can see their point of view) I think it's really cool that our worst enemy, the man our country absolutely hated, wasn't paraded through the streets, wasn't posted all over the Internet, and wasn't treated the way the enemy had treated some of their US prisoners. We actually washed his body before comitting it to the deep.

I just finished reading Uncanny X-Force issue #9. In it, Magneto hands an envelope to Wolverine and asks for him to eliminate the target. The target turns out to be a Nazi war criminal who had held Magneto captive in a concentration camp when he was a boy. Wolverine hikes into the mountains of Brazil (P.S. go see Fast 5, it's AWESOME) and finds a house in the jungle. An old man is there to greet him. The old man says, "I knew this day would come. I moved here like many of the war criminals, I married, and knew that every day of happiness that I enjoyed was not deserved." Wolverine does his thing (he's the best at what he does, but what he does isn't very nice) and walks away.

Vengeance is an interesting concept. I'm not sure where I come out on the subject, suffice to say that vengeance only occurs in reaction to an initial trespass. May we all be chill. I'd hate to think that somewhere out there, someone is plotting revenge for something I did out of my negligence, not of my purpose.

Things I've always wanted to try, but just haven't been able to muster the guts to do them

So...awkward moments. They can be really funny, but sometimes it takes a lot of guts to pull them off. I was reminded by some friends of mine at my high school ten year reunion this year about the time I stood up in class and grabbed my eye and screamed, "MY EYE!" as I ran out of the room.

That took a lot of guts, but I pulled it off. Here's a list of things I've always wanted to try, but have just never been able to talk myself into doing:

1- Poke my head out of the bathroom door at McDonalds and yell, "Excuse me! I'm all out of McToilet Paper in here!"

2- Try to withdraw money from my bank account and when they ask for identification I just wave my hand and say, "you don't need to see my identification."

3- Go into a pet store and ask them which breed of dog that they carry, tastes the best after it matures and is seasoned.

4- Go to the most recent disney tweeny-bop movie which stars the latest Hannah Montana-esque star, all alone...dressed in a huge Santa Suit...and I chuckle loudly after every corny joke.

5- Kick a buffalo

6-Run for public office...any public office. My slogan will be, "Hell, why not? Vote for Reeves!"

7-During a touchdown celebration, throw small trout throughout the stands

8- While using the urinal (I've gotten close to trying this one) sing the entire theme song to the original Mario Brothers game on NES, regardless of how many people are in there.

9-Go to the Lincoln Memorial and just talk to it for hours about my favorite movies.

10- Legitimately get my tongue stuck to a flag pole and start yelling, "shtuck! shtuck!"

So yeah, there's a list of random things I've always wanted to try but just haven't had the chance, the money, or the guts to pull em off- JR

What's Left to Re-Boot?

I feel bad for the current generation. They have nothing "original" when it comes to entertainment. When was the last time a movie came out and you said to yourself, "wow, that was really original" ? And don't say inception. That movie was ripped off of a Donald Duck comic book from 2002. I know ya'll are jealous cause you weren't born in the 1980's, and so you resort to remaking and rebooting classics. I'm not complaining exactly, cause honestly most of these movies have been pretty sweet. I just find it interesting that the 80's are still this dominant.

-Karate Kid

-Transformers

-Smurfs

-Tron

-He-Man (animated)

-Thundercats (animated)

-Vultron (animated)

-Red Dawn

-Wallstreet

-Indiana Jones

-Rambo

-Rocky

-A-Team

-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

-Top Gun (in the works)

-GI JOE -Friday the 13th franchise

-Nightmare on Elm Street franchise

and the list goes on bada bum de dum BOOM!

I'm probably missing quite a few. My hope is that certain films are left alone. They've already announced a re-booting of Batman. You realize that they are only two films into the trilogy, the second of which is the number 3 box office grossing film of all time. DC's just trying to keep up with Marvel though since they are re-booting Spider Man... and the X-men as well.

Let's look at some classic 80's flicks and see if they warrant a sequel or a reboot or nothing at all.

The Goonies- I know that most people will say, "leave this one alone." But, the remaining original cast is still down with this one. They actually want to make this work. LET THEM DO IT! It's one of the most epic films of all time and we'd love to see them re-unite and go on another Goonie adventure.

DO NOT, however, cast Justin Bieber as Mikey Walsh and re-boot this thing. We don't need a CGI Sloth, I repeat, we do NOT need a CGI Sloth.

Sequel: Yes Reboot: No

The Last Starfighter- Alex Rogan has defeated the Codan Armada... Now he needs to train the next generation of Star Fighter.

DO NOT, however, cast Andy Sandberg as Alex Rogan and turn a classic sci-fi masterpiece into a mockery... On second thought though, Tracy Morgan as Grieg might be slightly hilarious. I take it back- Andy Sandberg and Tracy Morgan would make this awesome. Throw in Chevy Chase as Centari and we've got a hit!

Sequel: Yes Comical Re-boot: Yes

WILLOW- Moments after finishing the Lord of the Rings book trilogy, George Lucas came up with this amazing idea about a halfling that teams up with humans to protect something that would destroy all evil in the world. Willow is a veritable classic and will be for eons. How oft do I find myself wishing I had a little bag of bones in my pocket, and whenever people are trying to decide something I could say, "I will consult the bones!" Then I'd dump them out and say, "The bones tell me....nothing."

There were a slew of book sequels to this, but I think that in this case a remake would be a bad idea since Val Kilmer is now...well.. let's put it this way. His call sign in Top Gun was "Iceman." Judging by his presnt girth, he'd be known as "Iceberg that sent the Titanic to the bottom of the Atlantic." Mad Mardigan was the coolest character ever...let's not ruin him shall we?

Sequel: No Re-boot: No

Also, don't even think of having Ferris Beuler's son take school off, and Better off Dead is Better Off left alone since it's the greatest comedy to come out of that beloved decade.

What else would you like to see remade from the 80's? AND DON'T SAY HOWARD THE DUCK!

JR

I Hate Zach Galifinakis and Seth Rogen

I know there are plenty of other guilty parties, but I'm going to focus on these two clowns because they caught my attention lately.

Since I'm not a regular viewer of raunchy "comedies," I haven't seen much of these guys. I saw the Galifinakis tool in the dinner for Schmucks flick, which I regret seeing, and he seems to be a one trick pony as far as the breadth of character he can play.

Recently I saw an interview done with Seth Rogen on the Conan O'Brien Show. Conan mentioned that Seth was a big fan of weed. Seth replied, "yeah, I have my medical marijuana card here in California." Conan asked him what his ailments were that warranted the use of the drug and he said something along the lines of "I'm sick of not having enough WEEEEED!"

Great.

Zach Galifinakis hosted SNL the other night. He had a large sheet of paper that read, "Clap if you endorse legalized marijuana." He then folded the paper back to read, "I'm ashamed of this audience." And then he peeled it back to say, "There should have been MORE clapping." Finally he finished with, "I smoke so much pot that sometimes I forget to smoke it."

Awesome.

I'd like to introduce these two morons to my students. This year I've had kids arrested for dealing your precious weed. They're going to be in the court system and won't be getting out to see your latest movie. I've had multiple students drop out and or fail my class and most other classes all year, and guess why they've all been suspended. I've got a kid right now whose IQ is basically flat lined because of how much weed he smoked growing up. Kid is only 15 and his mind is a barren wasteland.

So thanks for promoting drug use you guys. You are making millions while my kids here are failing out of life before they're 18.

There will be those who argue that it's not that big of a deal. They'll think me a small minded conservative Christian who knows nothing.

Well here's what I do know. Drugs are illegal, they screw you up, and these two morons who are adored by impressionable teenagers are out there promoting it.

I'm on the front lines. I see what it does to these kids. You clue-less hippies have a lot of blood on your hands.

-end frustrating rant.

It's the story...of a lovely MURDER!

Whilst watching John Travolta's classic t.v. movie from 1975- The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, this weekend, I started to think about some unanswered questions. Travolta's dad in the show was played by the guy who played Mr. Brady from the Brady Bunch show.

I blogged about the things they never explained in Toy Story a month or so back, and now I'm going to go to a dark place that holds more questions than answers...

THE BRADY BUNCH.

"Excessive uses of alcohol, physical, or verbal abusiveness are a few examples of reasons to lose child visitation rights" (Child Visitation Rights).

Throwing the silly movies aside, why was there never an episode (that I can remember) where the kids left to be with their other parent?

"Producer Schwartz wanted Carol to have been a divorcee but the network objected to this. A compromise was reached whereby no mention was made of the circumstances in which Carol's first marriage ended" (Wikipedia).

So we have two split families that become one... let's look at both sides and guess what MAY have happened.

Carol Brady and the Girls: In this case I'm guessing that the lack of child visitation rights comes from an abusive parent. Jan Brady is obviously dealing with some real issues throughout the series. My guess is that their biological father used to mistreat Florence Henderson and her brood. If violence was involved, this would explain the lack of visitations. They never make mention of him...maybe he was in prison? The show was canceled before the 6th season ever materialized and the internet is telling me it's 6-10 years for abuse of that kind. If the 6th season HAD come to pass we may have seen Flo Hender's Ex getting out of Folsom to stay with the family and spend time with his girls. The Ex waits til Mr. Brady is gone and attacks Flo Hender with a wrench. Tiger (the family's dog) bites the guy in the process and rips a major vein, causing the man to bleed to death on the shag carpeting.

Mr. Brady and the Boys: Whereas Flo Hender divorced an abusive guy, Mr. Brady and the boys lost their mother to...mysterious circumstances. That's right...It's the story of a lovely MURDER! Throw in some blackmail and you have a plausible reason why Alice the maid is still hanging around. Mr. Brady works, Mrs. Brady....does what? She's home all day, why do they need a maid? The truth is they don't need a maid. Alice is there, working for free, because if she EVER says anything about what went down on August 18th 1968, Mr. Brady would feed her to the dog. Mr Brady, master manipulator, began flirting with Alice. He knew that Alice had a huge crush on him and he used that to his advantage. Mr. Brady had tired of his current wife and had noticed Flo-Hender at the shopping center recently. He knew her situation, he knew she was vulnerable, and he wanted out of his current relationship. He manipulated Alice into believing that if she (Alice) could just get rid of the old Mrs. Brady, then they would hook up. Didn't happen though. Alice killed the old Mrs. Brady and came running to what she THOUGHT would be an excited Mr. Brady...only to find him aghast at what she'd done. "Alice...what have you done...why did you...sniff...kill her?" Alice panicked, but Mr. Brady comforted her. "Listen, I won't tell the police, but your paycheck just disappeared. You work for me now, forever and always. If you EVER leave, I'm telling the cops everything. So Mr. Brady got Flo-Hender, got rid of his old wife, and got free maid service for life.

And THAT's the way they became the Brady Bunch!

World Peace...it's as simple as pushing "play"

People killing people...

Invasions...

Dictators...

Folks strapping bombs to their kids...

There's got to be a better way...and there is.

The sollution to the problem is simple: Operation Wyld Stallynz.

Remember what the future looks like? It's a bunch of futuristic dudes strumming guitars with Bill and Ted's band "The Wyld Stallynz" playing in the background. Rufus was there, and it was good.

"You see, eventually your music will help put an end to war and poverty. It will align the planets and bring them into universal harmony, allowing meaningful contact with all forms of life; from extra terrestrials to common household pets, and it's excellent for dancing."- Rufus

Now sadly we don't actually have a band called, "Wild Stallynz." However, I do believe that we can implement the same idea and save the world.

Step one: Lots and lots of speaker systems. This music needs to be broadcast all over the world. Maybe we'll employ a few hundred thousand blimps, fit them with massive speakers, and just strategically place them over cities and such.

Step two: Ultimate Mix Cd's. I see there being 3 different groups that would play at all times: Enya, Simon and Garfunkel, and Bob Marley.

Step three: Watch the terrorists come out of their caves with regretful looks on their faces. Watch the gangs stop fighting and start hugging. Watch Tupac and Biggy rise from their graves and collaborate.

You think Momar Quadaffi (sp?) would be shootin at rebels or the rebels shooting at Quadaffi if they had Bob Marley's "One Love" blasting down from the skys? I tells you they'd be HUGGIN!

Guy steals a lady's purse...stops in mid stride as the climax of "Bridge over Troubled Water" gets belted out by Simon and Garfunkel (whom will be referred to from here on out as "S-drizzle and G-funk"), turns around with tears in his eyes and takes the purse and the woman out to lunch at a moderately priced buffet...and tips at 23%

Man lifts his hand to strike his wife and instead decides to leave the house to cool off. He jumps on a boat and "sails away sails away sails away..." to Enya.

The holy trinity of Marley, S-Drizzle and G-Funk, and Enya would heal all wounds and give birth to a happier world...until someone throws on Master of Puppets by Metallica as a joke and the world falls into chaos.

This is my vision...

I employed this tactic today as I had a student who, according to his paper, wanted to $%#%% %$%##$$# all rich white %#$%%#%%$ in the area.

I had One Love playing when he entered the classroom today...

He left with a "we cool" and a handshake/fist bump.

Thanks for reading everyone, the fact that I have "followers" and that I get hits every day, makes me smile- JR

Resistance is not futile...I-resist the machines

"Are you Sara Connor?"

"Yes..."

"BANG!"

Terminator 1 reference? CHECK!

I-have been questioned by co-workers and friends lately as to why I-am hesitating...no...refusing to go into the I-phone or I-pad craze. I-think that it's time to explainmyself.

I-currently have a great little t-mobile phone that has lasted me almost 3 whole years. It carries my music, some photos, videos, and it was FREE FREE FREE! I-don't play games on it because when I-received my phone I-found that all of the games were only demos. It costs money to download the full versions so I-decided not to waste the money or the time.

I-get enough minutes per month and unlimitted texts and I-find that to be just fine. It covers all of my wants and needs.

Now I-hear all about these I-phones and I-pads that people suddenly "need." I-guess that I-am insane because I-don't feel like I-need these things to function.

Aps? I-have lived 29 years wihtout aps and I-am fine. I-got a GPS for my car so I-can find my way around, and that's great right? Shouldn't that be enough?

"But with an I-pad you can do THIS!" "If you had an I-phone you could THAT!"

I-see how marvelous the angry birds are and I-think to myself, "If I-had that game I-would play that game all day long." I-realize that some aps make life so much easier and yet I-have decided not to use them as tools. Why?

Sitting on the couch watching tv and you have to go to the bathroom but you don't want to get up to use the toilet? There's an APP for that.

Get caught stealing watermellons from a blind lady's house? There's an APP for that.

I-see people walking around Walmart having conversations with their blut-tooth things. They look and sound like nut jobs.

"What? Yeah I know...TOTALLY! Yeah I-will be there at 5...yeah I-am at Walmart...buying Fruity Pebbles." The next time I-see someone doing this I-am going to start talking to myself too...only without the blue tooth.

"Yeah I'm not sure why but it's TOTALLY chaffing me! Yeah I know I thought I'd washed out the ear-mites but they are driving me crazy...no I don't remember your Grandmother popping out of a birthday cake in her birthday suit, I blocked that from my memory."

As far as I-pads go, I-feel like I-am walking around the Star Ship Dork-a-prise on Star Trek. Nerds walking around with little computer screens. I-know I-know, "but Justin, you are a huge Star Wars/Sci-fi geek, why not embrace this?" I-will tell you why. I-bust my butt and work two jobs, the second or "extra" of which is incredibly stressfull. I-feel that my money is better spent on food and other essentials than on a phone that does everything for me with a data plan that costs $30 extra bucks a month.

I-love blu-ray, I-love HD, but this whole push button society is going too far.

So no, I-don't care how fun Angry Birds is.

No I don't want to do video calling, (I make many calls from my toilet, you don't want to see it, trust me. That being said, please don't assume that if you are on the phone with me that I'm on the pot).

You realize what the phone company is doing to you right? The same thing as the tobacco companies.

They got you hooked, and now you can't live without it, so the price goes up a bit, the apps get pricier, and the I-tunes songs go from 99 cents to 1.29...

I-am just not going to start smoking in the first place, and if the phone company says that I-need a data plan in order to have a cell phone? Then I-am getting a freaking land line- JR

Dear World: I Refuse to Grow Up...Sorta

I'm 29 years old...


I find the occasional gray hair popping through my black, dreamy hair...


I have a wife...


I have 2 kids...


I have 2 jobs...


I pay the bills... (well my money does, technically my lovely wife does the online payment thing)


Yesterday I interviewed with a prestigious university (where Jimmer goes) for Grad school


I've sued someone before...


I have credit cards....


I have attended my 10 year high school reunion...


I'm technically a grown up...



THAT BEING SAID!


I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R' Us kid!


I play ultimate Frisbee with students and teachers on Fridays in the field!


I collect comic books, that's right, I collect and enjoy reading comic books! (Call em graphic novels if that sounds more mature)


Tomorrow night, my friends and I are going to see Sucker Punch at MIDNIGHT! You heard me, my students will be sleeping and I'll be watching girls with samurai swords destroy giant robots and evil mechanical Nazi creatures!



I still wear rock and roll t-shirts, ripped jeans, and play my bass guitar


I enjoy cartoons


I like to eat Captain Crunch with Butterfinger bars crumbled up at the bottom of the bowl.


I probably know more about the Star Wars universe than George Lucas does.


I tell stupid jokes


Today I gave a kid extra credit. His presentation on guitars was utterly awful so I told him, "play a song if you wanna get a decent grade on this." "All I know is metal," he said. So I told him, "then play Master of Puppets by Metallica." He did...he got more points.


The other day a co-worker said something to the effect of "I wish I knew how you had so much energy." The easy answer would be caffeine, but I HAVEN'T TOUCHED SODA IN ALMOST 4 MONTHS!!! It's called a lust for life.


LET'S BE CLEAR THOUGH!


I take life very seriously. I know there is a time to be serious and a time to goof off. A time to cast away stones, a time to gaaaaaaather stoooooones together.


Here's what I DON'T want to have happen:


I don't want to go through a day of my life without making somebody laugh...hysterically


I don't want to become so involved in my work that my kids think I'm boring


I don't want to say, "hmmm a midnight movie sounds awfully foolish, it will make me tired and I'M TOO OLD FOR THAT.





I don't want to look through my closet and say, "well I'll be dipped, this t-shirt with Ralph Wiggum on the front saying, "I bent my wookie" is in terrible taste...away with it!"


So Yeah,

I might be dedicating all of my time and efforts at two jobs and grad school coming up here. But between research papers, I'll be reading the latest issue of Deadpool or Uncanny X-Force.


After a long week full of papers and work and such, I'll be rewarding myself by checking out the newest "Sucker Punch-esque" movie at midnight and smiling the whole time.

I'm going to continue to occasionally scarf down multiple hot dogs and ramen. It was good enough for me at college, it's good enough for me now.


Peter Pan was a jerk in the movie Hook. Then he went to Neverland and he became a screw around putz. Finally he found the balance between the two.


That's where you'll find me...


In the Ruse of Fools- JR