Avengers vs X-men

Well, it's time for a comic book event. For those of you not familiar with "Comic Book Events" it's when the companies make unearthly profits by making a huge storyline which goes across every title in their line and you have to collect ALL of them to get the whole story....kind of stressful. Though the main story will take place in 12 issues titled, "A vs X." However, I'm super excited for this years' event with the Avengers and the X-men fighting against each other over the return of the Phoenix entity in conjunction with Hope Summers (The Mutant Messiah). I've decided to post some of the cool promo pictures they've made for the upcoming 12 issue gig. Half of my readers will love this, half won't care. But hey, if you don't care, drop by a comic book store (google it), get set up, and find something to look forward to every few weeks. Gonna be a fun ride.

Archangel vs Daredevil, may be my favorite ad

Been enjoying Cyclops a lot more since his split with Wolverine and his X-men. Cool artwork here. I dig it.

 

Cool battle, I hope it comes to fruition

Not big on Spiderman. I hope Iceman freezes him and breaking him in half.

Never been big on Storm or Thor. However, Thor looks boss right here. Love the size perspective.

Not a fan of the art, but a HUGE fan of Colossus since he took the powers of the Juggernaut

Cover for the first issue. I can't wait to see how the story pans out. Been a big fan of Hope since she joined the X-men. Generation Hope has been a great series which is sadly ending...makes me think that Hope may also be "ending" in the series.

4 Hollywood Pillars of Strength

So here I am almost a year into my graduate program at BYU. I'm working towards becoming a Principal and it hasn't been easy. When I started the program I became very overwhelmed and started to feel the effects of my stress.  Going from Teacher to Principal is a big change. Being a teacher is fun, I get to make fun lessons, work with students, etc etc. Being a Principal will be much more rewarding financially, but it's going to be a bit more stressful. I'm not a very confrontational person, and assistant principals have to yell at students a lot. I'm hoping that I'll be the exception to the rule and I'll be able to talk to kids in a positive way instead of a nagging yeller.
The program is tough, the job is going to be tougher, but I need to pump myself up for it. So I turn now to my 4 Hollywood pillars of strength. If I can be like unto them, I'll be successful and I'll beat the rest of this challenging program. I've got weaknesses to overcome. Changes can be painful...but making it through the tough stuff is rewarding in the end.



1. Aron Ralston- "Eliminating the things that keep me trapped"

 I know this is a Hollywood 4 Pillar thing, but this actually happened. I just love the movie so I'm going to count it. I have certain weaknesses that make me feel like I'm not up to the task of being a principal. Just like Aron Ralston's arm kept him trapped in a canyon, I have weaknesses that get in my head and make me feel like I can't succeed. I need to eliminate these weaknesses by painfully changing myself into what I need to be. He cut his arm off...I can change myself as well. Meeting the real Aron Ralston remains one of the greatest moments in my life.



2. Rocky Balboa- "It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"


Rocky Balboa is my hero because on paper he never stacked up to his opponents. Every guy he fought, Mr. T, Dolph Lundgren, Apollo Creed, etc was bigger than he was and should have straight up killed him. I'm in a tough program that makes me feel like I'm Rocky walking into the Russian arena. I've taken hits here and there, and there have been days when I question whether or not I can beat this thing, but every time things get tough I think of Rocky getting punched and punched and still walking forward.


3. John Mclane- "Yippy Kai Yea _________"

So I watched all 3 Die Hard movies this weekend. John Mclane is probably the greatest hero in the history of movies. Dude is always in the wrong place at the wrong time yet he doesn't run from the problem, he faces it head on. He gets shot, bloodied, broken, thrown out of planes, and it doesn't matter. He still laughs at his competition and delivers his famous "Yippy Kai Yea" line while smiling as the terrorists either A- Fall out of a building (Die Hard) B- Blow up in a 747 (Die Hard 2) or C- Get their Helicopter caught in power lines (Die Hard 3). The best part about John Mclane is his resourcefulness. He has a goal (kill the terrorists and save his wife). I have a goal (beat grad school and provide for my family). When times are tough and I feel like quitting, I just repeat to myself "Yippy Kai Yea________" which is Ironic since it's a BYU program...but yeah. Yippy Kai Yea.



4. Captain Jack Sparrow- "This the day that you will always remember as the day that you..."


Jack Sparrow a great character. The reason I look to him is because of his swag. This guy is silly, goofy, tipsy and all over the place, but he knows what he's doing. The pivotal moment for me from all 4 Pirates of the Caribbean movies was at the end of the first film. The audience had laughed their way through the whole film and enjoyed the comical visage that Jack had projected. However, after Jack lifts the curse at the "opportune moment" and shoots Barbosa through the chest there's a shot of Jack starring at Barbosa with a smoking gun and a look on his face of complete seriousness. Jack knows when to turn it on and turn it off. I'm much like Jack where most people think of me as goofy light hearted Justin...but that's just a result of my being an eternal optimist. FYI even when I'm in the worst of moods and I'm feeling like garbage- I put on my happy face and crack jokes. I know when to act different ways. I can turn it on and off...just like Jack. So yes I'm cheerful and joking, but at any given moment I'll be the all business Jack with the metaphorical smoking barrel.

My students even agree....the 80's

I asked my students today, "If you could be 16 in any decade...which would it be and why?"
The answers were almost unanimous "The 80's."  There's always a couple of THOSE kids who say "the 60's....maaaaan" but yeah, the rest of the kids wanted 80's. Why? Well let's break it down-

1. Movies
    80's movies were awesome. SO awesome in fact that currently, Hollywood is reviving every 80's idea that they possibly can. Transformers, GI Joe, Footloose, Ninja Turtles, (trying for) Ghostbusters, Red Dawn, Indiana Jones, and the LIST GOES ON!  Can you really truly name a good movie from the 90's? Jurassic Park and....what else? MAYBE Braveheart and Babe...but the action flicks were pretty bad. Top Gun has withstood the test of time...Independence Day has not.  Goonies, Better off Dead, Ferris Beuler's Day off...these are time tried classics that are still legit today. Hard to find 90's or 00's flicks that compare to these classics.

2. Cartoons
  Remember when Saturday mornings were a sacred time? From 6:00 a.m. til 11:00 a.m. the cartoons ran on 3 or 4 networks and without DVR we had to eliminate the weak sauce to get to the red meat. He-man, Vultron, Thundercats, Ghostbusters, the SNORKS! THE FREAKING SNORKS! Smurfs, GI Joe, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, Camp Candy, Bobby's World, Eek the Cat, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs (yeah some of these bleed into the early 90's...sue me) X-men, Rescue Rangers, Ducktales,  Spiderman, Batman, man I could write on this for hours. My current students got the tail end of Nickelodian's heyday and were stuck with Pokemon, Digimon, and all other manner of Mon's.  All I see now when I turn on the tv Saturday morning is Disney shows about Tweens that make me cry inside.

3. Music
   Remember the 80's? You know, back when Metallica was good. U2, REM, Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson....MUSIC YOU COULD DANCE TO!  Gaga's got nothing on Lauper I'll tell you what. For me music took a huge dive after about 96-97. There's still some great stuff after that, and in fact I still occasionally find a good new band (Killers, Gorillaz) but let's face it, nothing tops the 80's play list. B-52's Rocklobster? Better than anything released this year from the world of Pop. I miss dancing to tunes. People don't dance any more...they just grind and try to look Bad A with their angry hip hop/rap crap.

4. Sports
   Would you rather watch:
A- Tom Brady, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and the rest of today's NBA?
or
B- Joe Montana, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, The Pistons, Magic Johnson, Kareem, Malone/Stockton

Now before you answer, know that as far as the basketball shorts go...I'm with you on wishing that the 80's players didn't show so much leg. Kevin McHale's legs were ummmmm yikes.
The 80's were a time of great athletic feats (Miracle on Ice anyone?) I just wish we'd had HD tv back then...our old bendy screen tv was awful to watch sports on.


5. Tv.....wait

Yeah I'll give this to the current state of things. TV shows are SO much better now. We actually WANTED to watch Full House back in the day, can you believe that? I know it's hilarious and nostalgic to watch but...man...it's awful. I'll take X-files, Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Office, Parks and Rec, heck pretty much ANYTHING over the bulk of the 80's shows. I guess the Simpsons kind of started in the 80's...but they didn't get good til the 90's right?

 6. Style

Hmmmm I know a lot of people make fun of the 80's sense of style. But I tell you this: I'll take ripped acid wash jeans and mullets over low ride pants and massive Bieber hair that covers from the head down past the nose.

Well this has been my "I'm stuck at Parent Teacher Conference I may as well Blog" rant thingy. Giggity- JR

Avengers Countdown

Ummmmm yep...here you go

Release  Countdown

Movies that need a sequel

While playing a party game the other night, a card came up that said, "If you could make a sequel to one movie it'd be...."

Well we had our joking answers such as: "Schindler's List 2: Electric Boogaloo" and "A Walk to Remember" (ouch) but it got me thinking. There are so many movies undeserving of a sequel that get one (I'm looking at you Saw, Ghost Rider, Hangover, and Human Centipede). There are also movies that warrant a sequel that we have not, and may not ever see...Such as-

A decent Alien Vs Predator:
I'm just a regular English High School teacher with sub par writing skills but you know what? I could make a better AvP than both of the crap fests released in theaters...how the second one even MADE it to a theater instead of direct to DVD is beyond me.

Terminator:
The terminator series should have been terminated after the 2nd one. Judgement Day was a sweet ending to one of the most impressive movies ever produced at that time. The third movie decided to unravel all of the loose ends that had been tied up in the 2nd one and Arnold looked like he was falling apart. Terminator Salvation was not much better...So if you are going to continue the series...do it right...again...and then stop

Goonies:
Do we NEED a Goonies sequel? No...do we want one anyways? Yep.  I am opposed to the constant rehash of 80's material. Bring back GI Joe, Transformers, Karate Kid, etc etc. However, it would be AWESOME to get the Goonies back together for some kind of adventure. It would be a trip through Nostalgia that, if properly written, would be genius.

Ghostbusters:
Actually I'm on board with Bill Murray in NOT making another Ghostbusters. Leave that one alone.

Super Mario Brothers:
The Super Mario Brothers movie...if I remember correctly (Only saw it once in the early 90's cause well...it sucked) ended with the princess showing up at Mario and Luigi's house wielding a gun and saying something like, "you guys gotta come back, you aren't going to believe this!" I've spent 18 or so years wondering just exactly what it was that they wouldn't believe...revive it?

Finally,

KUNG POW: Enter the Fist
Turn this movie on at noon- it's funny. Turn this movie on at 7:00 p.m.  and it's really funny. Watch this movie late at night with friends...and you are likely to either laugh until you cry OR wet your pants. Weeeeooowww peeeoowwww WHAH! Bring back Betty!

My name is Justin Reeves...and I believe in Sasquatch

I'm not going to hide the fact that I believe in the existence of Sasquatch. I don't believe in some mystical "Bigfoot" that roams around. I believe that there may be a seldom witnessed species of gigantic ape (which has in fact been proven to exist through fossils) that lives amongst us...specifically in the Northwest of the United States and Canada. Is that so crazy?
"It's just a guy in a suit!"
Hmmmm well I've watched the Patterson Gimlin footage enough times to not accept the "guy in the suit" theory. If you look carefully at the film, there are muscles moving underneath the fur and there is no way that these guys were able to make such a suit. Bare in mind this famous footage came out a few years before Planet of the Apes...and the best that Hollywood could do there was nowhere near the quality from the Patterson/Gimlin footage.

All of the analysis of that footage aside though, I'm convinced of the existence of these creatures based on personal testimony of extended family members who have seen/heard these things. AND the fact that there have been thousands of sightings throughout North America. Are ALL of these people lying?

If thousands of people say they've seen them...then how can we shoot that down? I know I know "They probably saw a bear...it was a guy in a suit."

But wait a minute...

Remember a few months ago when Herman Cain was seeking the Republican nomination for President of the United States? He was catching steam in the polls until like 6 or so women came out and said, "he sexually harassed me" or "he had an affair with me." Now Herman Cain continues to maintain his innocence, but nobody in the country believes him because these 6 women came forward and accused him. "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..." Well yeah I guess if there are that many accusations of this man then people assume he's guilty right?  But why is it that we take the word of 6 or so women  about a guy and believe them...and yet we hear thousands of reports, we see increasingly clear photos and recordings and yet...If it walks like a Sasquatch, and it howls like a Sasquatch...it's still just a bear or a guy in a suit?

The Truth is out There.

Feel free to scour through the multiple sitings in North America here: http://www.bfro.net/GDB/#usa

Hey parents, check it out check it out check it OUT!

(Warning to my regular readers, this is just a project for school...feel free to ignore it. OR you could comment on how awesome it is :)