The end of a year – 2009

Well, this year has just flown by us and we get to contemplate what to do with the next one. I had expected to be working at a TV or radio station by this point, yet I’m working at a book store and waiting on the arrival of our first child.

Just a short 365 days ago, I said bye to a friend on his last night in Dallas. He packed up his family and headed to Iowa. He says that he can see Kirk’s future house from his. That was also my last day at a job that I decided to leave so that I could try a career in TV/radio broadcast. For those that don’t know, I was a club DJ for a long time, but have some skills in voice-over, editing and camera work. Not a lot, but enough that it wouldn’t be hard to get my foot in the door somewhere.

First week of March I got a letter that the school had got my loan disbursement and then five days later, got a call from my wife to turn on the news. My school, all 26 locations in the US, had been shut down by their bank. Hence, the career change.

About a week later, I decided that we were gonna go out and do something fun. Didn’t know what, but as I was looking, I found out that All-Con was that weekend. I went and had a blast and decided that I was going to get back into all my old passions and get back to being a big geek! For years, I had catered to others as a DJ and that basically burned me out on music. I love music but not with a passion as I once did.

That’s how this website got started really. I didn’t know that All-Con was going on until the day of and I didn’t want to miss out on anything else. So, I put this site up to keep tabs on events around the DFW area. Anything that was geeky-nerdy-sci-fi-fantasy goodness.

Now that I’ve got a job (that I really love) I’ve had to ration my time on the blog. I’m still slowly building my network. I’m a firm believer that their is always something going on in the area, you just have to look to find it and hopefully, eventually, this will be the only place you have to look. If you’ve been reading over the months or if this is the first time you’ve stopped in, thank you. If you’ve told a friend, thank you. I’m not out to make money with this site. Although, a little scratch here and there does make it easier to keep up. I just like the thought of a community of people who love the same things being able to get together and talk about it and brag about it and show it off. Thanks, and here’s to a Happy New Year!

Red Band ‘Kick-Ass’ Trailer

Warning! Warning! Danger Wil Robinson! This isn’t for kids so watch it with them and explain the hard stuff or if your squeamish on that kind of thing, run them off! I’m so ready for this! So, So, So Ready for this! I tried to embed the video but Empire Magazine’s got a much better quality page.

Empire Magazine – Kick-Ass Trailer

Avatar blows the mind and overloads the senses

I really find it hard to say what I want to say about this movie because nothing really describes it. All I can tell anyone is, “go see it'”. And if you can afford it, go see it in 3D on the Imax screen. We went to the first showing in Plano and paid $14, but believe me, it was money well-spent! My wife and I could not believe the colors and the detail of each scene. The creativity that went into designing the wildlife and the Na’vi themselves is astounding. The seamlessness of what was cgi and what was real still leaves me dumbfounded.

Now, on another note. Some websites have tried to read into what James Cameron has done here and the story in general. It has been likened to the plight of the American Indian and some people have even called it a racist movie. I’ve also heard of people who have walked away with tears in their eyes as the credits rolled, overwhelmed from the shear beauty of the story and vision that they have witnessed. Before drawing conclusions, go see the movie!

Nicholas Cage in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’

Hitting theaters on July 16, 2010, this looks to be a pretty good movie. I have to admit, Cage is taking some roles that I never really saw him in but as I watch the trailers for this movie and ‘The Season of the Witch’ I’m getting used to the idea. ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney Studios and they have a pretty decent track record, so I’m not too worried about it flubbing. Since Disney is behind it, you know they just had to put in the water-carrying broomsticks scene from the original ‘Fantasia’!

 

I mention that I never thought of Cage as a knight or a wizard, so, what are some roles that you’ve found other actors in and never saw it coming? Who else could you see in Cage’s place?

Books I’m reading and book shop finds

Had some friends in town over the weekend for my wife’s baby shower, and I drug her best friend’s husband around and showed him my favorite spots. In doing that, I was able to snag some nice stuff from Half Price Books in Irving. I was doing a little a dance when I found a Trivial Pursuit Star Wars Classic Trilogy Collectors Edition game and the Dungeons & Dragons - The Complete Animated Series. It was a good day and I couldn’t wait to get home and break’em open!

I’m also going to start posting about books I’m reading and give a little blurb about what I liked and disliked about the book. I’m not calling it a review because I don’t expect people to base their buying decisions on my opinion. Buy the thing and make your own opinion. I just finished Event: A Novel (Event Group Thrillers)and really enjoyed it. Opening with Navy fighters taking on two huge UFOs the book takes you into a covert organization that has been around for over 150 years and brings the past and present together. It moves along with just enough action to keep me interested and has enough “buddy banter” as I call it, to keep it light. Check out the book and let me know what you think. If you’ve read anything else by this guy, let me know what you thought of that, also.

Boomerang Comics has two new reading clubs

Neal at Boomerang Comics is full of ideas and here are two new ones. On December 19 at noon a new member of the Boomerang team, Morgan, will read the ‘Bone’ and the kids can read along in their own books.

Every month we pick a book that we think everyone will love and we will have a live reading where kids can come in and follow along in their own books!

Then on December 29, for the bigger kids, he will hold a book club meeting for the graphic novel ‘Blanket’.

Our first book is Blankets! The folks at the pop culture site Paste Magazine just released their 20 Best Graphic Novels of the Decade: Their #1 choice? Craig Thompson's Blankets!

The meeting will be held at 7pm and if you don’t have a copy of the book, you can get one at Boomerang Comics for 15% off the list price. Hope to see everyone there!

Question: Paste Magazine listed ‘Blankets’ as the #1 Graphic Novel of the Decade. What would be your choice?

Season of the Witch

It’s a new one from Nicholas Cage, who is also in ‘Kick-Ass’ as “Big Daddy”, and Ron Perlman, “Hellboy”. It’s a medieval tale of a witch being escorted with the intent of her being either tried or converted. Unlike most middle-age witches, this one is a very bad girl. Lots of cool special effects and armor. I’m not sure about Cage as a knight but only time will tell. Let me know what you think of the video.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Children of the gods running rampant in modern day New York? Zeus lost his mojo? Olympus is actually at the top of the Empire State? What in the world is going on here? Actually, it looks pretty cool and from the way the books are flying off the shelf at the store, I think I may have to pick this one up myself. It also makes a great gift this time of year. Have you read any of the books and if so, how did you like them?

Lone Star Shindig December 4-6, 2009

This weekend the ‘Verse will materialize in Austin. Thousands of Browncoats and other denizens will descend upon Grace United Methodist Church at 205 east Monroe street for the Lone Star Shindig.

Join us as we celebrate Shepherd Book's journey before becoming a crew member on Serenity. We'll start with an Abbey Fashion Show, showcasing Asian-inspired designs, while offering Sereniteas' blended teas, as well as homemade hors d'oeuvres. We'll have a costume picnic on the Abbey grounds and then a dance in the Fellowship Hall with music by The Bedlam Bards and food made primarily from produce grown at the Abbey! We'll end this shiny shindig with Serenity on the Big Screen at our local Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek.

The best part - all proceeds from this event will go to support The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center of which Ron Glass, our Shepherd Book, is a Board Member.

Want to spend a weekend at Southdown Abbey? Get your tickets now. Space is extremely limited for this event, so don't miss out!

It’s benefiting a great cause so I hope some of you can make it down there. Take pictures and let me see’em!

Geek Orthodox’ Reis O’Brian opens up shop

Reis over at Geek Orthodox has found a way to make a little scratch to pay for the upkeep at his website. I’m keeping an eye on him because I would like to do the same thing one day. In the meantime, check him out and also take a look at his store.

Richard Cheese – Galactic Lounge Singer

Found this video posted on The Kessel Run and thought I’d link it here. Check out their blog, it’s pretty cool! The song will get stuck in your head if you watch it too much. Like I did.