in the early hours of fathers day

"...it's late at night and neither one of us are sleeping..." - "Just Take My Heart" by Mr. Big, 1991

Happy Father's Day and look, I still have a blog.

Ironic enough that I just spent the first hour or so of this, my 5th Father's Day (It's the 6th, if you count the pregnancy, which The Lovely Steph Leann does not, but I still want to give credence), getting my crying kid to go back to sleep.

The Lovely Steph Leann left earlier today to head to Salt Lake City for a Young Living convention, not to return until after next weekend... so that's a whole lot of Campbell & Daddy time between now and then.  (if you are one of those snakes who like to rob people when they think the home will be empty, just know I work from home, so joke's on you, loser).

Aunt Becky is scheduled to come into town for half of the week, but with her age and lack of mobility, that's really just an extra eye on the little guy while I get shower at a decent hour.  Hashtag unnecessary rhymes.

The afternoon has been fine... Campbell & I both had lunch, and while he played, I watched a movie ("The Death of Superman Lives", an excellent documentary on the ill fated attempt at a Superman revival in 1999 starring Nicholas Cage.  Yes, that Nic Cage).  In the early afternoon, he and I visited Let's Play, a local indoor play area, and then ran some errands to Wal-Mart and dinner.  He was pretty beat, which was according to plan, but I made him hold out until after I finished the documentary I was watching in the evening (Part 4 of the also excellent ESPN 30 for 30 film "OJ: Made in America"), and by 8ish, he was dead to the world.

For those of you who are reading this and are unfamiliar with my 4 year old, he's on the spectrum.  Most of his 4 years have been spent being rocked to sleep, so I thought I'd turn on some super daddy skillz tonight and after his bath, after putting on his pajamas, instead of rocking him, I just laid down with him in the bed.  It took him a little while to sleep, but sleep finally came... out like a little light.

I came downstairs, then knocked out the final part, Part 5, of the OJ doc, then cleaned up the kitchen a little bit... the usual, with dishes, getting food ready for tomorrow, dishes, spraying and wiping down counters and of course, dishes. All of this while starting on the final 8 hours of the 21 hour audiobook "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows" (it's a race to the finish now, as I've gone through the other 6 books in the last few months, and their length is really slowing my pace to finish 43 books this year... it's mid-June and Deathly Hallows is only Book 16! Where was I?  Oh yes...)

The kitchen cleaned, I sat down in front of the laptop to open it for the very first time today and was just making a slight change on a Disney trip for a family (if you didn't know about Campbell, you probably didn't know I plan Disney trips for a living. #ShamelessPlug), and was listening intently as Harry was questioning Mr. Ollivander, the wandmaker, about the Elder Wand when... I heard crying.

I paused the iPod, left the laptop and everything on and ran upstairs.  There was Campbell, sitting up in bed, in pitch dark... the diffuser I had going earlier had gone out, so I fumbled for the small bathroom light to turn on.  I flipped the switch, and he just looked up at me with a pitiful look... sniffling, he reached out to me.

I got on the bed with him, stroked his hair, laid next to him and let him cry for a minute. What about, I have no idea.  See, Campbell can't tell us these things yet. He has no way of vocalizing if things hurt, if he's scared, if he doesn't feel good... all we can do is just comfort and make guesses.

I asked if he had to "go potty", and his body language said that while that wasn't making him cry, he could probably go about now.  We went to the bathroom, he went, and we came back to the bed.  I re-set the diffuser so it's light could replace the bathroom light, and could also fill the air with some oil that may help him if he was congested.  Then I lay back beside him.

And he cried and cried.  No tears, so I suppose it could be night terrors, or it could be hurting somewhere... or he could just decide that it was time to cry, right now.  I lay there with him as he cried and sometime screamed in my ear. I had some patience, but regrettably, it was wearing a little thin -- The Lovely Steph Leann is always so much better at this than I am. And she's gone.  I never resent her trips unless this happens, then I wish she'd never leave.

When I've rocked Campbell to sleep before, I usually will pray out loud for him.  I  pray for his health, I pray that he will find Christ in His timing, I pray for his development and I always pray that Campbell will begin talking -- not just the words that he can say here and there, or repeat back when we ask him to say something, but to actually communication.

This time, however, my prayers were a little more forceful. I challenged God. I asked God "Why won't you help him?  I'm not asking you to make him a typical child, or to suddenly increase his development, but You know You could snap your fingers and make him talk. You know You could blink Your eyes and he'd be asleep, without any pain he might feel right now.

God, I have a kid who can't even tell me and his mom that he loves us. I can't play LEGOs with him, I can't enjoy milk and Oreos with him, I can't take him to see Finding Dory, when I'm at Let's Play, I have to watch him even closer than most parents watch their kids because he doesn't understand whats appropriate around other kids... why won't You help him?  Why do You refuse to?!"

It's questions I think I've struggled with subconsciously for a while.  Just... why.  Keep the autism, that's fine, that's who he is and who God made him to be.  But just fix that part.  That talking part. Please.

It was at this moment I noticed Campbell was quiet. He had nestled into my left arm, which was holding him, with his head on my shoulder.  Even in the dim light, I could see Campbell's eyes open. Big, wonderment-filled eyes.  They looked around before finally looking straight into mine.  Campbell and I laid there, eyes locked for probably no more than 30 seconds, but it was enough.

And in those eyes, God spoke to me.

He said, "d$... your question to me is 'Why won't I help him?', but what you are really asking is... 'Why won't I help YOU?' He knows nothing of LEGOs and Oreos and movie theaters. These are all things YOU wish to experience with him, for him.  These are not bad things... in fact, they are wonderful things. But these are not things for the two of you to experience.  You will have your own experiences that other fathers and their children will know nothing about. Because this is the plan I have for him. And for you."

As I finished this blog post, I ran back up to take this pic... and he was in
the exact same spot that I left him. Cute little guy, ain't he.

And it made sense. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but it did make sense.  And yes, selfishly, I want those things. But I learned many years ago -- though I still struggle with it constantly -- to not mourn what I'll be missing with Campbell, but to celebrate what I'll be getting, what me and The Lovely Steph Leann will have in our son.

Well... I'd love to tell you that Campbell went right on to sleep... but he didn't.  He rolled over, cried some more, jerked his whole body so that he essentially butt-punched me in the stomach, accidentally (I think) smacked me in the face, and cried a little more.  But finally... finally, he closed his eyes for the final time tonight (I hope) and was gone.

Which allowed me to come down here and shut everything down... allowed me to jot down my thoughts here before I did.  I've this is my 4th re-read of the Harry Potter series, so I know that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Griphook are about to take on Gringotts (#NerdAlert) so no need to continue that tonight.

Happy Father's Day to you fathers out there. Take a bow.  And to those who are mourning the loss of their own father, I grieve with you, as the man who raised me passed 16 years ago.  And to those fathers who have lost loved ones, I nod to you as well.

Dads... remember... this day is about you. But it's always about them.  And always will be.

(ps... because it's now 207a, my usual terrible lyrical style was made even more terrible, so please excuse the bad grammar, misspelled words and lack of proper punctuation)

Favorite Ten Books of 2015

Well, hi.

I won't blither on about not writing or blogging or how I miss it and so on and so on... done that already.  You can even read about that here.

The important thing is, here I am!

So, now that the first month of the year is over, I thought before the clock strikes midnight and I turn into a pumpkin... or at least, pumpkiner... I thought it best to get something in.  See that link filled side bar over there ----- >  ?  Well, if you miss a month, then a month doesn't show up because there's nothing there... and I really don't want to not have January 2016 there.

To my point... people who know me know I'm an Audible.com junkie.  I'm so super busy right now the only way I can possibly "read" is by listening to audiobooks... I can listen while I drive, while I work around the house and sometimes as I sit and work on Magic on a Dollar fun Disney travel stuff...

You should read this book.  Okay, I should read this book, and I will
when I can. Its not on audio, so it will take some time.

My goal in 2013 was 25 books, and I did 27.  In 2014, I went up to 35, and knocked out 37.  And last year, I had a goal of 40, and got right to 40... I would have gotten a few more, but I waited the last two weeks of the year to sit down with my dear friend Kinda Wilson's new book "The Echo Factor", but was unable to find the time.  So sitting at 39 books, I panicked and sorta did a cheap move by going through a 90 minute book (I have done podcast episodes longer than that...) called "20,000 Days" by Robert Smith.  It was all about how we need to make the most of every day... and it was okay.  If you really want a book covering that topic, read my favorite book of 2014, "Moment Maker" by Carlos Whittaker.  That will change your life.

Back to the topic at hand.  This year, my goal is 43 books.  I felt 45 was just a little too much, and since I upped my previous goal by 3, I did the same for 2016.  At this writing, I just finished my 5th book of the year.

And don't even ask me about my movie goal... you will literally think I do nothing but listen to audiobooks and watch movies.  Okay, you asked, my goal is 150 new-to-me movies, and I'm currently at 20.  On pace for 240 films.  No way I make that, I promise you, but still.

SIDEBAR shout out to my friends Jessica Jobes and Writer Chris Holmes, who I have found myself with as "BookTriplets"... and shout out to Rick Theule and Megan Hall, also avid readers who's suggestions I take seriously. 

So without further meandering nonsensically, here are my favorite 10 books of 2015:

10) Outliers - Malcom Gladwell... My friend May Bohon recommended this, and its all about how success can be mostly attributed not to personal ambition but to our surroundings and environment.  This might also be the book that coined the idea that to be an expert in something, it takes 10,000 hours of doing it. I did like his theories, but I did feel like he put only a slight emphasis on hard work and ambition. Still, very well written.

9) Go Solo - Kelsey Humphreys... If you are going on a solo venture business wise, you need to read this book.  Lots of practical advice, lots of things to consider and think through.  I met Kelsey at a conference last summer (I actually took the stage to speak after she did!) and really liked what she's doing here.

8) Troublemaker - Leah Remini... That's right, Stacy Karosi from Saved by the Bell wrote a book and its all about her life in the scam known as Scientology.  And how she got out of it, and the aftermath since. It doesn't pull any punches, and really gets juicy when discussing her disdain for Tom Cruise... and her disdain is utter and clear.  She shares various stories of the ridiculous life she led and eventually left, and with her narrating the audiobook, its filled with great sarcasm and snark.

7) Gray Mountain - John Grisham... Breaking the mold of focusing on a single case, this story actually follows a young lawyer and her internship in a small Virginia coal mining town. In his writing, its evident that Grisham doesn't like the coal industry, but he does keep that to a minimum here with a few twists and turns, and this book has something that many of his books do not -- a satisfying ending.

NOTE:  I interchanged the next five books about four times.  What was #2 was #6 and #4 at one time, I swapped #5 and #6 about three times and the only thing that stayed the same was my favorite book of 2015.  So know that I love all of the following books nearly equally and only ranked them because I sorta had to.  

6) Finders Keepers - Stephen King... The second in what will be a trilogy (Mr. Mercedes was first, and End of Watch is coming in June to finish it), about Detective Bill Hodges.  Nothing supernatural, just a great suspense story of a boy who finds a big reward and then suffers its consequences. It's thrilling, edge of your seat tense and it has a fantastic finish.  Excited about the last one in June!

What makes this audiobook so good is that Al
does his own narration -- its like a trusted,
loved old uncle telling stories.

5) You Can't Make This Up - Al Michaels & L. Jon Werthem... My favorite memoir of the year, and its even better because Al narrates it himself.  Starting at the beginning of his career, he tells story after story of the small moments and the big ones too -- covering the 1989 San Fran earthquake and responding to 9/11 -- and he doesn't mind giving you a little guff for those he doesn't care for.  Like Howard Cosell.  Al don't like him no Cosell, trust me on this.  So much fun.

4) Dark Places - Gillian Flynn... The more I read this book, the more it stuck with me. It's the story of Libby Day, a child survivor of a family massacre that her brother is currently serving a life sentence for committing... but a few circumstances and chapters later, that is all drawn into question. Libby's unlikability is buoyed by a likable sidekick and all culminates in a heckuva ending. I enjoyed Gone Girl, but liked this one even more. (I had high hopes for the movie, and it was a letdown all the way around...)

3) Do Over - Jon Acuff... My favorite non-fiction book of the year, and the only book that I've ever (this year or other) re-started as soon as it was finished.  Read it twice in four days.  Jon Acuff writes what he knows, and what he knows is helping other people find who they are supposed to be.  I have had two Do Overs in three years... one in 2013, and one last August, and so this (along with "Go Solo" by Kelsey Humphrey) made for a great help in getting me started on my #LEAP of working from home.  Even if you are a little dissatisfied with your career or where you are in your life, I cannot recommend this book enough.  Tons of encouragement, instructions, guidance, life lessons and plenty of queso jokes.

Lots of language, but lots of fun

2) Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins... When Rachel takes the train, she makes up stories for the people she sees along the journey to work, stories that are better than her own sad, pathetic life.  But one day she sees something wrong, something suspicious, something that doesn't make sense... and this sends her into a spiral and sends this story into a slow burn thrill ride.  I guessed the ending a few chapters before it was over, but that didn't stop me from loving it just as much.  Can't wait for the movie, because I am excited to see what they do with it, and also because I love me some Emily Blunt.

1) The Martian - Andy Weir... Holy stinkin' crap this book was stellar and amazing.  Either you've seen the movie or you've heard of it, but it not, the story is that Mark Watney gets stranded on Mars after a Mars landing trip has an accident. The story follows not only Mark in a first person narrative, but those in his ship and those back on Earth as they try to save him. It's tense, funny, and though you'd think it would be technical, it is actually explained through jokes and in simple terms for us, the silly reader, to get.  This will be a re-read in a few years.

Other books I really enjoyed this year:
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton... The movie followed the book fairly well, but the book has more death and a main character who lives in the movie has their fate left unknown in the book.

Bossypants by Tina Fey... I love Tina Fey.

The Missing Ring by Keith Dunnavant... The story of how the Alabama Crimson Tide was essentially robbed of the national title in 1966 (and this was a legit claim for once).

Deliver us by Kathryn Casey... My favorite true crime writer tells tales and shares stories of the infamous murders and disappearances along The Killing Fields, the stretch along I-45 on the eastern border of Texas.

You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News by the Editors of Cracked.com... One of my favorite humor sites culls together some of their funniest (true) articles, with titles like "Five Fight Moves that Only Work In Movies" and "Four Greatest Things Ever Accomplished While High" and my favorite, one that describes dolphins as "sex crazed thrill killers", the chapter called "The Six Cutest Animals That Can Kill You".

And books I re-read this year (that didn't qualify for the Top Ten of 2015, but were obviously great because I took time to re-read them):

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin... Loved it as a kid, and I actually didn't remember a single thing about it.  It was like reading a new book.

Salem's Lot by Stephen King... My favorite King book, and I go through it every few Octobers.

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans... I love reading this around Christmas time.

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling... Re-read the entire series every few years.  Usually I go straight through, but in 2016, I may sprinkle them in all year.

And finally... books on tap this year... the aforementioned Kinda Wilson's "The Echo Factor"... Corie Clark's "The Simplicity Project"... Drew Barrymore's "Wildflower"... Amy Poehler's "Yes Please"... Jen Kirkman's "I Can Barely Take Care of Myself"... Ethan Bryan's "Catch & Release"... Justin Fisher's "Conehatta, Cerebral Palsy & the Cross "... a reread of James Stewart's "Disney War"... and more Harry Potter. Oh, and my buddy Clay Shaver has one coming out too...

That's obviously an incomplete list.  With the five I've read, plus those right there, that still puts me 29 short.

the 2014 book report part one

Way back in the day, I did a Top 100 of everything of the previous year... I decided to drop that idea with 2011 being the final year of that list.  Last year, to review 2013, I kinda just did a Top 10 of things like movies, books and such, and that worked as well.

This year, as I evolve the way I want to remember the previous year (because a blog isn't just for others, it's also so I can remember, because I can't remember much of anything anymore... who am I?), I decided to do something a little different.. my goal was to read 35 books this year, nearly everything done on audiobook format--and yes, I contend that it's "reading", because when I do have a paper book in my hand, I tend to scan or read too fast, and sometimes skip ahead.  I knew the fate of George Weasley three chapters before I even got there because I looked ahead... sad, I know, but some things are too unimportant to change.

When I have an audiobook, however, I listen intently, I can't skip ahead--well, I could, but it would be really complicated, and a crapshoot as I would just scroll ahead in time and hope that something important popped up when I stopped.

I keep a list of movies watched for the first time (that's a post coming soon) and books read, and I managed to get through 35 books this year, plus three that I started and never came back to.

I had to teach myself that it's okay to NOT finish a book... and that was a hard lesson, because naturally, if I start it, I want to complete it, no matter how terrible it was.   Having said that, out of the three I didn't finish, I only found one to be something I likely won't go back to--that is "One More Thing: Stories & Other Stories" by BJ Novak. 

You might know Novak from "The Office", or as one of the "Inglorious Basterds" or perhaps as one of the Sherman Brothers in "Saving Mr. Banks" from 2013... the book is a collection of... well, short stories written by Novak.  Stories that go nowhere.  Stories that I just could not get into.  Stories that I cared nothing about... so I stopped it and went to something else.

The other two are books that I will go back too, both are well over 15 hours, so the longer I wait, I may have to re-start them--"Marvel Comics: The Untold Story" (more boring than I thought it would be) and "Jim Henson", the biography that is really thorough.  Great, but thorough.  So I'll come back to them hopefully this year.

First book of the year... I started to reread "Harry Potter & the Sorcerers Stone", intending on reading the entire series, but somehow got derailed within the first chapter of the next book.   Already in 2015, I've started "Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets" and have put it down to grab another new book.  Anyway, I love the Harry Potter books and will eventually get to all of them.

Next book was "My Story" by Elizabeth Smart.  She was the chick who was kidnapped out of her home in 2002 by a deranged psychopath named Brian Mitchell and his equally insane Wanda Barzee.  It gives a first hand chronicle of her ordeal in capture, her psychological and emotional response to being held captive and her eventual discovery, rescue and recovery--even though you know she turns out okay, her rescue is still nail biting and tense.  Really well written, and the audiobook is read by Smart herself, with a great delivery.

Wanting to get to a something a little more lighthearted, naturally I picked up Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor".  Holy crap this book is brutal.  What Lutrell goes through in this ordeal is insane... stuck in a canyon wall crevasse for over 8 hours, barely moving, with his gun aimed, then crawling down and out, then crawling miles and miles and miles to get to what might be considered "safety".  The movie, starring Mark Wahlberg, was also very good, but doesn't come close to what Lutrell dealt with.  And with the emergence of "American Sniper", the story of the late Chris Kyle, coming out and having its validity called into question, it's comforting to know there is very little about Lutrell's book that has been disproven or refuted.

"Live from New York" was next, via audio, but unfortunately it was an abridged version.  I picked up the incomplete version against my better judgment and have decided I'll never do unabridged again on anything.  What's more, there is a newer, updated version of the book out now!

One of my favorite books of all time, "It" by Stephen King, was next on the list.  On audio, it tops out at about 42 hours or so, and this being the fourth reread lifetime, it was just as thrilling as I remember it.  Creepy, intricate, amazing. 

Rush Limbaugh, one of my favorite people, has written a series of books for children and young teens starring "Rush Revere", and this first one was called "Rush Revere & the Brave Pilgrims", the story of the founding and settling of America.  These books are known for their fun storytelling (including a talking horse named Liberty) and featuring bits of history that we have never heard due to his extensive historical research.  Loved this book.

I'm a fan of true crime fiction, especially when it comes to Dateline NBC and the Investigative Discovery channel, so it was fun to finally read the Truman Capote classic "In Cold Blood".  Written in the 60s, it takes a bit to adjust to it's style of investigation (as in, no DNA, no computers, etc), but its a serious, well written story of two brothers who massacred a family in Kansas.  Thankfully, it's a bajillionty times better than "Breakfast at Tiffany's", also by Capote, which I could barely get through.

Another Stephen King book, "The Long Walk", was on deck.  This was written under his famous pseudonym "Richard Bachman", and known as one of his first novels ever published.  The futuristic story of how teenage boys, once they reach a certain age, are forced to enter a walking style race... "race" is loosely defined, as essentially they have to walk on a marked highway, and the last one walking survives.  Move to slow, or stop and rest, and they kill you.  Good times had by all.  Very 70s sounding.

(this book would come back to haunt me on December 30th of 2014... see part three of the 2014 Book Report coming soon)

The 9th book of the year was "From Dreamer to Dreamfinder", written by the famous Dream Maker himself.  He's a legend at Epcot in Walt Disney World, in case all of this sounds vaguely familiar to Disney fans... or foreign to those who don't frequent the parks much.  He was the guy who walked around with Figment, greeted guests, granted wishes and so on.  He was a much loved character and figure, and Figment was a much loved Epcot icon.  I thought this book would have much more to do with Disney World, but his three or four years spent at Epcot was only a fraction of the book.  While his life is interesting enough, the book lost my attention at parts.

Book 10... it's chick lit.  Alice Clayton's "Unidentified Redhead".  Don't know how I got it, it might have been free on Audible, and the first few chapters were fun enough to pull me in.  Dig this--I don't mind a romantic comedy, which this seemed to be in book form... aging Hollywood star meets younger co-star, sparks fly, yada yada.  But about a 1/3 into the book, they started having themselves some relations.  Okay, I can deal with that.  The Lovely Steph Leann has been reading romance novels most of her life, so you know, whatevs.  But then a few pages later, the couple does it again.  and again.  And again and again and again.  I finished the book, because I just don't like to not finish a book, but yeesh.  There are two more in the trilogy, but I doubt I'll get to them anytime soon.

One of the few negatives about Audible is that when you grab a book such as "Unidentified Redhead", suddenly, Audible assumes you are now diving into the Chick Lit genre, so your "Based On This Purchase, We Recommend..." section is now filled with books you'll never read with covers that are too racy for daytime and titles that are filled with innuendos that you don't like.

Same goes for Netflix... as a co-host of "The Deucecast Movie Show", we sometimes watch crap movies... so my viewing of "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" has destroyed my "Since You Watched..." credibility.

Okay, we'll stop here and pick up tomrorow.... more of the 2014 book report to come, including a stretch of books that get better and better and my favorite book of the year already...

on the bookshelf

I just finished the last few minutes of "Full Dark, No Stars" by Stephen King... this is a milestone for me, as it's the 35th book read through in 2014... my goal was in fact 35, and after missing my goal in 2013 (I got to 27 of 30), it's rather exciting.

It almost didn't happen... I read Stephen King's "A Good Marriage" back in July, and earlier this week, started "Big Driver", also by King. I was horrified to learn that these aren't small books, they are in fact novellas, both a part of "Full Dark, No Stars", along with two other novellas. So I did what anyone would do... I downloaded it off of Audible, and read the three novellas--"1922", "Big Driver" and "Fair Extension"--that I had not read yet.

And yes, audiobooks is considered reading... I pay better attention, and I can listen/read while driving, doing dishes, laundry or at work. So there.

But that left a whole in the list? Take out "A Good Marriage" and add the whole set of "Full Dark No Stars", and I still only have 34... so I grabbed my copy of Lou Mongello's "102 Ways to Save For and At Walt Disney World", and read the last 20 pages... I've been reading it all along since it's release earlier this year. So I finished it, and it counts.

I'll go through those in an upcoming post, giving you the list of books I read, and my thoughts and recommendations on them.

But that leads us into 2015... my goal for 2015 is 40 books read. And though I don't have a complete list of books to read in 2015, after reading Jon Acuff's latest post, I decided a small list would be a great place to start... so though there will be at least 30 more on this list under the "already read it", here are the first 10 books I'll likely start with... in no particular order.

But first, here's a couple of re-reads on tap:


This book is part non-fiction, part embellishment,
part horror, part comedy, part strange, all
fantastic.  Like my life.

"Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil" by John Berendt... I haven't read this book in about 15 or 16 years, and remember loving the heck out of it. Ready to jump in early 80s Savannah.

"Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets" by JK Rowling... the first book of 2014 I read was "Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone", and my intention was to re-read the entire series. I try to do it about every 18 to 24 months or so, and I'm overdue now... but instead of "Chamber of Secrets", the second book I read was Elizabeth Smart's excellent "My Story". So, maybe the first book I'll read every year will be a Harry Potter book... or maybe I'll read the rest of the series. Guess we'll find out on January 2nd.

"'Salem's Lot" by Stephen King... my favorite of Stephen King's writings... or, maybe, my favorite one that I'll read and re-read--I think "It" is my favorite, but it's just so, so long that I can't just pick it up whenever.

Now... for the first time reads, these are likely to be my first 10 books read this year.

"Anne of Green Gables" by LM Montgomery... I do need to read more classics, and both this and "Great Gatsby" are on my list for 2015, but I'll likely read Anne first.

"Bossypants" by Tina Fey... I grabbed this one this past weekend, intending on this to be the final book of 2014, until I figured out my "novella" problem. So Tina, who I have really gotten a thing for in the last year or so, will have to wait a few weeks.

"Dark Places" by Gillian Flynn... She's the hottest thing going now in authors, with the explosion of "Gone Girl", but I've learned that it's sometimes the early work that ends up really standing out (see "The Firm" and "Time to Kill" by John Grisham)

"The Disneyland Story" by Sam Gennawey... I think (hope) this is the history of Disneyland, from construction to opening in the late 40s and early 50s. The preview makes it sound like it, but previews have burned me before.

"Do Over" by Jon Acuff... I'll admit it, I'm an Acuff Apologist. I really like the guy personally, and though he does write some boneheaded stuff sometimes, his writing really connects with me--perhaps its because he and I are about the same age and are in the same Pop Culture bubble, or maybe I started reading Acuff Astuff at the right time in my life, or maybe both. This will be released in April.

"Foxcatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John du Pont's Madness and the Quest for Olympic Gold" by Mark Schultz... there is a movie out there now with Steve Carell, who is getting wide acclaim, and Mark Ruffalo, who is getting some acclaim, and Channing Tatum, who is great in "This is the End", and I'd like to see it. I'm always intrigued by true-life murder mysteries, and I look forward to this one.

She is also the designer of the Purposeful
Planner that I posted on my Facebook page
and Instagram recently.

"Gray Mountain" by John Grisham... Anytime he releases a new book, I pick it, despite my better judgment. More often than not, I'm disappointed by the ending of a story that up until then, was a great tale. However, "Sycamore Row" was excellent from front to back, so we'll see what happens with this one.

"The Simplicity Project" by Corie Clark... I love it when my friends write books, though I then have to go get a copy (and I still need to get a copy of Justin Fisher's new book, "Crossroads: Subtitle Here", and read it in 2015), and my friend Corie wrote a dandy that will hit you in the head--all about decluttering and living much more simple than we all do.

"Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed... this is the book that has Reese Witherspoon in the title role for the movie adaptation. At publishing time of this column, I had not seen it yet, but look forward to the book.

"You Can't Make This Up: Miracles, Memories and the Perfect Marriage of Sports & Televsion" by Al Michaels... When I heard that Al Michaels had a book coming out, I was kind of excited, because he has seen and done nearly everything sports related in the last several decades. Bob Ryan's book is also on my list, but I'll read Michaels book first.

So what about you?  What books are you definitely going to read first in 2015?  And if you said "Based on the stuff you are reading, you'll love ______", what would be in that blank?

i have seen the future, lil d$

I opened up the blog page as normal, then clicked on "new post", then sat back for a second. See, I've written for 21 straight days. The ideas are there... but they are longer ideas, and I don't want to write something that will be overlooked by afternoon tomorrow.

And then my friend Debra Hennessy put a simple post on Facebook, one that said:

If you could go back in time and say something to yourself in middle school, what would you say?

So then, I managed to reply in a quick comment... and realized that this is my blog post for the evening. 

So, allow me to give you the ten things that 39 Year Old d$ would tell Lil d$ in 1988, right between 7th and 8th grade..

1. "Lil d$... I know you have a crush on (name withheld). It's fine. You probably won't have this same crush in a few weeks, but you should stop now. I've seen the future, and she's not a very pleasant person. You can stop wasting your time now.

2. "Lil d$... you are actually going to marry someone who is in a grade below you right now, who is living in Jasper at this very moment. Wait, maybe it's somewhere in Mississippi. I've seen the future, and you'll do just fine."

3. "Lil d$... be nicer to those kids over there. You are poking fun now really just to make some others laugh. Not cool. They are going to be somebody. You'll want them in your corner."

4. "Lil d$... survive French Class. It sucks. You'll never need it. You might get a laugh out of a word here or there in a Sonic commercial that you'll see when... Sonic? It's a fast food place that... that's not important. My point is, I've seen the future, and you won't need French."

5. "Lil d$... conversely, find somewhere to learn Spanish. Right now. Go to a class, take a correspondence course, do whatever you need to do, but learn it. I've seen the future, it will come in handy bigtime."

6. "Lil d$... join the band now. You'll join in a year or two, but don't wait. You'll find out some of the best times you had in high school were being part of the marching band, so don't wait. I've seen the future, and you'll wish you played saxophone longer."

7. "Lil d$... you'll be getting your first job in a year or two. Sure, you'll blow some of your earnings, and that's fine. But save some. Give 10%, save 10%, and do what you will with the rest. And if you even think of opening up a credit card when you get to college, I don't care what Rebecca Miller says, I will come back here and punch me in the face. I've seen the future, and credit cards own you for a decade."

8. "Lil d$... I know you write now. You like to write. And that's cool. But don't stop in college. Keep writing. Keep doing it. And when it comes about 1995, when you get on AOL for the first time, you'll want to open up a Blog Site. B-L-O-G... yeah, rhymes with LOG. Blog. You'll know it. I have seen the future, and you'll want to start this early."

9. "Lil d$... Mom and Dad. They love you. So very much. A lot will happen between now and when they pass. Cherish the time you have. Even when it gets tough to cherish... cherish it. I've seen the future, and don't lose time."

10. "Read more. Get copies of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Pride & Prejudice' and 'Wuthering Heights' and others, and read them. Love Samson High, but they aren't the most pressing when it comes to the classics... I have seen the future, and you'll wish you had read them already."

And here's a bonus, Lil d$...

"You need to write a story. I'll give you an idea... okay, a boy named Harry Potter. Yes, just like the main character from that movie Troll. But this Harry is a wizard. He goes to a school called... write this down... Hogwarts. HOG-W-A-R-T-S... and he has these two friends, named Ron and Hermione. Yes, 'Her-My-Ah-Nee'. Trust me. Oh, and when you are taking a break from writing, here's a business you need to start.. open up a teddy bear store where families come to YOU and pay YOU to make their own toys. Build A Bear. I have seen the future, and this is a good idea."

Oh yeah, one more thing...

"Lil d$... it doesn't matter. I know it seems like your world is ending when so and so said this, and so and so didn't do that... but I've seen the future. And It.Doesnt.Matter..."

What would you tell Lil You?

all is not well

So according to this link, author JK Rowling is looking to do more Harry Potter. She tweeted on 10/6 “Cry, foe! Run amok! Fa awry! My want won’t tolerate this nonsense!” which itself is cryptic, but a fan from Reddit came up with the possiblitiy that the tweet could be an anagram, one that “Harry returns! Won’t say any details now! A week off. No comment.” would fit into.

Could this mean that Harry Potter will make a return? Could this mean that JK Rowling might write more books? Could this mean we could see the further adventures of Harry, Hermione, Ron, and my favorite literary redhead Ginny Weasley?

Dear goodness, I hope not. I really hope not.

The seven book Harry Potter saga is not a perfect story… there seems to be some contradiction and senseless actions that occur, born not of an incompetent writer, but more of a unknowing of where the story was going after the first book, “Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone.” It’s now stuff of legend that Rowling wrote the final chapter of the book on a napkin in some coffeehouse in England before she ever was published, and I’m sure she had an overall idea of how the story will flow, with details coming only as she wrote the pages.

But it is a beautiful story. A story of growing up, a story of power, a story of innocence, a story of childhood into adulthood, a story of awesome. It has a beginning. It has an end. It even has an epilogue to show us where they ended up 17 years later, with Harry and Ginny marrying and having three great, if unfortunately named, kids, while Hermione and Ron do their own nuptials.

All is well. That was the ending sentence. Harry Potter touched that scar on his head, the scar that pained him growing up, but hadn’t hurt him at all in 17 years. All was well.

That’s the perfect way to end the story…

But all is not well…

You see, JK Rowling wants to keep coming back to the well.

I didn’t actually have a problem with Rowling spilling a few more secrets… how Neville Longbottom ended up with Hannah Abbott, and he became the Herbology professor… how Hermione went back and finished her final year at Hogwarts, and how Ron and Harry ended up being Aurors… the later happenings of Dean Thomas and Luna Lovegood and a few others that we loved.

Heck, I didn’t even have an issue with her announcement that yes, Dumbledore was gay. I thought it was a stupid decision, not because I’m anti-gay, but because it made no sense to the story itself.

However, last year, it was decided that there would be a movie made from the book “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. This title is actually a fictional book within the Harry Potter universe, one that is required reading for Harry and the gang, and naturally, it was written into real, physical form, along with “Quidditch Through the Ages” and “The Tales of Beedle the Bard”… each book is about 60 or 70 pages long, because honestly, how much can you glean from a few passing references in the Harry Potter series to make an entire book with?

There is now a “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” movie coming. Part of me thinks this is a terrible idea, worse than the new trend of Young Adult novels being made into films where the final book is made into two movies (see: Hunger Games, The… Series, Harry Potter… Divergent Series… and yes, The Maze Runner has similar plans)… you are stretching 64 pages into a feature length film?

Part of me warms to the idea a little… naturally, it will be set in the Hogwarts/Potter universe, likely with new characters, and because the setting is pre-Potter, it will probably only reference what we know from the books.

But bringing Harry Potter back for new stories? No. No. No.

Before you get all mad and declare that I'm just drinking the Hater-Aid that Pansy Parkenson probably made up in Potions class... I'm a huge Potter fan.  I've read all the books three times each, and am already starting to go through them for a fourth run.  I've written about Potter several times on this very blog, including a post about the final film... an open letter to "Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince" screenwriter Steve Kloves about what an abomination that film was... and my fourth post ever, when I didn't know what I was doing (hey?  who said "as opposed to now?") was the feeling you get when you finish one book and can't get the next one... So I'm a fan.  Back to the thought...

JK… it’s done. You’ve said it yourself, that Harry Potter’s tale is told. Anything now, and you run the risk of ruining that legacy (see: Lucas, George) and it will take a mighty miracle to get it back (see: Abrams, JJ). It might be marvelous… it might be a great new series of stories, maybe new characters will be introduced, and I’ll smile as my cute, sweet Ginny Weasley is re-introduced to the timeline and they’ll have great new adventures…

…but do we really want that?

I don't think we do.  I don't think you do.  You may think you do, but I don't think so.  There's no good that could come of it, sullying the Potter memories I have already.  Do we need to hear stories of a 29 year old Harry Potter and a 28 year old Ginny Weasley Potter running around battling bad guys?  Voldemort was the ultimate bad guy, so is Rowling going to give us the son of Voldemort, seeking revenge?  A bad guy worse that Voldemort, which would undermine the ultimate evil that we were told about for seven books? 

Or maybe each book is a one off, with Harry and Ron solving wizard crime, fighting a different bad guy in each book? 

I hate to say this... I really hate to say it... but I think its a power play.  Her other non-Potter novels have done okay, but as expected, none have come close to the soaring heights that the Hogwarts adventures achieved.  Perhaps she realizes that this, and maybe only this, is what will continue the cash flow.  She's already a bajilliontyaire, so I'm not sure it's all about the money--I think it has to do with control.  This is her world, and she can do what she wants.

Which is true.  But JK Rowling, you are in danger of ruining what we love and hold dear.  I can daresay that Harry Potter is no longer yours anymore... he belongs to us.  You have told a brilliant story, a wonderful story, a story that I can't wait for my own son to read, and in 100 years, they will still be reading, but the story of 10 year old Harry Potter to the 17 year old Harry Potter is done.

Create new worlds.  Create new characters with new adventures that tie into the Harry Potter universe.  But do not give us the further adventures of Harry Potter.  Please. 

clean up

So, I was ever so close to 1000... I mean, like four or five posts away from One.Thousand.Posts. It would be 9 years and some change, from July 2005 to now, averaging slightly over 111 posts per year, about 9 posts per month. 

That's not a pat on my back, that's not a "look at me! come see how good I look!", nay, I think its more of a testament to just how much I enjoy writing.

My first post was a countdown to the upcoming trip to New York City, of which this blog was really supposed to represent... I would blog about the trip for the people back home to read daily, and when I got back, that would be that. But between blog post #1 and the trip, I also decided the world needed to know about my fandom of Kelly Clarkson and a Harry Potter/MC Hammer mashup ... 

As I flipping through some of the old, old stuff, I came across some stuff that just didn't matter. Some stuff that was like, point updates for the March Madness bracket of 2006. Some random crap that no one would even get except me, and there was one post that I read from 2007 that I didn't even understand... I was thinking "What the heck does this even mean...?"

So, I made a fateful decision... to delete them. I waded through ten pages of blog posts headings, at 100 posts per pages... found the ones that not only I didn't want to read, but that maybe I don't want you to read... and deleted about 35 or so. Just terrible stuff.

It's hard, isn't it? I've deleted a few posts here and there over the years, so honestly, if I counted everything, I'm probably somewhere around 1050 or so, but still... I'd like to think that what's in the archive now counts for something. 

I'll have to go through one day and give you my favorites... but not tonight... but this post here is around 961 or 962, somewhere around there, so hopefully 1000 will be here later this year... and soon, #40for40....

the alabama phoenix festival

Every year, starting like, last year or something, Birmingham has hosted a geek-fest known as The Alabama Phoenix Festival, which is a small version of the San Diego Comic Con or the Dragon Con that happens around the country... I didn't get to go last year, but because our podcast--The Deucecast Movie Picture Show--was actually a guest of the Festival, I was somewhat expected to be there.

There are a few facets to the Alabama Phoenix Festival itself, which include the Exhibition Hall, a large ballroom area full of vendors, artists, dealers, writers and so much more.  They had everything from a LEGO corner (four large tables just covered in LEGOs where people could sit down and just build stuff), to a huge Kingdom Comics area with lots of comics and toys to The Alabama Ghostbusters, who had several large set up areas... plus, a group is building a life sized Millennium Falcon, and you could sit inside a life size cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.  I mean, how stinkin' cool is this.

There were also "Panels", or discussion groups set up all during the weekend, all day long.  Topics included Anime... Ghostbusters... Star Trek... Star Wars... Lord the Rings... making costumes... making armor... Avengers... comic books in general... there was also a room for "Bronies" and "Pegasisters", which from what I understand, was pretty much one of the two or three most popular rooms the entire weekend.

Anyway, here are some little notes, stories and pictures from the weekend...

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What's this "Bronie" or "PegaSister" you speak of?  Adult male and female fans of My Little Pony.  No, I'm not kidding.  Seriously, stop laughing, I'm not kidding you at all.  This exists.  And it's big.  They had a two hour singalong where every song from every episode of the latest incarnation was playing, and the entire room sang loudly and proudly.

The gem of the night came, though, when my buddy Hurricane Rhett let his daughter go in there unattended.  When people were answering questions and discussing their love for the Ponies, little Catalina, 7, stood up and proudly proclaimed how her daddy had watched every episode with her, how her daddy loved the Ponies, and how he kinda gets upset when she watches My Little Pony without him.  On an unrelated note, I saw Chris Hansen this weekend, walking around with some sort of transcript, a plate of cookies and a stool to tell people to "Have a seat right there."

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This is the man, Brock Parker, one of the leaders of the Alabama Ghostbusters.  And yes, there is such a thing, and has been for several years.  He has his own working proton pack.  He's a buddy of mine on Facebook for a few years, and we finally meet in person.  Not that unusual, except we probably grew up around 15 miles from each other, as he's from Enterprise, Alabama, I grew up in Samson, about 20 minutes Southwest on a country backroad through Five Points.  Not the Birmingham downtown 5 Points, I mean were five country roads come together to form a big circle, and a great place to say "Meet me at..." when you either want to fight or make out.  Or both.  Up to you.  Where was I?

 

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I couldn't attend on Friday, as I wasn't feeling good, plus I had to help The Lovely Steph Leann take care of our offspring, but Mikey, Shawn Sharp, Hurricane Rhett, P!nky (our other The Deucecast co-host) attended, got some good pics, met some good people and had a good time.

 

Saturday morning, I was on a panel with Mikey and another podcaster, Shazbazzar, from the TechnoRetro Dad's podcast (he also co-hosts a Tron Podcast, which shows his Tron Love, considering you have only 2 movies a short lived cartoon series, you don't have a ton to work with) concerning the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII, and our hopes for it.  Turned out to be a lively discussion amongst the three of us with help from the audience, including a dude in a Star Trek uniform who knew his Star Wars stuff. 

 

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Ladies and gentlemen, Darth Vol.  Yup.

 

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I sat on another panel on Sunday morning, a "podcasting" panel, hosted and moderated by AJ Wiley and Paul Smith, hosts of the Gobbledygeek Podcast, a popculture cast that's picking up steam in this area quite a bit.  Along the panel were hosts from other shows, including several from the Earth Station One network and mostly pop culture.  There was even an Auburn Football show and a personal podcast hosted by a dude who just "talked about whatever I want to talk about".  Sounds like my kind of cast.

 

It was a good hour, as we all discussed why we started podcasting, where we thought our shows were going, our formats, our content being family friendly or not (The Deucecast is, many are not), and so on.  I knew I was there with some heavyweights, so I had to chime in as much as I could, which I think I did quite nicely, holding my own.  We'll release the show as a podcast episode, and I think Gobbledygeek will release the same hour discussion, at least in part, as one of their shows. 

 

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Tommy Mac takes a ride in the cockpit of the starting phase of the lifesize Millennium Falcon.  This is being built somewhere else, and will be on display when it's finished.  I mean, a full sized Falcon?  First, it's going to be insanely big... and I would probably pass out from the sheer joy I'd have, especially if I could walk inside of it.

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There was a costume contest on Saturday night, where everyone who was wearing a disguise of any kind could sign up, walk across the stage, be judged by the judges and hopefully win stuff.  It was entertaining, though only a few costumes really, really stood out.  There were several Deadpool outfits, two of which really should have had the guy wear a cup of some sort... lots of witches, fairies, Dr Who related stuff, a few Walking Dead nods, and a full on Iron Man suit, battle worn, and an Iron Patriot suit, with flashing lights and an AC/DC soundtrack.  Holy cow, it was awesome. 

However, the winners of the costume contest included a pretty convincing Jor-El outfit, and a Jim Lovell Space Suit--both great, but Iron Patriot should of taken that prize home.  They even brought up four of the fan favorites to the stage for the audience to vote via applause, with Iron Man and Iron Patriot being two of them.  When the host asked for applause, Hurricane Rhett and I stood up cheering. 

There was also a chick in an impressive handmaid antebellum dress ("I even made my underwear!" she yelled from the stage) and a costume that I was not familiar with, someone in a nautilus helmet.  Must have been popular, though, as the audience went nuts over the guy.  And he won. 

The host was interesting as well... I didn't know her costume, but it allowed her the opportunity to place the mics between her cleavage and talk into it. 

The kids contest was also funny, as there were are cute costumes all around.  Rhett's daughter, Catalina, was a Zombie School Girl, though she didn't win--she might have done better if she'd played more to the crowd.  Then again, the judges were off, because one cute 3 year old showed up in an incredibly awesome Kid Icarus outfit... and lost to another kid in a... Terminator? outfit?  It was cute.  But nothing like Icarus. 

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A working, moving R2D2, courtesy of the 501st Legion.  I really want to join the 501st Legion one day... though the restrictions and qualifications are like, hard core.  And expensive.

 

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I didn't have any quarters, or I probably would still be there playing.

 

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We were about to leave after the costume contest when we heard they were doing Who's Line Is It Anyway on the mainstage.  So, Mikey, Shawn, Hurricane Rhett, our friend Lisa B-Dub, her friend Something or Other and Tommy Mac and I stuck around to watch.  And it... it was... oh em gee... it was just terrible.  Not funny. At.All.  The jokes were flat, they didn't even follow the rules of the game they were playing, they stuttered and stammered and it was just... bad.  I am sure the people in there were pleasant enough in real life, but onstage, this night, this group of people were not humorous in the least... to the point I winced a few times.  It was painful.

 

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Set up across the room from the Alabama Ghostbusters, its the Florence, AL, Ghostbusters that provided the Ecto-1, which is pretty close in detail.

 

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Towards the end of the night, we were approached by a young lady named Sarah.  She was a UAB student in psychology, and asked if we would be willing to take a survey.  Thinking it was survey about the Alabama Phoenix Festival, most of us said "Sure thing," and took the clipboards to help out.   It was three pages long, and it was absolutely insane.

 

It was not about the Alabama Phoenix Festival, that was very clear from the first few questions, and as we soon learned, it wasn't about any festival at all.  It was about... well, the psychology of men and women.  It was about preferences, feelings, emotions, stereotypes and even more.  While I figured this would still be anonymous, we had also signed a waiver at the beginning, so our name was actually on the survey.  Pages 1 and 2 were easy enough, though a little strange, but then Page 3 came.

 

All in a "Give a number 1 through 5, with 1 being strongly disagree, 2 being disagree, 3 being neither agree nor disagree, 4 being agree and 5 being strongly agree" answer format, it was questions about men and women, and the way we view each other.  Questions about whether we men think we are better then women, whether we are uncomfortable when a woman makes more than we do, wondering if women have more potential in the workfield than men, and then, my favorite... "Men should always save themselves first, then women, in a disaster situation." 

 

When we all finished, we all let Sarah know that we felt the survey was a little manipulative (it was) and not easy to answer truthfully (it wasn't)... "So, if you put 'agree' here, are you saying you 'agree' with what it says you shouldn't do, or should you put 'disagree', because of the way it's worded...?

 

Sarah seemed a little disinterested in our response to the survey, especially when Hurricane Rhett and I said the following:

 

Me:  So in this question about whether men should save themselves first in a disaster situation... I guess my question for that is... how hot is she?  Because that might determine what we as men do?

 

Hurricane Rhett:  Yeah... and then, can she cook?  Can she clean?  Because if the answer to those questions are both Yes, then I'm a little more inclined to break a sweat over her rescue...

 

Sarah stared at us, forced an uncomfortable smile, and simply said, "...wow...".

 

It was awesome.

 

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Our new friend, Shazbazzar, in a Star Wars Clone Wars panel.  

 

About that Star Wars Clone Wars panel... having never seen a single episode of the heralded series, I chose to sit that panel out, though Mikey and Shaz again led. There were two more guys that were supposed to be there, but failed to show, so again, it became a lively discussion amongst the two panelists and the audience. I barely had anything to contribute, though I did read a little about Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, who was working with the Kaminoans to... you know what, it doesn't matter.

 

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Stan Daniel and I discuss Star Wars and Disney for a solid hour.  And it was magical.

 

 

The final one of the three panels I sat one was probably my favorite.  Stan Daniel, owner of Kingdom Comics, and one of the heads of the Alabama Phoenix Festival is also like me, a huge Disney fan.  So our topic was "May the Mouse Be With You... Always", which was simply Star Wars & Disney.  It was supposed to be about merchandising, and much of it was, but we delved into Harry Potter and Universal's coming on strong, the prospects of a new park for Disney, what to do with Star Wars in the parks, hopes for the new movies, and Jedi Mickey.  Afterwards, our friend Hurricane Rhett, in the audience, pointed at me and said, "I knew he knew Disney.  But this guy KNOWS Disney."  I was proud.

 

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I love Tinkerbell. And I didn't mind a tattooed Tinkerbell.  I told her that I was excited to get my picture with her, and she made a comment about how she'd had two stalkers earlier today. Unsure if that was true, or just saying that because I came on way to strong, I laughed and told her I had the same issue when I wore my Tinkerbell costume.  After she laughed, and then swallowed the vomit that she thew up in her mouth, we got a picture. Her real name is Shay Blaze.

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We also had dinner on Saturday, and lunch on Sunday, at Mugshots, a burger joint that I liked very much.  My best mate Wookiee joined us and enjoyed the last day of the Festival, so it was good to have him around.  The food was excellent, reasonable for the location and what it was and the service was also enjoyable.

 

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I told Stan that I was surprised there was no Harry Potter panel of any kind... they even had a "Hobbit: Book versus Movie" panel, but absolutely nothing Hogwarts, and how they should consider that next year.

 

He asked me what I was thinking, and I told him any number of topics would work... Harry Potter: the Books versus the Movies... Predictions for the upcoming trilogy (which I do not agree with)... Discussions of the locations and little seen characters... anything like that, though what I really wanted to discuss was the Legacy of Star Wars vs The Legacy of Harry Potter, including Universal and Disney in particular.  That is a conversation I could spend hours on, and am planning it for a blog very, very soon.

 

He loved the idea so much that he said he would seriously consider submitted a Harry Potter track of panels next year, but he also wants myself and Mikey to come and debate in a forum against a local children's author and a local Harry Potter historian ("she knows Harry Potter like it's her Bible", Stan said later, which is good because if she's like me, I don't know my Bible nearly as well as I should).  That will happen sometime later this summer, so that should be fun.

 

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All in all, we had a blast at the Alabama Phoenix Festival. Finally met Brock Parker, attended a real life Ghostbusters panel, saw how big the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon would actually be, met a tattooed Tinkerbell, whispered, "I love you!" as I walked away probably hopefully making her feel all kinds of awkward, discussed Disney, Star Wars and Harry Potter at length, saw a real R2D2, a real Iron Patriot, a real Iron Man, about 72 Harley Quinns, a Joker, a Dr. Who phone booth and just got to hang with my boy-oyz.  So it was great.

 

By the way, what is it with Doctor Who?  I mean, five years ago, few people cared, and now the TARDIS phone booth thing is everywhere.   Should I be in on this?  Do I have time for this?

 

Will be making a return next year, as we are already considering doing a live show from there and having a table in the Exhibition Hall to broadcast from and do live games from. 

 

So, listen to The Deucecast Movie Picture Show once per month (though on iTunes, we have a back catelog of over 75 shows you can listen to as well), like us on Facebook and all that. 

 

the top ten coolest things of 2011

Okay, its finally here... you've been waiting all year for this... well, all last year for this, and here it is, only one solid year later... the Top Ten Coolest Things of 2011...

The 10th Coolest Thing of 2011... Tyler Gets Engaged
Its a little hard to imagine, but my brother in law got engaged in 2011.  Young Tyler Campbell, who I remember meeting at The Deuce back in the day, playing pogs and annoying My Best Mate Wookiee... Young Tyler Campbell, who we watched grow up, first with little hair, then with shaggy hair, and now with short, short hair and a beard... he finally found the one he liked, that being Brynn Bralley, this incredibly small little thing with a big smile and a warm heart.   He asked, she said yes, and it was on.  (expect the wedding to be a part of 2012's list)


The 9th Coolest Thing of 2011... Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2
I reviewed this movie mere moments after I watched it, and here's part of my review:

All in all, this is the best of the Harry Potter series. I think if you have only seen the movies, you will have a few questions and you'll find a few holes... and if you have read the book, you'll be like me, and have questions that start with, "I wonder why they did/didn't..." However, because of the scope and size of the book, I think you will agree that they did the best that could have been done. The screenwriter, Steve Kloves, got it right... absolutely right, and almost perfect.

And as the camera panned away from Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and the familiar music came on and credit rolled, I had only one thought...

All is well.

You can read the full review by clicking here


The 8th Coolest Thing of 2011... 2nd & Charles
To say I was overwhelmed the first time I walked into this store is a bit of an understatement.  I was blown away.  2nd & Charles is really a used bookstore, but its huge... and not only do they have thousands upon thousands of used books, but also thousands of used CDs... and comic books... and DVDs... and record albums... and videos... and Blu Rays... and hundreds of electronics... and even fun t-shirts... I spent a good two hours the first time, and that was nothing but in the CDs and movies... it was a bit reeeedonkulous, but its worth it.  Their music is bargain priced, the movies are also cheap, and its a great place to hunt up used books.


The 7th Coolest Thing of 2011... "Rolling in the Deep"
The first time I heard this tune, I was driving across Mississippi, headed towards the other side to see The Revr'n Ty Coffey get married... The Lovely Steph Leann in the front seat, Shawn Sharp in the back, and this cool riff and this awesome vocals streaming out of my satellite radio, "There's a fire burning in my heart..."

Much in the same way I was mesmerized by KT Tunstall's "Black Horse in the Cherry Tree" with her multiple layers of vocals, smart instrumentals and great, if not somewhat puzzling metaphors, "Rolling in the Deep" drew me in and never let me go.  Adele rules. 


The 6th Coolest Thing of 2011... The Deucecast
Text from Mikey, circa February 2011:  Hey man, I got an idea
Text response from me, within a minute or so:  Sure, what's up?
Text from Mikey: So, wanna do a podcast with me?
Text response from me:  Dude!?  Seriously!?!
Text from Mikey:  Yeah.  I think it would be awesome
Text response from me:  I had been thinking of doing a podcast on my own anyway... let's do it
Text from Mikey:  I think we should call it The Deuce Podcast.  Or The Deuce Show.  Maybe... Deucecast.

And so it was.  We called those first episodes "Negatives", and we started with The Deucecast -4... and it was rough.  Really rough.  In fact, I don't ever want to hear it again, because I remember how bad we both were.  I talked to fast, Mikey rambled on about Sea Monkey oppression (I'm not kidding) and it was a bad 30 minutes.  But... we got better.  I'd say The Deucecast Episode -1 was pretty presentable.

And we had our big kickoff with The Deucecast Episode I: The Podcast Menace, and kept going, weekly.  Its movies. Its music.  We play random games with stupid names like "Faux or Show"... "The Ryan Phillippe Game"... "Reel or Unreel"... and Mikey's favorite, "Simple Star Wars Trivia".  Matty Rector joined us for about 30 episodes as a co-host, and we've had a number of special guest hosts along the way, including recurring hosts like Doc Earl... Hurricane Rhett... Steph Nipparector and even more.  Check it out... The Deucecast.


The 5th Coolest Thing of 2011... Wrestlemania XXVIII


The 4th Coolest Thing of 2011... Disney in February
Without knowing Campbell was on the way, The Lovely Steph Leann and I still had the mindset that every Disney trip we took could be our last without a kid. To be honest, every trip from mid-2009 thru all of 2010 was like that, but the more time went along, the more we knew "well... if we are going to have kids, then this trip might be it." And this February 2011 trip was, in fact, it.

Our plan was to do the things we wanted to do that we hadn't done, stuff that would be much harder to do with a child in tow... dine with an Imagineer... go see Cirque de Soleil: La Nouba... have dinner at the Hoop de doo Revue... take a Segway tour of Epcot... do the then-brand spankin new Wild Africa Trek at Animal Kingdom... plus a host of other little things we'd missed--Flights of Wonder at Animal Kingdom comes to mind. Now, even after all of this, there is still a huge amount of activities and such we've never done, and maybe will get to at some point.

I won't give you the full recap, because it would take a while, but those things I listed are highlights... of course, I did get a little borderline sick halfway through the trip. We invited our good friends Melanie and her hubs Chris to join us for a few days at the end of the trip, and they flew down Wednesday morning... we did lots of stuff together, they had some coupley time, so did we. We all shared the La Nouba experience, including Chris purchasing drinks for both women--he went for the large $14 daiquiris... The Lovely Steph Leann chose not to guzzle it, lest she be hammered early.

I did deal with the that not-so-fresh feeling, including taking a long sleep on a Thursday night while the others went and did their thing and The Lovely Steph Leann went to Epcot and took pictures of French mimes and chair stacker dancer people. Or something like that.

Anyway, it was a fabulous trip, sickness aside... and it even culminated with...


The 3rd Coolest Thing of 2011... The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando
Let's be clear.  Disney beats Universal every time its tried.  The only reason that a Disney trip is one notch behind Harry Potter is simply because I'd been to Disney alot.. and never to the Harry Potter experience.

One of my favorite pics from that trip... the girls enjoying the Butterbeer

Towards the end of our Febraury 2011 Walt Disney World vacation, we scheduled to spend a day at Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios Orlando, notably to go into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Again, our friends Melanie and Chris went with us, with Melanie and I being huge Harry Potter fans, The Lovely Steph Leann being a pretty big Harry Potter fan and Chris somewhat indifferent...

And it was a blast... the only hindrance I felt at all was mid-way through trip, I had one of those not-so-fresh feelings... as in, I woke up and didn't feel all that great.  I battled a cold or sickness for several days, dealt with it through La Nouba and an entire day at Epcot... was able to sleep some on Thursday night (some of the best sleep I've ever had) and finally, on Friday, while not fully recovered, was able to enjoy the dreary weather and incredible atmosphere of Hogwarts. 

I could tell you tales all day of our adventure at Universal, but really, it can be summed up in a few words... incredible castle... incredible ride... Ollivander's is brilliant... and butterbeer?  Absolutely awesome.  Heck, that should have been its own number. 


The 2nd Coolest Thing of 2011... Mom
While its true I lost my mom, the woman I grew up calling mom, in September of 2011, I also managed to gain a mom too...

You can find it in the post called "Mom, Mama and Mother's Day", written in May of 2012... here's the link, and I hope you enjoy it.


And...


The Coolest Thing of 2011... This guy:

How cute is this kid?  And the baby too!

What can I say?  The Lovely Steph Leann went in for a check up on November 30th, 2011, and called me from the hospital to tell me she was being admitted to labor and delivery.

You read what happened on Day One, as we began to realize we were about to have a baby... and what happened on Day Two, as we actually HAD a baby...  and then, the journey of how we brought Campbell Isaiah home...

Well, there it is.  All 10 of the top ten, preceded by 90 more of the coolest things about the year 2011... now... let's start a 2012 list, shall we?