Strat-o-matic 2017 season has begun!

I've officially kicked up my Strat-o-matic season early this year because I simply could not wait for the season to begin. Every year I have a tradition where I take this game with it's specially made cards, that include all my friends on different teams. I have a women and men's league now and the women go first.

It's exciting to see who'll win every year because it's usually not the team I'd expect. And though my team's won the last 3, I also had a 3 year drought where I didn't even make the playoffs. (last year had an unbelievable comeback that (oddly enough) I didn't want my team to win because it would've been the other teams first world series! (I was actually cheering against myself)

This is my favorite solo game to play. And I'm excited to be kicking off a new season! I'll let you know in June how it all turns out!

Feburary Upcoming Movies

(sigh) Ok, let's go ahead and get this over...

 The Lego Batman Movie

Believe it or not, I'm actually going to see this one I think. The trailers look hilarious and I don't think they'll be many other DC movies worth watching this year so this may be their high point for the year!

 Fifty Shades Darker

I rather watch my colon clog up fifty shades darker full of bean burritos and fire sauce than see this film.

 John Wick 2

Megan and I saw the first one on HBO and loved it. I can't wait to see the sequel....on HBO!

Rings

10 years ago I'd have been all over this....yep....10 years ago. Now it'll sit at Redbox with Blair Witch waiting for the day I time to kill.

Any I missed for next month? If so, it should show you how much I care.

Funniest thing I saw last week

Now for the funniest thing I've seen this week. Callie wants to call it quits with America and succeed.

Being from the South I can honestly saw I know how they feel....and I know what will happen if they try.

Let's be honest folks, there is ZERO chance of this happening. Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly let them leave if that's what they want but it simply will no happen. The US isn't gonna let them do it. But like a drunk college kid after homecoming, it seems like a good idea right now so they're going to give it the "college try" and end up either vomiting all over themselves or waking up one morning saying "What was I thinking?!" and go back to their everyday lives.

Scariest thing from last week

Let's be honest, we all know Shia Labeof (the homeless looking man in the picture above) was a little nuts. We all knew something wasn't right. But this past week, I'm completely convinced he's off his rocker.

His live feed on a wall that says "He will not divide us" is about the creepiest thing to watch on the internet. Not only has Labeof been arrested for attacking people, but his "followers" chanting on camera the same mantra over and over, looks something straight out of a horror film.

Completely insane. Hopefully, this will blow over in the next few weeks and we can get back to normal without having to see brain washed zombies chanting a phrase on camera for 15 minutes of fame with Labeof and out there making a difference in America instead.

In the news this week

Trump's been a busy man in his first week at the White House. Let's look at some of the things he did.

Stopped a FHA Mortgage Discount

To be honest, a blessing in disguise for the mortgage market, which is still shaky and would be risking another recession if not done. I'm glad it happened. With defaults still a little too high at the moment, America doesn't need any more things to worry about.

Saved taxpayers $221 million dollars

"How?" You may ask? Well, it seems Obama in his last hours in the White House, tried sending $221 million in tax dollars to Pakistan and nobody knows why. He didn't have approval from Congress and it's being investigated if he had authority to do it at all. Not much in the news about this (guess they're tired of Obama stories) but I'm just glad we didn't send it when our company in over 16 trillion in the whole. (every million counts)

Signed Executive Order for extreme vetting of Refugees 

Since 2 refugees have already been linked to recent terrorist attacks in the country I think this is a smart move. It's funny how liberals want "extreme vetting" for guns but not for people making bombs to kill us. To be clear, I don't own a gun but do believe it's everyone's right to own one if they wish. I also think their should be screening for new owners to make sure they will be responsible with it in the future.

All in all, not a bad week indeed.

Best Documentaries

Since I've spoken so much about it this week, I thought I'd take the time today to talk about some of the best Documentaries out there I've ever seen!

Ken Burns: Civil War

One of the first documentaries I ever watched and still one of the finest out there on the period. I loved every minute of it and being a history buff, plan to watch it again sometime soon.

 Food Inc

It came out in 2008 and I was shocked by what it told us about the fast food industry. Very powerful and captivating documentary to watch.

 Super Size Me

One of the most well known docs I have on the list. Super Size Me stars then unknown star Morgan Spurlock as he goes 30 days, eating nothing but McDonalds for every meal. Loved this movie so much, I went out and ate McDonalds right after seeing it! Another I need to watch again.

 Dear Mr Watterson

Anyone who knows me, knows I love Calvin and Hobbes. I plan on reading through the entire series again this year. This bio about his life is wonderful to watch and I highly recommend it!

 Bobby Fischer Against the World

I love chess and Bobby Fischer was the king. This exciting (yes exciting) documentary takes you into his life and legacy that will fill you with awe and wonder. Forget going to the movie theater folks! This film has it all!

 80's The Decade That Made US

I told you yesterday there was a better documentary on the 80's and this was it. It takes you through each year and tells you all the significant events. I LOVE the 80's and this is about the biggest love letter anyone could've written it. If you like the 80's, this series is a MUST for you!

Atari: Game Over 

The one and only movie produced by Xbox and it's a shame because this documentary was GOLD. I loved every minute of it and recommend it to all my friends. GREAT GREAT film!

Ken Burns: Baseball

I end it how I began, with Mr Ken Burn's masterpiece "Baseball" taking you through the decades (even up to the steroids era if you count his later "10th Inning" he added to the series years later) this is THE BEST documentary and I'll probably have to buy it one day because I've watched it twice and want to see it again.

There you have it folks! My favorite docs! What's yours?

The Eighties review

Anyone who knows me, knows I love the 80's. So when I saw this on Netflix last week, I knew I had to see it. It covers different topics on the 80's and only went 8 episodes.

It ended kinda "meh" for me, but was still enjoyable since it talked a lot about the era. I've seen better biographies done on this decade but I'll save that for tomorrow's post.

Any other Netflix Docs I should check out? Let me know in the comments!

For the Love of Spock review

Just finished watching this on Netflix last week and its pretty good. A documentary that was supposed to star Lenord Nemoy but during filming the actor died so they made it more into a biopic about his life.

Though strictly made for Trek fans, I did enjoy it and hope they make some for other members of the original cast as well. I'd love to see one on Deforest Kelly!

Duck Tales Review

Last week Megan and I finished watching the entire series of old cartoons plus the movie. Time has been very kind to this series. It was great. And the shocking thing about it was that I remembered most of it.

Me. I guy who can't even remember what the last movie he saw in theaters was, remembered almost every episode they showed. And the series is just as good if not better today as it was then. So happy to have them in our collection now. Look forward to one day watching through them again.

If you have thoughts about revisiting this cartoon series. Do it. It's well worth your time!

Crystal Pepsi is BACK!!!

 Walking through our cafeteria at work I found these little guys hiding out in Pepsi cooler!

Looking at the date, they're brand new too!

So every day I've been going by and picking up 2 bottle every day. Getting while the getting's good!!!

WOO-HOO!!! IT'S BACK BABY!!!

Pot calling the kettle...

Here's a woman speaking out against Trump whose entire career involved sexualizing women and furthering their objectification.

Thanks Madonna, this is the funniest thing I've seen all weekend!

Bill objectfying women once again! LOL

Hail to the Chief

Out with the old in with the new.

As the media continues to freak out over Trump being President, I hope this gives America a wake up call to how biased the media is.

I'm not defending Trump but it's ridiculous that most news outlets only talk about how "terrible" it is to have him in charge. But in truth, Obama was horrible as President. We have more debt and are in worse shape than we were 8 years ago.

Trump has a clean slate to start with. And now with all the whiners in the media, I hope he wins in 2020 so they can have 8 years of him too. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. After our last 2 dead beat Presidents, he can't be any worse!

Hall of Fame thoughts

 The Hall of Fame was announced this week and here are your 3 winners, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Pudge Rodriguez.

Bagwell was a no brainer. He barely missed out last year and everyone knew he'd be in this year. Tim Raines was a come from behind hero, being his last year on the ballot, I didn't think he'd make it so good for him! Rodriguez is a surprise knowing he's linked to the steroid debacle, but I guess the writers are getting more sentimental.

But 3 things disappoint me. The first is the shunning of Lee Smith. One of the best closers in MLB history and it seems no one cares. On top of that, I hear hes a good guy who's not hung up on getting in but I know it's in the back of his mind. Every ball player wants to be in Cooperstown, and Smith is the one of the most deserving this year.

Hopefully a committee will get together and make this right.

The other 2 things that disappoint me is seeing the numbers of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens move up in votes. Embarrassing seeing as how these are some of worst people in baseball and don't deserve to be mentioned for the Hall. I hope they don't get in. It will sully the reputation of Baseball in general if they do.

Other than that, I decent class. Look forward to seeing the votes next year!

Rules of Engagement Review

Continuing my romp through shows to watch on Netflix, I decided to try out a comedy. They're generally fast to watch (with run times lasting only 21 minutes) so I tried out David Spade's last comedy Rules of Engagement.

Overall the show had its moments, preferably the lion's share of those coming from actor Patrick Warburton, who's hilarious character of Jeff, just kept giving countless moments of hilarity. But David Spade has been better. Just Shoot Me is one of my favorites from his, but his character in this show seemed a one trick pony, who never changed or had an angle in the show that made him relevant.

The engaged couple were the least funniest out of the group. I rarely laughed or cared for their scenes and even though the were central to the story in its first season, it was evident the writers of the show realized quickly that focusing on there relationship would doom the series so they quickly switch the focus to the married couple instead.

The ending was weird. Story lines were wrapped up in the last 7 minutes and it looked like the writers didn't know how to write on ending so they killed time playing a song on frozen characters at the end, only to come back with one more throw away joke scene at the end which did nothing to say "goodbye" to the show or give any sense of closure.

Is it watchable? Sure, if you got the time to kill getting ready in the mornings and love Patrick Warburton, give it a shot. If you're none of the above then you may want to pass.

Boardgame Overdrive

This was my living room the day after Xmas. We'd just finished playing a 7 1/2 hour game of Twilight Imperium. What a game and what a day!

I've been really fortunate to be able to play a lot of board games so far this year. I've gotten bigger in the hobbie since last year. I don't think I'll be buying as many games as I did in 2016 but my goal is o start playing more of each one!

But maybe I'll save these bigger ones for every season. : ) 

I found him!

Guess this guy isn't that hard to find after all! Happy Day off everybody!

Top 10 Super powers

Everyone thinks about it. Today I'm going to give you my list!

10) Invulnerability

The Power of Luke Cage would be cool. Never being afraid of anyone ever again!

9) Weather Control

Imagine this, it's the dead of winter but around your house, it's the middle of June. THAT'S what I'm talking about!

8) Flight

I think everyone wants this power. I got to admit, I've always thought about what would happen if I took off in the middle of a crowd!

7) Telekinesis

The power of the Force essentially. With the ability to move things around, there'll be a lot more of me sitting on the couch for sure!

6) Teleportation

Wanna be in the mountains one moment, then on a sandy beach the next? With this power you could go anywhere, anytime!

5) Precognition

Knowing what'll happen before it happens. Getting a glimpse at the future....and placing a bet on it!!!

4) Mind Reading

Wanna know what people really think of you? This power would be a duel edged sword at times since you may be hurt by what others think!

 3) Healing

How about the ability to heal others? That'd be pretty cool!

2) Super Intelligence

Ever after seeing the movie "Limitless" I've always wondered how awesome it would be. The things you could think of. The things you could do!

1) Time Travel

When first making this list, this wasn't #1 but quickly won out when I thought of the possibilities. The ability to travel in time and see every moment from your lifetime and beyond! I just couldn't pass that up!

Any cool ones I missed? Let me know!

Top 5 sicknesses I hate to have!

Ever since New Year's it seems, I've been sick. It doesn't happen much but I hate it when it does! (then again, who LIKES being sick in the first place) So today I thought I'd give you my Top 5 sicknesses I hate to get!

 5) Flu

I hate it, but it's last on the list because it usually only lasts 2 days and is easy to shake. In fact, the last time I threw up? Was almost 24 years ago. I hated it so much, I vowed to control myself from doing it and I've gotten a pretty good steel stomach now because of it.

4) Cold

Never fun, unavoidable year round, the cold is always a bad thing to have. Especially at night when you can't even breathe. Bad stuff!

3) Headache

These can come at any time and they come quick. Usually when you're away from your house or in an area where NO ONE has Tylenol. And a really bad one can put you down!

2) Cough

Now we're getting into the ones I REALLY hate. Coughing sucks. I hate it. It keeps you up all night and can go on for WEEKS with NO END. There's only one sickness I hate more...

1) Sore Throat

I dread these! Every time I get one I go to the doctor for ANYTHING they can give me. (which usually only ends up being a bill and a pat on the back) And though I hate coughs, a sore throat is WAY worse.

That;s my top 5, what's yours?

Thrill of Victory/Agony of defeat

Ohio State fan mocks Alabama fans

College Football recap

Now that the National Championship is over, it's time to collect my final thoughts on the season. Let's start with the big game.

I (like a lot of people) thought Alabama was going to win again, simply because of who they were. Turns out I was wrong! Clemson played a strong game and deserved the win. They fought hard in what was a great Title game. The Refs did well too so nothing can be blamed on them.

I never thought Clemson had it in them though. Even after beating Ohio State last week.

If you recall, earlier this season my Tigers came close to taking them down. We lost by a touchdown but it was still a close game.

As for my Tigers, well things didn't end on a good note. I knew with an injured quarterback, we had no chance against Oklahoma. We did better than I thought we would but looking at 2017, it doesn't look like we're getting any better.

We have some great defensive players leaving. Our QB situation DOES NOT look bright and we still don't have a receiver who can catch the ball when it's thrown at him right square in the chest! I don't know what Gus can do to improve the Offense and replace certain Defensive roles but we have a leaky ship heading in to 2017 and we could sink fast.

But I can wait until the fall. I'm ready for Spring Training to come around!!

Fanboy Expo 2017

Just to let you all know, I will be once again heading up to Knoxville this June for the Fanboy Expo. One of my favorite comic cons (even though the dealers have gone downhill a little over the years)

This year we're going because Megan wants to see WWE superstar Sting and the Pink Power Ranger, which was her favorite one from the TV show. I like visiting TN, so I'm going solely for the experience.

Anyway, it should be fun!

Nursery Crhymes

Just to let you know. Murder is Served is doing my 5th written dinner theater, Feb 24-Mar 18 and it's sure to be a good one!

Tickets are on sale now at www.murder-isserved.net and they're sure to sell out.

The show is about which Nursery rhyme killed Mother Goose! It's an idea I had a long time ago and was supposed to be the first play ever written by me, but during the creative process, I got stuck and went with something else.

I hammered out all the wrinkles this past summer though and gave it to the company to perform. So glad it's finally happening now!

12th Day of Christmas

On the last day of Xmas I'm having a blast! This entire Xmas season has been one for the books. Just about every night was filled with some sort of fun and excitement. I loved every minute of it.

Here's a pic of Megan and I enjoying some of the last Crystal Pepsi's from our stash this summer. Man I hope they bring them back!

Last year I was gone almost through the entire holidays, so being home really made a difference for me. I got to experience everything I missed last year and it made me love the holiday even more. (watch out Thanksgiving!) I hope all of you had a good one to and are having a great 2017!

See ya next week!

Suicide Squad Review

So I finally had a chance to see this disaster of a film last week while I was off and I'm glad to say it exceeded my lowest expectations.

The story has an interesting beginning as it introduces each character in the plot, then they reveal the big surprise! .....there is no plot.

They having to stop a witch that the government created in the first place because they didn't want "monsters" like Superman (who earlier in the film they admit just saved the planet again) So they find there own monster who has been "evil since the dawn of time". Yeah, that makes sense.

And low and behold this evil entity, the witch goes rogue and tries to take over the world. (sigh) But instead of calling on heroes to help them out, they get a guy with guns, one with a boomerang, a croc man (who barely speaks or does anything in the movie) a "fire guy" who's been known to kill everyone around him when using his power and an insane girl because....she can swing a bat.

It looks like someone dressed up the Little Rascals, gave them a random assort of weapons and pit them against the gladiators of 300. This movie makes zero sense at all.

Why should we feel bad for the bad guys? Dead Shot just wants to see his daughter....and kill Batman. What's wrong with that? Harley Qinn wants to be normal again...oh wait, no she doesn't, based off what she said in the bar RIGHT BEFORE that scene!!!

Flame guys wants his family back...at least until the option is presented to him, then he doesn't. And Boomerang wants....well we never get to know him enough because he's not called Harley Quinn or Dead Shot. And Killer Croc? He wants BET.

The CGI looks awful and distracts from how bad the story in this film is. (maybe that's a good thing) I seriously don't know what DC is trying to do here but I know I'm out. Unless Megan drags me to the theater with her, I'm happy leaving these movies alone for good.