May Movie Preview

Bad year for Hollywood....maybe I should stop these posts?

The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide

Finally got around to reading this last year and just remembered I never made a review of it!

This was a sourcebook I passed on a few years ago but due to a good friend's recommendation I decided to pick it up.

It's not bad. Nice art and is a very light read on just a few of the animals within the Star Wars universe. It only focuses on planets featured in the movies which in my opinion limits the content.

Plus, Endor, the planet which holds the most interest to me and is TEEMING with animal life, wasn't featured as much as Naboo was, which I found disappointed.

Overall, it's not bad for the average fan. Because it was cheap and an easy read I didn't mind it though it's nothing to write home about either.

Every Picture Tells a Story (25)

Ah the "bean" dance! This was probably at a New Year's Eve party we had at my apartment. There's this short film called "The Killer Bean" (look it up on Youtube) I think it may be "2" but I'm not sure.

Anyway, when I found it, I showed it to everyone. We laughed at one scene where a bean shakes his booty while pumping his arms. The dance took off and we all decided to do from there on out.

Good news is I watched the movie with my nephews this past summer so maybe the bean dance will live on through them....cause I don't know if I'll be doing it any time soon myself.

15 more days

Sadly we won't be joining 12 other states anytime soon in re-opening our state. Sucks. My home State of Mississippi is back up and running. I'm proud of them for stepping up and leading the country in this time of panic.

Sad to be a Louisiana resident today.

Birthday Bash!

Thought I'd share a few photos from my girls 1st birthday.

 Meridian's "Don't you dare judge me" face

Meanwhile, Piper gives her "daddy at the buffet" impersonation. Spot on.

I love these girls.

Every Picture Tells a Story (24)

Welcome to the "Pudd-o-meter" A rating system invented by my brother where his face would describe how much he loved something. I even have a Christmas video of him showcasing it that's really funny. But here's Caleb showing was the highest level on the Pudd-o-meter looks like.

Yeah....this was stupid too, I know.

Every Picture Tells a Story (23)

Here's a pic of me at summer camp with a ping pong ball I'd split in two and drew little pupils on them. The point was to make my Dad crack during one of his lectures and I was hoping this was a sure fire way to do it.

But it didn't work. Dad looked at me and moved on, not cracking one bit. This was something all us brothers tried to get Dad to do for years and to this day we're still unsuccessful. (though no attempts have been made in years)

Hmmm...maybe it's time to give it the old college try once again....where's a ping pong ball....

Have a good weekend folks!

Every Picture Tells a Story (22)

Here's a pic of me and my buddy Spencer. He was always the loveable crazy type that I had a ball being around. We are still good friends today and talk all the time. Mostly during college football season and I'm happy about that.

He lived in Kentucky and I probably won't ever get a chance to see him face to face ever again but I'm thankful for his continued friendship.

Even though he's a Notre Dame fan....

Here we go...

The Governor said today that it looks like Phase one may go into effect on May 1st and that's good news.

Movie theaters open back up (who cares) Dine-in opens up (right on, I plan to go out to eat that night) Gyms re-open (and after dinner I'll go work out) Churches open their doors again (best news of the week)

Sanitation and distancing rules are in effect and gatherings larger than 10 are discouraged but overall... it's a step in the right direction.

Praying for Phase 2 by May 15th.

Every Picture Tells a Story (21)

I stole this hospital apron after visiting a friend in the hospital and taking it from one of the cabinets in the room. I remember taking a breathing mask, tongue suppressors and hair net and some blue rubber gloves as well.

That night I decided to pose in my gown. I looked like I'd just escaped the looney bin! In fact, I think I still have this apron in a box in my hallway closet today! Weird why we continue to keep silly things like that after all this time. 

Every Picture Tells a Story (20)

The Puddy Dance. Something my brother would do that cracked everyone up. All he ever did was pat his tummy and coo and people loved it.

Really stupid and he stopped doing it after high school. Though I wondered if I asked him today would he do it again?

Knowing Caleb....the answer would be yes.

Every Picture Tells a Story (19)

Just another day of being a bachelor.

Ok, in all seriousness, we'd had a party and I was in my room showing talking to a buddy of mine when one of the girls walked in and asked for a picture. Well then all the girls wanted a picture so we posed for this one.

Really makes me look like a player eh? Well not a single one wanted to date me and all married other people well before I was married.

This picture's better labeled "fake news" than anything else.

Getting better?

While most major networks preach gloom and doom to keep you tuned to the channel, in real life it looks very promising that things are slowly getting back to normal.

The beaches in Florida are now re-opened (with restrictions) Oklahoma will have the very 1st shopping strip re-open back for business next week, Texas is lowering it's restrictions and some cities in Mississippi are getting the green light to return to work (unless they're older or suffer medical conditions)

Panic buying has stopped and everything is easily available at the stores (even toilet paper) We've surpassed 600,000 recoveries and I'm hoping all this points to things calming down in my state as well.

Nothing will make me happier than when this is all over. Can't wait to get life back up and running again. I'm tired of fear controlling everyone. It's time to get the world back to normal (step by cautious step)

Every Picture Tells a Story (18)

I took karate in college. I was the only guy in the class. So the teacher (who coached the college karate team at the time) offered to let me train with them instead. (since hitting a girl wasn't really a confidence builder for me)

So here's my streen bean self posing with the rest of the class after they'd won the state championship. Funny thing was that same day the newspaper was there taking photos for a piece they were doing on the championship team.

Toe (the kid on the far left) and I decided to pose with the trophy for a picture I wanted to take. We each had a hand on the trophy and our fist out towards each other. What I didn't know is that the newspaper loved the pose and took a picture themselves. That picture ended up headlining the article.

A guy, who wasn't on the team....holding their hard fought trophy. Yeah, that didn't go over very well with the team (or so I heard) the semester had ended the next week so I never got to talk to them about it. All I know is that picture would led me into a "fight club" invitation a few years later. But that's a whole other story!

Have a good weekend folks!

Every Picture Tells a Story (17)

My cousin Thomas and I. We used to greet each other this awkward way each time we met up. In fact, we still do it from time to time today when I see him.

Thomas has always been one of my favorite cousins. Mainly because he was another boy around our age that we could relate to and play with growing up. I'm glad he lives in the same town I do so that we can still keep in touch today. His kids are good friends with my brothers kids who are the same age so in a way, history is repeating itself.

Kinda nice when you think about it.

Every Picture Tells a Story (16)

This is a picture from my brothers wedding. Another rare photo of the Wilkins Boys all together. There's a few more but this one was the best of them in my opinion. I remember that night being extremely cold. We dolled up his car for the wedding only to find out Dad had rented the car and we had to promise to clean it that night.

So Bray and I (Bray's featured on the far right) went out that night to clean it....it the dead of winter. The water was turning to ice the moment it hit the windshield. I was miserable and hated every minute of it.

I remember writing an email to a buddy of mine who lived up there at the time about how I hated his winters. He ended up editing the email and turned it into an article for his blog. He still talks about that email to this day whenever we talk.

COVID-19 Not a threat to Americans

Interesting that this is what all the top medical doctors (including the CDC) thought about the virus back in January.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/01/officials-say-most-americans-not-risk-coronavirus

Every Picture Tells a Story (15)

During one of our summer camp trips, we stopped at a rest stop that had a security guard on the premises. I talked him in to playing a prank on my group where he would arrest one of our group for getting in a fight with a senior citizen in the welcome area.

You should have seen the look on my Counselor's face. It was hilarious. Jack (the kid who got arrested) threw water on his face to make it look like he was crying and I was holding my hand over my face faking I was worried.

I don't know who cracked first but all at once we all fell out laughing and came out with the prank to my group. It was really funny. This was a picture we all posed for after the fact.

Good times, good times....

Every Picture Tells a Story (14)

Last week I shared a photo of me with food on my face. This time it's ice cream and for a different purpose.

This photo happens to be the only evidence of the "legendary" story of how I put a "pick up" line on a girl and she smashed a ice cream cone in my face. It was all in fun and no one (including the girl) was upset about the deal but years later it grew into a little more than what the incident warranted.

The big deal about it was the girl was a little "snooty" so a lot of folks found it hilarious that I'd done it in the first place. I remember once up in Idaho (where she lived) and eating at an Applebees where the guy knew about me and the incident and gave me a free desert.

Crazy times.

New Roof

I remember back in high school my brother and I got hired by a friend to assist them in replacing a roof. We were getting paid $10 an hour. We helped teared it off. Shingles, staples and all. Then after that we went around the house bagging up the shingles around the house while they place new tiles on.

My brother hated that part and decided to quit and walk all the way back home (a couple of miles) It was funny because when they asked me where it was it'd been an hour before anyone noticed he was missing. I stayed and finished the job but I don't know if my brother got paid or not.

Anyway, as a kid I remember thinking "Man, it's expensive to replace a roof!"

Fast forward about 25+ years later and here I am paying people to re-roof my house. Brought back a lot of memories watching them work. And instead of bagging shingles, they brought a bin to throw them in....smart. Wish we'd thought of that back in the day.

Now I have a new roof and just in time...it rained today.

One cool thing (you can see in the picture) is they use old cushion padding to have something soft to sit on. Smart. Again, something I wish we thought of back in the day. The roof isn't the most comfortable place to work on.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts of the weekend.

$1.35 and falling...

Paid a low low price for gas today...but I think it's going to continue to drop. I love it. The ONLY good thing about this pandemic if you ask me.

Come on $1.19.....

Happy Easter!

I remember when going on Easter Egg hunts for a kid was one of the highlights of my year! Although we rarely got a chance to do that. Mainly it was just mom giving us a chocolate bunny Sunday morning.

Have a good one folks!

Every Picture Tells a Story (13)

Another pic from summer camp. My buddy and I had a quick food fight at our table which ended in the entire cafeteria breaking out in a food fight shortly thereafter. (something other students got in trouble for) But that happened right after I left. Someone (don't know who) snapped this photo of me with my camera before I left.

Didn't even know it was on the roll until after I printed it out.

There's something most people won't know these days. The excitement of going to pick up your photos days later to see what they looked like!

Man....that gives me an idea. See you next week folks!

Every Picture Tells a Story (12)

In the summer camps I went to as a kid, they'd have a Talent Show on the last night that I always participated in. This was one of my last performances (as a student) It was a dance show where my friend Jessie (on the right) could dance and I couldn't. It was a comedy skit (as always) and was a lot of fun to do.

But the one bad thing about that night I remember was right at this moment, I ripped those jeans bad at the knee. (a sign they were seeing the last of their days) I was super upset because it was my absolute favorite pair of jeans. (Even today)

(sigh) First world problem right?

Every Picture Tells a Story (11)

Ah, look at my cool self! For Halloween (or what we were calling "Reformation Day" at my church) I dressed up as a Jedi. So much fun!

I cut off my original lightsaber toy from 1983 (it was torn up anyway and worthless at that point) and drilled in a sawed off broom handle. The problem was that the broom stick was WAY too heavy for the handle and I was afraid it was going to break apart so I rarely carried it around with me.

Fun fact, I STILL have this lightsaber in my garage closet today! I see it every year I go to put up or take out the Xmas decor.

The picture to the right is me and my friend Patrick. Look at that buttoned up blue jean jacket I'm sporting! Yeah baby! THAT'S fashion right there!

Every Picture Tells a Story (10)

Super fuzzy but that's how the actual picture looks too. You can't tell but that's me and my best friend of the last day Cardco was open, with are hats off and heads bowed saying our final farewell. Look like my buddy eve bought a comic there too!

Now the place if a pretty good restaurant though Megan hates eating there so I never get to go, which is sad. Before that it was a Heavenly Ham. My sister used to work there. In fact, the last "old school" store to close of that strip was just a few years ago. It was a book store that'd been there for years. Crazy how they were the last man standing on the strip.

Every Picture Tells a Story (9)

This is how my blog got it's name! Cardco. My favorite card and comic shop back in the day. When they closed I went out behind the trash bin of their store and took the sign out of the dumpster. The only letter I couldn't find was the "O" Later that year I bought one at a sign shop for $58. That was a lot for me back in the day but it was worth it to complete the Cardco sign.

I was so proud in this pick to. I'm all like "yeah, look what my bad self did!"

I'm even wearing a hand painted shirt that says "Cardco" in dripping blood type colors.

NERD!!!

Well said

I know he's not reading my blog but man has the President been echoing a lot of what I've been saying lately.

Getting back to normal should be the priority. Trump's desire to return to normal makes sense. The economy's getting wrecked and though we should be careful as far as this virus is concerned we should be focused on getting back to work once we get over the hill. Continuing the panic and scared lifestyle we currently reside under.

I also was encouraged by his desire to get churches back open again. Knowing the importance of Easter Sunday was good to hear from the President. Let's hope something becomes of this by next week!

Recovery better than we thought?

Just read an article which admitted the recovery numbers may not be correct....it may be more. The problem is a lot of areas aren't reporting them as well as the number infected. For example, someone may have fully recovered yet because it didn't involve a stay at the hospital they aren't always counted as "recovered"

Since we've passed 250,000 now I wonder how many more have recovered that haven't been reported? 100,000? 200,000? It'd be interesting to know.

Looting season

With a lot of businesses closed criminals have taken advantage of the pandemic and started looting stores. The police? Oh they're out there enforcing social distancing rules.

Can we say "priorities" boys and girls?

Huh?

The media loves to show empty streets in cities around the country but in the same broadcast we here city officials talking about how people aren't taking the stay-at-home orders seriously.

Um....what? We see no one in the city yet people are still going out in masses?! Where are they going? Out in the country side?

Empty streets and chastisements to the public for ignoring the stay-at-home orders in which they blame the massive spread of the virus on. None of it adds up. 

Hydroxychloroquine

See this? This prevent malaria. It's being touted as a potential deterrent for COVID-19 by the White House, although most media outlets say it's a lie.

Yet if it's a lie...why are doctors taking this while treating COVID-19 patients? Have to wonder if some company's hoping on making money off this pandemic and doesn't want the cure to be that accessible. I know it sounds like a conspiracy theory but when I heard it I thought "Could be"

Too bad I'm not panicked about this pandemic or else I'd really start seeing conspiracies everywhere.

Awful American

Just reported that American Airlines is packing people on the last three rows of flights because they paid for cheap tickets. Even though the rest of the plane was empty they wouldn't let them sit up any closer because they didn't pay for it.

And these are the people who we're giving a bail out to....I hate it. We should let these businesses die! I'll never fly American ever again.

Right on the nose!

Huzzah! I got it right! Now they're blaming people not following the "stay-at-home" rules as the reason the virus is still spreading at a rapid rate. Although they have ZERO examples to point to and by the looks of all the roads and streets they're going to have a tough time proving it because everyone (big surprise) is at home.

Travel outside is so low that I'm now seeing gas at $1.49 a gallon and trending down! My car gets driven once a week now and I'm smashing the record on days without a visit to the gas station because there's no where to go.

Grocery stores are packed with hundreds of people yet still no one says anything. Gotta love the hypocrisy there.

Meanwhile in Sweden, the virus is spreading at about the same space (a little lower) and they aren't staying at home.

Oh well, I knew it would come to that. But that's ok. We're almost to 250,000 recoveries from the virus which is good. Here's to hoping the panic calms down by the end of the month.

Every Picture Tells a Story (8)

Years ago I spray painted cheap looking t-shirts of my comic logo as a joke and sent them out to a few of my friends. One from New jersey actually took a pic of the shirt on their child. I think he's the only one that wore the shirt besides me. Speaking of, I don't even think I carry my shirt anymore so these may be a thing of the past!

Not that they were that big a deal to begin with.

Have a good weekend folks!

Every Picture Tells a Story (7)

Here's an old pic of my and sis back in the day. I don't know about now but back then I was her favorite and she used to tell everyone that.

Once my brother called in from college in Idaho and Charity answered "Who's calling" My brother said "Your favorite brother" to which she replied "Hi Matt!" Ha!

It's amazing how much her little girl looks like her these days. Almost a perfect clone!

Exciting News!

Uh oh. Looks like we did it again. Megan and I are expecting are 2nd set of twins!! I can't believe the odds on this! We're now be going from 2 to 4 kids like that! 

Man oh man, I'm sure glad it's April first when I broke this news..... : )