Year in Review

So here we are at last! The end of another excellent year.

So the world didn't end we all know that, but looking back over the year I have to say it's been a blast. I've gone places and met people I never thought I would. The blog is still going strong thanks to all of you and I even got everything on my New Years Resolution list done this year. (I'll have to set my goals for 2013 soon)

All in all it's been a great year and I'm happy to move on into 2013!

Be safe out there tonight folks and I'll see you next year!

Happy Birthday to the Bub!!

She's the one on the right.

Halo 4 review

So one of my presents this year was Halo 4 I just played the game and would like to give you my review.

Halo was the game that started it all over again for me. I was burned out by a disappointing Gamecube and was starting to lose faith in video games over all, but then Halo came around and I haven't looked at another Nintendo system since!

Halo 4 continues the story of Master Chief as he once again fights the baddies to save the day. It plays like a few of the previous game, not too many "run around lost till you find a the right way to go" moments and only one aggravating moment where you're piloting a ship for an easy task but is so difficult to control I think I ended up dying 143 times during it. (not to be exact)

It's the first time Bungie was not at the steering wheel but rather new comer 343. I feel the developers played it safe with this game, coming up with a few cool concepts but falling short in the end.

Speaking of the end...awful. It's like they couldn't think of an original idea and didn't want to harp on any ending that had already been done. (like escaping in a Warthog, or final battle against a
boss")

Instead they give you 2 push button instructions to follow and just like you did at the very begining of the game, you'd follow these two easy moves and single handedly  win the game.

The story line is Master Chief trying to save the life of Cortana, his dying A.I. from program meltdown. Don't bother trying to follow the story much farther after that because you'll get lost trying to connect the pieces. The bonus scene after the end credits make no sense whatsoever. I looks like a trailer for a sequel but... it isn't? Hard to explain, you'll have to see it for yourself.

Compared to ODST and Reach, I'd say this pulls up about even with them. Story wise however the other 2 were better. Reach might even be the better game because I had more fun playing it if I recall. It may be time to give it another look.

Is it worth your time? Geez...yeah I guess so. If you love Halo then of course you'll want to play it. Never played the online multiplayer option so I can't say if that's gotten better or not.

All I remember is they ruined the experience years ago when the took away the ability to trash talk the opposing team during play. Odd as this may sound, I made more friends online that way.

Ok, this has run on way longer than I thought it would so I'll stop here and let you get back to your day!

Fabulous Furby (3)

Fabulous Furby (2)

Fabulous Furby (1)

Bye bye Google+

Just to let everyone know, I've deleted my Google+ account.

On top of being difficult and pointless to navigate, the iPad app crapped out on me and I was hardly checking it anyway. Most of my post were made on the blog anyway.

So it's another step away from social media. But don't even start mentioning Facebook to me because the exact thing would've happened to them to over time. I just don't see enough reasons to have one.

K, all for now!

Out on the town with Mr Tallis (4)

Have a Merry Xmas Eve everyone!

Out on the town with Mr Tallis (3)

Out on the town with Mr Tallis (2)

Out on the town with Mr Tally (1)

Last night we took Tallis out to look at Xmas lights. Here some videos.

Xmas Wish List

Here's what I want for Xmas this year:

1) Mets to win the World Series

2) Auburn winning a BCS Championship (again)

3) The Star Wars Expanded Universe being left intact by Disney

That's about it for me. What about you?

Year of the Con in Review!

K folks, so after all our Con's we attended I get asked all the time "Which was the best?" It's hard to say because each one was so unique but I think I've come up with a way of ranking them that just might work. 

Below I speak about each convention we attended and gave them a point system. In categories of Vendor, Staff and Cosplay from 3 being the best to 1 being the worst.

So this would mean anything scoring a 3-5 isn't that grand. 6-8 is worth your time and 9 is thebomb.com

Here we go! 

 Vendors: 2 If you can shift through all the junk, you may find some good deals.
Staff: 1 Horrendous. Ben Stevens should be embarrassed. He isn't because he's too arrogant to admit he makes mistakes, but with this staff it's unbelievable how bad they were. Poor line management and shameless treatment of VIP ticket holders, this was an unmitigated disaster the entire con.
Cosplay: 2 very few and far between but it's there. The pics they have on the site are about all they had dresses up for it.

Final Score: 5

 Vendors: 3 You want it? They have it. Hands down. The largest and most diverse selection out of them all!
Staff: 3 THIS is how you run a con! Excellent line management, proper VIP treatment and a friendly and helpful staff that is knowledgeable and fair to those waiting in line. In other words, the exact opposite of the kind of garbage Ben Steven's runs in Dallas.
Cosplay: 3 It was so packed full of costumes there that I felt out of place coming without one. Excellent costumes you could make an entire trip out of just that!

Final Score: 9  PERFECT!!

 Vendors: 3 Again, GREAT deals in Dallas. Honestly it's one of the best reasons to go. I never found better deals ANYWHERE else!
Staff: 1... and only because "zero" isn't allowed. Staff was confused prior to starting, they wouldn't let you go up to the 3rd floor to see the artist until 3 hours after the con opened and after complaining about VIP's abusing their "jump pass" without tearing off a ticket for it I was told by a staff member that I should be grateful she even let me wait in line in the first place! WOW. Line breakers were welcome as chaos reigned at this cluster free-for-all run once again by Ben Stevens who responded to my letter of complaint by showing me a trumped up email of another "attendee" who said they loved it. Totally ignoring my concerns.
Cosplay: 1 Virtually non-existent. Which is why they still have photo's of last summers comic con up on the website.

Final Score: 5

 Vendors: 3 Looking for rare toys? They have them all. You may not be able to afford them....but they have them all.
Staff: 3 Fan freaking-tastic! I was amazed at how well everything went with it being it's first ever con. Amazing organization.
Cosplay: 1 Sadly, no one dressed up for this one. But due to it's size and it being the first one ever I can forgive it for that.

Final Score: 7

(since we attended both that were held this year, I'll judge them together)

Vendors: 2 You'll find a little something here and there, no good deals, but ok. 

Staff: 2 Could do a better job of figuring out what's going on. Staff were uncertain of the schedules of attending guest and locations. Line management was fine as was their attitude. 

Cosplay: 2 Pretty low. Similar to the Dallas con there were few and far between. 

Final Score: 6

There you have it folks. Got a question about the con? Ask!

Get that nut!

Me being stupid at the mall...

Star Wars rant time

So it's been a while and not much more news has progressed with the name Disney Star Wars movie coming out but I still feel it's time for a rant.

What kicked this off is the news that shouldn't surprise anyone is that Dark Horse will be losing their license to make Star Wars comics in 2015 where it will once again return to the arms of Marvel comics who gave us such greats as "Jax and inter-galacitc 8 foot tall green space bunny".

I'm so thrilled.

Yes that was back in the day and I'm sure they'd do a better job then back then (unless it was a battle between Jax and Jar Jar Binks which I would so buy) but it's going to be a sad day when it comes.

Dark Horse has done a fantastic job over the years with Star Wars comics. Sure there have been dudes (most of the stuff currently out right now) but they have given us rare jewels every once in a while that have made it all worth it.

Dark Empire started it all coming out the same time as Timothy Zahn's books and it was fantastic. Many more great books have followed by the President of Dark Horse says he's doubtful any of those titles will carry over once Marvel holds the reigns.

Again I understand why the decision was made and don't fault Marvel comics for this at all. It's just sad to see such a good thing go away.

You saw my Star Wars book collection yesterday on the blog so you know why the expanded universe means so much to me. In fact, I believe it's the whole reason I'm such a huge Star Wars fan in the first place. I think that's why it's a line I can't cross even if Disney chooses to.

Such a wonderful story has been cultivated by the authors it'd be such a shame to throw all that away. In articles I've read recently there's been a misperception about the expanded universe stating that Lucas never recognized them as "cannon"

Not exactly true.

Yes, he intended the story to end at Jedi. He's said that a million times. (though not recently because the jackass changes his mind more than a kid at an ice cream shop) So if these were never considered Star Wars cannon, then why did he take such a strong interest in books?

Did you know Lucas set forth guidelines on what the authors could and could not do during their story making process? Certain story lines were left alone like Yoda's origin, Han's first encounter with Chewbacca and Luke and Leia's parents (before the prequels came out of course)

Lucas was the one who offered Chewbacca's name instead when the author's asked for Luke Skywalker's death and interestingly enough, he offered Han Solo to them first but the author's declined.

When you think about it you have to wonder, why would Lucas care about the "expanded" universe if it didn't fit in with "his" overall story.

Answer: Because it did.

Lucas knew in the back of his mind he wanted to make more films. Look at the zillion YouTube interviews from 1983 with Hamill and other people involved with Return of the Jedi. It seems that making more was always on Lucas mind.

And him offering up Solo's naCme for death in the expanded universe doesn't surprise me either. It's no secret Lucas and Harrison Ford don't see eye to eye. For years Ford's stated that he wished Solo would've died at the end of "Jedi" and had no desire to return to that role.

Lucas knew this and therefore never made him a part of the story when it came to making 7,8 and 9. Therefore it makes sense Lucas would allow him to be killed off in the books and not Skywalker which he obviously had plans for in the next trilogy.

I think the expanded universe meant more to Lucas than he let on. Sure you want to say that it's not the way you envisioned things going but that's because Lucas wasn't smart enough to come up with a story this brilliant in the first place. But you cannot convince me Lucas wasn't a fan of his own expanded universe.

I think Lucas had it in his mind the whole time to bridge the 2 together when 7, 8 and 9 came around. Look at what he took from the expanded universe already from the prequels:

1) Acknowledgment of the assistance of Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos (Dark Horse comics)
2) Appearance of Aayla Secura in Episode 3 (Dark Horse comics)
3) The planet Coruscant (Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire)
4) Darth Maul's double bladed light saber. (Kevin J Anderson's Jedi Academy series)
5) The Boonta Eve races. (Droids cartoon)
6) Moons of Diego where Count Dooku told Jango Fett he was from. (Droids cartoon)

There's probably a few more but those are the ones I can name off the top of my head so you get the point.

Either way, with Disney in the driver's seat now I know all bets are off but it's an interesting thought all the same....

 

Survivor Fans vs Favorites: A Fan's pick

CBS cast the show but let me give you my 10 picks of folks I thought would've made a better cast. Keeping in line with what CBS has done, I didn't choose any cast members before the last Fans vs Favorites season. I didn't try to balance the gender out like CBS did, I picked who I honestly thought would be great to see come back. Let's see what you think:

                                                    Ace Gordon: Survivor Gabon

After being betrayed by the dumb blonde Sugar, Ace's time in the game was really cut short. I would've loved to have seen what he could bring to the table if left in the game longer. I think Ace would've been a deadly opponent and even though Jeff Probst thought the same thing about him back then it looks like CBS will never let it happen.  

                                                    David Murphy: Survivor Redemption Island
Literally the smartest man ever to play Survivor. I liked David but his strategy was a little off. $20 says he's already thought of a way to win and could really make a run of it if given another chance. I'd love to see this guy back in action and see what he could do.

                                                     Grant Mattos: Survivor Redemption Island
Who didn't love this guy?! Grant was a favorite by many fans but it looks like CBS won't give him the call to return back to the show. An awesome competitor it would be quite a show to have him square off against a "Malcolm" on the show.

                                                    Holly Hoffman: Survivor Nicaragua
The lady who drowned the $700 alligator shoes really had a strategy going back in her season. Why she wasn't against over a Brenda Lowe or boring Francesca is beyond me. Holly was 10 times more interesting than the both of these put together!

                                                     Jane Bright: Survivor Nicaragua
Not as glamorous as the empty-headed Andrea this North Carolina Grandma really rocked the show when she was on it. I fierce competitor with smarts to boot strangely held no appeal to the CBS execs I guess. Sad because again here's a woman of Survivor who is lengths above being more interesting than most of the women they'll have in the upcoming season.

                                                       Jud Birza "Fabio": Survivor Nicaragua
So was he just a dummy who had the million dollars fall in his lap or was he the real deal out there? I'd love to give him a 2nd chance and see. Though Fans vs Favorites shies away from bringing in returning winners I think I case could be made this time around for Jud to prove he has what it takes to go to the end again....and pee in the pool during a challenge.

                                                        Matty Whitmore: Survivor Gabon
As awkward as this may sound, I love this man. Matty played with 100% heart in the game and really deserves to be given another shot to win. Like Ace I think CBS is done with him but it's a shame because I think Matty would be a force to reckon with if given another shot for the million dollars.

                                                         Randy Bailey: Survivor Gabon
Who doesn't love the most anti-social man to play the game?! Randy isn't much for making friends or people in general. He has his dogs and that's all he needs. Oh, and another chance at Survivor would be nice too.

Randy really impressed me on the show and I was rooting for him the whole time up to the moment he was voted out. To bring him back into the game is an option I'm surprised CBS hasn't picked up. I don't think he'd go far given a 2nd time around but then again I didn't think he'd make it that far the 1st time around and look what happened!

Shannon Waters "Shambo": Survivor Samoa

Forgot about her didn't you? Shambo was a great character but was over shadowed by the immense persona of Russel Hantz for anyone to remember her. Another tragedy since she's another woman that is leagues more interesting than most of the returning female competitors since!

                                               Chelsea Meissner: Survivor One World

Hard to believe it was just one season ago we were watching her on the show and now this cast has been all but forgotten since. 

Since my wife reads this blog I won't go as far as to say I "love" this girl, but "like in a really strong way" would that be any better?

Since I'm already in trouble I may as well come out with it. Love this girl. Strong player good attitude and really had me rooting for her the whole time. It's been a long time I've rooted for a woman like this on the show. But the county gal fro South Carolina really played the game hard and I think she would've made a fine addition to the show if brought back. 

Hopefully it's not over for her and she'll return at another date. For now we'll just have to deal with the chum they have for next season and hope for the best.

So what do you think? Did I miss anyone you thought would do a better job? Or should CBS come knocking on my door next time they try to cast a show using past contestants?

Survivor: Fans vs Favorites Preview

So let's talk about the next season of Survivor and who the returning cast members are:

Andrea Boehlke: Survivor Redemption Island

There's only one reason why she's brought back, her looks. That's it. I'm not just talking for TV ratings here but I'm betting she's placed on the same team as Brandon Hantz seeing as how the last "good looking" girl freaked him out on the island. 

But don't get me wrong. I bet she goes far in this thing. Perhaps even all the way to the end. 

                                           Brandon Hantz: Survivor South Pacific
A lot of people aren't happy to see him coming back but I think it'll be interesting what his game plan will be? I don't think there's a chance he'll go far given his paranoia on the island but he may last around to give us mild entertainment at the beginning of the season.

                                             Corinne Kaplan: Survivor Gabon
Corinne was my pick that season to win but she failed to make strong connections with the team and was gone quickly after the merge. I'm glad to see her back but I don't think she'll make it that far unless she's changed her strategy to fit in with the crowd. She's smart, but not smart enough to make it to the end.

                                             Dawn Meehan: Survivor South Pacific
Wow. Excellent choice for a returned. I liked Dawn in her first season and I'm glad to see her back. She's very smart and could win this thing if nobody's watching. If they don't eliminate her early this Mom could win it all.

                                            Erik Reichenbach: Survivor Fans vs Favorites
I freaked out when I saw his name on the list. NO WAY! The oldest cast member to return to the show and he deserved "Redemption" a long time ago. This is the idiot who'd won immunity heading into the final four but GAVE IT UP at tribal counsel thinking that would help him win the trust of his tribe. One of the most moronic moves in Survivor and he was voted out in a heartbeat at tribal.

I know he wants to redeem himself of the past performance but it'll be interesting to see how far he'll go. I think he has a good chance to be the last one standing against another all girl alliance but we'll just have to see won't we?

                                             Francesca Hogi: Survivor Redemption Island
"Who?" you say? Don't worry, you're not the only one. The reason she was chosen is due to Survivor's constant problem with finding returning woman players who are interesting. Francesca is certainly not one of them but with the producers achingly trying to balance out the returning members by gender she's the top of the mediocre barrel of contestants.

Expect nothing from her but to be just as forgettable the 2nd time around.

                                             John Cochran: Survivor South Pacific
With a name and a face you couldn't forget Cochran will be a fun character to watch on the show. He has zero chance of winning (or making it to the end) because his flawed strategy in Survivor. I predict he'll make the same mistakes and be played like a fiddle just as last time by Coach. He'll be duped into betraying his alliance, then voted out like the used wet towel he was last time he was on the show.

In the meantime, we'll enjoy his presence all the same.

                                              Malcolm Freberg: Survivor Phillipines
More Malcolm? Um, yes please. Smart player from last season who went to be in back to back seasons with hardly a break in the middle. This will be to his advantage for 2 reasons: 1) He's still in "Survivor" mode and will be playing the game from the very get go. 2) He's practically new so now one will see him coming.

Just as Russell Hantz had the upper hand in Heroes vs Villains so will Malcolm in this season. However, just as Russell did, I think he'll go far but still miss out on the grand prize at the end. 

                                             Phillip Shepard: Survivor Redemption Island
Yes. Yes. A million times yes. Phillip's a great choice to bring back this season and I look forward to seeing this insane FBI agent on the show. Sadly he won't make it far since he doesn't have the protection of Boston Rob this time around.

But for the short time he's on the island look forward to hilarity to ensue.

                                             Brenda Lowe: Survivor Nicaragua
Our 2nd forgettable character to return to the show. She made no strong moves and was nothing but a pawn her last time on the show. This time will be no different. She could be a part of a women's alliance but won't stay around to the final three.

Another example of Survivor's ongoing problem of finding interesting woman on the show. If you're not a witch like Abi from last season you're practically forgettable on the show. I think the reason guys are more memorable is because they aren't as conscious of the camera's as the women are. Each time they bring woman on the show, half of them we end up never getting to know because they had nothing interesting to say the entire show.

Remember Sophie Clark who won South Pacific? Yeah, you had to go Google her first didn't ya? She was invisible in front the cameras the entire shoe until the end when there was no one else to talk to and STILL she was boring. Coach dominated that season but once again the coat tail rider wins.

Anyway, that being said my next post will speak about who should have been cast instead of some of these clowns that did.

But until then, what do you think? Like the cast so far? Care to make a guess at who you think out of these would win a million dollars? Holler!

Survivor afterthoughts

So it's been almost a week and I've been too busy to review my favorite show!

This year's Survivor was just as good as the rest. I think Malcom (who I picked at the beginning of the show) played the best game but as we all know that's not how you win Survivor. The one who stays low under the radar, makes NO big moves and rides the coat tails of a real player usually wins.

That being said I don't mind at all that Denise won this season. Actually, any of the 3 left would've made me happy. I never imagined Lisa or Scoopin to make it that far but it's a credit to their foresight which carried them to the end.

So what about Fans vs Favorites? Well stick around and I'll let you know what I think...

My Star Wars book collection

THIS is how much I love the Expanded Universe. (2 boxes of comics not included)

X-mas Wish (3)

X-mas Wish (2)

X-mas Wish (1)

Norman Reedus at New Orleans Comic Con!

Aka- Daryll from Walking Dead (for Megan)
Aka- Boondock Saint (for me)

Amy Dumas at New Orleans Comic Con!

aka Lita from WWE

Comic collection at New Orleans Con

If you know comics prepared to be blown away by what I saw in this guys case! #1 issues of a lot of super heroes.  It was the most impressive thing I saw there!

New Orleans Comic Con

Here's some pics from our final Con in New Orleans. Megan took most of the on her phone so these were the only 2 I could get with the camera.

It was fun and I think Megan had the highlight moment of not only meeting with the Walking Dead cast but getting recognized by the Green Power Ranger from when we saw him a few months ago in Knoxville.

Wild stuff.

Video's to come....

Grandmother's (6)

Grandmother's (5)

Actually, this is the park right down the road from her house. As a child my uncle used to chase us around it. Fun memories.

Grandmother's (4)

Grandmother's (3)

Grandmother's (2)

Grandmothers (1)

Today I wanted to show off a few vids of my grandmothers house in Gadston AL. This is where I grew up and wanted to show you and the fam what it looks like. Empty right now because my grandmother's living with us in Monroe now.

Thinking positive about Disney's takeover of Star Wars

Wookie and Hobbes

Classic Nerf

 Remember the good ole days of Nerf? Well these are two examples of them at their finest. First is the Nerf Bow which provided us endless hours of entertainment, then there was Nerf Fencing which was equally entertaining. They just don't make them like this anymore! (sigh)

Carpet Shark (6)

Carpet Shark (5)

Mr Tallis turns two!

This was taken from his birthday party last weekend.

Carpet Shark (4)

My Autograph collection

Christmas Eve

Here's an actual float from the Bawcomville Redneck Christmas Parade. In it's 5th year no less!!

Ahh... I've never seen one because they hold it the same weekend of the Santa Bowl so I can only dream right?