Help Wanted

Jobless rates are at an all time low and get this....companies are having trouble finding people to hire. The 2 hardest hit at Fast food restaurants (who have reported issues finding people to fill jobs since there are so many out there) And truckers.

If you didn't hear, the need for Truckers is at an all time high. There is an staggering 90,000 jobs needed that pay between $50,000 and $70,000 a year that companies say no matter how many they hire they never have enough to fill the quota.

I find it funny that no one's mentioning this "crisis" because it sounds like good news and heaven knows we don't need any of that in our media!

The real problem in America

Lately in the news everyone's been talking about the immigrants being separated from their children when they illegally cross into our nation. While I agree there's something that should be done I find it horrible to see that they care more about immigrants than the millions of unborn we kill everyday.

Did you know:

• From the time of fertilization, a baby’s unique DNA and genetic makeup are complete from sex to hair color to height as an adult.
• A baby’s heart begins to beat just three weeks after fertilization. 
• Brain waves can be detected at six weeks after fertilization.
• At two months after fertilization, all of the baby’s organ systems are complete. The baby just needs to grow for the remainder of time in the womb. 

And in America the same people who care about the immigrants children, support the  deaths of children within our own country. Horrible ethic code they stand by.

Years from now a generation will look back at this time as "barbaric" that we thought this way. I pray those see the error of their ways sooner than that.

Nightmare Mets

Oh man... has it been a rough season to watch. With the exception of April absolutely NOTHING has worked out for the Mets. Hitting, pitching, fielding, it's hard to point the finger at where to start. The Mets aren't just bad, they're down right HORRENDOUS this year.

I swear my tear ducts now shed blood that carries a portion of my soul out of my body every time I watch a game. There's only one thing left to do to prevent the season from becoming a total wash...

...bring up Tim Tebow. He's doing well in AA right now and is almost a lock for AAA later this season. But why not go ahead and bump him to the majors with the Mets. It wouldn't make our season any worse. In fact, attendance would jump, ESPN would televise our games constantly, America would watch and Tebow (whether strike out or hit) would make the highlights of Sports Center each day!

You can't buy better coverage than that?!

Seriously, think about the fans? They'd love this. We already know our season is a wash, why not go ahead and have some fun with it in the second half?

It's be more enjoyable than what I'm seeing now....

July Movie Review

Alright, let's do this!

Ant Man and the Wasp

I like Paul Rudd so this will happen. I'm guessing this takes place before the Avengers movie, gonna be kinda weird watching it after Infinity War.

The First Purge

I have to be honest, I've enjoyed all of these movies so far. So this one will be watched though probably when it comes to Redbox.

Hotel Transylvania 3

I DO NOT want to see this...but Megan does, which probably means I won't have a choice. It looks bad....really bad.

Mission Impossible: Fallout

YES!!! My brother and I are ready for this one to come out. I LOVE this series and am definitely looking forward to it as well. It will be a contender for "Movie of the Year" for sure!

Blast from the past (Part 4)

Today I going to talk about a few miscellaneous items from my childhood.

The old Braun calculators! I had one of these as a kid. The buttons were just like like!

I used to buy disposable cameras all the time! It was so easy. Take the pictures, drop them off at the One-Hour Photo Center and pick up your pictures shortly thereafter! The tab next to the lens was in case you needed a flash. As weird as it sounds, I miss these too!

Soap holders for your shower! My grandparents had these in there homes, yet I never see any around today! Thinking about it, it's not a bad idea. Avoids getting soap residue in the "cliff" of your shower. Maybe I should look into getting one...

Teledex!! Slide the middle handle to the letter in the alphabet and punch the tab at the bottom to open it and see the address of phone number you were looking for. Dad had one of these in his office when we were kids. I played with it all the time and thought it was one of the coolest things EVER! If I ever find one at a flea market or antique store I just might pick it up!

And finally is the old cardboard airplane. These came in packs you'd put together. They sported various company logos on them and generally ok to play with. If you bent any of the pieces though you had a botched plane that either didn't fly or flew crooked. But on those rare times you got it right...you were the envy of the entire neighborhood!

That's all for now!

Blast from the past (Part 3)

Today I'm looking at a few toys from my past that I haven't mentioned on my blog before. Which isn't easy considering how many times I've talked about this.

No idea why I remember this but I do. You put it around your ankle and skipped around with it.....yippie.

The Pizza Hut hand puppet!!! I remember this dude! A cheap plastic glove that you put your hand in and play with. They used to give them out to kids who ate there. Why someone thought this was a "fun" thing for kids is beyond me.

Remember this?!? You could make your own pot holder kids! How fun is that?! I think EVERYONE had one of these back in the day. We did. It usually substituted for a spider's web or a trap for my action figures. I don't think we ever made a pot holder from this my entire life.

There's a reason Mom never bought these for all of us as kids. This was too much fun! Punching your brothers as hard as you could and not hurting them as much as you wish you did. We LOVED these things! Dang! I think I'd buy some right now if I saw them at the store! Knock my little nephews around in them.

And finally there's this. Mom got them for us for X-mas one year. Cheaply made, you would throw the ball and catch it with your paddle of Velcro. The colors were ugly because it was the 90's and neon was all the rage. I remember the Velcro easily coming off the paddles over time and the whole "toy" being a bust.

See you next time folks!

Blast from the past (Part 2)

Today we're looking at things I remember from our kitchen back in the day!

Ah, the upside down coke glass from 7-Up (the Un-Cola) Mom still may have a few of these in her cabinets but I remember drinking out of them all the time as a kid. To be honest, I liked them. It felt like drinking out of a beaker!

 Next up is Mom's Tupperware. Not sure if they make them like this anymore but this is how I remember them from my childhood.

 I don't think Mom has any of these anymore but these were the glasses I grew up having my milk and coke in!

Though the color's off slightly, these are very similar to the cups we had for breakfast as well.....man those colors are ugly.

Finally is the old fashioned TV Trays. To the best of my knowledge, ours looked similar to these. Gold colored stands and a brown table top. I remember breaking these bad boys out whenever Dad was at an evening meeting and Mom would let us watch the Original Star Trek series while we ate. Good times!!

See you tomorrow folks!

Blast from the past (Part 1)

This week, I thought I'd share a few images of things from the past I remember seeing/having as a kid. Today I'm looking at a few gums from my childhood.

Back in the day companies were looking for any way to get you to buy bubblegum. One horrible idea was selling it to you in a little jug. Powder that (if consumed enough at a time) would transform into gum. Sound gross? It was. I tried it once and never went back!

I remember the Bank of Forest in Mississippi where I grew up, used to give these boxes out to us whenever Mom took us to the bank. I always looked forward to that strong peppermint taste! I still see them around today but the appeal I had as a child for them is no longer there.

I remember thinking this was the next evolution in bubble gum! I gooey center!! How perfect! I remember having it once or twice and thinking how good it was. Years later my mind was quickly changed. Yuck. What was I thinking?! ......dang, I think it'd try it again right now just to make sure....what's wrong with me?!

These tasted horrible and I never was a fan. I think we got them from Mom as a stocking stuffer one year because Mom probably thought they were funny. The gum tasted heavily processed and the idea of making gum like a band aid makes no sense at all.

More stuff to come this week!

Creepy Cabbage Patch Cereal

 Just thought I'd finish the week off by giving you these creepy images of a cereal from the 80's.

 There's nothing like some lifeless dolls, selling cereal to kids.

 They could make a horror story out of this, I just know it.

 To be honest, I never knew this cereal from the 80's even existed!

 Low in sugar and ZERO soul!

Ok folks, have a great weekend!

Deep Space Nine (Review)

I finally was able to finish this Star Trek series, so today I'd like to give my review.

Excellent.

Though BARELY below TNG due to the fact that the last 7 episodes seems tirelessly tied together in one looooooong battle against the Dominion. True, it was in its final season, however it did get old after a while.

Overall this series is GOLD. SO many episodes I loved watching. It definitely picked up its game the moment TNG went off the air and carried its weight in good stories through the rest of the series. The character (all but Kira) were fantastic. So happy I got to see this one again. 100% worth my time!

Baseball Update

The Mets are so aggravating to watch. he hit well and pitching falls out. The throw well and hitting flatlines. We can't have both guns rolling in a game!

On the other hand, Colon is tearing it up in Texas. He's my favorite player in the game today. The IRON MAN is AMAZING!!!

I wish he were back on the Mets.....

Marvel, Comics for the next generation

I'm a DC fan.

Know how I got that way? It was when we were kids watching Super Friends on TV. Marvel didn't really have any cartoons back then besides reruns of Spiderman and His Amazing Friends and The Incredible Hulk, which we enjoyed but not as much as Super Friends.

Flash Forward to the 90's and you have tons of Batman fans. (thanks to the movies and EXCELLENT cartoon series) You also have X-men fans (thanks to its cartoon and movie series too)

But what do you have now? Almost totally Marvel. They dominate the theaters as DC struggles and is not kid friendly. They both have TV series going on and Marvel's pumping out more than DC. But where it's really hitting hard is the comics.

Buying Marvel comics has never been cheaper. They sell for PENNIES on the dollar online, while DC continues to charge full price.Whether you're a parent trying to find your kids something to read or a collector on a budget, you're best bet is Marvel and that sucks.

I can't tell you how aggravating it is to see the price difference EVERYWHERE. Not only online but in second hand stores. Marvel trades sell between $2-$7 for the smaller to medium weight titles, while DC's lowest price is $12...and that's for the adventures of Plastic Man. You want a heavy hitter you're at least coughing up a $20. Where a trade of Spiderman is....(you guess it) $7.

At this rate DC will begin losing the battle for the up and coming generation of fans who'll have money to spend. And that's a shame because DC is so much better.

Now excuse me while I go back to reading the ten boxes of Marvel comics I bought for only $50.

BTW- Breaking down the numbers, that's 20 cents per comic.

Show 'N Tell

We have one of these back in the day. It played records while projecting slides through the TV. We used to watch them all the time.

My favorites were the DC superheroes ones. I remember each one and watched them constantly!

I've bounced back and forth on getting one someday for fun. I'd love to watch these again but like everything from my past....there seems to be a high price for these. So maybe one day while I'm shopping Flea Market's, I'll come across one for a decent price.

(More) Boardgames I wish they'd make

So last year I spoke about board games, I'd love to see made from my favorite movies and TV shows. Today I thought I'd give a few more!

Stargate

I know they already made a game back in the day but it wasn't very good. I'm hoping someone comes along and gets the rights to make an awesome game. I loved the show and KNOW someone can come up with good mechanics for it.

Karate Kid

After watching Cobra Kai I started looking for a retro board game but THEY NEVER MADE ONE?!? I'm shocked! Back in the 80's it was all about making board games from kids movies. Guess someone in the ad department dropped the ball on this one. But now, I'd love to see one come out!

Tremors

The one franchise that doesn't have ANY merchandise! I still can't believe that. I know a board game would be awesome too if someone like Gale Force Nine picked up the rights. I'm mind boggled why no one has attempted to make this yet?!

Depression and Suicide

It's a fact that some people deal with depression. Just this week we've seen a few more celebrity suicides and its got everyone talking about how to deal with the subject. So far, I haven't heard anyone in the media get it right.

Not to sound like a door to door Mormon here but you need Jesus in your life to make you feel complete.

I hear from people who suffer from depression to say "they just want to be happy, but can't find a reason to" It tells me right there that they're missing the most fundamental thing in their life.

Through God all things are possible. I'm not saying believers never have a bad day or never have things go wrong with their lives, I'm saying that when they do, they can always find comfort that God has a plan for them and it's for the best. (no matter how hard times get)

When I lost my job with Direct TV as they shut down our call center 10 years ago, I was worried. I had my savings, but the depression was starting and jobs were scarce. I had a huge cut in pay, a house payment and bills that weren't going down in cost. If was one of the roughest times in my life. I had no idea what to do.

Funny things is, if it had been just me I was providing for, I probably wouldn't have cared as much, but being married I was worried about providing for us both. We cut cable, lowered out use on electricity and everything else we could think about to cut cost. Every night I went to bed thinking "Am I going to lose my home?"

But I knew God had a plan and that thought was the only thing to keep me going and give me hope. In the end God's plan was revealed in where I eventually got a much better job than before and have a brilliant career ahead of me.

Now if the call center had been running I probably would've stayed there and missed out on a fantastic opportunity I have instead, so it all worked out in the end.

Those who are not believers can't relate. They let the pressure of life hit them with no faith they'll make it out of the abyss of their own lives. I pray for them to find comfort in Him, the one true God who will guide and comfort them through troublesome times. 

Is this what he meant by "Great Again"?

Well....hmmm....

 JP Morgan just released an analysis that the economy is on a huge upswing.

 We have the World Cup coming to the US. (something our last President tried hard to do but failed)

And jobless rates are at an all time low.....are we "Great" or just getting better?

The Snowflake Epidemic

From the events from earlier this week I thought I'd address the topic of snowflakes in society today.

The definition (as listed in the Urban Dictionary) of a snowflake is:

A neologistic term used to characterize the young adults of the 2010s as being more prone to taking offense and less resilient than previous generations, or as being too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own.

It's a problem I'm facing on a website I helped start. theexpandeduniverse.com was a long time dream of mine to create a place where fans could go and discuss and enjoy the Star Wars Expanded Universe without all the silly immaturity that the internet brings. 

Sadly, this site has now been compromised as well with the forced withdrawal of a PICTURE  of conservative speaker Ben Shapiro as shown below. 

Oh yeah...look at that picture...totally offensive. I get it.

This is so stupid.

Needless to say I won't be posting anymore articles to the website and eventually am considering not posting video clips either. I don't want to waste my time dealing with snowflakes.

How ludicrous is it,  that a PICTURE of a man would be offensive? I hate what has happened and regret suggesting the site in the first place.

From now on, all "EU" post will be placed here, where I can control it without caring is a PICUTRE is going to offend anyone or not.
 

 

BGG Spring Con "Buy" list

Here's what I played and what I ended up buying once it was all said and done!

 Thought the game was fun but not worth the price they're asking.

 Garbage game. One of my least favorite that we played at the con. I don't know why this gets so much love from folks. Extremely boring game. None of us enjoyed it.

 I can see why folks like this dice drafting game but the problem is, they've made better ones since this came out so I'm passing on it.

 Another horribly boring game. There were only 5 games I didn't enjoy playing at the Con, this was one of them.

 Great game. Bought it online once we left the con. Beautiful looking game.

 Looks nice, has good mechanics but fell flat ultimately, so I'm going to pass on picking it up.

 Great game but the end just happens and it's over with no further moves (or tiles) left to play. Due to the disappointing ending to the game I'm not buying it. Shame though, if the end of the game wasn't so bad I'd have bought it.

 Another big bummer on the list. The game looks great, the game play looks fun but it's broken because it allows players to hoard goods with no penalty. So all you have to do to win is corner the market on all goods and wait for the prices to go up to sell. Hated it was broken. Can't buy this one either.

 Fun game but not worth $60. If it ever drops to $30 I'll consider it.

Good game. Got it for $10. My nephews love it more than me but since I got a deal, I don't mind keeping it in my collection.

 Had to talk myself out of buying this one. Super great game but too similar to others I already have in my collection, so I'm not picking it up.

 Loved it. Bought it. Can't wait for it to come in.

 Same as the last game. It's coming in the same order as Rajas of the Ganges.

 Another good game I ordered. The website looked sketch but they did take paypal and I have received a confirmation email as well as a shipping email so we'll see what happens. I am excited to get the game.

 Another fun game but it's not for sell online or second hand, so I guess I'm not getting it.

 Bought it for $10. Love this game. Well worth every penny!

 Another good one that I picked up for $10. I think this is one I'll enjoy more the more it comes to the table!

 Nice dice chucking game but I'm not picking it up due to the lack of choices you have at the end of your turn.

 Bought for $10. Megan loves elephants and this pick up and deliver game is actually pretty good!

Dice placement game with interesting mechanic but not interesting enough to purchase. Have to pass on this one.

 Simple worker placement game with a fun theme. Bought.

 Children's game. Kind of fun but I found something better we loved playing and got that instead.

 Another big disappointment for me. I thought this game would be more fun, it wasn't. Not adding it to my list.

 Really wonderful game. I had to think about it since its a little expensive to get but I found it for a good deal and pulled the trigger. Don't regret it either. It's a fun game!

 I get the hype for this game but "Long Shot" does a better job and I already have that so I won't need this.

 Fun live bidding game that I'm going to have to pass on because their are better bidding games out there to play.

 Horrible game. Only got it because my nephews wanted to play it. Not worth your time or anyone's to play.

 Quite fun! But not worth getting. Though I would play it again if I go back next year.

 I won this game and I'm glad because it's such a fun game, I've decided to keep it in my collection.

Another game I won and another game I really enjoyed playing! Win-win!

 Really beautiful game. This was the "hotness" at the con. I got a copy but decided to give it to a friend of mine since Megan isn't interested in playing it and neither were my nephews.

 SO much fun! I'm not buying it though because there are better games out there to own. But this is another game I wouldn't mind playing again at BGG Spring Con next year.

 Didn't think I'd enjoy this one that much but ended up loving it so I picked up a copy for my own.

 Great game but at $500 a copy I can't afford it.

 Best game of the con. Bought a copy.

Simple fun but not as good as everyone claims it to be. Too expensive online which is another reason I won't be getting it.

I also bought another game that wasn't there but I wanted to play it so bad I decided to get it anyway. "Surf's Up Dude!" is a surfing game that looks really good. I only paid $10 for it so we'll see how it goes when it comes in any day now.

See ya later folks!