TI4 game overview

 What a game!

In the last round I went against my nature and defended Mecatol Rex for the first time ever. I never like fighting (I'm a coward) and usually retreat. Ceding the planet over to the invader, but my spider-sense was tingling and something told me I had to stay. 

This guy had me outnumbered and had all the cards to take me down, but somehow I ended up defending the planet and saving myself from defeat (as he had a card that would have let him win the game immediately afterwards) 

Without control of the planet, I through the board into chaos. Snatching someone's empty home planet as a distractor, while all the while knowing I was scoring 2 points regardless of whether I could hold on to it for the end of the round or not. 

With the chaos abroad I scored a secret objective and struck fast before the others could figure out what I was doing. 

Since I was down and needed 3 points to score, I also successfully got someone's "Support for the Throne" which got me the extra point I needed to win the game. (we'd been kind and helpful to each other the whole game, so I successfully convinced him to trade support for one another)

Another incredible game for what still remains #1 on my list of best boardgames ever!

Happy 4th!

 One of my least favorite holidays of the year, yet if I can somehow pull off a board game day for it, it'll be a good day. 

Truth is, with so many other parties going on, I've never been able to have anyone over, so today will probably be a complete waste. 

If you think I'm going out into the mosquito infested heat, you're sadly mistaken. 

If you're having a bad day, just know....mine is worse. 

Happy 4th everyone! 

Thunder Road: Spotter's Tower promo (mini-review)

 Another Dice Tower promo to a game I love. 

I've been playing a lot of this game lately and the upgrade cards have been a recent favorite of mine. So of course I'm always happy to add one more promo to the deck. 

Just like the other cards in the game, you add the special ability to one of your cars while playing. This one isn't anything too powerful but it IS different than the other cards in the deck, so I'm happy to add it into my collection. 

Foundations of Rome Dice Tower Promo (mini-review)

 One of my favorite games, so of course when I realized there was a promo for it, I didn't own, I had to make it mine. This is a mini-add on to the "Roads to Fortune" expansion that came out during the last kickstarter. Not much, but it'll through another few new selections at the end of each round, which was good enough for me!

Happy Birthday Brother!

 Turning 47 today, I hope he has an awesome birthday. 

A talented writer and teacher, he's accomplished so much in so little time. I'm proud of him!

Happy birthday Jeremy!

Clown in a Cornfield (review)

 You get what you expect when you watch such a stupid movie with such a stupid name. 

Good gravy, this was worse that I thought it'd be...and I was expecting bad. 

Razor thin plot, which you guess the entire movie within the first 30 minutes. The only way it would've been interesting is if they would have juked away from the obvious "twist" they were planning at the end. Which (as I said) you could see a mile away. 

An incredible waste of time....except whenever you heard the clown's squeaky shoes when he walked away from the kill....that was ok. 

The Amateur (Review)

 Great trailer. 

Boring movie. 

Watch the trailer. Get the just of what it's all about. The movie has nothing clever in it. Just a good premise that really doesn't go beyond the basic concept. 

Glad I watched this one on my own and not with my nephew and his friends. Wouldn't want to waste anyone else's time on this one. 

Have a good weekend folks!

Cheech and Chong's Last Movie

 Disguised as a "Movie" in advertisements, this is actually a documentary about the two, their friendship and how they rose in popularity in the 70s. 

I remember renting their movies in college back in the day. This was an enjoyable documentary to watch. It had a lot of things, I'd never known about the two, where they came from and what was going on behind the scenes throughout all their movies.  

Worth seeing if you were a fan of the films, passable if you weren't. 

Juvee

 

Looked good so I thought I'd give it a try. 

Bleh. Very bleh. Don't judge a drink by its cover I suppose. 

Oh well, I'll try anything once. Now I can move on. 

Not that I'm looking for a new kind of drink, I just enjoy trying something new from time to time. 

Not many options whenever I go into the same gas stations/stores every time. But it surely hasn't been worth it going to these odd and ends stores for variety. 

Last year to be in the club

 I'm done with Sam's Club after my membership runs out. I just realized I hardly buy anything there anymore. We never get groceries here and it's simply now worth the money just to go every so often to get little to nothing. 

I used to buy wipes and diapers here but even that has dried up since the babies have been potty training and will be off of diapers completely by the end of the year. So what's the point in going anymore? The gas isn't even the cheapest in town. 

I doubt my wife will even realize we don't have a membership until months later since she never goes anymore either. So yeah, just another thing I don't have any use for anymore. 

Done with Summer festivals

 Earlier this month I went to the Peach Festival in Ruston, as we always do. 

I think I'm done going to these. 

There's nothing of interest for me there. My wife likes to look around for a few hours, buy some trinket we'll lose before the year's end, buy an overly expensive meal or drink you could get for half the price right outside the festival and go home. 

Meanwhile, I'm out there in the sun, burning up with nothing but wasted time to show for it. Not worth it in the end. I'd rather just stay at home and get chores done around the house instead. 

Catfish Charlie's

 It's been over a decade since I've visited this local catfish place. 

Catfish is ok, but never my "go-to" when thinking about placing I wanted to go out to eat at. But I remember liking them, so I was interested to see if this would hold up to my expectations after all those years. 

It did. 

Again, I'm not the guy to say "Let's go get catfish" but if I did, this would be the place I'd choose hands down. 

Have a great weekend folks!

Best Pork sammich...in the world.

 Cormiers here in Monroe has the "Pig Sandwhich" 

It is the best thing in the world. 

I used to get this back in the day, hadn't had it in years until a few weeks ago. 

Excellent. Well worth your time. 

The. Best. 

"Big Trouble" One of the best children's albums in existence.

 

I used to listen to this album when I was younger. I've recently been playing it again for my children and it's pretty awesome to listen to as an adult. 

"When I was a dinosaur" kicks off the album and it's just great. In fact, all the songs on the album are winners. 

My kids favorite is "Big Trouble" about a boy who knows he's getting a beating when his parents return and has a tall tale of monsters coming over who destroyed his home. 

But there's many other songs to make you laugh. "The Cat Came Back" is a tale of a lady trying to get rid of her cat. And despite all her attempts (even killing it) it comes back. 

"I think I'll need a band-aid" is the rally call for my children. Who's mother gives them a band-aid even when it's not needed. We go through a box a week easily. The chorus to this one will have you humming it in reptation all day. 

"What I want is a proper cup of coffee" is a tongue twister that's so fun to listen to, you'll go back and play the song over before moving to the next song. I swear one day I'll get it. 

"The Window" is my brother's favorite song on the album, as the duo sings nursery rhymes that  ends with something (or someone) being thrown out the window. Hilarious. You'll quickly find yourself singing other nursey rhymes to throw out the window after the song it over. 

"Pica de Gallo" was my #1 song for the longest (until recently) It's THE BEST! A song so catchy you'll find yourself singing it at work days later. 

"Nobody" is a song about a kids imaginary friend called "Nobody" it's the sadest, yet most hilarious song I've ever heard. If I ever heard one of my kids singing it, I'd be worried though. 

"We are the Dinosaurs"  "Day Care Blues" and "Teddy's Bears Picnic" are the only songs on the album I'd skip. They neither funny or catchy.  In fact, it's odd that such a witty duo dropped the ball by adding these songs to pad time for the album. Without them, this album's a perfect 10. No question. 

But the finest, heart warming song you'll ever hear is their finale "Lullaby" which is a masterpiece. About a parent putting there child to bed. It's soothing and heartfelt. I absolutely adore it. My favorite song on the entire album. Beautiful. 

Win or Lose (review)

I love baseball so I decided to give this one shot series a try. 

Not bad. Brilliant in fact, at times. It captures what it was like being on a little league baseball team back in my day. It's also a combination of stories about the same event, which is fun. Pieces start to come together over the series that makes sense. 

This has the works of being a perfect 10 for me, but it misses in a few areas. Still, I enjoyed it way better than a lot of their recent movies so I can recommend you checking it out if you're interested. Funny moments, heart felt moments and overall....worth my time. 
 

RC Zero Sugar

 Never knew this existed until I found it out Brookshires a few weeks ago. It even rung up as "unsellable item" but I was able to scan a 12 pack of Dr Pepper instead and shove it in my bag. 

It taste just like the real thing! I was a little surprised by that. I'd get it again if it weren't for the fact it hasn't been at a Brookshires since (I've checked 3 different stores) But I'm sure I'll come across it again in the future. 

Sprite + Tea

 How interesting. 

Coke combined two of their products together into one. I like it. 

I still think "Winterberry" is the best Sprite, but this one isn't bad at all. I wonder what interm of Coke mixed the two in a glass one day and convinced the company they had to try it out on the open market. 

Kudos to them either way. Nice idea!

Have a great weekend folks!

Dr Pepper Cherry

 This is the flavor that Dr Pepper says "We want to taste more like Pibb" and that's a good thing. 

It's almost better than their "Darkberry" flavor that came out years before. It's the closest they've ever come to tasting like Pibb. I still love Pibb more but this one is one of the better flavors Dr Pepper has ever had. 

7Up Tropical

 

Finally got to try the summer flavor for 7Up this year. 

Pretty run of the mill of what I've seen Sprite do in the past. Of course the 7Up version tastes better than theirs but I think I still prefer the regular flavor over this one. 

It isn't bad, just nothing special. 

Wick is Pain (review)

 I love these movies. So when a documentary about the making of the first four came out, I had to check it out. 

Not bad. Half of the time is spent on the making of the first one and how it almost didn't come to be. Very interesting stuff. I don't want to ruin too much, but the director and Reeves admit, the way they come up with movie ideas is they list all the action scenes they'd love to see and then string them together into a movie.

They also talk about how many more ideas they had but never tried, which means they'll be plenty of action scenes for John Wick 5. 

I can't wait...

GoIden Corral

 Haven't been since it opened almost 10/11 years ago. 

Went. 

Hmmm...

The squash was good. The bathroom was a disaster and I'm pretty sure I saw an employee come out of there without washing his hands.

So yeah. I'm good for the rest of my life. 

Ew.

Neighborhood Movie (review)

 Watched this last month. Not bad. A young man suffering a mental illness enlist the help of a retired body guard who lives alone to track a woman he saw kidnapped in an ally. 

It's got some humor and wasn't bad but definitely could've been better. Still, if you have nothing else to watch one night, it's not that bad a movie to occupy your  time. 

Ok folks, have a great weekend!

Warfare (review)

 A movie based on a true story during the war in the middle east that happened in 2006. No story, not really any characters, but mainly an incredible looking reenactment. No comedic moments, no "love" story, just a great representations of the remembered facts of this mission. 

Not bad. 

If you're not into military movies, skip. But if you like them, this one is worth your time. 

Death of a Unicorn (review)

 

Terrible. 

Watch the trailer, get everything you need. 

They never bothered trying to explain what the point of the movie was about or how they could solve their issue. They had scenes where the girl is trying to explain what's going on and what they should do....but she tells them NOTHING. 

These unicorns are also very strong...except with faced against a small wooden door or gate. Concrete? Yep, the bowl right through that. But normal wooden doors? Nah. That's an issue. 

Nothing about this movie made any sense. Kill off small characters violently...but when it's a highly paid supporting actor, the unicorns take their time with the kill.....because....yeah. 

Horrible waste of time. 

Drop (review)

 

Wow. What garbage is this?

This lady is on a date, where she begins to receive "drops" to her cell phone from someone unknown. How this process works is loosely defined and something not even my nephews had ever heard of. 

In fact, this movie is already out of date on premise alone. But I digress. 

She is shown on her home video there is a man with a gun at her house where her sister is babysitting her son during the date and she must do exactly as this mysterious person says or they will die. 

Hot garbage. 

Totally unbelievable characters the whole way through. Everyone acts weird and we're supposed to accept these are everyday people, yet none of them do anything realistic in such a situation as this. 

In the end, she exposes the enemy and while he makes the call to kill her son with his dying breath, she's able to drive back home (though down town Chicago) in 3 minutes to stop the killer in her home as well. 

Boneheaded ending for a boneheaded movie. SUCH A PASS! I'm shocked this movie even made it past the development phase. 

Video store still kicking

 West Monroe is home to one of the few remaining video stores left in America. It's located right behind where I live...and I never go there. 

This is for people who have no streaming service but love watching movies. I don't get it. I walked in a while back expecting hard to find series and movies you can't find on streaming services. 

Instead I found an outdated system where new movies cost just as much to rent as they would online and nothing rare that you couldn't find on streaming. 

How this place is still in business is a miracle. 

Happy birthday to Mom!

 I was a late birthday present who came just after midnight so that birthday wasn't mom's best. : ) 

She's the best mother ever. She's always been there for us. Loves each one of us and supports us through everything. Of course we appreciate her every Mother's Day but on her birthday we're all just thankful for her to be alive. 

Happy birthday Mom!

Freddy's Prime Rib Burger

 

Finally got to try Freddy's for the first time since they opened up. 

Last time, the line was incredibly long as was the wait for the food. I ordered the Prime Rub burger and wasn't disappointed. 

The fries were good too. They had 3 fry sauces to choose from, regular, spicy and smokey. They were kind enough to give me all 3 to try. The spicy was the worst of the 3 which was a surprise because to me, it was the one I was most excited to try. Smokey is the best and regular was fine. 

The staff was super friendly which encourages me to come back again soon. It was a night and day difference since the last time I checked them out. 

I'll gladly return again sooner than later now. 

Full service gas stations

 About 8 years ago, the last full service gas station we had switched to self service, marking an end to a tradition that was already gone way before that time. 

I remember being in college and every so often coming across a place which had someone pump the gas for you. I thought it was strange even then. The gas was a little more expensive at these places to cover the cost for the attendant. 

When I used to travel for work and came home,  Chase used to pay for my gas. But the machines always asked for my zip code and since the business card didn't share my zip code, I never could remember it. So instead I'd drive up to the full service gas station and have them run it for me instead. 

This isn't something I miss all that much like other things from my past. But I'm glad I at least have a few memories as to what it was like when people had full service at their gas stations. 

Goose Egg

 One other thing I got from my friend was a goose egg. Never had one before but thought I'd try it out. They're HUGE but cook and taste similar to any other fresh eggs. 

To enjoy this one, I cooked it on its own. Again, the taste is similar, these eggs are very rich. Don't know how much he charges for them, but then again, I'm just as happy eating fresh eggs from him too so it doesn't make that much of a difference. 

Has anyone out there ever tried a goose egg before?

Fresh Eggs

 

There's nothing like them. 

A buddy of mine gave me 2 dozen the other day and they are the absolute BEST! The shells are harder to crack then store bought eggs but the richness of them is unparallel. 

All they need is a little salt and pepper to them and they're excellent! I've enjoyed the last couple of nights just having scrambled eggs to eat. I'd forgotten how good they were! 

And with today's prices in stores, there is no difference in price anymore, so I plan on buying as many as I can in the future. SO GOOD!

V is for victory

 This one was a given since all the other players were new. But it had some fun moments and I got off to a slow start but finished strong in the end. 

I used more characters from the Discordant Stars expansion. I hope I can get to play all the others later this year. 

Such a great game. 

Survivor 48 review

 From everyone thanking one another when being voted off, to no major moves, this season was another stinker for the books. 

Honestly, I cared about no one the entire time. So BLAH. This has just been terrible. I think after 50 I'll stop watching this live, and wait a few months for the season to finish before watching. It's just not worthy of a weekly time slot for me at this point. 

Australian Survivor IS the greater show and I can't wait for Australian Survivor vs The World coming out next month!

Hell of a Summer (review)

 

Wow. This one was a surprise!

A generic camp horror movie, that's a comedy and exposes the killers halfway thru instead of at the end. 

I'm shocked, I liked this. 

The characters as well developed and interesting. Some of the gags even have a "payoff" later in the movie, which shows you a little thought and wittiness went into making this gem. 

Certainly worth your time if you're looking for something to watch over the weekend. 

Have a good one folks!

Burger Grind: A-1 Burger review

 

So there's a local burger place in town I haven't been to in years. I heard they had something called an "A1" burger which sounds exactly how I order my burger at Five Guys, so I had to try it out. 

The service was a little slow, but they were busy, so I can't complain that much about it. 

The burger was good! Just how I like get it at Five Guys too! Now, Five Guys is better but since I don't have one, this one was a suitable replacement. Fries were good too!

So if you ever visit my neck of the woods, this one's worth your time I'd say!

4-H Club

 I remember way back in the day, they used to come by my grade school and we'd all vote for who would be president, vice-president, etc. 

We were such a small school, the lady thought it'd be a good idea to give everyone a position and have the class vote each time after the next, so that everyone was "voted in"

However, the last person unelected was myself. I lost in the final race for "Janitor" 

So she awarded me the position to "janitor's assistant" 

I was so upset when I came home.

But my Mom gave me hope for next year as she helped me with a campaign sign for Prez. From there my "support" kept growing as I began promising cabinet positions to those who supported me. Like making promises, 4 of them would be my "secret service" and whatnot. 

The 4-H lady loved the idea of a president's cabinet, because she didn't have to invent so many extra positions anymore, so my campaign promises that began out of nothing, were legitimized before the whole class and I won in a landslide. 

I really don't remember what happened after that, because after she left no one ended up caring much about 4-H. 

I guess its still around today but for the life of me, I don't know what either "H" stands for. 

Guess I should have been impeached years ago at my school. 

Locked (review)

 You remember those movies where one thing, happens to the one guy and that's all the movie is? Enter "Locked" the story of a car thief who gets trapped inside a bait vehicle and can't escape the clutches of a maniacal owner who terrorizes him remotely. 

Great movie. 

Worth the watch. Just once and you're done. Grab you're popcorn. Laugh and scream at the same time. It's a crowd pleaser to be sure. 87 year old Anthony Hopkins delivered an excellent performance. This movie was right up his alley. And he's still got it in acting chops!

Highly recommended. 

Woman in the Yard (review)

This trailer was good. 

It hid the fact that for 1 hour and 30 minutes absolutely nothing exciting or interesting or scary would happen. 

Then it ends in a 10 second twist at the end that makes you think, this was some film student's short that got developed into a movie. 

Literally could have been 2 minutes and just as effective. 

What a giant waste of time. 
 

Nothing's changed

Over the past year I've heard nothing but good things about this place. 

It's been about 7 years since I last week so I decided to give it another try and see what the new hype was about. 

This place still sucks. 

I'll give it, the cheese sticks are the best around. The food was so-so and the service is still some of the worst I've ever received. 

Asked for chips and salsa and cheese sticks. 

Waitress kept telling me the chips were coming out soon. All table around us (some who arrived after us) received theirs. But I thought that was because I order cheese sticks too. 

Then our meals arrived...with the cheese sticks. 

"They didn't bring out your chips?" the waitress said. 

"No. It's alright, I don't want them anymore" I responded. 

"Are you sure?"

This is the moment as I was ready to give my sarcastic response but thought better of it and told her "No. I don't want them."

Later on she returns to ask if I'd just like to take an order of chips home with me. 

WTF????

I told her "no" again and to remove them from the ticket. 

When the ticket came, she charged me for the chips and salsa as well as a 3 dip chips plate. 

18 minutes later (I timed it on my phone) was I was finally able to catch her (she wasn't stopping by) I asked her to remove the charges. 

She responded to me just to select the "split the bill" option and pay for everything else but that. 

WORST SERVICE EVER. 

Never going back. 

 

Ash (movie review) SPOILERS

 Awful movie alert!!! Avoid at all cost! Save yourselves before it's too late!!!

This movie is about a girl who wakes up on a base on a planet, only to find her entire team dead and her memory wiped. 

Later she starts regaining memories but its of her killing the entire crew. 

Sound good right? IT SUCKS!!!

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The "twist" is SO simple to this one, you guess it about 10 minutes in. Yes. She killed them. She's infected with an alien. BUT we find out that the entire reason the whole crew died is BECASUE SHE LET THE ALIEN LOOSE ON THE SHIP?!?!?

So WHY are we supposed to cheer for her when it turns out this is all her fault? The alien inhabits everyone on the ship going from person to person, once their host dies....BUT the movie can't even get that right when in the end our "hero" has open brain surgery on herself (without too much pain) to dig out the creature and it inhabits a dead crewman....only to becomes the most powerful its ever been. 

WHAT????

She kills it, escapes and in the end has a teary goodbye as she remembers all her friends and all the good times they had on the planet. Good times we never saw or experienced because the movie didn't allow time to build the other crewmen into memorable characters. YOU DO NOT CARE!

Horrible, horrible waste of time.  

Just a Bit Outside (review)

 I love me some baseball documentaries. This is one about the Brewers and their incredible season in 1982. Though I was alive back then, I didn't pay attention to sports that early (1986 was when I started) but I have to admit, the story was great to hear about. Pretty incredible what went down that year. 

I love hearing from the players about each game, the highs and the lows of the entire season. 

A must for any Brewers fan and something I would suggest any baseball fan to check out. 

Good stuff!

Totino's review

 One thing I haven't had in at least 7 years. I used to fold them up like a taco and eat them all the time. 

Now that I'm off the diet, I'm checking off the list of things I want to try again that I haven't in years. This was the first one. 

Ugh. 

Has this pizza always been bad or is it just the new version?

I remember the crust used to be crispy and good. This was still soft after baking and the topping tasted awful. 

Maybe I had fond memories of something that was never good in the first place, but I do know this. I'll never try one of these ever again. 

Arby's Burger (review)

 Something I've been meaning to try for a while and I finally did! 

I love Arby's. I love their roast beef. When I heard they now served burgers I had to try one.

Final thoughts? Meh. It's not a bad burger but certainly nothing I would go out of my way to have again. In fact, I'd rather just have their roast beef which is still their best. 

But glad I finally checked it off my list. 

Sesame Street - The Count & The Mets

I remember vividly watching this as a kid and my dad even laughing. I can't tell you how many times we said "Throw it to me Mookie!"

Have a good weekend folks!

Pride and joy of my youth

 Like tons of kids from the 80s, I was a huge fan of Voltron growing up. I loved the cartoon so much, I signed up to be a part of the official membership club. I remember my card looked just like this and I kept this in my Chuck E Cheese wallet which I carried at all times. 

Yes sir. Anytime you needed proof I was part of Voltron TeamForce, I could whip this little puppy right out and show them my card. My future was so bright, I had to wear shades. 

But no one ever asked and I lost the wallet and card years ago......I'm screwed if anyone asks for it now. 

Bang New Flavor!

 Heard about this one a month ago and finally found it to try out. 

Much better than their last orange flavor but still middle of the road in taste. Better than Sour Ropes, their last flavor they brought out. 

Would I try it again? No. But it's good to see Bang is still trying out new flavors. Who knows? Maybe one day they'll bring back good ole Lemon Drop!

But for now I can safely say, Sour Heads is still their best. 

A working Man (review)

 Have you ever wondered what an american action movie would look like if it were made from a foreign country? I give you "A Working Man"

Unbelievable this movie went to theaters. A bunch of action and "character building" scenes chopped together like someone was trying to figure out the perfect formula for an action movie. 

Honestly, this had the makings of being the perfect spoof of action flicks. I was laughing at the over acting, cliche scenes and generic dialogue you've heard in action movies time and time again. 

I don't know whether to recommend this for a good laugh or avoid all together as a giant waste of time. 

Wild. 

Cinco de mayo

 

Welcome to the one day of the year that I am certainly not going out to eat Mexican.

Call it quits

 After today, I'm calling the diet officially off. 

It hasn't been that much of a success and I regret not going with the old tried and true diet I usually do every year. 

While on this diet, I barely went down a size. Whereas if I were on my own, I'd have been done a month ago and down 2 sizes. 

Very disappointed. 

I realize that this diet I'm on is a slow burn and takes longer to lose but I'm tired of all the work with minor results. 

It wasn't a total bust. Like I said, I'm down a size but I don't feel the effort was worth it for such disappointing results. 

Going into the summer, it's too late to start my other diet, so I'll try to watch what I eat and do my best to weather things out until next year. 

Have a good weekend folks!

72 Hour fast

 I heard about this and tried it. Here's my thoughts:

1) Energy level remained the same. 

I've watched so many videos where people spoke about having super energy during the fasting. I think its more like regular energy. I didn't noticed much of a difference. However, I was surprised I had so much stamina when not eating a thing, so there's that. 

2) Water DOES NOT "fill you up"

Unlike the videos on this, water did nothing to stave off my hunger.

3) I wasn't hungry during the day.

It's true. Strangely after 36 hours you don't feel hungry. But anything after 5pm, I was. Not starving, but feeling like "time to eat" It made it really hard getting to bed every night. 

Overall, I'm not sure I'd try this again. Maybe intermediate fasting but nothing as extreme as this.