Muggle no more

This morning I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It took a little over a year for me to complete the series of novels, and I'm so glad I did. I'm fairly particular about the books I read, and am so very glad I took the advice of some friends in reading this series. The writing...the language...the character development... all surpassed my expectations...

The Final Frontier

No...it has less to do with sci-fi and more to do with murder.  "The Final Frontier" is the title of an episode of one of my favorite TV shows, Castle. This particular episode is interesting because it was directed by Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker from TNG), an appearance by Armin Shiverman (Quark from DS9), and has Castle and Beckett investigating a homicide at a sci-fi con from a phaser. Additionally,  the writers include some geek terms like "shiny" and "what the frak." As a fan of both this show and good sci-fi, it was a very enjoyable show.

Post-Emmy congrats

Congrats to Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Stephen Moffat on their Emmy wins. While winning awards is not why I like Sherlock, it was nice seeing one of the greatest shows on television getting some well-deserved recognition.

Parenting done right

A couple of weeks ago, my kids were over for one of their weekend parenting times. My 8-year old daughter was looking at all the apps on my Galaxy SIII. She loves playing with the apps, especially the soundboards. I have soundboards from Portal 2, Big Bang Theory, Homestar Runner, Star Wars, Firefly/Serenity, and Lord of the Rings. She was looking through it and asked, "Dad, could you add a soundboard for me?" I figured she'd be wanting Barbie or Spongebob, so I asked, "Well, what kind were you wanting?" Her reply: "Star Trek!"
I must be doing something right...

Sherlock News

Well...it's been a few days since the big news regarding Sherlock broke...and all I can say is...WOOHOO! I'll take a few extra months earlier on seeing new episodes...

Superfight

The other night, I was over at an old friend's house, and his 18-year-old asked if I'd like to engage in a new card game he and his brother had purchased called Superfight. I figured, "What the hey," and 6 of us played it.
I must say it was a lot of fun. It's kind of like Apples to Apples with superpowers. The object is for the judge to draw 3 cards. One card says who you are (cowboy, soccer mom, The Doctor) and 2 cards are attributes your character has (can control plants, 10 stories tall, shoots glitter, has rotating gun turret). the other players then choose who there are and a positive attribute to defeat the judge's character. Once each player has chosen their cards, the judge then declares that each player must pass an attribute card either to the right or to the left which would hinder the defeat of the judge's character. The judge then decides which character would most likely defeat his character in a fight.
As a newbie to RPG, and especially card games, I found this game to be very fun and something that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Sherlock "His Last Vow"

Yup...borrowed the DVD for season 3 from a friend...finished watching it Friday night...and rarely have I seen a television episode with more twists and turns! I am pretty sure there are still parts of my mind strewn about my apartment, after my head exploded at the end of the episode! No spoilers...but will tell you to GO WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Star Wars generation gap

Yes...I admit it. I am an old-school, non-Special Edition, original trilogy, Han-shot-first Star Wars NUT! I believe the best thing about the prequel trilogy was an under-utilized Sith lord with a double-bladed lightsaber. I believe Jar Jar Binks was the beginning of the end of Star Wars coolness...and herein lies the problem.
I also have a 9 year-old son who LOVES Star Wars.I also have a 15 year-old son who shares my view and a 7 year-old daughter who called Star Wars "stupid." (Try to raise a kid right...) My 9 year-old sees Jar Jar as much of a part of the Star Wars universe as Han Solo. He sees that whiny Anakin Skywalker of the prequels is without a doubt the Darth Vader I grew up with.
The only thing I can figure is the younger son was about 9 months old when Revenge of the Sith was released. For all of his life, the prequels that I can watch only while taking shots of Pepto Bismol are as much Star Wars as the original  trilogy is.
All I can figure is it must be a generational thing.

Sherlocked

What do you get when you take one of the most famous characters in literature and film, and then update him to 21-st Century London? You get Sherlock. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, Sherlock takes original Arthur Conan Doyle mysteries and takes them from Victorian London and puts them in modern times.
As a rule, I don't like telling people about given episodes, but I do like having people find out if a series or movie is for them. I highly recommend going onto Netflix (aka "crack for geeks), and watching just the first episode. I'm fairly sure you'll be hooked.

New to Firefly

In terms of being a "Browncoat," I'm fairly new to the party. My first exposure to Firefly was this past December, when a friend of mine, suggested that I might like it.
So I came home from having coffee, and found a website that streamed it for free, since I didn't have Netflix at the time. I spent most of that Saturday watching the first 3 or 4 episodes, blown away by the storytelling, and the characters.
Within a month or so, I had ordered the series on Blu-Ray, and spent a day watching the entire series. The worst part of it was that the series had ended so abruptly. I wanted to know more about Mal, Zoe, Wash, Jayne, Kaylee, Shepherd Book, Simon, & River.
A short time later, I purchased Serenity, the big-screen movie that tied up the loose ends. For those of you who have not seen it, you NEED to see it! And I'm not gonna do any spoilers here!
Since that time I've watched both the TV series and  the movie several times over. My Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts have kind of been taken over by things relating to The 'Verse.
My only regret is that is took this long to discover such an amazing story universe!

For The Geeks!

Within the past six months, I've been introduced to some amazing stories. Firefly. Doctor Who. Sherlock. Magic: The Gathering.These are in addition to the stories I loved growing up. Star Wars. Batman. Spider-Man. Star Trek.
So I've decided to embrace my inner geek and talk about these awesome stories I've been exposed to. As I am approaching my 40th birthday at the end of the year, I want to share these amazing stories with anyone who wants to hear about them.
Before I go on, I want to add the following disclaimer: The words I'm writing may impact you, but more than anything, you'll be listening in on my thoughts and feelings regarding these stories.