Klonk...

That was the sound of my jaw hitting the floor.

The past few years have been pretty good for the Geek movie-wise.

We've gotten Transformers, Batman, and Spider-Man just to name a few, and stuff like Iron Man and a hopefully Smashier Hulk on the horizon.

But thanks to Aint It Cool, I am getting ready to invest all of my fanboy capital in G.I Joe.

Ray Park.

Snake-Eyes.

Enjoy:



Courage,

Mike G.

Reaching Out...

So.

A new blog post.

What could possibly be behind it? Some life-shattering new development, or personal realization?

Nah, just a plea for cheap stuff.

But before the begging, a quick plug.

for those of you with XM Radio, [if you don't have XM, you're more than welcome to click here to sign up] there's a station called Fungus on channel 53. Their focus is on punk/hardcore/ska and every Tuesday evening they feature cover songs on the show Duped. I tell you, you have not lived till you hear a ska cover of Billy Joel's It's Still Rock and Roll To Me.

Back to the begging.

Once upon a time I could satisfy my action figure obsession quite easily. However, circumstances very much within my control have forced me to downsize-both figuratively and literally. Smaller scale collectibles are now more my style.

Of course, in a large metropolitan area, this would be no problem. But when the grand opening of a Wienerschnitzel causes traffic snarls and write-ups in the local paper, one sees the need to branch out.

But as of yet, eBay has yet to come to my rescue, and so I turn to my audience of thous-I mean hundr-I mean tens.

For those within the sound of this blog, I send out a humble request. If you live near a mall or shopping center with a Suncoast/Samgoody/FYE, please check and see if there are any Marvel Minimate sets, especially if they feature the Scarlet Spider and the Hobgoblin. I am prepared to pay for the items along with the cost of shipping and a finders fee to be negotiated. you will also receive as a bonus a completely fawning and gushing profile on this blog. You can then link to it and refer your friends to it, over time making it true!

Please leave comments below.

Courage,
Mike G.

Back In Town...

Currently back in Dallas helping out my pal Devin with some radio stunt.

Also doing my best to fend off sickness.

Enjoying life.

Courage,
Mike G.

Bored?

Here's a fun rainy-day activity:

For those born in the late 70's/early 80's, attempt to explain the premise of the Kevin Bacon star vehicle Footloose to someone 18 years or younger, and assure them it was an actual motion picture.

Have fun!

Courage,
Mike G.

They Look Like Ants From Up Here...

pic011408_1.jpg, originally uploaded by thesporq.

When you spend all day hearing excuses why people don't pay their cell phone bills, you get bored. I turn to the comfort of miniature super heroes.

Courage,
Mike G.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Will This Float?

So at least some writers are going back to work in the new year...

While I'm glad that Worldwide Pants and the WGA were able to work out an agreement, I'm a bit unnerved by the lack of response I've seen from CBS. Of course, what really could they say?

While they'd love to hype the only shows on Network TV returning with their full writing staff, doing so would probably lead people to ask exactly why that's so.

And on the other side of the rift, I'm wondering if some of the WGA members are a bit resentful. Also, in the long run. does this help or hurt the overall effort?

Courage,
Mike G.

A Worthy Purchase...

So today I bought a laser pointer in the shape of Darth Vader's lightsaber for about five bucks.

That senetence pretty much tells you everything you need to know about me.

Courage,
Mike G.

Double-Checking...

Just to make sure, there is a commercial out there featuring Steve Buscemi and Norm McDonald as Gingerbread people extolling the benefits of pre-paid cellular phone service, right?

I'm not just imagining it.

Cause that would be crazy.

Insane.

Ludicrous, even.

Courage,
Mike G.

Listen Up...

Please notice the new column to the right of this post...

Thanks to the folks at Pandora, I can now share the type of music I like with my reader[s].

Thanks to what they're calling the Music Genome Project, this music player will take songs and bands you like and analyze their characteristics and give you other songs and bands that you might also like. Mainly, it's an excuse to take groups that have no business being together and seeing what will happen. For Example,
try my newest station, The Metallic Spice Collective.

The other reason I'm doing this post is that it's way too freaking cold to go outside and I've watched too much TV today anyway.

Courage,
Mike G.

Remain Calm...

Here is the TV post I Twittered about yesterday:

First off, My Close Personal Friend Jane Espenson would like to recommend a site to all of those who are looking for a way to support the WGA's recent strike. Please click here for details.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a close personal friend of Jane Espenson, but we once ate some killer Tex-Mex together, so that should count for something.

And now, what no one has been waiting for:

I am a big fan of the new NBC show Chuck. To be perfectly honest, I was a big fan of the first draft of this show, when it was on UPN and called Jake 2.0. Bitterness aside, I do really like it.

But because my personality is such that I tend to obsess over the things that I like [Pixar's Cars toys, Comic Books, Kristen Bell] I've gotten to a point in the ongoing story way before the writers meant for me to.

[If by any chance the next episode fully explains this, I would only be mildly surprised]

So Chuck has a copy of the Intersect, which contains nearly all the intelligence gathered by the United States, burned into his brain. The original was destroyed by his best friend/nemesis Bryce Larkin for unknown reasons. So now Chuck has wacky, action-packed spy adventures with some bittersweet romantic tension.

Now we as the audience know that a new Intersect is being built, and this has some very dire consequences for our hero Chuck.

What bothers me is that Chuck should also be worried, given his unique background.

Let me explain:

Say that a pre-Intersect Chuck is happily surfing away on his computer. But something goes Wrong. Very wrong. Long story short- his hard drive got fried. But Chuck is a prepared Nerd Herder and always backs up his files. All is well.

But not really. What if the backup copy couldn't be changed? What if there was no way to save new information? Essentially, what if Chuck's computer were frozen in time? Sure, you could use it for a short while, but what good is a computer that can't be upgraded or even run different software?

The Intersect was the ultimate information database when Chuck accidentally burned it into his brain. But every day after that, it's becoming more and more obsolete. Chuck works in an industry that is designed around planned obsolescence. He has to be aware of the fact that as time goes on, the information in his head will be less and less valuable, and so will the aforementioned head.

Finally, wouldn't Chuck at least assume that the government would build another Intersect? And what happens when it's done?

Yeahh...sometimes I think a bit too much.

Courage,
Mike G.

Bored On A Sunday...

So I've been mostly Twitter-ing instead of posting to the blog proper.

A quick recap of the past few months...

Still in Odessa.

Doing some call center work. It's actually better than it sounds. Union work, full medical dental and vision coverage, and it's all inbound.

Still keeping a torch lit for Dallas and the people and places I had to leave behind.

And as always, remaining vigilant should I spontaneously manifest meta human powers such as hyper speed, invulnerability, or psychokinesis.

Courage,
Mike G.

He's Not Just Magical...

Apparently, Albus Dumbledore was FABULOUS! as well.

Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.

I wonder how the Right will react to this. Remember, they were already ticked off when it was just about magic.

And You Thought...

That having a CG Jabba wadlling around onscreen was bad enough...

From the fine folks that bring you PvP:




Courage,
Mike G.

This Is What Happens...

When you face off against an incredibly sensitive Code Of Conduct policy at your workplace.

The following is what I DID NOT say to a woman who seems to have a great deal of animosity towards me:

I am sorry, but I think you may have confused me with someone else you hate. I am not Satan, nor am I the person in charge of women's dress sizes. I am also not the person who makes the puzzles on Wheel of Fortune so darn tricky. I hope that clears things up between the two of us.

Instead, I merely said 'Good Morning' and tried not to stare as she rolled her eyes so far around they threatened to tear away from her optic nerve.


Courage,
MIke G.

Temporary Suspension...

of my Guy Card for this post, but I'll make up for it in the end.

So I needed some sheets for my bed; sure, my Classic Transformers set was still good, but I thought it was time to move on.

Normally, I'd go to my closest retail juggernaut and buy whatever what was on sale and fairly non-flammable, but with a new job and a tiny bit of disposable income, I thought it would be wise to put a bit of thought in the decision. After all, next to your workplace and your car, you're spending a big chunk of your life in bed.

So it's off to the retail jungle.

I have to admit I am conflicted about these Bed, Bath, Linens N' Beyond Things places. On the one hand, they are TV Gadget Cavalcades. If there's an infomercial about it, odds are it's here. Unfortunately, all of it is surrounded by an almost impenetrable wall of pillows that aren't meant to be rested on, towels you can't use, and things called shams and valences.

But back to the story.

After an initial case of sticker shock [so much for the 1000 thread count], I decided to go for something different.

There's this fabric called modal that's made from beechwood. [Insert Budweiser joke here]. Like all things, Wikipedia has more info on the subject.

All I can tell you is that these sheets are amazing. Super soft and extremely comfortable. Mike approves.

And now, as a special thank you for enduring that post, I give you:

ASS KICKING!



And for those not so fond of the kicking of ass:

JUVENILE WORDPLAY!



Courage,
Mike G.

Hey Kids! Radio!

Sorry for the lack of updating...

I've come back to one of my first loves [in a small way].

My 'sibling from a maternal unit other than my own' Devin has invited me to take part in his somewhat biweekly podcast.

So jump over to his site and join in.

Courage,
Mike G.

Who Knew...

That involving yourself in an illegal dogfighting ring would lead to legal discomfort?

I hate to bring up pop culture at this point, but I suspect a great deal of this was a result of 'keeping it real'.

Without delving into socio-political arguments, I have to believe that Vick felt that this 'sport' was giving him some sort of cred. Cred from people too far below any kind of relevance, sure, but cred nonetheless.

And I thought I had a bad year.

Courage,
Mike G.

Self-Test...

This is a "good to know" kind of post.

Watch this clip:



It's good to know that a 50 foot drop onto plywood doesn't always mean instant death.

Courage,
Mike G.

[thanks to With Leather for the original link.]

Doors Opening...

So, if you've seen my Twitter post, I'll be rejoining the ranks of the employed next week.

It's not my dream job, but it's OK for right now.

More updates later.

Courage,
Mike G.