A screwball two weeks is over with. Well, it’s back to a “normal” work week. That being short handed for the rest of Summer because everyone is taking time off. So, until September, being short staffed is the rule around work.

I guess Xanga is on it’s last legs. They have stopped sending me the daily feed of my subscriptions so if you were wondering why I haven’t been at your site, that’s why. So tonight/tomorrow I’ll be hitting your sites. And another nail in the coffin that is Xanga, they’re less than half way to their goal with less than two weeks to go. So, I guess I should post more at WordPress. But until then, I’ll try and visit here as often as I can.

Not a whole lot has been happening. Today, I went to nephew’s graduation party. I haven’t seen him in a few years. He was a bit heavy then but lost the weight. Spent the afternoon catching up with his mom, (For the Chocoholics, they had a mini-liquid chocolate fountain there. My Dad hit that hard with the fresh Strawberries. Me, I was good. Small samples of food and four bottles of water. Was in the mood for a slice of Pecan Pie. I hear that Aldis has a good Pecan Pie but they sell out of them pretty quick). On the work front, I managed to get some overtime in. A little bit of drama this past Wednesday but I chalked it up to the heat and messed up work week but when my boss is back from vacation.

I am glad where I live at doesn’t have the wacky weather the rest of the country is dealing with. Although, the North Eastern part of Ohio is in the plus side in water totals. Well, when you have one of the wettest Junes on record, you’re going to make up any deficits you may have. Am seriously thinking of buying a back-up sump pump. The semi-new one has gotten a work out the past two years. May look into on with a battery back-up.

Here’s few tidbits of trivia: Twenty years ago, The X-Files and Stargate The Movie came out. 1993 was a VERY good year. I did not care for The X-Files movies. But I did love the first few seasons of The X-Files. BBC America showed Stargate last night and that killed any ideas of doing anything constructive.

Apparently, The Lone Ranger is tanking at the box office. The trailer I saw didn’t make me want to see it. Now, Pacific Rim on the other hand, if there wasn’t people taking vacations, is a major midnight showing movie and one that should be seen on the big screen. A modern version of the monster movies I grew up on. And from what my friends are telling me that Man Of Steel is great until the last quarter of the movie. But at least they’re talking sequel right now. And the rumor mill is talking about a Justice League Of America movie. Don’t see how they’re going to do that. Unless something major happens I can’t see it happening. And anyways, Warner Brothers do better on the animation department.

At Goodwill, I scored the first two books of Dean Koontz Odd Thomas series. So, as soon as it get colder, I’ll be reading them. And my pile of books grows steadily larger. May start using them as a table. Then stack more on that.

Has anyone watched Under The Dome yet? Just wondering if it’s worth down loading via The Play Station Network. For the comic book nerd in me, Marvel/Disney is starting a new Avengers Animated series. I saw the first two episodes and I’m going to give it a shot. Cartoon Network is starting a new Batman series called Beware The Batman. That looks good.

Am a bit distracted right now. The Great Escape is on and between that and writing this, my multi-tasking abilities are being put to the test.

Here’s a question as I round third base heading for home: What’s your Favorite Cartoon Movie (s) I will get back to you on my favorites.

Be Safe and Cool and Dry. No real order for that.

CIAO…

Why oh why do I set myself up for this???

I’ve really cut back on my fast food habit. One day a week. Wendys. With Dad before we go and bowl three games. I’ve managed to get and keep a 130 average for three games. We do this on Thursdays. This past week I bowled a 175. I haven’t done that in years. The other two games: 102 and 98. I just need to make spares more often.

But I digress.

Anyhoo, when I go to Wendys I get a a version of a Chicken Sandwich, a no salt french fry and a diet soda. I used to go to fast food places at four days a week and maybe twice on the weekends. Too damned lazy to cook. Well anyways I went three times this week. I tried Arbys Chicken Sandwich with a curly fry and a diet soda. Well, today Dad and I went to Wally World and we needed something to eat and we stopped at Burger King. Big mistake on my part. Dad got he wanted and he liked it. I must admit, the Sweet Potato Fries are good. The Pulled Pork Sandwich, not so much. More sweet barbeque sauce and the pork was mush. Now, I know that going to a fast food joint like BK is NOT the place for sandwich like this. They have a version of McDonalds McRib sandwich and I was afraid to try it. After trying the pulled pork, I may never go back to BK. Now I like BK back in the day. Their Whopper was the best. But when you start to add microwave ovens and trying to speed things up, you end up screwing things up. Which is why if I want a fresh burger, I go to Wendys. There other fast food places that MAY make a good hamburger, just not near where I drive to work. So, now when I go the next three Thursdays, I’ll be going to Wendys, just going to order a salad until I set the fast food karma points back as they should be. Although I haven’t been to Taco Bell in ages. Maybe a few soft tacos and their caramel apple empanada… That last thing reminds me of the original apple pie McDonalds used to have before they switched to the baked version.

Am hearing the strains of “Fast Food Junkie” in my head. Time for some sleep. Gotta cut the lawn tomorrow and squeeze in another 90 minute walk in the heat and humidity that is now Summer.

Stay cool and Safe out there…

Ciao

And another work week bites dust. And with it comes the chores I get to do on the weekend but before all that, I get to goof off one day on Friday, which is why I put Friday in caps.

A few things.

You might have heard the James Gandolfini died this week but did you know that Slim Whittman died??? Yes, if you were a child of the 1970′s you had seen his commercial of his greatest hits. My boss said he was a member of his fan club. I think he was busting my chops but with him, you never know.

The last time I went to a drive-in movie was way back in 1985 and saw a triple feature of Mad Max And Thunder Dome, The Road Warrior and Mad Max in that order. And this was before having some power drink to keep one awake. Had to stay awake the old fashioned way: Large amounts of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew.

The first day of summer and here comes the humidity. God, I love central air.

The Mulberry Bush/Tree has about shed its bounty on the driveway. Now, it wasn’t soooo flipping tall I would harvest it but standing on a creaky ladder is not something I want to do.

For those of you out there who are into Anime, a live action version of Gatchaman otherwise now to us Americans as Battle Of The Planets hits the theaters in Japan. I saw a trailer for it and it looks fantastic. Kinda wished there was a either a subtitled version of the trailer I saw but as I said, it looks fantastic.

Adding to pile of books that has been steadily growing is World War Z. Just in time for the movie to hit the theaters. I’ve heard the movie doesn’t resemble the book and you had to know that going in. But I’ve seen the author, who is the son of Mel Brooks, and I’ve been wanting to read the book. And Man Of Steel did boffo box office numbers. But will it be taken down this weekend by World War Z??? And Morton Downey Jr. has signed on for two more Avenger movies. And they’re still shooting the film Captain America Winter Soldier in the Cleveland area. The last movie I’m having reservations on it because I’ve read the comic book they’re basing this movie on and I know I’m not going to like it. Yeah yeah, basing how the out come of a movie sight unseen. The shooting of the movie has shut down parts of the downtown area/freeway system. I may just see it to see the areas where they filmed made it onto the big screen.

Showtime is free this weekend and there is nothing on I want to tape/watch. I have enough stuff to watch and am falling behind. Adding insult to injury, the fan boy anyways, a remake of Ironside had made it to the fall schedule and I am still waiting for a remake of Space: 1999. There is talk about it but nothing on video yet. A series that’s on ABC this Summer called Motive and it’s worth checking out. It’s shown in Canada and it’s renewed there for a second season. A few actors I know are in it Lauren Holly (from NCIS etc) and Louis Ferreria (Stargate Universe). Copper starts it’s new season on BBC America this Sunday. I’m behind on Longmire and The Glades. I may end up down loading the shows to the memory stick via the Play Station Network.

Next week, at work I start my holiday work week with a physical inventory and a Saturday work day. Normally, I don’t mind the over-time but all the over-time will be on one paycheck and the other paycheck will only have an eight hour holiday pay on it. So, any illusions of having a large paycheck get tempered with a short fall the paycheck. (Too many times I’ve used that word, paycheck, in one paragraph. Have to stop that…)

An Animal Control officer shot and killed some feral cats in my hometown. They way said person did it is causing an up roar. I guess it made it to the big networks for all of five seconds. But, if I hear right, the guy needs to be fired. I’m sorry, but you don’t say in front of other people or kids that you’re going to send the kittens/sat to “Kitty Heaven”. And I’m sure there was a better way to go about it.

Also in my home town is a city-wide garage/yard sale. We also have a Corn Festival every year in August. Well, if your High School at one time was beside a corn field, you kinda expect something like this…

Wow, look at the time. A busy day tomorrow. And a 90 minute walk in the heat and humidity.

Stay cool and safe!

Ciao!!!

So, here’s a question for you there in Xanga Land. When was the last you went to a Drive-In??? The local news paper ran a feature on the disappearing Drive-In. There is one in my hometown. A interesting question seeing how the first day of Summer is Friday.

Edit: Drive In Movie. Ooooops. The reason I put this out there because Hollywood is going all digital. No more actual film. The device to play the all digital movies cost a pretty penny and the remaining few in Ohio are thinking about closing or have closed because of that and other reasons. Sorry about the confusion…

(I was going to post this thought at WordPress but until they shut off the lights here, I’m going to post here. I’ll just “pulse” there)                                              

The early to mid 1990′s had some decent Sci-Fi shows on the air. Stargate SG1 on Showtime with The Outer Limits, Farscape, The Invisible Man, Time Trax, Good Versus Evil and a pilot of an idea called Babylon 5. Okay, this was the early days of what now call the Internet. The early days of what is now called Computer Generated Images. J. Michael Straczynski had an idea to tell a story over five years. Go to Wikipedia for the full story. The post there can tell you the story behind it better.

No, this post is going to be how I stumbled on this show. I was working at my new job at Sidari’s Italian Foods and I started getting back to reading comic books. I was at a local comic book store when I met some people who shared some of the same hobbies/interests. We started hanging out on the weekends. Me being the only one working nights, Saturdays or Sundays was the only time we could do this. Someone was taping Babylon 5 and said we should start watching it. Watching from the pilot to get caught up was a form group watching. (Throw in Nintendo 64 and it’s awesome game called Golden Eye and that’s a WHOLE different story for another time…) From there, I got introduced to Anime and other shows. I liked Babylon 5 and some of it’s spin-off movies. In The Beginning, A Call To Arms and The Lost Tales are my favorites. I could go into a long nerd based diatribe about how season five of Babylon 5 sucked and instead of sticking with the five year story arc, it could have gone on for at least two more years, then go to TV movies, but no. That’s just my opinion and a Sci-Fi nerd. And I could go on how Stargate SG1 should have ended at eight seasons and so on. The fan boy could fill blogs worth on subjects like this. But it was an era where instead of instant interaction, you watched shows in groups and talked to each other face to face.

As with life, the fellowship broke up. People got married, new jobs leading to moves to other states, and one has died. It happens. But for a brief period of time, doing things like this was a group thing. Getting together and interacting in the real world instead of looking down at a smart phone. I miss that. But at least it happened and I’m glad it happened.

And that era had some damned fine Sci-Fi shows. No, I never got into Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Angel. But Firefly ended too soon. As did Space: Above And Beyond, The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr, Sea Quest DSV to name a few.

And Sci-Fi got me to come here. A friend of mine whom I met through a fanzine she put together landed here and thought I might try my hand here writing and just hang out. She’s since became the writer/editor she wanted and I’m in touch with her via Facebook. I was gone for a number of years. Eh, nothing worth writing about. A series of dumb ass mistakes but I came back full time to now the mess that may face us here on Xanga.

A meandering post yeah. But a lot can happen in twenty years. What were you doing twenty years ago? Not going to think about the future. Let it happen when it does. Going to hang out here and where ever Xanga lands up.

On a few side bars:

The Mulberry bush/tree has opened it bounty on the driveway this year. The picture doesn’t do it justice as to the carpet of berries on the ground. Yeah, I think this the last year for this tree.

As the Summer starts up, vacations start at work. Which means I’ll be bouncing around on my job for the next three months.

A host of new shows are on. King and Maxwell I’ve watched. It was so-so. The final season of Burn Notice is just awesome so far.

Dad wants a pellet gun to deal with a pesky ground hog before it decimates his Tomato plants.

Need to borrow his camera on my Saturday walks. Lots of rabbits and assorted critters when I walk along the power lines. The camera on the smart phone just won’t cut it.

Going to call it a night. Tomorrow is Fathers Day and if Ma Nature cooperates, a round of miniature golf with lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. Back to the usual work grind.

CIAO

This what happens when a Mulberry Bush grows into a tree that over hangs over the driveway…

Yeah, this isn’t a Xanga rant/Goodbye. No, beat that horse dead to the point of ashes.

This a blog of things I don’t get. A few things that have been bouncing around my head for years or just recently.

You’ve been warned.

Okay, I get the fact that some bands change members, vocalists, and some times their sound. But where do people get in having the name and they’re the only original person in the band? Queensryche comes to mind. The lead vocalist and the other band members are touring separately. I liked this band back in the day but I don’t get the fact this has happened. Journey has gone through two lead singers since they fired Steve Perry who was having mental/physical problems (See Behind The Music Remastered on YouTube), Little River Band is another band where some one bought the rights to the name and has SUED the original members from playing together as The Little River Band. Yeah that has been bugging me for years.

Why is it that the stuff I used to love younger tastes so much different now. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Coke, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese etc. Has my tastes gotten better/worse or were things better then. Was it before they made things “cheaper” and less ingredients for longer shelf life. I mean, there are more chemicals than actual real ingredients. Am I becoming that person who says things were better then than now???

What bugs me is when a CLEVELAND sports fan can’t enjoy their sports teams. Lord, just listening to these morons on sports talk radio makes me question if they’re a few fries shy of a Happy Meal. And one radio station who lost the rights to broadcast The Cleveland Browns games starts to slam the team. Granted, the owner is under fire due to his other business but right after it happened, this one talk show host started blasting everyone who was in on the deal etc. The baseball teams’ attendance isn’t good this year. Well, when the weather suck, the fans are gun shy to previous years of bad play, and a host of other excuses, it’s tough to spend the cash to go down to see them play. That’s another thing the sports talk hosts are talking about. May end up not listening to sports talk radio for a while. Good thing The Cleveland Indians are being played on the FM station. The two play-by-play guys are great. I’m going to end flipping back and forth between that and NPR until things settle down a bit. Less than 90 days until football training camp starts. And Summer hasn’t started yet.

I am still trying to figure out why Netflix/Play Station Network/anything streaming end up cutting out parts of televised shows. This has happened to me on a few occasions and it irritates me to no end. I am paying for said download/service. Do me the service of NOT doing that, please???

Who actually thinks that “reality TV” isn’t scripted??? Or keep repeating the same formula until they beat us dead. Man, I’ve about had it with American TV. I find myself watching more shows from BBC on Netflix/PBS than I am American shows.

Why is it that some shows like Firefly get cancelled and shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo are getting renewed??? Shudder, need some thing else to erase that thought out of my head.

I wish there was more restaurants that BAN cell phones. I mean, come ON. If you’re that busy and take a little time to enjoy some ones company and look in their eyes and actually TALK, maybe you should be back at work.

Speaking of work… When did we as a culture get so paranoid if we take vacation we might loose our jobs??? And people wonder why people fly off the handle and are stressed out.

And these are a few things that make scratch my bald head…

Tomorrow I get to work by myself away from the noise that are my co-workers. Work at my own pace and just enjoy the job. And my work week is half way done. Have I mentioned lately I LOVE a four day work week? Or that I’m glad a good supervisor who has as a warped sense of humor as the rest of us do? One thing that blows my mind at work and NO ONE has clued into. If you can just take a few minutes out of ones busy work day and talk to one of the people who work in purchasing, the freebees just roll in. That and if you don’t get too greedy. Yeah, I am SO GLAD no one has clued into that yet. It ebbs and flows but I’ve gotten a ton of free stuff from work.

And this previous post WILL NEVER EVER be on Facebook. The amount of crap I could catch over this would be… Not good for me. Which is why I am on Xanga and get to share this with you here. Or vent or ponder. Thank You One And All.

There are a few more things bouncing around in my head but we’ll leave that for another day…

Be safe and enjoy life…

Thought I’d post a few things here while I can.

I WILL NOT be posting a Good Bye blog. Not gonna do it. Wouldn’t be prudent. I’m here if and when they shut the site down. And for those of you I haven’t told yet, I’m at WordPress as zoz36 as a precaution. I’ve posted a few things there. Trying to get a feel of the place. I need a full day to explore the site and that’s time I don’t have until Winter time. It’s nice out and I’d like to spend my time outside as much as I can. And I like my walks. And it’s way too much work and I need my lazy time.

I’m not going to comment as to why they, being the Xanga Team decided to spring this on us at this time. And why they didn’t let anyone know about this sooner. They had to know. They can’t be this stupid. Or they want people to talk about it and maybe raise more cash. Who knows. Who cares. They may get their goal of $60,000.00 and some time later ask for more cash, Am I that much of a Debbie Downer (flipping spell check on Xanga via Firefox is acting up again)??? And WordPress want cash for an ad free site. So I’m going to have to think really hard on to where I want to go if Xanga shuts the lights off. I did join the Facebook page for Xangans. But I’m really leery of Facebook. I like my namesake here and it’s about the only place I can vent and I’ve made some damned fine friends here.

And on to other things…

I’ve been lazy here. Using the Pulse function instead of doing some decent sized blogs. Eh, it’s nice out and not too much has been happening in my life. No, I don’t have Twitter. I’d rather be here and use that pulse to just say something…

Saw the damnedest thing on TV, a hands free device to eat a Burger King Whopper. I had to rewind the newscast and make sure I just saw what I saw. Don’t expect to see it at your local BK soon.

Netflix has some interesting shows I want to watch but again, there is never enough hours in the day and I need to read. Anything to keep the few brain cells I have active. I try and finish the crossword puzzle in the TV Guide but on a good day I can only finish maybe half. Have never been blessed with too many smarts. I wished Webtv never died. A couch potato wet dream. Surf the net from your couch/easy chair.

A flood of new Summer shows out there and I’m going to try and download the pilots and see what’s worth watching.

I get some time from the weirdos otherwise known as my fellow co-workers this week. But on the downside is a day in the Freezer. But anytime away from those people… Lets just say I am damned glad I have an MP3 to drown them out. It’s Summer time at work and everyone is cranky before vacation.

Well, it’s time for me to do a quick clean of the room and take a shower and call it a night. An early day at work and it’s Monday so I expect things to go wrong.

CIAO!!!

Well, Happy Memorial Day to everyone out there. It doesn’t feel like a warm holiday. Goofy weather and am wondering what Ma Nature is going to throw at us next.

Well, I ended up working Friday instead of Saturday. I guess some of the workers, I.E. Boss man wanted three days off in a row. So, I didn’t go to the casino in downtown Cleveland. It’ll still be there. I’m in no real hurry to drop cash in that place. Everyone at work tells me the buffet is great. Sorry, but that doesn’t rev my engines. There are plenty of good places to eat nearby that doesn’t have a slot machine nearby.

Longmire and The Glades new seasons start tonight. Ah, the wonders of technology. I have both recording to watch later this week.

Didn’t do much this weekend. Just the normal chores. And managed to get my walks in. And dodging rain drops today.

Went to Goodwill and picked up a series of books I haven’t read in a while. W.E.B Griffin, who writes about the Military, wrote a series called The Brotherhood Of War. It follows a group of people from the last days of World War II to The Viet Nam War. It’s been a few years since I’ve read the series and I couldn’t pass it up. The new Brad Thor book isn’t due out until July.

A short work week awaits me. Just have to get through a thirteen hour day on Tuesday. Eh, do this every holiday. Used to it. The price of a four day work week. Didn’t do any of the cook out stuff. A tad bit cold. And I just wasn’t into it. There’s a shindig later next month at my cousins place in Medina I’m trying to get the rest of the family to attend, if only for a few hours. And maybe try and reconnect with another family member who lives nearby. It’s a pain in the ass when family are warring with each other and you’re caught in the crossfire. May need to pack flack jackets the next time.

One the things that bugs me when I do my weekend walks is the amount of trash along side of the roads and side walks. I thought there was a law against littering. I’m reminded of a something I saw. A comic strip had some one picking up trash and some damned fool tossing out their trash out the window. That was one of the things I loved about the Germany/Europe. Everything was neat. And the nature walks, called Volks Marching in Germany, took you around the small towns. I missed those walks. And beer and bratwort’s (Flipping spell check ain’t working worth a damn. I left my Dictionary at work in my back pack. Need to go to Dollar Tree for another copy.) Eh, there’s this awesome German restaurant in Cleveland where I have a good meal. I need to go there some time soon. Their Beer list is very good.

Well, running out of things to say. Not much to say. For a while there, The Cleveland Indians were on a tear but reality set in and it’s a long season. I haven’t been to a game in a long time. It’s good place to see a game. But parking is expensive. Well, it’s expensive in downtown Cleveland. Would rather listen to the game on the radio.

Oh, don’t bother to download the new update for Facebook on the smart phone. I did and wished I didn’t. Don’t like how long it takes to load. Which reminds me to figure out how to transfer things to my SD Micro Memory card. I’m running out of space.

Still want a tablet. Just haven’t made my mind what brand and when. It may end being a Christmas gift to myself. Am leaning towards a Kindle HD. Need to do more research on this.

Long Day tomorrow. Need to get a few hours of sleep.

Hope everyone out there is doing fine. There are a few Xangans who haven’t posted in a while. Hope they’re doing fine.

Ciao!!!

As I said in a Pulse, JJ Abrahams knocked this movie out the park.

Here’s why.

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

You’ve been warned…

As the movie begins, the crew are up to it’s neck trying to save a planet that has no interstellar space drive without letting the people know they’re there. They do so but they DO let the people know that they’re there by having The Enterprise rise out of the ocean to save Spock.

Mean while back on Earth, a bombing occurs in London in a secret underground complex. Kirk looses his command to Pike after repeatedly breaking rules. Star Fleet Command gather to find a way to find the guy who was seen at the scene. Said villain starts strafing and killing most the high ranking officers along with Pike. Kirk convinces Star Fleet to re-instate his command and let him go after The Bad Guy to the home world of The Klingons. His orders are to take the bad guy, who’s name is Harrison, out. Read kill him. Kirk wants him alive to stand trial for the deaths of so many. Kirk takes on some torpedoes that Scotty can’t examine and he resigns. Kirk and crew heads to the Klingon home world and find Harrison. The Enterprise is disabled. A fight ensues and Harrison saves them. The Admiral who gave Kirk his orders comes in a huge-ass star ship and fires on the The Enterprise after Kirk finds out that Harrison ain’t who he says he is and doesn’t hand him over.
As The Enterprise falls to Earth, Kirk races to save the ship. Spock goes after Harrison after his ship takes out a decent part of Star Fleet Headquarters.

And…

What, and tell you how it ends??? Go see the movie.

Thoughts…

DAIMN… The pacing of the story was dead on. Each of the characters has an important role to play. And many nods to the previous films and Star Trek Cannon. Lenonard Nimoy has an important cameo in the film. And an actor who was in two or three episodes of Star Trek Enterprise, Peter Weller, has a good role in this movie. The action scenes were great and the story was great. Some places were a bit predictable but it moved the story along. All in all a damned fine movie. And where the next movie goes, I’ll be waiting. And this gives me hope for the impending Star Wars movies, providing of course George Lucas keeps his hands off the story. There’s a HUGE reveal in the middle. And Benedict Cumberbatch  is an AWESOME villain.

Verdict: As long as JJ Abrhams has his fingers on the pulse of this franchise, I don’t see this ending anytime soon. Will it do as huge numbers as say Iron Man III or the new Fast and Furious movie??? It’s somewhere in the middle. If the later movie didn’t open a week after Star Trek, it could have passed the $100 Million mark easily. Trying to predict a box office number is way beyond my ability.

Check it out.