Wild Westrum Rover

On The Road ...again! The Return of the Kerouac Dream.

2010-02-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

I had another Kerouac dream.
I was working in a gas station. It was a late summer evening. The sky outside the station was a watercolored canopy of pinks and oranges as the sun set. I placed the coffee pot back on the warmer making sure to keep the handle in the front so the customer's wouldn't need to reach around it all awkward like. I hate when people put it back wrong. I hate craning my are around all awkward likes. As the sun sets I restock the cigarette supply bin that hangs above the counter. I then turned about and began to restock the energy supplements that hang at the back of my little behind-the-counter-fortress. It is a sturdy L-shaped oak counter. Unlike most you find in convenience stores. I think to myself that should zombies invade I could probably hold 'em off for quite awhile back here. "They don't make 'em like this anymore" I tell myself aloud, marveling at how much I am beginning to sound like the old men who pass in and out through the doors of this very gas station. "I hear ya, James." A man says, the roll of his voice is smooth. Smooth the way you feel tobacco should taste but never does. A slow calming audible current tinged with cool mint and Memphis twang. I turn around to find myself in the presence of the original man in black. Johnny Cash. "I know you!" I exclaim, forgetting everything I ever read about how not to act around famous people. "Hello, James... my name is Johnny Cash." He says to me in exactly the same slow friendly way he does on all the old vinyl. Not pompous or arrogant in the least. Humble and kind, like you would say to an elderly loved one who can't quite place your name but recalls your face. "but, how ...do you know my name?" I ask confused. Johnny smiles and flicks my plastic name tag gently with his index finger. His nail makes a diminutive click as it hits it's mark. "ah recon it wasn't too hard to figure out."
We chuckle together.
Just then the door to the bathroom swing open. I began to wonder how many other people have some how seeped into my place of employ without the large cowbell over the door alerting me to their presence. Passing the ceiling-high glass fronted refrigerators that stretch across the back wall of the building a man makes his way towards us. He carries himself well on long legs. His stride is confident without being brash. I recognize him at once. "Hey Jack." I find myself smiling and giving him the 'hows-it-going' nod that is usually reserved for close friends or those strange moments when you must shimmy past someone on an airplane to get to your seat and accidentally make eye contact with out intending to do so. Jack nods and raises his coffee mug in a mild toasting gesture. "How've you been?" Mr. Kerouac inquires, propping an elbow on my counter implying that he has nowhere to be anytime soon. I give him the Cliff's notes on what's been going on with me and my brood. He and Johnny smile and nod knowingly. "Been there, man." Mr. Cash adds. "It's hard to find just the right balance of work and family." He says knowingly. "Too much of one or the other and it all goes south, on ya. Too much work and the family will miss you, too much family time and the bills don't get paid." He concludes. Jack doesn't reply, but he seems to understand what Johnny is saying. I explain to the post humus guys that the money angle is why I had to pick-up a second job at this gas station. Jack finishes his coffee and says:
"It is only in the absence of 'choice' that the inevitability of fate becomes apparent."
Johnny pays for the gas and the pair leave me there alone.

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

2010-01-26T08:29:00.000-08:00

So, guess what awesome (i hope) film is released on my birthday this year? Go ahead, guess! (Here's a hint: look below.)

Yeah it does!
THE LAST AIRBENDER, baby! I'm super-stoked.

McLovin saves the day...?

2009-11-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

I read today that Christopher Mintz-Plasse is going to be playing a superhero in the upcoming film 'Kick-Ass' which is based on a Marvel comicbook of the same name.
I'm not really saying this is a bad casting job, I guess i'm just saying "Huh?"
Never while watching SuperBad did I say to myself: "I really think Fogell should be in a superhero flick." As the Fates would have it, someone somewhere said just that.
Nicolas Cage is along for the ride, too. Yeeeeeah...

Trailer:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810063108/trailer

What is This!?

2009-11-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

A Transformers & G.I.Joe dance-off!?!?!?!?

Hardly. Just this year's halloween pictures.

Jillian was a super-cute Cinderella who managed to evade the camera.

Looking back

2009-10-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Logan was once so tiny. He's such a big guy now...

~Bionicle Showdown!~

2009-08-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

Last night Noel and I engaged in the age old (several months?) test of awesomeness that is the Bionicle action figure game. It was rather late in the evening, 10:30-ish i believe, so neither of us were playing at our best. I had never played before and we had long since disposed of the packages the dolls came in so it took me awhile to catch-on to how the game was played.

In a nutshell:

-You set your characters up about two feet apart.

-You then shoot at your opponent with your spiked-ball-thingy.

-If you hit them they take damage on their hit-counter.

-If you miss they do not.

-Hit or miss, you then move your character to where ever your spiked-ball lands.

-Your opponent then takes a turn.

-Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

-The game ends when someone runs out of numbers on their hit-counter.

I read online that if you use the package your figure came in as part of the game, then your opponent can shoot at that too, thusly speeding-up the game. We had no packages so our game ran a little longer then expected. Surprisingly, the hardest part for Noel and I is hitting a target near your figure! So many time we thought we had each other dead to rights only to shoot out projectile over a shoulder or between the legs or sometimes nowhere near at all! I was very skeptical of this 'game' before playing it. I reasoned it was just another poorly-conceived sales ploy meant to con people into buying more then one figure... and maybe it is. But it was also genuinely fun! We giggled and cheered and rolled our eyes with every shot taken. I strongly suspect that this is one of those things that must be 'done' to be enjoyed. This morning i watched several demonstrations on 'how to play' and the participants in the movies looked nowhere near as giddy as we did during our foray into robot fisty-cuffs. Maybe we were just really sleepy, but i believe a good time was had by all. Be forewarned: If you come to visit, Noel may well challenge you as well.

Gone but not far away

2009-08-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hiya!
I've not been blogging in awhile.
I mean to blog more soon.
Just not today.

Imported Candy!

2009-05-10T06:14:00.001-07:00

Winter and I found the above item while on a recent shopping trip to Meijer.

We were looking for a spicy salsa-like pizza topping that our friends had shared with us some time ago. Too long ago, evidently, as Meijer seems to have quit stocking it all together.

Any hoo, our quest for strange comestibles led us invariably to the ethnic foods section.

Nestled in among the Spain, Mexico, France, and Japan I was shocked to find Great Briton.

By "shocked" I mean completely overjoyed. Giddy even. As far back as I can recall I have ALWAYS wanted to be British. What better way to fulfill my childhood dream then to do as they do? Or is that snack as they snack... Either way, Onward! Okay, so it sounds a little daft. People who played Metal Gear: Solid may notice that my plan reeks of Decoy Octopus. Deep down inside I know full well I will never actually be able to change my heritage by eating a candy bar.

...Wait. I'm getting WAAAAY off-topic, here.

*ahem*

I was first drawn to this candy bar by the large 'No symbol' over the little girl with the short dress and the clutch. The "It's NOT for girls!" slogan made me laugh. It seems to me that in America chocolate seems to be the unofficial domain of all things female. I'm not being sexist or anything. It just seems to be that way. Think it over, how many men have you ever heard say "don't get between me and my chocolate" or anything to that effect? I rest my case.

So, finding a bar that was not for girls made me curious.

-Why was it not for girls?

-Were English girls opposed to chocolate?

-Did this particular candy contain something that may harm them?

-Was testosterone on the list of ingredients!?

Clearly, I had to buy one to find out.

Winter and I opened it in the car on the way home. The wrapper said Nestle along one end which suprised me. How dare They make something for one country and not another! England especially! It's not like they would have trouble translating the words on the wrapper for us or anything. Oh well. After opening it I noted the substancial size of the chocolate. It was far more robust then many of its American cousins. Perhaps the Yorkie was simply not for girls who watched their figure? That might explain the microdress clad lady behind the NO symbol.

I checked the ingredients for testosterone. Finding none, we dug right in.

The chocolate itself was rather tasty and only mildly waxy.

I shared the Yorkie with Winter. She was unharmed despite the wrapper's warning.

Thankfully.^^

2009-05-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

I found this picture on Flickr and it tickled me to death.
I suspect that most people won't find this as funny as I did.
I feel sorry for those people.

The Sailor Suit

2009-05-04T08:33:00.001-07:00

Winter thinks this outfit is adorable!
I think it makes Jillian look like a dude.

Power Miners!

2009-05-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is Noel's first Lego project that he built himself.
I really like the red rock monster in the background.
The little guy looks so upset! Good Job Noel!

Much Delayed Halloween Pictures

2009-05-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Smile!

2009-04-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Jillibean!

2009-04-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Random Photos

2008-12-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

2008-11-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

Our new home has 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath, a nice little yard, front and back, and even a tree or two for the kids to climb! We should be here long enough for even Jillian to be doing some climbing! All hardwood floors, tons of windows, and space to breathe in, finally! We love it, and can't wait to build snowmen, plant flowers/plants in the spring, and generally grow! Speaking of growing...our little people are getting big! Jillian is 4 months old today...November 17th. Logan's nearly at his halfway point to his 3rd birthday,(December 29th, he'll be exactly 2.5!) and Noel is just as close to his 8th birthday...December 29th! It's hard to remember a time when I didn't have my wonderful little family, but all this has happened in little more than 3 years! I know I've said it before, but I'm so blessed!

I have finished my nurse aide training, and passed with flying colors, I will be taking a part time job as a transportation aide at a local nursing home, taking the residents to and from their doctor's appointments. I have a class starting in January, my last english course! It might be a little crazy working a job around school, but I'm not the first person to do it; even if being a mom is a full time job! I've had more hectic, crazy schedules before for my classes! Then I'll just work for a while, until my next class is available next fall, my biology classes, 3 of them, and when I'm done with those, I'll just be waiting on my clinical rotation to be called, finish that, and voila, you'll have an official Registered Nurse as your friend, "in-law", etc! It's exciting to see progress being made! I can't lie, and say I have no qualms about returning to work, continuing classes, and still being a good mom, but these are momentary sacrificed that I am making, in order to give my children a good life, a little better than I had; so I'll miss them while I'm off doing these things, but I'm doing this for them! Besides, who knew that going to work would feel like going away for some "me" time. Don't get me wrong, mommyhood is the most important, wonderful, fullfilling, challenging job I will ever have; they will ALWAYS come first, but everyone needs a little time away,(as Peter Cetera said!) For the first time in a long time, our finances won't be so strapped, and we'll be able to do some more fun things with and for the kids, that we simply couldn't possibly afford without a second income...like moving into a house! Even though it's still renting, the important part is the space! I love being a mom, and I'm looking forward to working again, and going back to school after taking time off to have Jillian and get my stna (state tested nurse's aide)! I'm going to work myself up into a worry, so let's change the subject!....

Isn't Jillian getting big!? Well, Logan is too! I was looking at his baby pictures the other day, and was so excited to see how he's grown, it's really neat and amazing, and hard to believe he was ever that small, and now there's another small one that will be his size before we know it! It's sad and exciting all at the same time to watch them grow! sigh. Right now I am enjoying some peace and quiet for the first time in a few weeks....everyone's asleep but me. I should probably take a nap too, but it's so nice to get to do something by myself for once! Since I don't have much else to say, I'll go get some of that fresh pot of coffee I made myself and enjoy a bit of reading before the pace picks up again! Love to all!

As Promised: New-School Lego Pirates

2008-11-17T05:39:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the above photos the overall flavor of the pirates remains the same. Their is now a greater level of detail then there was in the late 80's/early 90's, too. In addition to the improved deco on the faces and chests the new pirate minifigures now sport back deco as well. While this is common on the licensed lines (i.e. Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc.) it's pretty rare on the original ones. The pirate gear remains largely the same with the cutlass, the rifle and treasure map looking just as I remembered them. In addition to the old stand-bys the good folks at Lego saw fit to toss a spy-glass into the mix as well as a red octopus. While the octopus figure has been around for awhile ( as early as the Alpha Team aquatic missions, I believe.) It's previous incarnations have been black. Although the pistol is absent from the arsenal thus far this is Lego Pirates so I'm sure it's only a matter of time. Other timeless pirate pieces have showed-up elsewhere over the last few years ( the monkey was used as Chim-Chim for the Speed Racer Line, the alligator appears in a few Agents sets, and the parrot is all over the place. There is also a re-tooled version of the shark, currently in Agent kits, which now has a gullet big enough to fit a figure in! ) so its reasonable to assume they'll get Pirate-ized sooner or later.

Note: I built the Organ Gun in the final photo from bits I had left over. It's not part of a kit or anything. But what screams pirate louder then a quad-cannon?

Logans Sleep anywhere.

2008-11-17T05:03:00.001-08:00

When I was just a wee James my school reader was named "Cats Sleep Anywhere." Logan's choice of napping locale yesterday reminded me of this book for obvious reasons.

First Snow.

2008-11-17T04:43:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I'll get tired of looking at it eventually... but this morning it's breathtaking.

A long time coming

2008-11-16T06:16:00.001-08:00

Way back in 1989 Lego started a new line of sets unlike any other. Pirates! The Pirate minifigures were the first that Lego had produced with different faces. Up to this point all minis had the same generic 'smile' face. In addition to adding variety to the figures faces Lego also manufactured hook-hands and peg-legs to further distance the pirates from their yellow skinned cousins. The line gathered as many fans as it did awards and continued on for a total of eight years. Along the way adding Female pirates with makeup, skeletons, Parrots in bright hues, and even a monkey figure. Enemies were also produced throughout the run. Imperial Guard, Armada and later head-hunting Islander natives for the pirates to interact with. I was only eight years old when the pirate sets were released and I could not have been more thrilled! Many was the long home-schooled afternoon I would spend spinning tales of adventure and romance on my blue comforter that served so well as the rolling seas. "ROMANCE!?" I can hear you say. Let me be the first to assure you. When you have twenty some odd minifigure males and only a single busty Lego lass- romance is bound to ensue.

Needless to say, last week I was thrilled to death to discover that Lego would indeed begine to produce Pirate sets once again! I was at the local Toys R' Us shopping for christmas gifts when I came upon the Pirates promo set located on an endcap. It was in this same location that I had found a Castle promo set about two months before that line came into full production. Putting two and two togather I believe that Lego plans to release additional sets around the holidays if not shortly there after. HUZZAH!

I picked-up the promo set. After I take some picturees I'll post 'em. Until then, bask in the glory of this oldschool sea dog that I nabbed from Minifigs.net.

Feels kinda' like home...

2008-11-16T05:32:00.001-08:00

So, I'm sure most of you have already seen all of these on my Lady's Facebook or Myspace page but for those of you who have not... TA~DAAAA! We've been moved in for awhile now and things are starting to feel homie around our little castle. It's so weird after living in the Apartment to suddenly have more then two windows total. Or not having to wait to use the restroom. Or having a yard. Or not having to haul groceries to the second floor.

I bloke could get used to this. ^^

...Now all I need is water.

2008-09-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

A note on Skills.

2008-09-14T06:15:00.000-07:00

Logan is a bright young man. He speaks very well for his age.

He is not, however, good at hiding.

The Art of Knowing Your Baby

2008-09-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Some babies are hard to read. They make one face most of the time and rarely let on how they feel. They pass the days and nights just mellowing in a sea of non-expression. Not the case with our little Jillian! Behold:

Depressed.

Surprised.

Cheerful

Hilarity!

Looking Forward/Looking Back

2008-09-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about Madeline and Jay coming to visit next weekend!

I've requested-off the Thursday and Sunday nights flanking my weekend to allow for maximum awesomeness! Oh yeah, it's gonna be THAT fantastic!
In the spirit of spending time together, here's a picture from a previous visit we had. :D YAY!

Irregular Webcomic!

2008-09-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

Irregularwebcomic.net is awesome!

Yearbookyourself.com

2008-09-10T04:16:00.000-07:00

Noel in 52

Noel (Austin Danger Powers) in 70

Noel looking alot like Ron Weasley in 88.

Not being able to find any pictures of myself w/o glasses I used the site posted about by my sister Rebekah on ...Noel! Please keep in mind he was only five in the picture i used.

Far Too Cute!

2008-09-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry blog, I've been hangin' out with my Jillian! As you can see, she is getting much bigger.

10lbs 10 oz to be exact. ^__^

After 3 Long Years...

2008-08-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

Y (sans the traditional -MCA)

2008-08-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

This one's for Rebekah, as promised. We hope you enjoy the pic. Hopefully she grows out of this phase before too much longer... although it MAY come in handy at some highschool dances at some point down the road.

Pssh- young people.

Trip to Kingwood Center-7

2008-08-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Trip to Kingwood Center-6

2008-08-10T12:14:00.001-07:00

Trip to Kingwood Center-5

2008-08-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Trip to Kingwood Center-4

2008-08-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Trip to Kingwood Center-3

2008-08-10T11:59:00.001-07:00

Trip to Kingwood Center-2

2008-08-10T11:56:00.001-07:00

Trip to Kingwood Center

2008-08-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Counting Down...

2008-08-10T04:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know I've blogged about this game before but now that there is an official countdown timer at http://castlecrashers.com/ I felt like I should make another post. The game will sport lush hand-drawn HD graphics, more then 20 bosses to take down, a slew of different characters to unlock and level-up, over a dozen animal orb helpers, 4 player action from your living room (or across the globe through Xbox Live) in both Story mode and Arena mode, and lots of different weapons to arm thyself with. HUZZAH!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

2008-08-02T13:47:00.001-07:00

Join a mad scientist, N.P.H, as he blogs tries to take over the world and sings about both. Yeah. It's as awesome as it is bad sounding. And you can find most of it on Youtube! Yay!

American Shaolin

2008-07-29T04:40:00.001-07:00

American Shaolin follows the adventures of Matthew Polly as he leaves college to pursue his dream of studying KungFu in the far off land of China. Not only is this book funny as hell it also contains a great amount of insight into the everyday lives of Chinese people and their view of westerners. Through a keen wit and clever narrative Polly makes you feel a part of the journey form his landing in China and asking those he meets where to find Shaolin (that's how they do it in all the movies, he reasons) to his encounter with an IronCrotch Master! From the first page to the last I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this phenomenal book.

Runaways

2008-07-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

Although often overlooked by many of the hardcore comic book fans for its cartoonish style and youthful cast, Runaways was a brilliant story that most people never read. It followed the adventures of a gang of teens who discovered that their parents were actually super villains. The kids then banded together to stop their parents in an Avengers-meets-The Breakfast Club story that is not to be missed.

I came for the story, I stayed for the characters.

Avengers Assemble!

2008-07-25T11:48:00.001-07:00

Jillian Florence Therese Westrum

2008-07-24T04:29:00.001-07:00

Behold my little n00b!

I love it her. I love it her so good.

Yay Puddles!

2008-07-16T04:11:00.000-07:00

GASP! At: The Amazing Chicken-Feet Boy!!

2008-07-15T05:22:00.001-07:00

Marvel at his uncanny nature!
Is he Chicken or is he Man!?
The world may never know...

Please note:
This Strange boy-chicken hybrid was caught by a charming local woman who was not available for comment at the time this blog was written.

-The editor.

When a Spartan loves an A.I.

2008-07-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

Spartan 117 Cortana

The relationship these two share is equal parts touching, tragic, and kinda' creepy.

Welcome Home Elder Anderson!

2008-07-15T05:09:00.000-07:00

Evan is home!
Fathers, lock-up your daughters!
Mothers, lock-up your Mountain Dew!

Ontario Fireworks

2008-07-15T04:55:00.000-07:00

It's not only my pictures... the fireworks could have been much better.

With a little luck, the Lexington ones will be awesome. They usually are.

I Had A Dream...

2008-07-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

I had a dream last week that I was a Lego person. Not a standard inch-tall Lego person, mind you, but a James-sized 5'10 Lego person. Up until this point in time I hadn't really entertained the notion of being a LegoJames. Well, not beyond the usual things like where do Lego people go potty, do they need a license to drive- or just the right blocks to build themselves a car? Why bother building a bed or a bedroom when all the horizontal surfaces in their houses are all the exact same density? You know, the normal stuff we all think about.
But I'm getting off-topic.
In the dream I awoke one morning to find myself suddenly a Lego person. Winter was rather cross with me, as I now took-up way more room in the bed then before. Lego people, after all have rather wide bodies. Feeling sorry for my Legoself, I continued on with my morning routine. First I washed my face. It was hard to reach, having unmovable elbows, but I managed. Next, I made some toast. It's hard to work the toaster lever when you have large plastic mittens for hands. When my toast was finished I was further saddened to learn that I couldn't reach my own mouth. I leaned over the plate and ate it like a doggie. No sooner had I finished my toast then I heard Winter yell from the other room: "WHAT THE #&%@ IS ALL THIS &*#^!???" I returned to the bedroom to investigate. As I entered the room I found her standing next to the closet. "Whats wrong?" I asked. She flung back the sliding closet door and pointed accusingly. Following her lead I peered into the closet. My half of the closet was stuffed edge to edge with giant plastic pants. About four pair. Five plastic shirts hung above them.
I shrugged. Lego clothing can't be folded like normal ones, after all. "WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE BABY'S THINGS?" Winter roared. I wanted to die. I couldn't help being a Lego person. I was so ashamed of my giant plastic self. "...i have to get to the lab." I countered weakly. I kissed her goodbye and walked outside to Sheila, our minivan. Much to my horror, upon climbing into the drivers seat I discovered that I couldn't reach the steering-wheel with either of my hands, let alone both at once! I pounded my head back against the headrest. How had everything suddenly become so hectic, i wondered.

After I awoke the next morning I was filled with a strange feeling of dislike towards my Lady for being so misunderstanding. Dreams are strange like that.

Dad N' Me

2008-07-11T11:03:00.001-07:00

As a searched the Internet for info on the upcoming Castle Crashers I found this!
It's a gem of a "beat em' up game" in the vein of Double Dragon and River City Ransom.
The action unfolds in a 3/4 view perspective as your dad (the taller purple dude) drops you off in his car. From there you trudge forward on foot, kicking every butt that comes your way.
The butts in question range from other non-purple little kids to kids dressed as James Bond.
Also keep an eye out for Metal-Heads, Hippies, Jocks, Kids with fro's, boy scouts, Ninja, Emokids, and pretty much everyone else you'd find if you passed a playground.
The methods of dispatching your foes are as varied as your foes themselves. The levels are littered with all manner of objects that can he lifted and tossed (gas canisters, dodgeballs, etc) or used as stationary hazards to push others into... like: those animals on giant springs or my favorite ...Traffic!
The controls are super simple with the arrows dictating the direction you move in and the 'A' and 'S' buttons used for fast and heavy attacks respectively. you can also string together combos by pressing the buttons in a different order. Although not deep or meaningful this game is super-fun in a fast paced NOT CHILD FRIENDLY sort of way.
The high point of Dad N' Me in my mind is it's very unique art style. Most of the characters in the game feature Dan Paladin (Castle Crashers, Alien Homonid, Peace Tank) 's signature huge rectangle-shaped heads and squat bodies. And while this isn't the only thing about the game I enjoy- I certainly helps keep my mind off of how horrible the game's concept actually is. I mean, as a parent I SHOULD be appalled by the idea of children wailing on one another, and yet for some reason when I play this game I'm not.

Give it a shot. Lemme know what you think.

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/254456

-James!

Castle Crashers

2008-07-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

I'm super stoked for the release of this game!

It's a multi-player action RPG that follows the adventures of four knights who've been crossed. With over 20 unlockable characters, dozens of diffrent weapons, and about a hundred levels to hack and slash your way through it's looking to be pretty darn awesome.

This one is for my biggest fan!

2008-07-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

The picture to the left is one I took of the Lego minifigures of Marion Ravenwood and Dr.Henry 'Indiana' Jones Jr. The significance of this picture being that Logan is thoroughly convinced that Marion is, in fact, his favorite person: *~AhBecky!~*

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

2008-07-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is a movie I'd heard of before but never sat down and watched ...until today. It starts out kind of slow, but once it gets going it just doesn't let-up! With each scene the action is constantly ramped-up in true Shaw Bros. fashion. True, this film has been around for a long time and it defenitly shows it's age- but it's a great movie none the less. If I were a 'stars' kinda guy, I'd give it three and a half.
It's awesome.

Two!

2008-06-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

Today is Logan's second birthday!
Yay for our little monkeyman!

(Pictures to come...)

Enter The Davkin

2008-06-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

Davkin the mighty Galka warrior So dynamic!

Behold the amazing Ezlo!

With a Little Help From My Friends ^_^ (more FF pics!)

2008-06-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Andykin! Celly!
Nappy!
Celly! (again)
Tenxin & Danael the fantastic Taru Duo

This week in Vana'diel

2008-05-28T04:22:00.001-07:00

Recently, Danael(Winter's character) and I departed our homeland of San D'oria and began our long journey to the far-off kingdom of Windurst. If we walked on foot it would have taken the better part of a three days (earth time). Instead, we opted to sail! After walking across the Ronfaure, Theine Plateau, and the Valkurm desert we at last reached the harbor.

The tickets were priced fairly, at only 100 gil.

It was a fairly uneventful voyage with the exception of my getting killed by a Sea Terror.

After the ship set sail I thought I would pop up to the deck and take a look at the ocean. I had never been on a boat trip before (in game) and thought it the ideal time to grab afew screenshots of me and the big blue! So, not knowing any better, I followed the other passengers up the wooden stairwell to the deck. Imagine my surprise when the double doors to the deck were thrown wide open and I beheld not the sea and the distant horizon but instead the gaping maw of a Sea Terror! I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me back to the cargo deck from whence I came. As I flew back down the stairs I began to fear the worst. Even as I ran I could see the beast's tentacles looming behind me! Reaching my destination, I rushed into the cargo hold and shut the door tight behind me. I heaved a sigh. I was certain the Sea Terror couldn't follow me in here. I was certainly wrong. As fate would have it: Sea Terrors can open doors. And, much to my sorrow, it still remembered me. My death was quick and very painful. The damage it dealt me was more then three times my total hit points. After vanquishing me it seemed content to wander about the room not attacking other people. Shortly there after it must have gotten bored because it flew out of the room and back up the stairs. Stoopid Sea Terror!

(For those of you who haven't seen one: a Sea Terror is a giant flying octopus with a ray fish's wings. It is roughly the size of a conversion van, and capable of hitting about twice as hard.)

Danael asked around and the only White Mage (read: healer) onboard said that she would Raise me from the dead... for 30,000 gil. Having nowhere near this amount of money even between us we respectfully declined. Even had I the money I would have refused her offer. That would be like paying fifty six dollars for a Snickers bar. Not gonna happen. Sorry.

Strangely, after we made port, she Raised me at no charge.

After sitting down until my post-death sickness passed, our Friend and psudo-Guildmaster Wolftin met us at the customs counter. It was good to see him again! I hadn't seen him face to face since the morning he offered me a place in his guild four months ago.

With Wolf leading the way we passed through towering mountains and deep valleys.

We met with minimal interference from the local tribes of Beastmen on our walk, as I believe they feared Wolf as much as I feared them. Which was a great deal. I had come a long way and was horrified by the thought of being killed twice in one day.

After what seemed like an eternity of running cross-country we at last came to the gates of Windurst! It was good to finally be someplace safe.

-Tenxin

Tarutaru adventurer extraordinaire

Me Me ME!!! ( ,it's all about)

2008-05-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks Rebekah for doing the hard part and thinking up the questions.

Now I am totally blogging on the shoulders of giants!

Here goes:

My ex was… a sweet little girl who grew-up to hate me as much as I grew to hate her.

Man, that looks grim in print.

Maybe I should…grow my hair-out like Liam from Oasis. Such a handsome lad.

I love… my family, warm meals, cuddles, sleeping in, hobbits, games of all kinds, books, robots, new socks, Lego, anime, britcoms, waffles... all pretty much in that order.

I don’t understand… rocket science.
What!? I don't!

I lost… far too many hours of my life watching Lost waiting for something to happen.

People would say that I DON’T… like stupid people. They're right. I don't.

Love is… The greatest thing in the world... except for a nice MLT sandwich when the mutton is nice and lean. They're so perky, I love that....

Somewhere, someone is… ordering a stack of waffles, unaware that I would very much like to be them at this very moment in time.

I will always… be more interested in ideas than in facts.

I never want to… see my family suffer.

I think the current President is… a bit of a quick-draw artist.

When I woke up in the morning… it was 7:00pm yesterday. 3Rd shift is great like that.

The world is full of… lessons to be learned.

My past is full of incredibly… boring summer breaks spent playing classic RPGs ^^

I get annoyed when… people repost things I've posted and don't even bother to change the answers to something else. Think for yourselves, people! I swear it dosen't hurt!

Parties are for… hanging-out with people you can't stand to be near when you're sober.

I wish… Britney would slither back to her swamp so people would stop wasting trees telling me about her. Yes, really.

My dog… deserved better then I could give him.

My cats… are hep, daddy-o. dig?

Kisses are the worst when… the girl trying to give them to you is too drunk to remember that she just puked. Wow, I really don't miss high school.

Tomorrow I’m going to… get to bed around three in the afternoon, and I can't wait. ^_^

I really want… to write a novel. It could be fun, right?

I have low tolerance for people who… feel that the rules of the road do not apply to them because they own a Lexus.

If I had a million dollars…I'd finance a short-notice family reunion! ...and bank the rest.

In the middle of the night… while the wise and the sane slumber, the James is hard at work at the optics lab making money to pay his bills.

Its been awhile

2007-12-06T06:11:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you guys know that most of my blogging will be taking place on Myspace in the future. It makes it easier for people to find me.

Daddy loves Legos

2007-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some quick pix of Chewie, Han, Luke and Leia. Man, every time I see those two together I always find myself humming Kissing Cousins. Curse you, Elvis!!

Growing-Up Fast

2007-05-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Logan can already:

-pull himself up.

-Feed himself finger foods.

-Escape from his crib.
-Walk while holding onto something.

-Wave hello/bye-bye.

-Charm the ladies.

***Props to KnitChick for making him the snazzy cardi.

Brother, Mine

2007-05-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

My Brother-From-Another-Mother, Mr. Dublin Fox, has written a novel!

Please join me in congratulating him!!

A midnight Stroll

2007-05-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Taking Things Easley

2007-05-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

This last Saint Patrick's day I had the chance to meet Jeff Easley.

He was super cool in a laid-back Gandalf sort of way.

I purchased a piece of his art, which he signed for free!

And just when I couldn't be any happier he signed my

Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook and drew a quickie sketch to boot!

HUZZAH!

Old Habits...

2007-05-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I quit.

I just couldn't stay that way. ^_^

strange...

2007-04-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

For some reason I can no longer add pictures to my posts.
Weird. Any ideas? Anybody?

Worst. Movie. Ever.

2007-02-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

On February 16th I paid good money to see what has got to be the most God-awfullest piece of crap that I have ever seen.

No, really.

I paid to see DareDevil. I paid to see LXG. I paid to see Van Helsing. I paid to see the Dungeons & Dragons movie that stared a Waynes brother, for Christ's sake! And with each box office flop came the knowing feeling before the film had reached it's second reel. That age-old "...hmmm, this movie kinda' blows..." feeling. This time around, I got the feeling about five minutes in.

It was somewhere between Johnny Blaze choosing jellybeans over booze and Johnny Blaze laughing his ass off at a VHS recording of an animal program involving monkeys.

(Again) No, really.

I guess I really shouldn't have expected too much from the director of Grumpier Old Men, the leading man from City of Angels, and some random bimbo from Night At The Roxburry.

Even the addition of Sam Elliot couldn't save this one form the proverbial toilet.

More then the absurd pose-striking, the cookie-cutter 80's dialog, or the horrid acting the thing that really got me was the gaping holes in common sense. How is it that spinning a length of chain in a pseudo-cyclone is enough to dispel a wayward angel? How does one man's burning skull set-off fire sprinklers but not burn people who are in a dogpile on top of him? How is it that a hell-born chopper can leave a melted trail down a public roadway but not even leave a trail across the open desert? How is it that rogue angels, no longer siding with heaven or hell, cannot tread on hallowed ground but the Devil's personal bounty hunter can? And who the hell casts Peter Fonda as the Prince of Darkness!? I mean, Christopher Lee? -Hell yeah! Frank Langella? -Sure, why not! Ian Mckellan? -...uh, I guess we'll take what we can get. But Peter Fonda?? C'mon people! What did you spend the whole budget on? -Sam Elliot and a boat-load of cheesy C.G. fire? ARGH!!!

Long story short: This movie blows wild goats. Period.

Although, the Fantastic Four II trailer looked kinda' neat.

...maybe I should do a product review next-post.

SICK DAY!!! (or three)

2007-02-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

yep, you heard right. I'm home sick. I stayed home from work on monday. Tuesday I felt like crap but went anyway... and came home at 10:00. Then, today, I called off aswell.
I'm not really comfortable having this much time to sit around and do nothing.
Well, unless staring at the celing, drinking OJ, sipping cough meds, and waiting to die count as doing things.

...perhaps I'll post again later today if i can think of something to post about.

-James!

"TEEFERS!"

2006-12-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

It's official!!! The baby's growing up, he's working on his first "toofer" Bottom right front tooth is making it's way in! There's a hole in his gums,and you can really feel the tooth now. I think it broke through last Friday, Logan was kinda hard to please that day! We just noticed it on Sunday! It's so cute and amazing, and I can't believe we're at this milestone already! WOW!! Logan's taking it so well,really, I mean he's a little fussy, and he wants to be held, but he just chews on his hands a lot, and on his swing's tray ornaments, and he's fine, if a little whiny. We give him baby tylenol, and he's better, usually knocks him out cold, so I try to do it just before bed! Found the orajel! yay for that stuff! He doesn't like the frozen teething ring, so that's out! All in all though, so far it's going really well.
That's all for now, he's getting fussy again, so off I go!!

Cha-Ching!

2006-12-01T14:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick pic of James! getting his first raise form his employer Tony Stark.

Go James! Go James!

( Pay the red and gold armor no heed, Mr.Stark is, in fact, NOT Iron Man.)

(Swear.)

I'm here!

2006-11-29T03:38:00.000-08:00

It worked, it worked!!! I am finally a part of this blog!All those invites from James and all I had to do to get it to work was copy and paste the invite into the address window. I went to Blogger help and it said that happens with Yahoo sometimes!!! YAY us!!! So let's see, what's been going on? Logan's getting big, eating baby oatmeal now! He loves it! He's also been a little clingy lately, I couldn't put him down yesterday at all without him getting fussy! But he's such a sweetheart!! We have been playing a lot of Maple Story lately! It's really a lot more fun than I expected! And Madeline has been really sweet to help us out, leveling up and such! Some of it still confuses me,but I'm getting used to it, and I'm still trying to coordinate my key-hitting strategy, I hit the wrong ones sometimes! Ah well, soon I'll be a pro like Madeline!
Well I don't really have much to say right now,so I'll stop wasting space, Logan got me up pretty early, maybe I'll try to go back to bed, or maybe I'll just make coffee, and finish my papers for work, and do some dishes, and get dressed, then call my friend, she's coming to help me with the divorce papers, she did her fiance's, and she's much more organized than I am!! Hopefully the ball will really start rolling! I can't wait to have it out of my hair!
K--really shutting up now!!!Love to all!

Getting Bigger

2006-11-14T03:10:00.000-08:00

The newest Member of TeamJames is showing remarkable progress towards becoming a 'big boy!'
As you can clearly see he has little trouble holding his head up for short amounts of time.

...you can also clearly see that it's laundry day and that we at TeamJames enjoy Berries & Cream Dr.Pepper and Orange Dew.

Making Passes

2006-10-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

As I read a reply to my sister's post:
(Monday, March 27, 2006)
Keeping Up Appearances, or Men Don't Make Passes
It occured to me that "James only makes passes at women with glasses!"
-weird.

A Little Help Here?

2006-10-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

As fate would have it I cannot find a way to add my Lady Fair as an author in my blog.
If anybody knows how to go about this please drop us a line.

Cheers!
-James!

2006-10-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

Last week I picked-up a copy of The Tick VS Season 1! (Go-me-go-me-go-me!)
I found it to be almost every bit as good as I remember it being. ^_^
We used to watch it on weekends when we stayed at my Grandma Pat's house.
Ah yes, the rare old times, sitting in her sub-arctic living room stuffing ourselves on peach-flavored candies and Jolly Rollys... But I'm getting off topic. The frame-rate on The Tick shows the program's age, as does the less then crystal-clear picture. However, the show more then makes-up for these minor setbacks with a large cast of outlandish( in a good way!) characters, wildly entertaining dialog and great storytelling.
Even if you've never seen it before, or simply haven't seen it for a while you owe it to yourself to rent this puppy, if not buy it out-right.

SPOON!

2006-10-23T14:06:00.001-07:00

It was a long time coming, I suppose, but at long last I have a blog!
I can now post all my random thoughts and people can read them if they feel like it.

BWA-HA-HA-HA!

...ahem. so yeah, stay tuned and enjoy!