Monday, December 27, 2010

It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

"Ho ho ho! Merry everyone!" - Homer Simpson
Sometimes all it takes is the excitement on a child's face to put your life back in order.  Those of you who know me probably know that this year hasn't been the greatest year for me.  These last couple of months of 2010 especially.  Except for my published article, this year has been pretty whack.  But seeing the children happy at Christmas made it all seem better.  Let me set the table for you.  Usually at our Christmas parties my family that that live in this area get together to celebrate.  We usually do a gift exchange and at this gift exchange someone plays Santa Claus.  I've done it in years past, so have my brothers.  It's often a long and sweaty ordeal, but this year it just seemed a bit more special.  This year we had a lot of young kids that still believed in Santa.  My cousin Justin took the reigns this year and the reactions were priceless.  He entered through the front door, ringing the doorbell, the parents gathered the kids around the door and when he appeared...the reaction was just awesome.  One girl jumped up and down like those screaming Michael Jackson fanatics.  Another girl stared at him for a second, then jumped off her bike and ran to give him a hug.  It was awesome.

Needless to say I had a very good Christmas.  I got some great gifts for my family that I'm sure they'll enjoy.  And I got some really awesome gifts myself.  I got some much needed BluRays: Scott Pilgrim vs.the World, and Avatar: Collector's Edition, a very classy new wallet (my old one is in tatters), a great set of dryfit workout shirts and some black socks, and last but not least: the Mass Effect 2 N7 Armor hoody.  You guys already know that I"m a huge Mass Effect fan, and I think any fan needs to own this hoody.  Not only does it look extremely badass, it is also very well made and seems like it will last quite a while.  It does feel a little tight for being an XXL but I think they made it that way...that or my brother accidentally got me a woman's XXL.  In any event I absolutely love it.
I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday.  What'd you get for Christmas?  What were some of your favorite gifts? Let me know.

Merry Christmas.


Monday, December 20, 2010

The Hot 5

Hello everybody! (Hi Dr. Nick!)  It's time for me to list the 5 things I think are awesome at this moment, I call them...The Hot 5.  Let's get this monkey train rolling.

December/January issue of Vincit Magazine (VIP Coach Monitor: Changing the Game)

If you saw my last blog post you'll know that I wrote an article for the December/January issue of Vincit Magazine.  I can't tell you how excited I was to see my name in print.  It was truly a dream come true.  What was even more exciting was the possible opportunities that this article can open for me.  I'll be sure to keep you guys informed.  The magazine is fairly new so you may not be able to find it at your local magazine rack.  However you can go to the above link and pick one up.  Show me some love (I get absolutely no compensation for this).  Tell me what you think of the article.

The Lost Complete Collection (BluRay)
Buy it on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/24m4nlr
One of the coolest box sets I have ever purchased for one of televisions best shows ever.  This box set is a treat for die-hard Lost fans as well as those who are making this their entrance into the series.  Not only does the whole set feel extremely well made, it also includes hidden mysteries(!).  It includes all 6 seasons on BluRay as well as a Collector's disc specific to this box set.  When I found the hidden disc I was so amazed at how much effort was put into this.  I already purchsed seasons 1-5 on BluRay but I still had to have this, I think its a must-own for any Lost fan.

Nikita (Thursdays, CW)
Official site: http://www.cwtv.com/shows/nikita
Wow.  When I first started this show I was just watching to see Maggie Q. in revealing outfits.  Thankfully, this show has proven to be more than just a few pretty people.  Matter of fact everyone on this show is pretty.  Although technically a remake of the 1990 movie La Femme Nikita, and the 1997-2001 television series by the same name, the current Nikita is a whole new ballgame while sharing a bit of the same plot: convicted felon is taken in by a government agency and trained to be an assassin; the felon leaves the agency and vows to destroy them.  What more could you want form a show that has intense action, great storyline, interesting plot twists, and great characters...oh and Maggie Q.  The one thing about this show that I love the most is that the story keeps moving forward while still paying attention to character development.  Other shows tend to spin their wheels just to fill episode space, this show has characters dying, alliances being shifted, and major developments taking place all in the first half of the first season.  If you haven't checked this show out yet, you are missing out.

Community: Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas (NBC airdate: 12/9/10)
Official site: http://www.nbc.com/community/

Oh Community, how you have filled my television viewing hours with such joy.  I know I talk about this show a lot, but I think it deserves it.  This very special Christmas episode is another stand out from a season that has already given us a wicked zombie episode.  This Christmas special centers around Abed.  He wakes up and sees everyone is stop-motion animated, the only problem is, he's the only one that sees it.  The rest of the group try to get him help, and through a therapy session go on a ride to Abed's mind.  What we get is an extremely emotional episode, filled with laughs, tears, camaraderie, and of course, song.  The main thing I love about this episode is that it wasn't a one-shot episode where they are just stop-motion for a day, and then the next episode its as if nothing happened.  There is actually a story behind it and Abed's character is developed a lot more as we find out more about his mother.  I think this episode will stand among one of the best Christmas specials out there.

Mike Tolbert (San Diego Chargers Running Back)
Bio: http://www.chargers.com/team/roster/Mike-Tolbert/0fc7730f-4416-44f3-ad4f-fcca73da65c3
Highlights: http://www.nfl.com/videos/san-diego-chargers/09000d5d81cfa2fd/WK-15-Can-t-Miss-Play-The-Helmetless-Halfback
If you don't know me and haven't figured it out by now, I'm a huge San Diego Chargers fan.  This guy, Mike Tolbert is a beast.  Like All Pro tight end Antonio Gates, Tolbert came out of obscurity.  Everytime I've seen him run I have been impressed.  This season he has really helped the team out by filling in for 1sr round draft pick Ryan Mathews.  He's done such a great job that he pretty much stole the starting job from the rookie.  Not only does he run with determination and power, he is also a very unselfish player.  If you don't believe me just watch the 49ers game where he lines up on special teams, gets his helmet ripped off at the line of scrimmage and runs 60 yards downfield to try to make the tackle: helmetless.  This guy is the epitome of a football player.  Hopefully his heart as well as the rest of the weapons on offense can propel my Chargers to a Super Bowl.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

'tis the Season to be sharing Fred

I know its going to sound weird but seeing this commercial is one of my fondest memories of the Christmas season when I was a kid.  It really taught me the meaning of sharing.  If you weren't alive back then (poor you) let me set it up for you.  All year long Barney was always hatching a scheme to get Fred's Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles.  He would usually get foiled, sometimes he'd succeed, in any event it would always piss Fred Flintstone off.  It was always different around Christmas time in the town of Bedrock...



Happy Hollandaise!

Joel

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Vincit Magazine on shelves December 15, 2010

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to share some awesome news with you.  I wrote an article for the December issue of Vincit Magazine.  This will be the first of anything I've had published before.  The article is actually featured on the cover and is titled: "VIP Coach Monitor: Changing the Game".  It was an awesome experience and hopefully this will open doors for other opportunities.  Be sure to check it out on December 15.


Vincit Magazine website: http://vincitmagazine.com/
Like Vincit Magazine on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VINCITmagazine?v=wall
Follow @VINCITmagazine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/VINCITmagazine

Peace,
Joel

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Year End Review 2010

Hey all its the end of the year and you know what that means.  No not Christmas ham and presents.  It's time for end of the year awards.  These are the things that really wowed me this year.  Let me know what you think and give me some of your year end awards.  Here we go.

Game of the Year:
Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)
I absolutely love this game.  How can you tell?  Well, this game was released on January 26, 2010, yet this past week I played the game like it was brand new.  This is a 20+ hour game, and I have finished it in its entirety 5 times now, and working on my 6th.  This game is leaps and bounds over the original Mass Effect.  So much so that I can't even go back and play that game.  The story is awesome, the characters are unique, and the gameplay is superb.  Add to that the plethora of downloadable content that was made available for this game and you have yourself a winner.

Honorable Mentions:
Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360/PS3)
Heavy Rain (PS3)
Halo: Reach (Xbox 360)

Movie of the Year:
Inception (Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
Holy hell in a hand basket.  Christopher Nolan does it again.  Not only did Christopher Nolan direct quite possibly the best comic book movie of all time in The Dark Knight, he followed it up with one of the most mind-bending, complex, and visually stunning movies I have ever seen in Inception.  Everyone knows what Leo can bring, he is almost guaranteed to provide an A+ performance, and he doesn't disappoint here.  That being said my favorite character in this movie was Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  His scene in the hotel hallway and elevator was superb.  I still have to watch it again to fully understand all of the intricacies.  I better get my totem ready.

Honorable Mentions:
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel)
The Town (Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner)
Kick Ass (Nicolas Cage, Chloe Grace Moretz, Aaron Johnson)

Television Show of the Year:
Community (Thursdays, NBC)
Try explaining Community to someone who has never heard of it and they will be immediately confused.  Here are some of my favorite things from this series: spanish rap, parking lot sail boats, epic paintball battle, godfather parody, chloroform, pen-stealing monkeys, and studiology.  Then I tell you this is a show about a Community college. The creators of this show have pulled it out of the realm of normalcy.  One week they are attending class and having issues of a relatively normal study group, and then the next they are piloting a mock space shuttle used by KFC in the 80s.  They even did an episode via Twitter.  Such a great show with characters you really care about.  Oh yes let's not forget Alison Brie.  So hot.

Honorable Mentions:
Modern Family (Wednesdays, ABC)
Castle (Mondays, ABC)
Dexter (Sundays, Showtime)

New Show of the Year:
The Walking Dead (Sundays, AMC)
Based off of an excellent series of graphic novels from Robert Kirkman this show is an ingenious idea.  People are so fixated with zombies and zombie movies, yet nobody has ever made a zombie television show before.  The premiere captured the essence of the books so well.  I got a little worried as more characters were introduced like the racist Merle and the horribly named T-Dog.  But they made it work.  My favorite thing about this show is that they are unapologetic.  I love shows like that.  Shows that won't cater to the fans.  They'll tell the story the way it needs to be told.  They don't care if the fans like certain characters, they will kill them off if the story dictates it.  With only 6 episodes in the first season a lot has already happened to our survivors.  If they follow the books then the fans are in for quite a treat, and some pretty interesting surprises.  A must watch show.  Unfortunately after this brief first season (only 6 episodes) we are going to have to wait until October 2011 until season 2.

Honorable Mentions:
No Ordinary Family (Tuesdays, ABC)
Hawaii 5-0 (Mondays, CBS)
The Event (Mondays, NBC)

Here are some quick hits of my faves from this year.

Entertainer of the Year: Donald Glover (Community, Childish Gambino)
- once the youngest writer on 30 Rock, he does stand up comedy, he's hilarious on Community, and he's an awesome rapper

Album of the Year: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
- some people call this album a work of art, I just think it's damn good music

Hotty of the Year: Alison Brie (Community, Mad Men)
- just adorable

Podcast of the Year: Hollywood Babble On (Kevin Smith & Ralph Garman)
- Kevin Smith and the man of a thousand voices Ralph Garman talk about movies

Tweeter of the Year: Kristina Rose (@kristinarosexxx)
- the most entertaining pornstar on Twitter, she seems like she'd be a blast to hang out with

Event of the Year: Yelp Elite Halloween Party (Level 236, San Mateo)
- one of the funnest events I've attended in a long time, nice people, hot girls, great costumes.

Meal of the Year: Level III (JW Marriott, San Francisco)
- thanks to my sister we had the hookup, and I had one of the best meals ever, then I stole the leftovers

San Diego Charger of the Year: Philip Rivers
- he single-handedly put this team on its back, definitely going to be in MVP contention this year

Comeback Player of the Year: Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles)
- don't hate me dog lovers, this man's re-emergence into football is such a great thing, one of the most exciting players to watch

Story of the Year: San Francisco Giants win the 2010 World Series
- not an SF Giants fan but it was great to see the whole bay area energized