thats a mouthful

Tropical-Tiki-Luau-A-Palooza-Fest

Say..... what??? Try saying THAT out loud 10 times fast. (Okay, I tried... and it honestly wasn't that hard... anyways)

That name was my contribution to the brain-storm sesh over staff lunch, as we figured out a pre-summer-camp event @ the LSM student center. Amping up the commonly-used Hawaiian/tropical theme idea and going crazy with it, if you will. We're talkin' free smoothies, tropical-style food @ our indoor snack bar, a sand-volleyball tournament, and so much more. I'm pretty amped on it.

I'm even MORE amped about having my Tiki man character on the promotional material, and on the event t-shirt! Here he is on the little promo cards that the youth will be passing out at school to their friends/classmates.

I love that the church's graphics lady kept the black & white sketch version for this! He'll be more colorful on the t-shirt, but I just dig how this turned out. Be on the lookout for the t-shirt, once the boxes arrive here... primed and ready for June 11th. I'll post a pic of it once I get my hands on one.

(video) - unreal parkour

In case you're completely in-the-dark about this ridiculously sweet hobby of extreme physical feats... just watch this video and you'll suddenly be in-the-know about parkour

I wish I had the time/ability to train my face off and be able to do stuff like that.... just wow

geeking out

Have you ever geeked out over something? (ex. waited in a line for several hours... possibly overnight; pre-ordered something the very second it was made available; gushed about how much you love something and discussed it in detail with like-minded fans; etc etc)

Naturally, the long-awaited series finale of Lost made me think of this. It's all I've heard about for the last week... and last night / this morning I've seen or heard countless references to it. I never got into the show... BUT I can completely sympathize and relate to how these people feel about their favorite show. I've also seen the fan-base of Glee grow bigger & bigger... to the point where devoted fans of the show are now referring to themselves as "Gleeks"... and of course the millions of fans of Marvel/DC comics, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Harry Potter know how to truly geek out on their favorite books & movies... especially in custom-made costumes.

I'm proud to say I've been geeking out on comic-related things for the majority of my life. While TV shows come and go, movie trilogies end and are shelved until possibly getting the "remake" treatment, and music icons fizzle out and retire... everything in the comic book world just keeps on going. The biggest & most popular characters will inevitably be around forever, and will continue to be immortalized in comic books & movies & TV shows & commercials & toys & clothing. It's comforting to know I'll never have to say goodbye to Spider-man, Batman, or Wolverine. Sure... there will often be less-than-quality depictions of my favorite superheroes... but there's always excessive opportunities beyond the crappy stuff to redeem that particular character's credibility in the mind's of the fans worldwide. I love waiting in line for a midnight movie premiere, and getting into the theater early with friends and just feeling the excitement grow & grow until the clock strikes 12:01am.

What do YOU love, to the point of geeking out over it?

*In other news, you can geek out over the upcoming release of the mighty Chick-Fil-A's new Spicy Chicken sandwich by reserving a FREE sandwich for yourself @ www.getspicychicken.com. Apparently it's their first new sandwich in over 15 years? I vaguely remembering someone telling me that, but I couldn't find any facts along those lines via a quick Google search.

(video) - Luckiest Penguin EVER

I linked to this over on my Facebook, but I know there's plenty of people who didn't catch this when it was freshly posted.

That's neck-and-neck with this video for Best Youtube Nature Video of All Time (if that's not an award already, it should be)

AND so it begins

And by "it", I mean "SUMMER 2010".... ohhhhh yes

Day 2 on the job here @ Liberty Baptist (summer intern w/ the student ministry!) and it's already been a fantastic week. Lots of big things in store for the coming months... especially with this brand spankin' new student center officially open for use.

This place blew my mind the second I walked in the doors! It's absolutely unreal... and to see how amped the youth are to utilize this place to bring their friends, and to impact this peninsula for God's glory.... it's just amazing. Friday night is gonna be ridiculous... the grand opening + After Edmund in concert to officially kick-off the building being open.

Anyways, I've got my starter bulk o' countdowns for the near future. The rest of May until mid-August is lookin' SO good!

*3 days til the LSM Grand Opening event

*21 days til I experience Conan O'Brien liiiive in D.C.

*35 days til summer camp @ Wake Forest

*80 days til my 1 year anniversary w/ Abby!

*84 days til the Something Corporate reunion tour concert in D.C.

*90 days til myself & @kdoyon begin our jobs with LU Student Activities!

(and muuuuch more scattered all throughout)

Welp, that's all for now... back to the drawing board for some secretive event-planning here @ LSM

random blurb time (5-13-10)

*the semester is over! finished my first year @ LU as a transfer-senior. time truly flew by

*2 back-to-back all-nighters during finals this past week = REALLY screwed up sleep schedule. i'm not a fan of this nocturnal business... unless I take up fighting crime while I'm wide awake @ 3am

•  side-note: if I never drink another Starbucks energy drink, I think I'll be completely okay

*my beloved Flip Video camera was recently stolen, so any new videos will be delayed until I'm able to buy a new one. it's an unfortunate set-back, but hey... it's just a material possession that can be easily replaced

*the more that I play first-person shooters & multi-player strategy games... the more I realize that I'm just not cut out to be an up-to-date video-game nerd. however, just gimme a Super Nintendo or an N64 and I will absolutely dominate

*the new LSM (Liberty Student Ministry) student center opened for the youth this past Wednesday night @ Liberty Baptist, and I've heard nothing but crazy-enthusiasm for how awesome it is. God is doing HUGE things in that ministry, and I can't wait to be a part of that this summer

*speaking of which, I start working with LSM this coming Monday! Sunday, unofficially, with it being the first Sunday in the new student center. it's going to be incredible.

*experienced Iron Man 2 twice so far, and aiming for one more viewing in IMAX once I get home

*what TV shows have YOU been watching this season? have they been up-to-par with what you expect from them? I've been watching The Office, 24, Chuck, Smallville, and Community... and I would dare say it's been a great season of TV. quite a few season finales coming up soon, too

*the drop in temperature lately has been a welcome change. i love wearing hoodies. that is all.

**I still have a significant amount of packing to do before I load up and head home tomorrow... so on that note, back to the boxes & plastic bins I go!

Hmm... real or fake?

I stumbled upon this video in my daily internet browsing... and I must say, I am very intrigued. The subject of this video isn't something I can just accept on face value. I need proof, or at least the critical feedback of others... maybe even some scientific facts thrown into the mix.

But first.. you need to watch this! Then lemme know what you think. Real or FAKE?

 

Movie Review: Iron Man 2

Another long-awaited movie has arrived, and it's already making big money overseas (it was released internationally on April 28th)... yes indeeeeed, RDJ / Favreau and friends are back. Of course, I went to see the midnight premiere last night... and was pleasantly surprised to see so many people come out, in a typically quiet college town (after midnight... haha)

Anyways! What did I think of the movie?

As expected, I loved it. It was yet again a truly unique comic book movie experience... with a top-notch cast, witty dialogue, and fantastic action sequences & special effects. I was a bit thrown off by how dialogue-heavy this sequel was, but that's not to say it was bland or boring... it was just more than I expected. Luckily there was enough character development and explosive fight scenes to balance everything out, and I thought the overall pacing of the movie was realistic & entertaining. Tony Stark is a truly troubled individual, physically/psychologically... and I love how Robert Downey Jr. has brought that to the screen in both movies, so far. I'm really eager to see how he interacts with Captain America (Chris Evans) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury most likely trying to (frustratingly) direct these 3 super-powered icons in The Avengers movie in 2012. As far as the supporting cast: Paltrow was great once more as Tony's right-hand lady, Scarlett Johannson was a quality addition... especially when thrown into the action, Mickey Rourke / Sam Rockwell were excellent villains... although somewhat underused, and Favreau pulled double-duty again as director/actor... playing Stark's chauffeur Happy Hogan in some quality moments of the film.

For the comic-geek viewing audience : I really enjoyed the extended presence of SHIELD and Jackson's Nick Fury, and the scattered Marvel-universe references & "easter eggs" (intentionally placed and/or hidden stuff that you'd easily overlook unless you knew it was there). Look closely at all the monitors/maps/news footage during the scene towards the end when Stark meets with Fury. And OF COURSE stick around after the credits for an extremely cool reference to.... something. I won't spoil it here.

Overall: I gave the first Iron Man a solid 10/10, and I give Iron Man 2 a worthy 8.8/10

As Seen on TV - a tribute to doing it wrong

Compilation of all those exaggerated "doing-it-wrong" moments seen in cheesy (usually late-night) infomercials