Well the fire still burns out of control.. I think the last I head they were hoping to have 20% containment by the end of the day. Smoke isn't as bad as yesterday and the ash isn't as heavy... of course all that can change with the wind. Still no threat to my place.. so yay, but unfortunately it is threatening other homes on the other side of they hill.. I wish everyone the best.
Today my "temporary" roommates Anthony and Michele are moving out. They have been living with me for the past three months. Now I hadn't lived with roommates for over ten years.. I mean I lived with Harry but he was my partner which is completely different then roommates. And I haven't lived with him in over 2 years.. so it's took some adjusting to
having people live in my house with me. But overall it was a
good experience and it reminded me how much fun you can have living with roommates.
Anthony and Michele are moving to Wisconsin to live with his mom while their baby is born, but before they left they had a going away party at one of Anthony's friends house in Simi Valley. It was fun hanging with a few of our mutual friends Robert, Will, Becca, and Rupert as well as meeting several of Anthony's friends. The party ended around 11pm and we said our goodbyes. I'll miss those guys they have become good friends over the past few years. Good luck to them on their new adventure.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wildfires
Living just outside Los Angeles in a very rural area has it's pluses and it's minuses.. a big minus are wild fires. There are a good handful of wildfires every year here in SoCal, some have gotten close to my property but I've been very fortunate that they normally are burning in the opposite direction.
We had several fires the past few weeks but again at the closest they have been more then 30 miles away... well that was until today. Around 3:30 I noticed some smoke just over the hill behind my house. It got darker and darker as the day
went on. The fire (they are calling the Powerhouse fire) was spreading quickly. The fire was about four or five miles from my house (but there was a large valley between my place and the fire) so I was feeling okay. Winds were blowing in the opposite direction and the fire was burning away from my place.
But as the winds would change smoke and ash would engulf my house and blot out the sun. Everything looked kind of brownish. By the end of the day they had no containment but luckily it shifted directions again and was heading north of my place. As of right now I think my property is safe. The fire would have to make some drastic changes to threaten my place. I'll keep you all posted on it's progress.
We had several fires the past few weeks but again at the closest they have been more then 30 miles away... well that was until today. Around 3:30 I noticed some smoke just over the hill behind my house. It got darker and darker as the day
went on. The fire (they are calling the Powerhouse fire) was spreading quickly. The fire was about four or five miles from my house (but there was a large valley between my place and the fire) so I was feeling okay. Winds were blowing in the opposite direction and the fire was burning away from my place.
But as the winds would change smoke and ash would engulf my house and blot out the sun. Everything looked kind of brownish. By the end of the day they had no containment but luckily it shifted directions again and was heading north of my place. As of right now I think my property is safe. The fire would have to make some drastic changes to threaten my place. I'll keep you all posted on it's progress.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Buffy and Bros Continue
It's Wednesday and Robert and I continue our Buffy and Bro night.. we've seen a lot of Buffy the past week, last Wednesday, Sunday, Monday and now Wednesday again, but you can never get enough Buffy.
We started off the night with Season 7 Ep 3 "Same Time, Same Place" Willow cannot find her friends in Sunnydale, where a flayed body has been found.
This was a good episode, I really enjoyed the scene with Spike talking to Willow and then he's talking to someone invisible and then they go back and do the scene again and you realize that he's talking to Buffy and Xander. I had a hard time watching that demon eat parts of Willow's skin. I felt the pain Willow was going through. It was very well done.
Next was Season 7 Ep 4 "Help" Cassandra "Cassie" Newton, a student at Sunnydale High School, goes to the new counselor Buffy with an alarming prediction: She is to die on Friday. Buffy scrambles to save her, but fate prevails when Cassie suffers heart failure.
I really liked this episode as well. I liked the guest star who played Cassie. Again it rarely happens on Buffy but people die of natural causes, it's not always demon related.
Then we did Season 7 Ep 5 "Selfless" Anya gets back into her old Vengeance demon ways by helping a girl get revenge on an entire fraternity by having a spider demon tear their hearts out. Willow, returning to college, discovers this and she, Buffy, and Xander fear the worst of Anya.
Another excellent episode, we get Anya back story and her present day struggle with being a vengeance demon. We see a short re-appearance of Dark Willow, and Buffy fighting Anya to the death. Again not a big fan of Xander in this episode. He was very much a dick in this one.
And finally for tonight it was Season 7 Ep 6 "Him" When Dawn, Buffy, Willow, and Anya all mysteriously fall for a handsome Sunnydale High quarterback, it's up to Xander and Spike to stop them before they do any real damage.
A funny episode to end the night one. Nothing to special, just lots of laugh out loud moments.
Another fun filled night of awesome TV, tasty foods and the best of friends.
We started off the night with Season 7 Ep 3 "Same Time, Same Place" Willow cannot find her friends in Sunnydale, where a flayed body has been found.
This was a good episode, I really enjoyed the scene with Spike talking to Willow and then he's talking to someone invisible and then they go back and do the scene again and you realize that he's talking to Buffy and Xander. I had a hard time watching that demon eat parts of Willow's skin. I felt the pain Willow was going through. It was very well done.
Next was Season 7 Ep 4 "Help" Cassandra "Cassie" Newton, a student at Sunnydale High School, goes to the new counselor Buffy with an alarming prediction: She is to die on Friday. Buffy scrambles to save her, but fate prevails when Cassie suffers heart failure.
I really liked this episode as well. I liked the guest star who played Cassie. Again it rarely happens on Buffy but people die of natural causes, it's not always demon related.
Then we did Season 7 Ep 5 "Selfless" Anya gets back into her old Vengeance demon ways by helping a girl get revenge on an entire fraternity by having a spider demon tear their hearts out. Willow, returning to college, discovers this and she, Buffy, and Xander fear the worst of Anya.
Another excellent episode, we get Anya back story and her present day struggle with being a vengeance demon. We see a short re-appearance of Dark Willow, and Buffy fighting Anya to the death. Again not a big fan of Xander in this episode. He was very much a dick in this one.
And finally for tonight it was Season 7 Ep 6 "Him" When Dawn, Buffy, Willow, and Anya all mysteriously fall for a handsome Sunnydale High quarterback, it's up to Xander and Spike to stop them before they do any real damage.
A funny episode to end the night one. Nothing to special, just lots of laugh out loud moments.
Another fun filled night of awesome TV, tasty foods and the best of friends.
Supernatural: The Anime Series
I finally finished Supernatural: The Anime Series, the show was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of stories, I really enjoyed some of them, a lot of them were kind of average and a few of them were just plain terrible, I think it's fair to say it was an interesting experiment but I have no real desire to see any more anime episodes based on Supernatural but given how the show ends I guess the producers were hoping the show would get a second season.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Judging The Geekie Awards
Today I finished judging my entries for The Geekie Awards. Overall it was a fun experience and I'm very happy to be part of it. I hope this award show becomes an annual event.
There were so many great entries and it was tough choosing my favorites in each category. I went through all of them, gave them their rating and made comments then I went back through them again to make sure the ones on top actually deserved to be on top.
It was fun but also very difficult as you're not judging the topic as much as the overall production/presentation. If you haven't guessed I was a judge for podcast entries so there were podcasts that I had no interest in the topic and vice verse, a topic I loved. It's tough not being bias but I guess that's part of the job of being a judge, being able to look/listen to something with an open mind. I think I did a pretty good job at that.
I can't wait for the actual award show in August. Should be a great time... and since I was a judge I get the VIP status :) Not sure what that entails but it should be fun. I'll keep you guys updated on when tickets go on sale for the award show.
There were so many great entries and it was tough choosing my favorites in each category. I went through all of them, gave them their rating and made comments then I went back through them again to make sure the ones on top actually deserved to be on top.
It was fun but also very difficult as you're not judging the topic as much as the overall production/presentation. If you haven't guessed I was a judge for podcast entries so there were podcasts that I had no interest in the topic and vice verse, a topic I loved. It's tough not being bias but I guess that's part of the job of being a judge, being able to look/listen to something with an open mind. I think I did a pretty good job at that.
I can't wait for the actual award show in August. Should be a great time... and since I was a judge I get the VIP status :) Not sure what that entails but it should be fun. I'll keep you guys updated on when tickets go on sale for the award show.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Memorial Day BBQ & More Buffy
Stayed over at Robert's place, so we woke up, got ready for the day and headed out to breakfast at IHop . Once breakfast was over we headed to my mom's down in Newport Beach. This was going to be the first time that my buddy Robert got to meet my Mom and family.
Robert and I got there first, then my brother Michael, sister-in-law Lora, nephew Kenobi and niece Molly arrived. Then my aunt Joyce, uncle Marty and their kids Austin and Matt and finally my grandma. Also Lora's moms Vicky and Debbie joined us.
My mom lives on Balboa Island. They live on the water and have a nice deck and dock with several boats. So we hung outside on the deck and dock. Some folks went swimming in the harbor, some just hung out on the deck and talked. We snacked on smoked sausages and chips. For lunch we had BBQ hamburgers and hotdogs. My aunt Joyce made this incredible strawberry whip cream cake thing that was just the best.. plan on making it in the future.
Several family members went out on the smaller boat (Whaler). We had planned to go out on one of Chuck's sailing yachts. But as the day winded down it didn't look like that was going to happen.. so instead Robert and I took the small whaler boat out. My mom's house is about a 35 minute boat ride in the harbor until you get to the ocean. It was fun out on the water with Robert. Once we got to the ocean I wanted to take Robert to the "seal hotel" (buoy) just outside the harbor in the pacific ocean. The waves were pretty big and the whaler was being tossed all over the place. Robert was having a blast watching me panic as I was trying to keep control of the boat. Once we saw the seal hotel we headed back in. The return trip was interesting as several times I had thought I had taken the wrong path but in the end we did manage to find out way home. Now the fun began. Trying to bring the boat in between one of Chuck's sailing boats and the neighbors dock. I tried three or four times but couldn't do it. Robert was literally rolling on the floor of the boat laughing while I tried to dock the boat over and over again. Finally my brother came down to the dock and helped me out.
We hung out for another hour or so before we called it a day. We had planned to stop by Disneyland on our way home but we were tired from being out in the hot sun all day, we decided to head back to Robert's place, grab some dinner and watch some Buffy.
We ordered some Bossa Nova and had it delivered to Rob's place. We continued our Buffy Rewatch / 1st Time. First up was S6 Ep 21 "Two to Go" After flaying Warren alive, Dark Willow turns to Jonathan and Andrew—who are still in jail—while Buffy, Xander, and Anya rush to the Sunnydale police station to protect them and try to stop Willow. Dawn convinces Clem to take her to Rack's in order to find Willow. Turns out Willow is already there, has murdered Rack and absorbed his magic in order to become more powerful. After leaving Andrew and Jonathan safe at the Magic Box, Buffy finds Dawn at Rack's with Willow and a fight ensues. Magically, the fight ends up at the Magic Box. Giles appears, to stop Dark Willow.
As I mentioned in my last blog post about Buffy... these final four episodes are some of my favorite Buffy of all time. So I enjoyed this episode alot. Again it's so much fun watching this with Robert who's never seen any of them as he's having the same reactions that I had when I first saw them. When Giles showed up at the very end Robert almost did an air fist pump.. Giles is one of his favorites and it was so EPIC when he shows up and knocks Dark Willow back.
Then the final episode of Season 6 Ep 22 "Grave" Dark Willow defeats Giles and decides to end her suffering and the world's by bringing on an apocalypse.
Not the most amazing finale but a good ending to the whole Dark Willow storyline. Though I'm not a big Xander fan it was cool that he was the one who stopped the end of the world. Buffy had no real part in stopping it.
We then started the final season of Buffy.. Season Seven Ep 1 "Lessons" Dawn finds vengeful spirits in the new Sunnydale High School. Giles helps with Willow's rehabilitation in England. Love crazy Spike...
Not a bad start the final season. I love that they are back at Sunnydale High School and that Buffy is working there now. I'm glad Dawn is now part of the Scoobie gang and learning to fight like her sister.
And the final episode of the night S7 Ep2 "Beneath You" The Scoobies find that Anya has cursed the ex-boyfriend of a woman who wished he was a worm. Buffy learns that Spike has gotten his soul back.
Wasn't a big fan of the main storyline with Anya and the worm creature... but I did like the entire Spike crazy storyline and "something" taking the forms of past enemies and even the Slayer herself.
Got to spend a day and a half with my best friend and it was awesome. Said our good nights and I headed home... it was a very fun day. Robert got along with my family and they loved him.. which of course I knew they would.
Robert and I got there first, then my brother Michael, sister-in-law Lora, nephew Kenobi and niece Molly arrived. Then my aunt Joyce, uncle Marty and their kids Austin and Matt and finally my grandma. Also Lora's moms Vicky and Debbie joined us.
My mom lives on Balboa Island. They live on the water and have a nice deck and dock with several boats. So we hung outside on the deck and dock. Some folks went swimming in the harbor, some just hung out on the deck and talked. We snacked on smoked sausages and chips. For lunch we had BBQ hamburgers and hotdogs. My aunt Joyce made this incredible strawberry whip cream cake thing that was just the best.. plan on making it in the future.
Several family members went out on the smaller boat (Whaler). We had planned to go out on one of Chuck's sailing yachts. But as the day winded down it didn't look like that was going to happen.. so instead Robert and I took the small whaler boat out. My mom's house is about a 35 minute boat ride in the harbor until you get to the ocean. It was fun out on the water with Robert. Once we got to the ocean I wanted to take Robert to the "seal hotel" (buoy) just outside the harbor in the pacific ocean. The waves were pretty big and the whaler was being tossed all over the place. Robert was having a blast watching me panic as I was trying to keep control of the boat. Once we saw the seal hotel we headed back in. The return trip was interesting as several times I had thought I had taken the wrong path but in the end we did manage to find out way home. Now the fun began. Trying to bring the boat in between one of Chuck's sailing boats and the neighbors dock. I tried three or four times but couldn't do it. Robert was literally rolling on the floor of the boat laughing while I tried to dock the boat over and over again. Finally my brother came down to the dock and helped me out.
We hung out for another hour or so before we called it a day. We had planned to stop by Disneyland on our way home but we were tired from being out in the hot sun all day, we decided to head back to Robert's place, grab some dinner and watch some Buffy.
We ordered some Bossa Nova and had it delivered to Rob's place. We continued our Buffy Rewatch / 1st Time. First up was S6 Ep 21 "Two to Go" After flaying Warren alive, Dark Willow turns to Jonathan and Andrew—who are still in jail—while Buffy, Xander, and Anya rush to the Sunnydale police station to protect them and try to stop Willow. Dawn convinces Clem to take her to Rack's in order to find Willow. Turns out Willow is already there, has murdered Rack and absorbed his magic in order to become more powerful. After leaving Andrew and Jonathan safe at the Magic Box, Buffy finds Dawn at Rack's with Willow and a fight ensues. Magically, the fight ends up at the Magic Box. Giles appears, to stop Dark Willow.
As I mentioned in my last blog post about Buffy... these final four episodes are some of my favorite Buffy of all time. So I enjoyed this episode alot. Again it's so much fun watching this with Robert who's never seen any of them as he's having the same reactions that I had when I first saw them. When Giles showed up at the very end Robert almost did an air fist pump.. Giles is one of his favorites and it was so EPIC when he shows up and knocks Dark Willow back.
Then the final episode of Season 6 Ep 22 "Grave" Dark Willow defeats Giles and decides to end her suffering and the world's by bringing on an apocalypse.
Not the most amazing finale but a good ending to the whole Dark Willow storyline. Though I'm not a big Xander fan it was cool that he was the one who stopped the end of the world. Buffy had no real part in stopping it.
We then started the final season of Buffy.. Season Seven Ep 1 "Lessons" Dawn finds vengeful spirits in the new Sunnydale High School. Giles helps with Willow's rehabilitation in England. Love crazy Spike...
Not a bad start the final season. I love that they are back at Sunnydale High School and that Buffy is working there now. I'm glad Dawn is now part of the Scoobie gang and learning to fight like her sister.
And the final episode of the night S7 Ep2 "Beneath You" The Scoobies find that Anya has cursed the ex-boyfriend of a woman who wished he was a worm. Buffy learns that Spike has gotten his soul back.
Wasn't a big fan of the main storyline with Anya and the worm creature... but I did like the entire Spike crazy storyline and "something" taking the forms of past enemies and even the Slayer herself.
Got to spend a day and a half with my best friend and it was awesome. Said our good nights and I headed home... it was a very fun day. Robert got along with my family and they loved him.. which of course I knew they would.
Gauntfield - Necropolis Hero
This is a fig I painted for my sons army. This is for the Warlord army of Necropolis. His theme colors he is doing is grays and purples. I had some tips from a couple of friends too, Scotty and Randon. Much appreciated Anyway I hope you enjoy.
Cheers,
John...
Cheers,
John...
Labels:
Gauntfield,
John Salmond,
Necropolis,
Warlord
Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar
Ok, it's about time that I blogged about the sweets and chocolates I bought in Dallas. I bought quite a few but have given most away to friends who were very keen to try them out! ^_^
Here's all of them, but I am going to split these into several posts.
So first off is Hershey's Milk Chocolate.
Never had these before, so I'm trying them all out! |
It looks nice. It smells ok, but unfortunately there is a very sour aftertaste, and it lasts forever. :(
Looks like chocolate to me!! |
I have tried refrigerating it and tasting it afterwards. It tastes great at first, but then there is that everlasting aftertaste of sourness in your mouth...Yeek!!
I don't think I'll be buying this again, but you can find them in UK stores. My brother Mr Stingy found the Hazelnut one in a local grocery store I believe...
You have been warned!
Labels:
chocolate,
confectionery
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Star Trek, Buffy & Chocolate Wine
My buddy Aaron crashed at my place last night after our day at Magic Mountain. So today we got up, had some breakfast and then started to watch a Star Trek special on The History Channel. We only watched an hour of the 2 hour special.. it was all about the new rebooted Star Trek. Around 11am Aaron went into town to get a haircut and I was going to join him around noon to grab some lunch and then go to the movies.
So I meet up with him at Baja Fresh and we grabbed some lunch... next door to Baja is the theater and we wanted to see Star Trek Into Darkness. This would be my second time and I was super excited to see it again. Afterwards I came to the conclusion that this movie is my favorite of the new Star Trek. I laughed, cried and was on the edge of my seat the entire time.. even though I had already seen it. I love Cumberbatch, he's such an amazing actor. I love everything about this movie and I can't wait to see it again.. but next time it will be in IMAX 3D.
After the movie I headed to my buddy Robert's house for an unscheduled Buffy and Bros night. While we watched I got to try some Chocolate Wine.. I never heard of such a thing but it was extremely tasty.
First episode of the night was S6 Ep 15 "As You Were" Riley returns to town with his new wife Sam. He enlists Buffy's help in tracking down a demon black market dealer known as "The Doctor". It turns out that "The Doctor" is actually Spike. Riley finds out about Buffy and Spike's affair. Buffy ends things with Spike.
I like this episode, it was a nice resolution to the whole Riley thing. And Buffy finally breaks things off with Spike (after Riley finds them together).
Next was S6 Ep 16 "Hell's Bells" Xander and Anya's wedding day finally arrives, but a surprise visitor makes Xander have second thoughts.
A fun episode, you feel bad for Anya and Xander is just a jerk. I have never been a big fan of Xander and this episode didn't do him any favors.
Then it was time for S6 Ep 17 "Normal Again" The Trio unleash a demon whose powers make Buffy believe that she is in a mental institution and that Sunnydale—and all her friends and adventures—have just been figments of her imagination. Eventually Buffy attacks her friends, locks them in her basement, and unleashes the same demon on them. Tara eventually finds them and Buffy recovers from the demon's poison by drinking the antidote.
Love this episode.. one of the coolest stories of the season. At the end it really makes you think, is this world that we know all in Buffy's head.. is Buffy really in a asylum... good stuff.
Next up was S6 Ep 18 "Entropy" Anya seeks vengeance on Xander and finds comfort with Spike. Willow and Tara arrange a date.
Another good episode, Anya is back and she's pissed. I liked how she is trying to get all of Xander's friends to wish him ill will so she can curse him. I also liked seeing Willow and Tara getting back together.
And finally one I was really looking forward to S6 Ep 19 "Seeing Red" Tara and Willow cuddle in bed after their reconciliation. Meanwhile, The Trio steal the Orbs of Nezzla'Khan, which grant their owner strength and invulnerability.
Buffy has to stop Spike from raping her; horrified by his own actions, Spike leaves Sunnydale. Buffy confronts The Trio in mid-robbery, and renders Warren powerless by smashing his orbs. Warren escapes, leaving Andrew and Jonathan behind to face the police.
Warren returns the next day with a gun. He shoots Buffy, and a stray bullet into the upstairs window kills Tara. Xander frantically tries to stop Buffy's bleeding while Tara lies dead in Willow's arms. Willow's face is contorted by pain and shock, blood splattered all over her, eyes glowing deep red.
This is the episode I have been waiting for.. I mean the first 40 minutes is good, nothing to special but the last few minutes is so EPIC. I remember watching this for the first time and just being stunned. Of course back then I had to wait a week for the next episode.. nowadays you just select the next episode on Netflix. I love that Robert had the same reaction I had 10 years ago when I first saw this. It's such a jaw dropping, OMG, moment.
And our final episode of the evening S6 Ep 20 "Villains" In the aftermath of the vengeful Warren's assassination attempt, Buffy tries to recover from a severe gunshot wound, while Tara is also hit and dies. Willow, consumed by wrath and rage over Tara's murder, consumes herself with deadly black magic from the Magic Box which physically transforms her into a dark being. "Dark Willow" then magically heals Buffy, and then goes out seeking to kill the murderous Warren. Jonathan and Andrew share a jail cell while they debate their next move. Warren, aware that Willow is after him, seeks allies at a demon bar and approaches junkie warlock Rack for help, while Buffy, Xander, and Dawn grieve after they learn of Tara's death as well as finding out that Anya has returned to being a Vengeance demon. Spike travels to a remote African village where he asks a mysterious cave dwelling demon to make him his former self.
Like the previous episode this is a continuation of the last 10 minutes of the previous episode. Dark Willow is awesome.. she plays a really good big bad. What she does to Warren is terrifying. I remember when I first saw it I was shocked.. just for the fact that Willow would do that but that they would show that on TV. These last few episodes are what I have been looking forward to this entire season.. can't wait to see the final two.
Afterwards I crashed at Robert's place since we were both driving down to my Mom's for a Memorial Day BBQ. It was a really good day.. got to spend the day with good friends (Aaron and Robert) and watched some of the best geeky movie/show around (Star Trek and Buffy).. oh and I got to drink some tasty Chocolate Wine.. it was a good day.
So I meet up with him at Baja Fresh and we grabbed some lunch... next door to Baja is the theater and we wanted to see Star Trek Into Darkness. This would be my second time and I was super excited to see it again. Afterwards I came to the conclusion that this movie is my favorite of the new Star Trek. I laughed, cried and was on the edge of my seat the entire time.. even though I had already seen it. I love Cumberbatch, he's such an amazing actor. I love everything about this movie and I can't wait to see it again.. but next time it will be in IMAX 3D.
After the movie I headed to my buddy Robert's house for an unscheduled Buffy and Bros night. While we watched I got to try some Chocolate Wine.. I never heard of such a thing but it was extremely tasty.
First episode of the night was S6 Ep 15 "As You Were" Riley returns to town with his new wife Sam. He enlists Buffy's help in tracking down a demon black market dealer known as "The Doctor". It turns out that "The Doctor" is actually Spike. Riley finds out about Buffy and Spike's affair. Buffy ends things with Spike.
I like this episode, it was a nice resolution to the whole Riley thing. And Buffy finally breaks things off with Spike (after Riley finds them together).
Next was S6 Ep 16 "Hell's Bells" Xander and Anya's wedding day finally arrives, but a surprise visitor makes Xander have second thoughts.
A fun episode, you feel bad for Anya and Xander is just a jerk. I have never been a big fan of Xander and this episode didn't do him any favors.
Then it was time for S6 Ep 17 "Normal Again" The Trio unleash a demon whose powers make Buffy believe that she is in a mental institution and that Sunnydale—and all her friends and adventures—have just been figments of her imagination. Eventually Buffy attacks her friends, locks them in her basement, and unleashes the same demon on them. Tara eventually finds them and Buffy recovers from the demon's poison by drinking the antidote.
Love this episode.. one of the coolest stories of the season. At the end it really makes you think, is this world that we know all in Buffy's head.. is Buffy really in a asylum... good stuff.
Next up was S6 Ep 18 "Entropy" Anya seeks vengeance on Xander and finds comfort with Spike. Willow and Tara arrange a date.
Another good episode, Anya is back and she's pissed. I liked how she is trying to get all of Xander's friends to wish him ill will so she can curse him. I also liked seeing Willow and Tara getting back together.
And finally one I was really looking forward to S6 Ep 19 "Seeing Red" Tara and Willow cuddle in bed after their reconciliation. Meanwhile, The Trio steal the Orbs of Nezzla'Khan, which grant their owner strength and invulnerability.
Buffy has to stop Spike from raping her; horrified by his own actions, Spike leaves Sunnydale. Buffy confronts The Trio in mid-robbery, and renders Warren powerless by smashing his orbs. Warren escapes, leaving Andrew and Jonathan behind to face the police.
Warren returns the next day with a gun. He shoots Buffy, and a stray bullet into the upstairs window kills Tara. Xander frantically tries to stop Buffy's bleeding while Tara lies dead in Willow's arms. Willow's face is contorted by pain and shock, blood splattered all over her, eyes glowing deep red.
This is the episode I have been waiting for.. I mean the first 40 minutes is good, nothing to special but the last few minutes is so EPIC. I remember watching this for the first time and just being stunned. Of course back then I had to wait a week for the next episode.. nowadays you just select the next episode on Netflix. I love that Robert had the same reaction I had 10 years ago when I first saw this. It's such a jaw dropping, OMG, moment.
And our final episode of the evening S6 Ep 20 "Villains" In the aftermath of the vengeful Warren's assassination attempt, Buffy tries to recover from a severe gunshot wound, while Tara is also hit and dies. Willow, consumed by wrath and rage over Tara's murder, consumes herself with deadly black magic from the Magic Box which physically transforms her into a dark being. "Dark Willow" then magically heals Buffy, and then goes out seeking to kill the murderous Warren. Jonathan and Andrew share a jail cell while they debate their next move. Warren, aware that Willow is after him, seeks allies at a demon bar and approaches junkie warlock Rack for help, while Buffy, Xander, and Dawn grieve after they learn of Tara's death as well as finding out that Anya has returned to being a Vengeance demon. Spike travels to a remote African village where he asks a mysterious cave dwelling demon to make him his former self.
Like the previous episode this is a continuation of the last 10 minutes of the previous episode. Dark Willow is awesome.. she plays a really good big bad. What she does to Warren is terrifying. I remember when I first saw it I was shocked.. just for the fact that Willow would do that but that they would show that on TV. These last few episodes are what I have been looking forward to this entire season.. can't wait to see the final two.
Afterwards I crashed at Robert's place since we were both driving down to my Mom's for a Memorial Day BBQ. It was a really good day.. got to spend the day with good friends (Aaron and Robert) and watched some of the best geeky movie/show around (Star Trek and Buffy).. oh and I got to drink some tasty Chocolate Wine.. it was a good day.
Simple Spring Rolls
I'm writing this post for my friend Mrs Hen who LOVES spring rolls. Prawn ones. Vegetable ones. All the spring rolls in the world! Hahahah!! ^_^
These are real basic instructions that you can just follow (and I'm sure there's millions of posts and videos out there that will show you the same thing). The ingredients do not have to be exactly the same as the ones shown here! My friend, who I will call Mrs Travels, used cheese and prawns, and they were delicious (she's Chinese as well, and married to a Frenchman a.k.a. Mr Travels)...
So basic ingredients needed are as follows. You can use vegetables alone if you don't like to add meat or seafood. The wrappers cost £1.50 and there's 50 wrappers in the packet. Pre-cut vegetables for £1. Cooked shrimps were £2.50 (from a stall in East Street Market) and the egg - I guess this cost a few pennies but they came in a box! ^_^ So this Chinese snack cost just over £5! Not bad. In most restaurants and takeaway stores they will sell 2, 3 or 4 spring rolls for £1 or more!! Shocking!
My ingredients |
Here's the picture instructions and full instructions are below (sunlight was in the way for the first few pics, whoopsie ¬,¬")...
Place wrapper diagonally |
Place a tiny amount of vegetables and 2 or 3 shrimps at the end facing you |
Fold the tip over the ingredients |
Roll once (or twice if there's loads of ingredients) |
Fold in edges, then roll |
Use some egg white to seal the roll |
Prawn and salad spring roll made ^_^ |
34 wrapped spring rolls!!!! Made in half an hour!!! |
Add the spring rolls into the preheated pan and oil |
Cook for 2-3 minutes per side (it's like cooking a sausage) |
Done! Some tasty spring rolls ^_^ |
Ingredients:
1. Cooked shrimps (the ones above I bought from East Street Market, which were in salt water). Or you can use defrosted prawns
2. Pre-washed and chopped up vegetables (you can prepare your own if you wish)
3. 1 egg (use only the egg white and you can discard the yolk)
4. Defrosted spring roll wrappers, which you can find in any Asian store - there are largers ones available. You can also use the round ones.
5. Vegetable oil for frying
How to prepare and cook (you can find instructions on the spring roll wrappers too):
1. Take one of the defrosted wrappers, making sure that one of the pointed sides is facing you (as in place it diagonally)
2. Take a small amount of the pre-washed vegetables and place at the pointed edge facing you, but leaving some space at the end...
3. Add a couple of shrimps on top of the vegetables
4. Fold the tip of the edge (the one facing you) over the filling
5. Then roll over once (or twice if you have a lot of ingredients)
6. Fold the edges inwards, then continue to roll
7. Once you reach the end of the rolling, dab a little egg white and then roll it over once more. The egg white will seal it.
8. Place in a plate and cover either with a clean damp cloth or a piece of kitchen roll
9. Repeat the above until you have run out of ingredients or until you have enough
Next...
10. Heat your frying pan (or deep fryer or big saucepan), add your oil
11. Slowly add in your spring rolls (about 5 or 6 at a time - depends on the size of the pan you use... I added about 11 or 12 in one go)
12. If you are using a frying pan, fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side (like frying a sausage)... For a deep fryer or a sauce pan - for about 3 minutes or until they are golden brown
13. Remove the spring rolls and place them onto a plate. You can use some kitchen towel to remove the excess oil...
14. Repeat steps 10-13 until you have cooked them all... Otherwise you can store them by freezing them until you are ready to use them. You can cook these frozen so you don't need to defrost them)
15. Finally let them cool for 5-10 minutes before eating and serving them
And that's how you make spring rolls!! ^_^
Easy?
Labels:
Chinese food,
cooking,
food
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Celebrating a Birthday
Today I spent the majority of the day at Magic Mountain to celebrate my friend Courtney's birthday. Got there around 10am and my buddy Aaron was already there but the rest of our friends, including Courtney were not getting in until later so he and I started to ride some roller coasters. The rest of the gang arrived and hour later, Courtney, Jessica and three of their friends (Shannon, Joe and Cheyenne).
It sill took another two hours to hook up with them as Aaron and I would be on a ride and then they would go on a ride and we would eat and then they would eat.. we finally hooked up and started to ride roller coasters together. It was a fun day, at first I thought it was going to super busy as it was a Saturday on Memorial Day weekend and the crowds were there but come to find out that Hurricane Harbor was opening today which is right next to Six Flags and I'm happy to say that the majority of the crowds went there. I think the longest line we had was just under an hour.
Another fun day at Magic Mountain.. Happy Birthday Courtney!!
It sill took another two hours to hook up with them as Aaron and I would be on a ride and then they would go on a ride and we would eat and then they would eat.. we finally hooked up and started to ride roller coasters together. It was a fun day, at first I thought it was going to super busy as it was a Saturday on Memorial Day weekend and the crowds were there but come to find out that Hurricane Harbor was opening today which is right next to Six Flags and I'm happy to say that the majority of the crowds went there. I think the longest line we had was just under an hour.
Another fun day at Magic Mountain.. Happy Birthday Courtney!!
Star Wars, Geek & Towel Days Rolled Into One
Today is a very special day in the Geek/Nerd world. It's the 36th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars which in turn created Geek Pride Day and it is also International Towel Day, for all you fans of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,
36 years ago today I went and saw a movie that would forever change my life. I credit Star Wars (and no I'm not calling it A New Hope, because when I saw it 36 years ago it was called just Star Wars) anyways I credit Star Wars for making me the Sci Fi / Fantasy lover I am today and that series will always hold a very special place in my heart. It will always be part of my life and I am forever thankful to George Lucas for the world that sprung from his imagination.
Geek Pride Day is an initiative to promote geek culture. The date was chosen as to commemorate the release of the first Star Wars film as mentioned above and I don't mind celebrating Geek Pride day but honestly I celebrate Geek Pride everyday of my life.
Towel Day is an annual celebration on the 25th of May, as a tribute to the late author Douglas Adams (1952-2001), who wrote the very famous series The Hitchhikers Guild to the Galaxy. On that day, fans around the universe proudly carry a towel in his honor.
And one more geek note.. the Glorious 25th of May is known to fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld.
Lot's of awesome geeky things happen on May 25th.
36 years ago today I went and saw a movie that would forever change my life. I credit Star Wars (and no I'm not calling it A New Hope, because when I saw it 36 years ago it was called just Star Wars) anyways I credit Star Wars for making me the Sci Fi / Fantasy lover I am today and that series will always hold a very special place in my heart. It will always be part of my life and I am forever thankful to George Lucas for the world that sprung from his imagination.
Geek Pride Day is an initiative to promote geek culture. The date was chosen as to commemorate the release of the first Star Wars film as mentioned above and I don't mind celebrating Geek Pride day but honestly I celebrate Geek Pride everyday of my life.
Towel Day is an annual celebration on the 25th of May, as a tribute to the late author Douglas Adams (1952-2001), who wrote the very famous series The Hitchhikers Guild to the Galaxy. On that day, fans around the universe proudly carry a towel in his honor.
And one more geek note.. the Glorious 25th of May is known to fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld.
Lot's of awesome geeky things happen on May 25th.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Awards, Crazy Kids & Weeds
Did my morning routine.. woke up, jumped online and looked for work... nothing. Had some breakfast then back online for an hour or so.
I worked on my Geekie Awards entries for about an hour, I'm about 2/3d's of the way through them. I should be able to finish with a few more hours of work.. just not today.
Realized that I hadn't gone grocery shopping in over a month, so I headed into town. Before shopping I stopped by McDonald's for some lunch. I hardly ever eat McDonald's because the majority of the food doesn't agree with my stomach but I can eat their chicken nuggets & fries and they have some very tasty buffalo sauce that can dip them in. Anyways when I was there eating there were two women with about seven kids between them.. the oldest looked to be about 10. Well these kids were running around, screaming, pulling out napkins and tossing them around, playing with the soda machine and just being crazy. The two moms were just sitting there chatting away not paying attention to their destructive kids. Well after fifteen minutes one of the employees finally asked one of the kids to stop throwing things. The look on one of the mothers face, you would have thought that this employee slapped her child. She said something in Spanish and the kid went over to her. A minute later they were running around screaming again.. it was one of the worst lunch experiences I have had in a long time. I couldn't wait to finish my food and leave. I tweeted this when it happened but I think people need to take a test before becoming parents. I know kids can be tough but parents need to take control and responsibility for their children's actions.. especially in public places.
After my crazy lunch I went shopping and picked up enough food to last me a few weeks.
Got home and decided to go out to the yard and pull some weeds. Yeah it's that time of year again with the rains/snow come the weeds. And with 2 1/2 arches there can be a ton of them if I don't keep up on them. Worked outside for a few hours before calling it an night and heading inside to spend the remaining hours relaxing and watching some TV.
I worked on my Geekie Awards entries for about an hour, I'm about 2/3d's of the way through them. I should be able to finish with a few more hours of work.. just not today.
Realized that I hadn't gone grocery shopping in over a month, so I headed into town. Before shopping I stopped by McDonald's for some lunch. I hardly ever eat McDonald's because the majority of the food doesn't agree with my stomach but I can eat their chicken nuggets & fries and they have some very tasty buffalo sauce that can dip them in. Anyways when I was there eating there were two women with about seven kids between them.. the oldest looked to be about 10. Well these kids were running around, screaming, pulling out napkins and tossing them around, playing with the soda machine and just being crazy. The two moms were just sitting there chatting away not paying attention to their destructive kids. Well after fifteen minutes one of the employees finally asked one of the kids to stop throwing things. The look on one of the mothers face, you would have thought that this employee slapped her child. She said something in Spanish and the kid went over to her. A minute later they were running around screaming again.. it was one of the worst lunch experiences I have had in a long time. I couldn't wait to finish my food and leave. I tweeted this when it happened but I think people need to take a test before becoming parents. I know kids can be tough but parents need to take control and responsibility for their children's actions.. especially in public places.
After my crazy lunch I went shopping and picked up enough food to last me a few weeks.
Got home and decided to go out to the yard and pull some weeds. Yeah it's that time of year again with the rains/snow come the weeds. And with 2 1/2 arches there can be a ton of them if I don't keep up on them. Worked outside for a few hours before calling it an night and heading inside to spend the remaining hours relaxing and watching some TV.
SPLAT! Magazine
Have you got a child who needs a magazine to read? Why not try out SPLAT! Magazine, which you can purchase online via iTunes. It's currently available for the iPad, and unfortunately I don't have an iPad... But not worry! I got to use Miss Pinky's!! Lucky me!! (Don't ask me how I got to look after it... it's a long story...). So I logged in using my login details. I know you are thinking - I don't like Apple and I'm using iTunes... The Apple app is not a problem it's just the hardware and their ridiculous pricing... But surprisingly the iPad is ok for me! I'm slowly getting into Apple things... Very slowly...
Well, anyway, here's a few sneak peeks with the owner's permission of some of the pages he had sent me, (well there are not many sneak peeks, as I would be spoiling it for you!).
Opening the app on the iPad |
There are some giggly / laughing ones which I thought was very funny in this first magazine!
SPLAT!'s first magazine cover |
Instruction page |
The page with the funny laughing and giggly noises ^_^ |
Teenage Mutant Heroe Turtles are still popular!! Wow!! |
Find out more facts from www.BinWineevils.com |
You can also enter competitions and win a few things...
Who can complete that maze? |
I love games! |
SPLAT! is mainly aimed for kids who like sci-fi, games and comics. ^_^ So it's definitely a geeky magazine!! (^_^)b
A second magazine is already out, and hopefully there should be one out later this month!! I think these magazines are not only just for kids (4+) to read and interact with, but they are also for adults who can have a read through... especially if you like comics. :D
Here's SPLAT! Magazine's press release. This looks like official stuff to me!!
A second magazine is already out, and hopefully there should be one out later this month!! I think these magazines are not only just for kids (4+) to read and interact with, but they are also for adults who can have a read through... especially if you like comics. :D
Here's SPLAT! Magazine's press release. This looks like official stuff to me!!
I definitely recommend this magazine if you have bored kids who are playing on the iPad all day long, or who just need something to read. I also hope there will be an Android app soon (as I'm sticking with a new Android phone for another 2 years). Fingers crossed. :D
And here are the covers of the magazines again. Better quality and courtesy of SPLAT! Magazine. :D
Website: splat-mag.com
You can also join them on:
Currently only available on iTunes for the iPad.
Cost per magazine: £1.49
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