The Proposal (Life & Times of Chrisloc1701)

(This is another blog post, written about 3 years ago. My marriage origin story... takes place 9 years ago already!! Where does time go?)

The Proposal

 

My wife Crystal and I had what some would consider a speedy courtship, but when its love its love. About 2 weeks after we met I was in the process of moving to the town of Barrhead, it had been something I was planning to do before I met Crystal but the timing was perfect as she was living in Barrhead already with her 2 young children, Bailey and Kayde. At the time Crystal had an arrangement with her ex that the kids could spend every second weekend with him and she agreed to meet him halfway once a month to do the exchange. Her Mom usually accompanied her on those long trips but her mom was splitting up with her third husband and was not willing to make the trip with Crystal. That weekend was also September long weekend and I was playing in the men's slow-pitch ball tournament in Fort Assiniboine. Crystal was upset that her Mom wasn't going to go with her so I told her I would. Not only was I playing ball that weekend but it was moving weekend for me so a trip wasn't really wise but I wanted to impress my new girlfriend. The trip was a long 2 and a half hours. Kayde who was still a baby at the time cried for most of the trip. She knew she was going to her dads place and wanted to stay with Crystal, plus she was also making strange with me too. Bailey was also making strange with me. But I think it was the trip that solidified us as a couple. We talked about everything from relationship stuff to wedding stuff. We had so much in common.

 

By the middle of September I built up the courage to tell her "I love you", and she replied "I Love you too"

Chris & Crystal (with Shelby) Disneyland 2013

We really hit it off. We spent Christmas morning together with Mom and Grandma Yvonne watching Bailey and Kayde open their Christmas presents. It was shortly after after Christmas I went to my Mom and told her that I was going to ask Crystal to marry me. She was excited and offered to help me pick out a ring. I also contacted my cousin Brandy to assist with the ring shopping and engagement planning. Crystal had the same idea as I and kept hinting that she would really love a ring for Valentines Day, and not just any ring but a special ring, wink wink. I wanted to propose in a way that was unique and memorable. With the help of Mom and Brandy my plan went like this: on January 31st my Mom would have invited all my closest friends and family to a surprise birthday party for me, then I would be brought into my own surprise party only the surprise wasn't for me....the real surprise would be me proposing to Crystal in front of everyone. Mom and Brandy kept the secret and all my planning payed off and I got down on one knee in front of about 15 or so friends and family. My Mom came out with my *birthday cake* that said " will you marry me?" and the ring I bought was on it too...and she said "yes". Everyone was happy and excited, some of the people there even began to cry. Bailey and Kayde were a little confused, they couldn't understand if everyone was clapping and happy why would people also cry at the same time? It was a great day, my best birthday ever, and a great story to tell the kids and grand kids.

Geek Fallout Episode 26: Random Nerdness Crossover!!

Geek Fallout Ep 26

GEEK FALLOUT EP 26

June 27th, 2013

This week Chris and Jeff are joined by the co-host of the Random Nerdness Podcast (and Chris's sister) Bri.  They go over rumours for the new Marvel Movies, Breaking Bad, and BBC docs.  Jeff brings up the new changes in the Xbox One and Chris talks some comic book news.  They finish off with their top 5 Books.

Geek Fallout is a proud member of the Atomic Geeks podcasting network.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Welcome to the wasteland.

July: The Atomic Geek Podcast Network Crossovers!!

There will be some exciting crossovers occurring in July between the podcasts that are part of the Atomic Geeks Podcast Network. Stay Tuned!!

Geek Fallout Episode 25: With The Podfather!!

Geek Fallout

GEEK FALLOUT EP 25

June 20th, 2013

The big two five.  

This week Jeff and Chris are joined by the Podfather himself, Michael Digiovanni from The Atomic Geeks.  They go through and extra long news segment covering everything from movie rumours to facebook, what?  Chris brings us through some comic talk before getting into out top 5 Movies/TV shows we would like to see remade/re-booted.

Geek Fallout is a proud member of the Atomic Geeks podcasting network.

Welcome to the wasteland.

This Week’s League Assignment:The Ultimate Arcade

This Week’s League Assignment:

 The Ultimate Arcade

This assignment was offered up by League member, Jason Gross of Rediscover the 80′s. I’ve got a pocket full of quarters and I’m heading to the arcade…

—

You’ve decided to build an addition onto your house, a rec room that will feature your very own fantasy video arcade. What games are on your shopping list?

Well this will be a short blog entry. As a youth I always enjoyed the arcade games, especially being able to hang out in the local arcades which were awesome. Really makes me sad that the small town arcades have gone away with the dinosaurs in favour of PS3’s, X-Bones, etc. But I’ve always said if I get my man cave one day I would definitely (on a small scale) recreate the arcade/pool hall atmosphere.

First off, for my man cave I would have to have a pool table (with a purple rag), a shuffle board (I love shuffle board and that does not make me old), and a foosball table.

Now my arcade games of choice:

-         Golden Axe 1 (I spent hours playing this game. Love it)

-         Mortal Kombat (Love this game in any form)

-         1942 (table arcade style. It could also double as an end table in the cave)

-         TMNT The Arcade Game (Ninja Turtle + arcade game= Freakin Awesomeness!! Cowabunga Dude!)

-         Pac Man (Nothing beats the original)

-         Galaga (The best starfighter arcade game, hands down)

And that is all folks. One day I will have the funds and space to build my man cave…

In the meantime check out some of the other blogs that are part of The League Of Extraordinary Bloggers including:

www.coolandcollected.com

 

www.goodwillhunting4geeks.blogspot.com

 

www.infinitehollywood.com

 

Rest In Peace James Gandolfini ('Tony Soprano')

I am a huge fan of the TV series 'The Soprano's', and I was completely taken by surprise to learn that James Gandolfini, 'Tony Soprano' himself had passed away today at the age of 51 from a heart attack. He was an amazing actor who helped create one of the best characters ever seen on television.

On Episode 18 of the Random Nerdness podcast we will be discussing James Gandolfini, his career and how much he truly meant to us.

Rest in peace, you will truly be missed.

Man of Steel Movie Review (Spoiler Free...until the end)

 

 

For the most part this will be a spoiler free review, with a few specific spoilers at the end of the post, but you will be warned. For the bulk of the post however I will be talking about stuff seen in the movie trailers and previews leading up to the film. So there will be some characters and plot points referenced, so if you have been holding out completely on finding out anything about the film there may be some spoilers for you. But I will not get into plot point specifics, and will generalize as much as I can. So here we go:

 

I really liked this movie. I would go so far as to say it is my favorite Superman film ever made. Henry Cavill was excellent as Kal-El/Superman. Russell Crowe was phenomenal as Jor-El/Superman's 'real' Dad. Kevin Costner was superb as 'Pa' Kent. Amy Adams made an excellent Lois Lane, red hair and all. And finally Michael Shannon made for an excellent General Zod. All in all the casting was amazing.

 

 

 

 This is an origin story and they did a great job telling us where Superman came from. Problem is the writers and Zach Snyder should have kept this a origin story, instead of turning the last half of the movie into a knock down super battle. Not that theres anything wrong with a cool super hero battle movie, but it was just too soon.

 

Lets back up a bit. From what I remember the first 2 Christopher Reeve 'Superman' films were actually written as one movie. First half was to introduce Superman, Krypton, Zod, Lex Luthor and the second half was to be the big battle for Earth. But for budget and timing reasons they split the story into two films which worked. But for this film the filmmakers put both elements together (minus Lex Luthor) and as a result we have a film that was great to start, then turned good (and cluttered) for the second half. 

 

Again it seemed like the filmmakers were trying to put too much into this first film. No doubt under pressure to perform in a big way to ensure a sequel and perhaps a lead up to a JLA film. It again was still a good film and a feast for the eyes, but at times it was almost too much to follow and felt too heavy.

 

All in all I loved this film. It could have been better, but overall it was a satisfying return of Superman to the big screen, with a sequel from what I understand has already been green lit.

 

**** 4 stars out of 5 is the rating I give 'Man of Steel'. Go see this film. Seeing it on the big screen was definitely awesome! 

 

SPOILER ZONE: NOW I WILL BE GETTING INTO SOME SPECIFICS ABOUT THE FILM ITSELF.

 

I did have a few nitpicks I wanted to get off my chest:

 

- Too much story for an origin film: Again this film should have focused on the rise of Clark Kent and his eventual role as 'Superman' and defender of the Earth. But no sooner does he get the suit and he's fighting off a Zod invasion. Again Zod should have been saved for the sequel and only seen in the flashbacks on Krypton. Lex Luthor should have been the big bad for an origin story.

 

- Smallville and Metropolis sure do take a beating in these films. Superman's battle with Zod saw skyscrapers taken down to the ground...what about the people in the buildings??? I know there was supposed to have been an evacuation but still there had to be someone left in them or near them that would have been killed. Yet Kal-El & Zod battle and buildings are crushed all over the place and your telling me there are no casualties?  In the comics Superman would have went out of his way to ensure the safety of innocents. He would have led Zod away from civilians, not engaged him in battle. True this is a rookie Superman, but you think at the end of the film the death toll would be front page news and people despite being saved by Supes would be questioning how he went about saving them with little regard to human life. At least that is how I felt watching this battle of titans.

 

 

 

- I liked how Lois used her investigative instincts to actually find Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent. It never made sense to me that Lois would never figure out they are the same person, with her being this world famous investigative journalist and all. So I was happy they threw that out the window. However at the end of the film 'Clark Kent' decides to work at the Dailey Planet. Why? If you really were Superman and you wanted to help people why would you not make being Superman your fulltime job? When not battling villains he could use his powers to bring food to the hungry, stop people with nuclear weapons, put out forest fires, etc. Why waste time pretending to be a regular person at a regular job? It's an outdated notion that I was hoping the filmmakers were getting away from.

 

 

________________________________

 

Well that's all I got folks. It is a good film and worth watching for sure. I will be watching 'Pacific Rim' & ' The Wolverine' later this summer, so expect reviews on them. Till next time, see you in the future!

 

- Chrisloc1701

I would like to nominate Michael Kopsa (Captain Windmark from 'Fringe') for the role of 'Lex Luthor'!

 

Geek Fallout

Geek Fallout: Game Of Thrones

Podcast Of Thrones: Laughter is Coming!

GEEK FALLOUT: GAME OF THRONES

June 12th, 2013

Jeff and Chris are joined by regular guest Marc and returning guest AJ for a discussion on the throne for playing games....er....I mean Game of Thrones.  The lads discuss this past season, major plot points, favourite moments and lots of bathtub talk.  Jeff also brings the GoT education for the rest of the crew.

Geek Fallout is a proud member of the Atomic Geeks podcasting network.

Welcome to Westeros.

Spock Days 2013: Vulcan, Alberta June 7-9

So my wife Crystal and I made the journey down to Vulcan, Alberta to attend 'Spock Days' for the first time. Big "Thank you" to my wife for agreeing to go along with this trip as she is not a Trek fan at all. For those who do not know, Vulcan is a small town in rural Alberta, south of Calgary. The town is celebrating it's 100 year anniversary this year, so their name predates the original Trek series. But Vulcan tourism came up with the brilliant marketing ploy to capitalize on their name and associate it with Star Trek. For 21 years they have had their town fair as 'Spock Days'. Spock days is essentially a town fair and Star Trek convention rolled into one. And Vulcan is officially recognized by CBS Studios (which owns the rights to Trek) as the 'Star Trek Capital of Canada'! Very cool, well cool if you are a Trek fan that lives in Alberta. 

Back in February I purchased my 'Captains Tickets' and I was ready to go. Star Trek: Voyager actors Robert Picardo (the Doctor) and Ethan Philips (Neelix) were there along with Trek illustrator Rick Sternbach. 

Ethan Philips & Robert Picardo

Rick Sternbach & Chris

Friday night they had a 'Meet & Greet' with the Admiral & Captain ticket holders at the Vulcan Legion Hall. We got to mix and mingle with the celebrity guests. Crystal and I got to meet the actors agents as they sat at our table. Rick Sternbach eventually sat beside me at our table and we had a good Trek conversation. 

I shook hand with Ethan Philips and he asked me about my Toronto Blue Jays hat. We then had a quick conversation about baseball and his fondness for the Jays. I got to shake Robert Picardo's hand and listen to him tell stories about his acting career. He was drinking a Kokanee beer!! 

Saturday Crystal and I got to see the actors again as they were staying at our hotel in High River. When we got back to Vulcan we attended the parade which was awesome with a lot of cool parade floats and great Trek cosplay. Robert, Ethan and Rick were also part of the parade riding on convertibles. 

Vulcan was to open their official 'Trek Museum', but unfortunately due to issues with CBS they were unable to open this weekend. Much to the disappointment of fans. 

Crystal

At the school was the 'Dealers room' and photo-ops and autographs with the guests. Robert Picardo & Ethan Philips performed a funny comedic stage play prior to the dinner that evening. I also won free 'Captains tickets' for the 2014 'Spock Days', so yes I will be returning. 

Overall 'Spock Days' was a great experience, I had a great time and met some great people. 

Geek Fallout

Geek Fallout Ep 24

Put this in your ears and enjoy.

GEEK FALLOUT EP 24

June 6th, 2013

This week Chris flys solo, however he is joing by a special guest who may, or may not, have been on the show before.  They talk headlines, tech, video games and comics.  Top 5 is their geeky guilty pleasures.

Geek Fallout is a member of the Atomic Geeks Podcasting network

Welcome to the wasteland.

This Weeks League Assignment: BRING IT BACK!!

After a brief hiatus, the League of Extraordinary Bloggers is back this week with another exciting challenge. Big J over at Nerd Rage Against the Machine offered up the topic for this week’s challenge, and it’s sure to generate some interesting ideas…

Bring it back! What product or media property would you like to see revived, and how would you imagine it being different today.

—

Well first off I am the host of the ‘Random Nerdness’ podcast (available at www.randomnerdness.podbean.com or download from iTunes) and we have a segment we sometimes get to called ‘Bring That Back’, so I am no stranger to this topic. Also I am a Co-Host of the ‘Geek Fallout’ podcast (available at www.geekfallout.podbean.com, Stitcher or download from iTunes) where I handle all the comic book news, and we also do a ‘Top 5’ countdown. So for this topic for the League I am going to do my Top 5 comic book Properties I would want to see back:

5- The Doom Patrol (DC Comics): This team has yet to be seen in the ‘New 52’, and this is a team that has the potential to bring something different and fresh to the New 52 we have not seen yet, if handled properly. I would love to see ‘Wildstorm’ character ‘Lady Tron’ be a member of this team. I would love to see someone like Scott Snyder or Mark Waid writing this title.

4- The Thing (Marvel Comics): My favorite member of the Fantastic Four deserves his own title again if handled properly. For example I would like to see the title renamed simply ‘Ben Grimm’ (the Thing’s real name) and have the title focus on his real life and everyday activities outside the FF, much like the current ‘Hawkeye’ series from Marvel. Again I would love to see Mark Waid on this, or Peter David.

3- Shazam (DC Comics): Or also known as the original ‘Captain Marvel’. I love this golden age character and his history fascinates me. He can currently be found in the back story of Geoff Johns ‘Justice League’ title, but I think this character deserves his own title. It’s a classic story of good versus evil, of a boy who becomes a hero. This is a great golden age character, with a few updates it could be a modern day classic. Johns current back story is great and deserves its own series.

2- West Coast Avengers (Marvel Comics): Enough titles that are variations of the same team sharing the same characters (Uncanny Avengers, Avengers, New Avengers, Avengers Assemble, and Secret Avengers). We need an ‘Avengers’ team that is separate, independent and filled with other characters that are not a part of the New York based Avengers. In the 80’s and 90’s we had another team on the west coast that had their own adventures. Have a team based out of L.A., and have someone like ‘Hawkeye’ leading this team.

1-      Spiderman 2099 (Marvel Comics): Easily one of my favorite comics from the 90’s. Writer Peter David created one of the best Spiderman titles ever made. It was a pure masterpiece of Spiderman and futuristic science fiction. Apparently Spiderman 2099 will be returning in the pages of  ‘Superior Spiderman’ this September, and it is my hope he will get his own title again. Maybe with Peter David writing it…

And that is all I have. Both the ‘Random Nerdness’ and ‘Geek Fallout’ podcasts are friends of the League, be sure to give them a listen sometime if you would be so kind. Check out these other blogs that are part of the League:

www.coolandcollected.com

 

www.goodwillhunting4geeks.blogspot.com

 

www.infinitehollywood.com