I'm back! But still so busy...

In years past I have done a summer movie preview and it has been one of my more favorite posts to write. Unfortunately, it is a very time consuming post to write, and I just did not have the time to do it justice this year. So, it isn't happening this year, sorry. I can tell you that I did love Avengers: Age of Ultron, and I also really can't wait to see Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurassic World, and Ant-Man this summer. Beyond that, I don't know what else I'll be seeing in theaters this year, or waiting until it comes out on blu-ray to watch at home. So, apologies for the lack of a summer movie preview this year, but that's what happens when life gets super busy and gets in the way. I have already started on my fall TV preview though, and have written about a third of it, and it will be done in time for the fall TV shows kick off.

For the record, I did complete grad school, getting an A in my final class and graduating with my MBA. So, I should be able to start writing more, hopefully, but I am still insanely busy with work these days so who knows. But thanks for your patience, if you're still even coming by here to check out what I'm up to on my blog these days. If I'm just writing for my own entertainment, then so be it :-D  I have quite the backlog of movies to review, so expect to see a lot of short quick-hit reviews like I have in the past. I also have in-theater reviews to write for Avengers 2, Furious 7, 50 Shades of Grey, and Hunger Games 3, the last two of which are already out on DVD now. Wow, I'm really backlogged. Hopefully I'll find the time to get caught up soon!  Thanks again for your patience!

I should be back in May

Sorry I've been so quiet lately. I'm in my final semester of grad school and I've been insanely busy with that, and with work and family as well. If all goes according to plan, this will be my final semester of grad school and I should be able to blog on a more regular basis starting in May. I thank you for your patience and I'm sorry it's been so quiet lately.

Sorry it has been so quiet around here

How busy have I been lately? Quite a bit, obviously, since I only had 1 post in August go up here on the blog. We did a weekend getaway vacation, work has been crazy, & my son came down with Hand, Foot, & Mouth disease, which was a royal treat to deal with. My projector at home also recently bit the dust, meaning I now have to watch movies on a mere 42" TV like a savage. (#firstworldproblems). So, I haven't had time to write lately, which is unfortunate, since I love writing these posts and sometimes I feel like I am letting those of you that actually read this stuff down with a lack of content. I once again have a backlog of reviews to crank out, including 2 movies that I've seen in theaters somewhat recently. I'll try to get those up first, along with my huge annual fall TV preview post. So, look for those posts in the coming weeks. Work is going to continue to be busy, and grad school is resuming again, so posts will be sporadic, but I'll try to get some done when I can. In the meantime, if you haven't already, follow the blog on Facebook if you want to be kept in the loop when I update, as well as get bonus content not featured here on the blog. The link to do so is here --> LINK

Anyways, sorry I've been not posting, I'll try to get some stuff up soon!

Like CRAPOLA on Facebook!

I've finally gotten around to making my blog have its own Facebook page. It only took me 3 years. So, if you haven't already, go and like the blog on Facebook. You'll get notification of new posts, plus lots more content as I'll be updating that more frequently than the blog here, especially for breaking news. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/crapolablog?ref_type=bookmark

10,000 page views!

My blog just crossed the 10,000 page views mark, and I just want to say thank you to all of you for coming by and reading what I'm posting. It's nice to know that at least someone is reading this, considering that I just started this as a hobby. It makes it worth it for me to keep posting, knowing that some of you are enjoying this. So, thanks for coming by and reading! In the future, please also comment more on my posts, I'd love to have more interactions with those of you that read this to know who you are and if you agree or disagree with my thoughts.

FML - Celebrating Star Wars Day

So this year my family celebrated Star Wars Day for the first time. My son & I were both decked out in Star Wars shirts, and my wife and I sat down to watch Episode IV: A New Hope. She had never seen any of the original trilogy of films before, somehow managing to avoid seeing them until now (although she has seen the prequel trilogy). Since my son is not yet two and a half, we knew that he wouldn't really be all that interested in the movie, nor able to follow it at all. In fact, he checked out from paying attention and went back to playing with his toys about 15 minutes into the movie. But initially, he was very excited, especially every time that C-3PO and R2-D2 were on the screen. The Star Wars tshirt he was wearing had the two droids on it, and he recognized them whenever they were on the screen, excitedly pointing to the screen and yelling "Robots! Robots!"

 

My wife thought the film was better than she expected it to be, but she still doesn't understand how some people are so pulled into fandom of the saga. I guess since she didn't see it at a young age, she'll never fully understand the passion this series has instilled in so many people. But I look forward to celebrating Star Wars Day in the future, especially as my son gets older and will be able to appreciate the films for more than just a few minutes.

Hope you all had a fun Star Wars Day yourselves, and may the force be with you, always!

Happy Star Wars Day!

Happy Star Wars Day to everyone! May the Fourth be with you! My son is all properly attired for the occasion, are you?

Also, my blog returns to regular posting next week, since this week I have finals for grad school, so check back on May 13th for my Summer Movie preview!

Grad school hiatus again

Grad school is back on for me, so the blog is back into low-posting mode until May. I have a few movies I've caught on DVD lately I want to write about, but I'll probably just post those reviews in the summer, so things are probably going to be pretty quiet for awhile, sorry. I do plan on seeing a movie in theaters on Valentines' Day with my wife (she wants to see Vampire Academy so it'll be that), so I'll get that review up in February, and I also want to see Veronica Mars when that comes out in March, so look for that review then also. Otherwise though, yeah, it's gonna be pretty quiet around here. Thanks for dropping by!

FML - Today's my birthday, & Thursday my son will be 2

Just in time for my birthday, grad school has ended for the semester. So, my blog is back with some new content, yay! Thanks for your patience!

I'm 32 today. Holy crap. I don't like getting older very much. I find myself having more and more gray hairs in my facial hair, or on the sides of my head. I feel like I am way way way too young to be graying. I'm sure it's probably my son Jackson's fault :-D.  He'll be two years old on Thursday. I really can't believe that time is flying by that rapidly. It feels like just yesterday he was this tiny, fragile thing in my arms, waking me up several times a night with his cries. Now he runs, plays, and talks, and like all two year olds, he is starting to be a bit of a pain in the rear. He's got his last 2 teeth growing in now, and gone is my adorable baby who slept all day. Here now is a hyper kinetic ball of energy that never seems to slow down, unless you flip on Bubble Guppies or another show onto the TV, which stops him in his tracks & puts him into a trance.

Part of me is really dreading the terrible twos. We've heard such awful things from people for so long, that I'm starting to feel a little nervous. Our son has been such a good boy for so long, that I wonder if our luck will hold and he'll continue to be a little angel, or will he turn into a destructive psycho soon enough? I guess we'll find out in the coming months. He's already started acting out and being more hyper than normal, so I suppose they started a little bit early for him.

I guess the only good thing about getting older is that my son is getting older too. As much as I'd like him to stay a child forever, I'm also looking forward for him getting a little bit older so he can start to take part in some of the things I'm eager to share with him.

But really, getting older sucks. Having your birthday be on a Monday really sucks. But oh well, such is life!

Oh, guess what my son got me for my birthday? He spent yesterday puking his guts out all over the house. So my last day as a 31 year old was spent cleaning up vomit and washing massive amounts of laundry. What a fantastic and thoughtful gift he decided to give me!

Alright, that's all for today. Thanks for stopping by! It feels good to be back and blogging again!  I'll have 2x a week posts for the next few weeks until grad school starts up again, so check back Mondays and Thursdays for new content!

Blog returns next week

My posting has been sporadic lately due to grad school, but winter break is here, so I've got some posts coming your way over the next few weeks, 2 posts a week through my winter break. Hopefully I'll have some time to write a bunch of posts in advance over winter break so that I can schedule automatic updates and won't have to go on full hiatus next semester also. But in the meantime, thanks for your patience! Check back 12/16/13 for a new post!

Back on hiatus, sorry

Grad school has started up again for the semester, and I wasn't able to build up a buffer of content before classes resumed. I don't have the time now to write a lot of new stuff, but I hope to be able to crank out a bunch during winter break so that way next semester I can have some content for ya. I might check in with a random post here or there, if something major happens, so drop by like once a week or so just in case. Thanks for dropping by! Sorry to go dark for awhile though :-(

Happy Labor Day!

No post today, I'm too busy celebrating the holiday weekend. Happy Labor Day! Check back Wednesday for more content! In the meantime, maybe take some time on this Labor Day to write your Representative in Congress or the Senate to tell them to raise the minimum wage? The whole point of the minimum wage is to keep people out of poverty, something the current rate is failing spectacularly at.

FML - My plans for my son's sci-fi development

So yesterday I mused on whether or not I am a nerd. Whether I'm a nerd or not, I love sci-fi and I want to make sure to pass that on to my son. So, this is my action plan for my son's sci-fi development. If you have any additional suggestions that I am missing, let me know in the comments!

• Start him out on sci-fi with cartoons. Star Wars: Clone Wars, X-Men, & Spider-Man cartoons to start. With those latter two, I'll go with the DVDs of the awesome 90s cartoons I grew up with myself.
• Dress him in sci-fi stuff as often as possible. As I mentioned yesterday, I have an adorable Star Wars hoodie for him, but he also has stuff for Spider-Man, Star Trek, the Avengers, Superman, Batman, & many more that I dress him in whenever possible. (And when he's not wearing these he's usually clad in Maize & Blue to build up his Michigan love).
• When he gets older, start him on the Star Wars films. The proper viewing order is Episodes 4, 5, 2, 3, 6. Episode 1 is dead to me and I want to avoid Jar-Jar in his life for as long as possible. When he's older he can go back and view that one later. For more on why this is the proper viewing order - go here and read this outstanding article I came across.  As to the new ones they are planning on making, obviously those would be added to the viewing order for where they fall in to the universe's timeline.
• Start him on sci-fi television when he's young with the more kid friendly Star Trek: TNG when he is about 10, maybe a little younger.  After TNG I'll have him watch Star Trek DS9 and the JJ Abrams Trek films.  I'll introduce the more serialized Lost and Babylon 5 when he is a little older.  
• He'll start on comic book movies once he is old enough (10 maybe?), especially the Marvel films of the past couple of years, and the Chris Nolan Batman movies. 
• I'll have him read the works of JRR Tolkein as soon as he is old enough to understand them, as well as watch the Peter Jackson films once he is old enough to not be disturbed by the violence in the films.
• Game of Thrones can wait until he is deeper into his teenage years, due to the sex and nudity on the show and in the books.
• He'll be exposed to board games at family game nights, and once he is old enough to understand some of the more complex games we can move into strategy and fantasy games. I have never played D&D but I would be okay with him doing this in his early teens (and if he took to this I'd love to play it with him). I'd love to play Magic the Gathering with him as well, I started that game myself when I was about 12.

Ok so that's my plan.  Fellow sci-fi loving parents, if you have any other suggestions, please let me know!

PCP - So am I a nerd or no?

So I am midway through my second week of all sci-fi content here on the blog. It got me to thinking, am I a nerd or no? By some classifications, I am totally a nerd, but by others I am not. For example, I would never be able to be on a show like King of the Nerds, as I am not nerdy enough to qualify for that type of nerd. On the other hand, I love sci-fi and fantasy pop culture. So, let's take a look at the evidence for and against whether or not I am a nerd, and I'll leave it to you to decide just how nerdy I am. If I am to be considered a nerd, I think that I am more of a jack of all trades kind of nerd, as I have nerdy interests but I don't go full nerd for anything in particular.

Points in favor of my nerdship:

• I have watched the following sci-fi/fantasy shows in their entirety: Star Trek TNG & DS9; Battlestar Galactica (the 2000s version not the original); Fringe; Babylon 5; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Highlander, Game of Thrones, Stargate Universe, & Lost. I have watched at least half of the episodes of: The X-Files, Stargate Universe, The Walking Dead & Star Trek Voyager.
• In my old bedroom I had movie posters on the wall for Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, the Matrix, Hellboy, & Army of Darkness.
• I have attended a Star Trek convention, and I want to go to Comic-con.
• I read comics in the Marvel universe, as well as The Walking Dead.
• I watch a lot of sci-fi movies, as evidenced by my reviews the past two weeks. I rarely miss a sci-fi film that comes out. Ditto with comic book movies, I have seen every single one, and own almost all of them, even the bad ones like Daredevil.
• I used to play Magic the Gathering and still own several decks of cards.
• I love tabletop board and card games, and I own some games that are only sold at comic book stores such as Zombies, Guillotine, & Munchkin.
• I own four working video game consoles, including an old NES that I still play from time to time. I used to have six, but one broke (my Genesis) and one I gave away to my sister-in-law (my N64).
• My favorite outfits for my son include his Star Trek onesie, Star Wars hoodie, and several superhero outfits.
• I read a lot. Typically, I read at least one book a week.
• I am really really good at trivia.

Points against my nerdship:

• There are plenty of sci-fi shows that I haven't watched, most notably the original Star Trek, the series Enterprise, and also Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Also, as much as I loved Serenity, I still haven't seen every episode of Firefly.
• In addition to the movie posters (I did work in a theater so they were free and awesome), I also had my walls decorated with tons of sports memorabilia, especially Michael Jordan stuff.
• I have only gone to one Star Trek convention, and that was over 15 years ago. Also, I did not do any cos-play for it, and I do not have any cos-play stuff for any geeky subject matter.
• While I read comics, I only read some of them, and I only read them when I am killing time at my local Barnes & Noble. Also, I am not a big fan of DC comics so my knowledge of DC characters is far lower than my knowledge for Marvel. I haven't bought a comic in a decade.
• I don't just watch a lot of sci-fi or comic book movies, I watch a ton of movies period, as evidenced by my blog here and the 150+ movies I've reviewed here in two years.
• I sold the majority of my Magic the Gathering collection a couple years ago, only holding on to my most valuable and best cards, to either sell them in the future or pass them down to my son Jackson.  
• I have never played Dungeons & Dragons. Instead, I played varsity football and lacrosse in high school.
• Despite owning several video game consoles, I rarely actually have time to play them. Of the 8 games I own for my Xbox 360, I have only beaten 3 of them thus far, and only played 5 of them.
• You can't blame me for getting my kid cute geeky outfits. They're just so adorable. Just look at the hoodie pictured here, and imagine a baby inside it. Once Jackson grows into this, he's going to be so adorable. Even though he won't fit in to this until this fall, even huge on him this was so frakkin' cute it is unbelievable.

• Yes I do read a lot, but the majority of what I read is mystery, action, and spy novels. I actually read sci-fi/fantasy as less than 5% of the books I read.
• Yes, I am really good at trivia, but that's because I have a really really good memory.

OK so those are the points and counterpoints of my nerddom. So tell me, am I a nerd or no? I won't be offended either way. Hit me up in the comments!

Sci-Fi week extended

I had so much fun doing the posts for sci-fi week last week that I decided to extend it another week.  So, just like last week, we'll have new content daily all week long related to Science Fiction.  If you don't like sci-fi, sorry!  I promise that next week we'll be back to normal content.

FML - Parenting achievements unlocked

I play a lot of videogames, and many of them have achievements you can unlock by accomplishing a specific task.  If life were a videogame, these would be some of the achievements I've unlocked so far in my short time as being a dad:

Artful Dodger - Evade a stream of bodily fluids leaving your baby without getting any on yourself.
Immunity - Stay home from work and take care of a sick baby without getting sick yourself.
Long Hauler - Survive a 15 hour flight with a baby without pulling the emergency exit handle on a plane door or getting thrown off the plane.
Ninja Apprentice - Change a diaper without waking a baby.
Ninja Master - Change a diaper, lotion baby head to toe, and dress in pajamas a sleeping baby without waking him.
Ninja Ultimate - Transfer baby from carseat in garage to bedroom upstairs, remove baby's jacket and clothes, change diaper, lotion head to toe, dress in pajamas, and place in crib a sleeping baby without waking him.
The Working Dead - Go in to work on less than an hour of sleep, despite feeling like a zombie.
World Traveler - Get your baby a passport & bring them to another continent before they turn two.

Okay, that's just eight that I came up with, I'm sure there are more but I cannot think of them now.

Fellow parents: what achievements have you unlocked in your lives? Let me know in the comments! Can you come up with any to add to the list?

Happy Memorial Day

No new real blog post today. In honor of Memorial Day I just want to say thanks to all who have served in our armed forces, or have family that have served. Thank you for your sacrifices that allow us Americans to have the freedoms that we have, like our freedom of speech, or even the freedom to go on an unregulated and uncensored internet so we can be bloggers and speak our minds. Have a great and safe holiday everyone!

Blog returns with a bang next week!

Thank you to everyone for your patience during my extended hiatus thanks to grad school.  With the completion of finals yesterday, I can now resume blogging on a more regular basis.  And a regular basis it will be.  I've got a bunch of posts already written that have been sitting waiting to go live to the blog for about half of a year now, so check back next week for a slew of new posts coming!  There will be fresh content on the blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:30 AM through the summer until grad school picks up again in the fall, and possibly I might add in some bonus stuff at other times as well, so keep coming back all summer long!  Next week has 5 posts coming for sure, including my summer movie preview.  Thanks for reading and thanks for stopping by today!

Blog coming back in 1 month

Hey everyone. Sorry for the long hiatus, but good news - my semester of grad school is almost over so the wait is nearing its end.  One month from today I'll be back with lots of new content all summer long. Updates at least 3 times a week all summer, starting May 13th. 

In current news - RIP to Roger Ebert, who inspired me to take up my amateur film criticism. I hope to write 1/10th as eloquently as you did sir.  And congrats to my Michigan Wolverines basketball team for reaching the national championship game this year. It was a great run and a ton of fun to watch, so thanks for the memories!

Ok that's all for the quickie update.  See you in a month!

Blog going dark for awhile, sorry

Some of you may have noticed that my posts have been a little infrequent as of late.  This is because I have been insanely busy, and it is only going to get worse when grad school resumes again tonight.  Thus, I will be suspending posts to the blog for the short term.

The good news:  I already have a written post scheduled to go up around Valentine's Day in an auto-update, and I also have over a dozen posts written and ready to go when the blog resumes in the end of April or early May, depending on when my semester ends.  During the summer my goal is to post 3 times a week to make up for the lack of content in the next four months.  Also, I may still pop up a new post from time to time if something hits me and I have the time.  But for now, things are going to get quiet around here.  Sorry for any inconvenience, but I will be back!