Things I Like More Than Many Other People Do

In my life I've realized that I am quite a geek in many aspects.

I decided to list a few of things I like a lot.

Granted, there are those people that like some of these things even more than I do - and man, those people are WEIRD, just like I'm strange to people who don't understand why I like these things as much as I do.

Some of these shouldn't come as a surprise. So here it is:

1. Pirates - Seriously, I am obsessed with Pirates lately! If I see a skull and crossbones or other form of Jolly Roger type thing - I want it. It used to be that Pirates was one of the many things I liked (more will be included further down) but it didn't stand out over others. Over the years though, after many Halloweens and Relay races - I've realized that I like some things MORE than pirates, but it's a group of things. Separate those into individual parts and Pirates win. Crazy.
2. Fantasy Novels/Movies/Games/Role-Playing Games - This is one I've loved all my life, but amazingly I've never actually played a table-top RPG like Dungeons and Dragons. Probably because I didn't have friends that did such things. Put me in front of a good Fantasy book, video game, or movie and you'll probably lose me for a while. I used to think I was a gamer, and I do enjoy video games in general, but really, I like Fantasy RPGs a lot, everything else is just ok.
3. Pull ups (Pushups too, although to a lesser extent the past few years) - I read blogs like the Bar-Barians and Al Kavadlo pretty much entirely because of the pull ups. I'm not the best at pull ups - I still can't do a muscle up - but I'm getting there. These guys are inspirational (Al's kinda quirky, but he's working out!)
4. Castles - Someday I want to own a castle. Even better of course would having that castle be on a private Island with my very own Pirate ship... so we'll work on that. Occasionally I'll go over to www.castles-for-sale.com and see what ridiculously awesome castles there are available throughout the world.
5. Root Beer - Today being one of my IF days, talking about stuff like this is always hard because it makes me want it - but I love Root Beer. It is my favorite drink. Lately when the choice between Root Beer and Mt. Dew is put in front of me, I choose the Mt. Dew, but that's because it's Mt. Dew or Barq's (which I don't care for too much) or one of the other high-volume-produced Root Beers, that aren't as appealing to me (A&W (my favorite of the bunch), Dads, Mug, etc) IBC is my traditional favorite, but more and more I'm realizing High Fructose Corn Syrup is NOT as good as real sugar. I had a root beer at my brother's house that was SO good. Didn't get a lot so it doesn't beat IBC yet, but I think there might be a winner out there somewhere, so the search begins. (or it will when I have a way to get more!)

Well I guess five is enough for now. I may add more lately. There are definitely more... And again there are DEFINITELY people who like these more than me as well. If you'd like to share with me some things you think you like an inordinate amount - let me know I'd love to hear 'em!

David Eddings

I think I've mentioned before that one of my favorite authors is David Eddings.

It is quite difficult for me to really commit to a "Favorite Book" (or series) but if I did it would probably be (and has been in the past) the Belgariad and Mallorean Series by David Eddings.

Good, Clean, Fantasy fun. Seriously awesome books.

My wife wasn't really a fantasy fan, but she loved these books once I finally convinced her to read them!

David Eddings died on Tuesday - he was 77 years old!

Thanks, Mr. Eddings, for wonderful memories and adventures!

P90X - Week 4 begins

Week 4 in the P90X schedule is supposed to be a "Rest" week.

We start with Yoga X today and Core Synergistics tomorrow... two of the harder workouts we've experienced! Actually the Yoga isn't HARD, it is just 90 minutes long and very intensive.

I almost can't believe that we've already gone 3 weeks - and we've only missed a few days due to car-buying and illness. Most of the days I was sick I worked out anyway. THAT was fun.

So far I'm impressed with the results I've had - the small pudginess in my midsection has gone down significantly. It's not totally gone YET but it is getting there!

Lately I've been looking into well-known artists/cartoonists/animators... Not sure why but I'm looking for inspiration and method to my artistic endeavors or something. Anyway - I rediscovered the artist responsible for MUCH of Disney's earlier movies and many many children's books I LOVED when I was a kid.

Bill Peet

I got "Bill Peet: An Autobiography" from the Library and it is really quite fascinating. SO many pictures bring back memories of his books and I really want to get them and let my kids experience them.

In Fantasy Books I picked up a new Author (new to me, not new to the publishing world and he has a bunch of books!) named Lawrence Watt-Evans, and am interested in his books so far. Interested enough that I finished the first book of the Obsidian Chronicles in a little over a day...

Finally thanks to meetings last week I am closer and closer to finishing my newest drawing and hope to finish it this week so I can get started on the planned Ocean drawing for my nephew.

I also need to start putting more of the "Brave Knight" stories down and maybe even illustrate them a bit... Have I mentioned the "Brave Knight" stories I tell my boys? I can't remember.

Random Geekishness (Webcomics)

A while back I discovered an artist with an amazing name.

An awesome name.

One that will go down in history as one of the greatest names ever!

Okay so maybe not, but hey, when you like something and the creator of it shares your name, doesn't that just make it so much cooler?

Aaron Williams has two comics I really like, and others I haven't read too much of.

Nodwick is the (mis)adventures of a Henchman at the mercies of his Adventurer employers.

PS238 is a funny elementary school for superheroes.

So if you like that type of thing, they're pretty funny webcomics.

Recently for some reason I decided I needed to read Dune again, since I can't even remember when I first read that book. Normally I don't like Sci-Fi very much, but occasionally there are some very good ones.

So I read Dune yesterday and have decided to read the rest of the Frank Herbert Dune novels. I've heard the Brian Herbert (Frank's son) Dune novels aren't anywhere near as good - but we'll see when we get to that point!

I remember years ago playing Dune II with friends... THAT was a fun little RTS game!

Treehouses

Random post here...

Just found this amazing site where they build expensive custom tree houses/play houses.

WOW!!!

I would like to learn how to do this type of stuff!

Daniels Wood Land

I think my favorite is this Pirate Oasis, but all their Pirate stuff is cool, and their Castle and Fort stuff too!

New Goal: Learn Foam sculpting, airbrushing, and chainsaw carving!

More on the New Diet and Books

Day 6 of the New Diet:
Okay so technically we've really been doing this for a couple weeks now since we basically lived on this diet at my parents house in Denver.
I've noticed today though, that I am HUNGRY! I've even been snacking on Almonds all day! Normally I don't get that hungry throughout the day - barely even thinking about food until I get home and Kakes reminds me I have to eat dinner.
Since we aren't going to be eating all that much meat (We most definitely have not given it up), I have a feeling I am going to need to find a non soy source of protein.

I actually don't like to think about food a lot. It might be strange, but while I enjoy many types of food, I've never really LOOOOOOVED and raved about food, and I don't want to. I think too many people are obsessed with food. I don't want that to be me.

The other side effect of a mostly fruit and vegetable diet? Multiple trips to the bathroom.
Yikes! Hopefully that regulates sooner than later.

BOOKS!
I love books. Have I mentioned that?
Specifically Fantasy books are my favorite, but there are many other books I have greatly enjoyed.
I was finally able to get Shaman's Crossing, the first book of Robin Hobb's newest "The Soldier Son Trilogy" from the library. I've had a hold on it for months. I'm only 165 pages into it, but it's doing great at keeping my attention so far! Time-period wise it isn't so much medieval fantasy as an early American Cavalry vs. American Indians Fantasy. As a child I loved Native American lore, so I'm not having a problem with this at all. One thing I loved when I first opened it was the books dedication: "To Caffeine and Sugar, my companions through many a long night of writing." Too bad I've given up Caffeine eh? (6 days and counting! I can do it!) But sugar? NEVER!!!

The reason I'm excited about this is because of her previous Trilogies; The Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, and the Tawny Man Trilogy. This one is brand new and totally unrelated to the other three. Great books. Not my favorites, but they are highly esteemed by me.

I recently finished some GREAT books by Carol Berg, The Bridge of D'Arnath series. These books are about a bridge that connects a magical world and a mundane one, and attempts to destroy and save this bridge. Really good reads all around.

AND I think I've realized why I don't blog MORE... As it is already, I write too much in each entry!