Confessions of a Stormtrooper

New York seems like a million years ago.

2010-06-27T00:43:00.002-04:00

I've been living in New Mexico three weeks now and New York already feels like a lifetime ago. It's hard to regret the move in any way with the likable things about NYC being replaced by such a better standard of living. Shopping at Sam's Club is surreal and buying a giant bottle of Bailey's for $22 seemed like the stuff of dreams only a few weeks ago. I've been eating real pork tamales nonstop and there's nothing like rainbow trout straight out of the river. New York can't supply either of these. There was no culture shock upon my arrival as many expected, more of a return to normalcy after more than a decade of unrest. Life is quieter and I can get to my destination without waiting for a train or bus. It's also nice to have the option to paint my condo without the repercussion of losing a deposit somewhere down the line.

This pace isn't for everyone as some people might find a town of 72,000 excessively boring. After living amongst eight million people (that's seven million people PLUS another million) for such a long time, I welcome the boredom. The air is clean, the beauty is unending and the sky is different every night. Here are some various pics of the adventure so far.

My entering the state from the viewpoint of one 14-foot Uhaul.

My girlfriend is driving my eBay purchased Toyota mini-SUV ahead of me.

I managed to get my girlfriend into my armor. She looks wonderful.

What I loved and hated about NYC in one short article.

2010-06-24T14:57:00.003-04:00

If you haven't heard of Improv Everywhere, allow me to shortly describe whose these people are. Basically, a group of artists get together and pull various harmless pranks on the city. Just about every event they organize is brilliant. For instance, they'll get a bunch of fat guys to walk inside Abercrombie and Fitch and remove their shirts, obviously poking fun at the shirtless idiots Abercrombie constantly has walking around its store. Another stunt involved fifty or so people at once heading into Best Buy wearing blue shirts and khaki pants.

More recently, Improv Everywhere spray painted this graphic onto a Fifth Avenue sidewalk, garnering much attention.

I love this. I think it is clever and most people found it quite amusing. No harm done, except for maybe a little vandalism. No biggie. However, upon reading about the prank in the New York Daily News, I read this quote, "Real New Yorkers don't notice crap like this," said Rolando Gilbride, 33, of Brooklyn. "We don't look down when we walk. We look forward."

What a total prick job. I generally try to stay away from name calling, but this guy deserves it. Get over yourself.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/05/20/2010-05-20_lane_just_for_tourists_spices_up_fifth_ave.html

Perfect timing

2010-06-24T14:40:00.000-04:00

I couldn't have picked a better time to move out of New York and I think my always changing landscape was as big as of an incentive as any. Here was my wonderful view in my last apartment in NYC.

Here is a picture from the same viewpoint upon my last day before leaving.

Cinco de Mine-O

2010-05-05T23:40:00.001-04:00

After a month of filling out this and faxing that, I closed on my condo today. Hallelujah, but what a month. I totally understand why people say buying a place is one of the most stressful things. I lost about twelve pounds in the process and what already looked like alien arms now look even skinnier. Soon, I'll be throwing down tamales like jelly beans, so I should fatten back up in no time.

It was a scary week giving the down payment and seeing my saving account dwindle by two-thirds in a day. Literally, a year of saving gone in an instant. I hope it is worth it. Now I'm officially in the car market, so that search begins tomorrow. Oh yeah, and a job would be nice. Prayers are greatly appreciated.

I love NYC, but a Sandtrooper belongs in the desert. That's just the way it is.

2nd loan in progress

2010-04-24T19:41:00.001-04:00

Just a quick update. I was able to secure a second loan through a credit union. Pretty much every bank we tried didn't go for the rent/owned situation of the condo. Anyway, I did get another loan, but it is at a full point higher. No fun, but at least things are progressing. I should be closing on the place next week, although after the first major roadbump, I'm not holding my breath until I have the keys.

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Once again, I don't have any related pictures, so here's a video of my new E11 blaster with the Blastercore chip. It's pretty impressive what the nerds can build these days. What you don't get from the video is how unbelievably loud this is in person.

Life is a crapcake and we're all taking a bite.

2010-04-08T18:21:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, some of us have larger slices of the crapcake than others. I found out today I no longer have a home loan. The bank got cold feet because only 40% of the units in the complex are owned and 60% are rented They require at least 50% owned. The sucky part is that we know for a fact that the owner is selling all the units one at a time, but the bank wouldn't go for it. The bank would have to pull out after I paid for the inspection and gave the earnest money.

There's still time to find a loan from another bank. The drag is that interest rates went up this week and if I can't find a decent loan from another bank, I'm going to lose a minimum of $2K from all this. On top of that, I would still have to find a place to live in 7 weeks because our lease is up May 31st.

Dig Up Her Bones

2010-04-05T12:11:00.000-04:00

Two of the coolest people I know are Phil Moy and girlfriend Tiffany Mamone. Both are extremely talented artists that have incredible imaginations. Last summer Phil shot a series of photographs called Buckets Off, putting a face to the costumes you might see walking around at various cons. The series was a great success and has now been published in a book by the same title. I have a picture in the book with a blurb of my own.

Unfortunately, I was not able to NYC showing, but here are some pictures his blog.

http://philipmoyphotography.blogspot.com/2010/03/mentors-buckets-off-new-york-city.html

The same day we photographed my Shock Trooper armor, we took some pictures for another project of various portraits. With Phil's amazing Photoshop, he made the previously scary photo look even creepier.

First Version

Second Version

Yikes, I'm an adult!!! - Part 1

2010-03-24T22:28:00.004-04:00

There's something about paying roughly $1000 a month in rent for eleven years straight that makes me queasy. I love NYC, but I could have bought a house with the money I have flushed down the toilet. Sometimes renting is the only option, but regardless, it is a win/lose situation since one is basically paying off someone else's mortgage. Somehow I've always been on the wrong side of that transaction. I aimed to change that.

As many of you know, I visited New Mexico in April of 2009 after a twenty year absence. I visited a few towns and stayed mostly at the family cabin in Tres Ritos (all documented in previous blog entries). Instantly, I felt at home in that state, as if my life had been waiting to take a week long exhale. From that point on, the notion of living in Santa Fe had filled my head. I watched the housing market online almost daily, seeing what money can buy. For those of you not familiar with Santa Fe, it is probably the priciest town in the southwest, and for good reason. With a population of a mere seventy thousand, Santa Fe attracts those who seek something truly different. The climate is wonderful, the scenery is breathtaking, and the food is worth a trip alone.

This last weekend, I flew out to Santa Fe to check out some condos. Houses were simply out of my reach. My realtor and my father (who is also a realtor) were waiting and we hit the ground running. Within an hour of getting into town, we were looking at places. The first few were discouraging, because they were pretty shabby and hardly seemed worth the money. We then saw two other places, both of which I loved, but were rather small. Seeing how I have lived in tiny rooms for the most of eleven years, the size didn't bother me a bit. We then visited the condo that was first on my list. The price was reasonable and it was clearly a nicer place than any of the others.

After crunching numbers over a few tamales, I made an offer on the place. We decided to low ball it and see if the seller would take it. Thirty-six long hours went by before we heard a response. The realtor contacted me with the seller's counteroffer and seeing how my flight was leaving within a few hours, the seller made a counteroffer and I took it. My departure from NYC will come right at the end of May after Pearl Jam plays at the Garden. I sort of view that as swan song for New York and I get sort of teary-eyed thinking about it. I'll be packing the U-Haul and moving into my own place within days. I never thought I would own a place, especially one with such cool floors, but now I do.

The furniture in these pictures is "display" furniture to help sell the place. It worked. I don't actually own any furniture at this point, so I'll be starting from scratch. Thankfully, Obama likes to give away free money, so my $8,000 tax credit can help me swank this place up with a giant TV and maybe a couch. However, I do own a life-sized Han Solo in Carbonite, which I will thrilled to display after more than a decade in storage.

Why couldn't I have known this while he was alive?

2010-03-24T20:45:00.002-04:00

So, my father and uncle told me this remarkable story about my grandfather. This story that is so badass that I wish I had known about this before he died. I would have talked to him at length about this and probably recorded it somehow. Back when he was maybe twenty or so, he was hitchhiking from Mississippi to New Mexico for a job, probably on a farm or something of that nature. A man pulls up in a car with his wife behind him in another car. He asked if my grandfather would drive that car so he could ride with his wife in the other car. That sounded reasonable, so they both drove off down the road for a short time, maybe a few hours or so.

Eventually, they got to the place where the husband and wife needed to go north. My grandfather got out of the car, the couple each took a car again and drove off. My grandfather didn't think anything of it. After a few days passes by, he sees the car he drove and the couple on the front of the local newspaper.

Fruits of my labor.

2010-01-24T20:56:00.002-05:00

Around the middle of last year, I made the decision to write reviews for all of the films I see. I started a page over at http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/716483/reviews/ and have now written twenty-six reviews. Granted, that is a very small amount, but it's a solid start. Rotten Tomatoes is an amazingly resourceful site, but if you aren't an established critic, a little guy can get lost in the mix.

I have now joined the team of writers over at DVD Verdict and more specifically Cinema Verdict. My focus will remain on theatrical reviews, but occasionally I'll check out a DVD as well just to keep the reviews coming. Soon I'll have a bio page set up where others can easily keep track of my reviews. (I'll be sure to post that page here when it is available). Hey, it's something.

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I don't really have a picture to post related to this blog entry, so I'll post this picture which I found this week.

The only thing missing is the body

2009-12-11T09:06:00.003-05:00

Since I believe most people find me really weird, I figure I might as well reinforce that belief. This may be why I have a Psycho themed bathroom. Writing about this will inevitably take away from the shock factor you might have had if you had walked in cold, but I figured Phoebe might want to see it. It usually gets a chuckle, but some people are legitimately creeped out which is all the better.

The most important thing is the Psycho shower curtain. I've been using this shower curtain for about thirteen years, simply because I haven't been able to find another. It has undergone numerous repairs and the holes have been fixed several times. I've seen other curtains in this same vein, but no others were licensed by Universal and usually look cheesy. This is the only one I've found that says Psycho and has the trademarked image of Mother holding the knife.

Next is the skull and wig that I keep on the back of the toilet. I thought about keeping a bloody knife next to it, but I elected against it for safety reasons.

On the wall I have a lithograph of Janet Leigh screaming her face off.

The only colors in the bathroom are red, black and white. The floor is black and white checked which looks great against the red floor mat and towels. I find this a nice alternative to other parts where I live which have been Empire Strikes Back themed for about thirty years.

If I did use the F-word......

2009-12-01T10:50:00.005-05:00

I'm not one to use the F-word, but if I were, it would probably be used in conjunction with my disdain for The Chipmunks. If you do hear me slip, don't feel the need to point out the inconsistencies between my faith and mouth. I am fully aware of these things and can admit my shortcomings, mostly because of my understanding that I'm internally flawed to begin with. At least that's my excuse. I digress.

My parents will gladly point out that I did like The Chipmunks at a much younger point in my life and how I probably laughed at their cute little voices to no end. I think the more recent disdain has taken an influx because of the tendency of Hollywood to put a modern tilt on an already irritating idea. Specifically, The Chipmunks have gone hip hop and as you can see on the poster for The Chipmunks movie, they are "keeping it real" as opposed to just singing Christmas songs.

This is both an insult to the hip hop industry as well as chipmunks as a rodent. I suppose this is an insult to Entourage as well (referring to the slogan), but I've never actually seen that show to make a comparison. I don't find Jeremy Piven's voice nearly as shrill as Theodore's if that counts for anything. I used to love looking at chipmunks in New Mexico, but now my mind is plagued by high voices when I see one scurrying around. Anyway, this poster is just flat out dumb and unfortunately the poster for The Chipmunks 2, The Squeakqual carries on the flame of retardedness.

This time Alvin has his hat turned sideways to show his rebellious streak. Instead of Theodore giving the peace sign with his fingers, it is now Simon. Also, Simon is back to wearing his thick, nerdy glasses, which makes me wonder if his sunglasses in the first poster were prescription lenses. Doubtful, but I do wonder. That being said, I can't imagine ruining Christmas day by sitting through this film.

Now the movie business taking an idea from bad to worse isn't new. Here are just a few examples:

1) a digital Garfield

2) George Lucas went from a digital Jabba the Hutt to Jar Jar Binks in a few short years

3) Toy Story 2 and 3 (also all digital)

While all of those are awful in their own right, I find this particular character transformation (which looks to be hand drawn) taking my disgust to a new level.

Lord, help us all.

Are we so enlightened?

2009-11-13T10:09:00.002-05:00

There are things I love about NYC and things I hate. Among the things I love are the vast amount of great concerts I get to see here as everyone plays in New York. I also like the energy of the city at times as it is vibrant and full of life.   Among the things I dislike include the weather and the absolute disdain that the locals have for their own city. They litter relentlessly on their own streets and then make fun of the tourists, who undoubtedly take better care of this city than they do.

The thing I hate most about New York (specifically New Yorkers) is the notion that they are better than everyone else.   At some point they were given the impression that they are more enlightened to the world and that people in other parts of the country are simply not as good as we are.

I would like to take this post to declare or, dare I say it, prove that New Yorkers really aren't so enlightened.    Seeing as how today is Friday the 13th, I thought it the perfect day to present my case.    As part of my experiment, I carried my camera with me for a week and photographed the elevator panels in every building I entered with more than thirteen floors.    Out of the nine buildings I went into, surprisingly only one had a thirteenth floor *.

How could this be? Is the enlightened New Yorker so naive to believe that if they live on a thirteenth floor that something bad will happen to them? It is important to note that a few of these buildings are less than ten years old, meaning that this superstition is still fully alive today in New York City. The naivety extends to beyond that of just a missing floor. Is the thirteenth floor not thirteen floors off the ground regardless of what it is named? Meaning, someone living on a fourteenth floor is really living on the thirteen floor of the building. The name is arbitrary if you think about it. Superstitious tenants should be wary of such smoke and mirrors so as not to be fooled into living on such an unlucky floor.

If this ratio of one of our nine elevators is representative of the entire city, then a staggering 89% of New York City buildings do not have a 13th floor. I find this rather astonishing for a city that claims to know it all. I am interested if this phenomenon is present in other cities, thereby making other places as unenlightened as we are. Please enlighten me as to the elevators in your area. I, for one, would gladly live on a thirteenth floor, especially if it would come with a reduction in rent.

*Interesting that most elevators put a star on the first floor. I'm not sure what superstition that is referring to or how that came about.

For The Love of the Game

2009-10-26T11:18:00.002-04:00

Baseball is the "great American pastime", but it doesn't appeal to me at all.   Some live for it and find it highly exciting to watch.   I find it wrist-slittingly boring and there aren't even any cheerleaders for heaven's sake. I like watching little kids play baseball in little league, but that's the extent. Six and seven-year-old's kind of suck at everything and I find it funny watching children fall down. One of my few joys in life.

Part of my distaste for baseball could stem from the fact that my parents forced me to play baseball as a kid and I was unquestionably the worst player on the team year after year.    (This applied to soccer as well.)   The coaches would always hand out awards at the end of the season and I always got the Participatory Award, which would have been more aptly named the You Suck Award.   At some point I knew I would just mess up, so I sort of just stopped trying. I would just stand on the field like a dipshit* and drag everyone else down. Funny how this notion never went away.

I teach alot of kids how to play guitar here in NYC.   Frequently, I am asked whether I like the Yankees or the Mets. My stock answer was always that I don't watch baseball, but I guess I would choose the Yankees.    I have since altered my answer to the Mets ...and that I still don't watch baseball.   The Yankees might lose a few games here and there or maybe even lose the pennant by a game, but their history is still full of successes.    For the Mets, it's quite the opposite.   The Mets are losers, but they keep getting out there and playing game after game, as futile as their efforts might be. I find the effort inspiring, although most would deem it pathetic. The Yankees will always come out winners and the the Mets will always be losers. That's just the way it is.   "For the love of the game", as they say.

Incidentally, I don't watch basketball either, but my favorite team is the Washington Generals.    I have searched high and low for a Washington Generals jersey to wear, but no one sells them, nor have I ever seen any Generals merchandise on Ebay. At one point, I thought about going to a game with a hundred dollar bill and trying to buy a jersey off a player.   That never really panned out and I stopped thinking about it until today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Generals

Thanks to Cliff for the inspiration to have a baseball related blog. You can read his blog over at: http://titusonetwo.blogspot.com/

*I hope no one is offended by the use of the word dipshit, but it sums up my athletic abilities better than any other word.

A good day to be a nerd.

2009-10-06T21:29:00.000-04:00

So, I'm at work today and Star Wars artist Kevin Liell calls me on my cell. You may remember him from NY Comic Con where he held the Star Wars Trivia Contest. A great guy and spectacular artist. He had an extra ticket to the World Business Forum being held in Radio City Music Hall, where George Lucas was speaking from 5-6pm. I managed to get off work because I couldn't pass this up. Being a nerd, I got there early and had some things for him to sign 'just in case'. I showed up and he had just walked in less than five minutes before. One guy was there and had about ten things signed by George. I was bummed.

Anyway, I guess George talked for about an hour about his career and then it was over. Well, the Lord almighty smiled on me today. After the talk, Kevin and I went to the stage door and hung out for a little while. Eventually George came out and I got two things signed. My 1975 third draft script and a photo which was already signed by Gary Kurtz. I could have had more signed but there were a bunch of professional autograph hunters which mobbed him. It was successful, even if I didn't get to talk or anything.

The Coffee Cake Conundrum

2009-10-05T14:08:00.000-04:00

There are many things in life I just don't understand, which range anywhere from the popularity of Jack White to the willingness of Mac users dish out $3000+ for a computer in the 21st century. But whatever. Coffee Cake falls into the category of things I don't understand.

Let me explain. I don't drink coffee. It just isn't my thing. I like the smell, but that's about as far as it goes. I don't like coffee-flavored anything. That includes the following: coffee, ice cream, cake, gum, or you name it. Some people live for coffee but not me.

For the majority of my life, I lived without coffee cake because I don't like the taste of coffee. At one point in the last few years, I remember having a similar conversation to this with somebody.

Unnamed individual: "Daniel, would you like some coffee cake?"
Me: "No, thank you. I don't like the taste of coffee."
Unnamed individual: "Coffee cake doesn't taste like coffee. It's called that because you eat it with coffee."
Me: "That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life."

I don't know what genius named coffee cake, but he/she is officially on my black list. I don't call french fries "Cheeseburger Sticks". I don't call ketchup "Hot Dog Juice". What jackass came up with the reasoning behind the name for Coffee Cake? Since when do we name food for what it might go well with? Sometimes I wonder why I get up in the morning with morons like this running the world. All this time I could have been eating coffee cake had one of my hundreds of "friends" let me in on this secret.

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - The Food :)

2009-09-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

The Shed - Santa Fe, NM: Green chile stew followed by blue corn chicken enchiladas.

Orlando's - Taos, NM: Chile rellenos

El Paragua - Espanola, NM: Chips, salsa and salad followed by two chile rellenos. This salsa was super hot. New Yorkers would have been crying.

The Cowgirl Cafe - Santa Fe, NM: Chile rellenos

Besides the food at the Cowgirl Cafe, the servers are all really cute and dreamy. My adorable server had "serenity" tattooed on her hands. This should give me enough ammo to dream about for a year.

Just a sample of the rainbow trout I caught during my short trip. Much larger fish than back in April.

Labor Day Weekend 2009 - New Mexico

2009-09-11T10:46:00.001-04:00

I spent more time in New Mexico over the long weekend. It is a home away from home and such a nice place to escape to.

The Ring 2 - part 2; The Ring 3 - part 1

2009-08-31T09:12:00.000-04:00

This is starting to sound like a bunch of horror movies, but it is just more of me banging on quarters. I realized I never posted pictures of the second ring.

Long story short, the second ring was just way too small. It looks pretty good though. I have since these pictures smoothed out the edges a little bit.

Seeing as my personality won't let me live with something I don't like, I looked on Ebay and found another 1938 ring.

That arrived at my place on 8-29-09. In four hours on Saturday, I pounded, drilled and shaped it into this. FOUR hours start to finish. Pretty dang good.

Here are the three rings I have made thus far. The first ring (on the left) was a little too big, the second (on the right) was too small and the third fits just right and has the most words visible. I only have a little left to do on it, but it will probably have to wait until I get back from vacation. On that vacation I will see my parents and see if they want the first two rings. I'll keep the third.

We aren't as tough as we would like to think.

2009-08-19T10:42:00.001-04:00

There's something very peaceful to me about watching a violent storm from a high rise. It makes me smile seeing the proud run for cover.

"Can you send forth lightning that they may go and say to you, 'Here we are'?" -- Job 36:32

8-18-09
(Click on images for full size)

All seems quiet....

but there is a lurking terror.....
ready to strike.

Ready......

aim.....

FIRE!

Drama from the 28th Floor

2009-07-27T10:02:00.003-04:00

Living on the 28th floor of a high rise has its advantages. Here is a collection of various lightning shots from the last two years. Enjoy.

(click on pictures for much larger images)

June 2008

This was only about a mile from my place. Unbelievably loud.

Not very clear, but still effective.

August 2007 - Jersey takes a beating

August 2007 - NYC

July 26, 2009 - 9:35 pm

Reviews 101

2009-07-16T15:05:00.000-04:00

So, I've started writing some movie reviews online at Rotten Tomatoes in the hopes of getting a critic job in the near future. The destination is New Mexico. So after I get a few more under my belt, I'm going to write the newspapers in NM and see what they think. Please read them and give me critiques on here.

Also, put the little thumbs up for all my reviews, even if you don't agree with them, just to get some responses going. Thanks

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/cinematic-overdrive

The Ring 2 - part 1

2009-07-15T08:55:00.001-04:00

I don't know whether the silver in a 1938 quarter is softer than in a 1960 quarter or I'm just bangin' harder. During lunch yesterday, I managed to get this quarter wider than my current ring in ONE hour. I did more in one hour than I did in two weeks of hitting with the first quarter. I worked in the basement of the offices where I work because I can make a ton of noise and no one cares. The floors in the basement are this solid concrete/marble looking rock. I placed the quarter on the floor, used a heavy spoon and bashed like crazy for an hour.

This was just the shaping part of the bashing. All the uneven surfaces that you see when compared with Ring #1 will disappear with the lighter spoon tapping. I'm intentionally making this one smaller than the previous because my ring actually fell off my finger yesterday. I may have to migrate it to my big toe.

Anyway, the guy that took a year on his ring is a complete dummyhead.

The Ring 2 as of 7-14-09

Ring #2 next to Ring #1

My nerd tendencies...

2009-07-13T09:08:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty good about not blowing money on Star Wars collectibles and such like I used to. (I do have a few sets of armor, but that serves a different purpose altogether.) In fact, I haven't bought a figure in over ten years. I no longer feel the need to clutter up my life with needless things. The reasoning could be a combination of 1) the prequels just weren't that good if we're honest with ourselves, and 2) I have a storage space FULL of old Star Wars toys just costing me $600 a year just to store. No, thank you. Incidentally, I plan to start selling in the next year or when the economy improves. With that money, I will buy a house and a Golden Retriever named Randy.

Every so often, I will see something I kind of need to have to make my life complete for the time being. My most recent purchase is my R2-Q5 Soy Sauce Bottle for about $25 (not counting the Kikkoman). The Japanese have a knack for making odd Star Wars creations.

R2-Q5 Soy Sauce Bottle

I also have a fondness for my C3PO tape dispenser. It is hand painted ceramic and was manufactured by Sigma in the 80s. I personally like the way the tape comes out of his crotch. Most people appreciate that as well as these are rather difficult to find. I think this is from Japan as well and I paid $80 for it.

C3Po Tape Dispenser from the 80s

Probably my favorite item I have is my life sized Han Solo in Carbonite. This thing is a beast and someday I hope to have it displayed in a house. Fiberglass, 6 feet tall and about 70 pounds and supposedly made from the original mold. This is #903/2500. Made by Illusive Concepts in the early 90s it is important to note that they went out of business before all 2500 were made. I suspect there were only about 1500 made and they show up on ebay from time to time. I bought mine right when Illusive Concepts went out of business in 1998 for $900 shipped to my door. I suspect it cost $300 or more to ship a human encased in Carbonite. UPS won't even ship boxes this big. Since then, I've watched them fetch anywhere from $2500-5500 on ebay, without shipping.

Han Solo in Carbonite

The Ring - Done....sort of.

2009-07-13T08:53:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in awhile because I'm only partially happy with the results, although I've been wearing it for two weeks now anyway. In the last post I had started filing out the center and as it turns out, I started doing that too early. As I kept filing, I realized it would probably end up too big, and it sort of is. I tried to change gears and go back to banging the outside, but it just started warping the circle because there wasn't enough inside to keep it strong.

It isn't as snug on my first finger as it probably should be, but it works. I was hoping to dremel out more of the center to make it completely smooth inside, but it will fall off my finger if I shave off any more. It looks great from the outside, in fact people have a hard time believing I made it.

The Ring as of 7/13/09

There is a semblance of the word "LIBERTY" that can be seen on the inside. The negative photo makes it easier to see.

Seeing as how I am only mildly impressed with my results, I went and bought another quarter. This time from 1938, the year my father was born.

Hot Dogs, A Jumping Redhead, and Unadulterated Patriotism

2009-07-07T08:32:00.001-04:00

On July 4th, I woke up early and headed out to Coney Island for the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition. I figuring this might be the last fourth of July I'm in New York, so I didn't want to miss it. I arrived at my destination by 8:30 am and secured a great spot in front of the stage. Now it was just a matter of waiting around four hours or so until the actual competition. The weather was perfect, so everyone was in good spirits. The time goes by very quickly because from about ten o'clock on, there are plenty of opening acts to pass the time.

This is the third time I've seen the competition and it is nothing short of spectacular. ESPN covers the event live and the crowd is nuts. Thousands upon thousands of people come out for what is considered THE most important event in competitive eating. The contenders are athletes in the truest since of the word. Many of the competitors travel the world entering and winning various eating contests, anything from cole slaw, mayonaisse, jalapenos, ice cream, cake or oysters. It's bizarre, but no more bizarre than people dressing up like Stormtroopers in their spare time. It's all part of the International Federation of Competitive Eating, hosted and run by George Shea. George Shea is the genius behind this competition. He is quite the character and hypes up the crowd for hours before the countdown.

Eric "Badlands" Booker entertaining the crowd beforehand,
with girl on trampoline in the background

Takeru Kobayashi is the guy who truly redefined the sport as we know it. I've been a fan of Takeru Kobayashi since he entered the Hot Dog eating scene, winning the competition in 2001. The previous record was 25 hot dogs eaten in 12 minutes. The first year he entered, he devastated 50 hot dogs in the same time limit. Kobayashi had devised a strategy and method which blew away the competition. Now, his method has been widely learned and now his competition is tough, losing three years straight to American Joey Chestnut. When Chestnut won back The Mustard Belt three years ago, some consider it to be the greatest American moment in sports history. Both Kobayashi and Chestnut both broke the world's record on Saturday: Kobayashi - 64 hot dogs, Chestnut - 68 hot dogs. This year began the 10 minute time limit. Unbelievable.

Chestnut and Kobayashi intensely preparing for battle

It is worth noting that Kobayashi, as well most of the heavyweights in this competition are not obese at all. In fact, part of their success lies in the fact that they are skinny. Without the many layers of fat surrounding the body, their stomachs can stretch that much more than a larger person. One contender, Sonja Thomas (aka "The Black Widow"), can't weigh much more than 100 pounds. She is tiny, but she can take down 40 hot dogs, which ten years ago would have been considered legendary.

I have to admit that I was rooting for Kobayashi even though he isn't American mostly because is just seems like a cool guy who has truly found his niche, like any of the people entering the contest I suppose. Admittedly, I did have an overwhelming since of pride for my country when Chestnut won again. The crowd yelling U-S-A repeatedly does something to you. The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition is why I love America. Nowhere do I feel as patriotic. Only in America do you see a little person dressed like Uncle Sam dancing next to a guy in a hot dog suit. Only in America do we get to hear fat guys rapping about eating, while seeing an Olympic redhead (from Texas no less) doing flips on a trampoline. This is as good as it gets.

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Various Video that I shot.

The Ring - Part 3

2009-06-26T10:18:00.000-04:00

Wednesday we had our church employee picnic in Central Park. During the weeks leading up to the picnic, I was asked incessantly to play softball with all my comrades, but it brought up too many ill feelings reminiscent of high school. I opted to sit in the bleachers and work on my ring. Had it been wiffle ball, it might have been a different story. I wasn't alone as pretty much all the cool people were in top of the bleachers, just like in high school. That was a million years ago.

I filed for probably two hours straight with some spoon tapping here and there. I did have to answer the question, "What on earth are you doing?". As with all the things I do in my free time, either people think I'm crazy or rather intrigued. They never seem to relate however, which is why this is going on my own finger.

The Ring as of 6/25/09

The Ring - part 2

2009-06-22T08:36:00.000-04:00

I'm trucking through this thing much faster than I anticipated. I'm even holding off on shaping it anymore because it is going onto my right hand index finger. My index finger is pretty stubby, so I realized that if I shape it too much, it will shrink beyond what will fit on my finger.

I went to Zales and found that my finger is about size 10, which comes out to about 20 mm across. I'm going to do more measurements to be more precise on how much I can bang away before its too late. I don't mind it being a skinny ring anyway.

I did drill the center out, which was rather difficult since I don't have a vice. I had to hold the thing or put it on the floor. I actually made sure to bite down in case I went into a finger. It will be a breeze to dremel out the rest of the ring when the time comes.

The Ring as of 6/21/09

I can't understand for the life of me why the other guy took a year to form his ring. I've been going at this for five days and have accomplished a considerable amount. I think it is because he is holding his quarter while he taps. When he holds the ring and taps, the quarter naturally moves when struck lessening the blow. My method is such that I place the ring on my computer desk running parallel with the wire frame. The desk has a beveled edge like a spoon, so I'm essentially bashing two sides with every hit. The rounded corners allow for a nice centered strike on the bottom. Bear in mind, I usually put a sock doubled over in between as the banging can be very loud.

One Nerd To Rule Them All

2009-06-17T09:10:00.000-04:00

So thanks to my friend Elise's much more informative blog, Dum Spiro Spero, I have decided to make a ring out of a silver quarter. While scouring a flea market during a blind date, I chose this 1960 quarter because it was in very good shape and looked almost new. There is no real significance to this year for me aside from the fact that Psycho was released in 1960 and that movie rules the world. I figured this first go around would be a test run anyway so I wasn't looking for anything too special.

For those not familiar with the process, I'll briefly explain. Any quarter from 1964 and before is all silver and is not made up of various metals as in today's quarters. This is common knowledge and why you rarely find older quarters in circulation. To make the ring, you get a spoon and tap the sides of the ring until it forms into a ring shape. Lastly, you drill out the middle and dremel it smooth.

I must have thought these were more malleable that they are. Somehow when reading the blog, I glazed over the part where it took the guy a year to form the ring. Now I understand why. Last night I tapped steadily while watching all of This Island Earth from 1954. A stellar movie with really advance special effects for the time. Running time for This Island Earth 88 minutes. At approximately five taps per second for nearly an hour and a half, this is how far I have come.

The Ring as of 6/16/09

You can clearly see that I pounded my way through the ridges that surround the ring. The outer lip is now forming. I don't believe this will take a year, but it won't go fast.

My reoccuring nightmare...

2009-05-04T09:20:00.002-04:00

It seems that at least once over week or two I have some sort of dream where my teeth fall out. I'm very self conscious about my teeth and I know this transfers over to my dream world. I don't even have bad teeth and although I don't think my teeth are falling out in reality, this is how my thoughts are getting translated. This is the most disturbing of dreams because even in the dream world there is the looming reality that at some point I will have to face others with missing teeth. Here are my last three nightmares, starting with the most recent in the most gruesome detail I can remember.

1) I wake up to find a very loose tooth. One of the larger ones on the top between the front somewhere in between the four front teeth and the molars. I sort of wiggle it and "snap!" it comes right out in my hand with no effort at all. I show someone else and he was pretty horrified seeing that there was no blood and it was such a clean exit. I turned on the lights in the bathroom and proceeded to tilt my head to look inside the hole using the bathroom mirror. I look in the hole and see black crusty spots at the top of the hole. I grabbed my Water Pik (which I don't own in real life) and began to drive the Pik into the chamber to spray the black away. Naturally, this hurts considerably and doesn't help the situation. The black was there to stay, not to mention a huge gap in my teeth.

2) This dream is the most excruciating yet. I believe I was brushing my teeth in the dream. At some point I was looking in the mirror and the enamel off two of my front four teeth slid right off. I mean slid, only to leave the bare nerves underneath. The nerves were brown and fibrous in appearance. This was most disturbing to see. I thought to myself, "I need to take better care of my teeth." I went immediately for my toothbrush and proceeded to scrub at the nerves. I don't know if I was hoping to "whiten" them up by scrubbing them to hell, but I went for it anyway. As use can imagine, every brush stroke involved hundreds of tiny toothbrush needles stabbing my nerves at the same time. This hurt worse than whatever you can imagine. I wanted to stop but I couldn't leave my teeth in that state. I brushed and brushed in what seemed like an eternity and my eyes were watering from the pain coming from my face.

3) I've had this particular nightmare several times. I awake in the night and go to the bathroom mirror because something about my teeth makes me wake up in my dream. I look to see my teeth shatter before my eyes. Literally, slowly crumble and fall out, similar to the way Tom's teeth would disintingrate when Jerry hits him in the face with a hammer.

I also find it interesting that I sleep in my dreams very often. I used to take pride in that it was something I was actually good at, but evidently not. My occasional nightmares would prove otherwise. I don't find it interesting that I dream about my teeth falling out. That sucks. I also dream at least once a week that I am crying. I don't like this dream at all either. Another blog for another day.

My FOX News Channel segments

2009-04-24T10:39:00.000-04:00

If you want to see my two segments from FOX News channel, check out these links. It was a blast getting to do this in support of my friend Eric, who donated a kidney to another guy in the 501st Legion. What a great guy. The cast and crew loved having us there and were very gracious toward us.

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=4498571&referralPlaylistId=playlist

The After the Show Show. We get to interact a little more in this segment.
http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/22128512/after-the-show-show-4-21.htm#q=%22star+wars%22+kidney

For the Empire,
TD-2243

SET YOUR DVRS!

2009-04-20T16:22:00.000-04:00

I will be on the Fox News Channel on Tuesday, 4/21/09 at 8:40 am EST. Look for the Sandtrooper.

New Mexico - Part 3: The FOOD

2009-04-14T09:00:00.002-04:00

I had to save this for a post all by itself. The cuisine of New Mexico is worthy of an entry and cannot be denied full attention. While in New Mexico, I made it a point to photograph all of my meals at various restaurants. Without further adieu,

The Shed, Santa Fe, NM

Blue corn chicken enchiladas with red and green chile sauce. Pinto Beans and some corn creation. Served with garlic bread.

... and for dessert, mocha cake served chilled. Unbelievable.

Also at The Shed,

Marinated seasoned pork and cheese enchilada. Also with pinto beans and some corn creation. Served with garlic bread.

Michael's Kitchen, Taos, NM

Three egg omelette with green chile and cheese. Hash browns and pancakes.

Guadalajara Grill, Taos, NM

Chile Relleno and pork chimichanga. Served with rice and refried beans.

Tomasitas, Santa Fe, NM

I'm not even sure what was on this. I think there was one enchilada, one tamale, one chile relleno and a taco. Served with rice, beans and a sopapilla.

El Paragua, Espanola, NM

This was hands down the best food I ate in New Mexico. Simply wonderful.

Two chile rellenos served with rice, refried beans and another marinated pork side. Outstanding and well worth the trip to Espanola.

Courtesy of various rivers of New Mexico.

Three rainbow trout. The skin comes right off after a very short time of cooking.

Courtesy of the freezer, an 8 oz. bison burger with american and cheddar cheese and chipotle Tabasco sauce mixed into the meat.

I also ate a dozen of Pedro's pork tamales while staying at the cabin. The food alone in the southwest is worth the trip.

New Mexico Trip - Part 2: Tres Ritos

2009-04-13T14:01:00.000-04:00

After leaving Abiquie, I drove about 90 minutes into Tres Ritos, where the family cabin is located. It was surreal driving up the mountain toward the cabin as it had been over twenty years since I visited there. Places, bridges, and turns slowly came back to memory as I passed them and driving up the road to the cabin felt like coming home. The cabin is where I stayed for the next eight days of my vacation.

My parents were staying for the weekend, so it was good to see them as well as Uncle Mike and Aunt Donna. They all knew I wanted to spend most of my time alone, so they left on Sunday. Tres Ritos is so relaxing after running around for so long in NYC. The scenery is the opposite end of the spectrum entirely. Mountains, waterfalls and blue skies cannot be escaped.

We made our way into Taos, which is a normal pilgrimage when visiting the cabin. We had a great breakfast and walked around for a bit. Taos had changed quite a bit since my last visit. Instead of numberous galleries surrounding the square, most businesses had become gift shops with touristy trinkets made in China. That was somewhat disappointing, but the scenery was still beautiful.

Immediately after the family departed on Sunday, I bought a five day fishing license and hit the waters, fishing as much as seven hours a day. It was a tough time to fish because it was still fairly cold outside and the rivers had not been stocked since last summer. It was slim fishing, but I did catch five by the week's end. Two I released because of their size, but the rest I ate happily. I did have a stab at fishing in the Rio Grande River, but had no luck.

Of the time when I wasn't fishing, I usually spent it reading or walking around places I had been years before. The highlight of my trip to Tres Ritos was the walk up to what we call "The Meadow". "The Meadow" is about a mile up a trail behind our cabin. The first three hundreds yards or so is a tough climb. The altitude at the cabin is about 8,500 feet, so there isn't as much oxygen to be had. Needless to say, I was panting like a fifteen year old on prom night trying to get up that hill. The path evens out somewhat and gets easier as you hike. Much of the landscape had changed some, but the meadow was still every bit as lovely as I remembered.

I walked to the two broken down cabins and looked around. I drank from the stream when thirsty. I spent probably four hours up there just relaxing and reading my pocket Bible. I sat in one spot for awhile and when I got up to leave I startled about fifteen deer which were walking a couple of hundred feet away. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity then eventually went our own ways.

At the end of the week, I did have to unfortunately leave to catch the plane back to New York. There was a sadness about having to leave such a lovely place for a place of such filth and despair among its locals. When all you can see is the effects of man, hope seems gone. But in New Mexico, there is heightened sense of spiritualism by everyone when surrounded by such beauty. I can see myself living in New Mexico or at the least, visiting it at least twice a year.

For more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockforceone/

New Mexico Trip - Part 1: Santa Fe

2009-04-13T12:58:00.000-04:00

What a relief to leave NYC and visit another place with no agenda whatsoever. Even flying into Albuquerque is relaxing. The way the airplane soars over a huge mountain only to find the city just below. Thanks to my cousin Angie, I used the Expedition which is kept at the airport.

I arrived in Santa Fe on a Wednesday afternoon. I pulled up to my hotel and it started snowing. I was sort of bummed that my vacation started with snow and harsh wind, but I made the best of it. I layered up and hit the pavement to explore. I wandered through the downtown streets to the Plaza, where there was not a person in site. Very odd for the most touristy part of the city. Usually there are dozens of Indian families selling various hand crafted jewelry and such.

It eventually cleared up a bit and allowed for some beautiful weather. The city is breathtaking in it's beauty. It is so obvious that the people care about their city, unlike NYC. The streets are clean and there is a sense of pride about the land in which they live. Most buildings are made of adobe often trimmed in light blue or red. Absolutely gorgeous. You can't walk thirty seconds without seeing some sculpture somewhere as every block is immersed in art.

I also spent some time at a few museums. I especially enjoyed the Georgia O'Keefe museum. I absolutely fell in love with that artwork and decided to take a trip toward Abiquie when heading out of town. When Friday came, I took a detour out west a bit to Abiquie. I wanted to specifically see Pedernal mountain, which O'Keefe drew time and time again. I wasn't really sure how to get there or if I would find it. The landscape was absolutely gorgeous and as my aunt calls it, "God's Country". She couldn't be more correct.

As I drove I kept seeing mountains and wondering if that was Pedernal. However, when I did see the real thing, I knew it instantly. I pulled off and drove down a dirt road near Abiquie Lake for quite a few minutes, until I was fairly close. I parked the car near this ranch and just sat there in the breeze for probably an hour.

I have to say that there is a charm to northern New Mexico like no other place I have been to. I could easily see myself living here with a giant dog.

For more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockforceone/

The Devil Wears Satin

2009-03-30T12:34:00.000-04:00

From my 28th floor window I get to see numerous billboards overlooking the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. Most of the ads are for some HBO series or a film yet to be released. This billboard is just beyond belief in the amount of worldliness it packs into one advertisement. On the way to work, I head over to snap a pic.

Here we see an advertisement for Caesar's casino in Atlantic City and a lovely woman nestled in some white satin sheets.

The life you were meant to live.

This billboard has almost as offensive as The Devil Wears Prada in the subliminal messages it gives. I'll start with the woman, obviously naked and attractive. I guess what I'm meant to believe is that if I go to Caesar's, I'll win a fortune and be able to have a perfect woman of my own. They do mean me, since the you is deliberately italicized. How did they know my bedroom is rather small with a loft bed? A far cry from a Queen sized mattress with satin sheets and no girl in sight.

Maybe this sign was designed for people using the Lincoln Tunnel, who brave the tunnel twice a day on the way to their mundane desk job to support the wife and kids. I wonder how women driving past the sign feel, since it implies that men will be the one's winning at Caesar's and they will be the prize. Do they give it a second thought? It doesn't give the female much worth, but what of this world does.

The billboard just struck me like few do. What direct line to the Father do they possess that I don't telling them this is how I'm meant to live? I can't deny that this idea is very appealing, it just seems unlikely that God would have a lovely brunette planned for me by way of gambling. Of course, God could be trying to speak to me through this sign telling me to head to Caesar's. How would I know? This seems to be a reoccuring question in my life, but the fine print tells me otherwise. Know when to stop. Have a gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. If you can't get the girl, at least they provide a toll free help line.

I would like to be eaten by a bear...

2009-03-17T14:15:00.000-04:00

I have a vacation coming up on April 1st. This is my first vacation outside of visiting my parents at Christmas in a couple of years. I'm headed to New Mexico for about eight days to scout out possible relocation possibilities. I'm leaning toward Taos, because there are only about 30,000 people, which equates to 1/267th the population of NYC. I love New York, but there's a point at which you say to yourself, "you can't do nothing forever". While it is a much needed getaway, I'd really like to eaten by a bear while I'm there.

My mom's side of the family owns a cabin about an hour outside of Taos. If I lived in Taos, I could pretty much retreat to the mountains anytime I wanted. My family used to take trips there often while I was growing up, at least twice a year. It has been over twenty years since I have visited the cabin, which just isn't right. I think it took my living in NYC for ten years to realize how much I miss going there. I already feel great sadness surrounding this trip for some reason. I think it's the idea that even though I haven't even left yet, I will inevitably have to return to a life I don't really like that much.

I have never seen a bear in New Mexico, but God willing, He'll put an angry one in my path allow me the fast track to Heaven. That is my prayer. I looked up the bear migration season but didn't learn much except that bears suffer less from Osteoperosis because of hibernation. Not only do they get to sleep for 4 months straight, they do so rather comfortably.

Here is a picture of our little cabin from Google Maps. What an amazing, yet depressing world we live in.

Call me crazy......

2009-03-12T11:25:00.000-04:00

For a intensely private guy, I sure have many online pages in various places. I just set this thing up, so for now, my first post will be this little page I wrote probably two years ago. A little outdated now, but it was on my myspace at one point with some fun results. I don't necessarily subscribe to this view to this extent anymore, but for what it's worth....

--------------------------

About four years ago, I was meeting with two friends weekly for our own Bible study at my place. We would read scripture and pray for each other, one of which I still meet with weekly. Naturally, the three of us would follow up our prayer with some furious rounds of Halo 2, which involved much yelling and brotherly trash talking. One day, one of the guys said, "I want my next kiss to be on my wedding day." To which I replied, "You're crazy." I thought it was because he was just trying to come off as super romantic. Needless to say, he was married about a year later to a wonderful girl, but I know for a fact that he kissed her before the 'big day'. Hey, it's the thought that counts.

Fast forward four years. So many things have happened in that time frame. Things of great joy (Pearl Jam at Irving Plaza). Unfortunately, some things of great sadness (death of a best friend). These four years have been a time of personal growth and recently, what enters my thoughts often is . . . I want my next kiss to be on my wedding day. Sure, it would be really romantic, but there's other reasons involved. "You're crazy!" probably just went through your mind and you know what. . . you're probably right, but here's how I see it. Getting physical in any sorts builds up an emotional bond between two people. The further you go, the stronger that bond gets. Right? So how can it be a good thing to start building up an emotional relationship between two people that aren't really compatible otherwise. It can't. See, the problem lies with God's human design and the fact that we are inherently morally flawed. You see, He made kissing good. In fact, He made is so good in that it makes you want to do other things. That is the way it is intended. I'm not here to draw any lines for anyone on what's okay or not okay. You can wrestle with God about that, but at this point in my life (thirty-freakin-five), I want nothing, and I mean nothing, clouding up my relationships. That forces me go back and ask myself, how many girlfriends would I have kept dating had we NOT made out on a regular basis? hmm. . .

Let me explain all of this. I'm not saying I've stayed in relationships just for affection. Some people do and that's lame. However, I AM saying that every time I was affectionate with a girl, it clouded how I viewed that relationship and sometimes even made me view that person as a potential mate ('that person' being someone who was in no way a good match in the first place and we might have figured it out sooner had we been communicating in other ways not based on sheer attraction). To elaborate even more on this whole premise, I've never kissed a girl and not enjoyed it. I've never left saying, "Well, there's two wasted hours". Surprise, surprise, TD-2243 likes kissing the dames (that's for Kirsten G). That's not the point.

The point IS that if I know from past experience that I will greatly enjoy it, then that's a good reason not to do it, IF in doing so there's the threat of clouding up journey to the final goal, which is marriage. Plus, I know without a doubt that any female kissing me in the meantime will surely be swept away beyond all reason and lose all her faculties. GRRRRR. What kind of protector would I be to allow that? We can't have that. Also, it's not as if the potential for wedding night disappointment is looming in the back of my brain. Not in the least. In fact, not being physical will make the physical even better should the time come. Hell, I haven't cheated on her yet, why do it this late in the game? If we believe that God has someone planned for us, then intimacy with anyone other than that person IS cheating (at least, in my mind). Granted, I may not even know who the 'her' is, but that doesn't mean I can't love her today. Now you really think I'm crazy.

Obviously, this is way easier said than done and my fear is that my desire to not be too affectionate would come off as disinterest or even non-attraction, That couldn't be further from the truth. Hopefully, I'll find someone in the same sort of place and she'll understand where I'm coming from. It's more of a desire to not mess things up...again and taking steps to make that happen, extreme as they may be. Maybe it's part of the bigger picture of an struggling person striving to be Christlike. Maybe I ate some bad pizza. Although admittedly, I do like the idea of her walking down the aisle, we say our vows and then kiss for the first time. You really can't beat that imagery. Anyway, I'm glad my friend said this years ago because it stuck in my mind and now it makes sense. Like I said before, this is just where I'm at and I certainly wouldn't expect everyone to 'reach' this point, as I'm not even sure this is reasonable. I'm sure there have been written books about this, but hey, I kissed reading goodbye a long time ago. The saying is "It is better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all." I, personally, am not so sure I agree with that, but if the goal is to be the best husband I can, so be it . . . Jedi.

I still play Halo 2.
Daniel
gamertag: skutch