Geekery!

Hiya, folks!

Went to the Out of this World exhibit yesterday at the Museum of Natural History and thought I would post a few photos.

Collecibles!

On the way in, they have a pretty cool set up of just various toys and collectibles related to some of the movie and TV show props on the inside.  I wanted all of the Batman things but this giant plastic dome kept me from stealing anything.. or everything.

Indy's Jacket!

This jacket was once worn by Harrison Ford who coincidentally probably has the most movies with memorabilia in this showcase.  Indiana Jones, Star Wars and Blade Runner were all a part of this event.  If only Harrison Ford was able to show up and introduce everything with his intense stare and mumble-voice.

Stormtrooper Helmet and Gun

Pretty great.  Alaina noted that the helmet has probably seen better days, which is funny considering you can buy replicas that are higher quality than the original probably looked in the first place. You can see some paint chipping off and some general wear and tear.  Granted, the helmet is approximently 35 years old.

"Nooooooo!!"

Upon further inspection, I didn't realize that Darth Vader had lettering on his chest plate that Alaina thought may be Hebrew? (I checked online and that appears to be the common consensus)  Kind of blown away that I was this close to one of the greatest screen villains of all time.. before Lucas kind of turned him into a bit of a pussy in the prequels.

While this version of Robin probably ruined a lot of people's image of The Boy Wonder

Batman!

Of all the Batman suits they could have, they had to acquire the one from Batman & Robin.. the WORST of the movies.  However, today, I didn't care.  I got to be within a foot of a real Batman suit!  It took all my power not to smash the glass and steal it.  However, it probably wouldn't have done me well to wear this thing as I very much doubt it would fit.  Also, that would be committing a crime.  The real Batman would find me and break my ankles.

The Boy Wonder!

Robin.  Yep.

"Next time someone asks if you're a God Ray, you say YES"

Now, this was awesome.  Akryod's costume from Ghostbusters II!  Ghostbusters II being the earliest movie I can ever remember seeing at The Drive-In.  Also, Vigo scared the ever loving crap out of me as a kid.  Actually, he probably still scares me.  I haven't watched it in a while but I may not be able to stare at the screen when I see him.

May Long Weekend!

That period between January 02nd and Easter is the longest period of time on the calendar year.  Why you ask?  No long weekends!  Someone needs to change it so the entire country of Canada celebrates Family Day in February, not just specific provinces.

What have I been up to?

I bought a massive new TV!

XBOX was immediately played.

Ended up getting a great deal on it through Best Buy.  $441 for a 42 inch LCD is not a bad price if I do say so myself.  It took a while to play around with the settings to get it to where I want it but it otherwise looks great!  I do have some issues with the sound that may have to be corrected at a later date (i.e. doesn't do bass well) but I'm not sure what I can add to it that would be within the sound limits of my apartment building.

Alaina and I went hiking a few weeks back in Point Pleasant Park.

Time to hit the ol' dusty trail

 Probably the best part of all of Halifax.  The fact that I lived here for almost a year and didn't know about it blows my mind.  Then again, I'm not exactly someone who does things (I'm still working on that, trust me).  A friend told me about a few other parks in the HRM and Alaina had dug up a list of walking trails which we plan to hit up.  Pretty excited!

There's also an exhibit in town showcasing props and costumes from Sci-Fi movies and TV shows.  While I have not got a chance to check it out yet, Alaina went on Thursday and brought me back some Batman cookies.

"Swear to me! ... these cookies are delicious."

Hopefully they're going to continue to make these in the coming weeks.  I need to get down there.  I already promised people some pictures.  This is easily the perfect summer to have this on display seeing as now more than ever, comics and sci-fi are the biggest money makers in Hollywood.  The Avengers is on pace to cross the $1 billion range with The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man yet to come!

Better than most ice cream

Also, gelato?  Pretty great.  Never had this before yesterday and it was pretty tasty.  Not sure if I've ever had a chance to have it before but I will not pass it up again.  Points to Humani-T Cafe for the tiny spoons.  Made it seem like there was more ice cream for what I purchased.

Comfort.

While it's not what I was originally looking for (i.e. recliner), it's still what I needed.  Also, it was free.  I secured a reading chair around the same time I got my TV.  I mainly just needed something comfortable I could sit in and read without the danger of falling asleep.  Living alone leaves me without someone to kick me to bed if I fall asleep with my face in a book and seeing as I've done it a few times, I don't like waking up at 3 in the morning with all my lights on.

Finally, I wanted to mention that I picked up a new hat.  It's not Toronto Maple Leafs..  rather the Toronto Blue Jays.  I was a pretty big fan of the Jays when I was a kid but I think it had to do with my fandom of the Leafs bleeding over.  Also, the back to back world championships didn't hurt either.  I fell out of baseball for a while but followed the Red Sox on and off.  However, that had more to do with the movie "Fever Pitch".

I want to get back into baseball and I've chosen the Blue Jays.  Why not?  I already love the city of Toronto and I'll never leave the Leafs so why not just cheer for the team that plays a few blocks over from the Air Canada Centre?

Also, Brett Laurie and Jose Bautista are pretty good reasons.

Finally..

.. I have a concrete idea for my first attempt at writing a novel for Camp NanoWriMo.  I'm currently working on the outline now and haven't been this excited for anything in quite some time.  I can't wait to get started :)

I wanted to write about characters that in reality, no one should really like.  I hope I can find a way to mix in some comedy with the crime mystery idea I have and turn out something I can be proud of.  I have no grand illusions that this will lead to anything in particular as this is after all, my first go around.  I am excited nonetheless and am pretty stoked to pull this from my mind and put it on paper, so to speak.

Other than that, I've been pretty busy.

A few weekends ago, Alaina and I visited Peggy's Cove along with her brother Dan and his son, William.

As you can see, I conquered Peggy's Cove

I'm not sure I can remember a time where I had that much fun as an adult while acting like a small child.  I ran across and climbed rocks like a 5 year old.  I think I had more fun than the actual 5 year old that was with us.  Kids are unable to appreciate being kids until they're adults.

We also went on a long hike to Point Pleasant Park.  As I said to Alaina on several occasions, I really couldn't believe that this place was smack dab in the middle of Halifax.  To say it was a beautiful spot is truly an understatement.  I can easily see myself back there again several times this summer.

Over the air, across the ocean - the first time, ever.

A few other small things:

I bought a ridiculous TV.  A 42 inch LCD.  Something that is so unnecessary I still can't believe I bought it.  Then, I played Batman and remembered how great playing video games on a large television can be.  I swear, the older I get, the less I progress into adulthood.

I saw Bryan Adams in concert.  He played for about 2 and a half hours.  As he said around the end of the show, he has put out 16 albums over his nearly 30 year career.  I'm sure he could've played for another 2 and a half hours and still hit more memorable tunes and classics.  Hell of a show!

I saw The Hunger Games.  While I liked it, it has nothing on the books.  It makes me think the rest of the cinematic series might be something I can easily skip and not regret it.  Those 3 books were stellar and I don't really need to see someone's vision brought to the silver screen to really appreciate them.  Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Lawrence and Woody Harrelson were very good but nothing to write home about.