Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind

Well, it was the end of the season for the TV show of my life this week. The penultimate episode was my graduation from BYU but the season finale was my leaving Little America. Little America Hotel was the longest job I’ve ever held. It was sad to say goodbye. I had prided myself on never walking through the revolving doors at the front but in true sitcom fashion I made it the last thing I did. Think of it as Sam turning out the lights at the bar on Cheers. 

Overall, it was sad to go. As much as the job drove me nuts at times, I really liked working there. I worked with some great people while I was there. I worked with the other Trav, a driver/former Doorman named Mario, pictured above, and many more who had great influence on my life. I started as a regular Bellman, moved to a graveyard bellman and finally ended as a Bell Captain. It really isn’t the job I am going to miss though, it’s the people I worked with. You don’t miss being yelled at by a random stranger but you do miss the nerdy talks with Trevor and Fernando. You miss taking breaks with Tony and Lizzie. You miss standing on the port with Sean watching Jimmy walk, not run, for valets. You miss the doughnuts that Mario brings, and having Bonnie give me the Sunday Funnies every single Sunday.

Little America, you won’t be missed. Little America Staff, you will. 

Now onto next season with a change of atmosphere: Leo Burnett Chicago, here I come. 

So I’ve graduated and I received many gifts from people, which I did not realize would happen but have been very pleased with this surprise. Amongst all my gifts, I wanted to share a couple that were especially cool. From my parents, more specifically Kerry, I got the chance to choose two comics from his own collection. Kerry collected comics back in the day when people would actually read them and draw on them and throw them away but for some reason he saved most of his. Now a lot of the collection is in bad condition but it is still fun to sift through them and look for the gems. Everyone kept making fun of me because I loved the smell of them. I kept sticking my nose into an issue and just breathing it in.  That old dusty paper just brings back memories. So I choose the two you see above. Both are in surprisingly good condition and both have iconic first appearances. Nice work me, and thanks Kerry! 

Secondly (or in this case the third picture) is the gift from my wife. I’ve been telling her about this book for months and the whole time she had it in my closet hidden away. This could not have been an easy task as the book weighs 15 pounds and is gigantic. It is a history of DC comics and I love it. It starts in the “stone age” (basically before superheroes i.e. the 20’s) and moves to the digital age, which is today. Sadly, I can’t take it to Chicago and will have to leave it here. I have to read it in bed because my arms get so tired holding it. Sorry, the pic is blurry but you get the idea! Oh did I mention the book is 700+ pages. 

So graduation rocked and for more reasons than just freedom from prison. 

Good gravy, I love my iPad but typing on here will require some practice.

The best thing I have seen all week! 

Shawn of the Dead fans! Scott Pilgrim fans! Joins hands (as I am sure you already have) and enjoy this video made by Philip Askins for a contest by Empire Magazine!

I love Planet of the Apes and this VERY short clip gets me pretty excited about the new movie.

So, I recently (last night) finished watching the series Battlestar Galactica. It was amazing. In my time watching TV, few shows have really won me over; Lost, Fringe, Mad Men and the first season of Heroes to name a few. I would rank BSG right up there with all those shows. It was amazing. 

One thing that made it so awesome was the length of the show. It is only four seasons which is actually quite small for a popular show. Lost had six and shows like Monk and Smallville have moved into the nine and ten range. Like Lost though, BSG was kept short so that it could tell and finish the story. But unlike any show I’ve ever watched, ever episode is essential. Most shows will have several fillers in a season that are just there to kind of hold place while some actors take a break or to make sure to save the best episode for Sweeps but there is nothing like that in BSG. Every episode is required and every episode moves the story along. 

Another great aspect of the show was the season finales. Every single one of them gave a new direction to the show and was incredibly powerful. Season two and three both proved to be my favorite finales but season one is good as well. The characters are all exceptionally different and you become quite a fan of several. Saul Tigh became my favorite character by the end of the series. 

Overall, if you have not seen this show, you should watch it right away. This show is ranked, in my opinion, with Lost. While I didn’t come to that conclusion immediately, I knew by season two that I was watching something special and by the end of season three, I was sure this would be like Lost in my mind. I haven’t stopped thinking about the final episode since I watched it, last night. There were many, many episodes that kept me awake and night thinking about the plot twist I had just experienced. So stop putting it off and go and watch one of the BEST shows to ever be on television. I am not joking. One of the best shows EVER.  

I felt that you needed a sneak peek from my new upcoming Doritos commercial, Nemesis 2: Nemesis Harder. We shot it last night and it stars Jeremy Warner has the new victim. It has a different feel than the first one but the same sort of humor exists. It should be online in a week or so. Look for it. 

I’ve been watching some stop motion stuff and decided it was time to try some of my own. So here is my attempt. It’s called Battleship. 

So for my visual communication class, we had to tell a story in 5 pictures. Here is the one I did. Now mind you, I am giving you the directors cut with a sixth picture to help complete the story. The original version didn’t contain “picture 5” but I think it just gives a clearer indication of the predicament this poor fellow is in. I love my homework. Enjoy!