Completely Geeking Out

Yesterday I received something in the mail that I've longed for since 2005: The 5-disc Doctor Who DVD set featuring Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion, Rose. Ever since I first heard that the BBC was bringing back this grand old series, I couldn't wait until someone picked it up and started showing it over here. The SciFi Channel began showing the series and was roughly a year behind the BBC in showing the program (or programme, as the Brits spell it). Still, it was nice to see the TARDIS materialize once again.

My reason for waiting so long to get this set were simple. I felt that the boxed set was too expensive. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, but I'm also pretty thrifty. I only picked this up because I received some gift money from family and friends and decided that the DVD set was what I wanted most. Also, since the pickings were pretty slim this year for me, I thought I'd splurge on myself.

If you aren't familiar with this wonderful show, you're missing out. I fell in love with the first series back when I was a child and quickly picked out my favorite Doctors. Peter Davison is my favorite, with Tom Baker and Patrick Troughton not too far behind. I also enjoyed the brief showing from Paul McGann as the eighth incarnation of the Doctor, but he was only given one movie and no series to be a part of. I can now say the Eccleston is an excellent Doctor, and his successor, David Tennant, has quickly found a place in my heart as a new favorite.

The series is centered around a time and space hopping renegade Time Lord who goes around fixing things that go wrong throughout time. Along the way he picks up companions (primarily young, attractive females) to join him on his journeys. His greatest enemies are the dreaded Daleks, the heartless Cybermen, a fellow Time Lord who calls himself The Master, and a few others such as the Rani, a Time Lady, Sharaz Jek and the Autons. There are lesser creatures and villains as well.

The new series has re-introduced such enemies as the Daleks, Cybermen, Autons and the Master, but has also introduced a few new favorite enemies such as the gaseous Slitheen, the creepy Ood, and a brilliantly deadly group of clockwork robots. Hopefully the Rani will make a return to the small screen to wreak havoc on the Doctor once again.

Well, with my good news out of the way, I'd just like to wish everybody a happy new year. I hope 2008 brings you better wealth, friendships, and love.

Until next time, loyal readers...

"Patriot"-ism

Before anybody gets angry with me, just know that this particular post involves the NFL's New England Patriots and NOT the patriotism that is defined as supporting your country or beliefs. As I write this, the Patriots are going for a monumental achievement. If they defeat the New York Giants tonight, they'll be the first NFL team to go undefeated in the regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Kudos to them if they manage to pull it off.

With that said, however, I must tell you that I really don't care if they win the game or not. This blog isn't about undefeated football teams. It's about one of the worst types of fans out there: bandwagon fans. I can almost guarantee you that seventy-five percent of the Patriots' fans this season were NOT Pats fans last year. They were probably Colts and/or Bears fans once the playoffs began. Oh, and then there was the growth spurt in fan base that the New Orleans Saints had last year after their glorious post-Katrina run.

It's just very, very aggravating to see all of these idiots running around proclaiming their loyalty to a winning team, whether it be football, baseball, basketball, hockey or any other major sport. I remember growing up and witnessing the vast amount of Chicago Bulls fans during the Michael Jordan era. Then there were the Dallas Cowboy fans when Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith headed up that very good squad. Lakers fans, Braves fans, Yankees fans, etc., etc.

Whatever happened to team loyalty? I support the Saints because they're the home team for me. I also support the Houston Texans and the Astros because they're nearby. In basketball, I support the Rockets and the Hornets for the same reason. Anybody who knows anything about the Saints knows that they've had way more lean years than winning seasons. The Astros, who always seemed just good enough to get to the playoffs but never get beyond the first round until their recent WS appearance, have never really "captured the nation" until their championship appearance. Even after getting swept, I still saw a ton of people parading around in Astros black and orange. When their next season kicked off, those caps, shirts, etc. vanished.

What's even worse are the college bandwagon fans. As of late it's been USC (despite only winning one national championship in recent history, and even that's questionable), Ohio State, and Florida. LSU has also had their fair share of bandwagon fans. Something tells me that their merchandise sales will go up after they meet up with Ohio State for the national championship.

In all honesty, I know that there will always be bandwagon fans. I just had to get this rant out in the open because of the Pats recent run and the collegiate championship coming up. I'd really like to hear from other folks about this topic. If you read this post, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Fireworks

One of my fondest memories is going to the local Angelo's Fireworks stand and buying firecrackers for Christmas, New Year's and the Fourth of July. Hearing "Don't you buy no overpriced fireworks" on my radio always brings back wonderful memories of being with family and friends and blowing the heck out of some fireworks. I've carried on the tradition with my daughter. She loves fireworks and is finally getting old enough to "help" daddy light them and set them up. We have a wonderful time with the fireworks.

If you ever happen to be in southwest Louisiana during one of the holidays that call for a fireworks display, please stop by one of the multiple Angelo's stands and pick up a few firecrackers. I don't work for them nor do I profit from saying this. I just thought that it would be nice to blog about one of my favorite memories.

And remember, "Don't you buy no overpriced fireworks."

Until next time....

What Was 2007?

With Christmas two days gone and New Year's Day right around the corner, it's time to start remembering the good, bad, and ugly things that happened to all of us in 2007. Personally, I had quite a few good things happen to me. For one, I lost a little weight (thirty-five pounds). Secondly, my daughter entered a private school and seems to be doing a lot better there than in the local public school system. It's amazing how important the student/teacher ratio is. With just a little more attention, my daughter is reading better, excelling in spelling, and starting to get the hang of math. Another good thing that happened to me this year was that my wife gave me the greatest gift any woman can give her husband: a new child. Our son was born in July and he's been pure joy from the word go. Granted, it's hectic having to juggle our own schedules with our daughter's and our baby son's, but things will get easier once he grows up a little more.

Amazon.com has been very good to me this year as well. They've invited me to be part of their Vine program. It gives me the opportunity to try out products and then review them at no cost to me. They've also given me a couple of freebies that I can't complain about, either.

There've been a few bad things in my life and in the world as a whole. My life's problems will remain private, but there are a few of the world's problems that need to be addressed. Despite the crying of Al Gore, I'm still not convinced that global warming is something that's totally created by mankind. I honestly believe that the planet is going through natural changes just like it always has for the last few billion years. I think that guys like Gore and others are using fear tactics for their personal gain. As far as the upcoming election goes, who in the heck should be our next president? If you know me, you know that Clinton is definitely not on my "maybe" list. So far none of the candidates have really stepped forward with a decent plan of action in my opinion. If forced to choose today, I'd have to say that Huckabee has my vote. I'm not committing to him, but he's looking a lot better than the rest of 'em right now.

Of course, the war in Iraq is a bad thing for those directly and indirectly involved in it. I do believe that it's a necessary course of action in order to keep the U.S. and her allies safe, though. Whether you support the war or not, please show some support to our troops. I'm not going to sit here and tell you who's right or who's wrong, but I am going to tell you to thank a soldier the next time you see him or her in public.

The list of this world's problems doesn't end there, but it ends here for me right now. Tomorrow is a new day and I plan to post something a little bit on the lighter side of life.

Until then...

The First Of What I Hope Will Be Many

Since this is my first blog, I figured I'd give you, the reader, a brief description of myself. Sure, I'll eventually get to creating a profile on here, complete with a picture and maybe a witty quote, but for now, I'm just going to give you the basics about myself and this blog.

I grew up in the country between the small towns of Kinder and Oberlin, LA. Like any normal child, I went to school, did my best, went to college and then had my world crushed by reality. It turned out that a diploma hands you nothing more than the average headaches of most folks who didn't go to college or a technical school of some sort after getting out of high school. The only difference is that the ones who skipped out on university life had about a four year headstart on me. Well, I've caught up to everybody else as best as I can, and I now have an eight-to-five job at a decent company and I go home to a lovely wife and kids each evening.

I have a number of interests, all of which I'll address in this blog as life sees fit. My main interests include the Houston Astros, the New Orleans Saints, science fiction films and TV series (especially the wonderful Doctor Who, classic and new), all things Disney (thanks to my kids), Catholicism, and books on just about any subject.

I consider myself to be a conservative, although I'm probably a little more open to suggestions than many of my friends. I'll address politics once in awhile, but I don't really know enough about that particular subject to be spouting off about it as if I'm speaking the gospel truth.

I love Louisiana, my home state, and all of the problems that come with her. I'll definitely blog about the Pelican state whenever something of interest pops up. You can bet that sooner or later I'll be talking about Mardi Gras, alligators, crawfish, Cajun music, and the one thing I love ALMOST as much as my wife and kids: boudin.

I've been lucky enough to travel over much of these United States of America, and I'll mention my travels along the way. Other than Louisiana, my favorite places to check out include Texas, Alabama, Arizona, and Wyoming.

Please feel free to comment on anything I post. I might say something idiotic or incorrectly, and I'd appreciate a little constructive criticism or even some correction with references to back it up.

Well, that about sums me up. Not too exciting, hunh? I promise that future blogs will definitely ignite somebody's fire, be it about sports, religion, or otherwise.

Adios, muchachos.