Futurama Action Figures Series 6

So much for my theory of the boxes being in better shape when action figures a shipped directly from the retailer. My Amy Futurama figure was damaged during transport. Luckily, the Clobberella is is good condition. I might just have to buy a second Cloberella so I can take it out of the box and play with it :-)

Futurama Action Figures Series 5

I didn't even know that Futurama action figures series 5 from Toynami had been released until I saw them at Comic-Con. I also saw series 6 is out, which should be arriving soon. I thought about buying all four at the convention, but I found them online for a good price, plus when you buy online, the boxes are more likely to be in better condition. I saw some of the figures hanging and the boxes were staring to rip and bend. Now I can add Calculon and Super King Bender to my collection.

Comic-COn 2009 - My best Photos

Best of Comic-Con 2009 PHotos

The best of the photos I took at Comic-Con. All the pictures from the panels are photos of the large projection screen, since I was always sitting in the back of the room. Enjoy.

Comic-Con 2009: Day 4

I slept in this morning because I didn't have anything I wanted to see at the Comic-Con until 1:00 - The Ghost Whisperer panel. This year Jennifer Love Hewitt was in attendance, as well as three other main cast members. They had no previews to show, only a summary of the season. The one major change this year - spoilers alert - is that after Melinda gives birth, they jump ahead five years so her child is five years old. This way the child can talk and be part of the show.


Some time during the panel, my sister showed up and text-ed me "Where are you in room 20?". I replied "Isle rt ctr" and that was enough for her to find me. There was nothing else either of wanted to see until 4, so we went downstairs and wandered the exhibit hall for a while.


I had walked past this Star Trek captains chair before, but this time I had someone to take a photo of me, which turned out very nice, thank you. Around 3:30 we headed to ballroom 20 to get a seat for the Buffy musical "Once More with Feeling", shown for the second year in a row.


There seemed to be more people this year, and once again it seemed that even though the audience was encouraged to sing and dance they mostly just watched the episode, cheering Buffy and Spike and booing Dawn. I enjoyed the showing, and got another monster finger puppet to take with me next time to New Orleans!

So a 5 PM we left the convention center was walked to Hennesses for another Irish meal and beer. A great way to end the long weekend.

Comic-Con 2009: Day 3

Despite getting to the convention center later than I had planned due to lack of sleep caused by a planned power outage in my neighborhood from 11PM to 6AM. It seems that all the activity was outside my home and I kept waking up to strange noises and no electricity. Anyways, I was once again standing in line to get into room 20 and just when I though I wasn't going to make it in time to see the Family Guy panel, the line started moving. I got into the room just as they were introducing the cast and crew. Of the four panels I saw today, this was the funniest. They showed a preview of the Family Guy Empire Strikes Back episode, and for those of you who have seen their take of Star Wars, this one looks just as good. The panel members also were having fun on stage, as you can see by this photo of Seth Green and others after a romp under the table.



Immediately following Family Guy was The Cleavland Show panel. This show is a spin-off of The Family Guy, a show about Cleavland and his new family. I didn't know most of the actors, the one I did know, Jammie Kennedy, I was surprised to see since he just joined the cast of The Ghost Whisperer last year. The previews they showed for this show didn't really make me want to set my DVR to record all new episodes, but you never know how good a show is until six of seven episodes in.


I'd have to say that the most disappointing event of the day was the Futurama panel. It has always been one of the funniest, but, as announced by Hypnotoad, none of the cast were there. It seems there is some "disagreement" between the studio and the producers, or something. So all we had to hear from were the writers and directors, plus Matt Groening. Plus, since there isn't any new episodes in production yet, they had nothing to show. So they answered questions from the audience and Matt gave away something free to each person who did, which was nice. One person, dressed as Nibbler, got a special boxed-set of all the Futurams DVDs.



By now I had been sitting in the same seat for over two hours, so I was ready for the final panel - The Simpsons. Once again, none of the actors were present, so it was just Matt and the directors. They did show some unfinished scenes from this year's Halloween episode, which will be shown before Halloween for once. After they finished the Q&A session, they had a surprise for Matt Groining. He was presented with a Guinness World Records plaque for the longest running sit-com, I think it was. This was a surprise for him and he thanked everyone that had ever worked on the show.

Once outside the room, I met my sister and two of her friends. Then we hooked up with two more friends and headed to Dublin Square for a late lunch, or early dinner. Afterwards, everyone else but me headed home. I wanted to see one more show, but there were still long lines to get into any room, even at 6 PM. So I left, got on the trolley and came home. After all, I still have one more day of geeky adventures.

Comic-Con 2009: Day 2

I somehow arrived at the Convention Center right at 10 and walked right in. My goal was to be in room 20 by 11:45 for the Caprica/Battlestar Galactica: The Plan panel. I was able to walk right into this room too, but even though there was no wait they were still making people walk what seemed like 10 miles just to get in. All the events I wanted to see today were in room 20, but I knew that I would have to leave for lunch at one point.

Since I was seated before 10:30, I ended up seeing the Stargate Universe panel. I must have been one of the seven people in the room (they made fun of us) that was not a regular Stargate watcher. It's not like I don't like the show, it's just that that I can't watch every TV show out there that might interest me.

Next was the BSG: The Plan/Caprica panel. I kept getting confused as to which show they were discussing, and which was being released on DVD only and which was going to be aired on SyFy next year. This panel wasn't very interesting because Edward James Olmos was the only actor there I knew (until Grace Park made a late appearance), and producers are not only boring, they tend to talk way to much.

After it was over, I made my way out. As I did I looked at the line to get back in and it was loooooong!

So I ate a quick lunch, outside in the nice sun, and walked back to get in line once again. It was 1:30 and I figured I'd never get in by 3. This year they had the line outside and provided tents for shade along the way which was nice. The line outside kept moving, but not the line inside. But finally the people near the beginning of the line were moving, and eventually the ripple effect made it to me and within 10 minutes I was back in room 20. The wait in line was one hour total, which is really boring when you are by yourself.

I caught the end of the 24 panel. The only actors I knew were Kiefer Sutherland and Katee Sackhoff, who I did not know was now in the cast of 24. She moved on from BSG pretty quick.

After 24 was the Bones panel. They introduced Emily Deschanel, who walked onto the stage with loud applause, but then announced that David Boreanaz could not make it because his wife was about to give berth. They played a taped message from him where he rambled-on for a few minutes. There was a director there too, but he was boring. So it was up to Emily to entertain the crowd and she did.

Finally, the big event for the day for me was the Dollhouse and Joss Whedon panel, which included Eliza Dushku, the star of the show. It was funny, on all the other panels there was a moderator, but not for this one. Joss just walked-out on stage with no introduction and everyone clapped loudly for him. They he introduced Eliza and she too get a warm welcome. They immediately played the unaired episode of Dollhouse, Epitaph One. This was a really good episode, but I almost see why Fox did not show it. The episode completely changes the direction of the show, taking place in the year 2019. It consisted of many back-flashes, but most of it took place in the future where only one of the actors was in any of the scenes. However, they said that during season 2 of Dollhouse they would address some of what we saw in this episode.

After sitting in poorly designed seats all day, my back was ready to stand up and leave. I made a quick run through the main floor and proceeded to a local Irish pub for a beer and food. Tomorrow will be the busiest day, and I'll be lucky if I see one of my planned events, but at least my sister will be there so I won't have to do everything alone.

Comic-Con 2009: Day 1

So on Thursday at Comic-Con my plans were to see the action figure panel, Richard Hatch, Robot Chicken and Terry Gilliam. I saw none of these! Got there too late for the action figure discussion and as for the rest, the rooms were full and the waiting lines were long and not moving. The line for Hall H must of had 3000 people in it. The atendees were queued up like a ride at Disneyland. Thursday used to be the day where you could get into any room and walk the main floor with no problem. Now Thursday's are more crowded than Saturday's were 10 years ago.

However, you always need a backup plan. Sometimes the panels you know nothing about turn out to be the best. I was able to get a good seat for the Time Jumper panel which included Stan Lee, since it was his project. Time Jumper is a series of short, digital animated comic episodes that you can download from iTunes. Stan Lee is very feisty for an 86 year old man. He made everyone laugh with everything he said. They also showed the first episode, which seemed to be less than five minutes. The digital animation was cool and I enjoyed the story. Doubt I'll buy it, though. BTY, Stan Lee created (or co-created) Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man and the Hulk.

I spent time walking around the exhibit hall, taking various photos of whatever I found interesting. I don't normally photograph the people who dress up, since everyone else seems to do that, but there were a lot of good costumes being worn by true fans.

The second optional panel I attended was a BluRay discussion, which was sort of boring, but killed 30 minutes.

I also bought my first action figure, a Futurama 2-pack limited edition Fry and Leela from an alternate universe. It is 1 of 2000, but I'm not sure of the exact number, as in 305/2000. It might be labeled on the bottom of the figures feet, which means I'd have to open the box to see. I'll need to think about that.

By 4:30 I was already getting tired of walking, so I decided I'd see enough for one day and headed home. After all, I have three more days left. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to see more of the panels on my list.

Comic-Con 2009: Preview Night

I just attended my first Comic-Con preview night. They open the exhibit hall from 6 to 9 for people with four-day passes, and you could get your badge after 4PM. I left work around 5PM, and after waiting for a trolley to get out of a trolley-traffic jam, I got downtown by 6PM, and decided to go to the convention center and wait in line rather than eating dinner first and going when the line was shorter. Luckily, the line moved very quick and I had my badge and was in the hall by 6:30! Good deal.

Like I was warned, it was very busy because all the attendees had no where else to go since there were no events going on in any of the rooms. The floor was very crowded, but I managed to walk from one end to the other. The end where most of the action figures are sold was a lot less crowded, so I scoped (scopped?) out some figures I might want to buy. I did not buy anything yet as Sunday is the best day because the companies don't want to ship back all their inventory so they have sales on what's left. Tomorrow I work in the morning and will leave by 10 or 12. The action figure panel is at 11, but I don't know if it is worth rushing down there just to see the same people I saw last year and the year before talk about action figures. However, they usually have enough figures to give away that everyone in the room gets one. We'll see.

Summer Vacation 2009: Las Vegas

It seemed like such a short stay in Salt Lake City, but I had to leave and drive south to Las Vegas. After a hearty breakfast and packing my car back up, I hit the road. This was going to be my second longest day of driving, but at least the scenery in Utah is better than Nevada (sorry, Nevada). The only noteworthy event was when I saw a sign saying "Speed Limit Test Ahead". I didn't know what that meant until I saw my first ever "80 MPH" sign. Like wow! That's fast. I guess they figured since everybody was doing 80 anyways, they might as well see how many people die in car accidents on this 14 mile stretch of freeway. Even the big-rigs were allowed to go this speed.

Most of the trip I had my windows rolled down because it was so nice outside, but as I got closer to St. George it started getting hotter. By the time I got to Vegas it was over 100 degrees. Once in Vegas I made the mistake of following my GPS. I knew the shortest distance to my friend's house was on the new 215, but that road was not on my GPS maps. So at one point my GPS had me make a left turn into a park-and-ride. But don't worry, I made it to Mark's by 3 PM, where in less then one minute he offered me a beer.

We had no plans for this 4th of July weekend, and ended up hanging around the house. Unfortunately Mark had to work the 9 PM to 1 AM shift that first night. I had trouble sleeping, but when I got up to use the bathroom at 2 AM Mark was home and said "Ready for a shot of Jack Daniels?" So we did a shot of JD and that helped me sleep better.

The next day (or later in the morning), we had a really good breakfast at a local restaurant I forgot the name of. We decided to celebrate the 4th of July by setting off legal fireworks, having a BBQ and playing in the pool. Mark and Jayne invited their neighbors over, who brought their dog Sasha. Sasha was very happy to see me as it had been a whole year since I saw her last. Once the sun set, you could see and hear fireworks all over the neighborhood, some illegal ones shooting up into the air. We could barely see the ones being set off at the Red Rock Casino, but since we were there last year that was OK.

Too much excitement for one day. I went to bed by midnight so I could wake up early the next day to try to beat the south-bound flow of cars leaving Las Vegas.

The next day I once again packed my car and said goodbye to Mark and Jayne and thanked them too for their hospitality. Once on the freeway, I quickly caught up to traffic and saw a sign that said "Heavy traffic - long delays." Not good. Luckily, traffic cleared up a few miles past the state line and I got home before 5 PM, with a stop in Barstow for a lunch at the Carl's Jr. I always eat at.

It was a fun-filled summer vacation, but all too short. Had I an extra week I would have driven further north, like into Canada. Maybe next year.

Summer Vacation 2009: Salt Lake City

My longest drive of the trip was from Minden to Salt Lake City. That trip on I80 is soooooo boring, and they are always doing road work. The distance is about 550 miles. I stopped at the city of Battle Mountain, for the fourth time, and ate a a McDonalds there for the 4th time. Nothing special about the town or that restaurant, it is just that the town is at the midway point on the trip. As I got closer to Utah, a storm started to brew, and next thing you know it is raining and lightening is striking nearby. Plus the wind is blowing. Since the freeway goes through the salt flats, the dust mixed with the rain creating a dirty, salty mess on my car. I made it to my aunt and uncle's place by 6:30 PM and they had a fresh pot of stew waiting for me for dinner. After dinner and an evening conversation, I turned in for the night.



The next day we had nothing planned, so we went to Park City. I had been there many times before in the summer and winter, so there was nothing particular I wanted to see. We stopped at a farmers market with was more of an arts and craft fair. Then we drove to a out-of-the-way restaurant for an early dinner. We were the only customers so service was good as were the onion rings. Then as we started to walk, the afternoon rain hit. Back into the car we went and after a quick trip up Main Street, where I took a picture of this very pink house, we headed back home.

The next day I woke up and got ready for my bike ride. Last time I had my bike I rode from the house to the top of Immigration Canyon and then back to the house. This time, once at the top, I coasted all the way back down to the bottom of the canyon near the zoo and This is The Place park. After a short break, I rode back up to the house. The total distance I rode was 17 miles with an elevation gain of 1400 feet. I'd saw over 100 people make this ride every day as I saw a constant stream of bikers all day long.

Later in the afternoon, I went with my aunt and uncle to pick up other aunts and uncles to have dinner at the Cracker Barrel. This place serves simple, American style food like meatloaf and turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. I didn't make it to a Chuck-a-Rama this time - maybe next year.

After two full days in Salt Lake City, it was time to leave for my last stop, Las Vegas. I thank my Aunt Mary and Uncle Robert for their hospitality. I finally felt totally relaxes at this point, so it took a week to wind-down from my job-related stress.

Summer Vacation 2009: Day 4 - Yosemite

I guess all the driving and hiking was catching up to me because I slept an hour more than planned. This was another rushed day, because I had to see all of Yosemite I could and still make it over the Tioga Pass and up to Carson City, NV. Unfortunately I decided to eat at the same restaurant next door because they had a 20% discount for Best Western customers. I arrived at the wrong time and even after getting seat it took 10 minutes before a waitress even asked me if I wanted coffee. Yes, coffee please! Almost an hour later, as I watched streams of cars driving headed towards the park, I paid my bill and left.

Once I got my car packed, again, I finally joined the stream of cars going into Yosemite. I was surprised that there was no wait at the entrance. I paid my $20 and entered the park. Since I had been here twice before I was not as concerned about seen everything in one day. My plan was to drive to Yosemite Vally, park my car and so some hiking and finally ride my bike. The roads in the valley were very busy, even for a Monday. They had people directing traffic and I found a parking spot in a dirt lot. I gathered my boots, backpack food and of course lots of water and walked to the visitors center.
From there I made the easy walk to lower Yosemite Falls, a place I had been to before. It was quite warm and the mist from the falls felt nice. The falls also make for good photos, and I had a man take a photo of me with the waterfall in the background. With no time to waste, I went to the visitors center, bought a tee-shirt and went back to my car where I removed my bike from it's rack. The ranger told me I could ride my bike all the way to Mirror Lake. Bikes were allowed on all paved roads but not dirt paths. When I was in Yosemite in 1989 with my friends we hiked to Mirror Lake. Riding a bike was the way to go. The 2.5 miles went by quick. Once at the lake I locked up my bike, took some photos, ate a snack and then got on my bike and rode back to the visitors center.

I rode around for another 30 minutes, but soon got tired of all the traffic. There were cars, shuttles and people everywhere. So after a trip to the store to buy ice and water, I put my bike back on the rack and headed out of the park via the Tioga Pass. I had never taken this route and was looking forwards to the drive. This road is closed during the winter and usually opens up in May or June, depending on the snow pack.
I knew that it might take up to two hours to drive this route, but I was in no hurry, so I stopped any place that was picture worthy. Something I forgot to mention was that the valley was filled with smoke from a controlled fire, which not only irritated my eyes and throat, but made many of my photos hazy. The Tioga Pass goes up above 9000 feet, and once out of the valley the air cleared up and also the hills were much greener. All along the road there were beautiful meadows and clear, blue lakes. I stopped at Tenaya Lake which sat right next to the road, walked to the shore and felt the cold, snow-melted water.

There was a very small visitors center near the east end. I felt obligated to stop, but there was nothing much to see. As I drove back down the steep and windy road, I made several more quick stops to take photos. Once I got to highway 395, I realized I never saw the sign that indicate where the actual pass was at its highest point. The road meets 395 at Lee Vining and Mono Lake, a place I'm very familiar with because I have driven though this town every time I drive to Lake Tahoe.

My plan was to make it to Carson City, but I only made it as far as Minden, which is only 10 miles south of Carson City. I saw a new looking Holiday Inn Express and decided to say there. It was only one month old and the room was very large and clean. For dinner I ate at an Italian place down the road. The lasagna was so big I could not finish it. Me not eating all the food on my plate?!?

Tomorrow was going to be a travel day, as I had to get all the way to Salt Lake City, a trip I told myself I'd never do again. Oh well - it was worth it.

Summer Vacation 2009: Day 3 - Kings Canyon

I slept well that night. The hotel had no A/C and didn't need it. The window was open and letting in fresh mountain air all night. For breakfast I had the full buffet at the lodge and then lugged my stuff from the room to the car. It took two trips to carry my two duffel bags, a cooler, my laptop computer and various bags of stuff.



My goal for the day was to see a few more trees in Sequoia, drive through Kings Canyon and then get to my hotel just outside Yosemite. My first stop was the Kings Canyon visitor center, which looks to be in Sequoia National Park at the West entrance. From there I drove to General Grant Grove where the General Grant tree is located. Somehow I got lost trying to find that tree and ended up on a horse trail. Once I found the tree I snapped a few photos and then headed back to my car. I also walked trough a fallen tree as you can see in the photos.


There is only one road into Kings Canyon and it took over one hour to drive to "Roads End". I was surprised that the road was all downhill into the canyon. Along the way I stopped and took some photos. The river you see in the canyon was actually very loud even from afar. This road was less crowded and I encountered no cars as I drove into the park. There was a small visitors center deep in the park where a park ranger suggested a few places to stop and take a short hike to see some waterfalls. Earlier in the day I asked a ranger how long it took to drive from Kings Canyon to Yosemite and was told four hours. So because I was worried about time, I rushed myself through the park. It turned out that the drive was only two hours.


I had time to stop and view two waterfalls, come back to the visitors center for lunch, and leisurely drive back out the canyon. I would agree that there is lots more to see in Sequoia, but it was worth the time to drive to Kings Canyon. Plus, I was able to buy yet another national park tee-shirt.



As I drove up out of the canyon, the landscape quickly turned from green to dry brush. Then it turned into farm country. I had to laugh because as I looked at the farms I thought of the Farm Town game on facebook. Then I had to drive through actual farm towns before I made it to the road to Yosemite. I had a reservation at a Best Western in Oakhurst, a town I had never heard of. Turns out it was a busy little town, with lots of hotels, gas stations and store. I was lucky to get a ground-level room and park outside my door, which made it easy to move my stuff into the room.



For dinner, I ate at the restaurant next door. I opted to eat at the bar, and since I was the only one at the bar I had great service. The food was nothing special, but then again I just got fish and chips - I think. Somewhere along the way I realized that when I left the park I did not pass by anyplace to show that I had paid for admission to Sequoia National Park. I felt bad, because I want to support our national park system. However, I did buy two shirts and some of that money goes towards the parks. So I once again turned in early to get ready for my day in Yosemite.

Summer Vacation 2009: Day 2 - Sequoia

Saturday morning I woke up a 6 AM so that I could maximize my only full day in Sequoia National Park. I was on the road by seven, expecting it to take me two hours to drive into the park. But after 20 minutes I was at the entrance to the park, and the ranger was not ready to collect money yet. She told me to pay on the way out. So I drove in and parked at the ranger station to buy my tickets for a tour of Crystal Caves. Yes, I was there to see the giant sequoias, but I never miss out on a chance to see another cave. Again, I was early and the station did not open until eight. Once it opened, I bought my ticket for the first tour a 10. They said it would take one hour to drive to the cave which was located at the end of a narrow, windy road. I arrived at the cave around 9:15 and soon they let our group make the 10 minute walk to the entrance. What made this tour more interesting is that last year a fire burned the power lines, so the cave had no lights. We were all given a flashlight, but I used my LED head lamp, which was not a bright as the flashlights, but good enough.

The cave tour lasted about 45 minutes, and there were only a few places I really had to duck to not hit my head. I tried to make my way to the front of the group so that I was not stuck behind any slow people. I did take many photos, but less than half turned out worth keeping. You know its funny how they tell you not to touch anything in the cave, and the man in front of me kept touching the cave formations. Great example for his kids. Anyways, the tour was worth the time.


My next stop was the Giant Forest Museum. From this location you could walk to or take a shuttle to many of the famous sequoias. Because it was bear country, they had signs saying to put all your food in bear lockers, which I did. It looked as if most people did not. From the museum I decided to hike to General Sherman, the largest tree in the world. The map I had was not meant to be used for hiking, which I soon found out. The trail started out pretty clear, but I soon lost my way. I was never really lost, since I could see the road at all times. Finally I came across a woman laying on a bench smoking a cigarette, which is always nice. She said her family left her behind because she couldn't hike any more. I wonder why? She pointed the direction for the General Sherman tree and I was soon there. Lots of people standing around looking at a big tree. There were some other famous named trees in the area which I saw and took photos of.

I decided to take the shuttle back, but somehow got on the wrong one. So I got off two stops later and waited for the south-bound shuttle, which ended up being the same shuttle! Once I got back to my car I drove around some more, walked around a nice meadow surrounded by trees, bought a tee-shirt and some beer and ice and then headed toward my lodge, the Wuksachi Lodge.


The lodge consisted of a main building and the rooms were located in three detached buildings within walking or driving distance. My room was really nice and had a great view. I ate at the lodge restaurant for dinner and treated myself to a nice dinner complete with a ice-cream Sunday.

The main lodge had wireless Internet access, so I brought my laptop there to upload my photos for the day. There were four to six deer outside the window grazing in the forest. I saw many deer on this trip, but no bears or other wildlife other than squirrels and birds.

I turned in early so I had plenty of sleep for the next day's adventure: finish Sequoia, see Kings Canyon and drive to Yosemite.

Summer Vacation 2009: Day 1

Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to finish these posts on my Summer 2009 vacation. I have to admit that I've neglected by blogging ever since I've started facebooking. But here I go.

I only had one week for my Summer vacation, so I maximized it by leaving on Friday by taking an extra day off work. My goal was to drive to a city just outside Sequoia National Park. I found a cheap hotel in the city of Three Rivers. I left San Diego around 10 AM, knowing that it would take me about six hours to get there. I made the mistake of driving through LA on a Friday. I thought that there would be no traffic at this time, but I hit stop-and-go traffic from the 5/405 split all the to the 5/14 split. That is a lot of distance to be stuck in traffic. Once I got to the grapevine I was fine. I should have taken the alternate route up 15 to 395 to 58 to 5.

I checked into my hotel by 4 PM, got some dinner from a Pizza Factory within walking distance, and got to bed early for my first for full day in Sequoia National Park, a park I'd had never been to before, even though it is so close to my home.

Summer Vacation 2009 - Best of Photos

Summer2009Enhanced

The best of my photos from my 2009 Summer Vacation

On Summer Vacation

Don't worry, I have not forgotten about my blog. I'll post photos and exciting stories when I get home. For now it's all on Facebook.