What is On Jeffs' Mind

Yesterday, I had the day off from work. I had to work extra hours this week, so it worked out well, as I was able to do something I was not able to do nearly 13 years ago.

I was able to go and see Star Wars Episode 1 the Phantom Menace on opening day. This time around, it was in 3D. When it originally came out, I could not go opening day, as at the time I was busy at work, and a few other things happening that did not allow me to go first day. Being a big Star Wars fan, that always ate at me a little bit, so I have corrected that

I went with my Dad and two nephews, and had a good time. Epsiode 1 is what it is, and I know that a lot of people really dislike this movie. I will admit, that if I rank all the Star Wars movies, this one would be at the bottom of my list, as it can get a bit slow at times, and doesn’t have the best pacing. But to me, the movie does really setup what the Star Wars universe was, on a greater scale then the Original Trilogy ever did. I am a big Star Wars fan as stated, so I like to do the “Deep Dive” so to say into the who Star Wars universe. This movie gives a person plenty to get into, like myself, who wants to be immersed into that universe. I am really looking forward to the other movies coming out. The 3D in the movie was alright, I don’t think it will ever be a showcase 3D, but it was well applied in my opinion, and added some depth to the scenes. I guess maybe in the end, the 3D was more just a vehicle to get Star Wars back onto the big screen. I am amazed, that a movie that a lot of people pan, that 13 years after the fact, it still can get released into the theatre again. There are plenty of Academy Award winning movies that would not be able to be released 13 years after the fact, even some of the big blockbusters from the past few years, could not even get released again.

When I got home, I had something cool waiting for me at the Post Office. The next in the series of Star Wars Kubricks was released. I had ordered this set a few weeks ago, and had been anticipating it for some time. It was Deluxe series 4, which included 6 figures and a build up figure of the Probe Droid. I think what got me the most excited, was the vintage style figures they released. In the last series they released a Vintage Style Obi-Wan, and now they released 3 more. A Vintage Vader, Princess Leia and Tie Fighter Pilot. Also they released a R2-D2, Captain Antilles and Imperial Dignitary. So this morning I opened then up and assembled my Probe Droid. So now I have to find some space on my shelf for them. I am thinking I might separate my vintage style figures from the rest. I also included my 3D glasses in the picture from the movie yesterday.

Tags: Captain Antilles, Darth Vader, Imperial Dignitary, Princess Leia, Probe Droid, R2-D2, Star Wars Episode 1, Star Wars Kubricks, The Phantom Menace, Tie Fighter Pilot

I thought I would do a quick post on some of my 2012 resolutions.

Probably the one I was most excited about for the year, was recommitting myself to completing my vintage Star Wars loose figure collection. I said to myself that each month I would get one figure. Well today, my first vintage figure for 2012 arrived. A few weeks back I won an eBay auction for a vintage Emperor Palpatine, and today he arrived in the mail. It is probably not one of figures that was very high on my list, but none the less, he was on it. I got it for a pretty good price, and it came in a bag. Hard to tell if he was ever removed from the bag or not, as there was a piece of tape on it that looked really old. The paint looks good, and the joints are very stiff, so if he was loose before, he did not see much play. It is probably a figure that is not one of the harder ones to get, but to me, he represents the start of my goal for 2012 and until I complete my collection. Welcome to you new home Emperor.

Another resolution I had was to get more healthy and exercise more. My start has not been what I was hoping for. I started off the year being pretty good with riding my exercise bike. But after a few days, I was pushing myself to hard and ended up getting a rather painful rash, that led to a sore back. So for over a week, I had to not exercise as I tried to recover from my rash and other pains. I started back earlier in the week, but not pushing myself as hard, and making sure to incorporate more stretching. So I am hopeful if I ease into this more reasonably I can up my pace and intensity in short order.

No further updates, but my other goals are still on my mind constantly, so hopefully in the next month I can start making those more of a reality.

Tags: Exercising, Star Wars Vintage

Wow, another year is upon us. I always like to look at the beginning of the year as a starting point, sometimes a fresh start. I do agree, that any day can be a day to start with changes, but my personality always acknowledges significant days. Not going to dwell on 2011 as I did that in my previous post, so this one will be more about 2012.

I am a person who likes to make resolutions, but I will admit, more often then not, I don’t keep them. But this year I am in the mood to do so, so I will. The past few days, I was going through my older posts, and I did find it interesting to see how I was feeling at times over the past few years. So more the anything, this might be a post I come back to in a year or two from now, so will be interesting to see if I have progressed on what I want to achieve.

Fitness – Pretty common for everyone to make, but I think something I have to address. I am not in bad shape, but I could be better. I think in the past I have had very ambitious goals in the area of fitness, so I think I will just make the resolution to be more regular with exercising. That is what I struggle with the most, is that I will exercise regularly for a month or two, and then fall out of the schedule. Then all the gains I made go away, and I am basically left at the point when I am started. I do believe that being fit is a key to having a productive and happy life, so I am going to make a better effort to work at exercising and being more active. I want to try and mix it up a bit, maybe some walking, some exercise bike, and maybe a few other things thrown into the mix. I guess I do have a goal in that I would like to wear Jeans again, it has been years as I have felt I was to heavy for them, so I am hoping at some point in 2012, I can get a pair again.

Clean Up Around the House – My office is a mess, and I want to paint it, so I want to get onto that in 2012. Clean out some of the papers and things that I don’t need, and then paint it a different colour. I spend a lot of time in my office, so I would like it to be a room I like to spend time in. I have a few others Ideas I would like to do with it as well, so I will put forth the effort to remake this room somewhat.
Also my basement storage room is a real mess. It is dark and dirty, and that is another room I want to give some attention to. Clean out some old garbage, paint the walls to brighten it up, and change the flooring. It is not the best space, but I think I can make better use of it. I will have a few weeks of time off to use up in the first quarter of the year, so I am hoping to work on those projects at that time.

Hobbies – Each year I make the resolution to work on the pile of models I have in my basement, and I never do. But over the past few years I have been slowly building up my hobby area in the basement that I think I am close to getting to these. I want to buy a laptop, for reference when I am working on models, and I think I am close to doing so. So I really want to commit myself to getting some models done this year.
I also want to keep more regular with my Podcasts, as stated in my previous post, I have issues with my mixer, so my collecting podcast will be a bit of a ways off until that is sorted out, but once I do, I want to get back to my monthly schedule. I am hoping the laptop will help, as I think it will allow me to work more out of my basement, as I just work better underground
I also want to be more regular with reading, as I sort of fall off on that just like fitness. So I really want to make myself read a bit each day as I really do enjoy it. My Sister and her Husband bought me a bunch of books for Christmas, so I should have plenty to read for 2012. I am not going force myself to read a certain amount of books in a period of time, but if I can be regular with reading then I will be happy. Books are great, especially at work, as it is a few minutes I can escape to other places.

Collecting – The one goal for collecting I have had is getting a complete Star Wars vintage collection, and maybe a few vehicles as well. I sort have this in my mind each year, but other things come up, so it falls to the way side. So I think I will try and get back on this, and set myself to a schedule of one vintage figure a month. Some months will be more expensive depending on what I am looking for, and might make sense for me to mix in some of the more costly figures with the ones that are not as much. But it is something I really would like to accomplish as a collector, and I don’t think it is a unrealistic goal.
My other goal is not really my goal, but the hope that some of my pre-orders come through. I have pre-ordered a classic style Battlestar Galactica Viper Helmet, and hoping that it comes through in 2012. I also have a Premium Format Han Solo in Carbonite statue on pre-order, that should be in the 1st quarter of 2012. Both are a bit of money, but I am putting some money aside to help pay for them. They are two things I really excited about.
I will keep up with my Star Wars Kubricks and Hasbro Astro-Mechs, as I really enjoy those. Also there should be a few Star Trek Diamond Select ships on the way that I want to get, so I think that 2012 should be a decent year. Of course there will be some other things that come up over the year that I will want, but I will make sure that I keep to a budget. I do feel proud that over the past few years, I have really been more selective in what I buy, and really don’t have any regrets in terms of collecting.

Personal – I want to work harder at being happier with the person I am. I think I have come to realize who I am, and how I fit into this world. Some times I struggle with it, as I tend to compare myself to others, and fail to realize that everyone is different. For sure there are things I can change about myself, as they need changing. I tend to spend more time observing, then doing, and I really want to be a person that does instead of watches others live their life. I want to point to my accomplishment, and feel good and proud about them. This is a journey I work on every day, but the start of the year is a nice time to reflect on it.
I also need to get out of my head, as I tend to get lost in my own world in there, and at times I think I lose touch with the outside world. I will always be a bit of a introvert, but I would like to break that up more. I guess part of me worries that I will become consumed by my idiosyncrasies as I get older, so I am hoping that over the past year or so, I have come to recognize them, and  work at changing them a bit. The saying, idle hands are the Devils workshop is so true, so if I can keep myself more occupied, it will help with my overall personality.

I will have to come back to this post later in the year to see how I am doing on these. Most of these things on my list are nothing new, so maybe I am using the New Year as a bit of a check point on them, and re examine on how I approach them.

Just want to wish all the people who read this Blog a Happy New Year and all the best for 2012.

Tags: 2012, Collecting, Fitness, Hobbies, House Projects

This weekend was a first for me for 2011. I went to my first movie for the year. I have to admit I am a bit surprised I have not gone to a movie since last year, but it took me 5 months into the year to go. On Saturday Tao tao and I went and saw Thor over at West Edmonton Mall, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. For me, it is a bit odd that it has taken so long to see a movie in the theatre, as the last one I saw was Tron Legacy just before Christmas.  I used to go every week to see a movie, and sometimes multiple times, but I guess I have really slowed down. There are probably a few reason. The first is probably the most obvious, there has not been any movies that I have wanted to see, or maybe more correctly enough to see in the movie theatre. The second is probably the cost, as to see a movie at the theatre is expensive, and the 3D movies even more so. Another reason is maybe since I am getting older, the excitement of going to the theatre to see a movie is not a great as it was a few years ago. Probably the last reason, is that I am married now, and we go to movies we both like, so that cuts out some of them, as either I don’t want to see them (Horror) or Tao tao does not want to see (Comedies). I guess for me, I really don’t want to make someone go see a movie they might not want to see. When I was single, I used to see all different types of movies, as more often then not, I would go by myself. But now it is the two of us who go, so we have to agree on the movie. The last movie that Tao tao saw without me was a Resident Evil movie, she really wanted to go, but that was not a movie I had any interest in seeing. I went to see Tron without Tao tao, but that was more of the late night viewing, before that, I think the last movie I saw on my own was the last Trailer Park Boys movie.

I really liked Thor, thought it was excellent. I have to admit I don’t know much about Thor at all, so I went to the movie without really knowing much more then he was a Comic Book Superhero. I have to say I really liked the blend of Viking/Norse mythology and a Sci-Fi element, it felt very unique to me. The story I really liked as well, in that it happened it two different worlds. On Thor’s home world of Asgard there was a war between his people and another group called the Frost Giants. Then on Earth, which Thor was sent to, they followed his story there and his encounter with S.H.E.I.L.D. I have to say the visuals of Thor’s home world were stunning, the effects were great. I also thought the actor Chris Hemsworth did an awesome job as Thor, especially with the transformation from a arrogant character to one with humility and compassion. I saw this movie in 3D, and happy I did, as originally I was thinking of seeing it in 2D. I thought the way they did the 3D was great, and I was very impressed, as in the past, other 3D movies I was not really excited about the technology. I have to admit, I spent some time at the start of the movie making sure to position the glasses on my face so that the screen looked the best, and that may have made the difference. I wear glasses, and I was thinking that I may have had the 3D glasses sitting to close to my face in the past, so it sort of nullified the 3D effect, and maybe made the screen look a bit blurry, but this time, the visuals looked awesome. I was so impressed with this movie, that I am thinking of maybe searching out some Thor comics to read more.

Sunday morning I went to a local toy show called the Pop Culture fair. It is a smaller show then the Edmonton Collectible Toy and Comic show that I sell at, but still look forward to going. I did not really have anything that I was really looking for, and was going more so out of interest for my side business of toy reselling. I wanted to get an idea of what other people were selling things for, so I sort of knew what I could resell things for, and what I should be paying for things. It was good to have a look at the tables, and found myself looking more closely at the tables and what people were selling. I also got a chance to talk with a few people I know. I had a good chat with my friend Ryan from Red 5 Collectibles, and learned a few things from him that I was not aware of. Also I was able to pickup a Anakin Skywalker as Darth Vader figure that I had been looking for. I don’t collect many action figures anymore, but I wanted to get the Anakin with Darth Vader on the card in the throw back to the vintage packaging. I had looked around for a few shows, and was happy Ryan had one, also it was not even punched, so when I got home I had to find a Star Case for it, since I did not want to hang it up since it was not punched. I also picked up a few items that I feel I can resell, so it was a good show.

Also this weekend Tao tao and I watched the season finale of Fringe, and I have to say wow. I am so happy that it is coming back for another season, as there is so much more to tell. The way they left it, I really have no idea where they are going with the story. This season was a wild ride, with some really cool episodes. I think the one that stands out the most for me, was the episode where half of it was animated, as it was so unique. I wish the ratings were stronger for Fringe, as I would like to know that there could be many more years of it, but I am guessing we will be lucky to get 4.

Tags: Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, Fringe, Pop Culture Fair, Ryan from Red 5 Collectibles, Tao tao, Thor