Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind

Snake Eyes Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:39:00 PDT

This is a really cool poster for the upcoming G.I. Joe Movie. Snake Eyes has always been my favorite Joe Character (as with most of us). I am not convinced that this movie won't blow chunks. But if it does, it is not because Snake Eyes does not look cool.

These have been a few Yo Joe thoughts of my complex mind.

Futuristic PSAs

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:54:00 PDT

I saw these on IO9 and had to re-post them. There are three futuristic Public Service Announcements back to back. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Pictures of Philly trip

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:34:00 PDT

Here are photos of our trip into downtown Philly.

The Liberty Bell, Constitutional Hall in the background, and family.

This Photo is a bit more clear.

As a History Geek, I was in heaven.

This is the visitors' center.

I thought these building were cool.

Nuff Said!

More shots of Constitutional Hall.

Photos of the Philly Subway. It was my first subway ride. These people were thinking it and Yes I am from Missouri and have never seen a subway.

It was an fun ride.

Looking down the tracks and no Cloverfield baby monsters.

Which way are we going?

Chris and I have lost 100 lbs between us. After Genos, make it 90 lbs.

Ummm! Still tasty!

This was an authentic Cheese Steak!

These have been a few pictorial thoughts of my complex mind.

Birthday in Philly

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:29:00 PDT

Today, I turned 39 years old. I am spending the day with my wife's father's family in the Philadelphia area for the last day of their reunion. Everyone has been friendly and extremely nice. They may not be as nice if I was wearing my Tony Romo jersey and announcing that I am a true blue Cowboys fan.

Tomorrow we will make a trek downtown and I will finally have an authentic Philly Cheese Steak. I am looking forward to it and glad that I will still have another week before I have to weigh in. I have been fairly good and I have been working out at the motel so I should not be too far off of my program.

I have to admit that this morning; it hit me that I will be turning 40 next year. I will be considered middle aged by most people next year. Turning Thirty did not bother me one bit and I hope turning Forty will not either but today it is kind of bothering me for next year. I am sure I will be over it soon.

Anyway, I am having a pretty good birthday even if the day has not been about me. I will make my wife give me a day about me in the near future.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Illinois Rest Stop was interesting

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:23:00 PDT

Yesterday, my wife missed the rest stop that we were going to stop at for lunch in Illinois. My father-in-law used his handy dandy GPS to find another rest area. We took the polite lady's voice direction to Route 45 (same road my wife used to live off of when she lived in Fairfield but this was much further north). We were led to a Rest Stop/camp ground. This was an extremely interesting rest stop.

This rest area was in the middle of a hayfield. There were campers out in the field near the hay bails. There was a small wooded area with a picnic table from the 1800's.

Having grown up in the Midwest, I have seen plenty of hayfields. Heck, I have worked in a bunch of hayfields over the years. I have never seen a rest stop or camp ground in the middle of the hayfield. I would think only non-Midwesterners would find a camp ground in hayfield to be fun or interesting. Check out the photos.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Mobile Phone is a blessing on road trip

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:07:00 PDT

My wife and I bought new phones around Mother's day. We bought the Samsung Eternity which is an I-Phone want-a-be. It is a touch screen and has some apps but not as much as the I-Phone. The media plan was optional but we went with it since it was half the price of the I-Phone media package.

On our trip, I have been able to be on the internet most of the time we have been traveling. I have been connected with Facebook and Twitter continually.

I recently bought a memory card for my phone so I could use it as a MP3 player. I also bought a cord and software to sync my laptop with my phone for dirty cheap on Amazon. With these updates, I was able to open my phone up to different aspects than I have before.

I was extremely excited to find out that my phone now works as a modem. I am currently blogging on the road. My phone is working as a phone card and could not be more excited.

On a side note, my family made it to Dayton, OH last night. We are now on the road to Pittsburgh for lunch with family. Then we will make our destination of Philly by tonight.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Preparing for vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:35:00 PDT

On Thursday morning, my wife, kids, and in-laws will load up our van and begin our trek to the East Coast. We are heading to Philadelphia for a family reunion. After the reunion, we head to the nation's capital for next week.

It will be a long trip there and back with two days in the van each way. I am bringing my laptop, cell phone with internet access, and a couple of books I am reading. I will be driving some of the time and will have baby duty for another portion. I doubt if I get too bored.

I know many will think I am insane for taking this trip with my in-laws. They are great people that I love dearly. I am sure that by the end of the each trip, I will be glad to get out of the van and away for a while.

While in Philly, I am planning on experiencing my first Philly Cheese Steak. I will have to budget my Weight Watcher points but I am excited to have a real Cheese Steak.

While we are off on our vacation, our great Real Estate Professional, Susan, will be listing our home. She will host an open house for us next Sunday. It would be fantastic if we come home and have to instantly looking at homes to move into.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

America is becoming more conservative???

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:14:00 PDT

According to Gallup polling, over the last five years citizens of the United States of America have become overall more conservative in their political views. Many political experts have to be scratching their heads over this news. How is this even true when the Democrats ruled the day in 2008?

Could it be that the Republicans were not true conservatives? Over the eight years of the Bush Administration, Republicans grew government twice the size as it was under the Clinton Administration. They promised to revamp government and make it work for the average citizen and instead they gave government more control over lives and even tapped our phones in the name of safety.

Despite the results of the 2008 presidential election, Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, say their political views in recent years have become more conservative rather than more liberal, 39% to 18%, with 42% saying they have not changed. While independents and Democrats most often say their views haven't changed, more members of all three major partisan groups indicate that their views have shifted to the right rather than to the left.

Indeed, in the latest survey, 38% of Americans describe their political views as conservative, and among this group 58% say their views have grown more conservative in recent years. Although a large segment of liberals (42%) say they have become more liberal, far fewer Americans in the poll (18%) describe themselves as liberal -- thus providing little counterweight to the rightward movement of conservatives. At the same time, political moderates are twice as likely to say they have grown more conservative as opposed to more liberal (33% vs. 18%), thus further tipping the scales in favor of conservatism.

Aside from the trends, Gallup's recent polling from 2008-2009 indicates that a majority of Americans concur with the Republican Party's general philosophy on the death penalty, defense spending, gay marriage, the role of government, environmental protection, and handgun legislation. Americans are about as likely to agree with the Republican Party's general philosophy as they are to agree with the Democratic Party's in terms of abortion, government activism, government promotion of "traditional" values, taxes, changing the power of labor unions, and certain aspects of the need for healthcare reform. They are more likely to agree with the Democratic Party's philosophy on other aspects of healthcare reform, embryonic stem-cell research, government regulation of business, the Iraq war, and immigration.

These have been a few politcal thoughts of my complex mind.

Happy Independence Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:34:00 PDT

Happy Independence Day for all my readers in the United States. Take time on this Fourth of July to celebrate our Independence from tyranny. Say a special prayer for our troops and family members of our troops as they continue to protect our freedoms.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Movie Review: Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:33:00 PDT

I have my movie review for Transformers II: Revenge of the Fallen on Inconceivable. Check it out.

These have been a brief thought of my complex mind.

Less of Me- Update

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:08:00 PDT

After hitting a plateau of weight loss around a 40 lbs, I decided I needed to do more. I had to become more intensely dedicated to my weight loss program. I added regular exercise to my routine. It took it a while for my weight to start dropping again but it did.

This week, I hit another milestone. I am now 50 lbs less of a man than I used to be. I am getting closer to my ultimate goal.

When I hit my final goal, I am dedicated to continue to live a life where food does not rule me. I now know what a portion size should be and when I am full.

I have had to shop for new clothes a second time. I hate shopping but it is very nice to have to buy new close because my thin pants are falling off of me. I am now in the same size of close that I have not seen since 1994. It has been a while.

These have been a few less weighty thoughts of my complex mind

Upcoming Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:17:00 PDT

As many readers know, I am a part of the dynamic duo of Internet radio personalities for Cowboys Pride Radio. This is a sports themed Internet radio show. Next Thursday night at 9:30 CDT, we will be interviewing the beautiful Grace Espinosa. Grace is a 2009 Hooters Calendar Girl and has been competing in the Hooters Calendar Girl of the Year contest which ends on Sunday. Grace is a huge fan of MMA and the New Orleans Saints. Please tune into our interview with Grace.

These have been a few simple simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Alternative Ending for Terminator Salvation

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:00:00 PDT

EW.com recently broke the ending that we did not see and will not see with Terminator: Salvation. I honestly could see this ending working with this movie. The ending the studio went with was fairly predictable but allowed for this series to have more sequels. Check it out.

"There was talk on the Internet about an alternate ending where Connor dies and they take Connor's likeness and put it on top of Marcus Wright's machine body. So that it's actually a machine that's leading the resistance! And the Internet caught wind of that and people went, 'That's bulls---! We don't want that!'" (EW.com)

McG grins. "Well, that's not really what the ending was." (EW.com)

Actually, the bloggers were on the right track. Except, McG adds, the original ending actually went even further. (EW.com)

"Connor dies, okay? He's dead," McG continues. "And Marcus offers his physical body, so Connor's exterior is put on top of his machine body. It looks like Connor, but it's really Marcus underneath. And all of the characters we care about (Kyle Reese, Connor's wife Kate, etc.) are brought into the room to see him and they think it's Connor. And Connor gets up and then there's a small flicker of red in his eyes and he shoots Kate, he shoots Kyle, he shoots everybody in the room. Fade to black. End of movie. Skynet wins. F--- you!" (EW.com)

This ending would have been a huge twist and would have blown my mind. It would have bummed me out that the machines would have won.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Life with an 8 Week Old

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:59:00 PDT

Life has been crazy since the birth of my son eight weeks ago. It had been eight years since we have had a baby in our household. I forgot how tiring a newborn can be. He does not adapt to our schedule but we have to adapt to his, at least for a time. Sleep has been precious commodity that has not come nearly as often as I would like.

Honestly, our son has been a much easier child than his older sister was. She had extremely colic and screamed continually. We did not sleep much at that time. But I think I must have dealt with it better at 30 instead of 38.

Even though he is much easier, our son is no picnic. He will fuss for hours for no apparent reason. Sometimes he will wake up in the middle of the night to eat and will not go back to sleep. He has spend all afternoon today fussing and screaming. Oh the joys of a newborn!

My wife works from home. Many days our son does not allow her to work during the day so I come home and take over baby duty so she can work. This has not allowed me to have much blogging time. I hope to get back to blogging but my family and rest for my weary body has to come first.

I did manage to get three new movie reviews posted on"INCONCEIVABLE!" for Wolverine, Star Trek, and Terminator. Please check them out.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Buffer Shower Dude!

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sun, 03 May 2009 19:12:00 PDT

For the last couple of months, I have been working out at the Family Y regularly. My friend Bryan and I usually workout on lunch. I also lift weights a couple days a week in the evening and weekends. I have become a bit of an exercise addict for the first time in my life.

It has been interesting being in a locker room environment again. All of the unspoken rules of locker room behavior that I learned in Junior High are second nature to me. Unfortunately, some guys either forgot the rules or are completely clueless of the rules.

A few days ago, I went into the showers (open public showers in the Men's locker room) after working out on the lunch hour. I found a wall of four empty showers. I walked over to the third shower on the wall and turned on the water. As I start to soap up, another guy enters the showers and chose to take the shower right next to me. There were plenty of open showers including one two shower heads down. I felt very uncomfortable. I realized that this dude was violating one of the rules of the locker room. You always leave a buffer shower between guys if you there is room. If and only if there is no room for a buffer shower, is it acceptable to shower next to another guy.

Since some are ignorant of the locker room rules, I thought I would review some them in this post. I am sure that I am missing some of them.

1) Buffer Shower- as just explained.

2) Buffer Urinals- Same concept as a buffer shower. Leave a urinal between you any another dude if there is room. There is no reason to stand close and have a conversation while trying to take a leak.

3) Look guys in the eyes when they are naked. Guys like to walk around naked in a locker room (esp old guys for some reason). Nothing calls for eye contact like having a conversation with a naked dude.

4) If you borrow a guy's towel, don't dry the boys. No one wants to wipe their face after you have wiped your boys on the towel.

5) Remember the guys that try to show off their stuff usually are show-ers and not growers. There are always the guys that stand to the outside of the shower head to let the rest of us know that they are proud of their package. Don't be impressed.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Land of the Lost Theme Song

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:53:00 PDT

This is pretty funny. I am not sure that this will be a good movie but this season is very funny. Check it out.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Free Comic Book Day

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:41:00 PDT

This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! Anyone can walk into their local comic book store and get select free comics. I would plan on going early before the good comics are gone and make sure to take your kids in with you. There will be comics for all ages.

Here is a link to the comic books that are free.

For my free comics, I will be going to Games, Comic, Ect @ 2746 S CAMPBELL, SPRINGFIELD, MO. You can call them at (417) 831-4263 for directions.

Below is a special message from Hugh Jackman about Free Comic Book Day and the trailer for his new Wolverine movie which premieres this weekend.

These have been a few geeky thoughts of my complex mind.

NFL Draft Coverage at the Fantasy Sports Counselor

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:54:00 PDT

The NFL Draft is about to start. This is a very exciting time for hard core football fans. I will be covering the first round of the draft a@ the Fantasy Sports Counselor. Check it out as I keep it updated.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my sports mind.

NFL Mock Draft

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:41:00 PDT

Saturday April 25 and Sunday April 26 is the NFL Draft. The Draft has become a huge deal for all NFL fans. Mock drafts are extremely popular. If you would like to try your hand at it before Saturday's kickoff, you can join a Mock Draft Challenge at either Cowboys Pride or Sports Jabber, I know I did. Check out my mock draft @ The Fantasy Sports Counselor.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

G.I. Joe: Resolute

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:44:00 PDT

G.I. Joe Resolute is a new darker cartoon on the Adult Swim section of the Cartoon Network. It will be a ongoing nightly show. Check out the trailer below.

And knowing is half the battle. Yo Joe!

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

"Watch with Kristin" gets it.

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:29:00 PDT

Watch with Kristin is a great online column on E Online. Kristin updates and comments on various television shows and what happened this week. I have read a ton of Kristin's articles on Lost over the last few years. This week she made a comment about American Idol running long again. It helped validate my feelings.

"The four judges situation on American Idol is clearly not working out." (E)

"The time it takes for all four to chime in on the contestants' performances has made the show run over twice in the past two weeks alone. Cutting off fan favorite Adam Lambert's performance on TiVo is one thing, but pissing off the fans of Fringe, the show following Idol, is just plain dangerous." (E)

I am glad to know that I am not the only person upset with Idol's whimsical view of time management.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

The Scourge- American Idol

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 20:17:00 PDT

I have made it no secret that I can not stand "Reality TV". I have often made fun of the various programs that fit in the "Reality" genre. American Idol has not been an exception. After last night, it went to the top of my list of shows that I despise.

I know a lot of people love Idol. People are always talking about American Idol. In fact I was just asked about my thoughts on last night's show earlier today and I surprised the poor soul with my honest opinion.

Last night and the week before, American Idol could not stay within their own time slot. They had to run their program long. I am a huge fan of Fringe that follows Idol. Because Idol went late, then Fringe also ran past their usual time slot. My wife has two things on different channels DVR-ing at 9:00 pm. Because Idol can not control itself, I have missed the ending of Fringe two weeks in a row. Since I have not been able to watch it live with my in-laws visiting, did not even have a chance to decide if I wanted to see the ending or not. I am extremely aggravated with this and with Idol.

If the networks want to run their programs long, they should at least let us know. It is so frustrating that I have to suffer just because Idol wants more time. If you want shows like Idol to be more hours, then move Fringe to another time and let the show go longer. But stop stealing my time away from programs I want to watch. Right now, American Idol is a scourge to me.

Am I am the only one upset about this or are other people as frustrated as I am?

These have been a few frustrated thoughts of my complex mind.

Blond Bombshell is back on 24

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:32:00 PDT

Tonight's 24 will have a guest appearance by Jack's Daughter, Kim, AKA Blond Bombshell. Starting tonight, Elisha Cuthbert will be on 24 for the rest of the season. She was a regular for the first three seasons and made a guest appearance in season 5. Her character has been estranged from her father Jack since season 5.

In case you have not been watching 24 this season, you are missing out. This has been the best season since the first couple of years. The characters are more real and the writing is crisp. It is worth catching up on even if Kim was not coming back. But with the return of the Blond Bombshell, why not start watching tonight.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

One night down, 18 years to go

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:22:00 PDT

My wife and son came home from the hospital yesterday. Everyone is very healthy and we are all doing well. Anytime you have an infant at home, there will be times of challenge.

Our son had slept well in the hospital but that did not carry over to being home yesterday. He did not have a fond appreciation of his bassinet. This brought memories of our daughter's intense colic filled first six months. We were afraid that it would be a bad night.

My wife needed some sleep badly. I had her feed our son and then I brought him out to the living room. I was able to get him to sleep most of the night when he did not need to eat or be changed. He did sleep a little while on the coach with pillow support but most of the night he slept while I held him in our recliner/rocker. My wife did take over with him after she fed him at 5:00 am. Compared to his sister, he did sleep very well.

Today has been a very different experience for our son. He has been able to sleep in his bassinet for a few hours today and in his bouncy seat. I believe in faith that tonight will be an even better night. We are hopeful that he will be able to sleep in the bassinet most of the night.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.

Baby Boy has arrived

noreply@blogger.com (Larry LItle) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:22:00 PDT

My son was born on Sunday. I had hoped to post on it before now but having a newborn and wife in the hospital (and they are just fine) and a eight year old girl at home has kept me very busy. The wife and boy will becoming home on Wednesday.

These have been a few simple thoughts of my complex mind.