It’s my last day at the John Marshall Law School as a full time employee. The hardest part about leaving here is this really great group of close friends I have made. I hope to still hang out with them outside of work in the future. I put together a little video with clips I shot on the departments new hand held video camera. Hope you enjoy it guys! Thanks for everything!
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The September release from the Masters of the Universe collection included two new figures and one re-release. We get two new figures in Leech and Hurricane Hordak, both part of the 2011 subscription. Chief Carnivus was the figure available as a re-release. All three are pictured below.
If you remember the original Leech figure from 1985, it was quite hefty. The figure also had suction cups for hands, feet, and a really powerful suction mechanism for his head. You would push a button on his back, then press his face against a smooth surface and release the button. He would stick right to it. That’s the one thing missing from this figure… any sort of suction mechanism. That all being said, this figure is really quite stunning. It still has a bit of heft to it. The Four Horseman have done an amazing job with the head sculpt. It’s gorgeous in the most grotesque way possible. And who doesn’t love a great bat style crossbow.
The articulation, like most of the others from this series, is good. You have to be careful with the left arm since there is an attached piece of armor there that could be pinched and broken. Aside from the crossbow, Leech also ships with a suction cup netting in the shape of the Horde bat. It’s a fun accessory, but I was a little bummed that the way it was packaged caused one side of mine to be deformed.
Next up we have Hurricane Hordak. This is easily the least impressive of the three figures. I was very excited about this figure because I was under the impression there was actually a spin mechanism to him like his 1986 original design. They paid homage to the design by sculpting a non functional spin wheel on the back of his removable armor. The design of the figure is nice, but nothing special. In my opinion the previously released Hordak figure from Matty Collector was much more impressive.
Hordak comes with updated versions of the same three spin weapons the original figure sported. There’s the bat blades, the thunderball mace, and the fork pincher. They all attach by plugging into the hole in the figure’s right arm. Again articulation is pretty good, although the bulky armor tends to limit movement a little bit. A small price to pay for so much bling!
I discovered the Matty Collector Masters of the Universe toy line after they had already been out a couple years. While I am signed up for a 2012 subscription, I am still missing a good number of the previous year’s figures. When I have the opportunity to pick up a figure re-release, I absolutely take it. This month, we had the opportunity to pick up Chief Carnivus. This is a character I’m really not that familiar with. Outside of what I read on his card, and a brief appearance in the 2002 cartoon series, I really had no idea who he was.
That all being said, this is one wicked awesome figure sculpt. The detailing is one of the best I’ve seen from this series so far. The Chief comes with a sword, shield and full length cape. The armor, weapons and head are all highly detailed and well sculpted. The figure articulates well and displays amazingly.
And just for fun, here’s some “action shots”. Click ’em to make ’em bigger. As of this posting, Leech is already sold out, but you can still pick up Hurricane Hordak and Chief Carnivus at MattyCollector.com. Enjoy!
She-Ra battles Hordak 
He-Man takes on Leech 
She-Ra is captured, can He-Man and Chief Carnivus save her? -
Heard some racket outside, and walked out to see the house across the street coming down. Pretty fun to watch! Here’s a short(ish) video of the front part coming down.
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I am ecstatic the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in print. Kevin Eastman, one of the original creators of the turtles is back writing a new revitalized comic series for the ninja four. In this first arc Eastman, along with co-writer Tom Waltz, is re-telling a version of the origin story side by side with the introduction of a new villan – a mutant ally cat named “Old Hob”. All the old fan favorites are here as well, including April, Casey Jones, and Splinter. Dan Duncan has done an amazing job with the interior art. And Sam Kieth and Walter Simonson put together this amazing four-part cover. When I saw it on the shelf I had to grab all four of them!
Apparently this is all part of IDW and Nickelodeon’s efforts to revitalize the Turtles and get an entirely new fan base excited about them. I’m looking forward to seeing what Nickelodeon does with their new animated series next year. It’s going to be hard to top the original cartoon!
Also, in October, IDW is releasing a 312 page hardcover collection of some of the best original TMNT comics. Be sure to check your comic stores for TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION. I will absolutely be picking up a copy.
Also, Cowabunga!
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So part of why I was really excited about my new apartment is that I would have a room all to my own for my office. I wouldn’t have to share it with the guest room any longer! I went to Ikea today and picked up a new desk and a filing/shelving unit and got those all put together. The home office is pretty much complete now. Here’s some pics, let me know what you think.
exc-511f913ae4b00ed265b4d39a 
And yes that’s a large pile of comics on my desk. My “to read” pile to be precise. Need to find some time to work on that along with all my other projects. Sheesh!
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This morning I attended my second Creative Mornings Chicago breakfast lecture. For those that are unfamiliar it’s a lecture series that was started by Tina Roth Eisenburg in New York City and has expanded to eight cities in the United States and Europe. Usually hosted at a creative agency or a company with a strong creative culture, these lectures are both informative and inspiring. One of the things they have you do when you attend is to fill out a name tag with your twitter name and answer a creative question. The tag last month asked you to draw your favorite shape. The one this month was decidedly more interesting. It said “What is something you have never done but you think you would be great at?”. I took a good 20 seconds of searching my head for something I have been jonesing to do, but hadn’t tried yet. And honestly I drew a blank. Typically when I decide I want to try something, I kinda jump in head first and do it. So in a moment of social panic for not having anything to write coupled with a bit of silliness I wrote down “being more awesome”.
As the day has worn on, I’ve thought about that some more and I believe what I said is truly honest and most certainly applies. Of course to accept that you would have to accept the premise that I already have some level of awesomeness to improve upon. In the most humble way possible, I do believe I am an awesome person and I would say many people would agree with that. The ones that wouldn’t, well they’re just dicks. I believe that everyone is awesome in their own way.
I like the sort of endless cycle these two lines from the name tag produces. Since I have never achieved a level of awesomeness greater than my current level, when I do achieve that higher level, I am back in the same place where I have never been more awesome than my current state of awesomeness. So there is always more to strive for (assuming one can’t accumulate negative awesomeness). I always want to make someone laugh a little harder, be a better wife, finish new projects, inspire more people, train harder, and make more of a difference in net for my hockey teams. I have large goals for my life, and I continue to work towards them every day. I can’t wait to see what the future will have in store for me.
For a long time now I’ve had a quote from the character Barney Stinson (played by Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met your Mother) displayed on my Facebook page. It reads.
“When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome again. True story!”
While it’s a joke, it’s something I absolutely live by. It’s easy to get down on yourself when things start going badly. But it’s important to shake it off and go back to doing those things that make you feel awesome. Whether that’s a personal project or volunteering or skydiving, just get out there and be awesome.
What does “being more awesome” mean for you?
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As a preface to this story I wanted to share that at the start of this year, I could barely run a mile. This past August 14th, I finished my first ever half marathon. I traveled thirteen point one grueling miles through the streets of downtown Chicago along with over fifteen thousand people. It was an amazing experience! And it was something I never thought I would do in a million years.
At the start of the year I made the decision I wanted to run a 5k and began training. I signed up for a “Couch to 5K” program through active.com. Not too long after I began running races. I found I really enjoyed the races part and got the crazy idea that I would sign up for half marathon. Luckily my wife, Dani, is just as crazy. And despite just having had back surgery a few months ago, she signed up as well.
Dani was much more diligent about her training. As the summer went on and got busier, my dedication to training dropped off. The most I had run outside was about six miles. And I had barely managed to run just under ten miles on the treadmill the week before. So the week leading up to the race I was really nervous about my ability to complete the full distance.
Before I knew it we were lined up in our corrals waiting to get going. It was a cool, overcast morning with a bit of drizzle here and there so the temperature was just about perfect. About a mile in I found the 2 hour 45 minute pacer group. THANK GOODNESS FOR THEM. They were running five-minute intervals with one minute walking between each run. I stayed with them for nearly the entire race, pulling away to finish the last three miles a bit faster. I never would have been able to make it the whole way without them. When it was all said and done I crossed the finish line at the 2:37:24 mark and in position 11,960 out of 15,317.
It was a great experience, and I think I might just do it again next year. Plus I got this rad medal!
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This year I decided that I was finally going to get into really good shape. So I started with a couch to 5k program, and jumped right in. This along with working with a personal trainer, I’ve made humongous strides in my physical fitness. And now I’ve moved on to a half marathon training program. I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I’m definitely getting there. I’ve completed five races so far this year, and I have four more I’m signed up for including two 5k’s, an 8k, and a HALF MARATHON!! Here’s the evidence 🙂
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Six months ago today, my wife and I were at the Hotel Vetro in Iowa City with three of our good friends and a magistrate to get married. Despite the obstacles put in front of us, such as Dani’s back surgery, we have made it through very much still in love. We can’t wait for what the future will bring. Including our honeymoon to Hawaii over thanksgiving this fall! Aloha! Sadly though, Dani and I still can’t enjoy the same rights as heterosexual married couples. Although this July we will be able to register our marriage as a “Civil Union” in Illinois, in the eyes our country, our relationship will not be recognized. There is so much hate in this country so I want to take a moment on this special day to promote love, acceptance and equality. The only way we are going to win equal rights is to keep fighting and always keep the conversation going. In the news every week you can see that this movement is winning new people over every day. And we are gaining powerful allies. So please keep talking about the issues, and please help out the organizations that fight everyday for our cause like the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Illinois if you can.
Happy six months of marriage baby. I love you so much!
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Well C2E2 is over and done with. But oh man, was it a blast! Aside from a short time at a comic/manga convention in Florida years ago, this was my first time at a true comic con. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I decided to go (almost) all in and purchase the weekend VIP package. (For $50 more I could have gotten the Chris Hemsworth private signing event, but honestly that wasn’t such a big deal to me.)
I took off work Friday just so I could be there right when the convention floor opened. First things first I immediately made a rush to the line for wristbands that gave the wearer the ability to purchase the convention exclusive DC figures later in the day. After that I spent the majority of the time walking around the convention floor. It’s both amazing and overwhelming all the awesome things they have there. I would start listing them, but it would take many many pages. Needless to say they had lots of cool toys, comics, apparel, and art.
Gaming was another large part of this convention. Both tabletop and video games were well represented. I took part in a beginners magic tournament Friday afternoon. Unfortunately I didn’t do so well with that. But it was a great learning experience, and I still walked away with a couple promo cards.
I think my favorite part of the floor was the artists alley. Walking up and down the isles checking out the artwork and watching the artists sketch was just amazing. The talent there was breathtaking and incredibly inspirational. They were in large part the catalyst behind me starting my sketch a day journal here. I picked up a few prints for myself which can be seen here.
The rest of my time that at the con was spent at various shows and panels. The Comedy Death Ray show Friday night was simply amazing. Patton Oswalt and the other comics brought out the best of their nerd centric material and had us all laughing our asses off. I wish everyone could have seen the guy next to me durning the show. He was SO into it. The panels I attended Saturday included a discussion of the animation industry by JJ Sedelmaier of Saturday Night Live cartoon fame, a Q&A with TAPS Ghosthunters Steve Gonsalves and Dustin Pari, and finally, my favorite, a live sketching session with a few of the awesome DC Comic artists Ivan Reis, Doug Mahnke and Tyler Kirkham.
It was a fantastic weekend and there was still so much more I didn’t get to see! I’m very much looking forward to next years show!
Tori Holmes-Kirk 