Reavo goes all Fan-boy... What a Geek

Super Friends… Best. Cartoon. Ever. I have been reading JLA (that’s Justice League of America for non-fan boys) comic books since the early eighties. I am a huge fan of the Super Friends cartoon adaption of JLA that was on ABC Saturday mornings from 1973 -1986. During that epic run the Friends took on various rosters of superheros but the core group was always Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman and boy wonder Robin. During their network television run the team would include other superhero icons as Green Lantern (Hal Jordan is wicked), the Flash, Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Hawkgirl.

The reason I am blogging about JLA/ The Super Friends is that Warner Brothers, parent company of DC comics the owners of the JLA characters, has announced they are going to produce a JLA live action movie. As a fan, I should be happy about it, but I am not. I feel that JLA is a much more natural fit in animated form. The recent Cartoon Network resection of the JLA was amazing and proves the animation point. In fact the recent JLA revival is more true to the heart and theme of the comic book than the Super Friends, but it misses much of the kooky eighties charm of the Friends take on superheros. The nifty lean towards anti-violence is why I prefer the eighties version. Plus I actually like the Wonder Twins, call me a crazy.

I cannot help but doubt Hollywood’s ability to capture the true flavor of my favorite superhero team after so many hero flicks have missed the mark in the past few years. Let’s hope they get this one right. Hopefully it is more X-Men and less (way less) Fantastic Four. But, I would be just as happy if they put out an animated version of the JLA.

Reavo

Reavo's Rules of Grammar and Spelling

Dude, I have some issues. I recent read some of my blogs and realized they were littered with errors. I would love to blame my pubic school education or maybe Indiana State University, but alas I can not. To be honest I know what 90% of the problem is... slow fingers. You see my mind races (often not coherently) like a rabbit on crack from topic to topic, but my fingers type like the fat kid in gym class... slow. So I guess I naturally compensate by dropping words or not using proper tense. You would think that I would see these mistakes as I read my blog (yes I do read it, for real I do!). It does not work that way, because my mind naturally fixes the mistakes for me. This problem is magnified by the fact that I blog at night when I am not always at my strongest mentally. So dear reader, if you find yourself reading my blog and trying to guess what I drinking when I wrote it, I apologize... and answer is probably Coors Light.

Reavo

Quick Question

Do any of my loyal readers, all three of you, know whatever happened to Dirty Doug or Joe-Joe? If anyone knows their location please let me know... I am trying track them down. I would like to put them in a new VH1 reality show "Dirty Doug and Joe Joe do the Bayou!"

Reavo

Tuesday Download Day!

All right boys and girls its Tuesday and you know what that means... New Release Day on Itunes! So what did yours truly download today?

Drift Away - Steve Acho
How to Save a Life - Steve Acho
Far Away - Steve Acho
Faithfully - Steve Acho
Touch My Body - Mariah
You Can't Count on Me - Counting Crows
The Green Gentleman -Panic at the Disco
Nine in the Afternoon - Panic at the Disco

All told I spent $7.92, for some pretty good tunes... Looked at some Ringo Starr stuff, but decided to pass and hold on for the upcoming Beatles releases (Right Mr. Jobs?).
If you are wondering who Steve Acho is, well he is a dude who plays a mean piano and does some very nice covers. I am sucker for a wicked cover artist, maybe that explains why I enjoy Idol?
I really enjoy the new Mariah song. I know that its not cool to like Mariah, but whatever, I have liked her since Vision of Love hit when I was in high school (random fact - this was my song with one of my high school girlfriends... cue the vomit sounds).
The new PATD is awesome, I definitely recommend any Beatles fan check it out. I had read that the new album has some Fab Four flavor and it certainly does. Finally, the Counting Crows are a staple of mine (the live version of Rain King is an all-time favorite of mine) and this one is a fun upbeat diddy.

Feel free to leave comments on any downloads you did this week.

Reavo

Road Rules/Real World Challenge... I have issues

So what would happen if the Road Rules/ Real World gang got drunk on spring break and hooked up with the freaks from American Gladiators? Well, besides not having a conversation about quantum physics, they would have an ugly baby called the Road Rules/Real World Challenge.
The Challenge comes in a number of different varieties--Gauntlet, Inferno, Battle of the Sexes and whatever craziness the team at MTV can come up with. Now I am going to be completely honest here... I love it. Not like innocent puppy love, but for-real stalker obsession sick in the head love. I really have issues because this show is an absolute train wreck. The concept is basic enough. Take the out-of-work RR/RW alumni and throw some money at them to do physical or mental competitions that the producers rip-off of Survivor while living in one house together. Then, add barrels and barrels of liquor... presto TV GOLD! Sad, so so sad, that a grown man (a father no less) watches this rubbish (keep in mind, I tease my wife for watching The Hills, from what moral high ground I ask you?). But man, this show is like crack for me. I think the secret to my passion are the psychos they cast on this show. To start with you gotta be that special kind of crazy to go Real World in the first place (Road Rules is barely even on anymore, so we will stick with the headcases on RW). Add to that a nice Peter Pan I-don't-wanna-grow-up complex because we have cast members (not sure what else to call them, but talent seems like a major stretch) from the second season of the Real World doing these challenges. These people, some of which, are actually older than me (yes Beth I am talking about you... If you are closer to your AARP card than your college spring break maybe, just maybe, its time to hang up your old challenge shoes, before you break a hip) and are still grasping to what little bit of fame the challenge provides for my entertainment. I pray someday there will be a Hall of Fame for the greats of the RW/RR to be celebrated by fanatics like myself.

I need help I tell you.

Reavo

Am I Eligible For My Midlife Crisis?

Today I turned 35 (yes on Easter, now I know how all those Christmas babies feel) and it brings me to a very interesting question.

Am I Eligible For My Midlife Crisis?

I figure that my life expectancy is probably around 70 years of age which means that I should have reached full eligibility for my Midlife crisis. So do I get to buy a sports car? Should I maybe buy a Harley? Maybe I need to color my hair and deck myself out in some sweet gold bling...

Naw... I think I better just kick it the way I have been. First off I am not really a gear head so a sports car would be wasted on me. Since I can barely walk down the hall without falling down, a motorcycle would almost assuredly lower my life expectancy a great deal. I like my hair with the premature grey (you try being married 11 years and NOT going grey) and my Pop has the gold bling covered (Mr. T has nothing on my old man...) so I don't want to bite his style.

But maybe I do need to make a few changes in my life. My wife recently bought a new wall plaque that says Live Laugh Love (from JCPenny no less, nothing but the best for my fam). I think that is a great motto for life. I live plenty (don't believe me? guess you have never been to a Wii party with me). I laugh more than my fair share, I may actually want to tone it down a bit. But I perhaps I could love a little more. I can sometimes hold grudges or be less than forgiving. So thats my resolution for the second half of this life (however long it lasts)... To love a little more.

In the words of Kanye "Havin' money's not everything not havin' it is I was splurgin' on trizz,"

Reavo

Kick'in it Old School

As the fam' and I drove to Marshall, IL today to celebrate furry jumping creatures that hide eggs in your yard day, we passed through Terre Haute, IN home of Indiana State University. In a instance I flashed-back LOST style to my college days. Ah I miss those days... living the dream, living the dream. I loved oh so many things about my college experience, here are just a few...

Hanging with the fellas playing wiffleball, eating endless bowls of cereal at the Quad, quarter beer night at the Ballyhoo, the trike race, Big Daddy making pledges get him food from the Commons, Joe Taylor wearing his PJs to class for a full semester, Pyatt walking home from Lazy L (West T is no place to walk home from!) because his hayride date was annoying, Rob Todd stealing my hayride date when I was a pledge because he had pin on me, road trip to Illinois State, road trip to see Jenny Jones (Topic: You think your all that and a bag of chips, but your NOT!), TEST FILES, hanging with Snax and Lungs, Brad "Lungs" Young claiming he only smoked 3 packs of Camels a day because he was trying to get enough Camels Cash for the canoe and camping set, Luke greasing the stairs when the Pikes were training for trike, two words: Clase Bottlerocket, 6th Ave, Phil gambling and losing, a former roommate not showering for a full at least 3 weeks(dude had some serious funk working), 11:00am shots with Trav and Floyd, Trav's totally unhealthy obsession with Axle Rose, missing more classes than I actually attended, girlfriends who did papers for me, Fruity Pebbles w/ Sarah, me and Stanley's totally awesome 55 gallon fish tank (that room was P-I-M-P), the lodge, my cake job at the library, Dr. Little's Library Science class, Spring Break in Graceland (that is the way I roll), endless euchre games, formal in St. Louis, watching Caddyshack every afternoon with Phil, breaking stuff in Luke's room, Popeye's bike trick show, just trying figure out Brock, Gross's home pierced nipple getting infected, Softball Tourney in New Orleans (my stomach is rock'in and rolling)... Fout's head nearly exploding, Matty D still tight rolling his jeans in 1996, Beach Clash, Carlson's rigging elections, the missing Zeta jacket (I am getting Cold!) and oh so many more.

those were the days.

The Grandpa Rules

Like all people I adore my Grandfather. He passed over 15 years ago but I often think of him and regret that my daughter will never meet him. His name was Mark Majors but to all his friends he was just Maj. He was fascinating to me as a young boy for many reasons. First off he had a flat top haircut that felt ever so cool to run your hands over (its ok he didn't mind it). Another really cool thing is that he was a bridge inspector for Conrail, so he got to drive a railroad truck. There are not many cooler things than a big yellow railroad truck to a 5 year old. He also lost an eye as a young man due to a hammer splintering and pieces getting in to his eye... ok that part is not cool but the glass eye he had was really neat to a young lad, plus when he got a new eye he gave me the old one. So as you can see my grandpa Mark was a very cool cat indeed. He was a huge Cardinals fan (hey everyone has one bad trait) and lived and died IU basketball and Bobby Knight. But the greatest thing about Grandpa was he had these awesome but very strange rules that he felt everyone should live by.

Some examples-

You must eat the specialty of the restaurant you are dining at, so if you go to a fish joint and order chicken... you were in for a talking to. Oh you don't like fish? To damn bad you are at a fish place so order fish.

Ketchup is for hamburgers, mustard is for hot dogs they are not to be mixed and mustard does not go on a hamburger nor does ketchup belong on a hot dog.

But not all his rules had to do with food. Some other examples...

Never make a left turn at a T intersection.

Always put a sock and shoe on one foot first then move on to the second foot. I have not idea the reasoning behind this rule.

If you were lounging you have to either be in bare feet or shoes... Never, under any circumstances should you walk around in stocking feet. This one was a big one. I ran a foul of this rule quite a bit as a kid.

Were some of these rules nuts? Yes, of course they were but talking about them brings a smile to my face. They were part of what made my Grandpa so fun to grow up with.

In the words of John, Paul, George and Ringo "Will you still need me, will you still feed me,When I'm sixty-four,"

Reavo

Adventures in Gatorland

Greetings and Salutations,

I have returned from Gainesville (business trip to the NHRA Gatornationals) and man did I have a rough trip. The event was outstanding, awesome fans and another first class race put on by the folks at the NHRA. I once again was extremely impressed with passion the NHRA fans have for their sport. You would be hard pressed to find a better group of people to interacted with at a sporting event. So you are now asking why was it rough?

Three letters: NWA... I was supposed to be on a 5:45pm flight home yesterday... What time did my flight leave? 1:00am! 1:00am I tell you! The dreaded mechanical demons reared their ugly heads. This was an absolutely brutal experience.

But will I continue to fly NWA... Yes, because of my Silver Elite status (thanks HW&L) I get upgrade to first class every trip. What is the saying about history and not learning from it?

In the words of Supertramp - "Take the long way home",

Reavo

My Itunes "Celebrity" Playlist

One of my favorite options on Itunes is the celebrity playlist. I get such enjoyment in reading these lists and the celebrity's reasoning behind their inane choices. What I best like about this exercise in music voyeurism is that I know these stars are trying make their list have music geek credibility. Every time I read a list with John Coltrane, Billie Holiday or Johny Cash I LMAO because you know that is just a huge poser move. You and I both know that Melissa Joan Hart does not know Billie Holiday from Bill Buckner. But somewhere along the way they heard it was cooler to like John Coltrane than Lionel Richie, well that is just BS. I like music that makes me feel good... I like Lionel Richie, and I don't care who knows it. So without further adieu here is the AYFR official celebrity playlist.

1) All Will Be Well- Gabe Dixon Band - Great chill out song... But its not depressing like so may other slower songs.

2) Always On My Mind - Elvis - My favorite Elvis song (that changes every few years, so don't hold me to it). Enough said.

3) Tiny Dancer - Elton John - I am a big Elton John fan (special thanks to HS friend Chris Ley who was obsessed with Elton and it kind of rubbed off on me) and this is one his best. I always think of Almost Famous when I hear this song.

4) Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye - Oh I love this song, let me count the ways 1. I do it at karaoke (not well by the way) 2. Marvin Gaye is so money it is sick 3. It make me hot just like an oven.

5)Twisted - Keith Sweat - First off I never thought ol' Keith got the credit he deserved for being the driving force behind New Edition (sorry Bobby, its my prerogative to believe that Keith owns you vocally). Second this song reminds me of the parties at the lodge back in the day.

6)Dave Matthew - Crush - Love Dave even though overall the last few albums have kind of sucked. This song reminds me of standing in the rain at Deer Creek (I refuse to acknowledge a wireless company sponsorship of the Creek) a few years back.

7)Living Thing - ELO - My Pop was a huge ELO fan and I guess he passed it on to me. The ELO sound was so original, even if you don't like a song you have to admire their originality. Oh by the way fellas I forgive you for Xanadu.

8) Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne - It was a toss up here between this song and Running on Empty. Really love both songs and think to this day Jackson Browne is awesome.

9) No Woman, No Cry - Bob Marley - Another great chill song, I am not a big reggae lover, but you have to appreciate the talent of Bob Marley. This song is also a great break up song. True words have never been spoken, No Woman, No Cry, you tell em Bob.

10) You're My Best Friend - Queen - I am total mark for Queen. I could have picked any number of songs for this list. RIP Freddy. I also love the montage to this song at the beginning of The Break Up.

So that is my list... wait I just realized I left off my boy Lionel Richie. Guess I am a big poser too. Well for the record I do love Easy, Lionel if your out there I hope a little shout out makes up for not making my playlist...

In the words of Lionel - "I am easy like Sunday morning",

Reavo

That sweater is money

I just love this love this picture. This is a friend of my wife's (I guess by extension that makes her my friend as well, but I don't claim her) that I whup on in all things Wii on a regular basis. The scary thing about this picture... she is an educator.

My new favorite show...

A few months ago on a snowy Sunday afternoon I was flipping through the dial trying to find something to catch my interest (which is tough because of my self diagnosed ADD). My usual Sunday afternoon rainy day standbys were all MIA... Road Rules/Real World Challenge (oh rest easy loyal reader there will be a future blog entirely dedicated to this guilty pleasure of mine)- MIA, Celebrity Fit Club- MIA, Top Chef -MIA, heck I could not even find Shawshank Redemption, which seems to run on a endless loop on TNT/TBS. What was I to do? Read a book? I think not, I am no quitter, I pressed on to the north end of the cable universe, past Bravo and Sci fi channel, past even WGN... yes I was really pushing the boundaries here, but I would not be held back. I would find something to watch, oh yes I would. I finally landed... stopped, mesmerized by what I was seeing on my TV screen. I have not seen such compelling TV in years, not since the greatness that is Battle of the Network Stars, have I seen such intense athletic competition. Some people are fans of the Olympics, others enjoy the Ironman, but I have found my new love and it is... Ninja Warrior on G4. First off, I am not sure I even knew I had a channel know as G4, but I was missing out. Ninja Warrior is a Television show imported from Japan that is basically American Gladiators on roids. But instead of competitors battling muscle bound freaks, they must instead take on an obstacle course right out of Mad Max.
The show is a true test of strength and balance, but what I love is the commentary which is completely in Japanese (subtitles are available, but I enjoy pretending I can speak Japanese). This show is a gem and a must view for any rainy or in my case snowy day.

In the words of Dave Matthews- "You crush me with the things you do",

Reavo

Beatles coming to Itunes!

So I have been teased by this before, but this time it seems it may be true. I read earlier on yahoo (and if is on the net it has to be true... right?) that it seems Apple and Sir Paul have come to terms (400 million dollars - bet ol' Heather gets her grubby little hands on some of that cash) to put the Beatles catalog on Itunes for which I say "Its about freak'in time." You see I am so lazy that I will not rip and burn my CDs and put them on my computer. I instead prefer to cherry pick songs off Itunes to add to my Ipod. I know this is a waste of money, but dude for 99 cents I like the ease of the point and click. So for three years now (it was about then when I got my first Nano, cue the angels singing... God I love Apple) I have done without my Fab Four which is far too long. Now Mr. Jobs while your at it how about working things out with AC/DC?

In the words of Blue Oyster Cult - "Don't fear the Reaper",

Reavo

And so we begin...

Ok so this is my first blog... Well that is a lie because I have blogged at Myspace a few times, but this my first For Real blog on Blogger. First off lets cover the name of my blog... Are You For Real. Well here is the story, I worked with a guy for a few years that would respond to anything said to him (dudes name was Matt, lets give this tail a little color shall we?) with the response "Are you for real?" This start innocently enough "hey Matt you know that meeting got moved to noon?" Matt would respond with, you guessed it "Are you for real?" No Matt I made it up because I have nothing better to do than plan an elaborate scam to get you to miss a meeting (actually that is something I might have done come to think of it). Pretty soon Matt could not help himself, he would respond with "Are you for real" when it did not even make sense as an answer. "Matt how about lunch?" response... wait for it... "Are you for real?"
Well Matt ended up pulling stakes and moving to Cincinnati and you would think that I would be glad to never have to hear "Are you for real" again, but I actually do miss it. So that is the reason we will call this blog Are you for real... That and I really could not think of anything clever tonight.

In the words of the Party - "Give a little Peace Love and Understanding",

Reavo