My daughter loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now, she's never seen the show, but her friends like it so she does too. She's informed me that "Mikey" is her favorite and asked me which one was mine. Without hesitation, I said "Raphael - the red one."

And then she asked, "Why?"

I did not share the following with her, but I now share it with you, dear reader:

I was six years old when the Turtles became a hit cartoon show. My parents pre-screened it and said we could watch it as long as it didn't become any more violent. All three of us Norman boys loved the show, so for Christmas we were asking for the action figures.

Somehow, this is how the selection of the action figures went down. My older brother, naturally, was going to get Leonardo. He was the oldest and the defacto leader. Keeping with Old Testament familial practices (and also because he was really smart), he received a double-portion. My older brother would also receive Donatello.

My youngest brother would be getting Michelangelo. At the time, he was goofy and ate weird things. (Currently, he's less goofy and I think he secretly eats weird things.) Mikey was a natural selection for him.

So, in keeping with the way things usually go for middle children like me and Jan Brady, I was left with Raphael. As a consolation prize I was also given Casey Jones.

And that's how I became the most awesome brother.
Left with the scraps of Teenage Mutant Turtle fandom, my characters became the greatest ones of all! And as they rose in prominence, so too did I.

Raphael is the best Turtle forever!

Cowabunga!

Matt McKinney (Untold Podcast 20 - The Saving Thunderclap) recently uploaded his latest episode of POS: TOS, which explores some of the worst Star Trek episodes in existence.

Matt asked me to suggest an episode and I chose one from The Next Generation. "Up The Long Ladder." This is bottom of the barrel Star Trek here.

Matt and Kim rip this episode apart (in their hilarious way) but also make some rather deep philosophical observations as well. I had recalled some of the bad ideas in this episode, but Matt and Kim point out some morally abysmal things I had forgotten about and missed the last time I watched this.

It takes intelligence to strip down a story's philosophy. It takes genius to do so with humor!

I also have a brief cameo in the beginning.

Take a look.
(Note: This is your obligatory salty language warning.)

This month's episode of the Untold Podcast was written by Matt McKinney. I love the story he sent in, but I also appreciate his creative work on his comedy/review/riffing show POS:TOS on YouTube.

He loves Star Trek... which is why he hates bad Star Trek! And there's plenty of bad Star Trek out there. Matt expertly guides us through these horrible episodes like Virgil led Dante through the bowels of Hell.

The show is hilarious, witty and also intellectual.

I'm convinced Matt and "Off Screen Kim" are geniuses.

Right now Matt is releasing the second series of "Not Our Savior" videos, which focuses on Star Trek's unfair hack-job on religion and religious themes. Matt is honest and fair, though. And I appreciate that.

Did I mention his comedic timing is spot on?
You can find his YouTube channel here.

Take a peak.

(Fair warning, some mild colorful language from time to time.)

Many ethicists today are saying that science is progressing faster than ethics can keep up. I agree with that. We are asking the question "can we do that?" without also asking the question, "should we do this?"

This is pushing us into ethical quandaries that will have ramifications for decades to come.

Case-in-point... the new Taco Bell breakfast menu: 

Yes Taco Bell, you can wrap a tortilla around bacon, eggs and hashbrowns.
Yes you can use a waffle as a taco shell and fill it with sausage and eggs drizzled in syrup.

But (altogether now) just because you can do a thing, doesn't mean that you should.

This undoubtedly is a sign of the "breakfapocalypse"!!!!!

Every single year an inordinate number of my friends attend either San Diego Comic Con, or New York Comic Con. While I have lived in both NY and LA, I have never attended either.

And this makes me sad.

Year after year, I vicariously experience the cons through the photos and blog posts of my very geeky and very cool* friends!

But this year is different. This year, everything changes. No more will I have to sit in envy of my friends, because tomorrow . . . a mere twelve hours from now, I shall be attending:

BapMi Con!

What is BapMi Con? Well, let me tell you… it’s the Baptist State of Michigan Convention!

And I don’t know a single person who’s going!*

That’s right I am going to be the envy of all my friends! Now, they will have to follow all the awesomeness online! (Stream it live here!!!)

There is one drawback, though. I hear there isn’t a lot of cosplay at these things.

So, I’m working on my costume tonight! Here’s what I have it narrowed-down to:

I was thinking about going as Jerry Falwell (Zombie-Style) but I was told it was in poor-taste!

BapMi Con!!!!!!!

*This statement has not been reviewed by the FDA.

It is no secret that I have the best mother-in-law ever!

(You might have a really great mother-in-law, but in a cage match, mine wins. Hands down. No contest. And why are you trying to put your mother-in-law into a cage match with my mother-in-law? You know she's going to lose . . . so you must not love her all that much . . . because she's not as awesome as mine!)

Back in June, she bought me this gigantic action figure set with all seven members of the new Justice League!

I set the box on my desk, knowing that one day I would release them from their containment units and display them in my office.

That day finally came!

But instead of just setting them on top of my desk so that one day batismal candidates can make fun of my geekiness (true story), I decided to put them to "good use."

I am a book reader. I somehow procure books faster than I can read them. So, both at home and at church I have rather unsightly "to read" piles.

This is what my office "to-read" pile looked like moments ago:

But struck with Kryptonian genius, I not only displayed my action figures, but ALSO created categories for my "to read" books.

Here's what it looks like now:

Wonder Woman/Superman: Beefy theological books that I'm going to have to be strong to read!

Batman/Cyborg/Aquaman: Important, contemporary books that I will have to read with a critical mind. Also, possibly lame books (that's why Aquaman is there!)

Green Lantern/Flash: Popular level books that I need willpower to get through... but can be finished in a flash.


So that's my "to read" pile now!


p.s. Just kidding about Aquaman. His comic is one of the best things DC has going right now!

Our tent looks like the flying nun!
more later...

My wife said, "Let's take the road less travelled." I said, "The road less travelled has ticks." more later...

It's humid here. My wife said we needed to go to Walmart to find a fan. I said, "I'm going to Walmart to find a new wife." My wife said Walmart isn't a very good place to find a wife. She's probably right. more later.....

I enjoy watching the CBS drama The Mentalist from time to time. I am also a huge fan of the internet cartoon Homestar Runner.

I think the mentalist borrowed the "call sign" for the serial murderer Red John from the Homestar Runner character Strong Sad's face.

I've transposed the Red John mark onto Strong Sad's stomach. What do you think? Am I reaching here?