Movie Review : Jurassic World

Time some Dino mayhem this weekend and it's twofold as I get to enjoy dinosaurs on two different mediums. First up is the video game where the Dinos are brought to life in Lego form. That will hold my attention for a few weeks as I look to chomp on some Lego humans. The other is the latest installment into the Jurassic Park franchise that hasn't seen a new entry since 2001. This will be the fourth in the series.

I recently caught the first Jurassic Park movie on basic cable and that movie came out 21 years ago so this movie should blow that first one out of the water when it comes to the special effects. At the time of the first film the effects were considered some of the best and now looking back I won't say they were cheesy but you can see the advancement in technology since then. Chris Pratt is hot commodity right now (and who isn't that is affiliated with any of the Marvel films) and he is looking to head yet another franchise. He has the personality for it so the sky is the limit.

Highlights :

• For nostalgic nuts there is no shortage of "nods" to the original Jurassic Park movie.
• No cheesy special effects here. Top notch from the smallest to the biggest of dinos
• Movie gives respect to the dinos and doesn't treat them as dumb creatures.
• Humor is well placed and fits the spots in the movie.

Low Lights :

• The black characters in movies always seem to get the short end of the stick and here is no different. 
• Humans are still "dumb" when it comes to engaging these beasts.
• Plot holes and time errors are still annoying when you see them.
• Park attendees are too "calm" when confronted with the dinosaurs.

Final Thoughts :

I went in to this film wanted to see some bad ass dinosaurs and that is exactly what I received. That is all I can ask for in a summer flick and this one delivered. Chris Pratt is on top of the world as he leads yet another movie franchise and is perfectly cast in this new entry into the Jurassic Park world. He is down to earth and has a healthy understanding and respect for the dinosaurs which can't be said for other characters. Some see them as money makers while other see them as potential weapons in wars around the world. Not much to the plot but of course not much was expected either. See dinosaur in captivity, see dinosaur break out, see humans try to recapture said dinosaur.

The movie does not spend much time trying to force anything onto the audience other than dinosaur mayhem and it is better for it that way. If you want watch a possible real world scenario or movie with layers of depth then you are in the wrong theater as there is none of that here. If you want to watch dinosaurs, new and old, causing destruction then this is right up your alley. I turned off my brain for 2 hours and enjoyed what was presented to me. I enjoyed my time and this movie is definitely for the big screen and not the living room.

Final Grade : A very strong B but leaning upwards to a B+ if push came to shove

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Chrome : Hyun-Jin Ryu Base Black Refractor Parallel (47/100)

Man these black parallels are a real pain to track down at a reasonable price. The 2014 Topps Chrome has been on the market for months on end but up till now this is the first and only Ryu black card that I saw that started at a decent price on eBay.

All the ones I had previously seen were on BIN auctions for at least $6 and some even had that dreaded CA tax included. So a $6 card would now be $6.50 and some change. I love our Korean pitcher but not at that price. So when this particular copy showed up on eBay with a 99 cent starting asking price on a traditional auction I made sure to keep my eye on it. My ceiling was probably around $4 which was probably still a reach value wise but I was tired of pursuing this card. Thankfully when the last day of the auction came around there was only one bid and when I put mine in it raised the price to $2.24 as I was declared the winner. Woo Hoo.

Not too many more black parallels needed but this was the last big Dodger to acquie.

47 / 100

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Chrome : Alex Guerrero Base Autograph

If that picture above looks familiar to you it's because I have used it before when I first acquired the code on the flip side of it. Frankie of All About Baseball fame and I did a trade back in December for this Guerrero autograph. I sent it in to Topps and a short time later I received the actual card.

Not a bad looking card if I so say myself. Though I think I have enough of Guerrero's autographs in my collection I wasn't going to pass up on another if it didn't cost many anything out of pocket. His bat is not the problem but his glove. It has been an adventure at times watching him in left field trying to man the position. Some very interesting routes have been taken by him as he pursues balls being hit in his area. Hopefully he can improve on that.

Year in and year out Bowman Chrome never seems to let me down as I keep coming back for more autograph cards and the 2014 issue is no different. Thank you again to Frankie for the original trade and thanks to Topps to getting me the card to me in a reasonable amount of time.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps Tribute : Randy Johnson Traditions Autograph Gold Parallel (11/15) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

This autograph acquisition has been a long time coming as I have wanted a RJ autograph for the collection for some years now. When I collected signed balls there was never one I could get my hands on for a reasonable amount and he never did any public signings out here in Los Angeles. I tried at Dodger Stadium a few times but each time I was shut out. And prior to 2014 there just wasn't that much to chose from. Thankfully that changed as Randy signed for quite a few brands. Now I had to figure which one was the best option to go after.

Obviously the autograph had to be an on card variety. Next up was I wanted him shown in a Diamondback or Mariner jersey. No Giants for me, thank you very much. Right out the gate prices were high so my attention was drawn elsewhere for a few months. Knowing he was going to (and did) get elected to the Hall of Fame shortly I wanted to secure a copy for myself before prices went up.

Surprisingly the raw copies I found of the same card were only mildly less expensive than this graded copy which was on a BIN auction while the other ones were on a traditional auction. The only other option I saw was a Five Star card BUT they were charging CA Tax and that is an irritant for me so I went the graded route for a little more but more satisfaction in my eyes as I so do love me some gem mint cards.

Sold a few extra items in the collection and sent the money to secure this card and had it in my hands a fast 2 days later. Can't beat speedy shipping.

11 of 15

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2006 Allen and Ginter : John Wooden Mini Frame Autograph (#/200)

U...
C...
L...
A...

U,C,L,A... 8 clap.

The wizard of Westwood has finally found a place in my collection.

When it came to college athletics as I grew up I gravitated towards the Bruins of UCLA as they were dressed in blue like my beloved Dodgers. I never went to college there but I had a lot of friends that did. As I grew up I became friends with and had co workers who went to USC which made me even love the Bruins more. While the basketball program has had its fair share of superstars come and go as they left their mark and created the legacy of UCLA basketball the one name that will always be associated with the program is John Wooden.

John still owns the record of most titles won by a coach (10) as the next closest is only half way there with 5. I do not collect coach/manager autographs (other than past baseball players) but when I re entered the hobby I knew at some point I wanted a Wooden autograph to call my own. I would have gone the COA IP route but found out that Wooden had an Allen and Ginter issue that had his on card John Hancock. Problem though was that these did not pop up on eBay very often and when they did they were snatched up before I could get my hands on them. Though these are not numbered the reported print run is only 200. How many would I ever see at a reasonable price?

This copy came up by the same seller that had been selling off her whole collection of Wooden's the past few months but she put up a note stating it was her last one. I could have waited for another but I wanted to nail this autograph down once and for all and I was all in. 7 days later I finally was the proud owner of a John Wooden autograph and as stated in her auction she thought it was one of the finer copies in her possession and when I received it in hand I can say she is correct. Looks great and it's earmarked for BGS. John was/is the gold standard for college coaching and hopefully his card here earns a gold banner from BGS.

A closer look of autograph

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2011 Bowman : Corey Seager Perfect Game All-American Classic Autograph (105/235)

Continuing my hunt to add to my Corey Seager autograph collection and I finally was able to acquire one that I have always had my eye on but could never pull the trigger on due to a number of reasons.

This is a unique card as it is a 2011 card but was not issued until 2014 in that year's Bowman release. The other trick is to make sure you pick one up that is serialized as Bowman also gave away unsigned and non serialized ones that people then had Corey sign and try to sell them at a premium to unsuspecting buyers.

Other than just wanting another Seager I had this on watch list as technically this is his "1st" autograph from a major card brand. The 2012 Bowman Chrome gets most of the headlines but since this is a 2011 if proceeds that one in my mind even though it wasn't released till 2014 which is after the 2012 Bowman Chrome. Confused yet? Another reason for the wanting of this card is that it is a low numbered card. Lower the production the higher the demand. Not saying it will get there but Kris Bryant of the Cubs also has one of these types of Bowman cards and they book for $700 in raw form. Seager is nowhere near that but if he produces this might be a nice card to have.

The particular copy was on a BIN auction with a best offer and after a few days of going back and forth we finally agreed on a price that was good for the both of us. I knew whenever I acquired a copy of this autograph I would turnaround and send it to BGS for grading and hopefully get a 9.5 in return. When acquiring this card I knew that centering was not perfect on the front but if can hold a 9 sub grade I think the other 3 sub grades should get at least a 9.5 if not a 10 as I see no defects whatsoever. The autograph is crisp and clean too. Knock on wood but either way this is a beautiful card and glad I finally got my hands on one.

One Hundred and Five

of

Two Hundred and Thirty Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Orange Parallel (7/50)

I have two separate rainbow projects for the Dodgers super prospect Corey Seager and even though this one has less cards to acquire it is harder to complete due to the fact that it only involves autographs which are pricier to pick up.

I am so not a fan of the color orange and as a Dodger fan I am sure you know why but wanting the full rainbow means I was after this colored parallel and with a print run of just 50 there just wasn't that many up for sale on the bay. BIN with best offer auctions are my bread and butter when it comes to acquiring these hard gems and this one was no different as my feedback and patience worked in my favor as the seller was kind enough to give me 1st crack at negotiations as he ignored the other offers. Only took a hour or so and we agreed on a price and I had my next card for the project in a few short days.

Like most Inception cards this one suffers from some chipping on the corner. If it can hold a 9 sub grade I still might get an overall gem mint but at worst I think I now own a future mint Seager autograph rookie card. Can't be mad at that.

7 / 50

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Attended Game Recap : Cardinals 4 at Dodgers 2 On June 7th, 2015

Even though I have been to a few games this year in multiple states I have been slacking on doing these game recaps. I wanted to get back to doing more posts that were not just about cards so I have started up the movie reviews again and I knew sooner or later that I would get back to these recaps and yesterday's game was the perfect one to welcome myself back.

I informed the wife earlier in the month that I wanted to go to this game as the hated Cardinals were in town for their one and only visit to Dodger Stadium during the regular season (see you guys in the playoffs though) and with this being a Sunday night game it would the perfect opportunity to grab a couple of tickets at a discount price and to insure we were sitting in the shade. Both of those goals were accomplished. I found out that Manny Mota would be signing at Viva Los Doyers prior to the game and even though I have a few autographs from Mr. Mota there was one a picture of him on his famous tryke that I wanted him to sign. With that we headed to the stadium early and went over to Lot 6 were Mota was signing. As always he was very nice and personable and signed everything that people put in front of him and he posed for pictures with anyone that asked.

Mota and I with signed photo

A closer look.

The pic is a little dark but his signature is in blue sharpie.

Thank you again to Manny for accommodating me and everyone else and their requests. 

After that the wife and I decided to walk around the event to pick up some freebies. We ended up with a couple of Dodger cups, milk chocolate and some lip balm. Everything is nicer when its free. Thank you to all the sponsers for their handouts.

With that done we headed into the stadium and since we were hungry (me moreso) we went straight to Fries, Fries, Fries as I am a fry whore. We tired the new Lasorda aka Italian styled version with meatballs. Not too bad. With stomachs full we headed to our seats in Loge 153 and that's where the fun began.

The game itself was decent enough until the Cardinals drove Greinke out of the game and our bullpen once again crapped the bed and what was a 2-0 lead turned into a 4-2 deficit. Zack did his job but the bullpen did not. It was nice to see Puig back on the field and it looks like his hamstring is doing much better as he scored from 1st on a double by Turner to give them a 1-0 lead. Yasiel is still rusty though as he let a "routine" single turn into a triple by Holliday which changed the whole dynamic of the game which the Dodgers could not recover from. 

The redbirds are the team that the Dodgers are going to have to figure out how to beat if they ever hope to make it back to the fall classic. Unless one or both of these teams completely collapses they are destined to meet once again in the playoffs and I am saying it right now that whoever wins between them will win the 2015 World Series no matter who comes out of the American League. Time for the Dodgers to man up. 

The game with the wife was fun but getting yet another 15 seconds of Dodger fame made it all the better. At the top of 5th inning representatives of the Dodgers made their way down our aisle and stopped at a couple behind us and asked them a question. I wasn't really paying attention till I heard "contest" and at that point I listened in more. They declined as English was their second language and we don't think they really realized what was being asked of them. My lovely wife steps in and volunteers me stating, oh yeah, he will do it. Now the pressure is on. The game I was to play was "Quarter Minute To Win It" where I was to be given a topic/word and I had to name as many words associated with that word and hopefully that would be more than what my Dodger competitor could name. My opponent? One Yasiel Puig. English barrier advantage for the Penguin. The prize?

The contest

Gift card at stake

Even though I don't shop at Sports Authority much if I was lucky enough to win it I could flip it for an eBay card for more autograph purchases. Yes, I already had a plan even though I hadn't won anything yet. 

This oh so friendly young lady came down with her camera man prior to the contest and set up shop. While nice enough she could have been more personable but I am sure she has to deal with a lot of problem people so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Giving the wife a thumbs up as I was ready to go. Let's do this.

Her and I talking as we are being broadcast over Dodger vision with me of course "talking" with my hands once again. Anyone that knows me knows I love to gesture talk.

Her and I again from a different view as everyone in the stadium can now see my lovely mug on Diamond Vision. You're welcome everyone. Ha Ha.

Time to play. What would the topic be? Hopefully something "easy". Here it is.

What luck as the wife just made us a fruit smoothie before we left for the stadium so "fruit" was still fresh in my mind. Now, could I name more fruits than Puig in 15 seconds? I was pretty confident but I still had to perform. Ding and we were off. I rambled off strawberry and banana, as that was in our smoothie, and then I paused for a moment. D'oh. Slight brain freeze but I started up again and named off some more and with a little help from the crowd (thank you) I believe I got up to 10-11 before my time was up. Now it was Puig's turn and he said banana to start off with and then said some Spanglish words that I couldn't understand and 15 seconds later I was declared the winner.

Here's me with gift card in hand rambling about the Dodgers into the camera. Thankfully I won as you don't want to be that person that didn't win. I've been to enough games to know how the crowd reacts to them.

So while the Dodgers didn't win the game and yet lost another opportunity to pad their lead in the west the wife and I had fun together and I got to have some fun and win a gift card. Thank you again to the Dodgers for running the contest.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager Base Autograph Blue Parallel (52/75)

Another project or maybe not has started with me getting my hands on this blue beauty,

I have my Seager Bowman Chrome rainbow project that is still a work in progress (and will be for a long time) but on a general search for Seager autographs I came across the Bowman Inception brand. I already have the base version that I picked up two years ago but I thought why not try for an autograph rainbow? Even if I never finish it I will at least have added one or two more Seager autographs to the collection and that is not a bad thing.

A seller had this and two other colored parallels up for sale on the same day and while the other two reached a price point that I was not comfortable with this one was still within in reach with a few minutes left in the auction. My bid made the high price only go up a dollar but within the last second two separate bidders tried to snipe the auction but my bid still held and for a $50 card I scored one hell of a deal.

Card came in a few days later and is ear marked for BGS grading. I also own a 2014 Urias Inception autograph which can be seen HERE and that one was graded gem mint by BGS with the corners receiving a 9. Under the magnifying glass the Seager card looks to be in the same condition as the Urias with the same "issue" with corners. Would love to pare the two Dodger super prospects in 9.5 form. As always, crossing my fingers here.

52

of

75

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015 Topps : Clayton Kershaw Base Silver Frame Parallel (18/20)

It's always a happy day here when I get my hands on a long sought after card of the Dodger's super ace Clayton Kershaw. More so when compared to other sales of the same card went for more than twice what I acquired it for,

These silver, metal parallels from this year's flagship Topps brand are a pain to get a hold especially if the player you are tracking is popular like Kershaw here. Lucky me (sarcasm attached) Clayton has TWO different cards (not counting the league leader ones which I am not going after) in the set so that means I "needed" both. Also since they are only numbered to 20 they are hard to come by and not all of them see the open market. The first one was pretty easily acquired and I was lucky enough for it to come back from BGS as a 9.5 gem mint. This one though has been much harder as not as many copies have reached eBay compared to the other one.

Before I started hunting these down a couple of Kershaws sold between $60-$75 and that was before the season started. Another one popped up and I contacted the seller to see if I could get it at a nice low price. They resisted and I had a feeling that they made the right decision as I expected it would sell high. Well it did to the tune of $120+. Ugh. That was at least the 4th one to make it to the bay so I didn't know how many more of the 16 would ever be available for purchase but I kept searching everyday to see if one would pop up.

A month plus of eBay trolling and finally this one popped up at my lunch hour. The listing just went live 2 minutes prior to me finding it. Had an opening bid of 99 cents and a BIN option. Beckett has this pegged at $60 which I think is a tad low. My cost? Lets just say that it was more 50% off that previous $120 transaction I missed out on and I am immensely happy with this one. Damn right as I clicked that BIN button and had the card in hand within a week. Card looks to be in perfect condition and I look forward to submitting it to BGS in the coming month(s) and God willing pare it up with my other aforementioned gem mint, silver, metal parallel of Kershaw.

18

of only

20

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Draft : Julio Urias Base Chrome Green Refractor Parallel (38/150)

Two greens
One player.
One down.
One to go.

Bowman always has two different copies of cards in their issues during the year. Obviously I have to have both and when it comes to the rainbow parallel project of hot rookies (Urias and Seager) it can be a real pain to accomplish. I still haven't been able to acquire the more limited (75) green version but I did finally get my hands on this one that is numbered out of 150.

All of Urias (and Seager for that matter) cards are selling close to or at book nowadays so it makes it hard to get them on deals. A lot of it has to do with timing and thankfully timing was on my side for this one. Book has this valued at $15 and I have seen it close on auctions near that price. I wasn't gonna have any of that.

This is probably at least the 10th different green copy that I have bid on but obviously the 1st where I was the high bidder. Guess it was a slow Urias day on the bay as I scored it on a sale price in the single digits. The rainbow train adds another but still has many more to go.

38

of

150

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Draft : Julio Urias Base Chrome Red Wave Parallel (14/25)

The "wave" of rainbow parallels for the Urias project continues for me as I picked this up "technically" for a deal.

This particular copy has been on my watch list for awhile and I just let it sit there till the day I felt like plucking down the necessary funds for it. It was on a BIN auction with no best offer but then another copy of the this same card showed up on the bay on a traditional auction so I played the wait and see game on which one I would put my funds towards.

Final day of the traditional auction was upon me and with a hour or so to go the price on that went higher than this BIN one (never understand why people do that if the cards are described to be in the same condition) so I located this one my watch list and punched the BIN button and within a few days I had yet another card in my rainbow parallel pursuit. As with all the others this one also has been earmarked for BGS grading and looks like a good candidate for a nice gold banner. Knock on wood.

14 of 25

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card(s) of the Day - 2010 Allen and Ginger : Max Scherzer Mini Frame Autograph Plus Some Relic Cards

I've been wanting and searching for an autograph of Tiger (edit: now he is a National, shows you how long ago I wrote this up) pitcher Max Scherzer to add to the collection and I narrowed my focus to two brands, Allen and Ginter and Five Star. Never could find the right card at the right price till now and not only did I score the autograph but received some bonus relic cards as well.

Though I am no longer looking for relic/patch cards (exception being if there is an autograph on the card as well) I will acquire them with open arms if they are free or throw ins. That basically was the case with this transaction.

I finally found a card that was in my price range. Looking further into the auction I noticed that there were 3 relic cards also included in the package. The title of the auction was a tad mislabeled so that might have been a reason why there wasn't much traffic on it so with that I thought I would have a pretty good chance at the cards. A week later I did indeed win the card I really wanted and then some spares. All for a fraction of book "value". The autograph card is mine but all the relics are available for trade.

2014 Allen and Ginter Green Relic

Twins from 2013 Allen and Ginter

Have a great and blessed day and thank you for reading.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Draft : Alex Verdugo Base Autograph Blue Refractor Parallel (122/150) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Back to back to back Verdugo days brings us to the best of the trio with me picking up this graded gem mint autograph parallel of Alex.

This card was already on my wish list and even though I was willing to acquire it raw and then get it graded by BGS in the hope of a return of gem mint status if an already graded one was available I surely would go that route if it was feasible.

I decided to sell a few of my signed black baseballs as there were not up to snuff in my eyes so I had funds to use and found this card on the bay. At the time of this writing there are 11 copies of Verdugo's card that have been graded gem mint 9.5. I saw 2 sell already and 2 that are on BIN auctions with high asking prices. This is the only one that was on a traditional auction and I wasn't sure when another one would pop up. I decided that this is the one I "had" to have and with that I played the waiting game with the intention to snipe it at the end.

Not much action but the last 10 seconds brought about 4 separate bids but mine held up even though there was another person trying to do what I was doing by waiting for that last second. They lost, I won and with that I picked up my first Verdugo autograph.

I can never get enough of 9.5's

122 / 150

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Draft : Alex Verdugo Base Silver Wave Parallel (19/25)

As stated in yesterday's post there was another card that I wanted/needed to par with the blue Verdugo to make the transaction a success and a "steal". Thankfully I did indeed win the card and this is it. A nice low numbered parallel and it's of Verdugo as well.

Back to back Verdugo days and the camera light catches the colors of this card perfectly. There are only 25 copies of this card out there and since it is neither blue or black it was not on my wish list but once I saw it and knowing I could cut the cost to acquire by combining it with another card (the blue parallel) I decided to pursue it.

Knowing I already had the blue one in hand meant I could go a little higher for this card. With 5 different bids on it already the price was still in the mid single digits so I knew I had a decent chance of winning this card. Seconds left and I put my bid in and the winning price was no where near my ceiling which made the now 2 card transaction that much sweeter. This card looks even better in person and like most recent transactions it is also has been ear marked for BGS when they hit town again.

19 of 25

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Movie Review : San Andreas

Living in California do I really need to watch a movie about what could happen to my state if our biggest fault line aka the San Andreas finally decides to give us the big one? Well with the Rock aka Dwayne Johnson heading the newest disaster flick of course I did. I have been a fan of the Rock since his days back in the WWF/E and have enjoyed his transition to the big screen. While he is the main human lead of the movie lets be real here as the focus will be on the destruction that is caused by the massive earthquake which we will see unfold before our eyes. Like Mad Max I am going into this screening with little hope of a real plot but more of seeing what cool effects I will see and how the Rock will save California. Ha Ha. Unlike Mad Max though I do expect a little more than mindless action.

Highlights :

• As a Dodger fan, on screen it appears Dodger Stadium is left intact while AT&T park in San Francisco takes major damage. God loves the blue. = )
• Top notch special effects with jaw dropping damage during the quakes.
• Minimal downtime between action pieces.
• Realistic outcome of California if all things lined up and we actually had a 9.5+ big one.
• Sad to say and see but probably a true showing of human's bad nature during a disaster. Glad to see they didn't sugarcoat it and make everyone a "good" person.
• Rock's daughter is not just in the movie for eye candy (which she is) and actually helps move the plot along and has a brain to go along with her looks.

Low Lights :

• "Forced" love aspect between the Rock and his soon to be ex wife.
• While I know this is make believe I would like some realistic aspects still involved in the movie. The 1st scene with a damsel in distress is just asking too much for me to take seriously. She should be dead let alone being OK with no broken bones and taking a call on her cell phone.
• How the Rock is part of a rescue team and the boss for that matter but the minute this all goes down he is off to save his daughter and no one is looking for him.

Final Thoughts :

I love the Rock and I love disaster movies and that is what I got when I watched this movie but it still felt like something was missing. While the movie moved briskly even at its 120+ minutes running time it did have a few down times which was mostly when the Rock and his soon to be ex wive decided to talk things out. There was plenty of death and destruction and I was very happy with all the special effects and the humor that was sprinkled around in the right places to not have this movie being too much of a downer. With all that said I did not leave totally satisfied as I wanted more but that might be because the movie was maybe too Rock centric and not the right type of Rock. I wanted to see him do more physical stunts and the such which this movie does not call for per se. His personality drives this and his other films but I think in the end the movie subject was a bit too much for him to conquer.

Again, not a terrible film but nothing more than a very good movie but when I wanted great I was left wanting. Nothing to take away from the Rock as he performed well but I am looking forward to his next film when he is doing more physical stunts. If you decided to watch this film which if you like him or special effects movies, you need to watch it on the big screen to take in all the great visuals. The falling of buildings is really something to see and hope that we in California are spared of ever seeing in real life.

Final Grade : Solid B

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Bowman Draft : Alex Verdugo Base Chrome Blue Refractor Parallel (351/399)

The elusive Verdugo has finally been caught and added to the collection.

You would think with 399 copies of this parallel that I would have acquired this much sooner than now but for some reason I had not. Every time I came across one on eBay the price would skyrocket. Beckett book value is only $6 but multiple times it went close or sometimes over that amount. I wasn't going to pay that cost. I finally came across this particular card and it's starting price was reasonable enough and shipping was low. Always looking for deals so I looked at the seller's other cards for sale and found another to my liking. Either one by itself would probably not be a deal but if I could lock in both then it would be a steal.

Now the other card (more on that tomorrow) was scheduled to end 2 days after this one so I had to take the chance that if I win this one I wouldn't win the other and I would be stuck with a higher than what I wanted price on this blue card. I put my slightly higher then normal bid and ended up winning the card. Now I had to wait a couple days to see how the other one would pan out.

351 / 399

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.


-Penguin

Jamming June

Last month was the official start to the summer movie season but later this month is the official beginning of summer season and with it the wife and I have a full plate of activities that we will be doing and I for one am looking forward to it and can't wait to have some great fun with her and our friends and family.

Last year we slacked on attending live music shows/concerts and I have made it my personal goal to not let that happen again this year. After last month's outdoor show we head back indoors on the 1st Saturday of the month and watch our favorite cover band of Sublime, Badfish. If you love Sublime you will love Badfish and I look forward to this show every year as it becomes one big sing along to classic Sublime songs. We will be rocking out.

After recovering from Saturday's concert we will head to Dodger Stadium to attend the latest battle between two bitter rivals, the Dodgers and Cardinals. The Cardinals have become a major pain in the ass for the Dodgers and every year I have said that as long as the blue does not have to play the Cardinals in the playoffs we will make the World Series and this year is no different. The Cardinals are in our heads and till we can prove we can handle and move past them in the playoffs we will always be playing second fiddle to them. This game which will be played on Sunday night is the game of the week and the Dodgers will have the whole country watching. Time to put up or shut up.

What would a summer month be without a loud and special effects driving movie? After many years we get another entry into the Jurassic Park franchise with Star Lord ... I mean Chris Pratt now the leading man even though we all know we are going to this film to watch some dinosaurs devour and destroy. Time to get our dino on.

Of course what could make this movie even better....?

Why Legos that's what. Yes, I am an adult (age wise), yes this is a "kids" game but damn it if these Lego games aren't some of the best games out there and with this one coming out the same day as the movie you know I will be plopped down in front of the TV for some brick busting fun. Can't wait to go stud finding and dinosaur hunting.

A couple weeks later on Friday the 26th we arrive to raunchy and moody as two different releases on two different mediums cast a weekend of entertainment.

Thunder buddies for life. Yup, Ted is back and he is looking to have a child. Yes, a stuffed animal is trying to have a kid. The first movie was raunchy, wrong and dirty and it left me wanting more. Well thank you to Mr. McFarlane I along with millions of people get to watch Marky Mark and Ted's adventures once again and even though most comedy sequels never live up to the original I am holding out hope for this one and look to laugh my ass off well into the night.

After watching Ted and his hi jinks it will be time to get serious and gritty as the latest (and supposedly last) entry into the Batman Arkham series. The previous games have been great and I expect no less from this one and I know I will be playing this one through the summer as I know it will be time consuming since there is so much to explore and discover.

That concludes a very busy upcoming month and that is only with things that are planned not including what I assume will be added to all of this. I thoroughly enjoy the summer months as there are so many things to do and see and it looks like June will be no different.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin