Goodbye 2006 & Happy New Year!!!

I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year. I’m spending the day relaxing. Today is my holiday as I’m back to work tomorrow. I’m not expecting a big day, as it will be National Hangover Day and not a big demand for produce. I’m not sure if I am showing my age or my lameness but I doubt I even make it to midnight…

After a nail-biter finish and a superhuman performance by Tiki Barber, the New York Giants are a shoo-in for the #6 seed in the NFC playoffs. It’s funny how much closer you pay attention to a sport when your team is doing well and while the Giants aren’t really playing “well,” if they are in the playoffs then they are a legitimate shot for the Super Bowl.

So as the last day of 2006 is slipping by, I’m spending the time relaxing, watching a little football, reading part of a novel from my favorite author of all time (Road of the Patriarch by R.A. Salvatore), and working on my action figure display projects. I am currently working on a new display project for my Sinister Six figures. It should be really cool by the time I get done but the problem I have been running into is the money/time off equation. It seems like when I have money, I can’t get time off to go out and buy supplies and when I finally get around to having a day off, I no longer have the money to buy the supplies… Kind of a Catch-22 scenario.

I guess I need to open up a Photobucket account or something so you can see all these works of art around my desk.

If you need a cool movie trailer to get you hyped for the coming summer season, check out:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/fantasticfourriseofthesilversurfer/
Really frickin’ cool.

So for the last time in 2006, I wish everyone a Happy New Year. Surely you’ll buy your pint cup and surely I’ll buy mine. We’ll take a cup of kindness yet for once upon a time… May the best of your past be the worst of your future.

Good news from RMF Enterprises

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. The kids are a tad overloaded with toys, games, and DVDs that should keep them busy until rapture. And if my updates seem a tad slow it is probably because I am rotting on the Wii playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance.

I've finished my second comic book mini-series and I've submitted the first draft to my boss. Once completed, it will bring the number of my total issues published to 13. I am hoping to have more projects on the horizon. I'll keep everyone updated.

Today marks what would have been my Mom and Dad's 36th wedding anniversary. Tomorrow is the one year observance of her death from cancer. So needless to say, it is a strange time where a lot of good things are happening in my life but it is in the shadow of great personal loss.

More soon.

Merry Christmas from RMF Enterprises

Happy holidays to all the surfers of the RMF Blog.

I just made it home from work and I’m starting my decompression routine. Amy is cooking in the kitchen and I’m relaxing doing a little Internet surfing. I’m listening to my shuffled playlist of Christmas favorites. I am looking forward to a few days off and some good quality time spent with the family.

The kids are just itching with excitement and can wait. (To be honest I’m pretty excited about their Wii games!) I hope everyone has all their shopping done because by the time you read this your time is running out!

I hope that everyone has a fun and safe holiday. I’m off to wrap a few more presents and then I’m going to relax. Merry Christmas!

Happy (Late) Birthday to Me

Sunday at 10:10 pm EST I celebrated my birthday. Yes, I am now officially 32 years young. I spent the majority of the day relaxing and working on my various displays around the house. I’ll put some pics up soon. For all the readers of this blog, it's never to late to send a gift in the mail!
As a great birthday gift, the New York Football Giants got back in the playoff race by defeating the Carolina Panthers and the bid for the top spot in the NFC East is back up for grabs with the hated Dallas Cowboys losing to the New Orleans Saints. So next week, the Giants play Philly and the Cowboys play the Falcons. If the Giants win and the Cowboys lose, the Giants have the better division record so the tie would go to the Giants. Lot of “what ifs” there but who knows what could happen.

So a few movie reviews:
World Trade Center: I thought I would be really moved by this movie but I came away without a single tear. It was hard to put my finger on what I didn’t like about it but wasn’t blown away.
Talladega Nights: All the funniest parts are in the previews.
Barnyard: The kids loved it. Perfect casting.
Miami Vice: Horrible. Hated it. No story. Bad cinematography. Could understand anything the female lead said.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest: Great movie. Even better the second time around. I can’t wait for the third one.

Some Funny Testimony

A friend of mine sent this to me in an email and I figured I would post it here. Hey, it made me laugh. (Warning: May not be suitable for all audiences.)

FIRST TESTIMONY: I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly, "How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?" I turned around and walked back out and never went back. My husband didn't say a word... he knew better.

SECOND TESTIMONY: I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said, "I think I like playing with men's balls."

THIRD TESTIMONY: My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts. As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, "No, I'm just looking at your nuts.." My sister started to laugh hysterically. The boy grinned... and I turned beet-red and walked away. To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

FOURTH TESTIMONY: While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving "right now" she would be punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, "If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!" The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.

FIFTH TESTIMONY: Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while, so I asked him if he needed to go, and he said "No". I kept thinking, "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me." Then I said, "Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?" "No," he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. Soooooo, I asked one more time, "Danny, did you have an accident?" This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over and spread his cheeks and yelled, "SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!" While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better by thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!

LAST TESTIMONY: This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don't get any.... a true story. We had a female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: "So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?" Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!

Digging Out... Finally.

So, talk about your miserable weekends. We are still hip deep in snow and trying to dig out of the sludge and slush. Thankfully the roads are passable again. I love snow but I’m ready for it to get out of here.

The Giants dropped a heartbreaker to the dreaded Cowboys. It was a close game and the Giants looked good in spite of the loss. Change one or two plays and the scores probably reverse. But it is hard to win when your opponents have sold their souls to the Dark Lord for victories. If I have to hear one more person brag and jump on the Romo bandwagon, I might shoot myself. No correct that. I’ll shoot them. The Chiefs dropped a huge lead to lose to the Browns, so both Amy and I suffered some big let downs in the pro ranks this weekend. The Giants haven’t won a game in a month but my birthday is this coming Sunday. Any chance they beat the Carolina Panthers as a present for me? We’ll see.

There were a few bright spots. The Oklahoma Sooners won the Big 12 Championship and earned a berth to the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. All the Sooner fans are happy and it is great for the entire state.
My wife found me some of the Marvel Legends figures that I needed at Wal-Mart. (My Iron Man Armory collection is frickin’ bitchin!) And my MODOK Marvel Legends figures are getting ready to ship from the Toys R’ Us website. So that is the good news.

The kids enjoyed a few days off from school and had fun playing in the snow and rotting on the Nintendo Wii. I think it is nice that they got a few days to just relax but Amy was climbing the walls. I had to go into work for a few of the bad days so I didn’t really experience any cabin fever. But with me, I can spend two days at home standing on my head. If Amy sits around for longer than 12 hours she starts getting itchy.

And since my personal editor is a school teacher. He was off for the past two weekdays and has today out, so I am an email away from being finished with the first (and hopefully only) draft of my second comic book mini-series. From there I will have to wait and see what job opportunity presents itself.

Well back to the grindstone. I’d say, “Looks like someone has a case of the Mondays.” But I don’t want to get my ass kicked. Mmmm. Yeah. Hey, Peter. What’s happening?

More soon.

SNOW DAY!

Yes, it’s official. Northeastern Oklahoma experienced its first snow day of the season as a sheet of ice came in and blanketed the area overnight. It was not tremendously bad. (I am writing this at work so I was able to make it in.) In a way, I feel sorry for Amy. She is going to be trapped in the house all day with the kids.

So, for those finding this blog at random, I am working in the produce department at a local grocery store to put my wife through college. When you work in a grocery store, you are able to see trends. The most mystical of one is the Oklahoma Snow Rush. Now, when it snows in the O.K., it rarely lasts more than a few days on the ground. It’s not like everyone becomes members of the Donner party and they have to eat each other to survive. It’s not Montana or Utah for Pete’s sake.

Yet, people see that S-word in the forecast and people… lose… their… minds. They all scream at each other, “Quick Honey, get the kids loaded in the station wagon! It’s gonna snow!!!” And then they flood up here and buy a week’s worth of food. Many times it doesn’t even snow. But you put that threat in the forecast… But the kicker to it is, I’ll see these same people two days later, back in here, buying more food! I mean, what’s up with that?

We often joke that the owner of the chain pays off the local weather forecasters to say there is going to be snow to pump up sales.

Still, the roads are not too bad here. I threw three 50-pound bags of salt in the back of the Jeep, took it kind of easy on the drive up, and made it to work with no problem. I just hope the way home is uneventful as well. Okay, rant over. Go back to surfing for pictures of boobies and your illegal music downloads…

Even More of The Life of Ryan

For all the Ryanites out there, the proud members of the Foley Nation,
I bring you good news. I have finished my first draft of my second comic book mini-series. I’m pretty stoked about. I’m moving on to another project for a week and then I’ll come back after some down time to get that project completely under my belt.

I took time over the holiday weekend to go to the movies with my partner-in-crime Brandon. It seems like with our family’s babysitting situation, Brandon and I go to the movies more than me and Amy. So, we took a few hours to catch a screening of Déjà Vu. It is the new thriller starring Denzel Washington and directed by Tony Scott that came out on the 22nd.
It is pretty much a rule that Tony Scott does not make bad movies and every time he has Denzel in a starring role, the movie is dynamite. So, the previous films that they worked on together were Crimson Tide (submarine movie with Gene Hackman) and Man on Fire (kill ‘em all movie with Dakota Fanning). I said that Man on Fire was one of the best movies of the year when it came out and I’m pretty close to delivering similar praise for Déjà Vu.
It is an incredibly smart thriller with sci-fi physics but you completely buy into everything. It is right up there with the Terminator movies, the Back to the Futures and Frequency as far as really pushing the coolness envelope revolving around time travel.
I feel the movie is theater worthy. I judge movies based on how quickly I will buy it on DVD and I will be rushing out to buy it on DVD the first day it is available so Amy can watch it.

Speaking of which, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest comes out on December 5th. I’m already stalking video employees for that one and really, really interested in seeing the third film in the series (due out sometime in 2007).

I’m about three Christmas presents purchased away from being completely finished with my shopping for this year. Eat it, losers! Normally I would be finished by now but we had a few financial delays. I think the kids will all really enjoy their presents. It’s shaping up to be a great holiday.
More soon. Don’t worry, heroes. Even if I’m not updating daily, I’m still here plugging away.

The Life of Ryan

So, I know how I have been talking about how the updates have been scarce. That will probably change soon.
I was commissioned by Arcana Studios to write my second mini-series, which once completed will bring my publishing total to thirteen issues! I have been working like a madman to get the first draft of that series completed and I am almost finished. I think six comic book script issues in 20 days is pretty darn good considering that I am holding down a 40-hour-a-week job and had the Thanksgiving holiday in the middle. When you work at a grocery store, Thanksgiving is a pretty big holiday considering 90% of the holiday revolves around food…

Speaking of which, we all had a good Thanksgiving. We ate too much (who can’t say that?) and spent the holiday in good company. Amy got to partake in all the sales on Black Friday which made her very happy. And we took some time to put up the Christmas tree and decorate the house.

There is something inherently magical about Christmas lights. I know it is just glowing filament but standing in the darkened living room in the glow of the tree or in the front yard admiring the house, there is a real sense of calm and tranquility looking at the wonderful glow of the lights. And the kids have all gotten to the age where not only are they are really excited about hanging the lights and getting the house decorated but they can help and offer suggestions on how the place should be decorated. Of course, Alex is ten and kids in his class are starting to make comments about how Anta-Say Aus-Clay isn’t Eal-Ray. I’m planning on digging around on the ‘Net and seeing if I can find that “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause letter.”

Get Your Shop On

It seems like everyone has one day out of the year that they look forward to with giddy excitement. For some it is the Super Bowl, maybe the BCS Championship. Wrestlemania. 2-for-1 lap dances at the Jiggly Room. To each his own, whatever it is. For me it depends on what big movie is coming out that year.
But for my wife Amy, the biggest day of the year is the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. This day is Amy’s Super Bowl. She gears up for it, begins cardio-training, everything to get ready. About halfway through October, she begins to itch at the thought of it. On Thanksgiving, she gets the newspaper with all the sale circulars in them and plots her route. Then she is out of the house by five a.m.
It’s been her ritual for as far back as I can remember. My job is to stay at home and babysit the kids, which means I get to avoid all of the chaos—which is probably best because you couldn’t horsewhip me into a Wal-Mart on Black Friday. No way. Thank goodness I’m working in a grocery store so I can get the day off and take care of the kids. That day is the slowest day of the year because, let’s face it, if you need food the day after Thanksgiving, you are in a world of hurt.
I have friends (a pair of brothers) that typically go to the Black Friday sales. The older one goes just to screw with people. He’ll let his brother get like an aisle away, then come sprinting around the corner, rushing up to him out of breath, and make some sort of insane (and very audible) statement. “Hurry, they’ve got 27” TVs over in the electronics for 50 bucks! But they’ve only got like ten of them left!” And then he proceeds to sprint toward electronics. All of the sheep that were crowded around within earshot hear “TVs for 50 bucks” and there is an inevitable stampede towards the televisions.
If you are shopping in pairs that weekend, give it a shot. I think it would be worth the price of admission to see how many people get mad at the managers when they explain there are no TVs for $50.00!
Hopefully, Black Friday will be the last of our shopping. I’ve always been one of those people that have my shopping finished in October. I figure that the holidays are stressful enough. Best to alleviate the strain as much as possible. Good luck to everyone on the 24th. Get your shop on.

An Important Update

So some big announcements for the heroes and faithful of the Foley Nation.

1) I know that updates on the blog have been scarce and those that need the daily update are probably itching like crack addicts. Don’t worry. I’m still here. I have been given an assignment for my second comic book mini-series, so I have been hell bent for leather to get that assignment under by belt and shipped into my boss. So needless to say, that has been taking up a large portion of my time.

2) Over the weekend, the Foley Family became proud enlistees of the Wii Army. Amy stood in line for about three hours to purchase a Nintendo Wii. Our Wal-Mart got twenty systems and Amy was nineteenth in line.
We went ahead and gave the system to the kids and explained that this was a major part of their Christmas. Amy wanted to give the system to the kids before the massive advertising onslaught hit, so it would be a major surprise.
It worked out really nice because the boys had no clue that I had been saving overtime pay to finance this beast. It was a real surprise because we hadn’t talked about the system at all. We figured that if a bunch of kids got it at school and were talking about it, then the kids would come back and ask to buy one. But what if I hadn’t saved up the money for it or we couldn’t find one?
So it was a big preemptive strike that worked out great in the long run. No buyer’s remorse. Very cool. More updates on that later.

3) And yes, since we got the Wii for Christmas, we needed something to put the empty box under… so we put up the Christmas tree. And no, before you ask, November 19th is not the earliest we’ve waited to put up the tree…

More soon!

Amy's Big Test

There is the old saying that life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. And there are hundred clichés that go along with that. Stop and smell the roses. Life is the journey not the destination. And so on and so forth. We’ve all read the bumper stickers.

Several months ago, Amy made the decision to leave the legal field and enter the medical field. She is going today to take a general knowledge test to see if she qualifies for the Vo-Tech LPN program. The goal is to get through that program on the nine-month fast track, possibly take a job as an LPN while completing her schooling to become an RN, and then working as a RN making the fat money.

The goal is for her to start school in January and this entrance test is the first step on her journey. I don’t have any worries. I figure this is the test to make sure you are literate and can count past ten without having to take your shoes off. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there will be no problems. Hey, I’m updating pretty regularly on this blog so I’m sure I will keep everyone in the loop.

What a Weekend...

I’m glad to say that I am getting my routine down. Every day at work, I get two 15-minutes breaks and an hour for lunch. I’ve been using those breaks to work on these blog entries and I think the process is working pretty well. Rather than just sitting in the break room twiddling my thumbs, I’m actually getting stuff done. Just with the breaks, that’s around 2 ½ extra hours in the week to work on blog entries or my comic book scripts. Holy cow! Calculate in the lunch hours and it’s almost enough to qualify as a part-time job. So on to the adventures of Ryan…

It was another good week in the NFL, Jason’s party was fun, and I had a relaxing weekend. It’s always nice to power down on Sunday and just relax. We are still trying to get Lauren’s room situation under control but we aren’t in a big hurry. One step at a time I guess. I’ve told Amy that we can’t put the Christmas Tree up until Lauren’s room is finished. (Gives her a little extra motivation to get it done.) This probably means that we will be decorating for Christmas next weekend. I can’t remember a year where the Christmas Tree wasn’t up by Black Friday. I can’t see any reason why this year will be any different.

Man, money is tight this year though. I mean, I’m not a Scrooge or a Grinch. I love giving presents when I can but this year… Whew, money is really tight. We have all the immediate family draw names out of a hat and then we do a gift exchange to save money. I really wished I could have drawn “Ryan” and saved myself the $20. I know it is only $20 per gift but technically it is $40 because I had to draw for me and Amy… Single income means that I am buying two gifts. That’s like half a days work for me! I’d rather put that money towards my kids’ gifts since this year is going to be pretty shallow.

In the end, it is the thought that counts. Being able to open a present on Christmas morning is a really big deal for my family. So if it sounds like I’m complaining, I’m really not. I just really, really hate being poor.

I know Mom is looking down on me from Heaven right now and scowling. Mom refused to let me say I was “poor.” She would always tell me that I may be “low income” but I’m not “poor.” I have a wife that loves me. I have a great marriage. I have three wonderful kids who are extremely well behaved, well adjusted, and incredibly loving. I have my health. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs.

And when my biggest problem in life is figuring out how we are going to finance the Nintendo Wii, then things aren’t all that bad. I mean, as far as problems go, mine are pretty far down on the list.

Still, nabbing a powerball jackpot would alleviate about 90% of my stress. I had to put a new power steering unit in the Jeep and that wiped out the savings account. It just couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

Amy and I are working towards a goal. We knew this year was going to tough with Amy going back to school and me going back to work. But it is for a greater goal. We just have to keep our eyes on the prize and know that better days are right around the corner…

They are right around the corner, right? I’d keep typing but it is hard to type with your fingers crossed.
More soon.

Ahh... That New Movie Smell.

As part of Jason’s birthday presents, I got the family “the hook up” and got an advanced screening of Disney & Pixar’s Cars on DVD. Like all Disney movies, this is a really good film that had me laughing throughout the majority of the movies.
What took my breath away, being a big tech geek, is the animation. Pixar is at the top of their game. I watched the movie for the first time on DVD (Amy took the kids to see it in the theater) and I was glad that I could pause it just to look at all the bells and whistles.
If you go back and look at the tech jump from Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars to Gollum in The Lord of Rings, you have a similar jump from Toy Story to Cars in the technical aspect. The animation is simply unbelievable. And since you have shiny cars with reflective surfaces where you can actually see things in the reflections… Man, it is unbelievable. And given this massive techno-jump, it gives me great hope for Transformers in July 2007. I think the tech is going to give us one heck of an Optimus Prime.
But back to Cars, the animation is incredible and as usual, the film tops out with A-List talent. Owen Wilson stars as Lightning McQueen. Also in the cast is Paul Newman (who deserves some form of voice Oscar), Bonnie Hunt, Michael Keaton, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, George Carlin, Bob Costas, a host of NASCAR voices, and John Ratzenberger (who has been in every Pixar film).
One of the big breakout voices of the film has to belong to Larry the Cable Guy who voices Mater. I think that Larry’s “get-r-done” voice was perfect for Mater and I can’t think of anyone else in Hollywood doing a better job. Plus, I think Larry’s in his fourteenth minute of his fifteen minutes of fame so it’s good that he’ll have royalty checks to fall back on.

I’m sure I will go out and buy this one pretty soon. It is a definite rental. You will get every penny out of it. The kids loved it, Amy and I enjoyed it. I hope everyone else enjoys it as well!

Happy Birthday Jason!

I’m very happy and proud to announce that Jason Todd Foley turns eight years old today, November 3, 2006. His party is tomorrow but we are celebrating tonight with pizza and a special “advanced” viewing of Cars on DVD. Amy already took the kids to see in the theater and I’m anticipating a similar reaction that we had with Over the Hedge.
I worked until 5:00 and daylight wise that puts me home at just the right time for a good lightsaber fight out in the yard with the kids. With Jason still excited with his Jedi cloak (complete with hood), the battles have been fairly intense. We had a battle last night and I have to switch up this time to the double bladed Darth Maul saber to try to fend off both of their attacks.
Even three-year-old Lauren gets into the act but I’m having trouble teaching her to hold her lightsaber only by the handle. I mean seriously, if she ever gets a hold of a real lightsaber, she’s going to cut her hands off! It’s my job to teach her the important things a father is supposed to teach his kids!
Yes, it’s good to be immature sometimes. You never really know which memories are going to stick with your kids growing up but I hope that lightsaber fighting with Dad in the side and front yards will be positive ones thirty years from now…

Trick or Treating

So at Halloween a good time was had by all. We had a Darth Vader, an Anakin Skywalker, and a Care Bear out collecting candy. They now probably are having sugar rushes that could get them to the moon and back.
Probably the best moment of the night was when little Lauren (Age 3) ran into another little girl dressed in a similar Care Bear costume (same style, different bear). The two Care Bears looked each other up and down and then the second Care Bear proceeded to give Lauren a hug.
Even though I am a guy, I still found it to be a pretty tender moment. And when regaling the women at work with the story, I get the involuntary cocking of the head to the side and the long, drawn out, “Awwwww…”
Still, living in the country and in a small town takes away from the larger city element of Halloween. Growing up in the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 80s, we use to trick or treat in packs while Mom & Dad stayed home to pass out candy. You never worried about getting snatched by psychopaths as you and ten other kids ran around the neighborhood in G.I. Joe and Transformer costumes.
Having Mom & Dad drive you around just isn’t really the same in my opinion. Oh well, I don’t have to worry about drugs, crime, or roving gangs on a daily basis so I guess it is a fair trade off.

Moving Day

So the thing that I have noticed is that you never really realize how much stuff you have… until you have to move it all. There’s a comment from Jerry Seinfeld talking about that when you are moving, your entire life becomes boxes. That what my life has been for the last week or so.

Yes, my little girl is growing up and outgrew her room, so we made the decision to change out her room and the comic book room. For those that have found this blog at random and are just getting addicted to my rants and ramblings, I have a comic book room. That is the level of my addiction. Hey, I’ve been collecting since I was fourteen years old. I’m thirty one now. So multiply that by about twenty dollars a week. That’s a lot of books!
Now that Lauren is getting older (she’s three), has a lot of stuffed animals and needs a closet for all her little girl clothes, it was time to make the shift. So it involved emptying out her room, painting over the girly purples with more manly colors, and shifting everything between the two rooms.
This leaves the living room as the middle ground where everything is stored as the contents are being shifted and the rooms are painted. And you just don’t realize how much stuff you have until you have to box it all up.
But I think it will be good in the long run. Lauren gets a lot more room, she gets a closet, and hopefully her toys will stay in her room keeping other sections of the house cleaner. I lose about half the space for my comics and action figures but the comic room was also used for some storage, hiding Christmas presents, and was often a temporary storage area for miscellanea. With the comic room being smaller, I should have room for comics… and only comics. This should mean that the area will always be kept neat and organized. At least in theory. Hey one room out of ten isn’t bad.
But with Jason’s birthday party on Saturday (meaning all sorts of people over to the house), Amy and I are scrambling to get the house picked back up before this weekend. Tough to do working a closing schedule everyday until the weekend, Amy having night classes twice this week, and Halloween this week. There’s an expression… something about not enough hours in the day?

Oh well, if I wasn’t goin’ 90-to-nothing, I probably would be bored out of my mind.

What’s This Year’s Worst Halloween Candy?

What’s This Year’s Worst Halloween Candy?
(according to ToyFare Magazine):

• Mary Janes
• Mike N’ Ike N’ Ike’s “Friend” Pierre
• Sudz—the Best Soap and Pressboard Candy from Peru
• Circus Peanuts
• Those candy dots on paper sheets that are probably laced with poison
• Factory Second Snickers
• Nerd-flavored Nerds
• Chocolate-covered Pennies

Quote of the Week

All around is anger, Automatic guns.

It’s death in large numbers.

No respect for women or our little ones.

I tried talking to Jesus, but He just put me on hold.

Said He’d been swamped by calls this week

and He couldn’t shake His cold.

And still this emptiness persists.

Perhaps this is as good as it gets.

When you’ve given up the drink and those nasty cigarettes.

Now I leave the party early at least with no regrets.

I watch the sun as it comes up I watch it as it sets.

Yeah this is as good as it gets.

Colin Hay, Beautiful World

Monster Giants & Giant Monsters

It’s gonna be good day, tater. First, on Monday, the New York Football Giants kicked the crap out of the Cowboys in Dallas. (Sorry Mom.) Michael Strahan tied Lawrence Taylor’s sack record for most sacks by a Giant, Tiki Barber gained 2,000 rushes in his career, and Eli Manning continues to improve. It was a good game. Plus with the win and Philly’s loss, the Giants are back on top of the NFC East.
I have a friendly rivalry with my boss at work since he is a Cowboys fan. It is nothing malicious but we both love to tease each other about it and that makes it really fun days after big games.

I got to see a sneak preview of Monster House on DVD. I really liked the movie and if I would have been 12 years old, I would have loved it.
When I was growing up, I loved the Richard Donner film The Goonies. It was smart enough for kids but nothing overly mature and you wanted to desperately find a hidden treasure map in your attic or garage.
Monster House sticks along the same lines. It is CGI animated but there are no musical numbers, no talking animals, and no kiddie stuff. It is smart and not filled with saccharine so it keeps the attention of the adults but it is not too scary or mature for little kids. Especially with Halloween right around the corner, this is a great time of the year to watch a movie like this. It’s about time to break out some scary movies this weekend for a fright marathon anyway. Add this one to your list.

Not Enough Hours In The Day...

Man, food poisoning—even a minor case—is a real pain in the gut. Pun intended. Whew, man, I’m trying to recover from a small case of the gut ache. Flat out, I just hate being sick. I mean, I’m sure no one out there actually enjoys being sick but I just hate it. And it is not like I’m carrying around a bunch of symptoms, just that sharp stabbing pain in the top of your stomach. I’m just hoping my metabolism kicks into overdrive and gets this flushed out of my system.
So other than that, things are advancing for me. For those new to the blog or don’t know me that well, or are maybe just finding this blog at random, I am attempting to establish my career as a professional comic book writer. I’ve had moderate success in the past but I’ve turned a major corner in that I had my first issue published, two comics about to be published, and my first contracted mini-series in the hands of the art team.
Without going into specific details (because I’m not sure if I can), I’ve been contracted to write another mini-series for a well established comic book outfit. This time around, it is a six issue mini-series, bringing my future total of published books to eleven. Not too shabby but it’s still not enough to draw the attention of an outfit like Marvel Comics.
But through the same company, I am presenting more series concepts and I’m hoping to land this major project that I have been working on for the better part of the year. And I’m hoping that if things go well, I might be able to submit a few 100% original story ideas—something I don’t have to pay a licensing fee for or a project that is totally my own. I have a few ideas that I might start kicking around. Time will tell. I just want to prove to the industry that I can put out a quality product, month in and month out, under a deadline. Comic professionals tell me that if I can prove that I can do that, the big companies will start calling.

It seems that I have been lucky in my life that when bad things happen, I have the resources to fend off such enemies. I get a little ahead in a paycheck, so I have the money to fix my car when it breaks down. Things like that. Well now, I’m fighting like hell to keep my head above water.
For the last five years or so, I’ve been a full time father. (Best job in the world with the worst possible pay.) So, I took care of the kids, maintained the house, cooked the meals, did the laundry, etc. After doing that job for a year or so, I had my system down. Everything was a science. And by being a well-oiled machine, it allowed me to write for several hours every day and really make headway with my burgeoning comic career.
Well now, things have changed a bit. (If you’ve been reading the blog) You know that I am now back to working an average of about 35 hours a week and supporting the family as the only source of income while Amy is in school. Because of her heavy class load and homework, I’m helping pick up the slack around the house.
So let’s see, 35 hours a week, house work, trying to still write on a part time basis… care the one, denominator… Yeah, it doesn’t leave a whole lot of hours in the week. Talk about burning the candle at both ends. (I’m writing this blog on my work break to save time.)
Still, I don’t want you to think I’m complaining. I could not be working at all (no money), I could not have a house to keep maintained (homeless), and I could not be writing anything at all (no joy). When that happens, then I’ll really have something to complain about.

Until then, I’m headed back to put my nose to the grindstone…

Ah Sunday. A Time for Movies & Football...

It’s been a pretty good weekend. I only had to work a half day on Saturday and had Sunday off. The Giants won (and the ‘Skins & the Eagles lost which helps us in the division). The Cowboys won but every silver lining has to have a cloud.

Went to go see The Marine starring John Cena. He’s my favorite wrestler in the WWE with The Rock retired. Not a bad first movie. Humor was kind of corny in parts and they should have focused on Cena more. It was one of those films that will do okay but then disappear. There were just little things that if they had tweaked it here and there and made a few changes, it would break $100 million because of the word of mouth. Maybe I’m cynical because I watch so many movies. You hear me WWE? Hire me as a consultant and I’ll boost your revenue a guaranteed 10%!
Still, it was a good first outing for a man that is starring in a film genre that is really deficient when it comes to action stars right now. No one has really stepped up to replace the Schwarzeneggers or the Stallones or even, dare I say, the Van Dammes. With WWE starting their own film company, there is a chance that we could see some real action stars come to light.

Saw The Break-Up with Vince Vaughn & Jennifer Aniston. For “one of the best American comedies in years,” it wasn’t very funny. Vaughn was really good but he always is. Saw Adam Sandler’s Click. It’s a modern version of A Christmas Carol. Not your typical Sandler film but still pretty good.

Finished a pretty big craft project this weekend but I am not quite ready to post pictures about it. Expect more on that next time. Stay tuned. Same bat-time. Same bat-channel.

Happy Birthday Alex & Friday the 13th!

Stephen Colbert on Living at Home After College: “Your parents paid for college, the least you can do is reward them with a few more years of your college-educated presence. Show them how enlightened you are by rejecting society’s demands that you ‘get your own place.’ Plus free food and plenty of time to play HALO.”

Oooh… Friday the 13th! Spooky.
I took some time out this morning and smashed seven mirrors while walking under ladders and crossing the path of a bunch o’ black cats. Nothing!
If you believe Dan Brown, Friday the 13th was the date when the Catholic Church enacted their plan and eliminated the Templar Knights. The executions were so quick and so bloody that the day was held in infamy and is the reason for the “superstitious day” even to this day. I wonder if that is true.
I also need to take some time out to wish my oldest son a happy birthday here on the Internet. It is sometimes hard for me to believe but Alex is 10 years old! Ten! He turned 10 back on 10-10-06. The birthdays that end in a zero always seem to be the big deals. And we like to celebrate the fact that his sister, his mom, myself, his grandmother (my mom), and his grandfather (Amy’s dad) all share a “10” somewhere in their birthdays.
And I know, you are saying, “Gee, Ryan, didn’t you wish Lauren a happy birthday on the 2nd?” Yes, I did. And I’ll be on here on November 3rd to wish happy eighth birthday to Jason. So I don’t know what the deal is with February. It’s cold. The days are shorter. You want to snuggle together for warmth. Technically it is a month for romance what with Valentine’s Day and all. One thing leads to another… So for what ever reason, there must be something in either the water or the air. But I digress…

I wish I could say that there has been a wealth of information coming forth from Ryanland but I am afraid that is not the case. I’ve been working quite a bit (I’m actually writing this on my lunch break). Now if I could write this while I was on the clock… Hey, that would be pretty cool. Still, I’m just plodding along. I think there is a quote about Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. That’s kind of how I feel lately. I feel like I’m just treading water right now when I should be doing things to make the world my oyster. I’m hoping to announce more comic book news pretty soon but I don’t want to talk about it prematurely. Maybe that will put me in a better mood.

Got to see my Dad last Monday (the ninth) which is really cool considering I only get to see him once every three months or so. It is one of those things that when you are a kid, you can’t wait to get out of the house, Then, as you get older, you start to separate from your parents and begin living your own life. And sometimes you get so wrapped up in your own life that weeks pass when you don’t go out and see Mom & Dad even though they only live about ten minutes away… But now I am experiencing a thing where my dad lives about five-and-a-half hours away so I can’t see him every time I want.
So you have something that is ten minutes away and you don’t go out to see it because you know, “Hey, it’s just 10 minutes away.” And then it moves five hours away and you realized that you should have spent more time out there. I really hate to sound cliché but it is one of those “don’t know what you’ve got” type situations.

Well, back to the grind.

The Red River Shootout

Stephen Colbert on Women & Sporting Events: “Women don’t belong at sporting events. When a man’s team wins a game, he gets a rush of testosterone, and when it loses he feels like the world has ended. That’s why we have to get drunk, run out onto the field and get dragged away by security. Ladies, you’ll never understand.”

Well, the University of Oklahoma was beaten by Texas. The Red River Shootout is always a big deal here in Oklahoma. (I’ve never seen more OU clothes worn by people in a single day at the store.) It’s always a shame when the Sooners lose to the Longhorns because that is the week where everyone is an OU fan.
I think it is strange that Bedlam (OU vs. OSU) divides the state. Then OU plays Texas and everyone becomes OU fans. Then the conference championships happen and you say, “At least it was someone from the Big 12.” And then the Olympics happen and you root for the guy from USA even though you jeered him when he performed well wearing that hideous orange-brown Texas color. Strange how clothes can change your opinion of someone...
If people really wanted to obtain racial harmony, what we need to do is have an interstellar Olympics where our athletes compete against the athletes of Omicron Persei 8. Then everyone would be cheering, “Go Earth!” and rooting for the same team.
That’s it, people! I’ve discovered the path to racial harmony. Now all the governments have to do is build the lightspeed spacecraft, discover alien life forms, and work out the contest rules and hire the caterers for the Interstellar Olympics and we will discover world peace!! And I’m not even going to charge you for this idea. Free ride. Get to work, Government.

Well, it’s October. That means the Foley household is all decorated up in glowing foam Jack O’ Lanterns, spooky skeletons, and those flickering nightlights that are supposed to look like candles. I love Halloween and all the decorations. Behind Christmas, it is my favorite. I love to see the carved faces of the Jack O’ Lanterns in the windows in the evening. I wish they made solid versions of those foam pumpkins so you could carve out your own designs.
And Amy and I always hit the Wal-Mart on November 1st when everything is marked down. We load up on the cheap, store the decorations away, and break them out for next year. (We do the same thing with Christmas stuff too.)
But now that it is October, the days are getting shorter. The Air Conditioning is turned off. Football is on Sundays. It’s cold in the morning but comfortable in the afternoon. Man, it’s getting into my favorite time of the year.

I'm now going to enjoy two days off in a row. Maybe that means I'll post some more blogs. Have a great day, everyone.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Wow. Seems hard to believe that three years ago today I awoke from a short night of little sleep to spend my first full day of having my little girl in the world. My daughter Lauren Denise had her third birthday yesterday. Seems like just yesterday that she was born. I know everyone says, “They grow up so fast.” I’ll admit it. I’ll put it out there. I’m glad Lauren is growing up fast. Now that we are out of the formula stage and the diaper stage, this is the one of the best times to be a parent.

Lauren is really becoming her own person. She is independent (but still needs your help) and if something is wrong, she can tell me what she needs. She goes potty all by herself (big plus!), eats normal food, and after she can control the spills and graduate from her sippy-cup, she officially shifts from being a baby to a kid.

Yep, seems like Lauren was born yesterday and a lifetime ago… and I couldn’t be happier!

Psycho Facts

The Los Angeles Times states 63% of American families are now considered dysfunctional. That means we’re the majority. We’re normal. It's the people that had the mom, dad, brother, sister, little white picket fence… Those people are the *freaks*!
Christopher Titus, Titus (2000)

So my wife came home from her Psychology college class last evening and presented a pretty startling fact. The most common type of dysfunctional family in the United States consists of three factors:
1) The parents are alcoholics
2) The father favors the daughter
3) The mother favors the son
The typical reaction to this type of family creates the following:
4) The daughter becomes extremely religious, some to the point of joining a cult to be accepted in something.
5) The son develops a strong sense of morals.

Okay, so looking back on my life…

Number 1. Alcoholic is a tad strong term. My mom was a drinker and had a tolerance that rivaled an Irish dockworker. The fact that a 5’2” woman weighing 102 pounds could out drink burly high school boys made her a legend with my graduating class. My dad is not exactly a slouch in the drinking department either.
2. Uh, yep.
3. I think that is a pretty accurate description.
4. Hmm. That statistic is pretty interesting.
5. I don’t know if there is a psychological term for what I have but I often state that I have a “Lancelot Complex.” It is a inherent desire to always do the right thing and if I don’t do the right thing, it eats away at my conscience. There is that little voice in my head that I can’t shake. And I have this problem where I have to have people like me. I can’t stand the thought of people not liking me.
So, let’s do the math here. Carry the one… Denominator…
Wow. Five for five!
When Amy told me about the situation, she was just amazed. It was like the teacher was describing my life to a tee. And when she told me, I was ticking the facts off on my fingers, going, “yep, yep, yep.”
I always like to think that was kind of an “outside the box” type guy. An enigma wrapped in a riddle. Turns out I’m in the majority of the majority… Well, at least amongst the crazies.
Weird stuff…

The Los Angeles Times states 63% of American families are now considered dysfunctional. Good. ‘Cause that means when Armageddon happens, 37% of this population is going to lose their mind. “Oh my God, the world is over!” Us 63%? We’re gonna go, “Hey, there’s nobody watching the Lexus dealership…”
Christopher Titus, Titus (2000)

Ridin’ Along with Mr. Murphy

Stephen Colbert on a Study That Said Housewives Should Get Salaries: “This devalues husbands. I’m not asking that we get paid for all the things we do: mechanic, exterminator, trash toter, couch softener, and remote master. And, hey, what about our stud fee? You cannot put a price on quality DNA.”

So, things seemed to be humming along pretty good. I was getting a load of hours at work (too much for my sanity but not enough for my wallet) and we are about to get into that critical time where we have four birthdays in the space of four weeks. This is usually at this time that I take a second job and regular trips to the blood & sperm bank to pay for all the presents. We had all the money we needed saved back for Christmas and I was actually close to being one paycheck ahead. Things were looking good.

Mur·phy's Law n. Any of certain humorous axioms stating that anything that can possibly go wrong, will go wrong.

Yep. Had to put the Jeep in the shop. New water pump. New battery. Suddenly I’m out 400 clams. Savings wiped out. Why does this happen? WHY? You get a little bit ahead and the Grim Reaper shows up slashing his scythe, laughing at you.
In theory, it could have been a lot worse. It could have been $800 or I could not have had the money at all. See that quote up above about not being able to put a price on quality DNA? Well, I hope that applies. I’ve got a little mess on my hands so I’m off to the “bank” to make a little donation in hopes that it will pay for my car. Wow. That came out all wrong.
Screw the pride, I need money.
And if you think the human body only holds about 8 pints of blood, remember the words of the immortal sage Al Bundy after giving his ninth pint of blood. “Well, the brain hides some.” [Takes another drink of beer.] “Don’t need blood. Just gotta keep the brain wet.”
So I’m off for a rub and tug and a date with a needle. I just hope I don't get the two mixed up. Wish me luck.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week:

"Everyone should be royal after his own fashion. Let all your actions, even though they are not those of a king, be, in their own sphere, worthy of one. Be sublime in your deeds, lofty in your thoughts; and in all your doings show that you deserve to be a king even though you are not one in reality." Baltasar Gracian, 1601—1658

The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated: In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown. So remember, be royal in your own fashion. Act like a king to be treated like one.

TV on DVD and Random Ramblings

Has anyone noticed that 2006 is just flying by?
Amy (my wife) and I went to Wal-Mart today for some shopping and they already had 2007 calendars out. What the frig is that? And they have Christmas stuff out on the aisles next to the Halloween stuff. Where has this year gone?
But hey, the closer we get to January, the sooner Amy starts her nursing program and the sooner I can go back to writing full time and running the household.

So, as this is the official Ryan Foley Blog and I received no endorsements or any sort of payment for my work here, you know you are getting only honest opinions.
With that said, I just picked up Arrested Development Season 3 and My Name Is Earl Season 1 on DVD. Both these shows are modern day classics. Unlike most sitcoms, there is no filming in front of live audience so there is no laugh track. And the writing for both of these series is so spot on, it is sheer brilliance. I would recommend these to anyone. My father-in-law was over for dinner one night and despite company, I was like, “I gotta watch Earl.” He laughed just as much as I did.
Also, Comedy Central has started syndicating Scrubs. I didn’t watch this series normally but I’m going to have to freakin’ start. It is really funny, sometimes zany, and other times touching. They use a lot of crazy sound effects in the series. Does anyone remember Parker Lewis Can’t Lose? It reminds me of that. I might have to keep an eye out for those on DVD too.
Got a sneak peak at The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift. It was pretty pointless. I liked the first one, never saw the sequel, but this was just too… I don’t know. A lot of 14-year-olds might think it was cool but I didn’t like it.

So, man, I’m in the middle of a marathon work session. I’m in the middle of 15 or 16 days straight without a day off. Hey some of my shifts are only six hours but still. You have to get the shirt and tie on, drive to work, so it is still a day at work. I’ve got some craft projects I’m working on (pics soon) but, dang, I want a day off! I’m getting pretty sick of my coworkers. I love the guys but I’ve seen them more in the last week than my wife and kids. And out of those last two sentences, only one of them lets me rub on their chest. So you can imagine who I would rather spend time with!
I just keep telling myself that I am working for my paycheck. Yeah, remember, I started this entry talking about Christmas? It’s not that far off, folks.

Don’t worry my loyal subjects, more info from this wacky world of Ryanland soon…

LUCKY # SLEVIN

So, I am a big movie watcher and a rent a lot of movies but it seems like I went through a dry spell there where I watched a lot of DVDs but there hasn’t been a lot to “write home to Mom about.” Nothing had really blown up my skirt and really impressed me. That void has been filled.
I got to check out LUCKY # SLEVIN on DVD.

Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, & Bruce Willis. In the movie, the lead character has the worst luck on the planet and he is the victim of mistaken identity when two warring mob factions recruit him for a job. They are looking for Nick Fisher but he is Slevin… It’s a whole big case of mistaken identity that has incredible results… This is one of the most imaginative and best films I have seen in a long time. It is a lot like Pulp Fiction but with more humor and dialogue that reminded me of Ocean’s 11. When you're watching it, just pay attention...

I would recommend everyone to go out and rent this movie. Heck, if you have the cash, buy it outright. I mean it is a humdinger but I don’t want to say anymore for fear of ruining it. Just know that I absolutely loved this movie. This is the first time in a long time that I have jumped on the Internet to tell my “peeps” to see a movie… and it is a refreshing feeling. Check this one out. You won’t regret it. Guaran-damn-teed.

Work, work, work, work, work…

Here I am starting a new blog, thinking that I’m going to update this bad boy every couple of days, and I end up getting caught at work, manning shift that have not given me a day off in… Well, I can’t remember. Trust me, if it’s been so long that you cannot accurately recall when your last day off was… It has been way too long. But I keep thinking of that paycheck and how many bills I’m going to pay off and everything seems a little bit better. And, hey, I need the money.

Unfortunately, all this work at my paying job has hindered my writing quite a bit, which makes me kind of grumpy but sometimes you need to step away from a project to really recharge your batteries, get back into it, make the changes necessary and really move forward. Taking a step back is not really the right word. It is like halting your progress so you can have a burst of sprinting speed when you are ready to run again.

But, in spite of all this, things are getting better. It is in to that time of the year where you don’t have to run the air conditioner for every waking minute of the day, things are cooling off at night and Sunday is meant for lounging on the couch watching football doubleheaders that keep you rooted into your sofa cushions. I missed the first half of the Giants/Eagles game being a work but I made it home in time for the middle of the third quarter, the fourth quarter, & overtime. All I can say is, “Gosh dang!” Being down 17 points at the start of the 4th Quarter and coming back to win? Yeah, I think I deserve to brag a little bit. If the Giants could play every quarter like they did the 4th quarter against the Eagles, then I know they could win the Super Bowl… Everyone around me is going to moping about the Oklahoma Sooners’ loss to Oregon but, hey, after the Giants’ miracle performance, it is a darn good day. (If only the Cowboys could have lost…)

Last week I finished PROMISE OF THE WITCH KING by R.A. Salvatore. Salvatore is my favorite author of all time and his Forgotten Realms series are the best I have ever read. This was a worthy read because it continues to explore the character of Jarlaxle is my second favorite drow character of all time behind Drizzt Do’Urden. I’m really looking forward to Road of the Patriarch that comes out in October 2006 and since I was so late in reading Promise, I don’t have to wait that long to jump into the sequel. Always a good thing.

So, if I ever get a day off, I’ll post more musings but for now, I have to get ready for another shift. I just keep thinking of the overtime pay and how I planning on using it to fund my Marvel Legends addiction…
More soon!

Ryan

Thinking About My Mother...

For those that have been out of touch for a while or those tuning in for the first time, my wonderful mother, Diane Foley, passed away after a brief but valiant struggle with cancer back in December of 2005. She was 56 years old. She was diagnosed in mid-November and died in late December. Try to wrap your head around that time frame.

She came up to see my wife, the kids, and me in mid-October. She had a noticeable limp that she was trying to have alleviated through the chiropractor. And then just like that—whoosh—she was gone.

I was thirty-one years old at the time of this event. I mean, as a realist, I knew that I would have to come to this event at some point in my life but I never thought it would be this early.
Part of me always thought that I would have to make the hard decision of taking away her license to keep her from driving, watching her hair turn silver, and be able to put my arm around her as we watched my children walk across the stage in their caps and gowns to graduate from high school.

Man, how plans change. I believe the quote is “The best laid plans are laid low by mice and men.” Or maybe, “Man plans, God laughs.”

Either way, I’ve tried to take a very Jedi approach to Mom’s passing and it is times like this where you just have to give yourself over to the divine plan. Everything happens for a reason. I have to believe that. I mean not everything. I seriously doubt that every paper cut and parking ticket is in the plan… but shaping events like this has to happen for a reason.

If I were looking for a silver lining in this cloud, it would be the fact that Mom went out swinging, she went fairly quickly (as opposed to other cancer afflictions), and she never had to suffer certain indignities brought on by old age (senility, bathroom issues, etc.). Like Dylan Thomas told us to do, Mom raged against the dying of the light to the best of her abilities… but in the end, it just wasn’t enough.

For whatever His reasoning, God called her home.

Months have passed since Mom passed away. The pain still lurks there just under the surface. It is amazing to me what will spark a memory of her. I often talk to her when things are quiet or when I have solitary moments. Commutes to and from work are often dedicated to our “conversation time.”

And the other day, I decided to watch O Brother, Where Art Thou? I admittedly enjoyed this film tremendously. It is not in my top ten of all time but I enjoyed it. And at the close and the credits, something caught my attention.

As George Clooney and Holly Hunter are walking and talking, they are dragging their kids behind them. (They’re all lashed together with bailing twine, how hick is that?) But the little kids are all singing a hymn. They cross the railroad tracks and you see the Blind Old Timer from the beginning of the movie. This “oracle” then picks up the hymn and sings it as well as he pushes on down the tracks and we fade to black.

Now, I’d seen this movie several times before Mom passed but something struck me odd so I rewound the disc and flicked on the subtitles to listen to the lyrics. Luckily as the credits roll, the background singers repeat the hymn in an official “song.”

So then I broke out the official soundtrack that I had primarily bought for “Man of Constant Sorrow.” And I had listened to the soundtrack several times… but having had Mom pass away, the last song on the CD struck me in a very emotional way. The song is called “Angel Band” and is performed by the Stanley Brothers. Part of the lyrics read as follows:

My latest sun is sinking fast. My race is nearly run
My strongest trials now are past. My triumph has begun
O Come, Angel Band, come & around me stand
O bear me away on your snow white wings to my immortal home
O bear me away on your snow white wings to my immortal home

I guess whenever you lose someone incredibly close to you—and you don’t get much closer than your mom—things change. You tend to look at life in a different light.

Mom is in Heaven. I believe it. I KNOW it. Deep in the bottom of my heart, I know it. And when I think about Mom, I know that a band of angels carried her home on snow-white wings. And while I still miss her every day, I am happy that she has gone on to an existence that is free of pain and the word “malignant cancer” is not even in the vocabulary. Hmmm… It’s funny how you can see things multiple times and then you have a life-altering event that causes you to see things in a whole new light. I guess life is just funny that way.

What I'm Listening To...

Several years ago I became hopelessly addicted to the original film scores for movies. I find that this music is designed to tap into primal human emotions and I love to listen to the lyric-free music when I write. As such, I’m much more interested in talking about the works of Hans Zimmer or Trevor Rabin as opposed to Trick Hop Wizard Trickie or whatever pop band is out there right now.

Unfortunately fans of music scores are definitely in the minority. It is an expensive habit because you can’t just stroll into any store and purchase them and you can’t find smaller films in the “Get 12 CDs for a Penny” clubs. Regardless, I’ve purchased a few scores lately. This is what I’m listening to.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest by Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer is my favorite composer of all time. Something about his music speaks to my soul. I think he is the best in history. He owns a studio called Media Ventures, which is home for several film scorers. Klaus Badelt is Zimmer’s protégé and scored the first POTC movie. Zimmer has done the sequel and I am hoping he will score the third film of the trilogy (due out in 2007.)
Keep in mind that the first movie’s score is one of my favorites of all time. As a follow up to COTBP, this is great music on a poor CD. I listen to all my music on my computer so I rip CDs to my hard drive so I can listen to them without tying up my disc drive. Some of the tracks were okay and for some reason they put these techno-remixed tracks at the end and listed them as “bonus tracks.” They were unlistenable. But the tracks that were good enough to keep in the play list are pure gold.
It’s good action music, Halloweenish villain music, and a good ol’ fashion adventure score, just like the movie. If you liked the movie, pick this one up.

Doom by Clint Mansell

Remember playing the old Doom game on PC? Clint Mansell didn’t stray too far from the original themes of the game but it is great to hear it in full orchestral score. Tracks like Sibling Rivalry, BFG, and First Person Shooter make the cut as the best tracks on the disc. Very, very cool.

What I'm Reading...

As you will quickly learn in these blogs, I am a tiny bit of a comic book fanatic. Okay, take that last sentence and replace “tiny bit” with “massive.”

I think comics often get a bum rap and are considered childish because people make snap decisions about them. They think that every line of dialogue still ends in an exclamation point or a question mark. That is not true. It might have been that way back in the ‘60s but no more.

I feel that comics have all the depth, intrigue, characterization, and storytelling flair of any media. And right now, for me, there is nothing bigger than Marvel Civil War. Civil War is a seven-part story that is echoing throughout the Marvel Universe. You can see its effects in New Avengers, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Thunderbolts, all sorts of books.

In the story, a film crew captured video of a young group of inexperienced heroes attempting to apprehend a powerful villain. When the fight turned ugly, half of Stamford, Connecticut was vaporized and Ground Zero was an elementary school. Now this is some pretty serious stuff, far and away bigger than your average bubble-gum pop story meant for kids.

Because of this event, the government passed into law the Superhero Registration Act. It required all super-powered individuals to register into a secure database, receive training with their powers, and… reveal their secret identities. Half of the Marvel Universe praised the idea. The other have gave the government the finger. Battle lines were drawn. And this is not just bad guys vs. good guys. This is good guys vs. good guys. Failure to register became a crime, so those that failed to register became criminals.
The Defenders of the Act: Iron Man, Spider-Man, Mr. Fantastic, Ms. Marvel.
Opponents of the Act: Wolverine, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman… and the leader of the opposition is none other than my man Captain America.

So it’s Iron Man vs. Captain America. Best friends for years and this division is just causing a downward spiral in the Marvel U. Big events have happened in the series including but not limited to Spider-Man unmasking in front of a live press conference and the return from the grave of Thor the Norse God of Thunder. (I'm hoping against hope that we will see the return of Hawkeye -- one of my all time favorites who died several yeas ago during Avengers: Disassembled.)

Translation: Man, it is a great time for comics.

This has been a fantastic read, I’d highly recommend picking it up or wait a few months for the Trade Paperback to become available.

Ryan Foley -- Comic Geek

Starting Over... Again...

Since this is only my second post, I feel a need to put in a few qualifiers here for people that are surfing in for the first time. I don’t want you to feel like you’ve shown up twenty minutes late to a movie…

I am happily married to my wife Amy and we have three great kids, Alex (9, 4th grade), Jason (7, 2nd grade), and Lauren (2, Headstart), who are all getting ready to have birthdays in October and November.
Back in 2000, Amy was working at a family job (which allowed her to take the kids with her to work) and I was running a video store for a small chain. Because of certain events, I decided that the company I was working for was not the company for me and Amy was in need of a change as well.
One of the view advantages of being poor is that you can literally start any new career and chances are you won’t miss out on a lot of money. So, Amy and I decided to take a big risk. Using her associates degree, Amy got a job working at the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office and I took the position as Full Time Father. (I hate the term Stay-At-Home Dad, makes it sound like I’m sitting on the couch all day eating Bon-Bons and watching soaps.)
Those first few months were pretty scary but Amy excelled at her job and was suddenly making more money by herself than we were making combined a year earlier despite a forty-five minute commute.
Things were good. But, after several years at this job, Amy was essentially making the same amount of money she was making when she started (with a few minor raises). Unfortunately, cost of living decided to shoot up substantially. Been to the gas pump lately? Yeah.
So, after a failed attempt to work at a place that was closer to home and apparently run by monkeys, Amy walked out of her job. Amy is one of the most amicable people I know so for this one cee-to-the-unt hair to get her riled up enough to walk out in the middle of the day… It had to be bad.
My hope is that a phoenix is about to rise from the ashes. Amy has set her sights on an RN program at the local college, fast-tracked through a Vo-tech school.
Unfortunately, this means that for the next two to two-and-a-half years, we are living off student loans. And I went back to work at the local grocery store that I worked at during high school and when I went to college… and I absolutely hate it.
Okay, hate is a pretty strong word so let me quantify that. The job is good. My boss is a great guy, my co-workers are cool, and I work in a fairly compartmentalized department where we take care of our own and stay out of all the political B.S.
Sadly, I only get about 32 hours a week (sometimes less!) and this is our primary source of income! If it were a secondary income, man, it would be spectacular. But we get paid on Monday and I am broke on Wednesday… I hate it. I am working on my own projects (I’ll post that soon) and Amy says that once she is hired as an RN, we will make almost three times what we were making before. I could just go back to running the house full time. Let the wife support me. Is that the life or what, fellas? But until we get to that point, man, this is a scary time. Imagine looking at your life and trying to start over for a second time.
Pretty scary stuff. Welcome to my life…

My First Blog Entry!

"Panic. I know most experts tell you not to, but it’s gonna happen one way or the other, so you might as well get it out of the way early while you still have the strength to really get hysterical."
Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, 2006

Greetings everyone and welcome to my first official blog! This is where I plan to do a bunch of self promotion, ranting, raving, reviewing, and pretty much all the rest of things that your average blogger does. So welcome everyone. I am hoping that friends can use this to stay informed on my day-to-day events that is Ryanland.

Sit back, happy viewing, and bear with me as I am new to all of this. I'm learning as I go. Feel free to send in comments and suggestions. I'd love to hear them.
I hope you enjoy the ride.

Ryan Foley
The Most Electrifying Man in Internet Entertainment