Random Thoughts 6/13/14

• It's my mother's birthday tomorrow (the 14th).  Happy birthday, Mom!
• We're planning a family trip out west later this summer through Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, and back.  I think I have a decent itinerary but I've never been to Yellowstone or Mount Rushmore before.  Any suggestions?
• I'm helping at junior high Church camp this next week and leading Day Camp (1st-2nd grade) on Saturday, the 21st.
• Right now comic book movies based on Marvel characters (X-men, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, etc.) are popular, especially due to a decade-long string of movies which were all tied together by a single master-plan.  Marvel's primary competitor, DC comics, has classic franchises like Batman and Superman, but has failed to match the annual blockbusters that Marvel produces each year.  DC plans to change that.  DC's movie plans for the next few years has been released: 
• May 2016 - BATMAN V. SUPERMAN 
• July 2016 - SHAZAM
• Xmas 2016 - SANDMAN
• May 2017 - JUSTICE LEAGUE
• July 2017 - WONDER WOMAN
• XMAS 2017 - UNTITLED GREEN LANTERN/THE FLASH TEAM-UP
• MAY 2018 - MAN OF STEEL 2
•  Everybody enjoys Batman and Superman but I've never really been a DC guy until recently.  Christopher Nolan's Batman movies were great and I really liked the last Superman (Man of Steel) movie.  Now we've started watching "Arrow" on Netflix, based on DC's archer-character Green Arrow.  And that show has been popular enough to have a spin-off television show for the Flash later this year.

Random Thoughts 6/5/14

• Sorry for the lack of blogging.  I've been ridiculously busy; I think I had two full days off in the month of May.  Busy, busy.
• KU added another recruit a couple of weeks ago, and follow this closely now…  he's a 6-8 guard from the Ukraine named Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, who is only 16 years old (he'll turn 17 this summer before he gets to campus).  His name is pronounced Sviat-is-slov Meh-kai-luke, but everyone calls him "Svee."  He speaks English, can play all three positions on the perimeter and is probably the best recruit out of Europe this year.  Because of his age, he'll have to stay at KU at least two seasons before going pro.
• Our 18th wedding anniversary was last Sunday.  This year will be Shannon's and my "tipping point," our 19th year.  We were 19 when we were married and this year will match our years married to years unmarried.  We've been together since 16, so we passed the tipping point of years together a few years back.
• KU is now in possession of the original rules of basketball.  As such they are building an $18 million, 32,000 sq-ft temple student activity center to house the documents adjacent to Allen Field House.  You can see the architectural renderings here.
• So we traded five terrorist leaders for one possible deserter/turn-coat.  Apparently we DO negotiate with terrorists.  I feel like our President has just needlessly endangered the lives of all westerners traveling abroad.  How is that not common sense?!