Transformers: REANIMATED

Transformers: REANIMATED cover art.

With a writing partner Greig, we wrote a Transformers G1 comic book script that takes place in the original 80s cartoon continuity. The actual elevator pitch for the project reads: Based on the original cartoon series, The Transformers: ReAnimated, bridges the gap between the end of the seminal second season and the 1986 Movie that defined the childhood of millions.

Following the advice of a friend and mentor within the comic book publishing industry, we submitted our script to IDW Publishing and were promptly rejected. Not wanting to see our hours of hard work and hundreds of personal dollars thrown away that we put into to presenting this script to IDW Publishing, we decided to release the script as fan fiction on the website: Transformers: Reanimated.

The response to issue 1 was beyond anything that Greig and I could have imagined. There clearly is a hunger for true Transformers G1 stories. For the time being Greig and I are going to feed that hunger by writing more scripts to be released monthly.

If you want to see what I have been busy with and enjoy some good Transformers G1 awesomeness, head on over to Transformers: Reanimated and let us know what you think!

YOSHICAST!

You may have noticed that my site here has changed a little bit. Some posts are no longer showing up. I haven’t been writing as much. Well, I have a good answer for you as to why that is happening.

You see… I made a move to the YOSHICAST.com. I moved a lot of my geeky posts over to the YOSHICAST.com. The new website is where I have been doing most of my posts. My site here will be saved for more personal posts. But I am spending most of my time over at the YOSHICAST creating videos and content or all to enjoy. Please go check it out!

Skiing For The First Time

Did you know at 33 years old, I have never once been skiing? For the last eight plus years I have lived less than fifteen minutes away from a ski area and still have never been. All of that changed recently for me.

My Nephew came up here to Juneau, and has been visiting me for the last few days. One of the things he really wanted to do while he is up here was go Skiing and he wanted me to go with him. My younger brother, who also lives in Juneau, was too on my case about going skiing during our nephew’s visit. They both told me I would have a lot of fun and that I just needed to give it a shot. Needless to day, I had my doubts.

Youseph-Tyler

A couple of days after my nephew arrived we headed out early to the Eaglecrest Ski Area where we met up with my brother who works there. The three of us got fitted for boots and skis and headed over to the beginner’s slope. As we were making our way up the snow covered hillside to the beginner’s ski lift my brother gave me some quick lessons. How to put the Skis on , how to “pizza” your skis so you can slow down and how to kick your heals how so you can turn. Once he felt like I got the gist of how it all worked, and I felt somewhat comfortable on my feet, the three of us slid over to the beginner’s ski lift and went up the hill.

Eaglecrest-rental

Now, here is where I wish I could tell you I took to skiing like a born natural. That I was able to glide down that hill with the best of them. I can’t tell you that. I fell as soon as we tried to get off the ski lift. Then I fell a bunch more times just trying to get down the hill. But, the truth here is that I had a smile on my face the whole time. It was a whole lot of fun.

Youseph-Eaglecreast

By the end, I was getting pretty decent at skiing. I was able to take the last three runs of the day without falling. I was pretty sore and stiff the next day, but it was totally worth it. I might just have to go skiing again sometime.

 

Summer Time and the Livings Easy

This has been one of the best summers I have ever experienced since moving to Juneau. It’s been filled with all kinds of out door activities like fishing and family visits doing the tourist thing.

cigar

Normally summers like this mean we can expect a hard, cold winter in Juneau. And as much as that kind of thing is looming over me, as summer turns to fall and then winter, I am trying to do everything possible to take advantage of these last few days of bliss we have here.

Hopefully there will be a few more bonfires, a few more BBQs and a few more cigars before it’s all over.

How Herbs Cleared My Sinusitis

I am not a medical doctor. What follows is my personal story dealing with sinusitis and what I have found that helps me. Please, always consult your doctor before trying anything I write about.

double dar nose

I am a sniffer. I have always sniffed because my nose has always been stuffed. When I think back to my earliest memories they are filled with me sniffing. It used to drive my mother crazy. I remember a time my brother was talking to one of my girlfriends and he asking her, ‘How can you stand his constant sniffing?’

I never looked into curing my sniffing because it was something that had plagued me all of my life. I didn’t know that there was any other way to handle it. If it was such a bother to everyone, how come my folks never took me to see a doctor about it? I felt like it was my fault, like a birth defect and not a medical issue. It really is a wonder that I ever had girlfriends or even got married.

A couple of years ago at my wife’s request, I went to see a doctor for my sniffing. I was quickly refereed to an allergist who did several allergy tests on me. All of which came back negative. The doctor ended up diagnosing me with chronic sinusitis and put me on a three month supply of a nasal steroid.

After a few days of snorting this steroid, I could breathe through my nose like a normal person! It was weird too! I have spent most of my life sniffing that now, with nothing blocking my air way, every breath I took required a fraction of the energy it used to. Breathing became effortless for the first time in my life. This changed everything.

After three months, I ran out of the steroid. A month after that I started sniffing again. Not a lot at first, but eventually I went back to sniffing all the time. I went back to my doctor who this time sent me to an ear, nose and throat doctor. I was told by this new doctor that what the allergist did the right thing by putting me on the steroid nasal spray. The only thing wrong was that the allergist should have told me I was going to require the steroid for the rest of my life.

I gave the ear, nose and throat doctor a dumb founded look. One that said you expect me to snort a steroid into my head for the rest of my life? The doctor could see the concern on my face and said, “I have the same thing you have and I have been taking this steroid for the last six years. It is perfectly safe.”

“Uh Huh.” I responded doubtfully. You would have too if you had seen this guy.

He wrote me a prescription for the nasal steroid and as he was doing so he said, “There is also surgery. We can go in there and clean out you sinuses. But I can’t promise you that it wont come back. Most patients relapse.”

That option did not sound good to me either. The doctor had no other options for me and didn’t think there was anyone else in town I could speak with about this. He actually seemed insulted that I would question his course of treatment. I left his office feeling disappointed and threw away the prescription before I even exited the building.

The next day, I called my mother to tell her what had happened. After she heard the story she asked me to give her some time to research some herb options. After a couple of days she called back and told me to start taking Echinacea and Goldenseal along with Sage. The Echinacea with Goldenseal is supposed to fight off the infection in my sinuses and the Sage is supposed to clear out my sinuses so that the Echinacea can do it’s job better.

So I gave it a shot. After a couple of days I could breath again! Just as good, if not better, as when I was on the nasal steroid. I was thrilled and I have been on these herbs ever since.

From what I have discovered it is possible that this herb combination could cure my sinusitis after a long while. I don’t know if I am going to be that lucky. For now I am just happy that I no longer sniff and I don’t have to take any steroids.