Category: Videos

Holiday Decoration Nightmares

Holidays, Photos, Videos
Holiday Decoration Nightmares

Halloween is the season for some truly terrifying decorations.
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Happy Halloween, everyone!

A video posted by Techy Dad (@techydad) on

Now that Halloween over, though, it’s time to set our sights on the next major holiday in the United States. No, I’m not talking about Thanksgiving. Technically, that is the next one up, but retailers are quick to skip right over it to get their Christmas on.

You normally wouldn’t think about Christmas as having terrifying decorations. At least, not unless Jack Skellington was responsible for them. While this doesn’t look like Jack’s handiwork, it is still plenty terrifying:

This is the stuff of holiday nightmares!

A video posted by Techy Dad (@techydad) on

LIFE-SIZE, SINGING, GYRATING ROBOT SANTA! KILL IT. KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!

Happy Birthday NHL!

Birthday, NHL, Videos

Today, NHL turns 11.  Don’t ask me how this happened.  It’s still a mystery to me.  One minute, we were bringing him home and then I blinked and he grew up.  Now he’s headed to middle school in a couple of weeks.  NHL has a habit of asking me if I’m proud of him, usually for getting some random video game accomplishment.  Here’s what I’m really proud of NHL for:

 

  • He’s a very kind individual.  At a recent family function, he kept hugging family members over and over.  To the point that he hugged a complete stranger – I think he was a waiter – because he mistook him for a family member.  NHL cares about people with all of his heart and hates to think of them being sad.

 

  • He’s passionate about what he loves and isn’t afraid to flaunt that passion.  Whether it be video games, super heroes, math, or Doctor Who, NHL is always ready to tell anyone everything they could ever want to know about the subjects that he loves the most.

 

  • He’s honest.  Ok, at times he can be honest to a fault.  He shouldn’t blurt out to one of his cousins which cousin he likes the best.  Still, this is all part of his learning how to navigate the social rules.  In general, though, he hates lying and prefers to tell the truth.

 

  • He’s not afraid to speak his mind to stand up for himself or ask for what he wants.  This can be tough for some with Asperger’s.  They will assume that they will mess something up socially and will just shut up and take whatever comes their way.  I know that I’ve been guilty of that far too many times in my past.  NHL has been learning to speak up when he needs to, though.  Again, he will sometimes take this too far and speak up when silence would be best, but this is just him learning the social rules and regulations.  I’d rather him have to dial it back a bit than to think he shouldn’t speak up at all.

 

Part of me can’t wait to see how much NHL grows in another year.  However, another part of me doesn’t want him to grow up anymore.  That part of me just grew when I had to pour over old photos of NHL to compile a special video highlighting NHL’s growth.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you with the video while I cry over my baby growing up.  Happy birthday, NHL!

Guardians of the Galaxy Videos and a Toy Request

Movies, Toys, Videos

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, we took the boys to see Guardians of the Galaxy and loved it.  I wanted to also share a few Guardians of the Galaxy videos and one more thing that might be slightly spoiler-y.  (Don’t worry, I’ll warn before we get to that point.)

First, here is Chris Pratt (aka Peter Quill) giving a tour of the Milano spacecraft.

Next up is an interview with Zoe Saldana who plays Gamora.

Then, there is an interview with Chris Pratt.

Finally, there’s something slightly spoiler-y ahead.  If you haven’t seen Guardians of the Galaxy, stop reading now, bookmark this page, go to the theatre and see the movie.  When you’re done, come back.

 

Ok, everyone seen the movie, now?  Good.

 

In one of the credits scenes, a potted, re-growing Groot dances to music while Drax cleans his knives.  This "baby Groot" was so incredibly cute that I instantly wanted one.  Since I know I can’t have an actual Groot, I’d settle for one of those dancing flower toys reworked to look like Groot.  I’m not the only one who wants one.  Social media is ablaze with people asking Marvel to release this.  Slashgear even has an article stoking the rumor flames by pointing out a non-confirmation statement about the toy (along with a photo of a rather clever hack).  I expect that, if they do, it will disappear from the shelves quickly.

Belated Father’s Day and a Munchkin Video

Father's Day, Games, Geeky Pursuits, Holidays, Videos

fathers_day Yesterday was Father’s Day.  I meant to write a post about it on Thursday night, but then I was hit with bloggy writer’s block.  I knew what topic I wanted to write about, but the words just failed to appear in my head.  In addition, Angry Birds Epic had just come out, so I wound up playing that until I went to bed.  (More on Angry Birds Epic another day.)

On Friday, I took NHL out for a dad-son day.  We ate breakfast and lunch out and saw How To Train Your Dragon 2 in 3D.  The latter was a rare treat because 1) I usually don’t pay extra for 3D movies (movie tickets are expensive enough in 2D) and 2) JSL doesn’t like 3D movies so we’re not going to pay extra for him to sit through the movie without his glasses on and seeing a distorted picture.  I’ve got to say that the 3D was nice, but it did hurt my eyes by the end and I’d be just as happy paying less and watching the movie in 2D.  For the $4 extra per ticket, I’d rather go to the 2D showing and then buy the boys a small movie-themed toy afterwards.

Saturday was a pretty normal day.  Sunday, meanwhile, was Father’s Day.  I got to sleep late/relax in bed until 10am.  Then, I made breakfast for everyone (yes, even on Father’s Day I cook).  Around noon, we headed out to lunch.  After a quick lunch – including a dessert at Menchie’s where they had Dole Whips, we planned some other activities, but sadly had to change our plans.  Instead, we went home and had a quiet, relatively uneventful rest of the day.

Except for one more thing.  Which was the one thing I really wanted to do yesterday.

Ever since I wrote my Do You Wanna Play Some Munchkin parody song, I’ve wanted to make a video of it.  With the day winding down, I set up the tripod, video camera, and got the props in place.  JSL, NHL, and I ran through it a few times before trying to video the song.  In the end, it wasn’t quite what I envisioned, but I think it came out pretty good.  Here are the lyrics in case you want to sing along:

I hope all the dads out there had a happy Father’s Day.

Test Track Car Commercials

Disney, Videos

When you go on the new Test Track ride, you get to design your own car.  However, when you get off the ride, the run doesn’t stop.  There are many activities to pursue, including designing your own car commercial starring the car that you put together, in scenes of your choosing, with announcers of your choosing, and spotlighting features of your car.  Here are three commercials that I made.

Disclosure: I was invited to the New Fantasyland media event December 5th through 7th. Disney paid for my travel, our park tickets, room, and a few other items. I was able to take B along as my guest, but we paid for her own travel as well as an extra night in the resort. The opinions expressed above are my own.

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