Ran My First 5k

I ran my first 5k today with my mom, sister, and cousin.

Snow White and the Huntsman - Character Inspiration

Went and saw Snow White and the Huntsman tonight with the wife, and decided to make a quick vid about it.
It was really just Snow White meets Lord of the Rings, seriously. Anywho, check out the video below.

Be Serious for 30 Seconds - YouTube Contest

A friend posted a video done by SNL's Fred Armisen the other day. He wanted to "serious" videos.

The rules of making a video were the following:
Rule 1: It has to be serious.
Rule 2: It has to be 30 seconds or less
Rule 3: No more than 2 people in it
Rule 4: At least 1 5 second dramatic pause
Rule 5: At least 1 cutaway to an object
Rule 6: Do your best acting
Rule 7: It needs to have a door slamming

 My first attempt while clever, exceeded the time limit and was subjected to the YouTube trolls. The second attempt faired much better I believe. Check out both vids below and let us know what you think.

General Conference 2012 - Saturday Afternoon

Here's the notes from conference this afternoon. Enjoy!

Click here to view

Also, looks like David Archuleta was in the choir too today.

General Conference 2012 - Saturday Morning

It's that time of year where we get to listen to Prophets voice! I am live tweeting #ldsconf as well as taking some notes.  You can follow me on twitter too. @theycallmestu

Click here to read my notes from the Saturday Morning Session.

John Carter

Went and saw John Carter this afternoon with the wifey. I wasn't sure what to expect. The trailer made it look like a CGI filled action flick. I knew little about it, but thought it looked like it could be a good movie.

Here's the trailer:



Warning: Possible Spoilers ahead.

The movie is based on a series of books written in the early 1900's by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I haven't read these books, so I am not sure how close the movie stays with the original story line. The movie is about a man named John Carter. A captain in the Army in the late 1800's who is seeking gold. He finds a cave he's been searching for and stumbles across a medallion that transports him to Mars, or Barsoom, as called by the natives. There is a humanoid culture as well as a four armed alien race on the planet. Two different human cities are at war with each other, as well as a race of beings who manage the destruction of planets.

John Carter is captured by the alien race and soon wins their admiration.. He saves a princess from death, and ends up fighting in a war against the baddies. (Movie in a nutshell.) He also has a heightened sense of strength, agility, and can leap like no other.

While the movie is loaded with CGI, I enjoyed the storyline, and am now very interested in reading the original stories written 100 years ago. Hopefully I can find a copy somewhere and see how well it stacks up to the movie.

I would definitely recommend this movie. My wife even walked out of the theater saying she enjoyed that movie. I will for sure be picking it up on Blu-ray when the time comes.

For more info on the character and story:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carter_(character)

I give it 8 out of 10 stars!

Jazz beat the Heat!

The Jazz fend of the Heat in a great win. Ha ha LeBron. You lose.

Devin Harris - it's about dang time dude.

Check out Harris' clutch and one at the end to win the game:
http://www.nba.com/video/games/jazz/2012/03/02/0021100536_mia_uta_play7.nba

We're going to see a movie called...Unicorn City?

My brother emailed me the other day with the question, Wanna go see Unicorn City? Not knowing anything about the movie, but enjoying spending time with my brother, I said sure. He had won tickets for the premiere, so off we went.

I had previously watched the trailer in preparation of what was to come, not really knowing what to expect. There were lots of people, a red carpet, and what appeared to be actors. A lot of folks were dressed up, or seemed to be buzzing about the movie. I felt like the 5th wheel at someone's family reunion for a bit.

 The night started out with some thanks from I believe the writers/directors/producers of the film, and then prior to the film we were privy to an early showing of Kid History Episode 8, which has yet to hit the interwebs. Then on to the show.

 To give you a mid-review overview of the movie here it is (from IMDB): "Voss entices local gamers to create a Utopian society in an attempt to impress a potential employer, but paradise is disrupted when his nemesis lays claim to the city and Voss's true love." 

My pre-opinion of the show was that it was going to be a half boring, geeky nerdfest put on by locals, but I was pleasantly surprised. The movie has a polished feel. You can tell it's made by people who make movies for a living. The characters are funny, and each one has his/her own story. The main character, stuck in a rut, and unsure of the future. The goofy sidekick, the girl who wants nothing more than to be by the side of the main character, the bully brother, the narcissistic scrawny baddie who likes to ruin all the fun, along with a plethora of other characters that come and go. Oh, and there's also a centaur. Then, to top it off, put it in a Dungeons and Dragons like setting. I found myself laughing for most of the movie. It's the kind of silly awkward humor that made Napoleon Dynamite such a hit. I'm not sure if the movie lives up to the potential of Napoleon, but it's along the same lines. There were a lot of great one-liners as well as physical comedy that had the crowds laughing and cheering. I don't want to give too much away as the movie isn't officially coming out til tomorrow, but I would describe the movie as if they took the web hit "The Guild" and placed it in Orem, Utah, and scrambled it up with some Napoleon Dynamite. That should give you a good idea.

I left the movie theater with a smile on my face. It's a good flick, and I definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a laugh. If I were to have some sort of star system to rate this movie, I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely see it again, and with friends and family, so I can enjoy the laughs with them. Unicorn City is rated PG.

5k Training!

I'm on a quest to run a 5k in April, and lose some weight on the side. I'll be vlogging once a week to talk about how my training is going, and how my weight loss is going. Enjoy!

Done Made Me Some Cookies

Testing out the HD video capabilities of the Canon T3i and a 50mm prime lens, I present "Makin' Cookies", my first attempt at some hopefully decent looking video. You may fall asleep, however, the main purpose of this video was just to play around with the camera itself. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, comment below!

#letJeremydunk

If you don't know what the title of this post means, you probably don't follow Utah Jazz basketball like I do. Let me explain. Jeremy Evans, aka "The Human Pogo-Stick" needs to be in the All Star dunk contest. Why, you ask? Let me provide some video proof for your entertainment. If you concur, tweet the hashtag #letJeremydunk!

Are you a Jazz Fan?

If you are, you'll probably like this vid they put together:

Utah Auto Expo 2012

My wife Amy and I, along with some friends went to the Auto Expo today at the South Towne Expo Center. It's alot of fun to walk around and sit in all the cars, and check stuff out. We had a good time. Cars are fun. Check out the pics...

Pic/Motto of the Day

Today's pic of the day is brought to you by despair.com, the only site that can bring a smile to your face with loads of negativity. :)

This picture also doubles as my motto on 80% of all days.

Add caption

Favorite Android Apps of 2011

As promised, our favorite Android apps of 2011. These are apps that our contributor Simon designated as his favorites, as he is our resident Android user. Enjoy the list! If you have any suggestions, let us know.

Beautiful Widgets
The Beautiful Widgets app lets you customize your phone's homescreen with weather reports, clocks, battery status and different elements. It's a simple app that makes your Android's homescreen more useful to you, based on what information you want to see. And, as the name implies, it does it with grace. Download this app.

Tiny Flashlight + LED
This app turns your phone into a powerful little lantern. It can use both the screen's brightness and the flash bulb for the camera. The latter providing enough light to see in even the darkest places. Download this app.

Google Maps
Whenever I ask people to name their favorite Android apps, "Google Something" almost always makes the list. Google Maps may be one of the most popular of the Android apps from Google. A few of its signature features, such as navigation and layers, work better on Android than most other mobile operating systems. It's indispensable for finding addresses, service provides nearby, and just for simply getting around. Download this app.

Foursquare
Foursquare helps you explore the world around you. Keep up with friends, get insider tips and unlock discounts and rewards. Available for iPhone and Android. I love this app. It saves me money at restaurants and other businesses. The other day, I got $10.50 off my oil change at Jiffy Lube. I love free! Download this app.

Advanced Task Killer
This app allows you to stop running background processes or apps in memory. The Android operating system can run multiple apps in memory concurrently which currently is its own gift and curse. Cursed...as some processes and apps can bring an Android phone performance to a crawl. Killing an app is nowhere near convenient. This app stops background process and apps. Specify an "Ignore List", or kill all apps running with the click of one button. Very handy for Android users. Download this app.

Favorite iPhone Apps of 2011

Now that 2011 is over, I wanted to share my 5 favorite apps that I used last year. These are apps that I found myself using frequently, and they are apps that I love. I am excluding any Social Networking apps since those are almost a gimme. Facebook and Twitter apps for iOS are in use. Anyways, on to the apps:

Week Cal
I like to stay organized, and I like to know what's going on. Week Cal takes the standard iOS calendar and gives a kick in the butt. This calendar has a lot more functionality and customization available to users, while maintaining a great user interface.
Download this app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/week-calendar/id381059732?mt=8

Camera+
If you love to take photos on your iPhone, you can't live without Camera+. I've downloaded a ton of camera apps for the iPhone, and this by far is my favorite. Not only does it take great photos, but you can edit them with lots of different effects and then save them to your camera roll. Definitely a must have.
Download this app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id329670577?mt=8

Spotify
Love me some Spotify. Many people are familiar with the desktop version of this app which is free. I pay the additional month charge so that I can listen to my playlists from anywhere. As a rider of the public transportation system, this app is one of my favs. Nothing like riding the train home from work while jamming to just about any song I want.
Download this app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spotify/id324684580?mt=8

PocketMoney
Call it OCD, or call it organized, but I like to know what's going on with my money. I've tried out lots of different budgeting apps, but this one is my favorite. It keeps track of as many accounts and transactions as I can throw at it. I always know how much money I have. One of the great features, is there is a desktop version which will let you sync with your iPhone. If I am on the road, I can put my receipts and purchases into the app, and when I get home, all I have to do is hit the sync button. It's pretty great.
Download this app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocketmoney-checkbook-budgets/id283494170?mt=8

Zite
Twitter is my #1 source for news. Zite is my #2 source for news. Zite is a personalized news magazine type app. You choose the subjects that you enjoy, and it will create a customized magazine for you to read through. If you are familiar or enjoy Flipboard, try Zite, I am sure you'll like it. You can sync it up with your social networking sites too for even more customization. While I list this as a fav for the iPhone, it's also fantastic on the iPad.
Download this app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zite-personalized-magazine/id419752338?mt=8

So that's it for 2011. Pretty good set of apps here. I love to discover new apps, so if you have any suggestions for great apps, leave a comment, and maybe we'll feature more apps in the future. Also, for you Android lovers out there, we hope to get a list of favorite Android apps too.

NOLAatUTA - Jazz Win #2

Tonight the Jazz brought home their second win of the season against the New Orleans Hornets. The score stayed relatively close throughout the course of the game. Jared Jack was shooting lights out and kept the Hornets in the game.

Al Jefferson was much more effective this game from the low post shooting 11 out of 18. Harris, Howard and Miles all finished in double digits. Favors had some impressive moves getting him some great crowd pleasing dunks.

The Jazz play again tomorrow night against the Bucks. The Bucks will be looking for a win as they lost tonight against the Nuggets.

Goodbye 2011 - Hello 2012

Well, the end of 2011 is getting close, and 2012 is knocking at the door. It's been a great year, and I look forward to an even better year in 2012.

We here at talkinaboustuff.com wish everyone a Happy New Year! Have fun, be safe.

Enjoy the music video from my favorite song of 2011.

SWTOR Freeze Mob

In celebration of the release of SWTOR (Star Wars: The Old Republic), there was a Flash, or I should say "Freeze" mob recently in Times Square. Pretty cool. Check it out.

 

Utah Jazz - Another Loss on the Road

With a blow out loss to the Lakers last night, the Jazz were hoping to bounce back tonight and pull a win out in Denver against the Thuggets...er, I mean Nuggets.

The Jazz started off strong, but seemed to slowly give up to the penetrating offense of the Nuggets.

This is a young team, and I truly hope that after a few games, they figure out how to play together and put up a W. In my opinion, what the Jazz truly lack is a superstar. No one has yet to step up as the main player/leader this season, and the Jazz need someone desperate.

For a good look at the Jazz over the last few decades, check out David Locke's article titled "Jazz 4.0: Youth Movement".

Check out some of the highlights as well from tonight's game:

http://www.nba.com/games/20111228/UTADEN/gameinfo.html