November 18, 2019

Building my own lightsaber at Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland!

The desire for a lightsaber faded to the background as I grew older. But it reignited this year with the opening of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland. I found out that within the town of the Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu, there is a place called Savi’s Workshop. At Savi’s, you don’t just buy a lightsaber, the workers there help you create your own personalized lightsaber. I had heard the experience was almost like a ceremony. Suddenly that desire from childhood was back: I had to create my own lightsaber!

November 8, 2019

Disney's Galaxy's Edge - Fuzzy Tauntaun, The Millenium Falcon, and building a Little Droid Friend

Disneyland has done a great job in bringing this film universe to reality. The details of the planet Batuu where Black Spire Outpost exists is quite amazing. The droids, ships, buildings are all scaled to realistic proportions and the skyline blends in well with the texture and color of the surroundings. It does seem like you are in another world.

November 7, 2019

Two US senators told Ukraine's president that 'only Trump' could release military aid: report

I'm guessing Graham was one of the senators. Any other guesses?

October 25, 2019

The Irishman and the Assassination of JFK

The Irishman and the Assassination of JFK

Time to end my two year sabbatical from blogging. Part of the reason why I put American Judas on hold was because I changed jobs in the summer of 2018 and I wanted to focus on learning my new job and performing it to the best of my ability, which I feel I have. But the main reason is that I just didn't feel inspired to write. So pardon me if I'm a bit rusty after a prolonged writer's block.

What's inspiring me to write is the upcoming release of Martin Scorsese's new film, The Irishman, in theatres on November 1 and on Netflix starting November 27. This movie is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. I received this book as a gift from one of my best friends and found it quite fascinating. It details five years of interviews, intertwined with Brandt's historical context and perspective, that the author did with Frank Sheeran. Sheeran was a labor union official in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) whose close friend and mentor was the infamous president of the Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa. But prior to meeting Hoffa, Sheeran's close friend and mentor was Russell Bufalino, the Mafia boss of Northeastern Pennsylvania. During the interviews, Sheeran admitted that he would "paint houses" for both Bufalino and Hoffa, which was their code for murdering someone. But the biggest revelation Sheeran made in the interviews is that of the more than twenty-five hits he did for the Mob and for Hoffa, the one that haunted him most to confess to was that he murdered Jimmy Hoffa on July 30, 1975.

Scorsese is one of my favorite directors and I'm looking forward to seeing this movie because my hope is that returning to the familiar milieu of mobsters inspired Scorsese to return to the great filmmaking of Goodfellas and Casino. I'm also looking forward to seeing him reunite with Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro, who will be playing Frank Sheeran. Yet another reason I can't wait to see this movie is that this is the first time Scorsese will be working with Al Pacino, who will be playing Jimmy Hoffa. But the most compelling reason I have for seeing this movie is to see if Scorsese and screenwriter Steven Zaillian include what I consider to be the most explosive detail of the book: that Jimmy Hoffa was murdered by the Mafia to cover up their involvement in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

more...

http://americanjudas.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-irishman-and-assassination-of-jfk.html

October 15, 2019

Oogie Boogie Bash First Fright 2019 at Disney's California Adventure!

Last year we wanted to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disneyland but were too late to purchase the tickets as the event was sold out.

Fast forward one year later, we finally get our tickets and find that the event is not at Disneyland park but at Disney California Adventure. Imagine the disappointment we had when we found that the venue was changed. We figured that it was probably because of the opening of Galaxy’s Edge.

No one knew what to expect except that there would still be treat trails and the headless horseman appears at the start of the parade.

I can assure you that this event did not disappoint one bit. We had a wonderful time and saw the most beautifully creative walk through that we have ever been and an amazing water show, "Villanous". We can honestly convey that Oogie Boogie Bash was a hit!

October 9, 2019

A Day at Disney California Adventure

Sometimes, you just need to let go and let the inner child out of your tired, old body. Well, that’s what we did when we visited Disney California Adventure Park!