I went to the Hollywood Bowl to see E.T. with the LA Philharmonic

As you know, I love E.T. I love the movie a lot. So when I found out that they were going to show the movie and have the LA Philharmonic Symphony play the entire score during the movie, I was on it!

This is my second time at the Hollywood Bowl. In fact, it was almost a year ago I saw the Simpsons there. But this was something special too.

What was really special about this was that I was surprised by the reaction of the crowd during the movie. Either these people have never seen it before or they like to laugh at everything funny. Either way, it was really pleasant to watch the movie while the orchestra perform. It felt so smooth and flawless. During the movie, I didn’t even really notice it was a live orchestra performing during the movie.

There were two cheers during the film and both of them were when the bicycle flying scene.

I really had fun. I like these. I want to go to another one!

Because I don’t seem to update this enough with my updates

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My last two entries were about my two days in Cooperstown but I haven’t updated it since. I wrote it on my sports blog but I can give a quick summary here.

Following my five-hour drive to Boston, I got a chance to see my mom and just relax for the rest of the night. The following day we had a two-hour drive out to Springfield for the Basketball Hall of Fame. It was a really neat place to check out the history of basketball. It’s a small place and it looks like a Dave & Busters from the outside, but inside it’s packed with the history of the game. It’s very nice.

The next day we did the Freedom Trail through Boston to see all the historical sites. And then after that it was Fenway Park. It’s intimate. It’s small. The place has so much history. I really like the park and I want to go back again. Overall, it’s a very small park that fits perfectly for the history of Boston.

I got to see The Rock at the San Andreas premiere

Thank you @TheRock. #SanAndreasFanEvent pic.twitter.com/dHITbxHncq

— Sam (@phutmasterflex) May 19, 2015

I was already excited to see this movie but when I found out that I could get free passes to see San Andreas early and The Rock was hosting it, I was on board. I had always wanted to see a movie at the Chinese Theatre and here we are. I got there at around 9:45 which was good timing considering the long line that had already started. I got a wristband for the handprint ceremony later. Yes!

When we got into the theatre, The Rock came and greeted people with selfies, Periscope and submitted Q&As from Twitter and from fans in the crowd. He was so cool, making jokes and just having a good time. I really like the guy and he is a great entertainer. Just being the presence of the legend was great and I tried to take as many pictures as I can from it.

CHECK OUT THE PICTURES HERE.

I just got back from Springfield and half of it wasn’t even open!

So I went to Universal Studios on Wednesday. It was the first time in almost 10 years for me but it was cool. The only thing I wanted to do was to check out the new Springfield. It was really cool from the pictures I saw. In fact, I was so excited I started snapping pictures of everything.

CLICK HERE FOR ALL MY PHOTOS

But there was one problem. Due to some issues, half of the place was not open. Krusty Buger: CLOSED. Cletus’ Chicken Restaurant: CLOSED. Moe’s: CLOSED. Lard Lad Donuts: CLOSED.

You kidding me? The main part of the attraction was closed? This was totally unfair and I could not believe that they would do that. I feel bad for those people who were visiting for only one day. I am lucky I have a pass I can use my pass later this year. I even got some sweet compensation for this incident (free parking on next visit and free front of line passes). But still, Springfield was basically useless except for the ride and the Kwik-E-Mart. What a shame!!!!

Still, I had as much fun as I possibly could. So there’s that. I will be back next week hopefully. They should have everything fixed by then.

I went to the Rose Parade again to talk to those people with big Jesus signs

The signs invaded the Rose Parade before the parade went through.

As you know, every year on January 1st since I moved to LA I have always attended the Rose Parade. It’s a great parade and I love all the floats. But with the parade comes the Jesus Scare Freaks. These guys are either waving their big signs of salvation or using megaphones to promote their message of Jesus.

I mean, it’s a great thing to me. I never found the method effective but I have talked to them and found out that their conviction and determination is really admirable. It’s something I would never have the balls to do. After all, I don’t even know if I would be able to say anything to get people’s attention to listen about Jesus.

After talking to a sign holder last year, I decided this year I had to approach someone with a megaphone. I didn’t find one but I did find a guy holding a big sign with a pre-recorded message blaring out of his mini-speaker. Maybe people within a 50 feet radius could hear the message. I approached the guy and asked him why he was doing this. I had to clarify that I was a believer and I knew why he was doing what he was doing. But wanted to know why he thought this method was effective. I didn’t get his name so I will call him Josh.

I fell asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve

That’s right. I just don’t care. I went to bed at 11PM and that’s it. Not a fan of New Year’s Day, as you all know. It’s just another day. I don’t know why people make a big deal out of it. Whatever. I am now fully rested and on my way to the Rose Bowl Parade. Yes!!!!

I hope this time I get a chance to mingle with the Jesus Freaks on the megaphone and get their thoughts on certain thing. Who knows how this will turn out?

My 10-year high school reunion was actually really fun

Three of my good friends I’ve known since our elementary school days and we’re back together at our high school reunion.

Growing up watching TV in America, I was led to believe that high school reunions were a big deal. It was a time to rub in  the faces of those you hated how successful you are. This was to show off your trophy wife or husband and make everyone feel inferior. This was to look at how people have changed and either feel repulsive or jealous. In any case, high school reunions seemed to be a big deal to me.

So when I found out about my school’s 10-year reunion some months back, that was what I initially thought I was going to get. But I knew that my high school was not your typical kind of high school. We weren’t a big class. We had 160 incoming freshmen and by the time we graduated, we didn’t even have 100 left.

But what was nice about a small school was that we knew everyone. Sure, we weren’t all buddy buddy but for me, I liked everyone. Everyone seemed to be genuinely good to me. So this high school reunion was going to be very fun for me because I will get to see these people again. Some of them I haven’t seen since graduation. Some of them I just didn’t really keep up with. I was curious as to who would show up.

Beatles Fest and seeing Tom Petty in concert was awesome!

I’m at a loss for words. On Friday I went to this Beatles Fest. I didn’t know it existed but this was their 40th year doing it. It was just a sweet collection of memorabilia, artwork, people who have met them and just great storytelling. I was so amazed with what I saw!

PHOTOS HERE

They even had a cool cover band perform. It was like a little mini Beatles heaven for me!

Reading Digest: Everybody Else Went to the Show Edition

What a great list of all the great Simpsons stuff including my blog post of the Hollywood Bowl show.

Dead Homer Society

“How was it?” – Bart Simpson
“It wasn’t that great.” – Lisa Simpson
“Be honest.” – Bart Simpson
“It was the greatest movie I’ve ever seen in my life!” – Lisa Simpson

This week we’ve got lots of links to those lucky bastards who got to see the Hollywood Bowl show last week, many of them with cool pictures.  Sure, YouTube is better than nothing, but it’s a poor substitute for the real thing.  In addition to that, we’ve got a bunch of .gifs, Duffman in the big leagues, a couple of disappointing lists, and a huge Sam Simon profile.

Enjoy.

D’OH! Eat my shorts! Ha-ha! Don’t have a cow, man! Ay, caramba! – Looking at the long history of the show and its influences on subsequent cartoons.

How The Simpsons Co-Creator Sam Simon Is Facing His Own Tragedy – A full blown writeup of Sam Simon’s life in Vanity…

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The Simpsons Take the Bowl at the Hollywood Bowl last night was so amazing

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Huge donut!

All of you know that I am a huge fan of The Simpsons. And when I heard about this orchestra performance at the Hollywood Bowl, I knew I had to get there.

For all the photos I took, click here. For all the videos, click here.

I had never been to the bowl before but it was amazing to see all the different little cardboard displays out and about. I was just in my little happy world. The show was an hour away but I spent most of my time looking around at things, collecting buttons and eating this huge donut.

But I think what really made it nice for me was the fact that it was a trip down memory lane, hearing all the songs that I love from the show. And the performances were amazing, including the celebrities that showed up.