Steven's Good Life Blog

Battle Winning Tasks – A Battle For Your Dream Post

Posted on January 31, 2012 by stevenshomler

Battle Winning Tasks

www.BattleWinningTasks.com

Some of us are both blessed and cursed by the presence of a dream that burns in our heart.

If you want to see your dream come true, you are going to have to Battle For Your Dream.

If you want to see you dream come true you need to focus on your Battle Winning Tasks.

What are Battle Winning Tasks?

Battle Winning Tasks are the crucial, mission critical tasks that you have to get to, if your dream is going to come true.

It is easy to spend time doing activities that may feel important, that are not actually going to help you get to where you want to go.

It is also easy to come up with any number of reasons that now is not the right time to work on your Battle Winning Tasks.

You Can Get To The Important Stuff Later….

In early 2007, When I was first starting out as an Wholesale Mortgage Account Executive (AE), I quickly discovered that going out and actually seeing potential clients was the most important thing I could do to get my client base established. However there were a number of other things I was encouraged to do that while important, would not actually help me succeed.

In addition to that, I had fellow AE’s who would say (in jest?) that there a number of days and times that we should not go see our clients.

I was told that Monday was a bad day to go see Loan Officers, because they were busy returning calls from the weekend. Fridays were a bad day to go see Loan Officers because they were distracted thinking about the weekend and they left early on Fridays. Mornings in general were not good a time to go see Loan Officers, because they did not come into the office until midday. The last week of the month was not a good time to go see Loan Officers because they were busy getting their loans closed. The first week of the month was not a good time to see Loan Officers because they recovering from the stress of trying to get their month end loans closed, and they were dealing with the problem loans that for various reasons did not fund.

As you can see it really only made sense to see potential clients the second Wednesday of the month from 1:00 – 3:00 PM. The other 29 days of the month were better spent in your home office…

There was some wisdom in what I was told. Often Loan Officers did not work on Fridays, However they would find my business card on their desk Monday Morning when they came in and they would call me. They wanted to know what kind of AE worked on Fridays…

First Figure Out What your Battle Winning Tasks Are

If you want to see your dreams come true, It is imperative that you figure what it is that have to make sure that you get to.

When I was an AE, I was told to just go get loans. The problem was that I only got paid on loans that funded. I was told to just go bring potential loans in. However I did not get paid for bringing in potential loans. I only got paid on bringing in loans that actually funded.

I quickly discovered that those who told me to just go get loans were ignorant of what I really needed to do to feed my family. I needed to go get loans that could actually fund, and then I had to make sure that they funded. I was told many times that I worried about the wrong things and that I did things that were not my responsibility. More than once, I was told that I did my job the “wrong” way.

The flaw in that criticism was that every year for 3 years my volume doubled and in 2010 I was only person from my office attending the Chairmans’ Circle dinner at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach. www.fontainebleau.com (Only the top 6 wholesale AE’s in the country qualified for this event that followed Presidents’ Club). By the way, I loved it there and I am once again regularly working after midnight so that I will once again stay there and enjoy an afternoon at La Cote. (In 2008 and 2009, I worked very hard to make it happen and, I am once again back in the hunt)

I figured out what my Battle Winning Tasks were and I did them, even when other people told me that I did not know want I was doing.

Next – Make Sure That You Actually Do Your Battle Winning Tasks

One of my current projects is www.PortlandFoodCartAdventures.com

I eat at Portland area Food Carts, take pictures of what I eat, write down some notes, and then once I have sampled enough of particular Food Cart’s menu , I write up a review. In the process of working this project, I update the Facebook Page for Portland Food Cart Adventures www.facebook.com/PortlandFoodCartAdventures and I manage (update and read) my Food Cart Twitter feed. twitter.com/Gr8FoodCartsPDX

Twitter and Facebook are very important to this project. However, going to actual food carts and eating food cart food, taking pictures and taking notes, are much more important tasks. In fact, as far as this project goes, those are Battle Winning Tasks. Furthermore, I am only doing those things so that I can write articles for the Portland Food Cart Adventures website.

Right now, at this stage of this project, regularly having new articles up on the Portland Food Cart Adventures website, is my #1 Battle Winning Task. I visit food carts, enjoy amazing food, take pictures and take notes so that later I can write an article for the website.

It is easy to be busy and delude yourself into thinking that your busy work will pay off. Rise above busy work, focus on your Battle Winning Tasks.

Ask yourself – “If I am to see my dreams come true, what are the most important 2-3 things that we have to regularly make sure get done, i.e. – What are my Battle Winning Tasks?”

Battle For Your Dreams! They can come true.

I am pulling for you!

Steven Shomler

Posted in Battle For Your Dream, Food Carts, My Passions, My Projects, Success and Motivation | Tagged AE, Battle Winning Tasks, Fontainebleau, Food Carts, La Cote, Miami Beach, Portland Food Carts, President's Club, Wholesale Lending | Leave a comment

Speculoos Cookie Butter

Posted on January 17, 2012 by stevenshomler

Speculoos Cookie Butter

This past December (12/2011), some friends blessed Gayla (my lovely wife) and me with a weekend away, just the two of us.

Included with the 2 nights at a hotel and meals was a beautiful basket filled with all kinds of amazing goodies.

In this basket were a variety of wonderful treats: cookies, specialty popcorn, crackers, cheeses etc. So many delightful things to eat! A number of the items were delicious things that I had never had before. Things like Humboldt Fog Cheese. It is an amazing cheese.

www.cypressgrovechevre.com/cheeses/ripened-cheeses/humboldt-fog

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Fog

Cookie Butter?

The thing that I liked the most out of that gift basket, was this crazy Cookie Butter. We saw the jar, briefly read the front label and wondered what this stuff was. Was it “butter?”, or “Was it some kind of peanut butter?”

We opened it, tasted it, and we were blown away. It was then that we read the back of the label.

“All you you have to do is taste it to understand.” So true.

This a spread (no peanuts) that vaguely reminds me of a very mild gingerbread. It also kind of reminds me of a cracker that I had as a very young child.

You can get it at Trader Joe’s. www.traderjoes.com

Go get some and see for yourself.

So How Do I Eat it?

I have tried Cookie Butter with a number of different things. Here are my suggestions-

#1 Put it on waffles,

#2 Eat it with a spoon, right out of the jar,

#3 Put it on a crispy tasteless boring cracker like Kavli Crispy Thins. www.kavli.com/en/Pages/KavliGroup www.internaturalfoods.com/brands/kavli

Alone, these crackers are pretty tasteless and bland. Nasty actually.

However…spread a little Cookie Butter on them and wow!, these crackers become a wonderful delivery vehicle for the Cookie Butter.

I tried a number of crackers and cookies with the Cookie Butter, Including Nilla Wafers. Most crackers and cookies had too much flavor of their own and that flavor would overwhelm the Cookie Butter.

The boring Kavli Crispy Thins worked perfectly. Having a mostly tasteless crunch to go with the Cookie Butter is nice. As an added bonus my wife Gayla thinks that the Kavli Crispy Thins are healthy, and she likes seeing them in the cupboard. FYI – I keep the Cookie Butter in my desk drawer – left hand side.

Please do not tell anyone in my family where I keep the Cookie Butter. Since they don’t follow me on Facebook and don’t generally read my blogs, if they find out that I still have that jar of Cookie Butter, I will know that you told them! I am still trying figure out how to turn Family into Fans!

I would keep the Cookie Butter in the cupboard. However… I have two teenage boys and things like Nutella disappear overnight when I buy it and, bring it home. I keep the Cookie Butter hidden and once in a while, I enjoy a little bit of it, with some Earl Grey Creme tea.

That’s it,

Hold the phone! That’s not it!

A friend of mine, Katrina Emery, has a wonderful blog entitled The Penny Farthing .

Until recently Katrina lived in Portland, Oregon. Currently she is living in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Guess what they have in the Netherlands?

Katrina recently put up a blog post about the “speculaas” she enjoys in Amsterdam. Check it out, it is a great read! www.katriniella.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/i-love-speculaas

Okay, Now that is it!!

Steven Shomler

Posted in Food, My Passions, Vitality Pursuits | Tagged Cookie Butter, Humboldt Fog Cheese, Kavli Crispy Thins, Speculoos, Trader Joe's | 1 Comment

If The Mayans Are Wrong… 12–21–12

Posted on January 1, 2012 by stevenshomler

If The Mayans Are Wrong… 12–21–12

Happy 2012! As we entered the new year I realized that if the Mayan Prophecy is correct, 2012 is our last year. According to a book that I received as a Christmas present The Mayan Prophecy 2012 by David Douglas, our last day is December 21, 2012.

Wait a minute the author’s name is David Douglas…? A shout out to my friend Andy and his Scarlet and Gray Illuminati Brotherhood.

If that prophecy is correct, the world will come to an end on 12–21–12 and you will only have 8 days to see The Hobbit—An Unexpected Journey. www.thehobbitblog.com www.imdb.com/TheHobbit/videogallery

The Mayans had a well developed civilization covering quite a vast area. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization

They left a number of amazing ruins in places like Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. They also left an unfinished calendar. It is that calendar that seems to be the basis of the December 2012 end-of-the-world prophecy.

If that prophecy is correct on December 21, 2012 you should party like there is no tomorrow.

If however, that prophecy is wrong, the world will not end 12–21–2012 and on 12–31–2012 we will usher in 2013.

What Will Your 2012 Calendar Reveal?

Years ago, my friend Al Gallo ( www.breakthroughwisdom.com ) taught me that looking at your past year’s calendar is one of the ways that you can know where you are headed.

If the world does not end at the end of 2012, your 2013 will be determined by what you do or do not do this year—2012.

What are your Battle Winning Tasks?

This year—2012, you can work to make next year—2013, better for you and your family. The trick is to identify what Battle Winning Tasks you need to do every day or every week. It is easy to be busy doing important things and miss the most important things that you need to get if you are going actually improve your situation.

For example, right now I have over 1200 pictures I personally took from Nov. 15 through Jan. 1 that I just imported from my iPhone into iPhoto. I have pictures of food carts, meals that I had at great Portland restaurants, etc. Most of those pictures are related to important projects on which I am working.

It would great to go through those pictures and sort them into albums based on which the projects for which they are intended. That is an important task. However if I do that at the expense of getting my writing in each week, I am a fool. For me, writing is a Battle Winning Task. It is hard to be an author and a speaker if you do not get your writing done.

Do You Want To Show Al Your Calendar?

If you spend time each day or each week actually getting to your Battle Winning Tasks, get a calendar and a red pen and put a check mark on each day or week that you got to your Battle Winning Tasks. The more red ink you see, the closer you are getting to your dream.

If you end up with a calendar that has lots of red ink in it, you will be fired up to show it to others. Plus that is a great way to track your progress. My hope is that by the end of 2012 I will be excited to show Al my calendar.

December 2012 is coming and the world is not going to end on 12–21–12. Start working now to make your 2013 what you want it to be.

For more on battling for your dream see – www.battleforyourdream.com.

If you have a dream that you are battling for, I know how hard that can be. I hope that you have encouraging people pulling for you. Please know that I am pulling for you. If I can be of any assistance or encouragement my email address is sshomler@GoodLifeSage.com

That’s it!

Steven Shomler

Good Life Sage

Posted in Battle For Your Dream, Spirituality, Success and Motivation | Tagged 12-14-12, 12-21-12, 2012, 2013, Al Gallo, Battle for your Dream, Battle Winning Tasks, Mayan Calendar, Mayan Prophecy, Mayans, Red Ink, The Hobbit | 8 Comments

How to Make Great Turkey!

Posted on November 14, 2011 by stevenshomler

How To Make Great Turkey! How To Cook Great Turkey!

www.howtomakegreatturkey.com www.howtocookgreatturkey.com

I make great turkey! I cook great turkey!

My approach is easy and effective.

My turkey browns nicely and it is always moist and tender and delicious.

I can help you learn how to cook great turkey for Thanksgiving, Christmas – anytime.

Please note – I do NOT ever baste my turkey.

So how do I make my great turkey and avoid the misery that is turkey basting?

I will tell you my turkey secrets! Forthwith!

My first secret is that I use a Flavor Injector ( www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-flavor-injector.htm)

A Flavor Injector is a wonderful cooking tool. It is a syringe with a long metal needle that you can use to inject melted butter directly into your turkey. Let me say that again – you can inject melted butter directly into your turkey. Is that fantastic or what!

Here is how you go about making/cooking Great Turkey.

Get your turkey out on a large cookie sheet.

Take one or 2 cubes of butter and put the butter on the stove in small pan on med low heat to melt. Add 1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper per cube to your melting butter. Yes, I said Cayenne pepper! It will give your bird a wonderful flavor.

Run a glass 1 cup measuring cup under hot water.

Get out a small bowl and fill it with ice cubes.

Once your butter melts and starts to brown, pour it into the warmed measuring cup.

The reason you use a 1 cup measuring cup is because it is narrow enough to allow you to easily get the butter into the syringe and sturdy enough to work with. Do not use a plastic measuring cup. Bad things can happen when you put hot butter into a plastic container.

Time to shoot up the turkey!

Load the syringe up with the melted cayenne butter and start injecting the bird. Point the syringe straight down and carefully pull out the needle. Often when I do that, the butter starts running out of the hole I just made into my bird. That is what the bowl of ice is for. Apply an ice cube to the hole and the butter bleed will stop as the butter chills and hardens. Inject the bird all over. Just go for it.

Stuffing

If you are going to stuff the bird, now is the time. Don’t be shy – cram your stuffing in.

To see my one of my stuffing recipes go to www.stevenshomler.com/2011/01/20/christmas-feast-2010-part-3-sourdough-stuffing-am-yukon-gold-mashed-potatoes-with-hazelnut-butter

Put your turkey in a bag!

My final turkey secret is that is really easy and convenient to use an oven bag for a turkey.

If you use a Reynolds oven bag, you do not have to baste your bird, and it will be moist and delicious. www.reynoldsovenbags.com. Why Reynolds? Heck – they make a plasticbag that you put a turkey in and put into the oven. That technology amazes me! Why doesn’t the bag melt? or explode? I don’t know, they probably use special gamma ray irradiated polymers in it. If the Reynolds people want to fly me out to to learn more about their amazing bag, I would be delighted to go!

I have found that it can be tough to get the bird into the bag. While your turkey is still on the cookie sheet , open up your bag, and slide it under and over the bird. I advise against picking up the bird and trying to put it into the bag. Speaking from ugly experience you might drop the bird.

Getting the bird into the bag always reminds me of Jack Daughery’s line – “watching certain women put on panty hose can like be watching someone stuff a marshmallow into a piggy bank.”

While the amazing plastic oven bag does not melt, you want to take out the racks in the oven above the bird and make sure that your turkey is on a lower rack. When heated the bag does inflate, and you do not want the bag to hit the top of the oven while it is cooking. The 4 pics immediately above show my turkey as it first goes into the oven, after about 1 hour in the oven, after about 2 hours, and just before I took it out of the oven.

Let me close with this – In the past I have received grief from other cooks about using a cooking bag for a turkey. It used to bother me. I have since learned to let it go. I love the Food Network, and Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Iron Chef America are two of my favortite shows. I in 2010 I watched a Thanksgiving Throwdown that had Bobby Flay vs Ree Drummond. www.foodnetwork.com/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/thanksgiving-feast www.thepioneerwoman.com.

I loved that Throwdown episode, however, I felt sorry for both of them as they kept having to baste thier turkeys. I like how I do it. It works for me and my turkey always is moist and delicious. What more could you want?

So – if you want to make/cook great turkey – simply follow the instructions above!

I do hope that my turkey bag confession does not prevent me from some day being a judge on Iron Chef… Chairman – Please consider a turkey bag a poor man’s Sous Vide / Immersion Circulator.

If you would like to easily share this article with someone it can be found at www.howtomakegreatturkey.com or www.howtocookgreatturkey.com as well as on www.stevenshomler.com

That’s it,

Steven Shomler

Posted in Cooking, Food, My Passions | Tagged Bobby Flay, Butter, Cayenne Pepper, Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Flavor Injector, Great Turkey, How to Cook Great Turkey, How to Make Great Turkey, Iron Chef, Jack Daughery, Marshmallows, Melted Butter, Panty Hose, Ree Drummond, Reynolds, Reynolds Oven Bags, Thanksgiving, The Food Network, The Pioneer Woman, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Turkey, Turkey Baster, www.howtocookgreatturkey.com, www.howtomakegreatturkey.com | Leave a comment

Going For It – My Breakthrough Quest

Posted on September 1, 2011 by stevenshomler

Going For It – My Breakthrough Quest

www.mybreakthroughquest.com

My good friend Al Gallo (www.breakthroughwisdom.com) taught me that focused effort brings breakthroughs.

In the past two months (July and August 2011) my wife Gayla and I have a made a number of pretty intense changes to our lives and our living situation. We have made these changes so that I can spend the next six months - September 2011 through February 2012 writing full time (40 +hours a week)

Since I started my first blog in December 2009, I have worked a full time job and done my writing on the side. It has taken me quite a while to hone my brand and figure out what I actually want to write about.

It helps to finally know what I want to write about. Some of the blogs I started are ones that I will not pursue, other blogs I have started I will stick with and get back to. To see what blogs I will keep pursuing see my “follow” page on stevenshomler.com/follow

When I started stevenshomler.com in December 2009 I did not actually know what I would write about. I just knew that I had to write and that I should get started and figure it out along the way. I am so glad that I did that. It has been in writing the past 18 months or so that I have been able to find my authentic point of view and discover what I want to write about.

Back on June 6th, 2011 we had a great situation all laid out, my wife was working a full time job and I had a part time job ( Pastoring at Bridge City Community Church 15-20 hours a week) and I was going to be able to spend 40 or so hours a week writing and battling for our dreams.

By June 12th the wheels completely came off and everything seem to fall apart. To maintain our status qou and keep us in our home I was going to need to find a full time job ASAP.

It was then that my wife said that we should make whatever changes necessary to be able to stick with a scenario that allowed me to write 40 plus hours a week. So 2 months or so later here we are – a new address and many other things completely changed. I am very blessed, not many wives would be willing to do what Gayla has done, to give their husbands a chance to battle for thier dreams. If this works , it will be a great story!

182 Days – September 1, 2011 – February 29, 2012

Focused effort brings breakthroughs.

I want to be a speaker and an author. Our battle plan is that I am going to spend the next six months working 15-20 hours a week at my part time job to help pay the bills and 40 plus hours a week writing a book and using my blogs and social media to help make my goal of being a speak and an author become a reality.

I am going to work this battle plan 6 days a week for the next 6 months and I am expecting that this focused effort will bring us a breakthrough.

We may not succeed, but I would rather go for it and fail than not go for it and spend the rest of my life wondering.

I want to become a speaker and an author. I want a better life for my family. I want to have the freedom to live a first class lifestyle. I want to see the beaches of the worlds. (www.battleforyourdream.com)

I am going spend the next 182 days (counting today) working hard and working smart to live the life I imagine. I am on a 182 Day Breakthrough Quest. Rest assured, I will keep you posted.

That’s it,

Steven Shomler

Posted in Battle For Your Dream, My Breakthrough Quest, My Journey, My Projects, Success and Motivation | Tagged 182 Days, Al Gallo, Battle for your Dream, Breakthrough Wisdom, Go For It, My Breakthrough Quest, Writing | Leave a comment

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Review

Posted on July 10, 2011 by stevenshomler

First published at Good Life Movie Reviews www.goodlifemoviereviews.com

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Review

Transformers: Dark of the Moon PG-13 (PG-13 due to intense scenes)

Movies Website – www.transformersmovie.com

“Autobots, Decepticons, intense action, explosions, Sam Witwicky and a new hottie who is easy on the eyes!” Steven Shomler, Good Life Movie Reviews

Summary – The Decepticons are once again deceiving. This time the mystery centers on what did or did not really happen on the moon. Transformer regulars – Sam Witwicky (Shia Labeouf), Lennox (Josh Duhamel), Epps (Tyrese Gibson) and Simmons (John Turturro) are joined by newcomers- Carly Spencer (Rosie Hunington-Whiteley) Dylan (Patrick Dempsey) and Mearing (Frances McDormand). The story and the battle converges in the city of Chicago.

Rating - I give Transformers:Dark of the Moon 3 out of 5 Gas Cans. Enjoyable. Worth seeing in the theater, especially if you are fan of Summer blockbusters!

3D My advice – See this movie in 3D. It’s worth it.

Is it a Film or a Movie? Transformers:Dark of the Moon is a movie.

My Favorite Quote – “You either take the right position out of college, or you fall into a soul sucking abyss.”

Runner up Quote – “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.”

Other Quotes – “Neil, you are dark on the rock, mission is a go.”

“My hero needs to wake up.”

“As I recall, that was not even the highlight of your day.”

“It reminds me of Bumblebee, if Bumblebee was a POS.”

“That is Shockwave.”

“I want a job that matters.”

“Do I look Like a ma m?”

“You are a woman, right?”

“It’s Cyrillic, it’s like all the buttons on the calculator, that you don’t ever push.”

‘I hereby discharge you from duty.”

“Is that okay with you, Mr. Inappropriate?”

“That kids is an alien bad news magnet.”

“I am just a messenger!”

My Favorite Sequence – Witwicky and the gang in the collapsing building. really cool sequence.

Who you should see the movie with – Ideally teenage boys. Michael Bay seems to know what they want in a summer movie. also fans of the previous two Transformers movies.

Other reviews you might find helpful – From The New York Times by A.O. Scott www.movies.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/movies/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-movie-review.html

From Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133_20483482,00.html

From USA Today by Claudia Puig www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/transformers-dark-of-the-moon

What I liked about this movie and other thoughts -

This was a fun summer movie. explosions, awesome special effects, a hot girl, bad guys, good guys. Yep. you have seen it all before, but it still looks good.

Chicago gets totally laid waste in this movie and all that was impressive to see.

I really liked the appearances by a number of the less featured characters;

Sam’s parents; Ron and Judy Witwiky (Kevin Dunn and Julie White).

Bruce Brazos magnificently played by John Malkovich.

Jerry Wang creepily played by Ken Jeong.

and Sentinel Prime voiced by Leonard Nimoy.

All in all, a satisfying summer blockbuster.

That’s it

Steven Shomler

Good Life Movie Reviews

Transformers Movie Quotes Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Quotes

Posted in Movie Reviews | Tagged Autobots, Bumblebee, Chicago, Decepticons, Good Life Movie Reviews, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Leonard Nimoy, Rosie Hunington-Whiteley, Sam Witwicky, Sentinel Prime, Shia LaBeouf, Transformers Movie Quotes, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Quotes, Transformers: Dark of the Moon Movie Review, www.goodlifemoviereviews.com | Leave a comment

Green Lantern Movie Review

Posted on July 7, 2011 by stevenshomler

First published www.GoodLifeMovieReviews.com - my movie review blog.

Green Lantern PG -13 (IMO – In My Opinion - PG-13 due to some of the action scenes)

Movies Website - www.greenlanternmovie.warnerbros.com

“A good movie for fans of Green Lantern and the Green lantern Corp!” Steven Shomler, Good Life Movie Reviews.

Summary - Test Pilot Hal Jordan is given a Green Lantern Ring by a dying alien (Abin Sur) and proceeds to learn about it, the Green Lantern Corp and himself, as he defends earth against against an evil foe.

Rating

This is the first movie I have had to give two different ratings to. I have never seen a movie reviewer do that before, but I figured what the heck, why not be first. This movie gets either, 2 or 3 (of 5) gas cans depending…let me explain. We start with the 3 gas cans -

I Give Green Lantern 3 out of 5 gas cans. Enjoyable. Go see it in the Theater - if…If you read Green Lantern or Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics as a kid. If you are fan of theGreen Lantern Corp. If you remember the first time you read Tales Of the Green Lantern Corp #1. If Hal Jordan and (Not Guy Gardner, or John Stewart, or Kyle Rayner*) is your favorite human Green Lantern than this is the movie for you! You will get a kick out of seeing Tomar Re and hearing Kilowog say “Poozer” and seeing Oa on the big screen etc. etc.

* I did not forget Alan Scott Earth 2′s Green Lantern. Earth 2 heroes and members of the Justice Society and All Star Squadron are in a category all their own. Cool pics and links below at the end of this post.

If however, the above paragraph sounds like gibberish or unknown-to-you geek talk, then I give Green Lantern 2 out of 5 Gas Cans - Mediocre. See it at the theater only if you are already at the theater and there is nothing else worth seeing. Better to wait until this movie comes out on DVD.

It is an okay movie, just not a great movie. If you are not already familiar with the world and mythos of Green Lantern this movie might not float your boat.

Is it a Film or a Movie? Green Lantern is a movie.

My Favorite Quote – “To Infinity and beyond, By the power of Grayskull.”

Runner up Quotes – “You are afraid, good.”

“Have you concluded admiring yourself?”

“Never let your guard down, Poozer!”

I would have gone with Jones too, but unfortunately he is busy not being good enough.”

“Make yourself at home, there is water in the tap.”

“I have never felt better in my life.”

” ‘Same old, same old’, ‘same here.’ “

My Favorite Sequence - Hal Jordan and Hector Hammond at the Ferris Aircraft party telling each know that nothing has really changed in their lives lately.

Who you should see the movie with – Friends who are comic book fans who know the Green Lantern mythos.

Other reviews you might find helpful – From Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133_20483463,00.html

From USA Today by Claudia Puig -http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2011-06-16-green-lantern-ryan-reynolds_n.htm

What I liked about this movie and other thoughts -

I am a comic book nerd. I loved seeing Tomar Re and Kilowog and Oa and Sinestro and Amanda Waller and the DEO etc, etc etc.

I thought this movie did a nice job with the prologue giving viewers a brief explanation of the Green Lantern Corp.

For me, this movie failed to have enough heart. It was lacking depth. I liked Ryan Reynolds, yet he did not come off as truly heroic, like Hal Jordan does in the comics.

I ened up seeing this movie in both 3D and 2D. I liked it better in 2D, other than the very end. The “planet” scenes that play during the closing credits, they look amazing in 3D.

I liked the sense of childhood nostalgia I felt seeing a real live Green Lantern movie on the big screen, even a mediocre Green Lantern movie.

If you are a comic book nerd like me , you might appreciate the links and pictures below.

That’s it!

Steven Shomler

Good Life Movie Reviews.