An Update Of Sorts...

Hey, how's it going... if anybody's still out there...

It's been a little while since my last post. Right before Thanksgiving, I guess. The fact that blog posts reflecting on a recent absence seem to be more and more frequent is not lost on me. The blog's been in a funk for a while, and it's probably because I've been in a funk for a while. I can't tell you when the last time I picked up a fishing rod was... September?  Ugh.

A lonely rod sits unused...

November and December are usually rather tough times for me (& the blog). I work in e-commerce retail, and spend far too much time in front of a computer screen on the weekends, rather than enjoying personal (& family) pursuits.

Plus, I've been dealing with a bum right shoulder for a little bit. I'm not certain how it originally happened, but in the last few weeks, it was causing quite a bit of discomfort. Caused a few sleepless nights and just general daily pain, but with a recent diagnosis and a rehab plan, I think we're on the other side of that now...

However, it isn't all bad in the land of T!... we did have some (non-fishing) fun.

Living in Florida, and with Disney season passes, we did get away one weekend to EPCOT & Magic Kingdom. That was pretty fun, plus the parks are always decorated so nicely for the holidays.

I also spent a weekend in Homestead, Florida at a NASCAR race. I'm not a huge NASCAR fan in that I have a favorite driver or anything, but it's part of my job so I've created a bit of an affinity. NASCAR races are very unique sporting events to attend, if you haven't been to one, it's worth going at least once.

And we did get out to see the new Star Wars! Don't worry, I won't spoil anything, but I think I'm turning into a Star Wars curmudgeon... because... ummm... uhhhh... I didn't really like it...

Don't get me wrong, it certainly had its moments, and it was awesome to see Luke Skywalker back on the big screen, but there were just so many things that left me scratching my head. I'm probably just too invested in the saga...

This weekend, I've got one eye on work, and another trying to get the Winter issue of Tenkara Angler completed. I'm definitely a little behind on the latter, but hoping to get it published before the end of the year. The content is definitely top notch again and should be an enjoyable read.

So with that, I make no promises that I'll be posting again before Christmas. I'm hoping things fall into place, but the way this blogging year went, probably won't be the case. In any event, I truly wish all of you the happiest and healthiest of holiday seasons - looking forward to 2018 full of family, friends, and fish!

May The Fourth Be With You

Just pulling out an old photo to celebrate one of my favorite holidays...

Exploring Florida - Star Wars Celebration Orlando

There's no fishing in this post. Not even going to pretend. Just a guy geeking out with his family at Star Wars Celebration last weekend. This isn't the first Star Wars themed post here, and definitely won't be the last. Not too much to say, those of you who get it, will get it. Instead, I'll just share some photos:

Beanieboomagic

Huh?

Ha...the kid started her own YouTube channel the other day. She's all about drawing cartoons and stop-motion animation and I think she's doing a pretty rad job with virtually no oversight or tools other than a tablet app.

I'll embed a few of her videos below, but check out her channel HERE if you're YouTube inclined. She gets soooo excited when she sees people "like" her videos. I'm amazed by the expression she's able to get her cartoon characters to make.

Humor me, I'm a proud Dad:

Damn You November!

Sorry for the silence, and for leaving that damn Fozzils post in the top spot on my homepage for almost two weeks...

This time of year is always non-stop craziness in the old Troutrageous! household. I work in internet retail, so a lot of my time (both day & night) is spent making last minute preparations to ensure that all the right gifts are in stock and ready to be purchased for lucky sports fans across the country.

Lilly in Christmas spirit at Magic Kingdom last weekend

Compounding this is the fact that it is extremely difficult to write those big Dallas Cowboys purchase orders this year, considering I'm an Eagles fan. I'll probably be in this state of retail overload and blogging abandonment through mid-February...but it is what it is, happens every year.

Hard at work...at work?  Go Birds! #cubelife

Anyway, are you doing any fishing? I haven't recently, but I think I might sneak out this weekend for a little bit. The weather in the Jacksonville area is downright beautiful right now with highs in the mid 70-degree range. By far my favorite time of year here in the northeastern Sunshine State.

I could try running up to Georgia to chase some trout, but it's evidently all on fire. A damn shame. The Southeast could really use some rain.

By the way, less than a month until Rogue One. Omgomgomgomg!

Finally, and coming full circle on internet retail; if you ever wanted to give tenkara a try (didn't think we could get through this post without mentioning it, right), there might not be a better time to take the plunge than right now. A few companies like Tenkara USA, Dragontail, and Tanuki are running some killer pre-Black Friday deals at the moment, with promises of more deals from others to come. They're all being tracked on Facebook HERE.

I guess that's really all I have to say. I realize this post was just some incoherent thoughts slapped together, but I wanted to my handful of readers know I'm still around.

Star Wars: Rogue One - It's Almost Time

Disclaimer: This is a non-fishing post. I do these from time to time, so deal with it.

I recently realized that I never really addressed the upcoming Star Wars film Rogue One here on the blog, despite writing several posts over the last year about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While my opinion is no where near critical to your enjoyment or build up of anticipation for the release, I figured I'd at least chime in because we're now less than three months away from the premiere.

I'm pretty psyched for the film, the first in what appears to be several "stand-alone" entries into the Star Wars universe. For various reasons, it seems that there is a small, but vocal faction of Star Wars faithful that don't share my enthusiasm, citing the over the top Hollywood visuals and polish, a Director that might just be in over his head, the emergence of black-armored death troopers that seemingly solely exist to sell merchandise, and the amount of information that has been tactfully leaked to the press in advance.

Look, I guess it is what it is, it might not be George Lucas' pre-CGI Star Wars anymore, but different doesn't have to be bad. After all, Star Wars is an outer-space fairy tale. It's entertainment. It's never going to be confused for an Oscar-nominated "Best Picture" candidate, and it's definitely to the point where the story lines are being catered toward the masses, not necessarily crafted for die-hards that long for the "Expanded Universe" to be reinserted into canon. It's a little more evolved than a standard "popcorn movie," but not by terribly much. (With the exception of Empire, the first ones weren't either, most of us were just too young to know the difference).

So bring on Jyn Erso and all of the other characters whose names I really haven't taken the time to learn yet. Bring on the media blitz, and the fatigue from overexposure that comes along for the ride. Bring on the merchandise; yes, I've already pre-ordered a horribly-sculpted action figure for Lilly to play with, and really think those beach-loving stormtroopers and that blind space-ninja guy are rad. Heck, bring on Forest Whitaker, just because you can. Bring it all on, because with 32 years between Return of the Jedi & The Force Awakens (I don't count those damn prequels), the Star Wars franchise has a lot of lost time to make up for, and there's no time like the present. 

Oh, and did I mention bring on Darth Vader too?

December 16th, 2016, let's do this!

Star Wars, Rey, Lilly, & Strong Female Role Models

Warning, this post contains no fishing content. It also makes reference to some themes in the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. While it does not speak to anything specific that takes place in the film, if you are liberal with what you consider a "spoiler," feel free to leave now.

Being a father changes you. Especially when you have a daughter.

Going back on the blog a few years, I supported the "women in waders" theme that was (and continues to be) so popular online. Maybe it wasn't as frequent a topic as Moldy Chum's weekly "Friday Pin Up," but I wasn't shy to put an attractive, scantily-clad woman with a fly rod in hand (or not) on the blog.

Fast forward to today, I've got an almost ten-year-old daughter that is just starting to hit those awkward years in life where self-awareness really starts to take hold, opinions of others become far too important, and confidence levels can ebb and flow daily like the stock exchange.

Thank you Lilly for changing my point of view, and thank you Star Wars for giving her Rey.

The biggest, and possibly most beloved movie franchise in the world has picked a female as the lead for the next generation of stories. Not as a co-star, not a love interest, a clear, strong lead. And that's kind of a big deal. 

Little boys love Star Wars. They watch the movies, memorize the dialogue, buy the toys, dress up and role play as their favorite characters, develop an entire culture around it. While Finn was entertaining and Poe was sharp, Rey was the one that kicked ass. She was Batman, she was G.I. Joe, she was (dare I say) Indiana Jones. 

While there are many new platforms such as Amy Poehler's Smart Girls & espnW helping champion positive female role models, as a Dad, I can't help but notice that little girls need more of that in popular culture. 

In The Force Awakens, Rey is THE hero; smart, strong, tough, and didn't need any man's help to take care of herself. She can fly a ship, wield a staff, survive in the desert, analyze a sticky situation, take on the First Order, and do it all without wearing a skin-tight costume to accentuate her "curves." 

In fact, Rey doesn't wear a dress at all. She also doesn't wear pink or a tiara, doesn't sing songs, and while her movie may be funded by Disney, certainly isn't a princess. Most importantly she's not the star of a movie made specifically for little girls, Star Wars transcends gender.

As far as fictional characters go, I can't imagine one in popular culture today I'd rather have Lilly admire or emulate. Rey seemingly does anything and everything well; she takes fear and weakness and transforms it into confidence and strength. She fights on the battlefield alongside men and wins. Those are traits displayed by a woman that any kid (girl or boy) of middle school age should find as inspirational.

(Note: Lilly's primary extracurricular interest is karate, she is well along her path to becoming a black belt in Tang Soo Do. She's also one of only a handful of girls in her school. She holds her own against everyone in her skill group and swings a mean nunchaku While I didn't point her in that direction, )

As a kid, I had a few Princess Leia action figures, but when I "played" Star Wars, I selected Luke or Han in battles to take on the Empire. Leia was there to be saved.

In upcoming years, will impressionable boys be picking up their Rey action figures to take on Kylo Ren and rescue Poe? If so, it will certainly be a long overdue paradigm shift. 

There's been an Awakening...have you felt it?

I have, and hope little girls & boys everywhere feel it too.

Wow. Thank You J.J.

K.C. & Lilly didn't want to brave the advance screening crowds of Star Wars last night, so I went solo, no pun intended.

Fear not, no spoilers, but afterward I had to text back to her my immediate thoughts...

Now I'm clearly more a fanboy than a critic, but I'd have to say that if you have/had any attachment, affection, etc...toward the first three films...of which I mean Episodes IV-VI, (damn you prequels for making me have to clarify that), The Force Awakens is a must see, no-brainer.

Perhaps you're going to see the official "premiere" tonight, maybe it's later this weekend (like me...again), or even if you're waiting for the crowds to die down after the new year, it's sooooo worth it.

Now it's just going to kill me to have to wait 2 years to continue the story....arrrrggghhh!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Slept in a bit this morning, so these greetings might be a little late, but hope everyone out there has an awesome Thanksgiving!

Our family is going low key this year, but there will certainly be good food on the table, exciting football on the TV, (well, my Eagles are playing, so let's call it marginal football) and of course lots of  gratitude and warm thoughts.  Can't ask for much more than that.

Tenkara Tuesday - The Force Awakens

Welcome to Tenkara Tuesday...

Ok, who the heck cares about fixed line fly fishing when there's a new Star Wars trailer to watch!


Over...and over...and over...and over...

Video - Fly Fishing Father & Son Stormtroopers

This is rather excellent from Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company...
Stick with it, it gets better as it goes...


I mean who doesn't need a Jawa to assist with fly selection?

Reader Suggested Content...

As a blogger, it is crucial to read and respond to your readers' comments.

This is for you +Kevin Frank

Tenkara, Roller Derby, Swag, & Calendar Grab Bag

Sometimes there's beauty in silence...

That could have been the theme of this blog over the past few weeks. Other than a random post here or there, I gotta be honest, it was just nice to kind of tune most everything internet & social media out for a little bit.

However, it's time to hop back on that horse; I think I'll give a rundown of some things of note, things that may even foreshadow future posts here on the blog...


The 2015 Tenkara Summit

Yep, the Tenkaraverse is descending on Colorado again for a gathering that seems to get bigger and better each and every year. I have to admit that while I'm kinda bummed not to be heading West this year (I've attended the last three), I wish all of my fixed-line friends safe travels and an absolutely awesome time.

While meeting others and putting faces to names is always the highlight, Rocky Mountain National Park is also beautiful this time of year, the bugling elk should be out and about, and I'm sure the fish will be eager to cooperate.

Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Playoffs

The reason I'm not going to the Tenkara Summit is because my wife has become super immersed in her role with the Jacksonville Rollergirls, who's All Star team is one of the top 10 ranked women's flat track roller derby teams in the world!

The Rollergirls happen to be hosting the Division 1 playoff tournament this weekend...and if the team does well against the likes of Denver, London, & Atlanta, well...I might just be following them on to Minnesota in November (brrrrr...) to cheer on their quest for the World Championship!


Mail Call

The postal service has been kind to me in recent weeks. Folks must think as a blogger of a largely dormant blog, that I have some sort of influence or something...ha!

Seriously, first off, a BIG thank you to my friend Howard for passing along the fancy, new WK&TL stickers...they're great! I'll find a nice place to stick 'em...if Lilly doesn't get a hold of them first!

I also received one of the new ultra-light floating tenkara lines to play around with from Anthony at Three Rivers Tenkara. They aren't exactly what I expected (in a very good way), and I'll likely do a write up/review of the line for next week's "Tenkara Tuesday."

Last but not least, a new 5-weight rod and reel showed up somewhat unannounced. The new Pflueger Medalist reel, paired with a Fenwick World Class rod needs to get put through some paces, pronto. I just need to get a line on the reel...and I feel like I've been fishing tenkara so much lately, I'm somewhat out of tune on what to string on there. Any suggestions for a solid 5-weight fly line that won't break the bank, let me know...

Oh, and BB-8.


Tenkara Calendar

I silently launched a new website over the weekend that I hope in time will become a good resource for the tenkara community.  I have to admit, the idea was not mine at all (although I'm not sure that person wants to be named); I just set up the site.

Check out TenkaraCalendar.com for all of the tenkara-themed events I could find online, neatly organized under one central URL.

The events can be expanded to read more information, directly saved to your Google Calendar, shared socially, heck there's even a button that allows you to submit your own tenkara or conservation-based event to the calendar, be it as large as a summit or as small as a meetup on a local creek. All events are welcomed!

I'd love any feedback on how to improve the site, it's rather basic in appearance right now, but I'm open to constructive criticism.


I guess I've written enough, that'll probably do for now. Need to leave a few things unsaid in the interest of future posts...