Campaign Against Cancer: An Interview with Chad Hoefle

As anticipation builds for this year's Campaign Against Cancer X-Wing event, this video from last year's Star Wars Celebration was shared on the group's Facebook page. Founder Chad Hoefle talks with SciFiction's Owen C. Cotter about what Twin Suns Charities, Inc. does and how it seeks to help others. 

Meanwhile, my excitement for this year's event is growing stronger by the day. 

The initial list of locations has been released, minus a few who are still working out some last minute issues. There are 34 locations across six countries this year! However, it might be a trek: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is currently the closest location to me. Unless a DC/Virginia/Maryland location is one of the ones working out some issues I think I'll be taking a road trip in May. 

Our First Wedding Anniversary!

A year ago today, I married the love of my life aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. 

It still seems like yesterday that I met Teresa despite the fact that it was nearly 8 years ago. Time has really flown by! I look forward to many more happy years with her filled with love, laughter, coffee, and cats.

Norwegian Pearl

Ahoy everyone!

My wife and I just got back from our 5-day Western Caribbean cruise aboard Norwegian Pearl. She was the same class of ship as Norwegian Gem, so it was quite a bit like coming home! The Captain was on hand, of course. But because the the Pearl was so similar to the Gem, I didn't really get photos of him around the ship. Oh well.

We caught a 6 am flight to Miami, Florida (courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line) and as such had plenty of time before boarding. We could see Norwegian Pearl just out the cruise terminal windows. And so we waited. 

We finally boarded a few hours later and our anniversary cruise officially began!

 

We had one sea day before hitting Belize and Mexico, as well as one before getting back to Miami. We spent a lot of time on the Pool Deck soaking up the sun, reading, drinking tropical drinks, and people watching. Cruising is great for all of those. 

Belize was our first stop. Norwegian has its own island called Harvest Caye, but the 400 people who work on the island are locals, which we both thought was pretty awesome. 

We went ashore and spent most of the day relaxing in the sun and drinking rum out of coconuts. It was all awesome until we realized the sunscreen we'd put on had expired some time ago. So we got back to the Pearl looking a bit like lobsters.

Our second, and last, port of the trip was Costa Maya, Mexico. As we were docking, we pulled up beside Norwegian Getaway. She was quite a bit bigger than the Pearl and can carry almost double the passengers. The Captain, of course, had to take a look for himself.

One thing Teresa and I have both wanted to see for years were Mayan ruins, so we booked a shore excursion to Chacchoben. The archaeological site was about an hour northwest of the port and Paula, our guide, gave us a great rundown of Mayan history and culture. The site was settled somewhere around 200 BC, though the existing structures date to around 700 AD. 

The ruins were amazing! Although Chacchoben is a smaller site, there was a lot more than either of us had expected! It was a dream come true for the both us...and I also felt inspired to finally pick up and finish my Mesoamerican-themed Rainbow Warriors Space Marine force for Warhammer 40k.

When we got back to Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Getaway had set sail but there were two other ships in port: Norwegian Sun and Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas. 

Teresa and I also met the Pearl's captain as well! Captain Giovanni was so nice and welcoming (he even gave me a hug I presented him with a small gift). 

We got to see him go up against Cruise Director Tiara in the Battle of the Cake Masters on the last day and it was hysterical! Seriously, the Captain could have a career in stand up comedy if he wanted to.

Captain Giovanni was even kind enough to take a photo with me (in his chef hat) afterwards!

Of course, photos cannot do the voyage justice. It was a great time! We'll undoubtedly do another cruise for our second anniversary, but in the mean time we're looking at a short trip in October on either Norwegian Sun or Norwegian Sky. The Captain will, of course, be along for that voyage as well!

First Anniversary Cruise & the Captain's Return

It's hard to believe that nearly a year ago, on January 19, Teresa and I got married aboard the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. We set sail the next day on our honeymoon cruise to the Mexican Riviera and had an absolute blast! 

We'll be going on a cruise once again to celebrate our first anniversary. This time we're off to the Western Caribbean and set sail in two days! We'll again be sailing with Norwegian Cruise Line, this time aboard the Norwegian Pearl out of Miami, Florida. The Pearl is the same class of ship as the one we sailed on for our honeymoon...which is nice because we'll already pretty much know our way around!

We'll have two sea days (where I intend to spend my time either reading on deck or sitting in a steam room) with stops at Harvest Caye in Belize and Costa Maya in Mexico.

The Captain in front of the legendary Queen Mary in January 2019.

And of course, as with last year, the Captain will be joining us! I took photos of him aboard the Queen Mary and the Norwegian Gem (plus our ports of call in Mexico) and plan to do the same on the Norwegian Pearl. Stay tuned! 

On the Workbench: Celestial Lions, Part I

My first project for 2020 is working on the Celestial Lions from Warhammer 40k! I stumbled across them in an index of Space Marines and was struck with their color scheme. Being that I'm sick to death of seeing Ultramarines everywhere, I decided that I wanted to do something decidedly different. It turns out they've been featured in a few of the 40k books lately which has really fleshed out their story.

Without giving too much away, they were targeted by their side's own Inquisition and nearly obliterated for a crime they didn't commit. Their chapter barely survived and has been struggling to rebuild for some time.

I'd painted up a test figure a few months ago and was really pleased (for the most part) with how he turned out. As a result, I've spent the last week or so working on the Celestial Lions using figures I'd already acquired.

After priming in black, the figures were given a coat of Retributor Armour spray. They were then given a wash of Games Workshop Agrax Earthshade Gloss in order to maintain that brilliant shine. I then applied a drybrush of Vallejo Gold followed by one of Vallejo Silver. I think it really makes the armor pop.  

The helmets and shoulder pads were then given a coat of Vallejo Prussian Blue, followed by a wash of Games Workshop Drakenhof Nightshade. They will eventually be given a lighter coat of blue; I think I used Vallejo Deep Sky Blue on my test figure. 

While those were drying, I went to work assembling a few more Space Marine Hero and Primaris figures that I had laying about. The book Spear of the Emperor by Aaron Dembski-Bowden confirmed that the Celestial Lions have Primaris Space Marines (second generation superhuman warriors who are even stronger than the regular Space Marine).

I'm going to paint up a very small number of regular Space Marines for my Celestial Lions to represent just how decimated the chapter was after the massacre. The bulk of the force will be the afore mentioned Primaris Marines with some Space Marine Scouts thrown in there as well. My goal is to finish up the Tactical Squad by the end of January.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Here’s to 2020! May it be a good and happy year, and the start to a wonderful new decade. As is our tradition now, Teresa and I are toasting the year with a bottle of our favorite beer: Duchesse de Bourgogne.

My goal for 2020 is to finally finish many of the projects I’ve started over the years. Instead of saying just that  I’ll finish painting the figures that I have, I’ll pick up figures and whatnot only if they’re related to a project. Wish me luck!