Friday, September 11, 2026

Pokemon Nicknames: Disney (6)

Working my way through replaying Pokemon Yellow and catching more on Pokemon Go (thank you, Explorer Gadget), I have Pokemon on my mind (when don’t I?) so I have another round of fun Disney nicknames for your Pokemon (fun for me at least). Here we go with another handful:

Dedenne as Gus Gus

Nickit as Nick Wilde

Tepig as Pua

Purugly as Machiavelli

Tirtouga as Squirt

Quaxly as Donald

Diglett as Mole

Mantine as Tala

Raboot as Judy Hopps

Disney-Themed Pokemon Nicknames:



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Monday, September 7, 2026

LDS Geeks Podcast #73: Animorphs Re-Read (15)


We've come to the end! It's been a fun ride but we had to finish eventually. This time the reading included the Animorphs' last stand, the backstory of the all-powerful Ellimist, and the finale/epilogue. It's insane! (Please forgive the background noise from my family getting ready the morning of recording)
--Spencer

Listen to Episode 73 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Check out Spencer's recent blog posts: click here

Check out Russell's recent blog posts: click here



Show notes:

00:00:12 - Introductions
        "Riordanverse Reading Schedule" by Spencer
00:02:35 - Spencer's Recommendation: Hercules
        Available for streaming on Disney Plus
00:07:18 - Russell's Recommendation: The Sandlot
        Available for streaming on Disney Plus
        "Benny 'The Jet' Rodriguez and Lessons in Friendship" by Russell
00:12:51 - Reflecting on reading Animorphs
00:16:20 - #53 - The Answer
00:31:29 - Ellimist Chronicles
00:48:27 - #54 - The Beginning
01:13:58 - The End


Animorphs Re-Read Podcast Series:

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Friday, September 4, 2026

Fifth Doctor Revisited: "The Five Doctors"


Working through Doctor Who had to include spotlighting every multi-Doctor story. Especially anniversary episodes. As I said regarding "The Three Doctors", the laws of time may have said you couldn't cross your own timeline, but apparently the Doctor is repeatedly an exception to that. While reports say this story would have been very different if Tom Baker had joined the fun, this was still an amazing crossover. Perhaps not cinematic like "The Day of the Doctor" but still epic. So here are some of my thoughts and ramblings about "The Five Doctors".


Let's start with the First Doctor and Susan. Recasted due to the passing of William Hartnell, the original Doctor appeared in this story, portrayed by Richard Hurndall. He was dragged into the Death Zone first and his capture was the most mundane. He was never companionless throughout his tenure, but his companions were nowhere to be seen. Speaking of companions, his granddaughter Susan was pulled from her time (presumably out of the 22nd Century where he'd left her) to be his companion in the Death Zone. My biggest question about him is why, despite his original assertion to return for Susan, he apparently left her behind again after this story. Also kind of bugged me how little the other Doctors acknowledged their granddaughter Susan.


Next up: The Second Doctor and the Brigadier. At this point, the Second Doctor has already been apprehended in "The War Games". The theory is that the Second Doctor was sent on various missions prior to forced regeneration. That would explain how he knew the fates of Jamie and Zoe. At this point in his timeline, like the Tenth Doctor, he was doing a farewell tour. While visiting the Brigadier of the Fifth Doctor's time, the two were captured and brought into the Death Zone.


The Third Doctor obviously came from the time period he spent with Sarah Jane. However, she came from the time after the Fourth Doctor had left her behind (and left her a K9 as a gift). Why she didn't get after him for leaving her at the opposite end of the United Kingdom? Especially since she treated the Tenth Doctor like she hadn't seen him since Aberdeen. Also take note that the Third Doctor took Seal of the High Council, which would later appear in "The Time of the Doctor". 


Since Tom Baker opted to skip this anniversary story, the Fourth Doctor was addressed as being stuck in a time eddy. This happened to the First Doctor, in "The Three Doctors", but the Fourth Doctor was unable to assist the others. The actual scenes of the Doctor and Romana came from the previously unfinished story "Shada". A clever way to include for the Fourth Doctor in the story.


Despite being the oldest Doctor, Peterson Davison was the youngest actor to play the Doctor for decades (finally relinquishing that title to Matt Smith). It was interesting to see the oldest of the Doctors mentored at times and helped by his younger selves. Perhaps there's a metaphor there about learning from your past. I might be more mature than I was as a college freshman, but there are still things to learn from that 18-year-old. Also, as a side note, I loved seeing Tegan adventuring across the Death Zone with the First Doctor.


Even though many claim that Doctor Who has been cancelled (it's on hiatus), epic stories like this remind me of the potential of the series. This story taught lessons about fear, immortality, and progression (and being careful what you wish for). It's definitely one of those stories I love to rewatch (even bought it on DVD back in the day). Even if the show is cancelled, the show is always keen to regenerate. There's always more to come.


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Monday, August 31, 2026

Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez and Lessons in Friendship

I love the movie “The Sandlot” and my wife will attest to my, sometimes annoying, ability to quote it. It tells the story of Scott Smalls who moves into a new neighborhood and while initially having difficulty making friends, eventually finds friendship through playing baseball together with other boys at the sandlot. Though all of the boys initially laugh at him and make fun of his clothes and lack of athletic ability, Scott or “Smalls” as he comes to be known, finds a true friend in Benny, the best player among all involved at the sandlot. He invites Smalls to play and while Smalls initially says no out of embarrassment, Benny cuts through the excuses and invites him to play. He stands up to the other boys and even teaches Smalls how to throw and catch a baseball. Then Benny proceeds to save Smalls from the “biggest pickle any of us had every been in,” namely, getting the signed Babe Ruth ball back from the Beast.



 I guess what struck me in the most recent watching of this film was how resigned Smalls was to his self imposed loner status. He tells his mom at one point, “face it mom, I’m just an egg head.” There is a sense of defeatism that Smalls feels. He is smart, he is creative, (his erector set models are incredible) but because of his lack of friends and awkwardness and embarrassment in playing baseball, he resigns himself to being a loner. Now, I am not saying that being on your own is wrong but I think everyone needs a friend, someone to push them when they need pushing, stop them when the need stopping, and encouraging when they need encouraging. Benny was that friend to Smalls. Smalls showed up and showed he wanted to fit in and have friends but when the taunting and embarrassment became too much, he was ready to give up. But not Benny. He took time to help Smalls. He tells Smalls, “you think too much. Baseball is about having fun.” What a difference this makes for Smalls. He goes from zero friend prospects to a full baseball team because of Benny being willing to reach out to help Smalls fit in.

What about us? When have you been the “Benny” to a “Smalls”? Or who has been your “Benny” when you felt like giving up, leaving early, or not showing up for an activity, event, meeting, game, or service project? I’ve shared before a favorite quote from the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “No man is a failure who has friends.” Benny made sure that Smalls wasn’t a failure. Who can be that for or who is helping you feel that way now?

If you cannot thing of anyone, please remember this teaching from Elder Buckner of the seventy in October 2024: 

“In December of 1832, as “appearances of troubles among the nations” were becoming “more visible” than at any time since the organization of the Church, Latter-day Saint leaders in Kirtland, Ohio, gathered for a conference. They prayed “separately and vocally to the Lord to reveal his will unto [them].” In acknowledgement of the prayers of these faithful members during times of intense trouble, the Lord comforted them, addressing the Saints three times with two powerful words: ‘my friends.’”

The Savior is our greatest friend. He comforts when we need comforts but He also encourages and pushes us beyond what we think we can do. He is your best friend, so you are not a failure.



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Friday, August 28, 2026

What to Know From Disney Plus’s Countdown to Doomsday


An epic trailer for Avengers Doomsday was released at D23. Shortly after, the "Countdown to Avengers Doomsday" collection appeared on Disney Plus. I did a few prep lists of my own (including twenty-five movies and five television series). Disney's list is a bit more concise and is very doable between now and Doomsday, but in case you don't have time to binge fifteen movies/series, I've broken down the basics of what I think you need to know from each:

X-Men
This movie established Fox's X-Men series with a number of core characters set to appear in Doomsday: Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, and Cyclops. It began the "mutant threat" facing humanity. While the politicians debated the issue, Magneto set out to turn them into mutants (not knowing that the process would kill them). Other than establishing our X-Men, I'm curious how this movie will play into Doomsday. Is it just to introduce us to the mutants or is the "mutant threat" going to create a rift between the X-Men and the Avengers?


X2
It was in my "extra credit" section for the introduction of Nightcrawler, but the plot continued the saga of the X-Men and the mutant threat, as Strucker used mind control serum (harvested from his son) to frame Nightcrawler for an assassination attempt and to attempt to destroy the mutants. It also gave us glimpses into Wolverine's lost memories (later explored in X-Men Origins). However, I'm not sure how this continued mutant threat will contribute to Doomsday, except to introduce Nightcrawler.

Captain America: The First Avenger
Okay so we're prepping for an Avengers movie. Captain America is the first Avenger. Pretty straight forward "why" for this movie. Steve Rogers went from being a scrawny young man to having a body and powers that men would envy for generations. After losing his best friend (for now) and thwarting Red Skull, Cap sacrificed himself to save countless people, leaving him frozen in ice until the 21st Century. 


Avengers
We had the "first Avenger" and now we have the first Avengers movie. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hulk teamed up to fight Loki and his army. They became the core team of the Avengers. Though they'd only team up every few years, this was the jumping off point for all Marvel superhero crossovers.

Avengers: Infinity War 
After all their phase two and phase three shenanigans, Infinity War brought our heroes together again. By this point, the roster included names such as Vision, Falcon, War Machine, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, and more. All our heroes fought Thanos to keep him from using the six Infinity Stones and lost. Thanos decimated half the population of the universe and sent many of our remaining heroes spiraling.


Avengers: Endgame
Five years after the events of Infinity War, the remaining Avengers teamed up to jump across time streams to retrieve the six Infinity Stones and revive the missing half of the universe's population. It took the sacrifice of Black Widow to complete the set of stones, but they succeeded in the end. The epic movie culminated in a massive head-on fight against Thanos's forces. Despite the Avengers best efforts, it took Tony Stark sacrificing himself to use the Infinity Stones to win the battle. And in the aftermath of the fight, Captain America returned the six Infinity Stones to their time streams, taking his sweet time in a parallel Earth, until he came back as an old man. With the Avengers left with three members missing, we headed into Phase Four and beyond.

Loki
Because of the time travel antics of Endgame, a variant of Loki escaped captivity... for a moment before the Time Variance Authority apprehended him. Through his manipulation of the TVA, Loki eventually ended up at the end of time with a female Loki variant (Sylvie). She killed a Kang variant, releasing the shackles on the multiverse. But as reality started crumbling, it took our Loki variant from Endgame to hold all the strands of the multiverse together. Perhaps it's something to do with this Loki's new role in the multiverse that causes the rumored incursions of Doomsday.


Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The biggest thing this movie brings for Doomsday (as far as we know) is the reluctant hero Shang Chi. After defeating his father and a soul-devouring demon, our new hero was recruited by the Avengers. The mystical Ten Rings that he won off his father gave off some sort of energy that the Avengers noted. Perhaps this unknown energy is interwoven with the multiverse and that's why Disney included Shang Chi in their Doomsday countdown.

Spider-Man: No Way Home
Our first multiversal movie! Spidey hasn't been confirmed for Doomsday, but even if he doesn't appear we still learned a lot about the multiverse in this movie. After the events of Far From Home, Peter didn't want people to remember his secret identity anymore. Using Doctor Strange's powers, he tried to make them forget, but instead a number of villains came from other universes after Peter botched the spell. By teaming up with two others Spideys, the villains were defeated and/or redeemed. To save the multiverse from caving in on them, Doctor Strange made everyone forget Peter Parker (which led into Brand New Day).


Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 
After the death of her brother T'Challa, Shuri and her mother were left leading Wakanda without a king. As they encountered Namor, things got more complicated. Especially after the death of Shuri's mother. The Wakandan princess ended up leading the nation of Wakanda against the Namor's forces. By the miracle of science, she was able to synthesize the herb that turned her into the Black Panther. She was able to broker peace with Namor's people. And since Shuri and Namor are both supposed to appear in Doomsday, it's obvious why this is on the list.

Captain America: Brave New World
The passing of the torch (shield) from Steve to Sam happened in Endgame and was further explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This solo adventure (which could have been a Hulk movie) was his first cinematic adventure as the new Cap. Sam chased a mystery across the globe to thwart the mind games of Samuel Sterns and to clear the name of Isaiah Bradley. The new Cap also had to face off against Red Hulk. Any sane person would have been scared out of their mind to face any Hulk, but Sam managed it somehow.


Deadpool & Wolverine 
This movie finally bridged the gap of the MCU and the Fox's Marvel movies (not just X-Men). Even if you don't watch R-rated movies, the movie taught us many things about the multiverse. Deadpool got dragged into the TVA where we learned about anchor beings. Instead of sitting quietly, Wade ended up multiverse hopping through X-Men universes to find a new Wolverine for his world. The two fought and defeated Cassandra Nova and Paradox to save the multiverse. With Fox's X-Men coming into Doomsday, at the very least this movie establishes those Fox movies as part of the MCU multiverse. Also, we have Channing Tatum's Gambit returning (or maybe a variant).

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 
It's right there in the title: Multiverse of Madness. Universe hopping Doctor Strange was working to save America Chavez and save Wanda Maximoff from herself. Like with Deadpool 3, we learned a lot about the multiverse here. We learned more about variants, incursions, and dreamwalking. Stephen Strange had to dreamwalk into his variant's corpse to save America from the Scarlet Witch. In the end, Wanda sacrificed herself to redeem herself, but not before Doctor Strange read from the Darkhold. During the credit scene, a woman named Clea came to Doctor Strange to address incursions he caused. Supposedly incursions will play a big part in Doomsday, though Doctor Strange hasn't been confirmed for the movie yet.


Thunderbolts*
Our New Avengers will be major players in the movie. We can tell that much from the trailer. This movie put together a Suicide Squad of Marvel pseudo-heroes. After Valentina sent the group to kill each other and clean up her mess, the band of misfits ended up on the run. When Bob became Sentry, his alterego Void was unleashed. The new team had to enter into Bob's nightmares to talk him down and bring him back to reality. It's a beautiful scene relevant to anyone's mental health and I love it. I just hope Bob is okay during Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
An essential part of Doomsday is Fantastic Four. Though Doctor Doom doesn't appear until the credit scene, he's always be tied to these heroes. The movie began with the Fantastic Four already established as Earth's heroes (on a parallel Earth with retro 60's vibes). With Galactus on the way and Sue pregnant, the Fantastic Four headed into space to intercept the Devourer of Worlds before he could reach Earth. In exchange for Earth, Galactus wanted the newborn baby. The Fantastic Four worked tirelessly prevent the Earth's destruction. When Galactus finally arrived, the heroes were able to send him to the far reaches of the universe. The baby was safe. However, the credits rolled, Doctor Doom appeared with obvious interest in the child.


If you don't have time to rewatch all fifteen (or to watch the ones you've missed) hopefully these breakdowns give you a decent understanding of where we're at in the MCU going into Doomsday. Or maybe it has wet your pallet and made you want to watch them (not sure I'm that good of a writer, but I can dream). As of this post, you could watch one item per week and finish in time for Avengers.

Avengers assemble!


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Monday, August 24, 2026

LDS Geeks Podcast #72: Friends Throwback


Back in the day, before I was on the Mormon Geeks team (before we were Latter-Day Saint Geeks), TJ and his close friend Casey had a great discussion about Friends on the short-lived Mormon Geeks Podcast. And since Friends is timeless, I decided to reuse that discussion for an episode of our ongoing podcast. I hope you enjoy it!
--Spencer

Listen to Episode 72 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube


Check out TJ's recent content: click here


Show notes:
00:30 - Introductions
01:30 - The Legacy of Friends
04:43 - Who would you want to hang out with?
18:29 - Memorable episodes, characters, and moments
41:53 - Why Friends is still relevant
48:25 - Recreating Friends
52:40 - Alternate couples



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Friday, August 21, 2026

Who is Chiron?


For any teachers, students, or parents read this, happy back-to-school season. I grew up with a teacher father so I always respected teachers, but my respect has infinitely increased since marrying a teacher. Y’all, teaching is insane. So every year I feel the need to write about the great teachers (see also Mr. Feeny) and the not-so-great (see also Snape). This year, as Russell and I begin our Riordanverse podcast series I thought I’d spotlight the original teacher and mentor of the Percy Jackson series: Chiron (aka Mr. Brunner).

Long before teaching Latin to Percy at Yancy Academy, the centaur Chiron trained heroes like Hercules and Achilles. Granted immortality to train heroes, the son of Kronos set his home base at Mount Pelion. This would become the precursor to Camp Half-Blood. Even among mortals, You love to teach. During this time at Yancy, he was Percy’s favorite teacher (By the way, what did  those kids think the sword was through the mist?).

As portrayed by Glynn Turman in the Lightning Thief movie

By the time Percy Jackson came onto the scene, Chiron had long since established Camp Half-Blood as his base of operations. The camp had been established in America generations before (at least to the time of George Washington, son of Athena). Luke and Annabeth were among Chiron’s veteran pupils when Percy arrived with Grover. 

Other than the time that Olympus removed him from Camp, for suspicion of poisoning Thalia’s tree, Chiron mentored our heroes as they navigated the Great Prophecy (even during that time he helped a bit via Iris Message). And during the adventures of the Argo II, Chiron helped to prepare the camp for the oncoming attack of Camp Jupiter. 

Chiron (as Mr. Brunner) as portrayed on Disney Plus

After the reconciling of the two camps, he was seen substitute teaching (as Mr. Brunner) in New York City. Just for the love of teaching. Though I'm sure he was still subbing periodically, Chiron was present during that school year when Lester (aka Apollo) arrived at Camp Half-Blood with Meg. However, when they returned to Camp months later, Chiron was off meeting with representatives of the Egyptian and Norse pantheons. But he made it back for the Battle of Nero's Tower and was present to mentor Nico in the months during the expedition into Tartarus and the mission to Camp Jupiter.

I look forward to seeing Chiron's involvement in the upcoming Camp Half-Blood series and maybe the final Senior Year Adventures book. And maybe we'll get another Nico book? Bottom line, Chiron is the golden teacher. Regardless of whether he's teaching mortal pupils or demigod heroes, he does it for the love of teaching. Those are the best teachers (again, I'm biased because I married one of those). Even after millennia of tragic heroes and disappointments, Chiron wasn't jaded by his past. Though the events of the Riordanverse take place over fifteen years ago, I'm sure Chiron is still training future heroes. Only question is how many of Rick Riordan's heroes are alive and how many of them met tragic endings, like the heroes of legend.

As shown in the graphic novel


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Friday, August 14, 2026

11 Narnia Tracks for Your Workout

Ever since I was a freshman at BYU, I've been a bit obsessed with The Chronicles of Narnia (see also all my previous Narnia posts). The score was one of my favorites to do homework to and now I'll often use it while I'm documenting my treatments at work. In addition, some of the tracks also work well for exercise. Some don't (like "A Narnia Lullaby") but others have great energy for keeping your workout going. So here's my ongoing playlist of Narnia (and Narnia-inspired) tracks for getting pumped up!

PS: I can only hope there's decent score for the supposed Netflix adaptation (if that ever happens).

The Battle (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
Any Narnia workout mix would be lacking without the epic battle music from the first film.

Return of the Lion (Prince Caspian)
The tracks introducing Aslan into battle are always powerful. Same kind of idea when Aslan is resurrected in the first movie.

Voyage (Scott Krippayne)
It was never on the Dawn Treader soundtrack, but it was inspired by the book/movie. It does a great job pumping me up and not just at the gym.

Market Forces (Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
Rescuing the captives on the Lone Islands was the first battle of the movie. And I love the clever track name.

To Aslan's Camp (The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe)
Not exactly a warm up song, but it would be a perfect track for right after your warm up. Like arriving at the feet of the Lion.

Open Up Your Eyes (Jeremy Camp)
It wasn't on the soundtrack exactly, but it was part of "Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia". I've thought for years that almost any Jeremy Camp track is a good exercise song.

Duel (Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
It's literally a training song for while Caspian spars with Edmund. Weight training. Sword training. Same idea, right?

The Blitz, 1940 (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
You might not be sheltering in place during your workouts, but it's technically battle music. A great tempo for exercise if nothing else.

This is Home (Switchfoot)
The credits version from Prince Caspian is a lot more calming. But the track released by Switchfoot has a great pacing for a cooldown.

Prince Caspian Flees (Prince Caspian)
The opening scenes of the first sequel are intense, with Caspian fleeing his uncle by horse. Perfect for cardio.

The Painting (Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
This one could be another post-warmup track, entering your workout, as the kids entered Narnia.


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