Set your Tivo’s, your DVR’s, or just do it the old fashion way and TUNE in to watch BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE entitled “Paradox” written by the wonderful wrangler of witticisms GEEKMEISTER himself. Congrats dude, can’t wait to check it out!

El Penguino “Clap clap, routinely holds up the personality mirror to my face and I get quite a chuckle at the image I see there. It’s both nostalgic and strange.

One of these traits that has seemingly been passed down from myself to him, is what I like to call the “Cato effect”.

“cato”, for those not well versed in the marvelous Blake Edwards/Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies, was Inspector Clouseau’s Asian man servant who was tasked to attack the Inspector at all times, the idea being that it would keep the inspector “sharp”.

I was that Cato.

When my brother would come home from school, he’d often have to tread ever so carefully into the house because his younger sibling (me) would be hiding somewhere to engage him in some hand to hand tom foolery.

This of course would bleed over into any commercial breaks, where the show would stop and our eyes would dart to each other and then to any weapons that might be handy.

Soon kung fu noises would be shouted, weapons brandished, and more times than I’d like to think I’d end up breaking something in the house.

It was non stop.

I’ve grown more mature (somewhat). I’ve buried most of my physical aggression when I received my diploma at college (sad that the reality of not being able to fight off cults of Ninjas hitting me hard), and THOUGHT that, that sort of roughhousing would never really be present in my life except for occasional reunions with the family.

Then there is El.

Every moment we are around each other is cushioned with acute paranoia. We are constantly gauging whether or not one of us is going to strike, where, how hard, and of course how to retaliate.

I don’t remember anything in particular that would make him take up the mantle of my youth. Maybe it’s the karmic balance being restored, the reaping and sowing of my own hidden ambushes.

He’s gotten really good too, though I’ve bluffed him into thinking that I can destroy him at any moment “if I tried”.

And still nothing makes me smile quite like the times where I throw the kid on his butt or twist his arm into a unforgiving pretzel.

In fact the other day he came at me fairly rapidly, I parried, spinning him around into an arm bar before clubbing him to the floor in front of Princess Hotcakes.

His response “It’s not fair! When she is around you get like Plus 10!”

Indeed. A lady will do that to a guy. But she won’t protect me from the ever lurking shadow of my very own Cato. My house ninja that perpetual stalks me from every corner, increasingly getting better daily until one day he has ME hog tied on the ground telling him the same thing about his strength in proximity to his gal.

Someday…but not today, today I….you hear that? Oh crap I think he’s hiding behind my book case, gotta go.

You are awesome sir, you are awesome. So in honor of that, here are some of your greatest hits….

* - A job. I moan and groan about it, but the job market is crap, and I’d rather be making money than not

* - My Roommates, and specifically Dave. He washed my car last night “It was too dirty to be out in front of our house”

* - My family. Whether it is my stepdad, mom, Aunts, uncles, cousins or siblings. They are all hilarious and I love them.

* - My lady. She’s magnificnet, beautiful, intelligent and full of poise and grace. I adore her.

What do you have to be grateful for?

Saw the Hulk this weekend? Anyone? Anyone? I dug it. It was more a sequel to the old TV show than it was the last movie (thank goodness). It suprised me to be honest. I thought for sure it was going to be a poo poo of a flick, but it wasn’t. Good, exciting fun that quite honestly is safe for the whole family (if the family doesn’t get scared of big green beasts battling it out in Manhattan that is).

I also so the uncut version of the movie “PATHFINDER”. Viking kid raised by Native Americans who in turn fights off other Vikings that come to kill and pillage other Native Americans. The movie pretty much plays out like Last of the Mohicans (though not as good), with amazing scenery, lots of cool action, and yeah…it was a cool movie. I had some people not like it when it was in the theater but, I dunno, maybe they changed something with the DVD release, because I enjoyed it a great deal.

NEW SHOW ALERT!!! Middleman was on ABC Family last night, and it was really fun, weird, interesting. It’s Men In Black the tv show essentially, lower budget, funny dialogue ( in fact the dialogue kept surprising me which is hard to do with my jaded sensibilities). So if you have an hour in your day check it out, you might find it to be rather fun. Here’s where you can watch it for free online.