J.J. Abram's  latest Star Wars entry was nothing short of a colossal success. And another lesson in the ever changing world of branding and marketing. The lead up to the opening weekend for this film has been full of various avenues of Star Wars promotions. Every major retailer featured items from the iconic series in nearly every category. Star Wars cereal, lunch boxes, pj's, shirts, costumes, light sabers, cakes, you name it! It was 100% saturation wherever you went. It paid off big. 

With an opening weekend estimated at $512 Million, which places this film in the number 2 spot for biggest opening weekends of all time, we are looking to see it break the $1 Billion mark in less than  two weeks. That is revenue of biblical proportions. 

And they aren't done. Supposedly the studio has signed off on 3 more films.

As for the reviews of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" it looks likes fans were not disappointed. IMDB has it currently rated at 8.8/10 (extremely impressive) and Rotten Tomatoes has it ranked at 95/100% which is simply mindboggling. 

To top all that off, the music video above took the internet by storm. Rightfully so. It's just badass and will be your new favorite song. Turn up the volume and enjoy the Star Wars Main Theme song by Galactic Empire. Please support bands like this buy purchasing their music on iTunes!  ​https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/star-wars-theme-end-title/id1068343183?app=itunes

I have TONS of Star Wars themed shirts available on this site an through Busted Tees! Click on the link below to shop now.

As I've travelled this country, I wondered what laws I was actively violating while passing through. So, I plan on covering every state I blew through at some point. 

However, when I searched, I found that California had some odd laws on the books that seemed even strange coming from Florida. So, without further ado, let's start with the list of my favorite strange laws that will crack you up and probably aid in your street cred as a potential hardened criminal.

• Assembly Bill No. 2078: It is Illegal to have sexual activity with detained persons. Now, this should go without saying, but this law seems to go into some extreme detail about what government officials cannot do with/to detained individuals. Items include, sodomy (uh...duh), and rubbing boobs (well that's no fun.) Either, way, it begs the question: Do we really need a law that itemizes what government employees can and cannot do to detained people? And what the hell happened to warrant a completely different set of rules and regs regarding this? Hmm. 

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• Section 8.05.020 Permit – Norco County - $100 Permit is required to keep a rhinoceros. From what I read, this law actually covers all kinds of exotic animals, but it seems something may have happened for them to target the adorable and light footed rhino! Could you imagine having dinner with the family and hear the blood curdling scream of this f*cking thing smashing into cars in your neighborhood? Who has the money to feed a rhino? That has to be the WORST pet idea ever? "Honey, will you take Spike for a walk at the park, the neighbor's car was buried in shit the last time."

• ​Section 8-410: Disturbing animals in Fresno Parks - No person shall hunt, pursue, annoy, throw stones or missiles at, or molest or disturb in any way, any animal, bird or reptile within the confines of any park. (Orig. Ord. 1076).  So what you're saying is Fresno had a real problem with people were openly harassing and molesting animals? And who in the hell is launching missiles at reptiles? How big are these freaking things?

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• Code 1959, 4237.1 - Walnut, CA. It is illegal for a man to dress up like a woman...UNLESS PRIOR PERMISSION HAS BEEN GAINED FROM THE SHERIFF! Kaitlyn Jenner will have some issues out here.  
  17-31 Male dressing as female. No man or boy shall dress as a girl or woman without a permit from the sheriff, except for the purpose of amusement, show or drama. Now, can you imagine going to the Sheriff's office and asking for the form to file for permission from the Sheriff? Man, that would be an awkward meeting. 

• No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 mph. This is not a joke. You cannot "Ghost Ride your whip" above 60 mph. Hell, if you could do that above 4 mph, you have my respect and admiration. And the attention of every football scout this side of the Mississippi. I am curious as to what in god's name occurred for this law to be written into existence? Are they preparing for autonomous driving cars. I'm intrigued. 
  
  Well, I hope you enjoyed this list and if you want to read about other strange California Laws, check out the original article here. 
  

The media has done a fantastic job of burying the original story but your buddy Steve does not forget. 

My feed exploded this morning with news of the arrest of this sub-human scammer, Martin Shkreli. Let me refresh your memory on why he deserves much more than 20 years in jail.

This was the man who took over as CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals in a deceivingly cheap acquisition and raised the price of a critical HIV treatment drug Daraprim from $18 to $750. This equated to a 4000% price increase.  This also had a devastating effect on patient treatment across the globe as the price increase caused panic for many patients.

The truth to this massive and unprecedented price increase was revealed this week when Shkreli was arrested on charges of Securities and Exchanges violations in the millions. He was running a Ponzi scheme with investors money and to make up for his incredible losses, decided to raise funds by hiking up the price of Daraprim to pay off debts.

It was a brilliant move. That is if he hadn't already plundered several other companies he lead, raising the eyebrows of SEC officials. Sucks it took this long for them to make the arrest, after many patients felt the blow of this scumbag's scam. 

How is it that a man can rob and steal millions of dollars, destroy hundreds of lives, and maybe get 10-20 years in jail, but a man hold up a liquor store and spend the same if not more time in jail? Why aren't we looking at this further? How can this be OK with society? I don't know. 

To read more, click here.

After what felt like the longest drive ever made by any human, I landed in Arizona. I was running low on funds as the GoFundMe donations peaked around $700 at this point and sales of my personal belongings were somewhat dismal. I decided the smart move was to speed up this endeavour and shoot straight to Arizona and bypass the snow storm decimating Denver.

I had plans to cut across the great northwest and land in Montana - where I would find incredible mountain ranges and more trails to explore. After chatting online with some folks in Montana who were willing to show me around and excited for this trip, I was dead set on getting out there and doing what few Puerto Ricans would ever dream of.

Have an asthma attack at 10,000 feet! 

However, the realization that my fuel economy numbers were all sorts of off, I decided it best to not take my chances in Denver and cut straight from Kansas City, Missouri to Flagstaff, Arizona. The drive was strange. It got stranger and scarier as I kept going. 

My trusty Kia Sorento, with one of the only 6-speed manual transmissions ever sold, started doing some funny things at higher elevations. The cruise control would randomly stop working and wouldn't kick back in unless I hit the brakes, then the "Cancel" cruise control button, then hit the "Set" button again. It didn't make sense but I was more worried that the stop in St. Louis took it's toll.

Now, I'll explain the reason I felt St. Louis was to blame for my car acting funny. That city has the road infrastructure of Baghdad after the invasion. The streets are absolutely destroyed, with potholes obviously the result of hand grenade juggling accidents and mortar attacks between rival microbreweries. At one point I hit this massive pothole and nearly severed my tongue while laughing after making a wrong turn near the parking lot to the Arch. 

Oh, and by the way, whoever was in charge of lighting the Arch in remembrance of the attack on Paris decided to be a jerk and turn the whole damn thing off right when I got there. I swear I thought I was hallucinating! I'm rolling into the parking lot and wallah! I've got nothing.

I pull into a spot on a street that aims directly at the Arch and all I see is the dim silhouette of a masterpiece I had been wanting to see since I was a kid. Mind you, this was about 8pm. So I did what any man would do in this situation. I googled the nearest breweries to see which were still open. A beer was the only thing that would make this night better. After realizing most were done with their tours and tastings, I was bummed. 

But, I didn't give up. On page 2 - and believe me, I know no one goes to page 2 of google for information, I found this awesome little brewery called Urban Chestnut on Manchester Avenue. 

Jesus, I must have done 20mph there, and even that was pushing the limits of my SUV's suspension. I might as well have been driving over the aftermath of a building demolition. Then, after a few turns and being followed by the local PD for a couple of blocks - which I am sure they were baffled to see a Florida licence plate - I found the place!

It was a sight to behold. Located past the main downtown area of St. Louis is the up-and-coming area that everyone should check out. Full of hip restaurants and beer joints, this place looked like my kind of little town. 

I walk in and noticed a small group of locals enjoying some seasonal brews they just concocted out back. I pulled up a barstool and immediately made friends with a guy named David. After noticing my monogrammed Steve Figueroa Photography polo, we got on the topic of photography. Turns out he taught photography at a local high school and did some copy and edit work for an agency. We had a long winded conversation about life, love, and everything in between over a fantastic German IPA they are known for (insert name and photo). He was blown away by my crazy road trip. He hopped on the website and was immediately jealous. 

"The balls you have to just get up and go, man I wish I could do that!" he said. I replied "Hey...YOLO!" 

We laughed, the bartender laughed, then he checked his watch and it was time to hit the road. So I cashed out as well and we parted ways, exchanging information. He offered me a couch to crash on next time I was in town and offered to take me fishing if I was so inclined. What an awesome dude. Hopefully we meet again. 

So, back in the battered and bruised Kia I went. Poor thing. I decided I didn't want to take the same road out as I did getting there to reduce the chance of destroying one of my new tires or blowing a shock. So Google Maps to the rescue, I circumnavigated the path of destruction and was back on the highway and on my way to the Grand Canyon.

The moral of this chapter in my story is this: Will someone please tell the Mayor of St. Louis to apply for a damn grant and fix those streets? 

Every year or so, Marvel debuts a new film about our favorite - and sometimes idiotic - superheroes. Based solely on the title, I assumed this was going to be a total disaster. From the start, you have the perpetually youthful and simplistic baby face Paul Rudd in the lead. While Rudd may be a great supporting character in any comedy, it would seem impossible to sell him as this kick ass action hero.  
 
However, I was completely wrong. This movie kicked major ass. Rudd pulled it off by just being himself, only hitting the gym and getting physically committed to the role of Ant-man. The character's ex-con background and team of hilarious friends, delivered laughs from beginning to end, while Michael Douglas (Hank Pym) seamlessly acted with authority and old-man wisdom and straight faced witty quips. 
 
Paul's sidekicks included Luis (Michael Pena) and Dave (Rapper T.I.) which set off alarms in my head they were really reaching for Michael Bay style token ethnic sidekicks. Once again, they pulled it off. Pena's relentless story telling and Dave's "Captain Obvious" approach were dynamite. You'll laugh your ass off each time they are on screen. The lines were raw and felt natural. T.I. maintains his super cool, chill attitude, while staying connected to each scene and never detracting.  
 
Hope, Pym's daughter, is played by the timelessly beautiful Evangeline Lilly. Her fight scenes are wicked brutal, but her hairstyle reminds me of Frau Farbissina from 'Austin Powers.' It's dreadful. I only pray it changes in the next chapter of the Ant-Man story as it seems the go-to hairstyle for characters who need to feel tough and masculine while maintaining a high volume of sex appeal.

She doesn't need it. She's hot. Bring back her hair from 'Lost' and give her a hair tie for crying out loud.
 
Perpetual badass, Bobby Canavale plays Paxton; Ant-Man ex-wife's new boyfriend. He is much more reserved than you are used to. Coming from HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," he somehow avoided typecasting in this setting and it worked. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he initially read for the lead villain role of Yellow Jacket.  
 
Honestly, I hate giving away any spoilers so I will refrain from any details. Instead I'll give you my final thoughts.

I think this movie is definitely hilarious. The action is convincing, the CGI is spot on, and it feels like Marvel tapped into the soul of "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" without cheesing it up. This is a great film for parents and kids - minus the couple of swear words (sh*t) used very sparingly - and the laughs are non-stop.
 
Ant-Man is available now on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital Download from Amazon. 

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