Wow. I'm Lame.

So I haven't posted in this thing forever. And I apologize for that - as if anyone was keeping track anyway, haha.

BUT, I am going to be writing a lot in a new blog (and yes, I'll get back to this one for a while). The new blog is going to be a chronicle of the adventure my Dad and I are about to pursue - we will be traveling around the country to see a game in very baseball stadium in about six weeks.

It's quite an undertaking and it's both to celebrate my 30th birthday and to raise money and awareness to combat Sturge-Weber - a little-known neurological disease.

You should check it out:

www.thebaseballjourney.blogspot.com

See you on the road!

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26 Days and Counting...

I saw this video today and it completely infuriated me, so I thought I'd spread it around:



Really?

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Support Theater! (or something)

I shot a little behind-the-scenes piece for my roommate, Jeff, and his show that is premiering Saturday night in the NY International Fringe Festival.

Check out the video below and go see the show!

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Yeah, yeah, I know...

So before you say anything, I'm aware I said I was going to be posting more...and I am. But just be quiet for now and be patient and it'll come. Jon's got some shit to deal with right now and will be back to you soon and in good time.

For now, though...enjoy the following short film. Joss Whedon, one of my heroes and one of the greatest storytellers of our generation, created this three-part musical about a supervillain, a superhero and a girl, with his own funds and without the support of any studio. He did it as an experiment during the WGA strike to prove that the internet was a viable market in which to make money.

And it's been a complete success.

Enjoy:

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So on the even of the release of what I think will be the biggest (and best) movie of the summer, "The Dark Knight", I thought I would talk a little bit about the summer movies thus far and give a little preview of what's in store for the rest of the season. I've seen nearly all the big blockbusters to this point and plan on seeing the rest of them, but as you'll see, not all summer blockbusters are created equal.

Jon's Mega-List of Summer Flicks
(in order of sucking hardest to actually a good movie)

The Happening
Wow, what a piece of shit. I could write more, but why waste my time. Don't waste yours by seeing it.

Get Smart
"Get Smart" stars Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway and Duane "Don't call me The Rock Because I'm a serious actor now" Johnson in this remake of the 1960's-era Don Adams series. And it sucks. There were too many moments that were trying so hard to capture the irrerverant humor of the original series and too many ways in which Steve Carell (on purpose or completely by accident) was channeling Don Adams. It's a lose-lose situation, really when the studio is telling you, "you have to say this line" when no matter how you say it, it will be imitating a comic genius. AND the movie isn't funny. At all.

Hancock
A movie about a lonely superhero who doesn't want to be a superhero. Until he is talked into it by a crappy PR guy and his hot wife. And then there's a twist that sucks. Will Smith is good and all and I really like Jason Bateman, but the action scenes in this movie seem to have been directed by a five-year old with Lupus. Oh and the twist sucks!

The Incredible Hulk
I've enjoyed the fact that the creators of these superhero movies are actually getting talented thespians to fill the shoes of their larger-than-life characters now, rather than just picking someone that kinda looks like the guy that used to do it (see: Superman Returns). Edward Norton takes on Bruce Banner in this go-round of the Hulk franchise, not ignoring the original, but not really acknowledging it's presence either. Liv Tyler is the chick and Tim Roth is the bad guy and does a fine job. This movie was ok, but it lacked something...oh yeah, excitement. I was bored.

Indiana Jones
I saw this twice. I liked it the first time and hated it the second. It should probably be lower on the list, but since I kinda averaged it out, this is where it falls. I think the main reason I liked it the first time is because I was so excited to see this movie. And then teh second time I could see it for what it was and realize that it was actually a pretty bad movie. A pretty bad movie with a dumb ending that barely makes sense.

Wanted
This movie was actually really fun and pretty good. Nice and bloody and action-y, Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy shot lots of guns, kill bunches of people and make lots of money. IF you like your movies all style no substance, then you'll love this one.

Iron Man
Everything that wasn't an action scene in this movie was awesome. Robert Downey Jr. is possibly the greatest actor working today that isn't named Daniel Day Louis and he does a great job here. All the Tony Stark scenes (that's Iron Man's name when he's just a suit-less schmuck like the rest of us, except he is a mega-billionaire, which is like almost none of us) are fantastic, but the fights were just kinda run-o'-the mill. Shame.

Wall-E
This movie is just the depressing, cynical, dystopian film you expect Pixar to make every year! Kidding. I was blown away by how dark this film really is under the surface of pretty colors and cute robots. It's funny how it takes a cartoon about robots in the future to provide the most biting and accurate social commentary on how shitty our culture is and how bad it will probably get. Fantastic movie - definitely go see it.

Now let's take a look at what's to come for the rest of the summer:

The Dark Knight
Yes, please.

Step Brothers
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly re-team for this seemingly funny movie about two middle-aged men that become step-brothers and hate each other at first. I will see it, but will not be surprised if it's either hilarious or a suck-fest.

X-Files I Want To Believe
Shitty title. I'm curious to how a movie based on a tv-series that hasn't been on television in like five years will do at the box office. I used to really like the X-Files when it was first on, but once it strayed into Robert Patrick territory I kinda gave up. I'll see it but not expecting to much of it. Though it is cool in the trailer where the guy from Head of the Class bleeds black blood from his eyeballs. I'm in favor of that.

Tropic Thunder
Ben Stiller directs again, which makes me happy. And he's making an R-rated action comedy and not Night at the Museum 2 (yet). The cast is good (yay Robert Downey Jr and Steve Coogan) and the premise is pretty good. The trailers look funny too, which is nice.

There's a few others that I want to see, but I saw a trailer today for a movie that made me very very very very angry. Watch it, below.



So basically what they've done is completely rip off Superbad and combined it with American Pie. They even have the normal, average, skinny kid, the fat kid and the geeky nerd kid that is just so happy to be getting laid at any point in his life. IT'S A DIRECT RIP-OFF. Are you kidding me? Couldn't they have at least changed one of those stock characters and tried to hide it a little? REALLY LAME.

Anyway that's it for now. Till next time.

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Great Mysteries....solved?

So I know there are a lot of problems in the world today: Ever-rising gas prices; a horrible, lame-duck president; the over-use of hyphenated words. BUT, one most serious, ever-present problems this world has been facing for nearly two months is about to be solved: Jon is coming back to blogging!

That's right.

I'm serious too.

To show you how serious I am, enjoy this video from the old "Dana Carvey Show" featuring my two favorite Stevens.

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The Original Original

This week's Saturday Night Live had Steve Carrell has it's host. It was ok, but by far the best part came from the SNL Digital Short (I think my favorite Digital Short was "Roy Rules", go find it on youtube or Hulu or something).

Check it:

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Lester Is Unstoppable

Jon Lester, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox was diagnosed with non-Hodgekins Lymphoma two years ago. That rare form of cancer, found after a minor car accident, almost killed him. Last year, he returns to pitch undefeated in the regular season and win the clinching Game 4 of the World Series. And last night, he pitched a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals.

It was such an amazing and inspired perfomance and the celebration afterwards was incredibly moving. Below is the video - I dare you not to get chills watching it. (It could be removed at any time, so hopefully it stays up for at least a little while).

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And there's also this...

Another popular internet video that I somehow completely missed is now here for your enjoyment:

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What's Jon Listening to? 5.20.08 Edition

Welcome to another installment of "What's Jon Listening to?", for this, the 20th day of May in 2008. This is the section in which I, Jon, dictate to you, the Reader, what I, Jon, am listening to. Enjoy.

The Indelicates - "American Demo"

This band from England features a former member of the Pipettes (I'll let you guess who). The record, and their sound, is a bit hard to classify. It has elements of folk, pop, rock and punk. It is cleverly and boldly written, with songs like "If Jeff Buckley Had Lived" that deconstructs the notion of myth-making and the pressure an artist faces to live up to the hype. It's a great record and you should get it.


Midlake - "The Trials of Van Occupanther"

Yes, I realize that it's not 2006, which is when this record came out, and meaning that I am at least 2 years late in realizing the greatness of it. It's a record that is densely layered, intricate and beautiful. At times it sounds like it belongs in the 70's and other times like it belongs ten years in the future. It seems like it could be a concept album, telling a fictional story, but it's not easy to dissect, if it is. The opener, "Roscoe" is strong, but the best song on the record is probably "Head Home".

Sleepercar - "West Texas"

The debut record for Sparta frontman Jim Ward is a more country-oriented rock record. Quieter and less dense than a Sparta record, it allows Ward to write songs that are related more to growing up in Texas. Maybe less political and fired-up than Sparta songs, too. There's some great tracks here, my favorite probably being "Sound the Alarm". Ward also put out a solo EP last year called "Quiet", which is also great. I saw him a while back play a solo acoustic set which really blew me away. He's a talented guy and writes good music. Buy this one too.

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