"How about a magic trick?"

* Locally shot and beloved t.v. series Friday Night Lights was overlooked by the Emmys yet again, of course the first season was truly brilliant while the lesser but still great second season is better than most everything else on television. AMC's critically raved Mad Men racked up many deserving nominations and I'm predicting a sizable number of victories as well for the show set in an ad agency in 1960. Can't wait for it's second season to start this Sunday, some of the best writing and acting to come along on television in a long time. That looks weird. I just wrong "along" and then "a long" within a few words of each other in the same sentence. Oh well. Here comes yet another "A-Long".

* Speaking of good writing and acting, Joss Whedon's new online short series Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog has now been completely posted online(available for download at itunes or at the official website http://www.drhorrible.com/) and it's a blast. Neil Patrick Harris stars as Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillian who has a crush on a pretty girl(Felicia Day) at the laundromat that he is scared to talk to and he constantly has to deal with his evil plans being thwarted by Captain Hammer(Nathan Fillion). Like most all of Whedon's creations it's hilarious, smart and fun. I hope we get more of Dr. Horrible's adventures in the future.

* I am rarely awestruck or at a loss for words so I'm not going to say much about The Dark Knight except - WOW! OK a few more words. Bravo Christopher Nolan! An absolute masterstroke blend of hard-boiled crime films, superhero extravaganza with intensely dark, humorous and heartbreaking character studies. Heath Ledger is THE JOKER. Period. I was already planning my Halloween costume when I saw the first pictures of him in the make-up several months ago, shortly after his untimely and tragic death. Now it's locked in stone, I will be THE JOKER. Period. As far as the rest of the cast, I would be remiss without mentioning them as well. Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart(who deserves some Oscar buzz as well for his fantastic turn as Harvey "Two Face" Dent), Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, etc... The entire ensemble down to every last henchman is note perfect as guided by screenwriter/director Christopher Nolan, who is really in a league of his own at this point. I can't wait to see this movie again. Haven't seen it yet, call me up and we'll hit that shizz together.

Dear Travis

I can't explain it. I feel as strong and calm as I've ever felt in my entire life today. I don't know where it comes from. Yesterday was terrible. I was so near the edge only fingernail was holding on the proverbial ciff of sanity.

I wish I could transfer how I feel to mom and dad and to everyone else who loves and misses you and hurt so very deeply since you've been gone. Five years. Wow. Seems so long ago and yet still so sudden.

Of course I still get mad at you from time to time and then I'll feel guilt for it. Then I get mad at myself and feel guilty for that too. Or I'll get so down that I start to believe I completely understand the why - You know, THE WHY, that's all anyone can ever seem to think about. I mostly just nod along when someone starts talking about it. When I know the why and if everyone who wants to know why actually knew why they would certainly wish they had never found out once they did. I gotta little rhymage for you:

"You're in heaven/He's in Hell,
If there are really angels/Then please ring that bell"

Yeah, it needs work. Just a freestyle, you know. I've got something even better. Yesterday on my drive home from work I was listening to the ipod on shuffle and the perfect song came on at the perfect moment. It's a live recording of Pearl Jam covering the Dead Moon song "It's OK". I don't have the details of when or where it was recorded but Eddie turns it into a sing-along with the very lucky crowd. Here be the lyrics:

It's okay, we've all seen better days
It's okay, you don't have to run and hide away
It's okay, It's okay, yeah we love you anyway

For in those reckless moments
When doubt is creeping in your head
Feeling like you've lost your youth
And the dreams you had are cold and dead
I can't reach you anymore
That's gonna take a different man
I can't protect you like before
You've slipped beyond my hands
But it's okay.......

I wish that I could light the path
That leads to a life of no mistakes
Hold you from the damned be done
That living out of safety seems to take
I remember still the child in you
As if only yesterday
It was easy to break through
I only had to kiss the pain
But it's okay.......

This is my chance, this is my life
And my opening hour
This is my choice, this is my voice
There may be no tomorrow
This is my plea, this is my need
This is my time for standing free
This is my step, this is my depth
In a world demanding of me
But is's okay....

Well your old buddy Sam just came by so I better say goodbye, again.

Peace, Love & Proximity
Jon-Michael

Sex, Drugs & Kidney Stones

OK. So there wasn't any sex involved last weekend but I did partake in a stupid mix of alcohol and (legally prescribed) pills that had me puking my guts out by 11:30pm Friday night. Seemed kind of strange since I had not drank that much and I've rarely ever puked from drinking anyway. I got dropped back off at my buddy Chris' new place to crash out while they went back out to party some more. Still felt crappy the next morning, but I had to get up at a decent hour and go over to my cousin Stephanie's house in time to meet with grandmother who was visiting for the weekend. Spent all of Saturday just hanging-out with the family and playing with all my little nieces and nephews and boy can they wear me out. So then I wake up Sunday morning and it was like The Exorcist, fluids coming out of every pore possible and excruciating pain. Tea colored urine - Check, Feels like an anvil is on your bladder - Check. G-Damn kidney stones have returned. It had been a while since my last kidney stone attack and this was another whopper but I made it through the toughest parts without any pain meds and by late afternoon I could tell there were not anymore coming, so I was able to lie down and rest. I'm thinking that Friday night's episode of sickness was just a precursor to the stones and not fully a bi product of drinking, smoking and pill-popping, although I'm sure that didn't help. I'm going to take it easy this week and drink a lot of cranberry juice(no vodka).

Now how awesome was Josh Hamilton at the Home Run Derby last night? Totally friggin' super awesome if you ask me! Sure he didn't end up winning but he put on a show of shows with 28 first rounds homers that averaged 500 feet per. It's his performance last night and his play all season long so far to go along with his personal backstory (former heroin addict out of baseball for 3 years makes a triumphant comeback) that people are going to remember. The All-Star game is tonight. I think the AL has won something like 11 consecutive, not counting the "tie game" from a few years ago. I'm more excited about the second half of the season getting started as the Rangers might be able to make a run at a Division Title or even the Wild Card.

I should mention that I'm only able to post this right now because I am in the middle of a "moment of clarity" in a day that has seen me on the edge of a full-blown panic attack and I'm worried tomorrow will even be worse. I am so completely stupid for not taking the day off. I have no idea if my parents have plans to do anything in particular. I know I don't want to be alone after I get off of work tomorrow around lunch time so I have to find something to do. Visiting an Air Force recruiter is one possibility. I wish The Dark Knight was coming out tomorrow and not Friday.

"You take the good with the bad..."

Good News : I have a new iPod. It's a shiny black 80 gig magic machine that will bring me hours and hours of joy and happiness.

Bad News: We'll just see if spending that $250 after holding out for months since my first iPod died is going to be worth it in these difficult economic times. I paid $4.09 a gallon for gas this morning and I have over a 50 mile commute to work each day round trip.

Good News : I've got a quarter of my vampire-centric horror screenplay Life Blood finished, including 20+ pages in the last week alone.

Bad News : I've only been able to work on it during my downtime at work, which isn't often enough, due to an idiosyncratic writing method I am cursed with that restricts me from working on a particular writing project on more than source at a time. So I can only write while here at work. When I'm at home or elsewhere I have to work on other things that I have already previously started there. I know it sounds very ridiculous but I am only getting more and more ritualistic as I age. I should probably just start going to some OCD support group now.

Good News : I've been getting a lot of good sleep lately.

Bad News : I've been getting a lot of sleep lately due to a mixture of vicodin and rozerem that leaves me pretty groggy and drowsy the next morning and hasn't helped curve my afternoon napping on the weekends either. I think if I cut back on the meds by fifty-percent it will make a sizable difference.

Good News : Shudder To Think, a really cool indie band from the 90s are reuniting for a brief tour this fall. Far lesser known than other recent reunited bands from the same period such as The Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Stone Temple Pilots, etc. but very cool none the less. I highly recommend their album Funeral at the Movies and even their lone major label release, Pony Express Record, is really fantastic as well.

Bad News : The closest they are coming to Austin is the Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans, which I probably won't be able to make.

Good News : I saw an old friend today that I haven't seen in nearly a year.

Bad News : That old "friend" is actually a former co-worker who I briefly dated and she had actually been back in town for a while but has been successfully avoiding me and the awkwardness surrounding our romantic dissolution slash transition back into friendship. I have to admit she looked good too. Damn. I'm still over it though.

Well that's the facts of life, folks.

Wimbledon Wowser

I had a relatively quiet and relaxed Fourth of July weekend. I worked Friday morning and then did some occasional cleaning and reorganizing of rooms and closets, but on Sunday afternoon I, along with the rest of the tennis watching world, was treated to one of the single greatest sporting events to ever occur. The 2008 Wimbledon Men's Final between 5-Time Champion and World #1 Roger Federer and the 4-Time French Open Champion and World #2 Rafael Nadal was epic and engaging. Over the course of 4 hours and 48 minutes of playing time, not including over 2 hours of scattered rain delay, Nadal was able to end Federer's landmark streak in a grueling and brilliant 6-4,6-4,6-7(5),6-7(8),9-7 win. It marks Nadal's first Championship at Wimbledon after reaching and being defeated by Federer in 2006 and 2007. He is also the first Spanish player to win at the All England Club since Manolo Santana in 1966.

Incidentally Spain is having a pretty good year sports wise, with Nadal winning both the French Open and now Wimbledon in the same year(first time a player has done that since Bjorn Bjorg in 1980) and recently their national soccer team won the UEFA Euro Cup for the first time since 1962.

But back to Wimbledon. It was such a perfectly played and evenly matched game. Felt like it could just go on and on forever, neither player giving-in or giving-up. I may still be more fond of some great Pete Samprass/Andre Agassi matches of my youth but I have feeling that with time this match might resonate with me even more. Both Nadal and Federer exemplify class and sportsmanship. Coaches all over the country of every sport imaginable should be showing this match to their players. I haven't even mentioned the fact that there was a pretty fantastic Women's final on Saturday between sister superstars Venus and Serena Williams with Venus coming out on top for her 5th Wimbledon Singles Championship. Later that same afternoon the sisters paired up and won the Doubles Title together. Again I say, coaches should be looking to the Williams' sisters as the type role models that aspiring athletes need these days. (And don't try to dump any of the crazy dad baggage on them, it's not their fault what he does or how he acts and if that upsets some people often times, including myself)

Patriots not Pundits

This goes out to all my brothers and sisters serving proudly and bravely at home and abroad. This holiday is for them because they embody the same strength and courage that our forefathers had when starting this whole shebang 232 years ago. It's thier service that allows all of the mouth-breathing talking heads a forum for thier spiteful, petty and hypocritical ramblings. Thank God this is going to be the last 4th of July we have to celebrate while having the single worst Presidential Administration still in office. Little Steven of E Street Band and The Sopranos fame wrote this back in 1983 and Eddie Vedder has been covering it live for years. If you like the lyrics I highly suggest you search You Tube and watch any of many videos posted of him performing the song.

I Am A Patriot

And the river opens for the righteous, someday
I was walking with my brother
And he wondered what was on my mind
I said what I believe in my soul
It ain't what I see with my eyes
And we can't turn our backs this time

I am a patriot and I love my country
Because my country is all I know
I want to be with my family
With people who understand me
I got nowhere else to go
I am a patriot
And the river opens for the righteous, someday

I was talking with my girlfriend
She looked so fine I said baby what's on your mind
She said I want to run like the lion
Released from the cages
Released from the rages
Burning in my heart tonight

I am a patriot and I love my country
Because my country is all I know
And I ain't no communist, and I ain't no capitalist
And I ain't no socialistand I sure ain't no imperialist
And I ain't no democrat
And I ain't no republican either
And I only know one partyand its name is freedom
I am a patriot
And the river opens for the righteous, someday

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July.

The Middleman

After yesterday's half-cocked political rant I want to lighten things up and talk about a new television series airing on ABC Family Channel this summer, The Middleman, which is based on the comic book series of the same name created by Javier Grillo-Marxauch. I was not familair with the comic but I have enjoyed Grillo-Marxauch's work as a writer/producer on teh first two seasons of LOST.

The set-up is pretty simple; a struggling female artist by the name of Wendy Watson supplements her income by working lousy temp jobs and on one of those jobs she is attacked by a genetic expirement gone wrong. Our title character The Middleman comes to the resuce and is impressed by Wendy's handling of the situation. He then recruits her to join his secret organization that battles against the forces of evil like monsters, aliens and mad scientists intent on controlling the world. All that good stuff from comic books that nobody knows exists in the real world. The Middleman works for an organization that is so secret he himself doesn't even know who or what they are, so he's just The Middleman.

The dialouge is razor-sharp, especially the rapport between our straight-laced Middleman (aptly played by Matt Keeslar) and Wendy (uber crush-worthy newcommer Natalie Morales) and the show is very tongue-in-cheek towards the more fantasy and action aspects of the show, all the while not turning the characters into caratictures. The supporting cast also includes Wendy's roommate and best friend, Lacy, a self-proclaimed confrontational performance artist(also uber crush worthy Brit Morgan) and Ida, the tempermental cyborg secretary.

The Middleman airs on Mondays at 9PM CST on ABC Family Channel and the comic book series of the same name is published by Viper Comics. I will certainly be picking up some issues in the near future. It's a fun, sarcastic and geeky show that has a lot of potential.

POST SCRIPT >>

Speaking of comic books, we're in a summer movie season that has never been so dominated by comic adaptations or other superhero stoires. So far Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk have really delivered and I'll certainly catch Wanted based on the Mark Millar graphic novel sometime this week, while Hancock looks to be a toss-up but I'm hoping for the best. The rest of July will bring us Hellboy II: The Golden Army which looks like a fantastic step forward from the decent first film and then it's time for the biggest one of all, The Dark Knight, opening on July 18th and I'm preparing myself for geekgasms galore. I don't even want to anymore trailers or promos that might spoil one iota of the awesomeness that is to come.