We'll always have Madagascar...

Work has been great! Things have finally calmed down here making life more enjoyable. My hours have reduced from 90 per week to a mere 60 per week. I feel like I have all the free time in the world! I'd be able to do more with that time if I only had all the money in the world.

My sister visited New York last weekend. She was only here for a few days, but I think we managed to make the best of our time. A few of the sites we visited were the Botanical Gardens, The Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zoo. I had never been to any of these three places, so it was a relief to finally have the opportunity to visit. The Botanical Gardens was one of the most boring places I've visited since living in New York. If it were cheaper, and if I were at all interested in flowers etc. I may have been more entertained. The Zoos were a different story however. I will definitely return to the Central Park Zoo, where for just $8 you can relax in an oasis in the middle of Manhattan. The highlight of the weekend however was my visit to the Bronx Zoo. It was amazing, and not just for the exhibits or the animals. While my sister and I were exploring the Madagascar Exhibit, watching the lemurs leaping between tree limbs, a woman with two young children approached the glass display and stopped next to us. Her kids were clearly thrilled, although she seemed more excited than they did. I glanced over and smiled at her acknowledging the joy her two kids were obviously experiencing. It took a few moments to sink in, but after a few moments I began to think to myself, "wait a second, do I know her?" A few moments later I looked again and my thoughts were confirmed. For those of you who know me well you likely know of the female celebrities I most enjoy. Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz, Franka Potente, and this woman standing next to me with her kids. Jill Hennessy. Jill is slightly less famous than some of the others on my list, but she is likely my favorite. After years as Assistant D.A. to Jack McCoy on Law and Order, followed by the leading role as Jordan Cavanaugh on the NBC crime drama Crossing Jordan, Jill has certainly made a name for herself and developed a strong following. Anyhow, I couldn't very well watch the animals after that. I'm fairly sure that my sister was more than a little annoyed with my ranting about how awesome Jill Hennessy is. I didn't talk to her. I thought it would be rude to intrude on her day at the zoo with the kids. I sent Jill a message on her myspace page complimenting her on her new musical career she has pursued since Crossing Jordan ended.

Later in the week, I had a dream that I found entertaining. It had nothing to do with Jill Hennessy (unfortunately) but instead was about my friendship with Norwegian singer songwriter Sondre Lerche. Sondre and I were hanging out at his house. This house appeared to be in Dearborn Michigan and I'm fairly sure it's the house that my good friends Mike and April live in. But in this dream it was Sondre Lerches house, or more accurately, his parents’ house; but we'll get to that in a minute. Sondre and I were going to play video games in his room because his dad was bothering him. His room was almost an exact duplicate of Zach Morris' on Saved by the Bell, with the addition of a really realistic red racecar bed, some guitars, and records on the walls. Oh, and for some reason it had classic 80s era additions like glass block dividers and some neon lightning bolts (Maybe Norway is behind in the times). Moments later we were leaving his house to go somewhere and his dad was mowing the lawn. The odd thing was that his dad was John Travolta. He smiled, nodded our direction and politely asked when we'd be back. Sondre became visibly agitated with Mr. Travolta's question and huffed past him without answering. I remember thinking to myself in my dream, "How'd I forget that Sondre Lerche's dad was John Travolta? His airplane must be in the garage." It made absolutely no sense at all which is why I loved it. I woke up laughing at my stupid dream, rolled out of bed and checked my e-mail, facebook, and myspace. Jill Hennessy had replied to my message. She said she was grateful for my compliments and that "we'll always have Madagascar." I wasn't dreaming. At the time, Jill's page had only 22 friends listed, she had joined myspace less than a week earlier. Coincidentally I was listed as #2. Who was #1? Sondre Lerche. How weird is that? Anyway, if you like Tracey Chapman’s style of bluesy folk rock, then check Jill’s page out. She should be releasing an album soon.

Sondre Lerche - Sleep On Needles
by scopitones

Web-Junk

I know I just posted a blog hours ago, but I couldn't wait to share all of this web-junk with you.

COMICS:
First off, this site is pretty awesome if you're into comics, and is probably fun even if your'e not. It comes from Marvel and allows you to create your own version of superhero based on pieces of existing Marvel heroes.

Also falling into both the comic and movie areas, it looks like Sony might be making a Spider-Man spinoff. Thanks to the hollywood reporter for this one. Check the story out here.

Finally, it looks as though the presidential candidates are the new thing in comics. I'm not gonna bother with this, but you can investigate further here.

MOVIES:
The new Harry Potter preview is now online. If you haven't already checked this one out, here's the link to do so. I'm actually very psyched for this movie.

Also, according to Variety, Warner Brothers is developing a Marvin the Martian feature film. I'm not sure what I think of this idea, but will gladly wait for the movie to arrive before passing judgement. See the story here.

Finally, it looks like Steven Spielberg might be slightly smarter than George Lucas after all. Yes, the latest instalment of Indiana Jones may have killed at the box office, but I'm not so sure that fans are going to buy tickets to yet another disappointment like crystal skull. All the same, that's not going to stop Mr. Lucas from trying.

MUSIC:
I am thrilled to mention that former Spacehog frontman Royston Langdon may have a new gig. Velvet Revolver has officially been auditioning him to replace Weiland as thier new lead. I think I might actually start listening to Velvet Revolver if this happens. Sweet!.

INTERNET:
Finally, a website that truly proves the internet is useful! Jellotime.com is not only fun and entertaining... well... it's not actually all that entertaining, or fun. But it might just be the best way to waste 3 seconds of your time you've ever found. I hoped it might do something different if poked enough, but unfortunately it's a pretty straight forward blob of jello, no tricks involved. I only know because I poked for much longer than I should've.

RANDOM:
I didn't even know where to put this news, so I've created a 'random' section. It would appear as though Buffy's beau Freddie Prinze Jr. has signed on with the WWE! No, he won't be fighting, as much as we'd all like to see that, he'll apparently be in some bhind the scenes role like writing or producing or whatnot. Seriously, how esparate can he be?

This Week

Hey kids. Sorry about my short hiatus from blogging, but I’m pretty sure I’m back at full steam now. July has been an amazing month in New York City. I’ve made quite a few new friends this month, and have become addicted to numerous new bands. The cashiers at my favorite comic book store know me by name and work is looking up. Needless to say, I’ve got so much to talk about. But, let’s start with what’s up this week.

Movies: First off, my old roommate Brandon was in town and we were able to go see the new Will Farrell movie Step Brothers. If raunchy slapstick comedy is your style, then this is a good one for you. I will admit that I laughed more than I thought I would. For a guy who doesn’t generally like comedies, that says a lot.

Music: I finally listened to the synth-pop band Metro Station. While I apparently downloaded this album a few months ago, I had failed to ever make it a priority. While it is a pretty tight album, I can’t get the image of the lead singers little sister, Hannah Montana, out of my head while listening. This pretty much ruins the whole experience for me. I can’t seem to take them seriously, which they clearly want. Also in music however, the New York band Bears Repeating released an EP today, and is allowing free downloads of that EP via their website beginning today, August 1st. The album will only be free for a short time, so be sure to download it A.S.A.P. And seeing as they have no relation to any Disney Channel royalty, I’m pretty sure it’s worth your time.

TV: Mad Men blew my socks off this week. The season 2 premier picks up exactly 2 years after the first season ended, with a lot of holes to be filled. But still, seeing the difference those 2 years made to American life is surely interesting. The addition of locks on doors, copy machines first appearing in office hallways, and women beginning to find a spot in business with the men. I can’t wait for Sunday. You can watch the entire season 2 premiere below. Go to hulu.com to watch the full screen format.



Internet: I haven’t had much time to surf the web for interesting sites this week, but I will once again recommend you check out hulu.com. Not only does this online TV network have a tremendous library of shows and movies to watch on demand, but it also has Joss Whedons’ (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly) hit internet musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog”. The 45 minute musical film is split into 3 segments and stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. (Watch the whole thing below, or tune to hulu.com for full screen) If you are a Joss Whedon fan at all, you’ll get a kick out of this. For those of you who haven’t kept up on Joss’ blog, he says that his new goal for his shows is to always provide the unexpected. He wants to write the “episode of Murder She Wrote in which none gets murdered.” So, don’t get too upset by Joss’ surprise ending, he’s just delivering on his promise to us. I am really psyched to check out his new FOX network show, Dollhouse. Hopefully he’ll be supported by the network this time around.



That’s it for now. Check back in later for more.

George.

This short cartoon from Disney's animated release Fantasia 2000 pretty much sums up everything I thought New York would be. After 14 months here, I'm happy to say this is exactly how it is, just with less of the Gershwin soundtrack. I'm putting more Gershwin on my iPod today, then it'll be EXACTLY like this.

More vacation ideas

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog entry about some exotic vacations I hoped to take. I received quite a response to that post, and have a few more ideas thanks to many suggestions. I've listed some of my favorites below.

A rare and lengthy ten day visit to Bhutan sounds incredibly interesting, or boring. I know next to nothing about Bhutan, other than the picture looks amazing, so this trip would definitely take some extensive planning. According to the website however, “This is the real "Shangri-La". Isolated by the Himalayas for centuries, these independent people with strong Buddhist & animist traditions are just beginning to welcome tourists. Less than 9,000 foreigners per year visit Bhutan. Bhutan is an enlightened monarchy. Universal health care and education are free to all. Everyone studies English and ecology, so communication is easy and the scenery is gorgeous. Bhutan is 70% forested and 29% national park. Wildlife is unique (ie. golden langur, snow leopard, takin) and abundant. Frequent religious festivals feature spectacularly colorful dancing monks against a rugged mountain backdrop. The architecture is incomparable in design and brightly painted detail.” This sounds pretty good to me, and it’s a steal at only three grand for a ten day trip.

Three hours of actual dog fight training. (That would be airplane dog fights; as in aerial combat, come on!) This would be an amazing trip. At just $1,195 you get up to three hours of in flight fighting. You seriously can’t beat that… well, maybe you could. But it would still be an amazing experience. I’m thinking that while this would be tons of fun and would be a story worth telling later, I could probably get a lot more for my 1200 bucks than three hours of fun. It’s possible, but not top on my list. http://www.aircombatusa.com/

A seven day guided climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. For only $4750 you get a professional led private expedition through Africa and up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the most famous mountain in Africa. That includes all amenities, like food, tents and climbing gear etc. According to the website, “Kilimanjaro is one of the best-known mountains of the world, and it has been an alluring destination for adventurers for more than a century. The peak has remarkable power to elicit a sense of adventure and exotic travel, and as one of the Seven Summits, it remains a strong draw for climbers and trekkers alike throughout the world. The New York Times recently named it one of The 53 Place to Go in 2008.” Of course, that New York Times list also includes Detroit as one of the top 53 places to go, so it’s hard to take them seriously. New Yorkers sure are crazy for their Detroit. http://aai.cc/ProgramDetail/kilimanjaro/

The ultimate vacation would be one year on board the classic sail boat the Picton Castle exploring the world. Obviously, a person has to be extremely dedicated to their vacations to take one that a full year long, no to mention the $39,000 price tag. To spend a year learning to sail
while travelling around the world might just be worth the hefty cost. And according to the Picton-Castle website, “No sailing experience is needed” sounds good to me. Anyone have 39 grand lying around? www.picton-castle.com/train/

Personally, I think the idea of driving classes to be much more realistic. Learning about managing cars at extreme speeds or in extreme conditions sounds like a great time to me, especially if the car being used is a BMW. At the BMW Performance center, conveniently located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, anyone can take classes in driving on a variety of courses and skill levels. I’m down for this one. http://www.bmwusa.com/performancecenter

Finally, how’s a motorcycle tour of Tuscany sound. In fact, the company that sets these up has tours all across Europe and New Zealand. Riding a BMW bike along the curving roads of the Italian Alps sounds like a great time. This one costs just $6,000 for a two week all inclusive trip. In my mind that’d be money well spent. The cost also covers the van that will drive your luggage from point to point for you and a local motorcycle guide if you want one. http://www.bmca.com/

Upcoming Movies

When I am extremely eager for a films release, I've made a habit of buying tickets to the 12:01am show on Thursday night at the AMC 25 in Times Square. I've had an average of one such film per month since my move to NYC. This month is different. Two weeks ago, I caught the 12:01 showing of Wanted, and have at least one film per week for at least the next few weeks that I'll be waiting in line to see. I've listed some that I'm looking forward to below.

Tonight: (obviously)


Next Thursday: (This is going to be great!)


Thursday, July 24th: (This one could go either way.)


Beyond this, unfortunatly I have nothing to look forward to until Quantum of Solice on November 7th: (My God, this looks amazing!)

I can't wait until Friday!

You may remember a short Hellboy promo I posted a week or two ago:
Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio


Well, it looks like Universal Studios is using it's newest family member to conduct some unique team advertising with many other Universal characters and shows. Here are two more that've been recently released:

NBCs CHUCK


NBCs American Gladiators


NBCs 'The More You Know'


I'm not sure what this is connected to, but it's a good one.


Rumor has it we'll be seeing more of these involving the casts of Law and Order, The Office, and Heroes to name a few. I'll keep an eye out for them and let you know when they're posted.

What it's like in my head.

This was meant to be a quick blog entry about the band Vampire Weekend, but it somehow took a horrible A.D.D. trip down a completely different path. Still, I thought it was a great way to show everyone what A.D.D. is like, so enjoy the ride.

The holiday weekend was fantastic, but busy. I'll surely be filling you in on everything that went down, but first I have a quick music recommendation. Last year sometime I posted a playlist on my myspace page that included a few songs by the local NYC band Vampire Weekend. Since then, they've released an album, had some time in the spotlight, and now are enjoying a little 'fame' in the indy rock scene. I realize that most of you know all about them now, but if you haven't heard them yet, this is your chance to get on board. Check out the music videos below.


Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma


Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

Now check out this Minnesota College a cappella group perform Vampire Weekends Oxford Comma.


Now watch the same Minnesota College a cappella group perform Daft Punks Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.


Now we watch a student from the same school also with a unique performance of the same song... (this is pretty cool, so be patient.)


Now for a real treat; the a cappella group and the daft hand kid performing live together!!! Awesome.


Isn't the internet great!

Finally, tune into hulu.com for all of your favorite classic and new shows for free, and even a few good movies, any time you want. They've added some commercials, but it's still far better than TV. -No, I'm not paid by Hulu, I'm just a fan.

This is my life. Now I'm going to watch Men In Black online at Hulu.com while I fall to sleep.

Mad Men

I've talked about it before, but I really must insist that if you haven't already, you watch AMCs critically acclaimed drama, Mad Men. The first season is available on DVD and on iTunes, so there are no excuses. Season Two begins at the end of July, so catch up now! Also, if you were thinking of ignoring my advice, I've posted the series premier, thanks to AMC, below in three chapters. Pay attention to the subtleties in the acting and writing. This is a show not to be missed.

I warn you, this show can be graphic in to the often uncomfortable realities that existed in New York in the year 1960. Sexism, racism, and adultery are only some of the themes portrayed unapologetically, without the usual 'moral of the story' ending we'd expect to see in mainstream television. This fresh and true approach to the time period is only an added reason to love this show.

Give Evil Hell

In my last post I briefly mentioned one movie from my short list of all time favorite films. Another movie from that list would be the 2004 film version of Hellboy. Based on the Dark Horse Comic by the same name, Hellboy was on film as unique as he is in print. Academy Award winning director Guillermo Del Toro did an amazing job of intertwining all the aspects and challenges of Hellboys’ life into an epic story that everyone could appreciate. Unfortunately, very few ever gave the film a chance, let alone appreciated it. The movie barely broke even at the box office and the executives at Revolution Studios decided that Hellboy wasn’t a profitable franchise. It appeared that there was no hope for a sequel. But, when Sony dropped Revolution Studios the rights to Hellboy were up for grabs and Universal saw it’s potential. Surprisingly, almost everyone from the original cast returned faithfully to revisit their eccentric characters. Next week, Hellboy II, The Golden Army will be released into theaters, and I’m planning to be first in line for the midnight show on Thursday night. In anticipation of the film, my Sunday comic book ritual has been dominated by back issues of Hellboy and the new spin off – Abe Sapien, in which Abe finally stars in his own comic. (maybe he’ll get his own movie too.) So, if you are one of those people who never gave the first film a chance, do so this week. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Here's a scene of Hellboys visit to one of my favorite shows, Inside the Actors Studio.

"Thats why they're for girls."

Over the past few weeks, I’ve written a few positive movie reviews, listing all of the movies that are worth seeing. Now for the list of movies that aren’t worth seeing. I’ve been avoiding TV lately, hoping to free up time to live more and enjoy the city. Still, when I need a fix of electric entertainment, I rent a movie on iTunes. Most of the sure things action movies I’ve already seen, which left me with a less than excitable choice of obviously bad flicks that I had no interest in or romantic comedies/dramas that had some, however little possibility of being good. Here’s the entire list of the few I gave a chance and what I thought of them:

1) Enchanted. I honestly don't know what I expected. This has to be one of the worst concepts for a movie falling in line just below Kate & Leopold for worst romance movie idea ever. Apparently the executives in Hollywood think that women will buy into anything, and apparently they aren't far off. I just don't understand what could possibly have driven these actors to be involved in this, seriously? And what about all of the saps who paid to see this in the theater? The saddest part of all is that this movie is my favorite on the list.

2) Definitely, Maybe. I once heard Definitely, Maybe compared to the 2002 hit, About A Boy. About A Boy is a great movie whaich has stayed in my short list of favorites since it's release. Definitely, Maybe is no About A Boy. When I read the reviews and saw the adds, I expected this movie to be about a young guy who's dating three girls and one get's knocked up eventually becoming his babies mom (I attempted a slang version of the word, but it failed miserably, but you get the point). I thought it could really be enjoyable. The unfortunate truth is that this movie has nothing in common with About A Boy, other than starring Rachel Weise. Ryan Reynolds does not play a convincing dad, and in fact, doesn't convince me at all. His acting is stiff, often forced and over the top. It seemed as though Adam Brooks had written this with some serious wit and true humor fused in, but it didn’t play out on the screen as well as it could’ve. The only actor who seemed to properly deliver Brooks' work was the 11 year old Abigail Breslin, who we know from Little Miss Sunshine. Watching her react as she realizes her dad once drank and smoked is fun, but those moments occur too rarely. In truth, the majority of the movie was stiff and forced, despite it's potential.

3) 27 Dresses. I know, I know, but once all else is exhausted you have to do something for entertainment. Let me tell you, this is not the thing to do. I will say that it started out pretty strong, and I actually thought I might be entertained for some length of time, until they started singing karaoke at the bar. This movie had a typical storyline that attempted to tug on women’s heartstrings, which I apparently lack. I’m so glad this auto-deletes from my computer after 24 hours.

4) P.S. I Love You. I was attracted to this movie because of the impressive cast. What, Harry Connick Jr. doesn’t play the romantic lead? Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler do? That’s an odd combination. I’ve got to see that. Well, first off, Hillary Swank is no Julia Roberts and certainly can’t pull of the romantic girl all that well. Harry Connick Jr. as the bumbling bartender with psychological disorders just wasn’t believable either, and Gerard Butler, well he could’ve been alright had he actually been in the movie. Just trust me and don’t bother.

To tell the truth, the Richard Gere, Julia Roberts days are done, and so am I. For years I’ve done my best to stay open minded to all genres of film, but for the first time I’m finding myself swearing off this category altogether. How’s that expression go? “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Let me know if anything comes out that’s worth my time or money, meanwhile I’m sticking to the comic book movies.

Crazy Busy

I have about 16 more blogs in my head right now, but no time to get them down. Work is crazy and my brother is coming to town on Thursday, and I don't think I've cleaned in months. Anyway, check out this site to keep yourselves busy. Have fun, I'll post again soon.