Walking After Midnight

Man of the Week: Peter Scherer

2011-01-25T04:41:25Z

I'm about ready to keel over, so onto the pics.

Man of the Week: Matt Bomer

2011-01-15T03:24:04Z

Poor Matt Bomer was stuck in the limited summer series Traveler. It holds a special place in my memory since I chose to review the pilot as an audition for a then-new TV website. The "expert" judging panel rejected my submission out of hand, saying there were no discussions of the DVD video, the audio or the extras. It got sent back to me with a pat on the back and a "nice try, youngin." You imagine my reaction. :)

Oh wait...I was supposed to be talking about Matt Bomer. White Collar. Most likely gay but won't come out since an entire show is riding on him. Disgustingly hot, nerdy and cuddly all at the same time.

jj79 @ 2011-01-12T20:28:00

2011-01-13T04:28:49Z

While I get Man of the Week cooking, check out the National Weather Service forecast for my area. Notice, in particular, the high and low temperatures...

Man of the Week: Michael Weatherly

2011-01-08T23:38:26Z

You can thank Entertainment Tonight or one of those other shows for bringing Mr. Michael Weatherly to the forefront this week. Besides, I don't have a ton of other ideas right now.

Man of the Week: Ryan Gosling

2010-12-29T04:54:23Z

Being under the weather without a lot of interest in doing anything means I'm not putting off this week's guy. Forgive me if he's already been showcased; there have been around 115 guys to make the list thus far.

Man of the Week: Ryan Devlin

2010-12-18T02:45:39Z

He's cute...and he went to the right school (Michigan State). Ryan is a Lansing boy through and through: born there, went to school there and found himself in Hollywood on stuff like Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters (he's currently banging Calista Flockhart). Anyway, the usual pics follow.

Man of the Week: Jack Mackenroth

2010-12-11T03:07:59Z

It's been a while. Too much "stuff" has come up and distracted me to really go into it. Jim was here for about two weeks. I was back in Michigan for almost a week. Playing catch up after all that (and our October 15 work deadline). You get the picture.

So enjoy the pictures. I'll try to keep this thing more updated than I have recently.

Man of the Week: Jeffrey Hunter

2010-11-04T05:28:19Z

He was good enough to die for our sins, but wouldn't sleep with green alien women.

No, I didn't make that up. It's from Family Guy. But then everyone knows that.

Man of the Week: Anthony Rapp

2010-10-28T03:33:19Z

Sunday, Pre-Noon Activities

2010-10-24T18:33:45Z

1) Fred Meyer for French Bread and coffee filters
2) Brewed my first ever at-home cup of coffee (chocolate velvet with sugar and bit of milk, for the record)
3) Signed up for Pandora Radio via the Tivo; have the film score station playing now (Rudy by Jerry Goldsmith right now)
4) Washed sheets and two other loads of laundry (ongoing)
5) Read 20-ish pages in the DC-1 (Chapter 6, Requirements for Coverage)
6) Made reservations for the Space Needle Restaurant when Jim is here
7) Half watched the Knit and Crochet show on Create! while seeing what was on sale at BB this week

Still to do:

1) ~~Finish 25 pages in Chapter 6~~ DONE!
2) ~~Shower, cut hair and shave~~ DONE!
3) Make the bed
4) ~~Finish laundry~~ ALMOST DONE! (towels are the last load)
5) ~~Make dinner~~ DONE! Italian Skillet Dinner with Garlic Bread
6) ~~Call Mom and Dad~~ DONE! Talked to Mom and left a message for Dad
7) ~~Watch The Music Man ( 2 1/2 hours)~~ DONE! See the quick review on Facebook
8) Maybe watch Clone Wars, Smallville and Batman from Friday
9) The Amazing Race and Brothers & Sisters tonight (no Simpsons AFAIK)
10) Maybe do the floors today...but I've been putting this off for weeks now

Man of the Week: Paul Wesley

2010-10-21T01:41:56Z

I have not abandoned my old stomping grounds. Work caught up with me for more than a few weeks and, well, something had to go. But I'm back, hopefully very regularly now.

Meme Day 02

2010-10-07T03:07:48Z

30 day meme...

Day 01 - Introduction
Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail
Day 03 – Your parents, in great detail
Day 04 – What you ate today, in great detail
Day 05 – Your definition of love, in great detail
Day 06 – Your day, in great detail
Day 07 – Your best friend, in great detail
Day 08 – A moment, in great detail
Day 09 – Your beliefs, in great detail
Day 10 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 11 – Your siblings, in great detail
Day 12 – What’s in your bag, in great detail
Day 13 – This week, in great detail
Day 14 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 15 – Your dreams, in great detail
Day 16 – Your first kiss, in great detail
Day 17 – Your favourite memory, in great detail
Day 18 – Your favourite birthday, in great detail
Day 19 – Something you regret, in great detail
Day 20 – This month, in great detail
Day 21 – Another moment, in great detail
Day 22 – Something that upsets you, in great detail
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better, in great detail
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry, in great detail
Day 25 – A first, in great detail
Day 26 – Your fears, in great detail
Day 27 – Your favourite place, in great detail
Day 28 – Something that you miss, in great detail
Day 29 – Your aspirations, in great detail
Day 30 – One last moment, in great detail

Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail

Ever since last night, I've been throwing this one around in my head. The question itself could mean anything. My first romantic love, my first love for an object, the first time I felt love.

I guess my answer here is my first love is the idea of being in love. The kind of love that will last forever, can weather any storm or makes the people around us envious. Love that knows no bounds, shows no fear. Enduring, romantic, sensual, caressing, hopeful, uplifting love. Love you hear about in the great stories and fairy tales.

To be honest, I'm not sure this love is real or attainable. It could very well be something made up to give people something to aspire to, a manifestation of hopes and dreams and desires. In other words, we all want perfection, whatever that means for us. The problem is that no one can ever live up to this ideal.

However, I do where it comes from, at least for me. Being in the closet until I was 21, I couldn't do the same things I saw my peers doing with the people I wanted to do them with. There were no high school dates for me with a guy or chances to go out to explore my sexuality. Everything that happened for me had to go on inside my head, in my imagination. I'm not ashamed to admit I created elaborate fantasies about what having a boyfriend-or love-would be like. The arguments we would have, the things we would do, the way we would support one another. But most of that can be saved for another time.

Being in love. I think before I even had a name for being gay, I knew I was in love with the idea of being in love. Everything in my life at that point had a connection to an aspect of love. Grasping for make believe characters in books or on TV was my way of having "people" to support and love me, not to run away when the things got rough. Because that's what love does. The way I talked about Luke and Leia and Picard and Kirk...they were real people to me, my family. People I could take anywhere and not be alone or shunned. That's love, too.

Even now, on Friday afternoon, as the week is winding down, I get very quiet at work. I put my earbuds in and just work. Why? Here, in Seattle, I know what I'm going home to and what faces me for the next 2 days. Time being alone. Not having someone to lay next to me while we watch TV. Not having someone to wake me up when I fall asleep on the couch. Not having someone to look forward to. No one's there to hug me or wrinkle their nose when I cut onions or give me a nasty look when my alarm goes off way too early. Or the million other things that develop between people who are in love.

That's all part of love for me, too. The companionship, the familiarity, the family. And that's why love is my first love. Even when love feels light years away, the mere thought of the good times spent with another person can fill my heart, remind me there is at least one person in the world who loves me and, in the end, erase the Friday afternoon gloom. Love pulls you out of the dark places and casts light on the world unlike anything else. And that's why my first love is being in love.

Meme Day 01

2010-10-06T05:02:48Z

I am acutely aware I have been neglecting this place lately. That was part of the purpose behind yesterday's Meditations on the Abyss. However, I will try my hardest to check in every day, thanks to jamie95. I know the last 30 day meme wasn't a huge success on my part. It fizzled. I apologize. But here's to trying again...?

30 day meme...

Day 01 - Introduction
Day 02 – Your first love, in great detail
Day 03 – Your parents, in great detail
Day 04 – What you ate today, in great detail
Day 05 – Your definition of love, in great detail
Day 06 – Your day, in great detail
Day 07 – Your best friend, in great detail
Day 08 – A moment, in great detail
Day 09 – Your beliefs, in great detail
Day 10 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 11 – Your siblings, in great detail
Day 12 – What’s in your bag, in great detail
Day 13 – This week, in great detail
Day 14 – What you wore today, in great detail
Day 15 – Your dreams, in great detail
Day 16 – Your first kiss, in great detail
Day 17 – Your favourite memory, in great detail
Day 18 – Your favourite birthday, in great detail
Day 19 – Something you regret, in great detail
Day 20 – This month, in great detail
Day 21 – Another moment, in great detail
Day 22 – Something that upsets you, in great detail
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better, in great detail
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry, in great detail
Day 25 – A first, in great detail
Day 26 – Your fears, in great detail
Day 27 – Your favourite place, in great detail
Day 28 – Something that you miss, in great detail
Day 29 – Your aspirations, in great detail
Day 30 – One last moment, in great detail

Day 01-Introduction

Really? After all the years I've been on LJ with some of you, you STILL want an intro? Okay, fine. Just remember I didn't make the rules. I'm Jason, but you can call me Jay, JJ, JP, Jase, J-Dawg, J-Bone, Hey You...whatever. Next March, I will turn the ripe old age of 32. I relocated from Michigan to the Seattle area this past July for work and, aside from a couple issues out of my control, I've been fairly happy. (Minus leaving the partner of six years in Michigan, but that's a whole different can of worms to untangle.)

Half Italian, quarter Russian and quarter English. I have the Italian temper, the Russian larger build and the quick speech of the English. Rather fair skinned, so I burn very quickly out in the sun. Almost completely shaved head and seasonally adjusted beard or goatee. As a perhaps uncomfortable joke, when people ask me about the lack of hair on my head, I quip the rest of my body makes up for it. Yeah, that generally kills the conversation right there. (Humor. That's another thing about me. Bad humor, good humor...whatever.)

I've lived in five different states at approximately 17 different addresses. I've been cooking for as long as I can remember. I'm stubborn, hard headed and independent, loyal, respectful, honest...and spiteful if you get on my bad side. I don't like asking for help, much to my detriment sometimes. Over the years, there have been more slings and arrows than I care to admit. Each and every one has taught me something different.

Speaking of that relocation, I did it by myself, towing a U-Haul behind my Neon through eight different states, four time zones and tons of different landscapes. I moved all my stuff into my new first floor apartment almost by myself and then moved a few weeks later (surprise...by myself) to a third floor place. Remember...stubborn. Very very stubborn.

I'm a writer at heart and once had three different operating blogs. There's currently 18 different season passes on the Tivo and 9 episodes of America's Test Kitchen mock me every time I turn the Tivo on. Star Trek and Star Wars have always been my major passions, but there's also He-Man and GI Joe and superheroes and Disney movies and...well, too many more to name.

I pride myself on being an open book. If you want to know something, ask the right question and I will give you an honest answer. Just don't be offended by what you may hear. Occasionally, I'm scatter brained, trying to get too much information down/out too quickly. Editing and proofreading are things I hate.

Chances are if you're reading this, you know a whole lot more about me than I could ever write here. These are the basics. I'm sure more will come out through the next 29 days.

From the Dream Factory: A Perfect Getaway

2010-09-26T23:13:57Z

What's Good:
- Steve Zahn plays a dork incredibly well
- Potential for awe inspiring location work; a shot of a purple sky is gorgeous
- Keeps the viewer guessing until its ready to show its hand
- Very smart dialogue regarding the way movies work
- Just enough reality-based humor to keep the story real

What's Not So Good:
- Chris Hemsworth is largely wasted
- Camera doesn't take advantage of the natural beauty nearly enough
- Some viewers may get bored before the action kicks into gear
- The flashbacks to put the pieces together are helpful when everything is revealed, but also the lazy way of imparting the information

The Verdict: It's smart, doesn't talk down to the audience and maintains a very small group of characters to keep track of. Not overly bloody or profane. Solid mystery thriller. See it.

Stimulation

2010-09-26T00:11:29Z

So, obviously, I've been more than a little busy the last few weeks. It's much easier for me to check e-mail and Facebook when I'm not at home than it is for me to get here. Many apologies if I missed anything absolutely critical.

But enough of that. I decided to go into work today and left around 1 pm. Since I was "in the area," stopping into Fry's sounded like a good idea. Bad idea. I walked out with Courage Under Fire, Simpsons Movie, Batman:The Movie, Mad Men S1 and S3 and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. All on sale since that's the way I roll.

But I wasn't done stimulating the economy quite yet. I headed to the mall, where I always ended to end up today anyway. (Keep in mind I stopped at Fred Meyer and Safeway before getting to work for my White Chocolate Mocha and a bagel for breakfast). Found some wash clothes and hand towel at Kohl's. I didn't get them when I got the other bathroom accessories, so I figured...what the hell. They were on sale and I needed them.

Zipped to the mall. Even worse idea. Walked into FYE and walked out with: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, He's Just Not That Into You, Princess and the Frog (combo pack edition), Mad Men S2, Snow White (steelbook edition), Pinocchio (2 disc) and Batman Begins.

I forgot when I was walking into the mall, Penny's had t-shirts for $9.99. Pillsbury Dough Boy, green Superman shield, Star Wars and a fourth one I forget about.

Headed over the Yankee Candle. Three new candles (Vineyard, Watermelon and Lemonade). Bath and Body Works. Five bottles of lotion and body wash. And Target for some hangers and a clickable lighter.

I should have really gone to look for a couch, but I didn't feel like it. Next Saturday between the bed coming and going into work (again).

From the Dream Factory: 9

2010-09-23T05:04:03Z

What's Good:
- Lack of humorous side characters
- Fantastically imaginative settings and characters
- Unusual color palette (dark hues, greens, oranges)
- Very good voice cast
- Adult animation without nudity, cursing or other objectionable material
- Exquisite animation and attention to detail

What's Not So Good:
- Woefully short running time doesn't allow for true character development or depth of story
- Lack of anything "there" under the story proper; essentially a mash up of stories we've seen before
- No BAM, heart pounding moments like there should be
- No "heart" to get the audience emotionally involved with the story; characters appear and disappear to serve the story

Verdict: For adults--see it if you like animation. For kids--skip it.

Man of the Week: Damon Lindelof

2010-09-23T03:33:12Z

I'm much too tired for any long, smart ass remarks or to defend this week's pick. Suffice to say, when you hear Lindelof talk, you don't think the man is married (to a woman). That he doesn't play for our team is disappointing. The fact a woman gets him to herself is a travesty.

Sorry girls. Jason gets punchy when he's tired.

From the Dream Factory: The Boy With The Sun in His Eyes

2010-09-20T00:54:47Z

What's Good:
- Tim Swain (the lead) is good looking and charismatic enough to keep the viewers attention for at least a while
- Starts with a two-bit singer/actress storyline which could have been more intriguing than the ultimate plot

What's Not So Good:
- Low budget film making: dialogue which needs to be looped since its hard to hear, scenes which need an extra light, fleshtones change between shots in the same scene, etc.
- Insipid voice over which is used to tell the backstory while the current story is going on
- Doesn't give the viewer any reason to actually like the lead or root for him in any way
- Much too prudish on what kinds of nudity the camera will show
- The plot changes direction as a twist (?)

The Verdict: Skip it.

Man of the Week: River Phoenix

2010-09-16T04:18:04Z

For reference sake, I am not including a picture from Stand By Me for any reason except it is the BEST scene in the movie. It shows the depth of the friendship between Gordie and Chris and remains the most honest thing in the movie.

From the Dream Factory: Taking Woodstock

2010-09-15T03:57:33Z

What's Good:
- A fine cast, starting with Imelda Staunton as a feisty, older Russian mother.
- The pieces are apparently all available to director Ang Lee to knock this one out of the park.
- The drug sequence near the end with Paul Dano adds a new dimension to the other reality-based portions of the movie

What's Not So Good:
- Stunningly, no video of the Woodstock performances.
- Fails to capture the essence of Woodstock or the more basic town story.
- Way too many things going on for any storyline to get properly fleshed out.
- Slow and lacking energy.

The Verdict: Eh. Rather middling, all things considered with small flourishes showing what the movie could really have been.

From the Dream Factory

2010-09-12T22:59:53Z

A slight modification from how I thought this would work. I'm doing this as I watch the movies and not on a weekly basis.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

What's Good: - The score by Harry Gregson-Williams
- Alfred Molina not taking the story seriously
- Two hours of fixating on Jake Gyllenhaal...?
- Whip pans showing "goals" in certain parts of the film reminiscent of video games

What's Not So Good: - The story essentially doesn't matter considering the way it gets rebooted at the end (yes, Jake takes a "journey"...but this should have been a prologue, not the entire movie)
- Jake's coming and going accent
- Gemma Arterton can't act her way out of a paper bag
- Humor is often misplaced
- Story takes too long to lurch into gear
- Fake looking sets at times

Verdict: Skip. Completely.

Star Trek

What's Good: - Familiar yet different characters, sets and universe
- Michael Giacchino's score
- Good balance of origin story with an original adventure
- Homages to all previous shows and movies
- Humor, but not "yuk yuk yuk" humor
- Karl Ubran channels DeForest Kelly exactly
- Reboot without really being a complete reboot

What's Not So Good: - Scotty gets introduced far too late
- Sulu and Chekov get almost nothing to do
- Nero could have been beefed up a bit (the prequel comic helps a lot in this regard)

Verdict: See it. Period.

From the Dream Factory

2010-09-11T06:36:38Z

The first review installment of From the Dream Factory takes a look at the movies I watched this past week: Batman: Under the Red Hood, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The Soloist.

Batman: Under the Red Hood

What's Good: - Top notch animation most likely out of line with the budget of the production
- The Joker's facial design: creepy and "simplistically detailed"
- The opening five minutes or so are among the darkest in the entire line of live action and animated DC Comics movies
- A new roster of voice talent provide different life to the familiar characters
- The first half is riveting entertainment

What's Not So Good: - The second half putters out of steam
- The "reveal" is terribly obvious from the get-go
- Nightwing disappears to service the story and not for a good story-related reason
- The backstory and emotional build up really doesn't work in this short form version; the story should play out over many, many installments, all leading to the final reveal to enhance Bruce Wayne's heartbreak.

Verdict: Yeah, see it. Outside of Superman Doomsday and Batman Gotham Knight, the DC animated movies are generally good ways to pass 90 minutes.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

What's Good: - Excellent cast who buy into the material completely and perform admirably
- Mostly realistic looking sets on what had to be a small budget
- Faithful adaptation of the book
- Doesn't get bogged down in schmaltz
- Really inspired shots depicting the beginnings of limbo or moving in slow motion
- Steven Grayhm

What's Not So Good:
- An abnormally long run time for a movie of the week (2 hours 13 minutes)
- Jeff Daniels looks goofy in blue make-up
- Some segments drag on too long while others don't go on long enough
- Takes too long to actually meet the people in heaven; in other words, too much set up
- The war sequence looks TERRIBLY fake, including Michael Imperioli in a tree

Verdict: First preference is to always read the book.

The Soloist

What's Good: - Jamie Foxx
- The classical music
- Inspirational story for people who don't find them cheesy or corny
- Easily blends backstory with the current story
- Many extras are actually homeless people, lending an authentic feeling

What's Not So Good: - An unfocused screenplay seems to want to tackle a large number of storylines unrelated to the actual story
- Story can't decide who the subject is: Lopez or Ayers
- Possibly poorly edited to omit certain story points; impossible to know without the shooting script to see what was shot

Verdict: Eh. It's a quasi-recommendation since most people will get caught up in the inspirational/emotional story instead of looking at the movie as a whole.

jj79 @ 2010-09-08T22:04:00

2010-09-09T05:04:08Z

You all know we have Man of the Week and Because Sharing is Caring and Meditations on the Abyss. Well, a new family member is being added: From the Dream Factory.

Look for something else this weekend as a recap of movies I saw during the week. Probably not full length reviews, but a little more than what's over on Facebook. I toyed with the idea of lumping TV shows in there too and then I realized I watch TOO MUCH TV to keep a running list. So it's just movies.

From the Dream Factory

2010-09-09T05:00:56Z

To the best of my knowledge, this short is not included on any Disney DVD or Blu-ray. Pity, since it played at the beginning of National Treasure 2...well, it preceded the press screening, anyway.

While we're on the subject, The Lion King hits Blu-ray next year.

Not to mention what is, arguably, a better version of Alice in Wonderland than the Johnny Depp...thing. (And that's not saying a whole lot, considering both versions are pretty terrible.)

Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are this year...

...as is Beauty and the Beast (really crappy British voice over guy notwithstanding).

Man of the Week: Neil Patrick Harris

2010-09-08T03:09:46Z

The only man, outside of Billy Crystal, Bob Hope and Johnny Carson, who should be on the extreme short list to host the Oscars, the Emmy's and the Tony's....EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR. He can sing, he can dance, after all...this is France...

Wait...never mind.

Other positives: he is dashing in a tux. He plays for the right team. He's gonna have babies!