Why I Love YouTube

I saw this earlier today, and I can't stop laughing.

Pictures from Episode 3 Taping -- Look at those Sweet Jackets!

Pictures from Episode 2 Taping -- Look at Those Sweet Vests!

Episodes 2 and 3

Well, Micah and I taped episodes 2 and 3 of Just Two Guys last night. In my opinion, we improved 400% over the first show. We were both more comfortable in front of the camera, and I think we both worked better together on camera. One thing I noticed is that during the first episode, I kept thinking "Oh shit, this is going to be on TV." But last night, that didn't really occur to me as much. Instead, I felt much more like Micah and I were sitting around the house talking. I felt a lot better, and I think the quality of the show will be better.

The Q & A bits were better, I think. We both asked some questions that got us thinking and really opened us up to improvising off of each other, which was nice. The horseshoe review went pretty well, and we did a history of the horseshoe, which I enjoyed a great deal.

Bottom line is, I had a great time last night, and I think Micah did too. After the first episode taped, I thought, "That was cool." But last night, I just had a really fun time. I'm so happy to be doing this.

I have to give a big thanks once again to the crew at Access 4 for making Just Two Guys look as good as possible. Instead of the lame curtain backdrop we had last time, they helped us get a plasma TV in our background that featured our J2G logo, and an animated graphic playing around it. It looked AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see how it looks during the broadcast.

Also, during Episode 3, we are going to have clips of Josh Halford's Nutsy and Klutsy animations playing during the interview to give viewers an idea what his cartoons look like. I would highly encourage anyone who needs a laugh to go check these things out. www.nutsyandklutsy.com

A Special Thanks

I just want to acknowledge Josh Halford again for agreeing to be interviewed on Just Two Guys. We taped the interview last night, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Josh is obviously passionate about making cartoons, and we enjoyed the opportunity to talk to him about his body of work. He helped me to understand the finer details of animating cartoons in Macromedia's Flash software, and we got to see a little bit about what inspires Josh and influences his work.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Josh produces in the future.

LMA Show of the Week

This week's LMA Show of the Week is Hank Williams III Live at The MonkeyBar on 2004-05-29. Hank's got a real talent for a raw rebel country sound that you just won't hear on country radio today. There's a reason you don't hear him on Country Radio, and if you listen to this show, you'll get a bit of his "philosophy" on the subject. I don't like country music (well, radio country you hear today), but I like guys like Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and all three of the Williams'. To me, they're country. I hope to see a lot more from Hank III in the years to come. His voice is a lot like Grandpa Hank's, and he sings about things like getting thrown out of bars.

Later in the show, Hank III makes the progression into hard rock, and then straight over into pure 100% thrash metal. Stick around for the end of the show, if that's your thing. Listening to the slow progression from country to thrash metal is interesting, to say the least.

For those of you who didn't see the first show

You'll have a chance this Friday at 11:30 AM and 8:30 PM. But that's not why I'm posting. If you haven't watched the show, you won't know that we open each show with a round of Q & A interview questions directed at each other. These questions are intended to open us up in front of the camera. We have no knowledge of the other person's questions until they are asked on-air. This causes us to think quickly and come up with answers on-air. I think that's a good way to see how a person thinks. And as we loosen up in front of the cameras, I think the answers will get more inventive and humorous.

On to my point. During episode 1, we were rolling along, asking pretty normal questions, like "Do other people see you differently than you see yourself?" when I dropped a bombshell on Micah. Out of nowhere I asked him, "Who is your favorite historical figure known to commit acts of cannibalism?"

Micah's reaction was priceless. He never saw it coming. I think the show is worth seeing just for that. The rest of the show is worth seeing, but his reaction is certainly worth the price of admission. Look for more of the Q & A segment in all of the episodes of J2G.

Later.

Second Taping -- Tonight

Tonight is the second taping of "Just Two Guys." On a positive note, we get to tape two episodes. On the other hand, this is our last scheduled taping until August 22. That's the soonest they could pencil us in for another taping. Tonight we'll be able to schedule another taping after August 22, but this is going to set us up for a cold streak.

This hasn't stopped us though. We're currently developing a show that will be taped out of the studio and on location at the state fair. That should be a lot of fun. We're also looking into checking cameras out and taping another show before that. It will be sort of "Just Two Guys About Town." These are both preliminary ideas right now, but I think they have a lot of potential to be interesting and fun.

Also of note: we are still seriously seeking a script, or someone willing to produce a script, for the Springfield Community Movie Project. This is the crucial first step. Once we have a script, everything else can begin to fall into place.

We are only going get better

I don't have a head cold for an excuse as to why I haven't blogged in such a long time. I do hope John's cold dies a quick and abrupt death. As John mentioned, we had the difficult task of having to eat three different horseshoes last night. Although you won't hear me complaining. Thankfully my wife was there to take a little of the eating pressure off. We will announce and eat the winner on our show. We will also give an exciting history about it that I think most people won't know.

I am very confident that these next two shows will only be better than the first. And if you thought the first show was horrible, I promise it won't get worse. I have a lot of fun sitting down with John and throwing out ideas for the show. It's almost as fun as doing the show itself. I realize that there was literally a dozen people watching the show last Friday and that would normally get a person down. Not for me. It's almost like a fake show that you would have put on in the basement when you were young with your siblings. Possibly with an ancient camcorder but my family couldn't afford one of those so it was completely imagination generated. If someone catches the show, cool. If they enjoy it, better. But I'm just doing this because there is a creative void that I need to fill. I'm glad to have the chance to fill it. I think this is what happens to alot of people as they start settling into their professional life. I'm not old enough to know if that void eventually shrinks to nothing with the pressures of today's corporate crap but I just wasn't willing to wait around and find out. I would encourage anyone to make sure you scratch that itch before it's too late. The great thing about this show is that it is not just fulfilling the needs of John and I. I feel like there are several other people who are finding that creativity with Just Two Guys as they help us on the other aspects of the show. And that includes but is not limited to our wives. And it will expand even further when the Springfield Community Movie Project begins to take off.

I just picked up my first issue of The Writer's Block tonight. I love it. That is exactly what I like to see in the community. I enjoyed every page and I seriously plan to patronize as many of the advertisers in there that I can. Their motto is "Supporting Local Creativity". We support them fully. Here is the web address: www.springfieldwritersblock.com

Thank you to all who watched our show last week and thanks to all who wished they could but had better plans for a Friday. We completely understand. Hell, I almost missed it. But then I realized I don't have a weekend life anymore so I sat down and watched it.

On the Rebound

Just wanted to post quickly and say that I'm sorry for not posting much over the last few days. I've been down with a head cold since Saturday afternoon. I spent yesterday and today in bed, and I'm finally starting to feel better. I should be back to a regular posting routine tomorrow.

Micah and I did manage to get in a taste-test of three local horseshoes last night. We sampled horseshoes from Darcy's, Dublin Pub, and Thirsty's. The winner will be announced on the show. We will also eat the winner on the show. We tape on Thursday night.

Upcoming Ideas

Micah and I have been on a crusade since we taped the first show to think of every way we can improve and evolve the show. For starters, we need to develop a backdrop for the set that sets us apart from the "run of the mill" cable access shows. As of right now we have the same black curtain and plastic foliage that all the other shows have. That's going to change. We currently have something in the works to develop a couple unique set designs for the show. We would like to have this all done for the August 22 taping.

Also, we are working on some ideas for taking our "Just Two Guys" show to the streets. We are currently working on a show that would be filmed on location at the State Fair this summer.

We're also working on getting some merchandise with the "J2G" logo, and our favorite Q & A from episode 1 (the cannibal question, for those of you who saw the show). We also bought some sweet new wardrobe for our next two tapings, so we'll continue to be fun to look at.

The Big Day

Well, unless you have a time machine you've already missed the debut of "Just Two Guys" on Access 4. The first airing was at 3:30 this very A.M. However, there's good news: we have two more slots for today. You can catch us at 11:30 AM, or 8:30 PM. If you can't tune in, be sure to set those recording devices.

I'm going to do my best to figure out how to upload parts of the show to the web, so bear with us on that. I'd love to eventually have all of our shows on the web.

Editing Show #1 and Other News

Nick at Insight is editing show #1 today. Micah (and his lovely wife) and I went to the Insight studio last night to discuss the editing process and look over what we taped last week. A great time was had by all, and I realized that this project is becoming a steamroller of ideas.

First off, I have to say that the show looks way better than I thought it would look. At the time we were taping, I felt incredibly nervous and like I probably looked completely unprofessional. Looking at it last night, it didn't really stand out to me that I was nervous. I didn't look nervous. I thought that Micah looked like an old veteran of the television scene. He's just a natural in front of the camera.

Second, we have started batting around some ideas for making our set look more original. We want our show to stand out from other public access shows so we need to have a set that doesn't include the standard backdrop and plastic foliage. That will be something that evolves over time, I'm sure. Also, we have started playing with interesting little tweaks to make the show look a bit more "alive." Nick is playing with our logo to give us a graphical segue between our segments, and he's used the logo to make a cool graphical popup for our names and titles.

Third, we are in the planning stages of doing a "Just 2 Guys at the State Fair" show, which will include some funny (we hope) segments. This show really has the potential to be something unique.

Apologies to our IE Using Friends

My wife has been telling me for a few days that the blog has been messed up, and I just investigated. It had something to do with the picture post a few days ago. I won't bore you with details, but basically it was a problem that affected column alignment in Internet Explorer, but not Mozilla. I use Mozilla, so I did not notice the problem.

Everything should work the way we intended.

Animated Opening Finished

Well, we have received the "final" version of the animated opening for our show. This is the opening you'll see when the show airs on Friday. John (not me) is always making little tweaks and mods of the intro, so look for it to change over time, but this is what you'll see on the first show. Please note that the original quality is extremely high in order to be AV appropriate. What you're seeing here is an extremely low-resolution version that I had to make in order to post on Youtube. The original filesize is over 100 megs (Youtubes upper limit for uploads). Enjoy.

In a Junk Heap, He Rides

I know I posted about a week ago about Weird Dude in my former place of employ, and I thought I should explain a little something about myself. I, personally, am one of the most boring people alive. I think that's true. However, weird things always seem to happen around me. Weirdos are attracted to me, and most everywhere I go, strange things happen. So, I'm going to post a little ditty that happened to me one day on my way to work.

This must have been about 2002. There had just been a wave of layoffs in my office, with another to follow. We were in our waning days in the Richmond office. The corporate office in San Diego was cutting losses and centralizing operations. All of our Richmond working days were numbered, and we all knew it. So, having just seen a bunch of friendly heads rolling and knowing we were next, we were all in a bit of a funk. I was driving to work early one morning. I don't remember the reason, but I had to arrive early to get some bullshit done. Who knows? Anyway, I was on one of Richmond's main drags, Broad Street, and headed toward the vast expanse of suburban sprawl that decks Richmond's Westside. The equivalent here in Springfield would be heading west on Wabash.

I pull up to a stoplight. I'm in the middle of three lanes. There's a Home Depot on my left, and a Salvation Army store on my right. I'm sitting there feeling all dopey and down about life when this real junker pulls up next to me in the lane to my left. It's got a rattlebuzzclunk thing going on, and there's a black smoke pouring out of the exhaust. The car's rusted out all up and down the passenger side. There are no hubcaps, and the tires themselves are bald and knotted. But here's the best part: this car has no windows in the passenger side. Instead, a thick plastic (like a plastic dropcloth) has been ductaped around the window. It's thick enough that you can't really see through it, but I can make out the profile of a hunched over driver puffing away at a cigarette that casts a pinkish glow in the blue haze of early morning.

We're the only two cars on the street, which is a little weird because there's almost always traffic on Broad Street. For a lingering moment I just stare through the plastic, trying hard to imagine what that person must look like over there. This whole scene is a little too Edgar Allan Poe for my taste, and I'm getting sufficiently creeped out, when suddenly, the driver snaps over, yanks the plastic down and gives me this big-mouthed insane grin, as if to say, "I'll eat you, you keep lookin' overhere," and cigarette smoke swirls around his head.

I have what can only be considered a massive heart attack and choke on my own tongue. I snap to, face forward, hands at the 10 and 2. Not looking back, I can feel his eyes burning holes in the side of my face, and I'm just hoping that the light will change. "Change, dammit, change," is racing through my mind. The light is red for at least another 30 seconds which feels like 300 years trapped under the watchful eye of the king of the insect world over there.

Finally, the light turns green, and I leap away from that line like Al Unser, Jr. driving away from a hatchet fight. I don't look back, and I don't slow down until I hit the parking lot, all elbows and wheels flying through the morning air. A few hours later, I wind down and start thinking about what happened. From that perspective, I could see that it was me looking at a junky car, and the driver, probably annoyed that I was looking at his junky car, called me out on it. Understood. Normally I wouldn't stare the way I was. When I was a kid growing up, my family cruised in some real ugly automobiles, so I know how it feels to be stared at on account of your car. But I was getting such a strange vibe from the whole situation, and I honestly felt there was no way the driver could see me any better than I could see him through that plastic drop cloth. I was apparently wrong. I felt embarrassed and ashamed that I'd been such a gawker, but the whole thing really just happened without my realizing it.

Now, I'm an English major, so I believe somewhere deep down inside that symbolism not only exists in literature but also somehow it lives out here in the real world. Every now and then I reevaluate this morning meeting, and I think there was some symbolism there about the insanely grinning monster behind the plastic that was driving through my life at the time, holding me at the red light and urging me to leap forward. That job ended shortly after this event, and I did leap forward on the green light. I went on to get my Master's degree, and I found myself in a better job enjoying my work a tremendous amount.

I'd like to thank that grinning madman for being there for me.

Animation

I just saw the animation we're going to use for the beginning of the show. It is awesome. I was imagining a 2-dimensional flash-type animation. What we actually got were some sweet 3-d rendered models of ourselves walking into the screen and standing on opposite sides of our logo, while the "Just 2 Guys" song plays in the background. As soon as we get a final copy, I'll get it posted right here on the website, for all to see.

LMA Show of the Week -- Warren Zevon, Live at Customs House

This is a show recorded in England on May 29, 2000. I was never personally a big Warren Zevon fan until I listened to this recording one day out of curiousity. This show is a real gem. It has some beautiful playing, and some nice Warren banter between songs. Zevon's outlook on life was interesting for sure. Stick around for the "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" to finish the encore. That is a great song.

Warren Zevon Live at Customs house 2000-05-29

Misc. Pictures from the First Taping

Are we dorks, or what?

Episode 1

I can finally put my two cents in on the show we taped Thursday. It went so much better than I originally thought it would. I was a little nervous going into it, more than I let John believe. But I kept telling myself that this is one of those "Oh what the hell" moments. We're just two guys. Plus, if it sucked too bad they could just delete the show and we could forget it ever happened.

Here's my narrative:

John and I (and our respective wife folk) met up at Panera an hour before taping for a little relaxation and discussion. We discussed little things, joked around and all around they made me feel better about the whole thing. As you can see in the pictures, we came dressed to kill. Actually John wore his television clothes to Panera so I quickly changed into mine as well. After several of us emptied bladders, we headed over to the studio. We walked right in and the crew made us feel great. We hadn't even taped one segment and they seemed to like us already. It's good to have the crew support. They are all genuinly great people. We really can't say enough about them. The studio looked so cool, lot's of gadgets that I really know nothing about. The lights weren't hot like I expected and in fact it was very comfortable in there. They quickly got our set ready, put the mic's on us and went over the few details that we needed to know. Before I knew it, the silent 5 second countdown began and we were off. I don't really remember what I said from that point forward. You can see that for yourself. I honestly felt like after the first minute that John and I could sit and talk for hours. That wouldn't be interesting but it definately makes 28 minutes feel very short.

Some of the things that were said may or may not be humerous. We heard people laughing but I wasn't sure if they were laughing at us or because of us. Thankfully they made it clear they were laughing at us. It's not intended to be a comedic show so do not look for that. It's just a little goofy at times. It is definately an evolving show. Like John said, the history part went a little too long but we have learned from that. When we wrapped the show up, I had so much energy I wanted to tape more and more. I couldn't sleep that night. I became addicted to doing a show after one taping. I do hope more people enjoy it than just John and I. Our wives seemed to enjoy it. Not that they are highly critical people but they are going to be our most honest supporters and they had very positive things to say. And great suggestions.

The Springfield Community Movie Project was introduced at the end. And again we got massive support from everyone who listened. This is such a cool project and I hope people get interested in it. Please don't be scared by it. Anyone can participate. We got some good news that I don't want to advertise but it makes the process of actually completing the film much easier than I thought earlier. We also got permission to air the film on television. That is going to be revolutionary. We honestly don't care what kind of script you submit. Be it a Wes Andersonian type of screenplay or an action thriller. Anything goes. For instance, here's a good use of Springfield:

A guy wakes up in his hotel room at the Hilton on the 20th floor. He hears knocking on the door. The guys on the other side have guns. He has to escape the building or be killed. SPD is involved in the conspiracy. Action ensues. He uncovers the conspiracy and gets the girl... or the money.

It sounds ridiculous but it involves Springfield. We would of course need more than that to get the film to a director but you get the idea. By the way, you can use that idea but I just made it up as I was writing. I think a good goal would be to complete this within a year. John and I would simply be the people who select the script and select the director. We would also provide the go-between with the people interested in other aspects of the film through our e-mail and possibly website. John and I haven't formally discussed that yet but it may be a good idea. My addiction to this show continues. I will get my fix in about two weeks when we tape again.

Springfield Community Movie Project

So, we've mentioned this numerous times on the blog, and we've finally got enough of the details sketched out to commit a post. Here it is, SCMP:

Goals

SCMP will:

1. provide an equal opportunity outlet for Springfield and the surrounding communities to work on and be a part of any aspect of the filmmaking experience,
2. complete a film with few restrictions of artistic vision but inclusive to input from any and all involved,
3. complete a film that features Springfield, Illinois as a supporting character,
4. complete a film with no budget. All aspects of the film should be done on a volunteer basis, which includes use of personal equipment that is already owned or borrowed.
5. premiere film at a local film festival,
6. create opportunities for future SCMPs,
7. become a complement to local community theatre.

Guidlines

The project will take shape in several phases:

• Phase 1: Script Selection

This is where we find ourselves right now. If you have always wanted to write a script for a movie, do it. If you know someone who has a script, send them our way. This is open to anyone who has ever wanted to write a script. Know people who want to work on it with you? We'll take team-developed scripts. It's up to you folks.

• Phase 2: Director Selection

Any interested directors, please step up. If you've ever wanted to direct a movie before, step forward for consideration. Or maybe you know of someone who would want to do it, like Uncle Joe, who always mans the camera at family functions. Have Uncle Joe get in touch with us.

• Phase 3: Production Crew Recruitment

Professionals. Amateurs. Contact us.

• Phase 4: Actor Auditions

Interested in acting on film? Here's your chance. We can't promise you any big breaks, but we can offer a role in a low-budget, independently developed movie.

• Phase 5: Post-Production/Technical Editing Crew Recruitment

Ditto. Contact us.


As one of our above-stated goals, we do not want to restrict artistic expression. However, there are several key elements we are looking for:

1. The film must be between 30-50 minutes in total length.
2. The film must include Springfield as the setting.
3. The film must adhere to common decency standards or be prepared for edit so that it can be shown on public television.
4. As a community project, all interested people should be given the chance to participate. However, the director and/or screenwriter will have ultimate say in delegating duties.

The role of Just Two Guys:

Our role on the J2G show is simply to promote the project as well as acting as the central hub for interested people and the project itself. Most importantly, we will select the script if more than one is submitted. We will also select a director if the screenwriter chooses not to direct. After script and director selection, we will only provide the director with interested people and allow the director to make all future decisions on the project. We only ask that this be a truly community-based project that enhances the artistic community in Springfield, Illinois. Super egos need not apply.

For right now, all information pertaining to the SCMP will be posted here on the J2G blog. Depending on how the project evolves, it may get its own site down the road, but for now it's here.

First Show Finished, with Pictures

Well, our first show went off without a hitch. I was extremely nervous, and I'm sure Micah was nervous, too, although I didn't sense it in him. No worries, though, as I did not vomit in my mouth. That was a major plus for me. The crew at Access 4 is really great, and they helped set us at ease right up front. Major kudos to those folks. I can't say enough good stuff about them, and I look forward to working with them on many shows.

First things first, I'd just like to say that I think we did a great job with our first show, but I know we have a lot of room to improve. I for one will benefit from getting comfortable in front of the camera. I also expect the format of the show will evolve in some subtle (and maybe even some drastic) ways. I've not spoken with Micah yet today regarding his post-show thoughts, but I feel pretty good about our start and where we can go from here. I think Micah and I have a good rapport on screen that will continue to develop the more we do this.

Now, that we have one in the books, I'll explain a little about the format of show 1. The beginning of the show, in my opinion, was our strongest segment. We start with a brief introduction of the show by Micah, and then we do an interview of each other. Basically, we take turns asking each other interview questions. We really did not want to do the boring "Hi, I'm John, and I like . . ." self-introductions. We thought it would be a great way to introduce ourselves over time by doing these short interview segments of each other at the top of each show. The catch is, Micah doesn't know what questions I'm going to ask him, and I don't know what he's going to ask me. Therefore, we are forced to come up with answers on the spot. We've also demanded of each other that there be no boundaries on the questions. I think this is going to be one of the most interesting and entertaining parts of the show. It was certainly my favorite during last night's taping. Some of the questions really sent us sprawling, and I think that will translate well to the premise of our show, i.e. we're just two guys talking about stuff.

The second segment we did was a little history piece on Sangamo Town. It was a good segment, I think, but it went on too long. We certainly knew the material, but I think we overestimated how much time we would need. By the end, I felt we were sort of groping, but I think we pulled it off pretty well. I know that as we get more comfortable in front of the camera, we'll be a lot less rigid and it'll be easier to explore conversation spaces without fear of "Oh my god, what are they going to think of this?"

The final segment had Micah explaining a project we would like to start and facilitate. Right now we're calling it the Springfield Community Movie Project, and I will post the full draft of our "manifesto" a little later today. For now, all information about the project will be found right here on the J2G blog, and you can contact us directly if you have any questions.

Change in Plans

Micah got a call a while ago from Garrett Moffett. Garrett is going to be unable to make the taping for the show tomorrow night, so we've had to scratch him as our guest interview. We have other interviews lined up for the future, but no one to replace Garrett on short notice. This means that instead of taping two half-hour segments tomorrow night, we'll only be taping one. In some ways this is advantageous because it will give us a chance to get our feet wet before taping a full hour on the 29th.

That means our first guest interview will be with Josh Halford, which we'll be taping on the 29th.

Nerves Kicking My Behind

Okay, the last few days have been a trainwreck for me. It seems that a million things have started happening all at once, as is so often the case, and I'm just having a difficult time balancing everything. I think (hope) that next week, things will slow down a bit for me because I don't know how much longer I can keep up this pace.

One of the biggest disturbances right now is the first taping of the show, and I have come down with a serious case of the nerves. I've never been on television before. When Micah first pitched the show to me, I was lost in a cloud of theoretical planning and hyper daydreaming, saying things like, "Yes, let's do this and this and this." We've spent the last month or so theorizing about the direction of the show and the topics we want to cover. We've been posting to the blog and really trying to spread the word as much as possible. And somewhere along the way, I lost sight of the realization that I would actually have to be in the show.

Now that it's crunch time, I'm feeling a few jitters. I've never really done much public speaking, and I have this issue where I assume that when I'm speaking everyone is thinking "Idiot! God, what is he talking about?" It makes me just a tad self-conscious. I'm sure it's something that a little time and experience will do away with. It's certainly not going to stop me. When I look all that nervousness in the eye, I still think, "So what? It's not going to stop me."

I'm fortunate to have Micah with me. He's got oodles of public speaking experience, and he's even dabbled in Broadcasting, even flirting with that as his major in college. So, I'm hoping that his experience will lend a bit of foundation upon which I can build my own experiences. Last night we talked it over, and he's going to sort of lay down the rhythm of the show, and I'm going to improvise off of him. I love improvisational music analogies in everyday livin'!

So, that's the scoop. When you watch the program, you may see me throw up a little in my mouth. Maybe that's even more incentive for you to watch.

A Bathroom Tale

Matthew over at Unspelled posted a reminder to all us gentlemen about the etiquette of using a Men's Room, and it got me thinking about this guy I used to work with.

I used to work for a medium-sized corporate entity in Richmond, Virginia. Shortly before I started working there, the company had been a small start-up but had recently been purchased by a much-larger entity. As a result, there was a hiring boom, and the Richmond office expanded from about 12 people to over 100 people. It was insanity. Most of this hiring took place within about a month, too.

Anyway, there was this guy who worked there who had gotten hired about the same time I did. He was a hotshot, and a megaloacademic. You know, the kind of guy who believes he has higher cognitive powers than everyone on the planet and looks down at everyone. We'll just call this guy Weird Dude for the time being.

Weird Dude was one of these guys that you can never really wrap your mind around. For one, he was known to go out to lunch on a Monday, get a deli sandwich or sub with all the fixins from a local joint and still be eating on the same sandwich on a Wednesday or Thursday. Not weird, right? Wrong. The kicker is, he stored the sandwich when it wasn't being eaten in the kitchen cabinet. Not in the refrigerator. In the !@$@ing cabinet. We're talking mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and MEAT stored at room temperature for days on end.

Weird Dude also spoke about thirteen languages. It was funny because if you ever had to meet with him in his office, he would inevitably get a phone call from someone else who apparently understood one of his numerous languages because he would pick up the phone, say "Hello," and then launch in to Russian. But he would speak in low, conspiratorial tones, and he would eye you suspiciously the whole time and then just burst out laughing. I know he was talking about me and my intellectual inferiority. And I'm not the only one who thought so.

But now, back to the point. Matthew mentions Men's Room etiquette. Weird Dude not only broke every rule in the book, he spat in the face of the committee of men who wrote the book. I swear Weird Dude thought the bathroom was some sort of underground meeting room where the "real business deals went down." Here are some of the weird encounters we had with Weird Dude in the bathroom.

1. If you were standing at the urinal, he would walk right up and lean on the partition between urinals as though it were a cubicle partition and start shooting the bull while you're trying to whiz. I mean, you're standing there baring yourself to the porcelain, and he's standing in full frontal view of all your business wanting to talk about how we can better produce content for school districts in Florida. He did this frequently. We used to call him "Bathroom Stalker" because it seemed he was always in or near the bathroom ready to pounce on those of us with a need to purge our bowels. It was like he legititmately thought that the act of peeing increased cognitive levels in employees of the company. I don't know about you, but some of my worst ideas come out when I'm trying to pee in the presence of a 50sish weirdo.
2. If you were sitting on the can, he would come in, knock on the stall door, and say, "Jeff? John? Who's in there?" He didn't need to go, he just wanted to know who he was talking to. I'm sitting there focusing on the push, and he's asking me if I've reviewed the material sent in from some teacher in Hopewell Public Schools. Once when I finished, I came out of the stall, and he was sitting on the sink counter, with his feet up like he was on a psychiatrist's couch. He'd actually made himself at home in the men's room. Actually, he used to complain to upper management that it was unfair that the ladies' restroom had a couch inside. He tried to lead a revolt to remove the couch once and have it placed in the men's room.
3. Once, I came in to wash my hands. Weird Dude flushed the can, came out of the stall, spritzed a little soap in his hands, and then stuck his hands directly into his mouth. He washed his mouth with the soap, creating a big frothy mess in his mouth. Then he rinsed the soap from his hands, and washed his hands. Notice: he did not wash his hands prior to his crack/bun-to-mouth contact. This was not an uncommon occurrence with Weird Dude, and I was only one of many who saw him perform this strange (satanic, perhaps?) ritual.

What is wrong with me?

I ran into a situation today that really made me wonder what the hell is wrong with me. I had just finished a work related presentation and someone came up and began speaking with me. One of the first things he said to me was that I really come across as a nice and intelligent young man. Instead of thanking him for an obvious comment, my first reaction was to defend myself as not such an intelligent young man. I thought it about after the fact and decided that it was probably not modesty that sparked such a response.

I have an odd personality trait that causes me to want to reject any label put upon me. I never seem to want to be categorized even if the category happens to be flattering and befitting of the way I do want to be seen. For example, if someone refers to me as an intellectual type I try to prove that I'm not. I don't want to be city in the presence of city people just like I don't want to be country in the presence of country people. I blog but I don't want to be labeled a blogger. I suppose that deep down I want to be a mystery. I don't understand why. You don't have to be a mystery to be interesting. The only person that I really confuse is myself. I know that I have been called weak for this same reason. I have convictions but I purposely hide them. This is definately not the rule with me as I can become rigid with a few of my beliefs and theories. But they are completely random.

I think I am talking about it now because I hope to purge this trait from my personality in the course of working on the television show. It won't be easy and I don't expect to be an open book written in stone guy, but I would like to lose some of the mysterious trait. I think that by becoming conscience of this type of thing and confronting it openly, I will slowly improve. I am trying this same thing with communication. I have not always been a great communicator with close people in my life and I have always gotten away with it. But that is definately not a good thing in a marriage so I have really been trying to improve with my wife. I hope that I have been improving. Ironically, I communicate better in front of 100 people than in front of 1 person.

I am really excited about doing the show this week. We have some interesting things to talk about. I will accept some bumps with the first couple of shows but I completely expect that it will be an evolving process and we will at some point become comfortable with the ultimate outcome. But, we're Just Two Guys and it is what it is.

LMA Show of the Week -- Yonder Mountain String Band

To satisfy y'alls craving for some uptempo bluegrass, this week's show of the week is Yonder Mountain String Band. This show is from the band's at Summer Camp in Chillicothe this year. This show is high quality, with great sound and great balance between the playing and the crowd noise. Also, the band is playing with a lot of energy and obviously having a good time.

To listen, click here.

And don't forget, this show will be posted in the right hand margin for a week or two, so you can link from there, too.

Our Second Guest

Josh Halford, local Springfield Flash animator, has agreed to an interview during our June 29th taping. We're excited to have Josh on the show. You may remember our mention of Josh in a previous post on the blog, see here.

Am I Really That Lazy?

Yesterday I had to get out of some dirty work clothes and into something more appropriate to wear to lunch. So in an attempt to be ultra crafty and time frugal, I tried to take my pants off over my shoes. Big mistake. I struggled and strained to pull my jeans over my foot, but in an ultimate attempt to show those pants who's boss, I refused to stop and take my shoes off. Finally, after several minutes, I managed to have the pants lying on the floor, utterly defeated, and to have myself breathless in a chair. I then pulled on a new pair of jeans with no trouble, zipped the fly, and I was on my way.

But as I passed out of the room and flipped the switch, it occurred to me that I'm just a lazy idiot.

Watch J2G on Access 4

Well we finally got time slots for our show. Beginning June 23, our show will air every Friday at 3:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 8:30 PM. If you're busy and can't be at your television at these times, don't forget to drop a tape in the VCR or set your Tivo to record.

Also, as mentioned in a previous post, we have an artist, John Moss, who is helping us with some of the more artistic aspects of the show. He's going to develop an animated opening. You don't see that on Access 4 every day.

By the way, here's a link to the song we're going to use in our introduction. I think it's appropriate. The title is Just Two Guyz, and it's a song by the guys who run the website The Lonely Island, or you may know them better as the team behind SNL's now famous "Chronicles of Narnia" video. On the page I'm linking you can find the song in mp3 format, or in video format. We're only going to use about the first 30 seconds or so of the song, so the questionable content that appears a bit later in the song will be left out.

Half Empty

I don't really want to use this as an outlet for my angry rants, but this is something that really gets my blood pressure up. Last night, my wife and I went to Panera for dinner prior to going to the Prairie Home Companion screening. We placed our food order and went to get in line for our beverages. We both wanted iced tea, but of course we have to wait to gain access to the soda fountain in order to put ice in our cups. There's a mother and daughter at the front of the line, and neither of them can figure out which drink they want. Have you two never had soda before? It's not like they're new choices! Just pick and move on, for crying out loud.

So, they finally figure out what they want, fill their cups, and move on. Then another dynamic duo assume the position at the front of the line. No problem deciding what they want. They quickly add ice, fill their cup with syrupy liquid. I'm thinking, "Sweet, I'm next." But not so fast. These two evildoers then proceed to drink their cups half empty. Then they fill up again. But they're still not finished. Oh no. They have to take another sip and top it off again.

I hate when people do this, especially when it's a busy time of day. If you're that thirsty, you've waited far too long to get a drink. I mean why not just say, "Screw the cup," and suck the soda directly out of the fountain's soda teat. It's so aggravating.

In a perfect world, the punishment for this type of offense would be a swift roundhouse kick to the arse.

A Nod to Two Local Bloggers

I just wanted to point people in the direction of two local bloggers who I enjoy reading a great deal. First, is The Eleventh Hour. Dave's done some hilarious stuff in the last couple of weeks regarding the deer attacks in Southern Illinois. And he also does a weekly post devoted strictly to beer, which is a testament to this dude's coolness. I would highly recommend stashing The Eleventh Hour in your RSS reader (I use RSS Bandit) or bookmarking it.

Also, I'd recommend Matthew Pocket's blog Unspelled. I find myself enjoying Matthew's posts, and I think today's post is of particular interest. He makes some observations about Springfield that are quite on the mark.

Person of the Day

Well, it's Friday, and I haven't posted much this week. On Wednesday I posted about local Flash artist Josh Halford. Well, I have been in e-mail correspondence with Josh, and it looks like we may be able to get him on our second show, which we're taping on June 29th. I'm really looking forward to that. Look for a permanent link to Josh's site sometime today.

As for today's person of the day, I thought I'd talk a little about a historical figure that has fascinated me for quite some time now. This fellow leads me down a long path of philosophical conspiracy theorization (for lack of a better term), ranging from the true identity of Shakespeare to the vast network of secret societies that once flooded Europe. At any rate, today's person of the day is the Count of St. Germain.

You may be saying, "Who?" Rest assured that the Count's story is pretty interesting. First, no one really knows who he was. His early years are completely shrouded in mystery. He first appeared in the public eye in the early 1740s, where he made his name as a great violinist in London. While there, he was well-known in London circles and even became friends with Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Then he abruptly disappeared in 1746.

In 1758, he reappeared, this time in Versailles where he handed out diamonds as though they were worthless and claimed that he had lived for centuries. During this long lifetime, he admitted that he had amassed a giant fortune. After a few years, he was threatened with arrest and fled the city.

He wound up in St. Petersburg. During his time in St. Petersburg, Catherine the Great assumed the throne, and don't think for a minute that conspiracy theorists haven't linked the two. He moved on from there to Belgium, where he took on a different name and started showcasing his abilities as an alchemist, even turning iron into a gold-like substance. Then he disappeared for 11 years.

When he returned to the public eye, his stories got more and more bizarre. The Count began telling people of his long life and of being an advisor to Jesus. He also compared himself directly to God on many occasions. During this time, also, he began to perform more tricks of alchemy and to claim allegiance to the Freemasons.

He supposedly died in 1784. But his story is far from over. Appearances of the the Count of St. Germain were noted throughout Europe in the 19th Century, including a dossier that Napoleon III kept on the Count during his reign from 1852-1870. Claims of the Count's presence among us have been made as recently as 1971, when Richard Chanfray, a French musician and noted ex-convict, claimed to be the Count of Saint Germain.

For more information on the Count of Saint Germain, visit here.

Local Springfield Animator

I've been a fan of the Flash animation community for some time now. Flash is one of those things that has evolved from a pretty basic tool for web developers into a tool that creative people can really use to produce artistic works, whether that's a cute cartoon or a more serious piece of literate Flash filmmaking. I think it won't be long before you start seeing Flash Film Festivals popping up here and there.

All that said, I wanted to point our viewers to the website of a Flash animator who lives right here in Springfield. His name is Josh Halford, aka ChubbyBunny, and he has a wonderful series of Flash cartoons on the web featuring two characters Nutsy and Klutsy that are really quite entertaining. This guy's a real talent. With obvious influences from Ren and Stimpy, his cartoons look good and they're funny. His latest cartoon, "2006: A Space Idiocy" is incredibly well-drawn and entertaining. As good as just about any Flash cartoon I've seen on the web.

To see Josh's Flash cartoons, visit:
www.nutsyandklutsy.com

To see other Flash cartoons and games, visit:
www.newgrounds.com

Exciting new project

I have not posted in a while and despite the late hour I felt I should. I have been very busy both in my work life and personal life as well. I've had major clean-up in my basement from a storm last week. Not a fun job but my wife and I seem to agree that we should look postive about it because our basement is getting cleaned. My mind is always on the show though. New ideas pop up and disappear but some stay. John and I have been constructing a project that we both hope will get interested/artistic people involved. We think this will be wonderful for the community as well as rewarding for those who chose to participate. The reason I, and I presume John, am not fully disclosing the idea is because there are still some things to figure out. Here's a little note to you John since I will be in a seminar tomorrow. I completely agree with every suggestion you put forth in your e-mail. I was thinking along the same lines and I also don't want boundaries for our "artists" in that way. The funding looks shocking at first but I look at this project as the in-kind type of funding. If you added the in-kind funds up, the amount might be quite high. Of course, we will just have to see. Sorry for the confusing speak if somebody else is reading this.

I have been doing a little more research on Sangamo Town. The Atlantis of Sangamon County. Lost but not forgotten. I'm off to sleep.

Just Two Guys E-mail Address

As I posted earlier in the day, we have been working on getting an e-mail address for Just Two Guys. Well, it really only took me getting off my lazy bum and doing it. It's now done. If you need to e-mail either of us, you can use the official Just Two Guys e-mail address. It is:
justtwoguys[at]hotmail[dot]com

Just replace the [at] with an @ and the [dot] with a . and you're all set.

Busy Week

This is a pretty crazy week for me, so I won't be posting as much as I'd like to. Too much work in my work life, and too much work in my personal life. My wife and I are going to see A Prairie Home Companion on Thursday night as part of WUIS's advanced screening. I'm pretty excited about that.

Micah and I are also in the process of batting around some ideas for a new project that we think will be pretty cool and could potentially involve many people in the area. Arts boom, anyone?

We are also in the process of finding some interviews for the show for down the road. We have the interview segment for our first few shows already nailed down. If you have something interesting to talk about and are interested in appearing on the show, send me an e-mail (you can find my e-mail address in my profile). We don't currently have a Just Two Guys e-mail account, but we'll have one soon.

This Past Weekend

This past Friday night, my wife and I along with Micah and his wife took Garrett Moffett's "Lincoln's Ghost Walk" tour. I would highly recommend the tour to anyone. It's a great tour with some excellent information about Lincoln and his family. I particularly liked Garrett's stories. It's obvious that he has done his research, and he has the personality to really bring his stories to life. They were interesting and allowed us to get a perspective on Lincoln's life that most people don't get from history books and museum tours. I think anyone who is the least bit interested in Lincoln should take the tour.

It costs $10, and it's about an hour and a half long. Well worth it. When the weather's nice, it's a great way to spend an evening.

Internet Archive Show of the Week -- June 5

This week's show of the week is Drive-By Truckers at Smilefest 11 on May 27, 2005. Go there by clicking here.

If you like hard, loud Southern rock, you'll love Drive-By Truckers. These guys rock. With obvious influences from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Drive-By Truckers take the Southern rock sound a step further with their "triple-axe attack" and their extremely literate songs about real life troubles.

Their live shows are filled with tons of energy, and this particular show exemplifies the band's energies and talents. Some of my favorite tunes in this show are "Where the Devil Don't Stay" and "Boys from Alabama." Crisp recording and good playing make this a show to be enjoyed.

If you are interested in seeing Drive-By Truckers this summer, they'll be opening for Black Crowes in St. Louis on Friday June 23 and in Chicago on Saturday June 24.

Springfield's Lost Identity

Where did Springfield go? That's a question I keep asking myself as I read through my volumes of Springfield history. At one time, Springfield was a city to be respected and revered. It was a city of growth and progressive thinking. It was a city on the way up.

Now maybe what we've seen in the historic downturn of Springfield is not a local trend at all, but rather a national philosophy shift. Take a look at Springfield and you won't see much that hasn't occurred also all over the country. Faceless shopping centers. Neon strips. Entire streets plagued by Payday loans. The collapse of (and ensuing struggle to rebuild) the urban center. But I don't live in other places. I live in Springfield.

When you look back at pictures of Springfield (Springfield Rewind), it's easy to see a thriving population. People took a lot of pride in the experiences Springfield had to offer. Take a look at pictures of downtown, and you'll see the streets bustling with shoppers. You'll notice a plethora of downtown shops and restaurants. What has changed about us? Why have we let these experiences die in Springfield?

In the Springfield area and in this country as a whole, it seems we would rather spend our time in an anonymous shopping center with no sense of place (you could literally be shopping anywhere in the world and have the same experience) instead of having a shopping experience to be remembered and cherished? I cringe every time I hear mention of one of these "downtown-themed" shopping centers. Why on Earth would I want to go shopping in a simulated downtown? We have a downtown. Why don't we use it?

And culturally, Springfield was so rich, anchored by the Orpheum Theatre and others. Why do we feel such a strong desire now to herd our people into movie theaters likes cattle into the slaughterhouse? Why can't interesting theaters be kept and restored? When I lived in Richmond, Virginia, one of my favorite things to do in the universe (yes the universe) was to go see movies at Richmond's Historic Byrd Theatre. Going to see a movie at the Byrd is such an experience. It is so vastly different than going to see a movie in these cardboard boxes we call theatres nowadays. They even have a Wurlitzer organ that comes out of the floor that they play before Saturday evening shows. It's such a great time. Here in Springfield, it seems we can't hold onto anything unless it's dripping with Lincoln.

I understand the problem is complex, and I'm certainly no expert. And I don't mean to say that the shops and restaurants that are downtown now aren't doing a great job. Things in downtown certainly seem to be in an upswing right now. And this post isn't meant to focus on the shops, but more on the shifting attitudes of people who refuse to take their business downtown.

It seems there is an interest in the rich history of Springfield. People are always speaking of the good old days, and websites like Springfield Rewind seem to have an audience of people who long for the way things were. And so often, I read/hear complaints from people that life feels "empty" or "unfulfilling." It seems that in our modern age, the quest for the holy grail has become a quest to feel fulfilled or to have a sense of purpose. Well, it seems to me that we've removed all of this fulfillment from our lives by turning everything sterile and anonymous. Why don't we move to put the fullness back into our lives?

How Panther Creek Got Its Name

I'm not talking about Panther Creek, the subdivision. I'm talking about the creek. It turns out that way back in the earliest days of Sangamon County's settlin' a man named John Harlan had to kill three of what he called "panthers" near his home. So, he named the creek behind his house Panther Creek. Apparently there's some doubt about what he actually killed. Some claim they were black panthers (the cats, not the activists) and some believe they were mountain lions.

Curiously, as I browsed the web for more facts, I found this website that raises of the question of the presence of (and history of) big cats in Illinois, including a discussion of panther sightings throughout the region.