New Episodes Online!

Our last 4 shows (episodes 8, 9, 10, and 11) have now been posted online. You can click the links to the right hand side of the screen to go watch them. Or you can click the links below.

Episode 8 -- An interview with Steve Bridge, who you may remember from the sports team at Newschannel 20 and from his radio gig with Sportsradio 1450. We talk a little about sports broadcasting, but we quickly spiral out of control in an interview that went down as one for the record books.

Episode 9 -- The now infamous Donut-Eating Competition starring Amanda Reavy and Sara Wojcicki.

Episode 10 -- Micah and I put on our researchers' glasses and do a little digging on one of the most historical moments in Illinois' past: the Winter of the Deep Snow.

Episode 11 -- Micah and I interview local singer-songwriter Micah Walk, and Micah performs three songs for us. Really quite beautiful. I can honestly say this is the classiest show we've ever done.

List of Upcoming Movies for the Movie Geeks Club

Here's a list of movies that people submitted tonight for upcoming screenings of the Movie Geeks Club. I'm looking forward to these movies playing.

Strangers on a Train
Closer
A Very Long Engagement
A Scanner Darkly
Gods and Monsters
Kill Bill (1 and 2)
Leaving Normal
Midnight Cowboy
Fitzcarraldo
Corndog Man
Everything is Illuminated
Gummo
Aguirre, Wrath of God
Apocalypse Now
American Movie
Blue Velvet
The Big Sleep
Unforgiven
Bottle Rocket
Julien, Donkey Boy
Heat
The Apartment
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
Hard Boiled
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Diabolique
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Days of Heaven
2001: A Space Odyssey
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Reservoir Dogs
Memento
Amelie
La Fille Sur La Pont
A Simple Plan
Thumbsucker
Leon (The Professional)
The Graduate
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
Primer
Eraserhead
Dead Alive
This is Spinal Tap
Rear Window
Man Bites Dog

Next Movie Geeks Club -- February 27

What better time to post the information for the next movie club than on the very night of the first movie club?

The next Movie Geeks Club will take place on Tuesday, February 27 at 7:00 (doors open at 7:00, movie starts at 7:30). The movie will be Brick. This is a movie I have not yet seen, so I look forward to the opportunity to check this one out.

1st Movie Geeks Club Gathering

Okay, so my wife is away this week so I'm feeling really lonely. Our first meeting of the Movie Geeks Club just convened, and I thought I'd share my thoughts/feelings. I want to send out a heartfelt thank you to everyone who came tonight. I know it isn't always easy to escape life to make these things, so I thank those of you who did. It was appreciated.

First, the movie was great. Anyone who's ever seen Run Lola Run before knows that seeing it on the big screen is bliss. It was great. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I hope everyone else did, too.

Second, reality set in around the same time that people started showing up. I had envisioned a group where people would linger and discuss the movie. The feeling I got as people arrived was that they were really excited to see the movie. Nearly everyone, in fact, had already seen Run Lola Run, and wanted to see it on the big screen. But, not many people were interested in sticking around to talk afterwards. You see, in theory, everyone wants to discuss movies, but in reality people have jobs, kids, significant others. They can steal away for the movie, but then they want to duck back to their real lives. I can talk big this week because my wife's out of town. If she weren't, I'm sure I would have headed for the exits as soon as the credits finished rolling.

I guess what I'm getting at is that it's okay. This movie club, from day one has been something I've wanted to be organic. I've wanted it not so much to be this utopian movie group I've got in my head, but instead something that people will actually come out and be a part of. If people want to watch the movie and leave, that's cool. If people want to sit around for hours discussing the cinematography and symbolism of color, that's cool, too. At the very least, we can offer people a chance to see those movies they've always wanted to see on the big screen on the big screen. I mean, for years I've wanted to see 2001 on a big screen, and now I hope to get the chance. I hope we can at least draw people for that reason. If you want to stay and chat, that's extra cool. Also as people become more familiar with each other it will help a lot.

I have to say thank you to the good people at Capital City Bar and Grill. You have a great facility. The setup for the theatre couldn't be better. I've been to "brew and view theatres" before, but I've never seen one as nice as the setup at Capital City. It's isolated from the rest of the bar activity, and they've really placed the movie experience as the priority. I like that. Plus, the beer flows silently and efficiently during the showing. Very nice.

I'm very pleased with the conclusion of the first Movie Geeks Club screening.

Thanks everyone.

Movie Geeks Club

Hey everyone, don't forget about the first Movie Geeks Club screening tomorrow night. We'll be watching Run Lola Run, starting at 7:00 PM. We look forward to seeing you there. Spread the word to anyone who doesn't already know.

Movie Geeks Club
7 PM
Tuesday January 30, 2007
Capital City Bar and Grill
3149 S. Dirksen Parkway

And to get you psyched up, here's the trailer for Run Lola Run.

Audio Theater

First, I want to remind everyone that tomorrow's episode will be the Micah Walk episode. It was a great show and I think everyone will really love the music. Friday, January 26th at 11:30 am and 8:30 pm on Access 4.

Second, I want to talk about something different and entertaining that you can do at work or home. Audio Theater is something that I have thought would make a comeback someday with the growth and popularity of the MP3 format and IPods. Even though you can put video on IPods now, people mostly use them for audio files and carry them everywhere. It opens up more opportunity for formats other than music. For most people reading this, audio theater is a very dated idea that ended in the 1950's with the new television medium. It was well on it's way out 20 years before I was even born. Radio still exists of course, but the formats are mostly only music and talk. I have to travel pretty frequently with my work and when I do I always try to check out an audio book. It works whether I'm driving or flying because of my motion sickness problem. I enjoy music but for long distances, it keeps my mind going. Audio theater is very similar to audio books but it is specifically made for radio. I am finding that there are still productions around the country and Garrison Keiller is a good example.

I have discovered that you can listen to many old time radio shows for free on-line. You can occassionaly here these on AM stations late at night or on the weekends. I enjoy the mystery shows but they have comedy, sci-fi and even soap opera style. Of course the material is mostly dated but that is partly why I find them so interesting. The other reason is that they are entertaining in their plots and productions.

So, if you're ever bored at home or at work sitting in front of a computer and you want a little background entertainment, check out these sites and listen to a show.

Old Time Radio - This site has a large library of old shows and they are pretty easy to find.

Radio Lovers - Another great site. I find it a little more difficult to find what I want but it too has an extensive library.

Old Time Radio Fan Site - Similar to the others.

Great Northern Audio - This is a great list of modern audio theater sites. I was very surprised to see how many are out there. With the technology of today, audio theater has become very easy to produce and the effects are quite good. Unfortunately, the newer shows often require a purchase of either a CD or membership. But still check it out. You might be able to find something free.

Winter of the Deep Snow

For those of you who caught our most recent show that aired on both January 12 and 19, you may be interested in some further information on the Deep Snow. For those of you who didn't catch the show, you will still find this interesting.

In brief, the Deep Snow references the harsh winter of late 1830-early 1831. It was a mild winter up until Christmas eve. It started snowing, and just didn't stop. There was a blanket of snow at three feet on the level across most of the state of Illinois, with drifts that blew to over 12 feet in height. There were over 70 days of snow accumulation that winter, and it was hard times for the people of Central Illinois. Most of the settlers had only been here for a year or two at that time and hadn't been here long enough to accumulate a big winter reserve of food and supplies.

The winter lingered well into the warm months and a lot of people were unable to get crops in the ground. The effects of the winter lasted well into the following year as a result. Where corn had been trading at 10 cents a bushel, it was trading at nearly $2.00 a bushel the year after the Deep Snow. People grew desperate and started travelling to "Little Egypt" (i.e. Southern Illinois) to the land of plenty to get food and supplies. With a warmer climate and a less severe winter, the people of Southern Illinois came to be associated with the biblical story of Joseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers.

Here are some links to more information about The Winter of the Deep Snow:

Winter of the Deep Snow 1830-1831
A Story about the Origin of the Name Little Egypt
Includes an article about Historical Snowfalls in Illinois
Includes a short section about The Deep Snow

Important News about "Whitney"

We are no longer involved with the movie production of the movie Whitney. Best of luck to Dan and anyone else who gets involved with that project. We really wish you all the best.

We are still interested in working with people to make a movie via the Springfield Community Movie Project, but we want to stay true to our original vision and keep the movie and all of its elements right here in Central Illinois.

My Electric Mandolin

I have been itching to stretch out a little musically and do something a little different. I've been playing the mandolin for about a year and a half, and, while I'm far from being a master, (very far) I crave a little variety to keep me interested. I had borrowed my sister's acoustic guitar for awhile, but she wanted it back. I didn't realize until it was gone how much I liked playing around on it, and how much noodling around with it had helped my mandolin playing.

So, I found myself with a little extra money, and I started thinking about what to do with it. My first thought was, "Get a banjo." Years ago, I almost bought a banjo, but I decided on a mandolin instead. I couldn't be happier with my choice, but when the opportunity opened up in my checkbook to buy something else, I thought about a banjo. I even went and looked at banjos, but the only ones in my price range were crappy.

Then I stumbled on the Epiphone Mandobird. Angels sang when I found this little gem. It is an electric mandolin. Think electric guitar with four strings, the size of a mandolin, and tuned as a standard mandolin. It gives me the opportunity to take my current knowledge and blow it up into the world of "shredding."

Here's the beautiful little Mandobird in all its glory.

Plug it into any guitar-friendly amp, add any effects you want, and you can do just about anything you want. The sky is the limit.

To give you an idea what an "electric mandolin" sounds like, I provide you with this little sample from our good friends at youtube.

Micah Walk

We are excited to announce our very first musical guest for the show. Micah Walk will be appearing on an upcoming episode. He is a favorite of just about everyone in the Springfield music community and quite famous for a local lad. This also creates the possibility that we will have two John's and two Micah's on the show which will probably cause some universal implosion but we are willing to take our chances. Micah is obviously the namesake of The Micah Walk Band. Micah will be solo for this performance but hopefully we can get the whole band in the future. Oh yeah, go buy their CD's. Here is a little history I pulled off the CD site.

"ABOUT THE BAND: Growing up in the small town of Girard, Illinois, where most boys dreamed of becoming football stars, Micah Walk found his love for guitar. It soon became his means for expressing his thoughts on life. As a singer/songwriter, Micah has toured across the country by himself. Now at the helm of his own group, his songs have bloomed into a new life. John and Darin were members of a regionally popular group called Public Display of Funk for six years. They were also roommates with Dan during college, where they played together in countless music ensembles. After the college days, Micah and Darin met while working at a music store in Springfield. After some talk of creating a band, they asked John and Dan if they would join. Making use of Micah’s established name around Springfield, they simply starting calling themselves The Micah Walk Band."

Click here for Micah's MySpace.

First Movie Selected

I have been thinking about this movie club for a long time. And I've been thinking about movies for the club for a long time. When the thing first started to become a reality, it occurred to me that for the very first meeting, it might be best to choose a movie that was a little shorter in run time. That gives us a little more time to mingle afterwards and get to know each other. I really want this to be a social club, after all. We can all watch movies in our living rooms at home. The point of this is to have a community of people around who also like to watch and talk about movies.

I have selected Run Lola Run as the first movie for the Movie Watching Club at Capital City Bar and Grill. It is a shorter movie (runtime 80 minutes), but it is packed with action and movement. It's basically a race from beginning to end with some crazy twists along the way. I thought it would be fun to have a fast-paced, short movie to kick things off.

Here are the updated details for our first meeting.

When: Tuesday, January 30 at 7:00 PM
Where: Capital City Bar and Grill (3149 Dirksen Pkwy, in the Capital City Shopping Center)
Movie: Run Lola Run

Starting on the 30th, we will have a drop box for upcoming movie selections. People should drop their movie selections in the box. At the end of each night, we'll draw a movie for our next meeting. That way, we take the dictatorship (I don't want to handpick each movie) out of it. So, for those of you who plan to attend, come with a movie idea for next month. All movies not selected will stay in the box until they are chosen.

Later on.

Movie Lovers Unite!

For awhile now, I've been trying to get a movie-watching club started. At first, my thought was to contact a group of friends to get together once a month at each other's houses, watch movies that we're interested in, and talk about them afterward. Sort of like a book club, but for movie nerds.

Well, one thing led to another, and the idea got bigger and bigger. I thought it might be cool to do this in public, to include more people. Before I knew it, I was on the phone with Capital City Bar and Grill. We talked for awhile, and they told me they would be happy to host such an event on the last Tuesday of every month. For those of you who don't know, Capital City bought and renovated the old movie theatre in the Capital City Shopping Center on Dirksen. So, they have a perfect environment for hosting a movie-watching club.

So let me announce our first ever meeting of our movie-watching club! It will be held on Tuesday, January 30. The tentative start time is 7:00 PM, and we will be watching Run Lola Run (warning: Spoilers abound). I will be contacting Capital City today to request this film. We will see if they can get it.

Please note. This is a free club. There are no dues or fees of any kind. Just come out, watch an interesting movie, have some drinks or snacks, and hang out with people who are also interested in movies and talking about movies.

Oh, and spread the word please. The more people who come out, the longer Capital City will be willing to let us hold our night there.

Public Access on YouTube

(Note: This picture is not a link to the video. Link is included below in the text.)

This morning I did a quick YouTube search for "Public Access," and I found this priceless gem. The fellow on this show, Ken Sander, is trying to have a serious discussion about gun control in New York City, but he gets pranked call after call. It's ridiculously funny.

A Change at The Sangamon Star

Just read this at The Sangamon Star website:

Why is this website so empty lately?

It's because we're gearing up for something new,
something big, something revolutionary!

Come mid-January, 2007,
everything changes.

Should be interesting to see what changes are coming. I don't know about you all, but I like the Star. It's nice to have a fun paper that reflects the weirdness of Central Illinois. I hope it continues to be funny and strange.