Cheer Up, Jonny

Goin to Crane's on Thursday Night

2010-03-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Crane's Tavern in Hollywood represents all of the things I love about this city, and none of the things i hate. It's hidden off of El Centro just south of Hollywood. It attracts the minimum number of bar flys, and mainly people interested in good music, which is great for folks like myself and other bands. I'm hoping to play there soon.

In the meantime, come join myself and some friends for a friend's band, Roughed up Folk, on Thursday night. There's no cover and it's $1 Budweiser's until the keg is tapped.

Roughed Up Folk

Was this the suckiest movie ever?

2010-03-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

The guy who wrote the movie seems to think it was...

Read about it here

Finally, a watering hole

2010-03-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

I've spent the better part of the last 5 years in LA looking for a watering hole that i can go any night of the week and have a good time. I no longer need to look.

One Monday night I was working at the Spa, and my friend Justin was working at Wintech and he informed me that I had a paycheck that he needed to get to me. He offered to buy me a drink and so i did a random search for a bar in Studio City, about halfway between where i was and where he was. there was Maeve's:

We decided to give the place a shot. From the street it looks terrible. It's sandwiched in the back corner in a mini mall that has seen better days. I'm sure that it also frequently gets overlooked because The Fox and Hounds is next door and resides on the actual street, where it's highly visible.

Regardless, I went in and was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the place quaint and low key, but it was CHEAP. All day Happy hour on Mondays, and most beers were only $5 on top of that.

If you find the time, come join us there on a random night of the week. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

new phone!

2010-03-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Last week we had our BRAND NEW Mac Desktop just fizzle and die on us. One minute it was up and running, the next it wouldn't turn on. Let me tell you, there is NOTHING that can frustrate me more (except rudeness) than technology NOT working. SO we lugged the frickin thing to the Galleria in Glendale, instead of the grove because parking is free and it takes the same amount of time to get there. And the guy says, "Whoa, that's weird." According to him, every one out of a million Macs has a capacitor fry, and ours just happened to be that one. YAY!!

You may think, "Well Jon, you had only had it for a couple of weeks, what's the big deal?"

The Big deal is that I lost hours of work that I put toward my music and Voice Over Demos as well as my Wife's Acting Reel. Hours that we somehow need to find again. Ugh!

'Breathe'

Anywho, so while we were there I decided to walk down to Verizon and see about upgrading our Yesteryear phones to Droids. After standing there like an idiot for about 5 minutes, i realized i had to "Check -In," which i think is stupid and lazy Customer service. "Instead of me asking you if I can help you, I'm gonna have you Check-in like your flying to Des "fucking" Moines for the weekend and THEN you can walk up to me and complain about our company."

So when I finally got to talk to a guy, i asked him how much it would cost for me to upgrade my phone to a Droid. He tells me, that even though I've been a customer for 'x' amount of years, I'd still have to pay full price, which is $570!!

Are you kidding me! I could buy a fucking netbook, download Skype for free and talk on that for $300!!

Then I asked him how much it would cost to just cancel our contracts. Without batting an eye or trying to sell me on staying, he says $225 for both lines. No haggling, trying to sweeten the deal and make me stay. Nope. Nothing.

SO......................

We cancelled our account and bought iPhones

And we couldn't be happier.

Well, we could, but that's sort of obvious. Isn't it?

Foiled Again!

2010-03-21T07:32:00.001-07:00

It's 7:32am, and that's about 15 minutes after I showed up here at work. I left with plenty of time to be here by 6:45a, but made it two blocks before I was halted by the sprawling LA Marathon. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that people do this, and do it for good causes, but it hadn't even started yet and the police officers wouldn't let me cross one street...ONE Street!! which would have made my trip shorter by 20 miles. Luckily it's Sunday morning and there wasn't a lot of traffic, but I was still 15 minutes late to work. Check this out:

So yeah, you could call it a detour. I showed up 25 minutes later than I should have, thank YOU LA Marathon.

It's Business Time

2010-03-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

I've basically been on the job hunt for over a year now. While I'm working two part time jobs, neither one is enough to keep me from looking for something better. And since last year, was in fact, the worst year I've EVER had, I'm still hopeful that this year will bring a steady enough job that I can stop looking.

In the mean time, I'm going to try and have a more positive outlook on things. Even when things are shitty, I'm beginning to find that most of the time, it's more important to be hopeful and happy, than realistic and cynical. I recently read a great article in Men's Health Magazine that was fairly eye opening. It's by Mike Zimmerman and you can find it here. While I don't agree with every point in the article, I do agree that myself and the majority of my friends have become TOO cynical, and we need a reboot.

Here's to 2010 not sucking!

Geek Out

2010-03-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite websites to spend time at while I should be working is Motherboard.

After having a conversation with my friend Justin last night, I felt compelled to post one of the most interesting and to me overlooked news stories of this year. It's called the Boom Box, and it's created by Bloom Energy. It basically revolutionizes the entire energy industry in my opinion, and once it becomes cheap enough to mass produce, it will revolutionize your home. See the post here.

Updates

2010-03-16T06:36:00.001-07:00

As you can deduce from the dates of my most recent posts, it has been a ridiculous amount of time since I posted anything on here. Well, that is about to change. I've finally got a decent computer at home, an OK computer at work (I wonder if thats where Radiohead got that album title), and a little more to talk about.

Things that have happened in the last year:

-I was laid off from Virgin.
-I took a job at Beachhouse Films (now passport films)
-I was laid off from Beachhouse Films (now passport films)
-I was on unemployment for the first time ever in my life
-after a few months of that I finally got a job as a Poolside Concierge at the Palazzo
-did that for a while until the summer ended and they let me work the front desk at the Spa.
-Still here.
-took on a second job at Wintech Video
-I decided to leave the band Bikini Science and am now pursuing a solo career which you can keep track of here.
-My wife and I moved from Glendale to Hollywood.
-we traded in my Ford Focus for a scooter.
-The street in front of our house flooded and destroyed our Toyota Yaris and scooter
-We got a NEW car and scooter.
-and i decided to take a more active role in my life....so BAM!

Music Video

2008-10-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen it. Here's the Band's first Music Video. It's for the song, "Forgive Me." We shot and directed it ourselves. It stars the lovely Jillian Morrow and Kevin Lyons.

MTV Plays Music Again!!

2008-10-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

The day that I thought would never come, finally has. MTV is finally living up to it's reputation and has launched a music video ONLY website. www.mtvmusic.com.

Now, I know what some of you must be saying: "Who gives a crap?" And, "Uh, if you spell out MTV in the URL it's actually 'musictelevisionmusic.com,' kinda redundant." And "Since it's not TV, should there really be a 'TV' in the name?"

To all of this, I say: YES! Because it's still great to be able to watch all the horrible 70s and 80s music videos that I never saw.

NEWSFLASH!! MUSIC UPDATE!!! SPOILED MILK IS BAD FOR YOU!!!

So Bikini Science is in the process of making some *ahem* purchases so that we can record our album ourselves, with the help of our newly acquired manager/sound engineer/roadie/producer/lackey/beer drinker/buddy, Justin Cypert. We'll let you know when we've got a kick ass CD.

Also, we're trying to get into SXSW for next year so wish us luck, cause we'd love to play for all our fellow Austinites.

That's all for now.

To everyone: VOTE FOR OBAMA!!
To Californians: VOTE NO ON PROP 8!!

ha HA! The Final Frontier

2008-06-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

So I go to space.com on a regular basis. In fact it's one of my custom buttons on Mozilla. Since I was old enough to understand the concept of the universe and all that word meant, I've been fascinated at the fact that there could be a planet out there of people like or unlike us just waiting to be found. And so it may soon be possible. Check this out:

"Planet hunters say it's just a matter of time before they lasso Earth's twin, which almost surely is hiding somewhere in our star-studded galaxy. Momentum is building: Just last week, astronomers announced they had discovered three super-Earths — worlds more massive than ours but small enough to most likely be rocky — orbiting a single star. And dozens of other worlds suspected of having masses in that same range were found around other stars.

"Being able to find three Earth-mass planets around a single star really makes the point that not only may many stars have one Earth, but they may very well have a couple of Earths," said Alan Boss, a planet formation theorist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Washington, D.C.

Since the early 1990s, when the first planets outside of our solar system were detected orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257, astronomers have identified nearly 300 such worlds. However, most of them are gas giants called hot Jupiters that orbit close to their stars because, simply, they are easier to find.

"So far we've found Jupiters and Saturns, and now our technology is becoming good enough to detect planets smaller, more like the size of Uranus and Neptune, and even smaller," said one of the top planet hunters on this world, Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley.

Marcy, Boss and other scientists are optimistic that within the next five or so years headlines will be splashed with news of a near twin of Earth in another star system.

"What is amazing to me is that for thousands of years humans have gazed at the stars, wondering if there might be another Earth out there somewhere," Boss told SPACE.com. "Now we know enough to say that Earth-like planets are indeed orbiting many of those stars, unseen perhaps, but there nevertheless."

Seeing tiny planets

Two techniques are now standard for spotting other worlds. Most of the planets noted to date have been discovered using the radial velocity method, in which astronomers look for slight wobbles in a star's motion due to the gravitational tug of an orbiting planet. This favors detection of very massive planets that are very close to their host stars.

With the transit method, astronomers watch for a dimming of light when a planet passes in front of its host star. Though more haphazard, this approach works when telescopes scan the light from hundreds or thousands of stars at once.

Both methods are limited by their ability to block out the overshadowing light of the host star. For instance, the sun is 100 times larger, 300,000 times more massive and up to 10 billion times brighter than Earth. "Detecting Earth in reflected light is like searching for a firefly six feet from a searchlight that is 2,400 miles distant," writes a panel of astronomers recently in their final report of the Exoplanet Task Force.

With upgrades in spectrometers and digital cameras attached to telescopes, astronomers' eyes have become more sensitive to relatively tiny stellar wobbles (measured by changes in certain wavelengths of light) and dips in starlight from ever smaller planets.

The discovery of super-Earths announced last week reflects this technological leap.

"I think why astronomers are really excited [about the super-Earth discovery] is it just shows that technology has really matured and so they're able to see these very subtle wobbles due to these low-mass planets," said David Charbonneau of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Massachusetts. "Those were fairly massive stars. If they were able to get the same precision on a lower-mass star, they would be able to look at even lower-mass planets and so those really would be analogs of the Earth."

The fast track

To eek out even more sensitivity from current technologies, Charbonneau suggests astronomers look for worlds around small stars.

He and other astronomers are in fact probing the universe for transiting planets orbiting M dwarfs, or red dwarfs, which are about 50 percent dimmer than the sun and much less massive. Red dwarfs are also considered the most common star type in the universe.

"I think the real opportunity there is to study low-mass stars, and that's because we're looking for very small planets," Charbonneau said. "The difficulty is the ratio between the planet's mass and the star's mass or the planet's size and the star's size depending on how you want to find it."

The low mass and luminosity means any changes to the star due to an Earth-mass planet are much more likely to be detected.

"A late M star is about 10 times smaller than the sun," said Penn State's James Kasting, who studies planetary atmospheres and the habitable zones of exoplanets. "So Earth going in front of an M star would give a 1 percent signal. That's like Jupiter going in front of the sun." Kasting added, "We could conceivably find an Earth analog planet by this method within the next five or ten years."

Other teams are gearing up to look for Earth-like worlds orbiting massive stars like the sun. NASA's Kepler observatory is scheduled for launch in February 2009, after which the high-powered telescope will monitor about 100,000 stars in the Milky Way looking for periodic dimming of starlight due to a planet's transit in front of the star.

The French COROT mission is already up in space working in a similar fashion.

Good hunting

The ultimate goal of planet-hunting projects is to find Earth twins.

"We are looking for twins of the Earth, analogs that walk and talk and smell like our own Earth," Marcy said during a telephone interview. He is currently looking for super-Earths using the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

Such a twin would be rocky, with a similar chemical composition to Earth, and would orbit within the habitable zone of its star.

The habitable zone defines the distance at which a planet must orbit from its star for liquid water to exist on its surface — not too hot like Venus, not too cold like Neptune or Pluto.

Astronomers have found planets orbiting pretty close to the habitable zone, but none so far within it.

"I suspect there are Earth-like planets with lakes and rivers and waterfalls and deep glacial gorges and that are spectacularly beautiful," Marcy said.

Life beyond Earth

Finding a planet in the habitable zone is the first step toward finding alien life.

"When we say it's a habitable world, all we're doing is saying it potentially could hold life," Boss said. "To go beyond that to say, 'Here's a habitable world; is it inhabited,' then you need to start studying the atmosphere of the planet."

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scheduled for launch in 2013, could do just that.

"There might be a signal in the atmosphere that could be a smoking gun and would suggest that plate tectonics is there," said earth and planetary scientist Diana Valencia of Harvard University.

Her computer models have shown that plate tectonics, the forces that move continents and lift gigantic mountain ranges, are key to life on Earth as we know it, and possibly to life on other worlds. That's because as the rocky plates that form the planet's outer shell move about, they also recycle carbon dioxide. This greenhouse gas keeps our planet's temperature balmy, but not too hot. And the telltale signal would be certain levels of carbon dioxide, suggesting that just as on Earth, this other world relies on plate tectonics to cycle carbon.

But first things first. "There's no doubt that other Earths exist, simply due to the sheer vast numbers of other stars and galaxies in our universe," Marcy said. "There's a deeper question — how common are Earth-like planets? Are Earth-like planets a dime a dozen, or are they quite rare, quirky precious planets that are one in a thousand or one i a million?"

So within a few short years, we're going to find a planet the same size, the same make-up, the same distance from it's sun as earth. and there will be many things living on it. And all of those motherfucking narcissistic assholes who think this entire universe was created by God for us and us alone will start crying boohoo! HA!! I can't wait!

Your Tax Dollars at Work

2008-06-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

I usually don't have a problem with the police. They do their thing, and I do mine. Last time I saw them, they showed up at my house because they got a noise complaint. But they didn't even tell us to quit partying, They just wanted us to keep it down.

With that said, sometimes, SOMETIMES I have to wonder who the people are that are "serving and protecting" us. For instance:

"VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -- Three Central Florida deputies are being reprimanded after an officer was bitten and hospitalized by an 8-foot alligator.

Deputy Keith Baughman, 39, responded to calls of a large alligator loose in the parking lot of the Brightside Apartments located on Caribbean Street in May. Baughman and other deputies found the alligator roaming the area. Witnesses said the deputy threw a towel on the alligator, jumped on its back and tried to wrestle it. Baughman was thrown off the back and then bitten, witnesses said." His pants ripped up and blood was gushing out and everything," witness Carlos Martinez said. "He started limping away and the alligator was laughing at him. The dude then shot it twice in the head."

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said a second officer, Deputy Jason Stickles, 27, shot the alligator repeatedly."I said, 'Don't shoot it,'" witness Jasmin Harris said. "Just wait until the animal people come out. I don't know why they shot it in the first place. They shouldn't have jumped on it. That wasn't their job."

The alligator was hit but did not die and continued to roam the apartment complex. A trapper eventually came out and killed the animal with a bang stick. Officials said Baughman and the other officers received the reprimand for not following policy. Watch Local 6 News for more on this story."

>>>>This story is ridiculous. Seriously, the cop was so angry at the "Laughing alligator" that he shot him?! I bet that laugh had a hint of both PeeWee Herman and Woody Woodpecker. Hell, I'd laugh at him, too. What an idiot. Who jumps on an Alligator and attempts to wrestle it? I'll tell you who. Someone who's seen to many episodes of Jackass.

Jesus. Should I give up on the human race now?

*sigh.

Nacogdoches

2008-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Two in one day?!! Are you crazy, man? Yes...yes i am.

So today a guy i work with asked me where i came up with the name Nacogdoches. Him not being from Texas, i could see how this is confusing. I informed him that it's the name of the town i grew up in. Then i momentarily forgot the actual story of how that town got it's name.

This looks like a job for...WIKIPEDIA-MAN!

So check it out:

Nacogdoches is the oldest town in Texas. (Similarly sister city Natchitoches is the oldest town in Louisiana). Evidence of settlement on the same site dates back to 10,000 years ago. It was one of the original European settlements in the region originally populated with Adaeseños from fort Los Adaes [6].
Nacogdoches is named for the Caddo family of Indians who once lived in the area. There is a legend that tells of an old Caddo chief who lived near the Sabine River and had twin sons. When the sons grew to manhood and were ready to become leaders of their own tribes, the father sent one brother three days eastward toward the rising sun. The other brother was sent three days toward the setting sun.
The twin who settled three days toward the setting sun was Nacogdoches. The other brother, Natchitoches, settled three days to the east in Louisiana. The two brothers remained friendly and the road between the two communities was well traveled.

Then I read on to find this little tidbit that i had never heard of:

In 1912, the Marx Brothers came to town to perform their singing act at the old Opera House. Their performance was interrupted by a man who came inside shouting, "Runaway mule!" Most of the audience left the building, apparently thinking a runaway mule would provide better entertainment. When they filed back in, Julius (later known as Groucho) began insulting them, saying "Nacogdoches is full of roaches!" and "The jackass is the flower of Tex-ass!" Instead of becoming angry, audience members laughed. Soon afterward, Julius and his brothers decided to try their hand at comedy instead of singing, at which they had barely managed to scrape together a living. A historic plaque commemorating the event is posted in downtown Nacogdoches.

HA! That's awesome. You think you know a town. For a more personal look at Nacogdoches, go here and take a listen to "Nacogdoches." It's the first song I ever wrote about 8 years ago. This version is not that same one, but the lyrics are still the same.

We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue.

2008-06-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

So about a month ago i was pretty dead set on purchasing a motorcycle of some sort to get me to and from work. Given the high gas prices and the fact that the only person in my car when i go to work is me, i figured this was a no brainer. I'd save money on gas, I'd be wasting less space, and I'd probably get to work faster. Then I thought to myself, you know, if i could convert that motorcycle to an electric one, i bet I'd save even more money, and I'd have less of an impact on the environment, especially after reading this article in the LA Times.

So i started my research and boy was i surprised. Not only are people doing this all over the world, but several here in Los Angeles. This website probably solidified this as something i could/should do.

Now, to those of you who say, "But Jon, what do you know about electrical wiring?" I say, "More than you think." And to those of you that say, "What about people not hearing you on the road, is this safe?" I say, "Yes, the electric motor on the bike, because it's not enclosed, is actually quite loud."

After reading several articles and e-mailing some people who've done this already, i decided to see one for myself. If you clicked the link that goes to the EValbum website then you've already seen the one i saw. It belongs to a guy named Jeff who lives in Burbank. I met him and his fellow electric motorcycle rider at the Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake. I must have talked with them for at least an hour and both of them are going to help me with anything i need. Jeff even has a controller he'll sell me.

So why not let someone else do this? Because I've finally found something i can do to reduce MY carbon footprint. And i want lead by example. I'm tired of waiting for the rest of the world to accommodate my wants and needs. This is something i can do for myself and i feel so passionately about it that after I'm done, I'll help any of YOU who want to do it as well.

What about waiting for someone to just manufacture an electric motorcycle and then buying it from them? This year someone finally did that, and they cost $11,000. I could make one myself, and feel more accomplished about it, for a fraction of that cost.

Now if you want some figures, here ya go. After all is said and done, I'd spend about 1 cent a mile. At the moment, with my car, which gets about 25 mpg, i spend about 18 cents a mile (at current fuel prices). The money spent on the bike to power it comes from my electric bill, which the power of electricity is rising at a much more reasonable rate than gasoline. So basically it would cost me $2.50 to go 250 miles. Where as now it costs me $45 to go that same distance. Isn't that fucking incredible?!!

Now some more numbers. I'll have to buy the bike out of pocket because i can't trade in my car. I still need it for things like driving to band practice with all my gear. So i need a bike that has a straight frame, and wheels, that's it. I can purchase a non-functioning bike for around $500. The cost of the conversion is around $2,000. So given the amount of money I'll save, it will only take me 18 months to recoup the cost of the bike, and start saving some serious money. Why wouldn't you do this?!

Till next time!

Been a While

2008-06-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

Since it's been so long since my last post i'm gonna bullet point a few things just to get them out of the way.

-My band Bikini Science now has a fifth member, Brett Bickford (see below), and our old drummer, Ed, realizing just how awesome a band we are, decided to come back. We have a show Friday 6/20 @ Paladino's. Come check us out.

-My other band Mustard for the Fight! has a show @ The Derby on June 27th. Our first gig in a while, you should come to that, too. It'll be lots of fun and the more of you that come, the more likely I am to feel better about myself (it's true).

-I've recently decided to make an electric motorcycle, so that i will no longer have to use gasoline to get to and from work. I'll make a more detailed post about this next. But here's an exciting website for those interested in some quick research

-Jillian and I now have a new roommate, Karie.

She sleeps in the little room, she's awesome.

-My mom just returned to Texas from a trip to Turkey. Random.

-I've seen some crappy movies. Zohan anyone?

-I've finally paid off the IRS. Woohoo!!

-I paid $500 to replace the ignition switch in my car. Ugh! What a fucking nightmare that was.

-This next Monday I will start my new job as the Product Coordinator at Virgin Megastore's Headquarters.

Booyah! Bring it on Miracle Mile!

-Oil prices are STILL going up. Did I mention I'm going to be building an Electric Motorcycle (which some people seem to doubt I'll be able to do)?

-My sister (pictured in previous post) will soon be moving to the SoCal area. She's not exactly sure where she'll be living yet, but it'll be nice having some family in the same state as me. My mother is obviously the one who is most happy about this.

Okay, that's all for now. Expect a couple of topic oriented entries to follow in the next couple of days.

Peace Out.

Family Fun Time

2008-05-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Just to forewarn you, this blog is long, but it has lots and lots of pictures to keep you entertained. Enjoy.

Now that i've been back in L.A. for a few days i finally have the time to do this. I spent the last week cavorting around Texas with my family. We went to a bachelor party in Dallas, the wedding in Corsicana, and saw the new nephew in Austin. In retrospect, this was not a vacation as much as it was a "See the Family" tour. Needless to say (though i will say it), we're exhausted. The events were as follows:

We flew out of Burbank on Thursday, and you will never guess who was on our flight- none other than, The Highlander's Adrian Paul...

so i called Trevor, and he giggled.

We landed at DFW, the only airport i hate more than LAX and Jillian's dad picked us up. they dropped me off at my brother Nathan's place. After that, the bachelor party was on!

First, we went to SpeedZone (as we had done two years before for my bachelor party), and then to a midnight showing of Iron Man (kickass, and you should go see it) and then to my brother Alex's house where we drank into the wee hours of the mornin. I think i actually fell asleep around 7am. It was great to hang out with the Morrow siblings. All of us had not been together at the same time for at least 10 years.

The next day (Friday) we traveled to Corsicana for the Rehearsal dinner. The dinner was held at a strange building that felt kind of like a funeral home, and i'm still not sure what the purpose of the building is, but the food that was served was fantastic.

We hung out and got to know the in-laws then drank for pretty much the rest of the night.

The day of the wedding (Saturday) Jillian drove down from Rockwall to meet us and the entire family was together at last. This included the sister i did not know i had until i was 16, and my twin nephews Blake and Christopher, who are now 13, Yikes!

We got to the wedding with enough time to have about one drink and then the ceremony began. After all the groomsmen were standing waiting for the bridesmaids to walk down the aisle,

we heard a large cracking sound. One of the 50ft tall trees in the backyard decided to collapse onto the house.

Good omen or bad? I prefer to think of it as a good one.

After everyone calmed down from that, the bride walked down the aisle

and the ceremony continued. Get this, it was shorter than mine and Jillian's, so i think they broke the record. It couldn't have lasted more than 5 minutes. I was amazed.

Next we all took family portraits, drank champagne, there was a toast in there somewhere, then dancing, more drinking, more dancing, and then bed.

The following morning (Sunday) Jillian and i drove down to Austin to see our new nephew, Kalen. As you can clearly see, he is quite the adorable child.

While we were in Austin we caught up with some old friends, went to Trudy's, Freebirds, Pei Wei, and the Dog and Duck (Ryan is still working there, and seriously, wouldn't you be?).

The very next day (Monday), we headed back to Dallas around 5p, slept at Jillian's Folks house, and flew back the next morning (Tuesday). *whew.

Now that we're back, i obviously feel that i didn't get to see everyone that i wanted to for long enough. as usual, my family just doesn't get together often enough for me. but i have to say, since this was the first wedding we've been to since Jillian and I were married, any wedding after this is gonna have some big shoes to fill.

Back to Texas!

2008-04-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

So my oldest brother (i have 3) is getting married this Saturday in Corsicana, Texas. It's going to be hot, humid, and a blast! This will be the first wedding i've attended since i got married to Jillian about a year and a half ago. It will be great to go to a wedding and just relax.

What's also exciting, is that my sister is going to be in town for the wedding. This will be the first time in over 10 years that all of the Morrow siblings will be together, and copious amounts of alcohol will be involved. The craziness will either remind us why we never get together, or make us wish that we got together more often, and i'm pretty sure it will be the latter. My family is not known for reunions and gatherings, but when i do hang out with them, it's never less than a fantastic, and disturbing trip down memory lane. can't wait to see you guys.

The other plus side of going back to texas? QUESO?!! and more specifically, TRUDY'S in Austin!!

We're going to visit our new nephew (not pictured above-i don't know who that kid is, but it may as well be me divin in), Kalen and while we'll have a great time with the little tyke, it will serve as a reminder why we are waiting a few more years before we start trying to have one of our own.

A little band update now: Bikini is in the process of trying to find a way to finance the final 5-6 songs we need to record to put out our own LP. Any ideas would be fantastic. Cris (lead guitarist) thought it would be a good idea to have a Bikini Science "Bikini Carwash" with our various lady friends lending their efforts to support us. With the money that is made, we're going to go into an actual studio and fork over the money to have the mix sound a little more like us, and hopefully not as "clean" and produced sounding.

Mustard had a great practice last night and we will probably be doing a show this summer some time and finalizing our first recordings for your listening pleasure. For those of you that haven't seen a Mustard show, you're in for a treat. The music is pretty much on the opposite emotional spectrum from Bikini. It's light, happy, and groove-tastic. And plus, i don't play any instruments, so you get to see me in all my Jagger-Tyler-Stipes-Morrison glory. Not that i sound or could even begin to compare to those guys, but you get the idea.

The last week has been pretty crazy. Between BBQ's, band shows, other band's shows, practice, and work, i've had almost no time to do anything. I'm hoping this trip back home will be relaxing, rejuvenating, and reaffirming my reasons for being in L.A. (everyone needs that from time to time). See you folks next week.

Band of the Week
Radars to the Sky

I caught the final night of their April Residency at The Echo and also got to see The Western States Motel who feature the bass stylings of none other than Yosuke Kitazawa. You can check out a review of the show and some pictures at Mouse's Blog

If ever a sign there was

2008-04-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm broke. You're broke. Everyone is broke. Guess who's not broke? (wait for it)....the oil companies. Consumer confidence is SUPER low. My wife and I now longer go shopping once a week. We no longer eat out 2-3 times a week. We're fortunate (or perhaps the restaurants we eat at are) if we're able to eat out 2-3 times a month. We spend money only on gas, food, and the occasional night out. I used to make and/or get phone calls from friends every weekend asking me what was going on. That has significantly dwindled. it's every few weeks now. Some friends that live in this city i haven't seen in months.

That said, do i think we're in a recession? YES! Of course!! I'm tired of the people who are on the fence about this. We are in a goddamn recession and everyone is feeling it. When the deciding factor between going out with friends or staying in, is whether or not i've got enough gas, we're in a recession. When houses are Sofa King cheap, and yet no one is buying them, we're in a recession!

If you EVER needed proof, read this. It was posted on the LBN-Elert:

LBN-COMMENTARY By PETER BART: Economists are citing some dire portents of a recession these days, but they've missed one indicator I find especially disturbing: The porn business has suddenly gone flaccid. The drop in porn rentals and sales is worrisome on several fronts: Till now, porn has been a recession-proof business. Further, with the country already in a dispirited mood, the fact that porn has gone limp may indicate a true plunge in consumer confidence. DVD porn is down between 10% and 30%, depending on which nook and cranny of the business you scrutinize. Joy King, executive vice president of Wicked Pictures, and a smart analyst of the business, says the smallest drop-off is in "couples-friendly porn" -- films that embrace something of a storyline. Women account for roughly half of this audience, making their purchases in lingerie boutiques and toy stores (no, not kiddie toys).

On a good note.

2008-04-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

My band Bikini Science just had another song (Manifesto) added to the critics board on Red Fizz. Check it out here and leave comments and suggestions.

I'd be happier about this, but i'm still pissed about the previous blog. ARG!!

Goodbye Scene, I knew you when.

2008-04-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

So, as i'm sure most of you are aware, The Scene Bar is my favorite bar in Los Angeles. Not just because it's only three blocks from my house, not just because they have cheap drinks, not just because they only charge $5 bucks for shows, but mainly because every night i've gone there i've had a good time and listened to great music. I've even gone there on nights when i didn't have anything better to do and found myself witness to a great show.

The bar is a haven for hipsters, but is not hipster exclusive *cough Spaceland*. I enjoy being there and love the atmosphere. Plus the sound system is fantastic. Then today, i check out Classical Geek Theatre, and see this:

Now mind you, i'm not one to be upset at a visual of the female form, but for those of you that have been to this bar, would you EVER excpect to see people like this drinking there, let alone working there?!

This is beyond upsetting. Is nothing sacred anymore? Girls dressed like this are only going to attract one kind of patron: douchebags. The scene will no longer be the joyful place i remember. I swear to Christ, if this turns into another one of those hair band venues like the sunset strip has so many of (the reason most of us NEVER go there), i'm gonna scream and bitch till i'm blue in the face.

*Ugh. If it's not broke, don't fix it. I understand renovating the bar, updating it a little, but this visual makes me want to barf.

Band of the week:
Joe Purdy

This guy's song was on a car commerical. really catchy folk. i like it.

Last Night

2008-04-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

Last night was interesting to say the least. It started with a pretty typical band rehearsal. We played for a couple of hours then proceeded to take a break. While we were standing outside we noticed a couple of ladies dressed very *gasp* scankily a few doors down. This is not typical. We've been practicing at this space for almost a year now and we've seen all the people that rehearse there or are in that area at night. These ladies clearly did not belong.

Not two minutes after that we saw a gray nissan pull up and proposition the "ladies." He drove off with no luck. Guess they charged to much. After a few minutes the ladies walked up to the street and then we didn't see them. We forgot all about them until a small pickup pulled into the parking lot and the "ladies" appeared again trying to get the driver to use them for their services. He stayed for sometime talking to them and then finally drove off. As soon as he was out of the parking lot a Police Cruiser sped from out of nowhere and took off after him. Turns out the ladies were undercover cops and it was all a setup to get some guy to solicit a prostitute, er "lady."

The whole experience was quite bizarre. And i suspect we will see those ladies again.

After all of that, i went to see Jillian at Shooters and had a strange moment with a guy i still haven't figured out how i know. His face is so familiar, and he said he'd met me before too but neither of us could place when or where. Ugh, that's frustrating.

Since there was a free show at the Scene i decided to go there on my way home. i caught the tail end of The Natural Disasters, and the complete set of The Monolators. The main reason i wanted to go was because it was sponsored by Classical Geek Theatre and I'd been meaning to see The Monolators for some time given the amount of times I've seen their name around town.

The Natural Disasters were great for the two songs i heard. They're a two piece (drums and guitar) that create quite a full sound. They played an original and then a Springsteen cover afterward. I usually frown upon covers of artists that i hold so highly, but they actually did a great job. It was just a straight forward, simple, stripped down rock song.

After them The Monolators took to the stage. I've heard a lot about these guys over the last few months so my expectations were pretty high. At first they had pretty typical Silverlake band written all over them. They have one girl in the band(drummer) who is married to the lead singer (radars to the sky anyone?) and the lead singer is skinny and awkward. They also have an overzealous bass player and a nerdy rhythm guitar player who is too nervous to get off the side wall. BUT THEY WERE GREAT!!

The lead singer's vox reminded me a John Darnielle from the mountain goats if he had a more electric sound, and he looked kind of like jason Schwartzman meets Adrien Brody. And he sang and performed with such great enthusiasm that it reminded me of why I was in a band. It was inspiring to say the least.

The only part of the show that left me a little uneasy was the bass player who was extremely drunk by the time their set started and seemed to get more belligerent as the set progressed. He purposefully slammed his guitar into the plastic sheeting covering the fluorescent lights. After their set he walked over the plastic sheeting (now on the floor) and knocked his bass guitar case into a table shattering two beer bottles on the floor. But i guess that's rock and roll, right?

The Monolators - We Fell Dead

Adventures in Glendale or How I went to Whole Foods and Learned to hate the Dijon Mustard.

2008-04-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

So Jillian and I went to Whole Foods on Sunday, mainly for me to get some of this supplement called Co Q10, because it apparently promotes Healthy Gums(see previous Post). While there we decided to purchse a couple of tasty fresh wraps and eat them there. We both asked for Dijon mustard. I haven't had Dijon mustard in some time and didn't recall it being so frickin hot. I mean at times i felt like i'd asked for wasabi on my wrap.

Spicy mustard aside, as we sat together eating our wraps and sweating buckets, Jillian said, "You know what's funny, i've never seen a celebrity in Glendale." To which i responded, "Yeah, that IS funny. I wonder why?" Is Glendale just not that exciting? To be honest, that's seems logical. There are few things to do other than go to The Scene or The Glendale Galleria. Not two seconds after this exchange, i looked to my right at the checkout line there, noticed the guy in line, and turned back to Jillian and said, "Well there's Joel McHale."

Jillian looked at him, then glanced back at me, and we both died laughing. I mean, we've been living in Glendale for almost a year now, never seen a celebrity, and the moment we realize that, we see one. What are the odds?!!
To add to that, the next day, Jillian was filming with the Post Show guys and one of them (not sure who, i wasn't there) mused to her, "You know you married Joel McHale?"

This isn't the first time i've been compared to The Soup-miester. A few people at work have commetned that i would be quite good at his job. And i think i would, i'm a goofy, lanky, bitingly sarcastic bastard as well. Ha!
So yeah, if any of you hear of an opening at the Soup, you call them and give them my info, i'll talk the shit out of that soup.

Band of the week
Patient Patient
These guys were recommended to me by The Monthlies.

"Do'h"

2008-04-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

So yesterday i got a call from the dentist's office reminding me of my scheduled visit today @ 8:30am, ugh. The good news, my teeth are fantastic. I don't have any problems with any of them, and after the successful removal of ALL my wisdom teeth (in one day), the wounds healed amazingly well.

The bad news: my gums are in bad shape. apparently after 26 years of poor hygiene (duh) and 5 years of off and on smoking, you may as well call me this guy:

Yikes. If you are unfamiliar with this early Simpsons character, his name is "Bleeding Gums Murphy."

The only differences between he and i at this point are: 1)i'm 3 dimensional, 2)i have five fingers per hand, and 3)i can't play sax worth a damn. Given those factors working AGAINST me, i think it's high time i took an active approach to fixing my dental problems.

But hold on, how did this start? well i guess from a young age i never really cared about the importance of a healthy mouth. My mother was too busy with her own problems to worry about whether or not i had brushed my teeth the entire time i was in the bathroom. Maybe she figured a vegetarian diet was enough to keep me healthy and strong. Only now am i beginning to realize that being a vegetarian doesn't mean you're healthy. You have to be even more careful which foods you eat in order to ensure a that you receive all the nutrients necessary.

So now i've got to be an *sigh* ADULT and figure out the best way to tackle this. i think i'll start by hitting Whole Foods and seeing what kind of dietary supplements they have that might promote healthy gums. and i've got to floss twice a day, or my dentist will slap me on the wrist and my teeth will fall out.

I hate having to fess up to my own inadequacies.

On a lighter note, my band, Bikini Science has a show tonight at the Studio Suite to all those interested. It's free and it's our new drummer's first show. I asked Mr. Murphy (above) if he'd be interested in playing along for a song or two at the show, but he said, "Nah man, I'm dead. Didn't you ever watch the Simpsons?"

See you there!

Nerdcore and Spaceland

2008-04-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

MC Frontalot
So yesterday my boss gave me a CD by the so called, "Inventor of Nerdcore," MC Frontalot. I listened to the CD on my way home from work and then on my way to work this morning. I've listened to my fair share of Hip-hop over the years, Blackstar is probably one of my favorite albums. And when it comes to white-man Hip-hop, i've listened to every Beastie Boys song(obviously) as well as Eminem and Chris Glover. Given all this, i figured i would know kind of what to expect. Boy was i wrong.

Here is the video for "Bizarro Genius Baby." I've pasted the lyrics underneath so that you can read while you listen. I recommend doing that first, then just watching the video for what it is, AWESOME.

Bizarro Genius Baby
I had a dream that I fathered a bizarro genius baby.She’s out the womb like, “Dood, why’d I get expatriated?”Debated at one month the finer points of a diaper,devised a device composed of a hose and a windshield wiper.Grew riper in intellect as the months passed, wore a dunce cap ironically,got fussy once and she summoned me not sonicallybut through a series of editorials that she authored,entitled: “Is MC Frontalot One Of The Worst Fathers?”Oxford, Stanford, Harvard called, she didn’t call them back.“Tuition & Housing? I’m holding out for a tenure track.”Distracted by her first birthday party, I hardly noticed she’d brought peace to the middle east or at least a cease-fire with the POTUS. And no dust had settled when she’d disproved Fermat by finding A^3 + B^3 that = C^3 and her sadness at throwing the field into disarray got assuaged by a brand new rattle and a mint parfait.

Bizarro genius baby: at first I was elated, but eventually I grew concerned.Bizarro genius baby: you prove my genes are Grade A, but what of when tables turn?

She had to settle for the Fields Medal but didn’t settle well, all the while cursing the indiscretions of Madame Nobel, and so well tuckered out was she at this point that she napped, arose with a whole symphony composed in Bb. “See dad?” Yes dear, it’ll go with the other ones on the fridge, in between the two Puccinis you translated & abridged, just above ‘I love you dad’ in macaroni/glitterand the 37 villanelles to mom (but I ain’t bitter). And no quitter was she neither when the time it came to walk: built an exoskeleton out of gelatin and chalkwhich allowed her to run thirty miles an hour ‘round the yard. You think that parenting your normal little children is hard? I got scarred, scared, scampered at by holographic artifacts that she projected on the scene with a machine that automatically discerns your worst concerns & makes them visible. She deemed it risible. Her glee was indivisible from all emanations that the baby would make. I had to become less hilarious for all of our sakes. I made mistakes, I’ll admit it. Dropped the kid on her head, destroyed the part of her that thought of evil. Or so she said! Now I bred this thing out myself in part —she quoted “reap what you sow;” I had to take it to heart. I sought to restart: I said, “Girl, you’ll be a woman. Can’t be dabbling and dilettantin’ all the time, I’m assuming. Got to pick a theme and focus the beam of your brain power.” Her face became overcome with an insane glower and then it remained sour. She said, “Oh, I have. Though the UI that you gave me was buggy I finally found me the nav. And I’m dialing in a career path I think you’ll like. Began when I played with an 808 and it ends with a mic.” I didn’t need her to elaborate at all. She was already wearing the glasses, mic in the palm. She planned to become a nerdcore rapper just like me so I shipped her to Singapore, sold her baby ass to Nike.

I like this guy. And i think Nerdcore is the perfect name for this genre. You couldn't have pegged it better.

Johnathan Rice
Went to Spaceland last night to see a friend of a friend play the drums for Johnathan Rice. (because he spells his name that way, people constantly spell mine wrong, ARGH!!)

Needless to say, i wanted to not like him for a few reasons. His band took WAY too long to set up, he wore a tie-dyed t-shirt, and his lead guitarist was definitely too cool for school. But alas, i liked it. i mean i only heard one song, and i liked it. And then after listening to more of his stuff this morning, i like him more. He's sort of a Pete Yorn/Bright Eyes hybrid. Here's the video for the first song i heard, "We're All Stuck"

I must confess, at a certain point i realized that if i had continued on my trek as a solo artist it's very possible i would've ended up sounding very simliar to this. Maybe that's one of the reasons i like it, i don't know. But he's got an April resendency at Spaceland on Monday nights and it's free, so if you get the chance i recommend it, if you can handle the hipsters.

Another April Monday resendency is at The Echo and it's for one of my favorite L.A. bands Radars to the Sky. I'll be there next week for sure.

Okay

2008-04-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

As promised, the band of the week:

The Follow

I like these guys because it reminds me of when bands used to have a singer that sang like he had a pair of balls. it's also very nineties influenced. i like them.

Ahh, the Bar-B-Q

2008-04-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

So it is without a doubt i was WASTED Saturday night. Those of you who were there, thanks for humoring me. Apparently i decided to give an impromptu sermon, and i have no memory of this. Somewhere between the irish car bomb and all the beer, my brain decided to take a break for an hour. In no particular order, because i don't remember, here are some of the more telling images of the sermon:

So yeah, apparently this happened between 12 and 1am. i have no recollection of it. Only these haunting images of how big of an ass i can make of myself.

The interesting part is that i remember the very end of the night quite vividly. i remember Trevor doing his typical, "i'm tired of socializing so i'm going to put in a movie," move. I believe it was Dogma, and it had been on for quite a while. i came in the room at the Shit Demon part.

All in all, the night was a success. I counted somewhere between 150-175 beers that were drank. copious amounts of liquor consumed, and plenty of egos (mine) destroyed. There were approx. 40-50 people present throughout the night. To those of you that were there- thank you so much for coming out, and for those of you that weren't, you were missed.

We're on Star 98.7's Playlist

2008-04-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Check it out. We're 290 of about 400.

The Post Show Craziness

2008-04-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

The boys are at it again. Though this one was filmed *ahem* in November, it's finally up!!! I think it took some time to get the blood effects just right. Check out Jillian and Sarah in all their "ditsy-girl" glory.

First Blog

2008-04-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO MY BLOG. yay!!!

First, a few things about how this bloggy thing will work:

-capitalizing the letter 'i' takes to much time, so i won't do it.
-i spell things wrong often. so if you're into that too, let's hang.
-i will write about things that happen to me or funny interesting things i have read.
-i will write about music and movies.
-i'll probably throw in tidbits about my two bands (see below)
-i will not write about religion or politics, because i don't know anything about either.

On to the blog:

You ask: What has been happening lately, Jon?

I respond: So nice to know people really care.

You reply: Shut up and just answer the question.

I respond: Love you, too. As a matter of fact, one of the bands that i am in, Bikini Science, was recenlty featured on L.A.'s Star 98.7. We've got a new drummer that's working out quite nicely, and we're writing lots of new material with not enough time to practice it all. We've played my favorite bar in L.A.-The Scene. My wife is almost SAG, and working alot more. My oldest brother is getting married, and my best friend is probably going to be moving to L.A. soon.

So what hasn't happened, Jon?

Since you're so kind to ask, I have not yet won the lottery. I have not figured out how to pay the IRS the $1700 dollars i owe them. i have not been able to go see all the bands i want to because of that fact. I have not figured out how to make a kick ass tomatillo salsa like i said i would. Nor have i finished my "Music Theory for Dummies," because i'm too busy writing music (IRONY! thy name is...IRONY!). I have not played another show with Mustard for the Fight! and would LOVE to. I have not yet made it to Disney World. I've lived here 3 years now and STILL have not made it to Disney World.

Band of the week:

Army Navy