What Is Jordan M. Doing?

I know what you are asking yourself, all of you dear loyal readers, you're wondering what I am doing. Aren't you? Of course you are. What else could be on your mind? Nothing, you dolts. Well, loyal reader, I've decided to answer your prayers with a brand-spankin'-new post that will keep you apprised of what I'm up to! YAY!


Currently Watching (Film):

I’ve recently started on the massive 5 DVD The Movies Begin - A Treasury of Early Cinema, 1894-1913 box set from Kino video. This thing is an amazing time capsule of early film experiments and great old shorts. So far, I’ve only watched the first disc, which included The Great Train Robbery and Melies’ A Trip to the Moon. I’ve always wanted to watch those two in particular, due in no small part to Scorsese’s copping the final scene from Robbery for use in GoodFellas and the Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight, Tonight video. Other highlights on the disc include old Edison and Lumiere Brothers shorts.

I'm also smack dab in the middle of the Grindhouse release of Umberto Lenzi's notorious Cannibal Ferox (aka: Make Them Die Slowly). I love sleaze and am pretty well versed in Cannibal films, but this one seems pretty lazy and is pretty much a rehash of Lenzi's earlier Eaten Alive. Not a big surprise. If you want to, you can watch the trailer here.

Currently Watching (Television):

We’re kind of limited on television at my house, only getting about 15 channels. But, we do get WGN, so I’ve been watching quite a number of (the red-hot) Cubs games (in between re-runs of America’s Funniest Home Videos and Home Improvement...damn you, WGN!). This definitely makes my roommate Steve happy, as he’s a lifelong Cub fan. We also get about one of out every five Ranger games, so I’m able to watch some of those as well, which is nice (it’d be nicer if they could finish out the AL West cellar this year).

Sadly, the only other shows I watch are Jeopardy! and, I’ll admit it, The View (only from time to time and only because it’s the only show that’s on when I wake up).

Currently Watching (Television on DVD):

The Sopranos - Steve and I have just started watching the first season of the show that just finished its series run. Yeah, we’re a little late to this party, but are getting a pretty big bang out of the first season. Word on the street is that the show only gets better, so I'm looking forward to that.

The Simpsons - Over this year, I’ve been watching every season straight through and I’ve just finished up season five and I’m ready to start season six. I’m right at the meatiest part of the series that had all the best episodes. Season five had gems like Cape Feare and $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling). Excellent stuff.

Currently Watching (YouTube):

There are only a few YouTubers (man, that sounds lame) that I actually subscribe to. One of the series that I like to keep up with is We Need Girlfriends which is a pretty funny monthy webseries (I guess that's what you'd call it). Another guy that I subscribe to is The Angry Nintendo Nerd, who is pretty hit or miss (and, actually, most of the stuff he's doing no can be found over at GameTrailers.com), but generally worth a watch. There are some more, but I'll save them for future "Clips of the Week" :)

Currently Listening To:

I’ve gotten back on to a Coheed and Cambira kick lately. Just the first two records, which I hadn’t listen to in about two years. I got really burnt out on them after MTV beat them into the ground, and never even picked up their third record. I was once really into them, some five years ago, even joining their official forum! The records haven’t aged as well as I thought they would, but I can still dig ‘em.

Other random songs I'm currently digging:

Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
The Timeline Post - Ivory Forest
Grandaddy - I'm On Standby
Bob Dylan - Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
Midlake - Roscoe
Mercury Rev - Goddess on a Highway
Pearl Jam - Immortality
Fair to Midland - Tall Tales Taste Like Sour Grapes
Zager and Evans - In the Year 2525

Currently Reading:

Still working my way through Stephen King’s The Stand. I’m about on page 890, and I still have a long way to go. I’m reading the “revised” version. You see, King was something like a precursor to George "Greedy-O" Lucas, updating his book ten years after it came out to give it up-to-date cultural references (at least for 1990) and changing all the dates. He also added some 500 pages that the publishers originally cut out of the thing, bringing the page total to a whopping 1135! It’s a great read, probably King’s best, and I’m really enjoying it.

Currently Playing (Video Games):

MLB2K7 (Xbox 360) - While the game is not without its problems, it's pretty darn complete. And a lot of fun. Right now I've got a franchise going, I just lost the World Series to Steve (Brewers lost to the Indians in 5 games), and I've taken it upon myself to recreate the 1994 Texas Rangers. Good stuff.

Super Mario World (SNES) - I've mentioned previously on here that my lady friend and I are trying to beat this one. Still fun after all these years.

Currently Looking Forward To:

A quick release list of some great upcoming stuff looks like this:

July 24 - Monster Squad (DVD)
Aug. 14 - Taxi Driver: Collector's Edition (DVD)
Sept. 11 - Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collection (DVD)
Sept. 14 - Eastern Promises (Theatrical - Wide)
Sept. 18 - The Roger Corman Collection (DVD)
Sept. 25 - Halo 3 (Xbox 360)
Sept. 25 - Someone's Watching Me (DVD)
Oct. 16 - Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360)
Oct. 19 - Margot at the Wedding (Theatrical - Limited)
Oct. 23 - Breathless: Criterion Collection (DVD)
Nov. 21 - No Country for Old Men (Theatrical - Wide)
Dec. 21 - Be Kind Rewind (Theatrical - Limited)


- Jordan M.
Commerce, TX