The Real Jon Lester

Pac-Man 30

2010-05-22T00:05:00.003-04:00

Having hung much of my past blogworthiness upon retrogaming, I would be remiss if I didn't at least touch on today's Pac-Man anniversary event as commemorated by Google.

Regretfully, I'm missing today's local commemoration of the anniversary of the release of "The Empire Strikes Back" but I did get in a few games of Pac-Man on the Google front page today, my first time playing the game in a widescreen format, incidentally.

Free Furlined Records Compilation Download (For a Limited Time)

2010-01-05T01:07:00.002-05:00

Our Athens friend and neighbor Laura Morgan announces that her label's "Furlined Records Compilation vol.2" is available for free download for about two weeks or so from the date of this post.

Help with Vic's Debts

2009-12-26T14:29:00.002-05:00

In the wake of Vic Chesnutt's passing, the family is left with medical debts of roughly $70,000. Kristin Hersh has set up a page for collecting donations, 100% of which will go towards the stated purpose.

Statement from Constellation Records

2009-12-25T18:45:00.003-05:00

I felt disinclined to believe any further news after what happened last night but it would appear that Vic's label, Constellation Records, has made it official. The Athens Banner-Herald has more.

2009-12-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

New Leerone Video

2009-10-27T18:01:00.000-04:00

Readers of my mp3 blog, Lestermix, will know that Leerone is one of my very favorite contemporaries in the business now. She has a new video, once again in collaboration with videographer and animator Hank Friedmann, for "Empty Houses:"

Paul Broun on "Countdown"

2009-10-06T16:47:00.001-04:00

Paul Broun's infamous suggestion to seek emergency room care for depression has now attracted the attention of Keith Olbermann:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

There He Goes Again

2009-10-02T19:40:00.000-04:00

Rep. Paul Broun, MD's habit of staging town hall meetings without bothering to prepare has again gained attention from MSNBC's Ed Schultz:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Jon Guthrie

2009-09-29T14:48:00.000-04:00

Last night we learned we lost local musician Jon Guthrie, son of Michael Guthrie, highly talented musician and member of many bands over the years and a good friend to many of us.

Appreciations and archival material are being gathered now as we wait for arrangements to be announced. Jon most recently filled in on bass for Guff last week at the 40 Watt, and while my cell phone photo is not good at all, it turns out to be the most recent image I have of him.

UPDATE: Writing what little I did was difficult enough, and that must be why I forgot that I also have a cell phone video from that Guff show:

UPDATE: New article from online edition of Flagpole.

Ed Schultz Features Rep. Paul Broun's Encounter with Ryan Lewis

2009-09-10T19:29:00.000-04:00

Tonight, Ed Schultz featured Gordon Lamb's video of Ryan Lewis attempting to get answers from Rep. Paul Broun at Tuesday morning's forum at the Oconee County Civic Center:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Ort Update

2009-09-04T18:42:00.000-04:00

Julie Phillips reports that longtime Athens fixture William Orten "Ort" Carlton insists that he's fine, is reluctant to accept charity and can probably pay for his needed mitral valve surgery at $50 a month "ad infinitum" if necessary. Still, we had quite a scare, and it's one more reminder that anyone's fortunes can abruptly turn at any given time.

OnSuper8.org & Blip.tv

2009-08-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

I've only just started watching onsuper8.org's podcasts, and I've only just joined Blip.tv and learned of the "syndication" feature, so I'm sharing it here, now:

Plenty of room for new documentary filmmakers?

2009-08-17T21:26:00.000-04:00

I had assumed that the Documentary Channel offers frequent repeats of monthly features by design, and shows paid programming by necessity, but this story makes me wonder how much room there is for new participants in the area of documentary film. Personally, I have quite a few I want to make, and each of them could be made for around $300, but minimum errors and omissions insurance plans begin around $2500-3000, so I'm a bit stymied in my efforts. I'll still get mine made; I'll just have to take my time doing each one while I must work a real job for a living.

Newest Logo Reel & Taltopia

2009-07-27T14:27:00.000-04:00

Newest imprint for film and video introductions:

In other news, I was incentivized by Inbox Dollars to join Taltopia,
which is somewhat similar to TalentTrove but seems more accommodating to actors and dancers. It may prove to be a good resource for filmmakers, too.

Walter Cronkite passes

2009-07-17T23:14:00.000-04:00

Walter Cronkite was absolutely seminal in shaping everything I know and expect from broadcast journalism; having already covered the moon landing several months before my birth, Cronkite was most likely the very first nightly news reporter that I remember seeing early in life. This is of particular import to note across my film blogs because of Cronkite's inestimable influence on current professional standards and delivery.

Broom Room Annex @ Georgia Theatre 1 April 1996

2009-06-28T17:14:00.000-04:00

Lately, many of us in Athens are collecting our Georgia Theatre memories in sound and pictures, so I've archived the one appearance I made there 1 April 1996 with Broom Room Annex, opening for the inimitable Aftermath. It's not quite the whole set but the majority of it was captured on video. Thanks to Brooks & Sherri for preserving it:

bra gath pt 1

bra gath pt 2

New Patterson Hood Album Gets CNN Mention.

2009-06-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

Our buddy Patterson Hood gets well-earned high praise from Current.com's Peter Grumbine in this CNN segment:

Georgia Theatre Burns

2009-06-19T15:10:00.000-04:00

Fire gutted the historic Georgia Theatre this morning, putting dozens out of work and necessitating alternative venues for scheduled AthFest acts.

My first real concert/club show was at the Georgia Theatre, when I saw John Hartford in November of 1978.

Full coverage at OnlineAthens.

Zinkhan's Body Found

2009-05-09T17:45:00.001-04:00

The international manhunt for George Zinkhan, wanted for the triple homicide of Town & Gown Players principals, has ended with the discovery of his body.

Virtual Film Festival 3: Selected Films by Andrei Tarkovsky

2009-05-03T16:00:00.001-04:00

Andrei Tarkovsky's films were not all in the science-fiction genre, but they do all share a kind of deliberate, meditative pace, first as a means to draw from the viewer's deeper consciousness and secondly for the purpose of boring Soviet film censors who were not especially attuned to the nuances of high art.

I haven't seen "Stalker" and "Zerkalo" before now. "Solaris" I've seen a few times already because it's the kind of experience that grows on the viewer, as we say. Many may prefer the greatly shortened 2002 remake by Steven Soderburgh, but the original is a substantially different experience. With great appreciation for Google Video, I share these with you now.

Stalker (1979)

Zerkalo(The Mirror) (1975)

Solaris (1972)

Town & Gown Theater Shootings

2009-04-25T20:16:00.000-04:00

The Town & Gown Players group includes a few people I know, and the Athens Creative Theater building is a very short distance from my current residence. Because Athens is well-known for having a very close and interconnected arts community, the events of today will be felt for a long time to come.

At this point, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution seems to have the best and most accurate continuous reporting apart from local radio and television.

Virtual Film Festival 2: Werner Herzog & Klaus Kinski

2009-04-22T02:08:00.000-04:00

Lest you think my first Virtual Film Festival would indicate that all future selections would be bad, I bring you an assortment of films that are actually good.

Maybe you remember passing by the Werner Herzog & Klaus Kinski DVD set at Borders in the last couple of years, and maybe you're as impoverished as I am lately (though I hope, for your sake, not as badly as I've been) and counted it as yet one more expense that will have to wait. If so, you may console yourself now and see no less than four of these collaborations between the fabled star and director.

I saw Aguirre: the Wrath of God in Terence Gibney's film appreciation class at UGA, winter quarter 1989. We also saw a documentary about the making of Fitzcarraldo in that class, but not the film itself. My Best Fiend and Woyzeck I have not seen at all before now, so, enjoy with me, please:

Virtual Film Fetival Series: Selected Italian Affronts to Science Fiction, 1979-1983

2009-04-20T02:40:00.000-04:00

Introducing the first in a new series of virtual film festivals, where I choose a few complete films available online for embedding, and which share common traits.

Today's theme is Italian science fiction of the late 1970's and early 1980's, particularly those of the genre made in complete disregard of believable science, yet unlike such American counterparts as Superman IV: the Quest for Peace, which contemptuously condescend to their audiences and refuse to even thank them for their money, these Italian epics all retain an escapist charm that has lingered in the hearts of fans for decades.

It's easy to make fun of "master thespian Lou Ferrigno," as Henry Owings once characterized him in reference to this film, but one wonders if Ferrigno found the role so boldly over-the-top that it was irresistible. I would not have turned the role down, if I were him.

Corinne Clery, past Bond girl and star of The Story of O, supports "Captain America" TV movie star Reb Brown in a story of primitive humans living among dinosaurs and discovering the truth of their high-tech ancestors in what I affectionately call my very favorite "stupid" movie.

Hammer film star and Clery's fellow Bond alumnus Caroline Munro is Stella Starr, the best pilot in the galaxy and the last hope of billions to stop a maniacal count from imposing his tyranny. Having proved at least adequate in her previous roles, Munro, along with former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner and a not-quite-overtly embarrassed Christopher Plummer(!) appears to have been deliberately directed to deliver a campy performance befitting a script that was obviously beyond her influence. I honestly don't know if the British starlet is actually speaking with an American accent or if her lines are dubbed. Most people at the time and ever since have assumed this film was simply a cheap ripoff of Star Wars but the achievement is much closer to the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials of the 1930's, and produced for a fraction of what Dino de Laurentis spent making Flash Gordon in 1979.

I don't think I'll have any regular intervals for these virtual film festivals but I'm sure it won't be long before I post a new one.

Leerone Live Webcast

2009-04-12T23:38:00.000-04:00

One of my very favorite contemporaries is Leerone. She'll be performing and interacting live on thestream.tv's "Raw Rhythms" show, Monday 13 April, 11:00PM EDT. She'll be performing with a string quartet, which will be the first I've heard her songs with that instrumentation.

For those of you unfamiliar with Leerone, here are her two most recent official videos:

Facebook

2009-03-11T19:54:00.000-04:00

I have finally given in and created a Facebook account. I resisted doing so but it's really not bad at all; actually, I'm finding it very useful.

I still have no intentions whatsoever of joining Twitter.

Miss Atom 2009 / The Power of Obama

2009-03-05T15:51:00.000-05:00

Here's proof the American energy sector could be far more creative in capturing the people's imagination and persuading them to consider new nuclear power options:

In other news, a Moscow politician has, unlike Georgia's Vernon Jones, successfully appropriated Obama's image for the purpose of his election, although apparently without the president's written permission, as required by Russian law.

Similarly, the funniest of the new wave of get-paid-to-click sites does much the same thing:

You can expect to see more of my referral links for similar "PTC" sites. Things are so bad now, I'll take a few extra pennies a day where I can find them. I would greatly appreciate your support.

Randy Bewley

2009-02-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we lost Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley all too soon.

As a lifelong resident growing up in the Athens area, Pylon was one local act that influenced me as much or more than my favorite international artists. While their reunions were frequent, we never know when we've already seen someone's last show. It's another reason to support live music, to see your favorite acts and your like-minded friends when you can, because everyone should enjoy times with others before the next unexpected loss.

No Sprockets Music Video Competition This Year

2009-02-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

I have just learned from film::athens that the heretofore annual music video competition will not be part of AthFest 2009 and will instead be reorganized into a new event at a likely much later date.

Entering this contest had been a goal of mine for this year but it really doesn't matter. I'll have at least two or three new music videos well before summer, anyway.

Jon Lester Holiday Special 2008

2008-12-18T20:18:00.001-05:00

Here it is, my promised holiday music and video program. It might not be Bing Crosby but I hope you'll find it entertaining:

Amazon mp3's

2008-11-16T17:41:00.001-05:00

I have reissued the 2006 "Terry & Holly" EP for sale through Amazon's mp3 store. I used the CreateSpace service which allows authors to upload and submit music, video or text for sale and with no up-front costs. I have also submitted another EP with "The Bowman Draws" as its lead single, and I expect that to be available on Amazon as well within the next couple of days.